Jennifer Apodaca's Blog, page 95

Friday Five

TGIF! Let’s jump right into sharing five random things around our week.

So the news about Youngest Son (BLB). He and his fiance have bought a house! It closes this week, and they’ll get the keys on Sunday night. We are so danged thrilled for them! Youngest Son has been renting a room for years now, and saving money. We are bursting with pride for this kid! Both he and his fiance have worked hard to get to this point, and they absolutely love the house–an existing 3 bed, 2 bath home with a pool and jacuzzi! They are having a wonderful, and well-deserved good year with buying their first house and getting married in November! One added note, Youngest told me that he’s putting a fence around the pool ASAP for all the kids in the family, and to make sure Fiance’s two dogs are safe. That’s my boy! Money will be tight, but the safety of their family and pets is a priority.
Our car is in the shop at least until sometime next week. It’s being repaired from the car accident caused by the other, uninsured, driver last week. Being down to one car is a pain, but at least Wizard’s not still working–that would have been a major problem. This is just a little inconvenient.
My washing machine is screwing with me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a really good machine, and for various reasons I don’t want a new one. But this year, the WM (Washing Machine) has decided it will only spin when it wants too. Every other part of the cycle works great, including draining the tub. I’d say WM does this little trick about 20% of the time. But do you think we could get it to NOT spin while the repairman was here twice this week? Of course not. WM spun like a professional ballerina. LOLOL! After much research and debate, we’re going to replace a part that is the most likely culprit. Naturally he has to order the part, but it’s all good, WM works, it just adds a little mystery to my life with the Will I or Won’t I Spin game.
I tested a shredded chicken for tacos or fajitas recipe yesterday and it was great! I’m making it into taquitos for me and Wizard, which I’m 90% sure will come out fine, but I’m writing this blog Thursday afternoon before I fry up the taquitos.
But the real reason I’m testing the above recipe is we’re having a Family Pool Party on Sunday to celebrate my birthday. Wizard arranged it, and offered to cook, but um…I took over, LOL! I’m making shredded seasoned beef and chicken for easy fajitas after we swim. For the party, one daughter-in-law (Middle Son’s wife) told Wizard I can NOT make my own cake and she is bringing cupcakes. Love her so much for thinking of that. Wizard was going to try to make the cake, but I’m such a control freak that way, I’d have done it and she knows it. This gesture means so much to me. All our daughter-in-laws are bringing things to help out a lot. As far as the cooking I’m doing, I volunteered and enjoy it. I’ll do it all a day ahead,  throw it in crock pots to reheat and forget it until we’re ready to eat. Sunday will be fun and family time. Turbo is a total water baby and I can’t wait to play with him in the pool!

So that’s some of my week, now I’d love to hear five random things about your week. Have a great weekend!

Wednesday Book Question

It’s another busy week, LOL! I haven’t been reading much, but I’ve been listening to books on audio as much as I can. I’m into Women’s Fiction lately. I’m pretty sure it’s because I’ve been in a life altering phase for a couple of years now. Wizard and I have been mental shifting with grown children, a grandchild, some very ill family members and our own health challenges. It’s all ok, but it’s required mental readjustments and a bit of world-restructuring. Women’s Fiction tends to capture that; the characters in those stories are forced into change. First they cry, complain and try to bargain with God, then they firm up their backbone and find a way to survive, conquer and live their best life. And so, at this moment in my life, those books speak to me.

Does that make sense?

So what I want to know is what are YOU reading? What genre, book or author is really speaking to you at this moment in time in your life?

Weekend Roundup

It was sizzling hot, but a good weekend otherwise.

Saturday, Wizard and I finished painting the two sets of frames and hung them on either side of the picture of our grandson, Turbo. I couldn’t get a good shot without the glare, sorry! But the pictures are silly ones we took at the photo booth at Middle Son and his wife’s wedding. We were clearly having a blast:

The rest of the day was busy with life type of things. We’ve also went to a couple open houses in our target area, however we’re just exploring and researching possibilities. But honestly, we’ve freshened up our home, and are enjoying it.  Plus are we really ready to give up our pool?

Speaking of the pool, yesterday while Wizard was off with Middle Son, I decided to go in the pool. I didn’t want to get my hair wet, so I put it up in a clip, then got into the water and hopped on the raft like I’ve done hundreds times.

Of course I fell off. Yep, I soaked about half my hair. Bleh.

The only one who saw me, though, was Maggie. I might have tamed my hair enough to hide my clumsiness, except that right after I came in from the pool, I got the bright idea of cleaning the bathrooms in the hottest part of the day. Even with the A/C going, the body heat I was generating, plus hot water running in the shower to clean it, equaled MASSIVELY FRIZZY HAIR.

