Hooray for Presidents' Day!

Holidays are...great! Yes, even "fake" holidays like Presidents' Day. I love knowing ahead of time that there is no possible way for me to work that day...so I can do whatever I want. What I wanted to do today included sleeping in. I don't think that 8:30 is an unreasonable time to start the day...unless it's p.m. So I slept in. Getting up, I savored a delicious cup, or two, of coffee flavored with white chocolate raspberry creamer. Yummy!!! Several games of Wii bowling later I decided that I now had the energy to load the dishwasher and clean the kitchen. At my leisure I did a few loads of laundry. You'll be happy to know that we can now towel dry after our showers! Lunch and a nap followed and then I managed to sneak in a few episodes of the NCIS marathon on USA Network. Then a few games of Wii darts and skiball preceeded a long, luxurious bubble bath. Lord, do I love to exfoliate! My favorite dinner of cereal and a STARS game topped off what I believe to be a very delicious day of relaxation and indulgence. A self-pedicure topped off a totally awesome day. Now, when is the next "holiday:???

Dream a Little Dream of Me...

Well, now...where to begin? I have been complaining for about ten months that I am unable to sleep at night. I go to sleep for anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours and then I may be awake for as much as four hours before I can go back to sleep. Going to sleep isn't the problem...staying that way is. I don't have to use all of my fingers and toes to count the number of nights I have slept through the night in the last 9 months to a year. In addition to that I have been feeling "shaky" for several months now...like electricity is constantly coursing through my body. I have to force myself to relax or the tension in my muscles causes my legs to jump or my jaws to "hum" at night. The biggest change I have noticed is my handwriting. What was once pretty nice swirls and swoops is now a jagged nightmare. My writing now looks as if an axe wielding psycho attempted to scrawl some clue to lead the cops down a false path. So I decided to take action. Last week I spent about 45 minutes with my primary care doctor "getting to the bottom of all this." A battery of blood tests, EKGs, x-rays and "neuromuscular stimulation" tests have given the following information...they still don't know what's wrong with me. Talk about frustrating! Especially after the neuromuscular testing where I was slathered with goop and something like a stun gun shot electricity into my arms and hands to see how high I could jump and flinch. That, however, was nothing compared to the incredibly long (about 2 to 2 1/2 inches) and threadlike needle that was repeatedly jabbed into my muscles for delivery of the same delightful "stimulation." Today my doctor tells me that I have the blood results of an 18 year old Olympic athlete. So why don't I feel like an 18 year old Olympic athlete?? Hhhhmmmm????

What have I learned in the last week? Let's see. I know that I don't have...ALS, a pinched nerve, carpal tunnel syndrom, any type of degenerative muscle disease, anemia, thyroid issues, liver issues, kidney issues, etc. So, what the hell do I have??

Dr. S now believes that I am suffering from hypoglycemia...something the blood tests don't check for. I have to go in next Monday and have a two hour glucose tolerance test (yum-o) to see if that is the problem. Oh, yeah, and I also have to see an ENT specialist because he says he reread my sleep study report and there was an indication that I would get worse with time (it's been two years since the study). I am now hypoxic...meaning that I am not getting enough oxygen and the carbon dioxide is building up in my blood...waking me up and keeping me awake until those levels drop and I can fall back asleep. I'm probably going to have to have some nightmare inducing mouth device made for me that will keep my throat open and allow me to continue drawing in oxygen during the night...with my luck it will cause me to drool so badly I will drown during the night in my own saliva. I can see the headlines now :shaking head sadly::

The good news...maybe we will find out what is wrong with me. A girl can dream, can't she? Not if she can't sleep! My doctor is the best at giving samples of meds he wants you to try. Today I left with a whole plastic bag full of a medicines he wants me to try for my allergies! Better yet, I left with a prescription for Ambien. Yes, I know that it's not a long term solution, but if I can just get three or four nights of sleep in a row I am convinced that I may feel human again. If not, get the heck out of my way because I am tired, grumpy AND frustrated!

If you're reading this, be praying for some answers early next week. I don't care if I'm hypoglycemic or not...that's treatable. If I'm hypoxic...fix it. I'm ready to move on and enjoy my "golden years!" ::sarcastic snicker::

Let the games begin...

Anyone who knows me at all also knows that I adore being surrounded by the people I care most about in life. Even acquaintances take on a new and treasured place in my heart the more time I spend with them. That being said, I have begun what I hope will continue as a monthly tradition in our home...GAME NIGHT!! Why, you may wonder? What's the big deal?? Let me tell you...we had game night last Friday night. I invited my daughter and son-in-law (and youngest grandson though he would be clueless about what was going on...just joyful being held and loved on). I invited "my guys," Ryan and Richard, I invited my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Virgil and Carlene. It was a pot luck meal where I provided huge pots of taco soup and tortilla soup along with guacamole and chips and margaritas. The guys brought queso and cookies. Virgil and Carlene brought...queso and cookies! ::chuckle:: So much for the "variety" of pot luck...but it won't stop us from doing it again. Kristin and Scott were to bring dessert...but as luck would have it...Kristin came down with a pretty debilitating virus that day (which she has graciously shared with her husband...Jesus loves it when we share...and one of those two shared it with my beloved older grandson, Trenton). I digress (insert sad, pouty face here).

