Bathroom redux

I am sooo far behind on posting this. Charlie finally came to help Brent put in the new flooring and the new toilet (pronounced twa-lett). It looks fabulous!

The new commode (pronounced KA mode) lol - is a water saver whatever one with two flushes - we are sooooooooo green - LOL

Droid part 2

A big shout out to my dear friend Rob who brought his Droid up to Washington to meet me. And thank GOD for him, because he is my tech support.

Thanks Rob!

The DROID

Verizon has come out with a new phone - you've probably seen ads for it - the Droid.

I got one.

I love it.

My life will never be the same.

And let me tell you - I KNEW it would come in handy when I went to visit the inlaws and was able to connect to the Internet right then and there to answer questions about movies and weather and such and so forth - MAHVELOUS!

It is a phone, it is a web browser, it is a gps thingie, mp3 player, camera, video camera, lifelong friend and companion - need I say more?

And just for fun - here's a picture -

i <3 my Droid - lolololol

It's beginning to look a lot like . . .

yes yes yes - Todd took it all down over Thanksgiving and finally it's about time we got things decorated.

Brent and I went to Lowe's and decided that this year we would go with a cheaper tree - so we bought one of the $20 ones, which looked plenty big enough at the store. Once we got it home, it was a pee wee.

THEN - while I was watching ECU beat Houston - go PIRATES - Brent put Shortie in its stand and on a BOX in the living room - omg - not so sure about that - but then on Sunday he fixed it and we covered the box with a sheet - white snow - think white snow - and then sat down and decorated it. And you know what? Shortie looks good - Here - you look and tell me what you think.

Next of course there was discussion of what else to put out. For those of you that don't know - and most all of you do - I have boxes and boxes of Christmas stuff. Tons of Santas in all shapes and forms. Well, Brent and I agreed we HAD to put out the stockings - so that meant something on the mantle - and of course we put out the wreath.

So here's the mantle - I used some star lights I got at IKEA - ah IKEA - *sighs* - and put my ECU Santa and Snowman out along with the Santa and Mrs. Claus I like - you know - as an old married lady - and this is what the mantle looks like (in the dark) -

So then for the final project for Christmas decorating, I wanted to try the whole Southern Living Christmas tree made out of tomato cages. Now, for those of you that don't know what tomato cages are, they are the wire frames you buy to put around your tomato plants so that the plant has some support when it gets big enough to begin bearing fruit. Soooo I borrowed two of these from Daddy (once again a reminder that this word is pronounced DEAD-EE) which Brent spray painted CHROME (yes we tricked out the tomato cages) and then I put these upside down - pointy ends up - into a large flower pot I had bought a year ago probably and never used.. I then proceeded to wrap it with three strings of outdoor lights, tie a bow on the top, run a very very long extension cord from the carport to the pot at the front door. And voila!

Of course the funniest part of making the tree was that as I put the third string of lights on, everytime I moved between the tree and the wreath, the wreath went off (motion detector) and sang its song. Needless to say by the time it was over the song was stuck in my head - as Stephen King would say - an ear worm.

So that's about it for holiday decorating - I know - I know - some of you (who will remain nameless) will be very disappointed. Sorry folks - maybe next year - there has already been talk of pulling a boat out into the yard and decorating it - even mention of Frosty on water skis . . .

ECU wins the CHAMPIONSHIP

Well, they pulled it out of their asses, but they beat Houston for the CUSA Championship and the right to go to the Liberty Bowl.

Here is a short video I shot on my new phone - more on it later - :)

Thanksgiving with the Griswold's

Nothing much to say about Thanksgiving. No one got mad. So it was a GREAT day.

We took a family picture. Some of you may remember the last one we took out in front of my parents' house two years ago on Daddy's birthday. And then the next day, Mama fell and broke her hip.

Well, like four days after these pictures were taken Mama fell at the top of the steps. Thank GOD she fell left instead of right, because right would have taken her DOWN the stairs.

