I was so thankful that I woke up this morning and it was Friday. It has been a long week. I was home one night this week and used that time to make a cake for one of our JV helpers. Good cake - it was the Earthquake Cake. Oh, yeah, for those who want the secret recipe, here it is:
Bottom
1/2 bag of coconut - spread it on the bottom of the 9x13 glass pan to start.
Cake
1 moist chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1 1/4 c. milk
1 stick soft butter
Mix the cake mix with the above ingredients (not how the box says to do it). Pour over the coconut.
Topping
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar
1 stick melted butter
Mix the above ingredients for the topping. Spoon over the top of the cake mix (it doesn't pour).
Bake at 350 for 1 hour. The topping will end up at the bottom of your cake. It tastes great warm. If you serve it immediately after pulling it out of the oven, the topping will be runny and messy. Let it cool for 10 minutes or so before serving. It's so good! But for those of us trying to watch our figures, don't eat the whole cake (unless of course you have a pass for your Weight Watcher meeting).
So anyway, that was my Wednesday evening. After JV was over, I did actually have a few minutes to visit with my hubby before heading to bed.
Did I mention that I'm glad for Friday to be here? I have had a good week at work, home and in my quiet time. But, I'm really looking forward to the retreat I'm going to this weekend. I'm a little apprehensive about taking a sick-but-feeling-better baby. I know I won't have to hold him much since there will be plenty of volunteers but I'm hoping that he doesn't sneeze the green snot all over them like he does to me. And I don't like packing to be gone. I have to have so much of everything in case Scott spits up, explodes his diaper, etc. But, I know that my time there will be good. If the weather is nice spring weather, I know my son will love to be outdoors and look at all the new things.
[story of the day]
Yesterday morning shortly after waking up, we heard a cat's meow. We were confused because our cats were outside. In no time, Rum, our tabby, was in bed with us. I figured he snuck in when the JVers left. But Ryan said he through him out after that. Some time later Ryan left for work and checked the cellar doors to make sure that wasn't how the cat got in. The inside door was closed, so Ryan closed the cellar doors and headed to work. Last night when we got home from bible study, Ryan went into the basement to see if any water made its way in during the rainstorm an hour earlier. Upon opening the basement door, he found quite a mess. Keller, my deaf dog, must have gotten in along side Rum earlier that morning and then was locked in when Ryan left for work. Keller hasn't been an inside dog for 8 months. He had quite the mess downstairs (our JV room). He had the trash spread EVERYWHERE. Lots of little candy wrappers and cake plates. And because he'd been down there for 14 hours, he had to pottie. Unfortunately he'd pooped on the couch - several times! I felt bad when I got home and saw the mess since Keller is my dog. Fortunately, Dr. Honey cleaned up the poop while I took little guy upstairs to put him in bed. How's that for a surprise?!?!
31 March 2006
28 March 2006
quick update
[Dr. Honey]
out on calvings every night this week. poor guy, not getting a good night of sleep.
[me]
3 nights so far with a fussy baby and not much sleep. Was up again much of the night with him. Ryan was good to help both when he came home from calving calls and when he was asleep. Tonight is girls night out, I hope my energy keeps up so I can have a good time tonight.
[little guy]
has double ear infections = automatic antibiotics. Didn't even bother him about his throat since he was going to get meds anyway. No surprise there, he's been itching at them. Is constantly on a decongestant and tylenol to keep the fever down. last night at 11, he finally ended the streak of constipation. It was a fun mess to clean up. He will miss his mommy tonight - good thing he likes his dad!
[frustration]
good day. crazy busy but I haven't want to tell anyone how stupid I think they are! Yay me!
out on calvings every night this week. poor guy, not getting a good night of sleep.
[me]
3 nights so far with a fussy baby and not much sleep. Was up again much of the night with him. Ryan was good to help both when he came home from calving calls and when he was asleep. Tonight is girls night out, I hope my energy keeps up so I can have a good time tonight.
[little guy]
has double ear infections = automatic antibiotics. Didn't even bother him about his throat since he was going to get meds anyway. No surprise there, he's been itching at them. Is constantly on a decongestant and tylenol to keep the fever down. last night at 11, he finally ended the streak of constipation. It was a fun mess to clean up. He will miss his mommy tonight - good thing he likes his dad!
[frustration]
good day. crazy busy but I haven't want to tell anyone how stupid I think they are! Yay me!
27 March 2006
a much needed entry
[thank God]
I’m so glad for what I recently learned about finding joy and appreciating my situation instead of being grumpy. Yesterday in church, I was able to Worship rather than being irritated with someone. It was such a relief. I’m also thankful for Jamie and Steven for being in the nursery so I could leave my child in there during church.
