I want my eighty degrees !

For over a week now it has been hot here in Ohio. We have had sunny days with highs in the seventies and eighties. I have been in shorts and summer tops and though I refuse to turn the central air on in April, Lets just say that the car's air is working fine. yes we skipped spring and went to summer and I was loving it. However spring evidently found out that it got a raw deal and decided to fight. Last evening brought us some rain, no big deal we can handle that but with it there was a cold front. Now temps are in the low sixties with minimal sun. I guess there could be worse, but I shaved my legs and everything and now it is too chilly for my shorts ! I suppose that in another couple of weeks the heat will be getting to me and I would welcome a day in the sixties. That will probably be the case but for now I could use a few more hot days. So if anyone knows the weather man/woman, how bout a request from me.

Samurai

The kids play with Samurai Their Uncle's 6 year old English mastiff


What a beautiful dog


Samurai's unique water bowl

Last weekends wirlwind

Saturday morning started with Mike waking me earlier than anyone should ever get out of bed on a Saturday. We spent the morning looking at and test driving many cars, some very impractical others fitting . We then rushed home to take the boys to karate as Cindy worked the night before and was in bed. After dropping them, we went to yet other lots to look and drive a couple more. There was some talk on whether we could let alone should buy the sports car that was an awesome deal but not very practical. Try as I may Mike really resisted going back to reality and test driving a practical Malibu after the Camero. he finally gave in but asked how I could expect him to be excited about "wheat bread" when he has "candy" staring him in the face. We needed a perspective break so went to get the kids. Though we did try again, we just couldn't go back out looking and besides most of the lots were closing anyway.Saturday night Mike and I had tickets to an Air Supply concert. Remember them from the 80's ? yep thirty four years and still touring with the same material. Mike and I both had a great time even though it was the first concert that we have been at in years and we were still ( with maybe the exception of ten or less)the youngest there. After a fabulous trip down Memory lane, Mike and I headed to Perkins for a late night snack ( it was almost 11:00) Perkins was not by any means busy but our server was so bad that I ended up walking out an hour later without eating. In a nutshell We sat down and waited ten minutes,at which time the Hostess came and took our drink orders. before she got our drinks to us she had to seat a few parties and cash out a couple others. Five minutes went by and our server came with our drinks ( summery.... 15 minutes we get drink) Mike and I ordered a dinner and an appetizer ( my meal) to be delivered together ( easy enough )Forty minutes were spent talking and finishing our drinks, when our appetizer came out. because our server disappeared,another had the appetizer.( so much for served together) Our server had wrote the wrong table number on the ticket so it was taken and sat at the table next to us. ( in front of six teenagers, at least one of whom touched the food before telling the server that it was not theirs ( hey in the kids defense, chicken fingers sort of look like ice cream sundaes which they ordered) After being told there was a mistake, the server picked up the plate and asked the table on the other side if it was theirs. Though they did not even have their drinks yet, they said yes they ordered that item. It was left with them. When our server heard where the plate went she began flailing her arms and went to another table before telling us that our food had been misdelivered and we would be waiting longer(Thank goodness that i am anemic or my blood would have boiled over) anyway I asked for another drink and we reiterated that we wanted our food together, so to time the new appetizer with the dinner. We were assured that both would be up in five minutes. OK... Three minutes later here comes our server with the dinner. " It was up and I didn't want to leave it back there so here" was said as it was plopped on the table. OK, that was it I had had it. I got up told her that she could take the food back and left. Mike drove us to Burger king for a burger within three minutes.

Sunday started like any but the afternoon consisted of a late Birthday celebration with my Mom. Though it was simply my family and Mom and Dad for the most part my Brother stopped by with his English Mastiff for a short while. We relaxed and talked a bit and it was time to go home and have the kids ready themselves for Monday morning. All in all it was a good weekend with Beautiful weather but I am exhausted.Oh well my list today is so long that it will be bed time before I know it. Pictures to come...

Happy Belated 66 Mom !

What did I do this weekend ?

