New Bed and a Wet Floor

Check out Chimi's new bed.  It's so soft and comfy, he will look forward to being shut in his bathroom now. His old inside bed went outside to his doghouse since that bed was pretty waterlogged and stinky from the hurricane.  It's a good thing Linda bought him the bed tonight, or she never would have known the toilet was leaking!  She's not even sure how many days it was leaking either.  Every morning before Chim comes out of his bed, she mops the bathroom floor with the spray cleaner and a Swiffer pad then dries it with an old towel.  (No wonder he's afraid of the mop, that's the first thing he sees every morning!)  Even though he doesn't have an accident 99% of the nights, she still walks on the floor barefoot and has a compulsion to clean it first.  She must have been mopping up the floor and not even realizing it.  Tonight when she knelt down to change his bedding, her knees got damp.  She checked the source and realized that the oval valve thing near the floor was slowly dripping.  It wouldn't turn by hand so she got this handy wrench thing from her tool box to shut off the water. Now that the tank is empty and the water is turned off,  it should be OK til tomorrow. 

While she was at Costco buying the bed, they had these 4 new woobies for only $8.  At two dollars a piece, she won't feel bad when they get destroyed.  She is only giving him one at a time or he'll be overwhelmed and have a melt down with more than one woobie to suck.  Linda gave me one, but I had zero interest in it so she took it back.  He chose the chipmunk first.  He already chewed a hole in its head, so Linda pulled all the stuffing and squeakers out so he wouldn't choke.  Now it's perfectly flat and ready to become his new favorite.

Meet Danny Webber

Take 6 minutes out of your busy day and watch Danny Webber meet Indianapolis QB Andrew Luck.

Oh, and Linda says you should probably grab a box of tissues first. 

Tick Removal 101

Surgical tools

While Linda was teaching, she got a few frantic texts from Jerry.  After he walked us tonight, he was giving me rubs and hugs and found a giant tick right on my shoulder!  He immediately logged on to You Tube to find out the correct way to remove it.

Pull straight up and don't leave the head

  According to the videos, it said you can't use regular drugstore tweezers, you have to have special tick removal tweezers.  He raced to Target to get all the supplies for my surgery.  Not only did he buy the tick tweezers, he also got rubbing alcohol and Bactine to make sure I didn't get contaminated.  Since he wasn't sure if it was a deer tick with Lyme disease, he saved the blood sucker in some of the alcohol and left it for Linda to take to the vet in case I show any Lyme symptoms.  The surgery was a success and I only yelped for a brief second.  The Bactine smell made Chim crazier than normal though.  He was all over me trying to discover what the strange odor was. 

Linda is tired from her 3 classes and is going to bed in a few minutes.  Most adults are just getting started for the night at 9:00 p.m, but its lights out at our house on Tuesdays. Tomorrow she has her regular schedule since the storm is over. 

Drying Out

A quick check around the house and yard showed no ill effects from the storm.  Our downstairs is totally dry as much as she could see and feel.  A friend from church might have water coming up through the foundation, so I guess you don't know for sure with this much rain.  Linda just got home from errands and a haircut.  There was one stop sign down and a mighty tree fell during the night blocking the parkway she drives on.  The crews dragged it out of the road, but she could still see the smaller branches and a million pine needles covering the roadway.  Linda tried to get a photo but the people in traffic behind her would not have been happy. 

This was the drain this morning after the rain had stopped.  Imagine what the flow was last night?

One of the more expensive fixes Linda did to our home was a french drain in the backyard.  It was very expensive, but has been worth every penny.  Our yard is a steep hill. The neighbors behind us also are on the same hill.  Water runs off their yard into our yard and pools at the bottom under our deck and near the foundation. The french drain takes all the water from the yard and ferries it to the street. Before the drain, big dog Snickers, would sink in the muddy pooled water up to his elbows. (Do dogs have elbows?)  She would have to bathe him every single time he went out in the backyard after it rained.  He was such an obedient dog.  She would wipe just his paws and say "Snickers, bath tub" and he would jump in.  One of the errands Linda did was stop at Dog-a-Do to see if they could take me today for a grooming.  It was closed, so I didn't have to go.

