Hi guys - YES I finally posted a blog!!

Hi guys, I really have been incredibly busy but then who isn't with 4 kids in and out from one week to the next. Here is a quick catch up on what we have been up to.

Here is a pic of my fish from when we took our fishing trip/bird trip to MO. It was a VERY fast trip, drove for 6 hrs, got there, checked into our motel room and fell fast asleep, the next day got up early and fished and then that afternoon picked up the bird and started for home, 6 hrs to get there, 7 hrs to get home. My behind was sore after that car ride. The bird is Lahja, he is sooo pretty, he is a German/Finnish male Goshawk. He is a very cold weather hunter so in the coldest part of the winter Tony will be hunting him on ducks. Next time we go to MO, WE WILL SEE the Mr. and Mrs. Mel. lol!

This is a pic of our two kayaks that we bought last month. We have had so much fun with these two boats, the kids just love them. Last weekend we took them to see Amy and Jake and went out on East Fork lake in Ohio, soooo much fun. There is a great big beach there, the lake is huge and we all took turns taking them out, the ones on the beach watched Jake. He is too little to go out... In this pic we are at Harrod's Creek, right down the road from our house. We are attending and participating in Via Colori this weekend in Bardstown KY, we are one square of 55 that will be painted on the street during their Italian Street painting festival. Tony, me, Scott and Tawny will be the artists, Amy, Becky and Jake will be there to help. We are camping for the weekend at the State park there right outside of town. I think it is My Old KY home park, it is very nice, thank goodness it has great showers, with that many people in the camper we can't use the shower.

Our big news is that the condo is now ON THE MARKET. I have been going up there regularly getting the carpet installed, having the painter paint the rooms, moving, fixing up and generally making myself crazy over it. lol! Yesterday I made one more trip, met the realtor and we signed the paperwork for Sibcy Cline to sell it for us. It is gorgeous!! I sure hope it goes fast, there are several on the market in our complex, I doubt they look as good as ours....:)

I'd best get back to making food for this weekend. I made pretzels the other day. Today I am making pulled pork and peanut butter cookies!!

love you all!

Di

Pic from camping at Lake Jericho

This handsome man is my hubby making a fire at our campsite at Lake Jericho last weekend. We had so much fun, took Derek, Warren, Scott and his girlfriend Tawny and Jake with us. We camped with Jake the first two nights and Derek slept in his van. Then on Sunday after the graduation party Warren and Scott and Tawny joined us for the night. Tony's friend Paul came down from his house on his Harley and joined us for dinner and the evening. We had so much fun! We went out on the canoe with lil Jake and he had fun "sweeping under the water" with the paddle. That kid is soooo cute, he really enjoyed the fishing too with his little Spiderman pole and the plastic red fish.

Had a bit of an "incident" in the canoe with Jake and Tony and I. We 3 had been out fishing the lake for a couple hours, we were caught in the rain and it was raining very hard. We were trying to come in at a different spot than the dock and Tony had the brainy idea to pull Jake and I in the canoe up onto the bank, only the bank was quite a bit higher than the water level. Well Jake went flying back into me and I fell my rear end into the very pointed end hole in the canoe, got stuck in there!!! Well I was hoppin mad but Tony was laughing so hard at my prediciment that it was pretty hilarious. Strained my back pretty good, had to lay down most of the day Tuesday it hurt so bad. It is funny now, NOT funny then, lol!

Got to go and get this house cleaned, will post more......I PROMISE!!! I miss you guys!

Love Di

The obnoxious Ex dropped her law suit

Yey!! Tony's ex emailed him last Friday and said she was dropping her law suit against him. He was supposed to go to court tomorrow as she was asking for $750/mo in child support. This is a woman that has 2 trust funds that give her so much money every month that she only needs to work 15 hrs a week.

We are really relieved this is over but she caused Tony so much grief since we got married that it really is ridiculous. She said in her email on Friday that "letting go has been hard for her", so her form of letting go is apparently to punish him for being happy. She is a dry alcoholic and really has had some very unfortunate things happen to her in her childhood days, an alcoholic mother that ended up burning the house down and killing herself by smoking in bed. An uncle that abused her horribly for years growing up, just an awful past. So I do feel for her in many ways, but these past few months of her having her "fit" has been ridiculous.

It is over and so is any respect that Tony had for her...........very sad to end a relationship that way.

On an up note we got Amy all moved into the new apt. and it is sooo cute! Scott and Tony and I took a little enclosed trailer up there yesterday and moved the washer and dryer in for her and then took home lots of stuff from the condo that was mine. The garage is almost empty but there is a lot of cleaning and work to be done to empty the condo completely. Then we have to rip out all the carpet and redo that and paint all the walls. Goodness, it never ends it seems. Makes me tired just thinking about it.

Derek was asked to interview with Channel 12 in Cinci for a camera tech position, he has an interview for Wed. He is really torn about whether to do the interviews or check into the half-way house. He knows the answer but is having a hard time making himself do it, it is a 6 mo. program at the house. But this is the first interview he has had in his field, they are not easy to come by.

Hope the Mom's had a great day yesterday, we had a good day, had fun working hard and getting stuff done up there.

Big hugs to everyone,

Di

Rollercoaster day

This has been a rollercoaster day. Derek called first thing and was in tears, he is drinking again. Then I heard on facebook that my SIL Dawn has a tumor and will need surgery. She had breast cancer and has been through the mill with it over the past 2 years. Then my super helpful husband sent all the invites for Warren's graduation back to his ex-wife, they were NOT done! Honestly, some times I wonder why I get up in the morning.

Yesterday I helped with Dare to Care feeding people on the street from the produce and bakery trucks, we fed 270 people. That was really awesome, lots of the food came from the Churchill Downs and their leftovers from Derby.

Then I went up to the condo and helped Amy move out and into her new apt. She is sharing with two of her closest friends. This new place is so nice, she will really like it there. Her and Jake will still share a room but they have a lot more living space. Everything is new and it is really pretty. I drove back so that I could go to my hair apt. this morning, and I didn't get in until 12:30 am. so guess that is why I am so out of it today.

Well best get at it, I have a lot to do to get ready for dinner.

Monday April 27

We had a really busy weekend. I bought these 12 Barbie dolls at a yard sale we went to on Sat. before the soccer tournament started. These dolls are so cute I couldn't resist them, I bought 3 bags, each had 4 dolls and an assortment of clothes and little shoes and hats. I had ONE barbie growing up, only 1 as we didn't have much money. Now I'll have a stash to play with when we have Tony's grand nieces over and when Jake is here or when I want to play with some cute Barbies!!! They are mostly 1966 and 1968 years and in really great shape. I LOVE BARBIE!!! Will have to take a few camping with us on Friday, one bag had a little cooler in it!!

