I am so disappointed that this blog didn't work out for me. I had all the greatest of intentions, then started having equipment problems. Trying to fix one problem lead to finding the cause of another problem which could fix everything....it all centers around my rather expensive Kodak printer. It is under full warranty and at this time I'm waiting for a THIRD replacement and am trying so hard to keep my cool. Beside replacing the whole basic unit they have also replaced the print head and ink cartridges so I'm really somewhere in the 4th or 5th round with them. The last Customer Service person thought that I'd been through enough and said she was going to send me the newer model but when she talked to her supervisor it was denied.

Sooo...anyway, it's been well over a month that I've missed out of the year which pretty much defeats the purpose of Project 365. I still don't know when I'll be able to upload photos again. So i just don't have a clue what to do with this blog. I just wanted to let anyone who may have been reading it know that I didn't just quit. Granted I was quite sick and lifeless for a while, but that was totally unrelated.

Oh, and the photo that I posted today is one that my son took of his beautiful wife when they were having an 80's party. I just L-O-V-E this picture of her! She absolutely glows!

It's been fun.

It's All About Jimmy

I want to say Happy Birthday Jimmy. He would have been 61 today. Here is a bit of his life, in pictures.
In the beginning, the first nine years,
he lived with his Grandparents and they
called him Ricky Archey. He remembered
his life back then as being a very
happy one.
When he was 9 months and 5 days old his brother Donald was born. Donald was a rebellious child and when the boys were 9, their mother decided that she wanted to bring her older son home to hopefully have a positive affect on Donald. Ricky now became Jimmy and began to join his brother in rebellion.

I just love all of the old pictures of Jimmy and his family. They help we to piece together the patchwork of stories I've been told by him, his mother and grandmother.
Just for the fun of it, I wanted to see how Jimmy and I would look together as kids. I didn't have pictures at the correct ages (6 years apart) but got as close as possible.

This is one of my favorite photos of Jimmy. He was busy working, doing my set-up. He always did my heavy labor for me, 'cause he was awesome like that. This was the lot in Park City AZ. I remember having good times there.

In Douglas AZ we were working the Cochese County Fair. We really wanted to get married in Mexico (a short walk across the border) but found out it isn't as easy as we thought it would be. The Preacher who gave the sermon at the Grandstand on Sunday morning was happy to perform the ceremony after services. My daughter Kymberly and the preachers wife were our witnesses.

Our first grandchild, Tyler Robert, was born on Jimmy's birthday. He said that was the best gift ever!!!

Who was the apple of "Little Papa's" eye? Number two grandson Jeffery Joel, that's who!! The fact that he lived with us for most of his first two years had a lot to do with developing that bond.

Mr Tough Guy turned into a cupcake when it came to that child!!!


Kimmy was Jimmy's first cat. He'd always been a "dog person". She was an awesome cat and it really tore him up when she died.

Here is another favorite shot of Little Papa and Jeffery Joel. I love this picture because of the way they are looking at each other. That is Pure Love.

I liked how we both had these pictures taken sitting on chairs where our feet don't even dangle over the edge. We were both a couple of shorties! It made a sweet layout with our wedding photo blended into the background.
We made a perfect couple with our natural good looks! They only let us out in public once a year. I wonder why?

When Jimmy first became ill he was in total denial,

but he did try over and over again to get sober so

that he might live a few extra years.

He finally was able to complete a 90 day inpatient

rehab program. Ten days after returning home

he became violently ill and ended up having emergency

surgery and in ICU. He ended up in a coma and all

tests showed that he was brain dead.

Eventually he did wake up, but was badly brain

damaged.

Instead of a husband, I was left with a ten year old child. Life was not easy for either of us. The last year being the worst.

The temper tantrums and running away from home!!! And that was just me! lol

I moved from Utah to Michigan on June 5, 2008. At the very last minute Jimmy wasn't able to make the flight and I had to leave him behind. If there were any way I could have stayed with him I would have. I was assured that he was just having a temporary setback and as soon as he could get a medical clearance to travel, they would put him on a plane.

He died 25 days later on June 30, 2008. My best friend and some friends from church went to be with him before he passed, so he wasn't totally alone. My guilt and anxiety overwhelmed me and I ended up in hospital myself.

