Big Kosher Pickle!

 

 

My friend Cathie and I had dinner tonight at Cheeseburger in Paradise. Do you have those restaurants where you live? ( Named after the Jimmy Buffet song. )

Cheeseburger in paradise (paradise)
Medium rare with mustard 'be nice (paradise)
Heaven on earth with an onion slice (paradise)
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise

I like mine with lettuce and tomato
Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes
Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer.......

Well, when this particular song started to play in the restaurant all the employees gathered round the bar to clap their hands and sing along. One brawny guy was especially fond of the BIG KOSHER PICKLE line. He just cracked me up!!

I had a festive drink with rum, fresh pineapples, and strawberries ... (Hey, keeping it healthy. Heh heh) The strawberry in my drink was wearing sunglasses. Very cool!

 

I`ve had headaches for 2 weeks now. I rarely ever get headaches until now. They feel like tension headaches, all around my head and down the back of my head into my neck. Help me!

I have some days off so I hope to catch up on journal reading. It`s been a very busy week here in my little piece of Ohio.

Thanks to Missie for the darling name tag!

Happy weekend.    :)

Tags: big kosher pickle

Blue Skies

           

        

Today was one of those beautiful summer days - blue skies, white fluffy clouds, green grass, and rows of corn dancing in the breeze. I`m happy to be off work and enjoying it.

In New Zealand it`s already tomorrow, so my daughter has some free time to shop and have some fun. It`s been a good week there, with warmer temps and no rain.

There hasn`t been much going on here lately and the things that have been going on I don`t much feel like writing about.                    

I took a couple days off to pick up Corey once she gets home next month. She will have just turned 21 so we will celebrate her birthday once she is home from NZ. Then back to college, beginning her 4th year - WOW!

I`m pretty sure I have some time off after Thanksgiving that I`m going to use to visit my brother and SIL in Indianapolis. I`m feeling the need for a little road trip.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

 

Thanks to PinkCreations for this awesome tag and

Thanks to Donna for the marina dock graphic

Touch of The Master`s Hand

Well it was battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer felt it was hardly worth his while,
To waste much time on the old violin but he held it up with a smile,
"Well it sure ain`t much but its all we got left I guess we ought to sell it too,
Oh, now who’ll start the bid on this old violin?
Just one more and we’ll be through. "

And then he cried," One  - give me one dollar,
Who`ll make it two only two dollars who`ll make it three,
Three dollars twice now that`s a good price,
Now who`s gonna bid for me?
Raise up your hand now don`t wait any longer the auction`s about to end,
Who`s got four- Just one dollar more - to bid on this old violin?"

Well the air was hot and the people stood around as the sun was setting low,
From the back of the crowd a gray haired man,
Came forward and picked up the bow,
He wiped the dust from the old violin then he tightened up the strings,
Then he played out a melody pure and sweet, sweeter than the Angels sing,
And then the music stopped and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low he said now what am I bid,
For this old violin and he held it up with a bow.

And then he cried out," One -  give me one thousand,
Who`ll make it two only two thousand who`ll make it three,
Three thousand twice you know that`s a good price,
C`mon, who’s gonna to bid for me?"

And the people cried out ,"What made the change? We don’t understand!"
Then the auctioneer stopped and he said with a smile,
"It was the touch of the Master’s hand."

You know there`s many a man with his life out of tune,
Battered and scarred with sin and he’s auctioned cheap,
To a thankless world much like that old violin,
Oh, but then the Master comes,
And that old foolish crowd they never understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is rought,
Just by one touch of the Masters hand.

And then he cried out," One -  give me one thousand,
Who’ll make it two only two thousand who’ll make it three,
Three thousand twice you know that’s a good price,
C`mon, who’s gonna bid for me?"

And the people cried out, "What made the change? We don’t understand!"
Then the auctioneer stopped and he said with a smile,
It was the touch, that’s all it was; it was the touch of the Master’s hand,

Tags: Touch of the Master`s Hand, Wayne Watson

To Part With A Port?

             

Greetings one and all.

Today I went to the Cleveland Clinic for my 3 - month check up and bloodwork. This was my first time going there since my meds and chemo have been completed!

