The best kind of tired is Grandma tired!

3-8-16

Family time made this a leap year to remember. Enjoyed having all the kids and grand kids together for a visit. The group from up North were here and the rest gave this momma a weekend to remember! Truly believe that I have the greatest kids ever (no bias, just stating the facts)! Had a great afternoon with everyone together, started off with a delicious brunch and then hit the yard. Family, food and friends are a great way to spend an afternoon.

Beautiful day to run in the yard!

Let the grown kids have the night off and hired a sitter for the boys at one house and we kept the girls for the night at our house. Of course, this involved sneaking a bowl of ice cream in the middle of grandma's living room...

Sleepy girls!

Having all these kids together meant tons of energy to be worked off. Five kids three and under equals the need to run and play as much as possible. We managed to hit a few parks, Chik-fil-A and Sonic. Baby b stayed with Grandma a few times so they could take the older kids to the indoor bouncy house and a museum. 

A favorite was throwing sticks into the water from the bridge!

Slides and climbing were another group favorite!

One night we were even attacked by ghosts! No one was injured but I heard a few mommas say, "thanks a lot grandma" so not sure what that could possibly mean, wink wink.

Good news is that the playroom layout worked, room for everyone to play and toys for every personality. I think I'm getting pretty good at this grandma stuff.

Having all the kids together was more fun than I can possible convey with words. The one thing that I can say with absolute certainty is that they are exhausting! Possibly the best kind of tired one could have is grandma tired! 

Happy New Year, where has the time gone?

1-26-16

Just realized that between our wonderful December trip, the holidays and life in general it has been two months since I posted. 

Trip-awesome!
Holidays-awesome!
Kids-awesome!

Life is good. My only complaint these days is that I didn't match any numbers in the billion dollar jackpot. I even had Joe do a quick pick and we didn't match any numbers on that ticket either. 

I'm thinking that 2016 is going to be a decent year. New grand baby coming in the spring, family get together for the summer, big trip for the fall and holidays at home this year. Something to look forward to in every season! 

On the cooking front, bought myself a triple basket fryer and made my first batch of buffalo wings, Joe ate so many he woke up with indigestion the next morning. Next up, I'm going for fish and chips. Never been a fan of fried foods but with all the new oils out there, figured it was worth a shot as so many of the recipes I see from a fryer look delicious. 

Grandson wise, I've had time with all three the last few weeks. Went up and spent a day with O while Joe painted his new bedroom. That one is a firecracker, already riding a bike but his true love is still the tractor! Kept me busy in the yard for hours. 

So grown!

As for the two B's, they spent New Year's Eve with us and big B even stayed for a sleep over. That one keeps us all in line! 

First drink of the New Year!

The bulk of January is devoted to birthdays in my family. Every few days, oops there's another one... Siblings, nephew, friends. Happy birthday!

February is just around the corner and we already have all kinds of things planned! Gorgeous girls from the North have a visit planned, promise from my kids to get a photo with all of them in it and we even have a trip to see Joe's sister in the works. 

Hoping that this year lives up to it's start. Here's to a healthy, prosperous, and happy New Year to one and all!

Is it turkey time yet?

11-24-15

November has been such a long month! Between the doctor, the dentist and family this month hasn't had a dull day.

Joe finished up the laundry room and it looks awesome. M came over and helped do the floor. The guys did a fantastic job and I am loving the way it came out!

Sadly, the dentist has been an evil necessity that has involved way too many Tylenol. The first tooth was yanked and once healed will have an implant in it's spot, the second one was filled, a third is scheduled for a crown and from the ache in my jaw, I think the second one may have been filled in vain. Have a feeling that it will be the next to go. What is it with me and tooth troubles prior to vacations? One toothache six months ago has turned me into a whiny, Tylenol popping baby! A few months to go and hopefully all will be well. Fingers crossed. Enough on that subject for another few weeks!

