Finally Friday!!!

I have said it before and I will say it again, Friday is my favortie day of the week. And its been a lonnnnnnnnnnngggggggg week. We have had registration at school all week and thats all I have been doing. I worked a little over every day and I hope I can leave a few hours early today. We had a nice front come through yesterday, no rain in my part of the state, but it sure has cooled down the scorching temps we have had all week. The week-end is suppose to be very nice and not hot at all, looking forward to that.
The picture above is from my Art Journal. I have tried to work in it for a few brief minutes every night the past several weeks. It helps to keep my creative juices flowing even when I don't have much time to do any thing at all.
Last week I recieved a wonderful package in the mail from one of my close friends and very creative blogger bud Jeanie. She sent me a great book called "Caring for your parents". I have been reading on it and it does have some wonderful info in it. She also sent me the cutest ATC below.
I Love them both, Jeanie! Thank you for always brightening my day with your wonderful packages that you send to me. Next week you will be getting package from me for your birthday.
Yesterday I came home to a wonderful package in the mail. It was from the incredibily artistic blogger bud Shelley. She sent me a RAK(random act of kindness). Inside was 2 very wonderful ATCs. I LOVED them both. Below are pics of them.

I Love both of them! Thanks Shelley for making my day yesterday!!!
I also recieved some RAKS from another friend of mine who is in one of my Yahoo ATC groups. Her name is Susan and she also makes some incredible ATCS as you can see below.


I feel so lucky to have such Loving and Thoughtful friends in my life. Some of them I have never met in person but yet I feel like I have known them forever. They have touched my life with so much kindness and have sent such love and support to me through this very rough time have had this year. It brings tears to my eyes when I think about how much your Love has meant to me.
I have been wanting to post some of my Art Journal pictures lately so I will load up a few more of them. They are just so random and I just go with what I like at the time. I don't have to put alot of thought into the pages and thats a good thing because when I get a free moment or two my brain is pretty scrambled, I guess thats why I like doing the journal pages. Below are a few more of them.




I have more pages but alot of them I have actually put some of my private thoughts on and I will keep them private as I was going through some rough times and needed to write about it.
I sure hope every one has had a wonderful week. And I do hope you all have a great week-end.
I know I will because I will not have to go work on the other house. I talked to my realtor yesterday and she is going to be showing it to several potential buyers this week-end. Wish us Luck! Much Love to you all!
xoxooxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxo

Rat Terriers and Harleys don't mix well !!!!

So sorry I didn't get to post this week-end as I promised. But I have decided that I am going to say that Jess, Jill, and Flower are winners! I have Jess and Jill's addy and I am hoping to get Flowers this week. You all will be sent some surprises in the mail,,guaranteed to make you happy. Thanks to all for the wonderful comments.
So this week-end we spent it down at the old house trying to make it shine. Our realtor is bringing in the potential buyers this week. We have reduced the price so we do not have to put in new carpet and other small items. But we are tired of working on it as our jobs are pretty intense right now and with my parents not being in very good health its just becoming a big burden on us, especially financially. So we may not make much off of it but at least it will be off our backs. Please send prayers and positive thoughts that it will sell.
While we were down there working Saturday, we took our baby Brat Terrier, Little Lady. She has a runner in the front yard there and loves to go down there with us. She is inside all week when we are at work, so on the week-ends I want her to be outside as much as possible as she loves being outside.
Well we were inside working and she was suppose to be on her runner. The runner is a necessity because that road is extremely busy. Daniel heard something at the front door and when he opened it there was Lady. She came in and didn't have her collar on. Her collar was a little old but a good one that I had bought at the vets and was guaranteed for life. I told Daniel that I was going to run down the hill to our vets and buy her another one.
When I got back Daniel was on the front porch having a melt down. When I got to the porch he told me that a man had just stopped by to bring him her collar and tell us that he had hit her with his Harley Davidson Motorcycle. He told Daniel that he wasn't going very fast but that she ran right out in front of him. Well its a known fact that Ms. Lady doesn't like motorcycles at all, period!!! I was so thankful that the man had returned and told us or we wouldn't have known what happened to her. By that point she was starting to bleed from a cut on her face that we had not noticed until the man stopped by with the collar. So down we go again to the Vets with a wounded Lady dog.
They had to put her asleep and stitch her face and also 3 of her little teeth in the front of her mouth were pushed up into her gums and they had to pull them out too. Lesson to be learned,,,you don't try to bite big Motorcycles! I had to pick a very groggy Brat Terrier at 4:30 that afternoon. And pay the vet $333 because Ms. Lady just had to have a go at it with the Harley. But she is alive and is going to be fine and that's worth any amount of money to us!
So this was just another chapter in our "Year from H***" I have finally figured out to not say
"whats going to happen next?",,,because something probably will. But my attitude is that next year is going to be a lot better, at least that's the prayer for now.
Step-dad is doing much better and is getting a little more coherent now. We have much hope that he will be back home with us soon. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers for him.
I also hope everyone had a great week-end and hope you have a wonderful week ahead!
xoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoox

The answer is ?????

