This is my question...

Blessed Event!

2008-12-03T16:31:00.037-05:00

Michal & Courtney Owens

November 8, 2008

We have a new member in our family... a new daughter-in-law, and another Mrs. Owens!!

I have wanted to do an update on the blessed event sooner but as usual, life got in the way and more time passed than I realized! Then with Thanksgiving and guests visiting, it has still been a whirlwind!
It was a beautiful wedding and and the setting was picturesque. The weather was actually pretty good for November, just a little chilly and overcast at one point, but thankfully no rain.

Courtney did a great job planning the wedding and really worked hard on all the details.

She was an absolutely gorgeous bride: We were so proud of both her and Michal on their special day.

I really enjoyed the whole weekend, and I was pleased that our part of the festivities (the rehearsal dinner) went as well as it did. The rehearsal venue was at the Piedmont Country Club and they did a great job on the early "Thanksgiving dinner." The idea of a Thanksgiving dinner was all about the middle son, because it is his favorite meal of all time! (A little unconventional but it really turned out well.) For entertainment, we watched the slide show that Courtney's sister, Lindsey, and I helped put together that had various pictures of the couple, both now and as kids. There was quite the selection of pictures of them both!

Here is the bridal couple at the rehearsal dinner:
And here they are with Tom and I:The tables ended up looking very nice with the flower arrangements I made and I was thankful I was able to finish them in time.
A Big Thanks! goes to my neighbor Celeste for her help because it would have been even more stressful trying to find time to do crafts and take care of the heart patient!! Fortunately, the heart patient is doing well, is back to work, still doing rehab, and did great at the wedding. It was a long day for him but he really hung in there considering it was only 6 weeks ago that his chest was opened! Here he is with his boys: The wedding was so sweet and I loved watching the middle son on his wedding day! You can tell from the pictures that he was really happy!

The reception was a lot of fun and we all had fun dancing, eating, and celebrating. I am enclosing a link that the DJ made about the wedding lights and music. It is an "interesting" video considering it was made specifically by the DJ and is geared for other DJ's. Some of the parts are all "technical talk" but some of the parts really capture the fun and dancing and show the tables, food and fun. (fast forward the button to 1:30 to see the room and miss the driving part...)

DJ Wedding link.

Other reception memories:

Here is the new couple dancing their first dance to "Unchained Melodies": And here they are having a good time on the dance floor:
Here is Michal and I doing the mother of the groom dance to "In My Life" by the Beatles. I was squeezing Michal's thumb that he thinks he broke playing football, so he kept reminding me not to squeeze his hand.It was fun to see all the family members and friends that came to help celebrate with them. They had friends and family from England, China, Costa Rica, and all over the U.S. (It was a BIG wedding!) Here is some of the rowdy group that sang kinda loud to "Almost Heaven, West Virginia!" That song was a blast!Here was the really pretty cake:
I was sorry we didn't get any really good pictures of the grandson in his little tux, but the little guy was not feeling well and wanted held most of the day. (He "shared" his sickness with some of those near and dear to him, and it was not pretty!! I could sympathize even more with him after I had what he had on Mon. and ended up staying in bed all day!) He really was adorable in his little 18 month sized tux, even being sick!!! Here are his proud parents:And here is the other son and Jessy:
Overall, there were a few glitches, including a shuttle bus run that didn't happen and left the bridal couple stranded for a little while, but all in all it was a great day! The wedding couple went to the Bavarian Inn in WV for one night and then will go to the Dominican Republic for their honeymoon at a later date.

We are so happy to have Courtney in our family and are thrilled that Michal is so happy!

I am going to post a few more pictures of the wedding.

The groomsmen and Courtney:

The Bridesmaids and Michal:

The sisters and brothers:

Chrissi (3), Lori (2), Lindsey(5), Lisa (1), Courtney (4), Michal (2), Tommy(1), Jeffrey(3)

The bride and groom with the nieces and nephews-minus Ridge who was rolling down the hill:

The Owens family before the wedding: Teddy and Becky had not gotten there yet:

Mom, Michal, and Mamaw: Mr. & Mrs. Michal Owens taking their vows:

We wish them a long and happy life together!

Tom is doing well!

2008-10-15T15:58:00.011-05:00

Ok so a quick note to let all know that the patient is doing well. He is up walking, getting bored with being at home, and "tired of talking about food."

Mamaw has been a lifesaver with all her help with house work, kitchen detail and food preparations!! She left today to go back home and we will miss her greatly!!

I was talking to a friend and telling her how much I appreciated my neighbors and all their help during this stressful time. They have really been invaluable with bringing food, mowing the lawn, checking in on the patient, helping make wedding decorations for the upcoming wedding, sending cards, and all their gifts, good thoughts and prayers!! I still can't believe their generosity. The fact that they hired a cleaning crew to clean the house before we came home was amazing! That brought the discussion around to how nice it would be to actually have cleaning crews on a regular basis. My friend said she would really like a housekeeper that came daily, picked up the house and cooked, as opposed to a weekly or monthy clean crew...I told her it was REALLY nice to have a housekeeper!! Mamaw was doing all that around here and was my housekeeper.
It will now be a different story here as I will become the main cook.... I know, I heard all those sighs, and "poor Tom's". If you know me at all, you know I would much rather be out digging ditches or cleaning toilets as opposed to being in the kitchen!!!
I can't believe it has been almost 4 weeks now. The old boy is anxious to get back to work and may be able to go back sometime in the next week or two . The big hold up to return to work is really the healing of his sternum. He has had little to no pain in the last couple of days and will be glad when he can do more without worry of the sternum.
He really misses being able to hold baby Teddy. He still can't lift him for a couple of months yet. Anyway, we have had the pleasure of keeping Teddy more while his mom and dad are out and about and he is growing up soo fast!!

He is pretty smart too because when the patient had to do his breathing machine, otherwise known as "Mr. Pain", Teddy remembered us cheering and clapping to encourage grandpa in the hospital. (It was a real battle sometimes to get the patient to do his breathing treatment because that was about the only time he had significant pain.)

When Tom started doing his treatment at home, Teddy immediately stopped what he was doing and turned to watch grandpa breathe. He started clapping as soon as he realized what he was doing...it was very cute!

I was thinking the other day how far we have gone since those first couple of days of worry and stress. It is funny, in an ironic way, how one of the surgeons was describing what was going on with Tom's heart by comparing it to plumbing and pipes. I wanted to tell him that we had PLENTY of recent experience with plumbing and pipes!!
That is a whole other "plumbing story" that began with the OBB ( Owens Backyard Bash). It was definitately a problem when the downstairs toilet "backed up and overflowed" in the middle of the OBB with probably 130 people partying in the backyard, 6 kegs of beer and NO working toilet!!

We managed to make it through that little problem and thought replacing the old toilets would prevent further problems. Little did we know that we would be without a middle toilet for a week, since there was difficulty getting a toilet to fit under the "banjo" lipped counter. After many attempts at installing the appropriate toilets, we finally thought we were home free with three working new toilets. Little did we know that things were just beginning!
About a month after the OBB, I was taking a shower and had just put my creme rinse on my hair when Tom ran up and shouted "Turn off the water the downstairs toilet is overflowing!" Well, there I was standing in the shower, naked , wet, with creme rinse all over my hair thinking, "Now what do I do?" I came down stairs in old clothes and creme rinse and Tom took me outside and used the hose to rinse my hair. (That would have been a real picture opportunity but sorry no picture was taken of that!!)

After the hair crisis was averted, we then had to deal with the backup/overflow mess. Just our luck that this happened on Labor day. Does anyone care to hazard a guess about after hours/holiday plumber rates?! My first thought was, "do you think we could make it another day without water?" Funny, that was also my sister's first comment that "I would probably have waited a day without water". We are our dad's girls!!
The plumber came out, sort of unplugged the pipe but said "this is not guaranteed work because there is still a problem." Through many phone calls back and forth to the city water dept, the plumber coming again to run a camera through the pipes , and the city trying to decide whose problem it really was: ours or theirs. The city finally decided it was on their side (THANK YOU GOD!) It was like worker bees out front! They had the utility people mark where the utilities were, closed our road, brought in dump trucks, backhoes, and service vehicles like you wouldn't believe. They worked from early morning until 10 PM fixing the pipe.

They had to dig down 8 feet to get to the clean out valve that was buried ( lot of good it did down there- thank you pulte homes). They couldn't believe what they finally found. Our lateral line pipe that connects to the main sewer line in the middle of the street had NEVER been connected!! There was 3 feet of pipe missing!!

Here is the missing pipe picture:

Here is the fixed 3 foot section of piping:

We have lived here 20 years and fortunately not had a problem, so to speak. We think that the pipe that was not connected was laying on gravel and rock and it was all working like a French drain. Go figure. The city workers actually were laughing and in awe about the situation. They were not real happy about how long it took them to find and correct the problem, though. Anyway, after a month of plumbing problems, paying for new toilets ( that were not really needed in the first place), paying for plumbers on holidays, having fixed plumbing is: PRICELESS!! That is what we say about Tom having "new plumbing" in his heart!!

We are all thankful that Tom is progressing as fast as he has and doing well! Now it is on to the wedding preparations and celebration.

A blog I didn't want to write

2008-10-01T14:46:00.004-05:00

Hello to all!
I just wanted to send out an update about the happenings around here. Some of you are obviously aware of what has been going on around here but I will apologize to any of you that we did not manage to let know in a timely fashion. I will also apologize for the lengthy note here. It has been a bumpy ride that reminds me why I never really liked roller coasters!! I also do not remember who I have told what as the days seem to melt together.
First off, let me say that Tom is at home and recovering from his open heart surgery on 9-18-08.
I will write a short synopsis of how we came to Tom being a member of the “mended hearts club.” (Let me assure you that he did NOT want to be a member of this club, but they inducted him anyway.)
We went to visit Jeffrey and Jessie at Virginia Tech on Sat, 9-13-08. There are 5 of them renting a big, older house in Blacksburg and we wanted to see their new living arrangements. We attended the Tech game on Sat. It was scorching hot and we climbed several hills, stadium stairs and sweated like pigs! It was neat to see the Hokie spirit in action and the fighter jets flying over. We left Blacksburg around 9:15 Am on Sun and were traveling interstate 81 to home. (It takes about 4 hours to get home.)
All was well until Tom started feeling “lightheaded and flushed” while driving 70 miles an hour down the interstate. Being the stoic guy that he is, he changed lanes in front of a tracker-trailer truck (as he says “I did it safely” and “I did the right thing”), and waited a few more minutes before telling me he was having problems. He decided a few yards past the exit to let me drive, so we had to drive to the next exit. The whole time I am driving to find the next exit, I am asking a million medical questions and he answered them all with “No”, except he “felt lightheaded.” At this point, we drive about 5 more minutes and pull off at some hole in the wall gas station and Tom says “we need gas”. While I am getting gas, going to the ladies room, buying aspirin for him (at his suggestion ---go figure, the nurse is so upset she doesn’t even remember this recommendation!) I do remember to ask about the nearest hospital. They tell me the nearest one is 20 min. the way we just came, or 1 ½ hours going forward, closer to home. After I told the info to Tom, and he agreed to going BACK…then, I was a REAL basket case. It was a wonder I didn’t cause him to have a heart attack….. with me driving 75 miles an hour, with no idea where we were going. It is a real miracle that I even found the hospital in the first place!! Let me be the first to tell you that they need more posted “H” signs for hospital locations!!!
Once we got to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, (with two dogs in the car no less), we waited 30 minutes before anyone even took his blood pressure! After they assessed him and he again answered “No” to all their questions, his blood pressure was only slightly elevated, and he was having no pain, they then proceeded to having us sit and wait 2 ½ hours more. In the process, I am calling Jeffrey to come get the dogs since he is 45 minutes away and the closest one to being able to help. Tom starts feeling better, and says “this is BS…I’m leaving… I feel better.” I proceeded to the desk and told them that we are traveling, my husband wants to leave because he “feels better”, and how long before he will be seen. They get him pretty quick after that and that was the beginning of all the “fun”. As the little gal who finally checked us in the ER said, “you are more significant than most of those out there, so we don’t want you to leave”.
Anyway, we end up spending the night in the “chest pain center” for observation. They do the nuclear stress test on Monday morning at 6 AM. They came and told us he “had some changes” on that test and that he needs a cardiac cath. All along Tom is thinking these symptoms are due to dehydration from the Hokies game and too much caffeine …or maybe even low potassium since he had a similar episode about 1 year ago. (This was the story we told them but in reality, we have found out that it was in April of 2006 that he had the previous episode.) The cardiac cath showed some blockages and that open heart surgery was the only surgery that would help.
One of our hardest decisions was transferring him closer to home. They wanted to do the surgery on Tuesday 9-15 down in Roanoke, but it was a logistical nightmare with no family nearby, follow-ups that would take a 3 hour drive, etc… Unfortunately, the doctor indicated he would not discharge Tom to drive home but wanted him transferred by ambulance. Because Roanoke is a level one trauma hospital and Fairfax Hospital (the hospital closer to home with a huge heart center) is also a level one trauma hospital, our insurance would not cover the ambulance ride to an equal care level hospital. (So that made it optional, based on patient request…go figure.)
Anyway, it took a full day delay to get all arranged and we ended leaving Roanoke at 10 PM via ambulance, and arrived at FFX Hospital at 2: 30 AM. Tom said that was the worst trip ever…bumping down 81, strapped to a gurney, with all the road work being done at night. By the time we saw a new cardiologist, and talked to the cardiac vascular surgeon, it was too late to have the sugery done on Wed…so we had another delay. Let me just say that waiting in a hospital with a hospital phobe, an uptight, stressed wife/nurse that only knows enough to be dangerous was MISERY!
They took Tom in for his surgery Thursday, 9-18-08 at 5:00AM. I thought waiting before surgery was bad but the actual surgery day was AGONY! They told us that he should be out around 11 AM and when we got the call at 10:30AM that they “had some trouble with the grafts” and were just then putting him on the heart pump, it was until 1:45 when they called to say he was off the pump. It was about 2:30 when we spoke with the doctor. To tell you the truth, I am not sure what all he said because I was just glad Tom made it out. He was on a ventilator when we got to see him, (this was expected) and he started breathing on his own fairly quickly (Thank God!) They took out all the millions of tubes and drains pretty quickly and began the process of moving him to the step down unit…as the ICU nurse said, “a patient’s level of importance is due to his “connections”.
He stayed in ICU about 24 hours, then moved to the step down unit on Fri, 9-19-08.
I will admit that I was a little out of control when we got to his new room because it was not a private room. Just our luck that there are only 3 rooms that aren’t private and we got one of them. IF there had been room to turn around in that little room that was originally designed as a single occupancy, I would have been fine but there was not even a chair for me to sit in! I took a lesson from my “let me be blunt sister” (she would have been proud of me), and threw a fit and got us moved to a private room. I was upset about throwing a little fit when I calmed down, but in this case, it was a good thing. (Becky made bread for the staff to “make amends”.) Tom was totally glad I could stay with him. All in all, the nursing care was really good. We had a little delay in getting him up to walk due to our nurse being overwhelmed with more patients than she could handle. I will be eternally grateful to Emme Paradise (friend of Michal’s that is an occupational therapist working at FFX) for coming after her work day and getting Tom up to walk.
By Sunday, (4 days after the surgery) they were saying we were going home. I will say I was a little concerned about taking the boy home then because he really had only been up and walking about 2-3 times. We were gearing up for discharge and the doctor pops his head in long enough to say, “Well, we are keeping him tonight because he had a period of fast heart rate (SVT for the medical junkies), this is not unusual, and if all is well, he will go home tomorrow.” The doctor then left before we could even catch our breath. I would say the doctor was in the room tops, 3 minutes, if that!
Tom did really well and we came home on Mon 9-22-08.
The patient is doing really well. He is up walking, not doing stairs just yet but we hope to do those today. If you asked him about the worst part of this, (other than the obvious change in life style from “healthy person” to cardiac patient), he would probably tell you that he hated the blood draws and changing the IV site on our last day there. He really hates needles and gets really uptight about those. They stuck him hourly for blood sugar checks for the first night in step down and he is one big bruise!! He also has named his breathing exercise machine as “Mr. Pain”. We are trying to reach a delicate balance between using “Mr. Pain” like Tom wants to vs how his wife/nurse wants him to do it! He really has been super in all that he has had to go thru and says that he only has pain basically when he does the breathing exercises. He is doing really well with the not smoking stuff right now and we hope that continues!! As the cardiologist told him when they were talking, “you WERE a smoker, right?”
Anyway, we are blessed that he is home, doing well. We are in the process of scheduling appointments, having the home health nurse check on him, and trying to move forward.
He has been on his computer some, checking his facebook account and trying to keep moving.
We both want to thank everyone that has helped us through this difficult time and for all your prayers, gifts, calls, and the million other things everyone has done for us. We both realize what great friends and family we are blessed to have and we can’t thank you all enough. The boys and their gals have really been unbelievable through this all. We love them very much and are so proud of them!
Tom has kept the teddy bear that Teddy gave him prior to surgery as his good luck charm.
Anyway, here is a picture of the patient up and about!!

Thanks again to all for everything and I will try to send updates as possible.
Love ,
Tina and Tom

PS Jeffrey says that The Hokies saved his life…because if it hadn’t been for the game (which they won) we might not have known.

1 Year Birthday Party

2008-06-02T16:20:00.006-05:00

This was the cake that momma made for the party.

Take a good look at it, it will never look the same after Teddy gets into it.

Me thinks Teddy likes Chocolate cake

Yes Grandma, you may give Teddy a bath, says Momma.

Tornado Tina

2008-06-01T11:25:00.002-05:00

This is the aftermath of "Tina's Publishing" of Teddy's First year. We had a 1-year birthday party yesterday and she went to bed at 03:30 a.m. the night before. Bad mood anyone?

Those of you that know the Cleaning Terminator would be astonished that she left this cleanup job for 2.5 days. It is still here at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Here is thought provoking

2008-05-10T15:30:00.001-05:00

Spring Time Mothers Day

2008-05-10T15:00:00.007-05:00

Mom and her 3 sons at the engagement party.

Flower, flowers everywhere!

Mom does a good job outside, and the rain this spring has been good to us.

No thought provoking statements this time!

Random Blog from the Mystery Blogger

2008-04-28T15:52:00.007-05:00

Enough said!

Had to put a picture of Teddy in here. At the engagement party with

Groom , Uncle Michal.

Oh the joy of having Cherry trees in the front yard.

Trip to West "By God" Virginia

2008-03-27T19:10:00.007-05:00

We took a little getaway trip to West Virginia prior to Easter with most of the family. (We missed the # 2 guy and gal because he had to work and she was out of town.)

As always, we enjoyed being able to get together, have some time to chill-(we call this “front porch sittin’), and have the traditional LOROBI’S Pizza night!

Whenever we make a trip “home”, it just wouldn’t be the perfect trip without our Lorobi’s Pizza!

When I went on the internet to try to search for some info on Lorobi’s, all I could find was several plain address listings and this review page. I was reading the review and agreeing totally with the statements and then I realized that the reviewer was our niece!

(Great review Melissa aka: greengoddess85-otherwise know as our niece). She is a real fan and has even taken frozen Lorboi’s home to Wisconsin in the past.

Teddy got to have his first Lorobi’s experience:

You can tell he is a true member of the family because he liked as much as everyone else does!!

We didn’t really do anything noteworthy on our trip but we definitely like having all the family members take time from their busy schedules to get together. We were glad that Guy # 3 and his gal could get away from school and get to come!

It is always a little crazy with all the dogs (5 at one point!), people to feed (19 at one point), and babies to watch (1 little Teddy Bear!) It was good seeing the relatives and catching up.

As a side note regarding the trip: the weather was really rainy and we had lots of tractor-tailer “mist” to deal with…not my idea of a good time.

I do give extra bonus points to the hubby because he let me listen to a book on tape while we were driving in. I gotta confess that it was a romance CD and it was a real enlightening experience for him. (I'd tell you the title to the CD but I'm not sure either one of us would live that down!!)

He said at one point that he thought the CD was really boring (we didn’t get to the “good” parts while he was listening-haha!). I was surprised that I didn’t hear more sarcastic remarks about the book from him.

I did have to chuckle though because he totally got lost in the relationships and asked a question about the heroine “Gabby”. I started explaining and he said, and I quote, “How in the world did you get all of that out of what we just listened to??”

Needless to say, I put him out of his misery and let him listen to his music shortly after that!!

Baby’s Best Friend and Talent Show

2008-03-05T17:21:00.008-05:00

So here are the babies in the family… “Playing” together with Aunt Courtney keeping watch:

I love the size of Gisele’s paw in comparison to Teddy!!

Teddy was pretty enthralled with the dog’s foot, but Aunt Courtney kept all in line…including keeping Gisele’s paw out of Teddy’s mouth.

This weekend was also the annual talent show at the high school on Friday night.

We had quite the crew here for that event along with 4 dogs.

Uncle Gary, Ashley, Darren, (or Barren, or Darrell or whatever his name is...) were here to help with the talent show. Along with Jeffrey, Jessy and Avery, the other beagle.

Darren's name did provide some comic relief over the weekend because it was universally mangled (all right...I'll admit...more by me than anyone...but in my defense...even Chipotle wrote it down as "Barren" and they had a copy of the faxed order with the correct name in writing! The family knows I have a "name" problem!)

I have to admit that the talent show this year seemed to have less talent...but we always still enjoy the show. Baby Teddy was digging it and even learned to clap at the show!

Congratulations go to Maddie (the singer in the OBB Hotel California video) for winning her area of competition this year!

It was a lot of fun and here is the stage crew, sound crew, and general supporters, minus Becky & Teddy (past his bedtime when this was taken.-Michal and Courtney were also missing since they were home with Gisele.):

It was crazy this weekend when all the dogs were here. And pretty amazing how much Gisele and Maddy look alike...other than their size, speed, and ears, their coloring is pretty close, except for a patch of white around Gisele's neck. Maddy can certainly run fast and we are still waiting to see how Gisele runs. She was a little tentative with all the other dogs.

