So.....

...there's a party in my head right now. Well, there is always a party in my head. The party is particularly loud and busy at this moment in time. As usual, I have 50 things to do and can't focus on any one of them for more than a few minutes. Great time to do a blog post said I.

Tyler Perry. I tell ya, if I wasn't married.... Seriously, if you haven't seen any of his films, SEE THEM....as soon as you can. We screened "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" last week. There is just something about his work, how he weaves things together. His movies are predictable, yet full of so many things you don't mind the predictability.

Juneau is in the middle of blowing his coat. Usually takes 3-4 weeks to achieve total "blow-age." I don't like the little tufts of hair everywhere, but combing him is quite relaxing.

My battery went dead in the Fred Meyer parking lot on Monday. Jacob and both doggies were with me. It was hubby to the rescue in his big silver truck. Husbands are such wonderful creatures. I was there to buy whole chickens for $.69/lb., Wisk for $.49 and All for $.99 (perhaps it was the other way around). We have eight bottles of laundry detergent in our little stockpile. I spent less than $10.00 for all of them. This makes me happy. I'm easy to please. Oh, also got some Prevacid which was totally free.

My friend Jewell will be coming for a visit very soon. We need to work out the details of her ticket later today. I haven't seen her in over 10 years. We worked together at Irvine PD and she is now retired. She likes to do all types of crafts and said she is happy to help me with my work. Jewell loves dogs but told me she can do without their hair everywhere. Well duh, who couldn't? I will conveniently forget to tell her about snow dogs and coat blowing, until we are on our way home from the airport.

I look forward to fussing over her and spoiling her because she totally deserves it!

~ Dora

I remember, with vivid detail, receiving a phone call informing me my father had died. The date was July 3, 1997. Shortly thereafter I was walking through the living room and saw Spike (I hope I have the name right), the dog in the Rug Rats cartoons. My then three year old son had put Spike down for his nap, on the couch, covered with a blanket.

What I took from that moment (and I don't expect anyone to understand this) was that life goes on. A little boy, caring for his "pet," oblivious to the fact his grandfather was gone. My world was crashing down, but life went on. It felt so tragic, but yet....so right.

My dear friend Dora passed away on Tuesday. She was 48. Her sister called me yesterday and told me the news. Dora and I had known each other for almost 30 years. The last 20 of those years having been spent apart. We lost track of each other. We were reconnected about 18 months ago. It was like no time had passed. The only "problem" - she was in North Carolina and I am in Washington State.

We laughed and giggled and spent many silly hours on the phone. Then she got sick. She was being treated at a hospital known worldwide for helping people with her disease. They couldn't help Dora. She died at home, peacefully. Most importantly she knew the Lord and knew where she was going.

The tears I have cried today are not for her. I am happy for Dora! She no longer struggles to breathe. She has no pain. She has no fear. My tears are those of guilt and regret. Why didn't I call her more often? Why didn't I write her letters (she didn't have a computer)? Why had I not made an effort to find her years ago? We could have had so much more time. Then it occurred to me: Dora isn't up there annoyed with me. Dora isn't angry. She is free from the struggles and sins of this world.

I said to my 15 year old son, "Grandma says there is a veil between heaven and earth, and they cannot see us, or hear us. Do you think that's true?" He replied, "Yes, I do think it's true. If they could see everything happening down here, it wouldn't be heaven." I told him I would tell God what I wanted Dora to know, and ask Him to deliver my message.

Later in the day my son told me how he deals with the death of a loved one. He said, "I don't think of them as being gone, because they aren't gone. I will see them again. So I think of them as being on a long vacation, without a phone. Try thinking about it that way Mom. She's on a long vacation, without a phone." Precious words of comfort from the same boy who put his stuffed dog down for a nap, so many years ago.

Life....goes on.

Lord, thank you for allowing Dora to pass away peacefully. Thank you for the blessing she has been in my life. If you have a moment, could you please tell her I love her and miss her? Thank you Lord.

da QUOTE of DA day

Let your greatest fear be that there is no PMS and this is just your personality.

Rolaids, anyone?

I paid $0.24 plus tax for EVERYTHING pictured. Seriously. One penny less than a quarter for all of this.

Albertson's has the Rolaids soft chews on sale for $2.00, and the mint flavored boxes of rolls on sale for $1.06. I used four $4.00/2 coupons and four $1.00/1 coupons. I am VERY sorry but I don't know the newspaper insert or date for these coupons. I know the sale price will be effective through today, but didn't remember to check if it runs longer. The whole deal made my head spin and I wasn't thinking clearly :).

Check out www.thekrazycouponlady.com for the latest and greatest deals!

Wow.....has it been a MONTH?

It certainly has. A month since my last post. Yet I still don't have much to report. I am going along, step by step. I wouldn't say I'm sad, but my head is down. If I were a Budweiser Clydesdale I'd be in the middle of the team.

This is one of my favorite cards. Just thought I'd share :).