It is really weird what hormones will do to you! How everything looks so bleak for a couple days once a month. Terry said I looked worried about something last night when I got home and I got to thinking about stuff and sure enough, I was worrying about a lot of things. Things that really didn't bother me that bad at other times. Life looked so hard, mountains insurmountable, too many things left undone, too many bills to pay, house is a mess, etc. etc. It finally dawned on me what time of the month it was so at least I know this feeling is not permanent. A little cuddle with the favorite man in my life on the park bench under the tree helped. I slept good last night, at least you can't worry when you are sleeping. This morning I had the perfect prescription for lifting the spirits. An early morning walk with the dogs and while walking and enjoying the breeze and morning sun, a little communication with my Lord. Thanking him for all the blessings he has given me. Starting with my health and the ability to even take an early morning walk. There are folks out there that would love to be able to do that and cannot due to illness or other circumstances. I had my mp3 player along so I listened to a few chapters in Proverbs while enjoying the sunshine. Proverbs always seems to give me a lift. I listened to a podcast on how to improve my communication with my favorite man. It was interesting, always looking for ways to improve on a good thing. I finished up the morning with a cup of coffee on the porch swing under the hickory tree, listening to some good music. The dishes will be there when I get back. The floors will wait for me. The laundry isn't going anywhere. I have some swinging to do and nothing is going to stop me!
I feel better now. It's time to get those girls out of bed (Jessica is here for the week) and get our day started. I can tackle anything that comes my way now. I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR!

Oh, and the fact that I've lost another 2 lbs. and we have 4 new puppies helps too.

Mothers Day 2007

Yep, we had fun today, I'll share some pictures later. I think the tea party was the funnest. I have to get up at 6:15 in the morning to go sit with Bea in the hospital and my computer is sooooo sloooooow tonight so I'm outta hear. Good nite.

Ahhhhhh.........My laptop died!!!!! Nooooooo....... Pleeeeeeaaaaas!!

Boy, do I miss that! It wont load Windows for some reason. I hope it is fixable. I'll have to take it to the repair shop to find out though. I have done all I can think of to do.

Well, something must be working for me, I had 4 different people tell me Sunday Morning how good that outfit looked on me. It was a simple long black flared skirt with a lacy black and pink pullover top. It is an outfit I have worn before but nobody seemed to notice. Apparently something was different this time. Oh, I know, maybe it was because I LOST 12 POUNDS!

Thanks everybody for noticing. Hey you guys, it's fun to look in the mirror now isn't it? It isnt so scary when we accidently see our selves in the plate glass window, and now when sombody tells me to "haul butt" I don't have to make 2 trips!

He is totally fascinated with the pet rats. He is the one that killed our first pet rat so we have to watch him close. The rats live in the basket, entering and exiting through a whole in the other side very similar to the hole on this side.
I thought this was funny.

I didn't get home yesterday like I thought, I was there another day but did get to come home this morning. I was hoping for a pretty day so I could work outside but that was over ruled so I decided to take the rat dog in the above pictures to the groomer. He got a bath and a blow dry, combed out a little, and his under carrige shaved. He definitely smells better. I am going to get a few good pictures of him with his long hair then going to get it all shaved off. An inside-outside, country dog does not do well with such long fine hair.

I have no idea whats been going on at home. I have been here at Bea's now for 5 days and 5 nights. The last time I went home I was so disgusted with the mess that Terry felt sorry for me and volenteered to keep the dishes washed while I was away. I know he washed them once but I would be suprised if they are still washed. I ask him to just keep the kitchen table cleaned off and it would look so much cleaner in there with just that. Usually it is covered with mail, newspapers, receipts and dirty dishes. I hope he has been a good boy. Sis has her chores to do, mainly keep the bathroom clean but I bet the floors have not been vacumed in days. Oh well..... I wont trade them off just yet. I think I will still keep them around a little longer.

Mom's over her little sickness and should be back tomorrow. I'll be glad to see her coming.

I can't seem to post a comment on my blog so I'll just put it here. Yes, I do remember the little dog. It's name was Peanut and we have a picture of it curled up in the dog bowl, taken one Sunday morning before leaving for church. I do remember about the kittens too. He was the only little dog we ever had and he didn't last very long.

I have been at Bea's now for 3 days and will have one more to go. This can get old. I took Nidrah's dog for a walk around the park this morning while Nidrah was feeding Bea lunch. It's was quite brisk. Hot while the sun was shining and cold when the wind blew. It felt good to get out and get some exercise though, and I really needed it.

Sis called me and said that her and her dad went mushroom hunting today and actually found some. She was all excited. They put them to soak in salt water and we will probably have them for supper tomorrow night.

Terry said he and sis might come over here to Bea's and visit with me for a while this evening. That will be nice. It is 8pm and Bea is in bed and all is quiet.

Any body need any grapes? Terry went to the auction in Taswell Friday and bought a whole flat of seedless green grapes for $5.00! I already gave Nidrah a bag full. I guess I ought to quit here now and go eat some grapes.