Katydid is the correct answer for my visiting friend on the previous post. Three of my wonderful blogger buds guessed it correct. Jess, Jill, and Flower. Tomorrow I will anounce the winner and show what I am sending to the winner! But you got to know these girls are country girls and know their bugs!!!
We had a sad disappointment yesterday. My nephew, Seth, who is a Famous BMX bike professional, placed 6th in the world famous X-games sponsered by ESPN, but while qualifying for the event he managed to hurt his wrist and was not able to be in the event. He has been in alot of X-games for the last 10 years or more. He is the youngest son of my Brother who lives in Alabama. When Seth and his brother were young, my brother made a hugh wooden ramp that curled on both ends, like the pros use to do tricks. Most of the boys in their small town practically lived at their farm doing their tricks and stunts on that ramp. Thats where Seth learned to do his Bike tricks and was discovered at a young age. He has traveled all over the world doing events on his bike and is sponsered by Hoffman bikes. He is a grown into a very sweet young man and I got to see him and his new wife this past Christmas. He also had a Heavy Metal Christian Rock band that was famous for several years too, Mortal Treason.
I am at work and can't post a link to some of his famous bike stunts that are all over youtube. But type in Seth Kimbrough in google and it will take you to his videos,,he is amazing and I am so proud of him, even if he didn't get to be in the finals.
I hope every has a great week-end! I will be posting tomorrow.
xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxo

Wednesdays Wonders!

Its been a while since I have posted. Life has been busy as usual. I have student registration at work and also still trying to squeeze in visits to see my Dad. He will be leaving the hospital today and going to go to the same rehabilitation center that my Mother went to after her back surgery.
He is really weak from the heart surgery and needs some help getting some of his muscles in his legs to start working. Good thing is the rehab is in the same town that we live in and we won't have to drive so far to see him.
Last night I went out and took some pictures of the yard and all my flowers. The picture above is of one of my Moonflowers that are blooming on my arch in the new flower bed that Daniel made for me this year. It smells heavenly! And here are few more pictures of the yard.
Here is the new flower bed with the arch covered in Moonflower vines.
And the swing in front of the bed is a favorite place for Carlita the kitty to hang at.
Another pretty view of the flower bed.
Above is a picture of our favorite place to hang. The deck gets the best breeze on a hot summer night. We sit up there and listen to the pond and relax after a long stressful day.
This is one of the wagon wheels that we have at the end of our driveway. I planted some of my Orange cosmos there. I think they look so pretty with the wheel.

Last night while we were hanging on the deck I spotted this visitor hanging out on one of my plants. I think he was having dinner on it too.



He's kind of scary looking but what really scared me was when I got up closer to take his picture he jumped on me,,YIKES! I squealed pretty good on that one. He didn't like being the subject of my nature photography is all I can guess. Ok,,,now, please tell me what kind of bug this is?
If you guess it right then you will win a prize. I will send him to you in a special package,,,NO,,,just kidding but you will recieve a handmade made necklace that I have been working on when I have some spare time. If I get several correct answers then I will draw a name from the correct answers. Or I could find him and see if he would mind drawing a name!
Hope everyone had a great week-end and also having a great week. Stay cool!
xoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxxoxo

So far its all Good!

My Dad made it through the surgery yesterday. It went well and he is doing fairly good right now. He did have to have a few units of blood and last night had a slight temp. But they said that is all pretty normal. He will be in the Critical care for a couple more days and if all goes well he will go into a room hopefully by the week-end. Thanks so much for all the prayers and wonderful thoughts sent our way and keep them coming!!! You all mean so much to me!
xoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxox

Angels to watch over us!

I am asking the Angels to watch over our family today. My father will go into surgery at noon today. He is strong and a fighter and I have much faith that he will be fine. My Mom is the one I worry about. She is tired and very worried. Please remember us today!

xoxooxoxoxooxox

Wordle fun

I found this cool this site today! Its called Wordle and you can type in your blog address and it will go there and use the words on your blog to create the word box above. Fun!
My Step-father's operation will be Thursday afternoon. They are going over him from head to toe to make sure his body is going to be able to with stand the operation. He has alot going against him but he is a strong man and I do feel that he will make it through just fine.
Thanks for all the support you all are giving me!!! I Love all of you!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxox

Update on Step-father!

