Hidden Meaning?

I just finished watching the ending to a favorite show of mine. It was "Prison Break." That I have been addicted to it for 4 years now. And I truly did not want it to end! But alas it seems that all of the best shows seem to be taken off of the air. Which leaves us with the less desirable ones. Of course I will not go on a tyrant about which ones I am referring to. :0) But am sure you all get my drift!

Anyway, the way this show ended just had me a bawling like a newborn baby. The one thing though that got me was the song that was playing at the end. It was like it spoke to me! Now JP, do not go freaking out on me! LOL There was just something about that song that seemed to connect to my heart. Not sure what, but I was bound and determined that I was gonna find out who sang it! Well, by golly I did!!!! And now here it is on my playlist at the bottom of my blog. Seems the group is called "Spiritualized!" Hmm, pretty fitting name if you were to ask me. Seeing how I felt that this song was calling out to me and all. Don't ya think? Oh well, I also, looked up the lyrics to it and posted them here for you all to read.

Now the one thing I am still trying my best to figure out is the following. What exactly is this song trying to tell me! Or is my imagination just running wild? Of course I have always been told that usually when I get to feeling this way I am almost 90% of the time correct about my gut feelings. So guess I will have to wait and see what is going to come of it! What ever its' hidden meaning is I will let you know as soon as I find out. Till then here is hoping you enjoy it as much as I do. Cause for me it truly is a beautifully well written and sung song!

LAY IT DOWN SLOW

"if you got dreams in your heart

why don't you share them with me?

and if dreams don't come true

i'll make sure that you're nightmares

are through

if you got pain in your heart

why don't you share it with me?

and we'll just wait and see

if it's happened what it used to be

and lay it down slow

lay it down free

lay it down easy

but lay it on me

if you've got love in your heart

why don't you keep it with mine?

i can't promise a miracle

but i'll always be trying

and lay it down slow

lay it down free

lay it down easy

but lay it on me

lay it down easy

lay it on me

lay it down easy

but lay it on me"

Hee Haw

Meet "Fuzzy" and his Mom! That he was born on Easter Day. Is he not just as beautiful as can be? That of course he is a donkey and lives just across the street from me. Which is just wonderful. Though I wish that they both belong to me. Why? Cause I grew up on a farm with lots of animals. Mostly cows. But I did have some horses. Yet my sister who lived next door had her share of pigs, goats, and of course chickens! LOL Now we all had dogs and cats too! Still I miss living on a farm....

Anyway, Fuzzy, sure is a growing fast and is quite the little rascal. I have been watching him each and everyday. He sure does love to kick up his heels! Plus he does follow his Mom everywhere she goes. I noticed the last few days that anytime she lays down he also does. Plus when she rolls over into the dirt, he waits for her to finish. Then next thing ya know there he goes doing the same thing as she has done! Yep, it is funny how they observe what there Mom does and learn from it. I guess like we do!

The fun part about having him and his Mom across from me is that I get to go over there and feed them. Plus pet them and all! That this is one of my favorite things to do during the day. Also, there are quite alot of other horses over there too! You see there are Shetland ponies, more donkeys, and of course the really big horses too! Unfortunately there is no cows! Oh well, at least there are rabbits and lots of birds! Oh yeah, owls too!

Still though I just love looking out of my windows and seeing what Fuzzy is going to do next each day. Cause he sure does keep me laughing. Before long he will be grown and his Mom will more than likely have a sibling for him to play with one day. I know I can not wait for that day to come. Just think when it does happen I will need to name it to!

Enjoy the pictures and know that I am smiling everytime I wash my dishes. Cause I am looking at something beautiful and wonderful! Have a beautiful day everyone.

Myrtle Beach Getaway

Alright, I am back from our little getaway. Though it was short it sure was enjoyable! Mike and I truly did have a great time and was what you would call lazy! Matter of fact we only went into two different stores shopping! Can you believe that??? Yep, seems that neither one of us was inclined to go shopping or even window looking this time. Wander if it is because we were just plain tired or just was not interested in spending any money? Who knows!!!!

I do know though that we had wonderful weather. The sun shined brightly everyday except for the day we headed home! Plus it only rained on and off one night! WOOHOO!!!! That we mostly just layed around out by the table and got plenty of sun. We caught up on some reading and card game playing too. And oh yes, Mike did enough eating for the two of us! Seems everytime I turned around he was getting a hold of something or another to wolf down! :0) As for me I just mostly drank lots of Cranergy and water. Plus rested out in the sun and got into the pool alot. Oh before I forget, we did get into the hot tub too! Talk about soaking your problems away! Now that there does the trick everytime.

The ocean was beautiful to look at and to hear. We were blessed with warm days and very nice and calm breezes too. Mike's Mom and step-dad were there too. They had their own room. Seems his Mom just loves it when we go down at the same time as them. Guess you could say his Mom really likes for me to get her a table early in the morning. That way she can sort of sleep in. Now early in the morning here is like before 6:00 AM!!! Yep, I am not kidding. Seems that the folks up North (no joking) are truly serious about getting a table early! So every morning I am up by 5:00 Am to get us our tables! :0) And let me tell ya I am very good at it! Been doing it now for going on 10 years~~~ Guess I will keep doing it until the day I die! LOL

Oh well, the only thing left to say is that this trip sure was fun. Mike had all of the Krispy Kreme "Hot Now" donuts you can ever imagine. And I even had a few! Boy were they ever so fresh, gooey and hot! :0) That if any of you ever get to Myrtle Beach, maybe you might like to stay where we did. It is called the Dayton House. They have a web-site of their own which I have listed here for you all. (http://www.daytonhouse.com/) So check it out. Till later, enjoy the day and take care. And I hope you like the pictures!

