There's a morning radio show in Dallas, that we were blessed to have here in Tulsa awhile back, that is the best show ever. I finally found a way to tape their show on the internet broadcast and put it on CD. So now, I can listen to Kidd Kraddick whenever I'm driving around in my car, whether it's morning, afternoon or night. And yes, I might be getting the broadcast a little later than those lucky folks in Dallas, but better late than never.
First thing I did today was take a shower and get a quick grocery trip out of the way. Luckily that trip was accomplished before the unexpected rain came. Not only was it not suppose to rain, but the sun should have been showing it's shiny yellow face today. No sign of Mr. Sunshine today.
Hayden went to a ropes course with his soccer team today and from looking at the pictures, it looked to be a fun time. Maybe a little scary at times, but fun in the end.
Cody has been chillin' with me under the warmth of a blanket and relaxing. Not a bad day afterall.
I just barely made it before the cutoff date to sign Cody up for soccer this season. In fact, I was so late that it was at the point where you could sign up, but you could also be getting your money returned if there were no teams available. Luckily we received a call from Cody's new coach last night. I wasn't able to get him on his same team from last season because of our lateness. But it sounds like it may have worked out to our benefit, because when talking to his coach last night, this team has been together for quite awhile and they've placed first in the league every year. They also participate in tournaments and that is something Cody hasn't experienced yet.
So tonight is his first practice. I hope it goes well.
No school for the kids today because of teacher/parent conferences. But the kids will attend school on President's Day to makeup a snow day. Having today off makes losing Monday a little easier.
Cold and wet here the entire weekend. woo hoo.
I am so glad to have that evening behind me. Our Neighborhood Bunko night was successful, in more ways than others. After much prodding and begging, my friend Leslie came to fill in for one of our members who was out of town. I'm so glad that she did because she had never played before and she had a good time. Not only that, she won $10. Woot Woot!!
I'm lucky to have such great neighbors who are a lot fun.
I'm hosting Bunko tonight. And although it's something I've somewhat dreaded, in the end, I did have a little fun putting it all together. My theme for this evening is, of course, Valentines Day. I have been planning on a Valentine theme for this month since the end of last year but I recently learned that I could also have chosen to go with a Mardi Gras theme. That would be fun, so maybe next year if I have February again!
This night will be filled with red, red and more red. One of the red items is a dish that was given to me from Tanya and Alan. It's actually a red snowman plate but the goodies are covering up it's cuteness. Besides the entree and side dishes, I have included chocolates, hearts shaped deserts and heart shaped candy. From my last post you can see that I added heart stickers to the score sheets and I'm also supplying valentine pencils to keep score. So I think it's going to be real cute. Hopefully everything taste good and the night is a success.
It's only noon and it I feel like I've achieved a whole day's work.
I know, it's boring. But it's what a gal does to keep things running. And you thought we ate bonbons and watched soaps. Puhleeeze.
Today was Cody's birthday and we celebrated by going out to eat at the restaurant of his choice. After we returned home, he blew out the candles on his cake and then opened his gifts.
We bought him an Airhog Copter and the entire family has enjoyed flying this around the house. Pretty cool toy. Brandi barks at it and Mojo makes sure he is always in close vicinity, just in case he gets his chance to snatch it.
I've been listening to an audio book whenever I find myself in my car running errands. I'm bound and determined to finish it even though the narrator sounds stupid when she's performing all of her different voices for each character and the writing is not all that great. A friend, who was getting rid of books she had already listened to, gave this to me a couple of years ago and I'm just now getting around to listening to it. I figured I would use it on one of the road trips I take for soccer tournaments, but I mostly travel with Caitlin and she's quite the talker. That doesn't leave much time for book listening.
I like audio books so hopefully my next one won't be so corny. "The Girl Who Loves Tom Gordon" is the best audio book I've ever listened to. The story is great and the narrator is Anne Heche. She did a great job. I think being an actress makes for a good narrator.
I've made some changes to my diet in the past few weeks that makes me really proud of myself. My breakfast has gone from poptarts to Cinnamon toast using a whole grain bread with twice the fiber and I've been making fruit smoothies. So I've added whole grain, fiber and fruit to my life. It's a great feeling.
