Trick or Treat 2009

Just wanted to wish all of you a Happy Halloween. Hope you gets lots of treats and very little tricks. I remember not too many years ago when Meagan was much younger how much she looked forward to picking out a costume and getting a bag full of candy. I really miss those days.

I hadn't bought any treats yet since I was supposed to be going to dinner tonight with my sister for a late birthday. Plans changed due to Halloween and Meagan and Cally are going to a party tonight. Tomorrow we will go for late lunch or early dinner. So that means that now I have to get dressed and go to Wally World for treats for the little ones that may drop by. I love seeing those little kids with treat bags bigger than they are! I carved 1 pumpkin and Meagan did 2 pumpkins. They turned out really cute and tested them out last night.
crazy face jack-o'-lantern -Meagan

Peace Sign Jack-o`-lantern-Meagan's

My Starry-eyed Jack-o`-lantern.

Not too scary!

As soon as the sun starts to go down tonight I will light them up for the kids tonight. Enjoy your weekend!!

October 23, 1951 my birthday

I had a most wonderful birthday today. Went to lunch at Chili's with Meagan and my friend, Maryanne. Tonight was out to dinner with Trish and Jim at the Lakeland Alehouse. After our meal we were served for dessert the biggest brownie with nuts with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, cherries and hot fudge you have ever seen. It was enough for 6 people but the 3 of us worked on it and Jim finished it.

Then shopping with my beautiful daughter, Meagan. We went to Marshall's, Bealls Outlet, Payless Shoes, and Goodwill.

My brother gave me a beautiful bouquet of wildflowers in a coffee can. Over the weekend my sister will take me out to eat again. How many pounds will I gain on my birthday??? I try to eat just half my meal and bring home the rest for later.

Many thanks to all for my most wonderful birthday!! I love all of you!!

Oops, I forgot the most exciting part of my day. I had forgotten what I did this morning! I had to get my driver's license renewed. It went from about $15 to $48 as of October 1st, 2009. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to read the eye chart with my glasses, normally I wear contacts but haven't bought any lately. Now you are required to provide a birth certificate, Social Security card and proof of residence. Before I could take the test I had to FIND my birth certificate and Social Security card. Do you think I could find them, why HECK NO!! Sooo off to Bartow I went to buy a copy of my birth certificate for $15 and then to the SS office which had moved from downtown to way south of town but I didn't know it had moved until I went where I thought it was only to find out it had moved to a new building way south of town. I had to apply for a replacement card which I will receive in about 10 days but they did give me a receipt which the DMV accepted as proof. I also had to take a proof of residence. YES, I did get it renewed for 8 years I think.

Feeling frisky!!

It may not quite look like this yet outside but does it ever feel great! No humidity!!! Yippee, yippee!! Hoping frost is just around the corner!

The dogs are so frisky tonight, running around the yard, having a good ole time!

It will be in the 50s tonight and I am sleeping with the windows open and the fan blowing on me too. Hot flashes ya know! Hope it hangs around for awhile, the weather not the hot flashes!

Today Meagan and I went to downtown Lakeland farmers market to buy tomatoes and cukes. I only bought tomatoes there. It was so crowded downtown due to a Classic Car Show complete with hot rods. The classics are parked around our beautiful Lake Mirror and the hot rods are parked on the streets around historic Munn Park. They blocked off the streets so parking was hard to find. Those were the days of muscle cars and rock n roll. Kids today don't have a clue as to what a good time is really is. The classic cars are the most beautiful, when cars were cars, Duesenbergs, Rolls Royces, Cadillacs, touring cars, model Ts, the list goes on. I was going to do the walk but wore the wrong shoes, it will be back next year and I will be looking forward to it again. I took my Father once or twice, he showed me cars they had growing up in the 20s and 30s. Since he has passed on I just don't enjoy it as much. I loved to hear him tell of his childhood in Maine.

Then we traveled north of town to a new fruit n vegetable stand. It was crowded, they had BBQ chicken and rib dinners for sale, picnic tables to eat on under the big oak trees. A big tractor was pulling a wagon giving rides to the kids. Meagan noticed some cute guys and wants to go out there every weekend now! Music was playing, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. They had some nice pumpkins, didn't buy one there though. I am looking for that perfect one for carving my Halloween jack o lantern.

I bought okra for frying or maybe okra and tomatoes, eggplant, little salad cucumbers, kiwi, baby new red potatoes/creamers, cajun boiled peanuts so spicy they plumped up our lips real nice like we had gotten injections! I forgot to get an avocado. Do you like avocado?

