News Day Tuesday

Cody at 10 or 11 (not sure exactly) 

Happy UnMonday, Friends!

Today has been quite quiet for me. I did a little dog-sitting this morning while my mom was visiting the urologist. I worked on my Italian. I watched some YouTube videos. I did a little Pinterest research for toddler activities (Austin is very much into planning things for Cosette to do because he is an awesome dad, as you all know!) I did not do anything on the to-do list from yesterday so... boo hiss on my organizational aspirations. I'll get there eventually.

My parents got something marked off their to-do list today - they hired a guy to do yard work! Austin has been doing it since we moved here and his perception of a perfectly groomed lawn is somewhat different from my mom's perception. She's always just kind of done what needed to be done to bring it up to snuff as she enjoys working in the yard but she really can't physically do that any more. With Austin working so much and having Cosette on one of his days off every week, he doesn't have the time to put into it that he once did. AND... the riding lawnmower quit working about two weeks ago and we haven't been able to figure out how to get it going again. I say "we" as if I had anything to do with it. Trust me, I don't.

Following up on my recent interest in that YouTube series on a visit to North Korea, I watched a video on this guy who defected to North Korea in 1962. I believe there were a few others but this guy was the first. His name is James Dresnok. It was very interesting to see how deeply indoctrinated he has become during his time there. His reason for crossing the border was ... stupid, if you ask me ... his marriage had ended, he had forged a superior's signature on a pass while stationed in South Korea and ... he just figured, why not? Suicide by crossing the DMZ, I guess. He became a propaganda piece for North Korea as did the other men who followed him around that time. He has sons who were born there and who speak English with a Korean accent. It's pretty bizarre because the accent doesn't match the face. The documentary was called, "Crossing the Line" if you're interested in seeing it. I watched it on YouTube.

I'm hearing that the Pumpkin Spice Latte release is September 1st, as in DAY AFTER TOMORROW! I'm wondering if Cosette is old enough for her first PSL as she'll be with us that day... Just kidding. Mostly.

For my first "Autumn themed flavor test" I tried the pecan pie m&ms that I bought last week. They aren't BAD but they are awfully sweet. They taste as if you dipped an m&m in maple syrup. So... maybe if you don't like super sweet things you would want to skip them. I'm a fan of sweet and salty so I think I would like peanut m&ms dipped in maple syrup but you can't make pecan pie with peanuts so...

Me & Bryan circa 1980-ish

Today is my middle son, Cody's birthday and tomorrow is my brother Bryan's birthday! I can always remember Bryan's age because he is ten years younger than me. His birth that occurred in the middle of the night. Jim was 12, I was ten and Michael was 3 so my Aunt Ginger and Uncle Carl came and stayed with us when my parents went to the hospital. At some point during the night they opened my bedroom door and turned on the light and said, "you have another brother!!!" And my ten year old/only girl response was, "turn the light off.". I did grow to love him, as I love all my brothers. Although I always wished for a sister, the ones I gained through marriage have been pretty awesome. Some of them are real awesome and some are not awesome so it balances out to be pretty awesome. (Bryan picked a real awesome one) At any rate... Happy Birthday, Bryan! I've always been proud of your accomplishments but I'm even prouder of seeing you as a husband and father!

Tomorrow is also my nephew Caleb's birthday. We haven't seen him in awhile but we love him dearly and are thinking about him on his ... yikes... 12th birthday!

Tomorrow my mom has two procedures to try to get more information on her health situation. I'll share more when we know more but keep her in your prayers tomorrow. And also, keep my dad in your prayers as he is not great at waiting and he'll be doing a lot of it tomorrow. Praying for comfy waiting rooms and long naps for him. I'll be Oscar sitting so pray for the cats (LOL!). Sometimes Oscar is friendly with the cats and sometimes he isn't. We are anxious to know what my mom is facing. I just keep trying to remember that God knows already and has been working to prepare us all for whatever news comes... and of course you never know anything right away so it's really more the beginning of waiting than it is a resolution. Her first procedure is one I've had before and it's uncomfortable all by itself but then she has a long drive, another procedure and another long drive to face afterwards.

Lots of my news for today is really about tomorrow and the next day, it seems... it's all part of being a daily blahhhhger. Some days are just dull. I haven't watched much actual news today. I said I'd go back to the 24 hour news cycle after the Olympics and I really haven't. It's on in the background with the sound mostly off while I do my Italian lesson in the morning. I check online news periodically throughout the day and I leave it on the news channels during the night in case there's something big breaking, I'll see it on one of my multiple bathroom breaks during the night. I'm still so aggravated with the political situation in our country. I feel like we've dealt with so much legitimate tough stuff as a family this year with my mom being sick and the custody stuff and it just makes me angry that people like Anthony Weiner are in the news because he is such a massive pervert and that Colin Kaepernick doesn't have enough human decency to stand for the National Anthem. Our country may not be perfect but it's done an awful lot for him. There's so much more in life that MATTERS. It's just easier to keep my blood pressure under control if I don't watch much news. Does that make sense?

End of anti-news rant on News Day Tuesday.

I'm catching up on my DVR'd shows this evening and maybe watching a few more episodes of Drop Dead Diva. We had a great dinner - chicken and rice. I'm having a peaceful, easy evening and I hope you are too! Just two more days until Pumpkin Spice everything! Love and hugs, y'all!

The "To Do" List

Combining inventories... a work in progress

My blog needs work now that we're all coming here more often. It occurred to me today that I was still showing Austin's age as 21 in the border of my blog and he turned 22 in March. Cody's birthday is tomorrow so I needed to change his age too. I also realized my photos were sort of dated and... didn't include my grandchildren... so I made a lame attempt to update it all. I got sort of cross-eyed looking at photos. The ones I ended up using aren't necessarily the best photos or my favorite photos so... let's call this a work in process.

