The Elephant and The Cat

So! Guess who got a shipment of wonderful artwork from her friend, her pal, her favorite blogger, Gary? Oh yes, ME! And here it is in my office. Do I love it? Yes, yes I do!! Thanks, Gary!

First, the elephant and her baby... is this too cute or what?

Then the cat with its fish... don't ya' just love that face?

On the credenza:

A different angle:

Again:

The "bonus gift" that I just CANNOT get a good photo of, but adorable:

And, who could leave out the resident crabby clam? The pics in the background are mine :)

You should just head on over to Gary's blog and shop around - well worth it!

Thanks again, Gary, I love my new art :)

School's Out!

Gulp!

Five Friday Favorites - Sea Creatures

It Friday again already? Yep! And we're going deep sea diving to see our Five Friday Fav sea creatures. Here are five of mine... there are a LOT more, but this is a good start:

Seals.... they just look happy, don't they? Especially the babies:

Then we have these darned cute sea otters... swim on your back and snack all day? A good way to live if you ask me ;-)

Of course, the sea turtle is almost magical... nothing slow about these turtles - just try and catch one!

Okay, do I need a reason? Look at that smile :-D

The manatee is the epitome of peaceful... gotta' love 'em

So, how about you? Which of the underwater creatures float your boat??



BONUS FAV...The Seahorse... the males carry the embryos. Someone got it right!

FFF - Reminder

Tomorrow's Five Friday Favorites...

Sea creatures :)

A Special Thank You

To GM and Chrysler for making my day so "special!"

'Nuff said.

The Rash That Isn't A Rash

Nope, not a rash at all. My child has ringworm! Ugh...

for some reason, that just sounds "dirty" to me. I guess it's just a childhood thought that won't go away.

The doctor was good enough to explain it isn't a worm (you should've seen Nicole's face - a worm??)...

Ringworm is not caused by a worm. It is caused by a fungus. The kinds of fungi that cause ringworm live and spread on the top layer of the skin and on the hair. They grow best in warm, moist areas, such as locker rooms and swimming pools, and in skin folds.
Ringworm is contagious. It spreads when you have skin-to-skin contact with a person or animal that has it. It can also spread when you share things like towels, clothing, or sports gear.

You can also get ringworm by touching an infected dog or cat, although this form of ringworm is not common.

Hmmm... so let's see... she's 17.

Could she be in a locker room? yes!

Swimming pool? yes!

Skin folds? Mom doesn't want to know.

Skin-to-skin contact? Mom still doesn't want to know.

Share towels? Not aware of this.

Share clothes? She's a teenager... they ALL share clothes!

Sports gear? Volleyball? maybe.

Our dogs? NO!

Does my child pick up every stray animal she finds? Yep!

So, what caused it? We don't know, but we have the cure.

Amen and God Bless dermatologists!

Thrown Off

Holidays seem to throw off my blogging schedule...it feels like Monday, but it's not! Now my whole week will be out of order.

Taking my kiddo to the dermatologist today. Bless her heart, she's had this rash on her FACE for the longest time and she's 17. You can imagine how awful it is at that age. We have already been to two GPs - it looks like impetigo - she's been on a host of antibiotics, used every kind of creme they suggested, and it persists! I sure hope this guy can help her.

Did I mention she passed all of her state-mandated tests? This is a BIG DEAL for her. Since she went into foster care in first grade, she has never, ever passed the math test. We got her in 8th grade. She came so close to passing that math test each year, but just didn't. In Texas, juniors MUST pass them all to graduate the following year. She did. We're very proud of her.

Math has been such a struggle. She was moved around so much when in foster care that she never finished in the same school she started, so she had huge gaps in her math. We took her Sylvan Learning Center her freshman year of high school (not cheap, let me tell you!) and they got all her blanks filled in and THAT was worth the money.

Okay... complete update from our house: the dryer broke this weekend. So, we bought a new washer and dryer. It'll be about a week before delivered. Do you know what that means?? It means we have to go to the laundromat to dry clothes until it arrives.

I took Nicole there last night to dry all her clothes and the girl has a LOT of clothes. It's been a long, long time since I went to the laundromat (or as they are called here, washaterias)... not big fun.

Well, that's my weekend update :)

Oh, and I still have "I Sing the Body Electric" stuck in my head!

Guilty Pleasures

Oh, you know you have some, too.... Okay, I'll go first... I loved, "Fame" - both the movie and the TV show. Quit laughing!

In doing some research, I see it released 29 years ago this month. 29 YEARS! And a new release is scheduled for September of this year. Will I see it? Oh, yeah.

