Simply Amazing...

So...I have been running crazy all day long....Best Buy...Lowe's....Vivo (a home decorations store, locally, that is going out of business)....took mom to a nice lunch. Gone all day long.

LOTS of stuff happening in the house. More pics to come soon. We will be getting our couch this week....moving the other furniture into the media room. Picked a a velvet curtain to try out for the room. Don't know if it will work though.

Anyways...just typing out a quickie before I leave. We have been invited out to dinner...an "Invitation Only" dinner at a nice restaurant in town. Lee's parents are treating us...thanking us for taking him on all of the trips we've been doing. Should be a great dinner!

Above, you will find a charcoal sketch that Briana (my eldest daughter) is working on in her art class. She's been spending hours looking at a draped cloth....and this is what she is coming up with. She amazes me. She's going into art/fashion in college...good choice, eh?

Well, I am off to go and get dressed and ready for dinner. I hope to write some more later!

I have a new PDA that I need to rave about!!

This has been my day...up to lunch time (right now)

LIVING ROOM



STARTING TO TEXTURE THE MEDIA ROOM



NEW PAINT VS. OLD PAINT IN THE ARCADE ROOM



SCRIBBLES WITH THE NEW PAINT ON THE OLD PAINT IN THE ARCADE ROOM



BAR IN THE ARCADE BEGINNING TO BE PAINTED



OLD PAINT VS. NEW PAINT. VS. NEW ALDER DOOR



ARCADE ROOM DOORS



ARCADE BAR CLOSET DOORS



OLD BRCK RED PAINT VS. NEW TAN PAINT



WALKING INTO THE ARCADE ROOM (THIS ONE GOT CUT OFF FROM LYING SIDEWAYS...SORRY)



LOOKING UP FROM THE FRONT DOOR TO THE MEDIA ROOM



MY STAIRCASE...WHATTA MESS!! (THIS, TOO, WAS CUT OFF LYING SIDEWAYS)



MY LIVING ROOM IN CHAOS



TEXTURING IN THE MEDIA ROOM



FIRST LAYER OF TEXTURING IN THE MEDIA ROOM




Sorry about some of those being on their side....I fixed it on my files, but it didn't seem to transfer to photobucket. Oh well.


Anyways...it's lunch break time for everyone. We have 3 painters, 2 drywallers and a carpenter here today. They ALL speak Spanish...which works out fine for me. All but one or two today speak English...which works out well for my mom who is here helping me through all of this.


I'll have to update you more later on.

***sigh***

How's about a quickie??

I swore to myself last night that I would do a lengthy blog....and I failed.


I swore to myself tonight that I would keep the promise that I made the night before.

I'm gonna fail.


This one's gonna be quick. (I think.)


Lots been going on here. Painters, drywallers, carpenters, cleaners....you name it, I've got em!! Tomorrow starts the repainting of our great room...followed by installation of the 5" baseboards. Then, tomorrow, starts the texturing in the media room...followed directly by painting and baseboards. I feel like the label on the shampoo bottles: "Lather, rinse, repeat". That's the patten that my life will be taking for the next several weeks.

Thankfully, there WILL be a nice break in March, where I will be visiting southern CA. Can't WAIT for that trip!! Get me the heck outta here!!

Saw the doc today. Said everything is healing AMAZINGLY well! Took care of a small issue, and wants to see me in two weeks. Gave me the "NO LIMITATIONS" release.

YEA!!!

GAME ON!!

Anyhow...I should go to bed. Early day tomorrow, and I have been waking up between 2:30-4am, every morning. It really sucks. If I would have had my head on straight today, I would have picked up my Rx for my Ambien. Oh well. One more night of this. Everyone else is in bed, and I hear Teddy scratching to get out of his crate already.

I'd better hit it, so that I can keep him quiet while Dean sleeps.

Hope you are all having a great week!!


PS.....might be heading back to work soon. I'll keep you informed of what all happens there....

TTYL!!

