I Don't Want To Be The Responsible Parent Anymore

And it's been such a great day.  Then I made the mistake of checking my mail (I knew there was a reason I didn't get yesterday's mail last night).  So I received 3 letters - all in the same envelope from Social Services.  The first was an apology about the first termination letter telling me my mom's benefits had stopped - it says they will continue unchanged.  The second is a letter of termination as of 9/30/08 because her income exceeds the limits ($1306/mo - can you image living on that?)!  And the third is a letter of approval with what looks like a $687 a month deductible!  Are they crazy?  We never paid anything like that before we had Medi-Cal!  Why would we continue with Medi-Cal when we can get a Medicare HMO plan for cheaper - granted - I will be subsidizing my mom again (there goes my trip to Israel) - but it's much cheaper than $687 a month?!  I just don't understand and I'm so frustrated right now I can barely stand it (nice way to finish off the Labor Day weekend) - I know, I know...  have Faith because God has a plan - I've been listening the last several weeks at church - but I'm just sick and tired of it all - I don't want to be the responsible parent anymore.

I Like To Call It Passive Aggressive

I was doing so well.  Then today, I had to teach someone a lesson.  I was under the impression that when you are making a right turn and you have a red light that you are supposed to stop – not barrel through it at full speed almost taking out the person making their left (that would be me) in the process.  The lesson I learned, is that when I have the left turn green arrow, I still have to yield to anyone making a right coming from the opposite direction.  Yeah – it didn’t sit too well with me this morning – I had to honk – after my lesson, I wanted to teach her a lesson – to which she just raised up her arm at me – like – what are you going to do about it.  Well I will tell you what I did about it – prayed for grace and mercy – and just went about my way resisting the urge to point out to her that she was number one!

And it was just a tough morning… traffic was bad – whatever happened to rideshare Thursday?  School must be getting back this week – ugh.  I felt like I was living out the opening scene of Office Space – I should know better than to change lanes!  Just stick with one lane – no one is going anywhere!   And I’m so glad that we have that new cell phone law – I never see people holding their cell phones anymore – yeah, that’s it!

Up until this morning – I’ve been doing ok – well, there was an incident yesterday…  I was driving along and this woman (why are they always women) came up behind me and was really intent on meeting me.  So once I was past the car to the right – I signaled and moved over – of course, my foot somehow slipped off the accelerator as I was making the move – slowing my car down a bit – oops.  I like to call it passive aggressive – not road rage – because that is so much better!

As you can probably tell – I’m not quite in the pit of despair and frustration that I was on Monday.  After about ½ a dozen phone calls and 2 messages later – I finally heard from Social Services yesterday – not her assigned social worker, but someone else.  My mom’s benefits won’t discontinue at the end of the month – they are still processing the paperwork and I will get a letter soon telling me whether she is still eligible to receive benefits.  And then this evening, her assigned social worker called to apologize for the letter that we received – that we received it in error and would be getting further communication that her benefits had not been discontinued – I’m still not sure if that is the final outcome – but she requested a phone call back so she knows that I received the message – lets see  - took her 4 days to call me back – so I’ll think about calling Monday night.  I guess I should just be happy that she called to apologize for the letter – pretty amazing!

Make The Roads A Happier Place

I have a bunch of stories to tell - but am a bit too frustrated tonight - got a letter from Social Services that my mom has been discontinued from Medi-Cal at the end of August because we failed to complete the redetermination of eligibility - which I sent in a month ago.  I don't know if they didn't get any of it or they are missing something they need - suffice it to say - I left a voicemail for the social worker and now just have to wait until tomorrow to see what I need to do - and hopefully this social worker will call me back - unlike the last one.  Any prayers you want to send my way would be lovely.

Lynne - I know I told you that I was going to challenge myself on something and to check my blog for it - so didn't want you have to keep waiting.  You may or may not know that I am the poster child for road rage - I don't do stupid things with my car or flip people off - but I get so mad sometimes.  This came up in Bible Study on Wednesday and then yesterday, Craig preached about loving your enemies and he used the illustration of road rage.  So there I am sitting in the front row thinking - ok, God, I'll try to drive with grace and mercy.  So that's what I'm challenging myself to do - is really cut down on the road rage - so far - I've had a rage free day - so I don't dare go anywhere at the moment with my frustration level where it is! :)  So please check in on me and keep me accountable and I'll try my best to make the roads a happier place - God Help Me!