I'm also trying to like wine. Only for medicinal purposes, of course. I wouldn't normally think this was a good addition, but you can't turn on the tv these days without hearing that a glass of wine a day is good for your bod. It sure better be because I'm not finding any enjoyment out of it.
Oprah's show today was about positive thinking, vision boards, and lists that help you get the things you dream of in your life. You start off by telling yourself how much you love YOU. Even if you aren't in a good mental place, you start sowing the seeds to find your awakening.
An example that was used on the show: if you want to live somewhere different, you add it to your list, think of this daily and put a picture of your ideal location on your vision board. Your dreams become reality by the power of positive thinking. I love the whole idea of this because it is so simple and being positive is a good way to live, whether it gets you what you want or not.
And if you're looking for that someone special, make a list of the qualities making sure that you aren't listing something like "someone to make me happy" because that's a shallow want. The list would read more like, "kindness, humor, etc".
What if you want something positive in yours and your partner's life but your the one who is the positive influence working with a negative partner? It won't work and unfortunately for me, I'm in trouble on that one. Everyone needs to have the same optimistic vision.
I'm positive by nature and tend to be optimistic most of the time. And I'm always thankful for where I live and that my kids are healthy and I do have these thoughts all the time. I'm missing out on expressing love towards myself but I can work on that.
Well, I'm off to start my lists.
Yesterday was unseasonably warm with record high temperatures in the area. We reached 81 degrees here and took full advantage of that by walking, washing off the back porch and washing my car by hand.... yes that's right... BY HAND! The past two days have been very nice. We've had the windows open and the heater turned off. Needless to say, I was quite happy to be enjoying that little taste of what Spring will feel like. It felt like "aaahhhhh".
I got a call on Thursday to come pick up Cody from school because he was running a fever. On Friday he seemed to be perking up and feeling better. But this weekend has been terrible for him. He definitely has the flu; fever, chills, cough and running nose. I feel so bad for him. His throat hurts and he just wants to cry but is trying to tough it out. And something else that I've noticed and I'm so impressed with is that our dog Mia has not left his side the entire time. I can honestly say that we have not seen her out and about the past few days. I think it is so sweet of her to stay with him. She usually drives me crazy because she's a little bit of the "anxious" type: always up trying to figure out where to be, what to do and very undecisive. But I think I'm going to be a little more patient with her, after seeing her dedication to Cody.
I'm trying to decide what to prepare to eat for the SuperBowl even though I don't know how much of the game I'll actually watch and Ray will be on his way to Canada where he'll be working this week. The commercials will probably be great entertainment and you know how many commercials you have to watch during all those breaks in a football game. Anyway, back to the menu; I think the kids will enjoy having fingerfoods as our meal for this occasion. Who doesn't love tray after tray of appetizers. The problem is that I want more than I know we'll eat. I think I'll just go crazy. Afterall, you only live once.
We've had our first snowfall for the year and it might even be the first for this winter season. We've had ice storms a couple of times but I don't think we've actually had snow yet. So after accumulating a couple of inches on one day, it is followed by a very sunny day. Just what we need to heat things up and get this white stuff out of here. I actually don't mind the snow so much this time because the schools are still in session and the roads are clear and dry. As it should be.
We finally got our beautiful weather. It was so pretty this morning, mild with nary a breeze. So what does one do when they experience this? Go for a walk.
I was so happy to be outside getting some exercise and feeling the sun on my face. It was one of those "pinch me, I must be dreaming" moments. I reminded myself over and over again throughout my walk of how nice this was and how happy I was to be outdoors.
But as my luck would have it, it was short-lived. And to make matters worse, once I had gotten to the farthest point in my walk, the farthest distance from my house, it hit. Without any warning whatsoever the angriest wind showed up out of nowhere. And it didn't start out as a breeze lapping at my skin or tiptoeing through my hair. This was a no warning, full force, better brace yourself, knock you off your feet and off your path kind of wind. The kind where the roar was so loud that you couldn't resist looking to see what was blowing toward you and barely getting your eyes closed in time before having grains of dirt blasted into your eyes. I had a huge plastic trash container that rolled out right in front of me that must have been trying to impede my progress of getting home. And when I did return home, I was out of breath and my ears were hurting from the coldness of that wind.
