TGIF

Well yesterday was weird. Steve went to the dentist to have his tooth pulled at 9:00. He came home around 11:30 and said he didn't feel too bad but proceeded to take two of the pain meds the dentist had prescribed. It was a extensive extraction, having to cut away part of the bone. That and my husband has no tolerance for pain. Anyway all was going well. He went downstairs to watch tv, took an icepack with him and it was looking good. I went over to Amy's for awhile to firm the plans of me picking up the kids. Came home and Steve was asleep. Good, maybe he won't be in too much pain. I kept doing laundry and checking on him. So far so good. I get ready to go to pick up the kids around 3 and while I was in the bathroom I hear him pound on the ceiling getting my attention. I go downstairs and he's sitting on the sofa, gray as gray could be and sweating up a storm. Get me a bowl I think I'm going to puke he says. I freak a little. He kinda goes in and out. Next thing I know he lurches forward and starts convulsing. Now I freak alot. At school I'm the one everyone comes to in a crisis because I don't panic. Even if someone is sick or bleeding. But when it's my husband well, that's a whole different story. Luckily he was out for only a little bit and once I could convince him to lay down he improved tremendously. After he came to, I asked him if I should call someone. You know like 911 or maybe even the dentist. He said Why I'm passed out? Silly man. Needless to say I called Amy and we decided that she would take care of the kids and get Haley to her birthday party. Luckily I have such great kids. The rest of the evening he was fine and this morning other than some pain he seems back to normal. He's not allowed to have anymore teeth pulled. Of course he has bad teeth so chances are we will go through this again.

I have to babysit today. It's a nice day and the kids should play outside most of the time. Haley has book club this afternoon and we talked about making meatballs for supper tonight. Should be a fun day. Long but fun. I'm bringing my laptop so maybe I can scrap a few pages. That would be good.

Better go get ready.
TTFN

Nothing New

Yesterday was just one of those days. An ordinary not much kind of a day. While I didn't do much, I didn't just spend it in front of the tv or reading a book. Reading a book would have been good though, because I'm falling behind in the book reading. I'm such a all or nothing kind of girl. When I read that's all I do and so then when I'm doing something else of course I can't read, because, well you know. I need to get back to my list making. Next week, right along with dieting. I have to be the top prize winner in the start on Monday category.

So what did I do yesterday. I did my summer singer transporting. When I dropped Haley off, Scott asked if I would watch the kids for awhile. Will had gone down for a nap and Scott had a 1:00 appointment at the studio. So I did that and then went to get lunch for Steve and I. After lunch Amy and I went to Cliff Ave greenhouse and a couple of kitchen stores. Kitchen stores are amazing. Especially restaurant supply ones. All the big containers and pots. It was so cool. After I got home from that Steve and I went to Sams. It was nice to go on a Thursday afternoon. It was quiet and there were no lines. Got home from that and then it was time for Scott to come and help Steve with getting the lumber for our new deck. I can't wait for it to be done. Unfortunately Steve is getting a tooth pulled today, so he'll be out of commission this weekend for the most part. But I forsee in the next couple of weeks it should be done. After that it was bedtime. Now today I need to clean and do more laundry. I have to take Haley to a party at 5, but otherwise I think I'm home for the day. I'm sure I'll run over to Amy's to see the kids for awhile, but that should be it.

I have a kid story. Taking Kyra to summer singers is usually a pretty quiet event. She is just not much of a talker and she definitely is not one to share much of herself. But Haley on the other hand is quite the talker and she is definitely free with the glimpses of herself. I've learned lots from Haley. Yesterday we were coming home and I asked her about this naughty boy in her group. I guess he is just terrible. Anyway I had seen a black boy coming out with her group so I asked if he was the naughty boy. "Oh yeah", she said. I said, "Maybe he was uncomfortable because he was the only black and that is why he's so naughty." Haley in true Haley form says, "No they should be used to it, because whites sign up for everything." Alright, Already. Maybe all of our diversity teaching in school isn't paying off as well as we think. Or maybe it is, since she wasn't going to allow his bad behavior to be based on race. We also had a long discussion about it being ok to slap people because you're angry. She thinks that is ok if you are angry to slap someone. She thinks that there are times when you don't have to be accountable for you actions. I tried the well if you're mad it must be ok to kill someone right. After all that person made you mad. I don't think I convinced her, but maybe I gave her something to think about. Luckily she's a pretty good kid, not some mass murderer waiting in the wings.

Off to see what the day brings today.
TTFN

Rally hats and sweeping

After I take Kyra to summer singers, I usually go back to Amy's house and hang out. It's way more fun than going home. Her house always has an energy and kids. So yesterday when I got there they were all outside. Haley, Hannah and Kyler were on the swing set discussing the latest game they could play with their webkinz. Kirby and Will were sweeping the patio - their idea of a good time. I was there for at least 20 minutes and they swept the whole time. And let me tell you that Will can sweep. He's got the moves down to a professional level. Push, push, get it in a pile. Push, push, push, pile it up some more. I love how Kirby is so patient with Will. They are just best buds.

I didn't get too much done yesterday. Some laundry of course. How 2 people can have so much is really beyond me. I was going to get my pots all planted, but my shoulder was having a bad day. It's amazing how being in pain can just kill your energy. I plan on going to Cliff Avenue today and buying some more plants. My 2 pots that I had planted earlier, drowned. That's right drowned. I didn't check to make sure there was a drainage hole and with all the rain they were saturated and I kept watering them to boot. That's the way it goes sometimes. Most years my planting would be completely done by June 1st.

Kyler and Kirby had games last night. The weather was perfect. It's what I wait all year for, warm summer evenings and a ball game or two with my grandsons playing. It doesn't get any better than that really. Kyler you could tell just wasn't quite into his game. He did a good job in the field. Cameron has done a amazing job with those boys and their fielding skills. But Kyler just wasn't into the batting part of the game. He wouldn't use 2 hands and his swings were like"I'm just going to swing at all the pitches so I can strike out and go back to sitting in the dugout." Ky may not be as enthusiastic player as Kirby but he usually does better than he did last night. Then we went to Kirby's game. Whatever it was that Ky was lacking, Kirby more than made up for it. He was on fire. He pitched amazing, his fielding is always excellent and he hit the ball well every time he was up for bat. I love watching that kid play ball. Kirby likes the name Fernando and last night even his coach was calling him Fernando. And don't you love the rally hat. Both he and Ky do that. Doesn't matter that no one else on the team does that. It's what they do. Love those boys.

Steve's been working on the back deck. It's all tore down and he's dug the trenches for the brace pieces. He and Scott are going to Menards today to buy wood. It'll be nice if Scott can help load and unload the truck. It'll make things so much easier for his dad. Tomorrow Steve gets a tooth pulled. Understandably he won't get much done tomorrow. Hey if I can use my shoulder pain, a tooth pulled is just as good.

Well Grady acts like he needs out again. Must start my day.

TTFN

2 Months from today

That's right! It's only 2 months from today when school will start again. Why is it the last 2 months of summer vacation goes so much faster than the first month? Maybe because no matter how hard I try not to think about it, in these last couple of months, in the back of my mind is the little thought that time is running out. That little thought is not there that first month. So lets see, have I accomplished what I thought I would so far. Uh,well I do have 2 months left you know. I should try and do one exciting thing so I have something to talk about when we go back. Because, you know, no matter what your age, people always ask "What did YOU do on your summer vacation?" Now I really like my do nothing summers. I have no burning desire to travel or spend days at a lake. My joy comes from seeing my grandchildren on an almost daily basis. Everyday I'm so reminded how fast they are growing up. That in a few short years, they'll be complaining, " Do we have to go see Grandma?" or " But mom I have plans". So I for now this is exactly the summer vacation I want. It's just not that exciting to tell about. But back to the accomplishing things. Man I'm just so not good at that. Over the years I've become the queen of procrastinators. You see I still have 2 months left to get everything accomplished. Oh well and there's always next summer too.

Yesterday was another beautiful day. After all that complaining, the weather has finally given us a reason to celebrate. I am just so grateful that I live here in South Dakota these days. We have been spared when it comes to the wrath of Mother Nature. All the tornadoes and now the flooding in Iowa. I just can't imagine what it would be like to lose your home and in some cases your job. My prayers go out to those people. Makes my complaining about not accomplishing enough a little lame doesn't it.

So what did I do yesterday. Transported kids to and from summer singers. Planted some plants. Went to the grocery store. Went with Amy to a Farmers Market and Barnes and Nobles. Cooked supper. Did some laundry. Read a little. Steve tore apart the deck in back. We're replacing it with a much bigger one. Hopefully it doesn't take too long, I would like to enjoy it this summer. Amy and the kids walked over in the evening. They had walked to Lexi's game and then here. I had mentioned to Amy awhile back that she needs to bring the kid over more so Grady doesn't go beserk when people come. I'm afraid that he just loves kids so much that I don't know if he'll ever calm down when people come over. Especially if they have kids. Amy is working on eating healthier. She's into this raw food thing. It has to be better than eating a bunch of packaged foods with chemicals and preservatives. Maybe she can inspire me to lose weight.

