The blogs I most like to read are the ones that deal with problems that people have and how they go about solving or surviving those problems.  I have read some that will haunt me for the rest of my life since the blogs were written from the heart and soul.....I felt their pain.  One in particular comes to mind, where a sonogram was performed and the light that is the living heart of an unborn child was not there.  I still cry in remembered pain as the not-to-be Mother first learned that her unborn child would never be borned as a living baby.  Thankfully, she later had a beautiful baby girl to hold and love and she shares her joy in her blogs.  

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Ding, Dong, the wicked, wicked witch is dead.  Hurrah!  Hurrah!  Well......not exactly dead (wishful thinking on my part, hmmmm?), but she (if you change the w to a B in witch, you get a much better idea of what I am feeling at this moment) is now just leaving the state.  From Williamstown, NY to somewhere near or in St. Paul, Indiana, THANK YOU, LORD.  At least part of my prayers have been answered, she has left the state and at the same time my Husband starts a new phase of his driving career where he will be home every night.  She has been quoted as not waiting for him to call any longer and getting on with her life........about damn time!  All I can say is......Ladies in Indiana......watch out for her, if a man has money, she thinks he should be hers whether he has a wife and children or not.  She plays the victim card time and time again and according to what she told my Husband, every man that she has been "with" during any of her two marriages......she was raped.....even though she supplied him with a key to get into her house and when she left her husband, she went to his house to stay.   She was smart though, she first picked up a matchbook at the local motel to show her husband  where she stayed during the time she left him after she returned to her supposedly "abusive" husband.  Such a storyteller(Liar???), but she thinks it provides a good excuse for her indifferent behavior to her own children.  I am not buying it for one moment.  If it looks like a self-centered bi*tch, walks like a self-centered bi*tch, talks like a self-centered bi*tch, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize it is L*nda.....oh look, same number of letters and the second letter is the same!  My, oh my.......I feel better already just for writing this blog.  Her poison is slowly leaving my household and this move will definitely speed up the progress of our healing from her infection.  At least this time she did not try to come onto the property.  Of course, she could have not even came down the hill but stayed out of sight while the four wheeler was being loaded onto the moving van......but that would have shown some class.  She just had to come down a dead end road that only has two houses on it, one of which is off limits to her.  She was smart enough to stay in her car at least.  Well, she is gone now and good riddance.  Hurray! 

My empty nest did not become a reality.  My last chick flew the nest but I gained a grandson due to financial difficulties of one of my other daughters.  So while they get their house in order, I am taking care of little Alex.  He is doing fine.....I am adjusting!  I am really glad when his nap time comes since it gives me time to catch up on my sleep too.  I went too many days and nights without adequate sleep while my sisters were here from California and I am slowly being able to get caught up one nap at a time.  So this will help explain my lack of journaling but will be back to tell about the wedding.  Yes, she did get married and is now in Florida having the time of her life.  She even got to have her picture taken with SpongeBob SquarePants.  If you know anything about Jen......this is a really big thing for her.  I will be back, I promise.

I started to do this entry last night but fell asleep while putting the baby away to bed.  He likes to have someone with him in the room when he falls asleep.  What I was going to say was that I have just said goodbye to my two sisters and I miss them already.  They left early this morning to go to New York City to do some sightseeing and to do some family history stuff.  While it was orginally planned for my sister Carol to stay with me at my house, the plan got changed when my sister Debbie decided that she wanted to come too.  My take charge sister, Debbie, booked a room for herself and my sister Carol at the hotel in my town.  My sister Debbie did a lot of assuming without a lot of checking and as a result a few feathers have been ruffled and now there are some hurt feelings.  Soooo.....to maybe help bridge a few gaps (or maybe not...depending if anyone wants to bridge any gaps), firstly, since I had planned for Carol to stay with me in the beginning, it would have been more appropriate to check with me about any change of plans.  Carol and I had exchanged emails confirming the fact that she would be staying at my house.  Now the confusion begins.  Debbie decided that she wanted to attend the wedding (I am thrilled that now both my sisters will be here) but she tells Jen and Jen is juggling too many jobs at the moment with preparing for her wedding and does not let me know right away.  I am running around trying to get everything prepared too plus dealing with family and health issues so I am not reading my emails in a timely fashion.  I didn't read the one that said "we are staying in a hotel" until much later and that is only because my sister Carol had asked me if I had gotten Debbie's email.  She went through my Xanga messaging and my Club Pogo messaging to get my attention.  I would have liked for both of my sisters to stay with me so we could of had those late night gab sessions and memory walks plus to update ourselves about our families.  But I do have to say.....it worked out better that they did stay in the hotel since 1.  It is an old hotel and Debbie would have gotten spooked if she would have had to stay there alone (ghosts and all that.....plus she was on the third floor and no elevator) 2.  My household was in chaos and everyone's hours would have put a strain on Carol's ability to get any sleep.  3.  My husband got progressively more and more grumpy as the week wore on.  As it was, he is very lucky that I have not prepared his final resting place somewhere in the backyard after expressing his "grumpyness" in my sisters' presence the last night they were here.  After all, I rarely get to spend time with my sister since they live on the west coast and I am out here in New York.  So Mom, if you are reading this, don't get mad at Carol since it worked out better that they were in the hotel since that is where we girls had our final dinner together (take out Chinese) and enjoyed our final moments together...that is after we climbed the stairs of torture first.

