Day Two

First of all, let me tell you about the play, Joseph, in Lancaster, PA at the Millineum Theater.  It was phenomenal!  If you watched my link short video, you would have seen Joseph flying--yes, this was done in the play as well!  Very much worth the visit!  We'd like to do it again sometime!

The only mis-hap, or course, was my own.  I tried to put my pop between my knees, and ended up dumping the whole thing all over the floor!  We had to get an attendant to clean it up, and she called over another to help her.  Oooppssss!!! 

So anyway, today was a busy day!  We drove to Washington DC, and our hotel is very nice!  We rode the subway-this is a first for me!  I think......unless I rode one with my aunt when I was much younger. 

Due to a police situation, we didn't get to our destination when planned-they shut quite a bit of the subway trains down, which resumed later, but it was getting late by then.  We walked to the Women's Memorial, and hope to go to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier tomorrow, among other things.

I learned something new about myself today.  I am a City girl, with a capital C, but I am not a BIG City girl!  I don't think I could do the subway daily, and traffic that even made Dan feel tense!  Just give me a small town with a Walmart, and a mall within an hour, and I'll be fine. 

Oh, by the way!  Our hotel room in Washington is very nice-like a small apartment!  We got two rooms, so there is no crowding!  We'll be here for 3 nights, and then on toward Tennessee!

If anything exciting happens, I'll let you know!  :)
  

Day One, So Far

Ahh....here we are in York, PA-thank you Lord, for a safe trip!

We're on our way out to see the live production of Joseph and his coat of many colors in about half an hour-that way we will have time to eat too.

So far, the events of the day:

1.  Dan started off on the wrong foot when he asked me if I changed my clothes because my skirt was too tight.  HOW INSULTING!!!!!  I mean, really, didn't he JUST tell me he thought this event was somewhat dressy, and my denim skirt wasn't dressy enough?  He couldn't have seen that I couldn't get it hooked and zipped-my shirt was pulled down over it! 

Okay, okay-so I admit.....SOMEONE MOVED THE HOOK CLOSURE!!!  I think there is a conspiracy against me!  And Dan must be in on it!  He's probably the one who moved the closure, so he could imply I've gained weight!

2. And THEN he had the nerve to mention that our rental van wasn't as zippy as it had been last night when he and the girls went to pick it up.  Casually, he claims, he then changes the subject and asks about my skirt again!

3. Next, we had a delicious lunch at Sheetz---seriously!  I had a flatbread mozz and tomato sandwich with pesto sauce.  The eventful part of it all is that Sheetz has become high tech!  You order your meal on a screen-step by step, and then they call your number!  Amber ordered a sub with about 10 different choices on it, Dakota's order for hot dogs was punched in, Elissa had her order punched in, and then I went to punch in my order....I accidentally cancelled our entire order!  Needless to say, everyone had to re-punch in their orders, and Elissa punched in mine because she didn't trust me next to the screen anymore.

It probably doesn't help that I stayed up til about 5 a.m. on purpose, and that I was a bit slap happy.

4. The only other eventful thing that has happened to me is that while I had my eyes closed, resting, I suddenly had coffee on my hand, and Dan had it all over his pants, shirt, steering wheel, and anything else in the near vicinity.  Somehow he choked on his canned coffee, and sprayed the entire driver's section of the van. 

After all of his implications that I was gaining weight this morning, he still had the nerve to ask me to help him clean the mess up.  OBVIOUSLY he is able to multi-task.  I mean, he was driving over 55 mph and drinking coffee at the same time.  I'm sure he could drive and clean his mess up at the same time too! 

As long as he behaves at the play, I think I'll forgive him.  And actually, the Bible does teach us to forgive each other, as God has forgiven us--and since my family forgave me for erasing their entire order today, I think I'll forgive Dan for the coffee outburst.  I'm ONLY forgiving him for the weight comments because Jesus is commanding me to!  =P

Truthfully, we're having a great day!  We're excited to go see this play, as it is a major production!  I'll do my best to update with all the great happenings throughout the next several days.

Laura, hug my kitties for me!

Guess Where I'm Going???

Well, faithful readers, I am going on vacation!  I think we'll be gone for about 10 days, and I have a kitty/house sitter.  :)

So we're off to have loads of fun, hours of travelling, and oodles of memories!  Lancaster and Sight and Sound, here we come!!!  Smithsonian, we're on our way!  Opryland, not too much longer!  Indiana, warm up for when we get there!  We haven't been on a family vacation with all of us in probably 5 years or so, so this is going to be nice!

