That "DERN" dog

Miss Til is the queen of our home. She is an almost, 12 year old Shepard/ Rottweiler mix. She is a good size dog, close to 100 lbs and one of the biggest babies. Now, I would not say that she would "never" hurt any body, in fact, if you were hurting "her boy" (grandson), she just might take a chunk out of you. BUT, most often she is easy going.
Last Fall Miss Til had an ear infection and since then has developed a bad habit. With the ear infection she learned that if she shook her head she would get attention. Grant it, it might not have been the type of attention that she was looking for, but hey, someone (me) would eventually end up massaging her ears and giving her a good rub down. Somehow, over a period of time, Miss Til and I have come to the knowledge that "the shaking of the head" now means that she wants to go out. This is quite annoying, especially at 6am on my days off. She comes into my bedroom, walks to my side of the bed and shakes her head . . . several times . . . and walks out of the room. 5 to 10 minutes later she is back, comes to my side of the bed and shakes her head. The most aggravating things is . . . my hubby has just arrived home from work (He works the night shift). Upon arrival, HE has woken up Miss Til who now feels that she needs to wake me up for HER morning walk.

Hail to "The Queen"!

In less than 2 weeks ...

I will be on vacation--- SPRING BREAK! NORMALLY . . . I would be hyper excited by now, however, excitement is slowly building. On Spring Break we normally go to Florida, lower Gulf side. My FAVORITE, #1 place to go.



This year we are going to Arizona. Arizona ranks as # 3 on my favorite places to go. Arizona is fine... but I'd much rather be at the beach. I LOVE THE BEACH!! I love the sand! I love the sound of the waves! I love walking the beach! I love finding shells! I love seeing tiny crabs and starfish. This is all amusing, seeing as I don't swim and I don't go in the water if the waves are big (I hate water splashed in my face), well . . . let's face it . . . I really don't go in the water at all. BUT---- I positively LOVE going to the beach in Florida!!



(Now that that's out of my system, let's move on.)



"THE GIRLS" got to pick Arizona. The reason for this choice . . . NO LONG WALK to the beach.

OK . . . first off . . . one of "THE GIRLS" is no longer going because of certain events that have happened in the last few months. The other "GIRL" told me this morning that if we were to do things that were far away from where we are staying . . . there had better be a "LOT of WALKING" involved so that she could sleep on the way home and not be bored. Go figure.



As it is, this is usually our "relaxing " vacation. Translated= lying around a pool, most days. But, because of a comment made about a new camera that I just purchased, I have looked into doing a little more than relaxing. The camera, a Pentax Optio W60, 10.1 Megapixel, 5x Optical/4x Digital Zoom, Waterproof Digital Camera, point and shoot. The comment, Arizona is a desert, no water. My response-POOL!



In thinking, of course, if you have never been to Arizona you might think it is all desert. But--- it is not. There are the huge, huge mountains in the north. ( The first time my husband went camping there his comment was, " If you had flown me in blindfolded, I would think we were in Michigan.") Up in the mountains there are lakes and streams, and there are even lakes at lower levels . . . MAN Made . . . but none the less lakes. I even found a "BEACH" at a lake near where we are staying.



Looking at sites online and thinking of all the great pictures that could be taken I would love to go to San Xavier del Bac Mission. (When my Grandparents lived in Tucson, you could see the Mission from their house, but I don't think I have ever been there.) I would also like to go to Colossal Cave, Tombstone or Bisbee, (visit some ghost towns in the area) and take a day trip through Sedona. As many times as I have been to Arizona ( I was born there), the only places that I know I have been are Sedona, the White Mountains, and the Grand Canyon. (Tiff, if you can come over and join us you are more than welcome.) So, in a few short weeks, come back to see the pictures and find out what adventures "THE GIRLS" took. SHHHH . . . don't tell my husband, this is "A GIRL'S" trip, the mention of "ghost towns" may make him want to tag along.

Those 2 "dirty little words"...

Diet and exercise. Why do we have such a hard time with them? Diet is defined as; What a person or animal usually eats or drinks, daily fare. Exercise is defined as; Active use or operation, performance. So, basically; diet and exercise are anything you eat and drink . . . AND . . . any movement you make.

