Living Alone!

Wow, I had no idea what it was like for single people to live alone. I used to fantasize about being single & doing what I want to do all the time. Usually, these thoughts came when one of my children were having fits or doing the "Mom, Mom, Mom" thing or Mark was giving me his list of "jobs" he wanted me to do. I got married shortly after I graduated and moved from my Mom's house in with Mark. 37 plus years and I have been alone for a total of less than 10 days (hospitals do not count as you are never alone in them).

After a week alone since Mark is away on business, I stand & applaud the single people of the world...whether by choice or not. I can not seem to get organized as no one is here to know if I got anything done or not. I have eaten a couple of snacks....what is the point of fixing food for me. I did eat a whole box of chocolate pudding though as my meal of the day yesterday...haha! I even watch stupid tv shows because I forgot where the remote is & am too lazy to find it. My sleeping habits are always bad but I have not been to bed before 5 am yet. It gets light outside & I go to sleep. I can not even blame being afraid as I live in a fortress, I just get preoccupied & forget to go to bed. (insomnia...always makes sleeping a challenge). I guess with time I would figure out a schedule but Mark will be home by then & I will resume my wifely duties.
At least I bath daily & get dressed but never seem to have the energy then to leave the house. I plan but never leave. I do my laundry & keep my house clean out of habit even though no one to know if I did not. I answer Mark's calls if I see them....still getting use to my Google phone & loving it.
So far, I learned after being a group or couple for over 37 years that I have lost the ability to survive alone. I am very self sufficient or so I thought until now. I thought it was so easy for all those single people to only have to take care of themselves.
BOY! was I wrong...it is so hard to hear the silence, to be an individual without thinking someone else will come "rescue" me from being alone, to be solely responsible for just me & no one else. Other than 2 telephone calls a day from Mark...I have spoken to no one. I left the house once...got stopped at a license check with 30-45 backup in 90 heat & no air conditioning. I got a horrid migraine, had to rush home, threw up, blood pressure dropped, fell & hit my chin and spent the rest of the night throwing up & laying a wet cloth on my head. So my big independence left me with an ugly bruise under my chin and a leftover headache.
It is not like I see or talk to many people but Mark makes me go places with him....dinner, poker night, or ride to a job with him. But this week has been so quiet...only my birthday was quieter haha!
My hat is off to every person who lives alone & must plan their days. I am terrible at it. Shows we must be careful what we wish for...2 more days & my single days are over. I love my husband as he is my very bestest friend too!

It is almost NORTH CAROLINA STATE FAIR TIME!!!

Can you smell the cotton candy, candy apples, hot dogs, sausages, fries & fall air? Yes it is almost fair time less than 60 days away. NC Has the very BESTEST fair in the USA. Great concerts. rides, exhibits of all times, games to take your money & impress your friends with, & food that who cares what the calories are..haha! I have been a FaceBook follower of the NC State Fair & entered a contest for the best old photos of the fair & what it means to us. This was my entry....

Mark a.k.a. Papa holding Hudson on a cool night of the fair as we watched the fireworks. We worried about the loud noise but he snuggled in all safe & sound and was loved the fireworks. Papa was happy too! This was chosen by the fair as what the fair means....generations enjoying the granduer of the fair. (good thing I did not send photos of what we ate that night. I won a nice prize package and thanked Dare for the lovely photo she took so I could enter it. My package was opened by PO when delivered & my free tickets were missing but the can coozie, t-shirt, phone holder, magnets & bumper sticker was nice. Yeah for NC!

I TOOK NASHVILLE BY STORM....okay after the storm

I returned home from my time with the Hopfers in Nashville. I am so grateful to Stacey for the airline tickets to get to spend some time with the family. She works hard as a substitute teacher & paid alot for the tickets. A sacrifice that I recognize & appreciate but only the tip of the love shown to me for over a week with them.
Richard came to pick me up from the airport with my trusty bag boys to get my luggage. Hugs from all immediately. Dallin has gotten so big that he can pick up my 45 lb bag off the conveyor belt without even the grunt I gave when I handed it over to the airline. lol
It is always good to see Richard but for some reason his unconditional love for me was a balm to my troubled heart. He never complains if I slow them down, cost them money, make them eat other than Chinese (it hate Chinese food), or even watch another dumb Law & Order show. He talks away to me & always reminds me how glad he is to have me there. Richard has a way of making you feel special... he is a great son to me. Mother's Day he fixed steaks & they were great.

