Fleur de Aleta

I’m not sure if this will become a post or if it’s just for therapeutic purposes, type it out to get it out of the system.  I had a wonderful pregnancy.  I was happier than I’ve ever been, but the shock of our baby being born so early (37w, 4d) rather than the 40 weeks put my mind into a weird scary, fearful zone.  After the baby was born, I felt disconnected, empty.  This is the reason for this journal post.  To sort through the emotions.  Greg calls me “Evil Aleta” during this time. Not because I’m angry or yelling.  But when we came home with our baby, all I did was cry.  It bothered both of us and we worried about post partum depression.  EA (Evil Aleta) is probably a good term, because of the thoughts going through my head, again, not angry, but negative.  You know those cartoons where you have an angel on your shoulder and a devil on the other shoulder whispering thoughts to you? All I was hearing was the EA....

My Caesarian Experience It wasn’t what we wanted, but it was a medical need, due to my chronic high blood pressure turn severe preeclampsia (according to the hospital discharge notice).  We could have opted for induction, but because it was so early in the pregnancy (37weeks), Dr. Wild said it wasn’t a good environment to attempt induction (i.e. my body and the baby weren’t ready for labor and if forced on either of us, my blood pressure could spike or the baby could be put under duress).  Those situations during induction would then require an immediate emergency caesarian. It was good that we did the scheduled c-section instead of induction, because the baby was too high up into my ribs and the cord was wrapped around his neck.  But I’m getting ahead of myself… The surgery was scheduled for noon on Feb 18, 2013 at East Jefferson General Hospital.  The night before, no food or water from midnight on.  We arrived 2 hours (10 am) prior to su...

We have a cute thing between us that would probably make most people gag. One will say, "I love you!' The other will respond, "I love you MORE!" Then, the reply, "Impossible!" It's cutesy and sickening for others to hear, but what can I say? Greg sent me an email today, it reads: ****** I Love You More!!! From the moment I was born... Who knew my journey Would last so long Looking for a true love so right, so real, so strong. Staying busy to pass the time Anything to pacify the mind. The quest momentarily put aside Yet the emptiness would not be denied Floating on life's ocean with no map, no clue. Water everywhere But thirsty for you. Here is how long I waited for you to be my destination Aleta Gay Grimball. 1,420,156,800 seconds 23,669,280 minutes 394,488 hours 2348 weeks (rounded down) Worth every minute.

Family Quote: "Dad chases Mom's trash and she chases mine." I'm quick to throw out stuff that Mom says I should keep. But Dad keeps everything and Mom has to throw away some of his stuff. Now I know that trashcan items can be treasures: figurines, glass vases, old stereo equipment, video games, paintings, jewelry, box springs and sheets, old clothes, keyboards, crockpots, various kitchen items, camera and lens (not digital) ~ we sold those and more at our garage sale, bringing a total of 1129 in profit! All that moolah from treasures ready for tossing! The men came to the sale early (first sale at 6:20am) and the women came later in the day. Some people wanted something for nothing; others not only bought but came back 3 or 4 times to bring family members! I know how to sell jewelry, do so at a garage sale where there's no competition! I can also say I'm a professional artist, three of my watercolor paintings sold and one oil sold (it wasn't even framed). ...

The first time I spoke with Greg was on his birthday, 8/6/2006.  We connected via Match, it all started when Greg sent me a wink.  At the time I worked full time as an office manager in the finance industry and lived alone with my cat, Tigger.  Greg worked as a chemical engineer and lived with his brother and dog, Pebbles.  We both owned our homes and lived within ten minutes of each other, but we never would have met without the Internet. Though we express it differently, we share a love of creativity.  My outlet is poetry , playing the piano, painting, making jewelry , photography , blogging and I would like to do cake decorating and card making.  For Greg, he is the gadget guy who knows how to fix anything and if there's a need for something, my husband can meet the need by creating it... Be it something out of nothing in the kitchen or a nifty idea for the iPad and everything in between.  And I have to add that my hus...

I was sent this site and I strongly advise everyone to check it out: www.familywatchdog.us The site was developed by John Walsh from Americas Most Wanted. You enter your home address ~ give it a moment to plot the map with red, blue, green, yellow, etc. dots surrounding your entire neighborhood. On the left side of the map is a description of what color represents the crime. When you click on the dot on the map, a picture of the person/criminal will appear. There are options above the pic to know what type of crime he/she committed, aliases, job locations, etc.