Lazy!

There were several things that happened today that I was going to blog about - but can now only think of a few of them - dang - I am becoming my mother - God Bless Her!  I'll start with the cat.

So I've written before that one of her favorite things in the world is laundry just out of the dryer. Today I did my moms laundry and it wasn't on the bed for more than 15 seconds before she was up rummaging through it - enjoy the pictures...

Look - it's a sock to play with!

Ahh - grandma's nightgown!

This is where she was when I left the house at 11:30am  SI went out for some best friend time (had a great afternoon - B!), a basketball lesson for Teyo, a drum lesson from Russ (I LOVED playing the drums), and time at the gym - more on that in a few.  Usually when I get home Sadie will meet me at the door - well this evening - I had to search her out - and where was she?  Still laying on the bed on my moms laundry!  Lazy!  At least she had changed positions.

I was rewarded at the gym with an elliptical machine right in front of the TV playing the Olympics - unfortunately - I watched the last women's volleyball match - which they lost - but they did get the silver - Go USA!  I did see a movie ad for a movie staring Leonardo DiCaprio and my boy, Russell Crowe - what disturbed me - Leonardo got top billing - unacceptable!  Although I'm just excited that there is a Russell Crowe movie coming out.  I was also treated to watching the teeny boppers walk around like they are such the studs - not.  And I saw Elvis at the gym!  When I was leaving the gym I got a glimpse of Carnival Man coming out of his car - in regular clothes - he actually looked pretty normal - except the awful hair!

Just Call In Sick And Stay Home With Me

I had such plans for tonight...  at one point during the week, I thought - I'm going to be a good egg and go to the gym - and then I thought - I'm going to drive up and enjoy the fireworks at Disneyland.  But I got home - sat on the couch with my baby doll (that would be Sadie) and thought - this is where I want to be.  This morning I was having a hard time getting my act together to go to work - and I was sitting there on the couch trying to motivate myself and looked over at the cat and she started to purr and her look said 'Just call in sick and stay home with me' - it took everything I had to go into to work.  I had to though - I was teaching and just couldn't stick my class with someone else - not that they are a bad group - there are only two of them - but I just would never do that.  It was an unexpectedly busy week this week - especially in the evenings, so I decided to stay in this evening and hang with her - and it has just been wonderful.

I do have a few mom stories to share from earlier in the week.  I went by to visit and drop off her laundry - and usually when I pick up her dirty laundry - I'll go through her drawers to find anything else that needs to be washed - she never puts her socks in the dirty laundry - so I have to search them out.  As I was looking through her drawers - the number of toilet paper rolls she has been collecting is just fascinating - I know I've written about it before - but I had to have put at least 8-10 almost empty rolls in dirty laundry to take home and throw out - and I still left half a dozen in the dresser!

As I was taking some of her clothes out of the dresser and closet to take with me to wash - she kept stopping me and asking me to show her what I was taking so she would know - like it makes a difference!  I show her every week - and every week I hear that her favorite nightgown or sweater or shirt has gone missing - only to find out that I had it and washed it.  And then I remind her again and again and again a few moments later that I have brought the clothing back.

While I was there visiting - her neighbor came by and knocked and then walked in.  After she left - my mom commented that she always walks in because she has a key.  And I told her that she doesn't have a key - but the door was unlocked.  Of course my mom insists that she ALWAYS locks the door - yeah - that's why I was able to walk in without my key when I had arrived earlier.  So I tried to remind my mom to lock her door - but, of course, she ALWAYS locks her door - how do you tell a woman with Alzheimer's that she's wrong and she needs to remember to do something?!  God Bless Her!

Well, it's about time to go - the Olympics are on - and as my friend Jan noted - they are almost over!  Must watch as much as I can - that and I'm tired tonight and hope to go to bed early.  Pleasant weekend, everyone!

One Last Look

Went back to work today - after a week and a half away - it was tough.  Luckily I had an easy day of prepping for my two week class which starts tomorrow.  So before I get fully back into the swing of things at work - wanted to remember the fun of VBS and give it one last look - enjoy the pictures!

The stage is set - God's Big Backyard - or as Craig called it yesterday - a yard sale!

Here are the kids filling up the church - getting ready for chapel time.

Diana, Lynne and Kristi - waiting for the show to begin.

Me - caught in the act!

Showing off our friends...

It truly was a great week - God Bless it all!

