So saddened by my good friend's loss. She lost her precious, sweet, little six month old baby grandson yesterday morning. He was born with some very serious heart conditions. He endured many procedures and surgeries during his short, six months here on Earth. I never saw him in person, but, did see many photos, and heard some sweet, sweet stories about this little trooper. His grandmother and the rest of his family were very proud of him and loved him SO much. I truly thought this little guy would pull out of this and survive, just like my baby girl, who is now seventeen. I prayed for a miracle. Many, many people prayed for a miracle. Who knows? Maybe the miracle is that he is no longer in pain, no longer struggling to take a breath, no longer hooked up to monitors, etc. Bless his heart...he will be missed. He was so loved by his sweet family.

Ahhhh....my first actual "free Friday"!!! My first Friday of summer break!!! Can I just say a great big, fat, whopping WOO-HOO!?!? I've only been out of school for four days now, but, I'm loving every minute of it already!

Enjoyed my first day out of school this past Tuesday by taking off by myself, going to my favorite gym for a GREAT workout, getting a much needed pedicure, hanging out at my favorite book store in T-town, and just plain 'ol lolly-gagging around town, looking at lots of cool summer clothes, baby clothes for the grandbaby (Jakob, soon to make an appearance), items for Morgan's dorm room next fall, etc. However, I didn't really buy much at all, except a first aid kit for Morgan to take to college, a set of hand-print and foot-print plaques for little Jakob, a set of football and soccer wall plaques/hooks to hang in Jakob's room, and a new summer purse! Everyone has been hinting that it was time to ditch my humongous, ugly brown leather hobo purse (which, I actually LOVE), so, I succumbed to the peer/daughter pressure, and bought a smaller, brightly-colored plaid hand-bag, at Target!! I know, big spender, eh?

Let's see, Wednesday...wasn't extremely busy. I got a new haircut, well, not really new, just a regular maintenance trim, I guessed I'd say. I had one massage to give to a new client!! The other client had to cancel, so, it made for a very easy day. Love my new client; she is a very sweet lady who happens to do manicures and pedicures!! I asked if she would be interested in trading pedicures for massages. She said, "Yes!" Yay!! I'm excited!! I love to barter!! That's how I get a weekly massage myself!! I trade out with another wonderful lady, who gives great massages!!

Thursday, I just HAD to get some house cleaning in!!! I have actually been dying to work on my severely neglected house. It was absolutely horrible!!! I got a lot done, but, no where near finished completely. At least, the living room and kitchen now look a lot better. I still have a ton of organizing and culling to do. I am ready to clear ALL clutter, once and for all. That is my number one initiative for the summer break....de-clutter, donate, throw away, organize, and super-duper, heavy duty cleaning!!! Got to get the house clean and ready for little grandbaby, Jakob!!Look out, Mr. Clean!!!

After a full day of cleaning, I was able to get back to (I hope) my regularly scheduled weekly massage. Due to numerous end-of-school activities, (my Senior daughter and my own school responsibilities), I had missed the last two or three weeks of massage trade outs. :( I was in desperate need of a good massage, especially after starting that new Zumba class!!! Ewwwee, ouchee!!! I had knots I didn't even know about, until getting my WONDERFUL massage!!! It was WAY past due. Regular massage...a must!! Note to self: no more skipping massage day, EVER!!!!

That brings us to today. Much in store for the next few days!! Meeting with two different groups of friends today and tonight, then, more friends tomorrow, massages to be given tomorrow, swimming, cookout, etc. Much fun this weekend!! Can't wait!!

Loving life right now!! I don't think it could get any better!!! :)

Yes!!! Only two more Fridays left in this school year!! Ahhhhhh...... I am loving life right now!!! It will be even better in eleven days!!! :) SUMMER BREAK!!!! A teacher's favorite words!! Well, next to "SNOW DAY"!!!

I think I'm just about as happy as I could possibly be!! Many new beginnings on the horizon...Morgan will be starting college in the fall...(bittersweet beginnings..sad to see her leave the nest, but, excited for her possibilities)...Jake and Amanda are having their first baby this summer...and who knows what the future holds? I think it's looking pretty wonderful right now!

Never went back to sleep!! Now, I have this lovely headache...coffee time...Lord, please help me make it through this day!!

Why is it that I slept like a rock last night, through all the storms and tornado warnings, and yet, tonight, I have a horrible case of stinkin' insomnia?? Go figure. I mean, I slept hard last night...best sleep in a long time. Tonight, no can do. Ughhhhh..... Could it be I have just a few hundred things on my mind??? Hmmm....let's see, what could that possibly be? Let me count the things...