Once Wizard got home it only took him a few minutes to realize I’d been in the pool. And then I ultimately confessed I fell off the raft because neither one of us is good at keeping secrets from the other. My mishap cracked him up.  Especially since he falls off all the time when he tries to get on the rafts, and I tease him about it.

Karma obviously dunked me

Today, I’m setting goals and kicking my butt into writing mode. How was your weekend?

Friday Five

TGIF! It’s time to share 5 random things about our week. Here are mine!

Yesterday, Wizard and I went to a consultation with an attorney to handle some documents for us. All that went fine, but while on the way…
…We were side swiped on the freeway. Sigh. It’s a total pain in the butt, but no one was hurt so we are trying not to let it get to us. The other guy somehow hit the back left side of our car, maybe trying to change lanes, or he wasn’t paying attention and swerved into our lane. He eventually stopped, and we handled things, although he didn’t have his insurance information on him, so that’s still undetermined. The interesting twist is that Wizard informed him we were on our way for an appointment with our attorney. The guy was very cooperative
It’s hot and humid. I’m not a fan of this weather, and very grateful that our air conditioning works.
Our home decorating project this week is trying to spray paint some pictures frames. I have two cheap sets of four vertical pictures on a rope hanger. We’re painting them blue and gray to match the decor. If it works, it’ll be a cute and fun addition. If not, I’m out less than $30.00 in total for the frames and paint, and I can live with that.
This might sound funny, but I’m teaching Maggie how to handle being tied on a long line in the garage with us, so she can be out there while we work on projects. In the past, she has always frozen if we tied her, and even if I dropped her leash. If I call her to me, she doesn’t think she can move, and seems worried about stepping over or around the long line. So we stopped doing it, thinking she was too scared. Then it dawned on me, this must be new to Maggie, and she needs to learn how to move around while attached to the long line, and understand the limits of it. She only fears what she doesn’t understand! Honestly, this was like a “Duh!” moment. I should have thought of this a year ago. Anyway, we’ve been showing her, she’s very quickly getting the hang of it and proud of herself. Obviously I still have much to learn about being a good dog owner/pack leader.

So that’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Maggie Visits Auntie Biker Witch

Hi guys, guess what?

Oh wait, I’m supposed to say, Hi, it’s me, Maggie,  so you all know who is blogger-talkin’ to you.

Anyhow, guess what? I got to go see my Auntie Biker Witch! And Uncle Biker Hubby! For reals, I did! It’s the first time I got to go to their house. It was so much fun, and I was glad to see Auntie Biker Witch looking good. I didn’t smell any icky-sick on her, so she must be healing well after her surgery. But my real job was just to cheer everyone up. Mom’s job was to take over some food that she made.

But Mom wouldn’t let me taste-check any of the food

Both my aunt and uncle thought Mom was unreasonable Uncle Biker Hubby told Mom over and over that he likes feeding dogs a lot, and she should let him give me a few bites of food. Isn’t he smart? But Mom didn’t let him! She said that she was sorry she forgot to bring my treats, but I couldn’t have any people food, so he’d have to wait until next time.

Mom is really strict like that. Wanna know how strict? I’ll tell you. See Auntie Biker Witch has a big owie on her back so she can’t move real well to pet me. She told mom, “Let Maggie get up on the couch so I can pet her easier.”

Mom said “No, Maggie can stay on the floor. Next time I’ll bring her couch blanket, and then she can get up on the couch with you. Otherwise, she’s not allowed.”

See? Isn’t that crazy strict? Of course, I played it up a little after that, laying by mom’s feet and looking like a good girl who deserved extra couch time. But later in the car, Mom told me that she was worried I might accidentally hurt Auntie Biker Witch, and then I’d feel all bad about it. She was protecting both me and her sister.

I guess Mom does mean well.  But she could have let Uncle Biker Hubby give me one or two bites of people food, right?

That’s okay though. When Mom was talking to Auntie Biker Witch, Uncle Biker Hubby told me in secret that he’s going to buy me my very own bag of special dog treats that he’ll keep at the house for me! Shhh…don’t tell mom

So that was my big adventure yesterday. Did you have any adventures this week?

Weekend Roundup

A good but busy weekend! Here’s the highlights:

Friday: I honestly can’t remember, LOL! Biker Witch came home from the hospital and…OH! The garage door spring broke. Wizard knows how to change out the spring, and we’ve done it many times. But there was a complication that took a couple of hours of troubleshooting to finally resolve. We were just minutes away from calling out a repair man when Wizard figured out the solution. Whew! It wasn’t the money as much as the inconvenience for Wizard as his garage is his workshop and he needs the garage door open.

