Today is Ritzy's birthday.  He catches up with me in age at least until next March.  The son, son-in-law, daughter Ritzy and I all went out to eat tonight at Red Lobster.  It was wonderful.  Great food and great company.  In fact, we had a whole room to ourselves.  Don't know how that happened, but sure glad it did.  We all love seafood.  Heck, who am I kidding, we just love food!!!!

Had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my parent's home yesterday.  Talk about good food.......yummmmm.......
My neice who has the brain tumor was able to be there.   I found out after arriving that I was "in trouble".  I always make my "Orange Salad" on holidays and my sister, her mom, always makes her green salad.  Well, as it turned out, neither salad was made this year, and boy did we hear about it.  When Kaysie learned her mom wasn't making her salad, she thought oh well that's ok cause Ritzywife would certainly bring hers. NOT!!!!   Wasn't even on my radar this year.  Instead I had sweet potatoes on the brain.  I made homemade candied sweet potatoes from real potatoes.  Did not need a can opener for these!!
Her son, the great-nephew was thinking I was bringing a pumpkin pie, well......I brought 2 pecan pies.  I was in trouble with him also.  I guess I am just going to have to make a pie and salad just for those two, haha!!!
After eating, I came home and laid on the bed all afternoon.  I was tired and no one was going to stop me from taking that nap.

About the niece......we thought things were going along ok til yesterday when she was taken back to the hospital because of a large bruise under her skin causing pain and some pretty bad siezures.  The bruise is due to the blood thinners/chemotherapy.  It has been rough the past day and a half.

A lot of my friends went shopping last nite and today.....they are NUTS!!!!!!  I did that a few years ago.  Never again.......
As of right now I have no plans for tomorrow and I like it that way....but if I wait long enough I'm sure something will pop up.  It usually does......
It's getting late and with that Ritzywife is out...............


 

the insides of the egg rolls

assembly of an egg roll

stir-frying rice noodles

egg rolls

Yumm, Yumm...

I got brave enough to try cooking Chinese food tonight.  What I cooked was a lot easier than I had ever imagined.  Don't know why I ever waited so long now.  I was watching a TV show the other night and they were showing how this food was made and I could not believe the cravings I got from watching all that.

Ritzy and I  ate at a Chinese restaurant in Owasso last Friday nite and it was wonderful.  I decided then, that I was going to give it a try at home.  Boy, am I glad I did.  The only thing on the plate not made in my kitchen is the fried rice.  Schwan's has a wonderful fried rice so I used  that for tonight.  I have made the fried rice from scratch before and it turned out pretty good. I was running short of time tonight so I opted for "easy".

As Ritzy and I were eating tonite, I told him that I even surprised myself at how well the meal turned out.  I was worried that it would not have any  or little flavor so I added a few extra flavorings .  He told me that the egg rolls were better than the restaurants.  Woo Hoo!!!!!!

I love to cook!!!!!  I came from a family that loves to cook and takes great pride in their cooking !!!  Now... when I get to craving egg rolls, all I have to do is just make them instead of getting those frozen ones or waiting to go out to eat.  YIPPEE!!!

Now, on the the weather....It isn't even Winter yet and I am freezing.......which leaves me to wonder how I am going to do when Winter actually arrives here in Oklahoma, hahahah!!!!!
It is raining outside now and it has only been in the 30's and 40's the past couple of days.  Thank goodness for electric blankies!!!!!!  I would not survive without mine....I am thinking I need to invest in one of those electric  blankets that are made to be used when sitting and just relaxing ;-)      Maybe I'll send Santa a "hint" about what Ritzywife would like for Christmas.  Speaking of Christmas, I have just about finished all my shopping for the season.  I went for "easy" this year and ordered a lot of it.  Now all that's left to do is WRAP!!!  I have threatened anyone's life here in this house if they even come near my closet, haha!!
I have been seeing friends and family putting up their  Christmas decorations and it's starting to rub off on me.  I am going to wait until after Thanksgiving tho. Just too busy for now.....

Changing the subject:

Isn't this beautiful?!?

As I was cooking tonite, I knew Ritzy was home, but didn't see him come in the house.  He asked me to turn around and showed me these flowers.  I asked if they were for his "girlfriend".....He said they sure were!!!!
He is so sweet........He sure surprised me !!!!!  I told him "thank you"  and that I loved them and him. 
Ok,  enough with this mushy stuff. 
Well, I am cold, so I am going to turn my electric blanket on to "Fry", I  mean High and go take a nice warm/hot bath to get warm and call it a night.   Ritzywife out...........................

