Busy week

On Sunday, during church, my pastor phoned the congregation. He's away on a mission trip in North Africa. He phoned from North Africa. I know there are phones there. But it was really exciting thinking about the many miles between Colorado and North Africa, and that we could hear his voice during the service.

"What kind of horse, um, dog is that?" Ah, yes, our Torse the Horse. Here's some pics of Cheri's dog, Bandit:

Bandit is about 10 pounds to Taurus's 90. I think Taurus's head is just about as big as all of Bandit or Kaitlyn for that matter. Maybe Bandit is about as big as Taurus's patch on his back.

Friday, Jan. 25

I went to look at the two cars. Neither one will work. Taurus is too big and the seats don't come out from behind the driver. I'm stuck with a regular mini-van.

Colonoscopy scheduled for Feb. 25. Yea.

Thursday, January 24

Having pie was a big hit with Aaron because he wanted pie for his birthday last night. So off we went for, "Pie, Pie, Me-O-My!" Does anyone know where that came from? Movie trivia.

Sherrie's biopsy was benign. No cancer there. Thank God for that one.

Nate hasn't been doing some homework and got found out yesterday. He over-reacted and the school psychologist was called. He will probably have a short break from GT (gifted & talented program.) Jay and I are not happy about that. Going away from the problem doesn't solve it. It will give him some perspective. Perhaps some time away will help him to think about it instead of being over-whelmed.

Appointment with oncologist yesterday. Much better to meet only with him. All is well. Mammogram scheduled in two months. Then we'll see if I need further tests. He thought MRI every 1 1/2 years. I had to go and tell him about a certain problem I was having and now I have to go get a colonoscopy. Because I haven't had them look there recently. Although I'm hopeful this doctor will decide I don't need one. Ah, yes, another specialist. I suppose you can call me because I'm making the rounds and I will tell you who I liked and who I didn't. Beyond that, it makes me not want to tell him things. Except that I will, I know I have to. Good news is they got me in tomorrow for the initial consult so I don't have to wait.

Hope all is well with you-love, nancy

The cars

So it doesn't look like either car has removable seats. Here's Taurus who needs a good bit of room and just won't fold himself into a car seat.

Clearly it is possible for him to make himself small (?). He stands when I drive.

Not a good picture but the top of the black part on the fireplace is at 32".

The guy at Kia was more than happy for us to bring the whole family including Taurus. He does want to sell a car. It would really have to meet all of our needs: better gas mileage (I'm getting 17 MPG on the van.), smaller with room for everyone, three rows of seats to keep the boys separated (rides in Jay's car where they are side by side, are painful).

The Mazda5 has sliding doors like vans. The Rondo doesn't but we already own a Kia and would likely get a better deal there.

Am I boring you with these ramblings?

Friday, Jan. 18

We got a call from the person who keeps the paint books for our home owners association. I had called them the night we got that crazy letter telling us to paint the whole house. She said that around 100 (out of 500) homes in our neighborhood received that letter. She also said she and her husband drove around to check homes themselves. We do need to do some minor touch-up painting. She said we don't need to paint the whole house. But that touch-up isn't going to be done until it's warmer. Certainly not in 20 degree weather.

I'm looking at different cars. I'd like one that gets better gas mileage but still fits Taurus with one seat removed. I found two small mini-van or cross-over kinds of cars. The Mazda5 and the Kia Rondo. Since I drive Aaron to and from school I've been looking at cars. What else is there to do? Since I'm driving, it's costing lots in gas. More than we anticipated. I've been taking the mileage and feel like my Dad who used to write it all down all the time. I thought I'd call the dealers to find out if either has easily removable seats. Both have fold down seats but Taurus would never fit. Nor would he climb in over the seats. He's not that coordinated. We tried using the boys' old toddler bed for Taurus to sleep on. His foot slipped one time and he never would get back on that little bed.

Yep, today's my birthday...

Thanks for the happy anniversaries and happy birthdays! I have to say I've never been so happy to see a year behind me. It's a relief to be into 2008 and to be 42. Exhale.

My official recipe:

Red 'n' Whites
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 3-ounce pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
36 small ripe strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat the oven to 350. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and cream cheeseuntil well blended. Beat in the sugar and vanilla, then stir in the flouruntil well mixed. Using a 1/2 tablespoon measure, shape the mixture intosmall balls and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Make asmall indentation in the top of each cookie with your thumb. Carefullyplace a strawberry half, cut side down, in each indentation. Bake for 12 to18 minutes or until very lightly browned. Cool on racks. Makes 5 dozen.

Nancy's variations: I've tried fresh black raspberries and red raspberries.The red ones are the best. I also like seedless raspberry jam in them. I usually end up with about 36 cookies because I make mine twice the size. The recipe comes from The Cereal Murders by Diane Mott Davidson.

20 years!

"It was 20 years ago today. Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play." You know the rest.

Did you know that Jay and I have been married 20 years? We were married on a Wednesday in Orlando, FL. Jay had just graduated from Navy boot camp. I had graduated from college Dec. 19. We went to the Orlando court house. A very pregnant Justice of the Peace married us. Kinda funny when she took us into another room, we though she was taking us to someone else but it was her! Jay had to go back to the base that night. He thinks he only stayed two nights on base. I found us an apartment and we moved in on Friday. I was living at a very small hotel. Only for a week. It was the least expensive one I could find. And there weren't any critters scattering when you put the lights on!

Yes, I did mean that anyone could come for our New Year's Day party! We even have space for you to stay here. You can come any other time, too!

