Add 3 more to the list!

Remember when I wrote about the gazillion people my sis and I know who have had or will have babies within a year time period?

Well, add 3 more to the list!

(Oh, and by the way, that original total included me, even though I hadn't told you yet.)

I got a birth announcement from my best buddy from freshman year in HS that she had her second, a cutie little girl a couple months ago. I didn't even know she was pregnant! We've have lost touch a bit, and we usually just send cards a couple times a year.

THEN, my buddy at the gym, who I hadn't seen in several weeks, told me this week that she's preggers and about 6 weeks behind me. This will be her second.

AND finally, yesterday, one of my good friends called, and after we played email and phone tag for a few hours, she told me that she's pregnant and exactly one week behind me! This will be #2 for her, also. This announcement is really special to me because I was her maid of honor, and she was in my wedding, also. She miscarried earlier this year, so this pregnancy is a wonderful thing.

Whew! And they call us Gen X...we may need to change that to Baby Boomers 2!

I had my second sonogram on Tuesday. It was so much better than the 6 week one...wow, those kids grow fast! We could see fingers and a head and the kid was moving all over. It was amazing!




B had taken the day off to go with me, and then to do some stuff around the house...and I thought that sounded like a great idea, so I played hooky. I was such a good kid when I was in school - I NEVER ditched. Well, maybe once in a while in college, but never in HS...but Corporate America just does something to me. Ya gotta get out!

Our appointment was first thing in the morning, so after we got home, B headed out to work in the yard, and I sat down to read the paper and relax. I went to the gym at noon, came home and visited with my neighbor for a bit, and then relaxed some more. B was even able to get some relaxing in...and Lucy felt like he needed company.




We headed out to dinner at a wannabe Mexican restaurant (they're all wannabe around here), then over to Kohl's to take advantage of 80% off sales. I started my collection of maternity clothes...I got 3 shirts, a pair of workout shorts, and a pair of yoga pants all for $35! Not bad!

Too bad I had to come back to work yesterday. I hate that I count the days to the weekend...one more to go!

I got googled

Have you guys heard about the DENTIST who is in danger of losing his license for giving "chest massages"?? And he is defending himself saying it's a necessary and successful treatment for TMJ. What?! Yes, it's true. And his lawyer is saying that the judge shouldn't take his license away because he needs to work to support his family of 7. Oh yeah, that's a reason to let him keep his license.

Anyway, I would never let my dentist give me a "massage," but apparently, I don't have any say over who googles me. Here are the latest searches that brought up my blog:

* how do it fil when a girl and a girl have a wedding (Ok, this one is the scariest...I was the FIRST page to show up on this search!)
* blogspot wisconsin "wrap around porch"
* red on bathtub bad
* red burning eyes when i don't wear contacts
* the importance of women friends
* My contact burns when I put it in
* midwest girls weekend
* wedding guns
* midwest girls pictures
* importance of sisters

Watch out...you never know who is googling you!

20 years

Hubby graduated from high school 20 years ago...wow...that's a long time. I graduated from 7th grade when he was graduating from high school. What a cradle robber he is! =)

His 20th high school reunion was a week ago. I think I was more excited about going than he was. My class had 550 kids in it, and I don't keep in touch with a single one. My 10 year reunion was a total bust - everyone reverted back to their high school cliques as soon as we got there, and only about 50 of my classmates (out of 550!) showed up. I decided then that I will never go to another one of my reunions again...that was $100 down the drain.

B's class, on the other hand, had only 60 kids. More than 75% of them have stayed within 30 miles of their small hometown - some are still in the same town. About 30 of them showed up at the reunion. B saw people he hadn't seen since high school...of course, all of them said the same thing, "I ran into your mom a few months ago, and she said you were..." It was really funny. We spent the night eating yummy BBQ, chatting it up, and drinking water. Well, I was drinking water...I was downing it by the glassful since I couldn't have a beer or a glass of wine...man, did that stink!

Thank goodness B's good buddy brought his girlfriend, otherwise I would have sat there all myself all night, since B was busy reminiscing with his old friends. "Remember that game when we score the touchdown in the last 3 seconds?" "Remember when Joe Bob wrecked his 1972 Camaro on the dirt road?" "Remember when you won Basketball King?" It was too much for me...and I had NEVER seen my husband be so social.

