barb-wired

The Big Three

2012-02-07T22:26:00.000-06:00

Tonight's blog is coming to you live from 115 E. Jackson Street, Burlingame. Last week Mom reported to us that she'd been having severe pain down her leg on one side, and in her neck and arm on the other side. What that means, simply put, is she is unable to lay in bed and sleep, since no matter which side she lays on, it hurts. No sleep for several nights is starting to take its toll, and she's become very weak. Add to that stomach problems that make it hard to eat much at one time, and you've got someone having a hard time taking care of herself. We took her to the Dr. and he prescribed something for sciatica, but is unable to determine why she's having near blackouts. Since then, Jan's been staying with Mom at night and staying close during the day too. I was busy last weekend helping Erin with Carter's birthday party, so I'm thankful Jan could be here. Now we're trying to split the time, with me staying the nights when I don't have to get up and go to work the next day. No telling how long this spell will last, but I do think it will pass. Mom's said several times she's no where near ready to move out of her house, and honestly, moving to the Sr. Apartments here in town doesn't really benefit her any. I'm pretty sure, when she's ready (or when she has no choice) Assisted Living will probably be her next stop. For now, I'm just going to enjoy spending time with her! Seems like whenever I stop by I'm always in a hurry to get somewhere, so it's nice to have time to just chill.

So I mentioned Carter's Birthday -- that would be tomorrow! His party was Sunday, and he thoroughly enjoyed everything about it. He asked for a bulldozer cake, and his talented Mommy came through like always. Not only did it look awesome, but it tasted every bit as good as it looked!

Blowing out the candle!

Bring on the presents!

ooh! FUN!

Whatever it is, looks like someone better get it for Hallie for HER birthday!

Hands down his favorite gift of the day!

Anybody remember the Christmas Video I posted? Carter's favorite part was when "Papa rode the guitar like a horse" and he couldn't wait to show us his version of it!

Birthday parties are exhausting!

The one thing no one got a picture of and I wish we had, was when his best friend Hallie arrived. She came running in the door and they ran to each other and hugged like they hadn't seen each other in years! It was the sweetest thing!

Plans for tomorrow include lunch with Carter and Erin, probably pizza, since that's his favorite (well that and mac and cheese) Where we have lunch will depend on how Erin's feeling, and more importantly, on how well baby girl is behaving. Some days we think we're on the verge of running to the hospital, and other days maybe not. Who knows what tomorrow will bring! Carter may be getting the best birthday present ever; his baby sister!

Stay tuned.......

Thanks For The Memories!

2012-01-25T17:37:00.000-06:00

Well another Carterday has come to a close. I believe it may be one he will remember. It started with the usual, helping Papa feed cattle, followed by a quick trip to the bank and to my old workplace, TLEC to pick up some paperwork. Throughout all of this, all Carter could think about was getting home. You see, Papa told him this morning that he was going to run the motor grader this afternoon, and Carter could help. Hmm, do you think Carter wants to drive the motorgrader? Oh, just a little. After lunch, we drove to the worksite, and as we were driving down the terrace towards the grader, he couldn't see it from his carseat. He spied the bulldozer and Papa's truck, but no grader. Then suddenly I hear "THERE IT IS! I FOUND THE MOTOR GRADER! AND I'M GOING TO DRIVE THE MOTOR GRADER! AND I'M GOING TO PUSH DIRT WITH IT! AND PAPA'S GOING TO LET ME DRIVE IT!" followed by hysterical laughing. My oh my does this little boy like his big yellow toys or what? I videotaped part of it for posterity. Now watching a motor grader drive down the field is obviously not exactly heart pumping excitement for most people, but the only thing Carter likes more than driving equipment is watching himself drive equipment. Or really watching himself do anything. If you look at my youtube page, you'll find several videos that are about as exciting as paint drying. But that's not why they're there. I posted them so Carter can watch himself anytime he wants to. I'm sharing a couple of the videos on here today, so you all can share in his joy!

Thanks to the wonders of technology, there's no way he'll ever forget today!

January 21, 2012 8:53 PM

2012-01-22T11:16:00.000-06:00

in the bathtub last night -- Carter starts quoting Dennis the Menace to me. Hope it's not an omen :)

Sleep - It's Highly Overrated

2012-01-18T01:10:00.000-06:00

Here's a riddle for you:

After being sick with the flu for 2 days, what is the one thing your body still needs but cannot give itself?

anyone.... anyone???? bueller????

Well considering it's 12:34 in the AM and I have to be up for work in something like 4 hours, the answer must be sleep. I've done nothing but for the last 48 hours, and I don't wanna do it anymore!

This flu, by the way, sucks. Well what flu doesn't you must be asking me. Uh, any flu that I don't get, that's what! Ok, that's not true. I did feel awful for all my friends and family when they started getting sick a week ago. Just not as bad as I felt when I got it! Ok, that's not true either. I do have a heart. And knowing my loved ones are suffering, well it doesn't feel so good either. Hopefully we're all over this crap. I'm the last one to get it (as far as I know) and we all stayed away from Mom, so if she gets sick, don't look at us!

Speaking of Mom, I've got the bad daughter guilts again. 2 weeks ago she asked me to "be on the lookout" for a couple of items. She mentioned that she didn't need them anytime soon, just whenever I had the chance. MOTHER! Have you met me? Do you not know after 52 (I just typed 53 -- I've got SORAS*!) years if you want me to do something you must give me a deadline? And it must be earlier than the ACTUAL deadline? So one of the last things I thought about before I got sick was that I need to get that stuff for mom. And then I didn't. She called me yesterday to see if I had her stuff yet. FAIL. So first thing tomorrow after work, I shall trudge my way to Walmart and buy anything and everything she needs and/or might need for the next month, so I can put the guilts away for a while.

While I'm there I guess I should start looking around for birthday gift ideas for a 3 year old! Can you believe my sweet little angel baby is going to be 3 in 3 short weeks? Where has the time gone?

and in just 6 weeks, we'll be debuting a new little gibby girl for all to see! Flu-schmoo. I've got too much to do to let that slow me down. However, this meema probably does need her sleep! Nighty night!

*SORAS for those of you who did not grow up watching soaps with their grannys: Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome

Merry Christmas and all that shit

2011-12-14T11:33:00.000-06:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

here I am -- under the covers...

2011-10-15T13:43:00.000-05:00

Wondering how I'm feeling these days? This picture says it all. For what is likely a multitude of reasons, I'm pissed off at the world today. Was yesterday too. And the day before that. Luckily for those closest to me, my wrath has been directed mostly at total strangers. And myself of course. I am my favorite target after all. Right now, as I'm typing this, my head is spinning. and numb. Is that possible? Must be. As badly as I want to DO something, anything, productive, I can't seem to make it happen. The most logical solution for my problem looks like it might come from a Doctor. Unfortunately, that will come in pill form, and god damit the last thing i want is to take another freaking pill. Menopause may be the evil that is doing this to me -- here have some hormone replacements. Or is it ADD, as my sister has suggested? We got a pill for that too! Here, take 2! Or here's a thought. Don't take anything at all. Just buck up and take it like a woMan and get over it. Well that's working out real well, now isn't it?

