Ups and Downs

Happy Hump Day.  I tell ya, I am plugging along staying busy prepping for my Junk Show in 3 weeks and the big Gala for Refuge for Women event the same weekend.

I am sanding and painting and getting things together. I’ll post pics of some of my things I repainted another day . I had a meeting last night with RFW making centerpieces and getting handouts and stuff ready. We have one more meeting next week to tie up all loose ends before the event. Its going to be so great because we have a wonderful guest speaker and an auction with some awesome things. There are spa packages, hotel rooms, jewelry, and even a  few guns ( hey we’re in Texas and the gala is in rural area) , some purses, all kinds of stuff for the auction.  I can’t wait!  Yall will hear all about it after the event.

So this past weekend was filled with a lot of emotions. The lowest of low and the highest of highs and it really messed with my body and mind.  A very dear friend of mine was in a horrific car accident last Thursday night/Friday am. She and her husband were hit by a car driving 100 MPH.  For all of Friday, it was 50/50 on whether she would survive.  I was drained from holding my breath literally for hours. Slowly she is showing improvement. They were finally able to wean her off the ventilator yesterday. She’s still sedated and will be in ICU for a while.  She broke her arm – a bone popped through her skin and they operated on that and put in a plate, she broke her neck but is not paralyzed, almost all her ribs are broke on right side and some on the left, and fractured pelvis.  We don’t know how much brain damage she may have.  Her husband was driving and has stitches on his mouth from the air bag and is just beat up and sore from the impact.  They were driving her old BMW and she was T-boned on passenger side after he hit them from behind and spun them around.

My friend and I have been friends for over 30 years.  We were Hooters girls together when I was in college.  She caught my bouquet at our wedding. The thought of losing her was crushing.  I am an empath. I absorb others pain and sadness as well as happiness.  I woke up Saturday morning after  really not sleeping at all just a weight around my neck waiting for any signs of good news from Dr updates.

On the opposite side of spectrum, my cousin adopted a precious beautiful baby girl that was born early Saturday am and that was what we so needed.  I didn’t ask permission to post pic of baby so maybe another day for that.  The baby was such a special gift. My cousin Lauren and her husband Chris ,adopted a sweet baby boy (Amos) 2 years and it was a wonderful occasion. We knew about the whole process and knew when the baby was due, etc.  Literally seconds after Amos was born, they drove to the hospital and got to hold him just hours later.  Our new baby Evie was a different story.  They actually got to be at the hospital during birth and Lauren even got to cut the umbilical cord.  I know being there during the birth will be a memory so special for them. The adoption process came very quick and with only a few weeks’ notice but it all worked out perfectly.

My friend has a very long painful road ahead of her but she survived and she’s a fighter. I can breathe again just knowing that.

Friends, life is so fleeting. As cliché as it is,  hug your loved ones and tell them every day that you love them.  

I haven’t shared a picture lately of my dogs. They bring me great joy as you know if you follow me on IG. LOL I post them a lot!

Here is my handsome Jax. His favorite place is on top of the couch pillow. 

You say-

I am right in the middle of a crazy busy schedule with work that started last week. I am training every day - all day until 2central and then I have to catch up on emails and other parts of my job.  Didn't NOT want to post so here is one of my fave songs right now on the Christian charts.

Also, thank you for your prayers. It was 2 loooong weeks plus a few days but Jax is finally back to himself.  We are so relieved!

God Bless America

Hey yall, so today is exactly a week that my boy dog Jax was sick and he's not better. In fact , I think its got a little worse.  Our worry is still off the charts and we have another vet appointment today . I appreciate your continued prayers for him and for us.  Its been a rough week!! Lots of laundry every single day from his messes. He looks at us with his precious sad eyes and you can tell he doesn't feel good.
Does anyone have big holiday plans for this week? As for me, I have to work every day but tomorrow so we cant really do a big shindig.  Its supposed to be cooler for us tomorrow around the 90's so most likely i'll be in the pool most of the day.  Isnt that funny that we get so excited for temps in the 90's because we're just SO OVER the triple digits?!!
Normally we would be entertaining a small party get together but we're exhausted and still worried about Jax so its a non exciting event for us.  My uncle is a having his annual July 4th party this Saturday so we'll be attending that and will see our share of fireworks and have BBQ.

