A Wedding and a Gun Show

No, it wasn't a shotgun wedding...in fact, the guns came hours after the wedding, but still on the same day.

A week ago Saturday B's uncle got married. It was the sweetest wedding that I've ever been to. See, Uncle J lost his wife to ALS several years ago. I was only able to meet Aunt B once at a family reunion, but it only took that one time to realize what an amazing woman she was. She also made the yummiest salsa. She'd come up with her own recipe, found someone to produce it and bottle it (after it got popular and she couldn't keep up with it), and she had herself a little business. She was loved deeply by her children, grandchildren, Uncle J's many many brothers and sisters, and their kids. She is missed to this day!

But...life must go on. And it did. Uncle J met the sweetest woman (HER daughter introduced them!), and a little romance started. She's also a widow, and Uncle J and her make a great couple.

As we drove up to the church that morning, it was overcast and a lot cooler than it had been in months. But, that wasn't the strange part. The parking lot of this little church was packed! And there was a line of people that stretched all the way across the lot. I had never seen so many people at a wedding before. We parked the car (on the grass b/c there weren't any spots open) and started to make our way to the end of the line. We had driven out to the little town west of Wichita with B's brother and his wife, so the four of us kept looking at each other wondering why there was this big line. We didn't recognize anyone in line, so we just took our places quietly. A few minutes later, my FIL came out and found us and told us to follow him. Oh man, you should have seen the looks we got as we were pulled out of line and walked straight for the side door and into the church! I wanted to turn around and yell to everyone that we were family, we weren't REALLY cutting in line.

Well, the line turned out to be for 2 reasons. The sanctuary was packed with people...the cry room was packed with people...and the fellowship hall was packed with people. And they were all trying to sign the guest book before they fought for space to stand or squat or whatever they were going to do. We took our seats in the second row on the groom's side, and I'm not kidding you that there were no less than 12 people in the pew we were sitting in. And even though it was 60 degrees outside, it had to have been almost 90 inside!

B and I got the best seats, right on the aisle where we could see everything. Because there were so many people there and they were trying to find seats or something for everyone, the ceremony started a few minutes late. But, when the bride walked down the aisle, and I saw the tears well up in Uncle J's eyes, it was all worth it. The bride and groom only had eyes for each other. She was walked down the aisle by her son, and she wore the most amazing red gown. She was stunning! The attendants were the bride and groom's children, and they were married by Uncle J's son-in-law.

Uncle J sang 3 songs to his new bride throughout the ceremony, and I don't think there were many dry eyes in the place. There was time given for a silent prayer for Uncle J and his bride's first spouses. In fact, Aunt B's sister was there, as well as the bride's former FIL. It was very touching, and I'm sure it meant a lot to the kids (who aren't really kids) to pay tribute to their parents.

The new couple dismissed each row at the end of the ceremony, so we got to hug and congratulate them right away. Of course, this took a LONG time since there were so many people there. The reception hall was packed, but we took some time to make the rounds and visit with B's cousins for a bit. By then, B and his brother were chomping at the bit because next on the agenda was heading back to town for a gun show...you can only ask those guys to hang out at a wedding for so long.

After lunch in a greasy spoon, but SO yummy diner, we headed back to town. The boys ran inside to change out of their wedding clothes and then ran right back out to head to the gun show. SIL and I left at a much calmer pace in search of some retail therapy.

We all headed out to the 'Rents house for dinner that night, where I witnessed the following...



See, Kansas doesn't have a waiting period to purchase a gun (you do have to pass a background check, so that's good), so B took full advantage of it. He'd been wanting a handgun for a while (he says for home protection, which kinda scares me, but I can't win every battle), so for his birthday this year, he got his wish. His brother is a big gun fan, so I know those boys had fun together. Now, B wants to take the conceal and carry class, so he can pack heat. Oh boy!

To end on a lighthearted note, here are my darling nieces hanging out with the boys and their guns in the basement.



By the way, the "gun" on the floor behind the girls is a TOY gun, not one of the uncle's guns just thrown around haphazardly.

A Win and a Loss

Is it scary that the high school team we watched obliterate their opponents on Friday night appeared to play better than the NFL team we watched GET obliterated by their opponents yesterday?

Well, the high schoolers didn't really play better than the pros, but the scores weren't that different.

Friday night we headed out to Small Town, KS, where B grew up to watch the boys win their first home game of the season, 16-0! Woo hoo! They lost their first away game last weekend, so this was quite a victory in front of a packed house. Last year we only made it to one game...the ONE game they won all season, so we kinda think that we are a lucky charm for them.

The thing about high school games, when you're as far removed from high school as we are, is that they are actually quite humorous. Like when the receiver slowed down to catch the pass that sailed over his head by about 10 feet, or when he finally made the catch, but then STOPPED running all together to change direction across a wide open field and then was tackled. Or what about when the kicker fumbled the ball, stooped over to pick it up and kick it again instead of just running with it through the dazed players just standing around. We had some good chuckles, we clapped and cheered and stood up for the fight song, and celebrated with the boys as they ran to ring the bell in the end zone after their victory was secured.

We've decided to go to as many home games as we can this year...and the next one is this Friday, against a VERY good team. We'll test out the lucky charm theory this weekend!

So, after such a great win, we settled down on Sunday afternoon to watch our beloved Kansas City Chiefs...fall on their faces. We knew that the Texans would look different than last year, after all, they have almost as many new players as we do, including a quarterback. And even though there's a special place in my heart for the former Texans QB, David Carr, since he hails from my hometown and my sister's high school class, I guess it was time for him to go. And I will NEVER forgive those lousy Miami fans for booing my Trent Green from the field, we will have to make do with what we have this year.

But, man, was that game hard to watch yesterday...fumbles and turnovers and interceptions, and only 3 stinkin' points!! What's up with that?? I will remain a faithful Chiefs fan through the season, but it might be a little hard to swallow...c'mon, Herm, whip those boys into shape!

The Bills had a tough day yesterday...if you haven't heard, one of their players, Kevin Everett, suffered a back/neck/spine injury at the start of the 2nd half yesterday. He was carried off the field on a stretcher after being knocked out and lying on the field for 15 minutes. He had emergency surgery last night, and I'm sure he and his family could use our prayers. That's the scariest part of football for me -- all the injuries. Everett's injury reminds me of Trent Green's from the opening game last year...these guys take so many risks for us to be entertained every fall.

Par for Our Course

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend and that you were celebrating mine and B's birthdays with us! Yes, we are now each a year older...where does the time go?

While B and I were out in search of great restaurants to dine at on our birthdays, this is what was going on at home...



