A little bit of this & that...

It's Not Easy Being Green...

Paul has wanted to convert to solar for the longest time, but I was reluctant because I am NOT a fan of the look of solar panels.  Yes, I know...being green should be more important than my vanity, but nonetheless...I think they are ugly!  Long story short, we were out & about & stumbled onto this company that used low lying solar panels that weren't too noticeable, so I finally agreed to them.  Quite honestly, they are on the side of the house & you can hardly see them unless you walk to the edge of the property.  Win-Win!  I definitely like our electric bill these days!!!

While installing said solar panels, one of the guys put his foot through our ceiling from the attic...really?  How do you not know that you can't put your weight on sheet rock?  But they were good about it & sent someone out to fix it...

You know this guy loved that I kept taking a picture of him...

Good as new!  You can't even tell where it was!

Sew Beautiful...

I got to spend the day with our #1 granddaughter, Adia, trying to fix this fancy dress for a formal event she was attending.  We were able to find the right color of sheer fabric but it was a little stiff & it wouldn't stay pleated & lay flat.  It took me way longer than both of us thought it would to fix & unfortunately, it still wouldn't stay the way we were trying to do it.  Later, I found this gem on my phone...I love her!

Luckily her G'ma Gloria was thinking along the right lines & was able to fix it for her a few days later...isn't she lovely?  She needs to stop growing up!

Road Trip!

I met my brother in Modesto & we took a little road trip to Bakersfield to see Mom & some Harwell Cousins who were coming to visit her...

We stopped by to see his daughter (my niece, Carrie) & her new Cross Fit "Box"...she is a crazy fitness nut, PE teacher, & coach...not to mention she is drop-dead gorgeous!

Her husband & her siblings all came together to help her open Cross Fit OD in Bakersfield & it is doing quite well!

Ben & Carrie

It has been a labor of love & a family affair that has brought these two sisters closer together to make this dream come true...Kristi & her entire family are totally onboard with Carrie's Cross Fit Team!

Brandon & Kinzie, Noah was hiding from the camera!

We met my cousins at Mom's for dinner...we hadn't seen each other in years!  Mom was so happy that they took time to come & see her...we spent the evening laughing & crying & comparing notes - remembering what it was like to have the Harwell Boys as our fathers.

My Uncle Bob's girls; Marsha, Donna, Me, & June

My Uncle Carroll's daughter, Carol Jean

The next day, my nephew Sam brought is new little Princess Leia by to meet her GG'ma...

I was so happy I was there to get my snuggle on with this little beauty!

I stayed most of the next week with Mom & I was really glad to be there with her to hear a little good news...

You may or may not remember that my mom had radiation treatments before Christmas for her lung cancer.  Evidently the radiation continues to work in your body several weeks after the treatment is administered.  I spent the week going to different doctors regarding different issues, among them was a follow up PET Scan to determine the results of her radiation treatments...

According to the radiologist, her PET Scan "looked good, virtually no activity.  1/2 the size it was, probably scar tissue."  She'll need a follow up PET Scan in about 4 months to see if there are any changes.  This was the good news we had hoped to hear.

She also had a bone marrow biopsy.  Thankfully, there is no sign of cancer but it was determined that she has MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndrome).  Basically this is a severe anemia where her blood doesn't generate adequate red blood cells, leaving her extremely fatigued, light headed, & adds too her difficulty breathing.  She is receiving a couple of Epogen shots to see if this stimulates red blood cell production & improves her blood count.

She has been pretty stressed & worried, but seemed very relieved to learn that the radiation did what we had hoped it would do.  They have also adjusted her medications & she is back to her normal activities/routines & is feeling so much better!  Thankful for blessings & answered prayers!



He sent me flowers...

...granted, via the internet, but since I wasn't home to see them in person, it was nice of Paul to send me a picture of them!  That counts, right?

Boise...

I went straight from my mom's to visit  Ty & Christi in Boise.  They have the cutest little apartment & they are pretty excited to be parents in September!

While Ty & Christi went to work, we headed over to the Boise Temple - this is one busy little temple!  We even saw an old client of Paul's & we chatted with them for a bit (they took this picture for us).

Ty came home for lunch & took us back downtown with him while he finished up a few things.  We walked around downtown Boise, Ty showed us the Arena where he works, & we went to dinner at Tucano's Churrascaria - Brazilian Steakhouse.  I was so busy visiting & having a good time, I didn't even bust out my camera!  I did snap these on my phone - blurry as they are...

Thanks for a great time you two!

A Bittersweet Day...

State Farm has updated their logo.  When they do things like this, they want you to remove any evidence of the old logo & discontinue using it.  Well, that meant that we finally had to replace the Middleton & Middleton sign that has been on top of the office for some 35 plus years...I love that sign!  It reminds me how Paul & his dad officed together all those years.  I'm sure Mike appreciated his name on the sign, though, since he's been officing with Paul for over a year now!

The "giant head" had to go, too...

Benara...

We try to catch Ben & Dara for dinner once in a while, too.  This night we met at Santana Row for dinner at the Yard House & Pinkberry for dessert...

Well that catches me up to March & it's already May!  I feel like Dory from Finding Nemo - "just keep blogging, just keep blogging, just keep blogging, blogging, blogging."  I do enjoy it - it's a fun way to capture my personal history.