Mrs. C

Friday evening, my cousin's husband stopped at his mom's house after work, like he does every day, and found her on the floor by her bed. She passed away sometime between their phone call Thursday evening and him stopping by Friday. To add to the heartbreak, her granddaughter asked what they did wrong for this to happen to her grandma.

Mrs. C was an amazing woman. She was a widow who raised her boys on her own. They all turned out to be amazing men. My cousin could not have found a more loving, hard-working man. Along with raising her boys, Mrs. C was a strong and driving force behind several school programs her kids were involved with. She became a second mother to many kids over the years, giving them the support and comfort they needed. Sometimes even the kick in the pants they deserved!

Among her many talents was cooking wonderful food. She catered my wedding 11-1/2 years ago and I will always be thankful for her hard work. She never hesitated to greet me with a hug when we saw one another out and about. I was one of her "kids", after all. God bless you and keep you, Mrs. C. You will be missed.

So, if you have a moment or two to spare, just think of my family and send thoughts their way. It would mean so much. Thank you.

A few moments...

A few moments to share an update. I really like my job at David's Bridal. My managers are fabulous and the other consultants are great! I love Ms. Becky in our Alterations Department. She actually reminds me of my Grandma M. The work environment is great. They are all a bit like a loving disfunctional family. Crazy but still willing to claim you! Lol!

My mom and MIL have made it possible for me to work and I don't know where we would be without them. Slowly but surely things are getting squared away at home. I was very sick over Thanksgiving holiday so we were not able to have everyone over. I ended up getting sick earlier in the week, losing my voice to go along with it, but I continued to try and work. All was well until I got sick AT work. Luckily, not all over a wedding dress. I left shortly thereafter and was five minutes from home when I got sick again, this time at stop light (thank you!). Made life interesting. Mom was at the house with the boys already and told me that I wasn't going to be worth anything to just go to bed and she would stay until John got home. Sleep is an amazing cure. A few hours of hard sleep and I felt like I had some control over my body. It has taken until just yesterday for me to feel more like myself.

There are a few things going on with John's job but God will walk us through them. He has a plan and I pray I have the faith to trust Him. John seems okay but I feel like there is another shoe waiting to drop.

Jonathan has been doing well with his classes at PCI and seems to really enjoy it. He would love to have a different job right now but, as he says, it pays the bills. Isaac seems content with where he is right now. He is waiting on Alysha to transfer to the school down there to finish her classes. They are doing well together. The distance isn't so great (about 2 hours) that they aren't able to manage. I am proud of them for making this work. They have long term plans that will get started when she finishes school. For now, they are happy where they are in life and I could not be more pleased with how they are dealing with everything.

Mom and Grandma and Grandpap are doing okay. They just got Grandma's flu shot today. Her birthday was on 12/2. I thought about her all day at work but neglected to call her until yesterday. I apologized but Grandma just laughed it off, telling me she had a great day and thanked me for calling her. It's better than NOT calling. Lol!

Missed Dad greatly, yesterday.

I work all day tomorrow and then there is a company Christmas party that evening. Just thought I would share a quick ramble on a few things.

Stay safe and Happy Christmas!

Many blessings!

I don't have any pictures to show to you this time around but I have many things to share.

First, I have a job!!! Starting this week, I will be a part-time bridal consultant at David's Bridal! I am so excited! Today, I will fill out the paperwork and receive my schedule. Tomorrow, I go to the bus garage and make changes to the transportation plan for Mr. Rebel and Mr. Pirate for after school. My mom and MIL are both thrilled about this. I don't know if it's because I finally got a call back for a job or because they get the kids. Lol!

Second, DH insisted that I get a few more pieces of clothing to expand my wardrobe for work. Of course, we visited WalMart, which brought in a few fabulous and timeless items. Our best trip of the day was to Goodwill! We stopped on our way to Save-A-Lot (love it!!!) and looked around. We found two skirts, one casual and one work, and then unearthed THREE vintage beauties in the coat section! Um, Dana, you may want to stop reading, now. Just skip the next paragraph, okay?