The drive there takes me about an hour and I did some reflecting along the way. I`ve been there so many times I feel as though I could drive it with my eyes closed! North on the expressway to downtown Cleveland by Jacob`s Field where the Indians play, merge right; go two exits and turn right .... and so the journey goes.

When I was first diagnosed with leukemia and taken to the CC I was terrified. I knew I was in bad shape when they transported me there. It was to be my home for the next month until I was discharged and then I would spend up to 4 or 5 days a week there after that . Long days of chemotherapy. Ofcourse I couldn`t drive there myself. My brother took me.

Bone marrow tests, hair loss, chemo shot into my spine several times, wheelchairs, barf buckets, shingles, dozens of blood transfusions, pneumonia, learning to give myself shots, sores in my mouth, mouth tasting like tarnished coins, blurred vision, weight loss -- just a few of the bad things.

The love of my family and friends, visitors, cards, flowers, magazines, teddy bears, food when it tasted good, new pajamas and slippers, new friends and fellow patients, amazing doctors and nurses, lots of prayers and more prayers and an abundance of blessings -- just a few of the good things.

So I`m thinking about all this as I`m driving along. The sun is shining, my CD player  is blaring, my real hair blowing in the breeze!  :)

My bloodwrok was good. I met with my doctor. We discussed whether or not to leave the port in my chest. The port is hidden under the skin.  My blood is drawn from it and when I had chemo, that`s the way it was administered from an IV into my port. It`s a small surgical procedure to have it removed. Or it can be left in "just in case."

I told my doctor that I probably won`t be keeping it, that I didn`t plan on needing it.

He smiled and said, "That`s exactly what I was thinking. "

Tags: leukemia, prayers, Cleveland Clinic,

Too Hot

Okay, it`s over 90 degrees here today. Thankfully I went to an air conditioned church - onto an air conditioned restaurant - onto air conditioned Kohl`s and now I`m in my air conditioned home! I do step outside now and then.

Funny thing is, I never used to care or even paid any attention to the temperature. It`s 90 degrees? So what, I was ready to get a tan and then go out and have fun. There`s a blizzard? It never stopped my friends and I from going anywhere. ( We even slept in the car once in a hotel parking lot in Detroit during a snow storm. Who heads farther north in February?? )

Anyhow, on the other side of the world my daughter says it`s really cold in New Zealand and she has purchased a winter coat! She loves it there, though. I have been researching NZ quite a bit over the past couple months and it is one place I`d really love to go.

So I bought pajamas today at Kohl`s. Nothing like new pj`s. I had a gift card so that`s why I went as I`m broke otherwise! I love Sundays and going to church, but I find I do tend to get a tad lonely later in the afternoon, so I tried to stay busy today and it has helped.

I`ve been divorced now for close to 5 years, separated a year before that. I keep hoping for that nice Christian gentleman to come along and fill the gap that I sometimes feel in my life. It is something I pray about and if it`s meant to be I know God will bring him my way when the time is right.

I hate to whine or complain when I am so blessed. And one thing I don`t do very often is make myself vulnerable or express myself emotionally in this journal. There are some things going on that I just don`t discuss here. But I`m definitely "the glass is half full" kind of a person. I`m learning more and more each day to truly trust in the Lord in all matters and it keeps me even.

Well, I`m off to read some journals and shower and have a big glass of cold Pepsi.   :)

 

The latest good book I`m reading is River Angel by A. Manette Ansay.

Tags: New Zealand, God, blessed, Christian gentleman where are you!

Morning Aerobics

At the start of your morning when the first alarm goes off, sit up in bed stretching right arm out to hit snooze. Relax. When it goes off again 9 minutes later, repeat process.

When cell phone alarm goes off extend left arm as far as possible and bob it up and down several times while searching for phone. Flex fingers over the dials until snooze setting is activated. Relax.

Repeat process for 30 minutes.

 

........ So my morning goes.

It`s rough when you`re not a morning person.

 

Today Mandy went to the groomers for a haircut. This morning I told her to hurry and go potty because we were going >>>>> (magic words) >>>>> BYE BYES.  Wow, did she do her business fast and run for the car!

After dropping her off, it was on to McDonald`s for my morning unsweetened iced tea.   :)  Then I washed and dried my car. By 10 am it was already 80 degrees. I filled up my car with gas. It`s $2.93 a gallon but with my Speedway rewards card I get 5 cents off per gallon, so make that $2.88.

