The irony of an Iris

Today was a great day - I had been monitoring my irises for days now and one of them finally opened up!  I was so excited!  

All my life, my Granny loved her flowers.  I can remember, clearly, walking into her house to visit and her first words being, "Did you see my irises are bloomed?"  Of course, depending on what flower was bloomed, you can substitute "irises" for magic lilies, Sweet Williams, 4 o'clocks, buttercups, or her lilac bush.  She loved her flowers!  I was never "into" flowers until I started to get older...and she started to get in worse health.  I knew that her flowers meant a lot to her, and therefore, that meant a lot to me.  Leah & I would pick some and take inside for her and she would tell us to put them in some water and then she'd smell them and her face would light up.   

As she got older, she wasn't able to tend to her flowers the way she used to.  The weeds began to over take most of them and they didn't bloom like they once had.  One year, Brad and I pulled up weeds out of her flowers for Mother's Day.  It was a job!  

After I got married, had Leah, and got our first home, I knew that I wanted some of her flowers.  I never got them, however, because I didn't want to have to move them (or leave them) when we moved again.  We knew that we wouldn't be in our "starter home" forever.  Those years, waiting to upgrade to a bigger home were filled with some heartache.  We lost two babies, and I lost my sweet, beloved Granny...After she passed away, I had Logan a couple weeks later, and a year after that, we started building our current home.   I knew that I wanted some of her flowers as soon as possible.

Last year, I finally got some of her irises.  It was a dreary, rainy day - much like the weather we've had lately, and I was a mess by the time I got some of them up and bagged.   I planted them in the back yard and have monitored them ever since.  At first, I was scared that they wouldn't live.  They shriveled up and turned brown and disappeared.  This Spring, however, I noticed little sprouts of green peeking through the ground!  They lived!  They have grown so quickly!   

The other day, I noticed that they had little bud type things on them and that they were going to have flowers soon!!!  I have been taking pictures of their progress. 

Today, I looked out, and there was one beautiful, purple iris opened up!  

I am so happy about my flowers...they used to be just that, flowers, but after I lost my Granny, they become more than that to me...they are a way to help her live on, to me.  Something that she loved her whole life and treasured, now grows in my back yard!!!

Yesterday, I got to thinking about the iris that was so close to blooming.  It was all wrapped up tight and I knew it was just a matter of time before it opened up and bloomed into something beautiful.   To me,  it is sort of like my Granny, in a sense.  She was wrapped up tight with her arthritis for most of her life.  She was plagued by pain and aches.  She was wrapped up tight in the aches and pains of her life, but in the end, I know that she blossomed into a beautiful thing the moment she passed away and entered Heaven.  A beautiful ending for a beautiful and special person...

You might not, but I find it ironic that something as simple as an iris can make me feel like a part of my Granny is still with me.  The thing that she loved so much in her life is now a part of my life.  I truly feel so blessed to have her irises and lilacs growing in my back yard and I can't wait for more of them to bloom!!!   

That Erin...she's, like, SOOO random

Sometimes I have thoughts running through my head and they won't go away until I release them!  That is the purpose of this blog - to release the thoughts from my head, so that my head may be filled with more random thoughts! 

I am working my little heart out trying to get ready for our yard sale on Saturday.  Brad commented, this morning, that Jason might be able to go to Haiti and back two or three times with the amount of stuff I have to sell.  I sure hope that most of it sells, cause I don't want to have to fool with gathering it back up!  

The rain is annoying.  It has rained...and rained...and rained...and rained...and yes, I could continue writing, and rained, a lot more, but I won't.   Rain is good, every now and then.  The whole month of April seems to have been wet, though, and I am tired of it!  Do you hear me weather???  BIG MAMA is tired of the RAIN!  My day lilies are HUGE and I need to dig them up and separate them.  I don't know where I will plant the ones that I dig up but I'll figure something out.   I want to add a little stone border around my irises in the back yard now that I know they are alive and well!  I want to buy some little pots and put flowers in them.  I want to make my house pretty with colorful flowers...that is hard to do when it RAINS so much.  