Well I've wasted enough of my morning writing. Better get to accomplishing something.
TTFN

Tuesday Ramblings

Yesterday was an absolute perfect weather day. It was a picture postcard day for the state of South Dakota. 7o some degrees, light winds, blue skies - you couldn't ask for anything better. So what did I do, you ask? I stayed in the house most of the day cleaning and playing on the computer. Actually it was a great day for doing that too. Unfortunately I still have flowers to plalnt and weeds to pull. My goal this summer is to get my yard in order along with some rooms inside too. Glad there's still 2 months left. I never know how I would manage with only 2 weeks off a year. It might really be better in the long run because I wouldn't put everything off until summer. What a thought! We went to Kirby's game in the evening. They are starting to play better and hopefully one of these days they will even win one. Kirby is such a good player I would love to see him play on a good team. He doesn't care though and that is what matters. That he just loves playing the game.

I came across a meme that sounded like fun. A little trip down memory lane.
Who was your best friend in high school? Janet Burns. She and I were inseperable. I spent as much time at her house as I did at my own. We didn't have alot of classes together, but we went to all the ball games and wrestling matches together. Friday nights we would take turns driving and flipping the loop, the thing to do in Huron on the weekends.
What kind of car did you drive? I always drove my dad's car. It was always a Chrysler of some sort. I remember a blue one and then a 2 tone green one. Wish I could dig out a picture easily, but they're put away somewhere. Janet and I put many miles on that car. In those days the price of gas wasn't an issue. We probably drove all night for less than a dollar. Gas was about 25 cents a gallon.
Where were you on Friday nights? Like I mentioned earlier, we would be flipping the loop and looking for boys, Wolsey boys to be exact. I even married a Wolsey boy. During the school year we would go to the basketball game and then drive around.
Were you a flirt? I'm not sure I'd call myself a flirt, but I wasn't afraid to talk to anybody, that's for sure.
Were you in band , orchestra or chorus? No unfortunately. I played the clarinet for a few months but my heart wasn't in it. I had wanted to play the flute, but the band teacher talked us out of it. I still think if I had been allowed to play the flute, I would have been in band.
Who was your favorite teacher? Mr. Beattie, my psychology teacher. He was just a great guy who told us many stories about himself and he wasn't old and stuffy like so many of the teachers. I'm sure they were all of 40. LOL. Anyway he was the one who said no girl should ever get pregnant because girls can run faster with their dresses up than boys can with their pants down. Now days, he might be called into the office for those kinds of remarks.
What was your high school mascot? a tiger Go Huron Tigers
Did you go to prom? No A bunch of us got together and had a progressive supper. At the time it seemed like a poor substitute for the prom and I'm sure we were bummed that no one asked us. But later we all decided that we had way more fun than the kids who went to the prom.

I have great memories of high school. Even though I wasn't one of the most popular kids, I was involved in lots of activities, had a great group of friends and enjoyed learning too. I'm always saddened when kids say that high school was the worst time of their lives. I can understand it, but it still saddens me. So much of who we are is formed in high school. Sometimes I think we really don't ever get out of the labels and emotions of high school. So in my perfect little world everyone would have great high school experiences. What a better place the world would be.

Off to get some things accomplished today.
TTFN

Weekend Recap

What a great weekend!!! Beautiful weather (I know I'm talking about the weather again but it was extraordinarily beautiful) was just the cherry on the top. I started Friday with going out to lunch with my friends from work. Glenna was in town from Rapid City so of course we had to do lunch. We went to Spezia's which is always good. I had a sandwich and a salad. The sandwiches at Spezias are no ordinary sandwiches. This one was fire roasted bread and grilled chicken. Just awesome flavor. I would like to try and duplicate something like that at home. It shouldn't be too hard other than getting the flavors right. Just grill some bread, grill some chicken and make a pesto mayo. Like I said getting the flavor right would be the trick. But I think even if it wasn't dead on, it would still be good.

After a 2 hour lunch I came home for awhile before I went to Haley's Camp Invention finale. She had a great time at the camp I think. I wish I could have sent Kirby to that too, but I'm not sure he would have went. He gets a little set in his ways and enjoys his leisure time too much. It may have only been open for ULE and Challenge center kids, but that would be unfair because from what I could tell, all kids would benefit from learning to work together and thinking about solutions to problems. By the way I like this picture because it showed a project and Haley pointing it out, but the girl grabbing her crotch, I probably should have cropped that out huh? And of course it's a little blurry. Oh well what can I say my photography skills are going down the tube. The more I seem to know the worse my pictures are.

Later that evening we took Will (all by himself) to Kyler's ball game. Listening to him talk up a storm on the way there and back was the best. I found out that he wants to play baseball, basketball and football when he gets bigger. NOT SOCCER! He was so adamant about that that it was funny. I'm not sure if he thinks soccer is only for girls since his sisters play it or what but he had a definite opinion about not playing it. After the game when we were walking to our cars, he turned to Amy and said, "I'm done with you now Amy." Too funny!

Saturday I watched Scott and Wendy's kids all day. I am really enjoying it this year. I've always enjoyed it but this year with Will older and at that perfect stage of cuteness it's really fun. While Will was taking a nap, Grandpa came over and watched him so Amy and I could take all the kids to the movie. We saw Kung Fu Panda. Cute movie. Besides being a good movie, I enjoyed seeing all the previews. There are a ton of movies coming up that look good. Grandma better save her money.

Sunday was Father's Day. We went over to Steve's dad's house for lunch. Lori cooked which was so nice. She made a lime tequila turkey breast she had bought from Sams. It was so good. Joy made a cauliflower and pea salad. Nice to have a home cooked meal for a change. (what does that tell you about my cooking lately) Bill and Joy and the girls were here for the weekend. We had such a nice visit. It made me sad to think that we won't see them more than once a year probably now that they are moving all the way across Iowa. But actually anymore we don't see them more than twice a year anyway. We went to the nursing home in the afternoon to visit with Grandma. She looked good. I don't know if she knew any of us or not, but I think she did. It wasn't as strange as I expected it to be to be at their house and not have her there. She really hasn't been there for a number of years, so I guess the lack of her physical presence was just another step.

Amy stopped over in the evening to bring her dad some Father's day cards. We missed Scott's all day by being over at Grandpa's. Both Steve and I are the kind of people who think everyday is mothers or fathers day. Why celebrate on only one day? Right?

Well it's already almost 9 and I haven't even dressed or done anything but read the paper and write my blog. I need to put my house back in order and get a few things accomplished today.

TTFN

A No Weather Blog Entry

After perusing my blog entries for the month of June, I realized that it's pretty much all about the weather. Even though that it is a big issue in everyone lives and this year in particular it is on every news station, I have decided to not blog about the weather today. OOOPS. Maybe this counts already. So on to other subjects.

Yesterday was a quiet day. We took Amy and Kyra to Ruby Tuesdays for lunch. Ruby's has the best salad bar. You can get mini turkey burgers and the salad bar, eat one turkey burger and some fries and still have a burger to take home. We were disappointed that they didn't have the crabcakes Amy had seen advertised but it was still very good. After that we went to Sam's Club. That place seems to be our home away from home. We are there at least once a week. We've been there twice already this week. Steve is looking at a new tv for his basement, so we have gone to check out their tvs. It's such a confusing thing. Every tv is just slightly different from the next so you really can't compare two tvs side by side. And add to that the fact that we are not impluse buyers when it comes to big purchases. It takes me years to pick out a sofa. When we were first married and had no money, we could make decisions easier. Maybe when you don't have any money, the choices are fewer so its easier. Whatever the reason, it still maybe months before we actually get a tv.

Today I have to take Haley to invention camp at 9, lunch with friends at Spezias at 11:30, go see Haley's invention finale at 2:45 and then Kyler's baseball game at 6. My kind of a day. Tomorrow we babysit all day. I may take the kids to the movie Kung Fu Panda. Bill and Joy are coming to town too so I think we'll probably take the kids over there later in the afternoon. Sunday is Fathers Day, but we don't have any plans. With Bill and Joy here we'll just play it by ear.

Well I'd better go get ready to take Haley and get a few morning chores out of the way before I play for the rest of the day.
TTFN

Where's my summer?

