Christmas Day

We had such a nice Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We woke up to elk in the neighbors front yard yesterday morning. What a glorious site to see out of the kitchen window. Three huge bull elk, have to be the same ones that were here the day before.

Today we spent most of the day with Johns brothers and their wives. Didn't really do much and worn out tonight. I am not used to just sitting around doing nothing all day long.

Santa was good to me again this year though.

Hazel, these magnificent animals were in your yard! Imagine if still lived there and I called you to look out your window!

Christmas is Coming

Well, its here. Christmas Eve Day. I woke up this morning at 4 am. Just couldn't sleep any longer, too many things to do before everyone gets here tonight, and I have to work 9 to 3. One of these years I may take a few days vacation. I had lots of stupid little things I wanted done, things like change the scan cards in the digital frames. Mail the payment to Kohls for my credit card, put name tags on the last few gifts and get them under the tree. Get the laundry going etc, etc, etc. My husband is just as bad, he is already at walmart for a few last minute grocery items. He must have left about 5:30 or so. Thats 5:30 a.m. We are both nuts. I can only imagine how much more excited I would be if my kids were going to be home. God, I miss those kids.

The elk were here yesterday. During the day and I got some beautiful pictures of them. They were bedding down in the backyard and were here from 8 am until I left for work at 11:30. Three huge bull elk. I hope they don't try to walk through the gazebo though.

Have a merry Christmas everyone.

Happy Birthday Dad!

The Santa picture is my mom and dad. Paul and Nikkie found a computer program and put their faces on the pictures. I loved it. This is my dad wearing the hat we bought him for his birthday. It lights up. He is going to see if Miller Light will pay him for advertising their beer. LOL

WE had Christmas at my folks house today, sure do miss my kids being there. Maybe some Christmas soon we can have them home.

Christmas is coming

I normally love this time of year. Christmas has always been my most favorite holiday, I'm usually worse than the kids, but this year its been a bit different. I am realising it is our first Christmas since Mike passed away and I hate it. I do remember how he loved to tease me with the presents.

At any rate, it is finally coming together. I have been shopping before and after work for what feels like months now, but think we finally have it mostly done. I am going to get some of them wrapped tonight. John got some of them done yesterday.

Our gazebo looks absolutley gorgeous with the lights on in there. I never did find a tree for out there but there is always next year, and will give me something to look for.

I love my new treadmill, it is awesome. I tried to do an endurance workout today but forget that. I went back to a weight loss program. Not quite up to endurance yet, but think I will be working towards that.

I love days off too, but back to work tomorrow.

Jammie Day

Ok, I'm having a jammie day. About time too, its 21 here today and snowing and blowing. I don't have to go anywhere and doubt that anyone will be here. My hubby is working nights and is sleeping so I am doing a bit more decorating.

have been busy, walked the new treadmill, put some more decorations up downstairs and just came up to eat breakfast. Breakfast at lunchtime today, its 11:45.

I have some housecleaning I want done, in my jammies, some more decorating to do, in my jammies, laundry needs finished too, in my jammies. Get the point? Pink flannel jammies to be sure. Warm, comfy and not leaving the house.

I miss my kids.

Lets say thanks

A Blue Christmas

Well, I got the majority of the decorating done today. The tree is blue and silver this year, it fits my mood. I love the way it looks, hope John does to. He is at camp and hasn't seen it yet. He has all of the outside lights done and I am thinking I may put a tree in the gazebo, he even lit that up and it looks gorgeous. I am so pleased with it.

I took time tonight and updated the ticker for my exercise minutes. I have been slacking with that lately and it hadn't been updated in months. Tomorrow is the first so it felt like a good time to change it.

We've had sleet and rain today and were supposed to be at work tomorrow morning early for a meeting but they called and canceled it thankfully. Now, if they would just call and cancel work for the day it would be awesome. Well, I can hope right?

Just for today

I read this on Sparkpeople today, not sure who wrote it, but I borrowed it.

JUST FOR TODAY ...smile at a stranger ...listen to someone's heart ...drop a coin where a child can find it ...learn something new, then teach it to someone ...tell someone you're thinking of them ...hug a loved one ...don't hold a grudge ...don't be afraid to say "I'm sorry" ...look a child in the eye and tell them how great they are ...don't kill that spider in your house, he's just lost so show him the way out ...look beyond the face of a person into their heart ...make a promise, and keep it ...call someone, for no other reason than to just say "hi" ...show kindness to an animal ...stand up for what you believe in ...smell the rain, feel the breeze, listen to the wind ...use all your senses to their fullest ...cherish all of your TODAY'S

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

In Memory of Jimmie

I lost another friend to cancer. I'm not really sure you would consider Jimmie a friend, but I did. What constitutes a friend? Probably some people would think you would need to know that person. Let me say I never met Jimmie. I had talked to her only a few times in my life.

Jimmie was my ex husbands girlfriend. I had never met her, she lived in Arizona, I live in Pa. When Mike passed away in April, she couldn't be there, she was in the hospital having chemo and being sick with cancer. I am the one who held the phone up to Mikes ear so she could talk to him when she called, I am the one who called her when he passed and she was still in a different hospital. To me that constitutes a friend.

We had talked a few times since then and had sent each other a text once in a while, not often but like Mothers Day etc. I thought about her yesterday with the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday and wondered how she was doing. She had told me last time we talked she knew it wouldn't be long. I sent her a quick test tonight and within minutes my phone rang. It was her son answering the text I had sent. Jimmie passed away yesterday afternoon at 3:15.

I cried for this friend, this friend I had never met. I know she is in a better place and know that her and Mike are once again riding Harley's, this time across the sky. There in a better place pain free.

Obesity

I hope this link comes through okay, I found this link on sparkpeople and found it fascinating. The state of Pa, is ranked 18 for obese and overweight adults. Thats terrible, when you look at the map there are not very many states that have low numbers.