What started out to be me taking a walk on one of the most beautiful mornings we have had in awhile, was the morning where I was assaulted by a very evil wind hiding in the trees.
It's cold here this morning and the moisture from the fog that rolled in last night has now left "frozenness" in the strangest places. I've decided not to stick around the house and wait for the warmer weather because the meteorologists don't seem to know what they are doing. So I think I'll be going to Hayden's soccer tennis tournament today. It will get me out of the house and away from the temptation of snacking all day. I've actually been trying to diet and keep motivated but it's been hard. Especially when Ray comes home from the store and is sitting around eating Milk Duds. That's the kind of family support that I've mentioned before that I DON'T have. It's not like he couldn't have those types of things at work or somewhere else that I don't have to watch. That's love for you.
We were awoken the other morning in a bizarre way. I was asleep facing my bedroom window when I heard this crashing noise coming from that direction. As soon as I opened my eyes I saw this black figure, four legs extending in all directions, flying from the window towards me. It reminded me of those flying squirrels that I've seen on tv. This figure used my head as a landing before continuing to a destination unknown to anyone. But not before there was more crashing noises behind me and then silence. And by silence I mean groaning noises from me and Ray. I had my head sliced open in a couple of places from his back claws gaining traction and Ray was curious as to what the heck just happened? Everything had been knocked off Ray's nightstand and I was seeping blood. Mojo, the black figure of the night, was no where to be found and we still don't know what spooked him.
My head is still sore from those wounds.
Such a tragedy. The news says that he became well known after his role in "Brokeback Mountain". But his role in "A Knight's Tale" is when I became a Heath Ledger fan. How sad it will be to watch that movie now.
The family came down with the stomach flu this past weekend, except for Ray. After a couple of days in bed, I was ready to finish up the project I had been working on the week before of transferring home movies onto dvd. I completed that task today and also cleared off my desk and detangled all the computer cords that bring life to the computer, monitor, printer, lamp, speakers, etc. That was a tangled web. My life feels very satisifying right now. This was one of those little things that needs to be done but never would if I were still working. And not that anyone would notice the garbled cords, but it would be bothering me all the same. That goes for painting the kitchen cabinets too; it would never be done if I weren't home during the day. So glad that I'm able to work on these things. And that's not sarcasm.
Now I need to move to the boys room. I hear they don't want the bunk beds stacked anymore and I need to see if I can move furniture out to make room for this project. This will be the umpteenth time that we've undone the bunk beds or stacked them back together. Or should I say.. Ray has done this. "Oh, Yoo hoo, Raaayyyy!!"
After letting me know that he did not like the deli ham that I bought at the grocery store (because you had to get too many pieces of it), Cody had asked that I get some of that big ham next time. The next day I was in the kitchen and noticed an item on the grocery list but could not figure out what it meant. The item was "Big Ham" and since I had forgotten about my conversation with Cody, it took me a moment to figure out who added "Big Ham" to the list. Ray and I found this amusing, just knowing Cody I guess.
A few days later I noticed that Ray had added some items to my list (I'm the one who added butter and didn't even notice the big bacon) and this is what it looked like:
I'm trying to have a productive day today but it's a little difficult when you've had a migraine since the previous evening. My agenda for the day is to continue painting the kitchen cabinets and transfer home movies to the computer so that I can put them on dvd's. I'm hoping these activities will keep me distracted from the diet that I'm putting myself on.
Caitlin picked up Hayden from church this past Wednesday.
Caitlin: "So what did you do at church?"
Hayden: "Just learned about Jesus and crap."
I had the strangest dream last night and it seemed to all take place in a matter of 5 minutes. I was traveling somewhere in my car when I reach this highway. When I pull out on the highway a car appears over this hill so I backup because I don't have enough time to enter onto the road. For some reason, I get out of my car and stand on this big rock. When I get ready to step down, the area is flooded up to my thighs so I have to jump down into water.
The next thing I know, I have arrived in Oklahoma City with a friend and was staying in the Embassy Suites. I see another friend who I'm excited to see but don't have time to talk to because my youngest son, Cody, shows up at the hotel also. Apparantly, he arrived with Borat(??!!), who was nowhere to be seen. And Cody appeared to be about 4 years old (he's 9 years old now). He was running around getting into stuff and wouldn't mind me no matter how much I kept scolding him. In the midst of this, I wanted to call home to see why Ray was letting him travel with Borat but didn't have time because I was chasing Cody around. Then Caitlin shows up (somehow) and is upset because she saw an ex-boyfriend in the hotel restaurant. But I don't have time to console her because I am still trying to catch up with Cody who runs into my hotel bathroom where he throws up and is now running fever. Before I can reach him to get him cleaned up, he's running off again.
