A Peak at Last Week


Grandma J had a week or two packed to the gills with activities that left her without the time to do much blogging. When she had the time, she didn't have access to her laptop. It was all a matter of others having dibs first!


One event that she has to mention is another graduation ceremony....

 His! That's right...A-Ron graduated from middle school.    Then he had a birthday. His fourteenth!

 Where have the years gone since he was a four year old Davey Crocket?

Life Comes At You Fast

Yesterday, Grandma J tried to avoid the subject of birthdays, but someone always let's the cat out of the bag. Then the fun begins with a barrage of wonderful gifts, emails, blog comments and cards full of birthday wishes. The door bell never stopped ringing........oh wait, Grandma J doesn't have a doorbell, but she does have ringing in her ears when she gets overly excited.

So let me personally say Thank you for all the wonderful birthday wishes for many more years of good health insurance and happiness. I know wealth should be in there too, but we gave up on that part of birthday wishes a long time ago.

Here is a taste of what the last half of the day was like. Because the first half was spent lounging in jammies and playing Bejeweled.

Once Grandma J got moving, she picked up her granddaughter for her eye appointment and new glasses. These glasses remind me of the ones she wore in second grade.

Then it was off to pick up the mail....and look what Grandma J got.....

My Colorado cowboys, Ty and Zachy, gave me this really cool gift card to the movie theatre!

The picture is one of the three of us in San Antonio Texas just a few weeks ago! It says: Happy Birthday, Grandma Deluxe

Then it was off to En Fuegos for a TexMex dinner with my daughter and grandkids, who gave me this special surprise.

I love getting huge chocolate covered strawberries! Yes, I shared...everyone got just one.

Thank you, pretty girl for the wonderful dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant. I appreciate all you do even after a long day at work. Oh and A-Ron...peek-a-boo, I see you!

An extra special treat was reading all the funny comments about Spam! I have to tell you, the one that cracked me up the most was the one by Hollywood (who doesn't have a blog). I'm copying it here because it's just too funny:

hollywood said...
Spam...bad childhood memories. haha. I ran away when I was 5 to the neighbors house w/all my underwear and record player because my mother was making Spam with lemon juice squeezed on it for dinner.

Oh Hollywood, please start a blog!!

William "Billy" D. Mays, Jr.

July 20, 1958 - June 28, 2009

You can say what you want about Jacko, but the world lost a real icon today.....Billy Mays.

A day doesn't go by that Grandma J doesn't think about Billy Mays as she breaks out her Oxyclean or Orange Glo....and recently it's the Hercules Hooks that have been front and center as she decorates her new digs at the Spa.

And Really? Have you tried KABOOM?

Yes, Billy is an Icon with a uppercase I and he will be missed by anyone who drips food down the front of their shirts or clogs their toilets, has experienced the amazing products he invented.

RIP Billy Mays, Grandma J will miss you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a happier note!

It's Baby Girl's Birthday!

That's right, once again, Grandma J's youngest child is celebrating a birthday. Baby Girl Lives in Colorado, and has a wonderful husband and two gorgeous guys....

.... who are getting ready for fun and action at Grandma J's come August. Can you say P.A.R.T.Y?

Happy Birthday Kelly, I love you!

I know I owe you all a movie review.....it's coming!

Over The River, and Through The Woods

Well OK, I went over the river...but there aren't any woods to go through, but there is a scenic route to the adorable, quaint little town of Salado, Texas. You actually go over a river, called the Little River, and a reservoir called Stillhouse Hollow Lake.

I really need to go to Salado more often, and definitely when the weather is more suitable to walking around town. But for today, I have two birthdays next Sunday, and I decided to look for something different and unique...so it was off to Salado.




You can click on this picture to see the kids cooling off in the Salado Creek, from the natural Salado Springs.




I love this fence made out of bicycles. It's along a bike trail that runs through town and around the park.

I did bet some shopping done, and wandered around a few antique shops, but the heat!! Seriously, there's only so much walking you can do in hot humid weather, so it was adios for today.

My last stop was the post office to mail the birthday packages.




You guys remember Jack, right? He thinks Grandma J is nuts, and I wouldn't want to ruin his day by telling him the real reason I take his picture. Do you think all of his tattoos are on his arms?

A-Ron Turns 13 Today

And he will pitch for Texas Tribe. Then the team and some other friends are having a pizza party at A-Ron's!

Update on the rumble...both boys had their suspension reduced to one game...which took place yesterday.

Grandma J attended A-Ron's fourth birthday in Germany. He had a Scooby Doo Cake, and got a talking stuffed Scooby Doo.

We spent a week a Davey Crockett's Ranch at Disney Paris. The Disney resort that sells real fur hats and toy guns that don't glow in the dark. A-Ron ended up getting the buckskin vest too. The Heineken is not A-Ron's.

He still loves to cuddle with his sister........she's not too keen about it lately.

I love this picture of A-Ron with his mom. And she knows this picture is one of my favorites....and I've got even better ones!

He makes his dad, Sgt. John proud of him with his academics as well as his sports. A-Ron is the man of the family when his dad is deployed.

A-Ron is still a cuddler. JJ is one of his favorites, and so is Grandma J.


You knew this was coming, didn't you? Phillip Johnny Bob went over to cuddle with A-Ron when he had three teeth pulled to make room for his braces.

Happy Birthday, A-Ron. I love you!!

HOOK 'EM HORNS

That's what you get when you ask A-Ron who his favorite Collegiate teams are.

And, someone will be a teenager in a couple of weeks, and someone will be surprised to find out Grandma J made him something special.

Something that says, Hook 'Em Horns all over it. Whether it's baseball.....

