I have been sick since Christmas. Along with all my gifts, I received earaches, sore throat, body aches, queasy tummy, fatigue and a full blown case of eczema! I am one lucky gal!! I went to the Doctor yesterday and will see another tomorrow. I am hoping to receive…at the most a little energy and a few pills to pop!!! So for the next day or so, I will leave you with a few of my New Years Resolutions!! Do you have any? What are they? Do you think you can follow through with them?

I received this in an email a few days ago and just got a chance to watch it. It literally sent chills down my spine, and my eyes welled up with tears. Watch how the power of one song can connect people from all around the world.
For his documentary “Playing or Change: Peace Through Music,”
filmmaker Mark Johnson traveled through four continents and
recorded various musicians–some from unexpected quarters–
playing “Stand By Me.”

Each musician was charged with layering a single song
over the previous artist thus building upon it. Over thirty
musicians globally participated in this project and not one
artist knew the other or came in contact initially.

F.Y.I., there is a Santa!
A little over a month ago I befriended a cat (well actually many, this one in particular.) My first instinct was to snatch it up, hide it in my jacket and smuggle it home. Then it donned on me, it might actually belong to someone. I stalked visited this little fella everyday, trying to gain it’s trust so I could at least pet it’s luscious coat of fur. It was almost always in the same place leading me to believe it probably did have a home. After a little investigating, I was totally crushed learning it was in fact someone’s pet but happy to know it had a loving home. Every time I saw him I would come home and announce how much I wanted this cutie!
Fast forward a month, I continue to visit my ‘friend’ and am able to now pet and hold him. A few nights ago I had been out for my nightly walk and visit. Every time I walked away, my little friend insisted on following me. After about the 10th time I scooped him up and knocked on his owners door, explained what was going on and handed him back to them. They were very grateful, they were also very shocked that I was holding him….this was not a common occurrence. I explained my love of Persians and how I had one at home. The conversation became quite lengthy but to make a long story short, they let me know they were moving. My heart sunk as I knew how much I would miss my little friend. They went on to say they were moving to a smaller place and didn’t know if they would be able to take both their dog and the cat. The lady said she was torn and her heart was broken….his name is Oliver….I still can’t believe he let you pick him up… If you are interested, you may make this decision easier for us. “It is obvious you have built a bond with Oliver, at this point I really don’t think we can take him with us. Would you be interested in giving him a home….it would make this so much easier knowing he would be loved and I can see he already is” My heart sank even more. Keep your composure Heidi or they may change their mind! “Of..ab..we..I would love to!” We talked a bit longer and I told her to think about it and I would get back to them in a few days to find out their decision. She agreed but left me with, “I think we have.”
Without further adieu, meet Oliver….the cat I might, almost for sure get!

*click on the image for a closer look at my new cat, Oliver
Of course I will keep you updated!!!

So my son bought a new car a few months ago. Well, at 21 you CANNOT have a new car without G.P.S. It annoys the heck out of me. I call her Belle and she has absolutely no personality. How did we, ‘in the olden days’ ever find our way around? (barefoot in the snow)

You spend a small fortune for an emotionless voice to tell you where to go, not to mention that by the time you enter all the information for Belle to process, you could be half way to your destination. Part of me wants to “be hip” so I designed my own device. H.I.P. Heidi’s Ingenious Plan
It’s cheap.
It’s user friendly.
It’s portable, transfer it between your cars in seconds!

How does it work you ask?
You simply attach it (with velcro) to your dashboard facing towards you. It is at eye level, you will never lose your signal, etc…
So now you have made it to your destination but how do you find your way home?

You simply detach from the velcro, flip it upside down and WALA!

Do you have a compact car? Would you like something a little more portable? Relax, you too can still be H.I.P.! Here’s how: Now that’s H.I.P.

____________

WoW!! What a great idea, the ‘mini H.I.P.’ is born. Thanks for sharing!!

Mom, don’t be so hard on yourself, this is a common question. Since they are so young, I would start out with the ‘mini H.I.P.’

Ummm…no. *blushing*

Forever Greatful, I find myself weeping at such a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing!!!!

No honey, I don’t. Feel free to start one though!!!