Poor little Theodore Brutus....

I wish I had a picture of Theodore Brutus. Actually, we all call him "Teddy".

Teddy is my 5 lb. Yorkie. He got terribly sick last night/early morning (it was VERY dark outside.....dark-thirty, as I call it). Then, when I went to take the girls to school, I called out to him...no answer. I feared that my hyper-active little guy may have passed in the night, as I could not find him anywhere. Last week, I starting crating our two male dogs. Teddy hasn't really been too keen on it. Tino seems to really like it. I opened up Teddy's crate during the night, so that he could freely get out and walk around our room if needed. I didn't want to tell Alyssa, right before school, that I was afraid that we may have "lost" him. My last ditch effort was to check the crate that he hates so much. Sure enough, there he laid the whole time we were calling him. That was my first signal that something was terribly wrong.

Once I got home from running the kids to school, I took a closer look at him, and watched how he acted. He was VERY lethargic. Wouldn't eat. Wouldn't take any water. As the day passed, I was becoming more and more concerned about him. The little doggie that bounces around like Tigger, wasn't moving at all. The little doggie that HATES being held, was doing nothing but cuddling. He was being the dog that I REALLY wanted...but, I knew he was sick. That made all enjoyment of him NOT being hyper, null and void.

Well, I called the vet to get their feeling about it all. They felt that because of his small size, he should be seen right away. I got him into the vet this afternoon. A very nice Dr. saw him and felt that his pancreas was possibly inflamed and irritated (pancreitis). Doc recommended hospitalization. So, my baby boy is in the pet hospital tonight, being fed through an IV through the night and into tomorrow. I wish I could just hold him and let him know that I am there for him. But, I can't. I hope they keep him sedated enough that it doesn't really phase him.

The vet left a message on my cell phone and said that his blood work was within normal limits. His white blood cell count was slightly elevated, but he felt that was due to inflamation, and not infection. They also did a "SNAP" test, which specifically tests the pancreas and its function. He said that was slightly elevated, but not enough to worry him. If nothing else, doc said I caught it right at the onset.

Plans are that they will try to feed him a special wet food tomorrow. They will give him a grape-sized portion, and if he keeps it down, then two hours later, they will give him another grape-sized portion. Hopefully, by tomorrow evening, he will be joining our family again.

All I know is that he will be sleeping in bed with me once he comes home. I miss him. I didn't think I would ever say that...but, I do.



On a brighter note, tonight was my first night back at church teaching the "Puggles" group. They are a bunch of precocious 3 year olds...and I love them dearly! My class has 5 kids registered. The leader of the program felt that would be enough for a teacher on her own. THANK GOD!! Three of the kids are VERY active boys. They keep me hopping!! Tonight though, I just had 3 kids. Flu season hit the other two. Plus, I had my mom with me. We did the normal class stuff...coloring, movie, craft...but, tonight, we also took a walk outside to watch the "moon disappear". Unfortunately, we only caught the beginning of the lunar eclipse, as their attention lasts only so long...and it was COLD outside!! Regardless, it was nice to be back.


Watched ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE.....TWICE yesterday. I just LOVE that movie!! You've GOT to watch it!! Also...look into who sat in the thrones after Queen Mary of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I. Then...look into their lineage. OMG!! It's QUITE the spider web of inbreeding! My family (mother's side) is said to be related to Mary Queen of Scots....so, THAT explains a lot!! HAHAHA On some of the websites that I was looking at (www.englishhistory.net), they had accounts from the day that Mary was beheaded. VERY intersting. I always thought that Elizabeth had ADAMATELY called for her cousin Mary's beheading. Not so. If you don't know the story already, I shall let you investigate it for yourself. (I ADORE researching stuff!!)


Anyways....long day for me. Long day tomorrow, also. I think I will play a little pogo.com, and then call it a night.


JoAnn...you asked for video of the doggies....now with all of this happening to Teddy, I will MAKE SURE that I get that video and post it up on YouTube once he's home and back to his usual self!!