I sent Flat Stanley back today. 

My back hurts.  I don't know what has happened.  Perhaps I am sleeping strangely at night?  I don't know.  My sciatic nerve has been giving me fits, especially when I'm sitting down, and when I am driving.  Driving to camp was torture and it hurt so bad.  Mr Chiropractor said that everything in my lower back was "all jammed up" and asked me if I had been in a car accident or anything since I was there last.  Negative Mr Chiro.  

Logan is in an eating mood today.  He has eat two pop-tarts, a Popsicle, a big bowl of SpaghettiO's, and I'm pretty sure he had something else.  He's standing here, now, asking for more food.  He's a little dude, where's all that food go???

Caterpillars are great entertainment for the kids.  They played with their caterpillars yesterday, for hours!  They even named them.  Logan's are named:  Billy, Ana, Jason, and Jordan.  Although I'm pretty sure that he came in the house yesterday and told me that he had to stomp Ana because she died and her body was broken.  Leah's are named:  Princess, Billy Bob, Baby Bob, and McKenzie.  Fancy names for them there caterpillars.  

I like the Katy Perry song, E.T.  It is my fave song right now.  I like the beat.  I'm all about the beats.  Maybe not, but it sounded good.

In February, I had a dude come to look at our broken couch (a reclining sofa, oohh fancy name).  He said he'd order the part and fix it.  It is now the end of  April and no word from him.  I called once and talked to some foreign chick - that was a pointless call.  Called back yesterday and talked to some guy who said he didn't know why it wasn't here and he'd leave our paper work out and try to find out.  Thank you random guy on the phone.

I have decided that I am going to stop posting comments on people's pictures and status updates if they never comment on my pictures, like them, or post on my status updates.  I know I post a lot of updates, but if you don't like it, you can 1) block me 2) remove me from your friends list.   I know my kids are gorgeous, I don't need the confirmation from people but it is nice to know that people look through your pictures.  I try really hard to click *like* or comment on people's stuff.  That way they know that they aren't putting them up for no reason.  Plus, I really do enjoy looking at people's stuff.  I'm nosy like that.  However, there are certain people - that I shall not name in this blog - that I really don't care if they like any of my stuff or not!  So booyah!

Well...I guess that's about all I have for you now.  I am already preparing another blog in my head that I am going to write when my irises finally open up.  So stay tuned for that one.  Hope everyone is staying dry!!!

Erin...Out...

16 Girl Scouts, 4 Mamas, and some wasps

Well...another Girl Scout camping session was survived by everyone.  This was my 3rd camping experience.  The first two were troop camp and had the camp staff there.  Ms Maya got brave and took us camping on our own, no staff there to direct us, or cook for us, or plan activities for us.  And I must admit - it was quite a fun time!   The only negative was that we had really crappy weather.   Granted, it could have been worse, but the cool, damp air is not friends with my sinuses, and my hair rejects moisture like crazy!  I turn into a horribly frizzy mess when there is moisture outside.

This here is the results of moisture.  I went to camp with my hair pretty
and straight and woke up like this.  Thank you rain.

I think that the girls had a really good time!   I heard lots of laughing and enjoying each other.  I also heard lots of screams because the cabins all had wasps on the ceilings when we got there.   Kerensa and I got a good system going of smacking them down with a broom while the other person waited to whack them with the fly swatter.  I am pretty sure that, if there was a wasp killing patch for Girl Scouts, we would have earned it!

NEVER FEAR - Kerensa and Erin are here!!!

A big adventure for the girls was listening to them talk about having to use a latrine.   There was lots of talk about "squatting" and the such.  I think that, although the latrine wasn't pleasant to use, that all the girls were proud that they DID use it.   Just for future reference.  The camp latrine makes this sound when you pee in it:  pssssssss (that's the pee sound) and then, echo....when you poop in the latrine it makes this sound:  plop and then echo...LOL.

