Nana's Babygirl SMILES!

Jenna has been smiling for a while now but I finally have pictures to prove it! I finally received a disk of 50 pictures of my little Jenna today. I have been wanting to post updated pictures of her but my son has been BUSY and couldn’t seem to get around to sending me a disk.

Hummm… Imagine that… he has been busy. I wonder why he has been so busy? It’s not like he has a lot of responsibility now or anything.

I also received this article from him in an email today. I thought it was interesting.

By JoNel Aleccia
Health writer
MSNBC

Baby's first smiles give mom's brain a buzz
Tiny grins light up reward centers that lead to quality care, study says

Any mother who's ever felt a jolt of joy at her baby’s first grin knows how intoxicating that can be.

Now, scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine say there’s more to the baby buzz than just a rush of happy feelings. Turns out that seeing your own child smile actually activates the pleasure receptors in the brain typically associated with food, sex — and drug addiction.

“It may be that seeing your own baby’s face is like a ‘natural high,’ said Lane Strathearn, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor and and Texas Children's Hospital who studied the brain reactions of 28 first-time moms.”

“We know similar brain circuits are activated,” he added. “Whether that feels the same as a shot of cocaine, I’m not sure.”

Well I don’t know if it feels like a “shot of cocaine” either but I can tell you… I know from experience that my baby’s smile did make me feel “intoxicating joy”!

I can’t wait to experience seeing my Jenna smile at me while I am there for my next visit!

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend! My daughter and her boyfriend are here for the weekend as well as my youngest son :-) We will watch the fireworks display from our deck/balcony tonight. Tomorrow we will all go to a movie.

More pictures of today to follow!

Have you seen this program?

I don’t watch much tv at all but I do TiVo a few shows to watch at my convenience like 48 Hours, Dateline and etc.(I like Crime Dramas). I also like some HGTV shows, but my NEW favorite thing to TiVo is … The Shopping Bags. On the Fine Living Network.



The Shopping Bags is a fun and entertaining show that tells you what you need to know before you buy anything. And I do mean ANYTHING! You can get tips and advice from these two cute and clever women who have investigated consumer products and trends for quite awhile now. They both hatched "The Shopping Bags" concept way back in 1999 so I’m not sure if this is a new show on Fine Living or I am just VERY SLOW in finding this show. Like I said… I don’t watch much tv.

It’s really amazing… Hubby and I have Satellite and so we have probably over 200 channels and there are probably a lot of shows that I would like but I have no idea they even exist. I guess that is probably a good thing… I don’t want to be a couch potato!
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My sister and niece are in town this week on a softball tournament. I haven’t even got to see them yet because they are staying in a hotel about 30 minutes from me. I think I'll try to meet up with them this evening after work and go to dinner with them. I am also going to try and go to one of the games maybe tomorrow evening. I haven’t seen my niece play in a very long time… like probably when she was in little league. She is now 18 and will be headed off to college in the fall. I will post a pic of us later in the week.

You thought I’d given up on this Blog didn’t you…

I will admit it… I am a lazy blogger. There I said it. It’s true…. I want to blog more but either I can’t seem to find the time or I just can’t seem to find anything to blog about.



Here is where I sit and internet surf and read (stalk) other blogs. I don’t know how you do it… YOU who are on my “Blogs that I read” list… you can come up with the most interesting things to write about!

I really don’t understand how you’all do it!

I just love reading your blogs!

Sometimes I get an idea for my next blog and then I don’t have time to post it… by the time I get around to it … it is OLD news… past it’s time…

Maybe someday (Yeah...in my dreams) I will have plenty of time … I will be a TRUE BLOGGER like all of my new blogger friends!

What kind of house are you?

Today during my lunch break I did one of those Blogthing tests. This is a fairly accurate assessment of me ... except for the "staying in shape" thing.

What the House Test Says About You

You consider yourself important, but no more important than anyone else. You love attention, but you don't feel like you deserve more of it than anyone else. You aren't against being community oriented, but it's not really your thing. You tend to prefer to focus on your family and not the neighborhood around you. You are creative, expressive, and bright. You are always in the middle of some amazing project. You take good care of your physical appearance. You dress well, stay in shape, and do your best to look great. You are moved by your own inner sense of peace. You spend a lot of time reflecting on the meaning of life.

My good news for Monday

I finally received a phone call letting me know that I will be able to get my car repaired without having to use my own deductible!

Let me explain … Last Memorial Day, hubby and I had just arrived in Denver from our L O N G trip home from Oklahoma. This trip took a couple of hours longer than normal because hubby wanted to take a different route home this time. UGH! Two whole hours longer! We were both tired and hungry so we decided to call ahead to one of our favorite restaurants and place a carry out order. Long story short… after leaving the restaurant I stopped in a merge lane to wait for traffic to give me a break so that I could merge onto the busy street. While I was just about to step on the gas to MERGE…someone rear ended me.

Since it was raining and 40 degrees out my hubby gets out to get insurance information and access the damages. The young gentleman that hit me did present his insurance card and his driver’s license and Hubby writes down all the necessary info and then we head home.

It turns out that this guy was a little bit hard to find. Last Friday I was just sure that the guy would not be found and I would have to pay my deductible to get my car repaired.

Now I’m doing a happy dance…


I mean… I have to admit… I was really starting to get a little nervous. I am so glad the guy finally came forward and admitted his guilt.

You see…. Hubby and I didn’t call the police. We didn’t know that it IS the law. I don’t know why we didn’t .. except that we were so tired and hungry and didn’t want to deal with it. The guy could have just denied it and it would be his word against mine and his insurance wouldn’t have paid.

Lesson learned.

My week so far

Monday… take a “sick” day

Tuesday… repeat…

I woke up yesterday morning just really out of it. Yes, it was MONDAY morning, my most un-favorite day and time of the week, but I really didn’t feel well. I decided to take the day off and rest. I am feeling a little better today but I was still feeling a little out it so I took today off as well. Even though I wasn’t feeling well I was really hoping that I could get some things done around the house. It’s so weird… when you are at home during the day, the day goes by really fast and when you are at work it seems like it goes by very slow. Go figure.

The wind blew ALL day long here in the suburbs of Denver! The wind didn’t help my depressed mood any either. I felt like the wind was just stirring up more pollen in the air. YUCK!

You could say that I am just having a bad week so far.

Beau doesn’t seem to mind the wind.

What a dog’s life!

I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t updated my blog in quite awhile … it’s not like I haven’t been on the computer. I have been reading other blogs and trying to keep up with my “Blogs that I read when I should be working” and revamping my blog! Yea! Did you notice??

I have a custom signature and everything.