Love, Annette (Nana Net)

Good Food, Friends & A Movie

Last night we decided that we would invite our friend Pam to come ove and have dinner with us. Well we also made sure to tell her to bring her two adult kids Kris & Jason too! That we were gonna have a big old pot of Spagetti., along with the fixings of salad and garlic bread. Needless to say she wanted to bring the salad and garlic bread. So we said Okay to that. During the conversation we asked if they had seen the movie "Marley & Me." To which she said "No," none of them had seen it yet. Luckily I had bought it a couple of weeks earlier, but had not had a chance to watch it yet. So we all decided to make it dinner and a movie night!
Now everything was planned and Mike sprung into action. Lord bless him. He truly loves to make him specila Spagetti sauce. Seems his is a little more spicier than mine!

Anyway, about 6:00 PM everyone showed up and we got ready to eat. Of course dinner centered around Jason starting his new job on Monday. Which we were glad to hear about. And of course about Kris's latest flying escapedes. She is an airline stewardess! After dinner we got the dishes done and proceeded to get all comfy on the sofa and watch the movie. Now of course I had heard that the movie might be sad. But that did not stop me from watching it. All I knew was that I just loved the previews to it and the dog was just beautiful! LOL

So here we go with the previews of other movies. Now Pam of course wanted us to skip over them! yet she lost out on that battle. I mean hey we might see something good to either go buy or rent for another night of movie watching! So after we got through those the movie started. The music started and of course Pam & Kris wanted to talk some! UGH!!!! We had to give them that look of "Hey, be quiet now!" LOL Seems they were trying to figure out who this person was and what other movie they had played in before. Finally we got them quieted down.

Now the movie was "TERRIFIC!" Everything about it was! I really cannot tell you everything about it all. Just that it will have you laughing and of course crying too! As for letting children under the age of say 9 watch it I am not too sure about. Think you would have to read the reviews on it yourself to make that decision. Let me just say that between all of the popcorn we ate, the laughter we laughed, and the tears we cried. This movie is one that I am so grateful that I bought for my collection! It is also one that I highly recommend that everyone watch. Especially if you are an animal lover like me! There was one part of the movie that reminded me of my Chow named Widget and what we went through with him.

Just know that we definetly will start doing this on a permanent basis. It was such much fun and a good time was had by us all! The next movie I bought for us to watch is called "Hotel for Dogs!" Yes, I know seems I am on a roll with movies about dogs. Plus I have already seen "Beverly Hills Chihuaua!" So everyone if you want to invite your friends and family over for a fun-filled night that is not expensive and is enjoyable. Then why not do dinner and a movie?

Oh by the way in 2 more days I am heading out for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. So I guess I best get busy finishing up my laundry, packing, and everything else I need to do. Till later have a blessed day and enjoy your week and weekend. Will post more when I get back at the end of next week. Take care.

Nana Net (Annette)

Climb

Morning everyone. Hope your day is going good. Mine is great! It is the final week of college and tis what I call the week of stress!! Yep, FINALS all week. So wish me luck! LOL

As for the title of my blog it pretty well is about me climbing over some mountains in my life these past couple of years. That the past few days I have been reflecting back on some things. Seems that the warm weather has caught me in a kind of mood that sets my mind to wandering. Plus with the final week of school I sure do need an escape from it all too. And I sure do not need for my mind to be down and out while I am off at the beach! Ya know it is only 5 days until we leave!!!! YEAHHHHH

Anyway, my late Moms' birthday is coming up on the 10th of May. Plus that day is Mothers' day, as well as my niece Christy's birthday too! And also the day that my grandson Carson is having his birthday party! Whew, so much happening in just one day. Well it got me to thinking about past Mother Days, birthdays and all. More so the last two years that have gone by. I truly do miss my Mom. I wish she could have been here for the birth of my first grandchild. Lord I know she would have been right here by my side when he was born. Cause she never ever missed the birth of any of her grandchildren, nor great-grandchildren while she was alive! It was just something that she took great joy in attending. That she truly was an awesome lady. And something that I hope and pray that I can follow in her footsteps and be also. I just wish that I could of learned more things from her. :0( But alas the good Lord needed her more than I did. Plus I truly did not want her to suffer anymore from the Alzheimer's. It is a disease that I do not wish on anyone. To me I honestly believe it is worse than any other type out there.

For me the song that is playing on my playlist is one that talks about how life always seems to put mountains or roadblocks in front of you! And that you have got to learn how to go through them, somehow or someway! For me these last couple of years it appears that is all that has happened to me everytime I have turned around! But yet I have some how managed to get through them. Though I must admit I just about gave up! More so when I lost my Mom, and my brother-in-law 5 months later. Seems that the saying that death comes in 3's is oh so true! Still though I refuse to give up. Guess you could say it is because I feel as if so many people in my family do depend on me. Maybe because they are always checking in on me and looking for me. Plus asking me to help them alot! Examples would be my nephews up here always needing me to help them with their little ones (babies). That since their Dad's death they have looked at Mike and me as their children's grandparents! "0) Which for us is a blessing! Cause Lord knows we do love kids. Plus we love watching them grow and seeing them learn all kinds of new things! It amazes me how quickly they seem to grow each and everytime we see them! Especially when we see our grandson, Carson. My mind gets blown away when I hear him talk on the phone with us! He is such a trip! Plus his Mom is teaching him how to do sign language! Not bad for one who will turn two next month! Last time I seen him he was signing and I was like what is he saying. His Mom was telling me what he said , when I said Lord I need to take a class on this! LOL Cause if he can do it, then I can. So like the song "Climb" there is that mountain that I have got to get through. Because I know it is not going to move out of my way. And I surely can not move it on my own!