I tried to surprise B on Saturday with lunch at B & C Creations. It's a great BBQ buffet that the guys at work introduced me to. They advertise that they are open Monday - Saturday for lunch, starting at 11am. So, at 11am, I told B to get his booty in the car so we could be one of the first in line. Too bad they were closed...on Saturday...on his birthday. I was so sad because I really wanted him to try it. Luckily, we were close to a sports bar, which is actually where B thought I was taking him, so we headed over for mediocre sandwiches, fries and salad, with even more mediocre service (why did it take 30 minutes to cook 2 sandwiches?? And why did the table of 8 who ordered 10 minutes AFTER us get their food first??) at Oscars. B did get to watch some college ball, so it wasn't a total loss.

Later that afternoon, we headed to his parents' house for birthday dinner. We had fun hanging out with our nieces and BIL and SIL and 'Rents. We even got pulled into the K-State v. Auburn game...so much so that we were jaded for a little bit that K-State might actually win...too bad we were completely wrong!

Sunday was our day between the birthdays, so we kinda did our own thing after church. I headed to the gym for a cycle class and B hit the golf course. We hunkered down on the couch that night and watched Premonition with Sandra Bullock...if you haven't seen it yet, I'd say don't waste your time. It was an interesting story line, but very slow.

B woke me up with gifts yesterday morning, and then we got up to make my Grandma's Puffy French Toast for breakfast, after which, I promptly fell asleep on the couch for an hour. I dragged myself up in time to chat with a few friends and Mom and Dad on the phone, and then I headed to the gym for a workout before my big dinner out. After the gym a couple of us ran over to Sonic for some sodas.

B had planned on taking me to a new-to-us restaurant downtown last night...but, par for the course...it was closed! B had looked up restaurants in town that he thought I'd like, so we tried to eat at Larkspur Restaurant. The menu looks pretty good, and it's really cute from the outside...but for some reason Wichita has something against restaurants being open on Labor Day. As we drove around town in search of somewhere else to eat, we noticed that every NON chain restaurant was closed, and every chain restaurant had a PACKED parking lot -- looks like all those independent stores missed out BIG TIME!

We ended up at place we've gone several times before, and it's been so yummy each time, Granite City Brewery. I had a wonderful honey rosemary filet mignon, with red skinned garlic mashed potatoes, sauteed vegetables, and ale and cheddar soup. Yum Yum!! I was stuffed when we left, and I still have enough leftovers for 2 more meals...I think I'll have to dig into that tonight!

We had a great weekend, but like always, it was way too short! The weather was gorgeous, 80's and low 90's during the day and 60's at night. We even shut off the A/C and opened the windows at night. Makes me think fall is right around the corner. I hope so - fall is my favorite time of year!

Update on SIL's Dad

Thanks to all of you who prayed for my SIL's dad last week. Your prayers were definitely felt!

There is good news...here's the latest email from my SIL

Hi.
My dad ate his first meal today. :)

A new doctor came in and seems to be ALOT more interested in getting some answers as to what happened. He told my dad that one of the reasons he thinks the other doctors may have been confused is because he looks different internally than the average person. It's because of the 30 surgeries that my dad has had in the past from his accident (when the drunk driver hit him before I was even born) He had a lot of experimental surgeries. He said even my dad's main artery that goes to his heart is clamped off and it looks like they built one in a different area. (A fact I never knew before)

He sat down and got a full history of my dad's previous surgeries and said that maybe there's a connection somehow (since some of them were experimental).

They ran some new tests and now we are just waiting for the results.


There are still some unanswered questions, but the bottom line is that he was able to avoid surgery and they finally have a doctor who is working towards figuring all this out. Thanks again!

Prayer Needed!!

I just got this message from my SIL (bro's wife). Her dad is in the hospital and they're not sure what's going on...please say a prayer for him and SIL and their family.

Sister,

My dad was rushed to the hospital last night. My mom heard him fall in the kitchen. He was convulsing and gurgling. At first we thought it was a stroke, but the cat scan came back okay. Then they noticed his belly getting bigger and ran some tests and found that he was bleeding internally. They are still running more tests to see what is causing this.

I was at the hospital until 4 this morning and will be going back in a few hours. (he's having surgery)

My mom is not doing so well emotionally. She has not slept this whole time (she's still with him) nor has she eaten anything.

Could you please let your family know and have everyone pray?

Thanks,
SIL

Rejoice!

One of my co-workers gets these little "grace for the day" emails every day, and he's started to forward them to a few of us who are just as stressed and frustrated with work as he is. This is the one for today...I want to be this excited about my relationship with God!

I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
Habakkuk 3:18 NIV


When a baby sees his mother's face, every part of his body wiggles, jiggles, and smiles with delight.

His source of joy is the one he loves, the one he recognizes, even at an early age, the one who loves him in return.

Growing in your relationship with God is not just an exercise in getting to know the Bible better. It is all about getting to know God better, up close and personal. He wants to be the source of your joy and delight.

Even when circumstances are anything but happy, true joy is as close as God's loving presence. Spend time talking to Him, finding comfort in His promises and contentment in His love. There is no deeper joy this side of Heaven.

Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God. -- Leon Blo

Because I love her...

here's a better picture (according to sis) of the two of us...she didn't like the one I posted from the Lake. I thought it was ok, so I'm leaving it and adding this one.

This one was taken in my backyard over the 4th of July.

More then and now fun

This "then and now" bit is kinda fun...here are some then and now of my Sis and I.


Here are us 3 kids around 1980...like my Dorothy Hamill hair cut??




This is sister at the Grand Candyon -- either '88 or '89...I can't remember which.




Looking a little better, at Sis's wedding a few years ago.




And here we are a few weeks ago...

Procrastination

I'm a HUGE procrastinator. I'm also a perfectionist, and these two things don't work too well together. See, I put off doing things because I don't have the time (or don't want to take the time) to do them right...so I just wait until I absolutely HAVE to do them.

This came back to bite me in the arse on Monday.

I had 2 doctor's appointments with about an hour in between them. My PLAN was to go to one appointment, run a couple errands, go to the next appointment, meet my SIL for lunch and then head back to work.

Everything was fine until I finished my errands early and decided to sit in my car and work on a small project while I killed some time. The weather outside was nice so I rolled down the windows and turned on the radio.

AND THEN, when it was time to leave for the doctor's office, my car was DEAD. DEAD, I say...would NOT turn over. It was only then that I thought back to about 10 months ago (that is a LONG time) when my Dad told me, after borrowing my car, that my battery was getting low and would probably need to be replaced soon. 10 months ago! And I was still driving around on my old worn out battery.

The car had been struggling to start lately. It was inevitable that it needed replacing, but I didn't have time (or whatever) to take care of it.

So, here I sat in the parking lot with a dead car and a doctor's appointment only 15 minutes later.

To make an already long and embarrassing story a little shorter, here's what happened. I called my SIL to come pick me up and take me to the doctor, where I was 30 minutes late but it worked out ok. And then to make up for the trauma of the morning, we sat in PF Changs for the next 90 minutes stuffing our bellies with yummy food. Then I realized that I should probably go take care of my car that I'd left sitting lonely in a parking lot.

