Nonnie's Place

YUMMY. . . .

dish.  I tried a recipe out of Susan Powters cook book and boy was it good.  I added some sun dried tomatoes to give it a little more zip to the flavor, but I love pasta and chicken.  Susan uses different spices to give her dishes the wonderful flavors they have.  I mean how boring would this recipe be if spices were not used.  This one used Nutmeg and other similar spices and it really was delicious.  Picture isn't so good, but it sure tasted good.  The possibilities are endless with side dishes on this one.  I made steamed asparagus and it went really well with the dish.  So stay tuned for more dishes out of different cook books.

TO BLOG AGAIN OR. . . .

not.  I decided I will start blogging again.  Haven't done it in so long.  So I decided that I would blog about all the different diet recipes I am trying out of my South Beach Diet cookbook and Susan Powters cook book.  Have tried some recipes already and boy were they ever good.  I am also trying to stay away from processed foods.  So I use fresh ingredients where I can.

Last night I fixed Curried Apricot Dijon chicken  for dinner.  Had vegies and rice with it.  I was absolutely delicious!  Easy to fix and dinner was ready in 30 minutes.

For those of you who do not like curry, like me, you have to try that dish.  The curry is not overpowering and with the apricot jam it really gives it a unique flavor.  I should have taken a picture and posted it, but I didn't.  Next time I will.

On the home front the news is:  I had surgery on my low back to have a fatty tumor removed off my tail bone.  Everyday I do better.  I got the drainage tube removed on Friday and the stitches are self dissolving so when the stri-strips fall off I'll be good as new, I hope.  Right now I am trying to heal from the surgery itself.  Muscles and low back area are extremely sore so I have to be careful sitting and laying down, other than that I KNOW that big ole lump is gone.  The pressure it caused is no longer there.  YAY!

Have to see a specialist about my liver.  The enzyme count is up and it won't go down, so they are talking about a biopsy.  YUCK!  Then last night I discovered a growth on my finger.  Boy it is AWFUL growing old.  But that is life and I have to accept it.  I'll depend on the Lord to take care of all these problems for me.  My GOD can do anything.

We are in hopes that Laura and the girls can get home for Christmas so they won't be alone in Germany.  With Jaime in Iraq it is hard for them to be away from family and friends.  So we started a little fund for them with a paypal account for donations.  Hopefully family and friends will be able to help out with getting the girls home.  I HATE the thought of them being over there ALONE for Christmas.

Well until tomorrow gang.

A VERY SAD DAY. . . .

for hubby and me.  Our beloved precious dog, Buckwheat, had to be put down this morning.  He had cancer and sometime during the night the tumor ruptured his spleen and he was bleeding internally.  The cancer had spread to his liver and there was no hope for him.

I am crushed at losing my dog and sometimes I think I will never get over it.  He was such a sweet and loving dog.  He had a way of letting his wants known and true we did spoil him.  I can't seem to quit crying and I wonder how long it will be before I can stop.  The vet was so loving and all his staff just loved my dog.  They were wonderful in explaining everything to us so that we would understand what was going to happen.  He kept reassuring that Buckwheat knew we loved him.  It is so hard to write this, but I needed to.  I have put some pictures in here for those of you who did not know my precious Buckwheat.

         

HAD FUN. . . .

camping the last 6 days.  Our church's annual camp out was this past weekend.  Had a wonderful, relaxing time, but boy was it ever HOT and HUMID.  OMG, I thought I was going to die.  Thank God for A/C in the trailer.  Had my precious granddaughter's (who live in Germany) with us for a couple of days and had fun with them.  Their mom and dad came to pick them up and stayed until after dinner.  They took the girls and the dog down to the river.  Turns out my dog loved the river.  He HATES showers, so I was surprised that he had fun playing in the river.  I hated to leave, but all good things must come to an end.

My poor hubby had to try and back the trailer into our driveway by himself and consequently took part of the tip-out out.  Gonna cost us to fix it because we didn't have collision on our insurance.  Bummer.  Gonna be expensive.  Oh well, things happen.

Haven't worked out at the gym for almost two weeks so now I am going to have to take it slow when I start back up.  I am not sure I want to exercise in this heat though.  WOW is it ever HOT!  Suppose to get up to 100 degrees today.  Very unusual for Washington State.  YUCK!  I hate the heat.  I sure hope it breaks soon.

Well, no more news from here.  I am way behind on posting and I still don't have any pictures up of the girls.  I'll try and get to that this week.  Bye for now.

WHEN WILL I LEARN?

Seems I have been taken for a ride again by my brother.  Probably not something to blog about, but I am so angry and upset I need to sound off.  For the past 8 months my brother had been living with us as we tried to help him get off the booze and finish his detoxing.  He used us the entire time he was here, drinking behind our backs and not paying anything towards utilities.  Then I find out today that he ran up a comcast bill of $150.  So now I have this huge bill I can't pay and need to try and work something out with them to pay it.  I'll never see a penny of it either.  He still owes me money for his bills I paid when he didn't have any money.  He didn't even pay that back.  You would think I would have learned my lesson from the last time I tried to help him.  Guess the old saying is true, "Once bitten, twice shy."  I think that is how it goes anyway.  Anyway, I am through with him.  I will probably never talk to him again because I am so tired of being used and stabbed in the back.

All families have their problems I guess.  But I too have problems and certainly don't need his too.  I personally cannot deal with his anymore.  Time for him to take control of his own life and stop using people.  He can't anymore anyway, he has burned all his bridges.

Well, I feel better for sounding off.

OMG! THE SURPRISE OF MY LIFE TONIGHT. . . . .

