Oh yeah, my favorite time of year is knocking at the door, my birthday and Independence Day. I am, of course, a big fan of Christmas because I have children and it is their favorite holiday. I also enjoy Halloween because I am still a kid at heart, and I enjoy creating "Spooky Food" for the girls and helping them get all dressed up in their costumes. After the age of 25, the excitement of having another birthday began to fade. As the years have passed, I can say I don't look forward to adding numbers to my age. No matter how many years have passed, I still look forward to fireworks and tributes to our great nation. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for any patriotic song, and I don't think I've ever watched a fireworks display that I absolutely hated.
Just like in years past, my husband and daughter will make several batches of homemade ice cream. We will enjoy yummy food, too. I hope to teach the girls some of the secrets behind my favorite dishes this year. The hardest part of teaching is that I rarely following an actual recipe for most of them. They ask occasionally to cook, but unless I have planned for it, my patience runs thin. They do not like grocery shopping, but it is impossible to cook if you don't have anything to prepare. I will force them to help me buy the food in order to cook the food. That may be the best birthday gift I get.
Today, a crew came to spread sand around the pool in preparation for pouring the deck tomorrow. Another crew came to set the equipment for the plumbing in place, but the equipment had been shipped to the main office. Hopefully, they will be able to accomplish that tomorrow as well. I talked to my pool contractor today, and he says we are still on the schedule for the pool to be plastered on Friday. If they are able to get it all done, and still plaster on Friday, that means the water starts going in on Friday night, and we could be swimming by Saturday night. At this point, I don't want to count on it, but it sure would be a great birthday present to myself. Even if they don't get it done until after the 4th, it will be so nice to have a big tub of water to play in next week!
My mother has been in a rehabilitation center since last Thursday night. She is getting depressed over how long it is taking for her to get back on her solid feet. Her roommate turns the A/C off at night and the food is over-cooked and starchy. She just wants to go home. After several conversations today with her and the administration at the center, she was moved to another room where the A/C can stay on at night. We can take some raw fruits and vegetables to her, which is more like her typical meals at home. But the greatest news is that her physical therapist thinks she may go home on Monday, the 4th. Hopefully, she will be cleared to drive and she will be as independent as before. So, currently I am planning to take part of my 4th of July to drive my mother home.
I realize the pool completion and my mother's return to home is only speculation...but what is life, really, without hope?!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Lucky 13, and many more!
On Monday, we celebrated 13 years of marriage. That probably doesn't sound like a lot, but this our second chance at it. Being married before, we decided that we were strong enough to work harder at staying together. We've had difficultly just like most couples, but we have managed to work through it for the better. Every year, we seem to find new things to appreciate about each other, and it gets better and better. We try to do a little something special for our anniversary every year, like go to a hotel for the night or go out for an expensive dinner together. This year, since the girls are away at camp for the week, we took a trip on Amtrak to San Antonio, Texas. It definitely takes longer to get there by train, but the fare is less than the cost of gasoline. They have a lounge/sightseeing car, dining car, and sleeper car. Traveling down to SA, we sat in the lounge car and enjoyed meeting other passengers. We didn't know we had to get a reservation for dinner in the dining car, so after we arrived in San Antonio, we headed to Mi Tierra for a very late dinner, where we ate breakfast. The next day, we had a couples massage. Later, we rode Segways around Hemisphere Park. On the way back home on the train, we had a Roomette. It's a very small room, but it converts to two beds and it's very quiet. I think it would be fun to take the kids, but we would need the bigger room for sure. We learned on the way back that all meals are included in the purchase of a room, and the food isn't bad.
We finally got some much needed rain this week. Being out of town, I didn't get to enjoy the temporary cooler temperatures. Our yard has cracks about two inches wide throughout. An inch and a half of rain isn't going to correct that, but we will definitely take it. Unfortunately, the rain means we are another week away from having our pool finished. That means most likely the pool will not be completed by my birthday on July 3rd. I will still do most of the annual traditions that go with celebrated the 4th of July, like several flavors of homemade ice cream. Because we live out in the county now, we can shoot fireworks at home, which is new for us. I am disappointed, but fortunately in Texas, we can swim well into October and begin again as early as March.
