Happy Birthday, Gus!

Today is Gus's 45th birthday, so that's my cue to say something nice about him. He says he only likes reading my blog when I talk about him or when I post something funny. Everyone's a critic right?

Gus is the best man I know. He loves his family & he works hard to make sure we have everything we need. I know that there is nothing that he wouldn't do for us. Without a doubt, he always puts us first. He's my best friend & my hero. He has a great sense of humor & well, he's pretty hot.

To be fair, he also leaves his shoes all over the house (I can see a pair from here) - and he leaves dishes in the sink instead of putting them in the dishwasher that is a foot away. He can also fall asleep in the middle of a conversation - usually just as I'm getting to the good part. But he does squeegee the shower after using it about 90% of the time, so I'm cutting him some slack.

Happy Birthday, honey - I love you!!!

Festival of Lights

Last week, Gus, Buddy, & I went to the Festival of Lights at the zoo. Unfortunately, Lulu couldn't go with us. This has been a yearly tradition for us since the kids were little. We always seem to pick the coldest day in December - but that's part of the tradition. We go, we freeze, we complain, we laugh about it - and we do it all over again the following year, LOL.

giant lion nutcracker outside the entrance

huge Christmas tree just inside the entrance - beautiful!

normally, I hate these inflatable figures, but they were kinda cute here

lights around the lake - they were timed with the music

one of the very stinky, but cool, elephants

one of Santa's reindeer

Am I the only one who didn't know that scorpions' exoskeletons glow in the dark??

I'm not fond of snakes, but this is a king snake & he eats other snakes (even venomous ones), so he's okay in my book

the 3 new manatees - one is a baby - isn't she cute??

My cousin works at the zoo as the penguin keeper. He gave us a great tour of the bird house and then took us back to meet a couple of the penguins. Majorly cool!!

Kyoto, a 2 yr. old King penguin - his feathers are super soft!

he's ready to go back - apparently he was unimpressed with us, LOL!

This is Buddy - a 24 yr. old Magellanic penguin. He was very friendly - I loved him!

Look at his feathers - more than 70 per sq. in.!

so cute how he followed my cousin when he called him!

Buddy & me doing what we do best - act silly!

Gus & me

Buddy & me

MIA

Yes, yes - I've been missing in action again...but this time it's all Gus's fault.

Last week, Gus had some issues with one of his teeth, and made an appointment to see the dentist on Monday. Then on Friday, the tooth really started bothering him. Actually, it was so bad that he couldn't chew and had to get prescription pain meds.

So I spent the weekend babying taking care of Gus.

On Monday, I went to the dentist with him, where we found out that he needed a root canal & crown. Since the dentist thought it might be pretty involved, he wanted Gus to go to an endodontist for the root canal. Gus was a bit nervous since he's scared of the dentist never had any dental work done. I told him that once the root canal was done, the only pain he would feel would be in his wallet.

On Tuesday, I went to the endodontist with him. This guy was good - Gus had no pain and was finished in about 20-30 minutes. But...the tooth has a hairline fracture in it, so he still can't chew on that side until the crown is put on...and the dentist won't do the crown for 10 days because he wants to make sure the root canal "worked". So back Gus'll go in 10 days...for a temporary crown. Then 2 weeks after that he'll go back for the permanent crown. Did I mention that the dentist's office (and the endodontist's office) is a 45 minute drive - each way?

Today he went back to work. Wednesday is normally my cleaning day - but today I spent most of it playing catch-up from the past 4 days. So all of those blog posts I had planned for the weekend & early this week? Well, they didn't get posted. I promise I'll get to them ASAP!!

Happy Birthday, Gus!

Today Gus turns 44. That's right - he's 5 years younger than me. Yes, I robbed the cradle, blah, blah, blah - I've heard it all.  :-P

When I asked Gus what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, he said that he wanted yellow cupcakes - from a box - with vanilla frosting - from a can. I like to make cupcakes and frosting from scratch. But since it's his birthday, he gets to choose - so a box and a can it is...oh - and did I mention that the only thing I'm allowed to use for decoration is multi-colored non-pareils?

This was the end result:

Not the prettiest cupcakes I've ever made, but apparently they were tasty. Gus ate five right after dinner and everyone else seemed to be enjoying them as well, LOL.