That's what I found out today.  That daughter  and son-in-law are expecting twins and they found out today that those babies are both boys!!! Wow.....all the daughter said when she called was...mom, it looks like I'm gonna be outnumbered..........I knew exactly what that meant ;-)
Ritzy and I were at the Claremore Taco Bueno eating out tonite and I asked him if he realized that it would only be 4 (short) months before things were going to change forever......I am so looking forward to these babies!!!!!!  Now that I know what they are, I can start buying and making  "stuff" !!!!!!!!
Still haven't figured out how I'm gonna go fishin' and babysit at the same time this next Spring, tho, hahaha!!!!
My niece found out today that her Oncologist wants to start her chemotherapy this coming Thursday, even tho she has not been able to get her port put in.  They will just have to use an  i v.   He is not wanting to wait any longer for her treatment.  She has to take 1 treatment every two weeks  for 6 times.
As I said earlier, Ritzy and I were at Taco Bueno tonite......... eating tacos of course.  After that we went to our former pastor's home to get a couple of kittens.  The last kitten we had disappeared so we thought we would try 2 at a time so they could play with and look out for each other.  They are cute, one is mouse gray and the other is black and white.  The preacher's kids had already named them "Mouse & Oreo".  I think we will just keep those names, they're cute!!!!!!   Now, I will just have to wait and see if they are good mousers.......cause I hate mice!!!!!!  They will be outside kittys of course.  Ritzywife does not like four-legged creatures in her home!!!!!
I am about ready to call it a day, so...Ritzywife is out...........................
 

That's right....Oklahoma has experienced 2 significant earthquakes in the past couple of days.  The first one was in the wee hours of saturday morning.  I slept right thru that one.  The next one which occured at 10:53pm on Saturday nite, well, that one I was lucky enough to experience.
Ritzy and I were on our way home from a wonderful Gaither Homecoming Concert that night.  We were stopped at the light in Oologah at the HWY 169/88 crossing and while stopped I felt the truck moving.  I thought...well,  I just didn't have the brake pushed in hard enough, but I could not push it any more, then the light changed, we were on our way and I just shrugged it off.  A couple miles down the road I get a call from the son who was at home, along with the daughter and son-in-law and he proceeds to tell me about the earthquake.  He said he heard a low rumble then the whole house shook.  They were excited about it.  My words to him were - dang it, I missed this one too- 
then I said, oh wait, no I didn't miss it and proceeded to tell him about the experience back at the light.  He told me what time it happened and I realized that was the time we were waiting at the light.  WOW!!!!!!
2011 has been a year to remember for Oklahomans.  We had the record breaking snowfall and cold temps in the winter, terrible tornadoes in the spring,  drought and record breaking heat in the summer,  and now the earthquakes in the fall, it leaves a person to wonder what is in store to finish out the year here in this great state of ours.
On to other things...my niece who has that brain tumor had to be taken to the hospital saturday nite because she had a seizure that scared her mom (my sister).  It seems they were on their way to Tulsa at the same time we were on our way back home.  I told my sister that if she needed me, we would go straight to the hospital, but she told us to go on and if needed she would let me know.  I had plenty to do once I got home anyways.  I had to prepare my Sunday School lesson for the next day and I also had to make a copy of our Church Bulletin........those little jobs kept me up til almost 2 in the morning.   Good thing I at least got that extra hour to sleep.......I still haven't caught up on my rest tho.
The great-niece wanted to come home with us after lunch at Granny's, so I let her......that meant no Sunday nap for Ritzywife.....but my mom and dad had been watching the kids and they were tired so I helped out where I could.  The niece was sent home around 4:00 Sunday morning, and I was still awake, waiting for my sister to text me to let me know what was going on.  When she told me they were on their way home was when I was finally able to relax and go to sleep. 
Ritzy and I have a funeral to attend tomorrow at noon and I have to get our church report ready for Wednesday's business meeting.  The daughter wants me to go to an appointment with her Wednesday, so here comes another busy week.    I will have to start on that report in the morning and finish it tomorrow afternoon. 
All this thinking is making my poor little brain tired.......
I am about ready to call it a day/night and with that Ritzywife is out....................

Ritzy and I made it back home this past week.  It was a fun and enjoyable visit with his family.  We all met at his sister's house for a meal together.  I took pictures of our Northern family to show the new son-in-law.  On our way back home we were a couple of hours from our stop for the night when all of a sudden Ritzy and I heard a loud noise.  We could not see damage on the windshield from inside the truck....so at the next rest stop we looked over the windshield and in the black strip along the bottom... there it was.  A bad chip and the starting of tiny cracks.  I was NOT a happy camper!!!!!  Well, before we left the next morning, I found a place to "repair" the damage done by that rock that was thrown by  that 18-wheeler!!!   I was not going to give that thing any chance to grow..... and now..... if you didn't know the damage was there, you'd never be able to find  it.   They did a good job!!   I told Ritzy that for me it was in a good spot because it was invisible from the inside and for Ritzywife...... "outta sight is outta mind"......... hahahaha!!!
I hate those trucks!!!!!!  I have often thought they need their own highway system!!!!!  Although, they probably think the same about us ;-)
The weather here in Oklahoma has cooled off and I am wearing a jacket as I sit here in my home (too stubborn to turn on the heat).  Our  church Harvest Party is tomorrow night.  We will be having games, door prizes,  a pit fire, good food, and good fellowship.  I am kinda in charge, but I have recruited some help.  Some of us are staying after church tomorrow to set everything up.  We  decided to just have sandwiches and get to work.  Looking forward to a fun evening.

