What Flower are you?

I got this from Val...who got it from everyone else. LOL


"Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

CMG Trouble...

I haven't been able to log in to the CMG page all day. I'm not sure if it's just me or everyone else. I even tried different methods of logging in and it won't work. I checked their server and it said everything was fine. I think I'm gonna go crazy...........

Feeling Better...

Well, it's been a tough week but John came home Monday afternoon. He is feeling better now. I'm so glad. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. It was not easy seeing the one you love so weak and sick. We watched the Inauguration together. It was very moving and it was enjoyable to watch it together. I'm glad John was home to see this momentous occasion.

E.R.

John came home on Saturday afternoon from having gallbladder surgery. He seemed fine, but was still very tired. For the pain, Dr. I prescribed him Darvocet. He took one at 7 p.m. and another at 11 p.m. just like the directions said. Well, at about midnight he took a turn for the worst. He was very restless, dizzy, and seemed dehydrated(he didn't listed to me about drinking enough water) . It scared him because he had never felt like that before. At about 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning I rushed him to the E.R. He had the chills and was very pale. They hooked an I.V. up to give him fluids and he rested for about 2 hrs. After that, they decided to admit him again. The doctor suggested another night of recovery. He was very weak. He was the weakest I have ever seen John in my whole life. They think he is very sensitive to pain meds and that's why he had the adverse reaction.

I felt so bad for him. He didn't want me to leave his side so I stayed the night in the hospital. Boy, oh, Boy...that was some night. I have been so sleep deprived the past few days. I didn't sleep a wink last night either. I sat in an uncomfortable chair the whole night. It was awful...but not as awful as John felt. They gave him a sleep aid to help him relax last night. He slept pretty good. This morning he woke up feeling okay...not great...but okay. However, he kinda felt worse as the morning progressed. I'm not sure if he will go home today. I haven't seen the doctor yet today. I had to leave for a few hours. I will be going back later today to check his progress. I hope he comes home today, but I don't want to push it. He does seem better than yesterday, so I guess we'll see what the doctor says. Please keep him in your thoughts.

Surgery Update...

I have good news...John had successful gallbladder surgery today. Yeah, not a high risk surgery, but I'm glad they didn't have to open him up completely. "Dr. I" was able to do the laproscopic procedure. It took him a while to wake up. He was groggy for a long time.

He is up, walking and drinking coffee so he must be doing good! He had to stay the night(this doctor always requires an overnight stay), but I'm actually happy. He is in good hands and I don't have to worry about anything. I felt bad that I had to leave him, but I had to come home to Rizzo. When I left he was wide awake..probably because he slept ALL day. LOL

The Reminance...

It's been about a month since Rizzo received his rawhide bone from Papa . Papa was my Secret Santa from the CMG SS exchange back in December.

I'm actually quite surprised the bone has lasted THIS long. Usually it's gone within a day or two...seriously! But lately Rizzo has been chewing in spurts. When he first got it, he chewed on it ALL the time..day AND night(which was not too pleasurable for sleeping), but that was because it was new and he hadn't had a bone in a while.

Now, he just chews on it a few times during the day. He does like to carry it around the house in his mouth like it's a baby's bottle. I'd like to think he's savoring every last chew. It could also be that he's getting older and he just doesn't like to chew on it every minute of the day. However it may be...I know he LOVES his bone. AND it's cleaning his pearly whites!

Midweek Couples Meme...

I stole this from Becky(http://http://decolady-randommusings.blogspot.com)

1. How long have you been together? We starting dating about 10 years ago. We've been married for almost 4 yrs.

2. Who pursued who? John pursued me. I actually liked his friend at first. When that didn't work, he was there to comfort me! LOL

3. Do you wear any type of wedding/commitment ring? If so, which hand? Engagment Ring and Wedding band on left hand. John doesn't wear anything. It's too dangerous in his line of work.

