Happy New Year...

As I was watching the Dick Clark Countdown, I was having high school flashbacks from when New Kids On The Block were "the" group. I called one of my high school best friends who is on West Coast time to make sure she watched it. She laughed at me and said she would. I was not flipped over the group but she was. She then reminded me to make sure my front door was closed and to watch out for drunk men circling man holes looking for a friend named Fred.....Weird request, you ask? Well let me tell you the story.

New Year's Eve 1989, I do believe. I had a sleepover with my bestest friends. My parents told me I could invite one guy friend but he had to be gone by 1 AM. He was just one of those bestest buddies, no romance with any of us. We had been bowling earlier at the bowling alley my Dad worked part time. We came home to watch the ball drop. We were sitting around watching television, munching and laughing. My mom had gone to bed and reminded us that our male friend had to leave at 1. Well we pushed the issue and he stayed until 2. My Dad is still not home yet but due home very soon. So we knew he had to leave quick before he came home. I know we were rebellious teenagers. He was heading out and we were acting stupid, all of us. We walked him to the car acting crazy. He pulls off . I then notice this man circling the man hole right in front of our driveway. We all run in the house and slam the door closed, scared half to death. This is not a usual site for our neighborhood. The man proceeded to follow us. He started knocking on the door and trying to push it open. Needless to say, we were SCARED. I ran to my mom's room. She jumped up and ran to the door while I called 911. Our old door had a big window and this man was staring straight at me while he yelled, " Let me in Fred, Let me in. Fred, I said let me in." I was freaking, my friends were freaking. The dispatcher asked me if someone was at the front door trying to keep it shut. I answered, "Yes ma'am. My mom is and she is pretty hefty." That was a funny statement after it was over. He then tried to go to the garage where my 75 lb dog was sleeping sound, never woke up at all. The dispatcher told us to get someone to go to the garage door and put all their weight on it just in case he did manage to get in the garage and try to get in that door. All of my friends were too scared. Thank goodness the man gave up and started walking away. The police finally came and they found him one block away, he was drunk. They chose not to arrest him because he seemed innocent. He was just looking for a couch to sleep on and did not understand why we would not let him in. They found out he belonged a few blocks over and took him home, after all it was New Year's Eve and at least he was not trying to drive. My Dad finally came home too after all the excitement was over. As for our male friend, he stopped at the end of the street and watched it all take place but was afraid to come help us. He came back and said he saw we had it under control. Surprisingly enough I did not get punished for letting our buddy stay an extra hour. They thought the scare of all us was enough punishment. Soon after, we had a new door with no window and a big bolt. We also had a big bolt put on the garage door too.

I am still good friends with two of the attendees. Just when we think we have forgotten our memorable New Year's Eve, one of them will remind me to lock my door on New Year's Eve and not to make friend's with anyone named Fred around this time of year.

Oh, the memories.

Happy New Year everyone! I pray all of you have a great 2011. I will admit I am praying that my 2011 will be a lot better than 2010. It has no where to go but up, really. Out with the old uglies of 2010 and in with the new great things of 2011.

This is how it started....

This is how it started.....

I answered the phone at our business. This woman asks if we have any rosaries left from Christmas and if they were on sale. I put her on hold, went to that area and saw no rosaries. I told her that we had sold out and did not have regular rosaries right now. I then saw the rosary rings that are popular sometimes. She asked how much they were and I said $1.99. Then she asked how many do I have and I told her about seven. Then she said, I just wanted to tell you that you are one expensive store and she hung up on me. I was flabbergasted because $1.99 for this heavy metallic rosary ring is a good buy. Besides wouldn't she have said that before inquiring to how many I had in stock. Confusing. I just thought... takes all types to make the world go round. Then I thought about it some more and realized that I would rather be a substitute teacher all day for hormonal middle-schoolers then deal with the Christian customers that we deal with . That is sad. Christians are supposed to be different from the world.

This is how it started.....

When I finally made it to our business after my long DMV visit, I had to run bank and post office errands. My goal today was to finish the ceiling in our children's room. I have been working on this for a few months off and on. The ceiling is ugly and we can not afford to have it redone right now. I have taken blue vinyl and glued it to the ceiling then cut cotton batting and made clouds. It looks real cute but was incomplete. I was supposed to finish it today , which eventually I did but was interrupted so many times from starting. After my errands, we had lunch then my employee had lunch. So now it is 2:45 and I have done nothing. The customers that did come in or call were mostly regulars that stop by or call to chat. Lets just say I think all of our customers did that today. Finally at 3:45 , I went back to that room and knew I had a step-stool in there. I could not find it. My mom came in and started laughing. One of our regulars had come in and taken my step stool so that he could see to get to the top of some of our shelves. He is rather short. I waited another 30 minutes for him to finish. Then when I finally got the stool back, another regular came in just wanting to chat to me. I just had to chuckle thinking , finishing is not meant to happen today. It did finally happen and is 99% done and then I ran out of adhesive. What a day!
People think that a bookstore is all about money and profits. Yes we need that to survive but our store is definitely about ministry. I think of all the people that either called or stopped by today to just talk. Some of them did purchase things. Some of them did not. Some of them are mentally ok but lonely. Some of them are a little off balance but think we are their world. I just pray that our business will take in enough to sustain us to be there for all these people. It made me realize the true reason we re-opened and that is to continue to minister to the community. I just need to figure out a nice way to let them know that I do have work to do. I also know that a few had heard I was going to be there this week and wanted to stop by just to see me because I am rarely there for any amount of time anymore. I am there for a few minutes here and there. Do I want to go back into it full-time? Oh no, it is like going home for a visit. It is great for a while but then it wears out. I enjoyed seeing , chatting and catching up but I don't want to be there everyday. I want to be a light for the world in other ways now ... teaching our children.

Let me tell you about my day.....

My day started off normal. I knew I was going to have to work ( volunteer) at the bookstore since my brother is in Illinois with his wife to celebrate Christmas with them. I have been driving my mom around the last few days because of the ice still on the roads. We were pulling out of the driveway when I noticed her side door on her van was not shut. She got out and shut it then slipped on ice and fell. Fortunately she was not hurt. She then lost the top piece of her phone protector ( BodyGlove). We looked and looked but did not find it. It was now 9:52 and the store opens at 10. I also needed gas. We stopped at Shell where we had a $5 gift card. I chose to just do the $5 for time sake. We got there a little after 10. It started off with an irate customer. One of the reasons I am glad I don't work in the store but every once in awhile. She was irate because she waited until December 22 to order something for her church that they needed this Sunday. Normal circumstances , one week is still cutting it close considering shipping times. Abnormal circumstances of a holiday and being closed for 2 days because of bad roads because of the biggest winter storm in 10-12 years here, not going to happen. It was ordered for her but the company we order that item from shut down at the end of the day of the 23rd and would not ship it until Monday. We called her and she was also gone for the holidays. She calls today wanting the product. Well even if it was shipped and arrived quickly , we could not get to the store to receive shipment. It is on the way but see she, the church secretary, is on holiday again as of noon today through January 3 and refuses to pick it up even if it comes in. So, as she sees it, this is our fault , not hers. Nope, she didn't wait until the last minute to order it and expect Santa to drop it off on his way to all the kids houses on Christmas night. She thinks that everyone should work 24/7 to accommodate her waiting to the last minute to order something during the holidays. Most of our Christian companies close from December 23 through January 3. She is lucky this company did reopen Monday but it does not matter she is refusing to come pick it up and I am sure she told the church it was all our fault. Then I looked on my brother's desk to see that something has to be delivered to the other side of the water today and by 3 PM. Our one employee was working her other job today and we were in a jam. I had to go get my Dad to bring him to the store to be with my Mom so she was not alone. I headed to the other side to make this delivery. I took a small detour to pick up a great pizza on that side of the water. It is sooooo good. I also went in the same shopping center to get some steamed dumplings from my old favorite Chinese restaurant. I never go to this area anymore so I had to get both things. I looked in my pocket while waiting at the Chinese restaurant and asked myself, why am I keeping this $5 Shell gift card when it is used up. I walked over to the trash can and threw it away. Well, so I thought. This evening when leaving our business I pulled out what was in my pocket and it was the gift card from Shell. So, what did I throw away? My license...... So tomorrow I get to go to the busy DMV to get a new license. Oh, Joy Joy!