I can still see the look on his face when I had to turn and walk away from him that day. It will probably haunt me forever. I broke a promise to both him and Jeffery Joel that day, and I will never forgive myself for that.

I hope you had a good one Jimmy! Marie, Jeffery Joel and I are still missing you.

Holy pharmacuticals Batman!

I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around the amount of pills I have to take every day. While living in Utah my doctor and I agreed that less is best and worked at reducing my use. This pile of bottles looks more like what my husband needed just before he passed away.

The box with pink top is how I keep track of them all and make sure that I don't take them too often. You'd be surprised how many times that little box has kept me safe. Just a quick check of whatever day of the week it is tells me if I've already taken that dose or not.

A couple of the bottles say they can cause drowsiness, so it really is no wonder why, on the higher pain level days, I might just fall asleep in the middle of whatever I'm doing. Especially at night when I don't have sense enough to go right to bed after taking Ambien. Speaking of which....I should be doing that now.

See you tomorrow.

Bingo!

All of the childish squabbling that goes on in this apartment complex that I live in is, for a change, working out in my favor.

The reigning Bingo Queen had stopped our weekly game for the winter because she didn't want to walk the 25 feet to the community room in the snow. (Our walks are always cleared, this is handicapped housing after all!)
Another lady volunteered to run a new Bingo game, on a different day, not wanting to step on any ones sensitive toes. Sounded good to me. I need to get out and socialize now and then.



To shorten this little drama up, I'm trying to remain neutral because I like Bingo and don't see why we can't play twice a week and all have a good time. Unfortunately 90% of the original group decided to boycott the new game for no good reason, but they are starting their game back up tomorrow (still winter) just because they don't like the lady who started the new game.
(These are adults age 50 and above)

For me it's a win. I love Bingo and need to get out. Twice is better than once. If they weren't squabbling over who was Bingo Queen it would be something else so I'll just grin and bear it. If it gets to out of line I'll tell 'em to knock it off. Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

See you tomorrow.

What the heck is an Aerial Flood Warning????

Well, I guess that I've really been sleeping on the job. Literally. Several times I have fallen asleep while typing. Ain't drugs grand. NOT!

What the heck, so I slept through Toothache Day and Umbrella Day! Gosh I'm sorry to have missed those. I am sorry that I missed the sunny warm weather though, because today, the day after Umbrella Day, it is pouring with rain and I can't find my umbrella. Go figure....and of course today was scheduled as shopping day. How fun!

I bought some new jammie's at Kmart. Everything is 25-30% off. Yep, I buy my jammie's in the men's department. Got no man to borrow the comfy stuff from any more.

See you tomorrow. (If my eyes are open)

Fly A Kite Day!

Well I'm in trouble now. It's Fly A Kite Day and I don't have a single picture of a kite! How about looking at this photo of an amazing Arizona sunset (the only kind Arizona has!) and you can imagine flying a kite against that beautiful background while I tell you a little tale from my childhood. It's about my daddy and a kite.

My daddy has always loved airplanes. When I was a kid he made a couple of kites out of Balsa wood and tissue paper that looked like Bi-planes. One was red and one was green. He liked to fly them in our back yard (one at a time) and they would get up pretty high. When he was finished playing he'd begin winding the string to bring the kite in. Our back yard was 3 acres and my mom and us kids + a few neighbors were always out watching whenever daddy "flew his planes". What none of us realized was how realistic they looked to strangers seeing them for the first time. One evening as he was bringing one in "for a landing" a car pulled over and people jumped out waving their arms and yelling! We all turned around to see what the fuss was about only to see that they were yelling at us. They thought that a plane was about to crash in our back yard!!! Everyone had a good laugh about it later, but it sure did scare those poor folks! I don't remember him flying them any more after that, but I believe he still has them. They are nearly 50 years old now. Good times!

So hey, it's Fly A Kite Day so why don't you all go fly a kite! (I've always wanted to say that)

See you tomorrow.

Ballet Day

Well I'm excited....not! I love to dance but not in a tutu and toe shoes!! Today is Ballet Day. The closest you'll get me to it is watching ice skating on TV!

