What a way to spend a Thursday!

Lisa was sad that she was being

forced to move back home and leave

her new friends. Lisa's apartment in Mobile. (Yikes!!)

My first time to pull a trailer ~ interesting experience. Good thing I didn't need to see out the back!? Lisa was happy when we were finished. I, on the other hand, was not amused.

Now we had to get it home, unloaded,

and find a place for everything!

That may take a while.

In an earlier post I told you about Lisa and how Christmas hit her hard when she had to spend it alone. After the Christmas shopping rush, Old Navy started cutting back on everyone's hours. She dropped out of school this semester and if she isn't in school we aren't helping with housing. Those couple or three days a week at Old Navy just weren't enough for her to make it on her own. She is back at home with Buck and me and will be out looking for a job next week ~ any offers? I don't expect this to be a permanent thing but with the economy being what it is ~ it may be a while.

Old Geezer?

I snapped this photo after a recent rain (three days of rain). The bridge is near our house and only one vehicle at a time should be on it. The other day "tourists" stopped on the bridge, got out and were looking around ~ just minding their own business. Buck was driving that way that particular day. He waited and when it became apparent that they were in no hurry to move he drove onto the bridge, forcing them to get in their vehicle, and back up. I know when he gets old he is going to be one of those old geezers that does whatever he wants and the rest of the world can just deal with it. Those of you who know him ~ you're nodding right now, aren't you?

Blue Eyes

Eyes of blue,

So clear and true.

Do you see me,

As I watch you?

I see the twinkle,

And I know,

I will only love you more,

As you grow.

We're going to the dawgs!

Chloe is a chocolate lab and according to Buck one of the best duck dogs EVER. We got her from Will, our nephew, when she was one. If you look closely you will see she is going gray. Will named her Chloe so we kept that name for her. She has started to show signs of arthritic joints but she can still run with the little dogs.Kaycee is a chocolate lab. She is gun shy and afraid of thunderstorms. She wouldn't make a very good hunting dog but she is a good companion for Chloe. They share a kennel and when it is extremely cold they share a travel box. She was named after a friend Lisa had in Wyoming named Kacey.Stripe ~ Buck's birthday present from Kim and fam last year. He lived inside for awhile but couldn't quite get the hang of going OUTSIDE to pee. He lives outside now and is a great little guard dog. According to Kim, he is a full blooded MUTT. He has a predominant stripe on his head ~ hence the name.

Riley ~ Lisa's puppy "surprise" when she came home last week. She had him inside her apartment but he is going to learn to be an outside dog now that he is at our house. He is a German shepherd/something mix. No idea where the name came from.

Now you know all of our pets. Chloe and Stripe are Buck's dogs and Kaycee and Riley are Lisa's. Guess who gets to feed them???? (Here's a hint. . .it's not Buck OR Lisa)

Buck's EKG was great yesterday.

There will be some adjustment to his

medication but that was to be expected.

Monday Morning

Random photo of "Buck's Pizza" in Mobile

Buck went back to work today after a "talk" from me about not overdoing it, not lifting, not getting over tired. He has an appointment for an EKG and INR today just as a check-up.

Which leads me to today's question. Why is it that when you call a doctor's office they never answer? No matter what time of day I call the Clinic, I get a recording. And then you have to wait to hear back from them not knowing if they listened to your message! Buck has an appointment at 10 or 11. I wrote down 11 ~ he says 10. Now I have to drive to the office to ask them. If I call, it may be noon before I hear back and it would be too late for either of our times. (I win ~ it was 11)

As for me? I am off to see the wizard ~ gotta get back in the zone! I was doing well with my workout program and diet until we went to the hospital last week. Sitting around and doing nothing ? I gained 5 pounds!!!!

FM(B)N

Happy Birthday to Buck!

I Love you!

Lisa's moving home

We moved from Alabama when Lisa was five years old. She never went to public school in Alabama. Her first school was Wagonwheel Elementary in Gillette, WY. The children played outside UNLESS the wind chill was below zero. She didn't do ballet or gymnastics. Lisa is our basketball/soccer girl. People in Wyoming thought she talked funny ~ being from Alabama. When she was in the third grade we moved to Fort Smith, AR. People there thought she talked funny because she was from Wyoming.

Lisa ~ Boogie ~ LuLu ~ Nibz

When Lisa was a senior at Northside High School, Buck got a job in Jasper, Al. She was not thrilled. We stayed in Fort Smith until she graduated and then joined her dad here in Alabama. Lisa went back to college at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway where she had a GRAND old time! Then the doubts came. . . .

I don't know WHAT to do!!

She lived for a summer in Little Rock and one week into the semester at Pulaski Tech, she moved home. She worked and went to Bevill State for a semester then the wanderlust took a bite out of her once again. "To MOBILE", she said, "that's where I want to be."