Speaking of works in progress... this is a good day for making a Wish List / To Do List or whatever you want to call it. Revamping the blog is at the top of the list and although I didn't get it exactly like I want... I did work on it today. It felt productive.

Also, remember I mentioned a friend gifting me some of her husband's embroidery supplies since he passed away recently? Today I started sorting through and combining his "floss" inventory with mine. It was rough on my back bending over but there's something about having all that thread that makes me feel inspired... energized... READY TO SEW! I also was given a project of my Grandma's that she needed help finishing and then yesterday my second cousin Rachel contacted me about sending me some of her unused supplies. I thought... hmmm... maybe I'm supposed to start sewing again. Life seems to be pushing me in that direction. It really is an amazing way to feel productive when the days all look the same. Step one was combining inventories... maybe tomorrow I can actually start to sew!

We also need to get started on Christmas stockings for this year. We don't yet know who will be with us at Christmas but the stockings we made a few years ago were sent home last Christmas with the idea that we would make new ones again this year. I've been searching "DIY Christmas Stockings" so we can get started soon. It's a long road from idea to complete project for me so... time to get crack-a-lackin'!

My mom is the one who operates the sewing machine and she's not doing great, health wise. Tomorrow she sees a urologist about some kidney issues then the next day they do further tests with the gastro doctor about the new places of cancer they found on the little bit of pancreas she has left. I feel like we need to get things done before they start doing anything treatment wise that might make her not feel well.

I'm also sort of thinking about buying Christmas gifts but I have a bad habit of choosing a gift and having it purchased and wrapped and then I find other things that I would want that person to have so I buy more and more. We've spent a lot on lawyers this year and I still have a long way to go with the dental work (see next paragraph) so I'm going to try to be conservative on the Christmas spending this year. I'm keeping an eye out for gifts in case I come across "the perfect gift" for someone but trying to keep it off the official to do list for a little bit longer.

OY. The Dental Work. It's at the top of the "got to get it done" list. My dental anxiety has grown exponentially since we started working on things and I kind of just abandoned the process. I mean, there were things that made it hard for me to intentionally subject myself to addition pain like... having a hysterectomy and going through the custody drama. But it's time. On my list for tomorrow: make my next appointment.

Speaking of making appointments... I've been talking about going to the eye doctor since... forever... I can't see to drive after dark. I'm using cheaters to read and sew. I have all these headaches and I really need to get the vision piece of my health issues taken care of. Ask me tomorrow if I've made those two appointments: dental and vision. Remind me. Don't let me put it off any more.

On more of a "wish list" than a "to do list" although, I imagine they sometimes cross over. I want to re-do my bathroom. Not as far as replacing the shower with a tub/shower combo (which is what I REALLY want to do) but just as far as painting it a color I enjoy more... new shower curtain... a bigger and better mirror... new towel racks and all that. I thought I'd add it to my Christmas Wish List but in the meantime, if I see something that fits in with my mental image of how my bathroom should look... well... I might have to go ahead and buy it.

I've been thinking about doing a gallery wall on the big wall in my living room for a long time now. I have so many awesome pictures of the babies and treasured photos of my kids growing up, old photos that I've been meaning to have reprinted and artwork that has been just sort of piled up and not hung. I can't hang pictures myself but I could gather everything, get it framed and plot it out so that when I have access to a son with a hammer, I can put him to work.

Speaking of sons... Cody's birthday is TOMORROW! He will be 26! How many of you were around when he was born? He has always been the sweetest, most compassionate kid... On my "to do" list this week is getting together a little birthday party for him for this coming Saturday when they come to visit, you know, cake and stuff. If you're going to be in White County on Saturday around noon and you want to my sweet middle child... stop by and say hello!

Also speaking of sons... I talk to the younger two all the time because of the babies but I need to sit down and chat with the eldest one day soon. He's planning a wedding.... or at least Sara is planning a wedding... and they're still adjusting to life in Myrtle Beach. I hope to be able to make the trip out there soon, you know, when it's not hotter than the face of the sun outside. Time with Ryan is definitely on the to-do list.

If you stop and think about it long enough... can't you name off five or ten people you need to make an effort to contact or spend time with? I can. Being physically limited makes me reluctant to contact people because I feel like the question "how have you been?" always brings down the tone of the conversation if I say how I really am. And I feel so guilty for not being physically present in people's lives and not really having the potential, realistically, to be present any time soon/ever. That's an unhappy item on my to do list. I could, however, be better about written communication. I'm never going to be better at telephone communication but I can write, right?

I need to clean my closet out. Some of it is too much for me but I could do it in small bites here and there. There are so many things I own that I am just not going to wear again. Other than a few special items, for the most part I'm just wasting space. Then maybe I could stop piling clothes on the bed.

Is it too early to break out the fall decor? That's on my to-do list. Along with purchasing my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season. Rumor has it that PSL hits the stores on September 1st. Anyone have an "in" at Starbucks who can let me know? The chalkboard markers I used for Olivers birthday chart can be used on windows! I'm eager to draw some pumpkins and... whatever else Autumnal that is within my artistic ability on my big sliding doors.

So... I guess I need to put away the laptop and start ticking things off the to-do list, don't I? I mean... I did get the thread sort of halfway sorted today... and I updated the blog a little... so I've made some progress. AND I have been a better blogger lately, right? I think I'm at my productivity limit for the day so I'll get back at the list tomorrow. For sure. What's on your to do list for this week? I'd love for you to share!

Happy Monday... love and hugs, y'all!