MOMMA SADIE AND PUPS!

Just thought I would update everyone on Momma Sadie and her pups. They have now all found a home and doin well! But they are very much missed by hickchic!

Campin

On the 7th, I took my girls to meet their tour bus to go on a trip with their upward bound program...they were goin to NY city. Well that night I get a call from a couple that I be good friends with and they invite me to go campin with them and their kids to Cherokee Lake. Welp, I thought why not, cuz it will make the time pass faster while I be missin my girls. So Wednesday mornin I leave bright and early to meet up with them and head toward the lake.
We get there, pick a camp site and set up our camp ground area. Everyone enjoyed themselves that first day swimming either in the pool or lake and fishin. That night we laughed so much my side hurt.
The next day they decided to rent a pontoon boat. I just love being out on the water and was really excited. Then I think we all were cuz we didn't even bother to secure out camp before we left. Cherokee Lake is a very long long lake with lots of turns. We kept sayin, sure hope we can find our way back as we kept goin further and further away. We fished some along the way and then found a nice little cove and stayed there for awhile swimmin.
So I find me a life jacket that will fit and put it on and jump into the water with the kids. They all can swim like fish and even though I can swim somewhat, tread water, and float, I'm still not confident enough to get in deep water and find out just how well I can or can't swim. Seein how you can only drown once and this day didn't seem like a good day to drown. So after I jump in, I find out that my life jacket is completely torn on the bottom and the little white Styrofoam inside is doin it's best to float out of the jacket. So with one hand tryin to hold the Styrofoam in and doin a side swim with the other hand, I finally make it back to the pontoon boat. This time I make sure that the life jacket is a good one and again jump back in the lake. Well I have never swam in a life jacket before. And I find it is takin two steps forward and five steps back. And then finally when I am almost at the boat, they realize they are gettin too close to the shore and move the boat back out toward the middle of the cove. I was thinkin no no....and begin my journey again toward the boat. I did finally make it, climbed up, and had had enough of the swimming. Not long after that we notice the sky gettin cloudy, so we load back up and start headin back to our dock. I decide to be funny, and do my best reenactment of the Titanic, get my laughs and then sit down at the front of the boat. Well the front of the boat had a set of seats on each side and then there was a gate and a little area on the front where you could jump off the boat to swim. Which was just what we had been doin earlier. And no sooner did I sit from just doin my best performance of the Titanic, the front of the boat suddenly became submerged in the water. The water came gushin in and the gate, which I guess no one had locked back, came crashin into my leg. I tried to hold back the water with the gate...and by the way the gate hittin my leg...it hurt! Then the oldest of their sons, he runs back to the back seats under the canopy, next to his mom. I'm thinkin, I will never reenact the Titanic again!
Have you ever wondered....if a pontoon boat could be sunk? Well, I'm thinkin it can!
So our greenhorn captain of the ship, figures out it had something to do with how he trimmed the motor (whatever that means)...and corrects whatever it was he did...and luckily the water starts runnin back out of the boat where it belonged...in the lake, not in our boat!
So now the boat is like really wet and our fearless captain says, how am I goin to explain all this water in the boat.
Welp, I guess he must be livin his life right, cuz god made a way to explain it....
It came one hellacious storm, literally!
At first me and the other two kids were enjoyin bein rained on. Then it got worse. We all huddled under the canopy now, but the rain was so hard it just blew in. And the rain hurt as it fell on us. Just as someone moaned, awwww it hurts, it hurts....I noticed on one of the towels we were using to try and stay dry, was a small ice ball. I was like no wonder it hurts.....it's hail.
I have to say, that was the worst storm I had ever been in. The lightening seemed to light the whole sky and the thunder was deafenin. You couldn't even hold your eyes open for the rain beatin on your eye sockets. But I don't know how but our captain after what seemed like hours, got us back to the dock, all drenched but safe.
It was still stormin when we got there and our camp site was also drenched. There was a nice lady from another site there tryin to zip our tents up. The people at this other camp site. Well they were right on the point and next to the lake, and a lot of there stuff was now at the bottom of the lake...yes that was how bad it was. We were lucky, I had one of them shamie wammy rags in my car and we used that to soak up all the water in our tents. But after a little sun and dryin we were back in business.
Hickchic thinks....that one...I will never reenact the Titanic; two that god always makes a way even to explain water on a boat; and three without all the excitement, we wouldn't have had half as good a story to tell!

