Category Archives: I have Family

September 8, 2011 · 8:36 pm

Not a Quality Post.

The news in these parts is the hot, hot weather this week and the weird rain storms we had for Labor Day weekend. The rain storms were great for me and my lap swimming — no one but me swims in the rain. My theory is, I’m already wet, what difference does it make if it comes from the sky or the pool?

This week, the temperature has been up over 100° at our house during the day. We live inland, and I work coastal, which means that on my drive home I can literally feel the temperature rise the closer I get to home.

I’ve even started aggressively seeking out shady parking spots at work and weighing the risk of bird crap against having a hot car that takes 5 minutes to cool down at the end of the day, even with the top dropped. The risk of bird crap is winning.

On one particularly hot day with higher than normal humidity, we decided to just run the air conditioning all night. That decision was a big deal for us, because I’m totally cheap and hate giving away one more cent than I should to utility companies. I slept fine that night, but poor Tony was miserable… apparently, our thermostat is one of those “smart” ones that requires programming. It programmed itself to turn up to 85° at midnight, and Tony woke up in a pool of sweat. So much for our splurging, oops.

Now that we’ve thoroughly discussed the weather, I can share some weird, randomness… always fun. We went to Walmart the other day and we parked next to this car. The woman who drove this car has an extreme affection for all things Stitch related. She had Stitch dolls for occasions I didn’t even know they made Stitch dolls for, like Easter, for example. I was really impressed and might have had just a touch of Stitch envy.

We had family over for a Labor Day BBQ and pool fun (had it all to ourselves because of the wonky weather). When everyone came back from the pool, I kept thinking there was a creepy Super Hero waiting and watching us by our front door. But it wasn’t, nope. Just a strange stacking of pool towels.

Also, because it was really, really good? California Pizza Kitchen’s tiramisu. Doesn’t that just scream cardiac arrest? ha

18 Comments

Filed under I have Family, Mermaid Envy, Weird is Fun

May 19, 2011 · 8:36 pm

Blogabilities – Week of 05/15/2011

* Remember the cat barf on my car I mentioned a couple weeks ago? i wasn’t sure how the barfer could top getting barf down in my gas filler area, but I am now able to tell you. For Friday the 13th last week, the Barfer barfed on the side mirror… and my hood, but the side mirror is the one that mystifies me. Trying to figure that one out… like, if it were bird crap, I could totally understand how it happened, but a cat? Mystifying.

* Also, on Friday the 13th, the coffee maker at work went out. Our Facilities Manager created this sign for the occasion and vehemently denied it being a Friday the 13th gag. I finally believed him when I saw the coffee machine fixing man out on Monday working on it.

* Did you know there are people whose job it is to go around to companies and restock their first aid kits with band-aids and Tylenols? I sure didn’t, at least not until I saw some dude in a uniform restocking ours at work. I’m still pondering what the guy puts on his resume as his official title. Also, what his qualifications have to be and how would one go about landing that kind of gig?

* Given my love for watermelon, and all melons in general, I have to say this story made me really, really sad.

* The owner of a company who partners with my company told someone pretty high up at my company that I am one of the nicest, most helpful people he’s ever worked with. He phrased the compliment in such a way that it sounded like he’s worked with me for years, although he hasn’t. Just goes to show that things do go through the grapevine, both good and bad. I’m glad this one was good.

* LivingSocial.com offered a deal with Fandango, 2 movie tickets for $9. Of course, I was all over that! We’re presently scheduled to see the new Pirates movie on Saturday morning and I can’t wait! Per Tony’s Movie Rules of Conduct, if the movie we’re going to see is a series, we have to watch all previous movies prior to seeing the new one… so, we’ve been watching all the previous Pirate movies this week. It’s a good thing I’ve been in a movie mood lately.

