After about a year we had saved up some money and decided to start looking for our own place.  We had heard about some mobile homes for sale in a nearby town  so we went to look at them.  We only looked at a couple before we found one that I fell in love with and shortly thereafter we moved into our first ‘home’.

It was just a little single wide trailer in a mobile home park down in Grand Rapids, but it as ‘home’ to us and we loved it.  We decorated it just so and it was all we needed.  A few years later we actually moved it up to the town we now live in and put it on a piece of property Buster’s dad bought for us.

We have since sold it and moved on, but I will never forget that first ‘home’ we moved into with out little family so many years ago when we first got married.

This last October Buster and I celebrated 18 years of marriage and I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone better! I am so blessed!

February 6: Dinner (nom nom nom)

February 7: Button(s)

February 8: Sun (pay no attention to the filthy window, mmmk,thnx)

There ya go… I think Dinner and Sun are my faves so far!!

Carry on….

So, here are my first 5 photos!!!

Cause I am a rebel and will not be coerced into posting daily!! Cause that’s how I roll, yo! Or it could just be that I have been spending 24/7 setting up my new site for by Cupcake Biz over at Jo-Lyn’s Cup Cakes N’ Candies.  Go check it out! I’m pretty excite about it!!

Aaaaannnnywho….

February 1: Your View Today (looking out my back slider)

February 2: Words (recipe)

February 3: Hands (my daughter’s hand makin’ the love sign)

February 4: Stranger (peeps I don’t know…blurry cause it’s an action shot taken at a basketball game  at ‘The Girl’s’ school.

February 5: 10 am (making soup for ‘The Girl’, she’s sick today)

Well, there you have it, a picture for every day of February 2012! BAZINGA!  Sadly, none of my pictures are taken with a nice fancy camera because I don’t have one.  I have a simple little digital camera that takes average photos most of the time and below average photos sometimes when it wants to give me grey hairs and bleeding ulcers irritate me.

As my kidlets have gotten older, I have gotten better.  After the first one, it actually got better anyway.  I think that’s pretty normal.  With the first one, you lecture everyone about how they need to baby proof everything before you can visit.  You make sure they have everything taken care of from the knob locks to the pool safety covers.  It’s quite ridiculous the measures you go to to ensure the safety of the first child. By the time the second and  third come along, it’s old hat and you have chilled out quite a bit.

Your friends and family don’t dread having you come over for fear that you are going to sanitize everything your child will come in contact with including their dog.  And they don’t have to worry that you are going to ask them to ‘please put away your figurines so I don’t have to tell my child no’.  For the record, I do not do this but I have had people come to my home and ask me to do this and no, I’m not kidding.

Anywho, now that one is in heaven and is quite safe and the other is 15, I don’t worry nearly as much about them getting hurt while playing.  At least not like that.  Now I worry about ‘The Girl’ getting a Volleyball or Track injury.  Or heaven forbid when she does end up taking drivers ed and getting her license, her getting in a fender bender….

Crap!

You know the old saying ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’? Well, I want to know if you can teach an old lady new tricks.  I used to play the clarinet in high school.  Not very exciting, I know.  I always thought it would be more fun to play the flute or the saxophone or something, but I played the boring clarinet.

I don’t even remember why I played the clarinet. I don’t remember liking it, really.  My sister played the coronet.  I that an instrument? I think it is…It’s something like a trumpet, right? LOL I’ve always liked the guitar.  And the piano.  I have always admired the piano players in our church.  Getting up there Sunday after Sunday playing offertories and specials.

I’ve often thought about trying to learn to play guitar or piano, I hear they are similar.  But I am getting too old for that now.  I can’t even remember to brush my teeth before bed.  Goodness gracious, how would I ever learn to play guitar?!?!?

Carry on people, Carry on….

He said he doesn’t think the condition is advanced enough to be causing the chest pain I have been having so he suggested it might be a pinched nerve in my spine.  He said that the ribs being out of alignment can cause the kind of pain I have been having and he wants me to see my chiropractor weekly for a month or so and see if I have any improvement.  I went for my first appointment the following day and my chiropractor said I was way out of alignment and my adjustment was quite painful.  So, I’m thinking maybe we are  on the right track? I guess time will tell…

My lungs were healthy, too.  And my heart monitor readings were normal as well.  So if the adjustments don’t take care of the problem, which I think they will, then I think we will have to assume that we are looking at something stress related.

That wouldn’t surprise me at all. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had problems of that nature.  My dad and sister are both being treated for anxiety disorders and I have been in the past, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that I am dealing with something like that.

Anyway, just wanted to catch everyone up on what’s going on with me.  Still trying to figure out what I’m doing, will keep you posted as I figure things out…

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip (It’s so good!)

