Friday, May 30, 2008

the "white plate special"...


(just what the doctor ordered... southern style)

well, hey, all...

i'm back after a not so little hemorrhage, a unit of fresh frozen plasma, 2 units of blood, and an all-inclusive 3 day/2 night stay in the maternity ward at st. mary's medical center... no, i did not have a baby. but, i will have to admit when the tech first squirted the heated ky gel on my tummy and i looked up at the monitor, i had a moment of hope and wonder:)
but, there will be no more babies for me without a true miracle...

here is where my public service announcement goes>>>
(IF YOU ARE TAKING OR EVER START TAKING BLOOD THINNERS OF ANY KIND, HAVE YOUR PRO-TIME/ AND INR CHECKED AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU HAVE BEEN ON THE DRUG FOR 2 MONTHS OR NEARLY 15 YEARS (likemewho'dgone1&1/2yearswithoutbloodwork...)!!!)

a hemorrhage along with blood that will not clot is a dangerous mix, REALLY!!! and, i am going to say that i was thisclose to going back home instead of taking myself to the hospital on tuesday morning because i felt more like going back to bed (exhausted) than dealing with an emergency room.

had i made that choice, i was told i probably wouldn't have been alive to pick katherine up from school on tuesday afternoon...
I'M TELLING YOU THAT IT WAS DIVINE INTERVENTION...
it would have totally been my own decision to go back home and to bed.

further, let me just say that i have not told you any of this for your sympathy (as i am usually very private about my health matters) but TRULY for educational purposes only. it was NOT smart of me to have gone so long without having the blood work-ups that i was supposed to have been having monthly. my only defense in the matter is that i have been on the same dosage for all these years, and the only time i have had to readjust my coumadin (blood-thinner) dosage is when i have had to take antibiotics, which i haven't had to take in ages.

if you are wondering why i have a picture of a plate of food at the top of my post, it is because the 'anonymous d' sent her darling, little elizabeth katherine escorted by ek's sweet, sweet grandmommie with that meal in tow. the anonymous one knew that the iron i have been having to take to build my hemoglobin up has been 'killing' my stomach.

so, being the amazing friend she is, she sent me comfort food, AND IT WORKED!!!

A PLATE FULL OF STARCH HELPS THE IRON MARCH... IN A MOST 'D'LIGHT FULL WAY:b
(who needs mary poppins when you have super-d's??? i ask!!!)

why did i call it the white plate special??? meg m.'s (who i used to help babysit and later visited in memphis after her family moved) mom, annie, used to refer to the cracker barrel's dumplings and mashed potatoes that meg always ordered as "the white plate special". annie died about a year ago. so, when i pulled the food from the bag i smiled sweetly at the words i could hear her voice saying in my head...
the reference i'd heard so often...

thank you, "anonymous d" et al for the "white plate special"... as well as all you dear blogger friends who have sent well wishes and prayers my way!!!

you know, heaven smiles softly and hears every prayer...

love and God's blessings,
dani xx


Monday, May 26, 2008

remembrance...



(memorial day in our town)

crosses are set up each year in our central park in memory of all those hendersonians who served in the armed forces and have since died. our local american legion has always been in charge of this great undertaking. they have seen to it that all the crosses have been erected and that new names have been added to the crosses each year.

it has always been up to friends and family members to decorate (place flowers, flags, pictures, etc.) at each of the crosses. up until the last few years an elderly couple, herb and jane hoffman, in our community have gone to the park with artificial flowers in tow and have decorated each empty cross so that no veteran's cross would go undecorated... unnoticed.

given that mrs. hoffman died recently, and mr. hoffman is no longer physically able, the legion now sees to it that every cross has at least a small american flag attached.

it is a really quite beautiful, serene sight to behold...

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

Sunday, May 25, 2008

wii be fit and 'ish...



(it does look like a set of scales...)

on our trip home from the movie friday night, barrett and i were discussing the new wii fitness that had just recently been released. barrett told me his mother was wanting to buy it. i told him that if she found two to buy two and that i would repay her (they are very hard to find as they are flying off the shelves as fast as stores are stocking them).

anyway, my little rett called last night at around 7pm to let me know that walmart had gotten 3 of them in and that they were going to buy one of the three. i, of course had just gotten out of the shower, had wet hair, and couldn't leave right then.

ENTERJOHNFROMHISMOTORCYCLINGTRIP
WITHTHESOREBOTTOM!!!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

"john, i know what you can get me for my birthday..." i said very sweetly.
"what???" he asked.
"well, they have 2 wii fitness games at walmart," i replied.
"a wii fitness!!! what is that???" he inquired.
"it's a new, low-impact exercising game, wii has just released," i said.
"oh." he stiffly lowered himself into his chair-and-a-half while rubbing his sore bottom.
"and, if you go right now, you can probably get me one..." i continued.
"are you serious???" he said looking over his shoulder at me.
"yeah, if you don't go now, they will be gone..." i continued (smiling and batting my kelly greens).

to my surprise (not really), he stood, checked his back pocket for his checkbook (or was rubbing his aching arse, HA!!!), and said he'd be back in a few minutes.

ILOVETHATBOYOFMINE!!!
EVENIFHEHADDISSEDMYREQUEST!!!

about 20 minutes later, i heard hannah squeal from the den then call for katherine. katherine had just come from my shower. she and i went into the kitchen to see about what hannah was squealing. there stood john grinning like the cheshire cat holding the wii fit box upright on the counter for all to see.

"it was the last one!!!" he exclaimed victoriously (obviously feeling quite proud of his feat)... the sales lady asked me if i was the one who called to say i was an hour away on my way to get it," he continued. "i told her it MIGHT have been you:D" he told the sales lady a fib!!! BRILLIANT!!!
(but, it WAS first come first served, and my boy WAS first on the scene...)

"HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY, DEAR!!!" he said elatedly.
(idigwhenhecallsme'dear'!!!)