Now my daughter in law (pictured here), I'm willing to bet she could do a few steps. Just look how graceful she is. And I happen to know that her daughter has a darling little tutu and is more than likely just as gracful as her mommy. Oh heck, I just have to put her picture in here too. It is just too cute...and it is Ballet Day!

See You Tomorrow!

Today I read a very sad message from someone I don't really know. But I felt as close to her as if she were my sister. Her dog Oliver, her friend and companion for 13 years, had passed away after suffering a stroke. I could feel her pain and anguish and wanted to reach out and help her in any way possible. But what could I do? A virtual stranger. Just offer a few words that hopefully were of comfort, and sat here alone so totally overwhelmed by the recent deaths that I have been avoiding dealing with.

Out of respect for Oliver, I would just like to say a few things about our incredible friend Dewey.

He was one of a litter of 9 puppies (6 girls 3 boys)and was born under our house. His mothers name was Minnie (Mouse) and daddy we called many thing but his Official name was Peanut Butter. This is what happens when you let the children name the pets. I can't remember what we called all of the puppies but in keeping with the Disney theme the 3 boy pups became Huey, Dewey and Louie. We managed to find homes for all of the pups, giving the last one to a relative as a Christmas gift. Then I heard rumor of one family planning to get rid of their puppy. I went to their house and said I'd take him back. That was our Dewy!

He went through a lot of growing pains. As a young'un he loved to eat crayons and rolls of paper towels and any assorted object he could sneak into his mouth. It was mostly harmless and "Just Dewey" until he ate the brittle plastic water gun. He survived, but couldn't sleep in the house for a long time after that.

He was a wonderful watch dog. He decided that was his job on his own. If he was running loose and playing with the kids he was just a friendly playful puppy. If he was tied up, he wouldn't let anyone he didn't know anywhere near the house. That was great fun when the Church folks came to call!

Even when our family broke apart, we still shared Dewey. We didn't fight over custody, we shared it, just like the kids. So Dewey's circle of love grew in his later years. We let him live where he was happiest, which happened to be the home with the most kids! Everyone adored him and he had plenty of love to spread around. No one was left out.

The last year we knew was bad. It was getting harder for him to walk and even stand. We knew he couldn't handle another winter and decisions would have to be made.

On August 27, 2000, the decision was taken out of our hands and he passed away on his own, waiting just long enough for one last kid to come and say good bye. Even in the end he was thinking of his people.

What a bright light he was in our lives. I hope he and Oliver are able to meet up in Good Doggie Heaven. They were both surely Princes of the Canine World. God Bless Them Both.

This is young Dewey

in Sanford Michigan

where he was born.

Here is Dewey nearly 14 years old. Three months

later he would be gone. This picture was the

only one in the whole batch that had those

light streaks in it. They were all taken about the

same time, same place. We believe he was

surrounded by Angels preparing to carry him

home.

See you tomorrow.

It was sure a happy day for us today!!! After months of waiting and "playing by the rules" Alexander James finally came home for the first time in over 5 months! Only a few hours at a time for a while until he gets to know his daddy again, but it was so wonderful to see my son smile and his son smiling too. It was enough to make this old one cry, but I didn't. Too busy taking all the pictures I could and playing with our little guy. How fun to have a baby again! And he's just so sweet! I feel some scrapbook pages coming on! LOL

See you tomorrow.

Happy Don't Forget To Remember It's Almost Valentines Day Day

If the slide show doesn't load for you, click on view all images. That's what I did and the slide show was there.

It's really been a foggy brain day for me so I got nuttin'! Hopefully the temp will rise enough above zero I'll be able to get outside tomorrow.

See you tomorrow.

I don't think it matters how old they are, how long it's been since you've seen them. It doesn't even matter if they were the oldest or the youngest or the middle child. Were they from a large family or small or maybe a medium one? It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter because no matter what, If you are a Mommy, you will remain a mommy for the rest of your life. You will worry about your kids even when you're pretty sure that you're being ridiculous.

I have given birth to six beautiful kids so I am an expert worrier. When my daughter and her family get the Disney itch, I just don't figure into the short list of people to inform. They go, have a super Disney vacation with lots of pictures. Just perfect for a family with little boys who adore the Disney characters.....almost as much as their parents!!!!