Now to make you laugh... What else have I been doing with my down time? Well as you know I am on Blood Pressure meds. One of them is for fluid. Well I have eaten a lot of salty foods this past week. Because of this me and the potty are best friends. I feel like I should just stay in there for my hourly visit. You think I would learn my lesson but NO I have not. Since I have had so much salt my body wants more and more salt. I usually only use salt on rice and potatoes but right now I want it in everything. I did resist tonight though. I need to break my relationship with salt and the potty especially at the bookstore where the bathroom is near the cold warehouse with no heat. That seat is just a little too cold for my precious hiney.

Snow Pictures....

Sunday... The Day of Rest

Sunday should be the day of rest, right. I waited very patiently for the call to come in that church was cancelled since we were snow covered. The first call was my co-worker in church calling to tell me she was not going to be there because of the snow and her not feeling well. She does this every time the weather changes. Why she lives in Va, I don't know. The weather changes hourly around here. What she was basically saying was I am not going to be there but you have to. Thank goodness, a few minutes later the phone call came in that church was cancelled. The only bad part is my mind did not think it was Sunday after that. I did a lot of things around the house, slowly. I did about 6 loads of laundry. Everything I wear is now washed unless it is on my body. I put up a bunch of pictures in my room that I have procrastinated. I cleaned one corner of my room. That was a doozy. I also caught up on three episodes on my DVR. I also picked up the living room some. I have two bags of clothes that are going to the thrift store. You know how hard it is for me to purge clothes. I also cooked both lunch and dinner. Wow! I did a lot and it was supposed to be the Lord's day of rest. Now my mind is off whack with what day of the week it is. I keep thinking it is Tuesday since I did not go to church yesterday.

To think.... I was just going to watch movies all day.

My Christmas...

My Christmas was ok. It was better than expected. I did get my feelings hurt a few times but I am like that. I am a nice person and don't understand why people say hurtful things to someone such as myself that does so much for them. Oh well, nothing new.
Christmas Eve went over quite nice considering it was the first year without my grandmother. My grandfather did refuse to come to my sister's house. My mom's sister and her husband did come and there was no big explosion with her. Honestly, I thought she was stoned or highly drugged out on something.
Christmas Morning was pretty good too. It was just my family. My brother and his wife had to leave for their flight to IL after about an hour. Our breakfast was good .
In the afternoon, I accompanied my mom to my grandfather's house. We stopped by one of my grandparent's good friend's house. The man is a widower. He was so happy to see us and to get a hug. We then went by the grave site. A friend of my mom's had placed some pretty poinsettias on my grandmother's site. As we were leaving a car pulled up with two women in it. One of the ladies got out and approached us with a flyer. She said just a little Biblical Brochure on what happens to dead people. I was offended and found it extremely tacky. I looked on the inside and knew why. It was the JW's. Needless to say I immediately ripped it up. There are places to witness but I don't think a grave site on Christmas is one of them. My opinion, though. Me ripping it up meant one less person will get that material.
From there we ventured to my grandfather's house. My mom's sister was already there and waiting for my mom to arrive to cook him Oyster Stew. My mom's sister does not cook. Her new hubby though watched my mom so that he could cook some more tomorrow on their Sunday visit. Sundays are my mom's day off from going up there. Her one day off from going up there. As I mentioned, I was afraid of what my reception would be when he saw me. He saw me, looked weird and I was scared. Then he asked for a hug. He hugged me tightly and started crying. He said that he loves me and knew that I loved him too. I was glad I went even if it was only for a short while. He is still very bitter with my sister and brother though.
I still wonder how he can be deemed competent and in his right mind. Oh yeah, I forget my mom's sister lied to the doctors. He asked me when we were going to open our business. I was dumbfounded and told him it had been open. He asked if I was running it. I told him no that my brother was. He shook his head. I then wrote him a note that the store had been open since April. He was shocked. If you remember for weeks he had been up there all day with my mom caring for him while she worked. I told him that my brother was heading to Illinois by plane and he told me the weather was bad for travel. A half hour later my mom told him the same thing and he acted like he did not know any of it. He then started telling my mom's sister's husband a story of when I was young that everyone has heard and knows by heart but her husband. Then he started to tell her about it too and she knows the story by heart too. I wanted to look at her and say...This is the man you have deemed competent and able to live on his own.
Over all it was a good Christmas despite the turmoil. Tonight my sister honored my grandmother by having the exact dinner she always fixed minus her green beans from the garden.
Jesus is the Only reason for the season. Merry Christmas and the big surprise tonight that has not happened since I was a child..... A WHITE CHRISTMAS!
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

I feel like a fool...

I feel like a fool because of that cat I thought was in labor. Stupid me just figured out she was in heat. I had never seen a female cat in heat before. I have had female cats but they were spayed ASAP . So around the first week in March, well then she will probably be in labor. I kind of knew something was weird last night when the male cat was just about to scratch through the garage door to get to her. Well he got to her this morning in front of the whole neighborhood. What a great site on Christmas morning.

Update....

Casseroles cooked...Yep
Shrimp cooked.... Yep
Sandwich meat cut....Yep
Tomatoes cut....Yep
Onions cut.... Yep
Presents wrapped.... Getting ready to start.

Monitoring cat in labor in the garage.... Yep

Our neighbor's cat that they kicked out this summer has adopted us. She is not fixed but will be after this. My mom found her this morning squatting in the gutter of the road with contractions. She wants to be under my foot but the other stray cat that is really our outdoor cat keeps attacking her. Plus the place she is choosing to lay down is under my car. I can not have that. I had suspected that she was expecting for awhile now but was hoping that she was just eating alot. Since the other cat they kicked out has been adopted by its original owner across the street and is an indoor/outdoor cat is not neutered. Put two and two together. We are having kittens, woohoo. Needless to say after this we are making a visit to the PETA mobile unit. I do hope these kitties make it though the last batch this summer all died in our neighbors yard.

So now I figured out that God has a sense of humor and knew there was a reason I needed to be ahead with cooking so I could monitor Sophie.

Ahead and Behind...

AHEAD....

All of my baking is done... Peanut Butter Cup Cookies and 7 layer bars
Al of my major cooking is done for Christmas Eve.... Potato Salad, Pea Salad, Pistachio salad, Pasta Salad
All of my assembling for Christmas Breakfast is done...Hash brown Casserole, Sausage and Egg Casserole and Sausage Balls, just have to cook them all tomorrow so we can reheat Christmas morning.
All of my presents are bought

I am never this far ahead with the food. Usually all Day Christmas Eve , I am making the salads but this year I had time and know they are better if they have time to sit . I am usually up way past midnight making the casseroles on Christmas Eve but this year they are ready. Very unusual for me. Tomorrow all I have to do is assemble our sandwiches and boil the shrimp. Our sandwiches are a tradition that started on accident. We used to have a Hickory Farms here that made pita sandwiches. These pita sandwiches were the bomb. They closed the store and the sandwich shop :( I tried to make them three years ago but got frustrated when the pita bread kept breaking when I tried to fill the sandwiches with the meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and sauce. I gave up and just added meat( Hickory Farms beef stick), cheese, onion, tomato and a squirt of Italian dressing. I put them in the oven to let the cheese melt. They turned out delicious and a new Christmas Eve favorite. Our sandwich tradition dates back to when I was young thing and we used to get Dagwood sandwiches from the local deli at the grocery store. They were good but the deli closed. We have traditional food on Christmas but Christmas Eve was always festive and laid back.

