Even if you've never been to YouTube, all you have to do is click on the link at the right that says "Are you proud?"
Great stuff--and from a 15-year-old! Thanks be to God that there are some teenagers that aren't so absorbed into MTV, Ipods, MySpace and FaceBook that they can see what's really going on in the world.
Thanks to Mimi for the link, and the email entitled "grab a hanky!"
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
The Master has been out with His paintbrush
Oh, the lovely colors of fall! Often, we do not get to enjoy these as much in in this part of the country as those from the New England area like to brag; this year has been an exception, to be sure. The girls have a long-standing tradition of going to a charming mountain town each fall with their Dad toting cameras and enough cash to load up on ice cream and beanie babies (they've mostly grown out of the last stage). Last year, Princess #1 was still learning to drive, and got some drive-time experience on the way up. Dad got a "learning how to sit in the backseat and silently white-knuckle the whole ride while Dear Wifey sits in the passenger seat and coaches" lesson. It's a hard lesson for either parent--I remember my step Dad teaching me to drive because my Mom recognized that she might kill me if she had to teach me. I love you, Mom, and to this day, thank you! We probably have a better relationship for your having let someone else teach me to drive... I recognize how tough it is for a parent to let the arrow loose from the bow--oh, how the string quivers after sending such a precious arrow out into the world. Anyway, that was last year (no, don't think for a second that we're "over it"). She's driving on her own now, working and attending the local college... She doesn't write, she doesn't call... sisters (and DH/DW!) are starting to wonder: when's she gonna come home!?! Oh yeah... The colors (isn't that how I started down this train of thought?) in the mountains are a most beautiful yellow of the aspens against the stark contrast of the evergreen trees on the annual sojourn to the mountains. Sadly, the beatles are killing more and more of those dark trees, and the contrast is more yellow against brown these days... very sad, but that is part of the cycle of life, I suppose. So, THIS year was a different story. In a rare sighting, Princess #1 actually asked if we could plan a trip to this secluded mountain town. Now, when it came time to actually go, it was a different story (she's working, or Dad's working, or birthday parties are happening--oh, but the list does go on!), but it certainly got us all thinking again. We have been especially blessed with an extended Indian Summer this year--heck, we're still picking tomatoes, although their ripening has slowed significantly in these past weeks. We have, however, had one of the most colorful falls I can remember. Oranges, reds, yellows--reds over greens, and more. WOW! And just enough rain lately to keep everything from drying out, so the leaves are still actually on the trees and yards are still (mostly) green. The Master has been at work again, and we there's not a day that we don't enjoy it. We have the beautiful mountains out our back door (okay, there are actually neighbors' houses in the way, but we can see them when we drive around), and stunning colors to amuse us. God loves you so much that he sends you flowers every spring, but fall will not be outdone with its stunning array of contrasting colors. I love God!
So, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but (no, not a miniature sleigh--it's not time for that yet!) a weather prediction of temperatures touching 30 degrees. Bummer! I wanted more 'maters! So, I made DH come out in the blustering wind with me to drain water out of the planter boxes and move the still heavily-laden, green-fruited vines into the garage. Whew, biting wind, but a hood makes ALL the difference in the world! He must really love me (yes, he does!) to brave the bluster. Yep, my gardening sickness will be allowed to continue, as the garden has taken over the second stall in the garage.
Hey, since Princess #1 wrecked the car, we have the space, so why not? Okay, okay, so there's not much daylight that gets in--only the windows on the garage door, but it's going to give them just a little more time to ripen those tasty toms, and save us some on our grocery bill at the same time. Interestingly, we bought some yellow and red peppers from the grocery the other day, and when I cut them up and sampled them, they had very little flavor compared to those that my taste buds have come to love. Don't even get me started on those pink-fleshed, mushy-mess spheres they pass off for tomatoes in the produce departments of our local grocery--there is simply no comparison to the sun-warmed tomatoes on my plate! Then, did I mention I woke up to a BLIZZARD this morning!?! It was pretty short-lived, but I sure am glad Dear Hubby and I brought stuff in last night. Yep, that snow-covered flowering color-bowl is from just this morning!Let's see, before I write a book (which I am planning, by the way, but not here...), I should let you all know that Princess #2 has started her first official job at a deli/bakery at the local mall. DH and I went to pick her up last night, and I asked if we could go a few minutes early. We just stood there and watched her helping customers, working (!?!), and smiling. We commented that we may have to come and watch her work more often, just so we can see her smile--she is at "that stage" where the bedroom is the only place she'll be unless we insist she come and join us. We just don't get to see her much; it's not quite time to let that arrow go, but she thinks she's already left. If only she would figure out for which target she is aiming... She'll get there eventually. I keep reminding myself of a statistic I heard on James Dobson's radio program that said something like teenagers have the same brain-wave patterns of a psychopath. A PSYCHOPATH!!! How's THAT for encouraging? Well, he also says, "Just get them through it, and they'll come back to you." We spend all kinds of time in prayer for all our princesses, but for #2, it's that she'll preserve herself long enough to find (and then stay) in God's will for her life.
Speaking of just getting through teenager-hood and praying, I'll ask that you all remember our family in your prayers, because our Princess #3 has just turned 13! Yes, she's already displaying some of the classic teenager syndrome; but to be fair, she has had two shining (uh... ?) teenager examples to follow! Thirteen is a big one; I still remember mine: our family always saved the Japanese Kitchen Steakhouse trips for the "big" birthdays--13, 16, and the like. Well, I think I still had the picture that had been taken at my 13th until just a few years ago! Anyway, #3 had 6 friends over, and her Mom picked them up and took them to get manicures and then dinner at Red Robin. Then back to our house for gifts, cake
(which I decorated myself, thank you very much!), a costume party and sleepover.Go figure, the biggest girl (not big around--she's athletic, very tall and muscular!) had to dress as Wonder Woman, and kept taking "Wonder Leaps" off the couch in the basement. Not a problem if you have concrete-slab basement; however we happen to have elevated subfloors and the house sounds like it's coming down when wonder leaps are performed. Princess #1 took pictures of the girls in their costumes, which I then surprised them all by putting on CD's so they could take them home. Cute pictures... #3 and the friend with whom she is writing a book both dressed as ninjas-in-training (ever seen Naruto? No? Well, consider yourself lucky!), and of course they had to have mock fights where Wonder Woman was lasso-ing, Ninja swords were swinging, drama queens (all seven of them!) were flailing, wailing, and all were generally hamming it up. And CONTACTS!!! Did I mention that DH and I got her contacts?!? She's so excited--but it's going to take some time for her to get used to them. Best birthday in memory, she says. Mission: ACCOMPLISHED.
On that note: sayonara!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Praises to God
YES!!! We get to stay where we are, for now! DH will be working in a great store with some great people, and while it's about 20 miles from where we live, at least it's not 2000 miles! What an answer to prayer, because this area is home to Dear Hubby and me, and the kids wouldn't think of moving away--and darn it, I guess it would be up to them. So, at least we don't have to deal with a big move, but we do still have to move...
Gotta get outta the big mortgage. It's just silly to think that mortgage brokers would do what they do--and regulations are starting to come into place so that they don't do that anymore. I remember when we were looking at financing the castle, and our mortgage guy was insistent that we should get an adjustable rate mortgage, "because you're going to refinance in a couple of years, anyway," he said. Well, we knew better, and we were insistent that we get a fixed-rate first mortgage, and can you believe it? He had to look into a different loan program than what he ever had used in recent history. We wouldn't even have had to use this guy except that with my work history (only being self-employed for a short time), we were looking into otherwise unconventional stuff. We also had to insist that the mortgage payment escrow the taxes and hazard insurance--I mean, this guy was unconventional! Anyway, the payment goes up when your taxes go up (and where we live, they just can't wait to bump our assessed values--even though the market is taking a dive), and we're just not that into having the big mortgage payment and big house. Too much to clean!!
So, where are we going to move? Somewhere close to where we are now. We definitely want the girls to stay in their schools, and if we end up out of the school district, we'll have to take BOTH of them to school every morning instead of just the one right now. Speaking of school, Princess #2 has decided that she wants to go to the HS just by our house, instead of the one over by her Mom's. This has been a matter of contention for Mom & Princess, but she has decided that she really wants to be in a school around her friends. We have discussed it, and Mom agrees with us that she can transfer but only after the semester is over, and only after she can prove to us that she can get her grades up and keep them up. Once she gets back into our local HS, she will be surrounded by the same friends and distractions that she had in middle school when she was getting very poor grades (due to said friends aka distractions, according to every single one of her teachers--and we tend to agree!). Anyway, Princess doesn't think it's fair that she should have to wait until the semester is over, and we have explained over and over to her that 1) she made the decision to go the other school. Yes, we know that it became a matter of being able to see her mother or not, but she still made that decision, and we expect her to respect and honor that. 2) She simply must prove to us that she can get good grades before we can allow her to be back in an environment that has historically fostered such poor academic performance. She insists that she can get good grades there (we don't believe it yet), and that we can't begin to understand how bad it is. Yeah, well, 'tis better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all... She doesn't know how good she has it (and don't all parents say that?). Unbelievably, she had all A's just a couple weeks ago, and then when we met with her teachers last week, the report we got was just more of the same stuff that we had heard all through Jr. High, and the grades had all slipped but one of them. We keep praying for her to understand that she is going to need to stick it out, and then have the resolve to do it--otherwise, she's not going to be transferring, and that would probably not help the situation either!
We also started the family on a bonafide written spending plan (aka: a budget. Oooh, is that a bad word?). When I was single, I managed just fine--I knew how much I had and where, and I also knew when I didn't have it. Here's the kicker: the cats don't ask for money to go to the football game, or Starbucks, or get hair and nails done for Homecoming. So, it's been a lifestyle adjustment for me--one that has not gone as well as it's "fixin' to". Now we are married, and we have family finances, as well as cats (and dogs!), and of course, three princesses that wreck cars, go to the doctor, play sports, go to the movies, like to buy clothes, and MORE (did I mention Starbucks?)!!! I had already been familiar with Crown Financial Ministries (and I highly recommend EVERYONE check them out--God knew that money would be a tough area for us, and He talks more about it in the Bible than about Heaven and Hell combined), and had heard of the "envelope" system. Well, we started the girls on the envelopes last night. They had just recently had an "incident" with the mall cards that their Mom gives them, and Princess #2 wasn't able to purchase several much-desired items due to technical difficulties with the card. The girls thought that all that cash looked pretty cool--and we admonished them to be sure to budget it that it will last all month, because they're not getting any more until next month--and no "cash advances" either! We explained that it may look like a lot now, but by the end of the month, it's gonna be getting smaller and smaller. I fear that it will all be spent in two days, but they will learn life lessons this way--and better now, when we know that we will still feed them rather than later in life when it becomes an issue of ramen and tuna and Visa bills. Oh, we hope, anyway. We certainly have learned, and it seems that we'll get some "buy-in" for our overall family spending plan if they understand that it's budgeted, and that's it; when it's gone, it's gone!
Anyway, my lunch break is over, so I'm gonna get back to work before the boss comes around and cracks the whip (she's such a meanie!). Praying everybody is having a great week, and we'll try to make more frequent entries!
~Dear Wifey
Gotta get outta the big mortgage. It's just silly to think that mortgage brokers would do what they do--and regulations are starting to come into place so that they don't do that anymore. I remember when we were looking at financing the castle, and our mortgage guy was insistent that we should get an adjustable rate mortgage, "because you're going to refinance in a couple of years, anyway," he said. Well, we knew better, and we were insistent that we get a fixed-rate first mortgage, and can you believe it? He had to look into a different loan program than what he ever had used in recent history. We wouldn't even have had to use this guy except that with my work history (only being self-employed for a short time), we were looking into otherwise unconventional stuff. We also had to insist that the mortgage payment escrow the taxes and hazard insurance--I mean, this guy was unconventional! Anyway, the payment goes up when your taxes go up (and where we live, they just can't wait to bump our assessed values--even though the market is taking a dive), and we're just not that into having the big mortgage payment and big house. Too much to clean!!
So, where are we going to move? Somewhere close to where we are now. We definitely want the girls to stay in their schools, and if we end up out of the school district, we'll have to take BOTH of them to school every morning instead of just the one right now. Speaking of school, Princess #2 has decided that she wants to go to the HS just by our house, instead of the one over by her Mom's. This has been a matter of contention for Mom & Princess, but she has decided that she really wants to be in a school around her friends. We have discussed it, and Mom agrees with us that she can transfer but only after the semester is over, and only after she can prove to us that she can get her grades up and keep them up. Once she gets back into our local HS, she will be surrounded by the same friends and distractions that she had in middle school when she was getting very poor grades (due to said friends aka distractions, according to every single one of her teachers--and we tend to agree!). Anyway, Princess doesn't think it's fair that she should have to wait until the semester is over, and we have explained over and over to her that 1) she made the decision to go the other school. Yes, we know that it became a matter of being able to see her mother or not, but she still made that decision, and we expect her to respect and honor that. 2) She simply must prove to us that she can get good grades before we can allow her to be back in an environment that has historically fostered such poor academic performance. She insists that she can get good grades there (we don't believe it yet), and that we can't begin to understand how bad it is. Yeah, well, 'tis better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all... She doesn't know how good she has it (and don't all parents say that?). Unbelievably, she had all A's just a couple weeks ago, and then when we met with her teachers last week, the report we got was just more of the same stuff that we had heard all through Jr. High, and the grades had all slipped but one of them. We keep praying for her to understand that she is going to need to stick it out, and then have the resolve to do it--otherwise, she's not going to be transferring, and that would probably not help the situation either!
We also started the family on a bonafide written spending plan (aka: a budget. Oooh, is that a bad word?). When I was single, I managed just fine--I knew how much I had and where, and I also knew when I didn't have it. Here's the kicker: the cats don't ask for money to go to the football game, or Starbucks, or get hair and nails done for Homecoming. So, it's been a lifestyle adjustment for me--one that has not gone as well as it's "fixin' to". Now we are married, and we have family finances, as well as cats (and dogs!), and of course, three princesses that wreck cars, go to the doctor, play sports, go to the movies, like to buy clothes, and MORE (did I mention Starbucks?)!!! I had already been familiar with Crown Financial Ministries (and I highly recommend EVERYONE check them out--God knew that money would be a tough area for us, and He talks more about it in the Bible than about Heaven and Hell combined), and had heard of the "envelope" system. Well, we started the girls on the envelopes last night. They had just recently had an "incident" with the mall cards that their Mom gives them, and Princess #2 wasn't able to purchase several much-desired items due to technical difficulties with the card. The girls thought that all that cash looked pretty cool--and we admonished them to be sure to budget it that it will last all month, because they're not getting any more until next month--and no "cash advances" either! We explained that it may look like a lot now, but by the end of the month, it's gonna be getting smaller and smaller. I fear that it will all be spent in two days, but they will learn life lessons this way--and better now, when we know that we will still feed them rather than later in life when it becomes an issue of ramen and tuna and Visa bills. Oh, we hope, anyway. We certainly have learned, and it seems that we'll get some "buy-in" for our overall family spending plan if they understand that it's budgeted, and that's it; when it's gone, it's gone!
Anyway, my lunch break is over, so I'm gonna get back to work before the boss comes around and cracks the whip (she's such a meanie!). Praying everybody is having a great week, and we'll try to make more frequent entries!
~Dear Wifey
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Starting High School, Selling Cookies, and Long Weekends
Yeah, yeah, I know. It's been forever. Hey, life's crazy; I've thought several times about writing but haven't been in front of a computer at the time.
That's all I have to say about that.