Lucy is definitely the queen and she pretty much runs the show in terms of "don't mess with me!"

Avery brings up the rear but she is really able to hold her own in most cases.

Anyway, the dogs are "Teddy baby's best friends" and we had a great time this weekend with all the activity!!

BIG WEEK for the second Guy!

2008-03-03T18:01:00.009-05:00

As weeks go, it would probably rank right up there with “life changing” for guy #2!

It started out with buying a new engagement ring. (Like the commercial-“He bought it a Jared’s!”). And it is a real beauty:

Next came: Asking the father-in-law-to-be for his daughter’s hand in marriage. If I understand this part correctly, his reply was “Yeah, take her!” He then asked his father-in-law-to-be’s advice about telling the “other sisters” about the upcoming engagement. The father-in-law-to-be reportedly said, “What? Are you nuts? They can’t keep a secret!” So Guy #2 decided he better wait until the question was fait a compli.

Next up: A vacation trip to Mexico. It was a romantic setting on Valentine’s Day to pop the question to his lovely bride-to-be. The bride-to-be cried and said “YES!”

She said she was really surprised and had not expected him to ask her then. She said she felt bad because she had been giving him a hard time earlier in the day because of travel tiredness, room assignment problems, and Guy #2 being quiet earlier in the day. (maybe from planning the big question?). Fortunately, all went well and we are thrilled to have a new upcoming daughter-in-law!! We all love her to death and are happy that she will be a member of our family.

The happy couple:

On top of all that: the newly engaged couple got a “new baby in the family”. After their return from Mexico, they brought home, Gisele, the great dane, that is 6 months old. She is a very well behaved puppy, is house broken, crate trained , and basically trained with several commands. She is also BIG!! They are very cute with her, worrying about leaving her home, buying toys and such. It is fun to watch!!

And last in the BIG week events was: Guy#2’s birthday! We all got together and celebrated all the new happenings for the week, including Grandpa’s birthday too!

Baby Teddy got in the action and was enjoying the birthday bag:
He is a pretty cute birthday present!!

Anyway, Guy #2 definitely had a BIG WEEK and we are so excited about all the new changes in the family. Stay tuned for wedding plans, more Teddy pics, more Gisele news and all the great things happening in the future!

Welcome to the family Courtney!

A Letter To Daytime Talk Show Hosts

2008-02-22T13:46:00.016-05:00

Dear Oprah, Ellen Degeneres, Regis & Kelly,

Hi! I am writing this letter because I really love your shows, but never get to watch them but for the occasional day off.

I, unfortunately, have a job working as a nurse for a busy neurosurgeon. Our office does have a TV set that we leave on for the purpose of patient privacy, but it really is pretty hard to actually watch the individual segments with anything but a passing glance and usually a guess as to the topics.

I have thought about taping your shows, but that is just not possible due to time limitations and stress of having so many shows “to watch.” I have been off most of this week due to the flu, and have been able to watch more of your shows.

I got to thinking that it would be a thrill of a lifetime to actually be a member of your audience (especially on Oprah’s favorite things show), or win some of the fabulous prizes that you give away (like when Ellen gave away some fabulous musical instruments), or be able to compete in your contests, or even submit things to your weekly features. I realized that competing in some of the contests requires ability to answer questions from previous shows, so that kinda leaves me out on those.

I also realized that I don’t fall into any category that sometimes seem to be the benefactors of your largess.

I will tell you a little about my life:

I have a great life, get along with my husband of 33 years, have 3 great boys that are now wonderful men, have a beautiful baby grandson (that could have competed in the baby of the year award on Regis & Kelly’s show recently, had I only known about it).
Here are some pictures that I might have submitted:

I very fortunately don’t have any hard-luck tales to share. I wouldn’t qualify for extreme makeover shows. I am not rich, but not poor, have health insurance, fairly good health, have a nice home, transportation to go where I need to, and a job I love. But mainly I have a great family that is close and whom I love very much.

One of “My favorite things” is getting together for Sunday dinner and just family time. We love sitting around watching the “grandson show”, which is where everyone in the household sits around and watches the baby play, or learn to crawl, or pull himself up.

The uncles both enjoy having some baby time, too. .

Along with grandma and grandpa:

The boys also manage to squeeze time into playing their instruments in the basement. I call their “band”: “Wasted Talent in the Basement” but they call themselves the Owens Brothers Band. (They are pretty good, even though I’m their mom, and they never play any of my requests.)

We hold a yearly barbecue that we call the Owens Backyard Bash or OBB that includes a combination of the boy’s friends, our neighbors, and coworkers and we have the Brothers band for entertainment.

We make a pretty wicked hot dog for the OBB!

I have to admit that I am a reality television junkie and have not missed a season of watching survivor , American Idol, or dancing with the stars.

I have thought it might be fun to try to compete on one of those shows, but I probably wouldn’t do that well.
Not from lack of trying on my part.

I don’t feel I’d be a great survivor contestant because:
1. I would end up looking like the anorexic girl they had last season, because I have one of those great metabolisms that lets me eat just about anything I want-(again a blessing for me).
2. I don’t like bugs.
3. My husband would say I am too opinionated and wouldn’t be able to keep my mouth shut when I should.
4. I would work myself to death around camp and be bad at the challenges, due to fatigue, because I am one darned hard worker and love to clean! (Hence the nickname from my middle son of the “terminator cleaner”.)

I don’t think I‘d make a great contestant on dancing with the stars because:
1. I’m not a celebrity.
2. I’m not that great of a dancer, even though I like dancing, can keep a beat, but would probably pass out doing turns!
3. My husband says I like to lead and he vows we will be taking no more dance lessons until I learn that the female does NOT lead!!

As for American Idol:
1. I don’t sing.
2. I’m too old for the competition.
3. I spend way too much time comparing the contestants to my own sons and saying “our boys could compete on that show!!” (I know this is the mother in me, but they definitely would not be in those outtake reels!!)

And even though I don’t watch Amazing Race, I wouldn’t be a great competitor because:
1. My husband and I would end up divorced trying to accomplish the goals. (You just can’t have a person whose internal compass is totally screwed (me) working with a logistics specialist !)

Anyway, the point I would like to make, is that I am just like the millions of people who watch your shows with the hopes and dreams of “wow, wouldn’t that be great to do that” or “win that” or “travel there” or “also help those people.” I sometimes feel slightly jealous about all the free gifts, prizes and such that your shows give away….Why can’t that be me? I feel like I am totally deserving! But you know what? I really wouldn’t trade my life for any of those great perks, especially if it requires some of the adversity that we have seen and heard about on your shows. I guess I'm just one of your average viewers but I don't feel "average".... I feel pretty Blessed!

I will continue to catch glimpses of your shows, continue to religiously sign up for HGTV’s dream home, publishers clearing house sweepstakes, have my husband buy the occasional lottery ticket (you know… when it gets really high and gets a lot of attention), look for my favorite “I’m going to Disney World!” commercial that runs after the Super Bowl and wish that it was me going to Disney, and continue to wish I could see your shows more often. I will probably lament that “ I never win anything.” But that’s ok.

Maybe one day in the future, I’ll be like that stay at home house wife that was surprised that she was chosen to dance with Derek, from dancing with the stars, on Oprah. Maybe I'll win a trip to Disney, or get a chance to travel more, but until then, I know I will continue to dream, be thankful for all I have, and enjoy my life!

Sincerely,
A devoted TV daytime talk show fan that unfortunately has to work during daytime viewing hours.

IT"S Not the Big One!

2008-02-13T11:50:00.004-05:00

IT’S NOT THE BIG ONE, so take a deep breath!!!…IT”S JUST ME WRITING A BLOG!!
I almost hate to ruin my family’s running joke about my blog writing absence!
Jeffrey, in particular, may have to come up with a new standard answer to questions from the “this is my question, mom!!”

Most of the conversations go something like this:
Me: “ I need to ____ “- (Here you may insert any appropriate activity such as: clean, read, take bath, go to Walmart, watch TV, etc.)
Family member: “You COULD go write a blog.”
They have been pretty relentless about wanting me to post something.
I’m not sure they were all that interested in my thoughts before when I was blogging on a more regular basis, but I appreciate that they seem to have missed me writing.

I can’t really believe it has been so long since I sat down and wrote anything!
If I think about why I haven’t blogged, I would have to say it probably is because I didn’t feel like I could adequately describe the wonderful experience of waiting on a new grandbaby to make his appearance and then the reality of having a new grandbaby.
I was discussing this problem with Cara, “my blog mentor”and the person that introduced me to the blog world. (Admittedly, this conversation took place about a year ago!) She said that when the subject is emotional, she sometimes just posts pictures. That made perfect sense to me but I still felt like I should be writing something incredible about the baby! .
Teddy is just the most adorable baby and it has been GREAT being grandparents and watching him change so quickly.

It seemed like forever while we were waiting for him to make his appearance but it was so exciting when he arrived. It only took one look and it was all over ….we all fell hard for the little guy!
We can’t seem to get enough of him! It seems like each picture taken of him is cuter than the last! (I know that I am totally biased on this subject…but he really is the cutest baby ever!) Below is a sample of his adorableness!!!!:

You can see his new teeth in this one:

He loves his tongue...that is totally a grandpa and mom trait!

I confess that I show off pictures of him to my co-workers pretty frequently and must admit that they have been pretty good about not groaning when they see me dragging out the new pictures. (BTW-That bragging and picture showing is allowed in the grandmother’s rule book!) The doctor I work for is not as enthused about the baby pictures and sometimes gives me a hard time about all the pictures, stories, etc about the baby. He is a big hunter and loves to show his deer pictures and elk pictures and tell stories about them. I told him that everytime I have to look at dead deer or elk pictures, then he has to look at baby pictures! It seems to be a good balance!!

The mystery Blogger has done a wonderful job posting some adorable pictures of “the-adorable Theodore” in my absence and I really appreciate the “substitute Blogger” stepping in and assisting with the big events going on around here. I hope he will continue to ”Share” this blog. He actually has some good stories in him and I would love for him to write a few more!

There always seems to be a lot of “things to do” and as I’ve mentioned before, writing really isn’t one of my favorite things… I much prefer sitting around reading, watching cooking and decorating shows ( or reality shows, you know). And basically now, TEDDDY TRUMPS ALL Things!!

Having the family over is like a big treat and we really look forward to our weekend get togethers. We love having the “firebug” over.( This would be the daughter-in law that loves to mess with starting a fire and “tending it”. ) There is nothing that beats good food, nice cozy fire on a winter’s day, and all the family over…and of course TEDDY!!!! It usually ends up being the “Teddy show” and we all sit around and watch him play, learn to crawl, eat and do all those baby things that seem like such big deals!!

During the week, it has been a little quiet around here since the youngest went back to college. We really miss having him deciding what’s for dinner!!! (Just kidding, we miss him for other reasons too!!! But if he is reading this: What’s for Dinner?)

Well, I have been composing this little blog for several months ( even though it doesn’t say much), and I really need to post it . I hope I will be inspired to write a few more blogs in a timely fashion, but I’m not promising anything at this point!!

Christmas 2007 A few Pictures

2007-12-28T11:03:00.001-05:00

Since the real blogger STILL not blogging, I thought I would put these pictures up for you to view. Maybe the real blogger can post the pictures she wants the world to see.

Notice the mom ( top right picture ) looking for the Size of Teddy's new PJ bottoms (our traditional matching PJ bottoms on Christmas Eve.). Guess what Mom, They are home made and made to fit, there is no size.

Hopefully the real blogger will start participating shortly.

Before the First Christmas

2007-12-22T12:28:00.000-05:00

Well, the real blogger did not take her turn to post the Thanksgiving pictures, so the mystery blogger has to post a few before Christmas pictures. Hopefully the real blogger will start with the First Christmas pictures as soon as 12/25/2007 comes and goes.

Guess what Teddy was for Halloween?

2007-11-01T18:06:00.000-05:00

That's right , a Teddy Bear. Posted by the mystery blogger. Still looking for the real one.

Hail to the Redskins

2007-10-15T14:27:00.000-05:00

The youngest dedicated Redskins fan.

and if the real blogger starts blogging then we might get a few more pictures. But I just had to post this one.

Technology is Great

2007-10-14T10:59:00.000-05:00

While sitting down to grab a bite to eat before we take off for the boys to play a little gig, The youngest asks "Can I print form this computer?" I answered "Yes". So he then issues 3 copies to print of the set list and all the words to go along with the list. As we continue to eat lunch and we all hear the printer printing.. I went in to see if the printer needed paper cause the printer stopped. You see what I found. We had somewhat cheap paper in the printer and when it comes out, it curls up. We had this well planned print of 3 copies printed laying all over the table and floor. So much for planning ahead. Yes there is a printer in there somewhere and the mess is not staged. This is how I found the print job.

And now for a new picture of, Well you know who.

Another group of pics

2007-10-03T17:16:00.001-05:00

You wanted another, here it is.. taken on 09/29/2007

Although the real blogger should be doing this.

Proud Grandpa (Oops Mystery Blogger)

2007-09-13T16:46:00.000-05:00

I this the best or what?

Why not blog?

2007-09-10T19:19:00.000-05:00

The real blogger has time to blog tonight, but the excuse this time is "I am spending time watching football with my husband." WHAT!

by the way it is now 08:18 my time and the real blogger is now upstairs taking a bath..

What OBB5 was about

2007-08-21T13:03:00.000-05:00

Friends, Family, Music, and Food
ok and maybe a little beer.

Cinco De OBB Chili Recipe

2007-08-06T15:26:00.000-05:00

History of OBB Hot Dog Chilli

The West family owned a Drive-In Theater in WVA. They had the best dog chili for miles around. This recipe is handed down from family to family. The only thing difficult about the recipe is that it is for the size of pot for the drive in theater. I have included the actual amounts I put in for the Cinco De OBB chili.

And the only way to eat a hot dog, for those who come from WVA. is chili and slaw.

Real Recipe: as handed down and as written:
10 LBS. Hamburger
4 Tbs. Garlic powder
Onion Salt
4 Tbs. chili powder
½ bottle Tabasco Sauce
3 Cups onions

Brown meat. Cover with water. Cook onions
1 gallon ketchup
Salt and pepper

OBB5 Hot Dog Chili:
6.72 lbs hamburger
3 Tbs garlic powder
2 Tbs Onion Salt
3 Tbs chili powder
1 full bottle of Heinz Ketchup 50.5 ounce, and ½ bottle of same (so 1.5 bottles)
¼ bottle Tabasco Sauce (Small bottle) adjust to your taste.
½ cup real onion chopped fine, and ¼ to ½ cup dried minced onion

Brown meat and chop into small bits.
Put into large stewing pan. (mine is 8 Qt. no stick)

I mixed all ingredients in a big bowl until even, then added to meat.
I also added small amounts of water until I got the thickness I wanted.

Now the rest of the Cinco De OBB will be the next BLOG.. I am goin to press the original blogger to post the story. But I will tell you that is was the best OBB to date.

So what do ya do on a Saturday Night in Manassas?

2007-07-30T13:38:00.000-05:00

You have a Toga Party.
Rumor has it that the missing blogger was there.

Notice TiKi Bar ( it was a tropical Toga Party)

Yep I wore a Toga.. but not for long

UUUUHHH!!! yep I be the cook!

Now for my Green Thumb

2007-07-25T11:20:00.000-05:00

The previous flower pictures were the flowers that the missing blogger has responcibility.

These new pictures are the responcibility of the Mystery blogger. Note the Orchids are in their second bloomation, and I have two more waiting to bloom

The other two are just my bonsai.

To Re-Butt Neva's Garden

2007-07-20T18:49:00.000-05:00

Here are the garden flowers around here.

And my favorites, My Neighbor calls them "The Volunteers"

Ok Cute Babies are cute.

2007-07-14T13:31:00.000-05:00

Ok! I had to put these up for viewing. They are a picture of what a cute baby looks like.

Ok! Proud Grandpa talk..

Still have not found the missing blogger. We are planning an intervention for her. She needs help. anyone want to participate?

New member of the Family

2007-07-08T07:07:00.000-05:00

Not of the human kind but is a new baby to this family anyway.

Yup! it is a PRS 2oth Year Edition.

And for news on the other baby in our family, All is doing great.

We are still waiting, we found the blogger but.....

2007-06-14T15:55:00.000-05:00

NO New blogs from her. So mystery blogger must strike again. Come on folks lets get her back...

Claim it or not?

2007-06-05T17:57:00.000-05:00

This is the mystery blogger again.

Ok off the new grandson subject this time.

I had a sweet little girl rear-end me tonight. Fortunately no one was hurt, just the bumpers, and her pride.

So I would like the opinion of people about claiming it on insurance and get it fixed. She is fully covered by the way.

OK she is not back, but here r more pics of Teddy

2007-06-04T16:29:00.000-05:00

and one happy family

I have found the Lost Blogger

2007-05-31T14:38:00.000-05:00

One happy grandmother. or is it one happy Blogger. Can anyone verify either?

This dude needs to shave before hugging the little one.

The Grandson has arrived!

2007-05-31T14:14:00.000-05:00

Teddy has arrived.

At 11:54 a.m. on May 30, 2007, the 7lb 12oz, 21.5 inch bouncing baby boy was born.

Now maybe the lost blogger will have enough pictures and stories to tell. Let's hope so.

Where in the World is the Real Blogger?”

2007-05-10T16:03:00.000-05:00

OK, the blogger is still not blogging, so this Ghost Writer has to post another, “Where in the World is the Real Blogger?”

So. The owner of this Blog has not found her way out of “I DON’T HAVE TIME” land.

Let try to help her find her way back.

A searching game. A question game. After all the blog title is “This is my Question”
She can't stand un-answered questions. this will bug the crap out of her.

Let’s ask questions to her about why she has not returned.

Here I go!

You have had time to plant new flowers out side.
Why did you find time to do that and not create a new blog?

You have time to go shoe shopping.
Why did you find time to do that and not create a new blog?

You have time to stop by Wal-Mart ( until 09:30 at night )
Why did you find time to do that and not create a new blog?

I retire for the night at around 09:00. What do you do until 02:00 in the morning?
Why did you not find the time to create a new blog?

And by the way, I know she has visited her blog, I can see the link to her blog in the History on her machine.

Ok Your turn, go ahead ask the missing blogger some questions.

Thanks, The Mystery Writer

Still looking!

2007-05-08T16:26:00.000-05:00

Ok I think I found the missing blogger. She is somewhere in the house. I know this because the phone rings and someone answers it. I pick up the other phone and sure enough, she is on the phone.
So I go upstairs to see if she is there. No. I come downstairs to the basement she is not there. Where is she? I missed that opportunity. She’s missing again. Wait I see the grass is newly mowed. Ah Ha She is outside. I see new flowers in the ground. Ok im getting close. I go around the corner, and I hear the phone ring, and someone answers the phone. I pick up the other phone and she is on the phone. Well here I go again. I caught her coming out the house to finish the planting of new flowers.

I begin to ask her where has she been for so ….. and she pauses me and says, what do you want, “I don’t Have Time” AH HA She has been in “I DON’T HAVE TIME WORLD” and off she goes, whizzing by me. I lost her again.

Later on, It’s Monday and Dancing with the Stars is on so I know I will see her and be able to talk to her about things, She sat down to watch the show and promptly fell asleep. OK no talking tonight. She wakes up and begins.

“Here’s my question to you.” OH Boy here it comes. She gonna ask me “What did I miss?” Now tell me, Am I watchin “Dancing with the Stars” NO! It is on just in case she wakes up. She asks me “ What did I miss?” told ya. Well this couple was danci… wait, What Couple? She asks, I don’t know? Well are’nt you watching the show? NO. it’s on cause if I change the channel and you wake up, well you know the rest.. She then asks. “Why did you let me fall asleep? Dear, I tried to wake you about 5 times…
Question after question after Question. That is her blog name, right? Oh well

I went to bed, she came to bed around 02:30 AM. She had fallen asleep again. But, I think I found the missing blogger. She is somewhere in the house. I know this because the phone rings and someone answers it. I pick up the other phone and sure enough, she is on the phone.

Where in the World is "This is my Question"?

2007-05-04T16:40:00.001-05:00

Has anybody seen the illusive “This is My Question” I have heard someone has seen her in Texas. She has been gone so long or will have been missing long enough to become a Grandmother. I believe this house is haunted, cause I think I see her whizzing thru every now and then. Maybe she will fly through long enough to enjoy the next OBB (Cinco De OBB) I know she has been around here, I see the soaking wet books on the edge of the bath tub. And last weekend we had about 40 women in the house, I swear one of them was her. IF anyone has seen her, please tell her that her Blog reading community is missing her and are waiting for her wit and humor. Please come home.

A NEW BABY!

2007-01-24T15:40:00.000-05:00

So my husband has made me feel really guilty that I haven't blogged in a while. Time has really gone by quick. I do have a lot to blog about...
Mainly, that we are going to be GRANDPARENTS! This really is a wonderful, momentous occassion and I really can't believe it has taken me so long mention it on this blog. I think I was a little intimidated because, in my mind, I thought it should be some witty, entertaining blog.
I finally decided that I don't do witty, and I don't usually do entertaining so I should just dive in and go with it!!
The ultrasound says:It's an OBB!
Owens BABY BOY!
I am really excited about that but one small part of my brain says," Still outnumbered by the male gender!"
The more important part is that it looks like all is going well.
It was probably a good thing that I didn't know the sex of the baby before Christmas because I MIGHT have gotten carried away with the gifts.
Ok will write more soon but have a dinner engagement and need to run.
YEAH BABY!

