Ryan's New Job . . .

Things have been crazy busy around here.  First, the kids are on summer break, so there's that.  Then, on top of all that, Ryan decided to switch companies.  He's been with the same company for NINETEEN YEARS!  NINETEEN YEARS!  Technically he's been there a little longer because he interned with them during college, and then when he graduated they offered him a full-time job.  He started out at the very bottom, and worked his way up to Vice President of the company and General Manager of the Louisville Office. 

But about 4 years ago, the small company was bought out by a larger publicly traded company, and things have been a little hectic since then.  So when his former boss decided to open a new company doing the same thing, and asked him to be involved on the ground floor, he couldn't pass up the opportunity.  While he'd been with the same company for so long, and probably would have retired there, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and if he didn't take it, he'd always wonder WHAT IF?  So, after months of discussion between the 2 of us, never really knowing what the right thing to do was until the very last minute, he finally decided to take the plunge.  

You can read about the new company, and his information HERE.

While it'll mean a lot more travel and probably more time away from us, at least in the first couple of years, the potential for success is great.  I'm very proud of him for taking the plunge.  It wasn't an easy decision, but I do think it was the right one.  

So please keep him and his new company in your thoughts and prayers.  We can all use them!  :)

Mom . . .

This last week has been CRA-ZEEE!  My mom went into the hospital on Wednesday night.  She thought she was having another heart attack. (Her last one was 13 years ago, 2 weeks after Jason was born).  My dad took her to the ER and they said it didn't look like she had a heart attack, but she did have a lot of other issues, so they decided to admit her.  She had multi-focal pneumonia in 3 places, gall stones, kidney stones, gastritis, something with her esophagus, and something with her bladder.  So needless to say, there were A LOT of issues.  They started treating everything and on Thursday they told us that there was still a chance it could be the heart, so until they ruled it out completely, they were treating it as if it was heart related, since that was the most severe.  In other words, they were giving her the same medicines they would give her if it WAS her heart.  They scheduled a heart catheter for the next day to rule it out.  If the heart cath came back clean, then they would proceed with the GI issues, and she would most likely have to have her gallbladder taken out.  (Evidently gallbladder attacks and heart attacks both present the same way.  Who knew)?  

Thursday night she started having more chest pains so they moved her to the Coronary Care Unit because they thought she WAS having a heart attack.  We spent ALL DAY Friday at the hospital with her waiting for the tests to be done.  The heart cath came back clean, YEA, so there was no damage to the heart.  But the EKG showed that she DID have a heart attack, it just didn't do any damage to her heart.  So now the next step is to let the pneumonia clear up and the incision from the heart cath heal, and then they'll probably have to remove her gallbladder, which I'm told is a pretty easy surgery, as far as surgeries go.  But they won't schedule that for at least a couple of weeks because they're waiting on everything else to heal.  In the meantime, she got to go home on Saturday, which she was THRILLED about, so now she'll get to play Bridge this week!  :)

But of course, because this is ME we're talking about, that's NOT the end of the story!  After we got the okay on the heart cath Dad and I decided to leave the hospital to go grab some lunch because here it was 2pm, and we'd been there all day waiting for the test results, without eating anything.  On our way out of the hospital, still on her floor mind you, we were walking with her nurse from her PREVIOUS floor, when all of a sudden I was face down on the floor.  My Dad said he heard me hit the floor.  I busted my knee and twisted my leg.  They called security to write everything down, and they asked me if I wanted to go to the ER.  I told them no that I would probably feel better if I could just walk it off.  Only that didn't work.  I was actually feeling worse, so I decided to head down to the ER and have everything checked out.  Luckily there were no broken bones, just a broken ego, but I pulled muscles I didn't even know I had!  :)  The doctor gave me some pain pills and some ibuprofen for the inflammation, and told me to call my family doc if I wasn't feeling better within 5 days.  I'm happy to report I AM feeling better, although my leg does still hurt a little. But of course, I'm the only person I know that can be visiting some one at the hospital, and wind up in the ER.  :(

Blast From The Past . . .

The kids and I, mostly *I*, did some MAJOR cleaning a couple of months ago.  We purged so much stuff, I think they were worried they were next!  :)

It's amazing how easy it is to find stuff when there's a lot LESS stuff to go through!

I found an old journal I kept filled with poems I used to write.  Most of them are pretty cheesy.  Okay, ALL of them are pretty cheesy.  But it's still something fun to read.

