After Stroke Question

Most of you know my husband suffered a stroke back in August. I am thrilled to say that he is almost 100% after only 2 months. I am back to work and hopefully next week he will get the OK to go back. I won't go into any details of his stroke or his recovery for the past two months. I will say one thing though, his symptoms were not what are always posted for tell tale signs. If you aren't sure, just take them to the hospital.

With that said, I know a few of you have been through some hard times also with spouses and family members. So I have a question to ask. Once your spouse or family member was able to take care of themselves, did you feel let down? I spent two months, 24/7 with my husband. I am very thrilled that he is fine. And I was glad to get back to work although leaving my husband home alone with just the dogs cause me alot of concern since there would be no one to call 911 in case something happened. But even being back at work, I just feel.....well....not myself. I guess the best way to explain is....Christmas. All the hype, busy ness, buying, wrapping, festivals, events. Then Christmas morning after the presents are all opened....I just feel....let down. There's nothing left for me to do. I have no purpose. Well maybe not that bad. But I just don't feel like I'm doing enough or something. Almost like I'm depressed???? Even though I'm relieved at the outcome, I'm not really happy. Does that make sense? It is so hard to describe how I'm feeling. Did any of you ever have "strange" feelings after going through a particularly difficult time in your life? You don't have to go into anything specific....I just want to know that I'm not alone with my feelings.

Feeling Fall

Even though it is still hotter than the dickens (102 yesterday) and we don't really have a fall season I can still feel it coming around this time every year.

I don't know if it's the New England in my blood or what, but for some reason by the middle of August, even in the heat, I can just feel the stirrings of autumn. I get ansy for the craft shows and holiday events that will soon be here.

I know those of you who live in the parts of the country that actually have seasons can probably actually feel the change in the air. Am I the only one in the heat zone that can tell?

We have at least another month and 1/2 of miserable heat before we start cooling off. Please send some fall freshness our way.

Wade & Diana's New House

Took me long enough I know,lol. Back in May Wade and Diana finally signed papers on a house. It was built in either 1925 or 1929. I can never remember. The person they bought it from has really kept it up to date. It was totally renovated and is up to code on everything.
This is Layla sitting in their front yard. These pictures were taken when they were moving in. I will try to get some more recent pictures and post them later.

This is the door that leads to their cute little Florida room.

This is the Florida room. Trust me all the stuff is gone and it's much bigger than it looks, lol.

This is the front door leading into the living room from the Florida room. Hard to see but it has a glass door knob. All the doors in the house have old glass door knobs and they all lock with skeleton keys. And yes they all have the skeleton keys.

The fireplace in the living room. It now has a BIG tv hanging over it. But it's such a beautiful fireplace.

This is the dining room. These pictures really don't do this house justice. The rooms are a whole lot bigger than they look. Don't you just love the hard wood floors? And the previous owner even left his aquarium for them.

This is the main bathroom between 2 of the bedrooms. Don't you just love the shower curtain and rug? Diana's grandmother bought those for her.

This is the girls room. Much different looking now. It has a bunkbed in it to give the girls more room. I will definitely have to take more pictures.

Wade & Diana's room right across from the girls room.

When you walk into the kitchen this is to your right. I LOVE those glass front cabinets.

To the left has you walk in. They have since moved the fridge and are going to take the shelves out to move the stove over that end.

This is as you walk into the kitchen. I love this old sink. Deep on one side, shallow on the other. And it's porcelain. The window at one time looked over the back yard. Now it looks into the office/spare bedroom.

A shot from the kitchen through the dining room and living room. You can see Grampy silhoutted in the background.

This is the office/spare room. It now has a bed in it along with the desk and a dresser.

The extra bathroom off the office/spare room. It has a shower, sink and toilet.

This is the laundry room. It's right off the second bathroom. It also leads out to the backyard. It's actually a pretty good size.

My favorite picture of the new house. Rossi thinks it's a play house. Layla decided to join her.

I hope you enjoyed this quick look at the "new" house. I will definitely work on getting some more up to date photos next time I've over there.

RIP VICKI

This is my beautiful friend, Vicki. She passed away yesterday after a horrific, one car accident. Vicki was driving home from a 2nd job at 2:30 am and fell asleep at the wheel of her car. Her car veered off the road and hit a tree. Unfortunately, Vicki was not wearing her seat belt. She was 41 and has 2 teenage children.

She was full of life and love. Always smiling, joking, having kind words for everyone. Always had a spring in her step and she was willing to help anyone with anything they needed if she had the means. She worked alot helping people with their insurance claims. One story that comes to mind was when she went to help a gentleman settle a claim after his wife passed away. He was very depressed and the whole time she was there he kept telling her he needed to show her something. Well he finally just went into the bedroom and came out with a gun. Vicki just kept her calm and gently removed the gun from the man's hands. He did not bring the gun out to harm Vicki. I believe he was silent asking for help because he did not know what to do without his wife and I truly believe that if Vicki had not been there, the man may have killed himself. Vicki got the man the help he needed.