Well - you're probably wondering where the pictures are - I had intended to post them in the body of the blog - but can't seem to get them uploaded - and according to the blogger help message board - I'm not the only one...  so to see the pics that go with the captions - click here - and enjoy the fun!

Like She Doesn't Nap All Day Long

Another quick post.  It's been a bit of a tough day - a good day - but a tough day.  Was nervous this morning - really wanted the older kids to do well during the VBS service - they did great!  What a blessing they were - God Bless them!  It was also about a year ago that our choir director Ron Woods went to live with the Lord - that has been on my heart.

And I was just tired today - it was a lot of fun with the kids - they all did a great job this morning - singing and doing hand motions.  The puppets did a great job - I'm thinking the puppets need to be a bit more active - will have to work on that - they do have a gig in December though! :)  Anyway - I got home and was so tired I went immediately into the bedroom for a nap - the cat followed and we slept all afternoon.  We finally got up about 4pm and after puttering around a bit - I walked back into the bedroom and the cat had gotten back on the bed and was sitting there looking at me like - ok - let's continue our napping!  Like she doesn't nap all day long - she is napping right now while I type this - ah - to live that life!

Instead of joining the cat for another nap - I decided to see if my toe could get into my dress shoes - which it did - so I thought I would try on my gym shoes - and was able to do that also - so I took my toe to the gym - for an easy workout - but I have really missed working out the last couple of weeks.  And they were playing old people music at the gym - old people being a relative term for 70's and 80's music.

And I have to make an Olympic admission...  every time I see Bob Costas interviewing people in the studio - it looks like it is raining outside the window they are sitting in front of - I kept thinking - wow, they get a lot of rain there.  Today - while he was interviewing Michael Phelps - I realized that it is a fountain - nice.

Well that was much more than I planned to write - but since you made it this far through the blog - enjoy a VBS picture of the 'Campfire Girls.'

I Told Him It Was Angry Now

Did anyone see the moon tonight - it was beautiful!  I walked up (and I mean up) the street (bad toe and all) to meet Terrie at Cherry On Top - if you haven't been there - really good self serve yogurt - I like their plain tart yogurt.  As I was walking home - the moon was shining so brightly over the mountains - if that isn't proof there is a God - I don't know what is...  

So here it is - the story you have all been waiting for - the Tale of the Toe!

A long long time ago - in a galaxy far far away - well, maybe not that far - it was Irvine and it was 20 years ago.  I was playing basketball during a dorm tournament at UCI and someone ran into my foot so severely that it bent my toenail back - and injured it so badly that I could barely put my shoes on and ever since then - the nail has never grown correctly - it tends to grow thicker - thus the nickname given by some friends of The Claw!  So I have a problem with ingrown toenails - I try to keep cotton under them - but sometimes they just get the best of me.  So last year - after having the toe worked on three times before - the doctor took the entire nail off - well - it didn't grow back very well on one side - actually started curving in.  I first sensed a problem back in May - but of course - procrastinated until about a week and a half ago.

A week ago this last Tuesday, I noticed that the toe was infected - nothing new - been there before.  I called the doctor immediately to get a referral to a podiatrist to get this taken care of by a specialist - they told me I had to come in so my doctor could evaluate it - I pleaded with them to leave a message for a referral since I have a history of ingrown toenails - only to be told my doctor wasn't there today - but they would try to have another doctor look at it - I made the appointment also - but it wasn't until Thursday.  I also asked if I could go into Urgent Care to get a referral and they said no - it had to come from a doctor in an office - great!  Luckily I had vacation coming up and an offsite leadership seminar to go to so I didn't have to try to cram my toe into dress shoes!  Wednesday afternoon - the doctor's nurse calls to tell me that I have been approved for a referral - but doesn't give me the info - I'll be getting a letter with the info - which doesn't come until Friday - so now I can't call until Monday - lovely!

Monday morning I start calling the podiatrist - 8:30am - 10:45am - 2pm - nobody answers the phone - great.  Finally call one more time about 4pm - and find out that the earliest appointment he has is on September 11 - I'm thinking I'll amputate the toe myself before I get to September 11.  I tell her it's infected - don't they have any earlier appointments - no.  Crap.  I now call my doctor back to get a referral to a different podiatrist - I leave a message with him and the receptionist also transfers me to the referral department in the office to talk to them - I leave a message with them also.  I whine about the whole thing the next day at VBS and Craig offers to cut it off himself - yeah - don't think so - very pastoral of him to want to help, though! Of course, by this time - I'm really concerned about the infection - puss has been coming out of my toe for a week now.

