My Loyal Boy

I blog all the time about my redneck boys and my cute little puppy, but I don't give very much attention to my boy Sammy. Everyone who knows Sammy loves Sammy. He is such a good boy. He is almost seven years old and starting to go gray, limp a little after only a 1/2-mile neighborhood walk, and sleep about 23 1/2 hours of the day. Still he is a sweet, loving, loyal boy. I have been sick lately and finally went to see the doctor today. Among the six (SIX!) prescriptions he gave me were a really strong antibiotic and a really strong decongestant. The rest of my family is glad that I finally decided to go to the doctor. They know that once I am well again I will be able to smell my sweet, loving, loyal boy. I think a trip to the DOG WASH will be in our very near future. Stay posted!

(PS to Lisa ... Do you have copies of the pictures we took while you were visiting in Jan 07? For some reason all of the pictures I have of the snow are tiny & small!)

The Caverns of Sonora

Last night we had a dramatic change in weather. It was so dramatic that we went from 80 and sunny to 50 with tornado warnings. Today it was cloudy and rainy all day. We decided we needed something to do to get out of the house, but we couldn't really enjoy the outdoors with the weather being only 50 degrees (sorry Julie, I know that would be a heat wave for you!) So we went to Caverns of Sonora. It was really very pretty and a nice thing to do to get out of the house. I have been wanting to do this for quite a while, but as some of you know my plans to go last spring were foiled by a certain golf tournament.
The tour was nice because inside the caverns the temperature is a constant 71 degrees and humid. So it is warm. There's no wind, which is a nice change for this part of Texas. That makes it nice and calm. And quiet. Well, I think it is quiet for most people. Groups of 12 go together. There were five of us (Brian, me, my mom, and the boys) and a couple with their five kids. Their kids were unbelievably well behaved and quiet. It was the mother who was unbelievably annoying. Jennifer told me once that in the south you can say anything you want about a person as long as you add "God Bless Her" at the end of it. At least I think it was Jennifer who told me that. I'd call Jennifer to ask her, but her daughter Haley had her tonsils out today and that is a little more important than the redneck I am about the spend 10 minutes making fun of on my blog. So Jennifer, if it wasn't you, I am sorry. But it was good advice and I am about to use it!
This woman must have been about 24 years old. Try to imagine the most annoying southern accent you have ever heard and then imagine hearing it say, "Oh, baby, take a picture of that!" about 500 times. And add in some fondling and touching. She couldn't keep her hands off from him. I overheard them talking to the tour guide about most of the kids being steps and halves and cousins so I think only the baby was theirs togethers. I am pretty sure they were anxious to get back home to work on rounding off their group into a nice half-a-dozen. At one point during the tour Kenny raised his hand and asked a question about the effects of humans touching stalactites and stalagmites. He knew that the oils from our hands would stop the minerals from forming. He wanted to ask about the ranchers who first discovered the caverns and wondered whether or not they knew that they shouldn't touch them. When the tour guide finished answering his question our friendly 24-year old mama from Texas chimed in with her two cents to let the entire group know that she thought the stalactites looked just like "them french fries from Arby's that I like so much." That is why the name of this posting was almost "She wasn't smarter than my 2nd grader!" God Bless Her.

Happy St. Pat's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. Here's a picture of me that my mom took with her camera phone. This headband makes me miss being a preschool teacher!

The Energizer Bunny

Here are pictures of about 1/4 of the things my Mom has done since she's been here. She got here Friday and she's been to the boys' fort with them, on the 4-wheeler, on the trampoline, to the duck pond, to the park, Easter shopping, to the spelling bee, to the air show, to our favorite barbecue pit, has fixed everything that needed sewing in the entire house, has mopped my tile floors, has groomed Penelope twice, and sanded & re-stained my picnic table. In the same amount of time I think I may have washed the dishes once or twice. Oh and I think I may have sent Kenny out to get the mail today.

How Do You Spell Competition?

Today was the county spelling bee. There were 26 kids that competed for a chance to win a spot in the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee. The children who competed ranged from a seven year old second grader to a 13 year old eighth grader. To be able to compete in the spelling bee the student had to have won the spelling be in his/her school. I thought the bee was only open to 4th-8th graders, but somehow there were a couple of 2nd and 3rd graders in there. Some of the kids were so tiny and so cute! Some of them were bigger than Brian! Regardless, they were all great spellers and they all received a lot of praise for making it to this level.

