Mortality

Have you ever had someone (or maybe a few someone's) in your life that, even though you knew better, you thought they would always be around? I have two "someone's"...Nana and Papa. They have always been the two constants in my life. The two people that have always been there for me no matter what. The saying for me when I was growing was "when the going gets tough, the tough go to Nana & Papa!"

Whenever times were hard, they were there. It never mattered what was happening, they were always there with a helping hand...or firm hand if that's what needed to be given! I was with them so much when I was a little girl. They would take me camping with them to Balch Park or over to Morro Bay. Nana would take me shopping with her. Papa would always teach me silly songs in the car. He taught me how to fish too.

Nana has always said that, even now, I have Papa wrapped around my little finger! You know what? She's right! :)

But you know what else? No matter what, everyone gets older...and they get more frail. Both of my grandparents have had to confront their own mortality in these past fews years. In June 2004, Papa had a heart attack on the golf course and had to be airlifted by helicopter to Seattle. He ended up with a 5-way bypass and a valve replacement. Papa came out of it very well and became even more healthy than he already was. But then a few years later his doctors found that he had very limited circulation in one of his carotid arteries. With medication he's come through that pretty well.

This year feels like it's the downhill slope and I can't help but be fearful. This year Papa has started to have short-term memory loss. Enough so that he doesn't drive anymore, or at least an extreme limited distance. This has kept him from doing a lot of the things that has always been a part of him. It hurts more than you could know to hear about all of this from 1000 miles away. It hurts even more knowing that there's nothing I can do about it.

Nana has been having problems with her knees for a while and she's had surgery a few times. This year she has developed the beginning stages of emphysema. It took a while, but her doctors seem to have a good medication regimen for her so she's not having as many breathing issues. This year they have started to clean out the clutter in their house. Nana said that she doesn't want to leave a big mess for us to have to go through when they croak! (Her words, not mine!)

I worry for both of them and wonder what will happen if one goes before the other. Will the one surviving stay in Washington or move closer to family? I think about the huge loss and enormous void that will be felt in our family by either one of their passings. Having such an extremely small immediate family, I am fearful that I will feel a little more alone in this world.

To my Nana and Papa...I love you and appreciate you more than words can ever express!

Can you fill this out without fibbing? I'll let all of you be the judge as to whether or not I have! :)

What’s the last thing you put in your mouth?
A chocolate chip cookie

Have you ever kissed anyone named Matthew?
Nope

Where was your default picture taken?
Sears

Last person you rode in a car with under the age of 20?
Boy Child and Girl Child

Can you play guitar hero?
Yeah...I kick booty at GH!

Last time you walked further than a block?
Everyday I'm at work

Name someone that made you laugh today?
Dr. Reimer and Sean

How late did you stay up last night and why?
Not too impressive, but I think I was in bed by 10pm.

If you could move somewhere else, would you?
I keep threatening to move to Montana...I probably would.

Ever been kissed under fireworks?
Haven't a clue

Which of your friends lives closest to you?
Grape Ape

Do you believe ex’s can be friends?
Sometimes they can be

Do you prefer to call or text?
Call

How do you feel about Diet Dr Pepper?
I like it...but I prefer Diet Cherry Coke

When was the last time you cried really hard?
Sunday

Where are you at right now?
At home

Mentally?
Hanging tough

Emotionally?
It's been a pretty good day.

What bed did you sleep in last night?
Mine.

What was the last thing someone bought for you?
Breakfast this morning.

Does that count?
Well, duh...of course it does.

When is your birthday?
June 18

Who took your profile picture?
Some photographer chick

Who was the last person you took a picture of?
Umm...I think it was Caelin and Brennan when I was in Montana.

Was yesterday better than today?
By far!

Can you live a day without TV?
Yep

Are you mad about anything?
Not necessarily

Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?
With the right person, they're always worth it

The last time you spent the night at someone’s house?
A few weeks ago when I was house sitting

When was the last time you were extremely disappointed?
Saturday

Are you a bad influence?
Absolutely not! ;)

night out or night in?
Depends on my mood and what I want to do

Are you more of an individual or an outgoing person?
I find that I'm becoming a little more outgoing with each passing year.

What items could you not go without during the day?
Cell phone, caffeinated beverage, laughing.

Would you share a drink with a stranger?
Like actually share a drink? Uh, that would be a huge NO!

Who was the last person you visited in the hospital?
Myself

Last hug?
Hmm, I'll have to think about that one.

Do you think its right for straight guys to get their tongue pierced?
I don't think it's right for anyone to pierce their tongue.

Are you more of a coffee or alcohol drinker?
Coffee

Have you ever thrown shoes on a telephone wire?
Nope

What does the last text message in your inbox say?
What?

