New Life

So, here I am in Rossville, Illinois. Willie and I have been working on settling in and one of those things settling in things was waiting for our Internet to get connected. And now, I'm baaaack!

Getting used to being away from my kids and my granddaughter has been tough. I went from seeing them a lot, to rarely seeing them. I don't get to hear Kahlen's giggle everyday any more. It hurts. We did get to bring her here for a few days after Christmas, and that was fun. I couldn't get enough of her! Cuddling her to sleep every night was the best Christmas present I could ever get! Seeing her smile every morning lit up the day like a comet from heaven. She is definitely the shining star in my life.

Now, that I live so far away, I find myself alone a lot. My friend Dawn gave me a puppy from her dog's last litter and that has helped fill the days with something to think about besides missing my family.

I named him Bazinga. For those of you who don't watch the Big Bang Theory, bazinga is Sheldon's favorite word when he zings someone. I love that show. I was tossed up between naming him Bazinga or Gilligan (another favorite show). He looks more like a Bazinga. He is a little Maltese puppy. He was born Sept. 5th, (this is the first time in my life that I have had a pet that I knew its actual birth date.) I think he is going to end up bigger than the average Maltese though. They are a toy breed, usually between 3 to 7 pounds. At his last check up last week he was already 6.6 pounds. Luckily, I have no plans to breed or show him, because he will probably grow out

the breed standard. He's just my new buddy. Mia, my 18 pound cat, is jealous though. They are starting to slowly accept each other. He still thinks Mia is eventually going to eat him. Kahlen and Bazinga got along great. Just had to watch her to make sure she wasn't hugging too hard. She really loved him, and he loved her.

Since I don't have everyday contact with Kahlen anymore, the content of this blog will be changing some. I will still brag on my beautiful granddaughter whenever I have new things to talk about. No matter what, she is a huge part of my life. Now, however, I will be writing about other things. One of which will be the huge endeavor that Willie and I have taken on to transform the most horrible bathroom in the world to a usable, comfortable place to shower and relax.

Here are some before pictures. I had to take them because I am certain that no one would believe us when we told them about it. We don't have a proper shower. Consequently, I have cut off about eight inches of my hair just to make my life a little easier.

The sink has its own issues. I mean have you ever seen a sink with a nose?

.

When the water is on it looks like it has the worst allergies ever.

I don't think I like having a sink with a dumbfounded expression on its face.

The floor is a black rubbery tile like I remember from the floors my elementary school. I think this bathroom saw its last remodel in 1960.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love our new house. I just hate the bathroom. I'll post new pics as we work on it. Hopefully, we will get it done quickly with few tears and little blood.

Other things that I'll be talking about are the two, yes, two weddings that we will be having this next year. Alyssa and Shane are getting married September 24th. Josh and Caitlin are getting married December 10. A very busy year is coming. I wish I was there to really help plan, but life is what it is. God knows what he is doing, even if I don't understand it right now.