Meanwhile, day after day goes by with no sign of my daughter.....not just my daughter, my very much pregnant with her first baby girl, daughter. The first week I was cool with it. I'm not an annoying phone caller, I'm a blog watcher. She isn't an everyday blogger so a few days not seeing anything is no big deal. I think that I actually made it most of the way through the second week before making the dreaded "Phone Call", I left a message. I didn't try again 'til just before my phone and Internet troubles began. By then it had been nearly 3 weeks, quite a long time for a Disney trip even for these die hard season pass holders. I was certain that something was wrong. Maybe with the baby, or maybe she was depressed, maybe I'd done something and made her not want to talk to me.

Today I finally reached her....and was chastised for all the worrying! They wanted to fit in one more Disneyland before they'll be tied down for a while with the baby. So I worried for nothing....or did I?

I didn't-

worry myself sick

bother others with my foolishness

leave a bunch of irrational phone messages

I did-

what any normal mom who loves her kids would do. I cared.

Do I care too much for my adult kids? As long as I keep remembering that there is no S in front of mother, it'll be fine. What do you think?

See you tomorrow.

AAaaarrrrrrrggggghhhhh!!!!!!!!! My cable, phone and internet provider really let me down this weekend! The service tech who came out to fix it was really perturbed because the problem was caused by another employee who shouldn't have been doing anything with my wires and meters. Anyway, it's all fixed now, but I didn't think that I'd be able to get caught up on this by doing 5 daily's, so this is a brief show and tell of Jan. 30-Feb. 2.

Now hopefully I'll still have time to post for today. Yay! I'm back on track!

It's National Puzzle Day!!!

Yay for National Puzzle Day! I do love me a good puzzle! I'm more of a word puzzle kinda girl, but totally respect all the jigsawer's out there. I just don't have the personal patience or the space for them unless they're quite small.

One of my favorite puzzles involved 2 bent nails that you had to figure out how to take apart, then put back together again. That puzzle kept the family occupied for quite a while.

When I don't have access to my computer I always like to keep 2 puzzle books handy. One just an ordinary word search and the other is almost always a Penny Press Variety Puzzles and Word Games book. That is packed full of about every word puzzle you can imagine! Crosswords, codewords, syllabuses, cripto families, places please, and on and on.....

Then there are those puzzling questions. Sometimes they are really sorta funny, and sometimes they make you think. Some questions like these maybe,

If it is zero degrees outside today and it's supposed to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold is it going to be?

If someone invented instant water, what would they mix it with?

Some months have 30 days. Some months have 31 days. How many months have 28 days?

Well, I could go on forever and make up a word search and blah dee blah dee blah. Just not techie savvy so am totally puzzled when it comes to blogging on this subject.

See you tomorrow.

Who Is That Kopy Kat?

(This is an add on because I forgot to put it in the original post.) Today is National Kazoo Day, so I want to wish Happy Kazooing to all of you Kazooers out there! Hey, do you guys have your own website or Facebook page? I was wondering if there is a kazoo band or if you all are just soloists or whatever?
--A Kazoo Fan From Kalamazoo


Having two cats reminds me a lot of when I had kids at home. Way, way back, when I only had two daughters and two sons, the oldest child had a severe case of sibling rivalry. Mostly with the next one down. Any time #2 child would do or say anything that got attention from mommy or daddy, #1 child would always pipe up and say "Me too!". We heard it so often that eventually we named one of out cats Metoo in honor of our #1 child. It also stopped said child from saying it all the time.

Now all I have at home are two spoiled rotten cats. Susan B Anthony (Suzy) and Isabel (Izzy) might as well be sisters. Izzy was born in my house so she has always known Suzy and until all of our trauma happened last summer Suzy hated little Izzy with a passion.

The nearly two months of hell that they went through together brought them to a peaceful and sympathetic truce. Suzy would allow Izzy in the same room as long as she respected her boundaries and remembered who was Top Cat in the household! Izzy played along for quite a while....as she watched. Suzy always had the top spot on the back of the couch and it was OK for Izzy to lay on Mommy's lap, just as long as she was lower.

Izzy has always been a Mommy cuddler. Suzy is a Mommy watcher, she needs to be able to see me but not necessarily touch. Any time I even go into the bathroom Suzy follows and sits on the edge of the tub and waits. If Izzy follows she has to stay on the floor.

