Here's to the New Year

I'm ready for the New Year to get here ... can't you tell with all the new taggies? =D I made this one this morning while waiting for hubby to wake up. I've been dying to use the girl as (for me) it symbolizes me & my annoying others with my camera in hand. I don't go many places without it. Never know when a photo op will come about.

Nothing new here just wanted to share the new tag.

2009 Taggies

These are my newest creations. Just made them this afternoon. Hope you like them ... I was beginning to feel like I lost my PSP MoJo.

Down in the Dumps

Several tags throughout this entry ... snag only please.

I just haven't been me lately. I don't know what's wrong with me. I couldn't wait for Christmas to be over with so all the decorations could come down & be stored away for next year. This is highly unusual for me. Usually the decorations are up before Thanksgiving (not this year) and I have never taken them down until New Years day. (They were all put away the day after Christmas). I don't know what was going on with me ... I just wanted it all out of my site.

Granny is gone but I know I'm not sad because of that ... she's no longer in pain. I sent a basket full of daisies. I couldn't decide what I wanted to send and the only thing I could think of was that she was gone & gonna be pushing up daisies ... so daisies it was.

My brother (twins dad) isn't talking to me now. =( He came over a few days ago saying that he was leaving his wife cause he couldn't take her crap anymore. He was trying to get us to say he could stay with us without actually asking us but we let him know he needed to be a man ... go home & work out his problems with his wife. He's got a family to think about now & running out on them isn't an option he should take. Sunday morning 12:20 am ... I'm dead asleep when the phone rings ... brother calling me crying uncontrollably asking for a place to stay. I knew from a previous phone call that he was drunk and had done a few lines of coke. Sorry ... I don't need that mess on my door step. Hubby took the phone from me & told him he couldn't stay here. He hung up!



Dad called me yesterday morning to let me know the funeral went well ... the preacher was very long winded but the service was beautiful & they could all tell she was well loved by the amount of people that showed up to leave respect for her. Anyway, dad & brother came back home yesterday ... but not to an empty house. My other brother (twins dad) had got into a bit of trouble & crashed at their house. So here is what really happened ...

Saturday night hubby & I were sitting around watching our favorite movies when the phone rings ... it's my SIL, she's not crying but you can tell in her voice that she's about to hurt someone. She tells us to be on the look out for my brother cause he's just left her house drunker than drunk & higher than a kite. Before he left the house he smashed into her car so she was letting us know that she was calling the cops on him. I called her back about an house later to check on her ... she's my SIL and I care a lot about her. She went into more details. He tried to smack her around but she's a BIG lady so she ended up throwing him into a fence and that's when he took off. He called her lots of names but the one that broke my heart is ... she said right in front of their kids he called her a F'n N*g*r. Now, I don't know about you but around here that word just isn't used cause it's a very derogatory word that no person should ever be called. It's even worse that he felt it necessary to call his wife this nasty name & even worse then that ... his kids are half black so what must he think of his own children? SIL told us this was unforgivable & something that he as a father can never take back. She said the twins are to young to know what was said or really to know what it means but her daughter heard the words clear as day & was devastated that her step dad would say such a thing. I think of Quanasia as my niece so it broke my heart to know that my brother caused her this pain. We went to see niece & SIL yesterday and the niece didn't really want to talk ... don't know if it was from lack of sleep the night before or the fact that she believes I may feel the same way as my brother.



So ... I decided I would call SIL so I could go over, see the twins & check in on her. A man answered the phone ... I asked for SIL and then I heard an angry voice that I immediately recognized ... my brother. He very rudely says call the house to talk to her then hangs up on me. What a flipping poonanny!

Now I'm at SIL's house ... Part of me seemed to need proof that my brother was actually as horrible as she had said the night before. I know my brother is a very troubled man but when all is said & done ... he's still my brother & I love him for this fact. Well, he did indeed crash into her car. There was a bad place on her front wheel well & then one on the back of her car. Now ... my baby brother wanted to defend the other brother with are you sure he wrecked her car? Ya know he doesn't have any crash marks on his truck. All I can say is I know what I saw and I know that just because you hit someone doesn't mean that both cars will show proof.

