<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116</id><updated>2011-04-21T14:42:47.905-07:00</updated><category term='Family Ties~Well-loved Pets'/><category term='Family Ties'/><title type='text'>Twenty-five Roses</title><subtitle type='html'>The musings, or rantings, of a Mom of 4 daughters, who has hit the "Big 5-0".  Still totally in love with "the boy next door", who is definitely my Better Half, even after almost 30 years.
With 3 young'uns still at home, 3 cats &amp; a 90lb black lab cross "pain in the butt" aptly named Shadow also underfoot, life in this neck of the woods is always
crazy.  This will be about family, work &amp; play.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>14</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116.post-4154890965772616628</id><published>2007-06-18T14:03:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2007-06-18T14:26:36.164-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Family Ties'/><title type='text'>~Murphy's Law~</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_or_5L0IZEGg/Rnb4LjbJu7I/AAAAAAAAAAc/9bEcSTU8RTs/s1600-h/s587530120_227849_5527Summer06+4.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_or_5L0IZEGg/Rnb4LjbJu7I/AAAAAAAAAAc/9bEcSTU8RTs/s320/s587530120_227849_5527Summer06+4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5077518507278187442" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What a Father's Day my poor Prince Charming had!&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/em&gt; &lt;br /&gt;While trying to find an Animal Medical Clinic open on a Sunday to take our beloved Shadow to, we finally ended up having to take him 5 towns away!  While completing the necessary paperwork, B1 called us in a bit of a state as her Granny thought we might have to get Papa back to the hospital.  Fortunately, by the time we got back home, Papa was feeling good enough to wait until the nurse came to see him at home today.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Prince Charming &amp; I grabbed a quick lunch, jumped on the bikes &amp; made a run for it.&lt;br /&gt;Unfortunately, we only got as far as the first intersection near our home.  Prince&lt;br /&gt;Charming's bike wasn't firing right, so that put the end to a fun afternoon ride.&lt;br /&gt;Since my bike was due at the dealership for service, Prince Charming got stuck heading there on Hwy 401.........definitely not the enjoyable ride to Prince Edward County that he'd expected to do today.  He managed to get there before the Hwy backed up with all the weekend travellers trying to get thru the construction zones.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I first caught up to him at the gas station, thank goodness, since I'd left my wallet &amp; driver's license in my bike &amp; now was in my car.  I wasn't so lucky with the highway traffic. Prince Charming headed off while I decided to grab a coffee to go.  The highway backed up before I'd gotten to where I was to meet him.  The short-cut I'd taken backed up about 10 minutes after I took it.  What normally would take no more that 10 minutes took me 30 minutes or better.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Prince Charming didn't mind my being delayed.  This enabled him to talk to the mechanic &amp; he was waiting outside the shop for me (I didn't stand a chance at getting any shopping done, lol).  However, my car wouldn't start &amp; I had to get it boosted so that we could get home.  By this time, we both decided that more than enough things had gone wrong.  We opted to call Papa to wish him a Happy Father's Day instead of going there in person.  Thank goodness the family celebrated Father's Day for Papa &amp; Prince Charming on Friday along with the celebration of Miss Misery's 18th birthday!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Murphy's Law ~ without bad luck we'd have no luck at all, lol.  Some days are just like that (or maybe some months are just like that).  We're definitely looking forward to July in the hopes that things will get better.  The only June date I'm looking forward to is Miss Misery's graduation ceremony on the 28th.....then June can get the heck out of my life!!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/665504828063030116-4154890965772616628?l=twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/4154890965772616628/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=665504828063030116&amp;postID=4154890965772616628&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/4154890965772616628'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/4154890965772616628'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/2007/06/murphys-law.html' title='~Murphy&apos;s Law~'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://bp3.blogger.com/_or_5L0IZEGg/Rnb4LjbJu7I/AAAAAAAAAAc/9bEcSTU8RTs/s72-c/s587530120_227849_5527Summer06+4.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116.post-3938932908341115160</id><published>2007-06-18T13:03:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-06-18T14:02:16.186-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Family Ties~Well-loved Pets'/><title type='text'>~In Honour of Shadow~</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_or_5L0IZEGg/RnbmhzbJu6I/AAAAAAAAAAU/4zJirlQsUY4/s1600-h/IMG_7174.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_or_5L0IZEGg/RnbmhzbJu6I/AAAAAAAAAAU/4zJirlQsUY4/s320/IMG_7174.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5077499098320976802" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;~Shadow~   Thanksgiving Day 1998 - Father's Day 2007&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Our beloved dog "Shadow" passed away early this morning........not a good way to start off Father's Day.  Just getting back home this weekend from helping out Mom &amp; Dad, I was planning on getting him into the vet's for his annual check-up sometime this week since it was due by the end of this month.  Unfortunately, it was not to be.  Over the last couple of weeks, Shadow had a couple of poor mornings whereby the girls found him breathing kinda hard &amp; hanging around the ceramic tiles in their bathroom.  I'd made a mental note to get him into the vet's office because of that, plus the fact that I've heard big dogs do not live too long because their size   puts more stress on their hearts.  I just came back home Friday night &amp; he was his usual loving &amp; pesky self up until Sunday morning.  Saturday night he hung out with me at the bonfire.....soaking up my hugs &amp; kisses as I missed him all week.  