Snow!

Just a pic or 2 of my son...trying to bean me with a snowball after I pegged him a good one myself...we had about 9" of snow from Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon. It's been pretty 'warm' this week...mid to upper 30's so it's melted alot of it. Hoping to get more soon :0)

Someone turn up the heat!!

Ho....ly cow!!! I have about had all I can stand of this below zero night/single digit day stuff. It is MISERABLE out there!!! I hear that we are supposed to reach a balmy 30 degrees tomorrow and mid-30's by Sunday. Well break out the Bermuda shorts and let's party!!! LOL

Noticed the herd of deer out grazing in the field across the road from the house yesterday after work. They hang out there most winters and graze...about 20 head, give or take. Before everyone had fences they'd come over and help themselves to the landscaping...and you know, we all planted our trees and shrubs just for them to eat ;) One year we even had a moose stroll through the neighborhood!! Oddly enough, didn't have a single dog bark at it...and the dogs in my neck of the woods?? bark at a leaf blowing past, I swear. They bark at EVERYTHING. Then again, I don't think I'd want to get Bullwinkle rialed up at me either. I hear they're kinda cranky ;0)

Hope all is well with everyone, that you're enjoying all the wonders and joy that Christmas brings.

December 8

Oh my! It has beena REALLY long time since I have been out on my blog. I hate that I can't post from work any longer while waiting for reports to print or chowing down my lunch. So much has happened, but it would take eons to fill you in. So let's just move on to the present, shall we?

It's Christmas time already. Can you believe it? That's just so bananas I can't even think about it! Where did the year go?? It's evne looking like Christmas outside today...we received snow during the night, which continued in a rather wimpy fashion throughout most of the day. Not that the lack of an all-out raging blizzard bothers me...oh no. I didn't really want to shovel 4 feet of snow after work. Silly me ;0) I have busted out my "Alvin and the Chipmunks" Christmas cd in my car (who doesn't love their "Christmas Song"?!) and have been caroling quietly at my desk (no, I haven't been singing, just listening to my mp3's on my computer)while visions of sugarplums dance in my head (ha ha ha).

One of my fantastic girlfriends (I got no room to complain about cold....she lives in Alaska!!!) sent this to me this morning, which I loved and felt the urge to share with y'all. It's so right on point and I hope you enjoy it.....

Letter from Jesus about Christmas - - -
It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Now, having said that, let me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town. Stop worrying about the fact that people are claling the tree a 'holiday tree' instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me whenever you see ANY tree. Decorate a grapevine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15:1-8. If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth, here is my wish list. Choose something from it:
1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love, hope and support to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know; they tell me all the time.
2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally, they just need to know that someone cares about them.
3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and hist family this year. Then follow up...it will be nice hearing from you again.
4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts that you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of my birth, and why I came to live with you here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.
5. Pick someone that has hurt you im the past and forgive him or her.
6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.
7. Instead of nit-picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind workd. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas", that doesn't stop you from wishing them one.
8.If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary - - especially one who takes My love and Word to those who have never heard My name.
9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts then drop them off to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and the will make the delivery for you.
10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in my presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of My flock. Don't forget: I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and dow what I have told you to do...I'll take care of all the rest.
Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love, and remember: I LOVE YOU>
~Jesus

People get so hung up on the gifts and that parties, the decorations and the shopping and the stuff that doesn't matter that they forget what Christmas is about, why we celebrate it in the first place. The best gift I could ever receieve is for someone to help another who is in need....donate to Sub for Santa, to the food pantry, to a local animal shelter, to the charity of his/her choice; volunteer at the homeless shelter/soup kitchen, the Veteran's hospital or the nursing home; take new toys to children's ward of the local hospital; bring meals to someone you know who is home-bound...things like that. I'd much rather get a gift like that than 'stuff', ya know what I'm saying?? I ahve only so much room in my house for 'things', but my heart has all the room in the world for gifts like those. Sharing our blessings with others is a very worthwhile endeavor indeed.

Frightmares

Hit Lagoon on Saturday with our oldest, her hubby and their good friend (our 'other son') Bo. We certainly lucked out in the weather department...I was sweating it there for a while last week. It was not looking favorable for rollercoaster riding or "Superman Swing"-ing (I know it's not really called that but I have a hard time remembering the term 'Sky Coaster', plus I think 'Superman Swing' has a bit more flavor)...not at all. But the Gods smiled on us and we had the best fall weather. Not a tone of people crawling the park so that was another bonus. We were able to ride 'til our little hearts were content. Or we just couldn't take any more, I'm not sure which.

They have a great sense of humor there at the park for Frightmares:



Cracked me up :0) I took some kinda cool shots of a few of the neon signs...loved how this one turned out:


I think that Wicked is still my favorite ride ride,



but the SS is by far my favorite thing in the whole place!






The Chantelle, Chris and Bo rode the Samurai (not me, Jack...my stomach can't take that kind of abuse..it's got a 'hurl factor' of about 16)




And of course, how can you go to Lagoon without riding the bumper cars!



It was a great day, with tons of fun, laughs, some scares (the 'evil' circus peeps and the chainsaw freaks...oh, and the gargoyle!) and a good time was had by all.

Weekend off

Lazy weekend. Nice to have one of those. We've been busy the last couple weekends, on ths go. And I've had to work Saturdays for the last month plus, with more to come for the forseeable future.