[My small fry]
It’s been a blessing that my kid doesn’t poop all the time cause that means I don’t have to change stinky diapers. But there is a point where it gets to be a bad thing. He gets constipated. And I’ve learned recently that prunes/prune juice don’t seem to help. So, we’ve tried the dark karo syrup. Most people have it in their cupboard for baking pecan pies, I have it to help loosen up my kiddo! We recently dealt with the constipation thing and then he went once and decided not to poop again. So, back to the syrup added to breastmilk in a bottle. It was no fun to see him strain to poop and get no results. This started Thursday night. Sunday morning we woke up and it was worse. On top of being constipated, the poor kid has a cough, is super congested and sounds like kroup again. Yesterday, Scott didn’t want to eat, was real puny looking and fussy unless you snuggled him. No fun. He did take a lengthy nap with me which we both needed after being up much of Satruday night. I desperately needed groceries so I dragged him with me to the store. He’s such a good baby! Got home last night and his temperature was 100.1. I felt so bad for taking him out but we needed food. We put him to bed and did some reading before lights out. Of course, it was another sleepless night. Between Ryan getting called out for a calving and Scott being up coughing and crying, I didn’t get a night of rest. But, praise God, he did poop finally. So, that alone had to make him feel better. This morning, I asked mom to come to the house instead of dragging him out. He had the sweetest smile on his face when he saw her. And when he heard his Papa’s voice, I was instantly ignored. He’s too cute.
[sleep]
Did I say that I need sleep? Yeah, well it’s not happening. We had a full weekend and this week is just as busy. Tuesday night is girls night out. I’ve not had one of these since living here so I’m excited. I’m really looking forward to getting to know the girls here better. I’m eager to be 10 years down the road and feeling like I belong here instead of being the outsider. I also want to visit Paul. He’s one of our older (about 91 years) friends. He was a few hours away in the hospital for a while and now they moved him to a home nearby. It will be good to visit with him even though he’s hard of hearing and doesn’t remember a ton anymore. Paul let me get ready in his home the day of the wedding since he lives across from the church. He’s a sweet guy who loves the Lord dearly. I have the usual mid week activities (JV kids and then bible study). Friday night I’m going to camp. Yup, camp. I’m really excited to hear what Diane will be teaching us for the weekend. She’s a wonderful teacher (and also happens to be the wife of my pastor). That will be a full weekend and I’m taking my attachment – Scott – along with me.
[work]
I think I move my frustrations from one place to another. This week might be work. We’re super busy and it gets tiring. I love helping people and teaching them new things when they’re eager to learn. But, I don’t like helping and then going back and having to re-do the work anyway. That gets frustrating real quick. But, the sign-up will be over on Friday and things will begin to slow down after that. It’s never slow in our office, but it will at least be less stressful I hope. I like work and when I get to the point that I don’t want to come in, I’m usually beyond tired or stressed.
[Mongolia missions]
We were invited to go to Mongolia from the folks who Dr. Honey has worked with twice before. This news came the day after I had randomly mentioned to Ryan that we should go. That was cool that it happened the way it did. I would consider going IF we could make different arrangements for food for me. I have a sensitive stomach and just can’t imagine eating boiled goat head or drinking fermented mare’s milk and staying healthy. I’d have to carry along my PB&J, crackers, ramen noodles etc. I know that we don’t have the money to pay for a trip like this but I also trust that God will provide if it’s in His will for us to go. And so far, it won’t be provided via our tax return!!!!
[40 days]
I’m continuing to learn much from this book. I look forward to being done but I hope that I’ll take the time to go back through it. I know there have been several nights where I’ve fallen asleep while Ryan reads the last two pages. I have it on CD, so I’m thinking I might listen to it on my drive to work.
I’m so glad for what I recently learned about finding joy and appreciating my situation instead of being grumpy. Yesterday in church, I was able to Worship rather than being irritated with someone. It was such a relief. I’m also thankful for Jamie and Steven for being in the nursery so I could leave my child in there during church.
[My small fry]
It’s been a blessing that my kid doesn’t poop all the time cause that means I don’t have to change stinky diapers. But there is a point where it gets to be a bad thing. He gets constipated. And I’ve learned recently that prunes/prune juice don’t seem to help. So, we’ve tried the dark karo syrup. Most people have it in their cupboard for baking pecan pies, I have it to help loosen up my kiddo! We recently dealt with the constipation thing and then he went once and decided not to poop again. So, back to the syrup added to breastmilk in a bottle. It was no fun to see him strain to poop and get no results. This started Thursday night. Sunday morning we woke up and it was worse. On top of being constipated, the poor kid has a cough, is super congested and sounds like kroup again. Yesterday, Scott didn’t want to eat, was real puny looking and fussy unless you snuggled him. No fun. He did take a lengthy nap with me which we both needed after being up much of Satruday night. I desperately needed groceries so I dragged him with me to the store. He’s such a good baby! Got home last night and his temperature was 100.1. I felt so bad for taking him out but we needed food. We put him to bed and did some reading before lights out. Of course, it was another sleepless night. Between Ryan getting called out for a calving and Scott being up coughing and crying, I didn’t get a night of rest. But, praise God, he did poop finally. So, that alone had to make him feel better. This morning, I asked mom to come to the house instead of dragging him out. He had the sweetest smile on his face when he saw her. And when he heard his Papa’s voice, I was instantly ignored. He’s too cute.