Yesterday was another in a string of days of odd weather. We woke up to a thundershower and then the wind blew fiercely all day. I dodged tree branches when I took Kyra to summer singers. And it was warm and humid. If it hadn't been for the terrible wind it would have felt like a typical South Dakota summer day. About 4 o'clock another little shower rolled through. And that brought with it cool air. And less wind. Still windy but not as bad. Since it was a baseball night, we spent the night sitting out. 3 1/2 hours of sitting out chilly, shivering sitting out. Luckily I brought a coat, but as the evening progressed it still wasn't really enough. Where's my warm summer evenings where sitting at a ball game is the best entertainment around? For a number of years I have thought that the weather clock was off. It used to be bitterly cold around Christmas and we had lots of snow by then. For the last few, we've had mild Christmas's and not much snow. Winter doesn't seem to really start until January or February. Summer the last few years hasn't really started until July or August not May like before. Definitely a weird weather pattern. This spring's weather has been particularly violent. Last night a tornado hit a boy scout camp in Iowa and killed 4. Just tragic. I think I heard that there were 34 tornadoes reported last night. A record number and thats not a record anyone wants. Then there has been all the flooding in the states to the east of us. We have been very lucky. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I want just normal summer weather.

Today I need to get some stuff done. I've been on a lazy streak for about a week. I need to kick it in gear. Having Steve home hasn't helped. We tend to go on missions looking for things and that can waste a day for sure. I need to clean my kitchen and den today. But I think we're taking Amy and Kyra to Ruby Tuesdays for lunch, so I might not get as much done as I hoped. That and it's appearing to be a beautiful day so we might work outside and that would be good too. As long as I stay away from the Zuma game I'll be alright.

Well HELLO is no longer. That was such a good program. It allowed me to know if my son or daughter were online and then we could instant message or send pictures. I don't know if there will be anything out there that will be as user friendly as that was. We'll miss you hello.

Guess I'm off to get a few things accomplished.
TTFN

Ka Boom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I woke up this morning at 6:15 to the sound of raindrops and a little rumbling in the distance. Good, I'm thinking, it's been at least 2 days since it rained and things are starting to get dry. Actually that's sad but true. Anyway I laid in bed for about 5 minutes and then decided I had to get up and shut windows and get Grady out. 6:30 Grady is out under our huge tree doing what dogs do best - poopin the big one - when the sky lit up and kaboom hit all at the same time. Let me tell you, you've never seen a dog duck so low and run to the door as fast as Grady did. I so wished I had a video camera on me, it easily would have won something. Luckily Grady seems unaffected by his experience because my first thought was "oh no, he'll never poop outside again". I know I wouldn't. Not after that experience. On a serious note, that lightning must have struck really close because it was an instanteous flash and boom. I hope nobody's tree or house was struck.

I had a fun day yesterday. No blog though. The cable man came and fixed our cable and phone line. Woohoo! We have had a crackly phone for months. Now when I talk to someone it sounds like they're right there. Amazing! But back to the fun. I took Kirby and Kyler to the mall for lunch and to buy Webkinz. A year ago they had never heard of Webkinz and then I buy them for the birthdays and now it's never ending. I think the boys each have over 20 each. They have such a good time with them and Haley and Hannah bring theirs over and they play all day with them so it's all good. I don't take the boys shopping often - first they're boys and shopping isn't their favorite thing. Second for years they wouldn't go anywhere with out their mom. We took mom yesterday too, but that was more because I wanted her to come. First thing we did was have lunch. Kirby had Burger King and Kyler had Taco Johns. Kyler ordered three tacos and potato oles. He only ate 2 tacos, but still. We shopped for a while and Amy and I stopped at Caribou Coffee for a couple of tea slushie things. Yum. The boys said they were hungry again. Back to the food court we went. This time Kyler had a big pretzel and Kirby had a Subway sandwich. They're only 10 and 8. What will it be like when they're teenagers? I might need a second job to be able to afford to feed them at the mall.

Steve and I did a little shopping last night. We're on a mission to find those coiled hoses. Saw them all the time before. Now they're nowhere to be found. Though we only looked in a few places. Afterwards we stopped at Sonic for supper. We ordered the large blackberry ice tea. I think I should give up eating and just drink all these yummy ice teas all summer. Unfortunately, thats not far from the truth. They all have so many calories, that a person can't eat and drink those and not gain weight. But boy were they good.

Well off to check on Grady. He seems to be looking for trouble this morning. And from the sounds of it I think he's found it.
TTFN

Blue Skies

Yesterday was a beautiful day. Unfortunately we didn't do anything. I have this shoulder thing going on lately and Saturday I must have worked it too hard, because yesterday it just ached. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. We did go and fill my car with gas and do some shopping. Wow almost $60 to fill my car. I can't imagine those people who fill every couple of days. And unfortunately the price of gas is effecting the price of everything. You can go to the store and watch the prices rise almost daily. Amy and I went to the bread store Saturday. She noticed that their specialty breads had risen almost $1. I worry about all those people who are living on the edge already. If gas gets to be $6 a gallon, I think our ecomony is going to be in big trouble. Actually I think it already is.

We went to World Market yesterday. I always forget to go to that store. Such interesting food stuffs. I was disappointed that they didn't have any dry polenta. But I did score cool plastic plates and bowls and glasses. 50% off too. They had some in green and blue - Amy's colors - I should have bought her some too. They would be the perfect summer dinnerware for her. Then we went to Michaels. They had quite a few things on sale that I wanted to stock up on. I also wanted to check on my Xyron refills. Whats up with Xyron anyway? How hard can it be to make a product and keep the refills available? Anyway I bought some yarn for dishcloths, a scrapbook frame and a whole bunch of ribbons. Then on we went to Sams. Some produce and books and pretzels for Steve. Then we went to Best Buy to check out computers. We decided that the computers at Sams were probably the best deal. So now I just need to convince Steve to take his truck and pick that and a new TV up.

Well Grady is whining at me. He went out once already, but may need to go again. I hope we get alot accomplished today. But with us it's always a crap shoot.

TTFN

Sunshine!

Yesterday was a beautiful day. The sun shone amid some clouds of course. There was a nice breeze some of the time and the temperature was a mild 75. The only thing that kept it from being perfect were the bugs. Oh those nasty gnats. You know the ones that swarm around your head and threaten to get into your eyes, nose and mouth. Evil things I tell you. I only got one bite though and I'm not sure if it was a gnat or a mosquito. Not bad for a bug filled day. We got a lot accomplished. For us anyway. I planted my impatiens and flowers I bought at the farmers market. Steve and I started pulling weeds in the evil flower bed. Steve also trimmed tree branches.

Speaking of the farmers market. Can I say wow? In South Dakota this time of year there isn't the selection of vegetables, mostly lettuces and radishes, some rhubarb and such. But let me tell the flower selection is amazing. I brought my camera but I was overwhelmed and had things in my hands most of the time that I didn't get any pictures. There were baskets and planters with some of the best flowers I have ever seen. I told Amy I'm saving my money next year and coming here instead of wasting my time planting my own. There was a couple of pots that are still haunting me and I might have to go back next Saturday and see if they are still there. I sure I could justify the splurge. Yeah right. Have you seen the price of gas and food? We should probably all be saving every penny now if what they say is true that gas could be 6 bucks a gallon in a couple of months. We'll need those pennies just to get to work. I hate to think that all we'll be working for is food and gas.

I'm excited to have Steve off the next two weeks. If yesterday is any indication, we might actually get a few things around here done. I really want my deck in the back replaced and enlarged. We started working on the back flower bed. 2 years of neglect has really taken its toll. The weeds and grass have totally engulfed everything. But what was amazing was that almost all the perennials were still there. I was sure they would have given up. I think once we get the mulch down , I don't think we'll have that problem again. As long as every year we put down a new layer of mulch.

Today looks to be another nice day. We had a little rain shower again in the middle of the night. I woke up at 11 and it was lightning in the distance quite fiercely. I never did hear thunder very loud so I don't think the storm ever got too close. The ground was definitely wet again this morning so we must have some rain overnight. I just want it to dry up enough so I don't have to always wipe Grady's feet. Both he and I are tired of it.

On todays agenda is more of the same - working outside. But I also want to go Michaels and maybe Best Buy. Michaels was having a good sale and Best Buy had a computer I want to look at. They have a MAC I'd like to look at too, but I'm not sure I could convince Steve to spend the extra money. Not to mention that I would have problems shifting everything over I think. While I'm in the Michael's area I would like to go World Market. I bought polenta there awhile back and it was good. And it is just fun to peruse the food section there. Such interesting stuff, that I can't seem to find in my local grocery. So if we do trek across town, I don't know how much we'll get done outside today.

Wish I had a picture to put in my blog today. I had lots of photo opportunities, but alas didn't have my camera on me most of the day. I love blogs with pictures, so that is going to be one of my goals - add more pictures. Well must get the day started.
TTFN

Rain, Rain Take a Break

I'm beginning to think I should title this a weather blog. Yesterday was a dry day. The wind blew and things started to dry out. Steve and half the city of Sioux Falls mowed their lawns. The percentages of the chance to get rain for the weekend were only 30 t0 40 percent. Things were looking up. BUT!!! What did I wake up to about 4 or 5 this morning (maybe earlier) but the sound of rain drops hitting my windows. Another day of dog feet wiping. Believe me he's no crazier about that than I am. He sits really nice for the front feet but those backfeet are like tickling a little kid. It just makes him crazy.

