Talkin' To The Kiddos!

Hello, Everybody!
Sunday after church we came back to Ellen's house, prepared a quiche and put it in the oven to bake. We called Nichole and Michael on Skype. It's always nice to "see" them on the computer. You can just make sure all is well. While we were all talking, Sharon's phone rang and it was Paula! Sharon excused herself from the office so she could talk to her daughter. They chatted and Ellen, Nichole and Michael finished their visit. By now the timer was going off and lunch was ready. Sharon finished up her conversation and we sat down to lunch. Lo and behold the phone rang. It was Joe! He was just checking in and called to ask a couple of questions.

No matter how old a mama gets or how grown up the children are, they always remain the "kiddos"! And when we talk to all of them on the same day it makes for a great day!
We love you!

Until next time. . . . . . . . . . . .

OOPS! Here"s The Strawberry!

Hello, again! This is the picture of the disappearing strawberry. We just had to post the picture again of the finale of our celebration of hearts.

Be sure to read the Celebration of Hearts post, so this will make sense. (Hee, hee)

Until next time... . . . . . . .

Celebration of Hearts!

Hello, Everybody!
Saturday morning brought us sunny skies, but look what our mountain looked like! It was beautiful. We had just a tad bit of snow last evening, and it melted today, but this morning, it was lovely.

Where else but El Paso could you find such a lovely sight? After all this is the desert.

Today, we celebrated hearts! We went to lunch at Thyme Matters. (This week has taught us that Time Really Matters!) It was a wonderful day. We went shopping at Macy's and Bath and Body Works. Then we went to lunch. We never feel rushed when we eat there. After that we went to Chocolat. That is a wonderful shoppe that has CHOCOLATE! It is all made on the premises. We will show you what we got at the end of this blog post.

We decided that a celebration dinner was in order after yesterday's ordeal! So guess what we had for dinner? Ellen loves to cook lobster. As you can see, we had lobster, steamed veggies, a breadstick, and wine (of course)! We opened a bottle that we bought at a winery in Lake Tahoe. Oh, my, we could not afford a dinner such as this in a restaurant. Doesn't Ellen do a nice presentation?

Then for a wonderful ending to a wonderful meal----you can see what we got at Chocolat! The chocolate covered strawberry was just the right touch.

February is heart month! Please take good care of your own and those whom you love.

Until next time.. . . . . . .

Hospital Happenings!

Hello Everybody!
Today was the day we have anxiously been awaiting. Sharon had her Dobutamine Myoview Stress Test scheduled for this morning. We had to be at the hospital by 7:30 this morning. Before we say more about today's procedure, we must tell you that yesterday afternoon the doctor's office called and wanted to postpone the test until next Tuesday! Needless to say, we were not happy about that. Ellen had arranged for a sub for today, so if it was canceled, then she would have to try to get a sub for next week....NOT NICE! Sharon told them that it really wasn't okay to change it, since we had been planning on this and had made arrangements. After a "brief conversation," the test remained scheduled for the same time, same place!

Anyway, off we went this morning, bright and early. All went well. The hardest part of the whole thing was at the beginning of the test. Sharon was injected with medication that made her heart rate go from 55 beats a minute (her normal) to 133 beats per minute! Her muscles reacted, so she shook quite a bit, but the doctor was there to monitor the whole process. Once they sustained her heart at that rate for a few minutes, they gave another medication to bring the rate back down. Sharon has mentioned several times how scared she was. It felt like her heart was going to explode!

At first the technician had Ellen wait outside, but Ellen being Ellen, popped back into the room at an opportune time! :) Then Ellen's step-daughter, Teresa, came over to the room. She is a nurse and the supervisor of Telemetry and CCU. That sealed the deal......Ellen never had to leave Sharon's side again!

We had to wait between "photo shoots" for an hour the first time. Then they let us go eat breakfast. Since Sharon hadn't had anything since the night before, she was a little hungry-more thirsty than hungry. We went back for the second photo shoot an hour and a half later. There was a problem with the views. It seems that her small intestine was overlapping a very small part of the heart. Nothing is ever easy with Sharon. We were instructed to come back at 12:15 for the final picture taking session. It's a matter of letting all those little isotopes they gave her move around her body. Nothing much had moved. We won't know the results of the report until the doctor reads them.

We got home about 1:30 and we ate a light lunch. Sharon headed to bed to rest for awhile. Soon we will be leaving to have Sharon's hair re-combed by the hairdresser because the back of her hair looks .......well, let's just say, it needs HELP!! Her hairdresser was wonderful to redo. We'll let you know the results of all this as soon as we know something ourselves!
Until next time. . . . .