Have a great evening, everyone!!

Wedding bells and birthday candles!!

Well, I made it through an INCREDIBLY busy weekend!


Valentine's Day was nice. I had flowers delivered to all of the girls and my mom...unfortunately, FTD screwed up and never delivered the flowers I ordered for my sister. MAJORLY disappointed in that. Dean took me out to a lunch of my choice. We ate at a grill that happened to have a Valentine's special of lobster...so, we both ordered that. It was great. Then, when I got home, I was surprised to find a lovely large bouqet of flowers that were delivered to me from Dean. Very nice surprise. I cooked dinner for 8 that night. Tried out a new recipe and it went over VERY well! I made panko crusted calamari steaks with a lemon/white wine butter sauce and topped with capers....rice pilaf...and steamed veggies...with a nice bottle of Caymus Conundrum. It was marvelous!

Friday was Sweetheart Dinner at church. A nice time was had by all there. Dean and I had Chicken Alfredo, and I donated desserts. We got to pass Valentine's to other people in the room, which became quite hysterical. My girlfriend, Lisa, was the chef...and she came out and presented me with a Valentine's gift: a walking pig that sings "I'm Too Sexy"....and SQUEALS when you pull his tail. He's in some satin boxers with hearts all over them. It was quite the hit!

Saturday we had Irene's funeral to go to. The weather was PERFECT! Very nice graveside service, and a large showing back at the church for the memorial and reception. Got to hear a story that she wrote which was published, and I got a booklet that had several other stories that she wrote. I can't wait to read all of those! Maybe one of my posts will have to be a story from Irene...

Sunday...typical church day...then we had my cousin Elizabeth's wedding to attend. I wasn't really sure how I felt about going...but I had a BLAST! And, she, as always, looked GORGEOUS. Unfortunately, Chris Isaak was a no-show. Bummed me and my other girl cousins out....but, we didn't let it phase us too much.

Here are a few pictures from the wedding:
























I had a BLAST! I got out on the dance floor with my daughters and cousins and tore the rug up!! Once I heard "Brick House" come on...it was ALL OVER!! I think I shocked the heck out of everyone (including myself), being able to move like that just a few weeks after surgery! It was a kick! If you are a friend of mine on MySpace, I have the entire wedding album posted...well, the pics that I snapped, at least!

Today was Alyssa's 15th birthday! Can you believe that?!?! I know that I can't! She was "kidnapped" by two girlfriends this morning, and taken out to breakfast and a movie. Then came home, and Briana took her shopping. It's a tradition in our house that I cook the birthday person whatever they want...so, tonight we had fondue. We had beef, chicken, bella mushrooms, blacktail shrimp, and langostino (little lobsters....crawdads). It went over very well. Alyssa asked that I just bake her a homemade cake with yellow writing...so, that's what you see at the top of the page. I have the video of us bringing the cake out to her and singing. It's posted on YouTube under my account. You'll also get a little insight into how much Briana partied at the wedding while mom and dad weren't looking...lol

Well, it's OFF TO BED for me! Everyone is asleep, and I can hear Dean-o snoring in our room. It's making me sleepy...so, I think I will hit the hay.

Hope you have an AWESOME week!

Dashing out my days diary....

That's it.

I'm losing it.

I'm going crazy.

That's me in the picture up there. (Wasn't my best photo...)


Let's start with yesterday...mid-afternoon.


I got a call from my ex-step-sister that my dad had been complaining about some sort of pain...and then one of his employees found him collapsed on the floor in the back room of his business. I made a few calls to friends and church asking for quick prayer...and I was out the door. Even though my dad is only 58, his health has been VERY frail for the last couple of years. He's 6'2", and weighs in between 113-125 pounds. So, you can see why I would be concerned.

