It's a Wonderful Life!!

The Saturday Evening Post - Bunko Chicks

It has been a busy week at the office! The M.U. went with my cousin Sally and Nick to North Carolina. They said the leaves were at their peak and spectacular. I got a call on Wednesday that my dear cousin, Robert, passed away. He had stage 4 lung cancer and had opted not to continue with Chemo. Robert was such a likable fellow - and he and his wife would always stay at my house when they visited Swan City for family reunions. You see, the M.U. has a large family both on her mothers and fathers side of the family. When the A.F. and I were picking out names for Mr. Man, we had several Samuels and Roberts on both sides. Of course the A.F. wanted to name him Schrader Ray after his hero, the race car driver, Kenny Schrader, but I was not having that....Anyway, I called Sally and Mama to tell them about Robert's passing. With family coming into town, we had to get food together. I ordered sandwich trays from my favorite local sub shop down the street and Mama asked sweet Leisa to make a cake and a breakfast casserole. So everything was set for the crowds coming in.

Friday's are so busy at the office. So, unfortunately, they had planned a 11am visitation and 1:30 graveside - and I was not able to attend. I did take a sandwich tray out to the M.U.'s after the service and visited with everyone for a while. It was good to see everyone!

I hosted Bunko this month and we had a wonderful time. This group of chick-a-dees is too much fun. We laugh, cut up and basically act like a bunch of teenagers. I asked Kim, my wonderful, best in the business, Massage Therapist friend, to sub for Leisa - so we had no ghost playing this time.

The food Tu prepared was simply divine. Mr. Man made the dessert. It is an easy dessert that is simply death by chocolate. You take 2 boxes of brownie mix and prepare according to directions. Pour half the mix into a 13 X 9 pyrex dish and lay on top any type candy bar you like. He put the plain Hershey bars - but when I had this, it was Symphony bars and I think that was better. Cook till done and serve hot with ice cream.

Here are some pics of the Bunko Queens......

I was not on my toes as a photographer, because I know I missed pics of several queens. I know this because pretty Paige chased me around the table to steal my crown.

So, we had alot of fun!

We had an unusual turn of events when a MAN showed up for Bunko. Yes, a real live MAN. We all gasped......

THE MAN left quickly enough and we didn't miss a beat with our rolls.

Here are a few other pics of the evening.

It was a glorious end of a good week!

Peace!

The Bunko Queens

  Another fabulous night of food, fun and friendship, yes, friends, the monthly Bunko night. These girls are so much fun I just want to bust. My ever capable A/R Guru, AJ, hosted with such style in a Fiesta kind of way. The food was, of course, divine - what with chicken fajitas, Mexican rice, refried beans and the best dadgum guacamole and salsa that ever touched my lips. Most of the Bunko Babes where there and accounted for. Connie was Patricia's sub (oh, my Lord, she was grand kid sitting - we know where we stand). Rookie Mama was working hard getting ready for the "Duds" sale, and Melissa was her sub. We were missing Angie, so GEORGE, THE GHOST was her sub.

I was amazed at the fabulous patio my ever capable A/R guru, AJ, and her beloved built. OMG, it was so relaxing and quite entertaining. We had fun watching all the baby kitty's frolic around and jump on each other. Sometimes one would venture out and we could scoop it up (I couldn't see a thingy, so not sure of the sex) and get a little love. If anyone needs a kitty, I know the place! Now really, that patio, I would spend my waking hours there. I have loved my patio and I know she will as well. The best time of year is fall and spring - something about a patio makes you feel like you just took a 10 mg. Valium - and friends, that feels good. It will be their little slice of heaven.

The Bunko Babes were in rare form this month - could it be the ambiance of the patio and country?? Could it be that we love to eat great food - nothing like some beans and salsa? Could it be that we, in our secret kind of way, love to roll the dice?? It may be the 33% chance to win a prize. My feeling is that we share a special bond - in a sister kind of way - a love for each other that is immeasurable. It is one night a month that we enjoy with each other without the worry of day to day stuff.....What a blessing we are to each other! See, I told you, God's favor is smiling on us!

