DeDe's Rant and Rave

31

2009-08-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

happy 31st birthday kathryn. it's so hard to believe that it has been 30 years since this precious picture was taken. you have always been my pride and joy and i have always loved you, this will never change.

another great one gone

2009-08-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

how sad to hear of his passing. he was one of the greatest ever. his are a huge pair of shoes to fill.

the funeral

2009-08-23T07:25:00.000-07:00

at 11:00am yesterday everyone gathered at the church to say a final goodbye to tim. it was a beautiful catholic mass. when mass was over we all followed the casket outside and just after the casket was put in the hearse i felt a wonderful cool breeze and single rain drop fell, and then another. it was as if tim was saying goodbye to us. we all proceeded to my sister-in-laws house for the standard gathering with food, drink and story telling. all in all it was a beautiful day to start healing for everyone.

tim

2009-08-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

yesterday afternoon i attended the viewing and vigil for my nephew tim. i had been sick with nerves for a week but felt a strange sense of calm come over me when i walked into the mortuary. i am not a person who takes open caskets well but something was different. tim was in his favorite hawaiian shirt with a pack of cigarettes in his pocket and a small bottle of jack daniels (his favorite) by his side. he looked so peaceful. my niece christy was the first family member to speak, even through the tears she kept going as if she were drawing strength from tim. her daughter alexis, who is only eight, spoke next. i was so proud of that little girl, she stood so strong in front of a nearly packed room, i never could have done that. the church deacon reminded everyone that while tim has passed away he will live on in our hearts forever. it was a beautiful service and truly a celebration of his life. today, the funeral and our last chance to say goodbye to the man that brought so much joy and laughter into our lives. rest in peace timmy.

ridiculous!

2009-08-19T15:02:00.000-07:00

i guess she should have worn a dress, heels and pearls.

i will miss you

2009-08-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

my nephew tim passed away this morning after many years of fighting cancer. while due to family circumstances i only have had him in my life for the past three years or so i have truly grown to love him. tim was 49 years old with a heart of gold, a beautiful smile, a wonderful and loving personality and an infectious laugh. tim, i love you and will miss you, thank you for bringing so much love and laughter into my life.

one year

2009-08-08T06:44:00.000-07:00

happy anniversary to jason and kathryn!

he still has what it takes

2009-08-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

bill clinton still has the finesse that he had as president....he rocks!

sixteen

2009-08-02T07:35:00.001-07:00

happy 16th birthday to my tall and handsome nephew tyler...i love you!

six

2009-08-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

happy 6th birthday to my great niece emma kate, i love you!

old saying

2009-07-29T08:57:00.000-07:00

"silence is golden", i beg to differ.

fighting demons

2009-07-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

it has been a week, i am feeling as though i am winning. have gained 1 1/2 lbs but it is worth it. i will continue to fight and i will conquer, it is worth it.

vacation

2009-07-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

one word, no, make that two words...totally awesome! this was THE best vacation ever; gigantic pools, beautiful ocean, fabulous resort/food/drinks and best of all a gorgeous bride. a week in paradise. went parasailing and i still can't believe that i paid someone to scare me that much! snorkeled in an underground river, played in the ocean, floated in the biggest pool i have ever seen. came home exhausted and i am ready to go back!

happy 4th

2009-07-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

it has been the 4th of july in my neighborhood for three days already, i feel like i must live around around a bunch of total morons.

happy holiday to everyone, have fun and be safe, see you in a week!

another rip

2009-07-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

i just saw that karl malden died today. sad, but at least he was 97. the last couple of weeks or so have just been one bit of sad news after another.

yahoo

2009-06-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

today i signed the papers to modify my mortgage. property values are down and so are my commissions, and now so is my mortgage!

Justice

2009-06-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

When you do good you generally get good so when you do bad you should get the same. this is exactly what happened to bernie madoff...150 years in prision. of course at his age he will do well to last fifteen. and to think that his poor wife will only be left with a couple of million to keep her for the rest of her life...how will she manage?

proof about bad things

2009-06-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

you know the old saying about bad things coming in threes? well it is true...ed mcmahon died a couple of days ago, farrah fawcett died this morning and michael jackson died this afternoon.

sad

2009-06-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

this is very sad and yet she will suffer no more. two tv icons gone in just a few short days. this sure makes life seem awfully short to me.

ok, i have to admit it...