Here's Chase just before the spelling bee began this morning. He told me that he was a little nervous, but he seemed calm and confident to me.

This picture was taken during the practice round. The parents were only allowed to take photos during the practice round because they didn't want us disturbing the kids. Chase's practice round word was STOIC. He spelled S T O I K ... but thankfully it was the practice round. About 75% of the kids got their practice round words wrong. The purpose was the teach them how to work the microphone and what questions they were allowed to ask. They were allowed to ask:

"Can you repeat the word?"
"Will you use the word in a sentence please?"
"What is the definition?"
"What is the language of origin of the word?"

During the first round 14 of the 26 kids were eliminated. Chase made it through by correctly spelling the word CANDIDATE. By the time the kids had registered, learned all of the rules, practiced one round, and gone through a round we had already been there well over an hour. They gave the kids a short break. This was nice because Chase was able to come visit us in the audience and saw that his teacher had come to watch him. His teacher came to sit with us and we all gave Chase words of encouragement and advice.

The next round was another big elimination round. By the time it was over there were only four kids left. Oh, and Chase wasn't one of them :( His word? PSALM. He thought the announcer said SOLEMN. You can contest the judge's ruling on that basis, but when Chase was at the microphone he had asked the announcer to define the word and then he still misspelled it. On that basis they think he should have been able to figure out it was PSALM instead of SOLEMN so he was out.

He wasn't upset at all. We are all proud of him for making it this far and we'll let him decide if he even wants to try again next year. As we were getting ready to leave we peaked in on the beginning of round three. The first word they had one of the kids spelling was INGURGITATION. Yup, a word I use every day. Don't you? That's what I thought. It was a fun morning. Maybe we'll do it again next year.

To Do List

• I got a 100% on my BIO quiz
• I finished writing the paper that is due tomorrow for RDG 3333: The Reading and Writing Process
• I created the "Topic Circle" that is due tomorrow for RDG 3332: Components of the Reading Process
• I returned the 12 overdue library books we had and renewed the one book Kenny is still reading
• I finished a scholarship application (with essay) that is due this week
• I turned in all of the financial aid paperwork I had to turn in
• I remembered to give Chelsea the children's dictionary I have been promising to let her borrow for about a month
• I emailed Michele that information about the math class we need to take this summer
• I finished the online assignment for RDG 3331: Principles and Practices for Learning to Read
• I mailed Lisa the Tastefully Simple order forms
• I bought a gift bag for the raffle prize I am donating for the spouse's dinner tonight
• I picked up the dog at the groomer's

And when I finished all of this I came home and found my reward on my doorstep:

Even though my list is only about 1/2 way done this should really help me get through the other half with a much better attitude. Listen to the oh-so-difficult preparation directions: Add 14 oz. of Tequila and 6 cups of warm water. Freeze. Enjoy.

Thanks Lisa!!!

Wordy Wednesday

It's supposed to be Wordless Wednesday but next week is Spring Break and apparently last week my seven professors had a secret meeting during which they decided to load me with so much freakin' work that I don't have time to find my camera, let alone take a picture!!! So ... on that note ... I will leave you with a cute little email that my friend Rebekah sent me today. I was supposed to be taking an online Biology quiz and instead I was reading emails and then writing this whiney posting. I am off to take that quiz now. Really. No more whining. I think that is #7 on my list of "to do's" today (out of something like 19) Ok. I am really done whining now. Thanks for the email Rebekah. HBLAMY :)

Dear Dogs and Cats:

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king size bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time there is no secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow and try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- canine or feline attendance is not required.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's but. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To all Non-Pet Owners Who Visit and Like to Complain About Our Pets:

1. They live here, you don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes stay off the furniture (that's why they call it FURniture).
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you it's an animal, to me he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

Remember in many ways, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3. Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions
9. Don't want to wear your clothes
10. Don't need a 'gazillion' dollars for college
And Finally
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

Muppet Show Monday

Spring Ahead (and I got a little off track)

Once a year we advance our clocks an hour so that the afternoons have more daylight and the mornings do not. Supporters of daylight savings time are retail establishments, sporting goods stores, the department of public safety (there are less car accidents), and kids who want to go and play outside in the evening. Critics of daylight savings time are farmers and economists. Apparently we use a lot more gas and electricity during DST.

