yeah, yeah

I know it's been forever. Since we last chatted so much has happened. M, C, my mom and I went to Ireland for 11 days and WHAT A BLAST! M danced everywhere, she even got to do a workshop with a Riverdance dancer and a former Riverdance dancer. How cool is that? Ireland is certainly a very beautiful county and it is true that you can experience all 4 seasons in one day! The castles (we stayed in one), the Cliffs of Mohr, the Belleck factory (OMG I could have spent a fortune there), Yeats' tomb, Dublin.... just amazing! C got to play a few rounds of golf, very interesting places for him to do so. OH, we got to see the Book of Kells- WOW!
Then we spent most of the summer in NC. Sad news, while we were there I had to put Oreo to sleep. It was so incredibly hard, her mind was there but her body was failing. J didn't go to NC with us so it was even harder for him as he picked her out with Dan when she was a puppy and he considered her his.
M and I then went to Savannah for a competition and she got her solo dress. NOT CHEAP- $850 for a used one. This one has gone to Nationals and Worlds so it does have good karma. We go to Tampa this weekend and then regionals in Dec. We are going to stay home for Thanksgiving this year so we are skipping the St Augustine competition since regionals are the next weekend. busy busy
C made the STA jr. varsity golf team and had a great season. They were undefeated! And they beat varsity in a match. Yahoo. He still plays 5,6,7 times a week. Again, my butt exactly matches the shape of my car seat! the miles I put on that car......
J is still trying to get his act together and get into the Navy. OMG the paperwork!!!!!
Everything was going well until last Friday. When I got home from taking M to school I found my BELOVED EDGAR ALLEN PUD dead in my neighbor's back yard. It appears he was murderded by a $%)_*^&^$*)(*_*)( coyote. Thank God that two of my neighbors were home and heard my shrieks and came to help me. I am still completely devestated and can't believe it. He was the sweetest boy ever and certainly didn't deserve this. Through her tears, the vet said that he was killed instantly and did not suffer. The wildlife guy came out and said if he catches it that he will let me know. My response is that the sound of a gunshot would suffice. My poor poor baby....I look for him still every day to come running up for love. ^$@)_*&)($& coyote.
My best friend took me out to lunch so we could "wake" him and the stupid place we always go to for fried green tomatoes was out of tomatoes! arghhhh not a good weekend, but their sweet tea and salad were divine.
okay, gotta go see Jenny. I am going to be in big trouble as although chocolate may ease (only slightly) the pain I had this weekend it certainly doesn't help with the weight loss. stupid &#&%%()&%*_)*_@# coyote.
RIP Edgar Allen Pud

"WHEW'

I think this is an appropriately named title! Let's, see when I last posted we were just going to go to New Orleans. Well, since then C. M. and I went to see Dan's parents in Pa. We flew first class Useless Air and what a rip off!!!! It was supposed to be a treat, yeah , right. The bathroom was grand central station from coach, which may sound snobby but whenever we fly coach we can NEVER use that special bathroom upfront. They wanted us to move some of our overhead bags for those in coach who brought 3,4, and 5 carryons on the plane. So not happening. The flight attendents were slobs and not attentive at all. And the snacks were absolutely gross. And this was both ways. I did have a great seat partner on the way back. We almost peed our pants when the flight attendant said" The captain has turned on the fasten seatbelt sign as we may be hitting some turbulant". what???? Isn't the word turbulance? OMG, it was so funny. M loves "turbulant"!!! Not me! I hate to fly. It must be the control freak in me. If they would let me "drive" I would probably be okay. I don't do cruises either. Just give me a car with music, a/c and thousands of $$$ to fill it up and I'll drive any day of the week.
We are still going to New Orleans next weekend for another dance competition. We never get to see the cities since we go on Friday, danace on Saturday and fly home on Sunday. Well, except for Savannah. We are going to stay an extra day because WE ARE DRIVING and I love Savannah. I can already hear Lady and Sons calling my name. For those of you who don't know it that is Paula Dean's restaurant. Southern food is the best!Sweet tea, fried chicken, fried okra, bisquits....crap, now I have to wipe the drool off my computer.
It is less than a month until we take off for Ireland. I cannot wait. From the plans I have seen we are going to have such a wide variety of things to see and do while we are there. C is planning on playing golf a few times and of course, M will be dancing and doing some workshops. There are a few pub nights and what's even greater is that now Ireland is smoke free! Yahooooooo I wonder if I can fly the plane.....

