merry christmas

Merry Christmas !

 The squirrel

is moms

little friend. She watches him from her bedroom window.  I met him and snapped his picture Christmas day.

friday

Mom was hospitalized for GI bleeding again but is back home and doing well. Daughter and I cleaned her house and did her Christmas gift wrapping yesterday. Dad had already done some of the cleaning which was a huge help. He was thrilled we were there to take over.  Mom did a lot of talking. So did dad. It's fun hanging out with them some of the time. They crack me up.
Mom asked me if I thought dad would look like Marc Anthony in the Marc Anthony jacket she bought for him for Christmas. I told her he might if she closes her eyes and asks him to talk to her with an accent......................and she talked about how expensive toilet paper is now a days. I told her about recently running out of toilet paper and how I used some of boyfriends coffee filters in place of toilet paper until I could get to the store. She thought that was hysterical........I made her promise not to tell boyfriend.

I did some cookie making this evening.
The girl up the street loves my sugar cookies.  I always bake a big batch for her..

I finished my gift wrapping last night. Daughter worked on a paper for school while I wrapped.........and we chit chatted as we worked.
She's doing good in school. So is her boyfriend. I'm proud of them.
I heard daughter telling one of her friends who was trying to talk daughter into going out on a week night and ditching her classes the next day......I heard daughter tell her friend that, un like her friend, her mom was paying her tuition and she would not throw her moms money away.
I was happy to hear her say it.....happy she wasn't taking it for granted......

I was shopping the other day and BOOM! The floor started tilting under my feet.......left, right, forward, backwards...............I felt the way a toddler looks when first starting to walk...............and then it went away.

Mr. Bojangles and We-ping are doing well, though Mr. Bojangles likes knocking around the ornaments hanging on the tree.
Santa is bringing catnip for them.

sunday

My kitchen wall. Old border and paint being removed so that the walls could be painted. Looks like an angel I think. Odie, it kinda looks like the angel in your Sunday posting.

wed.////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I'm /just /about /finished /with m/y /////C///hristm/as /shopping.///////////////////////////////////// ///////I//////only /hav/e /boyfriend /to /be /buy /for
and /thats /it.////////////////////////////
S/omething /is /wrong /with //////////////////////////////////m//y ///////////////////keyboard /or /c/omputer /as /you /c/an
see /here./////////////////////.....////////////////
I/t's /driv/ing ////////////////////////////////////////m/e //////////////////////////////////////////////////batty!///////////////////////////

I///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////'m///////////////////thinking /about /putting /up ///////////////my
C/hristm////as /tree /today,/ /and ////////////////////////////////////////the /out /door /lights.//////////////////////////

Odie,/ /I/ /lov/e /all /your /rec/ent ///////posts /but am /bloc////////////////ked /from/ ///c/om/m/enting
on /your /blog./././///////////////////////otherwise //////////////////////i/////// /would!///////////////////////////////////////////////

friday

Just because I think it's cute!

My 3 Boos. We had a nice Thanksgiving.

My homemade wreath turned out ok.

wed

I've been busy.
I crash at night, and then sleep like a baby.

Oldest son and I spent last Sunday together.
He works evenings/nights, six days a week, and he has
a social life........it's difficult finding the time
to spend time with him. When I get the chance I jump on it.
We had a nice time.........

I was scheduled to work Christmas.
Luckily one of the younger nurses wants the holiday pay and has
agreed to work for me.
So YAY!
I'm off Thanksgiving and New Years.
I may be wrong but I think this is my first Thanksgiving off in many years. I'm certain it's my first New Years day off in at least a decade.
I'm happy.

One of my patients asked me for a Vicodin yesterday. She asked me in front of another resident.. The other resident said, in a challenging, playful, competitive way "My nurse gives me two Vicodin." So I said to my resident in front of the other patient "When you come out of the dining room I have 2 more vicodin, a shot of Jack Daniels, and a sexy Italian man waiting for you in your room."