An Outstanding Success!

Hello, Everybody!

Tonight, we had a school health fair. It was tons of fun for everybody. There were numerous booths, and presentations in different rooms. Sharon took some pictures, but she didn't get around to all of the rooms. There were chair massages in the library, and exercises in the cafeteria. There was a chef cooking in the science lab, the police had a neighborhood watch program, the fire department had a presentation on fire safety. There was a game show in one of the rooms called, "Are You Smarter Than A Third Grader?" The cafeteria prepared healthy snacks for everyone to sample. This first pictures shows the welcome sign out in the foyer of Polk.

This next picture shows a sign that had different health tips.

Next we have Dr. Scott Stein with our Nursie Pooh.

These are some of the first graders who did a little dance presentation.

Here we have two of our favorite first graders taking a break from all that dancing. You may recognize Lauren and Katelyn.

This last picture is of Dr. Scott making a presentation to a group.

This was Polk School's first endeavor at putting on a Health Fair for the community. There was something for everyone. We weren't sure how the turnout would be, but to our great delight, people showed up and participated. It was a tremendous success!!

Until next time. . . . . . .......

Once Again, Thank You, Ellen!

Hello, Everybody!
Tonight's entry is written by Sharon. This picture is one of the new nitrolingual spray that my cardiologist prescribed. I must tell you that when I needed it today, I was afraid to use it. You see, it was the first time that I needed it without being around Ellen. I was sitting on my bed this morning putting on my panty hose when all of a sudden here came that crushing pain. I froze in my tracks. I worked through the pain (which Ellen tells me that is not very wise). I finished getting dressed for the day. After all, a girl has to put on her makeup and her panty hose before greeting the public. I had several errands to run on this Friday. I got out the nitro, but I was AFRAID to use it. Can you believe it? I was afraid! When I talked to Ellen, I told her about my fear. She had me come to the school. As I was pulling into the parking lot, here comes the pain again. As soon as I walked into Ellen's office, she knew that all was not well, so she primed that spray and sprayed it under my tongue. I had relief within a minute. Wow! I was very relieved. It didn't even taste bad.

Ellen made me wait for a little bit until she was certain that the pain was indeed gone. You know? It is scary, very scary. I shouldn't be afraid, but I was. Ellen was there for me, as she always is, and now I am not afraid to use that little bottle of spray. Peace of mind is wonderful, don't you think? Ellen, you are the best friend that anyone could ever have. I love you, and I thank you for taking care of me.

Until next time.... . . . . . . . . .

February, The Heart Month In More Ways Than One!

Hello, Everybody!

You know that January was not a very good beginning for us in 2008! You might think that we were trying to outdo each other with disasters! Now it looks like February is not going to be much better. The topical chemotherapy for Sharon's hand has begun. That causes a whole new level of pain. What's next, you ask? Since the fall, Sharon has had numerous instances of chest pain. At first, we attributed it to esophageal spasms. Then in late December, the incidents became more and more frequent. On January 25th, Sharon was awakened in the middle of the night by a series of severe pains. It felt like someone was stepping in the middle of her chest, and wouldn't get off. That sent her to the phone to make an appointment with the cardiologist. Oh, joy!


After an EKG, the doctor ordered a stress test called "Dobutamine Myoview" that involves a drug that is injected to speed up the heart. This is done at a hospital, and is carefully monitored. Ellen will take Sharon on Friday, the 15th. In the meantime, the doctor prescribed Nitrolingual Spray to be used to help relieve severe chest pain. It is sprayed under the tongue. Nitroglycerin tablets used to be prescribed, but now I guess the spray is more modern. Sharon said, "My purse really didn't need anything else to carry."


The best part about the cardiologist visit was that it was the first time for Sharon's Medicare card to be used. Instead of paying the usual copay of $25, there was NO copay. Can you believe it? Maybe there is some benefit to turning 65 after all!


At school, Ellen's office continues to fill up just as fast as she can empty it. It is amazing how many strep throats, ear infections, colds, etc. that she sees on a daily basis. So far, she has remained healthy! Must be all the handwashing!


Until next time... . . . . . . . . .

An Unexpected Visitor!

