SHEs Organized

Such a nice start to the day, Dee. I'm working on that TRUSTING part... trusting mainly for God to take care of ds & his little family, you know, b/c there are so many things that come up when you're young... ds desperately needs a new truck, they are replacing their bathtub in the next week or so, ddil needs to go back to school... etc etc etc... the list just goes on and on... but ds has faith and trust that all is well, so I try not to worry about them.
TRUSTING for dmom's health...
TRUSTING for dcousin's health...
Yes... trust has to be my motto these days.

So glad dbro is doing well, Lynlee! Continued prayers for full recovery!!!

Picnic at the beach... oh, Kathryn, that sounds sooo nice!!! Hope you feel well and make the bike ride without trouble!

(((Lilac))) Sooo frustrating about the gates!!! I can definitely understand dh's aggravation. No one seems to LISTEN anymore.

Ditto, helia -- I would say hush puppies are Southern. Y'all just look at that menu. NOW you know why it's so hard to lose weight down here!!! Mmmm... but it sounds delicious.

Nancy has reminded me I'll have to get dmom's garbage can back to the house today.

OKay has reminded me I am very lazy. Nah, just kidding, OKay!!! BIG WTG on all your morning activities though. I just cannot seem to get anything done in the morning b/c dh wants to sleep so late. I swear that man should have been a night watchman!
I'm just proud I s/s the toilet in our bathroom this morning. * sigh *

(((BookSaver))) for waking up at 4:00 a.m.! That happens to my dmom a lot!

Well... today... more errands.
[x] doctor to pick up rx for dmom (has to be picked up in person)
[x] drug store
[x] school (yeah... kinda nervous about that errand, but I have to deliver these items!)
[x] dmom's
[x] keep dgs from 3:00 p.m. on...
[ ] get dmil @ 7:15 for
[ ] dmil's birthday dinner @ 7:30, local restaurant

DS & dh are singing at nursing home tonight, but dgs & I are not going b/c reportedly, they have stomach virus going around up there. Ddil doesn't want to expose dgs. I'm kinda glad -- he gets really restless during the hour they sing. I have a wonderful friend who is a patient, and I love to see her, but OTOH, staying at home will be calmer.

Great theme for today, Dee.

Lynlee ~ Glad to read that both your physio and bro's surgery went well. You got a lot done "today"-yesterday.

Lilac ~ How difficult is it to measure 4 feet? Does that mean they were trying to foist off on you some odd-size gates that were left over from another job? I mean, shouldn't the gates have already been built to size if they are ready to install them?

Ivy ~ You mentioned somewhere about the challenge of having extra food in the house for the boys. Maybe you could take advantage of their young metabolism -- you take only half a muffin, and ask if either of them wants to eat the other half before it "goes bad." Do the same with half a dessert ... you can still have a taste, and it will be a lot easier for them to work off the extra calories chopping wood with your DH. Use those growing boys to give yourself a treat!

Hi, Lucylee ~ Yes, I tend to wake up extra early on meeting days. I worry about waking DH, so I usually get up and do some work, then take a nap sometime after he leaves. The cats really like that schedule. The calico gets rather talkative when I miss nap time with her.

Yesterday was another beautiful day and DH wanted to go for an even longer drive. He headed for another campground that we haven't seen for many years, about an hour away. They have made a lot of improvements to the county park and camping areas. It ended up being an even longer drive than planned because of a detour around road construction, so we did a lot of sight-seeing on country roads. No problem, as I said it was a beautiful day.

So ... now DH is talking like maybe he would like to go camping in a couple of weeks after all. I don't know, I guess I'll just make sure to keep the gear ready to grab for a quick escape. I had scrubbed most of it when I thought we'd be camping earlier -- the time we ended up staying home because of a predicted hail storm. The packing list has been updated. We might have to buy ice if he doesn't give me enough notice to make it, but that's no big deal.

It's mostly a matter of whether or not DBIL's back is in better shape since last time we talked to him.

