Vacation

We had a really nice time visiting Oldest and his family. I wasn't able to socialize as much as I would have liked with my daughter-in-law's family, but I'm afraid of my own shadow so no surprise there.

We played with the kids-





Bow and arrow courtesy of Grandpa Hubbs-which is what I called him all weekend. I started very young, so we're very young Grandparents. I found it hilarious.

Went to the beach-











The beauty of always holding the camera is that I rarely get my picture taken!

Barbecued-





And Youngest got his first lesson from a vocal coach-





Oldest in his studio-Smell This! Studios



Oldest is so talented, and is very much in demand. It was hard for him to take a few days off, but he needed it just as much as we needed to spend time with him. I'm so proud. He has a great family, and he's on his way to a great career. Warms my heart.

And look at these faces-





They make it all worthwhile!

Goin to California.....

with an achin.....in my heart....

We're going on vacation! Have a great weekend!

Easter with my family.....

is probably not like Easter in your house. We celebrated the day by playing full contact basketball, making up songs about Zombie Jesus Day!, and barbecuing chicken and burgers.

We had an excellent time, though I am tired, sunburned, and 3 pounds heavier.

Happy Monday!

Wrong Kind Of Excitement!

My nephew is on leave for the holidays (Marine), and he and his little sister came over last night for dinner and a movie. Well, that was the plan anyway.

What's the old saying-Men make plans while God laughs or something like that?

My brother stayed for dinner too, then Nephew, Hubbs, and Youngest went to rent movies. When they got back, they had one movie that was slightly questionable so Hubbs and I were checking the parental advisories on the trusty interwebs. Nephew decided to eat the left over steak.

"Mom! Cousins choking!"

"Holy shit, call 911" (which is my immediate reaction to everything)

Youngest had hit him on the back once, then I tried the Heimlich Maneuver. He was kind of able to speak, but he was turning red and spitting out huge amounts of saliva. Then Hubbs did the Heimlich, which left him better able to speak, but he said he still felt the steak stuck in his throat.

We called 911, and we are lucky enough to live about 1 minute away from our local fire station. They were here before the 911 operator was done asking me the usual questions.

It was determined that he needed to be seen, to possibly have an esophageal scope and have the foreign body removed. They took off in the ambulance (by the way, did you know if you are active duty military you can go to any hospital and be seen?) and Hubbs followed while I stayed home with Youngest and Niece.

They sat there for about 2 hours, when Nephew started feeling better and they decided the scope wasn't necessary, but they did take an x-ray to confirm the blockage had passed.

He's okay-a little embarrassed about having to be told to take smaller bites and chew more thoroughly, but he's fine. Thank you God, Jesus, or whoever is listening today. (have I ever mentioned that my Grandmother died from choking on food?)

So that left us today, all of us emotionally drained and feeling like we could have lost him. Which leads me to start thinking about how this is nothing-he's about to be shipped to Afghanistan, or North Korea, or whoever the hell we've decided is a threat. It's a little too much for my fragile nature today. I'm kind of feeling like I'm going off the deep end anyway (too much unstructured vacation time) and this has affected me more than I realize.

This is probably one of the most selfish things I've ever said but I'm saying it anyway.

I understand and appreciate the need for the military, I really do. I have always had a place in my heart for the men and women who are willing to fight and potentially die for me and my freedom.

But couldn't it be someone else?

The Day After

As I posted previously, we got HELLACIOUS snow on Christmas.





So, we went sledding!!



Determining the best path....



Downhill!!







It sucks, having to walk back up....





Is this beautiful or what?





Critter prints, because it's cool-



And then my batteries died, and I had no spares. So unfortunately, there are no pictures of when I got brave enough to finally try. Or any photographic evidence of when Youngest and I went at the same time, and we hit a damn sagebrush so hard my tail bone still hurts.

Is there anything better then spending time with your family and acting goofy?

Check This Out

We're a family of circus freaks!

Youngest Cousin (YC) and Brother in Law (BIL) are quite the unicycle riders. Personally, there is not enough beer in the world to even get me to try, but YC is actually very good.



Here's BIL-



And here's YC literally riding circles around his dad-



YC showing his mad skills--




YC, BIL, and Oldest Cousin teaching Youngest how to ride-



And of course, if Hubbs has anything to say about it, there will be rock jumping-



Would you try?

