Mondays We Do Fun!....

I feel like I have been running on a treadmill that won't stop lately!  No time to clean, no time for shopping, no time for phone calls with friends, no time to blog...but Monday we just took the day and made time for FUN!

 It was hang out with Gramma and Gramps day and we did just that...hung out.

We hung out in bed in the morning with Care Bears on the Kindle.

 We filled the sink with suds in the bathroom and just made a mess. 

 We laid on the floor with Gramps until it was warm enough to go outside and help him move the playhouse.

We supervised...

 We picnicked....

We enjoyed the sunshine.

 We rode on the vacuum...necessary because Gramps forgot to take off his muddy shoes when he came in the house.

And we made a tent under the table when Aunt Sara came home from work. 

We played... and even when you get old some days that is just what you have to do!

What's Going On?.....

Oh goodness...it has been a very busy week or maybe more!

I have been going like I was young again and I assure you my body knows I am not.

So a quick recap of the last 7 or 8 days in an even quicker post!

B I N G O!!!

Sadly not!

Three $700 pots and we did not win one of them...not even the $200 ones and I would have been thrilled with that!

And to my surprise, no more dobbing on sheets of BINGO cards...like the rest of the world even BINGO has gone high tech.  No brain required, just a finger than can continually press "enter".

A L A R M S!!!!

Way too many!

Why on earth did I think it was a good idea to accept so many sub jobs this month?

Up at 5:15 am on way too many cold mornings....crawling out of my very warm bed and dragging myself to work when I would much rather be watching "Live With Kelly and Michael" and drinking a cup of coffee.

C P R?

Yes, an interactive lesson and I got paid to watch this session for teen parents on how to revive a baby.

I will take that!  I have never had formal training on this and with two grandbabies it is a day that was well spent. 

So, no complaining here about taking this assignment.

L A U N D R Y!!!!

Way too much!  I am so behind.  When you take a two hour nap when you get home from work everyday you tend to get behind on the essentials.  Yuck!

W E D D I N G!!!

Sadly while most of the legwork was being done last week, I was covering a classroom.

So much to do, so little time!!!

But...so much excitement over what lies ahead!

D O W N T O N  A B B E Y!!!!

Oh I am so sucked into the British soap opera.

So, while I am watching Season 3, I am also catching up on Seasons 1 and 2.

There is nothing like knowing the end before you know the beginning!

I am, however, among the 1000's of fans who are hoping that they come up with a way to revive the seemingly deceased Matthew before the start of Season 4.  You simply cannot get rid of the character that is the strongest draw to the show.  That is not how we do things in America.

B A B I E S!

Oh how I miss them!

It is time to redo the schedule and fit in a lot more time for hugs. 

This crazy schedule is just not how I envisioned retirement!

Would You????.....

Go stand in line with over 600 swooning teen age girls just to get up close and personal with the HUNK who asks women every week 

"WOULD YOU ACCEPT THIS ROSE?"

Well, as a matter of fact....yes, I would!  And ...yes I did!  I am not embarrassed, or ashamed, or humiliated.  I am living life differently lately.  My new motto:

Throw caution to the wind because you only live once.
Be a little spontaneous!

I am deciding to do what I want and when I can go hug on the man all America is in love with, well, I am going.

I am an incurable optimist.  I believe in Sean.  Just like I believed in Emily, and every other bachelor and bachelorette that preceded them.  I actually think this guy is for real.  I think he is an ordinary guy that really wants a wife and I think this time it will work out....remember I am an optimist! I also know that if he does not find love with one of the 25 women on the show (and please don't let it be Tierra) that there are another 500 plus available females at Freed's that would be happy to line up for a chance with this guy.

It was fun.  I have a picture and a rose.  It was a rainy Saturday and there was nothing else on my agenda that said I could not waste a little time.

Would I do it all over again?

Why, yes I sure would!!!

Clearly Convinced.....

It has been a long road...a long road through doctors and dentist offices lately and quite frankly, I am getting pretty tired of spending time with anyone associated with the medical profession.  I mean, I have the utmost respect for them I assure you, but given the chance to do something else with my day my alternative choices are endless.

