Savor the Moment!

I have five grandchildren and want to spend my time with each of them.  I love them each so much that I want to be a part of their life.  I know that I cannot be with them all the time, (nor do I want to :)  but it is so special when I share my time with them.  I try to be there when I am needed and at other times too.  When I am not with them I feel that I am missing something very important.

Last week, Mary and Brian had their other two children with her family at the beach for the week and I volunteered to watch Isabella - almost one month old - so that they could go see the new Batman movie.  

I was so excited that she was awake for me.  We played and I gave her a baby massage.  We loved it!  (Read about the power of touch in Touchtime.org

After her bottle,   I burped her twice and then thought maybe she had another one so I held her while we watched some TV.

We were watching a new program on TNT, Perception.  We like it!  At the end, he was talking about time, past and future.  We only have the present and to "Savor the Moment."

Well, I started crying as I held my beautiful, sleeping, Isabella.  Too soon, her parents came and took this picture and took her away!  

Savor the Moment!

Grandchild Number Five!

Isabella Ann Skeens was born two weeks ago and since then we have not had a free moment!  We did not really have enough time with her before we left for St. Simons Island and then to Florida for the Sanchez Family Reunion.  Of course they did not come and we missed them terribly!

I sat in the hospital room holding my beautiful granddaughter in my arms and didn't want to leave her!  


Now we are back and I cannot get enough of her.  I am so glad that we live only fifteen minutes away.

Being with my grandchildren is the best thing I could be doing.  There is such a sense of loss when I have to leave any one of them.  I feel that there is nothing more important and no other place that I should be.  


Here is the post on the poems that I have written to my grandchildren.


I have not written a poem to my sweet Isabella yet!  


                             I think that I have not been with her enough.  


                                                                        Is it ever enough?

Why is my hair lighter at the roots after I color It?

WHWVTTTF4VU4

My hair just didn't pick up as much color at the roots!

I noticed this the last time I did my hair color and, I kind of ignored it, because the rest of my hair became such a nice shade of brown and full of highlights just like the box said.  In fact, I had noticed that I have more grey in the back, that this was the first time that I had my sweet husband help me to make sure that I did it right!

Well, at the park yesterday, while we were waiting for the fireworks I had plenty of time to “people-hair” watch.  I was admiring a lady with mousey brown hair who, I think had grey mixed in but because of her color, it looked good.  I also looked at several ladies who had whole heads of white hair and tried to see myself with hair like that some day; but I failed :)

Then I saw a lady with shoulder length light brown hair, a little lighter than mine.  I noticed that her hair was lighter at the roots!  OMG

I thought, why is it the opposite than most people who color their hair?  Their roots are darker!  Then I realized it is because they are lightening their hair.  Us graying folks are darkening our hair.  Do the roots have more grey that it is harder to dye? Or is it that it takes several times of dying before the color covers the grey.  My hair color seems fine after about one to two inches.  

Oh well, how does your hair do?  I’ll do anything to continue to color my hair but will not spend the money to have it done.  Maybe I need to try a new product…

Here is a picture of my newest grandchild, Isabella Ann.  When I went to see her at the hospital, I put on makeup and fixed my hair.  I think it was worth the effort.  For once I like myself in a picture!

Birds Getting in the Garden eating my blueberries!

5 Baby birds in a nest by my front light.  The kids climbed the ladder to look at it.

Since my retirement, one of my favorite things to do has been to work in the garden.  And work it has been!  Three weeks ago we had to cover it with mesh to keep the birds away from the blueberries but we saw one or two in there every morning and had to chase them out the gate because they could not find a way out. 

So Wednesday there were five birds in there so we know we had to do more.  Don bought more mesh and I tied mesh all around the garden in the heat of the day, sweat pouring down into my eyes.  (And I never sweat!)  I had been playing with the kids for the morning and we were going out of town that night or I would not have done it in the heat.  The only place without mesh is the gate.  If any birds get in that way they will have to find their way out or DIE while we are gone.  Julie and Robert were there to pick blueberries and green beans and cukes and squash and did not tell us of any dead birds so I guess there weren't any...

