HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope this finds all my faithful readers well and happy! Celebrating the new year? I am sitting at home, blogging instead of party-ing! I am SUCH a light weight now. No pun intended! Mike and I leave for Vegas to see Rach and Zach on New Years Day for a five day visit. Blue Man group, Hoover Dam tour, maybe even a music show!

All my beautiful children, grandchildren,brother and sister, nieces and nephews,all the in laws, friends and co-workers...Thank You for being so supportive of me. Especially the last year, during my time off work and during my gastric bypass surgery. My wish for my self was to make myself healthy and to basically feel better. I am well on the way. My neck injury is not resolved, but it is manageable. I am currently down 60lbs, and feel so free. It is not but half of what I want to lose, but I am moving around and look so much better. (My old closes are SO big...I can't believe that they ever fit!)

Well...it's almost midnight, so I will wrap up so I can kiss my honey goodnight!

I pray that your hopes and dreams for 2009 come true. My hope is to be even closer to my family. Hugs and kisses to all...Cindy Loo Hoo

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Christmas is upon us. All the decorating, wrapping and food prepping...all used up in a minute! All that is left are the memories of the time spent with family and friends. Our family "traditions" seem to change every year! But that keeps it exciting - right? But we always seem to make it thru. We all send our love and good wishes to everyone for the New Year. We will be in Vegas with Rachal and Zach, seeing the BLUE MAN GROUP, visiting with Zachs Mom and Step-dad, seeing the sites. Never forget to appreciate and validate the ones you care about!

WHERE IS MY CHRISTMAS SPIRIT?

I can't seem to get it in gear...BAH HUM-BUG! I have stayed at home from work for the last couple of days, due to the Post Office not following my doctors' restrictions.The head-ache is back and the lack of sleep from same. So I am just feeling a little blue. And I thought maybe by putting it down in writing would get it off my chest. The stress from going in to work everyday knowing that they will once again ignore my limitations, (NOT mental!), is wearing away at me. I just get so tired of fighting for someone to just do the right thing. And because I DON'T fight them about it EVERY day, they think they can roll over me. The grievance I filed in the past for my COP is supposedly settled, and I have written a letter to the claims examiner about my station not following my job duty restrictions, and hopefully will have an interview with EEOC by the end of this week. I also have a appt. with my doctor to discuss what I can do thru them( and to get something for the sleeplessness). My days should be filled with thoughts of Christmas(I AM still shopping on line) and waiting to see my kids and grand-kids again. BUT........tommorrow is another day!

BUSY-BUSY-AND BUSY!

WELL...I am doing ALOT of shopping on-line, but still don't have it all! And my magical wrapping gnomes have not appeared as of yet! My Christmas tree is not entirely decorated, my cards NOR stockings are hung and I have a busy weekend ! Two, count'em two house warming/Christmas partys AND a monthly meet-up with my high school classmates. Oh, and I must go look at a litter of weenie dog puppies for Rachal! I really feel lucky to have all this going on in my life. It means that I have many people that I care about having a full and happy life. And somewhere in all this I need to take my Bubba and wife out for a nice dinner. (How does sushi sound? Or a nice steak? You know I am mostly along just to watch everyone else eat!)
If this is my last blog before Christmas, I hope all my readers have as much as you need and some of what you want. Merry Christmas!

VISITING WITH MORE FAMILY

This weekend, starting on Friday nite, was spent visiting with my sister, Claudia, and brother-in-law, Jimmy. The drove in from Louisanna to see Mike and I, plus my brother, Billy,his wife Betsey, girls MaryAnn and Andrea, son-in-law Aaron(yes, they are THE Cott's) and the grandson, Ryan. Jimmy was showing off his new EBAY purchase...a GREAT BIG diesel Chevy Silverado! Very Nice! He also did some shopping for Claudia(NOT on Ebay), a big juicy bauble! Nice work Jimmy!
It was great to visit with my Bubba and Sis. They always make me feel so loved. The conversations we all had! WOW! The nieces are super smart AND entertaining. It's hard to believe they are ADULTS! That makes ME old! (That was the theme of many talks we had..how our perception of "old" has changed the older we get!) HUH!
We ate too much; had too many margaritas; talked about old times-old houses we lived in-new happenings in all our lives; and watched a little football. All crammed in to a 24 hour period. Claudia and Bets were going to church and shopping on Sunday...sorry I missed it. Mike had to get back home to do the Christmas lights and you all know I have to supervise!
Tonight will be spent on getting the Christmas Cards addressed and stamped for send out tommorrow while we watch more football. Go 'Boys.
FYI...the new Cowboy stadium in Arlington is GINORMOUS! (too bad WE will never be able to afford tickets to that thing!)
Til next time, don't forget to love on all your family every chance you get. Communicate,validate,appreciate!

TURKEY DAY!

We made it thru the day with no melt downs, OR tears! Almost everyone showed up for the pictures. Everyone lived thru my "tribute" speech. The turkey was moist and there was plenty of food left over. We had a nice visit with Rachal and Zach AND Nina and Ehren. As everyone saw in the previous blog, Madi carried Ehren around when she could get him away from everyone else! They were so cute together. All in all ,the day was a great success. My speech would not download in full, but the gist of it was that I was proud to part of all their lives. I told them that my Daddy and Mom, Mikes dad, Hank and Mom Marilyn, had done the best they could as parents and that I hoped we could say the same some day. All the "kids" are in their 20's this year-(21-29) and I wanted us all to remember this year, so our Christmas cards will be our family photo.