Can it top the original? Don't know yet, but why don't I end this post with the end of the original movie? Come on, people, sing The Body Electric with me, won't you????

Drats!

Just when I think I am going to have a quiet Memorial Day, Nicole tells me they DON'T have school Monday. They were supposed to be making up a hurricane day. Oh well, it's really okay.

Jerry has to work so maybe me & the kiddo will do something with my sister and niece.

We're trying to get any free family members we can find to come over for grilled hamburgers, etc... on Sunday. Already struck out with my brother...they are off to Rockport, TX to lcounge on a friend's yacht. Rough life, huh? More about my brother later - good story!

Maybe someone will post more naked photos on their blog.

What are YOU doing this weekend?

Twitter Hoots!

Sometimes the funniest "tweets" come through on Twitter... check this one out from badbanana:

The Pope is on Facebook. I know it's really him because he poked me and now my headache is gone.

Friday Five Favs: Posts

Oh yeah, this one you have to work for... Which of your own blog posts are your favorites? If you choose to participate, please leave a comment so we can enjoy them with you.

Okay, here are mine:


First of all, from my "Colonel" series:

1. Water For Coffee
2. The Colonel Sells
3. Colonel and the Cold
4. So Long, Colonel

And finally, a personal accounting of our adoption:

5. We're Real Parents

Happy Memorial Day weekend, friends! If a veteran asks me to buy a little red poppy, I am going to do it. I might even go tend to my grandparents' graves - take some flowers, pull weeds if necessary - these are things I know my grandmother would be doing.

I miss her terribly ♥.

FAVOR: Hi, again! Let me direct you to a BRAND NEW blogger - my friend (in real life!), Dimpledview. She just started her first blog, so meeting some great people would be a nice place to start, wouldn't it?

I just looked at ther blog and it looks like we're going to be hearing her RV adventures. Now, I have heard these first hand and can assure you...they are SO worth reading! She has two cute beagles and has become completely and totally smitten. It's bad. Not kind of bad, but BAD bad. You'll see! So click here and visit Ms. Dimples!

She's Sick

....oh yeah! My kid is "too sick" to go to school today. Her "stomach hurts."

For the love of Pete, there's only one week and a day left of school!

Anyway, they were supposed to run a mile at school today. Wonder why her stomach hurts??

I can't tell you how much this gets my goat!

Ugh.

Cool Front

We're still in a little cool front. It's supposed to be over soon. Bummer.



Speaking of "bummer," isn't it weird how some of your high school/teenage sayings stick with you? Here are some of mine that I still find coming out of my mouth from time to time:



Cool - no explanation need, is there?

Way Cool - better than "Cool"

Book - "Let's book!" or "Man, he was bookin'!" (go)(goin' fast!)

Bummer - see above

The Pits - "Oh, that's the pits..." (bummer)

Gross - can also be "grody" but I don't use that one any longer

Fine - "He is soooooooooo fine" (he knows who he is)

Super Fine - way better than just "Fine"

Super - can be placed in front of any good expression - Super Cool, Super Cute, Super Fine, etc...



I know there are more, but my mind is blank.


Cool beans!

Biotch!

In my current job I have to deal with my previous one. If you don't know, I was with my previous employer for 25 years and got laid off last year as they down-sized. Well, fortunately for me, I was hired by one of the contractors we used at the previous employer. Following me?

Okay, so now I deal with some of the employees that remained... not necessarily from my branch, but doing the same thing I used to do... SO....I get it. I know exactly what they do and how it's supposed to be done, etc...

Geez! Some of these people are nothing but balls of stress and anger. Those of us here that used to be there are wondering if we were biotches (!) like some of the women we talk to there.

Maybe we were....hope not!

Drawing Day is Coming!

It's almost here! Are you going to draw??

Life's Been Good...

Thanks, Ben... now it can be stuck in YOUR head:



Have a great Monday, people... life has been good SO FAR :-)

So Cool

Monday already?

We woke up this morning and found it to be amazingly cool outside. It has warmed up a bit and is 64 degrees at the moment, but that is VERY rare here in Houston.

So, we're enjoying this as it's supposed to last about 3 days - wooohooo!

I can't wait to go bike riding tonight - I might keep going longer than normal. And, THAT, is a good thing.

All A-Twitter!

I know, I know... I caved! I'm Twittering and I like it :-)

I can see you have to be very careful about whom you allow to follow you or you can get bombarded with crappy "tweets," but overall, I find it fun.

How about you? Are you a twitterer, too?

Five Friday Favorites - Transportation

It's that time again! First of all, it's Friday! That's the best thing. Now, what are your favorite way to be transported?? Or how do you wish you could be?