I have been on a hunt of sorts.  They are still trying to decide why eating has been a huge problem for me since I had unplanned surgery.  Through countless tests they have determined that my stomach does not lie where it belongs any longer. Interesting fact?  

Knowing that...the next step was to down a plate full of radioactive eggs (seriously) to determine where the food goes once ingested.  The answer...NOWHERE!  After 4 hours when 90% of it should have left my stomach 73% still remained. I am not sure how I should have felt with all of those nuclear particles traveling around inside of me all day, but I know it was a pretty spectacular sight on camera.

So....what I know...my stomach is in the wrong place full of food.  No wonder I throw up!

And my new tooth....it is in three pieces.  I cannot eat with it in my mouth.  So to ingest the food that won't digest, I have to take it out.  And while it was sitting on the table the dog got it and chewed it into three pieces.  Very true story.  Back to the dentist.  Two full days without a tooth and another hefty charge to repair it.

So, I am clearly convinced there is really no need for me to eat.  I am not quite ready for a feeding tube but liquid nourishment is sounding better everyday.....

I AM CLEARLY CONVINCED!!!

Move Over Andrew Firestone.....

The Shubzda Family is jumping on the culture train!  Instead of chugging cans of beer wrapped in a coozi, we are sipping fine wine and rating those we deem the best.  We even allowed the Bergeson's to tap into our Sunday afternoon event and introduced a new flavor this week...
the PINOT NOIR.

You must realize that we don't just let anybody partake in this event.  You have to have your wine tasting license and be proven a connoisseur of great flavors. 

We lined up the bottles, placed them in numbered brown bags and proceeded to taste!

There are rules you know.

*A professionally drawn chart has to be used.

*Wine should be cool, not cold.

*All glasses odor free, no dishwasher residue.

*Fill wine glass 1/4 full.

*Observe visually on a white cloth to note color and clarity (think we missed this step...but they did swirl to look for legs!)

*Sniff and then clear nose for 30 seconds before tasting.

*Sip into mouth and swish around palate...don't swallow, spit it out....AH, NO!!!...not a spitter in the crowd!  You think this family spits out liquor??!!!

And the clear winner was....

DeLoach PINOT NOIR!

Chosen by the professionals.

Like I said....move over Andrew Firestone..our own vineyard is next!

My New Accessory......

Well, I imagine this made you look several times!

Yes, this is my new mouth wear.  Just got it this morning.  Been waiting on this prize for close to a year.  When you know your front tooth is falling out, I assure you wait as long as you can before you pull the trigger and have the surgeon yank it!

 I will now have the pleasure of getting up in the morning and brushing my teeth (minus one) and putting on my usual day wear of yoga pants, tee shirt, and flip flops, and completing my outfit with this lovely "flipper"....for 7 to 8 months!

In my infinite wisdom I choose to put this ordeal off until it now requires a bone graft, then an implanted titanium post and finally somewhere around the holidays a tooth.

It is not just the trauma of having no front tooth...it is the financial toll it took on my bank account.  I try not to focus on the $$$$'s.  We are lucky enough I can do this but when you dump $4100 out of your wallet (that is after insurance did their part) it tends to take your breath away!

For that amount of money I could:

*Spend a week in New York strolling in Central Park, dining with the stars, seeing everything on Broadway, and sleeping in the best hotels.

*I could be wearing some serious BLING!!!!

* I could treat the family to a fun little vacation together.

*I could redo my master bath.
*I could replace the chair and ottoman in the family room with a recliner for Jimmy...I could replace the whole family room with new furniture.

*I could travel to Kenya to meet our foster son.

*I could have someone clean my house for me for the rest of my life.

*I could even get Jimmy a yard man so he did not have to mow two lawns every week.  

Or I could have just left the tooth out and signed up to be a cast member on "Duck Dynasty".

I think the outfit I wear daily, my extra large hair, and lack of a front tooth would entitle me to a spot in the main house!