Hi to all! I hope every one had a great week-end. It was another long one for us as it has been the past several months working on other house. We did meet with realtor on saturday. She didn't tell us what we wanted to hear so that was a real bummer. More on that some other time.
My Dad did get in a private room on friday. He seemed to be doing really well but they still had heart moniter on him and oxygen. His kidneys had improved alot and so had his blood count. But they decided to do a arterialgram this morning.
He has 3 major blockages in his arterys. They are transferring him by ambulance this morning to a major medical center here in Nashville. He will be having by pass surgery either tomorrow or Wednesday. This was also news that we didn't want to hear.
They did say that the first heart attack didn't damage his heart and it appears to be strong so we hoping that all goes well with the by pass surgery.
Of course my Mom is pretty upset with this latest news. I am going to hospital after I leave work to check on him. The new hospital is right down the street from my office.
Please continue to remember us in your thoughts and prayers,,,as I do know they work!!!!
Thanks to all my wonderful friends!!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxox

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers!

Thanks so much for the prayers for my Step-father!(see previous post) Yesterday He was moved to a room that is a step down from the Intensive Care Unit. They are now saying that his heart was not damaged by the Heart Attack. They have his blood sugars under control too.
His kidneys are still not in the best of shape but are better than when he arrived in the ER.
They gave him 2 units of blood on thursday along with a shot to help his body to produce more blood. They are not sure where he was losing his blood but feel it might be coming from the intestines and will do a colonscopy before he leaves the hospital. He is eating very good and seems to be more himself the past few days.
My step-brothers are all here now to help out and that is such a big relief for me and Mom.
Mom is doing good just a little tired from going to the hospital. I think she is going to stay home today and let the brothers go visit with Dad. My middle step brother is going to go ahead and move in with them. My dad didn't really want him too as he is a very proudful man and independent, but sometimes you have to forget pride and realize what is best for you.
This makes me feel so much better as I have worried about them so much when I am away at work during the day and 40 miles away from them.
Today I have a realtor coming to the old house to let us know if it is ready to have a For Sale sign placed in the yard. I sure hope so as Daniel and I both are worn out from working on it every week-end. Next prayer? Please God let it hurry up and sale!
Thanks again for all the prayers and positive Thoughts sent our way. You all are the best and I am always here for you all too!
xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Prayers and Thought requested!!!!

This is my dear Step-father but who has been my Father for almost 25 years. My real Father passed away 21 years ago. On Tuesday afternoon we had to rush him to the hospital by ambulance. He has brittle diabetes and takes several shots of insulin a day.
We thought he had a stomach virus and had gotten dehydrated and it made his blood sugars soar to a very high number. He was a very sick man.
They admitted him to the hospital to get him hydrated and to get his blood sugar under control.
I spent the night with my Mom who because of her health problems cannot stay alone. We recieved a phone call at 12:30 tuesday night that he had been put in Intensive Care.
His blood work started showing that he had a Heart Attack. Needless to say we didn't sleep much after that call. When we got to the hospital at 6 yesterday morning to visit him we got to talk to his Cardiologist. We were then given more bad news. It seems his kidney function has dropped to very low 15% and that he might also be bleeding somewhere as his blood count and blood pressure was very low. The cardiologist didn't want to do a artilligram because they would have to put him on dialysis in order to do it. It seems he had the heart attack sometime Monday night. He never experienced any pain because diabetics often never have pain with heart attacks.
He has been alert and talking when we go in to see him. By late yesterday afternoon when we went in he seem quite a bit better.
My youngest Step-brother came in late last night from Georgia. I sure was glad to see him! He will be staying several days to see what all is going to take place.
Mom is taking this very hard but is keeping her chin up. They have a very strong Love and we are keeping positive thoughts for his recovery. Just asking for others to keep him and us in your thoughts and prayers. I will keep updating as news comes in.
Thanks to all!
xoxoxoxooxoxoxoxox

Tuesdays Peek!

So yesterday I showed off some of my babies at my old house. Now I am showing off some the beauty that I have inside at my new house. This is a little wood shelp that I have over my kitchen sink. I love to bring in fresh cut little flowers or plants that I am trying to root. I also love to collect old bottles to place them in. I bought 3 old bottles at a little yard sale last saturday for a whopping amount of 50 cents a piece. I also love my African Violets. I never had much luck with AVs until last year and I tried them again and they actually started blooming for me. When the hubby is finished with the old house he is going to build me a new little shelf for this window because the current one is old, cheap, and flimsy,,and its bowing in the middle but still seems pretty stable. Its one of the first items on his "honey do" list.