But anyway - here we are - in all our glory -

Enjoy -

http://picasaweb.google.com/leaseuhd/ThanksgivingAtTheBigHouse?authkey=Gv1sRgCJCN4pGMmo7AMw&feat=directlink

A fitting activity for a gruesome holiday . . .

For Halloween, Daddy decided to get some crabs. And the good kind. The kind that taste good and cost lots of money - sorta -

What it ends up being is a really big mess that to me is soooo delicious, it's worth all the mess.

Luckily, Daddy pulled the backs off of the crabs, and the claws, so when I got them they were dead. Yes, folks, if you don't know about cleaning blue crabs, well you do it while they are alive.

So, I went over and got a pot full and then had to bring them home and clean them the rest of the way, which consists mainly of scraping a LOT of goooo out of some sea spiders. LOL

AND - as it was Halloween - I thought I would get some GROSS pics - well maybe one GROSS pic for ya - to share the joy. (Many thanks to my handy cameraman Brent who helped with the shots.)

The pile before cleaning

All the orange and gray stuff - well - ewwwwwwwww

Scrape Scrape Scrape Scrape

Just a SMALL sample of "scrapings" - we likes to call em GUTZ . . .

Riley and Colin and Halloween

Here are a couple of pics. I don't know if it's me or the camera - but everything's getting blurry - let's hope it's something i've "unset" on the camera - lol

Colin was Pinocchio
Riley was Luigi (Hunter - not pictured - was Mario)

And another thing . . .

I KNOW that many of you are familiar with my crazy ass neighbors and their desires to rid their yard of trees -

Well today they had probably a 50+ year old oak taken down - why I have no idea - but it's sad really - am thinking of taking the long way to EVERYTHING from this point on to avoid having to see where this beautiful big oak used to be . . .

I just know Mrs. Graves is rolling over in her grave . . .

Odds and Ends

Just a few notes for my loyal readers . . .

Last Friday, Brent went back for another radial ablatement (I have probably misspelled both of those words). What that means is that the treatment he had two years ago wore off, and his doctor decided to do this again. This treatment involves going in and actually burning nerve endings in Brent's back. The funny thing is that it has really helped him feel better. The general ache and pain is still there from the injury, but not the constant nagging, so his prescriptions are working and helping him manage it.

I went back to the doctor last week as well, and am finishing up a series of steroids for my back pain/sciatica. It is more nerve wrecking than anything, because if you know me, you know I'm a terrible worrier, and all I can think is - make it through this Christmas and I've broken the cycle of a surgery every two years - and I laugh as I type that, but still I worry too.

Also, today I went for the first annual smoosh lisa's boobs appointment. And either I am totally numb, or just was totally tired from feeling bad, but the appointment was quick and easy. \o/ yay. Sept had hers done too - yay being forty - and I am HOPING Miss Sally did too - oh the small joys of being a woman and 40.

The boys came over for Halloween. Mary decided to bring Riley and Colin over - Hunter was left on Daddy's computer and Neil sat out front with Mama to hand out candy. It was a nice visit, and I will post a couple of pics here in a little bit.

Travel is geared down now for Brent and me. Our next big event will be Thanksgiving at Mama's with Mary's crew. I'm thinking easy breezy mac and cheezy - so at least we won't have to do too much cooking or worrying. :)

Thursday night - ECU v. VA Tech at home - say a little prayer if ya can . . .

And that's it - be well and prosper . . .

Just a quick shot of Monkey . . .

OMG - finally used up the disposable camera we bought on the trip to FLORIDA. I forgot to tell you guys what a superb job Monkey did with his part of the driving. You know . . .

Once you get on the Florida Turnpike . . .

Pretty much anyone can handle the driving. Gave Brent a GREAT opportunity to catch up on his naps.

And she slipped in under the radar . . .

Sorta Kinda - It's hard to remember EVERYWHERE you have to celebrate somebody turning 40.