So, Princess #2 officially started High School. She is attending one that is close to her mother's house instead of the one that is 3 blocks from our house--time for a change of scenery for our little Drama Queen. Interestingly, on the first day of school, she has her ride "home" take her -- not home. For some reason, parents were not surprised. Basically, she wanted to see what the other high school was like and see some of her friends from 8th grade. Even more interestingly, she reports all the drama going on at what we'll call the "old school" as opposed to the "new school" where she is attending and knows all of 3 people. I chuckle and think of all the drama that must be going on that she just doesn't see because she doesn't know the cliques and the individuals. Can't wait for the drama to begin! She does have extra time after lunch to do some homework, so here's hoping that she doesn't just spend the time as extended lunch and does some of her work before she comes home--where she certainly is not known for doing her work, of the school-type nature or otherwise! She's a good kid, though, and we just can't help but love her. She's so creative, and very much looking forward to her art classes this year since she'll be doing a variety of different art practices instead of all pottery.
Princess #3 is selling cookie dough as a fundraiser for her school. She is working very hard to earn the next level in awards and prizes, but I'm not sure what we're going to do with 83 cases of frozen cookie dough until she can deliver them--or even how is she going to get it all home? I remember as a kid selling all kinds of garbage as fundraisers - from soap to jewelry to wrapping paper, but I still think the best fundraisers were the single-serving candies, either M&M's or chocolate bars or whatever. Kids could take them and sell them--or not; parents could put them in the breakroom at the office with a note and an envelope for collections (instead of having to deal with order forms and please pay now--it's just not worth it!). Ah, well, the bennies are much better than they ever were--she has earned a limo ride to lunch with several of her friends who have also achieved the same level of sales. Yeah, a LIMO RIDE, to where? Taco Bell??? Sheesh. At least make her work for it!
Princess #1 wrecked Dad's car last week. As she was leaving campus, she pulled out in front of a car, got smashed, and we're out a car payment. Uh, yippee? Oh wait, we're also out a car. Hmm... Well, I guess it's time to figure out how to ride the bus! SO glad that we had gap insurance coverage, because we were completely upside down in that car. If you have a loan on your car, PLEASE look into it and get it--it's cheap, and well worth the money in the event of one of those moments in time that will change one's life. Oh yeah, Princess is just fine. Her boyfriend is righteously upset (a little too much so) and insists that it wasn't her fault. Dad & I have surveyed the scene, and I tend to believe the police officer (who sees wrecks all the time and can better tell from experience who is to blame) who indicates by virtue of the ticket he wrote that our Princess was at fault. If the boyfriend doesn't pipe down, she might miss the lesson to be learned here, but she'll get to make up some of the lost lesson when we sit down to discuss the financial ramifications and what she will be contributing to get the situation squared away.
Finally, we have a "temporary" word on DH's assignment. He is wrapping up his time (if nowhere near his effort) at the current store, and will be assigned to another local store for a while. We're not sure what they're waiting on before they give him the permanent assignment, but we just keep praying that the decision-makers see what they need to see to make the decisions that God has in store for us. Hey, it's kept us here so far, so maybe that's His plan for us for the foreseeable future! Maybe He has an even better position for DH than we originally envisioned? We can only hope!
Long weekends are made for garage sales. I gotta tell you, we had one a couple weeks ago--participated with the neighbors in a "block" sale, and did extremely well, even if we were nickled-and-dimed to death. Sold a TON of little stuff, and at the end of the day had to move almost ALL the large furniture pieces back into the garage. Knowing that we had so much stuff, we didn't hesitate to determine that we would have another sale in a couple of weeks. Well, after cleaning up from that one with the help of Hubby and Princess #3, I was exhausted, and allergies were having a heyday for having stirred up all the garage-sale dust. I was still stuffy and sore throat come Monday. This time, however, was different: no block sale, no ad in the paper; just signs. Effective, apparently, because ALL the furniture sold (I even tried to give away the last dresser as I was "closing shop" but the guy insisted on giving me some money), I had very little to drag back into the garage afterwords, and made some decent cash, again. Now, if only I had remembered to put those boxes and bags of leftover goods on the stoop this morning so that AARP would pick them up... DOH!!! Guess I'll freecycle some stuff. Maybe, in light of the fact that we're down by one car, we'll figure out how to get the ole' truck running and haul some of the stuff to ARC or Goodwill. Duh? At least this time, I had Monday to recuperate as well--a good thing, since the rest of the weekend had been shot!
Okay, I gotta get going - hope you all are having a GREAT day (week, month... how long has it been?) and God bless!
~Me
That's all I have to say about that.
So, Princess #2 officially started High School. She is attending one that is close to her mother's house instead of the one that is 3 blocks from our house--time for a change of scenery for our little Drama Queen. Interestingly, on the first day of school, she has her ride "home" take her -- not home. For some reason, parents were not surprised. Basically, she wanted to see what the other high school was like and see some of her friends from 8th grade. Even more interestingly, she reports all the drama going on at what we'll call the "old school" as opposed to the "new school" where she is attending and knows all of 3 people. I chuckle and think of all the drama that must be going on that she just doesn't see because she doesn't know the cliques and the individuals. Can't wait for the drama to begin! She does have extra time after lunch to do some homework, so here's hoping that she doesn't just spend the time as extended lunch and does some of her work before she comes home--where she certainly is not known for doing her work, of the school-type nature or otherwise! She's a good kid, though, and we just can't help but love her. She's so creative, and very much looking forward to her art classes this year since she'll be doing a variety of different art practices instead of all pottery.
Princess #3 is selling cookie dough as a fundraiser for her school. She is working very hard to earn the next level in awards and prizes, but I'm not sure what we're going to do with 83 cases of frozen cookie dough until she can deliver them--or even how is she going to get it all home? I remember as a kid selling all kinds of garbage as fundraisers - from soap to jewelry to wrapping paper, but I still think the best fundraisers were the single-serving candies, either M&M's or chocolate bars or whatever. Kids could take them and sell them--or not; parents could put them in the breakroom at the office with a note and an envelope for collections (instead of having to deal with order forms and please pay now--it's just not worth it!). Ah, well, the bennies are much better than they ever were--she has earned a limo ride to lunch with several of her friends who have also achieved the same level of sales. Yeah, a LIMO RIDE, to where? Taco Bell??? Sheesh. At least make her work for it!
Princess #1 wrecked Dad's car last week. As she was leaving campus, she pulled out in front of a car, got smashed, and we're out a car payment. Uh, yippee? Oh wait, we're also out a car. Hmm... Well, I guess it's time to figure out how to ride the bus! SO glad that we had gap insurance coverage, because we were completely upside down in that car. If you have a loan on your car, PLEASE look into it and get it--it's cheap, and well worth the money in the event of one of those moments in time that will change one's life. Oh yeah, Princess is just fine. Her boyfriend is righteously upset (a little too much so) and insists that it wasn't her fault. Dad & I have surveyed the scene, and I tend to believe the police officer (who sees wrecks all the time and can better tell from experience who is to blame) who indicates by virtue of the ticket he wrote that our Princess was at fault. If the boyfriend doesn't pipe down, she might miss the lesson to be learned here, but she'll get to make up some of the lost lesson when we sit down to discuss the financial ramifications and what she will be contributing to get the situation squared away.
Finally, we have a "temporary" word on DH's assignment. He is wrapping up his time (if nowhere near his effort) at the current store, and will be assigned to another local store for a while. We're not sure what they're waiting on before they give him the permanent assignment, but we just keep praying that the decision-makers see what they need to see to make the decisions that God has in store for us. Hey, it's kept us here so far, so maybe that's His plan for us for the foreseeable future! Maybe He has an even better position for DH than we originally envisioned? We can only hope!
Long weekends are made for garage sales. I gotta tell you, we had one a couple weeks ago--participated with the neighbors in a "block" sale, and did extremely well, even if we were nickled-and-dimed to death. Sold a TON of little stuff, and at the end of the day had to move almost ALL the large furniture pieces back into the garage. Knowing that we had so much stuff, we didn't hesitate to determine that we would have another sale in a couple of weeks. Well, after cleaning up from that one with the help of Hubby and Princess #3, I was exhausted, and allergies were having a heyday for having stirred up all the garage-sale dust. I was still stuffy and sore throat come Monday. This time, however, was different: no block sale, no ad in the paper; just signs. Effective, apparently, because ALL the furniture sold (I even tried to give away the last dresser as I was "closing shop" but the guy insisted on giving me some money), I had very little to drag back into the garage afterwords, and made some decent cash, again. Now, if only I had remembered to put those boxes and bags of leftover goods on the stoop this morning so that AARP would pick them up... DOH!!! Guess I'll freecycle some stuff. Maybe, in light of the fact that we're down by one car, we'll figure out how to get the ole' truck running and haul some of the stuff to ARC or Goodwill. Duh? At least this time, I had Monday to recuperate as well--a good thing, since the rest of the weekend had been shot!
Okay, I gotta get going - hope you all are having a GREAT day (week, month... how long has it been?) and God bless!
~Me
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
the latest update
Okay, so I have discovered something interesting about having a blog that family checks: when I don't keep it up, they actually write to me! Well I have found that, in my silence--and by their own admission--they can't be trusted!
It looks like Mom & Rick have two new puppies--and it looks like they're making themselves right at home on the dog-bed, too. Now, you must understand (for those of you that haven't seen the aforementioned dog bed), that to the average person, this piece of cushiony furniture might look like a rather comfy leather couch, suitable for snuggling with your sweetheart, watching movies or taking naps on (all of which I have done on said piece of furniture). You would be mistaken, however, if you called it a couch--just ask the dogs! They have clearly marked their territory, and as Mr. T would say to those who think otherwise, I pity the fool!
Well, life is, as I mentioned to Pops, like a soap opera. For those of you that have never "followed" one, you won't know what I'm talking about. For those of you that were ever involved in GH when Luke & Laura were getting married, or any one of them when somebody died and mysteriously came back to the show, you'll know what I mean when I say you can miss a day and miss entire episodes of drama, excitement, and death, or you can miss a month and not much has happened. Well, such is life in our household, and so here's a (not-so-) quick and dirty since the last update:
And Mom, what ARE their names???
It looks like Mom & Rick have two new puppies--and it looks like they're making themselves right at home on the dog-bed, too. Now, you must understand (for those of you that haven't seen the aforementioned dog bed), that to the average person, this piece of cushiony furniture might look like a rather comfy leather couch, suitable for snuggling with your sweetheart, watching movies or taking naps on (all of which I have done on said piece of furniture). You would be mistaken, however, if you called it a couch--just ask the dogs! They have clearly marked their territory, and as Mr. T would say to those who think otherwise, I pity the fool!
Well, life is, as I mentioned to Pops, like a soap opera. For those of you that have never "followed" one, you won't know what I'm talking about. For those of you that were ever involved in GH when Luke & Laura were getting married, or any one of them when somebody died and mysteriously came back to the show, you'll know what I mean when I say you can miss a day and miss entire episodes of drama, excitement, and death, or you can miss a month and not much has happened. Well, such is life in our household, and so here's a (not-so-) quick and dirty since the last update:
- Dear Husband has been working in the prescripted SuperK store, trying to put the people, procedures and training in place to help the sales and service turn around in the various grocery departments. People have been on vacation, and the hiring/ training procedures can be arduous, so it has been an uphill battle, but he's fighting the good fight, and winning. Team members are now in place, and improvements will continue to happen as training and oversight continue to improve.
- Meanwhile, he was also shipped back out to Chicago for a week (7/30 thru 8/3) for Super K specific training. The previous 7 weeks were for Kmart general training--learning the corporate philosophy, some systems training, meeting all the right people, etc. Trouble is, it's now monsoon season in Colorado, so his flight was diverted to Colorado Springs thanks to the storm cell sitting right over DIA. I'm telling you, building an airport in a part of the state that has historically been called "tornado alley" is not a smart thing to do... But then, they didn't ask me for my opinion. Oh, and just heard that they're going to be doing a $250 million improvement project to the airport (excuse me, is it even 10 years old yet? Oh, it is? Well, then, it is certainly past due for a major overhaul and redecoration!), and that they'll be budgeting $30 million for a new luggage system. For those of you that weren't in CO when this airport was being built, we're SICK of hearing about the problems with the luggage transportation in the airport itself--the first one was doomed before the airport even opened. Okay! Onward and upward...
- Princess #2 has had a birthday--15 now! Lord help us, she'll be wanting to get her permit soon... She also has expressed herself and is thinking about going to live with her mom full-time. Please pray for us in this area--she needs her father's influence more than ever, as well as some consistent discipline in her life.
- Princess #3 helped put on a garage sale last weekend. Okay, now let me not downplay this at all. We had a TON of work to do to get ready, and because the girls were at their mom's, I was trying all week to get ready for the garage sale as best I could by myself. I was planning on picking her up and having her help me price some stuff, then take Friday off so we could have the garage sale, but work dictated otherwise. Since the neighbors were planning a block sale, we hated to miss the opportunity of someone else paying for the ad and putting up signs, so we planned to still "open shop" on Saturday--but with Dad's flight being diverted, we were several hours behind and he was in no mood to play in the garage on Friday night. She and I worked until about 1 a.m., got back up at 6 and were at it again. After a couple of early sales, we were getting somewhat organized and beginning to price things when the waves of people started coming in. I was instructed by a well-meaning customer that I needed to have Princess #3 running the cash so she could learn how to do it, and we ended up being so busy that we ALL were running cash before we were finished! Anyway, I have been trying to teach her how to count cash back the real way without doing the math--her math is a little shaky after a summer of watching Disney channel reruns. She doesn't understand it yet, but at least now it's not a foreign concept, and she knows how to hold the money so that someone doesn't claim, "Hey, I gave you a $50!" and get away with it. So much work, and by far the most successful garage sale I've ever seen. More than once I would be standing in an area where I could see most of the garage and driveway, and be overcome with the idea that there are about 35 people pawing through our stuff at that very moment. Sold a lot, but not nearly enough--and hardly any furniture, which is weird because in my experience, furniture is the first thing to go (and the thing that draws people in), but then, most of my garage sale experience is in a college-town, where a glass-topped hardwood table for $5 will fit into any decor. It's amazing how much of a throwaway society we live in these days.
- Gardening in our parts is interesting. We are trying container-gardening, because there really isn't a place in our yard that would be suitable for permanently converting to a garden unless we did some serious landscaping--for which we do NOT have the time. Anyway, I was saving some seeds from some store-bought roma tomatoes this spring (which involves them soaking in water for several days while allowing a film to grow--a fungus, actually--and kill off any bad bacteria that would inhibit the plant's natural growth, when the seeds all sprouted!! Well, I can't let anything die intentionally, so I put them in some soil, and we now have a plethora of tomato plants. Never mind that I had purchased some heirloom tomato seeds on Ebay, and so had a couple others, to boot... Anyway, you'll notice my earlier comment was regarding tomato plants, and there's a good reason for that. We currently have about 14 plants, all of which have tomatoes on them--not one of which has even begun to show a hint of color that might indicate an intention to ripen anytime soon. Lord have mercy if they all ripen at once--it's gonna be crazy! This is where we get to the "death" part of the soap opera; in the parts where we live, the winds can sure kick up and knock a plant over, or cause other problems. Personally, I have never grown any squash plants, but this year we have zucchini (whoa, did I spell that right?) and spaghetti squash, as well as cucumbers. Now, cucumbers don't usually get lumped into the squash family (or DO they?), but they grow on a similar vine, and are susceptible to the same problems, including powdery mildew. We nearly lost our entire spaghetti squash plant a while back--it creeps up fast, and if you don't treat it right away, it will take over your whole plant and affected areas don't recover well--at least, not when you're using organic treatments, as I insist on doing. Did you know that a mixture of 1 part skim milk (any milk will do, but the lesser the fat, the lesser the stink later) and 9 parts water, sprayed on the tops and bottoms of leaves at the first sign of this pesky problem will not only treat the problem, but strengthen the plant against further outbreak? I spent a good hour last night, culling the dead leaves and flowers off of the vines (quite a bit of work, since they had "gone crazy" growing well before being affected by the offending "Douie" I have named it --think Hewey, Louie & Dewey, only "Dewey" was too cute and Douie reminded me more of "doozy"). The poor plants now look nearly dead--all the original leaves are long gone and nothing is left but the new growth on the ends of the vines, which has been treated several times with this cat-attracting milk potion and is even bearing new male AND female flowers! Maybe we'll get a couple more "spaghetti" dinners out of the plants yet!