Office Christmas Party

2006-12-11T14:44:00.000-05:00

First off, I have to say: the daughter-in-law gets big bonus points for coming to her mother-in-law's Christmas party for the coworkers. She hadn't met many of them prior to the party, and she was the "lone younger generation represenative."
( One of the husbands commented that this is totally an "estrogen party!)
Anyway, I had the girls that I work with over for my 2nd Annual White House Christmas Show viewing party on HGTV this past weekend.
For those of you that have never watched this 1 hour extravaganza about the White House being decorated for Christmas, I highly recommend it. (Well, only if you are female and get into that kind of thing, but it truly is interesting.)
Last year when I issued the invitation to "come watch TV with me", I had a few invitees thinking "What in the world?..but maybe there will be good food there..." (The husband made lasgane and it was pretty darned good-I can say that since I didn't make it!)
The show is really interesting because every year the First Lady picks a Christmas theme and has the White House decorated in that theme. You get a background view of the preparations (which are massive!) and you get to see the "reveal", when all is done.
The first year that I had the girls from work over to "watch TV", I think everyone was surprised that they enjoyed the show.
I decided to make it a tradition because I certainly enjoyed having my coworkers over for a little Christmas cheer and I'm a big fan of the "history" part regarding the White House.
Getting ready for a Christmas party is always alot of work, but I work much better under a dead line and that helps me get decorated in a timely fashion.
I am always amazed at the amount of decorations they use at the White House and by the fact that they only take 3 days to get it all done. I guess having a lot of volunteers makes a big difference!
One of my friends was a little appalled at the expense of the decorations each year, but we decided that maybe it provides some work for some folks. We also questioned what they end up doing with the decorations once Christmas is over.
Anyway, after the fact, I realize that massive cleaning of the house prior to a party, worry about getting all the Christmas decorations up, and getting everything ready to eat should not be such a big deal...the most important part of the party is having great friends, family and a wonderful daughter-in-law to share this holiday time with.
We sometimes get so involved with the small details of getting ready for Christmas that we forget the really important things.
I'm thankful for all my family and friends and hope everyone has a great Christmas this year!

Decorating season

2006-11-28T22:20:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that it is almost December and we are already into the Christmas season.
Thanksgiving was great. We had two celebrations over the last couple of weeks...one with my mom and all the 3 guys and one on Thanksgiving Day. It was really nice to have all the boys take a weekend to get together away from our normal weekend routines. (laundry, cleaning etc.) The only problem was that the weekend went by way to quick, and before you know it you're back into the work routine again.
There is just no way to leave the Thanksgiving table without eating too much. We always end up with tons of left-overs and since the guys are splitting time with their in-laws and girlfriends, they didn't eat as many leftovers as they normally do. There is only so much turkey a person can eat !
I spent the rest of the Thanksgiving weekend starting to put up Christmas stuff. That is a real love/hate kind of job. I love when the house and trees are all decorated because it makes everything look so festive but I hate putting the stuff up and taking it back down when all is done.
At the Thanksgiving meal, we discussed having houses built with special doors that store the decorated trees, and all it would take is a push of a button to mechanically open the wall and voila! ....A Fully Decorated Tree moves into place!
It is amazing to me that more and more folks are putting up Christmas decorations weeks before Thanksgiving. One of my friends started the day after Halloween!
When we were last in WV, there was a house completely decorated with a ton of outdoor lights.
I was commenting that it was pretty early in the decorating season to already have that many lights up. Then the thought jumped into my head that maybe all they had to do was flip the light switch...they could have been one of those year-round-lights-up-kinda-folks! (or tree-up-all-year-kind of folks! That's right...you know who you are ...newlyweds are allowed idiosyncrasies and it really was a nice conversation starter!)
Sometimes when I have all the decorations strung all over the house and it looks like a bomb went off...I can really appreciate those year-round-decorators...after all there is only so much time and I want to enjoy those decorations while I can!

Greenbriar Story

2006-11-11T19:27:00.000-05:00

While watching one of my favorite shows recently, specifically Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood, one of the stories was particularly interesting. It was the Dorothy Draper the Designer story.

In the Dorothy Draper story, they mentioned that she had redesigned the Greenbriar Hotel in good 'ole WV. That brought back some interesting fun memories for me because The Greenbriar is where my husband and I spent the first part of our honeymoon.

We were only 18 and 21 years old when we got married and basically had minimal travel/hotel experience between us. We were given a three night honeymoon at the Greenbriar as a wedding present from my parents. We arrived late and the valet directed us to a cottage that was separate from the main part of the hotel. (In hindsight, this was probably a very good thing because it was not as lavishly decorated and was not as “busy” as the rest of the hotel. The cottage had a very nice sitting room with a fireplace and front porch. The cottage type setting worked pretty well for us.)

When we walked into this little cottage, the first thing the husband said after he looked around was, “I’m going to kill your father!” This was said because there was not a double bed in the room but TWIN BEDS! He was less than pleased that he had twin beds on his HONEYMOON! (In my Dad’s defense, we later learned that he had no idea that all the cottages only had twin beds. The husband still talks about how his father-in-law “really got me on my honeymoon.”)

Well, being the young, industrious, honeymoon couple that we were, we moved the beds together. It really did become quite humorous that for two nights, we would move the twin beds together, and then every morning when we came back to our room after the maid had cleaned up, the twin beds would be separated again. This provided a good deal of conversation between my husband and I. Finally, on the third night, the maid actually made the beds together and we had a good laugh about that when we saw them together!

Anyway, I digress…The show about Dorothy Draper was pretty interesting because she was the “Martha Stewart” of her time. She had a well known decorating style and was pretty original, both for her time then and even by today’s standards. They mentioned in the show that the Greenbriar recently had a “Dorothy Draper weekend.” I thought this was interesting, but I really enjoyed noticing that almost all the members at the lecture were the “well to do, draped in jewelry, even white glove wearing, older set.” (There were not many men at that lecture that I could see.)

When they were showing the pictures of the interior of the Greenbriar that are so lavishly decorated, it reminded me that my first impression when my husband and I walked into the main lobby was: “We are definitely out of our league here!” We were just so very young when we got married and pretty darned naïve.

There are two memories from our stay at the Greenbriar, (other that the twin bed situation) that were also memorable:

The first goes along with how naïve my husband and I both were. They have a fabulous, lavish dining room (decorated by Dorothy Draper, I might add) at the Greenbriar, with a world renowned chef school.
The first night that we dined in the dining room, we were given a complimentary bottle of wine. Now, neither one of us are drinkers and therefore, we had never had the experience of the ritual of wine tasting. We were just barely legal to drink.
The waiter prepared the bottle of wine with great ceremony, even down to the classic white towel over the arm move. He showed the vintage to the husband and of course we just stared at him. He continued to proceed through the ritual and handed the husband the small sip to taste for approval. My husband just looked at him, without a clue, and the waiter calmly leaned down and whispered in his ear, ever so unobtrusively, and said, “You need to taste it and nod if it meets your approval.” That was the quickest taste and nod you ever want to see. The husband could have been tasting vinegar, but that nod was coming, regardless! We do laugh about that now, but at the time, we just didn’t have a clue. I think we gave that waiter a few good laughs during that dinner!

The second funny incident was when we were taking a horse drawn carriage ride around the grounds. There happened to be this older lady and her husband riding with us. She was dripping in jewels and designer clothing and was looking a little snobbishly at my very plain dress. ( I thought I looked beautiful in that dress, even if it was homemade. Don’t judge me harshly because I had no clue ...I was young, in love, and on my honeymoon, so I didn't really care what I was wearing!)

Anyway, being the gregarious, outgoing people that we are, we engaged this couple in small talk. (I don’t think they were all that enthusiastic about our conversation, but since it was a confined space and they really couldn’t get away, they had little choice but to respond.) The husband and I had been discussing what would be appropriate to wear to the “high tea” that is a daily tradition at the Greenbriar. I leaned over to the lady and admitted that I had never been to a high tea before. Showing no pride, I flat out asked what might be appropriate dress for high tea and what do they actually do at high tea? She got this opened mouthed, embarrassed look on her face and quietly said in a mumble that she wasn’t sure because she has never been to high tea either. I was pretty surprised by this because she certainly had been coming off as the well cultured, “I’m much more cultured than you” kind of person. The subject was quickly dropped, but I can still remember thinking that the lady wasn’t too happy that we “exposed her”, so to speak. We never made it to the “high tea” during our stay, which was just as well, because I don’t think the husband is the “high tea” type!

Anyway, the husband and I have talked about scheduling a stay at the Greenbriar again. We have never been back since the honeymoon. We drive by it everytime we drive home to WV to visit the family.

If we ever do make it back, I know I will appreciate the whole experience and the decorating much more now that I know a little bit about the Dorothy Draper history.

One thing is for sure, the second half of our honeymoon was worlds away from the Greenbriar and the Dorothy Draper decorating experience...we went camping!

One month and no new blog

2006-11-06T21:28:00.000-05:00

So my husband pointed out to me the other day that it had been a whole month since I wrote anything on my blog. I was truly surprised about that because it doesn't seem like it has been that long.
Probably because I have been writing on a couple of drafts and just can't seem to get them done.
Late night is my favorite writing time but...
Sleep vs writing??????
I don't think I need to do a quiz for you to figure out that Sleep has been winning.

Since I last wrote I have done quite a few things to keep me away from the blog:
1. Entertained some new friends that were visiting from Australia with a couple dinners at the house, a couple of dinners out, a trip to Gettysburg for a tour around the battlefield (maybe sometime later I'll write about this...it was pretty awesome), a walk around the town during the "Fall Jubilee", and a trip to price club that my Australian friend couldn't believe was so big!
2. Cleaning the house for the dinners at the house with the Aussies, mowing the lawn and mulching leaves because it's fall and that's what you have to do at this time of year.
3. Trip to WV to see the new great niece since the adoption was finalized...FINALLY! She is a doll and the trip was totally worth it...but tiring!
4. Work, work, work
5. Making some new bead jewelry that took a little time since I have never done this before.
6. Some maintenance health visits that are totally time consuming but necessary. ( I'm trying to be a more compliant patient since I am daily complaining about "non-compliant patients" in my job.)
7. Reading my romance novels and watching reality TV....yeah I know...this is so shallow but it is sooo relaxing!
8. Celebrating 2 of the guys birthdays with a family dinner. (The Italian chicken was fabulous and the funfetti cake that was requested by one of the birthday guys was pretty good too!)

Anyway, it has been pretty hectic around here this last month and I don't really see it slowing down anytime soon. We plan a family trip to WV again before the holidays since we may not have the time or good weather to travel during the actual holiday season. Then, time to put up Christmas decorations and SHOPPING! My closet has been calling to me that it needs a little maintenance, we are still trying to finish the outside painting before the weather really gets bad, the middle son bought me a new tree to replace my fallen tree and that will take a bit of muscle to get planted....And so the list goes....

Quiz on the "3 Guys"

2006-10-01T16:15:00.000-05:00

How well do you know the “3 guys”? Test your knowledge below:

1. Which son had to be picked up at mother’s day out because his mom got the following call? “Mrs. O, we usually don’t call the mothers to come pick their children up, but he is getting so hoarse from crying, we felt it would be better.”

2. Which is the only son to cut his own hair the day before pictures at his preschool?

3.Which is the only son to draw on the wall with something other than crayons?

4.Which son sings in the shower? (This may be multiple choice.)

5. Which son got in trouble when he was in elementary school for calling the girls in the lunch line by a part of the female body? This required a call to the parents from the principal. (In his defense, it was a perfectly medical/anatomic term! It might have been better if we had actually discussed the appropriateness of calling boys and girls by their anatomic differences. I guess you live and learn as a parent!)

6.Which son had his school picture taken the day after he did a face plant down the driveway from a fall?

7.Which son has the nickname “Big Toe”?

8.Which son sang in a talent show when he was only in the sixth grade?

9. Which son responded to his friend telling him that his dad was Santa Claus by saying: “ My dad can’t be Santa Claus because he doesn’t get up that early”?

10.Which son is the only one that ever was suspended from elementary school for fighting?

11.Which son made a trip to the emergency room for getting hit in the head by a sprinkler?

12. After a discussion about traveling out of the United States and the need to have a visa to enter some countries, which son said: “Well if they (meaning countries that sometimes don’t issue entry visas) don’t take visa, do they take American Express?

13. Which son’s favorite expression when he was very little was “Read the Book”?

14. Which son is the only one to break a bone?

15. Which son had a car accident in front of the church revival camp and was asked to “come join them for church sometime”?

16. Which son is on his fifth cell phone because he has either lost or destroyed his other ones?

17. Which son sucked his thumb?

18. Which son had a special “fuzzy blanket” that he picked the fuzz off and gave away pieces of the fuzz like they should be treated as if they were gold?

19. Which son said at the end of his first soccer season, walking from the field: “ I am never playing that game again”…His parents asking : Well, why not?…“BECAUSE I HATE TO RUN.”

20.Which son got a home run in t-ball because the right fielder lost his shoe and sat down to put it back on before he threw the ball back?

ANSWER LEGEND: O=Oldest Son, M= Middle Son, Y= Youngest Son

1. O-We thought we might never get him to stay at mother’s day out, but eventually he did.

2. M-He cut off a big chunk right from the middle of his bangs…no hiding that!

3. Y-Enough said.

4. This could be a multiple choice: Give yourself the point if you picked O or Y.

5. Y-Give him a break, he was only 6.

6. M- He had the ability to always pick the day before pictures to do something.

7. M-He can’t help if he got his pawpaw’s big toe.

8. Y-He was pretty brave to be up there singing by himself in front of all those people when most of the other “talent” was just singing along with the record.

9. O-He was dead set about this.

10. M-He really shouldn’t have hit the guy, but the guy jumped on him first and actually broke his glasses before Middle son ever swung back.

11. Y- He looked pretty pathetic with gauze wrapped around his head and blood all over his shirt. For those of you that don’t know what a professional sprinkler looks like, think size of carburetor and heavy. The sprinkler head came flying off into the air and Youngest Son took off running to “get out of the way.” If he had stayed still, it wouldn’t have hit him but what are the chances of that!

12. O- He always was very cerebral.

13. Y- I know this is a surprise that he actually liked to read. The Middle son is the reader now.

14. M-He broke his collar bone at JMU while snowboarding, while a blizzard was going on. Mom could not get down to JMU due to the weather and that was not a good thing for the motherof3guys. Older son was on hand to "help".

15. O- This was a real story. He was picking his brother up as a favor to the parents. He had installed a supped up CD player in the glove compartment of his old Opal. He decided mid-drive to take the key out of the ignition to open the glove box to change the CD, WHILE HE WAS DRIVING. He quickly learned that taking the key out, shuts down all the functions of the car. They were lucky that crossing the other lane of traffic, jumping over a big barrel of flowers and ending in a ditch was all that happened to them. The police officer didn’t issue a ticket but did say that this story moves to the head of his “dumb stories to tell.” Just glad they didn't get hurt. The only casualty was the OPAL.

16. M-He has a little trouble with losing items and dropping cell phones into cups of beverages.

17. NONE of the Guys-this was a trick question! No points for this one and no penalty!

18. O- He carried that fuzzy white blanket around for what seemed like forever! His mamaw still has a small bunch of Fuzz that he lovingly gave to her.

19. Y-I can still see him stomping his feet and declaring that he was NEVER playing soccer again.

20. M-He was the youngest player on that team that year and was the only player to not have a homerun so when this happened, it was smiles from ear to ear. (His mother yelled RUN!!! The whole time he was rounding the bases. The other team were all yelling to the poor kid in right field to “Get the BALL.”)

SCORING: (One point for each question that you answered right.)

15-20 Way to Go! You must have lived with one of the 3 guys or are a member of the family. (This group may be large because many people have lived in the “Hotel” that has been in operation for 32 years. OR you happen to have lived with one of the 3 guys at college!)

6-14 You made the honor roll. You’re not part of the family but have probably been around the guys a bit.

1-5 Needs Improvement- Better spend a little time with the guys!

0 YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING- Even guessing you should have gotten 1 right!

Let me know how you do!

Reasons I haven't written a blog for a while

2006-09-24T18:46:00.000-05:00

Ok, so here are the reasons (make that excuses) why I haven't written anything lately in the blog:
1. Laziness- it just seems easier somedays to just sit on that couch and vegetate.
2. Trying to keep up with my celebrity trash reading- I'm a little ashamed to admit that I have not one but TWO subscriptions to trash magazines. It takes a little bit of time to read them weekly.
3. The new TV season (ie. reality shows and other favorties) I admit I like to watch my Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, Grey's Anatomy, and House... to name a few.
4 The grass is growing more now that it is not so darned hot and that means twice a week lawn mowing.
5. Trip to WV- It takes a little time to get back in the swing of things after a long weekend travelling.
6. Romance Novel Reading-(Don't make fun of this until you try it.) ..I'm not the only one in America that reads this junk and I freely admit that it is fluff reading...that's why I like it.
7. Housework and Work Work- There never seems to be enough time to do everything on the weekends and forget about starting major cleaning/organizing jobs...that's out for now. Work has been exceptionally busy in a random fashion, so just when you think you're going to get out on time, something comes up to delay you.
8. Bill paying-a job I hate but one that has to be done.
9. Surfing the net just for pleasure and reading the news on the internet-Guilty!
10. Spending time with family and friends instead of time in front of the computer- It was good to see Justin & Cara, Tommy & Becky over the weekend!

Ok I'm sure there are other excuses for not writing something new but I am working on a small piece...It is just taking a little more time than I thought...It will be Coming Soon......

PS. Can't believe i am actually writing a blog because I used to hate writing in school-What's up with that?

Reality TV Junkie and the new TV season

2006-09-04T17:29:00.000-05:00

So the new TV season is getting ready to start.
As most of you know, I am a reality TV junkie.
I’ve been trying to improve, but still I am embarrassed to say that I watch reality shows.
Some of these shows are really so stupid but my problem always comes when they “hook” me. I just want to see “what happens next.” In my defense, there are obviously other “reality junkies “ out there or these shows wouldn’t be on.

I will admit that I really enjoy the dancing shows because I am awed that people, with little training, can get up in front of millions and do those dances. I enjoy the music and the dancing…I don’t enjoy the commentary from the husband and sons if they happen to be around!

I felt like I was making progress on not watching reality TV, until I watched a few Big Brother all stars shows this year. (I know what you’re thinking but it’s just that there didn’t seem to be anything else on TV that I was the least bit interested in…and it just happened to be on!)
I always wonder what makes people decide to participate in these shows.
The people on the big brother show have already done this once, and I would love to know if it really is the money or the “fame” that they want. I personally wonder what they think when they come across not so favorably to millions.

When I first started watching Big Brother this year, I didn’t know many of the all-star players because I had only watched the first and the last seasons.
It was my first time seeing some of the players. One of the previous winners from season two was a doctor of dermatology. As I am watching all of his shenanigans, I wondered what his patients are thinking.

My sister thinks he is a real genius because:

He had to be really smart to be a dermatologist. (For those of you that don’t know this, dermatology is one the hardest areas of medicine to get into. Dermatologist are usually at the top of their classes in school.)
He knows how to manipulate and play Big Brother. He is a master player for getting others to do what he wants.
He is smart to use his TV fame for marketing. My sister said that he had people from all over the US calling for appointments after his last big brother appearances.
I’m not so sure that having “Big Brother Contestant” on his CV would inspire a lot of confidence in my mind.

He is an interesting character and has made the show funny, but I would really like to see how he lives “out of the house.”

I am a diehard Survivor fan and am interested in seeing how the “new concept” of dividing the tribes into races is going to play out. Already I am a little tired of the comments referring to “highlighting of stereo types”. Come on people, it’s just a game.

When I watch survivor, I am constantly saying : “there is no way I would ever be a contestant on this show.”

You may ask why I don't think I would cut it as a survivor contestant?:

I hate bugs!
Mosquitoes love me and I would be one big giant bug bite.
I am a picky eater with a weak stomach that would never tolerate bugs and such.
I’m a grouch when I don’t eat!
I would miss my baths!
As my middle son says: I like to clean too much.
As my husband says: I like to be in control and would probably be voted off pretty quick because I am too opinionated!
I also wouldn’t be able to do the swimming challenges because as I’ve gotten older, I don’t swim much.

All moot point because I don’t plan on trying out for Survivor.
I guess I’ll just be a reality show junkie and watch what happens next…

Walmart = Money Spent

2006-08-30T18:04:00.000-05:00

Having a Walmart almost within walking distance is really not the best idea for your budget .

I admit that I love to do a little Walmart shopping every now and then. Since the Walmart near us has groceries too, it's a good excuse to stop and take a little look see, PLUS avoid the grocery store.

If you ask the husband, he will invariably tell you that I call him weekly on my way home from work to say, "I'm just going to stop real quick at the Walmart and pick up a few things."

I have a real problem with just "wandering around" the store JUST TO LOOK. I waste more time "wandering" because I get in that store and think "maybe they got a new shipment of"... sandals or flowers or whatever happens to pop into my brain.

I was looking for a receipt to take something back the other day and my husband happened to notice all the many receipts I was searching through. (Here's a news bulletin: I'm a bit compulsive and have kept all my receipts for the last couple of years.) He was giving me a hard time about that and asked why I needed to keep several years of receipts.

While I had them all lined out on the counter, it became obvious that when the Walmart was located on the other side of town, I didn't frequent Walmart much.

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words:

Receipts from Walmart within walking distance:

Receipts from Walmart across town

Now I know there are some out there that do not and will not support Walmart because of some of their policies. We have one friend that Hates Walmart and will expound on why we should not support it. I agree that they could improve on some things. I know from my experience of filling out disability paperwork and return to work notes for some of my patients over the years that Walmart does not make it easy for their employees sometimes. One time I had to write a note saying that one of my pregnant patient's needed to take a bathroom break every so many minutes/hours and the same for getting drinks of water!!?? That is ridiculous that a person needs a note to get a drink!

It doesn't stop me from enjoying wandering around and "finding a deal".

I had a few errands to run the other day, and Walmart was on the list.

When I came home, I was talking to my husband and I said that I hadn't stopped at Walmart.

He very calmy said, "I know."

I said, "How did you know I didn't stop there...I just got home."

He said, "You weren't gone very long!"

Unfortunately, Walmart = Money Spent and I would definiately have more money if the Walmart was still located across town!

Chocoholic dog

2006-08-20T13:12:00.000-05:00

I've just got to accept that we have a chocoholic dog!

Lucy is the BEST DOG IN THE WORLD except for perhaps a little neurosis and a nose that can find chocolate....no matter where it is!