September joined the club on the 23rd of well, you know, September. LOL

She had a great birthday from all reports. Had a surprise party with her family and then got to come to the ECU game on Saturday! YAY - and they won! Even better!

So we're all here now. What's next? LOL

Island Time is so Much More Fun

Okay, okay. Here it is. If nothing else, the link to the pics I took. We took some pics with Brent's camera - no idea what's actually on there. We also ended up taking some pics with a disposable camera, because well, I totally forgot my camera when I went to meet my friend Habibi, so I had to rush and get a disposable one. Those pics have yet to be developed. LOL
Developed. ewwww it's been so long since I've used that word in regards to pictures.

Anyway, here's the link to the pics . . .

http://picasaweb.google.com/leaseuhd/FloridaOctober?authkey=Gv1sRgCO2I4ozwndmYSA&feat=directlink

Enjoy!

Brent gets tagged and not in the good way . . .

So Brent and I spent a lovely Sunday afternoon in Greenville shopping for things for our upcoming trip to Florida. We had a wonderful time, got some things done, and were coming home to do some stuff around the house.

We pulled up and saw a note on the door. Joking about what the note said, we got out of the car, and I went over to read it. It pretty much said, "Your truck has been spray painted. The police have been by and have filed a report. Call me. David" David is our neighbor on the corner. His family is super nice and they are always sorta on the lookout for things, which really makes things nice.

WELL. I immediately walk around to the other side of the truck and there it was.

NICE right?

Apparently David came out of his house about an hour before we got home because he saw some kids walking down the street with spray paint cans. He hollered at them when he got outside, and they took off. So he walked out into the street and looked down our way and TA DA - he could see it from there - so he called the police.

Welllllll, needless to say BRENT was PISSED. Well so was I, if for no other reason than NOW everyone that walks down the street is a potential criminal. No more feeling comfy with passing kids - you gotta think every time - is that the dumbass that spray painted the truck.

Apparently - at like two freaking o'clock in the afternoon - these kids decided to walk through and just mark up whatever they could - everything else was like marks on the grass in yards and street signs - lucky us. What did we do to make us so special I wonder?

Of course Brent immediately gets his rags and the GOO GONE and goes out and guess what - it wipes right off. THAT'S HOW FRESH IT WAS!! And of course the GOO GONE helped. I feel like writing them a note of thanks.

And for those of you that don't know - I don't live in a bad neighborhood. Unfortunately, I live on a street that connects ONE bad part of town with ANOTHER. MMMhmmmmmmm.

So now another horror story for Brent to tell his parents. And another reason to move to the country . . .

At the Dairy Palace

Sorry it's been so long. No excuse. So suck it . . .

But seriously, here's a funny story that happened the other evening.

Brent and I had dinner at one of the Mexican restaurants in town and decided to ride around for awhile because it was a gorgeous afternoon/evening kinda time. And I decided we should get ice cream from the Dairy Palace.

For those of you who do not know what the Dairy Palace is, it is a drive up food place here in Washington that is like two blocks from where I grew up. There are always interesting people standing outside and working inside - it's a little country - rednecky (yes I'm pretty sure that IS a word), but they make GREAT egg sandwiches and have twist cones.

When I was young, we'd walk up and buy a cone, you could get vanilla and chocolate twist cones for less than a dollar. And it's the kind of ice cream that melts fast - more like ice milk. But I digress.

Anyway, we pulled up and I got out and went to the ice cream window - cause they like for you to order ice cream from the ONE window - and Brent saw a friend from his small engine repair class so he got out to speak to him.

After I ordered I walked over to be introduced to Mr. Jessie, who is actually the instructor of the class, BUT on my way past the "hot food" window, a boy stuck his head out and say "Hey GIRL, I haven't seen you in forever." I of course said something along the lines of "Well, HEY!" because he was soooo excited to see me. He even leaned out of the window to give me one of those half hugs.

