I can not believe it is Thursday again. CARD NIGHT

This has been a busy week at work, guess that's why time has passed so fast. I can not believe it is Card Night already. I have been looking over some of my old posts and it seems I have said "Story to follow later" and I have not been getting to the later. Well here is one to start.

About how I got three GRANDsons in one day. My oldest son, Gerry was getting married October 27, 2007 and Rich was coming up to be on the wedding. I was not too sure of the date especially when they decided on an outside wedding at a park, Rich and Ginger got married in a roadside park and it was BEAUTIFUL but it was July 25, 1998 not Oct. 27th. Mom of the groom never has much say but I knew the LOVE was there and trusted all to be OK. Renee had two sons and I was so excited about getting to be a Grandma. Bobby was 10 and Duncan was 5 but I was so glad to have them. I had just about given up on being a grandma and just settle on having GRANDcats instead. Well back to the wedding, with our wind and being the end of October I could not see going to the wedding without a very heavy-duty coat, but the kids would not even accept a back up plan. As it turned out one was not needed. It was a beautiful day (no wind) and just perfect temperature (not too cold or too hot), and the rose garden around was almost in full bloom. I have the photos to show. GOD WAS SURE IN CHARGE OF THIS WEDDING. Gerry even had a special part in the wedding, just after the union candles, where he made a vow to the boys as well as their Mom and gave them a cross necklace. I was so proud of him and wondered how he got so smart. Now back to my third GRANDson, Ginger was not able to attend the wedding, they just found out she was in a family way and not able to make the drive up from Dallas. SO IN ONE DAY I WAS BLESSED WITH THREE WONDERFUL GRANDsons.

Wile we were waiting for Jack to get here, my sister told me how GREAT, GRANDKIDS were. I told her after raising my boys and that there could be nothing better than them, I said "NO WAY". Well not better, just different. When you are the Mom it is "Do your homework, Eat your vegetables and Clean your room." now at Mamaw's house, it is all bets off, "What happens at Mamaw's stays at Mamaw's" GRANDsons are the best thing God ever invented. Being a GRANDma is the best occupation to have.

But now it is getting late and my chores are not done so I can play Cards tonight. HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GOOD REST OF THE WEEK AND AN EVEN BETTER WEEKEND. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

Yea for Card Night to keep my sanity

It is so nice that a little game of cards can help you feel so good. Even if you have to put it off just a little bit. The girl that worked in the Photo Lab when I started back there, the main one who trained me, will graduate from college in May and will be going back home to South Texas to start teaching, so we all got together for a little LOVE YOU, MISS YOU ALREADY gathering at Chilies. The food way so good and the company was even better. I have not laughed so much in a long time. We are all a really close group. Two are working at another Wal-Mart Photo Lab now, two are working at another job now (one is teaching in Canyon and the other is working for an insurance company), one is working in another department at our Wal-Mart and two of us are still in our Photo Lab. We have been through a lot with each other, one finished school-started teaching and had a baby now 1&1/2, one had a baby now 2&1/2 and went back to school, one got married, I became a TRIPLE GRANDma in one day (story to follow at a later time) and had a Heart Attack at work back on July 23rd last year (more on that story later too but I must say Amy one at the gathering drove me to the hospital and probably saved my life) THANKS AMY. NEEDLESS TO SAY WE ARE A VERY CLOSE BUNCH OF FRIENDS. It is hard to let one of my chicks fly on her own so far away. She is the one who started everyone calling me Momma Lyn. In writing this I am realizing how much these girls mean to me. THANK YOU LORD FOR BRINGING THEM TO ME AND ME TO THEM.

On with the cards though I did get to go to Ernie's and played cards to so tonight has been a PERFECT NIGHT. We just played one game but for a change I won. The cards were just falling just right.

HOPE EVERYONE IS HAVING AS GOOD OF A WEEKEND AS I AM AND IT'S JUST HALF OVER.