The kids were so excited to see me and talked & hugged me all week. Parker likes to snuggle on the couch with me & I love snuggling back. I got to eat lunch with Parker at school twice - once just me & him. Parker reminds me of Dale so much when he does his homework...you have to keep bringing him back to the subject at hand. He gets this dreamy look on his face or starts tapping his pencil, making shapes with his papers. Just like Dale did & he is smart like his Uncle Dale too. We played alot of games, watched tv, & he and Gretchen played hooky one day & we went out to eat & to see "How to Train a Dragon". I miss Parker just thinking about him.

Dallin talks non-stop & as a preteen thinks I am way cooler than Mom & Dad because I do not punish him (ok I defend him too...I try to stay quiet honest I do). Dallin had fallen a couple of days before I arrived off of a climbing wall. The doctor said he had strained his thumb but it turned red & another trip to the doctor got the pushed the tissue under bone diagnosis. It spite of this he played in his 6th grade band concert & may I say he is a great trumpet player. I recognized all the songs before he told me the names while he practiced. Check pictures of the splinter that was the length of a toothpick & twice as thick as a toothpick that he pulled out of his hand. How can 2 x rays miss it? Grammer was not happy & neither was Stacey. Both Dallin & I look forward to his & Parker's visit this summer. They will come out & stay then we will drive them back to see Dallin receive the Priesthood & become a Deacon. I can not believe it has been 12 years since I waited outside the operating room for him. He still brings a smile to my face every time I see him.

Gretchen & Stacey were missing from the airport because she had gymnastic practice. She is an amazing gymnist & is always flipping, cartwheeling, back flips everywhere...outside, inside, practice - she loves it. I got to eat lunch with Gretchen at school one day. Gretchen, Parker & I played dolls (Parker is a good brother - lol), we ate snacks, watched the movie, ate lunch & played on the playground. I loved getting to go to Gretchen's practice & see how hard she worked. She is very girlie, loves to talk & says everything is good....I want her great attitude. She says she will be an only child when the boys come & she can hardly wait for them to leave. I fear she will not find that so great though.

My Stacey not only paid for my flight but hardly let me pay for anything. She made sure my worries about money were way in the background and that felt so good to have a worry free zone. She spoiled me rotten with feeding me my favorite foods, taking me shopping at my favorite places, taking me to my favorite sandwich shop in Franklin, she refused all jobs (they called several times) even though I told her I would be fine at home alone. We went to a fun stamping card making party with 10 of her friends & she paid for it without telling me. I loved it & her friends are so nice and said they had heard such nice things about me. I felt truly loved every minute of the visit. For Mother's Day, yes I know the airline tickets were my gift but I got the coolest photo book of all my family with comments that they had to say about me. It came with a typed page of the actucal quotes as some were too long for the book. The front is a picture of my Dad with all 9 of my grandchildren sitting on my couch. I have shown this book to everyone. I even took it to my poker game to show some of my friends there. They loved it & 2 cried.

Church was good & everyone was really nice & grateful the floods had started receding. Their ward members volunteered at the Baptist Church cleaning up the flood damage. It was Mother's Day & all the men that spoke remembered it, and the ward gave huge candy bars to all the women. Then after Relief Society the Bishop gave me a 2nd one to stop the Priests from eating them. haha! Their bishop sat with us during Dallin's band concert & he looks just like Scott Hamilton, the ice skater.

The time to leave came too soon, although by then I was really missing Mark. Stacey had to sub that day since I left that morning. Richard got the drop off duty and I enjoyed our visit in the car on the way to the airport. He unloaded my bag after offering to park & being turned down. It was only a few feet inside the airport to check in. This is when Richard did the sweetest thing. He gave me a hug & kiss ...not unusual for us, but he asked me if I had lunch money for the layover in Charlotte. It was so sweet that he thought of it and wanted to be sure I was not without money on the trip home. I told him I had money but it meant more than I could ever explain that he cared.

I love my Hopfers and Nashville.

Oh yeah! I went thru airport security with Tim McGraw. They sent us through a different line than the other people. He was so polite & apologized for taking so much time getting his boots back on.... I like a dummy said no problem grabbed my sandals and fled. At least I got to see him take his hat & boots off plus speak to me. Last time I saw Carrie Underwood but noticed her pretty dress & not her until the girl beside me squealed "its Carrie Underwood". People in Nashville just do not bother the stars like they do in Hollywood. They eat at the same sandwich shop in Franklin (a favorite of Miley Cyrus). Oh well my brush with fame was fleeting but my eternal love for my family goes on....