Lucy is now 12 years old and I'm surprised that she has managed not to kill herself from all the chocolate she has eaten in her life. She is really smart and can sit, dance, bark, sneeze, rollover, go to her bed, shake, grin, and bow. Most of the time on command, but some of the time, when she is not sure...she will go through all of her tricks all at once, to get her treats.

She is getting a little, shall we say...Plump? ..to avoid hurting her feelings. As my husband says, he has a happy dog and he doesn't care if she is fat or not! Her being chubby is not from eating chocolate, but if she had her way, she would like more of that substance any chance she gets.

Because she is so smart, it has long been established that you cannot leave any sweets (mainly chocolate, but also gum) down in her space.

Most of the time, we remember not to leave stuff in her range, but it never fails that we occassionally forget. Christmas and Easter are usually a given that some form of chocolate will be left where she can get to them. This has been going on since we got her and I can guarantee that every Christmas and Easter, that dog gets her chocolate! For years, I reminded the boys to "keep the candy away from Lucy," and for years, someone always forgot.

She has, on one occassion, even managed to get into the pantry and pull over a bag of chocolate chips. That experience was almost the deadly one, because she really got sick from the dark chocolate. My understanding is that the darker the chocolate, the more lethal it is to dogs.

The other chocolate occassions are usually random occurrences, but there are many stories of Lucy unzipping my purse, pulling out everything in the purse to get to a chocolate mint that I had forgotten about. Almost every visit that mamaw makes to our house results in Lucy getting into her purse for the ever present gum!

She is pretty amazing when it comes to UNZIPPING backpacks. There are numerous occassions that she would manage to get ahold of left over chocolate bar or gum or whatever else she smelled in the boy's backpacks that they had long forgotten about.

Last week, the backpack unzipping dog struck again and below is the evidence:

Jeffrey had left his backpack down on the floor and that little devil unzipped it for the M&M's she smelled. Jeffrey did not even remember that those were in there, so there's no telling how long they were in that front pouch.

She is smart enough to know she is not suppose to get into things. When I came down the stairs, she was cowering on the stairs. I couldn't figure out if this was because of her normal "neurosis" or for some other reason. I though I better have a look around before I started working. As I walked around, she was like that game of hot/cold. When I went toward the kitchen...no real response from her. (colder) When I went toward the living room (the scene of the backpack), she cowered more.(hotter!) I happened to be working from home that day, and she stayed away from me all day.

She always gives herself away with bad behavior because she won't come to greet us when we come in. One day she stayed upstairs for over an hour, before she would come say hello. You would think we beat her or something, but she is just neurotic and really doesn't like to be yelled at...if only the boys had been that easy when they were little!

Even being a chocoholic, she still is the best dog...how can you not love that look on her face?

It pretty much says: I know I've done something I shouldn't but I'm too cute to not love!

OBBIV

2006-08-13T12:10:00.000-05:00

Another OBB has now come and gone.
This was the fourth annual Owens Backyard Bash (OBB).

For those of you that don't know, we started this tradition as a “wouldn’t it be fun to have a party with all our friends” before the kids return to college.

That first year it actually became Tommy & Becky’s wedding celebration.

It was quite the surprise when they said, “all our friends have RSVP’d that they are coming for the OBB, so we were thinking it would be a good time to get married.”
That was just two weeks before the first OBB and let me tell you that that was a pretty BUSY two weeks!
Tommy finally had to write on the e-vite that “NO Becky is not pregnant!” because they got asked so many times if that was the reason for the quick wedding.
The real reason was that they were buying a new house and had been engaged for almost a year and were just READY!
All the numerous details involved with weddings were quickly whittled down to bare necessities and the wedding and OBB wedding celebration turned out great!
As someone said, and I agree, “If you have one year to get ready for a wedding, it takes one year…if you have 2 weeks for a wedding, it takes 2 weeks!”

We have continued the OBB tradition because everyone seems to really have a good time getting together, drinking, and enjoying the music.

Now out of those reasons, my favorite is always the music (since most of the music is my boys!)and getting to see everyone.

Being the “I know someone who died like that “ kind of person, I always worry about the drinking part. Fortunately, most of the guests try to abide by the drinking rules: No drinking and driving. A lot of the guests do sleepover and that really is one of the fun parts of the OBB.

People always ask if we are going to do the OBB next year, and the answer to that is always conditional on the outcome of each party. If there is a “drinking problem”, that would be one way to cancel future OBB’s in my mind. I guess that means that future OBB’s are dependent on the current guests.

I was a little nervous this year because of our short visit last year from the city police. They had a complaint about “loud noise and band.” The funny part about that visit was that they had a little trouble finding a parking spot out front due to all the parked cars. By the time they found a parking spot and located the “responsible party” (that would be my husband and I), the band had already broken down. They were very nice and didn’t stay but about 5 minutes. Some of the party guests didn’t even know they were present. They left stating that if they got another complaint, we would have to move indoors but both officers indicated that they did not see any problems. We didn’t have any visits from the “city’s finest” this year, so I would mark OBBIV as a success.

I understand that the tentative OBBV is already scheduled for Aug. 4, 2007. Check out Jerry’s blog with the official OBBV countdown. Jerry’s parents were saying that he rated the OBB right up there with Christmas and Thanksgiving and that he definitely would not want to miss it.

This year the OBBIV started out pretty quiet. We have discussed moving the start time later since the 11:59 AM time makes for a long day. The majority of partygoers usually come around 4:00-5:00. I really enjoyed the quiet start this year and the early start allows the band members get a chance to eat before they perform. The time detail will be discussed prior to OBBV evites going out.

This year I thought the music was very eclectic and, for the most part, pretty good.
When I say “ for the most part”, I mean that there always are those request songs that the band hasn’t really practiced much. I am always amazed that the band can perform those requests “off the top of their head” and still sound reasonable. Phish, Alison Krauss, Indigo girls, Dave Mathews, Justin songs, Johnny Cash, “the Boss”, the Beatles and many more were all represented musically. (Gee Justin…that’s a pretty good group to be listed with….)

The OBB is always a time for many performers to join the OBros and this year was no exception.

We didn’t get a performance with Uncle Gary this year on the drums and I’m not sure how that happened. Uncle Gary was the first drummer to ever play with the boys, many years ago.

I personally always love the Fri night before the OBB, because that is “Practice night”. It is always a blast to see all the Owens family, (Dad & uncle included) playing music together in the basement.

I said a couple of times during the OBBIV, “OH, I have to listen to this song…this is one of my favorites”.
One of the partygoers said to me later in the night, “I have heard you say that more than once today.” I guess most of the songs the boys play would be “my favorites!”

OBBIV was a record breaking moment….It was Michal’s debut singing venue. That was pretty fun to see him joining in the vocals and it looked like he had a great time!

The weather this year could not have been more perfect!! It was much better than the 90+humidity that we had last year.

The OBBIV had the traditional flip cup game and the traditional “WVa hot dog” fixings. Pretty soon we may have a lot more converts to the WVa way to make a hot dog. (This is a hot dog with homemade chili and topped with cole slaw. )

Finally, my 80+ year old neighbor that I traditionally take cookies to after the OBB for tolerating the OBB once a year, said she enjoyed watching the action from the comfort of her home. She is pretty cute with her comments.
One year she asked “what the kids were doing around the tables?…it looked like they were playing a game.” I then had to explain flip cup to her…that was kind of surreal to be explaining a drinking game to your 80+neighbor!
She said that she could remember when her parents were not too thrilled with the jitterbug and “new music.” This year she commented that it looked like the kids were growing up…more babies present…slightly less wildness.

It is always a lot of hard work both before and after the OBB. It was a couple of days off work that involved yard work, food shopping, and house cleaning. The poor lady that kept trying to shop around me and my flat dolly at Price Club definitely didn't like the OBB preparations. The day after is always a pretty long day cleaning up after all the "Fun." Fortunately, the boys and Becky help with the clean up. I missed getting a picture of the "morning after shot" and the husband in the kitchen...that was a lot of cups, bowls, etc to wash!

But the OBBIV= 102+guests, 8 kids, 4 dogs, 96 hotdogs, 40 hamburgers, 2 loins of barbecue, 2 lbs macaroni, 2 lbs potato salad, 6 dozen cookies, 2 batches of brownies, rice krispie treats, 3 kegs of beer, 1 bottle of tequila, 0 police.....All in all: PRICELESS!

Still Here...Barely!

2006-08-10T20:26:00.000-05:00

Just a quick line to say the blog topic about the OBBIV will be coming soon and that I am still here...barely!
I caught what I am referring to as an OBB cold and my stamina is about nil after preparing for the OBB, cleaning up after the OBB, and returning to work after the OBB.
I keep telling myself I will write a quick synopsis of all the fun, but haven't really had the creative juices available to do it justice.
So...coming soon....the OBBIV review and hopefully pictures.

Time Flying By

2006-07-26T16:39:00.000-05:00

Have you ever felt like you've been really busy but you can't really say HOW you're busy?

I feel like I've been busy over the last couple of weeks but I can't seem to come up with anything out of the ordinary that should make me feel that way.

We spent some time in WVa and saw our families, played catch up at work AFTER the vacation, had the OBros practicing weekly for the OBB4 at the house, had a few family dinners, mowed the lawn, shopped some, read some, and did the always present laundry and house cleaning, but it seems like time is just flying by!

All the stuff I've been doing is just routine day to day "Stuff". Nothing special (other than the travelling.)

Certainly, my lengthy commute takes some time out of the day. I'm fortunate that I don't have to commute daily...only 3 days a week. Sometimes, I wonder how much time I actually spend in the car commuting. The only good thing about the commute time is that I use that time to catch up with my family & friends on my cell phone. I know all the statistics say driving and talking on the phone is dangerous, but sometimes talking helps keep me awake during all the stop and go traffic.

Of course the infamous OBB4 is just a few short weeks away and that always takes a little time and planning. I'm looking forward to it but hope the weather cooperates this year. It was a boiling heat wave last year!

Maybe things are in the "calm before the storm" mode...there hasn't been all that many things that have peaked my interest to write about lately.

I have enjoyed spending time living vicariously reading my favorite bloggers (see links). I have really tried to imagine how it would feel to quit my job and venture out for a month doing fun things with my friends but more importantly, doing something you've always dreamed about. (Cara's blog) I'm not sure I really ever had a desire like that so if is a little hard to imagine. I give big kudos to her for proceeding with her goal now , while she can. I have also enjoyed reading Justin's blog about his adventures while Cara is gone. Bobby's blog is always witty and interesting and I am constantly amazed at his celebrity sightings and his interesting job.

I figured I would set a goal of writing something at least weekly on my blog, but I really enjoy writing the blog entries that "seem to write themselves". They usually are the topics that I am excited about and that I don't really think much about.

In the meantime, I guess time will keep flying by and I'll keep trudging along doing my "normal" things, working, enjoying my family ....and FEELING BUSY!!

Men, Women & Weddings

2006-07-21T21:11:00.000-05:00

Weddings & Men....Weddings & Women....Totally different ideas and outlooks from those two groups!

I have been thinking on this topic for some time now because it is hard to miss the differences in how men & women look at weddings.

Having lived with 3 guys and 1 husband for many years as the only female, I was really outnumbered. (until Becky joined the family),

This became obvious early on when much of our early family life was centered around sports. Even now, there is always a discussion about some current sporting event, most recently the World Cup.

I am still teased by my family regarding the memorable question: " Who pitches for the Dallas Cowboys?" After they quit laughing over that question and wiped their tears, my husband gently told me it wasn't a pitcher but a quarterback. I also tend to ask what inning, or half, or period it is and usually say the wrong term for the sport we are watching. I am immediately corrected with the correct term, usually in unison.

I have learned alot about male sports over the years, and I do enjoy watching some of the many games that are on our TV. I always enjoyed watching the boys play any of their sports when they were little, even though I was not the best spectator when they played. I have come to understand how important, their "sport stuff" is to them.

The same can NOT be said about how they view weddings.

Let's face it, women dream about weddings most of their lives and men spend a good bit of their time trying to avoid them.

I got married very young and had never been to any other wedding, but my own, when I got married. It was a nice small wedding with a very small reception in the church hall. I was just too young and dumb to realize there were lots of options for weddings and receptions. Since we had the reception in the church, this made it impossible to drink or dance....what were we thinking???? Even though it was simple and small, I loved my wedding and honeymoon and I certainly wouldn't change the groom!

There is one thing that all brides have in common, no matter how much planning, expense, or money goes into the weddings. That would be their wonderful happy faces!

Recently, we have attended a few weddings of friends' children and weddings of the boys' friends. It seems like the boys have attended MANY weddings in the last couple of years.

Wedding Season has provided me the opportunity to ask many questions about the weddings and/or engagement parties being attended.

Becky and I have spent enumerable hours discussing wedding colors, dresses, ideas, settings, flowers and all the lovely things involved in the weddings. She never gets upset if I ask questions about the weddings she and Tommy attend, and she always has the answer to my questions. Even if the question is as ridiculous as : what type of shoes did the wedding party wear? She is after all a girl!! And girls get into weddings and all the tiny details....that's part of the wedding experience. I'm betting that most guys would never think about the programs and who actually tied that nice ribbon on them and how long that took to do that little job!

Talking to any of the "GUYS" (husband included in this) usually results in much frustration. They just don't get the fascination about weddings!

As I was told by one of my sons, who shall remain nameless, he said a good wedding had lots of alcohol.

Questions to the guys usually result in something like this:

Mom: Did the bride look pretty?
Son: Yeah she looked nice.

M: What kind of dress did she wear?
S: Just a wedding dress.

M: What color were the bridesmaid dresses?
Son, answer #1: Just a dress, I wasn't paying that much attention.
Son, OR answer #2: Low cut dress in the back(or front), ______ looked good in it.

One son was actually getting together with his out of town friends on the weekend that the "bridesmaids" where getting their dresses fitted. In his defense, he didn't actually go to the fittings, but he was with the whole group of girls/bridesmaids the whole weekend. He couldn't even begin to tell me a thing about the dresses! Not the color, not if they were liked by the girls...nothing. Now if that had been a daughter, I would have known, down to the last button, what the dresses were like!

He has gotten a little better about sharing some details of the weddings he attends because he knows I will probably ask him something. He has even volunteered some information, if it was memorable to him. He mentioned one time that the location of one of his friends weddings was "pretty incredible and it was one of the best weddings he had been to." He even described some of the scenery and was really impressed with how beautiful the bride looked. That particular wedding was on top of a mountain at a winery.

I guess there will always be that difference in how men & women look at the wedding thing.
My boys will continue to get the "20 questions " about the weddings they attend because I really enjoy hearing about the details. They will continue to get annoyed at those questions, in most cases, just cause they are of the male gender.
Becky and I will continue to discuss all the details. We probably will have these same communication issues when all those weddings result in babies!

I can hear it now:
Mom: When is the baby due?
Son: I don't know....sometime...

M: Do they know if they are having a boy or girl?
S, answer #1: I don't know. OR
S, answer #2: Yes ...( and nothing more)

M: Do they have any names picked out?
S: HOW DO I KNOW??

I can't hardly wait!??!!!

As my husband says about weddings: They are just 20 minutes and a piece of paper. (At least he didn't say 20 minutes and a lifetime of grief!)

Blah, Blah Blogs

2006-07-09T19:44:00.000-05:00

Today I was watching one of my favorite shows (Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood) and the topic of blogging was a featured clip.

Just a few interesting facts that I found interesting in the story:

1. Bloggers are usually highly educated, middle aged, and have a high income.
( I'm thinking : Two out of three of those aren't bad.)

2. Bloggers tend to be: trend setters, and are highly opinionated.
(One out of two of those aren't bad.)

3. Sarcasm sells on blogs. As they said in the story, it is easier to tear down than to build something up.
(I don't think I'm too good with the "snarky" comments...their term, not mine. That's not to say that I couldn't be sarcastic in the right circumstances, but I don't consciously try to be controversial.)

There were other parts to the story, but I found it interesting that some of the bloggers actually were offered jobs from people reading their blogs.

I have no fear about that happening to me....I definiately fall into the "let me tell you about my dog" category of bloggers.

"They"said that most bloggers write to connect with family and friends...I would agree with that. I like to see what comments my family and friends make about my entries.

I'll keep blogging as long as I keep having fun with it...even though there are still those out there that say "What's a blog ?? and Why are you doing that???"

Technical Difficulties

2006-07-09T19:18:00.000-05:00

I had great plans to write a blog today about my vacation...sort of reminds me of that first day of school back from summer vacation when the teacher asks you to write that essay on "How I Spent my Summer Vacation".

Unfortunately, my blog had this little glitch that made the links show up at the bottom of the page.

I tried a few things and even went on the blogger assistance site to see if I could get the links back up to the beginning of the blog...hence the new format.
I'm not sure I like this format but I'm afraid I will really screw things up more to switch back. (Those of you that know me know how I hate change!)

In the process of trying to straighten things out, I lost part of one of my entries.
That one is lost for good because I really messed that up royally. I also figured out that I really hate not being able to read instructions and not understand much of the directions. Reading that blogger assistance stuff with all that computer lingo is enought to give you a headache.

I finally resorted to calling in my computer expert, but he said he "didn't do blogs".
He hates to disappoint me so he sat down and read the computer lingo and helped fix the problem and also backed up my blog.

I don't think it would be a big loss to lose this blog, but since I have invested some time into it, I feel a little better with the back up.

I was so frustrated with the whole technical mess, that I lost my desire to write anything but this venting about technical frustrations!
Hopefully, sometime this week I will write about my vacation to good 'ole WVA.

Rain, Rain, Everywhere

2006-06-30T09:32:00.000-05:00

Well, we have had quite the rainfall around here for the last week.

Since I love obscure facts:

Our area received 11 inches of rain in 6 days! That is 1/3 of theYEARLY rainfall in just 6 days.

I also heard that Hurricane Katrina had 12 inches of rain during that catastrophe...considering that is only 1 inch more than we had...I thought that was pretty amazing. (Obviously, that 12 inch total did not include storm surge and disclaimer here that our area was as bad as Katrina..not anywhere near that.)

Our back yard looked like a lake for a while but no water damage, just the afore mentioned tree.
We were actually quite lucky in our area because many in Maryland had to be evacuated due to possible dam break. Some of the federal buildings had to be closed, (National Archives, IRS, Museum of Natural History, and Museum of American History to name a few.)

We did have a small sump pump crisis for a few minutes, but the husband took care of the stuck float and all worked well after that. We were both glad that the sump pump stuck in the ON position and not the OFF!

We have been gradually doing the yard clean up and sweating in this horrible humidity. The weather outlook looks better so that is the good news!

A Tree has Fallen

2006-06-23T16:46:00.000-05:00

It blew up a big storm last night and the casualty was:

MY BEAUTIFUL REDBUD TREE!

Not only did it take out half of my redbud tree, but the wind also took down my twenty year old, silver maple tree in the front yard. That tree was around 30-35 feet tall and really provided a lot of shade for the house. It is a sad day around here.

The good news is that the silver maple didn't land ON the house and really didn't do too much damage...other than to our pocketbook to have it removed!

It was one heck of a storm all over this area and many folks got little to no sleep due to the horrendous thunder and lightening, the hail, and the wind. We surprisingly did not loose our electricity or our direct TV signal ( which is amazing considering that the rain was horizontal!)
The last time I saw a weather map that looked like it did last night, was when we had the tornado in the neighborhood. It is never a good sign to see ALL RED on the weather map.
A lot of folks have been without electricity for almost 18 hours.

Maddy, Tommy's dog was not liking the storm at all and was reportedly shaking like a leaf and hyperventilating. She finally settled down some when Tommy let her crawl into Becky's dark closet and hide. Becky was out of town and was unable to comfort the puppers. They were without electricity for a while last night.

Traffice this morning was horrific due to traffic lights being out. The happy campers of the day were the tree companies that began knocking on doors to drum up business for tree removal.

I had to work but Tom captured the action of the tree removal pretty well...it was pretty amazing how the guy climbed the tree to take it down.

I was not totally bent out of shape about the loss of the silver maple tree...I'm more upset about my redbud tree.

(DUE TO TECHNICAL ERRORS...I lost the rest of this post and there is no way I can begin to remember where this story was going ...sorry if you missed it...it really wasn't that great of a story anyway! Sometimes technology sucks!)

Spaghetti Dinner

2006-06-11T20:45:00.000-05:00

I've written in the past about the difficulty of deciding "what's for dinner" but there is always one meal that is a great favorite at our house.

It tends to be the dinner choice that is suggested first when it comes to a weekend meal when the whole family will be in attendance.

I'm talking about the infamous Spaghetti & meatballs dinner.

My husband was raised on spaghetti and it was almost a tradition to have spaghetti every Sunday when he lived at home. He could eat pasta just about every meal and never gets tired of it, even now.
In fact, his "fall back dinner" is what he lovingly refers to as "red sh** and noodles". This is his slang for Ragu out of a jar (traditional style with meat...not any of those other varieties) .
I like his homemade, special recipe spaghetti and meatballs, but I am not a big fan of the "red sh** and noodles" senario. (I much prefer peanut butter sandwich and chips as my "don't want to fix anything or go out to eat meal".)
He told me not too long ago that he was going to always suggest his "red sh** and noodles " for dinner so it would force me to choose what's for dinner since he knows I won't eat Ragu ( only under duress and extreme laziness.)
He was a little upset not too long ago when there was a study released that had people rate jar spaghetti...I forget what was the winner, but Ragu was at the bottom of the survey.

Today, all the boys (& Becky) came over for dinner and of course the menu was spaghetti. We had a very enlightening discussion about the actual pasta being served. The discussion centered around what kind of pasta was everyone's personal favorite.
The oldest and youngest sons chose: angel hair pasta ( which was served today and had raves from them today!)
Becky prefers: rigatoni or any of the "tube like" pasta's. ( She said she likes a more substantial pasta.)
The husband votes for : linguini
The middle son stated he had no particular favorite...he likes them all.
I hadn't really given it much thought to a favorite but I would have to say I know I don't really like regular spaghetti ( too thick). I guess if I was pressed to choose a favorite it would be capellini.

