Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Let the Craziness Begin

The busiest 3 weeks of the year started for us last week, with Groovefest, followed immediately by Rhi, Kris & I going to New Harmony to Dawn & Cherokee's birthday dinner. During our time out there, Kris' mother & stepfather started calling him, threatening to turn him in as a runaway. He hadn't run away, he had gone to his dad's house the night before after he received a threatening phone call from the stepfather. I refused to take him to a place where I felt he probably wasn't safe.

The mom & step did eventually call the cops, but they didn't tell the whole story, so that when the officer called Kris to ask him what had been going on, the officer sided with him & told him he'd call him back after he tried to convince the mom to relinquish custody to his dad. That did finally happen, so we had to wait until we got back to town to go & get his stuff, and of course, we waited until Troy was home, too. Then we called the Sheriff's department and got someone to meet us out there. They gave him some problems with it, but did eventually let him get most everything.

After that, its been drama with their work schedules, which they've finally got worked out. And Rhi not understanding that since she no longer has car insurance, I have to drive him home at night & we go when I'm ready, not when they are. I just can't justify spending that much money on car insurance just so she can drive it occasionally (It was costing us over $1600 a year BEFORE we added her, until we switched to Geico). That and I'm not staying up every night until they're ready to say goodbye.

Today and yesterday, I've just been exhausted, but my week isn't nearly over. I need to pick Rhi up from work at around 5 today, take her to cash her check & then anything else she needs to do, come home, cook dinner and such. I really need to go to the store & replace our skin care products, since we're nearly out. Tomorrow, we go & screenprint t-shirts bright & early in the morning & then I need to help Charley & Vicki move. Blech. I just want some sleep.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Survey

1. Are any of your toes on your foot connected to each other? No.

2. Which do you use more a pen or pencil? I don't do a lot of writing to begin with, but probably a pen.

3. Look at your planner for June 30th what if anything do u have planned? Nope. I may be recovering from Dawn's birthday party, though.

4. Do you use toothpaste? Ummm, yeah? Don't you?

6. What color is your bedroom carpet? Kind of a purplish color.

7. How many passengers does your car hold? 5

8. Have you ever had a black and white cat? I don't think so, but I could be wrong, I've had a lot of cats.

9. What is your favorite canned soup? Chunky Potato or Clam Chowder

10. Do you know anyone who lives in Russia? Nope.

11. Did you ever go into a room and forget what you went in there for? Yeah. Often.

12. Who is the last baby that you held? Elyssabeth.

13. Do you know all the words to the star spangled banner? No.

14. Do you have any moles? Yeah.

15. What kind of car were you driving 2 years ago? A Nissan XTerra

16. Pick one, having an STD or sharing a bed with Michael Jackson? Well, if its a huge bed, I'll take Michael, after all, I'm not a prepubescent boy, so there would be no funny stuff.

17. Last time you went to a zoo? In October of 2001

18. Do you have any wallpaper in your house? Yeah, there are some renegade pieces in the kitchen still.

19. Closest thing to you that is plaid? I'm sure there's a kilt in here somewhere....

20. Have you ever wanted to be a member of the opposite sex? A few times, but never seriously.

21. Who is the last person who wrote you a check? Cathy, it was a pay check.

22. How many unframed pictures do u have in your house? The Gods only know.

23. Last time you had a date that began with dinner and ended with lunch? Never.

24. Have you ever applied for a job where the waitresses wear shorty shorts and halters? LOL No.

25. How many pairs of underwear do you have? I don't know, 9 or 10.

26. Last time you received flowers? Mother's Day.

27. Do you play with your hair? Very rarely.

28. Do you take anything in your coffee? Yes, cream and sweetener.

29. Do you have any marshmallows? Yep.

30. ??? Indeed.

31. Last person who told you to fuck off? Kelly Mandell, about a year ago.

32. Last time you used mouthwash? Years ago, I hate it.

33. Would you like to learn to play the harp? Sure, its a beautiful instrument.

34. How many entry ways are there into your living room? Just the one.

35. Last thing you read? I'm currently reading "Thud!" by Terry Pratchett. I just finished "Hannibal Rising."

36. What was the last pageant you attended? I never have to the best of my knowledge.

37. Last place you bought pizza from? 5 Buck.

38. Ever rode in a limo? Nope.

39. What is the last thing you stapled? A menu to the food booth last Thursday.

40. Did you ever drink milk & Pepsi? I have once or twice, but not in many, many years. I'm not a milk fan.

41. Are your feet ticklish? Yes. Very.

42. Last time you saw fireworks? Last Thursday night.

43. Last time you had a Krispy Kreme doughnut? About a year or so ago.

44. Who is the last person that drove you somewhere? Troy.

45. Last time you parked under a carport? I'm not sure I ever have.

46. Do you have a black dog? Yes.

47. Do you have any A1 in your fridge? No.

48. Are you a dominating person? I don't think am.

49. Who has the prettiest toes that you know of? I don't really look at toes much.

50. When is the last time you saw a transvestite? Its been a few years.

Working for the Weekend

Rhi started a new job yesterday. She & Kris are working at Taco Bell, now, and so far, she says she likes it. We'll see whether she continues to, or if she starts griping about it every day. I don't mind her having a job, I just feel like I deal with enough complaining about the workplace with Troy. I think that if she hates something so much she should do something about it instead of sitting around complaining for hours on end, you know?

