My hubby has a birthday Wednesday. He’ll be 54 years old! Man, he’s getting to be a grumpy, old man! Ha! I’m going to take him out for dinner Wednesday. I wanted to wait until the weekend but he and Erica will be at an orienteering meet near Huntsville all weekend. I’m going to buy his birthday present Wednesday before I go to work. He’s gonna like it!
Well like I said I was going to do, I made a trip to Giddings this weekend to see my mother and spend some time with my sister. My mother was doing pretty good mentally this trip. She remembered who I was and that I had been there on Saturday morning to see her as well. That made it nice.
Saturday night me, my sister, and my brother-in-law went to Vadie’s Longhorn Bar. It’s a combination beer joint, restaurant and pool hall kind of place. A couple of Pete’s friends went with us also … Hardy and Jay. They’re both retired HPD cops and it’s never a dull moment when they’re around. They’re both boisterous and loud and try to be funny … sometimes they’re successful, sometimes they’re not. Ha! This particular night, they were kinda funny … well, at least Jay was. You see, there was this guy sitting at the table with us who really had Jay going … Jay was a few sheets into the wind … and this guy had Jay convinced that he was … first of all, a lawyer … and then later on, a doctor. Jay was even talking about changing his medical plan from an HMO to a PPO so he could change doctors! We all got a big laugh out of it. Jay wasn’t too happy when he realized he’d been had, though. Ha! Come to think of it, he was pretty ticked about it. But, oh well …
So, that was the extent of my weekend. Not really exciting, but interesting in an odd kind of way. Anyway, the best part of going to Giddings is getting to spend time with my sister. Everything else pales in comparison.
Hope ya’ll have a good week!
The week is almost over and boy, am I glad! We’ve had really ugly weather here. It’s been foggy (almost all day long for the last 2 days) and low temps in the morning followed by near 80 degrees in the afternoon. You dare not put away your winter clothes because as soon as you do it will turn cold. And you start the day out with layers of clothes to keep you warm and take the layers off as the day progresses. With all the dramatic temperature variations, its a wonder we don’t all have pneumonia or something! But today … well today was a beautiful day! The sun was shining (all day) and the temp was so nice. It was very difficult to make myself go to work at noon. I wanted to stay home and play! So I’m enjoying the good weather while I can because it’s supposed to turn nasty and cold this weekend. Of course, I’ll be visiting my sister this weekend … about 150 miles northwest of here … so the weather will probably be totally different there. Anyway, hope all is well with all of you. Talk to you later.
After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing He said was “DON’T!”
“Don’t what?” Adam asked.
“Don’t eat the forbidden fruit,” God said.
“Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit? Hey Eve .. we have forbidden fruit!”
“No way!”
“Yes, way!”
“Do NOT eat the fruit!” said God.
“Why?”
“Because I am your Father and I said so,” God replied, wondering why He hadn’t stopped creation after making the elephants. A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was angry.
“Didn’t I tell you not to eat the fruit?” God asked.
“Uh huh,” Adam replied.
“Then why did you?” asked the Father.
“I don’t know,” said Eve.
“She started it!” Adam said.
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
Having had it with the two of them, God’s punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.
1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next 16 years telling them to sit down and shut up.
2. Grandchildren are God’s reward for not killing your own children.
3. Mothers of teens understand why some animals eat their young.
4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn’t have said.
5. The main purpose of holding children’s parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.
6. We childproofed our homes but they are still getting in!
If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle …
“Take two aspirin” and “keep away from children” !!!!!
Original List
1. Handsome
2. Charming
3. Financially successful
4. A caring listener
5. Witty
6. In good shape
7. Dresses with style
8. Appreciates finer things
9. Full of thoughtful surprises
10. An imaginative, romantic lover
++++++++++++++++++++++
Revised List (Age 32)
1. Nice looking
2. Opens car doors, holds chairs
3. Has enough money for a nice dinner
4. Listens more than talks
5. Laughs at my jokes
6. Carries bags of groceries with ease
7. Owns at least one tie
8. Appreciates a good home-cooked meal
9. Remembers birthdays and anniversaries
10. Seeks romance at least once a week
+++++++++++++++++++
Revised List (Age 42)
1. Not too ugly
2. Doesn’t drive off until I’m in the car
3. Works steady - splurges on dinner out occasionally
4. Nods head when I’m talking
5. Usually remembers punch lines of jokes
6. Is in good enough shape to rearrange the furniture
7. Wears a shirt that covers his stomach
8. Knows not to buy champagne with screw-top lids
9. Remembers to put the toilet seat down
10. Shaves most weekends
++++++++++++++++++++
Revised List (Age 52)
1. Keeps hair in nose and ears trimmed
2. Doesn’t belch or scratch in public
3. Doesn’t borrow money too often
4. Doesn’t nod off to sleep when I’m venting
5. Doesn’t retell the same joke too many times
6. Is in good enough shape to get off couch on weekends
7. Usually wears matching socks and fresh underwear
8. Appreciates a good TV dinner
9. Remembers your name on occasion
10. Shaves some weekends
++++++++++++++++++++
Revised List (Age 62)
1. Doesn’t scare small children
2. Remembers where bathroom is
3. Doesn’t require much money for upkeep
4. Only snores lightly when asleep
5. Remembers why he’s laughing
6. Is in good enough shape to stand up by himself
7. Usually wears some clothes
8. Likes soft foods
9. Remembers where he left his teeth
10. Remembers that its the weekend
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Revised List (Age 72)
