An update on my Monday fiasco. My youngest daughter, Chemae Woothtakewahbitty called it. Gallbladder After a hida scan, my doctor informed me that my gallbladder was working at 11%. So, if you only pay 11% of your rent every month and make the landlord cringe with pain whenever you feel like it, you would definitely get evicted. So guess what? HE IS OUTTA HERE!!! If my tonsils and appendix can be stellar renters, there is no reason my gallbladder cant do the same. I am a little disappointed it doesnt weigh 50lbs, that would be a nice benefit of its eviction. I have lost 6 lbs since Monday, so there’s that. Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know. Surgery is the 9th. Outpatient. I expect to bounce back quickly. Just send good vibes as always! Lorene
Jeez Louise, yesterday kicked me in the stomach. About one o’clock my stomach started hurting, I ate gluten and I figured that was it. It usually subsides, but this time it got worse. I felt like I was costarring in an Alien movie with Sigourney weaver. Something had hold of my stomach from the inside and kept twisting. Finally about 3:30 I came home. After a few trips to the Bathroom, I laid down in the bed. I was freezing. I slept off and on only to wake to that pain in my stomach. Troy came home about 7 and checked on me. I finally slept straight until 11. I woke up sweating and feeling like I was going to pass out. Every inch of my body hurt. Not ache, hurt. Troy gave me gatorade thinking I was probably dehydrated. I stayed up until about midnight. My ribcage hurting from front to back. I finally went back to sleep. 4:45 and I’m wide awake. My chest hurts, my body aches. No fever. Much better than yesterday for sure. Today is a busy day for me. So staying home is not an option. I must adult. Hopefully it has passed and whatever alien I possessed will not make an entrance. I’d appreciate all the good vibes today! Lorene
Monday, coffee and quiet time. Thinking about my weekend. It was a great weekend. Friday evening was basically snuggle time with Big Daddy. A good ribeye cooked in butter and garlic cloves and a major pile of broccoli. Couldn’t do much after that meal but snuggle. Saturday I had friends come by for a girls day. We watched movies, drank screwdrivers, made sliders and sundaes with whipped cream, sprinkles and moonshine cherries. We were all in our jammies with blankets on the couch. Just enjoying each others company. It reminded me of Saturday morning cartoons after a slumber party when I was a little girl. Straight OJ back then of course. Sunday brunch and Sam’s shopping then back home to snuggle up again. Maddie and I had Troy pinned in his corner of the couch. Each of us had a side with hand and paw meeting halfway. They are the best snuggle buddies. In between time here and there, I did laundry. Decluttered my kitchen countertops and dusted because, well, Oklahoma. It was amazing how decluttering something I see every day made such a difference in my outlook for the weekend. I am not OCD, but the neatness, open space and brightness made me feel more focused. More in control and less chaotic. I had more energy. It was as though the messy countertops drained me each time I walked by. I wonder how my better it will get if I continue with the rest of the house. Maybe a bag a day. Fill a trash bag for donation or dump each day. Could take 5 minutes or an hour. I need to work on that. Maybe do the same in my brain. My thoughts, feelings, emotions the works. Start tossing some out, organizing others for daily use and storing some for later. Writing them down here helps. I am collecting my past writing to compile into some sort of book. Going back and reading some of my thoughts has me wondering what about them attracts readers. One person commented one day my post should go viral. That would be awesome. That many people sharing my thoughts. Wow just wow. Now THAT would make my day. Back to my weekend, boy I ramble…. It was almost perfect. I had to reschedule a birthday celebration with my oldest grandson, his life is busier than mine. I’m glad it is. We will have our day. Now Monday reminds me I have a busy week of caterings at work. A late night here and there, then helping a friend with his cater this weekend. So my last gulp of coffee and off to work. Have a blessed, uncluttered week my friends! Lorene
Quiet time can sure make my mind run amok. There are days I cant focus on one thing long enough to write about it. During the day I think of all kinds of stuff I could have shared. I need to keep a notebook of those I guess. Of course you are seeing the first draft. I don’t make sure the punctuation, spelling, or grammar is perfect. I type as I think. You are experiencing Lorene unfiltered. I’ve been thinking about my childhood lately. I don’t remember a lot, bits and pieces here and there. I’ve even thought about a hypnotist to help find what or why I cant remember. It could be my age, but it’s been like this forever. I could always run for President, they would have a dossier on me pretty quick. 