Been awhile...

So I haven't been here in a long time...

Brian moved in with me on August 1 and we've been learning to live together. Things are going good! We still need to get more "stuff" organized. The basement and garage are FULL!! And I can't wait to see what he thinks when I start putting up my Christmas trees! LOLEric made it through boot camp and graduated on August 27.


His grandfather, the Korean War vet, is so proud of him!!

He was home for 3 weeks... 10 days of boot leave and then he had 14 days of "Recruiter's Assistance" where he went to the recruiting office to help out. He's at Camp Geiger NC right now for MCT and then he'll be going for his MOS training, possibly in California.

Bats in my belfry... errr... bedroom

So I was sitting at my computer on Saturday night, minding my own business, when a saw something fly past me and into my bedroom. I thought it was a big moth. When I looked up, there was a bat!! It was flying in circles around the ceiling fan. I guess it was avoiding the blade and the walls and since it wouldn't land for more than 2 seconds all it could do is fly in a circle!

I grabbed a blanket with the intention of throwing it over the bat and taking it outside. The bat was way too smart for that! He avoided me every time. But I was finally able to shoo him out of the bedroom and down the stairs where he began to fly all over the first floor.

I yelled for Kathy and she suggested opening the deck door...why didn't I think of that? We realized that if we held our arms up and waved them he saw it as something he couldn't get past so we each stood on opposite sides and gradually managed to get him to fly out the door! YAY!

Today when I was out in the yard I took a look at the bat house that I have up and I'm hoping that I actually have a bat living there. It's really hard to make out but it's either a bat nose or a spider that I saw in the opening. You can "almost" see the bat house on this tree.

An emotional week

Well Eric left Monday evening. That was the first time that he didn't seem confident about going into the Marines. I guess he was really nervous. I hope he's more calm now and not miserable. He was so excited and so looking forward to boot camp and learning all the new stuff and especially shooting! I'm sure he'll be ok, but I won't be able to hear from him for a couple of months when he gets phone privileges.

I was a basket case and I've been crying off and on since Monday night... actually I started crying before Monday! My little baby has flown the nest. It's getting better but I keep wondering what he's doing and how he is.

Today is the third anniversary of my mom's death so it's an emotional day all around. Tears for Eric and tears for my mom. One thing I'm good at is crying!

Eric's Farewell Party

We had a farewell party for Eric last Saturday. Had a blast!!

















We had burgers and hot dogs and a VERY well stocked bar!



















It rained all day and we weren't sure we would be able to have a bonfire. Well, around 7pm it quit and we got a fire started around 8. Then the Fire Department showed up!!! We continued the party without the fire and still had lots of fun. Right after the Fire Department left, Val started playing "We Didn't Start the Fire", "Ring of Fire", and "Come On Baby Light My Fire", and then we ended up doing the Hokey Pokey on the deck!! I'm surprised (and happy) that it didn't collapse with us all jumping around!


















Those of us who were still awake finished the night off by going to Eat N Park as the sun was coming up.

I hate tooth pain!

I'm on my last day of a seven day stretch at work... sooo ready for a day off!

I developed some tooth pain over the weekend which got really bad yesterday. I called the dentist and the soonest they could get me in was next Monday afternoon. After the night I had last night, I don't know if I'll last that long! I've been taking Excedrin Back and Body or something like that. It helps dull the pain for about 2-3 hrs and then it comes back. Last night the pain kept interrupting my sleep until I was alert enough to think about taking another pill. Then I was able to get another couple of hours of good sleep.

The dentist's daughter (small practice) said there was an opening on Thursday morning. At the time I didn't want to spend my birthday in the dentist's chair plus I have to work, but now I'm not sure if I'll last until Monday so I called them back to see if I could still get in on Thursday. Left a message so I'm hoping for a call back... what a fun way to spend my birthday... Oh well, Brian and I might have to change our dinner plans. At this point I'm not sure if I'll be able to eat anyway.