[sleep]
Did I say that I need sleep? Yeah, well it’s not happening. We had a full weekend and this week is just as busy. Tuesday night is girls night out. I’ve not had one of these since living here so I’m excited. I’m really looking forward to getting to know the girls here better. I’m eager to be 10 years down the road and feeling like I belong here instead of being the outsider. I also want to visit Paul. He’s one of our older (about 91 years) friends. He was a few hours away in the hospital for a while and now they moved him to a home nearby. It will be good to visit with him even though he’s hard of hearing and doesn’t remember a ton anymore. Paul let me get ready in his home the day of the wedding since he lives across from the church. He’s a sweet guy who loves the Lord dearly. I have the usual mid week activities (JV kids and then bible study). Friday night I’m going to camp. Yup, camp. I’m really excited to hear what Diane will be teaching us for the weekend. She’s a wonderful teacher (and also happens to be the wife of my pastor). That will be a full weekend and I’m taking my attachment – Scott – along with me.
[work]
I think I move my frustrations from one place to another. This week might be work. We’re super busy and it gets tiring. I love helping people and teaching them new things when they’re eager to learn. But, I don’t like helping and then going back and having to re-do the work anyway. That gets frustrating real quick. But, the sign-up will be over on Friday and things will begin to slow down after that. It’s never slow in our office, but it will at least be less stressful I hope. I like work and when I get to the point that I don’t want to come in, I’m usually beyond tired or stressed.
[Mongolia missions]
We were invited to go to Mongolia from the folks who Dr. Honey has worked with twice before. This news came the day after I had randomly mentioned to Ryan that we should go. That was cool that it happened the way it did. I would consider going IF we could make different arrangements for food for me. I have a sensitive stomach and just can’t imagine eating boiled goat head or drinking fermented mare’s milk and staying healthy. I’d have to carry along my PB&J, crackers, ramen noodles etc. I know that we don’t have the money to pay for a trip like this but I also trust that God will provide if it’s in His will for us to go. And so far, it won’t be provided via our tax return!!!!
[40 days]
I’m continuing to learn much from this book. I look forward to being done but I hope that I’ll take the time to go back through it. I know there have been several nights where I’ve fallen asleep while Ryan reads the last two pages. I have it on CD, so I’m thinking I might listen to it on my drive to work.
20 March 2006
Needing a nap...
[good reminder]
Honesty is the best policy, right? Okay, so I’ve struggled lately with spending time with God – like praying and reading and being quiet. And that has affected my attitude so much. Yeah, I’m thankful for my life, the roof over my head, my family, etc but I’ve had a crappy attitude and it’s wearing on me. Specifically, one decision/issue affects so many facets of my life that it keeps me stressed out most of the time. But, I had a good reminder last week. I need to find joy in every situation. Many people think they’re day is successful if they learn something new, encourage a friend, make a dollar. I’m trying to judge my successful days on whether or not I’ve honored God. And one of those ways (there are many) is finding joy in my current situations. So, it hit me last week and since then, the stress is there, no doubt, but its not driving me crazy. My anger towards the person involved has subsided – some. Yeah, I’m still working on this whole process but it was such a great reminder. I appreciate the situation I’m in – this week – and hope that my better-attitude remains.
[purpose driven]
I’m on day 22 of 40 in the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. The book has some great thought provoking comments, bible verses and questions. Really, what on earth am I here for? I know what I’m here for but sometimes I get caught up in my wants and forget the big picture. This book has been encouraging for me to read. A chapter each day is easy. And some chapters, I should read every day for a week to really let the information sink in. I’m not much for doing what is popular – what everyone else is doing. And this book has been very popular but it’s been good and I’d encourage others to read it.
[Dr. Hottie’s birthday]
It was a success, a milestone, a fun day to make my honey feel the most special. Last year I made him curtains that didn’t work out. This year, I bought a gift to make sure he got something he liked. So, I had this great idea to buy him tickets to the new Cardinals stadium this summer. I was going to purchase the tickets and give them to him for his birthday. With his on call schedule, I had to share part of the scheme. Then we invited a few friends. So it got more difficult to plan. Knowing that I might not have the tickets in hand, I bought him a little Cardinals baseball player figuring thing. Just to have something to open. He saw that on my work desk and ruined that surprise (my fault). The tickets went on sale 2 weeks ago and already we can’t get the tickets we want. Grr. There goes another great idea. So, I went to the back up plan, I went to Eskimo Joe’s online and bought him some stuff. EJ’s is a bar/grille place in Stillwater that Dr. Hottie loved as an undergrad. I bought him a new tshirt (the old one is super worn and thin and has “air conditioning” in the armpits). I also bought him some new plastic cups since his old ones are slowly disappearing. And I bought him a nice glass so he could have his own special cup (since I have my own special glass). It arrived in just two days – the day before his birthday. That was a hit. And because he was there when the package arrived and it had the EJ logo on it, I gave it to him a day early. There’s more – yes I’m an awesome wife – I made him a cake. Not the typical box cake that you mix up real quick and toss in the oven. I made an earthquake cake. And while it was baking, I was watching and the topping wasn’t going to the bottom like it was supposed to. So, it’s done baking, I take it out of the oven and apologize to my honey for another failed project on his birthday. But, five minutes later when it had cooled just a bit, the stuff on top had been sucked down to the bottom like it was supposed to do. Yay!!!! The cake was a little dry so I will leave it up to mom to make the next time but I made an effort! So, happy birthday to Dr. Hottie, my wonderful 30 year old husband!
