You Can't See Me

Christmas morning while I was trying to get pies cooked Petey and Joy were playing. Petey generally acts like he doesn't like to play with Joy. He hisses and meows really loud, however when he hits Joy's muzzle with his paws I've noticed he's not using his claws. Well, I heard them playing and lots of claws on the tile floor trying to get traction; when I turned around this is what I saw! Petey "hiding" from Joy! LOL The sad thing is, Joy couldn't find him! It's a good thing she's pretty 'cause she's not so smart! LOL

Nick

Yesterday was Nick's 20th birthday. This was the first year I was unable to see him or be able to give him a hug and say face to face, " happy birthday". I'm sure many are saying, "and it won't be the last". I miss Nick, but it's nice to hear from him when he calls.

He called on Monday so I could "wish him a happy early birthday"! LOL He called again today tell me how he'd spent his birthday. Apparently it was an interesting day for him. He did tell me that they guys said to tell me that his birthday cake was good. He stressed the guys as he only got a small piece of cake. I'd made him a cake, put it in the freezer then vacuum sealed it and sent it out immediately. I'd also put in a container of frosting so he could frost it. The only thing missing were candles, and I'd forgotten to pack those!

I'd also sent him a little 2 foot tall Christmas tree, along with lights and decorations and a Santa hat. I wanted Nick to have a Christmas tree by his bunk so he had a visual reminder that his family loves him.

Keep Nick in your thoughts and prayers, he's 6 months into his deployment and has another 9 to go.

Nick

Bowling the Modern Way

Last month Mom and Dad came over for dinner and games. I bought Daniel and myself a wii gaming system when we moved in. (I did this knowing that our money would be tight after the first of the year and we wouldn't have much money for entertainment.) So we played Mario Cart, and bowling. This is a look at modern bowling, you don't even have to leave your house!!!








We had a really good time. Daniel kept getting gutter balls! Just like at a brick and mortar bowling alley!



Daniel couldn't stay out of the gutters and thus came in 4th.... : ( Better luck next time Dan.....he wants a rematch! Daniel spent alot of time trying to learn how to spin the ball like Mom; and he did, he just spun them into the gutter.











Dad is a good bowler. We really cracked up when he dropped the ball behind him and all the little wii people jumped getting out of the way.


Dad came in 3rd!













Turns out Mom is an excellent bowler!! She can put a mean spin on the ball. I'll bet she could kick our butts at a brick and mortar bowling alley! Mom says that when she was in school (you know back when the dinosours roamed the earth!) for gym class they bowled. How fun would that be?!?!

Mom came in second !
















Daniel and I had played a few games several days before Mom and Dad came over. I really enjoyed it. I like the games we have as they are easier for me to play than the first person shooter games we have for the X-box and the x-box 360.

I came in 1st place! Yeah me!






I also have the wii fitness board. I love it. I've been using it 3-4 times a week and I've noticed more flexibility, though I have to keep the flexibility up to keep my knee moving. So essentially I'm using it as physical therapy.

If you don't have one of these, a wii, you should get it. It's lots of fun and the games that come with it are suitable for small kids. I was very pleased to see that my friends could let their kids play it....I couldn't let them play the xbox as we don't have any games that are suitable for them.

All in all it was a fun night with Mom and Dad, we had a lot of laughs. Thanks Mom and Dad for being there for me durig this hard time in my life!

Hobo Kitty

Petey was laying on the couch and helping me read the Sunday paper last month. All he needs is a park bench. Though he would LOVE a park bench as that would mean he would be outside, where he really wants to be, instead of being forced to watch the birds and squirrels from inside on the dining room table!

HANKS FINE FURNITURE

Warning!!!! Do NOT shop at any Hanks Fine Furniture stores!!! I purchased beds for Daniel and myself from there. The first clue should have been that the salesman didn't call me back as promised to tell me when the matteress would be in for the full size bed. After finally getting ahold of him I was told that, that particular matteress was a special order from the manufacturer for a full size. So I chose a different one. The store manager delivered the frame for my bed and both matteresses for me. I wrote a check out to him, not the store for the delivery.

It has been over a month now and the bedframe for Daniel hasn't arrived yet. It was supposed to be delivered last Wednesday. When I called the store to find out how far on the delivery list we were, at 5pm Korneluis, the assistant manager, informed me that it wasn't scheduled for delivery. Turns out he changed the delivery date, after recieving information from the ware house here in Little Rock, that the said piece isn't due in until later in the month.

I called the store manager the following day and he said that he'd sent an email to the manufacture to find out when it would be in & that he'd call me by the close of business the following day, a Friday by the way. I called him Monday morning approx. 30 minutes after the store opened to give him time to call me. When I told him that he should have at least called me to tell me that he'd not forgotten he began yelling at me. I hung up and then called the customer service line. I told the lady what happened and she said she'd send the information to his supervisor and I'd hear back as to when we'd get the bed. Well, it's Wednesday and I still haven't heard back.

