Tuesday, December 02, 2008

The Farm








These are some pictures that were taken the weekend after Thanksgiving.
We gathered together on the Bratcher Farm in Ohio County. We had a good lunch and a great visit.
Clif and Eva look happy to have us all there.



Even Peanut and Duke had a good time together.





After lunch the kids decided to go outside and toss the football around.










































Dan and Pam took advantage of the relatively warm weather to get out and enjoy the scenery.





The pond makes a great back ground for pictures, so we had to take advantage of that.



Lindsey's friend Natalia went along with us.





It was a nice day!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

How Thankful Are You?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Here are a few little quizes that I found and thought you might enjoy too.........

http://www.blogthings.com/howthankfulareyouquiz/

I was 73% Thankful.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofshopperareyouquiz/

This quiz sure pegged me right.

"You Are a Discount Shopper.
You love to get things as cheaply as possible. You live for sales.It's partially because you like to save money, but it's also because you like the thrill of finding a fabulous deal.Of all the types, you tend to shop frequently but rarely by. You keep an eye on prices.Brand names are not that important to you. You know how to have style without collecting designer tags."


http://www.blogthings.com/quizzes/?topic=christmas


For those of you that are heading out to the stores tomorrow for all those Black Friday deals, HAVE FUN. As for me, I choose to STAY AT HOME!!!! For the first time in ten years, I don't HAVE to be in the midst of the madness!!! I can sleep in and do my shopping another day. Yaaaayyyy!!!!!!!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Mama

It's hard to believe that it has been 16 years........

I miss her alot, but know that she is still with me in my heart.





And, I must admit in my head quite often, as I hear her words when I do things that she would fuss about. (like serve food from the pot instead of pouring it into a bowl). I remember lots of things that she used to say to us when we were growing up, I love saying them to Lindsey and remembering Mama!!!



I am so very glad that we did the suprise party for her. It was a difficult thing to put together without her catching on to what we were doing, but sooooo worth it!!


She enjoyed it alot!






I have been looking through some pictures tonight and I thought I would share some that I came across. I hope they remind you of Mom and are a comfort to you the way they have been to me.
























































Sunday, November 09, 2008

Outsmarting A Puppy

I knew that having a puppy in the house was going to be alot of work, with having to house break him, teach him when it's play time and when it's not, what he can chew on and so on....

The thing I did not consider was the fact that it was going to be quite a challenge to keep him in one room at night or while we are gone. I thought the laundry room would be the perfect room for him. It has a tile floor, no carpet and it is a good size room so he has some room to move around. We put some newspapers down for him to potty on and he has his water bowl in there too. The room is just off of the kitchen and has a door that leads to the back yard, but it does not have a door leading into the kitchen, only a doorway. So we had to block the doorway to keep him in there. I didn't really think that it would be difficult to do this. He's small and there is a step down as you enter the room, so just place something in front of the doorway and, presto, he's in there until we want him out. At first we didn't have a gate, so for a few days we had to use what we had available in the house. Which was one of the floor cushions that we have, they fit perfectly in the doorway, all we had to do was find something to place behind it to hold it in place. This worked for a few days, then we had to resort to using some wooden boards that he could not push over. Finally I bought a baby gate and that worked for almost two weeks. We came home the other night and found him up on the couch and the gate was properly in place. I was the one that put him in the laundry room before we left. So I thought maybe I put the gate up, but didn't put him in the room. Didn't really think that much about it, being as I tend to do those kinds of things sometimes. (You know, go in to the kitchen to get something only to forget what you came in there for once you reach the kitchen.) Anyway, last night I put him in the laundry room, and began my normal routine of picking things up and turning off lights and such before going to bed. Peanut usually barks and whimpers for a few minutes until the house gets quiet and then he settles down in his little bed and goes to sleep. I could hear him doing just that and payed no attention to him. But then here comes Peanut trotting along into the living room. I thought maybe he had knocked the gate over, so I check. The gate was in place.
So I put him back into the laundry room and hid just out of his sight to see how he was getting out.


The little stinker has learned how to climb up and over the gate.
Smart little doggy!
So now I have to wedge the floor cushion up against the gate to keep him in. The cushion is a bit taller than the gate and he can't get over it.
We will see how long this will keep him in the room.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Having A Me Day

It's a peaceful day........The sound of silence fills the house. The only noise to be heard is the puppy running across the hardwood floor or his slight growl as he tugs on one of his chew toys.
Michael is out of town, Lindsey is at school and I am enjoying the silence. No t.v., no radio, just Quiet! Soon the house will be filled with the sound of music, tv, the voices of my family, but for now I will enjoy the quiet. Maybe I'll get some cleaning and laundry taken care of while there are no distractions. No one saying I need or I want this or that.