But, that wasn't the end of it...the socialness, that is...ever since the reunion, all week last week, B has been on the phone (he HATES the phone) or on email with about 5 of these guys. I'm getting a little scared...I smell a mid-life crisis coming on. Over the weekend, we went to the high school football game with one B's buddies. I was feeling like crap, the home team was losing, and pregnancy hormones kicked in BIG TIME. To sum it up, I was not a nice person. I made us leave in the middle of third quarter when we were losing 49 to 0...and then B and I argued the whole way home.

Then on Saturday night, he went out to dinner with another guy who hadn't been able to make it to the reunion. B left at 6 and said he'd be home before too long. At 8:15 he called to say they were going to a movie. I broke down (by the way, how many crazy episodes can I blame on being pregnant??). It's not that we had big plans for that night, but I was sitting at home alone, expecting him to walk in the door anytime. As it turned out, he didn't get home til 1am...and I was awake, and we argued again. This made for a really lovely weekend...um, not really.

Thankfully, we patched things up yesterday...more so because I was tired of fighting than anything else. I'm glad he's found some buddies again, but I'm a little nervous that they're not exactly the kind of buddies that he needs. I was hoping that we'd get involved in a Bible Study and our friends would come from there. I still hope that happens, but in the meantime, I need to trust B. He was always the good kid growing up, so I have no reason to suspect he'd be any different now. I'm just not used to seeing my husband be the social type. Weird!

Here's a picture of the guys at the reunion (B is in the middle, and the other 2 guys are 2 of his best friends from growing up - they've been friends since kindergarten!). I need to scan some photos of them 20 years ago...it's hilarious!!

Making Progress

I got my hair done last weekend. I was trying to wait a bit more to be ultra safe with the chemicals and pregnancy and everything else, but I couldn't wait any longer, and I really don't think it's a serious risk, anyway. So, as I walk in the door in my super-cool new fall color -- think auburn and blonde (and if I can get a picture taken of me where I don't look like a hippo, I'll post it)...I look out the window to see a wonderful sight...

A flower delivery truck is pulling up to my house! I got all giddy...someone sent me flowers?? It took all my will power to not throw open the door and shout, "Gimmee, Gimmee, Gimmee," before the poor guy had time to climb my steps. I waited until he rang the door bell to open the door, and this is what I saw...



My dear friends, Shell and Terry, sent me this wonderful arrangement congratulating me on Little Major. Thanks so much, guys...I love it!!!

I had my doctor's appointment yesterday...and I managed to drag B with me. The doctor was running behind (about an hour behind, to be exact), so I was a little irritated by the time we got called back. Good thing I love my doctor so much because my attitude changed as soon as she walked in the room.

On the agenda for the day was to listen for the heartbeat and to do the oh-so-fun pelvic exam. B insisted on hearing the heartbeat first so that he could beat it out of there ASAP...and what do you know? The doc said that many many hubbies have the same reaction, which kinda surprised me.

So, up on the table goes I, and what do you know...I heard my baby's heart beat!! Doc said it sounded perfect, and was beating at 157 beats/minute. The doc also said that I was pooching out a little more than she expected to see at 11 weeks, and I told her that it was either because my bladder was full (from waiting in the lobby for an hour!) or I was carrying twins. She asked if twins ran in our family, and when I said I didn't know (B is adopted), but I'd been praying for twins she didn't even pause and scheduled me for a sonogram next Tuesday. Yay!

That's what I was wanting all along...another sono so that we could see something besides a little speck on the screen. Now, I'm working on getting B to go to another appointment with me with less than a week in between. I think I can do it, though. New pictures of Little Major in less than a week...stay tuned!

Happy Birthday, Gram!

Yesterday, October 9, was my Grandma's birthday - my Dad's mom. When we were young, we called her Grandma, but somewhere along the way, we shortened her name to Gram...and she'll always be Gram to me. She grew up in Oklahoma, one of many many kids (I can't remember how many), and during the Dust Bowl, she and her family traveled west and settled in the San Joaquin Valley of California -- just like the Joad family in Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. Some of her remaining siblings still live in the central valley.

Here is Gram after work one night...check out that cool purse!