4. What was the hardest thing about learning to live together? Getting used to the idea that his parents are right across the street. YIKES!

5. Who takes longer to get ready in the morning? It depends

6. Do you usually eat breakfast together? We are late morning risers due to John's schedule. We usually skip breakfast and eat lunch together.

7. Do you ever share clothes? No

8. Who does most of the cooking? Me

9. Who usually takes out the trash? It depends. Usually I get it ready and he takes it to the curb. If it's nice and we don't have alot of trash, I will take it out.

10. If you have pets who usually does litter box or poop patrol? We have a big yard...Rizzo is trained to go where we don't walk :)

11. Which one of you is more likely to answer the phone when it rings? Usually Me

12. Who’s in charge of the remote if you’re watching TV together? Usually Me unless I'm really tired.

13. Who usually drives when you go out together? John

14. Which one of you takes care of spiders and bugs that get into the house? John unless he's not home, then I have to.

15. Facing the bed, who sleeps on which side? Me on the left, John on the right

16. Who usually checks the (postal) mailbox? Me

17. If something breaks or goes wrong in the house, which one of you is more likely to either fix it or call someone to fix it? John will fix it. It's totally taboo to have an "outsider" fix it.

18. Who is generally the neater of you? Me

19. Who handles the checkbook/pays the bills? Me

20. What was your last fight/disagreement about? We had a disagreement about the thermostat setting. Dumb, I know.

21. When you slow dance together, who leads? HA! Slow Dance? How about NO Dance!

22. What do you love the most about your other half? He always makes me feel so comfortable. He is my one and only love.

Mission Accomplished...

Here is an update from last night's post...

My mom and dad found a Wii this morning. They were sooo excited. The local Walmart had 2 in stock. I guess I will be setting it up for them tonight.

A Wii bit lost...

After trying out our Nintendo Wii and another family members Wii, my mom and dad are determined to get one for themselves. However, it's been a "Wii" bit tricky. There are no Nintendo Wii's to be found around us. I have checked everywhere and so have my parents. It's actually been pretty funny because they've been scoping out all the usual places where a Wii could be found.

John and I bought ours in December of 2007. It was also during the Wii craze and I got a tip that Kmart was going to have 7 of them at their store. We got up early and headed to our local Kmart. It was in the middle of a snow storm. I have never been so hung up about a video game before. I was the 7th person in line and I got one. I was sooo excited. John waited in the car, out in the parking lot for me while I stood out in the freezing cold..that wuss LOL!

Sooo, if you find one at your local store...please let me know. I will send you $$$ for it. LOL
Oh, and don't forget the Wii Fit..they want that, too :)

Words better left un-said...

1. He's a big boy now

2. Cut the apron strings

3. We can do it by ourselves

4. I would love to move

5. You're Nosey

6. Stop calling as soon as the shade opens

7. Stop your b*tching and complaining

8. Clean up your yard and get your act together

9. He can't help you ALL the time...he has his own responsibilities

Helloooo Newman...

I'm talking about Newman from the show Seinfeld. He's the postman that was always doing a horrible job. Well, we have our own "Newman", except ours is a woman. It's a total miracle we actually get mail everyday. Seriously though...last year one of our bank statements went to one of our neighbors(not the animal haters). Instead of calling to let us know they got our mail, the idiotic guy opened it up because he wasn't paying attention. He found out it wasn't theirs so he THREW IT AWAY. What a total jerk!

Well, I happen to live in a small town and his wife works at our bank. She happened to mention to us that they got a bank statement of ours in the mail. "But my husband accidentally threw it away", she said. I was so mad! I went up to the post office and told the postmaster the story. Well, apparently the postmaster left a message on their answering machine saying it was a federal crime to open other people's mail and it better go back to the right person immediately. That night I came home to find a piece of mail stuck to the door. It was covered with ketchup(remember...he threw it out). I looked at it and realized it WASN'T our mail, but my MIL's mail(we're neighbors, too).

