Okay Officially Going Nuts

 

My Sweet Grandson Alex. He is such a handsome young man in his suit. I want to say that this was done with a photo of his middle school graduation, but I cannot be positive as this was done before water marks were required.

Hello,

 I hope that all are doing great. I have had a splitting headache for the last couple of days and along with the headache, my doctor called to say that I tested positive for another kidney infection. 

 The good news is that according to my culture, they have actually found a antibiotic that works on the bugs I have so we are hoping that this clears it up once and for all. No one is more hopeful than I am. My doctor did tell me that we are running out of options so she is as hopeful as possible as well.

 I am going crazy. The neighbors across the way are driving me bonkers. I don't know if it is the son or a son in law, and I am all for praising the Lord, but he at 3:00am was screaming Amen again over and over. 

 I think that they woke the toddler who was also screaming. I am not sure what is going on with that family, but it is not the elderly man this time!

 No way I could live with those dynamics. And then the new neighbors above us is so LOUD that I wake up at midnight sitting up in my bed and trying to figure out what is going on and then I am up for hours. It is almost 10:00am and I have been up since 3 this morning and with this horrid headache to boot.

 I try not to be a negative person, but I am seriously becoming more negative by the day it seems. 

 Oh, Jon my son cooked a wonderful dinner last night. 2 of my favorite things, a southern style meatloaf and mac and cheese. I am not sure what else he made as I was not able to eat since I had the headache and the nauseated feeling that went with it, but I will try to have a bite to eat at lunch.

 News is short here. The only thing that has not changed is this wicked heat wave. We have been in triple digit temps and our heat index has been anywhere from 111-120 and we have a 20% chance of rain. It is likely to miss us and if it does rain then it will just make the humidity increase to even hotter temps. Not good!

 I read where we are opening a few more cooling centers for those who are without power. We have been asked to decrease our electrical usuage from 4:00pm to 10:00pm for the next few days. 

 I really hope that we do not lose power. I would really have to find one of the cooling centers if that should happen. Years ago I developed sun poisoning and heat exhaustion and cannot tolerate heat anymore.

 Yesterday I tried to send my son Matthew a happy birthday text message, and it kept saying it failed. 

 I was able to send it this morning and he thanked me but said... "But... mom my birthday is in July... a month from now". OMGosh I am really losing it haha, as it is still June, and my son Jonathan has his birthday the last day of this month!  At least I got a laugh out of it. 

 I have 5 kids and they have birthdays starting in May, 2 in June, 1 in July and one August 1st. I knew it was some one's birthday coming up lol. I didn't get that part wrong at least. Now if I can just remember the actual birthday!

 I guess I am going to try and eat a few bites and then try and lay down. Hopefully the upstairs neighbors will be quiet and the people across the way must have finally went to bed as it is quiet. Or it was when I took Foxy out to potty. 

 Have a great day to all and be safe... BB

Triple Heat and Heat Index

 My great- great niece and nephew. I did this scrap page a couple of years ago. He was not having any Girl Kisses lol.

 Hello,

 Sorry it has been a little while since I posted. I have been under the weather, and I am feeling a little better now, but just a little. I wish I was feeling a lot better. A lot of nausea and my potassium rose to a critical level. Hoping that with this medicine and watching my diet, it has gone back down. I am not sure when I will be going back to have more labs. The middle of July, I think. I need to look at my calendar, but I know that I don't have another doctors appointment until the 27th and then I will see my nephrologist. He is my kidney specialist.

 Well the saga with my neighbor continues. In a much better way. I think that he must have been in the hospital but he is home now and he is not like he was before, so I am glad that they got him some help! 

 But I have new neighbor's right above me now. I have forgotten just how jarring a toddler can scream! They are all very loud. They stomp around, drop things and the screaming actually jolted me out of a sound sleep at 12:30 this morning. I sat straight up in bed! 

 I took Foxy outside to potty and they were on the balcony and the child was screaming nonstop. I guess if they couldn't sleep neither should anyone else. We went back inside and I was up until 3:30. I caught up with a game on my computer and fell back asleep until 6:00 and just got up. 