My daughter's wedding is tomorrow.  Heather is already here.  Jessie and James w/Alex came up early.  My two sisters arrived Wednesday from California.  My Husband, my two sisters, Alex and I have just picked up Scott from the airport in Rochester, NY (which was an adventure in itself)coming from NC.  My stepdaughter, her partner, and Kendal have arrived from Indiana and are staying with my stepdaughter's mother.  Josh, Trish, Adrianna, Damien, and Neko are coming up tomorrow afternoon.  Matt and Denise will meet us at the church.  The family gathers with only Lindy (Scott's wife) and Granny not being able to make it but they will be there in their hearts.  Jen is getting married and this is to be her special day.  The family stories have already begun, starting with Aunt Debbie getting pulled over for speeding, Jen's Bridezilla moment last weekend and I just know it is going to get interesting when Alex as the ringbearer goes down the aisle with Kendal.  I figure that part will work out......the problem will start the moment he is handed off  to his Dad, James, and then eventually to Tom (Heather's huband) since James is also an usher for the wedding.  I have already cried when she came down the aisle during the dress rehearsal so I am making sure I have plenty of tissues for the real deal.  I am determined that I am going to enjoy this wedding come what may.......and I will find any humor in any of the last minute disasters that usually occurs when this kind of event is planned.  So.......to shower and to bed I go and I will keep my fingers crossed that all goes well.   

The temperature of the pool water was 80 degrees this afternoon at 2 o'clock.  When I entered the water I did not even get that first freeze that usually occurs when you enter water on a hot muggy day.  It was heaven and I had the pool all to myself.  What makes it even nicer is that NY has a law where women can go topless in public if they wish and still be legal ......as long as you are not doing anything lewd or touching yourself in a subjective way.  Of course, nearly all the women of NY do not choose that option since:  1. We are mostly raised to be modest.  2.  We like clothes especially during the winter time.  3.  Most of us do not have the body beautiful that we wished we had so we could flaunt it.  4.  The men acted like idiots when just a few women did test it out to see if they really would not be arrested.  Men walking into doors, windows, people, lamp posts, parking meters......and then there were the men in cars....same scenerio!  Anyways.......with this law in effect and the fact that we live on a dead end street with only two house, plus the fact that our house is on the top of the hill and completely surrounded by our forrest, I got to go topless in our pool in the middle of the day.  No tan lines for me this year......yay.  After all these years, I finally have the home where we have privacy.  Of course, I take a shirt ....just in case someone comes up the driveway.  The lilac bushes give me the time and privacy just in case someone does come up.  I was out swimming last night too.  It was so peaceful and so beautiful with all the fireflies flickering along the edge of the forrest and across the lawn.  My own little private fireworks show to enjoy. 

Pool is setup.  Water has been added along with all the chemicals.  Now we just have to get the electrical underground and to the pool.  Last weekend the trench was dug....by a backhoe....so my Husband is really happy about that.   This weekend will be devoted to installing all the electrical connections our inspector requires.  Everyone is really looking forward to getting into the pool......but we are being good and waiting until everything is in place.  Jen's wedding day is starting to pick up speed and will be upon us really quickly and she is starting to stress out a bit.  Hmmmm......Bridezilla in the making?  Pretty soon my house will be bursting at the seams with people.  On a sad note, my Mother will not be able to come since she is having a pacemaker put in right before the wedding.  We will miss her but we have come to an agreement that we would rather have her get her pacemaker and miss the wedding than.....not get the pacemaker and possibly die before the wedding.  Sometimes you just have to get your priorities straight and we love her too much to risk losing her.......even for a wedding.