I rush down to the downtown hospital (which has EVERYONE from EVERY walk of life carrying EVERY imaginable contagious disease), and wait in line to approach the window. When I tell them that my father had been transported to ER via ambulance, they go to look him up in the computer. They show that he has been at the hospital for 40 minutes, but, they have no idea where he is, as he has no room assignment. I am told that I need to wait 15 minutes and check back in. I waited almost 25 minutes, went back up to the window, only to get the same story. He's nowhere to be found. I call back my ex-step-sister....no answer. Call my grandma...no answer. Finally give up and call our family's real estate office. I speak with my aunt who informs me that dad is at grandma's house...so, I head over there.

Upon arriving, I hear how he was taken into the ER, had an arm band slapped on him, and then told it would be a 2-4 hour wait before they could get him a bed. So, they put him in a wheelchair and rolled him out into the waiting room. In that waiting room, were various people vomitting into trash recepticals. He stayed there about 5 minutes, and headed out to the curb. Curled up on the side of the road, he called my grandma and asked her to please pick him up. She gets him home, and they try to doctor him up at home. It would appear that he was struggling with his bleeding ulcer...but, it was not bleeding. By the time I got there, he was already starting to feel better.

Story goes though, that he had NOT collapsed, but gotten down on the floor to try and relieve some of the pain he was feeling in his upper stomach. It was no rush...an he would be fine. I was exhausted after running around and worrying about him.

So....that was my day yesterday.



Had a decent day today. Busy, but decent. They have stained all of the doors now (we only have a door on our bedroom...no door handle) and all 22 doors are out in the garage. Tomorrow they will be sealed, lacquered and (hopefully) rehung. Next in line would be the repainting of the entire house. I cannot WAIT until the day comes when I don't have a gaggle of workmen at my house from 8am-4pm!


Took my mom out to dinner tonight. Introduced her to shabu-shabu and kobe beef. Had an AWESOME time! The Tulare Ag Fair is this week, so there are people from all over the world here in the central valley. Rumors are that rooms are booked from south of Bakersfield, all the way up through Fresno. Booked....SOLID. So, while we were at dinner, there were QUITE a few people from out of town...out of state...that we conversed with. Bought a table of 6 people from Houston, MY favorite drink, Nigori sake. They returned the favor and bought mom and I our 3rd plum wine coolers. Sat next to two guys from Sacramento and had great conversation with them. On the other side of us was a travel nurse from Denver who was really great. Next to HER, was a young couple who were really cute. We all got to talking about restaurants in Fresno that they needed to go to. It was a lot of fun. It's really cool the people you can meet when you open up. Great stories, also.

As we were talking, we all decided that I could make a MINT renting out rooms in my house during the Ag Fair! Nice big remodeled house...pool, jacuzzi...home cooked meals...big screen TV...Wii and PS3...nightly Guitar Hero competitions....they all said they would pay good money to stay at my place. Maybe next year I will have to have the kids stay at their friends' house for the week!! ***laughing***

Anyhow...had a nice night with mom. Went to Target afterwards and strolled around.

Tomorrow's Valentine's Day. Couldn't get into the restaurant I wanted to go to for dinner. Will probably end up cooking. It's all good. We don't ever seem to do anything much for Valentine's, anyways. We trade cards...that's about it. I've got goodies being delivered for the girls, my mom and my sister. Hopefully, they will all like what they get.


From tomorrow on out, the calendar's a MESS!! Tomorrow is V-Day, Friday I have visitation at the funeral home in the afternoon, and a Sweetheart Dinner at church that night. Saturday is the funeral. Sunday is church, and then my cousin's wedding that afternoon. THAT should be interesting, as Chris Isaak (yes, the singer/actor..."Wicked Game") will be there in attendance. Lastly, Monday, is Alyssa's 15th birthday (which I can't get over yet). The kids have school holiday again that day...but, her friends are planning to kidnap her. Busy next 4 days.


