Memorial Day... lets honor those who have paid a high price for our Freedom!

Do you have your flags (yes multiple) flying? We do...

I am so proud of our Nation, and the people who have volunteered to protect us, and have given their own lives for us at home.

It is very sad to me, to ask someone if they have their flag out, and they say.."I don't have a flag"..like oh well.

We should all have the flag to fly.

I don't care which side of the American fence you stand on, we all should still honor those who have served and died for our freedom. What a small price for us to pay back to them...to honor them.

We get to have our picnics, take our vacations, go camping, shop the sales, or enjoy a day off as a Holiday....

They served, and gave their lives for this seemingly normal benefit. So if you don't have a flag, get one.

If you are liberal or conservative, or somewhere in the middle... fly your flag!!!

And thank you to all our Military people out there!!!

Did someone say.. virtual party?

My... I seem to have fallen off the side of the earth!

But, I climbed, and pushed, and grabbed every piece of rock I could find to get back UP!

So.. where else would I start, then with a Virtual Night Out with my friends!

My candy bar name...Sugar Sweet Chunk Honey!

Happy Weekend :)

Brea's new puppy... Zuka

Dogue de Bordeaux

Have you seen Turner and Hooch with Tom Hanks? Well this is my daughters new dog. What a cool dog, she is a Hooch dog.. really a Dogue de Bordeaux, also known as a French mastiff.
She is so MELLOW. My kind of dog!

I just had to share some of her cute pictures, from last weekend. Brea is taking her to puppy class, and they said she has to get out and meet ..like 50 people. So she came to our house, and knocked about 7 off the list!

To busy to post?

Because of all that is going on, the opportunity to sit down and put together a post is becoming more difficult.

Also I am feeling like I am in a slump... maybe due to the ongoing list that is time consuming, and energy consuming. I think that big birthday I had last year has made me feel old...and tired!

Lets see.... a 40 hour work week, plus my lunch period. With an added commuting time of 1 hour and 45 minutes a day to do said job.

Because I have to be at work at 6:30 am, I do not get enough sleep which adds to the stress because I am so tired most of the time.

My mom is on the way home from work, and if I don't have time to stop I feel guilty. I stop as often as I can. I am already feeling guilty that my poor sister is handling most of the overseeing of Mom, since she is currently on a work furlough from the airlines.

OK, then we have 7 animals at home. One is my horse Betsy, who has an abscess that is requiring soaking daily with Epsom Salts. This takes time and effort.

I also feel guilty if I take to long to get home, as that is a long time for the dogs to not have their people.

At this time we are preparing for a trip to California for 6 days. I hate getting ready for trips! I never know what I should bring, and always bring the wrong stuff, and too much.

In most peoples eyes, maybe it would not seem like my "list" should cause a slump. But we all have our own level...where we know we have hit the stress bar. Mine may be lower than others.

We will be heading to California the middle of next week, for 6 days. It will be hectic, as we have functions 3-4 days of that time. All in different locations; Orange, Yucaipa and Palm Desert..so it will be go go go!

On this trip we will stop in Orange to catch up with some of his old office friends, as that Friday they are closing the corporate office in Orange.

My husband lived in Orange for a couple years, while I stayed home here in Washington. This was over 5 years ago, but oh do I still remember that period of my life.

I did not know that I was depressed during that time, I just slid into it and did my routine. It was only later that it was clear to me that I had been depressed during this period.

Depression just comes in like the gray Seattle weather and it is just there, day after day. You just think this is normal. I am so glad that period of my life is over, it was awful.

Ken had been transferred to corporate headquarters in Orange, for a major hearth product company whom he had worked for in Washington. We did not plan on it being that long.

I was home with the horses and chores, which meant all of the care included for them. Daily feeding before and after work, cleaning stalls, watering, all care with no help... on top of my job and commuting.

One of those winter's we had a terrible ice storm in January. I was without power here and cold, very cold. I had to hand carry water to the horses and could not get off the property due to fallen trees on our road. I also could not get the generator to start.

Can you imagine how I felt, while I was freezing, and so burned out... and when I called him he tells me that ...he was in his shorts golfing....(ahhhhhh!!!) That was not what I had wanted to hear.