There is no problem, BUT....I'm a little concerned! Dan has procrastinated a bit with renting a vehicle(we need a van for the 5 of us), AND he hasn't reserved any rooms for us yet for Lancaster and Washington DC--I hope a two days notice is enough! (Yikes!)

I'm not overly picky, so as long as we have clean hotel/motel rooms and a dependable rental that has a little room for stretching, I'll be fine.  But if it turns out to be a vacation like our overnight stay at Cook Forest in a genuine log cabin built many moons ago, well, let's just say Dan will never need another reminder to not procrastinate again-he'll even be on the ball 6 months in advance!

The one thing everyone knows about me is...I am a City Girl---CITY, with a capital C.  I am not a country girl-never have been, never will be!  It doesn't have to be a big city, just a city!  No chickens in the yard and mudholes with pigs in them next to the barn, next to the shed, next to the house for me!!!  Give me SIDEWALKS!  Give me PAVED ROADS!  I will NOT put on camoflauge and sit in a tree stand with my beloved all day while waiting for a big buck to walk by-no matter HOW much I love the man!  Four wheelers and muddin' aren't for me either!  And camping is ABSOLUTELY out of the question-FOREVER!!!!!

So anyway, a few years back, when Dan was working with his father's tree service, one of the customers owned a camping place out in Cook Forest(a pretty popular place in our area).  He gave us a free two night stay on his camping grounds, and part of the deal was that our family would stay in a genuine log cabin from like, the late 1800's!  Everything we need was included in the cabin, we were told-everything but the garlic press, the owner said!

We packed our stuff, and on a Wednesday night after church, we headed out on our hour long drive to Cook Forest!  Through the windy roads with tall trees everywhere, we arrived at our destination as planned.

What wasn't planned is that the owner forgot to leave the key at the camp, like he said he would.  And at 11 or 12 at night, the office obviously wasn't opened.

We headed further into the campgrounds, looking for the cabin that was described to Dan by the owner.  We found it, and instead of driving back home since we had no key, Dan hoisted Amber thru a window after he removed the screen.  Yep, we just broke in!

The first thing to greet us in the livingroom, once all of us were inside, was a bat.  Can you FEEL how this City Girl was feeling???

Once the bat was out, my heart began to calm down.  But I learned something new that night.  Everything included except the garlic press does NOT translate as it sounds.  Since true City girls don't go camping, and even my hubby who grew up camping didn't know, towels and soap are not included in "everything". 

The girls got their own room to share, and Kota was smaller, and he claimed a sleeping spot next to his daddy.  I got the other bed across the room.

When we finally fell asleep in this VERY different environment than what I considered comfortable, I was awakened in the wee hours of the morning with LOUD scratching noises.  I spoke loudly to Dan...."Dan....something is in here!"  I do believe he got out of bed and turned on the light(I, of course, don't totally remember because this is one memory I would like to forget!), but what we actually heard was scratching coming from the ceiling, and not actually from inside the room. 

I wanted to go sleep in the car, but I was too afraid to get out of my bed.  I had the heebie jeebies really bad.  I do believe Dakota slept through it all.  After all, he got to sleep sheltered by his protective father!  I, on the other hand, got to sleep by myself, hoping that nothing would climb in bed with me!

The next day, a woman knocked on our door, and asked if there was a hat left in the cabin.  You see, she and her family had spent the night in the cabin the night before, and they changed cabins because of the raccoon in the roof.

Ohhhh.....okay!  It wasn't an elephant in the ceiling after all!

To finish this long story, we decided against staying the second night. 

You can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl! 

Hopefully I can post while I'm gone, but if not, think of me, and please PRAY for my husband, that he is able to find decent rooms for us!  Otherwise, I may have some shocking news for you real soon-like, I'm home 8 days early with the kiddos, and Dan is still walking around Washington DC somewhere, learning his lesson about procrastination.

Adios for now!  :)

Reflecting

You know, reflecting is a good thing to do once in a while.  This will not be a humorous post, but a post about God's goodness, which is something we should all think about.

If you are a new reader, you may have already figured out a few things about my life-the happenings from the past year.  I do not dwell on the negative of it all-the positive has outweighed the negative many times over.

This is a post about answered prayer.

