A-Ron Turns 13 Today

And he will pitch for Texas Tribe. Then the team and some other friends are having a pizza party at A-Ron's!

Update on the rumble...both boys had their suspension reduced to one game...which took place yesterday.

Grandma J attended A-Ron's fourth birthday in Germany. He had a Scooby Doo Cake, and got a talking stuffed Scooby Doo.

We spent a week a Davey Crockett's Ranch at Disney Paris. The Disney resort that sells real fur hats and toy guns that don't glow in the dark. A-Ron ended up getting the buckskin vest too. The Heineken is not A-Ron's.

He still loves to cuddle with his sister........she's not too keen about it lately.

I love this picture of A-Ron with his mom. And she knows this picture is one of my favorites....and I've got even better ones!

He makes his dad, Sgt. John proud of him with his academics as well as his sports. A-Ron is the man of the family when his dad is deployed.

A-Ron is still a cuddler. JJ is one of his favorites, and so is Grandma J.


You knew this was coming, didn't you? Phillip Johnny Bob went over to cuddle with A-Ron when he had three teeth pulled to make room for his braces.

Happy Birthday, A-Ron. I love you!!

Because You Asked For It

That's right, the final anti-climatic chapter in As Grandma J's World Moves. To be honest, I'd rather tell you about JJ's genital warts the trip I didn't take to Denver, or the one I cancelled to Las Vegas.

Not that any of this is worth repeating, I would like to refresh the whole fiasco in bullet points from day one.

1. Grandma J decides to move out of The Compound to The Spa The names should say it all.

2. Grandma J's neighbor jumps on the bandwagon and secures herself a lease at The Spa. As casual friends, this is not a bad thing.

3. GJ mentions to Deceitful Neighbor, as she treats her to lunch at the appropriately named En Fuego, that she hates moving, and how she'll miss the luxury of her SIL moving her, but with her bad back it's worth it to hire professional movers.

4. The next day, Biotch Neighbor calls GJ all excited.....she thinks her son just might move both of them if they move on the same day. But GJ isn't sure it's fair to the son for Greedy Neighbor to put him on the spot by offering his services. She let's Chimney Smoking Neighbor know she'll pay him $200 which should make the three mile move worth taking a day off from his job at Lowe's unloading pallets.

5. The deal is sealed! Then Crafty Neighbor has a bright idea! Since GJ has an SUV, they can help each other move small stuff by using GJ's SUV to move the stuff that won't fit in Nasty Neighbor's car......like room size rugs that have birthed three litters of kitties. GJ said she really didn't think that was a good idea.

6. The next day the Sinister Neighbor calls GJ and says her son would love to move GJ, but he can't do any take downs or hook ups, like washers and dryers, or beds. And no small stuff like drawers, totes blah, blah.

7. So, Grandma J tells Evil Neighbor that maybe this is becoming too much for the son, and Grandma J will just get her own movers...for the sake of friendship.

8. "Oh No!" The Neighbor cackles! "He's really counting on the money, and already spent it."

9. Grandma J, bites her lip just to make it through....with the help of her daughter.

Now....it's moving day. Grandma J calls Sleeping Neighbor at 9:00 AM. What's up? Well it seems Mamma's Baby Boy wants to go out to breakfast to kill time because his helper doesn't get out of school until 11:00 AM. huh?

What the??? Ok, I say to myself, simmer down....relax, there is still plenty of small stuff to cart over. As Grandma J is leaving the old place on her second trip, she sees the truck pulling in....it's a little after noon. She calls Sarcastic Neighbor only to find out the "friend" baled on her Adorable Son...but fear not, another friend is on his way. GJ tells her she has to stay at the new place and wait for the cable guy who's scheduled between 1-5, but she left her place unlocked so the guys can get the furniture....One couch, one dining table (no chairs) one washer, one dryer, one full size bed (broken down) and one high boy dresser (no drawers). Six friggin pieces of furniture.

Lucky for Grandma J, they load Witchy Neighbor's stuff first, which means GJ's stuff comes off first....such a small but sweet morsel.

When they arrive, Grandma J tells Nose-bent Neighbor that there might be another new neighbor moving in because this is what was parked across from her apartment by the units under construction.....

A nice Dodge Ram pick-up with shiny chrome wheels. Irritated Neighbor tells Grandma J that the truck belongs to her poor excuse of a son. A bit confused Grandma J asks why he couldn't move her rugs and big/little stuff. The answer? Are you ready? Hopefully you are sitting down. He couldn't help because his truck is new and he doesn't want it getting all scratched up. In other words he's lazy. BTW, did Grandma J tell you she has a brand new vehicle too?