The lovely latrine 

Inside the latrine - it's not pretty folks, but it's better than wiping with leaves - LOL

The girls also got to man the fires and cook their own foods.  What a great experience and adventure for them!   I am not sure how much smoke I inhaled but I got pretty darn good and blowing on the fire to make it start back up again.   The packet chicken and taters was delightful, and I was so happy that Maya brought her Tastefully Simple garlic pepper seasoning!  Woot!  

Big Mama mans the chicken packets

Leah fries up a sausage on top of a can!

I know a lot of folks say that they couldn't go camping or don't do the "bugs" and things, but it really isn't that bad.  I look at it this way - it is an experience - for the parent AND the child.  Some of my favorite memories that Leah and I have in the last few years are from camp!  Even a couple years after we first went, the girls STILL talk about some of the stuff that happened.  The first year we were there, we saw a snake...all of us that were there still laugh about it.  Last year, we had a bat in our tent.  It was scary at the time, but even the scary things are memorable!  As long as you are making memories with your child and the other girls, it is all good!

Weather wasn't great, but there are still lots of smiles!

So here's to Girl Scout Camp!  The place that memories are made (hey, that sounded so good, I should get paid for it!  LOL)

Troop 637 is going hiking!

This is the wilderness, folks!

I'm blogging...about nothing...

I have nothing much to say today, but just thought I should blog anyways.  A blog about nothing.  Just some random chit-chat I guess.  We'll see where it takes us...

It is rainy today and if you don't already know, I really dislike the rain.  It is pure torture to take the dogs out in the rain.  For some reason, they both want to wander around, sniffing, staring, or doing anything BUT their business.  The rain makes them wet, which makes them stink, which makes my house stink.  Stinky houses aren't very nice.  The rain also is torture on my hair.  Let's face it - I've told you all enough - I have horrible hair genes. My hair is unique (awww, look at me being nice to my hair cause there are plenty of other words I could use to describe it).

Speaking of hair...I got my hair done a couple weekends ago.  I really like it.  I had not had a haircut, or trim, since June of 2010.  I was way overdue!  I got some reddish highlights in it too and I like it!  I really liked it the day I got it done...why is it that I can never get my hair to look the way it does when I leave the salon?

I try and I try but it just never will look like this again...If I were a rich woman, I'd have me a hair stylist to fix my hair everyday so I'd be pretty :)

I'm done with my 10 day stretch of chiropractor adjustments, by the way.  I go back in 2 weeks, although, after my attempt at exercising today, I feel like I could use him now.  If I were rich, I'd have a chiropractor to live with me and I would get adjusted hourly I think.  Ahhh...One of those vibrating, roller tables would be nice to have in the house as well...

We have no milk, just so you know.  I bought a half gallon and didn't know that the hubby planned on making banana pudding which took 3 cups of milk. We also eat a lot of cereal - which requires milk.   I could have bought milk today, but I didn't...for one reason...the rain...

I guess this is a good place to end.  I have gone full circle...started with the rain...ending with the rain...blame in on the rain...yeah, yeah, yeah...

Now, I am going back to doing nothing!  

Pet Peeves...I have a few

I have been compiling a list of my pet peeves in my mind and thought it was time I share them with you all.  I know you are super excited to hear all the things that annoy me.  It is exciting, I know.  Some of my things are sort of silly little things, other things are not so silly...please fasten your computer chair seat belt and hold onto your mouse, this could get a little rough!

1)  Raw meats do NOT...I repeat do NOT go in the same bag with my kids lunchables, bagged cheeses, lunch meats, etc.  Raw meats should be bagged only with other raw meats.   Failure to do so really annoys me and makes me angry and then I vent about how aggravated I get to the Facebook world, my family, etc.  It is raw meat - it has warnings on it to cook it to a certain temperature for safety reasons...for those same reasons, it should not be contaminating my children's snack foods or other foods that are not raw.  If you are a cashier who bags raw meats with other food items, please take note of this and try to do better.

