Check-N-Out Life

Hidden Meaning?

2009-05-21T13:44:00.003-04:00

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

2009-05-18T11:01:00.007-04:00

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

2009-05-11T14:15:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-30T13:52:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-27T11:11:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-23T08:16:00.007-04:00

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

2009-04-20T14:23:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-31T08:53:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-20T13:07:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-17T10:14:00.008-04:00

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

2009-03-12T12:48:00.010-04:00

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

2009-03-10T11:29:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-03T08:18:00.003-05:00

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

2009-02-23T08:35:00.003-05:00

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......

2009-02-21T08:00:00.004-05:00

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"

2009-02-10T07:58:00.002-05:00

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

2009-02-06T10:34:00.003-05:00

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"

2009-02-03T13:55:00.006-05:00

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

2009-02-02T08:25:00.002-05:00

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

2009-01-30T13:02:00.003-05:00

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

2009-01-26T08:57:00.003-05:00

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

2009-01-22T08:21:00.004-05:00

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

2009-01-17T08:04:00.002-05:00

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!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-26T00:45:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas Everyone. I am making this one short. But promis that next week I will be doing one with pictures, and all. That I am still taking it slow with my healing and all. But have been back to the Doctors' once so far. But do have another appointment next week.

Still I did want to let you all know that you are in my thoughts and all. So here is 'Wishing All A Very Merry Christmas." Hope you got everything you wished & hoped for. Plus more! Oh yeah, I bet you ate alot too! :0)

Will be back next week. Till then have fun and enjoy the weekend.

Love and blessings to all,

Nana Net

Hey.....It's Me......Oh So Thankful

2008-11-24T08:30:00.005-05:00

Hi Everyone.........

Yes, I have returned. Yet, still am a little weak, but getting stronger everyday! I first and foremost want to "THANK YOU ALL," for the prayers, well wishes, positive energy, and everything else you sent my way. I know without it the results may not have turned out as great! So THANK YOU ALL..........

As for how I am now.... Well it will take no less than 8 to 12 weeks for me to get back to feeling normal. Though not sure if I ever was! LOL But still the two Doctor visits this past week went great. That all of the "BOOP" disease is gone! YEAH!!!!!! And I do not have to take any type of steroids or prednizone medicines for now. My Doctors said that he will be seeing ALOT of me and me of him. This is to make sure that I stay healthy and do not get sick again. For which I am Thankful for. Seems I was blessed with some really terrific doctors and surgeons.

Am sure you all are wandering what exactly is "BOOP" disease. Well I have enclosed the link for you to check out. That it is a very bunch of big words and sort of hard to explain. All in all it is treatable! So here is the link to it. http://www.epler.com/BoopWhat
If you have any questions, just ask and I will do my best to answer them.

Just know that now I am back, I will try to Blog about what happened to me. Plus get caught up on my "Tastier Tuesdays" for you all. There is only one thing...... I do tire out easily, so some of the posts may be very short. Overall though I will get them done.

Till then I wish you all a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. Enjoy it to the fullest and try not to overdo it! LOL

Update on Me & My Lung

2008-10-26T19:24:00.002-04:00

Wanted to let everyone know that I am still here in the hospital! That I am scheduled to have my "Open Lung Biopsy" tomorrow (10-27-2008). My surgeon has informed us of the pros and cons dealing with this surgery. So here is a hoping and praying that we are prepared for what may come!

But on a serious note....the Dr. did say the possibility exists that I may loose the upper lobe of my right lung. Or the diseased part of it. He really is not for sure how much untill he gets in there and has a look see. As to my reaction, all I can say is "There are others who have it worse than me!" "And that whatever happens is meant to be."

All I do know is that I am alright and still have a lot on my mind. And my mind on a lot! Plus would like to "Thank You All" for the many wonderful prayers, positive energy, and good thoughts that you are sending my way. As well as to my family also.

Take care and blessings to you all......... Nana Net

Here Is What Is Happening....

2008-10-24T00:41:00.002-04:00

Hi all. First I am truly sorry for not being able to do "Tastier Tuesdays," this past week. Now will I be able to this week. See today is the first day I have been able to use a computer since the debut of my "Swiss Steak" recipe.

