The Best Gift Ever

This year, I know that I got my best friend the best gift I've gotten for her. Its one she can (and will) wear every day, its also one that will make her cry. I managed to get in on a review opportunity for a company called Pictures on Gold. The make custom engraved jewelry like silver & gold lockets, but the coolest part, is that your photo is laser engraved inside, so it can get wet and not be harmed. They're really beautiful and come in tons of styles. The one I got is silver, which is great, because that's the only metal Dawn wears, and its a lovely heart with flowers one either side.

About five years ago, Dawn lost her youngest daughter, Whisper, to her ex through a custody battle. He had a lot of money & good lawyers and she had no money and a last-minute lawyer. Whisper was five & Dawn hasn't seen her since, because she lives in Maine now & Dawn doesn't have the money to see her or pay to have her come out here. She misses her every day and worries about her constantly. On the front of the locket, I had "Whisper, always in my heart" engraved and her picture put on the inside. Its the last one Dawn has of her & what she looks like in her memories.





(right click & choose "view picture" to see full sized)

On the back, it says To Dawn with Love, Dyane, Christmas 2007. I'm so pleased with my order that its super-hard for me to not drive over there & give it to her right this minute. I just know she's going to love this locket so much. I know that I will be ordering more of these as gidts in the future, they're just soi beautiful and a thoughtful and loving gift.

In the Dog House?

Shopping for my tomboy daughter has always been a challenge, especially when it comes to jewelry. She loves it, but it has to be something very special to her or she won't wear it or take care of it. When I was presented with an opportunity to review personalized dog tags. I jumped on it. At first I didn't know who I'd get one for, until I saw the color selection. They have a lovely tealish green that I thought would be perfect to commemorate Rhi's senior year & graduation. I gave them all of my information & a few days later they told me my order had been shipped. I got it today, and all I can say is that I love it & will order more as my god-children reach their senior years, because its such a special and unique looking gift:



I just know that she's going to love this, too and that she'll wear it all the time. I imagine that eventually, it'll hold a place of honor on her rearview mirror with her tassel from her cap. I can't wait until Christmas to give it her! The ordering process is easy, you can order more than one at a time, if you happen to be ordering for a group of people or a team (they'd be great to remember a family reunion with, wouldn't they?) and they have several colors and designs to add, too. I chose the symbol of victory for this one, because I look at high school graduation as being the first major victory of my kids' lives and I'm so proud when they achieve it. I'm even thinking of ordering a couple for Troy & I for our next anniversary, they're just that cool!

Getting Colder

We have a huge storm blowing in again, the older the day gets, the windier & colder it is. We have rain in the forecast down here & snow in the high country again (remember, I live at the base of a mountain). As winter heads in, I always start to miss the fireplace we had a couple of houses ago, they just make everything nice and cozy. I used to have a friend that had a gas fireplace, but she never bothered to have it hooked up & never used it (did you know you can replace the gas logs in those with fire glass? I didn't, and its beautiful!). I never understood that, but I think she was afraid of it for some reason. Heck, I wish we had one in this house, I'd use it a lot!

Anyway, I heard from Erin yesterday, he's trying to get back home, thankfully. I just hope he manges it. I really miss him.

Pretty Clothes

Do you have friends that are expecting? Maybe you are yourself & you're looking for some attractive maternity clothes that don't look like what everyone else is wearing. You should check out Kiki's Maternity Clothes for beautiful and stylish items at a really good price, too. When I was checking out their website, looking for a Christmas gift for my friend Sarah (who's expecting her 1st baby), I didn't see anything priced over $30, which is really great & the selection is huge. They offer everything from tank tops to dresses & a whole lot in between, too.

I think my favorite part of their clothing line is that they aren't offering a bunch of cutesy clothes, that look like they were made for a pregnant teenager, you know? They're stylish, pretty & in a lot of cases, sexy, because pregnant women are still women and want to be attractive and stylish, too. I hated maternity clothes when I was pregnant, they were just so unattractive. I found some tops that are perfect for Sarah & I hope you find what you're looking for there, too!

Funny

I'm still trying to get used to my new keyboard, after years of having a multimedia one, I'm back to the basic, no-frills model that came with this computer. Along with that, I made a discovery. I hadn't used my speakers to adjust the volume in a few years & so I thought I still had my old Bose speakers, imagine my surprise, when I grabbed one from behind my monitor to turn the volume up & it was the ones that came with my Compaq when I bought it. I'm assuming that I gave Rhi the other ones when I got the Compaq, but for some reason, in my mind, those were the ones I still had.

I will most likely upgrade my keyboard here pretty soon, although, I like this one other than not having a volume button on it. It's so much easier to mess with the volume from the keyboard in the middle of something like a game than it is to either physically adjust it or leave the game & use my mouse to. Sometimes I have to be able to turn it down pretty fast, like when I forget & Troy's asleep during the day, since my office area is in my bedroom in all.

Fall Into Autumn Topic of the Week

I'm falling a little behind on these. This is the topic of the week for the Fall into Autumn Dishcloth Swap.

How about you? Are there any recipes you especially enjoy having in the Fall? Any foods that are seasonal that you especially enjoy?

I really love to bake in the fall & winter, I especially love making anything with pumpkin, its so spicy and fall-like. I use my oven a lot more and tend to make a lot more comfort foods, like stews, pot roasts, roasted chicken and chili. I usually start planning my holiday baking before Halloween, because I like to stock up and have everything ready to go when the moods strikes me.

Its a Crazy World

I've noticed a really strange trend that's occurring here in my town. I live in a smallish town in southwestern Utah. Our economy is fairly stable and there are plenty of jobs for people who are willing to work, but unless those people are working two jobs or have a multiple income household, they don't have a lot of disposable income. There are a lot of huge, beautiful homes here, and the real estate industry seems to be booming, but those houses are nearly a million dollars each, and I know they stay on the market for a long, long time. Most houses here are over 200k, and there are a lot for sale, all the time.

I would think the market is saturated, since I don't know anyone who can afford to buy anything right now, but yet, there are still hundreds of homes being built a year here. Along with all of those homes that are being built, there are a bunch of new apartment buildings that go up every year, too. Rent has gone up so much in the 4 years we've lived in this house, that we're afraid to move because we could never get the deal we have now.

I don't know how people manage to live on less money than we have, quite frankly. Troy has a full-time job and a part-time seasonal job, I work with him at that job & subcontract, too, and there are times when we have a hard time getting everything paid, I can't imagine a $1000 mortgage to worry about, too!

Sorry

I know I haven't been posting much lately. I've either been busy, or trying to adjust to Troy's new schedule, or in the case of the past couple of days, too sick to feel very inspired to write about much. Today, I've spent most of the day browsing the Kiva website. Its pretty awesome what they do over there. They give you, the general public, a chance to loan money to people who are struggling with their businesses in third world countries. They pay the loan back & you can either keep the money, or loan it to someone else. Its really inspiring to read their stories and see the improvements they've made in their businesses and lives thanks to the generosity of strangers.

Well, I'm going to go to the bathroom, fix myself a glass of ice water & go & watch Journeyman. Have a nice evening!

Some People

I've been noticing a trend amongst the newer tenants in this trailer park. If they get your mail by mistake, they won't bother to bring it to your trailer.. no, that's too much work. They won't even put it in the outgoing slot in the big cbu mailboxes at the front of the park. They'll either open it & throw it on the ground (as someone did with my packet from the high school with Rhi's registration info in it) or they'll stick it on top of the mailboxes & maybe hold it down with something to keep it from blowing away. What's so hard about sticking it in the outgoing mail slot? I do it, all the time. I have never put someone else's mail on top, or thrown it on the ground, it could be very important.

The other day, I pulled up to check my mail & there was a huge stack of stuff sitting on top. I carefully looked through everything, making sure none of it was mine and then I put it in the outgoing slot for the mailman to deal with the next day. It took me 5 seconds to put the mail somewhere safe. It took me longer to look through it & make sure none of it was mine. People are so lazy and uncaring these days!

Contemplation on a Rainy Day

Its almost fall, and the weather is trying to make that point blatantly clear to us today. I was woken up by the wind and rain, got out of bed to turn off the fan, take it out of the window & shut it. I tried to go back to sleep, but needed to use the bathroom, then the cats were crying to be fed and I Rhi was wanting attention, so I gave up. It ended up being a good thing, because my dad called a little while later saying they were dropping off some fruit for me.

I think about my grandma a lot these days. The last 15 years or so have been very unkind to her, first with the osteoporosis (I wonder if using progesterone in her younger years would have helped prevent that?) and now the Alzheimer's, I feel for her more deeply than I thought I could 20 years ago or so. I wish I understood her better & that the understanding would make me like her more, there are just so many things that are hard for me to let go of.

Rhi's having Homecoming dress issues that I need to try to solve. Her bra isn't working with the dress we bought & I don't know what to do.