It was March 3, 2009.  My children had just gotten on the bus, and I got down to pray in the living room.  I can't tell you all that I prayed, but one thing I do remember-I asked God to keep my children safe.

Sometimes you don't realize the weight of your words.  God knew when I was praying, that I was thinking more about keeping them safe from harm in the world around us.  But my prayer was still answered, as God also kept them safe from a tragedy that hit home.

March 4th, 2009, our home burned to the ground.  It was in the afternoon, while Elissa was at work, Amber and Kota were at school, and I was in town.  Dan was the only one home, with our cat, and both got out alive with no injuries.

On April 5th, Dan and Kota were overcome with carbon monoxide in our new rental home, but the Almighty hand of God helped them to get out of the house, and they both recovered after several hours of oxygen were administered to them, and over time.

Dan's fall from a tree 4 days after the poisoning could have been so much worse.  I could have been a widow, or I could be pushing him around in a wheelchair, having to feed him and do everything for him.  According to the doctor, it was a miracle that he wasn't already paralyzed, due to a very serious problem in his neck-one we didn't know was as serious as it was.

You know, God went beyond keeping my children safe.  My husband and I are safe as well, along with all of us looking back at the past 12 months, and seeing all that God has done for us.

I've said it many, many times-stuff is just stuff.  We may miss our pictures, our wedding album, and a few keepsakes, but we have each other.

Sometimes the painful things you go thru in life are to help you grow-sometimes they are to help you to remember that you need the Comforter.  I know there are other reasons as well, but one other reason might just be to remind you of what is really important in this life, and to remind you to be thankful for all that you have, even when you lose every material possession you own.

I can truly say that God has been so amazing to me, and I have no complaints to share.  It's been a year that cannot totally be explained or described.  Among other things, Dan learned what the feeling of complete helplessness is, I learned that life can change in a moment, and those you love can be taken from this life quicker than you think(even tho I didn't lose anyone, I could have widowed or lost my children, which became very real realizations to me), and my children learned that God can take something that seems so horrible and turn it into something more beautiful than they ever dreamed.  We were humbled by so many people coming out of the woodwork to show their care and offer their help.  And we now live in a new neighborhood and have made some wonderful new friends.

Thank you Jesus-you've been so very good to me!

Simon's Cat-Fly Guy

All of you cat lovers will sit here and crack up watching this....because.....it is SOOOoooo realistic!  Enjoy!

Need A Kitty Sitter!

Well, the family is going to Nashville soon, and even tho the kitties are family, they probably aren't very welcome at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.  And since Diamond LOVES to interrupt my prayer time by climbing beneath my bowed head, and purring loud enough to drown me out so the Lord can't hear me, I do think it would be counter-productive to take her and Chloe to the church meeting we will be attending.  Not to mention that she doesn't like me reading my Bible either-she tries to climb on it when I'm reading.  Funny how my baby Jazz used to interrupt my prayer time too....

Anyway, all that being said, we are in need of a kitty sitter!  Are there any volunteers?

I can give you a rundown on what I require-just put your applications in the comments section.

Requirements:

1. Must have owned a kitten of your own-otherwise, the rest of this will make no sense to you!

2. Must speak baby-kitty talk.  Example:  "Aww....is her a widdle sweetie pie???"

3. Must have two free hours a day to visit with the little princesses, and allow them to claim your body as their own.  This included climbing your back, sitting in your lap, pulling hair clips out of your hair, sleeping around your neck like a fur collar, and expecting your hand to be fully functional for petting at all times.

4. You must understand the difference between a "Hello?  Anyone home?  Hello?  Hello?" meow, and a "Oh Mommy, I LOVE you!  I want canned salmon and cheese, canned salmon and cheese!  Can you hurry?  Hurry please?  Surely it isn't taking that long to get the tops of the canned salmon and cheese!!!" meow.

5. Optional-you should know the difference between the little princesses trying to trip you because they love you and want your returned affection, and trying to not trip you while they run between your legs, trying to see who can reach the canned salmon and cheese cupboard first.

6. You must carry the motto that no outfit is complete without the cat hair, if you decide to sit on the furniture--and now you know why they named it fur-niture!

7. Must pay for your own airfare, transportation and hotel.  :)

I showed this video on my blog before, but it is worth posting again, for those who haven't seen it.  It will give you a much better understanding of cats, if you only have a little understanding, and will also ring very familiar with those who already understand this furry family of royalty.