We went out with some friends this past weekend and had a great time. Sort of a belated anniversary/early birthday celebration. A mini pub crawl - because we're too old to do a real pub crawl - we get tired too early in the evening, LOL. Here we are at one of the bars (I think this was the dueling piano bar) - it was hot & humid and we had already been partying for about 6 hours. I look like I was partying for 6 hours in the heat & humidity, while Gus looks just like he did earlier in the evening. Must be the 5 year age difference. Because it's his birthday, I'll just say "not fair".

I'm taking him out to eat tonight at our favorite Chinese restaurant. The people he works with took him out to lunch today. And his aunt gave him a gift card to Outback, so we'll be going there soon. And we still have to do the family birthday dinner (the four of us always go out to eat for each of our birthdays - although this year, I think it will be the five of us because Lulu's boyfriend, CW, will probably go, too)...so lots of dining out this week. Yay!

Happy Birthday, Gus - may you have at least 44 more. Love you!

Happy Anniversary!

Gus and I were married 22 years ago today. Wait. That can't be right. Really? Has it been 22 years?? Are you sure??

Here we are, 22 years ago:

And here we are now:

If I were to give advice on marriage, it would be this: if someone tells you that their marriage is perfect or that marriage is easy, they're either lying to you or to themselves. Marriage is work. It's a job. It's not always equal. It's not always fair. Sometimes you're the windshield - sometimes you're the bug. But if you communicate and are both willing to make compromises along the way, it all evens out in the end. And if you hang in there, the retirement benefits are awesome.

Happy anniversary, honey - there's no one else that I would want by my side for this journey. Here's to the next 22 years!! Love you!

Blah, blah, blah...

Sorry I haven't posted anything for the past few days!

It was a busy holiday weekend - Buddy went 4-wheeling with my brother, Wild Bill - so we had to do a lot of driving to get him there and back. Luckily, there weren't any wrecks this time, and he came home in one piece and without any bruises.

Gus and I spent the day at the outlet mall after we dropped off Buddy. Gus got three pairs of shoes at the Bass outlet for $100 - they had a sale; buy one, get two free - what a deal! He also got two polo shirts at the Eddie Bauer outlet for $9.99 each! I got a really cute dress at the Ann Taylor outlet - originally $100, my price $38.99. And the best news of all is that I was able to find my beloved MAC Skinsheen bronzer at the Cosmetic Company outlet!! Three cans in my color - for only $15.75 each!! YAY!!!

Lulu spent most of her time with her boyfriend, CW - although they did stay at the house for awhile and help Gus set off his yearly fireworks (since Buddy wasn't here to help as usual and Gus was pouting that there wasn't anyone there to "ooh" and "aah" over his display). No pictures.

Riley had a spa weekend at the nice quiet kennel. He missed the fireworks (which is okay, because he would've hidden under my desk and had to take a nerve pill) - and had a bath, haircut, style, and toenail trim. He doesn't smell like doggie now - at least not for the next few days. He is a little needy after being at the kennel for 3.5 days - he hasn't left my side since we brought him home. As a matter of fact, he's laying under my desk, on top of my feet, right now.

The other reason that I haven't blogged much is this...I..AM...TIRED. The doctor increased my blood pressure medicine, which happens to be a beta-blocker - and that means that I am exhausted. So tired that it's difficult for me to concentrate on anything for an extended period. It's also giving me headaches and making my feet swell a little. I'm not going to bother calling the office, because he's on vacation right now and I have an appointment in 6 days anyway. So until then, I'll just keep dragging my butt. And worrying about what he'll change the medicine to - and how the new meds will affect me. Argh - it sucks to get old!!

And to add to the list of critters that I have seen in my yard, I give you - Mr. Froggie. Buddy called me at 2:30am this morning to tell me that there was a frog on the patio. I thought it was probably a toad because we see those a lot - but when I went downstairs to check it out, it really was a frog! I think he came over to eat all of the June bugs, which is okay with me!

What did you do over the holiday weekend?

Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there - but especially to my husband, Gus.

Gus is a great dad (and husband). He's my best friend. He makes me laugh and he makes me pull my hair out. He works hard to make sure that Lulu, Buddy, and I have the things that we need - and as many of the things that we want as possible.

Is he perfect? Of course not. Who is? And who wants someone who is perfect? That would be boring! He does have the annoying habits of leaving his shoes in the living room and his wallet, keys, etc. on the kitchen counter (even though he has a perfectly nice basket for them - also on the kitchen counter). And there's the whole dropping his dirty laundry right outside the laundry room door thing. But in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. And there is a slim chance that I have a habit or two that annoys him.