Check out this link http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25727730

I need to start posting more here. I heard from our friend Hazel tonight and she is still following my blog. I feel like I let her down, I haven't posted much lately, but will do better. Sure was nice to hear from you Hazel, we miss you being here.

Blast from the past

Were we ever this young? Look at the hair on my son! Holy cow! My duaghter looks to be maybe about 5 or so, that has to be about 20 years ago.

I haven't written a blog in ages. Just haven't taken the time but decided to this morning. I have today off and my dear hubby is back on his weird Dupont hours which gives me more time home alone. Free time is good. I am planning on taking advantage of it today. I, as usual have about a thousand things I want done. The closet in the spare room really needs cleaned out, the fish tank needs done and I would like to start decorating for the holidays here sometime. Although I must say I am not much in the mood for Christmas this year. May put a Christmas cd in later and see if that helps.

Relay 50/50 raffle ticket sales are not going well, it seems that just my sister and I are the only ones selling them. And their isn't much $$ in the 50/50 yet. Think I am going to buy some for our kids, maybe they will get lucky, maybe not but it can be my contribution to the relay and the pot will be bigger for whoever does win.

i started a detox program yesterday, have never done one but my boss and some of the girls at work do, and they swear by it. I figured to give it a try and see what happens.

Guess I'll go get busy. Oh, its 13 here this morning and we still have the pond running, guess we better get those filters out of there soon.

Biggest Loser

Smiles

Got this pic in an email this morning and wanted to send smiles your way.

First snowfall

We have our first snowfall of the season today, its gorgeous but then the first one always is. Its a chilly 32 and I went out for a walk early this morning to get some pictures. Hope you enjoy them, we even still have the fountains in the pond running. Supposed to be back to 50 by Friday, sure hope it is.

Coffee or Tea?

I have been a heavy coffee drinker for it seems forever. Although, I had sometimes enjoyed a cup of tea,it was usually one in the evening to relax. Last year at our Relay for Life I won a tea gift basket. I had been reading about the benefits of tea and had started to incorporate a cup or two of green tea into my daily diet. Lately, I have found that I am drinking one half cup of coffee most mornings and am now drinking all tea. I have found a few sites to order loose leaf tea through and have really enjoyed the different types and flavors. Plus an added benefit for me is that with coffee I always used some type of milk, creamer, etc and with tea I do not. Check out this site I found yesterday and ordered from, it already shipped and I should have it tomorrow. This is a page from that site of the health benefits of tea. http://www.adagio.com/info/health_benefits.html?SID=ad7bdd7174890721790e573960c54f4e

Walking

"Above all do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday I walk myself into a state of well being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. But by sitting still, and the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill ... if one keeps on walking everything will be alright." (Soren Kierkegaard)

This quote came from a friends page on www.walkertracker.com I am sure she won't mind if I borrow it. The picture is another one from our walk yesterday. 6 miles ! Woo hoo! Hey, I just realised I am not sore this morning. Well, not much anyways.

Walking

Cher and I had a real nice walk this morning, up and down little hills, dirt roads, paved roads etc. It was a chilly 30 degrees when we left around 8:15 this morning.

Think we may both be a bit sore come morning, we walked a total of 6 miles in two hours. Took a break in between and thankfully John had some breakfast ready for us when we got home. Am thinking the butt cheeks may know we walked that far come tomorrow.

had a great day though, was nice to have the time together to do this. Sure did enjoy it. We burned 376 calories so that was my exercise for today, although I may still ride the bike a bit. We just brought my air bike in from the porch so I can ride while watching tv. My minutes have been low lately and I need to get back into it.

Gonna Be A Bear

YARD SALE

Well, tomorrow is our yard sale for Relay for Life. Our second one for this year. WE had planned to do this to get rid of some of the stuff left over from the one in June. However, that has backfired and we have more stuff (junk) than we ever have. On top of that it is supposed to rain tomorrow. Originally days ago tomorrow was to be the nicest day of the weekend. That also has backfired and it has not yet rained and they are now calling for thunderstorms tomorrow. If we can not get rid of this stuff I am going to SCREAM. I doubt that will help but it may make me feel better. LOL

Actually a good part of this junk I am making Betty take right back home. I do not want it and am not even putting it out.

She is going to think I am a real bi*ch. but i really don't much care at this point.

Paul is coming to stay with us tonight. I have plans to put him to work. Although almost everything we can do outside is already done until early tmorrow morning.

I've decided to make 50/50 tickets I think and to have them ready for tomorrow. So we'll see how that goes.

Time

Time sure has a way of getting away from us. It seems lately I never have enough time. Monday was my sons birthday and I never even had time to post it on here, not that it matters to anyone but me, but it matters to me.

We are getting ready to do another Relay for Life yardsale, it will be this Sunday at my house from 9 to 5. I am taking today to get ready for it. My sister is coming up this afternoon to help set it up.

I need to run to town and get the ad in, they won't do it over the phone, have to have the payment right there with it. What a pain living in a small town can be. We got the tables last night and John hung up poles for us to use for clothes. Still doesn't give us as much room as we wanted but it will work.

Niacin

My friend Cathy suggested niacin to help with the high cholesterol. I spent some time researching it last night. I found the following article amongst many others. Check out this link http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/niacin/CL00036

I did buy a small bottle of niacin today at walmart and will give it a try. i also bought two new workout dvd's. Both from the 10 minute solution series. The one has 5 different 10 minute ab workouts on it. I did 4 of them. Bet this old belly will be sore tomorrow. LOL

Had fun with it though. Got in 107 minutes of exercise today. I sure do love days off.

RFL yard sale

Looks like we are going to try another relay for life yard sale before winter hits. Hope we can get a good Sunday to do it soon. Hate to have this stuff stored all winter and have it sitting around. Sure don't want to be doing it once it gets to cold either though. Am thinking maybe we can get it together here sometime soon.