Speaking of God's favor....one round my partner Leisa, along with Melissa and Sweet Sallie were rolling away. Well, the table was cold, and nobody could roll a six to save their right arm. So, I picked up the dice and held them in my hand, as if beginning a prayer and said "God's favor is good", and low and behold I rolled 3 six's. God's favor is not only good, it tied me with Sara F. for the most bunko's. I thought I was set to win the grand prize. But Bunko Babes, God's favor is REALLY shining on Sara F. (for more reasons than rolling a boat load of six's !!), because the next round, she got another Bunko.

Anyway, I am about to have a hissy fit to show all the queens in their finest regalia:

These pics should be in order of the crowning - 4 for me and 5 for Sara F. Life is good, no matter how you cut it....Oh my Lord, if my hair were any redder, I could use ketchup as hair putty.

My ever capable A/R Guru, AJ, made the most delicious tasting strawberry cake in the world in honor of Paige's birthday, her favorite! Pretty Paige had the first taste, whole cake and all. Then she shared it with us, with our mouth's watering - so much for my abstinance from white flour and sugar. But the way I figure it, you have to live life on life's terms, and it would have horribly offended Pretty Paige if I did not eat a small piece, or two.

Well, I have just made myself an extra large super size bourbon with a very tiny splash of diet coke cocktail. The score of the USM game is 14 to 0 - the largest ever conferece USA game with 43,000 or so in attendance.

Let's pretend this is the Bunko Awards Ceremony and here are the results, please feel free to add your own in your comments:

Queen Pretty Paige: Cleavage Award - Class Favorite

Queen A/R Guru, AJ : Hostess with the Mostest

Queen Tina: Double Fisted Drinking - a talent in itself

Queen Ghost: Just being George, the confuser

Queen Sallie: Setting her own style for wearing her crown on her neck

Queen Connie: Putting up with craziness and getting the dadgum best cookbook in the universe (we want to sign that book soon!)

Queen Melissa: Putting up with craziness (tie with Connie) - and having the best hair

Queen Diane: Being the Church Lady plus alot more

Queen Becky: Fashion award - her polka dotted bracelet matched her polka dotted slacks

Queen Leisa: The Entertainer - imitating Becky Dotson, the spitter

Queen Debi: Having favor with God - the competitor who came in 2nd.

Queen Sara F: The True, Grand Prize winner with the most Bunkos plus being the recipient of the applause ceremony at the end. She has some sort of GLOW about her - perhaps DIVINE INTERVENTION?

It's either slide.com or my frustration with USM 21 East Carolina 21 score, but I am having trouble with posting pics at the moment.

So I will close for now and edit later.

It's a Wonderful Life!

Peace!

The Hen Party - Bunko and the Animals

Monday is not my favorite day of the week. I am always busy as a bee on Monday, which thankfully makes the day fly by. The M.U. and my dear Shae are both out of town. Often the peace and quite of the office inspires me to jump on projects that have long been neglected. That has not been the case today! My desk is almost cleared, it will be tomorrow!

The weekend flew by, as most weekends tend to do. I have some pics from Bunko I'd like to share. Now I say this at the risk of losing friends. There is a huge rumor floating around that if I don't quit posting pics - my friends will start dropping like flies! My dearies, please indulge me a small itsy, bitsy, tensy, winsy, little bit. I am just cataloging my humble, small minded life - one post at a time. Yes, I know this is a selfish project! But I hope someone, somewhere will be inspired (or perspire!). So here goes:

I was also reminded of one of the funniest procreation stories ever. Here are the pics:

OK, so the story goes like this: Proud Stud Papa (Chihuahua) became friendly with Mama Dog (Australian Shepherd). Now picture this, Proud Stud Papa's hormones got the best of him and he decided to stud out with the Australian Shepherd. I am not quite sure how all this came about, but Patricia swears that Proud Stud Papa is the biological father. I just can't get my arms around this image! So, the result is an Aussie-wawa, for lack of a better name. The Aussie-wawa did not like my photography, so I had a little bit of trouble with that shot (much like the Proud Stud Papa humping the Mama Dog). I included the last pic so you could get a feel (or not) of the size of Aussie-wawa. Sorry, I don't know real names......but that is the story and I am sticking to it. Be all that as it is, I laugh about this every time it is mentioned!