Don't forget to leave your applications in the comments section-payment is lots of love from two beautiful furry princesses!

@ Yahoo! Video

Socks

This is almost an announcement-for some odd reason, I almost feel proud to share this with the world!

Do you all remember the fascinating facts I shared about myself?  One being that I have a sock collection--under my pillow?

Well, before I go any further, I just want to say for the record that my house is usually only slightly messy.  I live with 4 other people, three of those being my children-of which 2 are sometimes like mini-tornados.  So with that many of us, and coming out of heavy coats and boots season, you'll see a little bit of messiness that can be cleaned up within a matter of minutes.  Our home is lived in. 

I needed to say all of that so that you won't think I'm just a slob when I make my great announcement!  I run the dishwasher daily, have tons of clean clothes, and run the vaccuum and dust every week.  So anyway, again, that is so you don't get the wrong impression when I tell you what I found!

Look!  Here's even a picture in my diningroom to prove it to ya!  Like my quilt?  My realtor gave this lovely, homemade quilt from California to us for our "new" home!   
Can you see my kitty next to the green plant on the floor?  She and her sister are the reason the green plant looks the way it does.  Fortunately, it is a fake plant-I reshape it occasionally.
And in case anyone wants to know, my walls are Dried Fava by Kilz.  :)

So anyway!  Finally!  The announcement!!!

I was cleaning my room yesterday, and knew that some of my sock collection had fallen between the headboard and mattress, onto the floor below.  I got Dan's handy grabbing stick(earned from his back or neck surgery to reach things), and used it to pull out all the socks I could reach.  Some tried to crawl away because I had to reach way over on Dan's side of the bed floor to get them.  The obviously weren't quick enough. 

So I decided to count them.  Guess how many I found?

Did you guess 6?

Or 9?

Maybe even 14?

NOPE!!! 

I found 23-that's TWENTY THREE- socks on the floor under the bed!!!

There was another pair-one at the foot of my mattress, and one of the floor down by the foot of the mattress-but I didn't count those.

Can you all believe it?  It did seem I was running out of socks!  And actually, I'm no respector of socks-I wear Dan's and Elissa's too, when I can't find mine.

So anyway!  If you weren't fascinated by my sock collection the first time I blogged about it, you ought to be now!  = P


Want to read a semi-true story written by me?  Check out the new page I added!  A Story By Josanne
It's actually a serious story I wrote for my website for the month of February-I would love for you to read it, and hope you enjoy it!

Last Night's Post-Update

Okay, I think my husband and son want a divorce from me.

The computer thing was a practical joke on sweet, little ol' me.

Long story short, they LIED!!!  Amber tried to tell me it was a joke, but Kota never admitted to it, and I ended up, as usual these days, CONFUSED!

How did it work?  There is a way to turn the computer on in safe mode.  It runs, but not quite right.

Two practical jokes in one week-the computer surgery, and the re-set clocks, are TOO much!

I went to bed half cranky, and Dan had a good laugh(Kota already fell asleep).  I equally had a bit of a chuckle when I told Dan I had already blogged about the incident-which made Dan look like an irresponsible father!

I'll get over it.....The roses and tulips Dan had sitting on the dining room table for me when I came home last night ease the pain.....I think......  :)

My Computer-Should I Be Happy, Or Angry?

Amber and I had a great day-we went shopping! 

Unfortunately, my day is not ending as well as the several hours of shopping had felt.

I am sitting here at my computer....that was broken.....and is now running......

I just typed an entire post, and accidentally deleted it. 

But the frustration actually began when Amber and I got home from shopping.  Elissa was working, and Dan and Dakota were together all day and evening after school.

I learned shortly after we got home that my computer was running.  Dakota, my 11 year old, fixed it!  The screen shows much larger, and there is no longer sound, but it does pull the internet up.

How did he fix it, you may wonder?  By taking it down to the basement, and exchanging parts with our old computer that Dan had saved from our house fire.  He even did some saudering of wires. 

Now the question is, HOW should I feel? 

Dakota stood over me, waiting for me to thank him, and I wasn't sure WHAT to say!  He said, "If you don't want to thank me, that's fine...."

Oh sure!  Go ahead and laugh!  Some of you are just HOWLING aren't you???  Well, to YOU I say, May you be blessed by sons, grandsons and little brothers who love to "fix" things!