This was from another grooming. I told you I wasn't fat, just fluffy.

All Is Well

The Frankenstorm has passed us and now the clean-up begins.  Linda is so thankful that we never lost power.  There are millions and millions of families not so thankful this morning.  There have been deaths, devastating flooding north of us in NY, NJ, blizzards in WV (up to 3'), downed trees crushing homes and cars, people losing everything they have due to their homes being underwater.  Our town got about 5" of rain and it's still raining a little.  Linda thinks she sees wet snow coming down, but it's probably just fat raindrops.  In a few minutes, she is going to get dressed (yes, she's still in her robe at 9:00 a.m.) and do a complete check outside and inside our house.  During the worst of the wind overnight, it sounded like a piece of siding was flapping against the house near her bedroom window. Once, our gutter pulled lose from the house and a contractor came and fixed it, so it could be it came off again. She was totally at peace and not afraid once.  Even Chim and I slept like a puppy and never made a peep all night.

"I'm ready for the cold weather"

Chim finally broke his resolve and used the wee wee pad during the night.  I never forgot what I learned when I was just a tiny 22 oz. puppy.  Using the pad was the only way I could go since the grass was over my head and the steps were 3 times my size.  Linda had to show Chim the mop again this morning to get him to go down the deck steps.  (Don't worry animal lovers, she just has to pick it two inches off the deck and shake it a little for him to obey her.  She does not even pretend to go after him with it.  Chim is afraid of a roll of paper towels and a grocery bag too, so you can imagine what happens when he sees the vacuum or swiffer mop.) He never dropped his woobie yesterday.  Every time the wind would pick up, he'd suck it like the end of the world was coming.

Baby Chim's first woobie

Linda has the whole day open since her morning classes were canceled.  She is thinking it would be a great time to start organizing the two downstairs bedrooms and second family room.  She'll probably just think about it though. 

p.s.  I can't believe it.  The same boy who has been riding his bike up and down the street all day yesterday, just rode past again.  He looks to be about 10 or 11.  Even when it was pouring and winds were whipping, the kid was riding his bike.  Every 15 minutes or so he would pass, so he must have been doing the neighborhood loop that we walk everyday.  At first Linda thought his parents were emergency workers or something and had to leave him alone and they had no idea he was outside. Who lets their kid ride a bike in a hurricane?  But seeing him again this AM, very weird. 

This boy seems to enjoy biking in the rain too.

Still Have Power

Linda just got a call from a church friend checking up on her.  We are so blessed and thankful to have people watching out for us.  She was telling him how soaked she got from the multiple times she tried to get Chim to take care of business in the yard.  I went right away and was allowed to come back into the house.  Earlier, she had to corral him in the upper yard for a full 2 minutes in driving rain to try and get him to go.  He just kept panicking... more dramatic than she's ever seen him.  Linda's friend suggested she put him in the garage to go.  She can line the floor with newspaper and pee pads.  This way both of them will be dry and safe from the wind.  I hope he goes or else he's stuck in his bathroom with the door shut and the floor lined with pads.  There is NO WAY she is letting him pee on the carpet or new hardwood. 

Don't be jealous when you look at what Linda is cooking.  She made pasta and lil' shrimps with fresh spinach, some frozen veggies, hot pepper flakes and Trader Joe's chili basil sauce.  It's making me bark at the stove, but it's too seasoned for my stomach.

Not her usual toast or cereal dinner.  She loves having time to cook and eat real food

Yay! Chim just cried to go back outside (10 minutes after Linda changed into dry clothes for the 5th time.)  She still had to carry him to the upper yard, but he peed right away. Now he's so happy and excited to be sucking his woobie on the pillow.  Linda is not as happy. There are wet sweatshirts and jeans hanging in the bathrooms drying out from all the times shes tried to get him to go.  The lower yard is soggy wet and starting to pool water, but so far our house is dry inside.  Supposedly our windows are rated to withstand winds 120 miles per hour, but "they" are recommending you sleep in an interior room on a lower level.  For us, that's the downstairs hallway or laundry room.   The news is saying people in our county are starting to loose power now.  Let's keep our paws crossed we don't lose it.

