WWC ~ Round and Pride

Round ~ A little candle in a round bowl, a tiny round pill bottle, a small roundish bean-bag doll, and finally, a Powder Puff Girl and her big round head.

Pride ~ My Children and Grandbabies, of course. The proud new parents, Poppy and (finally) a picture of Bailey. Not a good pic of Poppy, but a pretty good one of Bailey. And finally, my little lighthouse lamp (I collect lighthouses). It was such a find for me and was only three bucks!! I didn't realize there were lighthouses in the shade until I lit it up. It was a great surprise.

A New Member to Our Petting Zoo!!!

A grand announcment from us...one of Poppy's babies has hatched somewhere between 5p.m. and Midnight, last night. Holly went in to check the nesting box, as she does every night before putting the birds to bed. At first, she thought that the egg had broken and it was no good. Then it moved! I was in the washroom (of course!) and she's shouting at me, 'Mom, something happened!'. I hurry up to go and see what was going on and sure enough, there was Baby Leonard! (We named him after the man who sells us all of our birds.) However, we may have to adjust the name once we actually find out if it's male or female. We're so exited! It's so small that I actually had to go and get my glasses to make out which end was which! He's only between 1 and 2 cm. We took pictures, but were having a hard time since he is so small, but check out my Picture/Video Blog for video and pics. He is so adorable that Holly and I just want to touch him, dress him up in something fetching and put sunglasses on him for photo ops...but we're really trying not to. He probably wouldn't enjoy it. Poor Bailey sits by himself all day while Poppy sits on her clutch. He looks so lonely, but will still tear off into the nesting box if we get too close. But I'm determined to get some pics of him today, to show you all how beautiful he is.
I will also be looking around for the WWC for this week. I can't remember what they were, so I'll have to check again.
Talk to you later, Kids!
Take care
Tory

Please, Somebody Kill Me...

Do you all see that horrible countdown clock I've added to my page??? I am going to quit smoking on Feb. 3. Yes, Holly forced me to watch Oprah, and it was about quitting smoking. Bastard Kid!! I've already decided that if I don't know what to do with myself when I quit, I have several options:
1) Cry
2) Kick Holly's butt!
3) Smoke one of the animals
4) Sleep for months at a time
Wish me luck, Kids and I will say sorry in advance for anything I may write on this blog after Feb. 3. The opinions of Tory, at that time, are not necessarily those of management!
Take care
Tory

WWC ~ Envy

Who wouldn't envy a cottage in God's country? Or a lovely cruise? I miss my love nest!

WWC ~ Triangles

It was a challenge to find triangles in my house, but this is what I came up with.

The first pic is a tiangular serving bowl, the second is a heart, but it's still a triangular shape...right? The third is the top off of my lava lamp.

That was fun!

WWC..O.K...I'll join in!!

O.k. I'm in. I'll try the WWC. Let's see..this weeks words are triangle and envy...hmmm..I'll be back in a few..

From Keith..and Little Wing...

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Tory..The Sex Machine...