Erin is trying to get a second job so that he can save up for his move to Oregon faster, which I don't see happening, quite frankly. He's terrible with money. Then there's the fact that he got arrested the other day for criminal mischief and has to deal with all of that before he can go anywhere. But hey, at least he's a lot more motivated to work than he once was!

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there, today, I hope your day rocks. Our day has been ok. I'm not feeling terrific today, I have a headache and I'm very tired. I'm also having a lot of leg pain ever since we hiked up to a water tower Friday night. I'm supposed to go walking in the morning, but at this point, I'm not sure I'll be able to. That uphill crap is for the birds!

I think Rhi's pretty upset at me right now, because I don't have money for gas so that she can meet Kris' dad today, but I think I found a solution that she'll be happy with. (I ended up letting her go, because I can use the XTerra to get her & Kris back & forth to work later in the week)

I made a nice dinner for Troy, at least he seemed to really like it & I thought it was pretty dang tasty, too. I cooked some brown rice & put it on the bottom of a 9x13" pans, seasoned & buttered it, then I put some pork loin on top of that, seasoned them & poured a can of cream of celery soup mixed with milk on top, baked it for about 45 minutes and then topped it with shredded cheese, and served it with corn & tomatoes.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Busy Times

Yesterday was extremely busy. We left here at 2:30 and got home at 11:30 and my ankles were hurting so badly from being on my feet all day that it even hurt to lie down. What did we do? We helped sell food as a fundraiser for the Faire, at the opening ceremonies of the Utah Summer Games. It was ok, we didn't make very much money, but we covered our costs and got to watch an awesome fireworks show. I'm still very tired today, though and am thinking about taking a nap.

I've been thinking about saving up money to get some new home furniture, here pretty soon. We really need some new pieces and have rarely ever bought anything new. It would be awesome knowing we were the first people that had ever owned it, you know?

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Wednesday Update

I'm absolutely exhausted today. I went to bed late and got up before I was ready and all I've wanted to do since then is to go back to sleep. Blech.

Its Troy's first day off and normally I wouldn't feel bad at all about taking a nap, but considering that he worked all night and never went to bed, I think I'd feel a bit guilty, so I won't.

I'm cooking some barbecued drumsticks, baby peas & couscous for dinner, maybe we'll go buy some ice cream for dessert. After that, we're gonna watch "Ghost Rider" and relax a bit. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep my eyes open through the movie!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Post Camping

The camping trip was awesome, once we finally got out of town & got everyone there. Dawn had some issues with money, and space so they ended up just meeting us down there later. We got a really nice campsite with 2 picnic tables, multiple flat areas for the tents and shade pretty much for the whole day. It would have been a lot nicer if Dawn had remembered to bring their chairs, then maybe I could have had a comfy place to sit more often, especially after Troy's chair broke.

Morgan was in a lot of pain from her stitches and such, so I let her have my chair. She, Roger & the baby ended up going home the night before we did, because she was pretty miserable & had forgotten to bring her pain meds with her. Then rest of us, however, enjoyed spending time together and hanging out, although it was really strange to be camping without Jason.

There are other things going on right now, private, family, stressful things. I don't want to violate anyone's privacy, but we'll get through it, what ever happens, because we always do.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Almost Camping Day!

We're slowing getting ready to leave tomorrow. All of my laundry for the trip is done & waiting to be packs, I just need Troy to come in & tell me what else he's taking so I can get that packed, too. After that, we'll go out & clean the XTerra out & start packing it, go to the storage unit and get out our other tent and see if we have any lanterns in there. Then all that's left to do is get groceries tomorrow and pack the cooler and go. Yay! I'm really excited to go, and everyone else seems to be too.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

More Memories

When I was about 10 or 11, we sold our two-story Victorian home and moved out to the country. The place we bought had a house, a mobile home, a garage, an old unused outhouse, some animal pens and coops and a big shed. The people who lived there before us, pretty much just took what they wanted and left most of the outbuildings full of stuff.

This was heaven for a kid, it gave me a lot to explore that first spring and summer there. The outhouse had a real toilet in it and a claw-footed tub (that eventually got moved into the house & put to use), but none of it was plumbed. The garage had wallpaper in it and closets, it looked like someone had lived in it, or intended to at some point. The big shed was a treasure trove for me, it seemed to have everything from restaurant order pads to old golf clubs, and everything in between, just aching to fuel my young imagination. And it did. Some days I was a waitress, others a gold pro, a farmer, or a mechanic.