Not a Typical Friday Night

We were sitting out on Dawn & Jason's deck last night, waiting until it was time to leave for the Goo Goo Dolls concert and Jason was telling us about a couple of phone calls he got this week. The first one kept insisting that they had information that he has a mortgage and was trying to get him to refinance. he told them that he didn't have a mortgage, had never had one and wasn't in a position to buy a house. They didn't give up, first they argued with him about whether he had one and then tried selling him mortgage life insurance as a last resort!

The second one was a debt counseling service, or they claimed to be. The knew what he owed to whom, so he figured that they must know what they were talking about. He told him about a few of the bills they didn't have listed and they crunched some numbers and then told him he could affordto pay an extra $200 a month. He's barely squeaking by now and he started yelling a them for being stupid and wasting his time. They way he told the stories was pretty funny, although I know they weren't funny to him at the time.

Just Sayin'

I'm really starting to think that the company Troy works for could use either some new human resources software, so they can keep track of what they've actually hired someone to do and what each job entails or someone who knows how to use the stuff they already have. I'm a little chapped that they hired him as a security guard but use him to do so many other things that his job description just doesn't include and they're getting all of this at a security guard wage. He's having to take a series of classes, that in the long run, do nothing for him, as far as his career goes at this company, but is an advantage to them. He went out there today for his insurance meeting and ended up doing some other things for them while he was there. I realize he did it most likely to earn another hours pay, but its the principal that bothers me.

I just think that when someone is unhappy on the job, there should be a better answer than, "Well, you know what your choices are - deal with it or quit." You know?

One of Those Weeks

Its turning into one of those weeks with Rhi, where no matter what we do or say, she just isn't happy. We got into an argument with her on Sunday night, because she had been behaving badly all day and treating me disrespectfully. I got tired of it and mentioned it to her, which caused her to get really angry and it spiraled downhill from there.

Yesterday, she was fairly miserable because Kris didn't come home from school with her and didn't come over until 6pm or so. She seemed alright after that, so I figured she was okay. He didn't come home with her again today, because his dad is in the emergency room having a bad reaction to some medication he's taking for his MS & he didn't want to leave him. For some reason, that really made her mad and she decided that she didn't want to see him at all. I hope he comes home with her tomorrow, or she'll be livid. They have tickets to a GooGoo Dolls concert tomorrow night and she's really been looking forward to it. (Troy & I have tickets, too)

If I start talking about needing some West Palm Beach real estate, you'll know he didn't go and she exploded, because I go out of my way to avoid her when she's angry!

Taking Just a Little More

Its Troy's weekend, officially, anyway. He's at work right, though. I'm sure he's sitting at one of those big conference tables, with a bunch of other people. He's at a mandatory meeting about our insurance. It never really changes, but yet, they have these yearly meetings to tell us all about the new, exciting changes. Every year, I hope the new & exciting changes will actually happen, like maybe us getting a co-pay, instead of a deductible, so that we could actually afford to go to the doctor. It would be really nice to be able to go & see what's really wrong with me when I'm sick and maybe get some medicine to help.

Anyway, my point is, yes, they are paying him to be there, but its just one more thing that takes him away and one more reason for me to hate where he works. I didn't always hate it, I used to think it was a pretty good company & that they cared about their employees. Now, I'm counting down the years until he can retire. They really burned all of their bridges last week, let me tell you.

Topic of the Week #2

This is the Fall into Autumn Dishcloth Swap topic of the week:

When you knit or crochet dishcloths, washcloths or face cloths, what do you use? What size needle or hook? Wood? what type? Metal? Plastic? A specific Brand? Why do you love that needle or hook so much? Is there one you are dying to try? Is there a particular yarn you love and use all the time for cloths? What is so special about it?

Well, I'm not a great knitter, and I'm very slow, so I usually crochet them. Its just faster for me. I use a size "F" hook, metal, by Boyle I think. Its the size I'm most comfortable holding, it doesn't sluip out of my hand or aggravate my carpal tunnel as much as other sizes do. As far as yarn, it really depends on the purpose of the cloth, if I'm doing a dishcloth, I'll use Sugar & Cream cotton. If its a washcloth, I'll usually use Cotton Tots or another baby cotton, for the softness. There's nothing special about it, its just what I'm able to get where I live.

Getting my Life Back

I've recently come to realize, due to some things in my life that I feel powerless over, that I need to take control of my life and my happiness. I've just let life happen to me for too long, I think I need to start happening to my life, you know? Towards that end, I've been listening to the first CD in a series by Clay Nelson, a life coach. The series I'm listening to is called "Getting Started," and its supposed to help me reclaim the right to have a say in how my life turns out and quite frankly, I really need that right now.

Clay Nelson offers you more than CDs, he also has a radio show called the Clay Nelson Life Balance Hour that airs Wednesdays at 2:00pm Pacific time, on 1290 AM in Santa Barbara, or you can catch it on live streaming audio through his website. Really, if you feel like me and your life is out of your own control, check out the website, listen to the radio show and think about ordering one of his CD series. What he has to say is uplifting and empowering. You are your own best investment, after all, make yourself and your life a priority. I know that many times we let our own needs slide in the busy years of raising children and building careers, but you can listen to CDs anytime, right? You can start to rebuild your life while you're doing all of that driving we all have to do everyday and that can only help you and your family.

Topic of the Week

This is the Fall into Autumn Topic of the Week!

Now that in some geographic locations the weather is starting to turn cooler, do you change the type of yarn(s) you knit/crochet with? If so, what do you now knit/crochet with instead and why? If not, why do you not switch and what do you knit/crochet with?

Well, considering that I really don't knit or crochet much after the weather starts to get warm & start up again in the Fall & Winter, no, not really. Why do I stop? I'm way too busy most of the time in the late Spring & Summer, getting ready for the renaissance faire, barbecuing and camping to really want to sit down & knit or crochet. When I do sit down to do something, its generally sewing that I'm trying to finish up before Faire. I did make a Harry Potter scarf this summer, but that was for a swap I was in.

Going to the Dogs

Ok, I realize that the job of a property manager or landlord is to make sure there are people living in their rental units & that there's money coming in. I know that empty units don't generate income. I know I live in a trailer park, but does it suddenly have to become a trashy trailer park? On my row, there's a trailer that has an RV parked in the driveway. Its been painted smurf blue. With house paint. They have another car parked there, angled in towards the RV & a barricade piece wedged between them with a few dead cornstalks shoved in it. I guess that's their version of a fenced yard, I'm not sure.

The people that live at that end let their children play in the street & get mad at all of us when we honk our horns at them. They believe its a playground, apparently & that we should walk in. Its ok for their friends to drive on the road, though. They also get to park on the road & pretty much block our access a lot of the time. There are signs posted on every other trailer, stating that there is no parking, that's its a fire lane & that the parking lot is at the south end. They ignore the signs. Some days, I can barely fit my car between the ones that are parked on either side. A fire engine would never fit through & all of us would lose our homes. For the record, I live right at the south end, the parking lot is across from me & I still make my friends park in it.

To get out of here most afternoons, I'm dodging kids on bikes, (who like to challenge the cars), kids on scooters (who think they can outrun the cars), kids on Big Wheels (who think getting in front of the cars & riding is moving out of the way), RC cars (racing this way & that), and adults who walk down the middle of the road. Then there are the things the kids leave in the road. There was a full-sized mattress out there the other day, that one kid had pulled out the dumpster. One of the people at the end of my row has spray painted a sign on the side of the dumpster. It says, "Slow down children @ play!" and every time I go past it, I say, "Yes, I'll drive the speed limit. You keep your kids out of the road." It seems to be a neverending battle.

I'll be so happy when it gets cold & they stay inside, huddled in front of their TVs.

Karma

A couple of years or so ago, I had a falling out with an old friend of mine. Her name is Lori & things had been strained between us for awhile. It basically started when she & her then-boyfriend decided that they just HAD to move in the middle of Renne Faire & expected all of us, with our various commitments to different aspects of Faire, to just pick up & leave to help them. We all pretty much told them we couldn't, except for Dawn, and they worked her half to death, disregarding that she had a separated rib.

Lori refused to talk to any of us for a long time after that & things between us were really never the same. Troy & I both did help them get the truck loaded & ready to go when they moved to Las Vegas, though & they kind of acted like everything was ok after that. They'd stop in and visit for a couple of minutes every third or fourth time they were in town. That really hurt Rhi more than anyone, because she was very close to Lori's youngest daughter, Autumn, at the time.

The summer that the falling out occurred, Lori had sent Autumn up here to stay with her grandma for a couple of weeks, and she wanted to be with Rhi constantly, which, at one time, would have been fine with Rhi, but she was older & had new friends and a job, too. She was also pretty tired of being pushed around by Autumn by the end of the first week & started kind of making excuses not to hang out with her. One day, Rhi had to go to work & her former best friend had spent the night here, because she worked at the same place (Troy & I worked there, too). Autumn had also spent the night & didn't understand when Rhi couldn't hang out that day & had to go to work. She didn't understand that the other friend worked with Rhi & that was why she was going with her. She threw a fit, stormed off to Dawn's house & told a bunch of lies. When Rhi heard about them later, she was steamed & told Autumn's sister Sarah, that Autumn was a bitch.