I was sliding my hand across the coats as I walked by the rack and encountered "fuzzy". I looked at the coat and couldn't believe it! It was a knee-length fur in fabulous condition! The leather trim on the inside seam was still supple and whole. The stitching was perfect and the buttons were original and still attached! A beautiful tan/mocha color, I slid it on and it was a perfect fit! Next to that first fur was a beautiful knee-length knitted "trench-style" coat with a fur collar. Three sets of double-breasted buttons down the front. A snap and inside button at the neck. The collar itself has two hook-and-eye closure to turn the collar into a muff around the neck. For those of you that know my area, THIS coat was sold at Horne's! Fabulous fit, too! The third coat is a beautiful, fully lined cream trench coat (started out kind of a dingy grayish tan but 3-4 washed in Woolite and Oxyclean does wonders!). This coat was made in British Hong Kong! Collector's item! In all, DH spent less than $25 on all the coats plus my two skirts. I hope to take pictures of them soon. I have also pulled out my Great-Great-Aunt Mayre's/Great-Grandmother's fur coat that I inherited years ago. I plan on making use of them.

Third, my room is clean! Living in a small mobile home with limited storage, my and DH's bedroom tends to become dumping grounds for whatever anyone doesn't know what to do with. This weekend, we cleaned our room, weeded through all our clothes and started a new Goodwill collection in our living room, and kept up with the dishes and laundry.

The weekend of Oct. 10th, all my boys were home! DH drove up to Pittsburgh to get Jonathan. Isaac, his girlfriend, and Isaac's laundry arrived Saturday afternoon. It was so wonderful to have my men together again, though just for a short time. We had all gathered because Tom, the Marine I talk about occasionally, was home for a last visit. At this point right now, he and his unit are in "hurry up and wait" mode. They are scheduled to leave for Afghanistan soon. While we are all apprehensive about his orders, we are also happy for him. This is what he wants to do. This is what makes him happy. We know the possible outcome. So does he. We will deal with it when it comes. For now, we treasure the time we have.

Brutal Recess!

My, oh my, the things kids "bring" home these days! Lol! This is what Mr. Rebel, my 10-year-old, looked like when he came home from school today. Apparently, recess was a little more interesting than usual. Lol! There is some swelling, a really nice bruise on the inside of the knee and several layers of skin missing. The bandaids from school were not hanging on very well and, of course, any dirt nearby was instantly attracted to the open wound.

It got washed and disinfected and bandaged. He spent 15 minutes on the couch with a frozen water bottle to bring down some of the swelling. The knee seems to be moving okay and he doesn't complain about it hurting when he puts weight on it. Though, that is just today. Tomorrow it will be stiff and sore. Fun!

Anyone want a Grasshopper...

He's very photogenic. Very patient, too. I came home from running an errand with Jonathan, who is home from Pittsburgh while all the craziness of the G-20 is going on, and found this little guy sitting on the arm of one of my patio chairs. He sat there for over an hour. I have several good photos but this was a quick edit and looked perfect for a post.

A Birthday Party

My middle BIL's girlfriend had her birthday yesterday so we celebrated with a party today at my MIL's house. A few days go DH calls me from work. He and his brothers had cooked up the idea to have a surprise party for their mother (whose birthday is on Tuesday) at the same time as middle BIL's girlfriend. So, I was asked to make the cake.

Now, if you read my post about my youngest's birthday party, you remember that my MIL showed me how to make icing roses. So, I told DH that I would like to try and make her cake a little more than a 9x13 still in the pan with icing slathered on. He was game so I went to the store.

Wilton makes these $12 starter kits with several tips/bags/mini colors/couplings and instructions (I suggest YouTube or Wilton website videos!), so I picked up one. I figured I could at least try. If I was completely inept then I could always call my mom to rescue me. I grew up watching mom decorate the most fantastic cakes (we never had plain, boring cakes until we became teens and were too complicated and moody...lol). So, I figured I had a head start.