She was truly a gifted person and will be missed by many. God has another angel in heaven. Please keep her family in your prayers.

Stop and give your loved ones a hug and let them know how much they mean to you and how much you love them.

AREA 51

This book is not what I was expecting. When you hear Area 51 you think "aliens". At least I do.
And actually the very beginning of the book mentions the Roswell incident, I guess to capture your attention. However a wrench is thrown into the equation. I won't mention what it is, in case you would like to read this book. This book is actually historical "fact" based on de-classified government information. It amazes me the experimentation our goverment has been doing since the 1950's in an area they still claim doesn't exist. It's a history book about the CIA, FBI, Air Force, various private companies working together on projects that even today, if you don't have a need to know, you don't know. And it's very disturbing to learn exactly what our government was doing and are still doing and the public really has no idea. The end of the book is most disturbing, learning what kind of experiments our government did on it's own citizens without anyones knowledge. I have to say that I am skeptical of some parts of this book, although, once reading it, some theories make perfect sense. I probably have you all confused by now, but if you love history, science fiction and mysteries, this book definitely covers all three. And there is alot of technical terms which I did not care for, as it made some of it confusing for me, since I am just a layman. I do highly recommend reading it. It will definitely make you look at our government in a totally different light.

Just a few thoughts

First of all I want to wish my mom a Happy 81st Birthday. That is how old she would have been if she were still with us. She has been gone for 8 years and I miss her very much.

My DIL Diana has started a food blog. It's called Chasing Flavour. The link is Chasingflavour.wordpress.com. She did her first post yesterday and she is very witty. And I can guarantee you the food will make your mouth water.

I totally suck at trying to lose weight. Those of you who have followed me for years know this, lol. I did really good on the Visalus Shakes while I was on that diet. However I seem to lose interest in everything I try. I lost 10 lbs on the shake diet only to gain 14 back. I know I can't do dieting alone and that is kind of a cop out. But I really think if I had someone to hold my hand while I'm trying to lose it would help me. I love my husband but he really is no help. And I really need to take at least 20 lbs off even though I would love to take 50 off. I would not only feel better but my health would be better also. My sugars are creeping back up and it's scaring me, but not enough to take control. Pretty sad, huh.

One day I will do a blog about Wade and Diana's new house. They moved in in May. I have taken pictures and posted on FB but not in a blog. I am so proud of them. I am also proud of Liz and Scott. They have not purchased a home yet but they finally were able to move into a place of their own. I know they are enjoying being on their own, being able to do their own thing. So yay for all my kids.

Layla starts pre-K in a few weeks. This is going to be a hard transition for Diana I believe. It's hard to believe Layla is growing up so fast. I'll have to get some current pics and get them posted.

Hut and I are starting to get the house somewhat organized since the kids are now all out and they have taken quite a few things with them. I'm hoping to get rid of a few more pieces of furniture by giving it to Wade and Diana. Once the clutter is gone, I'm sure I'll feel better about my house, lol.

Lots of changes going on every day. So what's going on in your part of the world?

Not So Random Venting

I would have loved to share photos from Layla's homecoming with you, but none were taken. Layla's Grammy had to make everything about her and just totally ruined the mood for everyone. She kept saying that it was her idea to have a party for Layla coming home and she didn't understand why me and Grampy were doing everything. It was actually Grampy and Aunt Jessie's idea to have a party. And as far as us doing everything...I made some Cap'n Crunch chicken and Diana's favorite cookies and had Publix make a sandwich tray. I did spend Saturday night at Wade and Diana's so that Rossi wouldn't have to endure a 4 hour car trip.

I really try hard to get along with everyone. I have finally given up on Becky after this weekend. I have bitten my tongue so much that it's hanging by a string. I feel sorry for her children. I don't know many parents who will give things to their kids and then expect them to return them when they are done with them. I only expect my kids to hang on to family heirlooms. I don't care what Becky gives her kids, if they don't want it anymore she wants it back. When I give anything to my kids....don't give it back to me. Throw it out, give it to your friends, sell it at a yard sale. Not Becky, you will not throw it or give it away. If you choose to sell it you better be prepared to give her the money for it.

I don't know why I let this woman get under my skin except that she says nothing to me and Hut to our faces. She takes everything out on her kids. And nothing is ever her fault. She makes her kids choose between her and their father. If they speak to their father and she finds out, all hell breaks loose.

I have prayed and prayed about how I feel about Becky. The Lord put His arm around my shoulder and His hand over my mouth. However, I believe He knew I needed to vent and that my friends would understand a let me. So here is where I am doing my venting. I appreciate each and everyone of you and don't really expect any comments. Just pray for me that I don't finally lose it and put this woman in her place. The last thing I want to do is cause any more issues for my daughter in law. But also know that I will continue to go to family events, I don't care WHOSE idea they are, if to be nothing than a thorn in her side.

Okay now I feel better. Thank you again for letting me vent and being the great friends that you are.