Thinking of Summer

I was going through some pictures and came across the front of our house two summers ago. It was the first summer in our home. There have been a few changes made, but it is still fun looking and dreaming of summer.

The Dog Lady

I am turning into a crazy dog lady.

We have had dogs for years, in fact, I really can't remember going too long without a dog in the house and I have always liked having dogs around. They go with the territory, dogs and kids, kids and dogs, it's natural.

We had a little beagle-cocker mix, Lucky, (we named her that because she was lucky to be alive, but that is an other story) when we were first married. We couldn't break her of digging under the fence and getting into neighbors' trash, so we finally had to get rid of her, it was sad.

Then we were given the angel dog, Peaches Ann Cream, she was the prettiest little cocker spaniel ever. After Lance was born, he developed multiple allergies which resulted in chronic ear infections. The ear infections would get so bad that his little ear drums would burst. We gave Peaches away to a family that really wanted a dog, she lived a long and happy life, but we missed her terribly.

Several years later, and surgery to have tubes put into Lance's ears, my daughter was given a puppy by her grandmother. She was suppose to be a cockapoo, the vet said she was probably an Australian shepherd-cocker mix. Cockapoo???? She was not too bright, a little difficult to train, would piddle if someone exciting stopped by, like Meredith Flosky, and never learned to walk on a lead. Abu, so named because the movie Aladdin had just come out, was so pretty and she was the perfect dog for Brigette. She lived to the ripe old age of 15.

When Brigette moved out and took Abu with her, we went for several years without a dog. We liked not having to worry about getting someone to watch an animal if we went on trips or needing to clean up doo or even having little doggie hairs around the house. I think I was lonely, and started pondering the idea of an other dog. So we began our quest. After months of working with a breeder to find a pocket beagle, we finally picked up Oliver.

I cradled him in the car. I held him all the time. I bathed him, brushed him, fed him, cleaned up after him. I worked hard training him and when that didn't go well I spent lots of money on a trainer. I took him to the outdoor mall. I took him to the dog park. I took him to visit my family in the Carolinas.

I give him lots of treats, I bought a special bed for him, I bought three leads and several toys for him. I buy only natural food for him. I walk him on the treadmill when it is too cold to walk him outside.

I want another one!!!

I have never been like this before.

I AM a CRAZY dog lady.

Scary...

January 20, 2009

One of my very quiet/private New Years resolutions was to try to have a more positive outlook. This hasn't been easy, given the fact that I come from an extremely negative gene pool. This is something I need to work on every day. Some days are fine and perhaps, I can even say good, while other days, well that's why I needed to make some changes.

It is with this positive attitude that I wanted to contemplate the events of Tuesday, January 20, 2009.

Barack Obama will be sworn in as our 44th president of the United States. I cannot dismiss the historical significance of this day. He will be the first African American ever to hold this office. I am intrigued by him to say the least. I don't remember having ever seen this kind of excitement for a president, except maybe John F. Kennedy. The man seems like he wants to make a difference in our country. Seeing him volunteer yesterday, makes me want to believe all he says about giving and helping.

Even though I differ in thinking about many moral issues, I am committing myself to pray for this man. I'll pray for his and his family's protection, his decisions, that they will be good and right for our county. I will pray that he will have the courage to stand up to our enemies around the world, and that he will be a Godly man. I will also pray for our country under his leadership that we will continue to be a great country and God will have mercy on us.

I am going to say...I will miss President George Bush. Yes, I was one of his few supporters and I appreciated his devotion to God and his country.

May God Bless you President Obama!

Quiet Time

I have been in blogging slump.

I remember my very first post in which I said, "I have a lot to say, I have very little to say". That's where I'm at, I have very, very little to say right now. It's a good thing I don't make my living by the pen, or even public speaking...

My husband called yesterday and again today to see how things were going and he said both days "well I guess I will let you go, you don't have anything to say!" I wonder what it is that causes me to close down like this.

I am overwhelmed with several things that need to be done, commitments that I have to follow through on. I need a good push!!

Until then, I am going to take a little break. I may be back tomorrow or I may be gone for a while. In the meantime, I will be posting a few recipes at our family blog, that is because I love to cook and enjoy sharing recipes.

To all my bloggy friends, I will be visiting your blogs often and hopefully will be back soon.

Gina

Winter

Okay, they are calling for another 4 to 8 inches of snow and a bitter cold spell next week. Don't get me wrong, I truly enjoy a big snow storm when my family is all home and we have a fire burning in the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate and reading a good book, while they (my family) are watching a good movie in a wonderfully clean, sparkling, uncluttered, good smelling house.

But...my house is not clean, Kevin is working and Lance is out and winter has only started. I am sick and tired of the cold and snow already.

So, I thought I would think some warm thoughts to get me through.

Clearwater beach at Chris' condo
Hot cider
Snuggling with Kevin
Holding Oliver (even though he is not suppose to be up in my lap)
Flannel sheets
Angela's screen porch in April
Boating on Lake St. Clair in July
Walking through Green Field Village in the summertime
Mexican Hot Chocolate
Hot Flashes (okay, this isn't necessarily a warm thought, it is what is actually happening right now)
Making a Lance sandwich
My big fluffy white bathrobe Brigette gave me
Sitting around a campfire
Having my whole family under one roof

Yep, those thoughts warmed me up...