Yesterday we ended up going to a late lunch/early dnner with friends at Texas Roadhouse in Ogden. The plan was originally to take some pics of Chris with some of the planes outside the Air Force Museum after dinner, but there was soooo much smoke in the air everything had this yellow-y cast to it. I'll have to try for a different day. But we got out of the valley and had a nice visit over a great meal.

So today there was alot of this


And this


LOTS of watching this

(copyright Reuters)
Boy howdy did my Raiders suck today...with a capital S! Yeesh.

And even some of this


It was a good weekend.

Here kitty kitty....

I'm back already! Suprised, aren't you? ;0)

I found out something today that leaves me feeling...unsettled? Nervous? Creeped out? I'll go for 'all of the above' for $400, Bob. While on my usual morning rounds at work, I found myself in converstaion in one of the offices about hunting. Because right now the mountains are filled to the brim with folks in camoflauge sitting in tree stands for hours on end waiting for some poor unsuspecting deer to wander by so they can shoot it with an arrow, gut it, quarter it, and eventually wrap it up in multiple packages of white paper or tin foil in their respective freezers. Don't misunderstand me - I am NOT against hunting...no way, Jose. I have no problem with people hunting. Zip. Zero. If you don't hunt a species it will overpopulate and then where will we be? Knee-deep in critters, that's where! I'm just saying that I could never do it. Ever. In a million years. I would have starved to death as a pioneer. Or been a vegetarian. But I digress...so in the course of our hunting conversation the subject of mountain lions was brought up. One of my co-workers brothers had a 'run-in' while hunting a few weeks back. So we were chatting about this mountain lion tale (no pun intended, I swear) and a few other ones, when someone casually mentioned that there was a cow attacked by a mountain lion at the feedlot (just a mile-ish) down the road from our facility last Friday. Um...what?? Yes, a mountain lion. Roamed through my town. Near where I work. Not far from where I live. Now I know that they are out 'there' but 'there' is supposed to be UP THERE...in the MOUNTAINS (which are maybe 1/2 to 3/4 mile from my house). They're called MOUNTAIN LIONS cuz the LIVE IN THE MOUNTAINS!!! If they lived in town they'd be called 'town lions'! Jeeez Louise!!! So now that I have that wonderful little tidbit of info nestled in my brain, it gives me pause...when I leave for work, it's dark...sun is not up yet (but I am...what's wrong with that picture?); do I need to worry about having one rove through my neighborhood looking for a chihuahua or 3 to tide him over 'til breakfast? I certainly don't want to become mountain lion kibbles and bits! They said that they think it's in the cornfields west of town. They think...not a comforting phrase. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it is either found and 'relocated' or that he just moves on back up into the hills. Whichever. Just go away, kitty.

Blah, blah, blah...

Yes, peeps, I am still here. Since the powers that be over at HQ have decided to clamp down on our 'net use, I haven't blogged as much as I used to...in fact, I really haven't posted jack. It was so much easier when I could write up a post while waiting for reports to print. Ahh, the good old days. I haven't had the gumption to get on my computer at home to post anything. After staring at a monitor for 8 hours a day, the last thing I want to do when I get some free time at home is look at another one. Ick. I'll try to do a better job of blogging from now on. Hope this finds you all happy and healthy. More later!

8 Years Later

For all those lost on September 11, 2001....

Back to School

School days, school days…

Summer break is finally over, much to the chagrin of kidlets all over the country. I know mine is on the bummed side. Myself, I am rejoicing the return of school day routine. I would enjoy the summer more if I could spend it goofing off with my son. You know…taking trips to the lake, hanging at the pool, catching matinee movies, lunch in the park, and snow cone runs. Stuff like that. Oh to be a summer SAHM...sigh.

And in keeping with what has been a long-time new school year ‘tradition’, my darling son is sick. Yes, week 2 of school and he’s already caught some icky little bug. My son has done this every school year for a long time…within the first 3 weeks of school, he will, without fail, get sick. Not a little ‘achoo,’ sniffley/stuffy nose kind of cold. Oh no. We’re talking full-on fever, sore throat, cough and plugged up head kind of sick. Breathing germy air into the atmosphere. Thus sharing the love with the rest of the household. Misery loves company, right? I’d better stock up on the OJ and Zicam now….sigh.

Fall is certainly on its way. I can feel it in the morning air now. The fair back home is about to start. The corn is on, as are the ‘maters and squash. I find myself feeling the urge to bake mounds of breads, cookies and cakes, to cook large pots of chili and stew. I adore fall weather. I wish it could be September until 2 days before Christmas…then it can snow so we can have a ‘white Christmas’, then melt again 2 days after New Years. That would suit me down to the ground. One of the things I enjoy most during the fall is sitting on the back porch on a weekend morning, bundled up in an oversized sweatshirt, in my pajama pants and my Uggs to keep the tootsies toasty, with a hot cuppa joe, watching the sun rise over the mountains, listening to the coyotes howl. The cool canyon wind is sweet with the scent of pine…it’s just me, my coffe, and…whatever neighbor happens to be looking out their back window. Sigh.

Have a good one y'all!

Two J's

Warning! Do not attempt to watch the movie “Julie & Julia” on an empty stomach!!! You’ll be sorry….trust me. Even after scarfing down lunch right before catching a matinee yesterday with my DF Rose and one of her daughters, I was still salivating like a Rotteweiler eyeballing burgers on the picnic table in front of him.

