Tiff's Life

Good News, No News, Better News

2012-02-01T04:45:00.000-08:00

Last Monday was when I heard first from my doctor about having to have a biopsy! I decided to call Friday when I still had not heard back from them and I left a message! Monday came and went and still heard nothing....so yesterday I called and was finally at least given some answers. The hospital they wanted to send me won't accept my insurance. So the problem now is they can't find anywhere that does accept it, it is very frustrating.

In other news my father had surgery to remove the clot and all went great. He is back at home and things are getting back to normal. :-)

Colin and Chris (our "nephews") both went to a MSWA Qualifier this weekend and will both be heading to states.

Nothing else exciting going on......

Waiting

2012-01-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

I hate to wait. I am always a punctual person. I arrive to everything early. Sometimes too early so I sit in my car playing on my phone until I think its appropriate to go in. I have thyroid disease and there is a nodule or lump on my thyroid. About 5 or 6 years ago they biopsied it to make sure everything was ok and it was. Two weeks ago my doctor had me go for another ultra sound. This Monday the nurse called me saying that the lump grew and my doctor wanted me to get a biopsy done ASAP. She said she would make the appointment for me and call me back first thing Tuesday morning. Its now Thursday and I have not heard back. I am going to wait until tomorrow morning then call them to see what is going on. I really don't want to get this biopsy because I could think of a lot of other things I would rather do then have a needle stuck in my neck ,however I guess its something I have to do. I just hate the waiting part....

Happy New Year

2012-01-02T05:10:00.000-08:00

For us New Years used to be about going out to the bar and staying our all night drinking with our friends. Things have changed a bit now. This year we worked in our store and kept it open til about 11pm.
Me working in our store!

Our niece Julia and her friend, and our goddaughter Bryanna all came with us. The town shot off two sets of fireworks one at 7:30 and one at midnight. It was a great way to bring in the new year with so many people I care so much about. I hope that this year brings so much happiness to these kids who have been through so much pain over the last year!

Bryanna and I waiting for the midnight fireworks!

Happy New Year!!!!

Why do I do it?

2011-12-18T04:58:00.000-08:00

I am tired just about all the time, my house is a mess, I hardly ever have time to myself or with my husband. Why? Because we have kids all the time. But I would not change a single thing! Most of the kids that come over here have had rough lives. They have parents who are addicted to drugs or who are in abusive relationships. My heart is big and I wish I could help all children struggling in the world. Colin and Julia who aren't even blood related to me come over here all the time. They are here 4 weekdays for wrestling and dance practice which Jason and I signed them up for and paid for because they need activities to keep them focused and entertained.
Bry is still coping with not seeing her mom as much and possibly not seeing her at all soon. I have been with her since the day she was born. I hate seeing her in pain and wish these things never happened to her.

I just wish these kids had parents that cared and it breaks my heart. Colin had a friend who stayed over last night, this friend is not well off at all. When I went to pick him up his house has windows that is just boards nailed up the door has a huge gap above it that I am sure makes it cold. He is the sweetest kid though. Very polite and thankful for the things he does have. His clothes do not fit him his jeans are so big he had a rope tied are them to hold them up. Jason and I wanted to do something but at the same time not make the boy feel bad. So because he knows I enter a lot of contest I told him I won a gift card for an Old Navy shopping spree and I had to use is that night. I told him I wanted to take him and Colin shopping to pick things out, whatever he wanted. His reply was "Thank you so much, Ms. TIffany, I am cold and I love you"
So we went they had a blast shopping and I love the way Colin knew to hold back and let Chris pick most of the clothes. We came home and they tried everything on. Here is a pick of there favorite outfit.

I love having these kids over, and when they are not here my house seems empty! I do want to have kids of my own, and hope it will happen soon, but I love these kids like they were my own. When I got up with morning Colin and Chris are still wearing those pink hats, while they are sleeping!!!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-18T12:31:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is fast approaching. This year my husband Jason and I have decided to host dinner at our house. I am excited and nervous. Its exciting because this is the first Thanksgiving I will be cooking and it will be fun to cook with Jason. I am nervous because the day before I am going to pick up my father. If you remember he recently had a stroke, but is doing much better. This will be the first time my Dad has ever been to stay over at my house. I can't remember the last time I spent Thanksgiving with him its been a while. Jason's Mom, brother and his Sister and her family will all be here as well. As I have said before my Dad is very opinionated he hates smokers and both Jason's mom and brother smoke. I just hope everything goes well and for one day my Dad can just keep his opinions to himself so that we can all have a good time. I am going to gently approach this on our drive here from Virginia Wednesday.

In other news our niece Julia made honor roll. We told both Colin and Julia if they worked hard and kept there grades up they would be rewarded. Colin is still working on that. But since Julia did a good job we bought her a new laptop. It is nothing fancy but she likes it and she was very surprised when we gave it to her. Next honor roll won't be such a big gift but if she keeps it up all year then maybe we will surprise her with something else.

Update on Dad

2011-10-31T05:30:00.001-07:00

I went and saw my dad, he is doing much better. He had been to three hospitals. Two sent him home telling him to just wait. The third one was shocked that no one was giving him the physical therapy and speech therapy that is needed right after a stroke. Immediately he was starting to improve after just one day of therapy. Since my dad has insurance through the Veterans Affairs a case manager at the hospital called there to see if they had a bed for him to continue therapy. The VA said no! So the case manager began seeking help other ways and was able to get him a "charity bed" at a rehab center close to my sister! He was taken there and will be released on Thursday.

During this time the house he rented a room in was being foreclosed on so my sister and I had to get him moved out. He will be eventually moving into an apartment around the corner from her house but for now his stuff is being stored in her garage.

To make it an even crazier month, my sister also had her gallbladder removed on Friday!

So october has been a crazy month, I am ready for November....bring it on!!!

Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat!

My Father

2011-10-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

My real dad, is hard to describe. He is extremely opionated. He has strong political beliefs as well as health beliefs. He is a hard person to handle sometimes. My parents divorced when I was 2, I can't remember them ever together. My mom was good about not talking about my Dad. My Dad not so good. We saw him every other weekend and holidays. As we got older my Dad just did not seem interested in our lives. He got married and we were not even invited to the wedding. The woman he married ending up passing away from Cancer. I went and saw her the night before she passed, this was the first person that I ever knew that died and it was hard for me.
My sister went for years with out speaking to our Dad. During those years I probably talked to him once a year, maybe twice. My Mom always said to us you either love him or accept him for who he is or you don't.

Over the past two years my sister and Father lived less then 20 miles apart. I decided that I wanted to have a more frequent visits with my dad. I knew he was lonely since the passing of his wife and thought I should reach out. Since then my Dad and sister have kept in much better contact. My Dad finally had his relationship back with his other daughter and was able to meet his Grandchildren for the first time.

Last Friday my Dad had a stroke. We are lucky this was a small one but a scary one nonetheless. He had already had two heart attacks, with one resulting in triple bi-pass surgery and a stroke during the surgery. He went to the hospital and was able to go home the next day. Unfortunately his facial drooping and strength on his right side detoriated and now he is back in the hospital. I am on my way there this morning to see him. My dad is only 64 years old and the doctors think that he should recover fully. I am hoping so.

Update Quickie!

2011-10-14T06:31:00.000-07:00

Just want to announce, its been about 8 months since my Mom was let got unexcpectedly from her nursing job. She was offered a position yesterday and accepted. Yay, she is very happy. Its a bit different then nursing and she will have to travel but I know she is just happy to have a job! I am very happy for her too!

