five on tuesday

On some of the blogs I read, the bloggers do posts like this. I enjoy reading them, so I thought I'd write one myself. I'd like to do it weekly, but we all know my blog tends to get neglected quite often. :-)

1- My Love-Hate Relationship With All Things Cyber

I can totally relate to this, and she makes really good points. I probably spend too much time on the Internet and social media, and that's even with limiting my Facebook time to once a month or so, (for multiple reasons) but I'm addicted to Instagram right now, (because those who know me, know I love photos) and I follow more blogs than I make the time to stay caught up on. And yes, I know it's a little ironic that I'm posting that link on my blog. 

2- Harry Potter Themed Rooms 
I would love to visit London one day, and I would love to stay here for a night or two. I love Harry Potter.

3- Ally Carter's New Book 
I can't wait for this to come out, but I don't want it to be January yet. I loved her Gallagher Girls and Heist Society series, and I can't get this book out of my mind since I read the excerpt on her blog yesterday. 

4- Good Life by Jenny Meyerson
Great blog post on gratitude, but just a warning, it may make you cry. There is always something to be grateful for. And the video that is linked to at the end of the post is really cute. 

5- "If it is important to you, you will find a way. If it's not, you'll find an excuse." 

I saw this the other day, and I have to agree. It bugs me sometimes when people say they don't have time for something (even though I have said that too), whether it be scrapbooking, cleaning, exercising, going somewhere, blogging, reading, or any number of things. Everyone has different priorities, and if something is important enough to you, you will find a way.

Well, that's it for tonight. Hopefully, you like this post, and I will try to be back soon with something else. Thanks for stopping by!

I've put off writing this post for quite awhile. I've known what I should write about next, but I just haven't wanted to do it. But I feel like it's time. And this post is mainly for me, so if you don't make it to the end, it's understandable.

When I last wrote, my dad was going in for some tests. The results were what we had feared - prostate cancer. It had already spread past his prostate, so surgery wasn't an option. But the doctor said that while it is an aggressive form of cancer, and doesn't respond very well to treatments, it's also slow moving, and healthy men can live 5-10 with it without many problems. So we went with the doc's advice, and were not going to treat it for a while and see what happened with it. The doctor even said that he would most likely pass away from his other health problems before the cancer would get him.

The morning of July 8th proved just how right he was.

Just after 4am that morning, I heard my dad moving around quite a bit, so I got up to check on him. He had fallen in the hallway, and I couldn't get him up. So I woke my mom, and together we tried helping him. After a few minutes, he stopped responding to us, and then he stopped breathing. The paramedics came and tried helping him, but there wasn't really anything they could do.

I had texted Gaston when we couldn't get Dad up, and surprisingly, he texted me back right away. He said his eyes had flown open about 5 minutes earlier. He came right over and stayed all day and came over every day after that for the next week or so. I'm so grateful he could do that. He helped with anything we needed, and took us out to dinner. I wish my siblings could've been there more. I know they had work and kids to take care of (not everyone could take 4 days off from work like I did - so grateful to have an understanding boss/company), but I know it would've helped my mom to have them there more.

The next days were hard, of course. The viewing was Friday night, and the funeral that Saturday. I was surprised at how ok I was at the viewing. I did well until my best friend who I've known since I was 6 got there. She hugged me and that's when I lost it. But I made it through. The viewing before the funeral was harder. But it surprised me at some of the people who came, especially some of my dad's former Cub Scouts who I didn't recognize. And it also surprised me that some people who I thought would be there, weren't. I'm not upset or anything - it just surprised me because I would've liked to see them. But perhaps they had other things on and just couldn't make it.

The funeral was nice. My brother and my uncle spoke, my other one read the obituary, my sister played the piano (the same song she played at her husband's funeral), and my other sister and I just sat there and listened. I'm glad I didn't have to do anything. I don't know that I could've.

Now, we're just getting used to the new normal without my dad around. Time does make some things easier. But I still miss him. I miss him saying hi to me and asking how work was. I miss seeing him working on his word searches at the table. I even miss him watching dumb shows on tv.

