Thursday, July 23, 2015

Prepping and Old Memories

So my time out day was over this morning and I've been running errands all day again!  Even in a small town it's amazing how long a trip to the bank, post office, pharmacy and grocery store can take.  We are in our 'tropical weather pattern" so I got rained on twice.  It's ok I LOVE living in Florida. I'm a 5th generation Floridian and wouldn't want to live anywhere else in spite of the tropical rain showers!

I got home and put away the groceries and started two crockpots.  I make most of Sarah's foods, so today I'm making her beef stew and chicken noodle soup.  I make it nice and thick so even when it's pureed it has a thick consistency.   Between the two crock pots I should have about 20 meals for her (if no one else starts eating it!)  After it's done, I puree and freeze it in 2 cup size glass containers.   I also made a chicken and rice casserole for supper along with black eyed peas.  I'm so grateful for crock pots!  I use mine all the time. 

Well last night we watched Netflix-big surprise there huh?  I don't even know why we bother with cable anymore.  Anyhow we overdosed on "Extreme Preppers" a show about people who believe the end of the world as we know it, is coming.  They are preparing their homes and families. 

I grew up with two little old ladies who had survived World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the Cuban Missile crises etc.....they were extreme preppers!  We had freezers FULL of food.  We had cabinets from the floor to the ceiling filled with canned goods.  They bought soap, sheets, toilet paper, whatever was on sale....  Most of the foods in the freezers and canned were homemade, straight from our garden or the family farm.   They grew gardens that put mine to shame.  I can't believe now, their stamina.  By the time I was school-age, they were in the 70's and working huge gardens.  Most people would call it a small farm actually.  It was smaller after my uncle died but not much.  I am such a wimp I could not do all they did. 

So I've always been one to "stock up" on stuff.  It's second nature to me.  I used to coupon a lot, I need to get back to that but it is so time consuming.  I have a friend who is a Coupon Queen.  She could have her own TV show.  A lot of times I buy things from her.  I still get a huge discount. 

I have another friend who is an "extreme canner" she cans everything!  I love seeing her pictures on FB and she has offered to come and work with me but I'm afraid I'd kill us all with food poisoning!!! 

During the summer of "04, Florida was hit by four hurricanes.  We survived all but the last one quite well.  The last one left us without power for over a week and phone for about a month.  One of my friends had neither power nor water for over a week although she was on county water.  I had prepared really good for number two and three but number one and four were more surprises to me.  For the first one, we had just moved out of our long term leased home and had bought a mobile home to put at the prison (prisons in Florida allow staff to live on the grounds)  We did that to save money since I'd just quit work because of Sam who was a newborn.   Anyhow we were waiting at my brother in law's  to have all the permits approved on our new home.  That hurricane surprised us and turned at the last moment.  Luckily we did not have a bunch of damage, but those to the south of us sure did.   By the next hurricane we were moved in to the trailer and rode it out in the prison's administration office.  The same way with the third one.  So after all that, I just kinda tuned out about that fourth one.....only one week after the third one, until it hit!  And it hit us hard!  We were so unprepared.  Like I said we lost power for over a week.  That meant no electricity, no grocery stores open, no gas stations open....it was a nightmare.  We (along with everyone else) had lunch furnished by the Red Cross, we got ice and water from them too.  I felt like we let our kids down by not being prepared enough for them!  I don't' ever want that to happen again. 

At our old house we lived on a well.  We had a hand pump added so we'd never be without water even if the electricity went out. Here we are on county water, I can't help but remember what happened to my friend.  She and her family were able to eventually go to a local gym and shower after the roads were clear but it was days.  So I bought a few cartons of water today and hid them from my husband.  One of his worst traits is he is addicted to bottled water.  The kids will drink water from the fridge and so will him if he can't find any bottles (LOL he does occasionally read my posts so I'm not telling where the water is!!!!) 

Anyhow I do feel no matter what is going on in the world, it's good to have supplies at hand.  We, who live in Florida, think about being prepared for hurricanes.  But any type of natural or man made disaster can happen. 

So like a good scout- Be Prepared!!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just a few days ago I was told by a couple of hometown friends that the old house I grew up in was "gone"   No one knows what happened, it's just gone.  The lot is empty. 

Here's a picture taken of it in 2013.  I was up in Perry for my 30th High School reunion.  My friend and I drove by and were shocked at how terrible it looked.  I asked the people on the porch if I could take a picture and I swear they scared me!  They did consent, grudgingly. 