* Update on the washing machine fix… Tony determined that the broken part was actually a $30 part that we could buy at Sears. Once it was in, tested, and proven to be working, I called the company from whom I had ordered the $100 Brain/timer and asked to return it. In the course of the conversation, they learned that the part had actually been delivered slightly damaged. I told her it wouldn’t affect the operation at all, it’s just one of the four clips that hold it in place, the other three are just fine. She said not to worry, just go ahead and discard the part (umm, right, that will be happening) since they can’t sell it damaged and she would process the refund to my credit card.

* Last week, Tony’s parents went up to the family cabin in the mountains. For breakfast, they went to our favorite restaurant, pointed at our picture on the wall, and said they wanted one of “those messes for her” (“her” being me). The waitress knew exactly what order to put in for that (the Mess, no cheese, extra jalapenos), and then that night, my in-laws delivered said Mess to me at home. To say I was astounded and touched at their thoughtfulness would be an understatement. Then, when I opened the bag and saw these messages from the crew at the restaurant, I nearly cried. You guys, sometimes (a lot of the time), I either forget or don’t believe it, but I am so very loved.

Also, in case you were wondering, the breakfast is delicious. I separated it up into tortillas and rolled them up into “breakfast burritos” and froze them. There was enough for six of them. First time doing that, and it won’t be the last.

17 Comments

Filed under Best Husband, Blogabilities, Entertainment can be Cheap, I have Family, Kid Substitutes, Money Hump Building

May 11, 2011 · 5:59 pm

Blogabilities – Week of 05-08-2011

* On Saturday, I put a load of laundry in the washer and figured it’d be done in an hour and I’d then put it in the dryer and then I would have freshly clean laundry. That’s what usually happens in my happy little world. That is not, however, what happened. No. Apparently the timer/brain control part stopped working and it refuses to go into the rinse or spin cycle. So, instead, it fills, agitates and then soaks and never drains. Which means if I had any stains at all on my clothes, they have now been suitably pre-treated. God bless my in-laws who allowed us to rinse and spin my load of laundry in their washer. And my wonderful husband who transported it from here to there and back again for the drying. Now, I’ve just gotta cough up the spare $100 I always have lying around (ha ha) to buy the washer a new brain.

* While I was researching washer parts at 10pm on Saturday night, I went to print out a couple of “finds” on my “wonderful” HP C7250 printer that I bought a couple years ago. It refused to print and gave me a printer cartridge error instead. So, I changed out the printer cartridge it indicated and reset it… but the error didn’t clear. Despite re-inserting the cartridge, and all manner of acrobatics, the error refuses to clear and so the printer won’t print. I have had problem after problem with this printer and am at about my wits end with it. While searching for a resolution online I came across hundreds of bad reviews for this thing that weren’t out there when I bought it (guess it was too new?). The best one of all was something along the lines of, “This piece of crap isn’t even worthy of being a boat anchor.” I laughed because that about sums up how I feel I about it, too.

* This was my hamburger on Monday, and just before I took my next bite I saw the frowny face made out of seeds (if only it were the face of Jesus, I could have sold it on eBay for a fortune!) which pretty much shows what my face was like after the washer part breaking and my printer having an unresolvable error.

* Say hello to WATERMELON! I held off buying them, even though they were there, because last year I bought some at this time of the year and was soooo disappointed. The rind was over an inch thick and the fruit was like eating pithy, tasteless water. I guessed it was too early in the season. I finally gave in this year, because I could hear them taunting me, “Jammie — come buy and try us….” And, lo, they are very good. I am waiting impatiently until blueberries drop in price and then I shall have my mostest favoritist seasonal snack ever … watermelon and blueberries, together. I live for this time of year!

* It was so hot last week, I was searching out anything and everything that was cold… have to say, these Dreyer fruit bars are pretty good. Even on a cold day (like we’ve had this week).

* When we were over at Fish Whisperer’s house a couple weekends ago, I noticed that in his cichlid tank he had some big, plastic pipes that he’d bought at Home Depot for a couple bucks. The cichlids LOVED them, and used them as tunnels, even going out of their way to swim through them. A light bulb went off in my head, and Tony went and bought a couple of them, which I added to my cichlid’s tank. At first they were scared, but after a day or so, they were swimming through them and it is so fun to watch them do that!