A Train Ride

2011-10-03T05:29:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we packed up and went to Lancaster, PA to ride a train. This was Xander (my nephew's) birthday wish. He turned 4! Xander is such a cool kid. He amazes me with how smart and advanced he is. For his birthday Jason and I got him a new bike. At 3 Xander was already riding without training wheels but his bike was just so worn out and too small. This is what he picked out.

We arrived at the train station just as the train was pulling up! So we had to rush to grab our tickets. We decided to sit in first class, after all we were celebrating! The train ride was fantastic, the kids loved it. Jason and I had picked up Julia and Colin also and they were having a great time. The train ride was about 45 minutes. You can order food and drinks on the train. The little kids were so excited to see cows as we rode by. The conductor was great, he came out and punched the kids tickets and even sang Happy Birthday to Xander.

When we returned to the station we went in a few little shops and the kids drove the cranky cars. The cranky cars are just little carts that the kids move by turning a wheel. Here is Xander on his.

It was a fun and cold day. When it started to rain we decided it was time to head home. It was a very fun day and we will be heading back again!

A Visitor

2011-09-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

This week my Mom came over to help me with some work. She still is looking for a job since she lost hers suddenly many months ago. She has been on many interviews and applied at so many places but nothing yet. I know she is feeling a little down about not having a job yet so maybe hanging out and helping me would help make her feel a little better.

My Mom drove up Wednesday evening and we went out to dinner with my aunt to Bonefish. Wednesday nights they have a great deal on shrimp. Bang Bang Shrimp for only $5.00. Its SO good. It was nice to hang out and chit chat. Thursday we got up early and headed to Ocean City, MD. As a souvenir rep sometimes besides just selling the souvenirs I have to set up racks. Mostly at large chain stores. My company does expect me to this on my own. These racks are large and heavy and they spin so lifting them out of the car and putting them together is extremely difficult on my own.

It was a long hard day! We had 3 racks to set up and 3 old racks and sections to take down. We did have a nice mid-day break and a fantastic lunch at my Grandparents. My Grandmother is a wonderful cook (what Grandma isn't?) She made us leak soup. It was fantastic and a good boost to our day! My Mom stayed over again last night but we were both very tired so we did not do to much visiting.

I am very lucky to have such a great family and fantastic Mother who came out and helped me. I would probably still be trying to get the 1st rack out of the car if it wasn't for my Moms help!

i am hoping she finds a job soon, people don't know who they are letting go she is such a hard worked and determened person!

Hollywood Studios Day 4 Disney

2011-09-30T06:58:00.000-07:00

For our last day in Disney we went to Hollywood Studios, or MGM. This park does not have as many things to do as the other parks but we had a great time. Bryanna surprised me with her no fear attitude. She tried out for the American Idol Experience and she went on the Rock'n Roller Coaster with Jason.

I love the expression on her face! We only stayed for a half day because we had a long drive back to MD. By 6pm we were leaving the hotel and heading home. The week went by so fast. Poor Bryanna had to go home and then get up the next morning to drive to WV to have a visit with her Mother. I felt bad that she was in the car so much but I think that going to Disney was worth it for her. We are already saving up for our next trip. It really was such a magical experience. I just loved being able to spend it with my family!

Here is all 15 of us with our Character shirts that my mom made!

Disney Day 3 Epcot

2011-09-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

For our Third Disney day we went to Epcot. We spent about a half a day here because in the evening we went back to the Magic Kingdom for Fireworks.
It was another hot day in the upper 90's. Our first stop was a ride called soaring it was AWESOME. Felt like you were really flying. Epcot is split up by Countries. You have France, Japan, USA etc. Being that my Grandmother is from France most of the family ate lunch at the French Restaurant in France. Jason is not very adventurous when it comes to food so we just stayed in the USA section for lunch. On this day we met one very important person.

Mickey Mouse of course! Bryanna was excited, to finally get his autograph and picture! After riding rides and doing different activities and seeing lots of Characters it was time to go rest up for our evening at Magic Kingdom.
When we arrived at Magic Kingdom it was already very crowded. My Dad had gone to guest services and managed to get my Grandparents seated in the VIP section. Molly was in charge of this section and making sure only VIPs sat there. Just before the parade started she had some extra seats, so my mom and the three girls, Bryanna, Chloe and Sara all go to sit there too. This turned out to be really good because EVERY single Character in the parade stopped to shake my Grandfathers hand. He is a WWII vet and a two time purple heart recipient. I wish I had gotten some pictures but I can just imagine how wonderful that must have been. The view of the Castle all lit up in different colors was simply stunning.

This night was probably my most memorable at Disney! It makes me feel so happy when people are kind to my Grandparents and they were just thrilled by everything and so grateful.

Disney Day 2

2011-09-26T04:54:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy since returning from my trip, I have not been able to finish my Disney posts. Okay so day two we went to Animal Kingdom. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Animals, so I was super excited for this park. When we arrived we met up with my Grandparents.

We rode a lot of rides and go to see so many Animals. My favorite was this cute little baby Ape. We were lucky because the cast member at the window told us that the Apes had not been out all day. We got to see the Mom, Dad and Baby!

My niece Sara and Bryanna loved the petting zoo part of Animal Kingdom. We probably could of just stayed at that part all day and they would have been thrilled.

It was a hot day at the park, in the upper 90's. We stayed all day from 9am until closing at 5pm. We were all hot and sweaty so as soon as we got back to the hotel we headed to the pool and had dinner there. Every night at the pool the hotel puts on a different activity. This night was Karaoke. The girls were thrilled and sang many songs. It was another great day. Next up Epcot.

Disney Day 1

2011-09-17T05:28:00.000-07:00

We spent this past week at Disney World! When we told Bryanna she kept thinking we were taking her to Disney on Ice. After we kept explaining and telling her we promised that we were really taking her to Disney World she was super excited. We stayed at a beautiful resort hotel with my family. We left early Friday morning drove to Georgia then got up the next morning and continued on to Florida. Monday was our first park day at Magic Kingdom. All the girls got up very early, we had a reservation for the princess breakfast in Cinderella's Castle.

The breakfast was great, all the princess's came over and talked with the girls and signed there autograph books. Food was wonderful and at the end they even brought out a piece of cake for my Grandmother for her Birthday.
After breakfast we all changed into our Character shirts my mom made. There was 15 of us total, it was so fun.

We rode a ton of rides and met a lot of characters. It was a hot day in the high 90's but so much fun! Bryanna got to ride on big roller coasters she was so excited.

That evening we went out to dinner at Ohana which is a Hawaiian themed restaurant. Everyone is your cousin there. They have lots of kids activities as you sit and eat. Its family style and the food was fantastic! This was also our 2nd Anniversary, so we got a special cupcake for dessert along with to die for coconut bread pudding with a banana foster glaze and vanilla ice cream YUM!

Crazy Week

2011-09-02T04:46:00.000-07:00

We have had an exciting week here in Maryland! First an unexpected earthquake hit and rattled things up. Then a hurricane came through and knocked our power out for 5 days! The worst part of no power was definitely taking a cold shower. Jason bought a generator just 3 days before the hurricane. I thought it was a waste of money and that we would be ok...good thing I have a smart husband. The best thing about the power being out is that at night we got to cuddle up in bed and watch movies. It was good bonding time for us! After the earthquake and then after the hurricane we printed shirts from our store and customized them to different areas. Here is what they look like. We sold a ton, everyone loved them.

The third thing that happened was last night a fugitive was on the loose. He escaped from custody and was hiding. Luckily 12 hours later he has been caught and is back in jail.

So besides all of the natural disasters that have happened, we also had to put our new truck in the shop and it needs a new transmission....which costs a lot of money! Not what we wanted right before our trip to Disney. I just hope that it is fixed in time since that is the car we are taking. My car is a company car and it started making a strange noise so I had to put that in the shop as well!

