Just a post to tell you (in case you don't already know) that I've been spending most of my time on my Project 365 blog at http://ajdih.blogspot.com . I'd love for you to check it out, especially today's post. I'm hoping to get some feedback on it.

OH! Dad, do you remember this?

An elephant and a mouse were crossing a bridge. The mouse said "We sure shook that bridge, didn't we!". "What do you mean WE shook that bridge?" roared the elephant. To which the mouse replied, "Well I've been sick."

I was just a little girl in a hospital bed when my Dad not only told me that, but illustrated it as well with a watercolor painting of an elephant and a mouse. That's how I knew my daddy loved me! Memories!!!

We Gonna Par-tay Down With The Cheese Man

I am totally clueless as to how to place my photo's where I want them so that my text matches up with the right picture. Right now it looks like my text is trapped in this space, but it could in another line or two, decide to jump out and go some where else. If it doesn't go on its own, I'll have to do it manually. So that is how we
play the game of "I
Don't Know What
I'm Doing!" Helllp!

But that's not why we're here now, is it! Noooo! We're here because an awesomely cool kid

that a whole lotta people know and love to pieces, wanted to celebrate his "No More Booster Seat" Birthday #8 at his usual "club"! That would be none other than the hot spot that all serious clubbers frequent, Chuck E Cheese! What more could a kid want for his birthday?

Pizza, cake, cupcakes, ice cream, friends, family, games, games and more games....and of course gifts AND prizes!

I will now try to identify the bodies in these super candid shots!

Top photo is momma Kymberly and little brother Matty Dave.

The next photo should be 2 of Jeffery's Uncle's, brothers Teamo and Dana.

Photo 3 is of Matty driving a Spaceship of sorts (more like a boat) with a little help from his Daddy, Jayd.

Next is Jeffery Joel's Mema and Aunt Teacha.

This next beauty is none other than Mama, Kymberly.

Can't miss this little one of Mema and her sister Lisa! They asked if I was planning to sell them on eBay. I told them the bidding starts at a penny, but they better watch out for the shipping charges! LOL

Next we have another pretty shot of Mema. She was trying to tell my that she didn't allow having her pictures being taken! But, Cindy I said, "Oh, yes I did!"

I couldn't believe I even got this shot of Kymberly and Jayd, he's looking right at her and smiling! Maybe there is hope yet.

The photo just below smiling Jayd is Jeffery Joel and Matty Dave. The candles are blazin' and we are all singing beautifully out of key. As the song ends we move along to the final photo....

The cheeks are puffed, only one candle to go....

Hope all of your wishes come true, my bug! I Love You! XOXOXOXOXO

Something New

I don't know if any of you have heard of Project 365, but it is basically a commitment to take a photograph a day for a year. At the end, your reward is having a diary in pictures of a year in your life.
My Project 365 has taken the form of a new blog that I call "A.J.'s Days In Heaven". I'm really going to try to keep this up (so far, so good). So if you have any interest in what's going on with my (I think) boring little life, you can check it out at http://ajdih.blogspot.com .
Just a note of warning, anyone that knows me is aware of this, I rarely can have a blog entry without saying something. Thank goodness I'm learning (slowly but surely) to use the delete key more often.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

It is getting rather late on Christmas Eve and I am alone. I don't want to dwell on that sad state of affairs though. I want to tell you that my favorite holiday song is O Holy Night! Jimmy and I preferred the version sung by John Berry, but there are many great ones out there. Just hearing all of the holiday music kind of puts me into a good-ish mood!

Here is a recipe for The Smell of Christmas that my neighbors like. I am not a measure so you kind of have to go by your own eyes and nose on this.