* I saw it coming a couple weeks ago, and this week it finally happened. The star jasmine that is everywhere alongside the street where I exit the freeway to all around the building where I work, and in the parking lot at work, has just exploded. The scent from that jasmine is like a drug to me, it smells so sweet and good. I’m savoring that scent because I just know the gardeners will come through and cut them all back… probably in a couple more days. They always do that, you know.

* The street I take home from work is lined with magnolia trees. It goes on for several miles, and I tried to count the trees but lost count after 30… I would guess there’s maybe 100 on that street? I don’t really know, but they are all preparing to bloom (again) this season. The huge blossoms are still green and closed, lifted straight up in the air like fancy light bulbs in a candelabra, just waiting for someone to illuminate them for unfolding. It’s quite magnificent, and I am really looking forward to their blossoming. The scent will be amazing.

16 Comments

Filed under Blogabilities, I have Family, Kid Substitutes

March 28, 2011 · 10:45 pm

Needed.

My mom flies onward, ever onward, to her next destination tomorrow. The past 2 1/2 weeks have flown by on wings that I didn’t see or hear flapping.

One of the lessons I’ve learned this past week is, it seems I get so wrapped up in trying to do it all, and trying to be strong, that I don’t give anyone a chance to help me or if I do, it’s a delegation type of role. But… while I was off my feet, my mom and Tony did an incredible job keeping the pets loved, the house cleaned, and my every need met. I needed them. Two angels. No wonder I didn’t see their wings — you never see angel’s wings.

We spent some time sorting through photos that I had scanned a few years ago and saved on my hard drive. Discussing what year they belonged in, based mostly on how my brother and I were developing — were we walking? Did we have our permanent teeth yet? Looking kind of gangly, all knees and elbows in that one… and so forth.

We also went through the memory book I had given to my mom, and I delved further into some of her shorter answers to get more elaborate details. If you’ve never “interviewed” your parents or grandparents, or even a beloved aunt or uncle, I encourage you to do so. Learning their story is to learn your story… everything they’ve experienced has influenced their interaction with you.

Today was my first day back to work and it was good to be back.

16 Comments

Filed under I have Family

March 9, 2011 · 9:56 pm

Love & Loathe – Week of 03/06

Loathe:

* I still have a lingering cough from the nasty cold I caught three four weeks ago. It’s a mild cough, just annoying as all get out to me, as I have high expectations of my lungs when swimming. Someday it will go away. I think.

* The gym’s pool. I’m just holding on to the light at the end of the tunnel — one more month until our community pool is heated and I can swim outside again. One more month. One more month.

Love:

* My life right now. It’s far from perfect, but I am so thankful for what we have.

* Do you know what this is?

Yes, yes, it’s a salad. But it’s not JUST a salad. It’s an enormous (the picture doesn’t do its size justice) FREE salad that I brought home from work after a meeting. Why people don’t eat salads is beyond me, but I’m not questioning it too deeply; since it wasn’t eaten, and I didn’t want it to go to waste, I brought it home. We will surely eat it.

* Last weekend, finally, I finished straightening my back yard. It’s been in messy chaos since December (thanks to painters and fencers) and I’m so glad it’s back the way it’s supposed to be, instead of all topsy-turvy.

One Last Thing:

I’m posting a day early because my mom lands in our life tomorrow for 2 1/2 weeks. Just thinking about seeing her makes me feel excited, apprehensive and tired (can I be tired in advance?). Marathon visiting, entertaining, transporting and feeding someone who’s not normally with you everyday takes energy!

I know the next couple weeks will go way too fast and before I know it, she’ll jet on to her next destination and we’ll go back to our routines. So, I intend to fully enjoy every moment I can wring out of the next couple weeks.

Hmmm, mother-daughter relationship — let’s just hope the wringing doesn’t reach our necks!