Oh dear people, believe me when I tell you that it is unfathomable that anyone could sit through that movie without feeling even a small pang of hunger. If the Strawberry Bavarian Cream or the soufflé (never made one, never had one but darn if it didn’t look scrumptious!) doesn’t get your mouth watering, the much talked about Boeuf Bourguignon (which I am soooo making!) should incite twinges and even rumbling in your belly. It all looked so very yummy. And I feel I should caution you about the butter these recipes use in the film…a veritable ‘butterpalooza’…so brace yourself. It’s not for the faint of heart. Julia Child was apparently a firm believer in there being no such thing as too much butter, as evidenced in her cooking…copious amounts of butter in EVERYTHING! Maybe it is just a French cuisine thing that rubbed off on her? Although I have to say I would rather cook with real butter than with the spreads, margarines and certainly Crisco. Food made with butter is just so much tastier. So now that I’m done talking about the food part of the movie, I will tell you my opinion of the movie as a whole. Enjoyed the heck out of it. What a wonderful storyline! I learned so much about Julia Child the person….she was adventurous, funny, determined and very engaging. I had no idea that she was married, let alone to a government employee assigned to different embassies around the world (which is how she ended up living in Paris and attending the famous Cordon Bleu culinary school). The thought that Julie Powell actually cooked every single recipe in “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” (volume 1) left me in awe, grateful to have the chance to peek into the madness that was her life for the year she tackled the Julie & Julia Project. How she worked full time and still found (or made) time to whip up from scratch the over 500 different recipes in the book is beyond me. Makes me exhausted just thinking about it. Besides, I would have had to stop at the Lobster Thermadore. No lobster killing for me, Jack. Uh-uh. No way. Sorry, Julie; sorry Julia. I doff my topper to you gals….

On another subject, I noticed this morning that the large locust tree growing outside the door to the office has dropped quite a few leaves and many on the tree are turning. Does this alarm anyone besides me??? It’s not even September yet! ((((sigh))))

Friday

Lots has happened in the past couple weeks, too much to get into so I will just tell you all that the kiddos were sealed and it we enjoyed a nice lunch afterwards with both sides of the families, all my children together in the house that weekend for the first time in a long while was wonderful, school is back in session, still haven’t finished painting the kitchen and I bought the cutest little purse for October/Halloween….it looks like a spider :0) Not a icky spider, a cute spider. I’ll take a pic so y’all can see it.

There is some turmoil in the lives of a few people I love dearly, which breaks my heart. Some involved are family, some are friends but still family (since friends are the family we choose). I am praying that these issues will get resolved in a positive way so that these people will have peace and joy in their lives once again (hang in there and I love you guys!!!)

Some pics from the last couple weeks…sunset from the hill at the Temple, my oldest and my son-in-law (they’re so stinking CUTE!) on the day they were sealed, my beautiful middle child, a funny sign in the parking lot of the Temple (gotta love a church with a sense of humor!), hubby and son lounging on the grass. Not necessarily in that order ;0)

Enjoy your weekend!!!!

Been a few days

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, so I will give a bit of an update on our ‘thrill a minute, adventure-filled, action-packed’ life. Still haven’t found the geocache at the tank. Not that we’ve given up or anything, just haven’t made time to go look any further.

We finally got our living room painted. The white walls are GONE, baby!!! Woo hoo!!!! The weekend of the 24th the hubby, son and myself wiped, spackled, trimmed and rollered our little hearts out. We managed to paint the entire living room, hallway and stairway going to the basement. And a wall in the kitchen. Have the paint for the rest of the kitchen, just haven’t gotten it done yet. I think I’ve changed my mind on that color. Again. Sigh. (Honey...if you're reading this post, just make me go with it, ok?)

Last Friday was our anniversary. 17 years that man has put up with me….the patience of Job my husband has, let me tell ya. Like any married couple, we’ve been through a lot…lotsa good stuff….some bad stuff….pretty much covered the ‘richer or poorer, sickness and health’ stuff. And there is no one else I’d rather have taken this journey with than my wonderful hubby. We (and by ‘we’ I mean hubby, son and I) spent the majority of the day in SLC, first having a sinfully good lunch at Moochies, then the rest of the afternoon out at Rocky Mountain Raceway at the drag races. The son has never seen drag races before so it was pretty cool to watch his reaction to all the cars. They had quite a variety of racing vehicles – from the little “Tokyo Drift” looking things the kids street race now (dragsters do NOT do a burn out with their FRONT TIRES…ever…that was just wrong on so many levels) to motorcycles, old muscle cars, new muscle cars, the classic “rail” style dragster, and even – brace yourself – a snowmobile. Yes, some guy drag raced on a sled…and beat 2 motorcycles! I am here to tell you that if I ever had a chance to race, I would TOTALLY do it...in a second. Don't even need to think about it...sign me up, Jack. We had a special treat that evening, however – we got to watch 2 nitro-fueled Harleys race. Holy moley!! Now those were awesome!!! One of them set a new track record for the nitro bikes in both MPH and time…he posted a time of 6.6 seconds at 212.4 MPH. Think about that for a second....it took that man just a tad over six and a half seconds to drive 1/4 of a mile. At over 200 miles per hour. That bike went faster than most of (if not all) the cars racing. I can’t imagine.