He definitely was aptly named as he stuck like glue  to me.  I can't even go into the kitchen for a drink without him being stuck to my side.....he's always been my "sidekick" &amp; I am going to miss him soooo much.   Actually, just while sitting here I could swear that I'd heard him breathing &amp; sighing...yes ~~sighing....while he waits for me to get off the @#*@#* computer to play with him or give him snacks.&lt;br /&gt;Never again will he drive me totally insane in the kitchen.....no matter what the reason I'd be in there for, he'd be right with me to see what he could get.  He'll never again clean out the cat food bowls on them. &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;I'll also miss Shadow's special greeting for me every morning.  He'd lay at the top of the stairs....grinning his fool head off at me, then roll over for a belly rub, all the while moaning &amp; talking to me.  I'd never get by him without paying attention to him for a few minutes before starting my day.  My family always laughed at me since "after Shadow, they came first", lol.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Our three cats will greatly miss him too.  Shadow should have been a female since he thought he was "The Mom" to any of our other pets.  Salem (our stray cat who's been with us going on 2 years) loved to hiss at him.  He was finally used to Shadow but loved to hiss if he was too close.  Misty (B2's cat) loved to steal what she could from his food bowl.  Aurora (our Garfield look-a-like) was totally, madly in love with him (thank goodness they were both fixed or who knows what she'd try to do with him, lol).  She's just wandering around the house looking for him, and even (OMG) braved the Big Outdoors to look for him too. We are all devastated with losing him....Shadow was an important part of this family......greatly loved &amp; he'll be greatly missed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rest in peace Shadow.....and someday we'll see you again........along with other wonderful family pets from our past.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/665504828063030116-3938932908341115160?l=twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/3938932908341115160/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=665504828063030116&amp;postID=3938932908341115160&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/3938932908341115160'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/3938932908341115160'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/2007/06/in-honour-of-shadow.html' title='~In Honour of Shadow~'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://bp0.blogger.com/_or_5L0IZEGg/RnbmhzbJu6I/AAAAAAAAAAU/4zJirlQsUY4/s72-c/IMG_7174.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116.post-2402147315736543565</id><published>2007-06-16T20:57:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2007-06-16T21:14:06.629-07:00</updated><title type='text'>~Back Home Again~</title><content type='html'>Hurray!!  Brought Dad home Monday evening from his triple by-pass June 1st.  He's glad to be home but is still quite tired &amp; kind of weak.  Mom is sure happy to be home again, though she misses our place.  Between the kids &amp; pets the craziness helps her stay sane...........or is that supposed to be crazy......&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I got home late last night (Miss Misery's birthday) so now have to catch up on housework &amp; gardening before I go back to work Monday morning. The pets all sure&lt;br /&gt;missed me &amp; it was nice to be back again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We had an impromptu birthday party at Granny &amp; Papa's for Miss Misery, and also celebrated Father's Day early for her Dad &amp; Papa.  That way we figured that we'd only drive him bonkers &amp; tire him out once this weekend instead of twice....don't think he could put up with the gang twice in a row at this point in his recovery.&lt;br /&gt;I'm sure going to miss them as I've been with them everyday for the past 3 weeks....but I have to get back to work.  I just hope that Dad keeps improving everyday and that Mom just takes it easy.  Miss Misery is going to spend the next few days with them before she starts her summer job.  I don't know who's looking forward to that more........Miss Misery or her Grandparents.  Guess she'll be competing/comparing surgery stories with her Papa (may the best scars win, lol).&lt;br /&gt;Papa has her beat in the "staple" department, however, as she hasn't had them yet.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Must sign off now as I definitely need some sleep.  We plan on riding down to see&lt;br /&gt;Mom &amp; Dad tomorrow for Father's Day &amp; to see how he's doing (great excuse for a ride, lol).  Hope everyone has a great weekend &amp; a good week.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/665504828063030116-2402147315736543565?l=twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/2402147315736543565/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=665504828063030116&amp;postID=2402147315736543565&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/2402147315736543565'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/2402147315736543565'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/2007/06/back-home-again.html' title='~Back Home Again~'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116.post-6483870379141578738</id><published>2007-06-10T21:01:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-06-10T21:05:12.053-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Birthday Wishes........</title><content type='html'>Miss Misery..........&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's now 12:02am on June 11th.  Your special day is quickly approaching (4 more days)!&lt;br /&gt;I don't even have a clue as to what you'd like for your birthday.  Let me know Nifty's schedule this weekend so I can try to figure something out.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In spite of the craziness around here we definitely won't miss celebrating your special day,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Love you whole big bunches!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;~Mom~&lt;br /&gt;XXXXOOOO&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/665504828063030116-6483870379141578738?l=twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/6483870379141578738/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=665504828063030116&amp;postID=6483870379141578738&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/6483870379141578738'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/6483870379141578738'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/2007/06/birthday-wishes.html' title='Birthday Wishes........'