One thing I'm certain of is that I'm not a good blogger.  I haven't given up entirely though so here I am at the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 before me.  The most exciting news to finish up the new year is that another grand baby is on the way!  Stephanie and Mike are expecting a baby brother or sister for Emilee in July.  We're hoping for a boy, for Mike's sake, but of course a healthy little baby is all that counts.

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone has a very prosperous 2012.

The Grandkids, October 3, 2011

We were able to get all the grandkids together in one place, which is rare.  It only took about 50 tries to get everyone looking at the camera at the same time.  The baby, Tinsley, was watching her cousin, Emilee, in this one but it's the best one we could get.  It wasn't until later that I noticed Jake had on a pair of boots and Bryce had on some dinosaur shoes.  I'll make them Colts fans yet!!

Free Home Energy Conservation Kits

I signed up online a few weeks ago to receive a free Home Energy Conservation Kit through our utility company. It showed up yesterday and it's not shabby for being free!! Four compact florescent light bulbs, two low-flow shower heads, three faucet aerators, a refrigerator thermometer and a hot water gauge. You should see if your local utility companies are offering this free kit in your area.

I'm in North Carolina with my mother-in-law and most of the family. She's in hospice with acute renal failure. It's exhausting, emotionally & physically, watching a loved one die. I don't know how parents of young children who are terminally I'll find the strength to go on every day. Mom has been on borrowed time for the last few years and has spend quit a bit of time in the hospital from falls and broken bones, her continual need for I.V. Meds, and weekly blood tests. Her pic line became infected a couple weeks ago so they took her to the Hanover hospital. She walked in, but they gave us back a comtose person. Another week at the rehab facility to regain her strength and after spending all her energy on her physical therapy she just didn't have any more energy for living. She refused to eat anything & since she was practically comatose, suggested she go back to the hospital. They took her to Cape Fear Hospital this time instead of Hanover. She's been there ever sense and there's just nothing more they can do but make her comfortable. Tomorrow, my daughter, grand-daughter & I ate going to try to fly back home if the airports are open in Indianapolis. Over night there has been an ice storm & snow storm in the mid-west so almost all flights have been cancelled. If we can't get out, at least we'll be here with family.

Being Alone

Friends and family ask how I can stand all the alone time while Frank is working in California.  For the most part I don't mind it.  I relish it and embrace it.  Maybe it's because after raising three kids who were about 16 months apart during a time when my husband worked the afternoon shift and I worked days, I never found much time for myself.  A lot of people are afraid to be alone and even more don't know how to be alone.   And then there are some like myself that require a great deal of alone time to regenerate.  I found this awesome poem on YouTube that pretty much explains how to be alone.

My Furry, Feathery, Kids

Just briefly, I wanted to put a couple pictures up of my pets.  I've never added a picture with a post and wanted to give it a try.   

This is Chewbacca Mud (his middle name stands for my ugly dog.)  He's 'special'.  A mixed up mess of a yorkshire terrier, a pug, a shih tzu, and a poodle.  I never have see any poodle in him.  He's so ugly he's cute and he's the sweetest little guy.  He was born with a congenital defect that affects the first and second vertebra of his spine called alanto axial subligation (wobbler.)  More on that later.  

This is Booboo Catface, Chewy's brother.  

This is Marley, the cockatiel.  He's fairly new to the family.  I think he's gorgeous and he whistles at me all the time!  

This is the newest member of the family.  His name is Shadow and I got him a couple days before Halloween from a friend who took in a stray female cat.  Low and behold, the stray was pregnant and Shadow is one of her kittens.  He was born in August of 2010.  Spay your pets please.  It's so sad to see so many kittens and puppies come into this world with no home to go to.  

A simple online search will usually find a low cost spay/neuter clinic in your area.

My Recycle Bin is Here!

It might seem silly to you but one of my New Year's Resolutions is to recycle more this year, so I was excited to see my brand new orange plastic recycling bin being dropped off at my house today!  I'm still going to take all my paper to the local grade school in the neighborhood because I know they can benefit from it.  A simple brown grocery bag just outside the kitchen in the my garage is perfect for paper.  I even tear off our address from envelopes and all mail and toss those into my little compost bin on top of the counter and put the rest of the junk mail in the paper sack.  It doesn't take long at all for the bag to be filled.  Now, with my new orange bin, I can recycle more than just paper without having to drive all over town to drop it off.  They'll pick it right up at the curb once a week.

My First Post on January 2, 2011

I opened this Blog Spot in 2007 so even though it says I've been blogging since then, I've only started today!  January 2, 2011

I'm in my 50's now, an 'empty nester' and unlike the horrors I've heard about how traumatic it can be when the kids all leave home, I embraced it!!  I was born and raised in Indiana and didn't move until I married my high school sweetheart. Since he was in the Marine Corps, we moved and lived in twenty-eight different homes from one end of the country to the other.  I'm a homebody, and I admit, somewhat of an introvert, which I don't think is so bad anymore.  While my husband gets regenerated by visiting with other people, I get recharged by experiencing quiet time; turning to my own self.  Spending too much time with others is exhausting for me.  My friends and family tend to think I have the answer to a lot of things and know it all, which I can assure you I absolutely do not. It may appear that way at times because I know, maybe, a little bit about a lot of subjects.  Sort of a Jack of all trades and master of none, I'm also a self proclaimed 'geeky nerd'.

I love children and have three, though now they are all in their 30's, and they are blessing me with grandchildren. I don't want to miss a minute of them growing up and they change so, so fast!!  I love family, animals, birds, wildlife, nature, gardening, photography, scrap booking, crafting, music, coffee, wine, books, quotes and making lists of things I like.  I'm always interested in health, nutrition, living green and recycling.  I may change my mind about those tomorrow and of course I will add more.  It doesn't take much at all to make me happy.  I keep way too much 'stuff' and it's extremely hard for me to part with a book I've purchased, but I do admire the 'less is more' lifestyle.  Maybe I can learn to live more like that with some practice.  Until then, come along for the ride while I decide who I want to be when I grow up.