Although DST is common in high latitudes, most of the world's people do not use it.
DST used: blue areas
DST no longer used: orange areas
DST never used: red areas

On a much smaller scale, DST means that getting ready for school this week is going to be heck around here and that yesterday I had a moment of panic that looked like this:

I was getting ready for my Tastefully Simple party when I first realized I had lost an hour. And let me tell you ... I needed every single minute I could find. All of a sudden I had 60 less minutes than I needed. Fortunately for me D.J. and Jennifer were the first two people to show up so I put them to work. D.J. had blender duty making Vanilla Bean Chiller and Jennifer made the Prickly Pear Cooler. Now, just to show you all that I am not a pushy salesperson and that I am as honest as I always claim to be ... I am going to tell you how we all felt about the Prickly Pear Cooler. And I can sum it all up by telling you what Kenny said when he tried it. He said, "It tastes just like Airborne!" And he's right. I love Tastefully Simple. I love their beer bread and dips like nothing else on earth. I could live on their soup. The new Classy Chocolate Pound Cake .... Oh. My. Goodness. It. Is. So. So. So. Good!!! But the Prickly Pear Cooler .... well, you can skip that. Wait a minute ... this post was supposed to be about the time change. Well, I guess since I got into my Tastefully Simple party I will show you those pictures too. Here is my spread:

And here are the boys chowing down on the leftovers:

I had a really fun & successful party. I think Lisa is safe from the quarterly Tastefully Simple business monsters for one more quarter. So thank you to everyone who came to my party yesterday, everyone who couldn't come but ordered online, and everyone who just reads my post anyway! Even though we've already made our goal you can still order some Tastefully Simple if you want to. My party will be open until the 15th. I would just avoid the Prickly Pear Cooler! Go to Lisa's website by clicking HERE.

Rattlesnake Roundup

Here are the long-anticipated Rattlesnake Roundup pictures. There were lots and lots of scary and smelly things to see, but not very many things that I wanted to get close enough to that I could take pictures of. Sorry this first picture is a little dark.

This is the snake pit that was next to the Longest Snake Contest. There were several men who were grabbing snakes with long hooks and putting them on a table to measure them. The longest snakes were being separated and the losers were tossed into big garbage barrels. I don't even want to know their fate.

The longest snakes were placed in these bins. The results are not yet published for this year, but in 2007 the longest snake was 80 inches. The all time Sweetwater record holder was 84 inches long!

This is the snake I saw them measuring when I worked my way through the crowd to get a good photo. This one was only 38 inches long.

Kenny and I were fascinated by the milking pit. This guy was grabbing rattlesnakes out of one barrel by their tails, milking them, then tossing them into another barrel at a rate of about three snakes per minute. He was so fast that I kept trying to take a picture of him and by the time I took the picture I just got a picture of him tossing the snake into the second barrel!

This is the snake handler. He taught a lesson about rattlesnakes and snake safety. Then he teased a snake with a balloon, which I took a video of for your entertainment. I am thinking there must be some animal (or reptile) rights groups out there that would probably not like this.

There were a lot of other things to see, but I had three problems. #1. There were 35,000 other people in Sweetwater with us. Sweetwater is 10.0 square miles. #2. My camera battery was really low so I kept saving it for something really good. And #3. Some of the things I saw were just too yucky!

Today's the Day

Today's the Rattlesnake Round-up. We're getting ready to go and the boys have a couple of jokes for ya'll:

Q? What do snakes put on their kitchen floors?
A: Rep-Tiles

Q? What do snakes do after they fight?
A: Hiss and make up.

Q? What's a snake's favorite subject?
A: Hiss-tory!

I found this online which is more along the lines of how I am feeling about what we might encounter today in Sweetwater:

What's the real difference between a Yankee Zoo and a Texas Zoo?
On the cage, a Yankee Zoo will have the name of the animal and then the scientific name in Latin.
Whereas, a Texas Zoo will have the name of the animal and the recipe.....!

Yup, I am a little worried! But we'll see how the day goes. Wish me luck!