************************

now, for those of you who read me on a daily basis, remember back to mother's day/my anniversary... when katherine said she was sure john had given me my birthday present for my (forgotten) anniversary???
i'm pretty sure she was right...
BAAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!

when john handed me my wii fit, i said to him. "oh, i love it!!! i cannot believe you've been riding around with this in your truck for 5 weeks now:o[)!!!" he just grinned.
(so sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!)

*************************

i haven't gotten it out of the box yet because i want to start it and my diet at the same time... ahem, today. but, i know it is going to be interesting. i was reading barrett's new blog last night. in it he said the wii fit told him he was fat (which he is NOT/i on the other hand...), it made him upset, and, so he went and ate!!!

lol, pray that when the thing tells me i'm morbidly obese i don't do the same!!! REALLY!!!

love and God's blessings,
dani xx


Saturday, May 24, 2008

where they throw the rolls???



john came in a couple of nights ago from work and with his sheepish grin proceeded to tell me he was going on a motorcycle trip saturday (today). i vaguely remember him saying that a group of guys from work were going to travel to somewhere in missouri. i was more concerned about pointing out the fact that he hadn't gone to the riding classes he promised me he would attend before taking any trips on his harley.

"i'm really good at it, dani," he assured me. "i am always really, really careful."
SIGH!!!
WHATAMIGOINGTODOWITHHIM???

anyway, last night i asked him what time he would be leaving this morning and
would be returning this evening. he said they were meeting at 8am and should return before dark. so, a little before 8 this morning, john gave me a kiss on the cheek, whispered an "i love you", and said he was leaving. i remember telling him back that i loved him too (and, i do!!!) and to be careful; then i drifted off to sleep.

i got up this morning and did around the house. at about noon, katherine's phone rang. she talked for a few minutes and then told me that her dad had just called to say that he'd gotten there safely... THERE??? where was there???

"where did he say he was?" i asked her. i didn't know he had a destination, as i just thought they were riding???...
"i don't know," she replied, "i think he said somewhere in missouri."

so, i grabbed my cell and called him.

"hello?" he said.
"hey, where are you?" i asked.
"well, i'm standing outside lambert's cafe waiting to get in to eat," he replied.
"the place where they throw rolls???" i inquired.
"yes, i told you where i was going on thursday night."
"i don't remember you saying you were going to lambert's, though. i thought you guys were just going riding..."

MY HUSBAND RODE 8 HOURS FOR A MEAL AND TO GET ROLLS THROWN AT HIM!!!
I'D SAY IT'S A MID-LIFE-CRISIS; BUT HE'S PAST THAT (i think).
GO FIGURE!!!

thankfully he is home now and in one piece:D
with a full tummy and a sore bottom (bahahahahaaa!!!).

ILOVETHATMANOFMINE!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx

Friday, May 23, 2008

two girls, a peasant, and indiana jones...




i had a date this afternoon with katherine, her bff hannah, and barrett (kat's peasant with a fro, who has a most humorous new read:o) to go and see the kingdom of the crystal scull... i love, love, love harrison ford as well as the aforementioned three:D

the indiana jones movies have all been incredible; my favorite is the last crusade because, imo, sean connery and harrison ford rock as a father/son duo!!! it is hard for me to believe, however, that it's been 19 years since that movie was released!!! where has the time gone??? i was only a sophomore in college in 1989 when the last crusade was released...

anyway, i picked my three "dates" up from school this afternoon, we were entertained by the peasant with a fro (barrett's sure all are envious of his curly locks and rightfullly so, lmao!!!), we went to g.d. ritzy's (a greasy burger joint) because barrett's "tumblin' was a rumblin'" (or so he said), ate, and went to the early movie.

the kingdom of the crystal scull was VERY good. i think it has gotten mixed reviews, but we all really liked it:D

*****just as an aside... something that was very funny to me was nearly all the talk shows have made a big deal out of the fact that harrison ford could still fit into his original costume (mainly making a big deal that he could still wear the pants)... well, if the pants he had on in the kingdom of the crystal scull were indeed his original costume pants, he and i could have both fit into them;] they were waaaaaaaaaaaaay loose!!!
and, indy still has only one fear... SNAKES!!!
(i don't like them either!!!)*****

that's all i'm giving away about the movie because it really is worth going to see on the big screen. enjoy:D and, get a box of jr. mints for me (they didn't have any today:[...)!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx

Thursday, May 22, 2008

thread in time thursday...

my snap-shots of katherine 4 to 8 years-old:D
LOL!!! my baby had some big-arse bows, huh???



love and blessings,
dani xx

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

george washington is most definitely rolling over in his grave...




my brother showed up at my house donning this pink hillary clinton shirt last night...
(dani shakes head... not as a political statement.)

sadly, just wondering if there is anything we hold sacred these days...

love and blessings,
dani xx

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

the mouth of the south...


(my incognito kitty...)


i never have to ponder long about what to blog... the stories usually come to me. and sometimes... just sometimes they physically come to me. today she did meowing so loudly i'm sure the not-so-near neighbors could hear:D

maisey, my little half-pound, pound kitty turned 22 pound phat-cat just came galloping i mean running through the house to bring me a "mousie" (not a real one) so that we could play fetch. yes, fetch as in i throw the "mousie", she runs to retrieve it, and she brings it back to me so that we can go through the whole process several more times.

uh-huh, we are all "animal confused" in this house given dogs are supposed to fetch (right???)...

but, i am pretty sure i am a female homo sapien!!!
yes, i am quite sure of it;P

anyway, back to maisey...

on february 12, 2003, we lost our first family pet, mabel, my stripy kitty!!! i felt in my heart that i needed to quickly attempt to fill that big void she left. thus, on valentines day i awoke, took katherine to school, came home, and quickly got on the phone in an attempt to find us another female stripy kitty. i called every place i knew to call in the tri-state area.