Anyway, we've had smaller occurrences since then..nothing too horrible but we still get the wrong mail. I just simply put in back in the mailbox with a note on it. I wonder what other mail is getting lost and people just don't tell us.
Last month, our other neighbors(the dog haters) got our Lowe's kitchen cabinet bill in their mail. UHHHH! At least they brought it over to us without any problems. We get along with them fine.

So, yesterday we watched "Newman" again...she pulled into my MIL's driveway to deliver a package. While she was in the back of her Jeep getting the mail, a piece fell out onto the ground. John and I both wondered if she would see it and pick it up. Luckily, after a minute or so she did.

Today, we watched her again...she parked right in the road, got out and was rearranging boxes in her Jeep. The doors were wide open and it's super windy out. All I could think of was a big gust of wind coming and blowing all the mail out. After about 2 minutes she finally had everything situated and she was back on her route again. The next time I see anything happen...I'm going back to the post office.

Packing up Dishes...

Tonight I started the daunting task of packing up all my everyday dishes. I never realized how many dishes I actually have...OMG! I left a few dinner plates, bowls, and luncheon plates so we could still eat. Tomorrow the cabinet that houses the coffee mugs and glasses will come next. I have alot of those, too. I put coffee filters in between the layers of dishes so they won't get too scratched while we are moving the boxes around. Coffee filters are a cheap and fast alternative. I didn't want to use bubble wrap because:

1.) bubble wrap can be somewhat dirty depending on if it's new or used.
2.) it's time consuming and takes up more space than coffee filters.
3.) I would most likely run out of bubble wrap. I have lots of filters and they're cheap.

I made myself a bowl of Coco Wheats for dinner. I know, I know...not a real healthy dinner, but on cold days, I love to have something hot and soothing. I grew up eating coco wheats, so it's something I always have in the house. Some of you are probably gagging right now!! LOL


Do you remember that commercial years ago:


"Coco Wheats, Coco Wheats can't be beat...it's a creamy hot cereal with a cocoa treat...to be big and strong...have lots of fun...eat Coco Wheats everyone".

Then the parrot would come on and say, "Eat Coco Wheats you bird brain" then he would squawk.

More Kitchen Talk...

As I said in yesterdays post, we were working on taking down the cabinets above the stove area. I snapped a few pics so you could see the progress.



In the first pic, John is attempting to pull down the cabinets. The end where he was working was giving him lots of trouble. The board was nailed to the wall and he was having a hard to pulling it down.

The second picture was taken when the cabinets were finally down.


The ugly wood paneling will be replaced with white beadboard, the floors will be replaced with either tile or laminate (not sure yet). Oh, and we will be putting in radiant floor heat underneath because the floor is always cold. The door you see to the left will be replaced too..that's the spare bedroom where all the new cabinets are hiding right now.

More snow tonight! We are under a winter storm advisory. I think they're calling for 2-5 inches. Not anything major but the wind is suppose to blow so I'm sure it will drift and be terribly cold. The temps for Friday will only be about 6°. That is too COLD! That's the day of John's surgery, too.

It was a weird day...

Before I tell you about today...let me tell you about our activities on Saturday. We went to the Detroit area to look at a new car. Needless to say...we won't be buying it even though we REALLY want it. We will wait a year or at least until summer. We've decided we can't have everything right now. We want to finish the kitchen and not be broke trying to do it. The car is a touchy subject, so I won't dwell on that topic. It was such a snowy day in Detroit. They were getting hammered with lots of snow and the roads were terrible.

We went to the Somerset Mall. I've never been there. It's a huge mall and quite swanky. I was amazed at how big the Macy's was. HOLY CRAP! I spotted an Ivory 19" platter. That thing is gigantic. We wanted to buy it, but thought we might wait until Marigold comes out. I'd rather buy that color. I don't need two of those platters. Plus they're expensive. We walked around the mall a bit more and wanted to eat at the California Pizza Kitchen. It looked like an excellent place to eat, but it was soooo busy. We just went somewhere else instead.

