Kinda gives new meaning to the terms: low rider, high tide, and full moon … not to mention … crack kills!

As usual, it has been awhile since I posted anything here. Although I claim to lead a very ordinary life, in reality I stay way too busy sometimes. So here are just some random thoughts I have.

For starters, Mike and I will celebrate 30 years of wedded bliss (??) on July 1st. I really can’t believe that 30 years have passed and I am still married to the same man! That’s quite a milestone in today’s society. Anyway, Mike has planned an out of town weekend for us to celebrate our anniversary. Don’t know where we’re going but it doesn’t matter. At least I will get some time alone with him. Erica has valiantly agreed to “take one for the family” and babysit (for lack of a better word) the MIL while we are gone.

Mike is participating in a ham radio field day today and tomorrow. Although it’s local, he will spend the night at the park. I suspect that they continue to try to make contact with other hams throughout the nighttime hours.

Erica has been keeping a busy social life, but what else is new. She and Daniel took his 4-year old sister, Lily, to the Children’s Museum today. It was the first time Erica and Lily had met, and Erica said Lily was very “shy” around her. Daniel had prepared Erica to meet a rambunctious whirlwind, so he was a bit surprised she was so quiet. Normally she’s the center of attention … being the baby of the family and all … you can understand why. They took pictures so maybe if I ever get copies I’ll post some here.

I’ve spent all day at home … no place to go and no money to go with even if I wanted to go somewhere … although my stimulus check did arrive in the mail today … AFTER the bank closed. So I’ve been alternating between watching HGTV and the ID (Investigation Discovery) channel which highlights crimes and how they’re solved. But since we have satellite, and since we had a big thunderstorm move through about midday, I had to give up watching TV for awhile. Kinda hard to get a satellite channel in stormy weather. So I took a nap! Yeah, I know, it’s a hard life … so now I’m just killing time waiting for it to get late enough to go to bed.

And that’s about all of the randomness I have for now. Catch you next time.

They were together in the house … just the two of them. It was a cold, dark, stormy night. The storm had come quickly, with little warning. Each time the thunder boomed, he watched her jump. She looked across the room and admired his strong appearance. She wished he would take her in his arms and comfort and protect her from the storm.

So consumed were they in their fear that they heard no opening of doors … only the faint click of a camera …

Yay! TJOC is over for this year and I have my family back. All the prior months of diligent planning and them being occupied with that issue … then being gone for 8 days … even though I have a living room full of dirty clothes and camping gear, at least I have my family back! And as I posted (I think?) previously, I had to spend the entire 8 days alone with the MIL … not the best week of my life.

I told Mike he owes me one for having to spend that EXTREMELY LONG week with his mother. So we are going out of town this weekend … nothing extraordinary except the fact that I get to spend it alone with him! He has to be in Waco Sunday morning for an inspection so we will take a leisurely drive Saturday and a leisurely drive home Sunday afternoon.

One of the things I like about my job is the fact that each day is different. I get to talk to and meet a variety of personality types. I work in my church office so people come to us needing financial assistance or counseling, that sort of thing. Some days are pretty much what I would call “normal,” whatever that means. Other days are not that way, and today was one of those days.

The phone rang this morning around 8:30 am. The other secretary answered the phone. It was a church member. She asked if she could speak to our pastor, who wasn’t available right then. So she was passed on to me. And this is where it gets abnormal … this is how our conversation went:

“Sara, this is ________________. I wanted you all to know that someone is trying to murder me. They have been stalking me for 10 days now and they drive a gold colored car. They murdered my business partner last year and they won’t stop until they murder me. I just wanted the pastor to know. I need all of you to pray for me.”

“Yes, and I’ve retained the services of an off-duty police officer to stay with me. If these people have their way I’ll be dead by the end of the day. It all stems from a past business deal my partner made with them before they murdered him. But you must keep this a secret just between us!”

A secret!!??? You have to be kidding!! This particular lady, sweet though she is, has serious mental problems. That much we already knew. So I passed the information along to our ministerial staff … just in case she was for real.

Now if I get to the office tomorrow morning and discover she was telling the truth … well … like I said, my job is anything but ordinary … perhaps I should go back to school and become a psychiatrist or something. Seems like lately I deal with an awful lot of strange situations …

This is an exciting week for Erica. She and Mike are at TJOC (orienteering camp for those of you who don’t know) and she is the big kahuna … the one in charge … of everything. She is usually the second in command, just under Major V. But because he was sick and couldn’t go this week, he put Erica in charge. She has the final say-so on everything.

