Happy Birthday First Grader!
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: family

First Grader turns 7 today - SEVEN?!  OMG!  When did that happen?  Just yesterday he was walking underneath the dining room table & sleeping in a crib.  When did he become this little man - full of questions and observations about the world around him?  I asked him a question about breakfast & his response, "yes please."  To say I smiled would be an understatement.  Somewhere in the last 7 years, between his mommy, his Papa, his uncle, his aunts and me - he heard us modeling good manners and has become a little gentleman.  First Grader has a very creative imagination.  Especially when it comes to Superheros!  He can make up different stories about Spiderman, Batman, and the rest of them without any prompting!  Since he became confident in his reading ability, not an item goes by that he doesn't try to read.  Cereal boxes, advertisements, birthday cards, street signs, garbage mail - you name it & he's probably read or tried to read it! 

Celebration will be held later today - cupcakes at school followed by the dinner he requested (our store's fried chicken, green beans & salad) and then chocolate cake with choclate icing & the opening of birthday presents!

Pictures to be posted soon!

Wonderful Weekend!
Mood:  bright
Topic: home

So how 'bout you?  My sis & her hubby visited for a bit on Saturday.  Granted they only live (less than) 2 hours away (on a good day with not much traffic) but now that they are both back to working full time and I have to be home before 3 for the bus to bring 1st grader home from school, it's rare that we see each other.  So we did the grillin' out thing - I say "we" - actually my wonderful husband did the manly grilling.  Had a good lunch and chatted awhile before they had to run some errands while they were in town before heading back north.  Then yesterday our church had the monthly pot-luck lunch which is always great.  There was a jazz band concert afterwards that we went to.  Wow - some great musicians and great music.  Listening to some of the "big band sounds" as I grew up - courtesy of my parents and grandparents - I developed a fondness for this type of music.  All I could think was my mom would really enjoy this - which is what I told her later when I talked with her.

Plus I was able to work on a little project I've been at for awhile and get the normal housecleaning, laundry chores done.

Two days before First Grader turns 7!  We've been on a countdown since April 1st!

Want a little Cheese with that W(h)ine?
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: home
So what is it about outside noises - especially the type large vehicles make as they pass our house - that makes the dog go ape-crazy?  I'm talking full blown, jump off the couch like it's on fire, attack me all the while making this horrible whiny, high pitched bark.  And she doesn't just nudge me - she jumps on me so hard I've almost fallen out of the computer chair - no warning or anything.  After the first 20 times before the afternoon, you'd think I'd be ready for it.  But no - she always takes me by surprise.  We had to put a baby gate up by the sliding glass door because she took to jumping on it and scratching at it.  If she hears a helicopter, she wants out - yeah, like she's really going to catch it!  If there's an animal within a 100 yard radius, she has to be out chasing it or trying to get its attention.  Yeah, that bird is NOT going to play ball with you.  But if there's a storm coming - I swear she can hear thunder in Oklahoma! - she better be inside, under the computer, and being babied.  If someone is mowing their grass - same thing.  I think if a squirrel actually turned around and started to charge her, she'd be shaking and crying.  This is not a small dog mind you - she's medium size - a little over 40 lbs.  Not a pure bred by any stretch of the imagination - although we are pretty sure she has some sort of hunting dog in her the way she points and attacks.  Even if were feasible to install a doggy door - I don't see her using it.  I think she would be too scared of it.  I love this dog - she's absolutely very intelligent and amazing - yet sometimes the whine gets so annoying that I want to whine back!

Ok, I did it!
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Genealogy

Ok, I set up a genealogy blog this morning.  You can find it here:

http://allmybranches.wordpress.com

Enjoy if you want to read!

Possibly Expanding into another Blog
Mood:  quizzical
Topic: Genealogy

So I've been flirting with the idea of doing a blog solely on genealogy stuff.  If nothing else, then I wouldn't have to bore you with details of family history searching, etc. and you can have the option of also reading that blog instead of wading through stuff you might not want to read to get to the other (good) stuff! 

This week has been quieter than last - in relation to having to be places 3-4 evenings a week and such.  Sad note, the family that I pet-sit for (a dog and a cat) - and are great friends with - called me on Thursday to alert me that the dog has cancer.  I won't get to pet-sit for him now as he'll need basically round the clock care.  So they'll get someone to actually "live-in" when they have to be out of town.  I will go visit from time to time as I'm quite fond of the guy (he's a Brittany Spaniel) and will really miss him when he's gone. 

