Hot Dog Mike

44. Lunch at Hot Dog Mike's stand

When Clay worked at Heifer International, he told me about a moving hot dog stand that was often near his office. Hot Dog Mike has become very well-known in Central Arkansas and beyond. (See his web page: http://hotdogmike.com/blog) I wanted to share a hot dog with Clay before he left for New Orleans, but we never worked that out. Maybe I can treat him when he is home for Thanksgiving or Christmas :)

I follow HDM on Facebook- that's how you find out where he will be set up each day. I noticed last Friday that he would be at 3rd & Broadway in LR that day. He often donates his goods or services or proceeds for charitable causes and that day he was collecting coats & blankets for homeless shelters. My daughter-in-law prompted me to knit some scarves & hats for homeless folks last winter, but then her contact moved away. So, I had several hats & several scarves ready for donation, waiting for a middle man. I FB'd HDM & asked if he was collecting these items as well as coats & blankets. He responded (even spelled my name correctly!) and said all donations would be welcome.

Not being quite brave enough to try this new adventure on my own (I'm trying!), I called a friend to come hold my hand and enjoy a specialty hot dog with me. Thank you, Susan Matthews, for being spontaneous & joining me for this fine dining experience. We had a "Woo Pig Sooiee" dog (the "woo" is 4 drops of some special hot sauce- any more would probably singe your sinuses!) and some Cheetos and some fun conversation.

And I did summon enough courage to have Susan take my picture with the famous man himself---

Hunt Hot Dog Mike down, bring him some warm clothing, and enjoy a special hot dog yourself! I do plan to go back- with or without a friend~

Fourth Grandson!

43. First 4th Grandson :)

While this is not my "first" grandchild, it is the first time I have had FOUR grandsons! (Again, my game, my rules :)

We drove to Colorado Springs after work on Tues., Sept. 20, hoping to make SURE we didn't miss the birth of this grandbaby (the previous Colorado grandson arrived a month early & we were in the air somewhere near Denver when he made his grand entrance). The plan was for Brian to stay home with 2-yr. old Ben while I got to be in the delivery room when Isaac was born. This plan was suggested by me (surprise), originally nixed by Micah, then embraced by Micah & Daniel (they could be parents while I was photographer), nixed by one doctor, considered by another, and finally (sadly) not allowed by the anesthesiologist (decision made as I was 1 block from the hospital that morning- boo!). Oh, well- there will be several more chances maybe...

Isaac Miller Wiginton was born on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011, at 7:07 a.m., weighing 8 lbs., 7 ozs., and 20 1/4 inches long. And guess what color his hair is--- red!
100% of my grandchildren are boys, and 75% of them have red hair!!!




Isaac's delivery by C-section was so fast and so perfect. Micah was definitely euphoric for the next 2 days. So many things were so much better and easier with a full-term baby as opposed to a 35-weeker. They were all ready to come home 2 days later, when things changed a bit. Micah's hemoglobin count was dangerously low (5.8, when normal is 12-16) and she ended up having an emergency surgery Saturday morning. The doctor told Daniel it would take about 20 minutes. An hour and a half later !!! he came back in and said he had fixed everything (just 2 small bleeds) and that Micah was doing well. That hour & a half was torture for us, as my sister & my mother can attest from my not-so-calm phone calls to them. But all is well and we are SO thankful that Micah & Isaac are strong and healthy.

Here is my relieved and happy Nana face:

Experimenting with technology

42. Getting braver with technology

Most obvious of my new technology experiments- the new look of my blog. As with most new things I try in cyber-space, I'm not sure I could recreate the steps I followed to do this, but it was fun to try new looks. Not sure I love this, but maybe I will change it up "ever so periodically," as my sister says.

And I created a Group on Facebook, all by myself! Again, don't ask me how... I wanted a way to communicate with my Taylor family as a group on FB and I started to try to draft some "youngster" to do it, but then decided to try it myself. Yea- it worked!

Everyone in my office got an iPad at the end of last school year, and I am slowly learning how to use it. (Now I really would like to have one of my own- I knew that would happen!) I did manage to read the directions- independently- and activate the new keyboard case we got recently. This week I will be using my iPad with my preschoolers in Speech Therapy. You know they will love it! Just have to keep myself from the distraction of all the time-wasters at my fingertips...

I predict that some day I will feel "convicted" to go a day or 2 or more "unplugged"- that would certainly be a first!