Now know that in 5 days I will be heading out on my trip to the beach to soak up the sun. And also to get me some much needed Vitamin D from the rays of the sun too! :0) Believe me I am counting it all down and can not wait to be on the road again! I know that Mike is excited too. Just not sure if he is as much as I am. LOL Oh well enjoy the beautiful weather, and get outside too. Will post more before I leave. TaTa

Work, Work, Work

Morning all! Decided I would back track a little. In my last post I mentioned how my sons truck was messing up! Well he had brought it home for his Dad to work on it. That is to try and figure out where the leak was coming from. So off to the shop Mike went to meet Duane to have a look see. Needless to say after about 5 hours of messing around with it they finally found out what was going on. It appeared that the problem was coming from either the head gasket or a freeze plug! Now of course this meant spending a lot of money on his 19 year old truck. Which in our opinion really was not an expense worth spending at the present time. Plus the fact that his truck had over 250,000 miles on it! Not bad for Duane's' first truck (automobile) and also that we had gotten more than our money's worth out of it. And that it was a Chevy too boot! LOL

Anyway, while he was here Mike and him went ahead and did a complete tune-up, oil change, rotated the tires, and even washed it! WOOHOO.... All in all it was a great day and one well spent with our son. More so seeing how we are not able to spend lots of time with him. The down side was that he was not able to bring his wife Jennifer, nor his son (my grandson) Carson with him. That with them living about 3 hours away and his always working with his own business makes it hard for him/them to get away. Plus Mike having his own business to makes it hard for us to escape also! So we will take whatever time we can get and make the most out of it!

Now to update you. Five days after this was done the clutch went out in his truck at 4:30 in the morning on his way to work! UGH!!!! Bless his heart. But seems that the old Chevy just bite the dust. But not to worry the next day he bought him another truck. This time a newer model and a four wheel drive too! So hopefully this one will last just as long!!!!! As for the Chevy.....well it is now in junk yard heaven!!!!! Yep, he and a friend towed it there after some other problems crept up while trying to load it onto the tow truck! All in all Duane said he is so glad that we all did not spend the extra money to fix the leak after all. As for me I have to agree with him!

UGHHHHHHH

UGHHHHH..... Well it has been a while! Seems my computer caught a nasty virus to start with. That I tried my hardest to get rid of it on my own. And with no such luck! So on the telephone I go. Now the fun part was the other person on the other end of the line telling me they would send me an e-mail explain step-by-step what I was to do to get rid of it! Yeah right!!!!! Supposedly I got rid of it. But then low and behold it popped back up! Now mind ya, I have been on-line for over 13 years and never (knock on wood) had a virus before on my computer! Seems this one was stubborn. So I called them again. Well they got into my computer and let me just say the dang gum thing is GONE!!!!!!! Knock on wood to be safe..............

Of course that is not all that has kept me off line. That I have been sick too thanks to old man winter. It appears that he/she will just not leave me alone either! It started out two weeks ago with just feeling yucky. Then the coughing real bad. Next the yucky stuff coming up. So off to the Doctor I went. Appears I got me a bad case of "Bronchitis!" UGH!!!! Well my Doctor put me on a real strong antibiotic, a nasal spray, and told me to go buy a real good Vitamin C tablet to start taking. That my lungs are doing great just a lot of rattling going on. But other than that, hopefully I will be new again soon! He (my Dr.) says it is just going to take time for my body and lungs to heal from the surgery longer than they thought. Must be cause my immune system is weak. Plus I am a little screwed up too! LOL

But wait there is more....LOL Never dull around here! That my son came down to visit the other week too. That his 19 year old truck was about to bite the dust! Yep, it kept leaking this stuff out underneath it and it was not from the radiator we found out! Thank goodness my hubby is a mechanic! Nope, it seems the freeze plug or head gasket is about to blow up in it! Well his truck has over 200,000 miles on it! Needless to say, we fixed it the best we could and he went back home. But called Friday night to let us know the clutch went out in it at 4:30 that morning on his way to work! :0(
So Saturday, he and his wife was out looking for him a new ride as well as us! Luckily, he found him a used truck. And got a great deal on it! Thank goodness. Yet, his cousin (our nephew) called to tell us his clutch went out in his truck as well! UGH!!!
Seems now we have another truck to fix! That Joshua's can be fixed! LOL

Like I said it is never dull around here. And I sure do not have time to be sick! Believe me I am counting down the days till we leave for the Oceanside! Which is now only 12 more days. Lord knows I need to soak me up some sun and fresh air. Plus turn off my cell phone! Oh no, I can not do that there might be a true emergency! LOL I better leave it on just in case and screen my calls! :0)

So there ya have it. This is what has been going on in my little world. I will say that Easter was lovely. And I hope you all had a lovely one too. Take care. Blessings to each and everyone of you! Ta Ta

Kaden's First Birthday

Yes, I know it has been a week since I have blogged...Shame on me. But I have been so busy that time just got away from me!!! That this past Saturday was my great-nephews first birthday! His Mom and Dad (my nephew & his wife) decided that they wanted to have his Birthday party at my house. They said it was because my house was bigger than theirs. I think it was cause they wanted me to help clean up the mess!!! LOL Anyway, my Saturday started out with the phone ringing off the hook. That is both phones!!!! Seems that they waited untill the last minute to get everything together. Lord will these young chaps in their twenties never learn????

About 2 hours before the party was to start the rain started coming down. :-( And of course here came Josh & Lauren with the stuff for the party. Now they had forgot some items. You know the goodies for the treat bags that the little kids get for attending the party, etc. So off to the store I go to finish getting these things. Next it was my cell phone ringing asking me to pick up some bags of ice! Well I asked them was there anything else they forgot! LOL To which they replied "NO!" Whew, thank goodness. I finally got home with just 45 minutes to spare. Now I needed to get ready myself for this party!

Needless to say everyone started showing up and the rain still kept coming down. But hey, I do have a pretty good size house to hold them all in! So inside we all were. Now the men were out in the garage doing the cooking on the grill. The kids were ...well being kids! :-) Let me just say a great time was had by all. The food was tasty, and the best part was the expressions on Kadens face at his cake and presents. More so over his love for his Sock Monkey!