And Mom, what ARE their names???
Strange Notes from World War II
In honor of my Grandfather, Colonel Jack Blanchard, U.S. Airforce, now gone for three years. We miss you, Grandpa, and can't wait to see you again on the flip side!
| 1. The first German serviceman killed in the war was killed by the Japanese (China, 1937), the first American serviceman killed was killed by the Russians (Finland 1940), the highest ranking American killed was Lt.Gen.Lesley McNair, killed by the US Army Air Corps. 2. The youngest US serviceman was 12 year old Calvin Graham, USN. He was wounded and given a Dishonorable Discharge for lying about his age. (His benefits were later restored by act of Congress) 3. At the time of Pearl Harbor the top US Navy command was Called CINCUS (pronounced "sink us"), the shoulder patch of the US Army's 45th Infantry division was the Swastika, and Hitler's private train was named "Amerika". All three were soon changed for PR purposes. 4. More US servicemen died in the Air Corps than the Marine Corps. While completing the required 30 missions your chance of being killed was 71%. 5. Generally speaking there was no such thing as an average fighter pilot. You were either an ace or a target. For instance Japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa shot down over 80 planes. He died while a passenger on a cargo plane. 6. It was a common practice on fighter planes to load every 5th round with a tracer round to aid in aiming. This was a mistake. Tracers had different ballistics so (at long range) if your tracers were hitting the target 80% of your rounds were missing. Worse yet tracers instantly told your enemy he was under fire and from which direction. Worst of all was the practice of loading a string of tracers at the end of the belt to tell you that you were out of ammo. This was definitely not something you wanted to tell the enemy. Units that stopped using tracers saw their success rate nearly double and their loss rate go down. 7. German Me-264 bombers were capable of bombing New York City but it wasn't worth the effort. 8. German submarine U-120 was sunk by a malfunctioning toilet. 9. Among the first "Germans" captured at Normandy were several Koreans. They had been forced to fight for the Japanese Army until they were captured by the Russians and forced to fight for the Russian Army until they were captured by the Germans and forced to fight for the German Army until they were captured by the US Army. 10. Following a massive naval bombardment 35,000 US and Canadian troops stormed ashore at Kiska. 21 troops were killed in the firefight. It would have been worse if there had been any Japanese on the island. |
Monday, July 23, 2007
Humor from Mimi (my grandmother--no, REALLY!)
John the farmer was in the fertilized egg business. He had several hundred young layers (hens), called "pullets," and ten roosters, whose job it was to fertilize the eggs (for you city folks).
The farmer kept records and any rooster that didn't perform went into the soup pot and was replaced. That took an awful lot of his time, so he bought a set of tiny bells and attached them to his roosters. Each bell had a different tone so John could tell from a distance, which rooster was performing. Now he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report simply by listening to the bells.
The farmer's favorite rooster was old Butch, and a very fine specimen he was, too. But on one particular morning John noticed old Butch's bell hadn't rung at all! John went to investigate.
The other roosters were chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing. The pullets, hearing the roosters coming, would run for cover. But to Farmer John's amazement, old Butch had his bell in his beak, so it couldn't ring. He would sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next one.
John was so proud of old Butch, he entered him in the County Fair and he became an overnight sensation among the judges.
The result...The judges not only awarded old Butch the No Bell Piece Prize but they also awarded him the Pulletsurprise as well.
Clearly old Butch was a politician in the making: Who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most highly coveted awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the populace and screwing them when they weren't paying attention!
The farmer kept records and any rooster that didn't perform went into the soup pot and was replaced. That took an awful lot of his time, so he bought a set of tiny bells and attached them to his roosters. Each bell had a different tone so John could tell from a distance, which rooster was performing. Now he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report simply by listening to the bells.
The farmer's favorite rooster was old Butch, and a very fine specimen he was, too. But on one particular morning John noticed old Butch's bell hadn't rung at all! John went to investigate.
The other roosters were chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing. The pullets, hearing the roosters coming, would run for cover. But to Farmer John's amazement, old Butch had his bell in his beak, so it couldn't ring. He would sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next one.
John was so proud of old Butch, he entered him in the County Fair and he became an overnight sensation among the judges.
The result...The judges not only awarded old Butch the No Bell Piece Prize but they also awarded him the Pulletsurprise as well.
Clearly old Butch was a politician in the making: Who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most highly coveted awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the populace and screwing them when they weren't paying attention!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
It's HOT here!
Happy blazin' summer, folks! Okay, I know for those of you in the Southeastern part of the country, you're wishing you could remind me of how hot 99-99 is, and don't think I've forgotten. Dear Husband and I were discussing when we might go to see Mom (in the hot and humid Southeastern part of the country) just this morning, and I made no secret that the worst times to be there are July and August. I love you guys, but let's plan some time when we'll have any energy left to do more than look at each other and weakly laugh!
Summer here is warm, and as I walk down the streets of Downtown, I am reminded how the term heat wave came into being. The heat just rises in ripples off of the sidewalks, and it has been somewhat humid lately--okay, humid by our standards, anyway! It has been clouding up in the afternoon with thunderstorms--some of which produce more than just garden-threatening winds! When I got home yesterday, our spaghetti squash plants, which I have trained up onto two tomato cages (and they've overgrown those, too... not sure what I'm going to do with them next!) had nearly blown over. Never mind that branch of tomato plant, either. It's history! We do get to see some spectacular sunsets, though, because as the clouds usually break as the sun dips down, we are enjoying more reds thanks in part to smoke from the unfortunate fires in Utah and other parts of the country right now. God can use bad for good--the good being our enjoyment. DH and I take every opportunity to enjoy the paintings that God sends us every day. Hey, if you like seeing the mountains, maybe you should live here, too!
So, let's see... what's up with the family right now... I'll start with the youngest of the human children. Princess #3 is currently in Arizona enjoying the church's summer camp. DH and I dropped her off at the airport at SIX A.M. on Sunday (traditionally a day to sleep in, but not so this time around!) and she was chatty and excited--wish we felt the same. Talk about uncontrolled chaos: there were at least 52 kids trying to get checked in with the church and then checked in for their flights, plus parents trying to get one last hug out of the kids, plus "supervising" adults (not more than 5 kids per group leader), plus the extra yay-hoos in the group. Communication is KEY, people! Get a plan and then execute, already! Well, they finally got the group headed out to the terminal--made 'em walk to the terminal after giving everyone clear-cut instructions on how they were going to handle getting on the tram--at which point, Princess was completely oblivious to the fact that we were still there, waiting and hoping for one last wave. DH got a call from her on Tuesday; it sounds like she's having a blast, and really enjoying the camp. She says they have chapel services in the morning and the evening, and she's making some new friends. Hmm... she'll never convince me that she has a hard time with that! The return flight is due in on Friday at 10 p.m., so we're praying for no delays since airports are not the most comfortable hangout (nor the cheapest!) and DH has to work on Saturday morning. It's a good thing she's my favorite!
Let's see, the next human is Princess #2, and she's been in summer school since the 9th. In an effort to get ahead in high school (before she inevitably gets behind because homework comes first on the list AFTER boys, phone time, computer time, text-messaging time, boys, friends, sleeping, and getting beautified for ... phone time, computer time, etc...), she will be going all the rest of July, Mondays through Thursdays. She has a friend whose older sister is going to summer school as well, so it's not like she doesn't know anybody. Not that SHE ever has a hard time making friends, either! She is about the most socially-minded little girl I have ever known. She didn't get to go to the high-schoolers' church camp this summer because she was in Florida. I think it would have been a good one for her to attend, but alas, the time has come and gone... like sands through the hourglass! Princess #2 and I have a unique connection in that we're both the middle child in the family (well, so far for her); that makes her my favorite.
Little Miss Princess #1 has been doing fantastically at her job at a popular clothing store. She has been promoted in a little over a year from low man on the totem pole to assistant manager, and this was her first job! We have been cautious with her and this job, because she does intend to go to college; she seems to think that she will be able to work full time and still handle a full-time class schedule as well. I guess we'll see what her schedule looks like in the fall. We are thrilled that she is going to be taking classes at the local Community College. Not only is it close to home, but also, with the grades on her transcript and her now-busy schedule, not to mention the fact that she's 18 and has no idea what she wants to be when she grows up, it would seem foolish to fork out tons more money for the same (sometimes lesser!) education at a bigger, more prestigious university--at least for now. We are encouraging her to give the first couple of years her best efforts, and to crack out as many of the un-fun credits as possible so that she can enjoy the rest of her college career. We hope that she's able to get the grades that will reflect favorably on a university application and that she can transfer after two years at the Community College. Heck, knowing how hard a road it is when you're working and going to school, I'm just praying that she sticks it out, and I think she will. She's a good kid--takes right after her Dad, going into retail. Yep, she's definitely my favorite.
Okay, the non-human kids: Did I mention that we have some overweight dogs? Well, Candy, at least. Brandy was a little heavy, but she has so much energy, she burns it off and is probably right where she needs to be now that we've cut the food down. Oh, and she looks a lot less like a woolie bear since we groomed her! Candy, on the other hand, has also been losing weight, and is now having a much easier time keeping up with us when we all go for walks. She still pants heavily, but at least she doesn't try to lay down in the middle of the walk anymore! She also got groomed, and the groomers loved how playful and fun-loving she is. She is the hairiest golden retriever I have ever met, and as such, got a partial body-clipping. I tell you what: when they shaved her bum area, it was the funniest thing I think I had ever seen--fat dog, fuzzy dog, naked bum. YIKES!
The other non-human kids are doing fine, too. I think I'm going to take Beaujolais in to be fitted for a football helmet. She takes this snuggly-thing to a whole new level--she is now known as the Kamikazi Snuggler. She comes in at a lively pace and crashes into me, head-first, which turns into a body-slam. I secretly think she does it to wake me up, because she is usually initiating a snuggle either right as I'm falling asleep at night (like it was last night), or right after that snooze button gets smashed in the morning. I guess she thinks that's when she has a captive audience. It would be a lot easier to resist her if she weren't so darn cute! Wulfgang has taken to talking a lot more these days. He has a tendency to sit by the food bowl in the kitchen (the only one into which anything resembling canned food might land) and demand that something appear. Initial unmet requests are repeated. Frequently. He also has taken to drinking water out of the reservoirs under our containers in the garden. He gets fresh water in the bowl every day, and still has to steal it from the 'maters... Go figure! His snuggle times are when Chris is in the recliner or I am on the couch. He isn't as much of a bedtime snuggler as his cohort; perhaps he doesn't want to have to "compete" with her when she's in 'Nuggle Nazi mode.
DH is having fun as well as frustrations in his project at the SuperK. He called me yesterday, and there was a tone in his voice that spoke of a rare excitement... I could tell something was up when he asked me, "Did you know that lemon meringue pies are on sale today at SuperK for $2.99? Today only, save two dollars!" Well, let's just say that the pie on sale that day is pretty tasty! It's great to hear the excitement and passion for his work in his voice--and it's very contagious. He explained to me that the cashier's were in a contest to see who could sell the most pies, and the positive energy was thrumming through the whole store. Long gone are those blue-light specials! DH is still in his training project, and we won't know anymore about where they want him to work until after the project is over. I know, I know! This not knowing is driving us crazy, too!
I have also been completely inundated at work. We have been working a drilling schedule that is constantly changing--it's like aiming at a moving target, only to realize that the target is completely gone and now there's another one. I am constantly amazed at all the pieces that must be in place in order for a single well to be drilled, hooked up to pipeline, and produce revenues. Believe me, people, the prices you are paying at the pump may be driving higher profits for oil companies at the moment, but it truly is based on supply and demand, and the cost of doing business doesn't even get considered by all those politicians that are screaming "price-gouging!" In ANY market, there are ups and downs; it's to be expected. I, personally, am enjoying riding this wave. I love being this busy!
Well, it's that time again... I gotta sign off and go live some life. Maybe one of these days I'll get some pictures posted... I guess I'd have to be at my own computer to do that! On that note, I'm outta here!
Summer here is warm, and as I walk down the streets of Downtown, I am reminded how the term heat wave came into being. The heat just rises in ripples off of the sidewalks, and it has been somewhat humid lately--okay, humid by our standards, anyway! It has been clouding up in the afternoon with thunderstorms--some of which produce more than just garden-threatening winds! When I got home yesterday, our spaghetti squash plants, which I have trained up onto two tomato cages (and they've overgrown those, too... not sure what I'm going to do with them next!) had nearly blown over. Never mind that branch of tomato plant, either. It's history! We do get to see some spectacular sunsets, though, because as the clouds usually break as the sun dips down, we are enjoying more reds thanks in part to smoke from the unfortunate fires in Utah and other parts of the country right now. God can use bad for good--the good being our enjoyment. DH and I take every opportunity to enjoy the paintings that God sends us every day. Hey, if you like seeing the mountains, maybe you should live here, too!
So, let's see... what's up with the family right now... I'll start with the youngest of the human children. Princess #3 is currently in Arizona enjoying the church's summer camp. DH and I dropped her off at the airport at SIX A.M. on Sunday (traditionally a day to sleep in, but not so this time around!) and she was chatty and excited--wish we felt the same. Talk about uncontrolled chaos: there were at least 52 kids trying to get checked in with the church and then checked in for their flights, plus parents trying to get one last hug out of the kids, plus "supervising" adults (not more than 5 kids per group leader), plus the extra yay-hoos in the group. Communication is KEY, people! Get a plan and then execute, already! Well, they finally got the group headed out to the terminal--made 'em walk to the terminal after giving everyone clear-cut instructions on how they were going to handle getting on the tram--at which point, Princess was completely oblivious to the fact that we were still there, waiting and hoping for one last wave. DH got a call from her on Tuesday; it sounds like she's having a blast, and really enjoying the camp. She says they have chapel services in the morning and the evening, and she's making some new friends. Hmm... she'll never convince me that she has a hard time with that! The return flight is due in on Friday at 10 p.m., so we're praying for no delays since airports are not the most comfortable hangout (nor the cheapest!) and DH has to work on Saturday morning. It's a good thing she's my favorite!
Let's see, the next human is Princess #2, and she's been in summer school since the 9th. In an effort to get ahead in high school (before she inevitably gets behind because homework comes first on the list AFTER boys, phone time, computer time, text-messaging time, boys, friends, sleeping, and getting beautified for ... phone time, computer time, etc...), she will be going all the rest of July, Mondays through Thursdays. She has a friend whose older sister is going to summer school as well, so it's not like she doesn't know anybody. Not that SHE ever has a hard time making friends, either! She is about the most socially-minded little girl I have ever known. She didn't get to go to the high-schoolers' church camp this summer because she was in Florida. I think it would have been a good one for her to attend, but alas, the time has come and gone... like sands through the hourglass! Princess #2 and I have a unique connection in that we're both the middle child in the family (well, so far for her); that makes her my favorite.
Little Miss Princess #1 has been doing fantastically at her job at a popular clothing store. She has been promoted in a little over a year from low man on the totem pole to assistant manager, and this was her first job! We have been cautious with her and this job, because she does intend to go to college; she seems to think that she will be able to work full time and still handle a full-time class schedule as well. I guess we'll see what her schedule looks like in the fall. We are thrilled that she is going to be taking classes at the local Community College. Not only is it close to home, but also, with the grades on her transcript and her now-busy schedule, not to mention the fact that she's 18 and has no idea what she wants to be when she grows up, it would seem foolish to fork out tons more money for the same (sometimes lesser!) education at a bigger, more prestigious university--at least for now. We are encouraging her to give the first couple of years her best efforts, and to crack out as many of the un-fun credits as possible so that she can enjoy the rest of her college career. We hope that she's able to get the grades that will reflect favorably on a university application and that she can transfer after two years at the Community College. Heck, knowing how hard a road it is when you're working and going to school, I'm just praying that she sticks it out, and I think she will. She's a good kid--takes right after her Dad, going into retail. Yep, she's definitely my favorite.