Took some pictures of what little decorating I did outside this year, here is one of the pictures:  yup, that's Ritzy in the background........and that's his John Deere tractor he had as a child.  Isn't that cool?!?
The kids that play here always go to that little tractor to play on it.  It has a wagon and that great-niece loves putting "stuff" in there and pedaling all around the yard.
The niece (great-niece's mama) is doing "ok" for now, but there are other personal problems she is dealing with.  We continue to be there for her and the kids and pray that God takes care of them.
You know when one family member hurts, you all hurt.  It's like.... when part of your body is hurting, the whole body feels it.
The daughter is FINALLY feeling ok. No hot flashes or anxiety attacks for the past couple of weeks.  Praise God!!!!  She is starting to feel like herself now, except for that little "pooch" making itself known. It's beautiful tho!!!!!  But......she is in the "cry/laugh" part of the pregnancy...or in other words the emotional highs and lows.  I warned her about it, tho........I told her to just let the tears flow.....that is our body's way of trying to take care of itself  and in the end ....if you overlook the stuffy nose and red eyes..... she will feel A LOT better!!!!!!
By the way, that hubby of hers wasn't understanding all of her mood swings or anything about being pregnant....why should he, he's a guy!!!  Well, while we were in Appleton, we went to a used book sale and as I was looking over the books I walked around a table and there standing on the table staring me in the face was a book entitled "HOW TO BE A PREGNANT FATHER"......can ya believe it?!?  I snatched that one right up.  He now has it in his possession, haha!!!  I hope he makes good use of it...
That is about all the thinking I can handle for now...Ritzywife out!!

Yup, you read that right.  Ritzy and I are here visiting his family.  It sure is cool up here.  We are enjoying the weather.  A welcome change from that Oklahoma weather we have just been thru.  Not much going on.  Ritzy has been visiting his mom and dad  every day.  They are in a place for senior adults in a town called "Kaukauna" about 15 minutes away from Appleton. 
Back home in Oklahoma, my niece should be getting out of the hospital today after spending the last couple of weeks in there.  She had blood clots in her lungs and legs, pneumonia and just not feeling well mentally.  This sure is hard on her and her family.  I feel so bad for them and try to think of ways to help.  Without God and His grace we would have never made it this far.
The daughter seems to be doing well this week.  The last post I had planned to go with her to her appointment then go to a dear friends funeral.......but as we all know even the best plans have kinks thrown in once in a while.  While at the Dr's office the daughter was going down to get blood drawn and suddenly felt dizzy and faint.  It was only a 5 minute trip but it took us about 40 minutes to get to the lab.  She laid down for a while then we went to the cafeteria to get her something to eat.  After finally getting the blood drawn and leaving to go home, I was running behind my "schedule" for the day.  I stayed at her home to make sure she was gonna be ok.  I then realized I was not gonna make it to that service, but... staying with my daughter, making sure she and those babies were ok was more important to this mama.
Ritzy and I are having a good time.....he has even sold some firewood while gone.  can you image that?!?  It gets cold and those people start wanting that wood ;-)
The son is holding down the "fort" at home .  I was trying to show him how to run the dishwasher before we left and he informed me that he would NOT be using it.  I said that was ok, but I had better not come home to a sink full of dishes, haha!!!
I am going to get my hair trimmed in a little while, its getting so long.  It gets down to my ears and neck and it is annoying.  I asked my sister-in-law about a hairdresser and she is taking me to the place she uses.  Ooh, it is going to feel soooo good to get that hair cut....
The day is starting and with that Ritzywife is out............





 

WE DESERVE IT after that brutal summer!!!!!  It has been gorgeous here in Oklahoma.  I am going to hate to see it come to an end.
My "running around" has not slowed any.  I went over to the daughter's  Tuesday to be with her during her checkup and about an hour before the appointment the Dr.'s  office called and had to cancel due to his being in emergency surgery.  His office is in Owasso~~about 5-10 minutes away  Soooo that appointment has been rescheduled for tomorrow morning at 9:45.  I am going over again to be with her, let's hope all goes as planned.  After that little visit, there is a funeral service in Chelsea at 2:00 pm that I am attending.  I am gonna be ready for some of that "boring"  that I can't seem to find these days.
My niece that has the brain tumor is back in the hospital at Tulsa as of Sunday.  She has a blood clot on each lung and some in her right leg.  She is very lucky to still be with us.  Her inability to move her right side is sure taking it's toll on her health.  She also has another urinary tract infection.  I went down to Tulsa yesterday to visit with her and her mom (my sister).   They have inserted a filter in her stomach area to catch those clots in her leg and started her on a blood thinner.   All the while she is waiting on her chemotherapy treatments to attack this tumor that has recurred.  The latest MRI showed it wasn't being aggressive right now.  But......she has to be in decent health before they will even think about chemotherapy.  The whole family is under a LOT of stress right now thinking about her and her family, trying to help anyway we can and just trying to "be there" for each other.
Well, if I want to "be there" for that daughter in the morning I had better get off here and get to bed.
Ritzywife out!!