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Thursday, November 26, 2009

11/25/09

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!


This week has been crazy! First of all – Pnut became a woman! Too bad she started probably Monday (said she didn’t know when she started!!!) and the little booger didn’t tell me and was trying to use TP instead of a pad. Jack found some of her undies in the laundry. Unpleasant surprise! Just found out tonight, so we had a little chat. She was really embarrassed! Helloo? It’s nature. Can’t fight it. I don’t know why she didn’t tell me. She’s gone thru a girly health class in school and I also got her a book all about “the care & keeping of me”. At least she had a clue about what was going on, I never knew. Mom never said boo to me about it, so it freaked me out when I started mine the first time. But all is good now. I won’t post it on Facebook like one of my friends did when his daughter started hers. Heehee, my blog is OK, tho!

Then Monday night, Tuesday night & tonight, she’s been downtown at Ford Field until past 9:00 each night for the halftime show. I figure there are at least 150 kids dancing to a “Tribute to 50 years of Motown” by 6 artists I’ve never heard of. They sounded good, tho, so I guess that’s what matters. The director wanted all the parents to stay in one section (behind the stage of course) until invited around to the front. So the security guy (he was hysterical!!) came by and told us to be patient, etc. they’d let us know when we could actually go see the performance. One of the moms asked him when that would be. He just looked at her and said when they tell you! He looked at me and the rest of our studio moms and said he thought that had been pretty clear. Yup, we thought so, too! Then we got to talking to him about the game tomorrow. They’re playing Green Bay, so he was saying Detroit (the city, not the team!) doesn’t stand a chance cuz if the Packers win, the Cheeseheads will burn stuff down. If the Lions win, both the Cheeseheads & the Lions fans will burn stuff. We just cracked up. But the show is really good.  I recorded it until my batteries died - I was mad!


At Ford Field


The whole Dancer's Only group

So tomorrow, I’ll take Pnut to the mall & throw her on a bus with the rest of the kids and go home to pack & work on clearing out her room some more. They’ll be leaving Ford Field right after halftime, so I’ll pick her up and we’ll head straight out to Laurie’s. Check it out – I made a chocolate pumpkin pie with an Oreo crust that is only 4 points per slice. A regular plain pumpkin pie is 9. Do I rock or what? And it’s SO good, too.  My cookies left much to be desired, but the pies are awesome.


Had to put the cutters on them to tell what they are!

So I’m working on clearing out her room a bit so we can paint. I took out 4 big bags of trash. And don’t get me started on what we’re donating. And I’m not done!! We finally decided on colors that we’re happy with. We’ll do the walls green and put a wide teal stripe thru the middle and put random pink polka dots around the room. But I draw the line with the ceiling. I’m going to prime the heck out of it and paint it cream. I may even use the leftover living room color. I also found some funky flower mirrors online, so I’ll order them for her, too.

Now.  Yes - the trim on the door is purple.


Our inspiration

So Randy is heading out to his Mom’s tomorrow. He didn’t say why he didn’t leave today, but his mom told him not to drive after dark. She usually goes to bed early anyway. So he’ll spend a few days with her, I’m sure she’ll have a honey-do list for him. She always does! He’s supposed to be home Monday. Of course the weather is going to turn exceptionally crappy tomorrow night. It’s been hovering around the 50s the past couple days.

But that’s OK. The furnace is working good and I got the spiral trees, Gingy and the plastic Santa out in the yard today. I saw this ad for a 4 foot tall gingerbread man, balanced on 3 gumdrops and I fell in love with him. Even better yet, he’s in the “Dad pose”. I got the last one! Woohoo! Yay me!


Gingy!

My doctor appt went fine, I just went to meet the doc and have a little chat with him. I like the place, so I called and set up an appt for Angel, too. May as well have us all at the same place! Her current doc is OK, but English is not his first language and she has a hard time understanding him. So I asked for a female doc for her. She wasn’t happy about going, but she’s OK with seeing a female. I’m glad I made that decision! This place is a lot more convenient to home and I like everyone I’ve dealt with so far.