The company has my money and they don't care when it comes in. I have since heard from several people that I know of simular problems. One had a bed delivered and one of the legs was split in two and they still don't have a replacement. Many of the complaints are of just plain slow delivery.

All Moved In

Daniel and I are all moved in. We got moved in on the 8th but it took a few days to get everything unpacked and setup. We had a lot of help from my parents and some friends, Debbie and Brad & their kids.

Here are a few pictures of our new place.

This is the front of the house.


A view from the front door.


My room, it's small but I like it that way. It's a cozy retreat, I love it. I bought really comfortable beds for Dan and I. I won't show you his room as it's a total mess! LOL

This is a view into the kitchen from the living room. There are lots of cabinets, I even have empty shelves! And an empty drawer LOL


This is the dining area. The double windows look out over the back yard. We have several trees, I'm putting up bird feeders so Petey (the cat) has something to keep him occupied. Joy scared off the squirrels in a pretty short period of time. They must be smarter than the ones in Jacksonville! LOL

These next pictures are of my craft area. I knew I had lots of stuff but I didn't realize I had so much until I went to put it away!

The area off to the right of the picture below is what I call the "alcove" and it has the buffet that now houses a computer, routers, wireless printer and telephone. The drawers and doors have all my desk supplies, computer CD's, ect. Across from there is the back door, the rabbit cage.

The door you see in the picture below goes to the laundry room. And as you can see to the left is the guinea pig cage. The craft area is a bit messy but I had cards I finally finished for a card swap, the box you see is for packing up Nick a Christmas box. I'll put the little Christmas tree that can be seen in the pictures above, along with the decorations, lights, tree skirt, and candy canes. I want to get that out to him tomorrow so he can have a Christmas tree in his bunk area.

The back yard. It's really big, has a shed that's wired with electricity.

Joy is enjoying the back yard, though she's yawning in the picture. I'll bet it's really pretty when everything is green.


We are thoroughly enjoying the new house. We will be having an open house next month.

Election Day

Here in the United States it is election day. I do hope that everyone who is eligible to vote has/will exercise their right today. Or they early voted. Daniel and I voted early last Tuesday.

I consider it a huge privilege to be able to vote for the leader of our country. I pray that everyone looks into their heart and really considers the issues and has carefully researched each and every candidate. I know that I had originally decided to vote for one but after doing my own research, I changed my mind. After looking at their voting records, their associations, their track records in not just their public life but their personal lives.

Who ever is elected will need to have great leadership and wisdom to lead our great country the next four years, leaving it in a better place.

News From Nick

We heard from Nick today. His calls are always interesting, there is a delay and it's hard to get used to saying something then waiting for him to hear it without talking over him or him you. The quality isn't always clear so that's another hurdle. But it's always good to hear from him.

Nick sounded better today than I've heard in several months. Things are going better as far as the citizens accepting them being there. Apparently the insurgents had the population pretty beat down and now they are on the run which makes the citizens happy.

He has been pleased to get all the mail from everyone, currently they only get mail once a week (they have to travel to another city to pick it up). He says it's always "great" to get mail from someone, so please keep sending him letters and what not; or even just a card with a thinking of you in it. I asked him if there was anything that he would like to receive more of and he said baby wipes, lots of baby wipes. They use them to clean their weapons, and he said they have to do that sometimes 2-3 times a day due to the sand storms.

Nick had other things to say but I don't feel that it's something that I should put on the blog, so call if you'd like and I'll pass on the information. It's hard to remember who've I've told what to please don't be offended if I haven't told you something, I don't want to repeat myself and talk endless and the boy....eerr make that young man.

Know that Nick is doing well and please continue to keep him in your thoughts.

Cards I've made

I've been accused of coloring and cutting pretty paper. To those that have accused, it is no secret that I enjoy doing that, along with getting together with other like minded women. On a newsgroup that I belong to we have a monthly challenge. The challenge is to make a few Christmas cards each month with the goal of having all our Christmas cards done by the beginning of December. So far I've made over 90 cards (I plan to send most to Nick's platoon so they can be sent back home to their families) This is in hopes of not running around like a chicken with our heads cut off wondering how we will ever get our cards done in time to mail them off.

These cards are made with a technique called the "Bandanna Technique".

I think they turned out okay. Not sure though, I will have to look at them again, later to make a decision.

Sometimes one has to look again later to appreciate it. That happens when you've worked on something too long.

