Gonna try to keep writing as often as I can.  I figure if I write something... ANYTHING, I'll get the hang of this.

I no longer work at Walmart.  I worked in the Garden Center for the last probably six out of seven years I worked at Walmart.  I loved working in the Garden Center but it was so physical!  I've been unofficially "retired" for the past two years and I can tell that I'm not getting enough exercise.  Zeus is helping though.

Tomorrow I'm going to start taking Zeus for walks up the street and back, not much but something.  He's usually ok on the leash but this will be the first time out in public except for going to the vet and he was so small that first time that everyone carried him everywhere!  Hahaha!

This is Zeus.  I wasn't sure if I could figure out how to send a picture from my phone but it worked!!  My big excitement for the day!

My dog Thor passed away two years ago and I finally got a new puppy last month.  His name is Zeus and he's another German shepherd.  He is SOOO cute but a little terror with his teeth.  I know he'll grow out of it but my husband is not a fan of him right now.  I'm doing what I can.  

He's mostly getting the potty training thing, had an accident today but that's because I trusted him too much.  I keep him on a leash when in the house so I can keep track of him and he was eating and drinking so I went in the living room because I knew he'd follow eventually... he took a pit stop in the dining room on his way. 😠  He is just a little over 2 mos old so it wasn't a complete surprise; I still expect a few messes.

Wow!  I am really surprised to see that this is still here.  I've been thinking about things I want to talk about and I keep thinking of this blog but it's been SOOO long!  Maybe I'll try to catch up with what's been going on and post some pictures and talk about some stuff.  We'll see what happens!

Eric's coming home!

It's been an eventful week. First Val and her wisdom teeth and then I had a doctor appointment and blood work. Apparently my blood work was good except for something low on the thyroid test so I have to go back Monday to take some more tests... unfortunately they aren't the kind you study for! The vampire is going to get me again!!

Then there is Eric...

I have Eric's old computer downstairs and I use it occasionally while watching TV. Eric has a Gmail account and has his screen name and password saved on his computer. (You'll see why this is relevant in a second)

On Monday I was signing into my Gmail account but didn't realize that Eric's account was still displayed so I ended up in his account. I was going to exit right away but something caught my eye. There was an email about an itinerary from an online travel site. Ok, I shouldn't have but I did. I clicked the email and found out that Eric had a flight to Pittsburgh on June 17. He would be arriving after midnight on the 18th.

On Wednesday I talked to him and asked him about graduation and asked if he was going to have a Leave before he had to report to Camp Lejeune. He said no! At that point I realized that it was a "surprise"! So I didn't say anything else and I didn't tell anyone else except Brian.

When I got home that night there was a post from his friend Chris about picking him up at the airport on the 18th. And Kathy said another friend mentioned that he was coming home. The jig was up!!

Even though it's not a surprise anymore, I'm so happy to have him coming home! And it WILL be a surprise to my dad and Aunt Joan. We are all going to dinner on Father's Day and I'm not telling them that he is here. They'll be surprised when he's sitting at the restaurant waiting for them!

A day with Val

Valerie had her wisdom teeth taken out today so I went to visit and take her to the dentist. Everything went well. We went to get her prescriptions and then I stayed with her for the rest of the day. I got her ice packs and "helped" her change her gauze pads... more like she did it herself while I stood there and handed her the fresh ones. Then I made her some Ring Noodle Soup (one of her favorites), watched movies with her, and played with my grand kitties.... yes, I have grand kitties! LOL Then I took her to KFC so she could get some mashed potatoes and gravy. That's something she can eat that is a bit more substantial than Jello.

More pool stuff...

So I finally got my pump and filter connected and running. BUT... The filter isn't running properly. I found out that the valve has a problem. I took it apart and saw that the gasket came loose but, when I tried to put it back together, as soon as I moved the valve into the Filter position it jammed. My guess is that the gasket came loose again. Not sure if getting a new gasket would help. I found a good deal on a new valve so I ordered it. At this rate, I think we might be swimming by August.

Something Strange

Today, June 2 2011, is the 4th anniversary of my mom passing away.

I was up late last night thinking of her and crying. When I was finally ready for bed I went to unplug the lights in my bedroom and I tripped over something, almost twisted my ankle on it. So I picked up the offending object and found that it was a ring jewelry box that belonged to my mom and inside was an opal ring... her birthstone. How strange is that?

Now I have to admit that I have her old jewelry armoire in my bedroom and that I have seen that ring before but I have no idea HOW it got out of the drawer, across my room, and landed on the floor next to my laundry basket and a foot from the electrical outlet. All I can think is that Mom was trying to tell me something... not sure what. But I believe that she was comforting me because I'm so sad today.

POOL OPENING

Here's a random post! It's random because I haven't been posting.

Tried to get my pool opened today. If it's not one thing, it's another. I didn't open it last year so I'm having problems with things breaking or being lost. It's been 3 trips to the specialty pool store so far and one more tomorrow... hopefully that's the last!

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.