The holiday weekend is over and hubby and I hit the ground running this morning back to work.  I didn't blog this weekend because hubby's laptop was  infected with a nasty virus.  He has gotten it cleaned up and now I feel like I can get on it again.  I can hardly wait for my own laptop.  But it won't be in till the end of the week or first of next week. 

We actually had a really nice weekend.  Friday night hubby took me out to one of my fave places that we NEVER go to....Red*Lobster.  I absolutely love their Coconut Shrimp.  So that is what I had, along with their Caesar salad and those yummy biscuits.  I cannot remember when the last time was that we went there, but it was a treat to go and have some of my favorite food.

Saturday was pretty low key.  I went shopping for my sister's birthday present (hubby went along).  I ended up getting her two really cute tank tops that she was wanting, and they were both on sale.  Woohoo!!  I love me a good sale!!  I tried to find me some new khaki pants, but came up empty.  As usual, I found a pair that fit everywhere but the length.  My legs are much longer than they look like they should be.  I shall explain.  I have a curvature of the spine which probably cuts at least 2-3 inches off what my height should have been.  So from the waist up, I am pretty short waisted.  However, my legs are normal for what my height SHOULD have been (5'7" or 5'8").  So I have long legs.  And pants are most often too short.  It is really hard to find long lengths without paying high dollar.   Oh well.  I will keep looking.  After shopping, hubby took me to another favorite eatery...Pei*Wei's.  I love the Teriyaki Chicken bowl and their spring rolls the best.  Hubs hadn't ever eaten there until recently, but it took no convincing him to get him to return for a meal!   After we ate, we went out to the cemetery and I put some new flowers on Momma's grave.  I have to say that the cemetery she is buried in was really impressive in their display of patriotism.  Every road in the cemetery was lined with HUGE flags.  The graves of all the veterans had small flags.  It was MOST moving to drive through and see.  I was really pleased with how Momma's grave looks now. 

After going to the cemetery, we went to a 70th birthday party for a gentleman we used to go to church with.  This man is just a wonderful person and his family put on a celebration of his life that was most worthy for the man and his accomplishments. 

Sunday, we took my Daddy to the church he and Momma used to go to.  As usual, everyone was VERY glad to see him.  I told his friends that as LONG as Daddy is able, I will continue to bring him there from time to time so he can see his friends.  After church it was, of course, time to take him for his favorite.  Golden*Corral.  My sister met us there and we celebrated her birthday.   I not only had her present, I had bought a small birthday cake to mark the occasion.  Since our waiter saw the birthday cake, he got on board with the celebration.  He made sure all the wait staff came over, had her stand up and they sang happy birthday to her.  I have NEVER seen her turn so red as she did during this songfest!!  We then had cake (which we shared with our sweet waiter) and she opened her presents.  I also gave her some bath stuff to pamper herself with.  She loved ALL the presents, so I did GOOD!!

Yesterday, we did go to the kids for the beer-butt chicken.  It was wonderful!!  I took oriental slaw and also made my MIL's yummy chocolate sheet cake which was a REAL hit with everyone.  One of the young ladies brought something I have NEVER had.  Grilled  cabbage!!  I really didn't think I would like it.  But it was SO good.  The young lady says that you cut the heart out of the cabbage.  You then put in it's place pieces of cooked bacon and barbeque sauce.  Then you put it on the grill.  I forgot to ask, but I think you wrap it in foil so it steams while it cooks.  The cabbage takes on the flavor of the bacon and the bbq sauce.  Yumm!!   Anywho.  A great time was had by all. 

One last thing I want to ask.  And, again, I am aging myself.  Do any of you remember what "rick rack" is??  When I was young, people used rick rack to decorate clothing.  Lots of people used it.  Including my Momma who used it on my dresses and skirts to "dress them up".  Well, why do I ask this??  I saw a picture of Paris*Hilton last week.  She was wearing a white dress with....rick rack on it.  So is it making a comeback??  I  was just wondering.

Well, friends, there ya have it.  My weekend.  It was a good one!

Till next time!!

BBB

P.S.  Hubs took out the Waverunners and one ran and one didn't.  I guess one out of two is better than NONE out of two!!   He thinks he can fix the other one.  Woohoo!!  We may have a good summer yet!!

Wooohooo!!  Come the end of the month, I will be the proud owner of my VERY OWN laptop computer!!  We ordered it online last night, and they say it will ship at the end of the month.  It is going to be a pretty PURPLE laptop, and I will have a pretty PINK mouse to go with it.  I just can't get used to using the pad on the laptop itself.  I can really make a mess of things when I use that.  Thus, the order of the mouse.  I will be able to burn CD's and DVD's and all kinds of neat stuff.  That baby is gonna be  LOADED with features.  And the icing on the cake??  It will be my very OWN and I won't have to borrow hubby's laptop.  I can blog whenever my little heart desires!!  To say that I am excited would be an understatement. 