New Blog

We are a social family, we are foodies and we love to talk, eat food, cook food and talk about eating and cooking food.

I guess we learned this from our mother...

Betty, aka Bett, Betty Boop, Nena...loved having her family around her. She had a big family, six natural born children and two adopted children. All these children married and had children of their own. I don't think Mom and Dad really ate many meals by themselves, there was always someone around the table and if you stopped in, you were expected to stay and have dinner with them, no ifs, ands or buts about it.

Betty loved to cook and she was a good cook. She would make the most delicious comfort foods around, roasts, casseroles, soups, stews, cakes, cookies, you name it, any old fashion comfort food, she would make it and she would prepare it without recipes. Her only down fall was she wasn't too adventurous. That's where we came in...

Everyone one of her children love(d) to try new foods. I remember the first time I made homemade lasagna for Mom, she loved it and lasagna became one of her all time favorite recipes to make. She was a little skittish to venture out, but with a little persuasion we were able to broaden her horizons. She learned to enjoy quesadillas, Chicken/Veal Parmesan, baklava, stir fry... but she put her foot down to Indian cuisine. ; )

Some of us married spouses that love to cook and some of our children also picked up on that love. (And we wonder why a few of us fight the battle of the bulge!) So this past Christmas, a few of us started talking about doing a recipe blog. There are several reasons for this. First of all, we wanted a way to catalog our recipes where they would be within easy reach when we are away from home. Secondly, we thought this would be a great way to stay in touch since we are all over the country. And lastly, we wanted to honor our mother and share her love of family and food.

So here is our new blog, Eat at Bett's, in honor of Betty LaBelle our mother and Nena. There are four contributors at the moment, but we expect to add more. There will be recipes (old favs from mom and new ones we have come to love), antidotes about the family, favorite books and cookbooks, as well as pictures of food and family. The site will grow and develop more over time.

You are all welcome to stop by and visit and use recipes if you wish and just enjoy our family (we are bit crazy at times!).

Thanks for our heritage mom, here's to you. We miss you dreadfully but know you are loving being with Jesus.

Breakthrough

I loved being on vacation and spending time with my family, especially my girls. The weather was warm, the company wonderful and even though we spent a lot of time cooking and picking up behind the kids and dogs, it was refreshing.

That is until we started the ride home...

Since then I have been tired. Not just a little tired, but eyes burning, nose hurting, stomach nauseous, bone tired.

This is my struggle, do I give in and go back to bed and sleep for several days or do I suck it up and keep pushing myself?

As I looked around this morning, Kevin was heading out to work slumped shouldered and Lance wasn't even talking (which is just not like him) as he waited for the bus and I realized that none of us are happy to be back in the snow and cold, with our family so far away from us and having to return to normal, everyday routines.

I have tried to psych myself up and make all these plans, such as getting together with some friends, getting the house back into its pre-christmas shape, start the painting and curtain sewing that I want to do or even going to the gym and sitting on the recumbent bike, but I just can't do it. Not yet...

So here I sit, avoiding all my responsibilities, and feeling more tired.

I need a breakthrough...but until then, I think I am going to take a morning nap.

A Birthday Tribute

Today, 29 years ago, our middle child was born. Brigette, spelled B-r-i-g-e-t-t-e, is an incredible woman of God.

She is unbelievably blessed with a voice that most people would envy. She sings, plays piano, writes music, can act and does the most amazing things behind scenes. She has taught piano and voice to many children as well as a few adults. She has been involved with community plays and musicals, in front of audiences and back stage. She has won numerous awards in voice and piano, including the AGM national all around vocal award two years in a row.

Brigette is currently living in Charleston, SC, with her older sister and brother-in-law. They are letting her stay with them while she finishes her education in Theatre. A while ago, her father lost his job and we could no longer pay for her schooling. Instead of taking out loans at the time, she moved home and started to work. Well a year turned into five and then times got very hard for her. God has been faithful, but Brigette struggled for quite awhile.

Brigette stayed strong and got involved in helping to lead worship at her church. She also helped facilitate a small group for several years. She adores her disabled brother and is an advocate for people with special needs.

I just want to take this time to wish her the happiest of Happy Birthdays and tell her how proud we are of her. To let the world know she is a beautiful woman and cares for so many around her.

We love you Brig...

The Plan?

As always, the New Year brings lots of thought and contemplation.

What do I want to change, what can I do to make a difference, how do I improve myself...?

Of course there is the usual, get in shape, lose weight, get organized, read the Bible through again, volunteer at a charity, blah, blah, blah...

What is it about myself, that I want to make changes or start over or get going, only to fail. I always fail. I purpose to do it right this time and once again I fail. I think I put way to many expectations on myself, I cannot do anything on my own.

Yes, a light bulb moment!!! Okay, I will never be able to do anything on my own, I know this. Now comes the hard part, relinquishing control over to God yet again. So, I will start over, I like that, start over each morning. If I let myself start over, then I don't have to feel bad about failing. Each new day will bring victories as well as failures. I can celebrate and I can learn, I can grow.

Hmmmm...I wonder if this is what He had planned all along.