BEHIND.....

Wrapping. The items are bought but not wrapped. I am usually done with this or almost done, not this year. I am way behind.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Snow, here in December!

Snow... Here in Hampton Roads ,VA in December. Very rare. Snow twice in one week in the same area in December. WOWSERS!

It snowed briefly on Monday while the kids were at school. It was all gone before they went home.

Today school was cancelled last night before the snow even started. Some thought the administration stupid. I thought they were pretty smart. The storm was expected to start between 9 and 10 AM. So if it was going to be as bad as they thought then the kids would get to school, get settled then go home on bad roads.

It started snowing around 10 AM. The roads immediately got slick. I had to go pick my Dad up from an appointment. Heading there was not bad I only slid a little at a light. Heading home was treacherous. I drove less than 10 MPH the entire 7-8 mile drive. I did get a little stuck a few times. I slid a few times and my car made some awful noises on the snow when I applied the brakes. I was more than happy to go home and stay home. It didn't happen.

My Mom had driven out to take my grandfather breakfast before the snow started. She ended up staying longer than she wanted because he was telling her about two visitors he had yesterday after she left. These visitors were from social services. I don't know many details except they took pictures of his head and leg from his recent fall this week. He did not hear them knock on the door so they were able to walk right in the house without him knowing. Not a good sign for his defense or my mom's sister's defense. They said they would return today. I do not know if they did or not but they also said they were coming back on Friday. All I have to say about that is it is about time and I hope everything works to his benefit not to his wants. What some do not know, is that I know someone, a family friend, who went around calling social services and reported it to Adult Protective Services the night before. I dont know if this visit was because of the call or because of previous calls to social services from others. How coincidental, though!

Oh back to my story of driving in the snow. My mom then proceeded to drive home in the worst of the snow today. She made it about 3/4 of the way home when her nerves were shot and wanted someone to come get her. Well, my Dad cant drive so that left me. Fortunately my brother-in-law was off today and I was able to go get him and he drove my mom's car back home. I made a u-turn on the way home and whopped into the curb. Oh, it was a good driving day.

School is closed again today. The area is better but expecting a freeze again tonight. Years ago this would excite me. Now as an adult and as a substitute teacher it depresses me. That is two days without pay for me. This will hit me in January because of the pay schedule and that is the month I have two car payments due to pay off the car. Oh Bummer!

Wonderful evening...

I had a wonderful evening with my nephew tonight. I received a call about 5 to come babysit but he didn't want to leave the house because he was mad that his parents were going shopping without him and he wanted to stay home and pout. Shortly after I arrived but before they left he was spanked and put on punishment. I was thinking this is going to be a fabulous evening. In fact it was.

I decided to redirect his bad energy. I started rattling off places to go and things to do. All of them were met with NO. Then I asked what we were going to do for dinner. He informed me that I could cook him something in the freezer. I redirected this to going to get hot dogs and making Pigs in a Blanket. That was met with a NO. Then I asked if there was anything he wanted to make. Then he left and came back with his Paula Deen Children's Cookbook. He flipped and flipped and stopped. He wanted to make pasta with homemade cheese sauce. I checked the cabinets. They had ingredients that would work. I put him to work. He was happy and content. He then was so excited that he called his parents and told them he had a surprise. Well in the past his surprise was some concoction like soap, pepper, salt, oil and anything else he throws into a bowl. Tasty, huh. No he does not eat it either. They were very skeptical. He invited his Nanny over and had turned the living room into a five star restaurant and he was the waiter. He put a table cloth over the coffee table, laid out silverware and put a candle in the middle.

I had called and told them to bring some chicken and biscuits because I knew they would not be satisfied with just pasta and cheese. They arrived and had to wait in the hall while I took the chicken and turned it into plates for him to serve. He finally seated them. Oh I forgot to tell you that he also got out the Dirt Devil and vacuumed. He was so excited. I made their plates and he served them. Then he came running in for some paper, he had forgotten to take their drink orders. He then came in and presented my mom with a to-go dish for his B-Bob (Grandpa). My mom always gets a to-go meal for my Dad when we eat out. We had forgotten about dessert. He went through his snack drawers and found his Little Debbie snack cakes and served them. He was so proud. They were proud also until they received their bill. Their chicken was $35.04 and the biscuit and fixins were $40.04. My mom's bill was $39.45 for her chicken and $10.04 for her biscuit and fixns. He knows how to make a profit, I do believe. He then tried to present me a bill but I told him that I was the owner of the restaurant and co-cook so I did not have to pay. He really did make the pasta and cheese but with assistance.

When I was leaving, I noticed a sign on the front door. It said, CLOSED. I asked him when do we reopen. He responded with the next time his parents go shopping that the restaurant will reopen with Sloppy Joes.

What started out as a bad evening turned into a wonderful evening. His parents at first really wanted to go out to eat and to somewhere without worrying about a child. Thy came in with great attitudes though they do like to eat out. The chicken was probably cheaper than a meal elsewhere. Oh and the memories.....They are priceless.

Update to the update..

The mystery to the email to the DMV was solved today. My cousin called my mom's sister's new husband inquiring about some things that were bothering her about her mother's health. This conversation led to greater things and more conversations.

He is the one that has obtained a copy of the email that was supposedly sent to the DMV. He has connections with some people at the DMV and was able to obtain this information. We were still flabbergasted because no one from my family has done anything with the DMV to get his license revoked. What this man has a copy of is the fax that was sent to my grandfather's doctor by my brother on behalf of this side of the family. This letter was faxed to the doctor and only to the doctor in regards to my grandfather being deemed fit to care for himself. The doctor did call my mom that day and discuss these things with my mom but her sister is so good at manipulation that she convinced him he could care for himself and that neighbors were checking on him three times a day which is not true. The doctor then scanned the fax and emailed it to the DMV which started all of this paperwork and investigations into his mobility for driving. This also explains the argument he had with his doctor when he went to see him to get a letter of mobility signed so that he could keep his license. The doctor refused to sign one. My grandfather yelled at him and told him he was no longer his doctor.

We also found out that the will has not been changed. My grandfather thinks it has but it was not changed. Supposedly my mom's sister intervened with the lawyer and refused to take my mom out of the will but did agree to leaving her in charge of everything. Koodos for her if this really happened, I will believe it when I see it. My mom's sister has not had the decency to inform my mother of this. She thinks my mom believes she has been removed. She says that is between her father and my mother, not her.

So, as for the reason that my grandfather wanted my mom out of the will. It is not because of her. He is punishing us three grandchildren and my father. He does not want us to have his money because we were involved with his license business. He knows if my mom inherits it then we will eventually inherit it. He does not want my Dad to have it because my Dad can not stand my mom's sister and my grandfather knows this. This is my grandfather's way of punishment and revenge. That is some gratefulness to my Father who stayed with my grandparents every night for one solid year to care for them. My grandfather is mean and spiteful.

His license is one of the final things to his independence. He feels as long as he can drive that he is independent. He can not drive. He should not drive. Everyone in our family and my cousins agree except for my mom's sister. She agrees with everything he wants regardless of his health or anyone else's health or safety. She will do anything to make him happy and not mad at her. She has to always be in his good graces. She will lie, manipulate and hurt anyone to stay on his good side. She also will not do what is in his best interest and safety if it means going against his will. She does not care if he gets hurt or hurts others while driving or living.

It is so sad, real sad. We are the only ones fighting for his safety and care yet we are the ones that are the bad ones and hated. We care enough to fight and see to it he is cared for and all he thinks we want is his money. When and if social services steps in , there will be no money after that. We want social services to intervene because our hands are tied.

