Only one thing to say...start them young ladies!! Shopping princess Ellie!

Just not right...

Some of you might not find this funny, but when you were as tired as I was, didn't feel like shopping, and just wanted to go home to a nice little relaxing drink...you laugh and just say what the??? I guess you can go down this grocery store isle and get your "kicks" and munchies all in one!! Whole new meaning to one stop shopping?

Paint paint and more paint

I took Friday off from work because we refinanced the house for a lower interest rate. In the long run it will be a good investment. So since I was off Friday and Lee would actually be off on Saturday (Two weekends in a row!!) I thought it would be a good idea to get started on painting the inside of the house. Now let me remind you that any sentence that starts with "I thought it was a good idea..." usually ends up not such a good idea after all. Thank the good Lord above that this did turn out OK. I started with our bathroom Thursday after work. I did all the pre cleaning of the walls and taping off and cutting in the corners and baseboards. We decided on a pale yellow and deep red. I know yellow and red right? But it really does look nice. I first saw the colors in a beauty salon in Michigan. (Thanks MJ'S Salon in Oscoda Michigan!) Friday morning I finally got started. Having a power roller I thought I will be done in an hour or so and I could relax the rest of the day. It is so funny how I think things will only take me an hour to do...
First I had to remember how the roller worked. I must have thought that I didn't need the instructions any more because they were no where to be found! My memory slowly started coming back to me as the pump turned on and I pressed the button on the roller. I watched the paint slowly being pumped from the container you pour the paint into, up through the pump and into the tube. I started rolling out the paint and was on my way. I was so proud of myself. I got most of one wall rolled out but had to stop when it reached the edge of the bathtub. I couldn't reach that high up and knew that with my ever so gracefulness, I would slip on the edge of the tub for sure. Safety first right? So I put a chair in the bathtub and started rolling out the wall above the tub and shower. After a couple of rolls I realized I needed more paint in the roller. I press the button and the pump comes on. Yeah we are still good! Wait...no paint is coming out? I look down and see that the tube is no longer in the pump and paint is still coming out. I grab the tube and what happens?? Paint goes every where as I am flinging the tube around saying "Where is the paint coming from!!" Thank goodness all the paint was flung on the bathtub walls, shampoo bottles a little on the bar of soap, and the chair. I put the tube back in the pump and remember what the little black clip on the end of the tube was for. While trying to wipe up the paint that was flung everywhere I managed to step into some paint that was on the chair. I am not giving up yet. I wrestle with the paint container, tube and pump and get started again. I get to the next wall with the toilet. I was able to get the roller around the toilet and knew that I would have a little touch up work to do since it was a tight fit but paint washes off of porcelain right? I finish behind the toilet and look at the wall and see a unique "roller" pattern..."What made that mark?" Oh well, roll over it and WALAA. Done. Another obstacle tackled. The mirror and lights are next. I move the chair to in front of the mirror and get a look at myself before I step up to begin painting above the mirror. Wow, instant hair color that matches the newly painted wall and I created a new faux finish! All I could do was laugh. I am almost done with a 6' by 8' bathroom and so far I am truly covered from head to toe in paint. I still have one more bathroom and our bedroom to do...Lord help me. Three hours later I finally finished painting the bathroom, took a look at my hard work and loved it. Now time for the clean up...should only take about an hour right?

50 years

This past weekend we took a one day trip to Georgia for a very special occasion. It was for Mr. and Mrs. Claude O'Neals 50th Wedding Anniversary. Fifty years of being in love with the same person. Sharing every....well, everything with that person. Uncle Claude and Aunt Myrtle (Sorry for the informality but that is what I call them!) have four very special kids who have wonderful spouses who would not let this very special occasion go by without some kind of celebration. All had a hand in the celebration just like they all have each others hands in their own. I was first introduced to this family over 25 years ago. From the first day that I walked into the O'Neal home in Dale City Virginia, I felt like I was family. My first impression was one of peace, love and family. Even though all the "kids" were going off in different directions, they at one time or another during the day would come together to talk about their day, what was happening in their lives, and what was going on. And then they were off. Off to work, school or to "play". Aunt Myrtle and I would talk about being a wife and later mother. She took my kids in like they were her own Grand kids. I guess after four what is a couple more? She and Claude whether they knew it or not, guided Lee and I in our own lives. We couldn't go to Michigan from Virginia without stopping in Dale City to see them. As we all "grew up" and moved in separate directions, we wouldn't get to see each other as often, but when we do, it is twice as special. Only last year, we introduced them to our next generation of family. Ms. Ellie. And like all the other babies before her, Aunt Myrtle took her under her wing too. Thank you Uncle Claude and Aunt Myrtle. We love you very much.

Green eggs and Ham???