......or basketball

Or football. You're never too old to have your grandma make a new UT blankie for you.

Hook 'Em Horns!

Sorry, Aggie fans.

Don't Hurt Me Bro!

or as they say in Chinese... 不要傷害我好朋友!

Tonight, I took my neighbor, (no not that neighbor), Donna, out to dinner for her birthday. We tried a new Mexican restaurant in our local tiny mall, called Hornduck Tavern. It's so fancy shmancy, the only thing I found on the Internet was their Temple Texas location, and a karaoke singer with them featured on her Facebook page. I'm serious. It looked the same but the menu wasn't Mexican....or as it's referred to here...Tex Mex.

The food was great, and the place was packed on a Tuesday night. The main dining room was still being remodeled, but the accommodations in the lounge bar were just fine.

Another event to celebrate was Donna and I both signed leases on apartments in a brand new adult complex gated compound that offers amenities more fitting our lifestyles. Only a few units are ready and we will be the first to move in. For me, I get an actual garage and a kitchen with a granite counter top. The granite part isn't important, it's the whole counter top concept that had me sold. I won't have to roll out pastry on the bathroom floor my dining room table.

Donna likes the sprinklers over her bed in the event one of her boyfriends gets too hot to handle...she seriously told me that.

We both like the idea of the pool being heated year around, and the concierge service that includes coffee and pastry on the house every morning. Oh yeah, and someone named Huey will come collect my trash off my front porch three days a week at 8 a.m. We will have a movie theatre which won't stop me from going to the theatre with the hand dip ice cream counter for first run matinees.

There's a ton of stuff that I probably won't partake in but it's nice. I took my daughter and the kids over on Easter Sunday to see if we could get in one of the units. As soon as my daughter walked in, she said "and the reason you have to think twice about moving here is....?"

OK, so Donna and I finish our double whammy celebratory dinner, and decide to get one of these Chinese massages in the mall. You've seen them, right? They usually set up next to the people who sell the beauty products from the Dead Sea. Grandma J told you all about her experience with the Dead Sea people...remember?

Donna goes first.......

..... and I wait because the other masseuse is in the middle of molding this man into her new sex toy.

Yeah, of course you think I'm kidding...but she was really getting physical and scaring Grandma J.

In the end, twenty minutes of a good Chinese massage was worth making a spectacle of myself in the mall. Have you ever had one of these mall massages?

It's A to Z Monday

.... and you know what that means. That's right, it means the stock market is continuing it's downward spiral. Or it's the day I'm supposed to tell you all about youth baseball and men who go commando dedicate their lives coaching youth baseball.

But, more importantly, boys and girls, it's all about the letter I.

This could have been all about my love of Iguanas, but that would be a little bit redundant and cause some fellow blogger to get extremely jealous leap off bridges. And then the rest of you would insist I tell you all about the time I had iguana tacos in San Blas, Mexico...or how I swam nude with six life guards in Maui....even if it was only a dream. The swimming with lifeguards was a dream...the iguana tacos was real.

For the letter I, I'm going with IKEA..because that's where I went yesterday after a baseball tournament. It's a big deal around here because IKEA is fifty miles away, and it's been two years since I've been inside an IKEA.

Can you believe the only thing I bought was this candle and coasters? For real. Oh, and some snazzy napkins.

I got lost in the maze and all I can remember was wandering past the same sink made from cardboard shoe inserts real bamboo. I finally ask an employee if there was a secret to finding the cashiers.....and the exit. He told me to follow the signs towards the restaurant....yes he did.

Three hours later I bid adieu to IKEA. As I drove away, I couldn't help but think how awesome these flags would look at the Compound. Maybe by the pool. Do ya think?

Here is a bit of IKEA trivia...because I might be the only person who doesn't know this:

"The guy who started this retail chain is named Ingvar Kamprad. That gets us the I and the K. Well, Ingvar grew up on a farm called Elmtaryd. Now we have I-K-E. And Elmtaryd is in a town called Agunnaryd. I-K-E-A. And that's how this company got named."

Then And Now

Tyler was born ten years ago today !

Then...Tyler was a deep dimpled joy to his Mommy and Daddy

Now, he's still a handsome dude with cute dimples.

Then.....he was a football guy

Now......he is a football star!

Happy double digit Birthday, Ty! I hope you have a great day!

I love you, Grandma DeLuxe

Can anyone figure out why Grandma J will never be rich with worldly goods, but more than rich with God's blessing? The equation translates into more than three birthdays a month...and more.

Yet Another Grandma J Tutorial

This is an extremely important lesson that I want to share with you. It's so important that parents will be contacting Grandma J to ask her to never attempt to correspond with their children.

Shall we start?

When picking out a birthday card for a six year old girl....who happens to be special, and also happens to be your granddaughter...please follow these rules.

1. Make sure it's pretty and sweet. Maybe pink with some glitter.

2. Find one that reflects the personality of the little princess.


3. Check out those musical cards because six year old girls love a snappy tune to play when they open the card.

*** noted experience: After going to several stores CVS, with no time to spare, I grew frustrated that they didn't have any of the High School Musical, Hannah Banana, or Jonah's Brothers cards.....but, I found a cute card.


5. Here's an example of a cute card with a snappy tune...Sugar Sugar by the Archie's!

6. Pay for the card.

7. Borrow a pen from the cashier and sign the card adding "hugs and kisses".

8. Stuff the card with cash, stick it in the envelope and seal it.

9. Give it to the little princess in a festive setting full of young girls, pretending acting lady-like. You know, somewhere like The American Girl Store Cafe.

10. Be sure her mom reads the inside sentiment REALLY LOUD so everyone can hear.

....to be continued.....and don't you just hate it when people do that??