Been a busy day. Cleaning out Cameron's room, since he has made comments about he still has baby stuff in his room. I think he has a bit of a hoarding problem. He saves all kinds of junk & would cry & get mad when I threw them out. I thought I would had been done today but only got one side of his room done today ! Back at it tomorrow !

Porch update

Getting excited seeing it come together. Shingles will be put on tomorrow. Its getting there!

I am happy to report Tyler's brother came thru his surgery very well, & he is now home. Its amazing how fast you go home now days. They removed the tumor & said it was about the size of a golf ball. All this was done laparoscopiaclly too. He is in good spirts & says he feels like someone beat him in the stomach with a baseball bat about 10 times ! Thank you for your concern & prayers. God is good & we give him all the glory !

A little Bit Closer

Sunday we went out on the boat & I was happy girl !!!! Just a little bit closer till we will be out on the water all day. Bring it on !

Matthew

2012 has been a year of up & downs for sure. We have had alot going on both sides of our families. Tomorrow we will head to Chapel Hill to be with Tyler's brother, Matthew. Then end of January we were told that during a routine physical that something was found on one of his kidneys & then about a week after that in February, it was confirmed, Matt had kidney cancer. Hearing the word CANCER is the last thing in this world you want to hear & having been through it with my sister, it is like someone has kicked you in the gut. Its just heart wrenching news because you love someone so much & don't ever want anything to happen to them. In the following week, Matthew got some good news in all of this. The cancer had not spread & was just confined to that one kidney. Thank You Lord !!! So now to tomorrow, the plan is to remove the tumor & leave as much as that kidney as possible. There should be no other treatment once it is removed & if all goes well he should be able to go home the next day & has a 4 week recovery. Please keep Matthew in your prayers. I am so lucky to have such a good relationship with my in laws. Matthew is one of the most kind hearted people I know. He is a funny , funny , happy person too & we always have a good time when we're all together. I Love You Matthew , you got this & in you own words .... Is it what it is !

Tyler

Well after many months, it is finally official & the whole company was told this past week. Tyler was presented a big promotion the end of October. He is now the Vice President of Service Sales & Management. We had told friends & family but he was to keep quite at work due to some structure changes within the company. I am so proud of him! He has always worked so hard since the moment I met him. To see where hes come from, to this is just nothing short of a blessing ! We are truly grateful & like I've said many time before, we give God all the Glory.

Porch Update

Well some progress has made this week. I was told the complete framing & ceiling would be finished this week. Tyler will be handling the roof & the screen & the doors should be put up within the next week .Lord I hope this gets done this week because its starting to stress me ! & dragging out a little too much too.

Mammy

My grandmother has been really sick & weak for over a week now. Her & Cameron were in the hospital at the same time. I haven't been able to spend too much time with her since Cameron came home & then I got caught up on life this past week. She got move to a rehab place this past Monday. She had been doing a little better, but her mind is really gone down hill too. I think the goal is to get her strength back to so that she can go back home. Last night she had another bout in the hospital. She couldn't breathe good & blood pressure was really low. She kept saying I think I am about to go away & that she was floating. She was moved back to the rehab place this morning & was upset because she wanted to go home! Makes me sad ! I know that she is nearing the end of her life & she has lead a good 97 years. I think all of us just hope she can go home & pass in her sleep. That is our prayer. If they can get her physical strength up , she will go home, but she forgets everything they tell her. She is one tough lady & I think that is one thing I admire her for is her strength ! I'd love to see her make it to 100 . I love her & I have made peace with to let her go. She was sleeping so peaceful this afternoon when I went to visit her & looked so sweet, I didn't want to wake her. Please keep her in your prayers.

Walking the beach

Another great day ! Too bad I stayed home to clean house today. When I went to pick Cameron up from school the car temp said 81. Makes me happy & I love it ! Tyler has been out of town since Wednesday , so I was glad to see him home safely , I do miss him when he's gone ! Since the time has changed we can stay out later in the evenings, so we couldn't decide to put boat in water or go walk the beach. We decided the one to give us a lil exercise , so we walked the beach to pick up stones to put in the outdoor shower. Almost have it filled up good , won't be too many more bags & we will have enough in there. So Tyler , Cameron & myself set out to walk & get stones. While we were walking Cameron noticed something very neat that I had not seen before & called us to come look. It was thousand of mussels washing up. Ive seen them wash up with waves before & when I was little I use to love & sit & scoop them up to see all the different colors & patterns. (& get a crotch full of sand too.) Today it was different, they would wash up & then thousand of them would push themselves up out of the sand, not tyring to dig themselves back down . It was really pretty cool & we stood there & watched for the longest time. I don't know what it was about & I may google it later but here are the pics I took.