After that, we went to a certain bakery(Julian Bros.) that we always visit when we're in that area. Oh, it's so good. We bought two individual cherry pies, a loaf of pizza bread(for John), and a very small chocolate cake for his uncle's birthday. We then drove over to see John's uncle. It was his birthday so we decided to surprise him. We had a nice time, but he smokes. Needless to say when we got out of there we were soooo sick from the smoke. We felt like crap the rest of the night. When your not used to cigarette smoke, it can really take a toll on you. It took over 2 hrs to get home because the roads were so bad. It usually only takes us about 1 1/2 hrs.

I immediately threw our clothes and coats in the washer because they smelled so bad. We took a shower too. That helped quite a bit. We were pretty tired by then. Went to bed and watch a dvd of Looney Tunes. Yes...real cartoons...not the crap that's on tv these days. We fell asleep around 11 o'clock. Suddenly the dog started freaking out around 1:30 this morning. I have no idea what was wrong, but he started barking. Well, that did it...I was up then. I thought I'd better lay on the couch and watch tv since I couldn't sleep(thanks Rizzo). John came to join me a few minutes later. He couldn't sleep either. After about an hour or so, we decided to go back to bed. We finished the rest of the Looney Tunes dvd and fell back asleep around 4 a.m. We woke up around 10 o'clock this morning. I felt weird all day. Maybe it was because I didn't sleep well last night. I also felt depressed most of the day. That could stem from many things...the car, the weather, the kitchen, etc. I don't want to bore you.

We worked on the kitchen a bit more today. Took down a set of cupboards that were almost impossible to take down. They were the original cabinets...held in with nails, instead of screws. UGH! After that we took a nap for a few hours. Then went up town for food and to rent a movie. That's it for now.

It's early and I'm up...

Well, it's early for me anyway. It's not everyday...especially on a Saturday that I get up at 7:30 a.m. We need to go to Detroit today. So, I needed to get my butt out of bed sort of early. Rizzo got of up with me..of course. He doesn't miss a thing. He now needs a chaperone when he goes outside. The last time I left him alone I caught him taking a schmoo over at the neighbors! I was not happy. He has been venturing over there lately and I don't want him to get the idea he can wander. He is getting pretty brave. So, out I went this morning...jammies, shoes, and John's coat. I never said I would actually get dressed for the task.

It was just barely getting light and off in the distance I saw his arch nemesis...LUKE. He's the dog that lives on the "Southside"..okay, I'm being a bit dramatic here but work with me! No, we don't live in a gang area, it's more of running joke in our house.

We feel bad for ol' Lukey...He's a very nice Black Lab. These are the neighbors that don't take care of the animals. Luckily this is the only dog they have now. After the kids go off to school in the morning, Luke stays outside ALL day. He needs/wants attention so badly. They don't give it to him. He goes across the busy street to visit a body shop. I don't think they like dogs, but they tolerate Luke. I said it once and I'll say it again...Anything that crosses that road will get killed or seriously hurt. He has been really lucky so far. It was usually me who somehow see's the animal get squashed on the road. The same neighbors had ducks once. The Mama duck had babies and there was like 10 of them. It was a neat thing until they kept coming over and schmooing all over our driveway. Of course...it had to have the babies in OUR lilac bush. I even hatched an egg by hand and saved a little duckling..that's another story. Anyway..one by one they got killed on the road. Maybe it was a good thing. After a while we got sick of them and they were terribly messy.

Back to Luke..I saw him sitting in the neighbors driveway this morning. Rizzo saw him, too. Sometimes their eyes meet and it's a stare down. Luckily this morning, Rizzo went and did his business without any problems.

Sorry my posts are soooo boring.

Ode to the Green Marmie...