14 Comments

Filed under I have Family, Life Encompasses Me, Love/Loathe

November 24, 2010 · 9:49 pm

Love & Loathe — 11/24/10 (early)

I find myself in an odd place this Thanksgiving. I had to take a couple days off from work to have a minor surgery, and my doctor has ordered me out of commission for the next few days to recover… which means I’m unable to attend dinner with the family tomorrow. I’ve given my slave husband orders to bring me home some turkey and stuffing. Really, out of all the bounty prepared, those are my favorite things of it all — turkey and stuffing. Not even the desserts compare. I know, you’re gasping in shock right now!

The meds they have me on make me quite sleepy, so my wish for naps and resting has been granted in a very big way. Which is why I’m writing now, because I may very well be sleeping tomorrow away. Huzzah!
How much of my yesterday was spent, note Tug’s possessive paw on my chin?

Since it’s Thanksgiving, instead of writing loves and loathes, I’ll just share some of the things that I’m thankful for this year.

* I’m incredibly thankful for having a wonderful husband in my life. He is sensitive, thoughtful, intuitive, responsive, responsible, loving and attentive. He makes me feel cared about, loved and safe, He is also prone to fits of goofyness, and his lack of self-consciousness is not only an inspiration to me, it’s also something that garners spontaneous laughter that just bubbles right out of my soul. I love this man that I’m married to so very much.

* My close friends. I’ve said it before, but it’s so very true: Having a support system in place is critical to get through the highs and lows of life. Isolating myself, even though that’s usually my natural instinct, is the exact wrong thing to do. For those of you who have offered words of wisdom, or support, or “just the right thing at the right time” — you are more appreciated by me than I could ever express.

* Having a job. Every day I wonder why I am where I am. I wonder why they seem to like me so much. I never, ever take for granted that I have somewhere to go every day and that I get a pay check. I do like my pay check. I always try to start the day like it’s a new job, that there will be new things to learn and expect the unexpected. When I have that attitude, I find it’s much easier to take the changes that seem to come at such a rapid fire pace.

* The basics of life. Having a home to live in with appliances that work, in a safe neighborhood, with (for the most part) great neighbors. Pets that are healthy and some that are working their way back to health. A car that is fun to drive and reliable. Beautiful plants in my back yard that I nurture and they, in return, give me so much joy.

* My health. This is something that I’ve not always had and I’m so pleased that, for the most part, I’m healthier than I’ve ever been in my life. I attribute it to two things — first, I found an exercise that I love to do. When I take my weekly day off from swimming, I miss it sooooo badly and can’t wait to get back in the pool the next day. Second, raw milk. Seriously. Unpasteurized milk has so many health benefits. (Link to read if interested.)

* Doctors that I respect and trust almost implicitly. I will never, ever stop asking questions, not after all I’ve been through with incompetent doctors, but the doctors I have now are either one step ahead of me and answer my questions before I ask them, or patiently answer my questions, and sometimes have changed the course of treatment to meet my requests… which means the respect is mutual. To finally have excellent doctors is a huge blessing.

* Fun socks. I know, this is so silly after all the Big, Serious, Deep things I’ve listed. But wearing fun or crazy socks under a conservative business suit is a fun little spot of happy in my day. Today? Cornucopias. Tomorrow? Turkeys.

With that, I wish each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving, filled with all the people and food that you love. If you’re in a part of the world where Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated tomorrow, I still wish you lots of food and time with loved ones.

Lots of love,
Jammie J.

18 Comments

Filed under Health/Endo, I feel Glad, I have Family, I have Friends, Love/Loathe, Sometimes I Sleep

July 20, 2010 · 9:02 pm

55th, 20th & 50th

You know how sometimes if you break up your routine by going out and doing something on a Thursday night, Friday just kind of seems like part of the weekend, even though you still went to work? That’s kind of how Friday the 16th felt to me.

