Illustration Friday: Cake

Wedding Cake Monkeys

Our wedding cake topper was a little unique, although the idea isn't new. J.D. and I nicknamed each other 'Monkey' which sounds wierd when we call each other from across the grocery store! I decided to use that in part of the wedding details, and created this monkey sculpture of 'us' for the top of our wedding cake. We'll be married four years in July! Yay, we made it!

I had to add a little decor around them, to make it feel more festive. I liked how it turned out!

Cheers!

Not So Good

Bad news came last night around 9:30pm that J.D.'s Grandmother wasn't doing very well, and the Dr.'s didn't know if she was going to make it through the night. J.D. and I decided that it would be a good idea to drive down to see her. We did good on the drive down, only an hour and 45 minutes. We arrived there around 11:45pm.
J.D. and I walked into the room where she was staying. We were silent at first, taking in the sights, and sounds. There were cards and photos along the window sill, that were very heartwarming. The monitors were bleeping, something was creating steam behind her, and she lay there frail looking, and bandaged, yet was peacefully snoring away. Uncle Joe came up after saying goodnight to Roxanne, to give us an update on Grandma's condition, and a brief history.

It sounds like the coronary arteries in her legs had hardened over the years from 25 years of smoking. Although she had quit some time ago, the side-effects still lingered. Now, her poor 88 year-old heart isn't strong enough to pump blood down and through her legs. This is due to blockages, which is also causing these extremely painful sores on her legs, and making her feet purple. Her blood pressure is high, and is being constantly monitored. It sounds like the hospital is doing everything they can to make her as comfortable as possible, all the while doing their routine checks, and tests.

She was asleep for most of our visit, so we couldn't talk with her. Leave it to me to try and give her a soft kiss goodbye on the forehead, only to have my hair fall directly on her eyelid, causing her to wake up in confusion for a few minutes. She was unable to see or hear us, since she didn't have her glasses or her hearing aids. Which I can imagine was more stressful on her than it was for us. We all fear that she's not going to make it through this. I hope she's at peace with herself, and that she doesn't have a doubt that we all love her dearly.

We got back in town this morning around 2:30am and tried to get enough sleep in before getting up at 5:30am. J.D. and I are going to try and drive back down this afternoon, if all's well, so we can see her again, hopefully this time we can see her awake.

It's about 7:30am now, and still haven't heard anything, so no news is good news!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

J.D. and I hosted Mother's Day Brunch at our home this year, and although we passed out after the last guest left, we really had a good time, (at least from my perspective.) Sometimes our family gatherings can be a wee bit hectic.

The menu consisted of Eggs Benedict *yummy, just right asparagus, the most requested potato salad, succulent shrimp, and the sweetest reddest strawberries. The most colorfully paletted menu I've had yet!

Our niece and nephew seemed to have a great time running around outside, and la piece de resistance... watching Scooby-Doo in the 'theatre!' We turned the popcorn machine on, and watched thier faces and their eyes glazed over watching the popcorn pop out of the kettle! So much fun!

I was especially excited to have my brother and his fiance over, since this was the first time they've been to our new home... it's only been a year! It's funny, but him and my Dad are perfectionist when it comes to, well anything... but they immediantely started critiquing, and pointing out flaws, and asked at one point if he's ever considerred being a professional home inspector, because he'd be great at it... just not at my house!! I don't take it to heart, because I know that's their thing, and I know the flaws that are there, we just haven't gotten around to taking care of it yet.. so just pretend it looks good.. smile... nod... anything positive... show me some love, for goodness sakes... ok.. I'm done venting... I didn't let it ruin my day, even though this vent session kind of goes on like that!

Overall it was a fun, meaningful day, that I hope everyone enjoyed to some extent.

Ronda's Graduation

Saturday, May 13th. A friend that I went to grade school with at TASOK, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Kinshasa, Zaire, graduated from the University of Maryland University College, UMUC, with a Masters in Public Relations. Between that time and now, we had kept in touch here and there, but we're living and working so close now, it makes it easier to keep in touch. I'm so proud of her and her accomplishments! I also saw her younger sister, Lynette, who was in the same grade as my brother, she has grown to be a beautiful woman. It's funny though, that the interaction between Lynette and Ronda hasn't changed a bit over time. I was so pleased and excited to see her Mom and Dad again, who didn't recognize me at all, I think they were expecting a smaller version of me! ! It was so much fun meeting her friends, and seeing her family.

Random Poem Generator

Mendel Quoth:
The pink peaches were rotten with delight
it sounds like a crowd but nothing seems magic
how deathly afraid was I of the nightlight
my circuits are overloaded, but I'll try to do better next time


I fed it the first line and it generated the next three, randomly. I wonder how it knew I was deathly afraid of nightlights... peculiar? no?!
Check it out!

Illustration Friday: Under the Sea

Illustration Friday: Under the Sea

Tommy tries to escape the surrounding desert on the weekends. Because of the heat and his love for the sea, he likes to pretend he's the king of the sea ... i've temporarily forgot his name.. der.