Some of my friends from the CMG Wednesday night Chat were thinking of cute little Fiesta poems last night. Here are a few we came up with.

Elaine over at http://dishingwithcarafaye.blogspot.com came up with the following:
"Men in brown shorts--spreading joy and dish love--my money is gone!

Craig from http://rainbowdishes.blogspot.com said this:
"Oh Green Marmie...it took forever to find...but now it's mine!"

I also thought of one, although not as good as those two.

"I searched high and low...with despair...

no such luck...looked everywhere...

until one day...you came to me...

in a little white box...perfect as can be!"

I'd like to hear some of your dish poems...

More Kitchen Drama...

It's a Good drama though! Thank Goodness! John finally helped me with the border this afternoon before he headed off to work. I was sooo happy. We ran out of time so we couldn't' finish the rest(about 4 feet). I will let him do the rest of the dirty work tomorrow. I snapped a few pics of the the kitchen to give you an idea of what it looks like. There was wallpaper and border up on three walls. The forth wall(not pictured) was painted. We're getting ready to tear down some of the upper cabinets. It's getting exciting again..as we're getting to the point of "NO RETURN". HA.. HA.. *evil laugh*. Please forgive me..I feel kinda corny today :)

I'll keep you posted with all the kitchen details.

Adoption Story...

I adopted a lovely piece of Riviera today. John and I were in our local antique mall yesterday and spotted it. I noticed a small chip on the lid and I passed on it. I felt guilty about it so I went back today to rescue it. I'm happy. Plus, it was only $18 bucks. I didn't think that was too bad of a deal. Even with the little chip.

Clutter...

Cleaning out the spare bedroom made me feel soooo good. We(ME, actually) started cleaning it out last fall and I got rid of tons of stuff then, but I didn't finish. I got a meager sum for the stuff I "gave" away to a local junk shop. It wasn't even my intention of getting money for the stuff, but I thought I'd ask just in case. I'm glad John didn't see all the stuff I took there. I don't think he'd be too happy with me, but it was sitting around forever. Oh well!
Boy, that place is awful. The people that run it are even more awful. Sorry, I can't help myself. I didn't have another place to take the stuff so that's where it went.

Well, after cleaning it more at the end of December I realized that I HATE clutter even more than ever. So, that's my goal for this year....GET RID OF CLUTTER. That goes for the pottery, too. Sorry my fellow dish friends...I'm not giving that away. I just need to organize it better and put a shelf up in the kitchen, living room, etc. As of now, I don't have any great shelves. The only shelf I have is in the living room. It's small and I've had it since I was like 10 yrs old. It's not workin' for me anymore!! It holds some of the pyramids candle holders...barely! So, once the "new" cabinet comes from John's grandmother I will be rearranging things and making more room. I think I need Val(interior designer) to fly in so she can help me move furniture around. I have a long and narrow living room. I can only really put my couch on 2 walls. Once the cabinet arrives, I will be getting rid of the dumb console radio thing. I hate it! I don't use it, it's too big, it doesn't go with anything in the house, and did I mention I hate it. It wasn't my idea to bring it in the house. John's dad bought it at an auction. They brought it in the house while I wasn't home and it's still here as I write this. NOT A HAPPY CAMPER! Can't you tell??? So anyway...that's going bye, bye and I can say "hello" to my new curved glass cabinet.

Another Surgery...

Well, despite trying to change John's diet a bit he will need to get his gallbladder plucked. It was about a year and half ago that he went to get it checked out. The thing's dead, shriveled up, kaput. Okay, maybe not shriveled...but close enough. We did manage to cut out most of the fatty foods from our diets and we are eating better, but once in a while his gallbladder will rear its ugly head and give him problems. It's been worse lately because of the holidays.