 I love kids, so I cannot complain about a child who is not happy for whatever reason. They are at the age where they probably don't even know what they are unhappy about. But the parents or guardians could walk a little softer and not slam door or scream to one another. 

 On to other news! We are so hot! We are triple digits. Yesterday was 106 and 111 heat index. Our humidity was almost 90% so it was just hot, muggy and miserable. 

 We have a high ridge of pressure above us and it is stationary for the next week at least. We are also in the path of some severe storms. Tornados and hail over 2 inches wide. That is some huge chunks of ice. We are in a scale of 2 out of a 1-5 so not terribly severe for us, but south of us and southeast will be in for more damaging weather. I hope that all will be alright. It would be nice for us to get some rain, but we don't have much of rain chances here for us. We are in July though, and we usually do not get much rain this time of year. 

 One more hot summer and once again I am looking forward to autumn. Last year we were hot until the first week of November. The kids were trick or treating and they were miserable in their costumes. Normally we get our first cold front Halloween night. Not last year! They ended up going home and had a little party. They made candy and fun treats, like roasted marshmallows on sticks and candied some apples. The older kids even did some crafts for the little kids and helped them cut out some things and made some banners and bags for their candy. We had a little Halloween party the week before where we watched movies. It was fun, but I went home the day after because I had an appointment that I couldn't miss.

 Well I guess this about wraps up any of the news around here. Not much is going on. Just hoping that we don't lose power and that our power grid stays stable. 

 Until next time, stay safe and stay well.... BB

 Update... Just took Foxy out to potty and guess what I heard? The joy of a happy baby!! giggling and laughter and more delighted squeals of a happy child. Now that I can live with haha...

 It is so good to hear the sounds of laughter. It is so wonderful to experience the joy from a happy parent or guardian. That is the sounds of the Happiness of Life! 

 It is already getting muggy hot out there. It is just a little after 9:00am and it is 82 degrees! I will be holding everyone close to my heart and prayers today and in the coming days that all will be safe. 

 I have not heard if Europe is experiencing this intense heat as we are, but if so, I hope that everyone will have access to cooling centers and will be safe. Prayers to all. BB

 

It's Summer and Hurricane Season

  Foxy's Bed. When I was in the hospital Foxy was missing me and she chose my laundry basket to sleep in while I was gone. This isn't my laundry basket really. Jon and I have a hamper. I just had some odd's and end's in the basket, but the contents did have my scent on them and she would lay in the hamper until I came home from the hospital. She is just so precious.

Hello,

 I hope that all are doing well. I guess I am doing ok here on my end. I have just been busy with some doctor appointments and Karyn is spending a few days with me.

 I was supposed to get a new phone, but we have decided to wait a few days. Karyn has to go to Houston for a work boot camp to learn how to use a new system and then come back and teach her team how to use the new system.

 Now traveling to Houston Texas is not a fun time for her, but it is work and she is going. It doesn't help that when a hurricane brews in the Gulf and decides to hit land, she usually is one of the workers that has to go, and this time she is going with her supervisor so at least she is going with someone that she likes, but it doesn't help that Hurricane season started June 1st, and on that day we had a tropical depression brewing in the gulf.

 It has weakened and is turning to Florida as about 20 minutes ago when Karyn looked at the radar or news or whatever, but hopefully she will be spared the horrible sweltering heat and having to work in it as well.

 When hurricane Harvey hit Texas, it was a hot and sweaty dy. It came it hit and it destroyed. Normally we are far enough inland that we don't have any problems other than some heavy rain, but Harvey was so bad that our apartment flooded here in Austin.

 So as bad as I hurt for any of the people who have to deal with hurricanes this new season, I am so glad that so far it looks like Houston will be spared. Like it or not, Karyn is going to have to go and be there and do the boot camp work to help her team be able to do the important work to help people who need it.

 I will finish with an update tomorrow for this blog, as it is getting late and I have to go to bed as I have more appointments tomorrow.

 Good night for now..... Take care of YOU and Be Safe... BB

Bright And Early

 

A scrap page I did several years ago. This was one of my favorite kits and it was the year that one of my grandsons dressed as a pirate for Halloween, but the boy in the photo was a stock photo from a free site.

 Good Morning,

 How are you doing today? Good I hope. It is early for me. I woke up around 3 this morning and just stayed up. 