Whats the deal with his weird demon eye. 

More Ideas

Sorry for the multiple posts today.  Since Linda is home (yay!) she is staying busy around the house and thinking of more ideas for storm prep.

Our bathtub is full of water.  This seems like a great idea if we eventually have no water.  She can flush the toilets, and use some to clean the dishes. Next, she made hard boiled some eggs for quick protein snacks should we have no electricity. Both Chim and I love eggs, so it will make a good snack for us too. 

Next up, it seemed like cupcakes were important to have on hand.  She made vanilla/funfeti/fall cupcakes.  She is letting them cool off before she starts decorating them.  Twelve cupcakes and 2 days stuck in the house... I'm just wondering what in the world she was thinking.

Another storm prep idea she did was to fill her freezer with Ziploc bags.  Now she has a ready made cooler!  If we loose power, some of them will go right in the fridge to keep our food fresh.

Her favorite and probably best idea if we loose power is the ability to have hot coffee.  Back in the day when her Mom was just married, she got this old-school fondue pot.  The lid and cooking sticks are still downstairs.  Linda made some coffee and put it in the fridge.  In the morning, she is going to pour a cup in the fondue pot and use the little candles underneath in the sterno holder to heat it up! 

Of course we have blankets, flashlights and plenty of dry kibble if we need to resort to that when the chicken runs out.  She also looked online and got the emergency numbers for all the utilities and insurance. 

This morning, Linda was chatting with the checkout guy at Whole Foods.  They were talking about the storm and no joke, he said the whole storm was politically motivated to make Obama look good.  Um.. I don't think so hippie boy.  He may be the President of the United States, but the last I heard he isn't the one controlling the weather.  The guy also said when his shift was over he was going to find a swollen stream and go kayaking. 

And So It Begins....

The rain is coming down, but no wind to speak of yet.  The gym she teaches at Monday morning didn't have all their ducks in a row.  No one told the front desk staff that classes were ON, so all the people who called were told they were canceled.  The workers even told the instructors who called that classes were canceled.  Linda got there 1/2 hour early and they were surprised to see her.  She stuck around and ended up teaching a few songs of Combat when a woman came 25 minutes late and then 3 people were working out on the floor and came in for Pump when they saw her roaming around.  Her immediate boss emailed her that yes, she should teach and ooops, sorry.

The raincoat would do no good. Chim would be petrified of it!

The big problem so far today is getting Chim off the deck.  I used the pee-pee pads like I was trained, but he is just holding it.  Linda even walked him down the steps with an umbrella, and he just stood there with his tail tucked between his legs shaking and crying.  Sooner or later he'll have to go.  She is keeping him at her side at all times so he does not go on the carpet or hardwood.  Every 15 minutes she's putting him in the bathroom with the pads. 

We had our chicken/rice breakfast and now Linda is going to make a hot meal in case the power goes out.  Poor Tier had to go to work today, but Taylor is working from home.  Linda's classes are canceled this afternoon, so she is going to be cozy at home.  She's prayed over all the rooms to keep them dry and windows from breaking in the predicted 50 mile per hour winds.  UPDATE: The weather lady on TV just said up to 80 mile per hour winds.  YIKES

Penny Loves Donuts Too!

So far all we've had is rain and a little bit of wind.  Linda woke us up at 6:30 a.m. to go outside.  I was an obedient girl and listened when she said "outside pee pee pad."  Even though it was pouring, I ran down the steps to the yard and quickly did my business.  Chim would not go. She had to finally come outside and stand behind him, but he still would not go down the stairs. The last resort... The Mop.  He hates the mop that she leaves in the corner up against the house.  The second she took it away from the wall, he scampered lickity-split down the steps into the yard.  She's not going to feed us until she is home from her morning classes though.  There isn't enough time for us to eat and for her to walk him back into the yard to go to use the yard again.  She has to leave shortly to teach.  Linda's prediction:  zero members in the 8:30 class and 5 in the 9:30.   The gym is right in the middle of a downtown office complex and I think just about all offices are shut down for today.  At least she'll still get paid.  There is a Whole Foods next door, so she can wander the aisles waiting for her 9:30 class to start.  (As we are typing this, the winds are picking up...yikes. Linda's little car only weighs about 29 pounds.)   Tune back in later for a full report. 