This is a pic of my soccer warrior husband playing in the tournament. They didn't win one single game but they had fun and will probably do it again next year. They have been playing in this tournament for 20 years!!! It was great weather and great fun to see them play quick 6 on 6 games on the smaller fields.

We picked up the camper on Friday, had fun learning all about the camper from this cute little couple. We hit the IKEA store on the way home in Cinci. Had to buy this adorable folding picnic table and chairs set, made of really solid wood and will probably outlive both of us it is so sturdy. We also bought a kitchen island which we have to put together tonight. And some dishes and pots and pans for the camper, just had a great time on our little trip.

You all have a great day!!

Love and hugs,

Di

Thursday April 23

More about our trip to Alb. Deb sponsored a candidate for initiation into the Catholic church so she had a LOT of committments at the church while we were there. She of course had volunteered to make cookies for the reception Sat. night after the vigil and she ran short on time. So Tony and I said we'd make some yummy decorated cookies as we LOVE doing that together. I made a cookie recipe from the back of the cookie cutter package, it was a Wilton cutter, it made the best cut out sugar cookies I have ever tasted, Mom and Deb agreed. Deb makes a homemade baking powder from baking soda and cream of tarter, we used that recipe for the powder and these cookies came out so nice and got so big. So when someone says use FRESH baking powder for a recipe use this one, you won't be disappointed. If someone wants the recipe I'll ask her to send it to me, it is just two ingredients but the tarter and soda must be new and FRESH or it is pointless.

I used a thin powdered sugar and milk and vanilla recipe for the icing and when it was not quite dry Tony put on the colored sugars in the design. An easy way to decorate a lot of cookies quickly. We gave them a boat load and Deb said 3 people commented that they were not only beautiful but delicious!!

Have to get the Dahlias into the ground today, I've had them on the kitchen counter for 2 days. The bed is ready I am just unsure how tall they will get. Guess I'll just do it and see what happens. Best get my behind movin............

Big hugs and love to everyone,

Di

2nd post for today - QUICKIE

Just a quickie to tell you all what the blood morphologist lady Susan told me when we saw her in Alb.

She said my blood was AWESOME, that I am eating pretty clean and it shows. She gave me some fine tunings to do and a few little supplements that I need to be getting enough of but all in all I am lookin good.

One thing she stressed is to be sure not to eat ANY wheat flour in any form and any refined sugar in any form. She is so right, I have been very careful this past 2 weeks and the zingers are almost completely gone. The facial and scalp nerve pain is gone too!! If I have a diet pop of any kind the joint pain comes back in a hurry so that is out too. For sugar substitute I am using Agave and it is great. Fibromyalgia pain is down to an all time low if I follow this plan. Trick is to keep things in the house that I can eat and to not take even one bite of the bad stuff. One bit and I am off and gone and eating the WHOLE THING!!

Big hugs,
Di

I am BACK!!

Picture of the ladies on Easter Sunday. In the back: me, Mom, Deb, Jamie, Angie, the little girls are Malea and Tori. (Jamie and Angie are both pregnant!!) Pic of the kitchen in the camper, not a good pic but shows how big it is!! I it has the cutest little stove and oven, can't wait to whip up some yummy breakfast some cool morning!!

Pic of the outside as it sat in their driveway. Needs a good scrubbing, but great shape for a 95 and only pulled 250 miles it's whole life!!

Hi Everyone! I haven't been on, been so busy getting everything caught up after our trip to see Deb and family in Alb. But now I am caught up and going to post a few things. This is our new camper, we go to pick it up on Friday. I have been busy getting a few things for it so we can take it to Tony's soccer tournament this weekend. If they win they keep playing all weekend, so just in case we will bring it and he can have a place to rest and recoup before the next game. The tournament is held at a set of fields that is "way out there" in no mans land and it is hard to get back between games.

Our trip to Alb. was so fun. Deb was her usual super hostess self. Mom was a little on the annoying side but she means well, she just likes to make almost every single conversation about her so that does get tiresome. But she is 75 and guess she is entitled to be however she chooses to be. We feel like we cooked and baked the entire time we were there. We have a big ravioli dinner on Sunday and that takes 2 days of cooking to pull off for all those people. Then Deb sponsored someone for initiation into the church so she had all kinds of committments from Wed - Sunday. We made awesome cookies for the reception at the church after Sat. Mass. The folks loved them and that was fun. I baked egg shaped sugar cookies and Tony decorated them, well I iced them and he decorated the "pretty part". He is sooo good at that, we make a good team.

I am going to try to catch up with your blogs. You all have a great Wed!

Big hugs,
Di

Getting ready for ALBUQUERQUE!!

Okay, this isn't a picture of our last trip to Albuquerque, it is a pic of us in Makoshika State park in Montana. This is an awesome park right outside my hometown of Glendive. I was just looking for a good pic of Tony and me having fun on a trip. This was taken in July of '08.

We leave for Alb. Wed. afternoon so I don't know how much blogging time I will get in before then. I told Deb I would bring her cookies for her reception for the RCIA folks and bread sticks for Easter dinner so I have a lot to do. Plus I want to try out my new iron on the curtains I am hanging in the guest bedroom.

We had everyone over for early Easter on Sat. Tony made pork tenderloins on the grill and I made lots of veggies and red potatoes, rice and broccoli, rolls and deviled eggs. Amy and Jake came on Friday so we had a little visiting time and Scott was here too all week. We had Tony's mother as well as my girlfriend Patty, so we had fun.

Derek did drop in for eating with all of us on Sat. but left to go off to a band trip to Dayton Ohio. He seems to be doing better, only drank that one night that he was here...and got kicked out the next morning. He is really suffering not having a place to call his own but that is what he needs and I don't feel sorry for him one bit. He showered here on Friday after his landscaping job and left a pair of pants to be washed but that is the only thing he has done here since he left. He has both the landscaping job and the BoomBozz pizza job still and seems to be doing great at both. He is making lots of money on tips delivering pizza, averaging $70 a night. He brought Tony his phone bill money on Sat. and that was nice. So he should have enough to get a place soon, the van has to be really uncomfortable and cold sleeping in that all night.

I have the guest room all back to the way it was only better. I'll hang the curtains from the old house in Bellevue today, they are so cute, a light green plaid with a cream color in cotton, tab curtains, I love them. They will go with the floral spread nicely.