You'll have to trust me when I say that they aren't crooked and as lop sided in real life. I have been having issues with my scanner and took the opportunity when it decided to work right to scan the cards. I actually made 4 but one didn't scan very well.

Sometimes when I work on a quilt for too long I have to put it away and go back to it at a later time when I can view it with fresh eyes.

RIP Warren Mobbs

Captain Mobbs passed away on Friday the 5th of September. I first met Captain Mobbs when I hired on to the North Little Rock Fire Department. Warren was a Lieutenant at the time.
Warren was a very kind and gentle person. I know that Warren will really be missed.

Remember Me

This was put together by a young woman named Lizzy Palmer. She was 15 when she made it, she's now 16. It is beautifully done. The ending brought me to tears. It is really a touching tribute to our troops. Fox News interviewed her on Fox & Friends either yesterday or today, I can't remember which.

Is It That Time Already?

School starts in less than 2 weeks here. School starts on Monday August 18th. I am a bit sad about this. You see today was registration day for Little Rock School District. Today was the last time I will be registering a child in school. Daniel will be attending Central High School for the last school year, graduating on May 28th 2009; incidentally that will be exactly 21 years after I graduated.

It really is a beautiful school; keeping in mind that it is a historical site and gets Federal money to keep it looking so nice.

Many years ago as I registered Nick and Daniel in school, Daniel for the first time I was excited, only 12 more registrations to go!!! Now I look back and it's all gone so fast. I wonder where the time went. Time has flown by so quickly I can hardly believe it.

I have almost completely raised my boys. My parents were so much help to me in the boys very young years, I couldn't have done it without you. Thanks so much Mom & Dad. This time next year I will be entering a different period of my life. Wonder how that period will go? Hopefully much smoother than the one I'm in!

Toddler or Puppy?

Sometimes having a dog in the house is like having a 3 year old! Our lovely wonderful toddler, err make that puppy decided to dig a hole. Joy has only dug one hole in the yard, by the back porch. We're not sure why she dug it but I have seen her eating bugs out of it and before you ask, Yes we do feed her! LOL

We've been having periods of heavy rain that last all of 3-5 minutes. The rain does several things: #1 drives the humidity WAY up, #2 fills the hole Joy dug up with water.

This leaves Joy a place to play.

When I let her out to potty and for some time to be outside, as she doesn't want to "hang out" outside during the heat of the day, I told her to stay out of the mud hole. I think that was a mistake. It was like saying to her, "go ahead and play in the mud dear!"

I went outside to get her and this is what I was met with!!!! Oh my!!! Alan had just come in ahead of her and told me that she'd been laying on the ground with her front feet and mouth in the mud! Yes, the picture below is a bit blurry but I tried to show the mud on her mouth.


"But MOM you told me to play in the mud!!!"

Not much to do but round Daniel up and have him hold her in one place in the front yard while I hosed her off. She wasn't very happy about it. This was the 2nd time I'd hosed her off today. Earlier she'd just walked through the mud, not laid in it.

Pets, they keep you on your toes!

Hot, Hot, Hot

In the Northern Hemisphere we are in the early to mid-summer season. Here in Arkansas we've been lucky so far as the temperatures haven't been too bad. Until the last 5 days or so. Today we reached a high of 99 degrees F; mixed with 40% humidity it feels like 106 degrees F! Yes, it is hot and very humid. Though I decided that this year I wasn't going to complain. Why? Because Nick is in Iraq and it's even hotter there.


Tuesday in Iraq it is going to be 116 degrees @ 3pm! Cooling down to a mild 101 degrees by 9pm their time. Wednesday it is supposed to be 121 degrees and by Friday it looks like it will be 125 degrees. These nights it will cool all the way down to 95-97 degrees. Now granted the humidity is only around 5-6% BUT our guys are roasting!

Our troops must wear not only their uniforms, but their body armor/helmets & all their equipment as well, that's an additional 75-100 pounds! No wonder Nick has lost 15 pounds!! I just can't imagine the heat they are having to deal with. Can you imagine having to do a very physically demanding job wearing all that gear AND dealing with the heat?


Think cool thoughts for our troops and keep them in your thoughts and prayers

All photos were downloaded after doing a Google search for American troops

Airborne

This is a picture that Nick had taken just before he deployed. I have had copies made and will be sending them out to family members and friends. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Summer Leadership School, aka SLS

Last week Daniel attended Summer Leadership School @ Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS. Daniel along with 3 other students from Central High School attended. It was a long way from home but Major Bledsoe, their instructor has allot of contacts in that area and he was offered 4 slots. Major taught in one of the high schools in New Orleans before Katrina.

I drove down last Thursday for the graduation on Friday. There was a parade review then the ceremony was held in a theater nearby. The flight Daniel was in won Honor Flight, though they didn't say why and all the kids in his flight seemed confused as to why they won! LOL Go figure!