Fast forward to Faire. Lori completely ignored me and refused to talk to me. When Dawn asked her why, she said that she just "had Autumn's back." Excuse me? I wasn't the one with the issues with Autumn. Rhi was. I didn't get into a childish fight with her, Rhi did. I figured if she wasn't able to separate what our kids did or said to each other, then I was done with her & blocked her email & took her off my MSN. After that, she & her husband started competing with us. They got a new car, then they saw that we had an SUV (its an XTerra), so they went out & bought an SUV. They knew that Rhi had a cell phone, so they ran out & got them for their girls. They knew I owned a house (its my mom & dad's I inherit it, not in a hurry!), so they went & bought one of those Las Vegas luxury homes. Lori sent out a bragging email to everyone, going on & on about how nice it was & how high their mortgage payment was every month, you know they type I'm talking about.

I didn't care. I don't want a huge mortgage. That's why I'm a renter. That's why I'm willing to wait as long as it takes to get my house. I like having a little money to do fun things with. Her latest email about the house wasn't so boastful. It mentioned that they were moving, because the bank had foreclosed on the house because they couldn't pay the mortgage. It kind of feels just a little like karma, you know? Brag about it & lose it or something like that.

The Oldest

I got to chat with Garrett for awhile this evening, on MSN. It was really nice to catch up with him, even if it was just for a few minutes. I guess he had to go to the ER today, he had a really bad toothache that had started last night, so he didn't get any sleep. He was feeling a lot better by the time we chatted, but his dad's tooth had started to act up as soon as they got home.

He & his dad went & saw Ted Nugent last night (I think it was last night), he said they had a really good time. He's casting for his movie, The End of Eight, and has several local (to him) musicians working on the soundtrack & an artist doing a comic book. It sounds like he really has his poop in a group this time & is doing what he loves.

He's pretty sure that his girlfriend, Keri, is his one & only, but he's not rushing into anything this time, which is good, because he has a tendency to. I'm pulling for him, I just want him to be happy & do what he wants to be doing with his life.

Happy Labor Day

It hasn't been a great holiday for me, but I'm glad Rhi had it off from school, since there was no way I'd have been able to get up and take her to school this morning. I am so sick today, I really can't believe it, especially since I was barely feeling bad yesterday. I woke up at about 2am to thunder & lightning, let Tiny come in the bedroom with me (she's terrified of the thunder) and tried to get back to sleep. At around 3:30 the storm had passed & I put the animals out of my room and turned on my lamp to read awhile, hoping I'd feel good enough to go back to sleep. I went back to sleep at around 4 I think, but didn't really sleep soundly & got up shortly after Troy got home.

My head hurt so badly that even the dim lighting from my lamp made it worse. Its a little bit better right now, but I can really tell when its time for me to take my cold medicine again. I'm really, really hoping that I don't feel as bad tomorrow as I have today. I'm also hoping that if it has to rain tonight that it won't thunder.

Fall Into Autumn Dishcloth Swap Questionnaire

I signed up for the Fall Into Autumn Dishcloth Swap. I'm really excited about it! Here's my questionnaire for my partner!

1. Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been doing it? I do both. I've been crocheting for about 3 years & knitting for a year or so.

2. Have you made dishcloths before? Do you use them yourself, give them as gifts, or both? I have made them. I usually make dishcloths & washcloths when I feel the need to make a project but I don't have time to commit to a big one. I use them, give them and sell them.

3. What's your favorite cotton to make cloths from? What cotton would you like to try that you haven't before ? I usually use Sugar & Cream or Peaches & Cream, that's what I can get where I live.I'd like to try anything different.

4. If you knit, do you prefer circular or straight needles? For all, do you prefer wooden, metal, or plastic needles? Straight. I own circs, but I'm afraid of them still. I have only used plastic & metal, of the two I prefer metal.

5. What are your favorite colors? Any colors you don't like much? I love dusty purples & chartreuse green shades, I really love them together. I don't hate any colors, so feel free to do what you like. :)

6. What do you like best about Autumn? The smell of the air & the crisp night time temperatures. The cooler weather.

7. Pies: Pumpkin? Apple? Pecan? All of em? or No Thanks! Pumpkin is my favorite of those three.

8. When you were a kid, were you the one who couldn't wait to get started with school , or the one who overslept on the 1st day? I couldn't wait. I was bored by the end of Summer & ready to get back to my friends.

9. Do you celebrate Halloween? (The real key here guys is especially knowing if you have an aversion to the holiday or little goodies/decorations associated with it, given the timeframe of the swap) I love Halloween & have a big party every year. I collect witchy Halloween things & keep them on a shelf in my living room year round.

10. If you had to choose just 3 edible 'goodies' to eat for a full year, what 3 would you choose? Bing cherries, fudge and peanut butter cookies

11. Do you have any pets? Kids? Husbands who seem like kids? ;) I have a dog & three cats, and 3 kids.. only one is still at home; Rhiannon - she's 17 & a husband, Troy.

12. If you were to describe a particular yarn that shares traits of your personality, what would it be and why? Apparently I'm mohair (at least according to this quiz) and I'm a warm and fuzzy type who works well with others, doing my share without being too weighty. I can be stubborn and absolutely refuse to change my position once it is set, but that's okay since I'm good at covering up my mistakes.

13. Do you use your cloths mostly for dishcloths, or as facecloths? Face cloths, I use a sponge for dishes.

14. Favorite Fall Holiday: Halloween or Thanksgiving and why? (Feel free to share another fall memory if you do not celebrate either of these holidays) Halloween. When I was a child it was the only time I could be different & not be teased for it. Now it just feels like a time of mischief & magic, and I like that.

15. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should know about? I don't have any allergies or aversion, but I'm not Christian & have no plans to change that.

Exciting Stuff

Its been an exciting couple of days around here. I came back from picking Rhi up from school yesterday & Troy was wanting to talk about computers. It seems he'd gone looking at memory upgrades and such for his current machine & got frustrated with our Semprom processors & went to Dell. By the end of the conversation, we had each ordered a new computer - mine with a new flat screen monitor & his with a better video card & bigger hard drive. I don't need the bigger hard drive, I already have a 160g slave on this computer that I'll add to my new one. I'm really excited about getting them, its our Christmas to each other, and we'll give our old machines to Rhi, who's needing an update too.

Other than that, Troy & I are getting ready to go to Home Depot & look at stuff for our kitchen!! I'm super-excited about that & can't wait to get started. We've also picked a venue for Rhi's wedding, and its so pretty there.

My First Video

The other day, Tiny had a playdate with Daisy. I thought they were cute & funny together, so I took some video with my digital camera:



I know its kind of goofy, but I really enjoy watching them play together & thought you might, too!

Time Travel Tuesday

How did you find out you were pregnant, how did you share the news with your hubby? How did you tell your family?

Well, I was pretty sure that I was, but my ex-husband wasn't working at the time and we didn't have any insurance either, so I went to the Women's Crises Health Clinic and told them I thought I was pregnant. They gave me a test and made me watch a pro-life movie and then told me I was. After they "counseled" and made sure the baby was wanted & I wasn't going to seek an abortion, they let me go home.

I really don't remember how I told the ex. That was over 21 years ago. I probably came in & told him I was pregnant, it wasn't like I hadn't talked to him before I went down there.

I'm pretty sure we drove to the town my parents lived in at the time, probably the next weekend & told them. We didn't do anything cute or coy or anything, I'd remember that.

Clarifying Some Points

Yes. I live in Utah. Yes. I was born in Utah.

No. I'm not LDS, nor have I ever been, or even considered becoming, LDS. I personally think its rather rude to assume that because someone lives somewhere, they must be a certain race or religion. I would never assume that just because someone lives in Boston or Chicago that they're Irish Catholic. For the record, I AM Scots-Irish. I'm not Catholic. To me, that's like saying "Oh, she plans a weekly menu & once home-schooled her kids, she must be Christian." Again, I'm not.

I had thought the name of my blog gave a HUGE clue about my religion. Apparently some people are particularly thick. Or perhaps they ran across my site searching for "Utah bloggers" or something when they should have searched for "LDS bloggers."

I don't discuss religion, my beliefs or politics on my blogs. Ever. I don't discuss them among my peers here, either, unless I am asked to voice an opinion on something or asked a question. Those things are very personal to me & very private.

