A Nawty Mouser Thots

Star Trek

I just found out last night that Star Trek is coming out with a new movie this Christmas! I've been a Star Trek fan since 1968. I also caught a video on YouTube showing Spock vs Q. It was so funny!

posted by Carol @ 5:34 AM 2 Comments

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Birthday Girl

My young lady turns 16 this coming Tuesday! Being that it is during the week we decided to celebrate today. She invited her best friend and we are starting with lunch at Red Lobster, the movie W, and end with a haunted house!

posted by Carol @ 12:56 PM 3 Comments

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My last sibling

My brother passed away last evening. For those of you that were praying for him, thank you. They think he had a massive heart attack in his sleep.
A few memories from my brother...
As a kid I'd ride in his car. His comment, "Watch me stop on a dime!" as he sped up to about 60 within one block.
Always had the "muscle" car. Not only had it, but knew every thing inside and out about it. He could fix anything!
Rode the coolest bike! Motor of course...
He was funny, quick witted and always had a comeback. He had a heart of gold and would do anything to help you. He would cut you down in truth and bring you back up the same way. He was my protector, he was my defender, he was my big brother.
My last words to him was to tell him I loved him and his last to me was that he loved us too, very much.
Anyone that knows me know that I don't share those words to just anyone... But when I spoke with him Sunday, it felt important to tell him.

posted by Carol @ 8:51 PM 4 Comments

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Things I Am Thankful For This Week

Hugs from friends
Story books
Rocking chairs
Umbrellas
Dish washers
Helpers
Pictures
Soft music

posted by Carol @ 8:49 AM 0 Comments

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Sister Asumpta

Please pray for a dear friend from my past. She passed this morning. She always had a smile and a wonderful attitude on life. I have known her for over 25 years. When I stayed with them she had a beautiful little blue parakeet that she would talk with. "Such a pretty bird"

Sr. Asumpta, may your life with Jesus be filled with wondrous joy. I will never forget your smile...

posted by Carol @ 11:28 AM 0 Comments

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My last brother...

Please pray for my last remaining brother. Diabetes has become very bad in his years. He had swelling in his right leg up to his knee and blackened toes. They said he was 100% blocked in both veins going to his legs. They went in and opened the right, took off three toes and clotting occurred. They then had to take off his right leg up to his knee. He was looking much better after this. His wife said he had more color in his face.

He is still looking at another operation on his left leg to start the process on it. They will start with opening up the vein and we pray that this will be successful without having to remove any more of his limbs.

I am unsure when they will be able to complete this operation as he is in ICU and I cannot get hold of anyone to speak with as he does not have a phone in his room.

posted by Carol @ 11:24 AM 0 Comments

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Must Read

At our CRHP meeting last evening, our discussion revolved around Heaven. During the conversation, one sister mentioned a book she had read. She said that it was the most profound book she had ever read. Unfortunately, she could not remember exactly what it was called, and had loaned it out to someone, but she told us the events that unfolded in this true story. I searched, and after a few hours, I was able to track down the book and author.I actually found an excerpt today from the book. It is called: My Descent Into Death: A Second Chance at LifeBy: Storm, Howard

I intend to purchase this book so I can read the rest and I recommend that all who have the chance take advantage of this opportunity!

posted by Carol @ 11:13 AM 0 Comments

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Question to Ponder...

How do I manage conflict in my family or workplace? Do I first approach the "offender" face to face or is gossip my initial reaction?

posted by Carol @ 4:27 PM 2 Comments

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Things I Am Thankful For This Week...

Beautiful flowers giving seed for next years planting
Butterflies
Friends
Family
Snail-mail
Being able to read
Research
Modern medicine
Informative forums
Clean sheets
Bounty fresh blankets

posted by Carol @ 4:58 PM 4 Comments

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Things I Am Thankful For This Week

A soft gentle rain
Sunset skies
Picnic tables
Calming music
Family pets
Modern medicine

posted by Carol @ 9:00 AM 2 Comments

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Boarding the Ship

This is from the back of the ship looking down upon where they drove our vehicles up into the ship.