 The smoke alarm has been going off again and it upsets Foxy. She will bark warning me that it is going off, but I hear it. I just don't get up as fast as she wants me to and she continues to bark, as if she can chase the sound away.

 By the time I sit up, uncover, undo my sleep apnea mask and get across the room to get the broom and shut it off she has barked loudly at least 7-8 times. Then I am usually awake which she patiently waits for me to come back to bed. Sometimes I can go back to sleep, but other times like this morning, I am awake. UGH!

 So my neighbor is going off the rails. I had an incident with them yesterday that left me pretty shaken up. 

  So there is this elderly man and I am assuming that he is the father of the woman that is there. I have heard her call him Dad before so maybe or maybe they are related in some other way. I really have no idea.

 I have said before that there is a crying toddler but I only see him sporadically these days. I think that might be a good thing.

 Yesterday morning around this time he was at it again, screaming at the girl. I didn't hear it. Jonathan said when he took Foxy out he was screaming at her.

 I woke up around 9 and took my coffee outside and he was yelling. I tried to tune him out. He was screaming over and over at the top of his lungs, "I Love You, I am Lion, Hear Me Roar" "Amen, Amen, Amen".

 I turned around and picked up my coffee cup and I see her looking at me and I waved, and she waved back, and then He started running at her, charging at her and she swung around and pushed with all of her might screaming "HELP"!

 Then she ran back to the balcony fence, and I yelled back at her "Are You OKAY"?

 He yelled back at me and said I AM OK and I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU AMEN,AMEN, AMEN".

 Then she did something really odd, she started beating herself on the chest. I don't know if she was trying to signal for help, like he was beating up on her or what. 

 My son, Jonathan came to the door and asked "Mama who are you talking to"? So I told him what was going on and he told me to leave them alone. We don't need to get involved and I told him, "Jon she is pregnant" and he said, "Mama we don't even know what apartment that is and if you want to call the police you can become embroiled in a domestic violence issue, and you don't need that with your health."

 A little while later I seen 3 small children. I would say about 5-10 years old and heard a lot of yelling. The kids were on the balcony and he was yelling the I love You I am Lion phrase over and over and I heard something, I am not sure what and one of the kids screamed at him to Leave Her Alone and a man came and took the kids away. I'm not sure about the toddler, I didn't see that child. 

 It still upsets me and if it happens again I am going to call the police. At least have a welfare check done. I am not a person to meddle in anyone's business but if someone is in a bad situation then I feel someone should help. I would want someone to help me if I was in that situation.

 Maybe he is in a mental health crisis, maybe he is not taking his medication. Jonathan did tell me that she can leave and for some reason doesn't. If someone comes thru the door then she could walk out the door, but maybe it is not that easy. 

 I really hope it doesn't happen again today. I really need my blood pressure to stay down, and I will continue to worry about what is happening and I really don't want to do that today!

 I gotta go. Time for my coffee. My cup is empty lol. Take care to all and stay well. BB

Super Bugs

 

My granddaughter Cathy, a photo taken on a family trip to Mexico.

 Good morning,

 I was almost completely done with this blog post when I hit a key and my post vanished. It just really frustrated me, but I really wanted to update this. So, I am just going to paraphrase it and get it posted.

 The reason that it has taken a while is that I have been in the hospital. This time a UTI turned into a kidney infection and all of the antibiotics that the doctors have been giving me the past year at least have been ineffective in treating this strain of bacteria that I have growing in my culture.

 Starting the day before I went to my daughter's house last Thursday, I had not been feeling well and I called my clinic to see if I could get in to be tested for a UTI and I had gotten an appointment on Friday and she confirmed that I had a UTI and sent off a culture. 

 I tried calling my urologist several times on Thursday and Friday and no one called me back, so I went thru the weekend. I got my new antibiotic on Saturday. It was also the day that I came home as I wasn't feeling well but I figured that the antibiotic would kick in and I would be feeling better.

