Mundane Ramblings

Hey, look!

2010-11-05T01:40:00.002-05:00

I actually remembered that I have a blog! Maybe I'll start using it again someday.

Aug 3 - 12

2009-08-12T20:34:00.023-05:00

August 3
This is what happens when you let Shona play in makeup. If the caveman look ever comes back in style, she's ready.

August 4
Mandy decided to take over the kitchen for a day. Everyone was so afraid they'd starve with the main cook of the house gone for a week. Hmph. It isn't that I can't cook, I just don't enjoy it. Microwaves are my friends.

August 5
A lovely view of my clogged sink. Three days, a plumber and $75 later...maybe I should have been the cook for the week. ;)

August 6
Typical. Katy shows off, Shona tries to copy. I don't think Katy realizes just how much her little sister looks up to her. Just a pest in teen world.

August 7
John spent a week in Dayton, Ohio for a Civil Air Patrol training camp. I confess my eyes glaze over when the words "Civil Air Patrol" are strung together in a sentence, so I know nothing of the trip other than that it was in his stomping grounds. He got to go to his favorite pizza joint in the world. Happy man.

August 8
Not as happy as when he got to go to Skyline, though. That is his favorite eatin' place in the entire world, bar none. Is it just me, though, or does it look as if he is being held up?

August 9
Silly kid moments. I do like those. Um, ignore my messy kitchen. I was dealing with a broken sink. No comment on the living room.

August 10
Probably the last bloom I'll get this season from my potted flowers.

August 11
My front flower bed. Doesn't it look marvelous? This is what happens when a three week grounding sentence gets commuted to hard labor. Time is nearly served. Another day and my rose bed will be equally lovely, as will the area around the gas tank. Maybe I should encourage the teens to break rules more often.

August 12
Pedey is such a wimp. He will climb onto the porch and bark at Bailey as if he were king of the land. Let her be on his level, though, and things change in a hurry.

July 31 - August 2

2009-08-03T13:44:00.007-05:00

July 31
I drove two hours to my hometown and spent the afternoon with friends. While I was there, we dropped by the Windston Churchill Memorial so I could snap some photos.

I love the old Christopher Wren church (where Churchill gave his "Iron Curtain" speech) and the section of the Berlin Wall sitting in front of it. What a neat place, but I always forget to appreciate that it's right there in my own hometown.

August 1
Shona usually hates wearing jeans. It is a battle every year to buy school clothing for her because of this. This year, though, she tried on a dozen pair, picked out five and even liked them so much she wanted to wear a pair to "break them in" before school. I wasn't about to argue with her newfound love of jeans!

August 2
An old covered bridge in my home town. Up until about ten years ago, it was just another part of traffic in town. They finally closed the road off, refurbished the bridge and made it foot traffic only. It really is a lovely little place.

July 28 - 30

2009-07-30T20:19:00.014-05:00

July 28
It seems every time we have the slightest rain storm, we lose branches all over the yard. Some can be pretty big and fall into the street. One day I'm afraid one will crash through the roof.

July 29
Katy, modeling her new school jeans...that she just couldn't wait until school to wear.

July 30
Katy bought herself a car this week. It is a 1994 Chevy Camaro with a T-top. It only cost $550, but it runs well and Katy is in love with it. She is putting new tires on, it needs a new bumper and will eventually need a new paint job, but the look on her face pretty much says it all.

Pretty snazzy, eh?

The reason for the paint job: a replacement door that didn't quite match in color.

Ah, young love. You never forget your first car.

July 27

2009-07-27T12:57:00.002-05:00

July 27
A giant bust that sits in front of the municipal building downtown. I have no idea who the man is. If the historical society nearby were ever open on a day I could go in and investigate, I might find out. Still, it's an interesting thing to find.

Ice Age 3 was pretty darn funny. I had my doubts since it is the third installment, but we all got a laugh out of it. John was fine through the movie, then started feeling poorly again afterward. Today he is heading to the doctor.

Sunday

2009-07-26T13:21:00.002-05:00

July 26
Of course, when you read the first two, you must read the third. It was probably the most enjoyable for me. The plot and writing were both pretty good.

It is a lazy Sunday here. John is finally feeling better and we had a visit from my sister this morning. On a whim, she and her husband drove two hours to eat at a certain restaurant they enjoy. There was a two hour wait to be seated, and by the time they ate and left, it was too late to drive home without fear of falling asleep. They got a room for the night and had to buy toiletries. This morning, as they drove home, they stopped in to visit for a few minutes but had to leave because they hadn't even grabbed medication before they left. I told her she was getting too old for this whim stuff...planning is better! :)

We are going to see Ice Age 3 today. Well, three of us are. Katy works tonight from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m., so she is resting.

Me again

2009-07-25T15:55:00.034-05:00

Why do I always think summer will be a time of relaxation, with oodles of down time for doing absolutely nothing? It never is. It's always filled with things I've been putting off during the school year and the madness of preparing for the next school year. But enough of my whining and on with the 365 project. I had to take some fillers because life has been crazy. See above paragraph.

June 30
My little rebel.

July 1
It's not a princess tower, but a window will do.

Aaaaaand skipping ahead to July 11
The railroad tracks run straight through town here. We can hear trains from our house, although not loudly enough to disrupt anything we might be doing. Downtown traffic is often stopped due to passing trains. It's fun to watch, unless you're in a hurry.

July 12
My roses are wilting and it isn't even dreadfully hot. Time to deadhead a few.

July 13
This interesting metal "sculpture" is outside the public works building in town. I always smile when I pass that thing.

July 14
Just a shot of one of the water towers in town.

July 15
I love the architecture of many downtown buildings. The post office is one of my favorites.

July 16
Suddenly, with no warning, Goodwill boxes popped up all over town. I like to have a place for used clothing because I am not up to a yard sale this year.

July 17
Our new neighbors across the street put up a street sign for their business.

July 18
We spent a couple of hours at the state park, and even let Shona fish. It's amazing how calm and relaxed she can be for several hours during fishing. She didn't catch anything, but she enjoyed the process.

July 19
Happy birthday to DH! We kept it low key at his request.

July 20
I picked up the book Twilight for a few bucks just to annoy Katy. All I've heard from her is a long whine about how stupid the series is, how lame the kids at school are who read it, and how she wishes it would just go away. So I decided to read it. The writing was pretty bad, but the plot was good. I'm not a fan of the whole vampire genre, but I managed to enjoy the book. It just about killed Katy that I did.

July 21
The Photo Pass CD arrived. Wahoo!!

July 22
It's school supply buying time again. Shona is just a little bit excited and I can't believe she will be in the 4th grade.

July 23
Katy's mismatched shoes strike again. This time with '80's style ripped pants to match.

July 24
Katy was so annoyed that I enjoyed Twilight, I decided to buy the next book in the series. I didn't enjoy the plot as much, but at least the writing improved.

July 25
They have been working on the road at the end of my street forever, or so it seems. Today they put up traffic lights. The things aren't working yet, but they are up. I am excited because I won't have to fight highway traffic or go the back way anymore!

Just wondering

2009-07-16T00:46:00.012-05:00

I am just not sure Shona was into meeting Tigger at the Disney park. What do you think? He was definitely the most fun of all the characters, playing and jumping with the kids. It takes someone very high energy to keep jumping constantly in 90* heat.

Nah, Shona didn't like him one bit.

These special edits were worth the price of the Disney photo CD. I'm glad I splurged on it, it was well worth the money.
Off to order more pics.

Indulge me

2009-07-14T17:14:00.038-05:00

Vacation was wonderful. It was tiring, but wonderful all the same. I didn't get around to taking pictures right before we left, so I'll just plug those in with something when I fill up the book. For now, here's a catch up/look at my wonderful vacation photos. I just had 269 printed to scrap, so this is just a few of my favorite ones...

June 28
The hard work was worth it with all that power washing and staining. The deck looks amazing!

June 29
Katy's hair grows so fast I am completely jealous. She straightened it, and Shona kept saying "ooooo, it's so silky!" I guess I'm not the only jealous one.

Skipping June 30 and July 1. Deal with it. :P

July 2
Day one of our summer vacation. We stopped in Mammoth Springs state park just across the Arkansas border. What a beautiful place.

July 3
All that driving was worth it. We made it to Florida!!

July 4
St. Augustine, FL. The girls got to dip their toes in the water and play on the beach for a few minutes before we headed out to play.

Downtown old St. Augustine, where the girls met a pirate.

We climbed the St. Augustine lighthouse...or at least most of us did. Shona wimped out, but that was just the start of her wimping out. Apparently, she has a lot of fears.

The old fort at St. Augstine, one of my favorite places. I hadn't been there in 25 years, so don't you think it was time?

July 5
Day one of Disney found us at Epcot. John was falling all over himself when he met Mary Poppins. It was almost embarrassing.

The big ball. Had to have a shot of that. It was the only ride Shona really enjoyed and asked to go on again.

What Shona did enjoy was meeting the characters. This Kim Possible team was one of her favorites. The Disney people get very enthusiastic applause from me. They were one of the best parts of the trip.

July 6
This was the day of meeting friends. This is me with my friend Julie, outside the McDonald's at Disney.

This is us close up so you can see how stunningly lovely Julie is and how....I am not.

And this is Meg with Shona. Two instant BFF's, at least for the day.

And this is Janet with me and Shona, waiting to get in to the Animal Kingdom park.

Oh yeah, we also went to the park. Our favorite of the three we visited. This is the best photo. :)

July 7
Know how to have fun on your birthday? Go to Disney, I don't care how old you are. You will feel five years old again. I loved every minute of it. Even little kids saw my button and told me happy birthday.

Hollywood Studios was a blast. I loved that place, although I am an old movie buff. :)

Mandy didn't appreciate the snow. I can't blame her. I have had enough of that to last a lifetime.

I did appreciate the girls' pictures. They acted sillier than Shona with the photo ops. :)

July 8
Disney World is NOT the happiest place on Earth. My beach in Pensacola is. Can't you tell?

I'm not the only one who took to the sea.

July 9
The next day, we were back for more fun in the sun. We also went to the Naval Air Museum and the lighthouse, but that's for another day.

This was the look on all our faces when it was time to leave the beach. I've created monsters. Sea monsters. My evil plan has worked. They want to go back to Pensacola next year for a graduation present. Go on, twist my arm.

July 10
This was the only picture we took during the long trip home. Never again will I do 720 miles in one day with two teens in the car. Talk about drama!

I'll catch the rest up later. That's all my fingers can handle for one day.

June is almost over!?

2009-06-28T22:09:00.018-05:00

June 19
One of Katy's favorite stuffed animals.

June 20
We took a quick day trip up to my hometown in order to drop off my dad's Father's Day gift. We also spent time with John's mother and went out to eat. Would you believe this shot is the only photo I took that day? What's wrong with me?

June 21
Katy's prankster Father's Day gift to John was a can of turle wax...for his head.

June 22
Shona's favorite travel pastime: playing on her Nintendo DS.

June 23
Katy has been home for days and just now got her suitcase unpacked. Then she placed it outside her door as if I am room service. Ha!

June 24
The first tomato from our topsy turvey tomato plant. It is definitely not a bland flavor!

June 25
Not a great shot (kind of fuzzy), but it's just so dang cute of the dogs looking at me. I couldn't resist.

June 26
Poor Shona came home looking like a lobster after a day at the pool with her class. Even sending along a bottle of sunscreen didn't prevent her from missing spots, namely her face. It got worse before it got better.

June 27
Goggles and a bathing suit must mean swimming, right? Nope, power washing the house and back deck. It took two mornings and evenings, working around the painful heat.

More June

2009-06-19T22:19:00.007-05:00

June 12
Keeping cool in a long summer dress.

June 13
My wall of old time photos. It's a family tradition to have them done, just not on a rigid time frame. When we get to it, we get to it. I have family photos done in this style going back 25 years. I have one that is a four generation photo, and another of my brother, sister and I taken right after my brother's motorcycle accident. He had a bandaged knee, so the photographer worked to make him look like a wounded Civil War veteran.

June 14
We dropped Katy off at summer engineering camp. She had a roommate and two other suitemates.

June 15
Another of Shona's clay creations. The page in the background is her artwork as well.

June 16
Sometimes it's just so hot you can only cool off with ice cream.

June 17
Not a photo, but a screen shot of current weather conditions on that date. It's too early in the summer to be this hot!

June 18
One of the original turbines in the Bagnell Dam. It was in place for 70 years before being replaced with a stainless steel one.

June is speeding by too fast

2009-06-11T21:11:00.005-05:00

June 8
The best part of the park for Shona is the ice cold water from the fountain. You would think she was a camel preparing for a haul across the Sahara the way she fills up.

June 9
How do two teens pass the time in a tiny bathroom during tornado sirens? Why, see if their text messages still go through, of course. The high winds, pea sized hail and intense rain didn't bother them, but getting down to one bar? Total freak out time.

June 10
Another sign of my ever advancing age: having to move to the gray coverage hair color. I'm just relieved I didn't need bifocals yet when I saw the eye doctor last week.

June 11
Shona and I painted our toenails tonight. She did mine, I did hers. Her foot is getting so big it's nearly as long as mine. I got a typical red finish, while she went for a funky silver and black pedicure.

June is busting out all over

2009-06-07T20:14:00.010-05:00

June 1
On one of our walks, Shona and I picked these beautiful wild flowers.

June 2
About a year ago, we were dining at a Thai restaurant when the owners took an interest in Shona. They folded a dollar into this little shirt. It's so cute I can't bring myself to unfold it and use it.

June 3
The new gazebo at a local park. It was built in honor of a teenager killed at the park a couple of years ago.

June 4
This poor tree. It's so stark and dead against the green landscape, but it makes for a lovely POTD.

June 5
A photo of my shadow, with umbrella. I wish my legs were as thin as my shadow's!

June 6
I love spring flowers!

June 7
Best part of helping mom bake brownies? Licking the batter from the beaters, of course!

The rest of May

2009-06-07T13:00:00.006-05:00

May 24
Katy showing off her funky, new glasses.

May 25
I was beginning to think Shona would not make it through memorizing her times tables. As intelligent as she is, she isn't the most motivated student in the world. I have to push her to finish things at times. I was so proud of her when she managed to squeak through in the nick of time, becoming a multiplication master.

May 26
Look! Tomatoes! That Topsy Turvey planter works great, I highly recommend them!

May 27
Shona was playing with the camera and captured this creepy shot.

May 28
This is why I don't let people into my scrap area when I'm working. I have a whole series of shots with this thing being used in a variety of ways. I must scrap it.

May 29
Now that it's summer, I am getting a lot more shots of Katy. She even tries to make sure I get my POTD every day. Case in point: check out the writing on the fingers. She was dressing up as an '80's Latina gangsta. I thought little kids were the ones into dress up. At least she didn't leave the house this way.

May 30
And this adorable picture is the type of photo I get when Katy takes off with my camera. :)

May 31
A Shona clay creation. It's hard to see, but the fangs are magnificent. :)

More May

2009-05-26T20:13:00.011-05:00

May 16
We've been making far too many trips here. That means we will need to replace a tire soon, and with the Great Tire Curse hanging over me, I'm afraid that will mean another vehicle out of commission.

May 17
The recycling bins we take our recycling to. We are trying to do our part to be a little greener.

May 18
As if tire issues aren't enough, Katy also lost the radiator cap to the truck. Luckily, that was an easy and inexpensive fix.

May 19
As if Katy needed ANOTHER pair of shoes. But these are "real walking" shoes, according to her. Hey, she bought them, not me.

May 20
And did I mention our push mower decided to die? Did I? It's been one frustrating year for mechanical things! This is the replacement.

May 21
The old, rotting doors to the back yard shed. They need to be replaced, but in the mean time they are an interesting item for a photo shoot.

May 22
My lovely Shona, showing off one of the roses from my bushes.

May 23
My gorgeous roses are blooming. These fireball hedge roses are so intense in color I find it difficult to get a detailed photo of the petals. They are absolutely beautiful in person, though.