Doctor was just a physical and flu shot. Basically, she told me I'm aging, get over it and don't waste a ton of money on Internet remedies for hot flashes! Turns out they don't work well and the only thing to do is adjust the thermostat and wait it out. Basically, she gave me another valid reason to whine! Poor Joe.

Speaking of Joe, he took a quick trip to Utah this month. Sadly his stepbrother passed away. He went to the funeral and then spent some quality time with his mom. To all of my readers from the family, hugs!! 

 Dinner with the boys and H while Joe was gone...

Due to the time of year, we made the decision to have me stay home. Of course, the very first night I got the scare of my life! I'm sitting in the kitchen, at the computer and I see a figure dash in front of the window. The doorbell rings and I see the figure run by the window again. It is 9 p.m. and pitch black out. I immediately call my daughter. Her and her hubby are concerned and he is all set to jump in the car and drive over. We get the bright idea that I should peek out the window and look to see if there is still someone on the doorstep. All that is there is a package...

Why a package was delivered that late at night and by whom is the question. The mailman and UPS driver both swear not guilty. Although the UPS driver did notice that there were 2 address stickers on the box and he thinks it may have been delivered to the wrong house and being good Samaritans, they dropped it off. For my own piece of mind, I think I'm going with that option!

For Miss Isobel, we installed a new channel on Cat TV, it is the squirrel network. I can honestly say, I'm enjoying it as much as she is!

 

As usual, I've had plenty of time with my adorable grandsons. They keep me on my toes! B is hands down way too fast for his own good. I posted on my Facebook page his cuteness the other day! If you missed it:

Facebook link

Little b is just as cute. He is at the stage where he recognizes my voice and smiles. Now that he gets to hang out with me, I'm ready to start teaching him "The little green frog" and all of the noises and faces that go with it... 

O and his folks are set to come and visit us for a few days. He called me on the phone the other day to tell me he was having a dance party and then going to fix his truck. Been four weeks since we saw him so I'm ready! Seems like the boys change so much so fast.

Which brings us to turkey time! Busy getting stuff ready, menus have been planned and dishes have been assigned. We are going to have a nice sized crowd this year which makes me very happy. Wish the MA gang was able to join us but hopefully we'll get some Facetime in with them.  Seems like my October visit was a lifetime ago, miss those gorgeous girls!!

I feel like we have so much to be thankful for this year! New home, new grandson, another grand baby on the way, lots of family get togethers, one vacation down and one left to go. Kind of makes Joe's shingles and my teeth seem like a small price to pay for so many wonderful things that have already taken place this year. 

Hope that one and all have a wonderful holiday and enjoy all of the good things that have made their way into your lives this year! Be thankful and enjoy the day. For us, it will be parades, deep fried turkey, tons of family and hopefully warm enough weather to be outside for awhile!
For you, fill in the blanks for your perfect day and have a happy Thanksgiving!

A birthday party, a pumpkin patch, the doctor and starting the new laundry room floor

10-30-15

Whew, what a busy few weeks it has been! 

Last weekend was my son's birthday. Translation, 3rd annual oyster roast at his house. Always an amazing time! Made a bunch of goodies and even doubled my batch of chicken chili and we still ran out of food! Kids were cute and adorable. Took O to the fall festival before the party. He had a blast. Nothing like a bouncy house, a balloon sword, cotton candy, and stickers to put you in a party mood.

New recipe for Pecan crusted chicken strips that J requested, pretty tasty!

Back to their house, O took a nap and the rest of us worked on getting the house and food ready. Stuff I brought was already cooked so set up the crock pot and some serving trays. We cut veggies and fruit, made some pimento cheese and strung backyard lights. Timing was perfect and weather couldn't of been any better! O helped his Daddy blow out the birthday candles and then agreed to share the cake and ice cream with him! (Luckily, J has a mother-in-law that bakes, his own momma is sadly lacking in the baking arena)! By the end of the evening, the boys took a bath, jammied up and everyone headed home. What a great way to spend the day. Even snuck in some snuggle time with little B during the afternoon.

