My "Human" family

Here you go Darcie! You asked for it! I will have a few problems with the pictures because they are picture shy. So, I scammed some from my picture archives!



I met my "Human" family a few years back. You know when you meet some people, they are just so MUCH fun and SO encouraging to be with, you can't even believe they want to be with you too? Well, that is my "Human" family. We are just a great match!

We have this strange relationship, but it works for us! I adopted Karen's mom as mine! I told her I wanted her as my "Mom" and she agreed. So, we tell people that I am the one child she had that never gave her an ounce of pain or problems.! She just forgot she had me.
Karen agreed to let her be my mom -as long as I am the oldest. Easy deal!

Karen's loves coffee, Loves her family (will do ANYthing for them!) Is an awesome grandma to her 3 grandkids. And struggles with some of the same things I do. She has one thing I don't. She has this infectious laugh! I even downloaded it on my phone! You can pick her out of any crowd. Just wait...... there it is! Karen's here!

Before Sign language, we spent nearly every Sat together-the 4 or 5 of us. Jim and I, Karen and Kelly-her daughter. And whoever else was nearby. We have walked, talked, exercised and ate together!

So, about 2 years ago, Kelly agreed to go with me on an "adventure!" I wanted to go to Omaha to see my granddaughter's baptism and she was willing to travel 11 hours with me and listen to my "Stories" for 4 days! (FYI You can make it all the way from WInnipeg to Omaha on a Starbucks Venti!) She met my family and still likes me!

We will never forget that trip! We laughed ourselves silly, and the phrase "Over the bridge through the lights, left, left" is forever burned in our brains. (If you want the details -that is another blog.)

We joined sign language together-made all our ASL classes together. (How come she is way better?) She makes her mark wherever she goes and our congregation loves her! She can make any pressure filled day be a "No Stress Buddy" day!

Kelly and I have two of the same weaknesses, though. We are both directionally challenged! (Went to the downtown mall and got lost!) This is a hint to the "Over the bridge" explanation! And we both are OCD people-study our WT with a ruler stuff!

One more important thing about Kelly. She has 4 bunnies she lives with that she adores. She is a true animal friendly person. I told her the cows in the pastures on the way to Omaha were pets-all of them!

She will absolutely KILL me for putting these pictures on my blog. But what is "Gma Cheri's life without a Karen and Kelly entry! Sorry Kelly! ILY! (We'll do a bunny blog one day, K?)

One HUGE task-Phase One

On Tuesday, I had a little "I've had it!" discussion with the "Boys" (my hubby and his son). After our Family worship so that we were all in a "spiritual" frame of mind.



I know I'm fussy about things, but after all, I do live here! And, I want my house clean! We have SO much junk and some days I feel like the walls are moving in on me. Anyway, they are always so agreeable. Jim is not a complainer and Spence is just a Jim clone (Problem is getting them to follow through). Jim is great about helping, I just have to ask. And, remember this picture? I know Spence has it in him, too.

So, after our "little discussion" with printout detail, Jim took Friday off work and I posted this message on the refrigerator:

I was up early-I usually go to the gym, but I figured this would be one day I could bail and I was fairly sure I would get a workout. We have shelves in the basement office. Jim and I are both book people. We could just sit in a library or a book store all day and never get bored. Problem is, we bring them home and they accumulate. So, we build more "Storehouses" for our books. Thus the problem. All of these shelves were LOADED UP with books / VCR tapes / DVD's /Bound volumes/ Photo albums and our model car collection!


So, phase one was to go through each book and ask ourselves these questions:



1. Do I use it NOW or have I in the last year-two years-10 years?
2. Can I get the information off the Internet or at the Library?
3. Is it in the WT Library?
4. Is it a keepsake?
5. We don't even have a cassette player anymore!

I should have take a before picture. You might think this IS the before picture. Actually, its an "In progress" picture. But see the empty shelves?

The next step was up --out of the basement--out of the house! This is the "don't go to the gym reasoning I used. I was determined it would not just sit downstairs waiting to be removed. I didn't have boxes, so my "Sacks" came in handy! I bagged up the books in sacks!