Oh ... as if all this drama isn't bad enough I took the advice of many of my readers & have tried to contact the lady who has my little Harley. She isn't answering any of my e-mails. I'm just heart broken. I'm beginning to wonder if I was scammed out of a dog so she could sell him for money. Ya see, she put in a request for a small dog through the local free cycle ... since Christmas she has popped up asking for tons of things. Computers .... beds ... treadmill ... scrap booking supplies ... you name it. Now how is it that she can ask for these items but not answer a simple e-mail of how is Harley doing? I have her phone number so I think I'm gonna be calling later today instead of sending e-mails. IMO ... you shouldn't say call anytime to check on him if you don't really mean it. Am I crazy for thinking this way?

Ok ... I'm outta here for right now. Hubby is on 3rd shift so looks like we'll be out of the house most of the day. Who knows what we'll be doing but I know we won't be here. Have a great day!

Goodbye granny

Merry Christmas to all of you. I don't think I'll be on line tomorrow to wish you all a happy joyous day.

So ... this week I took daughter to the bone specialist ... she does have a hair line crack in her elbow still but she no longer needs the sling. He believes that if she is just careful with her activity for the next few weeks she will continue to heal. She doesn't have any pain at all so that's good news.

My brother came over yesterday ... weird cause he doesn't visit much. Anyway, he came over for marital advice. He & his wife are having problems again. He was contemplating leaving her but didn't want to leave his boys behind. Hubby & I talked him into going home & talking it through with his wife. He's a grown man & needs to be grown up ... there's no more walking away when things don't go your way. Besides ... it's Christmas ... no one needs that on the brain at this time of the year. I haven't heard from him but I'm hoping that all goes well. I'd like to see the twins but I sure don't won't to drop in during their problems.

Hubby's tooth has been hurting him lately but he's the typical guy ... won't do anything about it until the pain is so great that he can't stand to do anything. Well, I told him to call the dentist & hope that they could get him in. I knew it was a long shot with it being Christmas eve but ... he called ... they don't open until Monday morning. Hate that he's in pain but darn it ... that's what he gets for waiting until the pain is almost unbearable. Ya know?

Anyway, when he got ready to call the doctors he used my phone because I had the number already programed in ... he noticed that my dad had made a call about 12 after midnight. As soon as I heard that I knew what the call was all about. My granny had passed away. So I called dad & sure enough ... she's gone. She passed away at about 10 after 12 this morning. We were all hoping she would make it passed Christmas so we wouldn't have to think about her death at this time but she just couldn't hold out any longer. All her kids are together planning for the funeral ... sounds like their going to do it this Saturday. We're not going!

I told dad we couldn't go because hubby had to work but it was not the truth. I'm not going cause when it all boils down to the nitty gritty ... she's not my blood grandmother. I love my dad & most of his family but in the end I know that he is my step dad & none of those people are my blood. I wasn't very close to my granny either. She was a crass old woman who I always felt took great pleasure in putting me down. The only time I felt she approved of me is when I got married right out of high school ... I was very small & for my granny if you weren't physically fit then you were just a slob who would never amount to anything. Isn't that sad? I know that's just the way she was but it always hurt! Of course she was never this way with her blood grandchildren only those of us who had married in to the family. My step sister is much heavier than me but she was the light of grannies eye ... doesn't matter that she was big into drugs and alcohol when she was younger ... doesn't matter that she a baby when she had her baby ... I've lived the straight & narrow life for the most part but never got her approval. So why should I go to the funeral?

With all of this said I would like to say goodbye to granny. I loved her because she is my (step) dad's mother but I didn't like her very much. May she rest in peace and have no more pain. May the family's heart heal and remember the loving side.

Oh ... we had another death in our family Monday night ... my granny's sisters SIL hung himself. No one really knows why he took his life but yup ... 2 family members in less than a week.

My dad has been more a part of my life then my own mother so it's for that reason that I don't call him step dad very often.

Santa and Sarah

Three years ago, a little boy and his grandmother came to see Santa at the Mayfair Mall in Wisconsin . The child climbed up on his lap, holding a picture of a little girl. "Who is this?" asked Santa, smiling.

"Your friend? Your sister?'" "Yes, Santa,' he replied. "My sister, Sarah, who is very sick," he said sadly.

