Christmas

Christmas was pretty different than normal this year. For lots of reasons. It was still good. I didn't think it would be so I was pleasantly surprised. We basically had a big dinner with my kids & grandson Braedon. Brae got some gifts and played on the rocking horse....

Sorry for the red eye. My computer died and I am on a loaner which has none of my good editing programs. Grr. You can still tell how TOTALLY ADORABLE little Brae is though!

I know I promised y'all Dirty Santa party pictures but, sadly, I haven't seen any yet. IF and when I get them, they will get posted. I promise!

Tomorrow is the beginning of another new year. I hope 2012 will have less grief and more happiness. For all of us.

Some time between now and tomorrow evening, I will fine tune my annual list of famous people we lost in the past year and get it posted.

AND if you like tattoos and haven't checked out my new site, underground ink, you should go see it when you get a moment.

Happy New Year everyone! I'll see you in 2012!

Merry Christmas Eve

This photo and story is being passed around Facebook right now. I found it absolutely beautiful and impossible not to share this Christmas Eve.

Our 14-year-old dog Abbey died last month. The day after she passed away my 4-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so, and she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to swim and play with balls. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help and I recognized her right away.

Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm easy to find. I am wherever there is love.

Love, God

Merry Christmas everyone. Love,

Dirty Santa party

I went to a Dirty Santa party last night at my favorite little bar here in town, Shovelheads. It's a cool place filled with mostly cool people. I feel right at home there. Around all the bikers. That's my kind of people if we get right down to the nitty gritty of the matter. They have big hearts & know how to have fun. I think that's mostly because being a real biker can be dangerous. Motorcycle accidents are increasing as motorcycle popularity increases. There are an average of 50,000 motorcycle accidents each year in the United States and thousands of lives are lost. If you choose that lifestyle, you tend to live each day as your last. You know there are no guarantees in life and you want to be free on the open road. Those are attitudes and ideas that appeal to me.



So it should come as no surprise then that a biker bar is the type of place I like to hang out at more than anyplace else. I've grown to love most of the people at Shovelheads and think of them as family. They've been there for me in times that I felt like I had no one. I really appreciate that.


Last nights party was a lot of fun. I would have pictures but my friend hasn't posted them yet....maybe tomorrow I can share all the fun we had!


Are you wondering what I got as a gift? Is it making you crazy that I'm dancing around the subject and not just getting to my point? Well chill out! I was just fixing to get there...


I got....drumroll please....


rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat...sorry, that's the only way I know how to do a drumroll...

I got Strawberry flavored motion lotion...and no body wanted to trade with me. Imagine that. (haha). It wasn't all bad though...I'm sure I could've ended up with something much worse...like the bag of butt wipes & tampons that one girl ended up with.

Well, I'm kind of stuck here...

Without pictures this really seems like the place to end this post....

Just keep looking forward to tomorrow when you can see pictures ☺

Have a great day everyone...I'll see ya tomorrow!

Howdy-do

Hello all you beautiful residents of Blogland! It feels like forever since I've been here, or even wanted to be here. I've decided that I really do miss blogging though & that I shouldn't just let my blogs sit around and collect cobwebs (at least TWO of them shouldn't do that....sadly the other ones will, but I believe I've given them a proper sendoff so that's all good.). I've been trying to come back to life for some time now. I think maybe I've finally arrived. I guess only time will tell that story. I hope you'll hang around with me. There are links on my sidebar & across the top of the page. If you have a few extra minutes, maybe you'll be kind enough to check that stuff out. I WILL be back here soon, talking & showing off pictures, I promise! I hope you all have a very merry Christmas & that all your Christmas wishes come true! As always, with love....

Weather

I've always loved the saying...


Whether the weather is hot or whether the weather is cold, we'll weather the weather, no matter the weather, whether we'd like to or not.


I love it for several reasons. One is, it's true. Another is, it's hard to say after two or three tries in a row. I know that's an odd reason for liking it, but that's me....odd.


I didn't really lie when I said I'd start blogging again. I'm just not blogging on a regular basis again...yet. I'm working on it though.


On that note, I thought I'd share some weather pictures I've taken lately. I hope you like them. I'll see you again as soon as the weather permits ;)

Dogged determination

I know I kinda quit coming to my blogs, but I've been thinking about them a lot and thinking about coming back to them. Then this morning I read this story and watched this video on this amazing dog rescue and knew it fit right into my Crazy Life blog :) I'll try to come back more often now!