By the way, the pictures towards the end are of Kaden, his Dad Josh, his Uncle Nathan, and his cousin Kaydence. Who happens to be just 4 months younger than him! And can you believe they weigh exactly the same? Plus there is one of Sugar in there with them too with her cast on. Which by the way we got the cast off of her leg yesterday!!!!!! WOO HOO........

Here is to my great-nephew's first birthday and for many more to come. Hope you all enjoy the slide show!

A Good Laugh

Happy Spring everyone! I recieved this in an e-mail and thought I would share it! Talk about laughing until my sides hurt.... Well this here will do it for you. So please enjoy it! And do enjoy this first day of Spring.


To Be 6 Again...

A man was sitting on the edge of the bed, observing his wife, looking at herself in the mirror. Since her birthday was not far off he asked what she'd like to have for her Birthday. 'I'd like to be six again,' she replied, still looking in the mirror.

On the morning of her Birthday, he arose early, made her a nice big bowl of Lucky Charms, and then took her to Six Flags theme park. What a day!
He put her on every ride in the park; the Death Slide, the Wall of Fear, the Screaming Monster Roller Coaster, everything there was. Five hours later they staggered out of the theme park. Her head was reeling and her stomach felt upside down.

He then took her to a McDonald's where he ordered her a Happy Meal with extra fries and a chocolate shake. Then it was off to a movie, popcorn, a soda pop, and her favorite candy, M&M's . What a fabulous adventure!

Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed exhausted. He leaned over his wife with a big smile and lovingly asked, 'Well Dear, what was it like being six again??'

Her eyes slowly opened and her expression suddenly changed. 'I meant my dress size, you dummy!'

The moral of the story: Even when a man is listening, he's gonna get it wrong.

Friends

Sometimes in life we meet people and do not know why. Yet they come into our lives for either a brief period of time or forever they stay! That since I have only been blogging for a short time I have met some who appear to have remain steadfast here by my side. For that I want to say "Thank You!" Though these two words do not really describe how I feel. I felt I needed to say them.

That when I was going through my rough patch with my lungs you all were there with your wonderful words of encouragement & prayers! To me that really showed me how wonderful are. Plus the kind of compassionate people you are also! For some reason you were put into my path of life and I am so happy and thankful that you were! And to think you still checked in on me even when I was not blogging! LOL

I am trying to get back into the flow of blogging on a regular basis. Though at times I do get discouraged. Guess because I feel at times as though I really do not have much to say. MY "Tastier Tuesdays" did not draw much response so I decided to drop it. Instead I will just post a recipe ever now and then. It is not that I did not want to do it, I just lost interest in it myself. Plus this winter has not been to kind to me either. Still I am trying to think of other things to blog about. Some things I honestly will not blog about. Mostly because it will cross certain boundaries!

Anyway back to thanking you all. The saying up above just says so much! That it for me describes you all! That I honestly do not think I could forget any of you. Each one of you have a unique talent of your own. It is shown through each of your blogs!!! And I honestly do get a laugh, shed a tear, and at one time or another about choke on my coffee when I read your blogs! :-) But most of all I do take something away from each of them. And that is a lesson in itself. So for that I again applaud each of you!

So here is to my blogging buddies and friends in the world! Take care and know even if I do not have much to say here on my own blog. I am checking in on yours! Blessings to you all and Happy St. Patricks' Day!

Nana Net (Annette)

Race City Chihuahua

Meet the newest addition to my ever growing family! Her name is "Sugar" and she belongs to my nephew Nathan and his family. Now she is just 8 weeks old and is quite the little charmer! Seems that she thinks she rules the house here whenever she comes to visit. Of course my Sadie Bella & Lucky are not to sure what to make of her as of yet. Sadie Bella though does act as if she is Sugar's Mom. LOL I caught her the other day licking her all over and being playful with her and all. But of course Lucky just snarls at her and then goes outside to bask in the sun. Sort of like "Well, you are getting on my last nerve!" :-) I just laugh at them all and think to myself that I truly have gone to the dogs!!!!




So, anyway this past Tuesday, Natan came over with his daughter Kaydence to visit while his wife was at work. We were sitting around doing much of nothing but listening to KayKay being vocal. For being 8 months old she sure has a good set of lungs on her! Well Sugar had to go outside to take care of business. Of course we do not let her go out there by herself right now. So Nathan picked her up and off he went. About the time he headed out the door my phone rang. So he grabbed Kaydence to go out with them. While on the phone I heard all of the dogs raising such a ruckus. The next thing I knew I heard Lil Sugar howling in pain. I quickly got off the phone and got up to see my neighbors Rottweiler on my back porch. Of course "Max" is a friendly Rotty and such a big old baby. But Lord knows he has not been over in ages. Let alone climbed the fence in the last 6 months. To say I was surprise is putting it mildly!!! Before I could get the door opened Nathan came flying through it with Sugar and Kay Kay and said "I think her leg is broke!" I just stared at him and then said whos?" He said Sugars.... I took her from him and look at her front left leg. She was howling up a storm. For such a small dog she sure could howl! After inspecting her it appeared her leg was broke. I immediately called my vet. Unfortunately he had just left his office. Now it was just 6:00 PM. which was the way my luck was going this past couple of weeks! So his nurse told me to take her to the Emergency Vets office. Well I got ready to hit the road. But first I had to make sure that Max got back into his yard. Which his owner had already got him back there. Then asked what happened. We told him how Max decided to visit, and in the process of climbing the fence to come play with Sadie Bella and Lucky, he accidently ran over Sugar! Guess she was so small he did not see her. :-( Luckily for us my neighbor said he would take care of all of the vet bills. Just let him know how Sugar was and all. After that I called Mike as I headed out for the 20 mile one way trip with Sugar curled on my chest.



Well we got there and had to wait. Seems the "Full Moon made for a busy night at the Vets office. Yep, the evilness was out in full swing for the animals. The vet finally got us back there and after the exam, and x-ray it did not sound good. Nope, the surgeon thought Sugars growth plate had been broken!!!! I just cried, and cried. She recommended that I leave her overnight and let the head surgeon take a look at her and call me in the morning. So that is what I did. Of course I said my see ya in the morning to Sugar for I left and just cried all the way home.


