Young At Heart

Birddog is extremely young at heart. Unfortunately, time eventually catches up with us. For years, he has lived with constant back pain, probably from lifting music equipment for 30+ years. For a while, we didn’t think that anything could be done, but then he went to visit a new doctor. A few MRIs and many other tests later, it was discovered that the disc between his L4 and L5 vertebra was ripped. His spine was actually not even lined up anymore, which could result in paralysis if he didn’t treat it right away…...by having back surgery.

So a week ago, we ventured to Nashville and he went under the knife. I was nervous. He was scared. (More scared of the catheter than of the surgery, but that is a different story all together.) He now has pins and rods in his back to fuse the two vertebras together.

The surgery went perfectly. He was up and walking an hour after the surgery and, after a long night in the hospital, he got to come home the next day. It has been a long week at home…..literally taking baby steps.

Today is Day 7 post operation and things are looking great. He still has to wear his back brace for a couple more weeks and he is still REALLY sore, but things are progressing wonderfully. He was even up to going out on the town with me yesterday! When I told him that I had to run to Wal-Mart, he begged me to go so that he could ride the “rascal cart”.

Like I said, he is extremely young at heart!

Junk Mail

I can understand how E-Harmony could mistake me as a single person, but Jesus was at our wedding. Maybe He has me confused with another Ladybird.

Worry Wart

I like to think that I am a strong person. Not physically but mentally tough, goodness knows that Birddog opens all the jars around our house. I am an “everything will be alright” kind of gal. I can look at the bright side of things. I can roll with the punches.

Except now that I am pregnant.

This baby has thrown me for a loop. I worry more now. Constantly. And I know that some of the things that I worry about are so silly…….but they are still there lingering in the back of my head. Sometimes my “everything will be alright” attitude is crushed.

This morning I not only worried, but I found myself alone and worried……and scared……..which worried me even more. I know that I must have said ten-thousand prayers in about an hour……Lord, just help me deal. (Which is a prayer that I say about every 5 minutes anyway.)

But everything was alright. And I worried for nothing. And it won’t stop me from worrying.

I know that as a soon-to-be parent, I have no clue as to the amount of worry that I have in store.

Lord, just help me deal.

3 Years...And It Seems Like Yesterday

Peer Pressure

I love it that several of my friends and family members mention my blog during conversations. It is nice to know that people are actually checking it out on a regular basis. This is proof that I haven’t scared you off on the first visit.

My younger brother has decided to join the blogging universe. Hop on over to Cosmo’s Crazy to see what is going on in his world. (He really needs to update though. hint hint)

Now my cousin "up north" is getting in on the action. Check out the musings of A Transplanted Life to see what is happening in the great state of Minnesota. (Where the introverts stare at their shoes, and the extroverts stare at yours. Sorry, that just slips out every time I say Minnesota.) She is wife to Alex and mother to Reed, which is alway a hoot to read about. My favorite Reed story thus far has been that he spells his name backwards with the "d" backwards......so it looks like beeR. Reed stories always keep me in stitches.

Now it is my turn to pester the rest of you guys. If you are a frequent visitor to this blog, then I urge you to start your own! What are you waiting for??? It is a fun way to keep in touch with family and friends. Plus, I would love to see some of your pictures and hear your stories. If you are afraid to type, then don’t type, just post some pictures of kids, grandkids, animals, ANYTHING! Start bringing your camera with you. You would be so surprised what you can snap a picture of during a regular day.

It is so easy and if I can do it, then anyone can do it. There are several blog programs out there, but I chose Blogger. Blogger is powered through Google and makes blogging easy. This website will walk you through all the steps of creating your own web log. There are even several templates to choose from, so you don’t have to worry about backgrounds or layouts. I use Picasa for most of my pictures and Analytics to see how people interact with my site. There are so many other programs and functions that I haven’t even tried yet!

Just give it a try! I can’t wait to see your blog!

(*cough*Uncle Larry*cough*cough*)

Totally Kissable

This is Sawyer James. He is the youngest son of my friends Tara and Matt that live in Mississippi. I could kiss on his chubby little cheeks for hours.

