It's never enough

Our dogs seem to never tire of playing and jumping. I guess that is one reason the Boxer breed is called the clown of the dog breeds. Our two certainly fit that bill!

Here is Joe with a tomato of all things. Sophie just must have it.





Fooled again!





Must get tomato, must get tomato, must get tomato





Hey Sophie, The Flying Nun called and she wants her habit back!





See that stick Sophie is picking up? That used to be our pecan tree Joe planted last spring. We had a hard freeze then and now Sophie plays with the truck. It is a huge stick!











Mom, why do those dogs always run around? Look, one has the pecan tree in her mouth. I'm glad I am a horse.



The bad thing though about Sophie's big stick is that she went between a small tree and Joe with it in her mouth. It knocked him to the ground. But my husband is talented. You see he had just picked some of the first tomatoes from our garden and he saved all 3 of them that he was holding. Oh, and he was ok too. We ate the tomatoes last night for dinner. BLT's yummy.






The garden is coming along great. Can't wait for fresh corn!

The New Kids on the Block

Meet Mia and Aubriella. They are the newest members of our family! They are not identical twins but aren't they beautiful? They live in Ohio along with their parents Amy and Jeremy.



I think she is saving up for the winter. Look at those cheeks!



Here is the happy family. Joe and I have a trip planned for the middle of July depending on what the doctor says about my radiation treatments tomorrow. Joe is so excited he can hardly stand it!

Vehicle Shopping -- Somebody's gotta do it

Joe and I decided to get away from the house this morning so we went to town and went vehicle shopping. My 1999 Camry is a good and reliable car but since I drive 40 miles per day to and from work it is probably a good idea to start looking. We started on the south side of Paducah and ended up on the west side (I think, I am no good with that stuff). We hit almost all of the dealerships. Now, mind you, we were just looking. Not at all ready to purchase one. The first sales person was very nice. It was a Kia dealership and this guy was fairly young and new. Normally I have an instant dislike for any type of car salesman but he was nice, not pushy at all. I like that and I liked Adam. We got a look at the Kias and left. The next dealership we drove through and didn't even stop. It was a Honda/BMW dealership and we didn't see anything we were the least bit interested in.

We went across the road and immediately a sales person came out. Joe made sure that every sales person that we came in contact with knew that the vehicle we were going to buy was for me. The man at that dealership shook my hand but that was just about all he said to me. He kept talking to Joe. I hate when that happens. The guy assumed, apparently, that any decision making would be done by the 'man' of the house. Uh, excuse me, you were told that the vehicle was for me, you know, me, the woman actually looking at them, doing the math, looking at the features. Ok, so he had already gotten on my bad side by acting like the 'typical' car salesman. I walked around the lot very much interested in looking inside several vehicles but guess what? They were all locked. I got pissed off again. How are you supposed to look at something without sitting in it and being able to feel it out. What they want you to have to do of course is have a sales person get the key for every vehicle you want. Uh, no. Not interested. (I should have had him fetch several keys at one time then said I was no longer interested!) I walked back to where Joe was talking to the narrow minded person called a sales rep. and I asked "why are all of your vehicles locked?" He said that is what they do. I said "well, I was interested in some but since they were locked I am no longer interested." By the way you are a chauvinist pig asshole and I wouldn't buy a car from you if you were the last dealer on Earth. Ok, I didn't saw that last part but I surely was thinking it.

We left and went down the road to the Ford dealership. Joe wanted to look at the 2008 Focus. Yuk, puke, nasty, tasteless, ugly, gag a maggot. They even had one in a horrible green. The guy there was nicer and actually talked to me so I hated it that I didn't like his cars but that was what I told him. Joe asked "Do you want to drive one?" I said "no, I think they are ugly, I don't like them at all." Then I said "sorry" to the nice sales person.

We left there and headed to the Toyota dealer. We had a nice salesman there who was honest, not pushy at all and left us alone until we saw something we wanted to test drive. We drove a Toyota Scion. It was black on black and a really cute little car. Good gas mileage and not too bad of a price for a new vehicle. We both ended up not liking it, just too little. We couldn't even see the front of the car while driving. What I really want is a Toyota Tacoma. I love them. I want a king cab with big ole tires. I have wanted a pickup truck for a while now. We have one but it is an 88 and not easy on the gas wallet. I guess I will have to wait until the next time a vehicle is purchased to get what I really want. A few years before I retire I will buy one so it will be paid off before retirement. Once again I guess I will get a sedan. Anyone have any good ideas for a new or late model vehicle that is an automatic with good gas mileage? I am looking for something around $16,000 or so.

I need all the help I can get!

TGIF!

I am so glad it is Friday. This has been one heck of a week for me and my family. I am looking forward to a somewhat quiet weekend. We had some rain last night but I swear, I never heard a thing.

Annie looks like she has spied something good to eat.



I have to admit the garden is looking really good this year. I went ahead and harvested Mr. Holmes. He just looked like he would keep growing and growing eventually he would be in the next county!