Thursday night we went to Disneyland. Our annual passes have black-out dates throughout the summer on the weekends, so if we want to go, we have to go on a “school night.” It was fun and felt like we had snuck out of the house without asking permission from someone! Tony wanted to ride Star Tours before they redesign it. I wanted to pick up a special 55th anniversary map — 55 years ago that Disneyland opened in California. We managed to stay late enough to watch the fireworks, which I always enjoy.

Friday night we hung out with Tony’s Little Bro, and a long-time friend. Later we went and saw the movie Grown Ups. It was silly and goofy and I laughed and laughed.

Saturday was a double-decker event day. We started by going to Mazda Miata’s 20th Anniversary celebration at Mazda’s Research & Development Center. That’s where it all started over 20 years ago. I remember when I first saw the Miata, a blue one… someone had parked it, and left its top down. I wanted one but figured I could never afford one. Then one of the ladies in my office bought a red one, and she made so much more money than I did, which affirmed my assumption. It took me 6 years, but I finally saved up enough money to buy a used 1992 red Mazda Miata. Oh, how I loved that car…. with its pop-up headlights and chrome fingerpull door handles.

Six years later and over 200,000 miles on the odometer, I was devastated when a truck blew off a stop sign and pulled out in front of me. I t-boned him, and my poor little car was totaled. The guy’s insurance company settled with me, which provided a hefty down payment for my next car: a red 2002 Miata. The one I currently drive.

So the 20th Anniversary celebration was like a trip down memory lane for me. They had clay design models, time line pictures, various concept models, and also the design team who imagined it and brought it to fruition were there, talking and answering questions. It was just a really fun event for me. Plus they fed us and gave us goody bags.

Concept models…

One of the clay models…

The design team…

The Starship Enterprise version (Tony’s favorite)…

Saturday afternoon, we attended the 50th wedding anniversary mass and reception for some long-time family friends. The mass and ceremony when they reiterated their vows was, simply put, quite lovely. They must have spent months planning and practicing (their adult “kids” provided the music). Every detail was attended to, the food was delicious and the reminiscing was touching.

I know the food at an event is not supposed to be the main focus, but I didn’t get permission to post any pictures of the grown-up people (I take liberties when posting pictures of my nephews), and the caterers were truly artists… so just imagine that everything else was as imaginative as the food and you’ll have a small taste of it. So to speak.

Everything in this basket was created from vegetables and fruits…

Yes, please…

Just a small taste…

I spent much of my Sunday enjoying the plants in my back yard — pruning them, splitting their roots and re-potting them. The rest of the time, I spent in the pool swimming — my hour long lap marathon in the morning, and then our nephews (and their parents) came over for some pool time in the afternoon. It’s remarkable how hot it’s been here, given how cool it was just a couple weeks ago. It’s been hot enough that I was dripping sweat while outside working with my plants (ewwww!) and the pool is running nearly 90°F.

In other news, my mom is off traveling in China. My cartoonist friend is traveling in Europe (and blogging about it), and a guy at work gave me one of the biggest zucchinis I’ve seen in about 10 years (since I grew my own).

It’s a good thing he gave me one, because I think it’d be wrong to covet thy co-worker’s zucchini.

14 Comments

Filed under I did something Special, I have Family, I have Friends

July 3, 2010 · 11:26 pm

Ping Pong, Fairies, Balloons, Bikes & Pirates

With a title like that, why bother writing anything else?

Right?

The month of June is over, marking the fact that a whole bunch of kids are now a year older!

Nephew Milo has had a love of ping pongs and ping pong paddles since, well … I remember him just learning to walk, wobbling around with a ping pong paddle. Not doing anything but holding it. Then when he started talking, he would say, “Ping pong paddle!” clear as day. Just one of those things where everything lined up in the universe when he first saw them and he fell in love with ping pongs and ping pong paddles.

Given that love, his mother decided the theme for his 2nd birthday party would be ping pong. All the food was in the shape of a ping pong — even the cake. Mini pita bread on popsicle sticks were the ping pong paddles and every adult had to play in the “tournament,” with the winner being judged by the kids — and bribing of the judges was encouraged.

