Time Management

I suck at it. I used to be able to fit a 36-hour day into just 24 hours. That was a little over 2 years ago. The turning point? I believe it's when my grandpa got really sick in September of 2005, and I put my life on hold so that I could be with him as much as possible. He'd been living with stomach/colon cancer for a few years, and they decided to put a port in to make the chemotherapy easier. It was supposed to be a quick out-patient surgery. My uncle took Gramps to the hospital before he had to work, and I was to pick him up around 9:30. I was there for an hour without hearing a single word about Gramps. When I finally asked the receptionist, a nurse came out and said they hadn't realized there was somebody waiting for him. He was still in recovery, and it would probably be another hour before he'd be out. I ran a few errands, came back, and the nurse pulled me into a private room saying that the doctor wanted to speak with me. Long story short, we almost lost him that day. I had to call my mom, who lived 4 hours away at the time, to tell her that there was a very good possibility that Grandpa and Grandma would be reunited soon. Hardest phone call I have ever made. He pulled through, but mom and I kind of wish that he had gone that night. From September 9 - November 7, he was only able to be at home for 5 days. He spent the rest of that time in the hospital before being moved to a rest home. On December 11, the rest home had a Holiday dinner for the residents and their families. My parents, uncle, brothers & their families, I & my family, and even one of Gramps' sisters and one of his brothers were able to attend. He passed away then next day with my mom, uncle, and I at his side, listening to Bing Crosby's "White Christmas".

After he went to be with Grandma, we were busy planning his funeral, and trying to keep the holidays as normal as possible for my boys. Then, I had a family reunion to plan which involved putting together a family cookbook and a video montage along with everything else there is to do for a family reunion. There was always something to plan, I even became CubMaster for Taylor's Cub Scout Pack. I've been in kind of a funk these past couple of weeks, and I'm not sure why. I've got a million projects written down or in my head that I want to get done, but I've just been lazy. I'll have to come up with a schedule for me this weekend that includes some much needed exercise. I've let me goal of losing 30 pounds before my 30th birthday slip (unless it can be done in a healthy way by May 10th!), so I really need to work on losing at least some. I suppose that means coming up with a diet and exercise plan, too!

Now that I've procrastintated for a couple of hours, let's see if I can actually keep myself motivated for the rest of the day!

Wine and Old Letters

I decided to look through my CD collection, and found Deana Carter. I had forgotten how much I like “Strawberry Wine”…ah, the memories. That was a good summer, I had just turned 19 and finished my first year of college. I was working two jobs and was friends with the very different bosses at both places. Things were so simple and free, not a care in the world. That was the summer that Alan taught me how to drive a stick shift. He was a wonderful guy...Memory Lane is a nice place to wander…



I am almost finished with my Grandpa’s “War Letter Binders”. I just have to get some photos developed to add. I can’t even begin to describe the amazing experience of being able to read through all of the letters my grandpa had written home during WWII. I got to know him in a completely different way – as a young man so proud to be serving his country. Times have certainly changed, but there will always be a reason why the Depression/WWII generation is the greatest generation. I am looking forward to transcribing my great-uncle’s letters next. He was in the Army stationed in Europe, while my grandpa was a Navy bombardier stationed in Rio de Janeiro and Africa. Very different experiences.

Not so lazy weekends

What a satisfying weekend! I woke up Saturday morning feeling exhausted. There must be a bug going around. The kiddos have had stuffy noses and hubby has stayed home from work the past couple of days. Tired as I was, I decided to make a new batch of pancake mix using the recipe found in my March issue of Country Living. Naturally, the boys decided they just wanted cereal, and hubby wanted hashbrowns.

T's Cub Scout Pack is selling flower bulbs for our Spring fundraiser, so we set out to sell to a few friends before heading into town. The boys were surprisingly patient with me as I shopped (perhaps they knew that if they didn't behave they wouldn't be able to go play at Grandma & Grandpa's house!)

I've had my eye on these sheets for months, and once they found their way onto clearance, I knew it was fate. They were made for my antique bed.

I also picked up some new patterns - much to my husband's dismay. A girl can never have too many! I found a pattern for vintage aprons (Simplicity 3544) and Simplicity patterns 2968 & 3835.

The first three fabrics were a steal. They normally sell for $6-$9 a yard, and I found them on clearance for .99/yd! The red & blue will be turned into a "vintage" apron, the blue will be used with Simiplicity 2968, the marroon flowered will be turned into a dress from Simplicity 3835, and the other two will become Emmaline aprons.

Once the shopping was done, I dropped the boys off with my dad, brother, and my brother's little ones. My mom, sis-in-law, and I took off for a girl's afternoon at Beads and Botanicals where we made 1 necklace, 1 pair of earrings, 2 bracelets, and 3 danglies (2 for my necklace and 1 for my mom's pearl necklace).

Sunday was pretty boring. I worked on the "Family Tree" that I'm painting on the wall. It's almost finished - just waiting on my dad to cut some wood for the silhouettes.