Crazy

Have I mentioned that I have been drowning in paperwork for the past two weeks? Well, I have been. But I finally reached the other side of the river, or lake or pool or whatever works best here. David received a call from the friendly people over at the Internal Revenue Service & they needed us to get some paperwork together for them. They gave us 2 weeks! I have been beside myself getting receipts, statements, check stubs & what have you together! No less than 15 times I threw up my hands in frustration, or called David in tears & proclaimed..."I can NOT do this! It is just TOO much!" But in typical Tammy fashion, I waited until the very last minute - took a day & a half off from work, and am happy to report that I got said documents in the overnights Tuesday afternoon! Now - we wait. It's pretty obvious to expect that I forgot something, but I have no doubt the handy-dandy IRS man will be sure to call me & fill me in on whatever else he might need. Whew - just talking about that has about made me crazy - so I will move on to other things.


Speaking of crazy - I have something else trying to drive me there. I mentioned to David a couple months ago, that had I known we'd become the proud owner of two Labrador Retrievers, that I would have never EVER purchased micro-suede furniture when we bought the new house. David's leather recliner is the only thing that doesn't hold enough hair to make an additional two dogs. So when his cousin mentioned to us that they are moving, and had a leather couch & recliner they wanted to sell - of course my ears perked up! Then we got home, life happened & I forgot all about it. Until Aunt Shirley called to see if we wanted to go over & look at Kim & Alan's stuff before they posted it on Craigslist. I was in the midst of all the IRS drama, so it wasn't high on my priority list. But when I mentioned it to David, he said to call Kim & set up a time to go over & check it out. We really planned on just getting the recliner, but when we saw the couch we fell in love with it & it was such a good price we couldn't pass it up. We loaded them up & brought them home & here is where the crazy comes in.....I have no where to put them! No where, without giving up my almost brand new micro suede furniture. So everything is shoved in the living room & dining room right now. All cram packed in. And I don't know what to get rid of, or how to get rid of it, and it will have to be cleaned when I do decide. And I honestly just don't have time for that right now. My friend Terri came over the other night & she moved everything around ( I still can barely walk on my knee, so it was all up to her). But in the end, we decided we just have too much stuff in there, and until I let some of it go, it's not going to look good. And...in the end...we moved everything back to where we originally had it. Have I mentioned that the recliner is black leather, the couch tan, and David's recliner is a rust brown? NOTHING MATCHES! The good news is at least they are all earth tones, so maybe some throw pillows or a blanket throw or an area rug will tie them all together. Sounds good in theory, but Martha Stewart I am not! Anyway for now I am just going to live with it and it will all work out in the wash....gotta get to work....me

A Myriad of Things....

I feel like I needed to write a post this morning, to catch you up on things dear blog. It has been super crazy at my house the past few days, weeks, months...well you get the picture.

It's just been a whirlwind of things, first my Grandma passing away, then David's dad going thru another scare with his heart so David went down to go to the doctor with him (all is ok on that front I might add), then Uncle Wayne passed away & we spent the weekend in Dallas with family that we don't get to see nearly enough,
Then Brittni cancelled the wedding & there was all the hub-ba-balloo that went with that. And honestly? She is ok. I truly think the hardest part for her was actually making the decision that she couldn't marry Jerimiah. Once she made that decision for herself, and actually said it out loud, then it was over. We are so proud of her for following her beliefs, and her dreams, and not taking the easy road just to please everyone else. And I think (I hope) she learned one of life's lessons early...one that took me quite a bit longer in life to learn - that FAMILY is who you can depend on the most. We've just all tried so hard to be there for her, but not be overbearing...if you know what I mean. And I love that one of the people she called first, one of the people she really needed to be there for her, was Eddy. And he stepped right up, and was ready & willing to do whatever she needed. My kids are like most brothers & sisters in that they fuss & fight a LOT. But what's not typical of a lot of siblings...is that when it comes down to the wire....when it really REALLY counts, they are ALWAYS there for each other. And the bond they share, well, it just does my heart good! It makes me happy & warm & fuzzy & all that other mushy stuff. But still, it is so hard to see your child hurt. And it's hard to watch when you think they are on the wrong path. It's even harder not to try turn them around yourself, and tell them the direction you think they should go. But David has said all along, Brittni is a very smart & brave girl, we have to trust her. And trust her we did. And it was not in vain.