Went and had my first massage in 5 weeks today. It was WONDERFUL!! I have had some pretty decent pain on both sides of my abdomen since my surgery. Spoke to my doctor about it...he said it was normal. I went in today, and Steve (my masseuse) started working on that area, and I JUST about went through the roof. I endured...and after he finished with me and left, I was feeling around where the pain had been...AND IT WAS GONE!! I was SSOOOO thrilled!! Wish I could have had that pain taken care of earlier!! When I came out, I asked him what the heck he did to my stomach? He said that I had some trigger points that were all knotted up, and he just took care of what he could. Wow! What a difference!! I would say that at this point, after Steve (my hero), took care of those knots....I have next to no pain! Next doc appt. is on the 25th. That will be the 6 week mark. It gets better each week.

Now if I could just switch out these hormone patches!!! Next week!!


I think I spoke a little about going to southern CA trying to find my great-grandmothers grave. We had no cemetary name...no city...just knew it was in So. CA. Well, through a bit of research and ONE phone call, I located her! I have the cemetary, section and plot number. I am so excited! Mom and I will be taking the girls down there...and none of us have been there before. I was thinking about going around and seeing some famous people's graves, also. Walt Disney is just down the road...and I did some research as to where his grave is. I guess it's hidden...but, I found where he's at! Should make for a fun trip. We are building on it, little by little.

I like the off-the-beaten-path stops. Got any to share with me??

Time flies...and friends pass....

I apologize, once again, for not being online recently. I have had many things going on this week...including losing a dear friend of our family, early this morning.

Irene Bopp, mother to our children's godfather, passed away this morning. She was 89 and full of spunk, up until the last moment. I will forever remember the last time I saw Irene. It was the Sunday before my surgery, January 13th. She was walking up to the church with her walker, and I asked her how she was doing. "Oh, you know", was her polite answer. I did know. I knew that she had been struggling with an undiagnosed pain in her chest for several months now...and I feared the worst, cancer.

I didn't get a chance to see her after my surgery. She was weak, and I missed a Sunday, due to recuperation. How I will miss her frail hugs and the smell of her perfume (I believe it was White Shoulders). Her pearl or beaded necklaces that she would wear every time I saw her. Sharing "pinching" time with her at beerock making. Her FABULOUS stories of her growing up. She had a few sisters, and an honry brother who used to shoot BB's from his gun at his sisters, in order to make them do his chores. Hearing her tell about "Germantown" in Fresno....LONG before my parents were ever born. Watching her strength as her lifelong friends disassociated themselves from her and her husband, Roy, when we started having division at our church. Such a strong, poised, graceful, wonderful woman. A definate cut above the rest. They truly don't make 'em like they used to.

Her funeral will be Saturday, and I can hardly wait to pay my respects to her.

I was having lunch with two of my girlfriends from high school yesterday, and had planned on visiting her. Unfortunately, time passed so quickly, and I was in dire need of a nap before visiting. By the time I woke up, it was already past 6pm, and I made plans, in my mind, to see her today. The phone call that I received a little after 7:30 this morning, changed my plans completely, and left me with a TERRIBLE sense of guilt.

I didn't so much need to see her for MY reasons...I wanted to see her so that she knew she was loved by me. Dearly. I hold tight to the faith that she was immediately welcomed into heaven, and knows full well how much I loved her, and how much she meant to our family. I will forever have fond memories of sharing time (and holidays) with her.


That being said, the days previous in this past week were nothing short of crazy. There were days where I had 4 different trades working at the house. Good news is, the tile in the media room is finished, along with all of the tile repair that needed to be done since we replaced all of our interior doors. Also, our pool and jacuzzi are in complete working order. We have the stain and lacquer chosen for all of the doors and baseboards. Baseboards should be installed this coming week, and the painter will begin working on the doors and frames this week. We have our woodworker who has come by a couple of times, trying to match up the hew and color of the wood that he will be redoing. Once everything has been installed, then we shall start conquering the repainting of the ENTIRE interior of the house. I don't think I shall ever watch "The Money Pit" again in my life. Terrible flashbacks. Through this whole ordeal, I kept telling myself that "one little match could take care of SO many problems!" Take my advice: Build new. DON'T remodel an entire house. And, REALLY don't try to live there during the whole fiasco!

