The Real World of Cyndygee

THANK YOU ALL!!!

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 16:50:50 GMT

EVERYONE,

I can't thank you enough for sending me all of the graphics to be used in Positive Pals!!!

Lisa Jo, thank you so much. You came through in SPADES!!! How generous! She's probably sent almost a hundred blinkies and tags!

Inafrnz AKA Chelle has also sent a bunch and Kathy AKA One Strange Cat has sent a TON!!!

Also, thanks to Lisa, mzgoochi, Valphish, TreesRGreen78, and Rhonda, who helps me with EVERYTHING I DO!!!

I am in GOOD SHAPE on tags thanks to all of you. J-Land is truly a GREAT place! ;-) GOD BLESS!

KEEP ON DANCING!

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 19:28:10 GMT

On those glorious days when you CAN dance, I HOPE you do!

When your children are playing ballerina . . . I hope you can be silly and invent a tutu and join in!

On those days when your daughters are playing RING AROUND THE ROSEY . . . I hope you'll put down your purse or dusting rag and join in the circle.

The loss of the ability to just enjoy the incredible feeling brought on by any kinetic activity is the beginning of growing older . . . AND I wonder if it's not the end of being able to move the body with greater fluidity.

The point is KEEP MOVING . . . your body will thank you for it!

I HOPE YOU KEEP DANCING!!!

Some Days You're The Cat, Some You're The Mouse . . .

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 09:21:48 GMT

Some days you're the mouse and some days you're the cat. You're nails are sharp, you're quick, and you got it goin' on! Some days you're just trying to get by. LOL!

Some days it seems like everything just comes easily.

If you're having ONE OF THOSE DAYS I hope that you'll be a little bit more understanding, kind and sympathetic to those that feel like they are the mouse today. Try to be a bit understanding of those that are struggling a little. Try to remember what failure feels like . .. and have some compassion.

Enjoy your GOOD DAYS, but not at someone's expense . . . because what comes around . . . well, you know.

Have a FUN weekend!

THINKING GOOD THOUGHTS . . . MOSTLY

Mon, 03 Jul 2006 15:03:23 GMT

I am focusing on the healthy and positive. My back is much better. I'm moving around pretty well. Thank God!

Life is so funny . . . ironic, really.

One of the ways that I usually re-injure my back is when my dog comes into . . . ummmmm . . . season, and has to wear those silly little pants. I'm down there messing with her pants and then it happens . . . Ow! The back is out again!

I don't REALLY want to spay the little Maltese, Avie, because she is such a beautiful little dog . . . and quite frankly, we aren't made of $$$ and as much as we love these three dogs . . . we are DETERMINED for her to have at least one litter of puppies . . . to help pay for Checkers and Avie TO BE SPAYED, dog food for three dogs . . . dog treats, toys, vet visits, and the JOY of getting to ENJOY the puppies . . . it's just the BEST, so MUCH fun, but your back can't be like mine is right now . . . well, you see what I mean . . .

So, here I am just after my back has been OUT and I spent several days in bed this time . . . and yesterday I discover that I'm in for a round of changing her little denim pants several times per day. LOL! This is SO bad for my back. I have only been out of bed two days!

I try to count the hours and figure when she needs to go out . . . and I'm pretty good the first couple of days, then by day three . . . well, my back usually gets a bit of a work out . .. which isn't going to be good this time around.

Why don't we have her become pregnant this time around . . . well, mainly because my back isn't strong enough to take care of the puppies . . . see? LOL! This all is sort of ironic, isn't it?

I am praying that I make it through this . . . I'm BELIEVING that I can be careful enough . . . and I won't zig when she zags . . . and wind up back in bed with my fiance over here 24/7 again.

YOU NEED ONLY BELIEVE TO BECOME. Say it along with me . . . . I can do this . . . she only weighs NINE LBS. Who's the boss here??? LOL! Well, that's kind of part of the irony . . . ;-)

Have a great day!