This weekend we’ve got a family event going on…my oldest daughter and her husband are being sealed in the temple. We’ll have family in town starting tomorrow – both daughters, my son-in-law, mom- and dad-in-law, and my SIL’s family. All our kids will be under our roof tomorrow night for the first time in several years. I’m looking forward to that.

I am NOT looking forward to trying to find something to wear, however. Since I’ve given up trying to be ‘thin enough’, am not constantly on the go - juggling class and work and housework and swim team for Chris, and am letting my metabolism reset (it’s reaaaally slow) I am no longer able to fit in most of my pants. My body has been hording calories so every minute bite of food I have eaten in the last 2 months has materialized on my butt and thighs with a vengeance...neither region have been this big since I was preggers. The weird thing to me is that my legs are pretty well muscled up until the upper middle thigh area, then the saddle bags start to appear. It doesn’t seem to matter how much or little I exercise, what I eat - still follwing the South Beach diet guidelines...lots of fruit and veggies, whole grains, lean meats, almost no sugar (I eat ‘junk food’ very seldom…a couple slices of pizza or a Moochies once in a blue moon or some chips with my tuna sandwich on occassion are about it) or how much I eat…I am still ending up with an expanding jean size. I know that it will take a little bit for my body to get out of storage mode and begin to release the fat reserves so I will try to get through it without freaking out.

Enjoy your day and have a great weekend!!!!

Tanked

We have been searching for a geo-cache hidden on a tank in the local cemetery for about a week now. The clue posted by the individual who hid the dang thing is not overly helpful…the only obvious help it gave was the name ‘rolling thunder’. Guess I must have paid some attention in HS history class or I wouldn’t have known that referred to the tank. (I also know that I secretly dream of driving a Sherman in WalMart’s parking lot so I can just back over the twits who zoom behind me in their cars while I’m backing out of my parking spot…buttheads.) DH, son and I have been all over that silly contraption – on it, around it, under it, looked every which way but hanging upside down from the gun barrel on the turret. Which may be next. You wouldn’t think that locating an item on a tank would be that tough, would you? I mean, anything out of place should just leap right out at you. Oh no. The cache hidden is a ‘micro’….as in reeeeeeaaaaallly small. Up until last night, there were 3 sets of people looking for the thing (at one point we all were wondering if somebody had taken it but the hider confirmed it was still there Wednesday night)…good job Kartchner family on finding it!! There is hope yet for the rest of us to spot the sucker :0)

I’ve decided to start back up on the weights and adding in some other forms of cardio to break up the rut I’ve been in with just walking. While I still love my walks, it just isn’t doing anything to help me get back the shape I had just a few short months ago. So Wednesday I started a lifting routine that works the whole body. Then I did 15 minutes of boxing – jabs, crosses and uppercuts. Ho-ly Toledo. I could tell yesterday that it had some impact on my bod but today? Oy. I hurt. But in a good way (that’s a demented thing to say but it’s true). I feel like I felt after working with the trainer a few years back….hurting but satisfied I had accomplished something. My arms and abs? are sooo sore! It hurts to laugh. I can’t bend at the waist without groaning. Reaching for something hurts my upper arms. Should make painting the living room this weekend interesting ;0)

Sophomore Dayz

Got out the yearbooks last night, let my fingers do the walking thru the snapshots of my years as a Grizzly. Tons of memories flooded back seeing the people and events captured in time as we were then…young…carefree…had the world by the ba….um, by the throat. Our biggest worry back then was passing our mid-terms and whose party we were going to Friday night. And we did party. A lot. The first high school party I ever went to was at Shawna and Chad Phillips’ house my sophomore year…two of the “popular” kids in school…that was a HUGE deal. Shawna was my age (as sweet as the day is long and 20 years later is still one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen), her brother Chad was 2 years older. A Senior. The Phillips’ lived out in the country so it just made sense that they had their party out in the barn and not in the actual house (damage control). Tons of people - wall to wall - music blasting, people dancing, a couple kegs on ice. Lots of Seniors. My sophomore mind boggled at the thought…me! at a party with Seniors! Well yee haw and pass me a beer! This was also where my first hangover came from. I remember crawling down the hall toward my room but suddenly needing to veer sharply to the right and into the bathroom where I worshipped the porcelain god for an hour or so. Ick :0( Overall I think my sophomore year was the best one; almost all the good memories I have from high school come from that particular year. Joined the spirit squad with some jr high friends the summer between freshman and sophomore year, the squad ended up cheering in the 4th of July parade…lost my voice from yelling cheers for 3 hours, hands were sore for days from all the clapping, and the whole lot of us were sooo sunburnt. When school actually started, it was pretty intimidating being the little fishes in a big pond. Ya’ll know what I’m talking about, you’ve been there. Things settled out soon enough into normalcy, letting life just move on in a blur of classes, homework, trips to the mall, dances and parties. My first HS year – skipping assembly to drive to the mall for a Mrs Powells cinnamon roll (those of you in Idaho Falls will understand); Mr Newton’s choir class and our trip to sing at Ricks College at the Messiah (the guys and Mr N all gave an impromptu rendition of “Duke of Earl” in the restaurant we ate at, drawing applause from surprised diners); basketball games; showing up for Mr Backstrom’s last period typing class soaking wet after Corey Peterson, JJ, and Ron Janeczko (seniors) caught me (I managed to fight loose twice before Ron cornered me in Mr Harris’ room) and threw me in the canal (when I asked Aundria to hold my camera I didn’t mean TAKE PICTURES!!) out back of the school, which was a “right of passage” for the sophomores in the last couple weeks of the school year…strangely enough it was mostly the girls that got the heave-ho; driving!; the bonfire before the Emotion Bowl, which I was the only one I remember we had…think we made too much racket (and I’m sure created a bit of havoc) doing the big human chain through the streets from the school to the vacant lot where the fire was; journalism class, where I was once told that I “looked like Delilah from One Life to Live”; tots with cheese and Ranch at Tam’s; going to the Dusk to Dawn movies at the drive in on the north end of town – man those just a big ol’ party!; football games; hanging out with the Z103 crew – Mike (and his girlfriend Gina), Randy and Eddie…was “guest voice” on the radio a few times, which was a ton of fun:0); “after game” dances in the commons; hanging on the cruise Friday and Saturday nights; Mike Smith being dogpiled by the senior jocks - I think they broke his arm but I know they did give him a huge concussion (some memory loss came with that little souvenier) and was hauled off in the ambulance (yeah, the guys got into bookoo trouble over that one, as well they should have); the Jensen “clan” riding around in Damage; Darla painting her room pink, and I mean it was pink; pizza at Sbarros; sucking helium out of the tank while the spirit squad was filling balloons, getting too much and passing out, taking the big tank down with…guess damn near the whole store heard it crash to the floor…whoops; lock-ins at Theresa’s church; Bartles and Jaymes wine coolers (“we thank you for your support”). I used to have oodles of pictures but they have been lost in the moves over the years. Sigh.

