What a day!

Wow we are getting some nasty weather from Gustav. We all thought Fay was bad but he has her beat. Our plans for the antiques flea market are cancelled but we are going to Wade's & Christina's for a Labor Day BBQ. Wade spent today cleaning out his pool, so we could all swim in it tomorrow. His pool is enclosed so as long as there is no lightening in the area, we may go for a swim. I'm bringing potato salad, soda's, hambergers and buns and probably chips. The kids are kinda broke, but Christina has never been off on labor day and wants to do a traditional BBQ so we are more than happy to help. We spent today, between raindrops, fixing Hut's truck (his brake lights and turn signals didn't work), painting the new bed we bought him, cleaning the house and doing laundry and we went to Lowe's to price fences, because we are going to fence in the yard for the dogs. Thank goodness we only have to do one side, the other two sides are already fenced. I am pooped. And now I'm waiting for Ice Road Truckers to come on, they only have 2 shows left this season. It's gonna interfere with NASCAR, which is coming on shortly too. Good thing we have 2 tv's. Everyone have a safe, happy, wonderful Labor Day!

I see this billboard everyday on my drive home from Tampa and I just think it is soooo cute. I snapped a picture yesterday on my way home driving 70 mph. I'm surprised it came out as good as it did.

Yeah it's finally the weekend and a long one to boot! No traffic for 3 whole days. Whoo Hoo! Today (Saturday) Hut and I got up and went to a few yard sales before hitting the grocery store (I hate grocery shopping). We found some good deals at the yard sales. He just moved into a private office building, meaning he is in a small building that is all his and there are no other people in it with him except his workers.(I'll have to take a picture someday to show you exactly what I mean). We found a really nice cd/radio with speakers for only $5 for his office.. Then he was wanting a headboard for his bed and we found a headboard, foot board and dressing mirror for $15. It had some flowers on it so he bought some paint so he could red0 it. (I'm sure some of you are wondering about "his" bed, I'll explain later). Plus I found some bigger clothes for really cheap. Boy did I hate buying those, but I just can't fit into my clothes anymore. I bought all shirts, would love to find some pants. Actually I would love to just fit in my own clothes. Working on it....the BIG BIKE RIDE starts Monday. I also found the cutest whimsical planter, that I call the "Chubby Chick". I paid $10 for it, but sometimes you just have to buy something you like even if it is a little steep. I am going to change the flowers that are in it because I don't like them.Isn't she just the cutest thing? Just looking at her makes me smile. You can't tell but her toe nails are painted red with white polka dots. Actually the tube around her waist is a pink flamingo (really famous here in Florida), but you can't see it for the flowers.

I had to go back and take a picture of the flamingo. Not one of my better pics, but I just love this planter.

It's a rainy nasty day here, thunder and lightening. Probably be like this all weekend. Hut and I thought about going to the movies or the mall, but may have to wait until tomorrow. Monday we were planning on going to this really awesome antiques fleamarket in Webster, but that may get rained out too. Missy wish you could go with us.

Everyone have a safe, wonderful, fun Labor Day Weekend. And Andi, get ready, get set, go.....put your fall stuff out.

I haven't forgotten you

I know I have been slacking this week with the blogs. But let me tell you, I have lost 3 hours a day at least in stupid traffic and travel time. I can't believe some people actually drive that far every day for a job. I love the location I am filling in at but no way would I ever drive this far everyday or sit in the traffic no matter how close I lived. All I could think about on the way home yesterday was how much time I was losing that I would not be able to get back. Time away from family, friends and yes, blogging. I get up at 5am every morning, take the dogs out, plug the iron in, eat breakfast, pack my lunch,feed the dogs, make sure they have bones and water, iron my uniform, speed read email, and then leave the house by 6:30, get to work at 8, work until 5 and then get home at 6:30 (if I'm lucky). By the time I get home I am exhausted from just the drive. I eat, take the dogs out, check email, maybe watch some tv, but I'm usually in bed between 8 and 9. I have had no life this week. Thank goodness it's a long weekend. I'm gonna need it. And then I have 2 days next week of this. Hopefully the new lady will work out and I can come home. At least then I'm only 7 miles from work, I carpool, so I don't have to drive (no traffic anyways), I leave the house at 6:20 and I'm home by 3 every day. I love it. Plenty of time for family and friends, and blogging. Plus my bike, which I'm sorry to say I haven't touched at all this week. I will have to make up for it this weekend. Boy I really am a whiner.....anyone got cheese to with it? I honestly don't know how you people who live with traffic on a daily basis do it. Everyone have a wonderful day!