Don't get me wrong, I Love my family dearly, but sometimes I do love the peace and quiet. The ME time. Time to do what I want to do. If I want to clean...I clean. If I want to play on the computer......I play on the computer. If I want to watch tv......I watch tv. If I want to sleep......I sleep, and so on........

So for now I am having a ME DAY. A rejunvination of me. So that when my family returns this afternoon and evening, I will be relaxed and can enjoy their company.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Meet Peanut

We finally bought a dog. We have been searching the newspaper and online for quite awhile. We had been looking to find a Yorkie, but they are quite expensive and we could not find one of them that we could afford. We saw an ad in the newspaper that said they had puppies for sale, they didn't say what kind of puppies, so we called. We ended up going to the lady's house to look at the dogs. She had alot of dogs......We ended up buying one of them.





The Peekapoo. A cross between a Pekingese and a Poodle. He is very small (about 3 pounds) and will not grow to be much bigger than what he is now. His mother is only about 10 pounds and his father is a small dog also. He is only about 12 weeks old and we are in the process of housebreaking him. He seems to be doing pretty well. He has only had a couple of accidents.
















As you can see from the pictures here he is going to be one spoiled little dog.












I'm sure you will see him in future post. I'll have to update as he grows and learns to do new things.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

WKU Incident

Wednesday, October 22, 2008---The scariest day of my life.

12:30 p.m. Central time A text message goes out stating that armed men had been seen on the south campus, which is also known as Bowling Green Community College and is separated from the university’s main campus. That area is soon surrounded by police.

12:44 p.m. The campus emergency management system announces to all students on both the south and main campus that there is “an immediate danger” throughout both campuses and they “should seek shelter.” The outside alarms are sounded.

About this time I get a phone call from my sister asking me if I have heard about an incident at Western and if I have heard from Adam. Within minutes, the radio that I was listening to began to talk about reports of a gunman on Western's Campus. I franticly begin texting my son, he usually responds to my texts rather quickly. But I got NO response. I called......his phone went straight to voicemail.

12:47 p.m Students receive an e-mail message saying that an “incident involving guns” had been reported.

I turn on the tv and the local station has a reporter at South Campus. They are also talking about possible gunshots. I begin to panic, because I can't get a response from my son.

12:52 p.m. University officials send another broadcast e-mail message saying that shots were reportedly fired at the Pearce-Ford Tower. The building is the largest dorm on campus, with 24 floors of student housing and a food court.

I begin calling the Alumni office, to see if Adam is there. I know that he goes to work inbetween classes sometimes and I think maybe he is there. The phone rings and then gives me a message saying that they can't answer the phone at this time to leave a message. I try calling Adam's cell phone...still no answer. I leave a message.

I stay glued to the radio, tv and internet all at the same time, hoping to hear updates as to what is happening on Western's Campus. I also continue trying to reach my son. Calling his phone and the Alumni office. But still am not able to get any response.

Finally one of Adam's friends calls me and tells me that he has talked to Adam online and that he is is lockdown at DUC (Downing University Center) and that he is okay. He says that he and everyone else are having trouble getting their cell phones to work, so they are sending messages to their families online. Oh my goodness was I relieved. Still I want to hear my son's voice, but knowing that someone has heard from him was sure wonderful news.

3:07 p.m. The all clear was given.

Adam called me as soon as he was able to leave DUC. I was soooo very glad to hear his voice. So many bad thoughts had been running through my mind, with all the school shootings that have happened. Adam said that it was frightening when he got the text message saying "Shots fired at PFT take cover immediately!" and just a few minutes later they were told to stay away from doors and windows and to remain in one certain area of the building. Also knowing that PFT (Pierce Ford Tower) is only about a block away from where he is, had to be scary.

Thank God everything turned out alright. And I commend WKU for taking things seriously and for having the emergency systems in place to keep their students, staff and parents alerted as to what is taking place.

