Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010

Hard to believe it's 2010 already!  This year went by as a blur.  Personally, I'm glad to see 2009 go.  It's been a horrible year for many, many people. I'm looking forward to this new year,

Christmas was good - it was white!  We got about 6 inches all together, with drifts in places of about 11 inches.  About 2 inches of ice before that, and now it has all melted a bit due to it being warm yesterday. Today was only in the 20's so now everything is frozen back up. Now we have huge ice patches everywhere instead of snow patches.  The ice took out our internet on the morning of Christmas Eve and we didn't get it back until late Monday afternoon. Yikes - that's longer than I ever want to go without internet again - ever! 

My boys tried to stay up until midnight, and failed, lol. They are, as I type this, sleeping: Sully is sitting upright on the couch, and Tucker is sprawled out in the chair.  They were watching Star Wars, lol.  They are obsessed with it right now because Sully got Lego Star Wars for Christmas and they have been playing it every chance they get.  I'll drag them to bed once 2010 gets here.  That way I can tell them Happy New Year and they have the illusion that they made it :)

Well, it's almost time.  I'm wishing all a very Happy New Year, and hoping for God's blessings and favor upon us all. Bye 2009 - I wish I could say it was a great year, but it really wasn't.  There were some great moments of course, but it's been a year of dramatic loss for many. So...hello 2010  :)

Slack Much?

Ok, so everybody has pretty much figured out by now that I can slack with the best of them hee hee.

I'll do a quick catch-up of Thanksgiving and everything else - which really wasn't much - and get current;

Thanksgiving day dinner was at my house - immediate family, so not big & noisy or overly hard on the cook :) It went well - I did everything homemade because I had a point to make with my mother-in-law. She gives off the impression that I can't/don't do anything. So, homemade rolls, homemade dressing, homemade pumpkin pie& pecan pie with real whipped cream, real sweet potatoes - not canned.  Everything came out perfect :)  She seemed a little disappointed, hee hee 

Saturday was the ginormous whole family dinner at her house.  I will give you a perfect example of the kind of things she does to me: when I asked her what I should bring, she told me to bring sweet potatoes and a pumpkin pie. When I get there and put the food down, I see that she has made sweet potatoes and a pumpkin pie...what the heck??   *deep sigh*  that's how it always is, lol.

Next was a trip to Topeka on Monday after thanksgiving and by Wednesday Bobby and I both were sick with an intestinal virus.  One of those that you wish you would throw up, but you can't.  I was literally sick for two days, but my stomach still wasn't right for another two days after that.  It would ache and burn and I felt hungry, but the thought of food was just nasty. The body aches lasted about 3 days also - ugh!  Feeling better now, but weak after all that and spending like four days in my recliner, and no energy to do anything.  I know I'm sick when I don't even feel like opening up the laptop, hee hee.

Saturday was my birthday, but wasn't feeling up to doing anything, so it will probably wait until our anniversary on the 28th of this month.  Yeah, my birthday, Christmas, and my anniversary are all in December. I guess I'll have to start celebrating my half birthday :)

Real Life

Like a lot of people, I like to escape from real life to movies, books, games, digital art, internet... Nothing wrong with it - it's a need!  And the caveat to that is: everything in moderation, LOL.  Not good to wake up someday and find that you haven't showered in a month and your bills are all late, the cat has eaten the dog while it was sleeping, and your fish are all floaters, hee hee.

There has been a lot that I would like to escape from these last couple of weeks, but unfortunately I haven't had time.  Real life has reared it's ugly head to an alarming degree.  This past weekend my stepdaughter's husband cleaned out their house and took their twin boys (not 2 yet) and their daughter (not quite 3) with the aid of his parents while she was busy arranging a birthday party for her 5 year old.  He told her (LIE) he would have his mom take care of the little ones since she was busy with the party and he'd have her bring them to the party since he had to work...nice.

So, why did he do it?  He was following up on a threat.  The week before, while at his parents house, his best buddy was wrestling with the 5 & 7 yr old boys and accidentally got 'nutted' by the 5 yr old.  It's a risk when wrestling with little kids, obviously, but he got mad.  He picked up the boy by the neck, threw him down and then shoved him across the floor and stepdad did nothing.  In fact he thought it was funny - until Mandy told him she was filing a report against the guy.  Then he threatened to take the kids (just the three that are his) if she did.

So, now she's fighting to get her kids back.  Something I've never understood: a good parent takes kids away from a bad parent (abusive,drunk/drugs,etc.) to protect them and the good parent gets in trouble.  A bad parent takes children away from a good parent for spite or some other reason and nothing happens to them.  Ok, so this may not be true most of the time - I don't know the statistics on that - but I think everyone would admit that change is needed.  I know that a large number of child abductions are carried out by a family member, and the current process is get a lawyer and file for temporary custody.  Yeah, and while you do that, your child is gone, getting farther away, & you don't know where they are.  If you come home one day to find your house empty, your spouse gone, your kids don't come home from school, and your spouse is not answering their cell phone, you should be able to file a police report immediately for parental abduction, shouldn't you?  I don't know about anywhere else, but around here it's not like that - you have to be awarded temporary custody first, only then will they listen to anything else - "he/she is a parent too, they haven't broken any law" is the customary response...These are my personal thoughts and observations - if  I am wrong, I am sure I will hear about it.  People are notoriously quiet unless there are mistakes to be pointed out...

On a more positive note; after saving & working for enough money, Tucker has gotten his Bearded Dragon!  She is so cute!  He has named her Skittles, and she is 2 months old. We didn't get any sleep at all that first night because he was up watching her and worrying over her..."Mom, her eyes are closed." Me: "She's sleeping." Him: "Are you sure?" and then I went in & checked her: "See? She's just sleeping."  A little while later..."Mom? She's still in the same spot & it doesn't look like she's breathing." ... and on it went.  Just in case anyone out there is interested, when they are asleep, you don't really see their sides move much - not like when they are awake. I will have pictures up soon  :)

Fall-ish

...and so I changed the layout for November - the theme being Thankfulness this month in preparation for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.  I'm presently working on a little freebie thing to post over on my designs blog to do Thanksgiving tags with or to do a scrap page with a couple of papers a frame & some doodads to dress it up with - and some wordart :)

Jason Aldean performed in our dusty little town Saturday night. It was held at the fairgrounds, which are about 2 block from our house, so it was a little noisy, hee hee.  Bobby worked backstage security, so he had lot's of fun stories about the drunks trying to get backstage, lol.

This weather has been so weird!  Cold, then warm then cold again...

My tree in the front yard the day before Halloween:

and here it is the next day, Halloween:

 

practically all the leaves gone in a day, lol.

And the last few days it's been in  the 70's, so oddly enough I have wildflowers blooming in my front yard also, lol:

and since I'm posting pictures, lol, here are some of my boys at Halloween:

Sully was a pirate - Dread Pirate Sullivan, lol, and Tucker was a Wild Hog; Woody is who he says he was, but I thought he looked more like Doug, lmbo!

Ok, well, I'm watching The Italian Job (2003) so I'm gonna get back to it :)  Awesome movie!!

Disturbing Behavior

No, I'm not talking about that relatively unknown song by the late Robert Palmer (sad, that).  

I got a call from the school nurse today at work - very sweet lady - who immediately let me know that everything was ok, but that Sully, my five year old, had been choked and pushed over a table by another kindergartener.  They examined him and he wasn't upset or crying, and other than some small red marks, he was unharmed.  Then the principal called me and we talked about this other kid, who, from time to time, according to Sully, has picked on him in various ways.  But things are escalating, and I want to know how they plan to protect my child from this child.  There's something profoundly disturbing about a five year old trying to choke another five year old!  Of course the principal couldn't give me much information about this other kid, but I already knew who it was.  They will continue to monitor things, pull him out of the class when necessary & keep a close eye on him - basically do what they can to keep the kids safe.  Sully seems to be mostly unbothered by it - he lets most things roll off his back.  I just don't want him to think this kind of thing is normal, and I don't want him to just let it happen, ya know?  He sure doesn't let his older brother get by with anything, but that's his brother - it's different in his mind.  I still can't get over a kindergartener trying to throttle a classmate.  Wow...

Happy Birthday Mom

Today my mom would have been 70.  It's just been 9 months since she passed, and everybody says the first year is the hardest - all those holidays & other milestones. The next three months are going to be hard. 