So, here we go.This is two 9 inch rounds stacked. I used two boxed chocolate cake mixes and two tubs of chocolate icing. I filled the pans over the halfway mark to let them mound up. When they cooled I cut off the top keeping in line with the top of the pans to create a flat surface.

And here it is. It is far from perfect but God gave me the patience to keep trying. The best part? My MIL loved it!

I am glad I took pictures before we left the house to head over to MIL's because in the midst of DH fixing vegetable beef stew in the dutch ovens outside, the MIL's oil carafe that sat on the back of the stove fell over on the cake and flattened two of the roses! Lol! I had not put it back far enough when I returned it to the kitchen. Hahaha! I had a great time creating this and thank God for the talented women in my life that have taken the time to teach me their craft.

Stitch Markers

These are knitting stitch markers that I have made purely because I hate those little wafer ones you buy in the stores. You can't see them very well if you are working with a bulky yarn, they slip from your fingers so easily, and if you drop one you might as well count it as GONE. So, since I have a ton of beads and findings and wire, I set to making stitch markers.

The top is Rose Quartz with silver-toned findings. It is a set of six and quite heavy. The quartz actually came from a few bracelets that I found on clearance at WalMart. I didn't like the bracelets but loved the quartz so I took them apart and have been waiting for the beads to talk to me and tell me what they wanted to be.

The second is purple glass and is a set of 12. These beads I bought outright because they reminded me of a set of dishes my mom use to have from Viking Glass (that I broke in its entirety when I was young and emptying the dishwasher...I learned not to try and lift an entire stack of plates after that). Again, the beads are paired with silver-toned findings.

I have a few other sets. One in black and white glass, another in autumn-colored "wedding cake" glass beads. I just remembered I hadn't photographed them as I typed. They are in my knitting tote bag and I forgot about them. Maybe later. All my markers are sized on US 15/10mm needles and are real easy to make. As long as I know what beads I am using, it only takes me about 5 minutes per marker since I use wire, not pins, and have to twist them into shape. I am thinking of selling them at the craft show I will be going to with my mom and aunt in November.

Under construction...

For a little bit, anyway. It will look a bit chaotic for a while and my paragraphs are all wonky in older posts but things will straighten out soon enough.

National StepFamily Day

Yep, apparently that is what today is. I have to agree with a fellow stepmom in my parenting group that Bonus Family is much better. So...HAPPY BONUS FAMILY DAY!(this picture is over 2 years old but it's the only one I had readily available with all of us in it.)

My first movie crush...Rest in Peace

September 14, 2009, Patrick Swayze died at age 57

Cooking, Camping, and a Birthday

The cooking and camping go hand-in-hand. My Dh and I are going to be camping next summer with our boys (the two oldest when they can join us...). So, DH bought me a 10-inch, 6qt, tri-leg dutch oven. I am determined to know how to cook WITHOUT a camp stove. The way I look at it, as long as I can start a fire and I have my dutch oven (and food) I can feed my family. I don't have to waste money on the camp stove every time we pack up for the weekend. It will be for emergencies. So, we started. And nothing has burned! Yay, me!

To further our camping experience, it is always nice to have a tent. DH and I have been pricing them for almost 6 months now. WOW! They can sure be expensive. We have finally settled on one we really like but it will cost a tidy bit and we have too many things to take care of right now to justify that purchase. It will wait. Enter - my family!

I had been up to my grandparents' home for something and ended up talking with Grandpap about our hopes for camping next summer. He offered his old tent that has been in storage for going on 20 years. Hey, it was more than DH and I had at the time, so I was more than happy to tell DH about it. A few days later my uncle called me to offer his and Aunt Martha's tent, too! Again, it had been in storage for many years.

