Happy Birthday to the one I love!

Photo Challenge

I am pretty sure I am back...

I am not going to bore you with a long, whiny post about what's been going on in my life. Suffice it to say I am going to try to start posting again.
We have been in AZ for just over two weeks, the weather is of course, beautiful, sunny, warm.
We have been spending these first few weeks getting back into the grove.  I have been reading a lot of books,  nothing noteworthy just average reads. We have also visited a few of our favorite restaurants.
Went to see Lincoln last week, it was really good, but honestly I can't wait till it comes on pay for view.  Because we had to go early to get tickets, we sat in our seats for over three hours, with no where to prop up my leg, I can tell you I did more squirming than  listening the second half of that time.  I think I will enjoy it even more watching it sitting on my own cozy couch.
J has a company coming to wash and wax the coach Monday morning and when they are done I am going to put up my Christmas decorations and today I am going to go get flowers to plant in my pots. Sounds funny doesn't it, Christmas decorations and potting flowers outside.
I took Iz to get her "Arizona cut" this week, I almost cried when I picked her up.

Before

And after

I hated to do it, but she gets so very dirty out here I had no choice.
So this is my first attempt after a long time, hopefully it will get better.  But since you are my friends and family, you have to love me no matter what!!

I am Back

Still struggling with some of the health issues, just haven't wanted to post. But it is getting close to the time to start using this blog for the reason it was intended.  
We are starting the count down to Arizona .  Our hope if doctors agree is to leave on the first of November.
I have started the staging area of what I am taking in the living room. As usual there are piles everywhere.
I have almost finished my Christmas shopping and am starting to wrap the gifts, remember we don't come home for Christmas (sigh) so everything is put together and turned over to safe keeping with my sister for the family party (sigh, sigh).
I have been doing heavy cooking and freezing so that when we stop each night I can throw a good hot meal together in no time.
To complicate our leaving on time Jay has jury duty this week ( please, please don't let him get a case).
So stay tuned for the annual migration of the Gray's and all the fun and not so fun places we experience along the way.

????

So much going on around here and way to much of it is not good, so I have decided to wait till there is good news to post again I  am looking forward to my nephew's wedding on October 13th. Almost all the family will be here and we are going to try to take family pictures, we have had four babies born in our family since the last one. 
I am holding on to that anticipation to get my out of the rut.

The Drama continues....

This has been the craziest summer, I swear!  I just got through that nasty cancer scare and was getting ready to do the dentist thing and get it finished before time to leave.  Went to the periodontist at the beginning of the week and as usual they took my blood pressure.  It is just part of their practice to do that every time you come in.  Well, imagine all our surprises when  my was 201/110.  They took it four times with four different style cuffs and they were all in the range.  Needless to say they refused to do the procedure and told me to call my doctor and then get back to them. So I thought, well crap this is going to mess up my schedule.  I drove home and told J what was going on and then called the Dr.'s office. When I told the nurse what the readings were she told me to go straight to the hospital. When I got off the phone I looked at J and said this is crazy, they want me to go to the emergency room. I don't know if you have ever had to make a trip to the emergency room, but I have, many, many times when I was helping take care of my Mama. I knew we would be there for hours and hours, so I persuaded J to just drop me off and armed with my IPhone and Kindle I would wait it out and call him when I knew what was going on. So, I went in, registered, found a comfy seat and started reading my book.  Surprisingly it was only about an hour and a half when they took me back. Of course, now my blood pressure was 230/110 so they kicked the chair back to lower my head, pasted on a nitroglycerin patch and did an EKG. I was pretty sure I was in for the long haul after that.  I was seen by two ER doctors and eventually my own doctor and was told I would have to be checked in for observation and tests.  I got to the hospital about 12:30 in the afternoon, got taken back around two. I was taken to a room at 11:00 pm.  Are you getting the picture? I got my meds at 2:30 am.  At about 10 pm I had asked one of the nursed if I could get anything to eat as I had only had a cup of coffee that morning before I left my house. She brought me one of their box lunches, it was two pieces of white bread and four slices of bologna, oh and a package of mustard.  I wasn't so sure that a should have those four pieces of bologna if they thought I was having a heart attack so I didn't eat it. When I was first waiting for a room the ER nurse said everything was backed up because they were waiting for people to go home.  Later on the came in and apologized for the wait and said it was because everyone was leaving at once and the transporters were backed up.  When I got in the room the nurse was complaining that they had been waiting hours with empty rooms for ER to send them patients. Crazy, huh. So to end this crazy story, I had the test in the am, they got the blood pressure down to an acceptable level and sent me home that evening with some meds. They do not know what caused such a spike, but I have to check my blood pressure twice a day  and if it spikes like that again I will have to have an angiogram. I see the Dr. in a few weeks and imagine I will be given some lifestyle and cooking changes.  I have been trying to do some of that on my own,  We have about six weeks until we leave for AZ. I am hoping nothing else is going to happen and it is smooth sailing the rest of the way. I have come to one conclusion with all this, It Stinks Getting Old.

One year later.....

Can it have been a year already?  Sometimes it seems like just yesterday I talked with Judy, sometimes it seems like it has been forever. 
I know that time has passed because I am no longer angry.  I was so angry at her when she first passed away.  Angry that she didn't tell me how sick she was.  We told each other everything, why didn't she tell me that.
But there is no more anger, just sadness, such sadness.  I miss her so much. I miss our weekly talks.  I miss our girl trips. I miss having her to call when something happens in my life, good or bad.
I am sad because her children do not have a mother, her grandchildren don't have a grandma and her husband does not have his loving wife. 
I just miss her so much.
My best friend.
My pal.