After Many Many loads up and down the steps-don't make a trip without something in your hands rule, we had these piles upstairs:

We actually filled up my car two times-one all for charity. We went to the side door, they saw what we had and sent us to the Large ramp in the back because it was a Large Load! YIKES. I often take things-2 or 3 bags to drop off and get out of the house. I wanted to tell them, "we are cleaning out my parents home for them.-they are such pack rats, we thought we'd help them". But they looked at us and probably just knew that we are the parents that need the help.



Can't wait to finish it all. That was just Phase 1 in the basement!



Had LOTS of help from the "Boys"! I was SO excited to have them chipping in, really doing an AWESOME job!


As for Spence, one discussion and he not only did the dishes Wednesday-ALL of them, he emptied the dishwasher AND made us dinner on Thursday. Then did a MAJOR part in the clean-up Friday!

WOW!

As for Jim and I? We are well pleased at our efforts.

Our bodies, however, are NOT!

Looking forward to Phase 2! The upstairs office-and other book shelf.

The latest in my diet saga.

Well, I told you I would only report if it was DOWN. And here's the news:

(Notice I covered the weight!)

(Kind of ugly tights, though too)

Week one: Down 3.4

Week two: Down 1.2

Week three and four: 0000 Not down, not up. Status quo (And these weeks I was REALLY trying!

Week five: Down 1.8
(And this was the week we went to Fargo and I ate myself SILLY!-Culvers icecream, 660 calories, 42 GRAMS OF FAT! As well as Mexican-Paradiso, Famous Daves, all you can eat Valentinos buffet, and waffles every day for breakfast! WOW! Would love to keep up that diet and loose!

Week six: Down 1.0
Now, this is the week I was SURE that I would be up. We had Deep fried fish and our pioneer dinner. I knew it was a wash.
So, when the Weight Watcher lady, who unfortunately doesn't look like this lady, she is old and not in the greatest shape so, I'm not sure how she qualifies as a mentor, told me: "You did good!" I said,

"NO! THAT"S JUST WRONG! You NEVER LEARN if you NEVER have to PAY FOR YOUR SINS!!!"
Well, can't EVEN figure this diet thing out. But I know one thing, I want that sundae because apparently per my record it will make you LOOSE weight! (Look close at that scale!)

After all that eating, I am down

-7.4 LBS

I DID IT!!

In sign language service, there are many "techy" things you can do. I have my Palm phone that allows me to show videos. There are DVD players, always useful to play the DVD's of the books and the Bible. Then there are laptops. Now they are usually quite large, but the latest thing is a Netbook. Didn't think I needed one until I found out I could get one! (Thank you dear one who helped me!)

Amazing! Small enough to carry anywhere, but capable of down loading all our videos! I just LOVE IT!!!
Of course, if you never have anyone to show it to, it's really not necessary. And, my whole focus in joining a language group was to be able to help the deaf learn the Truth about Jehovah. It has been an enormous challenge!! Several factors...including the age factor.

I maintain that there is just so much stuff up there in my brain that I have a hard time fitting any more in. If I could just delete in my brain as easily as I can on the computer!!! But as is the case even with computers, seems like the WRONG stuff get's deleted!

Anyway, 2 years in, I am getting more comfortable. But I am very intimidated by my abilities. I don't want that "dear in the headlights" look from a deaf person!

I have been going with a dear friend on her study for a couple weeks. Awesome deaf woman who seems to LOVE learning. This dear sister-friend is leaving town for 6 weeks & asked me if I would take care of a study for her"I immediately said "Yes" before I realized what I was commiting to! Afterward, I also realized she is leaving this wonderful student in my hands over the holidays...you know what that means? Explain why we don't celebrate the holidays, but not in English.... in SIGN LANGUAGE???

After a HUGE amount of prayer, I decided I would give it a try. After all, Jehovah can move mountains and all he needs to do with me is move my hands in harmony with my brain, right?