Anyway, eating spaghetti is a pretty traditional weekend meal for our family.

When the boys all left for college and began doing some cooking, they all made the call to dad to get his recipe for spaghetti. (Much like my sister's and I did when we all called mom at Thanksgiving to see how to cook turkey.)
They all got the proper instructions for his spaghetti sauce and meatballs with visuals included!

Now, all the boys can make Tom's famous spaghetti and meatballs. The only question now usually is whether we should have a meat sauce, or meatballs, or to make lasagne. They all are delicious but the boys usually choose meatballs.

It was a particularly good batch today...maybe because it has been a while since the whole family was here for spaghetti. The husband has not figured out how to make "little batches" of spaghetti, so care packages went home with them all.

Nothing like second day spaghetti...just makes it that much better!

Hodgepodge

2006-05-29T12:10:00.000-05:00

Bear with me on my hodgepodge of random thoughts today....for those of you that REALLY know me...you know my mind does tend to ramble around...Too bad the males in my life can't seem to "keep up" with that random thought process.
I can sometimes talk about several things at once with Becky and she can follow, but not so with my 3+1 guys. My husband will respond to me: "That comment makes no sense...I thought we were talking about so and so." Oh, well, another of those "Mars/Venus" things I guess.

It seems like I have been really busy with not much time to sit down and write lately, but when I think back on what is keeping me so busy...I can't come up with anything real specific.

I have been working in the yard a good bit...It's like therapy. I enjoy being outside and like the exercise. All my hard work :

This photo especially for my "professional " lawnboys, that taught me how to mow: "Just look straight ahead, Mom, to where you are headed and your lines will be straight!"

I used to tell my mom all the time that her compulsion to hang clothes on her clothes line was her "Therapy." She was here for a few days and was helping with my laundry. She misses her clothes line and always comments that she "would hang this on the clothes line, IF I had one."
I do understand why she likes to hang clothes outside, but it never was "my cup of tea", so to speak.

She was flying to my sister's to see my nephew ( her grandson) graduate from high school. She usually drives up to my house to drop her dog, Tasha, off for us to dog sit when she travels.
Tasha needs her own suitcase for all the "special" food, treats, and medicines she needs. I guess that is only normal with a 14 year old dog.

It is an experience to take care of her now because she is partially deaf, has always been a little stubborn, and just wants to do her own thing. That is ok in most cases, but when you have to leave for work at 6 AM and the deaf dog wants to sleep in....it can make for an interesting morning! It really isn't a big problem but you have to plan ahead a little bit. (Not my area of expertise.)

We are also dog sitting, Maddy (Tommy & Becky's dog), this weekend. She is a trip and is like having a little kid around. If she gets quiet, then it's time to find out what she is doing. She likes to drag out all of Lucy's toys all over the room. She barks at all the neighbors when she is outside because she thinks she is "protecting" us. Because she is still a young dog, she is full of energy....she played by herself, throwing her toy in the air and then chasing after it, for a solid hour this morning. (Unfortunatley that hour was 6-7 AM on a holiday!)

Last weekend was busy because we were helping celebrate Dr. Joe's graduation from med school. (That is our ex-neighbor's son and Tommy's first year college roommate) It was a great accomplishment for him and we were all very proud of that accomplishment!

The boys provided the entertainment for Dr. Joe's graduation celebration. The weekend was taken up with "practice " on Sat. and the "performance" on Sun. (I enjoyed the extra time the boys were at the house practicing.)

Joe's parents did a lot of work on the party and a fun time was had by all. (Except for the one audience member who thought the "band was too loud!" I was told to take that comment with a grain of salt and remember the source, so I will!) Actually, I think the rest of the party goers enjoyed the band and the boys were even asked "Do you do Bar mitzvah's?"

Not sure they are up for that...
All I can tell you is that it definitely takes a lot of equipment hauling to do a gig, that's for sure!

Today, the boys will be coming over for BABS....that's their accronym for :

BIG ASS BURGERS!
We will also have the requisite hot dogs with chili and slaw...

the good ole WV way!
Our friend, Chris, will be coming for the cook-out and to spend the night. He rode his Harley up to DC from Ohio for "Rolling Thunder". He'll visit with us tonight before he rides home. Can't wait to hear his tales on that... He said that the ride from the pentagon to the wall would have near half a million bikers in it. Can't imagine that, but he lucked out and was suppose to be in the first third of the bike pack. He said one guy last year didn't even leave the pentagon until 4:30 and the ride started at 12 noon! Maybe more on that another time.

Better stop this hodgepodge now...can't stand any more!

Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood

2006-05-19T09:17:00.000-05:00

It's becoming a tradition around our house to watch Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood.
I am a big fan because it has such an eclectic variety of stories that appeal to my personality trait of liking obscure facts.
It annoys me to no end that I can remember the weirdest, dumbest statistics or facts, but have trouble with names!
Becky has said in the past that it cracks her up when I pull some dumb fact out regarding sports because I'm not even a big sports fan.

In all honesty, I don't really remember all that many facts or statistics, but some of those unusual, obscure pieces of information appeal to me. I like to learn and the more unusual the info is, the better I like it in most cases.

NONE of my family likes to go sightseeing with me in DC because I like to read all the interesting info at the museums. Sometimes when I take friends and extended family members to DC, they actually appreciate some of those obscure facts that I expound on like a tour guide...but not my immediate family....they have heard them all before and politely but adamantly REFUSE to go to DC with me.

So the Sunday Morning Show is a good fit for me.

Where else can you see stories aobut medical misdiagnosis (right up my alley with my profession), the history of skirts (with the required pictures of designer Prada skirts), collectors of teapots ( there were thousands of them is all different shapes. Since I'm a tea drinker, that was pretty awesome that so much time and attention has been devoted to making tea pots!), and trains...all in one show?

The train story was interesting because I never realized ( or really gave it much thought for that matter) that there was an area in the US that ALL trains going to Florida have to go through. They said that over 70 trains in a night go through Folkston, Georgia. They have set up a viewing platform, and get people from all over the WORLD coming to watch. Granted there were some pretty "far out train watchers" profiled on the show, but there was also just the people who came just for FUN. Just people watching would be an experience!

One comment that stuck with me was "it was like birdwatching....but easier!" So, this story could appeal to a train conductor, a bird watcher, a people watcher, or to someone like me that never thought about trains that much!

Anyway, if you have never watched Sunday Morning...you should give it a try. Sometimes it is not as interesting as other days, but there is always at least one really good story on the agenda.

Maybe in another blog I'll expound on medical misdiagnosis. I could really get into this topic but my family is not a big fan of me giving my opinion about medicine. I keep telling them that I am a valuable resource when it comes to their health...they just aren't totally convinced yet!

Honey, I'm home

2006-05-18T09:28:00.000-05:00

Happy Anniversay to my wonderful husband!

It is hard to believe that we have been married for 32 years!!

When I think back to when we got married, I am amazed that we got married so young and that my parents actually "let" me get married at 18! Our kids just seem so young, and we actually had a baby at the age our youngest is now!

One of our good friends said to us at the time that we may just be dumb enough to make it last...and even though that wasn't all that complimentary at the time, it probably was true!

I 'm not writing a long blog about how wonderful my husband is because he "hates reading long blogs" but suffice it to say that this blog about him COULD be a lengthy tome otherwise.

We have had some really good times and some bad times together, as anyone who goes through life has, but we have been so fortunate to always have each other and be able to depend on one another. He is my rock and I love him dearly! ( He says I am spoiled and he is right about that because he always puts me first in his life and takes great care of me!)

He was making a joke yesterday when he came home, about how he comes through the door and says, "honey, I'm home". He joked that I got all excited about him being home...this said in a sort of sarcastic tone because I was busy working. I have to say that it is no joke that I am still happy to see him, happy he is home, and happy that he is my busband...that's pretty good after 32 years!

So, Love and Kisses to my wonderful husband...here's to many more years... and "Honey, I'm home" is music to my ears!

Nice Mother's Day

2006-05-15T16:26:00.000-05:00

So I had a very nice Mother's Day yesterday. We went to Tommy & Becky's for dinner and had wonderful food. That Becky can really cook and it still amazes me that Tommy does some work in the kitchen, too! (It was like pulling teeth to get him to do much kitchen work when he lived here!
We had a really great shrimp appetizer that was similar to one of the appetizers at Bonefish Restaurant. I think I ate about 1 lb of the 2.5 lbs of shrimp they had. Fantastic!

We also had margaritas and chicken enchiladas that were tasty too!

More importantly, we had a really nice time with the whole family there. It is less frequent that all our schedules allow us to get together like that and I really enjoyed it.

#3 Son got me a 12 foot tree trimming tool...he knows I really get into my garden equipment, and he noticed a few branches on the backyard tree that are in the way of the horseshoe pit.
#2 Son is planning on supplying me with a bunch of firewood for those cold days next fall and winter. That is always heavy labor for him and I appreciate it.
My hubby took care of my mother's day, anniversary and birthday all in one and got me a top of the line DVD/VHS/memory recorder. (This will be neat if I can ever figure out all the instructions. I may need to go back to college to figure out how to work it! He is my little technology geek!)
So I thank all my family for all their hard work and thoughtful gifts I received... they are the BEST!

Happy Mother's Day

2006-05-14T07:25:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom!

M-Is for the many wonderful times she has been there for me and all the times she supported me. If I tried to list all that is wonderful about her, the list would go on for a long time and probably be pretty boring for anyone BUT my mom.

O-Is for how original she is. She is definitely an original person and knows no strangers. Many stories come to mind for her originality but I always tell the story about her train ride to VA from WV. This was about a 7-8 hour trip and she was riding with Andy, her youngest grandson. When they got off the train in VA, the female conductor was standing at the open door, waving goodbye, and yelling to me, "I love your mother......" and that reframe drifted off as the train pulled out.
My coworkers still comment about her wearing black leather pants to my Christmas party: "She looked darn good.. and not many woman her age could pull that off!"
Most of the boys' friends also think she is pretty cool and many of them have taken their valuable time to go visit her in WV.
And last but definitely not the only original thing about my mom: How many grandmothers do you know that will go to a Dave Mathews concert or a Bare Naked Ladies concert with their grandkids...and really enjoy it? (Michal said that he had to be on his better behavior when she was with him but it was cool that she went.)

T-is for the trying times that she has helped me through and all the tears she has shed over the years for me. She has always been there to listen and support me through thick and thin.

H- is for her huge heart and all the happy times we have shared. We have travelled a long road together : ( from Italy to Mrytle Beach , Florida, Texas, Chicago and more). I remember when we were in Italy and she was able to be happy and upbeat, while I was laying on the hotel bed lamenting: I just want to lay here and pretend I'm home for a while. ( This after a long trying day travelling, worrying, missing our dinner meal, and being accosted by the gypsies. )

E- is for her easy going attitude and ever present smile. She has a way of walking through life with a positive attitude. That rubs off on those around her. She is one of those people that everyone wants to be friends with. I will again say thanks for EVERYTHING she has done for me.

R- she is my rolemodel. I think after having children, you really appreciate your mom so much more. This is not to say that people don't appreciate their moms if they have no kids of their own, but I think it really" brings it all home." That old saying that I hope you have kids"just like you" takes on new meaning when you are a mom yourself. I only need to look at my mom for help, assistance, and guidance because she is a real rolemodel for me.

Put them all together they spell MOTHER and that's what you mean to me!

I am grateful that I have the wonderful mom I have and hope she knows how much I love her.

Finals and a trip down memory lane

2006-05-03T10:55:00.000-05:00

Jeffrey is in the process of his finals at Va Tech and it brought back memories of finals when I was in nursing school.

Before I go there... Study hard Jeff ... I know you can do it!...Ok... had to get my mother worry mode out of the way...

One of the major classes we had to take in nursing was anatomy and physiology. This involved both class work and labs. The professor that I had was one of those really intense, brainy kind of guys that loves science. ( think Justin.. for those of you that know Justin).
This professor really got into his work and actually loved to dissect anything.

Our animal for dissection was a cat. Now, I know you cat lovers out there won't like to hear that but I didn't have any choice what animal we dissected.

All of the nursing students really disliked the lab dissections, mostly because of the smell and partly because not many of us were any good at doing the dissection without ruining what we needed to dissect. You could smell the lab well before you reached the classroom and you could continue to smell the lab on your clothes and hands after the fact! There is nothing like formaldehyde!!

We had to use the same cat for the whole semester and to work through all the body systems. (Talk about a smell that does NOT get better with time.)

We all learned early on that if you asked the professor for help, he would get all involved and actually end up doing most of the dissecting for you. It was a race to see who could ask the first question so the professor would come "help".
Obviously, he could only work on a couple of cats a lab period, so some of those cats were pretty butchered up by the end of the year.
Some of those lab groups really had no idea what they were doing. You can also imagine a whole labroom full of young nursing students with only the token "science major "student interspersed. As I look back at the professor now, I can see why he did a good bit of the dissecting himself and I wonder how he stood all that estrogen!

At the end of the year, we had to complete an anatomy lab final. This involved the professor setting up lab stations with little flags stuck in the cats for the student to identify the body structure. In the final, this could be anything from a vein, artery, bone, muscle, or organ.

Trust me when I tell you that some of those structures didn't look anything like they were suppose to because of the poor dissections, so it was pretty important that you had a good knowledge of the anatomy.

My 2 other lab partners and I were pretty worried about the final. We decided that dedicated study was the only way we would ever pass that blasted final. (This line is also dedicated to Jeffrey!)

We were allowed to "check out our cat" for "home study." Now let me tell you that this was real dedication...to carry around a semester old, badly dissected, formadehyde cat in your car!!!
We had a study-a-thon and all of us were pretty sick of that @#%$ cat by the end of the weekend.

(Now I'm a little ashamed to admit what happened next, but Michal actually likes this part of the story.)

My lab partner had a neighbor that was a real grouch. They evidently had had some run-ins in the past. She decided, after a weekend with very little sleep, that it would be "funny" to leave our poor dead, formaldehyded cat in the neighbors mailbox! Well, no sooner than it was thought than it was done. We made the laughing, running in the dark, mail deposit and off we went.

I think back now that it was a pretty DUMB thing to do...I'm really surprised we never got caught...it would have been a real shame if we had been thrown out of nursing school because of that stupid stunt. I guess when your young, you always think "it will never happen to me."
(Aside to all those younger folks that may be reading this, because you know I can't miss an opportunity: ...just because I didn't get caught, doesn't make it right!)

My lab partner went on to be a great nurse and ended up working in a high stress, cutting edge heart hospital. I do have to laugh when I think of her. She ended up working in that heart hospital and could have her hands "dripping in blood," but if she even scratched herself and saw her OWN blood....she was out like a light!

I often wondered what that neighbor thought of finding that cat??
The good news was that the extra study paid off and we all passed that final with flying colors!

Mom's Beautiful Redbud Tree

2006-04-23T17:14:00.000-05:00

So I've had a little writer's block lately and haven't really had too much to write about. I'm not sure if it's because of lack of time or just laziness. I have been busy with Easter, travel to WVA and work but the main reason I haven't written is because nothing really jumped out at me to write about.

As many of you may know, I love to work in the yard and garden.
I have started mowing the lawn and I can already tell that the grass this year is going to be tough to keep up with. I got a little carried away with the grass seed last year. My yard has pretty thick, nice, green grass.... for the most part. There are still a few "problem" areas but they will have to continue to be a work in progress for a while yet.

I love the spring with all the spring bulb flowers and all the blooming trees. Living near DC gives you a special dose of "Cherry blossom trees". The tulips around the White House at this time are also especially beautiful. Even though I have lived in this area for many years, I have only offically gone downtown to see the Washington Cherry Blossoms only once. The traffic makes it a miserable trip in most cases.

One of my best days in DC was when my friend and I got to go on the spring White House garden tour to the see flora and fauna there. They only open the gardens up twice a year in the spring and the fall. I really enjoyed seeing the gardens but I think part of the charm of that day was that it was a spur of the moment decision to even go to the White House. It was a real fluke that we got in, didn't have to fight the masses of people, and that the weather that day was perfect. (My friend, Mary Ann, was not as enthusiastic about that tour because she had to listen to me go on and on about all the different, wonderful types of flowers. She managed to enjoy herself by being fortified from the Guiness she had been sampling at the "Taste Of DC"! I still give her big "friend points" for doing that with me. I can only hope that she gave me a few "friend points" because I went to the taste of DC with her! )

Anyway, I digress, as usual....

As I was enjoying all the wonders of nature in the springtime, it's hard to miss my beautiful redbud tree that is in our backyard. I say "my" redbud because it seems most of my family are not fans of the tree.

The reason that my boys all dislike my beautiful redbud tree is shown below:

When we first moved into our house 20 years ago, we had a cement patio poured out back and the above basketball hoop installed at the same time. The idea was to have an area for our outdoor table AND to give the boys someplace to practice basketball. Well, the outdoor table was always pushed off to the side, out of the way, and was rarely used for the purpose it was intended. The brand new patio soon had the required foul line painted on the concrete and it was rarely not in use. We always had a group of kids out back on "the basketball court", now never called the patio.

All the kids who used to play here knew that the number one goal when playing basketball out back was to prevent the ball from hitting the back of the house and/or windows. ( On vinyl siding that basketball sounded like thunder when it hit!) If too many occurrences of the ball hitting the back of the house happened...it meant that Dad would come out and end the game.

When we used to live in Texas, I used to love the redbud trees down there. I told Tom when we first moved in that I wanted to get one for this house. He was not unsupportive but his advice was that it not be out in the middle of the yard "so he had another obstacle to mow around." ( This was way back before I was doing the yard work.)

Since there was this small indentation at the edge of the patio, he suggested I plant it there for the above reason. **Now in a little aside here, he will deny that this conversation ever took place...especially since all the boys hated the placement of that tree!****

As the tree started growing, it became a real problem for the three point shot. The branches made a few of the shots almost impossible. It was always an argument with the boys regarding pruning that tree. If I turned my back too long, there would be branches mysteriously gone. They always were fussing about how much they hate that tree and how it is in the way of their game!

If I had a dollar for everytime they complained about my tree, I would be rich today.

The basketball hoop finally bit the dust, due to rust. Thank God no one was hurt when it fell because a game was in progress when it finally gave way.

I think the boys all miss the basketball hoop but now that the tree is so much bigger, it really would have made the basketball area very small. There definitely is no place to shoot a three point shot.

I think they are a little stubborn to admit that my redbud tree is a beautiful tree now. They still can't help but complain about the "basketball days" and how the tree was so annoying.

I should remind them that that beautiful tree provides a good bit of shade for the OBB and for keeping the kegs in the shade for the OBB!

I will always call it my beautiful redbud tree and they will always refer to it as that @#*$ tree- but it is definitely all a matter of perspective!

2 Minutes Until the Movie

2006-04-09T10:28:00.000-05:00

Tom & I were watching Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood today and one of their stories was about a new Drive-In Movie theater opening in Texas. (By the way, Sunday Morning is a great show if you have never watched it.)

This brought back a host of memories about drive-in theaters because my paternal grandparents owned "The West Drive-in" in Buckhannon, WV, for many years.

My dad and his siblings all worked at the drive-in, in some capacity, while they were growing up. My dad actually ran the projector to support his growing family all through his college years. Most everyone in the family, at one time or other, worked in the snack bar, sold tickets, or did upkeep on the grounds. (I won't go into the fact that some in the family were never allowed to work in the snack bar...that is another story all by itself.)

I thought it was really cool back then that we were allowed to go into the snack bar and eat just about anything we wanted, but we always had to "mark down" what we ate so my grandfather would be able "to do his books."

I always thought I was so special as a kid because my grandparents owned the drive-in, the only indoor theater in town, AND the town public swimming pool. My dad used to tell stories about the indoor theater and how "Shirley Temple kept my dad in business during the depression" and how "we used to have a Christmas show where Santa Claus came to distribute toys on the stage in front of the screen at the theater." (Sorry, I digress ....back to the drive-in story....)

Anyway, my grandfather was pretty forward thinking and had his house built up on the hill behind the drive-in movie screen. He actually had those horrible speakerphones in his bedroom with a huge window so anyone in the house could watch the movie from the porch, his bedroom, and a family room that was located on that side of the house. I guess at the time it was what you would call his own "surround home movie theater." Granted, the sound really sucked in those speakers but still pretty ahead of his time.

I remember that as kids we were not allowed to go in the projectionist's area while the movie was running because my grandmother was afraid the projectionist would get sidetracked and miss the correct time to "change reels." When this happened, it was a white screen and most of the cars would honk their horns until the movie started again.

When I look back now, I think of all the hard work it took to run the drive-in. My grandparents always started working early in the evening to get ready for the nightly movie/s. The phone at their house was also the business phone so it would start ringing early afternoon so people could listen to the nightly features for the week and see what was playing. There was always a double feature on the weekends and they held special events on holidays.

On July 4th, they always had fireworks and my grandfather, dad, and other friends and family would "set off the fireworks". It was a tradition that the last big finale firework would have a little parachute guy in it and anyone who found the parachute got a free admission to the drive-in.

When I think of my grandmother, I always remember her in her little ticket booth. She was the main ticket seller for as long as I can remember. I can't even imagine how many tickets she sold over her lifetime but she continued running the drive-in for many years even after my grandfather died.

One of her jobs was at the end of the night when she had to drive around the movie yard and wake up patrons that had fallen asleep in their cars. I would be dosing in her car and can remember the stops and window knocks. At the time, I didn't realize the significance that most of her window knocks were for cars in the last two rows of the movie yard. Thinking back on that, I later understood the "fogged windows" and why she never let any of the grandkids do the window knocking.

After my grandmother died, my aunt ran the drive-in. When drive-ins slowly went out of fashion and she stopped running the drive-in completely, she let the locals hold flea markets on the property.

