Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Christmas Fun



Rudolph got left behind!



Cool!



WRFF (riff) Fun!!!!! Amelia and AJ found that Santa left these things for them. According to the web research we did they are a cross between a skate board, scooter, and bike! The 'newest' form in trick/stunt riding!



When my son went on line to find out how to do tricks, he came up and whispered, you paid $ 179.99, and bought 2 ??? He knows I'm a bargain shopper! I said, no way! I ran across these at Drug Emporium for $39.99.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Happy Birthday TIM!


Today is my brother's birthday! Tim is 12 years older than I am.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM!!!!

Because of my big brother I have a 6" scar on the inside of my right arm where he 'made' me put my arm through a plate glass window when I was 7!

I learned to spell and write better??? Tim joined ROTC in college and went straight into (I think) a basic training or officer camp when I was young. I wrote him many letters and he sent everyone back to me corrected for spelling and punctuation! I had my own spellchecker!!!

I had wonderful pictures from Thailand when he was stationed over there for the Air Force and got an A+ on a Social Studies report in 7th grade!!!

I'm an aunt because of my brother, I have one niece and one nephew on my side of the family!

I got to sleep in a Papasan chair when I was in 7th grade visiting him, way before they became popular at Pier One!

I have many photos of my childhood that I probably wouldn't have because he is a shutterbug, gee, wonder where I get it from!!! I don't think I've ever seen my Mom take a photo, but my brother and sister took many!

We don't get to see each other very often as life is so hectic now-a-days. But I wanted to tell him happy birthday from his 'baby' sister!

Enjoy your Day!

Cozyflier

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Video!

My Video on Youtube!

I can't seem to get video to work on here, don't ask!!!! It took me over an hour to load a 3 min video to You Tube! Kev was shocked!

Happy Holidays!

Cozyflier

Did you Survive the Cool Yule??



I guess a simple dusting of snow for a White Christmas is just too much to ask! We got our White Christmas, as did 1/2 the country. Actually I think 1/2 the country was buried in snow, but I hope everyone was safe, warm, with family, and blessed.

I know that up in OKC, we were very concerned. Our son Tyler left work Christmas Eve at 3 to go to our Niece, Stephanie'shouse. A trip that normally takes 20 minutes. 5 HOURS later he was just arriving at her house! Ty said it took 1 hr at an intersection! Yes, TX got snow, but not 14"! On Christmas Eve, Doc was in New Mexico getting of the ER. His 2 hr drive took 3 hrs and 45 minutes!

So we feel very blessed that family was watched over and everyone is safe and warm.




My car was buried in the back drive!






AJ and Amelia!




AJ with my Mom, Lou.



I cooked dinner for 11! Getting everyone in the photo was impossible!

Happy New Year!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry White Christmas!

Our first white Christmas in I don't remember how long! It started as rain, a flood, turned to sleet, and right before bed on the 23rd flakes started to form! We awoke to this:



Gizmo, the black cat likes the snow, or likes being outside! Couldn't understand why she went to kneed her paws sank! R2-D2 wasn't so sure!



I'm amazed the kids didn't get on the trampoline!



Pretty!






Anyway, we are happy to have a White Christmas! We hope that ya'll are having a joyous blessed holiday with lots of family and friends.

I'm cooking for 10! I've been cooking all day today!

Cozyflier

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Joy to Cooking????



Have I gone mad? This is the corner kitchen cabinet!! As I've stated in recent posts, I've been cooking and mixing like crazy, but I can't tell! Kevin still wants more home made Chex mix but the bowl I keep it in is needed for making other things! Guess I'll have to break out Modular Mate 4 from Tupperware!

Please, someone, tell me I'm not the only person on the planet who can't fit all the baking items in the cabinets/pantry!!!

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cozyflier

Cooking, Cooking, Cooking.....

Gawrsh!!! Being called on a Friday and a Monday that you don't have to work, too many employee hours and not enough sales, with it being the week of Christmas is a blessing in disguise!

I've made:

2 batches of Red Hot Popcorn

2 batches of Holly Cookies

2 cheese pies

4 batches of Fudge (microwave fudge ~ EASY)

4 batches of Hot Cocoa mix

And, I'm still not done! I've been giving baked goodies to friends, my oldest son wanted stuff for his 6 co=workers! I have my managers, the mailman, Bobby, and Kev has been taking stuff to the ER's. I'm even planning my Christmas menu!

Happy Holidays!

