New Addition

While I have always said that the blow ups in front lawns are cute but not necessary, my thoughts changed dramatically this weekend. On a trip to Lowes for some routine holiday replacement bulbs, JBM and Flyboy saw this....HeliSanta. Knowing them, was there any question that a purchase was in our future? The rotor blades work too. Guess this is a case of never say never.

How we spent our Thanksgiving Day?

With a very ill JBM. Woke at 2 AM on Thanksgiving day with a fever of 103, cough and eyes that looked like pools of glass. My thoughts? The flu! Went to work that morning, brought home a quick flu test and I was right.

He spent his day on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, feeling really awful and wavering between 101 and 103 despite Motrin every 6 hours. Could not keep food or liquids down...poor guy on the best food day of the year.

FlyBoy stayed home with him and I went to dinner at Bro's house. Brought dinner home for my guys. Both ate and JBM gave it all back to me within 30 minutes. Poor guy.

Next day, went to the doctor and confirmed the flu with pneumonia on top! It is amazing how quickly this H1N1 can settle into the chest.

Good news is that after a weekend of antibiotics, Tamiflu and nebulizer treatments he is ready to go back to school. I am glad the illness was short lived.

Happy Anniversary!

22 years ago today, I made the best commitment of my life.....I married Fly Boy and life has been wonderful every since. Don't always like him but always love him....isn't that the way it should be?

Happy Anniversary to Fly Boy and to Ellen and her guy too! We met on our honeymoon and were married the same day and same time. I know we liked them for a reason :)

Shopping?

It is the day after turkey day...Black Friday....are you going shopping today?

We haven't decided yet but I do know that the retail pull will get the best of me at some point this weekend.

Be careful out there :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

And this is exactly what I am doing.....heading to Bro's house after work for some good grub. Bringing the sweets and the wine...FlyBoy insists!

Happy Turkey Day everyone!

Giving Thanks....

Just wanted to write a quick note about giving thanks. Since tomorrow is turkey day, I will not be thinking about blogging or posting. I will be thinking about all the things I have to be thankful for....not the least of which is my family, my health and my freedom to give thanks!

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and the chance to spend the day with those you love!

The Fruits of Autumn

Once the garden was put to sleep, it was time to turn attention to one of my favorite fall activities...making applesauce. I do not do it to the scale that Ellen does but I do make enough to share with family. This year, I had some special guest apples all the way from Missouri! Thanks to TSAnnie and her wonderful family.

Here is the picture of the results....I have another batch to do before the orchard across the road closes for the season. What is your favorite food in the fall?

A Milestone

JBM has reached another milestone.....his first experience with a power tool. He did a wonderful job blowing the leaves off the back deck and out of my perennial garden. My only concern...is this considered a violation of child labor laws?
Happy Monday.

It got me!

I learned a valuable lesson this week that I am not immune to everything. Having been a school nurse for five years and escaping the major illness plagued by those new to this line of work, I began to assume I would be immune to everything. WRONG! I survived the first wave of H1N1 unscathed, got all my immunizations in preparation for this one and am coming off four days where I can honestly say I have never felt sicker in my whole life! Fever, cough, aches, headache and the desire to remain horizontal on the sofa or in bed with my eyes closed and in total silence. I was great fun to be around. But I am back....a trip to the doctor, a trip for some acupuncture and a new herbal supplement that will take the place of antibiotics. All seems to be working. I am glad to be back but I think TSAnnie is going to miss the nurse she was working with who brought her breakfast and lunch every day. I hope she does not expect that from me...... :)

A Great Time

In addition to my adventure with FlyBoy this weekend, we had such a great time being away. Everyone was so relaxed and the weather was just spectacular. Ellen and I often refer to our families as family and that is so very true. We are so at ease with each other that there is no entertaining involved. It is just hanging out, relaxing, shopping and eating.....and a little wine. Who could ask for more. And to top it all off, my cousin and his wife were down at their house at the same time! We did not expect that and it was so much fun to hook up with them and have dinner at one of our favorite places on the OBX. Ocean Boulevard is just fabulous and we love going there. For the first time, JBM was able to dine there with us and not complain about having nothing he liked on the menu. We are turning a new corner. If you are ever on the OBX, please check them out. It is well worth every penny...... Check out the web site and menu at ocean-boulevard.com

We finished!

I am still experiencing technical difficulties and Flyboy is in full diagnosis mode. Thank goodness for technogeeks! Anyhow, just wanted you all to know that we survived our race on Saturday.

We both finished! Flyboy took one hour and two minutes and I took one hour and three minutes. That last half mile was the hardest and I might have caved had it not been for my friend Millie who was standing at the check point screaming "You go girl!" to me. She was my motivation to enter the race and my motivation to finish. The fact that Bruce was singing Born to Run in my ears really helped too. What a great feeling....we are already talking about next year.

Ellen told Flyboy and me to think of it as a date - hand holding, good music and heavy breathing! :)

The Day has arrived!

Remember in March when I committed myself to training for the Outer Banks Half Marathon....and in May when I actually signed up for it? Well, the weekend has arrived and I should be running the half marathon. To make a long story short....during my "months" of training, I tore a meniscus and discovered I have a cyst on my knee. Surgery? Cortisone shots? Anti-inflammatories? Nothing? I did anti-inflammatories for two weeks and did not run during that time. It worked but set me back big time.....then life, school, piano lessons, hockey practice, hockey games, family and two jobs took care of the rest. I have not run or even donned my running shoes in two weeks....... Did I give up? No. Instead of 13 miles, I am running an 8K (5.1 miles). Instead of running with friends, I am running with FlyBoy. All in all, it should be fun and the weather is predicted to be ideal. Good family time and Ellen is coming too which is an added bonus.

Will let you know on Tuesday how much we ran and how much we walked but we will finish! And I am sure we will have some pictures to share.

Technical Difficulties

I have been trying every day this week to email myself pictures from home. Why you ask? Because I took some awesome photos of my backyard in its full Autumn splendor and some very funny photos of JBM. Each night I send them and each morning I get to work and they are not here! They must be floating somewhere in cyber space and someone is enjoying them saying...why am I getting these #@*#@ photos?!

TSAnnie and I even tried to access them directly from the memory card from the camera and my ancient block of computer on my desk cannot see them!

Technology is wonderful as long as it works!

Happy Thursday.