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116.post-2248499663321179935</id><published>2007-06-10T20:43:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-06-10T21:01:24.313-07:00</updated><title type='text'>What Day Is It???</title><content type='html'>Hmm, I can't believe it's June 10th already.  Miss Misery's birthday is coming up on Friday &amp; I haven't even had time to think about it.  We've been going to Kingston daily to visit Dad.  I'm at the point now that every time I sit down I reach for my seatbelt...lol.  The drive to Kingston usually takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours each way.  I think I can do it in my sleep now ~ it seems that I just have left home &amp; in a blink of an eye I need to get off the highway at the next exit 'cause we're already in Kingston....that's a scary thought that the trip seems to only take a few minutes now.&lt;br /&gt;Dad's in pretty good spirits all considering.  He still has his wonderful sense of humour &amp; definitely appreciates how hard the nurses work to take care of their patients.  For every step forward he takes, it seems that he takes a step back. Thank goodness he's starting to get his appetite back but he still is quite weak. We thought he'd be home by now.....even his doctor thought he'd be home.  It was rather humorous that the doctor was in on Friday to check on him.  After assessing how his nights have been his words to Dad were "I'm going away for the weekend, but you're not".  &lt;br /&gt;It seems that they're having some trouble regulating Dad's heartbeat, along with the fact that his lungs haven't fully expanded yet.  He's been up walking a bit but is taking it too fast.  Dad definitely doesn't know the meaning of slow down &amp; take it easy! It's hard on all of us to see him so tired.  He's back on oxygen again which is a concern but he sure brightens up when we come to visit.  Miss Misery &amp; Princess Sassy went Saturday to visit him with their Dad &amp; Granny.......I got the day off for good behavior, lmao, but missed him.  Today Granny &amp; I took Miss Misery with us to see him.  Princess McPout &amp; Princess Grace &amp; their other halves were there when we arrived.  We definitely tired Dad out so hopefully he'll sleep some tonight.  He never seems to sleep much at night.....kinda runs in his side of the family.  Even with a sleeping pill he was awake most of the night.  &lt;br /&gt;Well, I must hit the hay so that I'm bright-eyed &amp; bushy-tailed to head back out there in the morning.  I hope Dad gets home within the week but I also hope he gets more practice getting in &amp; out of bed before I'm in charge of helping him, lol.  It's kinda awkward helping when you're not sure if you're hurting him.  Will keep you posted.....&lt;br /&gt;Have a great week everyone,&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/665504828063030116-2248499663321179935?l=twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/2248499663321179935/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=665504828063030116&amp;postID=2248499663321179935&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/2248499663321179935'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/2248499663321179935'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/2007/06/what-day-is-it.html' title='What Day Is It???'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116.post-7441034012465524246</id><published>2007-06-02T20:39:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-06-02T20:46:55.395-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Just A Quick Update</title><content type='html'>Just letting everyone know that Dad ended up having a triple bypass surgery last evening.  Took Mom down at noon today &amp; we were very pleased to see that he was sitting up in CCU &amp; had a bit of a liquid lunch (....no.....it wasn't his favorite beverage rye, lol).  He finally escaped the CCU around 4 this afternoon &amp; ended up in a room with 3 roommates. He's talking a bit more in spite of a sore throat &amp; had some of his dinner before I brought Mom home.  I'm SO pleased to see that his colour is improving every hour &amp; am more than pleased with everything about KGH.  The nurses &amp; doctors are wonderful.  &lt;br /&gt;Am heading back to see him tomorrow morning but wanted to let you know that the surgery is finally over. &lt;br /&gt;Will keep you posted....................&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/665504828063030116-7441034012465524246?l=twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/7441034012465524246/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=665504828063030116&amp;postID=7441034012465524246&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/7441034012465524246'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/7441034012465524246'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/2007/06/just-quick-update.html' title='Just A Quick Update'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116.post-3659154429857287130</id><published>2007-05-27T18:06:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-05-27T18:46:27.210-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Time Flies..........</title><content type='html'>Here it is......May 27th.........I can't believe this month is gone ~ I can't believe that tomorrow my baby, Princess Sassy, turns 15!!  We had a lovely family get-together today at the Grandparents home.  My niece, Karen Rani, came down Saturday to visit them over the weekend.  My oldest, Princess McPout (previously known as Princess Pouty in my posts) also went down yesterday &amp; had a great time catching up with her cousing till the wee hours of the morning.  I didn't go until&lt;br /&gt;noon today....after returning one of Princess Sassy's friends home &amp; picking up Princess McPout's fiance so that they wouldn't have to bring 2 vehicles back home tonight.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Should have gone down yesterday, but instead, I spent a lovely day out with Miss Misery, her b/f Nifty &amp; his Mom.  Started out a bit upset with the fact that her dress was not ready as promised.  It's to be ready Monday instead....&amp; it&lt;br /&gt;better be there when we go tomorrow afternoon to pick it up.  