Monday, July 26, 2010

The Shuffle...Please Help

It's that time again folks. Actually, I am running a bit behind, so you must forgive my urgency. The cancer walk is just around the corner, and like previous years, we are walking it. However, I am in need of some donations to keep our team going. It's a flat donation, nothing by the mile or hour, just whatever you may feel comfortable giving. $5, $10, $20, $100. I do have to say though, that if you are interested in purchasing a luminaria, they are $10, but that can be included in your donation. So say you wanted to honor/remember 3 people and you are donating $50. Then $30 of the donation would come out of the $50. Get it? It's kind of a tricky thing to explain at times, so I hope I did it justice.

Anyway, most of us have been touched by cancer one way or another. You have, simply by reading this blog and knowing that I was diagnosed 6 years ago with breast cancer, and 2 years ago my dad died of Lymphoma. But I am sure you could count on your hands many times over other that have been fighting the cancer battle. And how is it possible for the battle to be fought? By the American Cancer Society. AKA: The Shuffle. We have been walking The Shuffle for the past 9 years, raising money for a good cause that at the time we didn't know we would need.

Please help us help others.....write me at flaskafive@yahoo.com if you are interested in donating. I will email you my home address and together we can help those who really really need it. You guys are the best!

The Deadliest Catch

I'm not sure why I have such an obsession about the death of Phil. I watch these tough men weep at the lost of their friend, and I weep with them. I can't get enough of the show. The one we watched last night had to do with a documentary of the men who document the crabbers. Ironic sort of. But it was good. To watch Phil write when he couldn't talk that there has to be an end....ugh.....he was such a decent guy. I know that I am acting like I knew him personally, which I didn't, but I just really liked him. He worked side by side with his kids, and demanded that they worked to their highest capability. They didn't get breaks because they were his kids. But you could see how much he loved them, and they him. I wonder what the show is going to be like next season.

We miss you Phil. A lot.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

I Never Could Juggle

I am finding myself getting more and more stressed as time goes on. I sat on the couch a few days ago, wondering how I was going to get everything done that needs to get done. Ironically, on my Laundry List, was laundry. It never ends. Never. It just grows and grows, until one day the laundry room explodes and I have no choice but to do 500 loads of laundry. And that's not even the worst part. Putting it away is another story. But, after tonight, I am happy to say that once again I can see the floor of the laundry room. For now.

I am feeling the pressure of getting stuff done around here and at my mom's house. My sister and I have been the ones packing things up and moving them to storage. My mom gets emotional because she is unable to help. I keep telling her that I can't do what I am doing without her there to direct me on what stays and what goes. And there's a lot of stuff. I spent time in the garage, finding all of the things my dad had stored away.....like 6 of the same screw driver set. And tools I have never seen before. And holiday decorations. Many of them. My dad loved the holidays for the simple reason that he loved to decorate. Halloween was his favorite.

Most of the plywood on the addition is on the addition. unfortunately, there is a section over the existing house that needed a tarp on it. We had strong rain today, and part of the tarp was blown off. That area is located in the laundry room. Hence the laundry getting done today. It got a little wet.

Yesterday I got the dumpster loaded with old siding and other junk ripped off of the house. It was dirty work, but here's how I feel about that. I was sweating. A lot. But I loved it. I love the feel of sweat rolling down my face. It is the sign of a honest, hard day of work. If I could have a job where I did stuff like that all day, not only would I be skinny from sweating all day, but the pain would feel so good. Odd, I know. I need to get back to the gym.

Tomorrow is the last day of the basketball camp the girls are attending. Day one was a challenge. Claire wanted to quit. I wouldn't let her. She wants to take gymnastics (again...she quit that about 2 years ago), but I told her that if she couldn't finish the commitment of basketball, she could not sign up for gymnastics (again...reminder, she quit the first time). It was a rough first day, but she stuck with it, and is actually having a good time. Today she made 8 shots in one minute. Nadia made 3....she is pretty short so the distance to the basket is so high for her. She was happy though, since she only got one yesterday. I originally thought I would take those 2 hours they were at basketball for myself. To do whatever I wanted. Go where ever I wanted. Just me. Alone. Except for the fact that I love to watch them play. I sit in the gym for the 2 hours they are there, and watch, and beam with pride. I can't help myself. It's just that I enjoy watching them play, more than having time to myself.

So that is that. I am getting tired, and to be honest, Wipeout is playing on DVR and well, that show is awesome. Good night, and big balls (if you watch Wipeout, you had to see that coming, right?).

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Fran

It had been a while since I had been to Fran's blog, I am embarrassed to say. Fran was called to heaven last month. Please keep her friends and family in your thoughts and prayers.

She was a fellow breast cancer kid, and it's wrong in so many ways.

So many.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Volcanos!

Yesterday we went to a wedding of a friend of ours who works at the same company as Dion. It was beautiful. I was talking to another friend there and we discussed that after getting married, going to weddings has a whole new meaning. And it does.