Daniel said he learned allot and had a really good time. I hope that he is able to take what he learned at SLS and apply it as Group Command at Central High School. He is still wanting to join the Navy, even though the Air Force food is "really good". (that is sooo Daniel! LOL)

Deployed

On the 26th of June our son Nicholas deployed to the middle east. My parents and I drove to Ft. Bragg to see him off and bring his wife back with us. She is going to be living here, she has an apartment and hopefully will have a job soon. Sadly Nick's deployment date moved several days and Mom & Dad had to come home so were unable to see him off. I stayed and rode back to Arkansas with Melissa. The above picture is of Nick and Melissa the evening he left. It was so hard to say good bye but we know that he will be home soon.





The two above pictures are of Nick and his buddy Barr. They've been stationed together since basic training. They went through basic, AIT and Airborne school together. I know that they have each other's back and that is comforting. Barr is a good a really good guy.

We hear from Nick fairly regularly, for now...not sure how long it will last but we are enjoying hearing from him. He's very upbeat and in good spirits, in spite of the mortar attacks they've been under. He said that the first one he experienced really put life in perspective, that I have no doubt! I worry about him as he's said he's lost 15 lbs....he didn't have any extra to spare! Wonder if I could send him some of my extra? Guess that wouldn't work, too bad!

I'll keep everyone posted on how he's doing.

Can My Luck Get Any Better?!?!?!

So, I was involved in an accident on Sunday. Monday we started the process to get the other driver's insurance to start the process to get my car repaired. We find out yesterday that she had canceled her insurance IN MARCH !!!!!!! I've left several messages for the State Trooper that worked the accident to call me. I want to find out if he can ticket her for no insurance or what we can do. In the mean time we've rented a vehicle to drive, gotta have one of those....I need to be seen by a doctor again as my severe headache hasn't gone away nor has the neck pain.

In the state of Arkansas it is not required to have uninsured motorist coverage. If you don't have it GET IT!!!! Never in my life did I think I'd get hit by an uninsured motorist but I am glad that we have the coverage.

Now we have to file this under our insurance, once we have received the written documentation from her alleged insurance that she canceled her insurance our insurance will file this under the uninsured motorist policy. So my car will get fixed, our rates won't go up but actually they will, as will yours because of slugs like the one that hit me.

I am so tempted to go to the address she gave on the form she filled out for the Trooper but just like her insurance, it's probably not a correct address. I'd love to make a sign and hang it from her roof for all of her neighbors to see that says, " I drive recklessly and I drive with NO insurance." But it's just a wish as I would be the one to get into trouble. Ah, such is life & my luck.

Now, where did I put those cookies? I need another dozen or so to eat! LOL

How did you spend your Sunday Afternoon?

We were supposed to go to Mom and Dad's for dinner and my Dad's birthday cake. Instead the family sat around at UAMS waiting to find out what all the x-rays and CT said about me. I was involved in an accident!

I dropped Daniel off at work and I was almost home when a woman came around me on the highway & hydroplaned on some water that had accumulated in the construction zone. Note: It had been raining for several hours.

She had been following way too close since the McCain area. When she saw an opening to go around me she took it and wiped out, taking me with her.
When she hit me I went into the retaining wall, after I straighted back out she hit me again; back into the retaining wall I went. Thankfully I didn't really hit the retaining wall, just the tires did, the front driver's tire is damaged.
Thankfully I always wear my seatbelt, even so I was tossed around good. The other driver wasn't so lucky. She went up on the retaining wall and rode it for a bit, I thought she was going to go over it. Her car is totaled. She told the firemen she was wearing her seatbelt but she had a big goose egg on her head and there was an impression of her head with some hair in her windshield. The axle of her car is broken, the gearshift and parking brake ended up in her passenger seat.
Thankfully nether of us was hurt real bad. I'm still really sore but that's it. And she has insurance, though how good and easy to work with remains to be seen. So now I'm driving a Dodge Caravan until my Escape is fixed.

They made it home!

Okay, so they've been home for a week. I was happy to see the kids. This picture was taken just as they arrivedWe went to Mom and Dad's, on Memorial Dad, where Dad cooked some steaks that we'd brought over.
Melissa.
So Nick and Daniel decided to wrestle not more than 20-30 minutes after we ate. Needless to say it was an interesting match.

As you can see in the above picture, Nick came out on the worst end of this match! LOL They said it was fun but at the end of it I don't know how either of them had fun, they were sweaty, scratched, red and in Nick's case a busted lip and bleeding!

Nick and Melissa have been spending time with family and friends while they've been here. The kids will be here another week then they will head back to North Carolina. I hate to see them go.