But since I'm here & I'm talking, why don't you all take a couple of minutes to pray for the families of those 6 miners that are STILL trapped in the Crandall Canyon Mine, 3 weeks after it collapsed. Pray that they'll be found soon and give those families some closure. Yes, imagine that, I pray. You should, too, even if you just call it wishing or sending good vibes or whatever. Do it. I'm also married into a mining family, my husband lived in that area of Utah as a boy, while his father mined coal, so believe me, all those families have to hold onto right now is the hope that they can bury their loved ones & not have them entombed in the place they were lost. Or, maybe take a minute to think about those of us in flash-flood country today, as the last remnants of Dean pass over us & unleash their rains.

Assume that because I live in Utah I care about those things. Don't assume you know my religion.

A Trip Remembered

Several years ago, way back when Erin was a baby, my parents sent me a plane ticket to visit them for Mother's Day and the week before. I flew from our tiny airport in Pueblo to Phoenix, and I was amazed when we were flying over that city. It seemed like even the smallest house had a swimming pool in the back yard. I thought they must all be wealthy, but then I saw the difference as soon as we flew over the Arizona luxury real estate areas. Wow, there were so many beautiful homes with huge yards, I couldn't believe it!

From there, I flew into Sacramento & mom & dad picked me up. They both looked so happy to see me, like they were afraid I had missed my flight or something. They took me for dinner down by the river & then we went to their house in Tracy. We had so much fun, we went shopping and then we took a weekend trip to Vallejo & visited Marine World Africa USA and drove up the coast and saw Fort Ross and got lost in Santa Rosa. I was really sad to leave them, because I really missed them a lot at that point. I didn't see them again until 1991, so that was three years. Two years after that, they came out to Colorado & helped us move here.

Interoffice Harmony

You all know that I don't work out of my home, or have to deal with any of the stuff most of you do, but my husband does, and he talks about most of it when he comes home. He works for a pretty large corporation (in size more than employees) and its spread all over the place. The awesome things that helps facilitate communication between the supervisors and their employees is intranet software. Today's software pretty much does it all, from business email to group scheduling, EPazz works with businesses from start to finish. Troy loves their system, it helps out so much with collaboration and really has improved the workflow from department to department out there.

If you have a business that needs intranet software, EPazz is currently offering a FREE 30-day trial of their software. Just go to website & contact them to get that setup to see how much it helps your own business every day.

Vegas Glitz

Most of my readers know that one of my favorite places for a getaway (besides camping) is Las Vegas. It's less than 3 hours from me, and quite honestly, it's the closest city of any size to me. I love to look at the casinos while we're there, especially at night. I guess I'm just a sucker for bright lights and sparkly things, which Vegas has in abundance. I do like all of the different themes that each casino has, like the Venetian hotel's flavor of Venice, Italy or Treasure Island & it's entertaining pirate show every night. I try to stay in a different resort every time we go, so I can find out the benefits of different one and maybe someday figure out which is my favorite.

So far, I've stayed at The Tropicana, The MGM Grand and Caesar's Palace, but I've been to most of them, and walked around looking at the awesome features each has inside. I'm trying to decide which one is next on my list.

What Ever Happened To...

I've been doing a pretty good job of getting back in touch with people I was friends with in high school, and I'm always amazed to find out what they ended up doing with their lives, you know? I have one friend that spent years in the Marines & now he works for NOAA, another one is a Geologist in Colorado. One of my best friends started out as a cosmetologist, did market research for awhile and the last I heard, she was an events coordinator at a hospice. Another best friend is a teacher at a Charter school & is currently working on getting her Masters in education.

One friend is a music teacher in Kentucky, another an insurance adjuster in Pennsylvania. Someone I knew all the way through school lives in St. Louis & works at a time share another is in Arizona and owns a car dealership. I just think its amazing how far flung we all are, all of us starting out in Southern Colorado & most of us aren't there anymore, or have left & come back. Of course there are those I still haven't managed to find & wonder what they did & if they're ok, and those that I don't have any desire to contact.

Stuff

Things About Me

Accent - Pretty much just the typical, flat, Western United States one. Not sure it really stands out much.

I don't drink - Milk. Ever.

Chore I hate - Anything to do with the kitchen & cleaning.

Pets - 1 dog (Tiny) and 3 cats (Lucky, Kaji & Malachite)

Essential Electronics - My computer, cell phone & camera

Perfume - Any of the BPAL fragrances that work for me.

Gold or silver - Silver. Always. I only wear one piece of gold jewelry right now & that's my wedding band. We're switching those out soon, for silver.

Insomnia - Often.

Job Title - Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Freelance Writer, Volunteer

Most Admired Trait - I love people who are just being themselves genuinely.

Kids -Three.

Phobia - Heights.

Religion - Not as religious as I am spiritual.

Siblings - Two brothers.

Time I wake up - 6:20am on school days, when I feel like it otherwise.

Unusual talent/skill - I don't think any of mine are unusual.

Vegetable I refuse to eat - Brussels Sprouts.

Worst habit - Procrastination.

X-rays - I'm sure I had several as a child, but all I remember are for my teeth.

My favorite meal - I don't think I really have a favorite. I like anything I don't have to cook.

The Heartbreak of Alzheimer's

When I was a girl and still living in Utah, our family had some really great friends from church, they were like another set of grandparents to me. My parents trusted them so much that I stayed with them when I was five and my parents had to keep going back & forth to California because my paternal grandmother was dying. Their names were Bertha & Monroe, they were loving, kind and generous. I never, ever heard a cross word come from either one of them. Imagine my distress, several years later, when we had moved to Colorado & we heard that Monroe had suddenly become verbally abusive to Bertha and had taken to wandering off and getting lost. Bertha was heartbroken and confused, wondering what in the world happened to the man she had loved for over 50 years. When we found out it was Alzheimer's we were all deeply saddened. Alzheimer's robbed the world of the gentle soul that had been Monroe and it robbed him of his very being, the things that made him who he was. Alzheimer's took Bertha's husband and robbed her of their golden years together, because after awhile, he didn't even remember who she was. She never stopped loving and caring for him and she did her best to remember that it was the disease talking and not her husband. I think that on the hardest & worst days, she carried a memory of who he used to be with her, because that's all she could do. I'm so thankful that we have a better understanding of this disease now, than we did in the 80s, when Monroe had it.

This fall, communities all over the United States are hosting the Memory Walk to benefit the Alzheimer's Association. I'm considering signing up for the one in St. George, Utah and trying to recruit my friends and seeing what we can do to help the cause. You, my readers, should check & see if your community is hosting a walk and check into volunteering to walk, and if they aren't, maybe you can start a team & become a Team Captain. Whatever you decide, whether its to volunteer to walk and raise funds or to start a team, you should sign up early and get a head start! Hopefully, someday we'll find a way to end Alzheimer's, but it can't be done without research, and research takes money. That's where The Memory Walk comes in, to help earn the money it takes to do all of these things, from research and education to community support for people with Alzheimer's and their families .

Listen to your heart, do what you think is right. If you can't walk, please consider a donation to someone who is.

Menu Update

The menu planning every week is working out really well for us & I'm really loving knowing what I'm fixing every day, again. Troy loves it, because we never have the "what's for dinner" argument anymore, and I'm not grouchy because no one is helping me figure it out. I don't always stick to the plan 100%, because life happens, it doesn't just stay still, you know?

Tonight, I had planned to make Crock Pot Meatloaf, but last night I realized that we had a lot of leftovers in the fridge that really needed to be eaten, so that's what Troy & I ate tonight. Rhi? Well, she won't eat them, ever, not even if they're hers, so I guess she & Kris are doing without tonight. I'm not going to feel guilty about it, though, its her choice and there's plenty in there to eat.

This morning, Dawn & I went shopping for party food, to kind of help Vicki out a bit. Her littlest is sick right now & needing a lot of extra attention, plus Vicki works nights and never gets enough sleep during the day, especially now that she's back in school. We got a bunch of chips and dips and some nice appetizers to heat up tomorrow, so that should be plenty and none of us will have to work terribly hard.

Real Reviews from a Real Person

Do you like to hear what real people say about products, TV shows and movies? I know that I do, and I've read a lot of web sites that specialize in reviews. My current favorite is Lisa Reviews. She gives no nonsense reviews about things I watch and products that I'd like to use. The website is easy to navigate, her reviews are well-written and easy to understand, and she generally provides a link so that you can get more information if you need it, or just want to read up on it a little more.

She does a lot of reviews for products for babies and young children, and since I have friends who are just starting their families, I take the time to read about them, because I love to buy things for those kids, and I want them to be happy with what I give them. I use the information on babies to share with Morgan, so my grand-daughter can benefit, too.

One review was really awesome for me. I have been looking all over the internet to try to find out what the SciFi series Eureka is about. I got a few brief overviews about it, but nothing that really persuaded me that I was missing out on anything. Until I found a review of it on Lisa Reviews. She gave a great synopsis of what the show is about, and now I'm really sad that I missed the first season. I guess I'll have to use the link in her review to pick it up!

Middle Name MeMe

Here are the rules:

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.
4. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog

My middle name is Elizabeth:

E: My new grand-daughter's name is Elyssabeth, after me.