My great uncle built it in 1919 and my family lived there until about 1990.  The last one to move out was my Aunt Ruby.  After she'd passed away I rented it for a short time, then sold it to someone.  I knew it had gotten worse but it had been some years since I had seen it. 



From the front you can see the front porch.  The porch used to be all across the front but when I was about four they made that side a playroom/bedroom for me.  It had 3 windows on the front and 4 on the side.  Plus two more windows that opened towards the porch.  It was so cool.   We had huge azalea bushes on both sides of the front door.  And huge trees in the front yard.  Along the side of the house we had trees and bushes as high as the house called "bridal flowers"  And there was no flag pole in the yard!  I moved out in 1984 and the picture does not seem like the house I know.  Often when I dream, the dreams are based in that old house.  Lots of good memories associated with that house.  Lots of night spent on that front porch!

After I heard the news, I made myself sit and try to visual each room, as I knew it.  My kids had never gone in it.  My husband had a few times to help me empty it after my aunt died.  Hardly anyone except my childhood friends have ever seen it.  But it is a part of me, even tho it's gone. 

It was a "shotgun" house.  The front porch opened to the living room, then there was the dining room and then the kitchen.  The kitchen opened up to the back porch with a bathroom back there.  On the right side of the house was four bedrooms that opened up to each other and the last one opened up to the back porch also. 

Of course it did not have AC.  Nor did it have central heat.  It gets much colder in north Florida than down here!  We used little gas heaters that were attached to the walls of each room!  Talk about a death trap!  I burned several dresses by getting too close to the flames.  Every morning the heaters had to be lit, we never slept with them on so the house was so cold, you could see your breath!   But back then it was no big deal.  I only had one friend who had a house with central heat and air! 

One time we drove through Perry, about ten years ago and we showed Steve the house.  He was shocked and said "poor Mama"  I started laughing and told him it wasn't really THAT bad!  He was very serious and upset about me living in the house.  I told him it was in a bit better condition when I lived in it. 

Anyhow I'm not one to look back too much, but hearing the news that the house is gone did make me think about it......

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Time Out!

After more than a month of non stop activity, I've put myself in time out for the day. Last night I was so bone tired, that I was almost afraid something was seriously wrong with me.  So today I'm giving myself a break.  I've got things I need to do but I need one day to breath more than I need to do those chores.  And have you ever noticed how one chore turns into two or three chores? 

So today all I'm doing is changing diapers and doing eye drops.  Oh and feeding a few kids.  Otherwise, I'm relaxing. 

After I took my husband to work, I took a walk down our new street.  Just one house down, the road goes into the next county and becomes a dead end.  It was magical to walk down there early this morning, some horses walked along their fence line with me, there was no traffic sounds, just the birds singing.  That was relaxing for me.  For me, being out in the country, just relaxes me like nothing else.  How in the world did I ever live in NYC??????   I think I would die now if I had to live in a city. 

Well I was glad that my last blog post made the difference to Obama and he finally lowered the flag.   Now I know I'm being stalked by the government.  No seriously, after five days, it was about time.  I'm still shocked by this....

And what else I'm shocked about is the Planned Parenthood videos that are coming out proving that PP sells aborted baby parts and even does abortions so there is more tissue intact. 
http://dailysignal.com/2015/07/21/new-undercover-video-shows-planned-parenthood-executive-haggling-over-price-of-aborted-baby-body-parts/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=thffacebook  is the latest.

this is the first to come out last week
http://www.care-net.org/abundant-life-blog/planned-parenthood-uses-partial-birth-abortions-to-sell-baby-parts?utm_campaign=ppsellsbabyparts&utm_content=17999097&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

I can NOT believe how little I'm seeing about this on the news......

And what I find "funny" is my friends who are great animal lovers, are quiet for the most part about this.  I wonder  what if they (Planned Parenthood) were doing this to puppies?  We'd have people marching in the streets.  I wonder about some of my readers who were so worried about our dog being outside or me giving away a cat to become a barn cat to have some kittens are concerned about this with Planned Parenthood???? 

I've come to the conclusion that we live in a messed up world....maybe that's why I needed a Time Out!!!!!

Monday, July 20, 2015

What's Wrong With This Picture?

I know I've already written a blog but I could not let this past.....

One of my friends is in Washington DC on vacation.....on Saturday she snapped this picture of the White House.



Notice the flag,
notice the flag is not at half mast for the four Marines and one Sailor who died in a terrorist attack in  Chattanooga.