Oh so much.... But it is late so You will all have to come back tomorrow for an update. However I am embarrassed to say that though I didn't forget,I did forget to post a Happy Birthday message to my Mom. Mom was double sixes yesterday and even though I called to wish her a happy Birthday and did make her a cake which I took her today, I neglected to share her day in Blog world. So please accept my apology, Mom and May you have 66 More ! I love you. As for posting a picture, I will try to do so tomorrow.As well as share my weekend. To Be continued...........

Did they say Precious Moments @ 50% off ?

At the beginning of the year, It was announced that Gorant's candy would be closing a few stores. The one closest to my house ( like two blocks) was unfortunately on the chopping block. I felt bad as Mike's cousin was losing her job there but I didn't fret too much because there were still two stores within ten minutes from here that I could shop at. This store ( the one I usually got my Precious Moments figurines from )did have a clearance sale but most of the Precious Moments figurines, were shipped to other stores and not reduced. With minimal pain( from my point of view)the store closed at the end of February. Since I ordered our Easter candy from a Gorant's fundraiser at Church as well as another local candy company ( cheaper and just as good)I had not been in a Gorant's store in a couple months. The other day, however I was lured in by a sale sign in the window of one of the closer stores. When I entered I seen sale signs all over,even on the Precious Moments case which is very unusual. I asked a clerk if all Precious moments were really 50% off, to my surprise they were and they weren't even too badly picked over. As I looked and decided which I had to have at these awesome prices, the lady told me that that Gorant's had its factory up for sale and was closing all of it's stores, except maybe the store attached to the factory, which they were hoping to sell. Now the news of possibly losing a local candy factory obviously saddens a fat girl like me, not to mention the closing of stores that I could earn rewards at and save on My Precious Moments habit is also a painful blow. However the euphoria of 50% off Precious Moments has me on cloud nine for now. So far I have gotten one for Cindy's cake when she graduates Nursing school( hows that for faith ?), A set of angels that I have wanted since their release in 2008, but couldn't justify the $60 each price tag, and a couple others. I may even go back this weekend when I have more time to look. Oh yes I am Happy now but in a few months when the store is closed( or at least out of Precious Moments) I will be sad but hey anything could happen so for now I will not think about it. Please excuse me for now as I skip away singing my happy dance ! Precious moments are 50% off.....Precious moments are 50% off...la la la la la :-)

Puppy Size ( Thanks Mike)

Being the dog lover that I am, I knew that I had to share the following as soon as I read it. I did change the pictures to some of My Grandpuppies. Hope you enjoy !


Danielle keeps repeating it over and over again. We've been back to this animal shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all of this,' the mother told the volunteer.

'What is it she keeps asking for?' the volunteer asked.

'Puppy size!' replied the mother.

'Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for.'

'I know...we have seen most of them,' the mom said in frustration...

Just then Danielle came walking into the office

'Well, did you find one?' asked her mom. 'No, not this time,' Danielle said with sadness in her voice. 'Can we come back on the weekend?'


The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed.

'You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there's always a supply,' the volunteer said.

Danielle took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. 'Don't worry, I'll find one this weekend,' she said.



Over the next few days both mom and dad had long conversations with her.

They both felt she was being too particular. 'It's this weekend or we're not looking any more,' Dad finally said in frustration.

'We don't want to hear anything more about puppy size either,' Mom added.

Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning. By now Danielle knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs.

Tired of the routine, mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted.

Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one, the dogs were brought out and she held each one.

One by one she said, 'Sorry, you're not the one.'

It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup.

The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer.


'Mom, that's it! I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!' she screamed with joy. 'It's the puppy size!'

'But it's the same size as all the other puppies you held over the last few weeks,' Mom said.

'No not size... The sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed,' she said.

'Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sigh!'

The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both.

'Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms,' she said.


Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said, 'Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!'


Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you sigh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the caress of a sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of cool air on a hot day.

They are the sighs of God! Take the time to stop and listen; you will be surprised at what you hear. 'Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.




May each of you feel and hear the sighs of God.. And may you always walk in sunshine....
