To commemorate this special day, we decided to go to a very special restaurant called the "V.I." Have you heard of it? They have great pie. That's really why I wanted to go there. It was my idea. The "V. I."--have you been there? Yes, we went to the Village Inn! It's like Bickford's or Perkins. I had coconut cream, Nate & Jay had white chocolate cherry and Aaron had a brownie with ice cream on it. It was excellent. It was my idea. I want you to know that because I don't want anyone telling Jay, "You took her where?" We had some lovely dinner conversation. We talked about bottom feeders and the fish we don't want to eat. We talked about the poor girl in Nate's math class who vomited. We were also treated to Jay singing some Village People songs on the way home. YMCA, Macho Man, In the Navy. We were at the Village Inn.

I'm not feeling so bad today! Making cookies and taking them to Sherrie was so helpful. Taurus was a bit put out by the change in schedule. But he did get a nice walk out of it. We went to a park by Sherrie's. And I'm happy to make those Red N' Whites for you anytime!!! That recipe came out of a book by Diane Mott Davidson who is a mystery writer here in Denver. I found that recipe about 10 years ago. I made them for my neighbors, Nancy & Bill and Senada & Alex. Nancy & Senada loved it when I made those, too! One friend I took them to told me, "There must be a pat of butter in every one!" Not really, but they do go nicely with a cup of coffee in the afternoon.

Sunday; Jan. 13

We've been quite busy. Doing weekend stuff and relaxing. That doesn't sound busy. We went to see The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything yesterday. The Veggie Tales have gone secular. Not one word about God. I suppose that's what Universal Pictures does to them. There was a magic ball that went to seek heros. There was time travel. There were boats that fell from the sky to rescue people. In fact, I don't think these pirates were really the same ones as in Jonah. It was a disappointment. Although the kids liked it.

My friend will have a biopsy on Tuesday to remove a spot found on her repeat mammogram. If you've seen the last post & comment from Sherrie you've got an idea. Her blog is: http://whatsupgoofballs.blogspot.com/ I'm a mess of emotions. So I cook. I'm making Red N' Whites, a cream cheese butter thumbprint cookie. I'm making them for Sherrie and for the newcomer's brunch on Tuesday. I know this is going to happen to women I love. I also know how all of you felt when I told you. I knew the news would be hard. I don't like being on either side of it.

Friday

Mom is doing well. All tests are normal. I know, as normal as she can be... She thinks she'll go home tomorrow after a stress test.

I called the HOA and the lady I talked to said that others had received the same letter even after just painting their homes within the last year. Big sigh. All we need to do is write a note on the letter telling them we think we received it in error. It seems that that will be the end of it. Welcome to the neighborhood. The letter threatened legal action and they didn't even have the courtesy to sign it. It was a form letter with ridiculously strong language. Unbelievable. Perhaps we'll sleep better tonight.

So I have a friend who had to go back for a second mammogram. I'm trying to practice patience. But after a phone call and e-mail and still no word, I'm not being too patient. She hasn't blogged since Jan. 3 either. (Oh, is this how you feel when I don't blog?)

I'm doing some research on breast cancer. Surprisingly, I am finding more on breast feeding and breast cancer. The idea that it is a "protective factor" sits better with me than calling it a preventative. Since the researchers aren't sure what causes it, they also haven't found a way to stop it from happening. Thus, they can't say one factor or another prevents breast cancer. I'm not finding concrete numbers. But there have been some studies done this year.

I re-submitted Nate's application to the Challenge School. We'll find out in Mid-February. Having both boys at the same school would be wonderful.

Do you know how stupid soap operas are? I can't even begin to explain. I know I should shut the TV off. I guess it's just amusing.

Thursday

Mom is feeling better. Her blood pressure is closer to normal but still low. She said once this is over, she should be able to go back on her BP meds. She'll be getting a new doctor. This is a good thing. Her other one wasn't responsive. They've checked her gall bladder with two tests. She'll have the stress test on Saturday. Not sure when she'll go home. For the most part, she's getting room service and eating bon-bons! She's laughing and teasing about the beeping noises being the french fry alarm.

Oh the joys of home associations. We just got notice that our home is in "critical need of repainting." What? Really? Are they looking at the same house I'm living in?

Wednesday

I got a call from my mom last night. She's in the hospital. She has low blood pressure, shortness of breath, sweating, heart enzymes are off, and tiredness. That's all I know. I'm not worried. She's where she needs to be. It's a good thing she didn't call me when she was feeling bad in the morning. I would have told her to go sleep. We had just been sick and I would have figured it was that. Her friend told her to call the doctor and go right away. That was good. I'm glad she's at home with Don because he would have been very worried if he couldn't see her.

I started a new Bible study yesterday. It's Seeking Him: Experiencing the Joy of Personal Revival by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Tim Grissom. I've never done one by either of them. This study is an "Over the Coffee Cup" group. Kathy asked me to go so I thought I'd try it. Really, she'd been asking me to go since the summer. I'm looking forward to getting to know these new ladies and seeing what all I'm going to learn.

Fruit Cake Toss

I found out that in Manitou Springs, CO at the base of Pikes Peak, they have an annual Fruit Cake Toss. We went on Saturday. We saw a few tosses and decided that was enough. The other part about Saturday was that there were extreme winds and gusts. Jay had trouble holding the steering wheel on the drive down. At least we can say we went to a Fruit Cake Toss.

January 6

You're probably wondering where I've been. Or not. My Mom came on the 31st. We hosted a New Year's Day brunch. It was alot of fun. I think we'll do that next year also. And you're all invited! We had BBQ pulled pork mini-sandwiches, quiche (of course!), chips & dip, vegies, cookies, cole slaw, cheese & crackers. And Kathy's baked french toast with Pannettone bread which is a citrus-y kind of bread with dried fruit in it. Excellent for french toast.

Too many interruptions--more later...