I just love this little test tube bloom holder. It has a suction cup on it that attaches to the window. I bought it at the Dollar Tree store and bought one for Mom too. I would like to go back and see if I can buy a few more.
This is one of the old bottles that I bought. Its a Mrs. Stewart's blueing bottle not sure how old it is but I say at least 30-50 years old. I just love Coleuses. I think they are some of the most prettiest plants and now they have so many varieties of them available. I like to pinch them off and start new shoots and stick them in the ground some where that needs some more color to liven things up. And they are very colorful thats for sure.
The flower in the brown bottle is a white Coneflower, it looks yellow in the picture. The little brown bottle was another one that I bought saturday and it says Listerine on it, not sure how old it is. The little blue bottle is one that I have had,,I have about 100 different colored ones of these sweet little minatures. Some are old and some are reproductions. Thats a sweet little marigold in the blue bottle.
I just wanted to share a little something that in my house that makes me smile.
Have a terrific Tuesday!!!!
xoxoxooxoxoxox

Mondays musings!

Yes, Mr. Maximus finally left the house. I feel much better now. I spent most of the week-end down at the other house helping the Hubby do some more painting and I also worked out in the yard there too. My Coneflowers are so lovely right now. And below is a pic of one of my tiger Lily's. I Love the fiery color of those hardy Lily's.


Next is close up of one of my Cosmos. These are amazing flowers. They re-seed and come back thicker every year. By the end of August they are awesome too see. They get up over 6 ft tall and just so thick and full. I have a patch right by the road at the other house and several times people driving by would stop in the middle of the road when I was outside and ask me what they were and how they could get some of them. I generously gave seeds out as I do Love to share the beauty.
Another patch of the Coneflowers.
I was wanting to play with my camera and try some new shots. This is a silhouette shot of the cones. Love the blue sky behind them, just wish the wires weren't in the picture too.
OH,,,Look,,,its the little Brat Terrier, Lady, and she is trying to smell the Cones, she didn't know that they don't have a fragrance, they are just there for the pleasure of looking at them.
We grilled out Saturday night and right after we got the steaks cooked it started to storm. We got some nice rain all night and part of the day on Sunday. I woke up to some wet streets and every thing just looked so green and happy.
I hope every one had a wonderful week-end!!!
xoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxo

Mr. Maximus

Yep, mean Mr. Mucus Maximus moved in to my sinuses and chest yesterday afternoon. I went home after work feeling extremely bad. I had some soup and went to bed. I didn't sleep very well since most of the night was spent coughing and playing the hot and cold game. I guess its just allergies from the high grass pollen we have right now. I guess it didn't help much by mowing my grass all day on sunday.
So I am taking some Mucinex and some antibiotics today and trying to make Mucus make haste and leave. I had to work as I have exhausted all of my sick days while taking care of my Mom. I have to build them back up again. I just had to whine and show every one the ugly Mucus Maximus,,hes meaner than the Grinch.
Have a great Tuesday!
xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

6 billion others

I found this cool site today and just had to share with everyone, just clik on the pic. Hope everyone had a wonderful week-end and have a great Monday too!
xoxoxoxooxoxox

Firework fun and a beautiful sunset.

It was a nice Fourth of July and a fairly quiet week-end. I grilled and cooked most of the day on friday. I did have my potatoe salad and deviled eggs made on thursday night so that helped alot. Mom and Dad came down at noon and I cooked out some hamburgers for us. Here's sweet Mom waiting on the burgers to cook.

My poor sweet hubby stayed at the other house all week-end so he could get some more work done on it for the long week-end. So my son and daughter and a few of my son's friends came up and spent the night with me. I cooked out burgers and hot dogs for them again in the evening and we shot some fireworks.
Thats my son in the middle with the brown shirt on.


There was a beautiful sunset that night too due to some rain clouds that were coming in.
I had my camera on my tripod to try to get some night time firework shots but we kept having off and on rain showers so I didn't want to leave it outside in the moisture. Oh well, maybe next year. The rest of the week-end has been fairly quiet. Hubby will be home this afternoon and I will probably mow the grass. I am going to try to take some pictures of my baby sparrows and Mommy and Daddy sparrows that have a nest in a basket on my deck. I hope every one has had a wonderful holiday week-end. Please check out my Friend Jessica's slide show that she did of the pictures she took at Nashville's Fourth of July Fireworks display, its amazing!!!!
xooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoox

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!