I asked my friend Aundria what her favorite high school memory was the other night….she relayed a story that I had completely forgotten about that is in my fav HS memories as well. We had choir together…don’t remember what period. One day there was something going on with Mr Newton – he had a conference with somebody’s parent or some such thing – that required him to leave class for a short period of time. Aun and I took this opportunity to go outside and have a smoke (yes, I was a bad girl). This was pretty easy since our class was a short stroll down the hall from one of the side entrances. So out the door we went to the sophomore and junior parking lot. Neither of us remember where we sat down but the end result was Aundria blowing the rear end out of her jeans – rrrriiiiiippp! She froze. I froze. Ho-ly sh**…that wasn’t what we thought it was, right? Oh no....it totally was. She stood up and turned around…biiig hole in the seat of her pants. I remember a few moments of panic while we tried to figure out what the heck to do – were there shorts in her PE locker that would get her by? Nope. Was there a sweatshirt she could tie around her until she could go home at lunch and change? Uh-uh. Should we just go right now so she could change? Yes! We would simply go back inside, explain the situation to Mr N (who was super cool to begin with) so he could excuse us from class to go to her house and change. Newt was awesome…surely he’d let us leave. WRONG. When we returned to class, he was back from wherever and in a foul mood, a rare thing for him. Great. Walking as carefully as she could, tugging her shirt down over her rear as much as she possibly could without tying a 20 pound dumbbell to it, Aun and I approached Mr N in his office, explained the predicament, requested a short “leave of absence” to change her clothes. He thought we were trying to pull a fast one! Didn’t believe either of us! We lobbied our case for several minutes, pleas falling on deaf ears…he wasn’t buying it. Finally, Aundria did the only thing she could do to make her point – yep, she turned around and bent over – ‘LOOK!!’. Yep, my best friend mooned our teacher. It was all over from there…I’m certain all the blood drained from my face at that point and I was figuring that spending some quality time in detention is in our very near future, but once his face returned to a normal color and he quit laughing enough to get some words out, he let us go. Now how in the world could I possibly have forgotten about that?! :0)