I originally sat down to take a break from cleaning, my cat was sleeping and I didn’t want to wake her with the vacuum. I have since taken a nice hot shower, put my p.j.’s on, climbed into bed and watched the season finale of one of my favorite shows, Dr. Drew’s Rehab. I will vacuum tomorrow. As much of a princess my cat is, she doesn’t usually have that much pull in the household. Poor thing has a bladder infection and has been miserable all day, her sleeping meant a break from her meooowwwing. Hopefully the meds will kick in by tomorrow and we will all feel better! She now lay at my feet snoring…I can’t win.

So my apartment complex decided to replace all the toilets with “high efficiency, dual flush toilets” to conserve water. Great idea…I can get past the fact it’s not a real homey feeling toilet, it has more of that hotel/restaurant feel, but how do you use the damn thing? I had to go online to learn what button to push and when…wtf? Honest to God, they actually have how to and video tutorials for this thing. I did my research. There is the button on the left which is the 0.8 gallon volume, the one on the right, 1.6 gallon volume. Typically, 4 out of 5 flushes will be your left button (0.8 g.v) which in the long run saves 1,000′s of gallons of water. I guess the button on the right is as per needed.

I had a nice conversation with my ‘older’ sister today, she lives in Seattle and with so much going on (she is a grandma now you know) lately, we haven’t had much time to chit-chat.
“Hi…how are you???”
“O.k., I hurt my back and shoulder”
“How did you do that?”
“Slip in the snow?”
“No”
“Ice?”
“No…I’ve done that before, I’m really careful now!”
“So what happened?”
“Well I just came in (from the snow and ice) and went to sit down and missed the chair”
Doggone if I didn’t choke on that .99 cent doughnut I just got at 7-11
“So how are you?” (that would be me)
“O.k., I hurt my hip”
“How did you do that?”
“Fall?”
“Nope”
“Slip?”
“Oh no” I continue. “I was really excited that I was able to get back into one of my favorite pants again. I thought it would be cute to get a picture of me doing the yippee jump”
“The yippee jump?”
“Yeah where you jump up and bend your legs up to one side and go yippee”
“Ohhh…”
“Well I didn’t think my yippee jump was high enough”
“Uh-huh”
“So I tried to do it jumping off my bed, I didn’t land so well.”
After a brief moment of silence we died laughing. At 48, she should know better than to not know where she’s sitting. At 45, I should probably not be jumping off beds trying to perfect the yippee jump. Mom…you’ve got to be bloody well proud!!
It’s now well past my bed time. I think I’m going to make a quick trip to the restroom first. Now that I know what buttons to push, I kinda just want to test it. Otherwise, (I can’t resist) all that knowledge will just go down the drain!!