We pulled into the motel down by my dad’s and realized our car was leaking radiator fluid (always a good sign, or NOT).  On a positive note, we knew going down that we were coming back with a new (to us) Honda CR-V.  My dad decided to give my step-mom’s van to my brother and sister-in-law because they have been looking for another vehicle and he thought that would work great for what they needed. And because he did that, he thought he needed to get us a vehicle too.  I assured him he did not, but he was having none of it (Thanks Daddy, you’re the best).  So, immediately, he started looking for a suitable vehicle for Buster and I.

Find This:

• 1 stick butter, room temp
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, room temp
• 1-2 cups powdered sugar, depending on how sweet you want it
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup chocolate chips + some for ‘garnish’ (or more depending on how many you like)

Do This:

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture starts to bubble. Set aside to cool, and whisk in vanilla.
2. Cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar for 60 seconds. With mixer on low-speed, add in brown sugar and butter mixture. Mix until combined. I added the chocolate chips at this time so the mixer could break them up into pieces. You can do that, or just fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Garnish with additional chocolate chips. Serves with fruit, cookies, crackers, pretzels or just dig right in with a spoon (not that I did that or anything).

This stuff is really good.  I think I found the original recipe on Pinterest but I didn’t stick to the original recipe because, well…. I’m me!!  Of course now that it’s the new year and I am now on a mission to lose another 40 pounds in the next 5-6 months, sugar (and flour and anything processed) is the enemy and I can no longer eat yummlies like this.  Sigh.

So my dad got online and searched for an all-wheel or 4-wheel drive car that would get as good or better gas mileage as we were getting with our neon.  He and my brother actually looked a couple of Honda CR-V’s, but ended up getting the one we drove home. It’s a black ’99 Honda CR-V with 91,000 miles on it.  It’s in really good shape and even has a remote starter on it! It’s an awesome little truck/car.

When we left my dad the reality of his loss was setting in, but he seemed to be doing well.  I texted him this morning to see how he slept last night and to make sure he had a good breakfast this morning.  He said he had a rough evening but slept well once he got to sleep.  He had fed himself a healthy breakfast and was having a fairly good day.

I just hate the thought of him being lonely.  He is going to take the rest of the week off I think and go back to work on Monday.  He could take Monday off and have it paid, but I told him to be careful not to sit around and stew too much and he agreed.

He has a good support system in place.  He is already plugged into a Promise Keepers group through his work and He is a member of a church and has a good Pastor who will look after him.  I wish I lived closer so I could be there more.  But I will just have to pray a little harder! He will be fine, I know God will take care of him!

I didn’t really make any New Years Resolutions to speak of, but I did decide I needed to work harder at keeping my home uncluttered.  I live in a very small house and it’s very easy for it to become cluttered in a very short amount of time.  I also have decided to get more exercise this year.  Even with my heart murmur and breathing difficulties, I want to lose weight and be healthy and SOME exercise is a must.  So, I have decided to do what I can and call it good.

This morning I went in for the 24-hour Heart Monitor test.  Last week I had a Pulmonary Function test and my Dr.’s office called and said they got the results and want to see me so they scheduled an appointment for Monday.

I haven’t heard anything from my Dr. about the Echocardiogram yet.  I will ask about it when I see him Monday.  I still laugh every time I think about the lady’s reaction when I asked her if the sound I was hearing was the murmur I wasn’t supposed to have anymore.  She said, “A murmur means you have a leaky valve and that’s a loud one!” LOL I knew what it meant.  I was told years ago that I had Mitral Valve Prolapse and that eventually I would probably have to have that valve replaced.  but a few years ago before having major surgery, I had a physical and they told me I didn’t have the murmur anymore.  I guess they were wrong.

Anyway, that’s what’s going on here.  What’s going on with you? Are you well? Did you have a good New Years?

‘The Girl’ has been having some issues at school.  Some bullying issues.  Harassment by some kids.  Some rumors have been started.  Some slander of her good name has ensued.  I have been quite distressed over this and so has she.

We had a talk with the correct authorities and we are hoping that things will calm down now.  As of the last couple days of school, things were still happening that were bothersome, but the principle at the school was taking care of it.

I am glad that he seems to be on top of things. When I told him ‘The Girl’ was so upset about recent things that she didn’t even want to go to school there anymore, he was surprised and seemed genuinely concerned.  He also wanted to quickly resolve the problem so that ‘The Girl’ felt safe and happy at school.  And since she spends the majority of her day there 5 days a week about 8 1/2 – 9 months out of the year, that sounded like a good plan to me!

With my daughter’s bubbly, friendly spirit, bullying is something I never thought I would have to deal with.  But here I am smack dab in the middle of it.

It is not okay to bully someone just because you feel threatened by them in some way, people.  If they have a stronger friendship with someone than you, SO WHAT! You can have more than one friend at a time.  And it’s okay that they spend more time with someone else sometimes! You wanna know why their bond is stronger?? Because one lost their father and the other lost her brother.  That’s why their friendship is so strong.  They have a special bond that most people can’t understand because they haven’t had the kind of loss and pain these girls  have been through.  And hopefully they never will!

