Sunday, March 31, 2013

What To Do With Blogging and Some Easter Stuff

Blessings to you All, 
on this Special day...


I feel like I've been neglecting blogging lately.  

I don't know what to do about it.  

I love blogging, but it seems like I am 
repeating myself way too often.

And I can almost hear the **YAWNS** 

*sigh*

What to do. 


Some days I think I should re-group and change direction...


I don't want to stop blogging.  I just want some ideas...  I feel like my mind is mush right now.  I'm resting.  Haha!


I'm really busy lately but I do plan to re-group here and do something different.  


 I don't like to get mundane...

And I feel like that is where I am.


So are you tired of looking at my Easter weekend pictures yet?  Aww...  you won't say you are because you're too nice. 




Now.  One more thing...  Rissi spent the night on Good Friday>   You gotta watch this!   



Tuesday, March 26, 2013

FACETIME and SNOW


Yesterday and today = Taxes

Ugh!

How I hate Tax time!  

Oh, I loved it before I owned my own business.  I always got a nice refund back at the beginning of the year. 

Now it's me writing checks to the government. 

NOT COOL

While we were waiting to see our accountant..  

My 15 month old Summer FaceTimed me.  All by herself!  


For those of you not familiar with FaceTime, 2 Iphones can connect and you can talk face to face.


It's not that easy to do..  and takes a few steps before  you can hook up.

And even though Summer knows how to navigate the Iphone to look at pictures and such...
I had no clue she knew how to FaceTime!  I don't think her mommy knew either.  LOL



Where Are You Spring?
by Gracie Phillip

I woke up in the morning and went out to pee;
The ground was all white and so was the tree.
Turning around I said, "Uh-uh! No pee for me!"
But Mom said, "You go! Or you won't get a treat!"

So I squatted down slowly as best as I could;
And she laughed at me shaking like I knew that she would.
So then when she called me to come back inside;
I buried my face in that cold, wet stuff and said....

YOU COME AND GET ME!

And that's when I heard her say...
"Where are you spring?"


Sunday, March 24, 2013

Easter Blessings


While I was counting my blessings...


 The blessings were counting Easter eggs.


One...


Two...


Three


Four...


And since it was Summer's first time...


Jake and Rissi helped her out a bit.


Yesterday was a perfect day.


 And nobody went home empty handed.


This Palm Sunday was spent watching Charles Stanley on TV because Gary and I both are nursing colds.


Hope your Sunday was good!


Dear Diary,
Yesterday Dad said, "Get in the Buick, we're going for a ride!"  I was more than happy to oblige.  We went for a walk on the canal  and I tried to pick a fight with a mutt who looked at me.  Mom said I'm bad.  Dad agreed.  But I don't really care.  At least I got a walk and got to smell some really great smells. I hope they take me there again someday soon.  Well, the cold, wet, white stuff is covering my pee area again and it's getting deeper by the minute.  What to do, what to do....   Gracie.  


Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Volcano Head


Back when Rissi was a baby and just getting hair, we used to put it on top of her head to keep it out of her eyes...  a style Gary named 'Volcano head'.

  Rissi will still insist on wearing the Volanco Head to school on some days...  whenever she doesn't wear the 'Eleanor' style (that would be 2 volcano's... one on each side...  resembling Eleanor from the Chipmunks I believe.) 

Rissi's 'Eleanor' hairstyle

And now...  

for the first time ever


Summer would like to introduce to you...


Her very First...


VOLCANO HEAD!







Monday, March 18, 2013

Where's Gracie and Happy Birthday Mom!

Gary:  Have you seen Gracie?

Me:  No, I thought you put her outside.


Gary:  I think I know where she is...


Gracie: Can't you see I'm depressed?  Can a girl have some privacy here?


Me:  **LOL**  Oh Gracie, you are so cute!


 Gracie:  I'll show you cute woman!  Now can I have a moment here...  


Me:  Aww Gracie.  Why you so grumpy?

Gracie:  Why you so annoying?

And speaking of Grumpy...

Today I remember my Mom who would be celebrating a birthday on this day....

Mom turned 69 on her last birthday here in this world (about 19 years ago).  I remember it like it was yesterday.  She had just been released from the hospital.  She had a lot of health problems..  I won't go into detail now because it would make this post way too long, but as luck would have it... she was getting out on her birthday.

"I don't want a party or anything.."  she told me (after I had already got her cake).

Grumpy!  (I thought to myself).

"Don't worry...  no party..." I told her.

 We did have cake when I got her home and a few of my siblings came by.  The grandkids were there too.  She enjoyed it and I think she was happy for the cake and she always loved time with the family.

  Four months later, she was gone...  When she left this world, a little girl named Bobbie Jo, left as well.  And a stronger, more seasoned adult had to carry on without her one true anchor in this life.

I still have fleeting moments when I want to call Mom and ask her for a recipe, for advice, or to tell her about something silly or a cute thing that one of the grandkids did.  I will always miss her.  Until we meet again Mom...

