And So It Is Tuesday

Some days it just doesn't pay to try to get anything accomplished. This morning I got up and decided that my foot was feeling pretty good so I was going to mow because well, the grass is getting pretty tall and ugly looking. So I get started in the back yard got the first half done (and it looked really good) I ready to start on the other side and the mower died. It had done it once on the first side and after the fifth time on the second side I decided to get out one of the other mowers. . . . . .I could not even get it started. I wasn't even going to pull out the other mower because I knew it wouldn't start at all. So, three lawn mowers and I could not finish the stinking lawn. SO frustrating. I won't get to finish until this weekend when Mr. Giggles has time to work on the mower. His helpful suggestion was to use the weedeater on the last 1/3 of the yard. NO THANK YOU. My Dad offered the use of his new lawn mower but that means getting his truck, loading up the mower, bringing it to my house, mowing, loading it back up, taking it back to his house, unloading it and then putting it and the truck up. Very time consuming but that may be the only way to get it finished. And I am going to be super duper sore tomorrow from all of the trying to start the lawn mower.
Over the weekend we celebrated my sister's birthday. It is hard to make celebrations like my Mom used to. She always made everything special without even trying. So, on Friday Dad and I ordered a chocolate cake with chocolate whipped icing and bright flowers. I went birthday shopping and found Dad's gift for her. I looked and looked and looked but couldn't find her anything from me. She finally gave me an idea on Friday night late so Saturday I headed to Walmart to get a spring form pan and I found a really good looking cookbook. While at Walmart I was reminded why I try to steer clear of that place the weekend before the college students start back to school. It was pandalerium and I just wanted out of there. Saturday afternoon we went out to eat. . . .good bbq and then went to my Gmom P's house for cake, punch and presents. I made the punch I posted on my recipe blog. Everything was so good, we had a good time visiting and sister liked her presents.
And on Sunday we rested and it was good. Now on to the rest of the week! I am hoping that mine is more productive than today was!!

Weekly Menu

Monday: fend for yourself
Tuesday: Chicken N Swiss casserole, corn, TX toast
Wednesday: fend for yourself
Thursday: fish fillets, potato salad
Friday: out to dinner
Saturday: fend for yourself

Happy Birthday

Today is my little sister's birthday! I hope she has a great day. It will be different without my Mom but we will try to make her day like Mom would. Love you Rae!

Good Friends

Yesterday was a nice day for me. First I got a call from my friend Julie to see if I wanted a taquito from Whataburger. Of course I said yes, who can refuse a taquito from Whataburger. Yummy. So she came by bearing yummy gifts and we had a really nice visit. She brought me some dvds to watch and I can't wait to watch them. A couple of hours after she left my phone rang again and it was Mrs. H. She wanted to know what my favorite Sonic drink was (in case you are wondering, it is ocean water) and she said that she wanted to stop by and visit. She came and we got to visit for a while. It was nice to have visitors after being confined to the house for over a week.
Today I have to get out of the house for a little while to go get another antibiotic shot for my foot and to go birthday shopping for my little sister. The hardest part is going to be the shopping. I have absolutely NO idea what to get her. Hopefully I will be struck by inspiration while I am out and about!

Nota Alota

Not much happened today except that it was hot (again), didn't rain (again), I didn't do much (again) but I did start a new blog (because of laziness on my part). My new blog is for my recipes and it is called Giggles for your Tummy! Since I didn't want to spend time labeling my recipes so I could easily find them I decided to go the easy way. So, I did add two recipes today if you want to go by and check it out.

Hope you had a great day.

I MELT

and no, I am not talking about the Rascal Flatts song! Man it has been so stinking hot here. Today our high was 105. When I finally ventured outside to check the mail I listened to the grass crunching under my feet and had to watch out for the cracks in the ground so I wouldn't trip. We are having the hottest August on record and once again we are behind on rain. We haven't had any significant rain since the beginning of July. I long to see these kinds of clouds again!

Today was the first day of school for my peeps. Dad, R, TatorTot and MadCow all had good days. I am so glad that it went well for them all. I was a little worried since it was everyone's first day without Memom. I thought about her a lot today because she always made a big deal out of the first day of school for us and she always talked to her grandkids to find out how their day went. I think she would be proud of how well they all did.

Well, I had hoped to get some work done around the house today but my foot had other ideas. I did a few small things but spent most of the day in the recliner. I need to get up and put clean sheets on the bed so we can go to bed but I will do it in a minute.

Well, that is all for tonight. I hope you are all staying cool and having a good week.

Learning New Things!!