2009-06-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

this marketing thing is really great. i decided that i like working with pet owners and would like to start working with vets, breeders, trainers, etc. so far, i have completed one newsletter and i am 3/4 of the way done with the second issue which will be out in august. i have connected with a dog trainer who used to work for our police department training their k-9 unit, i will be observing one of his group classes next month and he wants to contribute to my newsletter. i also got my vet to agree to supply me with a few short articles for my newsletter and to let me sponsor a treat jar for his patients! my groomer wants enough copies of my newsletter to hand out to all of her customers. my mind is reeling, i just keep thinking of different and more extreme ways to take this thing.

baseball

2009-06-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

i went to my first 51's baseball game last night...they won! i always hear on the news about them losing but they didn't last night. it was a great game followed by fireworks. this morning i logged on to facebook only to find that my niece was there also.

great quote

2009-06-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

"if you aren't afraid to fail, then you probably don't care enough about success", mark mccormack.

more on the newletter

2009-06-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

yesterday morning i attended my agency's monthly breakfast meeting where the manager talked about marketing. to my surprise, he handed me a stack of my newsletters and asked me to pass them out to every agent in the room! he then mentioned that only some of the agents were starting to "market" themselves. he also told me that he liked my newsletter and thought that it came out really well. needless to say, my head was almost in the clouds.

while in the meeting my brain started reeling and i came up with the idea to brand myself as the "happy agent"....get it? if you don't, let me explain, happy is the translation for my last name.

marketing meetings

2009-06-15T16:42:00.000-07:00

not too long ago i posted about going to marketing meetings every monday. i have really tried to open my mind up to all of the things being suggested which is how "dede's doggie dish" (my newsletter) came about. well today we were talking about facebook again and i have now relented; i now have a facebook page. one more thing to try to learn and keep up with but i think that in the long run it may end up being a good thing.

play date

2009-06-15T09:03:00.000-07:00

yesterday dude and i went to my friend susan's house for a play date with her two bichons, caesar and willie. susan and i both thought that dude and caesar would be the ones playing together since willie has cancer and doesn't play much anymore. it turned out that we were wrong. caesar who is about three times the size of dude was actually affraid of dude's non-submissive behavior and ran under the table when dude approached him to sniff. willie and dude followed each other around all afternoon like the were best buddies.

susan and her husband made a wonderful lunch for the humans and the three boys enjoyed ice cream as a treat for their good behavior. it was a great way to enjoy a sunday afternoon. thanks susan!

2009-06-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

today i e-mailed out the first ever edition of my newsletter (dede's doggie dish) to all of my clients. i am so excited. i can't even begin to count the number of hours it took to put this thing together, but now it is done, until the next one which will be out in August!

so true

2009-06-11T10:06:00.001-07:00

this quote is so true..."while we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about", angela schwindt.

quote

2009-06-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

i saw this quote by denis waitley and loved it, especially after being around toddlers all weekend..."the greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence".

tired with a capital T

2009-06-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

for the last week or so the days have been exceptionally long, having banjo put to sleep, long hours at work, including working six hours on saturday, a long meeting yesterday in the middle of my 13 hour work day. today i feel totally exhausted. i am planning to make a quick lunch time run to the market to pick up some food since i haven't even had time to get to the market for "real food" in about two weeks. i look forward to hopefully sitting down and relaxing by 7:00 tonight if i don't pass out before. i am just getting to old for six day work weeks and 13 hour days!

even more arriving

2009-06-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

today i received the sweetest condolence card from the staff at aloha animal hospital where banjo was put to sleep. each and every staff member took the time to write a note to express their sympathy. inside the card was a small red heart on a red ribbon, the heart reads, "in loving memory of banjo". i am just so amazed at the out pour of love that has been received. tomorrow will be a very hard day because i am going to the hospital to pick up his ashes. i think that the only thing that will half way save me is that i have two clients to see right afterward.

learning to walk again

2009-06-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

i used to take my two boys for a walk every once in a while but for the last year and a half or so banjo just was not capable of walking any distance so no one got a walk. yesterday evening i put dude on his leash and we went for our first walk. he loved it. i took him again this morning around 7:15 because i want him to relearn how to be a good boy and not run, stop in other people's yards or bark at people as they walk by. he did quite well and was rewarded with a "cookie" when we got home!

card

2009-06-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

today dude and i received a condolence card in the mail from banjo's vet. all of the staff signed the card and some even wrote their own little notes. one of the vet techs who has been at the clinic since i first got banjo 10 1/2 years ago wrote, "i was so sorry to hear about banjo...i will miss his smile". i will too melissa. thank you to all of the great people who took care of my little guy for so many years.

speaking of medicine...