Needless to say, I'm exhausted!
Hello. My name is DeeBee and I’m a reality tv junkie.
I think it started with Survivor and soon after I moved onto Big Brother. Over the years I’ve been hooked on the following:
The Mole
The Ozbournes
Run’s House
Laguna Beach
Life of Ryan
The Bachelor
Real Housewives of Orange County
Rob & Big
Anna Nicole Show
Ashlee Simpson Show
Juvies
Made
The Hills
Newport Harbor
Making the Band
Being Bobby Brown
Engaged and Underage
The Apprentice
Man vs Wild
Survivorman
Welcome to the Parker
Flipping Out
Maui Fever
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
Celebrity Fit Club
Shear Genius
My Fair Brady
The Biggest Loser
Project Runway
Beauty and the Geek
Scott Baio is 45 and single
Kathy’s Griffin’s D-List
The Amazing Race
American Idol
America’s Next Top Model
Work Out
Hair Trauma
Hogan Knows Best
Gene Simmons Family Jewels
How did I have the time? If you had asked me how many programs that I have watched, I seriously would have answered 8-10. I guess with any addiction, there is denial to deal with. I didn’t list the shows that I only watched one or two episodes because they weren’t worth my time then and aren’t worth my time now. I feel certain that many people have a list just as long, if not longer, than mine. But I am coming clean here.
And if I didn’t have enough to watch already, Tanya has now hooked me up on something new: The First 48. Feels good!
This was my project for today. I stole this idea from someone else. But isn't that what we do for inspiration? I couldn't get the color right in this picture because the flash tended to make the wall look orange, and without the flash, the pic is a little blurry. This is just the start. I have more pics to add later.
Yesterday's project was staining my outdoor chairs. I had to hurry while the weather was still pleasant.
I was listening to a woman on tv the other day talk about how her family supported her while she lost weight. I've never had that support at home and I hope she knows how lucky she is. I would need to go away to a fat camp to have any kind of support for weight loss. I don't think that people who have never NEEDED to lose weight, understand how hard it is to stop eating in order to lose weight, regardless if it's 5 pounds or 20 pounds to lose.
Caitlin and I spent New Years in Orlando, Florida this year. She had soccer games there and although I wasn't crazy about traveling during the holidays, I really couldn't complain since the temperatures were warm and extremely pleasant. We had escaped from winter for a few days and were loving every minute of it.
We stayed in a four bedroom condo with two other members of her team. 
In between games, the girls were able to slip away for a dip in the pool.
We went to the Cheesecake Factory on New Years Eve and walked around the mall. We were only able to do some window shopping, since the mall had closed at 6:00pm that day for the New Years holiday.
We had a little trouble getting back to Oklahoma because the plane we needed to catch was coming in from Chicago and apparently they had weather issues.
I've started exercising at the Claremore Rec Center after putting it off for months now. I wasn't sure I would ever talk myself into and after the weather turned cold, the thought of getting out in the cold just to go walk made my procrastination that much more to deal with. But I've started and if I can just keep going, I'll at least feel more energized and not so lazy.
I'm getting ready to go to Florida. I've forgotten, what does warm feel like and what should I wear while I'm there?
Cody made a powerpoint CD at school of his Christmas memories and brought it home to share with us. One of the things he listed as his favorite Christmas tradition was going to restaurants. When do we do this?? And then his favorite Christmas food was brownies, which I've never made at Christmas. Oh and another one of our traditions is that we have two Christmases. One at our house and one with the neighbors. The neighbors??
The pool is covered so I'm done chasing leaves out of the pool this fall. Thank goodness!
I'm finished with Christmas shopping, presents are wrapped, and the laundry is done. I know... that last item isn't Christmas related. But it's worth bragging about.
What ever shall I do tomorrow??