Problems

If you are having problems viewing the blog I am trying to get it corrected. it is giving me fits here and apparently alot of other people are having problems with theirs also. The problem seems to be with blogger and with internet explorer. Hopefully they will find and correct the problem. I talked to support about it this morning. Funny, it will let me post and let me see the blog, but then I get the error message.

Cholesterol

My daughter tells me she is having problems with internet explorer while reading the blog. If anyone else is having problems let me know so I can maybe see what is going on with it.

Oh shoot, I've been told recently by two doctors that my cholesterol is a bit on the high end. Nothing to be really concerned with but want to keep an eye on it. The thing that gets me is that I do things right and my cholesterol is higher than my hubbies. He says its because I don't eat enough cookies. Great! I am tracking my cholesterol and will see if I can get it down before the checkup next year. This is the second year that they have mentioned it, so guess maybe I better see what we can do.

eliptical intervals

Got back to basics this morning. Too rainy to walk outside and haven't been on the eliptical probably since spring. I've been outside walking instead. This morning I strapped on the heart rate monitor and the ipod and went down for the eliptical. I decided to do intervals, and really enjoyed going between 3 different resistance levels and different speeds and watching the heart rate levels. Ended up going 1 mile in 36 minutes and burning 157calories. this is a much better workout than my normal walking/jogging intervals. Can really feel it in the legs. I enjoyed it and it felt good to get back to the machine. Guess its time to hit the shower and get ready for work though. figures now the sun is coming out. Have a great weekend everyone.

Happy Anniversary to us

4 years ago today we got married at Paradise Stream in the Pocono's. someday we are going back there for vacation, it is awesome!

West Virginia

I have always thought it strange that the past few years we have vacationed in W. Va. Growing up in Ohio, two of my best friends were from there. Virgie, whos real name was of course Virginia, and Cathy, who I know reads this blog occasionally. WE just got back from there this past week. We went to Wheeling and we do really enjoy it there.

This morning I received this email from our ministers wife, thought it appropriate. I don't think she knows we had been there.

"Some people in West Virginia have trouble with all those 'shalls' and 'shall not's' in the Ten commandments. Folks just aren't used to talking in those terms.. So, some folks in West Virginia got together and translated the 'King James' into 'County' language..... no joke, read on...
The Hillbilly's Ten Commandments (posted on the wall at First Baptist Church in Summersville, West Virginia)
(1) Just one God
(2) Put nothin' before God
(3) Watch yer mouth
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meetin'
(5) Honor yer Ma & Pa
(6) No killin'
(7) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal
(8) Don't take what ain't yers
(9) No tellin' tales or gossipin'
(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff "

The picture is of the summer home of the Oglebay family at Oglebay Park.

Awesome product

Am I the last person in the United States to know how awesome the swiffer sweeper vacs are? I have been wanting one of these for a while. We have all hard wood and linoleum floors with area rugs. Everytime I have looked at walmart for one they are out. I finally found one! I love it, absolutely love it. Can't use it on the area rugs of course but oh my! How awesome it is on the wood and the steps downstairs! I cannot even begin to tell you how amazed I was by this little inexpensive piece of rechargeable equipment. I will never be without one if I can help it. I have been reading some of the reviews done on this little powerful sweeper and looks like most people agree with me. how awesome it is! If you have hard wood, tile, linoleum, or other hard floors it is definatley something you will like having around.

Quote from Sparkpeople

Even if our efforts of attention seem for years to be producing no result, one day a light that is in exact proportion to them will flood the soul- Simone Weil

What we can learn about patience from a diamond.

Trying (but failing) to see your goals realized can be frustrating. Margaret Thatcher once said "You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it," and she was absolutely right. You've got to believe that you will succeed! Never admit defeat as long as time and effort remain. Our greatest asset is patience; our greatest weakness is throwing in the towel. Banish discouragement and feelings of impossibility by working hard, doing more, and not giving in! A diamond was only made beautiful after millions of years as a lump of coal

I have learned patience, well somewhat anyways. Patience has never been a virtue of mine. I had none. However, it seems the older I get the more I have. Maybe it is a learned thing or maybe for me it just came with time. When buying the new car I took 3 weeks, made numerous trips to many different car dealers,narrowed it down to 2 cars at 3 dealers and took my time to get the best car for the least amount of $$$. I am very happy with my purchase.

Then comes the laptop. The new Dell XPS M1530, which isn't even 2 months old. It died last Sunday. After countless hours on the phone with Linksys and Dell they are sending a service technician out. She is to meet me at work today with a new part for it. A driver. Dell on call removed the old one and couldn't get a new one to install. I can use it but not as wireless. Thats what I bought the laptop for. Hopefully with any luck it will be back to wireless tonight after work. No way to check it at work but she said to replace that part is all that Dell has authorized her to do anyway. If it doesn't work it will be another phone call to Dell. This has been a real pain and I am not really impressed with dell at this point. Hopefully this corrects the problem though. Patience? I am trying hard to keep mine.

Two days off

I love it! I have two days off in a row. Doesn't happen very often but today and tomorrow are off. I am up early and going to get busy here getting things done. have a lot on my list. i want to install itunes on the laptop. Have been trying to get the time for a while now. Some housework in dire need of getting done also and of course my exercise time. I love exercise time. here is my new car! I think I made an excellent choice. Very pleased with it. I had it Simonized inside and out to prevent stains, etc.

Have decided?

Think I may have decided. Driving home from my moms today after taking her home I had time to think and realized that what I like best about the matrix is possibly the color? I stopped to look at the Equinox again and they do have a black metal flake. Both chevy garages are going to see if they can find me a black metal flake, with all wheel drive, moonroof, remote car starter and call me with a price. The Toyota dealer called again today also and I am taking my car back there on Friday to let them look at it one more time. He says the used car salesmen wasn't there and they want to be fair with me..yeah right.

Cast your vote.