2009-06-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

i went to see my doctor today and she re-ran my A1C. I told her she needed to reduce my diabetes medicine and she did not believe me until she got the results of my test...drum roll please...5.8...a pre-diabetic number!!!! last summer it was at 6.7 which was good for me but continued changes in my eating habits along with weight loss and a bit of exercise and finally some good news. yee ha!

laughter is the best medicine

2009-06-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

after having a horrible two days, i went out last night with my girlfriend tracy to see a movie and have dinner at town square (i had tickets to an advance screening of my life in ruins). i haven't laughed so hard in quite a while and it really felt good. the movie was great and richard dryfus was hysterical. afterward we grabbed sandwiches at johnny mcguires, they kind of screwed up the order but it still tasted good and the workers were very friendly and attentive. thanks tracy for joining me, it was just what i needed :)

and thank you to everyone who called and e-mailed me yesterday; your love, compassion and understanding is very much appreciated.

goodbye

2009-06-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

everyone who knows me knows just how much i love my dogs and how sick banjo (the oldest) has been for the past year or so. yesterday afternoon his breathing became very labored and inconsistent. i called kathryn to see if she knew of anything i could do to make him more confortable until i could get him to his vet today, i knew in my heart that the time had come to put him down. being the angel she is, she called her bosses and they gave up their sunday afternoon with their kids and family to meet us at their office. kath came to pick up banjo and i and we were off to see dr. jamie. the staff and doctor were absolutely wonderful and compassionate, dr. jamie let me hold banjo as she gave him the necessary shot to put him to sleep. this was the hardest thing i have had to do in many years and i don't know if i could have done it without kathryn by my side. my banjo and i truly had had guardian angels yesterday and i know that he is now resting peacefully.

this morning i woke up at 5:10 am to the sound of really heavy rain, went into the kitchen to start the coffee pot, it turned on but would not brew. i found this kind of ironic since banjo hated the rain with a passion because he did not like to get his feet wet and he woke up most mornings when he heard the coffee pot turn itself on at 5:30. i went and stood out in the rain to say my goodbyes to the little angel that stole my heart ten and a half years ago.

meetings

2009-05-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

i have been attending a weekly meeting on "vertical marketing". these meetings are to help me decide what types of specific people and/or groups to market insurance products to. in yesterdays meeting it was suggested that i start a page on facebook in order to help me connect with other professionals. i truly don't see the reasoning behind it, it seems to me that facebook would pretty much be like having this blog. am i wrong?

you can teach

2009-05-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

you can teach and old dog new tricks and kathryn proved that yesterday when she taught me how to snorkel! thanks kath :)

this and that

2009-05-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

first off, happy three day weekend! I am excited for sunday; kathryn is coming over to teach me to snorkel. i must get ready for mexico.

a week ago i got my summer haircut. i asked my girl to mow down the masses on my head and make it short for the summer. i told her that i did not want to be bothered with hairdryers in this awful heat. this is what i got (pardon the mirror, i am not coordinated enough to take my own picture any other way!). everyone has said that they love the look. i think i love it too, all i have to do is towel dry it and throw in some mouse, once it dries i run a brush through it. simple!

mother's day

2009-05-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

thank you kath for a wonderful day yesterday. i received 2 cards (1 funny, 1 that made me cry), a gorgeous bouquet of roses and carnations, a delish breakfast and time just sitting and talking. she always make me feel like a queen.

i spent a good portion of the afternoon at the hospital visiting my nephew-in-law tim, he and his family need a lot of prayers right now.

what the...

2009-05-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

i want to know what the hell happened to spring. we went from almost cold and needing the heat on to the high 90's and needing to use the air conditioning almost overnight. which one of you pissed off mother nature?

prayers are needed

2009-04-27T08:24:00.000-07:00

i just got a call from my best friend's mother-in-law telling me that she is in ICU. apparently yesterday morning mel's husband went to wake her up and found her nearly comatose. her blood oxygen level was below 80% (it should be above 90%), she is complaining of pains in her arms and neck and has swelling of her brain. she is scheduled to be transported to another hospital today for an angiogram because the doctors think she may have suffered a heart attack. they have no idea what is causing the brain swelling.

please keep her in your prayers.

*update: went to the hospital and saw mel, her color is good but she has no feeling in two fingers on each hand. the angio will be done on tuesday.

A new favorite

2009-04-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

i try to eat a small bowl of cereal almost every morning for breakfast and i alternate between two or three different flavors of Cheerios because i like the taste, they are low in sugar and just plain old "generally healthy". today i bought a box of this and was so curious to try it out that i opened the box and just grabbed a bite. this stuff is DELICIOUS! i just hope that i will like it when i put milk on it tomorrow morning. if not it will make a great snack during the afternoon.

in keeping his word...