I could talk about how much I miss her, and how so many things are just not the same now, but I'm not. She wouldn't want me to concentrate on what I don't have :)

So, instead, I'll tell you a funny story that my friend Kathyfrances reminded me of this week with a post of hers about a bat, hee hee.

I don't remember how old I was, but the time of year was either late Fall or early Spring.  We were visiting my aunt (her only blood sister she knew) & uncle in St. Louis, Missouri, and the weather was damp & cool.  We would go for walks around their neighborhood in the mornings and late afternoons and it was misty and gray outside many times.  I remember large hedges and big black Gothic gates barring the view of the houses behind them and a little Beagle that would walk a long with us sometimes...

One misty afternoon we were walking past a tall hedgerow and I remember there were two or three trees next to the hedge.  My mom spotted what looked like some kind of molded fruit hanging on one of the trees.  It was all dark and fuzzy looking, and slightly shriveled up.  She reached out to get a better look at it and as soon as she touched it, there was a squeak and a sudden flapping and the moldy fruit flew up and away while my mom, my aunt, and myself all squealed and jumped around flapping our arms and danced like we were standing on hot coals...and then we ran, lmbo.  We ran about a block with the neighbor's little Beagle chasing behind us and about passed out from laughing so hard.  The last time we were all together, we got to laughing about that bat.  The funniest thing about it, was that bat was just as frightened as we were, lol.

Love you, Mom  :)  Happy Birthday

Too Busy To Think

Have you ever had that happen?  You are just too busy to think about what you're doing, so you just operate on auto pilot?  It reminds me of a Sponge Bob episode where he clears everything out of his mind but 'fine dining' and he is the perfect waiter.  Then he gets asked what his name is and he has a melt down, lol.  That's how I'm feeling:  vacuum - check; clean the bathroom - check; laundry - check; supper - check; paperwork, answer the phone, run pc scans, find everything under the sun because nobody knows where anything is at home and at work..."Mom, the dogs got out and are running amok in the neighborhood..."  HUH??  I completely blanked for a full minute...then I went out and chased them down.  I discovered I am in horrible shape - completely winded and gasping for air - what a pretty picture, lol. Of course, I'm still coughing a bit, so running around in 47 degree weather just throws that into overdrive. Lucy (Lab) is to blame for the whole thing - she always wants to run out in the field, and so she made a mad dash for it and Ruby Sue (Basset Hound) followed.  I can normally get Lucy back with very little trouble, but because Ruby Sue was out, they both just turned their ears off and were two dogs behaving very badly.  Every time I would almost have Ruby Sue, Lucy would buzz by her & then she was off again.  Ruby Sue is built pretty low to the ground so she's tough to grab and awkward to haul back home by the collar - you walk like Igor in Young Frankenstein; all hunched over - not fun!  And of course once she is caught she lets out  a big holler like she's being beat *rolls eyes* she won't be, but she sure wants everyone to think so, lol.  And the whole time this is going on, the other two dogs in the back yard are running and jumping and barking their fool heads off because they're missing out on all the fun.  The biggest thing that saved me was that because Ruby Sue has an excellent nose, she was distracted by absolutely everything she got a whiff of and would stop to check it out, lol.

That happened yesterday afternoon - Sunday.  Saturday I got the bathroom all spiffy clean, and cleared off the kitchen table - Bobby's biggest pet peeve, lol - and got the kitchen all cleaned up, plus helped the boys in their room.  I still didn't get my catch-all room - I mean computer room, hee hee, cleaned out, but I'm procrastinating on that, and so far it's coming along nicely, lol. 

Every time somebody comes over unexpectedly and I have to pick up in a hurry, well, it all goes in there.  Some people throw stuff in their oven, or under the bed or in a closet, but the computer room works better for us, lol. I'll probably get it done next Saturday - we'll see...

Mental Images

Miss me??  I have been sick - yet again.  According to the doctor, it's one unending, simmering-under-the-surface sinus infection.  You think you're over it because you feel better, but you really never got over it and you never really felt good - just better than horribly sick.  He gave me some meds and I am now feeling better - an antibiotic and a cortisone pill pack taken over 6 days.  The worst part has been the fatigue - yikes!  The two days I stayed home from work I couldn't do anything, and every day when I got home from work, all I could do was pass out on the couch.  My poor little mother hen Tucker kept checking my forehead & asking me if I was ok, lol.

Not too much has happened this last week or so...at least that I am aware of, hee hee.  Actually, Wednesday was a horrible day all the way around, not only was I sick, but after a long night of no sleep & coughing, and getting up with dogs and sleep walking children, I got up about 4:30 am to discover I had an early 'monthly visitor' and not a thing in the house to do about it.  I usually have some stashed in purses - but nothing!  I had to double up panti liners and hope for the best until I could get to WalMart.

Wal Mart is a different experience here - and I'm sure it's the same for all small towns where everybody knows everybody.  There's no such thing as anonymity.  You have to be prepared to see at least 10 people you know at any given moment at WalMart or the grocery store. They look in your cart & have instant access into your life.

For those of you who live in larger cities and urban areas, picture this:  It's a beautiful Saturday and you can't wait to get out in your yard and do whatever it is you like to do out there; garden, landscape - whatever.  But, before you can, you have to go run to WalMart & grab a few things. You want to get in, get it done, get out so you can get on with your glorious Saturday.  You've been in the store 10 minutes and have already run into 4 people you know - precious time spent there not being rude and talking about the weather to each one.  You're ready to check out - have everything you came for and there's only two cashiers working.  So you pick the fastest line and realize that the person in front of you is your neighbor across the street, the cashier is the teen driver your husband arrested last month for dui, and the guy that just got in line behind you is your go-to guy at the bank.  Now, they know what specific brand and size of pads/tampons you use, and that your hair color is not natural.  And you now know that your neighbor has a severe case of diarrhea judging by the Immodium, Depends, and family size toilet paper package in their cart, and that your banker dude likes Rob Schneider movies and prefers skimpy animal print undies.  That's a mental image that will haunt you for years to come - and it will haunt you!  You'll be seeing him at the bank, ball games, church... it's unavoidable...

Now you understand...so I'm in line checking out with my little package and the gal at the register looks at my item and says "Caught by surprise, huh?  You should have planned ahead."  Oh really...

Owning Your Friends

Work has been busy this week - two funerals so far & a third tomorrow.
One thing that really stands out in the funeral home industry is family dynamics. Some families are divided into camps; this half won't have anything to do with that half, some are united against just one other member...sometimes it's it's justified & sometimes it's not. Ever heard of someone stealing memorial money from their own grandma's funeral by pretending to deliver it to the church it was intended for?? Yeah - it happens; take all the cash & deliver only the checks. Brilliant! Nobody will EVER figure it out! *rolls eyes*

One time, a long time ago, while half of the family was still at the hospital waiting on the funeral home, the other half was breaking into mama's house and taking whatever they could carry. I find it hard to believe that people like this only live here, but really now! The ratio of normal to wacko seems to be skewed somehow. There's just a really high concentration for such a small town.

There's a guy who walks around town talking to the houses. A while back, my cousin had a guy - probably 22 - come into her house and look through her cupboards until he found a bag of Oreo cookies then took the bag & went & sat down on her couch and ate them all. Then went into a rage because they were gone...his nick name is Cookie Monster. Apparently that's what he does when he gets loose from his guardians - steals cookies. There's a lady in town that walks around with a baby doll & compliments your car, your hair, your kids...super sweet. Unless she is pissed - then, she swears like a sailor and beats up cars. I'm wondering if the Culligan water filtration system we have installed is enough...maybe we should get bottled water....lol

I have a group of friends who are all playing that Friends For Sale game on Facebook. Kind of a weird premise for a game...
They keep buying me from each other and I'm not even playing, lol. But, (shhhh!!!) I've crossed over, hehe. I'm just now looking things over, so I haven't figured it out yet. Looks a little more complicated than Farm Ville, lol! Looking at my stats though, I'm pretty popular, hehe. I've been bought at least 8 times today, lol. Not bad for not even playing the game, lmbo!

Fabulous & Super Exciting

I watched Disturbia this weekend and it seriously freaked me out! OMGosh! It was very good - very freaky, though. Had me at the edge of my seat, that's for sure! That whole thing with his friend in the closet was awful! I would have beat the snot out of him for that, LOL!

