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....