Tampa

I am working in Tampa this week and part of next. I went from 14 miles round trip (and carpooling) to 104 miles round trip. Thank goodness I am getting mileage and overtime. But the traffic is gonna kill me. It takes 30 minutes to get 5 miles. I hit a little bit of rush hour traffic in the morning because I have to be there at 8, but I don't get off until 5 and so does everyone else. The building I am working in is beautiful. In the atrium (which is right outside my office) there is an awesome fountain. Makes you feel like your by a babbling brook. The outside is loaded with old trees, lots of them, which makes me think they meant to build with the least amount of invasion of nature that they could. Plus the airport is nearby so the planes are really cool to watch taking off. I tried to get a picture of some this afternoon but they were flying right next to the sun so the pics wouldn't come out. I'm gonna try again in the morning. Tampa is a big city on the west coast of Florida. I believe she may be the only place that didn't get any kind of weather from Fay. I am not a big fan of cities, mainly because of the traffic, so working in Tampa this week is somewhat of a challenge for me. I only have 5 days left to work there. Honestly, though, if it wasn't for the traffic and the long drive, I would probably stay there. The people there are wonderful, very friendly and they like me too :)! At least I know I can go back and fill in and visit with friends.

This is the fountain in the middle of the building. They have some tables and chairs set around it so you can enjoy it.A not so great shot of the parking lot. I just wanted to show off all the tree.

This is the traffic I have to merge into every afternoon.I managed to get in....we travel between 5 and 12 mph for about 6 miles.

And another shot of all the traffic. I don't think there are this many cars in Winter Haven at one time.

One more week....

First of all.....thanks again for letting me vent and then cheering me up with your words of encouragement. You guys are the GREATEST!!!!!!
I just wanted to remind you that you have only one more week to get in on the drawing for the small butterfly cup with goodies, by making a donation to the American Diabetes Association or by buying a bracelet. All the details are in an earlier blog or you can find the info on my side bar. Also one week from today I start my "bike" ride. I am so excited about this...however I now realize it's gonna be a loooooong slow trip as I will probably only get a few a miles a day to start. Hopefully on weekends I can "travel" a little further. I will try to "visit" everyone on my "magical" journey. Thanks again for all your words of encouragement. I love you guys.

Medicines and weigh gain

I take 10 pills a day. I take 5 at breakfast ( 3 for diabetes, 1 for iron, 1 B vitamin). I take another one at lunch for iron. Then I take 3 more at dinner ( 2 for diabetes and yet another for iron) and then one at bedtime for high blood pressure. You all know that I have been trying to exercise to take off excess weight and try to get my diabetes and blood pressure under control. Well since I've been taking these pills (about a month) I have gained almost 10 lbs. 2 of my meds have side effects that may cause weight gain. I think I have found the culprit. I was talking to my ex-mother-in-law today and we were comparing meds. She is on the same blood pressure medication I am on. The only difference is hers is also a water pill. Her doctor knew it would cause water retention. So I am going to call my doctor again tomorrow and hopefully I'll be able to talk to someone about this. I called last week and had to leave a message for the nurse but she hasn't returned my call. I thought maybe I would just wait until I went for my next visit....but now that I know I may be able to take this med without the weight gain, I am going to see if I can discuss this with the doctor. It's kinda frustrating to be pedaling my butt off and walking, but to no avail but weight gain. And I'm sorry....I'm not going to go buy new clothes that are bigger. As it stands right now....I have a closet full of clothes and only 1 pair of jeans, 3 pairs of shorts and maybe 6 shirts that I can wear comfortably. Plus I had just ordered new work uniforms in a smaller size, but now I can't even button them. Sometimes you have to wonder about modern medicine. Hopefully the doctor can remedy this pretty easily. Taking off excess weight not only means I won't have to take insulin shots for my diabetes, but if I control my weight well enough...I can more than likely get off the oral meds too. I am still exercising and planning my "bike" trip. Thanks for listening.....it makes me feel better to vent.