NOT KITTEN SEASON!!!
NO STRIPIES:`[
ONLY ONE LITTER OF KITTENS!!!
ONLY ONE FEMALE (a solid black one)!!!

i called john, "dear, i'm getting a kitten today."
"hey, i'm in a meeting right now. i'll call you back as soon as i get out so that we can talk about it," he whispered in reply.
"i didn't call to talk about it; i just wanted to let you know that i'm going to pick her up in a minute:D"
"OH, uh... well, ok... just don't get one of those damn siamese cats!!!"
"why??? i mean i wasn't planning on getting a siamese anyway; but, why???"
"because they're too damn loud... i gotta go. love you. bye..."

i didn't mention that the one black cat that i was going to get was in a litter of all boys that were found here in one of our parks following a really bad ice-storm and that the lady at the shelter said the only way they knew that the litter wasn't full-bred siamese kittens was because of the one black, female kitten in the litter; did i??? yeah, i failed to mention that to john, too...

as soon as i hanged up the phone i raced to the animal shelter (the lady told me that they wouldn't hold her for me as it was a first come first serve basis). i sped like i thought she was a hot commodity. i won; i was the first to arrive... followed by three or four others who were dropping adult cats.

i looked at her, told the lady i wanted her, and started filling out the paperwork. as i was filling out the paperwork being the sap i am i started crying over the loss of my mabel... ok, i was sobbing as i had to explain my pet owning history, what had happened to my previous pet, etc... i took the paper work back to the window and handed it to the lady.

without even looking up at me, she started her spiel... "we have to do a background check on you before we can let the kitten go; it will take about three..." she paused before getting out the word, "days", when she saw my face (i splotch when i cry). "oh, honey..." she said, "i think we can bypass the holding time. i'll let you go ahead and take her... if there's a problem, we have your address... hmmm, i don't think there will be a problem. let me go get her for you."

she did, i paid, and "maisey" and i were on our way.

i stopped by the church with maisey in her box in tow as i was supposed to help the notorious and anonymous d's with the valentines day party.

maisey let out a huge, siamese "MEOW"...

the anonymous d looked over at my baby in her box and said, "that cat's got siamese in her!!!

"oh, ish!!!" i thought to myself. i told them about what john had said on the phone.

the anonymous d laughed and said, "he's going to know..."

how could he not know???
i'd just left the animal shelter with THE MOUTH OF THE SOUTH, for heaven's sake!!!

she was right; he knew within about five minutes of his getting home from work. but, he never said a word, and we've had her since...

btw, mabel was a fetcher too.
go figure!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx

Monday, May 19, 2008

our "security system"...





i had to laugh this morning as i stood in the middle of my den contemplating freshening up the white paint on the wood-work... as i looked around the room in an attempt to figure the amount of paint i would need, my eyes stopped at the top corner of door that leads to the deck. there it was... the security system i "installed" two years ago!!!

long story short...

katherine invited 23 girls to a sleep-over to kick off spring break when she was in the 7th grade. not knowing how i was going to keep them all safely in the house (it was a big thing to "sneak out" at that age; which terrified me), i went to our local hardware store and bought a stick-up door alarm... ONE!!!

so, i stuck it up really high on the facing of the door. i told all the girls once they arrived that i had set the "security system"; which was a laser beam that went in both directions around all the walls, windows, and doors in the house. further, i told them that if the laser beam were to be broken by opening a door that the police would be here immediately.

lol, i told them all that so that they would know that they were safe (reverse psychology!!!). it worked:D that $10 security system was worth its weight in gold in a pinch!!!

after realizing the real need, we have, since then, installed a security system... but, i hadn't taken down the little stick-up one because i figured the adhesive would mess up the paint underneath it.

well, it's coming down this week, as it is time to paint:b

love and blessings,
dani xx

Sunday, May 18, 2008

a man and his "hog"...



katherine, maggie, and i were snuggling in kat's bed watching a movie about an hour ago when john, with a big grin on his face, stuck his head in her door to say he was going for a ride... on his motorcycle (dani rolled her eyes while shaking her head).

"BE CAREFUL!!!" i said as he turned to leave.
"i'm ALWAYS careful..." he replied.

his careful and mine are NOT the same. i do hope he is having a great ride. the weaher is amazing today, and sunday traffic is usually light. however, a couple of months ago on a sunday just like today i had a real scare while 'my boy' was out playing on his 'hog'.

john had been gone for a couple of hours. i really hadn't expected him to be gone quite that long because although it was a beautiful, sunny day, it was rather cool. another half hour or so passed, and i started to get a little anxious. (it didn't help that the day before i had told my great uncle that i'd gotten john a new harley davidson jacket and gloves and he had replied that i'd be buying him a coffin next.)

as i've said before, we live just a half a block from the busiest street in our small town. well, the next thing i knew i heard sirens racing down that street. i opened the blinds. i saw two or three police cruisers followed by two fire trucks followed by two ambulances with two more police cars bringing up the rear.

"i wonder what's going on???" katherine inquired.
i was wondering the same thing and secretly praying it didn't involve john.

i sat and became more and more anxious until i couldn't stand it any longer. after hearing more sirens going in the same direction, i got up put on my tennis shoes and grabbed my keys.

