Just Been Busy

Playing with some photos with a program on my phone. My granddaughter Cathy loves to read. She is so like her entire aunts and uncles and her Na-Na who loves to read. May she find magic in every page in every book she opens.

Hello,

 I hope that this finds you all doing well. We are alright here. It is a gorgeous evening, actually it is after midnight here. 

 We have a very nice breeze blowing and it is 79degress outside. It was very hot today, we reached a scorching 105 degrees and the weather channel was encouraging everyone to stay inside if possible, but the heat left and now we are really enjoying the cool evening.

 I have been busy this past weekend and few days. I have been trying to get a few things done and on Monday I had a phone visit with my medical team to go over my lab results.

 I had a really good report and it was encouraging. All of the foods I have cut out and the changes I have made have helped me have a better out look on my health.

 Today I was able to take Jonathan in with me to my endocrinologists office visit. 

 Today was a big day for me. I received my insulin pump and so Jonathan and I went to a training class on how to fill it, and how to place it and all the things that are necessary in using it. 

 It still makes me a little nervous because I am afraid that I will not close it off properly and that the insulin will leak out but Jonathan made me do it myself tonight at dinner so I am getting the hang of it.

 I will become more use to it the longer that I work with it so it will be fine. I will become less nervous every day. I was the same way when I first found out I had diabetes and had to learn to give myself a shot. Each day became easier and so I know this will become easier as well.

 After my first appointment I had to go to my Primary care doctors office and have a blood pressure reading and drop off a something for the lab. I think that I have a urinary tract infection so it was important that I went by the lab. 

 So after I had my training my dietician said that I earned a small treat so we stopped at Sonic and I got a small Sprite float. OMGosh it was so good. It had been years since I had one. 

 I have tried to remember the name of the place my first husband and I would go to when we lived in Indiana and I cannot remember the name of the place but it was a small drive in and their specials were Sprite floats.

 I think that because my neighbor and friend Emily went home to visit her family right outside of Indianapolis that it has caused me to think about that time in my life more often these past few weeks but when we pulled into Sonic I knew exactly what I was going to order and I enjoyed it to the last drop.

 After we left there and headed to my next doctor appointment Jonathan made a right hand turn and started cussing like a sailor... " The f^&%$&&(&ing power steering pump just went out."

 They had just got the car out of the shop because of a power steering leak.

 Jonathan was so upset. "This is the damn reason that I didn't want to buy a used car from anyone but a dealership and I knew we were going to have damn problems with the damn car, I should have not agreed to buying a used car without a better warranty......" and on and on it went until we made it home and I was able to retreat to the quietness of my room.

 I didn't get into the discussion on buying a car. That was between them two and I let it be. I don't know what they had decided about it but I do know that I have my new insulin to pick up tomorrow and to find out about a prescription that I should of gotten on the 17th but Jonathan said that the pharmacist said it isn't ready for insuramce reasons so I have to find out what is going on with that.

 I didn't get my curtains hung in my room. I am going to have to order a new rod it looks like and while I am at it I think that I will order another set of curtains for my larger window. 

 Then I will have Nathan help me hang them. I also am going to order a new comforter for my bed. I just am not sure exactly what I want.

 I lost my glasses today and have looked everywhere for them. I finally found them about an hour ago when I decided to take my new insulin pump medication to my room. They were laying on top of the box so I onow that Jonathan must have gotten them out of the car and brought them in for me. I am really glad that I didn't lose them for good.

 I am going to say good night. I am really tired so it is time for me to go to bed now..

 You all have a awesome day and take care... BB

 

 

Stuff Still On My Mind

My Sister Sharon and her hubby Raymond. I actually won this 50's kit years ago when I first started getting into scrapbooking. I heard today that the lady that designed this kit is going to start designing again and I am super excited because I am sure that she has this kit still and I have lost my original kit. It might be backed up on my external hard drive and I need to check because I loved this kit.

 Also the local college back home has a Sock Hop dance every year and they combined a Elvis night along with the dance and this is where I got the photos. I need to get some more from my sister. I have lots of ideas and would really love to do a entire book for her and Raymond.