When my kids were younger, there was a drive-in located in the town where my parents lived in WVa. We always tried to have a drive-in movie night when we went to visit. All the aunts and uncles and cousins that lived in the area, would go. I forget how much it cost to get in, but it was usually by the carload. We would take stuff to sit on, blankets to wrap up in, snacks to eat, and bug spray. The kids would usually run around and play at the playground until it turned dark. Most of the kids would be asleep before the movies were over. It was always fun and very nostalgic for me. That drive-in has been out of business for many years now.

I was surprised about the number of drive-ins during their peak. 4,000 in the nation, with 388 located in Texas. I thought it might have been more nationwide but Texas dropped down to 11 drive-ins in 2000. That number is now 21 drive-ins in Texas. I have such fond memories of drive-ins that I wish everyone had the opportunity to give them a try.If you get a chance don't pass it up to go to a drive-in!

As they say: Come to the snack bar for delicious snacks...and 2 minutes until the movie!

Cleaning the Garage

2006-04-03T18:16:00.000-05:00

NEW FLASH.....it is possible to get your husband to clean out the garage, in 45 minutes no less, if you have "possible large hail and tornado watch" in the weather forecast.
Having a clean garage is the bane of our existence and for the last 20 years we have intermittently gotten the bug to clean stuff out of there...to no avail most of the time.
Tom's goal when he bought his new car (about 3 years ago) was to park it in the garage during the "snow season".
He has threatened to make me park outside so he didn't have to scrape his windows on cold mornings.
We actually had both cars in the garage sometime last fall...once....to test it out to see if they both fit...and before you know it...there were tables from the OBB, car seats removed from the van, golf clubs and other junk that slowly made their way to HIS side...
Should have a lottery as to how long it will be before HIS side is again a mess...but for today...BOTH CARS ARE IN THE GARAGE!
I need to take a picture....
And so far if our luck holds out....no tornados or hail!

The Nursing student and the Mental Hospital

2006-03-30T21:35:00.000-05:00

Anytime you work with the public, you run into many different types of people. The list of different personality traits could be long and varied: Some nice, some hateful, some weird, some impatient, some arrogant, and some that are totally out there...etc.
When you work in the medical profession, some of those personality traits are magnified when people are sick or in pain.

Most nursing student have to have some psychiatric training/courses before they can graduate.
When I went to nursing school, we did one semester of psych at both the state mental hospital and at a private mental hospital.

When I was in nursing school, it was quite the talk among the nursing students about their experiences at the state mental hospital. The stories usually involved the upper class "experienced" nursing students (those who had been to the state mental hospital) telling horror tales to the lower class "new" nursing students (those who had yet to go to the mental hospital).

Every first trip to the state mental hospital was always nerve wracking for the new nursing students. This was probably due to the exaggerated tales we had all heard prior to the trip.
The students were always driven the 30 or so minutes to the state mental hospital on a school bus. Once that bus turned onto the property, the first thing you noticed was the smell. There is really no describing the odor associated with the mental hospital. Let's just say that not only was it a potent smell but that particular odor always seemed to permeate everything. The first thing most students did once they got back home was to shower!

My first trip to the mental hospital is funny now to remember, but back then it was not so funny.
I was pretty nervous and wondered what it would be like. It was always well known that when it rained, the mental patients always got a "little nuttier". Not sure why that was except maybe because the patients couldn't do much physical activity and the rain forced everyone to be cooped up in small areas.
As my luck would go, it was raining the first day I went to the mental hospital.
Someone that worked at the hospital always gave the students a tour on their first day, to orient everyone.

Two very memorable things happened to me on that first tour.

First, as we were waiting to begin the tour, our group was lined up against one wall. Out of the blue this male patient came up to me and wrapped his arms around me for a "hug". Well, let me tell you that I was in a panic....the first thing you want to do when someone comes up and grabs you is to push. We had been warned to avoid most physical contact if we could help it and to use our "language skills" we had been "taught". Part of our grade was how well we used our communication skills. Trust me when I tell you that at that moment, I thought the "language skills" were highly overrated! Here I was trying to say junk like," I know you want to hug me but could you please let go." and I think I tried saying something equally as dumb as "I like you too but please step back so I can talk to you." My nursing instructor (who I might say at this juncture was not the brightest tool in the shed) just stood there and was NO assistance at all! I really think that she was as scared as we were because it was her first year teaching and first time for her at the mental hospital too.
After what seemed a LONG time to be in a "hug/head lock", the tour guide finally said in this gruff /loud voice: " JOHN, LET HER GO!" and "John" finally released me! Good 'ole plain lanuguage with a kick butt attitude worked for the tour guide. I managed to slow my heart and we gradually continued the tour.
The second thing that happened that day was pretty humorous and I swear true!
We had "circled around" the tour guide as she was imparting information. All of a sudden, this patient jumped in the middle of our circle, dropped his pants, and yelled "COCK-A-DOODLE- DO!!!"....all the while "strumming" his genitals like a guitar. The tour guide hardly batted an eye, called the patient by name , and said "we don't act this way in front of others" or something to that effect. The guy calmly pulled his pants up and went on his way. The tour guide then said something about the rain and increased "acting out" behavior and blithely continued her tour. It probably would have made a great "funniest home video " scene if someone could have taped all the students' faces....priceless!

During my time at the mental hospital, I had one patient that I had to "work" with. I had to tape our conversations so my instructor would be able to grade me. I wish I had some of those tapes now... I bet they are hilarious.

One of my last experiences with the mental hospital was a Christmas "field trip".
It was Christmas time and it was decided that it would be a good idea to take some of the non-violent patients to "shop" for Christmas presents.
( I think they had actually done this in the past with other nursing students, but I was a little nervous that our "not so bright" instructor was in charge of this little extravaganza. )
We "buddy up" with our patient and head off to the Hills Department store on our bus. (Hills was something similar to a Walmart or a Kmart store.)
A good number of the patients had "dressed up" for the occasion. This involved picking out clothes that had been donated by various organizations. Most had on many layers of clothes that didn't come close to matching. We got quite the weird looks from the other shoppers while we were there. It was interesting when the patient who thought he was Johnny Cash went up to the store clerk and asked her if she had any of "his" records. She didn't know what to say to that and "Johnny Cash" kept trying to explain to her who he was. He even gave her a little perfomance of Folsum Prison right there in Hills!
My instructor decided that she would "buddy up" with this one mentally retarded patient. She said she "felt sorry for him to be left behind". (He always made me really nervous because he was a BIG guy with not much mental ability...he also liked to do the hug thing.) He walked all around the store holding his old decrepit billfold saying repeatedly to anyone who would look at him, " It's a billfold ain't it?!
I was just happy that we made it through without anyone stripping their clothes off as many of the patients had little inhibitions about that.

When I think back to all the things we were exposed to in that mental hospital, I feel incredibly sorry for those poor patients and really appreciate the life I have now.

PS: I know my family would have cracked up at seeing me trying to "lead calisthentics" in the male dorm...This was the brilliant idea of my nursing instructor and it does make me smile now remembering that stupid idea! It was ridiculous and I couldn't help thinking while I was doing it, " Who is more crazy...them or ME?"

New Roof

2006-03-27T14:09:00.000-05:00

Well, the new roof and new gutters have been installed and the exterminator has come for his visit. Only have one more outside treatment from the exterminator and the new sky light to be installed(once it comes in) and all will be done.
After 20 years, it was time to do those little jobs around the house. The contractors did a good job and the roof looks pretty good (If roofs can look good??)

Only had one minor(?) misshap and that was the roofer who shot a nail through his index fingernail. One trip to the ER later and he was fine. (We assume this from sign language because the only two workers who could speak English went to the ER, leaving only non English speaking workers here.)

I keep trying to get "excited" about having a new roof and no more ants but new roofs and exterminators rank right up there with buying new tires. Something you need but not the thrill you get when buying something like.....SHOES maybe or even new clothes!

Now that the new roof is on, it also makes it time to do the outside painting and other general chores that seem to get put on the back burner. (ie garage cleaning, closet cleaning, and inside painting too.)
Oh, well, just gives me plenty on my "TO DO LIST"!

Aunt Janis stories

2006-03-20T19:22:00.000-05:00

I was reading a blog entry on J's Uncle Bobby's blog-(wish I knew how to highlight that for a link but haven't learned how to do that yet-look on my links area, he's listed there). He was talking about what some passengers do and how often he hears the same things.
It reminded me of the story of my Aunt Janis when she was taking public transportation in WVA.
Every morning my aunt would pay her money for the 25 minute bus ride "uptown".
About half way through the trip, the bus would pulled over and the driver would walk through the bus collecting tickets. Every morning when he came to my aunt, he would have to wait while she frantically looked for her ticket.
Now if this happened once in a while that would be different, but my aunt lost her ticket almost EVERYDAY! Finally, the bus driver got so tired of having to wait on her to "find" her ticket he came up with his solution to the problem. As my aunt paid for her ticket one morning, instead to handing it back to her, the bus driver said, "I'll just hold on to this for you." She never had another ticket when she rode the bus from that point on.

There are a few stories about my aunt during that time in her life. She was under some stress and always seemed to be rushing around or running late.
My dad used to occassionally drive her to the bus stop in the mornings. It sometimes became a Laurel and Hardy type affair for her to catch the bus. My dad would drive up behind the bus (that was already loading passengers at that stop) and tell my aunt to "Run!'
Some mornings they would do this at several stops because my aunt would never be fast enough to get all her stuff together and get out to the bus in time.
When they were coming up to one of the last bus stops before she missed the bus totally, Dad used to say, "Now this is your last chance...RUN!" They used to laugh about this years later.
No wonder the bus driver decided to keep her ticket...he saw this charade more than once, I'm sure.

One time my aunt got up at 4:00 AM by mistake and thought she was late for work. It was so quiet in the house, she decided that everyone had already gone to work and left her. She called a taxi to take her to the bus stop. While she was on the bus she realized it wasn't as busy as it normally should be. She finally realized that she was a little early for work when the coffee shop she usually frequented was not even opened yet. My mom and Dad got up that same morning and were worried when they couldn't find her in the house. It took a little time to figure out she had already left for work.

Another good Aunt story was when she asked the repairman to come out to fix her frozen water pipes. It was about 8 degrees outside and the repairman was in the garage working on the pipes (or it might have been the washer...facts may be a little different due to the author having more decades passing...please allow some poetic license here.)
Anyway, my aunt was rushing around to take my cousin to school and totally forgot that the poor man was working in the garage and LOCKED HIM IN. She LEFT to take my cousin to school and didn't return home for about 2 hours. When she got home, she heard this poor guy calling, "Lady....LADY....could you let me outta here???!!!" She was pretty darned embarrassed to have locked him in.

Well, I always enjoy my Aunt Janis stories because they always make me chuckle. I'm not making fun of her few lapses in remembering things because I have those same genes and already have a few "Tina stories" too. It must run in the family because there are a few "Mamaw stories" out there too!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2006-03-17T09:31:00.000-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!
Even though I am not Irish and not even a drinker, St. Paddy's Day has always had a special meaning for me because it was my dad's birthday. He would have been 73 years old today.
It's hard to believe that he has been gone for almost nine years now.

He used to be very proud of the fact that he was born on St. Patrick's Day. One year for his birthday I made him this gigantic flag with a big shamrock on it so he could run it up his flag pole. That flag was huge and I think he really liked the fact that I sewed it for him. He used to also decorate the house every year with big signs that said "Happy St. Patrick's Day!" and he would put up several shamrocks on the wall too. As he got older, he would just leave the signs up all year long. When he died in his sleep, those signs were right there on the wall above his bed. I miss him and all the unique personality traits he had. He really loved his grandsons and never missed an opportunity to see them or talk about them to anyone who would listen.

I am a big believer in "wearing the green" on St. Paddy's Day. I am always surprised how many people don't even remember it is St. Paddy's Day and also how many don't wear green. When the boys were younger, I always used to remind them to wear green shirts to school so they wouldn't get pinched. I was pleased today when I went to Walmart and saw quite a few people buying green shirts. I even saw some teenage boys buying the classic green t-shirts with the fake tuxedo fronts drawn on them. At least I won't be the only one wearing green!

St. Patricks' Day wouldn't be complete without a short joke: I saw two Irishmen passing a bar the other day..............Ok, it COULD happen.....

Anyway, today I will be wearing my green, remembering my dad, and wishing everyone a big Happy St. Patrick's Day! Be safe!

Jammin' at the Parents House

2006-03-14T19:10:00.000-05:00

Jeffrey was on spring break this week from Tech and it was great to have him home ( even if he spent most of the week at Tommy's & Becky's due to his work schedule.)

This past weekend, before Jeff returned to school, the boys were all here for a jam session. They are practicing for a performance at a friend's graduation party...also just enjoying playing music....any excuse works for them or no excuse at all is needed.

They have a great time together and I really enjoy getting to hear them play.
That is one of the main things I miss about the boys not living at home. They always had music playing around the house. It seemed that they weren't really happy without it playing ALL the time. They even had CD's going when they were in the shower!

Many times when they lived here, they would have impromptu jam sessions in the basement. Tom & I have spent many nights (and I mean late nights) going to bed with the boys rock'n in the basement. It never really bothered us much, nor did it usually keep us awake. I always preferred knowing that the boys were home vs. out and about to worry about them.

I am always amazed how long they can entertain themselves when they are together. This weekend they played for NINE hours.... pretty much nonstop. They play a wide variety of music even though they are pretty picky about what songs they like to play...partly because one of the group is a perfectionist, one likes a certain style of music, and one is pretty laid back and will play just about anything. Tom & I do suggest song choices but they never seem to take us up on our recommendations. After many years of suggesting certain song or bands, occassionally they will decide to give our requests a try. Usually they are pleasantly surprised that some of our ideas for song choices are not such bad ideas.

I am the non-music person in the family...so I try to do my part and be the "recording for posterity" picture taker. Might I just say that sometimes this is met with extreme displeasure from the picture subjects? I restrained myself this weekend and didn't take one single picture. Tommy told me the last time I took pictures when they were in the basement: "Mom, I'm wearing the same JMU sweatshirt that I had on the last time you took pictures ....so quit!"
Well, anyway, I like listening to them and like taking pictures of them.
I am definitely a proud parent when it comes to the musical abilities of my boys!
I reminded myself of my mom today when the exterminator that was here to give me an estimate on using his services, asked about the musical instruments he noticed in the basement. He asked several questions and then said that he played guitar too. That lead to a full out discussion on the boys and even a sample song being played for the poor guy. He acted like he was really enjoying the music but I thought later ...what else could he say when he was trying to get my business! That is where I am reminded of my mom...I always said she would talk to even a shoe salesman about her grandkids. (She kept some poor shoe salesman captive for several minutes one time going on and on about how wonderful they were and I was pretty embarrassed about that at the time!) Now I see how that happens sometimes!

Well, I will be looking forward to the next jam session...Michal said his fingers were pretty sore from the nine hour extravaganza. My neighbors will also be interested in the next session...I probably will have to bribe them with cookies to keep them happy! Nine hours is NINE HOURS no matter how good I think they are!

Beautiful Weather Today

2006-03-10T17:37:00.000-05:00

The weather today was a giant improvement over the winter stuff we have had recently.
It makes me anxious to get outside and start working in the yard. I love being out puttering around the house and mowing the lawn. Still a little early to mow yet but everything is starting to turn greener and I noticed there are even a few daffodils blooming.

My neighbors have gotten used to me being the person doing the yard work. They used to look kinda surprised that one of the 3 guys or husband that live here or have lived here in the past were not the ones pushing that mower. I tell them that my two golf course "professional mowers" gave me lessons on how to mow. (That would be Michal and Jeffrey...NEVER Tommy! ) We actually were discussing the other day how Tommy tried to talked Jeffrey into mowing when Jeff was still way too young to be safe mowing. As soon as Michal and/or Jeffrey got old enough and safe enough to mow...that was it for Tommy's mowing days.

I think I mow a pretty good pattern and that my yard looks darn good considering that my dad would never "let a woman mow". He was definitely from the old school and really refused to allow us to do yard work when I was growing up. Flowers and weed pulling ...maybe, but mowing...never!

My husband was cautioning me today that it still was not time to get too excited about yard work yet because the weather is still unpredicatable and that it will probably freeze again. I know this but I am happy about getting out tomorrow and putting some mulch down. I'll just have to wait on that first mow day. Michal has my mower in the shop being tuned up and getting the blade sharpened. I may be dynamite with mowing but not so great on the blade. I ran over a metal brace at the end of last season and I'm sure the mechanic is cussing up a storm as he sharps that mower blade.
Here is to the beautiful weather today though. I'm sure when I am thick into the mow season I will read this post and say what was I thinking...this mowing is a pain in the behind because there seems to be no end to it!

High School Talent Show

2006-03-04T10:13:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was the "infamous" high school talent show(TS).

Our family has been involved with the TS since 1995. (Gosh, that seems like a long time ago when you actually write '95).

Tommy and his buddy Andy went to the show as sophmores that first year and just watched the "talent". They both had a great time as audience members and decided they should try their luck the next year. That was when we all became involved. Tommy and Andy picked their song, practiced, and attended rehearsals.

There were lots of nerves about that first TS performance for a couple of reasons:
Reason 1: The song selection. They had chosen the country ballad by Keith Whitley-"Don't Close your Eyes". ( Country had never been done at the TS before.)
Reason 2: It was their first time singing as a duet in front of a lot of people. (Even though it is only a high school talent show, this was and still is a BIG event at the school. It is usually a packed house of over a 1000 people all having paid $10 to get in!)
Reason 3: Most of the talent used recorded background music with the usual bands/accompanying singers. Tommy and Andy were going to play their acoustic guitars.
Reason 4: Tommy had fallen off the back of his broken down truck the day of the performance, and dislocated his shoulder. He was is a bit of pain holding his guitar.
Reason 5: Mom and Dad were just plain nervous... Dad because he wanted to make sure all the technical stuff worked and Mom because she is MOM.

Well, there was a slight glitch on stage when the stage crew couldn't get the microphones for the guitars to work for a few minutes. There sat Tommy and Andy, with their cowboy hats and guitars, waiting to start. Tommy couldn't stand the silence and started talking to the audience. He ad libbed for a few minutes (I know those of you that know Tommy can imagine this!)
In the end, all worked out great. The audience was stone silent while they performed and errupted in applause when they were done.
They ended up the TS winners and from then on, the TS was a big deal at our house.

Dad became the stage manager...he couldn't stand the technical parts not working and wanted to reduced the delay time between the acts. He even recruited Uncle Gary to come up every year and help with the show. Uncle Gary really enjoyed the show and commented that the high school in his home town had tried to do a talent show but they didn't have enough attendance...or maybe even enough talent! Over the years, I understand that there was an entertaining side show going on in the head sets between the family stage crew...Gary's comments being the source of many laughs.

Each year it was always a big deal to get a band ready to perform and to decide what song to sing. That next year saw Tommy and Andy recruiting Jeffrey to be in their band playing the bass. They were not that excited at first to use Jeffrey in their high school band but by default and circumstances, Jeffrey became their bass player. Talk about mother nerves that year....I was worried that "Little Jeffrey" ( in the sixth grade at the time) would get nervous and his older brother would never let him hear the end of it if a mistake was made. Actually, I think Jeffrey was pretty nervous about that too, but he came through like a champ! Again, a country song was played and again, they won in the band category!

Because the boys had won two years in a row, the director of the TS asked if they wanted to come back to compete in the "professional" group of the TS that next year. I think the director always enjoyed the boys singing but I think she really didn't want to lose the stage crew of Dad and Uncle Gary!

Tommy, Andy, and Jeffrey asked Uncle Gary (Uncle Santa Claus that year due to his gray beard!) to play the drums for their band. They really rocked the house that night with their BareNaked Ladies's(BNL) song "Brian Wilson." I was a very proud mom that night...they again won in the "professional" category.

When Jeffrey got into high school, he got a band together every year for the TS.
His first band "Silent Groove" played another BNL song,"Hello City" ....and they won too. It was a first for a band to use a stand up bass in the TS. Here's a mother's line coming up: Jeffrey was pretty awesome on that bass and even twirled it during the song. Tommy even thought it was pretty good that Jeff could actually sing and play the bass at the same time... (he informs me that this is pretty hard to do).

Every year the pressure was a little bit more because they were so successful and it became a big deal to not only perform but to win.
When Jeffrey was a junior and senior, his band was made up of his best buddies, (commonly known as the 4 amigos). They definitely had a wide range of musical likes and dislikes... the hardest part was usually deciding what to play! One member stated he would quit before he played Hootie and the Blow Fish! Their band was called "JBC Platter." It was a mystery what that stood for for the longest time... It finally was revealed that the JBC stood for "junior bacon cheeseburger platter"....they all had more than a few JBC meals at Wendy's during their high school years! I think they gave one of the best band performances in any TS their junior year when they played "All for You."

Other memorable performances were when Tommy and Jeffrey played with their high school spanish teacher, Senora Byers. They had been asked to perform while the judges were deliberating who the winners of the talent show should be. The trio came up with the name, "Inspected by 16". This name was decided on when they couldn't think of any other names for their group. Just as they were about to give up on the naming process...Senora Byers pulled a tag out of her pants pocket and it said "Inspected by 16" and thus a new name was agreed on!

This year Jeffrey and his friend Laura, played while the judges were deliberating. They had a good time and I think that this may be our last year with the TS....I have said this every year and am always proved wrong but I think maybe this year really was the last.

Tom as stage manager, Tommy as sound manager, Jeffrey as senior stage crew and Tina & Becky as official talent show audience members are probably retired now! Michal supported the group when his brothers were competing, but he really has stayed pretty clear of the most recent talent shows. We haven't known any of the kids in the talent shows for many years. This year was one of the first years I really noticed how some things never change. The class lip sync competitions are playing the same songs that the boys classes used when they were in high school...Tommy's class played "You gotta fight for your right to party" in their lip sync and not one but 2 classes used that song this year!

I still find it fun to watch... I especially love watching my boys play music!

I always call them my wasted talent in the basement boys...the talent show at least gets them out to play before an audience! I will miss the fun times we had at the TS but will always have fond memories.