Hello.

Not much news from this corner. Sat. was a lunch out with some of the girls from our committee. Sun was church and a bit of shopping afterward. Monday was a stressful time out getting blood test. Long wait in very cold room where I couldn't keep awake. Was sitting there holding my head up sleeping for quite a while. Stick was awful and they usually don't hurt me much as my veins are pretty good. She said it must have been the alcohol. It hurt half the day after I got home.

Got laundry caught up between today and yesterday. Last load is hanging outside now. Helped DH clean off the back porch, it was full of grass and cobwebs. I'm very discouraged that I am this tired. Every day I sleep in the afternoon. I sleep part of the evening on the couch. And I sleep all night and can't get myself up in the morning. It's unreal how much I can sleep.

Yesterday afternoon I slept so hard I didn't hear DH come by right outside the window with tractor or weed eater. Well, Friday afternoon is dr. apt. and I'm trusting her to come up with something to help me. I had old dr. office send my records over from appointment I had 9 years ago about my heart. It seems to be a bit worse lately.

OKay, do you intend to live on the houseboat? Or just for recreation? I'm assuming you have a big lake somewhere nearby? It sounds so interesting! We went into a houseboat one time and I didn't like that the bedroom ceiling was so low it made me feel claustrophobic.

(((Harmony))) I really hope they can figure out something to help you feel better soon!

OTOH, there is no limit to how much I could sleep, and I know I have no excuse. I'd just rather sleep than do other stuff... plus I'm living on dh's nightowl schedule, and although I would naturally stay up a lot later than most of you girls, I would not naturally stay up as late as dh!

School visit was nice -- and kinda strange. I miss my friends and the kids sooo much... BUT... I do NOT miss learning new lesson plan procedures and new teaching procedures and learning/teaching the Common Core standards and discipline problems and getting up and out of the house every morning by 7:30 and... * whew * a bunch of stuff I do not miss! And I know, I know -- I could substitute and have most of the good and less of the bad, but substituting is still stressful, and I don't want to deal with the random-ness of not knowing from day to day what your schedule would be. I've got enough of THAT w/dgs, LOL!!!

My very best teacher friends will probably be out of it within a couple of years, anyway... so as the faculty changes more and more, I will miss it less and less.

After I left school, I treated myself to a sandwich at local shop that is only open for lunch hours. I was hungry, and it's going to be nearly 8:00 pm before we get to eat.

Now, to get dgs & take care of dmom... then dmil...

* Oh -- re: houseboats, Harmony -- dparents had (have) a cabin cruiser. DH couldn't even stand to go below deck to the kitchen b/c he was so claustrophobic!!! It was always one of ddad's dreams that we would all go up the TN River to Knoxville for a TN/AU ballgame. LOL. It was dh's nightmare.

Good afternoon everyone! Last night, I bought replacement tapestry needles for the ones I lost, grocery shopped, weeded in the backyard (more needed front, back, and side), and FINISHED my crocheted sweater!!! The needles were to finish the sweater. Of course, I promptly found one after I bought them! One of the not-so-Dcats is peeing on my bed. Undoubtedly a UTI, but which cat? My guess is Levity, because he is STILL having intestinal issues and the meds don't seem to be helping. However, he is on antibiotics, so could he get a UTI? Needless to say, LOL tonight. Also, separate cats to see who is sick.

Tonight is Girls' Night Out with DD11. She wants to go to Itz, a pizza/pasta/other buffet with games and rides. Since Tuesday is half off, that is not a bad plan. She wants to win a dinosaur pillow pet, and we have lots of points left on a card to spend. I have a dentist appointment in 25 minutes (cleaning) and have not decided whether I will come back to payroll or head out early.