We had a wonderful meal, played a little bunko, and then dessert. This was the scene after dessert. You stick your hand in the middle of 12 chicks having dessert and you may draw back a nub. Especially when there's Genuine Hershey's Syrup and Reddi Wip (I didn't know it was spelled this way) involved.

Now to know Patricia is to love her. She has a thing for pets. I counted 4 dogs (Proud Stud Papa, Mama Dog, Aussie-away, and another blond Chihuahua), One squawking big bird (I was not about to try and get a pic of it - I figure anything that makes that much noise must have some anger management issues), and one lovely Bath Cat.

I did not see the Bath Cat until already seated, and I just about had a No. 2.

Oh my Lord, can you believe this Cat hangs out in the Bathroom. Is she guarding some good medication?? Is she protecting the lovely new shower curtain?? Or is this her favorite place in the house?? IT looks a bit angry, so I high tailed it out of there.......

Bunko nights are always hilarious. It is a true hen party - cackling and croaking. We even tell secrets out loud, you know those embarresing personal secrets that only girls would understand.

So, I won the prize for the LEAST number of points. This is why I love this game so much: You can actually lose and get a gift!  I got a lovely gift from here:

So, we survived another night of wild, crazy dice rolling in one piece - and we are all much for the better because of it!

PEACE!

A Lovely End of the Week

I love the End of the Week.  I especially love my desk cleared by the end of the week, with no projects looming for Monday's attention. If you were to walk thru my office right now, one would readily find  little bits of paper here and there. It drives the M.U. and dear Shae crazy. I need a paper management system. I have a file system, and that has helped tremendously. Something is missing though. Perhaps it is my tendancy to let things get scattered, then my mind gets cluttered. Then my productivity goes down because I spend my time shuffling through papers and deciding which paper needs the most attention. One problem is that I will pick up a paper to work, decide that I don't want to tackle that project just at that moment, and put it aside (usually in a stack).  On most days I feel quite productive and energetic. I like these days. This week has been the exception. I have lots of little stacks at this moment that need attention. C'lest la vie!!

This blogging project is very therapeutic to me. Over the years I have paid therapists hundreds (I'm being conservative, friends!) of dollars to guide me along life's curvy road. I don't do that anymore. I am a recovering therapy junkie. I loved the idea of having someone's undivided attention for 50 minutes (no not a whole hour?), and allow me to spill my guts and then give me a road map to make the necessary corrections. They (I use that in a plural sense) never had the answers!! I found that worked well in relationship resolution (i.e. divorce), because I knew the answer even before I darkened their door. But it did not play out so well with my inability to achieve the self care I deserve as a person. This thing called life is challenging, it brings great joy and from time to time great sorrow. I feel quite blessed that I have wonderful supportive friends in my life that allowed me to get off the therapy couch!!

It was a Lovely End of the Week tonight. I spent it with my Bunko chicks. Diane C. was our gracious host and she prepared a wonderful meal. I got a huge laugh when Patricia mistakenly opened the wrong apartment door and barged into the home of Diane's neighbor. Folks should really lock their doors (like I'm one to talk). With her 6 pack of Becks she quipped "Is this Diane's house??? Well, heck no, it was an elderly Vietnamise woman. We had lots of laughs, and a great evening rolling the dice.

We talked about getting a group together at WAP for a weight loss jam session! We could have a weigh-in partner and share with each other what is working, offer ideas and encouragement. We will  LOVE each other skinny! My friends, I don't think that word will ever be used to describe me, so let's just say that we will LOVE each other till we're fit. So, let's toss around some ideas, we need a name, and possibly some literature. The internet is full of cool sites (yes, I've visited some in my time), and we could always just share some of what we like with each other.

I went by the M.U. after Bunko. She was in her nightgown and reading. We usually see each other most everyday, but we are busily working our desks, that often we don't get the time to sit and "visit". We had a nice time just catching up and going over the week. She has this horrible weed growing in the flower bed and grass on one side of her house. Some horticultarists type came to get a sample to have it analyzed. It was identified as Torpedo Grass. This is a tough weed.  Bless her heart, she has tried everything to kill this crazy weed. It has not only lived thru all the chemicals poured over it, but thrived. I will be digging up her heirloom Amaryllis Bulbs because a crew is coming on Wednesday to try and erradicate this devil. I will be working in her yard and mine. This wonderful rain we have had this week lends to proliferation of my generic weed. I also want to get some herbs to plant - I was inspired by AJ's garden. Her Basil is amazing! I told her we need to make Pesto. Another wonderful summer project.