Somehow Uncle Tony “won” the tournament. We were all so surprised.

The next birthday party was for my friend, Grace’s daughter, Mia, who turned 4. (Can someone tell me how all the commas are supposed to go in that sentence? Nina?) For the most part, Mia has had an undying love for all things that are bug related. Snails, roly-polys, ants, flowers, spiders… they’re all her friends. Much to her mother’s chagrin. This past year or so, she’s also developed an affection for Tinkerbell. Who knew Tinkerbell also loved Mia?

And the balloon artist? This guy was really good. Not only with his balloon creations, but with the kids. I found myself entertained by him, and could have watched him create balloon creatures for hours.


After Mia’s party, we headed over to get gas, and on a whim, decided to stroll through the strip mall in which the gas station was located. As we rounded the corner, we spotted Tony’s brother, who was hanging out with a bunch of bikes. Also known as working (for him). We had nothing on our calendar, so we decided to sit and visit with him.

This is actually Tony in the picture, but trust me when I tell you, all those bikes are NOT Tony’s…

Who should stroll by, but Captain Jack Sparrow! And the balloon guy had a gig down at the end, so we went to get the nephews some balloon swords and surreptitiously watched Sparrow pose with random kids. It was weird; we felt like it was just a continuation of Mia’s birthday party, except Mia wasn’t there and our nephews were. Weird.

This weekend, we get a holiday from birthday parties (don’t worry, we have two next weekend to make up for the time off). To kick the weekend off, we went yesterday and saw Eclipse. Something always goes wonky when we go to movie premieres and yesterday was no exception. The movie started, but the sound died and switched to playing the radio, and the curtains in front of the screen didn’t open all the way. They couldn’t fix it, so they upgraded us all into the IMAX theater. Oh my, IMAX. Can you say LARGE SCREEN with dizzying proportions? I can now say with certainty that even vampires have pores and nose hairs… and Taylor Lautner has very nice abs.

How big does a screen need to be anyway? See that guy way down there? That’s actually a concession stand.

Today was a relaxing, but busy day. We were on the go from the moment we got up. But it was relaxing because it was stuff we wanted to do… you know, like swimming (for me), basketball (for him). A deep tissue massage (for me), and another movie (for him). A drive in my convertible and working on a garden (both of us). Gaming (for him) and blogging (for me).

Just a nice day of freedom. Happy 4th of July.

18 Comments

Filed under Entertainment can be Cheap, I did something Special, I have Family, I have Friends, I Left Home for Awhile

May 6, 2010 · 8:48 pm

Love & Loathe — 05/06/10

Loathe:

* Bird crap on my car. Got a doozy today.

* Getting behind a person smoking a cigarette in rush hour traffic. I drive a convertible, people, please don’t flick your ashes and butts out your window!

* The arborists went through the neighborhood. The trees at the pool I loved so much last week, those heavily-ladened, pink blossomed ones? They now look like this. I am so sad.

Love:

* The first rose of the season.

* It looked like a million diamonds trailing me in the water. I had kicked my feet in a dolphin kick, leveraging a turnabout at the end of the pool. Apparently, I turned faster than usual, gifting myself that unexpected fleeting moment of beauty… simple bubbles in the water, back lit by the sunshine. Diamonds.

* The street lamps in our neighborhood. For some reason, every time I see them (which is a lot), I think of the Chronicles of Narnia.

* There is a hawk who sits atop a light post over one of the major streets I travel every day. I see it every morning and evening, without fail, on my commute. I wonder how many people notice that bird every day… I notice him because it’s such a contrast. He looks so peaceful and lofty, high above us commuters who are jockeying for position on a six lane thoroughfare. Really, I guess, I envy him his position.

* The yellow flowers are bursting out on the hillsides. Such a bold statement of changing seasons, welcoming spring, full of bright colors. Seeing the green hillsides teeming with color like this, triggers fond memories of our trip to Ireland.