On other fronts.....my personal trainer is moving to a new gym.  I had my last workout with her last night.  She is so much fun to work with and she really challenges me and keeps me accountable.  My membership at this particular gym is up next month, so I may move to the gym she is going to so I can continue to train with her from time to time.  She is THAT good!!  And she is really sweet to boot!! 

Did the holiday weekend sneak up on anyone else besides me??  It just seems like the holiday is EARLY this year.  Here I was just doot tee dooting along thinking it was NEXT weekend, and hubby calls and says it is THIS weekend.  I guess we aren't going anywhere.  With the price of gas (and diesel for the truck), we are staying home.  Hubby may run up and visit his son on Sunday, but I am not going.  I think I may take my Dad to his old church and then out for some Chinese food.  He loves Chinese food so that will be a treat.  And I hear that on Sunday, we are invited to our daughter's for a cookout.  It seems that they are doing "beer butt" chicken.  I will take a couple of side dishes (as will everyone else), and we will most likely PIG out!!  It makes me feel good that the kids invite us.  It seems that ALL their friends like us and think we are pretty cool "old folks"!!  So, that is the plan.

I have a horrendous week coming up.  Tomorrow, I will be preparing documents for Tuesday when we will have clients in at 2, 3 and 4 o'clock.  Then Wednesday, a 2 and 3 o'clock for which I will have more documentation to prepare.  And THEN, to top it off, I get to work in our other office on Thursday and Friday.  I HATE working there, but the admin for my boss is going to be out again, so I volunteered to go.  I figured they would want me there so I just went ahead and said I'd be there.  I am hoping to only have to do a half day each day, but we shall see.  If not, I will be doing a butt load of driving....at these gas prices.  And they don't pay me mileage or anything, even though I am not hired for THAT office. I guess they call this job security, huh?

So, there you have it my friends.  Another update on the life and times of BBB.  I hope you all have a WONDERFUL holiday!!

Hugs to you all!!

BBB

Hi everyone!!  I am off today taking a vacation day.  I had Piper spayed yesterday and I wanted to be able to pick her up from them and keep an eye on her.  She's laying next to me sleeping as I write.  I know.  She's just a dog...but she's my baby!!  A terribly SPOILED rotten baby.

Speaking of babies...most of you know I am the baby of three girls.  I was thinking the other day about this post.  I decided it might be a fun post that you all would enjoy.  After my last  post I thought I should lighten up a little.  So here goes!

I guess when you already have two girls, like my parents did when my Mom became pregnant with me, it is only natural that perhaps THEY and the people around them would anticipate Mom having a BOY.  Evidently, this is just what happened in my parents situation and with their friends.  Everyone just kind of assumed and perhaps wished for a boy.  You know, for my Dad to NOT be totally outnumbered by a house totally full of women.  Anywho, I never ever heard or was ever given the impression that my parents were disappointed when I turned out to be yet another GIRL.  As I was later told by a neighbor, the day that my parents brought me home from the hospital, it was a blazing HOT June afternoon.  I am told that my Daddy was SO proud of me, that he immediately took me around to ALL of the neighbors who were home and available to show me off.  The neighbor that told me this said she just knew I was going to have either sun or heat stroke at the ripe age of two days old!!

From the time I was born, there were neighbors directly across the street from my folks whose family was made up of the couple and their two children, a girl and a boy.  The parents were pretty nice.  He worked out at one of the aerospace employers and she had a beauty shop  that her hubby built her right next to their house.  I loved going to V's shop.  She had a "pop box"...a predecessor to the pop machine.  She had all kinds of good, icy cold pop.  A real treat was to get a dime from my  Momma and go to the shop and get a Grapette* which was my absolute favorite.  But I digress here.  The point is, this couple's kids were really obnoxious and loud.  First off, I didn't like loud people.  I was a VERY shy and quiet kid.  Secondly, from a very early age, the girl decided that since I was SUPPOSED to be a BOY, that I deserved a BOY's name.  Being the smart aleck she was, at some time in my very early years, she gave me a nickname.  A BOY's nickname.  That name was........

GEORGE!!

It started out that just she and her family called me that.  But pretty soon, since everyone in our neighborhood knew everyone else, EVERYONE started calling me....GEORGE!!  I don't remember exactly when it started bothering me.  But as I recall, when I was about 5 or 6 I definitely remember it bothering me.  Because I was NOT a boy.  I had a perfectly GOOD name.  A GIRL's name!!  And it REALLY started to bother me when that girl started the following chant (said in a sing song and very taunting manner):

Georgie Peorgie, puddin' and pie.  Kissed the BOYS and made them cry!

