Wordless Wednesday - At the Park With the Golden Group

Getting back into "it".

I'm not sure exactly what "it" is, but I'm working on getting back into "it"...which means, I guess, that I haven't been in to "it" or more accurately, I have been out of "it."

Yeah, I know it's confusing. For me too. It's that funk I'd mentioned not long ago. It's still got me by the shorts. Anyway, I'm still working on shaking the funk. This past weekend helped. AJ was home and I thoroughly enjoyed ever minute we got to spend together. He arrived Tuesday evening, and left yesterday morning.

Tuesday evening we were invited to our neighbors' house for a catfish & bbq'd tri-tip dinner. There were about 20 of us there, and it was a very good time. I'd gotten AJ a cake to celebrate his belated birthday, so we all got to sing, and embarass him a bit. We hung out for a while, and it was a really fun evening.

Wednesday we just kind of took it easy. I had my long VA visit with Kona (the visit where I go to several different wards and it usually runs about 2 hours) and AJ hung out with his friends, visited with my folks, etc. Pickle started her first ever "real" job - at a local pet boutique.

It was another good day.

We went out to AJ's favorite Mexican food restaurant, and while we were there we ran into some old friends. We chatted about how big all of our kids are getting, how tough it is to have them away at college, etc. It's always good to hear that I'm not the only one feeling the way I am feeling.

Thursday I got up nice and early, and although I didn't have to do much for our Thanksgiving dinner, I started rolling on what I did need to do. I whipped out the deviled eggs, and got the greenbean casserole ready in no time. Hubby and I picked up the house a bit, and enjoyed looking thru the paper planning our midnight shopping and Black Friday buys.

We went to my folks house at about 2pm, and spent the afternoon eating, chatting, and relaxing with my parents. It was a very, very nice afternoon, and it's always great to see Pops enjoy a good plate of food, and have a smile on his face. I cherish every moment we get to spend together.

After the big meal, a nap was in order for AJ....he needed to catch up on some much needed sleep....

And of course, what's a nap without your sibling making fun of you as you snooze...

More soon - I have to run out for an appointment I'm nearly late for.

So Much to be Thankful For

I hope you are all enjoying the company of your family and friends on this Thanksgiving Day.

Since the moment I woke up today I've been reflecting on the last year, the good and the bad, the happy days and the not-so happy ones. I am lucky to say that the good days have far out weighed the bad, that's for sure. I hope you can say the same.

In no particular order, here are just a few of the very many things I am thankful for:

• The smell of greenbean casserole in my oven.
• Not having to cook a full feast today - Mom is handling 95% of it.
• The health of my Mom and Dad. The blessing of being with them today is the best thing I could hope for.
• My husband who puts up with my Halloween craziness and so much more.
• Having my children home, happy and healthy.
• 
• The unconditional love of my dogs.
• My warm bed, my warm shower and my warm Uggs.
• My boss, who I adore, and my job that I love.
• My friends who bear with me thru thick and thin...smiles and tears, especially Doug, who knows my deepest, darkest secrets, and loves me anyway.
• New friends I've made this year, and friends from long ago that I've reconnected with in the last year.
• My Face Book Friends and Blogging Buddies - I feel like I'm never just out there on my own.
• And last, but certainly not least, I am thankful to patients that I visit on a weekly basis that help me keep my own worries in perspective.

Wordless Wednesday- My Boy is Home!

Kindness of Strangers

Over the last three days, I've been reminded of the goodness in people. I've seen my husband and his friends reach out, literally to thousands of strangers walking by, and offer kind words of encouragement, a high-five, a hand shake, and at times even the food they were eating. They made a difference to so many of the walkers, at times it brought tears not only to my eyes, but to theirs as well. They stood and posed for thousands of pictures (yes, I'll be posting more soon, I promise) cheered until their voices were gone, and clapped until their hands were stinging.

Amazing guys these "Melon Men" are, that's for sure...but as I think of how they reached out to so many, I think of those who reached out to me in the past and it makes me appreciate what they did for the walkers even more.

I have two people that I will never forget when it comes to the 3 Day walk.... of course there are so many more, but these two offered me a kind word, encouragement and a hug when I needed it most. For that, I will always be thankful. I made sure to seek them both out this year, and let them know what their kindness in years passed has meant to me. I'm so glad I found them and I was able to let them know how much they had touched me.

It felt really good to say "Thank You." People should really do that more often.

Thank you Officer B. H. from the San Jose Police Department. You rode along with me at the end of the first day last year when I was cold and wet and tired. You kept me company and made me laugh. You got me through the last mile and a half. To me, you were better than Brad Pitt that day - in fact you still are. You were a rock star to me that day, and you always will be. I'm so glad I saw you and thanked you again in person this year. Thanks for remembering me.

Thank you Pam! You've been there for me and thousands of other walkers every year since 2006. You give the best hugs and morning send offs a person could ask for, and you have the brightest smile and weloming arms at the end of some very long days. You are like my little angel out there, and I love you! I hope to see you again soon!