Now for a side note. I've been teaching in and around Washington for almost 18 years, so I've known a LOT of kids. Well he LOOKED familiar, but I really didn't remember his name, which is happening to me more and more lately. But he sure did remember me. Even went on to tell me about his Mama and how she was working full time at Craven now and how they wouldn't pay her what she wanted at Beaufort, so she left and how she would be off on Thursday, and I should come by the house to see her. He also said, "That is if you can remember the way - it's been so long since you've been by to visit."

Now understand that the whole time this reunion is going on, I'm being introduced to Mr. Jessie, walking back to the ice cream window for two ice cream cones, and wildly going through all the faces and names in my head to TRY to remember this boy who is sooo happy to see me.

Finally, Brent and I head back to the car, with me leaving that unnamed boy with the promise that I will try to get by to see his Mama on Thursday. Needless to say I did NOT visit her as I HAVE forgotten the way to her house. LOL Brent and I talked about this for an hour - I'm still wondering who I am SUPPOSED to be. Brent says there is a woman here in Washington that looks so much like me he almost went up and pinched her on the ass in Wal-Mart, so I guess she needs to go by and see her friend. LOL

So there ya go - just another day in the life of me . . . LOL

And Birthday Wishes Go Out to . . .

I am TOTALLY going to blame the BAHston trip on me forgetting to welcome ROB to the 40's. ROB turned FORTY on August 29th (while I was trapped in a four story mall with my father). Welcome to the club ROB!!!!!!

Yesterday - September 8th - was Daddy's 68th BDAY - damn, and I drug his butt to BAHston (and yes I WILL be spelling it like that FOREVAH). Yesterday was also Keith's BDAY, so Happy Birthday to both of them.

That only leaves us ONE MORE TO TURN FORTY - AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE - if you do not know who has yet to turn 40, well here's one hint - this is SEPTEMBER RIGHT?

*evil laugh*

And still he improves . . .

Well, after a trip to the local Urgent Care yesterday, and another prescription, more blood taken and such, Brent is still recuperating.

The pain is pretty much gone - except that he has muscle spasms in his legs and feet and toes - that come and go and hurt. What is worrying us now is a severe burning and itching in his lower right leg. The medicine from Urgent Care is working on it, but so far there has been no relief.

Because we live in BFE, and there is apparently only one machine in all of Beaufort County that can do the blood work he was supposed to have done, we have to wait another day for results as THAT ONE MACHINE broke down. The ONE MACHINE at the hospital broke DOWN. So if you were say - IN THE HOSPITAL depending on TEST RESULTS - SUCK IT -

So it's a waiting game now until tomorrow . . .

On a lighter note - NOT - tomorrow is my annual visit with my favorite gynecologist Dr. Kroncke. *Rolls Eyes* Wish me luck . . . LOL

Brent on the Mend

Well he's doing better today - still sleeping a lot - but I blame the pills. The pain is not totally gone, but he's feeling better.

Working on the tiredness now, but doing better.

Thanks to everyone who has called or emailed.

:)

Another ACTION PACKED Saturday Night at the Bakers

Well Brent didn't go to the ECU game because he was out fishing with a buddy. Around 2:30 Sunday morning I got a call from Brent who was on his way to the ER in Morehead City. Apparently he had a very very bad pain come up in the lower half of his body - the ENTIRE lower half of his body.

I got there around 3:30. Thank GOD his friend Tony was with him and took him to the ER. Tony stayed with us until 6:30 at which time the nurses had shot Brent up with enough medicine to at least give him about an hour's rest.

I got a friend of Mama's to pick me up and take me to Brent's truck so that I could bring him home in it.

The doctor seems to think Brent just over did himself and has over-stressed his legs and joints. Brent is afraid it's much worse as the pain is still there. He's resting for like twenty minutes at a time - on the bed - in his chair - in a chair in the living room - back to the bed - and so forth and so on - he says it's not getting any better, but I am hoping it is.

If it's not better tomorrow, we're gonna have to go to the ER here in Washington or something.

On the BRIGHT SIDE - Frances actually went with Daddy to Morehead to get my truck and drove one of the vehicles back. Soooo her strength is obviously returning.