Food Fight

2006-03-01T13:53:00.000-05:00

I was just reading the news on the internet and ran across an article about a middle school eighth grade cafeteria food fight in the last 5 min. of a 25 minute lunch. The article said the school was charging the eight grade class activity fund $1,000 for cleanup of mashed potatoes, chicken fried steak and milk.
Evidently the mashed potatoes stuck to the ceiling.

A couple of thoughts come to mind:

Maybe the eighth graders were trying to tell school officials that the food stinks.
The schools already don't allow much time for eating....are they now going to reduce the time for lunch by 5 minutes?
Wonder how many parents complained that ,"It's not fair that my student be penalized when they didn't do anything wrong."?

If my sons were there, I know MY precious, well behaved sons would NEVER have participated....NOT!!!

Boy, am I glad my sons are grown!

Never good with Names

2006-02-25T14:39:00.000-05:00

One very nice anonymous person corrected me on the Dan Jansen Olympic story... I had written his name as "Jennings. "

This brings up a real problem with me and names....I am horrible with remembering them!
I have a bad reputation for forgetting names or referring to people by the wrong name....especially if I get it wrong the first time.

Dan Jansen will probably forever be thought of as Jennings by me for the rest of his life! It seems to go into the long term memory bank and I can never seem to withdrawl that mistake.
Now when someone corrects my mistake...it makes sense to me that I said it wrong...but I invariably have a few people/things that I continue to get wrong. (other examples include-saying cups for glasses or vice verses, saying unthaw instead of thaw in reference to frozen foods, saying stove for oven.)
Since my husband has lived with me for 31 years, he now understands most of my terminology mistakes. I consider myself educated but just like the spelling hangup I have, I also have a few other little idiosyncracies that bug me.

Jeffrey will tell you the time he was going on a blind date to one of the high school dances. His dates name was Lauren...I called her Stephanie like 4 times in about 10-15 min. Needless to say Jeffrey was kinda embarassed about his mom...
He still to this day jokes about that blind date by saying, "You know mom, my blind date .... "Stephanie?""

It really amazes me that I can remember non-relevant trivia and things of no value but can't remember some of those more important facts, (like names!)....
Even my family is sometimes amazed at the facts I pull out of the air....sometimes they just shake their heads!

Oh, well...I can only apologize for the brain lapses! Sorry Dan "Jennings"....

Happy Birthday to Michal!

2006-02-24T05:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Michal!
Love,
MOM & DAD

The Sleeping Olympic Fan

2006-02-22T15:00:00.000-05:00

So this year I am having a hard time getting into the Olympics.

Every Olympic year, our TV is usually glued to the Games. We get that great patriotic feeling about the good ole USA and watch anxiously to see what the athletes are accomplishing. Who can forget Dan Jennings and his many falls and his compelling story to "skate for his sister"? He definitely showed that perseverance pays off and everyone rejoiced when he achieved his gold medal.

This year I am really blase about the competitions. There is no "Dan Jennings" type story. They tried to make the Michelle Kwan story or the Bode Miller story into a "we all care what happens" kind of thing, but it just didn't work out that way. They are even pathetically trying to make the Russian figure skater into a "Big Story". You know the old: "I'm old, I'm sick, I'm taking care of my sick mom, this is my third try to get gold kind of story." They barely mentioned this chick until Michelle Kwan quit.

Well, it almost seems unpatriotic to not watch the Olympics. I enjoy seeing hard work pay off and athletes giving their all.
I think that there have been moments of great accomplishments this year, but I for one have basically missed them. I am ticked off that all the good competition is on TV so darned LATE! I cannot seem to stay awake to see any of these shining moments.

I really enjoy watching the ice dancing and managed to stay awake to watch the short program. I think I stayed awake because there seemed to be an unusual number of falls...some of them pretty spectacular ones. I have missed most of the other late night competitions because of the sleeping factor. I sit down and before you know it, I am watching the back of my eyelids!

I will admit that my hubby and I are avid curling viewers this Olympic year. They put curling on TV at 8 AM and 5 PM so I am not sleeping during this timeframe! I have really been getting into the "excitement" the curlers show during their games! I still don't understand much of the scoring or strategy but they do all that yelling of weird things, look so serious, and seem to get into their games. How can you not like that? My hubby and I even had a discussion about curling around this area, and checking into this activity. On further review, that sounded like a pretty dumb idea. How cool could those curlers really be, and can you imagine me and the hubby in some curling club?? I think probably not!

Pretty soon these Olympic games will be over and we will have to wait a couple more years before we get to see them again. The TV coverage at those next games needs to do some readjusting of their lineup so we actually can get excited and watch the competition at a reasonable time. I miss that patriotic feeling and I don't want to be known as the SLEEPING Olympic Fan!

A Dog's Life

2006-02-18T20:17:00.000-05:00

Chillin' at the "grandparents" house while Mom & Dad are out of town.

Maddy...the second cutest dog in the whole world....you know Lucy would be hurt if I said she was the cutest!

The Spelling Bee

2006-02-15T10:49:00.000-05:00

So I got several comments on spelling "definitely" wrong and it brought to mind my oldest son competing in the local Spelling Bee when he was in elementary school.

When Older Son (OS) was in elementary school, he surprisingly won the right to compete in the City Wide Spelling Bee. I say surprisingly because he wasn't all that great a speller in elementary school. We spent many Thursday nights studying those dreaded spelling lists for weekly Friday spelling tests.

Well, anyway, his dad and I were really proud of him being selected. We worked for several evenings going over the long list of spelling words that would be in the contest. There were way too many words on that list and none of us were really willing to dedicate long hours for study time. We talked briefly about those "trouble" words that have 2 meanings and are spelled differently.
Now days when I hear about those national spelling bee contestants, I always shutter to think about the amount of time invested preparing for those major competitions.

The big day arrived and we were all surprised how many people showed up for the City Wide Competition. OS was quite nervous but calmly took his place on the stage. They started the competition and all the participants were doing fairly well.

There was a list of spelling words in the program, and all the audience followed along with each word. You could almost tell who were the parents of each kid that got up to the podium because those parents would smile, offer encouraging expressions, or even hold their breaths. When their offspring completed the word correctly, a relieved breath was expired along with applause.

It was devastating to that first boy that missed his first word...he left the stage in tears and his parents immediately went to comfort him. (I later found out that this was our family physician's son and we have talked about how traumatic that was for his son to be the first one knocked out.)

It soon became apparent which kid was up next, and what word they would be asked to spell. As the worrying mom and study partner, I knew some of the words OS had trouble spelling. I kept thinking, guiltily, that maybe we should have studied more. I also saw how serious some of the participants were taking this little spelling bee (think national spelling bee contestants...and all those dumb questions they ask..like: Definition? Does it have a different pronunciation?... etc.)

Just about that time, some mom sitting next to me says, " Boy, I'm glad my son doesn't have to spell "stationery (ary)" because he always forgets which one means the envelope and which one means immobile.
I stated in a confident voice, we reviewed those "trouble" words and my son knew that particular one...we had specifically addressed that one.
She then repeated that she had tried to remind her son that the "E" in stationery stood for envelope but he couldn't seem to remember that clue.
I looked at her in shock and said, "Oh, my gosh...I told my son the wrong definition for Stationery vs. Stationary!" (Remember when you read about me having trouble with certain word spellings....this happened to be one of my "trouble" words also.... for some reason I "thought" I had the right definition with the right spelling.)

I thought to myself... what is the chance that OS will get that word? Probably, little chance and I relaxed for a brief moment.
Then the "worried mother syndrome" kicked in... I frantically counted the number of words till "stationery" came up and just as frantically counted when OS would be up to the podium.

Words just don't cover that sinking feeling when the universe aligns just right and the most improbable event becomes reality. Sure enough, OS was going to get "stationery" for his word!!!

I sat in the stands just waiting for this big calamity, knowing there was little I could do to correct the problem....Also knowing that OS WAS going to spell it WRONG! I had coached him and knew there was no doubt. Some small part of our brain really likes to hope for the impossible even in situations we know the outcome.

OS proudly takes the podium, gets the word "stationery"...asks for the definition... and spells it WRONG!
He looks at the judge with shock in his eyes but calmly walks off the stage.....

He was totally ticked at his mom for messing him up....

Even to this day, I can recall that horrible sinking feeling....But,

I know how to spell stationery now .............

The "Big Snow"

2006-02-13T17:53:00.000-05:00

It snowed this weekend in the east.
That statement is typed sarcastically, because it seems like no one could escape all the coverage on local and national news about the "big snow in the east."

Now I am not making light of the fact that New York had "record breaking snow"- 2o some inches.
I know that there were "blizzard conditions" along the eastern coast.
I know from first hand experience that we had 12 inches of snow that needed shoveling!
I guess it is news worthy when so much snow falls because it affects airports, jobs, schools, grocery stores (due to the stampede to get supplies before the snow), and even electricity.

We have been really lucky this year that we have had virtually little to no snow up to this point. I basically would have to say that I didn't mind this "big snow" because:

It happened on a weekend so I didn't have to worry about getting to work.
It wasn't too cold to be out shoveling.
I had a nice neighbor that used his snow blower to help me shovel the important parts, so I could spend my time outside shoveling as much or little as I wanted on the other things.
The snow was just right for building snowmen.
I had plenty of firewood and a good book to read, so it was kind of cozy.

The down side of the snow was that it interfered with the Jam Session that the O-Bros had planned for the weekend. The youngest son was unable to drive home from college due to the snow. I was really looking forward to the family being home and one of my all time favorite things is to listen to the boys jam.

The middle son came for dinner on Sat. prior to the "big storm". He actually was pretty funny to listen to because he HATES weather forecasters. I think he was really looking forward to the brother jam that was cancelled almost as much as I was. He was preparing for the forecast to be totally wrong this weekend. (Per middle son, the forecasters are generally wrong regarding snow predictions.) Well, the forecasters actually got it right this time!

"Big snows" usually cause people to reminisce about other big snow storms. We always talk about the huge amounts of snow we got in 1996 (31 in.) and in 1999 (26 in). These both resulted in about a week off of school for the boys. I was amazed that so many of their friends were still able to get to our house just to hang out even though most sane people wouldn’t dream of driving unless it was absolutely necessary.

I also remember the advice that our neighbor gave us about snow and snow blowers when we first moved from Texas. Not knowing how severe the weather gets in our new state, my husband asked the neighbor if he should buy a snow blower while it was on sale.
The neighbor proceeded to say, "You don't need a snow blower...it doesn't snow enough for one." Let me tell you that not long after one of those "big snows", the neighbor has since bought himself a snow blower! ( This is one of those pieces of advice that you just can't help but continue reminding said neighbor about!)

I guess some things rarely change so we will still watch the forecasters predict the snow and wait to see if it actually snows. If we do get that “BIG SNOW”, you can only hope that one of your neighbors helps you shovel with his snow blower!

Let it snow, Let is Snow, Let it Snow!

2006-02-12T12:56:00.000-05:00

Definitely

2006-02-11T11:56:00.000-05:00

So my mother has been reading my blogs and asked me if I could take criticism well.

She said she has been enjoying my entries but has wondered as she reads along: "Does Tina know she is spelling 'definitely' wrong or does she really not know how to spell it?"
Her further thought was, " I can't believe that girl doesn't know how to spell 'Definitely' ." Being my mother, she explained that she thought I was just too smart not to know how to spell it, but she keeps seeing it spelled wrong. ( You know how mothers are....they always think their kids are smart, wonderful, kind, compassionate, good spellers, etc......)

I guess I could just lie and tell you that it was a typo... I could say that I was so into the writing process that I didn't realize..... OR I could tell the truth and say," I know I spell 'Definately' wrong but just can't seem to get it right!"
Yes, I know that I just spelled it wrong , but it is almost the right way for me because I have spelled it this way many more times than I have spelled it right!

It falls into those words that I just have trouble spelling....along with separate, beneficial, envelope, capitol and probably many more!

It actually pisses me off that I can't get 'definitely ' spelled right... I really like to use that word!

So.... to my Mom, who is an excellent speller(!)... thanks for the info and the gentle criticism....don't get upset when I continue to spell it wrong.... I absolutely, certainly, positively, unquestionably, without doubt, undeniably, categorically know I spell 'definitely' wrong.
{Thanks to the thesaurus for words I could/should use in place of definitely}.

Spell checker has ruined us all!!! Too bad I haven't figured out how to spell check in these blogs.

P.S. I was feeling the pressure to spell all my words right so I DID spell check this entry....The really funny part was that I misspelled separate the first time I wrote it (I usually end up spelling it 'seperate' instead of the right way....I'm sure if you keep reading, you'll see it spelled wrong for yourself!)

Ode to Uncle Gary

2006-02-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

Today is Uncle Gary's Birthday so Happy Birthday from your brother, your sister-in-law, and all your nephews!

It's hard to describe all the great qualities about Gary. There are many stories that could be told about him. His brother could definately tell some secrets on him because they have a wonderful, close relationship...even if they talk in shorthand. I have heard phone conversations between the two of them that last all of about 3 minutes, but much gets said in that short time.

Most of the boys' friends have had the opportunity to meet Gary at the OBB or at the high school talent shows. He is always the life of the party. He also plays a mean flip cup!

One "Gary" story that makes me chuckle was the time Uncle Gary brought one of the infamous Lorobi's Pizzas to JMU for Tommy and his friends. He was bringing this pizza as a surprise from WVA because everyone knows Lorobi's has the BEST Pizza ever!

Well, since it was a surprise, Tommy was not at his apartment when Gary arrived. Gary knocked on the apartment door, wearing an old man's mask and a Lorobi's pizza hat. Justin, Tommy's roomate at the time, didn't even blink an eye about the mask and proceeded to say something about them not ordering pizza. I don't know what I find funnier, the fact that Gary would pull a trick with the mask and Lorobi's hat OR the fact that Justin blithley opened the door to a masked pizza delivery person and carried on a normal conversation.

His nephews definately like jamming with him while he plays the drums and tailgating with him at WVU. We all love doing some " front porch sittin" at his house and all the great get togethers in WVA.

We all love Uncle Gary because he enjoys life, loves his family, and is just an all around great guy! So Happy Birthday!

BRA and Bloggers

2006-02-09T19:35:00.000-05:00

Since I have started blogging (thanks again to Cara), I have relayed my enthusiasm to all I meet.
I am thrilled that my sister, Neva; my friend, Mary Ann (although she says her internet has been down and she hasn't had time to write more than her initial entry); and now my niece, Melissa are all beginning bloggers, like me.

As Justin's Uncle Bobby stated in an email to me, he claims he is a BRA.
That would be Blog Reader Addict. I think my husband might fall in the category now too. I know I get a huge kick out of reading everyone's entries and I wait anxiously to see how many comments I get on each of my entries. I think that is really the fun part of blogging.

I think that Cara has made this blog thing look easy because her blogs are always interesting, funny, and easy to read. I have found that it is more difficult to do than it looks. I'll keep trudging along with my little blog and hopefully i'll get better the more I write...

I still find it funny that I am actually writing...I hated writing in school and am still the world's worst procrastinator when I have to write letters or emails or thank you notes.

So here's to all the BRA's out there... I am not just a spokesman but I am a client too!

A visit to the old job

2006-02-08T17:23:00.000-05:00

So I went to see my old coworkers at my previous job today.

They all asked me if I wanted to come back and work there again....the polite answer to that question is "NO, but thanks anyway."
The not so polite answer would be, " Not NO..... but H*#* NO!"
It was really hard work, on your feet alot, and always under time pressure.

I am sure my boys are happy that I no longer work at the OB-GYN office. I was told by one of my offspring that if I left any more brochures describing STD's and how to prevent them laying around (ie on his bedside table)...THAT WAS IT!!!! You gotta love medical brochures....

Since I work for a neurosurgeon now, the focus turns to any back or neck complaints. Whenever my family mentions the occassional ache, I do become the "20 questions girl."

The questions always go something like this:
Family member: "My back has been aching a little today."
Mom: "Does your leg hurt or just your back?"

FM: " My neck feels a little sore."
Mom: " Does your arm hurt or just your neck?"

After the appropriate question & answer period runs it's course, I usually just advise, " Take some advil and call me in the morning." ( I know it is a cliche but advil, rest, and heat do work wonders!)

I am soo predicatable....my family members usually try to avoid mentioning minor aches and pains to me to avoid those inevitable questions.

If they forget and mention that small ache, they don't even pause to let me ask the questions anymore....they just say,
" NO my leg/arm doesn't hurt and Yes I'm taking advil!"

Who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks?

Why I like watching House

2006-02-07T22:12:00.000-05:00

So my son, Jeffrey, turned me on to House on Fox TV and I really get a kick out of that show.
I have to admit that when I first started watching it, I "didn't really get it." I think it takes a few times watching him, to begin to understand some of the finer points in the show.

Being in the medical profession, I am constantly amazed at some of the situations you encounter. Sometimes it is the patient that can surprise you and sometimes it's their family that can surprise you.

(Ok, No groans from my family when I start talking medical stuff. They have listened to alot of medical stories over the years. {Remember, that topic "I know somebody who died like that??...."} Well, anyway, it's sometimes easy for me to forget that they are not in the medical realm and really don't want to hear gory details while eating their dinner.)

I like watching the way House deals with some of his patients. Many of the themes of the show happen in real life. One example of that is how often patients don't tell you the truth.
In the show tonight, the patient lied about medication that she was taking and she had lots of complications from that omission.
I have had patient's lie about EVERYTHING (ie. drugs, symptoms, alcohol usage, allergies, prior treatments and the list goes on...). I even had a lady lie about needing to take a pregnancy test, because she didn't want her second husband to know she had had a hysterectomy. {I thought it might not be too long before she had a third husband with thinking like that!}

I haven't really figured out if they mean to lie or they just don't remember things. I really can't understand how someone can "forget" to tell the doctor that they have a pacemaker (or have had heart surgery, or are diabetic, or have cancer, etc....This list also goes on and on regarding omissions that have actually happened with patients...).

Anyway, I like how House "tells it like it is" to his patients. He doesn't sugar coat anything. I have often wondered how it would feel to tell that patient that forgot to "share" important medical information, "Are you an idiot? That lack of information could kill you!" House manages to get away with NO bedside manner. His lack of finesse is humorous to me.

I also like watching House because they do "talk medical stuff" and because it does bring home the point that medicine is not an exact science. Patient's sometimes forget that doctors don't always know exactly what is wrong with them.
WARNING: Quit reading now if you don't want free medical advice.....
My advice, for what it is worth, is to write your medical history down and keep it handy when you go to the doctor. Listen to your gut instinct and ask questions if you aren't sure what the doctor is recommending. Doctors are not Gods....even House "knows somebody who died like that....."

If you don't watch House...give it a try....it can be kind of addicting...

Washing my Car

2006-02-05T10:31:00.000-05:00

Just a quick thought....I was out yesterday while it was raining...getting the aforementioned haircut...and noticed how dirty my car was.
I had the brilliant idea: "since my car is already wet...I could just rub a cloth over it and take care of some of the dirt." ( I had used this same theory previously when I cleared snow off the car and my husband asked if I had taken my car to the car wash.)

Well, by the time I got home, it had quit raining but was still cold, wet, and threatening more rain.
I began the process of "washing" my car and while I was doing this, my husband said, "You're an idiot...Nobody washes their car when it is raining and cold outside."

The next thing I hear is a male voice calling from the street saying, "Excuse me, but would you like to buy some frozen meat. " After the no thank you...not interested line...he says," would you like to wash my truck next?" (This said with a smirk. ) He drove off with a chuckle after I related that my husband thought I was an idiot....

So I now realize that it doesn't really work that well to just "rub" dirt around on your car...
I am a perfertionist and just couldn't stand those "oil" spots on my white car. I proceeded to actually use soap & water and drag the hose out to rinse it off...

By the time I was done, it was truly raining...not quite "cats & dogs raining"...but enough for someone to think...What an idiot!

I can only use as my defense that I get it naturally....I have fond memories of my dad out in the rain, "washing" his car.

All about the Haircut

2006-02-04T14:34:00.000-05:00

It 's haircut time.

Men have it soo easy when it comes to haircuts...they just go in, sit in the chair, say "cut my hair", pay and leave...end of story!

It is never easy for the ladies.
The questions are unlimited:
Do you need just a cut?
A shampoo, cut & blowdry?
All over color?
Highlights?
Lowlights?
Perms?
Straightening?....and so the questions go....

There is also the problems of where to go to get the haircut and who is actually going to cut your hair. It doesn't seem like it should be so difficult at times, but there are so many variables to that ultimate haircut experience.

If you go to a "salon"...your gonna pay and pay BIG. The Salon experience of appropriate atmosphere with quiet music, drinks provided, massages with the wash also add up to big bucks...Some salons charge seperate for the wash, the cut, the drying of the hair...not to mention that it may take weeks to get an appointment. How can you say, "No I don't want my hair dried...I'll just leave with it wet "?....This is after you already owe them major bucks just for the wash, cut, and color.

If you go to the "haircuttery" you may also pay and pay big in a totally different way. It never fails that these bargain places (including beauty schools) have some pretty inexperienced hairdressers and you may come out of them looking a real sight!

My sister, Neva tells a good story on how you may pay big at these bargain places. She went to a beauty school to get a "touchup" on her hair color and "her bangs trimmed". She had gone to the school for a couple of reasons...one was to save time and the other was to save money. Her dialog with the hairdresser went something like this:
Student hairdresser (SD) as she was rinsing the color solution off: "Ohhh....Um...Ahh..."
Neva: What do you mean OH and Ahh????. (This said in a high fast voice.)
SD: No really...it looks fine....I think the color looks good..(They must be taught to never revel horror or say negative statements.)
After determining that her hair was in fact ORANGE...and after the consult with the instructor at the school....and after Neva said "You WILL fix my hair...NOW!!!" And after the instructor said it was closing time and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it today...but would be glad to take care of it tomorrow. She ended up walking out of that school with ORANGE hair!
Well, tomorrow was graduation day for her daughter....and Orange hair was not going to cut it!!!
After frantically calling all over the Chicago area at 6:00 Pm to find someone to fix her hair...she resorted to the rash statement, "I AM HAVING A HAIR EMERGENCY... I NEED HELP NOW!"
When she walked into the hair place that had taken pity on her...the hairdresser took one look at her and immediately called a conference with about 3 other hairdressers to consult about how to fix her hair. In the end, after many hours of work on her hair...all was well. ( One of my favorite things about this story was that about a month after this occurrence, when Neva went to make another appointment...everyone in the shop "Knew" her.....they all said, "Oh,...you're Neva...we heard about you.")