Is there a psychiatrist in the house???

Not All Sunshine and Roses... Who's Surprised?

2011-09-17T16:24:00.000-05:00

Having a crappy day. Don't suppose blogging about it will make me feel better, but what the hell - it's worth a shot.

On the bright side, my daughter has gone back to blogging! This makes me happy. Check out The Gibby blog listed over to the right.

What else? Well I mowed the yard today. Not really by choice. More like "if I do it will you get off my f-ing back?" The only thing growing was weeds, and they were getting pretty tall. Does the yard look any better? Probably not. Do I give a shit? Probably not.

I started watching Due Date last night. Fell asleep. Oh wait - I just remembered. I don't like Robert Downey Jr. Note to self -- return DVD to Netflix immediately. I'm psyched that Bridesmaids is coming out on DVD next week. Promised myself I'd see that one in the theater. As usual, broke my promise. Oh well.

Going to a Scentsy/Premier Jewelry party tonight at my friend Trish's house. Probably not buying any jewelry - the Premier stuff I have now looks like crap and can't be worn. All discolored and/or tarnished. Might buy a new Scentsy pot and some smelly stuff. They have some new scents I'm looking forward to checking out. Do I lead a glamorous life or what?

What else? Wait, I already said that. Is repeating yourself a sign of senility? Well crap.

Probably should have put a warning in the title -- today's post will either offend your or bring your mood down. Or bore you to tears. Don't even have the energy to care. Don't like it don't read it.

Wait! I didn't mean it! Please read it!

I've got to get a life.

Welcome To The Travel Channel, barb-wired style.

2011-09-15T19:00:00.001-05:00

What's this? A new blog post??? Is the world coming to an end? Maybe, so I guess I'd better get the last word in, just in case!

Greg and I returned home yesterday from a short vacation. We left Sunday around noon, headed north to Pawnee City, Nebraska (boyhood home of Larry the Cable Guy, FYI) and stopped at our favorite winery/brewery. We sat out on the veranda and enjoyed some liquid refreshments for about an hour, and after purchasing a 2-3 day supply to go, headed to Beatrice. I should tell you that when Greg and I go on a trip, we have different ideas of planning. I prefer to research hotels, find the best hotel for the money - somewhere in the middle - and make reservations. Greg on the other hand likes to gamble a bit. Just drive, find a place that looks good enough and hope they have a room. This makes me very uncomfortable. In fact it brings back nightmares of a certain motel room in Bartlesville Oklahoma, which I will now try and erase from my mind. Let me just say that I even called my mommmy to complain about it. For all the good that did! Anyway, back to Beatrice. I'd done my research, so I knew a little about the 3 or 4 hotels in town. They all seemed pretty much the same, so of course we stopped at the cheapest one first. That would be the Econolodge, which as it turned out was very nice. AND it had free wifi! First night - successful!

Monday morning we got up and drove to Hastings, and checked in at our old standby The X-L Motel. We never have to worry about them being booked up. The same can't be said for many hotels in Hastings, and for sure none of the hotels in Grand Island. We've been staying at the X-L for almost 20 years now. It's a "mom and pop" run business. The current owners bought it probably 10 years ago, and I'm sorry to say, it's gone downhill ever since. We decided this year would be the old X-L's swan song. If we hadn't already paid for the room and if all other hotels hadn't been full, we would have moved on right then, but we didn't really have the option. The great thing about the X-L is it's location. It's within walking distance (even for me) of 2 great bar/grills. Greg and his buddies have probably benefited the most from the close proximity. If you know what I mean. And if you know Greg, I think you do. Next year we'll be staying on the north end of town, which will cut off about 15 minutes of drive time to Grand Island, so that will be nice.

After we got checked in to the hotel, we headed over the Kearny. There were 2 things we wanted to do there. Most important (well to me anyway) was a visit to the Morris Cookbook Publishing Company. They have a store there where they sell over-runs of cookbooks they've published at discount prices. These are the type of cookbooks organizations and churches put together for fund raising. Complete with recipes from all those wonderful cooks out there. They normally sell for $15 and up, and they're worth every penny. I purchased 10 cookbooks, received 3 free ones, and spent a whopping $27. How awesome is that? Our next stop was the Cabelas Flagship Store next door. This was the original Cabelas, built I don't know when. From the outside, the place looks huge. What you can't tell is that the majority of the building must be devoted to distribution, or something like that. The actually store was very small. It was rather disappointing, since Greg really enjoys all the wildlife they have on display, and there wasn't much of it here. We found a t-shirt for Carter, and that was it. Guess we saved a lot of money! On the way out, I did convince Greg to let me take his picture with a big grizzly bear to send to Carter. I tried to get him to growl at the bear, or at least put up a fight, but guess that was asking too much.

Tuesday morning brought the real reason for the trip, the Annual Husker Harvest Days Farm Show. It's the largest outdoor all-irrigated farm show in the USA. We start out walking up and down the rows stopping in at tents or buildings to visit with companies selling everything a farmer could want and then some. My job is to pick up freebies! It's insane how crazy people go over reusable bags and ink pens! You'd think they were the last of their kind. We walked all morning, visiting now and then with some stranger about tires or combines or the weather. At 11:00 Greg and I part ways - he heads out to the field demonstrations (his favorite part) where they combine acres and acres of corn with different brands of combines and show you the differences in the way they perform. While he's doing that I hit the tents that are geared more towards us women folk, and pillage for more free stuff. This year I created a family farm web page at one of the booths. Should be interesting to see if I wind up doing anything with it! But hey - it was free! Again with the free stuff. More more we want more!! I lasted till about 1:30 then headed to the car. Greg came along shortly after that, and we ate lunch. Another tradition - we take stuff for sandwiches, chips, crackers, fruit, um beer, and eat at the car. It's a nice break, and couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that they don't sell beer at the show. Right? After lunch, Greg headed back in to finish checking out the vendors, and I took a nice little nap!

Wednesday morning, after eating breakfast at the OK Cafe (what is it with this town and the initials?) we headed for home. Along the way, we drove up into the hills to get a closer view of some wind generators. Those things are so big and just amazing to see.

We saw off in the distance one that was only partially completed, with a crane sitting next to it. We drove over to it, hoping to get to see them putting the last blade on, but there was no one working. Figured it was too windy to do it. That would have been really awesome to watch.

So that was our trip. Today was back to work for both of us. I've got lots to do in two days, but it was worth it. Next trip up for me is in Kansas City at the end of the month for my Company C Reunion. Can't wait!!!