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Reunited

Almost eleven years ago, five year old Michael walked into a near by gym for his first Karate class. I vividly remember that though he was excited, I was unsure. Nervously, I signed him up with a Sensei who turned out to be great. Michael was taught well and advanced quite well. After a couple years,this sensei decided to close the dojo. He did fill in as sensei at another location from time to time, so Michael joined his second school. Unfortunately things at this second school did not work out for us nor did Michael's original Sensei stay as an instructor.Michael joined the next closest dojo(an hour away) and we had not heard from his past sensei again. Until last year that is. Two years ago the assistant Sensei at the far away Dojo started his own Dojo, much closer to us. After a year, this Sensei decided to merge the Dojo with a newer one in the area which Michael and Robby joined. After a few months at the new Dojo, it was rumored that Michael's first sensei would be working out at the new Dojo. Michael was very excited to see this Sensei. At one of the last classes They posed for the following picture.

Do these people really want to sell these used cars ?

Yesterday Mike and I decided to take a ride and look at a used car or two. We started by looking in the Sunday paper and calling a couple of the numbers. Initially only one seller answered the phone and told us that his car was immaculate. We were on our way. This particular car went from immaculate to " what do you expect for a used car" almost immediately upon our arrival.Now come on.... Do you think that we wouldn't catch on and would buy it just because we made the trip? Surely we wouldn't see this as a major hit on the seller's credibility which would nullify him as a possible person that we would actually buy a used car from. Anyway..... we moved on. At this point a couple sellers whom we left messages for called back.A couple cars were already sold, but one call back gave us an address which we informed the seller that we would be there in about an hour. The seller said OK . An hour later we were there. The car was there locked so Mike called the seller, assuming that he was in the house,to request that he bring the keys out. Interesting enough the seller was hours away, but if we wanted to come back tomorrow........ He would probably be there. Now I will admit that I have been stressed out and PMS seems to be knocking at my door so I am probably a tad irritable, but Gee people, why advertise a car that you don't plan on taking calls about ? OK I know the ad starts Sunday and many go to church, really I understand, but when you return a call could you not say I will be here from such and such a time until such and such a time, or better yet put on the machine that you will not be in until Monday or Here's a tough one..... When you call me back tell me that the car is parked at such and such a place and that I am welcome to look but you will not be back with the keys until whenever. That way I don't waste my time driving 1/2 an hour for nothing.Noooooo, that would be considerate and why would anyone want to be considerate ! Anyway, I now find myself asking.... Do these people really want to sell these cars or is it just an act ? Do they realize that in this area the economy is terrible and there are people who will go the extra mile ( those which sold before I called for instance. Some of which were considerate enough to actually return my call and say sorry it is sold for instance !)who will obviously sell much before these game players . Oh well I am so fed up, it is ridiculous. Maybe I will just settle for the one car that we test drove and felt was OK, even though the seller would not leave his house to come out and talk to us. "Yup the keys are in it" was all he could mutter from his living room. Good gracious ! If I could ,without letting Michael down, I would give up. But since I can't, please pray that we find what is meant for us before I loose what little sanity I still have ! Thank you all !

Oh the love between a boy and his Dog

More Easter

The table before the kids got up

Cindy looks at a collector Barbie left for her

Michael and Robby check out the Bunny's bounty

Clancy and Clarissa pose with their baskets

Clarissa digs in

Clancy investigates

So far behind, I feel like I'm ahead !

