A New Princess In Town

It's been a really tough few days for Dixie.  David, Brenda and Alexandra came to visit.  Since they keep their dogs away from Alex, we did the same to some degree.  Dixie did get in a sniff or two and Alex did "nice, nice" on Dixie's ears, but while she was here, Alex was the princess of the house and Dixie was banished to our bedroom with the door shut.  Dixie was not amused!

Alex took over the living room and the lanai--officially Dixie designated area.  She even learned how to climb the steps we got for Dixie so she could jump up on the couch.  The only thing that Brenda didn't let Alex share was Dixie's stuffed animals.  Probably a good call.  

We had a nice Thanksgiving.  Tony outdid himself again--the food was great. As we did last year, Brenda and I decorated our little Christmas tree and Alex helped.   We put it up on the wine barrel this year so Dixie doesn't mess with it.  

We took Alex to a children's museum in downtown Wilmington and she had a blast.  So did we.  There was a dentist chair and huge plastic teeth, a toddler room with blocks and other toys, a child grocery store,  a wind thing that played music--you could play it like a harp, but there were no strings; you just waved your hand through the wind and music played.  There was a lego room, child sized doll houses,  a skeleton, a sand box sized "pit" with ground up tires.  You could get the tires in a pick up truck and dump it all around the pit.  There was even a school bus in the yard.  

Having Alex in school has made her really "kid conscious."  She followed bigger kids around and wanted to try anything they were doing.    She had no fear and didn't seem to realize that she is only 18 pounds and a little over 2 feet tall.  

We now have a new favorite song, "Baby Shark."  It starts out with the scary part of the theme song from Jaws and then moves into...."baby shark, do, do,do,do, do,do, do." Then it sings the same thing for Mommy, Daddy Grandma and Grandpa.  Alex loves it. She shakes her booty and picks up her feet to the rhythm of the song.  The problem is, it gets in your head and you find yourself singing...."baby shark,........" over and over again.   

As always, the visit was over too quickly.  Christmas is just around the corner and we are all getting ready to celebrate.

I continue with my skin appointments.  I'm really rocking the goggle look!  I have another CT coming up in January and more doctor's appointments.  Some things never change.

Here are some photos to enjoy: 

Seriously, other than wearing blue, do I look like the Red Baron?

Alex exploring toys

Here she comes!

Playing blocks with Daddy

Steps?  Who's afraid of steps?

Brenda, Alex and David at Bok Tower, where they got married

Life Goes Marching On

Here we are in month 11 of 2018.  2019 will bring our 30th wedding anniversary, Jenna and Jon's 15th, Tony and Marie's 8th and David and Brenda's 3rd. I'm sure the whole family will have a whole new set of adventures in the coming year!  Who knows, maybe we'll get a new grandbaby!

I am still adjusting to not working and haven't found my new normal yet, but I continue to explore.  I am getting to read more which I enjoy and sitting on the lanai with Tony in the afternoon has become a favorite thing.  We crank up our "growing up" music, or play light classical pieces and drink wine when we want to feel sophisticated!  Dixie is always there; tasting the wine and sleeping through the music, usually on Tony's lap!

Tony went to Charlotte for Veteran's Day.  He, Tony Jr and the boys went to an airshow.  It seems that all of the Swegle men have their eyes in the skies when it comes to airplanes.  They all had a great time.

David, Brenda and Alex will be here for Thanksgiving and we are looking forward to seeing them again.  I can't wait to see how Alex and Dixie interact. I think they are equally as tall, so we should get some good pictures!

This Sunday, we start car shopping.  We will ultimately go down to one car, but for now, we are just replacing Tony's.  Just like restaurants, Wilmington is full of car dealerships so we will have a lot to look at. 

Tony replaced our outdoor shed this week since Florence took our old one.  He ordered a bigger one from Rubbermaid and put it together in the garage.  I got to hold the roof down while he put the screws in and then I pushed on the walls so he could get them aligned.  I told him that helping him entitled me to half building credit, but he worked so hard on it, I couldn't steal any of his thunder.  