2009-04-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

in keeping his word about an open government, the president's and vice-president's tax returns have been made public and in print. you can see them in all their glory at www.whitehouse.gov.
i continue to be amazed at the difference in leadership now that there is a caring human in charge.

happy

2009-04-12T08:01:00.001-07:00

happy easter to everyone and happy birthday to michael.

business

2009-04-10T15:52:00.000-07:00

with the economy the way it has been business has been horrible. but it may start turning around. i just got a call from a client of mine who is a nurse. she is starting up a series of health fairs and has asked me to be the insurance vendor. i am meeting with her on monday to work out all of the particulars, the first fair is a week from tomorrow. i will have three hours (9-12) to talk to people about life, health, disability and long term care insurance. she has already committed to at least every other month for me. I am hoping that this will be the start of something really big and prosperous. keep your fingers crossed!

mel

2009-04-09T07:57:00.001-07:00

happy birthday to the best girlfriend i could ever have. i love ya!

ethics

2009-04-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

every three years i have to renew my license to sell insurance and it is that time again. in order to renew, the state of nevada makes me complete 30 hours of continuing education. i had more than the 30 required hours and now they have added two more requirements...3 hours of ethics and 4 hours of flood insurance training. so last week i ordered the classes on line and read through the ethics course, i took the exam today and passed. next thursday i will be taking the flood exam and hopefully will pass it also.

the vet,, again

2009-03-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

i had an appointment set to take banjo back to the vet tomorrow afternoon for a recheck of blood and urine. he has been on the phenobarbitol for three weeks and has only had two minor seizures. instead i got to take him this morning. while he walks up the stairs i bought him to get on the bed he insists on jumping down and this morning he injured his left arm. i called the vet and the first available appointment was at 2pm today. after watching him closely and seeing that he was indeed in pain i called the vet's office back and they told me i could come in and wait but they couldn't guarantee when the doctor could see us. i walked into the office just beofre 9am and within a few minutes was called to go into an exam room. after examination the doctor said that he would x-ray banjo's arm, give him something for the pain and do the necessary lab work that would have been done tomorrow, i am to return at 11:15 for x-ray results. i almost have to laugh at myself since i spend more time at the vet than i ever did at the pediatrition!

*update: no broken bones! sprained the left shoulder and elbow. $322.82 later (including a very expensive pain med), he is back at home. at least now he is limping instead of looking at me as if to say pick me up!

voice

2009-03-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

on feb 9th i blogged about a client/friend who almost died from a nut allergy, after being in icu for days she was sent home but had no voice because her vocal cords were damaged when the doctors in the er inserted the intubation tube. yesterday afternoon my phone rang and it was daisy...her voice is back! the doctors had been telling her that it might come back eventually and in the middle of dinner one night this week it did. i was starting to think that i would never hear her voice again. she sounded so wonderful that i just wanted her to keep on talking!

our president is the coolest!

2009-03-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

i haven't had a chance to read the white house blog in a while so i thought i would take a look today and this is what happened today. the fact that we now have a president with a heart who truly cares about others just fills me with joy and pride. gb would never have done anything like this for any children let alone sick ones. and then inviting middle school students in with him when he called the space station... our new president rocks!

tax, tax, tax

2009-03-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

this will certainly piss off all of those AIG bigwigs who just got huge bonuses not to mention those who got bonuses that don't even work there anymore. i am starting to feel better now!

11 today

2009-03-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

today is my oldest boys 11th birthday. happy birthday banjo!

he must have heard me scream!

2009-03-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

i heard about the AIG bonuses last night on the news and then saw bernanke on 60 minutes. i can honestly say that i was screaming at the tv, i can't quite remember the last time that i was that mad. so, was it me that the president heard? read this. the crap that AIG is pulling is rediculous, take millions in bailout $ and then give it to the executives that caused the problems in the first place. if anything, the executives should be taking a pay decrease.

ticked off

2009-03-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

this is such bullshit. every single year we take a rate increase and then this is reported today. with so many people out of work or having their hours cut back, not to mention the elderly that have nothing but social security and this guy adds CEO to the back of his name and makes millions off of us. will it never end? make me the CEO of a company and watch me NOT take a huge raise in salary. by the way, how will he ever survive not getting a salary increase next year. bastard.

the vet, part III

2009-03-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

so after tracking my little guys seizures for a week, he was started on phenobarbital yesterday evening. the hope is that by taking the pills twice daily the seizures will stop or at least slow down. if it works it will be back to the vet in 3 weeks for a re-check of blood and urine since this drug can harm the heart, liver, and just about every other vital organ in a body. so now my dog is a druggie...i never knew that this drug is a barbiturate, but them again if it works without doing any harm to his already old and tattered insides i will continue to hand them out.

the vet, part II

2009-03-04T15:26:00.000-08:00

just got a call from the vet's office telling me that all of the lab work done on my little guy came back looking good. so now i am left with just tracking seizures and watching him closely. he may need to be put on meds if he has any more seizures.

the vet

2009-03-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

i had to take my oldest little guy to the vet yesterday (kath's request), he had a seizure thursday night. the vet took x-rays to check his heart, liver, etc., blood and urine. the x-rays were fine, all they showed was arthritis in this hips and spine which we already knew about. the blood work showed that he is not diabetic (his glucose level was beter than mine!) although his white count was a little low. we should have the results of the urine sometime today (the vet wants to make sure that his enzyme level is ok because he is on a urinary med and blood pressure meds). i have to log his seizures. all i can say is thank you to kath for telling me about care credit because his bill so far is just over $300.