I cannot tell you HOW much I hated that sing song taunt.  And all the neighborhood kids learned it.  The girl made sure of that.  Now, I don't think that she meant to be mean.  She thought it was CUTE and FUNNY!!  I got to where I did NOT see the humor in it and one day, I'd had ENOUGH!!  I remember going to my Daddy and crying and telling him that I was NOT a boy!! I was a GIRL!!  And I was TIRED of them calling me George.  Needless to say, my Daddy put his foot down.  Anytime he heard kids call me that, he'd tell them my name and say they'd BEST be using it!!  Also, needless to say, my Dad was my knight in shining armor, my HERO!! 

So, now you know.  One more little piece of the puzzle of my life.  My nickname.  At least ONE of them.  I hope you enjoyed this little bit of my life.

Have a great weekend my friends!!

Till next time...

BBB

Hi everyone!  I am back and ready to give you all an update.  As I said in my short previous blog, last week was a tough week for me, being the first Mother's day after Momma's passing.  Actually, the last couple of weeks have been difficult.  I miss her so much more than I ever dreamed possible.  I tried to keep myself busy and work obliged for sure.  It has been crazy busy. 

Friday night I did pretty good as hubby took me to Riverwalk to hear my fave band, MidLife Crisis Band.  It was their first appearance there at the outdoor theater and it was good to see the guys in the band and hear their usual oldies hits.  We also saw a number of friends out there.  So it was a really nice evening.

Saturday, we attended the BarBQue and blues festival.  We got there early and bought our taster kits and ate our way through all the different competitors' booths.  We took Piper with us and she garnered LOTS of attention.  The barbeque was excellent!  We tasted chicken, pork, and brisket.  We left before they served the ribs though. 

Saturday evening we headed out to Wal*Mart to shop for something for hubby's Mom for Mother's day.  She needed a couple of new tops.  Let's just say that I had a meltdown.  In Wal*mart.  With lots of people observing.  I did fine picking out a couple of new tops for MIL.  But as I was walking through the store, I just busted into tears.  And I continued to cry the rest of the time I was there.  I just couldn't stop..  I went ahead and finished with my shopping anyway.  People probably think hubby is a wife beater or something.  I did get some strange looks.

On Sunday, we went to church and it was nice.  I encountered a lady as I was leaving the bathroom who was carrying a beautiful rose (they were giving to all Moms).  The lady showed it to me and told me it was her Mom's favorite flower.  As I was about to walk off, I stopped and asked if the lady was okay.  She said she was very sad because it was HER first mother's day since her Mom had passed away.  So we stood and hugged and talked about the hurt.  I hugged her again and went back and sat down.  I think it was one of those "God" things that I was there at that time to encounter that woman.

After church we went out to eat and then  were going to go see the MIL.  We got about 4 blocks from the nursing center and hubby's phone rang.  It was the center calling to tell him MIL was sick and they had called  an ambulance and where did we want her taken.  As we turned onto the street the center is on, we saw the first responders pulling in.  Turns out, she had picked up a virus and they kept her in the hospital a couple of days.  She is doing fine and they sent her back to the center yesterday.

Needless to say, I am glad the weekend is over.  I survived.  Now, I am onward and upward to the end of June when we are having a cousin's weekend at my Aunt and Uncle's place in Missouri.  I have LOTS of fun cousins on my Dad's side, so I am really looking forward to the get together.  We will pull our trailer and get to camp as well.  It is a good thing to have something to look forward to.

So, that is my update.  I have given  our friend Dory some of my recollections of my Momma.  I think she is going to post them in her series.  I will try to post them here as well.

I hope everyone has a good "rest of the week"!!  I have been visiting you all even though I didn't blog.  I will try to get back here sooner next time.  Thanks for being my blog buds!  I love ya'll!!

BBB

After my gritching session yesterday, I feel like I need to get back to my "usual" type of blog.  Hopefully, one a little nicer. 

As you all may remember, the doc has given me Ambien* to assist with my sleep.  I have read other people's comments on this medicine and it seems that for many people, they end up hallucinating and having horrible dreams.  Not so for me.  All my life, I have been one of those people who dream in my sleep, but my dreams were rarely vivid enough to remember.  It really was  out of the ordinary if I ever awoke and remembered a dream.  That has changed with taking this medicine.  My dreams have become MUCH more vivid and I remember them more often.  I seem to spend a lot of time in my dreams traveling....with large groups of people mostly.  Most of my dreams take me places with large groups of people...mostly long time friends.  And we eat a lot...and go to water parks and parties.  What these dreams mean...I do not know.  Haven't a clue.

A few nights ago my dreams took me back to my childhood.  The neighborhood I grew up in was inhabited by young couples in "starter homes" and most of those young couples had children.  There were children everywhere in our neighborhood.  And we all ran or rode our bikes or skated up and down the streets any time we weren't in school or eating or sleeping.  Everyone pretty much knew everyone.  And woe unto you if you misbehaved at someone else's house.  If that friend's Mom didn't get onto you, you would return home to find a phone call had been made to YOUR Mom, who would deal out the punishment.  Everyone watched out for everyone's kids. 