By Tuesday afternoon - I still have heard nothing from my doctor or the referral department - so I call to see if I can make an appointment to see my doctor - if I'm in his office - he has to talk to me - his earliest appointment is a week from Friday - don't think so - screw it - I'm going to Urgent Care - at this point I need to take care of the infection.  So I go to Urgent Care - expect to wait several hours - only had to wait about 30 - 45 minutes.  When I get into the room - the nurse glances at my toe and says very nonchalantly - yeah it looks really bad - thanks!  The doctor gets there and tells me he will prescribe antibiotics for the infection and asks if I want him to take care of the toenail - I hadn't been expecting that since I've never had a doctor offer to do that when the toe has been infected.  Being fed up at this point - I told him to have at it and just do it - because it's only the fifth time I've had the toe worked on.  I figure when it starts growing in wrong again - I'll get to the podiatrist sooner.  

So he went ahead and took it off right there - when he was done - he offered to prescribe something for the pain in case the toe was angry later - I told him it was angry now.  So he prescribed vicodin - think I mentioned that earlier in the week.  It didn't really do anything for me the first night I took it - tried it a second night and it just made me dizzy - so I'm done with that.  It's feeling much better than earlier in the week - and even better yet - I didn't get the secondary complimentary infection I usually get when I take antibiotics - maybe it was the yogurt I had each morning.  The Urgent Care doctor reminded me to follow up with my own doctor - and all I could think was - yeah - he won't be seeing me again.

The story doesn't end there, though... so I still had these messages I had left with the doctor and referral department.  On Thursday I finally got a call from the doctor's nurse that they were going to have the referral department call me to help get me an appointment - I then get a message from the referral department that they have called the podiatrist for me and can get me an appointment on September 18!  I laughed out loud as I listened to the message - she also told me that if it was an emergency - I should call my doctor for an appointment - yeah!  Unbelievable!  HMO at work!  Crazy - just crazy!

So we'll see on Monday if I can get dress shoes on - forgot to get a note from the doctor to wear open toed shoes and last year when I had the nail removed - the manager wanted a doctor's note - the huge bandage on my toe apparently wasn't enough.  Anyway...  it's all done now - and I've since had three people recommend doctors in this same medical group - just different offices - I'll be seeing one of them for any of my future health problems!

But Her Did Already

I know I promised the 'Tale of the Toe' today - eww... try saying that five times fast - but I ended up napping this afternoon - have to get in at least one during this vacation and I just got back from a Fantastic evening out with friends and am just going to go to bed.  I'll get it posted one of these days.  This vacation has been a little like my trip to Big Bear - had so many plans - apparently - God had some alternate plans!

Did want to tell two stories about VBS - the older kids are doing really well with their song - they sounded great today - should be fun on Sunday to see them get up and sing it.   And during music time for the 4 year olds - we were picking kids to help us with hand motions and stand up front and Kristi told the kids to raise their hands if they had not been picked yet - and one of the little girls said about another one... 'but her did already' - probably not as funny as it was at the time - but I found it amusing.  One more day - and then our program on Sunday and we are done for another year - I'll miss the little sweeties - God Bless Them!

We Had The Same Hair

Just a quick post tonight - am tired and want to go to bed - also took a vicodin - more on that tomorrow in the 'Tale of the Toe!'  But had to just write a line or two about VBS - and give a shout out to B for a fantastic dinner and shopping adventure this evening - the sale at JCPenney was even better than marked - might have to go back tomorrow to look for old lady clothes! :)

Anyway - back to VBS...  what a fun time it has been!  I have been having a blast with the little kids - and they can be so sweet - they can be a handful also - but then there are those 'moments.'  Yesterday Lynne was blessed by a little girl going up to her and telling her that she wanted Lynne to be her friend - she then commented to me that we had the same hair - I was wearing my hair down and she had curly hair also.  

During chapel time - we sing the VBS songs with the CD track and do hand motions - but we also play some kid songs on the guitar.  Well, today, I was sitting down a little more because of my toe - and during music time for the 2nd graders - this one little girl just walked up to me and gave me a great big hug and told me that she really liked my guitar playing - which led to another little girl walking up giving me a big hug - which led to a couple more at the end of music time when they were all leaving - such a blessing!  God Bless them all and goodnight!