I am so excited about what I learned today. All over blogland I see pictures with the owners name on their pictures. I like to share my pictures with you all but I don't really want others using my pictures as their own because . . . . .well, they are mine or they are my families NOT anyone elses. So today I learned how to "stamp" my name on my pictures! It is a little time consuming because I don't have the the best program to use but I can make it work so I am going to share with you my first stamped pictures. The stamp is in the top right hand corner. I will have to play around with colors so it stands out. This is my first try!

Hurt Stinks

Ok, so being on the injured reserved list has made me an emotional wimp this weekend. I was crying so hard while typing a post for my other blog that I could hardly see the stinking computer. I don't know what is wrong with me. I do have to say though that I am feeling better. I was able to go to both services of church today and it was very nice to get out of the house and visit with people. The rest of the weekend I sat in my recliner!
Tomorrow is the first day of school around here. My Dad says that it is his last year of teaching. I don't know what he will do when he retires. My sister R starts her 11th year of teaching and coaching. I can't believe that she has been teaching for that long. TatorTot starts 7th grade (oh my goodness) and Miss MaddyMoo starts 4th grade (makes me feel oh so old). Our first angel baby would be going into 3rd grade this year. It is hard to believe that it has been that long (I can still remember what I was wearing when Mr. G took me to the er that day). Anyway, I hope that tomorrow isn't too hard on everyone since it is yet another first without my Mom.
Last night I was laying in bed and once again the realization that my Mom is really gone hit me so hard that it took my breath away. I keep thinking that it will get easier but so far it hasn't. Maybe this last week has been so hard because when I was sick, my Mom always checked on me and made sure that I was ok. My Dad did a great job of doing that and I love him for it but it wasn't the same as my Mom. I just needed hug and to hear her tell me that she loves me and that it was going to be ok. I am so very jealous of people who have their Mom and have children of their own.
Well, that is all for tonight. I am sorry that this post is a mess but well, I just don't know.

Friday With Friends: Favorite Day of the Week

To day over at Jennifer's Friday with Friends is Favorite Day of the Week. I have lots of answers for that! Let's see right now my favorite day of the week is any day that the temps are below 100 degrees, that it rains, that I am not stuck in my recliner, any day that I get to spend with my nephew and niece or my sweetheart or the rest of my family. Any day that I don't have to cook or wash dishes or clean house.
I guess if I have to pick a specific day it would be Sunday. On Sunday we get to go to church and get refueled for the week. We go out to eat with Mr. Giggles parents and occasionally my Dad and sister and grandmother goes with us. Then we come home and take a nap before evening worship so most of the day is stress free. After evening services we go out "drinking" which means we head to Whataburger or some other fast food place to get a coke or dinner or snack before we go home. And then after that is another story because Mr. Giggles is busy getting his stuff ready for the next week which includes ironing shirts for the week, figuring out what he is going to wear for the week and anything else he needs to get done for the week. Me, well I watch Drop Dead Diva and Army Wives and I will help the Mr. if he needs me to do something. I can't wait to read about everyone's favorite day.

Recliner Day 2

Well, it still is pretty painful to walk so I am hanging out in my lovely recliner. There is nothing on tv during the day and I am afraid that if I try to read I will fall asleep. My Dad stopped by earlier to bring me a coke and a chocolate chip cookie for us to share while we visited. I enjoy our visits (he stopped by twice yesterday) and cherish them because in the past my Mom would have stopped to check on me. Since there isn't much to do while in my chair, I have visited lots and lots of blogs and spent lots and lots of time on facebook. So much so that I am actually a little tired of my computer. I do have some church work that has to be done so I will work on it this afternoon. Well, that is all for now. Hope you are having a great day!!

Hurry-Up Ham-N-Noodles

I tried this recipe Monday night and it was really good. Mr. Giggles even liked it! I had tried it at my sister's house last summer as we were packing to head to our first time at MD Anderson. Needless to say, I didn't really remember how it tasted. So here is the recipe with my variations. Oh and I found out that it is a Taste of Home recipe.

Hurry-up Ham-N-Noodles
Ingredients
*5 to 6 cups uncooked wide egg noodles (I used 6 cups and it was too much noodle and I think any kind of noodle would work good)
*1/4 cup butter, cubed*1 cup heavy whipping cream
*1-1/2 cups julienned fully cooked ham (I used can chicken that I sauteed with mushrooms and seasoned with seasoning salt, black pepper, chili powder and garlic)
*1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
*1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
*1/4 teaspoon salt (I never add salt to anything because I use seasoning salt)
*1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions
Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Gradually whisk in cream. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir for 2 minutes longer or until thickened.Add the ham, cheese, onions, salt and pepper; cook, uncovered, until heated through. Drain noodles; add to ham mixture. Toss to coat; heat through. Yield: 4 servings.