More May

2009-05-18T20:01:00.007-05:00

See? I really am catching up here. I'm still hanging in this project!

May 9
Shona, John and I went to an air show in Branson. John was working there with the Civil Air Patrol, and Shona and I had to amuse ourselves. Her favorite part was the mini golf, if you couldn't tell.

May 10
The other favorite activity was the Hollywood Wax Museum, where Shona got carried away...by King Kong!

May 11
On the way home, we stopped at the newest rest stop along the highway. It's on historic Route 66, and it is really cute. They have this inlay in the floor, among other things. My favorite, though, were the old fashioned Brylcream signs along the exit. I'll have to scrap those.

May 12
Days later, the little stream behind my house still has water in it from the storms.

May 13
Remember the clay thing Shona was making for Mother's Day? It was this little giraffe. I'm crazy about this darn thing. It's so cute!

May 14
It's a good thing I snapped this photo when I did. About an hour later, Shona carried it to me in the house saying "Mom! Look what I picked for you!" Now if I could just convince her to pick the stem along with the flower...

May 15
The greening continues in my yard.

Starting on May

2009-05-18T19:52:00.007-05:00

Now for May, or as far as I have made it.

May 1
Guess what? I'm cheating. Too bad, it's my album and I can do what I want.

May 2
Prom pictures are so gorgeous they need a couple of slots in my book. Don't you agree? The girls really did clean up nicely.

May 3
Katy bought Bailey a little kerchief for her collar. I think it's very country and cute. John just rolls his eyes.

May 4
Another sign of spring: my hedges are sprouting at the tips. Time for the hedge trimmer!

May 5
In honor of Cinco de Mayo, Katy bought herself this little pot of cacti. She thinks they are cool. Weird teen. Isn't she supposed to be buying shoes? ;)

May 6
Every time we get a good breeze, the cover plate comes off the outside plug out our back door. I am forever picking this thing up and putting it back on. I can't figure out how to fix the darn thing not to come off since it isn't broken.

May 7
Two inches of rain in twenty minutes will do this to a yard. It's the heaviest rain we've had since moving here.

May 8
Katy, all decked out for her spring band concert. Isn't she gorgeous?

Catching up April

2009-05-18T19:44:00.008-05:00

I'm finally finished with my semester! Hooray! Now I need to get in gear and catch my 365 album up, and since I use my blog to keep track, here goes my great big catch up post. Sorry!

April 25
Shona loves to play in clay. This time she ran me off every time I tried to check in on her. Turns out she was working on Father's Day and Mother's Day gifts.

April 26
This is the Father's Day gift. I was allowed to see this one since it's not for me. We'll see just how long she can keep it secret from her dad.

April 27
Once again, it took Katy's underhanded sneakiness to get Shona to cut that mane of hair. It looks far cuter in person, but this was the only front picture I got of the results. Shona was too interested in going out to play.

April 28
Things are greening up so nicely in my yard!

April 29
In the spirit of spring, I treated myself to a new pot of my favorite flowers.

April 30
With prom just around the corner, the girls had to get their makeup just right. And to do that takes practice. It also takes goofing off for my camera, apparently.

April 23-24

2009-05-01T22:37:00.005-05:00

April 23
This is the accident report from the woman slamming her car into the rear of our van. Yep, our new van. This was her second accident in a week. Some people should have their licenses revoked. Luckily, no one was injured and the van is fine.

April 24
Part of the joy of being a teacher is taking your students on field trips. As you can see, John found some friends along the way.

April 22

2009-04-24T16:24:00.007-05:00

April 22
There's my brother's truck in the median of a highway in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Another 18 wheeler lost two wheels, which bounced under Keith's truck, making him lose control and crash. A van behind Keith was torn up but the final word on that states the driver will be OK. No deaths, thankfully, but the load he was carrying was hazardous materials, 7 of which broke open and spilled. A haz mat team had to come out to the scene for cleanup.

I have to admit, for a huge truck to go sliding down its side on the road and winding up plowing into a grassy median at 70 miles per hour, the truck doesn't look quite as bad as I'd imagined.

Well, OK, maybe the trailer part of it did. Sadly, he had just paid it off a month earlier. The accident tied up traffic for ten hours.

I'm just glad he walked away with a mere three staples in the head. He has officially retired from trucking after this accident. He had been thinking of getting out of the trucking business and this was the sign I suppose he had been needing. They don't get much bigger as far as signs go. I'm just glad my favorite brother is still around to talk to. And my least favorite brother is still around to annoy me. ;)

April 13 - 21

2009-04-24T16:09:00.010-05:00

April 13
Shona being her usual silly self.

April 14
Our new front porch lights. Kind of nautical looking, no?

April 15
This was the surprise beneath our propane lid. All I wanted to do was check the propane level, but nope. Not going to happen until mama robin delivers those little baby birds.

April 16
Ah, the pain of the first yard cleanup following winter. So many sticks and limbs in the way of the mower. And why is it that this job always winds up primarily mine?

April 17
Finally got it mowed and it looks much better. Pretty soon the rains will get rid of the brown spots and we will be back to a lush, green lawn.

April 18
A cute little Hobby Lobby purchase. Shona wanted her name on the front of her door and so that's what she got!

April 19
Suddenly, without warning, Shona was able to ride without training wheels. Just like that. They grow up so fast.

Bonus picture because I'm so dang proud of that girl.

April 20
Shona begged for a Topsy Turvey tomato planter. Honest engine. She really did. Of course we had to get one and so far it's doing well.

April 21
She also has a little garden growing on the deck. I'd love to rip up some ground for a real garden except there is a sprinkler system already in our yard. Certainly would make for easy watering, though. Ha.

More later with the catching up. It's been a stressful week. I'm amazed to be this caught up!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T13:32:00.010-05:00

April 4
Once Shona's birthday ended, she was eager for Easter. More goodies, of course!

April 5
Not a bad photo of Shona with my camera phone. The park has nice light!

April 7
Look! A picture of me! OK, more a picture of my food because I thought the presentation of the sliders was interesting. It was delicious, too.

April 8
The girls (older two) drew this on the front porch and sang "Oh, Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, please shine down on me!" Sometimes I think kids are worth the hassle.

April 9
I know better than to wait until the last minute to get the right chocolate for Easter. Shona always wants the chocolate bunny with the big ears and they always sell out fast around here. I snatched one up the first time I saw it on the shelf.

April 10
Once Mr. Big Ears was purchased, I figured I might as well start really Easter shopping. It's amazing how much junk you can fill those baskets with when you don't pay attention.

April 11
The nearest Target is an hour away (which makes me cry), and every time we go there, Shona has to stand in the big, red circle. Finally got a picture!

April 12
Happy Easter! I informed the kids that they would get bunny ears in their baskets and they would be required to wear them in a photo. Not only did they do so willingly, they surprised me by painting on whiskers for the photo. The boy is Mandy's boyfriend, Caleb, who joined us for Easter lunch. We put a basket together for him as well.

And then there's my naughty little bunny!

Birthday Girl

2009-04-03T22:10:00.013-05:00

Today you get the excitement of bonus photos because of the birthday girl. Yesterday, she came home sick with some stomach bug. We called off her birthday just in case. Then, of course, she woke up perfectly fine. Never fails. All was not lost since we did manage to get one girl to come back over for the sleepover. I have to say, one is SO much better. No fighting between the girls.

April 2
Things are sprouting! I love spring!!

April 3
This is my favorite shot of the day. Shona and her sleepover buddy in front of McDonald's, which of course was her choice of dining establishment for her birthday. There was never any question of that. She'd eat there every day of the week if we let her.

Blowing out the candles on the cake. The icing was yucky, if you ask me. I guess that's the best way to keep me out of the cake!

It was a Monsters vs. Aliens themed cake, since that is the movie we took them to see after cake and McDonald's. Cute movie, by the way!

The birthday tiara, which was a punchout from a card my sister sent to her. One happy birthday princess.

April First

2009-04-02T17:42:00.001-05:00

April 1
I kept hoping this was an April Fool joke, but it isn't. They really did slap this up at the end of my street and they really are going to be messing with traffic soon. If that isn't enough, there is also road construction on the street right behind the sign, and it is a major artery into the town. Guess that means we will be taking back streets for a while.

End of March

2009-03-30T23:45:00.006-05:00

March 29
The last brush with winter. Now go away, Jack Frost, you have worn out your welcome this year.

March 30
I am not sure why, but I loved the eerie feeling this shot gave me. I took it over the top of my roof into a hazy sky.

March 31
OK, so I'm putting this out there early, but it's a busy week. I finally snapped a pic of our new(er) vehicle. Yaaay!

Almost the end of March

2009-03-28T21:32:00.005-05:00

March 25
Shona finally nagged me into opening a savings account for her. Now if I can just convince her it is for saving and not just a holding spot until she wants the latest toy that catches her attention. Wait until she finds out mom won't let her go to the bank for a purchase. Mwahaha.

March 26
The first thing to bloom on my property. I love the burst of color in my yard.

March 27
Mope city. I'm not sure what Bailey's problem was. She had a day where all she did was puke, but she's all better now. I find her gazing out the window often, but she won't go outside during the day unless I shove her out. Then when night comes I have to keep her in because she wants to go out and bark. Dogs!!!

March 28
Katy lost her Zune a couple of weeks ago. She has gone a little crazy searching and has cleaned her room with a vengeance looking for the thing. This evening, she asked Shona "If you were my Zune, where would you be?" and Shona said "Did you try your underwear drawer? Everything falls into it from the top of your dresser." Guess what? There it was. Katy was so ecstatically happy that she gave her sister a dollar for her new savings account and is letting her play on her PlayStation this evening. I just love it when my kiddos get along. :)

Still no pics of the new vehicle. I need to get it outside and snap some pics.

The Great Tire Curse and other musings

2009-03-24T21:28:00.014-05:00

Catch up time, as usual! Things have been a bit hectic with the ER visits for Katy, DH being sick, the van breaking down and normal teen drama with Katy's boyfriend breaking up with her via text message while we were shopping for her prom gown. Ah, the joys of life.

March 16
My latest toy, the Making Memories shelf. It isn't quite as roomy as I'd hoped, but it does a great job of holding the things I do have. I wish I hadn't rid my stash of all the little glass bottles I used to have. I found it necessary to downsize and combine when I had to move out of my scrap room, but it would be nice to have those back now. Oh, well. Here is my shelf half full:

My enabler friends talked me into it and I have to tell them thanks. ;)

March 17
Shona decided the dogs needed something green to avoid being pinched. She made these adorable little crowns, which I had to record. I would love to have snapped a photo of them on the dogs' heads, but...well, we all know how well those crowns went over when actually applied to a real life situation. Enough said.

March 18
A random, silly monster face from Shona.

March 19
See the face theme going on here? Oh, and you don't want to know what that is on her head. Really, you don't. Suffice it to say we were in the bathroom where I was changing out the trash can liner. I think you see where this is going.

March 20
District competition is coming up soon and Katy is a little nervous. She keeps playing her music for me so I can critique her, but I think she sounds wonderful. Um, ignore the mess going on in the background. You never saw a thing.

March 21
The Great Tire Curse. With only one exception, every time DH and I have ever had to buy new tires for a vehicle, something horrible has suddenly befallen said vehicle. A truck we owned rolled in a horrible accident in the California desert two hours after new tires were put on. Our van's transmission went out right after we put new tires on it. Another car had the hood crunched in an accident. It doesn't even seem to be limited to the two of us. Last month, our bonus daughter crashed her car a few hours after putting a new tire on so it would pass inspection. My sister rolled her car two days after a new tire purchase. I could go on, because that's just a few of many, but you get the picture. Well, we should have known. About a week ago, the tires on our van were getting so bald it was beginning to wobble. Reluctantly, we shelled out $230 for a new pair of tires, and kind of laughed off the tire curse. One week later, the transmission blew. When I picked DH up from the tow truck, he even alluded to the Great Tire Curse. I don't want to believe, but it's hard not to when all the evidence points in this direction. If only there were an anti-tire-curse remedy. Just what does the universe have against rubber, anyway?

March 22
We finally have an actual medicine cabinet in the bathroom, and a new light fixture. The old one was so old that we could no longer find bulbs to fit. It was time to go. I hate the new light fixture, but they don't make the pretty ones extend far enough out from the wall to shed light on the mirror. Two teenage girls NEED to see their faces.

March 23
Speaking of two teenagers, it's amusing to note that in some ways they never grow up. These are their lunch boxes, and yes, they do take them to school and proudly eat out of them every day. As Katy says, that's how they roll.

March 24
Katy and I went to the dealer to clean out the old, tired van tonight. I think it was time for it to go. We have managed to get our money's worth out of it. The poor thing has over a quarter million miles on it, the paint is wearing off on the hood, and the wheel paint is chipping. Still, it got us through many years and for that I am grateful. It just wasn't worth fixing this time since it wasn't just the transmission. A starter, struts, transmission, belts, and probably two more tires...which of course would lead to another breakdown. I think we'll just take our chances with a newer vehicle. Stay tuned for the new four wheeled member of the family when we take possession of it this week.

Almost Spring!

2009-03-16T00:41:00.009-05:00

It is almost officially spring and I just can't wait. I've even been wanting to play in the dirt and I'm not huge on gardening. Catching up with my Project 365:

March 9
An increasingly rare shot of my two girls together. And look, they aren't killing one another.

March 10
No one can really figure out why, but the snow shovel is still sitting on the front porch. Either we are afraid putting it away will cause a sudden, unexpected return of winter or we are too lazy to just put it where it belongs. I like to think the former, but I highly suspect the latter.

March 11
Our soup shelf, which has been used far too often lately. People in this house tend to want soup when they are ill, and I think we may buy stock in Campbell's Soup after this winter's run of the flu.

March 12
Katy was inducted into the National Honor Society on March 12th. Have I mentioned how proud I am of that girl? Did I mention she was so advanced and downright bored in her Chemistry I class that the teacher admitted her to Chemistry II to take simultaneously? And that she's getting an A in both classes? Ridiculously smart child. She definitely got the science gene from her dad.

March 13
Shona got a new umbrella for spring. She couldn't be prouder of that thing if she tried. Well, she did do battle with it when it hooked her shirt, but once she showed it who was boss, all was right again.

March 14
I just love bubble bath beards. They are so fun. I just can't figure out if this is supposed to be Santa or Colonel Sanders.

March 15
The one thing John's mother has instilled in Shona is a love of gardening. She absolutely craves dirt under her nails and putting plants to soil. It's a good indication you have a little gardener on your hands when you surprise her with a tray of plant starters and seeds and she screams like you just gave her a new bike. Once these take root we will be planting them in front of our house. John and I are also seriously considering a small garden beside the house just to give that girl somewhere to grow things.

Mar 5-8

2009-03-08T00:09:00.006-06:00

Mar 5
This is Shona's newest critter from Build-a-Bear. Cute little lamb that she appropriately named "Spring"...so I guess you could say spring officially arrived at my house.

Mar 6
Mmmmmm homemade bread! I hadn't made any since the holidays, and the weather was so perfect I was feeling motivated.

Mar 7
After months of waiting and wondering if I'd ever actually see this in person, my Project 365 album appeared on my doorstep today. Hooray!

Mar 8
Even a pretty, shiny new toilet paper holder isn't enough to entice my family into putting the paper ONTO the holder. Apparently that is far too much work.

March 1-4

2009-03-04T17:30:00.006-06:00

Mar 1
I'm into the whole recycling thing, really I am. But does it have to look so...trashy in my hallway?

Mar 2
Shona's artistic interpretation of her dad. It's fairly accurate.

Mar 3
I know, Shona, I feel the same way about spring coming. It'll be here soon!

Mar 4
The first wearing of flip flops. Definitely a sign of warmer weather.

Through the end of February

2009-03-04T17:19:00.010-06:00

Seems like all I do. It's midterm week, though, so I needed a sanity break for a bit.

Feb 23
A random photo of my youngest rugrat.