The last part of my speech applies to everyone, too. We all need to remember we have things to be thankful for, but most of all is ..EACH OTHER! SO...todays blog is about ME telling all readers how much I need, love, and appreciate each and every single one of you. And I'm sorry if I don't show it! XOXOXO

NO! I WILL NOT LOOK AT THE CAMERA!

This is the two grand kids that came for dinner on Thanksgiving. (this is not my offficial Thanksgiving blog) ...Madison and Ehren. Madi loves toting around babies, but they BOTH hated having their pictures taken this day!

*notice Granny Janes "ANGEL" blanket in the background! And Ehren is wearing Grandpa Hanks cap.*

QUOTE OF THE DAY

I received cards and phone calls for my Birthday last week from all my family members, and this quote from a famous Dr. came to mind.

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and
those who matter don't mind." -Dr.Suess !

That is so true! I forget that sometimes. My brother, Billy, reminded me of that, and I realized that is a part of me that I don't want to lose. My family accepts me for what I am, and how I am, and I hope I can do the same! xoxo

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY, COME AND GONE!

Friday was my birthday, maybe the last one that I will celebrate. I got the idea from my sister Claudia. If she gets to stop celebrating, so do I! So there! Mike and I almost always go to THE RED LOBSTER for these special occasions, and Matt and Chris gave in and joined us.(HA) Then my friends Lindy and Rob joined us. Very low key until the wait staff sang to me. After 2 bites of salad, a bite of the roll, and 3 shrimps- I was stuffed! So I sat and gave Matt and Chris a hard time about what they were and weren't eating....like they were still 8 and 9! But they kept all us old fuddy duddies laughing! Too bad that I am now unable to have a nice dinner AND go out and party afterwards without falling to sleep! THAT is a sure sign of "de-crepitude" if I ever heard one!

JUST AN FYI....
Now that Thanksgiving is almost here, I probably won't post again til afterwards. And I will try to post a video of my tribute speech in honor of my Daddy, and the anniversary of his 20th year passed.(is that the correct wording?)Can't promise there won't be tears, so you have been warned.

Weight Loss Update

As of 11-18-08, I have lost my 1st 50lbs!!!! Almost exactly 3 months since my surgery. I have had some trouble with my protein intake, and not getting enough water, but other than that it has not been that hard to adjust. My new stomach will remind me REAL fast if I eat something I shouldn't. The protein drinks are a definate NO-GO. Even if I get past the smell, my tummy repels it! And I found out that others have the same problem. All my taste bud have changed. Some things sound SO good, but when I taste it...well it's just not what my tongue was longing for. I think the "buds" are actually in my brain! My goal weight is 140, and as long as I get close to that by Rachals wedding, I will be satisfied. I would prefer to be there by June...my 30 year High School reunion. But I would never have believed how much better I feel with just the 50lbs gone! So it can only get better.

We will Miss you Harley...

For you that don't know my world, I am an animal lover. I have always had pets of one kind or other-from hamsters to emus . I even had a bull calf that thought he was a dog! But my heart is the softest for dogs. They seem to touch me; maybe because they trust us so much. My dogs as an adult have mostly been dachshunds(weenie dogs). When my first one, Bonnie was getting old, and my other one, Patsy was going to be left alone soon, I decided to get Patsy her own dog! So I went and got a little applehead chihuahua. So tiny, with BIG bat ears, marked like a doberman. Harley. He was a funny looking little man. Walked kinda like a girafffe. I know...appleheads don't have long legs! But someone forgot to tell him that. He did NOT like dark haired men, except for family members. Others got the high pitched bark as he shot past them...maybe peeing a little as he went. Not a very social dog; or a cuddler. But he liked certain girls...ALOT. First my friend Tammy that lived with us for a time:Now SHE could practically hypnotize him! Then Nina would talk to "her little man". He would dance around for canned food or leftovers, but that was about the only thing he got excited over. Expect maybe Rachals dog Dixie. Even tho he was neutered, he felt an obligation when she was in heat! He never liked going outside and shivered in his bed always. His teeth had all fallen out over the last year, but he actually gained weight,due to the canned food we gave him. He ate twice a day because his Daddy Mike made sure he got HIS every morning and night. But today he really didn't want to go out, after not eating any of his food. But it was a beautiful day, and the sun was shining. I went to work and came home to see him laying in the grass in a patch of sunlight coming thru the trees. But he didn't jump up to greet me when I opened the back door. No "LET ME IN" bodyslam on the door.

We hope you enjoyed your time here with us as much as we did. We loved you - stinky little man that you were-and you will be missed. Della and Patsy are girls at large now. No Harley to nip at the girls.

THANKSGIVING

Well, I am gearing up for Thanksgiving. I have already bought most of the food, and Heather has been helping me get the house in order.

The "plan" is to have dinner at 4:00pm, but I want to take a family photo before we fill our selves to the brim! Logistics is my nemisis!

But I am also planning a memorial to my Daddy. I am not trying to make this depressing , but he has been gone 20 years at Thanksgiving , and with Mike losing his dad Hank this year, I thought this would be a fitting tribute time.

For those that won't get to attend, I will try to write out what I say at the tribute. I will also be asking anyone that wants to, to add any memories they have of their Grandfathers. My Daddy was not always the most logical, but he was loving. He was a very differant kind of man, and I assume that my taste in men can be traced to him!

When I post my tribute you won't be able to see my tears like the attendees at dinner, but please know that my heart still aches for my Daddy.

My first Blog!

My first blog. The focus of this blog will vary from time to time.It could be about my children, my dogs, daily life, me bitchin' about the Post Office, my current weight loss status after gastic bypass, friends that I have been in touch with after many years...maybe even a memorial to a lost loved one. Please be patient with me as I figure out how I want it all to look. But enjoy the view into my life-strange and eclectic as it is!