Twilight - The Movie

Wow, I know....two posts in one day!! I just have to comment on Twilight. Katie has managed to get Barb and me acting like a couple of giddy teenagers over this series of books and the upcoming movie. Rob Pattinson, though a bit dorky in interviews, most certainly channels the character of Edward just as perfectly as I've imagined him! We are looking forward to the movie's release in December!


Back in August, Stephenie Meyer was at a local Border's for a book signing. It was so cool for Katie to meet her and get to speak to her.


Steph liked Katie's shirt!

Got Mustard?

Look what a wiener dog Phoenix is turning out to be! The cool thing is that when I first saw his picture (below), I had no idea that he had any dachschund in him. It's always been my dream to have a beagle and dachschund . . . and now I do!

School's out! While we enjoy the mild summer days before the full force humidity and heat hits, we've been spending lots of time in the sun room with the windows flung open and also much time out on the deck. Emily's been doing really well since the surgery. That nerve block was wonderful. She only had some minimal pain and is already off the pain pills.

Cast, Crutches - Take 2!

Emily had outpatient foot surgery this morning. If you recall this, her broken foot turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It was discovered on the xrays that she had a noncancerous cyst in her right heel. The doctor called it, "like walking on eggshells," as the bone could have shattered if she would have jumped or come down on it firmly.

They made a two-inch incision on the right side of her heel, scraped out the cyst and filled it with cadaver bone graft material ("dead people bones!" Emily petulantly calls it!) Next week she goes for her cast which she'll wear for six weeks.



This picture was taken right before surgery. She has a phobia of needles. Shortly after this, the nice anesthesiologist okayed her going under the mask before the IV was inserted. She also had a nerve block, so she has no feeling in her leg. She's flying around the house on crutches like nothing right now. I have the Tylenol with codeine ready for when that block wears off!

Slacker Blogger!

Doesn't it frustrate you when people have blogs and never, ever update them? You keep checking back, hoping for something new? Well, that would be me (bad, bad blogger!!)

Life has just thrown me for a loop. Since tax season ended a SECOND time, I just have been kind of frozen. Not to mention drowning in paper work. My mom's estate stuff....divorce stuff.....bills. I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (Let's hope it's not a train! hee! hee!)

Thank you to my sister, Barb, who invited herself and her family over on Memorial Day which forced me to get my house company-ready. It wasn't very fun while I was scrubbing and dusting but it sure feels good now! Marty came over too so we had a nice, impromptu semi-family gathering.

I think the divorce stuff is finally winding down. Mike came over this past week to hash out the final details of the settlement. It can't be over with soon enough. The guy totally creeps me out now. It's like a really bad movie where a woman thinks she's marrying this wonderful guy. He fathers her two children, but after some time, his mask gets pulled off and it turns out he's really been this scary, alien monster all along. Ick. But the woman has to put on a smile and encourage the children to have a relationship with this alien who pretended to be a good dad. "Sorry honey, I know he's an alien, but he's still your father!"

Ooh. Did that sound too bitter? ;o)

Here are a few updates:

My niece, Aly, turned one year old this month. She's growing up way too fast! Here she is with her mom and dad.

Remember Marty's contest-winning doorhanger? Here it is. The cool thing is that his name is on the back, so he gets credit for it. If you stay at an Embassy Suites, be sure to look for it!

Okay, I lied! ;o)

Apparently, I'm not back yet! The IRS decided to issue an extended due date on tax returns because of "severe storms and flooding" here in Missouri - yeah right, the flood waters came nowhere near us! Yet here I am again. It's like Ground Hog Day (or the week before April 15th) all over again. I'm working 12-hour days again. I never did recover from the first deadline. Sheesh!

More later when I return to real life (whatever that may be these days!)

Back at Last!

Yay! I'm finally coming out of my post-tax season funk (I'm getting too old for those 80-hour weeks!) Many have asked, and yes, we have our new puppy! We adopted Phoenix from the Humane Society through his puppy foster mom, Donna. This little puppy is living up to his name because he has brought so much joy and healing to our family.

Shiloh and Emily meet Phoenix

Shiloh loves his new "brother!"

All the rules about "no dogs on my bed or on the furniture" just flew right out the window!

Phoenix thinks my hair is a chew toy!

Tax season went quickly, but unfortunately it's not over yet. Due to flooding in many counties of Missouri (including St. Louis County), the IRS has given everyone in those counties an extension until May 19th. This made for a slightly less chaotic last few days before April 15th, but only means we'll be working more hours before May 19th.

Katie's in Carlinville, Illinois this week with her high school for a competition-type event. She wasn't too excited about it, but it will be good experience for her. Next week Emily heads off to Potosi, Missouri (about 2 hours from here) for 6th grade camp. She's very excited about that!

Yesterday I bit the bullet and mowed the front and back yards. I haven't done yard work since I lived with my parents. What a great workout! I'm looking forward to planting flowers and making our outdoors a fun place to be (which it never really was before).

We have new neighbors from Samoa! Is that cool or what? The girls adore our doggies. It's nice to have a neighbor to hang over the fence with (all our other neighbors are mostly retirees). This evening they described their big yard with a mango tree back on the island. How cool would that be!?

Introducing.....

....our soon-to-be new family member, Phoenix!!

He's a foster puppy that was rescued from recent flooding in southern Missouri. He'll be available next week. We have been talking about getting a second dog for some time. I had hoped to get a dachschund, but who could resist this little guy? (the one on the top here)

Katie, Emily, and I went through several names but the deal was we all three had to agree. Some of the names were Edward, Snuggles, Parmesan, Mocha. Katie took a survey on her favorite posting site, Megaglomp.

I thought it was interesting that the only name we all agreed on was Phoenix. No, not after the city, but the symbolism of the mythological bird arising from the ashes---> rebirth, a new beginning. This little puppy is symbolic of our new start.

Isn't he adorable? We'll pick him up on April 19th.

Hard to believe there's only one week left of tax season. It has FLOWN BY!!!