Feb 24
My poor, neglected and now peeling rocker. I can't wait until it's warm enough to enjoy it again.

Feb 25
I am so addicted to "Ticket to Ride" that I have been slowly acquiring every version out there. If you can call having all but one within two months slowly. Ahem.

Feb 26
Action shot! Rinsing off the garden hook off my back deck. Shona was trying to make it look like the bird was using the bathroom, but she didn't quite manage it.

Feb 27
DH is the cook in the family. This is my idea of meal planning. It always works for me!

Feb 28
Poor Mandy. This just isn't the way to end the month. The worst part is she had just spent the day before putting tires on it and getting it inspected for its annual licensing. I think there is a tire curse. Anytime we buy new tires, something bad happens to vehicles.

Feb 21-22

2009-02-22T17:04:00.003-06:00

Feb 21
See? My life is so dull I think I take the same pics over and over. The dogs staring longingly outside.

Feb 22
The kitchen timer is my friend. Without it, the house would undoubtedly burn down.

Feb 17-20

2009-02-22T00:26:00.008-06:00

Still snapping pics! Just haven't had time to do anything with them!

Feb 17
Another reason I hate winter: the heating expense. This year hasn't been terrible on the gas refills, but it was time once again. Goodbye, cash!

Feb 18
Katy loves little paper umbrellas in her food, drinks and hair. Anywhere she can put them, really.

Feb 19
ah, my poor mailbox. Always waiting patiently for the mail lady. Then she has the nerve to bring mostly bills. Gone are the days of those monthly scrap packages I loved so well.

Feb 20
We got a dusting of snow and I loved how it melted inch by inch as the snow came into contact with the sunshine.

And more catching up

2009-02-15T16:40:00.016-06:00

So I got busy. Really busy. Really REALLY busy. Therefore, the pictures for the last week are a compilation. At least I'm trying to keep up!

Feb 9
I have been meaning to take a picture of the gas prices for a while now and I finally got around to it. Yahoo! :)

Feb 10-16
This weekend was a long, tiring one, but it was also fun. Katy wanted to participate in Truman Band day, which is an all-state, by invitation only, one day event at Truman University in northern Missouri. It's about four or five hours north of our house, depending on traffic and weather, but she desperately wanted to attend, so we made hotel reservations. This, of course, was after the weather forecast gave us the all clear, those dirty, rotten liars. Katy and I left Friday morning around 10, (it was considered a school event so the absence was excused), stopped to shop for a couple of hours in the civilized world, then headed north. As we got to the last ten mile stretch, a snowstorm hit. It was horrible and if I hadn't been so close to our destination, I would have turned around and left. We crawled along the interstate at about 30, slid a little turning, but safely made our destination at about 7 p.m. I was really worn out, so it was really sweet to walk in the door to find this waiting for me:
Go ahead, say "awwwwwww!" because I did. DH actually surprised me and that's not easy to do.

The next day, the blizzard was gone, so we got up really early and I dropped a very nervous Katy off. She had to audition for a chair spot first thing in the morning. Poor thing was so nervous she completely tanked in her audition. She said she went into the bathroom and cried for twenty minutes afterward, but she still seated 4th out of 5th in the trombone section. I had to remind her it was just for practice and enjoyment, but at that age things seem SO much bigger. I was still proud of her.

After dropping Katy off, I trudged around the campus, revisiting my old stomping grounds. I went to school at Truman back when it was still Northeast Missouri State University, and I hadn't been back there in almost twenty years.
It was kind of fun to tromp around snapping photos at 8 a.m. on a Saturday when no one else was out, looking around at how much things haven't changed.
Know what I really learned, though? I don't miss it. Ha! I really thought I'd feel some sort of sentimental mush about my younger days, but I didn't. I was honestly glad to leave it behind.

This is Centennial Hall, the dormitory I lived in way back then. I definitely don't miss living there. It was always too cold, too cramped and too noisy. Sheesh. I think I was just old before my time!

This lovely statue was dubbed "The lady with the bowl on her head and the big feet" by me and my best friend when we were living there. We never did find out the real name of the statue or her purpose, but we loved making fun of her, so it was great to pop in and say hi.

Now THIS is a place I missed. Pagliai's Pizza, home of the ronza. Katy and I ate there after we FINALLY found it (hey, it's been twenty years and I'm not known for being good with directions!) and it was every bit as ridiculously good as when I was there last. I even had to rub it in a bit and text my cousin that we were eating there. She was insanely jealous. If you love Italian food and ever find yourself in Kirksville, MO, you MUST stop in. And if you don't know what a ronza is, you do not know what you are missing.

So that's my update. I still have a stack of homework to plow through this weekend, so I'm off to work on that. Trips down memory lane are fun, but they wear a person out.

More February Pics

2009-02-10T00:50:00.006-06:00

Feb 5
Shona and me at a restaurant. I see she inherited that ornery streak that causes those bunny ears to pop up behind everyone's heads during picture taking time. The little stinker.

Feb 6
Remember those cute little costumes from the last post? The ones for Spirit Week? Well, they also have a day when they are supposed to go in Valentine themed costumes. In their warped 17 year old minds, they decided the Valentine's Day Massacre would be a great version. I'm biting my mom tongue about its inappropriateness and putting on my scrapper's hat to document the trashing of the clothing for this little project. I just knew someone driving by would call
9-1-1 after seeing two girls in ripped shirts, covered in blood in my front yard. -insert eye roll here-. Here's a bonus photo of them throwing fake blood all over each other and the yard. At least they wised up and moved to the yard after I made them clean up the first mess they made on my back deck!

Feb 7
Shona, winded from chasing me around a tree. Notice that even during intensive training, she can't seem to let go of the Nintendo DS. I may have to have it surgically removed.

Feb 8
Since I didn't get any great photos for a couple of days, I'm throwing this one in. I just loved the action shot and even the blurred edges. My camera is not so great at hitting moving targets, no matter what setting I have it on!

Where the heck is February going?

2009-02-09T00:02:00.007-06:00

This month is in such a rush! I can't believe it's already 1/4 of the way gone and speeding on by. Here are a few of the photos of the month. DH has the rest for the week on his camera and he's asleep for the night, so I can't wheedle them out of him. Maybe tomorrow.

Feb 1
I have maddeningly indecisive dogs. If they are in, they want out. If they are out, they want in. They will desperately claw at the door as if they had been held prisoner inside for a month, then sit on the other side of the door, staring in at me like they were kicked outside for punishment. They drive me insane.

Feb 2
This week they are having a spirit week of sorts, and on one day the kids are to dress as their favorite duo. Katy and Mandy are going as Tink and Peter Pan. The closest Katy could come was a Robin Hood costume, but I think it's still cute. I cannot believe they are actually going to wear these costumes to school. All day. Oh, to be 17 again. Wait, I wouldn't have done that even when I was 17. I was a boring youth.

Feb 3
Shona is hooked on the Nintendo DS that Santa brought her. For some reason, though, it causes a strange affliction that will not allow her to sit upright in a chair to play it. I always find her in this position or something very close to it.

Feb 4
I didn't even know this happened until I was downloading the pictures from my camera. Apparently, this is what happens to the dogs when I am out of the house, and sadly enough, Shona was not involved. I'm telling you...17 year olds are a breed unto themselves. Poor, poor little Pedey.

Closing out the month

2009-01-31T16:04:00.007-06:00

My brother and his wife are celebrating their 41st birthdays today, and their 10th anniversary. Happy everything to them! :)

Jan 28
When Katy came home from work the other night, she used her feet to write this in the snow ("I heart you" in case you can't make it out). I thought that was sweet.

Jan 29
This has definitely been a year of new. New kid living with us, new school, new major, new outlook. In keeping with that spirit, we got a new phone company for our cell phones. Actually, we have been counting down the months, literally, since AT&T bought out our contract with their takeover of Cingular. We absolutely hate AT&T and danced a little happy dance when we finally switched service. I can now announce that I am no longer a text virgin thanks to my new phone and new unlimited text service. The girls are on cloud nine and thank goodness it is unlimited. In the first hour of opration, Katy had sent 127 messages. Sheesh!

Jan 29
Mandy and Katy all dressed up for dates with their boyfriends. The guys wore jeans. Typical!

Jan 31
Speaking of new, this is what I bought today. We decided that since the van and truck get horrible gas mileage and the car's transmission is going out, it was a good time to get me a commuter car. Driving 100 miles round trip each time to class is not a good place to break down! We earmarked our income tax refund to get me a car, and here it is. Best deal in town, works great, and it's paid for. :) Can't beat paid for. One nice side effect...the extreme envy in Katy's eyes. She's dying to borrow it, which won't happen. Mean mommy!!

Almost the end

2009-01-27T18:55:00.007-06:00

I can't believe January is nearly over. I'm glad to see it go, because that's one less month I need to worry about bad weather. Of course, right now we are getting pounded with about our fourth inch of snow on top of a layer of ice. I'd rather have snow than ice, so I'll just stop griping right here.

Jan 24
The boss from my last job gave me this cute little frog to use as a candy dish. I think it's adorable and still keep him on or near my desk. Right now it's full of Cadbury eggs I'll do my best to avoid over the next few weeks.

Jan 25
Organization. It's a good thing. We had a small one of these, but it wasn't enough to keep track of everyone. Today we installed a big one. Problem solved.

Jan 26
As much as the adult in me hates snow, ice and all things winter, the kid in me will always be in awe of the beauty and fun of a good snowfall.

Jan 27
This is a picture of Shona under the street lamp, filling her tongue with snow. It is one of those photos that makes me smile. :)

Another week gone by

2009-01-24T11:20:00.007-06:00

January is moving right along this year. I know it's because I'm so busy, but it really is speeding by. It will be spring before I know it, which I won't complain about, but then I'll be sweating mid-summer and I will be griping about that!

Jan. 19
Just in case anyone should believe my kids get along, I documented this lovely door posting. I got a chuckle out of it, and the English major in me had to fight off the desire to mark through the words spelled wrong. After all, she's just eight and a note of protest should remain raw and emotional!

Jan 20
Just a photo of part of my walk through the park. It's so brown and gray out during the winter, I find it a stark, depressing landscape.

Jan 21
I finally managed to get a shot of what I see as I walk. Mostly the dogs as I keep them moving along, trying to avoid being tripped up by their leashes. Yes, Pedey does love to yank me along. If only he weighed more than 15 pounds, I'd strap on roller skates and let him do the work.

Jan 22
I call this one "Anticipation" because it just about kills those two yahoos to have to ride to the park. They want to get there NOW. They start this pleading stare as soon as the garage door opens behind them. Poor babies. Yes, I took those three shots on the same day, but loved them all so they're going in my book!

Jan 23
For once I had my camera on me at the right time. We were out running errands when we started getting a snow/ice storm. I whipped out my camera and started snapping. This was my favorite.

Jan 18

2009-01-18T18:56:00.004-06:00

Jan 18
Today is the 18th of January, and it is my 18th wedding anniversary. Perfect photo for today. :)

Jan 16 & 17

2009-01-17T22:25:00.006-06:00

Jan 16
So it got cold here this week. Really cold. My fingers were numb just walking across campus to class kind of cold, and I was wearing lined leather gloves. As we were driving to Home Depot to buy paint (more on that next), the reading in the van hit 0* at one point. I admit I took the van out for a spin around the neighborhood at 11:00 p.m. just to get the temperature reading to drop to outside temperature in order to get this shot. We do what we must!

Jan 17
Today, we painted Mandy's room (my former office). The purple is actually darker than this in real life. Think Barney the dinosaur purple. Now that I think about it, this photo is odd anyway because the wall underneath isn't gray, it's a very dark blue. Funny how those colors change in the camera. In any case, the purple still beats white in my book. Katy and I did the first coat, and when Mandy got home from work, she helped me do the second. It is FINISHED. Woo hoo! This is some of Katy's handiwork as she weilded the roller. She even took a pic for my 365 project. Do I have that girl trained or what?

Jan 15

2009-01-15T23:00:00.004-06:00

You know the company that puts boxes on people's television sets and notes everything they watch in order to figure out the ratings for shows? Turns out they also have a scanning program where you can scan the UPC codes of everything you buy, upload the data every week and build up points for free stuff. I was on the waiting list for nearly a year, but last week I was finally sent a scanner. It was a hassle at first, but once I got the hang of it, I kind of enjoyed it. I am also on a survey panel online (and have been for years) that works the same way with the points. A few months ago I received a set of new cordless digital phones for the house by finally spending my ridiculous amount of points. I didn't even have to pay shipping. Sometimes it pays to take those surveys!

Jan 14

2009-01-15T00:06:00.004-06:00

Nope, I didn't forget. I got bogged down with homework today, plus a couple of hot games of Ticket to Ride. :) This is the long eared bunny I fell in love with last month. I loved it so much I nagged poor DH to death about buying it for me for Christmas. Poor thing had no choice but to have it under the tree.
And see my smile on Christmas morning? Wasn't it all worth the nagging?

Jan 12 and 13

2009-01-13T21:23:00.003-06:00

Triple tug-o-war! Shona took on both dogs and I'm not sure which side won. I'm not even sure the dogs were working together!

For my birthday last year, Shona and Katy painted little rocks as pet rocks, probably because they heard me talk about the ones we had as kids. I keep them on top of my desk and just love the cute little faces. They make me smile, especially this one. :)

My new obsession (Jan 11)

2009-01-12T15:26:00.002-06:00

This is the game we got for Christmas at the suggestion of some ladies at Playground of Memories. I have become completely addicted. We've already purchased the 1910 expansion pack and later this month I am ordering the European version. I need to collect them all!

Yesterday and today

2009-01-10T19:08:00.005-06:00

Jan 9
First, my new purchases. I've been searching for a new purse for at least a year and I am really picky. I'm never happy with my purses and I know this one will be no different, but I was trying to downsize. We'll see how long it takes me to become fed up with it. Someday I'll just design my own. The bag behind is my pseudo briefcase/bookbag. The books I need to take to campus this semester are really light (one is a paperback!) so I don't need a huge bag. Why not go in style, especially when Penney's was having a 40% off sale? Just call me the bag lady today.

Jan 10
My new school. I am nervous about moving on to the "real" campus instead of the two year local school, but I'm also very excited. I'm not ready for the work, but I am ready for the change and thrill of getting through another semester.

Yes, I confess I took both photos today, but yesterday's just didn't excite me. And it's my book, I can put what I want into it. ;)

Day 8

2009-01-08T23:57:00.003-06:00

Today's image isn't a fun one. Shona got up for school this morning complaining of a scratchy throat. When I touched her face, it felt like it was on fire, and sure enough she had a 101* temperature. I've been pouring Tylenol down her throat all day and looks like she'll be home tomrrow as well since she's still not rid of the fever. The poor thing zonked out on a 10 minute drive this evening, so I know she's not feeling well. At least she got sick this week, while I was still home from school to stay with her.

Photo 7

2009-01-07T18:42:00.002-06:00

Yep, another closeup of Shona's darling little face. I can't help it, I like my kiddos' faces. That's my hat, too. It's the one buried underneath the furry parka hood of my coat when I go out to walk the dogs. Not only is it insanely warm, it's oh-so-fashion forward. *snort*

Day 6 Photo

2009-01-07T14:21:00.002-06:00

I just loved the face wrapped in a towel as Shona dried her hair. I haven't taken today's photo yet, but I'll get there!

Fashion Disaster

2009-01-05T18:57:00.002-06:00

Katy definitely marches to the beat of her own drummer when it comes to her clothing. I guess it could be worse and she could want to dress like Britney Spears, and sometimes she does look pretty cute...but here ya go: the picture of the day. Yes, she DID wear this to school. All day.

Jan 4

2009-01-04T16:50:00.005-06:00

Shona's room is completely finished. I'm so happy to be able to say that. It always takes so much more work than I think it will. You'd think I'd learn. We had to replace half the border along the wall that some little girl destroyed, and I touched up the paint in a lot of areas, but no matter how hard I stirred that stuff, the colors were just enough off to not match. You have to look to see it, but it's different. I'm not bothering with it, though. In a few years she'll want to ditch the princess theme and we'll be repainting anyway. And check out the nice floor. I still can't believe the last owners covered that with WHITE carpeting. Crazy fools.