So we had a lot of unexpected things happen and a few set backs but hopefully only good luck from here on out!

This weekend will hopefully be a lot calmer. We have Colin's first football game of the season, so we will be cheering him on!
He has had a rough few weeks. His mom finally took the kids and moved out of the toxic environment they were in and is now living with her uncle. Colin and Julia were not thrilled about where they are living but it is definitely a lot safer. Jason and I are trying to still stay close with them and we often take Colin to football practice.

Julia Turns 14!

2011-08-11T06:02:00.000-07:00

My niece Julia just turned 14. For her Birthday she wanted to go to a restaurant in Baltimore called Dick's Last Resort. This is a chain and I have been to the one in Myrtle Beach. I told Julia about this place and she was dying to go. Its a fun place where they joke around and are paid to be "rude" to you. Julia is a big jokester. Julia has had a hard year. Her Mom and Step-Dad have a lot of problems and fight a lot. It recently has become worse then ever. My husband and I have had to step in as well as the police. I have become very close with Julia and want to see her life filled only with happiness. Julia has had to grow up too fast and I want her to be able to live like a 14 year old!
So, Monday we drove to Dick's. We let Julia bring a friend also. It was a great time. Julia started laughing the second we walked in and could not stop. It was great to see her have such a terrific time! Our waitress was fantastic and did a great job giving us all kinds of attitude! Julia is dying to work there when she gets old enough.
After dinner we had some of the other cousins and family over for cake. It was a nice night.
Julia and her brother Colin will be having a joint Birthday party this weekend and next week back to Dick's for Colin's Birthday.
The friend he wants to bring...is his sister Julia. :-)

Here is the video of our waitress singing "Happy Birthday" to Julia and another lady that was sitting at the table next to us!

Hello

2011-08-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

I have been keeping busy this summer! Working very hard to try to save money for our big Disney trip which is coming up very soon! I am getting more and more excited as each day passes by! I can't wait to tell Bry that she will be going to Disney! She is going to freak out.
She came and stayed with us last weekend we had a blast! Friday we invited her cousin to come over and the girls played with my make up and dressed up!

Saturday we got up early and headed to a pottery place where she got to paint, it was a lot of fun. then that afternoon, Jason and I took her to see the Smurf's Movie. Julia called Sunday and wanted to come over so she did and then we all went and played putt putt.

I am very lucky to great family and we all live fairly close to each other. One of my aunts and uncles live right on the water and have a nice boat which they let us use. So this past weekend we packed up the cooler and went to a little island and just enjoyed the great weather. The sun takes a lot out of you though, I am super tired! Only a few more weeks til our big trip.

Summertime

2011-07-15T04:54:00.000-07:00

As usual my Summer has been flying by. I have been trying to pack in as much as possible. Last weekend we took two of our niece and nephews (we have many) to the Carnival. Julia went with a friend so we saw her a few times also. It was not too hot and we all had a great time.

Nevaeh hates her picture being taken so I never did get one when both of them were looking at me. Next we took Julia and Colin who had been staying with us again for a few days to Ocean City. They have been through so much and needed to have some fun! We had a great time. Stayed right on the beach, went to the pool and the boardwalk. It was nice to get away for me too have a little time away from work and let my mind rest. Here is some pictures from our very mini vacation!

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

7 Years!

2011-06-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

It was Bryanna's Birthday this past weekend. We have been in Bry's life since the day she was born! Bry has not had the easiest 7 years. Especially the last year. Her mother moved to West Virginia. In the middle of the night took off with both of her kids. Bry's father was devistated and immediately filed for custody. He was only awarded every other weekend. After living with her mother in WV for only a few months. Bry was put in foster care with her brother. Her mother was charged with possesion of drugs, child abuse and neglect. Bry was taken screaming from the home she new and put into a strangers house. Her father was not allowed to take her with him for over one week. Finally he was awarded custody and Bry only knows love now. She has been living with her father and grandparents for the last year. But she does not understand why she can't live with her mother and why she only sees her mother for 4 hours once a week with a supervisor. This has been hard on me but I can't imagine being 7 and having to deal with this. I only know that I can show Bry love and hope that she will be ok!
So this past weekend we had a pool party for Bryanna and all her friends from school came! It was a lot of fun and a perfect day. That night Bry stayed with me and I had my two nieces also so we had a slumber party! The girls had so much fun and smiles and laughter filled my house. I loved it.

Colin and Julia are still with us until the end of the school year when they are going to go back to there old house. Family counseling will begin next week and hopefully everything will turn out ok!

Alphabet Questions

2011-05-28T16:31:00.001-07:00

To learn a little more about me here is a fun list of Alphabet questions! ;-)

Age:32
Bed size:Queen (but really need a king)
Chore you hate: cleaning bathrooms
Dog: Monster (4), Bandit (11) and Lilly (age?, she is a stray whom we need to get to the vet to get checked out next week)
Essential start of your day: COFFEE
Favorite color: Purple
Gold or silver: silver
Height:5'5
Instruments I play (or have played): I can play the piano, a little bit.
Job title: Sales Rep for a large souvenir company AND Owner of a retail gift shop
Kids: 0, but working on it :-)
Live: Maryland
Mom’s name: Jacqueline
Nickname: Most people call me Tiff, the young people in my life call me Tiffi or TiffiT and my husband when he really wants to make me mad calls me TittsRfunny (he things that name is hilarious)
Overnight hospital stays:0, knock on wood!!
Pet peeve: Smacking noises, I don't know why but it drives me crazy and for some reason I hate the word Moist!
Quote from a movie: I am terrible at remembering quotes from movies. Whenever we are in a group and people are quoting movies, I laugh along but usually have no idea what is going on!
Right or left handed: Right
Siblings: Jen, Phil, and Chris
Time you wake up: 7am
Underwear: Yes I wear underwear
Vegetables you dislike: Hmm, I like almost everything, mushrooms are not my favorite but I will eat them.
What makes you run late: Nothing, I am always early, usually by 30 min, drives my husband nuts!
X-rays you’ve had done: Teeth and Shoulder
Yummy food you make: I cook a lot, I make a great Lemon Chicken, and twice baked potatoes.
Zoo animal:Elephant

Two Teenagers

2011-05-15T04:59:00.000-07:00

Friday we had two teenagers (or almost teenagers) move in for a while. Colin (12) who we have been taking to wrestling all year and his sister Julia (13). These kids are Jason's brother's girlfriend's. Jason's brother , Dave has some major problems he needs to work through and I believe he needs some rehab. Dave and Sabrina fight and say just terrible things and its been happening way to often. Getting so bad that the kids are waken up several times throughout a night and hardly ever get the sleep they need. Friday I got a message from Julia telling me things were really bad and she did not get any sleep and they were still fighting. My husband and I decided this was enough!! I drove over got the kids, and brought them to my house to sleep. Sabrina, who is the mother finally decided that the relationship was over and packed her bags and is staying with her sister. I hope for the sake of the kids that she will not go back. This cycle has gone on long enough and its time to stop being selfish and realize what she is putting these kids through being in such a toxic relationship. I do love my brother-in-law but he needs to get help. Perhaps this will make him start to realize. So as for now both the kids are staying with us. We only have a 3 bedroom townhouse but we will make it work. I am going to take them to school on Monday and let the school know what is going on in case the counselors want to talk to them. Hopefully we can teach the kids that what they were seeing and experiencing is not what "normal" relationships are like. Its not about trying to hurt the other person or trying to catch them in a lie. I want them to learn about love and kindness. The kids will be staying with us until Sabrina can find a place of her own.