So, the girls are at camp for 2 and a half more days. My husband will go to work the next two days. I would like to get some of the projects on my very long to-do list done, but that will all depend on how my mother continues with her recovery. It still doesn't seem like her discharge from the hospital will be anytime soon, and when she is discharged, she needs to go to a rehabilitation center to gain more strength. We will have to fight with her Part D Medicare to drop her so that Medicare will cover her rehabilitation transfer. I'm sure it will all work out, it will just be a hassle getting it accomplished.
I can't believe that when the girls return from camp there are only 8 more weeks of school-less summer. We are going to Houston in two weeks so the girls can go to NASA and the location of the Battle of San Jacinto. Last year, they studied space and space travel and, this next year, they will study Texas history again. We are looking forward to another mini-sta-vation. Hopefully, the pool will be completed by the time we get back from Houston.
We finally got some much needed rain this week. Being out of town, I didn't get to enjoy the temporary cooler temperatures. Our yard has cracks about two inches wide throughout. An inch and a half of rain isn't going to correct that, but we will definitely take it. Unfortunately, the rain means we are another week away from having our pool finished. That means most likely the pool will not be completed by my birthday on July 3rd. I will still do most of the annual traditions that go with celebrated the 4th of July, like several flavors of homemade ice cream. Because we live out in the county now, we can shoot fireworks at home, which is new for us. I am disappointed, but fortunately in Texas, we can swim well into October and begin again as early as March.
So, the girls are at camp for 2 and a half more days. My husband will go to work the next two days. I would like to get some of the projects on my very long to-do list done, but that will all depend on how my mother continues with her recovery. It still doesn't seem like her discharge from the hospital will be anytime soon, and when she is discharged, she needs to go to a rehabilitation center to gain more strength. We will have to fight with her Part D Medicare to drop her so that Medicare will cover her rehabilitation transfer. I'm sure it will all work out, it will just be a hassle getting it accomplished.
I can't believe that when the girls return from camp there are only 8 more weeks of school-less summer. We are going to Houston in two weeks so the girls can go to NASA and the location of the Battle of San Jacinto. Last year, they studied space and space travel and, this next year, they will study Texas history again. We are looking forward to another mini-sta-vation. Hopefully, the pool will be completed by the time we get back from Houston.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Best laid plans of mice and men
Recently, we have experience a little mouse trouble. I could hear something scratching on the ceiling in our bedroom. I bought mouse bait and my wonderful husband put it out a few weeks back. Recently, we discovered that at least one mouse in our attic must have eaten the bait, but didn't make it all the way out of the house before dying. Unfortunately, it chose to head out and ultimately die in the wall of our bathroom. As you can imagine, I was blaming Steve for the odor in the room, up until the moment we realized it was true death. I purchased automatic scent sprayers for our water closet and clothes closet, which helped a little bit. A couple of days ago, I decided the odor seems to be gone. I am afraid that living out here will introduce us to many more creatures that don't plan to pay rent.
I can't believe the week I have been living. I was so excited that school let out. No more early alarm clock. No after school classes or events. No reason to leave the house except for groceries. Time to make the long list of things to get done over the summer, many of which I have been putting off since we moved into the house in December. Time to do, and more importantly, complete a project while the kids are having a nice lazy, summer day. The end of school usually means the Birthday Week. We celebrated our oldest daughter's 21st birthday right before the end of school, and a week later, right after school eneded, we celebrated my husband's birthday. It is always so very hectic when that week comes along. The girls have finals, I have end of the year PTA stuff I have to handle, and many other things that always pop up.
This year was no exception. I had a cabinet made for my laundry room, and to save money we opted to install it ourselves, when I say ourselves I really mean me. They delivered the cabinet the last week of school. As usual, there was a mountain of school gear in the mud room, laundry room gear on the kitchen table, summer activities and craft supplies piled on the dining room table, and various other belongings all over the rest of the house. During our pool installation, the pool builders busted part of the irrigation line. My husband has been trying to repair it for days, trying various parts and assemblies without any luck. Feeling so very overwhelmed with everything, we decided to blow it all off and take our neighbor's offer to spend the first Sunday of summer on their boat. We had a blast!
So after a day on the boat, and my husband's birthday the next day, we were all set to begin the first week of summer. My husband was working the night shift and my oldest begins her three jobs and summer classes. I start making my list of to-dos and planning activities, menus, etc. I planned out everyday with details for completion of several projects. Then I got a phone call that my mother was sick with tremendous pain, and headed to the emergency room. Two days later she had surgery to correct a bowel mishap. She has been in the hospital attempting to recover ever since. I have spent my days at the hospital, while my sister spends her nights. I never dreamed this would happen.