Santa glanced over at the grandmother who was waiting nearby, and saw her dabbing her eyes with a tissue. "She wanted to come with me to see you, oh, so very much, Santa!" the child exclaimed. "She misses you," he added softly.

Santa tried to be cheerful and encouraged a smile to the boy's face, asking him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas.

When they finished their visit, the Grandmother came over to help the child off his lap, and started to say something to Santa, but halted.

"What is it?" Santa asked warmly.

"Well, I know it's really too much to ask you, Santa, but ..." the old woman began, shooing her grandson over to one of Santa's elves to collect the little gift which Santa gave all his young visitors. "The girl in the photograph... my granddaughter well, you see ... she has leukemia and isn't expected to make it even through the holidays," she said through tear-filled eyes.

"Is there any way, Santa . any possible way that you could come see Sarah? That's all she's asked for, for Christmas, is to see Santa."

Santa blinked and swallowed hard and told the woman to leave information with his elves as to where Sarah was, and he would see what he could do. Santa thought of little else the rest of that afternoon.

He knew what he had to do.


"What if it were MY child lying in that hospital bed, dying," he thought with a sinking heart, "This is the least I can do."

When Santa finished visiting with all the boys and girls that evening, he retrieved from his helper the name of the hospital where Sarah was staying. He asked the assistant location manager how to get to Children's Hospital.

"Why?" Rick asked, with a puzzled look on his face.

Santa relayed to him the conversation with Sarah's grandmother earlier that day. "C'mon.....I'll take you there." Rick said softly. Rick drove them to the hospital and came inside with Santa. They found out which room Sarah was in. A pale Rick said he would wait out in the hall.

Santa quietly peeked into the room through the half-closed door and saw little Sarah on the bed.

The room was full of what appeared to be her family; there was the Grandmother and the girl's brother he had met earlier that day. A woman whom he guessed was Sarah's mother stood by the bed, gently pushing Sarah's thin hair off her forehead.

And another woman who he discovered later was Sarah's aunt, sat in a chair near the bed with a weary, sad look on her face. They were talking quietly, and Santa could sense the warmth and closeness of the family, and their love and concern for Sarah.

Taking a deep breath, and forcing a smile on his face, Santa entered the room, bellowing a hearty, "Ho, ho, ho!" "Santa!" shrieked little Sarah weakly, as she tried to escape her bed to run to him, IV tubes intact.

Santa rushed to her side and gave her a warm hug. A child the tender age of his own son -- 9 years old -- gazed up at him with wonder and excitement.

Her skin was pale and her short tresses bore telltale bald patches from the effects of chemotherapy. But all he saw when he looked at her was a pair of huge, blue eyes. His heart melted, and he had to force himself to choke back tears.

Though his eyes were riveted upon Sarah's face, he could hear the gasps and quiet sobbing of the women in the room.

As he and Sarah began talking, the family crept quietly to the bedside one by one, squeezing Santa's shoulder or his hand gratefully, whispering "Thank you" as they gazed sincerely at him with shining eyes.

Santa and Sarah talked and talked, and she told him excitedly all the toys she wanted for Christmas, assuring him she'd been a very good girl that year.

As their time together dwindled, Santa felt led in his spirit to pray for Sarah, and asked for permission from the girl's mother. She nodded in agreement and the entire family circled around Sarah's bed, holding hands.

Santa looked intensely at Sarah and asked her if she believed in angels. "Oh, yes, Santa..... I do!" she exclaimed.

"Well, I'm going to ask that angels watch over you." he said. Laying one hand on the child's head, Santa closed his eyes and prayed. He asked that God touch little Sarah, and heal her body from this disease.

He asked that angels minister to her, watch and keep her. And when he finished praying, still with eyes closed, he started singing, softly, "Silent Night, Holy Night.... all is calm, all is bright..."

"The family joined in, still holding hands, smiling at Sarah, and crying tears of hope, tears of joy for this moment, as Sarah beamed at them all.

When the song ended, Santa sat on the side of the bed again and held Sarah's frail, small hands in his own. "Now, Sarah," he said authoritatively, "you have a job to do, and that is to concentrate on getting well. I want you to have fun playing with your friends this summer, and I expect to see you at my house at Mayfair Mall this time next year!"