I was hoping to get outside today and get some yard work done. I still have flower beds that need weeding and those 12 bags of mulch still need to be put down. I want to get some flowers for some pots and I need to buy impatiens for my birdbath area. I think I'll go buy flowers today even if I don't get them planted. It is already late to me for buying flowers and I'm sure the selection is getting limited. Steve is off for the next two weeks and it would be nice to get all the yard projects done this year. But if the weather doesn't cooperate, we have plenty of indoor things to do. I should blog a list of all the things I'd like to see get done around here. I'm just afraid if I see it in print it might be just a little overwhelming.

I babysat yesterday. It was a pretty slack day. The girls played outside for most of the afternoon and after Will woke up he went out and played too. We had a mishmash for supper which was easy and then they watched some tv. Grandpa came over and played with Will and Hannah for awhile. They had the best time covering him up with stuffed animals. They'd cover him up and then he would throw off the animals and they would laugh and laugh. Getting Will to laugh like that is such a treat. He can be quite the serious little boy. And then it was bed time. I was glad I had brought my laptop. I did some digi shopping. TLP is having a sale. Can't resist a sale. I even worked on scrapping. I just can't get into the swing of it though and I tell myself not to buy anymore stuff until I get a few things done. Of course that doesn't always work, but I have held back quite a bit. I have lots of ideas for albums, but not so many for the pages that go into them. I think I need to work with Amy for awhile. Maybe next week we could have a scrap day. I also need a day with my son and have him give me some lessons on lightroom and maybe photoshop. Both of my kids are amazingly talented.

Well I should go and make some coffee, fold a load of laundry and wait for Amy to call. She and I talked about going to the Farmers Market today. We don't get many Saturdays where we can do that.

TTFN

Weather

Yesterdays weather was all anyone talked about and was all the news. The day started cool and cloudy. By noon when I picked Haley up from summer singers, the sky had darkened and started to lightning some. Since it's quite a trek from summer singers to Haley's house I was worried we were going to get caught in a downpour. Luckily we both made it home before the sky let loose. It rained all afternoon. Sometimes it came down hard and sometimes it was just a sprinkle. When Steve came home at 4:30 it had warmed up and threatened to let the sun shine. They put us in the tornado watch. We decided to go check the falls and see what the weather had done to the falls. They were amazing of course. All that water, the power. By the time we got home about 8 they issuing warnings and KELO was in their continuous coverage mode. From watching the radars I figured we wouldn't get anything but there were warnings for the northwest part of the city. I did go out on my front deck and take pictures of the clouds. I apologize that they are so dark but the sky was so dark and it made everything look like night. I wanted more of the clouds anyway. I may play around with them in Lightroom later.

Well today I need to clean up my house. I've spent the last few days reading and my house is starting to look neglected. This afternoon I go babysit until 10 or 10:30. The good news is that I don't have to babysit tomorrow. A Saturday at home. Yeah! I hope maybe I can get to the Farmers Market and breadsmith. And maybe it will be half way decent and we can get some yard work done. It'll definitely be easy to pull weeds. And believe me there are weeds.

Not much else to write about today. The weather was the main event of the day yesterday. With this spring, that's about all anyone talks about.
TTFN

Rain Rain Go Away

It's another cloudy rainy day with a chance of severe weather this afternoon. I'm sure we have had other years like this but this is becoming tiresome. Not that I want it to go from this to 90 degrees and hot and dry either. I would like just a week or so of nice and dry weather. A week or 2 where I don't have to wipe off Grady's feet every time he comes in.

We went to Kirby's game last night. It started out cloudy and cool, like its been for most of the games it seems. After about 2 innings it started to sprinkle and then it started to rain, lightly mind you but rain none the less. What is it about sports and kids sports in particular that they think they have to play no matter what the conditions are? I have sat through soccer games when it was snowing. I have sat through baseball games that felt like a hurricane. I have sat through both soccer and baseball games where it was so hot and humid that breathing was an effort. But the game must go on. I understand professionals playing in bad weather, heck they get paid to and there are advertisers to deal with. But kids sports come on. Anyway they finally did call the game. Some one had the good sense to say there was lightning or something and they ended all the games.

After taking Kyra and Haley to summer singers yesterday, I took Hannah to the mall for her day. For the kids's birthdays I've started taking them shopping as part of their present. They can pick out things they want and I get to enjoy shopping with them a win-win deal all the way around.

So yesterday Hannah and I went to the mall and started the day with Burger King for lunch. She ordered a chicken nuggets kid meal and I got a sandwich. Part way through the meal I ask her "How are your chicken nuggets?" She gave me an answer I wasn't quite expecting. " Good. Why wouldn't they be?" UH OK maybe that was a STUPID question. She said too "Well I had them before and liked them." Gotcha. Hannah is very matter of fact about things. She is probably my most serious grandchild and doesn't always get the little nuances of things. Not to say she doesn't have a sense of humor, she does. Anyway we had a good time and she scored quite a few new clothes items and a couple of webkinz and her Ivy and Beanie book. It was a good day and fun was had by all.

Today should be a relatively quiet day. I just have to pick up Haley and take her to summer singers and take Kyra home. Then go back in about an hour and take Haley home. Then the rest of the day is mine. I should pick up around here and do another load of laundry. I'm sure I'll spend some of the day reading my book. It is so good and it definitely needs finishing. It's the Kite Runner that I started months ago and put down for awhile. Next I need to read a Patricia Cornwell book I checked out from the library and then it's off to the land of Jodi Picoult.

Well I think I'll play a game of Zuma and start my day.

TTFN

Watching History

Last night I watched a piece of history. History that should have been a long time ago. I watched a black man clinch the democratic nomination. And I watched a woman get more primary votes than anyone in the history of this country. Whats interesting is that this is making history. Here we are supposedly the greatest country in the world and we are just now having a man and a woman run for President and actually coming close to making it. I have never understood how someone could look at a person and make a judgement about them based on their sex or race. Oh granted we all do that to some degree. We walk down a dark street and see a couple of unkempt kids coming towards us and we become a little fearful. But for the most part shouldn't we wait and get to know a person before we judge them. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that Hillary faced more of that than Obama did. It's sad to think that we as women haven't come as far as we think we have. My hope is that they could be on the same ticket and win the election. That would be amazing.

Well enough on history. It is still cool, cloudy and rainy. I think we are going to get rain this morning. Its so nice to see everything so green and beautiful. I wish we had dug up my little garden patch and planted some things. Maybe next week while Steve is home we can get that done.

I'm taking Hannah out for lunch and shopping today. I started this last year as part of the kids birthday presents. Its fun and amazing to see what each of them picks. Tomorrow I just have to take kids to summer singers and Friday I babysit. I got used to not doing to much the last couple of weeks so this has been an adjustment for me and Grady. I have no plans for Saturday. Yeah!

I started a scrapbook page yesterday. Actually I started it a couple of days ago. Well talk about frustrating. After I spent all that time organizing when I went to use something, the file wasn't there. Sure takes the mojo out of scrapping. I'm not doing a very good job of accomplishing my scrapping goals this summer.

Think I'd better go and rob some money from my husbands wallet. Sounds worse than it is. I never have any cash it seems so I must swipe some from him. He just expects it so it's all good.
TTFN

Happy Tuesday

Well today starts Summer Singers. Kyra and Haley have both joined the last two years. This will probably be Kyra's last summer as she is turning 15 and will have summer school and summer jobs after this summer. Can I just say that I love Summer singers!! I do all the transporting for them and this is the one opportunity I have to spend some one on one time with each of them. Yes most days it's a quiet ride and not alot of talking, but it still gives me that little bit of time all alone with one of them. Now next year, Hannah will probably join and I don't know if she and Haley will go at the same time. That would be too bad as a little one on one with Hannah would be nice.

We had about 2 inches of rain last night. I slept right through it. If there was thunder or lightning I missed it. Unusual for me, but my shoulder had been aching last night and I took some Ibuprofin and Aleve, so I must have slept really well. They are talking rain off and on all week. Everything is green and pretty. The temperature has been quite nice too. Steve is on vacation next week for the next two weeks and I'm sure it will not be quite so nice. In fact on Sunday it got to 85 degrees and there was quite a bit of humidity. I don't think I'm ready for that yet either. Thats one thing about the weather in this part of the country, we are never quite satisfied with it.

I'm not sure what is on my agenda today. After hauling the girls, I think I might spend the rest of the day in my den and organizing and scrapping. I also decided to go through all my pictures on my computer and start putting the good ones in a separate folder. That way when it comes time to print I can just send that folder off to be printed. I also should go through all the old photos and put them in a box or something so I can take them to the local photo shop and have them put on a cd. And then I think I will read for awhile. I have such a stack of summer reading that I might need 2 summers to get through it all.