Cozyflier

Monday, December 21, 2009

Red Hot Popcorn

I stole this recipe from my niece, Stephanie. I have been making it along with my standards and giving friends gifts of love ~ home made goodies!



1 C butter (2 sticks)
1/2 C light corn syrup
9oz red hot candies
8 quarts air popped popcorn

Pop the popcorn! Place in 2 large bowls. Melt the butter, corn syrup, and red hots. Bring to boil. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring often!

Pour the melted mixture onto the popcorn, stir gently to coat the corn. Pour onto 2 greased cookie sheets put in 250* oven. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 mins.

Pour onto wax paper, cool, break apart and store in airtight container or baggies!










This is so yummy! And everyone loves it! Even my neighbor who picks off red hots from Holly Cookies, scarfs down this popcorn! I can hardly get enough stuff baked because Ashley comes over and chows down!! Oh well, at least I know it is edible!

Happy Holidays!

Cozyflier

Cookie Party!

Well, what do you know, a party that wasn't at my house! My friend, Donna, has an annual cookie decorating party. Little did I know! She pre-makes the dough and some icing and invites all the kids from church and that she baby sits for over to roll out, bake, and decorate sugar cookies. Mercy me, we had flour, cookies, and icing everywhere. Not to mention the pizza that we ordered in for lunch! Everyone had a great time. Thanks Donna, I wouldn't have the patience for this one! Great experience for the kids!



Elf AJ rolls out his dough and figures out how to maximize the number of cookies he can cut!




Elf Amelia rolls out her dough!



Pizza break!



How many can we fit around the table to ice and sugar cookies??

Happy Holidays!

Cozyflier

Friday, December 18, 2009

Day Off????

So, what happens when you are called and told you don't have to work 10a-2p?? Oh, should I mention it is 7 days before Christmas??

Well, since I have begun abhorring shopping I went and finished my Christmas shopping, picked up a few essentials for baking goodies, went to a friends house and made homemade hot cocoa mix, got kids from school early, took them to lunch AND then came home and started cooking!

I conned my oldest son into taking my Mom to the grocery store (again) so I could stay home and cook.

Maybe I'll get some rest this weekend! Also conned my neighbor girl into wrapping gifts so I can mail them to OKC!!! Hope they get there in time!

You know the saying, no rest for the wicked! Man, I must be BAD!

Happy Holidays,

Cozyflier

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Stress Test



It's a good thing I didn't have to pass a stress test! I was stressed to the max worrying about my Hunny!

12 minutes walking on a treadmill, then rush him over to the Gamma Camera to take pictures of his heart with the thallium dye in it. Wait 3 hours and take more pictures.





The Gamma Camera! This camera rotates around the body!




Then? We played the waiting game! Wait ALL afternoon for our cardiologist to come and give us the results. And the verdict?????

Slightly abnormal! Can do a Cath if you want, most likely safe to continue treating with the 13 medicines we have been treating with. Gee Thanks!! Who in their right mind WANTS a Cath???? If we do a Cath, what would be the plan, another Stent?? Um, 'NO' probably not, just to get a better look in there and see what is going on. Hmm, thanks, but no thanks to the Cath!! 5pm, we want to go home please!

Yes, Kevin spends a great deal of time on the road, but he also 'lives' in ERs!! We are going to pray that medicine and a plant based diet keep him healthy. And, lord forbid if anything happens, that he will be in an ER.

Not an anniversary I want to keep celebrating.

Cozyflier

So, we

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

I Thought it was Going to be a Jammie Day!

It was Sunday. I had worked everyday last week, even covered a Saturday shift of 5 hours for a co-worker! I was tired. My plans were made ~ spend the day in my Jammie's getting laundry done and RESTING!

Well, best laid plans of mice of men! Around 11am I get a text from Kevin that he is having chest pain! (HX lesson: Exactly 1 yr ago on 12/13 he had a heart attack and received 2 stents. I had JUST started working on my Christmas letter and finished typing a paragraph explaining the above!) How is that for timing?

Text:

Kevin: Chest pain, getting EKG

Me: NO!

Kevin, No? you don't want me to get EKG?

Me: Yes, EKG!! No, to chest pain

Kev: few mins later, EKG abnormal, faxing to Cardiologist

Me: Oh Crap! What Can I do besides panic? Do I need to Call Matt?

Kev: Out of 2 meds, need Nitroglycerin, do you see it on my counter?

Me: NO! I don't see it!! Do I need to get dressed? I was having a Jammie Day!!

Kev: Feeling nauseated, I called Matt.