Here's mine:

1. By my adorable VW Bug. Yes, it looks just like the one above

2. I would love to have an old Jaguar.

3. Sailing in a tall ship... (I just want to be a passenger, not a worker bee)

4. I would also love to take a ride in one of those Budweiser, Clydesdale-guided wagons

5. And finally, I think the Jetsons have it going on... whooooosh!

Let's go!

Oh this is just for fun... Did you ever do this to carton of Land O'Lakes Butter??

Tires

Miss Priss had a blow-out yesterday. One new tire.

While having that tire replaced, a "bubble" on the rear tire was discovered. Two new tires.

She wears us out.

We're tired.

;-)

Fire Ant Zombies

You can't make this up... here is a portion of the story posted on a local website:

Pesky Ants Becoming Zombies That Die

Ants Turn Into Zombies Whose Heads Fall Off

POSTED: Tuesday, May 12, 2009
UPDATED: 11:45 am CDT May 12, 2009

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Some researchers in Texas are trying an unusual approach to combat fire ants -- parasitic flies that turn the pesky insects into zombies whose heads fall off.
"It's a tool. They're not going to completely wipe out the fire ant, but it's a way to control their population," said Scott Ludwig, an integrated pest management specialist with Texas A&M's AgriLife Extension Service in Overton, in East Texas.

The tool is the tiny phorid fly, native to a region of South America where the fire ants in Texas originated. Researchers have learned that as many as 23 phorid species along with pathogens attack fire ants to keep their population and movements under control.

So far, four phorid species have been introduced in Texas, where fire ants cost the economy about $1 billion annually by damaging circuit breakers and other electrical equipment, according to a Texas A&M study. They can also threaten young calves.

The flies "dive-bomb" the fire ants and lay eggs, and then the maggot that hatches inside the ant eats away at the brain. Later, the ant gets up and starts wandering for about two weeks, said Rob Plowes, a research associate at the University of Texas at Austin.

Although the ant exhibits zombie-like behavior, Plowes said he "wouldn't use the word 'control' to describe what is happening. There is no brain left in the ant, and the ant just starts wandering aimlessly."

About a month after the egg is laid, the ant's head falls off and it dies -- and the fly emerges ready to attack any foraging ants away from the mound and lay eggs.

Plowes said fire ants are "very aware" of these tiny flies, and it only takes a few to cause the ants to modify their behavior.

"It's kind of like a medieval activity where you're putting a castle under siege," Plowes told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for a story in Tuesday editions.


What next??

Seeing It

This past Sunday at church, one comment during the lesson stuck with me:

"We can call forth the God-Spirit in anyone by seeing it in them."

Of course, this requires we believe the spark of the divine is within us all. I believe it is.

One of the things he went on to discuss is that those that irritate us, grate our nerves, push our buttons, or do things we find reprehensible are also "carriers" of the same divine spark within ourselves. Once we see it in that person, they are no longer viewed in the same light as before.

Now, I know not all will agree with my thoughts and beliefs, but that's okay... we're on our own paths and since this happens to be my blog, I will share mine. As you know, I attend a Unity church. Unity is very open and welcoming... they do espouse a core set of five principles. Here they are:

1. God is the source and creator of all. There is no other enduring power. God is good and present everywhere.


2. 
   We are spiritual beings, created in God’s image. The spirit of God lives within each person; therefore, all people are inherently good.


3. 
   We create our life experiences through our way of thinking.


4. 
   There is power in affirmative prayer, which we believe increases our connection to God.


5. 
   Knowledge of these spiritual principles is not enough. We must live them.

So, my friends, go SEE what's really in one another... Namaste ;-)

Additions

I have a new worker bee, Kathy. She's a doll and will be a great addition to the office.

This, however, is keeping me from blogging today... can you believe I have to WORK here??

lol - see you tomorrow with a longer post!

Mom

That's a word I have only been hearing for almost 4 years... Mom. My girl is 17, but we've only had her a short while as we adopted her on her 14th birthday.

So, I don't look back and think of the day I gave birth to her, because I didn't. I don't look back and remember her first words or her first step. I will never know what and when they were.

The sad thing is, she won't either.

However, the happy thing is... is that we started before adoption day, when she was 13 1/2 building new memories. Not all are good, but the not-so-good are way less. We are, however, making efforts to establish a timeline for Nicole... reference points that she will be able to recall as she gets older... when she fell off the bike, made the volleyball team, broke up with her first boyfriend here, went to her first dance at high school, being on the swim team, her best friends, her first cell phone, her first puppy that belonged to her, changing schools, getting a real family including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, going to driver's ed, getting her license and first ticket, and so many more.