Coloring Easter eggs

yes we wore latex gloves. Cindy came up with the idea as she did not want the strict Nursing school to admonish her for colored hands

Finally

Back at the end of October we started looking for new living room furniture. For a while before then we still clung to the thought that lazy Boy furniture would last a lifetime, even in a house like ours where we, as well as our kids ( furry ones too ) use furniture.Anyway , it was time and we knew it so the search was on. We unfortunately encountered a few problems along the way . First off and probably the biggest was that Mike and I had different ideas of what we wanted. I fell in love with the Lazy boys with heat and massage units ( come on what girl wouldn't )these reclining pieces also come with a flip down table if you will , complete with cup holders and a storage bin. Oh my dream furniture had been found. Of course Mike was gentle with not crushing my joy too much. As is Mike's way, he just kind of withheld enthusiasm until I asked; Don't you love it ? Then he said those dreaded words that meant Move on Diane he said it was OK. I couldn't believe my ears ! Was he seeing OK? How could he not love this ? I almost cried ! Later he explained that he felt that the massage unit would not hold up since they were so adamant to point out that there was no optional insurance coverage that would cover it more than thirty days. ( He was right ) Then he asked what I thought that the kids would have the " flip down table" looking like in a week or two with spilled pop and juice ( even though they know that there would be no drinking allowed) and how many candy wrappers could be stowed in the storage bin ( is this man psychic ? )OK yes he was right but....... Finally he had me set on the couch, table down and told me to get up.I did and his third point was proven. With the table down, one tends to push off of it when getting up. And since the table thingy is made of thin board tacked together with small nails( probably big staples ) it would be very susceptible to breaking. Again Mike was right. We moved on. Our next hurdle was finding upholstery other than micro fiber, which I didn't care for. Well that one was almost impossible to clear , so we gave up because we found a deal that a bargain hunter like me couldn't pass up. Now I gave up the love seat reclining but the couch still does and I accepted micro fiber ( only in a darker color than most companies were offering) but I saved over $600, soooooooooo it will be delivered this afternoon. It will be so nice to have, especially after it taking four of us ( and Robby to open and close the door) to take the old couch to the curb for the trash men last night. The thing was so heavy that the trash men were grumbling this morning as it took both of the men on the truck to roll It to the truck. Oh well........ None of that matters now because in a couple hours...... I will have new furniture !!!!!!!!!

Here we go again so soon

Well it is that time again. Michael will be sixteen in a few weeks and hopes to have his driver's licence within the next couple months or so ( he still has twelve hours of driver's ed to fit into his busy schedule not to mention a few more weeks before he is even eligible to test)so we have officially began used car shopping. Don't envy me, really I'm not having that much fun. Actually I would rather have a root canal but there comes a time in every Mother's life when...... OK anyway, please say a little prayer that we can find a safe, mechanically sound car, that isn't falling apart, in our price range.
Man ,when we spaced our children three years apart we thought that we would have recovery time between new drivers and used car needs but since Cindy decided to wait to get her licence, we find ourselves having to do it all again after only eleven months . Thankfully Robby isn't even quite thirteen yet so maybe we can save a bit before he hits fifteen and a half. Anyone wondering why I'm so gray ?

wow has it been that long ?

So sorry I haven't been posting much. Things have been hectic here. Holy week was spent running here and there. I didn't even finish shopping for Easter dinner until Holy Thursday. Then Good Friday had me down with what seemed to be the flu while Mike and Michael worked on installing a new water pump to Cindy's car. I crawled to bed at about two thinking that I would get up by four to take Michael to the gym so that he could be done and picked up by six so that we could make seven o' clock mass. Imagine my surprise when I awoke at nine . Michael told me that since I looked too sick to bother ( wow I didn't know there was such a look )so he just had Cindy take him to the gym. Mike also found a couple other small repairs that needed to be done to Cindy's car so he didn't finish until too late for mass anyway.Thankfully by Saturday I was feeling better and able to prepare for a beautiful Easter.As planned it was just us , which was wonderful .Unfortunately Cindy had to go back to school today and Mike goes to work tomorrow but the boys have all week off so maybe I can get some of the many Easter pictures posted this week. Hope all had a wonderful Easter Day !

