Remember?

Remember this picture?

Well, this baby came out of the cocoon and is on his way to flying....




So thankful for this healthy little boy, Mr. Finn Guillemette!

Love These Men

I got a bit emotional tonight after listening to a love song that my daughter's fiance` posted to her on facebook and then after watching for the hundredth time, my grandson jumping off the table into his daddy's strong arms. These men who have come into our lives because they love our daughters, men I have wondered about and prayed for since my girls were born. These tall, strong men who can lift and tug and sweat and grunt, are an answer to this mother's prayers and I am thankful for them and loving how they are not afraid to show their feelings and affections.

Bob Newhart-Stop It!!

The Eyes Have It

I have been wearing eyeglasses since I was in the 6th grade. (should have probably been the 4th, but whatever.. it's ok that i couldn't see the ball to play baseball with the other kids and then never got picked to be on the team...no really, it's fine. I am so over it.) Back to the point.

Hasn't eyewear been a fun way to know what decade it is? Alot of us have old photos of our grandparents or parents with the cateye glasses with all the rhinestones for the ladies and the heavy black horn rim glasses for the men from the 50's and 60's. We saw hippy wire frames in the late 60s and seventies, and then my very personal favorite time, the HOW BIG CAN WE MAKE THEM style for men and women in the 80's, and then in the 90's Rimless frames for those trying to appear as if they weren't really wearing any.

Because I wore glasses for such a long time, I became quite conscious of the people who didn't wear glasses that were "current" with the styles of the day. I used to "note" people who hadn't updated their look in quite awhile. I probably made fun of some until my time came and I got a new perspective. This came when I got married and my husband and I were responsible for the expense instead of my parents! I was still accustomed to buying the latest style in fashion and when I chose the latest fad "How BIG can we make them" glasses in the early 80's, never in my wildest imagination would I have thought I would be wearing that same pair for years and years. Surely I would have chosen something a little more conservative but who knows. All I do know is that year after year, I am seen in many a photo wearing that same giant plastic frame that Liz Claiborne made famous so long ago. (I think she is still wearing them, except she might be dead). My children love to make fun of that look and I just remind them that because I was willing to sacrifice my style conscious pride and probably my precious eyesight too, they had shoes on their feet and food on the table. It is all about perspective.

And the big perspective for me is that I am so hugely thankful for the invention of eyeglasses. I am quite blind and back in the olden days would have been known as the ugly spinster sister who squinted. Because of glasses, I was able to snag a man and have it all! Thanks to Salvina D'Armate the inventor of eyeglasses. You helped make me (see) who I am today.

Let's talk about PAIN..or Not.

Pain is not a fun subject. It isn't sexy or exciting and unless you are the one in pain it can actually be pretty boring.

Someone asks, "How are you?"

I reply, "I'm still hurting in my lower back and can barely sit upright due to muscle spasms and intense pain."

They reply, "So sorry you aren't feeling well."

Then they run before I get into more details. (wouldn't you run?)

OR...if they too have had back pain, they begin asking if I have used heat, used ice, gone to the doctor, if I have pain meds and one even asked if I had been hanging upside down.

"No, I haven't been hanging upside down, but thanks for asking."

Hurts just to think about it.

I am tired of hurting and my husband is tired of me hurting.

I am definately at the grumpy stage. Done with it and it aint' done yet. (did I mention that my husband is tired of me hurting?)

So for now, I will use ice, then heat, then ice, then heat and stretch and release and stretch and release, take pain medicine, take some more and maybe just maybe consider hanging upside down.

Now, you might still be wondering why there is a picture of a cowgirl on this blog about pain. Well, there isn't any reason, I just think she is cute and needed something cute and fun to help me forget the pain.

Because I love you

The Bucket List

Watching the movie, The Bucket List and keep thinking about a song we used to sing in grade school....There's A Whole In My Bucket.
Seems relevant.

Quote of the Day

Carter (from The Bucket List):"Is he insane?"
Matthew: "Depends."

Dreaming on an Ice Day

quote someone

High school, those are your prime suffering years.
You don't get better suffering than that.
Uncle Frank, Little Miss Sunshine

Out of Balance

I haven't been feeling well for a few weeks and finally got in to see my doctor. He listened to my symptoms of dizziness followed by nausea that would come upon me when I turned my head to the left and after doing a check up, diagnosed me with Vestibulitis (fancy word for vertigo). He said it was kind of like having a kidney stone in my ear... and apparently deep down in my inner ear, there is particle/s that are not where they should be and my brain sends messages that can't be understood so then my body responds with being out of balance which then causes the dizziness which then in turn causes the nausea. If you look it up it also talks about having a virus deep in the ear canal.
bored yet?
Now I have to do these weird head hanging over the bed exercises followed by sitting up really quickly. (trying to trick the ol ears and brain apparently into thinking everything is back in order)
really bored yet?
All that to say, it is really uncomfortable when your body is out of balance and this is just one of many ways my body is out of balance.
People often talk about finding that "balance" in their lives, and I am looking for that too. With weight gain and aging and old joints and ears out of whack... it really has hit home.
Even as I type this my head is spinning right round baby right round.... and I have to lean back and reposition my neck and wait it out.
As I spin, I finish (you are thanking God right now) and look forward to intentional living that will help with balance in most of the areas I have mentioned and I will keep doing the weird head thing so that I can help trick the ear thing so that I can get the dizziness thing to slow it down and get everything back in order. You know, that balance thing.