Photos

Just thought I'd show you a few layouts. I really should take the pictures before putting the page protectors on!

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This one is titled "Disney, daddy and me".

The title of this one is "high society", but I wanted

it to be subtle.

The entire title is pretty hard to read in the picture.

I embroidered it, but didn't take into account that

some of the letters would go off the page. So, I had

to change the title to make it work. It is "there's

somethin' special about a daddy and his little girl.

Oh, and it wasn't until I was into it that I realized

that the whole thing really didn't even fit! That's

Sandy in the pictures.

Love this one. I just used a scallop square punch

and wove floss around them.

There's nothing that says "Mindy" quite like

"open-mouthed enthusiasm".

Facebook What???

I've had my Facebook account for about 6 months now and I still don't get it. I've had friend requests from people I went to high school with that I was never friends with then. Why do they want me to be their friend now? I'm starting to get it that it really isn't about friendship---it's about the numbers. I have people requesting to be my friend that I don't even know. They just happen to be friends of friends of mine. Well, NO, I don't want to be your friend. I already have 46 friends of my own.

And what's up with writing on my wall? I never was able to even find the wall.

I've been tagged and poked and have no idea what that means. Today, I was sent a cup of coffee, but I never received it. I also received 3 friend blessings, whatever those are. I've been invited to support numerous causes---stop child abuse and save the children's hospital in North Carolina (I didn't know I knew someone in North Carolina and can't for the life of me figure out who that is). I've been invited to Boycott China and end Animal Terror. I don't plan to go to China, so I guess I'm supporting that cause.

I received 2 hearts and again, never actually received anything. This all sounds more like a tease if you ask me---send me yummies, but don't really send them. What the ???

I've been challenged to a pillow fight and have been hit with a tootsie pillow. Don't know what that is and never felt it. Sounds sweet though.

I have online sisters reaching out to me across the miles---don't know them either. One even sent a "what kind of teacher are you" invitation. So this friend doesn't even know I'm not a teacher. Some friend.

Another friend is sending me a fat cat---if I accept. No way, I'm finished with pets. 

Someone has smiled at me. I've gotten 2 requests for hugs. Sure, I'd do it, but how do you hug the computer?

Another person wants to know what color crayon I am and I've been bitten by a zombie. Now I'm starting to feel like all of these people are in rubber rooms. 

I've been asked which Facts of Life character I am. Hhheellloooo, I was never on Facts of Life. Now someone is confusing me with that chubby character. I definitely don't want to be her friend.

Someone wants to know if I'm spoiled. For that answer, just read my previous blog entry.

I've been asked "5 tricky questions". And someone else thinks I'm a flower.

Sounds like none of these friends know me at all. And all I wanted was to be Ellen Degeneres' friend. She's the only one NOT asking to be my friend! 

Sometimes I Forget...

...that my husband has to work for a living---or at least to sustain the lifestyle to which I've grown accustomed. Right before our Scotland trip, there was a problem with our airline tickets. He called me to handle it. I kind of whined about it to him---"can't you handle it?"---because in my head, I was thinking, "waaahhhh, I want to get a pedicure." 

Then a couple weeks ago, I was getting ready for my weekly pool party with my friends (some weeks we have 2 or 3). Right before they arrived, I called Butch at the office to ask him to pick up some vodka for our frozen drinks. Later, I called to see if he could pick up Sandy and Greg at the airport so I wouldn't have to leave the pool. He reminded me that he actually had to work. Oh, yeah, I forgot.

I'm not the only one in the family that forgets that he has to work. Steph has called him in the middle of a meeting to say that her closet pole had fallen down and could he fix it---like now. He told her that he was in Atlanta in the middle of a meeting with some $500 an hour attorneys.

Mindy has also interrupted him with her issues. Her apartment lease had to be re-signed by June 1st. Butch was the co-signer originally and had to re-sign again. She hits it with him on the 1st at the office---faxing the lease back and forth and numerous phone calls. When he asked why she didn't send it to him sooner, she said, "daaad, I couldn't even get it from my mailbox before now because I had to WORK." 

Sandy doesn't seem to bother him at work. I guess that's why she's the favorite!

Lest you think I'm too spoiled, I'm being punished for my inconsiderate behavior. My nails are weak from all that water and my neck has a "crick" in it from spending so much time on the pool float! Oh woe is me....