We had so much fun in Heather's pool last year that my Husband has finally arranged to have an above ground pool put in this year.  Yesterday morning, bright and early, the process began.  Mark and his crew had the pool up and Jay started hauling in the water about 1 o'clock.  It will take a few days for all the water to be delivered and my Husband still has to do the electrical work before it can be inspected.  Once it passes inspection, I intend to be a poolside resident for a while.  My Husband amazes me sometimes in his ability to be a Keeper.  I have taught my girls that men are either Keepers or just to be enjoyed.  Keepers are the ones you marry and the others are to be enjoyed for their ability to be entertaining.  Keepers are the ones that believe in marriage for Life, want children if you are able and if not, then you are enough to fill their Lives, have the ability and desire to practical stuff like.....plumbing, electrical work, woodworking, carpentry, auto mechanics, run heavy equipment, use a chainsaw, or do tile work.  Some women are blessed with a man that can do one or two of these mentioned things but I am super blessed with a man that can do them all plus some things I have not even mentioned.  I know a Keeper when I see one.  I think that is because I am a Keeper too.  While I am not perfect (and neither is he), he can leave for work and KNOW that I will remain true to him...even if I am tempted, our children will be loved and well cared for, the house will be cleaned but still be able to have the children build their tunnels scarehouses, put on concerts and plays for us and just have a general lived in appearance.  He also knows that I love him to distraction even if he gets on my nerves now and then.  As my children are growing up and leaving to start their own homes, my home is starting to get that "model" home look since I now longer have to wash away sticky fingerprints, pick up shoes left where they took them off and just the general clutter kids spread throughout a house when they are home.  It used to drive me crazy and, there for awhile, when we had full occupancy with 7 kids and my Husband, I gave up being the super Mom and demanded that the workload be evened out a bit.  Much grumbling but it was accomplished to a degree.  Now.....I am just enjoying some of the empty nest perks though I will not be officially an emptynester until July 19th when my last little chick flys from the nest to get married.  After so many children, I am going to enjoy some of the peace and quiet for a while.  I do not worry about being alone since I will have my Husband to cuddle up with since he wants to get off the road and stay home with me.  Plus, my children even now call me all the time and I know they will want to visit......even if it is to be able to get into the pool....lol.  Plus there is the threat......if they do not come to me......I will go to them....not much of a threat since my kids love me and my grandchildren adore me.  I just wish everyone lived a little closer since gas prices are so high.  Don't even get me started on the subject of high gas prices.  I remember a time they used to at least try to justify why the prices were climbing......now......they just raise the prices and, in essence, flip us the bird.  

Hi Mom!  Just a reminder........I love you very, very much.

 Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.       Proverbs 14:22

Once again I have come under attack.  Magazine subscriptions that I have not requested or subscribed to have been flooding my mailbox.  A prank?  A very time consuming one if it was intended as a prank, over 17 magazines have arrived so far.  Only a few individuals came to mind that would go to this much trouble to try to interfere with my Life and try to cause a problem, someone with time on their hands and access to a lot of magazines.  Hmmm....like you might find in  a doctor's waiting room or at a hospital waiting room.  I reported the incident to the NY State Troopers along with a list of possible suspects.  One of the individuals talked to my Husband about it after receiving the call.  "It was not meant to go this far"  What?  I guess I am suppose to take it on the chin again.  How many attacks am I suppose to ignore  This time the reason that was given for creating this magazine deluge was a total fabrication, since no bet was made by either party with each other or with any other person.  This person also put a lie in my daughter's mouth since she did not make the call in tears.....she just called to see if the alterations had been scheduled and what the cost was going to be.  I know this part for a fact since I heard that part myself.  Upon hearing my daughter sigh, she was asked it anything was the matter.  My daughter has been planning her wedding for a long time and they have been paying for most of it.  As a result my daughter wants this day to be her special day with no one else horning in on her moments of glory.  When she goes down the aisle she wants all eyes on her.....not on someone's piercing, tattoo's, hairstyle or any other distraction.  She has been very clear about this from the very start, so it should not be a problem.  Conversations with the individual seem to indicate that a problem might be coming up on the horizon, so I gave my daughter a heads up so she had time to either correct the problem or find a way around the problem.  The problem was suppose to be the reason for the bet.  First of all, there was no bet but it any of us had tried to make a bet......we would not have found any takers since we were all having the same doubts including my Husband.  When my daughter discussed the problem with the individual saying that she wanted everybody to be proven wrong, that the individual wouldn't develop issues, a point was made that THIS issue would not be a problem at the wedding, in fact, a Promise was made that it would not be a problem.  You would think that would have been the end of it.   No......Drama rears it ugly head in the form of the magazine deluge, a method of revenge or punishment??  Totally unfair since I have done nothing to deserve this illegal activity directed at me.   My husband thinks an apology should smooth over everything but was told that an apology can not be said.  A written one was suggested but as of this date, no apology has arrived.  Needless to say, I am NOT holding my breath.  It has caused my Husband to be even more loving towards me since he is having to face the truth on several issues as a result of this recent harassment.  I am NOT the Bad Guy and I am not the one causing all the Drama and, most of all, I am NOT the one telling lies.