Relaxing Queen

Vacation is going marvelously and again I am sad that I cannot be a professional vactioner . .

So far I have read two whole books--which is a huge accomplishment for me . . , had the dog neutered, took a tour of Lambeau Field, bought 20lbs of cheese for dirt cheap, and spent two glorious hours doing nothing but laying outside reading. We also went to Door County, WI where I was able to wander about these small quaint shops and dream of a day I can do more of this kind of stuff.

DP and I have made some decisions about some things we need to do when we get back home--mainly looking at the budget and the garden--I know two very different things but both important to be looked at. We realize that we have spent so much time working this summer that we have been most miserable and at times not so nice to each other. This is not how we want to be with each other and will work towards making some changes.

I think I am going to nap a bit this afternoon since the pups apparently have NO concept of the time change and have been up at 5:00am most the days we have been here so far. This, my friends, is NOT fun!
I will leave you with some pictures of our time so far . . . Enjoy and hope all is well in your parts!

The kids lying about . . .picture from lunch in Door, County. Below is another picture from where we stopped to have lunch, then from the field at Lambeau!

Vote for my friend if you would . . .

Hey there folks-

If you have a second, please vote for my friend and her husband's photography business. They are in the run to win a Best of Philly award . . . You do'nt need to live in the area to vote. Check it out below:

Weld Photography http://www.weldphotography.us/ has been nominated as Best of Philly at
My Fox Philly Hotlist. We are in 6th place out of 187 photographers.
It only takes a minute to vote and is super easy. To vote go to: http://myfoxphilly.cityvoter.com/weld-photography/biz/406714
One vote per e-mail address. Pass on the link to anyone you might know
that would take a sec to help out our company.

64 things you've never been asked

1. First thing you wash in the shower? shampoo my hair

2. What color is your favorite hoodie? hunter green

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? yes!

4. Do you plan outfits? depends--not usually

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? excited about vacation

6. What's the closest thing to you that's red? candy cane from xmas

7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having? kayaking with my shrink

8. Did you meet anyone new today? yes, the nice kid from the car place

9. What are you craving right now? iced tea

10. Do you floss? yes--recently started and i love it

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage? saurkraut

12. Are you emotional? sometimes

13. Have you ever counted to 1,000? Probably not

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? usually let it melt a little then eat it

15. Do you like your hair? yes

17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? only if i could poison him!