I have been struggling the last few weeks with the fact that I have not been there to visit him since we had words weeks and weeks ago. I want to see my grandfather that used to be not the one that is there now. I am being told by my mom and cousin that I am the only one of the three grandchildren on this side that is still on good graces. I cannot understand why after the argument we had that day. I do not want to go up there and have him tell me to listen and don't talk while he talks about how awful my family is and then when you defend them be told that I am wrong when he is wrong. That is not how I want my final memories to be. I want my memories to be of the grandfather that loved me and thought I was special. Up until recent months, I was one of the two favored grandchildren. There are five grand kids all together. I am not pouting or bragging. I want the good memories not the ones of him being a mean, deceitful and hurtful man.

The sad thing though about my good memories. They are not of doing things with my grandparents. We never did anything with them but go out to dinner. They are not of my grandparents buying me things. They did only on holidays and birthdays. My precious grandmother would sneak things here and there when he was not looking. She was the giver but he never knew. They never came to anything we did. I think they came to one swim meet in my 8 years of swimming. They stopped by the bowling alley during one tournament in my 6 years of bowling. That was only because my mom came by before going to dinner with them after church. He was always happiest when you were doing for him and giving him gifts. I would buy him candy and brownies all the time growing up and he loved me oh so much. I see all this now. My aunt's new husband is the greatest thing in the world to him now. You want to know why? Everytime he comes to the house he has gifts for my grandfather. Snacks, candy, wine. He never shows up empty handed and my grandfather just takes it all in and thinks he is fantastic. I included my grandmother in on some of this but I know in my heart that she wanted to be at things and would have but her life was about making him happy. She had to prove her love to him for 72 years. What a woman, what a saint! He will tell you that when she said that she loved him, he would respond that she needed to prove it. I am not trying to be negative against him but only realizing after 37 years what makes him click. Everyone doing for him. My grandmother would hide the chicken thighs in the refrigerator at family gatherings so that he could have them all. One time she even told us the grocery store did not give her any thighs in the 50 pc chicken she ordered. She had them all in a tin for him in the refrigerator. I was the one that discovered this that year.

Well, I know I am babbling. I am ever so grateful to my blog and blog readers who put up with my long posts and allow me to get it off my chest to keep my sanity.

Family Update...

My Dad is doing so-so. He still can not drive. The car was totaled. We only had liability coverage but did have medical. He has had his defibrillator go off three more times since the accident. Once he was on the phone and knew it, the other two he was asleep but they were not black-out spells.

My grandfather, however, nothing has changed. He is mean and honorary if not worse than ever. He has been lied to by my mom's sister so much that he hates my sister and brother. My mom's sister has convinced him they were behind the DMV possibly revoking his license. She claims she went to the DMV and has an email from my sister that she sent to them. This is all a lie. My sister nor brother sent nothing to the DMV. Neither of them wanted his license they just wanted him cared for 24 hours a day and were willing to call social services to have an intervention. The woman is full of lies and deceitfulness. My sister is almost to the point of calling her to ask for a copy of the email so that she may press charges against the one forging her name. She said she is waiting the holidays out.

Speaking of the holidays. Christmas Eve is always at my sister's house but provided by my mom. Her house is bigger. My mom's sister,my grandparents and cousins join us also. Christmas night is traditionally at my grandparent's house. We thought we would have one last Christmas there but it is not going to happen. My grandfather is refusing to come to my sister's house on Christmas Eve. She can come to his house but the last time she was there he was plain rude to her when she came to make sure he had food. This is all ridiculous and it is all because of the evil woman, my mom's sister. So my cousin is driving in for Christmas Eve at my sister's house, staying the night with their sons and then driving back home after Christmas breakfast with her kids. She informed my grandfather that she will be here Christmas but since he is choosing not to be where the family is that she will not see him. He informed her that was her decision, not his. He also said it was our decision to celebrate and leave him home alone. It is not our decision it is our tradition and his decision not to join us. So we will celebrate like normal and like we have for 40 years. My mom's sister can choose to join us or sit at home with him the whole evening. She created the mess. On Christmas day, we will have our family Christmas breakfast at my sister's house before my brother flies out with his wife to see her family and sit at an airport for five hours in a layover because she refused to take the later, cheaper flight that the layover was only 45 minutes. ( That is a whole story in itself). My mom will then go out to see my grandfather at some point on Christmas Day and then will come back to my sister's house to join the rest of her family for Christmas Dinner. He is the one being ugly. One may say it is old age but I know it is him. He was a mean old man before he was saved and has resorted back to that mean old man now. He told my mom that her and my sister needed to rethink their Christianity. He does this when things don't go his way.

Monday morning my mom went by for her usual visit to take him breakfast and the house was closed and locked up. She called for him and no answer. She went in and looked for him. She found him on the floor with just his underwear, wrapped up in a blanket white as a sheep. He had fallen at some point during the night and could not get back up. She went to get help. The neighbor came and refused to help, instead he called 911. The paramedics came and he refused to go, it is his right. The paramedic asked a few questions and said that he was calling his supervisor to report this to social services. Then the neighbor went home and called ss too. This is the 4th call we are aware of and they have not shown up yet. Remember, this is the same man that my mom's sister convinced doctors that he is able to care for himself and is mentally competent. So mentally competent that he told my mom's sister that this happened twice and my mom had called 911 two days in a row. This was not true. She says he is mentally fine just forgetful and able to care for himself. Sounds like it doesn't it. He eats the breakfast my mom serves him in the morning and she leaves him sandwiches for the rest of the day. They are always sitting on the counter the next day because he wants his meals served to him. He can get up and go to the fridge though and pour himself wine all day but he cant get anything to eat. Make sense?

You may ask why my parent's don't stay with him anymore. Well my Dad cant now but my mom is scared for her life when she is there. In the mornings, she goes long enough to feed him and maybe wash or dry a load of clothes then she leaves.He has both a pistol and a shotgun and she does not trust him. We don't know the location of the pistol, we do know where the shotgun is. With my grandfather's mentality, I do not blame her. Also, all of my mom's legal rights have been taken from her and her sister is in full legal and medical control now.

Natural High...

Tonight was my church's children's production. It is not the smoothest production but I love it every year. Every year I do the sound but I know all the songs, I know what they are doing and not doing. I am the assistant director.

My nephew is in it , of course. He did not steal the show this time. The show was stolen by one of our four year olds. I had to fight to get him in the production because he is not part of the children's choir. This is not a children's choir production but a children's production. He is in our children's department. To get the director to include him was like hitting a brick wall but I won. I am glad I did. I was told by her Sunday morning that he would not be there for the evening production so I never put his angel costume together. Well at 4:30, he showed up and I had to throw together an angel costume at the last minute. She was not happy. I also found him a halo. He was adorable. He stole the show on Hark the Herald Angels Sing. He also helped pass out gifts. He was adorable. I was so happy I fought to include him. Her philosophy was he was not there for practice. My philosophy was he is 4 and only 4 and he is part of our children's department so we make room for him somewhere. I am starting to take him from the nursery to the children's church and choir slowly because he is so young. I will definitely keep doing that .

In the bad and sad picture above, the fourth child from the right is the 4 year old angel I described. The third child from the right is my nephew. My nephew did a good job of helping out the 4 year old, it was so cute.

So I walked away with a natural high because I love this production. I walk away with a natural high because of fighting for the 4 year old boy to be a part of the production and winning. I walk away with a natural high because he thoroughly enjoyed his part. I walk away with a natural high after hearing the audience ooh and ahhh when he went up there. I walk away with a natural high because I love these kids .Priceless.

