Yep, it’s true! And I will be the first one to admit that I AM HAPPY!
I am happy that I survived my illness from earlier this year.
I am happy that I have so many friends and family members who love me and care about me.
I am happy that I get to live at the Grand Canyon for six months out of the year.
And I am happy that I have such cute, loveable grandchildren!
What are happy about today?
Well, now I have to confess my dirty little secret. Ever since my surgery, I have only showered once a week because I was afraid that my ostomy pouch would come off from getting wet, and I would have an awful leak. So, last night, I went on the Ostomy Support Group forum at Inspire.com and asked how people manage to shower with their pouch on. I love that support group, because whenever I post, I get so many responses, so fast! I got ten responses in about three hours, all with very helpful information on how to get this done.
Today was my “Practice Living A Normal Life” day–I decided that I would get up and follow my pre-surgery routine. I’m glad I did, because where it used to only take me about twenty minutes to shower, wash my hair and dry it, and get dressed, it took me about forty-five minutes this time. That is very good information to know for when I go back to work on August 15th.
After getting all cleaned up and dressed up, I went outside, and got myself into my truck all by myself, and drove over to pick up Gaelyn from GeogypsyTraveler. We had made a date to go out to the Grand Canyon Lodge for breakfast. I was about to cry because it was my first social activity since coming home (except for walking over to a potluck a couple of weeks ago). I can not tell you how important this date was to me!
And yes, when bloggers go out to eat, they take pictures of their food. I had a great breakfast of gluten free pancakes, fried eggs, crispy bacon, and cottage cheese. I am soooo glad that the Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon offers gluten free choices on their menu.
And yes, I took pics of my friend and breakfast companion, too. She is one of my best friends in the world. We had a lovely visit, with good food. What more could a girl ask?
After breakfast we went window shopping at the Gift Shop. I loved this T-shirt, it was 100% cotton and was soooo soft! Thinking about getting one when I start working again.
I loved this ceramic platter and pitcher too! I can just imaging that pitcher full of good ol Georgia sweet tea, and a platter full of fried catfish and hushpuppies! I think they would look fabulous sitting on my dining table as a centerpiece, too, with a bouquet of flowers in the pitcher. But, alas, I left them both in the store.
I really loved this metal work “rug”! But yikes! $950 for it. If I had been working all season, I would be buying it for my house. Yes, it is still available in the store because I left it there.
And really, if I had that much money to toss out on one of these beautiful pieces of art, I wouldn’t be able to choose. This one is so beautiful, too!
After perusing the gift shop for about half an hour, we left without either of us making a purchase. But, it was fun to get out of the house and live a normal life for a couple of hours.
Sarah, my granddaughter, is 13 and a half. She lives in Tennessee, and I am in Arizona, so going shopping with her is something that just doesn’t happen. Unless, of course, we are both looking at the same website, and chatting on Facebook at the same time.
I was looking at Oasap.com, a site that has some cute clothing. While I can’t wear the styles they offer, I was sure that Sarah would find something she liked. So, I gave her a $40 budget to “go shopping”.
I had asked her if she liked this Blue Pony Laptop Shoulder bag:
But wow, was I wrong about what I thought she would like. She picked the Glossy Silver Ruffled Shoulder Bag instead:
If you like fun, funky, cute clothing and accessories, check out Oasap.com. They have quite a variety of clothing, bags, shoes, hair accessories, and jewelry at affordable prices. Do you shop with your grandchildren?
Have you ever been to Imperial Beach, California? In 2004, we went on a family vacation and really had a wonderful time! You can read about it in my guest post over at Hotelcoupons.com.
This was just about as close as Amelia would get to Great Granny.
Look at my bunny, Granny!
Michael with his chocolate bunny.
Great Granny helping Owen open his Hot Wheels.
Seth, Alan, Linda, Michael and Fabgrandpa.
My son brought his family over to our house today, and what a fun day it turned out to be! Owen found a caterpillar in the yard. He was in little boy heaven:
Amelia spent much of the day refusing to have her picture taken. “No, Ganny” . End of story!