Needless to say, I can't tell you how well the girls' Chore Charts are working out for us, because I haven't been here to stay on top of it. I can't tell you how the health improved menu is working out for us, because I've been buying dinner and bringing it home or we go out to eat. Mostly, I can't tell you if and when my mother will get released from the hospital because she is recovering slowly. She has good days, and she wants to get stronger every minute. One doctor is optomistic and thinks she will be home by Saturday or Sunday. Although the girls are disappointed that we had to cancel our first few summer events, they will be going to camp on Sunday for a week. I was looking forward to spending some time alone with my husband for our anniversary. If my mother doesn't go home by Sunday, we will most likely cancel our train trip to San Antonio. The rest of the week, my husband is working nights again. Sometimes these things happen. Who knows, maybe the train is going to crash and we just don't need to be on it. Hopefully, she will be much better and even home by the time the girls return, and we can start our summer at home then. AND, hopefully, the pool will be finished by then and we can SWIM.
So, the mice must be dead, and so are some of our plans. The doctor discovered and repaired the cause of my mothers pain, and in the process, they discovered a heart condition she wasn't even aware she had. Life is full of disapointments, and the girls learned that lesson this week. Life is still good even when we struggle and have disappointments. We will eventually get our summer back and we will have a great time together.
I can't believe the week I have been living. I was so excited that school let out. No more early alarm clock. No after school classes or events. No reason to leave the house except for groceries. Time to make the long list of things to get done over the summer, many of which I have been putting off since we moved into the house in December. Time to do, and more importantly, complete a project while the kids are having a nice lazy, summer day. The end of school usually means the Birthday Week. We celebrated our oldest daughter's 21st birthday right before the end of school, and a week later, right after school eneded, we celebrated my husband's birthday. It is always so very hectic when that week comes along. The girls have finals, I have end of the year PTA stuff I have to handle, and many other things that always pop up.
This year was no exception. I had a cabinet made for my laundry room, and to save money we opted to install it ourselves, when I say ourselves I really mean me. They delivered the cabinet the last week of school. As usual, there was a mountain of school gear in the mud room, laundry room gear on the kitchen table, summer activities and craft supplies piled on the dining room table, and various other belongings all over the rest of the house. During our pool installation, the pool builders busted part of the irrigation line. My husband has been trying to repair it for days, trying various parts and assemblies without any luck. Feeling so very overwhelmed with everything, we decided to blow it all off and take our neighbor's offer to spend the first Sunday of summer on their boat. We had a blast!
So after a day on the boat, and my husband's birthday the next day, we were all set to begin the first week of summer. My husband was working the night shift and my oldest begins her three jobs and summer classes. I start making my list of to-dos and planning activities, menus, etc. I planned out everyday with details for completion of several projects. Then I got a phone call that my mother was sick with tremendous pain, and headed to the emergency room. Two days later she had surgery to correct a bowel mishap. She has been in the hospital attempting to recover ever since. I have spent my days at the hospital, while my sister spends her nights. I never dreamed this would happen.
Needless to say, I can't tell you how well the girls' Chore Charts are working out for us, because I haven't been here to stay on top of it. I can't tell you how the health improved menu is working out for us, because I've been buying dinner and bringing it home or we go out to eat. Mostly, I can't tell you if and when my mother will get released from the hospital because she is recovering slowly. She has good days, and she wants to get stronger every minute. One doctor is optomistic and thinks she will be home by Saturday or Sunday. Although the girls are disappointed that we had to cancel our first few summer events, they will be going to camp on Sunday for a week. I was looking forward to spending some time alone with my husband for our anniversary. If my mother doesn't go home by Sunday, we will most likely cancel our train trip to San Antonio. The rest of the week, my husband is working nights again. Sometimes these things happen. Who knows, maybe the train is going to crash and we just don't need to be on it. Hopefully, she will be much better and even home by the time the girls return, and we can start our summer at home then. AND, hopefully, the pool will be finished by then and we can SWIM.