Me: OK

Kev: Come get me, Dr. wants to see me at Heart Hospital now!

Me: OK.

Kev: Bring someone else, my car is here!


Me: How do I get to LaMesa??

Kev: I-27 south

Me: OK, leaving in about 5

Kev: Who is coming with you, Donna??

Me: Everyone is in church! Give me a few minutes. (I make several calls, finish getting ready. No luck finding anyone to ride an hour with me. Chris, our son, is in a major study session for a final on Monday)

My phone rings, a friend had pick up something for me and wanted to know if she could drop it by the house!

Kelly: What's wrong:

Me: I have to drive to LaMesa, Kev possibly is having a heart attack, I can't find anyone to go with me to bring his car back.... (out of breath sounding desperate!)

Kelly: I can go with you!

Me: Thank the Lord!

To Kev: Kelly can come with me, she is leaving the mall, will be on the road in 5 to 10~

Kev: Main nurse might be in labor this morning, strong braxton hicks contractions!!!

Me: Exciting day at the hospital! Kelly is here, we are leaving......



I drive 78 mph down the highway to LaMesa to get Kevin, hazard blinkers on the entire way.

We get there, get him in the car, Kelly gets his car. I had warned her that I would be 'putting the pedal to the metal' coming home. I did 90 mph coming back to Lubbock! Again, hazard blinkers on. The Heart Hospital is on the far side of town from where we were coming in from. It was the longest drive in history.
Kevin's pain was fluctuating as was his temperature. He wasn't running fever, but he kept feeling hot, then cold, then back! His color wasn't good. Finally made it to the hospital.



Here he is in the ER. Labs came back good, no heart damage this time. 1 year ago his MI was classic reflux, not MI. So we had to be sure this time.

They kept him over night for observation and to do a stress test. That will be another blog!

How was your Sunday the 13th?

Cozyflier

Monday, December 14, 2009

Saturday Sillyness!

What happens when the kids are ready for Christmas break and have the sleepy sillies???

This......

This is AJ, one of HIS friends, and Amelia!! I think they tried on every costume that Grammie has made over the last 12 years! Donna couldn't believe her son was wearing some of these things!



Secret Dorothy??? Hula reindeer Elvis in a cape? And a pink headed I don't know!



Flapper, Lola, and Elf!!!









Texas Tech Devil?

Anyway, the 2 boys and Amelia had fun. Donna, Kevin and I laughed ourselves silly!

Cozyflier

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Wishing.....




With the Arctic air that has taken over, I found myself going through photos wishing it was still WARM!!! I was remembering the fun summer times in the pool. Oh well, maybe I should move to Florida!! Um, NO!!!!






Hope you aren't buried under a foot of snow reading this!

cozyflier

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Mother Nature



So, I ask you, how can we awake at 6am to ICE everywhere, then have rain by 9:30, hail around 12 noon, and 'warmer' temps and winds sustained at 45 mph and gusting to 65 by 2???!!!!

This is Lubbock, if you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes, it will change! I do believe Mother Nature is in a fickle mood today. While we 'only' had 1/4" of ice, the rest of the country is getting a foot or more of snow! Technically it isn't winter yet! Oh my, it is going to be a long season.








While technically this picture was taken in April, I guarantee you that when the wind started blowing, even though the ground had been wet and frozen, that it didn't take more than an hour for the sky to be RED, full of dirt! Quick, where is my Claritin?

Cozyflier

Monday, December 7, 2009

The Rest of The Story......


Well, party planning is difficult to say the least, but according to Kevin planning a SURPRISE party for me was a royal headache! I don't know if I can get all the details exactly right, or if they will be as funny coming from me, but here is what he has told me:

Kevin started in early November working on picking out that awesome BBQ grill you saw in Surprise, 4th picture. We had browsed over them in the summer and I had stated a few features that I really liked, but since I didn't really think we'd get one for another year, I didn't really get into much detail. So, now it is November, grills aren't abundant in stock and the model that Kev picks out isn't in the store!

OK, they will ship it in from San Angelo, be here in 2 days, fine. 3 days later we are eating lunch and his phone rings. Apparently it was the store asking him how he liked his new grill!!! He is saying, I don't have it yet, it was ordered. (I remember this vividly, sitting there, thinking it is the dentist's office calling about his crown!! He's frustrated, because he can't talk with me at the table!)