He knew it was risky proclaiming that to this little girl who had terminal cancer,

but he "had" to. He had to give her the greatest gift he could -- not dolls or games or toys -- but the gift of HOPE.

"Yes, Santa!" Sarah exclaimed, her eyes bright. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead and left the room.

Out in the hall, the minute Santa's eyes met Rick's, a look passed between them and they wept unashamed.

Sarah's mother and grandmother slipped out of the room quickly and rushed to
Santa's side to thank him.

"My only child is the same age as Sarah," he explained quietly. "This is the least I could do." They nodded with understanding and hugged him.

One year later, Santa Mark was again back on the set in Milwaukee for his six-week,
seasonal job which he so loves to do. Several weeks went by and then one day a child
came up to sit on his lap."Hi, Santa! Remember me?!" "Of course, I do," Santa proclaimed (as he always does), smiling down at her. After all, the secret to being a "good" Santa is to always make each child feel as if they are the "only" child in the world at that moment.

"You came to see me in the hospital last year!" Santa's jaw dropped. Tears immediately sprang in his eyes, and he grabbed this> little miracle and held her to his chest. "Sarah!" he exclaimed.

He scarcely recognized her, for her hair was long and silky and her cheeks were rosy -- much different from the little girl he had visited just a year before. He looked over and saw Sarah's mother and grandmother in the sidelines smiling and waving and wiping their eyes.

That was the best Christmas ever for Santa Claus.He had witnessed --and been blessed to be instrumental in bringing about -- this miracle of hope.

This precious little child was healed. Cancer-free. Alive and well. He silently looked up to Heaven and humbly whispered, "Thank you, Father. 'Tis a very, Merry Christmas!"

If you believe in miracles you will pass this on...I did!

God will never bring you to a place he cannot bring you through.

Live Simply, Love Generously, Care Deeply.
Speak Kindly and Leave the Rest to God

Follow your heartfelt, God-given dreams NEVER settle for status quo!

My life in Pictures

Catching Up

Just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Thank you to those of you who sent me Christmas cards ... I hope you have received yours from me as well. I have been so darn busy with Christmas parades ... daughter's cracked elbow & her refusal to wear her sling ... remodeling 2 rooms in our house .... my granny took a turn for the worse last week. She was in the hospital for a few days. She's back home but there giving her until the new year at the most before she passes away. She has no will whatsoever to go on living. She had a feeding tube inserted & that's when it all started going down hill. Once oxygen hit the tumors ... they started growing fast. The radiation isn't helping her at all now! Let's see ... oh as of this morning my hubby decided NOT to take the GS9 job cause whoever wrote out the job description wrote it up wrong. It's actually a temp job that Obama has stated will be going away when he becomes president. He doesn't feel civilians should be teaching the military so all temp jobs (which now all of the sudden this job is) will no longer exsist. So back to the air field he goes. Oh well ... it's not a horrible job. Now I'm off to the bone specialist hpoing that Daughters elbow has healed properly. I'll post photos later today.

Christmas Snags

MIA for a few

I'm finally not crying every second over giving up my Harley. I realized he must be being spoiled rotten since he is the only poochie the disabled man has. He can give him so much love ... chihuahua's really do need lots of attention.

Ok, so Friday afternoon my kids were playing on the back of our truck. My daughter went to jump off the back and her foot got caught causing her to fall off. She hit the ground and shrugged it off as she's tough. We went to the town parade & didn't think much of it until I noticed her really favoring her arm. I poked & proded until she finally confessed her arm was hurting her pretty bad.

So 9pm we were sitting in the ER. She got in really quick, they did an x-ray of her arm from elbow to wrist where she was complaining of pain. We were snooping & saw her file ... it showed a line of some sort around her elbow so we were thinking it was broke. A few minutes later the doc came in & said it wasn't broke but probably badly bruised. He gave us a name of a dr. to get referred to this morning and instructions for over the weekend.