David will be going to days soon. YAY! They finally hired someone to take his place & he started training them last night. You might be wondering if we knew this person, and that's a big YES! They hired Jeff, David's little brother. Transplace is turning into a family affair for us here in The Allen's World...David, Brittni, Jeff...it's a mini family reunion there every week!


We kept Hunter man on Sunday night. He is so cute & funny & incredibly smart! (I'm serious, I'm not just saying that cuz I am Nana! ha!)...He is however, quite a handful. And it was SO funny because David said Monday morning about 5:30 when the little man woke up....we may wait til he's 12 to do this again! Ha ha! Yeah, SURE we will! Until the next time we get the chance to keep him overnight at least! He LOVES to play outside. He LOVES to crawl up on the couch & turn the lights on & off in the living room. He LOVES to sit on his Papa's lap & watch the crazy frog video on YouTube. He's been doing that with David since he was about six months old & it is so cute! Another thing he loves to do? Play in Boogie & Bam's water bowl in the kitchen. And that is what he was doing on Sunday when I almost killed myself! I was sitting in the living room & heard him spashing in the water...I went running into the kitchen to get him, slipped on the wet tile, fell HARD, and have really really REALY hurt my knee. X-Rays showed arthritus...am waiting on a call for an MRI, have a really ugly knee brace, and am on enough pain killers to knock out a horse! The good thing? I didn't fall on the baby! The bad thing? Surgery is probably on the horizon...
Anyhoo...I've gotta hobble to the bathroom & do my hair & get to work...so...til next time....me

I have BIG news!!

So I am so far behind blogging...I almost just gave it up altogether! So many things have happened since my last post. Most importantly, or at least one of the most important: Brittni has called off the wedding. I have a lot I could say here. But I think I'll keep it to myself. I will say, that I'm glad she decided now, instead of AFTER the wedding, that this wasn't the right thing to do. And just like I promised her last week, I "un-did" that wedding in less than 24 hours.
David's Uncle Wayne passed away. And we headed out to Dallas Friday morning. It was a nice trip. We got to see family we haven't seen in YEARS! And his Uncle Lynn & Aunt Diane took us out Saturday night. And Sunday we met up with Eddy (his best friend from elementary school) and had lunch, then spent the afternoon with him. It was good times.
Well, I've gotta get back to work for now...just wanted to do a little catch up. me

The Invitations Are In The Mail

With my grandmother passing away, I didn't blog about our garage sale. But it was a success! Not a HUGE success...but it accomplished it's purpose. My plan was to make enough money to pay off Britt's dress. And we hit the mark - almost. I think all we paid out of pocket was the sales tax...and you can't get any better than that!
Friday, the invitations arrived. Saturday night, Brittni & I sat up a work station in our formal dining room & addressed almost 100 invitations & yesterday, they went out in the mail.
Next on the to do list is meeting up with my sister to pick out the flowers for the wedding. She is doing all Britt's flowers as her gift to her (the same as she did with Eddy & Des) and I am SO grateful. She is just so creative...it's a gene that skipped me, but Tina can take anything & make it beautiful.
It's all slowly coming together. And other than panic-ing a little bit that there's so much to do, and less than 2 months to do it in, we are ok.
Brenda is throwing her a shower in June. The dress should be here mid-June. I still have to find David a suit - and me a "mother of the bride" dress...but again, it's coming together!
I'm sure I'm forgetting so much...but - I'll keep you posted - me

The Bridal Registry

Ok, it is going on midnight here in The Allen's World...and yes - I have to get up & go to work tomorrow. But my head is still reeling from the last SIX AND ONE HALF hours so I just had to share. This afternoon when I got off work Brittni & I went to do her bridal registry. She asked me to go help her do it, and I thought it'd be fun. Now I would've been fine - just fine - with only going to Wally World. But several people suggested that we'd need to register at at least one other place besides Walmart, because evidently there are people out there that don't step foot in the evil Walmart domain. So we went to Bed, Bath & Beyond. And the lady there INSISTED that we register at least 250 items! It took forever. And we are the kind of people that it bothers...to click on a paper towel holder that costs $25! We were trying to be so careful not to over do it! The girl that was helping us was very bossy! She kept telling us we should choose items in a wide range of prices. Uh hello? Practical people here! Then, it was off to Walmart. It was much more fun & so much easier there to pick things in all kinds of price ranges. And guess what? NO PRESSURE! They just turned us loose with the scanner & said, bring it back when your done. No lists of items we had to check off. No high priced "suggestions". And we picked out a nice variety of things & got it done. When we got home though, we looked on her BB&B registry, and the lady there had insisted she pick at least one set of dishes...they didn't let us see the price. Well Brittni picked a nice, but plain set. It turned out it was $99. And the lady at BB&B set her up for TWELVE SETS!!! And a $200 platter, and a $150 serving bowl. That is over $1500!!! Needless to say, Britt logged right on & removed all those items! She could get 4 sets of dishes she REALLY liked at Walmart, for the price of the one that was ok at BB&B. Not to mention the fact that her & JJ don't need 4 (and certainly not 12) sets of dishes just yet! Anyway....that was kinda our night. I am so exhausted from being on my feet for so long after working all day. And, I didn't mention that David headed to his dad's first thing today, so we got up at 4:30 this morning. So it's time for me to hit the sack....til next time....me