On another note, I made some memories with my nephew tonight. We took home the leftover cake from our refreshments. We were all in one car because we were going to see some synchronized Christmas lights. The two of us were in the third seats of the van with the cake. He would slyly take his little finger and steal icing off the cake. He got caught by his mom who started fussing about him not eating anymore sugar tonight. We both smiled as he continued to do it after she had warned him. Then we made a pitstop for him to go to the restroom. His momma stole what she thought was the only plate of cake. She didn't know we had more. He continued his tricks. Then I helped him but I gave him cake. He quietly said, " Don't give me cake only icing. " His mom heard enough to know he was still eating icing. She said, " Cameron I told you no more icing." I responded in his defense, " He is not eating icing. " I left it at that because he was not eating icing but cake. My nephew and I just grinned at each other and smirked. Some things are better left between an aunt and a nephew.

It's snowing....

It is snowing here. It never snows this early in the winter season. It rarely snows here anyways. A max of maybe one or two times a year and that is a dusting.

I love snow.... BUT not on the night before a cookie sale at church for the kids to raise money for Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. I have a gazillion cookies to sell tomorrow.

If we lived in an area that received snow a lot , it would be no big deal. A dusting of snow here means everything is closed and crazy. Our church is mainly old people who don't drive in snow.

Oh, what am I going to do with all these cookies?

Sometimes he shows he cares...

I mentioned in previous posts that my parents do not have the perfect marriage but a committed marriage. He shows little emotion to her or anyone, not even us. As for buying her gifts, he leaves it to me and gives me the credit card. I always act surprised at what he came up with on Christmas but she knows I went out and bought it.

Tonight, I came home and had to borrow his credit card to reconnect my cell phone. He told me that he saw a sale in the paper for a heart necklace and wanted to get it for my mom but he has does not have a car or means to get to the store. This totally shocked me. He said he was going to call me but.... my cell phone was disconnected. I am still floored that he thought of her and wanted to buy this for her. It just shows he really does care.

My goal now is to find her a heart necklace or heart earrings since it was his thoughts. She has a nice heart necklace from Kaye's, the open heart series. I was thinking since he had the idea of a heart that matching heart earrings would be nice to this collection. Really , it was his idea this year just tweeked a little.

On another note.... I keep asking the question... What else bad can happen in my life? I think I need to change that to ... Bring it on. Honestly, things happen now and it does not phase me anymore. My mom was pulling out of our store parking lot and hit my car on the side bumper. Not a small scratch either , she scratched the whole corner of it. I got out and just looked at her. She looked back and said... I will pay for it. I told her ... Yeah right. Oh well, deed is done.

2011 Has to be better...

Some may ask why I post such personal things on here. Well, I consider my blog readers to be friends too. Friends that will lift you when you are down and pray for you on the ups and the downs of life.

I thought my financial situation was turning around. I had talked to most of my companies and made arrangements. One of the companies I made arrangements with sent me a Warrant of Debt today because of missing the October payment. I was under the impression that they would automatically take out this payment every month.Why else would it be called a monthly payment? Why else would he get all my bank information to make auto withdrawals? So when my account rep called I did not think anything of it, I thought he was calling me to remind me that the payment was going through. How nice of him, I thought. Then a few weeks later I get a letter stating my agreement had been breached and they would start legal proceedings. My account rep called again and that is when I was told he would call every month to authorize the payment. I made arrangements for the October and November payments. They took out one of them last week and are supposed to take another out two weeks later. Today , I get home and have a Warrant of Debt from my city with a court date of January 6 concerning this same bill. I am scared and flabbergasted. This was processed October 26.

It is not as if I was dodging them. I have made contact and am trying to pay the bill. Why waste your time on someone who is trying? There are thousands of people not trying. I honestly think if my wages were garnished that it would be less than my monthly payment now.

I sit back thinking what else could possibly go wrong in my life right now. I cant find a full-time job. I am looking. I have applied for marketing jobs, teaching jobs in every city and district around here, day-care jobs. I don't know what else to do. I am substituting every day that I can which has been almost every day but the first two weeks of school.

So my last post talked about me turning to soda in stress. I must confess this evening I have been stress eating. I have had three of those Banquet Salisbury steaks, some Stauffers Mac and Cheese and then the gravy from the Salisbury Steaks was so good that I had to fry some french fries to go with it. I learned that from my few months of working at a steak house. I know it is not healthy but it is comfort food. The only problem, I am not comforted but actually have a headache now. I ate all this while watching the Biggest Loser too. Isn't that sad?

Please pray for some positive changes in my life.

Reflections...

I am sitting here thinking and reflecting on the events of today. I need to give praises.

Thank You Lord.... that my Father had just turned off a major highway and was on a side road.
Thank You Lord... for him not driving my grandfather's car because we never would have heard the end of it.
Thank You Lord....for not hitting any other cars , pedestrians or children playing.
Thank You Lord....for him just stopping at a stop sign. Had he been moving it could have been even worse.
Thank You Lord... for friends and fellow bloggers that give encouragement and prayer.
Thank You Lord....for his defibrillator working.
Thank You Lord.... for his life.

Thank You Lord for everything.

In times of stress...

In times of stress....

Some people turn to alcohol, nope not me
Some people turn to drugs, nope not me
Some people turn to food, used to be me
I turn to soda now.....

My first drink of the day was at the hospital and it was an XL Pepsi from the cafeteria and a small serving of mac and cheese.

A few hours later , I had lunch and the rest of the soda.

I stopped at my sister's and had more soda.

This evening I ate some of my delicious lo-mein like dish that I make with Ramen and leftovers. I did drink water.

Now I want another Pepsi. I know I have it in the car. I keep it in the car because it is least tempting but now I really really want some and am trying not to go to the car.

I am getting desperate enough to even drink the Mountain Dew White Out that I bought for my nephew but I really don't prefer.

When I am not under stress, I really only drink one can a day, if that. When I am under stress, I want soda and more soda and more soda.

No update on my Dad, just that he is in the hospital for observing for the night. I will tell you that my grandfather has made me extremely mad though. I have mentioned that my parents were using his car to drive back and forth to take care of him because it is less on gas but they gave it back to him with his latest craziness with my mom's sister. His neighbor went to check on him when he heard what had gone on this morning when my father was on his way to take my grandfather breakfast. The neighbor told him what happened to my Dad. My grandfather's first statement had nothing to do with my Dad and whether he was alright. His first statement was... I am glad he did not have my car. How inconsiderate and selfish of him. I just sit here shaking my head, even the neighbor was appalled.

Secondly , my sister went by there to check on my grandfather when she went to clear my Dad's car out and look for his teeth. At this time he did inquire about my Dad. She went to hug him and be the better person after the ugly pow-wow a few weeks ago. He snubbed her and turned his head. Then started in on the things from the pow-wow a few weeks ago. She ignored him and left. He thinks she is the reason for his license almost being revoked, she did nothing. He thinks she is trying to put him in a home, she is not. Yes, she called social services but backed out with the attitude if wants to die like this then let him die like this. It is his stubborn decision.

Now that my Dad wont be driving for awhile, it leaves all the pressure of checking on my grandfather 5 days a week to my mother. My Dad was really good about helping her. She can not do that and see to it that my Dad gets to where he has to go, work, and pick my nephew up from school on our days to babysit. So, the question is... Will her sister do what needs to be done.... Probably Not.

UPDATE....

My Dad has been admitted to the hospital for observation for the night. He went into V-TACH which is when the heart rate is going so fast it has nothing else to do but stop. He blacked out from this and then his defibrillator went off. He came to when he hit the pole. His car is totaled. He did not hit anyone else, just a mailbox, driveway and a pole. He was not driving very fast because he does remember stopping at a stop sign before this happened.

He has been charged with reckless driving but most likely the charges will be dropped because of it being medical. Unfortunately because the black out happened while driving his license will be suspended for 6 months. If he does not have another episode with a blackout in those 6 months then his license will be reinstated.

He did lose his bottom false teeth somewhere. We thought it was gone forever because this area is nothing but leaves and gravel. One of the neighbors went over there with a rake and raked the area and found his teeth. We are thankful for that also because he was fortunate enough years ago to get false teeth that fit him perfect. I think this is the same pair he has had for over 30 years.