SIL and I read the owner's manual to figure out how to jump start the car, and after a successful jump start (Go Girls!), I drove (and prayed that the car wouldn't die on me) directly to Sam's Club where I left the car running while I ran in to see if they had a battery for my car.

Whew! They did, and while they fixed my poor baby, I wandered around the store sipping on a cold Diet Coke and reading the backs of all the new paperbacks. By the time my car was ready, I only had an hour left of my work day, so I called my co-workers and said, "see ya tomorrow - I'm heading HOME."

So, my procrastination kinda paid off...I only worked 2.5 hours on Monday, and all it cost me was a frantic call to SIL, a yummy lunch at PF Changs and $50 for a new battery. A lot better than working on a Monday, don't ya think??

It's almost MY month!

In my family (at least according to me), birthdays are a BIG deal.

And, it's almost mine! But first, it's B's birthday.

We are 5 years and 2 days apart in age. So, on Saturday, B turns 38, and on Monday (Labor Day) I turn 33.

When I was a kid, I thought Labor Day was to celebrate moms' giving birth...I really did...because I was born on Labor Day in 1974. Every few years my birthday falls on the holiday again, and it's perfectly fine with me if the entire nation helps me celebrate.

This weekend will start the festivities. I'm taking B to a yummy restaurant for lunch on Saturday, then we'll go to his parents house for dinner -- for his favorite (biscuits and gravy) and my favorite (chocolate cake). We'll hang out with my SIL and BIL and nieces and the 'Rents and eat fatty food and open presents...woo hoo!! Presents for ME! Sunday we'll work on recovering from all the food on Saturday so that we can go out to yummy dinner (where, I don't know...you Wichitans give me some suggestions) on Monday.

Then, as per my rule, I will remain the Queen for the rest of September...since it's my birthday month. We'll see how well that goes over with the hubby.

Y'know, if I'm going to get older, I might as well take advantage of whatever I can get!

Then and Now

I've been wanting to post this for a while, but I had to drag myself down to use my scanner before I could.

When Shell was here visiting this summer, we busted out the old photo albums and had some laughs at how we looked in college. It seems like it was yesterday, but it was over 10 years ago! We're getting old, girl! =)

Although, I think we look WAY better now that then...what do ya'll think?

THEN





NOW

Ain't that nice?

Last week Jenni awarded me my very first blog award! And she thinks I'm nice! Maybe that means that my efforts to be a nicer person are paying off? Thanks Jenni!

Here's what it's all about:

"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you've been awarded please pass it on to others who you feel are deserving of this award."

So, here's who I think deserves this award:

Terri at The Ruddell Times
Niki at My Journey
Chelf at Chelf Space
Shell at SkyBluePink
Jana (my sister!) at Life as I know it
Terry at Road Rage (really, she's very nice, even though Rage is in her title! LOL)

Thanks, girls, for being such great blog buddies! I look forward to reading your blogs every day! There are a lot of other blogs that could and should be on this list...I pretty much don't read a blog that's flat out cruel...but I also can't post all 50 blogs from my bloglines on here, can I? =)

Have a great day everyone!

Something to do with coffee??

I cringed inwardly a little as I drove up to the Starbucks drive thru this morning...there were 4 cars in front of me just waiting to place their order. I pulled in behind the suburban in front of me, and sat there thinking for a second. Should I back up and go inside? That might be faster...but I didn't really want to get out of my car.

So, I sat there and waited my turn. I could see the guy in the Surburban through his side mirror. We kind of smiled at each other as we sat in line. About 10 minutes later, I finally made it to the window to pick up my Grande nonfat peppermint latte (yum!!).

The whole reason I ran through Starbucks today was because I got my gift card from my credit card points in the mail yesterday....but, I didn't need my gift card. When I got to the window, the girl told me that the guy in front of me had paid for my drink. What?? Why does this keep happening to me? Remember this?

Is it something to do with coffee? Do I look like I need my coffee so bad that people offer to pay for me?

I KNOW it has something to do with the Midwest. This NEVER happened to me in CA. Again, I was so surprised that I started thanking the Starbucks girl...because I couldn't thank Mr. Suburban - he was already long gone.

As I drove away, I thought that I should have paid for the college girl in the car behind me - she probably could have used a free coffee. Why didn't I think of that when I was still at the window??

So, Mr. Suburban - thank you so much for giving me a little treat this morning...I promise pass on your kindness soon!

Great deals!

Have any of you ever shopped at The Discover Shoppe? It's affiliated with Youthville, and the first time I heard of it was on one of my new favorite shows, A Side Order of Life.

A Side Order of Life is a GREAT new show...I've laughed and cried a bunch already, and I've only watched 3 episodes! It's a great show for those of us in our 30's...it's clean (for the most part), practical, realistic (for the most part), and my TiVO records it for me every week.

Anyway, Jenny, the main character in the show donates a handbag to The Discover Shoppe...a store that I didn't know was a real thing...until today when I was running errands at lunch, and I saw one. It's a high end resale shop. The store was filled with clothes from Ann Taylor, Talbots, Eddie Bauer, Calvin Klein, and on and on.

I walked out of there with a pair of Eddie Bauer khakis, that will be great for work, for $2.25!! And they're in great shape! Can you believe it? Look and see if you have one near you, and then go shopping!

Short Fairy Tale

Once upon a time,

a guy asked a girl, "Will you marry me?"

The girl said......."No"

And she lived happily ever after and went shopping, drank
martinis with friends, always had a clean house, never had to
cook, had a closet full of shoes and handbags, stayed skinny,
and was never farted on.

The End


It's true, girls...that's all I have to say...it's TRUE!! Of course, I still go shopping and have the occasional martini with the girls, and I have a TON of shoes and bags, and I rarely cook (see my previous post), and even though I weigh a little more than when we got married, B still thinks I'm beautiful and sexy...and well, I wouldn't give him up for anything!

Thanks to my SIL for making me smile by sending this to me.

Yummy Dinner

I cooked last night! That's a pretty amazing feat, in and of itself. I don't dislike cooking, but I can satisfy my hunger pains with cereal or popcorn or a sandwich just as easily as with a home cooked meal. And it's faster, with less clean up, and less brain work.

But, even though I don't cook nearly as much as before I got married, I have a bad habit of collecting recipes. See, I find recipes all over the place - online, in the paper, in a magazine - and they sound so good, so I clip them out or print them, and then they get thrown into my "recipe cupboard", oftentimes never to be seen again.

Every once in a while I'll sort through the mess and put the really interesting recipes on top of the stack, thinking maybe, one day, I'll actually make one of them.