Okay, the non-human kids: Did I mention that we have some overweight dogs? Well, Candy, at least. Brandy was a little heavy, but she has so much energy, she burns it off and is probably right where she needs to be now that we've cut the food down. Oh, and she looks a lot less like a woolie bear since we groomed her! Candy, on the other hand, has also been losing weight, and is now having a much easier time keeping up with us when we all go for walks. She still pants heavily, but at least she doesn't try to lay down in the middle of the walk anymore! She also got groomed, and the groomers loved how playful and fun-loving she is. She is the hairiest golden retriever I have ever met, and as such, got a partial body-clipping. I tell you what: when they shaved her bum area, it was the funniest thing I think I had ever seen--fat dog, fuzzy dog, naked bum. YIKES!
The other non-human kids are doing fine, too. I think I'm going to take Beaujolais in to be fitted for a football helmet. She takes this snuggly-thing to a whole new level--she is now known as the Kamikazi Snuggler. She comes in at a lively pace and crashes into me, head-first, which turns into a body-slam. I secretly think she does it to wake me up, because she is usually initiating a snuggle either right as I'm falling asleep at night (like it was last night), or right after that snooze button gets smashed in the morning. I guess she thinks that's when she has a captive audience. It would be a lot easier to resist her if she weren't so darn cute! Wulfgang has taken to talking a lot more these days. He has a tendency to sit by the food bowl in the kitchen (the only one into which anything resembling canned food might land) and demand that something appear. Initial unmet requests are repeated. Frequently. He also has taken to drinking water out of the reservoirs under our containers in the garden. He gets fresh water in the bowl every day, and still has to steal it from the 'maters... Go figure! His snuggle times are when Chris is in the recliner or I am on the couch. He isn't as much of a bedtime snuggler as his cohort; perhaps he doesn't want to have to "compete" with her when she's in 'Nuggle Nazi mode.
DH is having fun as well as frustrations in his project at the SuperK. He called me yesterday, and there was a tone in his voice that spoke of a rare excitement... I could tell something was up when he asked me, "Did you know that lemon meringue pies are on sale today at SuperK for $2.99? Today only, save two dollars!" Well, let's just say that the pie on sale that day is pretty tasty! It's great to hear the excitement and passion for his work in his voice--and it's very contagious. He explained to me that the cashier's were in a contest to see who could sell the most pies, and the positive energy was thrumming through the whole store. Long gone are those blue-light specials! DH is still in his training project, and we won't know anymore about where they want him to work until after the project is over. I know, I know! This not knowing is driving us crazy, too!
I have also been completely inundated at work. We have been working a drilling schedule that is constantly changing--it's like aiming at a moving target, only to realize that the target is completely gone and now there's another one. I am constantly amazed at all the pieces that must be in place in order for a single well to be drilled, hooked up to pipeline, and produce revenues. Believe me, people, the prices you are paying at the pump may be driving higher profits for oil companies at the moment, but it truly is based on supply and demand, and the cost of doing business doesn't even get considered by all those politicians that are screaming "price-gouging!" In ANY market, there are ups and downs; it's to be expected. I, personally, am enjoying riding this wave. I love being this busy!
Well, it's that time again... I gotta sign off and go live some life. Maybe one of these days I'll get some pictures posted... I guess I'd have to be at my own computer to do that! On that note, I'm outta here!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
If it's tough for us, what must you all be going through?
Sorry, I couldn't quite bring myself to write "y'all" but I know that I'm "talking" to some Southerners here, and I'll never forget the day in high school when I called a bunch of my girlfriends "you guys" (truly a not-Southern thing!) and I got a talkin'-to! We're not GUYS, we're gals, so if you say 'y'all' then your bases are covered!
Okay, so back to the storyline here. It's VERY tough on us not knowing what's going on with Dear Husband's situation still. We have to remember daily (hourly, minute-by-minute, breath by breath!) to give it back to God because we trust that He has plans for us, and that they're better than anything we could think of. Oh, and all that worrying doesn't help, anyway! "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6:34
DH's job is going well. He's back fromChicago
He has been given a project in the Thornton Super K: to "fix" the broken grocery side of the store. How will this "fixing" be measured? By an increase in the bottom line. Period. How long does he have? Just six short weeks. Meanwhile, his drive to work is shorter than mine!
DH is really being challenged, though, and he does love a challenge. He is struggling with the personnel—there simply aren't enough people to do the jobs that need to be done, and some of them do require some experience. There have been a number of positions that are vacant—some for a short time, some for longer periods. The presentation in the store has suffered some, and the problem has compounded over time without proper guidance. He has a bevy of qualified department managers that could whip the store into shape, but the hiring and training process takes 6 weeks or more… too late to help him on his project, but certainly will help the store in the not-so-long run. Those changes take time, you know?
Now, he'll be the first to tell you: if your back stockroom is out of control, so is the rest of your store. Well, their back stockroom is… having a tough time. Getting it under control is fairly simple, given DH's experience with clearing out back stockrooms. It does, however, require a few bodies to move some freight around—like out on the sales floor, so customers can buy it and take it out of the store forever. Since they're short a few of those requisite bodies, he has taken the short-term approach of working all day Monday, and then deciding he needs to go back and work the graveyard shift with the night stockers. I don't know how long this will continue, but he does have a line on some kid that used to work at the King Soopers down the way from our house that's dating the oldest daughter… I hear he's pretty good, so we'll be keeping you posted (hey, it's not a promise, it's a vague… "we'll neglect something else one day so we can blog about it").
Speaking of neglect… I need to get back to work. Just know this: we don't really know what's going on yet. DH has to complete this project, and then he does a panel interview. It will then be decided what his actual title will be—Food District Manager (he was teased with allover District Manager, but that carrot was taken back the other day), or whatever; and of course, the all-important where he will be. We have heard hints that they are considering keeping him right here as a Food DM, which would thrill us to no end. We continue to pray for that, and unabashedly ask for your prayers as well towards this end. Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours, Lord.
Thanks all—and we'll keep you posted on any possible future increases to the Kelley population as we have updates. (How's THAT for a cliffhanger!)
Ciao!
Okay, so back to the storyline here. It's VERY tough on us not knowing what's going on with Dear Husband's situation still. We have to remember daily (hourly, minute-by-minute, breath by breath!) to give it back to God because we trust that He has plans for us, and that they're better than anything we could think of. Oh, and all that worrying doesn't help, anyway! "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6:34
DH's job is going well. He's back from
He has been given a project in the Thornton Super K: to "fix" the broken grocery side of the store. How will this "fixing" be measured? By an increase in the bottom line. Period. How long does he have? Just six short weeks. Meanwhile, his drive to work is shorter than mine!
DH is really being challenged, though, and he does love a challenge. He is struggling with the personnel—there simply aren't enough people to do the jobs that need to be done, and some of them do require some experience. There have been a number of positions that are vacant—some for a short time, some for longer periods. The presentation in the store has suffered some, and the problem has compounded over time without proper guidance. He has a bevy of qualified department managers that could whip the store into shape, but the hiring and training process takes 6 weeks or more… too late to help him on his project, but certainly will help the store in the not-so-long run. Those changes take time, you know?
Now, he'll be the first to tell you: if your back stockroom is out of control, so is the rest of your store. Well, their back stockroom is… having a tough time. Getting it under control is fairly simple, given DH's experience with clearing out back stockrooms. It does, however, require a few bodies to move some freight around—like out on the sales floor, so customers can buy it and take it out of the store forever. Since they're short a few of those requisite bodies, he has taken the short-term approach of working all day Monday, and then deciding he needs to go back and work the graveyard shift with the night stockers. I don't know how long this will continue, but he does have a line on some kid that used to work at the King Soopers down the way from our house that's dating the oldest daughter… I hear he's pretty good, so we'll be keeping you posted (hey, it's not a promise, it's a vague… "we'll neglect something else one day so we can blog about it").
Speaking of neglect… I need to get back to work. Just know this: we don't really know what's going on yet. DH has to complete this project, and then he does a panel interview. It will then be decided what his actual title will be—Food District Manager (he was teased with allover District Manager, but that carrot was taken back the other day), or whatever; and of course, the all-important where he will be. We have heard hints that they are considering keeping him right here as a Food DM, which would thrill us to no end. We continue to pray for that, and unabashedly ask for your prayers as well towards this end. Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours, Lord.
Thanks all—and we'll keep you posted on any possible future increases to the Kelley population as we have updates. (How's THAT for a cliffhanger!)
Ciao!
Friday, July 6, 2007
I know, I know!
Yeah, okay, so it's been two weeks again. Well, we've been busy, and we're still learning to remember to make this a priority!
So, here's the quick & dirty: My Dear Husband is BACK!!! YEAH!!! He got back on Friday, the 29th, and the girls also got back from vacationing with their Mom the same day--so we had a mostly full house on Friday. Princess #1 still only stays at her Mom's, but we're trying to encourage her to give us some face-time, too.
Saturday was a great day--woke up and took one really fat dog to the groomers, and went home to work on the other one (also fat, but not as much so). I had taken them both to the vet's on Thursday night (they have to be current on rabies and kennel cough vaccinations before the groomer will work on them), and got the "your dog is FAT" diagnosis--Candy should weigh in somewhere between 70 and 75 lbs, she's sitting at 5 score and 2! Well, they're lazy, and to be fair, we are too--they don't get walked as often as they should; oh, and they were being fed more than a little bit too much, so they've been "cut back" now. Well, Brandy, our little Fox Wire Terrier, (Terrorist, if you ask me) has had cloudy eyes for a while now, and we noticed some time ago that she was now blind, but it hasn't seemed to slow her down a bit. He (the vet) ran some tests, and determined that she had glaucoma in both eyes--very unusual for dogs to get glaucoma in the first place, but there you are. He also said that the odds of her getting any of her sight back is slim, but that we could go through ridiculously expensive procedures to try and restore her vision. Bearing in mind that the words you just read are my paraphrasing of what he said, we just aren't as willing as some of our neighbors to spend thousands of dollars on a pup--dollars that might be wasted since he indicated the success of any such procedures would be questionable. I asked him what our other options were, and it looks like --PLEASE don't panic or be upset, because it really is okay--Brandy is going to lose her eyes. Not much different than she is now--she's already blind (which, I might add, happened very quickly), but the pressure associated with glaucoma apparently does cause some pain. Not that you'd know it from watching her--you can tell she's blind, because she walks right into things, but she doesn't shy away like she's in any pain. Anyway, we're topically medicating her now and waiting to hear from the vet on her bloodwork which has to be run before she can be put asleep for the surgery. Candy (the first one--the Golden Retriever) needs some dental work, but other than that, she's just a (squish your face together by putting your hands on your cheeks and exerting forward pressure towards your mouth when you say these following words) chubby puppy!
Okay, so dogs... husband... how about kids? Well, it sounds like they had a fun time in Florida--Princess #3 laments being the youngest and getting the short end of the stick. I gotta tell you, no matter who you talk to, the oldest will tell you that they had way more rules, middle children feel lost because they're not the first and they're not the baby... it's just tough being a kid sometimes. We continue to have trouble with getting Princess #2 to understand that we're on her side, still problems with the communication, but we continue to work with her. Just last night, the four of us sat and watched a ridiculously stupid movie about witches that couldn't stand the smell of little children so they (the witches) concocted a potion to turn them (the children) into mice--it was really nice to get to spend some time together, without Princess #2 barricading herself in her room. I often wonder: Mom, did I do that? Anyway, Princess #1 had the day off today, so they're enjoying their season passes at the water park today--they'll be exhausted tonight, I'm sure!
Let's see, what else? Oh, yes, we've had a major holiday since last I wrote! Our Fourth was kicked off a day early when some friends of mine from my previous hometown hosted a BBQ. Andy almost fell down the mountain (not really, but if he ever does, nobody will believe him), Princess #3 got to see a potato cannon shot off, and we ate entirely too much food. It really was great to get to catch up with Steph & Gary (& Reggie!), Andy & Jen (at least, what's left of her!), Stacy, Shannon, Kaylee & Millie & Sam, Brian, Mark & Deanna, more... Got to meet some new friends too, including Staci's "new" guy Jason. I tell you what, God is GOOD! It looks like another match made in Heaven, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for them. We got home late (we left about three hours after I was first asked, "Are we going soon?") and so slept IN on Wednesday--DH woke me up at 6 a.m. and I was having no part of that, so we passed out for a couple more hours. Got up and got some groceries (Super-Kmarts have some of the best canteloupe I've ever had on sale for a buck apiece right now!) and then went home and made some homemade ice cream. When we were at the store, Princess #3 tried to get me to buy some of that packaged powder ice-cream mix, so I told her to read the ingredients label to me. When she couldn't, I asked her if she could spell "milk, cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla" and she said yes, and I responded with some smart-alec comment that I wasn't putting anything into my ice cream that she couldn't pronounce or spell, and she wouldn't regret it after she tasted it. Well, we also got some super-sweet bing cherries (on sale for $1.39/lb at the local SuperK location because they're overstocked), and I pitted and chopped some of those into some ice cream for my husband, sprinkled some pecans on his bowl, and he was in Heaven--even compared it with Braums, and for anyone that knows my husband, that's no small feat! Okay, so there's no ice cream left--except maybe that layered parfait that I hid from the kids in the freezer--I guess it was pretty good!
When it came time for fireworks, we had to jumpstart the truck (which won't run without a charged battery), and then it died as we tried to leave. We quickly bailed out of the truck when it died getting out of the driveway, and it was a family effort to push it back up onto the driveway. So, we split up and then promptly lost the kids (it's not like Princess #1 waited for us, or anything. I forgot how you're always in a hurry when you're 18) trying to figure out where we were going. It doesn't help that the town moved their fireworks this year, and we're always the last to find out, but the kids knew... DH and I quickly decided in the effort to find parking that we didn't want any part of the insanity, so we dropped the chairs off and let the kids "do the fireworks thing" and we went home. It's a good thing, too, because we forgot that the puppies have a hard time with fireworks going off, so we were there to put them in the garage and give them some peace. Now it's back to the grind, and speaking of which, I do need to get back to work--my boss is such a slavedriver! I've got to wrap up a couple things before I go home for the weekend--no big plans this weekend, at least, not yet. We may be making another trip to my old stompin' grounds to check on the townhome--we were supposed to close on the sale last week, but our lease-option tenant didn't qualify for a mortgage with her credit. Imagine her grown son's surprise (he lives with her, as does his sister) to find that she was behind on rent and was about to have to find a new place to live... Ah, yes, I think I've just thought of the title for a new reality show to put on HGTV: Who Wants To Be A Landlord??? Subtitled with and What's WRONG With You???
Alrighty, then! Ciao for now, and don't ya'll be strangers, 'kay?
So, here's the quick & dirty: My Dear Husband is BACK!!! YEAH!!! He got back on Friday, the 29th, and the girls also got back from vacationing with their Mom the same day--so we had a mostly full house on Friday. Princess #1 still only stays at her Mom's, but we're trying to encourage her to give us some face-time, too.
Saturday was a great day--woke up and took one really fat dog to the groomers, and went home to work on the other one (also fat, but not as much so). I had taken them both to the vet's on Thursday night (they have to be current on rabies and kennel cough vaccinations before the groomer will work on them), and got the "your dog is FAT" diagnosis--Candy should weigh in somewhere between 70 and 75 lbs, she's sitting at 5 score and 2! Well, they're lazy, and to be fair, we are too--they don't get walked as often as they should; oh, and they were being fed more than a little bit too much, so they've been "cut back" now. Well, Brandy, our little Fox Wire Terrier, (Terrorist, if you ask me) has had cloudy eyes for a while now, and we noticed some time ago that she was now blind, but it hasn't seemed to slow her down a bit. He (the vet) ran some tests, and determined that she had glaucoma in both eyes--very unusual for dogs to get glaucoma in the first place, but there you are. He also said that the odds of her getting any of her sight back is slim, but that we could go through ridiculously expensive procedures to try and restore her vision. Bearing in mind that the words you just read are my paraphrasing of what he said, we just aren't as willing as some of our neighbors to spend thousands of dollars on a pup--dollars that might be wasted since he indicated the success of any such procedures would be questionable. I asked him what our other options were, and it looks like --PLEASE don't panic or be upset, because it really is okay--Brandy is going to lose her eyes. Not much different than she is now--she's already blind (which, I might add, happened very quickly), but the pressure associated with glaucoma apparently does cause some pain. Not that you'd know it from watching her--you can tell she's blind, because she walks right into things, but she doesn't shy away like she's in any pain. Anyway, we're topically medicating her now and waiting to hear from the vet on her bloodwork which has to be run before she can be put asleep for the surgery. Candy (the first one--the Golden Retriever) needs some dental work, but other than that, she's just a (squish your face together by putting your hands on your cheeks and exerting forward pressure towards your mouth when you say these following words) chubby puppy!
