The Kitchen Cacti

Well people, I won't say much in this post...I think I will just put the photo's here and see what the general consensus is on the two cacti in my kitchen.


Some people voice their opinion when they sit at the counter and sip coffee, some just shake their head and I've caught some people glance at the cacti, their eyebrow's usually have some sort of movement and then they look away.


I must say this though, these cacti did not look like this when I bought them! They chose their path in life and ran with it!


You decide...tell me, what do you think of my kitchen cacti? Click on the photo's to enlarge ...(don't be influenced by the look on the pig's face in the window)

My Cat~ Morphine, Epsom Salt and Anibiotics

Hi Everyone~


I hope your Spring is stating off good! In Idaho, Spring can be a mix of wind, snow, hail, sleet, sunshine, thaw, freezing rain and even these little round balls of white styro-foam like thingy's that fall from the sky. It's never dull and always promises that better days are soon to come because it can't get worse!


My old orange Tabby cat, Donatello (named after the famous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle) ended up getting one of his claws infected and had to spend the night at the Vet's. They drugged him, cleaned everything up and sent him home bandaged up with instructions for me to administer drugs, wound care and Epsom salt soaks on his foot.


It's amazing just how pliable a cat can be when he is stoned on Morphine! He is the sweetest cat in the house, so it did make my job a bit easier, but there is no way he would have soaked his paw for 20 minutes had there not been mind altering drugs involved! Take a look:

I am happy to report, he is doing fine now, but still needing to be babied and is most happy to lay next to me all day, reaching out with his paw, if I take my hand off of him for more than five minutes! He is such a "male" ...sorry guys, but most of you are terrible patients, it's a fact. Oh, and he no longer has to wear the bandage.


I will be back this afternoon to get your thoughts on my cacti (plural for cactus)...some people have issues with my cacti display in my kitchen...you decide :)


I hope your Monday is a good one! I'm off now to prepare for a work meeting that is taking place in my bedroom...I need to get ready for visitors!

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad world!

Hi Everyone!


I won't even begin to try to explain why I fell off the "blog map"...my problems are so irrelevant in comparison to the current events of the world.


Should I try to give details of what I have been dealing with, it would seem selfish and self-absorbed! In a word, I'm "fine"...my energy and thoughts are focused on Japan and the horror that the people of Japan are living! Therefore, I refuse to talk about my problems.


On a brighter note, I have some photo's to share with all of you! I will update you on the progress of my broken leg and fill you in on the "random but relevant (to me)" events of my life since I last posted.


Let's get the broken leg out of the way. It will be 7 weeks on March 18th, since I took the tumble out of my wheelchair. I have gone over the "incident" with a fine tooth comb and in conclusion, the responsibility for damages lies with both human error (caused by yours truly) and Spanx. Simply put, I was operating non-heavy machinery, ignoring the clear and present danger because I was focused on feeding my addiction to caffeine. Yes, my desire to brew a fresh ground pot of coffee clouded my judgement, I was moving too fast, talking to cats and lost control of the aforementioned non-heavy machinery, ie, my wheelchair. Guilty.


Now here's where my Spanx must be held, in part, responsible. Spanx, when worn without proper top layer clothing, for example, pants, become very slick! When worn without pants, my Spanx cause a dangerous, non-traction zone between my butt and my wheelchair cushion. So these two factors when combined, created the perfect moment for me to slide out of my chair when my wheel caught the edge of the floor molding!


My bones are not healing, but, there is hope! I start ultrasound treatments on the broken bones this Friday. This procedure is promising the potential for new bone growth.


I'm still flat on my back, foot elevated and working very hard to stay positive :)


The following photo's are one of my outings to the doctor's office. We had about 15 inches of snow and my eldest son taxied me to and from. He derived great joy by passing the more sane, cautious drivers on the road...as I, sat griping the "oh Jesus" handle, white knuckled.

On to the next subject! The people and other things that come to visit me during my vacation in bed :)


I consider myself a very wealthy woman. I am rich in friends and people who come to see me, bring me food, and call just to let me know they are thinking of me. 


My dear friend Jenni is an angel here on earth. Jen is always ready to assist me in any way possible ...she has been known to stop by at just the right moment and fill my heart with happiness! Here is a photo of a little surprise she stopped by with last week:

Isn't that baby chick the cutest thing?! Jen raises chickens and had just gotten several new chicks, stopped by to show me and couldn't have timed it more perfectly! I was feeling pretty blue that day but the combination of Jenni, her partner J.J., the baby chick and a prompt "plop" of chicken poop on my chest, did wonder's for my mood! I love you Jen!


Current event's: I've been pretty much glued to the T.V. for several days now, watching the ever-changing scenario of what is going on in Japan. First and foremost, my thoughts and all good energy is in constant flow to the people in Japan. The world should take a lesson from the people there on how to "manage" in the face of adversity! No looting, no rudeness, no entitlement...just composure, compassion for their neighbors, patience and perseverance!