Later my mom and I are going out to lunch and picking up Mandy. Speaking of my mom, she fell again the other day. I cannot get her up when this happens. She wasn`t hurt. So we called 911 and 3 guys came and lifted her right up. I never saw such nice looking rescue guys in my life! Wowza! One of them actually made friends with my dog, which is no easy feat.

Corey, as you know, is in New Zealand. They flew to a different part recently and now they have access to phones and computers. I like hearing from her more often. :) They are helping to establish ministries at the schools while they are there. Much work to be done and it`s very exciting for her.

I do indeed have Swimmer`s Ear. Not that I swim, but whatever. The doc gave me ear drops and they are helping.

I just can`t quite get over my feeling of Blah-ness. Not sure what exactly that`s all about and it`s not like me. I feel like sleeping and it`s hard to get motivated lately. Maybe because I`m not on any specific routine in my life right now. Also, I know this sounds weird, but summer is not my season. If it could be like autumn year `round I`d love it!

I hope you have a wonderful day.

thanks, Donna!

Who Could It Be?

               

            Anyone you know?

 

              

 She takes pictures of her feet

 

              

              And reads a lot

 

              

    ..... And lives in Ohio .....

Happy 4th

       

Happy 4th of July!

Independence Day is truly worth celebrating. How blessed we are to live in the United States!

 

 

 

Today`s a restful day for me. I didn`t have any plans so I slept in really ( really ) late. My mom wanted to go out to eat so we had dinner at Bob Evan`s. Later I went to Walmart to get a few groceries.

Today was cloudy and cool. We had a bit of hard rain in the early evening but it didn`t last long. So everyone who went out to enjoy fireworks shouldn`t be disappointed. I can hear then beginning now, but I can`t see them from my house for all the trees.

 

 

I logged onto the blog about the New Zealand trip and was thrilled to see that they had updated it.... and with pictures of my daughter, too!  :)

Tomorrow I will be going to the doc. I`ve diagnosed myself with Swimmer`s Ear - which you don`t have to go swimming to get, by the way. Then I`ll be meeting a friend for lunch. And I hope to walk at the park again.

I hope you`ve all had a happy and safe holiday.

 

 

Tags: Independence Day

Tagged

I`ve been seeing a lot of these tags in journals today and then lo and behold I go over to visit one of my favorite journals Good Morning Sunshine ! and find I`ve been tagged too! Thank you, my dear and fellow Ohioan. Your journal is so encouraging and uplifting. I look forward to reading it every day!

According to the Rules of the Award, I'm to pass the Award on to 5 other "girls" whose blogs I read and enjoy.  And they, in turn, pass it on to 5 girls blogs that they enjoy.

That`s a tough one, I think. There are so many good journals out there worth reading.

I`m not sure who`s been tagged and who hasn`t but here`s my 5 girls >>>>

Good Morning Sunshine !  ( listed above )

Cab's Creations   This is Chris` tag journal which has somewhat turned into her personal journal as well. Chris was one of my very first J-Land friends and I`ve also met her personally. She`s on a bit of a computer hiatus at the moment due to some personal stuff. Hey Chris, we miss ya!

visions  This is a fairly new journal started by my friend Betsy who lives in Connecticut. It`s an interesting story of how I know her. We originally met as pen pals when we were teenagers! She visited me in Ohio, I visited her in Connecticut and we would go to NYC. Then I moved to NY and we would continue to get together. Then growing up and busy lives lead us apart and we have recently been in touch again over the past year or so. She is a wonderful photographer. I hope you`ll check her out! Maybe her and I will even get together again sometime! :0)

Damaged Goods Too  Lisa Jo has gone private, but I have to include her in my list. Also a fellow Ohioan, she writes one of my favorite journals! It`s an honest expression of her thoughts, feelings, rants , and raves. Love ya LJ!

Missie's Upside Down World Missie tells of her daily happenings with her family and let`s not forget the pets! She`s a stay at home mom who keeps pretty busy with all that she has going on. She also makes some great tags!