We got the call from the head surgeon about 9 am and he said that the leg was broke at the wrist area and the growth plate was pushed out. But he did not recommend the $1200.00 suregery. WHEW, talk about relief. Instead he wanted to push the growth plate back into place and put her into a cast. I told him that sounded good. he next told me we could come pick her up after lunch. So about 12 noon I went to get Sugar. Talk about love, and tears of joy. Oh my how happy she was to see me and I to see her. As for the ride home, it truly was a challenging one. But she is now safely back home. And Max is got a new collar to keep him back in his yard. Seems that his battery had died in his that keeps him inside his yard. As for the Vet bill........ well the grand total so far that I had to pay in full was $583.42. :-() Was it worth it???? You bet your sweet hiney it was. Will I be reimbursed by my neighbor? Yep, at the first of the month! Thank ya sweet Jesus. And thank goodness for VISA!!!!!!

Going Insane

A picture is worth a 1000 words!!!!! So it has been said.... And this one truly describes me for the last week. That life around my parts of the woods has not been easy this last few days. Nope that my sister and her two boys have been arguing so much that I am ready to just run away!!!!

Now mind you I truly do love them all and hate it when they disagree. More so when they put me in the middle of their arguments! But it seems that every since their Dad passed away almost two years ago that the two sons and their Mom argue alot! And the sad part of it is that it 9 times out of ten is over stupid crap!

Of course I am not going into details here! let me just say it has to do with my sister and her daughter-in-law! Enough said..... The point is that life is to short to spend it fighting over things that really should not have been started out as a disagreement to begin with! Plus to put me in the middle of!

When you think about it, family and friends are all we truly have in this world. Except for the dear Lord above. That is if you do believe in him. Which I do 100%!!!!! For me I enjoy as much time as I can get with them all. Which in my opinion is not enough time! Guess you could say because of work schedules, distance away from each other, etc. So when we do get together I surely do not want it spent in ugliness!!! No sirree..... Instead I want to spend it making memories! Plus enjoying it to the fullest.....

Of course we all know there will be some disagreements and not everything will be all sugar and spice. :-) But we can hope it will be! And who knows 9 times out of 10 it is. You could say that I am one who just wants us all to get along. Could i be asking for way to much???? Naw, don't think so. Yet, certain ones think I am. Well, in my house it is play by my rules, or just don't bother coming by. Cause I hate stress! Lord knows these past few years I have had more than my share!!!!!! Yet, somehow I have survived it! Maybe it is because I am meant to! ROFL

Whatever the reason may be, I just know that I have gone "Insane" this past week! So therefore I am going to take some much needed me time and get things back to normal! Even if I have to become a you know what in order to do it! (YIKES) So say a prayer that it does not come to that.

In closing I did get me a new camera!!!! YEAHHHHH So now I can begin taking pictures again. I truly did not realized how much I missed it. First though I got to read all of the instructions that came with it. UGH... This is not my favorite part. It must be done, so I know what I am doing! Wish me luck and look out.

Till my next posting (which I will try to keep up to date with) know you all are in my thoughts and prayers. Blessings to all. Now I am off to locate my mind! HeeHee

Annette

Winter Wonderland

Oh my what a "Winter Wonderland" we have! This is what I awoke to Tuesday, morning. Now mind you that I just could not sit at home. No sirree.... I just had to go out and get me some look see and of course pictures. The little child inside of me wanted to have some fun. So, of course my dear sweet hubby Mike, decided that we would go out. But before we even got started my friend of over 34 years called. Yep, seems that Pam had the same idea too! Only she had a major problem... Her automatic garage door had come off track! Yep, and it was just barely hanging on up nabove her SUV! Well Mike and I went down to rescue her SUV. Needless to say we saved the day for her.

Well, after the great start to our day, we set off to get us some breakfast. The only thing that was not to crowded was Denny's. The restaurant was crowded and short staffed. But that did not dampen our spirits. We did enjoy ourselves. Plus the snow was so beautiful to look at and see. After we got done eating we went back to Pams' house and Mike decided he needed to go home and do some shoveling! So Pam and I took off to have a look around at everything.

As you can tell in my slideshow we got some beautiful & wonderful pictures. The Interstate 77 was backed up heading towards Charlotte. But yet heading northbound towards Virginia was no problems at all to get through. Lord how we felt bad for those heading Southbound... We seen lots of power lines down, as well as trees. Which in the one picture we had pulled sideways to take it. And of course a vehicle was coming at us! Needless to say, Pam was screaming, "Hurry up and take the picture of that damn tree down! Here comes a car!' Talk about laughing our heads off!!!!!!! We two are truly crazy women on the loose when we get together. But what fun we do have! The other pictures are of Lake Norman, and I will admit the snow around it and all sure was gorgeous. Now I did manage to get someones snowman in one too. This was at the Gold Course!

Just know that by the time we got back home we had seen all kinds of lovely sights and truly enjoyed ourselves. Plus Mike was just finishing up his shoveling duties. Oh yeah, even my babies, Sadie Bella & Lucky loved the snow too! And to end the day we had snowball fights! For me the kid inside had a wonderful and fun filled day.

Enjoy the slideshow. And know I wish that all of you could have been here with us to enjoy it!

Monday Morning Music

Brooks & Dunn More CMT Music More CMT Music Videos

Okay, first please go to the end of my blog and hit the pause button on my music player. THANKS!!!!!!!

Now this past Thursday, February, 18, 2008, marks the second anniversary of my Moms' death. That we lost her to Alzheimers. Although the Doctors gave it the fancy name of "Muti-Infacted Dementia." To us it still was the same as Alzheimers. She fought it for 7 years. Believe me when I say it sure was not an easy thing watching my Mom go through it. Nor was it easy on the family. More so my older sister Brenda. She was the primary caregiver. That Lord bless her heart, Brenda always seems to be the one who takes care of us all when we get sick, hurt, or whatever. She just has such much love inside of her that she just can not help but take care of us all. So I know she has a special place in heaven when it is her time to go.