These eggs are not dyed. If I did not see them with my own eyes I would not have believed this. Yes, these eggs really are green. Lee's mom has a friend who has a chicken that will lay colored eggs. Blue and Green. I asked her if they feed them a certain food or if they eat nothing but grass and she said no they just eat regular chicken feed. It is a certain breed of chicken that lay them! It is amazing some of the things that are in our world that are still out there to explore and learn about. So yes there really is such a thing as green eggs and ham!! Sam I am! (Not) I always wondered if Dr. Seuss was real!!

Moja Rodzina (My Family)

For the past ten months I have been researching my family. It all started when we went to Lee's family reunion this summer and he was given a packet of papers that was his complete family history from the first Touchton to come to the United States in 1657. Both of us were so interested in the story of his family and it made me realize how much I was missing out on mine. I started talking to my Aunt about it and she was able to give me some information. It was a start. I talked to a friend and she was able to tell me how she started tracing her family. I started by googling names. Looking up names on the Ellis Island website and any other genealogy website I could find. Including a Polish one. I found Michael Juda, my great Grandfather. Walter Juda my Grandfather. These are their pictures along with my dad. Michael was the first to come to the United States in 1906 from Wola Poland. Our history is small so far but it is a start. I have discovered who my Great Grandparents were, who my Grandparents were and where they all came from. I know there is more to discover and I will keep looking because I now have a sense of who I am.

Vet visit

Guess who went to the vet today? Just a check up, regular shots and a clean bill of health. We went to a new vet today. I just did not feel that Gretta was getting the care that she deserved with the other vet. For a little dog, she has a lot of affection once she gets to know you. (That takes about all of two minutes!)
I was really impressed with this new vet today. He came in, immediately started talking to Gretta. She didn't bark at him or anything. This from a dog that barks at her own shadow? Seriously.
He took her little face in his big gentle hands and got right down to her level and said "Hi little girl. How are you? You sure are pretty." Gretta just looked at him like they had been best friends all her life and instantly relaxed! I was a little jealous! But I too felt relaxed and knew that she was in good hands. Gretta is apparently a "vaccine reactor" which means she has to have benadryl prior to her shots. So she got her benadryl, we waited 15 minutes and then we got the other shots. We completed the exam without barking, biting, or even so much as a growl. The only growling was from me when I went to pay the bill! But what price do you put on your pets health care? I remember when our Gretchen was really ill and we almost lost her. My husband put down one credit card and said "When this one is maxed out, use this one", as he placed a second one on the counter "and do what you have to do to save our dog." Gretchen was with us for almost 10 years after that scare. So what price do you pay for something that is priceless to you?

Wrinkles, pimples, gray hair and smiles...

I was listening to Jimmy Buffett the other day and the song "Barefoot children" came on my Ipod. One of the lines are "Wrinkles are only in the places were smiles have been." I like this saying. It is kind of like my gray hair. I don't mind it because I tell everyone "I have kids and I earned every one of those gray hairs"! The wrinkles...well I am trying to figure them out. Maybe like Jimmy says...they are only marking the places the smiles have been. It is really the pimples that are driving me (and most of my friends) nuts! I am over 40 and shouldn't be getting them!! I paid that price when I was a teenager. Enough already!! Unfortunately life doesn't work that way. I have use cleaners, cleansers, mask, high priced formulas, discount formulas, soap, creams, lotions and currently an apricot scrub. I will say that they all give me results. Either dry skin, oily skin, empty wallet, or more pimples. It seems like all I do is touch my face and wham, there is another pimple. Friends say "It is just your hormones changing." "The signs of aging?" I love that expression too...signs of aging...like we are going to turn the corner one day and see a big traffic sign that say "Warning wrinkles ahead." But how many times can your hormones change in a year?
What do you do to avoid that "Sign"?

Saying goodbye

I called my mom tonight and she told me that she lost a Friend today. My Dad's dog Maggie and Mom's companion after Dad passed away, has passed away too. Maggie was a gift from my Sister to my Dad one year for Christmas. After the loss of another family pet, Maggie was a welcomed sight for Dad. My Dad has always been an animal lover and had a special place in his heart for beagles. Maggie was abused and rescued, but she was never afraid of Dad. When Dad became ill, Maggie was in the hospital with him. She was always by his side and now today, I am sure she is in heaven with him agian. Taking care of him, jumping on him and giving him the "puppy kisses" he so loved. Our pets are so much more than dogs, cats, or birds. They are our family members. We will miss you Maggie.

Tea time

I found an old book that a really good friend gave me many years ago. It is called The book of Tea. We both have a love for tea and share our passion. As I was looking through the book I came across this note and it reminded me that we also share a sense of humor! Bottoms up girls!!