🤣🤣 In all seriousness, I have questions. My mom would be the one to answer them, but she isn’t here anymore. When I was young, I want to say between 8 and 12 years old, I would go to Key West during the summer and stay with my grandparents. I also remember a time I went to Tennessee and stayed with one of my moms sisters. My sister was 2 years younger than me, but she never went. Just me. I don’t remember when I stopped going. I can barely remember how I got there. I seem to remember a Greyhound bus, but never a plane. As an adult I wonder why my sister was never allowed to go, and was I just being sent away? I wasn’t a trouble child. I walked a pretty straight line when I was preteen. I would do anything to make my parents proud of me. Still make decisions with them in mind. There are so many holes in my memories they must look like swiss cheese. A part of me is afraid to know what I’m missing. There are things that will trigger a memory. Kind of like when you see something, or someone says something that reminds you of the dream you had last night. I remember somethings that I write about in private. Not on here, not yet. They seem more like dreams than memories. Some nightmares actually. Real or not I moved past them. Tucked them far away, covered them with good memories. They sneak out once in a while and I have to face them and then push them back again. Don’t take this the wrong way, I had a great childhood. Two very loving parents. They taught me right from wrong. We were NOT the Cleaver family nor the Manson family, not perfect, but a family. I never needed for anything. I feel like I’m writing a book here now and my coffee cup is empty. I need much more to get this day going. Thanks for reading, don’t hesitate to tell me any memories from my childhood you may remember, good or bad. PM me if its sensitive. I love you all, friends, family and those who just need outside prayers. Have a wonderful day. And yes, that’s me, the strawberry blond cutie with Mom, Dad and sister Angie. Lorene
I haven’t written in the mornings in a while. It’s been kind of crazy this year. There are some days I have things heavy on my mind and don’t share them here. I am in Georgia at this moment. I have been since Friday. My father has been struggling to overcome a few surgeries with complications the past 5 months. When I received the text on Thursday, “Can you come?” I did. This is not the type of family reunion you enjoy. I held his hand as he took his final breath. I am grateful I was here to see him and tell him I loved him once more to his earthly body. I’ll speak with him as I do with my mom and daddy when I need someone to talk to. Not everyone knows our story, but he gave me 3 sisters and a brother to add to my family. A sister in law, their children and grandchildren, welcomed me into the family. I also gained a mother. Joanna welcomed me with open arms and I will love her like my own. I only had 20 plus years with him, learning about the family, visiting when possible. He never forgot me, for that I am thankful. I hate to think if we had never found each other. Knowing him never took away from my past, but added to my future. I love you Dad. Thank you for my orneriness, yes, I got it from you. And thank you for the family. We do have more in common than we realize. I was trusted to write his obituary. I know I did not do it justice, but I am honored just the same. Rest in peace. GEORGE ELI SOLOCK You may have noticed a brightness in sky at 2:00 pm Saturday, February 20th, 2021, at that moment, Angels escorted George Eli Solock to be reunited with family and friends in Heaven. Just minutes later, the world became a lesser place for those that know him. They will tell stories about George for years to come and he will continue to be that husband, father and friend, walking with them and telling them they are doing it wrong. Said lovingly of course with a gruff in his voice and a twinkle in his eye. George was a simple, yet complex man, a Navy Veteran, 2nd Amendment supporter, Conservative, all round Red Blooded American. He physically defended our country and values when young while wearing a Navy uniform and continued to voice his opinion and support for our nation until the end. He loved life, family, friends and country. Arguing about any of that would get you nowhere. Retired life gave him the time to enjoy the finer things in life. Time with his wife Joanna, children and grand children, coffee on the porch watching nature in the back yard and feeding his cat buttermilk in the morning. He loved fishing at Troope Creek Marina and shooting clay pigeons with his brother in law Richard. He loved his guns and the right to own them. George and Joanna loved to travel with Brenda, Richard, Judy, Lou and Steve and enjoyed exploring the beautiful country he fought to protect. They also loved each other’s company at home watching westerns and just enjoying life together. George was born December 30, 1942 to Lorene Iacano in Versailles Kentucky. He attended Shaw high school in East Cleveland Ohio where he met and dated his first wife, Laural Sanzo, and enlisted in the Navy in 1961. In 1962 George married his high school sweetheart Laural and became the father of 2 gorgeous baby girls, Lisa Marie and Michelle Marie. Between his first and second marriage, another daughter was born to Orchid Crespo from Key West Florida, Lorene Marie. George didn’t have a great imagination when it came to middle names. In 1967, while stationed in Brunswick, Georgia he met Joanna Mosley, married in 1968 and became a father again, this time inheriting a beautiful daughter Reanee and handsome son Kenneth Lowell. George led a full life, after leaving the Navy in 1970 while stationed in Hawaii, the family moved back to Brunswick where he worked in construction as a heavy duty equipment operator until January of 2005. He was an amazing husband, father and grandfather. George was a proud man. Proud of his family, country and beliefs. He passed that down to his children and in turn grand children and great grandchildren. He has a legacy that will go on forever. A total of 5 children, Lisa Marie Andrews, husband Jeff, Michelle Marie Georgiana, husband Thomas (Bubba), Lorene Marie Wood, husband Troy, Reanee Hoffman, Kenneth Lowell Shaw, wife Vanessa, 16 grandchildren, 21 and ½ great grandchildren. He was also the fur father to Jake and Piper, his cats. He was preceded in death by his Mother Lorene, Brother Mike, Cousin-Brother Ray Woolums and Jake the cat. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Brunswick animal shelter where he adopted Jake and Piper would be appreciated. George being George did not want a fancy funeral or a big fuss made over his passing. He told his wife Jo, just have a party at the house with family and friends. And so we will and you can join us Tuesday, February 23rd, 4:00 pm at his son Ken’s home 1200 Myers hill road. Brunswick Georgia.
