Hiking on Sunday morning

We went for a little walk/hike on Sunday morning. It was fun because the boys rode their bikes way ahead and Brian and I got to stroll together -- it was almost like a mini-date. Then Brian and the boys went climbing while I went for a longer walk by myself. When I got back to them I saw this:

At first I thought he was dead. I was on the trail and the boys were here: (my camera is zoomed all the way)

This is how the conversation went between me and the boys: (we had to yell but I won't be rude and put it all in caps)

Me: Boys! Did you see this dead snake down here?
Chase & Kenny: No, where is it?
I walk over to the motionless snake, point down and yell: Right here!
Chase: Pick it up!
Me: NO WAY!! (I yelled that extra loud)
Kenny: Come on mom, just pick it up.
Me: You guys come down to see it.

Then I decide that I should be the cool mom and just pick the darn thing up. After all it's dead, right? I look closer and say: It hasn't been dead very long. It isn't even dried up.

So then I poke it's tail with my foot just to check if it is stiff enough to pick up without getting all grossed out. And the damn thing moves!! Towards me!! With it's tongue out!!

Chase later explained that meant that it was only smelling me, but I didn't care. It looked like a threat to me.

So one nano-second after it moved I really started yelling ... and I mean LOUD, SISSY, GIRLY SCREAMING! And running. Which was followed by laughter from Chase & Kenny. Lots of it. Then they had to practically run down the hill so that they could see it before it slithered away. Not my favorite experience from the weekend.

A Major Decision

Literally. I have finally made a decision regarding my major. Well, if I am being honest, I have made another decision regarding my major. A month ago I registered for six classes that would help me get my degree in Sociology (with a minor in Psychology). The schedule was great and the idea of being done by the end of summer '08 was very alluring.
But then I spent a month feeling like I was not following my gut instinct. I want to teach. I love to teach. I want to make job charts and calendars. I want to make little froggies that hop from green to yellow to red when the kids misbehave. I want to wipe snotty noses. Yes, I really do. I am not sure I want to deal with the politics of the school system, but I will cross that road when I get there.
So today I applied to the education department to officially make teacher education (ECH-Gr. 4) my major. I dropped my six SOC and PSY classes and added six classes that will help me progress towards my degree in education. It will take me a little longer to finish. And there's a chance this could all get royally messed up if we get orders to leave GAFB before I am done. But that's a chance I need to take because I need, need, need to follow my gut!
A great big THANK-YOU to everyone who wrote or called and helped me sort through my options and the pro's and con's of each major. Hopefully I won't change my mind again between now and when classes start. Once I have started, there's no turning back. Wish me luck!

Good News!

I found out today that I got a Pell Grant from the government to help pay for college. I also received a Carr Scholarship -- a local scholarship given at the college that is based on grades. My scholarship award was $3,500 and my Pell Grant was $1,960. I am taking 18 credit hours in the fall and 19 in the spring. The tuition for the two semesters adds up to $5,473.80. So Brian and I only have to pay $13.80 out-of-pocket towards my tuition. Yes, thirteen dollars and eighty cents! I will still need to pay certain fees and buy my books, but I am very excited and grateful to be getting $5,46o in free college money :)
Of course if I was sane (Cherie, should that say 'if I were sane'?) I would only be taking 12 C.H. each semester and I could actually make some money on this deal. But you all know my husband. And you know he likes to move way too often! So I am cramming in as much as I can in as little time as possible.
Speaking of which, my two online summer classes started on Monday so I should probably be working on them and not playing with my blog. Ta-ta for now.

I've been tagged

I've been tagged by Jennifer to come up with 7 random things about myself. So here goes ...

1. I agonized over this assignment all weekend --- I even had a dream about it last night! I have some really funny friends... just look at Cherie's blog, Jennifer's blog or Tracy's myspace! They are clever, witty, funny and I am not sure I can live up to that. (I think Tracy's myspace might be private so you'll just have to take my word for it)


2. I hardly ever cry -- maybe 2 or 3x a year. I think it's because when I was a kid and I cried my Dad would always say, "If you want something to cry about, I'll give you something to cry about!" Then I'd be embarrassed and I'd stop. So if you make me cry, or if you see me cry then you know something is seriously wrong.