This morning we call post to set up an appointment to find that we were given an off post doctor. Ok, whatever! As long as she has a doctor I don't care at this point. So hubby calls at 7:30 this morning to set an appointment ... the woman was rude and cut hubby off before he could say anything. She told him the office was closed call back at 8:30 when they opened. Well, he wasn't here to call so I made the call. The woman asked if daughter had ever been seen there before & I told her no. She says well we don't have anything open until the new year. I explained to her about the fall & her needing a referral for this orthopedic surgeon that the ER doctor put on her sheet. She very rudely says well he won't refer her because he's never seen her before so I don't know how we can help you. I said well I have a problem with the first of the year appointment because she's needing to see the ortho within 3-7 days ... I said waiting until the new year is ridiculous. She puts me on hold for about 30 sec then says well someone just canceled so I can get you in on the 11th. I asked why the ER would tell me an ortho within a week if it was gonna take them that long to see her just to refer her out. "Well your lucky you got what you did". She proceeded on in a nasty condescending voice of "if that's not good enough for you take her back to the ER & confer with them".

I took the appointment then called hubby. Oooooooh was ever so pissed. He went straight to post to let them know how we were treated ... we are all moved back on post & daughter has an appointment this afternoon for an ortho doc.

The doctor's office that was so rude is also being sent a nasty gram from our insurance provider cause they aren't permitted to treat military people in such a way. Turns out ... we weren't the first to complain about this office ... 1 more strike & NO military personnel can use them ... that means they lose a lot of money. So we're keeping our fingers crossed that nothing major is wrong with her arm. Poor thing can't even lift her arm up to put a shirt on ... she's in a sling ... she's got an ice pack strapped to her ... she's on Tylonol ... of course she's milking it for all it's worth. She can't shower cause she can't wash herself ... she can't do her chores cause she only has one good arm. KIDS!!!

UPDATE: We got an orthopedic surgeon to see her this afternoon. He was a nice man ... we got in within 5 minutes of arriving. She didn't break it but there is a nice crack in her elbow bone ... it's not just badly bruised as the ER Doc. led us to believe. She had two choices ... be in a cast from bicep to finger tips or wear the sling & be very careful for 2 weeks. Of course she opted for the sling cause she has already been in a cast ... same arm ... same style & hated it. I'm hoping she sticks with being careful cause I want it to heal. I have to take her back in 2 weeks for more x-rays ... if it's doing fine she can get rid of the sling, if she isn't then it's in a cast for a couple of weeks. I really believe she is going to be careful cause riding starts back up the first of the year & she can't ride with a cast on.

So that was my day ... how did yours go?

Sad Day

For the last month or so we have been considering getting rid of our male chihuahua because he has been marking his territory. I thought I could work with him to get him to stop. Nothing seemed to work. I tried rubbing his nose in it ... spanking his bottom ... leaving him outside ... making for sure he was taken outside plenty ... crating him ... nothing seemed to work. Well, on Monday marking his territory got even worse ... he started marking all the female dogs. Ewww much!

So Wed. we started talking about how to go about finding him a new home. I can't just give him to anyone ... he's my baby & I've had him since he was 5 weeks old. Thursday morning a note came through the local free cycle asking for a small lap dog for a disabled man. I thought ... this could be a sign ... I'm a HUGE believer in God giving signs to us. Anyway, I wrote to the lady that we had a small dog but I was very honest that he does mark his territory. I didn't want her to get him then be surprised when he started peeing everywhere. I thought if I tell her the truth & she still wants him for her husband then it's just meant to be.

She didn't e-mail me back so I started thinking ok ... she wasn't interested. Well, about 7 last night the daughter called & said that they knew he marked and they still wanted him. Said it would bring her dad so much joy as he was unable to walk. He sits in a chair all day long ... we also learned that he is a Veitnam Vet. We met her last night & gave him away. The kids & I of course cried all night long & still are off & on today ... we miss him ... but we know he's in a better home. No other dogs so all the attention will go to him.

Anyway, I was trying to decide if it were appropriate to call/e-mail them asking how he's doing. I kept putting it off cause for one I didn't want to cry ... he was my baby! Anyway, hubby called & said the lady left a message asking what kind of food he ate ... I called and left a message then also e-mailed her to let her know more about his eating habits. I asked her to keep in touch. Thanks LilA friends for telling me it was totally acceptable to do this sort of thing. I'm hoping she will keep us updated ... maybe even pics of him now & then.

Tonight ... hopefully the town Christmas parade will put us in better spirits. Hope you all have a very blessed weekend.

Christmas Snags

Scroll to the bottom of this blog & leave me a gift ... PLEASE!!!! I love presents.