But instead of trying to understand them, let’s start rumors about them and cause problems! Yeah that is always a good idea.  I just don’t understand high school drama.

If it doesn’t end, I will take it to the police and I will pull her from the school.  A little over a year ago we had a scare with ‘The Girl’ with some depression and some scary stuff and I’m not about to sit and watch her spiral out of control again.  I won’t do it.

So to all those out there who think it’s fun to start rumors and call names and just be punks in general.  It’s not OK.  How would you like it if someone did it to you?  And you can puff out your chest and say it wouldn’t bother you at all ALL.YOU.WANT. But it would.  It would bother you if you had to dread going to school every day because you never knew what new thing was going to be said about you.  Or what new person was going to threaten to beat the crap out of you.  It’s not fun! It needs to stop! It will stop! One way or the other, IT.WILL.STOP.

We can end this with police involvement or without, it’s your choice.  I am a very reasonable person.  But I am done being the nice, happy go lucky person who is everyone’s friend.  Not that we can’t be friend’s, but this is my child you are messing with, so if you are gonna mess with my kid, we can’t be friends!   You have brought out the Mama Bear in me.

You think I’m bluffing? Try me!

An echo-cardiogram, a pulmonary output test and a 24 heart monitor are all being ordered and then he prescribed an inhaler for when the tightness in my chest gets really bad and the coughing spasms start.

So, we should be getting some answers soon.  He said if these all come back negative, then we will look at anxiety/stress related illnesses, as these run in my family.  We want to rule out any physical ailments first.

Your prayers would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks so much.

How can that be?  Something must be causing this.

And now I am having this mysterious chest pain and shortness of breath that makes me cough.  The Dr. thought it was pleurisy, so he put me on meds for inflammation of the lining of the lungs.  I took it, but he said it could be weeks before I see an improvement (which I have not seen yet), so I don;t want to call him yet and tell him I am not feeling any better yet, because it might be too early for me to be feeling any better…

So, I am felling very frustrated.  I am sick and tired of feeling sick and tired!   It’s been since March that I have been dealing with this passing out issue and it’s been a month or more that my chest has been bothering me.  It feels like someone is sitting on my chest  about 90% of the time and I can’t take a full breath about 50% of the time.  And I have this ache in my chest and shoulders.  And sometimes I get sharp pains, but not very often.  I cough quite a bit and especially when I think about it or talk about it (I have issues about being able to breathe).

Being sick all the time wears on you.  I am grumpy all the time and my husband is getting sick of me being short tempered, but sometimes I just can’t help it.  I’m tired and don’t feel good ALL.THE.TIME.  Something has got to change! I have to have some answers and soon! I am going insane!!

I hope everyone else is having a better fall than I am, Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!

I’ll be seeing you,

I have been super busy…

Wanna know what I was doing???

This is what I was doing…

Photo’s are Property of Jo-Lyn’s Cutie (Cup) Cakes

And we had a wedding to go to and the girl was sick and I was sick (and I’m still sick) and so on and so forth…

So I have been a lil’ busy.  Happy and Busy!

See ya soon,

^^^^^^^^ yeah, that one up there    ^^^^^^

It’s all about “The Plan Of Salvation”.  What? You don’t know that is? Well, I will tell you!

We all are born and we all die right?  Easy question….

Most of us wonder what is going to happen to us when we die, right?  Another easy question…

Well, the answer to that question is this, we either go to heaven or hell…those are the options, according to the bible.

Heaven = pleasant, happy, fun, blessings, family, food, sunshine, Jesus, God

Hell= unpleasant, sad, no blessings, loneliness, deprivation, satan, evil

Both are for ETERNITY one you are there folks, there are no second chances, once you die, the choice has been made, there is no going back…

This is the thing.  You must know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior in order to go to heaven! Plain and simple.

You have to realize you are a sinner (we all are Romans 3:10)…

You have to realize that there is a penalty for that sin (sin always has consequences Romans 6:23)…

You have to accept that Jesus paid that penalty for you (when He died on the cross Romans 5:8-9)…

You have to realize that He is your only way to heaven (you can’t do anything to get yourself there Romans 10:13, Romans 10:9-11 )…

It’s as simple as that.

Most people say a simple prayer, something like: “Dear Jesus, I know I am a sinner.  Please forgive of my sins and save me from hell. Take me to heaven some day when I die.  Thank You Jesus for what you have done for me. Amen.”  Or something along those lines.

The important thing isn’t “what” you say, it’s that you mean it and believe it in your heart, because “saying” a prayer isn’t going to get you to heaven!! You must believe!!!

That, my friends is “The Plan Of Salvation”

Has there been a time in your life that you accepted Christ as your personal Savior?  I would urge you not to wait! We aren’t guaranteed another day friends.

Hugs and Prayers