Not So Lazy Sunday

2011-07-24T17:17:00.001-05:00

Productive days in my life come few and far between. Today, I'm happy to report has been a gold star day for Barb.

Greg and I did the grocery shopping this morning, and I stocked up on fresh veggies and fruit. I also picked up a few things to use for stir fry - my evil plan for getting more veggies in my mouth. The down side of fresh produce is finding room in the fridge for it. Well today, I made it the upside, because it gave me a reason to thoroughly clean out the fridge. My friend Amy and I got into a debate one day over just what constitutes "cleaning out the fridge". In my world, it means basically throwing out the leftovers that are no longer identifiable. And occasionally sorting through the veggie drawer and tossing anything limp. Now when Amy cleans out her fridge, she throws out anything open (maybe a slight exaggeration) and wipes down all the surfaces. AND she claims that she does this every week before she puts her groceries away. I love Amy! Today, I gave my fridge the Amy treatment, and then some! I threw out all of the jars of stuff that Greg won't eat and I shouldn't eat. Yes, that meant throwing out 1/2 a jar of expensive Harry and David jelly, but it was old anyway. I also threw away multiple open jars of pickled beets, old dill pickles, and even some liquor. THE HORROR!!! I organized the items in the door (I can just hear Greg now "where the hell is the ketchup?" He'll get used to it. I'm happy to report that even after putting all the new groceries away, there is still room in the fridge. Which in our house is something to be said. While I was in the cleaning mood, I even cleaned out a kitchen cupboard and cleared off the counters!

After eating lunch (yummy BLTs) I got chicken breasts marinating for supper, and moved on to laundry. And then I took a nap!! Hard work makes Barbie tired :) And now I need to go cut up some veggies for Greg to grill.

PS - I'm in such a good mood I'm even listening to doo wop. THE HORROR!!!

Not Ready To Quit Yet

2011-07-15T13:54:00.000-05:00

It's been a week now since I was shocked back to reality, and I'm happy to say I haven't lost any momentum. The changes in my eating habits have been pretty easy to make. I'm still completely dependent upon my Sparkpeople food diary and don't put a thing in my mouth without consulting it first. In looking back over the last week I've discovered I actually need to eat MORE carbs! I was so worried about carbs in the beginning that I searched out all the low carb foods I could find, but I'm starting to see that I don't have to do that with every little thing I eat. If I have to choose between low carb not so tasty and regular with just a few extra carbs, I can have what I like. I think knowing this will help me stay on track.

The walking has been more of a challenge. It's way too hot out now to walk outside, so I'm walking to the DVD, but walking in place (even with the extra fancy stuff they throw in) gets very boring. Something for me to work on, I guess!

In other news not just about ME ME ME, we have 6 new baby kitties, courtesy of Scheid Farms. And you thought they just raised cattle over there! Carter called Aunt Jan Wednesday morning and asked "Where are the kitties?" so she immediately gathered up all she could find at the time (ha) and brought them over. Most of them are really tame, and two in particular were willing to be mauled by a 2 1/2 year old. After a few minutes they all scattered to places unknown for naps. It took most of the day for 4 of them to come of out hiding, and we took them outside to their new home - the garage. The other two were a bit more difficult - the last one wasn't caught until 8:30 that night. They've all settled in nicely, and seem to be getting along pretty well with the other cats and the dogs. Luckily Lucy is a cat lover. Most cattle dogs are not, so we're grateful for that. Hossy likes to play with them too. I took a few pictures the evening they came, but it was getting dark, so they didn't turn out great. Hopefully I can get some better ones, but for now here they are:

5 of the 6 from left unnamed gray girl, Cup Cake, Taffy, Fondue, and Jelly Bean

last but not least, Muffin

no really, Jelly Bean LOVES being held like this!

Poor gray kitty needs a name. They are obviously all named for food items. (Yes I love torturing myself, thanks for asking) Jan named Muffin, and the rest just fell in line, Cup Cake looks just like muffin, but he has frosting on his face, Jelly Bean is named for Greg's favorite - Black Jelly Beans, Taffy - well just look at him, and Fondue - you can't tell in this picture, but his back legs and front feet look like they've been dipped in marshmallows. But the little gray girl has me stumped. Suggestions are welcome.

Our garden is coming along. There are several GREEN tomatoes. Wish they'd hurry up and ripen! We picked a few banana peppers and 2 ears of corn Wednesday. Erin says Carter doesn't really like corn, but he sure likes corn on the cob!

I worked hard for this!!

My Plan for Life

2011-07-09T11:12:00.000-05:00

Dear Blog,

I'm so sorry I've neglected you so over the last few months. I can give you a list of excuses but none of them are good enough. I would like to promise that I will never neglect you again, but that would just get your hopes up, and that's not fair to you. For now, I'll just promise to think about you often, and occasionally update.

Love, Barb

Type 2 Diabetes sucks. For 10 years I've known I had it, and I've taken medication for it (with the exception of a 9 month period where I went temporarily insane) But in all that time, I don't think I ever really accepted it and I know I've never understood just what it meant. Up until 2 years ago all it really meant was I had to take a pill every day. Medicine kept my blood sugar in check, so what I ate really didn't seem to have any effect on my illness. Well let me tell you, that has changed. Big Time. After my recent visit to the Dr. and hearing my latest A1C test results, I've finally... yes FINALLY, decided to take the bull by the horns. So to speak. I went to the Diabetes Learning Center 2 days ago and visited with a nurse. She pretty much laid it out for me; if I continue down the road I was on, in 5 years, I'd be looking at some pretty ugly possibilities. Things like heart failure, loss of eyesight, loss of limbs, you get the drift. Well I certainly got the drift. She suggested some changes to start with, and in August I'll start classes for 5 weeks. I've decided diabetes will no longer control me. I'm the boss of me!

So I'm sure you're wondering what changes I'm making.... well let me tell you!

1. Eat Breakfast. I learned I'm not taking my medications properly -- some are to be taken on an empty stomach and some with food or after eating. If I don't eat breakfast, I don't benefit from my meds.

2. Count Carbs. WOW. Have my eyes been opened! When you realize a meal should only have 30 to 60 carbs and snacks 15 to 30, it changes the way you look at food. Take my beloved Hostess Cherry Pies for instance. Yes, I knew they had sugar in them, and probably weren't too good for me, but sweet baby Jesus - 67 carbs in one pie!!! I dropped that pie like lit firecracker with a short fuse! I think a few carbs rubbed off just by being in the same aisle! There is some good news though -- Miracle Whip is relatively low in carbs! YES! You have no idea how big a deal that is to me!