3. I spent the first 20 years of my life in one town and have moved 16 times since then.


4. I think my neighbor's house (which is empty) has a peeping tom in it. The window blinds that face my bedroom window have been recently moved.


5. If I dream about someone I feel like God is telling me they need me to pray for them. So I do. So if I dream about you, I pray for you. It is really the only way I can explain the random dreams I sometimes have about people from my life that I have not thought about consciously since grade school!


6. I am scared that someday I will be the cat lady -- you know, the old lady in town who has 50 cats in her house. I love to take care of kids and animals and my kids are sure to leave me eventually.


7. I spend an unnatural amount of time planning what I will do to try to save both of my boys if my car goes over a bridge and into a large body of water while we are on a road trip. I probably spend 1/2 of my time in the car thinking about that. They think I am listening to the music, but I am really planning. I am thinking about buying some of those little inflatable life vests to put in the glove box. It would cut down on the planning time so I could actually listen to some of the music I carry along on those long trips!

Ok, Abby, Cherie & Rebekah ... it's your turn. You're it :)

More cell phone drama

I just got a call from a nice boy in Idaho who works for Nextel. Apparently the good samaritan that called to let me know she had my cell phone decided she wanted to use it. She was supposed to be throwing it away. I told her that the antenna was missing, the buttons didn't work, and the volume was almost non-existent. She found it after a good old fashioned Texas thunderstorm and it took days for the thing to dry out. I guess I shouldn't have trusted her to throw it away just because she actually made the effort to call me and ask me if I wanted it back. So much for the kindness of strangers.

This is why I have cats

Lately the grass has been growing like crazy because we have had tons of rain. Earlier in the week I cut the grass in our front yard and the neighbor's front yard. He and his wife were recently moved to a retirement home and their house hasn't gone on the market yet so Brian and I have been keeping it up. Well, I was exhausted by the time I was done with the front and side yards (although I did get to count it for 3,312 steps of my challenge) so I didn't cut the grass inside our privacy fence or the neighbor's privacy fence. Brian had the day off today because nobody in the Army at Goodfellow Air Force Base has had a D.U.I. in a year (a miracle around here) so he decided to go out and cut the grass in the back yard this morning. When he went outside he saw Maisy (one of our three cats) playing with something in the grass. It was a snake!! The boys have already found two smaller grass snakes this spring. We let them go in the back field but I was really freaking out about this one so I made Brian kill it! It doesn't help that I found a scorpion in Chase's room last month. This latest finding is not making me very happy. To say the least, Brian is on snake-finding duty and he will be the one cutting the long grass in my neighbor's back yard!

Cell phone adventures

I have had the craziest cell phone problems since we left North Carolina. When we first started trekking across the country I knew we were going to go way over our minutes so I called Nextel to see what I could do. The operator helped me out by eliminating a great deal of our overage charges (a couple hundred dollars!), Brian said his phone worked great in his new building (quite a change from Bragg), and we had been pretty happy with our Nextel service thus far. So I decided to go ahead and sign up for a new 2-year plan that gave us more minutes. Brian was going to need the minutes anyway for all of the phone calls he'd be getting from his soldiers and drill sergeants.

As soon as we got to our new town, the trouble began! Brian wanted a local number. Nextel doesn't have local numbers here. Brian lost his antenna. I gave him mine. My sound/volume stopped working properly and I could only hear if I put my caller on speaker phone. My numbers would only dial properly if I had the timing just right .... push a number, count one mississippi, two mississippi, push another number, etc. We only got service within the city limits. Driving to Abilene, San Antonio, or Fort Hood meant knowing we'd have to stop and use a pay phone if we needed to communicate with the outside world.

We decided to switch to Sprint so Brian could get his local number. Nextel and Sprint are partners and we write our check out to "Sprint" every month so you'd think it would be ok. Well, we have Nextel walkie-talkie phones. We were going to have to pay full price for our new phones. I tried to get out of the contract altogether with our military orders, but that didn't work because when I called to change plans I changed our billing address too. So they don't think we've moved. I tried to get out on the basis that they don't have local phone numbers, but that didn't work because they don't care!