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE.....MY ONLY SUNSHINE

You make me happy when skies are gray.......Yeah, for the first time in 5 days we have sunshine AND blue skies. We have had some much needed rain, but we still need some sunshine in our life. Fay has finally made her departure from our neck of the woods. And I'm glad she's gone. She left alot of devistation behind on our east coast, with flooding and 6 deaths. Unfortunatley 2 of those deaths were people from northern states who thought it would be cool to go swim in the ocean with the big waves. Even the wildlife was suffering. Alligators and snakes were floating down streets and in peoples yards looking for high ground. Fay may not have had the high winds, but she moved so slow (2 mph) and dropped torrential rain at times. I hope everyone who was in her path is safe and dry. I am very thankful to see the sun again.

Bike Trip

I've decided that I very much like Gary's idea about mapping out a trip on a map with my exercise bike. Missy took it one step further and suggested I "visit" along the way. So that is what I am gonna do. I'm not going to start my trip until September 1, so that I can get a fresh start and also get a map and decided where I'm going and how I'm getting there. I think it will be fun to "visit" different places and friends. Of course I had to take a break from the bike tonight....my butt couldn't take it. So I went and walked for 2 miles. It was cool and breezy, very cloudy, but no rain. It was a great night to walk. So I did get some exercise in. I would have felt guilty if I didn't. You guys keep me on the straight and narrow. I do want some suggestions from you guys as to places I can go and I'll be sure to try and stop in and visit with some of you. I'm so excited about all this.....it's almost like I'm going on a real trip (giggle).

Another Rainy Day

It's another rainy day here, thanks to Fay. She is a stubborn old gal. We are still getting rain from some of the outerbands, but like I have been saying, we will take all the rain we can get right now. I'm sure we will have rain all night since Fay is supposed to come back across the northern part of the state and since we are smack dab in the middle we will continue to get whatever the outerbands give us. I'm gonna ride my exercise bike for awhile and then sit down with my book. Good night to do that. By the way I am on a streak with the bike. This is my 4th day of having it and it's the 4th day I've used it. I have only been doing anywhere from 15 minutes to 1/2 hour but that's more than I've been doing. Hopefully I can keep this up.

Tropical Storm Fay

Well we have survived the first tropical storm to hit our area this year. Fay never became a hurricane. She sure is slow moving though. We have had steady rain all day long and some varying winds, but nothing too bad. The day has seems just like a bad thunderstorm, but without the thunder and lightening. I'm not complaining because: #1 it's not a hurricane, #2 we need the rain and #3 we need the rain. Yeah I know, I said that twice, but we still need the rain. Fay was hovering over Lake Okeechobee this afternoon dumping much needed rain there. Thanks to everyone who expressed concern for us, I'm so thankful this turned out to basically be nothing. Hopefully we will stay that lucky for the rest of the hurricane season. Now I'm gonna go ride my "bike".