3. Walk. She told me I need to walk 30 minutes a day. Doesn't matter if I break it up into 3 10 minute walks or all at once. Just get moving. I started wearing a pedometer, and was surprised at how many steps I take during a day at work. Over 5000. So my new goal is to get 10,000 steps a day. She also recommended a DVD to walk to when the weather keeps my from going outside. No excuses!

4. Check my blood sugar levels frequently. Knowing exactly what effect different foods have on my bs level will help me make better choices. I'm already seeing positive results, which makes me feel so good about what I'm doing and make me want to do even more!

I found an online tool that I'm finding is invaluable in helping me implement these changes. The website is www.sparkpeople.com I already knew about it, and had even registered on it several months ago, but ignored all of the emails they sent, and pretty much forgot about it. But I decided to check it out again and found specific programs for diabetics. There's an awesome online food diary that lets me journal everything I eat no matter where I am - there's even an app for that! It tracks calories, carbs, fats and protein, and breaks them down by meals, and snacks. That has been a huge advantage

So that's it. For now anyway. My new life plan. Today is day 3 and I can't really explain why, but I feel different. Mentally, physically, all around better. I think I like being in control of my life for a change!

One and a Half Men and a Jackass

2011-03-07T13:29:00.000-06:00

Am I the only person sick of seeing Charlie Sheen's face? Some guy in California doing drugs, hanging out with hookers, and generally making an ass out of himself wasn't really news the last time I checked. And as much as I love entertainment magazines, I refuse to buy one if he's on the cover -- only encourages the publishers to keep him there. Sure Two and a Half Men is a good show. Well, an ok show. But they've been on long enough and it's syndicated, so it will keep airing forever - so what if they don't make any more. It's not like they would have wrapped the story lines up in a final episode anyway. Blah - I've talked about him long enough. On to more important issues..

I cut my toenails this weekend.

Farm show report: We went - aaaand we saw lots of farmers! And the same stuff we always see. We did sit and listen to a guy selling the best cookware ever made. Really. Just ask him! Are you wondering if we bought it? Well you'll just have to stay tuned for 4 to 6 weeks to find out. Hmmm. We also tried out the Viba Body Slimmer machines. That thing ROCKS! Well more like SHAKES. check it out; www.vibabodyslimmer.com We're seriously thinking about ordering one. After using it for just a couple of minutes, Greg's back stopped hurting, and considering all the walking we'd done that day, that in itself is something. I'm thinking there are several people in our family who could get some good use out of it.

Here's a few pictures from Carterday last week. He got to play out in Pa Pa's shop - which of course, he loves. He thought about trying to climb the big ladder, but changed his mind just before he got in trouble! Pa Pa gave him a tape measure, and he was very fascinated by it. He tried to get Lucy with it (like Pa Pa did) but couldn't quite get the hang of it.

CHEESE!

He also discovered the toy semi truck and trailer sitting in the shadow box on the wall. It's been there for years -- Grandma Ruby gave it to Greg when we got the shadow box, shortly after he bought his semi. She even painted the truck and trailer to match his. Carter was very excited to get to play with them.

Cheese again! Silly boy!

He's all ready for March madness -- Meema got him a new KU t shirt, and Momma taught him to say Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Entertaining the Mini-Masses

2011-02-24T16:03:00.002-06:00

Wow – what a response! Color me blushing! I’ll do my best to keep the posts coming, hopefully every few days. Until we get internet at home again, I can only post at work, which means nothing on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Speaking of internet at home, that is still a bit of a sore subject. Greg decided he was ready to start paying for it again, so I did some research and found our best option is to go back to the phone company for DSL. The only other viable option was satellite, and besides being considerably more expensive, we’ve heard it’s not the most reliable, especially in bad weather. Now that was about a month ago – Greg never gets in a hurry unless work is involved, so I’m still waiting. One thing I’m going to make sure of is that we have a wireless router installed so I’ll have internet on my laptop too. Whoo-eee mother! If we can just get us one of them there new fangled dig-it-al recording thingys for our tv, we be gettin’ closer to joinin’ the 21st century! Course we still only get 6 local networks, but we can’t be movin’ too fast, now can we? God I hate being a white trash hick.

Sorry to report our Carter bug isn’t feeling too hot. He’s got the virus that’s going around and is having trouble keeping food down. He did come over yesterday for Carterday, and seemed to be feeling better most of the day. I think he feels worse at night. We had to go help Papa load some wood he cut in the pasture, so Carter rode with me in the backhoe. No complaints there! And since he wasn’t feeling 100%, we didn’t want him outside much, so we both stayed in the backhoe while Papa did all the heavy work. All we had to do was dump the loader bucket full of wood in the dump truck several times. We (ok I) only encountered one problem – backed right into a big tree stump once. Didn’t seem to do much damage to the hoe, and I only got a slightly dirty look from Greg, so no big deal!

But WHY can't I help Papa?

I can’t believe how much more Carter is talking! He’s started putting words together and forming sentences. Whenever anyone flushes the toilet he always waves and says “Bye peepee, bye poopoo, bye wahwah”. He also does a dead on impersonation of Harry the cat. If you ask him what the kitty says he meows sweetly, but if you ask him what Harry says, he growls like a lion. The funniest thing is the way he laughs when he sees Harry – I swear it’s the evilest little laugh I’ve heard coming from a 2 year old!

I’m getting ready to head for home before the weather gets any worse. Today may be Thursday, but it’s my Friday for the week. Greg and I are heading to KC tomorrow for the Farm Show (weather permitting). We’ll probably go back to Jumpin’ Catfish for dinner, since Greg loves it so much and we don’t get to that area very often. I’ll definitely NOT be eating the catfish this time – some sort of chicken will have to suffice. Happy weekend everyone!

Typical Monday

2011-02-21T17:39:00.000-06:00

Mr. Blogger and I are about to have a knock down drag out if something doesn't change soon. Apparently no one can leave comments on my posts! And if there's one thing this blogger lives for, it's feedback! Not that I wouldn't write even if I knew no one were reading, but oh the JOY! the EXCITEMENT! the THRILL! when I see someone cares enough to leave a comment! I've changed the settings so anyone SHOULD be able to comment, blogger ID or not, and when I visited my site without signing in, it let me comment. Does it KNOW it's me??? So come on y'all -- if you're out there, even if you don't have anything particular to say, just say hi! so I'll know if the problem is fixed or not. If you can't - drop me an email or tweet or facebook me with the bad news.

In other news... we celebrated Grandma Ruby's birthday as planned on Saturday. And Carter was kind enough to provide the entertainment for the afternoon. He was in such a good mood, silly, happy, laughing, just a joy. Not that he isn't always a joy, because of course, he is! The funniest part is how much he enjoys it when people laugh at him. He's a born entertainer, no doubt. There were 12 of us in attendance; Grandma of course, Eldon, Diana, Candace, Tuff, Clayton and Kyler, Erin, Brent and Carter, and Greg and myself. We all met at Green Acres early, so when Diana brought Grandma in, she was very surprised and very happy! The food was delicious as usual, and we were able to enjoy a nice relaxing lunch. I think Grandma looks darn good for 95 years old! Don't take it from me -- see for yourself!