How do you feel about your life right now?
It's getting better

Explain why you last threw up?
Meds

How many times have you been pulled over by the police?
I think twice

Do you hate anyone?
Nah

Do you talk dirty to people?
Can I plead the 5th?

If we were to look in your phone inbox, what would we find?
Nothing too exciting...I make sure to delete the good stuff! ;)

Will you have a valentine this year?
Maybe

Anyone upset you lately?
Yeah

Last person you talked to on the phone?
My doc's office

Can you easily tell if someone is fake?
Most of the time

How’s your heart?
Healing

Say you were given a drug test right now, Would you pass?
Of course I would!

Have you ever fallen into a rose bush?
Thankfully, no!

What did you do right before you started filling this out?
Took the final batch of cookies off the cookie sheet

Have you had any Beers today?
Nope, don't really care for beer

How many?
Nada

What are you doing tonight?
Making cookies, blogging, cleaning up

All Lacquered Up

I decided today was a good day for a little bit of pampering for Maya. So, during my lunch hour I went and got a pedicure. The color of the polish that I chose was called "All Lacquered Up"! I couldn't resist! As soon as I saw the name, it reminded me of a very fun time I had not too long ago...so I had to have that color!

My Sweet Moose Boy

So Friday evening I'm hanging out with Hale, the Boy Child, and the Girl Child. We're getting ready to leave their house and we're putting on our shoes. Out of the blue, Boy Child says to me "Auntie, you're beautiful...and I love you."

As we're getting out of the car at College Jr's (Carl's Jr. for those of you out of the loop), Boy Child says to me, "Auntie, I love you...AND you're beautiful!"

This boy never ceases to melt my heart! :)

Watch out McCardle...

here comes the Boy Child!

The Boy Child graduated from preschool at the beginning of June. I can't believe how big he is. He is such a sweet and loving kid with a heart bigger than you can imagine. I can not wait to see the wonderful man he will grow up to be!

Picture Perfect

It had been almost a year and a half since the girl child and I had our first pictures done. Auntie decided that it was time to do it again...she didn't really like the other pictures too much after losing all that weight! ;)


We started off our day by having lunch with Daddy and Brother (ie: boy child) and then us girls got ready and headed out the door. We stopped at Maggie Moo's for some yummy ice cream. Then it was off to Sears for picture time.

The gal that took our pictures this time did a much better job than the guy that did it the first time. The picture above was the girl child's favorite...she asked for the pink border around the picture! :)


This picture below was one of my favorites!

Off to Montana

In June, it was time for another trip to Montana to see the family. Not sure if I've said this before, but...this has got to be one of my favorite places in the world to be. If I honestly thought I could support myself and be able to live there, I'd be gone in a heartbeat! :)

I wasn't able to stay for too long this time. However, I still had a very nice and relaxing time. We didn't do too much, which was perfect for me. Unfortunately I missed seeing Joel and Scott. They left for Mexico a few days before I got there. They were down there for a week on a missions trip.

This was the first time I've seen Caelin...we hit it off right away! She is such a sweet and precious little girl. Loves music and loves to dance.


Brennan has gotten so big since I last saw him. He is ALL boy. Rough and tumble and loves to catch frogs in the pond!

Fontana 2008

Well, the best thing that can be said about this year's Auto Club 500 weekend is that we at least got to see the truck race! Unfortunately, that's pretty much all we saw. The Cup series cars got to practice for about 20 minutes on Saturday before the rain started coming down again. Everything was downhill from there for the rest of the weekend's festivities.

Once it started to rain, it just kept coming down. We stuck around for a while hoping and praying that the rain would start and we'd be able to watch the Nationwide race. No such luck...no way...ain't gonna happen! Rain. Rain. Rain. That's all it did. So, back to the room we went to dry off and relax for a bit. Then it was off to Red Lobster for dinner. Ok, so dinner freaking rocked! It was very yummy!

So, the truck race...that was pretty damn fun to watch! Kyle "Rowdy" Busch just killed them all. His truck was off the hook....driving like a dream! So...yeah...he won! Go Rowdy!


We didn't even bother sticking around for long on Sunday and didn't go to the track either. It was raining was we got up that morning and would only let up for a few minutes at a time and then start back up again. The one upside to leaving Fontana early was there was hardly any traffic to deal with...and we got home at a decent hour.

Here's a few pictures that I was able to get while we were there!

Trucks getting ready to take the green flag!


Rowdy Busch making a pit stop.


Tony Stewart during the very few minutes they got to practice .


Jeff Gordon along pit lane getting his tires checked.


This was the view on the way home...nice and sunny, no rain in sight!