Thank you Lord for watching over him. Thank you Lord for protecting others that could have been in his path. Thank you Lord for finding his teeth. Praise you for your awesomeness.

Blak Clouds of my life continue...

Leaving right now for the hospital. My dad was going to take my grandfather his breakfast and check on him when his defibrillator went off and he hit a telephone pole. He wasnt going fast but is a little confused. Please pray.

Thanksgiving Menu....

Thanksgiving Menu.....

Crockpot Mac and Cheese
Roasted Squash, Cauliflower, and Brussels Sprouts
Corn
Corn Bread
Stuffing
Brownies
Pecan Chocolate Kahlua Pie
Pork Loin marinated in Garlic and Herb seasonings.....

Yep.... Pork Loin. Since my sister is a nurse we have to work around her holiday schedule. Yes, she chooses Thanksgiving in hope of getting Christmas off. Some years she gets lucky and gets both off, not this year. So, our "real " Thanksgiving is Sunday. We did not want the same foods twice so close together so I made up tomorrow's menu. Just remember pork is the other white meat.

This Thanksgiving is one filled with changes. My grandmother has passed. My grandfather is going with my mom's sister to her daughter's land three and a half hours away. So it is the first Thanksgiving we will be celebrating without either one of them. Keep my mother in your prayers as she endures tomorrow without her mother, father, nor sister. We were supposed to go to her sister's house for Thanksgiving but with all the latest turmoil with her that is the last place we want to be. My cousin also decided she wanted Thanksgiving on her land for the first year there so she invited them but she doesn't have room for the eight of us too. We understand that. They currently have a FEMA trailer and a small barn. Their basement for their new home will begin construction in the spring. She also is three and half hours away. Too long of a drive for one day. Seven hours on Thanksgiving day, wow!

Changes... Changes... Changes but we will make the best of it.

I hope and pray everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.

Modge Podge Again...

Another post with multiple thoughts....

• I made my crock pot macaroni and cheese again and this time it was not quite as good. There is a reason though. My directions were not followed. I fixed all the ingredients in the crock pot the night before except the noodles. I placed the crock in the refrigerator. My instructions to my mother were to add a box of noodles but make sure the milk covers the noodles then to cook it for four hours. I talked to her during my lunch and that should have been a clue. She said, I did not need to add any milk because the noodles were covered and you could not even see them. I thought nothing of it. When I came home that afternoon, I stirred the mixture and was shocked. The noodles had disintegrated. Then I looked at the counter and noticed the full box of noodles never opened. I pieced it all together, she had never added the noodles. She thought I had already added the noodles and that she needed to add milk. Sometimes I wonder about her. So we had milky cheese soup. I did add the noodles in for the last hour and they did cook but it was not as good as the last time because the cheese had clumped together after cooking for three hours with nothing else to stick to.
• I started my walking back today. I know this is a bad week to start a routine but I could not keep saying, next week and then next week never comes. My mom, nephew and I went for a 20 minute walk in the neighborhood behind our business. Well, we walked and he roller-bladed. It was nice but wherever I go trouble follows, literally. A cute long-haired orange tabby cat was laying in her yard when she spotted my nephew. She evidently loves kids and came out to meet us in the street. I approached her to make sure she was friendly and sure enough she was. She followed us for three blocks until we went back to our business. The cat lover in me was then worried about her finding her way back . I was able to pick her up and love on her. I took her in the store where she was quite intrigued. I then was able to put her in my car and drive her back home. I am now worried that she will find her way back to us because she liked us so much. She really followed my nephew but I was the one who was able to hold her and get her back to where she needed to go.
• Someone asked me last week on motivation techniques. I have only one. It is Sparkpeople.com. You can log your food, which I haven't lately. You can log your exercises and earn points for virtual trophies. Surprisingly enough this does motivate me. When I am walking and exercising, I catch myself thinking about the number of points I will get today for exercising. It is funny though that something I will never physically have can motivate me.
• Update on the situation with my grandfather. He is still staying alone. My mom goes out there five mornings a week to see to it that he has breakfast and some kind of sandwich for the rest of the day. He never eats the sandwich or meal that she leaves, only the breakfast that she cooks. He drinks Ensure the rest of the day. My mom's sister , well she comes on Wednesday night to Thursday morning and for a few hours on Sunday. She had a conversation with my cousin about the will. She claims, if she told her the truth, that the will was not changed. I wont believe her until I see it. What was changed? A living trust was formed giving her full charge of all financial decisions for him while he is alive. At which time he deceases , she then becomes the executor. She claims he asked for this, I don't believe it. He does not even know anything about a living trust. She convinced him of this when she found out it was true that he had looked into removing her from the will. This guarantees her spot in the will and gives her full control of him and the money. She must be in full control. This also prevents my mother and family from making any decisions while she is on one of her many vacations should something happen to him. She still feels we told the ER to admit both of them in April for no reason and that neither one of them were sick. He did not have pneumonia and stay in a week and my grandmother did not leave under hospice care and pass away a week later. Nope, all that was not necessary according to her. The ER just admitted them because we told them to according to her. As for his driver's license. His doctor refused to sign the papers to send to the DMV to renew his license. He went off on the doctor who then walked out. Somehow, she found another doctor to sign the needed paperwork. So at 96.5 , he can drive according to the law. She is the only one in the family who thinks he can. He drove Halloween weekend and hit something because his car is scratched and dented. He cant hear and he cant walk but he can press the gas and maneuver a car, according to her. I do not trust his driving . I pray he does not hurt anyone else when he does drive.

Well that is it for the moment..... Toodles.

A loss....

I went to the doctor today for a blood pressure check-up. I was excited to find out that I have lost 11 pounds. I was very happy. Unfortunately my BP was borderline again today but then again I have caught a virus. Right now I am pouring with sweat. In about an hour, I will have chills. My head hurts off and on and I did not sleep much last night.

What have I been doing because I have not been exercising at all? I do not eat out but once a week now. Occasionally it may be twice if we have a busy day. I pack my own lunch to school most days. I also have cut back my sodas to one can a day. I eat chips sometimes but in pre-portioned bags. See , if I open a big bag of chips. I will eat the entire bag without realizing it. Has it been hard? Really it has not.

Even when we cook at home, it does not mean I am cooking 100% healthy but cooking unhealthy occasionally at home is still less calories and fat than eating out most places. I used to eat lunch out everyday. Today was the first time I have been to Chick-Fil-A in months and then I only bought a sandwich. Nothing else.

So I am happy. Happy enough that when I feel better I am going to slowly incorporate some more exercise again.

Has society really not come beyond this....

Red font because I am mad. Some people may get mad at my opinion but I don't care it is my blog. I thought about this for several nights before posting this and decided to just do it.

I went to a concert the other night. A Christian Southern Gospel type of concert that travels the USA. A very well known traveling group with many, many different artists. The kind of group where at 37, I was considered the young one. I referred to it as a grey-haired , bouffant convention.

What could make me so mad? Why do we still act like this ? No wonder, we still have so many people playing the race card because we are an idiotic society, that's why.

This concert had many artists with all the same type of music, southern gospel. Of course all but one artist was white. The one artist was African-American. Boy , oh boy can she sing. She sings great soprano. No yelling, no screaming but awesome soprano.

So what happened, you ask? This is what happened. When she came on to perform about 1/8 of the audience suddenly had to go to the restroom. I knew this was going to happen because I had an idiot behind me who stated..." Oh, here she comes. Time for me to go to the bathroom." His wife proceeded to talk to her neighbor the entire time. Even the person I went with suddenly needed a restroom break. I wanted to think all this was just coincidental but no it wasn't. You see when the other groups came on after her, hardly anyone had to go anywhere. They were rejoicing and clapping.