Musical Flashback

Since this weekend is, as mentioned before, my 20 year HS reunion, I thought I’d continue with the whole HS/80’s theme. A retro weekend (kind of channeling Minnie Driver’s character in Grosse Pointe Blank here, just without the radio show), if you will. Back to a time where big hair, short skirts, skinny ties, neon, jelly shoes, Vans, pegged jeans, break dancing, Val speak (like, gag me with a spoon), parachute pants, big boom boxes, “Thriller”, banana clips, high tops, Trapper Keepers, synthesizers, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood were cool. I have retained possession of my Swatch watch (they still make those by the way) and Max Headroom (catch the wave!) tee shirt over the years. Max is currently enjoying a renewed career on Sirius/XM radio doing song intros (along with his brother, Less) for the “80’s on 8” channel that I listen to a lot while cooking dinner….last night they played “Girls on Film” by Duran Duran, “Affair of the Heart” by Rick Springfield and “China Girl” by David Bowie…when was the last time you heard THOSE?! It was totally bitchin’, dude! Fer shure! Its so funny how hearing a certain group or song can take you back to a specific point in time (could be this is just some odd quirk I have - maybe you all don’t do that? I seem to have an entire soundtrack for my misspent youth in my head). I thought about that while I was walking last night I had Guns n Roses debut album (yes, still had vinyl back then) “Appetite for Destruction” blasting on the iPod for my “motivational music”…good tunes to run by. From the very first note of “Welcome to the Jungle” I was back in the weight room during last period, student aide for Coach Guilford, listening to that playing on the boom box while the football players lifted and horsed around (believe it or not, I earned half a credit for sitting in the weight room for an hour watching cute teenage boys with their rippling muscles and listening to music…it was tough but I managed to get through it). There are quite a few songs that I associate with specific times in my teen life. “The FinerThings” by Steve Winwood? Senior Sob assembly for the class of ‘87…bawled my little sophomore heart out at that assembly over seniors that I would miss the following years. “Dirty Deeds” from AC/DC and “Send Her My Love” by Journey….reminds me of Kelly Covert, the first song from grade school…6th grade to be exact, her listing to that on a Walkman (she later had a Levi jacket with that on the back)…and the latter from her funeral our sophomore year. A slice of Godfathers pepperoni pizza with ranch dressing to dip it in at lunch with Jana Rydalch? “Rock Me” or “Cassanova”…we’d play one or the other on the jukebox while we ate…mostly the Great White tune. I was “Lovin’ Every Minute of It” in Kalispell, Montana with my friend Kim Cook (one of the 2 Kim’s I ran with growing up) spending a week one ERJHS summer at her grandparents house. Being at my first dance in jr high? “You’re the Inspiration” (really…you are). Chasing down Ron Storer and his friends in his big ol’ Ford out on the cruise? The Whitesnake tape (“Still of the Night”, “Here I Go Again”…that one). “Blow My Fuse” will forever be associated with the Jensen crew. And Pineapple Bomb’s snuck out the back door of Pockets. I rolled my truck on the Lewisville Highway with Darla while listening to “She’s Like the Wind”. Going tanning with Chandra Claver listening to “Venus” (by Bananarama). Rolling with Theresa Hanek in the Toyota listening to “Master of Puppets” and “Electric Circus”. Singing “Funky Cold Medina” (it took me years to be able to sing that song without saying ‘chunky cold Purina’…don’t ask…you had to be there) driving thru Tautphaus Park in Aundria’s car. I could go on. And on. And on yet even more. But you get the idea…I will take pity on you and spare you any more torture. Think I’ll go home and put on some Prince…” dearly beloved,we are gathered here today 2 get through this thing called life….”

Class of '89

Happy Hump Day!!! I hope everyone’s week is going well :0)

So this coming weekend is my high school class reunion…the big 2-0 year reunion. Am I going? Um…no. I really have no desire to see 99% of the people I went to school with. Most of “them” I grew up with…we went to grade school and junior high together. Being a military kid, I never really fit in with them. Even though I started going to school in the first grade with these folks, I was always the outsider. I was quiet and VERY shy so I got picked on and harranged all through my academic existence. Yeah, that helped bring me out of my shell (can you see my eyeballs rolling??) “They” made my life hell. Needless to say, I don’t have a whole lot of “happy school memories” and I hated even setting foot in school because of “them” (I ditched every chance I got). In class I never wanted to be called on or sit in front; my goal was to sit in back in quiet non-existance and not draw attention to myself. Those school friends I was tight with I still see and keep in touch with. The rest of my HS class? I wish them happiness in their lives, but don’t care to spend time reliving the “glory days” over dinner, thanks anyway. Not that they’ll miss me. Occasionally when I am in the old hometown I run into some of the class of ’89. Most don’t show any acknowledgement. Some have actually turned out to be pretty decent now that we’re not in HS anymore. I admit that it has been interesting peeking in on the class reunion website to see where everyone ended up and what they look like now. Some of them look so different that I would never recognize them in a million years. Some look the same as they did in school, just a little older. I think I look pretty much the same - just a bit more of me (I would LOVE to still weigh 115!), no orthodontic “accessories” (my son gets to enjoy that now) and my hair is lots smaller. Oh yes, I had the “bitch flip” big hair going on. What can I say??...it was the style…the bigger the better. Man was my hair big…lotsa teasing and lotsa hairspray…I should have bought stock in Paul Mitchell…oy vey. I hope the friends who are attending the reunion with have a good time. Send me pics of you with your hubbies all dressed up for the dinner….I know ya’ll will look amazing! :0)

Doing a random survey today…prompted by a question posed by a local DJ on my local rock station yesterday morning. Now that they have 500 different kinds of M & M’s, what kind is your favorite? My vote has to go to Peanut Butter…those little drops of peanut buttery “melt in your mouth not in your hands” goodness are hard to beat in my book….but dark chocolate is a close 2nd. I wish they’d bring back the cherry ones and the crispy kind. But I was raised never to look a gift chocolate in the M, so I will happily munch down any kind ;0)

Stormin on the Desert

Took these last weekend while out on the Arco desert (well, the edge of it anyway). The day started out sunny and bea-u-tiful. As the day progressed I started to notice some storm clouds gathering...and they got closer....and closer....but we managed to dodge the nasty little storm that wreaked havoc on the surrounding areas. High winds, hail, monster rain and subsequent flooding (hmmm...sounds like home for the whole month of June! Just kidding). Sure looked pretty moving on through, though.

Declaration

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--"


Happy birthday, America!