 On Monday I tried to call my urologist again but no answer so I was beyond frustrated but by Tuesday I knew I needed to go to the hospital. I had started throwing up on Saturday and was still bad on Tuesday so I called my clinic and told them I was on my way to the ER and once there they decided to admit me because my UTI was now a kidney infection and I was still throwing up and since I couldn't keep anything down, I also couldn't keep down my blood pressure meds and other prescriptions. Being in the hospital was a good thing. Each day I was in the hospital I still tried to get in touch with the urologist and they still never reached out. However when I was released, I had a follow up appointment via telemedicine with my regular doctor and she informed me that none of the antibiotics that I had been taking over the past year was effective against the bacteria that I was taking for the past year. Not even the intravenous ones in my IV and that this strain was caused by the bacteria and subsequent tests showed that the infection was almost cleared up but not completely cleared up so that is why I had so many back-to-back infection's.

 I was prescribed a new antibiotic but since U have had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic before I had to go to the afterhours clinic yesterday and be monitored in case I had another reaction to a medication.

 All turned out good and Jonathan took me to one of our favorite places for lunch afterwards. We had Mexican food. We enjoyed some good old TexMex. I had a super long ground beef crispy taco with lettuce, tomatoes, onion, cheese and a side of guacamole, 2 cheese enchiladas with Spanish rice and refried beans. Jonathan had the Carne Asada plate, rice and beans and he had a Mexican Martini, and I had a large frozen Margarita. And of course, what would Mexican food be like without some delicious chips and salsa?

 Steve, here is my question. This has taken place around 30 + years ago.

 When my daughter was around preschool, maybe kindergarten she was allowed to bring home a book for me to read to her. Now we are not sure if we have the name right or if we are remembering it wrong, or what because we have searched as much as possible, because it was her favorite book, and we would love to have the book to read to the kids and add to our own library. I even contacted the school to see if they might have the book or one of the teachers might remember it. It is not a big school but so far no one remembers the book and I cannot remember the author.

 So, I was hoping that it might be something that you could help us with. We think the name of the book is called "The Levity Tree".

 It is about a tree in a kingdom that was called the levity tree and everyone living in the kingdom was happy, until for some reason the tree became sad and everyone in the kingdom became sad and tears were threatening the entire kingdom, even the king was sad and the entire kingdom was in danger of flooding unless the tree found some reason to be happy again.

 This is all that either of us can remember about the book. I would love it if you might have heard of it or if the little summary rings any bells. I have been trying and trying to remember all I can, but consisdering that I had 3 more children after Laurie, I just do not remember. The last three kiddos of mine were boys and they were geared more towards other books rather than this one. 

 Thank You in advance and even if you don't know the book I still wanted to thank you for your time.

 I am closing for now because I need to find something for breakfast and time to take my medicine for the day. Have a great day to all.... BB

Sunday Happiness

 My grandson Adrian who is taller than I am when he was 13! He is 16 now and is even taller now.

Hello, Happy Sunday...

 It is really quiet around here today. No barking dogs except for when there was a quick game of volleyball and the dogs barked until they gave up and left. I heard one of the team members say something about losing his concentration. I am not sure that I could lose my concentration knowing a flying ball was being aimed at my head lol.

 As for the screaming child and the others, I have heard nothing from them at all. I have not even seen them out this morning so maybe they are gone somewhere, I don't know, but I really enjoyed my morning time and coffee. I was enjoying watching the volleyball game but then it started to rain, and I guess they decided they would melt if they got too wet, ha-ha.

 I hope that I didn't sound like I was anti dogs and kids because I love both to distraction. It is just so much sometimes that it really gets old fast because there doesn't really seem to be a break, except for today. 

 Well, the Irish Setter is back so he was the one causing the ruckus this morning. He has been fairly good today so far. 

 My son Jon ordered us Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches with fries with this amazing cheese sauce on them last night for an early dinner. He had never ordered from them before, but we agreed that the sandwiches were incredibly delicious. 

 I am getting hungry just thinking about them, so it is probably time to find something to eat. I decided on soup and some chips and dip. It is a pretty good late lunch but noting as good as last night! 

 Just wanted to take Foxy my little dog out and the screaming toddler child is out on the balcony. This child is not happy, seems to be in full meltdown temper tantrum mode. Foxy decided she wanted to come back inside. Good thing because it is really hot outside. And today was supposed to be the coolest day for the rest of the week.