New Torture Device

I just couldn't take using my "torture device" (aka glider) anymore. I know I need to exercise, but just couldn't make myself use it. So this weekend I bought a new "torture device". Actually it's an exercise bike and I know I will use it more. I actually got on it for 30 minutes last night and got out of bed 15 minutes earlier this morning so I could ride it before work. I know I will use it because I like to read and I can actually read while I'm pedalling. That's how I survived 30 minutes last night. I have really got to do something. I got on the scale this morning and I gained 5 pounds over the weekend. I actually think it's one of my meds that's causing the weight gain. I am going to call the doctor's office tomorrow and hopefully I will be able to talk to someone about it. We have a hurricane heading this way, so I'm not sure if anyone will be in the office or if the office will be busy because people are trying to get treatment and meds before the hurricane hits. Wish me luck. And wish me luck with my exercise because no matter what caused my weight gain....I am determined to take it off. If it ever quits raining in the afternoons (not that I'm complaining because we still need alot of rain).....I will start walking again.

2 Weeks.......Just a Reminder

I just wanted to remind everyone that it is 2 weeks from today that the drawing ends for the cute little butterfly cup with goodies. In order to be in the drawing you must either make a donation to my diabetes walk in October or buy a Cure Diabetes bracelet. If you would like to make a donation to my walk, please go to the following site:(http://main.diabetes.org/goto/RebelswithaCause.

This cute little goody cup will go to one lucky winner on September 1.

If you would like to purchase a bracelet, please email me at bonniebeebadd@yahoo.com and put Bracelet in the subject line. Please let me know how many bracelets you would like and what size. I have both Adult and Youth sized. These bracelets are $3 each, but any donation you would like to make would be appreciated.

These are what the bracelets look like. They are red and say : CURE-CARE-COMMITMENT on one side and American Diabetes Association on the other. These bracelets are made of silicone. I wear 2 of them....one for myself and one for my father.

We can accept cash (suggest you not send through the mail), checks and credit cards.

To those of you who have already bought bracelets or made a donation....Thank You so much. I am still at 58% of my goal of $500 and I couldn't have gotten that far with out your support. My walk is October 11 so I still have right at 2 months to reach my goal. Thanks again for both your moral and monetary support. Together we CAN make a difference.

Saturday

Well here it is....Saturday night and what a day. We had planned to get alot done today and accomplished nothing. Hut and I went yard saleing and managed to spend $$ on things we really didn't need. Then Wade & Christina came over because Wade and Hut were going to work on our bathroom. Well it was raining pretty hard, Christina couldn't go out and get some sun and we all just decided it was to yucky a day to do anything. Then the kids decided they wanted to go shopping so of course Mom had to tag along. Hut stayed home and watched TV and played on his PS2. We ended up at the mall. I bought some earrings (one of my weaknesses) and a onesie for a future grandbaby. Let me explain. Wade & Christina are planning on being married a year from November. No babies are planned for awhile....but while we were at the mall we found one that said "My daddy's tattoos are cooler than your daddy's." My son has many tattoos. So I thought I'd better buy it now, because when a baby does come, I won't be able to find one. So it's gonna get put away for future use. I got some walking in today....which is good for me....I need the exercise. Tomorrow nothing will get done either. NASCAR is on and the kids are going to a football game. My bosses wife got me tickets to the Tampa Bay Bucs - New England Patriots game on Sunday. My family is BIG Patriots fans. Hut and I can't go....we are old farts and have to get up early on Monday to go to work and it's a night game. So we gave the tickets to Wade & Christina...they'll have a blast because she is a Bucs fan and of course Wade's for the Patriots. So the bathroom will have to wait for another day.

Jiffy Pop

How many of you remember Jiffy Pop popcorn? Remember how cool we thought it was instead of just popping popcorn in a pan? Did you know they still make Jiffy Pop? I didn't. I thought everyone did microwave now. Well, Hut found some Jiffy Pop at Walmart the other night. So we had to buy it. We actually bought two. He's already popped one. It was kinda nostalgic seeing it pop. The only thing is.....I remember popping it on a gas stove and now we have an electric flat top. It was sooooo good to eat, too. Hope you enjoyed this small trip down memory lane.....now I'm gonna go pop some popcorn.

Got some poppin' goin' on!