Plus I am n ot sure when I will be able to use one again for a very long period of time. The reason for this is that I am in the hospital.........This is my 8th day and there looks like no definite date as to when I will be going home either. What started out as so called "Flu-Bug symptoms" on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, turned into something much worse we discovered. That finally on that Friday, the 17th, my Doctor decided to send me to the ER, who then admitted me into the hospital. So here I am still today.

The only thing we know so far is that after being in "Isolation" for 7 days, I am no longer contagious, nor was I ever! That I do not have pneumona, nor the flu. Nor have I had for the last 24 hours anymore of the 102 -104 degree temperatures! The broncoscopy thingy the Dr. did came back negative. Although the other folks would have liked more tissue samples than what they got! Still I will take the good news anyday!

Now as to why I am still here. Well, seems that I still do have this mass in my right lung. And that yes it did go from being 3cm in size to 6cm in size in just 3 days. Though by all Medical Doctors who have seen me all agree it is not cancer. They do want to perform another procedure on me! And it is one that I am very familiar with. It is an "Open Lung Biopsy." That we will be talking to the Pulmonary Cardiologist about everything Friday sometime as to the when, whats and hows of it all.

Till then just know that I honestly did not abandon you all, nor my blog. I have just been out of touch with the world the last week is all. And once we get everything settled back down I will post those recipes. Plus it will be more than one at a time. At least till I catch them up! Just know that my energy is very low to nothing now . But it will be back soon..... So enjoy your weekend everyone. Plus take care and let someone somewhere know you love them!

Blessings,
Nana Net

Tastier Tuesdays' Recipe 1

2008-10-14T03:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome All...

That starting today and every Tuesday you will find a new and different recipe! Now these will be ones that are either my own, my families, or ones that I have been given or come across throughout my lifetime. Now what kind will they be you ask? Well, you will have to check back on Tuesdays to find out! I will let you know though....expect anything and everything.

So let us get this started now with the first recipe!

Swiss Steak & Gravy

INGREDIENTS:

4 to 5 lbs - Eye of Round Steak
1 - Can Hunts Diced Tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 - Large Sized Onion
Oil
3 to 4 cups - Flour
Meat Tenderizer
Garlic Salt
Seasoning Salt
Pepper
Water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 325°. Next you get a large sized bowl and put your Flour in it. Take your onion and chop it up and put it over to the side. Then take a very large frying pan/skillet and add enough oil to it to lightly brown the meat. Then cut the burner on to medium heat. Okay, take your Eye of Round Steak and rinse it off with water. Then sprinkle both sides of it with the Meat Tenderizer, Garlic Salt, Seasoning Salt, and Pepper.

Now we will take the Eye of Round Steak (one piece at a time) and lightly flour both sides by rolling it or patting it in the bowl of flour. Then putting it into the frying pan. Be sure to lightly brown both sides. Once this is done put them into the baking dish or your roasting pan. Now drain off 3/4 of your grease. The other 1/4 you will add 2 to 3 Tbsp. of flour to (for gravy) and stir untill all of the lumps of flour are gone. Now add about 1 1/2 cups of water. Making sure to keep stirring the whole time. Keep adding water as needed so that the gravy does not thicken! You should end up with a frying pan full of gravy by now!

Okay so we take this frying pan of gravy and pour it over our Eye of Round Steak. Being sure to leave at least a 1/4 to 1/2" space at the top of the dish. Here is when you will get the chopped onion and sprinkle it all over. Now open the can of Hunts Diced Tomatoes and spread them over the top of your dish. Once you get finished you can take a spoon and stir the tomatoes and onions in, if you like.

Bake at 325° for 2 to 3 hours. Though the time can vary. So be sure to check on it after 2 hours. The best way to know is that the gravy will start to thicken up! Plus I recommend using your own judgement!

As a side note this can be made using a crock pot or even a slow cooker! Just be sure to set the setting on low if you are not going to be home to check on it!

Well, there you have it... My first recipe! I do hope you like it and give it a try. It is one that my family truly does love to eat! And I never seem to have any leftovers from it. The only thing I must apologize for is the lack of more pictures. ;0( That I dropped my camera and am having it repaired.