He was so close to getting it out back a year or so ago, but things were getting bad at work and he was in the middle of moving to a different location(same job though). He didn't want to miss out on a good opportunity of moving closer to home, so he cancelled. Now he is in a better location and things are stable. I am glad he is getting it done. I think he will feel better in the long run. He's not worried about the surgery part(so he says), but he is worried about work. He's afraid they will get his "time" wrong on his paycheck and end up with a bigger mess. He has an incompetent boss that does not help. This guy doesn't know how to do anything.

Anyway, John will be having surgery on Jan. 16th. I know it's not a serious surgery, but any surgery you have CAN be serious. So, please be understanding and pray for him(us). P.S~ I think his mom is freaking out about it more than he is. "Oh my little baby" LOL

Car Trouble and a Birthday ...

Last night we had quite a bit of trash to take out so I used the Jeep to haul it across the road(we use his parents trash pick up). Anyway, I pulled into the driveway afterward and jumped out. I heard something leaking out the front end. I bent over and noticed a persistent stream of UF(unidentified fluid). I stuck my finger in the wet spot to see If I could tell what it was. Sure enough...the sweet smell of antifreeze! UGH! To make sure(it was dark so it was hard to tell) I put some snow over the small puddle and it turned green. OH MAN! John is not going to be happy, I thought.

I didn't know for sure what it was. It could be a few things: A radiator leak, A leaky hose, or an antifreeze expansion tank leak. Well, I was wrong on all of those(Hey, I never said I was a mechanic, LOL) . John looked at it today and put the pressure tester to the radiator. A moderate amount of fluid leaked out again when pressurized. It was the Water pump! So, one call to the auto parts store and $46(water pump and serpentine belt) later we had the parts. John is working on it even as I write this. This is not exactly what he had planned on his birthday, but it needs to be fixed. It will be quick and easy.

On January 3rd. 1976 at 3:41 p.m. John was born. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 15 oz. According to all the stories that his mom tells(she tells ALOT!)... the nurses at the hospital dressed him in pink because they thought he was too cute to be dressed in blue. LOL! I guess I better not reveal too much more. If John read this he'd probably kill me for divulging too much information :) HA! HA!

Is it Friday yet?

That's the question John and I kept asking each other this week as he kept working MORE hours. John worked 78 hrs. this week from Sunday-Friday. That's almost 40 hrs of overtime. This was a major storm for them. I'm glad the week is almost over. We miss each other and it's been hectic all week.

I have been steadily working on the kitchen all week. I have about 10 more feet of border to take off the wall. Man, it sucks! We want to get the kitchen painted this weekend so we can get the first half of the cabinets up. I'm excited.

In the early part of December, John's grandmother passed away. We were sad, but relieved at the same time. You never want someone to die, but when someone is hurting, you want their pain to go away so they don't suffer. Ruth was a wonderful woman. She never had a mean bone in her body. There was a special china cabinet in their house that John and I always admired. We might soon get the chance to bring it into our home. It would be exciting to fill it with Fiesta goodies and look at it everyday and remember Ruth.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!

Happy New Year to all my fellow bloggers and friends!

Last night was quite an evening. Since John was still working(yes, storm duty is still going on), I spend the evening with my parents. They brought pizza over and we played the Nintendo Wii until they were so tired they couldn't bowl anymore. It's absolutely hilarious to watch a 64 year old man play tennis or bowl. What is even more funny is watching them play Mario Kart. I don't think I've ever seen a grown man giggle so much. It was very cute. They didn't leave out of here until 10:30 p.m. which is WAY past their curfew LOL!

After they left, I spent a few hours(yes, hours) chatting online with some of my favorite Wednesday night chatters. We chatted until 2:15, I believe. I had an excellent time doing that too. It's comforting to know you have a dish friend that is only a mouse click away. John surprised me by coming home an hour and half early. Everyone else had left so what's the point of being there by himself. He still has to work today, though. It sucks, but I'm getting used to it.

I hope everyone else had a safe and fun New Years Eve. I was happy to welcome in a new year full of hope and new beginnings!