An Entire Church Full of Kids Watching Me

Wow - what a day.  I didn't start in the right place this morning.  Maybe because I didn't get any hot chocolate - will have to fix that tomorrow morning.  But at VBS during chapel time this morning when we were singing the theme song and doing the motions and I looked up and there was an entire church full of kids watching me and soaking it all in - it just melted everything away.  Especially the little ones in the front row.  What little sweeties!  God Bless them all!  Little kids scare me - when I have to be in charge - but when I can get up there and just have some fun - it's the best thing in the world!  In a bit of a schedule change - I'll be teaching some music classes tomorrow - the older kids and I think a group of the little kids.  And although it's completely out of my comfort zone - I'm looking forward to teaching the bigger kids - there is a song that just screamed 'sing me' when I first listened to the VBS music and now I have a chance to teach it to them - because it is, of course, all about me!  :)

So after VBS - because I hadn't had enough of little kids - I went up to see my mom - took her out to have her hair cut and then just sat and chatted a bit.  Of course, it truly is just like having a little kid - I find myself using phrases like...  'Did you flush the toilet?' and 'Did you wash your hands?' - and unfortunately - I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to deal with her today either - but I tried to fake it a bit.  She tried to wrap the seat belt around her neck again - God Bless Her.  And then when we were talking - she told me that people come into her room and move her TV remote around and sometimes they take it - but they always bring it back.  Great - just what I need - is her accusing the staff of taking her stuff!  So she hides the remote in her drawer so they can't find it - of course - then she can't find it either.  She also made a request for different toothpaste - apparently the toothpaste she has doesn't clean her teeth.  So I made a comment about taking her to the dentist to have teeth cleaned - fearing that I might hear about the oozing tooth that she used to be so obsessed about - but didn't hear anything about it - apparently the remote has taken the place of the tooth!

And one last note - about the Olympics - I can't believe it - I've been doing all this watching - and last night was so tired that I went to bed early - didn't tape it - and missed probably the most exciting finish to an Olympic event ever - at least according to several commentators this morning - I'm talking, of course, about the swimming relay where Michael Phelps won his second gold.  Will probably miss swimming tonight also - I'm sure it will some of the last coverage of the night - and 12:30am is just too late to be staying up - even though I am on vacation - I have my second job to go to tomorrow! :)  Such is life.

Shouldn't The Men Wear Speedos?

Hope you don't mind hearing a little more about the Olympics - haven't been watching too much today - have been at my second job most of the day - more on that in a moment.  So right now I'm watching synchronized diving - didn't even know they had that - it's pretty cool - do they still have synchronized swimming?  I saw it recently at a swim party I was at in July - the ladies were pretty good!  And what's up with the men's beach volleyball uniforms - they wear tank tops with swim shorts - the ladies wear bikini's - shouldn't the men wear speedos?

So spent most of the day today at church getting ready for Vacation Bible School.  As a kid - I never really appreciated what went into the whole event - but I don't remember it being such a big thing - and we usually only had about 20 - 30 kids - at most.  We will have 186 kids starting tomorrow and we will give it our all!  We'll have a blast with each and every one - no matter how small!  Jan - that's the best I can do - hoping to impress even the tiniest of Who's!

So after getting done at the church tonight - the last thing I wanted to do was go home and cook - so I stopped by McDonald's and picked up one of their new southern style chicken sandwiches - the new one with the two pickles - hmmm - I wonder where they go the idea for this sandwich - could it be my favorite place?  And I have to tell you - it was ok - but still doesn't beat out Chick-Fil-A!  The fries were nice and hot and salty though - yummy!

One last thing - so I get weekly newsletter from the Alzheimer's Association and found the latest one a little upsetting - this is what it said...

"A new study suggests that those who are unmarried or not living with a partner in midlife may have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease" - great - so apparently I need to get married or find a partner to live with!  There is hope - though - in the same newsletter it said this...

"Additional research indicates that people who ruminate, or repeatedly think about their problems, may also reduce their Alzheimer's risk" - hmmm... wonder if this cancels out the other!  God Bless Me!

The Cat Keeps Looking At Me Like I'm Crazy

Greetings from my dining room table.  I actually did a bit of cleaning today and have a mostly clear dining room table - that and my 25 foot network cable and I’m in luck - can sit here at the table - under the ceiling fan and enjoy the Olympics - today was just as good.