And since it's been so long since I posted any pictures of Carter, here's a few of him too!

showing off!

look at that sweet smile!

blowing out the candle on his birthday cake! Big TWO!

Workin for the Weekend

2011-02-18T08:07:00.000-06:00

Good morning and welcome to Friday! I just typed that sentence 3 times before I spelled morning right. See - I told you I wasn't a morning person! So yes, it's Friday and the weather is nice, and I only have to work 6 hours today, which means I can leave at 1:00 today if I want to. Now I just have to decide what I might do with a few extra hours. I could do something productive, like go to Jazzercise, since I skipped it last night (not likely as I left my gym bag at home) or I could go home and clean house (HA). I could go visit Mom and see if she needs to go to the grocery store, I could go to Lyndon and pick up the tax forms I need to fill out and get to our hired man (wait - I have almost 2 months to do that) or I could go shopping with Amy. Hmmm... wonder which option will win??? Considering today is payday as well, I think we all know where this is going. Also, I received a $50 Walmart card from my employer this week for going a year without any accidents! Free money is always nice, and since I'm not fond of accidents, it's a win-win!!!

Speaking of work, there are some changes coming to my department that I'm not exactly thrilled about. My bff Amy is leaving us for a different position. She'll still work out of this office, just down the hall now, which means we won't be working together anymore. I'm happy that she has this opportunity for advancement, but I'm going to miss having her less than 10 feet away. And it turns out there was a planned Reduction in Force for our department, but with her move, no one will be layed off, so someone owes Amy their job!

Anyone have any special plans for the weekend? Greg's Grandma Ruby turns 95 today, and the family is planning to surprise her tomorrow at noon. Greg's sister has already made plans to take her out for dinner, but she doesn't know the rest of us will be waiting there for her. I hope she enjoys herself. She's had a rough last couple of months, losing her daughter in November. She said then that no parent should outlive their child. I can't imagine how that must have felt. I doubt it's any easier losing your 70 year old child than a young child. Losing Greg's Mom has been so difficult for all of us, but I'll save all that for another post.

Post Valentines Day Run Down

2011-02-15T07:47:00.000-06:00

Just to wrap things up quickly, we had a nice supper, even nicer jumbo margaritas, and a good visit. That may sound kinda wierd, but the truth is, we rarely see much of each other these days. He's an early riser, I get up 10 minutes before I have to be out the door; I'm lucky to be home by 7:00, he's usually asleep on the couch by 8:00. Doesn't leave much time for talking, now does it? We do get a little more time on the weekends, but unless I want to spend my day outside chucking wood or working in the shop, it's not that much more. I don't know - maybe that works for us. Sure leaves less time for fighting! The key to a successful marriage is limited time together???

It's Tuesday, and that means it's Jazzercise day. My friend Amy and I, along with her daughter Madison, started going to Jazzercise twice a week about a month ago. I find myself with mixed feelings on these days. The old me definitely does not look forward to exercise in any way, shape or form. But at the same time, I have to say that it is fun. And I do feel better after working out. For sure I'm more aware of what I'm eating on these days, which is better than not at all. I'm gradually trying to change my eating habits rather than going on another DIET. Maybe a different approach will have different results. I'm also concentrating less on pounds and more on improvements in my health, such as lower blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure, and lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. If I can improve them significantly, it could mean lowering or even stopping medication, which would be awesome. Hopefully the rest (weight loss, body changes) will follow. I have a feeling that starting with exercise instead of diet will help me be more successful this time. Fingers crossed!

If today is Tuesday, that can only mean one thing -- tomorrow is Carterday! I'm hoping I can pick him up tonight -- it's always so nice when he can spend the night before. Papa gets to see more of him that way, and I get my little cuddle bug! We took his Valentine's gifts to him last night, and he was so excited to see us! I was surprised that when we got ready to leave, he was all happy and telling us BAH! (that's bye in Carter-speak) and he wasn't the least bit upset. Then I realized it wasn't us he was telling bah -- it was mom and dad. He thought he was going with us. Poor little guy -- as soon as we shut the garage door I heard him start crying. Like all kids, he's always ready to go somewhere with whoever's leaving. So hopefully tonight, he can say bah and mean it!

Happy Valentines Day???

2011-02-14T17:00:00.000-06:00

Well it's Valentines Day, 2011. And my husband, the sentimental fool he is not, actually began taking notice of this day several years ago. Not with candy or flowers -- he would never waste his money on flowers and of course, I don't need candy. But we do go out for a nicer than normal dinner every year. This year, we chose to go to El Mez in Osage City, which is NOT nicer than normal, it's the same as normal. But that's ok - we like it, and they have the best margaritas in the area. So in 5 minutes, I'm off work (early!) so we can take Carter his valentines presents and head to margaritaville. Check back tomorrow to see how the evening went!!! (I predict mucho liquor will be consumed)

Regrets

2010-08-27T08:46:00.001-05:00

A good man died a week ago. A man I knew because of my job. I can't really call him a friend. In fact, I'm not even sure he liked me. I never really knew where I stood with him, unless he was disgusted with me, in which case he let it be known. But the thing is, I can't fault him for that. He had a job to do, and it was the most important thing in his life. He was looking out for his daughter, because she's unable to look out for herself. Plain an simple. I tried using my humor and charm (ha) on him the first time I met him, and that went over like a lead balloon. I was intimidated by this man, even though I tried my best not to be. I think he liked that, not so much because he liked having power over me, but because he knew I would always think first about what was best for his daughter, thereby not having to face his wrath. Can't fault him for that either.

When I learned of his illness almost two years ago, my heart hurt for him. We all knew it was a death sentence. I even spoke to him about his treatment and outlook a few times. I expressed my sadness at the hand he'd been dealt. After a year or so, he stopped coming by the office; his wife came instead. I've enjoyed getting to know her. Talk about polar opposites. It's always hard to know what to say to someone going through a difficult time. You can offer the usual; "you're in my thoughts" or I'm praying for you and your family" but somehow that doesn't always ring true for me. His wife stopped coming by the office a few months ago, using the mail instead. I considered sending a "thinking of you" card a time or two, but felt it might be unwelcome in his eyes. I worried he would see it as an attempt to "suck up" for lack of a better term. So I sent nothing.

Yesterday, when I learned he had passed away, I felt an unexpectedly deep sense of sadness. His obituary incuded a link to a Caring Bridge website his daughter started 4 months ago after he was moved to Hospice. Her journal introduced me to a different man. A husband, a father, a grandfather. A man I regret not getting to know.

