Journal

Hello to all my dear friends.  It has been a while since I wrote an update so I decided that now was the time to give you all an update on what has been going on at our household.

First off I have just returned from a week of vacation.  I didn't do anything special but still enjoyed just staying home and doing nothing!!!  I gave my house a thorough cleaning, which it badly needed.  The one day my girlfriend and I took off for Erie and went shopping.  That was a really fun day.  I knitted up a storm and finished knitting two scarves that will be Christmas presents.  So all in all it was a relaxing fun time.

Health wise, I am still struggling with high blood pressure.  I had a doc appointment last week and I am seeing a specialist today.  My PCP doesn't have the slightest idea what is causing this but I am on three different blood pressure medications and my blood pressure last Friday was still 185/102.  So hopefully my specialist that I am seeing today will be able to figure out what is going on.  My PCP did all kinds of blood work and even a urinalysis and it all came back normal.  He was afraid that my kidneys were starting to fail again as high blood pressure is a sign that that is happening.  So I was really glad to find out that was not the case.  I have ben through total kidney failure twice now and I don't want to go through that again.  Two years ago I almost died from it.

John and I are making plans to renew our wedding vows in February.  It will be so much fun to gather all our friends together and celebrate 35 years of marriage.  It seems like it was only yesterday we were planning out wedding.  Since our anniversary is on Valentines Day, it is almost impossible to find anyplace to have it because of Valentines Day dances and dinners.  So a friend of ours volunteered to host it.  He has a huge basement and it will save us the cost of a hall someplace.  I have been on the hunt for the perfect dress and have finally decided to make one.  Nothing that I have tried on to date has fit right because of my shape right now.

My two year followup appointment with my surgeon for my gastric bypass surgery is next Friday.  I will start the process to have a tummy tuck.  I am really excited about that.  I can't wait to have the sexy look for my hubby.  I was hoping to have it done by February but it doesn't look like it will happen the quickly.  But as long as it happens, I will be glad.  When you are 56 years old, the skin just doesn't tghten up like it does when you are younger.  I hate all this loose skin that hangs from my stomach.  But I am so glad that I made the decision to have this surgery.  It has certainly been a life saving experience for me and I am so happy for the changes it made in my life.

I did get some more bad news recently.  My step sister now has terminal cancer.  She has been given only a couple of months to live.  I am having a really hard time with this one.  Charlotte and I are really close.  So after losing two step brothers to cancer this fall, now I am going to also lose a step sister that is like a real sister to me.  She wants to see another Christmas and is fighting for that to happen but the doctors have not given us much hope that will be the case.  I will miss her tremendously.

Work has been extremely busy.  That is a good thing in these times.  I have even worked quite a bit of overtime.  This week will be the first week in about six weeks that I haven't worked overtime.  It will be great to have a regular three-day weekend.  I am so fortunate to work for a company that is run by Christ.  It is so great to know that I can share my faith with others and not have to be afraid of losing my job.  I think I have mentioned this before but our CEO is also a minister.  We actually have four ministers working here that we can go to at anytime if we need to talk.  We are so fortunate.  We can also gather in a group for prayer anytime we feel the need.  Satan tried to attack us on a daily basis but so far he has not succeeded.  The Christian community here is just to strong to let that happen.  Those who work here that aren't Christians have a real hard time!!  They find they have very uncomfortable moments but that is what we pray for!!!  We not only manufacture harnesses here, we manufacture souls!!!

Well, that about wraps it up for me.  HOpe all of you are having a great day as well.  WE all have ups and downs but isn't it great that we have the Lord to help us in whatever situation we find ourselves in.  Take care and giant hugs to all of you.

Good morning all my ds friends,

Well it has been a hectic summer.  AS you can see it has been a while since I had an entry to my journal.  So, I just thought I would take a few minutes and catch everybody up.

First off, as most of you know, I lost two brothers to cancer this summer.  It was a rough time for our family because they died within one week of each other.  But they were both strong Christian men and I know we will be reunited at a later date.  It really was a blessing for both of them to go home because they were both suffering greatly with the cancer.  It was kind of a bittersweet situation.  Our family rallied together though and we are moving on with our lives as they would have wished us to do.

We spent a couple of weekends at the lake this summer.  It is so relaxing to get away and throw a fishing line in the water.  Over Labor Day we watched the sunset over the lake and watched a beautiful full moon and even got to watch fireworks over the lake.  It was a wonderful time for us.  And best of all, the fish were biting!!!