And last night I finally did! I made Thai Chicken Stir Fry with Spicy Peanut Sauce, and it was SOOOO good. This recipe I found on Cooks.com (I think), and it looked yummy for many reasons -- it's simple, most of the ingredients I already had at home (I had to go buy broccoli), and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Thai food.

B wandered into the kitchen and almost fell over when I told him I was going to cook. He looked at the recipe, pointed at BROCCOLI and said NO, just like a 3 year old. I told him he could pick it out, but I was putting it in.

The dish was delicious, even B said so as he sat munching on it without broccoli. Here's the recipe, give it a try if you want to.

THAI CHICKEN STIR-FRY WITH SPICY PEANUT SAUCE

2 whole chicken breasts, skinned, boned & cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. water
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. peanut or vegetable oil
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
3 to 4 c. sliced broccoli or spinach

In a small bowl, blend peanut butter, water, soy sauce and sugar; set aside. In a wok or large skillet, heat oil over high heat. Add garlic and pepper; stir-fry 30 seconds. Add chicken, stir-fry until firm and white, about 5 minutes. Add broccoli or spinach, stir-fry until bright green, about 3 minutes. Stir in peanut butter mixture. Cook, stirring constantly until sauce is smooth, about 3 minutes. Serves 4.

I made the recipe exactly as it says up above, but I think I'll change it a little bit next time. I think it made more sauce than I needed, and it wasn't as spicy as I'd like. I would probably add some chili sauce to the sauce and not use all of it in the pan. Also, I served it over rice, but I bet it would be great over noodles, too.

Enjoy! I sure did!

BadAss Marine

This is AMAZING...that's all I can say.

They should use this for recruiting. I would sign up!

Jenni, this makes me SOOOO proud of our USMC, and my hubby and your son! Tell him for me!

Ultimatum

We went to see Bourne Ultimatum this weekend. I thought it was AWESOME!! It wasn't until I met B that I could appreciate a good action flick. Now, I love them. Of course, I'm pretty particular about which action flicks I see. I want to see car chases and suspense and a mystery to solve. I DON'T want to see tons of blood and gore or extended graphic fight scenes. One of my favorite movies is The Italian Job...I love to see the minis racing around. I also love Ronin for the car chases also. But, movies like Gangs of New York? SO not my favorite!

Anyway, we went to see Bourne on Saturday night after trying yet another "Mexican" restaurant in town (I don't know why I keep trying...Kansas has NO CLUE what real mexican food is). B ordered his typical carnitas at dinner, and after we got in the car, I noticed the most disgusting thing.

The boy (I mean, 37 year old man!) had a chunk of pork between his lower lip and his teeth, y'know, like a hunk of nasty ass chew! He just kept it there, and then he started TRYING to talk like The Godfather (his favorite movie character).


This is what I had to listen to on the drive to the theater...

(Ya gotta picture Marlon Brando as you read these)

I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.

Never let anyone outside the family know what you're thinking.

Do you spend time with your family?

Oh, but it didn't stop there. I WARNED B I was going to blog about this, he just laughed at me. I tried to squeeze the pork into his mouth and make him swallow it, no dice. And as usual, we sat on the aisle in the theater, so he felt the need to pretend to all passers-by that he was The Godfather. I even tried an ultimatum of my own -- I told him he would get no action if he didn't get rid of it...but who am I kidding? I'm usually the one asking for it, so he knew that that threat wouldn't stick. Oh well.

I was a little embarrassed, but it was mostly just hilarious. And, would you believe that as we left that theater 2 hours later, he WAS STILL SUCKING ON THAT PORK?? Gross!

Only from my husband.

At last the movie was great (the best of the three, I think), and we had a great time with each other. And, oh yeah? He still got his action...I can't resist him! =)

Another Buddy Comes to Town!

In March, 8 of my Buddies came to visit me here in the great state of Kansas. There are 10 of us all together, so 2 didn't get to come.

But Suzy made up for it and came to visit me this week with her 2 adorable kids. She has a wedding to go to in MO this weekend and then she's heading to IN to visit our Buddy, Hermy...but first, she came to KS to see me.

I have to say that she is my hero. She drove up to my house on Monday night, after missing her exit and ending up quite a bit south of town, with a loaded down rental mini van, her 2 kids and all their stuff. As I helped her unload, I was amazed that she had been able to navigate the airport and car rental place with the kids, their car seats, the stroller, and their luggage. I think I would have had a melt down! When it's my turn, she's going to have to give me lessons.

Suzy and her kids were pretty tired on Monday night, as was I since I had just gotten back from the lake the day before, so we ordered pizza and called it a night. I had to work Tuesday, so I left Suzy to learn her way around town and try to stay cool (these 100+ days are getting to us!) until I could join her in the evening.

We decided to just cook dinner and hang out at home, but we had to make a run to the store first. We left Suzy's 3 year old daughter with B to play with the trains while we ran to the store. They had a blast while we were gone! Of course, I wasn't surprised...B is a kid MAGNET!

We fixed dinner and sat down for some yummy summertime sweet corn and chicken and a good chat. After dinner, we decided to take a walk around our lake in search of lightening bugs. Suzy's daughter kept asking B to go with us, but he wasn't up for the girl chatter so he stayed home. That didn't stop Lil Suz from asking every few minutes where B was. It was so cute! The lightening bugs didn't make an appearance, but the mosquitoes sure did even though we were drenched in bug spray. My feet still itch! Yuck!

Since we'd gone to bed early the night before, we wanted to stay up and visit some more, so after the kids had baths and went to bed, we headed downstairs to play on our blogs and catch up. Suzy is a new blogger, so I had to teach her a few of the tricks I've learned...I expect to see a blogging explosion now, Suzy!

Before we knew it, it was almost 1am, and I was ready to sleep. While I snoozed, Suz had a rough night with the kids and didn't end up getting much sleep at all. But still, she got up at 6am, got the car loaded while the kiddies slept, and we hit the road at the same time...with both vehicles pointed straight to Starbucks for some much needed caffeine.

Even though our visit was so short, we had a great time, and we both mentioned how nice it was to have some one-on-one time with each other. With a group of 10 Buddies, one-on-one time is hard to come by, but it's just as important as the group time we spend together.

Suz is off for the rest of her vacation, and I'm back at work...but we'll see each other in only 7 weeks for our Annual Buddy Weekend...bring on the shopping and eating and laughing all over again! =)

Blackout

It rained last night. Big fat drops that came sideways at our house and hit the windows so hard that I thought the glass would break. It started right after we went to bed...figures.

I don't like storms very much. The idea is cool, but they freak me out (that's the California girl in me coming out). We really needed the rain though. Even with all the rain we got in the late spring and early summer, we need more already. My flowers have been wilting in the 100 degree heat, and brown spots have been showing up in our lawn.

As I turned off the light last night, I knew that I wouldn't get much sleep...I didn't realize exactly how little sleep it would be.