After all the moving was done, Grandma J decides to hobble to her car and drive to Walgreen's for some thermal wraps. Not so fast! Money Grabbing Neighbor calls and wants to know if Grandma J can stop over and pay for her half of the gas for the rental truck. Gee, can this wait until morning? Well no, not really.....so Grandma J walks over to Arsehole Neighbor's apartment and writes her a check for $12. That's right, the gas was $24 for driving maybe 20 miles, and that's a stretch. Grandma J had a few choice words before stomping off.

Now for the kicker? Yeah, that's right....there is another turd they dropped on my plate.

When her son took my washer and dryer out of the old apartment, he took the doors off and left them off. This is what Grandma J's laundry closet should look like.....

I called No Longer A Friend Neighbor and told her that her Loser Son forgot to put the doors back on, and could he swing by and put them up sometime over the weekend. She bluntly said, NO.

Oh, one more thing, he didn't hook up the washer and dryer in the new apartment...no he didn't. But a friend did.

Now, if you are still awake, aren't you glad you asked? The good news is, this was a good lesson.

The other good news is, Grandma J went to HEB for groceries and bought herself these....

.....and these with a pint of Haagen Daz coffee ice cream on the side.

Amen.

Happy Birthday Turtle!



Her Dad gave her that nickname, and now Grandma J will call her oldest Granddaughter Turtle on her blog.



Don't ask me how this happened, but Turtle turns 17 today. She was born in California, but transplanted to Florida. Even though for most of those years she was on opposite coast from her grandma, we always saw each other often.

This is Turtle's kindergarten picture. One of my favorite pictures of her.

These cousins have shared many Christmases together...

Here's Turtle with Grandma J and her (blind in one eye) dog, Charlie, that same Christmas, (1994)

Connecting for another memorable Christmas and remain good friends .

They have traveled to California from Texas and Florida for summer fun on Catalina Island with their favorite grandma.

Turtle and her dad are best of friends. Her dad even got a small tattoo of a turtle, which makes Grandma J thankful that he didn't nickname his daughter "Princess". I love they way they still hold hands at Disney.

Grandma J's granddaughter loves to surf on both coasts.

Here she is with her dad and younger brother. She's becoming such a beautiful young lady.

The same two goofballs on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe on New Years Day.

I love you Turtle, and I miss you too. So, since I can't be with you in California for your birthday, I want to send you lots of love and a recipe for Turtle Candy. The same ones your Dad buys you every year....but this year maybe he will make you some! Ummm, yeah, let me know if that happens.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BETTY CROCKER EASY TURTLE CANDY

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 2 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Chocolate

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
4 oz Pecan halves (about 72)
24 Caramel candies
1 t Shortening
6 oz Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 300ø. Cover cookies sheet with aluminum
foil, shiny side up; lightly grease. For each candy,
place 3 pecan halves in a “Y” shape on foil. Place 1
caramel candy in center of each “Y”. Bake just until
caramel is melted, about 9 - 10 minutes. Heat
shortening and chocolate chips over low heat just
until chocolate is melted. Spread over candies and
refrigerate 30 minutes.

May I Have Your Attention, PLEASE!

OK, so I tricked you with the naked sign. Sorry, but I just wanted to get your attention for an important announcement.

Grandma J is moving. Not really earth shattering news, right? But she's like actually moving as in eating, sleeping, showering, and cleaning house at a different location. By different location, she means she's left The Compound for The Spa....and there's no turning back. Of course, she's actually leaving Thursday morning because that's when the "movers" are showing up.

I wanted to post a sign, so everyone would know that I may be MIA or AWOL for a day or two. You know, service interrupted. This is the best I could do on my budget........

Just so you know, I'll be checking your blogs on my cell phone, so be careful what you say in my absence but even though it lets me type out a comment, it never publishes them.....ARGH!

Moving One Car Load At A Time

Because, when you neighbor is moving at the same time, and says, "hey, let's get one big truck and my son will get a buddy and move us both."

Grandma J thought that was a pretty nice idea, and said, "I was going to hire movers because I can't be doing heavy lifting with my bad back, but if it's not too much for your son, then I'll pay him $200 but make sure he doesn't mind moving both of us."

It just so happens, the neighbors son is more than willing to move Grandma J for that amount, but it doesn't include the truck. No problem, Grandma J reserves the biggest truck....27'. But getting down to the wire, the rules changed. He'll move furniture only, no boxes, totes, drawers, computers, or other small stuff....

Now, it's all a matter of one load at a time. But when Grandma J's daughter heard that the neighbor's son decided that he wouldn't move small stuff, and no unhooking and re-hooking, or any assembly like beds was not included, she got mad. AND..... he's only making one three mile trip in the truck, well, it made her madder.

She was so mad, she told grandma J to hire her own movers out of the local paper for $60 hour, with a three hour minimum. But that wasn't an option because Grandma J already told her neighbor that maybe it was too much for her son to move them both, and she would hire her won movers....the neighbor said her son was really counting on the money, so it was too late to back out.

So, Grandma J's middle daughter took off work, and came to the rescue.