It's Story Time!

For as long as I can remember, I have been a story teller. It all started when I was young. Oh I told many stories then. Although at that time in my life, my father referred to them as lying, but hickchic thinks...it's all how you look at it. For instance, when a glue job backfired...I had no idea how it got broken...or perhaps it had met it's demise during a tragic accident when the so and so friend who had been up tripped and fell into the lamp, and they were just so lucky that they hadn't been cut or hurt badly. There were five families of kids growin up here back then, and when anything like this or similar to this happened one of the friends always took one for the team, cuz our parents wouldn't get so mad at them and no one would be punished. I was always the go to person for a good story to explain unfortunate mishaps to avoid punishment. And generally it worked pretty good for my friends, but not for me. The reason why it didn't work for me was cuz usually either my brother or sister or both were involved with me in our mishaps and my dad would take us one at a time into a room and interrogate us. He always saved me for last. You would of thought that eventually I would of learned that my brother or sister wouldn't stick to the story. Nope they always told what really happened. Then when it came my turn, my dad would take me into the room and ask the big question "what happened"! Of course, I would go right into the story I had made up, always with the hope they had told the same thing. But no such luck. Dad always seemed to enjoy my stories though, I think, cuz he would always listen tentatively till the end. Then he would say, "Are you sure that's what happened?" At this point I knew I was had, but I would still answer, yep, that's what happened. I guess you can figure out the rest of what happened...it usually ended with me being grounded and a few swift love licks to my bottom...and a nice long lecture how lying was wrong, and that was the reason I was being punished but my brother or sister were not. So dad tried to beat the story tellin out of me. I often tell him, I might of been a famous writer if he hadn't beat it out of me!

So next in my cycle of story telling, came when my niece and nephews were born. Them and their friends were always gatherin around me beggin for a good story. I usually told stories on my sister and what a big baby she was. But most of my stories were bout little mishaps when I was young, with several fictional ones as well.

Then after I had my girls, I continued the tradition of story tellin with them and their friends.

And I shall finish this blog with tellin one of their all time favorites...

Once upon a day, a day much like today...only the sun was hotter, and their wasn't any breeze, and the sweat dripped off of you standin still...I always started my stories like this...the kids would laugh and then holler tell the story!

So, on this day, the twins and I were at home and I was goin through some things, when I happened upon this object.

"What is that mommy?" one of the twins asked.

And as I stared at the object the story began.

Well this is a fossilized octopus eye, I told them with much enthusiasm!

I got this deep sea divin back in 1985, when I lived in CA, long before you two were born, I explained.

Wow! Were the girls reactions.

Yep, I had joined up with a group of deep sea divers to search for hidden treasures and then on one particular dive we found a sunken ship. I can remember swimmin through that ship, like it was just yesterday. The bottom of it now filled with sand and small rocks, and there was a large hole in the side. As we were swimmin through it and came to the gallows, and I explained that that was where they ate their meals. There buried in the sand, I saw something gold, just barely visible. I carefully uncovered the object to find that it was a golden fork and very beautiful with ecthed designs throughout the handle. Everyone gathered around me as we gazed upon the golden fork and then passed it around for all to see. Then as we continued on our search through the ship, I held my golden fork proudly in my hand as we swam. After a long period of time of examining the ship, with our air now getting in short supply, we decide to conclude our deep sea diving adventure for today. I was the only one who had found anything on this trip and what was so cool was that we got to keep whatever we found. So as we were swimmin, and just exiting the ship suddenly something grabbed me around one of my legs. I linged in toward the girls and intensified my voice as I started this part of the story. And as I turned around, I was eye to eye with a giant octopus. He had a strong hold on my leg, and it was beginning to really hurt. So I did the only one thing I could think of to do...I took my golden fork and I stuck it right in that octopus's eye socket and pried down on the handle. To my amazement, that octopus's eye popped right out of it's socket and as it came toward me I grabbed that eye with both hands. The octopus now in terrific pain, I am sure, released me from it's hold. And when it did, I held that eye in one hand and swam as quickly as I could to the water's surface. Unfortunately in the battle for my life, I had lost my golden fork. And after I was safely back on our ship, I looked at my leg which was still hurting. And I pointed at my leg. And see that round scar right there. The girls were like yeah...that is where the octopus's tentacle scarred me for life.