More importantly, it&lt;br /&gt;better fit just right or she'll/we'll  be quite upset.  Nifty lucked out &amp; quickly picked out a stylin' suit &amp; shirt for the Prom which will  be ready Monday as well.&lt;br /&gt;We went out for a great lunch at Boston Pizza, then hit Tim's for coffee &amp; spent some time talking together.  After dropping Nifty off for work, we hit our favorite store to pick up a couple of ties for him to choose between for the Prom.  Hopefully, one of the two we picked will go well with the dress &amp; that he'll like them.&lt;br /&gt;Anyways, back to tonight's wonderful dinner!  It was an impromptu birthday party for Princess Sassy.  She received some nice cards &amp; gifts &amp; enjoyed her birthday cake.  Her sisters &amp; cousin ordered it at the bakery &amp; they naturally had the bakery folks think twice while doing the cake.  Today they chose the saying "Happy Birthday ButtHead".  The poor woman even came back out front to ask them how to spell it!!&lt;br /&gt;Last month, the same parties in question ordered a cake for Princess Grace's b'day.&lt;br /&gt;On that one they requested "Happy Birthday Dorkface" &amp; received quite  a look from the lady who was to prepare their order.  Fortunately, it was ordered in a different town.  Miss Misery's b'day is in June.........I'm rather dreading what they'll come up with for her.........Oh, Sisterly Love, LOL.  Thank goodness they didn't come up with a name to add on behalf of my birthday.   "Mom" has worked fine with me for all these years.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I probably won't be on top of my posts for the next week or so.  Dad is going in for surgery Wednesday morning so I'll be out of town to stay with Mom.  Not sure when he'll be home........hence another good reason we chose to get together this weekend at their place to bug them, lol.  Going to be hectic.......still need to pick up some stuff to celebrate Princess Sassy's special day tomorrow.  Also need to pick up Miss Misery's dress for Prom, as well as her prom tickets, for Friday night.  (Sigh)&lt;br /&gt;so much to do so little time.......probably a line most moms relate to for their entire life, ha ha ha.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mom &amp; Dad were on a cruise when I had my birthday.  They gave me some lovely presents, and Mom picked out an amazing card that actually brought tears to my eyes!&lt;br /&gt;I told my husband that his Mom &amp; Dad really love me &amp; they love me better than they love him, lol.  That got all of them laughing for a while!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So......on that note I'll sign off for now.  The girls are kinda worried about their&lt;br /&gt;Papa this week.....but I keep telling them to stay positive.  Stuff happens when you get older &amp; hopefully their Papa will be just fine &amp; feeling much better than he has&lt;br /&gt;been lately.  I've been so fortunate with them.......(they are my husband's parents).&lt;br /&gt;I'm proud to say that I have the In~Laws.............NOT the out~laws!!!!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/665504828063030116-3659154429857287130?l=twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/3659154429857287130/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=665504828063030116&amp;postID=3659154429857287130&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/3659154429857287130'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/3659154429857287130'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/2007/05/time-flies.html' title='Time Flies..........'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116.post-3820850840260964127</id><published>2007-05-23T17:51:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-05-23T18:25:18.674-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Ooops...I missed a week...&amp; then some!!</title><content type='html'>Gee, this working for a living really sucks!  Seems like I have no time at all left to myself which is not good with all the plans I have now that the nice weather is here.  Just can't seem to keep up with the laundry/housework &amp; I've barely made a dent in the weeds.  Thank goodness I haven't been stuck on the lawn tractor yet!&lt;br /&gt;Princess Sassy &amp; my better half have been taking turns doing the grass cutting.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's been busier than usual around here.  Miss Misery is excitedly awaiting for&lt;br /&gt;Prom Night on June 1st.  Princess Pouty gave her a gorgeous dress that is currently being altered &amp; shortened.  Hopefully, everything will be perfect when we go to the dressmaker's Saturday to check it out &amp; bring it home.  Then, it's off to the mall with her boyfriend Nifty &amp; his Mom........he needs to find a suit to wear to her Prom.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Great news!!  Princess Pouty has announced the date of her wedding......it will take place on April 12th, 2008.  She's very happy that everything's falling into place.  The Church &amp; Hall are booked, as is the photographer, DJ &amp; the limo.  Dress shopping will start in a couple of weeks so that she can decide on the colours she wants for her special day.....then the bakery can finalize plans for her wedding cake.  The food is also planned. Now we just need to finalize the guest list &amp; attend to all the other details that need attention.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I finally have a day off tomorrow.  Hopefully the weather will be terrific &amp; I'll be able to go for a ride.  If not, guess I'll get back to the laundry room &amp; try to make a dent in the mountains there, lol.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Will try to be more consistent with this blog.  Please be patient......it's all new to me.........&amp; some days I don't feel I have anything worth writing, then days go by &amp; Miss Misery asks me whaz'up with the blog.  Hopefully I'll get better at it as time goes by.......&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have a great week, &amp; I'll be back!!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/665504828063030116-3820850840260964127?l=twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/3820850840260964127/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=665504828063030116&amp;postID=3820850840260964127&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/3820850840260964127'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/3820850840260964127'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/2007/05/ooopsi-missed-week-then-some.html' title='Ooops...I missed a week...