Well, that's how it was....but these girls are so jealous of each other that recently they have taken to switching places every couple of weeks. Izzy started it by running ahead and getting to the spot first. I could almost hear her saying "Na Ne Na Ne Boo Boo!" and waving her little paws up by her ears.

At first I thought that Suzy had just given up her "place" and I was mad at the little one ('cause Suzy is older and by far my favorite!), but when she got tired of playing the game and letting Izzy pretend to be boss, she just got up one day and tackled her, beat the snot out of her and went back to her role as Queen.

I learned my lesson. I will not interfere with their kittenish squabbles as long as they don't break anything!

See you tomorrow.

A few years back I took an IQ test and scored pretty well. Not a genius by any means, but with the "average" score being 98, my score of 130 was pretty good. My certificate is one of the many things lost, and by all means one of the least important in my life.

The other day I ran across this "Dumb Test". It said that I was 28% Dumb and my score was 5/18. There was no explanation, it didn't tell me which ones I got wrong (or right). I guess that's the point of a Dumb Test. Make you feel dumb no matter what. While I was looking around for the Dumb answers, there were a bunch more silly tests and quizzes to take. I saw the IQ one and it said that there were only 10 questions so I knew it wasn't a "real" IQ test but I wondered just how dumb I'd gotten in the last 4 years.

According to the results of this quiz, I missed only one question. That makes me just as dumb as I was 4 years ago when I was sorta smart. I can deal with that.

See you tomorrow.

Today is the beginning of the celebration for Chinese New Year! The Year od the Ox, 4707. The celebration lasts aprox. 15 days. It is based on the Lunar Calander so when it begins and ends depends upon the moon.

The calander is based on a 12 year cycle and each year is named for a different animal. This is the second year of the cycle, the first being the Year of the Rat. There is a really cool story about the Year of the Rat and why there is no year of the cat. If anyone is interested they can Google it, or ask me and I'll tell them.

The Chinese history and culture is quite fastinating. A lot of people follow their Astrology. I find it to be interesting but not reliable (just my opinion).

I had a lot of fun looking up everything "Chinese" so that I could post this. The most "funnest" stuff I learned was that I am a Water Snake and so were two of my husbands, Jimmy was an Earth Rat. Of my children they are one Wood Tiger, one Wood Rabbit, two Fire Dragon's, one Metal Rooster and one Water Dog.

The Chinese believe that this is a time of great celebration so no matter what your nationality, Let's raise a glass of your favorite beverage and give a toast to this New Year, The Year of the Ox! Cheers!

See you tomorrow.

Today is Opposite Day! Yay for that and everything that is opposite! The Yin's and the Yang's that make life interesting. Does everything have an opposite? Is it true that opposites attract? Are you the opposite of me? Is day the opposite of night? Black the opposite of white?

I love to do all kinds of word games and I had this great idea to make two lists of words so you could match up the opposites. Only problem with that is, no matter how I type it up on this page nothing ever lines up even close to the way it's supposed to once I post it. That kind of takes all of the fun out of it.

Well here are a few opposites that I came up with. I'm sure that you can add on plenty of your own if you want to.

young- old

poor- rich

sweet- sour

asleep- awake

coward- hero

laugh- cry

cold- hot

long- short

soft- hard

sit- stand

love -hate

life- death

sad- happy

dirty- clean

closed- open

difficult- simple

early- late

dangerous -safe

and on and on and on........

See you tomorrow. (Chinese New Year)

Perceptions and Transitions

It is late and today is an undesignated day. I

almost didn't turn my computer on, but I did make a commitment, so on with the show!

Today is about perception and transition. I know that I'm not alone in having this poor perception problem. I read enough blogs and watch enough on Tyra and Oprah to know that nearly everyone has a problem with their perception of themselves.

On this post there are three pictures. The first being how I normally look when I'm around people. This picture shows what people see when they look at me. I'm getting tired of the upkeep on the hair though.......

This next image has been Photoshopped to show my perception of what I "think" people are seeing when they look at me. The two pictures were taken on the same night. On one level I know that the top picture is a closer representation of what I actually look like, but that other side of me just can't believe that at my age, I might actually look halfway decent....or maybe I don't want to.

