Little tidbits of my life

A week at my sister's house...AND I HAVE A PIANO AGAIN!!!!

My LONG week started with babysitting this little 6 month old chihuahua below posing with her best friend, the teddy bear:

Yes, this little dog is VERY cute and sweet...BUT looks can be deceiving!!!  WOW AM I TIRED!!!  This little chihuahua, named Ladybird, belongs to my oldest sister Tina and her dh Brian.  They have raised her from about a week or so old.  My BIL Brian bottle fed her and carried her around in his shirt pocket at work (Ace Hardware) the first few weeks. 

My sister Tina is a professor at a local college, so she and BIL went on a little vacation to Cocoa Beach, FL last week during Spring Break.  I had this BRIGHT idea to babysit her chihuahua for her at her house b/c my dh is currently working 90 minutes away from our home on 12 hour shifts.  My sister lives about 40 minutes away from this job, so I thought if my DH and I stay at her house, my DH could get much needed rest by sleeping an extra hour each day.  Well apparently this chihuahua had forgotten we were there for REST!  She thought I was her newest chew toy.  She was SO EXCITED for us NEW folks to stay there that she kept me up all night wanting to play.  She was TOO excited to sleep for about 18 hours! 

By the 2nd morning, I called my mom who lives beside my sister and I asked her to come get the little dog for just a few hours while I took a nap...DID I MENTION MY DH IS ALSO ON NIGHT SHIFT???  Yes...AND DID I MENTION she had pushed open the bedroom door TWICE the first day while he was sleeping and jumped on him AGAIN AND AGAIN until he woke up???  SO when he woke up that 2nd day around 4:30 pm after getting a full day's rest w/o chihuahua interruptions, he asked me what had happened to the chihuahua...I told him I KILLED HER!!!  LOL...he actually didnt even look surprised!  Well, I had gotten a much needed nap and I felt better, so I decided to bring the little rascal back home.  My poor mom was now worn out and looked about as rough as I did when she had first come to get the dog!  This dog was absolutely wearing us out!  Now despite all the things I have said about her, I just love this little bundle of energy, and I enjoy learning things about her b/c she is VERY smart.  She was finally ready to sleep, though b/c she had been up for 2 days/nights already! 

I wanted to also take this opportunity at my sister's house to do something special for her and BIL...I ADMIT I WATCH WAY TOO MUCH HGTV AND LOVE THE SURPRISE HOME MAKEOVER SHOWS...I organized my sister's and BIL's closet from top to bottom...WELL let me say, I began this process...4 DAYS LATER, I finally finished the project with only hours to spare before I had to pick Tina and Brian up at the airport!  I was actually nervous I wouldnt get their bedroom back in order BEFORE they got back.  I have a degree in organizational management, which I must say, I never thought I'd need to use it for closets! 

I found out my sister owned over 30 pairs of shoes!  I stopped counting at 30!!!  3 pair were all EXACTLY ALIKE!  Did I mention this might be a good sign the closet had NEEDED organization?  I found some shoe organizers at Dollar General for $3 that hold 10 pair!  This was a great find, so I bought 2 of these, and put the other shoes on shelves and along the wall...I realized quickly she was in SHORT supply of hangers...over 100 hangers LATER, I was happy to see I had finally gotten everything on hangers and in decent order.  I found a clothes basket buried in there, too.  It was torn pretty bad and looked like a safety hazard, so I found a round one the same size for $2 at Dollar General and I threw the old one away (I found out later that this old one was their FIRST clothes basket as a married couple from 1991 and had sentimental value...LOL...I told her she'd have to dig her sentimental value out of the garbage b/c it was long gone!)  My BIL is also a preacher.  He has collected ties for years...he often gets ties from others as gifts...he has LOTS AND LOTS of ties!  I found probably 30 more ties that were buried in the closet besides the ones hanging up on organizers...I just love his ties and so I wanted to display them for him in a way that he can easily find what he wants to wear...I started categorizing them...about 4 hours later, I had finally gotten all his ties back in the closet...he had some BEAUTIFUL eagle ties, probably about 20 or more of various eagle scenes...lots of paisleys, some beautiful bible story themed ties, Christmas themed ties, all kinds of wild looking ties, frog ties, and even a HOT PINK tie which I personally have NEVER seen him wear!  Hmmm...anyway, I would not be surprised if he had over 100 ties!  I didn't bother counting them.  I found bags and bags of ball caps/various mens hats, so I found a good deal on some handbag/hat holders that mount on the back of closet door.  (The holders held 16 hats/handbags and were $9.95).  I managed to get most of his hats on here so he could actually see what he has and wear them.  I was so pleased to finally complete this project.  This was pretty much all I got accomplished the whole week besides withholding the temptation to harm the chihuahua in any manner...JUST KIDDING, I really did get attached to the little rascal!

Tina has always been so wonderful to me and such a great influence.  She is like a second mom.  As I mentioned in earlier blogs, she always took me to church and has always been a prayer warrior for me.  She has worked so hard for MANY years and FINALLY got her PhD last year.  She is now officially Dr. Cannon, a professor!  She is 43 years old and has literally been in school her entire life!  She always seems just a bit tired to me, so I just wanted to do something to make her life a little easier and to surprise her. 