My neighborhood had their first Bunko night. It was fun and over with quickly because we only played 2 rounds and that was perfect. We started off the night with a quick meal and then had a gift exchange. I had the Bunko dice at the end of the night so I won a gift, which was a couple of ornaments for the Christmas tree. I will be hosting Bunko in February so if you have any ideas for a Valentines Day Bunko night... don't keep it to yourself.
After 12 hours without electricity, I'm happy to say that power was restored and we are warm and happy. My heart really goes out to those who still do not have any heat and are somehow managing to sleep in the cold. Every now and then our power goes off and back on again. I think that someone is letting us know that we better watch out because what is given can be taken away.
The kids are returning to school tomorrow and although they might not be happy about it, it's good that they won't have any more days to make-up due to this storm. Lost days now are lost days of summer. And we can't have that with a new swimming pool waiting outside.
The electricity went out at about 3:20am. I stayed under the warm covers and decided not to think about it until a decent hour. I did manage to worry that we would be like some of the surrounding communities that have lost power 
and wouldn't have it restored until Wednesday.
I couldn't help but think about those people who are without electricity. What's happens with the perishables in the refrigerator; how many days without a warm shower; how long does a day seem when you are huddled around a fireplace with no tv, music or lights; Is there enough wood to keep that fire going?
And to think that this is a way of life for some people everyday... IF they are fortunate enough to have a home to live in.
I was able to get back to sleep and even dreamed about something that had nothing to do with the ice and cold weather. I remember being a bit disappointed when I woke up and realized the dream was just a dream and my reality was that our power was still out. Luckily it was restored after only a couple of hours but continued to go off and on for rest of the morning.
Ray was outside this morning getting the ice off the cars and saw one tree across the street crack in half and fall to the ground. 
He said it was quite a sound. He heard another fall somewhere in the neighborhood. It's sad to think of the trees that will be lost in the aftermaths of this ice storm. We are hoping that our oak trees can hold on for another day or so without incidence.
UPDATE: Power out again! Hopefully not for long.
It's cold, it's wet and I think my throat hurts. And the next week is only suppose to be worse. Which would be fine if I never had to leave the house. So maybe I won't leave the house for a few days. I'll curl up in bed with my laptop, the remote to the tv and wait for things to warm up. If you have sunshine where you are, please send some this way.
My work as a pool contractor is finally over and I could not be happier to have that behind me. And now for the next stage. Anyone want to be my landscape designer?
I've been feeling bad all week, no energy whatsoever and I didn't know why. It all hit me last night. My body ached all over and I had a terrible headache that I could not get rid of. Whatever it is, this must be the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm feeling a little better today and I hope to be getting back into the swing of things early this week. Ray was nice enough to do the dishes and that alone makes a person feel better to know that they aren't stacking up. You moms out there know what I'm talking about.
I finally felt like checking my email and seeing if I was missing anything online. So now it's back to bed for me.
Thanksgiving this year was fun and relaxing. Tanya, Alan, Addison and Bailey drove up on Wednesday and we spent that evening celebrating Caitlin's 16th birthday.
We celebrated a day early because Ray and Caitlin were leaving on Thursday to go to Raleigh, NC to play in some soccer games. Caleb came over earlier in the day on Wednesday to spend the day with her, so he joined us when we all went to Red Robin in Owasso to eat. She opened her gifts there and at the end of dinner, the staff sang a birthday song to her.
Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday was delicious. I never before enjoyed digging out the leftovers and eating over and over again as much as I did this year. I'm not sure what it was but it could have been that I spent Thanksgiving with family that is accustomed to eating leftovers through this holiday and I haven't had that in a long time. Getting Ray to do that and understand that you can't let food go to waste has been difficult. It was just plain nice and very enjoyable. 
We watched a lot of HGTV and Fine Living television and curled up on the couch with blankets since the high temps outside were in the 40's the entire time.
All of the kids played guitar hero, video games and stayed up late together. I heard lots of laughter coming from down the hallway.
It was a special time.
Caitlin drove to school today for the first time on her own. After a couple of hours of waiting at the DMV, she drove out of the parking lot with the evaluator and returned with a seal of approval. On the way back home, all I could think of was how my life would benefit from this new licensed driver. She'll be more than willing at first to make trips to the grocery store and take her brothers to school but I'm sure that in no time at all, she'll become a bit whiney about her new responsiblities.