We went to the second of our annual craft shows last weekend. Mom was a trooper with her hip. She had Ben Gay pads on it and Linda carried around a metal folding chair so whenever Mom needed a break, she had a chair handy. She’s apparently game to go to another one this Saturday! Alrighty then! I got the cutest metal gecko sculpture. I love it! I think it’s going to go in Angel’s room, up near the ceiling. And a funky turkey with real feathers on the tail. And I finally found a little something appropriate for Randy’s mom. A stained glass nativity. I think she’ll like it. I got a really cool wood ornament that was hand-carved & polished by a guy who looked a lot like Santa, too. I wasn’t going to take any chances passing him by!



Saturday night, Angel’s friend Taylor came over for the night again. Angel wanted to use the gift cards she got for her birthday, so I had to drag them to the mall. They did their shopping in places I would never go (American Eagle, Hollister, etc) then on the way out, Tweedle Dum & Tweedle Dee thought it would be a good idea to go UP the down escalator. Taylor is short & chubby, so she only made it about ¼ way up before falling twice. I told her to ride it down and use the stairs. Angel made it almost to the top before getting cocky and tripping – 3 times in a row! The last time she really looked panicked, so I told her to ride it down. When she came up the stairs, I saw her knees were dirty. One was covered in grease and the other had a hole in it. When we got to the car, I heard Taylor ask if that was blood on her pants. Sure enough – little Doofus had 3 perfect escalator tread sized gouges in her knee. Nice. She hasn’t mentioned it bothering her, so I guess it’s OK.

I got some serious Super Mom points, tho. Angel’s had the release date for the movie New Moon written on the calendar since she found out when it was. I told her there was no way I was taking her to see that on opening weekend. I am not insane! But I checked online and was able to get tickets for the first showing Sunday morning. That was the choice time to go! The theater was only half full and tickets were $5. Can’t beat that! I gave it one thumb up and one down. I’m just not impressed with Rob Pattinson or what’s her face that plays Bella. She bugs me since she’ll stare at the person’s chin that she’s talking to and it’s obvious since they’re wrapped in each other’s arms.

Guess I should wrap it up now, since it’s almost 1 am and I have to get Miss Sunshine up & in costume (which by the way is NOT my idea of Motown!) fairly early. Out!


I had her sleep on the couch becuz there are boxes on her bed.


Chester attacking Jack's rope.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

11/14/09

It’s the weekend !!


Today I went to Clawson’s craft show with Laurie & Linda. Mom pinched a nerve in her hip a week ago and is still having a hard time getting around, so she opted to stay home. It seemed weird going without her, but she seems to think she’ll be OK to go to the one at Eisenhower HS next weekend. Cool.

Those are our traditional shopping trips. I got one of those triangle games with the golf tees (like at Cracker Barrel) for Randy, catnip toys for the cats, a rope toy and some treats for Jack, a lighted glass block for under the C-mas tree (been wanting one for a couple years but they’ve been crazy expensive – got this one for $9!!), some little stained glass trees to string across the kitchen window, my annual family ornament from the same lady I’ve gotten one from since 2000, and my favorite purchase – a stuffed gingerbread man. He’s so stinkin’ cute! We had fun with him. L&L kept saying I was discriminating because I thought this one was cuter than the other ones (2 were wearing dresses and holding coffee mugs & the other’s face was all smashed together and had an ugly ribbon) and how I hurt the ugly one’s feelings, etc. We had a good laugh.

So, November 3, I went to go watch Angel cheer at one of the last games of the season. Eppler came from behind 0-22 at halftime to win it in the last 4 seconds of the game, 34-28. It was a very exciting 4th quarter! It’s cute that when one of the players gets hurt, all the players & the cheerleaders all go down on one knee until he leaves the field. But they don’t when the cheerleaders get hurt! One of the pyramids collapsed (not Angel’s thank God!), the flyer got a sprained ankle & her elbow collided with the back spot’s nose. So the two of them came over to the bleachers crying. The poor things!