I am really missing Mr. Man! I have talked to him every day and he is happy! He worked with the AF on Mon, Tue and Wed. and yesterday and today he stayed home with Miss Ashlyn, the AF girlfriend, and her son Skyler, who is 6 also. He and the AF were playing Jenga when we talked. Mr. Man is a phenomenal Jenga player!! So, Sunday he is coming home and I can't wait to love and hug on my little man!!

It's late and I'm ending a Lovely Week!

Love and Peace!

The Saturday Evening Post - The Agony Column

Today has been LAZY. I can't seem to get going. And it is midnight and I am wide awake. I hate these days. The only time I feel good is when I am productive. I have been thinking alot today. Thinking about what I need to do, about the direction in which I should go.

Mr. Man got another red light on Friday. I don't know any details, except the note said "Sam was acting out again and disrespectful to his teacher". He was gounded all last week for a red light. Obviously that did not work. We talked alot about his behavior (the slapping thing) and how it was inappropriate. And we talked alot about  being respectful. I just feel like ringing his neck, and I bet Ms. Phalen and Ms. Parvin want to as well. I asked him what happened and he played dumb. He would not tell me anything. I will find out Monday morning.

Friday was a day from hades. What with a delivery of my new bedding (that was the bright spot), then a meeting with Pam B., my accountant. I had to go into detail about the nature of my business and how money flows where and for what. Then the horrific details about Allen and how all that came to be. Then the bad news about having to make some changes (that will be beneficial to me in negotations for the sale) on my balance sheet. So Pam, and my smart and funny bookeeper, Trish, and I will have a pow wow on Monday night. Damn, will this ever end? Complete and total nightmare.......

Mr. Man had a ballgame on Friday. He played well, getting a 2 singles and 1 double. But the outfield thing, well I have decided he is just so agressive and wants to be a part of every play. He plays short fielder, which is just behind the pitcher. He is in a coach pitch league and there are 2 shortfielders. He is all over the field. He plays smart, and knows who is where and what to do. But good grief, this is a team, NOT THE MR. MAN SHOW. The coaches actually congratulate him, and say "good job, Sam", but I want to scream "let someone else get it"! They lost, 19-16. I was so proud of him, because after the game I heard Mr. Man tell the other players "good game, Heath - we tried our best". Not to just one kid, but several. Maybe he will be a leader.

Then we had Bunko. I was a little late, but didn't miss too much. We laughed and hooted and hollared. It was fun. The kid down the street babysat for Mr. Man. Before I left, I put them a pizza in the oven and gave him very direct instructions (listen for the buzzer, and then turn the oven off). About 45 minutes later I got a call from the babysitter, "Ms. Debi, how long do I cook this pizza?". I told him I already cooked it and all he had to do was turn off the oven and remove the pizza. He said uh oh, I think the pizza is burned. And it was. Hard as a rock. I told him to make themselves a ham sandwich. So my lesson in all this is never let the babysitter cook. I just didn't think it was rocket science.

I have been playing around with my blog this afternoon. I enjoy that, so changes may be in store. I hated my pic, but it was the only one I have right now. I still can't find my camera and we are leaving for Navarre Beach on next Monday, the day after Memorial Day. I have got to find it!

I have got to start exercising. I am just way too miserable in my skin.  I have talked to Mr. Man about having our house a "sugar free zone". He actually agreed. We will see. I have got to make some radical changes. I ordered this book from Prevention Magazine. It is about controlling your blood sugar, eating whole grains, fruit, and lean meat. That sounds pretty simple. But to put it in action will take a bit of will power, and I have none. Something to think about. It just seems like everything I try, I fail at. The Weight Watchers thing was a disaster. Why is the healthy way of eating so out of reach for me? Why can't I stick to anything? I dunno, but I know that I have to hold food to a higher level. I just can't let self will run riot, because then there are no boundaries. But that has been the case for a long time - I have to break old habits and change my behaviors.

The Agony Column..... 

After all, tomorrow is another day......

Patiently I wait.....