New Man...New Adventures!

For the past two months, I have been dating Mr. Grocery Shopper and we've been having the time of our lives! (You'd think it was meant to be as much as we ran into each other in our local supermarkets!) We've known and worked with each other for about 23 years, and he's also recently retired from the Department at the same rank as me. So, we have a LOT in common and are as comfortable with each other as an old pair of shoes! He's extremely funny, loving, kind, thoughtful and active! Plus, he can cook, which is a huge bonus! I am extremely blessed to have him in my life and I can't remember the last time I've laughed as much as this! And...he says he's got a "keeper" in me.....so it's all good!

Mr. GS was widowed suddenly about 18 months ago, when his wife; a popular and very accomplished local teacher, suffered an aneurysm at the young age of fifty! They were married about 32 years when that happened and it nearly killed him too! But, he's made his way through the worst of it and he's now enjoying life like never before! About a month ago we took a weekend trip to Lake Tahoe, and recently we visited friends who were camping at our nearby Red Rock Canyon State Park, where we planned a 7 day Alaskan "Sawyer Glacier" Cruise with them! The prices right now are very affordable and we scored a cabin on the 10th deck, with a balcony for $800 each! Wooohooooo! Photo ops galore!



We fly to Seattle on June 5th, departing from there the next day! We've got tons of shore excursions planned, including a train ride, salmon and halibut fishing, and a zip line adventure.... with stops in Juneau, Ketchican, Skagway, and Prince Rupert! Doesn't that sound Heavenly?

Oh...and you know the best part?

I had to buy all new clothes for the trip and I found the perfect little black dress and awesome strappy heels for the Captain's Dinner! I'll be some serious arm candy!

Of course there will be tons of photos after I rest up, when we return on June 13th!!

I Knew IT!

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.

~Douglas Adams

It's official.

She got pregnant upon her Oklahoma arrival, about 8 weeks ago.

I guess we can say Ab is just carrying on a family tradition. I was also pregnant at age 17, as was my mother. In my case I had a miscarriage shortly after my 18th birthday. In my mother's case, I am the result of that backseat conception and personally, I am really glad to be here. My paternal great-grandmother was an unwed mother, when she gave birth to my beloved Grandma Jessie in 1916. Imagine the scandal during that day and age!

This is not something I would wish on my 17 year old daughter, but she and her boyfriend have made their bed...so to speak....and I will be supportive of them and help, without enabling. At their request, they are returning to California on June 16th to start again here. In fact, they are paying for their flight home, with money they've earned from working, which is impressive in itself!

Here, she will receive prenatal care under my insurance and I believe I will also be able to insure the baby once it is born. They want to get their own place and I am supportive of that, as long as they are able to make it on their own. As much as I am looking forward to having a grandbaby nearby, I really don't want them living here! So, I will assist them in whatever way I can. The baby is due at the end of December, just after Ab turns 18! She still plans to go to nursing school and has a positive outlook for their future!

It's out of my hands, so we'll all just make the best of this unexpected "blessing!"

I am hoping for a girl!!!

Might want to invest in a mask before getting near me!

It's not the swine flu...but close I am sure. I've seen corpses that have better color than I do right now. I've got it all, well...most of it. Temp. Body aches. Vomiting. Too much info, I know.....but I just want to whine here for a minute, okay.

After working in a prison for 25 years, I figured I'd probably been exposed and developed an immunity to most every type of illness known to man..........but, nooooooooooo!

Using my investigative techniques, I think I've narrowed down where I got this nasty little virus. I think Stevie Wonder could have figured it out as well. Yep. Two wild and germy little 5 year old boys that I was babysitting the other day.

As if ONE isn't bad enough? I had two!!

I believe the offending germs transferred to my 2 liter bottle of Diet Rite Cola, when the little monsters...ahem, little darlins decided to use their budding imaginations, and they began take turns rocking and placing slobbery wet kissess on the bottle of soda as if it were a baby?

I grabbed the slimy bottle away just about the time it looked as if whatever they were doing was going to get pornographic. Because, you know...boys will be boys! (I later discovered that the entire family of one of the boys had the stomach flu in the past few days!)