Well, Saturday we packed up the boys and headed to my grandparents' house to see what we were dealing with as both my grandpap and my aunt/uncle said they weren't sure the condition of the tents but we were welcome to them. OMGosh!!!! They were awesome! Aunt/Uncle's tent is so cool! It is a small 3-4 man tent with a screen house attached and a canvas roof. Fabulous condition! Aunt even pulled the original instructions from the pole box! Hahah! In this family that is amazing! Pap's tent is fully canvas and the condition, well, have a look!

Today was Mr. Pirate's eighth birthday. We had his party over at my MIL's. It was small, as my older brother and his family didn't make it and my DH's brothers didn't make it (although one of DH's brother did drop off his oldest daughter). That's okay, though. We had a great time. MIL showed me how to make icing roses (yay!) and then we played outside with Mr. Pirate's new football. I even managed to figure out how to spiral a football (it's taken over 20 years, my brothers should be thrilled!). All in all, it was a wonderful day!

The most fantastic day!

Despite not having our older two sons with us, I have had the most fantastic day with my younger two and my husband! This morning my DH surprised me with an outing. Having felt unwell, I was not moving fast enough to get to church. So, DH used that as an opportunity to take me and the two boys out for the day.

We started with a trip to the mall. Mr. Rebel needed new jeans and is in between sizes (and clothing departments...boys' section to men's section). Shopping for him is an adventure. We finally found a few pairs at Old Navy that were on clearance (thank goodness!!!) for $16.99 a pair. that is comparable to what I would have paid at KMart or WalMart (yes, I checked). He will have growing room but they fit him well enough to keep him from getting picked on.

After finding the pants, DH took me to my portion of the trip. A previously closed section of the mall has been reopened to house a CRAFT2000!!! Oh, happy day! Til today, I had never been in one of them. It is one of the most fabulous stores I have ever been in. I didn't explore even half the store. I did zero in on the yarn, though. Lovely aisles. Lovely. I brought home three one-pound bags of cotton mill ends. Each bag is one shade, which is not always the case.

So, after that we left the mall. DH decided it was time to eat (it really was) and so off we went. Following lunch, which was fabulous, we went to Cabela's. Since DH and I are taking the boys camping next year, he and I wanted to get a tri-legged cast iron dutch oven for cooking. I wanted it early so I can practice on how NOT to burn dinner! After doing the general looking around that we always do, we looked specifically for the 10-inch 6-qt dutch oven we wanted. It was nowhere! The product-finder kiosk stated that there was one in the store. Um, nope. So, while he went to look at knives with the boys, I went to customer service. I absolutely LOVE our Cabela's customer service desk. I don't know about other stores, but our store has a great customer service desk. They helped me locate one at the distribution center (basically right across the street) and we had fun laughing our way through finding it. DH was thrilled when I gave him the piece of paper and even more so when I actually put it in the van after picking it up from the distribution center.

After that we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and picked up a knife magnet for the kitchen so that we can get our knives out of the utensil container (bad for knives! and for parents of a student chef). Dh will put it up tomorrow. Then, we stopped at a place that DH said I can cross off my Bucket List ---- Cold Stone Creamery! Fabulous! Then we came home and had dinner. Yeah, we had dessert first. It was fun though.

The whole day was fun! We spent a wonderful day with the two boys, enjoyed the sun (much of our visit to Cabela's was actually outside looking at tents and watching them carve logs with chainsaws), and visited with each other. Even with everything we did, we still got home in time for the boys to shower and be in bed ON TIME! Lol! Yep, they went to bed about 20 minutes ago! That even includes a phone call to Pittsburgh because the boys were missing their older brother. Tomorrow, they will be calling their oldest brother. Thank you, God, for giving us a full day of family and still keeping us on schedule. Today was such a blessing.

Ugh.

A two-day migraine, this time. Three pills in total. I was beginning to wonder if the pills were actual medication or just powder. Eventually, the pain did recede but not before it completely messed up my plans for Friday evening.

For three weeks in a row, I have been unable to attend the "knit nights" at our yarn shop with Mom and Tater (my niece). Hopefully, next week is a different story. I really liked getting together with so many different people and just visiting.