2)  Dog pee.  Cosmo - love his heart - is a grumpy old man sometimes.  He is set in his ways and very spoiled.  If he doesn't get what he wants (in a room that the door is shut on, on the bed when he's whining to get on, etc), he will just go and take him a pee-pee in the floor.  It is very aggravating as I walk him everyday in order for him to relieve his bladder.   He is almost 12 and just gets more stubborn as the months go by!

3)  Unknown.  I don't know who you are "unknown" but you show up repeatedly on my caller ID.  Sometimes I answer you, and when I do, you rudely hang up!  If you don't want to talk to me, then please stop calling me.  You are an annoyance that my life can do without.

4)  People who have money and know it.  Money.  It is nice but also ruins people.  People walk around like they are better than everyone else.  People like to show off what their wealth has gotten them.  I swear, even if I had a million dollars, I would not flaunt it or turn snooty.  I wasn't raised to be like that.  Money doesn't make anybody any better than anyone else.  So you have money - whoop-a-dee-do!  Money can't buy you happiness...money can't buy you friends.  If your friends are only your friends because you have money, then they are obviously as bad off as you are.  I would much rather have a friend that is always there for me and that I can trust and talk to and know will always support me than to have a friend that is loaded with money and only wants to "buy" my friendship

5)  Names.  Another major annoyance I have is people who think their names are better than someone else's or people who don't like someone because they are a "Johnston" for example.  You know what.  A name is just that - a NAME!  Get over yourself if you think your name is any more important than anybody else's.  In the end, we are going one of two places and having a "good name" isn't going to get you into the one you need to be living your life for!  Grrr

6)  People who choose "history" over what is right.  This one is really a big aggravation to me.  Just because you have known someone for years should not mean that you always side with them and think they are right.  Especially if you are in a position that is supposed to be neutral and nurturing.   Being in a neutral position of power means you should try to see both sides of something.  You should not be influenced just because you have a longer "history" with someone.   If you are unable to be neutral and remain objective, then you have a problem.   Doing little "favors" for people just because you've known them your whole life isn't always the RIGHT thing to do.  You might think you can fool everyone else, but there's no fooling GOD.  

7)  Drive-thru's.  Drive thru's are annoying as heck.  You tell someone your order, they read it back off, totally incorrect.  Then you get that straightened out.  Get your food, and then discover that something is missing or something is wrong.  I am a picky eater.  I order PLAIN chicken sandwiches.  You'd be amazed at how many folks obviously don't understand what plain means.  It doesn't take a genius...or maybe it does...Get it right drive-thru workers!!!

8)  Turning.  If you are in a car, on the highway, and you are going to turn, then get in the flippin' turn lane and don't ride the line halfway in the road and halfway in the turning lane.  I'm just saying.  I want to throw a rock at your car when you do this.  

9)  Construction workers.  Namely - BALL HOMES workers next door.  Seriously.  STOP THROWING YOUR TRASH on the ground!  Put it in your truck, bring a trash bag or a  trash can.  Nobody wants to see your nasty spit bottles, nobody wants to see your lunch trash laying there on the ground.  I'm sorry, but if the cop saw me throw trash out of my car window, I'd probably get in trouble.  I don't think that you are above the law when you are constantly leaving bottles, cans, and wrappers strewn all over the place...you know what happens when the wind blows???  It usually ends up in MY yard and that makes me mad.  You don't want to see me get too mad.  LOL.

10)  gohastings.com is my next pet peeve.  I ordered books from them in JANUARY and I still haven't got them.  I have called the post office 1-800 number and was supposed to hear back within two business days from them.  That was 2 weeks ago and they haven't called me back.  I called the local post office and she tried to help me...at least she was nice...I am now finished with my book and would like to start on the next one, but apparently it is somewhere between Texas and here...the last update was it left Texas on February 1st.  Nothing has been updated since then.  Stupid gohastings.com.  I am never ordering from you AGAIN!

Well, I guess that is about all for now.  Thank you for your time, attention, patience, and understanding as I relieved myself of such pent-up frustrations.  If I think of any more pet peeves I have, I am sure I will let you know!!!