A Diagnosis---Finally

I've been battling my hives for nearly 10 years now. Basically, the doctor explained them by telling me that I have an over-active immune system. It's not necessarily a bad thing, more of a nuisance---sort of means I have a very healthy immune system. I went today for my 6 month check-up. For just about the past year, I've had very few out-breaks and am able to self-medicate with prednisone as needed. I now recognize all the signs and can tell when I am descending into a bad case. A round of prednisone keeps them at bay---at least long enough for my body to realize there is nothing wrong---just a mosquito bite, hard bump, bee sting, new earrings or shoes---I never know what might trigger them. Anyway, today Dr. McDaniel told me that the dermatology community has finally put a name to my type of hives---Auto-Immune Hives. There is no cure, but rather the approach to take is to just control them. It is not unusual for them to go away altogether. I look forward to that day. In the meantime, my hives rarely "put me to bed" anymore as I recognize what is happening and can start medication to prevent that descent. 

After our hive discussion, I asked the doctor to remove a wart on my elbow and check a spot on my face for skin cancer. He called it some "mumbo jumbo" medical term that I cannot pronounce or even remember to repeat. He then asked if I had ever had anything "frozen" off. I told him that another doctor had removed an "age-related wart" from the side of my nose---twice. He said, "oh, this is the same thing. I just don't call them that. Most women don't like hearing it". I love this guy!! Then I asked about a long-lasting "pimple" that I've had since I went to St. Louis in mid-May. It just seems like it's never going away. The doctor then said that it's not a pimple, but the same "age-related wart" that probably had a bit of an infection that gave it the appearance of a pimple. 

So the good news is that I am no longer looking like Quazimoto due to my hives, I'm just going to be covered with warts! For each one that is frozen off, I better not get 10 more! I swear, I have never kissed any frogs!

It Must Be Said Out Loud!

I LOVED Michael Jackson! There, I've said it. I've loved him for a long time. I refuse to believe all the horrible stuff that's been reported about him being a perverted child molester. My opinion is and has always been that he was stunted in his growth and remained a little boy inside---naive and innocent---and at times---just plain stupid. He should have learned his lesson about having young boys over. But isn't that typical of a little boy---lack of judgement?

There's a book coming out soon that was already in the works prior to Michael's death. I'll definitely be buying it. The author has stated that he started the book project trying to get to the real dirt of the child molestation allegations. No matter how hard he "dug", he came up empty-handed. I'm glad. Now that he's gone, perhaps he'll be remembered for the genius that he was. True, he was definitely eccentric. But aren't most geniuses? Granted, he looked like a freak at the end and for a long time before. But, boy, he could still sing and dance. I can't wait for the album that was to be his return to come out. I'll be one of the first to buy it. 

There's no doubt that he loved his kids. I hope that they don't get lost in the very world that Michael tried to protect them from. 

I love you Michael---and I'll miss you! I just had to say it out loud!

Mindy Update

Since Mindy isn't blogging anymore, I'll just keep you up to date with the things she sends me. I might add that she is proud of herself that for the last 6 months, she's having automatic withdrawals weekly for her savings account. Of course, she used that "against" us when requesting some spending money for when Steph visits next week (as in, "I would hate to have to use my savings..."). I told Steph that since we weren't taking a family vacation this summer, I'd give her some money for New Orleans. She told Mindy, who immediately called Butch and asked him to match it. The girl knows how to work it!! Butch hasn't given her an answer yet as he told her that he could live 3 months on the money I'm sending! He'll cave---he can't resist his girls! I love that.

Email from Mindy today to her dad and I:

You'd be so proud of me! Not only am I doing better about managing my money, but I have inadvertently found another way to recession-proof my life:

As I have become quite the blockbuster junky lately (watching movies suits Mike's and my schedules and budgets moreso than trying to go out after work), I emailed blockbuster.com to commend them on one of their store locations (the most impeccably clean, well-staffed, and well-stocked location I have ever seen) and they emailed me back 3 free rental coupons! If you do the math, thats $15 dollars and 3 nights of entertainment I just got completely free!

I should be like a columnist for Cosmo about how to manage your money without sacrificing a fabulous and fun lifestyle!

Mindy

Time for a New Friend---Maybe!

Connie has been getting me into a lot of trouble lately. Butch says I need a new friend as she's costing him too much money---and we all know how he feels about that! 

Case #1.