I'm one of those people who falls...a lot! I can think of so many times when, in public, I've found myself spread-eagle in places where you shouldn't really be 'spread-eagle'.
I will never really get over the trauma of the time in high school, my parents drove me one morning. It was winter, and I was soo cool with my long, poncho-type coat. (Popular at the time. O.k. so it was a hundred years ago) That is until they stopped in front of my school, and while trying to maneuver my way out of the back seat of the two-door, I tripped over my coat and landed face first in the middle of the road. I could not get up immediately because my arms were pinned under me when I fell. What did my parents do? My mother laughed so loud she caught the attention of all the other students walking within 3 miles of the school. She then pushed my feet and the rest of my coat out of the car, slammed the door and they took off, leaving me in the middle of the road, struggling to find the slits in the coat so I could get up. I could hear her laughing all the way down the street. I thought I would die of embarrassment. Yes, she was always that 'thoughtful'.
I remember the time, in my mid-teens, walking in the mall. As I walked past a fruit and veg stand, I slipped on a piece of rotten lettuce. I did the splits so well, let's just say, 'watch out all you crazy, gymnastic experts...I have arrived!' Of course, the problems were,
1.) Previous to this, I'd never done any gymnastics.
2.) I didn't know how to un-gymnastic myself either gracefully or ungracefully from this position.
3.) Did I have to be in public for this??
That's when I actually channeled James Brown. You remember when James Brown did the splits and then was suddenly able to pull himself upright? Yup, I was so embarrassed I actually did that!! (Yes, and James Brown's voice came into my head...'Get on up..Hgh..Hgh..') It's then I realized that I had been channeling James Brown for years...note the 'cape' in the previous story. At that moment, I became afraid of myself and have since refused to be alone with myself for any length of time unless armed with food...or shoes..nice purses..
Anyhoo...cut to years later. Fang, the kids and me going into Walmart after church one Sunday. Yes, I had on heels..and if I recall correctly, a big, ugly, puffy, pink dress. (Every time I wore this dress, somebody would always ask if I was pregnant!! Hated that dress.) Somewhere between 'women's wear' and 'children's wear' I again did the lovely 'James Brown' splits. In a dress, people!! Fang grabbed the kids and left me there. ('get on up..Hgh...Hgh..like a sex machine') Everyone I know is an insensitive bastard!
One year for Christmas, Fang bought me a pair of slippers. Were they lovely furry mules, comfy cozy pull on's?? No, of course not. It was Fang. They were 'chicken' slipper?! I have to describe these things in detail for you. They were over a foot wide, each. Bright yellow with big red toenails on the end of each 5 toes. Oh, and then there was the battery pack!! Every step I took, these things would, 'cock-a-doodle-doo'! Loudly and often. I remember picking up the phone and whoever I was talking to could actually hear them. I tried to be gracious about it and told Fang I loved them...yeah..(my nose is growing just thinking about it!!)
The breaking point for me was when I ran up the stairs, our dog chased my slippers, I fell 'up' the stairs, dog barking and biting my slippers, slippers crowing in alarm...ow..ow..Then I fell down the stairs, dog barking and biting my feet, slippers crowing in alarm..ow..ow..
The next day, I was first in line at the 'Returns' department of the store. Without looking up, the lady asked me what the problem was with the merchandise. I simply shook the slippers, they crowed, she looked at them and promptly returned my money. No further questions asked.
Take care
Tory

A Blah Kind of Day...

Gee, it's just one of those days when I feel like bitching. I think I'm getting the winter blues. The days always seem so dim and dark outside, especially when it's not snowing. I love the snow and it perks me up, but to just have dark clouds all the time...well it's just not working for me. At least not today.

Poor Ashley..she's going through hell right now. Everyone in the house has chicken pox, including herself and Scarlett. It started with Ariel, who probably caught it in school, then Rob and Baby Boy got it. They are in pretty rough shape right now. Yesterday, Ashley noticed a few dots on Scarlett, but nothing very noticeable. Then, Ariel and Ashley got bad colds. Ashley got an ear-ache and a sore throat. Ariel has a terrible cough. So, Ashley called me this morning and said that Ariel had coughed so much during the night, she woke Ashley up at about 3 a.m. and had vomited in her bed. So, Ashley goes to clean it up and notices that Ariel had broken blood vessels in her eyes and on her face from coughing and vomiting. Tonight, Ashley gave me a call...Ariel was complaining that her eyes hurt. She asked me if she should take her to the hospital to get it checked out. I thought she should, because chicken pox can get into your eyes and make you blind. I told her to call me back when she got home. Ariel called me and told me she has pink eye. In both eyes!! Arrrrgggg! Of all things! Poor Ashley! She was at the hospital for only 3 hours, but when she got home, Scarlett had cried the whole time she was gone and was completely covered in chicken pox. What a terrible day for her! And the next few days will be a challenge trying to make sure Ariel doesn't spread her pink eye around. She will probably have to take Scarlett to the Dr. because I don't know how chicken pox effects young babies. Poor Ashley!

I worry about Ashley and the kids. She could use some extra help right now, and I wish she lived closer. I could take the baby or Ariel or even just go over and help her during the day, doing what-ever. Rob is so sick right now, he's having a hard time being any help. Anyway, I instructed her to keep at Ariel to wash her hands and only use her own towel etc. Maybe it will help to keep it from spreading. I hope so. Poor Baby Boy has his chicken pox so bad and especially around his genitals. Prayers and good thoughts for them.

In other news, have you heard all the hype about Tom Cruise and Scientology. In case you don't know, scientologist's believe that we are originally from aliens and they are waiting for the mother ship to return. It's a very odd 'religion'. They believe that we simply have lost the memory of our origins, but the 'church' can help you to remember. They also believe that there are actual aliens already in the American government who are getting ready to take over and enlighten the rest of us...or something along those lines. O.k...what?? I can't believe they actually manage to take seemingly intelligent and normal people, successful people, and convince them of all this. It seems to me to be a slow brainwashing technique or something. And by the time you find out you're an alien, you are already heavily invested in it.

And you guys thought I was an oddball! Even I wouldn't fall for that!...I..don't...think. Well, if I did, I certainly wouldn't tell anyone!!