Work continues on the pool and although I haven't posted anything on it the past few days, I've been nonstop talking about it to Tanya. I'm sure she wishes I would just shut up.
Getting the rebar laid was the first step in having the concrete started.
The guys showed up this morning and started pouring the "mud" as they call it.
And here is the finished product, at least as far as the concrete goes.
Terrible migraine last night. I was in bed at 7:30 because there was nothing else that I could have done but sleep and let my meds kick in. I got up at 9pm and it was much better but still noticeable. So I went back to bed after shutting the house down and making sure everyone was ok. My phone rang a few times but was ignored. Much better this morning. :-)
This past week has been busy with calls to contractors to hook up electric, pour concrete and add a gas line to the pool heater. It's been a hassle but I'm sure by next summer I won't even remember how time consuming this has been. I would have to suggest that no one have a pool put in during the colder months because when you are having to stick your arm in the water to hook up the hose for vacuuming, it's a mighty cold experience.
I made an attempt at trying the Atkins diet today but everything went out the window when I returned home from Cody's soccer game and spotted Tex-Mex pizza on the stove top. I was prepared to follow it strictly to the tee, for at least a week, just to see how it goes. I might make another attempt tomorrow. Maybe it's something that I need to ease into slowly.
We had to put Abby in the utility room last night because she has been on a mission to kick some "black cat ass". The utility room doesn't have anything in it that she can mess up, just a tile floor, a washer, dryer and a laundry basket. Or so we thought. When I opened the door this morning an ironing board was laying across the floor with two air filters laying on top of that and the laundry basket was also thrown to the floor. She was able to open the doors to where we keep these items, stored alongside the heater and hot water heater. I guess we had forgotten that this is the cat that can open some doors to come find you and greet you kindly. And opens cabinets to find towels to snuggle up on.
I went to Cody's 4th grade production of Oklahoma last night and was pleasantly surprised by the two main characters of the show. I think the songs in this play are difficult to sing and they did a great job. I have a small snippet of Cody's portion during the song The Farmer and the Cowman. I'll add it later.
I had our septic service come out yesterday to check on our new pump station because it has a puddle that sits above it. I figured it was a leak or that something had come undone. Nope... it's just something that can't be helped due to the dirt, or what is commonly referred to around here as "clay". But the pump station is working beautifully so we are still free from backups.
Today is going to be much cooler and I can't say enough about how much I hate that. We still have work to be done in the backyard starting tomorrow so hopefully it warms up a bit and the wind stops blowing. Brrrrr.
There weren't very many changes taking place ABOVE ground today. Most of the work was Dave laying the plumbing in the ground and connecting it to the pump, filter and heater. It took the biggest part of the day. You can see the filter, heater and pump sitting in the background of the second picture below. We are still filling up the pool with water and it will take a full two days for it to be completely filled to the top. I don't know what day 4 holds for us, but I think it's going to be just as busy.
That iron rod that you see laying across the pool is there to keep the pool from moving inward from the pressure of the sand and water that surrounds the pool. The water is actually pumped into the sand to pack it and then vacuumed out immediately afterwards. 
It was a really neat process to see what all takes place.
Here are pictures from today's pool activity. It was an exciting morning but watching the pool fill up with water has been like watching a pot of water come to a boil. 
The pool contractor showed up Sunday night to cut down a tree and draw out an outline of the pool in the exact spot that it would soon exist. You can barely make out the orange outline in this "before" picture.
It was a day dedicated to backhoes, truck loads of dirt and loads of activity. I made phone calls to plumbers, electricians and fence companies to schedule times to get estimates. I also double checked with the insurance company that we were insured and had our liablity amount raised.
The thing about housework is that you're never finished working, only finished for that day. You know that big project of organizing the cabinet in the bathroom? It took me a whole 5 minutes and I was done! Why was I putting that off?
I do have another project that really will take me longer. I want to organize my kitchen cabinets and pantry and switch stuff between the two locations. Now that I think of it.. that might only take me 1 minute to go in there, take a look and decide it's not worth it.
I'm hoping Ray will take a crack at fixing my couch this weekend. It has somewhere around 12 long arched metal springs that keep the cushions from falling to the ground when you sit on it. Six of those springs have sprung! So my couch that I love is not so lovely right now.