As always, the girls had gone to dinner on the guys poker night 3 weeks ago. I was driving Connie and Linda home. We dropped Linda off and then proceeded to Connie's house. About half way there, Connie said, "you wanted to turn there".  Now it's not like I don't know where she lives after all these years but we were going home from a direction that I don't normally go. Okay, not exactly the way I was planning to go, but I backed up and turned. We proceeded along and came to another stop. As I was going through the intersection, she said again, "you want to turn right"---just as I passed. I put the car in reverse and---BOOM---backed into another car. Not hard, but my fault for sure. Connie immediately started to say, "Oh Barb, I'm so sorry! I'll pay for it. I'm so sorry!" I just said that it wasn't her fault and got out of the car. There was no damage to my car at all. The other driver's car had a tiny 1/2 x 1/2 inch "nick" from my trailer hitch. Turns out she claimed it. Her car was a 1996 Audi that already had nicks and rust spots. We're sure she pocketed the money, but it was my fault. Anyway, Butch wanted to know why neither of us heard the "ding, ding, ding" of the back up sensor. I swear, I don't think it sounded. Connie helped me further by telling him that all we heard was the honk! Okay, he's over that. She swears that she's never going to be a front (or back) seat driver again.

Case #2.

Connie invited all of our friends to meet at their house on Thursday night to kick off the holiday weekend with a drink and dinner at Rose Pepper's---a Mexican restaurant in East Nashville that most of us had never been too. We decided to all pile into 2 cars. Butch drove his new "used" Mercedes. Jack, Connie and Nancy were with us. Dinner was great. After two pitchers of Margaritas and assorted beers, I decided to drive home. I don't like beer or Margaritas, so I had a sangria---mostly fruit juice. I was perfectly capable of driving home. 

It's late enough that the traffic is very light. I'm driving down a pretty wide 4-way street when I see a "white" thing on the road. There were no other cars in sight. Without realizing it, I drove right over it. Butch started freaking out---how could I run over a opossum! Well that did it, ALL of my friends in the back seat were laughing so hard with Connie leading the pack. I said that I thought it  was a towel. Butch said why would I run over anything when I had so much room to go around. I really didn't have an answer for that. Then the back seat comments started---barely audible above the laughing---"it's a fresh opossum too!, looks like you aimed for it, there's probably stuff squished in the tire, why didn't you go around it, I didn't see anything, just felt the kabump, kabump, etc."---you get it, real supportive friends.  Butch said we'd probably have a flat tire from a bone. I just said that I was so glad that I could provide them with so much entertainment! Connie said that she could see I was going to hit the opossum, but was keeping her vow to not say anything. Gee, thanks. Butch got over that too. 

Case #3.

Yesterday, bright and early on the 4th, Jack and Connie came over to go geo-caching with us. Our first stop was at a school we had never been to before. We were crossing the playground to get to the woods at the edge when Connie spotted the tether ball---you remember that---sort of a volleyball on a long rope attached to a steel pole. Connie started squealing---"come on Barb, let's play--I loved tether ball." Being the good sport that I am, I agreed. We weren't even playing 2 minutes when I was getting back into the zone. I was slamming it while Connie was ducking and dodging it on her side. Now I'm ready to really put it away. I balled up my fist and threw everything I had into it. The momentum kept me going and I fell onto my left side. Connie said, "okay, you win." Thanks! I hurt my foot but tried to hide it at first. The limping gave me away. Then the swelling and bruising started. Butch just shakes his head---he thinks I act like I'm 10 most of the time. I ended up sitting in the car while Jack and Butch found several caches. Connie and I talked about not wanting to realize that we might have limitations at 57 (and her at (gasp) 60! She recently nearly threw her back out while trying to demonstrate a cartwheel to her granddaughter). Add to that, her comment, "well, if you weren't trying to kill me!" That's my Zimmermann competitive nature---when it comes to sports, I can't do it half way! Anyway, I finally showed her the bruising on my hand too. I really thought that I had broken by foot and possibly fractured my hand. Still, we went on to find 9 caches and had lunch. We got home about 1:30. I took 3 ibuprofin and put ice on my foot. When the Lapps family arrived at 4, I was barely able to put any pressure on it. Connie arrived with a boot she had from when she broke her ankle. I didn't use it that day, but figured I'd wear it starting today. Miraculously, when I woke up at 4 a.m. to take Sandy and Greg to the airport, my foot wasn't nearly as bad or painful as yesterday. The swelling has gone down some too. My wrist barely hurts at all. I guess I dodged the proverbial bullet. Now I just need to remember to act my age with all the kids here this week.

As for Connie, we sure have had a lot of fun adventures over the years. I guess I'll keep her for awhile longer---maybe! 

Photos from Scotland

Well, I still can't seem to get the words lined up with the right pictures. I think you can figure it out.

The flowers were just gorgeous. I discovered the wild flower on the right while Butch and I were geo-caching. I just love the yellow and orange combination.

The knot gardens were incredible. This is what mine is supposed to look like. 

Here we all are with our driver, Ivor. This is the night we took him to dinner with us. He introduced us to haggis (the blood, guts and oatmeal I mentioned).