Well I think I'm off to the showers and start my day.
TTFN

Happy Monday

Well I tried to blog earlier this morning and blogger wouldn't respond. I wondered if it was one of the sites that was involved with the fire that shut down so many online scrapbooking stores. Whatever was the issue was it's quite frustrating to decide to do something and then you can't.

It was a beautiful weekend. Finally!!! I had Scott's kids on Saturday. It was a good time. We didn't do anything special but hungout at their house. The kids spent most of the day playing outside. The girls and I went to the library while Will was napping. That Will! He's quite the character. He has a vocabulary of a 6 year old and the sense of humor of an adult. He chose peanut butter crackers for his morning snack. He was sitting on my lap eating them and I took one. (We've shared snacks before.) But this time after I had chewed and swallowed most of it, he said "Give that back." Um, like I would if I could but you see!!!

Haley had book club on Saturday too. She and some of her classmates from school decided to do this this summer. They organized it and everything. A friend of Haley's lives only a few blocks from them so she walked over there and they had a good time. The next book they are going to read is Charlottes Web.

Speaking of books, I finished 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult. Wow. Not since Poisonwood Bible have I found an author that I want to read all of her books. Amy lent me Vanishing Act and I bought another one at Sams yesterday. Unfortunately at the library all of the books by her were either checked out or on hold.

Yesterday was a do nothing day. I had plans of getting alot of outside things done, but then after breakfast I had either an anxiety attack or something. We did manage to get to Sams and I stocked up on lots of fruit and veggies, but otherwise it was a quiet day.

Today I have to pick up Scotts kids at Amys and watch them until Wendy gets home. Scott is out of town doing something. It's quite the busy week for him. He has a wedding on Friday and Saturday. Thank goodness I only have the kids on Friday. As much as I love them it's nice not to have the whole weekend shot.

The boys have baseball games tonight, but I'm not sure that the weather is going to cooperate. They're talking rain and thunderstorms. In fact all week there's a chance of rain. I'm not going to complain it could already be hot and dry. I'm sure we'll have that soon enough.

Well this has gotten to be quite the lengthy post for me. Better go dust and finish the things on my to do list.

TTFN

Geez, I'm such a dork!

So I've been organizing away in AcDsee with all my scrapbooking things. I'm almost done, just have to do the w's. Last night of course we had severe weather in our area. I have been so afraid of losing my computer and EHD that I've become quite paranoid about it all. So after the first crack of thunder, I decided that I would shut everything down and unplug everything. Great! The weather wasn't that bad here but I spent the night reading a book anyway and didn't turn anything back on. This morning I decided to do a scrapbook page and went into acdsee and was pulling papers and elements. BUT when I went to put them in photoshop not all of them would go there. Amy said it was because some weren't in the folder that they should have been. Like I had moved them or something. Well I knew I hadn't moved them so there had to be another reason. I'm trying this and that and finally realize that my EHD isn't working. It has power but my computer wasn't reading it. Hmmm. So I call Amy. I'm sure my EHD has died and I'm complaining about how I spent all that time organizing and it was all in vain. Then lo and behold I look at my computer. What is that? Well that my dear is the USB thats not plugged into your computer. And guess again. Yep when I plugged it in my EHD worked. Will wonders never cease. I tell you this old age thing is not all its cracked up to be. Actually I don't really think it has anything to do with age but it works well for an excuse.

Yesterday was a dreary, drizzly day. One of those days that just calls for curling up and reading a book. I did just that. I finally finished Friday Night Knitting Club. I wasn't sure I was going to finish it since I peeked ahead at one point when I was getting bored with it and knew how it was going to end. But my better judgement won out and I finished the book. I am glad that I did. Even though I knew what was going to happen and all, I was glad to read about the relationships of the characters at the end. I hope that proves to be a lesson for me. I often peek ahead if a book is starting to bore me. Maybe now I'll either not peek ahead or read on anyway.

Today is a beautiful day. The sun is shining and it is 70 degrees at noon. Bring on more of these kinds of days. I probably should go and do some weeding but I think it is still too muddy and getting muddy isn't on my agenda. Actually I put nothing on my agenda for today. I'm taking a day off and doing whatever comes to mind. I should do a little housework. I watch Scotts kids all day tomorrow so I won't get anything done tomorrow.

Well off to try that scrapbook page again. Maybe I can get it done and have something to show tomorrow. Yeah right!
TTFN

A Cold Night for Baseball

Last night we spent 2 and a half hours sitting at baseball games. Can we say Brrrr? I'm not sure baseball was meant to be played when the fans are sitting bundled up in coats and blankets. Baseball should be played in warm weather right? Amy and I went to Kylers game. Then we trekked across town to watch the tail end of Kirby's game. There must be some overachieving dads at that game because when we got there it was already getting dark and it was definitely cold. So when the game should be done, the coaches got together and decided to play another inning. Are you guys crazy? We're freezing out here!!

We woke up to a little thunder and rain this morning. There were puddles in my backyard. Another day of wiping off the dog's feet. They are talking severe storms this evening. I love a good thunderstorm, but with all the tragic storms around the area lately I'm not so sure I want severe weather.

Amy and I are going out for lunch today. I think we're going to Sanaa's. I've been there before but Amy hasn't. It's in the same area as some of the local art stores so I'm sure we'll check out at least one.

Well I must say my list thing is working out quite well. Who knew that just making a list could be so freeing. I put manageable things to do on my list and then when I'm done with the list for the day I'm done. No more worrying about "Oh maybe I should be doing this or that" I can just put those things on the list for another day. I know the rest of the world has been using this technique for quite awhile, but I has been quite a revelation for me.

Dieting is not going quite as well as it should. But I am trying to eat better and we haven't had fast food for over a week, so that is an accomplishment in itself. Babysteps.

Well should head for the shower and get some of my list items for today done.

TTFN

A Haircut, a few scrapping stores and neighborhood coffee.

Yesterday was a relatively busy day for me. Normally I don't schedule much in my days, I like the casualness of doing nothing. It means I'm always ready for more impromptu nothingness. I started off the day with doing some of the chores on my list. I know, I know, can you believe I actually made a list and then did the things on the list. It worked so well that I'm trying it again today. I had an 11:00 hair appt. It is always nice to refresh the look with a cut and color. At the end of my appointment, Amy and the boys came in for the boys's haircuts. After much bribing with a trip to the pet store and a new webkinz, they were very good this time. While they were getting their haircuts, Amy and I discussed going to a few local scrapbook stores. I was hoping to score some new adhesive and some refills for my xyrons. We went to a new store for me, Scatterjoy. What a nice little place that was. The lady behind the counter was super friendly, just that nice grandmotherly person who you could probably sit and have a cup of tea with anytime. I love local stores!!! I frequent the local yarn stores and come away with that same feeling. As much as I love Walmart for all its Walmartiness, you just don't get that warm cozy feeling there. Anyway I bought a few items for this album I'm making for Hannah and a couple of new albums that I have ideas for. I was never a paper scrapper. Oh every once in awhile my daughter would get me interested and I would purchase some things. But when it came to actually doing it I never really got into it. Then a couple of years ago she introduced me to digital scrapping. All the fun but no mess. While I haven't made oodles of albums and things it is something that I enjoy. But going into that scrapbook store really made me want to paper scrap. I don't have the space for paper scrapping, and I definitely don't need to start a new craft, but oh there's that yearning. I have always loved crafts and taking nothings and making something out of it. So thank goodness for hybrid. It gives you a little of both.
Last night was neighborhood coffee and Pat's house. Her house is decorated so cute. She had just redone her kitchen and I joked about when we were going to exchange houses. It was a very nice evening. Eight of the nine were there, Cheri had just returned from Hawaii and wasn't there. It's kinda surprising that 8 women can get together and talk about a myriad of subjects and leave 3 hours later still friends. Someday I must bring my camera and take pictures of our group. We've already lost 3 members, 2 due to death. Anyway I did really good on my diet yesterday until then. And even then I didn't do too bad at first. She had angel food cake with strawberries, meat and cheese and crackers. Not bad choices. I took the cake and strawberries and a couple pieces of cheese and a couple of meat and a couple crackers. So far so good. Then we sat at the table. She put the meat and cheese on the table along with the nuts and crackers. Well what do you do when you linger and talk at the table with munchies still on the table. Why you continue to eat. Probably 400 calories later and 10:30 at night we finally said good-bye. Now of course thanks to eating so late at night, I am starving this morning. It is going to be a real challenge to stay the course today.
Well I'm off to conquer my list and spend some time scrapping. Long live summer vacation.
TTFN

Brrrr!!!!!