"where are you going???" katherine asked.
"i think i'm going to take the commander to the car wash," i lied. i didn't want her to start worrying too.

all the emergency vehicles were heading south from my house. they could only go so far before they would no longer be in the city limits (at which point the state/county as opposed to the city would have been called to respond).

i got in the jeep and headed south. i didn't see anything. the street that i was referring to ends in a Y (you either have to merge to the right or to the left. i merged to the left and followed it to a by-pass that runs between the two branches of the road. i still saw nothing.

however, after travelling about a half a mile on the bypass i could see that there, indeed, had been an accident!!! as i got closer, i saw the police cars alining the shoulder of the highway. the police were pulling what looked to me like john's red and black motorcycle out of a ditch. i could see that there was also a dark green mini-van involved in the accident.

even though there was relatively no traffic on the road there was still a police officer directing traffic around the accident. i rolled my window down to express my concern that the bike belonged to my husband. the police officer motioned me on without giving me the time of day. so i quickly pulled over to the shoulder on my side of the road.

i leaned my head out the window and yelled, "I THINK THAT MAY BE MY HUSBAND'S BIKE!!!"
"YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO KEEP MOVING MISS. I HAVE TO KEEP THE TRAFFIC MOVING!!!" the officer heatedly replied. (by the way... there was one car behind me that had already gone around me and no other cars in sight!!!)
again and louder, i repeated myself.

another police officer at the scene, started walking toward me telling the first officer he would take care of the situation. very nicely he helped me make a U-turn (where i would be located on the same side of the road as the accident). when i came to a stop, he asked me if he could help me.

i told him that my husband had been out riding his motorcycle and that the one i saw them pull from the ditch looked like his at least from a distance. he said he didn't think it was my husband because the man who was in the accident had a woman on the bike with him who he told the police was his wife... the officer flashed me a sheepish grin. "at least i hope that wasn't YOUR husband..."

i knew immediately it was not him. he has never let anyone ride with him!!! as a matter of fact the only time anyone other than him had even been on the bike was katherine and her bff hannah for a picture (see above)...

"orachonda???" was the next thing i understood him to say to me.
i said, "no, my husband's last name is 'berrong'."
"i don't know what the man's last name was; but it was an orange honda we pulled out of the ditch, ma'am..."
"an orange honda???" i asked. (conclusive relief!!!) "my husband rides a red and black harley. it is definitely NOT his..."
"no, that bike is an orangie-red honda, miss. i think the couple riding are ok; we sent them to the hospital so that they could be checked for abrasions and bruises."

i thanked him, thanked him, and thanked him again.
i drove away thankful that it wasn't john's bike i saw, thankful that the people who'd been riding on that bike were alright, and hopeful that john would be home and safe upon my return.

and... he was!!! thank you, GOD!!!

"orachonda!!! i thought he was talking about the owner of the bike's last name...
ROTFLMAO!!!
he had to have thought i was one dingy broad... (on occasion he'd be right!!!)

love and blessings,
dani xx

Saturday, May 17, 2008

11 years...



(i look at this picture of her, and it makes me want to be able to hug her tightly and never let go!!!)

today would have been my mamaw's 80th birthday; i cannot even fathom that she has been gone for 11 years... sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday that i lost her and can hardly breathe... other times it seems like she's been gone forever, and i miss her like crazy... and then at times it seems like she was just a most wonderful dream God sent to me one night.

i know all grandmothers are special; my grandmommie meant the world to me as well!!!

but, there was this one time when i was 16 that i realized what i meant to my mamaw and what she meant to me. i was hospitalized; and i guess i had fallen asleep with my mom in the room. while i was sleeping my mamaw came in to my room to see me.

i remember awakening; but mom and mamaw didn't know i was awake. i overheard my mamaw, through tears, tell my mom that if something happened to me and i died, she wanted to die too. she didn't want to live in this world without me...

i pretended to be asleep as tears rolled out of the sides of my closed eyes. at the same time that my heart was breaking because she was afraid of losing me, it was also singing. i always knew my mamaw loved me... i even knew that she loved me to the moon and back (and the love was mutual). but, to hear her say that she literally loved me more than her own very precious life... there are no words that i could type right now that could even touch the kind of blessed i felt.

mamaw lived to see me graduate high school and college, me get married, me give birth to katherine, and katherine start pre-school... and then on a night in late august, 1997, she flew to heaven.

to this day i believe she made sure that God would show me the love He had for me to fill that huge void her leaving me left. and He did!!! He let me grieve and then He came and showered me with the same unconditional love i had known from her. i have been totally blessed since then and very at peace that she is in a good place with the One that can love her back the same way i did until i can be with her and Him.

*****i cannot leave on a total sad note, though. in celebrating the life she lived and her humor i must tell a quick story. katherine was about 18 months old. john and i were going to a wedding, and mamaw told me she could stay at her house while we went. when john and i got there to drop her off we were in such a hurry, i forgot to take in her diaper bag
(she was still wearing pampers).

when we returned 3 or 4 hours later katherine greeted me at her door with a t-shirt and a make-shift diaper. it dawned on me that i'd forgotten to leave her diaper bag, which was still sitting in the back of the van.

"oh, mamaw..." i started, "i am so sorry!!!"
my grandmother said, "that's ok, we made due. but i think she's wet again."

i ran out and got her diaper bag so that i could change her. when i came in i picked her up and took her to mamaw's bed and she lay down on her back. i pulled up her t-shirt and started laughing so hard i truly thought i was going to wet myself as well!!!

mamaw had taken one of her(mamaw's) pairs of panties, laid them flat under katherine's bottom, placed an adhesive maxi-pad a little higher than the crotch of the panties, pulled the crotch up between her legs, crossed the sides over, and pinned them with a big safety pin!!! now, if coming up with all that ain't love, i don't know what love is!!! funniest darn thing i've ever seen...*****

OH.HOW.I.MISS.HER!!!
i just thank goodness katherine doesn't remember what she's missing; it would doubly break my heart...

love and God's blessings,
dani xxxxx

Friday, May 16, 2008

what it all means...



several have asked for what "ROTFLMAO" stands.



well, it basically means that something is REALLY funny presently
or in retrospect.



like i would use "roftlmao" when reflecting about the time all our church families went to the zoo. the notorious d's husband and i were bringing up the rear of the procession when a duck came out of nowhere and grabbed hold of the leg of my blue jeans... WITH MY LEG IN THEM... AND WOULDN'T LET GO... AND MADE ME SAY A WORD THAT STARTS WITH THE LETTER "F" AND RHYMES WITH DUCK!!! while my bff, curt laughed till he cried instead of pulling the beast off me.



i still have the scar to show for that incident, btw...