Tony has a cold and he is trying hard to give it to me!! Gotta love those husbands, if they have a cold does it occur to them NOT TO KISS you on the lips??? HECK NO!! lol! I love him to death and can't deny him a kiss that is for sure, waited Waaaay to long for a good hubby.

I want to tell you all thank you so much for your unfailing support through these times with Derek. It means more to me than I can say! If I don't get with all of you before we leave I hope you all have a great Easter week and a blessed Easter Sunday.

Big hugs,

Di

Derek's gone

Derek is gone again, this time at my insistence. He came home in the early house yesterday and was drunk!! He couldn't get up to go to his landscaping job at 7 and I went in and found him really hostile and very drunk in bed. I ordered him to collect everything he owned and leave and then the fight started. Apparently he thought he could just blantently abuse the privilege of living here and we wouldn't care.

I had to call Tony back from driving to work to get Derek to settle down somewhat. In the course of his rant and rave he smashed his head repeatedly into the side of his van, at rage at himself. He put a good sized dent in the van and I can imagine only added a headache to his misery.

So the end of the story is that he went up to Cinci and had dinner with his sister and Jake after he sobered up. Talked to her at length about his habit and then drove back down here. He parked the van in a lot somewhere and went to his landscaping job this am. He texted me and Tony several times throughout the day and begged to come back here, promising to change THIS TIME.......

He will not be back here until he completes a 6 month drug/alcohol program and graduates with honors, even then I doubt he will want to live with our rules, they just got even tougher.

So that is the latest in our story with Derek. One drink makes for one more drink and makes for total misery for him.............

Big pitty party..thrown by Myself, with Myself as the Only guest...

I threw an all out GIGANTIC pitty party for myself yesterday. I had eaten some bad for me stuff the day before, just because I guess. So yesterday morning, no surprise I was feeling really bad, pain in every joint (from the Frosty no doubt) and zingers running rampant in my body. But the real problem was between my ears, I had let this disease get the best of me.

So I sat down at my painting table and told myself I was going to paint a really mean picture of Jesus. Afterall God was the one that let me be like this, I was in a brand new marriage and full of pain and anxiety, that was certainly not fair. I sat there and just attacked the fabric with oil markers, just drew the worst looking picture I could think of , really upset and really just mad at God in general.

I texted Tony that I was feeling so badly and he texted me back to meet him for lunch. I had already picked a fight with him that morning and was thinking that I needed to say I was sorry in person. We met at O'Charles and had a really nice lunch, he rubbed my aching hands until our food came.

Later yesterday evening after our meeting I worked on the painting some more. I was thinking that Jesus has an odd way of mellowing my soul and spirit when I am angry at him. He makes me look straight at him and see the pain and misery that he went through for us. As I was putting on the final washes of color for the background and dragging the colors over his face I thought about the crucifixion and how it must have been so painful to endure not only the physical pain but the agony of his friends hiding from him in shame.

It came to light to me that God gave me this pain for a reason, I have something very tangible to offer up to him.

Di

Casey is home!!

I took Casey and Rocky out for a walk in a really neat park this morning. They loved it and it was just like old times, just me and the two boys. Note in this last pic the cool rainbow at the bottom of the picture, that says it all!!

Love Di

Been layin low........

Had to post this pic as Sunday is our 1 year anniversary of the first day Tony and I met in person!! We met during the sweet 16 games, our teams were playing on the same night, just not each other; the Cards and Xavier. We met at the BW3's in Highland Heights, Tony drove for 1.5 hours to watch the two games with me and have a beer and then he drove home. Goodness, that should have been a sign of a great guy in itself. Who would have dreamed that a year later we would have been married for 3 months!! Seems like a whirlwind courtship but in reality it was just right. We didn't want to waste one more minute not being married! And we have turned out to be the perfect people for each other, even our kids get along great.

I've been laying low the last couple of days, trying to get my back to stop spasming. I over did it at the gym earlier in the week and have paid dearly. I did get on the mini tramp yesterday for a few minutes just to do something, that didn't hurt but this am I woke at 4 with bad pains. I have to stop acting like I don't have a herniated disk before I end up in bed.

Casey will more than likely be in Indy on Sunday. There are horrid storms through MT and ND and they are moving slowly. They also have a stop in St. Paul to unload so that will take some time. Can't wait to see my baby, he will be tired from all that riding I am sure.

You all have a great day, I have more bookkeeping to do and then I am done, whooo hooo!

peace and love, oh and have a great weekend if I don't get on again.

Di

This is better...........

This is the Peobo resist that I wrote about last time. The gold line is very pretty and it comes out of the tube easily, doesn't run and give you a nice fine line. In the moving I lost the little pamphlet of directions on how to use this but I looked it up in my Dharma catalog, I do have to iron this resit to fix it to the silk, no biggie, this silk scarf will not be washed so I have no chance of washing out the silk paint with this method. These colors, this bright will always stay this bright, think I have come across a plan............finally!!

I bought 4 silk scarves from Dharma, 9" x 54", all blank white, ready for painting/dying whatever. So I will hopefully get at least two done this week for our trip to Alb. Mom and Deb will love them.

Our doggie Casey will be given to the transport guy today by my Mom in Seattle. We are very excited to have him coming home. Amy was here yesterday to pick up Jake and have a little cookout with us all. She is sooo hyped up, she hasn't seen her doggie in over 3 years!! Tony and I will travel to Indy on Friday (we think) to get him from the guy as he passes through on his way to northern Ohio. Mom is already on her way to Seattle, I talked to her this am. She has so many doggie things she is sending along, plus his big kennel that we used to ship him on the plane out there. This guy is going to really wonder when he sees all that stuff!

We had a blast with Jake this weekend. Scott ended up staying with us for Sat and Sun instead of going with his mother to her friend's house. That poor kid gets drug along to the weirdest places with her and her lady friends. We took Jake and Scott with us to church and Scott was such a help with Jake. Of course Jake pulled the "I have to pee" thing in the middle of mass and Scott volunteered to take him.

We had everyone over for a cookout during the Cards vs Sienna game and it was great fun. Amy had Sarah and Kyle come too as they both go to school at U of L and they were in town. Lots of kids, lots of food and lots of fun. I always wanted more kids but of course Don wouldn't allow it, once we had one of each that was the end of kids. It used to make me sad but not anymore, now I have the bigger family that I always wanted and I am loving it!!

Have a great spring day everyone!
Di

This didn't work too well..............

First off, Happy Anniversary to Tony and me!! Today is our 3 month anniversary, man how time flies when you are having fun, lol!