Honesty is the best policy, right? Okay, so I’ve struggled lately with spending time with God – like praying and reading and being quiet. And that has affected my attitude so much. Yeah, I’m thankful for my life, the roof over my head, my family, etc but I’ve had a crappy attitude and it’s wearing on me. Specifically, one decision/issue affects so many facets of my life that it keeps me stressed out most of the time. But, I had a good reminder last week. I need to find joy in every situation. Many people think they’re day is successful if they learn something new, encourage a friend, make a dollar. I’m trying to judge my successful days on whether or not I’ve honored God. And one of those ways (there are many) is finding joy in my current situations. So, it hit me last week and since then, the stress is there, no doubt, but its not driving me crazy. My anger towards the person involved has subsided – some. Yeah, I’m still working on this whole process but it was such a great reminder. I appreciate the situation I’m in – this week – and hope that my better-attitude remains.
[purpose driven]
I’m on day 22 of 40 in the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. The book has some great thought provoking comments, bible verses and questions. Really, what on earth am I here for? I know what I’m here for but sometimes I get caught up in my wants and forget the big picture. This book has been encouraging for me to read. A chapter each day is easy. And some chapters, I should read every day for a week to really let the information sink in. I’m not much for doing what is popular – what everyone else is doing. And this book has been very popular but it’s been good and I’d encourage others to read it.
[Dr. Hottie’s birthday]
It was a success, a milestone, a fun day to make my honey feel the most special. Last year I made him curtains that didn’t work out. This year, I bought a gift to make sure he got something he liked. So, I had this great idea to buy him tickets to the new Cardinals stadium this summer. I was going to purchase the tickets and give them to him for his birthday. With his on call schedule, I had to share part of the scheme. Then we invited a few friends. So it got more difficult to plan. Knowing that I might not have the tickets in hand, I bought him a little Cardinals baseball player figuring thing. Just to have something to open. He saw that on my work desk and ruined that surprise (my fault). The tickets went on sale 2 weeks ago and already we can’t get the tickets we want. Grr. There goes another great idea. So, I went to the back up plan, I went to Eskimo Joe’s online and bought him some stuff. EJ’s is a bar/grille place in Stillwater that Dr. Hottie loved as an undergrad. I bought him a new tshirt (the old one is super worn and thin and has “air conditioning” in the armpits). I also bought him some new plastic cups since his old ones are slowly disappearing. And I bought him a nice glass so he could have his own special cup (since I have my own special glass). It arrived in just two days – the day before his birthday. That was a hit. And because he was there when the package arrived and it had the EJ logo on it, I gave it to him a day early. There’s more – yes I’m an awesome wife – I made him a cake. Not the typical box cake that you mix up real quick and toss in the oven. I made an earthquake cake. And while it was baking, I was watching and the topping wasn’t going to the bottom like it was supposed to. So, it’s done baking, I take it out of the oven and apologize to my honey for another failed project on his birthday. But, five minutes later when it had cooled just a bit, the stuff on top had been sucked down to the bottom like it was supposed to do. Yay!!!! The cake was a little dry so I will leave it up to mom to make the next time but I made an effort! So, happy birthday to Dr. Hottie, my wonderful 30 year old husband!
17 March 2006
St. Patrick's Day
Wow, I'm so thankful that Friday is here. I'm so tired and un-motivated this week. I've picked up around the house a little but I'm definitely behind on laundry and cleaning. This weekend is my honey's birthday! He said that he just wants to work around the house and complete some of our un-finished projects. I have to finish the second coat of paint on a tiny wall in the dinning room. I need to put another coat of clear on my cupboards that I started back in November. And I need to do touch up work from when Ryan painted our bedroom. I'm pretty sure that I won't get it all accomplished like Ryan hopes. I also have laundry and basic cleaning to do, I need groceries and want to get my car cleaned out. Plus, it's Living Stone weekend so that shoots Saturday afternoon and Saturday night.
The past weeks have been busy and I'm exhausted by time I get home at night. A few things have added to an already stressful environment. There is a member in our church that I have a problem with and according to the bible, I should approach him. But the situation isn't my business, although it affects me on a daily basis. I see him in church and he steals my attitude of worship every time. So, that's been hard and frustrating. BUT, I learned - no, wait, I was reminded last night that I need to find joy in every situation and be thankful. So that has been good so far. Just focusing on what I have and be thankful for that has improved my attitude some. Another thing is this rash. I visited the Doc yesterday. He seems to think that it's just dry skin (that time of year here). But I've never had it quite this bad before and it gets really bad. Of course, it was hardly noticeable when I was at the doctor's office. He did recognize that it's likely hormone related and potentially a sensitivity to my birth control. I wish he would have pursued it farther and not just tried to cover up the issue. But, if this cream works, then I'll be happy and possibly a little more sane.
