Soooo....

[AllyOops!]

I wanted to pop in and say hi..

It's been almost a month since I last posted. My beloved Grandfather died suddenly a few weeks ago. He was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer (Glioblastoma) about 7 months ago, but was in remission. His tumor hadn't grown back yet, he was no longer undergoing chemotherapy or radiation, and was feeling wonderful.

Ironically, he was in an accident and died. Prior to that, I had been in the hospital. As I came out of my brief coma and was released, my Grandpa slipped into his. Talk about a whammy.

We just had his funeral on Memorial Day weekend, on the anniverary of my
best friend Robin's death. Like my other Grandpa's funeral (he passed away last May) it was absolutely touching, beautiful and a celebration of his life that he would have loved more then anything.

I have lost somebody I love every month of May for four years now, this being year number four.

It has taken me awhile to decide if I wanted to share something so emotional. However, being that this Board is relatively private and filled with all of the wonderful people that I love, I wanted to share. (I learned the hardest way never to open myself up.)

I hope everyone is well.

~A

[Drince88]

Sorry to hear about all your hard times {{hugs}}

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by AllyOfTheDolls

I wanted to pop in and say hi..

You're ALIVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


{{{{HUGS to my Allybell!!!!!!!!!!!}}}}

I'm all for anialiating the month of May

[Prudence]

Wait, YOU were in a coma? Are you okay? I'm sorry May sucks so much for you. My loss month is December. Make sure you get lots of hugs -- real life and virtual.

I'm currently at home on the couch -- one cat on my legs (reluctantly moved aside for the laptop) and one cat buried under the blankets falling onto the floor.) And based on the feeling in my face, it's time to move from the Alazo-something or other to the Oxycodone something or other. All I've done today, aside from the procedure, is nap. Grrrr. Hate groggy.

[wendybeth]

(((((Ally)))))

I'm so sorry about your grandpa! I was wondering where you were, but I had no idea such things were going on. Take good care of you, and let us know how you are doing!

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Sending good vibes your way Ally!!!


I'm back from my trek to Colorado. Oh, I could talk about it, but it's too ****ed up to even get in to.

But...

So my Niece graduated. It was a real emotional ride, I'll tell ya. I had been her "guardian" from 6 months to about 4 years old, so there's always been a "parental" connection.

But...

Now, like her mother, she's "with child" and is now living with the boyfriend and her best friend. Anyone see a Jerry Springer episode in this one?

I am so dumbfounded its unbelievable.

Unfortunetly it's a repeat because when my sister had my neice, she was the same age and had a boyfriend, who took off, leaving her a single mother. My neice has had a tough time and I am SO surpised she's fallen into the same "trap." Plus there's another 120 pages of other similarities and history, that I won't get into, of course.

So. She's old enough to decide for herself. I'm just the concerned Uncle.

Sad, so sad.

[Ghoulish Delight]

So, today was quite the productive day for me, though not as productive as initially planned. I had hoped to be up at the crack of dawn to bring my car in to the dealer for an oil change (it's got a unique filter that I don't trust the Jiffy Lube morons with), but being up until 2:30AM coughing ruled that out. If I remember correctly, my exact words to CP as she tried to wake me up off the couch on her way to work were, "Screw it."

So, after sleeping blissfully until noon (something I never do, and boy was that sleep long over due), I got busy. Started with dealing with the pile of papers. I didn't put quite the dent in it I had hoped, but I took care of the necessary bits (paying bills, getting documents files). The rest is mail, birthday cards, etc. that mostly needs to be sorted through and trashed. Since the mail carrier had already come and gone, and I wanted to get a couple of those bills out today, I took a trip to the post office. Running out of stamps anyway.

Then I tackled the kitchen, it was time for a good scrub down. That took a good hour and a half.

Finally, I washed my car. I was kinda counting on the free wash from the dealer had I brought the car in. Damn. Oh well, it's clean now.

So, now I'm trying to find the energy to drag my laundry to the laundry room. It's sorted and ready to go, but those stairs are looking mighty long at the moment. And knowing my luck, all the washers will be in use.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Hope you are feeling better, GD.


Today has been pretty cool. We had lunch at a really nice Mongolian BBQ restaurant. Can't beat a $7.50 buffet of mongolian. After that, a little browsing at the mall and then home to find out that the ants arrived.

Yes, that's right. I said ants.

I got Matthew an ant farm for his birthday. He's always wanted one. You have to send away for the ants though. Six weeks later, they finally arrived. Feisty little critters, they are. You refrigerate them for 15 minutes to sort of knock them out so that you can get them into the damn farm. Well, they started waking up halfway through the process and we became ant wranglers for a short time. Luckily, we finally got them all inside and got the cover put on before they were able to escape. No easy feat, I might add. It didn't help that they are big and can bite. We escaped injury however.

So Matthew has got his trusty magnifying glass out and a stack of ant literature. That should keep him busy for a few hours.

[Baileykat]

Ant farm...brave you are!!!

We started our day at 7:00am...which went over well since we've quickly come into the habit of staying up til 1:00 or 2:00am (all of us! Kat's the best at it!).

Took the limp noodle that is my daughter to cheer practice followed by tumbling...then lunch at Hooters. Kat's choice! She loves to eat there! Orders wings with Hot version of the sauce. Sat out on their patio, they had the misters going, a wonderful breeze. I had an Amberbock and chicken strips in wing sauce...great lunch! We had great service...say what you will about the place..but the servers are always super nice to the kids when we're there...

Then it was off to Micahel's. Bailey bought a book of basically arts and crafts..but they are all Witchcraft/Sorcery related..kinda Harry Potterish. Very cool stuff...make your own Sorcerer's Hat, wand, amulets, rings, potions, cool candy (rock candy) etc...

It's a very cool book that he bought with his own money..of course I've been bugged for a week with questions like..."Do you have any copper wire?" "Do you have 2 quarts of corn syrup?" "Do you have anything made of iron you don't need?"

So it was off to Michael's for supplies...tonight it's Wizard R Us!

[Ghoulish Delight]

Hmm, where is this Mongolian BBQ of which you speak?