Okay, so dogs... husband... how about kids? Well, it sounds like they had a fun time in Florida--Princess #3 laments being the youngest and getting the short end of the stick. I gotta tell you, no matter who you talk to, the oldest will tell you that they had way more rules, middle children feel lost because they're not the first and they're not the baby... it's just tough being a kid sometimes. We continue to have trouble with getting Princess #2 to understand that we're on her side, still problems with the communication, but we continue to work with her. Just last night, the four of us sat and watched a ridiculously stupid movie about witches that couldn't stand the smell of little children so they (the witches) concocted a potion to turn them (the children) into mice--it was really nice to get to spend some time together, without Princess #2 barricading herself in her room. I often wonder: Mom, did I do that? Anyway, Princess #1 had the day off today, so they're enjoying their season passes at the water park today--they'll be exhausted tonight, I'm sure!
Let's see, what else? Oh, yes, we've had a major holiday since last I wrote! Our Fourth was kicked off a day early when some friends of mine from my previous hometown hosted a BBQ. Andy almost fell down the mountain (not really, but if he ever does, nobody will believe him), Princess #3 got to see a potato cannon shot off, and we ate entirely too much food. It really was great to get to catch up with Steph & Gary (& Reggie!), Andy & Jen (at least, what's left of her!), Stacy, Shannon, Kaylee & Millie & Sam, Brian, Mark & Deanna, more... Got to meet some new friends too, including Staci's "new" guy Jason. I tell you what, God is GOOD! It looks like another match made in Heaven, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for them. We got home late (we left about three hours after I was first asked, "Are we going soon?") and so slept IN on Wednesday--DH woke me up at 6 a.m. and I was having no part of that, so we passed out for a couple more hours. Got up and got some groceries (Super-Kmarts have some of the best canteloupe I've ever had on sale for a buck apiece right now!) and then went home and made some homemade ice cream. When we were at the store, Princess #3 tried to get me to buy some of that packaged powder ice-cream mix, so I told her to read the ingredients label to me. When she couldn't, I asked her if she could spell "milk, cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla" and she said yes, and I responded with some smart-alec comment that I wasn't putting anything into my ice cream that she couldn't pronounce or spell, and she wouldn't regret it after she tasted it. Well, we also got some super-sweet bing cherries (on sale for $1.39/lb at the local SuperK location because they're overstocked), and I pitted and chopped some of those into some ice cream for my husband, sprinkled some pecans on his bowl, and he was in Heaven--even compared it with Braums, and for anyone that knows my husband, that's no small feat! Okay, so there's no ice cream left--except maybe that layered parfait that I hid from the kids in the freezer--I guess it was pretty good!
When it came time for fireworks, we had to jumpstart the truck (which won't run without a charged battery), and then it died as we tried to leave. We quickly bailed out of the truck when it died getting out of the driveway, and it was a family effort to push it back up onto the driveway. So, we split up and then promptly lost the kids (it's not like Princess #1 waited for us, or anything. I forgot how you're always in a hurry when you're 18) trying to figure out where we were going. It doesn't help that the town moved their fireworks this year, and we're always the last to find out, but the kids knew... DH and I quickly decided in the effort to find parking that we didn't want any part of the insanity, so we dropped the chairs off and let the kids "do the fireworks thing" and we went home. It's a good thing, too, because we forgot that the puppies have a hard time with fireworks going off, so we were there to put them in the garage and give them some peace. Now it's back to the grind, and speaking of which, I do need to get back to work--my boss is such a slavedriver! I've got to wrap up a couple things before I go home for the weekend--no big plans this weekend, at least, not yet. We may be making another trip to my old stompin' grounds to check on the townhome--we were supposed to close on the sale last week, but our lease-option tenant didn't qualify for a mortgage with her credit. Imagine her grown son's surprise (he lives with her, as does his sister) to find that she was behind on rent and was about to have to find a new place to live... Ah, yes, I think I've just thought of the title for a new reality show to put on HGTV: Who Wants To Be A Landlord??? Subtitled with and What's WRONG With You???
Alrighty, then! Ciao for now, and don't ya'll be strangers, 'kay?
Monday, June 25, 2007
One more week in Chicago
Hi everyone!
I just finished reading my Dear Wife's blog update from yesterday. I just returned from grabbing a little dinner at the local Red Lobster, where I found that their seafood gumbo doesn't hold a candle to that of my beautiful bride. I'm just about to call her and let her know how much I enjoyed reading about the beautiful sunset she enjoyed tonite. Psalm 19 comes to mind everytime we discuss the sunsets at home.
There are many memories of watching the heavens with my precious DW as they declare the glory of God.....and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto Day utter speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where His voice is not heard.....DW and I have spent several evenings and mornings quoting this scripture as He takes out His paintbrush and places images in front of us that shout out glory to His mighty name!!!
I had the incredible priviledge of traveling a couple of hours north of Chicago into the "Dells" of Wisconsin this past weekend to spend some time with K and S (friends of mine for the last 20 yrs). We hadn't had any face to face contact for about the last 3 yrs and really enjoyed our time together. Saturday night consisted of traveling to a local resort town where we enjoyed "junkyard" pizza at the local downtown pizzeria.
From there we went to another small tourist town (can't recall the name of the town) where there was a beautiful granite quarry at the centerpiece of the town. There was a waterfall that sprayed over about a 200 ft square area of granite that had hundreds of beautiful natural colors gleaming from underneath the water as it dashed to the pool below. The pond of about 4 acres was crystal clear was hundreds of 3 to 5 lb largemouth black bass swimming near the top begging to be caught. I then had to get back in the car before I got arrested for fishing without a license, and tresspassing on private property...... the temptation was just too great to bear!!! We then went back to their 14 acre farm, and on the way observed at least 20 white tailed deer grazing in the corn fields near their home.
Sunday service at their church was wonderful. Their pastor (Casey) preached on 2 Corinthians 5:7-19 on how we are new creatures IN CHRIST all of the old has passed away, and everything in our world is new and wonderful everday as we celebrate life in our daily walks with Christ. Their santuary backs up to the what must be deepest clearwater lake in the state of Wisconsin. "S" went to brunch with a friend while "K" and I picked up some supplies at the local "Piggly Wiggly" and grilled burgers at the farm. After a wonderful afternoon nap I found K and S giving their cocker spaniel "Scooter" her summer hair cut afterwhich K and I rode mopeds for about an hour and saw maybe one car the entire time. We also saw a wild turkey, and several HUGE sand cranes. What a great time with great friends, and what a wonderful retreat from the BIG city of Chicago.
My next four days are at the corporate headquarters here in Il. I get to return home on Friday to my beautiful bride, and don't have to return to Chicago for at least 4 weeks as I start a new project in the hometown area.
All of the girls are on vacation in Florida with their mom. If you guys are reading this I Love You and hope you are having a great time!!
Time to sign off and call the world's most beautiful blonde.
Till next time,
In Christ!
The Dad in the Family
I just finished reading my Dear Wife's blog update from yesterday. I just returned from grabbing a little dinner at the local Red Lobster, where I found that their seafood gumbo doesn't hold a candle to that of my beautiful bride. I'm just about to call her and let her know how much I enjoyed reading about the beautiful sunset she enjoyed tonite. Psalm 19 comes to mind everytime we discuss the sunsets at home.
There are many memories of watching the heavens with my precious DW as they declare the glory of God.....and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto Day utter speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where His voice is not heard.....DW and I have spent several evenings and mornings quoting this scripture as He takes out His paintbrush and places images in front of us that shout out glory to His mighty name!!!
I had the incredible priviledge of traveling a couple of hours north of Chicago into the "Dells" of Wisconsin this past weekend to spend some time with K and S (friends of mine for the last 20 yrs). We hadn't had any face to face contact for about the last 3 yrs and really enjoyed our time together. Saturday night consisted of traveling to a local resort town where we enjoyed "junkyard" pizza at the local downtown pizzeria.
From there we went to another small tourist town (can't recall the name of the town) where there was a beautiful granite quarry at the centerpiece of the town. There was a waterfall that sprayed over about a 200 ft square area of granite that had hundreds of beautiful natural colors gleaming from underneath the water as it dashed to the pool below. The pond of about 4 acres was crystal clear was hundreds of 3 to 5 lb largemouth black bass swimming near the top begging to be caught. I then had to get back in the car before I got arrested for fishing without a license, and tresspassing on private property...... the temptation was just too great to bear!!! We then went back to their 14 acre farm, and on the way observed at least 20 white tailed deer grazing in the corn fields near their home.
Sunday service at their church was wonderful. Their pastor (Casey) preached on 2 Corinthians 5:7-19 on how we are new creatures IN CHRIST all of the old has passed away, and everything in our world is new and wonderful everday as we celebrate life in our daily walks with Christ. Their santuary backs up to the what must be deepest clearwater lake in the state of Wisconsin. "S" went to brunch with a friend while "K" and I picked up some supplies at the local "Piggly Wiggly" and grilled burgers at the farm. After a wonderful afternoon nap I found K and S giving their cocker spaniel "Scooter" her summer hair cut afterwhich K and I rode mopeds for about an hour and saw maybe one car the entire time. We also saw a wild turkey, and several HUGE sand cranes. What a great time with great friends, and what a wonderful retreat from the BIG city of Chicago.
My next four days are at the corporate headquarters here in Il. I get to return home on Friday to my beautiful bride, and don't have to return to Chicago for at least 4 weeks as I start a new project in the hometown area.
All of the girls are on vacation in Florida with their mom. If you guys are reading this I Love You and hope you are having a great time!!
Time to sign off and call the world's most beautiful blonde.
Till next time,
In Christ!
The Dad in the Family
Sunday, June 24, 2007
The world is upside-down tonite
When I was in Europe a couple of years ago, I had the very special privilege of traveling with some wonderful people. I picked up a saying from one of these special people (actually, I picked up several), and I can't help but borrow Connie's peaceful "Today was a good day." It was a phrase often said at the end of the day as we sat down over an evening coffee and sweet treat--oh, how I long to go back to that little patisserie in Prague, just a couple shops up from the entrance to picturesque Charles Bridge. Well, today was a good day.
I had a bit of a rough afternoon and evening yesterday--I had been planning a jewelry party for Sunday for some time, and had been working on the house this week. We have been wanting to put the house on the market anyway, so it's high time to make this place presentable! Anyway, work has also been getting crazier--there's a lot of work to do, and no chance I'll run out of work anytime soon! My Dear Husband has been gone, and the girls left on Friday with their Mom to go to Florida; I was getting kinda lonely. As I was making calls (people aren't the best about RSVP-ing) to remind people of the jewelry party, I began to realize that there really is no good day, or night, or afternoon--or anytime in June--to have a jewelry party (it's no wonder they offer double incentives to host a party in June!). So, I had worked my tail off all week and all day Saturday, and finally my wave crashed. DH is so sensitive--he picked up pretty quickly that something was bothering me, and I got the frustration out of my system--thank you, DH! So, I slept like a baby (having worked all day long probably helped!), and Snuggle Monkey woke me up this morning. She was hungry. Brat.
I had a few things to do to finish the house--just in case someone decided to show up. So, I got up and cranked the A/C down (I always work up a "sparkle" when I'm vacuuming), cranked up some Third Day and Paul Coleman, and set to work. I called the "jewelry person" (Nicole doesn't want to be known as the jewelry "lady") to let her know that we would be having a private party (read: nobody's coming), and we decided that since I had some outside orders, we should get together to pick out my free jewelry that I had "earned" with my book sales. I made it to the store, picked up some fruit & yogurt dip, and made it back to the house just in time to bake some brownies--Nicole and I discussed having some chocolate on Friday--and the two of us had a ball! I finally found another person who can eat as many brownies as I can, and not feel bad about it! Anyway, I'm made off with a boatload of jewelry for not very much money, and she said it's the easiest party she's ever done--she didn't have to do a presentation, and we were just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company.
After Nicole left, I discovered I had little energy left to clean anymore (hey, I never said I finished the upstairs!), and thought I would take a nap. Except... I hadn't heard from my husband all day, and he told me yesterday that he was leaving his friend "K's" house after brunch. So, I thought I had better call him and find out if he was okay! We had a conversation that lasted several phone calls, as he was driving out in the boonies and his signal bottomed out time and again--he had a fantastic weekend, and I'll let him tell you about it.
So, I never got that nap--I decided that Wulfgang would probably be needing some snuggle time, because he only sits down to snuggle when a body sits down to watch some tube, and I hadn't done that all week! I picked out some movies I hadn't seen yet, and a couple of favorites that I hadn't seen in a while, and then played eenie-meenie-minie-moe--and finally decided to watch all of them. As I settled down to watch the first one, it didn't take Wulfie but a moment to come over and ask for some snuggle, but he was only here for a minute. We have a chair in the corner of the living room that has a skirt on it that hangs to the ground--it's the perfect hiding spot for a snoozing pussycat, and one of Wulfie's favorites. Well, as he sauntered off and squeezed under the chair, I teased him about leaving so soon, and he responded with his usual repeated twitching of the tail. The one that still was sticking out from under the chair! I continued to give him a hard time--he thinks he can't be seen, but his tail tells me that he can hear every word, and continues to wind down twitching as he drops off to sleep.
I am currently enjoying A Walk In The Clouds, and I again have a fuzzy little companion who would rather be on my lap than on the couch next to me. Now, I'll bet you're wondering, how does all this tie into the world being upside down? Well, every once in a while, one had a truly good day. Today was definitely one of those--completely upside down from how yesterday was. In this part of the country, God has blessed us with beautiful mountains, and we get to enjoy the most beautiful sunsets. Today was no exception, but it was a most exceptional sunset. You see, every once in a while, God does the neatest thing: He lets the sun dip down below the mountains, and shine up under the evening clouds, lighting them up and bringing an absolute, reflective glow to the entire sky--it's like a sunrise, but from the other side of the earth. The evening was mild, and the kitties were playing in the grass, and here was this incredible evening sky--brighter than it had been for the preceeding hour or so.
Pardon me for waxing poetic, but it just made me think of the world being upside down.
I'm going to go watch my movie now!!
Ciao!
I had a bit of a rough afternoon and evening yesterday--I had been planning a jewelry party for Sunday for some time, and had been working on the house this week. We have been wanting to put the house on the market anyway, so it's high time to make this place presentable! Anyway, work has also been getting crazier--there's a lot of work to do, and no chance I'll run out of work anytime soon! My Dear Husband has been gone, and the girls left on Friday with their Mom to go to Florida; I was getting kinda lonely. As I was making calls (people aren't the best about RSVP-ing) to remind people of the jewelry party, I began to realize that there really is no good day, or night, or afternoon--or anytime in June--to have a jewelry party (it's no wonder they offer double incentives to host a party in June!). So, I had worked my tail off all week and all day Saturday, and finally my wave crashed. DH is so sensitive--he picked up pretty quickly that something was bothering me, and I got the frustration out of my system--thank you, DH! So, I slept like a baby (having worked all day long probably helped!), and Snuggle Monkey woke me up this morning. She was hungry. Brat.