L: I almost never learned how to write a cursive "L."

I: I had a friend in the 3rd grade named Ilia.

Z: Zoology fascinates me, I should have paid more attention in school.

A: My mom wanted to name my brother "Aaron," but didn't, because my grandfather was antisemitic. I think she should have.

B: We call Elyssabeth "Beth."

E: I named my son Erin, to honor both my mother & my heritage, which is Irish.

T: I have a dog named Tiny.

H: I drive a Chevy HHR.

Now I have to tag nine people for each letter - Leslie, Pam, Cetta, Margie, Susan, Allison, Jill, Christine and you. Yes. you.

Just Remembering

I think I had a hugely different idea of what a Las Vegas casino was like than reality before I had actually been there. I know they show a fairly realistic picture of them on TV shows, but to me, all I ever imagined was a huge room full of slot machines and video poker games. The first time we went was in 1996, for an IRC party. We mostly wanted to go to meet a couple of friends we'd been chatting with, but at any rate, it was our fist visit.

I was fascinated by the area that held all of the poker tables, it seemed like it was a totally separate casino, quite frankly. It was classy, and quiet in there, not the loud, craziness of the main area in the casino, with the flashing lights, smoke and noise. It just felt like something out of a James Bond movie and I couldn't stop looking over there. I'd be playing a slot machine and find my eyes drawn to the poker room. I have no idea why, I'm not a good poker player, and I never wanted to play while we were there. I think I just liked the idea of all of it, really.

Weight Loss Update

So, the weight is slowly coming off, but I seriously need to have fewer days like today, where all I want to do is eat stuff that's bad for me, you know? I swear, all I've wanted to eat is crap. I'm still taking the orlistat with every meal that contains fat over about 4 grams (on days when I'm eating like I'm supposed to) & I'm thinking about adding some hoodia to the mix, too, since I already have a bottle sitting in the kitchen. It can't hurt anything & it might just help.

I've lost about 15 pounds or so, not enough to really make a difference in how my clothes fit yet (not at my current size anyway), but its nice knowing that I've lost it & I'm that much closer to my eventual goal. I think I have a meltdown of sorts every time I talk to my mom about my weight, diet or whatever, because I was fine until she called me yesterday to see how it was going.. then all I could think of was how hard it was & how much I wanted to give up. I'm thinking I need to figure out why & deal with that while I'm working on my weight.

Time Travel Tuesady

You're 21.
What's going on in your life?
Who are you spending most of your time with?
What's favorite things to do? eat? hobby?

Wow. Let's see. I was married to Ron. Garrett was 4 months old and we were either living with his sister in the house on Avocado or she had just moved next door, in Pueblo, Colorado. He wasn't working, so things were really tight for us, thankfully, his stepdad owned the house we were in and didn't charge us rent. I was desperately unhappy & wanting to go to college, but he kept making up excuses as to why I couldn't go & then turned around and went himself.

I spent most of my time with Ron, his sister Kelly, her then-boyfriend Bill and my parents. I didn't really have any other friends until March or April & that was The Evil Ass, that I left Ron for later that year.

My favorite things to do were to go to the male strip club with Kelly, and watch her & her Aunt get drunk and stupid over the men, RPG, read and I did a few crafts and enjoyed that a lot. I loved Kelly's lasagne and pretty much anything that I didn't have to cook.

Gettin On Top of It

I've been trying like hell this week to get on top of the mess otherwise known as my kitchen. I got all of the counter tops scrubbed down yesterday, washed the stove and microwave & caught up on my dishes, too. Today, I plan to work on the table and the area around it, so that tomorrow, when Troy is home, we can get the floor swept & mopped. After that, the living room just needs a quick going over & we have a pretty clean house (the public parts at any rate). I plan to work on our bedroom pretty soon, but I need to go & buy some more garbage bags before I can.

I Have a Need.. a Need to Read

Yeah, I know, stupid pun for a title, but true nonetheless. I'm an avid reader, to the point that I can't sleep at night unless I'm able to read awhile first. I'll read just about anything when I'm bored, from food packages to instruction manuals and everything in between. I try very hard to never let myself get that desperate and to always have plenty of books in my "to-be-read" pile, but I really am close to that point, right now. I'm more than half done with the one I'm reading & I don't have anything else. I did order "Lisey's Story" the other day, but it hasn't even been sent yet. I may end up going back and re-reading an old favorite while I'm waiting, or I could borrow the next book in the series I'm working on now.. not sure how much I can handle of that at one time, though.

Back to the Grind

Well, this is the first full week of school & Rhi is already staying up too late & getting up grumpy and tired. I got up at 3am to use the bathroom & her bedroom light was on. When I came out, it was off. She claimed that it wasn't on & that she went to bed at around 12 or 1, which, in my opinion, is way too late when she has to get up at 6:20. She comes home after school with Kris, they do their home work & then have to take a nap. I think if she skips the nap, she ought to be ready to go to bed before 11, I know I am.

We had a really good summer and we did some fun things, but it always seems like we didn't do anything or go anywhere when I look back on it. Yeah, we went camping and cooked out a lot, Faire was fun and so were the other things we did, but its not like we actually went anywhere, or that we have a mountain cabin or an Orlando vacation home to go to (not that I'd vacation anywhere hot in the summer!) or anything like that.

Do normal, run-of-the-mill people like us do the same types of things in the summer? Camping, barbecuing and hanging out? Or are we sub-par? We do have one last fun thing we're doing next weekend. We're going to go to the Iron County Fair, which we've never done in all of the years we've been here, so I'm looking forward to that. We're also going to a party this Friday night at Vicki's house, which should be a lot of fun.

I can't believe that Garrett will be 21 in a month. Wow. Where did all of the years go?

Updating the Bedroom

Last Summer, I bought a new comforter set, in Moroccan style stripes - it has burnt orange, plum, deep red & beige in it. I really love it & it brightened up the room so much. In December, my grandmother gave me her four-post bed, and it has a cinnamon colored stain & a nutmeg one, with inlays and such, its a gorgeous bed. Recently, I ordered a beautiful set of wooden blinds for the window near our bed. The ordering process is super easy, they have pointers for measuring everything and links explaining almost every step of the process. Today I received them, I got them in a nutmeg stain that matches my bed perfectly, and the cloth tapes are a mulberry color that's really close to the plum in my comforter.

This is what my window looked like before we installed them:


Pretty ghastly, wasn't it? We had no privacy right there because the mini-blinds that were here when we moved in were broken, and we just never got around to doing anything about it until today. So, we set about updating the way it looked. Troy brought in his cordless screwdriver, we measured where the mounting brackets went, marked it & Troy started to work. Less than 10 minutes later, the blinds were securely in place & he was mounting the beautiful matching valance.

Even with them up, its a huge improvement to that area. They were so easy for Troy to install, and he was really impressed with the way everything went together and how easy it was to figure out. They have instructions for installation on the web site, but by the time I started reading them, he already had it figured out & was ready to start.

I am so pleased with my new blinds, I just can't say that enough! They made my whole bedroom look so much better and we even have privacy now. Troy works nights part of the month, and now he'll be able to sleep better in the day, because we can close the blinds and block out the sunlight. Thank you so much Blinds Chalet! I can't wait to show them off to everyone I know!

The Last First Day

Well, we've started the countdown. 179 school days to graduation. Today was Rhi's last first day of public school. She's already starting to feel the bittersweetness that is Senior year, knowing its the end, knowing that after this, she's grown & needs to figure out what she's doing. She is, at the same time, very excited & determined to have a great & fun year.

And yes, her hair is bright pink in the picture, but its just the front, she has it in a pony tail. She bought it, and it was what she wanted to do, so why not? Its certainly not the first time one of the kids have had oddly colored hair (Mine had blue streaks last summer).

We're all pretty excited though, we got tickets to go see the Goo Goo Dolls on September 21. Troy & I bought our tickets & one for Dawn, and Rhi & Kris each bought their own, now Rhi's trying to get one for her friend, Nicole. It should be pretty awesome, its been a long, long time since I was at a concert & I'm really excited.

Ready to Go

Well, Rhi's all registered, her yearbook picture taken & she's ready to go. She's really excited about school starting and super nervous, knowing this is her last year. Of course, we couldn't get through the whole registration & taking pictures process without getting into an argument or two, because that's the way she is.

She called Kris right after we got there, to tell him that unless he wanted to stand in line a long time, he should come soon. Well, almost 2 hours later, he finally showed up, right as we were getting ready to leave. So. Yeah, Rhi wanted to stay, to "get Kris to smile" for his pictures. That's all fine & good, but we kept telling him he needed to go get in the picture line to cut down the wait. First, he just didn't go, then when he went in, he didn't actually get in line, he stood around talking with his friends until we got in there, then he decided he should actually get in line. By this time, I was starting to get pissed off. It was almost 2:00, I was hungry & starting to get sick to my stomach from not eating since 8:30, and then Rhi got mad at me, because I wanted to go home. I finally ended up leaving her there.