I welcome any and all questions and hope my instructions do not confuse you. Plus I welcome all suggestions! Thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy the day!

Nana Net

Tastier Tuesdays'

2008-10-07T16:00:00.006-04:00

Okay everyone I have come up with an idea. Hopefully you all might like it. That by now most of you have read my profile and seen where I do "LOVE" to cook! Well needless to say it got me to thinking. Which in a nutshell means "Watch Out" here we go again. :0) But no not this time. Instead I want to propose to you the following.

That starting next Tuesday, October 14, 2008, I will start listing some of my recipes! These will be ones that I have either made up myself or have had handed down to me from family and friends throughout my lifetime. Now I choosen this day because it is the best time for me to do it on. Plus I figured everyone would be able to either use the recipe during the week or on the weekend!

Of course I will do my upmost best to include pictures to go along with it. As well as my own recommendations of what side dishes to use. Plus if the food can be cooked using the oven, crock pot, or stove-top! And other little tid-bits of info.Also, you would be able to go back and look at other "Tastier Tuesday" recipes you might have missed, cause they all would be under one link!

So please tell me if you would like for me to give this a whirl or not. I just know that "Cooking is great for the soul." And it surely does fill my heart with joy! Plus it truly makes for some great memories to come back into my mind again and again! And for me to make some new ones too!

Okay, I await your responses....

Blessings,

Nana Net

Fall Has Arrived

2008-10-06T11:32:00.004-04:00

Fall weather just somehow renews my body. Maybe it is something in the air. I really do not know what it is. Just that I absolutely do love the Fall Season!

It is the time of year when everything starts to change. The leaves on the trees, the temperatures, and even the days seem to get shorter. That there are lots of Fairs, Festivals, Football games, and others things to do and see! For me it is time to get out your decorations for Halloween first. Then next would be the Thanksgiving ones. And after that …well we all know it would be my Christmas Decorations! Now mind you I wait till after each one is over with! Oh yes, how I do love decorating this time of the year. I just wish the stores, etc. would at least let me ENJOY each holiday before shoving the other one down my throat. You know wait before putting out the Christmas décor until at least the week before Thanksgiving and so on!

Still Fall is the time that I love sleeping with my windows wide opened at night. You know to let in that cool, crisp night air. Aww, how refreshing it is! Plus during the day we have such wonderful cool breezes blowing throughout our house. You should see our babies, Sadie Bella and Lucky. Lord they just love to stay outside all of the time now. That Lucky can be found on her backside with all four legs up in the air snoring away! And Sadie Bella not to far away looking at her like “Lord would you please hush!” :0)
These two surely do keep me laughing. Plus watching them chase each other in the yard is surely something to see. Oh my, how I love my babies!

Another thing that comes along during this time of year is cleaning! Yep, got to get them their cobwebs down. Believe me this is a chore that is not done in a day either. Nope, cause there are windows to be cleaned, siding and decks that needs to be pressured washed, on your hands and knees floor scrubbing, furniture moving and rearranging, and lots and lots of other cleaning! It is also when I go start moving my summer clothes to another closet in another room. Then take my fall and winter clothes and move them into my bedroom. Plus go through them all (summer, fall, and winter) and sort out the ones I no longer wear. Then take the ones I am keeping and wash them all. To which once done I either haul them down to the Goodwill store or donate them to a shelter or something. Do any of you do that?

Yes, Fall has arrived and I am so thankful that it has. Tell me is it your favorite time of the year too?

Come On Over

2008-10-03T00:31:00.020-04:00

Let me tell you of a place that I now call home. I have lived here for going on almost 22 years. And really never realized the wonders that it held untill the last several years! All I can say is that I wished I had discovered all that it held sooner!

So where is it that I am talking about you ask? Oh my, it is North Carolina. That here is where I will begin my journey of letting you know what I have discovered so far!