I had a few things to do to finish the house--just in case someone decided to show up. So, I got up and cranked the A/C down (I always work up a "sparkle" when I'm vacuuming), cranked up some Third Day and Paul Coleman, and set to work. I called the "jewelry person" (Nicole doesn't want to be known as the jewelry "lady") to let her know that we would be having a private party (read: nobody's coming), and we decided that since I had some outside orders, we should get together to pick out my free jewelry that I had "earned" with my book sales. I made it to the store, picked up some fruit & yogurt dip, and made it back to the house just in time to bake some brownies--Nicole and I discussed having some chocolate on Friday--and the two of us had a ball! I finally found another person who can eat as many brownies as I can, and not feel bad about it! Anyway, I'm made off with a boatload of jewelry for not very much money, and she said it's the easiest party she's ever done--she didn't have to do a presentation, and we were just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company.
After Nicole left, I discovered I had little energy left to clean anymore (hey, I never said I finished the upstairs!), and thought I would take a nap. Except... I hadn't heard from my husband all day, and he told me yesterday that he was leaving his friend "K's" house after brunch. So, I thought I had better call him and find out if he was okay! We had a conversation that lasted several phone calls, as he was driving out in the boonies and his signal bottomed out time and again--he had a fantastic weekend, and I'll let him tell you about it.
So, I never got that nap--I decided that Wulfgang would probably be needing some snuggle time, because he only sits down to snuggle when a body sits down to watch some tube, and I hadn't done that all week! I picked out some movies I hadn't seen yet, and a couple of favorites that I hadn't seen in a while, and then played eenie-meenie-minie-moe--and finally decided to watch all of them. As I settled down to watch the first one, it didn't take Wulfie but a moment to come over and ask for some snuggle, but he was only here for a minute. We have a chair in the corner of the living room that has a skirt on it that hangs to the ground--it's the perfect hiding spot for a snoozing pussycat, and one of Wulfie's favorites. Well, as he sauntered off and squeezed under the chair, I teased him about leaving so soon, and he responded with his usual repeated twitching of the tail. The one that still was sticking out from under the chair! I continued to give him a hard time--he thinks he can't be seen, but his tail tells me that he can hear every word, and continues to wind down twitching as he drops off to sleep.
I am currently enjoying A Walk In The Clouds, and I again have a fuzzy little companion who would rather be on my lap than on the couch next to me. Now, I'll bet you're wondering, how does all this tie into the world being upside down? Well, every once in a while, one had a truly good day. Today was definitely one of those--completely upside down from how yesterday was. In this part of the country, God has blessed us with beautiful mountains, and we get to enjoy the most beautiful sunsets. Today was no exception, but it was a most exceptional sunset. You see, every once in a while, God does the neatest thing: He lets the sun dip down below the mountains, and shine up under the evening clouds, lighting them up and bringing an absolute, reflective glow to the entire sky--it's like a sunrise, but from the other side of the earth. The evening was mild, and the kitties were playing in the grass, and here was this incredible evening sky--brighter than it had been for the preceeding hour or so.
Pardon me for waxing poetic, but it just made me think of the world being upside down.
I'm going to go watch my movie now!!
Ciao!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Happy Father's Day!
Well, it's been a great weekend! It actually started early--I got a call on Thursday from Princess #2, asking if she and "J" (one of her best-est friends) could come and stay the night at our house. Now, we have a special rule in our house: no sleepovers on school nights. While the kids are out of school, it was still a "school night" for me, since I had to work the next day. Whoa, last year, I let Princess #2 and Princess #3 have friends stay the night on a DW school night, and I got ZERO sleep. Can't figure out why DH wasn't there... oh yeah, that other company for whom he used to work had a thing up in the mountains for store managers. That was the first time we had spent apart since we had gotten married, and it wasn't our idea of fun--especially the lack of sleep on DW's part. Now, where was I???
Oh yes, last Thursday. Well, we have an interesting time with the kids assuming that the other parents will: give rides, know that I'm going to be gone and going to work in the morning, etc. So, I allowed them to come over, and then of course, when they got here, I asked J if her Mom knew that I would be gone in the morning... I don't have to tell you the answer to that one! Anyway, I told Princess #3 that she would be home alone all day and probably until late at night because I had to go to the airport to pick her Dad up after work. She had the GREAT idea to come to work with me. I then made them promise to keep it down to a dull roar because I was getting ready for bed, they had to be in bed by midnight, and be ready to go by 7:20 so we could drop J off on our way to the office. So, we were late getting to the office--the one day that I really shouldn't be--and Princess #3 (she's so sweet!) sat in the corner of the conference room and listened to her CD player while I was on a conference call with others at the office. Then she went to my office with me (I now occupy a space on the 5th floor, and the company's offices are on the 4th, which is where the conference call was), and we set her up with the DVD player to watch some movies. We had packed a lunch that day, and so took some fresh veggies down to the Mall to people watch. She said she really wanted to see somebody with an afro--something that's not uncommon "on the mall," but Friday, I guess all the wackadoos were on vacation. It was pretty mellow--not even very crowded, and mostly business people and folks on vacation. Princess #2 has lived here almost her whole life, and can't fathom this being a vacation destination unless it's the slopes in the wintertime. Ah, to be so young and naive... she's just such a cutie! Anyway, she now understands what it means to "sit on the mall" and peoplewatch, and we gave our extra food to a guy that was collecting aluminum cans out of the trash. He was pretty unassuming and unthreatening--compared to some of those yay-hoos!
So then we had a snack on the way to the airport--our healthy lunch left us famished in the late afternoon and early evening; then we picked DH up and headed back home for our favorite Chinese restaurant. I love the place, and the people are very nice, but my number one agenda for immigration consideration (besides everyone doing it legally) is fluency in English. It's pretty bad when the server can't even say "Pepsi." That one had us guessing for a while! But, the food's good, so I guess it's a trade-off.
Saturday... Saturday... Hmm... I guess I got kinda wiped out--Oh yeah! DH took each of the younger two on dates--first, Princess #2, who got a short-term stint watching a dog for some of her Mom's neighbors. Poor little pooch (a "Labradoodle?") had to spend all day in the house, so it was good that Dad was there to ensure that Princess #2 actually walked the dog instead of just letting her out... Anyway, they then followed up by going to one of her favorite places: Starbucks. Oh yeah, she's addicted--but not to the coffee. Give her a frappaccino (sp?) even on the coldest winter day--she might even wear mittens if she knows she'll be needing to hold onto a frosty frap cup! Anyway, they had some great one-on-one time, and she sure needs it. I would ask you all to pray for us and for Princess #2--she's reached that stage in her life where she recognizes no authority whatsoever and does whatever she wants and is ... uh... less than honest with us sometimes. To say that she is a strong-willed young lady is a nomination for the understatement of the year. She really is a good kid, and we just want the best for her; she just doesn't often agree with what we think (and know--hey, we've been there before) is best for her.
After that, Dad had a lunch-date with Princess #3 at their "secret place." He has a secret place with each of the girls--a different one for each. She is always giving me hints as to what their secret place is, but I can't quite figure it out (and wouldn't let on that I knew if I did!). I think it's maybe a Mexican food place, but I'm not sure, because she told me yesterday that she had a burger for lunch... Hey, some "Mexican" places serve burgers! Who knows? All I know is that they had a great time, and she is young enough that she hasn't begun to give us the grief that her sister has--and probably won't, either. They are about as opposite from each other in personality and taste as two people living in the same culture and under the same roof can be. She really has a servants heart, and she is a great help to me. AND she likes to spend time with the parents still, unlike those teenagers!!! I suppose we'd better enjoy it while it lasts... *sigh*
Sunday dawned bright and warm: a perfect day to fulfill our plans to go to the water park. First, though, we had a breakfast of fruit salad and cinnamon rolls and the girls gave Dad his Father's Day gift: he is now a sharp-dressed man with all the fancy new shirts and ties that will complement his suits nicely. We've been hearing for some time that it's free when you bring your Dad to the water park on Father's Day--and it is--well, for him to get in, anyway. Sheesh--they let you bring in coolers with food and unopened original beverages (no Nalgene water bottles or anything you fill yourself), and I can't recommend it enough! We may have saved thirty bucks on Dad's admission, but crikey, we spent $60 on food and drinks (and let us not forget, the rest of us still had to pay admission!)--oh, and return trips to the single-use fifty-cent lockers! They're not big enough that the family can fit towels, sunscreen & the like into any less than three lockers, and of course, every time we turn around, someone now wants their flip flops (and mine are in this locker, hers are in that one), someone needs more sunscreen, we left the cash in side pocket of the bag and need to buy some water, now it's time for lunch and we need the coupons for free breadsticks... I really think it might be worth the "unlimited use" lockers that require $8.00 up front, $5.00 of which is refundable at the end of the day. Let's just say that they have a fine attraction, but they sure are proud of their stuff! We had a great time--the kids love that Dad can carry the tube up to the top of the ride, and once the two older girls and I made an interesting 6-legged "tubulous monstrous" as we carried one on our heads. We picked a great day to go to the water park, as we hit a new record of 97 degrees today. Princess #3 taught us a new trick in the wave pool--we sit in the "shallows" and wait for the water to come and drag us around. When you're in that area, the water waves (once every seven minutes) straight back, then bounces off this side while it bounces off that side--basically, you get hit from the front, then the right, then the left, and then the water drags you around as it continues to wave in and out and settle to wait for the next big wave. We were rolling all over the place and having a great time--and no cramps that way since we had just eaten. You know, I heard that was actually an old wive's tale, the "no swimming for 30 minutes" rule... Still, it makes sense, so we stayed out of the deeper water. Besides, you can get "run over" in the crest of the wave if you don't have a tube--I once got cold-cocked and nearly knocked out. And I DID have a tube! Of course, that was years ago, and I'm much wiser now. HA!
Okay, so we're all cooked (I missed a spot on my shoulder with the sunscreen--it's gonna hurt later!), washed out, and tired. Sunscreen in the eyes (can you say "ouch?") is a good way to make a person want to close them and not re-open them, so we all took naps (although I think I was the only one with the SPF 50 on the orbs). Mellow evening, getting ready to head back to work on Monday and DH's flight leaves tomorrow evening. It's been nice not having to take him back on Sunday this time, and I'll get out of work a bit early tomorrow to have him to the airport on time.
Finally, a couple people have been asking me if we know where the company is going to have us for our "permanent" assignment, and the short answer to that is "no." I will ask DH to blog and fill you in on that one (and maybe I'll pick up some details I haven't heard yet, too!). Basically, we won't know until probably mid-August at the earliest. Pray that we get to stay here!
On that note, I'm gonna go get some stuff ready to help him turn in his expense report tomorrow, make sure I've got clothes for tomorrow, all that "evening routine" stuff.
Until next time,
CIAO!!!
Oh yes, last Thursday. Well, we have an interesting time with the kids assuming that the other parents will: give rides, know that I'm going to be gone and going to work in the morning, etc. So, I allowed them to come over, and then of course, when they got here, I asked J if her Mom knew that I would be gone in the morning... I don't have to tell you the answer to that one! Anyway, I told Princess #3 that she would be home alone all day and probably until late at night because I had to go to the airport to pick her Dad up after work. She had the GREAT idea to come to work with me. I then made them promise to keep it down to a dull roar because I was getting ready for bed, they had to be in bed by midnight, and be ready to go by 7:20 so we could drop J off on our way to the office. So, we were late getting to the office--the one day that I really shouldn't be--and Princess #3 (she's so sweet!) sat in the corner of the conference room and listened to her CD player while I was on a conference call with others at the office. Then she went to my office with me (I now occupy a space on the 5th floor, and the company's offices are on the 4th, which is where the conference call was), and we set her up with the DVD player to watch some movies. We had packed a lunch that day, and so took some fresh veggies down to the Mall to people watch. She said she really wanted to see somebody with an afro--something that's not uncommon "on the mall," but Friday, I guess all the wackadoos were on vacation. It was pretty mellow--not even very crowded, and mostly business people and folks on vacation. Princess #2 has lived here almost her whole life, and can't fathom this being a vacation destination unless it's the slopes in the wintertime. Ah, to be so young and naive... she's just such a cutie! Anyway, she now understands what it means to "sit on the mall" and peoplewatch, and we gave our extra food to a guy that was collecting aluminum cans out of the trash. He was pretty unassuming and unthreatening--compared to some of those yay-hoos!
So then we had a snack on the way to the airport--our healthy lunch left us famished in the late afternoon and early evening; then we picked DH up and headed back home for our favorite Chinese restaurant. I love the place, and the people are very nice, but my number one agenda for immigration consideration (besides everyone doing it legally) is fluency in English. It's pretty bad when the server can't even say "Pepsi." That one had us guessing for a while! But, the food's good, so I guess it's a trade-off.
Saturday... Saturday... Hmm... I guess I got kinda wiped out--Oh yeah! DH took each of the younger two on dates--first, Princess #2, who got a short-term stint watching a dog for some of her Mom's neighbors. Poor little pooch (a "Labradoodle?") had to spend all day in the house, so it was good that Dad was there to ensure that Princess #2 actually walked the dog instead of just letting her out... Anyway, they then followed up by going to one of her favorite places: Starbucks. Oh yeah, she's addicted--but not to the coffee. Give her a frappaccino (sp?) even on the coldest winter day--she might even wear mittens if she knows she'll be needing to hold onto a frosty frap cup! Anyway, they had some great one-on-one time, and she sure needs it. I would ask you all to pray for us and for Princess #2--she's reached that stage in her life where she recognizes no authority whatsoever and does whatever she wants and is ... uh... less than honest with us sometimes. To say that she is a strong-willed young lady is a nomination for the understatement of the year. She really is a good kid, and we just want the best for her; she just doesn't often agree with what we think (and know--hey, we've been there before) is best for her.
After that, Dad had a lunch-date with Princess #3 at their "secret place." He has a secret place with each of the girls--a different one for each. She is always giving me hints as to what their secret place is, but I can't quite figure it out (and wouldn't let on that I knew if I did!). I think it's maybe a Mexican food place, but I'm not sure, because she told me yesterday that she had a burger for lunch... Hey, some "Mexican" places serve burgers! Who knows? All I know is that they had a great time, and she is young enough that she hasn't begun to give us the grief that her sister has--and probably won't, either. They are about as opposite from each other in personality and taste as two people living in the same culture and under the same roof can be. She really has a servants heart, and she is a great help to me. AND she likes to spend time with the parents still, unlike those teenagers!!! I suppose we'd better enjoy it while it lasts... *sigh*
Sunday dawned bright and warm: a perfect day to fulfill our plans to go to the water park. First, though, we had a breakfast of fruit salad and cinnamon rolls and the girls gave Dad his Father's Day gift: he is now a sharp-dressed man with all the fancy new shirts and ties that will complement his suits nicely. We've been hearing for some time that it's free when you bring your Dad to the water park on Father's Day--and it is--well, for him to get in, anyway. Sheesh--they let you bring in coolers with food and unopened original beverages (no Nalgene water bottles or anything you fill yourself), and I can't recommend it enough! We may have saved thirty bucks on Dad's admission, but crikey, we spent $60 on food and drinks (and let us not forget, the rest of us still had to pay admission!)--oh, and return trips to the single-use fifty-cent lockers! They're not big enough that the family can fit towels, sunscreen & the like into any less than three lockers, and of course, every time we turn around, someone now wants their flip flops (and mine are in this locker, hers are in that one), someone needs more sunscreen, we left the cash in side pocket of the bag and need to buy some water, now it's time for lunch and we need the coupons for free breadsticks... I really think it might be worth the "unlimited use" lockers that require $8.00 up front, $5.00 of which is refundable at the end of the day. Let's just say that they have a fine attraction, but they sure are proud of their stuff! We had a great time--the kids love that Dad can carry the tube up to the top of the ride, and once the two older girls and I made an interesting 6-legged "tubulous monstrous" as we carried one on our heads. We picked a great day to go to the water park, as we hit a new record of 97 degrees today. Princess #3 taught us a new trick in the wave pool--we sit in the "shallows" and wait for the water to come and drag us around. When you're in that area, the water waves (once every seven minutes) straight back, then bounces off this side while it bounces off that side--basically, you get hit from the front, then the right, then the left, and then the water drags you around as it continues to wave in and out and settle to wait for the next big wave. We were rolling all over the place and having a great time--and no cramps that way since we had just eaten. You know, I heard that was actually an old wive's tale, the "no swimming for 30 minutes" rule... Still, it makes sense, so we stayed out of the deeper water. Besides, you can get "run over" in the crest of the wave if you don't have a tube--I once got cold-cocked and nearly knocked out. And I DID have a tube! Of course, that was years ago, and I'm much wiser now. HA!