Gram and Grandpa have an interesting story. The bottom line is that Grandpa was a hellion, was in the Navy, and somehow found God and Gram, and he became a southern Baptist preacher. I loved going to his church and sitting next to Gram when I was a kid. This is a picture of Gram and Grandpa in 1953, about 16 months after my dad (their oldest) was born.



Gram and Grandpa had two boys, who had fun tormenting their mom, but also loved her deeply. Here are those "boys" with their mama when my dad (on the left) was 18.



Grandpa got cancer and passed away when I was in 4th grade. I remember only sketches from that time. I remember hearing the word cancer. I remember hanging out in the parking lot of Stanford University Hospital in a motorhome while Grandpa had treatments. I remember how skinny he got. And I remember the day that my parents came and pulled me out of 4th grade to tell me Grandpa had died.

I also remember how scared I was to go to the funeral and see him lying in a coffin, but I knew I had to do it. I remember how different their house felt without him there. And I remember how sad Gram was.

My dad was only 32 when this happened - younger than I am now. I have NO idea how he dealt with the death of his father at that age, let alone how he explained it to his 3 kids age 9 and under or how he was able to handle the estate and all of Grandpa and Grandma's affairs. But he did.

Gram moved to our town and lived for a while in an apartment a mile or so from our house. I spent a lot of time riding my bike over to her place where we'd make cookies or chat or watch TV. She eventually bought an AWESOME house a few more miles away. It had a HUGE back yard with trees and a garden and a dog run and a secret hiding path along the back fence. We planted grapes and watermelon and pomegranetes and green beans and figs (yuck!), and we worked in the yard and we had BBQ's and she was still close enough for us to ride our bikes over.

I don't know why this timeline is so hard for me to remember, but it is. Over the next 10 years (it seems like a lot longer than that), my parents and my brother and sister and I moved to Texas, moved back to CA but to another town, Gram moved to Florida to be close to her other grandkids, and then she got cancer. It wasn't diagnosed in a timely fashion...Gram didn't like doctors much, and she ignored some of the symptoms. She went through some treatments, lost her hair, lost tons of weight, and eventually Dad convinced her to move back to CA so he and Mom could help take care of her.

But before she got too sick, I graduated from college, my brother had a baby boy and got married (in that order), and my sister moved to Virginia for college. Gram made it to all of these events. That fall while she was still living in Florida, I flew out to visit, and then we flew up to VA to visit my sister. We couldn't move at the same pace that we had years before, but it was still an awesome trip. While Sis took classes, Gram and I went sightseeing around Virginia. It wasn't long after this trip that Gram's health spiraled downward.

Dad moved her back to CA and into our house with he and Mom. I was living about 3 1/2 hours away, so I came to visit as often as I could. Gram was terminal, and we all knew that we would have to say goodbye shortly. Her time came in June of 1998. Dad says that she passed away peacefully, and all of us had made it home the week before to say final goodbyes when she had been surprisingly alert and coherent. She was 69. She had been a widow for 14 years, but she had been brave and created a new life for herself...and she was finally reunited with Grandpa that June day.

I miss her dearly. It's not every birthday that I think about her and get this sentimental. I don't know if it's pregnancy hormones or knowing that she will not meet my child until we're all in heaven together, but I miss her very much this year. She wasn't able to see me walk down the aisle on my wedding day. She wasn't able to make my wedding cake like she made my parents' cake (I always told her growing up that she had to make a cake for my wedding that was as tall as me!).

As I sit here typing with tears streaming down my face, I am remembering all the fun times we had, and the arguments in her kitchen. I think of all the fun recipes that came straight from her - recipes that my sister and I have to call each other for a couple times a year (what else goes in Orange Julius, Sis?) because we can't remember exactly how it goes (I just made bananas with sour cream and toasted coconut...yum!). I remember how I used to chastise her for going to the grocery store at 3am after she got off her shift at the IRS. I remember the wonderful cards I'd get in the mail from her while I was at college, and the visits when she would drive over to see me at school and take me out to eat or to the grocery store. I remember how strong in her faith and beliefs that she was, and it's because of that that I KNOW I will see her again one day.

I love you, Gram! Happy Birthday!