I have always done both, as I am sure everyone has, but am concentrating on them more at the moment. I had decided that exercise would help build my endurance to lug around my 1o cases of equipment that I need for work. These rang from 15 - 65 pounds. It has helped me immensely.

Diet was more for the vacation that I will be taking soon. Going to warm places and shedding clothes always feels and looks better when you are firm and trim.

So next time when thinking of diet and exercise . . . it may be a little easier if we all realize that we always are in process of those two things. We just adjust them to the purpose that we need. :)

EAGERLY AWAITING . . .

the colors of Spring. Today is the first day of Spring, not that you could really tell. The temp right now is about 20 degrees. The high today is suppose to be 50. Yes, we have had some warm days, up in the 60's and 70's. BUT. . . If you are from the mid-west you know that that really means nothing. Tomorrow we could have a foot of snow.

However, the birds are singing. The Robins are here. (a Robin's main diet is worms, so the ground must be somewhat soft for the worms to come up.) and some trees have started to bud out. My daffodils are starting to pop out of the ground and the Willow trees are turning a golden yellow. But . . . all in all things are still pretty brown.

Where are the cold Spring rains? A rainy day or 2 and some warm weather will wake everything and and begin the parade of colors. Hopefully, the real Spring is not too far off.

Friday, March 13th

I must say that today was not what I had expected. So now, you are asking yourself , What did she expect? I'm not sure. You see, today would have been my Mother's 68th birthday. The last birthday she celebrated was 19 years ago. In all that time, this is the first year that the thought of her birthday has been more than a fleeting thought. In fact, I found myself, on several different days thinking about my Mother and her birthday. My Mother had many friends. Would any of them remember that today was her birthday? Would any of them think of her? What about her family? Would my Grandmother and Uncles think about her today? And , what about her children? Am I the only child that remembered this day? I also thought about how my life would be different if she were still here. I know that I would not live where I live, this was her house. I would not have the job I have now. OF course, I'm not sure what job I would have. It could be the same one, just in a different city. Other than that, I'm not sure how different my life would be. What about my siblings? If my Mother was still alive, would the 5 of us be more involved in each other's lives? I have 2 siblings that I am talk to on a regular basis and 2 siblings that I rarely have any type of communication with at all. It is their choice and it took me a long time to except that they could throw away what was so valued by my parent's . . . FAMILY.

I guess, I thought today would have been a more emotional day for me. Maybe even a sad day. I have never really been emotional about my Mother's death. We were raised in a Christian home. We were taught "Absent from the body, present with the Lord." We prayed that she would be not be taken from us. But I think that was selfish of us. She was in great pain for several months. She was no longer the vibrant, do-it-all person that she had once been. I feel she went through a lot more than she had to because we were praying and God was giving us what we wanted.
My Mother was a wonderful woman. She loved her family. She loved her friends and she loved little children. She was always eager to lend a hand and help in any way she could. I was privileged to have her in my life and even though she is no long her, she still influences me in many ways. I am a stronger and more caring person because of her.

But I have also learned that people make choices and sometimes you need to let those choices direct the relationships, to let go. It does not mean that you have stopped loving. It just means that you no longer allow yourself to be hurt. I hope the impact that I leave on others will equal the impact that my Mother left on me.

The in between days...

Even though I understand the need for days like today, it does not make me like them. This time of year is the bridge between Winter and Spring. I loathe the dreariness of the gray and brown world. The mixture of strong wind and rain sends a chill up my spine. These things all make the day drag on.
BUT...
These days are a prelude to the burst of color, that; in a few short weeks will be upon us. Isn't it funny how green the grass looks and how bright the flowers look in the Spring. Maybe it's because of all the gray and brown we have to look at right now.
I am so ready for Spring!!

We have always been told....

Writing out events, thoughts and feelings, ie blogging, will get you through what's going on in your life. Not to say my life is more important or more eventful than anyone elses... it's just nice to share... and maybe learn a thing or two. Kind of a "What or What Not To Do" from someone elses experiences. If nothing else... you will have a better idea of who I am. :)