Hi,

 It has been more than a few days since I posted to my blog. I have not been feeling very well the past week or so and it shows here when I am not feeling well. I tend to be absent lol. I wish I could say that I am feeling better now but the truth is I am not feeling good but I will take every day with a grain of salt and hope for the best.

 For some reason my body has started to swell. Especially my legs and feet, arms and face. My doctor called me in a fluid pill and I will talk to her tomorrow and she can make the decision to see if she needs to increase the dosage.

 It would ease my mind tremendously to know what is causing the swelling to begin with. If it is a medication then perhaps she can switch it to something else but I don't have any idea why I am swelling. I just woke up one morning this way. The fluid pill isn't doing much to make the swelling go down so it looks like it is just going to be a guessing game.

 We have a Tropical Storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico. If she forms like they think she will her name will be Hannah. 

 The weather station said that here in Austin we could see 3 to 4 inches of rain just as she comes ashore and then more as she moves inland.

 I am really surprised because while we do get rain we don't usually get that much. The hill country will get more than we will. 

 The year that Harvey came in we ended up with a ton of rain. Our apartment flooded and we lived on a large hill so that was a sudden surprise. I was with Matthew the day before Harvey made landfall. We were at Walmart getting groceries and he put his car in there shop to have the oil changed and I took loads of pictures of the clouds coming in. 

 Matthew was with the Rail Road back then. 

 Oh speaking of the Rail Road, one of his old supervisors came across his Facebook page the other day and messaged him. He said Boy what are you doing driving a truck? You need to be driving my trains lol.

 Matthew decided to go to truck driving school because it was easier to get his CDL license. He wasn't going to be able to get it with the rail road unless he took off of work and then took classes etc so this way he could learn to drive a truck and make a living too and then if he does decide to go back to the rail road then he has his license and can advance in the company. I am not sure if that is what he will do or not. He changes his mind like some people do shirts. But that was his goal and I am not sure if he wants to go back to that particular company but it was great that his old supervisor got in touch with him.

 Wow I have only been typing less than 20 minutes and already I am getting tired. I haven't done enough to be tired but I am headed there.

 I cleaned the bathroom today, folded a load of towels and I did a load of laundry for Jonathan. So I haven't done anything to be tired.

 Last night was a different story. Today was garbage day so Nathan and I got the bins ready to take to the road. I swept the front area and there was a pretty big oil stain so Nathan scrubbed it down with an old mop and I was hoping that it would all come up but a large part is still there.

 The boys bought a car from Nathan's manager at work. It had a power steering leak so that is where the oil came from. They put the car in the shop but it will not be ready for pick up until Saturday and Jonathan and Karyn are both now on mandatory over time with the storm in the Gulf there will probably be a lot of displaced people and power outages so they can start filing for local FEMA and so the Governor opened up the State's resources. 

 I am going to get off here for now and go and rest. I hope that everyone is doing alright and I will talk to you all soon. I am so far behind in my blog reading. I will catch up as soon as I can. In the mean time you all take care of yourself and loved ones... BB

A Lot On My Mind

I did this page today for no real reason other than I just felt like playing. Kits used from Tiny Turtle. A little of this and a little of that from several different digital kits.

Good Morning and Happy Saturday,

 I hope that everyone is doing well. I am ok on this end for right now at least and I am wishing the same to you all this gorgeous Texas morning.

 I was enjoying my morning coffee out on my patio but the mosquitoes were very happily eating me alive so I had to come in and decided to work on my blog now instead of this evening.

 

 I have a lot on my mind. Mostly family stuff that has kept me awake. I have fought going back to sleep. It is not insomnia keeping me awake right now. 

 I was awake around 1:30 this morning when I happened to look at my phone and noticed a message from my cousin. She said that she had been trying to call but kept getting a wrong number message and so I sent her my correct number. 

 She and her husband divorced years and years ago but they remained friends as she and he raised 3 sons.

 Last week he had been diagnosed with Covid19 and had been in the hospital and Friday (Yesterday) he called to tell her that they were putting him to sleep and asked her "Please take care of our boys if something happens to me." and then her son called last night to say that his conditioned worsened and they were putting him on a ventilator.  Such very sad news.