I just miss him.

dad

This is my dad.

He's got a bit of a goofy grin in this photo, but it's kind of his personality all the same. :)

I took this photo on his birthday a week ago. 

There was a time just over eight years ago where we didn't know if he would make it to his next birthday. He had an infection that lead to an anoxic brain injury. After about three months in hospitals and care centers, he was able to come home. His life, and our whole family's really, was quite different after that. He had driven himself to the hospital in April, but when we brought him home, he could no longer work, drive, walk without a walker, or use his hands very well. He also has short-term memory loss and trouble speaking. But he is still with us, and that's the most important thing. I am very grateful for that.

The last few months, he has had some other health problems. He has to go to the doctor for a test tomorrow. I'm hoping and praying that the results are something that is easily fixed, but I know there is a very real possibility that it is something very serious. I'm worried.

dangerous brownies

I discovered some dangerously yummy brownies. I've made them several times since I came across the recipe on Pinterest, and I love them more each time. They never last long. Seriously, how can something that starts with this:

 



 be anything but amazing?

And here's a little pic of the finished product:

Now Devry Richins of Four Sous Chefs describes these brownies as "sinful", but I stand by my "dangerous" description. They are very fudgy, but the chocolate taste is very light, so you feel like you can eat the whole pan in one sitting - and it's extremely hard not to do just that! :)

Go here for the recipe and better photos of the finished product. You won't be sorry! Or you might, if you become addicted to them like me! Ha ha!

good times

Last Friday night, I went out with some friends for a girls' night. We went to dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant, dessert at a yummy cookie and ice cream place, and then we saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Here we are in the mostly empty theater:

Aren't we cute? (I took it with the front camera on my phone, and so it's really low resolution, but it's all I had, so what can you do?) I liked the movie, even though it was different than I had expected. I don't know what exactly I expected, only that it wasn't that! Parts of the movie take place in other countries, and the scenery in those shots, really made me want to take my camera up in the mountains or some place and take a lot of scenery shots. I just may have to do that one day soon.

It was so fun hanging out with the girls this weekend! I love Gaston, and I always have a good time with him, but there's just nothing like being silly and stupid and laughing my head off with the girls. I think we were the noisiest ones in the restaurant! Actually, I know we were! I'm so glad we went out!

my goal

I don't know about you, but I tend to never keep New Years resolutions. I try, and then fail. I actually seem to do better when I set a goal other times in the year. Weird, I know. However, just these past couple days, I've decided to set a goal, and I hope I can achieve it. I've decided that I won't start any new projects this year until I finish the ones I have started. Or at the very least, I'm not to start anything new until I have finished a project. This may be very hard for me to do, as I always have ideas of things I want to do/create, and I want to start them right that second. (Patience is not one of my strengths.) And then the other projects I had been working on fall to the wayside for a while. Right now, I have quite a lot that I am in the middle of. Just look at this list:

• Halloween quilt
• minky quilt
• rag quilt
• mini album about my Florida trip in 2012
• 3 mini albums about my Disneyland trip with my sisters (1 for each of us)
• Project Life type album with older photos
• The History Project
• favorite photos album
• a surprise album for someone (I don't think she reads this, but you never know)
• December Daily albums from 2012 & 2013

Not to mention all the cleaning and organizing that I really need to do. And the cards I make for card drives and whenever I need them. Oh and Project Life, which I am in my 6th year of doing. (And I still love it!) And I may have missed some things. See why I sometimes say I don't have time to work? And it's exactly why I'm never bored at home! So if you hear me talking about starting a new project, remind me of this goal. I may or may not listen. :)

I actually started a new blog. I don't know why, since I don't update this one very often. But since I now have a decent internet connection, I decided that I wanted a place to share my crafty creations, and then I would keep this blog as more of a personal one. So I'll see how it goes. And if either of the two of you who I know read this want to see my creative endeavors, then I hope you will join me over at my creative mess!

Well, I'm off to work on a project. Don't worry, it will be one from the list! Maybe. :) Thanks for reading!