Looked on computer to look info up. It wasn't easy. Come to find out they are not mussels, their correct name is Donax or called Bean Clams. Just a little FYI.

Nicholas Sparks

I finished another book by one of my favorite authors. I had been wanting to read this one because the setting was in Oriental , NC. Tyler's family has a cottage there so we have shared alot of good times & memories there. The book was fairly accurate because there is not much to do in Oriental & truly a place where you can just get away & do nothing ! The book did mention some land marks like Brantleys & Red Lees grill. Red's grill was home of the .25 hot dogs & hamburgers. When Tyler & I were dating it was still open & seemed to be after we were married too, but I do believe it closed up by the time Ty was born. I enjoyed the book but as usual it didn't end the way I wanted it to end.

Shrimp Recipe

Another Pinterest find that my friend Heather pinned. Me & my mom n law needed to try this too. It was so easy & good.  All you do is melt a stick of butter in the bottom of a sheet pan, cut up one lemon , layer with shrimp & cover with italian dressing mix. Cook for 15mins at 350. It was so good but I would had done somethings a little different. I used 2 lemons, Tyler said it was too much but I liked it.  I also would toss the shrimp in the italian mix to cover both sides & a little salt & pepper too.I left them in just a little longer than I should had, so 15 mins is good. Very easy but was really good.

Porch

Progress on the porch .... a little . Another set of steps got addedd & everything leveled & bolted in & a beam got put in place. Hopefully more tomorrow !

Strawberry Cake

My Mother n law & myself have a thing for sweets. She loves cupcakes & cake icing as much as I do. We were looking on Pinterest & was showing her the goodies I had pinned . Lewis Strawberries were out this past week & Granny had bought some. We'll after looking at the cake recipe , we needed to make the cake. So she went & got the rest of the ingredients & we put it together. It is good, but we decided it would be better with some cream cheese in the icing. The recipe also said to let chill in fridge before you serve. We couldn't wait , but it was better cold.  Yummy !!!!

Porch

Not a whole lot got done last week. The deck got prepared & the post are set. Should be alot going on this week.
~ Happy Birthday to my sister Cammie ! I love you bunches & hope you had a Great Birthday !!!

Grateful Pics

 Just getting in hospital.

Getting hospital clothes on , waiting on nurse & playing Mad Libs.

Getting IV.

Going back to holding area for surgery.

 Waiting to go back to Surgery.

Just back in the room.

" My throat hurts"

Trying to rest.

Had a visitor come see him.

Ella brought Cameron a Shamrock Shake

 Doing Good !