And a bonus photo for today. I wanted to record the fact that Shona's closet is organized. It might only happen one day a year, but here's photographic evidence. We are finally going to put the doors back on the closet this year. Yippee! :)

Day 3

2009-01-03T11:27:00.005-06:00

Here's the photo for day three...a sign down the street from me. I loved the sky behind it, too. :)

Today will be busy here. We are ripping out the carpeting in Shona's room and doing some minor repairs in there. She has hardwood underneath and has pretty much destroyed the carpet (who the heck puts WHITE carpeting in a kids' room?!), but it's something we've been planning on doing for a while anyway. We ripped out the carpet in my scrap room when we moved in but didn't have time to do the girls' rooms. Katy isn't sure she wants to rip hers out, but she'll move out in a couple of years and then I'll have my way with that floor!

Photo of the Day

2009-01-02T21:45:00.005-06:00

In an effort to get scrapping again, I've joined in a group doing a photo of the day for the entire year of 2009. Hopefully I can keep up. We'll see. The blog is my effort at keeping track of said photos, and again...we'll see. Things seem so optimistically possible in early January.

January 1:

The new welcome mat for our door. Welcome, 2009! Cheesy, yes, but I have another 364 of these to go. I'm going to want for material.

January 2:

In with the new. Katy went on a shoe buying rampage over the past week and these are some of her new favorites. I think they are pretty darn cute and I know that somewhere I have scrap paper that matches those shoes precisely....

Time for an Update

2008-12-02T00:02:00.009-06:00

As Mark Twain said, rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I really am still alive. Sort of. I kind of exist in some sort of zombie state where all I do is read, do homework and think about homework. Most of my time has been gobbled up by my huge term paper. I read 15 or 16 books for it, plus oodles of websites and other sources. Tomorrow I give my PowerPoint presentation on it and next Tuesday I turn in the 14 page paper. Can you believe after all that (not to mention endless smaller papers) she is making us take a written final!? Argh! Enough already. It's enough to make me look forward to Statistics next semester, and if you know anything about me and Statistics, that's huge.
So, my Christmas card pictures came out OK.
I couldn't decide on just one, so I got a multi-photo card. Now if they'd just arrive so I can mail them out, life would be good.
Look what we woke up to this morning:

I still can't believe they held school, especially with all the slipping and sliding going on down the street. Katy nearly hit someone on the way to school, and she wasn't the only one.

Either my thermometer is broken or it is highly optimistic. Time to replace that one.

At least the house is decked out, even if I'm not quite feeling the holiday spirit yet. Maybe when the next couple of weeks are OVER and I can relax a bit. I look forward to scrapping and reading things that do not involve the old west in any way, shape or form. And maybe, just maybe, I'll do some blogging again.

Seventeen

2008-09-20T12:23:00.004-05:00

I can't believe my oldest is seventeen. That's just crazy talk! And yet, here she is, candles flaming and wax dripping into her cake. Man, I feel old.
In honor of Katy's official final year of childhood, I made her a very childish card. Inside, it says "You are way cooler than a giraffe" which is an inside joke with us. She thinks giraffes are the coolest animals ever and told me once I was cooler than one. So now that's the be all, end all to coolness. :)

Last night was her Homecoming dance, but her boyfriend's was the same day in his town. That means no boyfriend for the dance. Not to fear, though, he made it up today for the big birthday.

Not much else is happening in my house. Just school work, school work and more school work. And I do mean school work. Some days I barely come up for air. I know it'll be worth it in the end, but semesters like this make me remember why I didn't finish the first time!

Happy Days Are Here Again!

2008-08-20T13:26:00.014-05:00

School started today and I, for one, could not be happier about it. The last three weeks of summer dragged on and on and on... even Shona was ready to return. We had open house night at school Monday so that we could meet the teacher. I think Shona will have a great year because the teacher is wonderful and the room is such a step up from last year. The kids were crammed in elbow to elbow last year, but this year it is a bright, open, airy room. Their room is open to another classroom that that can divide by pulling a curtain, but apparently they do a lot of shared work with the other side and the teachers do some "tag team" instruction. It should prove to be an interesting year. One thing did bother me, though. Two of the sheets I filled out during open house had words spelled incorrectly. That just sets my teeth on edge in a place of learning.

Today was the big day, though. Shona was so excited she asked Katy to fix her hair into a "flip" like she did for her at the open house. It was a bit stiff, but still adorable.

She also had quite the adorable outfit on, perfect for day one of third grade. I still can't believe she's in third grade!

Katy is also enthused about the year. She got a great parking spot and even wanted to pose with it. Who am I to deny a photo op? She left for school too early to get my pics, but that's OK. I can catch her when she returns. this is her junior year and she is really excited about band. As usual. Band is her life, as she often repeats.

As for John, he has a new addition to his classroom. One of his students last year was moving and needed to find a new home for his creature. The cage he had was far too small and very foul smelling, so John asked a local cabinet making company if they'd build a small enclosure for the thing. They agreed and wound up donating it, materials AND time (I find that amazing)...but they sure didn't listen to the small part! We had to add in the wire mesh (painful process that took ten hours and more than one band-aid) and the stain, but it was well worth it. I think it's a beautiful cabinet.

I can't say the creature inside is all that beautiful, but at least he has a new home. At one point during development, he had his tail mangled in a door closing incident, so it grew as a three- pronged tail. Because of this, we decided to name him King Triton. In actuality, we don't even know the sex of this thing, but it sounded good. I like to feed him, so long as he stays in his corner when my arm is in that enclosure. I get a little creeped out when he stares at me, but I prefer him to the snakes in John's classroom tanks.

And now for the amusing. The girls took my camera this week to snap a few pictures of the dogs and each other. They do that when they are bored and sometimes I wind up with some really sweet photos like this. And then there are the other 300+ photos of out of focus, random shots that I weeded through. It's worth it in the end, I suppose. People think Pedey is so cute and tiny, but let me tell you, that dog can go from zero to Cujo in an instant when you hide his ball, and I finally have the photographic evidence:

There, there, Pedey, I feel the same way when someone uses my good journaling pen.

School starts tomorrow for me. I can't wait!

Ooops late tag

2008-07-22T23:08:00.002-05:00

I have been so consumed with family and school that I haven't been keeping up with blogs. Melanie tagged me eons ago and I just now found it. Sorry, Melanie!

Ten Years Ago: 1998.
I was living in San Antonio, TX and was spending the year at Brooke Army Medical Center in the oral surgery department. I'd had both my jaw joints replaced and it took a year to get my bite completely realigned.

Five Things on Today's To-Do List:
(The day is over so I'm stealing Melanie's idea and listing what I did today)
Went to the community center pool for a 30 minute swim with the family
Bummed around online
Talked to my sister on the phone about her big surgery tomorrow
Walked the dogs
Took the easy way out and drove through McDonald's for dinner.

Snacks I enjoy:
Popcorn
ice cream

Things I would do if I were a Millionaire:
Pay off everything
Set up trust funds for the girls
Pay off my dad's bills
Set my mother up in a beachfront condo for life

Places I have lived:
Fulton, Kirksville, Lebanon, and Jefferson City, MO
Long Beach and San Pedro, CA
San Antonio, TX
Pensacola, FL
Ft. Meade and Bethesda,MD
Naples, Italy

I'm too tired to tag anyone. Sorry! ;)

Summer

2008-07-22T16:22:00.007-05:00

Finally it is summertime for me. It's almost over for the kids, but I just took my final for the course I was taking over the summer and I feel like I can breathe at last. What a relief. I'm still awaiting my final grade, so more on that later. I am sad that Scrap Addict is gone, but with it goes a lot of the things I did to pass the time, like administrative work and design team things. I suddenly find myself with a lot more time, so maybe I will get some scrap things done. I have two albums I'm working on right now, both Shona things, but as soon as I get my summer vacation photos back, I'll have that to do as well. Speaking of summer vacation, it was a whopping two and a half days. Still, that almost seemed long enough by the time it was over!

Day One:
We started off with a trip to Fantastic Caverns in Springfield. Katy got us all in free because she is an area McDonald's worker. John still has the cave photos on his phone, and I'm nagging him to get those off. I loaned my camera batteries to Shona to use with her miner's hat. She'd been to the cave a few weeks earlier on a school field trip, and she'd been begging for a hat since. The only problem was she kept shining it in people's faces and finally had to confiscate the hat. In the gift shop, the girls begged for a bat hat, of all things. Oh, the silly stuff we buy our kids.

Next up was the Titanic exhibit in Branson. It was OK, but I would have enjoyed it a lot more without Shona. The highlight of her high spiritedness was when she tried to climb the sloped portion of deck on display and tumbled off, almost cracking her skull. Ten seconds out of my sight. Oy. I will give kudos to the attendant there. He was witty and said "Thank you for demonstrating the dangers of this display!" Kids. The interesting thing about the exhibit is that they give you a card as you go in with the name of a real passenger. For the remainder of your journey, you are that passenger and you can find "yourself in the photos and artifacts. Then at the end you find out if you lived or died. I was a Countess who lived. John and Shona survived. Poor Katy and her nine children perished. We didn't stop teasing her about that the entire time. There were also dresses and things from the movie and because of that, no photography was allowed.

On the way to our hotel, we stopped at the dam. Not much exciting to see there, so we snapped a photo and moved on to shopping. Didn't buy a lot, but with outlet malls, you gotta go.

Day Two: Silver Dollar City. I hadn't been in years and I have to say I was a bit disappointed. It wasn't as big as I remembered and there wasn't as much to do. Last I went, it was geared a lot more toward the displays of craftsmanship. You can still watch a blacksmith creating things, there was a glassblower creating works of art (Katy goaded him into making the first bunny of his life, and we wound up buying that as a souvenir), and a few others, but mostly it was just another theme park with cheesy shows and roller coasters. Well, OK, so the roller coasters I like. No, love. I live for them. That's us waiting in line for yet another ride. We opted not to stay for a second day because we had gone on all the rides we wanted and did everything we wanted. Instead, we headed home early and stopped for a bit of retail therapy on the way home. School clothes shopping galore.

Only one more month until I start classes. Tick tock, tick tock...

Our big news

2008-06-24T16:44:00.009-05:00

Summer is in full swing here, but it is still all about school. I'm taking a summer business course (Business Law), Katy is helping a Pre-K teacher with a summer class, John is teaching summer school, and Shona is IN summer school. It all finally ends July 1, which means I'll go nuts with everyone home or I'll love it. We'll find out which it is very soon.
I have had zero motivation lately, for pretty much everything. I haven't wanted to scrap, I haven't wanted to walk (but I do that anyway), I haven't wanted to do my school work (I definitely do that anyway), and I certainly don't want to do housework. That I only do on a necessity basis. Hopefully that will end soon.
Katy had a wonderful time on her band trip to Florida. No marching photos, but she did have friends snap a few photos here and there. I think she was a little tired of riding on the bus, which is what the majority of the time was wasted on, but you can't have it all on a 5 day trip to Florida from the midwest. I think now she is very excited at the thought of her senior trip. I hope hers is better than mine!
She was very nice to bring back souvenirs for everyone, too. Or should I say souvenears? Shona loves hers, although I made her put them up until she's older. That or we go back to the Magic Kingdom. Maybe someday.

Shona's big excitement was a trip with her Girl Scout trip to the zoo. They also did a Build-a-Bear workshop, where she came home with a very cool pink leopard named Pinky Pie. We all went along, and did some shopping afterward. Katy even met up with her boyfriend and he helped her pick out a prom gown for next year. Hey, a guy who shops and is a bargain hunter. It can't last because I like the boy. The kiss of death to any relationship!

The big news this week is that I finally got my hair all chopped off...short. Well, short for me. I usually don't go above the ears, but I'm old, I'm tired of fooling with it and it was beyond repair. OK, so that's not big news. Not really. Unless you live in Anita world. Then it's about all the thrill you can handle.

Katy's big news for the month is...she got a job! Woo hoo! She started at McDonald's tonight and already says she loves her uniform. I'm shocked and amazed, but at least it's comfy. Now if the goofball would just take herself seriously for one moment for me to get a good scrapbook pic. She knows me far too well. She got dressed in her gear and brought me the camera, saying "I know you will want to scrap my first job." Gotta love when you have them trained!

That's about it for now. Next week the real fun begins with the whining of "I'm boooooooooooooooooooored."

The long weekend

2008-05-24T18:48:00.003-05:00

This Memorial Day weekend is almost painful because John and Shona have to go back to school next week. Those darn ice storms this winter forced the school to lengthen the school year by another four days, and no one is happy about it. Even John says it's like being out to sea for six months and knowing you are headed home but still being a week from port. Poor guy. Katy is ecstatically happy, though, since Friday was her last day. We need to get her packed this weekend and out the door. I bought a pre-paid card for her to use as spending money. I just don't want her out there with more than about $20 in cash because I don't trust a bus load of people! Actually about four bus loads of people, not including the two bus loads of equipment. It's a large band.

In any case, we aren't doing anything exciting this weekend. No plans for travel with gas nearly $4 per gallon and John is in the middle of writing cirriculum for a class he is teaching next year. Interestingly, it's a course I just finished at the college. I think Katy is taking it this year, as is her best friend. I'm amazed Katy wants to sit in on her dad's class, but it is a subject she's interested in and he's the only one who teaches it in this school. The great thing is she wouldn't have to take it again in college.

I am working on several projects. I just finished my snowman album and I am doing one layout with the leftover papers. Then I am determined to start an album about my mother. It's a painful subject I've been avoiding, but I need to do it. I'm also determined to get more older pictures scrapped, no matter how bad they are. Those memories need a little love and attention, too, and the longer I go without getting them down on paper, the less I'll remember.

Happy Memorial Day weekend. I hope you are having a relaxing time. I just wish the community pool were open. We'd go do some splashing!

Rest and Hope

2008-05-20T12:48:00.004-05:00

I am happy to report that I finished my semester and lived to tell about it. I don't quite know how, but I wound up with a 4.0 for the second semester running. If you knew how little I comprehended the Accounting course I took, you would be scratching your head over that A as well, but I won't complain. I managed to do well enough on the online open book exams and cram just enough into my head for the finals that I wound up with a 91%. That's great for my GPA, but I am not fond of learning things only to be forgotten 30 minutes after the final. The class did absolutely nothing for me and I feel like it was money wasted. Oh, well, I'm one semester closer to my degree. This summer I am taking Business Law so I am not overloading on hours in the fall and I can finish up at this school and move on to Missouri State next spring.

I have been having a great time since finishing my finals. I have scrapped an entire mini album and finished another I'd started a while back. I am planning on plowing through a third one I started eons ago but put aside. It will be so wonderful to finish those projects. Hey, maybe if I finish these I will be inspired to take up my cross stitch projects I stopped working on when Shona was born. Hahaha. Somehow I doubt it. Scrapping is my world. Speaking of, though, one of my local LSS's is going out of business. I'm sad, but the lady needs to take care of her husband medically. I can relate to that problem. The great thing for me is that everything is currently 40% off. Well, I am not passing up that opportunity. Mostly I stocked up on cardstock and picked up some Bazzill edge strips. Great stuff. Then I was about to check out and get out of there for less than $20, when I saw this:

It's the Cosmo Cricket Biography 101 Shadowbox/album. They had one in black I nearly bought, but I got to looking at the wicker and I started dreaming of Pensacola. I desperately want to take Shona there this summer and maybe if I had an album to fill up, I'd feel compelled to actually make that trip happen. I know, that's a pretty lame reason, but hey...the album was 40% off and I WILL make it to Pensacola again someday. It'll get used, even if I have to dust it off when I go to open the thing next time.