After getting out a ways we went down to a lower deck and I leaned out to take this shot. Water, water everywhere!

posted by Carol @ 8:52 AM 4 Comments

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Continuing Back

As we were heading farther north we found that it was going to take longer than expected. We drove all Friday and came to stop at Ludington, Mi where we discovered we could take a ferry across Lake Michigan to Wisconsin! How awesome is that? 60 miles across and saved us at least 14 hours. So the next morning we boarded. This is a shot of the sister ship, SS Spartan. We traveled on the SS Badger.

posted by Carol @ 8:48 AM 0 Comments

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The Trip Back

On the way back, we decided to take a detour up by the Great Lakes. I had not been there before myself and thought it would be a great opportunity for my young lady to experience this with me. We pulled in to this (pay for) beach where she put on her bathing suit and took a dip in Lake Michigan. She said it was "cold!"

posted by Carol @ 8:46 AM 0 Comments

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Nationals

Well, the girls didn't get first place this year, but they sure looked good! My young lady did a two baton performance at the novice level and actually placed pretty high for so much competition. She is wanting to do a flag performance next year. I was told by the judge I was clerking for, that this is something offered in most competitions and to come to March Madness in Kansas City next March. My young lady is very much looking forward to this.

posted by Carol @ 8:41 AM 0 Comments

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Going to Notre Dame

We're headed to South Bend, Indiana again tomorrow. We are going to the National Baton Competition. My young lady's team have been looking forward to this trip all year. They have been working very hard throughout the year and extra practices this summer to prepare.

posted by Carol @ 9:15 AM 2 Comments

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The Hidden Fruit

I have a habit, which I acquired when I was very young, of reading all the signs in front of buildings as I pass them. No really! Sometimes I have to actually shake myself out if it when it seems to become a distraction! Anyway I was driving up 9th and saw a sign in front of a church that said:

The fruit we eat tomorrow is hidden in the seed today.

I thought that was so cool!

posted by Carol @ 11:41 AM 2 Comments

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Update

Sorry I haven't been keeping things up in here...

Mom got her hair done the other day. I went to visit her while I was waiting for my young lady at softball practice. Mom was asking me questions she was confused about. She didn't know why her last name was what it was. She didn't remember being married to my step-dad. She wanted to know if she had any children with him and was worried that she wouldn't be able to remarry. I explained that he had died nearly 30 years ago. Then she wanted to know if she had any children and I told her there were 7 of us but I was the only one around here. She was surprised to hear that I was her daughter and wanted to know why I had not told her this before... Interesting conversation we had... She recognizes me and my daughter and knows our names, but didn't know we were her daughter and granddaughter. She then said she was proud of me... Which I didn't really understand why she would say... But it was nice to hear nonetheless...

posted by Carol @ 10:16 PM 6 Comments

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Things I Am Thankful For This Week...

Old photographs
Flavored coffee
Fresh vegetables
Fresh fruit off the tree
Butterflies
Mailboxes
Guitar straps
Beautiful music to lead at church
Umbrellas
Endless stars in the night sky
Kitchen blenders

posted by Carol @ 10:01 PM 2 Comments

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Flooding

Those of you that know where I live know that we are experiencing an unusual amount of spring rainfall resulting in flooding in from the local rivers. The city has three main routes of rivers running through it. Many places downtown have been evacuated at this time. My young lady and I went downtown yesterday and snapped a few shots. We wanted to go back today but they are requesting that sightseers to stay away. The area that we snapped most of these shots from is now under a mandatory evacuation as the levee broke this morning at 3 AM and they tried to build a temporary levee and as I watch the news I see that it has also been breached.
Oh, just to let you know, we are south of the city and are located up on the crest of a hill, so we do not have concern of flooding here. The extra water has only effected my well so we are drinking bottled water. We are blessed...

posted by Carol @ 9:23 AM 8 Comments

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Freshman Lettering

My young lady lettered in band this year. She was informed that it was unusual for a freshman to letter but after the points were added up, not only did she letter, but she received top points! And to add to this she received top soloist for Jazz Band. She got a letter, a bar and a star to put on her 'eventual' letter jacket.

posted by Carol @ 9:14 AM 2 Comments

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Flying Trampoline

During one of the first storms that came through, the winds got up above 70 mph. It picked up my young lady's trampoline, flew it over the first fence of the chicken yard, caught a fence post on the other side and ripped it apart bending the post over and continued sending the trampoline into the back field to the tree line. You kind of have to look close to see where the trampoline actually is. I would guess it went a thousand yards or so. There are pieces of pipe and springs all the way back there. I found one spring stretched to be at least 5 feet long from the stress that was placed upon it. We cannot clean up the area until the weather allows the land to dry up enough for us to take the truck back and pick up the pieces.