Spring has sprung!!

Wow! Spring sprung into a temporary summer - highs in low 90s or high 80s. What is going on & no it is not global warming but just a weather front moving through. It has been a nice change but I say enough already. I love Spring except the thick yellow pollen. The pollen is so thick I stood laughing in the doctor's parking lot. All these really nice cars many shiny black ones, are covered with pollen. I mean so thick they will need their windshield wipers to be able to see out of their windshield. Imagine coming out of work & seeing your nicely washed (& often garaged) car covered like that - yes, the parking lot is surrounded by pine trees. Those of us with allergies are suffering so our cars are the least of our problems. I can even see if anyone steps on my porch because the pollen is so thick. We are all in shorts & loving the temperatures after a cold, snowy, rainy winter.

Spring brings the sound of lawn mowers, the eating outside, & for Mark & I x-rays for torn ligaments, bad rotary cups & backs. No sailing due to health problems beyond our control. :-C The shot in his shoulder seems to have helped the pain considerably.

Easter brought Dare, Ryan, Elijah, Owen, Hudson, & Evan over for dinner & the egg hunt. The Peed family has grown enough that when they come over we feel like we are not alone. The boys are growing fast & are so funny these days. Evan has learned to ignore the boys when they are being crazy. The twins have mastered several Wii games.
Hudson is a big eater & makes Grammer feel like a good cook. He has Papa in his pocket for sure.

Our little Leah turned 4 yr old & while we sent a gift we did not get to see her. My back makes it almost impossible to ride these days. We sent her a cute "green" van with people - when you honk the horn it says things like "recycle" & etc. Perfect for Asheville & their green life style. She is down in Florida visiting her other grandparents. Parker has a birthday this month too (at the end).

Spring is here & we are happy to see it. We brace for cool weather again as we know it will come but will enjoy the heat until then. We look forward to the delivery of the Ford Flex - It has a 17th May delivery date. If my back will heal then we will be free to travel again. The Jeep has long since topped 260,000 miles on it. Not really a travel vehicle ;)

PHOTOS OF JAN & FEB 2010

Oh well, it will not let me add photos right now ...so check my site later.
It semi gave it & downloaded 5 of the 12. The house at Christmas, Poor Gretchen after fall, Hopfers on our trip to the Art Musuem in Nashville, new Peed family photo, Dare & Evan - newest family love.
Love you guys, Jewel

January & most of February is gone....what happened?