I wrote this one in college.  The date on it is 9/21/89 so I would have just turned 19. 

Sitting alone in solitude

I ponder the events of the day;

As it slowly comes to an end

I realize all that I've lost.

Seeing the clouds forming overhead

I am reminded of how bad things have been;

Waiting for the cloud to burst

And for all the pain and suffering to be set free.

DAMN!  Talk about depressing!  Not sure what was going on at the time, but I OBVIOUSLY was upset about something!

So Much For The June Blog Challenge!

Well THAT lasted a long time!  NOT!

We went out of town to the lake and we don't get Internet Access there, so I fell behind.  Then I just never got caught up.

Speaking of the lake, we FINALLY bought a place at Nolin.  I told you a couple of months ago about the place we TRIED to buy, but it fell through.  I didn't talk about this one, because I didn't want to jinx it!  But now that it's officially ours, I'll tell you about it.  :)

It's at Nolin Lake, which is about 90 minutes from where we live.  It sits on 5 acres, has about 2300 sqft, 3 bedrooms, plus a sitting room off the master bedroom, 2 baths, living room, family room, dining room, kitchen and laundry room.  There's also a deck off the back.

  View Of The Front

Lots Of Woods In The Front

Family Room with Fireplace

Dining Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Family Room Looking Into Kitchen

 Sitting Room Off Master Bedroom

Living Room

Second Bedroom

Third Bedroom

 Our Driveway

 Another View Of The Outside

 Think We Have Enough Green?

Last One, I Promise!

June Blog Challenge Day 1 . . . . Cheese. REALLY? CHEESE?!

Okay, so I haven't written in a REALLY long time.  Some of you may have noticed, most of you, probably not.  But that's okay.  I'VE noticed.  I haven't really felt "inspired", plus, I've just been busy, and let's face it, LAZY.  But I've been THINKING about writing, I just never got that inspiration.  Then I found THIS, and I thought, 'eh, why not? 

So the CHALLENGE is to write EVERY DAY.  For 30 DAYS.  So let's go:

Today's topic is Cheese.  CHEESE?  Really?  What the heck do you say about cheese?  I LOVE cheese.  I put it on pretty much everything, but that's not really that interesting.  So I decided to give you a couple of recipes I like that involve Cheese.  That's a little different, right?

HAWAIIAN PINWHEELS

My cousin gave me this recipe, and I LOVE it. 

1 package tortilla shells
1 8 oz cream cheese
1 package swiss cheese
1 package ham
1 small can CRUSHED pineapples
3-4 tablespoons Hawaiian 30 Minute Marinade (It comes in a bottle and it's NOT dry seasoning, it's like dressing).

Mix cream cheese, crushed pineapples, and Hawaiian seasoning.  Spread mix on tortilla shell.  Place 1 1/2 pieces of cheese and 2 pieces of ham.  Roll into roll-up, and then slice into small pinwheel pieces. 

It's kind of a tedious process, so I usually double the recipe because if I'm going to make it, I want to make enough to go around, with some leftover for us!  :)

MICHELLE'S QUESON

I've been making this for YEARS, but I've added some things to get it to taste the way I want. 

8 oz Velveeta Cheese
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
Medium Salsa.  (You'll need to adjust this based on how hot you want it.  I usually use about 6 or 7 tablespoons, but sometimes I use more or less).  (Don't you LOVE how EXACT I am)?!  :)
3-5 tablespoons milk (I've just recently added this.  It helps to make it a little smoother).
1/4 small onion, chopped finely.  (I usually use dried chopped onions, unless I have onions on hand.  I personally think fresh onions makes it taste better). 

Melt Velveeta in the microwave with the milk.  When it's almost completely melted, add the other ingredients and finish cooking in the microwave.  Heat until completely melted.  Serve with tortilla chips. 

(This is a GREAT make and take recipe.  When I take it somewhere I put it in the crockpot to cook and let it simmer all day.  Just be sure to stir regularly so it doesn't stick to the side or burn.  Then I put my crockpot on warm, and it's easy for people to come and get it when they need it).

You can also add Italian Sausage, Breakfast Sausage, Ground Beef, or Spinach. 

So that's Day 1.  Since today is ACTUALLY June SECOND, I'll do post #2 shortly.  But first I have to finish packing for the lake!  :)