Grateful

It has been an emotional past 3 days. Let me rewind back to Tuesday night . My 97 old grandmother, Mammy, had been taken to the hospital about 9:30/10. I was waiting for my sister to call me to let me know what was going on so I was up . Robin called about 12:30ish to let me know that they were admitting her & she was gonna take Dwayne home & head back to hospital. I didn't want something to happen & me not see Mammy & talk to her ,so I told Robin I'd pick her up & we'd go together. So up I get to get dressed & half way look presentable, had I know how the events the laid ahead of were gonna play out, I would had showered & fixed my hair! So out I went it 1am now & I contemplated on going Sidbury Rd or not & like usual I should had listen to my gut, because a block after I turned on it, I saw it coming & yep I clipped the back end of a deer! There won't no way I was gonna stop on that road by myself & I kept right on going. I don't know where the deer went , if I was dragging it or not & I didn't care! Got to Robins house & looked & it didn't look like the car was damaged , so to the hospital we went. Got there to see Mammy & she was awake & she stayed awake the whole night! She has some dementia, so she is very repetitive. She could stop fiddling with the wires & wanting to know what was going on & where she was over & over . I know she can't help it. So me Robin & Aunt Jean stayed up there all night. 7:30am came & Aunt Jean needed to eat so down to the cafeteria we went & this is where my day took a nose dive. Tyler texted me , call me ASAP! I called & he said school nurse called & Cameron had stomach pain & needed to be picked up. So told Aunt Jean I needed to go , told Robin & I headed to school. Got him from school & went home & gave him an Advil & was putting him in my bed when he was just crying & moaning how bad it hurt. Laid him down & started mashing around & everything seem to hurts worse on the right side. Thankfully his Drs are across the street from us & I gathered him up & we went. Had to wait an hour & half & I was getting pissed ! Here my child is laying here doubled over & that wasn't an emergency because we were a walk in. My friend Delores works there & the final time I walked to the nurses station & I don't really know exactly what I said but let it be known someone better see him quick & that this was ridiculous & he was in pain! I love you Delores because that Dr was in shortly , & I didn't give him a hey how you doing look. I wanted to take that bow tie off him & choke him with it! I did say just before we left I didn't appreciate how long we had to wait. Waiting was just the first of many. He sent us to radiology & he let me know he thought it was his appendix but they were gonna check his whole abdomen. Now I'm worried .... Calling Tyler & his phone wasn't working right & ended up calling the office. I probably wasn't nice & scared the receptionist to death, but I didn't care! Got him on the phone & told him to meet me at Cape Fear. Cape Fear we go & they were waiting for us. Got him checked in & then they come with of a bottle of contrast to drink. He drank half & threw it up. Started another bottle. I felt so bad for him.You know when you don't know what is going on , your mind runs wild & I couldn't help but think about Zack Mayo. We are no different than his family is & I knew that in a split second our lives could change. All I could do was pray & ask God to be with us no matter what we were about to find out. After waiting an hour for the contrast , they took him back. I was a nervous wreck & Cameron was so calm. He was saying all the time, "Mom don't cry, Im sorry." Which made me cry worse. I tried to put my Big girl face on , but it wasn't working. The CT people laid him down to start an IV & he ended up get it stuck twice. They gave me a sexy looking weighted protective vest to put on & I got to stay in there with him. Didn't take long, so it was off to wait some more. I had stepped outside to check my messages, cause T-mobile don't work hardly anywhere, & next thing I knew, here come Tyler yelling for me & Robin & Cameron behind him. They had called Tylers cell & told him it was his appendix & New Hanover was waiting for him & he already had a room. My nerves were frayed , so bad in fact, I let Robin drive me. By this time my face, neck & chest was broke out. Robin got us there & in we went, right to a room & they started on him. This was about 3:00/ 3:30ish ? Cameron was so calm & was pumped there was an Xbox in there for him! The nurses got him changed & started his IV. He winced some but never cried. Got him settled & here comes Erin with lots of goodys for him. We played Mad Libs & laughed & laughed . It was about 5:00 that they came to get him to take him for surgery. We waited about 45mins before they came in & said they had emergency come in & then an hour later same thing. We were the only ones down there so it must had been true. All the family started to show up. Cameron was so surprised to see his Granny & said "Granny you didn't have to come all this way " & then told me he was glad she was there. Now you know I have a Big family & a loud one too! Keep in mind my sister & I haven't slept at all ,so sometimes I felt over whelmed & i would just step out & me & Erin would walk. I was glad they were there though.  After the second hour, I asked & the Dr. told me we were pushed back again, because of an organ harvest. I was like hey, I can wait. Someone is mourning the loss of their love one & giving life to someone else, we can wait . But when the third hour rolled around, I was trying to be nice & then they told us it would be longer & could be 1am till they got to him but he was going tonight . So all the family went to eat & Erin, Ty & me hung out with Cameron. After awhile they came & told us they were taking him back to his room. I felt deflated! So I texted everyone & told them just to go on home & I would call when his time came. We were in the room about 20 mins & here they came to get him . Took him back to another holding area, but this time only 2 could go back & Tyler & myself had to put on some hot looking blue jump suits. Back we went & by this time Cameron is wore out & starts to cry because its been so long & he had started hurting again & was hungry. We were probably back there another 45 mins & the staff said that he had now became the emergency & he was on the top of the list now. Wasn't long after that they came to get him. Let me just say , that was on of the hardest thing to do was to watch your baby be wheeled off from you! I told the anesthesiologist, you just make sure you bring him back & when they turned the corner, I wanted to puke !!! Me & Tyler got to the waiting area & waited ! Erin, Granny & Ty made there way back to us & probably about 45 mins. Dr said he was done. Everything went good . The appendix was inflamed & bulging on one end. He was fine & to go on back to his room & wait for him. So we gathered our things & waited up in his room. 11: 15 he was back in his room & was looking pitiful & groggy. I was just glad to see him & wanted to crawl up in that bed with him. His throat was scratchy from the tube but he gave me his half lil smile & I knew he was good. The nurses we steadily over him so everybody gathered up & headed home. It was almost 1 am before the nurses had got him settled & cut the lights out to leave. I made my bed on that comfortable :/ couch they had to try to get some sleep, by this time I think I could had ran from the hospital & home & not stop but I laid down & woke up at 4 with him being in pain & the nurses getting him up. It hurt him so bad to pee & of course I cried for him! We got him back settled & slept till 7:30 because shift change came around. Now I am looking REAL good right now, walked out to my car & thankfully there was a hat in the car & Sarah had brought my make up , so I tried to look as best as I could. Waited for the Dr's to make their rounds. After talking with the Dr's , if he could eat his lunch & keep it down , he could go home. Cameron was content, playing xbox , but was ready to go home. He ate lunch , they took his IV out & about 3:00 we ahead home. He has done good since we've been home. The first night he couldn't get settled till after midnight & we slept till 11 & that morning he was nauseated & hurt . Today he is better, sore but moving around better & last night I looked & he had rolled on his side while he was asleep. So he's on the mend but has said he doesn't think he'll make it to school Monday . LOL ! I am thankful from the depths of my soul. I know some people may think jeez he just had his appendix taken out .... yes it was just his appendix , but no one wants there child to go into any type of surgery. And I am thankful that is was just his appendix. I have know so many families that has had their child die & I thought about them thru this time & prayed for them. Oh how they wished their child had something as minor as an appendix, but I also know that I am no different than them & I could had easily been dealing with the same thing they had gone thru. I thank you Lord for your protection & healing for my son. I am so grateful & thankful. I am also so thankful for my family & friends! I couldn't had got thru this with out you. Granny, Erin, & Robin, thank you for being there for Cameron & for Tyler & Myself ! I so appreciate all the text , emails , phone calls, food, cards & visits. I read Cameron alot of them & he would smile & get teary eyed sometimes & say that's sweet . God is good & I give him all the glory!