18. What are you listening to right now? DP listening to "all she wants to do is dance"

19. Are your parents strict? on certain things, but not really

20. Would you go sky diving? NO WAY!

21. Do you like cottage cheese? yes

22. Have you ever met a celebrity? no

23. Do you rent movies often? no

24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? yes, a print on my wall

25. How many countries have you visited? 1

26. Have you made a prank phone call? yes, when i was a kid

27. Ever been on a train? Yes

28. Brown or white eggs? brown

29. Do you have a cell phone? Yes

30. Do you use chap stick? Burts!

31. Do you own a gun? hell no

32. Can you use chop sticks? Nope

33. Who are you going to be with tonight? DP and the kids

34. Are you too forgiving? at times

35. Ever been in love? Yes!

36. What are your best friend(s) doing tomorrow? working and lunch bunch

37. Ever have cream puffs? Yes

38. Last time you cried? a few days ago

39. What was the last question you asked? do we have a deposit slip

40. Favorite time of the year? fall-hands down

41. Do you have any tattoos? yes, two

42. Are you sarcastic? yes!

43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect? nope

44. Ever walked into a wall? more times than i should admit

45. Favorite color? purple

46. Have you ever slapped someone? i am sure

47. Is your hair curly? nope

48. What was the last CD you bought? the new alanis album

49. Do looks matter? more than i would like to admit

50. Could you ever forgive a cheater? nope--i can't stand lying at all

51. Is your phone bill sky high? no, but it is more than i wish

52. Do you like your life right now? it is working and getting better. more improvements are needed but that is good

53. Do you sleep with the TV on? nope

54. Can you handle the truth? Yes, gently given of course

55. Do you have good vision? mostly, i have a slight prescription but can see without them

56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people? yes

57. How often do you talk on the phone? all the time

58. The last person you held hands with? DP

59. What are you wearing? pj's

60.What is your favorite animal? dogs

61. Where was your profile picture taken? outside

62. Can you hula hoop? no

63. Do you have a job? Yes-thanks goodness

64. What was the most recent thing you bought? a windsheild

Vacation

I am on vacation in a few days and it cannot come soon enough. This summer has been hellacious with work and the extra work we took on. It was clearly a lot to do and we are feeling the stress of not having any free time to really be with each other and not worry so much about not having any free time. We have managed to make use of our season tickets to the waterpark, but even that has been a lot with driving up there and having to then see my folks. . . usually all in one day becasue the nexty day we are working.

Things have been generally ok. I have been feeling very tired in the afternoons lately, and this has lead to checking in with the sleep study folks to see what might be happening with my sleep. I went for the first test and they said that even though the apneas were WAY better than last time five years ago, there's still enough present to make them want me to have a mask. He says if I keep losing weight it is likely that I won’t need it at all soon. I go back in a few weeks to have the second study done. I think the doc will also check me for Lymes as we have had many folks at work get it, and Addie was recently diagnosed with it as well.

I also had to start taking blood pressure medication. Now, I have had issues with medications since before when I was on too many psychotropics to keep track of. When I was finally able to come off of all meds a few years ago I sort of went the other way in that I don't want to take ANYTHING!!! But alas my BP had been a little high--like 130's/90's . . .for a while and she thought that since everyone else in my fam had high BP that it just might be a genetic thing. I canceled a few appts with her because I didn't want to discuss the issue. Then my bro who went on them a few years ago lost 40lbs and he has been able to come off of all of them. I am now taking a small dose of something or other and it seems to have given me an acceptable blood pressure for now. Cholesterol is excellent, so I guess that is good.

I am hanging in there with the weight loss. It has been so slow and up and down a few lbs on any given week. I am hoping the two weeks with DP's folks will help stabilize things as we generally eat very well there and walk a lot. I haven't gained and feel good that at least I am maintaining. I need to kick up the working out, but see paragraph one about not having time for anything and being very tired in the afternoons. I would like to try and see if I can find a place that I can do water aerobics. I think that would be great fun!

The pups are good, though Riley had a fight with his BFF Buergi this past week and since then they have been unable to be together. It is time for the big snip, and he will have that done while we are in Wisconsin. Folks have said we should be glad that they got along so well this long as they are both intact males-->NOT FOR LONG! Addie is as precious as ever and we have finally found the trick to her bowels and that means she can be on the same food as her brother and she is doing great. She has so much energy in the morning and we are convinced she has some boxer in her casue when she gets excited her puppy paws go flying!!! It is very cute--except when you are taking her up to the kennel with a full bucket of water and she runs into you--this has happened a few times and it has made for a less than happy mama!

Work has been ok. New exciting prospects on the horizon, which I won't get into until I hear something for sure. Let's just say that it would be a big deal and would require me to wear more fancy pants clothing on a regular basis . . . Doing a lot of respite care . . .glad I can be helpful to families and the kids.

Family stuff has been interesting. We have been having a lot of discussions, heated debates, and tears over future planning for my brother. The good thing is that we seem to be on the right road as far as some things my folks needed to see. Like being more accurate on his yearly plan about what he could and couldn't do. Little things like that are going far to have my folks trust me a bit more. We have also planned a trip to TX to see other bro in October and will be there for his birthday. We are all very excited and this will be DP's first trip to see the place in TX. Little Tyke starts kindergarten next week . .where does the time go. I can still remember leaving my job the day we got the call that we was being born and now he's trotting off to school and my bro is on the PTA!!!!! WHAT???

OK, well, I should get back to work. Hope this keeps you guys hanging in there with me. I am sure I will have lot of adventures to share from vacation and the time to share them! I even bought a few books yesterday to take with me!!!

Hope all is well in your corners! See you soon!!!

Knock knock

Is this thing still on??

I am thinking really hard about coming back home to the mothership!

Is anyone else still out there??