 P.S.  Happy Baby Day Kara!!

Donut Frenzy

Schools in our area are already closed for Monday and Tuesday because of the impending weather.  When schools are closed, Linda usually does not teach her classes.  The gyms keep it simple by canceling classes if schools don't open due to weather.  This time, only one of her three gyms is going by the rule.  Why?  Because it's not even raining yet!  Members wouldn't be too happy if it was totally dry in the morning and their favorite class (ie Body Combat followed by Body Pump!) were canceled.  Some of the gyms do a great job telling members what is going on through FB, Twitter, emails and recorded messages on their hot line, in other gyms the member has to call the front desk.  This means the poor front desk person will be going crazy in the morning fielding calls.  Since Linda has an 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. class, she'll most probably be teaching... but she is thinking maybe not her afternoon classes.

Linda needs one of these unitards

We feel prepared for a loss of electricity with enough food, water, ice and candles.  The only thing she did not prepare for is the chance Chim and I can't go outside to pee if it's a hurricane.  Neither one of us go out in a drizzle, let alone gale force winds and driving rain.  She is going to stop before church tonight and get pee-pee pads.  Chim has never used one before, but he'll figure it out once she covers the floor and shuts him in the downstairs bathroom for an hour.  He still squats to pee because I guess he does not know he is a boy dog.

Try asking the cashier what aisle the Poopy Pee Pee Pads are on with a straight face.

OK, Linda is back home from church.  Target wasn't even crowded, but it's because everyone already cleared out the important stuff.

No bread

There were a few crushed loaves of white bread left and a bag of Spicy Hot Dorito chips.  She didn't take a picture of the water aisle, but it too was bare.

No Plates

Hardly any paper plates or napkins were left.  I guess people won't be able to wash their dishes so it makes sense to have paper plates, right?  Same with napkins.  If there is a problem with water, you'll go around with sticky hands.

And her favorite... No Donuts!!  There were only two bags left on the entire shelf.  Folks need their donuts during emergencies.  Other things like OJ, milk, and tuna were also just about gone, but people were giving Linda very strange looks as she was taking pictures and she was afraid someone would call security. 

Best Friends

Linda couldn't resist taking a picture of Tierney and Taylor after church this morning.  Their outfits looked like they coordinated them.  Look how giant Taylor is!  Tierney is 5'11" tall and she seems so tiny and petite standing next to him. Plus, you can tell Taylor is standing a little down hill from her too.

In this picture, they look like two young missionaries about to leave for far away lands.  From this view, Tierney could actually be Sarah.  Both are tall beautiful brunettes.

The Big Bed

This custom fridge/freezer is something like $34,000.  No joke.

During the storm this summer, lots of Linda's friends were without power for a week or longer.  Since the amazing Deracho was such a surprise, people didn't have time to plan for it.  She has heard stories of food in the fridge/freezer rotting so bad that when they finally opened them to clean it out, the whole house smelled horrible.  If our area does lose power tomorrow, Linda wanted to get ahead of the storm.  Yesterday, she cleaned out the refrigerator.  There were old 1/2 full bottles of salad dressing from cave man days that went in the trash.  She hates mayo, yet she found a brand new unopened jar of mayo that expired 6 months ago!  The freezer also had a good cleaning.  Any opened bags of veggies that were on the oldish side; all her snack foods  (poppers, cheese sticks, pot stickers) that were opened went into the trash bag.  She cooked a bunch of stuff to eat this week, and the rest she'll keep in the freezer with her gallon Ziploc bags of ice.  (Which reminds her to make more this morning.) 

Remember Linda's Target deal of the century?  Well, here is the new Big Bed!  Linda loves it so much.  We just have to get some kind of window treatments to match.  She wants something really simple because drapes hanging to the floor look grandma-ish to her (But wait, she IS a grandma!)  She also realized the photo over the bed is way too small.  That's easy enough to fix since we have a room downstairs of pictures, prints and mirrors that she can replace it with. The little black light needs to be replaced too because it's broken and the shade falls off.

80% off Bedspread!  With her $10 gift card, it was $19.99!!