It hit the news by Sunday morning but yet the White House has not given a reason for not showing respect to the fallen.  In fact the White House has been strangely silent about the attack.   does anyone besides me think something is wrong with this picture???????

Summer Time

We've stayed busy around here lately as usual. 

On Friday my long time friend and former college roommate Jan came over and helped me to hang all the bigger pictures.



Thrilled to get this picture up!  It's beautiful.  I love looking at it. 








 
 
 
 
My "one in a minion's" room
 




 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 


 

 

 
 
I put this on the porch by the front door :)
Our friend needs to start a business doing these signs they are so nice!

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
My happy girl's room
 

 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
Some cuttings my friend gave me
 
 
 
 
One of my childhood friends Marsha who we just reconnected with a few months ago got this beautiful plaque for us!  It went perfectly with this frame and pictures.  We just loved it. 
 
 
 
 
 
Saturday I had a "play date" with my friend who had toiled on putting up our pictures!   We swam floated on rafts in her pool, went out to eat, and went to the mall.  At the mall, we had several very interesting experience.  The first one was at a store that sells all kinds of cool things.  My friend just had to go in it....well I thought I'd try the $4000 massage chair.  It had a feature that supposedly makes a person weightless/zero gravity.   So I sat in it and turned it on.  I hit the zero gravity button and the chair turned me up towards the ceiling while it clamped down on my legs.  I began looking around for my friend who was happily examining other things on the other side of the store.  Honestly I was beginning  to feel nauseated and felt like I had a bit of vertigo starting.  I have TERRIBLE motion sickness.  It's pathetic.   Anyhow I was trying not to cause a scene since I could not get myself out of the seat.  I FINALLY got her attention and she began to help by taking pictures!!!!!  The one store employee finally came over and he was laughing as hard as we were.  When I FINALLY got out of it I thought I'd wet my pants I was laughing so hard.    We left the store in tears!





Then she talked me into a massage.  We went to one of those places in the middle of the mall with chairs to sit in while getting a massage.  So we had two Chinese guys.  Well my guy got a little friendly and included a buttock massage.  For some reason I just started laughing!  Then he was leaning in on me...WAY too close.  At first I thought surely I was wrong....but then I figured out I was probably right!!!   When we finished the massage, I expected to get $$$ back LOL.  I almost asked him if it was good for him!

So you can just imagine how hard we laughed after I told her what had happened.  First I asked her what her massage included....let's just say I got a much more involved one than she did!!!!!


Some pictures of Jon and me after church on our favorite place- the front porch!

 
 
 




Then Sunday after church my childhood friend came over and brought me that beautiful plaque with our names on it. 

I just felt a lot of love from my friends (and from the Chinese guy at the mall) over the weekend!!!!  during the week I had gotten to spend time with another friend.   I treasure time with close friends because it's not always easy for me (or them) to get to spend time together. 


Today I had a lot of errands to run for us personally and for the church.  I was literally all over the county.  Then tonight the kids' band had a fund raiser...


 
 
the little girl's parents own the local Chinese restaurant and she just loved being out with us. 
 

 
 
We finally were a little worried about the clouds and rumbling thunder so we finished up early but it was fun. 
 
Tomorrow is another long day for me, lots of things to do.  I'm trying to get everything done that I can before Steve leaves for college in a little over three weeks.  We have a few little car repairs and some other things I've been putting off that needs to get done. 
 
Hope everyone is having a fun summer....it's sure going QUICK!



Wednesday, July 15, 2015

What is Friendship?

For a long time I thought I knew what friendship meant.  I'm a very loyal person.  Once I hitch my wagon to your wagon I'm pretty much with you for life.  I don't hitch my wagon to very many folks but once I do, they could pretty much turn into a mass murder and I'd be loyal to them LOL 

I'm one of those people who are friends with most of their ex-boyfriends, and even their wives LOL  I figure I liked them enough at one point, they just weren't the right One for me. 

Of course there are degrees of friendship.  I have a fondness for a few folks I don't really have a lot of interaction with but that's not really "who I do life with"  But I still have a loyalty to that person. 

But I have a problem of letting folks go, even toxic folks because of shared experiences and memories.  It's hard to know the 'Christian thing to do" sometimes. 

I have blocked people out of my life completely, some relatives that I would not want around my children...EVER!  That's not been that hard because I knew a lifetime of history and had my kids' best interests at heart.  Plus there were no deep bonds there for me to begin with.