In the "Western" part of the state, up close along the Tennessee/North Carolina state line is a town called Bryson City. Here you will find "The Great Smokey Mountains Railroad." It is one that will take you all on a 4 1/2 hour round trip to the Nantahala River Gorge. (http://www.gsmr.com/) Talk about a great ride! One that will allow you to experience first hand some of the most breath-taking views I have ever seen! You may purchase your tickets in advance (which I highly recommend) for either an open-air car or a closed car. For me it is the "Opened" one! Nothing like feeling mother-nature against your face and breathing it all in! Plus if you love to take pictures this is the way to go. Along on this ride I got to see some lovely mountainsides, barns, rivers, lakes, houseboats, and even an old steel bridge which we crossed over! And did I mention "Fontana Dam?" Yep, got to see it too. It is where the movie "The Fugitive" was filmed starring Harrison Ford! That this is one train ride that offers not only this kind of day trip, but several other kinds. Including ones just for the kids! Now as to when is the right time to go.... Personally for me it would be the Fall. Just because this is when the leaves are changing colors. Yet, the spring time is lovely too. You know when everything is blooming! But be careful if you have allergies!!!!

Now of course you have got to spend a few nights around here in order to enjoy everything that the "Western" part of North Carolina has to offer. Your choice of lodging can range from Hotels, Motels, Houses, Beds & Breakfasts, Inns, and Cabins that you can rent. You can find some really great deals by going to this website. It is http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/north-carolina. Believe me after looking at the places offered here you will be ready to just drop everything and head to these here mountains! And if you own a motorcycle, try your best to ride it here! The roads here were made for them!

Which leads me to some of thoses places that motorcyclists just love to ride! Not only are all of the roads in the "Western" part of North Carolina great for riding your motorcycle. But there are some areas that have specific type roads that seem to have been made with nothing but motorcyle riders in mind. These are for example "The Tail of the Dragon," "The Cherohala Skyway," and "The Blue Ridge Parkway." That the first two are ones my husband and I still have on our "To Do List", left to do! The "Tail of the Dragon" is only 11 miles long, yet has 318 curves in it! WOW, can you just imagine riding on this? And the "Cherohala" is great for its scenic views. Now of course it is 60 miles long and according to it's web-site very remote. As for the "Blue Ridge Parkway" it is one that we ride frequently. There are a lot of gorgeous places where you can stop and have a look see over the side! Or even a picnic lunch. Yet you may even want to go for a hike! I mean you can just ride and ride, but still stop and enjoy all that it has to offer. For more abou these places here are the links to them. http://www.tailofthedragon.com/index.html, http://www.cherohala.com/index.html, http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/.
Hopefully, I may meet you up there one day and we can enjoy a ride together!

As for places to eat, there are a lot of them. But I do love this resturant called "Granny's Kitchen." It is located in Cherokee, right down from Harrah's Casino. Talk about some delicious food at very reasonable prices! You can either order off of the menu or go for the Buffet! We went for the Buffet. There was Fried Chicken, cole slaw, green beans, squash, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, biscuits, okra, macaroni, potato and pasta salad, tomatoes, all the fixings for a fresh salad, roast beef, rice, baked beans, pinto beans, corn bread, and rolls. Plus the various deserts of Cherry and Peach Cobbler, Apple Pie, Banana Pudding, and Ice Cream! There is one desert that everyone must try though.. It is the "Peanut Butter Pie!" Talk about melt in your mouth scrumptious...... Plus there was "Sweet Tea" galore. And before I forget, there is even another location of "Granny's Kitchen in Waynesville, North Carolina! Its' food is just as tasty too!

Well I will stop for now. Thus this will continue with me describing the middle part of my state next. It is known as "The Piedmont Area!" That I just did not want to make this too long to read. Hopefully, you have enjoyed it so far. Please let me know. And if you have questions, I will do my best to answer them.

Thanks for stopping by and do return. Here is wishing you all a fun-filled and enjoyable weekend!

Nana Net

Life's A Beach

2008-09-30T12:38:00.007-04:00

Okay folks, not sure what happened to this earlier. But I will repost it! That a few weeks ago I had been busy remodeling one of my bathrooms! Which the above video will show you the end results of how it turned out...