1. Breathing!
2. Doesn’t miss the toilet!
Whew! Erica made it back from Killeen okay last night. She got turned around on her way home and was headed back toward Austin (the OPPOSITE way she needed to be going) but called her daddy and he helped her get headed the right direction! (And all this from a girl who can take a topical map, go out into the heaviest wooded woods you’ll ever see, and find her way back but can’t read a roadmap! Go figure!) Anyway, she had a nice visit with Courtney and Josh so I’m glad she got to go.
On her way home she passed through Giddings and decided to stop at the nursing home and see her Granny (my mother). It was about 5:00 pm when she stopped and evenings aren’t that good for Granny mentally, but she wanted to stop anyway. She said Granny was in the dining room getting ready to eat and didn’t recognize her even when she told her who she was. So she visited about 5 minutes and left. As she left she said “Bye Granny. I love you” and she said Granny said “I hope I was able to help you find who you were looking for.” I’m happy that Erica is the type of young lady who loves her Granny enough to stop and see her even if her Granny doesn’t know she was there.
Well, another week begins … a clean slate to scribble on … hope ya’ll have a good week. I’m definitely going to try to have one myself. Later.
Here’s a house plan we found online that we liked …
Since the “Nook” is a fairly good size, we could use the “Dining Room” area as an office for Mike by closing off the wall facing the Family Room. Bedroom 3 would be for Mike’s mother. Bedroom 2 for Erica. The “Study” would be used as a guest room. The plan isn’t any smaller than what we have now. Anyway … we’re just considering it at this point.
Erica finally made it to Killeen last night … and I went to bed and had a good night’s sleep!
Well, Erica left about 6:00 this evening to drive to Killeen, Texas to spend the weekend with Courtney and Josh. This isn’t the first time she’s driven a long distance but it IS the first time she’s driven a long distance BY HERSELF. And it’s nighttime now. So needless to say, the momma in me is a little apprehensive right now. Of course, she’s got her cell phone and she’s called us several times … mostly because she was confused about certain highway turn off points … but thank goodness Mike knows that area like the back of his hand. However I won’t rest easy until she actually gets to Courtney’s apartment. Killeen is only about a 4 hour drive from here so she should be arriving there soon. (It’s 9:00 as I write this) But the weather is predicted to be turning really cold and wet in that area by Sunday with possible freezing rain. Oh joy. Just what a momma wants to hear … that her daughter is driving in conditions she’s never driven in before! If I make it through this weekend without having gray hair poke through my red color, it will be a miracle.
I got this through the email from a friend today and thought I’d pass it on to ya’ll. If you’re over 30, you’ll understand it. If not … well one of these days you’ll be old enough to understand it. Meanwhile, enjoy!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning … uphill BOTH ways .. yadda, yadda, yadda. And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they’ve got it!
But now that I’m over the ripe old age of fifty, I can’t help but look around and notice the youth of today. You’ve got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in Utopia! And I hate to say it but you kids today … you don’t know how good you’ve got it! I mean, when I was a kid we didn’t have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the darn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!! There was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter … with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!
There were no MP3’s or Napsters! You wanted to steal music,you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ’d usually talk over the beginning and screw it all up!
We didn’t have fancy stuff like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that’s it! And we didn’t have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom … you just didn’t know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances!
We didn’t have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics either! We had the Atari 2600 with games like “Space Invaders” and “Asteroids” and the graphics sucked! Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! … Just like LIFE!
When you went to the movie theater there was no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! If a tall guy or some old broad with a hat sat in front of you and you couldn’t see, you were just screwed!
>
Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 15 channels and there was no on screen menu and no remote control! You had to use a little book called a “TV Guide” to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your butt and walk over to the TV to change the channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I’m saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little brats!