In Memory of My Grandma.....

I have so much to say, but just haven't had the heart to say it. We lost my grandma last Thursday. April 28th. At around 5pm. Wednesday, my Aunt Bev called & told me she just wasn't doing good. Something told me I needed to go down there. But David didn't go to work until 11 that night. So you know what I did? I got him up & ready & out the door (he was SO sweet, he even dropped off the water bill for me & picked something up for himself to eat so I didn't have to cook!) and Brittni knew how bad she was, so she met me up by the interstate, and we headed to Fayetteville. Grandma was SO bad, she never knew we were there. They had begun to give her morphine, so she was sleeping & we didn't want to disturb her. But Britt & I got to visit with Bev, and keep her company. It was a somber visit. I just knew Grandma wouldn't be with us much longer. We left late (or early), probably around 2 am or so. I found out later that we barely made it out of Fayetteville before Grandma got worse, and restless again, and Bev called all the kids (my dad, Aunt Barbara & Rolland-Grandma's kids), and told them they needed to come. But she made it through the night. Since I didn't get to sleep until about 3:30 that morning, and had to be at work at 8, I was running on empty. But all that changed when I got a call at work from my dad. He NEVER calls me at work. He just wanted to let me know the hospice nurse had just left, and she said it wouldn't be much longer. He knew I had been there the night before, but also wanted me to know if I wanted to see her one more time, I had better get there. So I left work. My plan was to run by the house & let the dogs out & leave David a note telling him I'd gone to Grandma's. I thought I could be back in time to wake him up for work. But it didn't work out like that. Somehow he knew something was wrong & woke up. And when I started crying & told him what all was going on, he said, let me get my clothes on, I'm coming with you. I just have a feeling I need to go with you. And he did. It was a long heart wrenching afternoon. We were all there with her in the end. All her kids. And her grandkids, with the exception of Ryan. He was on the way back from Little Rock where he'd was trying to get into the Air Force, and he made it shortly after she passed away. Brittni & Jerimiah was there. There was visiting, catching up, and waiting. Quietly waiting. And right around 5:00 pm, my grandma took her last breath. To say that something shifted in my life is an understatement. My grandmother took with her a part of me. All the wonderful things about her I took for granted. Her love, patience, understanding. Her uncanny abililty to know when something wasn't right in my life. I wonder how things will ever be the same again? They won't. There will be no more Christmas Eve's spent at her house, with her passing out handmade quilts, and dishtowels, and potholders & neck warmers that she spent all year making. No more "auctions" to give away things she & Bev accumulated. No more 4th of July parties sitting out with her in her yard watching the neighbors fireworks display. Things will never be the same again, and I wonder if I will ever be. I've just lost my last grandparent.

Visitation was on Sunday. The funeral was Monday. It was a beautiful service. It was cold & rainy & a perfect reflection of my feelings. So many people came to pay their respects. On the way to the cemetary, David said, turn around and look at all the cars. It was amazing, and a true testament to how many lives my grandma impacted.

I've worried about my dad, and my aunt Bev too. She has devoted 100% of her life to taking care of Grandma for so long now, I imagine she doesn't know what to do with herself. My dad told me on the phone other night, I see all these commercials & things in the stores for Mother's day, I don't have a mother anymore. It broke my heart to hear him say that.
I went down to visit Bev last Saturday night-just to see for myself she is doing okay. My dad showed up to sign some papers & stayed for a couple hours. We talked and enjoyed ourselves and I felt a little better about how they are both doing.

And we are all okay, or at least getting there. I hope at some point in my life someone says to me, "You're a lot like your Grandma Purser was"...that'll be a compliment, and something I should strive for for the rest of my life....me

This is all I can do right now...........

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