Where in the world

In a totally random conversation with my darling husband recently, we were discussing (and I don’t know how we even got on this subject to begin with) places in the world we could live in. If we didn’t already live in America. Okay, mostly it’s places I’d like to live (or at least see!) before I die…kind of a travel “bucket list” for myself. After pondering, I figure if we were independently wealthy, we could actually live in each of these places during our lifetime. I think growing up as a military brat can either push you to like to travel, see different places, or make you to want to set down roots in a town and not want to go anywhere. Ever. For me, it is definitely the first of the two. I like to travel. I yearn to explore. There are days I would love to just drive to the airport, blow my paycheck on a ticket to wherever and…go. I long to go somewhere new. See someplace I’ve never been. Guess I’m a nomad at heart. Anyway, here are my “top 5 places”:

5. Scotland (lotsa plaid and a monster in a lake…no way I’m eating haggis…sorry)
4. Ireland (Guinness, blarney and a 7 mile walk is considered a “good stretch of the leg”)
3. England (how do you play cricket and what the heck is a crumpet??)
2. Japan (Mt Fujii, kimonos, samarai…stay away from the sake…whoa Nelly!)
1. Italy (um, hel-lo…Rome!? Venice?!? Tuscany!!? Oh, and then there’s pasta)

Italy was pretty much the hands-down winner for the hubby too…the history is amazing and the food is deeeelish!! He’s not big on eating fish or seaweed so he claims he’d starve to death in Japan; however I know that if I could just get him to TRY sushi……


PS
Where would YOU go???

MJ, Farrah and the Media

You know, I’ve about had it with all the coverage of Michael Jackson passing away. And it hasn’t even been 24 hours. I was tired of hearing about it after about 30 minutes. It was everywhere! I understand the relevance and importance of how his talent affected our culture…I totally get it. Trust me. I was a ‘80’s child - his impact on my generation was HUGE. Giant. Iconic. (I still love “Dirty Diana” and “Billie Jean”) But once he started with the plastic surgeries, got really weird, and then was accused of molesting kids, I just couldn’t enjoy his work anymore. The freakshow that he turned into robbed the world of a great talent, no doubt about it. He could have done so much more, been so much more than the oddity he ended up being. For that, I am very sad. But enough already.

The death of the “Gloved One” completely eclipsed the passing of another icon of my generation, Farrah Fawcett. Watched “Charlie’s Angels” every week when I was a young girl. My friends and I would argue about who got to be Farrah’s character, Jill, when we’d play “Charlie’s Angels”…we all wanted to be her. She was beautiful and spunky, and boy could she kick some butt! I admire her so much for publicly chronicling her battle with cancer in a documentary earlier this year. She seemed to handle the whole situation from the first time she was diagnosed in 2006 with such grace and dignity. I know that I could not display even an ounce of her strength and courage if faced with the same fight. I’d like to think I could, but I know better.

One final note…the media disgusts me. Or maybe it’s our culture nowdays that I should be appalled with. Maybe if we weren’t such voyeurs now the media wouldn’t find it necessary to show certain things. Or maybe because they do, we are. Sort of a chicken and the egg kind of thing. Anyway, last night I saw 2 things during the coverage of MJ’s death that just enraged and sickened me to no end. First was the news helicopter following the LAPD chopper that was transporting MJ’s body from the hospital to the coroner’s office, where they showed his remains being unloaded and taken down into the building. Second was a still photo – God knows what sicko took the shot and then sent it to the media – of Michael, on the gurney, unconscious, with an EMT holding a respriator thingy – you know, the mask with the big squeeze bulb that they use to breathe for people who aren’t on their own? – on his face. Nobody needed to see either of those things!!! NO ONE! Especially not his FAMILY. Dispicable. Disgusting. Unforgivable. You out there in the news business…make me sick to my stomach…where is your sense of decency??? That is not news! That is the end of someone’s life. It should be a private thing, not splashed all over the television and tabloids for public consumption.

Yummy!

Some things are just too good to keep to yourself. This recipe is most definitely one of them!! It’s also the best kind of recipe: quick and simple. I made it for dinner (for me mostly, since the hubby isn’t a seafood fan) last night and was very pleased with it. The only change I made was that I used about a pound of medium shrimp that I happened to have purchased the day before instead of the jumbo shrimp it calls for….and it turned out fantastic. So without further ado, here it is – bon appetit!

4 Minute Spicy Garlic Shrimp
Serves 2
• 12 shrimp (Jumbo sized, peeled, deveined, & tails intact)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves (crushed with the side of a knife)
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon steak seasoning (Montreal Seasoning by McCormick is recommended)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped)

1. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.
2. Add olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and shrimp.
3. Season with grill seasoning or salt & pepper.
4. Cook shrimp 3 minutes or until just pink.
5. Toss with lemon zest, juice, & chopped parsley.
6. Remove shrimp to a serving platter, leaving the garlic cloves in the pan

Sick of RAIN!!!!

I’m tired of living in Seattle!!!! Enough with the rain already!!!!! Holy. Cannolli. It has RAINED every stinkin’ day for 3 weeks!! Well, almost every day… I think there may have been 3 days in that period that we didn’t get rained on. If it doesn’t stop soon I may fling myself off a bridge ((sigh)) Honestly, y’all…I don’t know HOW people can live in places where it rains a lot. I caught a serious case of the blues from all the gloom outside. Boo-koo bummed out. Weepy, droopy, sad. Dragging my sorry self to work when all I really wanted to do was crawl in bed and stay there. I finally went tanning Friday and that seemed to snap me out of it….fake sun is better than no sun, right?

For those of you who have kids or are still a kid at heart (like moi), you have GOT to go see “Up”. I went with the hubby Saturday night and laughed until my sides hurt. I think it will be way more humorous for those of you who have or have had dogs….if you haven’t had the pleasure, the dog humor won’t be nearly as funny (i.e. “the cone of shame”). But the interaction between the old guy and the kid was funny by itself (snipe hunt anyone??) Most certainly worth $8 and an hour and a half of your time.