It's hard to tell from the photo, but the spread is actually gray with a black embossed leaf print.  The picture makes it look shiny, but it's a matte finish.  In person, the spread makes the black leather headboard look amazing.   Linda just loves our house.  It's small and old school (1982 area) compared to our counties standards (1st or 2nd richest county in America at one time, maybe still is), but to Linda, it's a haven of peace and tranquility.  Every single time she opens our front door and comes home in, she never wants to leave again.  Her favorite place to read or pray is in the recliner in the living room. (Yesterdays post.. the chair to the right of the National Geographic safari lamp.)  She turns off most of the lights and just has a dim lamp and the twinkle lights from the palm tree lit.  Speaking of leaving the house... she better start getting ready for church!

To Chip or Not to Chip?

I'm not talking about our dear, departed kitty this time.  I'm talking about those tiny little rice size chips that can help find wayward pets.  Chim and I both have a microchip under our skin.  Linda made sure that we would be reunited with her just in case we ever got lost.  The chances of either one of us running away is really low, but better safe than sorry, right?  Micro-chipping pets is a good idea, but what about kids?  Parents of students from two schools in San Antonio aren't too happy about the schools new micro-chipping policy.  Students have to carry an ID card that uses radio-enabled computer chips to tell where kids are at all times.  Bathroom, hallways, classroom.. at any moment admins know exactly where the kids are.  Is this an invasion of privacy or a great idea to keep kids from skipping school?  Would you want your child chipped or do you think chips are for pets (or eating!!)

Busy, Busy, Busy

Love Fall!

The only thing people are talking about in our town (and three surrounding states) is the giant storm that is coming on Monday.  It's so weird because the weather today has been just amazing.  Cool and breezy with beautiful sunshine.  Even now, at almost 6:30 p.m., the sky is an eerie baby blue with pink streaks.  It's been a busy day for all of us.  Saturday means Jerry.  We were all feeling chipper, so Jerry took us for a 2 hour trail walk.  And wait for it... I walked the entire time except for the last 20 minutes.  That is a PR for me!!  (In running blogs, that means a Personal Record.)

 Later on, Chim did another walk with PW and even chased the ball in the yard with Linda for awhile.  Chim and I are completely tuckered out.

I match the blanket and the chair

                                                                           
Linda was even busier.  After about 4 hours total sleep (I woke her up 3 times to go outside during the night for emergencies), she woke up at 6:15 a.m. to start her day.  There were 3 classes to teach at the gym, then after that a smoothie party for 15 of her TKD students.  After she got home and jumped in the shower, she went right to a neighbors house for a backyard warming party.  (Remember the photo of the port-a-potty in the yard for the construction boys?  It was that ladies house)  Linda said we could not go because the woman has 2 Great Danes that probably weigh 150 pounds each.  The yard did look amazing, complete with a great fire pit for roasting marshmallows and weenies.  It made Linda wish for a fancy deck and patio too!

(Linda forgot her camera, so she found one kind of like it online)

At about 3:00, she came home and started cooking.  Since the storm might knock out our power, she cooked a whole bunch of food (including our chicken) in case we don't have the ability to cook when Frankenstorm comes.  Since the freezer then had a lot of room, she filled gallon size Ziploc baggies full of water.  It looks so funny; but if the power does go out, we have a ready made cooler!  She'll put 1/2 in the fridge and keep the rest in the freezer.  She's also making a bunch of ice cubes as back up.

No dust bunnies or dog hair anywhere!

Next up, house cleaning and laundry until just a few minutes ago.  Finally, she can rest.  Whew.  Tomorrow will be here before we know it!