Well January is gone...along with the kids who came over the holidays to visit. For 4 days before Christmas, we had Dale, Shalene, Rebekah & Leah come to visit. The girls are so funny & informative (if you have children, then you have few secrets...hehe). Dale updated us about school & looking for a job during school. We have a couple of poker acquaintances with CPA contacts that have offered to help him...more later about this. Dale is so happy to be home with his little family & the love between them is apparent. Shalene is running behind the girls trying to work to help support the family & workout to get & keep that buff body. Dale & Shalene joined Asheville Crossfit & could kick most of our butts. They look great & it seems to be a great outlet for them. Shalene also is performing with local artists & choirs. Rebekah loves her school & had been riding the bus but now is a car rider instead. She is reading well above her class in school & shows how smart she is all the time. Leah is too cute & funny, laid back unless she does not want to do something then the discussion is over. She is very smart & reminds Mark & I of Dale every time we get to spend time with her. She is her Dad's child & Rebekah is her Mom's child (very musical, her theatrical & very smart) Yes, I know, what about the dogs....Oscar & Echo continue to grow & love Asheville too. They have a huge fenced backyard & when they got lose someone found them & placed them back in the backyard. What a great neighbor...I think mine would call the dog catcher instead.
All the family was together on the Sunday after Christmas, in spite of Stacey's family & 1 dog driving 9-10 hours to get here, Dale's family & 2 dogs driving 3 hours home a night (our family has finally outgrown our house[ :-(} ] AND Dare having Evan just days before & during flu season. The twins are developing their own personality & love the new baby. Hudson is well Hudson. He cracks up us every time he comes over. He says the funniest things like when the girl scout cookies from Gretchen came. He said "give me some Girl Scout nookie". Evan is a beautiful & very good baby, however he is his Mommy's baby. He will tolerant small visits with other but he wants Dare most of the time. They are definitely in love with each other. They had new family photos that are too cute.
Stacey. Richard, Dallin, Parker, Gretchen & Charlie (their dog) arrived in time for Sunday dinner. After dinner, the children opened gifts, plus Mark & I got gifts although we asked for no gifts (they were great though). This year due to the economy - personal & global economy we decided for the 1st time we could not buy gifts for all 17 of us. The Hopfer family spent the week after Christmas with us & we went to museums & etc. Richard worked some seeing a couple of large customers based here. It was great to have company & Mark took 11 days off...left over vacation days (who can afford to go anywhere these days). Nashville is so far but one of my Christmas gifts was a ticket to Nashville to spend a week.
Dare & Ryan came by to drop Hudson, Owen & Elijiah to have dinner with us but fining the new baby Evan from flu viruses. She got talked into staying although Evan had to spend most of his time in the carrier & away from our germs (it worked as we did not make him sick). There staying helped make Christmas complete. Evan looks just like Hudson did as a baby (like Dare). 2 little Ryans & 2 little Dares - too cute.
The rest of January saw cold, rain & even snow & ice. But the weather was great when off I flew to Nashville for a week. The Hopfer family are busy & on the go always. During the week I got to see Gretchen practice her gymnastics, eat lunch with Parker, & talk with my Dallin. Nashville is obviously good for the Hopfers as they are blooming. A few accidents though... Parker broke off his 2 front teeth in a bike accident, then he fell into the creek across from their house & got a huge black eye with damage to his cheeck bone & a popped vessel in his eye (yeah it was as scary as it sounds, Gretchen fell off her bike & had HUGE scrapes & bruising on her face (see photos), fell of uneven parallel bars on her head that kept her out of practice the week before her state competition. She still cot 2nd place for all her class of Tennessee. Dallin had a couple of run ins with the bullys at his new middle school but is settling in well. Dallin is 11 yrs old almost 12 & that tells his story (haha) I think he is very well behaved for his age. They are all doing well in school. I did bring the usual rain with my visit, but Richard assured me that they needed the rain :)
Mark & I continue playing poker in our poker group (no money involved just bragging rights) Out of 90-100 we have moved into the top 10. Unfortunately, we finished 1st & 3rd one night & found it to be a lose, lose situation. With equal chips, those of us who talk to much (yeh, me) had given away secrets as to how I play & Mark used them against me. The next time we were 1st & 2nd, Mark tried to make up for the last disaster by throwing the game. I was playing it like I normally would & he called a hand that no sane person would call to "let" me win & beat me. I was furious since I went all in to try to just get out of that hand because either he did not believe I could beat him, or he was cheating, or he was I do not know what he was doing other than trying to show his love for me but poker is not the time to try to be nice. I can only play against people that play the game not try to help me win. Happily, I got over it & realize he was trying to be nice.
Mark's job he still loves everything but the money. In July, he is getting a Ford Flex from company with all expenses paid including for our personal use. Even I can drive it & they pay gas, oil changes, tires & etc, includes out of town trips. {They will be calling us the traveling Wyricks} Every 2 years we get a new car - we had 3 choices but if I do not pay for gas...I want comfort & 7 bucket seats.
I am happier now that after much personal research I take 1/2 of the medication that I did. I discovered I was taking meds for side effects caused by other meds, & taking meds that were not able to take with other meds I took, plus 2 meds had caused poisoning by taking them 8 times longer than recommended. I feel much better & save over $200 a month in co-pays. The insurance says over $2000 a month. I should have been a doctor -haha! No, it came from 5 doctors writing prescriptions without talking to each other.
February has been cold, rainy, snowy, icy but a good month. We received our IRS refund & bought Mark a new laptop so now we will be selling out net book. We discovered that the state tax refund is going to be late again, because they have no money. They are waiting to collect taxes before they refund taxes. Can I call my phone company & tell them I will pay them after I collect an expected refund? No, I did not think so. Only the government has that kind of nerve - to spend money that was not theirs to spend. We do not celebrate Valentines Day but love to see & hear about others celebration.
In all, this year is shaping up nicely & we hope to not find ourselves transferred somewhere else but in this economy we will go where they say. I look forward to repainting the house this year, moving up in poker chain, & seeing my family more. Check out the random photos.

