On a happier note...

Thank you for all your sweet words regarding Sasha Fierce.  Every time I think of her, my heart hurts. Some wise ass 18 year old said: THEN, don't think about her Mom. *sigh*
So, lets not bring that up again. K?

****

We visited the zoo this past weekend. IT was fun. IT was hot. IT was hot fun.

We haven't visited the zoo in a few years. Seems that softball, dance, proms, boys, life have taken over. 

Good thing God makes 2 1/2 year old boys....makes you do the old stuff again. 

I have loads of photos to share.

I also have a load of sickness in me. I hope I didn't catch some sort of fancy smancy exotic sickness from the zoo.

Leopardidis? Monkey flu? Funky cold Medina? Jungle fever?

{watch out Denzel Washington}

XOXOXOX

Sadness

R.I.P Sasha Fierce. 

My heart hurts...and it's my own fault.
I forgot to close the screen door on Friday night. I know that She is most active at night...but I was so busy being me. She exited the lanai during the night....and on Sunday morning *something* ended her life.

I awoke to major activity out in the yard at 4:30 a.m, I went outside to see if I could break up whatever it was {it was pitch black}....and when I went out there...the activity ceased. I figured all was well. 

But it wasn't. 

We are not sure what *it* was. The Coach found her in the middle of the yard and gave her a proper burial.
I did not want to know the gory details...
Bless her little 'messed up, semi-feral, cute as a button, stray cat' heart.
We tried to give her a good life. Sometimes trying doesn't cut it.
I know I can't save the world...but I at least wanted to save her.

In her next life, she will be a big, bold bad ass lioness.


{{Comments are off....because what can anyone say??}}

On Anniversaries and things.

Today the Coach and I celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary.

And by celebrate, I mean there is a heart penciled on the wall calendar. 

Did I tell you we had a very small budget for our wedding? 
He couldn't afford a shirt and I had to waitress the entire reception. 

 Heck yeah, I made great tips, look at those gams!

When you know someone for 27 years, you experience a lot of stuff together. Such as your mullet phase, your perm phase, your bright blue eyeshadow phase, your mom jeans phase.
And that was just HIM.
Oh, lets not forget our  'redneck phase' {Coach/Suz and Big Blue. 1992}

We drove that truck {pulling my Saturn} from South Florida all the way to Dallas, TX. With two medicated cats with us. I'm still coughing up fur balls.

He still misses that truck. We had to sell it to buy a {gag} mini-van. 

Oh, it looks like we've come full circle? {Coach/Suz 2012}

We've had many many good times. Luckily, the bad times have been few and far in between. Actually, I think that the bad times seemed NOT so bad...because the Coach is a rock. Cool. Calm. Collected. And usually very reasonable.
He makes life easier for me. Always. 

I still have that dress. Not sure why...but it fits around my left ankle beautifully. 

My step sister's 1st wedding. I actually picked out that dress. And his pants. The 90's were not pretty. 

We don't usually do big stuff on our anniversary.
 Last year we went crazy, had dinner and saw The Hangover 2.

Thank the Lord they have not come out with Hangover 3. I don't think I could take another one.

The 20th 'traditional'  anniversary gift is China. I'm kinda glad the Coach didn't know that. What would I do with an ENTIRE COUNTRY? 

The modern day gift is Brass and Nickel. That pretty much sums up what I find in the dryer everyday. 

We don't usually go all out on the gifts. Well, what the heck can I buy him? 

His two favorite things are beef jerky and one other thing that I won't blog about. 

Our good friends are coming over for the weekend with their sweeter than heck 2 year old.
WE will have more fun than a monkey full of barrels.

The Coach used to fish. For girls. 

The secret to a happy marriage?

Compromise.

Marry someone who doesn't mind compromise.

HA.

I bet you thought we both did that.

And? Marry someone who never whines, complains or b*tiches about anything.

Too bad the Coach didn't follow that rule.

I just made myself laugh. Again.

Happy 21 baby!!!!

So, enough about us.
If you are a praying person, a karma person, a mojo person or a good vibrations person, could you muster up the energy to send a bit of *whatever* to my Mom?
On Wednesday, she fell at work and broke her humerus bone. Nothin' funny about that.


I hate that we live so far apart...at times like this I feel helpless! But, my Aunt and Uncle are there, taking good care of her. She will be fine, but it looks like surgery will be in her future. 

Now, I am off to take some extra calcium.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy anniversary to Karen and Gregg too!

It's all about her. And him. But mostly her.

Unless you are me or my Mom, this post might contain too many photos.
And let's face it...this blog is for me my Mom.

Linds, getting ready Freddy.

I tried an up-do on the "child with more hair than any one person needs"...and it was becoming an epic fail. 

 There are not enough bobby pins in the world.

 Watching Lolo's softball game on the laptop at the same time. Multi-tasking girls we are.

 Plan B.    Side pony with her hair braided/roped into a headband. 

She cleans up well. 

Unless it comes to cleaning her room. 