Snag & Doggie update

Snag only Please!

Christmas is almost here. I love this time of the year. I don't know why! I always spend way to much money on things that no one really needs, shoot ... sometimes I'm sure they don't even want what I purchased but at least they smile & say thanks. Maybe I love this time of year because everyone seems to be more friendly ... the south is known for it's southern hospitality & let me tell ya there are some really nice people around here. However ... when Christmas rolls around people are even nicer. Sometimes it's annoying but mostly it's wonderful. I love all the lights and lawn ornaments ... still have to get hubby to put ours up. We're running so behind on the outside of the house. I know it's because last weekend we were cooking/shopping and this week even though he is on second shift he's pulling double shifts. It's such a hard way to go ... not even necessary but ahhh ... the extra money is nice.

On the job front ... hubby reports to his new job on the 21st of this month. It's a Sunday but they told him it's just a computer thing. He comes in & says I'm here & then he comes back home. He will actually do a full day on the 22nd. I'm guessing there won't be any classes in session with it being so close to Christmas but he will still have to go in & get his office & class room situated the way he wants it. It's strange, he'll have an office again. It's been about 8 months since he's had one. The air field is just a bunch of shared space.

UPDATE on the love shack doggies

Okie ... so I called the vet. Got through after about a million tries. We use the military vet cause it's a lot less expensive then all the surrounding ones. Anyway, they say it's normal for them to mate over & over again. The male is just trying to make for sure it takes ... if it doesn't then he truly is the worthless piece of chit that hubby says he is. =} Anyway, the vet said the male will continue trying until she is either no longer in heat or until she no longer wishes for him to be around her. Hmmm, that that sounds like the little witch that I know of. She never wants him to touch her ... she barely lets any of us love on her anymore. She's just a moody biotch!

That's all for me. Gotta go make breakfast & get the kids started on their school. I think it's gonna be one of those days where they don't want to do anything. I sure hope not though ... with hubby working a double ... I'm gonna be a moody mama if they give me any trouble. Have a great afternoon. Hugs

Snag & a Question

The wreath was a daily challenge sent out in LilA's PSP group. Our task was to decorate it any way we chose. I'm not that great at the real ones so I'm shocked that this one came out looking so nice. =D

Snag only please!

Ok ... on to my question ... it's about animals!

So my female chihuahua is in heat and my male up until now (he's 1.5 years old) has been unable to mate with her. Don't know why he hasn't been able to before but this time it's just insane. Ya see, I've bred dogs before ... never had a problem with the mating ritual ... male does the do, female goes out of heat, about 60 days later there's a liter of puppies. Well, with my chihuahua's, it's not working that way. Without getting to graphic with it ... my male has knocked the bottom out of my female 5 times that I know of in less than 24 hours. She's still in heat & OMG ... she's trying to mate with all my other females. She looks nasty down there ... her poor genitals are nearly hanging on the floor ... she's not that far off the ground, but still!

Do any of you know if it's normal for dogs to mate more then a couple times? My pom was bred several years ago, the dogs hooked up twice & she had 4 puppies. The vet told me that she was probably impregnated twice ... she was only expected to have 2 since she was so tiny. My chihuahua is half the size of my pom & has had double/triple the hook ups. I'm scared they either will have 10 puppies or worse ... he keeps trying because it isn't working. PLEASE, if you know anything about this topic help!

Oh good gravy ... make that 6 times ... they just hooked up again!

Turkey Day Memories

New Tags to Share

Snag only please!!!

These were my Show me Whatcha Got contest entries ... I didn't win but I'm very happy with the 3 who did. There was just so much great talent that I had a very hard time picking my favorite. I ended up picking the first place winner but it was a hard pick between the top three and one other one ... it was a Marilyn Manroe one that was just gorgous ... they were all beautiful though!

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, I'll be back to add all the photos & details ... it was a blast even though it was just the 4 of us this year. We had so much fun that spending it together without the rest of the family may become a new family tradition. =D Hope you all had a very blessed Thanksgiving. Can you believe there's only 24 more days til Christmas? Are you done shopping? Thankfully I am ... I think honey is to. At least he better be because I already know what he got me. He will make me wait for the gifts but he likes for me to pick out exactly what I want so he doesn't flub it up & I end up taking it back. The only time he doesn't ask me for help is when it's jewelry ... I have so much jewelry that I actually asked him not to get me anymore for awhile ... a long while.