Now believe me this was no easy thing to do! See I am one when it comes to remodeling that I just have a little bitty problem. It is what you call "Picking out the right paint color or colors!" Yep, seems that little old me knows exactly what I want when I decide to do a project. That I even go on-line and play around on the various name brand web-sites to see how the colors will look and all. But then come time to go buy the one or ones that I have choosen...and... Let me just say my dear husband Mike wishes I would just stick to my guns!!! LOL

Well, at first all I was going to do was paint this here bathroom. Nothing else. Just a fresh coat of paint and that was it! Little did we know that our recent trip to the Outer Banks for some much needed relaxation was going to turn this into a total "REDO PROJECT" from top to bottom! Yep, at first it started out just some small simple things got my attention. Things I noticed at the house we were staying at while on vacation. Seems I truly loved the decor there! Well, as we ventured out and checked things out I begin to get some ideas for my own house! That is when Mike realized his wallet might be in trouble!

Now, he is into remodeling and does a lot of this on the side. Plus takes great pride in his work. But of course bless his heart, he never knew what was fixing to happen! That is untill I started filling up the shopping carts, etc. with items for my "Life's A Beach" theme bathroom! Then he knew what was going on. Of course he caved in and off to the races we went.

We found all kinds of neat little things. Plus some other items we are going to use for our other remodeling projects in the house. Though he would not admit to it, he does love shopping! More so when it comes to remodeling the house we live in. Anyway, we certainly did save quite alot of money. Guess because I am one who will hunt for the best bargains! Plus compare prices. Still though I can see my hubby's face everytime he pulled out his wallet to pay! The expression is what you would call "Priceless!" Lord how I love this man!

All in all once we got back home it took me about a week to finish it up. Blame this on me and my deal about paints! Ya know pick it out, get to the store to buy it and Wham! So many to choose from, you get totally lost in it all....(I really need to work on that something bad) Still I am happy with the finished project. It is another item off of my "To Do List" completed for this year.

Of course Mike says he will either build us or buy us a new bathroom cabinet. Plus get us a new door and trim. But those will come once we finish up the other doors and trim in the rest of the house! YEAH.. I can not wait to get started.

Well here is my own little piece of the beach. I hope you all like it as much as we do. Plus maybe it will not disappear off of my blog this time! :0(

ON NO----Tell Me I Did Not Do That...........

2008-09-29T13:55:00.016-04:00

On Saturday it seems that the weather got the best of me. Or I should say I let my mood swings! That out and about I went with a friend of mine to lunch. And of course we decided why not go into a few stores afterwards. Ya know just to see what was "On Sale," and to pass the time away. So here we go a looking around amongst the crowds. Man there were alot of people in the stores today! I really do not blame them. Cause it was the first day we had seen the sun in like "FOREVER!" But I should have know that was not going to last long... Amongst the crowd my friend Pam did find her some bargains. As for me, no go. I just was not in the mood for it! Now mind you I do love to go shopping! But this afternoon was not my day for it.

So later on when we got back to my place my hubby was home. He decided we all needed to go out to eat! UGH--I just wanted to stay home for a change! But him and Pam kept after me to go. Saying things like, "Aw come on you can pick out the restaurant, anywhere your heart desires, whatever you want to do we will do, etc.!" Hmm, how could I resist? Well needless to say I gave in and out the door we took off. Now for me all I really wanted to eat was a salad. So off to 'Texas" we headed. By the time we arrived I changed my mind and got a Baked Potato and that was it! Of course Mike and Pam got the full course meals! LOL By the time they were finished with their meals, seems Mike wanted to do some shopping! YEP----that is correct-----Shopping again.......

Ok, here I am, full mood swing in motion inside Target! Slowly but surely walking along, pushing the buggy, talking to myself! Or I should say mumbling under my breath things that I will not repeat on here! Then all of a sudden here comes Mike looking all excited like a kid turned loose for the first time in a candy store! Seems he has found the "Christmas Decorations" inside the store! Lord help me!!!!!!!! See you have to know my Mike, to understand how he is about the holiday Christmas. More so about the decorations and all. :0) That he wants me to go check them out with him. Telling me all about his discovery of the new LED ones! So there I go, buggy and all to explore these new items! Little did I know when I finally made it over there how much my mood was going to change.