Also on this trip, we are going to Amy's wedding Sunday on Valentines day in Yucaipa. She is Ken's daughter, and we are all excited that she and Jeremy are combining their family's for a new chapter in her and Miracle's ( our granddaugher) life!

Also we will be out at my husbands sisters place in the desert some of the time as well...hmmm.. golfing?

While we are gone this week, I feel terrible that the animal care will fall on my daughter, who already has a full load on her plate.

Because the old pony has a special diet, she will need to make multiple trips to soak beets, come back and feed beets, and the regular feedings as well. Oh yes, then we have the dogs. They go out and are fed in the morning, then back in. Out in the afternoon, and hopefully some kid play time with the grand kids. And finally, fed and in and out again at night.

I also feel guilty doing this to our dogs. It would be ideal if we had a pet sitter, but that is not in this tight budget.

And, of course I won't be able to see Mom, so even more responsibility falls on my sis, who truly already has earned the angel of all angel's on earth award! She is amazing, and I feel bad I cannot help her more.

So.. I will do my best to put everything in perspective..and try to think and work smart. One thing I know, it always turns out OK in the end.

I have a little calligraphy sign that I have had for years that says:

"What doesn't kill me will make me strong"

So.. to look at it another way....

I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength!
Phil 4:13

OK, I can do this!

Happy new week to all!

Tether....

I have a backup solution for my Internet woes.

Because I use my Netbook sometimes, I reactivated my Mobile Broadband as my backup due to the recent instability of my Clear Internet connections. I really did not want to pay for the occasional Internet use, with a monthly charge, on top of my regular data for my Smartphone.

While helping someone else resolve an issue along the same line as mine, I found an application called "Tether" that is offered through Blackberry App World, which works with my Blackberry phone. This application allows me to tether my phone for unlimited Internet access, for a one time charge under $50.00! How come I didn't know this?!!

I use the 3G wireless internet network, with my phone as my modem...have I mentioned how much more I love my Blackberry now?!

Can you envision Snoopy from Charlie Brown, doing that happy little dance he does? Just put my face on him...that is me right now!! And I got it hooked up, all by myself!

I am happy to say..(unless I run into a glitch)... I am back online!

So, now the test is on, to see if this may even allow us to drop Clear? Maybe this problem can end up being a blessing?

So, I am going to see if I can leave comments, and all that stuff..yeah!!

Have a great Sunday everyone ;)

Clarification:

To explain how this application works:
I purchased a "third party" application that is available on most "Smartphone's" (which is a phones that has a required data package, such as Blackberry's and Palms, etc). I download the purchased third party application into my phone, and also on to my computer.

When I connect my phone with either Bluetooth, or a USB plug to my computer, the data access is via the cell phone. My phone has become my Internet connection.

There are thousands of 3rd party applications out there, that do all sorts of things, and plenty more to come!!!

Still hanging in there with on and off Internet!

I came home sick today.. man, I have not had a cold like this for a long time.

Because I already had a Dr appointment, my Dr recommended some med's to help with the cold. Boy, that Sudefed stuff works great!

Oh, and the reason for the Dr visit, is my Mom has developed shingles.... and I was not sure if I had Chicken Pox at any time...

So I got Inoculated for Chicken Pox today... because they are connected...oh my!

Let me tell you, watching my Mom deal with the pain of Shingles is awful! She is a trooper, and it is a painful hard thing to deal with as it effects the nerve endings, and open sores.

Due to a slow recovery from the Shingles as well as dealing with the long recovery from her fall and hip surgery, she feels like she is getting hit from all sides.

Life changes overnight after these moments, in an elderly persons life. It sucks to see it happen.

To see a strong fairly independent person, have their choices change in a moment of time, due to a fall... the change effects everyone in the family, and especially Mom.

She is dealing with it all with a positive attitude, or at lease as positive as she can be while going through the slow recovery and rehab process.

So.. my doc als0 said for me and you: make sure you are getting enough calcium and do weight bearing exercise!

With the limited time to access the Internet, as well as the issues we are having with our on again/off again Internet, I really am sorry I have not been able to come by to say hello...but as time passes..I will come by and say hello!

(OK..lets see if this will post!)

Thanks to all of you, my friends in the land of blog...for coming on by to check in on me, and...

Happy Friday.. and have a great weekend!!



Jan : )