On a happy note we did have a fun weekend with them. Friday evening we had our other two niece and nephew over and our god-daughter and her cousin.
Here are some fun pictures of the kids playing outside!

I'm going to.....

2011-05-07T04:47:00.001-07:00

I hardly ever get to go on vacation. I work two jobs, one being owning a souvenir gift shop! So I work a lot and don't have much time. It is hard for my husband and I to get off work. We always have to make sure that the store hours are covered by someone we trust. Summer time is always out for taking any kind of vacation because for my "regular" job I am a sales rep. I travel all over and sell souvenirs. Mostly to Walgreens, Rite Aids, Cvs...but some other smaller business's also. I have a large territory and summertime is of course when I am the busiest.

This year my sister, her husband, my two nieces, my mom, my dad, my grandparents and one of my aunt and uncles are all going to Disney World! We were invited to go and stay with my sister for free. Of course we would have to pay for the travel there and our disney tickets but getting free lodging is a big deal. After much thought I said you know what we are going! I don't care what it takes. I don't know how many more times I will be able to go on vacation with my Grandparents! So its official I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!! I am very excited! September can't get here soon enough.....

Happy Easter

2011-04-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone has a very Happy Easter! This year I have to work at my store, that is part of the downfall of being an owner. Perhaps the Easter Bunny will stop by with some yummy treats for me!

My mom and niece made these yummy cupcakes yesterday! I think they are so cute!

Party

2011-04-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

I am exhausted from a wonderful weekend! My Grandparents party was fantastic. Here is a couple of pictures from the day, I will post more soon.
This is my Grandparents arriving at the party in a WWII Jeep~

And here I am~ we tried to dress in 40's attire which was the time they got married April 20, 1946~

Found Dog

2011-04-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

On Monday, the restaurant next door to our store saw a stray dog almost get hit by a car. She scooped her up and to make a long story short she is now living with us. We have put many signs up and posted about her all over the proper Facebook pages but nothing. She is micro chipped but not registered. No one has called about this dog and I am falling in love fast. She is so well behaved and just so sweet. Jason, my husband says we cannot keep her but hey whats one more dog! She is a tiny little thing. We are thinking a Chiuaua,/Jack Russell mix or Chiuaua/Min Pin mix not sure though. Is she just not the cutest?

We tried several different names for her but decided that she responds best to Lilly so that is her name. Today, Jason said we needed to go to the pet store to get her a pink harness...I think he is falling in love with her also, at least I hope so!!!

Grandparents

2011-04-10T05:21:00.000-07:00

I am lucky enough to still have my Grandparents on my Mother's side both a live. They are 85 years old and two of the best people I know. My grandfather is a WWII hero, he stormed Utah Beach on D-day. His name is John Roman. He met my Grandmother when he was in France in a small cafe and asked her to dance...she said NO. He did not give up though and eventually they began dating. On April 20, 1946 they married in a church in France. This coming Saturday we are having a big party for their 65th wedding Anniversary. I am so excited. We are all dressing in 40's style, or at least trying to. Most everything is a surprise to my grandparents. They know that we are having a party but that is about it. We have also found a local man who has a WWII Jeep that is going to pick them up at the hotel and drive them to the party location. He is going to parade them up Main Street in Annapolis. I am working on getting a crowd out to cheer them on and hold up signs that I have made. When they arrive at the party we will be there to cheer them on! My sister has re-wrote the boogie woogie bugle boy song with words that fit them and we are going to sing it for them. My cousin made a lovely DVD with the "story" of their life. My mom has worked hard on making a veil for my grandparents. A friend of the family will come and renew their vows for them. My aunt wrote a poem for them. Its going to be such a special day and I can't wait! One of my friends is making a Jeep cake and another is coming to do the photography. It is not often we get my large family together.

This is my grandparents in 1974 holding my sister! I tried to upload their wedding folder but couldn't.

Running

2011-04-04T18:12:00.000-07:00

Last year I did my very first ever organized run. It was only one mile but for me it was a challenge and I was so excited to overcome it. After that I wanted to get more involved and work up to a 5k but sadly I never did. The 1mile run is coming up again this May and I am going to run again and try to beat the time I got last year. Colin is going to come with me which will be a lot of fun. He wants to try to come in first for the kids, I am sure he will he is so fast!

Monday was just a perfectly beautiful day so after work Jason and I were going to go for a bike ride. I received a bike from my boss a used one that needed some TLC so I took it to the bike shop up the street, come to find out its really not worth fixing up. It needs so much more work then we thought so now I will start saving up for a new bike. Jason has a nice bike he got from craigslist a few weeks ago so he rode his bike and I ran. We only did a little over a mile, but it was a great workout and it was a really fun thing for us to do together. He encouraged me the whole way singing little bootcamp songs. The run benefits the Special Olympics of Maryland. When I was younger my Aunt Sara would take me to the Special Olympics and we would be "huggers". Huggers are assigned to an athlete and make sure they get to the correct location for each event and cheer them on as the compete and give them a hug at the end. It was a lot of fun for my aunt and I to do together and it felt great to see the huge smiles on all the athletes faces! Hopefully this year I can work my way up to register for some more runs!

Cupcakes for dinner....why not!

2011-04-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy and have just had no time to get on here. My mom on the other hand is still looking for a job, so she has had some time on her hands and this is one of the many things she has been doing!

Looks like a great dinner to me!

Pay it Foward

2011-03-07T05:09:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago I won a contest put on by Ralph http://www.blogger.com/profile/15263331247319768989.The prize was a $100! Thanks Ralph!!!

So when I received the money in the mail at first I thought I should probably just pay extra on some bills but I wanted to do something more meaningful. My friend Jess has been volunteering with an organization called Jasmine's House which helps rescue Pit Bulls. Jess and Jasmines House were putting on a fundraiser this past Sunday. It was at a local restaraunt, so Jason and I decided to go eat and buy some raffle tickets. Part of our bill from lunch went to the rescue as well as the money we spent on raffle tickets. We also donated a summer ice bucket from our store, filled with old bay and crab type items. It was a fun event and good food, and guess what I even won two prizes.
Once I get the prizes I will take pictures to show them off!

2011-03-03T04:09:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we celebrated my Aunt Sara's 60th Birthday! My aunt is also my godmother and my friend! My uncle, mom, sister, and I all planned a surprise girls lunch and then afterwards went to a house to have cake and drinks and celebrate with the rest of the family! My aunt Sara was very surprised, in fact when we arrived at the restrarunt she wanted to just sit at the bar. So I said "Well I at least want to see the dinning room, and drug her in there where everyone shouted-"SURPRISE". I love surprising people and doing nice things. This place is called Fuji and its a Japanese Steak House. On Saturdays they also have half price apatizers which were SO good. We ended up getting 7 of them for $14.00, good deal! We also had our god-daughter Bry all weekend. She wants to one day be on a swim team and so I told her in order to do that she first needed to work on her swimming skills. On Tuesday she started her first swimming class. She was so nervous and excited. I was nervous for her also. Sometimes she can be very shy and the parents are now allowed in the pool area, we have to sit outside and watch through a glass wall. She never seems to amaze me though she walked right in told the instructors her name and hopped in. She did everything they told her, she listened, and learned a lot. I was very proud. I can't wait for her next class today!

Days go by so fast!

2011-02-23T05:10:00.000-08:00

These last few days have just gone by so quickly! I can't believe it. This weekend we had Colin again and took him to County's for Wrestling. He is a 1st year wrestler, really only has 2 months experience. Colin wrestled kids that have been wrestling for 4 years and he won! He came in 1st place! It was great, we are so happy for him. He really wanted a trophy, and he worked really hard for it. I love watching him wrestle he is just so strong and he just loves it. Here is Colin with his trophy!