Saturday: For the first time, Wizard and I went to look at existing homes (rather than new) in our target area. The one we were most focused on was nice, but it won’t work for our needs. Not a big deal since we still love the home we have, but would like a one-story at some point in the future. We also rehung the repurposed picture frames over our fireplace mantel with another sign I bought, and I love it now! All I need a couple find a couple smaller items to go on the mantel, and that spot will be done. Here’s a pic (from before I straightened the one on the right.)

A few things in the family room are a work in progress right now, but I’m making progress as my budget allows.

I also made a couple necklaces, that’s the first time I’ve worked on jewelry since my surgery. I didn’t have any problems with my neck or shoulder which is a definite win!

On Sunday, I was walking Maggie at my normal time in summer, about 6:30 in the morning. I know for some it sounds awful, but Maggie and I really enjoy it, and I pass others doing the same most mornings. So yesterday morning I passed a man I’ve seen a few times with his small (and very cute!) dog.  We stopped to chat for a second and he said, “I’ve noticed whenever I see you that your dog is really well-trained, are you a professional dog trainer?” LOL! It’s a lovely compliment, and I preened a little for Maggie. I have her trained to my needs, but she’s definitely NOT professionally trained. Still it’s really nice to hear others think she’s well-behaved. Complimenting Maggie is like complimenting our kids or grandson

After that, Wizard went racing and I went out to play with my grandson Turbo. Love that boy! We sent pictures and videos to Wizard to make him jealous. He, in turn, sent a picture of his “racing buddy” a cool dog. He knew that would give me a twinge since I want to play with all the dogs, LOL!

Much as I love all this busyness in my life, I have to carve out a writing schedule. I miss it, although the tinnitus is still giving me problems when I sit still and quiet, making writing tough.

So that’s my weekend, how was yours?

Friday Five

Howdy and TGIF! Okay time to share five random things about our week. Here are mine:

I finally got my new dishwasher! It took almost two weeks to get it installed. But because life has been on the bullet train lately, we haven’t had a chance to run it a full cycle yet, so fingers crossed that nothing leaks and it works as advertised.
My brother is home from the hospital, and my sister may be coming home today. Both of them have been amazing, getting up at the first opportunity after surgery. My brother is probably pushing the boundaries a little bit. His theory is that if a nurse tells him to try to walk three times in a twelve-hour period, he’ll do  it six times. Not sure where he gets that need to push so hard And Biker Witch? Well she’s a superstar! Her surgery was so much more involved than we’d hoped, and she’s surprising everyone by getting up and walking anyway. They both have a way to go in recovery, but they’re very determined.
Maggie got a special trip to Petco today to pick out a couple treats. She’s been a really good girl, plus it breaks up the long hot days for her since I walk her early in the morning. I gave her one chew while I was cleaning, and normally I only let her eat half of it at a time by taking it away after about a half hour. But when I came back downstairs after dusting, the whole thing was gone. I have no idea if she ate it all, or she hid it for later. I guess time will tell.
I went to the gym twice this week. Last week I didn’t go at all, so that’s a check in the improvement column.
There was a surprise sale on one of my books, HER TEMPORARY HERO. I found out when I opened my Bookbub Newsletter, and saw it listed. It’s entirely possible the publisher had notified me and I missed it in my email. It was fun to see it hit #8 e-book bestseller overall on B&N, #2 in e-book contemporary romance on Amazon, and #1 in e-book romance on iTunes. I think I remembered all those right–I’m too lazy to go look through my screenshots.

That’s my five things, now I’d really like to hear yours! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Just An Update

Hey guys,  Maggie wanted to post, but I’m too tired to set it up for her So I’ll just update you all.

So my brother had surgery Monday, and it went very well. They believe they got all the cancer, and he’ll recover fine. I’ve talked to my sister-in-law a few times, and he seems to be doing doing great. I’ll call him today just to harass him. But the last thing I told him before surgery was to listen to his doctors and his wife or I’d arrive on his doorstep to make his life miserable.

Nobody wants that, LOL!

Then Biker Witch had surgery yesterday, and that surgery turned into a marathon. I think close 7 hours! Although some of that time is prep, closing and cleanup too.  Anyhow, as I’m typing this, she’s out of surgery, awake and able to talk, so everything is good so far. Her Biker Hubby has been with her, and I’ll go back to see her today. (I was there during her surgery, but I didn’t go see her in recovery as she needs rest and her husband).  She’ll be in the hospital a few days, and we’ll take it all a day at a time.