Sometimes I make excuses for horrible behavior and just say "well that's the way that person is" or blame myself for expecting a certain level of care and commitment from someone. 

I also fully believe that each person is responsible for their own happiness and it's wrong to have expectations of others to always meet your needs.   I don't even expect my husband to meet all my needs emotionally.  My happiness and joy should not be based on another person. 

I can be totally at peace by myself.  I'm not a person who really needs anyone else to "be there for me" Oh it's great when it happens, I just don't expect it

One of my favorite sayings is "I have low expectations, therefore I am seldom disappointed!" 

Back to the "Christian thing to do"  I don't think it is wrong to block certain people from your life, especially if it is to protect your children.  But I also don't think it is wrong to block people to protect yourself from emotional harm.  It doesn't mean you hate the person, or wish them evil. It doesn't mean you hold a grudge or resentment towards a person.   It simply means you can't let yourself continue to be hurt, abused, wounded or disrespected. 

There's a fine line here.  In the beginning of our marriage, my husband was bothered by a decision I'd made to limit some family contacts.   Then as he got older and wiser, he began to understand and totally support my decision.  It did not seem like the "Christian thing to do" to him at first until he understood. 

Recently I've come to the conclusion in my life that I'm going to just put my time into my family first and just a few close friends secondly.  I think I've always had the focus on my family, nothing ever has come before them.  But I'm learning to be a little more honest in relationships.  Do I get out of them what I put into them?  Of course there are times when we do put more into a certain friendship than the other person does, maybe because of situations going on in the other person's life or illness or something that keeps that person from being able to give to the friendship.  I feel like I have some faithful friends who give more in the friendship to me  that I do to them and I want to remedy that!   On the other hand, I can see in other friendships where I give and have given more than I should have.  I've been too open with my heart and too loyal.  I'm also going to remedy that. 

So what is friendship?  I think it's two people who enjoy each other's company and respect each other even if they don't always agree.  And there has to be laughter, lots and lots of laughter!  There can't be any "walking on eggshells" in the friendship.  And there can't be judgment in a friendship anymore than there can be judgment in a marriage.  I think of my closest friends and realize I'm free to share my heart...even when it's a bit soiled and not the nicest heart around.  And I know that they would not use that knowledge against me.  So there has to be Trust in a friendship too. 

I'm extremely thankful that Jon, my husband, has become a friend also.  When we first got married, I don't' really think we were friends.  Oh we were in love but it wasn't the same thing as now.  Now is sooooooo much better.   Our friendship took more time than our love affair did.  But it was worth it. 

I was also thinking that at the same time, I want to be the same kind of friend to others as I want them to be to me.  It goes both ways. 

Anyhow just some thoughts that have been going through my little bitty mind lately.......


Last weekend I won a $50 gift card from Hobby Lobby so I spent it this week...  All of this was on 90% clearance.  the  big flower picture is one I'd looked at for months for Sarah's room.  On clearance it was only $4!!!  I still had a little bit left over so I took in a big picture I haven't hung yet because it needed a wire on the back and I bought to metal crosses for accent pieces also...NOW my gift card is gone but it was wonderful while it lasted!!!

 

 

 
 
 





Today is one month from when our son leaves for college.  I'm so excited about it for him.  Most of the time 99% at least, I'm thrilled for him.  That 1% makes me want to lock him away forever in a basement and tell him he can never leave!  When we went last week to do his schedule and some other things, it was so exciting.  It reminded me of when I went to SEC and how it felt to be going the first semester. 

I was so ready for college, I had a calendar where I marked off each day until August 24th when I left for SEC.  I'm glad he is not as anxious to leave us LOL  But it was a wonderful magical time for me.  I wouldn't have traded that time for the world.  I only hope he will have a college experience like I did.  

If you live in our area....
Next Monday night.....
20% of the proceeds will go to Rhythms of Grace, the percussion group Shad is in. 




Grab your friends and join our crew;
We’ll be happy to see you!
We’ll be jamming’ in the parking lot;
Even though it will be hot.
At HAPPY COW we will abide;...

Get your FRO-YO and chill inside.
You can hear us, we’ll be loud,
We sure hope we can draw a crowd!

Be sure to tell them you're there to support Rhythms of Grace!
 
(that little poem was written by Tammy, the mom of the other percussion players! ) 
 
Happy Cow is a place I have to restrict myself from LOL  I could eat their yogurt every day.  It's so good.  Anyhow come and eat and it's for a good cause also!
 