This and That

I have been so busy the past few days. It's been a nice busy though, hanging out with family and friends.

A few quick updates-

Here is a picture of the bacon wrapped jalapeños I made. They were DELICIOUS! I highly recommend them. I paid for it them the next day with my acid reflux, but they were so worth it.



Again, thanks to Pioneer Woman for the recipe. Find it here.

Little Wing, her mother, and I went to see Australian Pink Floyd last night. They're a Pink Floyd cover band, and they were awesome! If you're a fan of Pink Floyd, I highly recommend seeing the show if they come around your neck of the woods. Learn more about them here.

After the show I met Hubbs, his brother and the kids at the bowling alley and bowled a few games. I actually bowled three strikes in a row, and I beat the pants off of them the last game. Go me!

All this activity has left me a very tired girl. Today is relax, barbecue steaks, and spend some time with the family before they leave tomorrow.

Have a great weekend!

Woo Hoo!

Have I mentioned how much I love Thanksgiving? I LOVE this holiday. I love preparing a huge meal for my family, I love spending the day in the warm kitchen, I love eating what I want without counting the calories, and I love spending time with my guys.

Today is my Friday-I took tomorrow off so I could start my baking. I think I’m going to sneak in a few side dishes too, to make Thursday a bit easier.

Brother-in-law and Nephews arrive tomorrow night, so today and tomorrow will be spent doing last minute cleaning and digging out air mattresses.

It feels good to be happy. I know that sounds silly, but the last batch of holidays were my first ones since my mother died, so this year I think it will be a little easier on me. I still miss her, but I can express it without gut wrenching sobs.

Happy happy!

Family

I love Thanksgiving, I really do. It is the one holiday I feel as if I’ve made my own, unlike Christmas. I spent so many Christmas holidays in foster homes and other people’s homes, I just haven’t been able to shake the feeling that I’m not where I belong.

Anyhoo, Thanksgiving. I have embraced it and made it my own. I have my whole routine-listening to old Motown hits while I cook and prepare appetizers and visit with my family all day long. I was, however, ready to give that up for this treat-

We were invited to go spend the day with Oldest and his family. I would have loved to go, but unfortunately gas alone would be over $200.00. So we’re making plans to visit in the spring. (I haven’t even met the new baby, and he’s almost 2. Bad Grandma.) The offer to go made me feel good though, and for now that’s going to have to be good enough.

*************************************************************************************

I have a nephew who recently graduated Marine Corp boot camp. He’s here (at his dad’s) for about a month before they ship him off to………..Iraq. I know. I suppose this is the part where I start blathering on about what a stupid war this is and how much our president sucks, but you know what? I don’t vote so I can’t bitch. All I can do is pray to God that this turns out like it’s supposed to, and that “like it’s supposed to” doesn’t mean my nephew getting killed over there. We’re driving to my brother’s on Saturday to spend the day with him before they ship him off.

*************************************************************************************

My husband’s brother is married to a shrew. I spoke with her on the phone right around the time they first started dating, and I told her I knew what kind of woman she was and that I had my eye on her. Then we met, and my first impression remained with me. Yuck. One thing I hated? I don’t believe in ultimatums. And she was full of them. (Making him give up the occasional cigar? Threatening divorce? Come on) Ok, two things-she was rude to my mother in law-you do NOT mess with people’s mothers. I could go on, but…..

Ends up, they are divorcing. I feel terrible for brother in law-he is such a great guy. But he does deserve so much better than her, so maybe this is a good thing.

He decided he needed to get away for Thanksgiving, so he and his son are coming to our house for the holiday weekend.

So my next week is very well planned out. Shopping this night, cleaning this night, visiting this day, etc… As you know, I have a tendency to get overwhelmed, so let’s see how this turns out.

Another Reason Why I Drink/Drank

I have a family member who, every once in a while, thinks that I am part of the conspiracy the rest of the world is involved in to make it a point to hurt his or his daughters feelings.

It's exhausting. It also makes me cry. And very angry. Why do I continue to defend myself to someone when I have done nothing wrong? We have gone months without speaking because of something he thought I said under my breath. Like, hello? When have I not told you to get the hell out of my house TO YOUR FACE?

I could go on and on, and I would like to, but quite frankly, I'm emotionally exhausted right now.

The best part? I'm at work.

Woo hoo!