I had a good Mother's Day, where I was plied with everything from Pet Rocks (I kid you not and they are very cute) to flowers. My favorite things were the handmade ones. Shona drew a picture of me on a card and I am far prettier on the card. Katy altered a notebook for me and wrote a long note inside saying how much she loved me and that I was even cooler than giraffes. That's pretty cool in her world. I admit it, I got teary-eyed. Love my girls!
This past weekend I attended a mother/daughter tea party with Shona. It was a Girl Scout event and we were honestly not impressed. The food was bad and the tea was not good. The tables weren't arranged in a fashion that promoted socializing, so we sat there like lumps. After an hour, Shona asked if we could leave and get some "real tea" from McDonald's, and so we did. Next year we will skip it. At least we got some mommy daughter bonding time and for that I am happy.

Katy leaves next week for Florida. She's going on a band trip to Disney World and marching in their Main Street parade. I so wish I could go, but Shona and John have another week of school. Thanks to the ice storms this winter, everyone else has to stay behind and go to school. I just hope someone takes pictures for me.

Off to scrap!

Stress the Stalker

2008-04-23T16:44:00.003-05:00

I've been having one of those times when it seems stress is picking on me. It stalks me until I have a weak moment and then pounces, beating me down. This entire month it seems I've been stalked and smacked upside the head every time I turn around. I thought once Shona's birthday was over, things would calm down. Hahaha. I'm so naive. My classes are winding down, which of course means we are heading into finals. That's stress enough.
Then John's back when out last week and I had to take him to the ER. He was supposed to be home for a few days on bed rest, but his Master's Degree program started that night (naturally) and he decided he couldn't miss that. Two days later, Katy came down with a mysterious illness and I had to rush to school to pick her up. She was fine, but it was pretty scary.
Cue this week...time to enroll in summer and fall classes. My summer enrollment went fine, then this morning I tried to enroll in fall only to be told I couldn't sign up for the last two classes I need to finish my Associate's. When I did some digging, it told me I was lacking math classes. Huh? Is Calculus not enough math for these people? I had to dig out my transcripts from way back when, go wait in line at the office, and explain to them that my Calculus and the Math Functions class I took way back when should count for more than the pre-Algebra and Algebra they were expecting me to take (and this is the FIRST time this has popped up, by the way!). I took Algebra 1 and 2 back in Jr. High, for Pete's sake! They finally agreed with me and enrolled me in the two classes I was lacking. It pains me that when I get my Associate's this fall, I will do so with over 90 college credit hours, but that's just the way the ball bounces, I suppose. So many things don't transfer.

Oh, and I had a bad mommy moment. I told Shona all week to be prepared for her dental visit today. She's having some teeth drilled and filled. I reminded her this morning that I'd be picking her up to take her this afternoon. Then it occurred to me that the office hadn't called to confirm, so just before leaving I dialed them up to see why. I was looking at the calendar, listening to the phone ring, when I realized her appointment isn't until next week. Argh! At least that afforded me the time to get my school situation cleared up, but geez. I think I need a vacation. Somewhere warm and tropical with no cares in the world.

Anyway, that's my update. I'm not feeling down, just stressed. I know things will get better once this semester is over. Now...I'd go rest, but I have to write an 8 page term paper on how to fix the Economy. No pressure there....

Pictures Galore!

2008-04-05T20:32:00.014-05:00

OK, time for a picture fest and lots of catching up. First, Easter was fun, but I didn't get a lot of great photos. This was the cutest and it didn't even have the kids in the picture. Sometimes I get frustrated with the lack of light in my house. Love my house, but it needs light!

Katy went to prom with her boyfriend. He lives about 90 minutes south of us, so it was quite a day to drive her there, hang out with the parents passing time and get home on the winding backroads late at night. John admitted he was lost at one point, something I've never heard come out of his mouth in the 18 years we have been together, but now that it's over, he denies it. That's OK, the important part is we got home safe and sound and I got pictures! I do think they make a nice couple, and since the boy's older sister loaned the dress for the night, it only cost us gas money.

This week has been insane. I went back to school after spring break only to be hit with tests all week. Not just tests, but major tests. The kind that take at least an hour, usually two. Why do they torture us this way? I'm happy to report I'm still carrying all A's, but I have a feeling that is subject to change down the road! Only four more weeks of classes and no stress on my Microeconomics term paper...I just have to write 6 to 8 pages detailing how to fix the economy. No big deal, eh? *big, fat sigh*
My baby hit 8 years old this weekend. Man, that was a fast eight years. Faster than Katy's went, but I have a theory that time moves faster the older you get until the hands on the clock are spinning like a top. Shona wanted to dazzle on her birthday, so she got decked out in a beautiful new dress and new shoes (she actually bought with her own money!)...big sister did her hair that morning. It was a glorious day for her, but nothing as exciting as the next day when she got to bring four friends home on the bus for her birthday bash and first sleepover of her life. We took them to the local pottery store (which also doubles as a scrap store, so I was entertained looking around!) so they could each paint a piece of pottery. They loved that. Then back home for dinner and gift opening. That was a screaming success, and I do mean screaming. After each and every gift was revealed, the girls screamed at the top of their lungs in unison, proclaiming each to be the best gift EVER! Ah, the enthusiasm of a room full of 8-year-olds. I'm amazed the police force wasn't summoned by our neighbors, fearing a chainsaw massacre in progress.

Next up, two cakes. Shona wanted an ice cream cake, so I bought one of those. I was very disappointed in the decorations. I could have done a better job, and for $25, I expect a little more effort. Since the cake wasn't even ready when we picked it up, I know they just slapped it together in the back while I waited. Then we cut into it and it was the WRONG flavor! That was the last straw and John called them up to complain. They refunded half the price the next day. I won't be buying another cake from them. I had originally bought a second small regular cake to be cut when my dad came down the following day, but we had to go to emergency plan B when the girls didn't like the ice cream cake flavor, and Shona got to use that cake as well. All's well that ends well, anyway.

The drama had only begun, though. Shona was very bossy and two girls asked to go home, crying. We talked them into sticking it out and had to pull Shona aside several times to remind her that she was not being a good hostess, and in the end they all had a good time. John went to bed by 9:00 with a headache (go figure!) and I stood guard until the last one conked out at midnight. Know what I discovered is the best part of the sleepovers? When they all go home! Katy's parties were never this taxing and sometimes she had 10 girls overnight. I guess they just got along better. The good news is I don't have to do this again for another year!

No rest for me, though, because just before the last child went home, my dad and stepmom showed up. We took them out to the state park to check out the fly fishing and the fish hatchery. They really liked it out there. It is such a beautiful park. I think my dad is still a handsome guy, even at 64. Shona was her typical dramatic self at the park, though, no doubt moping that her party was over, and I was ready to go pretty quickly. All in all, it was a successful birthday, but I'm not in any hurry to do it again anytime soon. Now on to finish this semester and work on summer school. I need a vacation!

Time Flies

2008-03-23T01:03:00.001-05:00

Time flies when you're having fun and lately even when I'm not! I can't believe it has been this long since I blogged, but this semester is killing me. I'm finally on spring break, which I desperately need for my sanity, but I will probably wind up working any shifts they throw my way for the week at the schools. It's almost time to register for classes for the summer and next fall. I'm very relieved I will be able to take one of the classes I still need this summer so I'm not trying to slog through 18 hours next semester. I'm not sure I could handle that, especially with what I still have to take...Chemistry, Managerial Accounting, Spanish, Business Law and some Sophomore Seminar class I have to take to finish an Associate's even though I am not stopping at my Associate's. When I finish in the fall, I will have over 90 credit hours and will only be hitting my Associate's. That's frustrating, but that is what happenes when not all your credits transfer in as what you need. :( Oh, well. That's what I get!
We went up to visit my family today. I hadn't seen most of them since Christmas, so that was a treat. So many of my relatives are very ill or have been recently with a variety of problems and it is painful to see them suffering, but it was still a good visit.
We didn't get home until late, but I had to put the Easter baskets together and I decided to make the girls work for them this year. No more handing them over as soon as I get up. Noooooo, not me. I just spent an hour whipping up some rhyming clues and they will have to follow the clues, hidden in plastic eggs, until they reach the spot where their basket is hidden. Shona's clues are pretty straightforward and her basket is under the kitchen sink. I made Katy's harder and hers is hidden in the trunk of my car. I can't wait to follow each of them around tomorrow, snapping photos. My mother used to make us search for our baskets in a similar way, and it's fun to resurrect a long-forgotten tradition. I bet Catherine wants me to scrap that!! I will post pictures after the hunt tomorrow. :)

Snow Day

2008-02-01T15:44:00.000-06:00

We got pounded with snow last night. School let out early and was cancelled for today. It only wound up being about 4", but that is enough to shut things down around here. I have to say I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a snow day this much. Perhaps it was because I was home with the girls and the hubby was gone. He had to leave at a ridiculous hour to go to the VA hospital. He has appointments every month or so because of his condition, and it was a shame it had to be on a snowy day, but we still managed to enjoy ourselves. Katy and I watched more episodes of The Golden Girls. We are about halfway through Season 3 and we are loving it. That's like comfort food to me and just hearing the theme song makes me smell popcorn and swear I hear cards shuffling.

Anyway, back to the snow. The big thing with snow for Shona is eating it. Give the girl a spoon and a bowl in a snowstorm, and she is one happy camper. I even made a batch of snow ice cream for the girls, something I haven't done in years. I had some, too, and almost froze my lips off. It's worth it, though!

My favorite part of today was building a snowman with the girls. Katy and I did the heavy rolling and lifting, Shona helped mostly with the packing and choosing adornments for our new friend, Pierre. It's just a shame our new friend won't be staying for long, since we are due to hit the 50's this weekend. So long, foul weather friend.

Now if someone could just get it through Shona's head that instigating a snowball fight with your big sister means taking your lumps of snow in the head as well.
And that there is NO pouting during the accessorization phase of snowman building. *sigh*

Propane Wars and Economic Stimulation

2008-01-28T14:54:00.001-06:00

I can hardly believe January is nearly over. I was standing in a store the other day with John and realized it was "only" 11 months until Christmas. Where did that thought come from? I refuse to think about the holiday season this far removed from it!
My classes are going well so far, but then I haven't taken many tests yet, either. I'm not sure how well I'm retaining the information until I go to take the tests, so we'll see. I'm nervous about my online courses. I am keeping up easily with one, but the other one...not so much. I am keeping up with the work, but the work I do in my workbooks doesn't seem to "stick" when it comes to going online and completing assignments. I think more studying is in order.

We got our income tax return Friday, and like good little consumers, we set out to stimulate the economy. That was after paying a stack of bills, of course. Always business before pleasure. We hit some wonderful sales and I now have sweaters and warm shirts. I only had a few long sleeved shirts, all of which were more fall weight than winter weight, and I've been pretty chilly lately. I also splurged on a pair of knock-about shoes. I am trying to preserve my walking shoes strictly for walking. I spend a lot of money on my walking shoes and I am pretty particular in what conditions I'll walk in just to save the soles a bit longer. I wanted something as comfortable and casual as a sneaker without actually being a sneaker...something I could dress up or down, so I wound up with some brown Skechers bowling-type shoes. They are mighty cute shoes.

A couple of weeks ago, we realized we were nearly out of propane, so we called the company requesting a delivery. They informed us that they wouldn't deliver until we paid our bill. Er....what bill? This is the first time we've requested a delivery since we took ownership of the house. After much fiasco, we found out they HAD delivered fuel TWO MONTHS ago and tacked the bill onto our back door. The last owners used the back door frequently as the business entry for their daycare, and I suppose they would have found a bill placed on their door. We certainly didn't and were completely unaware it had ever been there. They never mailed a bill, never called to ask if we had received it...nothing! What truly upset me was that they had been out a week before and had checked the gas tank amount, so they knew we were almost out. A courtesy call at THAT point even would have alerted us that we had an outstanding bill with them. But nooooo. They did deliver gas, but after going round and round with these people about the way they do business (this was just the very smallest problem with had with them, by the way...it gets far worse), we have decided to find a new company. I have personally never seen an office run in such a terrible manner. When you call in to ask to speak to a manager and the owner himself won't even admit to being in charge (plus LEAVES when you specifically say you're coming in to talk with him in ten minutes), that doesn't signify good business. This might be the second business in town I have to report to the BBB this month. What a nightmare.

I just realized that the only pictures I have taken this entire month are dark, fuzzy photos from our time spent huddled in the bathroom all night during tornado sirens. A tornado passed 10 miles to the north of us and another about 15 miles to the south of us that night and the sirens came on and off all night long. I let Katy stay home from school the next day because she was so exhausted from it all and I am not one to let kids miss school for silly reasons.

That's my update. When Katy's hair gets dyed teal in a few days (just two streaks), I'll post some pics.

Tag, I'm It!

2008-01-13T18:36:00.000-06:00

Melanie tagged me so here goes.
Answer all the questions and then add one yourself at the bottom, then tag some people.

1. Name your 2 favorite scrapbooking topics: My kids and my dogs

2. What are the 2 best places you've been to? The Amalfi Coast and Pensacola, Florida

3. Name 2 things you do every day: Go online and email.

4. Tell us 2 things that pretty much everyone knows about you: I'm working on my degree again and I have two girls

5. 2 places you wish to visit: Australia and the British Isles

6. 2 things you may not know about me are: I can't honestly think of anything people don't know about me. I'm an open book!

7. 2 nicknames you've had at some time in your life: Calamity Jane (my mother called me that as a child) and Neeter (big brother)

8. Name 2 of your favorite drinks: tea and tea

9. Janet's question: What are 2 interesting (in a good or bad way) jobs you’ve had in your life? I loved managing a bank vault. I was always busy, enjoyed my co worker and was really good at that job. The other one that was interesting was working in a nursing home kitchen...but not in a good way.

10. Cheri's question: Name 2 resolutions you've either already broken or 2 that you've kept so far: To get back into my classwork (starts tomorrow) and to maintain my weight. Still walking!

11. Jen's question: If you could be any age you wanted to be what would it be? 35. I've always felt 35, so I'd just go back there and stay put.

12. Melanie's question: What is your favorite holiday and why? I love Christmas, just the feeling of that time of year. It's wonderful.

My question: If you could go back and relive one day of your life, what day would it be? I'd relive the day we got to go up in the mountains and spend the day with an Italian family. What a memorable and wonderful time.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T14:33:00.000-06:00

I'm glad the hoopla of the holidays is over. I enjoyed it, but today the decorations come down. Well, all but the outdoor stuff since our temperatures are a bit too cold today. I haven't even decided whether I am going to walk the beasts today. Katy rang in the new year with a new 'do. She had it cut and then dyed it black again. She is wanting teal tips, but it would be mighty pricey to do it, so I told her not at this point. I do think the new cut is great, though. My dad hates it, which I told her is a good sign that it's hip and fresh. Trust me. The man has had the same hairdo since Elvis was alive and I am not exaggerating.

Christmas was good and very low key. We drove up to my hometown on Christmas Eve to distribute gifts and tell everyone hi. My stepmother was just out of the hospital after almost dying, so there was no big family gathering. That suited me fine. We didn't invite anyone over, we just fixed a meal, opened gifts and played the new games the girls got. I think Katy was disappointed not to get a "big ticket" item this year, but times are tough, girl! I think the dogs are finally glad to be past the excitement of the season. Poor things don't know what to think with the shiny tree and the music, the cookies, the people coming over all the time, and just the chaos of it all.

I'm a little sad because Shona started questioning Santa this year. She kept asking everyone she knew if he was real and I just kept asking her what she thought. She claimed to still believe, but I think this Christmas signifies the end of Santa at our house. There's some melancholy, but then I won't have to worry about keeping that big secret anymore, either. I guess it has to happen eventually. Why can't they just stay little?

We also had some unexpected company this week. John's sister, her daughter and grandsom decided to drive in to see us. Now John and I have been together for 17 1/2 years, and the only time they have ever come to visit was when we were stationed in the same state as them. It was a bit odd to have about 12 hours' notice that they were headed our way and....they could have mentioned that they were bringing a dog with them. It was quite interesting keeping the dogs apart for two days, but we managed. Shona had a blast because her cousin is only a year older than her. They played nonstop for the entire time of the visit and they are already plotting how to get together again. Ah, kids.