Here it is the 27th of May and my furnace kicked in. I remember many a May when we were running the air conditioning alot by now. What a odd year! The sad thing is I can decide if I should let the furnace run or turn it off and shiver. Yesterday was beautiful. We worked outside for some of the day. Steve mowed and applied fertilizer and weed killer. We bought 12 bags of mulch. To be put on the flower beds at a later date of course. We're not ones to get everything done in one day. I planted my flowers in pots and we bought two rocker gliders and a table for the front deck. Over all it was a productive day for us.

I worked on a tag album for Hannah. It is pictures from her birthday party. I thought it might be a nice little keepsake to help her remember her 7th birthday. But let me tell you I have glue issues. You know those little xyron glue runner things. I have a bigger one that I love, but when I put in a new cartridge I accidently ran it backwards. A definite no no evidently. I now need a new cartridge. So I thought I'd use the smaller one. Works fine except that after 3 small tags worth it was out of glue. It was a brand new cartridge too. Really can they only have that much glue in them. Are you supposed to only barely use them? So I think I need to find a new system that isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg and is dummy proof. I really like all the hybrid options but I don't want to go broke buying glue. Enough of the rant.

On to dieting. It's not happening. Today is a new start again. I know I need to do it, but somehow that isn't getting through to the "lets put food in the mouth part of the brain." So today I am recommiting to Weight Watchers and healthy living. Last time I did WW's' I did all the gimmicks. The pumpkin pudding, all the fake food. I'm not saying that I won't succumb to that this time too, but I am going to try and eat healthy whole foods. So my goal this week is to stick to the plan, follow it as strictly as possible. Maybe if I only set a goal a week, I can do a better job. This week I am only going to worry about eating within my points and making healthy choices. I'll worry about exercise later. Sometimes I think I try to do it all the first day and burn out. Slow but sure wins the race right? I have a hair appt this noon and afterwards I am going to stop at the store and buy veggies. Hopefully the prices won't scare me away.

TTFN

Happy Birthday Hannah

Last night we celebrated Hannah's birthday. Her actual birthday was Saturday, but since mom and dad had a wedding to shoot they had the party last night. I love

summer birthdays. More times than not we have them outside. Scott and Wendy have this nice big triple garage which has practically nothing in it. We all hang out in there out of the elements and the kids play outside. Every party anymore has a pinata. It seems to be one of the kids's favorite things. I don't know if they like the candy the best or beating the crap out of the pinata. Whatevery it is the kids have a blast.
It's nice that Scott and Wendy invite all the relatives and the neighbors. It gives the kids a sense of community. You know that old it takes a village thing. After all the festivities, the adults hang around in the garage and talk and the kids go out back and play. What is absolutely amazing is that with my 6 grandchildren and all their different personalities, there is hardly ever any fighting or bickering. They spend alot of time together too since Amy watches Scotts kids during the day. Somehow they have established roles within theirselves that work. I just hope that I haven't now jinxed them and all they'll do this summer is squabble.
It appears to be a beautiful day today. I have lots on the agenda. A little house work, alot of yard work and maybe a start on cleaning out the garage. Wouldn't that be something.
TTFN

Where's the heat?

Here it is the 23rd of May and it's down right chilly and windy. I'm really tired of the wind. It seems like when its cold, it's windy. But let it get to be 90 degrees and humid and then the air is as still as still can be. I know it could be worse but I'm tired of it.
We don't have Scotts kids today. So of course the weather is crappy and there's a ton of things to do outside. I'm hoping that it calms down a little this afternoon and we can get some things done. I can't believe it's Memorial day weekend already. School's been out for a week for the kids but it doesn't seem right. Though I did see a couple of girls wrapped in towels walking home yesterday from the pool. All I could think of was brr, the pool's open? It was 57 degrees yesterday.
So what have I been doing in the last month. Not much really, hence the no blogging. You have to have a life to write about one. Amy and I went shopping on Thursday and had lunch at Paneras. Good place to eat. Our goal is to try and get out on a regular basis and go to a place that at least one of us has never been to before. I had been to Paneras but Amy hadn't. Next place I want to go is to Sanaas. It is a local Mediterrianan restuarant with all healthy and natural foods. We talked about going to the farmers market today. Maybe we can work lunch into that too. Sanaas and the farmers market are in the same little shopping area. If not today then definitely another day.
Tomorrow is Hannah's 7th birthday. Wow I can't believe my little Hannah is going to be 7. She is my cuddler grandchild. Always quick with the hugs and definitely a grandmas girl. It'll be sad when the day comes and she doesn't want to sit on my lap and give hugs. Unfortunately that day is coming fast I'm afraid. Speaking of coming fast Kyra is now a freshman in high school. The next four years will fly by. Can we put this tape in slo-mo please.
Lets see what else is new. I cooked last night. Thats probably something I haven't done in a month. I made a pasta salad. Just your typical macaroni and pea salad, but it was extra good. I added a little of this and a little of that. Used these really cute mini bow tie pastas. It was either really good or we just haven't had any homecooked food for so long that anything would have tasted terffic.
On the Grady front he is getting better. His craziness is less and less. He still steals things from the sink and likes to shred paper. Probably the worst is the mud. Our yard has lots of dirt thanks to this big tree in the middle that has killed some of the grass. Well since it has been raining alot lately we have alot of mud. What do goldens like better than anything. Water and mud. Even when he just goes out to pee it seems he has to walk through some of the mud. I thought he was good this morning but no, there is mud tracks all over my living room carpet. I really had thought we could clean carpets this weekend too, but not if it is still muddy. Sooner or later it has to dry up right?
Well I should have titled this the whiner blog. It seems like all I did was complain about something. I'll have to try better in the future.
TTFN

Why are weekends so short?

Just when I get the everything done that I had to do for the weekend. Poof, it's over. No time for just fun. Well that's not true. I had fun this weekend too. Kyra, Amy and I went shopping yesterday. Kyra told me on Friday that she thought she was the only one at school still wearing jeans and not capris and shorts. I knew she was stretching it, but she did need new spring things. Hey doesn't every girl. She did pretty well and we even convinced to her get some sleeveless tops. How do we make girls so self conscience at this age? Even overweight girls have beautiful skin and shoulders. Wait until you hit my age and realize what no exercise and dieting has done to your arms.
Speaking of dieting. Can we say ready!!! I am so uncomfortable in my skin. I am going back to doing Weight Watchers online. I bought things to eat and even a pair of shorts to work out in. Now if I can just get past Monday noon I may stand a chance. One day at a time they say, well I say one meal at a time. When I lost 40 lbs a few years ago, I just started one day and never looked back. Not sure that I was motivated but something kept me going that first week and then when I got on the scale and had lost 6 lbs, that was all it took. So that is my mantra this time, just start and keep plugging away. Maybe if the weather gets a little nicer I can talk myself into walking again. If not, then I am ready to exercise in the house for awhile.
Scott is in Fargo for a few days for a photography thing. It feels weird to have him out of town. I wonder what it would be like to have all your children living far away. I'm not sure I could handle that.
Amy and I went to the grocery store this afternoon. I must say that I haven't been there for probably close to a month. We buy alot of food at Sams and eat out too much. Anyway, whoa, have the prices gone up. I don't know how some familys are going to do it. I'm thinking of baking bread this summer and we don't drink milk, but the fresh fruit and vegetables are out of sight. I'll be taking out my flowers and planting vegetables I think. I think the farmers market is going to be spendy too. Glad we don't have a family to feed and can still buy what we want. But even we should cut back. Gas is 3.50 a gallon and cauliflower was 4 dollars a head. Crazy. We'll all be on a diet whether we want to or not.
Well enough rambling for one night.
TTFN

This is Spring

Last Saturday we sat at Hannah's soccer game with no coats and enjoyed a beautiful day. Today, soccer has been cancelled and there is snow on the ground. Such is life on the praire. We were quite fortunate in that we only had 3 inches of snow. Other places not that far from here had a foot of the white stuff. Can we finally get on with the nice weather? I don't want to go from snow and cold straight to 90 degrees and humidity.

Well there is only 3 weeks of school left. Life gets crazy this time of year. With concerts and ball games and swimming lessons and any number of other events, we grandparents get called into service alot. I for one love it. I think maybe I should have had a dozen kids because I like going to all that stuff. I get bored and lazy sitting around too much. This week we have Kyra's chorus concert, the boys ball practices, Hannah's soccer games and swimming lessons. Throw in a hair appointment and the fact that Scott is out of town, and well lets just say parents who have a ton of kids and no grandparents near by must have to learn to outsource.

We took Scott and family to Valentinos for lunch today. Not exactly the best food but the company was good. After we got home from that I took Amy and Kyra shopping. It was a very enjoyable trip. Kyra was in a good mood and we bought her quite a few new things for spring. Amy even got a couple of new tops. I had bought a fair share of stuff for myself a few days ago, so I really don't need anything. That and I hope to lose some weight here one of these days.