But there are others out there that surely realize what I am facing next---the computer technician!  I can already see what our conversation would be like:

Tech:  What's wrong with your computer?

Me:  Well, the screen shows everything very large, and there is no sound.

Tech:  Do you know when this all started?  Did you do anything differently than you normally do?

Me:  Well, the original problem was that the computer was completely freezing before the desktop would load.

Tech:  Does it still freeze?

Me:  Uh...no.

Tech:  So it went from freezing, to no sound and everything being enlarged?  Sounds like some kind of virus....

Me:  Well.......(A loud, exasperated sigh fits in right about here, as the moment of truth arrives), while I was gone all day,(another long sigh, as I look to the ceiling because I am too EMBARRASSED to look the tech in the face) my 11 year old son took my computer downstairs and traded inside parts with our old computer.  He saudered some wired as well.

Tech:  (Wordless, with eyes as big as silver dollars)

Me:  (Loud, very long sigh) Yeah, I know.

Tech:  (Loud, very long sigh, longer than mine)  Well, we'll see what we can do.

Me:  Thank you.  (I am low enough to slither under the bottom of the un-opened door)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fortunately for me, it is very late, and I can go to bed.  Then I don't have to think anymore, until morning.

And I think it is only fair that since Dan WATCHED Dakota carry the computer downstairs to the basement, and allowed him to work on it(yes, he asked Kota what he was doing, and Kota answered that he was fixing the computer), that HE will be the one to take it to repair.

Please send well computer wishes my way......
 

   

My Controlling Husband

Sigh....I have it so rough...

Dan is a wonderful person, but he has one flaw....he's controlling.

Tuesday, he came home in the afternoon to announce that he wanted us to go out to dinner.  Sigh....I just wanted to stay home, but he had the nerve to bring up the coupon I gave him for Valentine's Day, which was for a night out with me....so I gave in.

We took our kiddos, and went out to eat at Ponderosa.

Dan wanted to get a pair of boots, so we had to go shoe shopping.  Sigh(rolling eyes)....I  found a pair of black shoes for my trip to Nashville next month, and they were really cute.  I also got to go to Staples and look at laptops, along with looking at the clearance items at Fashion Bug. 

Dan wanted to go to Tractor Supply, so he and Dakota went, and he actually let me make my own choice here-the girls and I walked to Walmart "next door", since it was such a nice night.  He met us there a little later.

I only wanted to look at laptops that night, but when Dan and Kota met us at Walmart, Dan called me over to the computer section and wanted me to pick one right then.  Sigh...at least I got my way by default---they were out of both computers we were looking at.

So there you have it-the things I put up with....eating out at a steakhouse, getting cute new shoes, and having to pick the laptop I wanted, all against my will.  

Is there any hope for women who are married to control freaks?  Well, if not, I think I can live with mine.  Thanks, Honey!  :)

Who Needs Santa Claus?

This might get some rotten tomatoes thrown at me, but according to blogging experts, you are supposed to write something controversial on occasion.

That being said, I've never taught my children that there is a Santa Claus.  Nope.

No big scary looking man in a bright red suit is getting the credit for the gifts I shopped long and hard for!  If his gift selections are as tacky as his fashion taste, our kids are doomed anyway!  And truthfully, we all know it isn't true that he comes down our chimneys, and I don't believe in lying to my children.  Not to mention the kids that are forced to sit on his lap in the mall for a picture, when they are truly terrified.

So anyway!  I've heard parents try to threaten their children when they are being bad, "I'm going to tell Santa..."  And you know what I started thinking?

Who needs Santa when you have a BLOG???

If you are going to threaten your children about someone watching, what could put terror in their eyes quicker than saying, "I'm going to tell my blog how you've been acting all morning!"

Kids have messy rooms?  Take a picture and stick in on your blog!

Throwing a temper tantrum with screaming, kicking and punching, while lying on the floor?  Video them and stick in on your blog!  Your 16 year old will never do that again!!!

Can't get junior to take out the trash?  Little Susie won't do the dishes?  Important note: add a sign to the trash heap or mound of dishes that tell your child's name and that this is his chore, so that when the entire world sees it on your blog, they will know that it is your child's fault things are so heaped up!

Did you know this can even work for training your husband?  It works for me!  Since I've begun blogging, he hasn't thrown ice on me in the shower a second time, and he will probably never call me a "bag" again either!