My oh my, talk about new and different items to look at this year for Christmas Decor! There it all was laid out in front of me! Disney, Charlie Brown, Nascar, Angels, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Dora-The Explorer, Blues Clues, Taz, Tweety Bird, and all other kinds of Themed ones! Plus you had your wreaths, ornaments, lights, gift boxes, garland, houses, and the LED"S! I must let you know though that 'Target" still had tons of more Christmas things to get out!!!!!! Anyway, here we were looking at all of this, aisle, after aisle, after aisle. The whole time Mike was saying, "Look at what this one does," or " Do you like this," and "Hey, listen to what this one says and does!" I bet you can just imagine by now where my little mind is a going! Yes sirree, you are right. It appears that I spotted something that I had to have. Right there on the bottom shelf. Like a bolt of lightning from out of a clear blue sky it hit me! WHAM!!!!!!!!! The most beautiful thing I had ever seen to go with my collection of "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" items!

Now remind you I kept telling myself that I would not buy any of this Christmas stuff before Halloween was over. But this I just had to get. There was only one of them. Plus I just knew if I did not get it now, there would not be anymore of them before Christmas. Or at least that is what I convinced myself of! So down on my knees I went and scooped that baby right up. But before I got back up, low and behold there was another totally different LED one to go with it! Being who I am and all, and collecting my Rudolph items for Christmas......Let's just say it went in the buggy too! After that this voice said to me, "Oh No, you did not do that!" To which I replied, "Yep, I sure did!"

ATTN: Fellow Bloggers....... The Devil Meets Jesus

2008-09-25T12:14:00.062-04:00

Oh my, what a way to start the day! A catchy little phrase don't you think? One that has been stuck in my mind every since yesterday! Why you might ask? Well because of mine and Mike's going out and about yesterday!

You see we went to go check out some supplies I needed for my remodeling of our Master Bedroom and Bathroom. Needless to say, it was quite an adventurous trip! That we were gone almost all day. Seems like (as I posted before) I just could not make up my mind about the various paint colors I wanted to use again. Yes, I started out with the one set of colors picked out. But once I got there.... well I started to see some other colors I liked. And off my mind went to racing about different color schemes! UGH!!!

Anyway, at first I did not notice things in the various stores we went to until we walked into Lowes. Then "BAM" it hit me. Like a ton of bricks falling onto my head! There right above me was "CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!" Yes your read it right.......CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!!! Right here almost at the end of September! Not even 2 days into Fall yet! Plus "Halloween" has not even arrived, nor "Thanksgiving!" I mean "What is up with that?" So I turned to Mike as I spotted the blowups, and said, "Look the Devil meets Jesus!" He looked at me dumbfounded and said "Huh?" Then I pointed upwards where he looked up and started laughing. Cause there it all was right across from the "Halloween Decor!"
Now, you know I just had to go and see if there was any other decor set up for Christmas. Which there was. It was all set up in the indoor Garden Center. Seems they were just getting most of it out. While looking around a sales associate said 'Hi" and asked "If we needed any assistance? " We said "No, thanks, "But asked was it not too soon for the Christmas stuff to be out?" She informed us that they were suppose to have had it out already "TWO WEEKS AGO!" Can you just imagine the look on my face when I heard that?

Well, to us we got a chuckle for the rest of the day. Cause every store we went into after that we started noticing they too had various "Christmas Decor" out. Or were in the process of putting it out! And were they side by side with the 'Halloween Decorations?" Yep, either that way or right down from it!

Just Thinking Out Loud

2008-09-22T11:23:00.014-04:00

You know today is just one of them there days. The kind where all you do is get lost within yourself! Your thoughts are running rampant within your head and you realize that you are starting to "Think Out Loud!" Well that is what has been happening with me ever since late last night and all day today! Not sure if it has to do with the weather or what. But it appears that my friends seem to know when this is happening to me! Yep, cause my e-mail box is getting flooded with tons of e-mail! LOL

So I got these two e-mails that I wanted to share with everyone. It seems that these two really hit me hard when I read them. They set my mind to rocking and a rolling in every direction you can imagine.... That the first one brought tears a flowing that I have not cried in a very long time. It made me stop and realize just how true this is for so many people in our world today. Seems to me that we all should be able to learn a lesson from this one.

WHY ARE WE HERE?

When I drove up in my taxi cab at 2:30 a.m., the building was
dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.
Under these circumstances, many taxi drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, and then drive away.

But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on
taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of
danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself..