I served with broccoli and texas toast. The sauce is very much like alfredo sauce. I am going to make the sauce and use it to make a chicken alfredo pizza like the one I almost always eat at The Olive Garden.

In the coming weeks I am going to try another recipe my sister has posted on her blog. If you would like to try it before I do go here. If you try it you have to let me know how it tastes. Well, that's all for now. Since I am stuck in my chair there is no telling how many times a day you will hear from me!!!

Life Interrupted

Remember on Sunday when I told you all about how I was going to set my timer and get some stuff done this week. Well, I didn't even get started. Hahahahahahahaha. Several weeks back I fell in the tub (landed on the side and didn't even tear down the curtain) and a few days later I started having some pain in my calf. It felt like your leg does right before you get a charlie horse. That lasted several days and then the pain moved to my ankle and several days later to the bottom of my foot and then back up into my calf, ankle and bottom of foot. I went to the doctor on Tuesday of last week and had x-rays and they didn't see anything. Doc said that it was probably taking a while to heal because I had probably just strained it. I said it was probably taking a while because I am getting older. Towards the end of the week it was feeling pretty good. Sunday morning I woke up and my ankle was hurting again pretty badly and I just chalked it up to being up a lot on Saturday and grocery shopping. Monday the top of my foot was hurting very badly but I hobbled around for a little while. I put my keds on and it made it feel better. Yesterday afternoon when I took a shower I noticed that my foot was getting red and swollen and so were a couple of places on my leg and they were a little sore also. Prayed that it would be better in the morning but I had a little bit of fear of what it might be. This morning I got up and the pain was excruciating. If was the hurt that makes you feel like you are going to puke. When I would try to walk it feels like my foot is going to explode on the topside. I hobbled around for a while and then my Dad called to see if I wanted to meet him for lunch and I told him I couldn't because I was hurting so badly. He suggested that I go back to the doctor and offered to take me. I told him that I could do it. I called Mr. Giggles and just kind of fell apart. You see, I was afraid that I had blood clots in my leg. This was very scarey for me because that is what caused the doctor to find out that my Mom had leukemia last summer. Mr. Giggles took off the rest of the day (this is his very busy time of year at work) and came home to take me back to the doc. In the meantime my Dad stopped by to check on me and mentioned that it might be blood clots. I think that really upset him to think that might be the problem. We headed to the doc's office and only had to wait 10 minutes to see one of them. The doc came in and immediately said that she thought that is was either phlebitus or cellulitus. I felt a little better and then I ask her about blood clots. She said that she was pretty certain that wasn't the problem but if it would make me feel better then she would run bloodwork. They drew blood, gave me a shot of antibiotics, a prescription for antibiotics, a prescription for pain pills and told me to spend the next few days with my leg up. Please pray that all turns out ok. I hope to be up and around some by the weekend. This weekend is tax free weekend and we need to get Mr. Giggles some new shoes.
So, needless to say my house will stay looking like an abandoned place that no one loves but that is ok I guess. Well, it has to be. I may get thank you notes finished, movies watched and who knows what else!

Getting To Know You

Ran across this on another blog and thought it would be interesting to do. If you want to do it just copy and paste into your next blog.


The Q's.

1. What kind of athlete has the hottest body?

A rodeo cowboy

2. Are you a planner or a procrastinator?

depends on what it is

3. Diet or regular (soda)?

regular
4. What's your one "must have" for Fall?

don't really have one

5. What's your favorite fast food restaurant?

Pepe's Mexican Cafe

6. What do you think is the sexiest profession for a guy?

Teacher or cowboy

7. Did you wear braces?

nope

8. Would you rather have a guy that's super sexy or kind?
kind and sexy like my hubs

Triple Digits

Well, we continue to be under a heat advisory. It is currently 91 with the heat index at 97 and it is 10:40 pm. Our low tonight is 80 degrees. I love my state but my goodness the summers are brutal. No rain and lots of sun. I really wish I had a swimming pool. A real genuine pool that is in the ground. The above ground pools around here are hotter than bathwater when you get in and I want to cool off not cook!

On to something else. I can not believe that it is the middle of August. School starts next Monday so that means another year of subbing begins. I need lots and lots of subbing jobs because even though I don't have a full-time job, my student loans still expect to be paid. I know. . . .how rude of them.