We’ve made plans to take a trip south, to Moab, Lake Powell, Kanab and the Grand Canyon. Originally Steve suggested it coincide with our anniversary in July. After some discussion (while the heat doesn’t bother me much, I know that Steve and Chris would NOT enjoy themselves in the 100+ degree weather that is the norm in those parts at the end of July) we decided on going in September. I am super excited to see the GC, since I didn’t get to on my trip in March. And of course, while we’re in the area, I will be spending some time volunteering out at Dog Town. YAY!!!! I am so happy to be returning to the sanctuary and to be able to show my family Dog Town and the rest of Angel Canyon. I enjoyed my stay in Kanab so much the first time with my friend, Laura, it will be extra special to share time there with my fam :0)

Have a great day!!!

Cards for Daniel

At work, I tune in to Dr Laura in the afternoons. Mostly because it’s the only station I can get on my poor little radio…too much interference to pick up anything else, really. I listen off and on while she’s on, but I mostly have the radio on for background noise. I can’t stand the quiet in the office when it’s not on….drives me nuts. Anyway, I was listening Wednesday afternoon when Dr Laura started the hour with the story of a young serviceman who has been severely wounded in the line of duty and the request his parents have made to help brighten the day of this brave soldier. I think this is a very worthy endeavor and wanted to post it to spread the word. This is what Dr Laura related on her show:

"Sgt. Daniel Thornhill was seriously injured in Afghanistan two years ago by a suicide bomber. This soldier has lost both legs, is paralyzed from the waist down and has suffered severed burns over his arms, hands and body. He has been rehabbing at the Fisher House in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. (WOAI.com article: Veteran loses limbs in battle, but not hope)

His parents have reached out for support -- not financially, but they are asking for as many service members, veterans, and others as possible to please send him a birthday card. His birthday is this coming week and it would be nice if a lot of us send him a note to show him how much we love him for what he has sacrificed for his country.

And if you're in the in the San Antonio area, stop by and visit not only this troop but others who may be in the same situation and Sgt. Thornhill and his family.

Please brighten the day of a hero."

Mailing address:
Sgt. Daniel Thornhill
Fort Sam Houston Fisher House
3623 George C. Beach Rd
Fort Sam Houston, Texas 78234

Update

Well it’s about time! Jeez Louise!!! I really hadn’t intended on not posting for this long, but you know how it goes….things get crazy at work, at home; you find that while you have things to share, you just don’t have the time to write. Or, when you do have time, you just don’t feel like firing up the ol’ PC and clickty clacking away on the keyboard. It’s been a busy couple weeks…work has been…well…stressful and exhausting, to put it mildly; home has been a wonderful refuge from all the chaos of the workday, which is as it should be. The fam has had plenty of playtime over the last few weeks as well. From a family outing to the Arco desert (I’ll post some pics later) the day after my DH’s birthday for a day of target shooting, to lunch and a movie in a complete monsoon, to tossing the football outside in the evenings, to a trip to SLC for a Moochie’s sandwich and a new toy for the hubby. Yes, we have a new addition to the family…I have to admit, it’s a cute little guy :0) It’s German…fahrfegnugen (lol). Sounds a-maz-ing. I’ll snap a pic or two to share. Oh! I planted 2 tomato plants…for a container garden since I don’t have time for a REAL garden. I am pleased to report that they have blossoms on them – yay!!! I’ve never planted tomatoes before. Thought about it lots. Wanted to do it for years. Finally took the plunge. Am being rewarded with the promise of yummy tomatoes to come :0) I also got some raspberry starts from a friend, planted them; my darling husband trimmed them with the weed whacker on accident. I almost had heart failure. Steve felt terrible. The poor little things were only in the ground for 2 weeks before they got whacked :0( The good news is that the stalks are still green. The local grower that these plants originally came from said they should be okay. (I put some Miracle Grow on them anyway. Couldn’t hurt to have a little nutrient boost, right?) Dreams of fresh raspberries may have to wait until next year, though. Sigh. FINALLY settled on paint colors for the living room and kitchen – woo hoo! Looking forward to getting those 2 rooms (and the hallway) painted. They’ve needed it for quite some time but we – okay, I – could not decide what color. I waffle. What can I say?? On our little excursion to SL last weekend, we took the scenic route back out to I-15 from Moochies: down Highland Drive, through the cities of Sugarhouse and Liberty Heights. Never been to either city, so it was something new. I have to tell ya, if I HAD to move to SLC, those would be the places I’d want to move to….beautiful older homes, cute little neighborhoods, adorable little shops. And a Barnes & Noble the size of Rhode Island! Loved it loved it loved it. Well, I guess I’ve babbled enough for now. Have a great day all!!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

My DH is celebrating his birthday today...he took the day off work to have some "me" time, which is always a good thing. He's spending the day recording (HIS material, not someone else's band...been a while since he's done his own stuff) and probably catching the matinee of "Wolverine" after my son gets home from school. I'll be finishing up his cake (Devil's Food with Bavarian Creme and Raspberry filling...sugar-free, of course) while they're at the movie. I hope you're having a wonderful day, babe...you deserve it in spades.

Mucho love-o!!!!
your wife xoxox