We try and play, "remember when" with her - remember when you said..... or did..... and how proud we were, or how funny she was, etc...

So, as an adoptive mom, you start where you started and enjoy today.

So, today will be enjoyable and I will give thanks for this opportunity and all the lessons this opportunity is bringing to me.

Oops! Better call my own mother!

Five Friday Fried Favorites!

Oh yeah... fry it and it has to be good!

I am slow posting today, but I'm here now and these are my favorite fried foods - big apologies to my vegetarian pals, but I've gotta be truthful here:

1. Shrimp Tempura.. mmmmm

2. Bacon... one of those amazing smells, like bread baking, that will get you out of bed in the morning.

3. Okra - especially if my mom cooks it.

4. Chicken fried steak. I'm in Texas, of course that's on my list.

5. Shoestring onion rings.

Goodness! When is lunch????

How about YOU?

Five Friday Favorites - Fried

FYI... our Five Friday Favs tomorrow will be fried foods. What are your favorites? Tell us tomorrow.

Cycling

Oh yeah... got on my bike (that's right, a REAL bike... the kind you step on the pedals to stop) for the first time in a long time last night. Rode for quite a while around the neighborhood. It was calm and peaceful.

I plan on doing this every weeknight. Unless it's raining, of course.

This time I hope I keep my word and do it.

Pedal on, my friends!

Daily Motivator

Do not wait to be beautiful. Be your beautiful, authentic self right now.

If the world offers up negativity and despair, surprise the world by giving back love and kindness. Send out the energy that you wish to experience, and you are certain to experience it.

Happiness and fulfillment are alive in this moment. Allow them to flow freely and creatively through your life.

Fall in love all over again with the miracle of being. Your imagination is great and magnificent, yet it cannot hold even a fraction of the possibilities.

You'll do, say and act your best when you feel your best. Feel the limitless wonder of this very moment.

Be beautiful, alive, aware and filled with the energy of the possible. In this moment, is every dream made and fulfilled.

-- Ralph Marston

Yep...look at the little Daily Motivator way down on the right... Ralph has something new everyday... isn't today's nice?

Going Early

Miss Priss is going to a charter school. The hours are 10:30am - 3pm. That worked out perfectly for Nicole (she's a sleepyhead).

Yesterday, she was told by the principal that she had passed the probationary period, so now she is on early shift - 7:15am - Noon. Gulp! She started today. One of the reasons we chose the charter school was the late hours.

Sooooooo.... yesterday, I called the principal and we talked. He thinks she can do it and she is flourishing here. When she got home, I told her how proud we are of her accomplishments and how her principal is excited that she is making that step of maturity and taking on this new challenge. She just lit up.

The poor girl just thrives on encouragement even when she is snarling and acting like she doesn't care. We know, after being in foster care so long, she is quick to be defensive and self-protective, so to see her WANT to do well is fantastic.

Of course, tomorrow, I might be b!tch!ng about something, but until that happens...

Weekend Recap

So, I told you my darling child stayed home ALL DAY LONG on Saturday. Yes, and it was very nice.

We made it through the day with no drama until at 11:30pm when her friend's boyfriend texted her to tell her she gets on his nerves. Yes, I know, it's confusing, but I am supposed to listen to this nonsense and keep it all sorted. Can you believe it?

So, I ask the obligatory question, "Why do you get on Caleb's nerves? and why is he compelled to tell you this at 11:30pm at night?"

Answer, "He was complaining to April (the friend & Caleb's girlfriend) that I get on his nerves. He thinks I am paranoid, so April told him to tell me, not her. She's not getting all up in my business."

Well, one thing led to another... of course, as soon as someone tells you that YOU get on their nerves, you should start texting them and their girlfriend and all the satellite friends in the circle. Now, getting "up in their business" is just an awful thing to do... unless it involves you, naturally.

After an hour or so, Nicole and Caleb were "good" with one another - apologies offered and forgiveness extended.

They all hung out yesterday and watched movies and did NOT eat fast food. Miracles!

Sunday Already?

I had definite plans for yesterday. Jerry had to work from 10am - 6pm and my hope was Miss Priss would run off and hang out with her friends all day.

Jerry came through and went to work, but Nicole's friends all baled on her, so she was home for the ENTIRE day and evening. We went to lunch together and enjoyed our time.

Although I had planned for a day of me-time, I got a day of we-time.

Truthfully, it was a really good day. I hope we get some more of these before she's up and out of the house.

How's your weekend so far?

Oh, know any good wallpaper sites? I like graffitiwallpaper.com....give it a whirl. I'm using "Clothespin Love" as my background right now.