Hello, from 97 Hunter Road in Freeport!

Hello, from 97 Hunter Road in Freeport. This is my butterfly house on the front of our house (hence the house number, duh!) The snow is backing off a little. Then when you look at the big picture (the entire front of our house) it doesn't look so pretty!!! We have a way's to go, huh! Someday. Last night it poured ALL night and today we were in the clouds until 2:30 pm the sun started to peak out and the temperature shot up to 47!!! Amazing, the things you can be grateful for and when. In June/July we would not be excited about 47! Tomorrow is supposed to be nice and 40ish and Sunday pouring rain again! The other picture is our pond ~!~ The solar lighthouse is sitting on top of the waterfall and the 3 reindeer to the right (white wire mesh) are standing on the edge! It will be awhile before we are sipping lemonade beside the pond, I guess. As you can see, this area doesn't get alot of sun, so it will be awhile. Then comes the tasks of cleaning the leaves from fall and installing the pumps and getting ready for my 2 favorite seasons. Spring and Summer.

This was a busy week for us on the birthday front. On the 21st, was Kathy Johnson's 50th. She is married to Mike's brother, Steve Rollins. Her name is now Cassie Rollins. Anyways, she turned 50 on Saturday. On Wednesday was Katie's birthday. (Trent's Mom) I think she turned 24. Then on Thursday it was Julia's birthday. We went to Julia's house for a party at 3pm. She is SO grown-up, smart (beyond her years) and beautiful!!! So, she got

a lot of "My 'Lil Ponies", dresses, Magnetic Paper dolls, a Dora and Pegasus,

Stuffed Animals, and her web camera. She was a very busy hostess too! She was making sure everyone had crackers, pepperoni and cheese, plus drinks. She is a very good girl. I just can't believe that she is 4!! We left their house at 4:10 pm and rushed home to meet Mike and Billie to celebrate Billie's birthday. Julia was born on my friends birthday, so sometimes it can be hectic on this day. So at 5pm, Mike and Billie showed up just as I was putting the 'Fresh' Haddock into the oven. It was still frozen! I whipped up cole slaw, tartar sauce, a tossed salad and then sat down to visit with her. She said she had to leave by 6:30pm as her Mom had fallen today and Billie was taking her to the doctor's at 7:15pm. This is Lucielle's first fall and she took a good one! She was outside, turned to wave to a friend and when she turned around, her foot slipped off the pavement and sent her face first into the flower bed! Anyways, we rushed through dinner, cake and Ice Cream and they were out the door by 6:29 pm. I'm good, huh?

I have only had one night since all this crap began, that I slept without any assistance. Last night, I gave it another shot and was up 'til 3am and finally took some NyQuil to knock me out. I have never had a problem with sleeping on my own for more than a night or two at a time. All day long, I'm tired and I sleep weird hours. That is my mini-goal this weekend is to get on a more set schedule with the sleeping. Anyways, I get up this mid-morning and see 4 turkeys in the driveway. My immediate reaction was where is Ying-Yang. He was well aware of their presence as he was in his yard all crouched down ready to attack! Then I ran into the office to get the camera and by then they were slowly pecking their way across the rock wall to the neighbor's house. No picture. That stunk. Ying-Yang was fired up!!!! He thought that he was king kitty today. He howled to go into the big yard for the longest time. He wanted to 'fetch' us dinner and we wouldn't let him. He would stand on his hind legs and box at each of us! He is SO funny, but can do alot of damage, once he gets a hold on you. His front paws should be registered weapons! Needless to say, I think we are going to have trouble getting him to come in for the first 2-3 days of NO SNOW in the yard. Then I will let him go out all day with me while I rake and clean the pond. He is so attracted to water, that the pond might be an issue this year! That liner cost a small fortune and if he gets in there and digs his claws into it, that will be the end of our pond. Time will tell.

So, at 2:30 am, I checked into taking more education on-line. I doubt I can afford to do that, but what's the harm in comparing prices and see what there is out there, right? Well, today the Colorado Tech College calls me. He started with standard questions, like what education do you have. So, I tell him about Stratford Career Institute. He then tells me that they are just a diploma mill and that I have NO credits towards any program. I was beside myself! What? After all that time and MONEY I had spent on those courses? In his eyes (and any other colleges eyes) I'm not even graduated yet!!!! Now, I need to go back to the High School and get my GED! Any positive vibes that I had worked very hard at getting and keeping, flew straight out the window, today! That is a blow to one's ego, when the education you thought you had isn't even worth the paper it is written on! OMG!!! I have to start all over again. At 47? How long will it take to get the GED, plus start all new courses, not to mention to try to pay for them! We are screwed. I don't think schooling is an option for me now! I am disappointed, angry, and frustrated. How can they take your money and give you a diploma for all your hard work and it is worth nothing?????? My positive saying at the end of my last blog, is crap. Just words on paper! No meaning, that's for sure. So, I call the high school. The classes are on Thursday nights, so now I have to wait almost a week to get started on this. It seems like every piece of my life and everything that we have worked hard to accomplish is crumbling, day by day. What's left? Don't even want to think about that! Life really sucks, right now, and I am sick of all this drama! Can't someone have the drama for a little while? They say, the good lord won't give you more than you can handle. I think that is BS too! It's like I have been living a lie for 20+ years. WTF??? I'm truly hoping that something breaks pretty soon but, I;m fearing it isn't going to!!! Ttys Barbara