Job news ... last week honey earned a promotion. He'll be going from air field operations (GS7) to AIT Insturctor (GS9) ... big promotion! We're super excited. We have been wondering how long it will be before he gets to actually start his new job. We were thinking 2 weeks because of the pay cycles ... ={ We found out this morning it won't be until the 21st ... a Sunday? A whole month ... all because hubbies boss (even though she knew he applied for the job ... even after she knew he was referred ... even though she knew he was chosen) decided she would keep him around until the holiday break comes around because she doesn't want to have to change her vacation time around to look for another person to take his place. Isn't that some crap. She has known for well over a month that she would need someone new to take his place & then last week another worker gave his 2 weeks notice ... he's going over seas to work a contracting job. Oh well ... no use getting miffed at her not wanting to do her job in a timely manner, that's par for the course around here. At least we know he has a new job & by the first of the year his paycheck will reflect it. =D

Lots of Autumn/Thanksgiving Snags

OMG

My honey called me this afternoon ... he was so excited he could hardly talk. I told him to take a breath & then tell me what was going on. Turns out he was refered for a new job. Just because you are refered doesn't mean you will actually get it ... it just means they will take your resume along with everyone else that they sent refere notices to & go through them to see if you are the right fit. Looks like they thing he is a good fit. Now I'm excited. Ya see, right now he has a GS7 job ... it's a government job ... the job he is going to is a GS9 ... we're super happy cause this is going to take some of the financial pressures off of us as this is a HUGE raise ... almost 10K ... that's before he hits his 1 year mark. Once he hits one year he will be getting another substantial raise. Honey was so happy he said baby ... I'm so sorry I stressed you out over thinking you might need to get a job. Not that I'm against getting a job but I'm very comfortable being a SAHM/teacher. I didn't want to have to og back into the work force ... not unless it's teaching aerobics again & well, I'm a lot out of shape for that job.

Don't know if I will be back before Thanksgiving cause I have a lot of things on my plate this week. So if I don't make it back I hope you all have many things to be thankful for. I know I sure do. Be safe ... don't eat to much ... have a very blessed holiday. Hugs!!!

Christmas Snags

More Misc. Snags

Misc. Snags

Babbling about this & that!

The above tag was done for a contest, I didn't win but there were so many great ones I didn't expect to. Congrats to Bethe, Missie, & Cathy for their awesome entries. My kids helped me vote & they loved Bethe's the best out of all of them.

What a weekend we had ... Friday hubby had to work a different shift than usual but it worked out fine for the plans we made. We went to the high school football game ... they made it to the play offs. It was soooo flippin cold I didn't know if we were gonna make it through the game or not. We did though ... our team lost so that's it for them. The team they were playing against was very very good. Our team record was 9-3 while the visiting team record was 12-0. Anyway, after the game we took the kids to our church for 5th quarter. If you don't know what that is ... it's just where kids get together for food/games & a little worship. They kids had a blast!

Saturday we went shopping. My son decided he didn't want to keep his room anymore. Ya see, w hen we first moved in here he didn't think his room was big enough for him so we converted the garage into a bedroom/laundry room. It turned out great & son has been using it for close to 4 years now. Well, he decided it was just to big to keep clean & asked if he could have his old room back & us make his converted room into a game room or something. He really wanted a half pipe in there ... ummmm .... I don't think so. =D We decided we would make it into a media room ... we bought tons of wall art for the room. Of course we still need to paint it, clean it out completely ... buy furniture for it to. Hubby is looking into getting a projector for all the movies.

We took the kids to the drive in that night to see Twilight. My daughter has read the whole series & had let us know every day all day long when the movie was coming out in theaters. She was so excited ... I had read in her book that I would probably freak out when I saw the movie ... I didn't! I was one of the cleanest love stories I have ever seen. Now I'm curious about the book, what made her worry about me seeing it with her? BTW, the movie was very good if your into vampire movies (which I am). The other movie was kinda lame; The Haunting of Molly H ... never heard of it but when you go to the drive in a family of 4 pays $18 for 2 movies. The Haunting was the second movie.