For Part 1 of my mini vaca scroll down!
Lets put it this way, my friend Laurie, from whom I hitched a ride home with is not privy to driving a stick. The first hour drive home I was white as a ghost, glistening with beads of sweat, it was all I could do to keep my lunch down. I think it was at the point my head spun a 180 she decided to let someone else drive. There is a God…I was fine for the rest of the drive! I got home at about 9:15 p.m., it was after 11 before I had settled in and climbed in bed. Thursday- I spent the day doing laundry, cleaning and packing for my drive to Phoenix. It’s amazing how far behind one can get when they unexpectedly leave town for 4 days.
Friday- I woke up thinking I was good to go, only to find a million more loose ends that needed to be tied up. You play…you pay, I’m learning. I finally got on the road at 4:00 p.m., which now meant it would be 10:00 Arizona time before I’d arrive. I’ve done the drive so many times, it’s not that big of a deal except when you are still “recovering” from a mini-vaca in Paradise. About 3 hours in to the trip my excitement level peaked, the sign ahead of me read “Watch for Ducks” well, if you have followed my blog for any sort of time, you know it is no secret I have a Duck problem. As I got a little closer, I realized it read, “Watch for Rocks” rocks, ducks, what the hell is the difference out in the middle of the toolies? I safely made it at my estimated time, unloaded my car and quickly snatched up the glass of Viognier wine my son had poured me. After visiting with my grandpuppy’s, my son and his “girlfriend” for about an hour, we called it a night and went to bed! Saturday- Tonight was a big night. One of the reasons for my visit was to take my son and his “girlfriend” to see a good friend of mine, Phil Perry perform at a benefit concert. We all still had a few last minute things to do, so they went their way, and I mine. I had strict orders to be back by 3:00 to be ready by 5:30….I always run late. (always!) I thought I was doing really well until I realized the clock in my car was still set to California time, 2:30 suddenly turned into 3:30. Ooops. I got back to my son’s house and made a b-line for the shower.  We all finished getting ready about the same time, and with time to kill before the event started, we decided to head to downtown Scottsdale for a drink and appetizers. Before we even made it in to the ‘swanky’ wine bar, my feet were killing me, I knew this was going to be a long night! Enter “Upstairs” a cool little wine bar with an incredible aviance and beautiful view. We thumbed through the menu, deciding against sharing the $5,000.00 bottle of wine we opted for Martinis and Champagne! I took this oppurtunity to limp down the street and see what Scottsdale had to offer this fabulous December evening. The streets were stunning as was the feeling in the air. For the first time this year, I felt festive! I hobbled (the shoe thing) back to the bar and finished my drink….every last drop. Because my son was so worried about missing dinner at the event we were going to, we started our (painful) journey back to the car. Not even two women can come between a man and his food! As we left we noticed a horse and carriage, $30.00 didn’t seem too steep until we realized it was 30 bucks for 10 minutes! Looking at the blisters on my feet now…probably would have been well worth it! We arrive at the Hyatt Regency, inform them we are guests of Phil Perry and are shown to our table. Just as we sat down, our salads, then dinner were served. Chicken, salmon, (yuck) potatoes, veggies and rolls. Dessert was just as good, Dolce de leche, whipped cream, white chocolate, raspberries and Pecan Pie. In between there somewhere we sipped on wine and martinis. A man who was also at our table had struck up a conversation with us, he was a Phoenix Fireman, donated to the cause, yadda yadda….asked if the three of us were friends. Now he has my attention, *blushing* “Who us? No, this is my son and his ‘girlfriend’.” “I would have never guessed” he replied. *blushing* Now I’m not that gullible but it was a nice gesture! When the conversation ended, I turned to my son and his “girlfriend” and asked if I had introduced them appropriately, it was clear by their reaction that they too were undecided what their status was.
Here’s the totally cool part. These past two years my son has battled cancer and endured a divorce, I can’t recall the last time I had seen him genuinely happy. Then “she” walks into his life, his high school sweetheart. They had not been in contact since 2001 and reconnected via the internet a few months ago. Although it’s apparent they are quite happy together, they had yet to make their relationship official. After dinner, we joined Phil Perry and his wife, Lillian up in their hotel room as Phil prepared for the show, by now my shoes are off! Before we knew it, there was a knock on the door with a “you’re on” message. Had I not been in a dress I would have gotten a piggy back ride back down, my feet hurt that bad! As we made our way to our seats, Phil entered through the back door and made his way to the stage. I could listen to this man all night, watching him perform live is always such a treat!! After the show we hung out for a bit, mingling, taking pictures, etc…just us three “friends.” *wink* On our way home, my son’s “girlfriend” “friend” suggested we go out dancing. Did I have to remind her the feet I had left were barely intact as it was? Hello? I told her if we could find somewhere open that I could pick up a quick pair of shoes, I was game. I mean, this was the end of my week long adventure, what’s a foot…or two? My son (who was driving) headed home assuring us next time we could go dancing. We arrived home around 1:00 a.m. and I am quite sure I was asleep by 1:10. Sunday- I woke up to an empty house as the “kids” had left already to run some errands. It was time again to pack up and head back to California. I decided I was in no hurry and went back to sleep for awhile, I needed it. The “kids” came home with Del Taco just as I finished up packing. We sat and ate, we talked about the night before, about when their high school years, old friends, etc…my son abruptly interrupted and announced “she” had something to tell me. All eyes on “her” she informed me as of that morning, they were official, a couple, boyfriend and girlfriend. I am thrilled for both of them! On that note, I gave them both a hug and climbed in my car for my journey home. After 2 brief rainstorms and an owl sighting (not duck) at a rest stop I arrived home around 10:30 p.m.
It was a long and busy week, but I enjoyed my mini adventure