Anyway, back to this video. The first time I heard it, I just cried my eyes out.... That to me it was like the good Lord was trying to tell me something. Or show me something, seeing how I was raised on a farm/ranch! Not sure what, but I just felt like it was a sign of something to come. Or maybe about something I needed to do! See I kept hearing this song every time I cut on the radio. Plus seeing the video when I would trun on the TV! Well, you see it hit me like a ton of brick what the message was from it!

That this past Thursday, as I was wondering through the house doing some housework, I just all of a sudden just started crying. And for no reason. Or so I thought! Then as I went to get some tissues I noticed the date on the calender. Well it hit me, that the date was 2 years since I lost my Mom! Let me tell you it sure has not been an easy two years. We not only lost my Mom then. But also my cousin, within a month of her, as well as my brother-in-law, within 5 months of her passing. Then I was put into the hospital that August with kidney stones and Gallbladder trouble! Yes, it sure was not a good year! But somehow I made it through. As did the rest of my family along side of me. But this video got me to thinking that I never really grieved my Moms' death untill this past Thursday! And that for me is really sad.

So I guess the breakdown of it all is this. That when I started crying Thursday, it all just came gushing out of me. The anger, the "WHY," and everything else. That I know now why this song kept playing over and over again! It was doing so because I needed to let go of everything. Cause my Mom, use to tell me that "When you fall down, you simply get back up, and go at it again!" And Lord knows she was right!

So please enjoy the video, get your tissues out and know that I am alright now! Plus it is a beautiful sunshiny day here in North Carolina.

Exercising My Brain......

Good morning to you all! So where have I been hiding out lately? Well I have been exercising my brain this past week over at my favorite game web site! LOL Let me tell you it sure is addicting!

That I first discovered it back in 2001. It sort of was by accident. See I was bored and decided to search around for some games to play. Next thing I knew BAM this game site appeared out of no where and I got hooked! Needless to say by the next year I signed up as a member and have been one ever since.

Now the site is called POGO. And it truly has all kinds of cool games. Plus they are constantly adding new ones. There is a lot of different variations of Solitaire to play. Plus they have Jigsaw puzzles, find a word, Tri-Peaks, Yahtzee, Bowling, and Lottso. Not to forget Euchre, Canasta, Gin, Pinochle, Hearts, and Bridge too. And oh yeah tons of other ones you may like! I mean there are so many to choose from I just love them all! See what I mean about being addicted to it! LOL

Of course now all of this does come with a price.... But hey it is worth it to me. Because I have met a lot of crazy, wonderful people. Plus made some good friends on there too. And I even have what they call a "Mini." That is a person who I can style and profile like me. :-) Now they even have challenges each week where you get badges too! Right now I have 1006 badges. So see you can tell where I spend a lot of time.

Of course going back to the title of my post today leads me to this. That by playing these games it helps me to keep my brain active! Just by having to think before I make a move in Chess, or checkers I am having to do some serious thinking. Cause I do like to win. Though losing does not hurt either. Plus when you are trying to play and chat at the same time it takes alot of brain power to concentrate! So see I am still having to exercise my old brain too! All in all for me it just helps me to keep my mental status more alert and keen. That yes I do exercise it in other ways, but I get alot of enjoyment this way too! Plus have fun at the same time.

Well if any of you are looking for fun and excitement will you not join me? It is the least you could do for your brain. As well as your sanity! I know it sure does help mine at times! So look for the link over on my sidebar! Hope to see you soon.

And as for the cost ...it is only $39.99

Another "Tastier Tuesday # 3"

Todays' recipes are ones without meat! YEAH... That I do love to try and make these with fresh vegetables whenever possible. But if none are in season, then the canned ones will have to do. (sniff, sniff) Still though they are just as tasty! And so sorry, but my camera is out of commission. Therefore, no pictures today. All I can say is once I get a new camera, I will come back & edit this post and put some in. Till then just imagine how they would look! :-)

MaeMaw McNeely's Squash Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

Herb Seasoned Stuffing
5 - medium Squash (or 3 cups)
1 - medium Onion

1/2 - Cup of Milk
1 - Egg Beaten
1- 10 3/4 oz. Can of Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 - Stick of Margarine
1 - Cup Grated Cheese


PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Next grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Then take your Squash and either slice it or dice it up into bite size pieces. Also do this for your Onions. Take your Herb Stuffing Mix and use enough of it to make an even layer across the bottom of the greased cassserole dish. Once you have done this, then add your Squash and Onions on top of it.
Now in a medium size or large mixing bowl mix together your 1/2 cup of Milk and 1 Beaten Egg. Next add your Cream of Chicken soup, and your 1/2 stick of Margarine. Mix it all together good.
Okay, now we take this mixture and pour it over the top of the stuff in the casserole dish. Then we take the 1 cup of Grated Cheese and spread it over all of this. Top it off with the rest of the herb Seasoning Mix. Make sure to spread it out as evenly as possible! Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes. This usually will feed anywhere from 4 to 6 people.


Nana Nets' Broccoli Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

1- Cup Rice
1- Small Jar Cheez-Wiz
1- 10 3/4 oz. Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
1- 10 oz size package of frozen Broccoli (or larger)
1/2 - Cup Chopped Celery
1/2 - Cup Chopped Onion
1/2 - Cup Margarine

PREPARATION:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Now cook your rice according to the directions on the box. While it is cooking you can grease a 2 or 3 quart casserole dish. Then saute your onions and celery in the margarine. Next you can either microwave or cook your frozen Broccoli. The choice is yours. Plus depending on how much time you have to cook it! Then you take all of the other ingredients and mix them together in a large mixing bowl. Now that the rice is done cooking add it to the other ingredients in the mixing bowl. Mix together thoroughly. Finally you take it and pour it into the greased casserole dish. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. This usually serves 4 to 6 people.