Holy week begins

Well the Passion dramatization is over and we begin Holy week. However in addition to Holy Thursday and Good Friday Masses, I still need to do home Easter Preparations. First off there is the Easter dinner.Easter is the one Holiday that I usually cook dinner for just Mike, The kids and myself. In the past, we have had dinner guests , but due to many things, this year looks like another regular year with just us. Though it may sound kind of sad, it is nice. There is no schedule that I have to have food done on, there is no worry that I need to check the food in the oven but the living room still needs swept and could I look at the sweeper that seems to be spreading more dust than vacuuming it up.... Oh don't we all have those moments ? And isn't it great sometimes just to relax and enjoy your family ? Not saying that anyone from out of town whom we have not seen in almost a year and would love to have visit are not welcome, because they certainly are if they want to :-)Anyway This week I must first shop for dinner ( really there will be plenty if you want to get one of those $40 PP plane flights and come on up :-) Then I still have a matter of Easter Baskets. Yes my teenagers and preteen and even our doggies still receive an Easter basket ( BTW, I could always make a couple extra if a certain family wanted to join us !OK OK I'm getting kind of pushy , ain't I ?) Any who..... Holy week begins and so do home preparations. I do have passion pictures and hope to have many more family pictures taken this week, but for now I must go prepare for Easter.May all of you have a blessed Holy week !

Why one should not use the same camera for business and pleasure

http://www.midamericaiskf.com/images/photos/Dec2008Training/index.htm

Mike was in a hurry to hand off the disk of Karate pictures to be published so I gathered our things as as he put them on disk. Too bad that a recent family picture was still undeleted on the card. We wouldn't have even known except that we are now on the ISKF MidAmerica site. Oh thank goodness, nobody was giving bunny ears !

BTW check out picture 768. I posted it before but it is one of my favorites !

Almost Palm Sunday

Well we are two days from Palm Saturday. Yes I did say Palm Saturday. Since the Catholic church starts Masses on Saturday evening which are the same mass as the Sunday ones, it is no big deal to hear "see you on Palm Saturday "or even Easter Saturday for that matter. of course this is not an official name as the Church has rules for Saturday evening services that count for the Sunday obligation. As a matter of fact, one of those rules has made it necessary for our Parish to change their Easter vigil service to 8:00 PM instead of 7:00 PM, but that is official stuff so we will not go into the whys right now. What I am more concerned about is the Palm Sunday passion dramatization, which my family has been a part of for quite a few years now. Unlike a Play the dramatization is a written work in which the story is told through speech with adds action. How this is done without distracting from or making a mockery of our Holy Gospel is that as Father reads the Gospel , we members of the dramatization act out the words without speaking and without costume. Instead to keep the attention where it should be, the Gospel, all but a select few stand out characters wear black. Those wearing other colors are Me ( Mary Magdala )wearing a red shirt with my black pants,and Mary, the Blessed Mother wears pretty colors. Anyway this morning I was informed that Michael needed black jeans. OK I stated , we will have to go to K mart tonight, I replied to which Cindy informed me that she also was in need of Black jeans but not to worry, she planned on wearing mine. OK, so now I am off to buy Michael a pair and make sure that I have two. Yep it's almost Palm Sunday !

One down another in the works

Well the Mike and My Church groups Easter service project is done. The baskets and gift cards have been delivered and everyone has been thanked. What I should be working on is my family's Easter menu and baskets for my children but instead my mind is on another fund raiser for the group. Hearing this one might think that our group is strictly a service group. It is not. On the contrary it is a social group, with no service obligations whatsoever. Then maybe the group has a plan for the money. Nope wrong again. We meet in the church for free, each meeting is hosted by someone in the group and each family pays their share for babysitting. So is it that fund raising is on my mind? Honestly I don't know why well other than the fact that Our teenage youth group, to which Michael belongs would like to attend the National Catholic youth conference in November. This conference is in Kansas city Misouri this year and we are in Ohio so as you can imagine, there is a certain cost to things. The kids from this group are currently doing bake sales and such but these efforts are only scratching the surface. So I am feeling called to ask our group to organize a rummage sale with all procedes going towards this fund. Maybe this idea comes from the loads of stuff that I have been driving to Good will, or maybe my love for church rummage sales is running rampid, who knows but I know I am feeling called. Besides if I have a reason and a good cause, maybe I will feel justified to get rid of some things that I really don't have room or need for. see it's win win !Now to convince the group !