November 10 was her last game of the season. Eppler won 6-0 (and ended the season in 2nd place – woohoo!!), but overall it wasn’t too exciting. Most of the game was played between the 30 yard lines. We finally got thru and made a touchdown. Then the other team almost answered it. One boy got hold of the ball and he took off running like a rocket! He was flying!! Somehow one of our guys came across the field and managed to tackle him.


Speaking of tackles….Angel’s going to get herself a reputation and boys are going to avoid her! OK, that might not be so bad. Anyway, as if casually sticking her foot out & tripping a boy in 5th grade wasn’t enough. A couple weeks ago, they combined classes for gym class. They were playing dodge ball and a 9th grade boy took Angel’s ball from her. She ran after this kid, jumped on his back and knocked him down!! But she got her ball back! I can imagine this kid going home and hiding for days because he got knocked down by a little girl! The latest escapade was just this week. They should not let some kids have hockey sticks. They weren’t even playing yet! This boy got a stick out of the rack and accidentally hit Angel in the side of the head with it (high-sticking!) and she managed to hit him back somehow with her stick (cross-checking!) I guess I’m proud of my baby girl! Look out!


Last weekend we all went out to Laurie’s to write out Thank You notes for Dad’s funeral. It was easier than I expected, since they were pre-printed by the funeral home and we just signed them “The Family of James Owens” and each of us got a page from the sign-in book and addressed the envelopes straight from that. Laurie had a moment while looking at a ribbon that had been in a flower basket. We just let her leave the table and she came back when she got herself together. I’ve been doing good. I stopped at the cemetery on the way to my WW meeting this week and a few tears came. They probably will for a while.

carrots?

This past week, my boss’s Dad passed away, too. He got sick hard & fast, since he was fine on a family trip to Georgia at the beginning of October. He was on life support and all this last week. They had a meeting and decided to take him off of it. We heard rumors that his funeral is Tuesday, but I don’t think I can go. I liked & respected Mr. Hare and will miss him, but it’s just too soon. I hope Michelle & everyone understands. I’m sure she will.

Man, the weather was great last weekend! We were out in shorts & t-shirts cleaning up the front yard. We even took advantage – like many other peeps did – and put up the Christmas lights on the house. We only put a single strand of those old-school big bulbs across the gutter, but I sure don’t want to be out there watching Randy on a ladder when it gets cold! Randy used the leaf blower to clean out the gutters and I handed it to Angel and let her go to town on the front lawn. She did a pretty good job of getting most of the leaves into the ditch. We picked them up from there to put in the yard waste container. She hopped into it and stomped leaves down while I tossed more into it. We had a good time. I couldn’t resist the pile of crisp leaves, and melted into them. I was completely buried in them. Then I had to lay there while Angel ran inside to get Randy. So anyway, we don’t have to spiral lighted trees out yet, or the plastic Santa. They can wait until after Thanksgiving.






So I’m hoping to finally break my plateau this week. I’m down to my lowest weight – again. But I’m determined to fill out my food journal in its entirety every night and then give myself a gold star on the calendar. I know it’s juvenile, but it’s working for me! Before I’d fill it out fine at work, but not at home. Definitely not on the weekends, either. So now I’m making sure to fill it out AND to figure out my points, too. I’ve been scamming myself out of Activity Points! E-tools didn’t have shopping as an activity, but 2 hours of leisurely walking is worth 6 APs!! I’d not been looking at stuff like that!