Sunday morning we all got up for church ... daughter was a crabby patty. Don't know if it was because of the late night, she didn't sleep well, or she was just being a butt whole but she was just a nasty little thing to all of us. We dropped them off at Sunday school & warned her to mind her attitude. Hubby & I went for coffee (we don't do Sunday school). After coffee we stopped at my dad's/brothers for a few minutes. Hadn't seen dad in a couple of weeks ... he's becoming a hermit or something. He goes to work, he goes home, repeats this day in & day out. Thankfully he does call to let me know he's still alive. Anyway, while we were there we got to visit with my SIL's sister ... she's just a sweetie ... turns out she's getting a divorce. She came in from work one night & walked in on her hubby plowing someone else's field. Bad karma for him! She's barely 5 foot he's 6 foot ... she kicked his tail all over the place ... was arrested but then released. It's hard to imagine anyone being mean to her cause she is just such a lovely person. Maybe that's the problem for some people though, they have to be treated like crap to feel good about themselves. Anyway, now that he sees the divorce is gonna happen he's trying to get back with her ... maybe it's the fact that she is the sole provider ... he doesn't work, just goes out & parties all the time (with my brother). Now he's working at McDonald's cause he has nothing else to fall back on. Perfect reason why you shouldn't drop out of school. Even if you do ... in Alabama you have no excuse not to go get your GED cause they do it here for free. No registration fee to sigh up or anything. They provide the student with everything!!! Oh well ... some people I suppose would rather just be stupid. My oldest brother dropped out of school int he 8th grade ... he can barely read, barely write ... he won't go get his GED cause he says he is good with his hands so he can always make a living at building cabinets or catching fish on the boats. Great future for my nephews. Thank goodness my SIL has higher expectations for herself ... she's in law school, wants to be a lawyer.

Ok, enough of my babbling ... got a busy morning. Taking all out clutter from sons old room to the thrift store this morning. OMG, he had so much crap that it wouldn't even fit in his room. He has 3 different game systems, all the games for all the different machines plus movies out the yang ... clothes that hasn't fir him in forever shoved in the back of his closet ... you name it, we found it! What makes kids so nasty? My house isn't nasty so they don't get it from what they see around them but oh my goodness ... the filth we found was astonishing. YUK!

Have a great day ... stay warm!

Do you know Dana?

aka ... Heavenlybama@aol.com

Well, I knew she was having a hard time of things but I didn't know how hard until I got a letter from Den. Below is the letter;

This is Den again. Im going to delete this after sending. Dana's having such a hard time coping with her Dads sudden death. Her birhday lands on thankgiving this year. The family is not getting together this year because of the drama between Dana and her sisrer-in-law who stole her dad's paper work and someone else stole $300 from her even though she got it back within a couple days after his death. Could I please ask a favor of you? If you could flood her mail box with (e-mail) cards or birthday wishes I'm sure it will cheer her up some. I would appeciate it so much. TY

I'm asking everyone to please send her well wishes, birthday wishes, prayers etc. Dana is just a wonderful lady who deserves thebest. Thanks for reading & sending her special goodies.

Soul meets Soul

This is a tag that I made for a daily challenge in LilA's PSP group. The goal was to use the word art any way we chose. I'm a HUGE Elvis fan so I thought I would look for some kissing scenes and make them work with the word art. I like it!

Anyway, today is sort of a busy day. Teaching the kids this morning then when their done it's on to chores ... the house is in need of a good sweep/dusting. I have to do a little shopping, come home prepare dinner, then head to the high school for a football game. I know my kids don't go to the school but we do like to support the football team. They made it to the playoffs this year. Everyone around here is so very proud of them. Hopefully they will win tonight. After the game is over we'll take the kids to the church for 5th quarter. This is a fun time for kids to gather ... eat pizza ... load up on soda and make jokes. Don't have to pick them up until 11:30pm. Don't know what we'll do with our time cause don't know how long the game will take. Maybe we'll just crash at my brother's house for awhile. He lives right next to the church. It's always fun to wake him up and say hey turd ... wake up & talk to me. he he he I love pickin' on my baby brother. He's not so little any more though. He'll be 27 next month.

Ok, that's all for me. Gotta get the kids back on their school work.