 I haven't slept well. After my long night and day without sleep I did finally go to sleep yesterday after I got home from the doctor. I had labs done and when we got home I went straight to bed and slept for a few hours but when I woke up to use the restroom I just stayed up. I talked with my cousin and slept fitfully off and on. 

Mostly I tried to stay busy doing a few things. I enjoy doing my housework during the quiet times of the night.

 I think that it's a hold over pattern for when my kids were babies. My husband worked several daytime jobs in between driving a truck long distance. 

 He was usually up around 2:30 in the morning having coffee with me and giving Karyn, Laurie or Matthew their bottle as I prepared his breakfast and lunch. Then I would breastfeed and rock them to sleep.

 I would do my thing while they were sleeping which usually consisted of washing and drying and folding the laundry. Washing up a few dishes and giving the bathrooms a once over and then later in the day we would all take a nap.

 Later on in my life I worked the night shift for many years and it has all stuck with me. I work while trying to figure out the right answer for my problems. 

 I wish I could find the right answer now to what is bothering me. If Only. 

  

When is the time right to just cut off certain family members? How do I cut them off? Do I just do it cold turkey and let it be or do I do it slowly? When is enough enough? 

 How do I express my feelings to them or do I just keep the reasons to myself?

 I don't see a clear path. I just have these deep gut instincts that are conflicting with my wishes to resolve the issues as best that I can and to my feelings to where I feel cutting them off or out of my life is just plain hurtful not to just myself but them as well.

 I am at a loss at this moment on how to handle the issues or the pros and cons of what my actions will determine or how it would impact my immediate family but one thing that I do know is that right or wrong I will have to come to a decision in the near immediate real time.

 Right now I am feeling very sleepy and I am going to take my morning medication and check my sugar and have a bite of breakfast and then go to sleep.

 Much love is being sent your way along with lots of blessings and I will talk to all soon... BB 

Another Sleepless Night In Austin Tx

A scrap page I did a few years ago when Matthew was working for the railroad and Karyn drove him to his house in Arizona only to have to turn around the very next day and drive back to Arizona and get him and take him to his next job, They were exhausted in this photo. They were indeed howling at the moon lol...

Good Morning,

 I hope that this finds you doing well. I am alright on this end, just tired. I can't seem to sleep. I figure that I am going thru my yearly bout of insomnia so you might see more of me during these sleepless nights.

 I have had a busy day. Nathan had a bad headache today and I told him if he would get his laundry together and take to the garage where our washer and dryer are that I would do his laundry for him so he wouldn't have to since he has to work Thursday, Today now.

 So he did and I didn't mind doing it. I had just finished my own laundry so doing his laundry wasn't a big deal.

 After the laundry was done I spent a good deal of time going over my calendar to see what appointments I have coming up and also a call in to my doctor as I scraped the top of my foot on the threshold of the front door checking the mail the other day. It had come loose and when I opened the front door I managed to get my foot in the way and got a really nice scratch. 

 Being a diabetic I have to watch a foot injury. My foot started to swell so I figured that I had better call my doctor. Oddly my left foot is swelling as well. In fact I feel like I am retaining water so I l bet that my doctor calls me back to check on my foot tomorrow and maybe decide to change my blood pressure meds with a water pill added. I didn't pay too much attention until yesterday when I put on a night gown and it was way too tight and I thought back to when I had the bone density test done last week and the scale showed I had gained 11 pounds. So yeah I feel like I am retaining fluid.

 After that was done I did a little cleaning and then Karyn stopped by to pick up some mail and said that she had a couple of errands to run but she would pick me up afterwards and we would go and get a drink and spend some time together.

 We went to Taco Cabana and she got a couple of tacos. I had already eaten my dinner so I wasn't hungry. Then we ordered 2 lime margaritas to go. So funny to see them hand us two little bottles of tequila and 2 small plastic glasses filled with the frozen lime that turned to slush in this Texas heat in a matter of minutes.

 We don't have bars open or even dining in right now. 

 I said to Karyn, "You mean we can get a real drink?" I was surprised but yeah they will give it to us but we can't drink on the premises. So we drove home, sat in the car and I drank mine while we talked but Karyn gave hers to Nathan.

