Thankful Mom of Five, Adoptive Mom of Two Ukrainian Beauties and Bereaved Mom

         Today I am thankful that Dan was a guinea pig for Olivia's men's haircut!  He went to her cosmetology school and she cut his hair!! I think she did a great job!  Her teacher was right there in the room in case she had any problems.  She shaved his neck in the back and also trimmed his eyebrows.  My sister is thinking of taking her son there. The prices are really low but of course, he gave her a $20 tip!! It's only hair and we figure it will grow again.  Dan usually goes to a salon near where we live.  The owner cuts his hair.  Dan was telling Olivia about the place because the owner said to bring Olivia in and she can watch him cut Dan's hair.  Maybe the owner will hire her when she graduates.We are always looking for a future job opportunity!!   She had planned to stay at the salon she works at part-time but now she doesn't want to do that.  The other two assistants are licensed cosmetologists and...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!          Today I am thankful that Olivia and I made this Halloween cake together for her classmates at Cosmetology school.  I baked the three layer cake and put on the icing.  Olivia did the fondant and the candy eyeball decorations.  I think she did a fabulous job on the fondant. It can be tricky to work with but she took her time and it came out wonderful!!I am really proud of her! I tried to make the black fondant but I couldn't get it black enough so I went to Michael's craft store and bought a container. My fondant was a hot mess, usually I make decent fondant and have never had a problem getting the colors correct.  But today I just couldn't get the color right no matter how hard I tried!! I was at the point of thinking about going to buy a cake!! But after I got the fondant at Michael's, I knew Olivia could put it on correctly!! I am glad that I went and bought new fondant!           ...

         Today I am thankful that work on OLIVIA'S GLAM ROOM is finally progressing! Dan hung the make-up mirror and we moved in the sparkly table. Olivia spray painted a white table we got a a thrift sore.The light fixtures are hung and are really nice and bright and pretty! We are leaving the ceiling as is for an industrial look!   Dan has to cut a slit in the rug and move in the shelf unit.  Then Olivia can move most of her things in.  Most of the time consuming work(wiring the light fixtures, laying the rug and pad, rewiring the make up mirror and hanging it on the wall) is finished!!  She has a few other things for the walls including a jewelry hanging, picture frames, and a few canvas poster type pictures.  I can't wait until it is finished! More up dates on the GLAM ROOM tomorrow.  Olivia was down there for hours setting up her make-up and moving furniture around!! It's looking good!!      ...

         Today I am thankful for the Halloween gifts and candy my friend Debbie sent to all of us! Olivia gets so excited when we get a box from Debbie!  Debbie always sends something for Amy which I appreciate so much.  She sent flowers and a small pumpkin for Amy.  We took the items to the cemetery on Sunday.  It was also my dad's birthday so we took a birthday balloon for him to his grave. He would be 92 today.  He died the year Renee was born, 30 years ago, and I still miss him everyday! He was such a wonderful man, father, and grandfather.  When my dad was alive, I saw him or spoke to him everyday! He use to come to my house after work everyday. We ate a lot of the candy last night but have a few items left. No candy photos because we ate most of it last night!!Debbie also sent me a dish towel  My kitchen is decorated with leaves and this dish towel has leaves on it. I am all about the leaves in  my ki...

         Today I am thankful that we have all been having such a nice weekend!! On Fri. night, Dan took Olivia and Frankie to a supposedly haunted old prison. They go every year. It is NOT my thing so I stayed home and read my book! Frankie had never gone to the prison before! They all had a lot of fun! Since they went on a Fri night, it was a little bit cheaper! Priscilla came over last night and we watched a movie. We had so much fun! I have book club tonight so I had to get my book finished.  I definitely waited until the last minute to finish the book because I just finished this morning. Olivia worked at the salon on Sat. and made $35 in tips!! Dan and I got all of our errands done yesterday so I am thankful for that!  Olivia and Frankie went out with friends and stayed overnight at another friend's apartment.  I don't like when they drive home late at night. Today is my dad's birthday so I will take a balloon for him when we go to the ...

         Today I am thankful for my bestie Priscilla coming over to hang out with me and bringing a movie!! Dan, Priscilla, and I chatted, laughed and watched the movie. It was such a fun night!! All you need in life is your family and a few really good friends and I am thankful for both! She brought the Disney movie COCO which celebrates the Land of the dead.  It was a really cute movie. As soon as Olivia came downstairs, she said..."Oh, my best friend Priscilla is here, hi bestie." Olivia thinks my four best friends are her four best friends!! She thinks Priscilla, Jackie, Carol and Nancy are also her best friends!! Dan and I were out running errands most of the day.  We went to the Wild Bird store to get bird seed and then to a Goodwill store close-by.  Unbeknownst to me until I checked out, it was a 50% off day!! I only got two small items so it wasn't a big deal but everyone loves a bargain! Then I went to Michaels craft store and Dan shopped...