I watched Paula Deen make chicken fried steak and gravy today on her show. I was taught how to make it by my step-dad, Dale. So it was interesting to watch a real chef make it and see things like the consistancy of the gravy as she adds the milk and how much flour, salt and pepper she used. She made it no different than I do except for using buttermilk to dip her steak. I have been taught to dip in a milk and egg mixture. I'll try the buttermilk next time.
Spring fever has hit me today, only it's the wrong season. I rearranged my living room today,
something I used to do ALL the time. I have not changed my living room around in years except for the addition of a computer desk. I have the curtains in the washing machine and after they are clean, I'll be done with my to-dos for today. I've thrown in some pictures of Mojo because he was a big part of the action today (and a blog needs pictures, right?) . He panicked at being cornered by the vacuum cleaner but yet refused to leave the room in fear that he might not see what I was going to move next. I turned the couch upside down for a bit (long story) and this demanded an investigation by the inspector himself.
If I get a second wind, I have a cabinet in the bathroom that needs some organizing. For now, I'm exhausted and crashed on the couch with the laptop.
We had some pretty big storms come through town last night which knocked out our electricity right before 8pm and it wasn't back on until 6 this morning. I've made several trips into town, taking the kids here and there, and it's amazing how many pickups I've seen hauling off branches and trees that were destroyed in the storm. Driving down the road means dodging limbs that lay across the road or branches that are dangling at eye level from the trees that they were once attached to. No damage on our property but the next door neighbors lost a tree.
The wind has started to blow again outside, but this time there are no storms in site. Just wind.
We've actually had beautiful Fall weather this month. The temps have been pleasant but not cold and it's been overcast on several days. This makes the mums look that much more beautiful.
Laundry is done, the crick in my neck has subsided and I'm ready to take on the world today. Well, maybe not the world. It's more like a few small projects that need attention. I need to get it done today because Fall Break starts tomorrow and that means the kids will be home for the rest of the week.
Did anyone see Renee Zellweger's hair on Oprah yesterday? That's what I want. So cute!
Yesterday we had an attack of "webs". I don't know if these were created by spiders or some other source but whatever it was, I've never seen anything like this.
Ray was mowing and fighting off the webs that blew into his face as he rode along on his mower. And when I took Caitlin to practice, you could see webs falling like rain from the sky onto the ground. We even had them hitting the car as I drove home. Very fitting as we near Halloween.
A couple of quotes, I've heard recently, that struck me as compelling.
"It's not until you have kids of your own that you understand what your parents feel for you." - (this isn't reflective of my own parents, but completely describes that lightbulb moment for me)
"You're wearing your wishbone where your backbone should be."
We had a pump station added to our septic system this week. The idea is that all of the water is pumped away from the tank into the lateral lines with no way for it to return thanks to a trapdoor that closes behind it. I sure hope this is the answer that we've been looking for all these years. We've had many days after it rains where the waste would back up into the tubs and toilets couldn't be flushed because there was nowhere for it to go. This would be very unpleasant and even embarrassing when we had company visiting our house.
This issue was the one thing that made me fantasize about moving to a different home. Could all this mess be a thing of the past? Only time will tell.
Soccer is in full swing including Cody who is now playing on a rec team in Claremore. He's doing pretty good when he's not recovering from injuries. Minor ones of course.
I took Hayden to his game on Saturday and that was the first time I had seen them play this season. I was surprised at how good they looked out there. Their coach however is hard to please and is unhappy about things most of the time. It makes things less enjoyable.
Caitlin's team is doing very well and has a couple of wins behind them so far. Her coach has done a great job of getting this team to this point and it has been quite a journey these past 5 years. Wonder if he'd be interested in a coaching a '95 boys team. :-)
I have felt so heavy and bloated the last couple of days that I go through my day wishing for a good poo. And to top it off, last night I had a dream that I was pregnant. I was happy about it and telling everyone that I knew. Then you know how you have those moments where you remember something about your "awake-real life" and all of a sudden dreamland meets real life? I remembered, while I was dreaming, that I had my tubes tied and then I'm trying to figure out how I could be pregnant. That's about the time that I woke up and thank goodness because being pregnant is not something that I would be happy about. But because I've felt like I'm in my second trimester with this bloatedness that I carry around, I guess had to dream about my ailment. Needless to say, I was at Walmart at 6:30am this morning buying the highest fiber cereal that I could find.