&amp; then some!!'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116.post-17869407918377150</id><published>2007-05-13T13:40:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-05-13T13:51:22.852-07:00</updated><title type='text'>To Miss Misery</title><content type='html'>OMG.................here I am still drooling over last night's wonderful dinner &lt;br /&gt;we had at Princess Pouty's place...........that I completely let thoughts of &lt;br /&gt;food overrule love, lol. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After a late night.....I was heading off to bed at 1am this morning.....when Miss Misery popped into my room to wish me a Happy Mother's Day.  She handed me a home-made card done in my favorite colours &amp; wrote me a lovely note straight from her heart.  What a wonderful way to go off to sleep, thinking of her precious words, &lt;br /&gt;and revelling in her hugs &amp; kisses! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This daughter of mine sure knows what I need &amp; when I need a little something &lt;br /&gt;extra and she sure knows how to make sure that I feel her love.  I only hope &lt;br /&gt;that in the busy~ness of our daily lives that she knows in her heart how much &lt;br /&gt;I truly love her (&amp; her sisters' &amp;amp; Dad too, of course).  Miss Misery is definitely a ray of sunshine &amp; warmth in my life!!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/665504828063030116-17869407918377150?l=twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/17869407918377150/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=665504828063030116&amp;postID=17869407918377150&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/17869407918377150'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/17869407918377150'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/2007/05/to-miss-misery.html' title='To Miss Misery'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116.post-4759453178919260932</id><published>2007-05-13T12:48:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-05-13T13:16:34.905-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Happy Mother's Day!!!!</title><content type='html'>What a lovely sunny day even though it's not as warm as I'd hoped for. I hope Mothers everywhere enjoy today &amp; do whatever their hearts desire. Me....I'm just chillin'.....having a lazy day napping, reading, playing on the computer.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'm also enjoying my thoughts from last evening when my Princess Pouty had us over for a belated birthday dinner/Mother's Day dinner. What a nice treat~not cooking dinner!! First&lt;br /&gt;Princess Pouty made pasta (my favorite) with a twist~she used &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;pepperoni&lt;/em&gt;,&lt;/strong&gt; green peppers, mushrooms, garlic, 3 kinds of sauce, more garlic &amp;amp; fresh mozzarella cheese. Cheese garlic bread &amp; sauteed shrimp (in garlic &amp;amp; butter, of course) rounded out this lovely dinner, with ice cream cake to finish it off. My girls gave me a gift certificate for my favorite Greek restaurant, a gift set full of spa stuff, a magazine &amp; a totally beautiful Mother's Day Card that was long &amp;amp; hard for me to read through my tears..............all my girls are awesome..........and really made my heart swell even more with the love &amp; pride I've always held for these beautiful creatures.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At touching moments like this I really wonder where they came from &amp;amp; how I was so lucky to be their Mom. They are rays of sunshine in our lives and moments like these definitely outshine the not so pleasant moments all parents &amp; kids go through. Times like these are treasured and definitely remind us how awarding parenting is..........&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Think I'll sign off here.........shouldn't have reread the card again........tears are threatening to take over. Must call Princess Pouty and thank her again for last night........and call Princess Grace to see if she'll be home for dinner tonight.  Princess Sassy got someone to cover her shift at work tonight so I don't have to do any driving.........hmmm..........I think I hear the mango rum calling my name!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Miss Misery has been busy today creating  a blog for her good friends that are taking off for Europe &amp; Ireland for the next year. I'm sure they'll have wonderful adventures over there &amp;amp;&lt;br /&gt;am looking forward to reading about them. I'm not sure when they'll be able to start writing as they have a million things to do before taking off Tuesday..........but I'm sure it will be worth the wait. Miss Misery will probably explain more about it, but here's the link she gave me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://thebackpackers.blogspot.com"&gt;http://thebackpackers.blogspot.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Happy trails, you two, &amp; I hope you both have the time of your lives!! You will definitely be missed around here but everyone will be able to keep up with your adventures. Hopefully, you'll be back home before you know it...........but if you decide to stay in Ireland don't expect too much peace &amp;amp; quiet! I'm sure many of your friends will be saving up to head over to visit with you two...................Have a blast!!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;from Miss Misery's Mom&lt;br /&gt;(&amp; the rest of the Family too)&lt;br /&gt;.............XXXXOOOO&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/665504828063030116-4759453178919260932?l=twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/4759453178919260932/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=665504828063030116&amp;postID=4759453178919260932&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/4759453178919260932'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/4759453178919260932'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/2007/05/happy-mothers-day.html' title='Happy Mother&apos;s Day!!!!'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116.post-8756073052560213676</id><published>2007-05-11T18:43:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-05-11T19:28:16.423-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Dynamite Anyone????