If I learned anything from this experience, it is that when in doubt, say or do something. Don't remain silent. You may never get a 2nd chance. Rest in Peace Art.

Are You Ready For Some FOOTBALL?!?!?!?!?!

2010-08-06T17:03:00.001-05:00

I was searching for a new background for my blog when I happened upon this little gem. What could be more perfect, considering the Chiefs play their first preseason game one week from tonight!!! Ahh football, I've missed you so. That dang World Cup Soccer crap just don't cut it!

In other news, Carterbug will be 18 months old on Sunday! Can you believe it? Where has the last year and a half gone! I'm still watching him on Carterdays, and we're having all kinds of fun. Well that is when he's with me. Papa has begun kidnapping him for farm fun. Hmp. The other day they took the backhoe to go pick up a bale of hay. Down the road. Away from me. Hmp. He's also been showing him how to run the hoe. And letting him do it himself. Check out these videos!

Backhoe lessons start early

Getting the hang of things

Don't think Greg isn't loving this!!

As an early birthday present, my friend Amy took me to see one of my favorite bands, Hinder, in Kansas City this week. We had an awesome time! I love seeing bands play live, but concerts are usually so danged expensive. Luckily this one was very affordable. Thanks Amy!!!

One last picture of Carter before I quit. This was from Wednesday morning, when he was supposed to be eating his Cheerios. Only he fed them all to Hoss.

What do you mean you burned my toast?????

Cutting edge! who? Me???

2010-08-03T10:38:00.001-05:00

attempting my 1st blog post directly from the backflip. Since I have little faith in technology these days I think I'll make it short. It's been a busy summer full of Carterdays - just the way I like it! Looking forward to going to KC tomorrow night with BFF Amy and her girls to see Hinder. Hope it's awesome!

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Inside My Head

2010-06-14T12:49:00.003-05:00

Something's been pulling me towards this blog for the last few days -- feeling like I HAVE to update. Tried to a couple of times, but ran out of time and/or patience with my computer at home.

Things on my mind today:

My BFF Sandy. She is having surgery this afternoon, and there is a chance the outcome could be bad news. But I have decided the outcome will NOT be bad news. She will be fine. I won't allow anything else. Hear that God??

My fingernails. (hey, I didn't say they were all important things) My nails grow pretty well, but they're brittle and they crack and break easily. And polish will not stay on them for more than a day, if that. I polished them this morning, decided I didn't like the color, removed the polish and started over. I put on a "length and strength" coat first -- hoping that helps. Then applied a coat of color, followed by a top coat and "sealing and shine" coat. All's well for now.

My Mom. She had surgery last week to remove her gall bladder, and it went amazingly well. She was able to go home the same day, and is getting along pretty well. But when I stopped by for a few minutes yesterday her house was so hot you could grow tomatoes in it. She keeps her AC on Energy Save (also known as the"I WAS RAISED IN THE DEPRESSION SO I WORRY ABOUT WASTING MONEY ON SILLY THINGS LIKE AIR CONDITIONING" setting. It does run some, but not nearly enough. Put that together with not even running the ceiling fan, and you're living in a pressure cooker. I don't know how she stands it, but she told me she felt fine. Does your internal temp go all haywire when you hit 85? Seems like they keep nursing homes pretty warm, so maybe there's something to that. Other than that, she just seems to be running out of steam. She's in pain all the time, and is just worn out.

My niece. Her grandma Nancy is dying from cancer, and likely will not be here for her wedding in July. I know Nancy was trying to hold on till then, since this is her first grandchild to be married, but it just doesn't look like she's going to. I wish the family didn't have to go though this sad time, but I guess this is life. Sometimes life sucks.

Work. As in I better get back to it.

Time to Take A Long Hard Look in the Mirror

2010-03-25T17:38:00.005-05:00

Did ya ever feel like your life is in a slump? Or worse, like it's spinning out of control and there's nothing you can do to right it? That's the general feeling I have these days.

At home, where all I manage to do is minimal laundry most weekends, vacuuming once a week, cooking occasionally, mostly on the weekends, and uhh, well that's about it. The cooking business I attribute to my work hours and the fact that my husband doesn't want to eat supper at 8:00 pm every night. He voluntarily cooks supper most week nights, which is great for me! Not so great for him tho, but he doesn't usually complain. AND when he cooks, he does his own dishes. Wait a minute. Why am I complaining??? Anyway, the only thing that keeps me motivated to do anything at all is Carterday. Thank God for that. and him :)

At work, it seems like I struggle every day to get anything accomplished. Some days I look at what I've done and realize I've managed to stretch a couple of hours worth of working into 10 hours. I can't keep that up forever, obviously.

Worst of all, I'm really neglecting myself. The 37.4 pounds I managed to lose in 20 weeks or so has now magically turned into something closer to 30 pounds. Don't know exactly, because I haven't been to a WW meeting in a month. I've stopped my food journal, stopped counting points, and started buying candy. It's like a switch went off in my head that said "ENOUGH! Give me what I want when I want it!!! NOW!!!" And being an obedient soul, I did just that. It's the same old story -- I always sabotage myself when I start seeing results, or more importantly, when others start noticing. Someone today was describing a mental illness called Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Now I know that I don't have that, or anything that even remotely resembles that. I'm the exact opposite of defiant. Or am I? Greg would probably argue that, but no one else would. Anyway, one of the traits someone with ODD has is every time they start to see success in themselves, they quickly turn it around to failure, because the pressure to keep up the success or the fear of letting everyone around them down, is too great, and they tell themselves they can't do it anymore, so they might as well give up now. Hmm, that sounds a little familiar. Maybe I should read up on that a little.

I also need to work on taking my daily medications better. Some mornings I remember, some I forget, and others I don't care. And when my little weekly pill caddy is empty, God forbid I devote 5 minutes out of my busy TV-watching, nap-taking schedule to refill it. I've been known to go almost an entire week without meds just because I haven't refilled it. There really is no excuse for this behavior. I know I feel better when I'm on my meds. In fact, I've increased my Zoloft, thinking.. hoping.. that might help in the other areas. Time will tell.

For today, I've made one decision. I'm going to throw away the candy bars in my desk drawer and because it's too late for tonight's WW meeting and tomorrow's are during the work day, I'm going to the 9:00 meeting on Saturday morning. One of my favorite WW people, Janna, is the leader. I'm going to walk in and confess to her: "Hi, my name is Barb, and I've fallen off the wagon. Help me, please!"