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Terri totally called me on the rug...I've been staying away from my blog for the last few weeks so that I wouldn't spill the beans. But, now that they're spilled, I have no reason to keep away.

There may be some out there who will think what I'm about to share is TMI (my hubby, for one), but I think there are a few of you who won't think that, and so what, it's my blog, right?? =)

Anyway, I'm finishing up week 11 of my pregnancy. And I'm feeling GREAT, except that I still have to go to work every day, and that in itself is enough to make someone feel nauseated. I've been one of the lucky ones who has had very little nausea. Several weeks ago, I was feeling a little ill in the mid-morning, but a little snack high in carbs and fat seemed to cure that...but not donuts, they made me feel worse! For the last couple weeks, I've felt really good...and, knock on wood, I haven't thrown up once!

I am, however, exhausted! Every afternoon, I slump down in my chair at my desk and just try to keep my eyes open. All I want to do is run home and crawl into bed. And sometimes as soon as I can leave work that's exactly what I do. B will come home and find me curled up on the basement couch and poke and prod at me to make sure I'm still breathing. But, here's the funniest thing. If I can drag my butt to the gym right after work, even though I'm exhausted, I feel a whole lot better than if I let myself go home and veg. So, my goal is to make it to the gym as many days as possible. Of course, my 5 workouts a week is down to about 3, but that's still not bad.

Next week I head back to the doctor, with B this time, and we will get to hear the heart beat! I'm also going to BEG the doctor for another sonogram. We had one at 6 weeks, and I think she will make me wait until 20 weeks for the next one unless I beg.

B is so cute about all this. He gets a little queasy when I read to him from my books, but he's getting better. Every week I read a chapter about how the baby is developing, and each week there's a picture of what the kid looks like. Now B leans over to see the picture. This week we learned that it's no longer an embryo, it's a fetus, and it's the size of a small plum. Early on we were calling it a tadpole because it had a tail (who knew??), but now B calls the baby "Little Major." See, we were watching ESPN and there's this dude on there who's first name is Major. I think that's kinda weird, but B LOVES it...so now he wants to name our kid Major (for some reason, we both feel like it will be a boy). I joked back with him and said what if he goes into the military and becomes a major, do we call him Major Major?? B can call the kid Little Major for now (and maybe that will become his blogging name), but I'm not so keen on that for a real name.

When I found out I was pregnant, I told B by giving him a gift I had bought MONTHS ago - a shirt and hat that say Rookie Dad. Well, about 2 weeks after I gave him this gift, and about 4 weeks sooner than we planned to tell ANYONE - even family, B walks upstairs to get ready for birthday dinner at his parents' house, and he tells me he wants to wear his shirt and hat to dinner. I was floored!! I'm the one who has a problem keeping secrets, so I couldn't believe that he was the one who wanted to spill the beans. But, I was ecstatic, so of course I agreed.

When we got to the 'Rents, his mom and my SIL were on the phone in a very serious conversation...so we ended up having to coach them to look at his shirt. MIL was so confused for a minute, and then she was so excited. She ran into her craft room and came back with a gift for B...a pillow that says "Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a Dad." How sweet! Who knows how long she'd had it for, but she had to give it to him right away.

We took pictures of ourselves that day and sent them to the rest of the family. My SIL in CO figured it out right away, my very pregnant sister needed some help, and my Mom got it right away, but I had to call her to get her to check her email. Needless to say, the entire family is excited for us!

Back to Work?!

Yes, I had to get up and go to work today, and it sucked! After such a great LONG weekend and trip, it was nearly impossible to drag myself out of my comfy bed. But, here I am...blogging...so, obviously I'm not working. Oh well...at least I'm here!

Even though this trip was 2 days longer than my last one, it went by just as fast. Where does the time go??

Our girls weekend away was wonderful. One of our buddies volunteered to cook for ALL 9 of us all weekend! Even though we wondered what had come over her, we were absolutely thrilled to eat her yummy gourmet cooking all weekend long. Making decisions about food in a group of 8 or 9 people is like making decisions about world peace in our group -- NOT EASY!

We woke up on Saturday morning to a gorgeous day! The sun was shining, the air was cool and clear, the sky was blue, and there wasn't a cloud in sight. We ate breakfast on the deck, and this was our view...