Hello, Everybody!
As we write this, it is Sunday afternoon, about an hour before the Super Bowl begins. We don't know who your team is, but we hope you have a fun football watching time.
After church today, we came home and made a pizza! The ones we make are so much better than the ones you can get anywhere else, except the lobster pizza at Red Lobster of course. We buy the pizza crust, and then we put anything we want on it. DELICIOUS!
We then went out back to prune the bushes since it won't be long before they begin their spring budding out process. That being completed, we continued out front. On the way through the house, Ellen's phone rang. It was an old friend from the past. Robert was running (literally) through the neighborhood. He said he would stop by and say hello. Here he is with Ellen.

And here he is with Sharon. He is a real sweetie who has always been terrific to this older generation. It was great to visit with him for a few minutes.

Guess it is about time to pop a cork and get ready for the game. It's always sad when football season is over. However, basketball season has already begun!!

Have fun and may your team win!!

Until next time. . . . . . . .

Ker - PLUNK!!!

Hello Everybody!



We're not sure if ker-plunk is a word, but that is exactly what happened a couple of nights ago. As you know by now, January has not been the best of months for us. In fact, we have been looking forward to the month coming to a close. Well, we ALMOST made it to the end without anything else happening; HOWEVER, the other evening, we were sitting on Ellen's bed watching a basketball game: UT vs A&M. All of a sudden there was a loud thud. The side that Ellen was sitting on broke!! One of the slats that was anchored to the side board broke in half. Soooooo, up we get and take off the mattress and boxsprings so Sharon (aka Ms. Fix It) could inspect the problem. Thank goodness for Penney's catalogs! Why? You ask. We stacked several of those and were able to hold the mattress and box springs for the night. Sharon halfway expected to get a phone call in the middle of the night from Ellen telling her that she was thrown out of bed again.



The next day Sharon was in her element! She hammered and glued and hammered some more. By the time Ellen got home from work, it had been repaired. HOWEVER, all the dust bunnies that were on the carpet under the bed and the bottoms of the headboard and footboard were Ellen's to clean. That was just fine --- and is another reason why we are a team!



Here's hoping that during February things begin to look up!



Until next time. . . . . . . . .

Happy Birthday, Dear Ellen! Happy Birthday To You!

Hello, Everybody!

Today was Ellen's birthday. It begins the last year of the decade of the fifties. The day began with Nichole and Michael calling from Denmark. She had a great chat with them. Then Sharon picked her up and it was off to church. At the end of Mass on Sundays, Fr. Trini always asks for the people who have had a birthday during the past week to stand and then everyone sings Happy Birthday. Before Mass, we were talking to a family whose middle child is in Kinder at Polk . When her dad said, "Oh, you are 35 today!", she immediately wished Ellen a Happy 35th birthday! Ellen told her to be sure to tell everyone at school how old she was!



In keeping with her favorite pose, here she is with Joe. Sharon and Paul took everybody to BJ's. It is a really cool place on the far east side of El Paso. The menu is the size of a short novel. We printed it off their web site so that Paul could peruse it before we got there!

We had a really good time. The evening began with this appetizer of spring rolls. They were delicious and beautifully presented.

We were planning to get pictures of everybody's food before they dived in; however, as you will be able to tell, we forgot to do that. This is a picture of the lasagna that Sharon ordered.

Next is the meatloaf dish that Ellen ordered. (Remember, it was her birthday, and she could order anything that she wanted, and she ordered MEATLOAF!)

Joe ordered this Cajun shrimp pasta dish.

Paul ordered beer battered fish and chips.

And then, for the birthday girl comes this pizookie. It is a wonderful chocolate chip cookie baked in this personal pan pizza dish served with two scoops of ice cream and four spoons. Delicious!!!

This next picture is a picture of one of Ellen's birthday presents. It is a Lenox Cardinal, and truly beautiful. Ellen loves cardinals. She even has a nightgown with cardinals on it. (She is a Texan at heart, but there are a few things that a St. Louis girl just cannot give up!)

On the way home, Joe was driving. We decided that the girls would drive over, and the guys would drive back.(That means Ellen drove over and Joe drove back.) Sharon decided to take a picture of our beautiful star on the mountain. We know you can't tell, but it is a lighted star on the side of the mountain as you go around from east to west in El Paso. It is a wonderful sign of El Paso. It can be seen from airplanes as they are coming in for a landing. (Bear in mind that we were going down the freeway at least 60 miles an hour when Sharon put the window down and proceeded to take a picture of it.)

The day was just the best! It was celebrated with family and friends and was a reminder of how important those two things are in life. Until next time.. . . . .