posted by Carol @ 9:04 AM 0 Comments

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Bonfire Area

With the recent inflation of gas prices and the saturation of the ground from rain, two things developed in my yard. I decided to cut down on the amount of land I would mow and I decided to bring up, from low wet area, the choice of bonfire spots to higher ground. The resulting photos show how nice this turned out! I was surprised myself. The tall grass surrounding the little area is almost 'park like' to the beholder! Anyway, here are a couple of shots from my house showing our 'new' bonfire area.

posted by Carol @ 7:57 AM 0 Comments

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Catching Up

I've become a bit behind in my posting, my appologies, but I have been 'thinking' about posting the whole time. I'd see something and think, "Wow, that's something I want to share." Unfortunately, I'd get back and get busy with something else and it was put on the back burner.

Anyway, I'll start catching up with sharing a picture I snapped at one of my young lady's softball games. With all the rain we have been having in the area it was nice to have a beautiful sunny day. My friend noticed this rainbow in the sky and I thought it was a beautiful way to start a new set of posts of the shots I've been taking.

posted by Carol @ 7:47 AM 0 Comments

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Men vs. Women

NICKNAMES
If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

EATING OUT
When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS
A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel from Farmers.
The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument..

CATS
Women love cats.
Men say they love cats, but when women aren't looking, men kick cats.

FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the bins, answer the phone, read a book, and get the post.
A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A married man should forget his mistakes.
There's no use in two people remembering the same thing!!!

posted by Carol @ 8:30 AM 8 Comments

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Things I am Thankful for This Week...

The rain - even if it means I can't ride my bike
Green grass
Beautiful trees
A car that runs
A daughter that understands there are consequences to events
A mind I can use
Constructive criticism
Finals week
BlackBerry
Writable CD's
Puzzles
A great working relationship with my co-workers
A hard working ethical associate in my room
Blooming onions
That the only thing we lost was a trampoline during the storm - some lost lives/homes/everything...

posted by Carol @ 9:56 AM 4 Comments

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Beautiful Blooming Magnolia Tree

While I was mowing the lawn last evening I happened to notice that the Magnolia tree with a beautiful bloom set upon it! I planted this tree a couple of years ago and have worried about it because of our harsh Iowa winters. This is the first year it has bloomed and I was so proud of it I had to share it and the story behind it here.
In 2002, my brother Jim gave mom a Magnolia tree which we planted where she could see it out the front window of the living room. He had this piece of granite that he punched out the words: "To Mom on Mother's Day, 2002" The tree did not make it through the first year so a few years later I bought another Magnolia tree and planted it in an area that would have a little more attention. We have since lost my brother Jim in 2006, so this tree and his tribute stone will henceforth be considered "Jim's Magnolia Tree"

posted by Carol @ 7:49 AM 7 Comments

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Things I Am Thankful For This Week

Cookouts
Gentle spring breezes
Lilacs
Quiet moments (found if you really look for them)
Sunshine
Grass to mow (even if I don't have time)
Pictures to share
That mom can join us at Mass on Sunday's
Chocolate during stress...or bummers...or happy...or heck CHOCOLATE-Need we really a true reason?

posted by Carol @ 9:24 PM 4 Comments

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The 7 Menopausal Dwarfs

posted by Carol @ 10:19 AM 3 Comments

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Arggggh............I'm Addicted

The Impossible Quiz

posted by Carol @ 1:30 PM 0 Comments

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Things I Am Thankful For This Week...

Hand sanitizer
Friends
Pizza
Movies
Clocks
That it was the breaker and not the washing machine
A helpful daughter
Blankets
That I have a vehicle (even with the high gas prices)
Riding lawn mower
Clean drinking water
Fruit tree blossoms

posted by Carol @ 6:24 PM 4 Comments

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Funny Cats

posted by Carol @ 12:29 PM 2 Comments

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Things I Am Thankful For This Week...

