At long last . . . Christmas

Okay, so a quick peek at fotos from Christmas.

The beginning ones are of Todd and me making sugar cookies in my tiny kitchen. Thanks to Brent who took these while watching the action.

Then we move to Mama and Daddy's where three nephews did very well this year opening one gift at a time.

Next the day after Christmas when Brent's parents came down for the day to open presents, eat ham, and visit.

And finally, some pics of the decorations we had out this year. for those of you that don't know - years ago, September gave me the Bumble from "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" and Todd said you should put him at the top of the tree. Well, I don't know how many years ago that was - probably over ten, but the Bumble sits on top of the tree at our house, alone, or with a star, and should the branch he sits on give way, and he fall - it's okay - and you know why?

Because Bumbles Bounce!

LOL

http://picasaweb.google.com/leaseuhd/Christmas2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCLHNxtHEydqNSg&feat=directlink

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.

:)