Teehee Tuesday~

Things that made me grin this week!

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I giggle as I see you try to call me
as I stand not 4 feet away.
[How did you miss the short girl on crutches?]

I glowed deep into the depths of my soul
as you grinned back at me.

I am impatient to get you alone so I can kiss
that grin right off your face.

I love to sit with you on a sun-shiny day
and share the news we haven't been able to share in the same air-space for weeks!

I adore the feel of denim when it is poised next to your thigh.

I have to remember to stop arguing with you when it comes to getting nekkid.

I smile as I think back on the road trip adventure
we had Friday.

I adore the feel of your thigh as the denim
gets tossed to the other side of the room.

I thank you for taking such gentle care not to hurt my leg~
yet you still rocked my world!

I have warm after-glow today ~
even though it has been hours since we had to part.
Can you spell
SAFARI?
RRawwwrrrr

Something about Cheesy?

I was welcomed back to work!!

Finding my Joy and my Colors!

I have wheels back under my bones so what should I do the last couple of days before I go back to work??
Go see my mom!!!
It was her birthday over a week ago but we all decided we would put off celebrating until Saturday when I could drive and was mobile.
Of course we all love to make a fool out of any birthday kiddo and Mom was no exception!

The meal was wonderful and we all were too full for a full fledged dessert so we got a piece of Key Lime pie and some ice cream and passed the plate! Man the pie was PERFECT!
I then whisked myself up to Portland with the last few items my son
still needed from his house down here and spent the rest of the weekend with him. I was SO lucky to have my grand wees all day Sunday! The men children went off to "man shop" and get a few hours alone without the kids. I was all too happy to babysit. Smart ass oldest boy also brought the babysitter a bottle of vodka.. He told me all the other sitters he has demand it!
Chithead~
We girls decided to check out Uncle B's new yard and enjoy the sucker holes of sunshine while they lasted.



The girls dubbed this the "devil tree"




We aren't exactly sure what was done to these small stumps but we all thought they were pretty coolio!

The girls like to hang out with G-mama cuz she lets them play with her camera! Funny the things a 5 and 7 year old find interesting....






Then I got the camera back to take shots of the moments I enjoyed...


It was time to scoot into the house for a little lunch. Elle is a cooker so she helped in the prep. Portia cleared and set the table...





Grilled cheese sammies, soup, cottage cheese and bananas....
GOURMET!
Then I got the earring fashion show!

I stumbled upon some Christmas gifts that had not made their way up north during the holidays.... The girls LOVED them!
My favorite pic of the weekend....
P's first loose tooth!

Wasn't it only yesterday that she was this big?

Mounting the Dreary

We are born prepared to practice a complex range of miscellaneous emotions. Several of us, though, are uncomfortable confronting our most powerful emotions. We may turn away from delight ~only to despair and reject life’s colors by withdrawing into a world of monotone grey. We may numb ourselves to what we are truly feeling. It’s easier to stifle our emotions than to deal with them, so we may momentarily turn to pleasures such as alcohol, food, sugar, shopping and too much television. We may even deaden our hearts. While it’s normal to briefly seek distractions as a means of coping with controlling emotions, numbing yourself prevents you from confronting your issues and keeps you from ever finding promise or peace. When you are frozen, there is no pain or weakness, but there can also be no bliss or healing.

The behaviors that desensitize you may seem safe or pleasurable, but using them to numb yourself diminishes the value of your life. Numbing yourself so that you don’t have to feel powerful emotions can often satisfy a surface need while jamming your consciousness of a deeper need. You may find comfort in food or shopping when what you really need is spiritual nourishment. The less you feel, the less alive you feel. Your outlook adds luster to your experiences, and serves to link you to the world around you. It is possible to reject yourself of numbing behaviors a little at a time and once again taste life’s rich flavors. When you sense you are engaging in a particular behavior simply to dull your emotions, stop and ask yourself why. Exploring the feelings that force you to numb yourself can help you understand what is triggering your desire to emotionally become paler.