We also talked about the coveted Vegas trip. When we went on our honeymoon, we stayed at the Treasure Island hotel, which was awesome, but next door to us was the Vegas Mirage Hotel. If you have never seen the volcano erupt, you certainly must, and can do so here. The way they were able to set up the lighting and water is so cool! I am so pumped to see it again, but this time take my super awesome camera to take super awesome pictures. They also play music and the water shoots in the sir to the beat. It's so neat! I can hardly wait to see it again. It's pure magic.

The Mirage is a pretty cool place to hang out and hopefully we will be able to. There's so much that I want to see and do, but have to remember that we will only be there for a few days. Being that it is a work trip, we have some things that we have to attend for Dion's work, but who could complain about that? MAN! I wish it were sooner! I have never been good at waiting.

So, while we are there, does anyone have any other suggestions of things we have to see? I know I want to go to the pawn store from Pawn Stars.....I HAVE to meet Old Man and Chumly. HAVE to!! Dion said he won't stand in line with me, so looks like I'm flying solo for that, but dude....totally worth it!

Friday, July 09, 2010

It Makes Me Giggle....

....that my mom has a Facebook account. Not sure why, but it does. So find her and ask to be her friend! She will get a kick out of it.

So on the agenda today was moving ceiling tresses from the top of our driveway to the bottom. Ugh. I am a tad sore, but we got the job done. The addition is looking pretty awesome. If you're friends with me on Facebook, go take a look in the mobile uploads.

The past few weeks have been about friends and family. I took the girls to my brother and sister-in-laws house. That was about a 6 hour endeavour, including a stop to eat. From there we went to a college friend's house and hung out for the night. It was fun to watch our kids play together for the first time. They all got along really well, which was cool. From there we went to my college roommate's house for the night. Again, a good time. We got back on a Thursday, and were supposed to head to Hayward WI for a little R & R at the company cabins. Claire had a 105 temp in the early early morning. Dion took her in. They tested for strep and mono, negative for both. It was a virus. We didn't go. We held off for a day to see if she got better, and she did enough to go. It was great. The girls went inner tubing for the first time. I sat in the back of the boat, clenching onto one child, watching the other in the water like a hawk. Nadia's saying the whole time?

"FASTER!"

She loved it. Claire liked it, but Nadia loved it. But, at 4 in the morning, the day we were to leave, Nadia was up with a 104 temp. Same thing. A virus. We went home, and shortly there after, Dion had the same thing. I have survived...so far. Fingers are crossed.

Ok, I am watching After the Catch our of the corner of my eye. I have seen this one already, but Phil dying this year has really affected me. It's almost an obsession. I love Catch, and it will never be the same again. So, instead of watching out of the corner of my eye, I will give in and turn off the puter and watch. RIP Phil.

Saturday, July 03, 2010

Some Fun Changes

Did you see? Did you see? I found a little time to mess around with my blog and make some changes! Unfortunately, I somehow managed to lose the tickers for the girls and my marriage. Might have to work on that to get them back. But I do like the design, and the fact that there is a link to my Flickr page. Sweet.

One more thing, a while back I wrote about how stem cells are able to be harvested from adults. One of my high school friends who has the type of cancer my dad had, recently was given a stem cell transplant from her brother. Thank God for technology....prayers that the transplant worked.

Ok, off to make more changes to the blog.

And Then it Was July

Wow....hey June.....where did you go? I can't believe that it's July already! Of course, the weather feels like July. It is hot today! My in-laws have been doing a road trip of sorts, and sent Dion a text saying that it was over 100 degrees in Vegas while they were there. Now THAT is hot. Speaking of Vegas, it will be in a mere 9 months or so that Dion and I will be going. I told him I want to take a trinket to the pawn shop featured in Pawn Stars. How awesome would that be?!?

When Dion and I were in Vegas for our honeymoon, we had a lone $10 bill after winning a little and we decided to put it in a $5 machine. We spun once...lost. We spun again, won $10. We spun again....lost. Hmmm. We spun for a last time.....won $100. Cash out. Thank you very much Vegas. Of course they are coming up with more and more online casinos if you prefer them. From what I have seen you can go to Online Casino Pedia which has all there is to know about online casinos. So if you're into that, then you may want to read up on the Top 10 online casinos just as an FYI. Always good to do some research on things before you do them.

A popular place to visit on the Online Casino Pedia is at the Casino King. I peaked around on there, but also found this video that shows some of the games available. It was pretty cool to see how the games work, and if nothing else, enjoy the music that accompanies it. I felt like I should have been in a spa, the music was so relaxing.

Anyway, I am pretty pumped about going to Vegas. I am sure it has changed a lot since we were there...it always is changing. Dion doesn't like to play the games like I do, but maybe I can talk him into slipping a $10 bill into a $5 machine again. Maybe we will cash out another $100. Or maybe not. It is called gambling after all.....