Wow mommy, the girls said with wide eyes.

And then I told them, so if you ever go deep sea diving and you see a one eyed octopus that be the one your mommy fought.

One of my girls asked could she keep the eye and I told her sure and to take care of it though.

Little did I know what an impression the story had made and why she wanted the eye.

They were in first grade when I told them that story, which I was makin up as I went along.

So, when Samantha came home the next day from school she told me how she had showed everyone the octopus eye and told the whole class the story bout my deep sea divin adventure. Course bout this point, I was thinkin I should tell her that it was just a story I made up for their amusement. But I thought how can I tell her now, she was young and perhaps wouldn't understand that it was just a story and not like the majority of my stories that were true. So I figured soon she would just forget all bout it. But I was wrong, every new school year she would take that octopus eye to school or if a new student enrolled and tell them the octopus story. I kept thinkin when she got old enough I would tell her that I had just made it up. Then the day came, she was in 5th grade then, and had to write a story for class. Sadly she said, "Mommy, I don't know what to write about, I wish I have done all the cool things like you, deep sea divin, fightin an octopus. And before she could go any further, I thought, ok it's time to tell her, she is old enough now. Sam, I said, and took a deep breathe, I have been wanting to tell you this for a long time. That story bout the octopus I just made it up.

Oh the glare that I received and then with a very angry tone she asked, "And what other lies have you told me!", and tears ran down her face. "How many of your other stories are lies"!

Well, I felt just awful!

I tried to explain, and that most of my stories were true, but she didn't understand, nor would she listen to me.

Needless to say, she wouldn't even speak to me for days and days.

But the good news is that eventually as she got older, she did understand. And I am glad to report that now she finds it quite funny and loves to tell the story herself. And I figure it will be a story we both tell her own children one day.

Hickchic thinks.....that my story tellin days aren't over yet and the next cycle will be the grand kids, but I have learned that at the beginning of the story to say, now I made this one up!

I decided to add a little note here in my defense, I really thought when I finished the story, the girls would ask, "Is that true, Mommy". And I would tell them nope, but it made for a good story didn't it. Little did I know that they were goin to swallow it hook, line, and sinker, and be so proud of their mommy for fightin an octopus. And for the record, I did learn the difference between story tellin and lyin...and I can't stand to be lied to and I always tell the truth now.

My Girls Are Growing Up

This has been a very busy summer, so far. My twins are in the Upward Bound program and take college courses and stay at the dorm during the week. And now through their MPower program the days they aren't at Upward Bound, they are working now. Their first jobs, it's so hard to believe that they are growin up on me. They will be seniors this comin school year.

The Upward Bound program has given me a taste of the empty nest syndrome and I don't like it. But as parents we have to do what is right for our children and push them out the doors, if necessary, to begin their lives as adults. They stay at the college from Monday at 7 pm till Friday's at noon.

They have opened their first checkin accounts too and momma be teachin them bout balancin a checkbook and savin money.

Yep, they are growin up....and it is so hard to believe. The vision of them, my babies, is still so fresh in my mind and seems like it was just yesterday. And we have had a blessed life thus far and so many joyful memories and much laughter as you can tell from my blogs bout my girls.

Oh their first jobs. They are workin at a theater where they perform plays and they love it!

So far they have helped mostly with props and preparing the stage for the next production.

So the driving thing is not goin so good with them, which leaves me driving them to college and work and stayin busy, which I like. The days they are gone, I have a huge list of things to do to keep me busy, while they are gone spreading their wings.

To my girls...Fly high, soar, and glide with the winds!

Hickchic thinks....that we must adapt with the cycle of life, cuz there are always new memories to look forward too...

FOUR PUPPIES LEFT...that need a home!

This is Cindy. She is the lightest colored of the four pups. I think Flea is a camera hog, cuz was hard to get individual pics of them cuz Flea seemed to be wherever the camera was!

This is Flea. She be the runt of the litter. She is such a sweetheart too.

This is Buster Brown...and he is my dog Mia's favorite