You CAN teach...

an "old dog" new tricks!! Jean and I had such fun tonight at our "Photoshop" class! Jamie Curierre, our teacher, was so patient and taught us so many fun things! One technique I have been wanting to learn was how to turn a photo into black and white and then highlight certain parts of that photo in color. Here are my finished products...

"K" and Papa

Our other "K" with Santa

"L" ...don't you love those big brown eyes?!

I'm getting T A L L E R...

I think I might be 6 feet tall by the time I return home...this is what I get to do every time when I go to physical therapy. The picture doesn't really show the "vice" that screw into my neck and the weights that hang down behind the pillow! :0) As crazy as it looks, it actually feels really good!!
(Note...just in case you're wondering, I found this picture on the Internet!) :0)

Why ME?.....

Picked up a "bug"....must be a "desert bug!" But, the good news--when I'm laying on the couch feeling "not so great" I can look outside at the green grass on the golf course (beats that "white stuff" I would be looking at up north!) And, Jean is taking VERY good care of me!! :0)

This is me.....

Hoping for a better tomorrow!!

Mother Nature played a MEAN joke....

In my last post I told you how happy we all are that March has arrived and we are loving life "sans" snow? Well...scratch that...Mother Nature decided that winter wasn't quite finished here and decided to dump 4+ inches of new snow in the past couple days!! :0( This morning was a BLIZZARD! I'm NOT exaggerating, I even came across a semi truck stuck---tires spinning---when I was going to the mall this morning!

So, lucky for me, I'm "outta" here tomorrow...heading to Phoenix for a little R&R!! My neck/arm/shoulder are feeling better (pinched nerve root was the final diagnosis), thanks to the steroid epidural injection that I had last Thursday. It will continue working to shrink the nerve root and in the meantime I'm all signed up for physical therapy in Phoenix! (Jean, my sister, came up with this brilliant idea...I was thinking I would have to stay here for PT, but we checked it all out and my insurance covers me down there, so YIPEE!!)

Here are some fun pictures from this past week. "A" reading the Sunday comics to "K", what a great big brother!!

"K's" basketball team, coached by her Daddy. They had a great season...7-1-0!!

More later from the "sunny south!!"

Hello March, we've been waiting for you...

Most times of the year you would NOT find me celebrating "brown grass," but today this brown grass is making me smile!!! Looking outside this morning makes me SO HAPPY!! We can finally see the grass!! The snow is gone, can tulips be far behind?Lest you forget...we had a lot of serious melting to do....

In the B L I N K of an eye....

On February 27th, 7 years ago today, this little guy "was placed into our arms, and fell into our hearts!" Our very first grand"son!""A" brings such joy to our lives just be being himself!! He reminds me so much of our boys when they were little! He loves.... LEGOS, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Wii, riding bikes with friends, drawing, and so much more!!

As his Nana, I only have one concern....he is growing up WAY too fast!! In the blink of an eye he went from that tiny, new baby I loved to rock and snuggle with, to this handsome first grader!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, "A"!! We love you!!!

S O W....

My winter "get-away to the sunshine" in getting close!! This time of year I have had about all the snow... cold... gray skies... coats... gloves... wind chill... and all those other things that go along with winter here in the beautiful inland northwest that I can take, and I am heading south to Phoenix for 2 weeks for a little R&R in the sun! Believe me, it is just what the doctor ordered for Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression or winter blues!! I don't seriously think that I have SAD, but I do think I have "SOW"---SICK OF WINTER!!! :0)

But, my trip to Phoenix isn't all "fun and games"...I will be working, too!! :0) I'm going to teach a scrapbook class at my sister, Jean's, house. It is a fun, mini-album called "We Are Family!"

Update on shoulder/arm: I started PT yesterday, and even though I felt crummy last night, I "think" I felt a little better this morning! I know that PT isn't going to be a party, and I'm hoping after 4-6 weeks I'm going to be good as new!!!

Time flies when you're having fun...

There aren't too many people I know that would choose to visit us during this time of year, but Jean wanted to see snow, and she wasn't disappointed!! Mother Nature treated her to all kinds of fun---snow, wind, sleet, single digit temperatures...all the things that make our winters different than she is used to. At her home she just has the same old weather day after day---sunshine, warm temperatures, blue skies---boring!!! :0)

Sunshine or snow....it's always lots of fun to be with your sister...Here we are a few years ago! :0)

But, who can blame her for wanting to get back to fun times like this? Here she is at her pool! :0)
(Not sure who the guy is....could it be that "open relationship?)

Storytime...

As a Kindergarten teacher, one of my very favorite activities every day was reading to the children. I LOVE children's books...I used to get as excited as the kids when a new book club order would arrive at school---a big box from Scholastic or Trumpet was always cause for celebration!!

Now that my Kindergarten teaching days are behind me, I can still have a great time reading to children at my grandchildren's preschools. I love it!! 3-5 year olds get SOOOO involved in the stories---today one of the books we read was "Chicken Little" and one little boy told me about "his version of Chicken Little where the sky really does fall and out pop aliens with red eyes and pointy claws, and they run all over chasing kids!" And, he was so serious! :0)

Jean and I had a great time, as always, reading to "R's" preschool class...we even remembered cameras so we could record this special memory!

I Know....

Jean keeps reminding me that I need to "update my blog!" I know that I do, but my shoulder is still hurting and my fingers are frozen (below 0 outside tonight is the prediction!)---so, those are good excuses, right?!

We are going to read to "R's" preschool class tomorrow morning...I will take a picture of Aunt Jean "reading" to post here tomorrow!! "R" had a special request for Aunt Jean to come and read, it's a tradition when she is in town!! Oh, and we can't forget to take cookies...that's a tradition, too! :0)

More tomorrow, hopefully!!