She finally got home more than an hour & a half later, because they had to stay & get his schedule situated, too. I'm glad I decided to come home when I did, I'd have been sick if I waited that long. I also told her that he had to go home by 9:30 0n school nights & that there was no more sleeping over until they're both 18. She was angry, and she probably still is, but I need my home back, at least for awhile.

Stuff I Need to Take Care Of

My love seat now has a tear in the front & in the back, I need to get a slipcover for it before it gets worse. I also need to take the lint brush to all of the furniture in the living room, now that Tiny is done shedding for a bit. I wish there was another way to arrange the living room, but there isn't, so I'll stop dreaming.

There's a bunch of stuff in the kitchen left there from Faire that needs to be put away and probably other crap, too. I'm so terrible about getting things back to where they belong anymore. I desperately need to defrost my deep freeze & clean out the stuff that's been in there too long, too. Both of the light fixtures in there have issues.. the one over the sink is just kind of hanging there, and the other one is a big, ugly fluorescent fixture.

The hall.. omg. I need to get all of the dust and cobwebs off the wall & get the furnace cleaned out & a new filter put on it. Rhi also put her night stand out there & that needs to go somewhere. The craft room needs a good cleaning, as does the bathroom & my bedroom. Now, if I could just find an extra 3 or 4 hours in a day, I'd be set!

Regrets

I'm starting to regret a few decisions that I've made in the past couple of months, regarding Rhi's fiance, Kris. After we went camping the first time, and they had spent 2 night sleeping in the same space, I didn't see any justification to telling them he couldn't spend the night at the house. Now they both (mostly him, it seems) seem to think he can stay here any time he wants to.

Take tonight, for instance, today was he & Rhi's 6 month anniversary. He kept telling her he could come over at some point today. Then he told he he could leave his house by 6.. then he claimed he couldn't leave at all. Of course, this caused them to get into a huge argument (and I didn't blame Rhi for it at all) and after they settled things and she got him to see how much he was hurting her, he called her back & wanted me to drive out to his house at 9:30 at night to get him. I asked what time he was planning to go home, so Rhi called him back & his answer was, "Well, my thought was, I could just spend the night & my dad could get me in the morning to go register for school & that would give me plenty of time to make up for hurting you." Ok, well, my thought was. "What time does he plan to leave?" I didn't ask if he planned to spend the night. I didn't want him spending the night. I think they've spent far too much time together over the past week to begin with & that they never get a chance to miss each other & as a consequence, are both starting to treat each other badly.

And school starts this week. I really think they both need to worry about their grades and such, and keep focused so they can graduate. I have other issues with him, but there isn't much I can do about them, quite frankly, and if those things don't bother her, then I won't even bring them up.

Wedding Planning

I've been thinking about making Rhi & Kris' wedding invitations myself, to save some money. I usually make all of the party invitations for anything we host at our house & everyone always talks about how nice they are, so she & I have been discussing that. I'm thinking of doing scrolls or the pocket fold type, but I'm not sure yet, it all depends on which ends up being the most economically reasonable, really & what she prefers. She has no problems with handmade, thankfully, since Vicki is making her bouquets & helping me do the ones for her bridesmaids, too.. and I'll probably do the bouttinaires, too. I'm sure we'll be making a lot of things for this wedding, I just don't have a budget for anything else.

Much Better

I ended up reverting to my classic template & then going from there. I like it better & its a lot more personal now, at any rate. The photo is one I took while we were camping of the are right behind us, behind a row of trees. Rhi & I walked down to where there was a break in the line so she could show me & I couldn't resist taking a picture.

I also figured out what was wrong with my camera, it was the batteries, so I went & bought some rechargeable batteries & a charger, and everything is working great now. I also bought a really cute little camera case, with a shoulder strap (my other one didn't have one) in pink (I know.. what's getting into me with the pink lately?) that I just love! Now I just need to make a wrist strap for the camera & I'll be set.

Sickness isn't Sweet

My good friend Vicki has been really sick off & on over the past month & we're all starting to get really worried about her. First she & Dawn went up the canyon a bit to spend some time with the kids and get out and walk awhile. She went home & got violently ill and ended up spending about 7 hours in the ER, and I guess she never really got better after that. She's been in and out of the ER, InstaCare & her doctor, having countless tests done to try to find out what's wrong with her, the last being a CT scan on her lungs, that ended up with her having an allergic reaction to the dyes they used and her being covered in horrible hives. I'm so thankful that they have great family insurance, because its racking up quite the bill at this point. She said that so far, its been more than it was to have her kids, and that was just the first ER visit. And we still aren't sure exactly what's wrong with her.. they think its a lung infection at this point & I'm praying its nothing worse.

Blech.

I really, really wish I could find a template that I actually like instead of what blogger has available. I'm no good at writing code anymore & was never any good and making blog layouts, but I think I'm gonna have to try, because this is just bland & so not me. I'm trying to find something that will do in the meantime at least, I'm not having a lot of luck unfortunately.

I think we're finally done buying things for Rhi for school, I had to go today & get her a new curling iron, I guess she stepped on her old one & she has pictures for the yearbook tomorrow & ended up getting her another t-shirt just because it was cute & all. We have registration and all of that tomorrow, too. They finally got smart & gave the seniors & freshman a day each to themselves, instead of jamming it all into 2 days. School starts Thursday & Rhi is really excited to get back.

I guess Dawn, Jason & Ryan are looking to move before the weather gets cold, to try to save money on the gas bill this winter, and I'm really not looking forward to moving them, because Dawn & her kids have so. much. crap. but yeah.. at least its not like they're buying Wilmington NC real estate and moving out of state, so I imagine we'll all get through it again. At least its not right before Renne Faire!!!

Is it Really News?

Do ya'll remember when celebrities were fairly quiet about their drug rehab visits? There might be a discreet little blurb in an entertainment paper or magazine, mentioning that they were visiting this rehab center or that one, but it was really never front-page news or something we had to hear about all the time. I have to wonder if entertainment news is so slow that this really is the only news they can find to talk about. Its not a big surprise, pretty much everyone realizes that drugs and alcohol come with the celebrity lifestyle, and that people who engage in that lifestyle end up in rehab fairly often.. its not news, or at least not in my definition of what news is. Its not even entertainment, because being entertained by someone else's misfortune is just wrong. Let them take care of their addiction in private, with a little dignity, for pete's sake!

Confidence?

Apparently, while we were gone, Dawn took Morgan to the doctor because she had a mouth full of canker sores (yeah, I know, I wouldn't have taken one of my kids to the doctor for that, but she takes hers for every sniffle & sneeze, too). First off, the nurse told her, "Oh, he'll probably prescribe Valtrex, since that's for herpes & canker sores are just another version of herpes." Dawn looked at her & said, "Ummm no. Cold sores are oral herpes. Not canker sores." The nurse argued a bit, went & talked to someone, found out Dawn was right & did come back & apologize, but still.

The PA comes in & tells her that there's nothing he can do but give her a recipe for "magic mouthwash" consisting of Maalox & benadryl & that she ought to take ibuprofen for the pain. (yes, I know that a pharmacist will mix up a variety of this, but it contains a pain reliever and an anti-fungal as well) So, Dawn asked him if it was ok for her to use Campho-Phenique (which is what I'd have done instead of going to the doctor) and he looked at her & said, "What?" She was as shocked as I am that he has no clue what it even is. I swear it really does make you almost want to hire a medical malpractice attorney New York quick, doesn't it? It didn't instill a great deal of confidence in our local medical community in me, at any rate. Its not so much that I think he's a quack, but between him & the nurse, it does make you wonder a bit.

Relaxation

Our little mini-vacation actually felt like one for a change. I didn't come home totally exhausted & go right back to bed this time. We spent time resting, reading, talking, doing puzzles & wandering around. We didn't worry about the time, or our busy schedules or anything else. Well, except that we might get a visit by a bear, but we didn't see any sign, so we felt pretty safe.

We were camped about a quarter of a mile or less from a beautiful mountain lake, surrounded by tall pine & aspen trees, pretty much off by ourselves, what with it being in the middle of the week and all. Our campsite was free, because we had to pack in our own water & had no picnic table, but that's ok, we managed & really didn't care. You only really need a table to prepare food anyway, and we used the back of the XTerra or the hood for that & since everything has to be packed away when you're done anyway (because of bears), we didn't miss it.

I didn't get to take as many pictures as I'd have liked, because my camera started acting really strange at the end of the first evening, but at least I remembered it & took some pictures, unlike times in the past. I have more that I'll share later on, right now, I'm having a hard time focusing on them & think I need to make a cup of tea or something.

Busy Day

I've been surprisingly productive today. I got up, did my dishes, prepped my sauce for the pork loin & got it started cooking, fed the animals, came back here, started my laundry, got my camping blankets washed & switched to the dryer & them started my clothes I'm taking with me. Its just about time for those to go in the dryer, as soon as the comforter is totally dry. As soon as Troy gets up, we need to go & pay our car payments, because I forgot about it yesterday, and they were due. Eeek.