Back to game night. We started eating about 6:00 p.m. and we continued eating throughout the night. I LOVE to eat!! We also had a few "adult beverages"...some of us more than others...and we had an absolute bellyfull of laughs. I literally laughed until I thought I might throw up. We played Wii games, we had a poker/board game table, and the guys brought their PS2 with kareoke (I'm not sure how to spell that...but it's where you sing along with the words and music and earn points). Some in the group were like the bad....really baaadddd...auditions for American Idol (Carlene and Carol) and some were pretty doggone good (Ryan and Richard) and some wouldn't sing in front of others if their lives depended on it (Ronnie and Virgil).

I must admit that competitiveness reared it's ugly head a time or two but we just refilled the margarita glasses and moved on....until 2:00 a.m. In one six hour span we bowled, played tennis, played baseball, rode in cow races, sang, ate, had the "Last Word" (board game...bad pun intended), golfed and whatever else we played. More importantly...we made memories. We share good times, good food, and good fellowship. We built relationships and we walked away from the evening loving each other a little more...treasuring the blessings of our relationships.

Back to my original statement...I want this to be a monthly commitment on my part. I don't want to end up fifteen or twenty years down the road and "wish" that my grandsons knew me or that my children had time for me. I don't want my husband to regret not having a relationship with his brother like my regrets over my brother. Time costs nothing and it is an investment in a lifetime. How much better can it get?!

For a glimpse of what you might have missed...see slide show above! Oh, hell yes...I take photos. Hey, I'm getting older. My retirement income might not be enough. I might need some blackmail photos to "tide me over" on those short months ::huge, sinister smile accompanied by evil laugh::

Done, done and DONE!

Well, we did it! We actually finished a project that we started! Ronnie joked that we turned a 3 day project into a three week project, but the end result is that the table is finished...it is beautiful...AND it was done in time to use for Christmas. With 34 people at my house for Christmas Eve, some of us actually sat outside by the chiminea and ate our dinner at the new table. And better still...it didn't collapse on anyone breaking their legs off at the knee and spilling their dinner all over the freshly swept patio! I'm actually quite proud of our accomplishment. Now...on to the next project!

A Labor of Love

I'll start by telling you that I usually don't have the "vision" for creative and/or crafty projects. There you have it...my disclaimer. That being said...I, or rather "we," have started a project. I formerly had this kitchen table that we moved out onto the patio. It wasn't meant to be an outside table...not made of the right materials to handle inclement weather. Needless to say, it is no more. So I was left with these two perfectly good table legs. That's where this process started. Then, after watching waaayyyy too much HGTV, I got the nifty idea that I could resurface this table and have a great outdoor table for entertaining. The adventure begins. After a rather lengthy trip to Home Depot, we left with $200 worth of materials to make a tile topped table. Little did I realize that we could have gone to IKEA and purchased a perfectly fine outdoor table for 1/3 of the cost. Never mind that...this is to be a labor of love and a project we can point to with pride and say, "We did that." So we left Home Depot with the back gate tied in place and an 8 foot board sticking out of the back of Ronnie's car. We also had packages containing backerboard, mastik, tile, tile border, grout, waterproofer, spacers, mastik tools, grout tools and tile sealer. We'll have to go back for the edge trim! We didn't quite make it home without incident. One of the packages fell out of the back of the open gate and we had to stop on a heavily trafficked road and pick it up. Finally, however, we made it home without further incident. Then today, after I repainted the table legs a lovely shade of black, we went into the garage to begin the tabletop process. We measured and cut the board. We got out the waterproofer and sealed the board (even though the directions said it shouldn't be done if the temperature would be lower than 50 degrees in the next 48 hours--what can it hurt, right?). Then, just for grins, we began laying the tile out on top of the board to "see how it will look." If this project EVER gets done it will be a nice looking table. Right now, however, the tile squares and the tile border are two different heights, we are 2 feet by 2 feet short of the correct number of tiles and the tile border will have to be returned. Oh, and by the way, it dawned on me this afternoon that I will need to find some chairs to go with this table. I feel like Dorothy...you know, the one who went to Oz...

Imagine me clicking the heels of my ruby slippers, okay....my gray New Balance tennis shoes, together and chanting, "I will get this done...I will get this done...I will get this done!" Pictures will be posted when/if this project actually comes to fruition.

Cruises, Babies...A few of my favorite things!