TOO MANY HOUSES

Tue, 27 Jun 2006 22:12:04 GMT

My fiance's house has been on the market in a great school district for about four . . . maybe five months now. It's a lovely established neighborhood that's near parks and close TO THE MALL . . . yeppers, I said, MALL!!! Gives me a sudden urge to move, but it goes away when I go look at all the boxes out in that garage!!! Nope! A smaller house is JUST FINE . . . easier to take care of and less expensive to maintain.

I can't imagine being in the market for another house . . . with children . . and NOT wanting HIS. It's lovely and thanks to the total devastation left behind . . . we could hardly walk in there the first few days after the previous tenants evacuated . . . they had a couple of dogs INSIDE and they must have done EVERYTHING inside. You get my drift . . . WHEW!!!

GEEZ LOUISE, I've got three dogs and I HONESTLY don't think you'd know it if I took them for a car ride while you visited my house . . . I mean, the barking is the only thing that would give it away!!! That's pretty obvious! LOL!

So. my point is that this house is LIKE NEW and it has been seen by maybe eight to ten families . . . and NO, I have NOT gone over there and made bread or cookies just before a families arrival. It's 110 degrees here . . . so . . . no one bakes . . . Well, EVERYONE BAKES . . . but they don't DO any baking.

Because the previous tenant tore it up, it's like new NOW . . . ALL PAINTED, NEW TILE, NEW CARPET and he's dropped his initial asking price by about ten grand.

What's wrong with this picture??? It is frustrating and draining. He's got plenty to do without trying to take care of yet ANOTHER yard . . . etc.

I am rather baffled. I know that the economy isn't GREAT, the housing market is a little soft . . . but this is turning into quicksand. It's the time of year for the FOUR BEDROOM home that's been reduced and is lovely to . .. sell, sell, sell!!!

I really feel bad for him because he's done so much work. It's so frustrating. He takes care of the one FOR SALE, this one, his mother's, and there's a cabin!!! Something's got to go!!!

BUBBLE TROUBLE!

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 13:04:25 GMT

BUBBLE GIRL

Pretty bubbles. Blue, pink, green, like glass. Lighter than air, beauty and class.

Shakes and shimmers like Jell-o. If bubble should break, let them know! "Prosecution for removal from pheres?" WHAT? Wait! That wasn't made clear!

These are SEA bubbles, unlike soap. They WILL BREAK, I have no hope. On the dark side of the moon. No air. No water. MUST leave soon.

Blue, pink, green - bright and clear. SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF HERE! Oxygen's nearly gone. Breathing shallow, something's wrong.

Had the chance to speak your piece . . . .

Long before I HAD this LEAK!

QUIET!

Signed,

Bubble Police

WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO MAKE TIARAS?

Fri, 16 Jun 2006 16:04:06 GMT

No Mommy, . . . you're NOT listening. I REALLY DO want to RULE THE . . .

country . . . and I've got some GOOD ideas!!! I know I can make it a better healthier place for KIDS!!!

"But MOM! I have better YOUNGER FRESHER ideas on how to run this country and she's going to lose a lot of votes wearing that dumb TIARA! I will do BETTER AT RUNNING THE COUNTRY . . . so, are you ON BOARD?"

"No way . . . to ALL of you. The three of you SAY you'd take turns running the country . . . then, in a couple of weeks, after you're TIRED of it . . . . I'd be doing THAT, tooooo! NO! NONE OF YOU ARE RUNNING . . . AND . . . that's my FINAL ANSWER!"

"Now, there's no 'i ' in team! Here comes Sister! SMILE!"

"Well, Mommy, is there an 'i' in tiara??"

"Now will you help me to get her to stop wearing that thing 24/7? Can I count on both of you???"

SIGHS . . .