Here is our new banner sign for the shop. I had plans to paint one on plywood and hang it here but that plan has been in the works for about a year now and it wasn't happening so I thought I better just spend a little money and get it done. Click on the picture and see it bigger. I have plans to order a couple more of these to hang up. I just can't seem to get one painted.



Please help us welcome our new additions. There are 2, a male and a female. Some one told us they were giving these away so we went to check it out. It was more of a rescue then anything else. Bad conditions, eating only breakfast cereal and really too young to leave mommy. Sis has claimed them and is doing all the caretaking. She named them Tinkerbell and Titan. They are a mix of Chihuahua/boxer and Min Pin/Terrier. They are very small, possible smaller then my Yorkie pups at this age. They still sleep 90 % of the day but are eating canned dog food really well. The plan was to put their pictures on my website and sell them for a little extra cash but they are still too young for that and I am afraid by the time they are old enough we wont be able to pry them loose with a stick. We'll just wait and see how thing so. They are cute enough that they still could be sold when they are older so .........

We were just playing around, trying to get the plum blossoms in the photo. This one above is my favorite.

Congratulations girls on your diets or...... new lifestyles. I salute you and wish you luck. I too could stand to loose a few. 50 would be nice but since that is not reasonable, 5 will do for now. I am walking every chance I get and cutting back on food. I don't have a plan to follow, I don't think I could follow one if I did but I am trying something. A perfect day for me is to get up and drink a cup of coffee with Terry while he eats breakfast. When he leaves I go for my 2 mile walk with the dogs. I get back and eat one or two grapefruits. I have developed a taste for grapefruits lately, I love em! About noon I will open a Slimfast and sip on that until about 3pm and sit down and watch Dr. Phil and eat another grapefruit. Then start fixing supper and about 5 or 6 sit down and eat supper. I have accomplished that routine for about 3 or 4 days a week now and I am happy with that. Any day that I can just eat one meal a day I will accept. Since Christmas I have cut out sweets, chips and junk food so something has got to be better then it was. When I was sick for a few days I lost about 3-4 lbs but those pounds usually don't stay gone.

So I say, YOU GO GIRLS! I am feeling your pain.

Happy Birthday to youuuuuu, Happy Birthday to youuuuuuu.......

Here is my new teenager.

She likes her "Letters of Encouragement" scrapbook. She told me several times thank-you for taking the time. I want to thank everybody that contributed, everybody did a great job. Give your self a pat on the back. She will enjoy it for many years.

This is your page, Aunt Marge, thank you for sending the letter. It looks great. I was able to take the small photo you sent and blow it up to a 5x7 and it turned out great. There is a flap that she can lift over the letter then lift the first page to read the second page.
Sharon, I need a picture of you and Sis again. The ones we took didn't work right last time.

Lois helped me with her page, she had some cute little things to add to it. Bless her little heart, she is the one that said she didn't have any thing to write but handed me 6 pages when she was done.
Rachel, you have to show yourself soon, I need a picture of you and Sis together to complete your page. Your page looks good too.
Sarah, you did a good job on your letter. I guess it helps to be the one that was 13 the last. You can still remember what it was like.
Even Kenny had his two cents to say. Thanks again everybody, I believe it was a sucess. There was also 6 or 7 people from church that wrote her an encouraging letter too. The book is pretty full. Anybody that wants to add something is more then welcome, knock your self out.

The kid can fish! This is from the neighbors pond, taken about a week ago. No, we didn't eat it. It went back in so she can catch it again sometime.

Our Walk Today

This is one happy dog, can't you see that smile? She loves to go for a walk and I know that is a doggy smile.

These guys look like they are having fun too.

We found a little pond in the woods and did a little science for school.

Frog eggs anyone? This is a fascinating subject for 7 year old boys!

Whiskers found a good spot to cool off.

The pond was about a mile out from the house and it was a beautiful day for a walk in the woods.

We are on our way home now but it has been about a mile and a quarter. Timmy has been sick and was getting a bit tired so we had to take a few rest stops.

Always time for a little loving for Timmy's favorite girl.

"Do-Me-To" dog doesn't want to be left out

At about a mile and a half thats all, its over folks. He wasn't complaining but didn't turn down a ride.

The neighbors tractor looks like a good place to rest while......

Sis goes home for the 4-wheeler.

Help is on the way!

Now is she an angel or what?

Now, the race is on. This is the view from the back of the moving 4-wheeler.

You should have seen her when she flopped down in the nearest mud puddle. I tried to get a picture but she moved too fast.

Home just in time for breakfast. The country air is good for a kid. I think it was 3 pancakes before he quit.

Just a side note, Sis collected a quart of sap while the maple trees were running and we boiled it down today. Thats water in the jar but it represents the amount of sap compared to the syrup derived from it. It was good though.

She was quit proud of herself for actually making maple syrup herself.