I have a list of things that need to be done, but not all will be done today:
LOL
Car cleanout
Trash to curb (must be done tonight)
Put away stuff in boxes
Clean bathroom (must be done tonight - pawprints everywhere)
Get Benadryl cream for mosquito bites (definitely tonight)
Child support calculation and paperwork
Yardwork
Update Ravelry info
Call about exFosterCat11
Get pictures uploaded to Arts, Crafts, and Needlework (cannot be done until I have someone to take pictures of the sweater on me)

helia: I was always under the impression that hushpuppies (YUM!) were a Southern specialty. I enjoyed them many times in Alabama. Jalapeno hushpuppies (the ONLY thing with jalapenos that I can eat) seem to be strictly in Texas.

I'm exhausted.

The bike ride went well on the way there but I don't know how long it took. Took longer (30 minutes) on the way back and I had a cross breeze in both directions so wind against me both ways. I just broke the ride into smaller bits (the other edge of the village, the castle - the mansion on the river - , the forest, and the gate to the conservation area) and kept focusing on the smaller goals instead of the whole ride. The last bit home in the village was so slow because I had no energy left and my bottom was saddle sore.

My friend (our church musician) passed me on the lane to the beach so my timing was right. We had a good visit, I met some interesting friends of her and enjoyed my time with her middle son (my favourite.) Her other boys are in Toronto right now.

I haven't had a picnic on that beach for 16 years. I used to take the day care down for mid morning, we'd eat lunch and then come back in the heat of the day for a video in the cool basement. So I have lots of memories from there. I'd even biked it with my kids when they were older, with me pulling the kiddy trailer with a dinner for us after the daycare kids went home. The feeling at the beach, and the facilities haven't changed one bit. There are two change rooms and 2 outhouses. Lots of shady places, about 10 picnic tables and a few bbqs. Some garbage cans. That's it.

The only addition isn't from the conservation area but by someone across the river. He bought a pontoon boat and has created the "Ice Cream Float". He brings it across at 1 p.m. and all the kids line up to buy ice creams from him. The line started forming around 12:55, before he had even arrived (but you could see the boat on its way) and I got in the line at 1:15 and stood there for 15 minutes in the sun, the last 5 minutes in the water as well, because you have to wade out to the boat. He had 6 flavours of ice cream and water for sale. It was very good!

I came home and did a round of physio, then s2s for the day. My hair is still drying and I'm ready for a nap. He has a conference call now. I'll start dinner in 15 minutes and it will be done when he is done.


Just looked over the newspaper and there was an article on the Ice Cream Float so you can read all about it!

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Days+Summe ... story.html

Back from the dentist, clean teeth, no surprises. I have DD11 this entire weekend, and my office mate gave me a suggestion for an activity. And what a suggestion it is! There is a survival expo at one of the local parks. These are the activities that I think DD will like: archery and atlatl workshop, black powder weaponry, civil war medicine, harvesting honey and candlemaking (maybe), make a felt snake, weave a survival bracelet (maybe), make a survival bow, making fire without matches, make mini adobe bricks (maybe), wolves, horno bread tasting, wagon rides, wildlife rescue. Keep in mind that is not the list of activities, only the ones that I think will appeal to DD. In addition, there is fiber arts with yucca and making yucca soap that I would like as well. AND children under 12 are FREE. Unfortunately, some of the activities have time conflicts. We will have to take a lunch and drinks. They sell them there, but I am not sure if there is anything DD would like. For Sunday, I am thinking the local amusement park, we have season passes. I have asked XDH for DD for Labor Day and asked him if he would like to keep her on his birthday, which is a day I would normally have. I wish it was 5:00 already, I am hungry.

Definitely calmer here at home. DGS was asleep when we got back from dmom's, and he is still sleeping.
DS & DH are at the nursing home, and I've got a little more than an hour till time to go get dmil.

The park expo sounds GREAT for dd, Elizabeth. Plus -- I'm seeing an added bonus -- she will likely be exhausted when she gets home and will go to bed early. Calmer evenings for you! But please do remember what someone told you earlier here -- don't feel you must create entertainment all the time! Sometimes kids just have to do whatever we do or entertain themselves. That's just life.

I want to go to the Ice Cream Float.