</title><content type='html'>Here it is, Friday night, and I haven't done anything more around here except 3 loads of laundry........well, I finished a book &amp; started another one.......totally enjoying the weather&lt;br /&gt;on the back deck this morning. I can't believe in 2 days off of work that I didn't accomplish more. Guess I'll be working my butt off tomorrow morning trying to get the house into shape. It's supposed to be a great weekend weather-wise........so I'd better get cracking so that my&lt;br /&gt;Honey &amp;amp; I can try to get in some riding. There's several charity rides this weekend that I'd like to go on.  (My Honey &amp; I leaving our oldest daughter's place.....the Cool Parents, lol)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_or_5L0IZEGg/RkUhCw2EOoI/AAAAAAAAAAM/i96NLAJc_Xc/s1600-h/s587530120_227849_5527Summer06+4.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5063489687403117186" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_or_5L0IZEGg/RkUhCw2EOoI/AAAAAAAAAAM/i96NLAJc_Xc/s320/s587530120_227849_5527Summer06+4.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Got to go shopping with my better half today to buy a new dishwasher.  Our old one was recalled due to a problem that could result in an electrical fire.  Since it was going on 8 years old we opted for the $75.00 we were offered by the company involved instead of having a repairman come out to fix the problem.  The dang thing was leaking badly and falling apart anyways........so now I have a lovely new one &amp; I'm very happy that the inside is stainless steel instead of the cheap plastic that stains &amp;amp; retains not so lovely old food smells, lol.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Took Miss Misery to get some photos developed today after picking her up from co-op.  She&lt;br /&gt;needs to finish a project for the end of the month and had some great pictures from the last few outings with the members she volunteers with.  I must admit that I greatly admire Miss Misery's natural abilities to be able to work with these young adults with special needs.  I think that she's amazing with them and they seem to love her too.  I'm very excited for her to do her college course in Social Work.  I think that she'll love it and do an amazing job once she gets her diploma.  Social Services will luck out in getting this gem of a young women in their midst. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Before leaving the mall, we decided to stop at the shoe store in hopes of finding a pair for Prom.  No such luck today.......but Miss Misery scored a leopard/cheetah print purse and matching wedgie sandals.  My, but what a fetish she has for purses..........but she doesn't ask for much.  Although I don't understand the extent of her love for purses, I do occasionally try to indulge her.  I do believe that she was grinning all of the way home thinking about them.  Guess we'll give shoe shopping for Prom another try next week so that we can get her dress altered for them. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Well, guess I'll sign off here........gotta get some sleep so that I can get up fairly early  tomorrow &amp; tackle this house........or maybe get some tanning/reading done by the pool.....sigh......the next major overhaul will be getting a new liner for the pool........never a dull moment.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have a good weekend everyone.  Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there.......enjoy your day!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=393132&amp;id=875585580"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=393132&amp;amp;id=875585580"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/665504828063030116-8756073052560213676?l=twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/8756073052560213676/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=665504828063030116&amp;postID=8756073052560213676&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/8756073052560213676'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/8756073052560213676'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/2007/05/dynamite-anyone.html' title='Dynamite Anyone????'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://bp2.blogger.com/_or_5L0IZEGg/RkUhCw2EOoI/AAAAAAAAAAM/i96NLAJc_Xc/s72-c/s587530120_227849_5527Summer06+4.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116.post-4615661892069040827</id><published>2007-05-07T13:09:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-05-07T13:36:21.442-07:00</updated><title type='text'>I Survived the "Big 5-0"</title><content type='html'>Hey Everyone,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'm back &amp; I survived the "Big 5-0" last Friday!  I lucked out and had the day off work,&lt;br /&gt;so my better half took me to New York for a long weekend.  We left Friday, in honour of&lt;br /&gt;the big day.....as well as in honour of the 1st National Female Ride Day.   We rode to&lt;br /&gt;Alexandria Bay  where I celebrated with a couple of mango rums' on the rocks (and nothing&lt;br /&gt;to eat at this point which wasn't too bright of me, lol)  Since I'm the "DD" at 99.9% of any&lt;br /&gt;fun stuff due to Mom's Taxi Service, I am so totally a cheap drunk (great on honey's wallet though).  We had to wait in the bar for our dinner table, so naturally I had to have a drink.&lt;br /&gt;I wolfed down the whole (small) bowl of popcorn that the bartender left  with our drink order. &lt;br /&gt;I was a good girl and  managed to nurse my Long Island Ice Tea through-out the entire dinner(it's amazing that the bartender could tell I needed food, lol).  After we got back to the motel&lt;br /&gt;I passed on the  nightcap &amp; basically went to bed.  Must have been all that fresh air during the ride........I was asleep by 10pm. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We left for Lake Placid the next morning.  The mountain roads were great..........not too much traffic yet.........sunny weather but still kinda chilly.  We were supposed to head further south but I mentioned that a couple of drinks &amp; a jacuzzi would warm me up real quick.....unfortunately the only hotel at Lake Placid that was open &amp;amp; had a jacuzzi wanted almost&lt;br /&gt;$500 US per night.    I decided that I'd settle for a hot shower &amp; some more mango rum drinks &amp;amp; that kind of money would go much farther if spent on other things.