 




Sunday, July 12, 2015

All Kinds of Things

What a busy few days we've had!  I feel like I write that all time but I'd like some relaxing days sometimes!!!


Thursday we took the kittens to get fixed and the older cats for their shots.  I didn't pick them up until Friday morning.  When we went in to get them, there was a very odd lady there who had a baby kitten.  She said she'd found it and it hadn't eaten or wouldn't eat in days.  She keep walking in and out.  She didn't want the kitten.  She had a 2 or 3 year old with her that was actually holding the kitten in a towel.  I was so worried I offered to take the kitten.  The staff was laughing at me because they know me from all of my rescues.  Anyhow we brought them home and luckily one of our nurses took the kitten home with her. 

 
 
 

 
Shad and I really wanted to keep her but since Gladys was leaving for the farm, we are really trying to get our cat population down not up :)

 



Then I went with Steve to register for classes.  He was able to get the classes he wanted and a great schedule.  He also applied for some on campus jobs.  It's so cool to relive my college experience with him.  I absolutely loved my years at Southeastern and love to see how excited he is to start there.  We've always wanted him to have the "fire in his belly" for whatever he chose to do.  We are finally seeing it with the anticipation he has for school.  His major is Communications/Broadcasting.  He jokes that he can always use this in the prison and do all their broadcasting.  We are so excited for him

On the way home we saw this guy by the side of the road.
 
 





So you know I had to get out and look at him. 




I'm pretty sure the gator was dead, it smelled and he didn't respond to noise but  I didn't' get too close!


Saturday was our Variety Show at church to raise money for the Fine Arts trip.  I committed Jon and I to it for one show but it turned into 3 shows so it was a very long day for the kids (and us too)  But we had a really good time.  Jon and I sang an old Johnny & June Cash song, "Jackson".  Well we mostly lip synched to be honest but we had a blast and had the whole place laughing. 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
Jon was wearing black since Johnny Cash was "the man in black"
 

 
 
the whole gang

 
 
Jon's dad and uncles grew up as friends with the Cash family.  They were all sharecroppers' together in southern Arkansas in a little town called Dice or Dyce.  The town was a FDR experiment with communal living.  Basically each family was given some land & a house.  They were allowed to work their land and sell the profits.  Then there also was like a community farm.  Jon's Uncle Harvey, was mentioned as one of JC's best childhood friends in JC's last biography. 
 
We always liked the song "Jackson" because it starts out "We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout."  It's not a song that usually is sung in church tho LOL! 
 
 
The variety show raised all the money needed for them to go to Fine Arts thanks to the generosity of all that gave.   We had great door prizes thanks to some wonderful local businesses like the Village Inn, Zephyrhills Cinema, Happy Cow, Sunrise Eatery, 5 Guys and a Burger, Hobby Lobby, Zephyrhills Bowling Alley, Sonny's BBQ,  and some more I'm sure I'm forgetting! 
 
 
So after a busy few days, we are happy to be relaxing this rainy afternoon at home watching Netflix :) 






Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Happy 4th of July pictures!

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend!  Here's some pictures of our day.  We stayed home and just chilled out.  Steve had some friends who stayed over Friday night and Saturday morning I used a whole box of waffle mix to feed everyone.  That was the start of our day.

 Then after those guys went home we just relaxed and enjoyed a thunderstorm on our porch.  We all love storms, probably me most of all. 

It's funny when I was a kid, I'd almost get sick on my stomach when a bad thunderstorm happened.  But not anymore.  I love to watch and listen to a storm.  This time a year, we get about one a day.  July 4th's was a big one...but as you can see we got a rainbow afterwards.....right in our yard!

In 2004 when we had all the hurricanes, the first one was "kind" to us.  We were staying at my brother in laws as we were in the middle of moving.  The storm was amazing.  No thunder or lightening just crazy rain, so we decided to play in the rain...yep...it was like being in a warm shower.  I can't believe we did that but we ran up and down the street.  Steve and his cousins had a blast.  We probably would not do that again but at the time it was a lot of fun.  It was a memory for us.  Of course now I'm a much more "afraid of something happening to my kids mom" than I was back then.  I have a whole blog in my mind about that subject if I can ever sit down and put my thoughts in writing.  LOL  Anyhow here are some pictures! 



 RAINBOW'S END! 



 
 
Sarah is quite the rocker in her little rocking chair.  She is very intent on what she is doing.
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 

 
We've been babysitting Snickers our friends' dog.  She stays right with me....all the time....every step I take....every move I make....