 Summer is approaching pretty fast here. I am not lookinf forward to summer at all. In fact my daughter Karyn and I had planned on taking the grandkids to this amazing all abilities park but now we are wondering if we should plan something else for the kiddos to go and do, since it is going to just get hotter. 

 Maybe taking them to see a movie and have lunch out. Our goal was to get the kids some good exercise and let them run and play and have a picnic lunch at the park and let them be kids for a while. 

 I think that I am going to lay down for a bit. I get tired easily and I have another UTI so the infection is probably causing me to be extra tired, so if I don't post again today, I plan to be back tomorrow. Have a great evening everyone. Be safe and take care. BB

The Weekend With Noise

 

A scrap page that I did for pleasure several years ago. It is still one of my favorites.

 Hello,

 I hope that all are enjoying this Saturday evening. I know I posted this morning, but I just cannot wind down and relax. So I thought that I would post because I didn't say everything on my mind in my earlier post.

 Last night it started to rain. It was not a down pour at first, just a normal rain shower but it did get heavier as the evening wore on. I enjoy sitting out on the patio in the evenings. It is cooler and usually fairly nice. 

 The weekends are usually busy with our backyard backing right up against a volleyball sand court and we have a lot of people taking advantage of the nice weather and friends and usually a friendly game here and there, but lately it is not the volleyball court knocking on my last nerve. It is the neighbors.

 Several months ago a couple across the way, in another building. I think that it is building 13. While our patio's are facing the volleyball court, Building 13 has 2 bedroom apartments. 

 Now one of those apartments has dogs. They had a beautiful Irish Setter, a blonde labador and the Irish Setter was gorgeous, No dount about his beauty but this dog had the weirdest sounding bark I had ever heard before. Kinda like a loud pitch half bark. The other dog, rarely barked at all and he is just as gorgeous. 

 For some reason this dog would just start barking. If he saw a person he would bark, another dog he would bark and if a service person, like the landscapers would come he would bark until someone would take him inside. But soon they would open the patio door and let them back out and he would again bark if he saw a blade of grass move. 

 Suddenly their was three dogs. A gorgeous German Shepherd who was very energetic and he would also bark. The lab just minded his own buisness and was very chill, but not the other two. 

 Now I had not seen the first two dogs. They had not been around for the last few weeks and I had wondered if the couple had moved, but now there are 3 different big dogs there. Then the the lab and the Irish Setter are back. Do they have someone visiting? Are they running a pet care service out of the apartment? I don't know. But my daughter told me that most apartment complexes here have a 2 dog policy. 

 Now building 14 has a top floor apartment. Their patio faces the volleyball court as well and they have a large dog. He is not a barker but he is a big dog. He does not have a place to run and even use the bathroom. I hope that the owners take him for a walk but for some reason I doubt it.

 These people are driving me insane. During the morning, my quiet time, I enjoy having my coffee out on the patio and reading the news or other articles and before my second cup of coffee, the dogs in building 13 start barking and this man takes his cue from them. He takes his tv out to the patio and while I do not mind that, I do mind that he turns the volume up so loud that I can hear every word that is being said and he really must like westerns or war shows because the sounds are loud. With his tv and the dogs I just bring my coffee inside and thankfully our apartment is pretty soundproof. 

 Now those same people have another guests or two. They have a toddler and while I know that it is a general rule, kids can be loud, this child is really LOUD. He or She screams... repeatedly. Over and over again and again. 

 We have a noise curfew that noise needs to be down by 10:00pm Sunday through Thursday and 11:00pm Friday and Saturday nights. Last night the child was still screaming at 1:30 in the morning. The child was up early this morning and I tuned out the screaming until I finished my coffee and then I just gathered my things and came inside.

 We are not complainers and usually live by the rule, live and let live, but the lack of respect is really aggravating, and I am just so ready to move and tonight there was a group of people playing volleyball, three loud dogs and a child screaming. I missed out enjoying the evening. I missed the morning and the evening, and it is 9:30pm and they are on their patio with the adults playing loud music, at least it is good music, and they all are very loud, and the kid is still screaming. I keep hearing someone trying to soothe this child, but he or she is not having it. I bet that he/she is just not in their usual environment and routine.

