The Ups and Downs of Life

We had a great time at Disney.  If nothing else, Johnny and I learned that we have WAYYYY more energy than my kids!  We were ready to see it all but they insisted on a more leisurely pace.  Here's a shot of Johnny and I with my oldest child Casey and DIL Angela in front of Cinderella's Castle.  All in all, it was a great trip.

One evening we ate at Chef Mickey's buffet and met a lot of the characters who made their way around the room and posed for pictures.  Here I am with Goofy and my sweet twin grand girls, Brooke and Haylee.

Here's our entire group on our first day in the park.  That's my other son Bryan and his girlfriend Amanda on the left and my daughter Kaitlyn and her boyfriend Matt on the right.  This was one of the few days that it didn't rain while we visited.  We just put on our rain ponchos and ventured forth.....

I haven't posted much lately because I've been having some health issues that took priority.  While so many bloggers were enjoying the Haven Conference in Atlanta (I so wanted to attend!), I was in the hospital undergoing surgery.  My mother had ovarian cancer years ago and about a month ago the doctor discovered some strange things going on with my right ovary.  For years I had my annual checkups with the gynecological oncologist who had treated my mom, but she retired a year ago and I transferred to the group of doctors she recommended.  In mid May, I had some post menopausal spotting so I went in and had some tests run.  The ultrasound showed an enlarged ovary and a thickened endometrial lining, both issues that are not characteristically seen after menopause.  My doc ran all sorts of tumor marker tests and did an endometrial biopsy and even though all the tests came back normal, she recommended that I have a complete hysterectomy done robotically after I got home from vacation.  The surgery went well and I'm recovering nicely.  Robotic surgery is pretty amazing!  I was up walking the hall the next morning with virtually no discomfort.  I will receive the biopsy results in a few days.  The doctor said that nothing looked out of the ordinary and she does not feel that the biopsy will show any sort of malignancy.

I'll end with a pic of the girls at dinner at Cinderella's Castle......

Here's to health and happiness!!!!!

Terri

Summertime and the livin' is easy.......

Ahhh, it's the first weekend of summer and I'm hopping from task to task trying to get caught up....  A little housecleaning, a little scrapbooking, a little shopping and packing for our trip to Disney World.....

My beautiful girls turned 7.  They are SO excited about the big vacation that's quickly approaching!

We'll be eating at The Royal Table at Cinderella's Castle so I ordered them princess costumes as one of their birthday presents.  Brooke wanted to dress as Arielle and Haylee chose Sleeping Beauty.  When we got out to shop for shoes to go with the costumes, Brooke protested that mermaids DON'T WEAR SHOES!!!  :))

I found them the most precious crocheted hats with detachable flowers to keep the sun out of their eyes....

                                 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my girls!!!!!!

Kitchen Update

Hello, all!  I'm back online and ready to share my kitchen update pics with you....  I know you've been waiting with baited breath.....  LOL

Not only have I been trying to figure out this new Mac stuff, Blogger has changed as well!  So please bear with me here....

The older I get, the harder it is to make decisions.  I tend to make them one at a time.  First, it was the cabinet knobs that I obsessed over, then it was what accent color to use.  And in the interim, my laptop died and my camera battery charger disappeared, only to be discovered in my luggage when I packed for a recent overnight trip and AFTER I ordered a replacement from Amazon.  But I'll choose to see the glass as half full and feel content knowing that I now have a backup charger.  :))

As you can see, the brushed nickel knobs lost out to the oil rubbed bronze ones.  I'm still just LOVING my Absolute Cream granite with the tumbled marble backsplash.  I'm planning to put in some under cabinet lighting because I love the look of the light reflecting off the granite.

Everything above the cabinets came down and I went to work finding items with a garden feel.  I've had red accents in my kitchen for quite a few years and am really enjoying the change of pace.  Aren't those birdie finials just the sweetest thing you ever laid eyes on???