About 1am, I woke up because I was getting warm. B was up and walking around our room. Groggily, I sat up and asked him what was going on. He said that the power had just gone out. We could see constant flashes of lightening and hear thunder roaring outside. I laid back down and tried to get comfortable in our warm room.

I was just drifting off again when B sat straight up in bed, and said, "@#$^$# @#$@%$." (I can't bring myself to type what actually came out of his mouth)

I asked him what was wrong (because the curse words didn't actually tell me what was wrong). He goes, "The sump pump won't come on if the power is out." I said, "I know, that's why I told you 4 MONTHS AGO that we needed to get a back up pump installed."

"Well, that doesn't help us now, does it?" he yelled back at me. DUH! I know that...that's why I told you 4 MONTHS AGO we needed something else...but it would have done no good to say I told you so right then.

We jumped out of bed, rummaged around for candles and a lighter, and headed downstairs to see if our basement was flooding. B looked at it and said it looked fine for "a while." What's a while? I asked, but he just glared at me and went back upstairs.

It was then that I used the one wired phone in our house to call the electric company to see what was going on. After I FINALLY got through to someone, I was told that tree branches had broken off and fallen on the power lines. The woman told me they expected power to be back on by 6am. Yeah, right, I thought...they probably won't start working on it until 6am.

Now it was really getting warm in our room, so I told B to grab his pillow so we could sleep in the basement. He followed me downstairs and then turned up his nose at the futon I was planning to sleep on. He said he'd rather sleep in the heat upstairs. Whatever...more room for me.

I laid down and tried to fall back asleep. My baby (I mean dog) Lucy came down to join me in the cool basement. She and I cuddled up and finally fell asleep. The next thing I remember is B waking me up because it was 6:40am...and you guessed it, still no power.

It was not fun to put my makeup on by candlelight this morning...good thing I only had to throw on jeans and a hat since I worked from Panera Bread today. Not to mention that the 3 cups of coffee I downed this morning did nothing to wake me up and everything to make me feel shaky and jittery...or maybe that was all the sugar I consumed in my cinnamon crunch bagel. Whatever it was, I think I'll sleep well tonight.

Our power came back on about 9am this morning, and I ran home to make sure everything came back on ok. Nothing was amiss, so that's good. But, 2 of my neighbors are out of town, so I have to go check their houses for them, too.

On the agenda for the next week is to get a plumber out to quote a back up sump pump for us...lesson learned!

My Sister, My Friend

My sis made it into the local library yesterday and emailed me all the photos we took during our visit. I had a wonderful time with her! We realized that this was the first vacation we'd had together, just the 2 of us. Sis and I have very strong personalities...and they're different from each other (big surprise!). That means that we disagree often...but we both agree that we love each other very much. And I'm so glad she's my LITTLE sis, and it was so fun to spend some quality time together.



I'm so looking forward to being an auntie to her little boy, and I'm praying that she gets to move close enough to me that I can see her and her family often. I love you Naner!

Here's sis w/ my new nephew...only a couple more months!!


This is the view from the deck of the lake house...we went out to watch the sunset and play a friendly (yeah, right!) game of Canasta.



Then sis got artistic with the camera and had me pose. We were down on the dock where we tried to hitch hike a ride on a boat.



Here's the house (and the pups on the deck) looking up from the dock. It's an awesome house with awesome views!



Here are sis's dogs, Rudy and TG (That Guy). They like hanging out on the deck, too.



After my extended weekend, I felt relaxed and ready to come back and face the world (too bad that feeling is already gone). Thanks for a great weekend, sis!

Preoccupied with 1985?

Thanks Jenni for pointing me to this video. It's GREAT...and brings back some great memories.

How could she be UNCOOL?? She's so cool!

Enjoy the video and live in the past for a few minutes...we're still SO cool!

Greetings from 1985!

I'm alive. I'm well. I'm just stuck in 1985.

I've been visiting my sister at her IL's lake house. It's gorgeous -- great views of the lake from almost every window in the house. Decks off of all 3 stories of the house where we've eaten and chatted and played cards. But, we get no cell reception, and no internet service. Therefore, we are sitting in the public library, 45 minutes from the house, with our trusty laptops catching up on the world.

If the world is falling apart, we have no idea...we don't even get local TV stations. Of course, we do get, via satellite, every possible movie channel. We've watched All the Right Moves, Grease 2, Bev Hills 90210, Devil Wears Prada, Road to Glory. We've played Canasta and Cribbage. We've eaten yummy food and drank lots of decaf coffee (sis is preggers). Oh yeah, and let's not forget that we've slept in!

It's been heaven! And it all ends tomorrow. Bummer.

We've taken some fun pictures but I'll have to post them later b/c sis doesn't have her cord for the camera.

Fun Weekend

I had a great weekend! I realize it's Wednesday, and I'm just now posting about the weekend...but it's been a busy week.

My college buddy, Shell, came out to visit last weekend. We had a blast...drinking coffee, eating good food, lots of great conversation, shopping, pedis, sitting on the deck, walks around the lake. It was great!! And since she did such an AWESOME job detailing the weekend, just check out her post here.

It was back to work on Monday after I dropped her at the airport...what a letdown after such a great weekend. Oh well...it's a short week for me since I'm heading to MO to hang w/ my sis for a few days. There's no cell service or high speed internet where we're staying, so I'll be living the old fashioned life for a while. We may get into the local library once or twice to check email, but who knows.

Have a great rest of the week...blog ya later!

Wedding Meme

Today is the 7 year anniversary of when B and I got engaged. It seems like just yesterday in so many ways...but we've grown so much as a couple, also. I stole this MEME from Shalee's Diner, and it seems to fit perfectly for today.

1. Where/How did you meet? We met at work, where we were both 2nd shift supervisors. You can read about our story here.

2. How long have you known each other? 8 years

3. How long after you met did you start dating? 5 months

4. How long did you date before you were engaged? 10 months

5. How long was your engagement? 3 months

6. How long have you been married? almost 7 years

7. What is your anniversary? November 11 (Veteran's Day!)

8. How many people came to your wedding reception? 90

9. What kind of cake did you serve? white cake and chocolate cake -- both with white frosting...I have 2 of my bridemaids on the video taste-testing to see which one tastes best...one said chocolate, one said white! =)

10. Where was your wedding? Bakersfield, CA

11. What did you serve for your meal? Tri-tip and chicken with greek salad, bread and red potatoes

12. How many people were in your wedding party? 3 bridesmaids, 2 groomsmen

13. Are you still friends with them all? Yep! And we were in all of their weddings also! We don't get to see them enough though.


14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony? He got misty eyed after we lit the unity candle and were listening to an awesome song (I'll tell you more about it below). But, I didn't cry! My sister BAWLED though!