(not a photo of my unfortunate incident; but obviously duck attacks... HAPPEN!!!)



ROTFLMAO - stands for "rolling on the floor laughing my arse off"...

btw - is "by the way".

bff - is "best friend/s forever"



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



now, if something is not necessarily super-hilarious but is pretty darn funny like the time i bought my first laptop and thought it was 'used' because, when i first opened it, i noticed it had a pencil eraser wedged in its keyboard, i would use "lmao" when reflecting upon my ignorance...



"that's not a pencil eraser..." my bff/co-worker, rhonda, informed me.

"that's your mouse!!!"



gmab, all i wanted to know was what company came up with that idea??? i'd never seen a mouse that looked like that one before and haven't since... and, further, it wasn't a good mouse...



here is a picture of it:





(what does it look like to you???)



LMAO - stands for "laugh my arse off"...

gmab - is "give me break"...



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



lastly, if something just tickles my funny-bone or my fancy, like when katherine refers to her friends as her "peasants", i would use "lol" because it's silly and never fails to make me laugh:D



(hannah, chase, kat, barrett, and jacob)


(actually the "peasants" are pretty funny in in their own right:DDD)



LOL - stands for "laugh.out.loud"...



i think that's all; but always feel free to ask.

i have used jargon for so long, i don't even think about it:]



love and blessings,

dani xx

Thursday, May 15, 2008

a thread in time thursday...



(katherine elizabeth 4 years to 8 years)
photography by MARTIN STUDIO (aka mr steve)...

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

one out of three ain't good...


or 'third time's a charm'???
or 'you can take the girl out of the city; but, you can't take the city out of the girl'???

any one of the three titles i had to choose from for this post still equals dani getting an "F" in FARM-o-cology, LOL!!!

a few years ago i was doing contract work for a company that was located about 20 miles from my house... out in the middle of the country. and, everyday i travelled to work i would look about a particular pasture for a little black calf of which i'd grown quite fond. she was adorable, tiny, and solid black. there were several other mature cows in the pasture with her: they were all white with black spots.


(like this one...)

this went on for 5 or 6 months. one morning i looked over, and i saw the black calf (which had not gotten any larger in size???) standing atop a bail of hay. i thought that to be quite odd. maybe it is; maybe it's not... however, i had never seen a cow climb on top of anything before that morning.

when i went into my office i made a comment about the calf and how cute she looked standing atop that bail of hay. my boss, t.l., looked at me and busted out a big, belly laugh as he explained to me that the calf i'd been admiring was, indeed, a goat named rosie!!!

it's a good thing he wasn't paying me to know my farm animals, huh???

ROTFLMAO!!!


(rosie... THE GOAT!!!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a few weeks ago i was over visiting amanda's new blog site at penny 'n pounds. i was enjoying looking at the pictures of her four adorable boys and her... GOAT!!!

"awwwwwwww, amanda's got a goat; they are so cute. i wish i had one!!!" i thought to myself<:D i kept scrolling down to look at the rest of the pictures of her little boys and read her entry. when i was finished, i scrolled back up to give in to my goat-envy (whoever heard of coveting a goat; right???). under the picture of the goat it said, "sally the MUTT"!!! "mutt" as in canine not nanny:/ sally the mutt really looked like a goat at first glance. sally is toooooo adorable for words. so, here's a photo of her:


(you can plainly see why i had goat-envy for a sally (obviously a dog) of my own:D)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a couple of days ago, i was visiting tabitha at twinkle twinkle. she had several darling pictures of her son, daniel, from when he was a "wee lad"... there was one photo of him with an animal. i enlarged the image and took the time to examine it closely. i was sure it was a goat; i mean i was almost certain... not wanting to repeat my previous mistakes, i commented to tabitha about the photography; i didn't mention the animal in this photo with daniel:



i left her site only to return; i had to know.

the blogversation went like this:

dani said...
tabitha,
i couldn't remember if i'd already asked or not... but, if i didn't, what kind of animal is that in the picture with daniel???
l,
d xx

13 May 2008 06:33
Tabitha said...
Hi Dani ~ that picture is especially for you!!! We went to a petting zoo and Daniel made friends with the baby GOAT!!!!!!
It followed him around for ages and then it tried to eat his shoes!!

Hugs, Tabitha XXXX


HA!!! she'd read amanda's blog and already knew that i was goat-challenged!!! that was tooooooooooooooooooooo funny:DDD but, even though i had been incorrect two of the three times, third time was a charm!!!

now, that doesn't mean that i will get it right the next time, mind you...

i'm just sayin'...

love and blessings,
dani xx

ps. thank you, tabitha and amanda for allowing me to use your images:DDD

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

dang, he is good!!!





saturday was "date night" for katherine and jason, so john went solo to two of his family's barbecues as i had to remain at home to chaperon.

katherine dropped several hints to me that she and her daddy had gone earlier in the day shopping for my mother's day. she so badly wanted me to ask her what she'd gotten me.

so, i asked, "what did you get me for mother's day, kat???"
"i can't tell you, and it's not in my bedroom!!!" she replied
i played along...
"go ahead you can tell me..."
not making eye contact with me she said, "no, you will have to wait... AND IT'S NOT IN MY BEDROOM!!!"

katherine elizabeth has never been able to keep a secret in her life!!! so, i stopped with the line of questioning. as i was leaving the room she said, "and i cannot tell you where it came from either because it would give it away..."

"hey, kat," i said before i got completely out of the room.
"huh?"
"did your dad say anything about our anniversary tomorrow???"
"uh, no. do you think he forgot??? if he did are you going to be mad at him because don't most wives get mad at their husbands for forgetting things like that????
"no, i am not going to be mad," i said (but, he might wish he'd remembered!!! i thought to myself) HA!!!

later in the evening john returned. i had decided rather than set him up for possible failure, i'd mention the significance of the next day's date.