Whatever you do or wherever you go- please stay cool and be safe!!

A little bit going on

Soooo, I am going to keep it short today.  My anxiety has anxiety this week.
My little boy dog Jax is really sick.  We have taken him to the vet yesterday and he's on medication but I don't see a lot of improvement.  We're going to give it all day today with medication since it was only half day yesterday on meds and then tomorrow decide the next move - probably a full blood check which is very expensive.  Yall, I brought him Jax when he was just old enough to leave his mother. He's my little boy and when you see it in his eyes how awful he feels, I break.  I've cried everyday.  I don't know what he got into and what caused this.  My little girl Lila is fine and she's the one that eats dead animals every chance she can and kills rabbits daily. Anyway, I am very very stressed about Jax and would appreciate any healing prayers.
Then to add to the mix, our air conditioner is on the fritz and wont cool down past 78.  It was 107 yesterday and the heat triggers my migraines.  Crying triggers my migraines. We have someone coming tomorrow between 1 and 7 pm to look at the air conditioner.
I am so much to be thankful for but depression is a crappy thing.  I can still sit here and feel sorry for myself even though I have blessings all around me.
I'll mention in later post about my hit and run I was involved in last Saturday.  I am Ok and my truck has a long scrap but still!!!! So sucks!
Here is a song that I've been listening to on repeat this morning.  I really like it.

Zach Williams- Fear is a liar

Getting ready for pool time

I love love love having a pool y'all!! It's huge and it literally takes up the entire back yard.  I put my feet in it every night when I get home from work.  

It's so hot outside that the water is perfect for swimming.  I've gone a little crazy on floaty's.  I have a long alligator with handles , 3 regular long ones, one shaped as Popsicle , 8 noodles , and 2 floating coolers. My favorites are my swans!!! I'ts funny because I had mentioned to Todd and to a friend of mine that I really wanted a big swan for our pool.  They were kinda expensive though. Todd had looked for me at the pool supplies place and it was 80$. No kidding , the very next day I spoke of the swan to my friend, I went into Kohls on my lunch hour and low and behold- my swan was in middle aisle display - on sale  1/2 off AND I had 20% off coupon. SCORE!!!  I got the white one from them and later that evening on TV I saw a commercial or show that had a big pink one.  I ended up on eBay and didn't find a pink one but I bought a big black one.  I am so happy!! My dog Jax though hates them. He barks nonstop and is scared to go around it. I had to go stand by it so he would know it wasn't dangerous.  Lol. 

So I'm ready to soak up some sun while floating on my swans this holiday weekend .  

Mosh posh of stuff

Yall!!! I really did not mean to let so much time go by after my last post.   The A to Z challenge though did kick my butt and I moved the second week of the challenge. I am STILL unpacking but I have most done. I think I’m finally heading downhill with some progress.  Todd had the idea of hosting a small Memorial party at our house and so that has me motivated every night.   

One of my best friends (Kimi) is married to a construction contractor (Craig) and 2 weeks ago, they came over and he built me a kitchen bench with storage. It was a huge game changer for me because I desperately needed the storage space. Our house is so much smaller and we lost tons of cabinet space and storage .  Todd painted it last weekend and I have a friend sewing a bench cushion for us. I will just use throw pillows for the back.  I knew I wanted one when i saw that our dining area had the space for it.  We paid for all the materials and he built it for free as a house warming gift.  So awesome!!

This is the unpainted version. It's now white to match the walls. 

My birthday was Tuesday of this week and so I’ve had some dinner plans after work and didn’t feel like blogging once I got home.  I’ve been having a terrible terrible time with allergies this year and they got the best of me yesterday.  I think I  have a full on cold again which is just great!!! I feel like Poo again and my nose is raw from blowing and rubbing all day long.