Frankenstorm

Nope, it's not a cool SyFy movie Linda will watch this weekend, it's for real!  Linda has never been very good at planning for disasters.  When 2000 rolled around, she didn't even have an extra bottle of water or more than one day supply of pet food.  The last few storms, she didn't go to the store to get toilet paper or milk (ha, she doesn't even drink milk.)  For some reason, she's feeling like she needs to prepare for what weather forecasters are calling the "perfect" storm. Frankenstorm is looking like a doozy and utilities and our local government are preparing for the worst.  High winds, heavy rain, extreme tides (I think we'll be OK on that one. The stream is 300 yards away at the bottom of the hill. She has seen it cover the road at one point years ago though) and maybe even snow will be hitting our area this weekend. Some guy who is all-that at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said ""We don't have many modern precedents for what the models are suggesting." There is now a 90% chance, up from 60% two days ago the East coast will get pounded.   Here is what they suggest everyone should have on hand:

  Three gallons of bottled water per person

   Three days supply of food that does not need cooking (including pet food)

 Battery powered radios, flashlights and extra batteries

Extra blankets

  A full gas tank

Here is what Linda actually has on hand:  Extra blankets.  If she is going to really prepare, she is going to have to go out and fight hoards of panicked people at the grocery story.  We do have a giant cooler that can hold most of our refrigerated foods, but then there's that whole problem of ice if we lose power.  Our flashlight is AWOL, it's around here somewhere.  

Linda can't figure out why her whole life she hasn't been afraid of bad guys breaking in, weird noises, walking us alone at midnight, traveling to Mexico for a week by herself (more than once) reading scary novels,  panicked weather predictions, etc, etc, etc.  The last few months, she has been feeling much more wimpy and even overreacting when a silly kid rings her doorbell at night then runs away. 

                                             

                                                       

Don't Judge a Cat By Its Cover

"I WILL eat you"

It's been a little over two months since Chip Cat went to permanent sleep.  Linda still misses her, but it's not as raw or painful.  The first few weeks she got tears in her eyes when she came in the front door because Chip wasn't waiting for her.  Now, days and days go by without her remembering.  She lived with Linda a long, long time.  She outlived Licorices; Sheba; Snickers and Rocky (the Boa).  Not to mention all the fish including Pongo and Purdy (and Jerry's underwater frogs too. He about cried when they died.)  Linda can remember Taylor teaching Chip a bunch of circus tricks when he was just in 4th grade. She remembered them up until the very end.  Sure, I sometimes blogged how she was crabby... but what cat wouldn't be crabby with Chip in your face every single minute of the day.  She was a pretty kitty, and kind to Linda.  Chip ignored me, which was just fine.  Imagine if we had this cat?  It belongs to a girl that has a blog Linda sometimes reads.  Maybe it just looks grumpy and it's really a sweet, loving cat.

Happy Baby

Penelope was in high-spirits and laughing this morning when Linda went over for her normal Thursday Penny time.  Sarah caught up on her chores and did a quick run outside.  It's amazing how Pen likes to watch Sesame Street like her Aunt Tier.  Maybe Linda imagined it, but Penny seems to like Elmo best!  Maybe it's the high-pitched voice and bright red color.   Tier was always a Big Bird fan.  In fact, when she was just 11 months old, she grabbed a Big Bird stuffed toy off the shelf and tried to race out of the store with it!  Big Bird still sits on her bed today, 25 years later. (Tierney didn't steal it, Linda ended up buying it for her.)  I wonder if Penelope will still have her cow when she grows up? 

After Linda left Sarah's, she had to stop at the store for a few things.  All our frozen fruit was gone and so was the spinach for her smoothies. Chim and I needed our chicken too, she just can't run out of that!  There has been a comforter set at Target she has had her eye on for months.  Since Chim has kind of destroyed the fancy one we have, Linda wanted to get a machine washable spread without seams or decorations.  It was $99.99, so she never felt right about getting it.  Today, the exact color she wanted was on clearance for $69.99, plus she had a $10 gift card.  When she got to the register, it rang up as $29.99!!  With her gift card, it ended up being $19.99.  Yay!  As soon as she gets it all set up, we'll post a picture.

Week 1 Done

I know you are all holding your breath waiting on an update on Linda's healthy eating plan.  What? You're not?  You forgot about it??  Here is a reminder.  Since she found out her cholesterol was super high last week, she has overhauled her eating.  Back in the day, Linda was a strict gluten free-vegan for 2 years.  She was so legalistic about it, she sometimes made it uncomfortable for her friends who ate with her.  Every time they dined at a restaurant, she would grill the waitstaff finding out if a sauce had gluten in it or if (oh no!) there were eggs or dairy hidden in a particular vegetarian offering.  She has learned to relax and not stress over every single ingredient in her food.  Linda will still be doing her best, but won't be trying to jump on the train to crazy.  She can become super focused on something once she makes up her mind to do it.  (Not always a good thing.) 