"hey, john..." i said, "do you know what tomorrow is???"
"what do you mean???" he replied.
"do you know what tomorrow is???" i repeated.
"well, it's mothers' day..." he replied.
"yeah," i said (leading the witness)... "what else is tomorrow???"
he stood there for a second; and i swear i saw the light go off in his head!!!
"it's our anniversary," he said confidently. (dang he is good!!! he either knew all along and was teasing, or he pulled that one out of "where the sun don't shine"!!!)

my guess is the latter.

you know, it really doesn't matter though... katherine and i were talking later. she proceeded to tell me that he shopped with her for two hours trying to find my mother's day gift. he brought up the fact that maybe i needed some new "scrapbooking" supplies as he'd seen me delving into the photos recently (katherine told him i was doing that for blog purposes only). he then took her and tried to get her to get me a fancy schmancy vera bradley make-up bag (katherine told him that she had confiscated all my make-up... thus, i had nothing to put in one...); he tried to get me something for my computer (katherine told him all i needed was a black ink jet as she had used all my ink).

"so," i looked at my daughter in the face. "what kind of perfume did you get me???"
the face said it all.
"Maaaaaah'AAAAM!!! why do you always do that???"
"do what???"
"you always know!!!"
"katherine, that could be because you 'always' get me perfume!!!"
"i know, but, guah," she replied.

sunday morning i awoke to a basket full of perfumes and lotions and a darling mother's day card...
john said, "she couldn't remember what fragrance you liked. i told her you had it on your blog somewhere..."
"i do???" i replied, "i don't think so..."
"yeah, in that section that has different things about you," (he'd read something i had written and remembered where it was. now that's the guy i fell in love with and married 18 years ago!!!)

i also awoke to...

a new digital camera and a lovely anniversary card...

now katherine is sure i got my birthday present a month early for my anniversary. she says her daddy told her he'd already gotten my birthday present two weeks prior and he was really proud of the fact that he was ahead of the game.

true or not, i'll give him the benefit of the doubt because it REALLY doesn't matter, and i love him with all my heart.

may you all have someone in your life that 'good'!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx

Monday, May 12, 2008

ok, so i have succeeded in utterly confusing you...


there are three d's including me:


(names with faces)

no, we are not triplets, em (i am one of two in my family... my brother ollie (oj) and i).

we 3-d's are best friends!!!

~the "anonymous d" that i wrote about on mothers' day eve and i have been friends for a very, very long time. she and i grew up in the town in which we still live. she is the one who is married to john and has elizabeth katherine (aka 'kate').
~then there is the "notorious d" (aka dana over at 'moon pie in the sky'). she is the friend that moved to and now resides in florida with her husband curt and two boys, will and sam.
~finally there is me, dani, i am not notorious nor anonymous... just dani, LOL!!! i am married to john and have katherine elizabeth.

i am sorry about the confusion. as i said to tania over at 'little sweethearts', "if you think you're confused you should have seen the lady at the chinese restaurant the first 8 or 10 times we dined there as a threesome!!!"

anyway i hope that helps and sorry for the confusion:D

have a great monday all!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx

Sunday, May 11, 2008

thoughts on mother's day...



(my mother's day gift from GOD that keeps on giving...)

my thoughts on mother's day, i think, may be a little different than the status quo... to me the day is about having been blessed with my child, which i suppose turns it around from the focus being on me as a mom or my mom as my mother.
the joy of mother's day to me is focused more in a downward direction than in an upward one.

without katherine the true meaning of mother's day doesn't exist for me. further, everyday i wake up to having a wonderful, loving, and healthy daughter is a precious gift; the excitement of picking up katherine at the end of a day at school is a precious gift; and the sweetness of looking up seeing her standing at the side of my bed on occasion asking if i want to come and get in bed with her and have a "girl party" is also a precious gift!!!

everyday that begins and ends like this is mother's day!!!

i have made blogger friends that have lost children, for them mother's day is one of the saddest days of the year... i believe because they too look downward as opposed to upward; their children are what make this day mother's day for them. without their children, it's just another day or another reminder of what is missing from what is supposed to be a sweetest day...

in loving memory of the children that have been taken too soon and prayers for those parents who have spent the day missing them...


much love and many blessings on this mothers' day,
dani xx

Saturday, May 10, 2008

mothers' day eve...



(the anonymous d with elizabeth katherine)

on the eve of mothers' day, i want to tell you about a wonderful mother, d... yes, there are three of us d's; and those who have read my posts and comments have probably figured that out by now. this d is a lawyer and chooses to remain "anonymous" in the bloggershere, but she exists nonetheless. and, i am soooooooooooo grateful she does.

she is an amazing friend... and
(who would have ever guessed it??? i would have!!! i would have!!!)
MOTHER!!!

she protested for years!!! she would never have kids, she was not cut out for motherhood, and she would make a horrible mother. i knew better, and thank GOD, so did her husband. she said he talked her into it, lol. but, once the ball of motherhood started rolling there was no looking back; she was/is a natural!!!

i was so excited when i found out that d was pregnant 7 years ago that i called too late, awakened her, and asked if i could be her baby's aunt, lol!!!

i've been 'aunt dani' since to this beautiful little girl,
elizabeth katherine!!!

(photo by MR. STEVE)

d, who said she wasn't the maternal type... is now a "dance", "soccer", "kumon", etc. "mom". she serves on the site based council of elizabeth katherine's elementary school as well as the children's comittee at church. d, who said she would make a "horrible mother" has turned out to be a

"SUPER MOTHER!!!"

one of whom i am quite envious...

(who would have ever believed it??? i would have!!! i would have!!!)

AND I WAS RIGHT!!!
i love, love, love being right, the anonymous d, and elizabeth katherine:D

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY EVE, ALL!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx

Friday, May 9, 2008

i talked you right through that one...




well, the notorious D had a procedure done yesterday. so, this afternoon after returning from picking katherine up from school, i gave her a call to see how she was feeling.

