Life Lesson 101

"Come pick me up.  Emergency"
I received the text from my
15 yr old daughter at 1:07 pm
while out running errands.

I pulled onto the highway

headed for the school. . .

Can't say I wasn't thinking and wondering

what this could be about. . .

?

?

?

?

Thank God it was none of the above. . .

just a simple case of

acute "excessive teenage drama".

Do I think she over-reacted?  Yes.

Did it cause me a bit of stress?  Yes.
Would I do this again? NO! Are you kidding?
But, today I felt as though there was a
life-lesson to be learned. . .
"when your world goes crazy around you
someone's got your back".

This beg's the question 
"When your world goes crazy who's got your back?".

What does it for you?

This is my new best Friend.
We have spent the day together.
What fun we have had
since my DARN sweet husband
shared his cold with me.

Poor husband has been in bed for two days. 

This is all he has asked for.

.

When I am sick
this is what I want. -
syrupy, sweet, Sonic Cherry Limeade.
Yes, I'm more trouble
as this requires the caregiver to make a drive to Sonic;
but like L'oreal, "I'm worth it!".

AND

This is what I want with my Limeade -
Buttered saltines.
I have no idea why or when this
became my comfort food.
It has always been this way.
This qualifies me as a
"High-maintanance Sickie".

Three of the four kids always want this -
no substitution.

EXCEPT

for one of my spoiled sweet angels.

He MUST have Indian Fry Bread
from his favorite restaurant.
How many times have I made a late
trip to this establishment?!
I figure this is the price I pay for
being high maintance myself.

Just wondering,
"what floats your boat?";
"what rings your bell?"
"what brings you healing vibes"
when you're sick????

If you pray -

Sometimes life is just plain "hard" and as far as we look there is nothing to dull or blur the edges.
Today is such a day.
I have just learned (from my Mother) that my Sister's Breast Cancer, after a year of chemo and radiation,  has spread to her liver.
I am sad.
I am mad.
I am raw.
I am getting ready to call her and I have no words.
If you pray, please pray for us now.

Bragging Rights

Today I took this. . .

and this . . .

and vacuumed the top of ALL
the kitchen cabinets.

Thank you.
Thank you very much.

"Done any of your "to-do's" you want
to brag about?"

My husband is a Player. . .

My Husband is a  Player;
A Football Player.
An honest-to-goodness  real  "Fantasy" Football Player.
He loves it!

The entire concept of "Fantasy Football"

has been baffling to me and my closest friends.

But, after serious thought I've

come to understand  - it's all
simply a matter of "make-believe".

The ball is never snapped;

said Husband never leaves the sofa,

and he never gets hurt.

Still, when it's all said and done there are major bragging rights if he's had a good season (?).

Hmmmmmm.
I'm beginning a "Fantasy Diet".

It will all be done from the sofa.

No Treadmill.

No Celery Sticks.

I won't get hurt and I won't get hungry.

I'll  pretend I've lost 20 lbs,
then of course I'll brag to you about it.

How to lose 5 lbs in a single day

I. LOST. 5. LBS. TODAY!
AND. YOU. CAN. DO. IT. TOO.
(ok.  maybe I exagerate a little.)

Throw your scales into the trash.

Go ahead.  Do it.

And feed your Salad to the Hungry Bunny.

Listen and learn . . .

Forget to make your hair appnt

before Christmas.

Then go in for a haircut

on January 6th.

Take a seat in

"Miss Tessa's Cut and Curl". . .

When she has done her magic

you will weigh 5 lbs less.

and you'll know everybody's business -

No extra charge!

Sometimes you just gotta "Bubble"

I'm gonna Babble,
no "Bubble".
I think "Bubble" is the better word.
I just gotta  "Bubble"-

I am "REJOICING"!

I know that sounds "churchy" but there's just no other word that explains how I'm feeling at the moment.  My feeling has exceeded "happy".  If you've ever felt this way then you KNOW what this feels like. It's praying hard then having the prayer answered in such a way that there's no denying God's hand in the response.

Our youngest son is going through an extremely painful divorce.  He's far from being emotionally healed at this moment, but he is "on track".  I couldn't have said this yesterday, but I can today.

This is straight from my Thankful Heart.
If anyone reading this is praying in behalf of a difficult on-going situation, be encouraged.  The answer will come.

NOW -
My heart is rejoicing,
but my stomach is SCREAMING!

This is what it's SCREAMING!!