So it’s been a long two days, and poor Maggie will just have to wait to share her next story. But she wanted you all to know she’s looking forward to her chance at blogger-talkin’ with you all

How’s everyone else’s week going?

Weekend Roundup

The weekend raced on by. The highlight was going to CPA Boy and Special K’s house for a small family BBQ. Middle Son and his wife came and they have big news–they have adopted a second dog! She’s a mixed breed sweetheart name Hazel, I can’t wait to get to know her. When I do, I’ll get a picture. I’m very happy for them!  They have two big, power breed dogs, but they are great dog-parents who make sure the dogs have exercise, structure and training, along with lots of love. I love power breeds, but ONLY with the right owners.

Youngest son was there for a while, and doing great! Wedding plans are moving along, and so is his news I can’t share yet. But soon. Let’s just say I’m so proud of him!

The peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I made went over well at the BBQ. First off, CPA Boy was happy his mom still loves him by fulfilling his special request, LOL! Then Turbo’s aunt and uncle fed him pieces of cookie in order to score best aunt and uncle points. I watched and laughed. Turbo was totally wired from what probably amounted to a quarter to a third of a cookie. His mom was distracted or she would have limited that sooner. Anyhow this little 16 month old boy ran circles around us after that!! He’s super fast for his age, so I’m not exaggerating. Then his dad got all stern about no more cookies.

Turbo’s dad is a meanie sometimes.

We had a great time, and so did Maggie. She loved being invited to the family BBQ, plus she and Turbo are buddies. Turbo is really good at petting dogs and giving them treats (always with supervision).

So this week will be a little crazy.

Today my brother is having surgery. I’d appreciate any thoughts and prayers that he comes out of surgery clean and healthy. We all know cancer sucks, but the doctors have predicted they will get it all with this surgery. He wouldn’t let me come to his state and “assist” the doctors since he swears I’m not as qualified as his surgeons. I know, I know, I’m as surprised as you My brother has the same control freak tendencies as I do, so I think I’m amusing him. Or he’s tolerating me. Either way, he convinced me to stay home and let the medical staff do their thing. Okay, teasing aside, my brother has been on his A game here, catching a  problem, listening to advice and aggressively doing what needs to be done. I’m proud of him!

Not to be out done, my sister is having major back surgery tomorrow. She’s always been a bit dramatic. I’m kidding! She’s been having serious pain and other symptoms for a long time now, and done everything she could to alleviate them with non-surgical options. Now it needs to be addressed. However, Biker Witch is not a control freak like me, and this always leaves me mildly confused. While I research like a madwoman, she gets just enough information to make her feel comfortable and then makes a decision. That’s probably why she’ll live longer and healthier than me! While I wish she didn’t have to go this route, I admire her determination to get it done, and live her best life. Go Biker Witch! I appreciate any good thoughts and healing energy you can send her way, so she can get back to her main job of harassing me. Who else is going to tell me I worry too much?

There’s more going on, but that’s the highlights for now. Maggie is asking if she can post on Wednesday, but her stories are kind of one-sided. First she tells the world I locked her in the closet, then that I was digging through the trash…maybe I should banish her from the blog?

So how was your weekend?

Friday Five

And here we go! My five random things about my week:

Doing one little thing like buying a new TV stand for the house is a slippery slope. After repurposing the doors to the TV stand into picture frames, I’ve gone onto to buy two more pictures for other walls in the family room, and I’m on the hunt for more decorating items to complete the look I’m going for.
My brother and sister are both having surgery next week on Monday and Tuesday. They aren’t twins, but they obviously like doing things together, LOL! Life is just weird sometimes. I feel for them both going through surgery and recovery.
So…remember I said two sad things happened a couple of weeks ago and I was waiting for the third? The third thing arrived this week. I wish I had the magic to restore all our loved ones to good health. But all I can do is be there for them to the best of my ability.
I’m seeing Biker Witch today. We’ll have lunch and do what sisters do Anyone have bail money just in case? Just asking….
Tomorrow we’re going to CPA boy’s house for a barbecue.  Shhh…Wizard doesn’t know this yet but I ordered a special shirt with a dog on it, hoping the Turbo (my almost 16 month old grandson) likes it! Turbo is always interested in Wizard’s car shirts, but he also loves dogs. Not that we’re competitive or anything, LOLOL! It’s all in fun guys, and right now, Wizard and I need to have fun to keep our mind off our worry for our loved ones. I’m also making peanut butter chocolate chip cookies because CPA Boy might be a high-powered executive by day and super dad by night, but in my world, he’s still my little boy and when he asks for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from his mom, he will get them :-).

So that’s my five, and now I’d love to hear five random things about your week. I hope everyone has a great weekend!