Jammies and one last train ride before B headed home.

Took the two B's to the pumpkin patch Sunday. I must say, I admire the cleverness of the owners of said patch. They charge for things I wouldn't have thought to charge for. Example, giant playground and slide? How about we charge extra for the slide. Fenced off area, import a few bouncy houses, some broken ride on tractors and some hay, instant play area for a small fee! Old barrels? Cut them in half, paint them white, add a few black spots, hook them to a frame, add one tractor and voila, Cow Train! Take a pony ride and then, how about you give us a few more bucks and we'll let you feed all of our animals for us! I also bought some gourds and a small pumpkin for B to paint. His grin and the pictures and videos taken made it worth every penny and then some.

For the big kids, there was also a regular hay ride and a few corn mazes. Had a bonus score as we were getting ready to head out, they were handing out roasted ears of corn that hadn't sold. 

Rest of the week was busy as well. Had B on Monday, pumpkin painted as promised. Opened a new Citrus Lane Box, that kid is way too smart, new 12 piece puzzle, figured it out in less than a minute... Kind of cool, puzzle comes in a zippered, heavy duty plastic pouch. Easy to take places and great way to keep track of the pieces. Especially nice for us as B likes to take things back and forth between our house and his house.

For those who like dr. appt. updates:
Tuesday was my CT scan. No new nodules, no flare ups or infections, my weight has stayed steady and the doc says I don't have to go back until my BFF's bday next year! 

Wednesday was get eveything done day! Errands, housework, and cooking.
Rainy weather made everything gray and dismal but was able to get this gorgeous fall shot out the front window.

Last but not least, demolition has begun on the laundry room! I'm being picky as all get out and I'm sure I'm driving Joe nuts but I just want to lose our mindset of always doing things with a lick and a promise. For once, want to enjoy stuff in my house while I live in it, not as I'm getting it ready for the next owner!

Pulled up all the old linoleum, removed every switch cover, outlet cover, and even the heat register! Also, we are pulling up the sub floor, laying new plywood down and then installing the new flooring. Taking out the old washer/dryer stuff and putting in a new box and valves there as well. Fixing the wall then a coat of Kilz before we paint. I even had Joe pull out the old (very disgusting) quarter round molding so we can replace it too.  Bought all new covers, switches and outlets in bright white so they will match the trim we are painting. Decided to do a taupe on the heat register so it will blend in with the new floor! If all goes as planned, I'll be doing laundry by Monday. 

Don't forget to set your clocks back this weekend!

My Epiphany and a Disclaimer

9-23-15

The other night, at 2 a.m. I had an epiphany. I woke up from a dream where I was editing myself as I posted on Facebook and in this blog. I realized that I spend way too much time worrying about what other people might think about what I have to say.

The truth is, I want to write without worrying about what people think. I am sick and tired of always being politically correct. In my mind, it makes me feel as if I am being censored. Just because I write something it doesn't mean that I am directing that thought at any one person. If I was directing it at an individual, I would use that person's name. We all know that tact is not (nor will ever be) my strong suit.

That being said, I think I will put a disclaimer at the top of my blog that will say, "If you don't see your name this isn't about you. If you don't like what I am writing about, feel free to stop reading. If you have a thought about what I've written, don't hesitate to leave a comment as long as it isn't hateful". 

This all started with a stupid game on Facebook. I answered a couple of questions with the same response, I am missing people being kind. It seems that everywhere I turn I see more and more rudeness and read more and more nasty comments.

I even noticed it on one of my cruise forums. Someone asked a question and someone else gave a response and then a third person jumped in to say don't give an opinion, just answer the question. Excuse me, thought the purpose of the forums were to exchange ideas, tips and information. If I just wanted an answer to a question, I'd call the cruise line.