 I told Karyn that I was going to turn into a Lush... lol. She was like... "It is going to take more than a couple of drinks once a month before you will turn into a Lush mom," LOL... I couldn't help but laugh. I will never be a Lush but I might wanna be haha.

 Then I watched Criminal Minds for a couple of hours and then decided to do some more laundry and before I knew it I had been up a very long time. 

 I think that I am getting use to not sleeping. The lack of sleep will hit me in a few days and I will sleep for hours and hopefully I will be able to get back to normal sleeping hours. 

 Speaking of which I am feeling rather tired. I have to switch the laundry I am doing over before I can go lay down so I will get going and finish it up and try to sleep.

  I will talk to you all later on. Take good care of yourself and each other. It is really important right now to make sure that we take care of one another and check on one another. Especially for our loved ones that are home and can't get out. 

 Today was the first time I left the house since Jonathan and I went to Chuy's when our power went out a few weeks ago and other than to my Endocrinologist, so it was time for me to get out for just an hour even if all I did was ride a couple miles from home, get a to go margarita and sit in my drive way and talk with my daughter. It felt really nice.

 Have a great Thursday! BB

 

A Very Early Morning

Family is the fabric that holds us together!

 Early Monday Morning. It is 4:13 am and it is 82 degrees, 76% humidity and we have another heat index warning until 8:00pm tonight. I expect that will change to extend the heat. Our temperature is supposed to get up to 105 today where we are. A bit further south of us it can be 110 or higher. UGH...

 I woke up Sunday morning tired. I didn't want to even get out of bed but I dragged my tired lazy butt out of my comfy bed and made a cup of coffee, took the dogs out and cringed at the heat that blasted me. The dogs didn't like it either and so we came back into the cool.
 I had brunch with Jonathan which was Arby's roast beef sandwich. When I first declined I could tell that it hurt his feelings so I sat down and ate the sandwich. 
 I first had to test my sugar and take my insulin and I was very happy to have such a wonderful reading. So I did a quick calculation and I knew that I was going to have to add carbs so the beef sandwich was perfect after all.
 I use to love Arby's but I have seemed to have lost my taste for it. Actually I cannot think of a single food place that I enjoy now since I eat so different than I use to.
 I have lots of salads and soups. Some soups are canned and others are fresh. It just depends on what I feel like making. 

 Afterwards I decided to make a scrap page of Olga for Steve Reed and I really enjoyed sitting down and working on it. 

 Just as I finished it Karyn came and we had a good visit. It just wasn't long enough. Foxy was so excited to see her.
 Jonathan had given her a bath and as a reward for being good he had bought her a little ball. She had nothing to do with it.
 Jonathan moved on to Oliver and Oh How Funny... He ran from Jonathan and it was so funny seeing him chase Olly. 
 He finally corralled him and shut the bathroom door and a few minutes later Jonathan called me to come and take a look.
 I wished I had my camera. That silly dog was laying in the tub of water, his eyes closed and sighing deeply as Jonathan lathered him and brushed him with a new brush.
 I don't think he wanted the bath to end but Jonathans back couldn't take much more so the dry off began and then as a reward (as if the bath wasn't reward enough) Olly received some Breath bones for his breath and teeth and a new ball to play with. So the dogs were happy.
 Well at least Oliver was. Foxy was sjivering with the cold so I carried her outdoors so she could dry and then she crawled into bed and under the covers and stayed there until Karyn got here.

 I think that I forgot to mention that the boys bought a car from Nathan's manager at work. I don't know what year it is but it has been pretty well cared for. It is a Lexus it is just to get around and build up Nathan's credit. It will be traded in on something else in a year or two. It is silver and a 4 door so plenty of room for all of us but I have not even taken a ride in it.

 After Karyn and Foxy went home I decided to read for a little while. Jonathan was watching a movie and I told him that I thought that I was going to bed early and he said that Nathan had texted him and said he was working over and would Uber home so Jonathan said he thought that he would go to bed early too so at 8:00 pm he and I were tucked in our beds and fell asleep.
 The bad thing about that is that I woke up around midnight and have been up ever since. 
 I am getting sleepy now and think that I will go back to bed.

 Good Morning to everyone just waking up and Good Night to all going to bed and in some cases going to bed again lol.... BB

Thank You!