Happy Birthday to You!

My grumpy Mom on her last birthday.
 xoxoxo Love you Mom!

She really was a sweet lady...
and loved her grandchildren dearly!  

And she could always take a joke!
 I didn't know one person who did not like her.  

She would be impressed at how I photo-shopped the cake icing from the corners of her mouth.  LOL!



Sunday, March 17, 2013

Meeting, Flowers, and FREE KINDLE DOWNLOAD

I returned from a 3 day business trip to Harrisburg PA yesterday to find these on my doorstep:


I know.  What a nice thing to come home to, right?  But... the thing is...  my hubby was with me on the trip.  So who could these beautiful flowers be from???

Do I have a secret admirer?  Does Gary have a secret admirer?  

*GASP*  

(FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER)

The delivery guy comes by and I wave bye-bye to my someone else's beautiful flowers.  He thanks us for being honest and calling to let him know he had the wrong house.

*sigh*

Glad the meetings are over and we are home again, back to (somewhat) normal.  You know the saying... there's no place like home.  
And speaking of that particular saying...  let's talk Wizard of Oz.  Better yet,   OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL.  
Now, I'm a Wizard of Oz 'FAN' from way back.  I've watched that movie probably two dozen times and love it each and every time.  It's magical.  BUT.  
OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL was painful.  On a scale of 1-10 I will give it a 3.
Gary, on the other hand gave it a 7.



In other news,  My book - Gracie's Diary: A Memoir can be downloaded for FREE Today on Amazon.  

If you have not already read the book and you would like to, here is the link:


Happy Sunday to All!





Tuesday, March 12, 2013

JUST SOME STUFF



Who went to Niagra Falls?

Not Jack, Jessica, and Jasper...
Not Jake...

Not Gary and not me...




Aha!  Lindsey, her husband Robby,
and Rissi and Summer went to Niagra Falls...


That's all I have.




Dear Diary,
I am feeling good!  I don't have to pee all the time like I did before I went to get my belly cut open.  I can play with Wally and Piggy now.  I can run and jump and play and go for walks.   Now the bad news.  It's back to work for me- Watching the house.  I watch the house.  The nag yells at me for watching the house.  "GRACIE DO YOU HAVE TO BARK AT THE MAILMAN? THE UPS MAN?  THE GIRL CROSSING THE STREET? THE MAN THREE BLOCKS DOWN WALKING HIS DOG?"  Hey...  Just doing my job... and she's doing hers. N.A.G.  Gracie.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Gracie's Good

Dear Diary,

My days of woe are over.  I went to see Dr. Fox on Friday and the stitches came out.  My belly is looking good, according to all the peeps who insist on studying it and not only was I given my get-well toy to play with...  but I have been promised a walk today.  Life is good. Gracie.  



Saturday, March 9, 2013

Saturdays Story

True story!

Two Saturday's ago, while driving to my niece's baby shower, I reached for my new sunglasses to deflect the glare.
  
"How do you like my new sunglasses?" I asked.  I yanked them off and handed them to Lindsey (my daughter) and she tried them on.

"Nice!" she said. "The closest I ever came to designer glasses is when Jack gave me his that time when we were younger.  Remember...  the ones I wore the day you met Ronnie down on the bridge when you were holding his tape case as hostage?"

I laughed out loud!  I remembered.

"And the surprise birthday party that we had for him?"  Lindsey said.   I remembered that too.

For the first time in probably ten years, we talked at length about our friend, Ronnie.  A blast from the past.

"Whatever happened to him?"  Lindsey asked.
"He moved away, to New Mexico or somewhere I think," I said.  "It's sad what happened."


     Ronnie was the same age as me.  He lived across the road from us.  Walk to the end of our driveway and across the country road and there he stayed with his elderly parents.  He was like a cousin or even a brother to us, tho we were not blood related. 


     Every year at Christmastime he would painstakingly decorate with multi-colored lights that blurted out "BAH HUMBUG".  Christmas wasn't Christmas without his negative input each year.  


      He had been a friend of the family ever since I remembered.  You could joke around with Ronnie and he was consistent with his clever 'come-backs'.  

     Ronnie had plenty of stories to tell, none of which I had heard, but other family members had enjoyed a variety of far out stories of his past - days gone by.  He was the type of guy you could be yourself with, a big guy, who I believe considered the few neighbors that were spread throughout the small country setting and its community, his friends.  My sister, who lived adjacent to me, and my family, would go to visit the old couple and their son, Ronnie, almost every other day.  Let's face it, the sparse few families that lived on our hill were FAMILY. 

     I remember the time he had loaned me a VHS tape of Wings, our favorite TV show, that he had recorded off of TV.  After I returned the tape to him, I later got word that I had given him back the wrong tape case.  Reason for some fun!