MELANCHOLY MOOD

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 00:41:27 GMT

It's a late Sunday afternoon and due to handling my pain meds patch wrong this morning . . . wasn't sure if I had the pain med side or the other side . . . got a little too much medication in my system (it'll come in through the hands if not applied to the back immediately). One patch stays on the back for three days. I am still adjusting to these patches, although I think they're a bit easier on my system OVERALL . . . and using duragesic patches gets one out of the habit of taking pills SO frequently orally . . . which will help me to eventually come off stronger pain meds. They aren't perfect, they do have their DOWN SIDE (no pun intended)!

So, my mistake caused me to lose most of my day. I don't sleep enough usually, but today I slept most the day away. Now, I'm awake and Steve needed to get back over at his mother's to take her shopping, and then he stays there on Sunday's. He's so great to jump from one domicile to another to help an invalid mother and semi-invalid fiance. He does SO much. He's a very loving, good-hearted person. The kind you seldom meet in REAL LIFE. What a blessing he is in my life. He checks on my parents more often than I do. This older couple who has never trusted easily have quickly come to trust him like he's one of their own. He kids with my mother who has suffered so the past couple decades of her life. Steve can make her smile.

She often sees him and holds out her arms like a little girl when Daddy walks in the room. "Give me a hug!" she'll say, happily. It's miraculous. It's been a reminder to me that miracles happen EVERY day! She delights over the dinners he makes for my parents. She knows that when her husband and Steve are in the room . . . all's right with the world, at least for a little while. She's safe for a little while.

I want today . . . BACK, but that's a feeling I used to have frequently when my back was REALLY BAD, when the painwould be so bad that I could barely get up to use the restroom . . . and those were days that I was so grateful to feel my cool sheets and the support of my bed under me again. I wasn't at ease trying to walk . . . knowing a killer pain could hit at any moment, nearly bringing me to my knees. I've been much better, but I still deal with the different medications and med changes . . . and what they do to me.

This afternoon is a melancholy reminder that we all have a finite amount of time here on earth. It's SO important to make the most of it. I'm playing with the dogs and wishing I'd gotten up early . . . wanting back my day . . . the part that I was dreaming, sleeping, seeing myself 100% normal . . . younger, walking tall and straight. Wanting ALL the hours that I slept away while Steve was here back to do OVER, to do RIGHT!

If I would have rested better during the night, we might have taken the dogs back to the greenbelt area we found.

We took them out and drove around and found the greenbelt about two weeks ago. We wanted my sweet little dog, Avie, to FEEL grass . . . feel it, smell it . . . experience it! REAL GREEN SOFT GRASS! She is eighteen months old and because we have desert landscaping and natural landscaping at the cabin . . . this little dog had NEVER run on grass and the little pads on her feet are so dainty and easily bruised if she runs too much in the rocks in the backyard. The dogs had slowed down in general because it had started to get really hot, but that day wasn't bad.

That was a good day . . . a day about opportunities taken!

Here is a shot of Avie with her cheerleader's bullhorn. She LOVES toys . . . they're like her PROPS, to make her more adorable, more irresistable. She often comes to me begging . . . oh, so subtly, a giant soft pink squeaking bone in her little jaws. LOL! Oh yes, she's about as subtle and unsure of herself as a locomotive.

You should have seen her the day she first set paw on REAL LIVE GRASS! She walked a few steps, looked down, started trotting, then broke into a RUN! I mean she ran like she's never run before!!! She was staying down low, trying to keep up with her bigger taller sisters! She took a tumble or two trying to turn . . . it was so new, but she LOVED it! She was in love with this soft green stuff that felt so good under her paws!

She would run back to me panting hard, but wouldn't stay long before she'd see that Dad was a long way away and the other dogs were getting to run and if she didn't GO . . . NOW, she might not have the chance to run on grass again, to feel that wonderful feeling of soft green grass under her pads and the wind blowing through her fur! Her ears occasionally billowing out like a little ship's sail. Yep, she was the S.S. AVIE, FREE . . . FREE to fly across the grass! It's a beautiful sight to see an animal enjoy feelng their body move and feeling the JOY in just being ALIVE!!!