The local video store is going out of business so they are selling all of their DVD's and games.  I tihnk they sent all the "new releases" from the last few weeks to the parent company to be dispersed among stores that aren't closing as none of them were there.  Picked up a boat load of videos and got 2 new PS2 games for under $20 each.  Sure, they're previously played games but that's a lot better than the normal $40-$60 price tag for new.  First grader doesn't know the difference between "previously viewed" and "brand new" anyway.  As long as he can play it - it doesn't matter.  Alas, the one movie that I REALLY wanted to buy if they still had it was gone.  Could someone please get me "Casablanca"?  It has been my favorite movie for eons and no matter how many times I watch it on PBS (no interruptions and they do play a lot of old, Bogie movies - and hinted about "sure would be nice to have it" - no one has ever given me one.  Hey kids - Mother's day is coming up! (how's that for a not so subtle hint!)  There's also a 4 DVD set of Bogie & Bacall movies - I saw them once at Virgin Records & Movies in the GM mall.  Now I'll probably end up with 4 of the same DVD's! ha ha! (which translates into - none at all because they'll all think - I thought you'd get it for her so I didn't.)

My irises have bloomed - I need to take pictures to post here.  They are very pretty.  I still have one poor little lonely rose on my rose bush out back. 

What are you doing this weekend?

Things About Me (that you were just dying to know!)
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: Blogging

Got emails from both my sister & niece this a.m. (probably last night!) on the subject of "things about me".  I've probably posted this info here before but instead of forwarding to people who (like me) have no time for that sort of thing & delete it, I'm posting here so if you are interested - you can read & if not - you can go to another web site!

A ) Four places I go all the time: Church, Starbucks, Tom Thumb, 7-11

B) Four people who e-mail me (regularly); My sister, Mary, Patty, any of my children

C) Four of my favorite places to eat: Alfredos, Local Diner, Cracker Barrel, Taco Bueno (yes, I'm a "Bueno Head")

D) Four places I would rather be right now: with my mom

E) Four people I think will respond: probably no one!

F) Four TV shows I watch over and over: Lost, American Idol, New Amsterdam, CSI (any)

Four jobs I have had in my life: 1.       Catering Employee 2.    Waitress 3.   Graphic Artist/Tech. Illustrator/Clerk/Pub Specialist 4.    After market sales representative   Four movies I would watch over and over: 1.        Casablanca 2.     Highlander (Original & End Game) 3.     Lord of the Rings (all 3) 4.     Why do I only get 4?  Four places I have lived : 1.       Beavercreek, Ohio  2.       Grapevine, Texas 3.        Denton, Texas 4.         Lewisville, Texas          Four TV Shows that I watch: 1.        American Idol 2.      New Amsterdam  3.      Lost    4.      CSI (all)  Four places I have been: 1.     Grand Canyon 2.     Disneyland 3.     Philadelphia 4.     Niagra Falls (Canadian Side) - is that all I can list?  Four of my favorite foods: 1.   Alfredo's pizza 2.    My mom's spaghetti 3.    My mom's chicken & noodles 4.    My swiss steak in the crock pot Four places I would rather be right now 1.       1.   With my mom in Ohio       2.   Somewhere with my husband without kids!             3.    Somewhere I haven't been & I don't have to cook, clean, entertain, or get up at a decent time in the morning or go to bed at a decent hour at night!             4.   In Missouri at the farm 2.     Four friends I think will respond: 1.        I'm not sure who I'll send this to, so I can't speculate....  (repeating my sister's thoughts!) 2.        Four things I look forward to in 2008 1.       1. Visiting family         2.   Jasmine's graduation           3.   Jasmine's start to college           4.   Getting a 3rd vehicle

Send me the link to your answers! (or I'll tag you!)

34 Years Ago Yesterday
Mood:  not sure
Topic: Weather

Should have posted this yesterday but I was too busy grocery shopping & cleaning up grandson's room.  So for the sake of argument - let's say today is April 3rd (it's not - it's Apr. 4th). 

April 3, 1974

Season of Lent, a Wednesday, start of Tornado Season in the Midwest. 

Scene: Gym of a Junior High School, mid-week sock-hop in full swing. Outside the weather is muggy, humid, the sky is green, rumors are flying about bad weather and tornadoes.

I was in 7th grade and 90% of the students at my Jr. High had stayed after school for the mid-week sock-hop.  The back door to the gym was open so some of us kept standing there looking out at the sky as others would approach & tell us they "heard" there were tornado warnings/touch-downs/etc. in towns close to us.

Then the Principal came on the PA System.  A tornado had hit Xenia, Ohio (town right next to mine).  Our parents were outside waiting to pick us up.  Go quickly but safely.  Most of us had left our books, etc. in our lockers so we quickly spread out over the school to retrieve our stuff & then leave.

When I got in the car, Mom said she'd stood at the back door of our house & watched the wall cloud/ funnel cloud / tornado head toward Xenia.  We wondered about Lenten services at church that night.  We wondered how bad Xenia was hit.  An F5 had hit the town - though we didn't know it immediately.

We did go to our church services that evening - we met in the basement as the clouds still looked pretty ominous. It wasn't until later & the next day that we really knew the damage.  Thirty-three people were killed, over a thousand injured.  To this day the residents of Xenia are panicked at the sound of a tornado siren.