So do you guys use Facebook? I will admit that I’m a huge social media fan of Facebook, Instragram and Pinterest. I use Twitter too but mostly in spurts.   Anyway, I love it when its my birthday on Facebook!! I had over 200 friends post Happy Birthday to my page.  It absolutely made my day and reminded me of how lucky I am to have good friends and family.   One of my favorite gifts I received was from my Sisternlaw Paula. She is so talented and is a high school art teacher.  Paula painted portraits of Jax and Lila in costumes.  They are so dang awesome!! I cant wait to hang them on the wall soon.  Whats funny, is that I held the painting of Lila close to the ground to show her and she came right to it like almost in a little jump.  Todd and I both laughed because she recognized something. 

A friend made this meme and posted to my page on my birthday. Jax and Lila in our chair. Lol

May is Lupus Awareness month and I know if you ARE friends with me on FB you’ve seen that I’ve had my profile, cover and posts about Lupus. Well tomorrow is May 20^th and is Put on Purple Day. Purple is the chosen color for Lupus and its just a way to have people ask questions and be more aware.  I actually work from home tomorrow but I will still have my purple on and would love it if you wanted to join in. 

There is not a cure for Lupus yet. It only gets worse. My mom has Lupus and its changed her life dramatically.  Its all she can do to just get out of bed and move to the living room chair.  Taking a shower is an accomplishment some days.  I do this for her and for my sweet friend Marla who is much younger than me and has Lupus. She’s an amazing young woman with quite a story!!
If you want, you can tag me on FB, IG, or send me email of you wearing purple......

Have a great weekend!

"H" is for Home

Ok so it's not midnight here in Dallas yet. In fact I have one hour to go if I really want to push it.  I bet you thought " yep, Holli is so busy moving and unpacking, no way will she continue the daily blogging challenge"! I must have paused 5 times at least , saying to myself that I really needed to post today. However, the unpacking was much more important .  I'm happy to say that we are almost 100% moved into our new to us house. 

We still left quite a bit at the previous house so we'll be heading over there tomorrow to get more stuff.  

Every bone in my body hurts. Mostly my back though. I've struggled with back pain for years and I had been doing to good lately. I can't stand straight from all the bending over unpacking and lifting.  

Have a great rest of your weekend. I'm going to bed! 

Signing papers on our house at title company. 

That's us with our realtor.  She was great! 

Jax and Lila found a perfect window to bark at everyone who walked by ( which was many because our front yard is a park). 

Moving and barking is Hard work!! 

A to Z- "B"

So today is Saturday and we are BLAZING through our house packing BOXES with a vengeance.  We’re currently living in a 4 bedroom ranch style house that is filled to the brim.  We want to be at least 95% packed for the movers next Friday. The good news is that we paid this month’s rent full rent with out pro-rating it so we have a few weeks after closing to come get the small straggler pieces.

 My hubs and I have already shed some BLOOD through this mess. I got a fat paper cut when grabbing some cardboard boxes and Todd broke a glass candle holder and cut his finger.  I should add Band-aids to list of must-haves during a move.

So let me tell you a story about what my “angels” did yesterday ( Friday).  Normally on Friday’s, I work from home which also means my dogs get a break from going into their kennels all day.  I had to go into the office for half day this Friday though because of classes I was training. A little after noon,  I came home to a huge mess in my kitchen and living room.  My dog Lila is onry! She has done much damage in the 18 months that we’ve had her.  We joke that she’s “from the streets” and is ghetto girl. Her shelter name was Sweets so she’s Sweets from the Streets!! Hahaha.  She has taught Jax some bad habits.  Anyway, ironically we even bought an expensive trash receptacle that locks so that she couldn’t get into it.   That’s a BRILLIANT idea IF you remember to lock it!!!!  I had made a plate for Todd on Easter when he didn’t come because he was sick.  It had baked beans, mashed potatoes, smoked pork loin, green bean casserole, and a few other items I cant remember.   He never did eat it so I threw the whole platter in the trash.  We had take out Mexican food one night and we both had leftover beans and rice that we didn’t eat.   BELIEVE me when I tell you , they ate good!!  