This past week, my little guy has been a blast. Scott has learned a few new things. He thinks he's a little bird - when someone holding him is chewing food, he opens his mouth wide and leans right in towards your mouth. The kid loves to eat! He's also learned to make little indian noises. As kids, we'd pat our hand over our lips while making a constant noise and the sound would fluctuate. Anyway, Scott will make the noise and let you pat his mouth. And when you stop, he makes quite a loud noise to let you know that he wants to keep playing. I've watched him push my hand away twice when he was done playing. He's growing so fast. His hair is coming in thick and is a sandy blonde color with his pretty blue eyes. Earlier this week, I woke him from an evening nap. He wasn't happy and would have slept all night except I needed to feed and change him. Anyway, he snuggled right up against Ryan and went to sleep. It was adorable. I was so busy watching them that I didn't think to take a picture until he woke back up. This morning wasn't all smiles. As I was buckling him into his carseat, he spit up everything he'd just eaten. I unbuckled and took him back in the house and changed him. Meanwhile Ryan is headed down the driveway and wondering why I'm not right behind him. When I got back out of the house and up the drive, he was at the top waiting for me. He wanted to make sure that I made it up since we got an inch or so of snow yesterday and the driveway was slick. I have an absolutely wonderful husband who loves me. I so appreciate that.
Yes, I said snow. It was less than expected, but enough to keep me home a few hours from work. We got sleet first and I was concerned that I wouldn't get up the drive. But, before I left, the snow was coming down good and I figured the driveway was safe. I made it to mom's before deciding that I didn't want to play with the weather. They were expecting lots more snow and wind which causes problems. And since I live on back roads, they're not a priority to get plowed. I didn't want to have a hard time getting home so I stayed at mom's and played with my son. It was a blast, I had him laughing up a storm. Finally at 11am, I decided to try the roads since the snow had slowed. The roads were slushy which meant slow driving but I made it to work by noon. Got to work late and left early for a doctor's appointment. Gotta love my benefits and flexibility in my job!
The past weeks have been busy and I'm exhausted by time I get home at night. A few things have added to an already stressful environment. There is a member in our church that I have a problem with and according to the bible, I should approach him. But the situation isn't my business, although it affects me on a daily basis. I see him in church and he steals my attitude of worship every time. So, that's been hard and frustrating. BUT, I learned - no, wait, I was reminded last night that I need to find joy in every situation and be thankful. So that has been good so far. Just focusing on what I have and be thankful for that has improved my attitude some. Another thing is this rash. I visited the Doc yesterday. He seems to think that it's just dry skin (that time of year here). But I've never had it quite this bad before and it gets really bad. Of course, it was hardly noticeable when I was at the doctor's office. He did recognize that it's likely hormone related and potentially a sensitivity to my birth control. I wish he would have pursued it farther and not just tried to cover up the issue. But, if this cream works, then I'll be happy and possibly a little more sane.
This past week, my little guy has been a blast. Scott has learned a few new things. He thinks he's a little bird - when someone holding him is chewing food, he opens his mouth wide and leans right in towards your mouth. The kid loves to eat! He's also learned to make little indian noises. As kids, we'd pat our hand over our lips while making a constant noise and the sound would fluctuate. Anyway, Scott will make the noise and let you pat his mouth. And when you stop, he makes quite a loud noise to let you know that he wants to keep playing. I've watched him push my hand away twice when he was done playing. He's growing so fast. His hair is coming in thick and is a sandy blonde color with his pretty blue eyes. Earlier this week, I woke him from an evening nap. He wasn't happy and would have slept all night except I needed to feed and change him. Anyway, he snuggled right up against Ryan and went to sleep. It was adorable. I was so busy watching them that I didn't think to take a picture until he woke back up. This morning wasn't all smiles. As I was buckling him into his carseat, he spit up everything he'd just eaten. I unbuckled and took him back in the house and changed him. Meanwhile Ryan is headed down the driveway and wondering why I'm not right behind him. When I got back out of the house and up the drive, he was at the top waiting for me. He wanted to make sure that I made it up since we got an inch or so of snow yesterday and the driveway was slick. I have an absolutely wonderful husband who loves me. I so appreciate that.
Yes, I said snow. It was less than expected, but enough to keep me home a few hours from work. We got sleet first and I was concerned that I wouldn't get up the drive. But, before I left, the snow was coming down good and I figured the driveway was safe. I made it to mom's before deciding that I didn't want to play with the weather. They were expecting lots more snow and wind which causes problems. And since I live on back roads, they're not a priority to get plowed. I didn't want to have a hard time getting home so I stayed at mom's and played with my son. It was a blast, I had him laughing up a storm. Finally at 11am, I decided to try the roads since the snow had slowed. The roads were slushy which meant slow driving but I made it to work by noon. Got to work late and left early for a doctor's appointment. Gotta love my benefits and flexibility in my job!
10 March 2006
You know you live in the sticks when...
1. It's National FFA week so the local farm kids think it would be fun to drive their tractors to school instead of their cars! Yes, Loren (she works with Ryan and I work with her mom) is a senior girl at Valley and drove her dad's tractor 8 miles to school. Her brother drove a tractor also and the kids and their tractors backed up traffic for quite a while. She even had to rev up the engine to get the cloud of black smoke in the parking lot.
2. And that's not all of it. You know you live in the sticks when you drive a newer tractor with some modifications. There was a problem with the exhaust pipe and the new one has been ordered but hasn't arrived. So, good 'ol Loren's Dad took a piece of rain gutter and used it as the exhaust pipe. Loren got a free malt for driving the tractor to school and when her teacher saw the rain gutter, he rewarded her with another malt ticket.