I've been trying to run a mile in place of walking a mile lately. And yes, I'm pretty proud of myself because I've never run a day in my life except for the times when I snuck out of my parents' house and had to run to where I was going because it was miles away and there was no time to waste. The thing that stands out to me, about running back then, is that it took no effort whatsoever. I could have ran forever without having one thought that I was about to die like I do now. But don't ever ask me how fast I can run a mile because it's embarrassing and I don't expect it to ever get any faster. So there!!
What a good feeling to have all the laundry caught up. Especially in a household of 6 people. So now I sit here and wonder what I'm going to do with myself today. Probably catch up on some of my reality programming.
I took Caitlin to see her boyfriend, Caleb, at work last night. That was fun because it was this little steakhouse north of Claremore and we made comments the whole time about their fancy napkins (paper towels sitting on the table) and how every time Caleb sat down to talk to us, the owner would yell at him to do something. Caitlin ordered chicken strips and I had french fries. I wasn't hungry and it was the smallest item on the menu. When they brought them out, Caleb had them make me a special plate (they aren't on the menu) of Cheese Fries which are fries topped with shredded cheese and bacon. Delicious.
We had lots of rain yesterday which was the makings for a beautiful day. But when the sun came out later that afternoon, it was not comfortable. Especially if you were trying to watch the RSU soccer game and sitting on concrete bleachers. It felt hotter than it actually was thanks to the humidity and not enough wind. I eventually moved under a tree where it was pleasant except for the game being such a bore. Caitlin's team plays better than what we've seen at Rogers State. But at least it's something to do, close to home, on a night when there is nothing else going on.
My cats have really been fighting the last couple of days. Actually, Abby has been kicking Mojo's ass all over the place.
I often fantasize about a cat named Junior paying Abby a little visit.
I love Kathy Griffin's joke about Kuwait. She said that when she stepped off the plane after landing in Kuwait that the entire country smelled like a fart.
"Who farted?"
"Oh... Kuwait did."
Don't you love it when you go outside and you are walking around in the grass and when you turn and look behind you, you see that you just stepped passed a snake? Yeah, I love that.
I'm heading to OKC today (actually, Edmond) to take Caitlin to her game. This will be the toughest game in their league so hopefully things go well. They won yesterday's game 2-1 and that was the second hardest team in the league. So as you can see, today's game will be tough.
The kids have a good week behind them of school and everything is going great. Hayden adjusted quickly to Jr High without much anxiety. Cody will be starting the gifted program soon. I don't know if you can call it a gifted program, it's more like a program that's a gift. They have fun activities that the kids get to participate in and they focus on things that are a little more challenging. Caitlin's year started off sluggish socially but has just been boosted by a recent event that I'm sure I'll cover later. Dylan is in college and seems to be going well. He doesn't complain about classes, just gets done what needs to be done.
So things are great and as you can see, not much more to talk about. But wait until the pool guys show up to put in the pool. Surely I'll have pics and lots of info.
I can't believe that I don't have anything to blog about. I mean, I'm actually doing "things". It's just so hum-drum that it doesn't seem important enough to mention. I'm sure no one wants to hear my laundry woes of turning the boys' dirty socks right side out before tossing them into the wash. What about the times that I've grabbed a scouring pad to scrub off the baked on goo from a cookie sheet. And wiping down counter tops and scrubbing toilets is just the cherry on top. Oh yeah. The excitement is too much, isn't it?
My pleasures consist of going to soccer games and watching our teams kick butt, relaxing at home while watching one of my favorite reality tv shows or even doing a little shopping. None of which are worth mentioning. So how's that for excitement?
This past week was completely dedicated to the PGA Championship. I was either there working or I was at home sleeping. It was fun and I'm sure a few of us will have moments of "remember whens" or "remember thats" like seeing Tiger play a hole, our manager Gilbert who took such good care of us, the long hot walk back to the shuttle after standing on your feet for 6 hours, and golf balls flying into the concession. And whether we want to or not, a lot of us won't be able to get it out of our head how much water cost whether you bought 1,2 or 3 at a time.