I have been a little concerned all week but only because I know there are two adults who feel she is too young to be given that much responsibility. Never mind the fact that she is 21 years old. Never mind the fact that she has been orienteering and attending TJOC since she was in 7th grade. Never mind that she has traveled all over the U.S., Canada and even to Sweden and Scotland to compete. Never mind that she is highly knowledgeable about the sport. Never mind that she has a great reputation among the orienteering community. Never mind … well, you get the point …

So I have been sending out emails to all my prayer warrior friends asking them to pray for Erica this week. When I talked to Mike (hubby) last night, he said she is doing great. Nobody is giving her any hassles, especially those particular individuals that Major and I were worried about.

So I’m happy because I don’t have to get my “momma claws” out …

Well, today is the first day of what will prove to be an EXTREMELY long week. Mike and Erica left about 4:30 this morning for TJOC (Texas Junior Orienteering Camp). They are going to Texoma which is up near the Texas/Oklahoma border. They will be back home next Saturday. I have the entire week to myself which would normally be a good thing … peace and quiet, not having to plan and cook meals, being able to watch what I want on the TV, maybe taking a few days and visiting my sister out of town … but this week will not be like that. Since the MIL is still in a leg brace and somewhat connected to her wheelchair, I have to stay home to make sure she doesn’t do something she shouldn’t.

Mike took her to the library the other day and she checked out some books to read so she doesn’t get bored. I also checked out 3 murder mysteries and hope to pull myself away from HGTV long enough to at least make a pass at reading one or two of them. It remains to be seen if I will be successful at that since HGTV is one of my favorite channels.

Otherwise, things are going okay today … of course, it has only been 5 hours and 15 minutes since they left … but who’s counting, right?

Once again, here I am … nothing really exciting to post. I suppose I should be glad in some ways that my life is pretty much ordinary. It could be worse. In fact, it has been worse in the past. So, ordinary is good.

Today was the first Sunday for our newest pastor at church. Dee is the son of our Senior Pastor. He and his family have been pastoring a church in Louisiana for the last 10 years. I’m glad he’s on staff with us now. He’s a tremendous preacher and pastor. And I get to be his secretary/administrative assistant. Yipee!

Erica has signed up for a martial arts class that begins in a couple of weeks. She became interested via a kick boxing class she took this past semester at college. Her instructor thought she showed a talent for the martial arts and encouraged her to pursue it further. A couple of the guys in the kick boxing class are on the martial arts team at the college so they’ve been helping Erica get a head start by coming over and helping her work out. That’s what they did yesterday. I sat outside and watched for about an hour. Erica’s good friend, Alex (female), came over also and worked out with Erica. She plans to take martial arts as well. The guys who are helping have been doing martial arts since they were 4 or 5 years old, so they’re very good. Daniel is a 4th degree black belt. I don’t know how Mario is ranked. This is a picture of Erica and Daniel … my camera isn’t the best for catching “action” moves but you can get the gist:

Here’s a picture of Daniel, Erica and Alex:

Anyway, it was interesting watching all the “moves” they have to learn. Kinda makes me wish I was younger so I could at least try some of them. Daniel offered to teach me some of them but I had to decline. It’s all about balance and I am “balance-challenged”!

Erica has been stressed out because she’s getting ready for TJOC (orienteering camp) which begins a week from tomorrow. This is a yearly camp put on by the Army JROTC for kids who orienteer. It’s not for beginners. This is Erica’s 9th year (I think about that length) to be involved in the camp … the first 6 years were as a participant. The last 3 have been as a teacher/leader. This year she is in charge of running the camp. That has meant a lot of work on her part to make sure that everybody is doing what they’re responsible to do in order to make camp “happen.”

Anyway, she and Mike and Chase will leave next Saturday and return the following Saturday. So guess what that means for me? What? You think it means an entire week to myself to relax? No. What it really means is an entire week ALONE WITH MY MOTHER IN LAW and all that revolves around taking care of her. Oh joy …

I told Mike after he gets back from TJOC, he owes me one for having to stay here with his mother all week by myself! So I think I’m going to take a weekend trip with him on the 21st. He has to go to Waco on business so I will ride with him. We will leave Saturday morning and come back Sunday evening. Yeah, I know … Waco isn’t the most exciting place … but it will get me out of the house for a couple of days. And the company will pay for it, so …

In the meantime, hope you have a great week. I’ll check in later.