That dress was made for her. Not really, but it appears so...

 Actually, this was the THIRD dress that was purchased for prom. It is a long and boring story, but two were put back into inventory for others.

Do you recognize that face? That attitude? My Mom does.

So, Coach was traveling this past week....as was Lolo. It was just the two of us prepping for the big night.

And we did fine....there was a lot of texting back and forth, with visuals included. What did we do before smart phones??
Oh, I remember, we just didn't share every freakin' little thing in our lives.

Enter: The Date.
We met up with the boyfriend at another friends house for group photos and all that.

And as you can imagine...after seeing a gaggle of other girls, I declared that I should help everyone personally choose their prom dresses. 

These two are so 'handy' with each other. I've mentioned this to them both...and it kinda hurt his feelings. And that is part of my job...pointing out his flaws. 

I do enjoy a person who can be silly though. And he knows how to make me laugh.

I put some photos on Facebook Saturday night...and someone asked how we found a dress the same color of her eyes. Frankly, her eyes were green, and we used food coloring to enhance them. 

I was kidding about the food coloring in the eyes. 

Who has the biggest earrings? The man-boy wins. 

They were home safe and sound by midnight. No before parties, no after parties. I like it when people listen to me. 

IF everyone in the world followed my directions, there would be no worries. Or wars. Or abuse. Or hunger. 

Or  Mario Lopez. 

Lindsay's first words to me on Sunday morning: Did you blog yet?

Yes, she thinks this blog is all about her. And today, it is. 

Circular seating and my mouthy boy.

I've been himmin' and a hawwin' for new lanai furniture for a while. I finally stopped talking about it and started {cyber} shopping.
Life is good when I get what I want.


And I did. Cyber-style.

Nice, right? Circular dude. 

 How many minutes until it is covered with pet hair?

I'm betting 10 minutes.

Costco.com Baby. We love it!

I ordered it on Sunday...and it was here on Friday.
How is that for service? The fed ex guy was pleasant too...and luckily he wasn't able to heave the boxes over the gate.  HA!


Mother's day morning we all chilled out here....coffee and mother's day french toast. Life is GOOD!

We generally like to spend mornings out here....relaxing, listening to some tunes and pretending we are on vacation.

I ordered the round zebra rug from Hayneedle.com
Relax, It's not real zebra.

Have you shopped there? I LOVE IT. That is where I got the composter......and I've got an outside dog bed coming too.
The dog bed is for the dogs....I hope you knew that.

You will see though...they really enjoy human furniture.

Sunday morning found Ozzie in rare form.....he started talking to Maisy for some reason. He is a vocal dog, but never ever messes with the cats, so this was very out of the ordinary for him.

I caught some of the action with my cell phone:

Ok, it was five minutes before the animals took over the sectional.

I was having issues loading A video....somehow I ended up with two?
I'm cyber challenged when it doesn't involve a credit card...

Do you like how I teach you what a cat looks like....and I can count cats and dogs.
Yes, I was good at math...when it involved numbers one through five.

Have a great weekend!
Saturday will find us prepping for PROM!!
Remember this smallish banner?

And still....I've not decided what I am going to wear!!

xoxo

Domestic OCD

By this photo, you don't have to be a genius, or even a little bright to figure out which of our appliances has taken ill.

*shiver*

And 99% of this pile does not belong to myself, or the Coach.

99% of this pile belongs to two nameless people who didn't seem to comprehend what I said...when I said: "I'll no longer be toting your dirty laundry to the laundry room. If you want it washed....deliver it to the laundry room."

In all fairness, one of those two nameless people may have been at college. Or softball practice. And the other one, well she is deaf when it comes to housecleaning. Or any type of physical labor.

*sigh*

In my life, this is considered a medical emergency. My laundry OCD is getting to me.
I've made the 911 call....now I wait for the professionals to come in.

*tapping my foot, while avoiding eye contact with The Pile*

I hope your Wednesday is without drama. Or toe tapping.
xoxo

Sasha Fierce; the Cat that refuses to be ours. And Mother's day!

I've had several people inquire about our feral/screen/Sasha Fierce situation...so I'll give a brief update.

I've been able to get more photos of sasquatch and unicorns than this elusive cat. 

Back in February, I caught her getting some sun. 

If I could sum it up in one sentence it would be:

One day, when we sell this house, the cat will 'go' with the house. 

She has been with us since January, and she is still terrified of all the humans here.

She is growing. We see her through the windows at random times and we say: 

Hey, LOOK she is GETTING SO BIG!

And she senses our eyes upon her and she hides inside/behind a cabinet.
She is as tall as our smallest cat Krispy...but she is skinny. I see her eating, so I know she eats daily.
We figure she is full of nervous energy, and burns a lot of calories by being nervous. I'm going to try that myself.

This week: Can you see the terror in her eyes...she knows I am there watching her. Poor little nervous booger. 

Some evenings, I can see her running around attacking my hanging plants, the ties on the chaise lounges; having carefree kitten moments. And that is really sweet to see. Too bad the other cats don't play with her! I told you they weren't nice.