I’ve been watching the Olympics all day today - while doing laundry and dishes and cleaning the house - and have enjoyed watching all the different events.  I’ve seen indoor volleyball, cycling, rowing, swimming, beach volleyball, and am currently watching gymnastics.  WOW!  I just had to take a break to see Sacha - the 2nd alternate that is now competing for the USA compete in the pommel horse - did you see it - he was amazing!  I actually had to clap when he was done.  And good for him - since he fell off of it during the Olympic Trials.  I’ve enjoyed the Games so much today that I might have to cancel my participation in VBS this coming week so I can stay home and watch (just kidding, Diana and Lynne!).

Speaking of VBS - since I’m helping out with the music - I’ve been working on the songs and hand motions - the cat keeps looking at me like I’m crazy - takes one to know one!  I think she felt that way last year also - check out my blog from last year.  She is in seventh heaven right now - I found some packing paper today while cleaning and set it on the couch - she has taken up residence on the paper rather than her favorite comforter that is also on the couch.

So as I was watching the Olympics earlier, they were doing a story on Michael Phelps and talking to his mom.  She was talking about how busy he is and she has learned to text message him to talk to him.  Tom Brokaw asked if she knew what LOL meant and she said ‘Lots of Love’ and that she figured that wasn’t what it really meant - but between Michael and his mom - it meant Lots of Love - how cool is that!

Well - the next week should be interesting - look for stories from VBS and other things.

Did I Mention That I Just Loved It!

Did you watch them?  The Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Beijing?  As a kid - I was always riveted to the TV during the Olympics - and I remember getting to stay up late to watch them.  I have to admit, though, that it has been a long time since I have really followed them at all.  But tonight I sat and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience - including some of the commercials (24 Hour Fitness had the best of the evening).  I just might have to do a little more watching this year.  

So tonight - in honor of the Opening Ceremonies - a few thoughts and observations.  I truly just loved everything about the Ceremonies - the first part of the ceremonies - the artistic part - China really put on quite the show.  All of the performers and the drummers and the precision - just fascinating!  And then the Parade of Nations - I love watching the athletes coming into the stadium - they are all so excited - the big smiles, all them taking pictures and waving with conviction and the little countries that only have a few athletes - they are the best!  Did I mention that I just loved it!

And hearing all the interesting stories about the countries...  Did you know...

Japan has the oldest athlete competing in equestrian - he is 67 and competed in the 1964 Olympics.

The president of Israel had to walk back to his hotel so he didn’t violate the Sabbath by being driven in a car (thank you, God, for sending your Son!).

Great Britain has a 14 year old diver competing and will host the 2012 Olympics.

The flag of Paraguay is different on both sides.

Hong Kong had its own delegation - they weren’t part of China - which only has one time zone for the entire country.

Roger Federer was the flag bearer for Switzerland and today was his birthday - what a cool birthday present!

The Prime Minister from Australia is fluent in Mandarin.

China represents 1/5 of humanity - 1.3 billion people!

I found it amusing when the British Virgin Islands came in after Great Britain and either Bob Costas or Matt Lauer commented about them following the Mother Country!

I noticed a lot of Track and Field athletes carrying the flags.

And since when did Sailing and Table Tennis and Taekwondo become Olympic sports?  I heard that BMX is going to be a sport for the first time this year.

And what exactly is Whitewater, Flatwater and Judo?

And all politics aside - it was wonderfully moving when the Chinese athletes entered the stadium - moved me to tears (go figure)!  That and the little boy that survived the earthquake back in May that walked with flag bearer Yao Ming.  Again, did I mention that I just loved it!  God Bless all the athletes and Good Luck to them all!

Any Puppet Except That One

Greetings from my couch!  I procured a 25 foot network cable today - so I can plug into my router and sit on my couch and watch TV - I may never leave this spot!  Before I hooked up the cable - I was sitting at my desk in the bedroom and the cat laid down on the bed next to me - even without any paper or fresh laundry.  I think she missed me this weekend - either that or she was hungry - probably the latter!  God Bless Her.

So some random stories for you today...

Yesterday when I was in the Gallery, there was a family that came in and Sheila and I were talking to them and Sheila commented about how humid it was - well the woman asked very sincerely, 'This is humid?' - she then commented that they just moved here from Texas - yeah - this is probably bone dry for them!