Two weeks ago when I was on my way out the door in a rush I put my cell phone on the trunk of my car so I could have a free hand to take out the trash. Then I drove away. I realized what I had done within two miles of the house but couldn't find my phone anywhere. It isn't like it was bright yellow or anything (it was). Really, I don't know why I bothered to carry it with all of the problems I had been having, but now I didn't have to worry about carrying it at all because I was certain it was in the bottom of Lake Nasworthy.

Today I got a call from a lady in Idaho. Yes, Idaho! She has my phone and she wants to know if I want it back. Apparently she found it after a big rainstorm, took it back to Idaho with her, and her daughter was able to make it work enough to get my home number out of the contact list. I told her to go ahead and keep it since it obviously works better for her than for me!

So, to make a long story even longer ... on June 1 Brian and I are being rewarded for being such loyal Nextel customers. After 2 years as customers we are going to each get a $150 credit towards a new phone. It's funny that they give us credit for the 18 months of North Carolina Nextel time even though they wouldn't recognize it when I tried to get out of our contract with Brian's military orders. We're going to take our $150 credit and get new phones (that are Sprint compatible), switch to Sprint (for real, not just Nextel/Sprint ... apparently there is a difference), and keep our old numbers. Brian has decided that he doesn't need a local number since he is planning to get back to Fort Bragg as fast as his combat boots can carry him there.

That's just fine with me. My phone works better there anyway!

The puppy has a name (still)

Here she is ... all 3.4 pounds of her! She had just come in from playing in the rain. She is not the cute, little cuddle bug I had envisioned. She is fiesty, independant, strong-willed, and still named P.J.! "Penelope" won by a small margain, even with Jennifer voting for Tally three times. I love her just as much as she loves her toys. I am considering doggy prozac to make her want to cuddle with me while I watch Grey's Anatomy. Once a week wouldn't do any permanent damage, right? But really, she is still doing great. She sleeps all night, runs to her kennel when she wants a nap, plays well with the other animals, already knows "sit" and how to play fetch, and doesn't hesitate to go out to potty, even during the rain storms we have been having lately. She is just about perfect and I can only hope that when she slows down a little (maybe by the time she is 2!) she'll realize how much I want someone to cuddle with on the soft, mushy recliner.

Fashion challenged

Many of you know that I am just about the most fashion challenged person out there when it comes to formal-wear. I bought a dress for the Army Ball last night. It was quite an ordeal that required plenty of planning. I don't like to go shopping on the weekends because of the crowds. I don't want to go shopping with the boys because they last about 5 minutes in a store without getting bored. So I had to have everything ready at home so that I could jet out the door the minute Brian got home. It didn't take long before I found a dress that I decided was pretty and comfortable. Not a bad combo! But the hard part starts now. What kind of shoes do I wear? What color? Do I carry a purse? What color? How big/little? A shawl? It didn't come with one so what are the chances I could find one that matches? How do I do my hair? Up? Down? What kind of jewelry do I wear? Should the necklace be long or short? Should I wear a bracelet? Earrings? I am clueless when it comes to anything beyond jeans and tank-tops so if you have any suggestions feel free to send them :) HELP!

Before & After

Here's Chase's before picture. He wasn't so sure he wanted a haircut, but we convinced him that it would be easier to take care of during our hot Texas summer. And I bribed him with a milkshake and the elimination of his debt (he owed me $1.50)

It was definitely worth it!

Kenny was the one who wanted a haircut. I was sad to see those beautiful curls go, but he was ready for a change.

He looks so handsome!

What a day!

This morning the boys had to go to Lamar Elementary School for more testing. I guess the school district wanted to make sure we hadn't just spent the entire school year skipping the homeschooling and watching cartoons. The boys both tested yesterday and today. Kenny is done, but Chase still has one more day of testing. They did very well and will most definitely be going to the 5th and 2nd grade next year. Yesterday the counselor told me I could leave and that she'd call me when they were done. 25 minutes later she was calling me! I had just finished checking out at the commissary on post and had to book it over to the school to get them. Today I decided to wait and it took almost 2 hours. For the first time in my life I read the entire newspaper ... cover to cover!