Tucker is sick again - fever, cough, sniffly nose - chest congestion is pretty heavy. Ugh! He stayed home from school today & church yesterday. Fever seems to be gone now - still congested cough, though. I think he'll be ok to go to school tomorrow.

Bobby went on his motorcycle trip Saturday & had a good time. I didn't get everything done I wanted to, but I did go to Wal Mart to get 3 little Coradory or Corydora fish, lmbo. Don't remember the exact name of them, but they are like little catfish and they help keep the tank clean :)

So that was my weekend, hehe! Fabulous & super exciting, right?? lol

Premier Week

Wow! What a week! All my fave shows season premiers were on this week, plus that new show Flash Forward. I am still highly upset that Life (NBC) and Eleventh Hour (CBS) didn't get renewed, but at least The Mentalist is back :)

Two things I noticed about all the CSI premiers were a; those Matrix-ish slow mo 3D effects, and b; they started off with the end events first and worked backwards. NCIS didn't have the 3D slow mo effects, but it did do the beginning just slightly before the end thing. I'm not complaining - they were all very good and I'm totally happy to have them back on :)

Tomorrow is Friday and I'm SO ready! I am seriously going to work on my computer room this weekend! It's become a catch-all. And not just my stuff, either! Although my wonderful, darling husband claims that he is not the piler in this family, he most certainly does his share of it. I have the boys' old changing table in there and use it for a place to hold my craft stuff. Currently it is completely hidden by gunbelts, jackets, and other crime fighting equipment. So, while he is away on his motorcycle trip with the guys Saturday, I will be re-piling his stuff elsewhere.
You know I love you, Baby...mmmuah!

The Non-post Post

Yikes! Monday already?? When did that happen? lol
Saturday the boys cleaned their room in record time and did a remarkably good job! They played outside the rest of the day and only came in when Bobby got home from work. Yay! I got some stuff done!

Watched an awesome movie after everybody was in bed - Knowing, with Nicolas Cage. Excellent movie!! Gonna watch it again on Wednesday night when Bobby can stay up and watch it with me.

Sunday evening we fixed catfish, cornbread, sweet corn, and coleslaw, with ice cream for dessert! It came out really good and the best part? Bobby's mom couldn't find anything to complain about :)

Tonight CSI Miami's season premier is on, so I'm outta here. Yeah, it's recording - aren't dvr's awesome??

This really isn't much of a post is it??

Playing Hooky

I played hooky yesterday hehe! Bobby came by on the bike around noon and whisked me away for an afternoon ride! It was great to spend the afternoon together just us :) We rode all over the county - stopped a couple of times so I could get the feeling back in my butt, lol. It's a lot better though since we got the Mustang seat. The old seat had my backside sore in about 20 minutes, lol. Now we just need a sissy bar on the back!! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me - again. Although, I didn't know I would need it when I went to work that morning.

Today was uneventful at work - things are really slow & we need some business! On the other hand, this slow period has allowed me to get caught up on everything. So, my project for next week is to re-vamp the website. Complete new look, colors, layout - everything! After that? I guess I'll be cleaning and re-organizing, lol.

Tonight we watched Young Frankenstein - what an awesome movie! Such a great cast, and some really good lines. "Put ze candle back!" lol, and then there's the gag with the horses going berserk when they hear 'Frau Blucher'. The myth is that blucher is German for glue, but actually it isn't. The gag is more about old horror movies using lightning and organ music to identify the villain when he appears on camera. And of course, using it often just makes it funnier.

Tomorrow is Saturday, so we'll be cleaning around here in the morning. Hopefully I can get my boys in gear and we can be done before noon, hahaha!

Mystery Solved

I had the strangest night last night. Bobby had to do a night shoot, so he didn't get home from the range until about 11:30. He forgot to bring his keys, so I stayed up (no biggie there, lol). While waiting I had to listen to a cat outside crying to get in. Not my cat. Apparently, some people that rented one half of the duplex on the street behind us decided to leave their cat behind when they moved. The boys have befriended her, and yesterday she followed them home. She hung around outside and periodically would sit right outside the french doors to the deck and meow. I guess she was hanging around most of the night, because the dogs were barking a lot.

Once I got in bed, I was just falling asleep and I heard this tinkling ring - like that magic wand sound they use in movies or cartoons. I got back up and checked the cell phones, the computer, and the laptop - nothing. Went back to bed, and got comfy, and heard it again! So, I got up and checked in the boys room because Sunday Sully had been playing with one of those leap pads, and I thought maybe it wasn't shut off properly. Nothing. Went back to bed and five minutes later it did it again! By this time I have woken Bobby up and he's wanting to know what's wrong...then a couple of minutes later it happens again and this time Bobby hears it. Aha! Now I'm no longer imagining things, lol!
Finally fell asleep, but every time one or both of us woke up, we would hear that sound!

So, when I got up this morning I started looking again and found it! Yaaayyy!!! It was an old Kyocera cell phone that I used to have that I had charged and turned on so I could record a couple of ringtones off of it. I had forgotten to turn it off, lmbo, and even though this phone has not had service to it in probably 3 years, I had a new message, LOL, and it was notifying me!

Glad that mystery got solved. Now if I can only figure out why my background on this blog layout won't stretch to fill up the wide screen. My other blog is fine, but when I changed this one, on my laptop I have white bars going down the side...  Strange......

Happy Monday

How was your weekend? Mine was ....quiet. A little boring, actually, but in a good way, lol.
There was a tag sale at EFR on Saturday, so that was fun. Did a little farming, lol. Most of Saturday, it was just Sully & I - Bobby took Tucker with him to help Chris weld fencing for an arena. So, we played catch, & Super Smash Bros. on the Wii, and we watched Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Mummy, and had peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and popcorn.

Sunday was church, Bobby mowed & then had a deacon's meeting, and we had dinner at his parents' house. Afterwards, we came home & got the boys in the shower and watched a movie; The Holiday. My pick, of course, because I knew Bobby would be asleep in five anyway, lol. And he was! Not a lot happened in between all that - just the usual; laundry, dishes, etc.

So, Happy Monday! It was not a bad Monday, as far as Mondays go. It was actually a pretty fair day. Got a lot of paperwork done - always a plus - and very few interruptions - again; always a plus :)

Well, now that it is almost Tuesday, I think I'd better call it a day & get my beauty sleep - all 5 hours of it, lmbo!!

Move Over Ken

Did you notice? I changed my layout - again. I know, I know...but it's so much fun! And isn't this such a cute kit?? I'll be changing it again as we get closer to October, hehe.

I love Fall! The colors, the woody, earthy scents on crisp air. I love the smell of woodsmoke and cinnamon candles. And, my favorite shows finally stop showing re-runs. Ahhh...Fall is bliss, lol!

Soon, it will be cool enough in the evenings to light a fire in the fireplace! Yay!!! We have a nice insert with a heavy glass door that serves to heat our house pretty well, so even though I love the smell of woodsmoke, I like the fact that my clothes and hair don't smell, hehehe!

Ok, it's Sully-Time: this evening after seeing a Barbie commercial on TV, Sully comes into the kitchen & asks me if he can have some Barbie's for his GI Joe's ... huh?? ... I'm almost afraid to ask, lol, but I am compelled. His answer: "I want them for wives for my army men." Should I be concerned?? LOL

Kidz LIFE

Boy, short week! Tomorrow is Thursday already! I like a short week, hehe :)

Tonight was Kidz LIFE at church. I help with computer-related things: attendance, registration, database. Tonight I made name badges! It's a good program and it gives kids a good foundation to build a relationship with God. They are taught about love for others, helping people, obeying God's laws - the same kinds of things as in Sunday School, I guess, but they are also learning the practical aspects of it. They have different projects that minister to others which they do through the course of the year. And, they do fun things like camp outs and pool parties and movie nights, too. Boys and girls are separated and have their own classes and programs. This year has seen a change in the format, and it seems to be working out better as far as organization and less bouncy-ness in the kids, lol.

Got a big day of paperwork tomorrow at work, so I better check on my Farm Town crops and then turn in, hehe. Also, I really don't have much else to report, lol.

Labor??