I had the nicest phone conversations this week. Thursday I called to talk to Amy and of course she was at swimming lessons with the boys. Kyra and I talked for quite awhile. Unusual for Kyra as she usually just hands the phone to her mom when I call. We have nice conversations in the car but not on the phone. The other one was Will today. Scott called and Will wanted to talk to Gramma. I think I had the best 2 year old conversation ever. He told me all about what he had done. Playing with Hannah. Hit ball. Run, run, run. He even asked me to come over. He's quite the kid.

I did some scrapping shopping today too. Next weekend starts the scrapbooking day sales, but of course I couldn't wait. I don't have any need for new stuff, but it's all so pretty and I have such grand ideas of pages to scrap and projects to do. Well you know how it goes. Summer is coming so there is hope that I will get alot of it done.

Must go watch Harry Potter. I can watch them over and over, just like MASH reruns.
TTFN

No Friends

I have no friends. Now before I start to wallow in self pity, I do have friends. Good friends actually. But on Hello all my friends are in the dark. Amy and I "talk" almost every day on Hello and I've come to the realization that I am addicted to that link with her. One of the first things I do when I get on the computer is check to see if anyone is green. How pathetic is that!!!!!!!!! So now that hello is not playing well with Amy and her computers, I'm like friendless. A year ago I didn't even have hello and now I'm addicted. I wonder if there is a computer link for hello addicts whose friends have all abandoned them.
I am so sick of the wind. I know that the "wind comes sweeping down the plain", but enough is enough. Yesterday was a perfect day. Almost 70 degrees and virtually no wind. Could we have 2 of those kind of days in a row please!
Well I haven't accomplished very much this weekend. I opened up photoshop and stared at it for awhile. I have lots of ideas of things to do, but can't seem to pick one and start. Actually I have a couple of things I need to finish first. Neither one would take long but I don't have the mojo for that either. I probably should have titled this post Pathetic!
We went to Sams again today. That and Walmart seem to be our weekly trips. I bought some meat and veggies though, so hopefully I will cook more this week. Of course this is the week that lots of things are going on. At least for me it's lots of things. Tomorrow night is Kyra's concert, Tuesday is neighborhood coffee and Friday I might go help chaperone a dance.
I am counting the days until school is out. Weekends just go by way too fast and I don't seem to get much done. I want those lazy hazy crazy days of summer. But I shouldn't wish away my time because summer will go by fast too.
TTFN

Wow its the 19th of April and I haven't blogged all month. Looking back at 2008 entries it looks like I blog 5 times a month. Well to get 5 in this month, I'd better hop to it. This summer I'm going to try to make a habit of this blogging thing. They say 3 weeks to make a habit, but I think I'm a slow learner. Maybe 3 months will do it.
Another reason I want to blog more is because I need to diet and maybe writing in my blog about how I'm doing everyday and posting recipes that I try, might make dieting and blogging fun for me. I know I need to find my incentive for both.
Will's birthday was yesterday. He turned 2. What a sweet little boy he has become! He opened his presents like an old pro and said thank you many times after he opened them. He was only overwhelmed at the beginning when his other grandparents came. I think the realization that this was all for him came to him then. He got over it fast though and the rest of the evening was a joy. It is so nice that Wendy invites all of us for the parties. She wouldn't have to invite Steve's sister and husband or Great grandpa but she does and I think it makes for wonderful memories for the kids. Not to mention that I'm sure Lori and Cliff enjoy it immensely.
Life has been quiet as usual here. It should pick up now that the weather has turned nice. Hannah has a soccer game this afternoon, Kyra's concerts are the next 2 Mondays and the boys have started baseball practice. I can't wait to start sitting and watching them play baseball. One of the best things about summer. Speaking of summer, 20 school days left until vacation. I for one am definitely ready.
TTFN

Where did March go?

Wow it really is true that the older you get the faster time flies! This month has just whizzed by. I hope April goes as fast and then it can slow down for a couple of months. There is only 7 weeks of school left. Speaking of whizzing by this school year really did. Must be a sign that I'm enjoying it.
Well we're in a winter storm watch again. Golly gee will this winter ever end. It's not that its been a terrible winter just long. And actually that's not true, because some years it's really nasty by November and this year it didn't start until January. Well one thing is for sure no matter what, it can't last long. But I'd much rather have a severe thunderstorm watch than a winter one anyday.
Haley came over yesterday and dusted for me. Her challenge center is doing a service project to raise money for the monkey section of the zoo. They have to earn money by selling or doing chores. She is quite the duster. I might have to have her come over more often.
Next Saturday is Hannah's first soccer game. I love to watch that girl play soccer. I hope she is just as enthusiastic this year as she has been in the past. After her game, she and I are going to go have a little grandma and Hannah time. Being a middle child and having Haley as an older sister, I think Hannah needs a little TLC.
I really cleaned my kitchen today. I didn't clean out the cupboards or anything but I did clean the grime off the top of the refrigerator and wipe down all those little areas that don't get cleaned on a weekly basis. Maybe next weekend I'll do the cupboards. Ha.
Well that's about it for today. I should get ready for our weekly trip to Sams. The highlight of my week.
TTFN

Hey You! Who said you could blog again so soon?

What some people won't do to get out of doing thing! I'm sitting here thinking I should go spend 10 minutes working on my closet in the spare bedroom, but instead I decide hey I should blog. Like I have anything to talk about. Of course that has never stopped me from talking so why should it stop me from blogging.
We're in a snow advisory and the way it changes from hour to hour I wouldn't be surprised to wake up to a foot of snow or absolutely nothing. Right now its a nice spring evening, cloudy and chilly but not anything that would make you think it would snow. Oh well whatever it does it won't last long.
Yesterday was a busy day for me. I left home at 7 to take Kyra to practice. After school I had a hair appt. Finally no more gray streak. And then I went to neighborhood coffee at Carols. For about 25 years a group of us in the neighborhood have been getting together once a month. It is truly amazing. We laugh, we share stories about our families, we've lost friends together. There are times when it isn't something you want to do on that particular evening, but once you're there its always a good time. What's amazing is that in this mobile world we live in there is still a bunch of us who have lived in the neighborhood for over 30 years. Probably something newer generations won't have.
There is only 36 more days of school left. This year has flown by. A definite sign I'm getting older. It's been a fairly good year with good kids. After last year we deserved a break. Next year looks to be ok too. We're losing 15 kids and only getting 7 incoming 6th graders. We've had over 30 kids for so many years it would be nice to have a small group for a change.
Must get ready for bed and watch a little tv.
TTFN

Is it summer vacation yet?

Well today is the last day of my 4 day weekend. I don't have another official day off until May 17th, that's not counting my one personal day I have left. I really don't want to go back to school. I'm just starting to enjoy my time off. Sometimes it seems like a person need a vacation before they can actually start enjoying their vacation. If that makes any sense. Anyway today was one of those days where I'm like " Hey I could start summer vacation now".
Amy and I took the kids to see "Horton Hears A Who". It was a adorable movie and I liked the way they portrayed the book. BUT there was a woman behind us who was just slightly distracting to say the least. She laughed at all the wrong places and was way more into the movie than most of the kids in the theater. I couldn't wait until the end of the movie to see who this weird woman was and lo and behold she looked like your average person. I've never been to a kids movie where an adult was more of a kid than the kids.
I finally loaded pictures to Winkflash so I can get some pictures printed. I got sick of looking through pictures and went oh what the heck lets just print them all. I have to go back and check to see if I have all the pictures from 2007 that I want in there and then I'm going to have them all printed.
I should really go and see if I can get back into my knitting. I've been on a hiatus it seems lately. Typical for me. Gung ho one week and nothing after that. Theres a goal to work on.
Easter was nice. Bill and Joy and family were there, Mary and Butch came too. They hadn't been back for a holiday in quite a few years. I'm glad they could make it. Holidays are an everchanging thing and every year one never knows who will be able to make it and who won't. Anyway the food was good and the company even better. Who could ask for more
TTFN

Happy Easter

I can hardly believe its Easter already. True it is earlier this year than most but it still doesn't seem like it should be today. Maybe that explains why I can't get into getting the grandkids Easter gifts. It was really a struggle this year. I didn't want to buy them cheap junky toys and lots of candy. Let the Easter Bunny do that. But having grandkids with ages 14 to 2 it's hard to come up with a common theme. So what did I do. I bought beach towels. Now theres a Easter gift if ever there was one. If I could have found one with a bunny on it I probably would have bought 5 of them. Since we're not getting together today, I don't know when I'll deliver them.
Steve and I are going over to his mom and dads for Easter dinner. Shock of all shock, I'm not bringing anything. It took me by such surprise when his dad called and said that he and Lori were going to cook Easter dinner that I didn't even offer to bring anything. Now of course I'm feeling guilty. I shouldn't really since I've cooked and brought over many holiday meals the last few years, but that still doesn't stop the guilt. Steve's mom is going to the nursing home tomorrow so this will be a bitter sweet holiday. Even though in reality she hasn't been there for the last couple of holidays it will seem weird to go over there and she won't be there phsyically. And a time will come when we will spend part of every holiday going to see her in the home. The last few years has really made me aware that time marches on and waits for no one. I don't think I like the idea of getting older. I like the age I'm at and would like to stay there for awhile thank you. Of course thats not possible, but it should push me to make the most of today. I'm a great procrastinator, always waiting for tomorrow. Not that I don't appreciate everyday and every moment, but I don't do alot of things because of the old " I'll do it tomorrow" .
I just looked out the window and there doesn't appear to be a cloud in the sky. Should be a nice day. Cold but nice. Yesterday we had snow showers all day and this morning there is frost everywhere. Spring right!
TTFN

March 3?