Michael spent much of the day outside, poking sticks in the fire ant hills and watching them race around. I’m glad he wasn’t bitten by any of them. Late in the afternoon, Seth and Sarah took the two little kids back to the motel for a nap, and Michael, Fabgrandpa and I headed over to my mother’s for a little visit. We met up with the rest of the family for dinner at Cracker Barrell. (I had grilled catfish, mashed potatoes, turnip greens, and pinto beans.)
Owen sat on the other side of me. He has been very social and talkative during this visit. I was saying to him “Give me just on little kiss” and he was laughing:
Emily and Spencer were at the other end of the table:
Michael is such a good big brother! He helped Amelia play checkers with Owen after dinner.
We took lots of pictures outside on the sidewalk in front of Cracker Barrell. This is my daughter-in-law, Sarah; me; my daughter Becky, and my daughter Emily.
And here is one of the guys:
And here I am with my oldest grandson, Michael. When did he get so grown up?
It was soon time for us all to go home and get some rest. Amelia was conking out pretty quick:
Tomorrow, the kids and grandkids are going to the park for a picnic. Granny and Poppa are staying home, since it is hot as blazes here already. It was almost 90 degrees here today! I can not believe it is that hot already in April! We’ll all meet up at my mother’s tomorrow night for dinner.
We have exactly five more days before we leave on our trip to Arizona. And I have so much to do and so little time to get it done! I am excited about getting on the road, but anxious because I am not ready yet. And on top of getting all the little and big things done that need to be done, my son and his family just rolled into town with my grandchildren for a visit!
They are staying at a motel in our hometown, about 45 miles away. We just don’t have room in the trailer for five more people, and there is no furniture or hot water in the house. Tonight they are going to visit my mother, and my daughter-in-law said that Owen is so excited because he thinks he is coming to see ME!
We spent today running errands in Carrollton, about 30 miles away. There was a Fedex package that needed to to shipped, the unemployment office to fill out some paperwork, to the library to pick up some IRS forms, Wal-Mart to get some prescriptions filled. There is still a long list of things to do, places to go, and packing to do, but they will all have to wait so we can visit Owen, Amelia, and Michael while they are here.
Tomorrow we’ll go to Douglasville and find something to do with the kids and grandkids, and go out to dinner with the kids–Becky; Emily, Tommy and Spencer; and Seth, Sarah, Michael, Owen, and Amelia. That’s not really all of them, and we’ll miss all the ones who can’t be there with us.
Sometime before the end of the week, we’ll need to run up to Cedartown to go to the bank, get some groceries, and last minute things for the trip. And our neighbors want us to come over and cook out with them before we go! Can I possibly fit it all in???
Last week our friend, Richard, came to visit. He has been one of my co-workers at the Grand Canyon for the last three years, and is a native of Michigan. He has been traveling since mid-February, first to see his daughter in Kansas and then his son in Texas. He dropped by to see us on his way home. I have to say that Richard is one of those people who you just like from the get go! He’s lots of fun to hang out with, whether it’s on the job or not.
He cam bearing gifts, too! He remembered that my maiden name is Stroud, so when he visited Stroud’s Restaurant in Kansas City, he bought me a t-shirt:
We took him around to the points of interest in Haralson County and surrounding areas including the West Georgia Museum and the Lock & Dam park up near Rome. But mostly, we just sat around and talked and ate and laughed. It was a great visit!
As soon as Richard left, our dear friend, Terry, who lives in Tennessee, arrived. She and Richard probably passed each other on the road. Terry stayed a couple of nights, and we took her out to eat at the Backwoods Steakhouse. She is also one of those people who makes us laugh. My face still hurts from smiling and laughing while she was here.
We are expecting to see my son and his family next week, and that should be good company too. They are opting to stay in a motel in town because we don’t have furniture or hot water in the house yet. But we’ll see them for the better part of three days while they’re here, and I’ll get to hug and squeeze the grandchildren before I have to go west to go to work.
What have you been up to?