I Never Thought I'd Say This!

Last weekend I was talking to my sister-in-law Lisa when I said a sentence I never imagined I could even think, let alone say. It went something like this: The tickets to the rodeo were sold out so Brian and I are going to take the boys to the rattlesnake roundup in Sweetwater instead. Yes, I said that. And worse, it was all true. I really tried to buy tickets to the rodeo and they really were sold out. I didn't even know something could sell out here in this tiny little West Texas town! And we really are going to take the boys to Sweetwater (don't you just love the name of that town?) to go to a rattlesnake roundup. What is a rattlesnake roundup, you ask? Even if you aren't asking I am going to tell you. This is from wikipedia.org:

A Rattlesnake Round-Up is a rodeo-like event common to rural Midwest where, rather than bovines, rattlesnakes are the primary animal attraction. The largest of the several Rattlesnake Round-Up events is in Sweetwater, Texas. Held every year since 1958, the event currently attracts approximately 35,000 visitors per year and results in the capture of 1% of the state's rattlesnake population.

So on Saturday we are going to Sweetwater to the rattlesnake roundup. There are several attractions including a rattlesnake parade, the Miss Snake Charmer Pageant, the weigh-in of the snakes, the showing of the rattlesnakes, a gun & knife show, indoor and outdoor flea markets, a brisket and chili cook-off, rattlesnake dancers, a rattlesnake meat eating contest, a carnival and a beard contest. I mean, what more could you ask for?!?

I promise pictures!

For My Mom

Gno Gnews is Good Gnews!

Muppet Show Monday

Recently I wrote about how we have rediscovered The Muppet Show. My good friend Mandy, who is usually very intelligent, did not click on the YouTube video I had in my posting because she thought I had somehow found a way to link an entire episode of the Muppets to my blog. Now I am not really sure if that is even possible, but I can assure you, I know you do not all share my fond memories of this show. When I think of The Muppet Show I am instantly reminded of how wonderful my childhood really was. I am one of those rare people who has no complaints and does not need therapy. I think of spending 30 minutes a week eating freshly popped popcorn huddled around our tv set, sitting on our soft brown velour sofa, wrapped up in cuddly blankets ... laughing at the Swedish Chef, Pigs in Space, Animal playing on the drums, and all of the other crazy Muppets on the show. Even though Brian and I saw them all several times in the 1970s we are still working our way through season one here in 2008. Yesterday we watched an episode that had "special guest star" Florence Henderson. Today's YouTube video is very short and has one of my all time favorite Muppet Show songs. So if you want to spend less than 2 minutes going down memory lane with me, click on it. Oh, and if you want to watch the original You Tube video I put on here a week or so ago that was a 38-second Swedish Chef video click HERE.

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Part II

Today is February 29th, in the Year of Our Lord 2008. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda.

When I picked up the boys from school we engaged in two conversations. One I could keep up and one I couldn't. The first went like this:

Kenny: There's a boy in my class that turned 2 today.
Me: That's so cool!
Kenny: And he's taller than me.
Me: And he's only 2?!?
Kenny: Yup, he has a leap year birthday.
Me: That's pretty special.
Kenny: So when I am 100 he'll only be 25.
Me: That's pretty young.
Kenny: Yup, that's cool. Can I have a snack when we get home?
Me: You sure can.

And the second:

Chase: Actually, he'll only be 24.
Me: And why is that?
Chase: We have a leap year every four years, unless the year is divisible by 100. That year is not a leap year. Well, with the exception of the years that are divisible by 400. They are still leap years. So 2000 was a leap year, but 2100, 2200, and 2300 will not be leap years. That is because the solar year is slightly less than 365.25 days.
Me: So do you want a snack when we get home too?

The Weather Around Here

Yesterday it was 92 degrees here. Now it is 36 with a high of 58. This place is crazy. Of course today is my walk5milesallovercampusday.
I know, I know ... quit whining and go get ready for class.

You Might Be a Redneck (February 2008 Edition)

...if your kids play in the sprinkler system in the middle of February!

Rodeo Parade

We went to the Rodeo Parade yesterday. I have never seen so many horses in one place in my life! I won't bore you with the endless pictures of horses and marching bands that I took. But I will share my three favorite pictures:

My cool boy up on a flower box trying to get a better view of the 10 year old cheerleaders.