So Happy Father's Day, honey - you're the best and I love you.

Ashes to ashes...

As some of you know, my dad passed away on Dec. 25, 2008, after a 3 year battle with stomach cancer. He had celebrated his 68th birthday two days earlier.

Dad was a no-nonsense kind of guy; he had no problem speaking his mind. I think if he had been born in the 1800's, he would have been a happy man. He liked the simple life and would have been content to live in a cabin with oil lamps and an outhouse. He loved to hunt and most of the time, you would find him in blue jeans, camo, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat. Oh - and that Grizzly Adams beard. I think the only time he left the state was to go on a hunting trip. I don't think he ever understood why I moved to the city and never looked back.

When my youngest sister was born, my dad nicknamed her "Rocky". He loved the song "Rocky Top" - and did a little Jed Clampett stomp to it at my other sister's wedding reception. When Dad died, my mom decided to spread some of his ashes back in the woods where he loved to hunt - and my sister made a CD of some of his favorite songs, including "Rocky Top". So on Father's Day 2009, we trekked back in the woods (I know Dad was laughing at me), and scattered some of Dad's ashes.

I took some of Dad's ashes home with me that day - not completely comfortable with them, but not comfortable not taking them either. After a couple of months, Gus and I started planning a short vacation in Gatlinburg and suddenly I knew what I wanted to do with my portion of Dad's ashes.

I researched Rocky Top and even considered attempting to hike there. But 14 miles? Up a mountain? I said, "Dad, as much as I'd like to take you to Rocky Top - this city girl doesn't hike, doesn't camp, and doesn't vacation without indoor plumbing, air-conditioning, and a nearby restaurant". I know he would've laughed at that - because I've never made any apologies for being a girly-girl.

With Rocky Top out of my reach, Cade's Cove was my second choice. Unfortunately, we were there in October, and there had been snow, so some of the roads were closed. The other roads were so congested with traffic that the usual 1 hour drive would have taken 2 hours - and the trip around the loop would have taken an additional 2 hours. We decided Cade's Cove probably wasn't a good idea. But I had another place in mind - so off we went...

Of course, it had rained the night before, and it was cold - I was in a sweatshirt and tennis shoes hiking through the cold, wet woods with my Dad's ashes in a ziploc bag in my pocket. A couple of times, I thought I heard Dad chanting "city girl, city girl", LOL. Gus thought we were lost, Lulu was complaining about being cold and getting muddy - I think Buddy was the only one who was really groovin' on the experience. I had to laugh because I know, without a doubt, Dad was laughing his ass off at us. But it was worth it - he would've loved living in a place like this.

Now - the second part of the story...

You know how some people seem to be friends with everyone? They always have someone calling or texting them - someone to "do lunch" with - someone who is their "best" friend.

I'm not one of those people.

I tend to distance myself from people - making a conscious choice to keep them at arms-length. Sometimes, it's not intentional - at least not on a level of which I'm aware. I suspect it stems from my childhood and the relationships that filled my life at that time.

I think it would be accurate to say that the number of people I consider friends is probably a lot less than other women my age. One of the people I proudly call friend is a woman I've never met. I've known Tawny for several years - we met online. She has proven over and over again that she is a true Southern lady.

My family and I were supposed to meet Tawny and her husband during that October Gatlinburg trip. Unfortunately, family obligations kept them from making the trip. But they had another trip planned for May 2010 - and they were planning to hike to the top of Rocky Top!

On May 24, my cellphone rang - and when I looked to see who was calling, I saw Tawny's name. Immediately my eyes filled with tears because I just knew she was calling about Dad. Sure enough - she was phoning me from the top of Rocky Top to tell me how beautiful it was and that she had just scattered Dad's ashes.

How do you find the words to thank someone for doing something like this? Especially someone who has never met you - and didn't know your dad? A simple "thank you" seems so inadequate.

It's people like Tawny who restore one's faith in mankind. In a world full of violence and hatred and self-serving people, there are still some people who do things for others. And they do these things without any expectation of recompense - without asking "what's in it for me?" - without ulterior motives.

So, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you, Tawny. My dad is surely doing the Jed Clampett stomp to the tune of "Rocky Top".