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Didn't get much warmer Sunday, but we both came home with great wind burns &amp; slept like rocks after riding all day from Lake Placid to get home.  We managed to stop for HOT coffee &amp; yummy blueberry fritters for supper ~dang travel centres are way too busy to wait for a hot meal on Sunday evenings.  Made it home about 9PM...........and were pleased to see that the kids saved some pizza for us..........I didn't even have to cook &amp; made it to bed by 10pm.  Although I slept very well, the morning came far too early for me!  2 more days then I have a 4 day weekend (wow, 2 long weekends in a row..........better make the most of it before management notices how my hours have been........that will be the end of long weekends, lol)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The kids were pretty good while we were gone.  They managed to get some housework done for me in spite of their social obligations.........they must have been bored &amp; missed us.......it's not too often they volunteer to do chores.......I'm lucky if they get time to do their own laundry, lol.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyways, Miss Misery will be home in a few minutes.  I haven't seen her since Thursday, so&lt;br /&gt;I'll  stop here for now.  I need to ask her how to add some other Stuff to my blog........haven't been around lately for her to "roll her eyes at me" when I ask dumb stuff about computers, blogging, etc.  Just kidding.............she's pretty patient with me.......even if she explains things to me far too fast for this old, un-technological mind to keep up with....ha ha.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/665504828063030116-4615661892069040827?l=twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/4615661892069040827/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=665504828063030116&amp;postID=4615661892069040827&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/4615661892069040827'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/4615661892069040827'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/2007/05/i-survived-big-5-0.html' title='I Survived the &quot;Big 5-0&quot;'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116.post-4695557555486949760</id><published>2007-04-29T14:26:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-04-29T14:27:17.626-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Thank Goodness for XanGo</title><content type='html'>I’ve so been dragging my butt the last few weeks…just cannot seem catch up on my sleep.  Trying to enjoy any downtime from work by riding (even though I should start the yard &amp; garden cleanup) involves too much intake of fresh air.  After the winter months staying holed up in the house I’m finding it a bit hard to adjust to the wonderful weather.  By the time I’m off work my body is telling me that it’s nap time…as if I were a little one again.  It hasn’t helped that my supply of XanGo was pretty much exhausted so I hadn’t been taking it lately.  Thank goodness this month’s order came in and I’m getting back on track with it again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.enhancedfamilyhealth.com/"&gt;XanGo&lt;/a&gt; is a nutritional food supplement in beverage form that’s full of anti-oxidents &amp;amp; anti-inflammatory properties.  It’s made from the entire mangosteen fruit which is also known as the “Queen of Fruits”.  Very popular in the eastern world, XanGo is the company who finally was able to patent the use of the whole fruit for this beverage &amp; brought it to the western part of the world.  Now it is sold in 18 countries worldwide by internet sales only.  I took the “30 Day Challenge” almost a year ago and was so impressed with it that I decided to start my own business as a distributor of this wonderful tasting beverage.  It’s recommended to be tried over a 3 month period so that your body can get used to the product &amp;amp; you can adjust the amounts you take to suit you personally.  You only need ounces per day for average health concerns, but the downfall I found with my family was that it tastes so good that they drink it by the glassful instead.  It’s a good thing that taking too much will definitely not hurt you, and for those on medications, it will not interfere with them either.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I found that a lot of my customers would go on the 30 Day Challenge and decide against it.  Within 2-4 weeks, most of them came back to me with wanting to get back on the product again.  While using it, many didn’t seem to see any differences, but sure noticed differences once they stopped drinking it.  A lot of people refer to it as their “Happy Juice”, and like me, are totally amazed at how it improved their energy &amp; stress levels.  I also like that it helps with my arthritis &amp;amp; it has decreased my downtime when suffering from migraine headaches.  In fact, I’ve just realized that it’s been months since I’ve had a migraine.  I usually lose at least 2-3 days when I have one and then it takes me several days to get back to normal.  With XanGo I’ve been able to function pretty much as usual in spite of the migraine since it’s so much milder than I’m used to.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Being very skeptical of this product when I first was introduced to it, I was very nervous when I woke up at 3am one morning with a full blown migraine.  I actually stood in the middle of the kitchen, painfully trying to decide whether to go to the medicine cupboard or the refrigerator.  I really wanted to give the mangosteen juice the benefit of the doubt, but was very chicken to do so.  My migraine was so bad and all I wanted to do was to basically knock myself out to try to sleep it away…which usually is an impossible thing to do.  I caved &amp; went for my medicine, but also took 1/2 a milk glass of the juice, and hoped for the best.  I was very surprised when I actually got back to sleep (laying down, not uncomfortably upright in a chair) for another 4 hours!  When I woke up I “hit the bottle for another shot” &amp;amp; went back to sleep again.  This went on for the rest of the day, and I was pleasantly surprised to wake up the next morning with a very mild twinge of the remaining migraine, and shocked at how much energy I had.  I had no trouble fuctioning normally that day…the first time ever in my history of migraines that I didn’t lose days of that week.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Miss Misery also uses this juice.  