As disclaimer once again on my end....I am in a drug induced state, the pain pill is starting to wear off, and I am heading to the kitchen for water and another handful of meds.  Maybe when I wake up I will find this whole thing funny, but right now I wish I was in New York.

In The Midst....

In the midst of the sorrow of losing Gary comes the joy of the baptism of Eli. 

Sometimes God knows that it takes a gentle nudge to remind us of His goodness.

As Gary met God through his death.....Eli met God through the sacrament of Baptism.

Just a reminder of the gift of our faith.

"Baptized in water, sealed by the Spirit, marked with the sign of Christ, our King; 
Born of one Father, we are his children, joyfully now God's praise we sing. "

Broken.....

Broken is really what I am feeling right now.  It is just not me, it is our entire family as we try and process the tragic loss of my niece's husband on Wednesday night.  A wreck, a serious wreck, gone instantly, at the scene.  Gary was on his way home from a business trip, just an hour away from his wife and daughter when his truck was broadsided by a semi, and in that moment a child lost a father and  Tammy lost her husband.  Gary was 33...far too young to become a fatality.

Gary's death is a grim reminder that we never know what the day holds when we wake up.  I think I learned that early, though the first recollection I have of tragic loss was my husband's brother just five months after we were married.  Only 17 year's old..Bill was killed walking across a street.  Hit by another teenager.  Watching our family, most of all my mother-in-law cope is forever ingrained in my mind.  Her son was gone.  He walked out the door and moments later he was dead.  How do you deal with that?  My first born son was named after Bill...William Seth Shubzda.  We called our baby Matthew Seth Shubzda.

I was forced to face first hand the tragic loss I saw my mother-in-law handle when Matt was gone in that same kind of awful second.  Just one moment...not a lengthy illness, but a moment that changed our lives for ever.  I wanted to back up time and do this all over again.  I wanted to change the course of that plane.  If only Matt had just moved a little more to the right or left, if only Bill had come back in for a drink of water, if only Gary had not tried to turn around on that road...if only.

I know that we all have days we want to be over just because maybe we don't feel like making dinner, or the line at the bank took too long, or the weather was awful, or we have a headache.  Oh how Bill, Matt, and Gary would love to have one of those days.    

This has once again been a reminder of what we take for granted, of the time we waste being angry, or the things we do not take the time to be grateful for.  In every bad day is some good, even if it is just the fact that we woke up.  Finding reasons to be thankful might put a smile back on our face.

Oh, how we will all miss Gary.  He was happy.  He was always that easy going, seemingly carefree soul that did not appear to have a problem in this world.  The perfect way to live your life.
The picture of our family has changed once again.  It is not the expected change like the death of a parent, but the loss of someone taken far too early in life.  We don't understand, but we pray...for healing and for acceptance as we stick together because that is what our family has done through far too many tragic moments.

I am thankful tonight for all the pictures the family complains about me taking.  I snap far too many....but tonight it was so easy for me to find reminders of that grin that will put a smile on my face when I think of Gary...he left a hole in the family that breaks all of our hearts.

"In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…..In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials."

1 Peter 1 3-6

Even in the darkness light dawns for the upright, for the  gracious and compassionate and righteous man....He will have no fear of bad news: his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
Psalm 112: 4,7

Sunshine and Smiles......

"Oh, what a beautiful morning,

Oh, what a beautiful day, 

I've got a beautiful feeling,

 Everything's going my way"

I was just listening to Hugh Jackman sing on "Katie" and boy did his words (and his face) make me smile!!!  Seems pretty appropriate to think in terms of beautiful now that we have been able to bust out of this dreary freeze we have been in for weeks.

 What a blessing to get out of the house!!!  Cabin fever had us all about to resort to drastic measures for a little outside time.  Fresh air feels so good when you have been confined to interior walls.

Makes us all have a whole new attitude....and surely helps keep my New Years Resolution on track!

Snowed In Again......

 Well, this morning found us blanketed in the white stuff once again...unexpectedly.  Being ever so glad I had not accepted a sub job that would have meant I would have been on the roads at 6:45 a.m., I just turned up my electric blanket and decided it would be a good time to reflect.  I am likely to reflect on LOTS of things depending on the day but we are half way through January so maybe it was time to think about how my New Years resolution was going. I am not one ounce lighter, but I did not put weight loss on my list.  I have not walked so much as a block, but I did not resolve to exercise either.