I had my first responsibility today. She willingly let me come to her home. I told her, "I teach Bible 36 years. But teach English! Not sign Language! I learn Sign Language 2 years. If you not understand, think "YOU CRAZY!" Please ask what mean?" Anyway, that is not even ASL lingo, but I had to warn her.

I PASSED THE TEST! She said my signing was GOOD! And, I think she understood me! That is .... if I understood her!

YEAH YIPPEE!!! With Jehovah moving my hands, I just "Might" be able to do this! Only 6 more studies to go!

Pioneer Meeting

So, here we are. This is our group in Winnipeg Sign Language!

We have our young brother-notice he is set apart from the rest. Always a bit different he is! He will be our fill in School Overseer. Why? You see the next two, our only pioneer couple? They are deserting us for a couple months and going to Guyana, South America!! They say they are going where the need is to help out, but we know, living in Winnipeg, the REAL reason is to get away from Winnipeg Winters. So, maybe the rest of us will hang in there for the winter?

Three to Mexico.

1 to California.

There is only ONE sister left that will stick it out for the ENTIRE winter.

That is unless you think of Omaha, Nebraska as going south???

(I have asked our fill in School Overseer if he can be bribed since I have a talk in December. He says, "Give me the money and I'll let you know!") I'm in for a LONG winter!!!

So what's up.

Trying to think of a new topic. All I have on my mind is the diet thingy.
Jim is also dieting. He does a different kind. He goes on his "juice" diet. (The you can "drink and drive" kind of diet) So, after a couple days, it gets him going in the right direction. Today was his 4th day and he's ready for semi-solid food. We went for chinese tonight-he gets soup and I get vegetable's ++ stuff. It's amazing when a bowl of soup makes you ecstatic!

I am starting a new week. Back to the grind. Service, work work work, Service, Service. I travel about 30 minutes either to work or service 7 days a week. So, my dear sweet friends offered to meet at MY house tomorrow! WOW! So, it gives me at least an extra hour! Now, I will use that extra hour to clean my house because I would be mortified to have them come and my house not clean. So, am I getting extra time? Well, at least my house will be closer to clean.

I have often said, if I had a cleaning lady, it would just make more work for me because I would clean the house before she came. Heaven forbid she see my house dirty!

De Ja Vue all over again.

I do not have any pictures of myself. I choose the pictures and I know what "I" look like so "I" don't need any of "I". And, at this point, I don't want to post the old pictures because that is not what "I" look like right now and "I' don't want to think about what "I" did to myself.

This is close to how I think of myself right now. Large and wrinkly. Don't even tell me my dear daughter in law about wrinkles! And, mine are NOT smile lines, they are clearly wrinkles! Look at those sags at the top of the legs! Then there's the belly. And those tusks? That is how the "Chin hairs" feel or as I choose to call them-stray eyebrows.

And with a large......you know what. You know it's bad when you buy Extra Large nylons and they bag at the ankles but won't fit over the thighs or belly.

So, I am, once again, back to Weight Watchers. A great friend and I decided it was time.

So, we dragged another friend with us.

The only nice thing is once you have done this before and reached goal-you are now a life time member and don't pay sign up fees. But, this is one club that being a "Life-time member" may or not be something you brag about. Depending on whether you are still at your goal weight. If you are way over (as some nameless people are) people will look at you and say,

"What? Is that what your goal weight is?"

And so, we choose not to brag about it.

I hate the "Goal" thing they start you with. They set your goal at 10 percent of your weight. So, when I looked at that I said, "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!" That is the 1st 10 percent?

I have gone down this road so many times that I have lost count. It's very familiar. I don't like admitting that I need to do this. I seem to be like a trampoline dieter.

Reach your weight and BOUNCE back up again.

So, yes, we will do this for the __th time. And we won't talk about where we are starting or why we got here, again. I will ONLY tell the downs, you will not hear about the ups of the trampoline. But for two weeks, it's been relatively easy!

I am down 4.6 lbs. YEAH! At least it's going the right direction.

PS. Jim is fine. Took his own stitches out and is less sore. We don't let him near the roof anymore.