An Update and A Mystsery...

Hello Journal friends!  I haven't been around in awhile.  I have lots to share today.  I guess I have been storing it up.  First I want to wish a very, very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the Ramblin' Man Rich!!  He is celebrating a special birthday today, so if you can, go over and pay him a visit!  Oh, he is a great read as well!!  Happy Birthday, Rich!!

I have spent less time reading journals and posting entries over the past few weeks.  I have had time and health issues and it has been hard for me.  I foresee some time issues coming up as well.  This puts me in a dilemma.  I was wondering what you guys thought.  Chelsea decided that she wants to move back to Florida.  She is going back in June sometime.  I want to spend as much time as I can with her.  I also want to enjoy the Spring weather.  Krissy's wedding is coming up...well the list goes on...my health has not been the best either.  What is my dilemma?  I was wondering if I should have the privilege to post whenever I want if I am not reading other's journals faithfully.  I know that your response will probably be, "Post whenever you want.  It is your journal.", but it is hard for me to journal for myself and not stay in contact with everyone that I have been in contact with over the past few months.  Everyone has given me such great support and friendship.  Not that that will stop.  It is I who has been lacking in some contact.  I have thought about abandoning journalling altogether for awhile, but I do not want to do this.  I guess I will continue to give this all some thought.

Yes, Chelsea is going back to Florida it seems.  I am not all too surprised as it has not been too easy up here for her.  She left a family and friends and a home down there and came up to a cold climate and no friends.  School will be cheaper and she will go back to a place she knows as "home".  I will miss her greatly, but will always appreciate the ten months that we had being roommates!!  It has been so very special!!

Our local lead district attorney, Ray Gricar, has been missing for eight days.  Yes, I am jumping around topic.  This is a strange story.  He vanished.  Poof.  He was due to retire at the end of this year and was not seeking re-election.  He was looking forward to retirement.  He is well-liked and well-respected in the area.  He lives in my little town.  He is a very hard worker.  They found his car, but they have not found him.  They have combed rivers and dogs have been used.  You may have seen it in the national news.  It is a real mystery.  Theories abound..suicide? foul play?  a new life?...amnesia?  Please pray for this situation as his family really misses him.

I have a neat little brain exercise for you.  Follow the instructions.  See if this is very hard for you...

              

I find the brain extremely fascinating!!  Was this very hard for you?  I tried it a few times.  It got easier the more I tried it.  Interesting, huh?!  I like brain teasers and optical illusions.

I called my neuro-surgeon's office yesterday.  They still don't know if they are going to convert my shunt over to a programmable one.  I am thinking of looking into other hospitals in my state.  I am beginning to get pretty upset with them.  I have to do alot of research as I have several conditions that need taken care of.  Can I find one place to get it all taken care of?  Probably not.  Two would work.  Even three if they are not too very far away.  I travel out-of-state because I could not find anyone in my state that specialized in my conditions.  Hmmm....wish me luck in my search!

Well, I was just offered a ride in the country!  Doesn't that sound nice!  I think I will take my friend up on his offer and sign off!  Have a good rest of the weekend everyone, and take care of one another!! xox

 

Meet Marbles and More!...

Wow, I haven't written in here in eight days...eight long days!  I'm trying to catch up on life.  When I was away at the hospital, it seemed like life kind of accelerated and left me behind and I am trying to catch up!  I feel like screaming, "Hey life, shut down a couple of days so I can catch up!!"  But it is not going to do that.  Oh well.  I am going to slowly have to chip away and get things done.

Things went well at the hospital.  I was in there for two nights and two days.  The needle that was placed in my shunt reservoir slipped out the first night so I had to stay a second.  The doctor concluded that I had very, very low pressure and was wondering why I wasn't having alot of headaches.  "Nope,"  I told him, "I am just stupid all the time and have alot of memory problems."  So, he doesn't know if they are going to convert the non-programmable shunt into a programmable one yet.  He is going to confer with the neuro-surgeon.  We will see.   I will keep you posted!

         I wanted everyone to meet a new edition to my buddies that hang around my computer.  This is Marbles "The Partying" Moose.  Krissy gave him to me at the hospital.  I think he is the happiest looking moose on the planet!!  What do you guys think?  He took his rightful place next to Sheila The He Monkey and Scotty The Orangutan over the weekend.  They are all getting acquainted and he is fitting in very, very well!  Thanks for this, Krissy!  Krissy came to the hospital with me and was such a swell buddy.  She took really, really good care of me!!  You are THE BEST, Krissy doll!!