 I talked to my sister today. I asked her, was my kids like this? Were they this bad? She told me no, that I had really good kids. She did too. All of her girls were so sweet and they played quietly. 

 Now when my babies were little I did not do a lot of baby talk to them. I explained things to them as my husband and I would go out to eat often and we would get compliments of people telling us how impressed they were with our family. We talked, we laughed but we did not have melt downs, temper tantrums or the like. While getting ready to go out I explained what was expected of them. I reminded them that we would leave and go home, and they knew that I meant it. I don't understand some people who do not even try to work with their kids. They either ignore them or they pawn them off on someone else to care for them.

 We cannot take care of everyone, but we can take care of our own and make sure to hold bad behavior accountable.

 Rant Over. I am going to log off and try and get a little sleep. Sweet Dreams....  BB

 

Kids And A Mini Vacation

 My daughter Karyn on vacation in San Wan Puerto Rico! I did digital scrap pages and I made this one for her. She is my oldest daughter and she is such a wonderful daughter to me and a great sister to her siblings.

 Hello,

 I am hoping that this Saturday finds you doing well. We are ok in this little corner of our world. 
 The weather has been so hot and it is just May. I cringe to think what this summer will be like.

 We have a little cool front moving in tonight. Today was nice and cool with a morning temperature of 69 degrees. I am not sure how to calculate the Celsius temperature. 

 Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler with the highs being below 80 degrees and I will take it! It is always nice to be able to enjoy the nice weather when we do get it. Not to hot and not to cold, but it has been a pain with the thunderstorms and the bad weather that some of the country has been having like heavy snow storms, hail, flooding and of course the tornados. It is just a part of how we have to adapt for everything.

 I went to my daughter's house for a few days, and I enjoyed every minute. My grandkids are so smart. The oldest 2 kids Adrian 16 and Cathy 14 cooked Jambalaya for dinner with roasted corn on the cob. They chopped and cooked it and it was really delicious. 

 The youngest Damien 5 almost 6 was so helpful. He made my bed twice, and he and his brother Daunte 9 unpacked my suitcase and Sleep Apnea (C-Pap) machine and put everything away for me.

 The youngest was so funny. He would ask if I needed to go to the bathroom and if I said yes, then he offered me his arm to lead me to the bathroom. The 9-year-old, he would follow behind us with my cane just in case I needed it while I was in the bathroom. It was so funny, like HOW Did I Ever Manage to go to the bathroom at home without them!

 Cathy did stay with me while I took a shower and she handed me a towel to cover and helped me out of the shower. Their dad is disabled and he has a shower chair that I borrowed because it is so easy for me to lose my balance and fall and the poor guy had to help me out of the bathtub a few years ago when I slipped and fell, so I was grateful that she stayed close by. 

 They have a really nice bathroom. When you first go in, a large counter and sink with a huge mirror makes it really nice to dress and the bathtub and toilet is in a adjoining room so I had plenty of privacy and she waited right outside the door.

 Adrian of course he carried my suitcase down the stairs while Cathy held my purse and cane. Unfortunately, they live on the third floor, so it is hard getting up and down so I try to be very careful.

 They both checked the license plate on the Uber before opening my door and making sure I could buckle in. Adrian put my suicase in the van and off I went. 

 I didn't want to leave, but it is hard for me to travel these days.

 On Friday, I had a doctors appointment. I have another UTI and I couldn't get in to see my Urologist so I made an appointment with my Primary Care Physician.

 Cathy went with me to the appointment and she was just awesome. These kids are really considerate and helpful.

 My driver was really nice as well and he made sure to get everything that I needed when he dropped me off at home. I was just so tired and I know that a lot of it is this infection. There was a delay on my medication, so it will be delivered to me sometime today or early evening.

 I had some pictures that I wanted to share from my phone but I have to set up a Apple ID and I have forgotten it so when I try to sign in it tells me that my password and email is not correct. 

 I will be getting a new phone in June I hope. I am really wanting all of my photos backed up to my new phone. I am going to have to have some major help because I am so not tech savvy anymore. I have some really good photos, I just need them synced with my computer!