After the long day of wrestling, we were there for 5 hours for Colin to wrestle a total of 3 min and 38 seconds. We went to watch our other nephew Chey in his basketball game where he also won. So it was a happy day all around.

Tuesday, Jason and I went through our old jewelry and headed over to one of those cash for gold places just to see what we could get for stuff we did not use anymore. I had two necklaces and a pendant and J had a necklace and a pendant. We were very happy to walk out with $1100 in our pocket, not too bad.

Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T04:40:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day...a day late! Usually we would go out to dinner, but not this year. We exchanged small gifts, I got a pedicure and eyebrow wax. All we really did last night was have a quick dinner at home then took our nephew Colin to his wrestling practice, came home and went to bed. This weekend we had a great time. Saturday was Colin's match...he won both! Saturday night we rented the movie Despicable Me! Then Sunday was my niece Sara's 6th Birthday. So we drove out to my sisters house in VA. It was nice to spend time with my family and to see my Mom.
Here is Sara in her Tangled wig she got as a birthday gift.

My Mom

2011-02-09T18:45:00.000-08:00

When my parents divorced I was 2 years old. My mom knew she needed to get a better job then just being a French teacher a couple days a week. So she enrolled in nursing school and two years later began working at a hospital in Baltimore.
She married my step-father, when I was 17 and moved to live with him and got a job quickly at a different hospital. She worked hard and became the nurse manager of her floor. My mom always stayed late at work and worked on Holidays, and really cared about her job. She often volunteered her time to do Stroke screanings at various public places, helping to give the hospital a good name. During snow storms she and my Dad would stay at a hotel closer to the hospital so that she would be able to get into work and also help pick up other nurses that did not have 4-wheel drive vehichles. My Mom deserves an award for everything she has done. Imagine my surprise when I got a phone call today that when she went into her managment meeting she was told they no longer needed her in that position and she was to leave the hospital immediately. She was not allowed to go and get her belonging and was not allowed to say goodbye to the nurses. The Managment then escorted her out like a criminal. Now she is told that she has 30 days to find another job within the hospital or needs to turn in her resignation. It puzzles me because my Mom has done nothing wrong and had never been repremanded or written up for anything. This came as a total shock to her and all the nurses she worked with and the rest of my family. Many of the nurses called her Mom and loved her. She has gotten several calls from the nurses who just can't believe what has happened. Everyone is in total shock!
My mom has contaced HR to put in a Grievance Report but sadly I do not think anything will come of it. I am sure she will be just fine though because she is such a hard worker and caring person!

Happy for the nice day!

2011-02-07T12:14:00.000-08:00

This weekend was another busy one for us. Jason and I always have a lot of kids around, but we like it that way. This weekend our nephew Colin was here and my friends son Josh. Both who were going to a qualifying match for states. Also my friend Amy's son Gaige came and stayed Friday night! So we had a full house! We were all up at 6am and in the car by 8 heading to the match. Both the boys qualified and now will be heading to states in a few weeks. We are very proud of them.

Sunday was such a nice day I always work until 2, and I could not wait to head home and enjoy the day. Bryanna's grandmother brought her to my store to see me which was a nice surprise and Bry ended up staying and working with me. When we got home we got the dogs ready and went for a nice long walk. Colin came with us too, he has been at our house since Monday!
Here is Bry, Colin and Monster.

Last night we took all the kid's home and had a semi-quiet house again, until next weekend!

Ohio

2011-01-29T06:58:00.000-08:00

Tuesday we left for Ohio around 12pm. My husband's Grandmother is buried there and he felt that we needed to go for a visit. He has not been in over 10 years! We also took our God-daughter Bryanna along with us. We told her it would be a long ride but she was ready! So we packed up the car and headed out!

Bry had everything she needed-movies, snacks, paper and markers! The drive down was fairly uneventful, the scenery was very pretty though!

I love how the ice is dripping down the side, I thought that looked pretty cool. When we arrived at our hotel in St. Clairsville, OH we checked in and relaxed for a bit then headed to dinner! After we went for a swim in the indoor pool which was nice but a little chilly! However with a 6 year old there was no getting out of swimming with her. Luckily there was also a hot tub to warm up in after! Wednesday morning we headed out to the Cemetery! It took us over and hour to find her gravestone because its on of the flat ones in the ground and all the snow had covered it. We knew we were not going to leave until we found it! After all its the reason we came to Ohio. The little town where she is buried is called Barnsville. It was a very cute small town! We placed some flowers down said a few words and then headed out.
The snow had already started to fall but the roads were not bad, yet.

But once we crossed back into Maryland they started to look like the picture above and just got worse from there! We slid once and that was enough for us so we got off at the very next exit. We were in Cumberland, MD we stopped at a Fairfield Inn and got a room. The hotel was empty when we arrived but because the weather just kept getting worse it quickly filled up.

Bryanna was excited to be in a hotel again. She loves to swim and she loves to just be with us! I am glad I pack heavy too so we all had some extra clothes. We decided to go play in the snow. Unfortunately for me I forgot my gloves, so I mainly just took a bunch of pictures.
Below is the snowman Bryanna and Jason made-

It must have been really good, even the hotel manager came out and took a picture! Afterwards they had a snowball fight and built snow forts then it was back to pool time and hot tub! This pool was much warmer then the first one! The next day we got up, (not too early since we figured the roads would still be bad) and headed home! It was amazing to see all of the cars, and SUV's and Tractor Trailers left on the sides of the road! It was nice to be home, except that we had no power, lucky for us we have friends that are nice and let us borrow a generator for the night.
So it was a nice trip, we accomplished what we went for and had a lot of fun with Bryanna! I am including a pic from about a month ago. I never have pictures of myself because I am always the one taking them. Here is one of me and Bryanna drinking our fantastic fair fizz!

Missed the Bus

2011-01-28T19:03:00.000-08:00

These last few days have been crazy. Tuesday we left for Ohio and were supposed to return on Wednesday. Due to the snow storm we were forced to stop along the way and finish our drive Thursday. I will write about our trip later.
Today I woke up and cleaned off my car. There was a lot of heavy snow on it and a large tree branch had fallen on it. Luckily there was no damage! As I was finishing up, I heard a little boy crying and banging on his door screaming for his mom. I heard the sound of the school bus leaving and him saying Oh, No please don't go then I see him collapse to his knees and just start sobbing. I walked over to him and asked if he was OK, he said No that he had forgotten his backpack and was locked out. He said his mom was home but sleeping. I told him not to worry and I was not going to leave him until we got him inside. Trying to calm him down I asked him questions as I banged on the door a bit louder. He told me he was 8 years old. After a few minutes I started to get really worried because she was still not answering the door. He did not know his phone number at home or his dad's number. After about 10-15 minutes his mom came to the door. We did wake her up and she was very nice and thankful.
Now I am not one to judge I think it is probably OK for him to walk to the bus stop himself but if it was me I would be watching my son and making sure he got on the school bus before I went to sleep. With the many things that could happen why risk it?

Weekends go by so fast!

2011-01-23T17:59:00.000-08:00

I had a very busy weekend! Jason and I almost always have kids staying at our house, usually its our goddaughter Bryanna but this weekend it was our nephew Colin.