Anyway, Poppy is still sitting on her eggs. Nothing hatched yet. Is she ever mean to Bailey sometimes. We have to keep an eye on her, she is like a woman in labour. Moody, cranky, mean and just miserable. Actually, she's always been that way...to be honest. She really is not a nice little Poppy, but we love her anyway. She has such a cute and innocent face as she plans every one's death...sigh.

I bribed Holly into cleaning the house for me. Hoooray!! I just don't have the energy to do it myself these days, but I can't stand the mess anymore. In February, I go to a rhumatologist to find out if I have fybromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. I am exhausted all day long and in so much pain all over my body. I sleep quite a bit and so I haven't been able to work for the last year. However, I may have found a place for on-line jobs for people with disabilities. That would be good to be bringing in some money to help out the new and improved Hubby. But, he never complains about anything with me and is so good to me, I wonder about him sometimes???!

Hubby just saw this and said for me to stop wondering....o.k...

Well, I feel much better now that I've written all my crap down and whined about it until you guys probably thought you wanted Poppy to actually kill me in my sleep! Thanks for listening, guys!

Take care Kids

Tory

By the way, does anyone know where Tunisia is??

Just a Short Note...

Since putting the video feeds, and other widgets on my blog, I noticed that it takes a few seconds longer to load. Please be patient.
Thanks!
Take Care
Tory

The Stalker...

As you can see, I'm trying to make some changes and improvements on my blog. I have found so many new widgets to keep track of people, I actually think I'm beginning to stalk all of you. I'm lonely!
But now I can tell where everyone is from that happens upon this crazy blog, even if by accident. I used to have a map that had little red dots on it for every hit I got, which showed where in the world the hit came from. O.k. I must confess, when it comes to geography, I suck. I was getting hits on the map but didn't know what country it was from...duh. So, that didn't really work for me. Besides that, there were so many hits in North America, it turned into one big red dot. So, I got rid of that pretty quickly. Anyway, I'll just keep working at it so that it looks fresh for my regular readers.
In other news, my nose! I just discovered that I hate it. It is a really weird shape and gives me a kind of 'Charlie Brown' profile. I should have had a nose job years ago, but I didn't know it. Actually, when I think about it, I should have had a complete overhaul by now. I don't have much in the 'boob' department, if you know what I mean. My own Dr. once said to me that my breasts are so small, 'If you feel anything, you must have a lump'!! A breast implant op would be nice. And you already know about my large ears...I'm so depressed...
But we've all seen the shows about plastic surgery gone bad. Have you see Kenny Rogers lately? Is he the same man?? I would never have recognized him in a million years. And what's up with Wayne Newton? Is that his face or is it novelty night? He looks like a stand-in for the wax museum. And these are people who can afford the very best medical experts! All I could really afford would be a 'backstreet' plastic surgeon, you know, a guy with a Ginsu knife and Barbie parts...sigh. You know he would probably offer a free toaster for every nose job, for a limited time.
I will be the big '50' this year, and it's too late to do anything about my funny nose, big ears, small boobs etc..so I'll just have to live with it.
In spite of all this, I have a hubby who loves me and that's good enough for me.
Take care, Kids
Tory

A Wonderful Day Had By All...

Well, Sunday was a wonderful day all around. New and improved Hubby and I went to visit Bambi and all four of her Kids. I call them kids, but they are all full grown. The eldest is Flopsy who is almost 30 yrs. old and just recently got married. Her husband wasn't there, but he sounds like a wonderful guy and I can't wait to meet him. Second eldest is Mopsy, who lives with his girlfriend, Muffin who was also there. The youngest are the twins, a boy and girl, named Stanny and Franny, who are 26. It was so great to see everyone, as it's been over three years since we lost touch and I've known these kids since they were shorter than I am.
(of course that's not their names...come on guys..keep up with me!)
When Bambi and I first saw each other, we both almost started crying. It was great. The rest of the time was spent laughing and revisiting old times. I can't wait to see them again!
And in other news, Poppy and Bailey now have 3 eggs in the nesting box. I still haven't been able to get Bailey to stay outside the box when I'm in the room. I feel at this point, that Poppy has put ideas in his head about us. I can tell by the way he looks at us. Is it possible that he is even more suspicious of us than Poppy is? But, as I mentioned, we don't know what Poppy is telling him. Lumpy thinks that they are very unfriendly and won't give him the time of day. Oh, I can't wait until they hatch! Hubby says we can sell them once they're old enough...and of course, I totally agree..(wink!) Poor Hubby doesn't really know what's going on in my world at the best of times. He probably prefers it that way.
That's all for now.
Take care Kids
Tory

Bits and Pieces...