Now here is me in transition. No more pale blond and dark brown hair. No make up. It's going to take a long time to get the hair all one color. Has to be done in stages. Now that I have welcomed the transition I'm more likely to be able to accept the reality that I may truly look like my picture. Just so I don't hear of any more twenty somethings telling my kids I'm a milf. LOL I'm way too old to be trainin' babies!

See you tomorrow.

Think "opposite"!

It's Measure Your Feet Day!

Today we must pay homage to our lowly feet. Most of us don't give them enough attention! When is the last time you treated them to a pedicure? After a bath or shower as you're primping with your body butters and lotions, do you include your poor little feet?

I have to admit that I take better care of my feet in the summer than I do in the winter. I don't know why, it just works out that way.

Today being Measure Your Feet Day, I Googled how to do it and found several sites. My favorite is http://2bigfeet.com/measure.php where it tells you how to measure them and has a link to convert the length and width in inches to the proper size.

So, after you take care of your feet and have them properly measured, go out and treat them to a fabulous new pair of shoes! I think they deserve them after all we've put them through!

***Helpful Hint*** Remember, it's all about the feet so when significant other complains about money spent on "you", say "Oh, no, no! I did it for my feet!" You can even throw in an "I read about it on the web.", maybe even encourage them to give their feet a day! And if their feet aren't too gross, you might offer to measure them. (No tickling!)

Yay Feet!!!!

See you tomorrow.

I have been honored today with this most excellent award! Many thanks to you Lori Ann for all the nice things you said about me. If you hadn't just received this award yourself, you would be right at the top of my list of people to give it to! I will do my best to follow the rules though, so I guess I will begin by listing five things I'm addicted to. There are a few different directions I could go with this. The ridiculous, the serious, try to be funny, or maybe seriunnylous!

1....might as well face it, I'm addicted to love.... (is there a 12 step for that?)

2. PPPppppepsi, PLEASE!!!!!! (One a day with no caffeine is just a tease for an addict like me!!!)

3. smoking, but I almost have it licked! Some days I don't even think about it, other days I might smoke 3 or 4.

4. digital scrapbooking, and I dare any one to try it for a week and NOT get addicted!

5. stuff, you know, like sit-arounds, dust collectors. I'm kinda choosy about my stuff, and I really hate it when I lose my stuff.

Now it is time to pass the torch, so to speak. To honor 5 others just as Lori Ann has honored me. The first couple are easy as pie for me. Every day I check out 4 blogs just hoping there will be a new post that in one way or another will brighten up my day! Lori Ann is in that 4, so I' start out with 3. I've got a couple more in mind, but I want to get this party started.

In no particular order I have chosen these 5 to receive the Fabulous Blog Award:

Andrea (these are the days to remember) who is my scrapbooking mentor. Without her I would never have found this wonderful world. She is also a great writer and reading her blog is like she is bringing you right into her family with all the laughter and the tears. I never want to miss a moment!

Audrey (jacobsonfive) A fantastic children's party planner, caterer, SAHM, and great recipe supplier. Always has tons of pictures that I love and you can vote on naming their baby girl! I only wish she would post more often, but she is very busy and very pregnant!

Tara (chiapellifamily) She puts fun things on her blog. Over the holidays she had a snowball fight with her family! I was sooo cute and too much fun! It's a family life kind of blog, but they are such a cute family!

Deb (listed in my Partners in P 365) I love this one because not only are her kids cute, but she takes pictures of the pets as well, and often it sounds like she refers to them just like the rest of the family. I love that!

Vicki (aworkinprogress) What's not to love here!? She has combined her usual blog with Project 365 so we get pictures of her doggone beautiful pups, AND tons of freebies too!

As for my picture of the day, I mentioned above that one of my addictions is my "stuff". Well....a lot of my stuff is actually stuffed stuff. When I worked for the carnivals, that just fed my addiction! One of my bosses used to spoil me rotten, and one day my husband objected saying we didn't have room for all that "crap". The boss just stared him down and said "Everybody needs something to love! Obviously you're not doing your job!". That was the end of any more remarks about my stuffed toys.

See you tomorrow.

PS A hint for tomorrow's "Day". It might inspire you to buy new shoes!