So they were very BAD and they didn’t get any more treats for the rest of the day.   They knew they were in trouble when I came in and the look on their faces were Busting of guilt. 

I only took a few pictures because I had to get busy cleaning it up, eat my own lunch and then work from home office all in an hour.

How can you stay mad though at this cute face? 

So here is a song for you today.  Bad Bad Thing- Chris Isaak

  Have a great weekend y’all!!  It’s supposed to be BEAUTIFUL and BRIGHT  this Sunday in Dallas.  Yay!

A to Z April Challenge- Adorable Animals

So you have my permission to laugh. Totally!! I have been a terrible blogger lately and am lucky to post once a week at that.  The funny thing is that I signed up over a month ago to join the blogging challenge of posting everyday for the month of April.  Craziness I tell you!  Truth is I really do want to give this a go.  The posts may not be long and I don't have a certain theme but post I will. I'm also not saying it will go perfect or smoothly but again I want to give it a whirl.
Today is April first so the letter A is my topic.  I want to post about Adorable Animals and by that I mean I my sweet precious adorable fur babies Jax and Lila. 
They bring me so much joy and I love coming home to them every night after work.   They are kenneled and recently I've been trying to test the waters to see if they have to be kenneled all the time when we leave to go somewhere.  They were so good for about a week then they got bored and destructive.  I have to say that it is all Lila.  We adopted her last October and we have no idea what kind of life she lived before us. She has a very deep and ugly scar around her neck which brings me to tears every time I think too much about it.  Lila acts like a dog who has missed many meals. She can smell a snack in my laptop bags and goes for it when I'm not looking.  Jax would never have that about going into my bags. 
I work from home on Friday's and when I stepped out a few weeks ago to grab a bite to eat for lunch, I came home to my brand new Harley Davidson back pack that Dad got me for Christmas- torn to pieces. I literally cried because I just had so much going on personally that it was the last straw.  What used to be 2 separate zipper pockets is one big one because they tore a hole right through one of the compartments.  I had a muffin and a granola bar that I had from when I was traveling for work the previous week.  I also had a package of hot chocolate which is very hard to clean and very messy if it gets torn to shreds and chocolate powder on everything. 
Needless to say that they lost their privileges of being loose out of their kennel.   I still cant stay mad at them for long and I love their sweet faces.  Jax is just one big love bug and he wants nothing more then to sit on our laps and cuddle. 
Here are some pictures of my furry babies:

Todds expression cracks me up. 

So I will be back tomorrow and the following day and even Saturday. Wish me luck! 

Wordless Wednesday

Jax and Lila

This and That

Good morning talk! Happy Tuesday. Things have been really crazy around me and I've just not had the time to blog like I'd like to. To start, my dad is back in the hospital. He went in last Thursday with some pain and it was determined he had gallstones. Due to his transplant, and long story he wasn't able to have his surgery the quick and easy laproscopic way. They had to cut him open and they found 11 stones and one of them was stuck in a duct pipe and had to have that surgically removed.  He's in a lot of pain and that's hard to watch.  Daddy has been through so much.  Anyway, in my spare time I'm at hospital visiting him and giving my stepmom a break.

Then, have I mentioned that my husband  has worked 26 days straight with no days off? Yep, his work landed a big piece of business and it was overwhelming and they didn't have the manpower and equipment to handle it. He's worked 3 overnighters where he never even came home until the next day.  Last night was the first night he came home before 9 and we were able to have dinner together. I miss him and worry about him working so much. We are not 25 anymore. 

So to change subject, I went to a few garage sales last Saturday and I scored a few things that make me happy.  First , I grabbed this mason jar drink dispenser. I'm so excited to use it for my HOLLIween party and make up a fun drink.  I got a great deal (3$) because the previous owner said it had small leak and they gobbed it with some ugly glue. 

Next , I found a nice king size white old fashioned blanket that has white pompom fringe. I love it! It reminds me of one my grandma used to have. It has a few minor stains but I don't care. And again , I only paid 3$ for that too. Yay! 

The picture isn't good- I snapped it from my linen closet. 