Okay, so we're all cooked (I missed a spot on my shoulder with the sunscreen--it's gonna hurt later!), washed out, and tired. Sunscreen in the eyes (can you say "ouch?") is a good way to make a person want to close them and not re-open them, so we all took naps (although I think I was the only one with the SPF 50 on the orbs). Mellow evening, getting ready to head back to work on Monday and DH's flight leaves tomorrow evening. It's been nice not having to take him back on Sunday this time, and I'll get out of work a bit early tomorrow to have him to the airport on time.
Finally, a couple people have been asking me if we know where the company is going to have us for our "permanent" assignment, and the short answer to that is "no." I will ask DH to blog and fill you in on that one (and maybe I'll pick up some details I haven't heard yet, too!). Basically, we won't know until probably mid-August at the earliest. Pray that we get to stay here!
On that note, I'm gonna go get some stuff ready to help him turn in his expense report tomorrow, make sure I've got clothes for tomorrow, all that "evening routine" stuff.
Until next time,
CIAO!!!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Science is "interpretation" of the "evidence"
One Nation, "Under God."
One day a 6 year old girl was sitting in a classroom. The teacher was going to explain evolution to the children.
The teacher asked a little boy: Tommy do you see the tree outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Tommy, do you see the grass outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Go outside and look up and see if you can see the sky.
TOMMY: Okay. (He returned a few minutes later) Yes, I saw the sky.
TEACHER: Did you see God up there?
TOMMY: No.
TEACHER: That's my point. We can't see God because he isn't there. Possibly he just doesn't exist.
A little girl spoke up and wanted to ask the boy some questions.
The teacher agreed and the little girl asked the boy: Tommy, do you see the tree outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy do you see the grass outside?
TOMMY: Yessssss!
LITTLE GIRL: Did you see the sky?
TOMMY: Yessssss!
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see the teacher?
TOMMY: Yes
LITTLE GIRL: Do you see her brain?
TOMMY: No
LITTLE GIRL: Then according to what we were taught today in school, she possibly may not even have one!
(You Go Girl!)
“FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT"
II CORINTHIANS 5:7
One day a 6 year old girl was sitting in a classroom. The teacher was going to explain evolution to the children.
The teacher asked a little boy: Tommy do you see the tree outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Tommy, do you see the grass outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Go outside and look up and see if you can see the sky.
TOMMY: Okay. (He returned a few minutes later) Yes, I saw the sky.
TEACHER: Did you see God up there?
TOMMY: No.
TEACHER: That's my point. We can't see God because he isn't there. Possibly he just doesn't exist.
A little girl spoke up and wanted to ask the boy some questions.
The teacher agreed and the little girl asked the boy: Tommy, do you see the tree outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy do you see the grass outside?
TOMMY: Yessssss!
LITTLE GIRL: Did you see the sky?
TOMMY: Yessssss!
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see the teacher?
TOMMY: Yes
LITTLE GIRL: Do you see her brain?
TOMMY: No
LITTLE GIRL: Then according to what we were taught today in school, she possibly may not even have one!
(You Go Girl!)
“FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT"
II CORINTHIANS 5:7
Monday, June 11, 2007
Yes, we're still alive!
Some of you have been wondering... We don't call, we don't write; when are we gonna blog again??? Well, I guess it kinda goes without saying that we have been a bit busy. Let's see, since Boo Boo did her stand-up fall-down comedy routine, DH has been home for Memorial Day (wow, it's dawning on me how far behind we are!) and back to Chicago, he has been back again, and Princess #1 has graduated high school, the girls have finished school for the year, and I got a hysterical mailing from Pops. Oh, and we've had a hailstorm that looked like snow, a windstorm that blew around and killed half of my garden, and SUN to BEAT THE BAND!!! It may not be summer according to the calendar (we do have the summer equinox approaching rapidly), but it sure feels like it!
Well, now it's Monday morning, and I should be working--actually, I will be soon, but since I'm working late tonight, I figure I can take a few minutes this morning to catch up a bit.
Let's see... When DH was home for Memorial Day, we had a nice time getting to see each other's faces... the girls sure were glad to see their Dad--as was I! We were able to make some plans for the following weekend, and pretty much enjoyed each other's company. Crazy week at school, what with it being the week that the girls have to turn in their books and finish assignments without them--I'm not sure what the purpose is of that last week of school; I remember the last week being a week of tests and turning in books back when I was in school. These girls had all that the week before the last week of school. Hmmm.... makes one wonder what all those tax dollars aren't doing!
DH then got in on Friday, June 1. His flight was delayed, and therefore, so was dinner... we were HUNGRY by the time we got some food in front of us! It was really nice to get to see him and spend some one-on-one time that evening; the girls had already gone to their Mom's, so it was just us Friday night. Well, us, and the cats, and the dogs, and the yellow jackets.
Princess #1's graduation was picture-perfect. The weather was much different than it had been a couple years ago when her boyfriend graduated; this time, it wasn't pouring down rain. No, this time, it was pouring down sunshine and warm and sunburn--I don't think I've ever been to a graduation ceremony where they had a concessions stand open. Well, okay, they were selling bottles of water. It gets hot in the morning sun on the football field! We all got pretty cooked, too; I'm even peeling on my arm. Yummy--save me a piece o' that for later! After that, we went to brunch with the girls and their Mom and Grandmother--and Grandmother gave her a car! What a spoiled little girl, and she knows it. So, I got to show her what to do to get her car licensed and legal on Monday morning. I'll never forget where to go to get the emissions and inspection done, and neither will she--I got two main parallel roads confused, and we got to tour parts of our town that are usually reserved for people that live in those neighborhoods! One of these days, I'll get it figured out!
Princess #3 came home with us after church on Sunday so she could spend some time with Dad, and then she accompanied me to the airport to drop him off for his flight out. We then went to the mall to do a little Father's Day shopping -- we'll never shop at Dillard's again. And I can't say more about it than that, because DH might read this... Then she and I watched Willow and she stayed at the house that night. Wow, I haven't seen that movie in years, and it's just as weird as I remember it!
Let's see, I think that just about catches us up... This last weekend was pretty uneventful. I started about 3 projects and didn't finish any of them, including gardening (well, that one was started quite some time ago), getting ready for a garage sale, and cleaning up the house; but I got to hang out with Princess #3 for a little bit. I just remembered on the way to work this morning that I have a jewelry party on Sunday the 24th, and I haven't gotten any invitations to send out from the jewelry-lady... One more thing to put on my to-do list! Oh, and the realtor is calling, wanting to know if we're ready to list our house; I have been trying to wrangle my accountant to get some stuff ready so the IRS doesn't come and carry me away... and I have a second meeting with a client set up for Tuesday evening. He and his IMMENSE family have some minerals in Texas, and we're trying to figure out who has how much, and how to get that information of record so that everyone else can tell who has the minerals. It's crazy--there have been a number of wells producing since the 1950's, and nobody knows what's going on! Ah, well, I live for the challenge, and really get a sense of accomplishment when these things get resolved.
Oh, yeah, and I got the Sales Contract out to the tenant for the townhome in my old hometown. Now THAT is a blog in and of itself...
Finally, DH is still in Chicago, and has met what he calls the "Echo" class (they started a couple weeks after his class did). I guess the group of store managers with whom he is training are all in line for basic stores; this Echo class is a group of store managers in line for the upper line of stores, so he's been hanging out with them alot. Anyway, I guess they have doubled everybody up in rooms for this week, because this week is called *something particular* (don't remember what) and I'm sure that it's an acronym or something, but I couldn't tell you what. Basically, they'll be meeting all the upper-tier management and teams and spending time with them, getting more deeply entrenched in the culture, etc. He'll be out late all week, so it's doubtful he'll be able to blog much, either. I'll be picking him up again this Friday--I CAN'T WAIT!!!
On that note, I'm gonna go get to work!
Have a great day, everybody!
Well, now it's Monday morning, and I should be working--actually, I will be soon, but since I'm working late tonight, I figure I can take a few minutes this morning to catch up a bit.
Let's see... When DH was home for Memorial Day, we had a nice time getting to see each other's faces... the girls sure were glad to see their Dad--as was I! We were able to make some plans for the following weekend, and pretty much enjoyed each other's company. Crazy week at school, what with it being the week that the girls have to turn in their books and finish assignments without them--I'm not sure what the purpose is of that last week of school; I remember the last week being a week of tests and turning in books back when I was in school. These girls had all that the week before the last week of school. Hmmm.... makes one wonder what all those tax dollars aren't doing!
DH then got in on Friday, June 1. His flight was delayed, and therefore, so was dinner... we were HUNGRY by the time we got some food in front of us! It was really nice to get to see him and spend some one-on-one time that evening; the girls had already gone to their Mom's, so it was just us Friday night. Well, us, and the cats, and the dogs, and the yellow jackets.
Princess #1's graduation was picture-perfect. The weather was much different than it had been a couple years ago when her boyfriend graduated; this time, it wasn't pouring down rain. No, this time, it was pouring down sunshine and warm and sunburn--I don't think I've ever been to a graduation ceremony where they had a concessions stand open. Well, okay, they were selling bottles of water. It gets hot in the morning sun on the football field! We all got pretty cooked, too; I'm even peeling on my arm. Yummy--save me a piece o' that for later! After that, we went to brunch with the girls and their Mom and Grandmother--and Grandmother gave her a car! What a spoiled little girl, and she knows it. So, I got to show her what to do to get her car licensed and legal on Monday morning. I'll never forget where to go to get the emissions and inspection done, and neither will she--I got two main parallel roads confused, and we got to tour parts of our town that are usually reserved for people that live in those neighborhoods! One of these days, I'll get it figured out!
Princess #3 came home with us after church on Sunday so she could spend some time with Dad, and then she accompanied me to the airport to drop him off for his flight out. We then went to the mall to do a little Father's Day shopping -- we'll never shop at Dillard's again. And I can't say more about it than that, because DH might read this... Then she and I watched Willow and she stayed at the house that night. Wow, I haven't seen that movie in years, and it's just as weird as I remember it!
Let's see, I think that just about catches us up... This last weekend was pretty uneventful. I started about 3 projects and didn't finish any of them, including gardening (well, that one was started quite some time ago), getting ready for a garage sale, and cleaning up the house; but I got to hang out with Princess #3 for a little bit. I just remembered on the way to work this morning that I have a jewelry party on Sunday the 24th, and I haven't gotten any invitations to send out from the jewelry-lady... One more thing to put on my to-do list! Oh, and the realtor is calling, wanting to know if we're ready to list our house; I have been trying to wrangle my accountant to get some stuff ready so the IRS doesn't come and carry me away... and I have a second meeting with a client set up for Tuesday evening. He and his IMMENSE family have some minerals in Texas, and we're trying to figure out who has how much, and how to get that information of record so that everyone else can tell who has the minerals. It's crazy--there have been a number of wells producing since the 1950's, and nobody knows what's going on! Ah, well, I live for the challenge, and really get a sense of accomplishment when these things get resolved.
Oh, yeah, and I got the Sales Contract out to the tenant for the townhome in my old hometown. Now THAT is a blog in and of itself...
Finally, DH is still in Chicago, and has met what he calls the "Echo" class (they started a couple weeks after his class did). I guess the group of store managers with whom he is training are all in line for basic stores; this Echo class is a group of store managers in line for the upper line of stores, so he's been hanging out with them alot. Anyway, I guess they have doubled everybody up in rooms for this week, because this week is called *something particular* (don't remember what) and I'm sure that it's an acronym or something, but I couldn't tell you what. Basically, they'll be meeting all the upper-tier management and teams and spending time with them, getting more deeply entrenched in the culture, etc. He'll be out late all week, so it's doubtful he'll be able to blog much, either. I'll be picking him up again this Friday--I CAN'T WAIT!!!
On that note, I'm gonna go get to work!
Have a great day, everybody!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Homeward bound
Chicago is nice to visit, but I'm ready to get home to my beautiful wife, and family. The first two weeks of my training have been very eye opening, very encouraging, and very successful. We have tests every week to see what we have retained, so far my scores are great.....wk #1 95%, wk#2 100%. It is a challenge to learn the systems, and accronyms of a new company. I am finding all involved are very committed to seeing the re-invention of the company to be a big success, and any and all suggestions from my past experiences are being welcomed with open arms. There is a tremendous amount of opportunity for improving the sales, and profits of our stores, and I am finding that just getting back to the basics of discount retail, and the basics of grocery 101 ie. stores that are friendly, clean, in-stock, signed well, and offering fast checkouts....just to name a few, are the elements our customers are looking for.
The better that we get at taking care of the above mentioned areas, the more chances we have to take market share from the competition. With the power brands and more, (merging with that "other" company has made our brand recognition much stronger), we have all the tools we need to recapture the dominance we once held in the marketplace. There is however a great need to see day in day out consistency in sustaining superior store conditions to increase customer confidence and build the loyalty that we need to move forward. That is where I come on the scene.
Needless to say I am very excited to be a part of the leadership team of the new Sears Holdings Company.
I am even more excited that I get to see DW and the girls tomorrow afternoon, and spend the entire weekend with them. I will be back in Chicago on Tuesday.
Until then,
In Christ,
DH
The better that we get at taking care of the above mentioned areas, the more chances we have to take market share from the competition. With the power brands and more, (merging with that "other" company has made our brand recognition much stronger), we have all the tools we need to recapture the dominance we once held in the marketplace. There is however a great need to see day in day out consistency in sustaining superior store conditions to increase customer confidence and build the loyalty that we need to move forward. That is where I come on the scene.
Needless to say I am very excited to be a part of the leadership team of the new Sears Holdings Company.
I am even more excited that I get to see DW and the girls tomorrow afternoon, and spend the entire weekend with them. I will be back in Chicago on Tuesday.
Until then,
In Christ,
DH
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Boo Boo the comedian...
Any of you that know me--and I'm thinking that would be anyone reading this--knows that I'll talk about my cats sooner or later. They're my first kids, and such an interesting addition to my life! Wulfgang was formerly known as "Lumpy," because he slept so much that I used to ponder: "Gee, if only he would get up! He bears such a lifelike resemblance to an actual living, breathing cat, that might get up and do something..." Okay, I used to have two cats. Wulfie is now my husband's cat--he actually goes to him more than to me these days. Well, since DH is in Chicago, the Wulfman has kind of adopted Princess #2... There may be round one of WWF in our house for the cat-rights when he gets back!
Then there's Binky. (Beaujolais, aka Boo Boo, aka about a hundred other "pet" names, no pun intended, but it's there so just go with it) She came to me when she was about a week old--her eyes were only beginning to open. Needless to say, I am her Mummy, and she thinks (well, I don't try to convince her otherwise) that she is my baby. Just over a year ago, she developed a new technique for laying down. She uses this most interesting technique no matter where she is--outside on the concrete, on the floor under the window--pretty much anywhere. She's very vigorous in her getting lazy: DH has affectionately coined her technique the "stop and plop." She pretty much throws herself over or down--sometimes quite forcefully! She's quite the bully when she wants some affection too--she'll throw herself on me when I'm in bed, because for some reason, that's her favorite place to snuggle. Anywhere else, and you gotta watch out for those razors--it could be playtime with little or no warning!