For more information on this tornado visit:

www.xeniatornado.com

and go to Youtube, search for Xenia Tornado to see the real thing and how horrible it was.

HOLY THUNDER, LIGHTNING & HAIL, BATMAN!
Mood:  incredulous
Topic: home

I swear I'm going to add a new topic for weather as most of my posts lately seem to revolve around this crazy Texas Spring Weather!

If you were anywhere in Tarrant, Denton or Collin Counties around 3-4 a.m. - then you know exactly what I'm talking about.  Geez, I'm so tired I can't type!

About 3:20 there was a BOOM so loud it shook the house followed by a big flash of lightning & what sounded like a ton of rocks pummeling the house.  Needless to say, husband & I shot straight out of bed like we'd been poked with a red hot branding iron!  Grandson was sitting straight up in bed asking what that was.  In my still half asleep, adrenaline surged awakeness (that really does NOT make sense!) I staggered (more like looked like a drunk trying to walk a straight line!) out to the living room to turn on the weather report & peek outside.  Quarter size hail was ALL over the yard - I have a picture - will post later.  Rain was coming down in sheets.  Our wonderful weather guy on the local CBS affiliate - Pete - was explaining that the lightning strikes were right over my town - no DUH!  Ya think!  Winds were up to 70 mph+  Husband went back to bed, grandson went back to bed & I watched for another 10 minutes until the storm had subsided & was moving north east of us. 

So I'm so tired I can't keep my eyes open but the adrenaline that shot me out of bed is making it hard for me to actually get back to sleep.  What a predicament.  So finally I get all comfy again & go back to sleep. Next thing I know husband is telling me it's time to get up.  I didn't shoot straight out of bed again, but it sure seemed like it. 

There's only one problem when I get woke up like that. Somehow it makes me feel really ucky.  Nauseous type yucky.  Hopefully this will pass & be better before too long. 

So did you sleep through the storm?  Any damage to your home, cars, plants, dogs, cats, etc?

New Furniture - Possibly!
Mood:  happy
Topic: home

So if you've been reading here for awhile, you know we got new furniture last fall.  Wonderful reclining sofa & loveseat (I guess the new term is "motion" sofa).  Anyhow - the day it was delivered & even before the delivery men left, I sat on the end of the sofa & raised the leg rest.  Oops - something was wrong.  It didn't come up easily & I had to stand up, move the side a little & it worked.  Putting it down was the same in reverse.  So under our warranty, I called the store & told them about the problem.  A week later the furniture technician (I didn't know there was such a thing!) came out to investigate.  He messed around with it for about an hour.  Mentioned that it might not be level.  Hello . . . !!!! Nothing in my home is level!  But still - to me it seemed like it was "sprung".  So he said he'd tell the home office & that was that.  Never heard another word.  Hubby said he would see what he could do to fix it.  Anyway about a week ago I got a call from the store.  They told me the part was on back-order to fix it & wasn't sure if it was ever going to come in.  So we had a choice - live with it or replace the entire sofa.  We decided to replace it.  Then the nice person on the other end said that our sofa & loveseat had been discontinued so we could pick out another set.  I went on line this past weekend to see if there was anything else comparable to what we have now - the color, style, the "motion".  Sure enough there is so all I need to do is go to the store, tell them what I want & wait for it to be delivered!  I guess waiting umpteen years for new furniture does have its rewards!

April Fools!
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: family

Do you play April Fools jokes on anyone? 

As a kid in school, it was fun (annoying for the adults) to "April Fools!" a teacher or parent.  Most of the time they took it good naturedly - after all - most of the jokes were pretty lame.

As an adult, my dear husband and I reaffirmed our wedding vows on April Fools Day!  No, it wasn't meant to be funny!  We had been married almost a year (went to JP) and were going to have our "church wedding" so when asked to pick a date, I said first Saturday in April.  Little did I realize until I looked at a calendar that it was going to be April Fools! 

Then many years ago we did an April Fools on my husband - wasn't funny to him tho!  He'd been traveling a lot & it seemed that every time he came back from a business trip, something in the house had broken, flooded, etc.  He'd been home a week or so and had fixed something - probably had to do with water as we've always had water issues of some sort!  The April Fool had something to do with it either breaking again or not working or something (see, I can't even remember - that's how memorable it was!).  He got this panicked look on his face and I waited a couple beats before shouting April Fools!  I know he didn't think it was too funny. Which is probably why I don't play those type of jokes!  I'm not really that good at it!

But if you look at my picture from yesterday - that definitely was not an April Fools joke!  Yes, we are alright - nothing touched down close to us.  Nothing even got blown away or over or down the street or anything.  No hail for us either - although a town toward the lake got ping-pong size hail.  And I heard that we'll probably be getting more bad weather this week. 

When I was a teenager in Junior High - an F5 tornado hit the town next us.  For footage of that actual event - check out this youtube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKvd6v8Axj4

Stay safe, keep dry, have a good April Fools Day!