How was your Labor Day? Did you do any labor?? Were you in labor?? I actually did do some labor - ran two loads of dishes through the dishwasher, 3 loads of laundry, vacuumed, and dusted.

Dusting is something I do quite a lot of. Here is where the name for this blog comes in. I know there must be other dusty states out there, but since I live in Kansas, that's where my focus is, hehe. I dust at least every other day, and that might seem excessive to some, but I can't stand to look at it, and it's everywhere, all the time! It has made me cut back on the number of knick-knack items I have out. And I'll tell you something else; unless you throw those swiffer things out after every use, they don't trap the dust! You can see it blowing around just as if you were using an old synthetic feather duster, moving the dust around so it can settle back down. I still use them, of course, because they work better than nothing, but yeah, I'm complaining, lol.

Bobby worked this weekend, so we didn't have any big plans. The boys spent a good part of Saturday cleaning their room - yes, again! And I tried to vacuum & dust, and the usual Saturday cleaning, but my boys get distracted and go wandering far off-task, so I pretty much have to stay on them. Then they went lizard hunting, and then used the old digital camera to make movies, lol. We watched a couple of movies and had popcorn in the evening - Cheaper By The Dozen, and Nacho Libre. Sunday after church, we fixed smoothies, and the boys did some more lizard hunting and played some games. When Bobby got home, we sent the boys down to his parents and we went for a ride. It was a little cool because of the clouds, but not bad.

Not an eventful weekend, but that's ok. I don't need to be busy with things to do all the time. I like down time - alot! hehe In fact, I get kinda cranky when I have too much going on, too many places to be.

Ok, before I got to bed, I gotta tell about something funny Sully said. Remember the whole shots thing? He knows we will all be getting flu shots sometime, so it's been on his mind alot. Ok, well we're driving home and we passed by the health dept. where he got his shots. And of course whenever we do, he makes a comment. This time: "Mommy, when will the flu be here?" I started laughing and asked him why he wanted to know; "Well, if I'm gonna have to get a shot, I wanna know when it's coming".... lmbo

Rain Rain Go Away

It has rained almost non-stop since last night! Ugh! Today it was so dark that we had the outside halo lights on all day long.

Last September I switched our cell service to Alltel. The phone I picked out was a Razr - the blue one - v3a is the model. For about 8 months no problems - then it starts to systematically crash. First it was I couldn't get any service when it was raining, and it progressed to shutting itself off randomly. To make a really long story short, I've been through 4 replacements and I found out yesterday that I could go to the retail store and get a completely different phone, comparable in full retail price to my Razr. The catch? I had to get there before 7 pm - closing time - because yesterday was my 1 year mark and after that, I would be stuck with a lemon. The nearest retail store is 30 minutes away in Missouri. Our local store is only an authorized agent - they can't do equipment exchanges.

So, we had a mad dash to the store - Bobby was not happy! He had supper started and it had to sit until we got back home. The spaghetti was a little mushy, lol, but the sauce was great :)
I wanted the Ve20, but that would have been an extra $40, that I didn't have (which they neglected to tell me on the phone before I got there) so I got the Moto Ve465. It's not bad - kinda manly-looking, lol, but oh well. I transferred all my ringtones over and found out that I still couldn't use them as ringers *sigh* So, I looked up ways to hack it and tried it, but wasn't working & it was getting late (it's why no blog post, hehehe) so I gave up. Today, I did some more searching and found out something new. And it worked! All I had to do was send the tone from the sounds file to myself in a text message and when I saved it, it went into my ringers file. Yay! No hacking involved!! Now I can have my Kim Possible Beeper ring tone back ;)

Stealth Tomato

Wow - I'm finally feeling a better! Not 100%, but better :) My boys have been little mother hens; asking me how I'm feeling, do I need to go to the doctor, do I have a fever...lol, they can run amok at times and behave like little heathens occasionally, just like all kids, but they are good boys :)

This morning, Sully, at 6:45, asks me if it's time to go to school yet, and in the same breath; "...and when will it be sunny?" We drive them to school when it's raining, lol. He has made HUGE strides in the last 2 weeks and I'm so proud of him. He is really coming out of his shell and participating, and losing some of his shyness. He really enjoys school and is so excited every day that he gets to go, lol! He loves riding the bus, and he talks non-stop about his bus driver, his teachers, his friends, and he can't wait to show me all of his papers he brings home every day.

Bobby brought home a bag of tomatoes last night. Actually two bags - very full. This has been a bad year for tomatoes for us. The ones we planted are just not thriving, no matter what we do, and I'm hearing the same complaint from some other people. The one thing we have in common is that we all bought our plants from Wal Mart. Bad batch of plants, I guess.

Typically, there are so many tomatoes, you don't know what to do with them all. And everyone has them, so you can't give them away. That's when you resort to blessing others anonymously and leave them in bags on the doorsteps of your friends and neighbors in the dead of night, only to come home and find that you aren't the only one out blessing others with free tomatoes. There sit two bags of the wretched things by your door.

By the time planting season rolls around, you have been dreaming of homegrown tomatoes every night since January, and are so 'real' tomato deprived, that you go out and buy 20 plants. Then, by August and September the tomatoes have taken over. They are everywhere - every available flat surface is covered and it appears that they are multiplying. Now, the dreams have taken a dark turn and you are dreaming about tomato vines wrapping you up and dragging you from your bed down to the kitchen, where a giant tomato sits in the chair and tells you to stop eating tomatoes and eat more corn...

Anyway, I have two bags of tomatoes I have to figure out what to do with. I think I'll use one bag to make salsa, and maybe make sauce out of the other one. Anyone have a good, easy salsa recipe??

Sick and Tired

I'm sick and tired...literally. I've got a cold or sinus infection or something and my butt is getting kicked - again! My dad has been sick too. I was afraid it was swine flu because of the fever he had, but the doctor said he had a severe sinus infection. He gave him a steroid shot and put him on an antibiotic. I considered taking him to the ER afterwards, because he was so weak & out of it, but by the time I checked on him again at 5:00 he was doing MUCH better. That is the power of prayer. I had my church praying and my online family praying, and the Lord heard.

So, since Wednesday I have been working and taking care of Dad, and coming down with this current crud - I'm worn out. Zero energy...

Today I had but one small project I wanted to complete and that was to clear the school papers, junk mail, and Lego pieces off of the kitchen table. I did accomplish that chore, then I finished loading the dishwasher, turned it on, and promptly collapsed in my chair. That little bit of work completely wiped me out.

We watched a movie and I think I slept through parts of it, so I'll have to watch it again. The movie was the last Mummy movie - right now I can't even remember it's name, lol. It's the one that has Jet Li in it and is missing Rachel Weisz and Oded Fehr. It was pretty good, what I remember seeing of it, but you could feel the loss of Rachel & Oded. I hate it when they make sequels and change a main player - it's just not the same.

All this typing has exhausted me...I'm going to bed, LOL

The Power of Chocolate

At work, Gary has a closet where he keeps his overcoats, coveralls, boots - stuff like that. On the shelf, up top, is where he keeps other stuff, like allergy medicine, bandaids, candy, granola. Gary has worked for the funeral home for over 20 years, and all that time he has used that closet, he's never had anything happen in there...until now.

I came into work to find him dragging stuff out of the closet and all but cussing. A mouse had gotten into the closet and chewed up M&M's, Bare Naked Granola (the pomegranate one!) pencils, Claritin Gelcaps! There was stuff underneath some magazines that didn't get chewed on, or urinated/defecated on and some of it was being wiped off with Clorox Wipes. Until He got to a Ghiradelli Raspberry & Dark Chocolate bar and sighed...'Man! This hasn't even been opened!" then tossed it in the 'throwing out pile'. Me: "Gary - you're seriously going to throw this away? It hasn't even been touched! It was underneath those magazines and box of tissues inside a grocery bag, and never even came in contact with the mouse!" He told me he wouldn't be able to eat it because he would be thinking about mouse poop...seemed like a waste of fabulous dark chocolate to me! He asked me if I wanted it...

This is chocolate that is wrapped in foil, and enclosed in a box. It was completely protected by being between magazines underneath a box of tissues and a book and a few other things, and was inside a bag. The mouse never even touched the outside container...

Did I eat it? Don't be silly! Of course I did - it was perfect. :)

By the way, my mouse still hasn't been caught...