Nukes, radiation and subterfuge? I won't get political here...all I will say is, I have my potassium iodide tablets and an emergency preparedness supply...just in case. I'd rather be prepared and proactive, instead of following blindly. What I want more than anything, is to be wrong!


For current breaking news, I like to visit the Drudge Report. I have linked it here for you if you are interested.


I know this is a long post, and long over-due, so I will close now with one last photo of a hero who is near and dear to my heart. Meet Jared- he is my daughter Chy's boyfriend and Marine who is currently deployed to Afghanistan. Here is a little something he did during some off-time:

I hope you are all well~

So Sick...

Hi Everyone~
I'm so sorry for my lack of activity here...I'm pretty ill. I will return :) but was feeling bad about leaving everyone wondering....

Take Care~

My Current Reality~ In A Nutshell...Blonde

Hi Follower's aka Friend's and you "peep's" who stumble across my blog!


I'm going to give you a rundown of my weekend...hold onto your hat's, pant's, hair, or whatever else might have a tendency to be blown away!


Let's start the weekend with Friday evening/night. A reminder for some who might have forgotten or those of you that are new and just don't know this, yes, I am still sporting a Lime Green cast on the left leg and, I am still only able to get up into my wheelchair for 5-15 minutes twice a day. A not so pretty vision of this blogger should be forming in your mind's eye right about now.


I'm vain, therefore, there will be NO PHOTO's of me until Tuesday, at which time, I will stop following my doctor's orders long enough to wash my hair! My personal hygiene consists of: Washing my face, a "sponge bath", brushing my teeth, brushing my, now disgusting, hair and putting it into a ponytail, applying lotion to my very dry epidermis, and tons of moisturizer to my face! 


I am counting the hours until Tuesday...I have a doctor appointment, so I get to make myself presentable! I know I am in this for the long haul, but fingers crossed, my Doc will tell me I can be up for longer periods of time, thus removing my internal battle of having to choose "should I use the 15 minutes to wash my hair or should I get food for the day?"...obviuosly "food" has been my choice!


So, Friday night~ I had a piece of carrot cake for dinner, watched a marathon of "Million Dollar Listing" (seen on Bravo), that I had recorded on my DVR and I wanted to delete them to make room for more "reality tv" that I am discovering, I'm slightly addicted to. There you have it, that was Friday...I fell asleep during the marathon. Exciting, I know!


On Saturday, I decided to get ahead on a bit of next week's Social Media work, so I spent a few hours searching the internet for information that is pertinent to "what it is that I do"...now as most people know, when you start "searching the Net", you can get sidetracked very easily! Before you know it you are mulling over a purchase for some designer shoes, stiletto's no less (please see the humor and irony in that as it relates to me), and these shoe's most certainly have no place in your "Dave Ramsey- Live Debt Free" budget! You see where I'm going here?, I was way off track!


I did manage to get back on course and have a good jump-start to this weeks work.


My blog needed attention, so, I decide to post the Awards that some of you have given me, thank you, but I discover that I cannot find the posts that informed me of these Awards! Mortified, I have to then ask these generous Award-givers, "can you please re-direct me to these Awards?" ...and you have done so. Now I will post them, in their own post of course.


As evening rolled around, I realized I hadn't eaten since my "carrot cake meal" on Friday! I had already spent my second round of "15 minutes up" on feeding the animals and letting them out and back in for the night. The mini-fridge next to my bed is in dire need of re-stocking...it contains 1 Mike's Hard Lemonade, the infamous (almost gone) bottle of Mudslide that I found a month ago in my kitchen fridge, a block of moldy cheese, and a chocolate flavored Instant Breakfast drink. I'm starving!


Right about now you might be feeling kind-of bad for me....don't :) My girl twin, Chyanne, comes through the front door and says "Mom, are you hungry? I'm starved! Does fresh cracked crab and potato salad sound good?"... to which I reply "Hell yeah! I'll buy!"...and my little angel comes into my room and "snatches" (they learn this skill quickly) my debit card out of my hand and heads out the door to the grocery store for the goods! Here, meet Chy:

Chy makes it home, cracks the crab, comes to my room, has dinner and watched "The 40 Year Old Virgin" with me before she left for a night of fun and "whatever" with her friends. 


I need to take a moment to say this...I'm very fortunate to have the kids I have...we do have our difficulties, but all in all, I'm very blessed with them. All of my children have gone "above and beyond" what most children might experience in life, because of my disability, but, my disability has also provided them with life lessons that will be an asset as they get older and move through life.


My Saturday night continued with a little more excitement. We had wind gusts up to 40+ mph and I was fairly certain the power was going to go out so I made sure I had candles, matches and my flashlights beside the bed. 