This was supposed to shock us?

She got a haircut and sent this photo ~ YIKES! She went to school there at Bishop State and came home for Christmas the weekend BEFORE Christmas. She went back to Mobile to work and spend Christmas alone. Most of her friends had "family" things to do and while she was invited to dinner somewhere, it just wasn't the same as being with her family.

It's all good!

Now we are at another crossroads. She wants to move back home and we are happy to have her. We have always told the girls they can ALWAYS come home. She is not in school at this time and Old Navy has cut back on everyone's hours so home sounds pretty good to her right now. . .no rent, no utilities, no cable bill. . . you get the picture. So, Lisa is moving home ~ probably next week.

Updates

Not to take anything away from it being Jennifer's birthday ~ just wanted to update about Buck. He is home and will be resting here for a couple of days. His cardiac ablation went well. Now he just has to recover from the whole process.

Also, baby Chris has gained 3 ounces! That's good news!

And again:

Happy

Birthday

Jennifer!

JLNW

Happy Birthday Jennifer !!!!

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday dear Jennifer

Happy birthday to you !

Today is your birthday and I hope you are remembering the good things about growing up in our house. I know I wasn't always the best mom but I'm hoping you are overlooking the grumpy days and remembering the fun times ~ learning how to water ski, going to the mountains, traveling to the beach. We love you Jennifer Leann Nibler Willenbrecht. You are a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit. I hope you gift arrived? We'll talk to you sometime today.

Riddle me this. . .

Today we have a new president. Barack Obama is all about helping America get out of debt, right? So why not skip the parties and the parade and pay a bill with that cash. What? You say that isn't his money? Well, why not ask those who are paying for the billion dollar blow out to contribute to the bail out instead.

Oops! Did I do that?

Update: Buck's T.E.E. went well and it is a go for tomorrow's Ablation. He is sleeping now ~ kind of like the truck in the picture. He SAID he was awake during the test and could hear everything being said but he has been in and out ever since. If I talk to him he is fine but if it is quiet for two minutes ~ he is gone again to la la land. Ahhhh narcotics! I'm sure in the morning he will tell me "I didn't sleep a bit" but we'll all know the truth ;-)

Itty Bitty Baby

Hurrah! The test post worked!
I have a cousin named Tim Brown. He and his wife,Leigh, had a baby boy on Friday January 16th. He weighed in at 1 pound 6 ounces. I think they have named him Chris? They say the next 48 hours are crucial.

Good ole boy ingenuity

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you ~ that is Jakob in the SNOW!

And here's one of Topher ~ also in the SNOW!So ~ Thursday Kim called and said "I'm sending you a couple of pictures to show you what the boys have been up to." I was not expecting SNOW! One of her students had gone by and told her that his dad was making snow and she should bring the boys by to play. He hooked his air compressor up, pumped water from their pond and was shooting it into the air. Needless to say, his house has been popular the last couple of days. He still has it running because NOW he is afraid to shut it off because of the water in the pipes.

Ain't that a kick in the head?

Today is Saturday and like hundreds of other people in the world I got up, wrote out my list of things to accomplish today and jumped in the shower. I hustled down to the post office to get a birthday gift in the mail to Jennifer, stopped by the bank for an ATM run, and dropped off a prescription at the pharmacy. "AH" I said to myself when I glanced at the clock, I have time to visit with Mother and Daddy today. We enjoyed our visit and I was out the door and on my way. I picked up my prescriptions ~ had a discussion with the pharmacist and journeyed on. Jakob and Topher had a basketball game today so of course I went to cheer them on. Leaving the gym I decided to forgo the victory lunch and headed to Wal Mart. IT WAS A MADHOUSE!!!! The weather person on the radio told me we may be getting a little sleet tonight and MAYBE a snow flurry tomorrow. "That's cool" I thought as I searched for a parking place. I ended up taking one about three slots from the road! Inside everyone was a flutter. All the check out lines were busy ~ with people waiting two and three in a line. All of the self scans were busy. All because we MAY get some sleet and a flurry? PEOPLE PLEASE! We may get snow but it will be gone in a couple of days. . .Do you really think you need four loaves of bread and three gallons of milk? Southern snow stays a couple of days at the most, usually and leaves behind mud and slush for a couple of more after that. I haven't heard of any blizzard warnings! As I sit here at the computer and sip my tea all I can say is. . .

Ya gotta laugh!

Heart to Heart

i carry your heart with me
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;
and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)
i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
ee cummings

Do you wear your heart on your sleeve? Have you been accused of being hard hearted or heartless? Has your heart ever been broken? Do you carry those you love in your heart even when you aren't with them daily?