So far cutting out dairy has been really easy.  It always bothered her stomach anyway, so the immediate benefit of her feeling better is worth it.   The fried foods (like poppers, potatoes, spring rolls) are just sitting in the freezer not calling her name.  The lasagna and pizza are whispering, but Linda said she is going to cook everything in there and invite folks over for a freezer cleaning party.  The kale/spinach smoothies are still the bomb, and she has one or two a day.  There is no way to if her cholesterol numbers are going done, but she has lost 7 pounds!  Jeans that were uncomfortable to wear now feel much better.  

 No more muffins! (OK, maybe little snack size ones)

I am also on an eating plan. I only get one half a cookie when PW finishes our walk.  I'm not getting any during the week or as treats when Linda leaves or comes home to the house.  I am seriously pouting and no longer running to greet Linda at the top of the stairs since I know there won't be a cookie.

I keep telling Linda it's all that fur that just makes me look fat!

Best Card Ever

It turns out, Penelope is one of the best birthday card makers on the planet.  She is only 6 months old, but wow, she has a way with words!  Penny must be taking after her Aunt Tier, who always has the greatest blog posts.  This is what Linda found when she walked into Sarah and Taylor's house for her birthday dinner:

Penny was waiting in the foyer for her.  She was actually sound asleep holding the card on her lap, but they didn't take the photo until she just woke up.

Close up of the envelope.

Front of the card.  Yep, it's Penelope!

I'll translate from baby speak:  "Happy Birthday Nana!  I love you so much! You are the best Nana in the whole wide world.  You're so pretty and skinny and fun to play with.  I got you this Wegman's....

... gift card so you could by some healthy foods and vegetables for your smoothies. Love and Happy birthday!  Love, Nelope"  Penny kept trying to eat the card while Linda took the photo, but they got the shot with only a little drool on the card. 

Sarah  made a wonderful dinner including grilled fish and shrimp tacos, homemade salsa with avocados, two other sides and her famous strawberry shortcake for dessert.  (Actually, Christina made the dessert this time!) Dinner got cut a little short, but they will do a repeat of the exact same meal another time because it was all so yummy.

Taylor got confused and thought the food in the white bowl was ground beef.  It was actually sweet potato casserole!

Happy Birthday to Linda

Sorry for the lack of posts.  We are taking a few days off for personal reasons.  Linda promised that we will be back up and posting maybe tomorrow evening.  Until then, enjoy some adorable Penny pictures at Linda's birthday dinner!  She said I can't say how old she is, but two people today saw her with Penny and thought she was her Mama instead of her Nana! 

Isaiah 58:8

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. (NIV)

Reunion and Swings

L O V E

The Penelope/Linda reunion was so sweet that it made Linda get a little teary eyed.  It wasn't even a full week apart, but it seemed to her like it was a month.  Penny changed so much in that short time.  Sunday after church, the tradition is that Linda picks her up from the nursery.  She had just woke up from a nap, so when the nursery worker handed her over, Pen was a little disoriented.  Linda always says the same thing in a soft voice "Penny, it's your Nana" every single time she sees her (since birth.) After a few seconds of saying it, Penelope opened her eyes and gave her the biggest smile.  For the first time ever she wrapped both arms around Nana's neck and hugged tight.  She would pull her face out of Linda's neck for a second to smile, then press her whole body into Nana's while she hugged again.  Every time she did it, Linda's heart got a little warmer and was close to bursting with love!  (Linda said it's a wonderful example of how much God loves us, only He loves us a bazillion times more than Linda loves Penny!)

Now that Pen has had a tasted of the fresh mountain air, she loves being outside!  After church Sarah took her to the park to play in the swing. She's still kind of little for it, but in a month or so she'll be just the right size. 

This is fun! (Where are my shoes Mama?)

Noah in the exact same swing. (not sure why photo is so grainy and small)...

...and of course, Linda let me take a turn too!