As for my New Year's resolutions...I just want to lose the last five pounds I've been putting off to officially reach my goal and I want to keep my grades up. I won't be hopeful enough to maintain my 4.0, but I'll give it my all. Hope 2008 is good for you.

Winter Wonderland

2007-12-19T19:51:00.000-06:00

Happy almost Christmas. I can hardly believe it's almost here, but it is. I can't even say it snuck up on me, I've been stressing about it for months, but somehow Christmas always seems to smack me upside the head faster than I wanted it to.

Katy's concert went quite well. Her section sounded best, but then they should, as they are the "elite" band of the school.
We managed to miss out on a nasty ice storm, thank goodness, but we did get hit with the first snow storm of the season.
Shona was deleriously happy and I had to let her go out into it a few times, despite the fact that she was just getting over a nasty cold. There's something so infectious about the joy of a child playing in snow. It almost makes me like it. Almost. If it weren't so darn wet and slushy and hazardous to drive in. Ah, such is the life of a practical mom. At least my child enjoyed it.
Today Shona's class had a gingerbread creation day. I volunteered to come in and assist and it was rather fun watching the children "glue" their pieces together with all that white icing. The one rule that was most difficult for them seemed to be the "no eating anything while in school" rule because the only place they are allowed sugary treats is in the lunch room IF they bring it themselves. Sad what this country has come to, but that's a rant for another day. I think Shona's house came out adorable, if not a little lopsided. Of course, that only added to its charm. We used it as a centerpiece at dinner tonight, which made Shona beam with pride.

Oh yes, and did I mention I got a 4.0 for the semester? Not bad for an old broad like me. That's about it in Anita's world. Another week, another bit of excitement. Until I blog again...hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

The Weather Outside is Frightful

2007-12-09T13:56:00.001-06:00

Another ice storm is moving through the area this weekend. I'm having flashbacks to January, when the last storm knocked out power and paralyzed the area for about a week. It was hardly a fun time. Back then, they said it was a freak thing that hadn't happened in over 30 years, so who thought it could happen again a second year in a row? So far we have been lucky. Warmer temperatures have kept the freezing rain to a minimum and most of the really nasty stuff has hit my family a couple of hours north of here. We have a little bit of ice out there, but nothing like they do. They are losing trees and branches right and left. We moved since the last storm, and we are now on county power. That isn't a good thing because they were the ones who went a week or more without electricity last storm. If we had known that before buying out here, we might have reconsidered, but it's too late now. Anyway, we were freaked out enough by the forecast that we decided it was time to invest in a generator. Only one store in town sells them and we picked one up the other day. After reading the user's guide, John decided it was way too small for our most basic needs, and he set out on a quest to find a larger model. The closest store with one in stock was about 3 hours away, so off he went yesterday morning. He was tired when he got home, but at least we have backup power. We won't have TV or internet, but we'll have heat and hot water (if the city water pumps still work!), and that's what matters. When is spring, anyway? Bring it on!

And in other news, Katy has her Christmas band concert at school today. She is all dressed up for it. I think she looks lovely, it's just amazing how long it takes her to get ready. Ah, teenagers! Speaking of which, I'm off to the show.

The Trouble with Photo Shoots

2007-11-29T20:55:00.000-06:00

OK, girls, I need to get a good photo for this year's Christmas card. It should only take a few minutes, so get along, smile nicely and sit up straight.
Not terrible, but it's too dark. Darn flash. Let's try again.
Yeah, yeah, cute. Stop goofing off and let me get a picture, would you?

No, REALLY, STOP goofing off and let me get a good picture.

Can you two stop picking at each other for five minutes and stop the goofing off long enough to just get a picture?

Let's move inside and try by the tree. Shona, did you get my memo about NO FUNNY FACES!? One picture. Just one picture. Is that too much to ask?!

You DO know I will keep at this all night, right? I'm not going anywhere until I get a decent shot.

Not bad. We might go with that one, let's keep trying.

For Pete's sake.... STOP ARGUING! This light isn't working for me. Let's try outside once more. Yes, I KNOW it's cold and it's going to be freezing and dark out soon, so if you don't want to be out there getting your toes frostbitten, I suggest you pretend to like each other for two minutes, smile nicely into the camera and let me get ONE good shot. I mean it, girls, I do have all night to do this!

Bingo. Thanks, ladies. Same time, same place next year. Just don't bring the attitude.

Decking the Halls

2007-11-28T16:14:00.000-06:00

I finally feel like it's Christmas time. Before we got the house dressed, it felt like just another blah week, but the lights have put me in a holiday mood. I went a little crazy in the dining room because it had the most empty space to decorate. I've never had this much space to play with before, and that's sad since my house is not that big. I'm thrilled that I finally have somewhere to put the little "It's a Wonderful Life" houses my cousin has been sending me, too. That mirror we picked up at a garage sale this summer really enhances that end of the dining room. The only problem is that tall, dancing and singing Santa in the corner freaks out my dogs. It took two days for them not to bark at it standing still and I don't dare turn it on with them in the house.
I have a "new" Christmas item this year, but it's an antique. You light the candles, the heat from the flames rises and makes the top thing turn, which makes the angels spin around and when they go fast enough, they strike the bells. We tested it out the other night and it works great. I'll have to get a shot of it in action. That's about it in Anita world. I'm still plugging away at my classes, getting ready for finals in about a week. I can't wait to have a month off to do what I want...which is scrap!

Catching Up

2007-11-24T19:25:00.000-06:00

So I've been pretty darn busy. Halloween came and went a little too quickly, then, before I could even blink, Thanksgiving was knocking on my door. How do days go by so slowly, yet years zip by with astonishing speed? I've never understood that. Maybe we're so focused on the day to day things, the big pictures slides on by when we aren't paying attention. In any case, this has been an unbelievably fast month.

My Mother-in-law came down and spent two nights with us over Thanksgiving. I can honestly say it was a wonderful visit, but that could be because I hardly spent any time outside my office. I had a monster of a term paper to write, one that required books and books of research, complete with citations, so it wasn't something I could try to blow off or fudge. It took many long hours at my computer, but I managed to finish that darn thing. Now the only thing standing between me and finishing this semester are about two weeks of classes and finals. I say bring it on. I'm ready to end the classes I'm in and move on to something else. I am carrying a 14 hour load next semester, plus I'm going to try my hand at substitute teaching a couple of days a week. Time to make a few dollars and get out of the house. Did I mention Katy went on her first date this month? The first official un-chaperoned, out with a boy evening. Of course, he had no car, so we picked them up and dropped them off at the theater, so it wasn't too stressful, but she was happy. Then the guy stood her up on Thanksgiving, so I suppose they have broken up. Such quick relationships these days. At least Katy doesn't pine over lost love. She goes through boyfriends like I go through socks.

The big excitement last weekend was the Christmas parade. Why they insist on having it before Thanksgiving, I'll never know, but it always is. This year, Katy and Shona both marched in it. Katy was in the band, as usual, and Shona carried a flag with the Girl Scouts. Both were very excited, but I must admit John and I were a little lonely without the girls on the sidewalk. It is harder to get into the spirit of the parade when there are no kids to scream and get excited with. The other problem was it was so incredibly hot outside, we kept getting overheated. Two days later, we hit the freezing mark. Gotta love Missouri weather.

This weekend we have been putting up our Christmas decorations. I'll update again if I ever get finished. Of course, tomorrow will probably be Valentine's Day if I blink.

7 Random Things

2007-10-29T22:10:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged by Catherine to tell seven random things about me. I have a hard time with this because I already feel like everyone knows everything about me, but I'm giving it my best.

1. I cannot stand open kitchen cabinets. I think it's because my grandma used to leave hers standing open most of the time. Not all of them at once, just random ones always seemed to be standing open whenever I'd stop by. It bothered me, I've never been able to figure out why, and now it really annoys me in my own house. Just shut the doors, please.

2. I hold my breath when I walk past another person or they walk by me. I'm not sure if I'm phobic about breathing their scent or what, it's just something I've done since I was a little girl.

3. I complain about how much time my husband spends watching the History Channel, but when I have control of the remote and no one else is home, I often find myself watching it without him because I enjoy it, too. In my defense, though, I never ever watch anything to do with Nazis without him there. I still have my standards.

4. I used to be mortified when teenagers would call me ma'am. Now I wish more would.

5. I color my hair to keep the gray at bay, but I look forward to the day I let it go natural. I'm waiting until it's all a lovely shade of silver, like my mother's. Sadly, I don't think it will take as long as I hope.

6. I am seriously rethinking my college major, but it might be too late!

7. Sometimes I feel guilty with the amount of trees my scrapbook paper has killed. Then I pull out my scrap supplies and get over it surprisingly easy.

Life rolls on

2007-10-25T23:02:00.000-05:00

I've just about given up blogging. It seems like it, anyway. Time just isn't my friend lately. At least I'm past mid-terms, but the second half of the semester seems to be flying by faster than the first. Right after Thanksgiving I start cramming for finals, and life will be interesting then. I'm looking forward to the week after next when I have a three day school week. I am going to luxuriate in my days home with no husband and no kids. Just me and the dogs and my scrap room. I want to get something accomplished because I haven't seriously scrapped anything but my assigned kits in months.
Tonight we had parent/teacher conferences, where Katy was mortified to discover she has a B in two classes. It's just the end of her world. She is a straight A student and doesn't want to be known for anything less. Her teachers had wonderful comments about her, too, as they always do. She's definitely my studious one. Shona had mostly B's and a couple of A's. The funny thing is, the subjects Katy is struggling with are the ones Shona is doing well in. Shona is my science and math whiz, Katy is my English and Social Studies brainiac. How two children reared in the same household can be such polar opposities in every conceivable way just floors me and reminds me that sometimes nature wins out over nurture!
As for my schooling, I have to register for my next semester in a couple of weeks and I am stressing out over what to take when. Looks like I'll be stuck taking Biology. John thinks it's hilarious I am going to have to take a class similar to what he teaches, because he knows my strong suit is NOT science. I informed him that he will be recruited as my hostile tutor for the duration of next semester and I'm blaming whatever grade I end up with on him!
Wow, I just realized next week is Halloween. Now THAT is what's scary. Wasn't it Easter just last week? It seems that way....

October Already?

2007-10-14T11:51:00.000-05:00

I feel like I have all but dropped off the face of the Earth lately. All I do is eat, sleep, study, do laundry, walk and keep up with the kids' lives. On the rare occasion I get to scrap, it's for assignments, which is great since at least it nudges me to do that much, but I want more time for me. I knew it would be this way once school started, but the reality of it can be a downer. I just got through mid term exams this week, and it's a huge relief to be past that point. The good news is that when December rolls around, I will have a full month off school and everyone else in the house only gets two weeks. That leaves me with two weeks of ME time to do what I want. I am turning off the phone and computer and I am scrapping myself silly!
Let's see...since last I wrote, Shona has quit karate because it wasn't social enough for her (typical girl), Katy is doing practically nothing but marching with the band. Every weekend this month and most of next is taken up with competition. That's all part of the high school band experience, though, and I know she's enoying it somewhere under all that exhaustion. I feel bad for her when she gets home at 2 a.m. like she did this morning. I'm also reminded at those times how wonderful cell phones are.
The biggest news, though, is that we wound up adopting another dog. One of the paraprofessionals at the school John works at had a dog she couldn't keep. Her apartment is just too small and they were both miserable. He was being crated about 20 hours a day/night, which I just find cruel. Poor thing. I never would have even agreed to it except that one day in my stupidity I told the girls that IF we were ever to be given a jack russell terrier, we'd take it because that's their favorite type of dog. I felt completely safe in telling them this since no one gives away a purebred dog. No one. Ha. Wrong. I was afraid he wouldn't get along with Bailey and I knew that breed tended to be hyper, so it was with great trepidation that we took him on. For a while we thought we were in the clear when two other people expressed an interest in the pooch, but in the end it was us or the pound, and I just couldn't let him go there. It took a week, but now Pedey and Bailey are buddies. We did have to have him neutered, so there's no such thing as free, but it was a lot cheaper than having Bailey fixed. Pedey now is a sweet little wiggleworm who loves to snuggle with us. True, he's a little high strung, but he fits in well with our household and he keeps Bailey very happy as a playmate, so overall it was a stroke of great luck to add this little guy to our family. And I have learned my lesson when it comes to saying those "what ifs" out loud.

Rise and Fall of a Burro

2007-09-22T23:04:00.001-05:00

I'm Edmond. Up until yesterday, I was living high in the rafters of the local Wal Mart store. It was an OK life, a bit crowded next to the Spongebob pinata and all the party balloons, but I had a great view and lots of attention. Then yesterday a wonderful person came along, took me down from my perch and showered me with attention. First, she filled me with sweet, delicious candy from the tips of my hooves to the top of my back. Then she dressed me in a lovely hat and let me stay in her warm, toasty room for the night. She even gave me my name, which I have to say sounds very macho. Then came today.
I was unceremoniously smooshed into the back of a minivan, carted off to a lovely park and once again hoisted into the air. What a beautiful view! I wasn't sure why the children all stood around with sticks and a gleam in their eye, but I wasn't worried. I was too high to be alarmed and I could see the entire park from in that tree. Then the mean man dropped me low and the beatings began. Oh, the agony! Those evil people took turns thwacking my hide until I couldn't take the torture anymore and exploded onto the ground. The sweet candy I'd devoured just the night before went crashing to the ground and those hordes of people ignored my dismembered state to snatch up the goods.
As if I hadn't been humiliated enough, they saw fit to take my disembodied head and prance around as if I were a hat. Oh, the shame. At least the two centers of attention seemed to be enjoying themselves, carving up a cake and serving it, and opening many gifts. Many friends were in attendance, making for happy times. I can hardly believe two friends would have their birthdays so close together and Sweet 16 is quite a day to celebrate. I just hope they remember me sometimes, their dear, sweet Edmond, who gave his life for their celebration.

Just another weekend

2007-09-09T19:45:00.001-05:00

Come on, fall. I am ready for the big cool down and it just isn't happening yet. It still feels like summer. We had a lazy weekend, although I did manage to catch up on laundry. I decided after the four tests and paper from last week, I deserved a mental vacation, and I took one yesterday. I did a little bit of scrapping, played some games with Shona and just vegged out as much as I could. Today it was back to reading assignments, but it wasn't so bad. That one day helped immensely.
I finally broke down and bought one of those little bags of candy corn pumpkins today. I'm rationing them, though. They go into the freezer and I will only thaw one at a time. If I don't, I'll make myself completely ill on them in a week. I just have no willpower when it comes to those darn pumpkins.
Onward to the next school day. How many more days until the end of the semester?

Grump

2007-09-05T19:44:00.000-05:00

This week in school is all about tests. I have one in all but one class this week, and in that one I had to write a paper. I think they are trying to kill me. The one that irritated me most was the one I studied the hardest for, only to find out 75% of the questions on the test weren't on the material we were told to study. That was a rude shock. He said not to worry about it because we could throw out our lowest test score, but really...is that even fair to test over material we aren't even supposed to have read yet? The joke was on him, though, because I was an incredibly lucky guesser and I wound up with an A anyway. So HA on him! I have my backup A and I can save it in case I screw up another test down the road.
Overall I'm enjoying classes. They are a lot of work, which they are supposed to be, but I think I'm adjusting. Some of it I even like, but don't tell.
Off to study. Hopefully tomorrow we'll be testing on things we actually covered.