So yes, she will be part of this house if/when we ever sell it.

Mother's Day!
Happy Mother's day to all of you....you know, if you nurture anything, {plants, humans, fur-people, spouses} you deserve a day of recognition.
Of course, my MOM is my favorite Mom.

You know, I like to refer to her as my 'life giver'....or "the woman who probably thought about leaving me on the doorstep to Domestic Animal services more than once"   {that is frowned upon in our state}

 Amish girls laughed at me in this dress.

 Now, do you see where I get it from?

We are always laughing about something...usually something really 'wrong.'

And about me....I found this in a little notebook a few years ago. I'm not sure which of my children wrote it, but surely it was my favorite child. 

 I keep it on the cork board in our mudroom....and I gaze at it on the days where I want to take someone to Domestic animal services for a little visit.

Wishing you all a nice Mother's day!!!
And to my Mom: I miss you and I love you!!!!

This, That & The other thing

I've got some very life altering information to share with you. {Don't I always?}  I'm going to limit it to three things for today...hopefully, the things I hold back won't interfere with your living this week.

This: 
If you ever find yourself to be 44 years old AND going through puberty, you will need this:

Who gets acne at my age? Well, not acne...just ONE large, painful, "I''m not leaving your face for a long time" type zit.
This stuff is a miracle worker. It just better not say: I'll be back! {freakin' Schwartzenager}

Next week, I'm shopping for training bra's.

***

That:
We have planned a big little trip this summer that required my children to get these:

I'm ecstatic.
But on the Debby Downer side...this trip will require me to be in a bathing suit for most of my waking hours. wahh wahh wahhh.

I texted Lolo to let her know her passport arrived.

Me: It is now safe for you  to leave the country...and more importantly, you can come back in!


Her reply:

made.my.day.

***


The Other Thing:
Yesterday, Linds and I came home from an errand...the Coach was already home.
We chit chatted for a minute catching up on stuff. The Coach asked me how my day was.

Me: "I rode the exercise bike for 16 miles today.....can you tell I've lost weight?"
His response: {dryly} "I couldn't even see you standing there." 


That means I only need to ride 15 miles tomorrow....I refuse to be overlooked.

See, I told you this would alter your life!
YOU are so welcome!

Classy? Guess who?

I shared with you recently, that Linds and I spent a weekend with my niece Becca. Among the cute Becca-ism's, she also shared this little ditty with Lindsay.

Becca: Linds, you know what I just realized?

Linds: What? 

Becca: Your Mom is really classy. 

Linds: Really?

Becca: Yeah, she eats salads and stuff....

Linds: *?*

So, if you didn't realize it already. I am a classy girl. Just ask my niece.

So get your salad on people; class it up!

That says something about vegetable-tarians doesn't it Gary?  {minus the farm fresh hard boiled eggs!}

Apparently my niece has never heard me belch after having my monthly soda nor did she witness me trip over that invisible speed bump in the hallway.

Guess who has kinda, almost, sorta moved back in? Well, her crap stuff is back anyway.

School is over for her, but softball is still a full time job right now. If only they could lose a few games....
Oy, the mess.


Guess who has been eating tomatoes daily.
Go ahead, guess.
I've got about 2 weeks left on my garden...I'll be so sad when it's all done for this spring!

Roasted to the nth degree is my favorite way to eat them!

Guess what else? Guess!

I heart you!!!!

So, have you any guesses to throw at me today?

Picture purge and a few words thrown in for good measure.

The photos are in no particular order. {Like my brain lately} All are from our recent trip to Chicago. I've got no explanation for most of them. or for me.

Lets talk.
Do you have someone in your life who is an idiot?

 You know, that person who constantly makes the same mistakes over and over and over.

Oprah is still in Chicago, she's got a new gig. 

And the idiot keeps getting the same results over and over and over.
Then the idiot calls you crying about this and that. Over and Over and over again. Needing advice. Needing help.

 You know, you can have almost the same upbringing, the same family, the same shared experiences, and one of you turns out to be an idiot. 

Annoying.

And when you point out to the idiot that "hey, you are making the same mistake again. and again. and again."

And the idiot has the nerve to be offended.
And I resist the urge to stick a spoon in her eye.

If only common sense was easily accessible to everyone.
What? Don't you have to sign up for the common sense class early?

new kids on the block. wearing shorts. cra cra. 

If there is ONE thing I know for sure, annoying people can bore you to tears with their sad life that they created themselves.

The apple of my eye.

I'll not bore you with anymore of my little rant.
I'm actually over it now.
Thanks for listening.

Oh deer. 

Am I alone in this? I kinda hope so....if you have an idiot in your life, raise your hand!
Oh, now you just look silly.
But that is ok.
Silly is acceptable, being an idiot is not.

Did you like our little jaunt around Chicago? It was nice of you to give the homeless guy some cash, you are so giving.

Now, give me some love and have a beautiful idiot free weekend.
xoxo