I have finished several baby blankets in the diagonal dishcloth pattern. I try different patterns all the time but rip them out and go back to my dishcloth pattern. It works for me. Mom says that she did the same thing. She would start a pretty pattern and then rip it out and do a basic. After having some time to think on it, the basic pattern blankets are great because the pretty ones don't get used all the time. Those are the "good" blankets. The garter stitch blankets (mine are usually made from cotton) tend to be the ones the babies can grow with and drag behind them all through the house. That works for me.

I am currently working on a new blanket in the dishcloth pattern with Bernat Baby Coordinates yarn in Lemon Custard. One of the girls my two oldest went to school with is getting married and just found out she is expecting (good timing). She is doing the nursery in a John Deere theme (she's a farm girl to the core!!!) so I figure the light yellow will work. I will make another one in a cotton variegated to give her a basic go-to blanket. You can never have too many blankets when you have babies.

An interesting evening with next-day issues

Yesterday, the two boys had there first day of the new school year. They were so excited to fill me in on everything they got to do. They both love their teachers and think they will have a great year. I checked their bags, signed assignment books, and read supply lists. Our state mandates that all student supplies are strictly optional. Meaning, no parents HAVE to supply school supplies. That is what our taxes are for. It's public school and we already pay for it, so they don't "require" us to send school supplies. However, the teachers send home lists of things that we could send to school for our child's personal us and for classroom use if we want. So, we do. Mr. Rebel only needed a few things this year as his teacher was fully prepared for the year, even down to the folders the kids are going to be receiving in a few days that will hold their work-in-progress and take-home papers. Mr. Pirate took several more things than that. With DH and I expecting to send a ton of supplies with both, the few things we did send came as a surprise and a blessing.

So, I took the kids to the store to pick up the few things I didn't have in my school supplies storage bins. DH met us there and we did a little more shopping for the house. After getting home, we started dinner and I started working with Mr. Pirate on his homework...and then the transformer down the road blew up. Oh...joy. Blessings of blessings, I had already sent Mr. Rebel to the showers (early, I know but I wanted it done), so he was just finishing when we lost power. Dinner for Dh and Mr. Rebel was to be prepared in the oven and I already had it on. Thank goodness for gas ovens! So, those two shared their food with Mr. Pirate and me. We ate outside on the patio and had a great time visiting and talking about the day.

When the transformer blew, I had called the electric company to report the outage. While on the phone with them, the fire trucks could be heard arriving down the road. The electric company said they hadn't received any calls from the fire department as of yet but they documented everything. A little later, they called back saying that no one else called with a power outage report so I walked around to my neighbors (who had no power) and they all called the electric company. They were told it would be about 10:30pm until someone could get there. It was 7:15pm. Oh, well. It happens. We got lucky, though. A guy had been in the area and opted for the call. We had power back before 9:30pm.

So, the other interesting thing. Yesterday, I had to each lunch by myself. So, Dh told me to help myself to stuff we bought for his lunches because he bought too much and didn't want it to go to waste. So, I did. So, in conjunction with what I ended up eating for dinner last night, I gave myself a migraine. Dana, you will be happy to hear that I can add processed meats (lunch meat and meat topping on heat-and-serve pizzas) to my "DO NOT EAT!!!!" list. Lol! The base of my skull hurts so bad right now. The right side of my face is a combination of numb and itchy. Nice. Next time I will just stick with my routine.

A few firsts...

My two younger boys (Mr. Rebel on the left and Mr. Pirate on the right) got up bright and early this morning. Today was their first day of the 2009-2010 school year. It is also the first year that they go to school by themselves. Previously, they have had one or two older brothers with them. Not this year. Mr. Magic Hands (yes, that's the oldest...the Massage Therapist) and Mr. Chef (the second oldest...and his moniker is self-explanatory) are both off exploring the world in their own way, though they do manage to find home every once in a while. We do enjoy that.

*sigh* Those two look so much like their dad...