Ahh … a nice, long weekend just passed. I normally have Friday off and with Monday (yesterday) being a holiday also, I had a 4-day weekend!

Saturday evening Mike and I went out to dinner with friends. It was April’s 40th birthday and she wanted to go to the “Murder by Chocolate” dinner theatre in Kemah. It was kinda expensive ($40/person) but when you consider that you get a full meal with dessert and get to watch (and participate) in a murder mystery, it doesn’t seem quite so bad. We had a good time. I got to have a part in the play … naturally, I would volunteer for that since I love that type of thing … my name was “Donna Downer” and I was a bag lady who found the bottle of poison that was used to murder “Rick Amortis.” April had a part also. Her name was “Needa Life.” And our friend Janette played a character called “Ivana Tip” … she was a waitress. We had a good time.

(Left to right: Needa Life, Donna Downer, and Ivana Tip)

April “Needa Life” Birthday Girl

Sunday morning Mike and I drove to northeast Texas near Toledo Bend Reservoir to attend a BBQ put on by some ham radio friends of his. It was about a 3 hour drive. I didn’t know anybody there and Mike only knew a couple of people but we had a good time anyway. The other women made me feel right at home and we didn’t leave until about 4:30 that afternoon. The brisket and sausage was excellent, too!

Monday was a “stay around the house and do things” day for us. Mike piddled in the garage and we threw out a lot of junk that we had been hoarding in hopes that we might one day want and/or need to use. But after 2 or 3 years it’s not likely that will happen. Erica washed her car and I sat outside in the heat and humidity (although there was a nice southerly breeze) and watched her. Then our next door neighbor came out and we all sat and visited for awhile. Mike and I had planned to grill some brats and hot dogs so we invited our neighbors to join us. They have twin boys who are 6 years old and a little girl who is 4. We had a really nice time with them and it was a good to get to know them better since they only moved in the house less than a year ago.

So I guess all in all we had a nice weekend. How was yours?

As usual, I get busy and forget to visit the Whine Bar, which means lots of time goes by and I don’t post anything. So here I am today. The problem is, I don’t know what to write about. There isn’t anything really new and interesting to tell. I mean, I lead a pretty ordinary life. But I did go to the doctor and get on some new medicine (Cymbalta) for the depression issue, which has returned since all this stuff with the MIL started some months back. And when the doctor tried to increase my dose from the introductory amount to the regular amount, I got very sick. So, I will stay on the introductory dosage until I go off in a few months. As far as other news, our new Worship Center is 99.9% complete. We will have our first church service this coming Sunday, May 18. I’m really looking forward to it! And the gas prices! Holy moley! It cost me $54 to fill up my Mustang the other day! I’m so thankful I work within a mile of my house. Now that summer is here (at least in my part of Texas it is) I might buy a bicycle and start riding my bike to work. Kill two birds with one stone … save the expense of gas and get in some much needed exercise at the same time. Well, I guess that’s all for now. Like I said, I lead a very ordinary life.

This is a picture of one of my cats, Ginger. As you can probably tell, she likes sleeping on my bed. I came across this picture today and thought that old song “In the Jungle” would make a cute caption for the picture…

Okay … I’m not the best photographer so don’t expect to see “before” and “after” like you would on HGTV, but I did my best. Here is the finished product MINUS A NEW BACK DOOR we will buy (hopefully!) soon:

BEFORE … # 1

BEFORE … # 2

BEFORE … # 3

AFTER … # 1

AFTER … # 2

AFTER … # 3

Like I said … I’m not a photographer and my pictures don’t even begin to do justice to how beautiful it REALLY is … but at least it gives you an idea of (1) how bad it looked before as compared to (2) how good it looks now!

Next on our list … buy a new back door … but first, we need mucho $$$$$

The guys were out here Friday to install the new windows on the back of our house. They look great! Can’t believe what a change it has made. They will have to wait until Monday to replace the hardy plank on the back, though. They were going to do it today but it was raining all day. As soon as everything is complete I’ll post pictures. I’ve been taking “before” pictures and I will take “after” pictures so I can post them. In the meantime, Mike and I made a trip to Lowe’s today and bought some new vertical blinds for the living room window. It’s so pretty I hated to cover it up with anything but there just isn’t any privacy without something covering the window. That’s not too bad during the day but the night time … hmmm … anyway, stay tuned for more information.