Colin is awesome, he is a fantastic athlete, he is funny and smart! He loves being goofy and so do I so we had a lot fun! Friday we took him and my other nephew Josh and a friend of Colin's to a Navy Wrestling match. We signed Colin up for wrestling this year and thought it would be good for him to see a college match.
Saturday Jason had to work so Colin and I went to the Amish market and did some shopping. Once Jason came home from work we were going to go ice skating but decided it was too cold so we all went bowling, Josh came too. After we went to dinner at Sakkura where they cook on the table in front of you, always a good time. Today was Colins wrestling match, he has only been wrestling for 3 months and goes up against guys that are in there 4th or 5th year. Colin had 4 matches and pinned every single kid. We were very proud of him, but what I am most proud of is that after they shake hands and leave the mat, Colin goes up to each of his competitors and tells them they did a good job and gives them a pat on the back. That really makes me feel good.
Some of these kids take it really hard when they lose and cry and just feel so bad. Seeing that Colin has not only the drive to want to win but also the heart to not gloat about it is just fabulous! Here hs is getting instruction from one of his coaches!

Now its back to work for one day and then off for two days! We are heading to Ohio for a quick trip!

Bandit

2011-01-18T18:24:00.000-08:00

About a year ago we adopted Bandit he is a Miniature Pinscher just like Monster who we already had. I first saw Bandit on the SPCA web site and I immediately knew I wanted him. He is a bit of an older guy 10 when we adopted him. For some reason over the last couple of weeks he has become obsessed with our fish tank. He will jump and jump just to try to get a look at them, because of his age and bad joints I was worried he would get hurt so I put a chair up next to the tank. Bandit stands on the chair for HOURS watching the fish with his little tail wagging along. Every once in a while one will get up close to the glass and Bandit will try to catch the fish in his mouth. Its the funniest thing to watch, this is not a great picture but you get the point.

I am so happy that we brought Bandit into our family he has made it much more entertaining! Here is one more of him laying in front of the heater, which is one of his favorite spots.

New Year, New Car

2011-01-13T17:23:00.000-08:00

I have a company car, nothing special a Chevy Cobalt, my husband has a Motorcycle which he rides in the summer but for when its really cold he had a Ford Truck which was fine but it was on its last leg. After a lot of looking and discussing we decided to go with a Chevy Trailblazer. So the other day we went looking and found one that was just perfect. Its an 08 Chevy Trailblazer SS, fully loaded. Its wonderful has everything that we wanted and the previous owner took really good care of it.

Well today while my husband Jason was stopped at a red light this guy came flying by changed lanes into the side of him, scraping all along from the back bumper to the driver side door....Jason went to pull over to get the guys information but the driver KEPT GOING!!! So Jason goes to try to find this guy but he was gone. Jason called the police and waited for them to arrive. Apparently the person who hit him was late for a meeting so instead of stopping to 1. Give his insurance info and
2. Make sure Jason was OK, he just kept going to his meeting and called the police and game them all of his information. I am happy that he at least called but it really was not the right thing to do of course. So now our 3-day old Chevy gets to go into the shop to be fixed :-(.

My New Years Resolutions

2011-01-11T05:38:00.000-08:00

I have made some resolutions for this year. I have decided to blog a lot more then I have been. I am going to try for at least twice a week. I am always busy doing things for others and this will allow me to have some "me" time!
I also want to read more books and so far I have read one titled~"You had me at Woof"~ I loved it and cried my eyes out but it was a great book.
I also am going to continue to be kind to others, even though they might not be kind to me.
So far, yes I know its only two a couple weeks into the new year, but so far I am doing great I would say! :-)
What do you want to accomplish for the new year?

$50 Car

2008-11-06T15:35:00.000-08:00

Every Christmas my very large family draws names for gifts. This year I got my Grandmother. Great she is usally pretty easy to buy for. So I wait a few days til she has called my sister with her list and then my sister calls me. My grandmother wants a car. There car is not running very well and they need a safe and reliable car. I however cannot afford a new car for her of course and the amount of money we are supposed to spend is $50.00. So now I need to find a car for $50.00 any suggestions?

America

2008-11-04T18:17:00.001-08:00

So today we all went and voted right? Well Jason and I went, there was no wait just in made our choices and then out we went. I finally made a choice and hopefully it was the right one. We shall see. When I talked to my sister earlier she told me that she took her daughter with her to vote and explained to her that in some countries women cannot vote that they don't get a choice and that they cannot even learn to read! My niece then said well can't they sneak in to vote. She will understand one day how important this is.

I also got an email today that my grandfathers stress test came back abnormal and he now needs to go and have a Cardiac Catheterization done in a couple of weeks. They want to do it sooner but my grandfather is going to Williamsburg to march in the Vetrans day parade. This is something very important to him, he gets to meet other WWII vets and there familys. My grandpa is a hero and now I am very worried about him. I will have to tell you his story sometime. I never get tired of hearing his stories from being in the war and traveling all over the US. He is an amazing man and I love and respect him very much.

Vote 2008

2008-11-04T05:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Voting Day to everyone. I hope that everyone is planning to go out and vote today. I will wait for Jason to get off from work and we will go together to vote as we always do. Then after that off to get our free stuff for voting! Yeah. I hope that whomever does become president does help out this country! I took the quiz over at Militarymommy blog and I was right in the middle. Such a tough choice. I agree with Obama on certain things and on McCain with other things, so I still right now do not know who I am going to go with when I get there but I will have my mind made up by then, I still have all day!

Dog halloween party

2008-11-02T15:15:00.000-08:00

Today was the small dog park halloween party. It was so much fun. Monster wore his skelton costume and looked very cute. There were so many dogs there and most of them were dressed up and it was just adorable. Monster was well behaved for the most part. The ones who organized this gathering had muffins and cookies and juice and brownies for the people and for the pups they had all different treats. Monster was in heaven. At the end they gave out toys to all the good doggies and it was just so much fun. Now its only 6pm and Monster is sleeping soundly in bed he is worn out. Here is a pic of Monster (the skeleton)checking out what is up on the table while another Min Pin (dressed as a dinasour) checks out Monster.

This Made Me Cry

2008-11-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

It not often people do nice things for each other or for animals anymore. I read this in my local paper today it made me cry because it does have a sad ending but at the same time it made my heart feel good because this man helped even though he was injured he helped this little boy and his dog. Many would have just turned away. This man is a hero..please read-

County police Officer Michael McDermott's young neighbor, Nick, could have asked any nearby resident for help after a large tree fell on top of his shepherd mix dog Thursday evening.
But the boy ran six houses down Plantation Boulevard in the West River Estates community instead, screaming for the help of the off-duty officer, whom he hoped could save his four-legged friend, police said.
Officer McDermott, a six-month veteran with the county Police Department and retired homicide detective with the New York City Police Department, quickly sprang into action and did what he could to rescue the dog.
Sadly, his efforts weren't enough to save the animal. And during the rescue attempt, the frightened pooch bit off most of the officer's left ear.
The off-duty officer, 42, was outside his home in the waterfront community at just after 5:45 p.m. when his neighbor's son, Nick, ran to his backyard fence screaming for help, according to the police report.
Officer McDermott followed the boy to the woods behind his home in the 600 block of Plantation Boulevard, and found the dog on the ground beside a large, fallen tree. It is unclear how the tree fell on the dog.
The back half of the dog's body had been crushed by the impact of the tree, police said. The injured and distressed shepherd mix growled at the officer as he approached it.
The officer ran down the street to his home and told his wife to get ready to take the dog to the veterinarian.
He grabbed a leash, towel and a garden cart to carry the animal to the car. He knew he wouldn't be able to carry the injured dog, said Sgt. Gilmer, a county police spokesman.
Back in the woods, the officer handed the leash to the boy and asked him to wrap it around the dog's snout as a makeshift muzzle.
Once the snout was secured, Officer McDermott lifted the large tree off the animal and tried to put the dog into the garden cart.
But the animal was defensive.
The dog lashed about and wiggled his snout from the muzzle, police said. The animal quickly turned his head toward Officer McDermott and bit off a large portion of the officer's left ear.
The bleeding officer kept his focus on saving the dog, and put it into the garden cart. He wheeled the animal from the woods to Plantation Boulevard, where his wife was waiting with her car, police said.
The officer's wife drove the dog to a nearby animal hospital where it died from its injuries.
Officer McDermott was taken by ambulance to Anne Arundel Medical Center in Parole. He was treated and released that night, but was sent to a plastic surgeon first thing yesterday morning. Police said he was having reconstructive surgery on his ear yesterday.
The bitten chunk of ear could not be found in the woods, the police report says.
The dog's owners declined to comment about the accident.
A flower delivery truck pulled up to the boy's home yesterday afternoon and a bouquet was taken to the family's door. The boy's mother wept as she spoke to The Capital and said the family was not ready to speak about their beloved dog.
Officer McDermott was in surgery and was unable to comment about the attempted rescue.
Sgt. Gilmer said the officer has worked patrol in the county for more than six months. He is retired from the New York City Police Department as a homicide detective for more than 20 years of service.
When asked, Nick told police that he bypassed other homes and intentionally ran up the street to Officer McDermott's house for help. He knew that his neighbor was a county police officer, Sgt. Gilmer said.