Maryland ~ celebrating the New Year of 2007 Flight Simulators, Memorials, Jousting, a Kiss and Frisking Greg and I arrived in Maryland at night. Holly, Mike and their three children (Deanna, April and Michael) greeted us at the airport and took us on a tour. As Holly said, "DC at night is enchanting." The buildings glow at night and of course, Greg added, "It's because of the lighting." Men.. Mike drove and showed us how DC drivers don't mind the white lines. (The problem being too many options, from what I can see.) Mike and Greg hit it off with a common sense of humor, ending lines for each other from movie quotes to music. It was like a trip to the twilight zone. One thing to note about the night tour is that we passed a number of times by the September 11th sculpture that was recently created. It has three prongs that reminded me of a crown, each reaching to the sky and curving outward. The three prongs symbolize the three planes… Deanna, April and Micha...

Resistance is futile! You will be assimilated! My Sweetheart is going through a Sleep Apnea test and he sent me the picture. I don’t know how he’ll get to sleep, but he says he is tired enough. Two people will watch him and if they find that he has sleep apnea (which can be noticed within 3 hours of sleep), then they immediately hook him up to a machine to see if that improves the quality of sleep. I miss my Borg. Pebbles and Tigger miss you too!

Have you noticed the proliferation of these so-called red-light cameras? They are multiplying like bunnies. Big Brother is watching you ~ where you are, who's with you in the passenger seat, where you went to, if you had packages in the seat. He even sees the person walking across the street and the bike rider passing through. He's collecting info like he's on an Easter Egg hunt! One of Greg's relatives got a ticket from the red light. He was driving someone else's vehicle and the bill went to the owner. That's right, they mail a bill. You no longer go to court to testify. But hey, wait a minute, isn't that a violation of habeas corpus, the right to confront one's accuser? Greg and I were listening to the radio and a man was complaining about the cameras. He received a ticket on an automobile that he sold YEARS ago. He even had the proof that the license plate was turned in to the Motor Vehicle Department. But somehow that plate ended up on another vehic...

K2Chem Christmas in San Antonio 2007 We met up with the majority of the K2Chem team in Dallas, Texas and then went on to the second flight to San Antonio. We sat towards the back of the plane and Greg was right across from where the Flight Attendant sat during take off and landings. When she walked away, he reached over to see how the chair works and I said, "Like a kid in a candy store." I think it's cute how curious he is, especially when it's how something works. When our flight attendant returned, Greg asked her, "Why is it that your chair is facing backwards?" She responded, "To make us feel a little crazy." We laughed and the conversation took off from there. She shared how this flight to San Antonio is the one that Cowboys take. She gave us a description of the flight with the Cowboys yelling across the plane, how their broad shoulders made it difficult to walk the aisle, etc. She remarked how not as many famous people are on the flight to S...

You have to pass a test to drive, but there are no courses to provide you with the financial route in life. And sadly, financial collision is difficult to recover from. It leaves trend marks for 7 years or longer. The key to remember ~ credit is a loan. It's not free money. Let’s call it by the real name, it’s not a Credit Card, it’s a Debt Card. Sort of makes the pill a little harder to swallow, doesn’t it? Some hard facts: The credit card industry earned $1,200,000,000,000 last year. That is $ 1.2 TRILLION in profits. 14.8 BILLION of it came from late fees. Did you know that the company can raise your interest rate if you’ve made a late payment on any of your other cards, including those issued by other companies – it’s called the Universal Default Clause. You also have to be careful of the unused credit cards! I was sent a notice that if the credit card did not get a minimum of $ 1.25 per month in interest that they would charge my account that amount each month! I’m talking abo...

I’ve always found daylight savings time to be foolish and irritating. It would be easier to do away with it rather than play with the clock a couple times a year. One-hour messes up internal clocks and can put your head in a fog until you adjust. (Not to mention that you never know how many clocks you have until those two times a year.) Now, I’d like to take this rant to a higher level. My Mom is a teacher for an elementary school and she was thoroughly disgusted. Testing started today and the school board does this: on a Monday. (As Mom said, "The kids go through a brain drain during the weekend and it’s like we have to stuff all the information back into their brains on Monday. How do you expect them to do well on a Monday test? In Texas the tests are on Tuesday.") on the day after daylight savings time. Go back to original rant, if I am dragging a little and having a slow time adjusting as an adult, imagine what the kids go through! The testing is the entire week. Good Gri...

* Picture taken while in Lafitte Swamps. I've taken some wrong paths with love, but finally I understand with Love Version 3.0 ~ it must start with trust and builds with time and nurtured love, wanting the other person to be happy and knowing he makes you happy in return. It's something that grows stronger each new day, how wonderful is that? There are many qualities about Greg that I love (which you can read in the poem below). I admire and respect his creative nature. Perfect example ~ Just recently, I said I didn't like the old, round, rusty patio table. Greg created a new one. He's so resourceful! He used the left over tiles from my kitchen countertop He used the leg work on the old patio table He used the left over grout from the new work room (former garage) Viola! ~ a new patio table that is so cool! Greg can make anything and oh my gosh, do I find that attractive! How lucky am I that this wonderful guy makes me feel cherished. He just sent me a text message:...