My goodness 4 am comes early. It is so quiet, it seems like the house noises even know it’s too early to be disrupting nature. It’s the best reflection time. I can hear myself think. Thank goodness there is only one voice. I have enough to deal with daily. Early morning is the best time to go over a game plan for the day, rethink decisions from yesterday and adjust. No one said I had to be perfect. Well I’m sure some boss along my life path may have expected it but surprise! Not happening Captain. I have over the years learned to tweek things. I no longer throw my hands up and say oh well, it is what it is. Why should I just accept things I can change? And if I cant change it, I can control my response to it. My few minutes of coffee time in the early morning a game changer. No interruptions except maybe a fur baby that needs a belly rub once in a while. Or maybe Big Daddy couldn’t sleep and will be up. Those are the best interruptions. I believe those are times when God says, let’s not over think things today and just be grateful. So I am. Grateful. Lorene
Do you watch reality TV? I don’t watch a lot of television, most of what I do watch I DVR for later. Yes, most of them are food shows. I Netflix too. I love movies. I have quite a collection. I have watched reality shows in the past. Episodes here and there. I like the ones that show daily going ons. Compare my day to others. It makes me feel normal 🤣 Have you seen Wife Swap? OMG!! Its amazing the opposites they can find, maybe I should say extreme opposites. Troy has been the only man who could live with me for so long. Not that I’m hard to live with, but I do have a way I fold towels. I must say I have never watched an episode of the bachelor. Seriously ladies, I don’t mind a little competition but No, just no. I can buy my own roses. Yes, I watched the Apprentice back in the day. I don’t know why I was drawn to it, it’s as farfetched as the others. Maybe it was the possibility of landing that life changing job. Wife of whatever county. I watched a few episodes out of curiosity years ago. Even the one filmed in OKC. That may be real life somewhere, but not here. Naked and afraid, another I have seen zero episodes. I love running around naked at home. But I don’t have creepy crawly things all around me that could make their way into every crevice I may have exposed I’ll save going in the woods for the bears. I need plumbing thank you. Teen mom…. Been there, done that. It wasn’t glamorous. Imagine a reality show starring you. Would it be a comedy? Drama? Soap opera? Do you think people would DVR it so they wouldn’t miss an episode? Or binge watch with friends? I would like to think my life would capture the attention of people. I think it would be a combination of all the above, funny. Sad, on the edge of your seat weekends….and maybe just a bit boring. Now, if it was a full length movie, flashing back to all those decisions I made that led me here, that might be entertaining. My life has never been boring or mundane. Maybe a little out in left field here and there, but never boring. There would be a little bit of every reality show that’s been on the boob tube. From single mom, going after that job, military wife….and maybe a little Intervention. Reality is what we make of it. Outside forces may possibly sway us in certain directions, maybe towards, maybe away. But the choice is ours Choose to be happy. Choose to love big. Choose your destiny. Choose your inner circle. Write your own script. If you aren’t happy with the first take, do it over. And over, until its perfect in your eyes. Live for you, not your audience. Reality is telling me I need to get dressed and out the door. 10% of life seems to be in the dark and with coffee. Maybe my show sponsors will be Folgers and GE. Lorene
Having Valentine’s Day as your anniversary can have it’s advantages. Scratch that, no, it doesn’t. Going out to eat is near impossible, I usually end up cooking. The price of anything romantic is twice the price of last Friday. However, thanks to Facebook, I can see the years of anniversaries I have shared with Troy Wood. These are a few of our adventures. They are almost daily! Life with Troy is one adventurous day after another. Today marks 15 years. We have grown together and changed inside and out as you can see. He started with dark hair. LOL For every spat, we have had 200+ agreements. We have gone to bed mad, but always snuggled. Being mad doesn’t mean I don’t love him, it just means he’s wrong and hasn’t admitted it yet. 🙂 Amazing how you wake up happy. Thank you all for being a part of this journey. There is so much more to see and do, I suggest you stick around! The best is yet to come! Tonight, when you celebrate the massacre of St. Valentine, think of us! ‘CAUSE WE ARE KILLING IT!” I love you Big Daddy, way behind my back!