What proved my theory true? About 4 -5 songs after intermission , she stood up to sing again. It all occurred again. About 1/8 of the audience had to have a restroom break again. The man behind me said...." Oh mercy, I have to get out of here." His wife once again started a conversation with her neighbor. I was almost to the point of tears at how people were behaving to a black woman. She could see the people leaving and stood their and sang her music just as if she could see nothing. What a woman!

As long as we as society keep acting stupid then the racism card is going to be used over and over and over again. There is no need in such stupidity. GOD created all of us equally. You may say it does not exist. Oh, it exists. I saw it first-hand. I also believe if these same people were blind-folded they never would have known she was black. Nope, they would not.

I have decided to pray for these people and their attitudes and also to pray for my attitude for calling them stupid and idiotic but at this time that is how I feel. I am sorry, please forgive me.

There is a glimmer of light....

There is a glimmer of light at the end of my tunnel.

I do owe a lot of money to several credit card companies. Stupidity on my part.

I thought I had another year on my car but discovered tonight that it will be paid for in January.

WOOOOHOOOOO! Love it.

Now to work on the others I owe but that car was my biggest payment a month.

WOOOOHOOOOO! Love it.

The part that angers me though is I had a 60 month loan which I thought was 72 but one payment in 55 was returned. Do you know they started repossession letters off that one payment being late and in overdraft? Don't give me any credit for the other 55 that were on time but harass me over one measly payment and it is one of the last 5 payments too.

How ridiculous!

I am contemplating withdrawing the $ from my itty bitty retirement just to get them off my back but my mom says let them call me all they want with only 5 payments to go. Hmmh!

This and That, Again....

A little of this and a little of that, again....

• Morphine brings out the truth in everyone.... Wednesday night I ended up in the ER with my mom. She was having sudden back pains that started at 6 PM and got progressively worse through the evening. At 10 pM, I convinced her to go to the ER because the pain was going across her stomach a tightening her stomach. I knew this did not sound right. So , they suspected it was a kidney stone and ordered her morphine. Within an hour they see her pain and give her more morphine. Suddenly, she looks over at me and says, " WOW, You need to color your hair. Your roots are like 3" long and boy do you have some grey." That made me feel so good and I looked at her and said "No more morphine for you because you just blurt out what comes to your mind, Wow!" Even the nurse was laughing. Well, she did not have a kidney stone but a severe kidney infection that supposedly had no symptoms until the terrible backpain that night. She said it was worse than labor pains. Just for the record, I colored my hair last night and washed those greys right out. There were only about 5 strands of grey.
• I was substituting at my Alma Mater the other day. Yes, I go back there even if I did not get the job there. I had three really good classes which is unusual for this school. I did get mad because during my break I had to get called to another class because the teacher had to leave suddenly. I really don't mind doing that as long as it is not PE. Well it was PE. He was having class outside where it was somewhat chilly and I only had a light jacket and I was not in PE clothes but nice clothes. I really looked odd out there for that hour and a half. Off to my story, I enjoyed a conversation with two African-American girls that were trying to stay on the right path by not getting pregnant in high school like their siblings. They had watched their sisters struggle as single parents and decided they wanted to wait until after college to have kids. One of them was a basketball player. I was telling her that I had played there for two years. She was impressed. I told her that Coach M was coaching the boys back then too like he is now. She then proceeded to say " Coach M is old, he was here coaching before I was even born." I looked and chuckled. I told her that I graduated from here before she was born. Her mouth dropped and she said, " You don't look that old ." I really think she was trying to give me a compliment and not tell me that I am old. What do you think?
• I have to throw in two advertisements, both are for Virginia peanuts. I am a born and raised in Virginia. I know Virginia ham and peanuts. Personally, Virginia ham is too salty for me. I like a Pagan ham. As for the peanuts, there are no peanuts like Virginia peanuts. I went to a bazaar this weekend and sampled my second favorite peanut. They are garlic flavored Virginia peanuts. Oh my, I can not stop eating them. Here is their link: http://www.virginiapeanutcompany.com. I have never had garlic seasoned ones before . They are delicious for garlic flavored. My ultimate favorite peanut in Virginia is :http://www.whitleyspeanut.com/ . I just buy the salted ones from them and their chocolate peanut clusters. Oh my. Take it from a Virginian these are the best peanuts out there. You will never buy regular canned peanuts again. Well worth the money.

Well toodles for now. School is out here today and I have some reorganizing to do. Yeah right but it is on my agenda.

Call me Cake MacGyver....

Dinner at the restaurant is at 6 PM.
I walk into a department store , Rose's at 5:37 PM to buy my sister a birthday card.
My cell phone rings at 5:38 Pm, it is my brother in law. Frantic because he asked his neighbor to bake my sister a cake and she forgot. He wants to know if I can pick one up on my way to the restaurant. Oh sure, I say.
Panic sets in, I dont have time to go get a cake.
I look around the department store. I find a fruit cake, nope wont do. I find a pound cake. This place does not normally have pound cakes. Hmmh, what can I do....Well I run back to their tiny food section, I mean tiny. Voila.... Betty Crocker funfetti icing. Then I find a container and a pack of knives. Purchase and out to the car I go.
I sit in the car and icing the pound cake and close up the container and am proud. Nothing fancy but proud I pulled a cake out of nowhere with nothing.
She laughs and laughs and so did he. Everyone has a small piece and it was quite tasty, it had a slight lemon flavor.
SO.....pound cake $1
icing $1.75
container $1
knives $1

Memories and laughter ....priceless

Here is the master piece.....

Just call me MacGyver. Just give me 5 minutes and an imagination.

I am glad it was met with laughter because I really goofed on her card. I found a funny card but did not pay attention to the cat on the front that looks just like their cat that died last week. I felt horrible but I was paying attention to the words and never noticed the cat nor the similarities. What a heel !

What I did this weekend...

What I did this weekend...

• I did not get a job on Thursday and was disappointed. That is what is hard about being a substitute, sometimes you just don't get to them quick enough online and someone beats you to it. This could happen just by not refreshing the page every minute.
• Took Friday off, I had already planned this to go to a Christmas in the Plantation craft show in Surry, VA.
• Tried a boiled peanut. BLAHHH! Tasted somewhat like a not so salty black eyed pea but the pea tastes a 100% better. Glad the lady offered me one before I bought the bag. Didn't know a boiled peanut in the shell made the nut soft and mushy. The man behind me told me it was an acquired taste, acquired alright. He was buying 4 bags of them. He was cute too. A lumberjack man. May have to go back to find him and introduce him to plain old roasted in-shell peanuts.
• Went to Virginia Beach with my mom and stayed in a time-share facility someone gave to us for the weekend. I was scared because VA Beach had a bad bed bug outbreak this summer. That was the first thing I checked. It was a nice, newly renovated facility. Not spectacular but nice.
• Found a restaurant in my coupon book and enjoyed a fabulous seafood dinner in Virginia Beach. If you are ever there, it is Abbey Road.
• Tried Oyster Rockefeller bisque and it was good, needed salt.
• Spent time in the hot tub.
• Drove down Atlantic Ave and found a breakfast place called Pocahontas Pancakes. Found out it was on Food Network a few years ago and in Southern Living in March. Tried the sampler which was enough food for an army. Two eggs, two sausage, two bacon, two pancakes and half of Belgian waffle. The waffles and the pancakes were fabulous.
• Rented a double wide bike with my mom. Ummh, never again. Three wheels, two seats, two sets of pedals, one handlebar. We were practically laying down and we were not in sync. She finally near the end got up and walked. Needless to say I am sore, sore, sore today.
• Walked the boboardwalk and watched the surfers.
• Drove into town and went shopping. Found another coupon for another restaurant. Ordered a drunken ribeye and it was tender and delish.
• Tried Irish Nachos at this place. They were good but the cheese sauce tasted a little too much like beer. My mom loved it though.
• Went back to the hot tub.
• Slept very little, great beds though but I have a bad back and anything but my bed or an air mattress is bad on my back. I miss my water bed.
• Went back to Pocahontas Restaurant for breakfast. This time we split the pecan pancakes which were featured on the THE BEST OF... on the Food Network.
• Walked the boardwalk. Enjoyed the view of a handsome fellow putting up the volleyball nets for tournaments for the day. I think I enjoyed the view too much, I think I was staring. Oh yeah, I watched beach flag football , not near as interesting as my volleyball man.
• Headed home.
• Stopped on the Norfolk/ VA Beach border to visit my two cousins in their first apartment. My cousin just finished his Masters and received a job in computer programming starting at 60K. I miss him. He is only 20-25 minutes away but it is through a tunnel which around here is a whole different world. Such a great kid... he deliberately rented a two bedroom so his brother could live with him for free and not have dorm and food fees while finishing his education. A savings of $5500 a semester.
• Tried Viet Namese food for the second time. I stayed away from the Pho Soup, my first experience was not so good. I tried the fried rice but after tasting the soup at this place , I regretted not ordering it. It was delicious.
• Headed home again.
• Went to trunk or treat at my church... I was a black eyed pea.... Yep I wore the letter P and had two black eyes. HAHAHAHAH!