 I guess this is all the news that I have for today. Hopefully I will be able to share some photos soon. Have a great weekend everyone. Stay Safe and Stay Well. Blessed Be... BB

 

If You Dream, DREAM BIG

 Isn't This Just Too Cute?

Hello,

 I have been trying to get over to post for a while now and it looks like I finally made it over. I have been lazy I guess. By the time that I am ready to blog, I have been far too tired and think... I will rest for just a little while and then I will post.

 2 things usually happen. I fall asleep or I fall asleep... LOL. It is no wonder really. I have just been really tired and In March I had a series of doctors appointments that carried on into April. By the time they winded down I was hit with strep throat. Yuck! 

 I was going to post for Mother's Day, but Karyn came by and brought me some wonderful Raspberry Chocolate and a really pretty card, My Mother's Day started the day before. Jonathan ordered me a club sandwich and Fries from Jim's Restaurant and said "Happy Mother's Day Early Mama" and I was so happy to have it. I love club sandwiches. 

 Celeste had gone with her daddy to work. He is working in Lake Tahoe and he surprised her by letting her go with him and then taking her to breakfast at McDonald's, and she called me to tell me that she was spending the day with her daddy and he surprised her with Breakfast out.

 The next morning about 7:00am I got a call from my girl wishing me a Happy Mother's Day. I heard from all of my kids in one way or the other, except for Nathan. His phone broke but he found Jon's number and used his roommate's phone to call him to tell me a Happy Mother's Day because his phone broke. Then Laurie and Damien called me to wish me a Happy Mother's Day and Damien said it first as when I answered the phone, he said NaNa and it was a great call.

 Laurie's Birthday fell on Mother's Day this year. Yesterday I was able to go and visit them and I had a great time. I was crunched on the couch with 4 kiddos. Adrian finally was able to use all the gems that I had managed to save on our Cue game and 1.3  million coins. He also showed me how to trade! With Damien,, he and I played a game and Dante and Cathy sat on the other side of Adrian and I explained a dream that I had where I had won the Lottery Power Ball.

 It is the second time I have dreamed this, and it is like I keep picking up where I left off, and it was all so vivid! I dreamed that I got everyone together, told them just to get their identification and birth certificates and meet an Uber which took them downtown Austin and a huge, chartered bus pulled up. I had Matthew, Courtney and Nathan just go to the airport and fly into Austin where an Uber picked them up and brought us all together. I gave everyone a brand new phone, laptop and electronic games for the kids as well as a envelope that contained credit cards for a Million dollars each, except for the kids and they each had a hundred thousand dollars and of course the questions flew but I told them that the questions could wait, and they couldn't open the envelopes until I told them that they could. and none of them was having it but Jonathan already knew the secret. He was my partner in crime so to speak lol and we took off for Dallas to go to a grand  Shopping Mall and gave them permission to open the envelopes and told them to buy luggage and just enough  clothes to get them through a few days and to the hotel and to meet at this restaurant for dinner then the next day we headed  off to the airport to head to the Ranch in the Taos Mountains in New Mexico that I had bought as a home base. 

 I had bought this ranch called The Black Stallion. This house was gorgeous. It was a 3-story house, and the first floor had a main area at the back of the house that housed a large Kitchen, dining room, living room, library and study and entry hall leading to the front of the house. Off the entry hall was a large staircase and elevator. Off to the west of that was an entire wing with stairs leading to the basement which I had turned into a huge family and game room. going down another set of stairs led to a art Studio for Cathy and to the back yard, swimming pool, spa and gated of course with cabana's grill station/outdoor kitchen and sitting areas. (If I am going to dream winning LOTS of MONEY, I need to DREAM BIG lol. 

 This first floor wing held 6 bedrooms complete with a sitting room as well as with private baths and French doors that led to a patio on the first floor with Balcony's on the 2nd and 3rd floors. Jonathan, Karyn and Nathan chose the first floor, the West wing for the boys and Karyn chose the East wing.

 Laurie and David chose the 2nd floor West wing while Matthew and Courtney chose the 2nd floor East wing. The North and South wing were guest suites with a large family kitchen and dining room in the middle. Along with a laundry area.

 My 3rd floor East wing was to all to myself! This monstrous house also had 3 other wings and kitchen and laundry area as well as my private office and guests' suites with private bathrooms and balcony's. 