I really dislike the high winds! I have a huge, very tall tree, right outside my bedroom...if it comes down, it's coming down on my bedroom! 


I like to think ahead in these "Mother Nature" moments...we've all seen the "raw news" video(s) of people being rescued in a natural disaster and the like...people in their underwear, out of their underwear, partially underwear-ed, you get the picture right? Well, that is not going to be me! Ok, except for when I recently broke my leg...I was in my Spanx, the kind that are capri length, and a tee shirt. I was headed into the pantry, getting ready to make coffee. I've learned my lesson, I will never make coffee in my Spanx again! Fortunately, Chy was here and my "most awesome" neighbor, Sharon (I know, we have the same name, cool huh?) had not left for work yet, so they spared me the shame of having to call the Firemen to come help me, in my Spanx! Shesh...if this isn't a run-on paragraph, I don't know what is...


Ok, so back to the "mother Nature and other Disaster Preparedness" I was talking about. The wind had started gusting last night and I look at my cast, my underwear, my cast, my underwear....I couldn't stand it, I had to get up! I drag my casted and slightly heavy legged-self into my chair for a 3rd time, breaking the Doc's rule, to get my pull-on yoga pants (I don't do yoga), I make my way back across the 4 feet from dresser to bed, haul my butt back out of my chair onto my bed, fold my yoga pants neatly across the back of my wheelchair, smile and say "not tonight Mother Nature, you're not catching me in my Spanx again!" and I happily drifted off to sleep, secure in knowing I wouldn't be caught in an embarrassing rescue. 


Have you noticed yet that I am delusional enough to think that I will be able to put the yoga pants on, cast and all, before I am trapped by the falling tree? That I might somehow hear that the tree is going to fall while I am asleep? Did you notice that I "folded" them and put them "on the back of my wheelchair" instead of putting them on my body and then mocking Mother Nature?!


And I have just shared with you a classic "Sharon Blonde Moment", the weekend is not over, there could be more to write about :)


I hope your Sunday is a great one! I will be back to hand out Awards! Yay!


Take Care~

Awards....

Hi Everyone~
I feel terrible...there have been a couple of people that sent me messages saying they left an award for me on their blogs...I cannot find them! Oh, my Blonde-ness is in overdrive right now!


If you were one of these oh-so-kind individuals, please send me another note letting me know where your blog is! I feel like a schmuck!


Take Care~

My 1968 Cougar XR7~She's A Beauty!

Hi Everyone~


I would like to introduce you to my obsession, my Summer fun, my escape from the day's that I wish my legs worked, my "hey baby wanna ride?" fantasy. 


In 1968 Playboy magazine said the Cougar XR7 was "the classiest" of new cars that year. 


So please meet "Goldie", my 1968 Cougar!

This car has given me more pleasure over the past several years, so much so, I cannot really put it into words.


I have loved fast cars since I was 10 or 11 years old. I remember my big brother was always tinkering on some ol' hunk of junk that was parked in the driveway when I was growing up. I loved to sit and ask him questions until he would finally get sick of me and send me on my way


My first Cougar I owned was in 1977, it was blue with white leather interior...I was lured away from her by this sassy little Fiat convertible in a moment of weakness. I sold the Cougar to a girlfriend from school and although the Fiat was fun, I always regretted selling that blue Cougar.


In 2004, I found "Goldie", she was parked inside a building in Spokane Washington, where classic cars are sold. I went straight to the bank, got a loan and made arrangements to get her to my home 100 miles away.


I have hand-control's installed (as I do on all my cars), and as soon as Spring starts to show signs of arriving, I call the mechanic and arrange for "Goldie" to be tuned-up and spit-shined, ready to hit the highway!


The air conditioner doesn't work, by choice, I don't really like air conditioning and it would probably cause "Goldie" to overheat anyway. So I pull my hair into a ponytail, put on a baseball cap, grab my shades, turn "Hotel California" by The Eagles up real loud and head out onto the highway! I cannot tell you the thrill I get, but you can see my smile from a mile away!


"Goldie" has a throaty rumble, that, when I pull up to a stop light, if there is a person who loves muscle cars nearby, her rumble will turn heads and the inevitable "thumbs-up" follows from her admirers.


So there you have it... My Goldie. I hope you enjoy the photo's. I promise a video of her first drive this Spring, I'll take you all with me! Of course that means you might have to put up with my singing (never a good thing), I will try to refrain from "cat calls" and whistling at good looking men...oh heck, no I won't, who am I trying to kid?! I promise, you'll get the full package, no editing.


Here's more of "Goldie" - click on the photo's for a larger view:

I hope your Wednesday is a good one!


Oh! I have a couple more Awards to post and pass out, later today :)


Take care~