Need to "convince" your in-laws to be nicer to you?  No problem!  Blog, blog, blog!  I am blessed in this area, for I've only recently had to blog about my in-laws!  (It's amazing how good they've actually been to us, considering I'm married to their son, which I'm pretty sure is the reason they both have silver hair!)

Any other folks you're having trouble with?  Neighbors? Teachers?  BUS DRIVERS???(Don't ask!)  Well, I've just given you a cure-all that works better than Santa Claus!  Look out, Marty, here I come!(the locals will understand that comment!)

Blogging is not only therapeutic for you and I, but it is like a wonder-worker in the home and family!  Someone should have thought of this ages ago!  Either that, or I shouldn't have shared the idea with my blog friends, and wrote a book first, sold a million copies, and THEN blogged about it, for those who missed my sold-out book!

One last tip:  You and I probably ought to straighten up a bit ourselves, before our kids and hubby get their own blogs. But I'll do pretty good, as long as no one takes a picture and blogs about my ironing pile!   =P

 

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How MY Day Started

Well, Good Morning Everybody!

Did you all wake up nice and chipper today?  :)

I thought my blog post title was fitting, but another fitting title would be, "Never Let Little Boys Spend The Night".

This morning, I woke up before the alarm, and since Dan was going to the school to help today, he needed to get up too-leaving time is 7:45.  The clock read 7-ish, and since I have it set almost 20 minutes fast, we were doing great for time.  Dan and I even got to bed earlier than usual, so we both felt pretty well rested!

On days Dan helps out at school, the kiddos ride with him.  Our friends' children spent the night last night, so they would ride in with him too.

I headed down to the kitchen to get the coffee started, and while getting the water, I glanced at the stove clock.  7:33!!!  Oh NOOoooooooo!!!!!

I didn't even finish the coffee-I ran upstairs to tell Dan something happened to our alarm clock-I don't know what-and that it was much later than originally thought!  He rushed out of bed to get ready, while I started waking children up.  I told him to just get ready, and that I would bring all the kids to school as soon as they were ready.  He wasn't going to be able to wait for them-he had to unlock the school for the other students who would be there on time.

I do my best to make mornings pleasant for everyone, so I woke everyone up nicely, but hurriedly.  I let them know we'd overslept, and that I'd take them in, but they still needed to hustle.

Well, our 11 year old friend Bud and I crossed paths in the hallway upstairs.  As I'm trying to hurry, hurry, hurry, he begins to tell me that in the middle of the night, he woke up thirsty, and woke Dakota up to ask for a drink.  While they were in the kitchen.....

they got the bright idea to set the clocks ahead.  

I picked up our digital phone, and it said 7:38 or something like that, and so then I was thoroughly confused.  I woke Elissa up, and she grabbed her cell phone-it was 6:58.  Amber met me in the hall confused, and I ran down to check Dan's cell phone.  Yes, it was before 7 a.m.

Ya know, for those of us that are simple minded with Blon'd roots, that is just NOT funny!  I let Dan know that he didn't have to run right out the door after all.

Needless to say, we all were wide awake when we DID wake up(since panic mode set in immediately upon looking at the kitchen clocks), but I couldn't help thoughts of wringing the necks of two little boys.  You know it's bad when the 40 year old mother is thinking, "Oh, PAYBACKS!  PAYBACKS ARE COMING!!!!!"

Ah, the life of having pre-teen boys!  Just wait until Friday-when I wake Dakota up on my way to bed, and tell him it's Monday morning, and time to get up!  I better let Bud's mom in on it too, so she can do likewise!  (wink, wink!)

Do Kids EVER Grow Up?

I was looking thru my google reader the other day, and I came across this post on another blog.  As I looked at the thumbnail picture, I wondered about the people I could see-then I realized it was my VERY OWN DAUGHTER! 

Now, we're not talking about my 15 year old-we are talking about my 20 YEAR OLD and her 22 year old friend!!!

Oh the embarrassment!  Oh the humiliation!

Actually, I thought these pictures were hilarious, and I hope you will look also-this is my young friend's blog. 

http://lauramasiker.blogspot.com/2010/02/meet-sally-gertruda-ethel-brunhilda-and.html

Oh, by the way-my daughter is the one in the red shirt with the princess tiara on her head.  =D

As if this humiliation wasn't bad enough(lol), I went to church last night to find another source of great humble-ness. 