More news tomorrow - fingers crossed that he'll get some rest eventually.

ECU Wins

Saturday was my first football game at ECU in like seven years, and it was a blast.

ECU played Appalachian State University. The game was sold out. The temps ranged around 95 degrees. AND IT WAS A BLAST. ECU did as usual and only played one half, but luckily ASU made a couple of bad plays in the last quarter to actually let us keep our lead and win.

I went with Rob and Todd and sat with Todd's family, and I am sooooo looking forward to the rest of the home games this year. Hopefully in cooler weather - LOL. The worst part of the whole experience was the walk back to the car which almost killed me, but was actually probably good for me.

Let's hope that they do well next weekend against, I think, West Virginia.

GO PIRATES!

Back from BAHston

OMG - it was a good trip - Daddy and I only got on each other's nerves a little bit - LOL - but seeing Uncle Von's family, meeting Kim's family, and seeing a very very SMALL part of Boston was great.

Pictures can be seen at this link -

http://picasaweb.google.com/leaseuhd/BAHston?authkey=Gv1sRgCIjT7vKYyrDFxQE&feat=directlink

For Monkey's fans - he had a GREAT time - although he stayed in the room more than he would have liked to -

And I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane. . .

Me, Daddy, and MONKEY will be leaving Washington tomorrow morning around 8 for BAHston where my cousin Jason will be marrying his woman of a million years Kim.

And now with the big to do over Ted Kennedy - well we're really excited. lol

I think Monkey is the most excited - he's never flown - and Daddy - well he's traveled more recently than I have - remember he went to Australia a few years back - so o o o o

Say a little prayer for me . . . .

:)

OMG She's ALIVE

no - seriously . . .

I called Daddy at the house yesterday to check on our patient's condition. The question "How's Mama today?" was answered with "Frances - get the phone."

Yes - she's home - and yes - she's doing well. I will go over after school tomorrow -we had open house tonight and i just couldn't do it today - and will be able to get a visual on her.

Thanks to everyone that called and emailed. Really. :)

Day Five and She's a Little Disoriented

I would like to say, first of all, thank GOD for nice nurses. Mama has had some nice ones, that have dealt with lots of stuffffffffff . . .



So at 4:30 Saturday morning the nurse called Daddy and asked him to come sit and talk to Mama as she had refused to lie still (she had to be prone while the balloon pump was still inside and then four hours after it was removed). They actually had to put restraints on her. Shocking, yes, but it reminds me that my Grandmama, Mama's Mama, had to be restrained, too, and actually pulled her catheter (pee tube LOL) out herself in a drug induced craze. So this isn't too surprising, cause if you think I'm hard headed, you haven't talked to Fran recently.

Today she says she is going home tomorrow, which of course the doctor will get straight with her tomorrow morning. LOL. Daddy came in and got a little upset at first, but he calmed down and we talked about how it was just the time spent in the hospital and the drugs working themselves out of her system.

I did not make it up there yesterday - Mary and Daddy bore the brunt of that - but the nurse said she was MUCH WORSE YESTERDAY - so I am actually glad I wasn't there to see that.

She is doing better physically - although she probably needs to eat and drink more, but they are pumping the fluids to her and tomorrow may move her out of cardiac intensive care. So, hopefully we're pretty close to getting her back home.

We can rebuild her. We have the technology . . .

For those of you that do not recognize the title - here is the entire quote -

Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster.

-Oscar Goldman

Of course Mama is not the six million dollar man, but her heart is now well on it's way to being a million dollar heart I am so sure.

She is doing well today - she made it through the night. Dr. Carlson lowered the pressure in the balloon pump, and her heart took over on its own without any attacks, so that's good. They will take the balloon pump out tomorrow and then she'll be on her own. They will start her on coumadin - a blood thinner - after the pump goes and will need to keep her for two or three days to monitor her platelet levels (or something). Coumadin is something Daddy is on - and Brent's dad is on it now too. If it's not monitored - you could BRUISE yourself and bleed out - so we're hoping they'll get Mama's stuff straight before letting her leave the hospital.