This was another first for me. An ORANGE SKY! Yes, that is true-to-life color. I double checked and triple checked. The sky was ORANGE! We had a pretty serious storm roll through one evening. The sky started to go green (bad bad bad) but then apparently changed its mind and we got the most beautiful "orange push-up" color! The sun had not yet set on the other end of the weather system and the light was bouncing off all the moisture. It was beautiful! 20 minutes later we had white clouds, blue skies and a gorgeous sunset. Nature is so fascinating!

Just a small vent

So, during the course of your day you get on the internet to check your email. You surf a few websites, read a few articles. In that time you see (and probably ignore) those moving ads for car insurance. The other new thing is the deluge of ads that proclaim Obama asks Moms to go back to school. Great idea! I think it is wonderful that there are programs to encourage Moms to go back to college...oh, wait...there's a catch.

99% of all scholarships and grants available for 'Mom' and her family's need for her to return to college are for SINGLE MOMS! Yep. I would have to divorce my husband to get the funding needed to go back to school to better my chances on getting a job that would pay more than my daycare bill.

I married young. I had children young. I have raised two boys that God blessed me with the day I said "I Do". I have two more boys that I was blessed with that are in grade school. I have limited employment history but 11 years of managing a house hold, managing schedules, and raising children. I have learned many things over the years through use of the internet and use of basic application and reading. My life experience adds up to more education than that of a 20 year old with a little piece of paper saying "I'm smart!". And yet, that little piece of paper gets them the job and me a rejection letter.

So, here's a tip. If you are a mom and want to go back to school, the government apparently would love to give you money...if you aren't married! If you have spent any amount of time being a SAHM, raising your kids, sacrificing your dreams, and listening to people talk down to you because you lack a certain little piece of paper, well, you are poop-out-of-luck.

An ending...

Have you ever had that one teacher that has such an impact on your life that you think of them almost every day? That you actually call them just to say hi and check on them? Yeah, that teacher...

Yesterday, I lost that teacher. Mr. Rose. My band director for the first two years of high school. He was the type of man that you either loved or hated within 2 minutes of meeting him. He smoked (in the band room), he drank (we all knew it was in his coffee...in the band room), he swore to make a sailor blush (in the band room, the practice field, football games, etc), and he cared for each and every one of his students whether they liked him or not. He would gives his last few dollars in his pocket just to make sure his kids had reeds, oil, a registration fee. He was as coarse and crude and politically incorrect as possible. And we loved him.

My junior year, I auditioned for Field Commander/Drum Major. All the students that auditioned made up the "company" that followed commands given by the one currently in front of the judges. So many did well. Me? I ran the company into the gym wall! God bless him, Mr. Rose laughed so hard he had to sit down! Lol! Mr. D (assistant director) wasn't much better. *chuckle* Needless to say, I didn't get it. Not that year. My senior year, yeah. I got it. The sad thing about it was Mr. Rose had retired at the end of my junior year so he wasn't there to share it with. I did call him, though. The first thing he asked when I told him I auditioned again was if I ran the company into the wall! Lol! He was thrilled that I got it. I told him I spent my entire summer practicing with my SIL, Pam. I could hear the smile in his voice about that.

He loved Pammy. She was his go-to girl in the percussion section. Anything he needed from the percussion, she gave it ten-fold. She would also argue with him. Toe to toe, those two would go at it. She never backed down from him even when he threated her grade. If it was worth it, she argued. Ahh, he loved their fights. You could see it.

Mr. Rose was a perfect mix of grandpa and old geezer.

There are so many memories I could share but I think I will sit back and enjoy them for now.

For Family

Since my mom hasn't updated her blog since the WV Birthday weekend, I will try and fill family in on what is happening.

Grandma was supposed to have cataract surgery on August 18. Last week, at her check-up appointment before surgery, the doctor found a membrane containing fluid behind her eye. It isn't supposed to be there. So, he cancelled the surgery and scheduled an appointment for her to see a specialist in Pittsburgh on August 14, tomorrow.