GNO

2008-11-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

So tonight Jessica and I had a girls night out. Dinner and shopping what more could a girl ask for! First we tried to go to PF Changs but it was a 100 minute wait, so we decided to walk over to Outback, which was also a 60 minute wait but lucky for us there was plenty of room at the bar. So we sat there and ate our steaks. It was fun, we don't get to go out very much together, just the two of us. After we ate we walked back over to Target and shopped for a while. We used there cool cart transporter thingy to go from one level to antoher, everyone watched as our cart rolled down right next to us. I am very tired now it was a lot of excitment for one night for me. Hopefully we can go out again soon...maybe we can make it a monthly dinner for us?

Monster

2008-11-01T05:28:00.001-07:00

Here is my little Monster on Halloween, a glow in the dark skeleton. He was so well behaved did not bark at any kids did not jump up on anyone. I am sure he was very confused about what was going on and why everyone kept telling him how cute he was. But we gave out just about all our candy to the cute kids. Some kids were scared to walk up to our house but most kids did even the little ones. Here is what the house looked like....

Jason would stand in the fog to scare the bigger kids he did not move did not jump out at them just stood there. It was another fun halloween. Now on to thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T05:08:00.000-07:00

I love halloween, last night we got the last of our decorations up. The house looks good and spooky! I have my $1.00 halloween shirt I am going to wear from Old Navy. Jason has his skeleton sweatshirt and glow in the dark face paint and Monster has his glow in the dark skeleton costume. We have some candy, I made the mistake of not hiding it so we have some, I will have to buy more. We do get a lot of kids around here. So now we just have to wait til it gets dark and then the fun begins! I hope everyone has a happy halloween!

Eastern Shore Cream of Crab Soup

2008-10-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

I bought this cookbook from www.crabbystuff.com it is awesome. Last night I made Eastern Shore Cream of Crab Soup and its was so yummy its gone!

So here is how to make it

3c milk

1/4 pound butter

1 pound lump crab meat

3 T celery, chopped

1 T parsley

1 teaspoon Salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons flour

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup light cream

Directions: Scald Milk, add butter, and heat until melted. Add crab,celery,parsley, sald adn pepper. Simmer 15 minutes. Blend flour and water and add to mixture. Cook unti thick. Add cream and mix well. Simmer 20 minutes. Serves Six.

This cookbook is awesome I can't wait to make more yummy recipes from it. It is called

The Crab Cookbook by Whitey Schmidt. Its an autographed copy.

hot shower

2008-10-29T05:15:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you but I love taking a hot shower. It is relaxing, its my "me" time and it just feels good. This morning after a rough night due to my shoulder blade being extremley sore, I got up and go into a nice hot shower. I had the bathroom door closed and I was letting the water hit my shoulder nice and hard to try to pound out the pain. Then in walks Jason to use the toilet which is fine I don't care but then he leaves and all of sudden the bathroom is freezing, yup he left the door wide open. So I call to him to "please come shut it" (ok i did not say it that nice but i was mad he ruined my nice hot shower) . So of course he does not return and I had to get out of my nice hot shower and freeze as I took the two steps to go and close the door. I now have a new rule...I am locking the door, he can go use the bathroom downstairs ha that will teach him!

Happy Birthday Jess

2008-10-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

First I will start by saying Happy Birthday Jessica. She is my very best friend and today she has joined me in being 30! Today was not very eventful but I just go off the phone with my sister who told me that she sent her daughter to school in pants that were too big. Sara my niece kept falling down when she was trying to run, walk and play. This reminded me of a story my father told me about my sister. When she was younger he sent her to school in overalls. When she came home there was a note pinned to her that said. Please remember that when you send Jennifer to school to put her overalls on frontwards not backwards, it makes it difficult for her when she needs to use the restroom. Ha. I guess being a parent is hard work!

Sad News

2008-10-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

Just got a call from the spca, we did not get precious. There was another applicant ahead of us and they were approved. We were approved also but just did not get there fast enough I guess. I am going to see what they have tomorrow. I guess it was just not meant to be.

A night at chuck e cheese

2008-10-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

Ok so this happened over a year ago but the memory came to me today so I decided to write about it. Jason and I had taken our god daughter to chuck e cheese. We were sitting at a tabel and watched her climb up into the tubes like she had always done before usually she would go up hang out for a min or so and then come down the slide. After a few min I wondered where she was since she had not come down so I called to her and nothing so then we are looking in the little glass parts of the tubes and there she is looking out crying and screaming for ME. She just kept saying Tiffi, Tiffi. So I am in a panic and while Jason is trying to tell her to crawl back the other way I am fighting my way through the other 50 kids to get up in the tubes and go save her. I finally get to her and she was just so upset she told me she thought we left her! I said Bry we would NEVER leave you. Ughh it was horrible. I crawled back through the tubes as she clung on to me for dear life and we made it back down. I had the worst bruises all over my back and knees but I had to save her and I would do it again. It was supposed to be a fun night but ended up being very upsetting. Now of course she does still love chuck e cheese and she does still love the tubes and slide so I guess she is not traumatized for life!

6th Picture

2008-10-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

Go to your 6th picture folder and pick your 6th picture. This is mine, Jason and Bryanna on his motorcycle. She loves spending time with her uncle J. I love this pic.

Precious

2008-10-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

Last night I was looking at the spca website and saw this adorable puppy named precious. Now we already have one min pin Monster who is our sweet little boy. Now we have put in an application to get this sweet little girl. I dropped off all the paperwork and met Precious this afternoon. I should know by Monday if I get approved. She is getting spayed on Monday and as long as we get approved, we get to pick her up Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed!

Ughgh one of those days.

2008-10-16T17:58:00.001-07:00

Today was one of those days when you just want to scream and then make it tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, could not be worse then today. It started off that I woke up late. I do not use an alarm clock I use my dog he always wakes me up but since we wore him out at the dog park last night he slept in. So when I did wake my lazy butt I up I was rushed I had to jump in the shower and hurry out the door. First I headed to Rehoboth Beach a good 2 hours from home. Had to go to a bunch of places there. There was a bad accident on the way so tons of traffic, then there was two spots that the road was having construction so only one lane was open for both ways. After Rehoboth I had to head over to Bethany Beach and then to my grandparents for a quick lunch. That was the nice part of my day a yummy lunch! Then off to ocean city and finally home. I was going to try to be back in time to go and see my friend in the hospital but unfortuantely by the time I got back visiting hours were over. Then I took my dog for a walk and when I came back he would not stop barking. I guess because we did not go to the dog park today he decided he wanted to drive me crazy and that is what he did! So now finally Jason is home and I am in the office door closed sitting in peace. I think I might sleep in here...I hope tomorrow will be better!