Yes, I do live in the sticks. But, I must say that Loren's dad was pretty inventive to think to use the rain gutter piece to get the job done!
2. And that's not all of it. You know you live in the sticks when you drive a newer tractor with some modifications. There was a problem with the exhaust pipe and the new one has been ordered but hasn't arrived. So, good 'ol Loren's Dad took a piece of rain gutter and used it as the exhaust pipe. Loren got a free malt for driving the tractor to school and when her teacher saw the rain gutter, he rewarded her with another malt ticket.
Yes, I do live in the sticks. But, I must say that Loren's dad was pretty inventive to think to use the rain gutter piece to get the job done!
07 March 2006
[dad's visitor]
It's has been raining every other day back "home" where I grew up. There was quite a storm last week that woke Dad. His roomie went to his room because he heard something "hitting the house". They went in to the spare bedroom and could hear a sweeping noise. They looked up at the ceiling to see the branch protruding through with the branch sweeping across the cars on the shelf. The picture shows it after Dad cut the branch and cleaned his collector cars off the shelf. The picture on the right shows the branch on the house. There is a huge pine tree in the front yard. The branch fell from the top of the tree and eventually fell on the house poking 5 holes in the roof, one of which poked a hole through the ceiling. I sure wouldn't want his visitor!
[twins and kids]
Becky and I go way back (I think I've written about her before). We were buds in junior high and high school before we went our seperate ways. People thought we were twins and we confused the two of us. In the last few years, we've been able to keep in contact with each other a couple times a year. When I went "home" for my brother's wedding in January, Becky and I got together for lunch and a few pictures. The first is of Becky, Ryan (her son) and me. The second is of the two boys after lunch. They're cute and were very curious about each other. It is so fun to see how things change over the years. I would have never imagine the two of us having kids later on in life and getting together with them. It was such a blessing to see her and meet her little guy!
[ryan's birthday]
I planned on taking Ryan to St. Louis for his birthday so he can see the new Cardinals stadium and catch a few games. But that won't be till this summer and his birthday is this month. So, I found these realistic looking action figure baseball player guys and bought him one - Scott Rolen of the Cardinals. It's been sitting on my desk for a month now. Well, my sweet husband comes to have lunch today. But I was super busy so we had a quick bite at the office. He has a few minutes so he comes back to my desk and the first thing he sees is that darn action figure. Totally spoiled his birthday gift idea. Now I have to think of something else! And the tickets I wanted to buy are selling out fast. I better get that done!
06 March 2006
[wonderful husband]
He really is wonderful but sometimes he likes to make me think otherwise. Saturday was awesome, we had a good day together in La Crosse, WI. (yeah, we were in 3 different states two different times that day.) My honey bought me a cute new pair of shoes to wear with my slacks. That same afternoon, he managed to cause a large soda from BK to fall over and spill all over my shoes. Accidents happen, I understand that but I thought he was having a bit too much fun driving. And, I was mad becuase when I reached down to grab the cup and stop the spillage, my seatbelt locked up (remember - fun driving) and I couldn't lean forward and just had to watch the liquid pour out all over the place.
[lady at Sam's]
That same day we had been in Sam's Club. Numerous people kept walking right in front of me and cutting me off while I was carrying my kid. One couple did it a bunch of times. Grr. My attitude already needed help but it was getting worse quickly. We left the store and were sitting in the car while I fed and changed Scott. This lady pushes her cart up next to us and 7 kids all get into the van. I watched and was so sad that none of these little kids were put in carseats, etc. It was a mini-van that holds 7 passengers so 7 kids and one ignorant adult = too many bodies. The kids were jumping around and never put on seatbelts. They were cute kids and even were saying "bye" to Ryan. Then then woman lights a cigarette and is puffing on it in the van. My heart was breaking! Right after that, child #8 comes to the van and gets in. At least she was big enough to not need a restraint system. And if all that wasn't bad enough, Ryan happened to see via the side mirror that that woman left her cart right behind our car. Okay, this lady wasn't scoring points on my standard of living and my attitude was getting worse. We know she saw us since her two kids in the front seat were waving and talking to Ryan. Yet, she left her cart. I get out of the car to put Scott in the back, in his car seat and walk around to the back of the car to the cart. The lady is finally pulling out. With as much attitude as I have, walking in the middle of the lane, with a kid on my hip, I slowly moved the cart to the where the carts should be stored while she had to wait behind me. Yes, I'm a jerk too and I was so mad!!! I was thinking lots of bad thoughts and waiting for her to give me the opportunity to vocalize them. Good thing God intervened and only let me get by with giving her a nasty look. I couldn't believe she did that!
[sunday morning]
Saturday night I went to bed with laundry in the washer. I wanted to stay up to change it over but it was already 11pm. Sunday morning at 5am, I was wide awake thinking about that darn laundry. I woke up so many times during the night and should have just taken care of it. So at 5am, Scott made a little noise and I went and picked him up, fed him and let him go back to sleep. I got up and went downstairs. Took care of the laundry (wanted to wear some of my new clothes to church), fixed bran muffins, read my bible, fixed an egg breakfast for Ryan and made Oreo Salad for potluck all before 730 when I jumped in the shower and got ready for church.