Tea Time

April is a BIG month for Dickson County. Not only is the Cancer Auction on the radio every afternoon, but it seems like every Relay For Life team has an event planned.

I was invited to a Tea Party to benefit the Relay team for Granny Garton’s church. As you can see, a lot of the Garton girls got to party together. The food was fabulous, the speaker was wonderful and, most importantly, lots of money was raised for the American Cancer Society.

Remember to listen to the Cancer Auction on WDKN 1510AM every afternoon from 2-4pm. My company’s day to donate will be the 17th, but I am still not sure what I plan on taking. I got in a bidding war today over Em’s Chicken Noodle Casserole. I lost out in the end, but I did win her cookies!

It is awful hard being pregnant and listening to all the wonderful homemade confections that are auctioned every day. By the end of the broadcast, I am starving!

Sweet Potato

First and foremost, I must wish my mother a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! When I talked to her this morning, she had already had a wild and exciting day.......she had slept in.......all the way to 8:30. (This is a huge accomplishment for someone who has been retired for years.)

Today is not only my mother’s birthday, but it is also TATER DAY! How cool is it that her birthday fell on Tater Day?!?! That is like the best day of the year in Kentucky. Ironically she said that she was not going to attend the festivities. I can’t imagine why.

Tater Day started when people in Benton and surrounding areas would go to market with their sweet potatoes. (How exciting!) It has gradually grown to include a parade and beauty pageant. There are carnival rides, hard-to-win games and bad-for-you food. The parade was always the highlight of the day. It is just like any other home-town parade…..flatbed floats with kids, Shriners, clowns and politicians, then came the classic cars, then the tractors, and the poopy-horses came last.

Since Tater Day is always the first Monday in April, we all begged our parents to skip school that day. Since my parents were teachers, I was always out of luck. It was always Senior Skip Day for the older crowd. Finally the schools gave up and always scheduled Spring Break during that week.

For those of you giggling about the name “Tater Day”, you better stop laughing now. Old Timer’s Day is just a couple of weeks away in Dickson and Mule Day was celebrated in Columbia this past weekend. Taters don’t sound so silly now, do they?

Happy Birthday Mom! You sure are a sweet potato! I love ya!

Julia Child I Am Not

I will be the first person to admit that I am not a cook.

Birddog would be the second person to admit that fact.

I love to look at the recipes on Smitten Kitchen and I entertain the fact of trying to make one of Deb's recipes one day. The simple fact is, if it has more than a handful of ingredients, the chances are slim that I will make it. I look for QUICK and EASY recipes and when I don’t find them, I get frustrated…….and then I just make spaghetti again.

Poor Birddog is tired of pasta……..so here is your chance to help him. I have listed below one of my favorite EASY recipes, Italian Roast Sandwiches. In exchange, I would love for you to send me one of your EASY recipes. You can post it in the comments for everyone to share or email it to me at Heather dot Garton at yahoo dot com.

Please keep in mind, this is not a recipe for sissies. If you get heartburn easily, I would not attempt this recipe. On the other hand, it can be toned down with less spicy peppers.

Italian Roast Sandwiches

Ingredients:
Beef Roast
One large jar peppercini peppers
One pkg McCormick’s dry Italian seasoning
Sliced Mozzarella Cheese
Deli rolls or hoagie buns

Directions:
Place roast in crock pot.
Sprinkle McCormick’s Italian seasoning on top of roast
Dump jar of peppercinis including the juice into the crock pot
Add barely enough water to cover roast
Cook on low until roast is done. (The longer, the better!)
Serve the meat on deli rolls with mozzarella cheese.
(I usually put some of the peppers on my sandwich too! YUM!)

So what is your EASY recipe???

Beauty Exemplified

I couldn't ask for a more beautiful sister-in-law and nieces!

Plan B

I am super excited about a new series called Plan B that is starting at CrossPoint this week! The first installment is called Shattered Dreams and I can't wait! If anyone is interested in going with me, I will be happy to come pick you up. We can get there a little early and have coffee or juice and something sweet.....this church really knows how to make pregnant women happy!