She was awake and happy to see us - I think - lol - and a little out of it - good pain medications can do that to you - and of course she was craving a cigarette - but Mary talked to the nurses and they were ordering her a nicotine patch, so hopefully that is going to help out with that for a bit.

The funniest part of the trip to the hospital was Daddy telling us about where he was when we got there. He had gone to the cafe in the lobby for a piece of apple pie, and the lady said it came with ice cream, so he got two small balls of something he says was not ice cream, which only put him in the mood for real ice cream, so he went to Baskin and Robbins. AND since the best deal was on a quart, well, he got a quart. And since there wasn't anyone there to help him eat it - YES, folks, he ate THE WHOLE QUART! LOL - you just gotta love the man!

Anywho - more updates as things happen. But know that we're doing better now and are hopefully out of the woods.

Update on my last Tweet - Fran in Pitt Memorial

Yesterday around four in the afternoon Daddy called and said that he was taking Mama to the emergency room. She was having chest pains and pains in her back. They evaluated her and talked to her cardiologist in Greenville at Pitt Memorial, and she was transported last night to Pitt. They scheduled her for a catheterization today.

This is not too off the wall for Mama. She had the quadruple bypass in 2001 and since then has had around eight stints put in. So I was not too overly concerned.

This morning blood work reports indicated that she had had a heart attack sometime on Wednesday, and she was scheduled with the cath lab sometime between 1 and 5. They took her in at 4:15 and she did not get out officially until after nine.

They placed eight stints - yes - double now what she had before - two of which were placed in the graphs from 2001. Apparently those two were giving the doctors trouble, so it took longer to place those. Also something happened and they ripped a vein going to her left arm, and a vascular surgeon had to be called in, but this vein - which is somehow tied to the choroidic artery - is either repaired now or patched or something. As they placed one stint, another would shut down. When she came out of the lab, her stints began shutting down and more than likely that's when she started having heart attacks.

They then put her back on the table and put a balloon pump in her heart to give the muscle a break. She'll have the balloon pump over the next day or two. And as of now, she's having chest pain and will probably have small heart attacks through the night.

I was not there when the doctor spoke to Mary and Daddy, so I'm not sure what the next step is, but I AM sure it involves A LOT of waiting.

So, I'll keep you guys updated - my cell will be on if you need me - but keep checking back for tweets in the side bar.

Meet Carrie

I had the best day on Wednesday with Leslie and her family down at Kitty Hawk! Leslie and the kids were down at the beach for a few days to visit with her folks and to enjoy the beach a little before school starts back up in Boone.

I have now actually met little miss Carrie face to face - Will was over a year old when I first met him. I have forgotten how cute babies are, and this one exceptionally so.

So - as promised - loyal readers - a couple of pics -

Leslie and Carrie

Carrie Yawning (even that is cute)

Leslie and Will

Colin Dale Turns 5

Colin turned five on Thursday, July 30. Mary had us over for cake and ice cream and the kids went swimming. Here are a few pics from the event -

Colin with Nanny -

Colin ready to open some presents - who cares about cake -

Our Trip to the Aquarium

I took Brent to the Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores in July. I had gone with school trips at the end of the year, and I thought he would like seeing what they had down there.

We had a lovely day, got to look around at some stuff besides the Aquarium, and all in all had a good time.

Here's my favorite picture from the day -

And here's the happy couple -

Todd's New House

For those of you that do not know, Todd has bought a house in Wilmington. It's nice, needs some work, but if you know Todd, then you know that's right up his alley.

I went down this past week for a brief viewing. There are pictures on the Internet - here's hoping this link will work for you if you are interested -

http://jth0306.myphotoalbum.com/slideshow.php?set_albumName=album01&utm_source=share&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=slideshow

I took like four pics while i was there - and the best two are of his roomies - his yard - which is heavily wooded with little grass - is currently the home of several - dare i say MANY - large spiders. Now, I'm not afraid of spiders, but DEAR GOD these things make my skin crawl - and of course - here are pics . . .