With each numbing activity that you slash out of your life, you’ll find yourself being more aware and experiencing a greater emotionally keenness. Senses once masked by the fog of numbness become sharp and heightened. Traumas and hurt long hidden will emerge to the forefront of your awareness and reveal themselves so that you can heal them. You’ll discover a deeper you—a self that is comfortable experiencing and working through intense emotions with guts and grace.

I have not been dealing well with the lack of human contact these past many weeks. I am a social being. I need to share air with other humans. The visit with my children this last week helped me see just how deeply I had spiraled into a depth of grey that has been keeping me from the joy in my life. I also want to thank my virtual friends for keeping me company for the last two months while I have been sequestered. You are truly blessings to this short girl with weak bones and a weary heart~

I Welcome Spring!

Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.
- Rainer Maria Rilke

Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in a bad mood. Wait Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.
- Robert H. Schuller


In spring time, love is carried on the breeze. Watch out for flying passion or kisses whizzing by your head.
- Emma Racine deFleur



The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.
- Therese of Lisieux

FREEDOM !!!

going.....
Going.....
Going !!!!!!
GONE !!!!!!!
[gawd I need a shave]
Still lots of swelling and the bruising is almost gone. I had to sift through a ton of paperwork to return back to work Monday... ahhhhhhhhhhhh
My new friend for about 4 weeks~ therapy begins the 1st of April!
I can put SOME weight on it so the crutches for a bit longer. See you all in about 2 hours.. I need to go soak in a hot bath!
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Pi Day

Tuesday was my last full day with my daughter before her flight home this morning. We had a great lazy flannel clad sort of day. I got her all to myself for most of the day. BIL had jury duty and the rest of the clan still in town weren't expected until later in the evening due to work and finals so we decided to make a belated Pi Day treat and toss a dinner together to share Tuesday eve. J is not talented in the kitchen but very good at fetch and get, so it made my artistic endeavors easier!
Her favorite is apple pie so that is what she got!
Enjoy the step by step creation of juicy goodness.....

First you need to made the crust. It at times will make or break your pie experience...
Cube up your COLD butter and then
MAKE IT COLDER!
Work it into your flour until it resembles peas

Add your ice water then...Pat it into 2 discs and make it cold AGAIN!

While it is re-chilling start your fruit prep.. we also had a few frozen cherries so we added those as well...

Add your spices. flour and lime juice and toss to coat
Remove the crust from the ice box and quickly roll it out.....
Add your filling and cover with buttery goodness then top with another crust.
Brush with cream and sprinkle raw sugar....

Nirvana!
Oh yes pie.....
with a side of Mac N Cheese...
A fitting meal for the Cheese Clan~~
The aftermath!


Our last supper together before my oldest girlie had to leave for NC.
The visit was wonderful but I was sad to see her leave today...sigh....

Next stop today?
The Dr.'s office to HOPEFULLY get my cast removed....
If so then it is back home to
SHAVE MY DAMNED LEG!!!!!

Sunday House of Cheese Clan

Sunday morning most of the clan [youngest son and his squeeze had to work the morning shift] showed up for old time traditional breakfast..and they brought these!
I made Praline Baked French Toast or as it also may be known as.......

Candy for brekkie.....
I think they were pleased....


Snowshoe? Not so much. It took all his willpower and many verbal reminders that he was NOT invited to eat at the table with us.....
After breakfast it was a furface love fest!
Now... Meet my son-in-law.....
The written word comedian.....





I think the cast gal will be giggling on Wednesday when and if it is removed~~
How do you know when your daughter is making fun of your vertical short comings??
When she plays with your crutches and half her body seems to be down the hall....
You know it is true love when you still let her have cake after dinner.. and she gets her favorite piece...
"Cake was invented to hold up the frosting!"

Needless to say I was in heaven all day!

In the same Zip Code!