Life

2007-09-01T22:52:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know, I've been a bad blogger. Life got in the way and wouldn't budge there for a while. The drama of summer is over and the house is back to a routine. I love that. The kids are enjoying themselves. Katy is taking Spanish and likes it so far, but then she has only learned a couple of phrases. Wait until test time. Shona loves her new teacher, which is a relief. As star struck as she was with the last one, I was afraid she wouldn't ever get over it and move on to like another teacher. She already claims to love this teacher more than last year's. Poor Mrs. Carter. Such is life.
John's classes are going well so far and he seems to have settled right in with his new classes. He's teaching Honors Biology this year, which is very different from last year, and he's happy about that. He's also happy not to have to share his classroom with another teacher this year. No two hour lunch breaks where he has to leave the building. At least he thought he was happy about that until he realized no more big chunks of free time during the day. Tradeoffs!
As for me, I'm still adjusting to my new career as a college student. I'm old enough to be a mom to most of my classmates, but I'm enjoying being back in a classroom. I always did love school. Some of my classes are pretty dull and I'm surprised at which ones. I went in figuring some I'd hate and they've turned out to be my favorites so far. I never thought I'd enjoy Political Science, but the teacher has a way of making it interesting and so relevant to my life that I look forward to being there. English Composition II I thought I'd love and it is the most dry, dull, boring class I've ever had so far. Hopefully it gets better because I do like the teacher.
Shona still loves karate, Katy is still in band and loving marching season. I got to see their first performance last night at the first football game of the year. They were fantastic, but then I'm a wee bit prejudiced.
And in other news, I'm 1.5 pounds from my goal weight. I can't believe it, either. I haven't quite got my head wrapped around that fact, but it'll hit me one day. Katy was thrilled to double her wardrobe when I hit her size, but now I'm actually wearing smaller pants than her and it has freaked her out. *sigh* Always drama somewhere, but hey, I've worked hard to get where I am and I make no apologies, child. Enjoy that glorious figure while it is easy to and while it is still all in the right places!
That's about it for my catch up post. Maybe I'll get better at keeping up, but with a 15 hour course load, I make no promises.

Yard Sale Finds

2007-07-28T23:25:00.000-05:00

I used to be quite the garage sale junkie. You never know what you'll find there, and being the designated discarder of our family (see the last post), I have the power to walk away without buying useless junk. Nope, it must have a purpose and a good price to entice me into plunking down my cash. I hadn't been to them in years, though. Many, many years. I don't even know why we stopped going, other than having to drag Shona around and constantly chase her out of the freebie toy bins set up to trap unwitting parents into taking home junk.

This weekend, though, we decided to venture out just to see what we would find. Katy made out the best with stacks and stacks of clothing, mostly jeans. I love that she adores faded, worn clothing...actually, she prefers her clothing not to be new (not my child!)...so she's pretty well outfitted for school now. She even fell in love with a coat at one place, so that is taken care of. Katy is definitely the bargain shopper of my two. Shona, on the other hand...well, let's say she won't be a millionaire if early signs are any indication. She kept trying to give away all her coins and overpaying for every little thing she wanted. I do think she looked adorable by the end of the second day strung full of mardi gras bead necklaces, new shades and a straw hat with a lace bow. I wish I'd had my camera. My favorite find of the weekend was this mirror. We have been looking for something to go above the sideboard John inherited from his grandmother. I knew I wanted something of significant size but we were having trouble finding something that would compliment the wood. I think it was intended to be used as a bedroom mirror on a vanity, but I think it works quite well in our dining room.

Self Realization Time

2007-07-24T22:32:00.000-05:00

First, a rant. Apparently, I have special powers in my household. For some reason, I am the sole occupant of this home that is capable of putting a new roll of toilet paper onto the roller. Either it's far too complicated for everyone else or it really does take special mom powers to make it happen. Another special power I have is cleaning the bathroom. Everyone else in this house can overlook a disgusting pigsty of a bathroom and never lift a finger to clean it. I suppose they think it magically cleans itself, which in their worlds it does when mom gets enough and can't handle the dirt any longer. Ah, my kingdom for a maid. End of rant.

I did discover something about myself today. Now I'm not a neat freak, never have been, and I can live with a certain amount of minor dirt and non-cleanliness around me. That I know. Clutter, however, is my mortal enemy. I can't function in too much of it and I finally realized today that in large enough quantities, it has the ability to completely overwhelm me. I am speaking, of course, of the plethora of boxes and junk in my garage. I cannot walk in there and even begin organizational efforts because I am so overloaded with...stuff. It's everywhere and it overloads my brain to look at it. I am the discarder of our family. DH is a packrat to the extreme but when we bought this house, I laid down the law. Everything must find a use and a spot or we get rid of it. Period. I'm tired of having stuff in storage. If it's been in storage for years, do we really need it? I suppose that's why the flurry of shelf building happened when we first moved in because he can't bear to part with his book collection. Now he's pining for a curio cabinet so he doesn't have to give up some of his trinket treasures. I'm fine with that. So long as it has a designated spot and I can tolerate living with it in my house (I recently nixed the idea of any dead animal heads EVER being displayed on the walls....think sudden, mysterious disappearances there) we'll work with it. Time's a ticking on the remaining boxes. I need tidiness, I need order in my world and I never even knew it. Who'da thunk it?

Blah blah blah

2007-07-20T22:31:00.000-05:00

I think this has been one of the busiest summers of my life. I never seem to be home, and when I am home, things are a constant blur of motion. I suppose that's not a bad thing, but I can't seem to feel rested lately. Gee, I wonder why. I can't believe there is still another month until vacation time is over. I might not survive that long.
Today, though, was one of those days it might have been better not to have climbed out of bed. I was a grump from the moment I got up until dinner time. Bad news in the mail, or rather really aggravating news that set me off. Then I got a call from John saying he'd been in an accident. At least it was very minor and the other driver drove off saying "It's an old car, don't worry about it!" but still...I was such a grump that when my mother called I all but yelled at her. I get so tired of hearing from her on a daily basis when she has absolutely nothing to say. I miss when I could actually have a conversation with her. I really miss having a mother, period.
At least the evening turned out all right. We went to a new restaurant in town called El Sombrero and it was delicious. After last night's fiasco with finding what is probably the worst Chinese restaurant in Springfield for JOhn's birthday, it was nice to find a good place to eat. We'll have to keep hunting for a decent Chinese restaurant. We haven't found one yet after living here a year.
And speaking of John's birthday, I actually managed to surprise him. During our weekend getaway to Branson, he'd pointed out a bagpipe chanter set he was interested in and I snuck off to buy it our last morning there. He'd been wanting one for years, so he was very happy to open that gift.

Another Catch Up Post

2007-07-12T22:42:00.000-05:00

We had a great Fourth of July, very relaxing. Well, maybe relaxing isn't the right word. The hubster and I spent the day shopping, then we picked up the kids (we had an extra one for the night) and went to the base for fireworks. We tried to stop in for a bite to eat, only to reach the doors just as they closed. Instead of leaving to get food and possibly missing the fireworks show, we opted for convenience store food and you know what? It wasn't bad. The show was great and we had a nice parking spot just up the hill from where we sat.

After the holiday, we escaped for a weekend at Celebration City in Branson. It isn't as big or as crowded as Silver Dollar City, which made me very happy. The longest we waited in line for any ride was 10 minutes. That's it, ten minutes at the peak of their tourist season. Life was good. I got some great shots, like this one of my three favorite people.
However, since it was my birthday weekend, I insisted on everyone taking an old time photo, a family tradition we hadn't been keeping up with lately. I love this photo.
It's going on the wall with my other old time family photos, dating back to when I was about 13. Such simple things make me happy.

Speaking of things that make me happy, or in this case don't...I was trying to get a good picture of myself tonight so I could make a DT page to send Felicia. It's going on display at her new brick and mortar store. I took at least two dozen shots and had Shona try to get some. I finally realized it wasn't the lighting and it wasn't the angle...I just don't like my face. *sigh* Maybe I need a new haircut, but somehow I still don't think I'm going to like my face. I would say it's a face only a mother could love, but she did remark on what a homely child I was. Then again, she is legally insane....

....and on that note, I'm off to scrap this face.

Shoot Me Now

2007-06-26T23:15:00.000-05:00

If I ever say I'm moving again, just shoot me. I mean it. My next move will be to a retirement home. No other move in the history of moves (and I've moved so many times I've literally lost count) has kicked my butt as hard as this one. Of course, that could be because before I even got the joy of moving, I spent a solid week scraping wallpaper (over 30 hours of that alone), painting (I'm STILL painting!), building a fence, building a closet (still working on that one), cleaning, packing....oh, bother. I have been nonstop busy since we signed those papers and I am worn out, frazzled and really ready for a vacation. Tomorrow I get to clean out the rental unit (can't wait, rah) and Friday we do the final things like mowing the lawn. I cannot WAIT to be finished with that place and I am so over moving. Seriously. If I even joke about it, have me committed. The nearest looney bin is two hours north in my hometown. I'm sure they'll leave a light on for me.

Seven things....

2007-06-16T23:30:00.001-05:00

So I've been tagged....twice! Still, I'm stopping at seven. That's difficult enough, even when I'm not sleep deprived and worn out.

These are the rules.... each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment. So, time for my 7 random facts:

1. Since everyone else is talking about their spelling bee champ status, I might as well come clean and declare that I was the third grade spelling bee champion. I won with the word "encyclopedia," and I'm still proud of that fact, so nyah.

2. I love to be outside, but it doesn't like me. I burn very easily, I'm allergic to so many plants that I'm paranoid about touching anything I can't identify (and that isn't much...thank goodness my hubby is a science teacher), and I am allergic to many bees and wasps. So....I stay indoors and gaze longingly out the window. I can take a hint. I know where I'm not wanted.

3. I want another tattoo, but since I doubt I'll ever decide what I want, I probably won't get one.

4. I have had two moments in my life when I truly thought I was dying, and I was disappointed both times when my life didn't flash before my eyes. Maybe when it does, I'll actually be dying and won't be disappointed...but then I won't be able to tell anyone.

5. I know from experience that if you die in your dreams, you do NOT die in real life. Just thought you'd want to know that. ;) And that is totally unrelated to number four.

6. Anytime you work on a house, it always takes longer than you think it will. Always!

7. Today is the anniversary of the day I met my husband (June 16th). It was 17 years ago and I still mark it on my calendar. Does that make me a romantic? :)

I'll have to tag people later. I'm worn out tonight. See number six.

And so it begins

2007-06-09T23:26:00.000-05:00

The house is bought and the fence posts are sunk. They will spend a couple of days curing in the concrete before we string the rest of the fence. It'll be so nice for Bailey to have a real yard again. I have to admit, none of it seems real and it hasn't sunk in yet that we are homeowners once again. I guess having the keys and access to the house will help that! If they get out early, we could get it next Friday, but the official date is the 18th. When we moved the closing up, we couldn't change the possession date, but it wasn't a big deal since we just wanted the extra time to build the fence. Now to pack what we will before carrying it over. No pictures so far, we've been too busy.

The Last Great Housing Snag (I HOPE)

2007-06-05T18:28:00.000-05:00

Well, I knew it couldn't end so easily. I knew there would have to be one final, ugly snag since the VA was involved in this. The final step in our loan process was having a VA certified "expert" (and considering the person we dealt with, I use that term very loosely) appraise the home. With a VA loan, you can ONLY borrow what the house is worth, period, and the house is worth whatever they say it is. That's pretty well true with any house, it's only worth what you can sell it for, but the VA is a whole other beast. They notoriously lowball everything compared with local agents who know the area better. They did it last time we bought a property, and this time they came up with a figure all of $300 short of the actual sale price. Since we can only borrow the value of the house, that meant either we dropped the sale, renegotiated with the sellers or coughed up the $300 ourselves. Now $300 isn't a horrible amount of money, but come on....$300? That's just nitpicking. We looked through the paperwork and there were several things she didn't even take into consideration, namely that there's a refrigerator and a three car parking pad in front of the house. Surely those things merit the other $300 so everyone's happy. DH called her today. Ha. What a total witch, and that's ironic considering her report ended with "and if you have any problems or questions at all, please feel free to contact me!" The woman was like talking with a brick wall and was extremely rude. It was obvious there was no working this out on her end. We could fight it, but after some of the stories she told us about other cases she's currently trying to fight, it isn't worth it for a measley $300 and probably the six months it would take to be rejected.
On to plan B, which our realtor suggested, which was ask for a price reduction from the sellers. We were hesitant since they had already dropped the price by nearly $20,000 a month ago and I can't blame them for not wanting to do it. I sure wouldn't and so we figured we'd just put off building the fence for our dog for a few months and just pay the $300. We were shocked when our realtor called tonight to say the seller's realtor had offered to split the $300 from his commission and hers, which means we get to keep our cash. I'm so relieved and I told her we would only let her do that if we can invite her over for a few steak dinners down the road as repayment. She laughed but agreed. I do have to say she's the best real estate agent we've ever dealt with and she has gone to bat for us multiple times the last six months. She's a great advisor in the whole real estate arena. We moved our closing up to Friday so that we can build the fence this weekend and hopefully the weather will cooperate. Soon we will be homeowners again and all the headaches that brings with it.

Blogging Nonsense

2007-05-27T19:05:00.001-05:00

I got this from someone's blog but we are blaming Felicia for the whole mess! Answer in a word, if possible:

1. Yourself? quiet
2. Your husband? loud
3. Your hair? wild
4. Your mother? crazy
5. Your father? distant
6. Your favorite thing? my kids
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your favorite drink? tea
9. Your dream car? Lexus
10. The room you're in right now? dining
11. Your fear? spiders
12. What you want to be in 10 years? rich
13. Muffins? blueberry
14. Who you hung out with last night? Husband
15. What you're not? patient
16. Time? 7:07 p.m.
17. What you're wearing? cotton!
18. Your favorite weather? warm
19. Your favorite book? non fiction
20. Last thing you ate? fortune cookie
21. Your worst vice? computer
22. Your best friend is? stressed!
23. What you're thinking about right now? scrapping
24. Your car? truck!
25. Your life? insane

2007-05-27T18:43:00.000-05:00

Yep, I'm slow at updating. Life just got a little crazy there for a while. Where, oh where to begin? The house inspection went very well. In fact, the inspector said he'd never seen a house that old in that nice of condition or that nicely redone. It is a pretty snazzy house and I can't wait to live in it. We did request that they fix four extremely minor things such as reattaching a section of flashing that had come loose. We only dinged the items it would be physically difficult for DH to do and I'm happy to report they agreed to everything and signed off on it. We officially close June 11th and get the keys by 5 p.m. on the 18th. The owners are going to let us put up the fencing as soon as we close, so that will be one thing out of the way before we actually move in, and that will definitely help. We'll be able to bring Bailey over and let her run around while we work on the house. She is in such desperate need of a yard. I keep telling her it's coming soon, but I can feel her desperation, especially since it's getting too hot for her to walk very far with me. Poor baby.
The girls are happy to be out of school. Shona's teacher hosted a reading night where each child read a book he or she had written. It was quite a good time, even though it dragged out a bit. I was impressed with Shona's ability to speak in public. She was a little nervous, but spoke in a loud, clear voice and showed everyone her photos to go along with the story. She did her required curtsey at the end and smiled at everyone. What a ham. I just know she's going to be in the drama club in high school. The good part is Shona is going to be in summer school (by choice!) and is going to have the same teacher she had this year. No big adjustment. Summer school starts in another week and runs through the month of June. Can't wait because that means scrapping time for me, when I can squeeze it in between packing, painting, wallpaper stripping, moving...ugh...did I say I was going to scrap? Well, maybe I'll at least get some good move in photos out of the deal.

The weight loss thing is going very well. I'm only 15 pounds from my goal weight and I never dreamed I would ever be able to say that. I had to go shopping for clothing this weekend because nothing fit and I had to shop for a bathing suit. Even when I was skinny that was an ordeal, so I can't say it was fun, but at least I didn't come out of the fitting room crying this time. And I even found a suit I can live with. I'm still chugging along, hope you do the same.

Happy Mother's Day

2007-05-13T23:56:00.000-05:00

OK, to end the suspense...although there was a question about the size of the lot that went with the house, we did finally reach an agreement everyone was happy with and we are currently under contract on the house. The inspection should take place this week and hopefully they don't find a lot wrong with it. I'll update when I know.