I have been having a blast. As you may know I am looking at new cars. I have it narrowed down to two. My first choice as of this minute is the Toyota Matrix, check it out here. http://www.toyota.com/matrix/index.html My second choice right now is the Chevy Equinox which you can check out here http://www.chevrolet.com/equinox/

I have never in my life been a patient person, I have never bought a car this way and I am quite enjoying it. I have been looking for about two weeks now. Yesterday one of the two Chevy garages called and left me a message to call them, today the other one called and offered me an additonal $800 off the Equinox. I am looking forward to hearing from the Toyota garage within the next day or two. The salesperson there had been on vacation monday and Tuesday of this week. I like some of the features of the Equinox better, the one I am looking at has a remote car starter and the back seats actually slide back and forth for more leg room or more storage room. The Matrix and Equinox both have moon roofs.

My daughter says I like ugly cars and I suppose that could be true, after all I bought an Aztek. Hard to believe that was over 5 years ago. If that had all wheel drive I wouldn't be looking for a new one now. Both the Equinox and Matrix have all wheel drive. Course keep in my mind my daughter drives an orange, yes, orange Mustang. I suppose that someday soon I will decide what I want. For now, I have a sale sign on the Aztek, if I can sell it for more than the trade in value it would be awesome.

So, tell me which one you think is the coolest? or the ugliest?

Been a while

Has sure been a while since I have posted. Things have been a bit different around here lately. My kids had been home for a week and it sure was wonderful having them home. WE had a great time and loved having them home. They night before they left, my mom had a mini stroke and has been in the hospital ever since. A week yesterday now. She is doing fantastic and if you ddin't know you would never suspect. I have been there quite often when I am off work so just haven't taken time to post. Wanted to catch everyone up on the news though and post a picture from the party we had while the kids were here. This one is my mother and my daughter. More will follow.

Thank God my mom is doing so well and will home soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOLLY!

Today is my darling daughters birthday. She is 28 years old and I find myself wondering where those years have gone. Looking back it seems like only yesterday. Although some times while she was growing up the days seemed to last forever. She was so smart and such a bull head and she surely loved to argue with me. I am fortunate to have both my son and daughter home this week and have had a bit of time to just enjoy them being here. We had a family cookout on Wed and that was nice, and a lot of fun. Friends and family came from all over and I think everyone enjoyed the day.

Michelle and Bo went to Ohio today to spend the day with Mikes family. I believe they had a small memorial service for him and Michelle called a while ago. Her and Bo are on their way home. I had thought they were spending the night out there but she wanted to come home.

I'm glad cause I'm off tomorrow and I miss her and the little doggy. Last night I slept on the couch with Zoey until about 3:30 am. the kids had all gone out for Michelles birthday and I didn't want the dog barking and whining and keeping us up all night. Tonight i came home from work and no one was here, no dog here either and it sure was quiet. I'm going to miss them all when they go home.

No sleep tonight!

Doubt I'll sleep much tonight. My kids leave Vegas at 1:00 am to come home for the week. They will be landing in Pitts at 11:30 and be here before I get home from work. Tried to get a half days vacation but there are only a few of us working tomorrow. Sharan is working at the other store, Scott is on vacation and Bev is off. No luck getting a half day off. Darn it.

The heron is back at the big pond. I have been trying to scare him away but he always comes back. Think we are going to put the net up again. Hate to have to do that but sure don't want him eating my fish.

I went grocery shopping today, the first time in about 4 years. John always does it, but I wanted all kinds of different things to do all the different salads for the cookout on Wed. It sure was weird being in the store, went to Shop and Save, took me a while to find everything. Hope I have all I need and really wonder what I am going to do with everything tomorrow night until Wed once its all cooked. Not enough room in the fridge.

Looking forward to the cookout though, hope the weather is gorgeous and its supposed to be, even with Howie being home.

Got it

Have no idea why this wouldn't come through sooner. Maybe blogger has a problem and not me? Here is the stone Gary is doing for us. He says its 3 by 3 and I sure hope it is cause it looks small here.

I hope next Wed is as beautiful as today. Next Wed my kids, Bo and Anton will be here and we are having a large cookout. I am actually looking forward to it. Even the cooking part..YUCK

today is sunny, warm and a bit humid but would sure be nice to just be sitting around visiting with everyone and eating and drinking.

Stone

Well, for some reason I cannot add pictures to the blog from the laptop. They come up with just that stupid x in a box thingy. Going to have to look into that but not now. Maybe Michelle knows when she gets here.

Gary emailed a picture of the stone for our yard. I thought it was to small and emailed him that. He wrote back that it is about 3' x 3' and as big as he handles so I told him to go ahead. Its a real nice looking rock. Wanted to put the picture on here but can't figure out why it won't work.

Kids will be here a week from yesterday. I am getting so excited. We are having a cookout on Wed and I will have to figure out the picture thing for the blog so I can get them posted. How frustrating to not know how to do something.

I hope Gary hurries and gets that stone done.

Relay notes

Total raised so far by all teams is over $54,000. That is awesome!

We got rained out and most everyone packed up and went home. I got home about 2:15. Figuring Cher did about 3 am. Not as many teams this year and alot of people left even before the rain came. I like to stay the entire 24 hours but sure didn't want to in a storm.

We are already discussing options for next year. ARe we doing it again? More than likely I think.

Cher won the Miller Brothers furniture card. Kind of ironic and I won a real nice gift basket from gourmet kitchen which includes all kind of tea. thats actually kind of ironic too, it has a lot of green tea and I had been reading where that is so healthy to help fight cancer. I drink at least two cups a day and had been pushing it on Mike and Michelle that past year.

It was so nice having Paul and Nikki there. Enjoyed the heck out of that and hope they don't get mad but here is a picture..or maybe two.

Relay for Life

It's here. Our second year of doing Relay for Life. We will be at the park about 8 this morning to set up our campsite. Will be tearing down tomorrow morning around the same time. We really don't have enough people this year on our team. One of the girls has to work all day today and is planning on coming over tonight but will she?? One of the others told us yesterday she won't be there, two of her kids have games today. That leaves about 5 of us. Will be tough to ensure everyone is okay and not left alone the entire time. Will have to split up the few chores and yet still walk and get around. Should be a fun day though and I am not going to worry about it. It will all work out.