After a leisurely morning, we got dressed and headed into San Luis for lunch and shopping. After we parked the cars, we walked out of the garage to find 5 interesting folks occupying the bench on the street. We couldn't resist taking pictures with them.



I have no idea WHY they were sitting there with black suits, masks, and newspapers, but we didn't care. Hey, it's SLO - a college town - anything is possible!

After dinner that night, we were sitting around with full bellies, trying to decide what to do with the rest of our evening when the power went out. We scrambled around looking for candles and matches, and while Amanda was next door bugging the young firefighters for some matches (actually, she went over there SEVERAL times asking for things...hmm, what's up with that?), we found a lighter and lit all the candles in sight. The beach house took on a wonderful glow, and we spent the rest of the night talking, dozing, and eating cookie dough. Yum! I was a little sad when the power came back on, but by then we were pretty pooped, so most of us turned in early. Proof that we are not as young as we think we are!

Sunday morning was our usual routine for the end of the weekend. Get up, clean up, and head home. It was only then that I realized we had taken almost no pictures (except for our group photo that I don't have yet). So, out came the camera for snapshots while we were loading up.

Here are Amanda and Marge trying, not so successfuly, to pull the heavy trashcan up the driveway.



2 of our buddies, Agnes and Paulette, are sporting cute bellies right now, so we had to get a shot of that.



BUT, that's not all the preggers buddies...there are 3 right now...here's the whole group. When these babies are born, there will be 19 kids, 10 buddies, and 10 husbands...crazy!



So, did you catch that? That's me in the middle of the photo above. =) One of the fun things I got to do on my trip was to FINALLY let the cat out of the bag about the bun in my oven (hey, that was kinda fun to type). I'm 10 weeks along, and I've known for a while, but we wanted to keep it to ourselves for a while. But, now we're ready for the world to know. I'd appreciate all your prayers for a healthy baby and a healthy pregnancy.

Ok, back to the weekend...Mom and I met a bunch of my old co-workers and their families at a local Pizza and Brewery on Sunday afternoon. It was fun to watch my Chiefs kick the Chargers butts AND visit with some old friends. Again, I forgot to pull the camera out, so I don't have pictures of everyone and their ever-growing kids. Dinner was great, and I got to spill the beans again.

Monday was my last day in CA, so I visited a girlfriend in the morning, had another fix of Jamba Juice, ate lunch with mom, did a little shopping (oh, and had a George's Special - it's chocolate ice milk with chocolate syrup, bananas and walnuts all mixed into a yummy milkshake...ooh baby!), and then Mom and I ordered take-out Chinese for dinner because we were SO tired.

I had to get up at 4am to catch my 6am flight home yesterday. I'm glad to be home, but the trip was way too short! Oh, how I wish for unlimited vacation days!

All in all, it was a great weekend...only to end with the inevitable...back to work.

I'm here!

I'm in California! And would you believe that both of my flights (though Phoenix, no less) were EARLY!! I made it to Bako with no problems, and mom was waiting outside for me.

We headed straight to Me & Ed's, one of my favorite pizza places. After we stuffed our bellies so full, we came home so I could see all the remodel work my Dad has been working on non-stop since he retired a few months ago. Their house looks great!

Mom and I were tired, so we hit the hay shortly after, and now I'm sitting here, all packed for the beach and on my way to coffee with a good friend, and then over to the coast for a relaxing weekend with the girls.

See ya all later!

Leaving on a jet plane

Somehow, and I don't know how, I've neglected to mention my super fun trip that I'm leaving for today. Maybe it was all the excitement of so many babies being born at once? Or the cooler weather of fall? Or, I don't know what...but I forgot to tell you all.

I'm heading to California this afternoon! I've been looking forward to it for months, and it's finally here. It's time again for our Annual Buddy Weekend. Usually we have this weekend closer to Christmas, as it started out as a Christmas party, but the holidays are so busy, and the weather so unpredictable, that we changed it to a fall weekend this year.

And, I have gotten smarter in the last year, too. I added 2 days to my trip this year, so I have time to go the beach (yay!) with the buddies, and still have time to hang out with my Mom (Dad is off helping sis and BIL move into their new house), and see several other friends.

