Another one bites the dust!

Well, I am giving up on any hope of a future for yet another pretty comforter!!! I am also giving up on ever being able to own a pretty comforter!!! Yep, Megan has destroyed my usual “glass is half full” outlook on this subject – totally!!!

Megan has a “thing” for anything that has batting, fiber filling, or foam filling……..she HAS to rip it open and pull out the stuffing!!! I went through SEVERAL comforters, pillows, lawn furniture pads, dog beds, and even a living room chair and couch in the first year she was here – do you know how iritating it is to find any one of these items in shreds all over a room or the back yard???? But – she’s been a LOT better about it in the past several months. So, I broke down and bought a new comforter just before Christmas (I MUCH prefer a comforter over a blanket or quilt – it just feels so much cozier!!) – a really pretty rusty gold one that matched a set of sheets I have perfectly and looks so rich and cozy and felt GREAT!!!! I really loved that comforter!!!

The comforter went untouched for several weeks – I thought it was going to survive the rath of Megan-stein!! Then, in the wee hours one morning I heard the tell tale sound of fiber being ripped through a small hole and felt the blanket being tugged! I jolted up and yelled “Megan, stop that you bad girl!!!!” She did immediately stop – but the damage was done! There was a small hole in one of the bottom corners and there was a pile of batting on the end of the bed, the bench at the foot of the bed, and on the floor that, when scooped together, was larger than a basketball!!!! That, actually was a small amount – I caught her in time!!! After I put her and her sisters outside to do their business, I stuffed the batting back in through the small hole and stitched it up!

I saved the comforter! But, once Megan finds that there is fun inside a comforter, there is no stopping her! About once a week, I had to put large amounts of batting back in the comforter and stitch up a hole! One evening, I forgot to shut the bedroom door and was surprised about how quiet Megan was – she wasn’t alseep beside me and wasn’t outside – so I went to look for her and found her in the bedroom in a MOUNTAIN of fluffy white batting!!!! Once I composed myself and gathered all the batting into one pile, I discovered that she had ripped open SEVERAL holes and pulled the batting out from several locations around the perimeter of the comforter! Apparently, she got all she could reach in and get from one hole, so instead of giving up, she just opened up another spot to get more and kept going until she was “caught”!!! I thought it was beyond repair — BUT — I did get all the batting back in and stitched up the holes!!! It was a little lumpier than it was before and the decorative roping around the edges was destroyed in several places, but it was OK!

This morning, I was awaken by that sound of batting being pulled through a hole again. She must have been awake and at it for quite a while before it woke me up — must be the full moon we had last night! There were several holes along one area and a LOT of batting piled up all over the place!!!! I lost it — I yelled at her to stop and put her outside — then, I put the batting back in the comforter, folded it up, and put it in the guest room!!!! I will go out tonight and buy a replacement that has NO fiber filling and the pretty comforter will stay put away until such time as I feel it is safe to bring it back out! This one received the most first aid I have EVER given anything that Megan has chewed up — I typically don’t go to this much trouble to save them — but I really LIKED this one!!!! Although I put the batting back in, I didn’t stitch up the holes. I will decide if I think it is worth the effort again or not later!

This season’s "Dancers" announced!!!

Woo hoo — the new season of Dancing With The Stars will start on March 17th!!! This season’s dancers have been announced:

Priscilla Presley
Kristi Yamaguchi
Adam Corolla
Marlee Matlin
Shannon Elizabeth
Steve Guttenberg
Monica Seles
Penn Jillette
Mario
Jayson Taylor
Cristian De La Fuenta
Marissa Jaret Winokur

My early predictions:

Adam Corolla will be the first to go — no way he’ll take it seriously and will ham it up right off the bat and won’t last!

Kristi Yamaguchi has a good chance of lasting a long time and may just go all the way — her skating career will help her significantly and her popularity will make her a “fan favorite”!

I can’t wait to find out if I’m right or not!

I’ve been crowned….

Bow, all you devoted subjects, for I have been crowned the Queen of………….uumm — oh, yeah, sorry — I GOT a crown – on my tooth – I wasn’t “crowned” —- I got confused — must have been the novocaine side effects!!!! ha-ha

You know what bugs me most about novocaine wearing off???? It is when my chin starts to itch, but I can’t scratch it cause the itching is on the inside and the outside is still numb and huge feeling and I can’t feel myself scratching the itch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Anyway – all the novocaine is wore off now and my face is back to normal. I have a temporary cap on and it tastes kinda metally, but it doesn’t ache – which is more than I can say for BEFORE I went to the dentist this morning……..

And now the healing begins….

My Mom is in her room now — it’s all over but the healing! Of course, recovery is a long, hard road for surgery of this kind, but there is light at the end of the tunnel for her now!!! I talked to my brother and he said her vital signs are all strong and she is in la-la land with the pain meds they have her on. He said the surgery took less time than expected and the Doctor said it went very well — no problems at all!!! Tomorrow, they will get her up on her feet and start getting her used to using her new hip!

