when is enough . . .

a couple of weeks ago, I bought this adorable pair of espadrilles.

 

They reminded me of Joseph's coat of many colors.  I love them.  Of course, being ensconced in flip flops for the last umpteen years, I promptly fell off them in the middle of Target, with of course, an audience but never mind.  I love them.

I love them so much, that I looked them up on line and they come in tons of colors.  I started to salivate.  I started to twitch.  I was overpowered with covetatious emotion.  Yes, I made up that word.  I restrained.  That is until Tuesday after dinner at Carrabba's. The 9TS suggested a walk through the mall to assuage our full bellies and appease our guilty brains.  And there was Dillards.  And there were my shoes.  With their shoe mates.  All in a row.  Staring at me.  "Buy us!", they squealed.  "Take us home to our friend.", they demanded.  "You love us.", they coaxed.  And what was I to do?  They were pitiful.  The salesman profound.  The 9TS grinning.  I was dead meat.

 

And now I have to clean out my closet and divest myself of the remainder of my office shoes that are pushing 15 years plus to make room for my new best friends.  I can hear them partying in there now.  "oh we belong to a mutual . . . la la la . . . admiration society, my baby and me . . ."  they are singing their hearts out.  Who am I to interfere.

happiness is . . .

my Mother's Day present for the past few years has been my all time favorite . . .  a photo shoot with Kidlet.  Lest you think this isn't a big deal, it takes a lot for Kidlet to don make-up and pose for a camera.  She is not naturally "into it".   But she happily agrees this one day of the year.   This morning I dragged her out of bed bright and early to catch the soft morning light . . . we were slugs yesterday and never made it out of our p.j.'s.  I am still mad at my camera for the amount of blur I am getting, so I brought my old Rebel too. 

This is SOOC:

 and this is after I used a new program on it:

so, let me introduce you to my other gift . . . from the 9TS.  Topaz Adjust!  And a special thanks to Jana for showing me the way.

Or wait, then there is this:

which is a little over the top but still fun.  I can tell what I will be doing this week.  YAY!!!

Hijacking...

This is an announcement. I interrupt your regularly scheduled blog to bring you a brief blurb...

My dad's my hero. Several years in the police force, a third-degree black belt in his sixties, and a cancer-survivor to boot. No matter what he encounters, he overcomes it.

But my mom's my unsung hero. She asks for one day to herself (Tuesdays, should you be wondering) and seemingly spends the rest of her time supporting me, me dad, and yes, even the cats. It's hard to even think about all the things she does for us, because, well... she's everywhere.

She's the mom who supported me at track meets, despite the late endings and the cold temperatures. She's the mom who sat for endless hours at karate tournaments, even though she hated every minute. She's the mom who let me make my own decisions about school, and never pressured me into my choice of taking advanced classes. She's the mom that sat across from me crying, feeling my pain, when I was at my worst.

Most importantly though, she's the mom that tells me what I need to hear when it isn't what I want to hear. It's not always enjoyed at the time, and I might have taken my anger out on her a time or two..., but I always appreciate it in the end. It's what's helped me become the person I am today (not too shabby, if I say so myself) and make no mistake, it's what'll help me become a better person in the future. Because no matter how "independent" I'm supposed to be, you can bet I'll always have my mom's number memorized.


Happy Mother's Day, mom.

Love,
The Kidlet

... I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

and so it goes . . .

Warring side A said that side B is being outrageous and to ignore them and go through side A.  Side B, needs what side B needs and so the contestants line up.  I figure the Disney complex is middle ground.

Monday, I will call another leader of side A and ask for what side B needs, because side A is not good at keeping it together. 

Are you following me????   Good, because I am getting mired down and need some assistance.  Meet me halfway at Tomorrow Land.

another hoop . . .

Our insurance company countered by wanting all doctor's notes from the past year, as well as the notes from the failed trial.  I see a small forest of trees being massacred before this is done.

And so, I have made #6.   Sell your tree stock and buy into cotton, we're in for a long ride.

waiting . . .

and so it starts.  Since the 9TS was not a candidate for the IL-2, we were told to wait for IPI, which is now being sold under the name Yervoy by Bristol Myers - Squibb, having been approved by the FDA on March 25, 2011.  Moffitt told us to hang tight until we heard from them as the IPI went through the hoops of insurance.  I was thinking it was the hoops of our insurance but it seems that Moffitt has to be approved to distribute it in commercial form as well.  Their target date is May 18.  YAY.

In the meantime, I was told that M.D. Anderson is already approved if we wanted to go there.  Huh??  Why would we fly to Texas?  Well because you dummy, they may have meant the M.D. Anderson Orlando campus . . .  which we didn't even know existed??  More phone calls need to be made.

Moffitt also suggested we get in touch with our insurance company and get the ball rolling on their end.  The news was not heartening.  I was told that Medicare was in no big hurry to accept new drug treatments.  Sigh.  Especially when the series of four infusions runs $120,000.00. 

Moffitt will not even order the drug until they are assured that the money is in their bank. 

And so we wait.  We wait for the paperwork we need to fill out and then forward to our insurance company.  We wait for Moffitt to be approved.  We wait for Medicare.  We wait and we hope.

And while we wait, I sew.  Here's #5:

 

I have to have something to do . . . you know what I mean????

                                 

enough of this . . .

I made another bag.  Red and white. These things are too much fun not to make. zip. zip. done. And, yes, I bought fabric for yet another.

 

Art in the Park. Again? It's that time of year.

Tried the new Mexican restaurant yesterday. You know there's a problem when the 9TS doesn't finish his meal.

That spot on my chest? Basal cell carcinoma. Removal May 24th.

Re-reading Wind in the Willows. Poor Toad. Pardon me, but you are an idiot! Ratty and Mole, I love you. If you missed this tale as a kidlet, do yourself a favor. Read it now.

How did I get sucked into Sudoku? Oh yeah, it's on my Nook. Devilish.

Enough of this.