 So many beautiful decorations and colors and whoever says that dreams lasts seconds and are not in color do not have my dreams. I have always dreamed in color and it seems like when I do go into a dream state, I pick up where I left off. 

 Maybe because I think about the dream throughout the day and it is on my mind and that is why I am having this particular dream, but as far as dreams go, this one is pretty darn great. 

 Seriously I know that I would have to play to win, and I have never really played before. Not even when I lived in Las Vegas, I was never hit by gambling fever. I worked too hard to give my money away. I did play, but I only played a few dollars. If I won back what I spent on dinner, then I was done. 

The entire time I did play, I only won $217.00 once. I did hit $100.00 here and there but I just never was into it and could never understand a friend of mine who would stick a week's pay into a machine and lose it all, swearing the machine was going to hit. No, it wasn't, and he bummed food and gas for the next week and instead of paying back what he borrowed, the next week he would once again cash his paycheck and it would be gone in a hour or two later, swallowed by a machine. 

 He lost his girlfriend over his gambling addiction. He lost more money than he ever made back. He was lucky to gain enough money to get enough gas to get home. He ended up losing his house, almost his truck and when he left Vegas and moved back to Arkansas he would head to Shreveport Louisiana or Mississippi all the time. He just traded one casino for a riverboat or another casino. I just never understood it, and it was not just him. It was so many people that I worked with or knew. 

 But who knows. If I have a few dollars left, I might just play the Powerball. I could win.... ha-ha... not that I would expect to do so, but Oh Gosh, it would be so nice to have a chance to donate to the charities that I want to, to buy my grandkids and children a really nice gift, for Christmas or go to the store and not have to pinch every penny. But I live life like a zillion other people, and I am nothing special, but it would be nice and at least it is nice to live a little in my dreams.

 Back to my dream.... 

 A tree house and fort for the boys, a huge trampoline and guard for the kids, to bounce away during the day and to lay on and stargaze at night, a padded splash area and a halfpipe for skateboarding, biking and hiking trails. Stuff for the kids and their friends. Lots of animals, dog and kitties, horses as well as wildlife and just a childhood to where kids can be kids. A babbling creek to go fishing, some cabins to hang out in, fully furnished and nice ones. 

  During the bad cold and rainy and windy days, a place to sit and play games or watch a movie, listen to music and enjoy a real fireplace to stay warm. A home. One for entire families and a place to really call home while deciding on a home of their own. A place to go to, a place to gather, a place to be. Home to where they have a functional family kitchen and dining area if they want to cook their own meals and have a family meal together, to cook their own holiday dinners, to teach their children how to cook and experience and experiment with ingredients that they enjoy. So, this house is more than a house to me. It is a dream house, a real home to the ones that need or want one to where family means family. 

 So No Harm in Dreaming BIG.... 

 If I have a continuation of this dream, I will update! Be Blessed Everyone. Forgive any errors. I will have to take care of them later as I don't have time to proofread right now.... 

Living My Best Life!

 It's nice to know that I can call my children friends, and it is nice to know that they are someone that I Want to call My Friend. I must have done something right along the way, all those sleepless nights walking a crying or sick baby, praying over the tiny bundle in my belly or my arms, and worrying for their safety and happiness. At the end of the day, it feels like a keeper.... I will keep it all.

 Hello,

 This is my first post on a new blog. There is nothing wrong with my original blog, but I feel like I just wanted a fresh start! 

 The older that I get, the more that I think about things from my past. Trusted friends, family and just the odd memory that occurs when I hear a song on the radio. Sometimes I can close my eyes and see just what I was doing while singing along to a certain song, or dreaming about people that I have lost and wake up with the dream feeling so real, like that person was sitting right next to me.

  I was reading a sub on the app Reddit and it reminded me of starting over and with that is where I think that the idea for a new blog started. I could and will continue with my original, but I am hoping that this one will take off and be fun. I know that I will mess up now and then and post my worries or my woes, but hopefully this will be a place of harmony and many of Life's Moments as I progress through and hopefully meet some friends here.

 One thing that I really want to do is customize my blog, so don't be surprised to find a different theme sometimes.

 To all, have a great evening....