It's Nice To Have A Friend Who Gets You

I was talking to my friend, Patty, on the phone last night and we made a plan to meet for coffee today. We had to laugh at ourselves when we realized that we were both writing a note to ourselves to put by our computers to remind us of the plan we made. Oh, the joy of an aging brain, and the comfort of knowing you are not alone.

The good thing about a friend like Patty is that if one of us had lost our note and not shown up we would have just laughed about it and made a new plan.

It's nice to have a friend like that.

Sleeping Beauty, Revisited

I  stole   borrowed this post from my daughter's blog, Making Memories Of Us, because I thought it was cute, it made me laugh and, well, because she said I could. My 3 year old granddaughter, E.J.  insists on having all of her favorite babies, blankets and animals in bed with her and she knows if even one is missing.
Apologies to anyone who has already seen this.

EJ takes forever to fall asleep at night. But once she does, it appears she can sleep in any position. Here are a few we have found her in lately.

Not too comfortable, but not too abnormal

At some point after we tucked her in, she climbed into Beck's crib to sleep.

 

Just kickin' back!

 

Where's EJ? 

 

 This is the one that inspired this post, taken last night.

E.J., wide awake after (maybe) a good nights sleep

There's More Than A Remote Chance That I Don't Have The Remotest Idea What All These Remotes Are For

I was looking for a remote for some TV or another and I realized that keeping up with remote control devices is becoming as big a problem for me as keeping up with passwords. There are just too many.

Yes, we have too many TVs, some with more than one remote for reasons that are beyond me to figure out. On top of that there are remotes for a ceiling fan, a DVD player, a space heater in the garage, a patio awning and I don't know what else. There are least a couple left out of the picture because I was too lazy to go down to the basement to get them.  (I guess if I wasn't too lazy to get up and walk  across a room to turn off a TV I wouldn't have this problem with too many remotes). I do laugh at myself when I use a remote to change the channel on the TV while I'm walking on the treadmill instead of walking over to change it.

Since I'm a little confused about what all these remotes go to now that I've gathered them up for this picture now may be the time to chuck them all.

Oh No! I Think I Am Becoming A Stage Grandmom

I spent a lot of time watching my grandkids perform last week, so I fear I may be becoming a stage grandmom. My biggest clue is that it is really fun for me to watch them perform. My three oldest grandkids participated in Poetry Jamm at their school on Wednesday night.

Justin, 7, recited a poem about noses. He did a great job, but it was really all about the glasses with the fake nose for him.

My grandson, Jared , (on the left) and his friend Gabe, both 10, were a real hit with the audience with their original poem An Ode To Duct Tape which was recently featured on the popular website Ducttapeguys.com

 

My grandaughter Hope, 8, (on the right) had her opening performance as Annie on Saturday, which required her to leave this fun Girl Scout sleepover early on Friday night. She was a good sport about it and did a great job in two shows on Saturday. In a very un-stage grandmom move, I didn't get any pictures.

 

My 3 year old grandaughter, E.J. did not appear on stage this week, but this girl does like to have her picture taken. She rallied during a middle of the night visit to urgent care on Friday night to show off her urgent care popsicle. She was diagnosed with pneumonia so she didn't get to go to Hope's play on Saturday. I stayed with her while the rest of her family went to the 2nd show. It was so hard holding her and watching her take shallow little breaths between coughs. (She went back to the doctor for a re-check today and seems to be doing better.)

Hope's play runs through March 12, so I'm sure I will attend another performance or two and in true stage grandmom fashion I will take lots of pictures.

Freewheeling Friday

A little get away trip is a great thing, but catching up afterward is not near as fun. I went back to work Thursday and played catch-up all day. I'm still trying to catch-up with my unpacking and laundry, a result of my overpacking for a short trip. (Am I the only one that feels like everything has to be washed after a trip, whether you wore it or not?)  Trying to catch up on blog reading is a little more fun, but I still haven't made much progress. Woo hoo for Freewheeling Friday so I can catch up on emptying a few thoughts out of my head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the highlights of my short trip was getting to meet another blogger.  Donna, from Mystical Journies and Discovering The Purpose of Our Lives and her husband, Jerry, made a special trip for us all to be able to get together. Jerry kept insisting that the drive was quick and easy. I'm sure it was meeting Doc and me and not the casino where we all stayed that made him so eager to come. Neither Doc nor Jerry "get" the blogging thing. As it turned out Doc and Jerry talked and talked just like Donna and I did and it was really great meeting them. So much fun!

Donna and Jerry

Thanks Donna and Jerry, and we look forward to seeing you again in May.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the spirit of public service and being a multi-purpose blog I want to remind everyone of something I knew earlier but forgot until today. Taxpayers will have until Monday, April 18 to file their 2010 tax returns and pay any tax due because of Emancipation Day. That is day the slaves were freed in the district and it is observed there as a  holiday which falls on Friday, April 15 this year.  By law, District of Columbia holidays impact tax deadlines in the same way that federal holidays do. Therefore, all taxpayers will have three extra days to file this year. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The holiday in DC reminds me to suggest one of the best books I've read in a long time, The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. The book chronicles the experience of three people who were part of the migration of about six million African Americans from the Old South to states in the north between 1915 and 1970. It is not a comfortable read about a part of the history of the United States, but it is a very interesting, enlightening and well-written book.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to thank Belle at Tales From A Loser for giving me the A Blog of Substance award and at the same time apologize to her for taking so long to thank her. I really appreciate the award and I really enjoy every visit I make to Tales From A Loser. Thank you, Belle.....you a a real winner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the spirit of playing catch-up, I am trying to get a little ahead by posting my Freewheeling Friday a little early....on Thursday night. Maybe by Saturday I will be all caught up.