Later I latched on to the bottle, and stuck my hands into the ice bin to pour myself a tall icy glass of soda. And, the rest is history!

I've been banished to my room and Tam leaves fresh glasses of Sprite outside of my door, so she won't have to touch the doorknob because she has a serious puke phobia!!

If she escapes this one...I'll be really surprised!

Six Word Saturday.......

Grateful for my housekeeper's services today!






If you'd like to play along with Cate....click HERE!

Or NOT!!!

You know how there are some things you just know?

Those "things" that...deep in your heart and gut you know to be true!

I'd hate to compare anything like this to my "worst nightmare" but......it's kinda, sorta, like my my very worst nightmare.

It's certainly a terrifying and horrific thought at the very least!

ArrrGGGHHHHgggghhhh!


(Insert mournful and painful cry about broken dreams for your 17 year old kid HERE!)


I THINK....SHIT, I JUST KNOW.......... THE RUNAWAY AND EINSTEIN ARE PREGNANT!

Mourn...I mean, MORE later.

Lake Tahoe Photos-Click Each to Enlarge!

Lake Tahoe sparkles in the early morning light!




On a clear day you can see forever!




This shoreline is spectacularly beautiful!




Look how large the trees are in comparison to the man wearing a white t-shirt, just under the left group of trees, who's walking toward the center of the photo!!

Of Orthopedics and Oxygen..........

I fell hard for my new man in Lake Tahoe!

Literally.

Just call me Grace.

Believe me....It was not pretty and the after effects aren't pretty either, unless of course you are fond of all the brilliant colors found in bruising.

After a fun-filled weekend of food, family, and some loose slot machines, we finished up our visit with an early Monday morning sight-seeing trip around the lake. The natural light and array of clouds made for some awesome photo ops. I was quickly inspired and absorbed in the incredible beauty of the Emerald Bay section of the lake, which was back-dropped by mountain peaks covered in generous amounts of brilliant, glistening snow. A snow boarder's paradise, even this late in the season.

As I headed back to the car with my mind on the collection of natural wonder I was able to capture with my camera and looking forward to the editing process later that day....I failed to watch my step off the curb into the parking lot. Apparently, my right ankle rolled as it's done sooooo many times before and well............

SPLAT!



My camera went flying....OH THE HORRORS....as I heard a familiar snap in my ankle and I groaned with shock and pain, knowing I likely UNDID everything that the orthopedic surgeon worked so hard to repair just a short 3 years ago!

Lake Tahoe was still cold enough and of course, the perfect place to wear my very fashionable and warm chocolate brown Uggs, although they did nothing to support my ankle during the fall. However, I have found that type of footwear to be much easier to remove when the ankle/foot is swelling to impressive proportions!



(You may want to remember that little bit of advice if you are prone to dramatic falls) You're welcome!

We made the long 6 hour trip...("TRIP"...I cringe and shudder hearing that word now!) home with my ankle elevated on the dash, covered with an icebag that looked like this......



I had no idea such old-fashioned things still existed, but that's all we could come up with at the local Walgreen's. It definitely served me well, in that "building a better mouse trap" sort of way......with just a couple of stops for fresh ice on our journey.

Regardless of our prompt attention to the swelling, my ankle was severely traumatized and today, FOUR DAYS after the fact, this is what it looks like.....



Lovely, isn't it?

I saw the doctor on Tuesday and was examined and X-Rayed, then placed in a removable, padded walking brace that goes knee high. I am awaiting a referral to Orthopedics. In the past they've immobilized my ankle in a fiberglass cast for 6 weeks and I doubt this time will be different, considering the fact I had previous surgery to repair significant damage from the same type of falls.

FALLSSSSSSS...as in MULTIPLE!!!

Arggghhhhh!

As if injuring my foot and ankle wasn't enough....upon my return home, my CPAP machine became possessed!!! As I settled in to bed that night, the machine began to turn on and off and deliver a variety of air pressure guaranteed to cause me to either explode or die from a lack of oxygen in the night! I decided to try my luck without it and was pleased to wake up ALIVE the next morning...having apparently inhaled EVERY time I exhaled...which is extremely important to us people with sleep apnea! Yesterday I arranged to receive a new machine, under the warranty! I look forward to sleeping well....with my new machine tonight!