BLUE ANGELS

2008-10-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

My nephews LOVE the blue angels, so I got them this complete set of 1 thru 6 blue angel die cast planes. They have the pull back motion, so they can race down the hallway. This is a great holiday gift. And even better save 15% when you use coupon code BT15 . Check them out there is lots of other great stuff to http://www.navystuff.com/

Tooth Pulled

2008-10-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

Today I got my tooth pulled. It was one of my back teeth and half of it was already gone. I thought it would be no sweat. When I called tomake the appiontment they asked if I wanted to be put under I said no because number 1 I did not want to pay that much and two I just did not think I needed it. Man it hurt! First they numbed me of course then he yanked and pulled and pushed and turned and out it popped. I thought I would feel some kind of relief but no I did not. They gave me some pain meds and I took that and hopefully will feel better soon. Now they are telling me I need to get an implant that will cose somewhere around $2400 not including the crown....WOWSER! I think I might just end up going through life with a missing tooth, I mean its in the back so its not too bad. I am sure my insurance will cover some of this but still thats a lot of money. So we will see what I decide.

Photo For 5 minutes for mom contest

2008-10-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

Bryanna Sleeping in the Car.

I would chose the Lilly Rose Set thanks.

http://www.5minutesformom.com/4380/win-a-new-bedroom-set/

Sunday Funday

2008-10-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

I worked most of the day on Sunday but I did get bryanna around 3:30. Her father dropped her off at my job and she was my big helper. We only had an hour left then we headed home to play. Jason ordered us pizza for dinner it was yummy. Then the time flew by so fast and we had to take bry to go meet her mother. On our way she was singing us songs and then she starts to say the pledge of allegiance she was doing a fantastic job when she gets to the end and says "liberty and JUSTINS for all! Jason and I giggled a little then corrected her that it was Justice for all not Justins. I don't know if we convinced her she kept saying no its JUSTINS. It was very funny.

Happy birthday Xander

2008-10-04T17:51:00.001-07:00

Jason and I have a nephew Xander. He is Jason's sister Amys son. Today was his first birthday. So after working all day I went to his party. I was exahusted but tried to make the most of it. The kids were cute and fun. We had great food and then did the pinata. After that cake and then presents. I finally made it home just after 8. Took care of Monster and now I am getting ready for bed. So happy birthday to Xander.

Things I learned today!

2008-09-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day. I learned a lot today. First my morning started off with the radio station I listen too telling me that my birthday July 1 is national orgasim day, great news! Ha. Then I had to go to work and what I thought was going to be a rough long day was not bad at all. On my way home jason called me with the fantastic news that we were getting Bryanna for the night. So I went and met up with him and picked her up. We came home and waited for Jason and when he got home we took Monster to the dog park he had so much fun. Now Monster in a MinPin and we had always thought he was average size but come to find out that is not the case. There were 3 other minpins at the dog park today and Monster just towered over them it was crazy. I never knew. He had a blast there though he was SO well behaved it really made us proud. Bryanna was an angel as always. Afterwards we went home and rode bikes for a while and then went out to dinner. Red Hot and Blue yummo! Bry ate like a champ and afterwards we went home and did the get in shape girl cheerleading DVD. Now she is sound asleep and I am heading that way too...goodnight!

Tuesday

2008-09-23T06:01:00.000-07:00

Goodmorning,
I thought I would write about my weekend. I got to pick up Bryanna this weekend at her mothers. Of course her father called me at 4pm Friday and told me that i had to go and pick her up and had to leave right then. So I of course jumped at the chance and was on my way driving during rush hour through the harbor tunnel, not to much fun. But Bryanna was so excited to see me and we had a great time. On the way home we sang our silly songs that we make up. We ordered pizza for dinner and Emmy came over and we watched movies and everytime a song came on got up and tried to dance like the girls in the movie. It was great. Saturday we had our yard sale and Bryanna got a new tent that she played in for most of it which was fantastic. Then I had to take her to her fathers house. Of course he was hungover and bry cried cause she did not want to go. I had josh with me too and that made is worse cause she loves josh. Josh had a great day at the store with me the Ravens Chearleaders were across the street signing there swimsuit calander so he hung out over there most of the day. I had to go to work and she wanted to come with me but he said no. By 4pm he was calling me to come back and get her. So I did. We had another fun night playing games learning letters and reading books and painting beautiful pictures. Then in the morning I had to take her to her grandmothers :-(. Sunday Jason and I went to a birthday party I was feeling pretty crappy cause Bryanna had given me her cold but it was still fun. Oh the sweetest thing she said to me this weekend was Jason had some cookies and told her when she finished her soup she could have one, well there was two left so she said to me Tiffi there is one cookie for Jason and I will take my cookie and break it in half and share it with you! It melted my heart! Of course I let her have the whole cookie! Have a great Tuesday!

2008-09-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

Jason and I just got back from Bike week. We had a fantastic time as we did last year. We stayed at this beautiful condo right on the ocean. We shared it with two other couples whom we are friends with. I wish I had taken more photos but I did get a great video at the burn out pit which is one of my favorite places to visit during bike week. We hit fish tales the first night there are just thousands of bikes all over place. This is only my second year going and already I can't wait until next year when we get to go again. The worst part of the trip for me is that I missed my pup Monster so much. I was very happy to see him when I got home today.

NAVYSTUFF.COM SALE

2008-09-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share this that www.navystuff.com is having a sale right now and you can save 20% off your order all you have to do is put BLOGT when they ask for your coupon code. This sale ends October 15th so hurry. I already bought this cute USNA goat and a pink hooded sweat and I can't wait for them to get here. GO NAVY!

Bike Week

2008-09-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

So I am very excited to be heading off to bike week in Ocean City, MD. We were going to head up thursday but Jason (my boyfriend) just decided last night that we should leave wednesday night...why not! So last years bike week was great lots of fun so this year should be just as much fun if not more since now we know what we are getting into. I have learned that when you go to the burn out pit you will be covered in rubber by the time you leave. But its worth it cause its fun! I will miss my puppy very much while we are gone. He is going to stay at my aunts while we are gone and hopefully he will be a good boy! Anyway I am sure I will have lots of pics and stories about it when we come back!

Navy Stuff

2008-09-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

I just thought I would share I went to this site www.navystuff.com I got the cutest navy sweatshirt and a pair of these little booty shorts...the customer service was excellent. I can't wait to shop there again! GO NAVY!

Doing the best I can

2008-09-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

I have been a godmother to Bryanna now for four years. I love her to death and would do anything in the world for her. Often I wonder if I am doing enough. My boyfriend and I usually have Bryanna at least once a week if not more. We don't only want to teach her about god but also life lessons. Yes even at 4. She is very smart and beautiful little girl. I hope the when she grows up to be a young lady she will remember all that we have done for her but more importantely I hope that she respects us and loves us. Its hard sometimes because I do not believe everything that her parents, who are seperated, are teaching her. I do not agree the things they tell her. I hate it when they lie to her and then I am the one who has to tell her the truth and see the hurt look on her face it breaks my heart. I can't say anything for the fear that they will take her away from me after all I have no legal rights they are her parents. I believe I was made her godmother for a reason and I will do the best job I can to help her, teach her and protect her.