I'm Still A Rotten Packer

I am going on a trip for a few days tomorrow and I still haven't packed. I'm a rotten packer and I don't like to pack, so I am procrastinating by writing a blog post. I'm actually not even writing a post, I'm sort of re-writing a post I did a couple of years ago when I was putting off packing to go somewhere.

Packing is a talent that I seemed to have missed out on. I love to travel, but the packing part is not fun for me. Most mornings I have a hard time deciding what I want to wear that day....how do I decide what I want to wear for the next week? When you add shoes, maybe some jewelry and whatever else needs to go into the suitcase, I'm a mess.

What almost always happens is that I pack way too much. I start out with a pretty good plan, but somewhere in the execution the plan goes awry. I become a ditherer. I can't decide between two things, so I take them both. I like to have choices.

I know that no one will care or even notice which pair of black shoes I take, but I still spend way too much time trying to decide and then end up taking them both, and probably another pair just in case.

I'd better quit lollygagging and at least go think about maybe starting to pack. Then I should probably work out a little so I can lift my suitcase.

Well, maybe I'll just read a few blogs first.

If I Get Really Fat.........

I think I may have figured out why grandmothers often end up being a little.....less than thin. It is because they are grandmothers. At least in my case that is where I am placing the blame.

No, it is not because I am such a wonderful grandmother that I cook wonderful comfort food meals for them or lovingly bake cookies with them . It is because I am a sucker for every school, Girl Scouts or sports team fundraiser that comes along, all of which involve food.

Right now I have bags of frozen cookie dough in my freezer from a school fundraiser back in the fall. In the last couple of months there have been several fundraisers at restaurants that seem to specialize in burgers, fries and shakes. I am currently awaiting the delivery of I don't know how many boxes of Girl Scout cookies. Tomorrow night it will be a fund raising dinner at Chick-Fil-A where I especially like the fries and sweet tea.

I expect spring will bring the selling of chocolate bars for some team or another. (I prefer the ones with almonds.)

So, if I get really fat it is just because a grandmom has to do what a grandmom has to do.

I Apparently Haven't Done My Part

I heard a report saying that American spending related to the Super Bowl will top 10 billion dollars this year. Thats $10000000000, or about $60 per person, up from about $52 per person last year.  The spending will be for food and drink for Super Bowl parties, sports related clothing for the game, new TVs for ultimate viewing and other game related paraphernalia. It seems that more people host or go to Super Bowl parties than New Years Eve parties.

I am a Super Bowl spending slacker. I don't think I have yet spent a penny related to viewing the Super Bowl.

I guess I'd better run out and get some chips and dip just so I can feel like I'm doing my part.

Freewheeling Friday

My grandson, Jared, and his friend, Gabe, are experiencing their 15 minutes of fame by being featured on the popular web site  DuctTapeGuys.com.  Following is the picture and their poem that appeared on the web site.

We wrote this poem to read at The Jr. Poetry Jamm at school. We are 10 years old and in the 4th grade, we will add to our outfits on the day of the jamm.

AN ODE TO DUCT TAPE

By Jared & Gabe (above) inspired by “The Duct Tape Guys”

Gray, shiny and adhesive-Duct Tape

Have a hole in your jeans, no problem –Duct Tape

Have a broken arm, save some money-Duct Tape (we do not recommend this)

Minor fender bender? No problem-Duct Tape

Can’t find Christmas Decorations.- Red and Green Duct Tape

Sticky, Strong and Useful- Duct Tape

Need a cupholder? Use the roll of –Duct Tape

Keep losing your remote? Duct Tape (to your hand or couch, you chose)

Have to go somewhere fancy and need a tie? –Duct Tape

Have troublesome kids-Duct Tape (again, not endorsed by us)

Duct Tape fixing the world one strip at a time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I am very excited.....I get to meet a blog friend. Doc and I are going to Laughlin, NV next weekend  for a few days and  DonnaB and her husband will be driving up from their home not too far away. We get to meet for lunch on Valentines Day. This will be such a treat for me and I am very grateful to Donna for making the effort for us to get to meet.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My 8 year old granddaughter, Hope, may be getting a little too much into character for her role as Annie in the musical Annie. She is getting her shoulder length hair cut short today. She told her mom that she wants a perm (which she won't get). I just hope she doesn't start asking to dye her blond hair red.

Doggy Daycare

Image from Bing Images

There was a time, not too long ago, when the term "doggy daycare" was as likely to be a part of Doc's vocabulary as something like "I wish I could pay more taxes". It was a term he had never heard of and would have probably made fun of if he did hear it. That was before we adopted our dog, Dodger, about a year and a half ago. By surveying his new friends at the dog park, Doc has now become an expert on the plusses and minuses of the all doggy daycare places that are anywhere near us.

Since we adopted Dodger I have been a normal, loving, caring dog owner. Doc has been a total idiot  a wee bit obsessive and over indulgent. Doc is mostly retired but works part time for a friend's company. I've written before about how Dodger goes pretty much everywhere with Doc, perched in the front seat of his truck. If  Doc's work or anything else requires him to be someplace Dodger can't go for any longer than it takes us to go out for Sunday brunch, Doc will not leave Dodger home alone.

Between Doc having a heavier than normal work schedule this week and weather too cold for the dog park, Dodger has had three days at Doggy daycare and I can only laugh at how normal and necessary Doc seems to now think it is.

The name of their current favorite place is Divine Canine. I'm a little worried that the name of the place, plus the fact that they are very fond of him there, might go to Dodger's head. As for Doc and his relationship with Dodger, I think he has found the perfect doggy care.