YUMMY!!!!!!!

Princess Update

I know it's only been two days, but I think Princess has pretty much made the adjustment. She didn't cry last night. Today she didn't go off anywhere...she stayed close to home. And when I went to put the garbage to the curb at her old house, I left the gate open and she didn't even try to come in the yard. She just stayed in the street and waited until I got done and then walked to the house with me. I think she knows her "other people" are gone and she is with us now. And she has her own bed now, so Piggy is happy too. And yes Andi....our street is fairly dead. Of course it's a dead end, but sometimes we have to watch because some people think it's the Indy 500. But we let them know it's not. We have small kids that play in the street to, so all the neighbors watch for the speed demons and set them straight. Princess thanks everyone for the kind words and says she glad she can stay in her 'hood.

Heeeeerrrrrre's Princess!!!!!!

Here's our new addition.....just kidding. Julie gave this iron door stop to us because we have black dogs.

We survived our first night. Princess cried most of it. But Julie and them were still loading their moving truck most of the night, so I just think Princess heard them. She must have done good today in the house because nothing was tore up and no messes (if you know what I mean). I really didn't expect anything but you never know. The real test was this afternoon when we got home from work. My dogs have no collars or leashes. They go out with me and stay with me. I know Princess has been out without hers too, so I thought I'd see how she's do. Well she went running down the street like she always did when she was let out. She went into the grove we have close by that is all grown up and I couldn't see her. But she came as soon as I called her. Then she thought she'd see what I would do when she walked past the house the other way. I just stood there and told her no....so she turned around and came back. She went right into the house. Then Hut and I went out to mow the grass, trim and plant some plants Julie gave us before she left. The dogs went out with us. Max and Miss Piggy stayed at the edge of the yard because they don't like the lawn mower. Princess went for another walk down the street. I think she is just making sure no one lives in her old house. It started to rain....hard.....and she came right back to the house. I think she is gonna be just fine. And I think she will be fine tonight. She has even claimed Miss Piggy's bed for her own. We'll just have to do something about that because it's not fair to Miss Piggy. All in all....I think this adoption is going to be a success.

Everyone......meet Princess. She's a little wet from the rain. And as you can see....she is on Miss Piggy's bed.

And here's Miss Piggy......she is NOT happy that Princess is on her bed. You can tell she was caught in the rain too.
Max at the door......he wasn't about to get wet. He won't even cross wet grass in the morning....I have to pick him up and carry him to the street or he won't go potty. My dogs are NOT spoiled.

Old Neighbors......New Dog

Our neighbors are moving. They have been our neighbors for close to 16 years. They are moving to Washington State. James, Julie and Katie. We are really going to miss them. You couldn't ask for better neighbors. We haven't met the new neighbors yet, but Julie has assured us that they are good people. Only time will tell. Julie has 2 dogs, Princess who is an old lab/chow mix and Peanut who is a Boston Terrier (I think). We are getting Princess. She is going to be our "new" dog. I want to say that Princess is probably close to 10 years old. But she is a good old dog and knows us and our dogs so hopefully she will be able to adapt well. Tonight is her first night with us. Julie said if she found a place to live and could fly Princess out, then she will let us know. I think by the time that happens, Princess will be settled in with us and should stay with us. We'll see. I'll have to take some pics and keep you up on her progress. My husband is happy because we now have a dog that walks the same speed he does......slow. James, Julie and Katie....have a safe trip. You will be greatly missed. And Princess....welcome home.

I'm baaaaack....sort of

Thank you all sooooooooo much for your well wishes. I am feeling alot better today even though I am not 100%. I have been so out of it for the past 2 days. Even Missy has been trying to call and I couldn't talk without coughing up a lung so I didn't even answer. But I called her today and we talked for about 1/2 hour ( between coughs and noseblowing). I believe I am beyond the contagious stage so I will be going back to work tomorrow. And hopefully I'll be well enough to go the the water exercise class. I didn't make it last week because I was trying to get prescriptions filled and missed the class. Trust me I'm not going to overdue anything because I hate being sick. Especially in the summer. Plus I have to get better and start concentrating on my diabetes walk which is exactly 2 months from today. October 11. Everyone have a good night and I'll be seeing you all tomorrow.