What's New

I have learned to use two new ( new to me ) apps. Polyvore and Zip List. Zip List is a really neat recipe box and shopping list app.  They have great recipes or you can import your own recipes and store them in your recipe box. Then when you decide on your menu for the week, you pull out the recipes from your box and presto Zip List produces a shopping list.  As you put each item in your shopping cart you check it off your list. I use the app on my mac when I am cooking, just pull up the recipe and step by step instructions are right there.  I use it on my phone when I go shopping,  just pull up my shopping list and away I go.  I tried a recipe tonight that we really liked. We both love Caprese Salad , so when I saw this recipe on Zip List I knew we would like it. 

Chicken Caprese Salad

 It was delicious! The other app Polyore is just plain fun for me. I don't really know how to explain it.  It is a fashion app combined with Pinterest.  You can create looks in clothing, furnishings anything you can think of.  Just like Zip List it has a large number of choices built in the system, but you can add your own finds basically the same way you Pin, you just Polyvore instead. 

TOP

FOLLOWING

ASK

SHOP

CREATE

Activity

joyce-a-gray

You are filling a template. You can only add items in the designated placeholders. Valerya by Amber Gray for Brides December 2010

My Items My Sets Templates Ideas All Items + PublishedDrafts

This is an example of an outfit that I did.  You should give it a look it's a lot of fun.
I spend a lot of time on my Mac and love to find new things to play with. 
Let me know if you checked them out and what you thought.
Peace 

Whew.....

Wondering where I have been?  It has been a long two weeks, which started two weeks ago as I went for my annual mammogram. You know, go in once a year get your boobs squeezed  and go home.  Unless they call you back and tell you they need a few more shots. So you go back and they take more shots and take them back to the radiologist and she asks for a few more and them a few more and then the Doctor wants to speak with you and you hear blah, blah, blah, biopsy, blah blah call surgeon. 
And you go in to see the surgeon and he looks at the films and says blah, blah, blah, 35 % risk of malignancy schedule biopsy. And then comes the surgery where they say blah, blah, this won't hurt, blah OW!!!!!(that was me yelling). And then the wait, the week that takes forever to end.
And then today after sitting in his office for half an hour he walks in the room smiling, saying IT"S NOT CANCER!!
I am sure quite a few of you have gone through this, this is my second time. It never becomes old hat, it was just as scary or even scarier  this time.  Between my sisters and I we have had a lot of these moments. I always think this time it is going to be the one.
So far, we have escaped, I hope you do too!

Home

We are on our way home today. I am shocked at myself for doing so few posts. I have done a few tweets, Facebook and Instagrams, but they take so little time.  It is so easy to hit send after a photo.
But I think the reason for so few posts is the "enjoy life more instead of talking about it" mode I have been in. 
I really use the blog more in the winter to let my family know what we have been up to. 
We had a really nice time in Traverse Bay, but as I told my sister you can only eat and shop so much. I know J enjoys his rides here, but if you are not a water person there is not much else to do.   It has been so lovely and cool here I hope we are not heading home to 100 degree weather again at home.
Time is flying by so fast, before we know it we will be heading west.  Why does time speed up so the older you get?
Have a good one.

Sunday Praise

Smash Journal

My latest obsessions are Pinterest and Smash Journaling. Since we are on "vacation" this week I am allowing myself to work on them as long as I want with no guilt.

I use my Journal to motivate me.

I can not draw at all, lets face it I can barely write legibly, but since it is my personal journal I can pretend to draw all I want.

That looks like Izzie doesn't it?

This is my box of inspiration.

I pull things from magazines, newspapers, I throw in memento's like tickers to shows J and I have been to.

I save cards that were sent to me.

I cut, I paste, I draw, I write, I whine in the Journal, I smile and I cry working on the Journal.
It seems to work as therapy for me. And boy do I need all the therapy I can get.
It is beautiful here today. Please enjoy your Tuesday.

Happy Birthday Judy

Today is Judy's birthday, she would have been 64.  I always loved teasing her that I was a year younger than her. I am wondering now that she is in Heaven if that means we are the same age?  And that next year I will be a year older?  I don't like that either Jude! 
I am happy that I can tease you again, I was so mad when you died.  I felt you had left me again just like you did when you moved to Minnesota.  I worked my way through that and I am not mad anymore, that was just selfishness on my part.  But oh Jude, I am so sad and I miss you so much. I guess I am still being selfish.  There is so much going on right now, stuff I need to talk to you about, scary stuff. 
 I think I will still be missing you until we meet in heaven.  I don't really know what heaven is like, I don't know if our loved ones who have gone before us are watching over us.  Some things I think we aren't meant to know, but just take on faith.  
But I know I won't have another friend in this lifetime like you. 
But I will celebrate your birthday tomorrow and I will offer comfort to you daughter and your grandkids, they miss you so very much.  That is the thing that is really hard to understand, why you had to leave those darling kids that you loved so much.
God Bless you my dear friend and thank you for 27 years of friendship and all that it gave us.
Happy Birthday Judy

Traverse Bay Michagan

It is lovely here in Traverse Bay, yesterday was in the high 70's. 
 We went for a drive and stopped at a fruit stand and bought loads of fresh fruit and veggies. Snuck in a loaf at freshly made sourodough bread and some cherry balsamic vinegar.''

Here our  few shots around our space...

this is our back yard

so peaceful

even the weeds are pretty here

Home Sweet Hone