One Last Thing:

About a year ago, I gave some of the important elders in our life a “tell me your story” book. I found them online, Amazon has a bunch of them if you search “tell me your story” or “do you remember when”. For me, it was an acknowledgment that time passes and the inevitable will eventually happen, and surprisingly, I discovered when I read the questions, there are a lot of things I didn’t know about the people I love. The books ask leading questions, and while some questions aren’t applicable to everyone, they might trigger a thought or memory that could be written instead.

After Tony’s Grandpa died, we learned that he had taken the time to partially complete his book. Paging through it now, seeing his handwriting … well, it’s as if he had handed us a gift from beyond the grave. A gift that the entire family who misses him so much will be able to cherish for many years to come.

If you have a loved one who’s getting on in years, I encourage you to get them one of these books or at least make a list of questions you’d like to ask them. It can feel a little awkward to ask questions which you maybe feel like you should already know the answers, but I can tell you, it will be totally worth it.

19 Comments

Filed under I have Family, Love/Loathe

April 29, 2010 · 8:59 pm

Loathe & Love — 04/29/10 (updated)

Loathe:

*Apparently feeling the need to burn, baby, burn. I burned The roof of my mouth the other day. I followed that up by swiping my finger along the barrel of my hot, HOT curling iron, and then I very nearly got the side of my hand on the clothes iron. I’m giving a wide berth to the lit candles in our house right now… I don’t need to lose another chunk of hair from sliding it through a lit candle wick (like I did last December).

*Grapes that were proclaimed to be seedless by the store where I bought them, but weren’t.

* New law in Orange County: If you buy fish at the pet store, you have to register yourself as a fish owner. Something about bacteria… I’m hoping my eyes will stop rolling from exasperation at this new law soon. It’s been six days now.

Love:

*Summer sandals in fun colors.

* My husband, who intuitively seems to know when I’m feeling overwhelmed. I came home one day last week to discover that he had put away the dishes in the dishwasher and cleaned up the kitchen. Usually, those are my chores but sometimes he just takes over and does them. Sometimes, I like a man who knows how to take over. *rawr*

* My husband’s meat loaf. Seriously good stuff.

* These gorgeous things. Every time I’ve gone swimming this month, I’ve smelled this glorious jasmine-like scent. I finally figured out that the awesome smell was coming from these trees. I have no idea what they are, but they’re absolutely spectacular, both visually and olfactory.

* We saved four “feeder” goldfish from certain death. Got ’em at the pet store for $.27 each last Saturday. They’re pretty and a bargain. Let’s hope they’re around for long term, because the county knows we have them. 🙄

* I asked my boss if I can work earlier hours on Thursdays. My goal is to leave work in time to be able to participate in the aquatic exercise class at the gym. Tonight was my first night back since February. I was incredibly touched to be welcomed back so warmly by the instructor and classmates, especially given the reason I stopped going.

One Last Thing:

So far this year, it seems to be the running theme of learning to have grace when faced with situations beyond human control.

I’ve asked Tony’s permission to share with you his family’s needs, with a request for prayers and thoughts. His grandfather has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which has spread to other organs. If that weren’t enough, he also has some broken ribs (he fell) and pneumonia.

Our prayer is that God will ease his pain, and bring some measure of comfort to him and the family, for the period of time that he has remaining on this earth. As well as provide his caretakers (his daughters) with wisdom and peace.

I’ve heard it said that getting old isn’t for sissies. In fact, my own grandpa said it when he was gettin’ on in years. Indeed, a truer statement has never been said: Getting old definitely isn’t for sissies.

**************Update — 04/30/2010**************
Tony’s grandpa passed away this afternoon shortly after 4 PM. He would have been 91 years old the end of May. I’d like to think that he’s now met Miracle, his 8th great-grandchild, in Heaven, who got there 4 weeks ahead of him. The dates of their passing are like bookends, April 1st and April 30th, into God’s hands.

It’s been a strange month.

27 Comments

Filed under Best Husband, I have Family, I have Friends, Love/Loathe