I'm hitting the shower, my sister should be here in about an hour. Look for pictures to come!

Another loss

We lost another friend today to cancer. Vicki had breast cancer, then spread to her bones. My sister told me tonight she passed away this evening. Last I had seen her she was in pretty bad shape and so thin and tired and worn out. Why do people have to suffer so much? I know she is not in pain any longer. She will be missed.

Relay is Saturday, July 12, its coming quick. Please come and spend some time at the camp site with us. Buy a luminaria for a deceased friend or family member. See what Relay is all about. If you have never attended you will be quite surprised. Alot of different teams will have different fund raisers going on at relay. it is a 24 hour event because cancer doesn't sleep. We will be selling raffle tickets, and hoagies.

It does get hard to keep coming up with ideas for fund raisers and I wish we would have done better this year. I think I lost my motivation for it after Mike passed. Just wasn't the same, but I will be lighting a luminaria in his memory this year. And another one for Vicki.

Please check out this site I found. You track your distance walked daily and they contribute to fight breast cancer. http://www.beewellmiles.com

Sisters

I have the absolutly best sister in the world. She came up and spent the day today, we didn't do well with the half price yard sale. ONLY made about another $6.00, ended up tearing it down and getting it put away though. Sure was glad to have the help with all of that, it went down a whole lot easier with two of us doing it. It would for sure have been up for days yet. We even got the tables back to the church. We got a nice walk in and went for ice cream too. Am tired and can bet she is too. Sure did appreciate her help with it all though.

$$$

We raised over $400 on Sunday at the yard sale. I am going to have a half price sale day tomorrow. Everything is still set up and priced. No advertising but a few signs out by the road. Am thinking about just doing it from 11 to 4 and see what else we can get rid of. We have still got quite a few nice things. It then may get packed away till fall. Hard to believe the relay is 11 days away. It will be good to get it in.

Yard sale benefit

Well, its here. Today is the yard sale to benefit the Realy for Life. Our team this year is the Rocking Walkers. I have been setting stuff up on the car port since Wed and fighting the rain since then too. So far so good, nothing has gotten wet but they are calling for 80% thunderstorms today. Please everyone say a prayer that the rain holds off. We have some really nice big items that I would like to set up going down the driveway. I can't do that if its raining. It will be a busy day. Mom, Cher and Betty are all coming early to help. I do have most of it done but still a bit to go. I hope that we make a nice amount to benefit the relay. That is coming up pretty quickly now. 2 weeks from today we will be tearing down our campsite and coming home after 24 hours of being there and walking. I'll have to get some pictures posted on the blog from last year. Maybe tonight I can take some time and do that. I remember sending pictures throughout the day to Michelle and Mike. He really enjoyed getting them and "being a part of it all."

Bake Sale

We had a bake sale today at the store during our special friends and family day sale. We raised about $275 for our relay team. We have about 3 weeks to go. We are not doing as well as last year, but the economy is worse and I know people are having a harder time making ends meet.

I am glad that the friends and family day is over, that is always a big pain for us, and a good feeling to get it done. This was the first year that our relay team did the bake sale and the raffle tickets there. I think it worked out well and sure glad that my sister and Trisha could come run it for us.

I do wish we could come up with a big fundraiser but we are running out of time. The yard sale is here next Sunday and we are getting some nice things for that from fellow co workers.

Email

Just received this in an email from my sister. Wanted to share it here.


The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know.
Old Age, I decided, is a gift.
I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror but I don't agonize over those things for long.
I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement lion that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.
I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon?I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will. I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.
They, too, will get old.
I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things. Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect. I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.
As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong. So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it) MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART!
MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND IN YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER! FRIENDS FOREVER!

3 years

It is hard for me to believe that it was three years ago today that I was life flighted for the second time in 3 months. I never realized it until late tonight. I was setting out for a walk and something was bothering me, couldn't quite figure out what it was but then thought about this. I thank God daily for those doctors at UPMC, without them I would not be here. I think I was probably saved for a reason but have yet to know what it is. My appoinment for the check up is scheduled for August. I still have to go once a year but maybe if everything is good this time they will let me wait a bit longer. I will have to do the blood test before I go down so they have the results.

Check out this gorgeous flower, it is a hanging basket in the gazebo and is called a passion flower, this is only one of the flowers on it.

Newest Pet

This little guy has been here to visit a few times the past few days. We are wondering if he is deaf. John tried telling him to "shoo", "scat", go away, etc after we caught him eating our shrubs and bushes. He is up by the big pond and fairly close to the garden we just planted and also close to the new flower bed. We keep saying he but could be a she just as easily. It really is quite cute and I would love to keep him around, but I sure don't want him eating everything we just finished planting. Think were going to have to name him though.

RELAY FOR LIFE

Wanted to let everyone know that we have a multifamily yard sale scheduled for June 29 here at my house. All proceeds to benefit the Relay for Life. I've received a few donations lately from friends, so all is not lost. Granted with the economy what it is this year we are not doing as well as we did last year. I've changed the ticker on here to reflect the donations we have so far but also to update the goal. I had it set for a team goal but with being co captain instead of captain i really do not know where we are with it. I changed this to just reflect that which I have collected. Please remember you can mail donations to me at home made out to the Relay for Life or go to http://main.acsevents.org/goto/peggi_yeager

That should hopefully take you right to my page with relay. Our relay is held this year July 12 -July 13. Everyone is welcome to attend. This is the luminaria I did in honor of Mike last year

Developing a growth plan

Most of you know that I love to read inspirational and motivational books. Two of my favorite authors are Joel Osteen and Jeffry Gitomer.