I also need to have Troy gather up what he wants to take camping in the way of clothing, so I can get those washed & packed while he's at work tonight and anything he wants to take. He has to sleep a bit in the morning, so while he's doing that, I'll get all of the food ready to go, clean out the cooler & pack what I can in the car, then we can go to the storage unit, pick up the tents & sleeping bags & be on our way. I'm really excited about this camping trip, its the first time we've ever just gone on our own, without extended family or friends. I think Erin is planning to come with us, too, if he remembers by the time Wednesday rolls around.

Good Weekend

We've had a pretty good weekend, so far. Friday, Rhi & I went & bought her school supplies & underwear (got socks for Troy & I, too), later on, Troy & I went to get the oil changed in my car, and we bought new pots & pans & a new tea kettle, too. When we came home, we threw away all of the old ones, except for my cast iron skillet.

Yesterday, we left town & went shopping for school clothes, which was actually really fun for a change, especially since I finally got it through Rhi's head that we were choosing to spend money on her & she didn't need to feel guilty about it. I also told her that I didn't want her buying anything that she didn't absolutely love, not even to make us happy. She got some really cute things & new shoes, too. We got her some Nike Hypnotize boots (hers are plain black, though) and some camouflage skimmers. I got some flip flops from Old Navy & some Nike Air Prestige in black & pink & Troy got some new shoes, too. We had lunch, we went to the mall (Kris had never been to one before) and we had fun. I'm going to miss that, next year.

My Meez

Just a little bored...

No Motivation

I'm so not in the mood to cook dinner tonight. I don't even know what to cook to begin with. I thought about curried chicken, but we just had a rice dish the Friday night & I think I'll make that tomorrow instead. I'm thinking its gonna be dinner jump-up tonight. I know Troy won't complain, he never does. I think I slept way too late today, I know I haven't felt like doing much of anything all day.

Tomorrow, I think I'm going to make the necklace my mom ordered from me, and hopefully take it over to her. I want to see if my dad finished the second bathroom he was putting in, and whether he decided to put in one of those vessel sinks he was talking about the last time I saw them. I love looking at their home improvement projects, they're both so good at that kind of thing & I inherited none of the talent, at all. Its unfair, I tell ya.

Remembering

I was just remembering when Troy's employer decided to change how they paid everyone. Everything changed, from the payroll software to the day they were paid on. Before the change they got paid every Wednesday, which was nice, because payday never seemed like it was very far away, but afterwards, they got paid every other Friday. That was hard enough to get used to, but initially, we had to wait 3 1/2 weeks to get paid so that they could get everything situated. That was really, really hard, especially trying to make it on a week's pay for that long.

Now there are rumors that they want to go back to paying them every week again. I hope they don't, because I'm used to this way now & like being able to pay all of the bills with one check & then the rent & car payments with the other - its a lot less hassle that way. I get nervous every time I hear anything about things changing out there, because its the salaried guys that always want to mess around - it doesn't affect their payday, at all.

Wow.

I cannot believe how fast this summer has flown by. School starts in about 2 1/2 weeks! This coming Saturday I'm taking Rhi school shopping, next week we have our last camping trip of the summer and then then next week, its school.

Its kind of a bittersweet feeling, since this is really the last one that matters much, since Rhi graduates in May & I can start & end my summer as I please after that. Its also very liberating, knowing that I can finally, after 21 years, start to live life on my own schedule & not according to one of my children. I'm not sure that I'll know how to act.

I'm really looking forward to the fall, though, with its football games and crisp weather. I've missed going to games with Troy & Rhi, and hope we'll continue what we started last fall. Life changes so fast, its really hard to believe sometimes, you know?

Just Thinking

In my last post I was talking about irrational fears, and I got to wondering about something - my fear of reception areas specifically. Do the people who decorate offices deliberately make the reception areas more intimidating? Is it a way to make sure that people stop there & don't go any further without permission? I really do think they must, because I know there's a lot of homey, welcoming office furniture out there & it never seems to get used in those places. If that's really the case, it just doesn't make sense to me, I want people to enjoy my place of business. I want them to come back, you know?

Irrational Fears

Do any of you have irrational fears? I have a few, and even though I know that they're irrational, I still have them & haven't ever been able to shake them, either. What are mine?

1. The telephone. I HATE and FEAR calling people. Sometimes even the people I know & trust with my life, but usually just strangers, or businesses. I do somewhat better if people call me, but it depends on the person. One of my best friends in the world & I can't talk on the phone together, its all weird & awkward for some reason, but we have no problems talking in person, through email on on IM.

2. Receptionists in Doctor's offices. I usually go to the doctor or dentist with Troy & he almost always goes to the reception desks for me and checks me in. I always feel like they're judging me, talking about me & laughing behind my back, for some reason. This is one of the few things left from the almost-crippling shyness I suffered from in my younger years.

3. Stinging things like wasps, bees & hornets. I am nearly paralyzed with fear if one of them is anywhere near me & have to fight the urge to flee the entire time they are withing about 30 feet of me. I watch them constantly & know where they are at all times. If I lose track of them, I start to "feel" them crawling on me. I haven't been stung since I was 9.

I think that's all of them that I can really call irrational. What about you?

Pain in the Butt

Wow, I was gonna come in & post just kind of randomly about my day, then I couldn't even log in to Blogger, so I had to go the back way in, through google.. it was really a pain in the butt. It took me 5 minutes to get in here. Very aggravating.

Anyway. I went this morning to pick up Dawn & Jason so we could go to a bake sale to benefit a friend of ours who had been hit by a deer while he was riding his motorcycle & has huge hospital bills now, but... there was no bake sale where we'd been told to go. So, we wandered around the store, shopping for stuff for dinner tonight & then went to Papa Murphy's so they could pick up their lunch, and I dropped them off & came home.

I fixed myself a couple of very low fat burritos and started eating when Rhi texted me to tell me she was on break & starving, so I finished eating & drove to Taco Bell & bought her some food. I sat & visited with her while she ate, then I came back home.

My dishes are done, I have spaghetti sauce cooking on the stove, when everything is done & Troy gets home, I'm taking it to Dawn's house, and we're all (Dawn, Jason, Ryan, Nate, Charley, Vicki, Me, Troy & all the kids) going to have that and Vicki's manicotti, salad & garlic bread. I'll be having the spaghetti & salad, but I imagine everyone else will have a bit of everything. It should be a nice evening. hanging out with friends always rocks!

Weirdness

I have been having the strangest dreams the past couple of nights. Its odd enough that I'm even remembering them, quite frankly, but they have their own strangeness, too. I don't remember what I dreamed about Saturday night, but I know I woke up Sunday morning wondering what I was on. Last night/early this morning? That's a different story entirely. I dreamed that I was on the run in the desert, with Troy. We were trying to get away from this guy that was half-snake, half-man. He had a red convertible, that was being driven by this big-muscle milkman, or at least he was wearing a milkman's uniform. Maybe in my dreamworld all uniformed men look that way, I have no idea, I just know it was really weird and really action packed. I woke up with my heart racing because we had just been forced off the road by them & our car was going fast down an embankment. I laid in my bed for awhile just kind of smiling and shaking my head about the absurdity of it all. It was almost as funny as the one I had about the gorillas packed into the VW Bug.

Relief!

Judging from our weather forecast for the next week, our monsoons have come right on time. Its so nice to see the highs in the 80s and not the 90s or over 100. I love the rain, and storms.

Rhi & I had a sad thing happen last night, though. We had dropped her best friend, Wade at his house & were coming back home, taking the long way, because it gives us a chance to visit and such. We came down 200 North & there was a dog who had been hit, still lying out in the road.

Rhi asked if we could please stop, so she could move the dog off the road, so it wouldn't get hit again. So, I stopped & she ran back to the dog, I was watching her in my rearview mirror & she kept looking up at me, so I knew the dog was still alive & she was trying to get my attention, so I turned off the car and went back there, too. The poor dog had been hit head one & she was bleeding out of one of her eyes. She looked so sad, and so alone. There was no hope for her, so all we could do was be there with her, stroking and loving her until the end. She was wearing a collar, so I'm assuming she was in her yard until the thunder started and that it scared her & she ran off, trying to get away from it. Right into a car. I'm still so angry at the person who hit her, for not stopping, for not caring, and at her owners, for probably knowing she was afraid of storms and not bringing her inside when it started. After she died, Rhi moved her over to the gutter, curling her inward so she wouldn't get hit again. I hope her owners found her, she had such sweet eyes, even though they were full of pain & she never tried to bite us, even though I know she was hurting and scared. I hope they cry at least half as much as I have, especially since I'm crying right now & she wasn't even my dog.