But this is what it's gonna get.

Just keepin' it "real"!

Reflection: The Doctor is In

Christmas 2009 is history.
The new year has arrived.
I've been doing some reflecting. . .

1.  Holiday weight gain?
     I'm afraid to get onto the scales,

     but my jeans won't zip comfortably.

             DARN!

2.  Worst gift I purchased this year?
      "Bump It" (great website)

     I bought this for my 15 yr old daughter,

     and it's still in the box.

     I knew better when I bought it!!

     Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

3.  What I wish I had done differently?
     Baked less.
     I actually had to throw out
     some things (which I should have frozen)
     because I had  over-prepared. 
     I like to bake -
     a lame excuse, but the truth.

4.  One smart thing I did was. . .?
     I rec'd 2 gift boxes of Pears.

     I took them to family in Tulsa

     so they wouldn't be wasted.

5.  One thing I've learned about the holiday?
     Plan ahead and don't go into debt
     buying gifts.  It's NOT worth it.
     Patting myself on the wallet back for this one.

"How did YOU do this year?"

Tell the truth, you're among friends.

*Anonymous* comments permitted.

Just how "great" was The Depression?

"Geez Lou-ezze, it's cold today!"
We Southerners are real whiney butt babies delicate when it comes to cold weather.  Granted, we don't get nearly as cold as lots of places do, but it's cold enough today to cause my nose to "drip" when I go outside.  Who knew?
I'm walking about the store minding my own business and my nose goes drip-drip-drip and of course I have not a Kleenex to be found.  So what to do? 

I wiped my dripping nose on my shirt -
just like a 3 year old. 
Embarassing!

Next time I'll be prepared.

Thinking about this brought back a "repressed" memory from my childhood.  It must have been stored in the back of my brain filed under "things to not disclose", but I'm gonna tell it anyway, as I haven't thought of this in years . . .

When I was 5 years old I stayed with my Grandma during the day while my parents both worked.  Though my Grandmother has been gone for MANY years I still have many vivid memories of times spent with her.

She had raised a family of 6 girls during "The" Depression. 

I guess most of us will never understand exactly what that must have been like.
No money. 
Mouths to feed. 
Getting by any way you could.

With that thought in mind . . .
When clothes became dirty they were thrown into the closet floor in Grandmas bedroom, where they stayed until "Wash Day".  In the meantime, anytime someone in the family needed to wipe or blow their nose it was the practice to go to the "dirty clothes" pile in the closet and GRAB anything there and BLOW or WIPE as we needed.

I'm just sayin', since I have

this in my memory bank,

I should be excused for wiping my

nose on my shirt.

I'm also sayin'

I don't think "The Depression"

was all that Great.

Girlfriend "Chit Chat"

This is simply  "chit chat" between Girlfriends.
If you were wearing your sweats and sipping diet Coke with me right now  This is what I would be telling you about. 

Doncha just LOVE this?

A friend gave this to me for Christmas.

It instantly became one of my

"Favorite Things".

Husband and I were invited to a
small Dinner Party last night.
I was asked to bring a Salad
to contribute to the meal.
 Not to say I'm lazy,
but I hate washing lettuce   
I was most happy to oblige. 
Everyone LOVED my salad,
and I think it was partly because it
was served from the pretty Yellow-Polka-Dot Bowl.
(mental note:  pretty dishes HELP)

Dead winter and there's NOT a good tomato to be found.  What to do?

This is what I did -
And it was DE.LI.CIOUS.

Washed.
Dried.
Torn into small pieces.

Mixed into bowl of lettuce,

just before serving.

"Sugared Pecans".

(could have been Sugared Walnuts)

*Recipe below

Added to the bowl of lettuce

and Craisins just before serving.

Drizzle onto the Salad
and mix well.
*this is what I used but probably
any type of Raspberry Vinaigrette
would be great.

As promised -
                "Sugared Pecans/Walnuts"


1/2 Cup  Sugar
1/4 t.      Cayenne Pepper
1/4 t.      Salt
1 Cup    Nuts   

Carefully melt sugar in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  When sugar is liquid add Cayenne Pepper, Salt, and Nuts.  Stir till nuts are well coated, then transfer to a plate lined with Wax Paper coated with Cooking Spray.  When cool, break into pieces.  Store in airtight container till ready to serve.    *I made these the day before I planned to use them.

Do you need a refill on your Diet Coke?. . .
BTW, "Happy New Year, Girlfriend!"