This is one of my favorite pictures of Big Daddy and me. We are at the shop, his man cave if you will. Girls are allowed, if there is a HeMans women haters club, I am unaware. That face. I just love that face. His trademark hats, mustaches and bowling shirts. Today marks 17 years of wedded bliss. 17 years of being my Valentine. 17 years of learning to meld two families. We didn’t do a very good job of that. What we did do was survive it. Together. We don’t love each other as much as we did the day we said I Do. It’s so much more. And for different reasons. Over the past 17 years we have learned so much about each other, how we tick, what we need and don’t need and when. And learn more each day. How to love. We love Big. We are a team. We protect each other, our backs and our reputations. Our family, our livelihood. Nothing can come between us. His arms are my safe space. If the world collapsed around us today, I am not afraid. I have my big ol redneck to take care of me. I know he is the one person on this planet that would trade his life for mine. That is a feeling that is unexplainable. A feeling I wish for you. I know this sounds like a novel boasting a cover with some long haired handsome man on horseback riding along the beach at sunset, and in a way it’s my romance story. But with a hotrodder behind the wheel of a roadster saying, jump in baby, let’s go for the ride of our lives. I’m glad I jumped in. The ride has been amazing. And there are so many more roads to travel. Happy Anniversary my love. Thanks for picking me up and showing me what it feels like to have the wind in my face and riding shotgun on the best of life’s journeys. I love you Troy Wood. Way behind my back. Sweet Momma Lorene
This man. He still makes my heart skip a beat when he walks into a room. Today marks 18 years of marriage. Many people thought it wouldn’t last. Our courtship was fast and a whirlwind of 3 months before he proposed on Christmas. But we knew each other for 10 plus years before that. He worked with me on night shift so he experienced my grumpy side as well as my bright cheery side on day shift. If you can deal with that, you can deal with anything. He would use a phone in my office to call Karen, his wife, to check on her and the kids. I would listen to how he spoke to her, the love and concern in his voice. The time he took to call and speak with her. It would make me smile to know there were men like Troy Wood still out there. The old fashion, open the car door kind of men. They are few and far between. I had just been through my second divorce. I would ask the good Lord, “why can’t I find a man like that?” A tragic accident ripped his life apart. He lost Karen. When we heard the news at work, my heart broke. I cried for him and his babies. He was such a good man, it was hard to fathom such a loss. I don’t know who was put in whose path for healing, but it happened quickly. All of a sudden we were together mending hearts and lives. Putting our lives back together, together. Some people thought it was too soon. We were too different. Lived in different towns. Lived different lives. City girl and country boy. Apparently, God had a plan and perfect timing. And today, 18 years later, the proof is in the pudding. Once again, it is happening so quickly. 18 years. I am excited to see what the future holds. While I am waiting, I will enjoy my old fashioned man, let him pull my chair out and help me put my jacket on. The sweet text messages through out the day, a heart ❤, a kiss 💋, just to let me know I am on his mind. He is a keeper. I am fortunate, God thought I was worthy to have a man like that. Happy Anniversary my love. Thank you for enjoying life with me. I love you way behind my back and madly. Lorene