belated

2009-03-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

happy belated birthday to my niece christy (saturday) and her brother tim (sunday).

catch up

2009-02-25T13:19:00.000-08:00

i feel funny because i haven't blogged in a week and a half. is my life really that boring? yes, actually it is. i have been seeing clients, trying to write new business, even working on saturday and sunday. last satuday i had the priviledge of babysitting my two great nieces. although i am not sure that i can really say babysitting...they are 5 and 8. i came to the conclusion after they had both been put to bed that i am getting too old to keep up with them. they have too much energy. i sat in the back yard while they played, we played catch, we played high school monopoly, had dinner, watched tv and i promptly fell asleep as soon as they were in bed!

today i got a call and a lunch invitation from my poolman (also a client). His truck was being worked on and he needed an adult to talk to! his twin four year olds were in school. for me, it was nice to take a break with a human!

by the way...happy birthday to my girlfriend tracy!

girl's night out

2009-02-14T12:08:00.000-08:00

went to dinner and a movie last night with my girlfriend tracy, we haven't been out since early last month. we saw "he's just not that into you" with jennifer aniston, ben aflack, kris kirstofferson; it was actually pretty cute. there were a few scenes where tracy and i looked at each other and just smiled, we had both been there before. the sad part was the amount of men that had to sit through the movie since it was valentine's day weekend.

watch what you eat part II

2009-02-12T10:15:00.000-08:00

i went to the hospital yesterday to see my client, her color was excellent, she was sitting up, trying to talk, eating and drinking but still in ICU. all lab work and x-rays are normal but the doctors refused to move her from ICU because of the swelling in her throat caused by the ventilator tube. they were talking however about possibly letting her go home today. the docs told her yesterday that she survived and has done very well because she takes good care of herself by eating healthy and working out, otherwise her close call with death would have killed her.

got a text from her this afternoon, she is at home and resting!

i can't believe it

2009-02-11T09:03:00.000-08:00

this was a link on one of the websites that i visit almost daily. this makes me sick and sad at the same time. for the life of me i will never understand why she wanted this to happen. and now i have heard that the doctor will only get a slap on the wrist.

watch what you eat

2009-02-09T14:55:00.000-08:00

i got a call this morning from the boyfriend of one of my clients asking whether she had medical insurance through my office. my client was rushed to the hospital saturday night after ingesting a sauce in a restaurant that unknown to her contained cashews. the allergic reaction was so bad that they have had her sedated since admission and on a ventilator. as of this afternoon she is breathing on her own with the ventilator turned off but still in icu. The boyfriend has promised to keep me updated so that i can go and visit as soon as she is awake and out of icu.

beau the boyfriend called about 4:00pm, the ventilator tube has been removed and she has been brought out of the sedation. she is breathing easily and is aware of her surroundings. the doctors hope to have her out of icu by sometime tomorrow if all of her lab work is ok and she continues to improve.

chrissy

2009-02-09T07:40:00.000-08:00

happy 8th birthday to my dear chrissy, it was so nice to be able to celebrate your big day with you yesterday. it doesn't seem possible that it has been eight years since i went to see you for the first time. i love you!

4X2= adorable

2009-01-31T11:19:00.000-08:00

yesterday morning i went to my poolman's house to take care of his four year old twin girls while he went for some medical tests and to deliver a freshly baked chicken for dinner. the girls welcomed me at the door with hugs and kisses. they took turns sitting on my lap, we talked, counted, spelled our names, played a game, tickled and giggled and hugged some more. it was wonderful times two!

unbelievable

2009-01-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

i went to the DMV this morning to renew my registration and get my car retitled, i was in and out in 15 minutes flat! normally you have to plan ahead and take reading material and a snack, but i got smart and went to the newest location in north las vegas which happens to be the closest office to me anyway. all in all it was a terrific experience, the lady at the counter even seemed shocked that i thanked her for her help and told her to have a nice day.