So, the mice must be dead, and so are some of our plans. The doctor discovered and repaired the cause of my mothers pain, and in the process, they discovered a heart condition she wasn't even aware she had. Life is full of disapointments, and the girls learned that lesson this week. Life is still good even when we struggle and have disappointments. We will eventually get our summer back and we will have a great time together.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
First Week of Summer Break
Oh yeah, it is on. Texas is known for it's hot summers, and this year is no exception. We have been so super fortunate this year to begin the upper 90's early this summer, ugh! Although it hasn't broken 100 degrees yet, I have a feeling it is going to be one of those summers where we have a long string of 100+ degree days (for you Texans-remember the summer of 1980, whew!) So, the a/c has to run longer and more often to keep it cool in this house. When I start moving, cleaning and cooking, it just seems hot no matter what the thermostat is set on.
I am very excited. The pool is coming along. There is gunite in the big hole in the yard with plumbing and electrical stuff, and the plans are to complete the coping and tile work the end of the week. Hopefully, they will begin setting the forms for the decking next week. They cannot complete this pool fast enough. We were able to pick out our tile and finish choices this past weekend. I think it will match the exterior of the house nicely. We are rustic Texans, and the pool will be no different.
Today, I am working on my laundry room. I am installing a cabinet unit and reorganizing the stuff I keep in there. One major change for the room is relocating the pool gear and swim towels for easy access. While I am working on the installation, I am also washing all of our clothes, sheets, towels, and anything else that can be washed. I want to get it all done at once, and attempt to stay on top of it with a weekly schedule chart.
I succeeded in creating the Summer Chore Chart for the girls. I took away the obvious things like homework, and added a few things like cleaning the bathroom and taking the sheets off the bed for the laundry. Hopefully, with their help, we can get everything done first thing in the morning and play all afternoon and evening.
I have decided that cooking inside just makes it too hot in the kitchen. I am planning my menus to include more soups, sandwiches, grilled foods, and fresh vegetables and fruits. If I can organize myself like I hope to, I will plan to cook extra meats and veggies on the grill on Saturday and Sunday, and use them over the week to complete the other menu plans. Luckily, the girls enjoy grilled foods, especially grilled veggies and fruits. Once the pool is complete, I am hoping it will be more convenient to be outside with the girls and cook, too.
I should complete the cabinet installation and washing all of the clothes today, so tomorrow I plan to start working on de-cluttering the rest of the house. I have things piled here and there waiting on space to store it. It will definitely feel much lighter and less overwhelming around here when I don't see so much clutter. I told the girls I have devoted this entire week to cleaning, organizing, and de-cluttering the house. They are less than excited about that.
Next week, I have to address collecting all of the stuff the girls need for camp, and packing it so we can actually get it all there.
I am very excited. The pool is coming along. There is gunite in the big hole in the yard with plumbing and electrical stuff, and the plans are to complete the coping and tile work the end of the week. Hopefully, they will begin setting the forms for the decking next week. They cannot complete this pool fast enough. We were able to pick out our tile and finish choices this past weekend. I think it will match the exterior of the house nicely. We are rustic Texans, and the pool will be no different.
Today, I am working on my laundry room. I am installing a cabinet unit and reorganizing the stuff I keep in there. One major change for the room is relocating the pool gear and swim towels for easy access. While I am working on the installation, I am also washing all of our clothes, sheets, towels, and anything else that can be washed. I want to get it all done at once, and attempt to stay on top of it with a weekly schedule chart.
I succeeded in creating the Summer Chore Chart for the girls. I took away the obvious things like homework, and added a few things like cleaning the bathroom and taking the sheets off the bed for the laundry. Hopefully, with their help, we can get everything done first thing in the morning and play all afternoon and evening.
I have decided that cooking inside just makes it too hot in the kitchen. I am planning my menus to include more soups, sandwiches, grilled foods, and fresh vegetables and fruits. If I can organize myself like I hope to, I will plan to cook extra meats and veggies on the grill on Saturday and Sunday, and use them over the week to complete the other menu plans. Luckily, the girls enjoy grilled foods, especially grilled veggies and fruits. Once the pool is complete, I am hoping it will be more convenient to be outside with the girls and cook, too.
I should complete the cabinet installation and washing all of the clothes today, so tomorrow I plan to start working on de-cluttering the rest of the house. I have things piled here and there waiting on space to store it. It will definitely feel much lighter and less overwhelming around here when I don't see so much clutter. I told the girls I have devoted this entire week to cleaning, organizing, and de-cluttering the house. They are less than excited about that.
Next week, I have to address collecting all of the stuff the girls need for camp, and packing it so we can actually get it all there.
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