Sick People Should Stay Home

Here I am finally trying to eat right and exercise and I get sick. I am sick because my boss (who is salaried and can stay home when he's sick) won't stay home when he's sick because he thinks the place can't run without him. So now I'm sick and I can't afford to take days off because I don't get sick days. I know that your job doesn't want you to take sick days, but if you're really sick, STAY HOME! We don't want whatever you have. But no. You come to work sick so you can save your sick days for those beatiful days when you just don't feel like coming to work. No wonder companies don't give sick days anymore. I won't be staying home.....I need my 40 hours. My boss, on the other hand, should have stayed home until he knew he wasn't contagious. There are 3 of us who work in that office together, so I know Bill (my co-worker) is probably gonna get it too. And he won't stay home either because he needs his 40 hours. So Sick People, please stay home. Take pity on those of us who can't.

Olive Garden then exercise

Yummy, yum, yum. Doesn't this just make your mouth water?!

My husband has been talking about going to Olive Garden for weeks to try a shrimp dish he saw on a commercial. My husband would NEVER go to Olive Garden because he's not into Italian food. Well tonight I treated him ( and he's decided Olive Garden is pretty good). We both got the garlic shrimp pasta (not sure what is was called on the menu). It was delicious. It was angel hair pasta with grilled shrimp, red peppers and zucchini. I want to say the sauce was alfredo, but I'm not so sure. And we never get dessert, but I was really bad and ordered a lemon creme cake. It was white cake with lemon creme filling and vanilla cake crumbs on top, yummy! Now don't you all start getting on to my because of my diabetes, I only had a couple of bites and made Hut eat the rest. Plus I only had 1/2 my meal because pasta is a no no too. I look at this as my final "bad" meal as I embark on better eating habits and exercise. When I finish this blog, it's on to the torture device.....my glider. It's too hot to walk tonight so I decided the glider was going to get a work out. I haven't used it in about 2 months. Hut has promised to go to the walking trail with me when I do go because I've had a couple of incidents with low blood sugars since I started on the meds and I don't want to be exercising somewhere and pass out. So to all my cheerleaders out there.......as of 7:00 pm est I am officially taking care of myself. Have a great night.....I'm off to the torture device.

Hut with his garlic shrimp pasta.

Yummy! Oh I forgot to take a picture of the lemon cake....it was really yummy!!

Rude Awakening

Well I had another Dr's visit today. Not good. Actually terrible. I thought I was doing really good with my sugar (since the highest it had been since I was on the 2 meds was 131). Not so. The doctor wants it at 100 or below(but not lower than 80). The Dr says I'm severely diabetic. He was going to put me on insulin shots(something I REALLY want to avoid). He put me on a third oral med and said if there wasn't a significant difference next month, then I will have to start taking insulin shots. That also means I have to get off my fat butt and start exercising. I was doing fairly well with that and then the last 2 months I just haven't done anything and my weight has ballooned back up over 200 lbs(that's right, I'm not embarrassed to mention my weight or my age which is 47 by the way). I also have hypertension so I am now on blood pressure medication. Plus I'm extremely anemic and have a b-12 deficeincy. It would probably have been easier for me to tell you what I don't have wrong with me LOL. So now I am on a total of 6 meds. That's just too many. So I am trying to get the right mindset to help myself get off most if not all of them. And trust me, it ain't cheap for all these meds, either. I have really good insurance (thank you, Hut), but my meds still run over $200 a month. Made me think about all these older people who are on Social Security and fixed incomes. I don't know how they do it. Actually I do have kinda an idea. When my parents were alive, I found out my parents were only taking 1/2 of their doses or skipping months here and there because they couldn't afford their meds. When I found out, I got with my younger sister and one of my brothers and we all took turns getting their meds. My parents were too proud to ask for help. My younger sister got the needles for my dad's insulin every month. My brother Jimmy and I would pay for insulin and other prescriptions. It wasn't cheap because they didn't have insurance. Sometimes I thought if I could find a crooked Dr. I would have had the prescriptions put in my name so they'd be cheaper. And you wonder why people commit insurance fraud. People cannot afford meds even with insurance. This country really needs to wake up and take care of it's own citizens and to hell with the rest of the world. (Sorry, had to get that off my chest). Thanks for letting me rant and rave about my problems. I don't want any sympathy, I just needed to bend a few ears.