As I was driving home from wuh wuh wuh (work) today, I came up behind this SUV with an odd looking color - I realized as I got closer that it was a Mary Kay pink colored Cadillac Escalade.  And then as I passed the car - I noticed there was a man driving it - not to be sexist or anything - but I certainly wouldn't want to drive the car!  And then as I passed him - I also noticed he was holding his hand up to his ear - talking on his cell phone.  Maybe he figured that the police would be so distracted by the pink car that they wouldn't notice he was holding his phone!

I need to make a shout out to Lynne!  So we are getting ready for Vacation Bible School next week and like we have done the last couple of years - we will have puppets performing.   Also like in the past, I have taken on the role of Puppet Director - and being one of the puppeteers, Lynne, wanted to practice - so I told her to help me out and pick which puppet she would like to be.  Well - unbeknownst to her - I had made a decision this weekend to play the two animal puppets myself since we are short on puppeteers and have her and our other puppeteer play the two kid puppets.   Before I could tell her this - she sent me an email and told me that she had decided to play the dog puppet!  Great - now I have to tell her that after forcing her to pick her own puppet, she can play any puppet except that one and the squirrel!  God Bless Her for being so flexible!

And last but not least - the sunset from my dad's house on Saturday night... Enjoy!

  

How I Spent My Big Bear Vacation

So I came up to Big Bear this weekend with such grand ideas of doing stuff.  I brought my 4 DVD disk set of England photos to look at, my iWork ’08 book to learn how to use Pages (Apple’s word processing program) - brought the music I’m singing next Sunday to practice, along with the VBS music and puppet scripts to go through, two books and 3 DVD’s from Netflix to watch.  Not really sure when I planned to do all of this - I had also planned on composing a few more England blogs - the best laid plans!  So here is how I really spent my Big Bear vacation (all two days of it)...

A few driving observations...  what’s up with the people that try to merge on to the freeway at 30 or 40 mph?!  And then driving up the hill - nothing like getting stuck behind a car doing 20 in a 40mph zone.  Of course, I was only 1 of 9 cars behind this one guy - he can’t pull over and let us go? - it’s not like we are all going to get in front of him and drive slower.

So I hung out at the Gallery most of the day - did some computer work for my dad and then he and I had a nice lunch together.  We then went up to the house to do some work - we had to move all the stuff from the ‘junk’ room into the garage - one flight up!  Check out the pictures to get the full view of what we were doing - and when you look at them - keep in mind that about 90% of the stuff had to go upstairs - so I definitely got my exercise.  What is scary is the reason we had to clean out that room - apparently there is quite a bit of dry rot and the main beam that supports the driveway is now leaning - onto the gas line!  Lovely - again - take a look at the pictures - the side of the building buckles and the driveway has sunk about 2 inches!  They had a contractor out Saturday and will start work on Monday to get it fixed.  Got a really cute picture of my dad and I while we were resting - getting the picture was definitely worth all the work!

And as if I didn’t get enough exercise making 30 - 40 trips up the stairs - I decided I needed a walk also - walked around the block - about a mile.  Kenai came with me - and it wasn’t until the end of the walk that I realized that he just isn’t in the same shape that I am - when we got back he laid down next to the door with his water bowl and panted the night away.

Slept in this morning - which was good - and then just sat around the house a bit - just enjoying the quiet and solitude of the morning - enjoying the beautiful scenery and just trying to stop a little and take a break.  Wanted to spend the whole day at the house - but also wanted to spend time with my dad - and he was at the Gallery - so I have since wandered down to the Gallery - where it is relatively quiet - nice for me - not so good for sales - oh well.  Will be up here until tonight and then will take the trek back home and then back to the grindstone tomorrow - it’s been so nice to get away and just slow down and relax... might have to do this more often.  Happy Sunday and check out the pics from yesterday.

Hey, Now - Some Privacy Please!

There's a bunch of stuff that has happened this week that I took notes on - if I can find the notes - that I will blog about later - but for now - enjoy this visual story about the cat (finally figured out how to put more than one pic in an entry - and after playing with the html code to move the pics around - figured out on the last pic I uploaded that I can click and drag them without working with the code - who knew!)...

So I printed out some stuff today and set it on the bed - well, I'm sure I have said before - but Miss Sadie LOVES paper - so she was all excited when she saw that there was paper for her to sit on and sniff...

of course, can't go long without licking...

and then - must rip paper to shreds...

and, of course, must lick again...

hey, now - some privacy please!

forget the paper, there's nothing better than fresh out of the dryer laundry... 

Goodnight!