And we didn’t have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up we had to use the stove … imagine that! If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid “JiffyPop” thing and shake it over the stove forever like an idiot.
Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You’re spoiled. You guys wouldn’t have lasted five minutes back in 1980!
I’m not believing this weather. Today it is supposed to get up to 80 degrees. Come on! It’s FEBRUARY! We had a few “cold” days last week (and I use that word loosely) and supposedly it’s supposed to rain Friday and turn cooler. Hmph! I’ll be surprised if it does! What really has me thinking now is the fact that with us basically having had no winter to speak of, that might mean a hotter spring and an even hotter summer which will mean conditions will probably be ripe for more hurricanes. Just what we need after last hurricane season …
Each year our church has a valentine dinner … it’s always interesting. Last year we had a visit from “Elvis” and this year was just as crazy. We were all on board “The Love Boat.” Mike and I hadn’t intended to go this year but a friend had 2 extra tickets and gave them to us this morning. The dinner was this evening. We had quite a good variety of “entertainment” and I’ve posted some pictures I took. Unfortunately the lighting wasn’t very good but hopefully you can get the general idea. Here are some of the entertainers who regaled us with their talent tonight: (spoofs, of course!)
Dean Martin
Edgar Bergen and Charlie
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
The Rolling Stones
The Village People
ZZ Top
Joey and Angela (the Captain of The Love Boat and his wife … our emcees)
Me and Mike
Chase and Mocha are down for the weekend. He (Mocha) sure has grown since the last time. I took a few pictures this morning:
This is Mocha (on left) and Jasmine. He has been trying to get her to play with him all morning!
Mocha met his “cousin” Chloe … the gerbil and seemed very interested in getting to know her better.
“I’m a big kid now …”
Okay … Saturday night was the JROTC Military Ball 2006. Erica took tons of pictures but I’m not posting them here because there are way too many. If you want to look at them, go to her website: http://ericaurich.com and go to the photos section. Scroll down until you see the Military Ball 2006 folder. In the meantime, here are a couple I liked.
This is Erica and Pierre Castillo. (When Eddie and Clint played the joke on Erica and told her that Eddie had decided to go to the ball with someone else, Erica called one of her former boyfriends, Pierre. )
And this is Erica and Kelsey Hawkins (who won Queen this year). Erica was Queen in 2004.
The “guys” …
The “dolls” …
Mike and I did not go tonight however we did make dinner reservations in the restaurant where the Military Ball was held. Afterwards we poked our heads in and said howdy to friends and took a few pictures.
Here’s a little slide show I put together as an experiment to see if I could do it. It highlights Erica’s life and the major events that have happened. I tried to keep it somewhat chronological but wasn’t as successful as I hoped. Anyway, type in the link in the url address bar on your computer and let me know what you think.
http://rockmyspace.com/viewslideshow.php?instanceid=7597956&refid=7597956
Erica put something on her Xanga site today. It’s a tribute to my mother, her Granny. If you’d like to see it, type the link below in the url address bar on your screen. You don’t have to be a member of Xanga or anything to view it. As long as you’re connected to the internet, it will work. It’s a very moving tribute, I think. It made me cry, but it also makes me proud to know I have raised a daughter who loves her Granny so much.
http://www.xanga.com/CaCaMcShorty
I’ve had a problem for several months now with the sciatic nerve in my right thigh. I laughingly call it my “psychotic” nerve because it sometimes drives me to the point of insanity! Ha! Anyway, my sister can attest to this because the few times I’ve been at her house lately, I’ve had to deal with the constant pain. Well anyway, I finally decided I’d had enough and I went to see my doctor this morning.
Good news, at least as far as I see it. I also thought I could feel a “knot” or something around my belly button. I asked him if he thought the “knot” might be pressing on a nerve and causing the pain. After examining me, he told me that the “knot” I thought I felt around the belly-button wasn’t there. And even if there was a knot, he said that in order to cause sciatica pain, it would have to be really large, in which case I would definitely know it was there because I’d probably already be having problems in the abdominal area … which I’m not.
So, back to the sciatica issue, since the pain is located only in my thigh and not in my lower back or lower leg, he gave me a script for a muscle relaxer to take at bedtime (for 2 weeks) and a 5-day round of steroids. I told him the pain is almost constant now and ibuprofen and naproxen doesn’t seem to help. He said sometimes a muscle gets swollen and presses on the sciatic nerve and can cause the pain, hence the reason for the muscle relaxer. The steroid should reduce the inflammation. I’m hopeful that at the end of 2 weeks, I’ll feel a lot better.
(This was probably WAY more information than you wanted to know … but what the heck … )