I went to the grocery store after work last night.
Must haves on my grocery list every week:
fresh baby spinach
2 jars of pickles (I think I'll start making my own so that I can save money, and use less salt.)
almond stuffed olives
a red onion
avocado
a can of black olives
cucumbers
3 cans of pineapples
a loaf of whole grain bread
tomatoes
low sodium V8 juice
everything else i buy just depends....

I bought my turkey last night. He was 44 cents a pound. I think he weighed 21 pounds. It's huge. I want to be able to send a bunch home with my sons. I bought stuff for an extra pumpkin pie so I could send a pie home with them too.


Daughter and "Page 83"Ms. Me: page 83 (1 of 3) have become the best of friends.
They go dancing, watch movies, talk on the phone,go fishing, and even work together. He was supposed to be daughters boyfriends dorm partner at EKU, but decided to stay here and attend NKU.........he's doing good in school.
Daughters boyfriend is doing well at school. He's homesick a little I think. He asked his mom if he could transfer to NKU. She's making him finish up his first year at EKU before she'll discuss a transfer with him. I think she's doing the right thing......
Daughter is doing well in school.
It excites her. She's enthusiastic when she talks about her classes. She spends a lot of her time at the library.
I just want her to stick with it.......you know?

Boyfriend is home from Colorado.
It did him good to see his sons, and his siblings.
His brother is in a rehab facility.
The left isde of his body is paralyzed from the stroke. He can speak though.......and his speech is clear..... his thought process is intact...........he's very lucky.
He called last night to say he moved his left leg........and he has regained gross movement to his left arm........so that's great!
Hopefully he'll be able to return to his home in a couple of months.

Boyfriends sister tucked a card with a note for me in boyfriends suitcase. It was sweet. Boyfriend is the youngest of 7 children. I think all of his brothers and sisters were 8 years and older by the time he was born. His older sister is protective of him still.
I think my sons will be like that with daughter all of their lives.

friday

Boyfriend left today for Colorado. His brother had a stroke, boyfriend wanted to be with him. His brother should be okay after a couple months of rehab. I hope.

I was relieved that boyfriend left town, though sorry for the reason.
I need the time away from him.

thursday

Daughter and I went to a couple malls yesterday to do some Christmas shopping. We also went out to lunch. The conversation never lacks when we're together. She always has a story to tell or something to say. She''s fun. I enjoy being with her.
 I remember when she was a baby, maybe six months old.... I took her to the doctor for her check-up. While examining her he looked at me and said "She's a little social butterfly!"  I guess I remembered what he said because I was born such a shy person. I was hoping my children wouldn't be. I looked up to her doctor. I respected him......and by golly if he said she was a social butterfly, then it had to be! Luckily he didn't say she was a loner,  a serial killer, or a wall flower. Right?

My work friend who went to Jerusalem and put my prayer in The Wailing Wall lost his temper at work last week and quit his job in the middle of his shift.
It's easy to understand his frustration. They will replace him with another nurse. Nothing else will change. All of those things that drove him nutty will be waiting for the new nurse to deal with......

I'll grocery shop today.
I love shopping. I don't like grocery shopping so much. It's more of a chore than anything. So I'll get that out of the way and then I'll make a Christmas wreath. I've always wanted one for my front door but was too cheap to spend the money on one. Have you seen the prices on them? They're expensive.
So I'll give it a try!

saturday

Fifteen years or so ago I bought a couple of lamps at a yard sale. I didn't need them at the time. They were pretty, and only five bucks for the pair. I knew I'd use them some day.
 Now I need two lamps. I've been shopping for weeks for a lamp or two that I like.  Good lamps can be expensive. I'm a tight wad.
Last week I remembered my yard sale lamps. So I got them out of the attic.
They're pretty.They have a retro 50ish-60ish look to them. But they're pretty just the same. They just need to be cleaned.   I'm happy.
Now I'm on the hunt for lamp shades.

tuesday

I cleaned all day yesterday, and cleaned all day today. I still have lots of cleaning to do. The reason I hate cleaning my house is because I see all of the repairs/updates that are needed. Then I feel frustrated that I don't have the money or time to get to all the repairs/updates at once. It makes me want to throw in the towel and just walk away.
But then I get my spring/fall cleaning completed, and I walk through my house at night when all is quiet and everyone is sleeping........and I'm grateful for and proud of my little home.