Here is a pic of my little sample piece of silk that I tried the gel glue resist method on. This is a shot before I washed out the gel. Well, sorry to say that this method did not work on silk and with silk paint. I had to wash it so vigorously to get all the gel resist lines out that I about wore out the silk and the silk paint faded horribly. These colors are nice and bright in this pic but the finished piece looks like an old dirty rag!! I think this gel might work better on cotton with real dye as you don't have to steam cotton to set the dye. Dye is the way to go as it sets very well and does not fade at all, and the colors are super vibrant. In the directions for this method the lady used cotton, so cotton might be the only way to use this gel glue.

So today I am trying another trial on a different reist, this is a commercial water based gutta from Peobo. I have three tubes that I have never opened, it makes a very fine nice line, I tried it on paper last night. This resist you do not wash out, it comes in colors like gold and silver and copper and it shiney and really neat stuff. It adds a really pretty fine line in color for the design, I am excited to try it. For color I am going to try dying the piece in kool aid, you can get some awesome effects in kool aid on silk. I have to boil the silk piece so hopefully the gutta will stay, I'm crossin my lil fingers.

Lil Jake comes to spend the weekend with us so I have lots to do to ready the house for him. Scott has been here this past week, first time he has spent 5 consecutive days with us and it was fun. He is a great kid. His Mother had to keep him on the phone for 1 hr. last night with her non-stop nonsense. She is the most combative person I have ever met, even beats out my ex and that is saying a lot.

You all have a great day and enjoy our last day of winter!!

Di

Hey guys

Hey guys, no time for photos today. I have so many things on my plate that it boggles my wee mind. I am trying to get at the pieces of silk that I bought from Dharma so that I will have Mother's Day gifts in hand when I get to Albqueruque for Easter. So much easier than mailing them later. But, alas..............that means I have to actually create the little masterpieces first!!

One of my Mother's contacts in art out in Port Angeles gave me a really great heads up on a technique for using a resist on silk that is NOT toxic and therefore going to be really good for me. It is plain ol gel glue, the kind you give kids to use, who wudda thunk it! I previously used melted wax for a resist but the smell and toxicity of melted wax is just to high of a price for me to pay. Plus, in this house there is no basement to hide in and create a mess in so anything I melt is smelly all over the house. The 4....soon to be 5 doggies and Tony and the kids cannot all wear a facemask all day!! Well maybe they could and maybe it would be super cute to see us all in them but that ain't gonna happen, ha!

So my focus today is #1 go to my fitness instruction apt. at LAC (Louisville Athletic club) #2 finish the trials on this new resist and use my best paints so I can see if it works #3 MAKE AT LEAST ONE OF THE DESIGNS on the silk scarf so that I am feeling like I am making progress on this quest.

It is raining here today so I won't be tempted by outside stuff. Like yesterday when Derek and I went to Auto Zone and bought oil and all the stuff to change my oil. That was actually really fun and REALLY MESSY!!

Oh by the way, I do not have YO's email address. I read all of her posts but can't post to her blog and wanted to email her but alas it is not in my mail box. Can someone please email me at dmenglert@bellsouth.net her email address.

Thanks and hugs all around!

Di

Casey is coming home!!!

My step Dad Bob with Casey in Port Angeles, WA.

This is a picture of Casey and Amy taken some years ago when we lived in Alexandria. Casey was/is Amy's dog. She begged and begged for this dog from the pet store, we had to visit it several times a week as a puppy in a large litter. It turned out that this little guy was the runt and the very last dog left. The owners of the pet store said to one of the workers, " if that lady and girl come to see that dog again just give him to them", so that is how we ended up with Casey. Don always called him the most expensive free dog ever. We built a $3500 fence for our yard and the main reason was so Casey could have a great fenced yard to bark in. lol!

Casey was my constant companion when I first got sick, he slept with me in the bed when Don would go to work and I was first bed ridden and at home. This went on for almost a year I was so heavily medicated to stop moving that I slept almost constantly. Casey would jump in the bed with me and snuggle next to me to comfort me. Many days I spent crying to him and holding him wondering if I would end up in a nursing home I was in such a horrible state with the Dystonia. When I started to get better we adopted a little friend for Casey, Rocky our little Chihuahua, they were fast friends and had so much fun together. Casey was a gently giant to our little 1.6 lb tiny baby puppy, he would let Rocky lay with him for naps it was so cute. Our two cats at the time would always snuggle with Casey too for naps, he was just the most loveable dog ever.

Fast forward to Don kicking Amy and me and little unborn Jake out of our family home. He said and take that "damn dog with you" so we tried to do just that but non of the apts. that I could afford on disability would allow 50 lb dogs. So my mother and step-Dad who had just lost their two sweet yellow labs to old age said they would take him in for a year for us. This was such a blessing for us and turned out to be a really amazing blessing for them. They missed their two big labs so much, they had them since they were pups when they died so they had not been without pets for many years. Casey fit right in and helped heal the wounds and losses from the "boy's" deaths.

Then that very next March 18th our dear step-Dad Bob passed on from brain cancer. Yes, today is the anniversary of Bob's death, he has been gone 3 years now. Casey has been a constant companion to Mom these 3 years and has brought her so much comfort much like he did for me when I was so bad and in bed. At 75 years young she can no longer care for Casey like she used to be able to when Bob was there, she can't get down on the floor to brush him and she can't lift him. And Casey is getting older and needs special arthritis meds and has trouble walking so he is now quite a bit more expensive than he was 3 years ago. I called Amy and asked her what she thought about taking Casey back home to us and of course she said, "yes, Mom do it, we need Casey back". So I told Mom I would look for a ground transport to bring Casey back home to us and we finalized a good transport for him yesterday.

Casey will be coming home on Monday of next week, driving with a moving company driver on his way to a move from Seattle to Ohio. He will sit in the cab with the driver and keep him company on the trip. I will meet up with the truck in Indianapolis and get Casey from him there. This awesome sweet dog is now making it back to us full circle. We can now care for him in his older years and time of need just like he did for me and then for Mom and Bob.

This is why I haven't been on the computer blogging, setting up his transport and bidding back and forth on UShip has been very time consuming.

Peace and love to everyone!!! We get our big sweet pup next week, I can't wait to see him, I haven't seen him in over 3 years.

Di

Latest project..........

I am making Jake a little covered pillow for his second birthday party. He loves this fabric and used to carry around the fabric piece before I had a chance to make it into something. We thought that was so funny so we had to take it from him when he was napping so I could make it into something. This pic is hard to see but I am machine quilting around each of the little cars on the fabric. Then I will sew each quilted side into a pillow.