I was watching Baby, who, by the way is getting HUGE, over the weekend.  Let me show you...

          Baby just turned six months old here!  He is ten pounds already!  My, oh my!  Anyway, I was watching him chase his exquisitely long tail.  Round and round in circles he was going and I was laughing away.  Well, lo-and-behold, he caught his tail!!  With one paw he held his tail down and with the other paw he stomped and stomped the base of his tail.  I was laughing hysterically!!  I always wondered what would happen if a dog or cat caught its tail what would they do?  Well, now I know what this kitty would do!

My kitties are getting along better now that Baby is getting older.  He is getting a bit aggressive, though, now that he needs neutered.  I am taking him in this month to get that done.  The kitties were so happy this weekend because Spring had finally sprung and they had sunshine after a month of rain and clouds.

Here is what they were doing yesterday in my living room window...

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In the last picture Baby was attacking a bug that got into the window.  That was a lucky shot!

Well, I am going to get off here and get a few things done that I have neglected for too many days!

I hope you enjoyed my pictures of my week and I hope they didn't take too long to download!  I am going to leave you with something that I read out of a book last night that I am reading on happiness.  I think it is oh-so-true!:

~ Once basic needs are met (food, clothing, shelter), the message is clear:  we don't need more money, we don't need greater success or fame, we don't need the perfect body or even the perfect mate - right now at this very moment, we have a mind, which is all the basic equipment we need to achieve complete happiness.

Taken from "The Art of Happiness"

Going To The Hospital...

"I am happy and you should be as well.  Let us pray together with joy."  Pope John Paul II

Happy Sunday, everyone!  I hope everyone is having a fairly decent day!  I just took a walk outside and it is 36 degrees here!  There is snow in the forecast!  What is that about?  Where is my Spring weather?  Ah, Pennsylvania is a crazy state!  It was nice to get out, though, as I haven't been out enough in the last week, so I put on my winter coat and buttoned it up and put the hood on and went out for an hour.  There were quite a few others out as well.  Funny thing, there were those in coats like me, and there were those who had no coat on.  Some Pennsylvanians go by the calendar for Spring and wearing Spring clothes.  They will even wear shorts in the 30's and 40's.  Not me.  I'm a chicken.  Perhaps I would if my muscles didn't ache and I liked my legs a little more.

I am leaving for Johns Hopkins in the middle of the night tonight.  Krissy decided to go with me and that is a nice treat!!  Thanks, Krissy!!  She is such a doll!!  I didn't ask her because it is so close to her wedding, but she offered and set it up, so I am grateful!!  What a doll!!  I will be there one to four nights.  I don't like the unknown too much and I am not too sure what they are going to do, but I will go with the flow.  I know they are checking my head pressure and I know they will convert my non-programmable v/a shunt to a programmable one if need be.  It is all good with me.  Anything deemed necessary to make my health a bit better.  They are the ones with the degrees.  Not me.  Thanks to all who commented and emailed and sent their prayers and good wishes.  They mean more than you will ever know!!

I wanted to share with all of you a Jeff Foxworthy funny on Pennsylvania.  I received it in the mail from a friend.  If you live in PA you will understand it and laugh (I hope...I did).  If you don't, you will learn more about my state!

~  If you consider it a sport to sit in a treestand all day long with a bow or a gun justto put food in your freezer...you might live in PA.

~  If you're proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights each year because Bradford is the coldest spot in the nation...you might live in PA.

~  If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March...you might live in PA.

~  If you instictively walk like a penguin five months out of the year...you might live in PA.

~  If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there...you might live in PA... cause we are all so darn friendly :-)

~  If your Dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead cause he wears a hardhat...you might live in PA.

~  If you have worn shorts, a parka, and sunglasses at the same time...you might live in PA.

~  If your town has an equal number of bars and churches and your priest or minister asks you to pray for the Steelers and wants to get you all home for the 1:00PM kickoff...you might live in PA.

~  If you have had a lengthy telephone call with someone who dialed a wrong number...you might live in PA.

          YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE PENNSYLVANIAN WHEN:

1.  "Vacation" means going north up past 1-80 for the weekend.

2.  You measure distance in hours.

3.  You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.

4.  You often switch from heat to A/C and back again more than once in the same
     day.

5.  You can drive 65 m.p.h. through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard and not
     even flinch.

6.  You see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings).

7.  You install security lights on your house and garage and leave the doors
     unlocked.

8.  You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them. 

9.  You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

10. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are covered with snow.

11. You know all 4 seasons:  almost fall, winter, still winter, and road construction.

12. You can identify a southern or eastern accent.

13. Your idea of creative landscaping is a concrete deer statue next to your blue
      spruce.

14. Down South to you means Morgantown, W.V.

15. A critter is something you eat.

16. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new F-150.

17. You go out to fish-fry every Friday and Bingo every Wednesday.

18. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.

19. Your snowblower has more miles on it than your car.

20. You find 0 degrees "a little chilly"

I will let everyone know how my hospital stay turned out as soon as I am able to post.  Until then, take care of one another and enjoy Spring, whether it is chilly and rainy or glorious in your part of the world! xox

Congrats and it was Sunny!...

I can't believe it, THE SUN CAME OUT TODAY!!  It peaked it's yellow face out from behind the dark clouds.  It wasn't very long, but it was warm and it was friendly!  I have missed the sun so badly it hurts.  It physically hurts.  We have had so many cloudy days and grey days and rainy days that I had forgotten how good the warmth from the sun felt on my skin.  My cat and I spent some time, just her and me, lying on the floor in it.  I ocassionally wonder why animals enjoy lying in the sun so much.  Because they can, I guess.  I guess I would if it was easy enough to lie on the floor.  Ah, come back again, dear sun, you went away behind the dark clouds too soon!  The weatherman said it should come back again in a day or two, but I will believe it when I see it.

So, I wanted to congratulate Becky from Where Life Takes You who was the first to correctly guess both photos for this week's "Up Close With Val"!!  Way to go, Becky!!  The first photo was a banana that was getting very ripe and the second was a carnation.  Specifically, it was a shot near the center of the carnation.  I thought the leaves looked so cool when they were magnified like they were.  Here is your blue ribbon, Becky!!:

                            

Chelsea just left to go to a Maroon 5 concert tonight with a few friends.  They are performing here locally.  That sounds like a blast!!  I hope she has a good time.  It is actually her first concert!!  Wow!!  I am sure she will enjoy it!!  She deserves a night of fun!!

I have been terribly behind on journal-reading.  I think once you get backed up it is so hard to catch up.  I hate to miss any entries from my usual journals as I feel like I will miss something important.  Am I sick??  Am I an addict??  So now I am so behind.  I miss a few days and I have so many alerts in my inbox and I panic.  Whoa.  And I have to delete them and just go one by one to my favorite journals.  If I haven't visited your journal lately, I promise, I am coming :-), really, I am!!  I am going to get behind again when I go to Johns Hopkins in April.  Ack!!  Yep, that is April 4.  I guess that is less than a week away.  Six days.  I will be getting a shunt monitoring and possible change in my shunt - from a non-programmable to a programmable.  Sounds kind of complicated.  I will be out of town for one to four days, it seems.  Prayers would be appreciated.  Thanks so much :-)

Well, I am off to get some dinner and maybe get ready to watch American Idol.  I surely can't miss that!!!  Good night, all!! xox

"Up Close With Val" and Happy Easter...

Good Saturday to all and happy Easter weekend!  I haven't made an entry in a whole week!  I have been very busy.  I had two court dates with Chelsea concerning her P.F.A. and charges against her abuser.  She was granted her P.F.A. and at the second court date he pled no contest to the charges and was given the "standard" penalty, fines, etc.  Chelsea is grieving a bit but is glad it is over.  I am so, so, so proud of her.  It was not easy at all for her, but she is forging ahead!!

I have two new pictures for "Up Close With Val" this week.  I've been slacking off on this competition for a few weeks now.  Have fun with it and put your guess(es) in the comment's section or send me an email.  I will let you know by email if you have a correct guess!  I'll let you know who the winner(s) is/are tomorrow or the next day!

         

         

I am wishing everyone a very, very blessed Resurrection Day filled with love!!  I hope everyone has a special someone they can spend it with.  Please take care of one another...