After she decided to get the surgery to ease the intense pain she was in, we have been talking about all the things we can do together when she gets her new hip and gets through the healing process!!! I’ll just be happy to know she can get around easier and isn’t in constant pain!!!! But – if we start making some plans to be together more, that will be icing on the cake!!!

Thanks to those who sent well wishes via email, phone, or posts here – I really appreciated you thinking of her today!

D-Day

D-Day — that’s what my Mom is calling today — the day she goes in for total hip replacement surgery!!!

She’s 800+ miles away from me today, so I could use your help — please keep her in your thoughts and prayers today!

We decided that there wasn’t anything I could do sitting in the hospital watching her go through recovery and rehab, so I will plan a trip up later when I CAN help —- BUT — what I didn’t take into consideration was how sick to my stomach I was going to be sitting here in NC worrying about it!!! The operation isn’t even scheduled until later this afternoon and she doesn’t even need to be at the hospital until around noon, but I am already upset and have thrown up twice!!!! I’ll be on pins and needles until my brother calls me this evening when she’s out of surgery and in her room!!!

My Dream

I had a wild dream this morning and wanted to be sure to get it down so I could remember it……

I dreamed that the girls were outside barking and going crazy and I went out to see what was driving them nuts. I discovered that there was a man lounging on some lawn furniture with a drink in the yard that borders my back yard. He was just sitting there sipping on his drink, not at all phased by the dogs barking at the fence trying to get his attention. I went to the fence and got the girls to settle down and said “hello” to the man. He turned around and said “hello” back and I saw that it was Jack Nicholson!!!! I became very excited that Jack Nicholson was my new neighbor, but I turned my back to him and composed myself. I told the girls that I didn’t want him to think that he had a crazed stalking fan as a neighbor. Once composed, I turned back around and welcomed him to the neighborhood and introduced myself.

When I went back in the house, the doorbell rang. It was Katherine Hepburn and a gentleman I didn’t recognize!!! I was happy to see her and greeted her like I would a dear friend that I hadn’t seen in a long time – I gave her a hug and said “Katherine, what a wonderful surprise! How are you?” I invited her in and we sat down for some tea and cookies. She began to tell me that she has pulled together a bunch of “us Grandmas”, as she called them, to put on a special show to benefit Communities In Schools of Lee County – she commented about how she knew I was involved with that organization and wanted to help us with our fund raising. She told me all about the “revival” – she had a long list of great singers, dancers, and actors from the 1940s and 1950s who would perform in a variety type show of songs, dance, and theatrical readings! I was really getting excited!!! The catch, however, was that it had to be put on THAT night!!! It was the only opportunity she had to get them all together!!! She needed my help in finding a location and advertising it. I told her that the Temple Theater would be a GREAT place to do it, but that they already had a show that night so it wasn’t available. I then thought about the Civic Center, but they are usually booked up way in advance, so we marked it off the list. Then, we decided that having it at one of the school auditoriums would be brilliant — so, I put her in touch with a good friend of mine, Sharon, at the Central Office so she could start finding out how we go about securing one of the auditoriums while I contacted the Office Max, Billy Liggett, Wayne Staton, and Margaret Murchison for ideas on how we get the word out to everyone in town as quickly as possible!!!

Later that day, we were all sitting on my patio (my new neighbor Jack, Katherine, her friend, Sharon, Billy, Wayne, Margaret, Alison from CIS, my girls, and Jack’s dogs) working out the details and getting ready for the revival ——– then, I woke up!!!! The girls were hounding me to get up cause it was breakfast time!!!! They broke my concentration and I lost the dream — I’ll never know how wonderful the show was that Katherine Hepburn brought to Sanford to raise money for Communities In Schools!!!! Uugghh!!!!

Massages and a Movie Review – "Definitely, Maybe"

Back in January, I made an appointment for a Natural Balance Spa Package at Natural Balance Medical Spa. I didn’t know at the time that the appt would end up being a celebratory gift to myself on the day that my promotion became effective! So, it was extra special. I got to Natural Balance a little before 9:00 and was greeted by my dear friend, Holly Riley. My services started with a one hour facial that left me totally relaxed and my face feeling like silk! Then, the next part of the package was a one hour massage! I as already relaxed, so the massage left me practically comatose – it was so wonderful…….. The last part of the package was a half hour foot reflexology treatment — OMG — fabulous!!! When I finally finished all the services, I was so relaxed that I could barely get off the table!!! I left feeling like a limp dish rag – I do believe that if I let myself go, I would have just slinked to the ground in a puddle!!!! ha-ha-ha It was an amazing morning!!!!

After I collected myself and recovered from my mushy sensations, I had lunch at Myra’s Kitchen on Colon Road and had a delicious hamburger and corn nuggets.

