The Good Old Days...

So, I am at my mom's house today and my Grams is over here. She brought over a collection of old cookbooks for us to look through and see if we wanted any of them before she puts them in the garage sale. I just love looking at old cookbooks. The way they are written, the pictures, everything about them. I thought I would share with you the following "recipee" that I found in one of them:

HOW TO PRESERVE A HUSBAND
Be careful in your selection. Do not choose too young. When once selected, give your entie thought to preparation for domestic use. Some insist on keeping them in a pickle, others are constantly getting them in hot water. This makes them sour, hard and somethimes bitter. Even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good by garnishing them with patience, well sweetened with love and seasoned with kisses. Wrap them in a mantle of charity. Keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream. Thus prepared, they will keep for years.

I found the following excertpts in a Better Homes and Gardens Nutrition guide for the family copyrighted in 1961:

Overweight can come from big muscles, but it's improbably. A scientist could weigh you under water to find out. Fat is lighter than lean muscle and fat people float like cream in a milk bottle.
Stand erect. Bend your neck until your chin rests on your chest. Look straight down. The view of your toes should not be blocked by "bay window."

Lie on back, relax, grasp fat padding over suspet area between thumb and fingers and pinch together. This gives clue to thickness of fat layer above the real you that lies underneath.

Are those hilarious or what? We sat in the kitchen and rolled laughing. We are having a good time enjoying each other's company today, and J-man is in heaven having his Mommy, Gammo, and Grams to play with all at the same time.

R left at about 4:00 this morning to go on the road for his new job. He is now an over the road truck driver. This makes me sadder than I can tell you, but we got to the place where we could see no other option. The people he was previously working for decided to raise thier liability insurance requirements ten fold. And even though his contract stated that they were not allowed to change the contract for five years, they would not dispatch him unless he signed the agreement for the new insurance. This would have taken another three thousand dollars a year out of his bottom line. We decided that this was the final straw in a long line of events with this employer. It was time to move on. We now hope to be able to see him "most weekends." We'll see how it goes.
So the three of us spent the last several days soaking up as much togetherness as we could. R and I went on a date together yesterday. It was a blast. J has relly enjoyed having his daddy home the last several days, and I'm sure he will miss that fun and attention. Not to mention I will have to be giving all of the baths now, as that used to be daddy and J's special time together.

Well, that's the update for now. This week I will be working my butt off. I'll be trying to get everything at work all caught up in three days, because I am taking off work Thursday and Friday for our garage sale. Wish us luck that it goes well, as all the proceeds from my part of the sale (it's a four family sale) will be going to Bella-Bean's family for thier expenses relating to her treatment.

STORM THE GATES!!!

Please join me in storming the gates of Heaven with prayers for Bella-Bean. There are a few specific items that could use our prayer attention:

1. Bella's first ERT (enzyme replacement therapy) is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Please pray for its success, and for no adverse reactions to the treatment. Successful ERT can halt the damage to Bella's organs and bones.

2. Bella's parents are petitioning their insurance company to allow them to have her transplant done at the UM hospital, which is not officially covered in their plan. The hospital that is covered has very little experience with Hurler's, while the UM has tons, and its doctor studied at Duke, where most of the breakthroughs in Hurlers treatment were made. Please pray that the the insurance company accepts the pettition.

3. Please pray for healing and restoration in the relationships between Bella's parents and some of their family members. This is a time when they will need their family more than ever, and with tensions high, and nerves on edge, there has sadly been some damage to some of those relationships.

Super Duper Weekend with Big Bird!

Our dear friend we call Big Bird came up to visit us last weekend. I am just now getting a chance to post about it. We had a super time. As usual, she and her sweet hubby spoiled us by bringing gifts, taking us out to eat, and taking us shopping. But that’s not why we love having her around! She is just so much fun, and loves us like nobody else! We have always adored her, and now that she has married Sweet C, there is just that much more love to go around. He is truly a wonderful man, who has welcomed all of her old friends into his heart just as if we’ve always known him. (They’ve been married a while now, but I’m just now getting to know him)

Big Bird’s health is not too good, and she probably should not have made the trip, as it is very hard on her. We were glad to see her, but I think we need to try harder to go in her direction in the future, as opposed to having her come here. She had quite a bit more trouble during her visit than she wanted to let on. But we had a blast, and loved her up. She is my favorite photographer, and she captured these beautiful moments with J while she was here. Eat you heart out, Anne Geddes!