Review mirrors
Lilacs
Firefighters
Music
Brooms
Shoestrings
Laundry detergent
Teeth
Pet doctors
Washers and dryers

posted by Carol @ 6:43 PM 2 Comments

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Things I Am Thankful For This Week

Warmer weather (most of the time)
Spring flowers
Every breath I take
Everyone who smiles at me
Pizza
Peanut butter
Movies
Pop corn
A dog that is healing nicely

posted by Carol @ 11:08 AM 4 Comments

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Candi’s Bad Luck

I had a bit of bad luck Sunday evening. We were coming home from visiting mom and were pulling in the driveway when Candi and Nitro came running out to meet us. I was just about to where I park when I heard Candi yelp and Nitro was looking toward the front of my car. I quickly tried to back up, but the tire spun and I heard her yelp again. I stopped everything and just let the car stop and saw Candi limping quickly toward the house...

We found her in a closet hiding. Her front leg was badly damaged and she began panting heavily. I found the number to take her to emergency and off we went. It was late before we returned with a very sore puppy (she's 7) in tow. I couldn't afford them to do everything so we didn't get x-ray's but she appears to be getting around semi-well.



I took Monday off to be with her and brought her with me yesterday. She rested under my desk and did not offer to get up unless I had to move about the room or leave for a moment. Today she is at the vet getting the bandages changed and she will stay there for the day. I really hope she does not have to loose her leg...

posted by Carol @ 8:06 AM 2 Comments

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Things I am Thankful for This Week

A brother that respects my wishes
The warmer weather that approaches
That mom is physically getting better
That mom anticipated her getting this way and had paperwork already set up for me.
Kind Nurses and Doctors
Beautiful Purple African Violets
Dry erase boards
New growth
Supporting friends

posted by Carol @ 8:20 AM 0 Comments

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Pottery Gift

My young lady made this for me. I thought it would be perfect to hold pencils and pens for my students. Amazing, but I haven't had one pen get stolen since I put the flowers on top! LOL

Sure, the pot is a little off kilter, but aren't we all?

posted by Carol @ 8:15 AM 0 Comments

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Pelicans Mean Spring

Well, you can't hardly tell too well what these are, but they are pelicans! They make a stopover every year during their migration. I saw them early Sunday morning at one of the lakes. What first caught my eye was when I was driving past, one of them flew over in front of me and had a rather large fish in his mouth!
Now I believe spring is really hear!

posted by Carol @ 8:11 AM 0 Comments

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Dance/Baton Move

I think it's unbelievable how high she can get up on this move! They actually start on the floor in a squatting position. To be able to get up this far and to do that with your legs completely baffles me!

posted by Carol @ 8:09 AM 0 Comments

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The Girls

The girls are enjoying the green grass from the nice weather we've started to have!

posted by Carol @ 8:07 AM 0 Comments

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Update

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been spending the better part of every day since Thursday sitting at the hospital with mom. I think she eats better when I am here and if she needs to get up I can help her get around safely.
We are waiting for her to get well enough for me to take her to a nursing home for what the call skilled care. There she will work on building her body back up to the point that she will be able to be at the house safely alone.

posted by Carol @ 4:59 PM 2 Comments

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Update on Mom

We are looking at mom coming home soon from the hospital. They thought maybe today, but more likely tomorrow. She stopped eating the liquid diet they had her on and needs to try solid food with out hurting. Plus she was running an unexplained fever last night.

The MRI came out negative. No cysts or gallstones. No other explanation either, so maybe it will heal in time.

I got a call from the home care facilitator and she is making arraingements with the nursing homes in our town to get her in there for rehabilitative services to build her strength back up so she can come home and be able to be alone. She will be able to leave the hospital tomorrow.

Thanks to all of you that have offered prayers for us during this time. I really appreciate it!

Carol

posted by Carol @ 12:25 PM 0 Comments

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Things I Am Thankful for This Week

Modern medicine
A helpful teenager
A strong heart
Green grass emerging
Cell phone cameras
Wonderful friends
Abilities posessed
and...
A beautiful onion plant experiment growing wonderfully for Biology class

posted by Carol @ 7:58 AM 3 Comments

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Prayers Please

Please pray for my mom. We took her into emergency last Tuesday evening with pain. She was admitted with Pancreatitis and an infected urinary tract.

She appears to be getting a little better, but not all well yet. She is 88 and gets confused sometimes.

Pray that I have patience with her confusion and the repetitive conversations to try to help her understand why she has to stay in the hospital. Pray for her mind to be at ease that I will take care of her finances and she won't get behind on any payments that may arrive while she is in the hospital.

Thank you...

Carol

posted by Carol @ 8:16 AM 4 Comments

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April Fools

posted by Carol @ 10:14 AM 2 Comments

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