I've seen people I've known for years post things I've agreed and disagreed with. I click like on the ones I like and read and move on without taking any action on the ones I don't like. As long as they didn't mention my name, they are as entitled to their opinion of whatever the subject was the same as I'm entitled to my opinion. The thing that makes living in the United States so amazing is that we are allowed to have our own opinions and are not required to always agree with each other.

Please don't think that I'm trying to say that I never say or do anything that is hurtful. I'm human so I'm pretty positive that I have and probably will again. I think the difference is that I don't set out to do it on purpose and I won't do it on a social website. If I have an issue on a given subject, I'll address it in my blog. If I have an issue with a business, I will try and resolve it directly with them and if that fails, I'm fairly confident they'll make my blog! If I have an issue with an individual person, I'll address it with them. Personal attacks, in my opinion, are just wrong. 

When I started this blog, I wanted to be able to rant about things that bugged me or got under my skin. Not about particular people, more about behaviors, or lack of. About things I read, observed, heard about, talked about, listened to, and places I visited. On the flip side, I also wanted to talk about things that made me happy, lifted my spirits, changed my life, day, week, month, and year. I wanted to share my adventures, grand kids, family, successes, failures, recipes, and Smiley360 missions. Every so often I like to throw in a few pictures.

I have followers from all over the globe, I've had people ask to use some of my posts. I've had people share my pages, my recipes, and a few have even sent me messages to ask questions! I have followers here on Blogger as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram. Whoever you are and where ever you live, please feel free to continue to decide for yourself if you want to read an entry or skip it. 

Vacay part 4, Canary Islands!

7/26/15

I don't even know where to begin with the Canary Islands! We did three stops, each on a different island.
1. Lanzarote City
2. Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
3. Tenerife

Here are some of the highlights of each of the islands.

Our first stop was in Lanzarote.

A famous artist, Cesar Manrique, lived here. Not only is his artwork displayed all throughout the island but he also convinced the town to paint all of the buildings the same shade of white and to use only blue or green paint as trim accent. Blue for by the water, green for inland.

Our favorite excursion was Timanfaya National Park, which gave us a good look at the volcanic aspect of the islands. Views were breathtaking and you could feel the heat of the volcano, the park rangers gave quite an interesting demo. My favorite part though was driving through the lava fields.

We also were able to stop at a winery and along the very rocky coast. Water was brilliant blue and looked gorgeous against the dark rocks.

The second stop was in Las Palmas which was equally as beautiful.

The caldera is the crater below the Bandama, an extinct volcano. Sadly, photos don't do justice as to how beautiful the view was.

Teror was a small town that we were able to visit and walk around. All of the roads up to it were very twisty and narrow. The bus ride was very scary! The town itself was a marvel. The town square was beautiful. Everything was very clean and the people were welcoming.

Arucas was home to this gorgeous Gothic cathedral. All day (as we drove around) we were able to see bits and pieces of it. Stunning!

Las Canteras beach. One of the many statues, El Atlante, this was one of my favorites.

In the port area, Joe loved seeing the military drill and I fell in love with the statue and garden of the cat lady...

Our final island stop was Tenerife.

This was our view as we headed off for our tour. We saw these tunnels on all the islands. I don't know why, but I thought they were very cool...

 

 

I had this great idea to do a cultural tour that included a museum. Figured that way we would experience a different aspect on each of the three Canary Islands. The only downside to this was that everything in the museum was in Spanish and our tour guide was MIA for most of the tour. Group kept getting separated so we ended up wandering around inside and outside and just being sure to be back at the bus at the designated time. The multi-colored cars in the picture are street cars. 

 

The second part of the tour was in a small town, beautiful buildings and a market area. Again, she walked way ahead of the group and most of us ended up wandering alone and then meeting up with the group back at the bus. I took dozens of pictures of buildings, very unique doors, windows and flower boxes. Statues everywhere!

Just a few ports left before we head home so I'll wrap them up in Part 5!