We almost had to put Oreo to sleep last week on Tuesday. It was horrible. She probably has a tumor around her collar bone which did something to her neurological system and caused her limbs to fail. The vet gave her a 50/50 chance but she pulled through the massive steroid therapy and is walking! The vet called her a miracle dog. She may not be cured and is on a two week at home steroid therapy so we'll see. If, after the steroids are completed she fails again, well then we'll have to make a painful decision. Cross your fingers for her. She is a very good dog.

Today, I go to the dentist. YUCK! The good news is that I found the most wonderful dentist. He is so kind and gentle and HE DOES SEDATION! When I lived in Naples, we had a dental office in the school so we didn't miss time going to the dentist. I was in the medical/dental class and we assisted the dentist. I knew when I couldn't give the orange an injection without getting the heebie jeebies that this would not be my field in life! However, what was worse were the sounds and smells associated with the dental office. So now I avoid the dentist like the plague ( or maybe I should say like the plaque - haha) I take the kids but not me. I am having 4 teeth done-yikes. My friend is taking me and then J is picking me up. I hope he doesn't forget me. I wrote down the mileage on my car so hopefully he'll leave me some gas for tomorrow's drop offs at school in the morning.
Now for the really great news. NELMA AND ALBA ARE BACK!! Yes, my cleaning ladies went to their condo in Uraguay for 3 months and now are back. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! What a relief, it seems like the laundry rabbit that lives and multiplies the clothes in my laundry room went crazy while they were gone. Nelma will take mincemeat of him.
http://www.caringbridge.org/in/matthewk/
Above is Matthew's link again. He is back in the Cincinnati Children's Hospital with some issues. Please go to his guest book and send him some cheery messages. If anyone is in the area and has some connections, I guess the parent lounge there could use some TLC. Parents can not eat or drink in the child's room, they sleep in a sleep chair in the room at night. there is one bathroom and shower on the hall for all the parents to use (can't use the one in the room), one laundry.... All these rules are to keep the kids as healthy and germfree as possible but it takes it toll on the parents. Right now there are two families that have been in there for 6 months! yes, I said 6 months!!!! this means the mom (or dad) have been living away from the rest of their family and support system for what must feel like forever. Nancy, matthews's mom, is looking for some ideas to help make it easier on the families. Of course, while she is dealing with her own child's issues. Any ideas? These parents are certainly heroes in my book! This terrible rat bastard disease needs to be STOPPED!! :Let's all keep working to find a cure.
Well, gotta go take my happy pills and go to the fang man! Wish me luck.

Oh where have we been?

EVERYWHERE!!! We have gone to competitions in Hutchinson Island and Dallas and are getting ready to go to New Orleans! M. is in the hunt to get a first, second or third in her Novice level single jog so she can qualify for a solo dress. A solo dress is a big thing for the girls as they get to individualize their new dress with colors and sparkles and sequins and all kinds of things. The final design and colors have to be approved but it appears the hunt is alot of fun. M has my sister's color taste OMG so this should be interesting. HAHA kellie!
We are also going to Ireland,then NC for 4 weeks and then to Savannah. I love Savannah. As of now we are driving up with some friends but realized we might get to go early and stay late since D and C will be in NC and can watch the stupid dogs and my very smart pud. That way I don't have to come all the way home and then go half way back up to Savannah. Cross your fingers that this works out. You know.. best laid plans...
C is playing golf 4-5 times a week and has hooked up with some guys from school to play with as well. He is also playing a lot of tournaments and getting ready for try outs for the school team in the fall. Keeps him busy and me on the road! He's got 3 tournaments while we are in NC.
J is still in school and working at Party City. He hates the pay $7-8 per hour and I'm thinking... helloooooo this is why you stay in school and do well. Hopefully, more education means more $$$ He mentioned the Navy again the other day and that's a good thing! Healthcare, job security, see the world, discipline.... Again, cross your fingers! He should finish school in Jan or Feb.
sorry such a quick update but I've got to get out of the house today. There's tons of work to do here but not today :)

Matthew's Day

Hi everyone!
This is a short update as we are leaving in the am for Raleigh and another competition!!
The reason for the update is that at 3AM tonight/tomorrow Matthew will be getting his bone marrow transplant. Please send your best wishes, hopes and prayers his way. This 15 year old has been through so much and it's time for a change! Please also send the same to his donor who is having her marrow harvested today. C'mon Matthew BEAT THE BEAST!