I saw the 3:00 show of “Definitely, Maybe” at the Spring Lane Cinemas to top off the day. It was really good — a little slow in spots, but there are very few movies that don’t have some downfalls. This was the story of a man who was going through a divorce and his young daughter wanted to know the story of how he ended up with her mother and whether or not he dated other women before he got married. So, he makes an adventure out of it by telling her all about the serious loves of his life, but by changing the names and some of the details so that she wouldn’t know which one was her mother. She really got into trying to guess which one was her mother and following his relationships. The daughter finds out a lot about her parents and the father takes a close look at himself and the one that got away. It was charming and endearing! I admit, the ending was a little sappy – but, I like sappy!!! ha-ha And, I don’t think it was so sappy that it would be a turn off for those who don’t care for sappy! So – this one was a WINNER!!!
  • Will I add this one to my DVD collection? Definitely, Maybe!!!
  • Was I sorry I spent the time and $$ on it? Definitely, NOT!!!
  • Did I enjoy it? ABSOLUTELY YES!!!

I rate this one a BIG THUMBS UP – or – an A-

Favorite Line: The little girl learned a lot about her Dad – in this line, she was talking to him and said: “I hate that you used to smoke and drink and were such a slut. But, I love you anyway!”

Finale

Talk about a day filled with intense deep emotions…….. Today was my last official day in my current position! My promotion is official tomorrow and on Tuesday (we have Monday off for President’s Day), I start working in my new role in a new department with new staff and collegues.

My current staff took me to lunch at River Lodge to wish me well on my new journey. It was a very nice lunch, but they started saying such nice things and talking about the past and future and made me cry! Then, I went back to the office and finished wrapping things up and putting the finishing touches on things that have been a part of my every day work life for many years! Others from the department outside my group came by to wish me well and it all made for a very emotional day!!!

You see, I have worked for this employer for 20 years – 18 of those years were spent in this department in various positions and levels of responsibility. I have worked side by side with some of the folks in the department for a very long time. It was a really difficult decision to bid out on a position outside this department – out of my comfort zone, away from people who are more like family than co-workers. Yeah, I know – I’m just changing departments, not employers and I’m only moving to a different building, not moving away never again to be seen! But, it is still a major change and knowing that I am ending one chapter in my life and starting another is HUGE!!!!

So, today was a day of reflection and endings! Over the weekend, I will spend some time off and on in my office packing up for the move to my new office on Wednesday! Tuesday I will start getting to know my new staff and responsibilities! Exciting times — but for now, I’ll just entertain myself with wonderful memories of what got me here and prepared me for the journey I am about to embark on………………

Missed the shot by seconds….

Here I am up in the middle of the night reading and writing blogs because I crashed on the couch watching TV after work and now I can’t sleep when I’m supposed to be sleeping – AGAIN!!!

As I was sitting here reading blogs, I glanced around the room behind me and saw three little angels all snuggled up sound asleep! They are so precious when they are sleeping! So, I very slowly and quietly reached for the camera, got it ready, and swiveled the chair around to get the first shot! I figured the flash would alert them all, so I chose Megan to be the first cause she was curled up in the cutest way! But – the chair squeaked when I swiveled around and she opened her eyes and lifted her head just as I snapped the picture!!!! uugghh — it is still cute, though!


Then, Katie was still laying there quietly (eyes open, but not really all that interested in fully waking up) – so I snapped a shot of her looking so beautiful………..she really is a beauty queen!!!!


After a couple of minutes, I noticed both Megan and Amy kissing all over Katie’s beautiful face — it is rare that I EVER have a chance to get them all in one shot – and one so perfectly adorable is a once in a lifetime opportunity!!! But – alas – just as I snapped the pic, Megan and Amy stopped kissing Katie and looked at me!!!! uugghh, again!!! But – it is still the first time I have EVER gotten all three in one shot, so I’m still calling it my miracle picture!!!


The second I shot that picture, Megan and Amy both jumped on me and made me snap the camera — not sure what the lens was pointing at when they made me press the button, but this is what I got!!!! Hey — there are far more bazaar photos and paintings in art galleries all over the world being touted as “brilliant” with huge price tags on them — if people can sell paintings made by monkeys playing with paint brushes, why can’t I call a photo created by two excited dogs “ART”????? Just look at the color contrast and composition — magnifique!!! Maybe I’m an artist and just don’t know it!!!! When I’m famous, you all can say you knew me when……..ha-ha

Man, it is 3:40 AM — I gotta get to bed and see if I can sleep for a couple hours before I have to get up for work!!!!

Monday Morning

Can I just stay in my jammies all wrapped up in my blankie for a few more hours this morning??? Can I, please??? Man, it was hard to get out of bed this morning!!! But, I did it – got the girls all taken care of and am all ready for work!

I need to get myself in a joyful sing along with the girls —

maybe “Hi Ho Hi Ho, It’s Off To Work I Go” will get me in the mood

……….hhhmmm……….

how about “Oh What A Beautiful Morning, Oh What A Beautiful Day, I’ve Got A Beautiful Feeling, Everything’s Going My Way”

…………nope…………..

the only thing that keeps popping into my head is the Mama’s and the Papa’s hit: “Monday, Monday” – here’s the last verse:

Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day
Monday, Monday, it just turns out that way
Oh Monday, Monday, won’t go away
Monday, Monday, it’s here to stay
Oh Monday, Monday
Oh Monday, Monday

Sorta sums it all up………………….ha-ha-ha!!!!