However, like many teens,  she jumped into this with both feet &amp; then became “forgetful Jones”. But while she was regularly using it, she noticed several small things improving. She had more energy, and her joints didn’t become swollen as often as they used too. I’m trying to remind her to start using it more often though, because we did notice that difference.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I’m so glad that this product is available to Canadians through the internet.  This product benefits the entire body from head to toe.  Everyone has different experiences, however, but they all have the same thing in common…they want optimum health.  Some experience minor benefits, some experience major benefits.  I’m happy with what it has done for me &amp;amp; hope that over time my body will realize even more benefits.  If any of this interests you, feel free to check out my website…you don’t have anything to lose, but may have something to gain!!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/665504828063030116-4695557555486949760?l=twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/4695557555486949760/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=665504828063030116&amp;postID=4695557555486949760&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/4695557555486949760'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/4695557555486949760'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/2007/04/thank-goodness-for-xango.html' title='Thank Goodness for XanGo'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-665504828063030116.post-2843499202008148314</id><published>2007-04-29T00:29:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-04-29T14:25:54.390-07:00</updated><title type='text'>I'm New to This</title><content type='html'>I've decided to join my &lt;a href="http://troll-baby.com"&gt;niece&lt;/a&gt; and my &lt;a href="http://missmiserysmiles.blogspot.com"&gt;daughter&lt;/a&gt; in the blogging world. My daughter, Miss Misery, practically forced this on me - I guess she thinks I need something "new" in my life to pass the time, considering I'll be 5o this time next week!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although I’m closing in on the Big 5-0 in less than a week…I sure don’t feel that old (unless you count how my bones feel in damp or extremely cold weather).  I can’t believe that my kids are growing up so fast.  As most of the mothers out there know, time sure flies when you’re raising a family…there’s never enough time in a day. Even though it seems like “just yesterday we brought them home from the hospital”, in a blink of an eye they’ve gone and grown up on us and are embarking on their own lives, or are pretty much well on the way to doing so.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Our oldest got engaged last November &amp; has been living with her fiance for several years.  They bought a house together a couple of years ago which is only about 10 minutes away on the backroads.  With their work schedules &amp;amp; busy lives we don’t nearly see enough of them, but now that the weather’s nicer I hope that will change.  Our second daughter just finished her 1st year at college taking Medical Administration  &amp; is looking forward to banking some money working over the summer.   One more year at school for her, then I imagine she’ll look for a place on her own once she has a real job.  &lt;a href="http://missmiserysmiles.blogspot.com"&gt;Daughter #3&lt;/a&gt; just recently was accepted at college for Social Service Worker.  It’s a two year program, but since she doesn’t drive yet she’ll only be home on the weekends.  This will seem quite strange to her Dad &amp;amp; I since the first two girls commuted to school from home.  We were able to get a nice place for Miss Misery a couple of weeks ago.  The people who rent the basement apartment seem really nice and MM seemed quite comfortable with them.  The bonus is that a friend of hers from her old public school will be sharing the apartment with her.  They both are ecstatic that they have roommates that they know well &amp; are looking forward to their new adventures on their own…although I know that MM is still a bit nervous about living on her own.  She’ll only be about 45 minutes away so will be able to come home every weekend.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Our youngest will be 15 next month &amp;amp; is doing well at school.  She’s been working part-time since September at a fast food joint  &amp; started another part-time job today at a kennel.  Unfortunately, living in the country limits your job choices...not too much call to have tanning salons or spas on every corner!  Once she’s 16, I’m sure that she’ll go for her licence immediately &amp;amp; save to buy a car so that she can have more choices of places to work that would be more appealing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As for me, I went back to work in October,  working at Tim Horton’s.  Seemed like a little extra cash would be a good thing what with a wedding not far off in the future &amp; two in college... and it won’t be long before our youngest will be getting ready for college herself.  I started off working the midnight shift because I’m normally a night owl, but found that I missed my better half far too much &amp;amp; also missed out on too much with our girls.  Seemed that any time off work was spent trying to catch up on my sleep.  After five months of that I gave up &amp;amp; switched to day shifts...by then my sleep patterns were so messed up that now I have no problem starting at 5:30am.  It only took me almost two months to actually sleep through the night again instead of waking up every 20 minutes.  I actually have a life with my family again, which is a great thing!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/665504828063030116-2843499202008148314?l=twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/feeds/2843499202008148314/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=665504828063030116&amp;postID=2843499202008148314&amp;isPopup=true' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/2843499202008148314'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/665504828063030116/posts/default/2843499202008148314'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://twentyfiveroses.blogspot.com/2007/04/im-new-to-this.html' title='I&apos;m New to This'/><author><name>Mama Bear</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15733803077089575797</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry></feed>