She took EVERY opportunity to run . . . and run some more . . . and came home SPENT.

I carried her in the house and she took a gulp of water, then did the splits slowly, allowing the tile to cool her tummy and allowing tired muscles to rest.

She was soon asleep . . . and before long I heard little bitty half-barks coming from her direction . . . she'd jerk just slightly, no doubt barking at Dad . . . . barking at her sisters . .. just one more run in the grass . . . just ONE MORE! If only in her dreams!

Rest well, Avie!

GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS REQUIRE BIG DREAMS

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 14:08:09 GMT

. . . .and a pair of REALLY HIGH HEELS wouldn't hurt!!!

He he!!!

That's one of the things that I LOVE about my fiance is how he REALLY digs in his heels when someone tells him that it can't be done . . . or that he's going to need a LOT of help . . . LOL!

He is NEVER unpleasant or angry . . . he just smiles and goes back to work with a look of even GREATER determination.

I've seldom seen him back down from that KIND of challenge. He knows what he knows. He's great at figuring out solutions to problems. He has been doing it for years. ;-)

I think we often allow others to TELL us what WE can or can't do . . . based on . . . what THEY think. KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW . . . AND SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW.

Don't allow the defeatist to keep you from holding on to your dream . . . reaching for the stars sounds a bit strong . . . but the SKY ISN'T THE LIMIT.

We overcame the stars long ago . . . and we have MILES TO GO BEFORE WE REST.

JUST LOWER YOUR HEAD, DIG IN YOUR HEALS . . . AND (DON'T GET ANGRY) . . . JUST THINK OF A DIFFERENT WAY TO ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOALS!

I learned that from my fiance . . . and he ought to know. HE IS A STAR!!!

I love you, SWEETHEART!

HELLOOOOO JUNE!!!

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 15:36:56 GMT

. . . AND WELCOME TO JUNE, 2006!

June 20th is the Summer Solstice and longest day of the year. That's the day that the earth's North Pole is tilted closest to the sun . . . but you knew that! It's also the point where our calendar year is just about half over . . . WOW! The glass of 2006 REALLY IS half EMPTY ~ any way you look at it!

The years continue to get shorter as we prepare to start THIS summer in earnest, but we know that the lawnmowers have already been buzzing and some areas of the country have already passed the century mark repeatedly, even though it's only the first of June. I happen to live in one of those BOILING beige states . .. but I'm used to it after eighteen years.

As spring comes to an end and we know that the DOG DAYS of summer lie ahead . . .

Did you get outside as much as you had planned?

Can you spend a little extra time working on yard clean-up with the kids before it's REALLY HOT?

Could you POSSIBLY get up earlier for the next few weeks to take advantage of the remainder of these lovely mornings? Take early morning walks with your children? Get out and play with the dog?

How about loading up and going camping THIS weekend? It's sure to be quieter than last . . . and sometimes SHORT spontaneous trips are the MOST FUN!

Maybe you want to plan an impromptu POTLUCK brunch out on your patio with a few friends this Saturday . . . unless rain is predicted in "yer neck of the woods" as the National TV Weather Dude often says

Maybe you want to get busy as a family today and put together a last minute GARAGE SALE for this weekend, giving the kids a per centage to incentivize them to help . . . maybe they could even hold SIGNS directing traffic to your house on Saturday morning . . . they could dig out funny Halloween masks to wear to draw attention. If you're handy you could make a sandwich sign for Spot to wear! Who can ignore a GARAGE SALE being advertised by a Basset??? Lots of GARAGE SALE people are out there cruisin', just looking for a sale where they can leave a few dollars

My son and I did a last minute garage sale when he was 12 and I promised him 30% if he really worked. We still laugh about people trying to buy the containers HOLDING the sale items. He came over and said, "This is getting out-of-control! These people will buy ANYTHING!" We had lots of fun and made about $300 and that was quite a few years ago!

Here's to making this a MEMORABLE MONTH!!!