The following is a quote I received via email from Joel Osteen's site:

Do you have a plan for personal growth? Are you doing anything intentionally and strategically to better yourself? Understand today that growth is not automatic. You can have success but that doesn’t mean you’ve reached your highest potential. There is always room for increase. There are greater mountains to climb and new frontiers to be explored in life! So many people fall into "destination disease" where they think they have arrived just because they reached a certain goal. They think that since they accomplished something, or got their degree, or a certain position, that they can just kick back and coast on what they’ve already learned. But, in order to continue advancing in life, we have to take responsibility for our own growth. We have to have the attitude, “How can I improve. What can I do to make myself better? We have to stir up that desire to learn. We should have a goal to grow and learn something new everyday. It can be as simple as, “I’m going to get up every morning and spend the first twenty minutes meditating on God’s Word and thanking Him for what He’s done.” “I’m going to listen to a teaching CD on the way to work.” “At night, I’m going to turn the TV off a little bit earlier and read a book for twenty minutes.” “I’m gong to hook up with my mentor twice a month and go out to lunch.” “I’m going to be at church every weekend.” That’s a growth plan. As you take responsibility for your personal growth, God will honor your efforts. He’ll give you the right breaks. He’ll give you the right opportunities and He’ll help you rise higher and higher. As you continue to grow, you’ll see every dream and desire God has put in your heart, come to pass!

Neat Birthday Clock

Hey, check out this site. it is a link to a birthday clock that will tell you how many hours and how many seconds you have been alive on this earth and when you were probably conceived. How cool is that? Th is is cool. Aft er you've finished reading the info, click again, and see what the moon looked like the night you were born. This is neat. Who says our time clocks aren't ticking...

I hope this link works, its cool. http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp

Here are a few of the things it has to say about me. Your date of conception was on or about 30 July 1953 which was a Thursday.
You were born on a Thursdayunder the astrological sign Taurus.Your Life path number is 9.Your fortune cookie reads: Funny thing about humility. Just when you think you've got it, you've lost it. Life Path Compatibility:You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 3, 6 & 9.You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 1 & 5.You may or may not get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 7 & 11.You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 4, 8 & 22.
Celebrities who share your birthday:
Daniel Johns (1979)
Kim Elizabeth (1978)
Peter Frampton (1950)
Jack Nicholson (1937)
Glen Campbell (1936)
Aaron Spelling (1928)
Yehudi Menuhin (1916)
Eddie Albert (1906)
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870)Top songs of 1954
Sh-Boom by Crew-Cuts
Little Things Mean a Lot by Kitty Kallen
Oh! My Papa by Eddie Fisher
Wanted by Perry Como
Mr. Sandman by Chordettes
Make Love to Me by Jo Stafford
Hey There by Rosemary Clooney
Secret Love by Doris Day
This Ole House by Rosemary Clooney
I Need You Now by Eddie Fisher

Thanks to my sister, Cher, for sending this link. Hope you enjoy it!

Outside

Well, John got the sidewalk done on his 7 rainy days off. The weather could not have been worse for his time off work. Well, I guess maybe it could have been, it could have snowed. It did in the surrounding areas.

I worked outside all day long today, am burnt to a crisp and stilll not done. I planted marigolds in the front yard amongst the bushes, then decided to tear out the forget me nots under the tree and plant marigolds there too. Planted snap dragons under the flag pole and still have zinnias to plant somewhere out back. I filled more pots too while I was out there. Think on Wed when we are both off we are going shopping for the landscaping for the gazebo. So I will be digging again or still as the case may be.

I had a long list of things I wanted done today, didn't get it finished and back to work tomorrow. last year, they closed for Memorial Day but not this year, we work. Darn it. I'm tired, sore and stiff, think I am heading off to bed. Goodnight! Sweet dreams

Sunday, June 29

On Sunday, June 29 there will be a multi family garage sale at my house to benefit The Relay for Life. finally we will be doing something to help out those fighting cancer. My heart has not been in this this year. I haven't really done anything so this will surely help our team achieve our goals. We will be selling chances on the chair, accepting donations, having a bake sale, possibly chances on a gas card, plus of course the actual garage sale. Hope the sun is shining by then. Picture is one from last years garage sale.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Another damp, dark, dreary day here in Pa. A day off and I want outside. It is may and I have flowers to plant, weeds to hoe, fountains to fix, gazebos to stain, etc etc etc. When is this rain going to end? We have all noticed at work how cranky people are getting. Everyone wants outside to be doing things and it just isn't happening. We seem to be stuck in April, the beginning of April actually. Only hope is that it gets nice and stays nice well into about December. Wish my kids could box me up some heat and sunshine and ship it my way.

RELAY FOR LIFE

I haven't posted much about the Relay for Life this year. My heart is not in it and I haven't really done anything for it. I really do need to get off my butt and do something. I am going to send out emails with the picture of the chair Jeff made for us and see if we can get some donations coming in or some raffle tickets sold.

Quote

Thought this was appropriate, true and cute.

The present is what slips by us while we're pondering the past and worrying about the future.- Ziggy, cartoon foible

Crackpot friends

I received this is an email from a very good friend and wanted to share it with you, my crackpot friends.

All Of My Crackpot Friends

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.' The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? 'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. 'For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.' Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

The Pitts

Well, today is my first Sunday to work at BTR. This is the pitts, they have decided to open this store on Sunday from 1 to 5 and we have to take turns working. Today is my day, after working 9 to 8 yesterday I get to work again today. The nice thing though is that I then have 2 days off in a row, unheard of here. It really shouldn't be bad, just a pain that its in the middle of the day. think I am going to go downstairs and do my step aerobics, I haven't done any of that since last month and being in Arizona. I need to start getting back with the program I guess.

I've got three bluejays out here this morning in my bird feeders, they are not around often, but its kind of nice to see them as long as they leave the little birds alone, they can be meanies.

Lets dance

This was taken from a Sparkpeople mail received this morning. I think we all need to remember that happiness comes from within. Lets Dance.