Details

Busy weekend! Busier than I thought it would be. Did some of my work I had planned for Saturday, but didn't get everything done. When Bobby got home, we went to WalMart and picked up a few necessary things to get Jordan's (my oldest son who lives in Washington now) old aquarium up & running. It needed a new filter, we got two bags of rocks, a bubble curtain, an air pump, tubing, and All Clear. Oh, and fish, lol. We got two of those little Glow Fish - one yellow-orange & one reddish-pink, a couple of Mollies, and some Tetras. We tried to pick stuff that would all get along, lol. Went home & got that all set up & going, then went to Dad's & picked up a glass end table and lamp to replace the table between the two chairs in the family room that we used to put the aquarium on. So, the boys got fish, I got a new table and lamp, and Bobby got to do more furniture arranging - something for everyone, hehehe!

Sunday we had church, and Pastor's message was centered on Luke 21 - about things to come. this was in preparation for Jimmy Root coming to our church for a Prophecy and Current Events Conference. It was awesome! He has a book out called Distant Thunder, which is fiction, but based on scripture, similar to how the Left Behind series was. His book deals with where we are now, basically, and everything that will (and has to) happen before the trumpet sounds. I knew we were getting closer, but I didn't fully realize how just close we really are. It's amazing and fascinating to see God's word fulfilled with our own eyes, in the here & now!

So, that was my weekend, minus all the little details of daily life that happen and I don't even notice them...isn't that kind of sad? Shouldn't we be aware of every moment? Even if you don't believe in Life after death, (and especially so, I think) life is much too short and precious to NOT take notice of the details. If you lived every day like it may be your last - fully appreciating what a miracle each breath you take truly is, what would be your loss? What would you gain? We are hand crafted by God, with life breathed into us by Him. We are not random! We are not the result of some cosmic accident or sludgy goo in a pond! We were created! We didn't just 'happen'! God took special care in creating us, with millions of minute details, and I don't want to take that for granted and risk missing something small and totally amazing. Kids see everything as wondrous and full of potential, and they don't miss much, do they?? hehehe So, I want to keep that quality in myself and embrace it! Everyone should run out right now and grab a double dip icecream cone and a magnifying glass and thoroughly examine the nearest rosebush or flower garden, LOL!

Sorry if this sounded preachy, lol - didn't intend that! I just don't want to get so caught up in 'life', that I miss the important things. Details are important. So many people find themselves living with regret - thinking back on how much they missed because they were too busy, or didn't have time. Who would willingly choose that? Nobody would. But it sneaks up on you, and then one day you find yourself living it up in Regretville and don't even know how you got there.

Hmmm...I guess I know what I'm going to entitle this post :)

Yippee!

Yippee! It's Friday :)
I have a couple of cleaning/organizing/arranging projects for tomorrow, but other than that, no big plans. I need to clear off the clutter on my dresser, and my computer desk, and the usual things I do every Saturday; dust, vacuum, and clean the bathroom. Bobby works this weekend, so I pretty much have the day to myself.

Right now, I'm watching Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl. I love them all, but the first one is my favorite. Some chocolate would go really good right now with my movie...*sigh* I guess I'll have some grapes instead...hehehe

Work has been a little slow, so I'm catching up on some records and such, while the guys have been painting. I spent most of the day smelling paint and listening to traffic outside since the doors were open.

Traffic, lol. Traffic for us in this town is obviously not what it is in larger cities, but what makes it really different from other places is that we have brick streets. It has quite a distinctive sound - and feel. Some of them are in need of repair and are quite bumpy. Some people want them paved over, but the powers that be want to keep them because they're considered to be something that visitors want to see. Yeah, I suppose...I myself do like the brick streets. I just feel that they should be kept up a little better in the non-visitor areas, too. I forget how many miles of brick there is - I'm thinking it's something like 34 miles. I'd have to check to be certain on that number though. But there's more under the surface of most of the paved streets in town. Don't know what that would be if you counted them as well.

Bobby shut my laptop on me tonight in the middle of plowing a friend's field. "I'm plowing, here!!"... I was a little ticked until I knew what it was about. He kidnapped me and we went on a motorcycle ride - WooHoo! I wasn't so irritated then, hehehe

Furniture Movers

So what do you think?? Looks better, yeah? lol It was bugging me, so I had to re-do it.

Sully is really enjoying school. He proudly showed me each of his papers he brought home today and just glowed as I made over them. I was a little concerned about him because he is so attached to Tucker, but he seems to be doing really well. I'm anxious for Back To School night so I can get an update from his teacher.

Bobby was off today and so he puttered around the house & did some stuff. Not the stuff I would like to see him do, of course, hehehe, but that's how it goes. When I got home he had supper ready and he had re-arranged the living room. He has this thing about re-arranging our furniture - he gets it from his mom, although not as bad. But, that could be because he knows it drives me crazy how often his mom does it. She does it as often as twice a month. I'm sorry, my furniture is just too big do that with, and, I flat wouldn't allow it, even if it was easy to move around willy-nilly.

He really is a great guy, and he does a lot around the house. He fixes supper a lot since he gets home before I do and is home more. He helps with the dishes, and house cleaning, as well as the usual 'guy' things like mowing and anything involving power tools, hehehe. However, when it comes to the computers or anything else electronic in the house, that is my field. I also fix toys and rig forts out of bedsheets, and play video games. I am McGyver at my house - my kids think I can fix anything with duct tape and elastic hairbands. And oddly enough, usually I can, lol. But sometimes it takes Gorilla Glue :)

Change is Good

I changed my layout, but I'm thinking it's too busy. Hmmm...I just might have to work on that tomorrow night. It's kind of hard to read, I think. Should I leave it and maybe just bold the font? Should I get rid of some of the stuff? Yeah... I'm definitely gonna have to re-work it. But I like the overall scheme, so I won't change the kit. Most of the layout is from Nicole Young's (credit and link at bottom of page) Vintage Coffee House kit, but a couple of the elements are from her other kits that I though would kind of go with what I was doing. It's a great kit! Actually it's a mini kit - one of her freebies.

I posted a fresh template today over on my design blog (link to that is somewhere on this page to the right, hehehe) I've been so busy farming I neglected my PSP :( Not good! If it's in you to be creative (and I think everyone is in their own way - hey! making a bed really well can be a work of art!) you shouldn't ignore it - you should embrace it and let it flow from you. My philosophical thought for the day - or whatever, lol.

Today we had a bit of a dilemma. Tucker came home with a book from the school library that was 4th grade reading level. When I saw it I about flipped because I just knew Bobby would have kittens over it. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He said he tried to get a Hardy Boys book, but the librarian said she didn't think it would be appropriate...?? Whatever...

Bobby shocked me because he is totally against Harry Potter, and I fully expected a tirade. It didn't happen and that's what shocked me. At least it wasn't "VooDoo and You - A How To Book" hehehe

I have read the books, so I know what's there. To me, this is like the whole Twilight thing. In my opinion, the biggest problem is not that the author is trying to make Vampires good, but the intense, INTENSE relationship between Edward and Bella. Much too intense for a 17 year old girl. I saw the film, but haven't read the books, so I'm going off of the movie alone. Although she put the brakes on in a rather steamy scene in her room and nothing happened, I just felt like it sent a much too mature message to our young girls. I thought it was a good movie, but then I have always been a fan of the old monster movies. The original Dracula with Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney as the Wolfman...lot's of fun!

How did I get on this subject?? LOL Oh yeah...Harry Potter.

Battle Scars

As a parent you sometimes have to do things, or allow things to happen for the good of your child, that you dread as much if not more than they do. I consider immunizations to be one of those things. I know a lot of people think they cause more harm than good, but I believe in them. I don't know what the science is regarding adverse reactions and possible contributors to Autism and all that, so I'm not even going there.

Sully needed to have his boosters for school and we didn't get them done before because one, he was on an antibiotic for a sinus infection, and two, because we flat were putting it off, lol.

When I was Sully's age I got pneumonia and had to get penicillin shots in my legs, and later I got Strep in my lymph glands and had to have more shots. Then there were the stitches when I practically cut my toe off, the time I fell in cactus and my mom had to pull all the little needles out one by one, and when I came home with a length of barbed wire around my ankle. I handle pain pretty well, and when it came to doctors, and needles, and such, I never screamed or threw fits or fought it. Probably because I trusted my mom. Or maybe that's just genes - my brother was the same way, and we were like her.