On the subject of Katy's zingers. This method she has of going through the symptoms and systematically trying this and that to find the cure of reducing the zingers has me thinking. I am not supposed to be eating wheat flour products and sugar. I have been trying to give them up again and I have noticed that when I do give them up my zingers are greatly reduced. I had attributed the increase in them from the stress of living in a new city, new kids, etc. But now I think it is just the diet and a little of the stress.

You all have a great day, big hugs all around.

Di

Henry's Ark trip last Sunday

This past Sunday Tony and I took Scott and Amy and Jake to Henry's Ark since it was such a nice day. There were a lot more people there than the day Tony and Jake and I went in Jan when it was only 14 degrees. We were happy that Scott could join us as he couldn't make it to Jake's party on Friday and was busy on Sat. Scott is Tony's youngest son, the one that his Mother "hogs", literally! She will not allow him to spend the night with us anymore even though he has an adorable bedroom at our house...............YES, she is wacked but that is another story. We were happy to have him for the day on Sunday and he and Amy get along really well and Jake adores him. Scott is 15, Amy 20.

In the picture above Amy, Scott and Jake had to try out the very friendly burro for a ride for Jake. They didn't actually "ride" her, just sat Jake on her back. These burros were so cute and friendly and filthy!! Thank God we had hand sanitizer in the car!

The two camels that Tony about lost his left hand to while feeding! These two were VERY hungry and apparently love carrots. Wonder if you can buy carrots that are a foot long just for feeding camels??? lol!

This was the bunny area, neat very fat bunnies in elevated cages. Scott and Jake were big friends on this excursion to the Ark, Jake had to have him in sight at all times.

This emu was after us the whole trip down this little walking path to see the animals. He had to have whatever we were feeding the other animals, kind of freaked us out and he would get right in your face. Amy finally had to pick up Jake and run from this guy....Several of the animals at the Ark just roam freely among the visitors, not exactly the safest way to operate a zoo.

I am going to try to get caught up with all of the posts you all have put up this past week. We are working outside a lot lately and I just run out of time before Tony gets home and we have dinner and go to a meeting.

Love you all, big hugs all around,

Di

Fun weekend

Jake "big" Birthday present from Tony and me and Derek, he loved it!!

This is the crazy dinosaur cake I made for Jake for his birthday party at our house last Friday. Those are toys that I bought at Target and I just stuck them on the cake, the snake started to fall off toward the end. The frosting is homemade marshmallow creme, really yummy and was nice and glossy to spray the green coloring on it. Cake flavor was red velvet, Amy's favorite.

Lil Jacob is 3 Today!!

This is such a sweet picture of Amy and lil Jacob, taken exactly 3 years ago today! Wow, how time flies when you are changing diapers and chasing after the little guy.

Jacob was born 3 days ahead of his due date at 1:31 p.m. Amy and Derek and I were living in our first "home" after the divorce, a very small townhouse apt right across the street from NKU, where both of the kids ended up going to college. Amy was a senior in HS and she had been a very good student her senior year, given that she had the pregnancy to deal with and a new school. Her "old" school Holy Cross was making it very difficult to accept her being that she was pregnant for her senior year. So we enrolled her in the county H.S. one that was 1800 students and sooo different from her awesome small Catholic HS. She did great there as she knew a lot of these kids from gradeschool days.

Amy had the big master bedroom with the bath in this little townhouse apt. I had the tinest room as I just had a twin bed and didn't need much room. Derek had the middle sized bedroom. All were upstairs in the townhouse and Amy had Jake's crib in her room as there was no room for his own room there. It was cozy and tight, but a house full of a lot of love and excitement.

We threw a big baby shower for Amy there in that townhouse, the main "ground" level was a big living room and a big kitchen and a small bathroom, that was it. Derek and Amy and I made all the food and it was actually hosted by her friends at her job at Hallmark. They did all the decorating and games and prizes.

The day of Jake's birth Amy woke at 3 am and said she had bad contraction. She was in active labor right from the start and it did not quit. We got into the car at 6 am as her contractions were 2 min. apart and not stopping. I drove and I was not a good driver then and really was quite freaked out. I remember saying Hail Mary's all the way there! When we got there she was put on a monitor and the nurses and Dr's were so good to her. They said she was not any further than 2 cm dilated so we waited. The contractions never let up and they gave her an epidural for the pain. She was such a trooper, she pushed for maybe an hour total and gave birth to Jake at 1:31 in the afternoon.

This pic was taken just hours after he was born, she had him inside her PJ's to keep him skin to skin in contact with her. The nurses were so great with them, never anything unkind because of her young age of only 17. Dr. Lea delivered Jake and he was my Dr. for years, so I knew him well and he was so good to her and Jake.

Jake's father did not see him be born or visit him in the hospital. He didn't even know he was born until Jake was almost a year old as we couldn't find him. He didn't want to be found, he moved from place to place to avoid Amy. Later we found out that Jacob has a 1/2 brother and he is almost exactly 1 year older than him. He was running from both mothers and both of his young sons.

I am so thankful for lil Jacob and that Amy wanted to have her son and raise him. Because of him I know I had a purpose for getting better with my health, I had a reason to get out of bed, someone that needed me. God works in mysterious ways and this lil guy has always been thought of as an "angel" sent by God to all of us. He has healed so many wounds in our family.

Big hugs to you all and much love,

Di

Been gone too long.........missed you all!

I've been away from the blogging TOO LONG!! I've missed you all so much. We have had one computer for three of us to use this past few weeks and yesterday we had no internet for most of the day. Derek looks for work in the morning on the computer so I have gotten away from my blogging. Now his computer is FINALLY working in his room so I can go back to my little stories.

This pic of Jake was taken last weekend when Derek and I went up to his apt. to move him out. I also took my vehicle so I could get some yard stuff from my friend Tony that was storing things for me in his garage. I had a little time with Patty and Amy and Jake and we had fun, went to lunch and then Derek and I went back to Louisville.

Tony and I have been going to an Al-Anon meeting 5 times a week since Derek has come to live here. He is doing great, lots of improvement in his attitude and he is trying very hard to get a job. He also has his van up for sale and has a couple guys interested in going in together to buy it for their trips to Nascar races. He is going to use the money to pay off his student loan and then he can get back to finishing those last few classes for his degree. This has him very encouraged as he has been in school now for almost 5 years and is sooo close to graduating. Being clean and sober is going to make that dream a reality, FINALLY!!

With Derek here we have been able to get almost the entire yard ready for spring. Derek is used to a lot of manual labor and loves to be outside so almost everyday we are out doing work in the yard. Tony is so pleased, this is something we can't seem to get caught up on on the weekends with just the two of us to do the work and now it is almost all done! Derek and Tony get along really well. Where Tony's son Warren was so angry all the time and always fighting us on everything, Derek is just the opposite, he is very easy to get along with and willing to do just about any work you bring up that needs to be done. Oh and Derek is an excellent cook!! So much for losing those pounds I gained, lol!