"i'm in shopping hell!!!" was how she answered the phone...

i thought to myself, what in the "hell" is she doing shopping??? she just had surgery for heaven's sake!!!

"what are you shopping for???" i asked her.
" a pair of black... here's a pair of 32x30... sorry, d, wait a sec..."
"do you need me to let you go?" i interrupted, "i was just calling to see how you were feeling."

(i could tell by the sound of her voice she was feeling like 'ish... you know the sound of your bff's voice when she has that knot in her throat that sounds like her gag reflex is really wanting to flex...
that was the sound.)

"no, no..." she replied, "i'm shopping for will a pair of black slacks for his performance/... tonight, wait a second... i'm talking to miss d, are those too tight??? are they too short??? you're supposed to wear them up a little higher... they're dress pants; you're not supposed to wear them down around your butt... sorry d/"
"i can really call you back later," i proposed.
"no!!! ok, did you see my picture???" the notorious one asked.
"which one???" i said.
"the one of my muscle," she replied.
"that was not YOUR muscle!!!" i exclaimed back into the phone. "i was just kidding when i asked if it were yours and if you took your new fish eye in to get a picture of it!!!"
"it was mine..." she replied.

MY gag reflex was flexing at that point; i thought she'd gotten the picture off the internet...
(dani turning green... starting to talk like that of 'the one of notoriety'...)

"i thought you'd gotten that picture off the internet..." i responded.
she laughed, "no it was mine; i took the picture with my camera phone, though... i didn't think to/... wait a second, d... are those looser, will?" she continued. "i didn't think to grab my camera on the way out, or i would have..."

the conversation went from that to solving all the world's problems in 30 minutes.

(no more talk of black, dress slacks...??? i thought to myself.)

"baaahahahahaaa... are you at home yet???" i asked.
"i sure am," she said. "that was the fastest i've ever bought a pair of pants."
"HA!!! i talked you right through that one..." i laughed.

we've talked each other through a lot over the years:D...
through some good...
through some bad...
but always through laughter:D
and sometimes over a cup of brownie batter;b

love and blessings,
dani xx

Thursday, May 8, 2008

a thread in time thursday...


last thursday's thread in time was brought to you by way of "MR. STEVE".
this week's comes to you by way of mama's snapshots, LOL!!!
katherine: birth to three:D



love and blessings,
dani xx

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

what i like to do wednesday...


i know, obviously i like to blog given that this is my second post today (and you probably think i have too much time on my hands!!! you are correct; i do:D)!!!


(four pages of katherine's scrapbook/scrap that!!! so, collages)

when scrapbooking first became a big thing, i went to a party and bought all the stuff i needed to scrapbook. however, i found that i had a really hard time cutting into my pictures.

***at that time, there were no digital photos just hard copies and negatives***

after creating only four pages of katherine's scrapbook, i just couldn't hack into any more of her photos (you can add this to another one of my quirks if you like:b)!!! the thing was i had already purchased lots and lots of scrapbooking paraphernalia; surprise, surprise...

i loved the idea, though, and wanted to put my stickers and such to use.

hence, the framed collages... katherine has a group of four (in the flick above) hanging on her inset wall in her room. i have close-ups of a few of them. (please excuse the picture quality. i had trouble with the lighting because of the glass over the collages.)

i just thought if there were anyone else out there that is as quirky as i am about old hard-copy photos, i would share the idea:D

love and blessings,
dani xx

young at heart...

my sleeping habits have indeed turned infantile!!! i have gotten to where i sleep in three three hour intervals. lol, i did have my days and nights mixed up there for a while. now, i don't know what to call it:/

anyway, about a half an hour ago, i got up out of my bed to get something to drink and remembered my laptop was in katherine's room. i quietly snatched my pillows off my bed with john none the wiser and got in bed with her to blog for a while.

it was so sweet, she stuck her head under her covers and nuzzled her face into my side. i would say it was because she loves me sooooooooooooooooo much (which she does:DDD) but, honestly, i think it was to keep the light from my screen out of her face, HA!!! i'll take a nuzzle anytime and however i can get one, though!!!



i love nighttime. every thing is so quiet and peaceful...

i especially love it in the summertime when i can hear the sounds the crickets make and when that sound fades into the sounds of the birds chirping in the predawn hours.

we are truly blessed to live where we live... we are only about 8 blocks from the center of town and only a half a block from one of the busiest streets. but, 'the lane' is very park-like. our house is situated on an acre of ground (almost unheard of for property in the city). the trees in our area are for the most part all virgin woods and are massive. there is really even quite a bit of wild life; it's not that uncommon to see deer, raccoons, possums, and yes even a family of groundhogs. the whole family lived under our playhouse (cubby) for a couple of years. and, of course, rabbits and squirrels are everywhere.

i wrote in a previous post that i live in the house where i was raised (john bought it for my first anniversary from a couple that were relocating). but, i can remember that i had the same feeling i did when i moved in as an adult as i did when i was a child. i felt like i was moving into a cottage straight out of a fairytale.

i've had many happily-ever-after moments here.

you know, i just described one of those earlier in my post... when katherine snuggled up next to me and nuzzled her 15-year-old, little nose into my side. (it's not hard to make me happy and quite easy to keep me content.)i hope she always stays so innocent and young at heart...


(but, truly, it just doesn't get much better than that...)

love and blessings,
dani xx

ps the photography is not great... as i was using my cell phone in the dark (but, a mom's got to do what she's got to do sometimes, hahahaha!!!).

Monday, May 5, 2008

taffeta gowns, wrist corsages, and a golden moment...


saturday night was "prom night" here in my hometown of henderson, kentucky...
"prom night" brought back many special memories from my prom 21 years ago.


("then")

our prom's theme was a "night in san fransisco".