Now I do not want you to get the impression that my sister does not keep a clean house.  She has a beautiful home.  I loved my stay there.  It is very inviting and comfy.  She has decorated it beautifully and really it was hard to leave it!  My dad had made her an amazing mountain stone fireplace that covers almost one entire wall of her great room.  She designed the houseplans herself, and she has an aquarium in the wall of her great room.  She also has a saltwater aquarium that holds all kinds of surprises.  They love the outdoors, so the room makes me want to go fishing, or just camping or something!  She has mostly hardwood floors and tile throughout.  Her kitchen has roosters from one end to the other (not alive, though!) .  They are just so pretty!  The home is located in the middle of her 5 acre plot and her land is surrounded by fields and woods.  They raise a huge garden every year on her property, too.  They had to put a 10 ft fence around the garden spot b/c the deer also love her home!  The deer actually come right up to her back porch!  I saw a total of 7 during the week, but I am sure there were many more as the CHIHUAHUA barked quite often w/hair standing on end at night (SCARING ME ALONG WITH HER!!!)...

Well after the week came to a conclusion w/me picking up my sister and BIL at the airport, I went home and slept ALL DAY AND NIGHT Friday and ALL DAY Saturday!  I finally got up saturday evening around 5:30 pm.  I suddenly remembered I was supposed to go to an estate sale that morning to look at a piano.  I called my friend who was having the sale (her MIL had passed away) and made sure the piano was still available.  I managed to get there about 6:30 pm with 30 min. to spare before the sale was closed for the day!  I got to spend a wonderful supper w/my friend and her DH as they told me about her MIL's last moments here on earth.  Please pray for Rob and Karen.  Rob is an only child, so this is especially tough for him.  They are both just so worn out now from taking care of her, then the funeral, and now the estate sale.  They were left with some debt, so that is why they have to sell most everything in the home.  They were so glad to know the piano would go to my home.  I was so pleased with the piano.  It was in mint condition!  It sounded GREAT(and I am VERY picky about pianos!).  I have played for probably 25 years now and I lost my antique baby grand 4 years ago in our house fire.  I am so glad to have a piano again!  This piano is a console and is just beautiful.  My DH will not be able to move it home for me till he gets laid off next friday, but I have that to look forward to, now! 

Well, after a relaxing supper w/my wonderful friends Karen and Rob, I came home and played my fiddle for a few hours b/c for the first time in months, I wasnt having any pain from fibromyalgia!  Actually, for 3 days now!...I remembered the time would change that night, so I reset my clocks and went back to bed AGAIN around 3 am based on the new time.  I slept most of the night and SLEPT THROUGH 2 ALARMS this morning and MISSED CHURCH ALL-TOGETHER!  This really upset me, especially since I am a SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER!  I have chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, though, so I am not surprised that something different in my routine as simple as keeping sweet little Ladybird could cause such a "sleeping beauty" moment. 

I am finally awake now and looking forward to having lunch with my DH when he wakes up this afternoon.  I hope I can stay awake long enough to spend some time w/him!  It's weird how I need SO MUCH SLEEP at times!  My DH finally gets a day off, bless his heart! 

I was so pleased when DH said he'd buy the piano for me.  I am not used to asking permission for things like spending money.  I have always worked and had my own money since I was 15.  Now that I can not work due to FM, I am fully at my DH's mercy when it comes to big items like pianos!  I am still in shock that I am getting it!  WHOOHOO!  I thank my Lord for His many blessings.  He knows what we need and He also blesses us with wonderful musical instruments.  He gave me the talent to play the piano at a young age after I earnestly asked him to give me this gift to know how to play and I would use it for Him...He took me at my word and I love to play for His Glory.  I started writing songs in the mid 90s, but have not written one in years.  I look forward to start writing songs again now that I will have a piano again!  The Lord is so good to us and I am amazed every day at the surprise blessings He bestows on us. 

This was lengthy, but I was just bubbling over and havent gotten to share w/too many folks since I've been asleep for so long!

Have a wonderful Sunday my dear new friends!

Love in Christ,

Teresa

Meet My Family

Well it has been a WONDERFUL Sunday!  I was anointed with oil today at church b/c of my long-term illness situation.  I have a bone scan tomorrow, so please pray about this.  More than anything, if it is not God's Will to heal me at this time, I would like clarity on what precisely is wrong...instead of a bunch of guessing...enough of that...

NOW!  I finally got some family pics loaded onto photobucket so I could add them here...as I mentioned before, we do not have children (I had to have a hysterectomy 2 years ago), but we have some little creatures living with us...

my wedding pic

 a recent pic of me and my hubby (New Years Eve 2007 at a bluegrass concert in Nashville)

a pic of my hubby playing the banjo, which is one of his FAVORITE past times

a pic of our two jack russells Baby and Bonnie when they were babies and when I had a very cheap digital camera...they are not really that fuzzy! (they currently live at my husband's dad's house and are now full grown)

AND NOW:  pics of my little cat family...

The small grey tabby cat is Sassy 

The large cat is Buster...he is a "Ragdoll" pure-bred cat colored much like a siamese, but body more like a persian...he has BEAUTIFUL ice blue eyes, but he always closes them when the flash goes off...

and finally our orange tabby Charlie who is about 20 lbs

I have enjoyed sharing my family with you...I never had cats till I married Jamey.  My dad raised beagles his whole life and ran them in field trials, so cats were not allowed on the premises.  I have grown to love our cats, though...especially the uniqueness of each one.  I am amazed by all God's creatures and the intricate detail of each one.  I truly thank Him for our pets b/c that little Sassy you saw here comforted me throughout my recoveries of 2 attempts to clean up the endometriosis and other problems going on, and then ultimately she stayed with me after my hysterectomy.  She really means alot to me. 

Have a BLESSED day and I look forward to meeting more of you soon!

Love in Christ,

Teresa