The Tortoise Life for Me!

My sister sent me a funny email about being retired.  I don't know where it came from, sorry!  Today is Saturday and I felt like this...

                       ------------------------------------------

As I was lying in bed pondering the problems of the world,

I rapidly realized that I don't really give a rat's hiney.

 It's the tortoise life for me! 

1. If walking is good for your health, the postman would be immortal.

2. A whale swims all day, only eats fish, drinks water, and is fat.

3. A rabbit runs and hops and only lives 15 years.

4. A tortoise doesn't run and does nothing, yet it lives for 450 years.


And you tell me to exercise??  I don't think so.

                        I'm retired.      Go around me!!

Apply for Social Security Benefits

When I retired last year I knew that I wanted to get my social security benefits as soon as possible.  I will be 62 next month and I don't want to wait till I'm 65.  We decided to go to the nearest social security office and went last week.  I talked with my sweet husband about what I needed to take since he went last year.  But, even though I called myself to see what else I needed, I was not told everything. I found out that I didn't need my marriage license since I did file the paperwork back then.  But, I was shocked to find out that they didn't have me down as being an American citizen!  I became naturalized 40 years ago!  It really doesn't affect my benefits, but I wonder if it affected any immigrant data...  

So I took what they told me and was still not prepared when I got there.  

We arrived shortly after they opened at 8:30 so we wouldn't have to wait.  I got a number and sat down.  My husband decided to go to the veteran's administration office to see if he was eligible for some veteran's benefits.  He was in the navy and some friends encouraged him to go.  The office was about 10 minutes away.  He came back way before I was ready to go. :)

When I was called, she asked my address information and updated my profile.  She said she was not the one to do the citizenship change and sent me back out to wait for the next stage of the process.

When I was called next I gave her the documents that they asked.  She questioned me about having social security taken out at my last job and wanted a letter from them or my last pay stub.  One of the school systems close by does not take out social security.  I had to demand that she speak to a supervisor!  Thank goodness, he confirmed that, yes, my school system does take out social security, and so I was able to complete that part of the application.

When I asked if needed the naturalization papers, she said that she could not do that in her computer.  I told her that the other secretary had said that she could not do it.  Well, she had to go the supervisor again and get help, then she did it!

The only thing that I did not have was a check for the direct deposit.  She said that I could call, but would have to wait a day.  I did that today.  

I tried by phone and then decided to do it online.  After registering and writing down all my security question information and changing my password 5 times.  I got to a page that asked for a different, special, password that I had to request.  Well, I tried to request it but it said that there was an error! 

So I got back on the phone and after holding for more than 30 minutes...

I'm done!

National social security phone number: 800-772-1213

On the web: www.socialsecurity.gov

Here is then what you need to take to the social security office: I added some more after lots of you wrote to me with your experiences

• birth certificate
• social security card
• marriage license if you did not inform social security when you got married/changed your name
• W-2 tax form
• last pay stub if you retired within the taxable year
• proof that the last workplace took out social security
• naturalization papers if you became a citizen and did not inform the social security office.
• direct deposit information 
• US passport(s) and/or from any other country (if there might be a question about any of the identification above)
• marriage, divorce, and/or death certificates if married more than once
• social security numbers of any spouses (though they can look it up)
• information about previous spouses of your spouse to check their benefits!

Good luck!  I hope that this helps you have a better time of it!

Our Awesome Garden and yard

Andrew, our oldest grandson was over at the house and said that the colors of the flowers looked awesome!  I was amazed that he would say that!  I think that he is still a painter at heart even though he has other interests now.  So I decided to take some pictures.  This year of retirement I have spent more time on the garden and yard. 

You will also see the netting we put on top of the fence protecting the blueberries from the birds.  I actually picked 16 blueberries.  We are having an abundance of green beans and the tomatoes are coming.

Mesh on the top to keep the birds out.  The blueberries are in the back.

Can you see where the deer ate my cosmos flower?