Tired, tired , tired ! Big post coming .....

Another exhausting day ! Very thankful & happy. Hoping I will get caught up on some much needed sleep. Will blog more later .....

Long exhausting day , will blog more tomorrow.

Had another great day! Give thanks for another day! More tomorrow ....

Beautiful day minus the pollen! It is really coming down now. Was sitting on the back deck earlier this afternoon & I could see it falling on the screen of the iPod . Didnt stay out long cause in to get the nose spray & to take a Zyrtec. Walked The Loop again today & it was so nice & cool. Struggled with my running for past couple times, don't know if it is allergies or what ? I have come to the realization that some people are runners & some are not. I am not ! I have been faithful at it since January & about 7 to 10 minutes is about all I can do with a walk in between. I would love to be able to run that whole loop but I do believe I would have scrapes & be bleeding before I could finish. I am happy with my lil putting of run/walking. I do know that exercise has to be part of my life, so I will keep at it. Who knows one day maybe I will make it all the way around running. If I do, it will be BiG News !

Lazy Sunday. Did some things around the house this morning. Mostly getting things prepared for them to start the porch Wednesday. You know with construction things never start or end on time. Fingers crossed they will start Wednesday! More tomorrow ....

Up early & headed out, to do some errands & walk the loop. Started off with breakfast at The Goody Goody House. It was good ! Had to return some things & went to look around at Home Depot for porch stuff. I then remember I need to get screened doors. Told Tyler we need to go to some place in Holly Ridge. So we didn't make it to The Loop & head towards Holly Ridge. I don't know if any of you have ever been to Doug's Salavage but Wow ! The place was packed with all kinds of old stuff & antiques . After making our way thru all the stuff to find Doug, he was outside working on something he was restoring. He was a cute Lil old man. Told him & we were looking for some old screen doors & he showed us to what he had. I didn't really see anything I like & he then told us there were 2 alike , but kinda tall & showed us. They were perfect! I had really wanted some with spindles in it but they hard very hard to comeby & according to Doug, old screen doors are popular & the good ones get gone fast. The price was even better. Now we have to do a little work & rescreen them but you can tell they are old & how lucky were we to need two & find two matching ones. Can't wait to put them up & I hope they will be able to fit!

Tired ! Gonna watch Footloose & then Sleep ! It might be sleep & then Fottloose in the morning. Tyler & myself are just exhausted ! More tomorrow .... Night !