Blogging Buddies

I am so thrilled that I started blogging. I have made some really wonderful friends through blogging. I have the above pic on my blog page with my 5 blogging buds......Andi, Cecile, Jilly, Missy and Trina. I loved the picture when I saw it and wanted to make it special, so I named all the women after my buds. Of course, not to offend the men folk I blog with and about.....I am in search of an equally cool pic for the men. Missy had been after me for awhile to blog and I kept putting it off. I wish I had done it sooner. I really treasure the friends I've made blogging. And I just recently found out that my oldest sister has been reading it and for some reason hasn't even commented. My younger sis reads it too, but she'd rather email. I have found out so many new things blogging and found out I'm not the only one that feels certain ways about certain things. Thank you guys so much for being part of my "Blogging Nation" (as my husband likes to call it). And for those of you who read it, but don't comment.....I say "come one down" and become the newest member. You can NEVER have too many friends.

Saturday in St. Cloud

We went to St. Cloud to visit Wade and Christina. Was hoping to see Scott too, but he was on his way to Ocala to see his grandparents. It was a good day as far as visiting went, but I was sick. Like a fool, I postponed eating breakfast and taking my meds until we got to St. Cloud (thought we might all go out to eat). Well we met Wade at his friend Tony's house and ended up staying a couple of hours. Now I was really tempting fate. My sugar dropped and I got shaky and light headed. We finally got something to eat at a great little restaurant on New York Ave. called "The Other Place". But once I have low sugar, I just don't feel good for the rest of the day. We actually got home about 5:30pm and I went straight to bed and didn't get up until 7:30 am. Trust me, I will never do that again.

We did have a pretty go visit though. We went to downtown St. Cloud, which has some fantatstic antique stores and specialty shops. I'm not a big fan of Dollhouses, but there is a shop there that had everything you could possibly want to build a dollhouse and decorate it. I don't remember the name of it, but it's the only one and it's on New York Ave. New York Ave has most of the shops but all of downtown St. Cloud is wonderful (Winter Haven, you should take note). From there we headed over to the flea market and walked around for an hour or so. Not one of the better days there. Alot of empty booths, but hey it's summer in Florida, wait til the snowbirds get back. But it gave us lots of visiting time with Wade and Christina. We had planned to stay for dinner but we'll take a rain check on that. We always enjoy spending time with Christina and Wade (and Scott, when he's around). My boss thinks it's highly unusual that my kids like to do things with us. He says most kids don't. I always enjoyed doing things with my parents and in-laws. Are we different? I hope not. But even if we are...I'm glad my family is close.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!

My father passed away in 2001. Today he would have been 78 years old. My Dad was a wonderful man. He was a great father to all his children and just an all round great guy. He never met a person who wasn't his friend. I like to think I take after him in that aspect. My father worked 3 jobs so that my mother could stay home and raise the children. If anyone needed help with anything, my father was there. I can't tell you how many relatives he moved ( to 3rd floor tenements even). I was somewhat close to my Mom but I was even closer to my Dad. I really miss him. And once again, the computer won't let me scan pictures in to share. I will, someday, manage to share photos of my wonderful parents with you all. Happy Birthday, Dad. You are loved and very much missed.