In the meantime, I am going to do a little reading, then take a nap and I will get to posting some of those Tahoe photos later today! I am happy to say the camera survived! Whew!

Lake Tahoe....Beautiful this time of year!

I haven't been on a weekend trip in quite awhile, but that's about to change! And, believe me......I seriously need a little get-away after all that crap with the rental house, so this is wonderful timing! Tomorrow morning a friend and I are heading to Lake Tahoe and we're going to stay and play HERE! It looks amazing and it was rated 3 and a half stars out of 4 on Priceline and you know the best part about it? I got the room for $69.00 a NIGHT using the "name your own price" feature!

I'm thinkin' that's a DEAL!! At least I hope so, considering the economy!

There should be some awesome photo ops too, so I will share a few shots when I get back next week! In the meantime, send me good thoughts for BIG wins on the slots!

Woooohooooo! I can't wait!

Oh Yeah! It was a Girl Fight!!

She generally gave herself good advice (though she very seldom followed it).

~Lewis Carroll

As I mentioned in a few previous entries, one should NEVER, ever, rent one's property to friends or family! My rental property is/was "rented" without the benefit of a rental agreement/security deposit....to one of Tam's seriously crazy best friends, her 4th and newly married husband who just happens to be an alcoholic, and her two teenage daughters....one of who is a mother of a two year old son.

They decided to quit paying rent nearly 4 months ago and needless to say...this has now created all kinds of problems for their family, mine and of course we're now ENEMIES! Imagine that!

Tam is furious that "CRAZY WOMAN" would treat "us" that way and well, I am once again realizing how my co-dependent/rescuing behavior got ME into this ugly situation.

Yeah, I know. I am shaking my head too, amazed that I would again show such a lack of common sense, since I've repeatedly rented to friends and family in the past. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson. I think I have this time. Today I will seek the assistance of a property manager for all future business.

BUSINESS. Yes, business.

See, I am learning!

Oh....but what about the girl fight you say?

Yesterday, I arranged to begin the property cleanup, as it was evident to me that they had abandoned what was left behind. I mean, Stevie Wonder could tell. The utilities were off, the place was trashed and it was obvious that they hadn't been inside for days. That's abandoned in my book!

A friend planned to drive his flat-bed/stake-side pick up there to load up the debris, a man was hired to start on the lawn and Tam and her boyfriend were set to meet me at the property to lend a hand. Ever the procrastinator, I was proud of my can-do attitude in the midst of what I initially felt was going to be an insurmountable task at hand. I was quickly deflated when I pulled up at the house and saw the "former" tenant's car in the driveway!

I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to stay on the property considering her propensity toward dramatic, confrontational behavior. I quickly called Tam's cell phone and left her a message that I was leaving the property and that she should NOT come to the house as CRAZY WOMAN was there! Then I left.

Unfortunately, Tam didn't get the message until she drove up in the driveway a few minutes later, only to have CRAZY WOMAN pull in behind her and block her. CRAZY WOMAN then exited her vehicle and stuck her finger in Tam's face repeatedly THROUGH THE OPEN CAR WINDOW, while yelling obscenities and threats about how we "burglarized" HER HOUSE!

Yes, she called it, HER HOUSE!



Anyway...I didn't see it, but it was pretty exciting according to Tam's boyfriend. He was thoroughly impressed by Tam's solid...... 1,2,3 PUNCHES to CRAZY WOMAN'S FACE, that occured after Tam decided enough was enough, and she got out of the car...only to be "sucker punched" by that maniacal former BEST FRIEND FOREVER who was calling Tam a "CRACK WHORE!" Yep, I am told it was very similar to the above graphic!

For clarification...Tam's a lot of things, but she's NO 'CRACK WHORE' thankyouverymuch!