Loading and unloading all kinds of small stuff. Back and forth over and over....


And no, she's not a professional drawer stacker




And as you can see it really doesn't matter because by the looks of those drawers Grandma J is not a professional clothes in the drawer folder. Seen as she walks past the guest bedroom.




Before leaving, middle daughter wants to show off her battle scars.....


And the ones here, and here......


Especially the ones on her legs. Grandma J knows how lucky she is to have such a good daughter.


Tomorrow A-Ron has a visit to the orthodontist game on his city league team. What should be interesting is how the coach, aka Mr. Noodle, treats A-Ron. That's if the coach shows up at all. This same coach coaches A-Ron's competitive team too. Last Saturday at practice, there was an incident.

By incident, Grandma J is talking about A-Ron beating the crap out of smacking the coaches son for throwing his new cleats over the fence, and then punching A-Ron when he confronted him.

The two boys and coach were suspended for a tournament. Then the coach quit!! Then A-Ron's suspension was changed to just one day. Weather permitting, he will play on Sunday.....his birthday. I'll report back on the Wednesday night game.


* Grandma J does not condone fighting between chihuahuas teammates, or any mates.

* It was 97 degrees here today.

Honoring Our Fallen Heroes

Today I spent a couple of hours at the Veteran's Cemetery here in Central Texas.

United States Senator John Cornyn reminded us that while we honor all fallen heroes today, the servicemen and women who serve our country today are volunteers, willingly putting their lives on the line for our freedoms.


Lt General Lynch spoke about the names of his fallen soldiers that he inscribes in his bible, and how he prays their names out loud every morning. He reminded us that our Soldiers are still fighting a Worldwide War on Terror. He then presented gold metals to children of fallen service men and women, taking the time to speak to each one.

I was lucky enough to shake his hand and thank him for his service. Then he wanted to take a picture with me a soldier with Gen. Lynch asked for my camera, and took our picture. I emailed it to my SIL in Iraq. He will not be surprised!

On a side note....Grandma J has yet to figure out just how much Kleenex is necessary for these events.

It's T Week!

Brought to you by A to Z Mondays. This week I have a special T. At least it's something that I'm always anxious to watch, on the edge of my chair.....even before you can see anything on the TV screen. The anticipation is always exciting for me. Not everyone feels the excitement, but for me, every time is like the first!

The T word is Touchdown

It's the return of this space shuttle Atlantis to Edwards Air Force Base in California. Here is a live picture of it coming in at ten thousand feet.

Three thousand feet...

ON APPROACH! And my excitement heightens!

TOUCHDOWN!!

Welcome home.....Atlantis crew.

Remember our fallen service men and women today. I am grateful for my father's service as an Army Sgt. who landed at Normandy on D-Day, and also fought at the Battle of the Bulge, earning two Purple Hearts. I remember my brother's Naval service aboard the USS Saratoga(CV-60) during the Bay of Pigs, and in the Mediterranean in the '60s. He wanted to visit "Sara" when she was decommissioned in the 90's but his cancer was to swift. Someday I would love to visit the carrier as a museum in RI.

I will be heading out to the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery for a reality check.

Most Wonderful FAVORITE Award

This award was given to my by Grandma Nina. It humbles me anytime another blogger includes me in their circle of favorites.


These are the rules in accepting this award:

Deliver this award to eight bloggers who then must choose and deliver the award to eight more and include the following text into the award.


"These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers."


Now, everyone except Grandma Nina knows that Grandma J is notorious for being a rule breaker. I know, it's not only shameful, but it's close to sinful to even admit it.

Grandma J loves so many blogs and bloggers....all the way from the silly to the logical, even if she has no clue about logic, she knows plenty about silly.

So, with all this rambling.....what she really means is she wants to share this award with all her friends. Don't worry about feeling worthy...I didn't. Just grab it and run, but while you're at it, stop by and say "hi" to Grandma Nina!

I'd Rather Be Sleeping.......

.....or eating, watching a movie, picking my toes or romping with JJ and Phil. Instead, I'm finally loading it up and moving it out. I don't get access to my suite at The Spa until Tuesday, but I finagled the garage door opener from the powers that be today.



So far, I've loaded up and schlepped six loads of stuff to the other side of town today.





This is the fifth load.....ready to leave the dock. I took a break to eat before taking it over to my garage because it was rush hour and a rush hour on a Friday, and a rush hour on a Friday before a holiday weekend. I really planned on making it my last load....but what fun would that be? So, at nine p.m., I decide to squeeze one more load into my schedule because it's supposed to rain tomorrow.


Now, I'm totally pooped! I took a nice shower, now I'm having a nice cold glass of milk. Does anyone else find ice cold milk refreshing? I poured the milk, put it in the freezer before my shower...and it was perfect when I got out.

I'm this tired

And, I'm almost this tired

Good Lord....I can't picture me doing this

But I think I've done this before.