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It's been a while. The truth is I've had a pretty sucky few weeks. On February 21 my dad died. He'd been in the hospital for 1 week and then in the nursing home 1 week and that was it. It was quick and he did not seem to suffer too much. They said he had pneumonia in the hospital and were giving him antibiotics to clear that up. And his death certificate says he had emphysema and had had it "for years" and that was news to us. Not one time had any doctor said a thing about it. But whatever the ultimate cause, somethng had not been right for a few weeks. He was falling a lot and he was out of it in a lot of ways. It finally came to a point that I could not get him up and I called the ambulance and the rest is history.

I know that my dad is in better place. He's with my mom. He was tired. He was lonely. He'd had a good life and was ready for his 'final roundup'.

I miss him like all get out. I have trouble typing this through the tears. I have trouble with the quiet house and I have too much time on my hands,. I know things will get easier but right now it hurts.

New Year's Resolutions

Do they exist if you don't write (or type) them somewhere? Will that simple act stop them from being broken? I don't make many anymore. Lose weight. Eat less. Exercise more. Spend less money. The usual.

This year, I have saved money. I take my lunch to work. I'm limiting eating out and shopping. I'm trying to eat less, exercise and lose weight but I've never been a person to beat myself up about it. I like shopping downstairs though so I'm gonna try to stay downstairs. For those of you skinny minnies who don't know what I'm talking about, they put the big mama clothes upstairs in a corner in the department stores so the normal size shoppers won't be offended by the sight. I like shopping downstairs.

I have resolved to not be such a food pack rat though and it's kinda working. If ya'll knew my mom, you'd know I came by this habit naturally. My mom always had a pantry full of food and always bought 2 of everything. And I've done it for years. We waste a lot of food around our house and I hate that so we are buying and making less. Someday I will be at the bottom of my refrigerator & pantry. Maybe.

The last resolution is more rest. Bed time. Night, night.

Girl Scout Cookies

Now, I'm on a roll.

It's only January and it's time already. Didn't it used to be in February? And my friend Jen's granddaughter came up today to sell cookies and she is not a Brownie but a Daisy. Are there still Brownies? Or are they now un PC and have the different levels become flowers?

As long as they don't mess with the Thin Mints.

Cotton Bowl

Gee, I have not published in a while.

We lost. It was ugly. Every Cotton Bowl we've been in has been ugly. We hate the Cotton Bowl. It was the last official Cotton Bowl played at this stadium and it's a good thing. If I had the means I'd implode that ugly sucker myself.

That's all.

"Man our ship and bring her to life"

Cool words, huh? Spoken by the daughter of George H. W. Bush at the dedication of an aircraft carrier bearing her dad's name and being commissioned. The ceremony was broadcast on all of the newsies and it was actually pretty cool. The pomp and circumstance, the speeches, the flyovers & presentation of flags put a little lump in my throat. Sometimes, I'm such a sap. Then 41's daughter spoke the works "man our ship and bring her to life" and to the sounds of 'Anchors Aweigh' something like 1400 sailors run up the gangplank to start the ship on a journey that will last 50 years until she's de-commissioned. I Googled the words and they are standard at every ship's commissioning ceremony, which is cool.

They even have a website: George H W Bush Battleship Website

2009

Well, here is the 1st post of 2009. I'm not even sure where I've been but it appears I have not been here.

The first 1/2 month is gone already. Sometimes time goes really fast. When you're having fun, right? Hmmm.

Had uneventful holidays, as usual. A few days off, some rest, too much food. The usual.

Tuesday is inauguration day. Barack Obama will become our new President...44th I think. It is an exciting time in our nation and although I don't think anyone can live up to his hype, he seems like a decent man and it will be interesting to watch what he can do and how fast he will be torpedoed for not living up to expectations. Lots of jobs have been lost and companies are going bankrupt. I hope someone has the answer.

Happy New Year to all.

Old Friends

Today I saw a friend in a store that I had not seen in years and it was a complete surprise. They live in Ruidoso now and he was in town for a doctor's appointment. Dale and Lyn were my Sunday School teachers when I was in college. I lived in the dorm and I was poor. Dale and Lyn had 2 little girls, Leah and Lori and they were a struggling young family too so we had a deal for each other. I'd babysit the girls so they could go out for a little while and I could do my laundry. And they even paid me a little. It was a great arrangement.

Leah was probably 4 when I met them and Lori was born the December of my freshman year of college. They were always so close that they shared a room until Leah left to get married even though they could have had their own rooms from the beginning. And when Leah and Mike got engaged, one of the first things he did was take Lori out to tell her that she'd always have a room in their home and could come visit at any time. I liked him for that. The last time I was both girls together was Lori's wedding day. Leah was her matron of honor and she cried through the whole wedding. And Dale told me that both girls now have 2 boys each.

I'm not getting old, right?