Another friend, Anita, (http://www.capturedreflectionz.blogspot.com/) came over before church, and I was telling her to make sure she looked at the bulletin board at the church when we got there.  We had received a dear email from a missionary, and I wanted to make sure she read it because it was an email that had to do with our youth group. 

So anyway!  I get to church, remind her to read the board, and she already had.  When I made my way to the bulletin board, I realized that more than the email from the missionary was up there.  Pictures of my very mature husband were up there too-one of the ones I shared here.

Okay, it's ONE THING if I share these pictures with the worldwide web for millions of people to see.  But to go and put these defamatory pictures up on our CHURCH BULLETIN BOARD-that's ANOTHER THING ALTOGETHER!!! 

Did I mention that the person that put the pics up was our pastor's wife?  And that the pastor told her to do it? 

Did I mention the pastor's wife is my mother-in-law?  (Mama, how could you DO this to me???)

And have I mentioned my husband is a preacher?  And that last night was probably a bad night to expose the truth of this man, since it was he who was preaching?

Okay, so everyone already knows that my husband is, and most likely, will always be young at heart, so I guess it was no big surprise.  :)  But still-where is the MERCY for the preacher's wife???

Okay, one more thing-I'd like to share an article written my my budding blogging daughter-my middle girl.  This is her take on having kitties.  :)

http://teenapproach.blogspot.com/2010/01/oh-joy-of-having-kittens.html

Well, I'll see you all next time, like when I have OTHER humiliating info to share with you about my ditziness, or this poor genetic disorder that was passed on to my poor children, or if Dan comes up with some brilliant photographs of himself doing the un-imaginable in one way or another!

Have a lovely day!

Lunch Really Weighs Him Down

I'm like my mother-if you ask me a question that requires a two sentence answer, three paragraphs later, you will have your answer! :)  That being said, I'll try to keep my cute little story about Dakota short!

You need to know that my children go to a school where they can use a microwave at lunch, so when they tire of sandwiches, they can take hot pockets or another warm lunch.

This morning, he and Amber were getting ready for school, and he asked me if Amber could put the lunch box in her book bag, instead of the usual of him putting it in his book bag.  He said that his book bag was too heavy.  As we were discussing the lunch box, he told me to feel how heavy his book bag was.  I lifted it, and sure enough, it was heavy.  I asked what he had in there!

Food!  Several cans of food!  I sat down, dug deep and pulled out one can of soup, one can of beef n mac, one can of mandarin oranges, two small cans of peaches, a pack of ramen nooodles, a single serving bag of rice cakes or something, a partial bag of doritos, and a spoon!

The three of us laughed, and Kota blamed it on his dad for the days Dan helps at the school.

All I had to say was, if Kota got stuck in a snow bank somewhere, he'd be able to survive for quite a while!  All I would have needed to do was add a can opener to the bag!  :)

Can My Marriage Be Saved?

Well, I know you all thought my marriage was perfect, but now for the truth.

Dan went from pure flattery.....to nearly having a fat lip!

When you are half asleep, you don't always remember the entire sequence of events. but I can tell you with pretty good accuracy the most important parts of our half-asleep dialogue from last night.

A little background:

We have a king size bed, but our quilt isn't quite big enough for the bed.  Dan and I both sleep with a pillow under our knee, and also, I have long hair, so when I turn over, I lift my head rather high to adjust my hair.

So!  Last night, or more like, 4 o'clock this morning, I woke up, and got up for a few minutes, and then came back to bed.  Originally, I was facing Dan, but flipped over to get more comfy. 

Okay-along with not being allowed to turn up the wall heater in the family room(why YES, I DO live with the heat patrol!), I also live with constant harping when I turn over in bed, letting cold air in between the sheets, since I haven't mastered staying completely FLAT when I take my knee pillow from one side of the bed to the other.  This has been an issue for months.

Now back to my marital woes.....

In the wee hours of the morning, Dan and I had a brief conversation, or should I say, an exchange of words.  I turned over and took my knee pillow with me, and I actually heard Dan gasp from what he perceived as a gust of cold air between the sheets.  I don't remember if he muttered anything, but I think he did.

The usual UN-mouthy me said loudly and clearly, DEAL WITH IT!!!

So, UN-compassionate Dan grabbed all of the covers and YANKED them to his side of the bed.  He would have yanked them clean off of me, but I grabbed and held on, so I was still covered up a little bit.

I then muttered something about our stinking king size bed not being big enough, and Dan just corrected my statement by reminding me the quilt is what isn't big enough. 