The 2011 3 Day, Day 1

I couldn't walk this year, but I wanted to cheer, and cheer I did. Cheer and clap, and hoot and holler! We got out there at about 7:30am and got home at 5:30pm.

IT

WAS

AWESOME

Tomorrow we will be there when the walkers start out on the route, which should be right around 6:30am. I feel such a kinship with these people, it's hard to explain.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from today. There were lots more I could have shared...but there are also two more days of the walk I'll be sharing. Tomorrow the "Melon Patch" will be out in force. Today my friend Ed was a "Melon Man" solo act. Hubby and our other melon men friends were stuck at work. Tomorrow it's on baby!


If you are on FB, check out "The Melon Men" - they have their own public page!

A Bit of a Funk

I can't quite put my finger on it...but something isn't quite right. I've been, it seems, in a bit of a funk lately. I have been in a good enough mood, but down deep, something is a little off. I haven't had much of an interest in blogging, or taking pictures, which are usually two of my absolute favorite things to do..

Last week was weird, flat out, weird. Both of my furry boys, Kona and Jack, had birthdays, and I was a rotten dog Mom and did nothing special. Oh, sure, I gave them lots of TLC and a couple of extra treats, but there were no birthday celebrations this year, not even a picture in a goofy birthday hat....what's wrong with me?

.

I got the long awaited results of an MRI on my knee. It's been bothering me for months, on and off (mainly on). My Doc had been pretty sure it was a torn meniscus and that a quick arthroscopic surgery and a little physical therapy would have me feeling great again in no time. He was wrong. Not a torn meniscus after all. Arthritis under my knee cap and in my joint. Significant arthritis and a strained ligament. What the heck? When did I get old enough to have arthritis?

I think that's got me bummed. I thought this was something temporary and it's not. I got a nasty cortisone shot that stung like an S.O.B., but was supposed to help with the pain for a couple of weeks. That was on Thursday. The pain was back by Tuesday...unless I've blacked out and lost a couple of weeks of time, that was WAY too short of time for the sucker to be sore again. Yesterday morning the pain woke me up at 3:50am. Last night I used a pain patch on it and I managed to sleep from midnight until about 5am. Dandy, just dandy.

I think I might also be suffering from a bit of post Halloween Party blues too. There was so much build up to the party, and it was so much fun, that I'm sad that its over and it will be nearly another year til we have another one. I did get to do a little shopping the day after Halloween though, and got some great bargains. We will be going with a Psycho Circus/Creepy Carnival theme next year, so I picked up these little ditties...its a good start...(I took a bunch more pictures of what I got, just so by the time next year rolls around I will remember what I bought already - but I wanted to post this one just because of Kona's funny little face on the left.) He had that "are you about done with this crap?" look on his face.

Speaking of Kona, we've been busy as usual with our Love on a Leash visits. We cut down a bit in October because of my knee issues and gearing up for the party, but we've gotten busy again and have been going on an average of about 3 visits a week. Today I went on a visit but had to leave Kona at home. I was supervising new teams, and there would have been too much going on with Kona there with me. We had our first ever bunny join our chapter, so that was certainly something different. The dogs did very well with the new little "creature" in their presence....

...and the folks we visited with today enjoyed the little fluff ball too!I've been on a bit of a cleaning/de-cluttering binge lately too, which isn't a bad thing. I cleaned out my closet and dresser, donating about 4 large black bags full of cloths and shoes that I haven't worn since last time I cleaned out stuff. Hubby and I went through our large family room bookshelf, and got rid of several boxes of stuff from there too. It feels good to have the house back in order. Not perfect, it never will be, but it's better....

In spite of the funk I'm feeling, I am really looking forward to next Tuesday when my boy comes home! Hubby was lucky and got to visit him again in Indiana. He was there all week for work, and they got to spend evenings together. Of course I was green with envy, but happy for the two of them. His trip home next week will be short but sweet - he will only be here from Tuesday until Sunday, but I'm not knocking it.

On that note, I'll sign off for the evening, and try to keep a smile on my face and a little pep in my step...you do the same.

By the way...I have no idea why blogger is removing the spaces between my paragraphs, and to be honest, I'm tired of trying to figure it out. Sorry it's a mess.

Halloween Party 2011 - the guests part 4

Well folks, here are the last few of the guest pictures I have to post. If you were at the party and have pictures to share, please put them on a disc and get them to me. You know where I live if you were at the party, right? I'd love to have a copy of them all so I can get working on an actual hard copy album. Also, if anyone has any video, please let me know - I'd love to see that too. By the way - if you were at the party, and you haven't seen your picture posted here it's probably for one of two reasons....either you managed to avoid all cameras for entire evening, or you were naked blurry in all of them that were taken. Either way, if you have one to add to the album, please feel free to email it to me.