bee and rose

Happy St. Patrick's Day! How about a wee stroll down memory lane?  Thank you to everyone who messaged me about sharing this blast from the past again this year:)  (yes, Maureen...I do read your emails too!)  Even though it was originally posted in 2009, not too much has changed (says Dawn in her "I can't believe I have PMS every single year at this same time"   happy (think Pharrell singing "Happy") voice.  So grab a cup of Irish coffee, Jameson whiskey, Guinness or whatever suits your fancy on this fine St. Patrick's Day and let me share a tale of whimsy with you.  (and may the luck of the Irish be with you if you come my way today!  Don't say I didn't warn you!)    Oops! What's she doing here again? Wasn't she just here a month ago? UGH! The nerve! We had so much "fun" last time she was here, didn't we?  Well, since I have a full day of Irish activities planned, I guess I better be gettin' my Irish on.......

Dear Katniss Everdeen Diagonal Braid; Wow!  You've just made my life easier!  Thank you for inspiring my daughter to actually let me brush her hair without a major freak out attack.  My Cat~niss has been wearing French braids, Dutch braids and Fishbone braids for days now all thanks to you.  Cat no longer runs and hides at the sight of a comb and brush.  She actually welcomes them with open arms.  Hopefully, my dear Katniss Braid , you can convince your friend,  Irish Dance Curly Wig to do the same.  Maybe you can bring Curly Wig for a play-date soon?  That would be awesome! Dear St. Patrick's Day Parade Mini Hat; We did it!  We fooled EVERYONE at the parade! HAHA!  No one ever guessed that you were a glittery black soda can cozy and some sequin scrap!  And, by the luck of the Irish, you stayed firmly on Miss Cat's head throughout the entire parade with winds in excess of 100 mph!  (ok...so maybe a few gusts...

Look at that awesome toe point on Irish dancer girl!  We are finally finished with what we lovingly refer to in Irish dance as "March Madness"! Whew!  As you might imagine, Irish dancers are pretty popular come March.  We've just completed our two week tour of performances all over Tucson.  We wrapped up the season yesterday with a viewing of the movie "Lord of the Dance 3D".  Here's a little peek at what we've been doing! Cat with Brandon Mull, author of the fabulous "Fablehaven" series of books! We met him after her performance at the Festival of Books! What a nice guy! (and if you haven't read this series, do it!  It's fantastic!) Parade Prep on the firetruck for the St. Patrick's Day Festival and Parade... Taking a bow at Pima College's St. Patrick's Day celebration... And here's a little video of Irish dancer girl in action!  The stage floor was super slippery, but she still managed to knock out so...

The Good... Road Trip!  We are off this week to Sacramento, CA so that Miss Irish Dancer Girl can compete in the Western Region Oireachtas (pronounced O-Rock-tus)! This is a regional competition that requires an invitation from your dance instructor to qualify for attending!  All good luck wishes welcome here! The Sad...  Chilly lost his health insurance without any warning on Thursday.  As you might imagine this is seriously devastating to our family.  For those of you not familiar with my blog, Chilly (my husband) is terminally ill.  Without insurance, his health care needs are extremely expensive.  He needs very expensive medications and multiple monthly doctor visits (that are only affordable through insurance) to survive...literally. (and I'm not talking only "long term"...he needs it for his short term survival.) I can't really say much more without sobbing all over my computer monitor.   The Ugly... All I can say here is that ...

We're off to Phoenix today!  Irish Dancer Girl has a feis (pronounced "fesh"...it's an Irish dance competition) up there on Saturday.   Jazz hands are not just for jazz dancin'! Any good luck you can send her way is most appreciated!   I plan on hitting Hobby Lobby, Pottery Barn Kids, Rainforest Cafe and maybe Ikea while we're up in the Valley of the Sun.  Teen Caveboy wants to check out the Heart Attack Grill...for the sandwiches.....yeah....right....you tell me if you think it's all about the burger...                            I know...you can't take your eyes off those ginormous burgers... Sorry to destroy your dreams, Teen Caveboy...if you're really nice though, I'll take you to Burger King and get you a paper crown to wear while you're having your lunch:) Wishing you all a terrific weekend!!!  See you Monday!  Got some great giveaways brewing for next week to...

I've really been a blogging slacker lately....It seems that my days just fly by so quickly with running Chilly all over the place, home~schooling the kiddos, and now it appears that Chilly has probably suffered a couple of mini~strokes. I've received tons of emails inquiring about my bloggy absence and Chilly's health. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kind concern.  I'm overwhelmed by your kind thoughts and prayers!  Here's a quick update on the Chillmeister.... Even though he realizes he has suffered some form of stroke (or most probable...multiple mini~strokes) Chilly is being stubborn and refusing medical treatment.  He feels it won't stop the inevitable and may even make things worse. It is enormously frustrating.  It just feels like we are always in limbo...waiting for something to improve or decline.  In addition to all of this, my son's friend lost his mother to cancer last weekend. We attended her funeral this past week. Overall, i...