Tomorrow Jake and Amy come down for a little party for Jake's 3rd birthday. I'll have a pic of Jake in his BIG present from us. He is going to love it! ...................stay tuned!!

Got to get at it, you all have a great day, I am so happy to be back and able to read your posts!@

love and hugs,
Di

Not much time on the computer lately..........

Derek celebrated his 8th day of sobriety yesterday with us. We are thrilled to pieces for him and we took him out to dinner to celebrate at Cheddars before we went to the meetings. We have found a great location at a church across the big street from our subdivision, they have a very good Al-Anon meeting along with an AA meeting Derek can go to. I finally spoke a little last night at the meeting and that felt good. All these meetings so far Tony and I have just sat and listened. Several in the room have kids with alcohol and drug problems and some people talked to us about their kids last night after the meeting. It is just the hardest thing in the world to watch these kids do these things, but it really helps to talk to others about it.

Derek has been on the computer a lot looking for work and looking for meetings and programs. We have one computer until he gets the new router hooked up and the wireless connection working so I've been doing other things while he uses it. I did read all the posts yesterday but just didn't have time to respond yet.

The pic up top we took yesterday in our running around. We were waiting for the custard shop to open and Derek was showing me how to use my phone to take a picture while the phone is closed and you can see yourself in the little outside window of the phone. He is always so amazed at what I don't know, lol! Anyway the pic came out so cute of him in the background looking on! He is such a good kid, a real joy to be around when he is clean and sober. We have missed a lot of time these past many years with him being crazy with his addictions, it is so nice to just enjoy him. Makes me happy to be at home now and able to give him a place to stay and recover.

Got to get my hair colored today so you all take care, big hugs and love!
Di

This is cool

Yesterday Derek and I went to see this show of canned goods put on by the Dare to Care food drive. These are some of the entries. All of the designs are done in cans and there is nothing gluing the sturctures together, very cool!

Very good day yesterday.........

This is our lil man that will be turning 3 on March 6th, my how time flies!! Amy is planning a birthday party in the condo club house, should be a good one as I am making most of the food, lol! She is ordering the cake from Buskin, so that is handled. The theme is dinosaurs. Don gave Jake a set of big life like dinosaurs for Christmas and he is just crazy about them. I hope to be able to locate some dinosaur cookie cutters before then and make him some special iced cookies, we will see.

Friday night Amy and Jake came down for a few hours visit. We took Derek and Amy and Jake to dinner at the Bristol, an awesome restuarant. My Mom had given us a gift certificate for a wedding gift and that was the perfect time to use it. Then we all drove to a little pizza joint some 15 miles further down the road to hear Tony's sister's boyfriends new bluegrass band play. Rick is a very good bassist and the band was awesome!!! We will have to be sure to catch them again sometime.

Yesterday we tried to take Derek to his detox program but he was too far along in the detoxing stage on his own and they wouldn't take him. But this was good because that means he is doing that part on his own. He is saying he is very committed to doing it this time so we do hope that is true. He will call them on Monday and see if he can go to the next part of the program there or if he needs to find another program. The man there said he would help him find a good place. And he can always go to a counselor with Tony's employee assistance program too.

Tony and I went to a another new Al-Anon meeting last night and that one was one we will pass on next time. There was too much going on there that was not in line with our needs. Tonight we will go back to the AA and Al-Anon that we went to last Sunday, Derek can go to his meeting and we will go to ours.

You all have a great Sunday afternoon.

Love and hugs,
Di

Today is a better day.........

What a gorgeous coat this goat wears everyday!! He is from the Henry's Ark that we took Jake too awhile back, that day it was 11 degrees and windy. We had the zoo to ourselves, go figure!!

Yesterday was a range of emotions for me. Derek texted me and called me several times. I woke up very weapy about him and went to bed very encouraged. Tony and I went to another Al-Anon last night and that one was the best so far. They work the 12 steps and we worked on Anger. They passed little slips of paper to everyone with a question for us to answer and share on Anger. It was a great exercise since I have been so angry at Derek lately. Everything you see and hear is anonymous at these meetings but when you go with your husband you can discuss it all among yourselves, how awesome is that!

We have a place all lined up for Derek to go to detox and then to a half way house that has counselors and physicans and AA meetings everyday. They will take him, and he can live there, an answer to a prayer for sure. Of course he can leave that program anytime he wants to, just like any place else so it is all up to him. I am getting out of the way of God, he is free to do his work with him.

Today is my day for lunch with Tony. We are going to the little restaurant we went to for our Dare To Care day where we had a little breakfast, Wagners. They have great fish and mac and cheese on Friday's so we have to try it.

Peace and love and hugs to you all,
Di

Tony's contribution for today..........

Tony started off our day with this limerick:

An odd looking bird is the pelican

His beak can hold more than his belly can

He holds food in his beak

Enough for a week

But I don't know how in the hell he can

I know............he is adorable!!

Peace and Love,

Di

Doing things to keep busy

These wrist warmers are almost done, this one is finished and the other one is a few rows from being done. Of course when I finish them the weather will be warm and toasty and I won't need them until next year!

Scott came over tonight for dinner and to watch the Louisville BB game with his Dad. I made dinner, cleaned up the dishes and then headed out for a new Al-Anon meeting. It turned out to be a great group, all were very friendly and had an awesome topic. It amazes me at what God puts in front of me when I ask Him for His help and guidance. These things these folks share are the very things I need to hear. Several ladies talked to me personally and had ideas of other day time meetings that I might like in my area. This city is very friendly, not something I always found to be true of the Northern KY/Cinci area, people are more reserved and to themselves up there.

I called my sissy Deb on the way home and told her of Derek's events these past few days. She has gone to Al-Anon for years and she is always very good at listening and giving the advice I need to hear. I am doing what I can do for him and now I need to make sure to take care of myself, he will be my undoing if I don't . She is an awesome sister!

Nite all, have to get to bed. Tony is playing soccer at a 10 p.m. game tonight so I didn't get to see him.

Peace and joy!
Di

I am feeling better today.........

I wasn't feeling well last night so Tony made us dinner and brought me a tray to the bedroom! How sweet was this? He brought his plate too and we ate in the bed. The rice and veggies were awesomely yummy, he put in some rosemary grass in the stir fry and it was really good. Made me feel better too to eat. I took a long hot soak in the tub and the nerve pain in my face and feet really settled down. All this stress of Derek and his goings ons had me really physically hurting.

