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!

 

#NeverForget

9/11/15

Have to start off with #Never Forget. It has been fourteen years since 9/11 and I still find this day to be just as emotional as it was then. Amazed to see how many tributes there were and how many people took a pause in their day to remember those who were lost as well as those who were left behind. Even more amazing were the stories and tributes to all of the men and women who helped, from first responders to those still serving overseas. 

I have seen many people sharing the story of where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. Here is what I remember.

I was at the real estate office where I worked finishing up some paperwork as I planned to take off early that day. Joe and I were taking my son and his friend to an Aerosmith concert. I am a die hard Steven Tyler fanatic and we had bought these tickets months earlier. We were driving a few hours away, up to VA Beach, to see them. Floor seats just a few rows back, center of the stage. Everyone in the office had been giving me a hard time about driving so far for a concert and we were busy comparing notes on the best route to drive when our broker called out for us to all come to the conference room.

She had a small portable television (it was usually kept in the break area) set up at one end of the table. The news was on and we spent the rest of the day huddled around the table watching that tiny TV screen. 

Living in a military town, everyone was on high alert. Military bases were considered prime targets and our town literally went into lock down mode. All of us had someone who was in someway involved, either there in town or in NYC. Honestly, I think that was one of the longest days of my life. Seems like the bad news just kept coming. 

I don't remember driving home. I don't remember thinking about the concert. What I remember was the overwhelming need to hug Joe and each one of my kids. 

Once home, seemed like all the neighbors had gathered outside to talk and share stories of what they knew or heard. I remember being anxious to hear from my family as they all lived up North. A few of our neighbors had already been notified that they lost family members who were working in the Towers as had a few of my fellow real estate agents. 

I remember feeling totally outraged at this senseless act that had led to these horrific losses; I also remember feeling guilty for being euphoric that all of my family and friends were safe and accounted for. The strongest emotion that I remember was the sadness of knowing that life was never going to be quite the same for any of us.

In the days that followed there wasn't a place in our town that didn't have sign or a flag or a ribbon outside. Everywhere you looked you saw a circle of people comforting someone. Airports, trains and buses were closed, the base was on lock down and concerts and sporting events were cancelled. TV's were on and people were watching and hoping for any scrap of good news. 

Slowly the days turned to weeks, months and finally years. Tributes and memorials, towers and museums, tons of American flags and yearly fundraising events all helped to keep the memories alive. Sadly, the threat of this happening again is all to real and overseas efforts to stop terrorism continue.

I am proud to say that my circle of family and friends is mostly made up of soldiers in all branches of the military, police officers, and firemen! And of course all of  their spouses and children. I know how hard each and every one of them worked before, during and continue to work today-in the after. 

Kudos to one and all, whatever your contribution. And to everyone who was touched, I promise I will never forget.

New grandson? Cook! PS I just think I am his grandma...

8/27/15

As everyone knows, my life revolves around four cute and adorable grand kids, one spoiled rotten cat (she is finally adapting to being an only child), and Joe. A few weeks ago, I was given a new cute and adorable little grandson to add to the mix! Congrats to my B on becoming a big brother!

This handsome fellow is also a B so I guess I'll have to make him a little b! Happy to report that the whole family is doing well and getting adjusted to baby b and his routine.

Having a baby requires a few days stay in the hospital so B stayed with Grandma and had a sleep over. Grandma of course had to fill the time while he napped and slept which led to a marathon of cooking! We spent the morning visiting at the hospital and got back just in time to nap on day one. Day 2 was projected to be rainy and gross so it was decided that we would stay home and his folks would pick him up after nap. Two afternoons of cooking equals a week of food for the new parents!

Chicken and sausage gumbo, stuffed peppers and squash, and a chicken stew (think pot pie with no crust)! The heck with diapers and wipes, everyone knows that new moms need sustenance! Happy bellies for one and all, and as an added bonus it wasn't fast food and all of it was microwave reheat-able!

Sadly, Grandpa Joe was still not quite over the shingles rash so he was persona non grata at the hospital. We decided to hold off on having him visit until little b had his check up on Friday. The doctor gave the go ahead for Joe to see him and we had one happy Grandpa! As an added bonus, my son and his family drove down over the weekend and stayed with us so they could see the baby. Had great fun with O who was okay with a new cousin but really just wanted to see Grandpa's lawn tractor. I love that kid!

                                 

The point being that it was just fine for everyone to visit and hold the baby. Fast forward to Sunday and the celebration of Joe's birthday. We all met at a restaurant called Cheddars. (Have to interject here, first time at this restaurant and we were very impressed. Great menu, great prices, great service, and fantastic food. I definitely see this becoming a regular stop for meals out)! Back to the story, after having this delicious meal, H opens up the baby carrier and takes out b and passes him across the table to me. I cuddle this warm little bundle and inhale that sweet baby smell for all of thirty seconds and B has a melt down!

"That's Momma's baby"

I pass the baby off to Joe and before things escalate, his daddy whisks him off to look at the fish tank! So, Joe and I get to cuddle the baby for another few minutes and our dinner out is done. We all took the melt down to indicate that B wanted only his Momma to hold his baby brother. Kind of cute, he was being a protective big brother already!

Monday morning, I get B for lunch and a nap so his Momma can go to the doctor. We are busy playing with the fishing game and we are talking about the baby swing. I brought it out to the living room and B wants to put lion and parrot in the swing. I tell him it is okay for now but when baby brother comes he won't be able to play with the swing. Without missing a beat he tells me that his brother is not allowed at my house, much less in the swing or crib and for good measure he tells me that the baby can't ride in grandma's green car either! I say something about being sad to hear that because I am his grandma too, just like I am grandma to all of his cousins. Shows me what I know, in the world according to my grandson there are no other children allowed. Looks like I am going to have my work cut out for me!

He was so irritated with me he took my fishing pole away! 

I shall now return to posting the last of the vacation stories and pictures. Between Joe's shingles, my tooth and a new baby we've had a busy August! New recipes should be up over the weekend as well!