Another busy day ! Went & picked my lemon up this morning. It looked bright & shiny & new ! I will say...Cadillacs customer service is excellent ! or maybe they know that I have a lemon & trying to keep me hushed up. Left from the dealership & headed to The Loop to walk/run. I know I say its always a beautiful day, but today was a BEAUTIFUL day again ! So Beautiful , I did it twice ! (walked the second time ) Got home about 3 & got a phone call from school saying there was a situation & the sheriffs dept was on the scene & handling it. Very Vague & I was like OK , what the heck is going on. I still don't know the whole story but evidently there was a threat of some kind , but the story I've got is it is not suppose to take place till tomorrow & the police have no idea when, where or who? All this took place before 12 today & I got a call at 3 saying there was a situation? That makes me a little mad ! So do you send your kid to school tomorrow or not ? I don't know ? I just pray this is a hoax !

Warming up again, after a few days of cold. Not much to blog about. Been busy planning some things & Tyler out of town again. Makes me feel blah & doesn't help when the boys want to be in chaos constantly! Car will be ready tomorrow. Had to replace the whole lighting unit because the wiring had gone bad, along with other stuff. I can feel my blood pressure rising & I'm not even gonna start! Wait ... I would like to secretly set it on fire ! No more ... Tomorrow is gonna be another beautiful day. Since I've got to pick the car up ,I will be walking the loop again. Tyler will be home & back to some normalcy.

Busy day! Took my Daddy this morning to get his car. Then I had to take my car again! Yep! Again! I swear someone was drunk or high when they put my car together! I think there was defective parts that someone picked up by mistake. So it's over night again & who knows when I will get it back. This will be over 30 days it has been in the shop a total about 10 different times! & the car just turned a year old in February. Ridiculous! I cant wait to get rit of that lemon ! So after over an hour of waiting for the rearview mirror to be glued back on because oneday got in the car & it was just hanging & what I thought to replace a head light that had burned out , the salesman comes to me & tells me it has to stay because it wasn't the light it was the whole thing that supplied the light that had broke & the parts had to be ordered & the whole front bumper had to be taken apart to get to it . WTH! Oh & it had to recalls on it & my wipers were broke. Yeah , real happy! So I've got me a nice silver clergy mans car that I will be sporting for a few days ! I like my car when I go put gas in it & that everything is under warranty, that's about it. On a brighter note... took Zumba again tonight at the marina, it was so pretty looking at the waterway with the moon shining across it.

Well I see the pollen ! Noticed it on the car when I left to get Cameron from school. It was very windy here today so when I went for my walk after school I guess I got a snout full because I'm tore up ! Came in & took my 2nd Zyrtec for the day. Zumba started tonight at The Sailfish Club. It was fun & I enjoyed it. I have taken it before at the gym, but I'm not very well at it . The instructor tonight took her time with everyone to make sure got the dances. I'm used to, getting lost & not knowing what I'm doing & just faking it . Gonna go do it tomorrow night again.

It's Happening ....

Well after 2 years over much discussion & arguing, the deck is FINALLY gonna be screened in ! Pray for me ! I am very picky & know what I want & I hope that all goes just like I want it. I have a rich mans taste but a poor mans pocketbook, & I don't like to spend money, so it is giving me a bit of anxiety to let go of some funds!  They are to start Tuesday. The people doing it are friends of ours that use to work with Tyler. Hope he still wants to be with us after having to deal with me. His back yard is gorgeous & I know he will do it right. That's one reason I told Tyler to see if he would do it because he is very meticulous ! Here's the first pic of the beginning ...

Oreos 100th Birthday

Did you know that on March 6th , Oreos will be 100 ? Have you seen the Birthday Cake Oreos yet ? Went & got some today, while we were in Garner. I thought they were good. I love cake icing & they tasted like that, but they did have an after taste after the first one.  The verdict was about half & half with the family. Here's a little history behind the cookie .
~ Originally called Oreo Biscuit, then in 1921 it was called Oreo Sandwich, 1948 became Oreo Creme Sandwich,& the 1974 Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookie.
~ The name Oreo supposedly come from  the French word 'Or', meaning gold (as early packaging was gold), or the Greek word 'Oreo', meaning beautiful, nice or well done.
~ In Argentina, a "Duo" variety of Oreos is sold, containing cookies with banana filling and with caramel filling in the same package.
~ There are 33 different flavors of Oreos.
We love Oreos. My favorite ones are the Mint Oreo Fudge Cremes. Yum ! Tyler is just regular ones. Ty's are double stuffed & Cameron's are the Peanut Butter Fudge Cremes.

Tonight  I learned something new. Evidently there are planets in alignment. If you get a broom, it will stand by itself. Ive seen 4 different brooms tonight & came home & did ours. I don't know what the truth behind it is but you see for yourself... we even did it with an egg.

A little strange , huh ????

78 degrees today ! Loving it !!! Had a great day & enjoyed the weather outside.