2009 CHRISTMAS with 2010 sneaking in behind...

Well, Christmas is over and it was sad to redecorate while at the same time nice to get organized again. A place for everything & everything in it's place :) I like order - less anxiety, less worry...I hope in 2010 to learn to go with the flow more & require less order. It sounds odd but a lack of order for me can ruin a great time wondering why it is disorganized (I used to call that spontaneity).

It was a different Christmas for us as the kids staggered out their visits but was actually cool to have more time to visit & really talk to adult & grandchild. 1st came Dale, Shalene, Rebekah, & Leah with Echo & Oscar. Echo & Oscar were very well behaved and easy to forget they were here. Leah has become a real chatterbox (what not to love) and very informative. She is just a hoot to talk to & full of stories & will correct you during the story. So like Dale at that age, it makes us smile just watching her. Rebekah is very smart & loves to share that knowledge, i.e. Mark was drinking diet tangerine drink & Rebekah said they had to drink their water 1st before a sugary drink. So Mark explained there was no sugar in it, so she said well at least it had no sugar but it was still soda and should be water. Out of the mouth of babes come great truths. Shalene has been busy working out & getting very buff (skinny to me) and working to help support the family while Dale is in school. Add this to her music performances and running behind 2 girls & 2 dogs and she stays busy, busy, busy. It will all pay off for their family when Dale finishes his MBA & can do my taxes {wait I do not think that was the purpose of his school :) }. Dale is having a good drive for some of his classes but had a great semester & good grades at end. He works some part time but it looking for work closer to degree. He adores his family & it shows in their treatment of each other.
They arrived on the eve of Christmas Eve & stayed through Sunday evening. We all had a huge Christmas dinner Sunday before they left. The families have grown so much it is hard for everyone to stay at once.

On Sunday morning Stacey, Richard, Dallin, Parker, & Gretchen & Charly arrived for a weeks stay. So Sunday allowed family time together. 9-10 hours is a long time in a car with 3 kids & a dog. We went to the movies & ate enough popcorn for all of 2010, well at least Parker, Mark & I did. We learned a new game they gave Mark called Wits & Wagers - how is your history, geography, music & etc plus how confidant are you in your answer. Lots of fun was had playing Wii & snuggling on couch. One of my many cool gifts was that Stacey & the kids went grocery shopping on Monday morning & planned, bought, cooked & served the meals all week. Wow! it was great as I hate to cook....well really I hate to plan the meals. It was said to see them leave but in 10 days I fly our to stay a few days with them (another gift). Richard worked on a large national account he just landed while we all had fun & joined in when we went places including the NC History Museum to catch the pirate exhibit before it closed & then to Krispy Kreme for donuts & milk. (Have I mentioned I am lactose intolerant? ... oh well they were good in the beginning). It was great fun & I look forward to my visit (flying not driving 10 hours) and then Parker & Dallin will come for 2 weeks in the summer.

Dare gave the best gift... the gift of life to our last grandson, Evan Jacob. He is beautiful but an early delivery kept us all apart more than we wanted. That stinky old cold & flu season..... every time I plan to see him I have imaginary illnesses - does my throat hurt, do I have a cough, is it sinuses or am I getting sick? At this rate he will be a doctor & can tell me if I am sick before I get to see him. The twins & Hudson were so excited about Christmas & their cousins loved seeing them here. Lots of noise, smiles & love came with them. We are thrilled they live close enough to see them grow up.

Out of children but I had a special guest too... NO not Santa (I was bad all year).
My Dad & Sandra came over for Christmas dinner & we had 4 generations talking & laughing at each other. Dad & I discussed my favorite Christmas & birthday gifts. My love of school, books, & things I did not know he even knew about me. I was thrilled to see the grandchildren play with their great grandfather. How I missed Mom but Sandra invited me to come get some of her photos.....so ROAD TRIP! Glad Sandra got a new job & is taking good care of Dad.

Mark & I bought small gifts for the grandchildren (all 9 of them) but sadly that was it. This is the 1st Christmas we bought no gifts for the children or ourselves. I hope they feel like I do that the gifts were the love, time & laughter shared.
I got great gifts that I loved & could see the thought that went into them but the smiles and hugs meant more than I can say. Christmas really is about family & I have a great family that became a great Christmas too!

A few photos for smiles.