Dogged determination: "Steve Porter tells why he brought in specialist equipment to move 45 tonne of rock to save his trapped four-year-old jack russell terrier."

(Click on the link above to view the video)

The ones we lost in 2010

This post is particularly hard for me because...well, because. I've had it written for several weeks. I was working on it the night of December 17th and we had the following conversation:

Tim: Whatcha workin' on baby?

Me: My list of famous folks who died in 2010. You know I do that every year.

Tim: Am I on there?

Me: NO. Quit that.

Tim: Well, I'm just saying.

Me: Well, quit saying.

Tim: K, love, just for you.

The next morning he had a major heart attack. We went to the hospital.

This list did not cross my mind again until the 20th. That's when I made the last entry, Steve Landesberg. I had come home to shower and get some fresh clothes. I went back to the hospital and the list once again left my mind.

Then, after also suffering a stroke, and fighting so hard, two days after Christmas my Love passed away.

Last night, while looking through things on our computer, I saw the list. I said to myself, just forget it. But then I remembered the conversation Tim & I had had about it and I decided that not only should I post it but I should include him on it. He deserves that honor. He was more important to me than anybody in the world.

This years list is not as "clean" as previous lists. I haven't done much editing to it. I normally add photos but I just can't bring myself to do that. Except for my husband. He gets his photo here.


January

6th- George Leonard, 86, American writer, editor and educator, pioneer of the Human Potential Movement, after long illness.

12th- Brian Damage, 46, American punk and rock drummer (Misfits), complications of colorectal cancer.

13th- Teddy Pendergrass, 59, American soul singer, complications from colorectal cancer.

17th- Erich Segal, 72, American professor, author (Love Story), and screenwriter (Yellow Submarine), heart attack.

19th- Jennifer Lyon, 37, American reality TV personality (Survivor: Palau), breast cancer.

22nd- James Mitchell, 89, American actor (All My Children), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.


27th- Barry Blitzer, 80, American television writer (Get Smart, The Flintstones), complications from abdominal surgery.

J. D. Salinger, 91, American author (The Catcher in the Rye), natural causes.

Zelda Rubinstein, 76, American actress (Poltergeist, Picket Fences), natural causes.

30th- Aaron Ruben, 95, American television producer (Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., Sanford and Son), pneumonia.

February

1st- Justin Mentell, 27, American actor (Boston Legal), car accident.

David Brown, 93, American film producer (Jaws), renal failure.

Jack Brisco, 68, American professional wrestler, complications from open heart surgery.

8th- David Froman, 71, American actor (The Edge of Night, Matlock), cancer.

Bill Utterback, 79, American illustrator and caricaturist.

19th- Lionel Jeffries, 83, British film actor, screenwriter and director.

25th- Andrew Koenig, 41, American actor (Growing Pains), suicide (body discovered on this date).

28th- Tom "T-Bone" Wolk, 58, American bass guitarist (Hall & Oates), heart attack.

March

4th- Nan Martin, 82, American actress (The Drew Carey Show), emphysema.

10th- Corey Haim, 38, Canadian actor (Lucas, The Lost Boys, License to Drive), pneumonia.

11th- Merlin Olsen, 69, American football player (L.A. Rams) and actor (Little House on the Prairie, Father Murphy), mesothelioma.

14th- Peter Graves, 83, American actor (Mission: Impossible, Airplane!), heart attack.

18th- Fess Parker, 85, American actor (Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone), natural causes.

24th- Robert Culp, 79, American actor (I Spy, The Greatest American Hero, Everybody Loves Raymond), heart attack.

April

1st- John Forsythe, 92, American actor (Bachelor Father, Charlie's Angels, Dynasty), complications from pneumonia.

6th- Wilma Mankiller, 64, American activist, first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation (1985–1995), pancreatic cancer.

10th- Dixie Carter, 70, American actress (Designing Women, Diff'rent Strokes), endometrial cancer.

14th- Mississippi Slim, 66, American blues singer, heart attack.

25th- Dorothy Provine, 75, American actress, (It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World), emphysema.

May

1st- Helen Wagner, 91, American actress (As the World Turns).

2nd- Lynn Redgrave, 67, English actress (Georgy Girl, Gods and Monsters), breast cancer.