# 13

2009-01-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

happy birthday to my "nephew" justin. you are making me feel really old by turning into a teenager. you truly have grown up right before my eyes. i love you!

i'm so lucky

2009-01-28T13:45:00.000-08:00

the past week has been nothing but boring. this morning however, was different. kathryn came by and ran her wedding invitations through my postage machine (her idea, it matches the theme of the invitations) and i got to help seal the envelopes! it's so nice to see her so excited about doing the "traditional" wedding thing. never in my life did i ever dream that i would see "my baby" in a long white gown. afterwards she took me for a wonderful mexican lunch complete with sopapias. UMM! it seems as if the older i get the more i value our time together, i can only hope it is the same for her.

it's a new day

2009-01-20T08:18:00.000-08:00

it's a new and glorious day! today we finally get a new president. a self made man who knows what it is like to want and need help. a man who did not come from a well to do family. a man who has had to work and dream. a man who believes that with hard work and a dream you can do almost anything. this is an important lesson for all of us but especially our children. i know that the next four years are not going to be easy for him but i also know that he is the right man for the job. i look forward to changes; changes in our attitude toward the government and ourselves as individuals. i look forward to us truly becoming the "united" states.

it really is a small world

2009-01-18T18:50:00.000-08:00

i went to brunch this morning at the rampart casino with my girlfriend susan and her husband joe. after eating joe went home and susan and i decided to play some slots. when we were leaving i was amazed when i saw elvie, a lady that i worked with in california and had not seen since i left my job in august 1996. within a few minutes her husband cesar showed up and it was like old times as we stood and talked. it turns out that they come to vegas from cali every other week or so to visit family so we exchanged business cards so that we could keep in touch and at least meet once in a while for lunch. i am still marveling at the fact that we all recognized each other after 12 1/2 years and that had i left just a couple of minutes earlier or later i never would have seen them. i think it is funny how things like this happen.

a second heart tugging

2009-01-11T18:45:00.000-08:00

yesterday i went to visit my poolman and his twin girls, i was greeted at the door with, "auntie, auntie" and then proceeded to receive hugs and kisses. i went to deliver a huge pan of home made lasagne and a loaf of french bread. all three seemed excited to get a home cooked meal. while dan and i talked about insurance the girls cuddled and hung all over me. before i even got close enough to the door to leave they were both asking when i would come back again for another visit. these four year old twins are weighing heavy on my mind because it is so obvious that they miss their mom and just need a girl hug. all they know is that their mommy is away at work when in fact she is in baghdad fighting a war that is not ours. i am hoping to be able to deliver dinner once a week or so just to help give "dad" a break and to serve up a couple of hugs in hopes that these little angels will smile and giggle just a bit more.

hello 2009

2009-01-01T12:32:00.000-08:00

so for the first time in my entire life i spent new years eve alone. i have always been either with someone else or part of some crowd. my friend susan invited me over for an evening of dinner and drinks but i just did not feel like going. it wasn't bad, i curled up on the couch with the dogs and enjoyed a bowl of popcorn while watching a bunch of reruns on tv.

goodbye 2008

2008-12-31T10:37:00.000-08:00

this has been a bitter sweet year for a lot of us mainly because of the economy. we all have had our ups and downs but i am really happy to say goodbye to 2008. the best thing that happened this year (in my eyes) was that kath and jason got married (8/8/08) and are very happy which makes me happy. i cannot come up with one worst thing that happened because there were quite a few, the last one being two days before christmas.

so now on we go into 2009 when we will get a new president (thank God) and hopefully things will start to turn around a bit for everyone. i wish everyone a safe, healthy and happy 2009, let's make this a great year.

a wonderful holiday

2008-12-27T14:23:00.000-08:00

this has been a wonderful holiday with time spent with family and numerous friends (with one still to see). The time spent with those i love has been the greatest gift of all. the second greatest gift was from kathryn; the last lecture by randy pausch. i am not reader, never have been, never will be. i sat down with this book today and did not stop reading until i was completely through the book. this has got to be one of the best books ever not to mention a wonderful gift to leave his children.

tug at my heart

2008-12-23T12:29:00.000-08:00

my poolman's wife was deployed to baghdad in september leaving him to hold down the fort and raise twin girls that turned four that same month. at my request he brought them by this morning so that i could give them each a plate of cookies and angels to hang on their tree. within just a few minutes of walking in the door they were both calling me auntie and both provided a few tight hugs and kisses when they left. i know it has been a while since they have been hugged by a woman and the way they both held on to me just tore at my heart. i can only pray that their mommy and all of our soldiers come home safely and soon.

i'm the auntie that rocks!

2008-12-23T08:26:00.000-08:00

last night i celebrated an early christmas with my best friend mel, her husband doug and their three kids. while mel and doug enjoyed their gifts, the kids (and doug) really loved theirs...guitar hero. it was unanimous...I ROCK!!!!

ready to play santa

2008-12-22T08:29:00.000-08:00

i managed to bake eight and half dozen cookies on saturday and bake a loaf of gingerbread. yesterday kath and i baked and decorated the remaining two kinds of cookies (should have done more but i wimped out). all of the gifts are wrapped and today i start my deliveries to clients and friends.

slow week

2008-12-19T13:03:00.000-08:00

the week before, the week of and the week after christmas are always really slow in my business. i wish i could afford to just take the three weeks off.