Fill your biggest pot within two inches of top with hot water, put on high heat, cover and wait for it to start steaming.
Meanwhile, slice 1 apple and 1 orange into 1/3 inch slices. Break a few cinnamon sticks into medium pieces. Also have ready whole cloves, anise stars, vanilla and almond extract.
When water is steaming, lower heat as low as you can and still keep it steaming. Slowly and carefully begin to add the apple and orange slices. About half of each for a Dutch Oven sized pan. (Store the rest in a covered container in the fridge for the next batch or eat them for a yummy snack!)
Sprinkle broken cinnamon sticks, whole cloves(around 1/8 cup) and about 4 or 5 Star Anise on and around the fruit. Last you will pour generous amounts of Vanilla and Almond extract (Maybe a tablespoon each or more depending on what you like).
It may have stopped steaming while you were adding all the goodies, but it will start again after you put the cover on with venting room, and set the temp down as low as you can get it yet still enjoy the fragrance.
Yep! I can smell the Wonder Of Christmas from here!
I guess now, all that's left to do is fix a nice steaming cup of hot chocolate, snuggle into a comfy seat on the sofa and watch my all time favorite Christmas movie, White Christmas.

I hope you all have a wonderful one! I will think of you....and be happy!!!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Less than a week 'til Christmas. A busy time for most everyone. I hope that during all of the hustle and bustle of running here and there, worrying over what gifts to give to whom and most assuredly overspending, that we will take at least a moment to remember whose birth it is we are celebrating. The gifts that we exchange are merely symbols of the gifts that were given to the Christ child as He lay in a lowly manger.
I hope that we all have very safe and happy holidays.

My Five Minutes To Cry And Piss And Moan

Generally when something goes wrong in my life, I will find a kind ear to listen and give myself five minutes to cry and whine and get it out of my system. It usually works pretty well. I think that it's the combination of putting my feelings into words and knowing that someone cares enough to listen.

I've come to a point in my life now where I'm almost totally withdrawn from human contact, so I'm hoping that just writing it all down will be enough.

Yesterday I had a doctor appointment. I thought it was just a check because she had put me on new meds and I planned on using the opportunity to ask about a problem I've been having in my left scapular area. It's been gradually causing more and more pain. Since it was crushed in the car accident 4 1/2 years ago, I'm wondering if this pain is connected to that. The one thing I wasn't concerned about was the glucose tolerance test I'd taken 3 weeks ago. If something had been wrong there, they would have called me......or so I thought.

Turns out that they don't like to tell people they are diabetic over the phone. News that devastating tends to make people freak out so they want to tell them face to face. Did I freak out? No, not at first anyway. I didn't know enough about diabetes to know how much it would affect my life. I'm not real big on eating sweets so it would be no big deal giving them up, right? Ha! Jokes on me!First off, my favorite beverage is Pepsi. I've already switched to caffeine free, but sugar free is just too much. Losing that alone is devastating. If it ended there, I could handle it but that would be too easy. Oh Yeah, this isn't just a little road block, it's The Great Wall Of China!

Since way back when I was a Chiapelli, pasta has been a main staple in my cupboard. My favorite snack is Lays Potato Chips. I am addicted to Raspberry Jello with Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce, Pineapple and low fat Cottage Cheese topped with Cool Whip. If I'm not cooking with pasta, I am probably using rice or potatoes.

Pasta, rice, potatoes, and dairy are all considered starches and starches convert to sugar as soon as they enter your body. If you look in my cupboards right now, there is not a single thing that I'm allowed to eat. Nothing, zip, zilch, nadda!

So the freak out has begun. A lot of crying and feeling sorry for myself. Hopefully now that I've put this all into words I can start thinking about solutions.

I Must Break My Silence

How exciting is this...Audrey is having a baby GIRL!!!! The boys are absolutely wonderful, but after 3 of them she was really afraid to hope for a girl. I did a lot of hoping for her as I'm sure everyone who knew did. Today it was confirmed on her blog, baby is healthy and a girl! I am just overflowing with joy for their whole family.

Today is Isaac's Birthday so a shout out to him! Holla! Hope you had a happy day Igus, (I know that's not your name, but it was how you said it when I first met you so Uncle Dan and I still think of you as Igus sometimes.

I got an e-mail from my Aunt Linda today. We haven't seen each other in a gazillion years, so that was a super surprise. Now that she's found me I hope we will stay in touch.

I actually left the apartment today. Just for a little while, but I did it. Tomorrow a lady is coming to take me to Kmart. It's just to pick up my meds, but it's a real store and if I hurry I might even get a chance to look at stuff!

All this sounds like bland old everyday stuff for most people, but for me it's all exciting stuff. Enough to get me to blog again......