new york minute-don henley

Years ago, my sisters and I went to the "Hell Freezes Over" tour and then caught Don Henley when he came to Dallas. We all love Don Henley's music. I keep discovering things that I like to do and listen to. That might seem simple to you or even corny but music is one of those things that I enjoy.
While listening to Pandora today I heard this song. I started thinking about the past couple of days and the past year. On Tuesday, sister #2 ended up in the hospital. She has an abscess on her kidney. We didn't know if they would be able to treat it or do surgery. Thank God they sent her home today with antibiotics and said see you in 2 weeks.
This all freaked us out since it was a year ago yesterday that Rhonda and I took Mom into the ER for her problem. A problem that we didn't know she had.
Rhonda and I both had this on our mind as we sat in the room waiting on the doctor.
It's so strange how things can change from one minute to the next.
I've spent one year of my life trying to keep busy so I wouldn't have to think about all that's happened. Have you ever thought about not hearing the voice of someone? Not ever hearing them laugh, joke or even yell.
Have you ever thought that all of the things you did with your love one would really become memories and that's all you would have of them?
And maybe all you would have left of them is a trunk that sits at the foot of your bed? or little knick knacks that end up in your curio cabinet?
We all whine and become overwhelmed with our lives. But you know, in one minute every thing can change.
Be grateful that we can whine and be overwhelmed. When your kids are running wild, be happy. When your about to pull your hair out because you can't get math across to your child, count it as a blessing.
When your Mom or Dad complains about their health or whatever, pay attention and enjoy listening to those complaints.
Everything can change...

List, plans and trip

In a few weeks we will be heading east to Washington DC. Needless to say, I am so EXCITED!!!!!

This year Amanda studied American History so what better place to go than to our nations capital. Come to find out Mike knows some people that use to live in Singapore when he did that now live in the DC area.

One even dresses up and runs around Colonial Williamsburg, VA.!!!! My eyes nearly popped out of my head when Mike shared this information with me!!!

Our plans are to head out early one Saturday morning. Make our way to Nashville and find Miley Cyrus’ house! LOL! that’s what Amanda is expecting. Like we would be able to find it, anyway. We have to pass thru Memphis so maybe I can convince them all to stop by Elvis’ place!

After Nashville, we’ll hit Arlington, VA in about 10 hours or so. Then off to see the sites in DC. Of course, you have to do all the monument things, Smithsonian and The Declaration of Independence!!! After DC, there’s Mt. Vernon, Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown!!!

I’ve got my list going and will be scratching things off one by one.

1) Get Prissy groomed

2) Stop mail for that week

3) Take Prissy to friends house

4) Pack

5) Make sure cameras and phones are ready and charged!

6) Take chargers for camera and phones.

7) Take trash out before leaving!!! This is a must!!!

8) Clean car and gas up. Praise God that gas prices are pretty much the same between here and that direction!!!

9) Get a few things at the store.

10) Pray that we have a wonderful time!

11) Set timer on pool.

12) Water grass and plants good.

The list goes on and on…

Anyway, I’m thrilled that we are able to take a trip like this! God willing, we’ll be able to do this every summer. Next year, Amanda will be doing the Beautiful Feet Geography study, wonder where that will take us?

Just think, she'll have to learn about ancient places to0, Rome, Pompeii, Greece...Woooo Hoooo!!!

Things I learned from being raised in TEXAS

I received this from a high school friend and wanted to share!

Armadillos sleep in the middle of the road
with their feet in the air.

There are 5,000 types of snakes on earth and 4,998 live in Texas .
There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000
live in Texas , plus a couple no one's seen before.

If it grows, it sticks; if it crawls, it bites.

'Twiced' is a word.
People actually grow and eat okra
'Fixinto' is one word.

There is no such thing as 'lunch.'
There is only dinner and then supper.
Iced tea is appropriate for all meals and you
start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar!

'Backwards and forwards' means I know
everything about you!
Djeet is actually a phrase meaning 'Did you eat?'

You don't have to wear a watch because it
doesn't ma tter what time it is. You work until you're done
or it's too dark to see.

You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH them.
You measure distance in hours. Like its 6 hours from Houston to Dallas .
You'll probably have to switch from 'heat' to
'A/C' in the same day.

'Fix' is a verb. Example: 'I'm fixing to go to
the store.'
You install security lights on your house and
garage and leave both unlocked.

Yes, Friday night high school football games is serious football!
You carry jumper cables in your car . . .
for your OWN car.

There are only four spices: salt, pepper,
Tabasco and ketchup.
The local papers cover national and
international news on one page, but require 6 pages for local gossip and sports.

100 degrees Fahrenheit is 'a little warm.'
We have four seasons: Almost Summer, Summer,
still Summer and Christmas.
Going to Wal-mart is a favorite past time
known as 'goin' to Wally-World.'

A cool snap (below 70 degrees) is good
pinto-bean weather.
A carbonated soft drink isn't a soda, cola or
pop. .. . . it's a Coke, regardless of brand or flavor. Example:
'What kind a coke you want?'
Fried catfish is the other white meat..

Hope you liked it…

I am kicking myself in the....

Whoa! What a bizarre day it was in the entertainment business yesterday. First Farrah, then out of the blue, Michael Jackson.

Now by NO MEANS am I praising him or elevating him but what a sad thing it was, especially for the three kids he left behind.
I saw many people and groups in concert during the 80's, Michael Jackson was not one of them. Although I remember wanting to go. We played Thriller many, many times and wondered how a person could dance like that. We even tried to learn the dances!