9th- Lena Horne, 92, American singer and actress (Stormy Weather, The Wiz).

16th- Ronnie James Dio, 67, American heavy metal singer (Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Dio), stomach cancer.

20th- Robert L. McNeil, Jr., 94, American chemist and inventor, creator of Tylenol, heart failure.

26th- Art Linkletter, 97, Canadian-born American radio and television personality (House Party, People are Funny), natural causes.

28th- Gary Coleman, 42, American actor (Diff'rent Strokes), intracranial hemorrhage

29th- Dennis Hopper, 74, American actor and film director (Easy Rider), prostate cancer.

June

3rd- Rue McClanahan, 76, American actress (The Golden Girls, Maude), stroke.

6th- Marvin Isley, 56, American bassist (The Isley Brothers, Isley-Jasper-Isley), complications of diabetes.

13th- Jimmy Dean, 81, American country music singer (Big Bad John), actor and businessman (Jimmy Dean Foods), natural causes.

16th- Bill Dixon, 84, American jazz musician.

Ronald Neame, 99, British film director (The Poseidon Adventure) and screenwriter.

24th- JoJo Billingsley, 58, American back-up singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd), cancer.

25th- Richard B. Sellars, 94, American Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson.

July

13th- George Steinbrenner, 80, American baseball team owner (New York Yankees), heart attack.



August

8th- Jack Parnell, 87, British musician and bandleader (The Muppet Show), cancer.

21st- Nancy Dolman, 58, Canadian actress (Soap), wife of Martin Short, natural causes.

23rd- George David Weiss, 89, American composer ("What a Wonderful World", "Can't Help Falling in Love", "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"), natural causes.

Bill Phillips, 74, American country music singer.

September

7th- Glenn Shadix, 58, American actor (Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas), fall.

11th- King Coleman, 78, American rhythm and blues singer ("Do the Mashed Potatoes"), heart failure.

Harold Gould, 86, American actor (The Sting, Rhoda, The Golden Girls), prostate cancer.

Kevin McCarthy, 96, American actor (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), natural causes.

17th- Bill Littlejohn, 96, American animator (Tom and Jerry, Peanuts), natural causes.

21st- John Crawford, 90, American actor (The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, The Waltons), stroke.

22nd- Eddie Fisher, 82, American singer and entertainer, complications from hip surgery.

26th- Gloria Stuart, 100, American film actress (The Invisible Man, Titanic), respiratory failure.

29th- Tony Curtis, 85, American actor (Some Like It Hot, Spartacus, The Defiant Ones), cardiac arrest.


October

10th- Solomon Burke, 70, American R&B singer-songwriter ("Everybody Needs Somebody to Love"), natural causes.

16th- Barbara Billingsley, 94, American actress (Leave It to Beaver, Airplane!).

19th- Tom Bosley, 83, American actor (Happy Days, Father Dowling Mysteries), heart failure.

26th- James Phelps, 78, American gospel and R&B singer, complications of diabetes.

27th- Denise Borino-Quinn, 46, American actress (The Sopranos), liver cancer.

28th- James MacArthur, 72, American actor (Hawaii Five-O, Swiss Family Robinson), natural causes.

November

1st- Charlie O'Donnell, 78, American announcer (Wheel of Fortune), heart failure.

4th- Michelle Nicastro, 50, American singer, actress (When Harry Met Sally...) and voice actress (The Swan Princess), lung cancer.

5th- Jill Clayburgh, 66, American actress (An Unmarried Woman, Ally McBeal, Dirty Sexy Money), chronic leukemia

15th- William Self, 89, American actor and television production manager (Batman, Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea), heart attack.

28th- Leslie Nielsen, 84, Canadian-born American actor (Airplane!, The Naked Gun), pneumonia.

December

7th- Elizabeth Edwards, 61, American author, lawyer and political activist, breast cancer.

9th- James Moody, 85, American jazz saxophonist and flautist, pancreatic cancer.

15th- Blake Edwards, 88, American film director, producer and screenwriter (The Pink Panther, Breakfast at Tiffany's), pneumonia.

20th- Steve Landesberg, actor (Barney Miller, The Golden Girls), 65, cancer

27th- Charles Timothy Brakhage Sr., husband, father, son, grandfather, brother, uncle, friend, 46. We will always love and miss you babyluv.