I did get a lot of yard work done yesterday and that made me feel good to be outside and working at something. We had passed out just 12 sets of food at the racetrack yesterday morning, a very low turnout. Our truck was late with the food so 4 of us went over to a really neat lil Mom and Pop restuaruant that I guess has been there for years and years. We had the best visit and had coffee and a little breakfast sandwich. I learned so much from this little old couple and one of the other volunteers about Louisville and great places to eat! I could not have stood there in the cold on the cold pavement not moving or working but just waiting on the truck.

I did get my kids to meet at the Meijer up in Northern KY and we changed the phones to all new 502 prefix numbers and now Tony joined us too. And he now has text!!! He did it and now I think I have created a monster as he has texted me several times this morning from work.........naughty boy!!

You all have a great day

Big hugs all around,

Di

Gone in a flash...........

Derek couln't handle the "heat" of recovering here at our house so while I took a nap yesterday afternoon he took off for his apartment in No. Ky. Didn't take anything with him, not even his medication, nothing, just took off. God only knows what condition he will be in when I hear from him next.

Our Al-Anon meeting was very good. The topic was expectations and everyone shared about Valentine's Day, what happened with them, good - bad or indifferent. These meetings always amaze me. I felt very strongly that I "had to go" just to get a different perspective on the Derek issues. And I came away with so much insight into how people handle crisis and conflict and yes of course the alcoholic in their lives. It did help me to set the "problem" apart from me and detach myself a little. Tony hadn't been to Al-Anon in many years (his ex-wife is an alcoholic) so it was a real refresher for him and so great to have him there with me.

This morning when I woke up I felt very weapy and Tony said some prayers with me. He always seems to know what will help at the right time. I asked him "how on earth do people deal with kids like Derek" and he answered me, "not very well" and that was the perfect answer.

I help pass out produce at Churchill Downs today at 8:45 so I'd best get moving. Thank God I have something productive to do today and no time to sit and veg and feel sorry for myself.

Di

Lots going on.....

Lots going on here at the Englert household. This is a pic of Derek decorating the valentine cookies, we made lots and had fun decorating them in cute goofy designs.

Friday Derek moved into Warrens old room and rearranged things, the arrangement of furniture is much better. Tony and Derek and I went to an open AA meeting at a big church down the street and it was a great meeting. A young person talked and it was very timely for Derek to hear her speech. He talked to a few people and got a listing of meeting times.

Christy came down Sat. afternoon to see Derek and left Sunday morning. We went up to No. Ky on Sunday and spent a little time with Jake and Amy. Johnny was over to see Amy and we saw him for a few min. Then we watched Jake for her while they went out to play frisbie golf.

When Amy got home we all went to the party for Aleck and had fun, it was very crowded, lots of folks there to wish him a 1st birthday. After the party Tony and I went to dinner with Patty, then we headed back to Louisville. Derek had spent the day pretty much vegging in bed in front of the TV feeling bad for himself. He has a very hard time with free time on his hands. It is going to take a great deal of self discipline for him to make it here.

Today we got up early and made a list of things Derek needs to do while here. Got most of the list done including his new phone plan and new drivers license and changing his address to here. He even applied for a job online for UPS. The Clerk's office was closed so we will register his van tomorrow. He will go to an AA meeting tonight and Tony and I will go to an Al-Anon meeting at our church. The biggie was that he found a place that will give him an evaluation apt. for tomorrow. So each day is a challenge for him that is for sure. Laying in bed and feeling sorry for himself is not going to be an option, not if he wants to live with us anyway.

I have really taken it for granted that I have an "up" personality and don't easily let myself get down. Being around Derek makes me really happy that I have made it a habit to be happy. Depressive illness is a very tough thing to watch someone go through.

Derek is here!

Aleck and Catrina and Jeremy were here last night and we had a great time. The dinner turned out good and they left with exact directions on how to make it. She is not a cook but she can do this one, very easy and good for her as she is pregnant with baby #2!! Lil Aleck was so fun and he is very mobile now, crawling and walking everywhere. It was fun to see them and get to visit a little.

Derek got here this am just after Catrina and family left. He has a plan for his time here and hopefully we can get him enrolled in a drug treatment facility or an outpatient facility. He has a good attitude and hopefully is really serious about getting better. We are looking on line for AA meetings, he has to attend 5 a week if he stays here with us. Those were the Dr's orders when he left the Mental Health Unit and a very good plan for him.

We have Aleck's 1st birthday party to attend in Northern KY on Sunday and a Valentines Day hike for couples tomorrow night so it will be a very busy weekend. But with Derek here we will have some help with cooking and chores anyway. One thing he is not is lazy and he is an excellent cook.

Keep us all in your prayers friends!
Di

Almost ready for guests!!

I know this is not a very exciting picture, but I spent all day in this "guest room" yesterday so I wanted to show it off somewhat. I stripped out everything from the room, boxed up all Warren's "junk" and I mean "junk", this kid had old nasty containers of beer in there, remains of old juice box wrappers, etc. Anyway I scrubbed every wall and door as he works at Jiffy Lube and can't seem to wash his hands after work, there were greasy prints on everything in that room, even the bed posts!! If you know me, you know that I hate filth, so I had a fiesta yesterday getting it straightened up. The dust ruffle and sheets are new from Target and the comforter is mine from my twin at the condo, I was right it fit nicely, although could be a little longer on the sides.

The boys came over to print something for homework on our printer as their Mother's doesn't work so we had the opportunity to have them take the bags and boxes of his stuff to her house. Oh, I found 2 guns and ammunition in the room too, GOOD GRIEF!! I prefer guns to be locked up in a gun case, so now those are at her house too, thank heavens.

We found out yesterday that Tony's ex is taking him to court for 1/2 his retirement. This was something that was not done during the divorce and he is upset about it. He of course took a good sized hit on his 401K just like everyone else did and he doesn't feel too great about losing 1/2 of it to her. Especially as she has lots and lots of inheritance money from her father. I told him to pray about it, give the problem to God and let Him instruct him on how to proceed. We say the Scriptural Rosary daily so I am sure the answer will come to him as whether to fight it or not.

I am so excited to see lil Aleck today. Catrina called yesterday and said they won't be here until after 6. That is fine as I have my first session at the church at 10:30 to learn how to make the prayer blankets. Share emailed me a nice thank you and I have another person that I'd like to give one too but that one I'd like to make myself. There is a printed tag that you sew into the blanket on the underside with the prayer blanket logo and I need that to get started.

You all have a great day! Hopefully the winds will calm down, we had 62 mph winds yesterday and our yard is back to being a leafy mess..........