After that was done we came home for a quick lunch, a short walk, and then headed over to the college. I needed a transcript evaluation from the sociology department. I am really split 50/50 on the teacher education/social worker decision. The person who did my evaluation was not very friendly with me at first. He acted like I was a stay-at-home mom who wanted something to do in between manicures and facials. Then he started looking at my transcripts, grades, and military classes (can you say Russian linguist?!?) He was seriously impressed and by the time I left he was trying to sell me on the sociology department just the same way a car salesman tries to sell the latest sports car to a 45 year old bald man! He doesn't need to know I have forgotten most of my Russian and that the reason I have a 4.0 GPA is because I only do my homework as a result of not having enough money to spend my time getting manicures and facials!

We left the college just in time to get home and into the garage as a huge storm hit the house, er, I mean city. The kids were worried (think Wizard of Oz) and the animals were all trying to hide under furniture. I didn't think the storm was that bad, but watching all of the animals (kids included) in the house act like that was interesting. I thought it was a great opportunity to watch a movie and stuff my face. Hey, I walked 2 miles earlier today so I can get away with it, right?

Now it's after 5:00, the sun is shining, and we are going outside to play in the mudpit that used to be our back yard. If anyone has any advice/opinions/help on the teacher education/social worker debate, please let me know. I have until Monday to accept or decline a scholarship I was awarded so I'd like to have a major by then!

Vote for the puppy's name

I am having second thoughts about the name Penelope. It is cute, but long. One of the names I really liked when we were trying to choose was Tally. Her middle name is going to be Jean (for Molly Jean). So ... if you look over to the left you'll see a voting box. I need you to vote for Tally Jean or Penelope Jean. If she is Penelope Jean we'll call her P.J. I'll tell you now the boys like PJ best. I like Tally. Jennifer made the voting box for me and although she added Joe -- she voted for Tally (I peeked while she was voting) So help a girl out and place your vote. BTW if you are from Florida you only get to vote once and you have to vote for the name you like best. If you need any more clarification you should contact Al Gore.

Just for fun

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

The Perfect Dog

Ok, I bet you all think this going to be about my new puppy. Even though she is darn close to perfect, I want to brag about my Sammy for a minute. We have endured years of what I call "Rottweiler discrimination." People are always scared of him at first because they think he was born to eat small children and stray cats. But just look at this picture. We have had PJ for a mere 48 hours and he is already sharing his food bowl with her. A lot of dogs (regardless of their breed) won't ever share their food bowl. And here my 117-pound Rotty is willingly sharing his chow with a 2.5 pound ball of fur that just invaded his happy home two days ago. Now that is what I call the perfect dog! (P.S. ... just in case my Mom reads this or PJ's breeder reads this ... I already know his fat boy food does not have any nutritional value for a puppy, but she only ate once piece in the time it took him to woof down the rest of it so I think she'll be ok. The bonding experience was worth it!)

Penelope

This is Jollymane's Penelope Jean, aka P.J. She is an 8-week old Shih-Tzu that we brought home today. She weighs 2.5 pounds and is too cute! She is already crate trained, hasn't had a single accident yet, and is already in love with the boys. She follows them around the house like ... well, a little puppy dog! Sammy seems ok with having another dog in the house, but the cats aren't too sure of her yet. I know I am in love already :)

More local sophistication

We pass this place on our way to the local park. I thought I'd share some more of the local sophistication with everyone. What is so special about this place? Well, they sell Western & Rustic Furniture, have a motel in the back (not pictured), and sell RV's. What more could you ask for in one place? Believe it or not ... it gets better! They even have a bridal registry! Yes, if you want to register here you could take care of all of your everyday needs for living in West Texas ... some rustic furniture, an RV for those romantic hunting trips, and a motel for your honeymoon. It doesn't get any better than this, folks!

toomuchrednecktalk

If you looked at my son's comment on my "You might be a redneck" post, you would see that he thinks I have talked about redneck activities too many times on this oh-so-new blog of mine. His comment said, "toomuchrednecktalk" So I thought I would discuss something a little more sophisticated. Let's talk about dining out. I'm not talking about fast food here. I am talking about going out to a restaurant. I thought it would be best to illustrate my thoughts with a few pictures from the fine dining facilities that can be found locally.