still snowing

2008-12-15T12:15:00.000-08:00

i just took these pictures, the is my front yard and the my neighbors house across the street. it seems so funny to see white roof tops!

snow

2008-12-15T10:27:00.000-08:00

at 6:00 this morning it was 33 degrees outside, the news said that we would have a "winter storm warning" until 10:00 tonight with a good possibility of snow down to 2,000 feet. it is now almost 10:30 and it has been snowing for a couple of hours although it is melting as soon as it hits the ground. we are now at 38 degrees and it is starting to get colder, i am hoping that the snow will start to stick soon. here is a picture of my backyard, if you look close you can see the flakes.

more chocolate

2008-12-14T20:08:00.000-08:00

i have just completed 10 dozen truffles; all hand made (five dozen were hand dipped in a chocolate coating), and three dozen molded chocolates. my feet and back are killing me since all of this took over four solid hours but it is well worth it. a little more candy making left to do and then sunday will be cooking baking day with kathryn.

when i think about it, it truly seems ironic that i can literally spend days making candy and cookies and then it takes people just a few minutes to scarf it all up, but i get the pleasure of making and giving and they get all of the calories!

weight

2008-12-13T16:24:00.000-08:00

as of today i have lost 8 pounds since thanksgiving week, i am now 10 pounds from my goal. needless to say i am VERY happy as it has been years since i have been at this weight.

this afternoon was my regional manager's annual holiday party. normally we have a dinner but this year they changed it up and made it a luncheon here. i was amazed at the amount of food that was presented, we started off at the salad bar and by the time we returned to the tables there were fried bananas and huge bowls of sauteed kale. they brought meat on huge swords... two kinds of chicken, beef, pork, ham and pineapple. because it was such a large group (most of the agents brought their spouse or a date), the chef made beautiful custard tarts garnished with fresh fruit for desert. i almost fell over when i saw my regional manager paying the bill, over $2,000! in addition, they gave all of the agents a small gift bag with a christmas ornament and a $50 dollar bill. all in all a very nice lunch.

i returned home to find all kinds of stuff flying around my backyard and i could almost surf in the pool it was so windy. while the weather was in the low 60's earlier today it will only be in the low to mid 40's for the next few days and according to the news we may have snow either tomorrow or monday. it seems that winter has finally hit las vegas.

it's time to get ready

2008-12-07T14:48:00.000-08:00

it's time to get ready for christmas. my shopping is done and therefore it's time to start making chocolates and cookies. today i hand dipped four dozen chocolate spoons (2 dozen milk chocolate and 2 dozen dark chocolate), after they were set they were drizzled with white chocolate. i also made two dozen molded chocolates and a dozen hand painted chocolate lollipops. now it's time to go and buy more chocolate for the rest of the making; truffles (dark chocolate rolled in cocoa powder) chocolate chip cookie dough truffles, more lollipops, more molded chocolates. it's a lot to get done but I have almost two weeks before kath and i stand in the kitchen all day making and decorating cookies!

car day

2008-12-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

today was car day at my house. i just hit 30,000 miles so my car was due for an expensive check up and an oil change. my appointment at the dealership was for 9:00am and i was told that the bill should be $380. i made the paperwork guy go over and explain everything that they were scheduled to do and a couple of the things had already been done due to a supposed recall. i was also planning to take the car someplace else for an oil change since i had purchased a discount book. with everything that needed to be done less the oil change and my 10% off coupon, my scheduled maintenance was completed for $228.88! i then proceeded to big o tires where they changed my oil and rotated the tires at a grand cost of $3.06. all in all a very cheap day!!!

it's been a while

2008-12-04T17:08:00.000-08:00

i just noticed that i have not blogged for one week but i have been so busy with the holidays and work. so here is what has happened in the last week:

1) spent thanksgiving with kath, her husband (i just love saying that) and her new in-laws all while managing to eat too much. i did get to taste fried turkey for the very first time and i am now a believer that it is the bomb!

2) managed to lose 3 1/2 pounds during last week (still not sure where i lost them but i did).

3) baby sat for my great nieces (emma 5 and alexis 8) last saturday night, had a blast but did not get home until almost midnight.

4) went to dinner with my ex last friday night, the bartender got me drunk, did not get home until almost midnight.

5) managed to complete all of my christmas shopping other than 2 small gifts which will be picked up tomorrow if i can only remember to do it.