Goodness gracious, how did it get to be March 3. I am ready to be done with winter, but somehow I'm not ready for it to be March. Is that even possible? We've had just little tastes of spring like weather lately. You know those days when it gets to 39 degrees and you throw caution to the wind and not wear a coat. Unfortunately mother nature says don't get too cocky and threw us back in the deep freeze this morning. The wind is just a howling out there and the wind chill is -7. Guess I'm back to wearing a coat.
On the home front not much is happening. It really is the "I'm sick of winter" doldrums. Tired of being always in the house, but there's nothing to do outside. And outside is getting darn ugly. The pristine white snow is now black. The dog poop in my back yard is starting to show through. Yuck. All weekend we sat in the house and did nothing. I knitted most of the weekend. I went with Amy to take Kyra to get new glasses and her talent show practice. Other than that I didn't even leave the house. Pathetic. Not much on the horizon for the week either. I have a dentists appointment today. Haley has a play thing at school tomorrow night. Otherwise it's pretty dull.
I don't have any pictures, but I have three knitting WIPs. A new pair of socks, a scarf and a sweater. Any bets on getting all three done? Well enough with this pathetic post. It sounds down right depressing and really I'm not depressed just bored with winter. Can't wait for baseball season.
TTFN

Why is the perfect sunrise photo today?

I never take my big camera with me when I go to work. I don't like having it at school and leaving it in the car with extreme temperatures doesn't sound all that smart. So I carry with me in my purse a small little digital camera. Unfortunately I'm not all that pleased with this camera, so I hesitate to take it out to take pictures that require a good telephoto lens. It takes fine pictures of people and kids but I don't think it would do the sunrise any justice. Hence on mornings like this when the sun is hitting the buildings with the absolutely most beautiful light I just keep on driving and harassing myself for not stopping and trying to take a picture. This has happened a number of times when I take Kyra to Special Edition. Today was one of those days. We have a beautiful catholic cathedral close to downtown. The sun was illuminating the spires perfectly today. I will never know if a camera could even capture the beauty because I didn't stop today to see. You see besides not having my big camera with me, I am a wimp. It was cold this morning. Brutally cold. Shivering handshaking cold. I can only hope that one of these mornings I will see the same beautiful light and the temperature will be warm and I WILL stop the car and try to get a picture. Or on an evening like tonight when the temperature is above zero I WILL STOP and get a picture of the most amazing jet plumes floating in the sunset. I WILL STOP and take a picture. Because words cannot do justice to the beauty of this world.

One finished sock

I finished a sock. It fits and there's not any major mistakes. Now of course I need to make another sock, because while being different is something I aspire to, wearing one sock is too different for me.

So I'm half way down the cuff on the second one. If I just didn't have to work or clean or cook I could whip out tons of socks.

Has anything else exciting happened lately? Of course not. We lead a quiet existence. Its mostly work and hanging out at home these days. The weather has been cold. Can't say I want to get out and do much once I get home. I did take the grandkids shopping for Valentines day. Took Haley and Hannah the day before Valentines to the mall. They bought Webkinz for their Valentines present and we went to Dairy Queen for a blizzard . Beats a card and candy in my book, but when I made that comment to Haley she gave this look like "what! you're not getting me anything for Valentines Day". So Valentines Day I took Amy and the kids to the mall. This time we had lunch and then went Webkinz shopping. Of course Kyra is not into Webkinz, so I took her to Hot Topic. Later we went to FYE and I bought her some used cds. She must have thought I spent too much money on her because she snuck a 20 in my purse while we were at Target. What a kid!!!!!

On the Grady front, he's becoming a much better dog. He still steals things out of the sink but over all he's settling down. He still dislikes his crate and has separation anxiety. I've been home with him for 6 days now, so I'm sure tomorrow will be traumatic. I can't wait until the weather is nice and we can take him out to play. That should help wear him out.

I need to go make some brownies and a pot of sausage and bean soup for the week. I also am planning on making a low calorie lasagne for supper tonight. Leftovers for lunch the rest of the week for Steve. Should make him happy. I thought about making more bread but, then I realized that I would eat way more than my fair share so I shelved that idea. Maybe next weekend.

Off to finish the housecleaning and cooking so I can knit more on that sock.

TTFN

Cold Continues

It was another good day to just stay indoors. I don't think it went above zero today. Yesterday the wind blew 40 miles an hour and made it just miserable. At least today there was no wind.
We did go to Walmart, but otherwise it was just a good day to stay in and make soup and bread. And thats exactly what I did. I made 2 kinds of soup. Both new recipes and both are quite good. One was a broccoli wild rice soup and the other was a ham and bean soup. Then I made Herbed Oatmeal Pan rolls. Can we say yummy? I'm hoping they freeze well. But of course my diet went out the window this weekend. Kirby's birthday was yesterday. He turned 10. Thats so hard to believe. I still remember Kyra, Steve and I going to Perkins after going to see her new brother. Somedays that seems like only yesterday and other times it seems a lifetime away. Anyway we went to Royal Fork for supper. Buffets are no place for a dieter with little or no will power. But I am ready to get back on the wagon tomorrow, so thats a change from days past. Normally I'd think I had blown it and might be six months before I could get back at it.
We only have two days of school this week. I have so many things on my want to do list that I'm sure the time will slip past and I will have only accomplished a little. They're talking snow tomorrow. It would be nice to see some clean snow, but I'm not sure about driving in it. The last snow we had was not fun to get around in even though it wasn't that much. I also have to go pick up Will and Hannah at Amys tomorrow and go to their house. Really hoping the weather isn't too bad.
Well must go back to knitting and watching the grammys.
TTFN

Short and Sweet

Just a short post tonight. I want to get back to reading Pillars, only 100 pages left. Then I don't know if I should go on to World Without End or read something else in between. Decisions, decisions. I probably should just keep with the same story, but this has taken me so long to read that I'm not sure I want to spend another month building cathedrals.
On to the diet front. Well 3 days into it and so far so good. I can't say I have been perfect, but I am doing so much better than before. I'm hoping the scale will go down some and that will be the encouragment I need to really get it together and keep going.
We went over to Scott and Wendys tonight. We hadn't been over there for a month I bet. Hannah clung to me as usual. Haley had a headache and was pretty quiet. Will was just his usual goofy self. Unfortunately he was running to his room and took the corner too soon and crashed his head into the corner. One nasty bruise on his earlobe. Hannah kept saying "He has something blue on his ear" and sure enough, on the top of the ear is one nasty bruise. Poor little guy. Of course it didn't stop him for long.
Grady is still sleeping in our room at night. Other than he and I both have to go to the bathroom about 4 in the morning he's doing really well. We've started giving him a kong with treats and peanut butter when we leave him in his crate during the day. I think he's doing better there too. So far none of the neighbors are complaining about him barking all day.
Well off to read and maybe finish Pillars.
TTFN

Superbowl Sunday

Who's winning? I really don't care I guess. The game is on two tvs in the house and I don't even know the score. It's been a quiet weekend. Most of ours are. We went to Sams yesterday and Walmart today. That is as exciting as it gets around here. I did read a little today on Pillars. My goal is to finish it this week. Its a great book but a slow read for me.

Well we finally broke down and let Grady sleep in our room last night. He did great. Unfortunately he has taken to barking whenever he's in his crate. Could make for a long day for him tomorrow. Besides drugs, I wonder how you get a dog over seperation anxiety. You can't just sit down with them and explain things to them. "Yes we will come back. It's really only for a couple of hours. Just sleep and then we'll be home." Nope none of those little pep talks works for dogs. Maybe this is just a stage and he'll outgrow it soon. Hopefully.

Well tomorrow I'm going to get serious about dieting. I've said that now for a gazillion Mondays, but I am as ready as I'll ever be. When you're not even comfortable in your own skin its time. So I'm going to try to blog everyday about my dieting as a motivation. Maybe if I feel I have to be accountable to my blog it'll keep me going.

We're supposed to have freezing rain and snow tomorrow. I'm hoping more for the snow. I'm not even sure I want a snow day. I definitely don't feel like going to school tomorrow but I don't want to have to have a make up day in May. Next week we only go 2 days, so I can wait for that. Well off to read more Pillars.

TTFN