We should consider every day lost in which we have not danced at least once.- Nietzsche, philosopher

Each day is a new chance to find joy and to dance. If you let it pass or think it useless, the chance is gone and you'll never get it back. When was the last time you played? Or just did something for the sheer fun of it? Joy is not found in the world around you, it's within yourself. You can make your own joy, especially during those dark times when you need to really feel alive again. Fun and play are healthy antidotes to taking life--and ourselves--too seriously. They're proven boosters of immune systems and mental health and make life worth the trouble. So do the twist. Sing in the shower. Learn a magic trick. Watch a cartoon. Challenge some kids to a game. Don't let a single day go to waste.

Grieving

This was emailed to me today by a friend from Sparkpeople. I wanted to share it here with you.

Ecclesiastes 3A Time for Everything 1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. A time for everything. Peggi you are in your season of grieving and it is just something one all has to go through. The emptiness is hard to fill but through your time of healing it will be filled once again with fond memories and etc. Time will heal and I pray for you and your children as you go through this grieving and healing process that you all will be closer than ever before. There was a time he was in your life more, he was the father of your children, you can't help but feel for a time of what you are feeling now.Hoping for the best and keep exercising, journaling, it's great for healing.God Bless You and your family

Garbage Trucks

I received this in an email from my boss, thought it was pretty neat and wanted to share it here.

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, "The Law of the G arbage Truck."He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. Th ey run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so..... "Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't." Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Grateful

This morning is one of those days. It's a day off from work, the sun is shining and I have about 20 gold finches out here at the bird feeders along with one male bluebird, who is absolulely beautiful. It's a day that makes you realise how much we all have to be grateful for. I know that there are times when it seems like the world has us down, there is grief and pain and loss and cloudy, rainy days. On days like this though it helps to remember the sun does shine again, we can smile again and we can remember and hope and love again. I am grateful today for the sunshine, the day off work and the time to do things that I want to do. I am grateful for my husband, my kids, my family, my home, my job, my life, my health and the list goes on. I'm grateful for the ipod that I will be wearing and the music I will be listening too while I plant flower seeds in the back garden. Oh, I am grateful for those flower seeds and that garden too. I think today is just a day made to be grateful and a day to be thankful and a day to love.

Happy birthday to Me

This is a picture of what our gazebo will look like. John ordered it for my birthday and it should be here in two weeks! We measured out by the pond for it last night and think we finally decided where we want it. Then the fun begins, we can landscape around it once we decide what we want to do. The guy is coming down tomorrow to see about digging out the sod and putting in the pad for us. I have always wanted a gazebo, can't believe I'm actually going to have one out here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Giving it your all

From a Sparkpeople Email this morning :

If you can do your best and forget your worst, you've already got a head start on tomorrow. As long as you lay it out there every day, you can relax when yesterday is behind you. Of course, the only way this will happen is if you give yourself permission to forget. You can use this approach in anything: Pick up a problem, do what you can with it, and then put it down. Work your tail off at the office, then leave it there (the work, not your tail). Deal with a personal crisis by finishing off one day at a time. There's a great deal of satisfaction in leaving things be for a moment. There's a great deal of freedom in knowing that you could do no more. And there's a great deal of success awaiting the person who gives it her all, no matter what.

Blue Funk

I just can't seem to snap out of this blue funk I am in. Mike has been gone over a week now and I know that it takes time to grieve and that it cannot be done by the clock. I guess a week really isn't all that long when you compare it to the length of time we had together and the life that we shared. It seems that I am going through life right now just making the motions. I am not really seeing or feeling the beauty of spring around me. We have had some absolutely gorgeous days here since I've been back, I've been sleeping through them. I am not finding any enjoyment in the sunshine, the warmth or the flowers coming up right now. A friend sent me this link to a site for grieving and I have read through it, and have searched through others also. www.grieving.org/page6.html

Not myself yet

Still recuperating here this morning. Still have the cold, the cough and jet lag although the leg cramps are finally gone. Don't have any energy yet and so far all I have done is go to work and come home. Tried the eliptical last night and did 15 minutes but then quit. going to take a while to get back into things I guess. I'm off today and the sun is shining, chilly though. supposed to warm up this week and looks like it may start. I'm glad that I am off, I need a day to be home.

Leaving Arizona

I wanted to post a few of the pictures from Arizona here. I will be taking these off my computer. Have them all saved to disc now and think that is best. I came home from Arizona both physically and emotionally exhausted, with a severe cold and leg cramps that are horrendous. Am glad that I went however, I needed to do this. Bo helped me get a few pieces of a hummingbird vine and I brought them home. They made it through security on the plane,wasn't sure they would. Am going out now to plant them and pray they grow. They are from the hospice home.

Hospice Home

I am thinking here that I should backtrack a bit. I need to say that Mike passed away on Thursday, April 10 at 7:18 in the evening in Chandler Arizona. He was right, although I never admitted that very often. I do think I would have loved Arizona under different conditions. I am sure that through the next few weeks you will be seeing some of the pictures of the desert and flowers here. Although, it was early april there, the flowers were beautiful. I am particularly wishing that I would have gotten pics of the awesome petunias somewhere between his house in Tempe and the Hospice Home in Chandler I didn't get many pictures, this wasn't a fun time or a vacation for us, but my daughter and I did take off for a little bit here and there to just get away. We needed to rest our minds and our bodies and what she termed retail therapy helped somewhat. Speaking of retail therapy, I never knew my son in law was such a great shopper. We all got a chuckle out of the him buying me a pair of sandals. When I first got there I realised the homes floors were all laminate and my sandals were very loud. I wanted a pair with soft rubber soles and Bo was going to Walmart. I asked him to pick me up a pair, size 7. the boy did wonderful! They were a hit and everyone loved them. Guess Michelle will be sending him out for shoes next.