6) had a wonderful appointment with one of my clients last night and did not get home from work until 9:40pm.

all of the above is great but i think that i am just getting a bit too old to be going like i have. the way i feel i will probably be asleep on the couch by 7pm tonight!

thanksgiving

2008-11-27T12:32:00.000-08:00

so many people see this day as a day to watch football and gorge themselves with turkey, ham and all of the fixings. Since the economy has been so tough this year, i have been thinking about all of things i have to be thankful for and there are many so i will list just a few:

kathryn: she has always been the light of my life
jason; my wonderful new son-in-law, the man who loves my baby and makes her so happy
my long lost and now close extended family
my friends and their families
my co-workers
my dogs who always provide unconditional love

what else could anyone ever want or need? happy thanksgiving everyone!

rain

2008-11-26T09:01:00.000-08:00

most of us know that it rarely rains in las vegas but when it does watch out. well i woke up at 6:00 this morning to the sound of rain. we are well under our normal amount of rain for the year so this is a really good thing and according to the news it may last most of the day and we may get more tomorrow. the only problem with this is that this entire city floods because our ground is so hard. there have already been several accidents reported on the news including one rollover because people here do not know how to drive in the rain. so now i just sit in my office enjoying the sound of the drops hitting the ground and thinking about making a pot of potato soup.

boring

2008-11-25T14:38:00.000-08:00

so it has been over a week since i have blogged. why? nothing exciting has happened in my life...i work, eat, sleep. i can't even blog about getting ready for thanksgiving because i am not cooking this year; i have been invited to dine with kathryn's in-laws. poor me, no turkey left overs!

8 today

2008-11-16T07:56:00.000-08:00

today is my great niece alexis' 8th birthday. happy birthday girlfriend!

dinner and dancing

2008-11-15T14:46:00.000-08:00

last night i had my ex over for dinner because he had agreed to take me dancing for the very first time EVER. I baked cornish game hens with a burbon glaze, sauteed squash and onions in a wonderful garlic butter and baked a loaf of fresh wheat beer bread. after a nice relaxing dinner we were off to the plaza hotel downtown to see this group. we got to the lounge about 20 minutes after they had started and were lucky to find two seats at the bar, not a single seat was available in the actual lounge. all i can say is wow! the music was great, we danced, laughed, talked with other couples and had a wonderful time. my only complaint is that their dance floor is way too small, we were like a can of sardines!

beautiful

2008-11-13T15:37:00.000-08:00

today, thanks to my wonderful daughter, i saw the most beautiful thing i have ever seen in my life.

pink sox

2008-11-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

yesterday morning i was at chrissy's softball game. for the last few weeks she has been saying that she REALLY wanted to hit a home run. well, yesterday she was the last batter up and just happened to hit a grand slam!!!!!!!!!!! it was so awesome, i was so proud, i screamed so much that i was surprised when i still had a voice left! go pink sox!

# 44

2008-11-05T06:36:00.000-08:00

so the country turned blue yesterday and my dream came true. God bless america!

so sad

2008-11-03T15:50:00.000-08:00

this is so sad, if only she had lived a couple of more days, she would have been so proud.

shopping, shopping, shopping

2008-11-03T14:11:00.000-08:00

with money so tight this year, i have had to really rack my brain and start shopping for christmas REALLY early. in fact, i have been dealing with christmas for about a month now. last week i shopped for several gifts on line at amazon.com. i know that some people (including my own daughter) are boycotting amazon because of how they listed halloween masks (and i agree completely), i just happened to have $90 worth of gift certificates that i earned from being a part of an online community. i was able to purchase two family gifts and two childrens gifts and get free shipping; total cost to me zero!

last night

2008-11-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

last night was the first night in my adult lifetime that i did not stay at home and hand out candy. instead i was taken out to dinner and then to watch the las vegas wranglers. we had vip season ticket seats right behind the glass so that we had the best view of all of the faces hitting the glass and all of the fights, we also had access to the VIP room. i hadn't been to a hockey game in well over 20 years, it was fun.

nevada day

2008-10-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

144 years ago today nevada became a state, thus making october 31st a state holiday. any reason is a good reason to take a day off of work!!! and happy halloween everyone.

the best part

2008-10-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

the best part of having a front yard is that you can display signs like this one!

pink sox

2008-10-27T07:50:00.000-07:00

everybody knows that i have been going to all of the pink sox's games to cheer on my niece chrissy, well tonight i get to do something really special. chrissy's mom, melody, is the team mom and she is out of town so i will step in and be the team auntie. i get to be in the dugout with all of the girls during their practice tonight! i just love watching these girls as they have so much enthusiasm and play with such gusto.

last night i experienced another first...jason and kath invited me over for indian food, i have one word...YUMMY! thanks guys.

more on plumbers

2008-10-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

mccain may have joe the plumber but southern nevada jas joe the plumber and he has something to say!

in other news, on saturday morning after voting for my next president i went to watch the pink sox play, they have turned into a pretty awesome group of little girls. most of them get up to bat and literally hit it out of the ball park! i spent saturday afternoon with clients and saturday night with the porcelain god as i somehow picked up a good case of the stomach flu. i spent all day sunday on the couch trying to recover and i am still feeling the effects today. this flu comes with a hangover headache that just will not go away.