Well there you have it. Two of my favorite family recipes. Enjoy, and let me know if you give them a try. Plus Jeanne, I want to know how you did with them! :-) Cause I know how you love the Broccoli Casserole!

Have fun and get outside and get your Vitamin D today from the sunshine!

Nana Net

Valentine Ideas For Hubbies

I just got through watching my local Morning News Rising Show and really got a good laugh from it. See there is this man on it that use to be the weather guy at night. But he got the boot due to his addiction to alcohol, etc. So after much needed rehab, and all they brought him back for the morning show. Anyway, he was talking about what to give your husbands, boyfriends, etc. for Valentines Day as gifts. Needless to say, by the tiome he was done I was rolling with laughter. Which is something I have not done in a while. And I truly did need it.

So here was his ideas and comments......

Buy them tickets to their favorite sporting event.
Send them off for a weekend of golfing.
A Spa package gift. (Cause they need to be pampered too) HaHa
Rent them a cabin in the woods to go fishing with their buddies.
Give them a pre-printed coupon (1 you made yourself) to go out with their friends. (Ya know a night of male bonding)

Now this was just a few things he said. But of course we ladies could come up with our own ideas! The main thing he was trying to say (which he did) is that "Men just want to get away from their wives/girlfriends!" Which is what got me to laughing so hard I about fell off of the couch. And to that point my husband looked at me and said, "Ya know he has a point!" Well, that is when I looked at him and replied, "Is it not time for you to go to work?" LOL

Oh well, just another day here in paradise! Enjoy this weekend and let me know some of your ideas!

It's Back----"Tastier Tuesdays"

Yes, you read right! My recipes are in order and ready to go. So let me get started. Todays recipe is one that my family just loves. They are for ever asking me to cook it all the time! To which I do not mind doing. But sometimes I do get tired of just eating Fried Chicken. Which is why I also sometimes add Chicken and Yellow Rice to the table too! It makes for something different to go along with the rest of the meal. So here you all go two recipes today! Hope you enjoy them.




NANA NETS FRIED CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 - 3 pounds Chicken (or all Chicken Breasts 6 here)
2 - Cups Flour
4 - Eggs
3 - Cups Milk
2 to 3 inches of oil
Brown paper Bag or a Gallon Size Baggie
Garlic Salt
Pepper
Seasoning Mix
Deep Frying Pan (Either Cast Iron or Calphalon)
Cook on Medium to Medium High Heat


PREPARATION:

First you can take your chicken and either leave the skin on it or take it off. It is up to you. Either way, make sure to rinse off the chicken good. Take your eggs and break them open into a deep, big bowl. Next add your milk and mix this together real good. Next add your chicken to it. Then put it into the refrigerator and let it sit in there for 20 to 30 mintues. Then take your frying pan and add the 2 to 3 inches of oil to it. Heat until a drop of water sizzles in the pan when you drop it into it. Next take the flour, garlic salt, pepper, and seasoning mix and put it all together into the brown bag/plastic baggie. Shake it all up good. Then start adding your chicken pieces one at a time to it. Being sure to shake them up inside of it. Of course making sure to hold the bag closed! Now add the pieces (large ones first) one at a time. Put a lid onto the pan and let them cook for 8 to 12 minutes. Then turn them over with a thong or fork. Do this continually each side every 8 to 12 minutes, or untill both sides are crispy brown and the juices run clear. It usually takes me 45 to 60 minutes to cook the Fried Chicken!






Chicken & Yellow Rice

INGREDIENTS:

1 (2-3) pound Whole Chicken
1 - 10 oz Package Vigo Saffron Yellow Rice


PREPARATION:

First wash off your chicken good. Then take your whole chicken and put it into a large pot and boil it until it is done. That is when the juices are running clear! Next take it out of the pot and put it into a bowl and let it cool off. Next take the broth it was boiled in and drain some of it off. Checking for any bones that have come off in it. Be sure to get those out( I strain mine into another pot). Next debone the chicken. Then you take the pot of brioth and bring it to a boil. Add your yellow rice to it and stir. Then start adding your chicken to it. (I take my chicken and make it into little slices, etc) Be sure to cut the heat down to medium while doing this. Also, to keep stirring it. You do not want it sticking to the bottom of the pot. It should take about 20 to 30 minutes to cook now. Make sure the rice is completely cooked before taking it out of the pot. Walla, there you have it, a nice dish of Chicken and Yellow Rice.

You can also make this to go with Chicken and Dumplings. Which is something my late Mom did everytime she made the Chicken and Dumplings for us!

Hope you enjoy making these two recipes and good luck. Enjoy the week and blessings to you all.

Nana Net

Super Bowl Sunday

Ok, I got to admit that the game was one of the best ones I have watched in a long time. More so during the 4th quarter! I truly thought the Arizona Cardnials had it won. But yet, deep down inside knew they had left too much time on the clock for old Ben and his Steelers! Which proved to be true. UGH!!!!!!

That yes, I am a Football Junkie. Even though none of my favorite teams made it to the Super Bowl this year. And NO, one of them was not the Carolina Panthers. More about that another day. LOL That I grew up watching football, and baseball mainly. Plus playing it too. Mainly cause I was raised in the country. And was sort of what you would call a tom-boy. I preferred the blue jeans and t-shirts over the dresses and dress clothes!

Still though back to the game last night. It at first was sort of boring. Plus some bad calls were made. Especially when the one Steeler player (#92) did not get thrown out for the personal foul there towards the end of the game. Yet I really was more interested in seeing the commercials. Plus was all pumped up to see "Bruce Springsteen" and his band! Oh yeah, and he surely did not disappoint this here girl! He still can rock and roll....