Today was a strange day at work

This has to be one of the strangest day I have ever survived. At home things were just as usual, no surprises there, but work was a different matter. Just as I walked to the time clock our new Department Manager (we have just got trained as to how we want things to run-she has just been over us for 5 months now) let me know she was leaving as of the first of April. She and her husband are in the process of adopting their 5 grandkids so they will not be split up, and she feels she needs to be a stay at home GRANDMA/MOM. I am excited for her but feel sorry for her at the same time. I want so desperately to be full-time GRANDma to my GRANDson but they need their Mom and Dad there too. PLEASE KEEP HER AND ALL HER FAMILY IN YOUR PRAYERS. Wonder who they will get to replace her and how long it will take to train who ever it is. I have been in the Photo Lab 4 years now and we have had 4 different Department Managers plus the one that knows the most about the equipment and computers was the Dept. Mgr. before them. Do not know what we would do without Mr. Fix It. He is the best, we really miss him when he takes a vacation or any time off. When he gets back his first question is, "What did you break wile I was gone." then he fixes it, what ever it was. Wish he would go back to being the Boss, things sure would run smooth if he would. Oh well enough on that, the rest was a busy day but not crazy. Fridays are a bad day, just two of us working all day. Jennifer is 8-5 and I am 1-10. Makes it hard to cover breaks and lunches, but we get it done. Enough about work, just know I am looking forward to Card Night Saturday. I really missed playing cards Thursday but Jerry needed that time for just us. It was so nice, we need to do it again soon.

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEKEND. LOVE TO YOU ALL.

Day Off Blues

As usual Thursday is my regular day off and I had a lot of chores listed that needed to be done, but only three got done but I did have a good day. Did not even get to play cards tonight, oh well there is always Saturday. For one time Jerry and I enjoyed just being together today. His leg is still bothering him real bad but we have set a Dr appointment for next Thursday. His pain Dr did some blood work at our last visit and did not like the results he got but it was not his field so we have to check in with the family Dr for his say in the matter. We will see next Thursday. As for Calvin and his wife Sue, they are doing real good on their own. God is doing some GOOD work there and he is getting better. THANK YOU LORD.

Well it is really late and I need to get a little sleep tonight so I will be ready to work tomorrow.
HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FUN AND BLESSED WEEKEND. MORE ON THE LIFE OF RAINBOW MOM TOMORROW. LOVE TO YOU ALL

Getting to know you Sunday - a little late

Spotted this on another blog and wanted to participate but was having trouble with my phone. HOPE YOU ENJOY!

1. if you won the title of miss America what would your platform be? After the 12th my 2 year old GRANDson was in his first PROTEST MARCH in Austin. His Momma and Dada are both teachers. I never dreamed the state was considering cutting education funding. That is our future they are dealing with and it really scares me. PLEASE KEEP OUR LEGISLATORS AND EDUCATORS IN YOUR PRAYERS.

2. outdoorsy or indoorsy? When the boys were home I was definitely outdoorsy but now my couch is very inviting after work.

3. pajamas out in public classy or tree tacky? DOUBLE TACKY and very disgusting.

4. what is you favorite room in your house? My house - Living Room in front of our 50" TV. My sister's house - defiantly her Kitchen.

5. nook, kindle or book? Have never been much of a reader (but thanks to Jen and Ginger I am getting better) books are a whole new world to me and I have started reading more than I have ever read in my life. I think I would enjoy a Kindle very much so it is now on my wish list for some day. Soon I hope, maybe next bonus check.

6. would you rather ware the same outfit for a week or not brush your teeth for a week? No way could I stand to go a week without brushing my teeth, I would go NUTS!

7. favorite blog at the moment. Of course bugbarn.blogsopt.com (my GRANDson's blog), Following the Footsteps (shaemata.blogspot.com) and a new one to me countrybymarriage.com (we are so much alike it is scary, except she is just starting her family and my boys are all grown with sons of their own).

8. lately i've been daydreaming about ......... How much FUN I will have when I get to retire and be a FULL TIME GRANDMA like my folks were. I can't help but feel my GRANDsons are missing out especially the two that live close to me. I want to be with them so much and there just is no time with me working most nights 1 - 10. Guys Mamaw is trying to be there for you and I do LOVE YOU SOOOO MUCH. I am so proud of all you do and all you are. Mom and Dad are doing a GOOD JOB.

So there are my answers, now you know a little more about me.
HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GOOD REST OF THE WEEK AND A SUPER SAFE and GREAT WEEKEND.

Sorry for not posting sooner

I have been real busy but most of all my phone has been in the shop til this morning and I have been going through phone withdrawal. Not much FUN, but worse of all they now have swipe on it and I am having a hard time getting use to it. It does not HELP me with my spelling like my other keyboard did. If you see something really strange and out of place, my keyboard did it not me. HA HA I have to be the worse at spelling that has ever been. My class was an experament, we were sent all through school without any phonics to see what would happen. What they got was a bunch of seniors who couldn't spell or enjoy reading a good book. I even took phonics in college but it was too late. I can hear the individual letters but if you put two or three letters together for one sound I have no clue. What is strange is I can spell medical terminology but the easy words I have trouble with. I could sell bilateral salpango ufrectomy then misspelled possible historectomy, I could never remember if it was able or ible. My RN's use to always laugh at me on surgery permits. Oh well them were the DAY'S. Now the hardest words I spell at work are Passport Photo.