Even today Gary Ransdall, President of the University sent out an email message to parents and students regarding the incident. The following is what he had to say:

Dear Parents of WKU Students:

As I am sure you are now aware, WKU officials initiated our Emergency Notification System yesterday to notify students, faculty, and staff that a dangerous situation existed on our campus between 11:25 a.m. and 3:07 p.m. We advised all individuals on campus to remain inside while law enforcement authorities brought the situation under control.
What we now know is that a fight occurred between a small group of students on our South Campus, which houses our Community College and is located on Nashville Road about a mile from the main campus. When police were called, the same individuals involved in that fight went to an area on the main campus near their residence hall and, once again, began to fight with one another. Reports to 911 indicated that individuals saw a fight and one heard a gun shot on the main campus and that prompted us to immediately notify the campus of a dangerous situation. Despite this, police have been unable to substantiate that guns were present or that shots were fired.
A number of students who observed the fight have been questioned. Five individuals were taken into custody yesterday afternoon, questioned, and released. Police continue to investigate. Once the individuals involved in this altercation are found, they will be subject to the campus judiciary process.
The good news is that our campus emergency notification system worked well. Following reports of the first incident, everyone across the campus was notified by text message to stay clear of the South Campus area. The South Campus was quickly secured by law enforcement authorities. Following the 911 call to report a second incident, police were on the scene immediately. The emergency notification system, which includes emergency text messages, emails, an outdoor voice warning system and postings on the WKU website, was then used to advise all on the campus to remain indoors until police issued an “all clear,” which they did at 3:07 p.m.
Our staff in Student Affairs, Public Affairs, and Information Technology communicated effectively and thoughtfully but with sufficient patience to ensure valid information. I am proud of the manner in which we responded and ensured a secure environment until actual information could be validated. As a parent, you should know that we will always err on the side of caution in such matters.
The message I am conveying to all of our students, and it is a message that has become commonplace in our society, is that aggressive behavior has consequences which often go beyond the individual parties involved. Steps will be taken to ensure safety for the uninvolved when individuals use physical action and threaten one another. We must assume that any such situation could escalate, and we cannot allow that to occur.
We also live in times where it is difficult to control exaggerated information. We will always take steps to communicate and then sort through what is fact and what is not fact in each situation.
We are working directly with our Campus Police and the Bowling Green City Police to increase patrol across campus and throughout our community. I want you to know that if we ever do find a weapon on a person on our campus, we will expel that student or dismiss that employee. So far we have no reason to believe that such a circumstance exists, but we will be diligent in maintaining a safe and secure campus environment.
Thank you for the opportunity to communicate with you. WKU values the safety of every single member of the WKU family, especially your sons and daughters who make up our student body.
Thank you.
Dr. Gary A. Ransdell President, Western Kentucky University

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Storm Repairs




Michael has two houses in Louisville and during the recent storm (Hurricane Ike) both of his houses had trees down. One fell across the driveway and wasn't a major deal to remove, but the other house was a different story.






As you can see from the pictures, it was a rather large tree. It fell on one side of the house and caused quite a bit of damage, mainly to one of the windows. These kinds of repairs are always costly. The thing that I was most shocked about was the cost of removing the tree.



It cost $8,000 to have this tree removed. I know it wasn't an easy task and that it was a big tree. I realize it had to be braced so that it would not move while it was being cut away from the house. I am sure that it took some time to get the job done, but $8,000. WOW!!

No wonder insurance is so high.

Anyway, the tree has been removed, the window will be replaced and the other repairs will be made. Then the insurance company will probably raise the rates. What can you do?

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Sinus Infection....Again

Anybody out there in the market for a sinus infection........
I've got one that I would LOVE to GIVE AWAY!!!!!
I am on my 4th round of anti-biotic.
I have taken 2 rounds of Arithromyacin or (Z-Pack).
Then I was given 20 days worth of Amoxicillin ,about half way through it I got worse.
Now I am taking Ceclor for 20 days.
That is not counting the Depo-Medrol shots that I have been given.
Yesterday I got a double dose shot. Surely I will get better now.
I do have to say that the shots help. I usually feel better after getting one of them.
My muscles always hurt more than normal when I am ill and the shots help my muscles not to ache so much which helps me to feel better, or it could be that I usually sleep ALOT after getting a shot which helps too. Maybe it's the combination of the two.......all I know is the shot helps.
If anybody else out there is suffering from allergy/sinus stuff right now......I feel for you!
Hopefully I will be WELL SOON!!!!
Take Care All.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Looking For A Dog