I am surprised they both didn't go to jail. But, despite a report to the local Sheriff's Department, they considered it a "civil matter" however, I would disagree on the fight aspect of the situation. Lucky for the "girls" I suppose.

In the meantime, according to the Sheriff's Department, CRAZY WOMAN still has "standing" in MY house, because she has belongings there and I didn't officially complete the "eviction process" because I knew she was moving.

Is that some crazy crap, or what?

Wanna hear something even crazier?

CRAZY WOMAN'S teenage daughter, the one with the 2 year old son... came by yesterday saying her "crazy and violent" mother beat her up and kicked her out of the "new" house over the weekend. Teenage daughter then asked ME, if she and her toddler son could live with US!!!

US??

Do I HAVE CO-DEPENDENT RESCUER written on my forehead?

You know...if it wasn't for Al-Anon, I probably would have said yes!

Yes...I am that frickin' sick myself.

But, I am getting better!

Thank you God!

(And...what do you wanna bet that CRAZY WOMAN now has my car keys and I won't ever get them back?)

Let me entertain you....

It's likely I was very entertaining for my Higher Power yesterday afternoon!

I am sure I wasn't thinking clearly as I assessed the seemingly overwhelming mess left behind by my dead-beat tenants, who finally moved out after 3 months of not paying their rent.

The garage was filled with an assortment of old furniture, knob-less appliances, mattresses and eclectic junk that apparently had not sold at their recent yard sale and it was allllll left behind for me handle the disposal. I think I would have just sat and cried, if I hadn't had people there with me. Instead, I just accepted the fact that this was a situation I could not immediately change and continued to get on with the business at hand.

The house was filthy, littered throughout with old dirty towels and clothing, trash and mail, and unwanted personal items including lots of family photographs and personal paperwork. (Despite my bitter feelings, I decided to hang on to their photos and attempt to return them-maybe at Small Claims Court!) An old love seat was thrown out the patio door and lay upside down on the unkempt grass. A baby swing...no longer needed, discarded carelessly on the patio. Missing were the vertical blinds on the patio sliding door and the front window, and the refrigerator!

I took photographs to submit for court evidence, until the battery died on the camera and decided to return today to finish up.

As I headed to my car, I realized that I no longer had my car keys in the pocket of my sweatshirt, where I distinctly recall putting them!

Once I got to the car, I discovered that my car was locked with my PURSE inside! My keys were not in the ignition and not visible on top of my burgeoning purse.

I retraced my steps, looking for the keys and I couldn't find them anywhere.

What to do?

What to do?

My friends had left a few minutes previously and I began to realize that IF my keys were locked in my car, so was MY PHONE!! I couldn't call anyone for HELP!! I didn't know any of the neighbors and I was several miles away from anyone I knew!

I was temporarily SOL!!!!!

Then, it occurred to me that I have ONSTAR!!!

Woooooo-hooo!

Wonderful! But, I quickly realized I didn't have a telephone to call them on to unlock my car!

So...I sat my fanny down on the front steps and prayed, saying.."God, I really have got myself in a mess here. I need some help! What are YOU going to do about this situation? I will just sit here and wait for awhile! Thanks!"

All of a sudden, the neighbor across the street came over to introduce himself and talk about the house being "vacant" again! We shared a few stories about the tenants and he owned up to being the person who complained to the County about one of the previous undesirable types who once inhabited the residence. I assured him that I totally understood his position and in no time, we were becoming fast friends! I then took the opportunity to explain to him how I'd misplaced my keys...my purse was locked inside the vehicle and how I couldn't call Onstar to open the car without my telephone...which was also..inconveniently locked inside the car!

He promptly offered me the use of his home telephone....sooooo GOD and Onstar came through! The car was unlocked, but unfortunately, my keys were not inside my purse or the car. Yet, I then had access to my cell phone to call home for the spare set of keys!

I headed back to the rental house today in order to start the clean up process, hoping to find my keys. But, unfortunately the tenant was inside the house...so I left before having what was sure to be an ugly confrontation with her.

Still no keys.

Still no possession of my rental house.

Grrrrrr!

But...maybe she's gonna clean up that mess after all!!