If you were around in 1919 (the year before Prohibition) and you came upon this poster . . .

. . . Seriously … would YOU quit drinking?

I found out who sent me the beautiful flower arrangement. It was Mike’s Aunt Margaret who lives in Mississippi. She is my mother in law’s sister. She knew I needed some encouragement so she had the flowers delivered! How sweet of her! Too bad her sister (my MIL) isn’t that thoughtful …

Today my “baby” turned 21 years old! I can’t believe how fast the years have flown by. She has been such a delight to raise all these years, and I honestly mean that. Her brother drove down this past weekend and me and her dad and brother took her out to eat. Jimbo and Vanessa met us at the restaurant to celebrate. We had a lot of fun, and the food was good, too.

“Happy birthday, Erica!”

Erica

Jimbo and Vanessa

Copy and paste this in the url and prepared to be amazed. This is a 2-year old singing “The Lord’s Prayer.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR4PQ30VkBk&feature=email

I received this beautiful, spring bouquet of flowers today. The card read: “Love to you. From Appreciation.” I have no idea who Appreciation is so I am posting my “thank you” here, on my xanga site, and on myspace. Whoever you are, you really made my day. That was really thoughtful of you. Here’s a picture … although it doesn’t do it justice because you can’t tell that the vase is a tall, square vase in an amethyst color … extremely beautiful!

Thank you again … I needed something beautiful to happen, and it did.

This is the Whine Bar, after all, so allow me to whine some more. (I’m really trying to change my ways but it’s been difficult lately. Sorry.)

Yesterday was the day Mike had to take his mother back to the orthopedic doctor for her follow-up after knee surgery. Mind you, when she had the surgery 2 weeks ago to “repair” her knee cap, the doctor put her leg in a brace and sent her back to the nursing home with orders to NOT put any weight on the leg and to NOT bend the knee.

Obviously she decided, for whatever reason, that she didn’t need to follow doctor’s orders. Or the nursing staff at the nursing home didn’t follow orders either. Whatever the case, during the course of time between the surgery and her follow-up, she bent her knee and pretty much destroyed the doctor’s hard work in repairing it. Mike said the doctor was not a happy camper. Well, duh. So he put a hard cast on her leg (so she couldn’t bend the knee) and settled that issue! And since Medicare/Medicade hasn’t been paying for her stay at the nursing home (another long story) and we’ve been paying out of our pocket, we had to bring her back to the house after her doctor appointment. Oh joy.

Anyway, Mike and I figure the doctor’s reasoning for just casting the leg and not trying to repair the repair, is that she’s already done damage to the knee cap so we might as well let it heal as well as it can. And if she never has good mobility out of that leg again because of what she did (and she won’t have good mobility) … too bad. And you know what? I have to agree with the doctor.

I realize we are dealing with an 83 year old woman who has dementia/early Alzheimer’s. But there’s one thing I’ve learned about that disease … it enhances the personality traits of the person who has it. If the individual was happy go lucky before the disease hit, chances are they’ll mostly be that way during the course of the disease. If the person was angry, stubborn and otherwise unhappy, that’s enhanced. And unfortunately, Mike’s mother has always been angry and bitter. So now, it’s coming out even stronger. But I really could care less. Go ahead and call me cold and heartless. But that won’t change things one bit because if I WAS cold and heartless, she would not have been living in my home for the past 5 years. She would have been out on the street.

Okay, enough with the soap box on that issue. Now for the next one. Last night, after dinner, I had a real meltdown (for lack of a better word) with her. From the moment she got back to the house yesterday, she was harping and nagging at Mike and talking ugly to him. Finally, I’d had enough and the volcano erupted. I unloaded on her and told her that I was no longer going to tolerate the way she talks to her son. I also told her that the only reason I allowed her to live in my house was NOT because I liked her or respected her, but because I love my husband. I told her that there was no need for her to pretend she liked me or me to pretend I liked her. Let’s just get on with the business at hand. I told her she didn’t need to worry that I would mistreat her because I wasn’t raised that way. And in spite of the way she acts she should count her blessings because everything I do FOR her, I’m actually doing FOR Christ. Things are the way they are.

She just sat there and stared at me like she couldn’t believe I had the nerve to talk to her like that.

And that’s my whining for now … probably more to come later, I’m sure.