I said, "You need to sleep with a sleeping bag."

He said, "I already sleep with a bag!"

So of course I tried to KICK him, but the bed was too big and he was too far over for me to reach.  So I turned over and tickled him, which he claims I did with my sharp nails.

Help, folks!  My marriage is in trouble!  I think I'm married to a compulsive liar-now I'm confused and I don't know if I look like I'm 20 or 75!!!

Is there still hope for us???  Because if there isn't, I'm going to start being who I want to be, and start rebelling right now, and am going to turn the wall heater up to 5!!!  And then when he says something to me about turning over in bed again, I'm going to take my 40 pound memory foam pillow and knock him out!  How's THAT for COLD???  ;P

Scaring The Kitty

My friend Melinda came over earlier, and her 5 year old son Ben was with her.  Ben said something about not scaring our kitty, Chloe.  Dan said that she needed scared.  Of course, I let Ben know how sharp her claws are and that she sometimes hurts, since I didn't want him to get himself all scratched up.

While I was talking to Ben, telling him all of the details of Chloe's self defenses, he came into the dining room where his mother and I were sitting, and he stood there digging in his coat.  I wondered what he was doing, while he quietly muttered something about scaring the kitty, still! 

So guess how he scared her......I'll give you a hint.....it was with something in his coat pocket....

He put his Dracula teeth in, made his meanest face, and set off to find the kitty to scare her!

LOL!!!!  Loved it!!!

Dan, My Sweetheart!

Well, I've shown you all my new 'do, and think I'm going to start wearing my hair this way.

Guess what Dan told me?

He said that my new hairdo makes me look 10 years younger, like I'm 20!!!!! 

He probably knew in all of my glorious ditziness that it would take me a minute to figure that one out, but by golly, I did! 

I just turned 40, and he just wanted brownie points for telling me I look 30!  And then with the new 'do, I look like I'm married to a man who robbed the cradle!

HA!  How's THAT for FLATTERY??? 

Maybe I'll one up him, showing him how young HE looks by buying him a new bicycle, seeing as how he is using Kota's in this picture!  ;P  Puppets and stuff make you look younger too, don't they?!?!

If you look at my link to my last picture, you'll see my explanation of Dan and the puppet-we actually have two, one beige, and one red.  :)  Thanks to Alicia, I found these adorable little guys on ebay, in case you ever want one!





bicycle, brownies, hair, hairdo, updo, long hair, chocolate, bike

Our Beauties Chloe and Diamond

So anyway!  This is a picture of Chloe-our beautiful kitten.  She just takes beautiful pictures, don't you think?  Her sister doesn't take near as good of a picture as her, but I'll include one just so she don't feel left out!  She's a little bigger(Chloe must have been the runt), and has filled out more-she's beautiful as well.

I LOVE this picture!

Peek-a-boo!

Diamond-she and Chloe look quite a bit alike!

 

New Pics Of Me, and Blah, Blah, Blah--Explained!

Well, here they are-updated pictures of me! 

My blog and website have pics of me from our old house, which we haven't lived there in almost a year.

I fixed my hair a little different today, and Dan liked it.  You know what he liked best about it?  Well, I have my front section separated from the back section, which I poofed.  What Dan likes best in the gray streak on the back poof, that is visible in this photo.  Go figure, eh?  Well, that must mean he's A-O-K with being married to an older woman!  That's a good thing!  :)

Along with my new background for my blog, I discovered how to add extra pages to the blog, which I added a chocolate bouquet page, with links to my different bouquets.  I'm not sure yet what other new pages to add to this, or if I'll just categorize what I put up.  Hmm.....

And did anyone else see my blah, blah, blah post?

Let me just say...

Ooooppsssss!!!!!

I was trying to figure out how to post on my new page, and that was a test post!  My sis-in-law wrote in my comments and asked me where the post went, which brought it to my attention, since I had no idea!  And I responded to her comment that it was a good thing I didn't write something like, Dan is a dunderhead!  Or, I can't wait to rob Walmart tomorrow! lol

Let that be a lesson to all...

Whatever you put on the internet.....

Doesn't go away!.....

Even if you hit the edit button, after you've posted it!

Someone is sure to find you out!

A New Look!

Well, did you think you all reached the wrong page???

Nope, ya didn't! 

After a year, I decided to go with something lighter, a little more "airy".

What do you think?  :)