Grandma is very nervous and anxious about it. She was hoping to be done with all the surgeries before Emily's birthday. Now, we don't know what is happening.

Mom has become something of a knitting whisperer! Lol! She has a group of ladies in a small community south of our town that have come together as a Prayer Shawl group. Another group has started at our church that meets every week with Mom. We also have a new yarn shop in town! She has just started, so she carries the basics and a few specialty yarns but is building her stock based on what her customers are looking for instead of stocking everything and stuff not selling. The shop hosted a Knit til You Drop night a few weeks ago and it turned into a weekly meeting. I missed last Friday's Knit Night because of feeling ill from a migraine that lasted three days. However, I am praying very hard to be able to make it tomorrow night!

Since Mom will be in Pittsburgh with Grandma and Grandpap all day, she has asked that I take Tater, my niece. Mom taught Tater to knit just over a month ago (she picked it up immediately!). Tater has been going with mom to all her Prayer Shawl meetings in the small community south of us and has attended Knit Night the last two weeks. Mom doesn't want her to miss tomorrow's Knit Night just because she is exhausted from the day in Pittsburgh. So, I am hoping, praying, that God gives me a pass for tomorrow evening so I can take her. Oh, that reminds me. I have to fix something to take with me.

Yes, I know...another post

Just a quick note before bed.

Dh and I have been working on the home for the last few weeks. I have managed to get 90% of the place cleaned and organized. Our bedroom, which as most parents know is really just another storage room for things the kids leave laying around the house and ends up tossed in Mom and Dad's room, is still on the To-Do list. The older boys' room, which is now the smaller bedroom, is also on the list. I have a lot of stuff that needs stored or sold in a yard sale, so it will take some work for that to be done since my storage building is bursting at the seams right now.

The biggest thing at this point is DH's handiness around the home. Living in a mobile home means we live in a metal box that heats up horribly during any type of sunny, somewhat humid weather. It also means we don't have a screen door paired with our back door. So, DH got creative and bought the items needed to make a full sized screen to put over the opening when the door is open. Yes, we have to remove it every night but I love the fact I can just prop open the door, slide the screen in place and put a fan at the back door to draw air through the rest of my home.

Today, DH took the old A/C unit out of our bedroom window, along with the plexiglass and fit a new screen for the window. I can honestly say that I hate silicone caulking. I now also need new blades for my utility knife. Luckily, DH keeps a supply on hand because he goes through so many for work. It took me almost an hour to remove all the caulking. And to go outside and scoop up all the cat poop that was in my yard and stinking to high heavens. Funny, though. I DON'T OWN A CAT! However, all my neighbors who DO own cats think it's great that it's MY YARD and MY GARDEN that gets used as a litter box. *sigh* Yes, I am venting. Yes, I am done.

So, tomorrow, DH and I are going to remove the old A/C unit from the front bedroom where the two younger boys are. He is going to fit it for a new screen and hopefully get a nice bit of airflow through the house. I am pretty excited. We have been here for over 7 years and I still feel like I am just moving in. Hmm.

On a side note, the screen fabric Dh picked up is great! It is UV protectant grade and is very dark which gives a large amount of privacy. Especially with us having the back door completely open.

So, I have rambled again. I can feel myself slipping into "slap happy" stage. It's time to say goodnight.

Have a laugh...

Dh and I aren't big on alcoholic beverages. Me because can't hold my liquor and DH because he just isn't interested. Granted, he will have a drink every once in a while (more like two or three times a YEAR) but that's it. With me, well, I can't have more than 4 oz. without getting drunk. Me being drunk involves a pillow, a blanket, possibly some snoring and a horrendous headache in the morning. And that is off 4 oz of alcohol. Just so you get the idea, that's 1/3 of a regular can of beer! It actually makes me sad. I love wines and miss being able to sit down after the kids are in bed and having a glass. Oh, well. We still have a use for the wine rack on the baker's stand in the kitchen! Lol!