So, this afternoon, I escape the doldrums of corporate America, and fly off into the wild blue yonder...hopefully with no issues and no delays, so Mom and I can go hit my favorite pizza place as soon as I get off the plane. Yum, I'm hungry already!

Scores all around!

What a busy weekend for good things to happen!

Sometime late last week, my buddy Paulette's third SIL gave birth to a little boy...that makes 2 boys and one girl added to that family in about 5 days. Wow!

Then on Friday afternoon, my best buddy Virginia gave birth to a gorgeous baby boy. He was 7 lb 2 oz, and 21" long, and what a cutie...don't ya think?



I'll even forgive the Redskins outfit, this time.

(So, to summarize the last week...there have been 5 babies born to close friends and family, 4 boys and one girl...all arrived healthy and beautiful and mamas are doing well. Praise God!)

Friday night was another home game at B's alma mater, so off we went to Small Town, KS. And did those boys play! They KILLED their opponents 50-0! It was an all out blow-out!

When I woke up Saturday morning, I grabbed the local paper to read the write-up on the game. Was it there?? Oh no! What was there was an article about how another (more wealthy, popular) school had "crushed" their opponent. What could the score be if they didn't write about the 50-0 win?? It was 21-17...now, I don't think that's "crushed," do you??

All that was said about our game was a little box of statistics on the bottom of another page. Where is the justice?? Obviously, there is none!

Saturday night, we attempted to cheer on my sister's favorite college team, but to no avail...Alabama stunk it up pretty bad...although the score was close, they didn't play so hot.

So, imagine my glee when on Sunday, MY BOYS won their first game of 2007. That's right, the mighty Chiefs pulled it out...and beat the Vikings. I don't know how self-respecting football players could wear purple anyway. It was a close game, and I still don't think they played spectacularly, but they won, and that's the bottom line. I hope this gives them the morale boost they need to turn things around...Go Chiefs!

Coming this fall

This is my absolute favorite time of year...fall, that is. I've read on several other blogs about the love/hate relationship that people have with fall. Some love it, but others say it reminds them that winter is coming and spring is far away. Yes, fall means that winter is around the corner...but we can enjoy the autumn for 3 or more months (depending on your part of the country) before the bitter cold of winter arrives.

Fall has been my favorite season for a long time - I used to think it was spring, but that was before I was attacked by spring allergies. Besides, there are many more reasons to love fall. Here are some of them...

1. B and I both have birthdays at the kick-off of the fall season...what a way to start, with celebrations!


2. The air cools off, the trees start to change, and you can open your windows at night.


3. With the cooler air comes more top-down days...


4. And the sweaters come out of the tote in the basement...


5. Football kicks off, and lazy days in front of the TV and exciting days at the stadium are here again...


6. It's time to decorate the house with pumpkins and scarecrows and warm colors.


7. It doesn't seem weird to break out the hot chocolate...


or make a big pot of chili...



8. Fall festivals, county fairs...need I say more?



There are lots more reasons why I love fall, but this is a good start...now if only the weather would cooperate...enough of the 90 degree days!

Go Leslie!

Last season I was finally able to wean myself off Survivor. I just thought that the show was getting ridiculous. I couldn't stand all the bickering and idiotic behavior, so I stopped watching it.

Then I heard about Leslie, the Christian radio DJ, who is on this season of Survivor. She has auditioned many times before and was finally chosen for this season. I listen to Christian radio all the time...Way-FM is my favorite radio station here, and I know that those DJs are outspoken and sincere in what they say, so I was curious about how Leslie would play the game.

So...I watched part of the first episode last night. And I wasn't disappointed in Leslie...but I'm angry at how Jeff Probst singled her out and how the idiot below portrays her. Read the commentary below and then I'll respond to it at the end...

COMMENTARY
By Andy Dehnart
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 10:12 p.m. CT Sept 20, 2007

Leslie, the Christian talk-show host, began her time on “Survivor: China” by leaving a ceremony at a Buddhist temple that host Jeff Probst explained was not a religious ritual. Instead, he said, “the people of this land want you to feel welcome.” While she professed to be “not a religious person,” she said her “relationship with Jesus Christ” prevented her from participating in the ceremony, which “felt like worship.”