A few days later Kev calls to see if the grill came in and finds out the order has been lost!! Then a couple days later, and a different clerk, they apologize for loosing the order, and find out that the grill is going to have to come from San Antonio now! Kev goes to pick up the grill, finally, and the clerk asks him what negative zero means in the computer system!!! That is what is listed under in stock! Kevin states he doesn't know about her computer system, and then asks why he has to be involved in that problem?!? Can't they just get the grill for him? Now they can't find the grill, so they offer him the display grill that is bigger, and a better model for the same price. But wait, a part was missing! 8 clerks search all over for the part. Can't find it, seems it had been stolen from the store!!!

The clerks search for a replacement and offer an advanced grill in a box, that Kev will have to put together. Well, OK, if he has no other choice, he has 3 days he can probably do it. Bring out the box. Now, they find the grill that was sent from San Antonio, however, it had minor shipping damage! So, they offered to reduce the price by $60! He bargained for 2 tanks of propane.

When they bring the grill out to the trailer, they discover missing bolts on the tray! By this time the manager just wants Kevin out of the store! He tells him to go find the bolts and there won't be any charge. So Kev has to go back into the store, get bolts and go to the lunch replacement cashier and explain to her why he is getting FREE bolts!!!

He finally gets the grill to my Mom's house to put into her garage to keep it hidden, but it won't fit in her garage, the trailer tongue sticks out!! OK, the door is only open 2" and with me working and Kev in town most of the week, I won't be at Mom's house, all is well! (This was Tues. the 1st)

Wed. the 2nd Mom is insisting that we go to lunch when I get off work a little after 2!!! Kev has to call me to bring my van to pick her up at her house. OH SH _ _!!!!
So, he meets me at Mom's and his car is with inches of the garage door. Kevin is standing outside in the cold waiting to greet me, and head me over toward her walk way, keeping me away from the garage door.

We get Mom into my van, and I backed out, Kevin is taking forever to move his car but I do notice the garage door isn't closed. I was tired, it was late, and we were going to run out of time to eat before having to get kids from school. I decided not to mention the door, it wasn't going to get broken into!

OK, now for the cake! Kevin had taken Mom to the grocery store on Tuesday. He went over to the bakery section and talked to them about a cake. Here again, he does not know about size. He just knew that he could probably expect about 20 friends and that he wanted dolphins on the cake. They told him they could dolphins easily. Great, he wanted the cake by 4pm on Fri the 4th he would pay now and someone would pick it up! Fast forward to Friday ~ about 2 pm the bakery is calling, are you sure you want BLUE frosting on this cake??? YES, says an exasperated Kev! I WANT dolphins and blue icing to represent waves of the ocean AND it better be ready in 2 hours! My wife is due to walk in the door any minute, don't call me again!!

Luckily I didn't get out of work on time, and then I called to see if I had time to go get a manicure and pedicure! That is, if Kevin had time to pick up the kids from school.

Then, while we are at dinner at OTB, Kev had left a door unlocked and my friend Donna came in and got the cake ready and made punch. Kev's friend Mike was suppose to get Kev's car keys from the neighbor and go to Mom's and get the trailer and bring the grill over here and have it in the living room. Well, Mike drives a big huge pick up and decided he could pull the trailer on it. WRONG!!!! The ball on his pick up was the wrong size! So that delayed getting the grill over here, we are driving home from OTB, only a mile away, and Kev is getting a text saying stall!!! Guess I should have told him my car was low on gas!

Now, when we get home we have Mom in the car. The garage is FULL of wood, furniture being re-done, and plastic storage boxes for Christmas! There isn't any way she can get thru the garage with her walker. If Kev drives to the front, I'll see all the cars and know something is up! So, after all that hard work, he didn't get to see my reaction to all the people yelling surprise.

During the last month Kev has been working behind my back along with my daughter and using my fb to contact friends to tell them about the party! However, he had to do messaging, couldn't post it on the wall!!!!!

With my stressing over the house and asking my kids if he was trying to do a party, Kevin says this is the last surprise party he will ever do!!! Anything that could go wrong for him did!

But I really did have a great time, and I was surprised! :o)

Cozyflier

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Surprise!



Kevin pulled off a surprise birthday party for me!!! I had been suspicious and stressed out about the house earlier in the week, but he was very non-committal! The only sad thing was that Kevin wasn't inside to see everyone yell Surprise! He was trying to bring my Mom around to the front of the house. We had gone to, can you guess, On The Border for dinner!!! We came home to a house full of our friends!















We all had a great evening. Thanks to my awesome husband, wonderful family, and thoughtful friends. Hugs!!!!!!

Cozyflier