I had my third light treatment on Monday.   I think I am seeing a difference in my skin, but need to have additional treatments before any real progress happens.  I was in for a minute and fifteen seconds this time.  I have another treatment and a consultation with the dermatologist on Thursday.  

And so, life goes marching on.  Thank goodness!

Please enjoy pictures of some of our beautiful grandchildren (and the shed):

Our new shed and grill

Alex and her first sucker

Alex sending Papa Veteran's Day greetings

Goofy Boys

Swegle Men at the airshow

Anthony, Tony and Coleton watching airplanes against a blue sky

49 Seconds

I had my first photo light session for my skin yesterday.  We drove for 30 minutes to the dermatologist for a 49 second treatment.  

It's kind of an interesting process.  The booth is the size of a small shower so before I went through with the procedure, I had to know I could get out if my claustrophobia kicked in.

The technician gave me step by step instructions and I was ready to go.  So, here I am in panties, a bra and goggles.  It was some look!  Tony stayed in the procedure room so he needed goggles too.  He didn't look as silly as I did because he had his clothes on.

And so, with the lights shining on my skin, I stood there for 49 seconds and hoped this was the first step into getting clearer  skin.  We shall see. 

I am officially not working anymore.  I got a dozen beautiful red roses that were the envy of the Emergency Room (and isn't that really the point of getting flowers!!) and I was on my way.  

Unfortunately, my "new" normal is looking a lot like my old normal....Dr. Phil, showering, Dr. Phil.  Not really...I manage to fit in laundry, cleaning, playing with Dixie, reading, Lanai sitting with Tony and bill paying in the course of my day.  But, it is really, really different than when I was working.  Other than early doctors appointments, it's great to open my eyes, look at the clock and say, "cool, I can sleep for another half an hour!"  

We are getting closer and closer to car shopping.  We are trading in Tony's car and keeping mine for awhile.  We are hoping for some great year end deals, but we will see.  So far, getting a Kia is top on the list, but I would like to see other options.  It's going to be Tony's choice, so I will go with whatever, but it's fun to anticipate a new car.  We are both over 100,000 miles and that is the most I have ever had on a car.  But, I love my Toyota and it is still strong and reliable. Seriously, have you ever seen as many  grey Toyota's on the roads than there are now?  It's a sign!!  Not blue or black, grey!

We had our friends, Beecher and Carol over the other night.  They are moving and we will miss them.  But, they are not moving that far away so we will still see them from time to time.   It was fun sitting on the Lanai and getting to know each other better.  They sang us their wedding song (country western and really silly!) and we played ours..."Two Less Lonely People In The World" by Air Supply.  Very cool.  At our ages, second marriages are the norm, so it was fun to compare notes!!

Tony will be in Charlotte this weekend with the kids. They are going to an air show and having family pictures taken.  I hope to get one with Tony and the grand-boys when they are photographing.  

I have an exciting weekend planned.  I'm going to clear out the closet in the office!!  I have business clothes and evening wear that I won't need now and hopefully, someone at the Women's Shelter will decide they are exactly what is needed in their closet.  Wow...how exciting!  But, I will also be going to a neighborhood good-bye party for Beecher and Carol so that will be fun.  Hmmm....party or checking out our grandson's "man poop."  I think I am on the winning end of this weekend!

As always, the year has gone quickly by.  David, Brenda and Alex will be here for Thanksgiving, Donna and Bob will be back in January through March and Chris, Shannon and Emma will be here in April.  We hope to see Sarah and Steven this year.  Another year, another fun filled adventure.  

And so, another light treatment tomorrow--one minute and twenty seconds this time.  Hopefully, the injections will be approved soon.  Another 30 minute drive for a minute in the treatment...doesn't seem logical, but I will do whatever I need to do to get this fixed.