Work has been really hectic with a lot of new business.  That is a blessing in these harsh economic times.  I am so busy I am actually overwhelmed.  But our business is a Christian business and has been given to the Lord and I guess when you look at it that way, how can we fail!!!  Our CEO is actually a minister at one of the local churches.  My minister also works here as our IT person.  And then as if that isn't enough, there is also another minister working in our maintenance department!!!  We are well covered!!!  We have a company wide bible study every Tuesday at lunch time.  Prayer is encouraged!!!  Where can you find another company with these scruples.  I am so fortunate.

John's job has held together as well.  Since he is in the maintenance department at his plant, he works full time.  The people on the production floor are only working three days a week so we are praying that he is able to stay in maintenance.  He has enough senority though that it would be hard for anybody to bump him out of his job.

We had a lot of work done on our house this summer as well.  We had a water line break and in fixing that, we ended up replacing the sidewalk in front of the house.  We also painted the trim on our house and are working on gettng that finished up this weekend.  We still have the front and back porch floors to get done.  It is amazing what a little bit of paint can do.  We have a lot of work to do inside but we decided that can be done once the weather gets chilly and we can't work outside.

Our family reunion was cancelled this year because of the brothers passing away.  We haven't given up entirely on getting together maybe sometime in October.  But finding a date is the problem.  It will seem funny now because my generation is now the oldest generation represented.   We all knew this day would eventually come but when the reality of it sets in, it can be overwhelming.  It also makes me feel old-my generation are now the old foggies!!!  We are the ones that the younger generation are going to look to much as we looked to our aunts and uncles.  My one cousin wanted to know who was going to say the prayer now!!!

My vacation this summer pretty much was a bust.  It was scheduled during one of the funerals so I didn't get to do a whole lot.  My sister was home for both funerals so I had company both weeks that I was off.  But I didn't mind.  I love entertaining but two weeks in a row was a bit much.  I had to go back to work in order to rest!!!  But I still have four more weeks of vacation and I haven't decided yet when I will take any of it.  It is hard to get time off when we are so busy here at work.

So that about catches you all up on what has been happening.  John and I are both healthy and active and grateful.  Hope all of you are the same.

Good Morning Friends

Well, it has been a while since I wrote an entry so I decided to catch all of you up on the latest news from our neck of the woods.

First off, we are painting the trim on our house.  It has made a big difference in how the house looks.  I have to say I really like the colors--vanilla white and sage green.  It has made it look like a cottage and not just a big house.  It makes it fit more with the other houses in our neighborhood.

SAturday is our annual Redneck picnic.  I can't wait.  It will be a lot of fun, I am sure.  There will be two different bands playing--a country western band and a bluegrass band.  I am told the bluegrass band is hilarious as well as very good.  There will be a redneck horseshoe tournament, which I am anxious to watch.  I can't imagine what they have come up with this year!!!  There will be a pig roast at 3:30 in the afternoon and everyone is asked to bring a dish to share.  Don't have a clue what to take but am thinking of pretzel salad.

Our annual family picnic is also coming up.  My sister is coming home for that.  It will be great to see her again.  It is so great when our family can get together.  It will seem strange this year though because now all the generation before us won't be there.  But life goes on and that is what we have to focus on.  We all knew that eventually this time would come when we would have to take the reins. 

The following week I am on vacation.  I am going to be painting the inside of my house. WE are redoing our bedroom and it will be ready to paint by that time.  I also want to get my dining room painted and my living room painted while I am off.  Sounds like a lot of work though so I may not get it all done but I will put a big dent in it!!!

My surgery was a success.  I have two more weeks of a restricted diet and then I can eat regular food again.  It will be great to be able to chew food again.  I have to admit that I am getting tired of jello, popsicles, and pudding!!!  But it is worth the four weeks of recovery to be healthy once again.

Not much else going on.  Work has been extremely busy, which is a good thing in these times.  I even worked overtime last week and that is something that hasn't happened all year.  My hours got changed for three weeks last week and this week I started a schedule of working five 8-hour days instead of 4 ten-hour days.  I hate it but I am just thankful that I have a great job so I will grin and bear it.  It is only for three weeks so I can handle it for that long.

Gotta run and get my day started.  Hope all of you have a great day and I will check in with you later today.  Take care my friends.  Love you all.