Needless to say our fearless friend Todd will eradicate them and their offspring with bug spray. All in all I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with the house. :)

Brent's Big Fish

Last weekend Brent, Carol (his mom), and Charlie Brown went deep sea fishing out of Morehead. This is a trip that has been five years in the making - Brent and his mom went out five years ago this October, but the boat had mechanical problems, so they came in and got rain checks for their tickets. On that first trip Carol also won the free ticket drawing. So, finally, five years later, the planets aligned and they got to go back out. And this time it was an almost perfect trip.

Brent won the big fish pot - that's where you put like $20 in and if you bring in the biggest fish, you win all the money. He won $140 with a 29 pound Amberjack. Now I'd never even really heard of amberjacks - but this fish - ooo - big. He also brought in a 19 pound grouper - which - for those of you that eat fish - is some good eating - and 19 pounds makes a lot of fish steaks - yummy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2yMAQN45vw

But the best was that Carol had fun, Brent and fun, and Charlie had fun. They caught fish, didn't get sunburned, and caught fish. :)

So when you're answering that question about who would you want to be stranded on a desert island with -remember my man - lol - cause if nothing else - you'll never starve!

For My Birthday

A warning - never just casually mention a homerepair project to Todd. Brent did this at dinner on my birthday and the next day we had this going on at my house . . .






God bless Todd's heart - he's a non- stop little wrecking machine. We had hard wood floor in like five hours. Now to get used to all the creaking!

Thanks Todd!

The Tolling of the Bell

Well - today is the day - and Ernest Hemingway said it best -


"Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee."

So tonight is the night - dinner out and then Machine Gun is playing in G-Vegas!

And between now and then - WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT!!!! LOL

=D

Link to Pics from Tennessee Trip

Here's hoping this works . . .

http://picasaweb.google.com/leaseuhd/TennesseeTripWithTheFamily?authkey=Gv1sRgCP7H0KLJod4d&feat=directlink

Good Luck!

LOL

Pictures

I am going to try to set up something for web access to ALL of the wonderful pics and videos - but for now you must settle for these few pics . . .

Monkey was our videographer in the truck.

Mama with ELVIS - LOL!

At the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum - she's giving the thumbs up!

The family - about to drive home - still smiling . . .

Home again, home again, jiggity jig . . .

Well, I survived. It wasn't HALF as bad as I thought it would be. We all actually had a good time, got to see some interesting things, and got to spend some time together. So it was a success.

I have TONS of video footage. Lots of pictures. And some interesting stories. I will work on ALL of that TOMORROW.

Thank you to everyone that kept me in their PRAYERS - it worked!!

Summer Vacation Begins

Well, I know it's Summer Vacation - and yes I CAN capitalize it because it's THAT important - because I have already "lost" days, where I have just sat around enjoying just sitting around. BUT - yard work is done - plants are planted - things are progressing - and tomorrow is the first official trip of the summer.

So - if you could all send me some strength and love and sympathy over the next three days, I would really appreciate it, because tomorrow morning around 9:00, I'll be leaving Washington in a truck with Mama, Daddy, and Mary on our way to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN, to take Mama to the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum in Gatlinburg.

Now, I know many of you are already laughing at what it's gonna be like to put the four of us in a car together for almost eight hours (plus stops). But add to it my incredible fear of heights and you've got a freaking Williams story that should last for-ev-ah . . .

Now - a few updates -

Spoke to Leslie today - everyone there is doing very well it seems. She's working half days now going back full days in the fall. Mark is doing well - teaching summer school. Will turned two in April and Carrie is now almost six months old and is doing very well.