15. Most special moment of your wedding day? Watching my not-so-emotional husband be so moved by what we were embarking on...looking into his eyes as we stood before his dad and all our friends and family...remembering that moment has reminded me over and over again about the commitment we made to each other that day...that's the best thing for me to remember when I'm so mad at him I could scream! =)

16. Any funny moments? As we left the stage during the recessional, B leaned over and whispered, "let's run!" I grabbed his arm and said NO! After all, I was the one in a long dress and train, with 4" heels. He didn't listen, and started running down the aisle. I stepped on the front of my dress and started to go down (keep in mind...this is funny NOW, then, I was kinda mad!), but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back up. I think we heard everyone gasp, and on the video you can hear him saying, "Run!", and see me almost fall.

17. Any big disasters? Nothing huge, but B did end up with the wrong tie on his tux. I ordered the tuxes and explained to him what it would look like -- but, who was I kidding? It didn't mean anything to him. He showed up at the photographer's studio where we were supposed to have a romantic moment where we saw each other for the first time, and all I could say was, "you have the wrong tie!". Luckily, the tux shop was close by, so someone ran back and exchanged it...stupid Type-A coming out there...

18. Where did you go on your honeymoon? Maui...yeah, baby!

19. How long were you gone? 7 days -- not long enough! The day after we got back, we loaded up and drove out to our new home in East Texas.

20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change? I probably wouldn't have had a formal dinner or a DJ. It was fun, but we didn't dance (ultra conservatives on my in-laws' side). I just had the DJ to keep things flowing...but a friend could have done that...for a lot less money.

21. What side of the bed do you sleep on? Always the left side...always, always, always

22. What size is your bed? King (has to be room for us AND the dogs)

23. Greatest strength as a couple? We are both completely committed to our marriage...we've had some rough patches, but we are in it for the long haul!

24. Greatest challenge as a couple? We were both very independent before we got married, so sometimes making a decision we BOTH agree on is very difficult.

25. Who literally pays the bills? Sally

26. What is your song? We don't really have a song, but the one below (see the video in the previous post) was sung during our ceremony, and I love it! Every time we hear it on the radio, I tell B it's our song.

Taking you home - (don henley/stan lynch/stuart brawley)

I had a good life
Before you came
I had my friends and my freedom
I had my name
Still there was sorrow and emptiness
til you made me glad
Oh, in this love I found strength I never knew I had

And this love
Is like nothing I have ever known
Take my hand, love
Im taking you home
Taking you home

There were days, lonely days
When the world, wouldnt throw me a crumb, no no
But I kept on believing
That this day would come

And this love
Is like nothing I have ever known, no no baby
Take my hand love
Im taking you home
Im taking you, home
Where we can be with the ones who really care
Home, where we can grow together
Keep you in, my heart forever

27. What did you dance your first dance to? We didn't dance at our wedding, so our first dance as a married couple was probably at our friends' wedding 6 months later.

28. Describe your wedding dress: It was gorgeous! It was scoop neck with an inverted V Empire waist. It had cap sleeves, and the entire bodice was covered in beads (it was VERY heavy). The skirt was satin, but not shiny satin. And there was a very modest bow on the back that was covered in the same beads as the bodice...the ribbon of the bow was about 2 feet long. It also had a short train. I had seen the dress on A Wedding Story and made a drawing of it...and what do ya know? I found the EXACT dress at the first bridal shop we went to...it was the last one I tried on! AND, it fit perfectly! No alterations required!

29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding? Deep red roses and white stephanotis...the bridesmaids also had some white roses in their bouquets.

30. Are your wedding bands engraved? I had B's engraved. It says, "Ruth 1:16-17" Those verses are: But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."

31. How old were you when you got married? He was 31 and I was 26.

Our Song

B proposed to me 7 years ago today.

He took me to the location of our first date -- his friend's backyard. B was scheduled to leave 3 days later for a new job in TX. We had already talked about getting married, so it was just a matter of when he was going to pop the question...and we were running out of time.

While we were sitting by the pool of his friend's house, he pulled out the most gorgeous ring...and asked me if I would marry him. It was so sweet!

Later I found out that he would have asked me sooner, but he wanted to have the ring in hand when he asked, and it had to be custom made.

Of course, I said yes! =)

This song by Don Henley was played while we lit the unity candle at our wedding. I LOVE the words (see my post above for more on our wedding and to read the lyrics). B is the love of my life...my one and only. I love you, B!

TGIF

Friday...finally!

What an insane week I've had. That's part of why I haven't posted in a while.

Here's the short list:

* My job sucks (oh, you already know that...but this week was a doozie!)

* My boss is so NON-confrontational that when he lugged us all into his office to rip us a new one, he didn't get a chance to b/c I launched in with how jacked up this project is that we've been working on for a YEAR -- and he never got a chance to ream us. Ha!

* My parents stopped back by on their way home from Virginia. So, for the last couple days Mom and Dad have been trying to take care of some business here in town, and I've been trying to spend time with them (when I'm not stuck at work in ridiculous meetings).

* My good friend Shell is coming to visit from Nor Cal this weekend. And boy do I need a relaxing weekend with her! Pedis are definitely on the agenda!

* And now I must go and create the agenda for the lame-ass meeting we're going to have this afternoon -- even though we will not follow that agenda...must.stop.now or I will be forced to storm out of here (work) and not return!

You have the wrong number...

Note...names have been changed to protect...well, me and B.

Ring, Ring

"Tracy?" she asked.
"No, I'm sorry you have the wrong number."
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said.
*click*

Ring, Ring
"Hello?" I said.
"Hi, I know I have the wrong number, but have you had this number for a while?" the same voice as before asked me.
"Um, I've had this number for a year. What number are you calling?" I said.
"555-1234. I'm looking for B Johnson," she said.
"Well, B Johnson lives here. He's my husband," I said.
"So, this is Tracy then, right?" she said.
"No, I don't know any Tracy Johnson," I said.
"Oh, well, um, this is Lena, B Johnson's daughter," she said.
"B doesn't have a daughter," I said.
"Um, ok then, I'm sorry. Bye," and she hung up.

I sat there surprised for a minute, and then I went downstairs to ask B about his daughter. We chuckled about it for a minute...and we realized that it was kinda weird that there's another B Johnson in our town.

A few minutes later I started thinking about the conversation I had with Lena. It seemed kind of weird that she was calling numbers out of the phone book looking for her dad. And I realized that I hadn't been terribly nice or helpful to her on the phone. And even though I don't know of any other B Johnson who is related to us, I could offer to help her if she needed it.

So, I dialed *69 to get her back (I'm too cheap to pay for caller i.d.). When she answered, I apologized for not being more helpful. She told me that her dad had recently moved and she didn't have his new number. She didn't know where his new house was either. She said that she found our number in the phone book and thought that our initials (mine and B's) stood for her dad's first and middle names -- which just so happen to be the SAME first and middle name of my husband. And then I asked how old her dad was...39, she said...which is a couple years older than B.

