HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Today, this girl, my baby girl has a birthday, her 44th.  She will FOREVER be my baby girl (both girls actually!)  You know I had dreams when I left high school, to get married and have babies.  She made my dreams come true.

She was the first grandchild for my parents and the first girl in The Hubby's family of a fistful of boys.

The Hubby's mother was absolutely thrilled to finally have a girl in the family and loved every single day of it.

My butterbowl hat wearing baby!

Our little Tippy. 

Baby bird...

She was a Papa's girl, and Granny.

Her Uncle Steve was beyond thrilled to have a niece.

Cousins...

Ha, 8's The Place, my t-shirt is from our local television station.

Big Dan and my baby, she loved him.  He was a man of very few words and kind of gruff but he did love her, that day anyway...ha.

Remember Cabbage Patch dolls, this is Dina Lindy.

Friends...

Oh my does she look like Snicklefritz or what...

Shuggie (Granny or Greatgranny (as they called her) dog.

More friends...still to this day.

Happy Birthday my love.

Update: Life in General

This is just a little update about our little Bubs.  

Notice something...

no oxygen in his nose.  

Yesterday he went to the heart doctor which is every other week and they said no more oxygen, except at night right now but begin the weaning off of it.  He still has a heart monitor but said that needs to be weaned off (mostly the parents need to be weaned off of it!)  PLUS, he doesn't have to go back for a month.  I knew that would happen.  He is just doing so very well and just keeps progressing.  Now we tackle the food thing and he will have it made, till the next surgery.

MIGHTY MAX

Last week I scooted off to the cabin on a Wednesday and stayed till Sunday!!!  I figured I had nothing else going on and I'M RETIRED!!!  The Hubby showed up Friday afternoon.  It was absolute bliss.  I sat on my screened porch with a fire, my book and then I painted a bit.  Absolute bliss.  

I painted a still life...

"Fall is in the Air"

and...

"Big Red"

which I already sold.  Yes I have painted him before, in fact this is the third time, but they sell almost immediately.

Back to reality (meaning to town) and I hit the ground running with a 1-1/2 hour visit to the dealership for "required maintenance" and to get two nails out of one of my tires.  Glad I didn't have a blowout on the drive to the cabin.  Tuesday was our annual review on our retirement accounts, and finally Wednesday a bit of time at the easel.  I finished this little jewel and really like it.

"Fall Hay"

16x20

Monday was also back to cooking for us.  I had some frozen shrimp, feta, tomatoes, asparagus and rice.  I decided to do the feta back with the tomatoes then took out the immersion blender and whizzed up this to pour over a 1/4 cup of rice.  The asparagus I roasted in the oven and halfway through put the shrimp on top.  All seasoned with salt and pepper and I think Italian seasoning.  It was pretty yummy.

The week before I had my annual Medicare physical.  Don't mind telling you I was jittery about it.  I'm kind of a white coat-syndrome gal, my blood pressure tends to be high at first.  I was worried because I've again put a few pounds on ARGHHHHH!  But when the nurse put the cuff on I was amazed it was pretty perfect!  Then of course he harped on my weight and was again trying to push the Monjaro like diabetes drugs that people are taking to lose weight.  I AGAIN explained that first of all several of them, if not all, have warnings about a rare thyroid cancer.  I have thyroid issues in my family, me included, benign tumors on brother and my father's thyroid (his removed.)  My great-grandfather on my mother's side DIED of thyroid cancer.  So I am not inclined to be a test subject on that crap.  Also, many years ago there was FenFin that everyone was doing to lose weight and I was one of those that was put on it.  I lost weight, yes.  I stopped it (not sure why) and boy am I glad because the bad side effect was heart damage and open heart surgeries!!!!!  HOLY CRAP!  So I will continue on with eating fairly well on my own, ESPECIALLY after my labs came back.  To quote my doctor, "your labs are EXCELLENT!"  Well, that answers a lot about how I'm doing on my food.  I probably, know I should be exercising.  I'm going to take some steps in that direction...LOL.

Giggles and Smiles

It was a great day yesterday.  He giggled and laughed, grabbed my hair and jabbered.  It was a good day!

 

Happy Labor Day Weekend

Happy Labor Day Weekend.  

I've chosen to stay in town this weekend while The Hubby is on a guy trip to Colorado.  Good for him.  Yesterday I decided to do a figurative workshop in town, a one day event.  Frankly I was quite disappointed in how it turned out.  The morning "instructor" came in looking like the cat dragged him in and complained he didn't sleep much, up late painting for a show, he said!  He started to talk, kind of hem-hawing around and sketching a model that sat for him.  He was using an extremely light pencil, so light I could not see ANYTHING he was marking and I was sitting close.  Half the time he just tentatively drew without talking.  I nearly went to sleep.  Then the last 30 minutes of the morning we drew the girls head.  I didn't do too bad, and it looked like a girl, just not that girl.  LOL!  He never looked at what I did to critique it, not once.  The time was up and he was out of there.  Lunch, which I brought then we were to have a "long pose" with the same model.  She models like this for a living, nude modeling, all over the country and actually world.  WOW!  Back from lunch she was set up on a chaise lounge like thing, nude for an entire pose but the bad part was it was the same view I had from 3 hours of the morning!  BORING!  I started over and over again and really got too bored from it all.  The last hour and a half I just did her head, even left-handed as I nodded off then finally I just packed it up and looked at my phone.  I really like the quick poses that make you make marks.  I don't think I am a long pose kind of gal really.  Or could be the set up was just not inspiring me at all.  Oh yes, I'm glad I did it, got to hang with artists, but, probably not again.  I'll still do the Thursday evening gathering, I love that, but taking an entire Saturday, maybe not.  I don't even have anything to show for my trouble. 

Life carries on.  I cannot believe they are all in their happy little home and trying to get back to the new normal.

 

MOMENTOUS DAY!!!

This is from our daughter about our dear Mighty Max!!!

We’re going home in the morning! Seven weeks since our initial admit with Max vomiting blood, the discovery of a blood infection, a clot, and an open heart surgery. We’ve spent 161 days in the hospital this year and only 75 at home. That’s about 2/3 of a year inpatient, not including the multitude of doctor’s appointments since that first anatomy scan a little over a year ago, with many more to go. Here’s Max with his two surgeons, Dr. Burkhart and Dr. Nakamura. We cannot thank them enough, or the whole team for that matter (you know who you all are

). We will miss everyone terribly (but not being inpatient, that’s for sure)! We are praying for a long home stay, a cozy holiday season, much music making, sibling bonding, snuggles, and a healthy Fall/Winter. Thank you EVERYONE for all your prayers, donations, fiery emails to the car dealership, meals, messages, and love. There’s no way we would’ve survived without this outpouring of support. And eternal thanks to my incredibly hospitable cousins, Jack and Dee, for housing us for months on end. And thank you once again and especially to the Pediatric Cardiovascular Program at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital. Thank you for saving our son’s life. You all do incredible, invaluable work and we are so grateful.

FINALLY he is coming home after a very long time but doing so very well.

He is such a happy little man, even after all he has gone through this past 8 months.  He will officially be 9 months old in a week.  BUT he will be home to celebrate and to celebrate this dumpling's 4th birthday.  

So very much to be thankful for.  She is celebrating and so is Snicklefritz the day before hers.  The week before is her Auntie Biff's.  I try to  have a family gathering in September mainly for my mother-in-law's birthday but since she has left us I continue to do it.  We have so many birthdays in the month of September and the first two days of October, it just makes sense to keep the tradition up and honor her. Not even sure when I will be able to do it as they have their own little parties to plan.  We will squeeze in there somewhere.