Oh my family and friends did I ever the get the surprise of my life tonight.  I just had to tell you about it. 

My daughter-in-law called John and I to see if we wanted to go out for dessert. We said we would and would meet her at the Red Robbin. Then John decided he didn't want to go and wanted to beg off. Mary Ellen wouldn't let us beg off. So we said we would meet her at 8:30. Well before we went in to meet her, I decided to go the bridal shop to pick up Laura and Riley's dresses for the wedding. Wouldn't you know they screwed things up again. So for almost 15 minutes I stand there waiting for this girl to come back with the dresses, but she had to hunt them down because they said Riley's dress wasn't in yet. I got mad and told them that the manager Amanda TOLD me they would be in on Monday. I get there, "Oh Laura's dress is in, but Riley's won't be here until tomorrow. TOMORROW, she PROMISED ME they would both be here on Monday. Anyway, after almost 20 minutes of waiting I told the other sales person that I had to meet with someone and we were late. So I left and as we are pulling out of the parking lot she shows up with a dress.

Anyway, we get over to Red Robbin to meet Mary Ellen who was sitting there at the entrance so patient for us. So I start to explain to her the problems we have been having with David's Bridal. As I am talking I set my purse down on a table still ranting and I look over to my left and glance at this table. I thought I recognized them and then it dawned on me, IT WAS LAURA AND MY GIRLS!  OMG! I started crying, "my girls, my girls."  Run over to the table and grab my daughter, whom I miss soooooo much, then I grab my two little girls Riley and Regan.  Hugging and kissing them and not wanting to let them go. I cannot believe how much they have grown.  Oh it is so wonderful to finally have them home.  I don't want to let them go back either.  But I have 2 months with them and I am going to take every advantage of them being here.

I will be posting again later with some pictures.

WAITING, WAITING, WAITING. . . . . .

for Laura and the girls to get a flight out of Germany.  Can't wait until they get home.  I'll sure be glad when Laura and the girls get here.  I really miss them and my girls are getting so big and growing up fast.  Every year that I get to see them they seem to have sprouted a few more inches in growth.  I haven't worked out in almost two weeks and I need to get back to it.  Seem to have lost my motivation.  Had surgery on my hand so there went a week.  Now I am trying to get the house cleaned before Laura gets here and I only have enough energy to do one thing in a day.  Spent both days of my weekend in the ER with my brother.  He had a Grand Mal Seizure on Saturday and we thought he was going to have another one on Sunday because he was confused as to what day it was, shaking and slurring his speech.  Turns out he OD on his Xanax and his pain pills.  Because he has been so disoriented from the seizure, he couldn't remember taking one so when he woke up he would take another one. 

My other two grand babies are growing fast too.  Levi is pulling himself up and soon will be walking around the table.  Elise is 3 and so smart.  She talks like an adult sometimes and you can easily forget that she is only 3 years old.  But boy can she be a handful.  That is one little girl who is FULL of energy.  Wish I could bottle it and use it for myself.

Josh is getting married August 8, so we are pretty busy preparing for that.  Been a long time since we have had a large wedding in our family.  It will be beautiful though.  Rebecca is a very sweet girl and her family just fits right in with ours.  Josh finally caught himself a wonderful woman who will be a good wife to him.  They plan on having children as well, so more grandchildren.  YAY!!!!!!

Well, that is all the news from my end.  I need to keep up with this blog and blog more often.  Take care all.

Such a weired name. . .

I took the quiz of my Star Wars name that was on the Sweet Shoppe blog.  So here it is.

Your Star Wars Name Is Chrho Grpor

Your Star Wars Title Is Segcof of Nhoj

What do you think it means???

A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING.

Well it's been a while since I updated here.  Things have been out of control in my life lately.  I have been working out a lot at the gym lately.  Trying to get some weight off.  Tired of being fat. 

Laura and the girls are coming home over the summer so I am excited about that.  Having her here over the summer is gonna be great.  Levi started crawling last week, so that was a bit exciting.  Elise is smart and surprises me a lot with the things that she says and does.

Josh my youngest son is getting married again to a very sweet girl.  Both my husband and I approve.  I have posted some pics of them.  He proposed to her Saturday evening while we were at dinner together.  He was shaking like a leaf in the wind he was so nervous.  They have set the date for August 8 so Josh's sister can be here.  So things are going to be very busy for the next 6 weeks.  I am very happy and excited for him and Rebecca.

Will you marry me?

YES!

FACEBOOK????????

So, my family is using facebook and they tell me I should too.  So I sign up.  Only thing is I CANNOT figure out how to put in an avatar.  I can't find the avatar buttons that everyone uses, so I can't follow Laura's instructions on how to upload it as an avatar.  Boy this technical age is getting way ahead of me and I cannot keep up.  Anyway. . . . .

So Laura did this beautiful LO of Mary Ellen and Levi which she put up on the Sweet Shoppe site and her facebook page.  Those of you who are aware of Laura's Sweet Shoppe gallery can go check it out there or check it out on her facebook page.  John and I are saving money to bring Laura and the girls home for summer.  Hopefully they will be able to come home after the girls get out of school.  Hopefully I will get to spend more time with her and the girls this time.  Last time she only had two weeks and I knew she wanted to see her friends while she was home so I didn't put a lot of demand on her time.  This time I will though, so watch out Laura, Mama wants you to herself this time. 

I haven't seen Elise and Levi for almost two weeks now and I am going to have to make it a point to get over there soon and see them.  Guess Levi is really getting around now and is scooting and rolling all over the place. 

So that is all the news I have for now that isn't bad news.  No one wants to hear bad news, so I will keep that to myself.  Please pray for my brother.  Until next time.