Lindsey has decided that she wants a dog.
Of course not just any dog will do, she wants a Yorkie.
She has shown me tons of pictures of them online. Saying with each picture, "see aren't they cute".
She has been looking in the local paper every chance she gets to try and find one.
We have actually called about a few of them.
I nearly had a heart attack when the lady told me how much she sells her puppies for.
($600 to $1,200) The least amount that I have found one for is around $400.
I'll have to take out a loan to get her a dog.
We have made several trips to the Humane Society, on one trip we actually found a Yorkie, but he had a bad case of mange and I didn't want to deal with that. They had 2 Maltese dogs that were adorable, but of course they were pending adoption. I would have taken one of those in a flash.
Anyway that's what has been happening around here. The hunt for the perfect dog.
If anyone out there knows of anyone wanting to give away a Yorkie (house broken would be nice) please let me know.
Meanwhile Lindsey will be saving her pennies to try to buy one.
Have a good week and I'll try to post again soon.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

My Baby Is In High School Now




I can't believe it,
my little girl is a freshman in high school.
It seems like only yesterday that she was a baby.











She is growing up and has changed so much.





In what has seemed like the blink of an eye, she has turned into a TEEN!




She is definitely a girly girl. She likes make-up and having her hair and nails just right.

Oh yes, she is beautiful but do not let that deceive you.


She has the TEEN attitude.......
I don't know where she got that from (LOL)
You know how people tell you, "One day you will have a child who acts just like you".
Not that Lindsey will admit to being anything like me at all.




She, however, is alot more outspoken than I was.

I guess that is a good thing........

She can stand up for herself pretty well, she doesn't have a problem with letting people know what she thinks.





Anyway, I thought I would share some pictures with you (MY PICTURES).


Those of you who haven't seen Lindsey in a while, will be surprised to see how blonde she is.





It took her awhile to talk me into letting her have her hair highlighted like this and we had to do it in stages.
Number one so that I could get use to it gradually.







I really like this picture.


Thanks for reading, talk to you soon.

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Careful What You Post

On my last post, I got a couple of comments from someone that asked for me to email her because she had a very important question to ask me.
It peaked my curiosity, so I emailed her.
The question she had for me was about a picture that I used on one of my past posts.
It was one that I was talking about gallbladder sludge. I had found a cute little picture of a sludge filled gallbladder. So I used it. It was easy to find, I just used Google asking for an animated gallbladder, or gallbladder clipart.
Evidently, she had drawn it and put it on one of her post or online somehow, and she was upset that I had used it on my post. I use pictures that I find online for alot of my posts and I have not had any problem in doing that. I have actually never really given it any thought. You would think that she would be glad that someone liked her picture enough to use it.
Oh well, guess not.
Anyway, she is upset and preaching to me about copyrights.
So I guess, in the future, I need to stick to using my own pictures in my posts.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Kid Week


This past week has been kid week at our house.


Lisa needed a babysitter for the week so I have been watching Allison for her. Most of the week Jarad also came over. Hartsul has been here all week too, so he and Jarad kept each other occupied.


They have played ball and rode the scooter.
















I had forgotten how much energy it takes to keep up with a two year old.

I have to give my sister major praise for being able to do all she does. Working and keeping a house running is alot of work in itself, but add in an active two year old and you have your hands full. I know Timmy and Jarad help out alot too, but still it has to be tiring.





Allison reminds me so much of Lindsey when she was little. She is always on the go and wants to be right in the middle of whatever the other kids are doing. It has been very entertaining.




On Wednesday in particular, there were 6 kids here. Lindsey, two of her friends, Hartsul, Jarad, and Allison. The boys talked the girls into playing war....in the house.




So we had the boys with their guns and the girls with their guns hiding and shooting at each other.








Allison sat in the computer chair, in the living room, and shot them as they would go by.


One day Lindsey had another friend over and Allison talked them into coloring with her.



Several days we went outside and drew on the sidewalk.

























The kids have built things with blocks,


played war, played on the computer, and the playstation along with Jarad's wii system that he brought over a few days.





Adam came over one afternoon and joined in on the fun.











Allison found a flute that she really liked to use to wake Lindsey up with.

We played with barbies, watched some cartoons,

and just had a good time.

I have enjoyed the week very much.
My kids are nearly grown and I miss them being little, so this has been good for me to have a little one in the house.
Also, Lindsey has gotten a small taste of what it is like to have a younger sibling.
I think we have all enjoyed the week.