We're off

to see the wizard! No, not really. Just going to Orlando as M has a dance competition. There are 29 going from our school so this should be a lot of fun!

The checks for the "pounding down cancer for kevin" are coming in so fast. A big THANKS to everyone! I'll give you a total once everything is in. The Children's Cancer Foundation, Inc. is super! 90 cents of every $1 goes to research! .90--isn't that amazing. They only have one paid staff and the rest are volunteers. The President and founder is 83 years young and still going strong. They have given out over $26 million to research. Is that awesome or what???
Matthew (one of those brave cancer warriors) is getting closer to his transplant and MANY months of isolation. If you want to leave him an encouraging note- here is his website. http://www.caringbridge.org/in/matthewk/

Okay, on the lighter side.... You know how the girls in beauty pageants use Preparation H under their eyes and stuff to tighten up the wrinkles? You didn't know this? Welp, they do. Anyhow, I was wondering.. I have lost some weight you know and I have this turkey neck thing going on,so I was wondering if I put preparation H on my neck would it tighten up or... would one of the side effects be the puckering up of the lips? Picture that! haha Pretty gross. Maybe I'll just have a turkey neck!

The weather here is crazy. This week we had the fire because it was a bit chilly and now today we are supposed to have a record high of 85. Mother Nature must be pretty ticked off at the world- what do you think?
Gotta go and drive to the big "O". Check for an update on the competition Monday and then we are off to Raleigh next weekend for another. This really is alot of fun!
katie

Happy New Year!

Did that year go fast or what? For those of you supporting me in the "Pounding down cancer for Kevin" we have a final number......30 pounds or $30!!! December was tougher than usual with gaining losing gaining losing..... but 30 pounds is 30 pounds! I will email all of you so you can get a check out and I can make sure you get a tax deduction letter for your donation. If anyone out there wants to jump in at the end but doesn't know what's going on- check out my blog dated 10/11.
This isn't the end of the weight loss saga, just the fundraising part. We are still going to Ireland in June and I want to be THIN!!!!
December was a busy month- duh- and I am so glad to report that as of today everyone is back in school. YAHOOOOOO. M's dancing is in full swing with moving up to the next level in three of her dances, 2 competitions, try outs for the performance troupe and practices for the Ren fest. If you are in S Fla next month come check out the Ren fest! It's lots of fun and they dance EVERY WEEKEND! They are truly awesome to watch.
C racked up in the golfing department and played almost every day of Christmas vacation. He loves the salmon teryaki (or however you spell it) at the club so sometimes I wonder if it is the fish or golf he likes better. He is quite the sushi kid and would eat it every day. YUCK
J got alot of his automotive tools. OMG are they expensive!!!!!! Thankfully if you are in an accredited program at a tech school you get a BIG discount. He was very happpy. He bought another car for $400 and it is a piece of junk. Within a few hours of buying it the tire came off or something like that, helloooooo $400 what are you thinking? I guess he wants to work on it afterschool. I am sort of okay with it because the busier you are the less likely you will find trouble!
We had one of our coldest nights on record last week so we had a fire!!!!! We had a fire, we had a fire..(imagine me singing this while dancing like an idiot) I LOVE FIRES! I can't get D to agreee to turn the air on really really cold so we can have a fire. Silly boys.... Of course the next night it was really great because our stupid heat wouldn't work on MY side of the house, the kids' side was toasty and mine I swear you could see your breath! I had to sleep in the guest room with my pud, Edgar, because I was freezing. Speaking Ed, my poor pud got attacked by a filthy, dirty rotten raccoon. He's okay now just minus all the fur they had to shave off and the 4 wound marks. Those stupid coons are gonna pay!!
well, gotta go take a shower. I already did my walk and my cool down was to get a quick update to all of you! Again, Happy New Year.
and a PS to Arlene.. I am so glad we have reconnected after 33 years! Ethiopia was a long time ago but still fresh in my mind!
xo katie