Cinco de Mayo

My dinner for Cinco de Mayo was chicken stir fried with onions, garlic, and szechwan sauce! So very Mexican!! hahaha!! Actually I would have loved to go to Chili's for Margaritas and either a bleu cheese and bacon burger (forget what they're actually called) or a Quesadilla Explosion Salad and a bunch of appetizers... making myself hungry again! My birthday is coming up next Thursday so maybe I'll choose Chili's. Brian said we could go wherever I want... If I could actually go ANYWHERE, I'd choose somewhere in the Caribbean.

2010 Pittsburgh Marathon

Val ran the Half Marathon in 2 hours 22 minutes 53 seconds. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of her actually running this time... we'll just say "technical difficulties". It was lots of fun standing in the rain! LOL

This is Val before the race (and before it started raining).
















The start of the race with the color guard.












Random people running.














The Finish Line. It was really raining!














Val showing off her medal for completing the Half Marathon.

Yard Work

Today was a beautiful day! Eric mowed the front yard and we looked at the lawn tractor but it needs at least a new battery and front tire. Not sure what else will be wrong when we finally get those taken care of.

I spent the day outside pulling and spraying weeds and making plans to move some plants. There's still so much to be done and I don't seem to have enough time off to do it! Of course when Eric leaves I'll have to also mow the grass... yay. At least I accomplished something today.

Now I have to wash a load of work shirts and try to clean up my desk a little while I listen to the Penguins Playoff Game. I hope it doesn't run into overtime. I have to get to bed early. My Saturday schedule was changed from 7-4 to 6-3 so I can water plants before the customers start showing up, like an hour is going to be enough time... I'll do what I can.

Hospitals

I picked up my dad from the hospital today and did laundry. Kathy just called me to say she was on her way to the Emergency Room because she cut off part of her finger and nail. She says it's just a little bit, but it won't stop bleeding. Such a fun day, huh? I'm leaving now to go see Brian for dinner... no time for anything else today. Work 7-4 tomorrow. Friday is supposed to be warm and beautiful and I'm off.

Thor

Hey this is Thor! My puppy!! He's a 4 yr old German Shepherd Dog.

My mission for tonight was to learn how to add photos... SUCCESS!! I'm not sure if I can do a whole album, but one thing at a time...

Accident

While I was at work today, one of my co-workers came over and said they thought there was a call for me about a "Family Emergency". She said my last name wrong so I thought it was for someone else, but it turned out it was for me.

My dad was in a car accident last night and they kept him overnight in the hospital and they're keeping him tonight too. He couldn't remember anyone's phone numbers so no one was notified until today. They had to look up my aunt's name and number because she's the only one with a number listed in the phone book. I called him and he said he's ok but they still have a neck brace on him and he bruised his hand and must have hit his head. He doesn't remember the accident but the police told him he was hit from behind while stopped in a construction zone.

I'm going to leave soon to go feed his cats and then go visit him.

Weather

The weather was beautiful today... at least until I was done working. While I was at work the sun was shining and the birds were singing and it was a lovely day. Twenty minutes before I was done the thunder and lightening started and by the time I left I got soaked going to my car. I don't have to go back in until 4:30 tomorrow so it's almost like having a day off.

Can't sleep

Can't seem to sleep tonight so of course I'm spending my night on my computer. It's already 1:15am and I have to be at work at 8:30... ah well... guess I'll be tired. Going to Eat N Park with Brian after work and then watch the sixth game of the Penguins vs Senators Stanley Cup Playoffs. GO PENS!!

Random stuff

I'm sort of getting the hang of this so I'll keep posting and see what happens.

I'm going to try to put some of my pictures on here if I can figure that out, might take a few days (or, knowing the pace at which I work, weeks). I have cruise photos and my 2010 Photo Journal to add. Then of course there are the Christmas trees... yes I said treeS!

Coming up later this year I have plans for trips to Maine and South Carolina so that will be fun to "blog" about. "Blog" is such a funny word! And Eric is going off to Marine boot camp around June 1. I'm sure my anxiety will be good for a few posts too!

So that's the Random stuff I plan to blog about (gotta get used to that word I keep wanting to say post... guess that's ok too... whatever). Anyway I'm sure I'll have lots more Random things going on as time goes on... isn't that a song?

Getting started

Ok so I started this blog and I really don't know what I'm doing. So this is my first post, giving it a try. We'll see how this works.