[sunday church]
bethany came this morning. I can't remember if I mentioned her before. She was my favorite OB nurse when Scott was born. On my bday, I called her and invited her to participate in the 40 days of purpose and ended up inviting her to church. She was looking to come anyway and was appreciative that someone called and invited with a warm welcome. Well, she came and her husband, who doesn't otherwise go with her to church, came along too. It was such a treat to see them there.
[fresh snow]
I woke to snow and throughout church the snow continued. I had thought maybe we should take the 4WD truck but by that time we were already in the car. Coming home from church was an adventure, and not a fun one! The road hadn't been plowed and we were in my little car pushing through the snow. Only Ryan was driving again. And I reminded him that he wasn't in his big, heavy, 4WD truck. He was driving 40mph, I thought he should be driving 25mph. Then we started sliding and although Ryan kept us on the road, I was MAD that we went back and forth 5 times when it wasn't necessary. Not even a minute later, he was driving 40 again. I finally voiced my unhappy opinion and let him know that we were in no hurry to get home, etc. He didn't accept my criticism well. A short bit down the road we lost control again, this time on the bridge. I wasn't sure which was worse - a fairly steep drop off or a concrete bridge. Again, Ryan did fine. And although I was happy to be alive and warm, I was ticked. He just seemed to be so careless in my view of things. And I didn't want to crawl out of a car in wet snow, be cold and have to carry a baby down the road. Ryan looks at as me not trusting him. I look at it as pure carelessness. We got to the highway and the road was fine. Got up the hill and couldn't even tell that our driveway existed - there was so much snow on the ground. I would've turned around and went back to town to mom's or a friend's house. But no, my husband is a man, a strong, not-cautious guy. We started down the driveway. I braced myself and he got upset but what was I supposed to do? I was scared! Fortunately we made it down the driveway just fine. And by time we got to the house, I was just as mad at my neighbor for not keeping up with his responsibility for maintaining our driveway!
[renessa]
my buddy is home from SD. We had plans to hang out last night. But with the weather, I knew she wouldn't venture out with the little ones. After church, I took a nap and didn't do much. Renessa called at 4ish and was getting ready to come. My house was a mess, nothing had been picked up from our shopping frenzy the day before. But she came and we visited for a while and played with babies. The Jensen's also came over to see her and the kids. It was a house full but we were all in one room.
Fortunately it's Monday and I hope the adventures are over for a few days at least.
He really is wonderful but sometimes he likes to make me think otherwise. Saturday was awesome, we had a good day together in La Crosse, WI. (yeah, we were in 3 different states two different times that day.) My honey bought me a cute new pair of shoes to wear with my slacks. That same afternoon, he managed to cause a large soda from BK to fall over and spill all over my shoes. Accidents happen, I understand that but I thought he was having a bit too much fun driving. And, I was mad becuase when I reached down to grab the cup and stop the spillage, my seatbelt locked up (remember - fun driving) and I couldn't lean forward and just had to watch the liquid pour out all over the place.
[lady at Sam's]
That same day we had been in Sam's Club. Numerous people kept walking right in front of me and cutting me off while I was carrying my kid. One couple did it a bunch of times. Grr. My attitude already needed help but it was getting worse quickly. We left the store and were sitting in the car while I fed and changed Scott. This lady pushes her cart up next to us and 7 kids all get into the van. I watched and was so sad that none of these little kids were put in carseats, etc. It was a mini-van that holds 7 passengers so 7 kids and one ignorant adult = too many bodies. The kids were jumping around and never put on seatbelts. They were cute kids and even were saying "bye" to Ryan. Then then woman lights a cigarette and is puffing on it in the van. My heart was breaking! Right after that, child #8 comes to the van and gets in. At least she was big enough to not need a restraint system. And if all that wasn't bad enough, Ryan happened to see via the side mirror that that woman left her cart right behind our car. Okay, this lady wasn't scoring points on my standard of living and my attitude was getting worse. We know she saw us since her two kids in the front seat were waving and talking to Ryan. Yet, she left her cart. I get out of the car to put Scott in the back, in his car seat and walk around to the back of the car to the cart. The lady is finally pulling out. With as much attitude as I have, walking in the middle of the lane, with a kid on my hip, I slowly moved the cart to the where the carts should be stored while she had to wait behind me. Yes, I'm a jerk too and I was so mad!!! I was thinking lots of bad thoughts and waiting for her to give me the opportunity to vocalize them. Good thing God intervened and only let me get by with giving her a nasty look. I couldn't believe she did that!
[sunday morning]
Saturday night I went to bed with laundry in the washer. I wanted to stay up to change it over but it was already 11pm. Sunday morning at 5am, I was wide awake thinking about that darn laundry. I woke up so many times during the night and should have just taken care of it. So at 5am, Scott made a little noise and I went and picked him up, fed him and let him go back to sleep. I got up and went downstairs. Took care of the laundry (wanted to wear some of my new clothes to church), fixed bran muffins, read my bible, fixed an egg breakfast for Ryan and made Oreo Salad for potluck all before 730 when I jumped in the shower and got ready for church.