Any way enough on my problems. HOPE YOU MAKE IT A REALLY GOOD WEEK AND A BLESSED WEEK. LOVE YA

Happy St Pat's Day

It is so nice to have a national holiday for all us IRISH, and I feel it is nice of us to share with everyone else. Hope you are having a Good Day mine has been hectic but FUN. It is my day off so as usual there are a lot of things that need to be done, but some will have to wait til Saturday. Besides today is Card Night. Well got to run to get a few things done so Jerry will let me go play Cards.

EVERYONE HAVE A GOOD REST OF THE WEEK AND A SUPER GREAT WEEKEND. Let me know how you celebrated St Pat's Day.

Time Change weekend is NOT my favorite time

I still can not see how Day Light Savings Time helps any one. It sure does not help the farmer like they said it was for. I know from experience the tractors can be lighted up bright as day so you can plow all night if you wanted to. To me it is just a nuisance especially in the Spring. I have never been able to spring forward very fast, it takes me for ever to get my body clock back to working half way right. But just when things do smoth out it is time for Fall Back and here we go again. At least for most of the school teachers they will have Spring Break to help get adjusted somewhat.

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A SPECIAL SPRING BREAK AND A SAFE ONE. Especially the ones I know taking special Christian Witness Time and the group going to Cambodia and band going to Washington DC. ALL GOOD KIDS WITH A STRONG LOVE FOR THE LORD. Some times I get a deep burden for what the KIDS these days are facing, But it is so encourageing to see them DEPENDING ON GOD FOR GUIDANCE. THERE IS HOPE FOR OUR FUTURE WORLD.

Finish up last nights post

Could not let the post from yesterday go just yet. Had to share:

Jen's Mom's Famous Potatoes Casserole.

2 lbs Frozen Hashbrown Potatoes ( cubed )
1/2 cup melted Butter
1 t Salt
1 can Cream of Potato Soup
1 pint Sour Cream
1 cup Cheddar Cheese

1/4 cup Butter
2 cups Cornflakes ( crushed )

Thaw potatoes and mix the first 6 ingredients. Put in 9 x 13 pan or dish. Melt 1/4 cup butter. Put melted butter and corn flakes on top.
Bake 350 degrees for 45 / 60 minutes

The first time I fixed this I thought I had corn flakes at home but they were Frosted Flakes. Did not have time to get some so I used them instead. It was really good but the original recipe was the best.

HOPE EVERYONE LOVES THIS AS MUCH AS I DO. Every time you fix this PLEASE remember Jen and her WONDERFUL MOM. Jen is a TERRIFIC person and I know it is her Mom and Dad that made her that way. Have a great rest of the week and a SUPER GREAT WEEKEND and GOD BLESS

ABC - Get to know a little more about ME !!

Picked this up at a FRIEND'S BLOG. THANKS JEN - YOU ARE THE GREATEST

Age: 61

Bed size: Queen

Chore you dislike: Toilets

Dogs: OK, we have 2, both rescued - we live in the country

Essential start to your day: Shower to wake up

Favorite Color: Blue (all shades)

Gold or Silver: Silver or White Gold (all my jewelry is silver or white gold)

Height: From the 6th grade to just recently 5' 10" - Now 5'8" (old age is a bummer)

Instruments you play(ed): Grade School - piano and Jr High - Clarinet in Marching Band

Job title: Photo Lab Technician

Kids: 2 boys (41 and 38) and 3 GRANDkids (13, 8 and 2)

Live: Texas

Mom's Name: "T" to family, Ginger to friends and Virginia to her co-workers

Nicknames: Red and Pinky to my aunt SIS

Overnight Hospital Stays: 2 kids '70 and '72, appendices out '72 wile I was pregnant and car wreck '81

Pet Peeve: People who dump their unwanted animals out in the country

Quote from a movie: any of John Wayne's lines "Partner"

Right or Left: Right

Siblings: 2 sisters, 15 and 20 when I was born - I was the age of their kids

Time to wake up: Get out of bed 7 or 8, Wake up around 10 or 11

Underwear : Always

Vegetable you do not like: All - I am a meat and potatoes person just like my husband

What makes you run late: Getting side tracked too much

X-Rays: Hit by a car wile I was walking at age 16 (broken pelvis) and Car wreck in '81 many X-rays both times

Yummy food you make: I am not a good cook but my friend Jen shared a recipe in her blog around Christmas and now it is my FAVORITE RECIPE of all time. Jen's Mom's Famous Potatoes Casserole ( I will have to share that recipe later).