So, I have a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday. I’m going for a “meet n greet” at a new place, because I don’t like my old doctor. He never took appointments and the last time I was there – just to find out blood test results - he left me sitting in a room for over 2 hours because they FORGOT about me!!! So I’ll have a new place before I should happen to need one. Randy’s going to the same guy on Friday for his first physical since I’ve known him. Can’t wait to hear about this! He was honestly expecting sympathy because he’ll be getting a prostate exam. Hello! You get one little finger shoved where the sun don’t shine. I get cold metal post-hole diggers shoved up & spread wide in certain areas every year, plus get random parts of my body mauled by cold hands! Nope. No pity party at this house!

Randy will be leaving for Arkansas directly from there for his annual pilgrimage. My plan for while he’s gone is to get the girl’s room painted. We’re still arguing over colors. She wants bright lime green & deep turquoise. Sorry – you need to sleep in that room and you can’t if the walls are GLOWING!!! I’ve managed to talk her into a cream color for the ceiling. We got sample paint of a couple different colors to see how they look before we commit to obnoxiousness. I’m OK with green & turquoise, just not as vibrant as she wants. I even suggested blocks of color through the room, since 4 solid walls of lime green would be a bit much.

Oooh, and she’s going to be dancing at halftime at the Lions game on Thanksgiving Day! Something actually worth watching! There are 10 girls from her studio going. I think it’ll be a madhouse, since they have to go to Ford Field for practices and God only knows how many peeps will be performing. Anyway I’m sure the Lions will lose. But they have won 1 game this season – already better than last year! LOL – I bet the Redskins feel like total losers. They got beat by the Lions!

OK,I think it’s about time to turn in for the evening. Later!


Sunday, November 1, 2009

11/1/09

Happy November!

It’s been a long past couple days. Majority of visitation wasn’t as horrible as I thought. It was tough getting Mom in there, of course. The door was at the back of the room and Dad was at the front. So there was just about always a person holding on each of her arms, so we made sure she was steady. But she calmed down somewhat after about 45 minutes, before it was opened to everyone else. I had a moment when I went to give Bo a hug, since he & Randy came in late (due to a quick shopping trip for Bo). I was going to tell him he cleaned up nice, but he was standing there with tears in his eyes and grabbed me in a bear hug and told me he didn’t think he could do this.

We kept pretty busy most of the day, greeting people and whatnot. Of course we occasionally goofed off – Dad wouldn’t expect any less of us! Jamie shoved Laurie in a closet and slammed the door, etc. Dave & Randy appointed themselves kitchen peeps, so they made sure pop was in the fridge & went and got subs for dinner, etc. It was funny that a lot of people that volunteered at the nature Center with Dad, or worked with Mom or Laurie & Linda’s coworkers came in and I’d look at them and try to figure out if I knew them or wondered if I was supposed to know them. I know a lot of the cousins don’t recognize (or ignored, I don’t know) me, since they’re all older than I am. My second grade teacher came to see us!  And so did the doctor that took care of Dad for the past 8 years.  That was really touching.  Mom really lost it when the Aunts Betty, Jenny & Connie came in, since they’re all widows now. They really seemed to comfort her. At the end of the night, when everyone had left, we asked Mom if she was ready to go and she just sighed and said “if I have to”. It was a lot easier that we all expected.

Friday was the service. I couldn’t tell you who all was there. Linda and Curt chose to sit with their families, Curt way in the back of the room and Linda right behind Mom, but Laurie and I were on each side of Mom, and Terry next to me and Bo (with Lisa on his lap) on the other side of Laurie. I actually felt a sense of peace while listening to Deacon Gene and was completely dry eyed. I guess it just didn’t seem real. Randy got up to say a few words and he introduced himself as the newest addition of the family, since he married me. He told the story about how he asked permission to marry me, and felt that he lost his second Dad because he was made to feel so welcome in the family. It was beautiful. Do you know when I finally lost it? I sat there and watched everyone file by Dad for the last time on the way out and a lot stopped to hug Mom & all the rest of us and all of a sudden Randy’s friend Barry popped up in front of me and asked how I was holding up. SPLOOSH! Here came the waterworks. Obviously OK, until he asked!