"for one golden moment"

if only for one last golden moment
of glamour,
of romance,
of youth!
a moment to pause.
remember the easy laughter and the joy
reflected in the parade of tonight's faces.

then one last dance,
and the curtain of evening draws nigh.
and as our night of revelry fades into a memory,
so do all our days together,
but i won't cry.
good byes are not forever.

our senior prom was held at henderson county senior high school
april 25, 1987
our theme song was "never say good-bye".
however, "somewhere out there" was sung live by two of our most talented senior vocalists.
my date was guido pochettino.
we dined at the sheffer estate.

the dresses were mostly taffeta and similar in design.
our hair was big.
and the prom was cheesy, but we didn't mind:D

i hope this year's senior class enjoyed their prom as much as we enjoyed ours!!!


("now"... omgoodness i was 21 when these babies were born:O!!!)

love and blessings,
dani xx


Sunday, May 4, 2008

shine, ava... SHINE!!!


(i love you guys!!! dani xx)

when i started blogging, i had to make myself do it.

my reasoning for starting my blog had to do with, my grandmothers. both, were the most important people in my life, ALWAYS!!! they ranked right up there with john when i married him and katherine when i had her... i loved all four of them unconditionally and with ALL my being... the four just made my heart beat; they were as important to me as the air i breathed and the water i drank. the love was mutual, totally reciprocated... it was a love i can only compare to God's.

my maternal grandmother died in 1997, and my paternal grandmother died in 2003. (after my last post, you can only imagine how devastated i was by both.) but, God brought me through those very tough times. however, there's something i always wished they had done... written!!! ...not necessarily a journal nor a diary but a note here or there. or, i wished they'd jotted down things that made them laugh, things that made them cry, things that they loved, etc... but, neither did.

so, i thought i'd write by way of blogging so that katherine and maybe someday my grandchildren would be able to read about my life and the things that have touched me.

when i first started blogging, i didn't tell anyone (not because it was a secret or anything) but katherine. she knew because we would have girl parties in her bed on friday nights, and both of us would be doing different things on our laptops. i read many of the first ones to her.

i had a few friends who blogged, and i read their blogs occasionally.

one night, i was on a friend's blog and happened to click on one of her links entitled, "SHEYE ROSEMEYER PHOTOBLOG". after doing so, i began to read. sheye's world was a world of love, family, beauty, happiness, and, unfortunately, even grief...

the grief of losing her enamoring little girl,

her "super-princess"...

AVA

i saw how the rosemeyer's loss had touched so many around the world in so many positive ways. AVA's story reminded mothers and fathers not only to keep their car doors locked, their cars parked in the shade, and to make sure to teach their children never to get inside a parked car. her story shined a bright light on the importance for all parents to cherish every day of their children's lives, to take not one moment for granted, and for them to continue to share ava's brilliant light...

sheye has so many wonderful, real, and beauty filled posts and photographs and such kind and supportive blogger friends (as well as strangers).

sheye rosemeyer is a sharer...

as i read her comments, i thought to myself how many truly amazing people there are in this world!!!

...a world that is right at my fingertips...

i feel fortunate to have happened onto sheye's blog. through it i have learned to show love a little more, share more of my time, and i have made many new, wonderful friends i would never have made from places i would never have imagined. i have been blessed with many new friendships, kind words, and lots and lots of hugs!!!

i just want to say to you all...

THANK YOU!!!

and, thank you, GOD...

who would have ever thought that a super princess' story from the other side of the world would shine a light so brightly down a path to being a better mother, to making new friends, and to realizing a new found love for sharing...

Photobucket
(shine, ava... shine!!!)

love and blessings to you all,
danixx

(disclaimer**** if anyone would rather i take your image off my slide show, please let me know as it will be no problem to do so...:D)

Saturday, May 3, 2008

it was a BITTERsweet day for the filly...





("eight belles")



when i have travelled outside the states or conversed with people i've met from other parts of the world, the state of kentucky strikes 2 chords with most...

fried chicken


and

the kentucky derby...

well, today is derby day here in the bluegrass state; and the race was run almost exactly one hour ago. john and i have never failed to "oooooh" and "awwwwwwe" over all the horses pre-race and then, of course, watch the race.

the "run for the roses" is as beautiful as it is exciting. today was no exception.

we had a favorite... the filly, "eight belles", the only female in the race!!! she was also trained by one of our

"home-towners", LARRY JONES.

"big brown" was the odds on favorite. and, though he'd only ever run (won) three races, the less experienced two-year-old won!!!

however, guess which horse came in second???

you guessed it!!!

"EIGHT BELLES"!!!

the filly held her own...






as we watched all the excitement unfold around "big brown", the camera quickly panned to EIGHT BELLES who lay on the track..

still on her side...




my heart skipped a beat and then became heavy.


~@~@~@~


"what's wrong with her, john?" i asked, "do you think she had a heart attack???"

about that time two veterinary ambulances pulled up next to her.

the camera went back to "big brown" who seemed to have thrown his jockey. the jockey got back on the beautiful winner as the excitement increased around the horse.

the camera went back to an nbc reporter who was standing with the track horse vet.




"unfortunately, we are going to have to report that "eight belles" broke both of her front ankles and had to be euthanized..."

"unfortunately is an understatement!!!"

i have been just heartbroken about the whole situation...

what turned out to be an awesome day for kentucky's darling girl ended in devastation.

it is believed that "big brown" threw his jockey because he had been "spooked" by the death of his running mate, the girl...

~@~@~@~


EIGHT BELLES, YOU GAVE THE BOYS A REAL

"RUN FOR THE ROSES" TODAY!!!

MAY YOU REST IN PEACE...



my prayers go out to those that have had both the honor and pleasure of spending time with the beautiful girl. the only solace is that she is no longer in pain and will not have to endure all previous derby winner, "barbaro", did...



love and blessings,

dani xx