The Stranger

I recieved this in an email and thought it cute. Also thought I needed something a bit light hearted today. I am physically and emotionally drained. Not quite capable of doing anything yet today. Still trying to come to terms with the death of a long time friend and ex husband. We are all so glad that Mike is not in any more pain and is not still suffering, it has been a long rough road for him and he sure put up a fight. The docs gave him a year at the most and we had a year and a half. However, all of that does not change the fact that we miss him terribly.

The Stranger

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind. Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.) Dad ruled our household with certain in moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave. More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?.... . . . We just call him "TV." (Note: This should be required reading for every household in America!)
He has a wife now.... We call her "Computer."

Gone from my sight

I just received this poem via email from a very good friend, wanted to share it here.

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says: “There, she is gone!”
”Gone where?”
Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her. And just at the moment when someone at my side says: “There, she is gone!” there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: ‘Here she comes!”
And that is dying. Henry Van Dyke

Goodbyes

I'm in Arizona this minute in a Hospice Home. My daughter is exhausted and napping on the cot in her dad's room. Everyone has left and it is just her and I now. The last aunt left this morning. Mike is resting. He hasn't woke up much the past two days and we are grateful he is not in pain. Hospice is great with giving pain meds when needed. I wrote the following paragraphs last week before coming out but never posted it. I feel the need to do that now.

"I've never been good at goodbyes. I cry when I leave people. I cry when I leave my kids after a visit, I cry when they leave me. When my ex and I used to travel and visit with friends, I'd cry when we left them. I'd cry when we left his mom's or his sisters. I cry. I'm a cryer, guess there is nothing else to say about that. I need to be strong this week. I need to be strong for my kids and for my ex and for his sister and for my self. I am going out to say goodbye to the man I have known since I was about 9 or 10 years old, the man who is the father of my children and the man I have spent a major part of my life with. I talked to him the other night and cannot believe how much weaker he sounds in just a few days. I pray he holds on till I get there but yet how selfish is that. I do not want him in any more pain than he already is. I don't want to go but yet I have to. My daughter needs me now probably more than she ever has. I need to do this to be able to live with myself. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shouders since I made the decision to go. I'm at peace with my decison and know that this is the only thing I could have done. I am so very grateful that my husband is "okay" with this. No, he is not happy about it and No, I am not sure he even understands. But he is "okay" with it and I guess that is truly all I can ask for. Please people, if there is a relay team in your area, sign up for it. Donate to the American Cancer Society, lets all do what we can to help erradicate this terrible disease that takes so many of our families and friends."

Choices

Haven't posted here in a while. It's been a rough time for my family. Saw this on a Sparkmail this morning and it felt appropriate for now.

Our lives are a sum total of the choices we have made. - Wayne Dyer

Own all of your choicesThe choices you make today will determine the path that your life will take. When you sit back and look at the decisions you've made in your life, are you happy with the route you've paved? If you're not, make a change today. The next time you make a choice, ask yourself if this decision will lead you to the path you want to travel along. Set some new goals that will lead you to your dreams and then plan your course.

Sometimes we do what we have to do today to be able to live with ourselves later. We have to be able to look back and know that we did the best we could and go on with no regrets.

Clay Balls

I read this on a team post on Sparkpeople today. I wanted to share it with you all. Hope you enjoy it.

A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could. He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone! Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away! It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it. We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy, but we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person. There is a treasure in each one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth. May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them. I am so blessed by the gems of friendship I have with each of you. Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel.

HAPPY EASTER

One of my most vivid Easter memories is from a time long ago. I must have been about 4, and the only one awake early on Easter morning. I remember the Easter Bunny came knocking on our door. I was watching cartoons, it was quiet and everyone but me asleep. I heard that quiet knock on the front door, I peeked out the window and no one there. Then the knock came from the washroom door, I went out to that room and looked. Again, no one there. Back to the living room and again the knock on the door. No one. Back to the other room, No one. Somewhere through here after many, many minutes of this I pulled open the curtains and saw NOTHING! Nothing there, no one there and the knocking stopped. Now, 50 years later this memory still with me and to this day I am almost positive it was the Easter Bunny, well him or my Uncle Rob. I wonder if my mom remembers this? I am still talking about it 50 years later I am sure I must have driven her and dad nuts with it when it happened.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE.

Some kind of record??

If you had a vehicle that something or someone had run into 4 ,yes, four times in five years would you think that would be some kind of record? Yes, I'm talking about the Aztec, my 5 year old blue Pontiac Aztec, the same one I bought brand new off the show room floor without one mile on it five years ago. The same one that a deer ran into less than a month later, a huge buck, that deer who had his antlers stuck in the grill and took the grill with him actually. That time I didn't even have the payment book yet. What about a year later to the day when my favorite son in law, Bo, hit another deer with it, while they were home on vacation. Or better yet how about the time in October, 2006 when I was stopped at a red light and someone hit me from behind. I am still seeing the doctors and chiropractor for that one, the car is fine or should I say was fine? Then we come to today, probably the best one yet, the fourth time someone or something runs into the car. Today, again, I am parked, just parked. I am not even in the car thankfully. I am too busy looking for brown clogs to replace my old ones in the shoe store. I come out to find two guys looking at my car and walking away, to an older man sitting in a red pickup truck that is parked close by in front of me actually. Hes writing something and I am not paying attention, I am going to get a haircut. All of a sudden, I open my car door and the two guys start hollering, the old guy gets out of the truck with his note. Come to find out, he is writing the note to me...it says I hit your car while backing up..this is a true story people. Now, to make it better if you know our plaza, there are two lanes of parking , he is in the front one, I am parked behind him and to the right. All he had to do was pull out, no backing up, no turning to the right, just go ahead and to the left..So how does it come about that he backed in to the front drivers side of my car? this is a true story, and I came home to a message already from his insurance company with a claim number. Thankfully, he didn't just take off and leave, alhtough I wonder if he may have if it wasn't for the two men who were there and apparently saw it all.

I came home with much blonder hair than I left with too.