After everyone left was tough, too. Mom had asked that we had a last moment with Dad, just her & us kids. We had brought one of the roses from his yard and put in his lapel, then Laurie had brought a gold rose pin that we all touched and kissed and she slid it in his pocket (Dad loved his roses & they were still blooming). Terry pinned his paratrooper pin on Dad’s jacket because he said it was the hardest thing he ever earned in the Air Force. Man, it was hard to see my brothers cry. I could basically ignore Laurie & Linda, but the boys got me. Mom didn’t want to see them close the casket so Laurie & Lisa took her out to the car.  Bo & Terry helped to close it while Linda and I watched.

I feel so bad that we asked Uncle Ron to be a pall bearer, but I forgot to put him on the list for the procession! Bad, bad me. Uncle Ron is now the last Owens sibling of that generation. Randy, Jamie, Bo and my cousin Mel all followed the cemetery workers downstairs at the chapel where they took the actual casket out of the fancy outer one and watched them slide it into the van. I’m surprised Mom stayed at the graveside (well, halfway there anyway) as long as she did, but Randy and I stayed right there until the entire thing was sealed up and the marble slab with his name put on it. It was kind of neat, in a morbid way, to see how they put the casket into the crypt. Dad is within yelling distance of my Uncle Mel.

Ya know, I'm still doing OK.  Maybe it just hasn't hit me yet.  But I did a lot of praying for Dad & Mom while he was sick and for all of us, too.  So maybe that's helped me with acceptance and grieving. 

The day was rainy & cloudy all day, until they’d just slid the casket into the crypt and sealed the first part of the door. Then the sun peeped out for just a minute. Randy looked at me and said it was like a door in heaven opened to let him in.  It was the most beautiful moment.

Sigh. Have to go blow my nose – brb.

OK. Let me tell you that contacts & tears don’t mix! Or maybe it’s the tissues. Either way, my poor eyes lately have been thru the mill!! Oh yeah, at the hall, we all snuck out to Terry’s truck with cups in hand. He had stopped and got the fixings for martinis (or Martoonies as Dad liked to call them) since it was Dad’s favorite mixed drink. So we all had one and toasted him. Yuck! Obviously an acquired taste. But I choked it down. 

Mom told us that Randy's Mom had called her, too.  Barb is such a sweet lady, I'm happy to have her for a Mother-in-law.  She told Mom how sorry she was for her loss, etc.  She's another one who can relate to how Mom feels.  Randy's Dad passed away right after Christmas 2002.  I never even got to meet him.   

So Halloween was yesterday. We went & had our family portraits taken in the morning. Yet again the photog said we were the funnest people to work with. What can I say? The camera loves us! I took Angel over to Mom’s to take her & Lisa (& ghost dog Morgan) trick or treating. A lot of people really didn’t think we’d be out. Bo stayed over our house, so Angel spent the night with G’ma. The girls got TONS of candy, even Morgan got treats at a couple houses – which made her think she had to go to each door with them. Between her pulling & the weight of Angel’s loot (and later Lisa’s too) I thought my arms were going to break off.  On the way back to the house they generously carried their own candy, so I took off running with Morgan, leaping and yelling "I'm free, I'm free". LOL

Randy took Bo home today, Angel finished her homework from Thursday & Friday (they get extra credit in geography if they bring in the obituary of someone they know – how morbid!!), I’ve done a bunch of laundry and we made a quick Halloween clearance shopping trip also. Everything was 50% off at the Halloween Bazaar, so I got some cool stuff for next year. Randy had my front yard cemetery taken down by 9 am this morning! It’s a good thing I walked around yesterday with a notepad and wrote down ideas for what I’d like to add next year.

I hear a song today I had to turn off.  The Judd's Daddy's Hands.  Nope.  Switch station!  I was driving at the time and really needed to be able to see.


Pirate Lisa, Beetleguise Laurie, Evil Fairy Angel & ghost dog Morgan.