A LITTLE BIT OF SUGAR, PLEASE...  Stop by and say hello to Sugar, another of my favorite ladies. Her journal is full of uplifting stories, cute graphics, and prayer requests for fellow journalers. Stop by her other journals as well and shake some paws with her furr babies.  :)

 Times of My Life, One Nurse's Story  Pam`s journal is private. I love her stories about work and her friendships. There always seems to be something going on! She lives in California and posts some beautiful pictures of her day trips as well.

Please don't take life for granted. Lisa is another fellow Ohioan. She suffers with chronic pain but still manages to keep the faith and pass on some encouraging words.

Be Still...... Know that GOD has ALL the answers.... :o)

Katie is - do you believe it? Another Ohio girl! Ohio rocks! This is a happy journal filled with funny stories as only she can write them. Her sidebar pics are just awesome and very inspiring. She`s one of my newer friends who I`m so glad I met!

 

OOOooooooops, did I say tag five  people?

 

A New Me ( ...at least for today... )

Hello and happy Monday! Many of us will have a shorter work week this week. Anyone have any fun plans for the 4th? I wish I did. But I don`t. And I`m off Wed, Thurs, and Fri. I`m sure I`ll find something to do.

I do have a doctor`s appointment scheduled for Thursday. I seem to have some sort of ear infection. My ears are itchy and sore!

On Friday I`m taking Mandy to the groomers to have her fur cut off again. I had it done about 3 months ago, but it`s grown out very much since then and I know she`s hot, even though she spends most of her day laying on top of the air conditioning vent!

The "new" me got off work today, changed clothes, grabbed my iPod and went to the park to walk. There`s really NO excuse why I haven`t been! If Betsy can hike 4 miles ( gulp! ) I can get my lazy butt out and walk at least a mile at the park! I`m happy to report that I did walk one mile. It`s the first time I`ve walked that far since I finished my treatments. I don`t kid myself that I`ll do this 7 days a week, but 3 or 4 times would be nice.

Then I came home and did some laundry and vacuumed up all the little bits of papers laying about as someone knocked over my shredder. I do hate to point a paw at anyone, but I know who the culprit is!

So for now I`m taking it easy and having a delightful glass of Chardonnay.

 

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o`er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils,

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

             -william wordsworth

Tags: Wordsworth

Cooler Temps, Naps

               

 

Hello again! It`s a sunny and cool day here in my little piece of Ohio. Right now it`s 66 degrees. Perfect!

I did absolutely nothing today except go to church, pick up some lunch at Taco Bell, and take a nap.

I talked to my daughter for about 30 seconds yesterday. They are safely in New Zealand! The time difference is 16 hours so it`s already tomorrow there (and winter.)

Church was lovely today - very patriotic, as we sang The Star Spangled Banner and many other such songs as the 4th of July draws near.

This may come as a shock, but I`ve decided not to buy any more handbags for a while. LOL, not exactly breaking news, but what I really want is a Dooney and Bourke bag! I can`t get one now as every cent I have has been poured into Corey`s trip and rent. But maybe once school starts again and she has her college loan money I`ll be able to. I would go for a Coach bag - they seem more prestigious, but honestly I much prefer the D&B bags. I don`t normally buy according to brand names anyhow; I buy what I like.

Speaking of money, I just paid $170 to have my car serviced. It was due for an oil change and 15,000 mile maintenance. ( So many miles and I`ve only had it 10 months! ) I hated to pay all that money to have a new car maintained, but what can you do? I have to keep it running well and I want everything to stay covered under the warranty with Toyota. The dealership did give me a loaner car for the day - a very nice Corolla. ( mine`s a Yaris. ) And ofcourse washed it for me.

Did anyone see the HUGE full moon last night?? I was reading that the moon was actually just very,very low in the sky, more than at any other time of the year, thus forming an optical illusion of looking so large. It was breathtaking!

I`ve noticed that since I`ve been working part time at the bank again that my fingers are often numb - Carpal Tunnel like. Sometimes I work my hand and wrist with a one-pound weight and that helps. My toes are still slightly numb due to a certain kind of chemo that I took for so long. I love working part time. I think more than that would be a bit too much.

I hope you`re all having a happy and safe weekend.

God bless---

 

 

 

Tags: New Zealand, 4th of July, Yaris, God bless!