Day at the Dentist

I went to the dentist today for my 6 month check-up.  Everything looked good, no cavities despite the excessive amount of junk food I tend to consume.  That made me happy.  The hygienist scraped my teeth to the point that I thought they'd disappear...in turn, my legs hair grew cause I kept getting cold chills.

After my cleaning, the dentist come to take a look and talk.  I told him about my ear issues and the dizziness and that I had noticed sometimes it felt like my jaw was sore when my ear was hurting.  He - get this - stuck his fingers in my ears and made me open and close my mouth.  Leah was totally grossed out that he put his fingers in my ears when I told her.  He said that it was my muscle in my jaw, due to my huge overbite.  First of all, I never knew I had a huge overbite???  But anyways.  He also pointed to my temple area and forehead on my right side and said that I probably had a lot of headaches there.   YES!!!  Just this week I was alternating Tylenol and Motrin due to a headache that wouldn't go away.  He also made me touch his cheek to feel his jaw muscle because he has the same issue.  Uh huh - me and the dentist are getting all "touchy-feely"  LOL.   He told me that he had an easy solution for me - a mouth guard.  A new version that has been on the market for around a year.  He showed it to me on the little clay teeth model.  Fancy.

Well - with all of my issues - I am willing to try anything at this point to help myself.  I would hate to add up how much money I have spent on doctors visits since last May.  Ear infection, follow-ups, physical therapy, more doctors appointments for ear aches, MRI, blah, blah, blah.

I realize that this might not be the miracle fix, but I am up for any improvement at all!  If this will help, them I'm all for it.  Even when they told me they weren't sure if the insurance would pay for it or not, I told them that it didn't matter - I need help!

So, now I wait three weeks...my impressions are done (and I must say that my gapped front teeth made a great impression!  LOL)  Three weeks and then I get my trusty mouth guard.  We will see how it does and I am sure I will be updating you all :)

See my smile - it is going to be even bigger if this mouth guard can ease some of my ear ache issues!!!

Ms Margo

Dear Ms Margo,

I am writing to let you know that we miss you terribly and really, really want you to come back home to us.  I'm not sure where you are, how you got there, or what, if anything, happened to you.  I have spent hours looking for you and even more hours worrying about you.  The kids are sad that you haven't come home and we are all getting discouraged.  

I know you used to drive me crazy, every morning, scratching on the door that goes from the garage to the kitchen, wanting your food.  It didn't matter that I would fill your bowls up with food and water before going to bed, apparently all you did during the night was eat!  I miss hearing that sound of your nails on the door.  The mornings seem to be missing something now.

I also miss the crazy way you'd see our car coming down the street and you'd greet us in the drive-way.  Yep.  Right smack-dab in the middle of the drive-way so that I was unable to pull in for fear of running you over.  Leah would get out and get you so that I could get the car parked.  The last time you did this, you followed it by jumping on the hood of the car while I was trying to pull in.  You gave me and the kids a good laugh that day...

As far as cats go, I can honestly say that you are one of the best.  Never mean, unless you are at the vet, and always ready to be petted and loved on.  At the vet a week ago, I asked him about your drooling when you purr and he said that it was a sign of contentment.  I so wish you were here to drool on us now.  

Such a sweet girl, loving the warm spring and summer days when you would stay out and I'd have to catch you to put you in the garage at night.  When the cold weather come, though, you were most certainly ready to come in the garage and sometimes wouldn't go out, even if I opened the door for you.   That's one reason I worry about you now.  You don't like the cold, the rain, the wind, or the snow.  I pray that wherever you might be, that you have a warm place to curl up and that you are out of the cold and snow.   

People keep telling me that you will be back.  I know that you cats are strange creatures sometimes (sorry - but you are).  But this just isn't like you.  We've had you for 7 1/2 years and you have never done this...ever...That worries me.   Since we haven't found your body anywhere, I still try to keep some hope that you will be back home, but as the days go by, my hope is turning to grief.  

I miss you Ms Margo. The kids miss you.  And Brad misses you.  I hope that you know how loved, wanted, and missed you are.  Come home soon!!!

Love,

Your Family