I hear my next project is to replace the 4-tier fountain we have in the front yard. It's been defective since about 6 months after it was installed... I miss it. It will be nice to get it going like it SHOULD be working.


Saw a few movies this week. Saw two last night: The Brave One (with Jodie Foster) and The Kingdom (with Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper). BOTH were INCREDIBLE movies. The Brave One was my favorite, I must say. Riveting.....the whole way through. I cannot recommend this movie enough. Jodie Foster is such an amazing actress, anyways...but, the whole movie was incredible. The Kingdom was excellent, also...I just felt it lacked the speed at the beginning of the movie. (It might not have helped that Dean was having me play a game of cribbage at the start of the movie, either. I can't concentrate on too many things at once, anymore.) Regardless, I couldn't stop watching, once the action began. Jason Bateman was in it also, and did a great job. It's been a long time since I have seen him in anything. He did great.

Also saw Across the Universe. That was Alyssa's request. It was....interesting. It is a musical with a lot of Beatles music and some Janice Joplin thrown in for good measure. I found it vaguely familiar to "Sgt. Pepper's" from the late 70's...just more updated....with a HUGE anti-war theme. Bono was in it, if that gives you any idea on the anti-war content. Although I didn't agree with everything it proposed, I DID find it VERY interesting how they worked their way through the Beatles lyrics, and came up with some REALLY creative spins.

We watched something else, but I can't think of what it was right now. If it comes to me, and is worth sharing, I will bring it up again later.


Tonight, Dayna has two girlfriends over, as tomorrow is a holiday from school. Hopefully, they can keep it down. I have had a couple of good night's rest...and I need a couple more. We'll see how it goes. I have to figure out what we are doing for dinner tonight. I'd go for Chinese food...but, we had that at the beginning of the week. I think the girls are vying for pizza. Yuck.


Looks like we (all 5 of us) will be traveling down to Irvine soon. Bri has picked out a college, and we need to take a look at it and figure out her housing situation. They are charging an astronomical amount for dorm-style living...for an apartment for 4 girls. Will see how that all turns out. Hopefully I can squeeze in a couple of days at Disneyland. I am hoping that JoAnn, Joe and Kohl might join us...my treat. :)

Mom and I have been talking, and it looks like we will try a road trip with the girls at some point this summer. She would like to see her old house in Venice...along with her old schools. She also brought up the fact that she has never been to her grandma Morris' burial site. I am trying to find out where she was buried at. JoAnn, if you or your mom happen to know, I would REALLY appreciate the info! If I could get the name of the cemetary, I am sure I can take it from there to find her plot. After visiting those spots, I thought I would take them all to The Original Pantry in Los Angeles...and another day, maybe The Filling Station in Orange. I like great little restaurants...let me know if you are from the area and have some recommendations! I KNOW we will be making at least ONE stop at Chris N Pitts in Fountain Valley!! ;)


Well, I am going to end this session for today. Hopefully, I will be MUCH more deligent in writing every day. Thanks for hanging in there with me....

Miss me?

How awful that I have left you alone for a few days. I greatly apologize. Especially to you, Kohl. I see you peeking on, and finding nothing new. What a flake I have been. I am so sorry...

Well, to tell the truth, Sunday was a VERY long day for me. Almost 6 hours from leving the house, to church, to lunch, to dropping kids off, to picking my mom and Heather up again, to coming home. I TRIED to sneak a nice, long nap in...but, only ended up laying in bed for about 3 hours, getting a whopping 1 hour of sleep. I over did myself...

Today, TRIED to stay in bed as long as I could (after running the kids to school)...but, that didn't las very long as the cleaners were here bright and early. So...I have been lethargic most of the day.