JESUS IS RISEN! JESUS IS RISEN! JESUS IS RISEN!

"Fun"...

Happy Saturday, everyone!  For all of you who inquired, a P.F.A. is a Protection From Abuse Order.  It is given when someone is in danger of being harmed physically and emotionally.  I can not give any more details for Chelsea's security sake, but I would appreciate prayers for her.  Thank you all!

I went downtown today to find pictures for the Scavenger Hunt.  It was the first time I went out all week.  It was rather nice to get out of my house.  It was so pretty outside.  I was a bit fearful all week, but I just needed to get out.  I grabbed my camera and went and was so glad I did.  It was great to stretch my sore, achey muscles.  I went down to our local park and grabbed these pictures of children.  It was funny because as I was taking them I thought the parents were thinking that I was stalking their children.  It feels weird to take pictures of other people.  What are they thinking?  I was hiding behind trees and poles! LOL  So, here are my pictures of the subject "FUN" for this week's Scavenger Hunt brought to you by Krissy at Sometimes I Think.

           

Nothing says fun like playing at a playground on a tire swing on a Saturday afternoon!!

         

I really, really loved this shot of a father and son feeding ducks and fish.  I love how he is holding his son.  This one was really hard to get!  I pretended I was shooting the ducks and fish in the water. LOL

              This photo was taken last week at our condo in Myrtle Beach.  Chelsea and her best friend, Ali, were gabbing and laughing on a couch.  Nothing says fun and love like these two!  They are inseparable!!  When I see these two together I always get the biggest smile!!

The last photo I took was of a thrift store window.  It was filled with children's toys!  Now how fun is that!!?!!  I wanted to go in and grab them and play with them all! LOL  I played around with the photo and made it look a little different.  I know, I know, it is strange.  It is supposed to be.  There was a glare on the window, but you all get the idea.  Hope you find it interesting!

         

So, a journal-friend of mine is having a really tough time and it would be nice if she could get a few words of encouragement.  Please visit her here.

Everyone have a good night and take care of one another!

I'm Checking In Here...

Wow, it has been awhile since I have written a proper entry.  I missed reading journals and I missed writing.  I guess it has been about three weeks except for a quick on and off to wish Chelsea a happy birthday.  I feel bad, too, because I didn't wish Krissy  a proper happy birthday on March 13.  So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Krissy, my favoritest big girl in the whole wide world!!!!!  So, I think it will take me forever to catch up on journal reading!!  You see, I only give myself some time in the morning and then I get off and don't get back on until the next morning.  So, if I have not visited your journal I will be coming!  I promise!!  Just give me a little bit of time!!  Be patient!!  Thanks!!

My last few weeks have been crazy, to say the least.  I took a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a week.  I was there helping a friend who had to retrieve things that belonged to her mom who passed away.  Although it was wonderful spending time with Chelsea the whole week, and nice to be away from my home at times, and good to be with friends, it was also stressful to be away and to put my body through what it went through.  When you are with three others who have different lifestyles it is just hard.  It was cold and rainy as well.  We were very busy, too, and it was an emotional trip.  I actually only got to the beach twice for a total of about twenty minutes.  I did get some pictures, though.  Here are a couple.

         

         

The second one was taken right before a thunderstorm.  This view was actually right out our condo. window.  We had an amazing oceanfront view.  It was incredible.  That was really appreciated because we didn't really make it down to the beach.  It was nice to be able to hear the sounds of the waves by just cracking the door.  I was able to go to bed each night with the ocean sounds!!  Now, that was heaven!!

Here is one final photo I took of a pretty sunset.  I was going to use it for Krissy's "Looking Up" Hunt, but couldn't get it in on time.

         

When I returned home I thought I was going to be able to get a bit of rest, but, without getting into much detail, for safety reasons, Chelsea has had to get a P.F.A. and leave home for a bit.  It has all been very, very hard on both of us and our friends and family.  I have not gotten much sleep and my body has been in knots.  I think that it has brought up old wounds and past traumas of what I went through as a young woman and wishing that I could take away her pain. 

So, I am off here as I have pulled a muscle in my shoulder and typing really hurts.  I hope to have my usual two to three entries a week now and a soon-to post "Up Close With Val".  It is good to be back y'all!! xox