She said that she's often been asked what her dad's name is, and when she says, "B," they say, "Oh, from Small Town, Kansas?" She always answers no because that would be MY B who is from Small Town, Kansas.

I felt bad that I couldn't help her. But, how weird is it that there's another guy in our town with the exact same name as B?!

And, no, B really doesn't have a daughter who he's been hiding from me! =)

One year!

I have been blogging for one year! My "anniversary" was on Sunday. So much has happened in the last year...when I started my blog, I was sitting in a hotel room here in KS, on my 4th trip out in as many months. We had come out to interview AGAIN and we were very close to making our move.

For those of you who are newer to my blog, you can read one of my first posts here...where I started talking about what was going on in my life at the time.

Now let's take a little trip over the last year...here are a few of my favorite posts that will help you see what a psychotic weirdo I am...

My last birthday

Getting to know Wichita

Hair Trauma

On Becoming a Kansan...
Denial
Ranting about Kansas
Coming to terms...

And lastly...if you haven't read my 100 list...click here.

Have a great day!

Flyby

>Maverick: Tower, this is Ghost rider requesting a flyby.
Air Boss Johnson: That's a negative Ghost rider, the pattern is full.


The U.S. Navy Blue Angels were in town on Saturday, and I got to see them. As the daughter of an Air Force jet mechanic turned air traffic controller, I grew up travelling around California chasing the Air Shows, so when I heard the Blue Angels would be here, I HAD to go.

The day started off busy. B worked a little overtime, and I hit the gym for my favorite step class. After class, a few of us went over to Sonic for some liquid refreshment and girly conversation. From there, I ran home, showered and met B and my SIL and nieces at B's work. We left 2 cars there and ran to get some lunch before heading out to the Air Force Base.

By the time we got to the base, the traffic was HORRENDOUS!! After about 30 minutes of inching forward, we finally got smart and found a way around the traffic, and we were in the parking lot in about 10 minutes. A bus took us to the security check point -- which was no less than 5,000 people long! And most of the people waiting in it hadn't read the all the guidelines listed in the paper, so it took forever to get in.

We almost gave up and went home, but the line started moving more quickly as soon as we got in it. FINALLY, we walked onto the base -- let me not forget to mention that it was about 95 degrees and probably the first day in a month that there were no clouds in the sky. They were handing out free water (which was wonderful!), so we grabbed a couple bottles, hit the porta-potties and went in search of shade. We found it under the wing of a HUGE plane, so we plopped down and got comfortable as we waited for the Blue Angels to perform.

We had to wait about an hour and a half, but it was worth it! The show was awesome! It was loud and beautiful and exciting, and, well...just watch the video to get a better idea. The video isn't from Saturday, but a lot of the formations and stunts were the same.

We were drenched by the time we got back to the car, and all of us were exhausted, but I'm so glad we stuck it out. It made me want to go home and watch Top Gun...I'm going to have to dig it out and watch Mav and Goose and Iceman again!

I got home with just enough time to grab another shower, eat a burrito, and go pick up my MIL so we could go watch White Christmas at our local theater....it was a great show!

What a wonderful, and exhausting, day!

Where I've been

Found this on a friend's page, and I think it's so cool. Now, I don't have to stop and count all the states every time I think about it. =) Of course, this shows me that I don't know how to count...this tells me I've been to 40 states, and I thought it was 42. oh well.

And it burns, burn, burns…

And it burns, burn, burns. The ring of fire, the ring of fire.

I went to the eye doctor yesterday. And I LOVE him.

My eyes have been red and burning for 6 months, and I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I got a new contacts prescription at the beginning of this year – same brand I’ve been wearing for 10 years, but a new prescription. And even though I could see pretty well, my eyes were constantly red and dry and burning.

For a while I just thought I wasn’t getting enough sleep, but after 6 months…I know I’ve caught up on my sleep, so I went back to see my Dr. yesterday.

He’s the nicest guy, young, attractive, and very friendly and easy to talk to. He looked at my eyes, and he said, “Woman, your eyes ARE red!” He asked me a few questions, told me not to wear my contacts for a week (how am I supposed to put my makeup on now?? I can’t see w/o my contacts!), and gave me 2 different drops to put in my eyes.

Then he told me to call him in a week to tell him how I’m doing, and he walked me to the front desk to check out. As he handed my chart to the nurse, he said, “There’s no charge for today.”

What?? Did I hear him right? I did! How awesome is that? I was kinda worried about the cost of my visit, since my insurance only pays for one visit a year (that’s a big reason why I waited 6 months to go in), and then he was so cool as to not charge me. I LOVE my eye doctor! (Oh, I said that already)

Anyway, I’ve used the drops, I managed to get my mascara on without my contacts (I was only 2” from the mirror, but at least I don’t look like a zombie today), and my eyes are worse than yesterday!!

I’ll give it a couple days to work…but, for now, I think I’ll go home, fix myself a drink, and put a cold washcloth on my eyes.

Have a great weekend!

Got Freedom?

UPDATE: Let me know by the end of the day Thursday, July 12...so B can buy them on Friday.

Remember the Got Freedom shirt that B wore on Father's Day? And some of you commented that you'd be interested in one? Well, here's your chance.

The VA Canteen is selling a few of them, and B said he'd be willing to get some that we can pass on to you.

Here's the catch...they only have 2 sizes - Large and XL, and they're grey with dark blue letters. The front says "Got Freedom?" and the back will say "Compliments of a veteran." Here are a couple pictures of the lettering.

If anyone is still interested, leave me a comment. We'll sell them to you for $15 each (that will cover the cost to ship to you, also).

I can't wait to wear mine to work on Friday!

Choose joy!

Choose joy. Choose joy. Choose joy. Those were the words I repeated in my head, over and over, as I drove in to work this morning. Today is my first day back at work since before the 4th, and if I don’t purposely “choose joy” today, I might go a little postal.

See, I’m taking one of Beth Moore’s Bible studies this summer – we’re studying Daniel. And in the first lesson, Beth tells us to “choose joy” - make it a conscious decision to have joy in your life…and joy is definitely lacking at my job.

My day is halfway over already, and so far I’ve survived. I probably had to tell myself to “choose joy” about 100 times so far, but that’s ok.

I had a GREAT time off...for the most part.

Everyone made it into town safely on the 4th, and our house quickly filled up with chatter and laughter and food and fun. The ‘Rents, my SIL and her family, and my cousin’s parents all came over for the 4th as well, so we had a full house. We BBQ’d burgers and ate and ate and ate, and then we sat on the deck and played dominoes and watched the crazies who braved the pouring rain to shoot off fireworks.