Counting Days

Seven days and a wake up
I lose this....




More important~
2 days and a wake
Tall and Lanky comes home!






I haven't seen my oldest daughter in almost 2 years....
North Carolina is WAY too far away.
Wooo hooooo my only redhead is coming to see the Mommers!

New digs... I DIG 'UM

Just rolled in from visiting my son's new place in Portland.
Dammit!
I so want his new kitchen lol~~
He even made the comment "Mom remember my first real apartment in Coos Bay? This kitchen is bigger than that". He was right... This new kitchen is HUGE.
I think I am moving in with him!
I am such a butthead. We drove 3 hours one way to see the new place and pick him up to come back home to get the car as he drove a U-haul one way yesterday. I took my camera but do you think I took one freaking picture?
NO!
But he did send me these pics in an email when he first looked at the place.


SF is so going to berate me.
I am in trouble lol~~
Anyhow the house is great and in an older established neighborhood. Landlord is a sweety and lives across the street so that is kind of nice if anything goes wrong or B has any questions.
Lots of room and very bright, even though the family room is panel and brick.
I plan to trip back up there in a couple of weeks when I get the cast off and can drive myself. I wasn't able to visit with the grand babies as the older one had a huge school project she had to finish and they couldn't break away. It was for the best as we were on a very tight time line to get the truck dropped off and back to Eugene for a job B had to finish. Also here in the valley they are calling for some snow so we didn't want to deal with the idiot drivers coming home in the dark.
We could have run over to my oldest son's house to visit but the umpteen steep stairs up to his hillside home would have been a nightmare for me.

[more stairs INSIDE the house lol]

We all felt bad that I finally was in the same zip code and couldn't connect but... I will be back soon. I am disappointed but I have to admit- 30 minutes is never enough time and I want to make sure to be able to spend some time with my babies.
A week and a half till I am released from this fiberglass prison!!!

We stopped on the way out of PDX at the tiniest little Mexican eatery and had a quick bite and a few giggles before the 3 hour trip home. OMG --Not only some of the best handmade tortillas I've every had in a restaurant, but guacamole to DIE for. I think I will try the way they seemed to make it: VERY creamy and huge pieces of cilantro. It was so good we had to order another side . No dinner for this girl tonight.... I reached my caloric intake for the day after that meal.
Trip back was smooth and rather light traffic so we made good time. I got extra sugar from my sweet son before dropping him off to get his car.
Man I adore that kid...
He makes me feel so special and cherished.
I'll miss him but I do like his new digs...
ROOM FOR MOM!!

Bittersweet Day~

This morning was tough.
I had to say goodbye to my son B.
He is moving about 3 hours to the north but he is going for
a job that I hope makes him happy and challenges him. He
surprised me this morning by dropping in at O-butt dark thirty
for a hug,,, oh and I made him pancakes lol.
It broke my heart to see the u-haul
pull out of my drive.
I will miss stopping in after work
to share our days and sometimes a meal. It is killing me I can't
help him with this move but the BIL
is driving me up there tomorrow so I not only
can check out the new digs...
but also bring him back to town to pick up his car.

Bon Voyage my little man!

Go Ducks!

LOL my new cast!
Hopefully my last!!

Bed Hog~

I'm under the weather today....
But I have great company~

Must See Movie

I just want to share a recommendation for a movie I saw today. The HBO film "Taking Chance" had to be one of the most moving, heart wrenching films I have ever seen. Based on true story of Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a volunteer military escort officer, who accompanies the body of 19-year-old Marine Chance Phelps back to his hometown of Dubois, Wyoming.
It is a very difficult movie to watch but I have been forever touched by it.
I think this movie should be required viewing for all Americans.
Simply~~
Overwhelming.....

Signage

I got out of the house!!!

I went to a retirement party for three co-workers last night and had a blast. I also received my first autograph....
ahhhhh life is good lol !
And so were the chicken fingers and salad~~