So where does that leave you when you need a haircut...the salon ??? or the haircuttery???

Once you find a good hairdresser, it is golden!!! Trying to find a good hairdresser is the problem. I used the same hairdresser for several years and recently she moved to Florida. It was a sad day... I am still looking for her replacement....without too much success, so far. Partly it is my fault because everyone knows that any hairdresser worth anything is always busy. I always wait until I can't stand my hair one more minute to get it cut....not by choice but it just always creeps up on me that it is time to get it cut. I want that instant gratification to get it cut immediately! One of my friends was telling the story about "losing" her hairdresser because he commited suicide. She said she felt really sorry for his death, but she said she was having a hard time not being mad at him for making her have to pick a new hairdresser. Women definately get attatched to their hairdressers!

I got my haircut today. It is just "OK" so I guess I'll keep searching for that new hairdresser.
Everytime I complain about the haircut experience, my husband's response is:
"The difference between a good haircut and bad one is.....5 days."

OH TO BE A MAN!!!

Why I hate hotdogs

2006-02-01T21:15:00.000-05:00

Most everybody in my family likes hotdogs...some more than others.
We always have hotdogs for the annual OBB (Owens Backyard Bash). Some might call them world famous Owens hotdogs because we make them the West Virginia way...with chili and coleslaw.
It is kinda funny to watch people at the OBB "dip" their plates. (That "dip" terminology is totally West-by-God-Virginian, by the way. For all you non- hillbillies that means means fill your plate up with the various items to be served.)
Some people eat the hot dog chili on their plate as an entree, some eat the coleslaw as a side, but the ones in the know always eat West Virginia style hotdogs with chili and slaw...AWWH YEAH!

(Just for one of those weird facts to insert here cause that is how my mind works...at least 120 hot dogs were consumed at the last OBB....and that's alot of hot dogs!!)

Well, even though we make a mean hot dog...I don't do hot dogs!

When the boys were younger and all of them were playing organized baseball, we spent untold hours at the ball field. When I say untold hours....I mean untold hours! Think about it....3 different baseball team schedules plus one husband that was always at the field umpiring (hence the GR8UMP moniker).....

That boils down to quite a few games to practice for, to be played, watched, or umpired. Sometimes we would literally be at the field everynight and all day on Saturdays. My best days were when it rained or when all three (4 including the ump) had a game at the same time. When that happened, we only had to be there for a couple of hours versus all day. The trade off was that I did lots of running between fields to see each kid play and I usually only got to see a few plays per kid. That was ok in the overall scope of things.

Now the only thing available to eat at the ball field was pizza or HOTDOGS!
They didn't have hotdogs with chili and slaw...only ketcup when you were lucky. When you are hungry and have been at the ball field all day...even a plain hotdog looks good.
I shudder to think how many hotdogs our family consumed during our baseball days! I think we singlehandedly kept the snack bar in business! I was thinking the other day that we were at the ballfields from the time Tommy played t-ball at age 6 through Michal playing high school baseball.....with Jeffrey thrown in there too.....that is about 13 years! I think I overdosed on hotdogs!!!

My family still loves hotdogs....maybe it is nostalgia of their fun baseball days (and they really were a lot of fun)....but for me....our baseball days are WHY I HATE HOTDOGS!

Happy Birthday Neva!

2006-01-31T08:57:00.000-05:00

So today is my sister Neva's birthday....Happy Birthday!! It seems like only yesterday that we were young and sharing a room together....Where has the time gone?

Remember when we used to look out the window of our bedroom to see our friends playing when it was still light outside and we were stuck in bed???
Remember when you colored Mom & Dad's friend's new white convertible car with crayons.....and refused to admit it ( even though they saw you in the process)???
Remember Strawberry Festivals in Buckhannon and watching movies at Grandma and Papaw's drive in????
Remember when we were bribed by our parents with Cheetos into staying out in the country with "Mom" and Sally and Leonore....with the outhouse, no running water, and the chamber pot so our parents could go on a ski trip????
Remember when we used to sight see in DC with grandpa Ralph and make him climb the Washington Monument stairs????
Remember band trips and parades????
Remember when........The list can go on and on....that's what sisters are all about!!!

Yeah, I remember too..... Happy Birthday!

Writing style idea courtesy of Tommy

Welcome Shelby!

2006-01-28T14:27:00.000-05:00

Welcome Shelby to the family! Shelby is now officially the new daughter of our niece, Melissa and her husband Jeremy. It took a lot of tense moments, joys and sorrows to get to this point but the end result is a brand new baby girl to join the extended Owens family tree.

To recap: Melissa(daughter to Tom's sister, Kathi) and Jeremy have been happily married for about 10 years, give or take a few. They travelled all over the US working and living in their camper/trailer and having wonderful experiences. They settled in Wisconsin, bought a house and were living a fun life with their dog,Clay. It looked like they were not going to be able to have children, and they were ok with that. Out of the blue, they were approached by a coworker to inquire if they might be interested in adopting a baby. The coworker was friends with the mother of a teenager that had gotten pregnant. The teenage wanted to give the baby up for adoption. Well, as things progressed...all looked like it was going well and a baby was soon to be Melissa's and Jeremy's.
The baby was born on Christmas Eve. After an emotional farewell with the birth mom, the new adoptive parents took Shelby home.
Well.......the teenage mom called at day 16 and said she wanted the baby back!!! No one can read that statement and not shudder!!
Needless to say, it was devastating for Melissa & Jeremy. The extended family was devastated for them, too. It looked like all was lost....Melissa wrote the most wonderful note to the extended family explaining what had transpired and everyone was so proud of how they handled this horrible turn of events. She basically said it was always a possiblity the birth mom could change her mind until the papers were final. She wrote that she and Jeremy had a wonderful life before the baby, and as hard as it may be without Shelby, they would have a wonderful life regardless.
Prayers were definately answered when after only one night, the birth mom again changed her mind and decided to go throught with the adoption.
For all parties involved, it seemed like a good idea to place the baby in foster care until the final papers could be signed. Two weeks later, after a few setbacks and tense moments, the court date arrived. Both the birth mom and father signed away all parental rights giving the baby to Melissa and Jeremy! There still is some state paperwork that needs to be taken care of but it is only a formality with the state....the birthmom cannot change her mind again.

So we all are excited to see the baby and welcome her to the family! Congratulations to Melissa and Jeremy! Welcome Shelby!

Reality show junkie?

2006-01-27T22:13:00.000-05:00

Ok, I have to admit that I like reality TV shows. I'm not really sure why I enjoy the fool things but I do enjoy a little Survivor, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Wife Swap, the Nanny, the Apprentice, The Bachelor/Bachelorette, etc. The list could go on and on because they seem to keep coming up with even dumber ideas all the time.

Maybe it comes from being able to take a peak into other people's lives without having to invest much effort. It may be that I'm a sucker for seeing how things will end. I know sometimes I really don't even like what I am watching but can't seem to turn that channel for fear of missing that all important moment that will finally make some sense of these shows. (It is a little scary how many screwed up, bitchy, crazy people they show!)

My sons and husband are very vocal with their opinions of the various shows. My middle son refuses to even be in the same room when some of them are on... He says that the bachelor should be embarrassed to call himself a man! My husband can sarcastically respond with comments about all of them without even looking up from his computer.

I decided that this season I was going to use self control and will boycott The Bachelor. It really is a waste of time and those couples never work out in the end anyway. I guess my son really had the right idea all along about those pathetic fools.

I'm not sure I'm ready to give up ALL of them yet....so, Reality junkie??? I think so! But I will keep trying to wean myself away from them...Just don't let me get started watching that first episode....I can't resist seeing what happens next!

What's for dinner?

2006-01-25T12:08:00.000-05:00

If there is one question that causes major grief at my house, it would be "What's for Dinner???"
As most of you know, I do not cook! I hate being in the kitchen and have never enjoyed the "cooking" experience. My husband is a great cook and does all of the cooking in our house. (What a MAN! Gotta love him for that!)

Now, eating is a different story...
When I was growing up, I even had a nickname that referenced my love of eating. (No, I am not sharing that with you!) In reference to my love of eating, my husband likes to share his anecdote about eating out when the boys were little. He would say to the boys when they were asking to leave the resturant, "No, we can't leave yet....Mom hasn't cleaned up all your plates!"

Once, when my middle son was little, he wrote down all the things he loves to eat. He very neatly wrote two columns with the headings "Meals Dad Cooks" and "Meals Mom Cooks."

Under the Dad category he listed things like: turkey, mashed potatoes, spaghetti, hamburgers and a variety of other meals.
Under the Mom category he listed: McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, and Pizza Hut! This is a true story...not made up!

I admit, because I don't cook, we do eat out ALOT! Deciding what to eat, or where to eat out, is ALWAYS a big issue. It got to the point that when someone asked the question, what's for dinner?, the response was, " You asked, so it's your turn to decide."

I have recently taken up watching the food network (Yeah, I know that makes no sense for someone who doesn't cook...but there you have it.) After watching untold hours of 30 min. meals, I said to my Mom," Watching them whip up those meals, ALMOST makes me want to cook!" I usually just end up telling my husband,"That looks good...you should make it."

I got so tired of the dinner question the other day that I actually decided to make "Shephard's pie." It sounded pretty easy. I thought, "Rachel Ray makes it look easy, I should be able to do this too!" Well, it was a funny sight seeing me chop onions, peel garlic, and prepare the ingredients for the pie. (Man, that garlic peeling stuff is a lot harder than it looks!) My husband actually took a picture of me "COOKING". The pie turned out pretty good for a novice cook, if I do say so myself! It definately took more than 30 minutes, though....It again confirmed that I do not enjoy being in the kitchen.

I guess tonight it will be the same o'le story: "What's for dinner?" How about: Glory Days, Applebee's, Tony's, Chick-a-filet, McDonald's, Arby's, Chili's and the list goes on..........

P.S. all suggestions are welcome!!

Blog? What's a blog?

2006-01-23T16:03:00.000-05:00

My sister,Neva, sent me this picture today. I thought it was pretty funny considering we both are "new" to the blog scene. (The fact that we are both huge dog lovers was also a reason I found it funny.)

When I mention that I have started blogging to some of my friends and family, I have gotten many questions about what blogs are, why a person would do a blog, and various other responses about the blog world. Some even expressed concern about security issues for my computer. I think a good number of them are really surprised ( or even a little embarassed if you're my sons) that I have started a blog. I was once one of those uninformed folks that had not heard about or enjoyed reading blogs. I have quickly become a blog reader addict. I don't think I will make much of a blog writer, but it sure has been fun to see the comments and feedback on my posts.

So now when people say, "Blog? What's a blog?" I can refer them to MY blog with some degree of pride....even if at times it is just pointless, incessant words or barking as the comic states!

Everybody is a critic...

2006-01-20T17:09:00.000-05:00

Ok, so now that I have added a few stories to my blog, I am discovering that there is alot of pressure when you write blog stories.

I have gotten alot of feedback, mainly from my family, on my blogging. While I am really glad that they are reading it, I find myself thinking: It takes a brave person to put your thoughts out there for everyone to read... even if some of the thoughts do ramble around a bit. Especially if you are a person who really hated writing in school!

Comments (not already shared under the comment section):
1. "You're last topic was a little hard to follow." You are writing in the passive form...you should have an active verb in there somewhere. I gotta tell you that I was really impressed with this comment....it meant that someone had actually listened in English and learned something!

2. You should write shorter blogs. (This from a family member that doesn't pick up a book, EVER...well, to be fair, maybe they pick up a magazine to take in the "library" once and a while.)

3. Suggestions for topics to write about....the list is varied on this one. (Keep those suggestions coming...I can always use the help.) I will look positively on all comments and just be glad that someone is taking the time to read them.

My last comment to the peanut gallery is: try it yourself and see how YOU do on the blog circuit.

But remember: Everybody is a critic!!!!

A Day in Court

2006-01-19T16:53:00.000-05:00

So I had my first subpoena and trip to the courtroom the other day. I gotta tell you that it was definately an experience and I came away from the proceedings with the opinion that I never want to be in a courtroom as a defendant.

Since I work for a doctor, I was subpoenaed by a detective to be a witness in a drug faud case. The defendant was illegally calling in drugs to different pharmacies using my doctor's name. I was not nervous at all about what the district attorney might ask me because the facts were pretty clear cut and all I basically would be required to do was state that the said defendant was not a patient of my doctor.

I actually was very nervous about driving to a new area, parking, and finding the right court room. For those of you that know me, you know I am directionally challenged (and borrowing an expression from my middle son) not qualified to drive to a place I've never been before. Fortunately, my practice administrator at work, took pity on me and decided to drive me there. ( Bless you!)

I'm sure the proceedings were fairly routine in the courtroom that day, but I gotta tell you that the whole deal was a bit overwhelming. The attorneys were speaking legalese, the judge was asking questions of the defendants like: "You are pleading guilty. Were you coerced into giving up your rights? and Do you understand you are giving up your right to ever question your accuser?" and various other very final type questions. There seemed to be a firm, no nonsense, even intimidating type atmosphere in that court room.

We heard a couple of cases that day. One about a guy who was doing 88 mph in 55 mph zone. He must have had some other things in his history too but it all happened so fast I couldn't keep up. He ended up losing his liscense for 3 months. I was shocked to hear he could have gone to jail for 12 months... The penalties all seemed pretty stiff to me, and the baliff actually took him away in handcuffs. So there he was in his suit and handcuffs .
Another case was a girl that looked about 18 who was stealing money from her employer. Her little baby was out in the hall in a car seat. The district attorney seemed a little nicer to her, but the judge was all business and kept wanting some way to monitor her payments of restitution. She didn't get jail time because it was suspended and she didn't get taken away in handcuffs.

The case that I was subpoenaed for was for 16 counts of felony drug fraud. The guy ended up pleading down to 6 counts. He evidently has made a practice of obtaining drugs illegally since 2003, been in and out of jail in the past, and continues to plague the detectives and legal system. None to the people who were subpeonaed that day in this case were actually asked anything since he took the plea bargain deal. He doesn't have to report to jail until April. I looked around at the witnesses and thought what a horrible waste of time this all was. There was an emergency room doctor, 2 pharmacists, one office administrator of a big doctor's office, one nurse, and a detective present. All those healthcare workers and the detective definately were pulled away from important jobs without any real resolution to this guys drug problem. The gal sitting next to me said, " I would probably be put in jail for jay walking and this guy gets off with very little."

It is an interesting analogy that the one guy was taken away in cuffs and the other will have many more free days before he must serve. I could only think: Well, that gives him time to call in a bunch more drugs till April, but that shows my cynical side.

Lesson learned for me was that I never want to be in any courtroom, except as an observer.

I know somebody who died like that...

2006-01-18T12:31:00.000-05:00

Being a mother is one of the hardest jobs in the world. Being a mother , a nurse, and having a compulsive personality is even harder. (NO comments from the peanut gallery on the compulsive personality are allowed.)

When you have 3 boys growing up in one household you always live in fear that someone will get physical and get hurt. Therefore, there was one steadfast rule in our household. We may have been lenient on some of our rules but this ONE rule was unbreakable :
NO ROUGHHOUSING!

Our house was always the house where all the neighborhood kids came to hang out....sometimes for days on end...and we really enjoyed having them and never minded that they were there. It was sometimes a challenge to get the whole group of kids to stick to the no roughhousing rule, but in most cases, they all knew the rule and complied.

While trying to enforce this no roughhousing rule, I would generally make some point of telling experiences where people got hurt doing dumb things. Being a nurse gave me many stories of how people do DUMB things and get hurt. I usually made some comment about the fact that no one EXPECTED to get hurt but it sometimes happens. Being a worrier, as all mothers are to a point, I talked about everything.
For example:
Boys: Mom we are going out to play in the snow and ride our sleds.
Mom: Be careful, one of my good friends in high school ran into a tree while sledding and died. (This really was a true story.) I usully expounded on the details a little more to try to make my point.
Boys: We are going out to play basketball.
Mom: Be careful, you could: fall, break your leg, get hit in the face or many other endings to the be careful comment that may fit the occassion.

There are a number of things that really send me over the edge in reminders to be careful. Some of my real hangups include:

Fireworks: I took care of a guy that burned his private parts when I was just a brand new nurse and that really made an impression. I also told on many occassions, if I needed to change up the story, that the boys' uncle lost his finger while doing fireworks. The thinking on changing up the warning was to show that it could happen to them too!

Lightening: I hate lightening and am really afraid of it. Whenever the boys were playing baseball and some coach (Coach Dad included) said, Oh, that thunder is miles away so there is no need to worry about the lightening, I always told some story about someone getting hurt or killed. I always quoted the safety rule of : when you hear thunder you should take cover. ( I'll save the story about the one coach who was out on the field using a rake to smooth the field, while it was thundering and lightening up a storm. He did have the sense to have the boys off the field, but my thought on that was "What kind of example is this setting!!!")
I still to this day warn the men of my family who work at the golf course to seek cover when they hear thunder.

Driving: the boys can quote my warnings about driving safety because I just can't seem to keep quiet on the subject. If I start to mention a warning about driving they usually interrupt me and say, Yeah we know mom, don't speed, pay attention, don't drink and drive, and yes we will call when we get there.....

I don't apologize for worrying about my family. They may get really annoyed with me over some of my comments but I can only hope they know it is because I love them. I hope that my reminders help keep them safe some of the time, because the real fear here is that fate can always bite you in the butt at any time. No one plans to end up hurt or worse.

Even when they were still in grade school, they soon realized my personality just wouldn't let me worry in silence. Hence, they started even at that young age to interrupt my warnings with:
Yeah, mom: "I KNOW SOMEBODY WHO DIED LIKE THAT!"

I can only hope they understand this compulsion when they have kids of their own.

Mother of 3 guys and 1 Husband

2006-01-09T15:58:00.000-05:00

I recently got interested in blogs from reading one of my son's friend's blog: http://twentysixyears.blogspot.com/ . It is funny, well written, and Cara is very disciplined about writing frequently. You can tell she is a "professional." (I also like her husband J's blog too! http://thingsjustinlikes.blogspot.com/) I know I will never be able to write like that, and I also know I will never be as disciplined, but I thought I might try writing a few things.

Many of you may be asking about the title of my blog "This is my question..." but those of you that know me, will not have any doubt about why this is my title. I do have the reputation of asking a lot of questions. (Hence the nickname of "20 questions"). I also admit that sometimes I don't listen to all the answers to all my questions. I want to title this first post "mother of 3 guys and 1 husband."

Since the only kids I had were males, (3 of them), and I have a husband, that pretty much made me the only female in my household until my oldest son got married. (Thank goodness for Becky because she does have a female outlook and helps even out the playing field of living with males!) Living with all males definitely is an adventure sometimes. The book that talks about women from Venus and men from Mars probably covers this phenomena much better than I ever could but I do have to laugh sometimes about how different men and women think, act, talk and respond.

I like to tell this story in defense of why I ask questions of my guys. (It also shows how women and men look at things very differently!) It goes like this...

My son works at a golf course and has worked there for many years. He was over one night to eat dinner and said very casually that he had an upsetting day at work that day.

For the women reading this...their next thought{a question} is usually: What happened at work today to upset you? But my son actually paused before continuing with his story and acted like nothing unusual had been said. Being the mother and the questioning type, I of course asked, "What happened at work today to upset you?"

He said," One of the new guys cut off his finger".

Of course in my mind that generated about a million questions: How did that happen?, who was it that got hurt?, what happened to him?, is he alright?, etc..... I really do not think it is asking too much to get the who, what, when, where, how questions when talking about a guy cutting off his finger. (And I bet I am not the only female out there reading this that was thinking the same questions!)

Well, eventually, after several of those types of questions, I got the story about the injured coworker.
Who: New guy, not sure his name, Hispanic, dad works for the golf course too .
What happened: thought the mower was stopped and stuck his finger in the back of one of the mowers to clear out the grass, supervisor called for ambulance, argued with the 911 operator "Just get an ambulance out here, I can hear someone screaming and it is likely a hand or foot!
How old was he: "Young" was the answer. (Now just as an aside, "young" causes many more questions: Is that young to you or young to me? There is a difference! {He was about 16 yrs old}.)

Eventually, after my son was totally annoyed with the question process, it was all clear to me what had happened to that coworker. My son did have all the answers, up to that time frame, of the status of the coworker. I was actually glad he had included us in his day to day happenings, and shared things that made an impression with him.

Now being a nurse, I worried about the coworker......I kept thinking: How is the kid? Did they save his finger? Is he still working?

Next enter my youngest son into the story: He was not at the golf course when the occassion happened but went to work the next day. Now I ask the females reading this: In any work situation, especially if women are working there, wouldn't you expect some talk about how the kid was doing the next day after he cut off his fingers and an ambulance picked him up?
When the youngest son came home that day, I asked,"how is the kid and did they save his fingers?" Reply: " I don't know Mom, I didn't hear."

Well, let me just say that after asking my youngest "how the kid was and did they save his finger?" for TWO WEEKS, everyday single day, the middle son finally told me (put me out of my misery) that he was fine, back to work, and no they were unable to save his 2 fingers.

Now, this is my question....if your mom was asking you everyday the same question, wouldn't you try to find the answer just to shut her up?

The kicker to this story is that my husband said, " I don't know why you had to ask any questions...it was clear what happened."
MY reply :" What do you mean it was clear???? The boys didn't tell us anything of substance without a little prodding."
My husband very matter of factly: "You know they work at a golf course, it was probably a hand or foot in a mower, and since they provided no further info....everything was ok."

My point exactly...Men and women think differently and I am the mother of 3 guys and 1 husband who never( to be fair, not never, but frequently) answer the who, what, when, where, and how questions!