Eventually my brother took a bunch of the old windows out of the shed and built me a tree house next to it in the black walnut tree. It was an awesome tree house and a dream come true foe me, even though I was a little too old for it at that point and really spent more time lying on the roof of the shed reading by then. Sometimes I really miss that old place and the times I spent there. I think my kids would have loved it.

The Car is Fixed!

Troy just got back from the car dealership and its all fixed again. Well, the door is fixed, there was no one available in the service area to look at my stereo for a couple of weeks, so we took it to the body shop. It was a little hook that had come undone, it took the guy about 5 minutes. I'm just thrilled it was such a tiny thing.

So, now I need to decide if I want to put more gas in it & use it to do the stuff we need to today, or to just take Troy's XTerra. We have to go up & down one of the main streets here in town & deliver posters to motels, convenience stores/gas stations and restaurants along with our little double-sided flier thingies for renne faire. We were supposed to have done this last weekend, but never found the time. Blech.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Dinner Choice

I ended up going with sub sandwiches for dinner. I asked Rhi if she had any ideas & she said, "Why don't you just go and pick up some lunchmeat and stuff and we'll have sandwiches?" So, we did. We had turkey pastrami, mesquite smoked honey ham and turkey breast with cheddar, American or Swiss cheese, potato chips and little pies for dessert.

It had been awhile since we've done that, we used to every payday, because it made a quick and easy meal after a busy day of shopping and paying bills and before gaming, I'm not sure why we stopped, maybe I'll have to start doing things like that again, soon.

Memories, Light the Corners of my Mind..

Its funny how a phrase or a few words can trigger a whole set of memories, isn't it? Its like when I see the words "Samsonite luggage," it beings me a whole series of memories from my childhood, involving my mom & dad's blue hardside luggage. It went everywhere with us, and lasted forever. Parts of it went on every vacation I did until I was grown and out of the house, and even then, I took the smallest piece with me when I left & probably still have it in storage somewhere filled with baby clothes, or something. I remember all of the long car rides, the motel stays, digging around in the luggage, trying to find my PJs, or my clean clothes for the next day. Its just funny to me the power that words, sounds and smells have to evoke feelings and memories. What does it for you?

*sneeze*

Stupid wind. Its blowing super hard here and of course that's causing all of the pollen to start flying around and its giving me a terrible headache. We're having issues with my car again, too. Yesterday the drivers side door starting having problems with the latch/lock/door handle area. Sometimes the latch doesn't disengage and we can't shut it until we lock & unlock it again. I can't open it from the inside at all, I have to roll my window down, use the outside handle, open it & then roll my window up, all before I shut the car off.

Then there's the issue with the car stereo. If is turned off it will start start making a static sound that won't stop until we turn it on & then off again. I swear, we've have more little problems with this brand new car than we ever had with any of the used ones we bought.

At this point, I just wish I could figure out what I want to cook for dinner, because really, at this point, I'm at a loss. I wanted to make spaghetti, but the meat I usually use wasn't in stock at the grocery store today & it doesn't taste the same without it. So, yeah.

Friday, June 01, 2007

Glad its Friday

It seems like its been a super-busy week for us, but it was really just the past couple of days more than anything else. I'm glad its Friday, though, it gives us a chance to mellow out and relax with our friends and recharge a little. If we didn't have these evenings with them, we'd have to high-tail it out of here in search of a vacation home Orlando style, just to get away from the stress and noise of where we live!

The hellions have been mellow today, which is amazing, so far. I'm dreading leaving tonight, because I'm afraid they'll start harassing Tiny again & that she'll hurt herself trying to get to them. As Rhi said earlier, "I hate humans sometimes."

Noisy Neighborhood Part 2

I have a feeling that this will be an ongoing problem throughout the summer. Part of the noise lately, is again being directed at my neighbor, Rabbit, because he stood up to someone in this trailer park. There's this kid, he's about 10 or so, we have no idea which house he lives in or when he moved here, but he apparently believes that he owns every area in this park. He feels like he can be in which ever yard, car, van or driveway he feels like and none of us can say anything about it. He was trying to get into Erin's van yesterday and Troy went out there & yelled at him and his friend. When we left to go to Dawn's yesterday afternoon, Rabbit told us he was standing under our big front windows taunting Tiny by shoving his skateboard up towards her over & over again. He was also jumping out in front of Rhi & her friend as they were riding her scooter around the trailer park & just standing there. Why do people raise their kids to be so disrespectful or other people's property?

And in other news? On May 30, at 11:05am, we welcomed little Elyssabeth Sahara Davis into the world:

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She weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces and was 20 inches long. Troy is her grandpa, because Morgan (the mommy), never knew her dad, and Troy is the closest thing she's ever had, and Roger (the daddy) insists that I'm her grandma, too, so she's a lucky little girl, with two grandpas and three grannies to spoil her.