I am going to plan to be very productive this week. My house looks like the housekeeper just up and left. I dislike housework very very much but I guess no one else is going to do it so I am biting the bullet and jumping in. To keep myself focused, I will be setting my timer for 30 minute power cleaning and then 5 minute break. I know it doesn't sound like a lot could get done but it is the only way for me to concentrate (Mr. Giggles thinks it is weird but then he doesn't have problems concentrating like I do). I will keep you posted on how well I do.

So I have a quick question. . . . . . .If we met in real life do you think we would be friends??

Have a great week. Hi Mrs. H's mom.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Weekly Menu
Monday: Hurry-up Ham-N-Noodles (except ours will be chicken) broccoli and Texas toast
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: fend for yourself
Thursday: fish fillets and potato salad
Friday: out to dinner
Saturday: fend for yourself
Sunday: church fellowship luncheon

Favorite Teacher Websites

This morning I ran across this cool blog for teachers. As you know (well, most of you know) I have been looking for a teaching job since completing my degree in education in December 2007. Still no job but I have come across some neat websites that can be very useful for teachers.



If you are teaching time, this website can help.



Discoveryschool.com has great clip art and puzzle maker. There are other things too but I haven't needed to look into them lately.



Busyteacherscafe.com also looks very promising.



Google.com

www.sitesforteachers.com

teacherwebsite.com

Some of these I haven't had time to look at so I don't know how good or relevant they are. Well, that is all I have for now. I hope this helps someone. I hope everyone has a good school year.

Thankful Thursday

I know that I have not been very good at blogging lately. This thing called LIFE is pushing me around and I just haven't had much to talk about. I have been struggling with life lately so I decided today that I would focus on what I am thankful for. These are in no particular order, just how things come out of my brain. . . .usually pretty jumbled.

I am thankful for:
*my husband - he is my world
*my Dad and the time I get to spend with him
*my sisters - I don't think they know how much they mean to me and how much I look up to them
*my extended family because well, they love me
*my friends - the ones who really know me
*my camera - I really like taking pictures and one day I hope to have a good camera and some picture taking lessons
*the 2/10th of an inch of rain we got yesterday
*the amazing things my Mom taught me
*my computer because without it I wouldn't have my bloggy friends
*my nephew and niece - I love them as if they were mine
*my grandmothers farm - I love living on it and being around the place my Mom loved

Well, that is all for now. I really need to get off my duff and get something done. I thought I would share another vacation picture with you. This is out in the middle of nowhere and I love the windmill and the clouds. Have a good day.

Hi Mrs. H's mom. Hope you are having a good week.

Everyone Is Trying to Keep Cool!!

Yesterday the Pioneer Woman talked about why they get up so early to work on the ranch and I learned that cattle don't sweat. I have been around cattle all of my life but never knew that. . . .guess I never really thought about it. Anyway, to learn more run by her blog. Here are some of our cows keeping cool! Our cows are so nosey, they watched me the whole time I was taking pictures (from my car in the a/c of course!). I love our cows, well most of the time anyway! My mom spent a lot of time with our submarines and she loved every minute of it.

HOT, HOT, HOT and Keeping Cool

The weather around here has been almost unbearable around here. We have reached the 100+ degree mark several days in a row but we are staying around 99 most days. I do not like having to go anywhere because it is miserable. This afternoon I had to go to the post office to mail some birthday cards so I jumped in my car and could barely breath. I had forgotten to put my visor in my windshield and my car had been sitting in the sun for several hours. The steering wheel and gearshift were so hot that I could hardly touch them. Lesson learned: no matter how annoying it is to put up the visor, it has to be done!!!

This week my niece has been staying with my Dad so I have spent a lot of time with them. Monday my Aunt D was in town also so I haven't accomplished a whole lot. This morning Madcow, Dad and I went swimming. The water felt so good and we had a really good time. After swimming, we went to the grocery store and bought flowers to take out to the cemetery to put on Mom's grave. It is still so heart breaking to see the pain on Dad's face and to hear it in his voice as he talks to my Mom and when he talks to Baby Giggles. We all had a good cry and Madcow did her very best to comfort Dad and I.

Gran & Madcow keeping cool!

I am so thankful that my sister and b-i-l let the kids come and stay with Dad. He really needed to spend some quality time with the little stinkers and I think that they really needed time with him. The kids loved my Mom so much. When Memom was around, the kids revolved around her like the planets. The rest of us where just in the background. They loved spending time together whether it was playing baseball, watching movies, swimming, whatever. Mom loved them with all her heart.

This has been a tough week. Not sure why. . . .guess grief runs in cycles or something. I just really miss her a lot.

Wordless Wednesday