Next Saturday is the Fall Festival uptown at Munn Park with beautiful plants and all kinds of stuff. The fall Parade of Homes kicked off today and goes thru next Sunday!! Just selected homes are on display and most of them will knock your socks off, so beautiful! We have done this for years and always look forward to this tour. Some homes are remodeled and they look just as great as the new ones. We have so much fun, hope the cool weather hangs around til next Sunday anyway!

Welcome back, Paula

Hey everybody we need to welcome Paula at Pughugs back to the blogging world. She retired her old blog Pughugs and has started a new blog. It can be found at www.pugmoon.blogspot.com , you know I don't know how to link stuff but will learn one day. So put up with it for now please! Paula is mom to Paisley, who just had a birthday today and Smokey and Bandit.

8 year survivor

As we all know October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I want to share my story with you. I apologize for the length. This is the condensed version.

On this date 8 years ago I found my lump. It was on a Saturday night and I remember it well . I was watching TV and something told me just to feel this particular spot. And there it was! It wasn't painful but I knew it didn't belong there.

On Monday I was going to call the doctor but had plans to go with my daughter and friends to Webster. Webster is home to a great farmers market with lots of really neat junk. Nothing was going to spoil my trip!

Tuesday morning I did call my doctor. I was given an appointment for Thursday. He examined me and scheduled me for a mammogram. One out of eight women will get breast cancer, those are the grim statistics. Guess what??? There were 8 of us in the waiting room and guess who got called back? Me, of course! I was the one out of eight.

My journey with breast cancer began. I had to tell my 11 year old daughter that her mommie had cancer. It broke my heart. I was so afraid but went through all of it a with a big smile and great attitude and much much prayer and so much love and support from family and friends.
I had a lumpectomy Nov 29 then another lumpectomy when I had the port put in Feb 2002 because I found another lump before beginning chemo. I had almost a 4 month wait to begin chemo and really don't know why it took so long. I got 6 rounds of a chemo cocktail consisting of 5-fluorouracil, Cytoxan and Adriamycin aka the red devil. Then 38 radiation treatments which included 5 super blasts called boosts. I took Tamoxifen for 2 1/2 years then have been on Arimidex since, will take it for 5 years. I had cancer it didn't have me became my new motto. Checkups every 6 months now.

My friend shaved my head when I started losing my hair. My sister cut her hair so super short and my brother buzzed his head. My Daddy asked me if my head got cold at night. My Mama looked at me funny, she was in failing health herself and sometimes I don't think she understood what was going on with me.

That was 8 long years ago and I sometimes forget I ever had cancer. I still have my port and will keep it til it gives me trouble, there is no rush to take it out. I actually think God should make us with one of them already built in. They are GREAT if you can imagine such a thing. I do tend to freak out a little when it come to my 6 months checkup, worrying about my tumor markers.

January 2009 I had the BRCA test done. This is a genetic test to see if I carry the breast cancer gene. It's only done by one lab in the world and it's in Salt Lake City, Utah. Very expensive and usually covered by insurance if your oncologist makes the request. My mother and her sister had breast cancer, my maternal grandmother had pancreatic cancer so he thought this a very good idea. I DO NOT CARRY THIS GENE!!! If Meagan gets cancer I didn't pass it on to her or any other member of my family.

I thank God everyday for my life, for healing me and God continues to keep me cancer free.

Please get your mammograms and do self exams!! Wear pink this month, I actually like pink now, didn't use to. Pray for a cure!

Girls Night Out!!!!

Two women friends had gone for a girls' night out. Both were very faithful and loving wives, however they had gotten over-enthusiastic on the Bacardi Breezers.
Incredibly drunk and walking home they needed to pee, so they stopped in the cemetery.
One of them had nothing to wipe with so she thought she would take off her panties and use them.
Her friend however was wearing a rather expensive pair of panties and did not want to ruin them.
She was lucky enough to squat down next to a grave that had a wreath with a ribbon on it, so she proceeded to wipe with that.
After the girls did their business, they proceeded to go home.
The next day, the husband of one of the women was concerned that his normally sweet and innocent wife was still in bed hung over, so he phoned the other husband and said:
"These girls nights have got to stop! I'm starting to suspect the worst. My wife came home with no panties!!"
"That's nothing," said the other husband, "Mine came back with a card stuck to her ass that said..... 'From all of us at the Fire Station. We'll never forget you.'