Here are my bro and sis hanging out in the backyard before it started raining. Sis is about 20 weeks along...look at her cute belly!


The nieces had a blast running around, playing baseball and golf, and loving on the dogs, and each other:


This is my cousin, Little Man. Still no word on if he'll be living with us this fall or not...pray that he makes a wise decision. I told him he has to let me know by August 1.


We did end up with a little drama later that night that put everyone in a tense mood for the next couple days. The fireworks were VERY loud (they went off every night for about a week before the 4th until just a couple nights ago), the house was VERY full, and the dogs just got fed up. My 2 babies, er, I mean dogs, were skittish from the noise, and Mom and Dad’s dog, who was ok at first, was starting to get nervous as well. While we were all standing in the kitchen saying our goodbyes, suddenly Daisy, M&D’s 80-lb. lab, had her jaws locked on my 18-lb Lucy. Everything happened so fast that we have no idea what started it or why.

B jumped on Daisy and pulled her off Lucy, and after we all put our hearts back into our chests, we found that neither dog was injured...but we were all a little freaked out. After talking about it, we came to the conclusion that we should keep the dogs separated from there on out. It’s not that we thought they would try to go after each other again, but we didn’t even want to give them the chance.

Keeping them apart is not as easy as it may sound. We started the “switch” process on Day 2 of the Separation in an effort to avoid more conflict. Someone would grab my 2 dogs and take them downstairs, and in a coordinated effort (which means yelling up the stairs), we would send 2 dogs out and bring 1 dog in. We’ve gotten it down to quite a science, but it was not fun at first.

Dogs are very important in our family, and everyone was a little on edge because of what happened. But, in a weird way, the uneasiness of dealing with the dogs brought out some deep feelings and good discussions that my family probably should have had a long time ago. I think we all ended the week feeling like we had grown closer to each other.

Here are the dogs (and me) when they were still friends:


Daisy really is a very sweet dog...we don't know what happened, but I suspect that my baby, Lucy, may have provoked it. Here's Daisy enjoying the backyard:


Here's Rerun, chowing down on a leftover Beef Rib bone...I think he's in heaven!


We spent the rest of the time together playing cards and dominoes, eating MASS amounts of food, watching movies, shopping, getting our nails done (girls only), golfing and going to a gun show (boys only).

A (very) late night of dominoes...



Girls Day Out...


Shopping results...nursery decorations...aren't they cute??


Boys Day Out (they got a big kick out of these signs)...


But, probably the most popular pastime of all was sitting on the deck, in our jammies, with the newspaper, coffee, laptops, and cards...just enjoying each other. We usually ended up on the deck until about 11 each morning when everyone had woken up and stumbled outside and the temperature reached an unbearable point where the ceiling fan didn’t help anymore. It was a great time, and I’m sad to see it go...even though getting my house back to normal sounds good, too!

Here's Dad enjoying the view from the deck:


Thanks for coming, everyone. I love you!

Pay it Forward -- with books!

Go check out Overwhelmed with Joy's blog for info on how you can WIN a new-to-you book through her new Pay it Forward Book Exchange.

Family Reunion

Saturday was B’s annual family reunion. His mom is one of 11 kids (9 still living), and each of those kids is married and has at least 2-4 kids, and a lot of those kids have a bunch of kids...so, add that all up, and there were 76 people there...30 of them kids!

We haven’t been to this gathering for 5 years, so there were a lot more kids (and people who I did not know) than the last time we went. The whole event started on Friday night with singing at the church and homemade ice cream, but we skipped that part. We drove the 1½ hours north on Saturday morning and arrived just in time for the auction.

Each year, everyone brings things to donate to the auction. Some things are homemade, like this yummy candy train that my SIL, J, made.



One of B’s uncles is a professional auctioneer, so this is a true-to-life auction! All the money goes into an account that is used to help the kids go to college and to help anyone who finds themselves in need (medical, disaster, etc.). There were a ton of things in the auction this year, but as usual, nothing was as cool as what our family brought.

J made the train shown above, C made this yummy yummy homemade snickers candy, I made toffee (your mom’s recipe, Shell!), MIL made pillow cases for each holiday, and B made a diorama of the grandparents farm, circa 1953. Our items also fetched the most money! B’s diorama sold for the highest amount – and a drawing he made 5 years ago was the highest then, too!

And, even though my SIL, C, made the snickers candy, I won it…It was so good! And J had made this cute box for it to go in...I’ll update this post later with a picture of it.

After the auction, we ate lunch and then headed out for the annual piñata. MIL had to get in on the action.



It was a strong piñata (made by one of B’s aunts), and it took quite a bit to get it to break open, and then all 30 kids rushed out to stake their claim.



We had a good day, and I’m glad we went. We were exhausted and ready to head home by mid afternoon, so we hit the road home so we could take naps before dinner with both our families that night.

Here are a few more pictures from the reunion. Here’s B with his cousin (in the blue shirt), and my cousin, Little Man, who we’re trying to convince to live with us next year.



Here’s a picture of all the Sisters-in-Law. It was so fun to hang out all together – that only happens a couple times a year.



And here’s B muggin’ with our niece, Sweetie.

Patch Work

I have sustained a minor injury from a file cabinet.
Am missing a chunk of my hand. Am headed to the hospital for patch work.

The above is an email I received from my husband this afternoon…Please tell me what you all would think if you read this.

Now, I do have a tendency to overreact, especially if it involves a loved one, but I kinda freaked out when I read this. Granted, I figured hubby wasn’t in mortal trouble because he was able to type this email…but I also read “missing a chunk of my hand” and “hospital”. I tried to call his cell phone – it was turned off. I tried his desk phone – he didn’t answer. I emailed him back and asked for more info. I got the following reply:

“am ok”

What the heck?? So, there’s more to this…and I believe I’ve blogged about it before. Even if the injury isn’t that bad, B has a tendency to go into shock and PASS OUT when blood or needles make an appearance. I was afraid that might be the situation today, so…

I started making phone calls. The only phone number (other than his desk phone that he wasn’t answering) that I could find for his office is an 800 number…someone in St. Louis answered that phone and he worked very hard to route me to some nice man in Wichita, who said he knew B.

When I told this nice man why I was calling, he took my number and said he’d call me back. He called me back about 3 minutes later, and this is what he said: B had cut his finger, he had gone to the VA hospital next door to get a band aid!!! Yes, I said band aid! That punk!

Less than 2 minutes after this, I got a nasty email from B demanding to know why I had called his work and embarrassed him…may I please direct your attention back to the beginning of this post to his asinine email that I received…so, now B is pissed at me, and I’m pissed at him for throwing me into a panic…what a day. It’s Monday, and so far it SUCKS!

There are many more reasons why it sucks besides the “missing chunk of hand”, but I am not going to get into them. Instead, I will attempt to shut down my computer and head home. I need a good workout tonight!