Lastly, I bought these 4 candle holders that I'm going to paint purple also for my HOLLIween party. I normally wouldn't paint anything purple but typically the main halloween colors are orange , black , and purple and green.  So pretty soon I'll have a post with a before and after pictures of their transformation. 

I'm way behind on my Halloween decorating and it's stressing me out. I did put up a few things on Sunday. 

Jax did not like the raven I put up in the hallway. Lol!! What makes this more funny is that Jax rarely barks.

Have a great day!!

Take on me- Take me on

Hey y'all - Happy Tuesday!! I had every intention of blogging again last week since I had the time on vacation. However Sprint had other ideas. I have never been so mad at a phone carrier before!  I have also been a very loyal customer to them for 12 long years.  Mom doesn't have a computer, laptop nor does she have internet access.  I brought a mi-fi which worked until it died a few days later and I didn't have the charger to it.  I landed on Saturday the 20th and I used my phone sparingly but I did post a picture on facebook here and there when I had service. As we drove thru Yellowstone, of course there are no towers and any service was pretty sketchy. No prob, I just put my phone on plane mode and only used it for pictures. On Tuesday night I started receiving texts and emails from Sprint warning that I had used all my usage date and that I was going to be suspended.  Keep in mind, I rarely was on the phone ( i'm in Montana for pete's sake visiting mom) and I have visited mom several years with no problems with my phone.  So Wednesday morning I called Sprint and explained to them that I was in Nowhere Montana with very little service but if I needed my phone I would use it.  They said that they only started enforcing the usage data plans effective September 1 and so they were sticking to it. However, they said they could request just once a courtesy re-instatement but to be mindful of my usage.  Ironically, each text and email I received about my usage said for me to log into my account to verify my usage.  Um yeah- you went over your usage so log in and use more usage.  Fast forward several hours later that day on Wednesday, I got a text saying that I was off suspension and my usage had been freed up.  Ok good. I still didn't get on until later that evening and only to post a few more pics on facebook via instagram.  I was probably only on my phone an hour tops and with very little usage.  Thursday morning , yep I was suspended again.  Now how can I go from Saturday to Wednesday and reach my usage but this time it took less than 24 hours?  I was so frustrated!  My opinion is just charge me- but don't suspend me. I could have been a situation where I needed to look up something such as our hotel reservations, plane reservations,etc and not had access to my information. Needless to say, my contract is up next month and you can bet that I will be switching providers as soon as possible.
Today is mom's birthday and I am so glad I got to spend last week with her and celebrate. I got her a gift certificate at one of her favorite restaurants in Helena and I bought her some clothes, a cute witch figurine and several pralines from her fave Mexican place in Dallas.  It was very hard to say goodbye to her when she dropped me off at the airport. I cry everytime! As we both get older and her health continues to deteriorate, its heart wrenching.  Todd and I are planning to visit as soon as the snow thaws next year around May or June. 
I have so many more pictures to share with yall from my trip in Montana and Wyoming so maybe I can post tomorrow or Thursday . You know how it is when you've missed a week of work. I'm buried in emails and projects so I got to get back but I just wanted to post quickly on my lunch hour and explain that I missed blogging last week and I missed yall!
Jax was so so so happy that i'm home from my trips.  He followed me around last Friday when I got home all day and would cry if I left the room for a minute. I carried him everywhere and he was so cute when I was unpacking, he jumped in my suitcase. 

Have a great day!!