The past few weeks I've been putting together a room in the basement for me to work on my paintings, and some old furniture that I plan on refinishing. The room is coming together......I had to put it on the back burner, again, so I can finish my fall cleaning..........it's whats motivating me to get finished with my cleaning.......so I can get back to that room, and do the things I enjoy.

Daughters tuition is due this week.
I have it.
For that I am grateful.

A Christmas gift last year from daughter. Isn't it sweet?

sunday

It's 1 A.M.
I just finished paying bills, and I cleaned out a few drawers.
I never quite know what to throw away and what to keep when it comes to bank statements, divorce papers, receipts, contracts..............is there a rule of thumb? Do I keep that crap for a year, ten years?
It's getting on my nerves having all these papers...........as soon as I throw them away I'll need them......

I'm paying my nephew to remove some old border, hang a new light fixture, fill in nail holes, and paint my kitchen.
It's nice having someone else do the work.

The fire marshall recently did an insevice at my work.
She said you should clean the lint from the back of your dryer every few months. I think that's what she said..........it might be more often.................I thought all you had to do was empty the lint thingy...................a few nights ago daughter and I went to the basement and moved the dryer away from the wall.........................there was five inches of lint on the floor behind the washer and dryer, on the backs of the washer and dryer, and from the floor up the wall about three feet......................and to boot, the exhaust hose was disconnected from the bottom of the dryer...........
We cleaned the  mess........and vacuumed all the dust from the ceiling and surrounding walls.
Boyfriend put a new exhaust thingy on the dryer, and a new vent do hinky that goes to the outside.
I've always wondered why my cool air duct returns and floor vents were so dusty and gross all the time...............................I'm guessing it's because of the dryer not being vented........I hope that's why..........cause now it shouldn't be a problem.....

Daughter is doing really well in school.
She loves her creative writing teacher.
He told her she should be in a more advanced class, and that she was the perfect student.
She called me at work telling me how proud she was of herself............that she feels so  confident.......something she has never felt when it comes to academics........................I wanted to hug the guy.

Boyfriend asked me out on a date for this coming Wed.
I love him.
He's my best friend...........cracks me up that he asked me out on a date.
We go out all the time. We just don't call our time out a date.
Wednesday it's a date!

Wed.

My working girl.

My college girl...........

A tired Mr. Bojangles

foreclosed house

I didn't put a contract in on the foreclosed house.
All the work it needs inside, combined with the fact that it has serious plumbing problems, plus having my present mortgage scared me off.
Boyfriend offered to help. My dad offered to buy the house, rehab. it and then sell it to me for not a dime more than what he'd eventually spend. I was so tempted. Tempted to take dad up on his offer, and tempted just to go at it alone..............................I didn't though............. I'm happy with my decision.

my doll house

The foreclosed house that I'm interested in is now open for contracts!
My dad looked at it today. Boyfriend looked at it today. The old man who lives up the street from it took pictures of it today.......and 11 other people put in contracts on it. It's been open for contracts for two days.
I have an appointment to look at it tomorrow.
It's small. Smaller than my house. But the lot is much bigger than mine, and it's all flat. There's no house to the right of the property. Just woods. It's a single story brick home. Did I mention it's small?  It was built in 1958. So the closets are small. It has a galley kitchen that could be really nice with a little work.
I love the lot.
And even though the side screened in porch needs work, I really like that porch! I love the back yard..............If I bought it I could probably cut my gas and electric bill in half. My mortgage payment would drop a few hundred bucks.........that makes me happy.......it could be a doll house with a little TLC.........a small doll house..........I'd rather have more money than space.........
The down side is what if my house doesn't sell forever and ever............I couldn't carry two mortgages for very long.............it would be risky to buy a house before selling mine.........................................I've almost always played it safe....................maybe it's time to take a chance?
Maybe when I actually get inside of the house, rather than just looking through the windows, I'll hate the place...........