I am trying to stay true to one of my New Year's resolutions, which is to keep blogging and not leaving long empty spaces of time in between. So, here I am, not sure what to write about though, so you know it's probably going to be a weird one. Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!
One of the most fascinating diseases on earth has to be 'Ebola Zaire'. If you haven't heard of it before, it is named thus because it originated in Zaire, deep in the jungle. I saw a documentary on it once, and I was totally horrified and fascinated at the same time. Apparently, what it does is cause your body (squeamish please avert your eyes!) to hemorrhage and clot at the same time. It is absolutely horrific! I loved it! No, don't get me wrong, I hated to hear about the suffering of the poor people who caught this dreaded disease, and I wish they could find something to save them, but once you get it, you are soooo screwed. No cure. And from start to finish, the average patient only lasts about three days with it. I'm sure they must be in agony.
O.K. but what I found fascinating about it was the fact that your body does two separate and opposite things all at once. It's the disease for the multi-tasker.
One day, I had the flu, not long after seeing the documentary, and went to my Dr. I felt like I was going to die. After a few minutes, the Dr. came into the room and took one look at me and said sarcastically, 'Boy, you look wonderful.' I coughed for about 10 minutes straight and looked pathetically up at her. 'I believe it's Ebola, Doc.' Without skipping a beat the Dr. replied, 'No it's not. Your eyes aren't bleeding!' Well, o.k. she was right about that. Anyway, I just thought I would talk to you about one of the most fascinating diseases I know. Now you are all informed, you can watch out for the symptoms.
Now I will make a list of things I'd like to change about myself, and you readers can remind me to try and do them...
1: Stop talking to myself out loud when there's people in the room.
2: Stop getting annoyed if they answer.
3: Stop talking to myself in the car.
4: Stop getting annoyed when Hubby answers.
5: Stop getting annoyed with Holly when we are the only ones in the house and she comes out of her room to find out who I'm talking to.
6: Find somebody to talk to.
7: Stop being so forgetful. One time I went into the kitchen for a drink and I actually made a large salad and forgot my drink! I have no idea why I made the salad.
8: Stop worrying about getting Alzheimer's.
8: Stop worrying about getting Alzheimer's.
9: I once put my reading glasses in the fridge and couldn't find them for 3 days.
10: Do you think I have Alzheimer's?
Oh well, kids. That's all I could come up with from my very exciting day.
Take care
Tory

Just a short note to let you all know that I will be removing a lot of the pictures from this site and moving them to my 'Tory's photo/video Blog'. I just want to unclutter my blogsite and keep all the photo's in the same place. It will be much easier to read without all the distractions, such as beautiful babies and tots all over the place.

A Blast From the Past!

First, I will henceforth be writing any further blogs in bold, as it makes it easier for me to see...and I just discovered the button...duh.
Well, I had an interesting day. Ashley called, and as some of you may know, she is taking the Social Worker Program at college. She is actually in her last semester. She is my personal hero, as she does school with tons of homework, takes care of 3 kids under 5 years old, and is a real go getter. And to his credit, her hubby, Rob, is a terrific father and watches the kids while she's at school, working around her hours as much as possible. They are very plugged in to their kids. Did I mention that Ariel has started school? She absolutely loves it and the kids and teachers love her back. She's a big girl now, and is saving all her pictures she paints at school for nanny to frame. I'm telling you, she's brilliant!!
Anyway, I often help Ashley out a bit with her homework. Today I wrote an essay on post-traumatic stress disorder for her, and e-mailed it to her. She needed a patients perspective on it for her big project and I fit the bill. (Come on, you guys knew I was a freak when you met me...!)
I went into my e-mails and found a note from an old friend, which really made my day. We go back a long way, Bambi and I. (Of course Bambi isn't her real name...do I look like Walt Disney to you?? Actually, in profile I do, mustache and all...sigh!) We've been through a great deal together, including my divorce from Fang and me meeting my new and improved hubby. We lost touch a few years ago. I didn't realize how much I'd missed her until I saw her e-mail. So, I grabbed the phone and gave her a call...it was like we never paused...just picked up where we left off, more or less. She's as crazy as I am, and we have spent a lot of time together laughing when we should have been crying and crying when we probably should have been laughing. We really truly 'get' each other and that means a lot. Both our lives have changed a lot since we last spoke and we have a lot of catching up to do. Hubby and I will go visit her on Sunday. That will be fun.
Did I mention to you all that Hubby quit smoking on New Year's Eve? He's doing great! I'm so proud of him.
That's all for now, kids.
Take care
Tory

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