My horrible wonderful day

Last Saturday, I attempted to have a garage sale in my new neighborhood. Todd and I had it planned for a while and it was going to be our first sale to do together. Was is the operative word because on Friday last week, Todd was informed that he needed to work the entire weekend to assist in a huge warehouse project.  I had borrowed 3 tables from Daddy and I had 3 tables of my own to set up. Friday night, we worked hard on getting everything hung , priced and ready and I was ready to go.  Todd helped me carry out the heavy tables and on his way out, he put up the 2 signs I made to stick in the ground.  I just didn't have much traffic coming by and I think it had something to do with my signs falling down.
A couple hours in, these 2 ladies stopped by and one of them was holding a dog in their arms and he was being so good. Jax was when in the backyard with me and was being a total wild man when people came over. These ladies said they had just found him and picked him up because he almost got ran over as he was crossing the busy intersection that was up the road from me.  There happened to be a vet near that same intersection so they took him in there to see if maybe he got loose. The vet was not familiar with him and they scanned him to see if was microchipped which he wasn't.  The vet said they couldn't help or keep him and gave them a map to the closest shelter which didn't open for business until 11:00 am ( and it was only 9).  The ladies mentioned that they were not from around my area and didn't want to stick around or kill time for 2 hrs. I volunteered to watch over him and let him play in the yard with Jax until I had time to take him to the shelter. The ladies got me the map of shelter to take him to and they left very appreciative. 

A few hours later, Todd came home to help me close down the garage sale because there were lots of heavy items I cant do by myself and then he had to go back to work. I loaded up the dog in my truck and followed the map to Operation Kindness in nearby area.  I told them the story and they said I had to take him to the other shelter in my town. I asked then why did the vet lead me to them and its because they're a No -Kill shelter and said everyone sends pets there. Unfortunately, they only take animals if A. I have an appointment and B. its based on availability and they had no more room for more dogs. This is when I started crying at the counter.  He is so dang sweet, I couldn't imagine him being homeless.   Next, we drove to the other shelter across town where I had to re tell the story. I asked them if they could call me in a few weeks if no one claims him OR if I could foster him until he was claimed.  The shelter was very kind and they encouraged me to take him home to foster after they took his pictures, and created a case for him with my contact information.  Todd really liked him too when he came home to meet him.  So , I took him back to my house and so far its where he's been.  No one has claimed him and quite honestly , I don't know if I will give him up now. I spent over 80$ on Tuesday to buy him a brand new kennel, collar and leash and today we are taking him to the vet to see how old he is, if he is healthy, shots, etc.
Later that afternoon, after I came home from driving to the 2 shelters, I was sitting on my couch texting someone when I heard this loud BAM and then glass came crashing in through my front window and the end to my patio umbrella was in the house.  I ran outside to see if someone threw it and didn't see anyone. Then to make things worse, my garage door was open and I KNOW I closed it. Something must have triggered it to open back up but at this time, my fear was that someone ran in my garage and was now in my house while im in backyard looking for them.  I watch way too many scary movies and police TV shows!! Not gonna lie, I called Todd crying. Mostly because I was just so startled and scared. I was just 4 feet away but I didn't get hurt. I had TONS of glass to pickup which sucked and the dogs wanted to help ( be in my way).  Todd called glass repair and it they quoted 250$ for same day service on a weekend.  Um NO! So I did the nice white trashy step and duct taped a cardboard box to the outside and file folders in the inside. LOL- its all I could find but it worked. They came out Monday to repair for half the price.
My sale wasn't so great but I did still make 100$ which still didn't cover the window but oh well. 

A friend came by to visit during the sale and she noticed my eye had big bloody spot on it. Great!! I never had this happen before either. It was a broken blood vessel and its almost gone today.  Have you had that happen?
So my imagination has run wild about our new dog we named Opie.  Jax is from a TV character on Sons of Anarchy and Opie was his best friend- so we have Jax and Opie now.  What if the previous owner dropped him off in front of the vet because something is wrong with him and they cant afford treatment?  What if he's sick? He's been eating well and playing great with Jax.  Opie cowers way too much though. If I go to pick him up, he cowers- if I walk towards him, he cowers.  Something tells me that he was not treated so well which is also why i'm not giving him up!

Our vet appointment is at 3:30 central for both my boys. Checkup for Jax and checking out Opie. Fingers crossed and prayers that both are healthy boys! I wont be able to relax until I know Opie's ok. What kind of dog do you think he is? I see Jack Russel and also Beagle and maybe a little chihuahua? I don't know. 

Have a great weekend too everyone.  We are taking it easy this weekend especially since Todd has worked 13 days straight.  Oh, and i'm traveling to Detroit next week for business so i'll try to make a post or two from the hotel room. 
xoxo