As to the ads, there sure were some that had me shaking my head thinking "What the devil!" Especially the ones for "Godaddy.com!" I mean where was the decency and morals at when they decided to air those? I guess they went down the crapper on those! Now my favorite ones had to do with the clydesdale horse. More so when he decided to fetch! LOL Talk about creativity being put into play! And then the one of true love. Who would of thought of that type of ad? My hubby Mike said he like the one dealing with the Dorito ad. You know where the guy bites into the Dorito chip and the womans clothes rip off her body, etc. Leave it to a man to like that kind of commercial! ROFL I just gave him one of my you know what looks! To which he just gave me a grin. UGH!

Oh well, now that it is over I guess we can wait another year to see if Budweiser wins out again in the Super Bowl ads. Plus if the next game will be just as exciting or not! Let's hope so.

Cell Phones

I have been having issues with cell phones and the people who have them! Needless to say that is why I am writing about them today. That is seems to be that here lately whenever I try to call certain people they just do not answer! Instead all I get is their voice mail! UGH!!!!!

That yeah, maybe they might have left it at home. Or could have it cut off, or even may be talking on it. The thought even occured to me that "Hell, they just do not want to talk to me!" Still though, sometimes they do not even return the call after I leave a voice message! Now how rude is that?

To me if you have a cell phone do you not think that the polite thing to do would be to answer the call? Then say, "Hey, I am in the middle of something, etc. and I will call you back, etc. Or better yet at least return the call at your earliest convience?

That if you can not do that then why bother having a cell phone? Maybe because you want to try and keep up with the Jones, or keep up with the in crowd. Whatever the reason just think about it.... The person who is trying to call you may be someone who needs your help. Or they might just need some guidance. Plus there may be a true emergency and they need to get a hold of you. You truly never really know untill you answer that call!

So next time that cell phone rings and you see that it is someone you really do not want to talk to. It might do you good to think twice about not taking that call! Because I know that if it really was a true emergency I sure would not leave a voice message saying so! Would you?

Times Flies By

Boy oh boy...Can you believe that the month of January is just about over? Where did this month go? Seems like it was just the beginning of the new year. And now here it is almost February!

Is it just me or does time seem to be going by faster and faster the older we get? I remember as a kid thinking, man I can not wait to become an adult! Now I find myself thinking the opposite! LOL Guess that is why I will never ever grow up. Or at least never loose the child that is still inside of me!

Still though I find it hard to believe that Valentines Day is just a mere 19 days away. You know it will be here sooner than we think! That the days will surely just roll by in a flash. Yet there are probably some who will disagree and say that time goes by way to slow. Especially when they are at work or doing something they really do not want to be doing!

To me you sort of realize more how time passes you by so quickly when you run into people that you have not seen in years. An example would be like yesterday for my husband Mike. See he had to go to a funeral for an old friend he had worked with. The company they worked for has been closed for 13 years! Yep, that long and Mike did not realize it till he seen all of his old co-workers at the funeral and they got to talking. When he got home, he really looked down trodden. That they all felt bad how they had lost touch with each other, etc. But did exchange phone numbers, addresses, e-mails, etc. Plus the promise to keep in touch. Hoping that another 13 years do not pass by or a funeral happens to bring them all together again! I truly do hope they keep in touch. Which leads me to say this. Though time appears to fly by, we can stop and enjoy it. Plus try not to forget your friends, family and anyone who may have made a difference in your life! More so before they pass away!

So here is to not wishing or trying to hurry your life along! Blessings to you all. And know that I am not going to be watching the clock today! LOL Instead I am just going to enjoy listening to my Lucky lay here snoring the day away. Plus watch Sadie Bella run in and out of the doggie door chasing whatever catches her fancy at the time!

Nana Net

Ok, yes it is my birthday today! And what a great one it should be. I awoke to the great aroma of fresh coffee brewing. Thanks to my wonderful husband of 25 years, Mike. Seems he does love to surprise me with the thoughtful things that he does.
Anyway, my day will hopefully be one of where I can do prety well what i want to do. Which is just be lazy! LOL No seriously I will be in and out of the house running erands. Then getting ready to go out for dinner tonight!

I must though thank my wonderful late Mom for giving birth to me. Cause if she had not then I would not be here. Plus my Dad ( who is 81 years old) for helping make it possible. Lord bless him, these last couple of years have not been too easy on him. More so since losing my Mom almost two years ago. Still though I must thank my other family members for putting up with me too! Believe me it has been no easy task for them! And they surely can attest to that!

All in all I am looking forward to many more birthdays, and the chance to share them with my family and friends. So I must now go get ready to run around in this cold, frigid winter weather. Just know I am going to have an awesome day. Take care everyone. Will post more later on this week/weekend.

Bye for now.....

Sick & Tired of Being Sick & Tired

Hi all of my fellow bloggers! I guess you could say the title of my post today reflects how I have been feeling the last few months! That I oh so want to be back to 100%. Which is slowly but surely happening.

To bring you all up-to-date... I went back for a check up on my lungs and the Doctor said that everything looks great. Yet I did have a touch of "Bronchial Pneumonia." So of course it was a Z-pack he put me on. Well 2 days later I am a lot worse..... Doctor gets a call and he says that it is either go on Prednizone or in the hospital!!!!! Needless to say I ran to the pharmacy to get my Prednizone! LOL Also, some cough syrup. After two weeks of this stuff I am (knock on wood) finally over it..... Thank you sweet Jesus! The only bad thing is that Mike now has it. So I go around with a mask over my face so not to catch it from him! Cause I am so sick and tired of being sick and tired!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I sure am thankful for all of the well wishes that everyone of you sent my way. Plus that you all kept in touch with me. It amazes me how here in "Blogger World" when you meet someone they just seem to become your friend and then like family! So I want all of you to know that you truly are like family to me!

Well, I am signing off for now. Know that I am back again finally and will be getting my recipes in order. So watch out cause I still have a lot on my mind, and my mind on a lot! Till next post be good and just enjoy life!