His musical talent and dancing will be the thing that I will always remember. Last night I started digging around for our copy of Thriller. I had the album and cassette. I couldn't find either of them and decided to call my sister to see if she had it. What would I have done with that? Why would I have gotten rid of THAT! I am kicking myself in the butt! I mean, I have cheer uniforms from the 4th grade to my senior year! I still have a copy of Urban Cowboy, go figure!!

Isn't it so weird how music and shows bring back so many memories? I guess the thing that really weirds me out is...Michael Jackson was only 8 years older than me. He was a big part of my generation! 8 years is not that much difference! My generation is dying and that is a very solemn thought.

Yes, he was a weirdo! Maybe he didn't start out as a weirdo, he just ended up as one. He was a son and a father. I feel badly for them all, especially the kids. He was 500 million dollars in debt! Who knows if his children will ever see any of the royalties from all his hard work and talent.

I remember Mom saying she remembered where she was when JFK was shot or when man landed on the moon. Now I can say I remember when Elvis died, what I was doing when Jackie Kennedy was buried, staying up when Princess Diana crashed, the feeling of 9/11, the loss of a 70's icon, and that I was making spaghetti when Michael Jackson died.

A look at the View

The past 2 days in Texas have been extremely HOT!! OK, I know, I live in TEXAS so it's to be expected. We scheduled to have windows put in the house on the hottest 2 days so far. I felt so bad for the two guys doing it. We are praying that the new windows help with the heating and AC in the house. Anyway, we finally have all of them in and caulked. The thermometer now reads 79 degrees. The air hasn't shut off since 11ish.
BTW, Farrah Fawcett died today. She was the same age as my mom. Not that my mom looked like Farrah or anything. 62 must be some kind of fatal number. I'm just saying...I so remember going into the shop to get my hair cut like that!! Everyone wanted the Farrah Do!! And when they turned me around, needless to say, I didn't look like Farrah! I ran out of the shop to the car and cried!! Mom laughed her head off!
AND everyone played "Charlie's Angels". Isn't funny how things like that come to mind. The silly little things we did and wanted when we were kids!!

Imagine my excitement when I read this!!!

Health experts have long warned of the risk of obesity, but a new Japanese study warns that being very skinny is even more dangerous, and that slightly chubby people live longer.PRAISE GOD!!!!

People who are a little overweight at age 40 live six to seven years longer than very thin people, whose average life expectancy was shorter by some five years than that of obese people, the study found.

"We found skinny people run the highest risk," said Shinichi Kuriyama, an associate professor at Tohoku University's Graduate School of Medicine who worked on the long-term study of middle-aged and elderly people.

"We had expected thin people would show the shortest life expectancy but didn't expect the difference to be this large," he told AFP by telephone.

The study was conducted by a health ministry team led by Tohoku University professor Ichiro Tsuji and covered 50,000 people between the ages of 40 and 79 over 12 years in the northern Japanese prefecture of Miyagi.

"There had been an argument that thin people's lives are short because many of them are sick or smoke. But the difference was almost unchanged even when we eliminated these factors," Kuriyama said.

Main reasons for the shorter lifespans of skinny people were believed to include their heightened vulnerability to diseases such as pneumonia and the fragility of their blood vessels, he said.

But Kuriyama warned he was not recommending people eat as much as they want.

"It's better that thin people try to gain normal weight, but we doubt it's good for people of normal physique to put on more fat," he said. AWW SHUCKS!!!

The study divided people into four weight classes at age 40 according to their body mass index, or BMI, calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by their squared height in metres.

The normal range is 18.5 to 25, with thinness defined as under 18.5. A BMI of 25 to 30 was classed as slightly overweight and an index above 30 as obese.

You can read the actual article here.

Sometimes I forget that I really like something...

Thursday I worked outside all day long while Amanda and her friend went swimming. Yard work is therapeutic for me! I truly don't mind sweating while working this way!!
Cause most know that I haven't done too much physical activity since the late 80's...I'm just saying.

While whistling while I worked I remembered that I have a "smart" phone! I can receive mail, text, set up my calendar, get directions, check out facebook and all sorts of wonderful things!!

I downloaded an application called Pandora. You can type in an artist name and make your own radio station. For instance, I typed in Donna Summer! Donna Summer!! I listened to disco music the entire day while working and let me tell you, I did more than whistle!! I boogied!! I like songs with the word "boogie" in them. I had forgotten how much I liked it!

While growing up here in Podunk, Tx. a couple of my friends, who happen to be twins, family owned a disco! A teen disco! I can remember Mom taking me up there so I could spend the night with them and stay up there with them while their parents ran the place.

I don't know how long the place stayed opened but we had a good time while it did. Listening to some of those songs brought back so many memories! Actually, the place is still in GBC. It's across the street from Sears but now it's a church!

I have also found out that walking while listening to 80's music makes the time go by so much FASTER!!!! As long as the music is fast you can make it around that pavilion in no time at all! But once a ballad comes on, my pace slows WAY down! Which doesn't mean a whole lot since my legs aren't very long...Anyway.

Sometimes I forget that I really like something until I find it again. Like old stuff. I enjoy going to antique/junk stores. I had forgotten how much I like that until Mike and I went to Jefferson in November.

Sometimes you just get focused on one thing and forget about all of the other stuff around!

So if you happen to see me walking around the pavilion or doing yard work, WATCH OUT! I might break out into the hustle or the moon walk!