Princess Erin

2010-03-18T15:05:00.004-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows I would do anything for my wonderful daughter, but it's not often that I get a chance to surprise her with something. Mostly because I can't keep my mouth shut long enough, but also because we're together so much and we know what the other person is doing most of the time. So when she told me George Strait and Reba McIntire were coming to the Sprint Center, I thought maybe the opportunity had presented itself. She first mentioned something last fall, jokingly hinting to me on facebook that tickets would make a great Christmas gift. One problem - they weren't on sale yet. Then SOMEHOW her friend and cubemate Howard comes back to work after Christmas with tickets to the concert. Thanks alot Howard. Way to put the pressure on!!! I started checking the Sprint Center website weekly, checking for the sale date, and with the concert steadily approaching, nothing had been announced. Including ticket prices. I had no idea if I was even going to be able to afford 2 tickets at this point. I'd been hearing that tickets had been selling out in less than an hour at other sites, so I joined the loyal listeners clubs for all the country radio stations in Kansas City, and signed up for emails from the Sprint Center in hopes of getting in on a presale. Long story short, I got an email from the Sprint Center 2 days before the official sale date with a code word to order a day early. Score! I got on the computer early that day and made sure all of my information in Ticketmaster was up to date so when the time came, there wouldn't be any hiccups. At 10:00 on the dot I clicked on the "order tickets" button, and 30 seconds later, I was the proud owner of 2 excellent seats for the concert of the year!!!

Now the hard part -- not telling Erin about it until I had the actual tickets in my hand. I had to listen to her talk about trying to win tickets on the radio stations everyday, which I guess wouldn't have been that big of a deal - she could always find someone else to give them too, but it would have taken away from the excitement I expected when she found out I bought them.

I bought the tickets on Feb. 25, and they didn't arrive in my mail box until March 13. That's 16 days for those of you who can't count. 16 days that I had to keep my mouth shut. I couldn't even tell Brent cuz he never would have been able to keep it to himself! In the mean time, about a week before they came in the mail, we got a new substitute mail carrier who can't tell the difference between Bryson, Stromgren and White. I just knew he'd deliver them to one of the neighbors, and when they saw what they were, they'd keep them. So yeah, I was freaking out just a little until they finally arrived in my mail box last Saturday. I couldn't wait any longer - I had to give them to her that day.

She was genuinely surprised when she found the tickets taped to an article about George and Reba in a country music magazine. Seeing the excitement in her face, and receiving the biggest hug I think I've ever gotten made all the planning and worrying worth it! Nothing makes me happier than seeing my little girl happy. Does that make her spoiled, like some people think? Maybe, but if it does, then I guess I'm a little spoiled too! Love you sweetie!!!!!

Independence

2010-03-11T11:03:00.002-06:00

The time has come for Barb to join the 21st Century, in regards to cell phones, that is. I only recently started texting, and have tried to keep it to a minimum since our family plan (which Greg pays for) doesn't have a texting package. Every month he complains about having to pay a little extra for my texts, but it's usually less than $5. I've suggested adding a plan, which would save him money, but instead, he insists that I stop texting. This has gone on now for months, and I'm tired of it. In reality, this is just his way of controlling me, and I really tired of that.

So today, Erin and I are going to Best Buy, she's adding another line to her family plan, and I'm getting a Motorola Backflip! I've never had a smart phone, so this should be interesting. I've been going back and forth between the Backflip and the Karma, which is what Erin and Brent have. It's not a smart phone, but it does have a keyboard which makes texting easier, and you can access the internet on it. I was inclined to go that way at first, but this morning one of my coworkers showed me his new Droid phone (which is what the Backflip is) and it sealed the deal. These phones are awesome! Once Steve told me you can watch television on it -- there was no going back!!! So by 4:00 this afternoon, I'll be texting, facebooking and twittering my little heart out, and there's nothing GB can do about it. Take that mr smarty pants!!!!!

Catfish anyone?

2010-02-20T22:31:00.002-06:00

And now for your reading pleasure, a restaurant review. We recently spent the day in Kansas City. After walking miles and miles at the Western Farm Show, we made our way to the famous Bass Pro Shop. After walking miles and miles more, we moved on to our final and most anticipated destination of the day; JUMPIN’ CATFISH. Neither Greg or I had eaten anything all day long, so when we finished up at Bass Pro around 4:00, we were both more than ready to eat.

Jumpin’ Catfish is located in a newer strip mall just east of I-35 in Olathe. We pulled up, and not surprisingly, (due to the time) we scored a parking place right in front. Off to a good start in my book – did I mention we walked a lot that day? I was pleasantly surprised when we walked in the door. The restaurant was quite large, decorated much like a lodge. We were given the choice of a table or booth, and we chose a booth. Excellent decision; the booths are large enough for 6, which gave us plenty of room. Before we’d even had to chance to start looking at the menu, our waitress appeared with a bowl of creamy coleslaw, followed immediately by a bowl of ham and beans and basket of home made hushpuppies. The featured item on the menu, not surprisingly, is deep fried catfish. Options include 2 piece, 3 piece, or 4 piece dinners with mashed potatoes and gravy or french fries, but the best deal for the money is the all-you-can-eat meal. Not being a big fish fan, I was interested in their other options. The fried chicken dinner looked good; as did the chicken strip meal and the chicken fried steak and chicken fried chicken choices. Sensing a pattern here? Fried everything? There were 2 options for grilled chicken that were described as “light”, but neither of them sounded particularly good to me. There were also several seafood items, as well as a few wild game dishes. It just seemed wrong to come to a catfish joint and not eat catfish, and since I had read good reviews of this fish, most noticeably their claim that their catfish didn’t have a fishy taste, I decided to ask for a small sample. The waitress was more than happy to oblige me, and quickly brought a basket with 3 pieces of their fish nuggets, along with tarter sauce. The nuggets tasted good, and the decision was made. Even though I knew I would most likely not eat more than 2 pieces of fish, Greg pushed me to order the all-you-can-eat dinner, as he did. Rather than argue (or maybe to prove a point) I went ahead and ordered the more-than-I-could-ever-eat meal. He seemed pleased. I think he was just afraid I’d finish eating too soon; he was planning to, as he put it, “keep it coming”.

With our orders placed, we were now able to concentrate on the food before us. Greg dug right in to one of his favorite foods; the ham and beans. And although I really don’t like beans, thanks to a friend’s recommendation, I tried them. They weren’t too bad. If that was all I had to eat, I’d have been just fine. But with coleslaw and hushpuppies in front of me, I quickly pushed the beans back over to Greg, which made him very happy. Their coleslaw was made with a sweet creamy dressing, which is the way I prefer my coleslaw. It was actually very similar to the coleslaw at Long John Silvers. The hushpuppies were huge, and fried to a nice crispy finish. Both were delicious. After eating a serving of slaw and 2 hushpuppies (and 2 fish nuggets) I soon realized an all-you-can-eat dinner was a very very bad idea. Next thing you know, our waitress arrived with a platter with mashed potatoes and 5 fillets for each of us. After just a few bites, I knew I’d made a mistake ordering the fish. Don’t ask me how the nuggets could taste so much different than the fillets, but they did. I thought the tarter sauce would help, but unfortunately, their tarter sauce tasted awful. All I could taste was onion and dill pickle. I’ve always made tarter sauce with sweet pickle relish, and while I like onion, this was a little over the top. I decided to try using the slaw as a sauce, and it was a definite improvement. I was able to eat nearly 2 fillets, along with some of the mashed potatoes. I expected the potatoes would be “real”, but they had an instant taste to them. Over on the other side of the table, Greg was thoroughly enjoying everything, but he soon realized he would not be asking them to keep anything coming! While the menu states clearly that no doggy bags are allowed on all-you-can-eat meals, when the waitress saw my plate, she told me they did allow you to take anything left on your first plate. They also let us take home the beans, slaw and puppies that were still on the table. We delivered our leftovers to our friend Dave on the way home. He’s been telling Greg about Jumpin’ Catfish for some time now, so we knew he’d appreciate them.