The longhorn cow that some of you may remember from the boys' Christmas photo (we did two different photos for two different cards that I had).

And ... the best entertainment of the morning. These donkeys decided they were done walking. Done. This poor guy spent about 20 minutes pushing, pulling, whipping, begging, bribing, crying, etc. right here in front of us. About half of the parade passed right by him while he tried to convince his donkeys to pull his covered wagon. I don't know who the guy with the baseball cap (behind the covered wagon) is. He thought he'd try to help by chatting with the people inside the wagon. Somehow I don't think he was much help at all!

Anyway, the whole thing was rather entertaining. And a good way to get out of the house for a little while. Stay tuned later in the week for some Rodeo photos.

Making Donuts

We have a found some new to us and old to the rest of the world entertainment here in our house. Last weekend I went on You Tube and found several of these videos to show the boys. Being a generation X child (no patience) I immediately went to amazon.com and bought the entire first season of the Muppet Show. Have you seen this show lately? These people muppets are so funny!

My Ideal TV Boyfriend

I was supposed to be working on a paper that I have due next week. Instead I was surfing around other peoples' blogs reading about their lives. Sometimes interesting. Sometimes boring. It all seemed better than writing my paper at the time. Anyway, I came across this link for taking a quiz to figure out who my ideal TV boyfriend would be. And I swear I answered everything honestly and here he is ... McDreamy! I can't believe it! Maybe I shouldn't tell Brian. He already thinks that I am in love with this guy. Hm ... maybe I should get to that paper that I have due next week.

Who is Your Ideal TV Boyfriend?

More on Gossip Girl. Created by BuddyTV

Ok, blogger friends. Go out and take the quiz and let me know who your Ideal TV Boyfriend is. Because I am hoping that I am not the only one who doesn't have better things to do.

The One That Got Bumped

This picture was going to be my Worldless Wednesday before my redneck-in-training won the spelling bee yesterday. Believe it or not this is the car of the local Bail Bondsman of our town here in West Texas. Really. And ... (yes, this story gets better) When I showed the picture in my camera to my friend in class yesterday she immediately recognized it and said, "Oh, the bail bondsman's car?" ... like it was just a normal part of this wonderful little place I live in. Well, I guess it is. Only in Texas, only in Texas!

Wordless Wednesday -- Scripps National Spelling Bee: School Champ!

At Least They Had a Good Day

Do you know what today is? It is President Day. It is a federal holiday. The post office was closed today. Federal banks were closed today. Most of my friends in other states in this great union had their kids home with them today. The entire United States Army had the day off. I would be willing to guess President Bush had the day off. Or at least he probably would have if his approval rating was better than 30% right now. I had class, but luckily for me Monday is a late day and my first class was canceled so we all slept in nice and late. It was a great day. I pretended I was a stay-at-home mom all morning. I made belgian waffles for breakfast. I baked banana bread. I cleaned the house. I finished the laundry. I studied for a test I have tomorrow. Brian and the boys played basketball, walked the dogs, played frisbee, went hiking, and rode their 4-wheeler. Then after lunch I went to class. When my friend Chelsea sat down next to me I noticed she was wearing her school disctrict badge. The badge she has to wear when she goes into the elementary school for her observation time. I said, "Chelsea, why are you wearing your badge? The kids didn't have school today." She said, "Yes, they did." I said, "But it's President's Day!" Then I started thinking ... how can they get a day off for the stock show? How can they get a day off for the rodeo? How can the entire United States Army take a day off and my kids are supposed to be in school on President's Day? And they are home playing frisbee with their dad right this very minute?!? I won't be winning any Mother of the Year Awards for this little mistake!

Why I Love Summer Vacation

I am sitting here trying desperately to study for an exam I have tomorrow. I have the old computer in front of me. There is a slide show of 2005 summer vacation photos going past on the screen. How in the world am I supposed to be able to concentrate when this goes past my screen?

While the Cat is Away

...the mice will play!