My two youngest are not like me or my mom or my brother. They are like their dad hehehe! He had to be tackled to get shots, or anything else that might possibly involve needles. My oldest son, Jordan is like me, though. He always took his medicine, never fought when it came to necessary medical treatments.

Today we went to the County Health Department to get his shots. Did that because I couldn't get into the doctor until the last week of August, and that just wouldn't work. Also, I didn't want to have to hog-tie him the next time he needed to go to the doctor, hehehe. I felt so bad! I tried to get him to hug me & not look at the needle, but it was like a train wreck - he had to look, lol! He had to have 3 shots, so we went through it 3 times, and omgosh! the yelling that went on! And not just him! Tucker was in with us and he was over in the chair in the corner rocking back & forth and praying, lol. He would have ran out of the room if he could have gotten around us, I think, lol! Once it was over with and we were leaving, you couldn't tell that only one of the boys got shots. They were both walking hunched over and shuffling and sniffling. When we got home, Sully saw Ronnie outside (our neighbor to the north and over one house) playing basketball with his grandson, so he runs over there and tells Ronnie he got shot! Three times! ....

Back To School

Today was the first day of school, and of course it was a chaotic morning. Sully didn't want to get out of bed (he's my sleeper, lol) while Tucker was up at the crack of dawn as usual. We couldn't find shoes, we didn't like our socks, didn't like the shirt...yada yada yada. I had to fight with the garage door to get it closed (a sporadic occurance that typically takes place when I'm in a hurry), fight to get the dogs inside....but - my hair came out good! Yay! lol

We finally got to school and went to Sully's class and from there Tucker went on to his class. There were several moms there, of course, and a few who were teary-eyed. One went past me and told me she wasn't ready for this. I looked around a little bit and even though she was the only one who had actually voiced her thoughts, I could see it unspoken on the other faces. We were all thinking it. Most of the kids were oblivious to it and already settling in. Mine was balking a little bit, but none of the kids were crying. In that class, anyway. As I left and came down the hall, I saw a small group of adults and a little girl in 1st grade crying...turns out she was upset because she didn't have the same teacher as last year, and her best friend from kindergarten was in a different class. That would have made me sad too!

The boys had a good day, with the exception that Sully didn't get the hamburger he ordered for lunch. Seems he thought it was like a restaurant and you could order what you wanted, so he was dismayed when they gave him Chilli Frito Pie instead. However, the ride home on the school bus made up for any disappointment over lunch, hehehe. He informed us that it was the only reason he agreed to go to school...uh-huh, lol...

Locks of Love

So I did it. I got my hair cut. Straight, it just touches my shoulders. She cut 12 inches off, so we donated it to Locks of Love. It was really great to be able to do something for someone else in that way. It's a wonderful program, and if you have the opportunity, you should do it. The minimum is 10 inches, and most places will give you your haircut free if you donate, I am told. Check it out ;)

It feels better and no more headaches or neck strain from the weight of it. It was very strange washing it this morning in the shower though, hehehe. My hair is pretty wavy and normally curls pretty easy when scrunched, but right now it's in shock, like it doesn't know what to do.

Big day tomorrow - School starts, and my baby starts Kindergarten. I have to remember to have the camera out & ready. First day of school is a big photo opp, lol.

I have been struggling with my desktop pc all day. It's trying to install updates and gets all the way to the 3rd of 3 stages and then stays at 0%. *sigh* I'm going to have to do some kind of stupid process of changing settings, turning things off or on, jump up, turn around, do the hokey-pokey....crud!!

Today was a busy day with church & trying to get ready for school, and now it's way too late, so I'm gonna get my laundry in the dryer & get myself to bed. I haven't even checked on my farm since this afternoon!! OMGosh!! hehehe

Open House

Wow - busy day! Open House for Tucker & Sully's school was last night and we got to see the classrooms and meet the teachers. Tucker's teacher is young and pretty, and cool! She has a hermit crab in her class and likes lizards, so she is extremely cool in Tucker's book, hee hee!

Sully's teacher is the same one that Tucker had for kindergarten - I actually called the school and requested her for Sully. The biggest reason is that at Kindergarten Round-up, she was the only one there that Sully responded to. Each table had a different kindergarten teacher and would go over different 'skills' and info. Nobody else could get him to do anything, lol, but he did everything for her, so she took him around to all the tables and did all the activites with him. He really liked her and since he's a shy kid and glued to Tucker, it was important to me that he had someone he felt a connection with. The other reason is that about a week later, this past May, when our street flooded, Mrs. H's car got stuck in the middle of our street and died on her. She came in our house and waited until the water was down enough and Bobby could drive her home. Sully talked her ear off and I think he showed her every toy and game the boys own, lol. So, he feels like he knows her pretty well, now, lmbo.

It's really hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that Sully is starting kindergarten and Tucker is in 4th grade. It just doesn't seem like they should be this old. Why does time seem to speed up as we get older? When you're a kid and you're told to wait just a week, it feels like forever! It seemed like it took for stinking ever for all the major highlights of the year to roll around; birthday, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, summer break, 4th of July. You LIVED for all those lesser holidays and presidents birthdays - 2 in February! That was back in the day, huh? Now we have Presidents Day and they don't even get it off! Life was a series of goals that made you feel the urgency of growing up, and doing it fast! Then you hit 25 and think "OMGosh! I'm halfway to 50 and I have nothing to look forward to but gray hair, weight gain and stretch marks! What happened??" Oh, and that bonus of varicose veins if that is in your genes! My mom always told me not to grow up so fast, and I didn't understand what she meant at the time. I do now, and I'm thankful I had the chance to tell my mom she was right.

One good thing, I'll be saving gas and time because I won't have to drive half way across town twice a day, five days a week. I'll most likely get to work on time every day (some of you who know me in real life are snickering right now - you know who you are!) and I'll probably have time for breakfast, too. In fact, I bet I could get my haircut now and have plenty of time to mess with it. I have been putting that off because right now I just dry my bangs and twist the rest of it up into a clip and it take like 5 minutes. The bad thing about this is that my hair is so long and heavy that it's getting hard to fit it all in the clip and it's giving me headaches, lol. Also, when I take it down at night, it's still wet. Ok, that's it. I've decided - I'm getting my hair cut, lol.

Surprise??

I used to have an application on my Facebook that was called Super Wall - it's now called Rock You Live. I haven't looked at it in for-ev-er! I noticed that I had a bunch of posts in there, so I thought I would go in & clear it all out and delete the application. It was mostly spam a bunch of the same posts over & over that made no sense. I think there were like 4 pages of junk in there, but on the second page I got a nasty surprise! There was porn staring at me!...I scrambled to shut down the page because, wouldn't you know, someone was coming! Wow! didn't expect to see that on Facebook! We aren't talking about a little T&A , or Adult Content - and I'm not going to graphically explain the image to give you a better idea, lol. I can say with relative certainty that if it was a scene in a movie, you'd have to buy it at a 'specialty' store.

When the coast was clear, I reported it as obscene, hastily deleted it and everything else in there, and then deleted the app. The person who sent it got deleted too, even though I'm fairly certain it was one of those hijacking events. It was someone who I know wouldn't send something like that to me, but not someone who I regularly communicate with anymore. You know the ones I mean - people you knew in school but weren't even friends with, lmbo. But, it has made me a little gun shy. LOL, I went through and deleted a bunch of people that were game requests and not real friends, and some I didn't even know who they were! You can still play the games, but you don't get status updates from them and they don't have access to your wall. If I deleted you and you are a real friend, I'm sorry, lol, just request again.

On a more fun note, my farm is getting HUGE!!! LOL I'm at a 20x20 farm, now, and ready to save for my little white house, after which, I will upgrade again and then settle down into shopping for all the cool little things I want to get. I want a large pond, I want a waterwheel, I want a windmill, I want a lake.....hehehe

School Supplies

Ok, I fail! I was too tired to post last night, so I'm doing it this morning. In my defense, I did school supply shopping last night at WalMart & didn't get back until 10 pm!