It was a massive $300 floral arrangement I happened upon at The Royal Standard that gave me the inspiration for this one.  I searched high and low for those artificial paperwhites and was ready to bite the dust and pay top dollar for them online when I found some at a reasonable price at Red Door.  I copied the use of the green pears from the inspiration arrangement, hot gluing them onto the green moss that covers a styrofoam base.  Don't you just love the spring garden appeal of this simple display?

The Country French chairs were ordered from Ballard Designs, along with a matching counter height stool for the island.  I originally ordered the stool in brown but sent it back and replaced it with the flat black color.  It looks so much nicer in black.

Every kitchen needs a sense of humor.....  Thus "I like my cream and sugar with a touch of COFFEE!"

And that, my folks, is my brand spankin' new kitchen......

The latest dilemma is whether or not to leave those corner windows bare....  Sigh....

Linking up with Funky Junk to join her garden party!!!!

Back in Business

Guess who's back online with a brand spanking new laptop.....  :))

I've missed my blog friends SOOOO much!  Is it my MAC that has everything looking so different or has blogger thrown us a curve ball???

If you've wondered why I haven't been posting lately, well here's why..............

The trusty ole laptop has issues........... BIG ISSUES........... Took it to Best Buy hoping that a new power cord might do the trick only to find that the problem is the connection to the mother board and not worth the cost of repairs...........

So I'm shopping for a new laptop...........  :((((((((

Kitchen Redo Update

What started out as a simple kitchen update with granite and a tile backsplash has grown.............and grown..... Here is my former very "oak" kitchen with its worn formica countertops....

And here's an update that's still a work in progress....

Isn't that the way it always happens? One thing leads to another and another and before you know it, the room has a completely different look. You see, once the granite was installed the cabinets looked a little dated.

Thus came the need to add a little interest in the form of a painted and glazed kitchen island.... I would SO love to do the entire kitchen but that would cost $$$$$. Still pondering that one.

The counter height stool was ordered online from Ballard Designs. Debated and debated on whether to order it in rubbed cream or brown and still not sure of the choice I made. I can always chalk paint it if I decide I don't like it. Do you see those iron brackets? I ordered them online in black. When they came in, I thought they were a little too stark so I spray painted them hammered brown. Still didn't like them so I painted and glazed them to match the island. I love them now! Here's a close up pic...

Next up is the addition of crown moulding and a new kitchen table and chairs so STAY TUNED. I'm linking up with Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch. Hop on over and pay her a visit!

Looking Back

I can't let Christmas 2011 slip away without posting any photos. It was a great Christmas, a little sad because it was the first without my dear mom with us, but I know she's in a better place and that I will see her again one day. My grandgirls are so adorable and fun. Look at the note Haylee left behind, presumably for Santa....

Why is you a thief of milk and cookies????

Guess she thinks Santa should work for free, huh???

My tree was so blingy that I decided to tone down my usual mantel decorations.... Do you see my new painting hanging over the mantel? It shows a street scene in Paris around the turn of the century and the beautiful hues caught my eye at Ross. I just had to bring it home with me and am so glad I did. What a steal for $49!!!

Here is my crew. I'm taking them all to Disneyworld in May. My son had an awful scare at Thanksgiving when he developed Bell's Palsy and lost muscle control on the left side of his face. Any little health problem can be cause for concern after beating cancer but thankfully it was a mild case of palsy, totally unrelated, and it resolved itself quickly. I've been wanting to take them all to Disney ever since he went into remission and the girls were old enough to really enjoy it. When I reflect on those bleak days with him undergoing chemotherapy and my DIL on bedrest threatening to have those babies early, I wonder how we managed to maintain our sanity. We are going to have so much fun!!!

Johnny joined us on Christmas Eve, and I went to Johnny's and celebrated Christmas with his mom and kids on Christmas Day. The holidays can feel really lonely after a divorce at the empty nest stage but that just didn't happen this year. I am blessed with people in my life who really care about me.

I've been shopping for a new dining table and chairs for my updated kitchen so you'll have to wait with baited breath for the big reveal. :-))

I'm happy to report that those cabinets FINALLY have knobs back on them.... Decisions, decisions....

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL MY BLOGGY FRIENDS!!!