We DID get ALL of the office furniture moved out today (14 sectional pieces!!), along with the treadmill. Now, I will be hustling to get tile, backer board and other materials, so that we can turn the office into a media room. Hopefully that will work out well.

Our painter is working on nailing down the color of the stain fo the doors, casings and baseboards. Once that's done, he'll be in a staining frenzy!! So, things are still hopping around here. No rest for the weary...

Alyssa is reminding me almost daily that it's almost her birthday (Feb. 18th). She'll be 15!!! I can't believe it! If I thought about it long enough, I would cry. Time just goes by so quickly, that it's unfair.

My good friends' mother is on the down side of losing a battle of what looks like cancer. Hospice got involved today. She's almost 90...and I love her dearly. Was always put together, an had nothing but wonderful things to say about people...even when they were ugly to her. I know that heaven is just WAITING for her, as she is QUITE a rare commodity. I hate to say it early, but she will be missed dearly.

Well, I am going to TRY and get a good nights sleep. I have been tossing and turning alot in my sleep, and wake up tired and with a headache. Hopefully tonight will be different.

I sure hope I have something more fun to talk about tomorrow.

Maybe I'll talk briefly about how I rooted for the Giants just because everyone else in the house was rooting for the Pats. HAHAHAHA!! Wish I would have had some money where my mouth was....

Oh well. Live and learn.

See ya soon!!

A Special Plea from Briana (my eldest)...

My daughter, Briana, has a fashion posted for the Project Runway Levi's 501 project.

Please vote for her. You WILL need to register (ick..I know)...but, if you could rate her idea 5-stars, it would mean the would to her! She is getting ready to go to fashion school in Irvine, CA...and if she wins this challenge, Levi's will produce her idea for he general public!

Here's the link:

http://www.us.levi.com/ProjectRunway/gallery.jsp#galleryDetailItem/3072/


Copy and paste in your address bar....then you will have to register to vote....the paste the link back in the address bar once again, in order to vote.


Thank you all so very much!!

~Michelle~

Chef du Jour....

I've come a long way, baby!!

I made my first dinner in over 3 weeks!! Home made spaghetti and garlic bread. it was FABULOUS!! As much as I have LOVED having dinner delivered for 2 weeks, it was SO nice eating food that I was used to!!

I was supposed to get some help from a little daughter of mine...but, she had her head buried in her laptop, and I just WENT FOR IT!!

I'm SO tired!! And SSOOOOOO full!!

I don't know how you make your spaghetti...but, due to tomato acid wreaking havoc on my tummy, I add sugar to my sauce. It gives it a pleasant sweetness, and cuts all of the acid content. I brown up some sweet Italian sausage...then some ground beef...drain off the grease and add the sugar. Then, I cheat. lol I use jarred organic tomato & basil sauce and simmer.

As far as the garlic bread goes...just get some french bread, melt a cube of butter (one per loaf), and I mince my own garlic and add it to the butter. Dip the bread in and stick it under the broiler until perfectly toasted.

Add some freshly grated parmesean cheese....and...PERFECTION!!


Other than that exciting news, a friend of mine was having a conversation with me about cemeteries (a love of both of ours), and sent me a photo of a plot in the middle of a shopping complex'es parking lot in New Jersey. Been there almost 150 years. Check THIS out:








Pretty bizarre, eh?

It was very interesting, because I was trying to find the pics on the internet myself...and found out that Wal-Mart has built over and dug up several old cemeteries in order to build their stores. You should do some research on it yourselves.


I know that many of my readers out there have the same common interest as I do in the afterlife...death...etc. If you haven't seen the show already, check out "Dead Like Me". You'll have to buy or rent the DVD's, as the show was VERY unfortunately cancelled after two FABULOUS seasons. Great show.

If you have any interesting cemetery stories or pictures, I would LOVE for you to share them! Two things I always like doing when I travel out of town: See a movie in the local theater, and check out the town's cemetery.


Maybe something you didn't know about me, huh?