I don't know about anywhere else, but here, you get a list of things you need at registration, or you can pick it up at WalMart and the grocery stores & Walgreens. It's broken up into grades. Kindergarten didn't have to bring anything, thankfully. Pencils (no mechanical) pink eraser, colored pencils, glue, scissors, expandable folder, Clorox wipes, two boxes of tissues, 6 2-pocket folders, crayons, markers, watercolor paints, 2 wide lines spiral notebooks, 2 pkgs wide lined notebook paper. This is all for 4th grade. This year I got a good expandable ($10!!!) so it will last for next year. Last year's fell apart before the end of the school year. I also had to get 2 backpacks and some personal size Germ-X. Even though Sully didn't really need anything, I got him some colored pencils and some paper. So, all that for $50.

Now, Open House is Thursday the 13th. We'll go & meet the teacher, see the room & get a packet of info from him/her. This is a good time to bring in your supplies so you don't have to bring it all in the first day of school. Shamefully, lol, this is the first year I've had the supplies before Open House. Moving on.....lol....

In the past, this is also the time where the teacher hands you an additional list of items needed that are needed for that particular class. We heard a rumor that they cut the list down this year due to economic times, so maybe that won't happen this year. You pay $30 per head to enroll, then you have to buy supplies, but you also have to buy supplies that are communal, like the tissues and the wipes. So what happens if there are any left?? Shouldn't we get them back? I don't have the answers to those questions - I've never asked. But I'd be willing to bet that my husband, without much prodding, will ask it, lol.

In first grade, we had to buy 4 glue sticks. We bought the good ones, because the Roseart ones were crappy. Tucker's homework which involved pasting would come home in a ziplock (which we also bought) and inside was a crappy Roseart glue stick! I asked Tucker why he had that & not the ones we bought him and he said that the teacher had all the gluesticks and she put them in everyone's bag. So, I asked the teacher to use the ones we bought instead, and that it shouldn't be a problem as his name was on them. We were told to label everything, so those got labeled too, lol. End of problem :)

So, last night I went to WalMart with my list in hand and a plan of attack; all regular supplies first & hard stuff that would require more thought for last, ie; expandable, and backpacks. I got almost everything in the first 10 minutes, except there were no pink erasers and no paints. I even got an expandable quick & easy because there were only 3 left - pink, purple and green. That was a no-brainer, lol. I spent 15 minutes trying to find the erasers and the paint - nothing. There weren't any available Associates to ask for help, either. So, I went to look at backpacks. There were a few all over the store in about 10 different places. They were mostly girly - Hannah Montana & Tinkerbell, etc., with the exception of some that had skulls & stuff on them. But then those could be for girls too, I guess, lol. Wasn't a very good selection, but I wound up with two, with the thought that Tucker's messenger bag from last year was still in awesome shape & I might be bringing one back anyway.

Then I spotted an available worker and asked about the paints. She took me to the waaay other end of the store, where the Subway used to be, and showed me a whole room with school supplies. I should have remembered this from Easter. And Halloween. And Christmas! I did the same thing those times - couldn't find something holiday-specific and an associate would point me to this room. I'm telling everybody I know, so that next time, if I don't remember, someone can remind me, lmbo. Honestly, though, I never see that corner of WalMart because I don't go in at that end. Out of sight out of mind...

Super Slow-Mo

You ever have one of those days where everything seems to be in super slow-mo?? That was what my day was like - the day just draaaagged by. My computer was slow, Farm Town was (is!) slow, slow people driving today...lol

Bobby did a bunch of research on lizards today & has found the kind to get. It's called a Bearded Dragon and according to the Pet University website and Animal World website, it is the top choice for a pet lizard. They like attention, they are fun to interact with, as well as to observe, and relatively easy to care for. Sounds fun!

I'm really tired, so I 'm cutting this short, but I just wanted to say thank you for all the concerned emails about the 'bite' I had last week and for the sweet words of comfort for Tucker. I really appreciate it :) So, I'm re-setting the mouse trap - wish me luck with that, as I'm not good at it - and going to bed. Hugz all around :)

Total Drama Island Part II

I woke up to sobbing and the words "She's dead, Mommy!" Ahhh...the lizard didn't make it. I kind of figured this would happen, I just didn't think it would happen so soon.

Tucker's grief was about what you expect: hurt, anger, regret, blame. One thing I learned with my mother's death is that everyone experiences the various stages of grief differently but it's all normal. There is no set-in-stone way to get through it. So, as I helped Tucker deal with the loss of his pet, I was amazed again at how God uses us. I'm also thinking that these events were in part a lesson for Tucker. Thursday, one of the daycare boy's baby frog died and Tucker was less than compassionate because the two of them had been at war over the other's perceived bullying. Which is not like Tucker because he's a pretty sensitive kid, but this kids does really know how to push Tucker's buttons. So we talked about that, as well.

In the end, we don't know why she died, exactly, but more than likely because she was not a pet store lizard. She wasn't meant to be inside in an enclosure - however nice it is.

We had a funeral this morning before church and we planted some wildflower seeds nearby to mark her grave. Tucker didn't really feel up to staying for church - he was pretty emotional all morning - so we left after worship, but actually he was doing some better after playing with one of the other little kids in the back. Sully was, well, Sully...he went out to her grave and saluted it. He concerns me sometimes, LOL We went home after checking on the dog at Dad's and had some lunch, and by that time, he told me he was glad she was with Jesus, but he still missed her. Acceptance.

Bobby promised the boys that payday, he would go to the pet store & buy them both lizards. These should prove to be a little hardier. Bobby's first reaction to Tucker's grief was "Huh?? It's a lizard..." His compassion level needs some work, lol. So, we'll have two lizards next week, and double the drama, double the fun....oh boy!

Total Drama Island

Have you ever seen that cartoon on Cartoon Network? Total Drama Island? I don't watch it & my kids don't realy watch it, but today made me think of it. Well, the title anyway, lol.

We spent most of the morning straightening up around the house. I had a pile of sweaters from winter that needed to be put away,(did some farming, too hehehe) and the boys, of course had to clean up their disaster of a room. The incentives for doing an extra good job were a 'army man' for Sully & a container for Tucker's lizard.

Bobby came home with a bag of live crickets to feed the lizard - in between the cleaning & such, we also had bug hunts so little miss lizard could eat. We went to WalMart & came home with army men & a 10 gal aquarium and a vented lid for it. We put shavings in it, a couple of sticks for her to climb on, some smooth river rocks and a butter dish lid for water - she's still pretty little, so didn't want anything too deep. Put her in & she seemed happy. Ok, time to put in the crickets. The lady at the pet store said to just put them in & she would eat when she got hungry. Well, we put them in & for the most part they were bigger than her. A couple of them seemed to get aggressive and it did kind of look like they were trying to eat on her or something. Well, Tucker got upset & started crying that they were gonna eat her & she was gonna die. OMGosh! the drama!! LOL, that lasted for about 15-20 minutes.

I asked Bobby if we could pull the crickets out and put them into something else and just feed them to her when she needed one. That was fun - to watch anyway, hehehe. Bobby pulled them out and I would stick them into a plastic coffee can. We got to the last one and decided that this one we would leave in, but it needed to be de-headed. He turned to Tucker & told him to pull it's head off because it was his lizard & he would have to learn how to do it. Tucker wouldn't do it and then Sully says "I'll do it!" and he did! LMBO

Oh, and I haven't caught that mouse yet. He is apparently too smart for the trap, or maybe just not hungry. I just saw him run behind the tv. Well, time to go to bed. Now!

Summer Moon

OMGosh! the moon is gorgeous tonight! It's big and orangey-yellow with!a halo around it from the humidity, I suppose. I wish I had the right kind of camera and lens to get a good picture of it. I just took the dogs out for the last time tonight, and almost didn't want to come in - except that it's 82 degrees with 72 % humidity at 11 pm, so uh, yeah, I came back in.

I am sooo glad this week is over. Dad is in California - comes back Wednesday - and I am working his evening hours plus going by the house twice a day to take care of the dog. There's been drama at the daycare almost every day...I'm flat worn out. I didn't get out of work at 9 tonight because when I opened the garage to drive out there was a yellow Dodge truck parked in the driveway blocking me. Who parks in front of a garage door to a funeral home? I'll tell you - somebody who only cares that they are late for work and aren't going to drive around looking for a parking space. It was a girl who works as a bartender at the bar & grill behind & to the east of us. She knew better because the owners have told all their employees not to park there. They had to because some other idiots have done it - she isn't alone.