For example, this is a "hot spot" if you are just looking for a small bite to eat. It would be a great place to meet someone for a date or if you were on a diet and didn't want a big meal. And don't forget to pick up your tackle gear on your way out!

And here's a great restaurant for breakfast...or lunch...or dinner?!?

And if you were in the mood for something fast:

Last, but not least, here is the restaurant in town to go to! This is the place to go if you want to get dressed up and go out for a dinner party. And do you know what "Mejor Que Nada" means? No? I'll tell you! It means "Better than Nothing". I have heard the food in this restaurant lives up to the name.
Of course, parking is not a problem even on the busiest of nights at El Mejor. If you are a typical Texan with a huge pick-up truck you just park in the back. But according to this sign you can park out front if you are driving a Japanese car, Chinese car, Burro, U.S. compact car, Bike, or Tricycle. How very convenient! All you have to do is use your Good Mexican Common Sense!

You might be a redneck if ...

... you have your very own dirt track in your back yard!

I took a couple of pictures while the boys were out playing on their 4-wheeler yesterday. They just love it! There is a huge field behind our neighborhood. Brian cleared some of it and made a dirt bike/4-wheeler track on it. For those of you who live in Fayetteville ... think about the track on the corner of Stacy Weaver & Ramsey St. (near Burger King). Well, we have a track of our very own right in our back yard. Pretty redneck, if you ask me! But fun too :)

I will try to get someone to take a picture of me on the dirt bike this weekend. It is a little big for me (that's my excuse for what I am about to say anyway) ... and I crashed it a couple of weekends ago. I got a little too confident and decided to go off the track a little. Somehow a huge mesquite bush/tree thing just jumped right out in front of me. Have you ever seen the needles on those things? They are at least 3 inches long and s-h-a-r-p!!! I wasn't wearing a helmet and didn't want my face to get all scratched up so I jumped! Yes, off from the bike! I was so far out in the back that nobody could see me. Good because I wasn't embarrassed. Bad because they didn't know where I was! I had just started pushing it back towards the house when Brian came out on the 4-wheeler to find me. The clutch handle broke and I couldn't get it started. He got it started and rode it back to the house while I rode the boys' 4-wheeler. We have been waiting for a new clutch to come in at the parts store. It should be there today so I am sure I will be out there doing something stupid (and redneck) again this weekend. Stay tuned ...

Seriously

I loved tonight's show! If you would have asked me two years ago what TV shows I watched I would have told you that we sometimes would try to watch Fear Factor. I hardly ever watched anything that wasn't on Nickelodeon or PBS Kids. Now I am absolutely addicted to Grey's Anatomy. Tonight's show made me want to stay up all weekend watching every single episode that was ever on television! I love this show, I love those characters, and if they were real people I would probably become some kind of weird stalker and ask them if they'd be my friends!

My new blog

Hi everyone. I am going to make an attempt at the blog thing so that I can do a better job of keeping in touch with my friends. We have moved many, many times and I have friends all over the place :) I tried to work through myspace but it didn't work out very well because you either have to have an account to view my account (and not everyone wants an account), or I have to make my account public -- which means every single person (even strange people!) on myspace could view my details.

My friend Cherie claims this blogging thing is easy once you get the hang of it. So hopefully I won't screw it up too badly!

We are all enjoying Texas. Brian's job as a 1SG is pretty busy, but he is good at it and we hope it will help him get promoted to SGM. The boys and I are enjoying homeschooling. It gives us lots of time together and lots of time to get outside and explore our new home town. The community here is absolutely perfect for outdoor activities. My only worry is that my boys are going to turn into true Texas rednecks! Their latest favorite activities are 4-wheeling, dirt biking, shooting, hiking, fishing, and getting dirty!