Thank You everyone for your kind words and thoughts.
 It's been a long couple of days but my family is back in the U.S. now and they are safe so I am very thankful for that.
 I was so very worried, I called my doctor and they called me in something to help calm my anxiety. It didn't help that I had a very heated argument with the boys.

 They are very angry at their sister for playing on my emotions and they kept telling me "Mom you can't let this stress you out."
 I know this. I know that I needed to try and stay calm but they do not have kids. They are not a mother or father. How can I not be stressed out? How can I not be scared to death for their safety and especially my grandchildren?
 Do I think that my daughter and her husband are making good choices?
 No. I am very upset with them. They have for the past 2 years have made some very bad choices and they have to get it together.

 I went to bed rather early last night and didn't finish posting my blog. We had some meat in the fridge that Jonathan had forgotten to separate and freeze so it had to be cooked to keep it from going bad so I started that and forgot I had started a post.

 My memory has gotten so bad lately. I think that I would forget my head if not attached lol. Still it was a nice evening and he and I had a long conversation about The Witcher on Netflix. 
 What I could hear and the bits that I got to see were intriguing. I might start it after I am done with The Order. Especially now that I know I don't have to watch a back story or play the video game to enjoy it.

 When I got up at 8:00 this morning I took Olly and Foxy out and it was like a sauna. The heat hit me square in the face.
 It was 81 degrees with the heat index at 89 and 86% humidity.
 Usually Foxy wants in first but this morning it was Olly. I was glad that they didn't want to linger outside. I was more than ready to let them back in.
 I really don't have to stay out with them because it is fenced in and they can't get out but I try to stay with them because of abandonment issues. Especially Olly. I don't know what kind of life he had before us but if he thinks that he is all alone he will whimper and be needy for hours. He will be fine if he can see us thru the dining room glass sliding door but if he thinks he is alone it really stresses him out.
 Sometimes I just sit inside the garage where he can come and go to make sure that I am still close by. And you know what I think is really strange is that he doesn't do this when the boys let him out. They open the door, close it and he is fine. When they let him back inside he gets his toy and hops onto his sofa and is just fine.
 But if I do the same thing then he whimpers and is under my feet the rest of the day. Really strange how he reacts.

 Did I mention that Karyn tested negative for Covid19? I am so relieved. I told her she needed to be tested a month ago and she was like... "No Way Mom, those tests all come back positive. They want me to have that damn virus!"
 So when her test results came back negative I said to her "Negative??? Wow they didn't give you Covid19 after all."

 I have had to stop reading the news because of all the bad stuff and I don't know what to believe unless I go and search it out. I don't want to spend my time doing that so I just get the highlights and that is about it.

 It's time for breakfast so I will close for now. I want to thank you once more for the kind words for me while I was undergoing the ordeal with my daughter and her family. It meant so very much to me. Hugs to all. xoxoxo.... Blessed Be... BB

Please Send Love and Light

Hi,
 I am not liking my new laptop all that much. My friend Patsy says that it is because I am not use to it but it is just so different from my last Dell. 
 I am sure that she is right but I have been trying to post for several days and it is not cooperating with me. 
 Maybe I will have some luck today.

 It is been a busy weekend and yesterday I had to go to see my endocrinologist for my diabetes management. They did some tests and I go back next week to get the results. 

 I called my dentist today and made Nathan a dental appointment and they were able to get him in today at 4:00pm so I was very happy that they were able to see him today and I am hoping that they can set up to get the rest of his extractions done.

 UPDATE:

 I just got a message from my daughter. She and her family went across the Border into Mexico for the 4th of July to avoid the crowds and take the kids to the beaches and going home they were stopped by the Mexican police and they robbed them, made her husband go with them to the ATM and took all the money they had in their bank account. But the bad thing is that they have stolen my daughters ID and now she can't cross back over into the United States.
 I swear I am going to have a damn heart attack with all of the stress I am under with my kids.  
 They promised me that they were not going to go back into Mexico right now but they did anyway. Why would they take $2500.00 cash with them? How stupid is that?
 They have told us so many false things that at this time we can't help wondering is this the truth or is this another lie?
 We all want to think the best for and of our children but that does not make it so.
I thought that the U.S. Embassy was there to help in cases like this but according to my daughter they can't help her get her ID and get her home. What is she going to do?
 I am so scared because I have read so many horror stories and have heard of some as well.
 My son Matthew and his crew a couple of years ago went across the border when they were working in Arizona and were detained for almost 48 hours because they tried to say that Matt's boss was wanted for murder. They finally let them go but not after they took all of their cash and the souvenirs they had bought.
 It scared my son bad enough that he never wanted to go back but for Laurie and David, they had a lot of happy times in Mexico and no matter what I told them or showed them articles or anything they argued with me about it not being bad over there and now she is stuck with no chance of obtaining her ID or her Military ID and I don't know what they are going to do.

 I am so sorry but I have to get off of here and try to calm down. I am a nervous wreck at this point.

 Take care everyone and Be Blessed... BB

Just Being Lazy

 No Matter What Your Doing, Life Is Beautiful

Hello,

 I hope that this finds you all doing well. Here on my end I have to confess to just being lazy. I think that we are all entitled to just have do nothing days and that has been what I have been doing.

 Yesterday, June 30th was my son Jonathan's birthday. Nathan, Jonathan and I visited with a long time friend Jay that came over and spent a few hours watching a movie and just visiting. 

 We practiced social distancing so it was all good. 

 It was good to see him too. It has been too long.

 We ordered burgers from Top Notch burger and they were so delicious. Instead of fries we got some fried okra and I really enjoyed it. It was a nice change from fries.

 Top Notch burger is sort of famous around here. It was featured in the movie Dazed and Confused. It is an old fashioned drive in type of place and they are doing food deliveries so the guys took advantage of it and placed our orders.

 After Jay left Jonathan and I got online and played a game together. He is playing  a game that is the like the older version of The Sims but it is called Fallout Shelter or something like that and I am playing Elvenar. So between those games we were quiet happily enjoying ourselves and during the down times awaiting for our games to do their thing he and I did some jigsaw puzzles. I downloaded a collection of 10 puzzles of Yellowstone National park and have half of them already done.

 He did some of Lighthouses and one of a video game Fable. 

 We were up late. It was well after midnight before we finally called it a night.

 He has to work tomorrow so he went to bed early tonight. 

 Matthew is heading to Montana with his load and tonight I seen my phone flashing and I looked and I had a message from Matt and a photo of him in his cowboy hat.

It's a really good photo of my scruffy boy lol. It's been too long since I have had a good visit.

 The last time that he was home a couple of weeks ago he spent the night but was gone when I woke up. I thought that he was coming back over but he got dispatched out and took the load. Then he broke down so he spent 4 days in a motel up in Arizona. So I really would like to spend some more time with him. He has a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks but he said that he is going to be running west coast for a few months and not sure when he will be back in our area.

 He is trying to get some good miles to make up for being broke down for those 4 days. He said that he has a feeling that they are going to pull him out of the truck he is in and put him in another one since this one breaks down so often.

 Karyn is sick. She has pockets on the back of her throat and she had to go be tested this morning for Covid19. Regardless she is in quarantine. She was the first one in line when the drive thru opened this morning. It can take up to 10 days for the results to get back but they also did a rapid test and it came back negative so we are hoping that her results of the other one comes back negative as well.

 She thinks that it will because she hasn't been to the office and she has been home. I have wanted to see her but between work and sick over the weekend we have been apart.

 She and I are starting a Netflix series together. I haven't actually started watching it yet because I have been LAZY lol. We are going to watch The Order.

 I might disappear if I get totally wrapped up in it. I have some episodes I have to catch up on because she has been able to binge watch. (My little Brat.) 

 I guess that is really all the news from this end. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow and then again on the 6th but really that is about all that I have going on.

 Right now I am going to get ready for bed. It is getting late. Already it is almost 1:00 in the morning. 

 Before I go I will share a couple of pics of our boy Oliver. He is such a great dog.  He has taken over the couch. He has his scent all over it. It is not a pretty teal green anymore but that is alright. He loves it and so we have pretty much let him have it.

 Take care everyone and Blessed Be. BB