Three blocks away from our house, there was a small shopping center.  There was an auto parts store, a grocery store, a laundry and BEST of all, a "Five and Dime" located therein.  This Five and Dime was the absolute FAVORITE place of every child who lived within a square mile area thereof.  This place was a wonder of a place.  It was kind of dark in there, but within its confines you could buy almost anything from kitchen doodads to what we now call "flip flops".  Back in MY day.....and I am aging myself with this blog....flip flops were called "thongs".....and every kid had at least a couple of pairs.  Anywho..  The BIGGEST and BEST wonder of this place and the Mecca of every kid, was.....THE CANDY COUNTER.  Of course, the candy counter was located at the very front of the store.  By the cash register.  It was a virtual WONDERLAND of treasures.  My sisters and I got an allowance which varied from ten cents (me) to a quarter (my big sisters).  Back then, a nickel would buy a whole pack of gum (which only contained five slices).  Juicy Fruit, Spearmint and Doublemint were the most popular.  A roll of Lifesavers* was also a nickel.  We only had ONE type of M & M's....yeah....plain.  And they also only cost a nickel.  Another fave of the kids in the "hood" were.....and this would be SO not kosher today....Candy cigarettes!!  Back then, people had no knowledge of the dangers of smoking.  At least I don't think they did.  Trust me when I say, most adults, including my Dad, smoked.  And I knew from an EARLY age just how to hold a cigarette.  And I loved those things.  They even had a little "red" spot on the end so they looked like they were "lit" up.  I bought those every now and then (again, a nickel of my precious dime).  But MOST times, I bought the penny candies!!  Yes.  They used to have penny candies.  Among my faves were, Banana Beichs, Root Beer barrels, jaw breakers, red hot fire balls, and individual Bit-O-Honeys.  The Five and Dime people were SO  smart.  They had these TINY little sacks that JUST fit my grubby little hand once I had put in my TEN precious pieces of candy.  So, in my dream the other night, I was back at that wonderland of childhood memory.  And I promise you, I could TASTE those Root Beer barrels (which looked like a little barrel) and those Banana Beichs.  Oh, and the red hot fire balls...I could just feel the burn in my mouth from those cinnamon wonders.  It was a sweet dream.  Going back to a simpler time.  A time when kids roamed the streets playing, and they could walk to the store and be safe doing so.

So, there's my little bit of nostalgia, my friends.  I had a good childhood.  I wish kids today had the freedom that we did.  I wish they could experience some of the wonders I did.  But those days are LONG gone.  I am glad that I got to live them.  I would NOT change those days....they were a wonder!!

Till next time....

BBB

We had our garage sale today and made several hundred dollars.  To say that it has been a little chaotic around here would be an understatement.  Garage sale, granddaughters (2), granddog (1), my three dogs, hair appointment and getting people and humans fed.  Uh huh!!  It's been fun. 

Observations for the weekend.

Two dogs who are attached to the same person (that would be moi) does not work well.  One or the other is sitting there looking at you with sad puppy dog eyes at any given time.

On a Saturday morning at Panera* Bread, with twelve people in line, it takes no less than THREE people to wait on ONE person who is so picky and does NOT even care that there are eleven other people in line waiting.  She wants want she wants and if it takes ALL the doggone staff in the place to get it, well did I mention she doesn't care?  It really made me re-think a Saturday morning bagel.

If you KNOW that the person putting on the garage sale is not USED to doing so, perhaps you should offer more assistance.  For a "neighborhood sale" you HAVE TO get signs out at least a week in advance.  Traffic was slim.  We still have a garage full of stuff that we get to move RIGHT BACK to storage.  Wooohooo!! 

When your hairdresser moves your appointment to an hour later so he can work in "important" people, even though you have been going to him FOR FREAKING EVER, perhaps you should just reschedule.  He is in a HURRY to get you done.  Even though you were NICE enough not to gritch because you had to move YOUR appointment.

When said hair dresser coughs and sniffles and then says he is NOT sick, then tells you he was supposed to take some medicine the previous day but he didn't get his prescription filled and take it, do you REALLY want him anywhere near you??

When you forgot your anti-depressant, it is NOT a good idea to decide to eat mexican food AND a margarita because you will stuff your face WAY too much and feel a pretty big buzz off the drink you never get much anymore.

It's not good to forget your anti-depressant TWO days in a row!!  Wonder what the information inserts say about THAT!!

A four year old eating a popsicle  indoors is never a good idea.  Popsicle ends up on the carpet and all over grammy's outfit.  Oh well. 

Okay.  Enough observations.  I hope all my blog buds are having a nice weekend!!

Till next time....

BBB