I just decided it was time to have a better attitude this year.  If Dr Phil was sitting here, he would of course ask, "AND HOW IS THAT WORKING FOR YOU?"

 I guess to get a really definitive answer you would have to ask those around me, but personally I feel  much less stressed than I have been in awhile.  For instance, I am not at all bothered by the overloaded trash can in my pantry.  My hubby is retired now and where I might normally be in an angered state because he was on the couch reading his iPad instead of tackling garbage...well, I don't care.  I just take it out myself. I don't even complain to all my phone friends that he is sitting and I am working!

 My, usual "I NEED PROZAC" moments, when I am surrounded by shoppers on their cell phones.  Not to worry, I am fine.  Not even flustered.  So what that I have to listen to them talk about their missing member in their bridge club.  I  repeat....I am fine.  What if it takes ten extra minutes in the check out line because they don't know that the cashier is waiting for them...I will just play another game on my phone while I wait.

It is all about attitude and I will continue to be patient and understanding even if it kills me.

And while I am reflecting, I am so sorry I never stood in the kitchen with my mother.  She was a great cook.  I just was NOT interested.  So now, while trying to duplicate her German Potato Salad and fresh green bean I have to admit I am an EPIC fail.  It would have taken so little time to pay attention.  I am just not too good at paying attention to anything, except an overflowing trash can and shoppers on their cell phones.
Attitude...just 11 1/2 months to go.

Goodbye Good Friend.......

 I have started this post about five times and then sadly erased it and walked away...simply because I do not know what to say.  I was thinking only positive thoughts as we entered 2013.  We had our share of negativity in 2012 so this year was going to be great.  

We lost a friend yesterday....a great friend.  Walter was our lake buddy.  He and Jimmy were the best of friends...from the day we bought our lake home on wheels (our single wide trailer that literally stunk) we knew that we found gold in our next door neighbors.  Walter and Doris were senior citizens...recently retired at 65, and us at a young 50 years of age, we bonded over lawnmowers and cold beer.  

We looked forward to going to the lake just so we could visit with them.  Jimmy never missed a weekend.  He and Walter shared lawn mowing duties...one mowed and the other trimmed.  They managed two lots together with never a problem.  They were always in sync.

Six years ago when we moved to a lake house with a foundation it was a bit of a sad time.  Half the fun of being at the lake was our neighbors.  We continued our get togethers and visited over breakfast and Mexican food.  A trip to Cedar Creek without seeing Walter and Doris just did not seem right.

Walter and Doris never had kids....we were their kids, and our kids were like their grandkids.  Never mind that there was really only 15 years difference in our ages, they were our adopted parents!

Walter went to the lake for the last time yesterday.  He drove from his home in Arlington to meet a man about a water leak.  He never met with the man.  He died in his truck from a massive heart attack...one day after his 80th birthday.  Perfectly healthy at breakfast and gone by early afternoon.

As I think about all of this I guess I am just really sad for us.  How can you be sad for Walter?  He had 80 wonderful years.  He is gone.  No lengthy illness, no suffering, no life support for endless days...he is just gone.  And he left this world in one of his favorite places...his house at the lake. A perfect scenario.  We should all be so lucky.  

We will miss you Walter....more than I have words for.  You were nothing  but a genuine gentleman.  

Goodbye good friend.

Look Who's One!!!!.......

 Finley

aka....

Fin

Finny Winny

Swiper

Sunshine

 Our baby is a year old today.  How can that be???

A year ago this precious bundle arrived and I had no idea there would be room in my heart to love anyone as much as I loved Brooklynn.

 I was so wrong.  

She is appropriately called "Sunshine" by her daddy.  She is exactly that.  

Finley is a big smile and a bundle of love all day long.

I am blessed in a way that I cannot describe.  

There are great things on the horizon in 2013....

and we started out with smiles, cake, and SUNSHINE!