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours in the library at the college campus getting some work done on a paper that I have due this week. This is a picture I just found on my camera:

Rites of Passage

All around the world people use different rituals to initiate their young into adulthood. For example, the Rastafarians use marijuana just before puberty. They say that it binds the group of adolescents. The Surfista (young teen boys) in Rio ride on top of a train ducking overhead rails and wires. Vanuatu boys (Brazil) dive from 50 ft towers with elastic vines tied to a foot just long enough to stop them from crashing (we would call this Bungee jumping). Here at our house we have finally taken a step with our older redneck in training. He has crossed that threshold toward manhood.

He drank Nyquil!

What Do You Say?

I spend an hour a week reading to two students in an elementary school here in town. This is the conversation I had last week with my 3rd grade student:
Student: I don't really live here in WESTTEXAS. I live in Mexico.
Me: That's pretty far away.
Student: Yeah, sometimes I get scared when we cross because of all of the beggers.
Me: (stunned silence) (not really sure what to say) (uncomfortable pause) (time to wonder if there is a class that teaches you how to deal with these issues)
Student: We go there a lot because that's where we really live.
Me: It must be a long drive.
Student: Yeah, one time we didn't get back here until 1:00.
Me: In the morning?
Student: Yeah, that was after my brother got out of jail in Mexico and we had to pick him up.
Me: Do you want to work on your spelling words now?

I Must Be Getting Old

Thursday as I was walking into class I overheard one of the (younger) college students on her cell phone. She was obviously talking to her parents about money. What I heard her say was, "No, you don't get it. You just don't understand that $300 doesn't go very far these days." She started saying something about the price of gas but by then I was walking too far past her to hear any more. I couldn't help but feel bad for her parents. And I laughed out loud. Right there by myself as I was walking to my next class. I felt like going back to that little 18 year old girl and telling her that her parents surely knew how far $300 could go and that she should go get herself a job! I wanted to tell her that she should appreciate the gift they were giving her instead of whining for more money. And I wanted to make myself a note that says something like this: If one of the boys ever tell you that you don't know how far $300 goes when you offer to give them $300 be sure to give them $200 instead. Then remind them that it could have been $100. And tell them to learn how to make it stretch. Be sure to tell them that they should be grateful instead of selfish and whiney. Oh, and tell them to get a job!

Internet Privacy

I am trying a couple of little things to increase our amount of internet privacy. The first of which was taking our last name out of our blog address. The next thing I want to do is take our names and our town out of our postings. It all started with the posting I did last week about my textbooks. I was getting some really weird comments from strangers about how to sell textbooks online. I have also received some strange comments from strangers lately about how likable my blog is. I know a blog is public, but it is still a little weird to have strangers commenting on the video the boys made for my mom on her birthday!!!
Since then I have changed my blog address, taken my blog off from the search engine listings, and deleted a few of my postings. I have seen a noticable decrease in my daily traffic. (That is a good thing) I know that a blog is a public thing and I can't make it totally private if I want to be able to share it with my family and friends. But there are certain things I can do to make it a little more safe.
Some of the things I will be doing:

• The boys have blogs too. They rarely update them, but they want to have them because I have one. If for some reason you want to visit them, please just email me and I will send you a link to give you permission to view their blogs. I have made their blogs private and right now the only people who can view them are me, their Grammy, and their Aunt Lisa.
• Search engines have been instructed not to "crawl" my blog.
• My blog is not available when other bloggers click "Next Blog".
• I will not be using the name of our town, schools, or work places. I would appreciate it if you try not to use those names in your comments.
• I am going to try to come up with clever nicknames for everyone in our family. I know it sounds a little silly, but it can be done in a way that is cute and not too weird. One of my favorite blogs to visit is Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. She calls her kids punks and her husband is the Marlboro man. If you have any ideas, please pass them along. I am toying with "Rednecks in Training" for the boys or maybe even "Boy1" and "Boy2" I am not very clever though so if you think of anything better ... please let me know. I am stuck on punks, but I don't want to steal it from the Pioneer Woman!

Ok, I think that's all of my new news for now. Look, I know this blogging thing is not fool proof and it's far from the safest thing on the internet. But I am going to make a couple of small attempts at making it just a little safer than it is now. This weekend I'll go through my old postings and pull out names & references to our town & schools. After that I might just have to start referring to myself as Wonder Woman or something stupid like that if you all don't help me out and come up with something better. Help a girl out, would ya?!?!?!