So, I'm ready for bed, except that I now have to hunt up a mouse trap, because I just had a mouse run across my foot. Luckily, I'm still wearing my shoes. As it is, I about dumped my laptop doing the 'eww' dance.
Ok, off to find a mousetrap & then to bed...

Locusts

The locusts we have here in Kansas aren't actually locusts,
but cicadas. And they are loud!
Here is a picture I found on the web of one coming out of it's shell. They leave these shells behind and they can be found on trees, in the dirt at the bottom of trees or in yards and gardens - everywhere, really.
And kids like to pick them up and scare you with them - fun.
.
And here is another picture of what they look like after they emerge from their shell. It's locust time here - they are out & making lots of noise. I like to hear them, actually. If I searched, I might be able to find a sound file of them.
The sounds all blend together - locusts, crickets, frogs - and if it wasn't so stinking hot that you had to run the AC, I would love to leave the windows open at night to listen while sleeping. But, you can kind of hear it all even with the windows closed and the AC going, so that tells you it's pretty loud, lol.

One time about 10 years ago, I guess, because we didn't have Tucker yet, we were out walking and I apparently kicked a locust. It landed directly underneath me and did it's warning rattle/buzz sound and I jumped and danced like I had something alive in my shorts, lmbo. My husband still teases me about that! He laughed so hard I thought he was gonna have a stoke.
Well, it was pretty funny :)

Farming

I knew I shouldn't have done it. I kept saying no. My friends kept inviting me, but still I resisted. They gave me all kinds of gifts....Then, today, I gave in - I now have a farm in Farm Town on Facebook. I know what will happen next - I'll become so involved in it that I'll have to drag my laptop around with me everywhere I go and I'll no doubt start having dreams about plowing, planting & harvesting. OMGosh! When will I have enough coins to start buying buildings & fences & paths?? It's gonna get ugly...Bobby won't be able to live with me...wait! Maybe I should get him hooked up with Facebook & and get him to farm too! Then, he'll be so obsessed with it too, that he won't care! Sounds like a plan to me! hehehe...

All kinds of exciting things happening today...ok, so really just two things, lol. One of Tucker's friend's gave him a baby lizard for his birthday. I didn't have the heart to tell him no, so we now have a lizard to take care of. She's a pretty little thing - all blue & purple. I have no idea if she really is a 'she' or not - Brian (Tucker's friend) says she is, so I guess so, lol. He has been a mother hen to her all evening - finding little bugs for her to eat, checking on her constantly. We wouldn't let him put her container in his bed, though. You gotta draw the line somewhere, hehehe.

Cruisin'

I'm going on a cruise!! Well, not a real cruise, hehehe - a virtual cruise over at Escape From Reality :) It's gonna be a lot of fun! August is vacation month, so we're just kind of taking things easy - no tag sales or auctions, just games & fun stuff. Anyone interested in joining the group should mention how you heard of the group and who sent you - we're all about keeping everyone safe & happy, and keeping spammers out. Oh, and the current banner - the one with the Mermaid and sparkly diamonds - I made it :) hehehe

Today was reasonably quiet at work, except that I didn't get anything done but genealogy all day long. I don't know why, but the genealogists run in packs. Weeks go by and all is quiet. Then suddenly and without warning they descend! They come with pages and pages of notes - organized by names, or not organized at all. Our records aren't categorized by names, but by years, and then by date in the order of death. Names are only for looking in the index, after you know the year. The seasoned veterans know that, and it makes the job easier. The newbies always assume it's alphabetical, like almost everything else. We have over a hundred years of death records, and only the last 6 years are computerized. Everything else is in very large books and binders. Some of the books are so old they are falling apart. We don't allow anyone else to handle them because they are so delicate.

I got a rather large request dropped onto my desk today and it is, of course, not organized in any way, shape, or form. There are 3 and a half pages - double columns! - of names...ugh! On a brighter note, Sully came home with a shoebox full of snails and snail shells... yay :|

Snakes, Sporks and Birthday Cake

My middle baby turned 9 today. He's getting to be so big! We just had a simple little party tonight - chocolate cake, chocolate chip icecream, and just us and Bobby's parents and my dad. Dad is leaving in the morning for California, and we wanted to celebrate before he left. In two weeks we'll have a party with the whole family & a cookout, homemade icecream, and a decorated cake, lol. Woohoo!

He had a pretty good day today. One of the boys at the daycare found a garden snake and so all the boys were wanting to hold it - ugh! This same little boy told Tucker that he & his dad were fishing in Joplin last week and saw a Black Momba in the water and they shot it...and my son believed it. I don't know if this kid's dad was messing with him and he believes it, or if he was messing with Tucker, but my kid swallowed it whole, lmbo! Ok, so if there are Black Mombas in Joplin, then are there Cobras in our backyard?? LMBO This is kind of like the 'Korean' fighter jet that got 'shot down' during camp last month. (there was an airshow at the base nearby & they had several vintage planes flying in the area) Kids are so funny!! Sully came running up to me with something in his hand - thankfully not a snake - and was so excited!! "Mommy! I found a spork!!" I'll have to remember that when I'm trying to decide what to put in his stocking this year for Christmas :)

Weekend's Over :(

The weekend sure went fast! We mostly worked around the house this weekend. Bobby worked on the storage shed attached to the carport out back & I worked on the family room & living room. Saturday morning Bobby went & picked up the motorcycle - it was having an o-ring replaced because the fill cap for the oil was leaking. We went for a ride in the afternoon & it was fabulous!! Perfect weather! Rode through the park & stopped for a little bit - I was surprised there weren't more people out on such a day. It was the same out at the lake. Our ride got cut a little short, though because Bobby started to get a migraine, so we had to go home, but it was still fun!

Watched some movies this weekend - nothing new, but still good. Pink Panther 2 - we'd only seen it once quite a while back, so it was like new, hehehe - another favorite of mine; 50 First Dates, and True Lies. True Lies was on TNT tonight, and since they ran it back to back, it's on again right now. That is one of my favorite Arnold movies, and Jamie Lee Curtis is sooo good in it, lol. And actually, Tom Arnold is great too. One of my favorite scenes is where he (Arnold) has just been given truth serum and Jamie Lee asks him if he's ever killed anybody and he says "Yes, but they were all bad." Men In black and MIBII were on Saturday night & so the boys watched, of course. They love those movies, lol, and I like them too.

I got bit by a spider or something last night on my upper thigh. At first I thought it was a mosquito bite because it itched, but by this afternoon it was hurting when I would try to scratch it, so I went & looked at it and it was red and swollen and had a little black dot in the center. I'm keeping an eye on it - so far it hasn't changed, which I'm taking as a good sign.

Tucker's birthday is tomorrow - 9 years old! Hard to believe... He's wanting a cell phone really bad, lol, but I told him he can't have one until he's 10. I may relent, though, and get him one for Christmas. It'll be a pay as you go kind, of course, LOL

Time On My Hands

All day at work I was feeling like time was just flying by - the day was going by so fast! LOL, I found out why... I have a a 4 year old XP computer at work. It has crashed 3 times and all three times I have been able to resurrect it with out too much lost. Lately when the power goes out and it doesn't get shut down properly, the date reverts back to January 1, 2005 and you have to adjust it or nothing will work properly. Even internet pages won't come up right because it tell you that something is wrong with the digital certificate. This morning I was having all kinds of trouble, and finally had a duh! moment and went in and adjusted the date. I glanced at the time and it looked ok, and then went about my business. At one point I looked at the clock on the display and thought 'Holy Cow!! Where's the day gone?? It's already 3:30!!' Then later I started shutting some things down because it was getting close to 5:00. At 5:08 I thought 'Ok, why is Dad so late??' My dad works here too - evening/weekend reception. We have someone here to answer the phones or the door until 9pm. So I look at the HUGE antique clock we have hanging on the wall across from my desk - it says 3:50 "Huh??" That's not real reliable because, well, if you were over a hundred years old and had to be wound up to keep going you might not be so reliable either! So it loses some time occasionally...so I look at my phone and that's when I realize I did not re-sync the time when I was setting the date this morning (thinking it was right) I have been an hour and 10 minutes ahead all day! Now, I feel like I have all kinds of time to do stuff, hehehe...