I took a bag of fresh squash, Mr. Holmes, some banana peppers and bell peppers to Abby's house early this morning. It was way too early for her to be awake but I still wanted to peek in the window at the little darlin, but I didn't. It would be my luck a neighbor would call 911 and then I would have to explain it all.





I'd best not put any more pictures of the garden today. My daughter has the local loony bin on her speed dial no doubt.

Just kidding of course. I was glad to finally be able to get some answers to my question regarding this cancer I have been diagnosed with. I saw my PCP yesterday and when I told him what Dr. Zic at Vanderbilt told me he looked just like a little kid clapping his hands close together and grinning from ear to ear. Everyone should have a Dr. Turnbo. He is just wonderful. He referred me to a doctor in the area that will take care of the radiation treatments. Before we walked out of the examining room he gave me a hug. I swear, you just don't find many doctors like that anymore.
I will see Dr. Lockin next Tuesday at 8:30am. I was so thankful to be able to have an appointment soon. I am anxious to know when and where and how long and all the other things I need answers to! Joe and I are planning on going to Ohio to see our new grand babies the second week in July and I am afraid this is going to interfere with those plans. I am torn on what to do because we really want to see the babies but also I feel that the radiation needs to be done asap. I will wait to see what the doctor says.

Thank all of you for your wonderful words and prayers. I really do appreciate them. I am so grateful for all that I have.

This one is about Me

Today I had an appointment with a specialist in Nashville, Tn at Vanderbilt. You see, about 3 months ago I had a spot (looked more like a large zit) on my nose (I know....attractive huh?) Anyway, I went to my PCP and he thought he had gotten all of it out but within a week it was the same so I went back to him. He decided it was a cyst and referred me to a dermatologist. That doctor did a punch removal of the core of the cyst and that was send off for evaluation. Eight weeks later.........do you hear me? Eight weeks later I was told over the phone that I have been diagnosed with T-cell Lymphoma. Needless to say that was a hard thing to swallow, especially since I was told this possible devastating news over the telephone. To make a long story a bit shorter I was referred to Dr. Zic at Vanderbilt. In the meantime, before my appointment in Nashville, my PCP Dr Turnbo (my hero) ordered a complete CAT scan with contrast from head to toe, literally. That testing came back as normal which was a giant relief. But I still would not believe it until the specialist, Dr. Zic said so. Well this morning about 9:30 Dr. Zic said so. He said that it is a very treatable cancer. Looks like I will have 2-3 weeks of radiation to my nose. If all goes well I will not need to go back to Dr. Zic for 2 years. What a relief! There have been lots of prayers going upstairs for me and I appreciate it.

Dr. Zic said there are all kinds of T-Cell Lymphomas out there. Mine is quite rare. He compared it to about 3 people out of 10 million would have this particular type. But the main thing is that it is treatable and also not hereditary so my kids have nothing to fear along that line.

So I will see my wonderful PCP Dr Turnbo tomorrow afternoon and get everything set up for treatment. I am so lucky to have found this early, had it seen about early and got into the specialist within 3 weeks. All in all everything pertaining to this scare has been blessed. I thank The Good Lord above for that.

I just wanted to share with you what has been going on the past few months with me. I am so thankful the outcome was good. We have every reason to believe it will be treated and gone.

I've been saying it and I say it again............Life is Good!

Running and running

I think it is wise to say my girls get their exercise.



Splish splash!















Yep, they love to run and I love to take their pictures! Life is good.

After the ride

I intended to post some pictures of what the equines did IMMEDIATELY upon being unsaddled. Steph and I were both snapping pictures!




Look at the bottom on that sorrel!




I can't say that I blame them though. Their backs were soaked from where the saddles had been. We fed them and went on into the house to make some dinner. I don't remember what Steph ate or if she even did but Joe and I had BLT's with homegrown tomatoes! I think I could eat one every day of the year as long as it has a GOOD tomatoe on it.

Mother and Daughter

Steph and I went for a nice long ride yesterday afternoon. I was afraid it would be too hot but there was a nice breeze blowing and we completely enjoyed ourselves.





I love this trail.




I was hoping for more pictures but it is a bit difficult on horseback. Especially if you're like me and it has been at least 2 months since you have ridden and also that same 2 months that your mare has NOT been ridden. But Jones did really well. I was pleasantly surprised.



I love the view from atop a horse. Stephanie did take one picture of me. Albeit not the most flattering. Please excuse my cowgirl hat. I was trying to keep my face out of the sun. I did apply sunblock but that dang sun found it's way through anyway!



And what's up with my neck? It must have been the shadows because I don't have a football neck. I really don't! I don't normally post pictures of myself so this is rare for me. We were gone for about 3 hours. It is so nice to live where we do because we can go on trails, on the road or explore field after field. We did attempt to go down an old road that shows on a map but it is not at all a road anymore. We got a ways down it but then had to turn back because of a fallen tree. We attempted to go around it but could never get back down to the road. We ended up going through the woods which was just as much fun. I couldn't believe how well Jones did. She is only 6 yrs old and has not been ridden much in her life. She didn't spook one time and was a dream to ride. I am grateful to have her in my life.