Buck and I have learned a lot about the heart since December 2007. His heart is about to have a new experience. On Monday January 19 he will have a TEE so they can look at the health of his heart. On Tuesday January 20 he will have an ABLATION to his heart. He will come home on Monday but will spend the night on Tuesday. They will snake a wire up from his groin to his heart, pass it through to the left side, burn the vessels causing him to go into AFIB, then pull it back through and do the same to the right side. The procedure can last from 4 - 6 hours. Dr. Hanna is known for keeping it around four.

We have been married a great number of years and he is my heart. Pray that God holds him in His hand.

Answers

Question 1: How many times do I answer my cell phone during a day? If we are talking calls, about ten. If we are talking texts, about twenty.

Question 2: What would you find in my refrigerator? Bagels, cream cheese, eggs, the ingredients for a salad, milk, yogurt, some grilled chicken, condiments, juice. (I should go shopping!)

If you want to post but don't want to register you can post anonymously. Just type in the word above the box that is shaped or sort of out of focus then click Anonymous and Publish Post. Had to walk Buck through it yesterday. He wanted to comment on the girls' blogs but didn't want to sign up for anything.

Going to the doctor with parents today ~ y'all have a good day!

Any questions?

Sometimes as I sit here at the computer I wonder who is reading this. I would love to hear from you. You can comment by clicking on "comment" at the bottom of any post. Are there questions out there about a Tuff Old Bird from Alabama? Buck called me that once and I took it totally as a compliment. It means I have been through a lot and come out on the other side ~ still kicking. I am going to try and get my scanner to working properly so I can share some OLD photos with you. Some of our children and some of people you may not know but who mean something to me.

Have a blessed day.

The Progression of Magra

"You are going to be grandparents!" What a joy to hear. Over the next months we discussed what he or she would call us. Our girls call my parents Mamaw and Papaw. They called Buck's parents Granddaddy and Nana. So what were we going to be? Buck was happy with Granddad and that has been his name from the start. I thought Grandma would go nicely with that and after Jakob was born we even had a vanity tag made for me. Jakob had other ideas. When he was learning to talk ~ somehow Grandma turned into Magra. The rest, as they say, is history. I am Magra to all the grandchildren and actually it is kinda cool cause I am the only Magra I know ~ makes me unique. Thank you Jakob.

This was my first grandmother tag.
After Topher was born Magra to the second power seemed appropriate.

(Kim is a Math teacher)

After Sarah was born, I had to explain this one to lots of people.

This tag meant I have 3 grandchildren ~ DUH!
This is the tag I have now.

We have four grandchildren ~ two boys/two girls.

Jakob, Christopher, Sarah and Claire

Miscellanea

What? You don't recognize Jakob??
Cheers to you Shaw **

Coleman, do you expect us to believe you're an angel??

Miscellanea ~ a group of things brought together as a collection.

This is my day for miscellanea. When we were in elementary school Wanda wanted to be a Girl Scout. She didn't like it and quit. When I was old enough to be a Girl Scout, Mother wouldn't let me because she assumed I would quit also. Maybe that is why I was a Girl Scout leader for all three of our girls? They have a song "Make new friends but keep the old. . .one is silver and the other gold" I have a couple of new friends I hope to keep until they are gold. Shaw and Coleman are technically my cousins but who says we can't be friends as well? They are the sons of Terrell and Veronica and great huggers. Shaw called me one night after I bought some fruit from him to help the FFA at Oakman. We talked about school and video games. I should make a date with him to play sometime. Maybe he could teach me some tricks. Coleman is quieter but I think he may have a sly streak ~ you know the type ~ all sweetness with a little wicked smile just to keep you guessing.

Today is catch-up day for me. Holidays are nice and I like it when Buck is able to take a day off but MAN does it throw my routine into the dumpster! Gotta roll with the punches, right? I've started yet another diet and exercise program. Buck is pushing for me to quit drinking coffee because it makes my heartbeat speed up. I have no bargaining chip for that one. He is doing great with his diet and has given up lots of things he enjoyed.

We had supper at Ruby Tuesday the other night. They made the mistake of giving us one of those survey things. Our service was TERRIBLE. The food was good once it got to the table but we had plates and glasses stacked on the table and ended up bringing home part of Buck's food and my baked potato that didn't come out with the rest of the meal. Buck saw the survey and said "that was a mistake Hahahaha"

I've been saving cans for Jakob to build a robot. That's one of those projects he is going to do with Kim. They are going to put a motor inside so it will move. In the meantime, he has fashioned a suit of cardboard for himself. Pretty cool, huh?

Guess I should get up and doing something about the things I should have done yesterday - laundry, paying bills, vacuuming ~ woohoo!