Perhaps she should be commended for doing what she thought was right. But leaving seemed unnecessary considering the nature of the ceremony, and standing out so early and so obviously by refusing to participate in a group activity is generally not the smartest move. Jeff asked her if she was worried that this would affect her game play. “I’m just going to play the game and be me,” she said, as if the game hadn’t already started.


Ok, I'm sorry, but ANY buddhist "ceremony" is a religious ceremony. And even if Jeff insists that it's not, the contestants were still asked to BOW before an IDOL. Whether in a worship setting or not, the Bible strictly speaks against this. Leslie did the absolute right thing, and I'm so proud of her for it. When she's standing in front of Almighty giving an account of her life, Jeff Probst will not be able to go to bat for her for asking her to bow to a piece of metal...Go Leslie!

The other thing that greatly irritated me about the show last night is that when Leslie made her statement about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the camera panned to the puny wimpy waitress from NYC just so we could see the disgusted look on her face. Not necessary...but it was my first clue that this wimpy girl is going to be one of my least favorite players.

I don't think that I'm going to continue to watch this season, but I will follow Leslie's progress online. I'm routing for her! I hope she keeps playing the game with integrity and faith...and I hope that her example rubs off on some of the other players.

Sucked In

Did anyone else watch Kid Nation last night? My intention was to watch one episode to see what it was all about. It sounded like a cool concept, and maybe a little more interesting than watching a bunch of so-called adults fight it out on an island somewhere. Of course, I would NEVER let any kid of mine participate (I heard parents had to sign 24 pages of disclaimers), but I have no qualms about watching other people's kids on TV.

It was awesome! I'm only a little embarrassed to say that. And I'm hooked after ONE episode!

These kids are awesome, and WAY more mature than 95% of the Survivor contestants. The kids were dropped off in the middle of nowhere, told to haul a bunch of wagons to a deserted town, and set up shop. They did it! They cooked for themselves and split themselves into teams and bunks, and the tears they shed b/c they are so homesick were just adorable.

These aren't your every-day ordinary kids. One of the girls walked into her bunk and said, "Wow, this room is in such disarray!" And the little 8-year old boy who chose to go home after 3 days was so cute. He sat in a corner crying about how much he missed home and how hard it was and how young he was to be there, and the big older 11 year old came over to comfort him and volunteer to be his stand-in mom until he felt better...that worked for a day or so, but he still decided to go home.

Of course, it wouldn't be a "reality" show if the producers didn't plant some drama in there -- like the two 15-year old boys who already spread graffiti around town and who are hitting on the self-proclaimed 10 year old beauty queen.

But, I'm hooked...and my DVR is set. B kept walking through the room making fun of me, but I don't care. I think it will be a refreshing show to watch. And I think these kids can do it -- they'll make it through the 40 days with flying colors! Hey, they already chose 7 outhouses over a TV as a reward...not sure what those Survivor guys would do.

And those producers need to re-evaluate their commercials during this supposed family-friendly show...I don't think we need to see any more ads for Vaginal Screening Kits during KID NATION!

C'mon, join in the fun...check out the show if you didn't last night...that way we can gush over it together.

Ahoy Matey!

My pirate name is:

Red Bess Flint

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Passion is a big part of your life, which makes sense for a pirate. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

I'm going to lose count!

My sister and I added up something today...we each made lists and then combined them to get the grand total...what grand total, you're asking? Well, how many babies of friends and family will (or have already) make their appearance from Spring 2007 through Spring 2008.

The number is staggering...we think...21 pregnancies to produce 22 childrean. Wow!! But, that's not all that is amazing.

Two of those children were born to sisters-in-law of a very good friend of mine, Paulette (who is due with her own new baby in November), on THE SAME DAY -- this past Saturday. Please welcome the too cute for words cousins shown below...



Then on Monday, another cutie pie entered the world...his mama is the little sister of my good buddy Marge and one of my sister's very best friends. Here's Mo, as we've nicknamed him already...



And, if that's not enough...there are still 2 more babies that will make their appearances in the next 6 days. One will belong to my best friend from college, Virginia (she is my friend who I met in NYC a couple months ago). The other baby will belong to Paulette's 3rd sister-in-law...yes, you caught that right (if you were paying attention)...4 sisters were pregnant at the very same time.

God is amazing! And He has blessed so many families who are special to me with so much joy and new life this year!

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!