It's Friday

Sheesh, it's Friday again already! Seriously, where does the time go!?!

I wanted to post something today but felt that the usual "Friday's Question" wasn't appropriate for today. Today is a solemn day. Today is a day for remembrance, not for silly Friday questions.

Today I was able to go about my life, business as usual. Sadly though, that wasn't the case for thousands of families who lost loved ones on 9/11. I went about my business but all the while my mind was on them. Today I thought about the innocent people who perished on 9/11 and I thought about the families and how their lives have changed.

I will never forget the brutality of it all!

I will never forget the sickness in the pit of my stomach that something like this could (and did) happen in America!

I will never forget the faces of those who were missing. Thousands and thousands of photos pinned up everywhere. Photos posted by frantic, worried loved ones!

I will never forget the images of people running, with dust and soot on their faces, and total fear in their eyes!

I will never forget how many children lost their fathers/mothers, how many husbands/wives lost a spouse, how many parents lost their child, how many brothers/sisters lost a sibling, and the list goes on!










I WILL NEVER FORGET!

It Was Very Bittersweet...

In 1999, we bought a brand new Bayliner boat. We live within 30 minutes of 2 lakes and thought boating would be a fun family activity while the kids were growing up, and it definitely was. Over the years, the kids and their friends have had so much fun tubing and wakeboarding and alot of wonderful memories were made while boating...really fun memories! Unfortunately though, times change, kids grow up, and we realized our boating days had come to an end. With no kids at home (sadly, our kids don't even live in the same city as us any more), and Howard and I now enjoying an RV, the boat got no use. We figured out today that the poor thing had sat on the side of our house getting no attention for the last 3 years. We knew it was time to sell but we just hadn't made any effort to do it.

I guess at one of our monthly campouts, Howard had casually mentioned to a camping club friend that we were going to be selling the boat. Our friend said his boss Ryan was looking for a boat, and if it was ok, he would tell him about ours. Long story short, Ryan called us and we started the ball rolling.

Ryan, his wife, and their 2 beautiful little girls drove 3 hours to our house today and it was love at first sight when they saw the boat. We had emailed them pictures but it sure made us feel good when Ryan said the boat was so much better than he had expected. It was exactly what they had been looking for!

All in all, they were at our house for about 4 hours and we really got a feel for how wonderful this family is. Seeing them drive away with the boat was hard but it was alot easier knowing that it was being passed on to a young family who would now be making their own fun family memories with it. They didn't know it, but they were exactly the type of family we were hoping for!

So tonight, our boat has a new home. I'm sure it will take us months to adjust to the fact that it's not on the side of the house any more or the fact that I won't catch a glimpse of it outside the laundry room window each day.

To say the least, today has been very bittersweet.

P.S. I asked them to take a picture of themselves on the boat when they take it out for the first time and email it to us. They said they would...and I really hope they do!

I'm On The Mend

I'm happy to report that my back is feeling much better today, and surprisingly so, considering I had to work yesterday, 12+ hours mind you. It's not like me to call in sick. I've worked at my job for almost 7 years and have only called in sick twice. Once last October when Jake had his emergency surgery and then once last year when I got a bad case of the flu.

Unfortunately, others don't share the same work ethic. One of my nurses called in sick yesterday, upset stomach or something. Ya right! It was a Saturday, on a three day weekend no less. That left me not only to be in charge of the unit, but to work the floor all day too which is back breaking work itself.

I only got teary eyed once, then survival mode kicked in.

As I came hobbling in at 4:45am yesterday morning (tell me again why I became a nurse!), a co-worker asked me what was wrong. I said "I'm fine...as long as I'm not walking, sitting, standing, or bending!"

I survived and luckily a good night's rest has helped. I can't do jumping jacks yet but I'm certainly on the mend.


Thank you for your well wishes!

You Know You're Getting Old...

When you reach over to finish making your bed and you can't raise back up! Holy moly did my lower back hurt...it still hurts, and I can barely walk or stand upright!

Oh ya, and somedays my knees hurt too!

The joys of getting older! We won't even talk about the wrinkles!

It's Friday

And I'm nosy...

So here's the question: It's September and Fall is in the air (well not where I live but in your neck of the woods maybe?)

Are you experiencing fall like weather? Have you done any fall decorating yet? When will you bring out the Halloween decorations?

It's still hotter than heck where I live but yesterday I brought out my "Harvest" Yankee candle and Fall potpourri. It's a start!

Thrifty Thursday

Thank you Leigh for hosting Thrifty Thursday each week. To join in the fun or to visit other Thrifty Thursday participants, click here.

I've been looking at Target and different places for a lamp to put in my laundry room. I didn't have a particular style in mind but when I saw this one at Goodwill for $3.95, I knew I couldn't pass it up. It was even the perfect antique bronze color I was looking for. Yippee, no spray painting involved in this project! I purchased the lamp shade at Target.


My original thought was to put a lamp on a nice tray and have it sit on my dryer but I don't have an available outlet nearby. In the meantime, it's working well on the counter.

Do you have a lamp in your laundry room?

It's That Time Of Year Again

I got my flu shot yesterday. Getting a flu shot won't prevent you from getting the flu, but if you do, the results won't be as severe. I also plan on getting the H1N1 (Swine Flu) injection too.

The viruses in the flu shot are killed (inactivated), so you cannot get the flu from a flu shot. Some minor side effects that could occur are:

•Soreness, redness, or swelling where the shot was given
•Fever (low grade)
•Aches

Each winter our hospitals are full of really sick patients. I try my best to not be one of them. Take your vitamins regularly and be proactive and get your flu shot. It just may save you a hospital visit.