Okay, so, my cat and I have a morning routine. I generally don't like to get up in the morning, and so when I have to (which is most days), I generaly like to do so slowly. I don't recommend being awakened by the house alarm going off--that kinda jolts a body out of comfort in a rather rude fashion. I also remember as a kid my dad waking me up by pouring a little water on my neck as I was sleeping--wow, did that put me in a good mood. Anyway, I'm a "snoozer." You know, the alarm goes off and so you hit the snooze button. Well, if you're like me, you're a "multiple snoozer" and I find that I actually have some great naps and extremely vivid dreams between snoozes. That is, when Snuggle Chunks isn't around. Generally, she hears that alarm go off, and before I can settle back in, she's right up next to me, asserting her wet nose on the closest hand. I generally comply with her demands for attention, because if I don't she'll verbally command the hand to come to life--not an annoying yowl, but quite the cutest little "heya, I'm here!" noise. And of course, the infamous stop and plop--it's quite an irresistable combination.
Well, this morning, our routine took a slightly different turn. I don't remember ever waking up laughing, but that's pretty much what happened. No, not at the alarm clock, and not because of a dream, but because as soon as I hit that snooze, there she was, affectionate as ever. Now, she's not as polite about her claws as her compatriot is, so I have one of those fuzzy acrylic blankets that serves as a great barrier between her kneading and my ... uh... pyjamas (don't want to snag them, you know!). She has, for as long as I can remember, loved on that blanket (but only when I'm around and loving on her) with her claws; she even takes a piece of it in her mouth and sucks on it as if she was nursing. I had heard about cats that "suck wool" (I guess someone had a sweater that some Fluffy enjoyed tasting), but had never experienced it. Anyway, it's pretty cute, and if we get it just right, she'll lay there and look at me while she snuggles. Except for this morning. She decided to try a twist on the old stop and plop after I had hit the snooze button after she jumped up to join me. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody's there, does it make a sound? Well, if there's bear poop in the road but nobody saw the bear make a deposit, does that mean a bear didn't put it there? Oh, wait... getting off subject. I tend to ramble sometimes...
Okay, so here's me, getting settled in for the a.m. snuggle--it does help me wake up. Pulling the "magic" blanket up in a protective manner, squishing it in all the right places, I prepare for a comfy snuggle. And that's when I started laughing. It's like she thought she was plopping onto the pillow and didn't have far to fall or something, but it was less like "plop" and more like (picture the aforementioned tree falling in the forest) "TIMMMMMMMMMMMMMM-BERRRRRRR!!!!" I cracked up laughing, and could only laugh harder when she gave me the dirtiest look! Poor thing (oh, yeah, she's so abused and neglected), she gave me the "I meant to do that" look for which cats are infamous, and then sauntered off. If it helps, she's over it now.
Oh, and I never hit the snooze button again this morning! We'll see if we have a similarly amusing story tomorrow... Sorry if this one bored you, I just had to get something in there about Monkey Chunk!
Catcha all later!
(I MISS MY HUSBAND!!!)
Then there's Binky. (Beaujolais, aka Boo Boo, aka about a hundred other "pet" names, no pun intended, but it's there so just go with it) She came to me when she was about a week old--her eyes were only beginning to open. Needless to say, I am her Mummy, and she thinks (well, I don't try to convince her otherwise) that she is my baby. Just over a year ago, she developed a new technique for laying down. She uses this most interesting technique no matter where she is--outside on the concrete, on the floor under the window--pretty much anywhere. She's very vigorous in her getting lazy: DH has affectionately coined her technique the "stop and plop." She pretty much throws herself over or down--sometimes quite forcefully! She's quite the bully when she wants some affection too--she'll throw herself on me when I'm in bed, because for some reason, that's her favorite place to snuggle. Anywhere else, and you gotta watch out for those razors--it could be playtime with little or no warning!
Okay, so, my cat and I have a morning routine. I generally don't like to get up in the morning, and so when I have to (which is most days), I generaly like to do so slowly. I don't recommend being awakened by the house alarm going off--that kinda jolts a body out of comfort in a rather rude fashion. I also remember as a kid my dad waking me up by pouring a little water on my neck as I was sleeping--wow, did that put me in a good mood. Anyway, I'm a "snoozer." You know, the alarm goes off and so you hit the snooze button. Well, if you're like me, you're a "multiple snoozer" and I find that I actually have some great naps and extremely vivid dreams between snoozes. That is, when Snuggle Chunks isn't around. Generally, she hears that alarm go off, and before I can settle back in, she's right up next to me, asserting her wet nose on the closest hand. I generally comply with her demands for attention, because if I don't she'll verbally command the hand to come to life--not an annoying yowl, but quite the cutest little "heya, I'm here!" noise. And of course, the infamous stop and plop--it's quite an irresistable combination.
Well, this morning, our routine took a slightly different turn. I don't remember ever waking up laughing, but that's pretty much what happened. No, not at the alarm clock, and not because of a dream, but because as soon as I hit that snooze, there she was, affectionate as ever. Now, she's not as polite about her claws as her compatriot is, so I have one of those fuzzy acrylic blankets that serves as a great barrier between her kneading and my ... uh... pyjamas (don't want to snag them, you know!). She has, for as long as I can remember, loved on that blanket (but only when I'm around and loving on her) with her claws; she even takes a piece of it in her mouth and sucks on it as if she was nursing. I had heard about cats that "suck wool" (I guess someone had a sweater that some Fluffy enjoyed tasting), but had never experienced it. Anyway, it's pretty cute, and if we get it just right, she'll lay there and look at me while she snuggles. Except for this morning. She decided to try a twist on the old stop and plop after I had hit the snooze button after she jumped up to join me. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody's there, does it make a sound? Well, if there's bear poop in the road but nobody saw the bear make a deposit, does that mean a bear didn't put it there? Oh, wait... getting off subject. I tend to ramble sometimes...
Okay, so here's me, getting settled in for the a.m. snuggle--it does help me wake up. Pulling the "magic" blanket up in a protective manner, squishing it in all the right places, I prepare for a comfy snuggle. And that's when I started laughing. It's like she thought she was plopping onto the pillow and didn't have far to fall or something, but it was less like "plop" and more like (picture the aforementioned tree falling in the forest) "TIMMMMMMMMMMMMMM-BERRRRRRR!!!!" I cracked up laughing, and could only laugh harder when she gave me the dirtiest look! Poor thing (oh, yeah, she's so abused and neglected), she gave me the "I meant to do that" look for which cats are infamous, and then sauntered off. If it helps, she's over it now.
Oh, and I never hit the snooze button again this morning! We'll see if we have a similarly amusing story tomorrow... Sorry if this one bored you, I just had to get something in there about Monkey Chunk!
Catcha all later!
(I MISS MY HUSBAND!!!)
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Tuesday, again!
Well, we made it through Monday, and now Tuesday's almost over... Where does the time go? I will say this, though: it seems like DH has been gone for a month already, and it's only just over a week. I can't wait for Saturday!!!
Did you catch American Idol tonight? Wow, Blake had a rough night--he had some really tough songs to sing. I wish he could have sung his first song last, and not have sung that last song (or the second one, for that matter!) at all. Jordan did well--I didn't agree with the judges though; I thought she was "pitchy," although I don't agree with the screeching that Simon accused her of. She's good, but I really do think Blake has more stage presence and confidence. I guess America will decide who they like best! Then, to add insult to injury (I have really been rooting for Blake--he's just so strong in who he is as an artist!), there was no House afterwards. I can't STAND the show, but I love the medical mysteries that they face, and I have a couple times even beat them to the next "guess" in their diagnosis process--Princess #3 thinks that I should write their scripts or something. Anyway, we'll be watching next week for the season finale. #3's a little upset because we had planned to have an American Idol Finals Party and make pizza and have friends over, but their Mom wants to have all the girls over because it's Princess #1's one night off this week. I had to ... uh... help her deal? with her frustration (she cries when she gets upset; I just get mad and snipey) and remind her that we can do a pizza party some other time with friends. If next week's House wasn't so late on a school night, we could do it then... we'll figure something out.
Work has been insane for me lately--I'm going to be getting some help soon I hope; the boss knows that we certainly need it on our team! I think my favorite part of my job is telling attorneys how to do theirs... I even had one ask me yesterday if I was an attorney. I'm thinking... no, but maybe I should be! We had a full-building evacuation today--that was interesting. I don't think I've participated in a fire drill since I was a kid. This was different than anything I've ever experienced--for those of you that don't know, I work in a downtown metropolitan area in a building that's probably 45 stories tall. After September 11, the fire departments are required to do these drills. Anyway, after Sept 11, our company has decided to evacuate far enough away from the building that if it topples, we'l be clear from the initial impact. Interesting that other floors/companies only evacuate to the front step, though... After we were cleared to go back into the building, it took us longer to get back to the office--our bank of 6 elevators services the first 18 floors, and you can imagine how long it takes to repopulate 18 floors, one box-car at a time! At least we were able to get out of the building for a while...
Okay, so now the news is on, and the headlines are interesting: Snow in the forecast (which made both girls moan and groan about no more snow, I hate snow!!!), a panty-bandit in Fort Collins (laundromats just aren't safe these days!), and then the usual bad news--including those boys that lost their legs in a car accident might have been drinking when they got hit.
Well, I have to go do the parenting thing now... someone needs this, the other one needs that. It's been an education, learning that kids think parents are 20-dollar bill dispensers!
Ciao for now, and we'll catcha later!
~DW
Did you catch American Idol tonight? Wow, Blake had a rough night--he had some really tough songs to sing. I wish he could have sung his first song last, and not have sung that last song (or the second one, for that matter!) at all. Jordan did well--I didn't agree with the judges though; I thought she was "pitchy," although I don't agree with the screeching that Simon accused her of. She's good, but I really do think Blake has more stage presence and confidence. I guess America will decide who they like best! Then, to add insult to injury (I have really been rooting for Blake--he's just so strong in who he is as an artist!), there was no House afterwards. I can't STAND the show, but I love the medical mysteries that they face, and I have a couple times even beat them to the next "guess" in their diagnosis process--Princess #3 thinks that I should write their scripts or something. Anyway, we'll be watching next week for the season finale. #3's a little upset because we had planned to have an American Idol Finals Party and make pizza and have friends over, but their Mom wants to have all the girls over because it's Princess #1's one night off this week. I had to ... uh... help her deal? with her frustration (she cries when she gets upset; I just get mad and snipey) and remind her that we can do a pizza party some other time with friends. If next week's House wasn't so late on a school night, we could do it then... we'll figure something out.
Work has been insane for me lately--I'm going to be getting some help soon I hope; the boss knows that we certainly need it on our team! I think my favorite part of my job is telling attorneys how to do theirs... I even had one ask me yesterday if I was an attorney. I'm thinking... no, but maybe I should be! We had a full-building evacuation today--that was interesting. I don't think I've participated in a fire drill since I was a kid. This was different than anything I've ever experienced--for those of you that don't know, I work in a downtown metropolitan area in a building that's probably 45 stories tall. After September 11, the fire departments are required to do these drills. Anyway, after Sept 11, our company has decided to evacuate far enough away from the building that if it topples, we'l be clear from the initial impact. Interesting that other floors/companies only evacuate to the front step, though... After we were cleared to go back into the building, it took us longer to get back to the office--our bank of 6 elevators services the first 18 floors, and you can imagine how long it takes to repopulate 18 floors, one box-car at a time! At least we were able to get out of the building for a while...
Okay, so now the news is on, and the headlines are interesting: Snow in the forecast (which made both girls moan and groan about no more snow, I hate snow!!!), a panty-bandit in Fort Collins (laundromats just aren't safe these days!), and then the usual bad news--including those boys that lost their legs in a car accident might have been drinking when they got hit.
Well, I have to go do the parenting thing now... someone needs this, the other one needs that. It's been an education, learning that kids think parents are 20-dollar bill dispensers!
Ciao for now, and we'll catcha later!
~DW
Sunday, May 20, 2007
What an awesome weekend, and it isn't over yet!
Well, Princess #2, Princess #3, and I have been really enjoying each other's company this weekend. We went to see Shrek 3 on Friday night--we all laughed alot. Afterwards, we each tried to name our favorite parts--wow, it moved so fast that I can't even remember it! #2 thinks her favorite part is where Donkey had a baby ogre face; #3's favorite part was when Shrek had a nightmare, and my favorite part is where Donkey and Puss N Boots were thrown into the dungeon and "Puss" hissed. If you haven't seen it yet, you'll have to check it out!
Saturday morning we went garage sale-ing ("saling" looked weird, so I spelled it out--work with me on this, 'kay?). Princess #2 really didn't want to go, but before we were finished, she was pointing them out to me so we could go check out another one. We had fun, and Princess #2 got a "new" bike and Princess #3 got some movies and some beads--oh, and a "dresser." We also got a bird-bath for our front yard. Then we came home and had some lunch, tea-party style, on the front lawn under a shady tree. Beaujolais (the cat) was the fourth attendee at our impromptu gathering, and Wulfgang (the other cat) provided entertainment when he got brave and wandered off to the check out the neighbor's front lawn area--until someone came out and scared him! He came at a dead run (okay, he's kinda old; it was more a "purposeful lope") and hid behind a rose bush to peek out at the neighbors coming out to get in their car and take off for some errand.
Princess #2 had a friend who was in a dance recital/competition last night, and she said it was fun. Princess #2 had picked up a couple of silly necklaces at one of our garage sales, and gave the second one to her friend--I don't understand why they like the bright, simple beads (they kinda look "kiddie" to me), but then, I'm sure there was a time when I wasn't all about the fancy or elegant-looking stuff... Which reminds me, I'm hosting a jewelry party in June... Please let me know if you want to attend; I'm compiling names and addresses for the invitations to go out.
Church on Sunday was good--the new series is titled 2 Much 2 Do. Wow, I gotta wonder if the preacher has a hidden camera on my life--I am guilty as charged of not honoring the gift of the Sabbath that God has given to all of us. I do try to fit a little Sabbath into every day, and it was great for the kids to hear (from someone other than us parents) what the purpose of Sabbath is as well as what it isn't. Princess #2 especially wanted her Dad to hear the message, and so he's planning on listening online. You can too, at: http://www.flatironschurch.com/listen/index.html
Well, we have an indoor picnic to prepare for; I'll have to touch base again later.
Have a blessed day, friends and family!
Saturday morning we went garage sale-ing ("saling" looked weird, so I spelled it out--work with me on this, 'kay?). Princess #2 really didn't want to go, but before we were finished, she was pointing them out to me so we could go check out another one. We had fun, and Princess #2 got a "new" bike and Princess #3 got some movies and some beads--oh, and a "dresser." We also got a bird-bath for our front yard. Then we came home and had some lunch, tea-party style, on the front lawn under a shady tree. Beaujolais (the cat) was the fourth attendee at our impromptu gathering, and Wulfgang (the other cat) provided entertainment when he got brave and wandered off to the check out the neighbor's front lawn area--until someone came out and scared him! He came at a dead run (okay, he's kinda old; it was more a "purposeful lope") and hid behind a rose bush to peek out at the neighbors coming out to get in their car and take off for some errand.
Princess #2 had a friend who was in a dance recital/competition last night, and she said it was fun. Princess #2 had picked up a couple of silly necklaces at one of our garage sales, and gave the second one to her friend--I don't understand why they like the bright, simple beads (they kinda look "kiddie" to me), but then, I'm sure there was a time when I wasn't all about the fancy or elegant-looking stuff... Which reminds me, I'm hosting a jewelry party in June... Please let me know if you want to attend; I'm compiling names and addresses for the invitations to go out.
Church on Sunday was good--the new series is titled 2 Much 2 Do. Wow, I gotta wonder if the preacher has a hidden camera on my life--I am guilty as charged of not honoring the gift of the Sabbath that God has given to all of us. I do try to fit a little Sabbath into every day, and it was great for the kids to hear (from someone other than us parents) what the purpose of Sabbath is as well as what it isn't. Princess #2 especially wanted her Dad to hear the message, and so he's planning on listening online. You can too, at: http://www.flatironschurch.com/listen/index.html
Well, we have an indoor picnic to prepare for; I'll have to touch base again later.
Have a blessed day, friends and family!
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