Great Weekend!

Whoooh!

Recently we have started burning one of our candles that we sell at our store in the store. We are in an old building that when it rains it can smell musty, so this helps. It also helps promote the candles.

Well yesterday after school I stopped by the store and lit the candle while I was there . I told my mom that I had lit it and that she needed to remember to blow it out when she came home.

I never thought about it anymore until I awoke at 3 AM wondering if she had blown the candle out. I tried to dismiss it but I couldn't. I kept thinking if the store burns down it is all my fault. So I went and woke my mom up and she did not remember blowing the candle out either.

Off we went at 3 am out to our business to check this candle. Sure enough it was burning away and you could see the little flame in the canister twinkling away from the main boulevard.

We unlocked the door while still in our jammies and walked over with our flashlight and blew it out. Needless to say we will use one of the candle burners that melt candles with electricity plugged into the surge protector that gets turned off every night. Lesson learned.

I must say though when we walked in the store at the wee hour of 3:20 AM , the store smelled awesome like fresh picked apples.

Whoooh! Thank You Lord for protecting the store.

UPDATE

Nothing has changed on the home front. We are 99% positive my mom was removed from the will. His neighbor came over to talk to him for three hours about how wrong he was and even backed it up with scripture but my grandfather was being bull-headed. He is using the Old Testament as his rightfulness about the oldest child inheriting everything.

My cousin who lives away stopped by to get a bed she had stored at his house. Let me correct myself, her husband went to get the bed. My grandfather could not understand why they were taking one of his beds. It was not one of his beds, it is theirs that they have stored there. He explained it to him three times and he still did not understand. He still thinks my cousin took one of his beds. Her husband had the same conversation with him about us living in New Testament times and the law about the oldest inheriting things is Jewish law. That led into the fact that my grandfather thinks that the scholars who wrote the KJV were all drunks. Needless to say the conversation went no where.

Now he wants our pastor to come talk to him so our pastor will tell him how right he is. My pastor does not want to because it will lead to arguments because he is wrong.

Now onto other things about him. My mom went to check on him Friday and left when he started in on how much he loves her BUT..... So she left before it started. She locked the house up and left him in his chair in the living room. We found out through my cousin that he ventured out in the yard. I dont know how he got down his garage steps because he is so weak. He was in his scooter around dusk when some people drove by that thought he looked in trouble so stopped to help. He yelled at them that he was fine. It brought the attention to the neighbor that checks on him. My grandfather yelled at him too that he was fine and could care for himself but refused to go inside. So the neighbor called my mom's sister, not my mom. The neighbor likes my mom and knows what is going on so he figured if my mom's sister is getting it all then she can handle all the problems. She arrived and was yelled at also that he can care for himself and has a paper from his doctor to prove it. My mom's sister refused to call my mom about this because she knows it is proof he is losing it. She keeps saying that he is fine and in his right mind because he says he is and anything Daddy says is truth. I can just tell you that this couple driving by saw something that caused them to be concerned enough to drive by several times before stopping to help him.

Please continue to pray for my family, especially my mom. This is utter rejection to her as a child of his.

I tried to stay out of it...

I really did try to stay out of it. My mother went to return the car that he gave to her that he claims he did when he was not in his right mind. I drove down the road 35 minutes from where the school was that I was working at today to pick her up. I walked in the door and the door slammed. I heard him yelling at my mom and accusing my Dad of some untruths. One of them was that my Dad has brainwashed her to hate her sister. No brainwashing was needed. Her sister did all this with no help. See up until this last year my Dad liked her and thought she was great too until he saw her deceitful ways.

It really broke my heart to hear my mom telling her father that she was sorry she was ever born and sorry she was born to a man who only had enough love for one child and that is her sister. He never has treated my mom right. He never denied any of it. Just kept telling her that my family had brainwashed her.

He also said he would pray for my Dad's salvation. I stood in the hallway totally flabbergasted. He kept going even after my mom pleaded with him to stop. There was more said when my mom screamed for him to stop because his granddaughter had heard it all. He then before knowing who it was accused me of being a sneak and a thief by sneaking in his house. I did not sneak, I walked in and the door slammed. I walked into his living room and looked at his face, he was shocked it was me because I had not been in all this mess. HE did not apologize for calling me a thief and a sneak. He started to tell me how he loved me so much but my parents were awful people. I told my mom to leave and went off on him. I told him my parents had done nothing to him but care for him for 3 months and that him being ugly to them was not right. He looked at me and told me that their good care was a matter of opinion and that he had been treated badly and had not said anything. Oh, this is so untrue. He also told me he knew I would see their side just like my brother because blood is thicker than water. I guess I don't come from his bloodline. Then he went on to remind me that he loaned my brother some money years ago when he needed it and he was ashamed of my brother for going off on my mom's sister. The money was paid back nine years ago. I wrote on his board that I loved him as my grandfather and I was ashamed of his attitude towards my parents. He continued to tell me that he loved me and that when I stand over his casket when he is dead that I can remember that. I waved goodbye to him as I uttered to myself... You loved me before or after you called me a sneak and a thief for just walking in the door.

The sad part of all this today is that she had a good morning with him. It wasn't until she was leaving that he wanted to say some things. Say somethings alright. He was plain mean. He was all nice to her when she was making sure he didnt go to bed tonight in a soaked bed and made him breakfast and a good lunch. Once again, he was plain mean.

I look back hours later. It was useless to talk to him. The man I talked to was not my grandfather this was a mean old stranger today. I don't know how he was deemed competent on Monday. Oh, I do know , my mom's sister took him to the doctor and lied to the doctor about things. Told the doctor the neighbors will check on him 2-3 times a day. How do we know all this? My mom called the doctor and talked to him. My mom also talked to the neighbors today and no such agreement was made. In fact, one neighbor says the next time he comes in the house and he is sitting in pee and wet, he will call social services. As for being competent, I don't know how a doctor can deem that out of a 96.5 year old after a 15 minute appointment and declare him able to care for himself with assistance from the neighbors. My mom's sister is that good.

In the mean time, my parents have backed away. My mom will go up there two times a week to see to it that he has food. This is what they have had to do for their own well-being. When he gets ugly , she will leave.

Oh and by the way, my grandfather said that he would pray for my forgiveness too. I asked him for what and he said for fussing at him even though he did not hear a word of it. Also said he forgives me even though I have not asked for his forgiveness. Since when is telling someone they are treating others bad a sin

I am tired of it all.

So, I still sit here wondering, spiritually wise... How is evil still winning?