     I sent him a ransom note with all the letters cut out of the newspaper...  different sizes..put together to read:

I HAVE YOUR TAPE CASE.  IF YOU WANT IT BACK IN ONE PIECE MEET ME AT THE BRIDGE.  WEDNESDAY AT 6 PM WITH A HALF GALLON OF BREYERS NEAPOLITAN ICE CREAM.  MAKE SURE IT'S THE GOOD STUFF OR YOU'LL NEVER SEE YOUR CASE AGAIN.  NO FUNNY BUSINESS.

     When Wednesday evening came, I went forward with my plan.  A black wig.  A big, bulky, black fur coat.  Thick Red lipstick. Plenty of Rouge.  Sunglasses.  Fur coat hood up.  A check in the mirror and I was 100% sure...  Nobody would know me.  

     "Who's got the spoon?"  I said.

     "I do," Justin (my other son) said.

     "Who has the tape case?"

     "Me," Lindsey said, giggling and putting on her sunglasses.

     "Who's got my back?"

     "I got your back, Mom," Jackie said.

     They were falling to the floor laughing at my get-up.   They surrounded me, walking with me to the end of the driveway then down the road to the wooden bridge that went over the train tracks, laughing all the way.  Cars slowed on our busy little country road, to take a look at the weird woman in the fur coat on a hot summer's day.  Neighbor kids were on their porches laughing and pointing.  I instructed Lindsey once we got there, "Hold the tape case over the bridge.  If he doesn't have the ice cream, I will tell you when to drop it."  She held on tight to the case.  Not much was said.  Ronnie was there, and he pulled the ice cream from his bag.  I opened it as Lindsey held the tape case over the edge of the wooden bridge where our steam locomotive would pass under, twice each day.

     "Spoon?"  I said, peering at Justin from the tops of the sunglasses.  

     He handed me the spoon.   I took a bite of the ice cream, and nodded.  Lindsey handed Ronnie the case and without a word, we went our separate ways.   

     Ronnie walked across the road with his original case and I went home with my hysterical accomplices and the Ice Cream.


This is how we would see the train from the bridge..

Here is the coat I wore... but remember, I had the hood up and it was buttoned..
I also had all the accessories to make me look totally off-the-wall!


If you look to the left, you will see the wooden bridge.  Ronnie's house was just
above that bridge on the other side of the road.
The 2 cute kiddies are my boys when they were younger.

          Another fun remembrance was the surprise birthday party we had for him one time.

          "Ronnie, can you come over and help us get the air conditioner out of the window?" I said, on the phone.

      "Sure, no problem.  I'll be right over."  He was always eager to lend a helping hand.

      I was in charge of lighting the candles.  Lindsey stood behind the door with her boom box ready to push 'play'. 

     The boys stood waiting to belt out "Happy birthday from Sesame Street" in unison with the cassette tape.

     He was surprised!  And he loved the dinner (hoagie) and movie (VHS) we got him.


~~~~

      As Ronnie's parents got older, their health began to fail.  
     Ronnie's father passed away.  His mother got worse, then.  He took care of her until she passed too.  

      Not long after that, Ronnie disappeared.  He moved to parts unknown, and it was discovered much later that the Ronnie we thought we knew, sadly, we hadn't really known at all.  

     I never heard anything more about him.  

It's strange, how suddenly...  out of nowhere, some 10+ years later...  he became a topic of our conversation on our way to the baby shower.

And even more strange, is that later that very night, I got a call from my sister.  Ronnie's whereabouts were confirmed, and he had been found dead in his home.  His caregiver did not know how long he had been there.  He died alone.


Reason Season Lifetime - Author Unknown

People always come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.  When someone is in your life for a REASON,

It is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty,
Or to provide you with guidance and support,
To aid you physically, emotionally, or even spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend to you, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
This person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they just walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.
When people come into your life for a SEASON,
It is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn.
They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.
And like Spring turns to Summer and Summer to Fall,
The season eventually ends.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
Those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person anyway;
And put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas in your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
Thank you for being part of my life,
Whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.


RIP Ronnie



Friday, March 1, 2013

Gracie's List

Top Ten Things To Do When You're 
Not Allowed To Do Anything.

1.  Lay around and act sick.

2.  Act like eating is a chore...  (this will get you even more food and anything your heart desires)

3.  Think of ways to get out of taking your pills.

4.  Run and hide when you hear the pill bottle being opened.

5.  Eat the hamburger, but spit out the pill.

6.  Eat the cookie icing, but spit out the pill.

7.  Wait till Nurse Ratched is not looking, then spit the pill out.

8.  Practice keeping the pill from  getting caught in your fur after you spit.   For some reason, that's the first place Nurse Ratched looks.

9.  When you hear Nurse Ratched say "If Miss Gracie Phillip doesn't want to take her medications orally I'm sure we can arrange that she can have it some other way,"  Swallow hard!

10.  Do some magic tricks and change the focus from "Give the dog her meds"  to "Wow!  Will you look at this!  Look what Gracie did!"