Todd called this morning - A-HOLE - from Key West where his family's cruise ship had stopped for the day. He wanted directions to the Mile Post O Marker - needless to say I didn't call him back - was tied up with Mama this morning into the afternoon - and just truly - he can suck it . . .
(My sympathies go out to Rob who is also on this cruise with the ENTIRE Horton clan!!! Just kidding - sorta)

Keith is doing well - his family is down at the beach this week - he's still in Charleston and still teaching.

Sally is still in Myrtle Beach working at the library. Haven't heard from her recently, so I'll try to get in touch with her soon for more updates.

Sep is expecting two more to add to her family - bringing nephew and niece count up to 15 (I think).

Mary has lost over 100 pounds, with very few problems, so she's really doing well. The boys are all growing like weeds. Hunter will be 13 in OCTOBER. OMG - we ARE old. Riley is sassy according to my mother, so I think it's time for Brent and me to "get ahold" of him for a night or two - after this trip. Colin "graduated" from preK and is going to Kindergarten then year - wooooo - he'll be five in July.

Mama and Daddy are doing fairly well. Mama's condition changes daily - one day good - one day we're wondering what she's "on." But she's making it.

Brent's working on projects around the house. Pain all the time, but some days he can do small things for spurts at a time. I still have a yard full of boats, but I have learned to look around them LOL

I'm doing well. Can't wait to get the driving part of this trip over. Looking forward to sitting by the pool in Pigeon Forge.

(And FYI the next "40" is Leiza Manning - although no one has been in contact with her in forever. So on the 28th - please a moment of silence if you can. LOL)

AND BTW - Be watching for tweets in the bar from the trip tomorrow and the rest of the time we are gone - they will be my chance to reach out for help - LOL

Okay Okay - Finally!

It's not done yet - almost - and i wanted the flower bed to be done before I took any pics - but I took these to show to my inlaws, so I thought I'd go ahead and post them here -

yes - highlighter yellow - but i love it

Ooooops . . . .

I cannot believe that I am such a slacker that I let one of the 40's slip by on us with no fanfare or celebration . . .

YESTERDAY - yes - YESTERDAY - MAY 13, SALLY SLIPPED INTO THE 40'S ON US.

Perhaps I was trying to give her a break - as she is my elder.

Happy Birthday girl!!

NICKELBACK ROCKED 3

And finally - the one I mentioned in the first entry - the Kings of Leon song -

NICKELBACK ROCKED 2

Okay - so here they are doing one of my most favoritest songs -

NICKELBACK ROCKED

OMG - If you like Nickelback, you MUST go and see them in concert.

Will be posting videos now - pics from the trip later -

Just to warn you - you, of course, are not allowed to take NICE equipment in, so my big camera stayed at the hotel room with Monkey. The videos here were shot with my FLIP video camera, and the bass freaking knocked it out - but they are pretty good.

I loved the concert, but I think my favorite part of the whole thing was when Nickelback came out and did the Kings of Leon song "Need Somebody" as part of their encore.

ENJOY!

Little YELLOW houses for you and me . . .

The time has finally come my friends. Work has begun. Right now, even as I type this, half of my house is primed yellow, LOL, and half is still green. It's a little bright, but the PAINT will tone it down.

Pictures after the trip - yes, that's right - I'm such a tease.

And just so you know - the neighbors on the corner that like to cut down trees had theirs painted yellow at the same time - of course they can afford a real crew, so theirs is already done.

Okay - that's enough for one night - geezus - the pressure to keep putting stuff out here -

Easter

Well, Mama cooked and Mary's family came up for the afternoon. Thank GOD it was nice outside. We ate, hid eggs, and got to watch the boys try to beat Honey and Precious to the eggs. LOL

Here are some of the better pictures from the day.

Mary and Neil

Daddy (remember - pronounced Dead-ee)

Riley and Colin - PRE-hunt

Riley(what I love about this picture is that he is in a tire swing that came from my Grandmama's house - one that Mary and I actually had there when we were little.)

Hunter - the only one so far to even show interest in climbing trees. Made Mary so proud!

And the littlest one Colin -

Shots of the WYSTERIA by the back porch - bigger and bigger every year.