Di

Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning and more Cleaning

Ok, I couldn't find the picture I wanted to post today but I found this cool pic of a shirt that I made a couple years ago. This is hot wax and dye, called batiking, really fun to do. I want to do more of this when it gets warmer outside, I can't melt the wax in the house, waaaay too smelly.

I am cleaning Warren's old room for Catrina and Jeremy and Aleck's visit tomorrow. This boy is really amazing, I found something quite weird under his bed. Guess he was trying to get high off of some seeds from flowers in the back yard. I found this weird home made pipe and a container of seeds.....................GOOD GRIEF!!!! I cannot tell you how happy I am that he is now living with his mother.

I bought new bedding for the bed yesterday and washed it all up. I am using the comforter from my bed at the condo since it is a full sized bed and my comforter is really cute and a huge twin, hopefully it will look ok. I want them to be comfortable in there, so maybe they will visit again!!!

You all have a great day, I'd best get back at it and stop playing on Facebook and sending Lois flowers, Lois you are making me a slacker!! ha

Di

Lemons Photo Challenge

I saw Lemon's photo challenge on Lo's comment page so I had to try it. This is my 6th album and 6th pic in the album, just happened to be my wedding photo albumn. How awesome is that!! As many of you know Tony and I got married this past Dec. 20th and my sissy Deb did my flowers and our wedding cake. She came all the way from Albuquerque NM to cold and frosty Louisville KY to be with us and help us have an awesome wedding day. These flowers are white roses surrounded by white spider mums!! Very pretty and perfect for our day!

How here is the challenge from Lemon:

Post the 6th picture in your 6th photo album on your blog. Write about your photo and share it with 6 new people. It is cool to see what photo you hit on and to see what everyone else posts.

Lil Doggies and Iced Cookies

Our lil doggies, left to right: Molly, Lilly and Gizzy, and up top is Rocky. This is "their couch" our spot is on the floor! lol! With the warmer temps we have been taking all 4 for walks around the neighborhood, they are loving it. We keep three of them on leashes and let Lilly chase the ball. Last night we walked the doggies and visited with several neighbors who are still cleaning up their yards from the storm. One older lady hired a man to run a chipper and cut down the trees in her back yard, really looked good, maybe we should have done that and not had to deal with the mess.

Our friends Catrina and Jeremy and their lil baby Aleck are coming to town for a convention that Catrina is attending. They are staying with us Thursday night in Warren's old room. We are sooo excited, we get to see lil Aleck and get to visit with Catrina. Aleck turns one on Valentines Day and he has a party on Sunday, hopefully we will make it up there for that. Cross your fingers that the weather holds out. You all might remember that I babysat lil Aleck for some months last year. I have missed him and Catrina sooo much!

Today is my day to start making my Valentines cookies. I make the rolled and iced hearts and give them instead of candy for gifts for the kids. I have a neat bear shaped copper cookie cutter that makes a great big cookie, so cute all decorated with icing. But alas, I can't find this cutter anywhere. It will show up, when I don't need it I am sure.

You all have a great day, I have some shopping to do for meringue powder and cookie stuff.

Di

I've been shrunk!

This pic is so funny, makes me look like I've been shrunk! We had a great day on Sat but worked our lil tails off yesterday. The magnolia is now all piled up and cut up and out by the street waiting for the big pick-up effort the city is doing. Our neighbors really had it much worse than we did and their entire yard is full of chest high piles of branches. It looks like a war zone in this city. And how about the little old people that can't possibly clean up their own yards and can't afford to have it done. The city will come around once with big dump trucks and claw lifters to get the debris and if the folks don't have their piles out they lose out on curb side pickup.

Today I will do my taxes as married filing separately as Tony can't do his until later, he has info coming that will take a while to get here. I can't stand to wait any longer, I am too anal, I have to get them done.

I have more clean up to do with all the magnolia leaves to add to the big pile. I don't want to bag them so I'll just dump them on top of the big branches. But we have another warm day here so it will be fun to be outside.

Happy day for all of you!
Di

New twist on my Medicare problem

My gal with SHIP called me on Friday and told me something very interesting. Apparently my appeal was responded to on Jan. 20th. It said that Nat. Govt Services asked for my records from the hospital and they did not respond to the request within 60 days. So now National Govt.Services is holding THEM responsible for the $6500 bill!! Can you believe that! She said that the hosp will more than likely appeal that determination but WOW what a change of events this is. Gives me a little hope anyway.

Tony and I went to Glassworks in Lousiville yesterday and he bought me a really pretty glass ball for my collection for Valentines Day. We watched them hold a class and blow some neat glass kisses, very cool. Then we went to the Slugger factory and later we went rollerskating. That was so fun, I am a terrible skater but Tony is really good and it was fun watching him skate circles around me.

Today I am cleaning up the tree mess while he hunts the birds. My legs are too tired from skating to do all that walking in the hunt. He walks for a couple of hours straight and that would exhaust me too much.

Derek is thinking of coming to visit us for a few days. He wants to leave the band, that is a good sign. He knows he has to give it up to be completely free of the temptation to drink.

What a day yesterday was!

I had a very successful trip to the condo. After my apt and time with Derek I took lil Jake to shoe shop with me at a sale. We found these awesome little "Cars" shoes for him for only $10. This pic is of lil Jacob sleeping with me with his new shoes, he wouldn't give them up. He obviously got this trait from me as I LOVE NEW SHOES too, well not quite enough to sleep with them...........lol!

The apt with Legal Aid was awesome!! This gal is the contact for SHIP, those are the folks that help people with Medicare problems. She is an attorney and very young and sweet, but does she ever carry a BIG stick. She is helping me with 2 different plans to rectify this problem. Hopefully it won't be long and it will be taken care of, it is great to finally have someone that is familiar with this type of thing to help me. And someone that has a functioning memory, lol!

I did Amy's taxes while I was there yesterday, she is getting a bundle back this year and that is good. She needs all the money she can get taking care of Jake and living alone now. She was happy it was all done and now she can apply for her financial aid for next year at NKU.

I had dinner with Derek while up there. He and Christy are on the outs again because he went drinking while on his medication. Goodness, it is hard to watch this child of mine do this to himself. But I have to "detach" as they say in Al-Anon, it is his life and if he chooses to do this to himself he has every right to. Much easier said than done.

I hope to get caught up reading blogs today, I've missed all the goings on of you all. We are expecting 52 degree weather today and I am sooo happy! Tony and I go hunting tomorrow with the birds, they haven't been out in weeks it has been so cold so that will be fun.

Di