         Today I am thankful for the kindness of strangers!  When I am using my walker or cane, most people are always so nice!  They run in front of me to open the door and hold it for me! An older gentleman waited by the side of my car when I was getting my walker out.  He asked if he could help me.  I said no, thank you, I am OK.  Then he waited at the door of the store and opened it for me! I thanked him and told him that he was a gentleman.           I am also thankful for my stupid cats!When we got Nittany, about a year ago, Olivia bought him a cat bed. He  never  went in the bed.  Olivia would put him in the bed and try to hold him in there, but as soon as she'd let go, he would jump out. Fast forward a year when we got Rosie at the SPCA. She loved  the cat bed from he moment we brought her home!  Every time that Rosie comes into the room, Nittany jumps in the cat bed! If she i...

         Today I am thankful that I got to chat with Olivia after cosmetology school today.  I love to hear all of the updates on the clients and students at school!  She is now "on the floor."  That means that she works on actual clients.  The clients know it is a student salon but the prices are really cheap so they seem to have a steady flow of clients.  I am glad that I pick her up most days so that we get to chat! Later she went to the mall to meet some of her cosmetology school friends.  They were deciding on Halloween Costumes because they dress up for school on Halloween! I found a really cute DIY Minnie Mouse costume and also a SPICE Girls Costume. Both costumes would be so easy to make and very cheap to make!  We have red caps, I think and we also have Minnie Ears from going to Disney! Today Olivia got her roots dyed at school, actually she had her whole head done a more red version of what she had before.  I...

         Today I am thankful that Dan and I started Christmas shopping!! I usually buy all or most of my gifts on Black Friday.  I am not sure I will be able to go to that this year because of my bad sciatica.  I need to use a walker and that is not conducive for the crowds on Black Friday. Dan saw a few things in the Boscov's ad that he wanted to buy!! I went with him and purchased a few things.  I got an Eagles shirt and sweatpants for Olya's boyfriend Matt.  I got something for Olya in the Junior's department but she reads my blog so I can't say what it is!  Boscov's wraps gifts if you have the receipt!! I just love that.  You get to bring it home ready to go! Olya also wants a spice rack because she enjoys cooking and has become quite the chef!!  They had small flashlights that you could purchase for 99 cents with a five dollar purchase.  Dan got two and I got two.  Then we bought more items so Dan went to get ...

         Today I am thankful that Dan, Olivia, and I played the Big Bang Theory board game!  We purchased the game when we were shopping over the weekend.  We all love and watch the show.  We thought we would all ace  the game.  Dan and I watch the reruns all of the time!   Apparently we don't know as much as we all thought we knew about the show!  We would remember an episode but not the details.  The game questions were really hard! They asked specific details. Dan remembered more details than I did.  One of the questions was asking about the online business Pennie had started.  And Dan remembered it was called Pennie Blossoms!  I remembered the show but not the name of the company.  But we laughed and laughed!  Next major holiday or birthday, we'll be playing again! Now we know how to play! On other news, I went back to the hyperbaric chamber yesterday.  I didn't have any posi...

          Today I am thankful that I am going to the Hyperbaric chamber this afternoon! Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Neal W. Pollock Neal W. Pollock The definitive treatment for DCS is hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy, or the delivery of pure oxygen at a pressure substantially higher than that of atmospheric pressure. HBO therapy reduces the size of any bubbles and improves gradients which promote oxygen delivery and inert gas elimination. HBO therapy is typically delivered in recompression chambers   Hyperbaric oxygen therapy  ( HBOT ) is a medical treatment which enhances the body's natural healing process by inhalation of 100%  oxygen  in a total body chamber , where atmospheric pressure is increased and controlled. It is  used for  a wide variety of treatments usually as a part of an overall medical care plan.          I hate the feeling of being contained but i am so hoping this will work and...

         Today I am thankful to be home!            We took Olya and Matt out to breakfast and then headed home. Olya and Dan made the plans.  We got to Olya's apartment and called her.  She said they would be right out.  We waited and waited wondering what was taking so long.  Finally, she called us asking us where we were and we said, "right outside your apartment."  They were at the restaurant waiting.  Somehow Dan and Olya got mixed messages and crossed signals.  We headed to the diner. They had just gotten a table when we got there, it was really crowded  so it worked for us! Matt is funny.  Olya always offers to share her food or for someone to try a bite of what she is eating.  Amazing that someone who once had nothing is so willing to share.  Olya asked Dan if he wanted to try her strawberry french toast and he said "no thank you." Then she asked me if I wanted to try...

         Today I am thankful that we went camping to celebrate Dan's birthday.  We stayed at a really nice campground with Olivia and Olya. The place was packed!  They had tons and tons of Halloween festivities for the kids. Olivia and Olya didn't want to partake in any of the adult festivities, I wanted to go to the candy scramble!!   Many families were all dressed up. They were all so cute!! On Sat. morning Olya cooked breakfast for everyone. (Always about the food!!)  Then we went shopping, both girls found lots of things for us to buy!  Afterwards we went to Ollie's, a discount store, and once again the girls found lots to buy! Then we went train watching for Dan!  I read my book and the girls read their phones!  Olya actually likes watching trains so she got out with Dan. He has some sort of walkie talkie/scanner thing that connects with trains!  Frankie drove up to the campground around 4 pm.  He gave Da...