 
 
 
Selah got her Hoyer lift.  We'd hoped to get one that attached to the ceiling but our insurances would not pay for it.  I was afraid this equipment would be too large but it's not really.  It's smaller than her stander.  She actually seemed to enjoy it, it is almost like a baby swing.  It is used to move a person from one position to another without the caregiver having to pick the person up.  I think it will be used a lot as she gets older.  Our nurses are all trained on it and know the advantage for them and for the patient.  It prevents falls and broken bones. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Today I ran into a Dollar General to pick up some snacks and they had a baby pool for $4.  I bought it for the kids, but it looks like the kittens have taken it over! 


 
 
The kittens are scheduled to get spayed Thursday.  Poor babies but we don't want anymore cats!  Gladys aka Mama Cat is going to go live on a farm.  She is not getting spayed quite yet, our friends need some barn cats.  I'll be sad to see her go but she was rescue cat, she just wandered up one day pregnant....she prefers to be outdoors and she can be on this farm and have a place to go when it rains.  She should be very happy. 
 
Our dog disappeared during our move.  She left our old house, must have gotten out under the fence.  We looked around for her but one of the farms around probably took her in.  Most of our neighbors in the area knew Brownie, we all know each other to wave at each other and to know each other's outdoor dogs but few knew we had a new dog.   It's funny how you "know" folks by their animals....LOL that's how you know you live in the country.   There has been someone at the old house almost daily as it is being redone for one of our church members to live in.  I thought the dog might come back and we put out food for her but no one has seen her.  The way our friends "found" her is that she just wandered up to them.  Seems that is her MO. 
 
 
Well we have discovered the joys of Netflix- I'm pretty much addicted!   I've never been much of a tv watcher, I'd rather read a book than anything but I'm enjoying Netflix way too much!  I'm restricting myself to a move a day now so I can get things done :)  Today I watched "From Here to Eternity"  Yesterday I watched one of the "High School Musicals" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Men in Black II" .  You see why I'm restricting myself!    We've watched some classics like "Footloose", "Urban Cowboy" "Saturday Night Fever"  All had way more cussing than I remembered!  One movie we really enjoyed was a WWII "The Man Who Never Was"  Watch it, it tells a story about a real turning point in the war. 
 
I did get something done today
 
21 meals (22 if you count the ones she ate for supper)  put away in the freezer for Sarah.  Beef stew, Taco chili and chicken noodle soup.  Everything is pureed and ready to go, just needs to be heated up for her.   I love doing her meals so I know she is eating good.  Buying baby food or soups to puree doesn't make me feel like she is getting good nutrition.  It's challenging to have a child who can't/won't chew.  There are many meals that can't be pureed for her like sandwiches, or pizza....  So I worry about her getting enough calories and the right kind of calories.  In the meals I make for her, I add a lot to them and make them thick.  For breakfast, she usually eats oatmeal or grits and always has a bowl of applesauce.  She gets at least one  Pedisure a day with a banana and some other fruit in it-usually  strawberries or blueberries.  . She also likes yogurt, I buy the big containers so she can have plenty, those little cups are not big enough for her.  I love the squeezable fruits, I buy boxes of them for her to have.  She will ONLY drink Capri Sun pouches.  So we get the kind that has a full fruit/veggie serving.  If she runs out of them, I have to feed her her drink spoon by spoon.  I don't understand her at all.  I've tried using the straws from the juice box but she will not drink from them out of a cup.  I literally have to spoon feed her the drinks.  You can be sure we do not run out of juice boxes very often!  I do have to feed her the pedisure with a spoon, she will not take it any other way...so I sit there and do it.  I tried to wait her out one day but she absolutely refused to drink and cried so I was more afraid of her getting dehydrated, even tho all her food is pureed...so I gave it to her after lunch when she wouldn't drink!! 
 
 
Well this week continues to be busy.  Tomorrow Selah has an appointment in Tampa in the afternoon.  We'll probably get rained on.  Seems to happen every time we go in the afternoon. Thursday the cats are all going to the vet- that'll be fun.....    Steve has an appointment on Friday at his college, he's signing up for classes, buying books and we are meeting with financial aid. Saturday we are in a Variety Show at our church 
 
 
 
 

Jon and I are actually singing or lip synching to Johnny Cash's song "Jackson"  We have amazing door prizes so if you are in the area, please come.  It will be fun.  Come see us!  You might win a pie!