My Mother's Day was wonderful and unexpected. We've never done much for the day, other than take our mothers out for lunch and drag them wherever they want to go. This year we live too far away for lunch out with our mothers (a fact we are enjoying quite a bit), so I said I did NOT want to brave the crowds out in town. I expected that to be the end of it since we don't really do gifts, either. Imagine my surprise when I walked in to see this on the table this morning:

Gifts! Each of my girls had picked out a plant for me to plant in our new home as soon as we get the keys. That really touched me. It is such a homey touch. Shona picked pink Victory roses, which I think are gorgeous. I'm already trying to figure out where I'll plant them in the new yard. Katy picked a house plant called a Money Tree. I can't wait to see it grow. I've always wanted a big, palmy plant for my living room. They did good! Shona had painted a cute teapot for me and each girl had a card. John had bought a necklace I know I hadn't mentioned in months, but he remembered. Do I have him trained or what? As a nice topping, my paper and a glass of tea were on the table, too. They fixed me a steak dinner and strawberry shortcake for dessert. It was a perfect Mother's Day!

In other news, though...here is why I don't let other people have control of the camera. I asked the girls to take a Mother's Day photo of me, hopefully closeup to get my necklace in the shot and although both tried, this turned out to be the best photo. Sad but true. Back behind the camera for me!

A Sudden Decision

2007-05-10T00:46:00.000-05:00

We saw the house today with the office built into the garage. I liked it, it had a great yard and the office was very nice...it wasn't really roomy enough, but it would have worked for us. I was happy enough with it that I thought we should consider it and told the hubby that before he headed back to work. I knew he didn't feel the same way, it just didn't excite him. The more I thought about it all afternoon, the more the appeal wore off. It just didn’t feel right. Still, I also knew I didn't want to move back out into the country. I figured we were in for an argument this evening and the house hunting would continue forever.

Then around 4:00, our agent emailed an old listing of a house we looked at probably 5 months ago, showing me it had dropped in price today by a considerable amount. We had LOVED the house because it was fully updated and gorgeous. The problem at the time was lack of a basement and it only had 1½ bathrooms, meaning we'd have to invest a lot of extra money into adding on a bathroom. It had three living areas, so we knew size wise it would work and we liked the location a lot. With the price dropping as much as it did, we knew we could borrow enough extra to turn one of the living areas into a master bedroom and bathroom, fixing the problem. I called John to tell him we had to talk houses. He just knew I was going to argue for that house we saw today, but instead I told him about the house price drop on this one and he went silent. Then he said “That’s just too good to pass up. I’ll call her to write up an offer.” It was that easy, we both agreed. I don’t know how early in the day they changed the price, but hopefully by the time it catches someone else’s attention, we will have it under contract. What’s sad is the only reason that house hasn’t sold is because their agent is too lazy to market it right. The inside is beautiful, but the only photo of it online is the outside. I KNOW if they only put up more pictures, that house would have sold at higher amount. Idiots. But it’s all good because it works in my favor!

I know I've blogged the house before, but here are the photos to refresh your memory:

Living room:

Beautiful kitchen:

Nice deck:

So that’s the big news. We are giving them 48 hours from in the morning to respond. I'll keep you posted.

This is getting old

2007-05-07T18:46:00.000-05:00

More house hunting today. My agent called very excited this morning to tell me a house that had been listed at $199,000 had just dropped to $125,000. Well now, that sounded mighty suspicious, but the description sounded promising. We raced out there after John left school and it sure was...um...memorable. It was built in 1840 and I don't think it had been touched since. Ceilings were falling, cracks were everywhere and floors were so uneven I tripped over them walking down corridors. Ick. Our agent was shocked the house was even listed for $125,000, much less almost $200,000! Needless to say, we RAN from that one! The first house we ever looked at here we dubbed the "Monster HOuse" because it was so awful, but I think this one was even worse. ***shudder****

Wednesday night we go see one other house and maybe we'll decide on the country house vs the one we are seeing then. The owners built an office out of part of the garage, which is what John was going to do with any house we bought anyway, so that would save him some time and sweat equity. I somehow don't see it beating out the new place outside town, but you just never know. I'm prepared for just about anything anymore after some of the houses we've seen.

What red house?

2007-05-04T23:25:00.000-05:00

I think John found his dream house and tonight marked the fourth time we visited it. Two times we were just there on the outside, twice with our agent. Tonight we went to show the girls the inside. Everyone loves it and it's brand new. New! I would love a new house and now that I am getting over the fact that it's outside of town farther than I wanted, I'm really warming up to it. I was immediately taken with the inside, but being 8 miles outside of town wasn't something I wanted to do again. Everytime we drive it it seems shorter, though, and the house is definitely worth driving to get to. I think we are going to wind up making an offer sometime next week. We need to find out how much our insurance would run on it, how much taxes are, and if we can get DSL out there, but all indications are that we are going for it. Tonight we went to Lowe's to price out all the appliances we would want to put into it. Pictures? You want pictures. Well, OK.

Amazing kitchen:

Beautiful entry:

Wonderful, homey front porch:

Much bigger than it looks from the outside!

We have another house to see next week, but somehow I don't think it's going to light up John's world like this one. I just hope no one snatches it up in the meantime!

Goodbye, House

2007-05-04T01:07:00.000-05:00

After a whole lotta wrangling with very demented Remax people, we have dropped the deal. They admitted they knew about the square footage discrepancy but didn't see a problem with it. Hello?! No problem with artificially inflating the value of the house? That might just be illegal, folks. Not only did they not see an issue, they tried to blame their client for providing them with the wrong square footage. First of all, they were the listing agents when he bought it and the paperwork went back to them. Second...it's an agent's JOB to measure a house they are putting on the market in order to calculate the square footage. This was a major red flag to our realtor because this exact same situation arose last year with another client and that client had to pony up the difference in the appraisal value and the sale price at closing. That wouldn't happen with us because of the type of loan we have (the VA protects against just such schemes), but it really set off our realtor and we decided to push the issue to make a point. That and with the reduction in value and size, we no longer wanted the place.

They wouldn't sign off on an amendment to lower the price to whatever it appraised to (which would have had to happen anyway thanks to the VA loan process but we weren't going to tell THEM that), we refused their offer to have it appraised at their cost because the only appraisal that will matter is the VA guy anyway, so we are dropping the deal. Actually, they tried to not let us drop the deal, but our realtor called our mortgage guy, explained the issue and he said he wouldn't finance a house with that kind of discrepancy in the paperwork. Since the sale is contingent on financing, guess what? Matter closed. Go away. Find another sucker.

I'm relieved, but we flat out refuse to look at any more houses sold by Remax. It's not just this issue, this is the third home we've inquired about through them that they've given us a ridiculously hard time about for various reasons. And we aren't even their clients. So....I won't even give them the satisfaction of a split commission, and after we buy something here, we are filing a complaint against them with the board of realtors, the Better Business Bureau and the state attorney general's office. It helps that my sister works for the attorney general's office so I can streamline my complaint right through their office.

But in good news, after over six months of looking at houses in the area and thinking we had found the one, John finally went gaga over a house. I did over one a long time ago, but it was sold by Remax and that was one of the houses they gave us such grief about. I won't go into it, it's complicated, but we didn't even put in an offer because they annoyed us so much. This house John loves is outside of town on three acres, is brand spankin' new and is as big as we want with the open feel we want. We walked in and his eyes just lit up. I'm not thrilled with how far outside of town it is, I guess I'm not the country girl I thought I was, but the kids love the location, too. I might be outvoted on this one, but I admit I was smitten with the house, too. The kitchen just took our breath away, the master bedroom has a walk in closet the size of a small office, and there's a jet tub in the bath. I don't even like baths but I might make an exception with that one! More later, I was going to do a quick update and wound up writing a novel.

Small update

2007-04-28T23:09:00.000-05:00

Wow, it has been a while since I posted last. Every waking moment it seems has been consumed with house selling, house hunting and at long last, house buying. We put in an offer on a home here a few days after we closed on our old one. We wound up not choosing the house we made the verbal offer on because their response wasn't acceptable to us. Their loss! This is the house we picked out instead:

It isn't huge, but it works for us, it's in a wonderful neighborhood, and it has a lot of curb appeal. There's a lovely street lamp in the front and a porch with a swing. The backyard is pretty big with plenty of room for Shona and Bailey to run. We have, however, hit a snag. Yes, we offered, they countered and we accepted, but the next day our realtor discovered a discrepancy in the square footage of the house in the tax documents vs. what it was listed as. While the number doesn't matter to me, it matters a great deal to the appraisal experts and if the house doesn't appraise for what we agreed on price-wise, that would kill the deal. Why can't anything ever be simple? House selling and buying certainly isn't for the faint of heart and it isn't for quick-tempered people.

I'm tired, dangit

2007-04-15T22:41:00.000-05:00

Another four hour round trip. Another full day spent putting stuff into storage. At least it's finished now. We should close on the house Friday, ending this long house selling saga. At least we had better close Friday. I might go postal on someone if it doesn't happen, especially since John dragged out with pneumonia today to finish putting things into storage. I finally got to see my grandma for the first time since Christmas and she doesn't look good. I'm sure she looks better than the last few months spent in the hospital and the rehab center getting her back on her feet, but to me she still seemed very frail. It's hard to see such a force of nature in a wheelchair with oxygen on her face. I hope to get up to see her far more than I have been able to this past year.

No news on the verbal offer on the house we want. Their realtor is playing stupid games, and it's just another drop in the vast pool of reasons I hate RE/MAX. I could write a novel at this point of reasons why they annoy me, but they are only hurting themselves. The more they play stupid games the less we want to submit the written offer next week. Idiots. If I were the sellers, I'd be wringing some necks. Now we are seriously considering building a house instead of buying one. It's cheaper, only takes between three and six months and we could have EVERYTHING we want in a house. We wouldn't have to settle one bit. Plus, it would be NEW everything. The more I think about it the more exciting it sounds. Still....my beloved '40s brick house downtown is first on the list and we'll put up with stupid RE/MAX games for a little while longer because we have a wonderful realtor guiding us through the madness.

At least it isn't snowing like it was yesterday. I won't even go into how wrong that was. Have a wonderful week. Hopefully it's a little more restful than this past one has been.

A long night and other news

2007-04-13T12:07:00.000-05:00

DH hasn't felt well for a few days but I underestimated how badly he was feeling until he asked me to take him to the ER last night. He doesn't go there very often, so I knew it must be bad. It's an hour round trip to the hospital, so off we went. We were there for 3 1/2 hours while they drew labs, did X-rays and checked him over. The diagnosis was pneumonia, and I was afraid they were going to admit him. They did give him an IV of antibiotics that took an hour to administer, then loaded him up with other meds and sent us home. We got home a little before midnight, and he called in to leave a message for the school that he'd be staying home today. Imagine my surprise when I woke up at 6:15 this morning to find him all dressed to head to the school. "Where are you going?" I asked...very groggy because even though I'm a night owl, last night wiped me out. The crazy fool decided to go in anyway because he was feeling better. I personally think it had more to do with the science experiment he was scheduled to do with his classes today involving matches and danger more than it did any work ethic. Men.

We had a late afternoon call from our realtor yesterday saying the people who own the red house we are interested in would like to entertain our verbal offer. Our agent wanted to do a verbal just to see where we stood before actually submitting the offer we have written up next week. We were waiting to close on our house first. The seller's agent was a little snooty and said they have a policy not to accept verbal offers, so we were just going to wait. Apparently the owners caught wind of the offer, had some words with their agent and were "eager" to have an offer, any offer. I would imagine so after having it on the market for a year. I know exactly how that feels and any progress is better than none. The other agent had to backpeddle a little there, which I find a bit amusing. We should hear something by the end of the weekend, and I'm actually OK with it either way. Either we get this house or we don't, but I'm feeling very "zen" about the process right now, knowing I can have something built if this doesn't work out. As stressful as all this is, I do know we'll wind up where we are meant to and life works out like it should. I'll let you know when I know!

Still in limbo

2007-04-10T22:40:00.000-05:00

I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd blogged, but it has been rather hectic. Shona's birthday was a bust. We invited four girls over for her first slumber party and no one showed up. Not only that, no one called to say they would or wouldn't be there. I find that so incredibly rude, yet it seems standard practice wherever we go. I was so annoyed by that once in Texas that I put at the bottom of an invitation to a bowling birthday party that anyone who didn't R.S.V.P. would have to pay their own way if they showed up on that day. Only one person did that and he was nice enough to pony up the dough. Still...how difficult is it to pick up the phone? To make Shona feel better, I was going to treat her to a movie the next day, but she behaved so badly all morning that she finally had it taken away. I felt bad for her, but I'm not rewarding bad behavior. I finally let Katy call a friend and I drove the two of them to the movie and paid their way in. I didn't want to sit through the film, so I left them there and picked them up later.

In house news...dare I say we might just close this time? I don't want to jinx it, but it looks like the 20th will be the big day. We have papers drawn up to submit an offer on a house after that. I do not want selling my house as a contingency on the offer, so we are waiting. The house we want has been on the market for well over a year, and I figure if it is snatched up during the next two weeks, I'm just not meant to have it! Interestingly, as we were out driving around this evening in some of the neighborhoods currently under construction, we happened upon a man working on a place. He's an electrician by trade but also builds houses. We really liked him and he gave us a LOT of information. If the red house doesn't work out, we might look into having something built. I'm not crazy about waiting up to six months to get a house built, but it seems to be a very affordable option in this area, and it might even be a better way to go since we could get everything we want in a house for what we are offering on the other one. Plus, he told us of two plots available for sale in an area outside of town. You get three acres out there as opposed to a quarter acre in town for about the same price. That got John's attention. He wants to be able to shoot off fireworks in the worst way. We will call and arrange a meeting with him to find out pricing on what we want in a house. Before I hire him, though, I know I would have to check him out with my sister. She's the investigator for the state attorney general's office and her area is contractors and the construction business. If this guy passes her test, I think we will have a winner.

More when I know more!

Good Day

2007-03-29T19:26:00.000-05:00

With the winter we've had, the stress of trying to sell the house, and illness all around, I haven't had many really good days lately. Today was one. It started off with an early morning walk with the dog before everyone else woke up. I don't ordinarily do mornings by choice, but Shona had kept me up most of the night with her coughing and it was listen to it more or get up and do something. After my walk and shower, the mortgage man called to say we'd been pre-approved for a loan and for even more than I was expecting. That doesn't mean I want to borrow more than we'd planned because I know our comfort level on a mortgage payment, but it's nice that they have faith in us.

Next up, I did some research for Katy. She'd asked to go take her learner's permit test at the DMV, and we knew it was only during certain days of the week. Sure enough, it was Thursday. I was afraid I didn't have the right ID for her since I couldn't find her birth certificate (I need to order it again), but they take passports as proof of ID...even expired ones, so we were good to go. She took her test and passed on the very first try, but their machine was broken and they couldn't get her processed for her permit. We'll go back tomorrow or Saturday for it, but I'm very proud of her. It wasn't until after we left that she admitted she'd only read through half the book. Geez. Teens!

I had an eye appointment, at which I was going to gripe at the doctor because it took them TWO MONTHS to get me in for a simple follow up, but I was in too good of a mood. Even Shona puking in McDonald's didn't phase me and normally it would. Nope, not today. Not even when I had to clean it out of her leather shoe later because she was in the process of putting her shoes on when the heaving started and she was using the shoe to catch it. That's probably more of an image than you needed, huh?
I bought both girls a rubber duck at Wal Mart while we were there. It was just a silly thing, they both wanted one and I was in the mood. They have been squeaking them all afternoon. I also relented and bought some bleach to tip the ends of Katy's hair with. She loves it and now wants to add a little splash of purple at the very edges. Oh, the fun of a girls' day out. The bad part is John has the camera out of town and I didn't get to capture a thing on film.