1. Baby girl has only three days left of her Senior year. :(

2. Said baby girl is not feeling well tonight. She had a migraine at bedtime.

3. She also thinks one of her lead wires (for her pacemaker/defibrillator might
disconnected). She tells me this right before she goes to sleep, with me.
That also tells me she is worried about it, when she wants to sleep with me,
I know she's worried or scared, or both.

4. I also just find out late this evening that there is an awards assembly at
her school tomorrow. Who tells me this? The school secretary calls me. Have
I been asking Morgy about this for the last couple of weeks? YES, I have. Did
she ever tell me when it was? NO, she didn't. I just hope my boss will let
me take the afternoon off so I can go watch the assembly. They have been SO
understanding, under the circumstances....me missing nine days in a row, when
Morgy had her surgery.

5. So much paperwork to do at school, and only eight more days to do it!!

6. So much packing and cleaning to do in my classroom, and only eight more days
to do it.

7. So much cleaning to do at my house!!! UGH...

8. Morgy will be going off to college in just a few short months. I won't be
there to make sure she takes her medicine. This is my biggest concern. She is
so not there yet, and it's all my fault. I am guilty. I have not made her be
responsible for her own medicine. This summer is our last chance to get this
accomplished. I've told her if she can't do it on her own, no college. It's
a matter of life and death. Most of her meds. are for heart failure. One
CAN'T forget to take heart failure meds. It's just not an option. Teenagers
shouldn't have to deal with that. Kids shouldn't have to deal with that. So,
I guess I dealt with it a little too long. It's her turn now. This will be
the hardest thing to turn over to her. I thought the driver's license was
hard. Lord, help me. Lord, PLEASE help her to remember...EVERY DAY.

9. I feel a great need to get my house in order. Me, Miss Unorganized Woman of
the Century, feels a very strong urge to clean and purge!!

10. I feel over-scheduled already. My summer is already scheduled!! Massages all
over the calendar. That's a good thing, I mean, for my business, however, I
kind of miss my teacher summers. :( I have tried to keep a three or four day
weekend in place though, so I can enjoy a little bit of my summer.

11. Swimming pool...ugh, here we go again....needs to be cleaned, scrubbed, and
refilled. What a chore!! However, my son, Jake, has so graciously
volunteered to help me with that!! It was so nice last summer to have him
living right next door, and so ready to help with the maintenance of the pool!

12. Many, many other things on my mind...lots of things to do, to consider, to
complete, to take care of...what happened to the concept of "slowing down" in
your old age? I think I'm busier now, than I have ever been in my entire
life!!

Now, that I have worked through this and jotted down the thoughts that are possibly
contributing to my insomnia, I am actually starting to get a little sleepy, but, alas, it is almost time for my alarm to go off!! Ha!! I see extra coffee in my very near future!! Eight more days of school, THEN, maybe I can get caught up with most of the things I need to do. Goodnight, all.

I guess I should say we've survived March and April with very few tornadoes. However, it appears that tonight may be a very different story. They are calling for multiple, large, long lasting tornadoes, winds up to 80 mph, baseball size hail, etc. This is normal for our part of the country.

I have our survival kit ready, which consists of my daughter's gallon size baggie of all of her various heart medications. That's it, pretty much. Oh, and socks and tennis shoes. Something about a tornado warning, just makes me want to have on socks and tennis shoes. Not flip flops. Not sandals. Not boots. Just good 'ol socks and tennis shoes. Don't want my feet to get all wet and slippery. Need to be ready to run, you know, just in case....

I don't usually stress over this stuff. Growing up in this state, it's just a normal springtime occurrence. I have seen several tornadoes in my lifetime. Not fun. No, not at all. But, the good Lord has spared me and mine, thus far. I am thankful for that.

The new Children's Hospital...this is where M & I have been going for almost eighteen years now, to see her Cardiologist. Across the street, at Presby, is where she had her last surgery in March, after her defibrillator shocked her SIX times!

M and her prom date/boyfriend, C, right before prom. This is less than six weeks after her surgery.

Long time, no write.... :( I've missed my blog, and neglected it severely!! Can't believe it's been almost three years since I posted something....Been living life in the fast lane the last three years, I suppose....Ha!! It's called two jobs and a teenager who is very busy with all sorts of school projects, activities, trips, etc. Sadly, things seem to be winding down, somewhat....my baby girl will be graduating within two weeks. I'm not sure, no, I KNOW, I'm not quite ready for this particular milestone.