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

Apparently I am not.

A couple of days ago my sister-in-law Lisa and I were talking on the phone about how we naively put our last names in our blog web addresses when we first set them up. Fortunately for me, my 11 year old redneck in training always listens in on my conversations and he joined in to tell me that he knew how to fix that problem for me. Of course, I didn't believe him. And of course, he was right. So within about 15 seconds I had a new web address. It is now http://www.alwayshomewardbound.blogspot.com/

I put the redneck on the phone with Lisa and 15 seconds later she had her new web address. Her's is http://homesweethomealabama.blogspot.com/ Her new address will take effect tomorrow. She was nicer than I am -- she gave her readers a day's notice. I just changed mine and figured you could all be frustrated until I sent out a mass email.

So if you need any technical assistance feel free to call my young redneck and I'll rent him out to you for a small fee.

Happy Happy Happy

Happy Anniversary to my parents! Here they are on their wedding day. It all started with a blind date. His roommate was dating her roommate (they are still married too) and they hooked up for a wild & crazy New Year's Eve double-date. Sparks flew and a February 6th wedding was planned. A big snowstorm pushed the date back almost a week and they got hitched on the 12th, a full 43 days after they met each other. 36 years ago.

Happy Birthday to my younger brother Toby. Here I am reminding my parents that even though he is absolutely adorable I am still the first child. The oldest. The one who gave them the gift of parenthood. I am still a firstborn child like that.

And lastly, Happy Valentine's Day to You!! Hope you have a great one :)

Wordless Wednesday -- Join the Party

You can't ever say I don't share with my kids!

Let the Truth be Known

It's been 13 years and I am finally ready to fess up. Finally ready to spill my guts. Tell the truth. Let my entire family know the real reason I joined the Army.

Here's my parents' weather forecast for this week:

Today: Snow. Snow will be heavy at times this morning. High 18F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Additional snow accumulating 6 to 10 inches. Heavier amounts in persistent snowbands.

Tonight: Snow showers early will taper to flurries later on. Low around 5F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%. 2 to 4 inches of snow expected.

Tomorrow: Cloudy. Snow likely in the afternoon. Cold. High 22F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulating 2 to 4 inches.

Tomorrow night: Cloudy with snow. Low around 20F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 80%. Significant snow accumulation possible.

Wednesday: Snow showers in the morning. Highs in the mid 20s and lows in the upper teens.

Thursday: Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the mid 20s and lows in the low 20s.


Here's mine:

Today: Partly cloudy. High 74F.

Tonight: Mainly clear. Low around 45F.

Tomorrow: Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High around 60F.

Tomorrow night: Clear skies. Low 32F.

Wednesday: Abundant sunshine. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the low 40s.

Thursday: Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 30s.

Note To Self

Do not take the boys to the store when you have the flu.

Today as I swam my way through the fog that was my afternoon filled with congestion, fever, body aches, chills, extreme fatigue, and strangely strong decongestants that are a major understatement when they say may cause drowsiness, I took the boys to the grocery store to buy lunch box supplies. Somehow we ended up with $4.15 Fruit Loop Cereal Straws. What?!?

Sweet as a Peach

I called my Gram a little while ago to ask her about some recipes for Super Bowl Sunday. That's the only thing I care about on Super Bowl Sunday ... the food. Well, that and the commercials. They are usually darn funny. Anyway, we got talking about how we were both a little under the weather. She said that when she wasn't feeling well she likes to eat peaches. I said that I craved peaches when I was pregnant. I said, "Oh yeah, I remember that you like peach ......" I was trying to think of Crystal Light but I lost the word for a moment and she came on the line with "Schnapps!" I was shocked! Gram! My Gram! My 75 year old Gram! Then she told me a story about how she and my aunt Kathy got her realtor liquored up on Peach Schnapps during the deal to close on her first home so that they could get a better deal. Yup, my Gram. She's as sweet as a peach. And I never even knew it!

Happy Birthday Dad

The Grocery Store

I am sure you will all be glad to know that I made the time to go to the grocery store. I try to be the best mother I can be at all times, even if that means sacrificing my own personal time to do mundane errands such as grocery shopping.

Congratulations Charissa

My friend Charissa (from the college) got married today. Congratulations Charissa & DJ!