Okay. So you MAY have been wondering..."Why isn't she adding to this blog?" Or, maybe not. Maybe you just don't care. Either way...I will remedy my absence from blogging immediately. Allow me to explain. I haven't gone missing because there has been nothing of significance going on in my life. Quite the opposite. There has been almost TOO MUCH of significance for me to keep up with. Allow me to start with our cruise. It was fabulous! We left on September 26th to drive to Florida and set sail on September 28th. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law went with us. We had a great time and it was a wonderful opportunity to get to know them even better. Somehow, when you spend 10 days with someone you walk away with a whole new knowledge of them. We had a great time and didn't seem to experience "too much togetherness syndrome." On Monday, September 29th, Ron and I went parasailing over Coco Cay, Bahamas. For someone who is acrophobic I wondered if I would be able to follow through with our excursion. Not to worry. I had absolutely no fears as we strapped in to the harness and lifted into the air. And....it was incredible! I would do it again in a heartbeat. Everything was awe-inspiring from a height of a few hundred feet. I just kept saying, "This is awesome!" Afterwards we went snorkeling in the bay where we saw a moray eel. Cool! Then I managed to get stung by a jellyfish...had to be a small one because I never saw it but I sure felt it. Not that horrible pain you've heard about but a burning sensation for a while. That evening we called home to wish our son a "happy 25th birthday." I swear it wasn't to say, "Hey, we're in the Bahamas and you're not!" In St. Thomas we rode underwater motorcycles and went snorkeling and it was amazing. There were soooo many fish right in our faces and we could just reach out and touch them. Ron snorkeled and took pictures of a baraccuda that was swimming around underneath the boat while Carlene and I inquired about a good place to have dinner. Little did we know that four hamburgers and four margaritas (total, not each) would cost us $100!! Live and learn. In St. Maarten we shopped, snorkeled and toured the island. While St. Maarten was incredibly beautiful this was my least favorite of the excursions. Why? The bus tour was too long and the driver was hard to understand. The best part of the day was our snorkeling adventure on the catamaran. After snorkeling they played music and served rum punch. Let's just say that the punch was strooonggggg! I went from stone cold sober to giggly drunk in about 5.8 seconds. All of us did. Glen, my brother-in-law, claimed to be sober yet he was up on deck dancing with the female bartender. You be the judge of his sobriety! Back on board the ship we continued with the "drink of the day" and by the end of the evening we were just about the only people on deck entertaining ourselves to dancing to "YMCA" while in the hot tub. Yeah...we were a bit obnoxious. On the way back from the islands we celebrated Ronnie's birthday Saturday aboard the ship and on Sunday we docked in Florida for our return trip home. We drove straight through stopping only for food and bathroom breaks and got back about 3:00 a.m. on Monday morning. What an adventure!

We'd been back less than 48 hours when I began subbing in Forney ISD. I have worked ALMOST every day since. For a retired person I am quite busy. For the most part I am enjoying the subbing experience. It lets me keep my contact with kids and the whole teaching experience without the negatives of paperwork, grading papers, lesson plans, ARD meetings, parent conferences.......you get the point.

Oh, yeah. I scheduled a day off kinda for myself. I decided to take Monday, November 10th, off because my daughter was going to induce labor on that day. Unfortunately, no one told my grandson and he decided to come on Friday, November 7th! Yes, we have a brand new and precious grandson. His name is Carter Michael Durbin and he is a doll. Cute and cuddly and baby smelling little bundle of love. I miss the "turtle head" days when my own children, and when my grandson Trenton, were little. You know the stage...too little to control their head so it bobbles around like a turtle. Something so sweet and innocent about that stage as they try to look at you with eyes that won't quite focus. So now, I am Nana to TWO precious little boys. Life couldn't get any busier...or better...than this!

Good Question...

Really, the song says it all. By Christian singer Mark Schultz, the song is called "Time That is Left."

What will you do with the time that's left?
Will you live it all with no regret?
Will they say that you loved till your final breath?
What will you do with the time that's left?

What will you do with the time that's passed?
Oh, and all the pain that seems to last?
Can you give it to Jesus and not look back?
What will you do with the time that's passed?

What will they say when your time has come
And He takes you in to His arms of love?
With tears in His eyes will He say, "Well done."
What will they say when your time has come?

I have regrets...who doesn't? But the thought of consciously living a life of no regret is liberating. That will be one of my goals. Think before I act or speak so that I enjoy a full and rewarding life of no regret.

Will they say that I loved till my final breath? Dear Lord, I hope so. I do love...dearly and deeply. My husband....my son....my daughter....my son-in-law....my Trenton...my other grandson to be...my dad...my extended family...my friends. Thinking about it...there is really no one in my life that I detest. I am blessed.

What will I do with the pain of the past? I can easily give it to Jesus...it's the not looking back part that I struggle with. If I was Lot's wife I would already be a pillar of salt!! The best that I can do is try.

What will they say when my time has come? Therein lies the question of a lifetime...literally. I pray that they, whoever they are, will say that I was compassionate, loving, charitable, a true friend, honest, a person of integrity and someone they were proud of...someone they loved. Just recently I had a conversation with my grandson and he said, "You're my best Nana ever. I'm always proud of you, Nana." There is no higher praise here on earth. That is a high calling to which I have a tremendous responsibility to maintain. When I get to Heaven, I pray for Christ to look me in the eye and say, "Well done."

Now, to live my life that way from this point forward....