THESE ARE MY ANSWERS BUT RIGHT NOW IT IS REALLY LATE AND I HAVE TO GET UP EARLY TOMORROW TO HELP TAKE JERRY'S PICK UP TO OUR MECHANIC FOR SOME MORE WORK. OH FUN, be up and functioning at 7 in the morning. That is too early for me but sometimes it is a must do so it's bedtime for me.

MAKE IT A GOOD WEEK AND GOD BLESS YU'ALL.
LOVE FROM TEXAS

Hope everone has had as GOOD a weekend as I have

This has been one of the best weekends ever for me. Hope everyone has had as much FUN as I have this weekend, I have done none of my chores like I needed to, but got the essentials in (washed enough clothes to ware to work for this week). Had to work yesterday and I was the only one in the Photo Lab all day. It was nice that it was just busy enough to keep things steady but not so busy it was CRAZY like it is sometimes. Photo counts have gone down since Valentine's Day but not as far down as they have been. I had 784 prints yesterday plus a steady stream of customers on the HP Instant Print machine, all in all a real GOOD day. Customers are so funny with their pictures. You can tell so quick if they are copying shot that are not allowed or permitted. You know copyrighted photos or photos that do not need to be printed. I guess they do not realize we have to look at every photo that goes through our lab. For me that is the best part of my work. I love pictures even if I don't know the people in them. All the kids, babies and best of all the just plain landscape shots with no people in it. Thank goodness we do not have too many discussing shoots but we do have a lot of the copyright shots try to sneak through, you can look at a photo and tell if it was made in a studio or not. They get real up set when I have to say " I can not sell you that copy, it is against Wal-Mart Policy " oh well that is part of my job too.

HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GOOD WEEKEND AND AN EVEN BETTER WEEK.
GOD BLESS YOU

Saturday means it's Cards Night

We just got a little card playing in tonight, only two games, but I really needed that brake from all that has been going on. It was just Ernie, Sammie (her sister) and me but we did have FUN. Everything is about the same with Calvin and it looks like Sue is doing a good job of taking care of him. Of course we are less than a hundred yards away if she needs help. HOPE EVERYONE IS HAVING A SPECIAL WEEKEND TO LEAD INTO ONE GREAT WEEK.

Got to run get the rest of my weekend chores done then BED. LOVE YOU ALL!!

Sorry everyone, things have been a little crazy here the last few days

You know we have been having problems with my husbands brother. Well things are not getting any better yet. We got the news that the medical team want to have Calvin to go to hospice care. When I was the major care giver for their Dad wile he was in the hospital and it was decided he should go to hospice I had no say in it, it was their Mom, the three boys and their older sister's decision. To this day Calvin feels the people there killed Dad (I know better but can not convince him of it). Now they want him to go to Hospice. How do you make that decision when you feel like he does. He is not getting any better and doesn't look like he ever will. Death in the Costley family is scary, they are not strong Christians if Christians at all. I have tried to teach by actions cause I learned real fast they do not take to being preached to or asked questions about stuff like that. I AM SO GLAD ALL MY SIDE OF THE FAMILY HAVE OUR TICKETS READY, AND JUST WAITING FOR OUR LORD TO CALL US HOME. Please keep all of us in your prayers, and SPECIAL, KEEP ME ALERT TO GOD'S GUIDANCE ON WHAT TO SAY OR DO TO GET ALL OF THEM WHERE THEY NEED TO BE WITH GOD.

For me I do not see how I could handle one second of my day if I did not know, without any question GOD WAS THERE WITH ME ALL THE WAY. He is my strength and provider. THANK YOU LORD FOR BEING THERE FOR ME!!!

Just a little add on, I just got off work, Jerry just picked me up and told me Calvin has been released from the hospital to have Hospice Care at home. Hope this will not be too much for Sue to handle. I can only do so much and still keep my job at Wal-Mart . Keep us in your prayers. THANKS TO EVERYONE.