The Deathly Hallows

So, did everyone who wanted a copy of Book 7 get one? My friends & I were at Walm@rt at 8pm last night to get our wristbands that guaranteed us a copy (we were in the top 8 to get them), and were some of the first to pick up our books at 12:01 (we were out the door & back in the car by 12:06). I started reading my copy at about 11 this morning & finished it at 9:30 this evening (I took a couple of hours off in there somewhere). Yes, I shed a few tears, and yes people died, but we all knew that would happen, didn't we? I'm not disappointed with the ending & I'm not angry, unlike I was at the end of Book 6. I did a lot of smiling at the end, actually. If you're still reading, enjoy it, I know I did!

Cool Freebies

Our friends, Ken & Lynette, own a salvage yard, which is where we went to have him check the car out. I really like spending time in the main office, its all done in black & white checks and red accents. It really reminds me of the 50s somehow in there. I usually spend my time in there visiting with Lynette & her assistant Colleen, while we wait for the guys to do their thing, and today was no different. I had some M&Ms that came in a box with some part they ordered, and some Mike & Ike's from the machine and grabbed a couple of really cool personalized pens in two different styles, because I really like the ones they get & they work so well. Its not an ideal way to spend an afternoon, but its better than some, at least I was out of the heat.

Car Buying Woes

So Rhi did finally get her paycheck yesterday and we went to put a down payment on her car as soon as we cashed it. Mark, the friend she was buying it from couldn't find the keys, so we left it there & decided that we'd go back for it in the morning & take it to our other friend the mechanic to see what needed to be done to it.

We did that this morning and found out the whole clutch has to be replaced, which would cost Rhi another $400, which she definitely doesn't have. No any time soon, at any rate. So, we took it back & got her money back for her, then Mark tells us that they'll take it to another riend and see what he'll charge to fix it and then probably try selling it to Rhi, then. I tell you, with the hair I'm ripping out in frustration, I'm gonna need a hair transplant Florida fast!

I'm really hoping we'll get it all figured out pretty soon, because its really upsetting to Rhi, she was super excited about getting a car of her own and now she's really bummed out about it.

Issues

Rhi's employer apparently lost about half of the paychecks that they were supposed to get today. Rhi's was in the lost half. Of course. She was going to go & put $100 down on her car so we could take it & start to get it ready to be registered, but Troy's friend, who owns the salvage yard has to go back to his regular job tomorrow & he was the one who was going to look at it. So grrrrr. It sometimes seems that no matter what we try to do, it never happens, you know? Although, Troy got his wish to have one day where he didn't have to do anything but stay at home, so at least he's happy today!

The People You Meet

It seems like, at one time, Renaissance Faires appealed to people in limited professions, but I think I met or heard the conversations of people from so many different professions and walks of life this past week, from college students, RFI Shielding experts, Computer Technicians, Surveyors, Security Guards, small business owners, Medical Professionals and it seems like everything in between. It kind of makes me smile to think of all of these people dressed like they lived in an earlier time and what they do for a living in the real world. If we could match them up with earlier counterparts, what would their professions be & what would they wear? Yeah, there are times when I get bored & probably think too much, but it is fun to imagine.

Hard-Working Friends

One of my friends, Vicki, is also one of the partners in my booth. Quite frankly, she amazes me. She works full-time as a CNA on the Maternity ward at our local hospital, goes to school full-time, is a mother of two kids (5 & 2 years old) and still manages to walk every day, make beautiful chainmail jewelry, have a social life and help out at her mom's grooming shop and volunteer at her dad's wildlife center. I know that right now, between their new car & her student loans they're in a lot of debt, but I think she mentioned getting a school loan consolidation when she finishes school, which will help. She and her husband work so hard & are both sure good parents and awesome friends, its really an honor to be a part of their lives & I'm happy that we got to know them better over the years.

Another Faire Down.

Well. Faire this year was different. Our entertainment was awesome, we had huge amounts of vendors, and attendence seemed to be at an all-time low. Which was really sad. We aren't sure why, it was ungodly hot & humid, but it usually is - its the middle of July after all - we were surrounded by wild fires and the interstate was closed in places, but none of these really explain anything. Maybe people are just tired of it. We had a lot of other things going on, and a few stresses, but we pulled through it ok in the end.

Morgan & her boyfriend broke up at the end of it, because he didn't like how she acted at Faire & who she became afterwards, but they managed to talk it out & agreed to try to work on things. Erin got kicked off the park one day, well, not kicked off, he chose to leave, because he was wearing an offensive saying on his shirt. He & Alisha also broke up, but neither of them is sure they actually have. Its very weird.

Rhi is buying a car from Mark & Sarah, I think its a 92 Toyota Camry, it may be a 96, I'm not sure. She's very excited about it, though. It needs a new clutch & wiper arms, but I think we can manage that. Hopefully, she'll let us sell her scooter after she gets it, so we have one less worry.

I'm still exhausted from not getting much sleep for a week, but I'm gradually recovering. I hope. Every year it takes me longer to get back to normal. So far, its day 4 & I'm still just wantign to sleep.

I Love to Read

I'm a reading fanatic, I have been ever since I could read. I can't go to sleep at night unless I have a book to read. Sometimes, I have nothing new to read and have to go back and reread old favorites, which isn't a big deal, but I really do love reading things I never have before. I recently joined an online club, called BooksFree, where for different rates per month, you can receive paperback books or audiobooks in the mail. I signed up for the $9.95 plan, where I can receive 2 books at a time, read them & then send then back for free and get two more, all month long.

I ordered a couple of books from them, and received them a few days later (I'm not sure how long it took, I was busy with Faire setup and such and paid no attention). The website has a huge selection of books, in many different genres and is super simple to use. You just pick out books you want to read, put them on your list and they send them to you automatically. I love that I can just get my mail and have new books to read and I don't have to go out and hope they have what I want at my library (they rarely do) or at my local bookstore (even more rarely), all for the cost of just a little more than one new paperback a month. If you like to read and want the convenience of automatic delivery, check them out!

Happy Independence Day!

To my readers here in the States, have a wonderful holiday, be careful out there & remember our troops in your own way, today.

Wondering..

I've lost contact with a lot of people that I've been friends with, you know, they moved or I moved or something happened & now I sometimes wonder where they ended up, you know? Like Grant, who wanted to be a realtor. I know where his ex-wife is, but have no idea about him. Then there was his friend Mark (I think that was his name) that we unintentionally humiliated out of our group. Where is he? Is he happy? We moved away from Colorado 14 years ago & left quite a few friends behind, like Chuck. He left after we did and no one knows where he is, now. Is he still alive? Where's Ken Kirkmeier? And Don Divelbiss? Where did you guys go? We miss you! I know Troy often wonders what happened to John & why he stopped talking to him. I wonder if they ever think of us?

Online Games

Hey do any of you play free games online? I used to belong to Pogo, but I got tired of paying for it. The free games aren't very much fun, though. I do like the MSN Live games feature, where you earn points for prizes every time you play a game, but the games are pretty limited there, too. So, what games do you play online and where? What's your favorite? What do you recommend to someone who likes puzzle-type games? I get bored a lot, when I have downtime, at any rate, I love to play games, but I'm having problems finding things I like. Help!

Doing Better

I'm feeling a lot better today & yesterday, I figured out it was probably my allergy medicine, I think I was taking too much and it was making me groggy. I cut the dosage in half, I can still breathe, but I'm not falling asleep in my chair anymore. I got my hair dyed, went over to Dawn's and did hers, too and even finished the lip balm about 45 minutes ago. Go me!! I'm getting ready to go finish making my soap, too, just so it can be finished and I can legitimately get back to the sewing end of getting ready for Faire. On a totally random note, have you wondered just how much you don't know? I mean, I've heard the word "peptide" before (it sounds like a tidal wave of cheerleaders to me), but I have no idea what one is. Is there anything like that for you?

Update on Erin

You remember me being all bent out of shape about something that Erin had done a couple of months? I'm not sure if I actually mentioned what it was, but he had been experimenting with marijuana & I wasn't really sure if it had gone further than that or what, so I over-reacted, instead of sitting down & actually talking to him about it & I ended up kicking him out. I was pretty convinced that he was going to need addiction treatment, and was going to get completely out of control and everything else, just because he has a tendency to get obsessed with things pretty fast. He's doing really well now. He has a job, isn't doing drugs and is making plans for his future. I'm not sure if what I did was the right thing, but it was good for him and it made him look at how he was living & made him want to change.

So Tired

I've been so tired the past few days, I can hardly stay awake all day, its terrible. I have managed, at least, to get a few things accomplished, but I have to take it all in very small chunks. Whatever it is that's going on, I sure don't like it.

Anyhow, I need to go & do the rest of my dishes, scrub the kitchen counters & such so that I can make lip balm, but only if my back stops hurting here pretty soon. Or, I could get my hair dyed, since I'd like to have that finished before my super-busy week starts tomorrow, or maybe just go back to bed for a couple of years.

Blech.