So I walked to the door and knocked. 'Just a
minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged
across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's
stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil
pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie.

By her side was a small nylon
suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the
furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no
knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box
filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she
said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated'.

'Oh, you're such a good boy', she said. When we
got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, 'Could you drive through
downtown?

''It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.

'Oh, I don't mind,'
she said.

'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice'.

I looked in the
rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she
continued. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and
shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next
two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had
once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she
and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone
dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular
building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired.
Let's go now.

'We drove in silence to the address she had given me.It was a low
building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a
portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were
solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting
her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was
already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' she asked, reaching into
her purse.'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,'
she said.'Thank you.

'I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning
light. Behind me, a door shut.. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in
thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had
gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?

What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID,
~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

You won't get any big surprise in 10 days if you send this to ten people. But, you might help make the world a little kinder and more compassionate by sending it on.

Thank you, my friend...

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might
as well dance.

Well, what do you think ? Sure is something powerful I will say! That for me personally I try to do more for others than for myself. Or at least that is what everyone tells me that I do.. That life is a journey to be treasured. It is one that we should all enjoy to the fullest. To make sure that we are not in a rush or hurry. In other words "SLOW DOWN!" Srop and smell the roses, breath in that fresh air! Notice the small things as well as the big ones too... Like the fresh grass that has just been cut, or a field of hay that has just been mowed, seeing the sun rise or watching it set across the land at night! Or better yet how the scent of "Midnight Blooming Jasmine" smells at night! My how I love that smell! :0) Plus the others fragrances of honeysuckle, roses, and any and all kind of flowers blooming! Really I truly love it! And let us not forget the smells that delight our noses when we walk into someones house and can smell food cooking!!!!!! Oh my the memories that flow through my mind of family get togethers at my Moms & Dads.... Plus my sister Brendas! What fun we all have had! I guess what I am trying to say is "Take Time" to see, hear, feel, smell, and taste all of the wonderous things that life has to offer you. Make memories that will forever be in your heart as well as the hearts of others!

Though these thoughts are still running like crazy through my mind. I mean like the question asked above, "Why are we here?" Does anyone truly know the correct answer to it? For me there is no right or wrong answer. Just that we are here to help one another in some small or big way. Be it through a random act of kindness, generousity, love, to comfort each other, lending a hand, listening or whatever ! We are here not to let time pass us by. Rather to use our time as best we can! And to use it up to the fullest! One day at a time. No more and no less!

So now on t the other e-mail I recieved. It too was from another friend. He seems to know just when I need a helping hand to guide me along. Especially when I feel life is getting me down. So here is what he sent to me.

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Beers

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else---the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there IS no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.'

The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.'

Please share this with someone you care about.. I JUST DID

In closing this out all I can say is that "Mama said that would be days like these!" And she sure was telling me the truth. That these two e-mails that my dearest of friends sent me, I will print and save in my book of memories that I have. It is one full of all kinds of things. I guess you could say it is something that I am leaving behind for my son to one day have. As well as my grandson and future grandkids to enjoy reading! Now you all go and have yourself a beautiful & fun filled, enjoyable day! Live your life to the fullest! And THANK YOU for stopping by to read this. Though it was awful long.....

I'm Back......

2008-09-14T23:46:00.008-04:00

Okay everyone I am going to try this again! That yes, I had a Blog before. But took it down due to personal reasons. Anyway, after giving it much thought and debate here I go again..... So hang on tight, this may get a little bit bumpy. LOL One thing is for sure.......I do have a lot going on in my brain 24 hours a day/7 days a week!

That the title of my blog is one that deals with life in general. Or I should say with "Checking Out Life" period. You will find me rambling on about a variety of subjects here. As well as telling you where you can find great deals on some freebies, coupons, ideas, recipes, and all kinds of fun and interesting things! Now Jeanne can tell ya about my home-made cooking from scratch recipes! Lord knows she loves to have me cook when I come home to visit. :0)

Another thing is that I may even blog about my family. Plus when I get mad too. All in all it is gonna be a mixture of everything and anything you can and cannot think of!

So there you have it. Hope to make some friends to while I am at this here blogging thing. Look forward to the comments too! Take care and enjoy the evening.