[sunday church]
bethany came this morning. I can't remember if I mentioned her before. She was my favorite OB nurse when Scott was born. On my bday, I called her and invited her to participate in the 40 days of purpose and ended up inviting her to church. She was looking to come anyway and was appreciative that someone called and invited with a warm welcome. Well, she came and her husband, who doesn't otherwise go with her to church, came along too. It was such a treat to see them there.
[fresh snow]
I woke to snow and throughout church the snow continued. I had thought maybe we should take the 4WD truck but by that time we were already in the car. Coming home from church was an adventure, and not a fun one! The road hadn't been plowed and we were in my little car pushing through the snow. Only Ryan was driving again. And I reminded him that he wasn't in his big, heavy, 4WD truck. He was driving 40mph, I thought he should be driving 25mph. Then we started sliding and although Ryan kept us on the road, I was MAD that we went back and forth 5 times when it wasn't necessary. Not even a minute later, he was driving 40 again. I finally voiced my unhappy opinion and let him know that we were in no hurry to get home, etc. He didn't accept my criticism well. A short bit down the road we lost control again, this time on the bridge. I wasn't sure which was worse - a fairly steep drop off or a concrete bridge. Again, Ryan did fine. And although I was happy to be alive and warm, I was ticked. He just seemed to be so careless in my view of things. And I didn't want to crawl out of a car in wet snow, be cold and have to carry a baby down the road. Ryan looks at as me not trusting him. I look at it as pure carelessness. We got to the highway and the road was fine. Got up the hill and couldn't even tell that our driveway existed - there was so much snow on the ground. I would've turned around and went back to town to mom's or a friend's house. But no, my husband is a man, a strong, not-cautious guy. We started down the driveway. I braced myself and he got upset but what was I supposed to do? I was scared! Fortunately we made it down the driveway just fine. And by time we got to the house, I was just as mad at my neighbor for not keeping up with his responsibility for maintaining our driveway!
[renessa]
my buddy is home from SD. We had plans to hang out last night. But with the weather, I knew she wouldn't venture out with the little ones. After church, I took a nap and didn't do much. Renessa called at 4ish and was getting ready to come. My house was a mess, nothing had been picked up from our shopping frenzy the day before. But she came and we visited for a while and played with babies. The Jensen's also came over to see her and the kids. It was a house full but we were all in one room.
Fortunately it's Monday and I hope the adventures are over for a few days at least.
02 March 2006
Bestest Husband
[ryan, but not my ryan]
And the bestest husband award goes to Beth's Ryan. Unfortunately, my husband is no competition today! It's frustrating and I'm not going to share details but I really wish that I had more help from my husband. I do love him and he is helpful - most the time. But, I think he forgets that I need a house that is at least picked up to keep my sanity. That means I need help doing that since I don't get home till 6:30 at night. Anyway, that's that.
[the itchy and scratchy show]
I'm tired of itching. I have not quite figured it out yet but it's either related to using Scott's detergent or my body temperature going up, or my monthly hormones. I randomly get rashes that come and go on my belly, back, neck, arms. Eventually, I'll go see a doctor.
[to do list]
As if I'm not going crazy with LOTS on my plate at work, I'm also going crazy at home. I have yet to start several things:
- Taxes. Hubby says he'll help. We'll see.
- Septic system. I figure I can do the percolation test for it since I do work with soils on a daily basis.
- Birthday cards. I used to send them to everyone in church plus friends and family. Haven't done that since Scott was born.
Things I have accomplished:
- Deep clean my bathroom & change the shower curtain in there.
- Snuggled with my kid. I'm still breast feeding him.
[this weekend]
it could be good or bad or really, really long. I'm frustrated, super frustrated with my honey right now. I'd tell him first except I haven't had any time with him since Tuesday and tonight we have a committment already.
Better go get my kid!
And the bestest husband award goes to Beth's Ryan. Unfortunately, my husband is no competition today! It's frustrating and I'm not going to share details but I really wish that I had more help from my husband. I do love him and he is helpful - most the time. But, I think he forgets that I need a house that is at least picked up to keep my sanity. That means I need help doing that since I don't get home till 6:30 at night. Anyway, that's that.
[the itchy and scratchy show]
I'm tired of itching. I have not quite figured it out yet but it's either related to using Scott's detergent or my body temperature going up, or my monthly hormones. I randomly get rashes that come and go on my belly, back, neck, arms. Eventually, I'll go see a doctor.
[to do list]
As if I'm not going crazy with LOTS on my plate at work, I'm also going crazy at home. I have yet to start several things:
- Taxes. Hubby says he'll help. We'll see.
- Septic system. I figure I can do the percolation test for it since I do work with soils on a daily basis.
- Birthday cards. I used to send them to everyone in church plus friends and family. Haven't done that since Scott was born.
Things I have accomplished:
- Deep clean my bathroom & change the shower curtain in there.
- Snuggled with my kid. I'm still breast feeding him.
[this weekend]
it could be good or bad or really, really long. I'm frustrated, super frustrated with my honey right now. I'd tell him first except I haven't had any time with him since Tuesday and tonight we have a committment already.
Better go get my kid!
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