Throughout our meal, our waitress was very attentive, refilling our drinks as needed, as well as keeping the side dishes filled. The owner also stopped by our table to check on things. The atmosphere was very relaxed and homey. The wait staff wore fishing jackets, and the owner was dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt, and a cap. I would imagine the lack of customers (there were 5 other diners while we were there) greatly contributed to the personal attention we received. Greg is already planning his next trip there, and I’d be happy to eat there again, only next time, I’m going with the chicken!

On a side note, for those of you reading this who know I am dieting, and are wondering how many pounds I gained after this meal..... this is not a restaurant for dieters. Since I hadn't eaten anything all day, I probably stayed within my points for the day. And when we go again, I'll most likely do the same.

Good Times!

2010-02-01T20:52:00.004-06:00

What a great weekend I had! Didn't really see all that much of Greg, but NO that's not what made it great.

Saturday morning, Erin and I went to Topeka. First stop Mommy & Me - to get some "farm clothes" for Carter. Thinking overalls? Nope. Just some inexpensive pants and shirts, so it won't matter when they get all dirty and grimmy from oh, I don't know, maybe rubbing on PaPas dirty grimmy coveralls... When summer gets here he'll probably just run around in a diaper and we'll just throw him in the tub before he goes home!

We also hit Sams, Hyperhell, and HyVee in search of the perfect birthday cake for our sweet birthday boy! And of course, Hobby Lobby for everything we need to decorate his own personal smash cake. Hmm, Erin's got a busy week ahead, between making the party favors for the kids and the smash cake.

Lets see, next I took Mom to the grocery store and dollar store - her 2 favorite places I think! Once I got her home and all her groceries put away, I went back to Erin and Brent's to watch the rest of the KU-KSU game. Wow, that was some game. Well at least the last 10 minutes and overtime were, which is all I saw. Not sure I could have taken any more of it anyway. I always have to laugh when I think about Mom watching those close games. She gets so nervous, she can't watch, but then of course she can't NOT watch! Sorry she was probably disappointed with the outcome, but the rest of us loved it!

Sunday, Erin and Carter came out so she could file their income taxes on line. Here's the part that was great for me, but I don't really think Erin would see it that way. Thanks to my slower than molasses (sweet sassy molassy, right Erin?) internet connection (or lost connection as the case was over and over and over again, but I digress...) it took her about 8 hours to file the taxes. Frustrating for Erin? You could say, but that just meant more Carter time for meema and pa pa!!!!! Great G-ma Bryson even got in on the fun. Brent didn't get out here till later in the afternoon, thanks to the other thing that was not so great for the Gibbys -- backed up sewer water in their basement. Yuck. He spent most of the day unplugging the sewer line and then cleaning up the mess. Good job Brentski!

So to sum it up, spending most of the weekend with my favorite daughter and the C-man? It just doesn't get much better!!!!

Hen Party

2010-01-26T18:37:00.003-06:00

Wow! I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, and not just cuz it's Carterday! My two BFFs Jill and Sandy are coming over after work for supper and a much needed gossip session! The three of us try and get together for each other's birthdays every year, and unfortunately, we missed Sandy's last fall, so we haven't been together since August. That is far too long! They're both coming early enough to see Carter before he goes home, and I'm having Erin pick up take and bake pizzas on her way home, so I don't really have to cook. The last couple of times we went out, we got kicked out of the restaurants we were at. Not because we were misbehaving -- haven't done that for years -- but because it was closing time. And since we have no quitting sense when it comes to visiting, this will work out great. At least I don't anticipate Greg kicking them out. He'll probably hide out in the basement reloading shotgun shells or else stay out in the shop all evening. Hmm, maybe I should just tell them to bring their pillows and spend the night! They sure won't need blankets - not at Casa Bryson. where it's a nice and balmy 80 degrees all year round!

Don't expect to read all about our visit, what's said at the hen party stays at the hen party. First rule of hen party: don't ask about the hen party. Or something like that. Good times!!!!!!!!!

Weekend

2010-01-22T17:03:00.003-06:00

Time for a quick blurb before I head home for the weekend. Actually, I'm headed to Babys are Us first, to pick up some cute baby boy clothes for my friend's daughter. She's expecting her first baby in about 5 weeks, and I'm going to a shower for her on Sunday. It will seem strange looking a newborn clothes again! If all goes well, I might even get to take Carter to the shower. It will be fun to show him off to my friends. Not that I'm a proud meema or anything...

His latest favorite thing is Patty-Cake. As soon as you start singing it, he starts clapping and laughing. He even knows how to find it and play it in his little electronic nursery rhyme book. And I do mean play it. Over and over and over and over and over some more!

My latest favorite thing is singing P@NT$ 0N THE GR0UND to him when I'm changing his diaper. Not sure he appreciates the humor in that. But he does love it when I sing and act silly, so that's all that counts.

OK - gotta run so I'm not too late getting home tonight. Hope ya'll have a great weekend!!! Enjoy this week's Carterday pictures!

Yep - you guessed it -- patty-cake!

look at that sweet little smile --
how could anyone resist that???

Carterday

2010-01-13T17:42:00.003-06:00

It’s my favorite day of the week – Carterday. What’s that? Your calendar doesn’t have a Carterday? It’s the day between Tuesday and Thursday. At least in my house it is. He’s taking his afternoon nap, which means I’ve got a few minutes to write something.

No question, watching Carter is the highlight of my week. We have so much fun! He’s got lots of toys to play with, but of course, sometimes he’d rather play with cabinet doors, TV remotes, and anything else he can get his hands on. He’s also obsessed with Hossy. Problem is, if he gets too close, Hossy growls at him, and I’m sure would bite him if he had the chance. That means I have to really be on my toes. Luckily Hossy spends a lot of his time on the back of the couch where Carter can’t get to him.

I can’t believe Carter will be a year old in less than a month. Where has this past year gone? I can’t even remember life before him!

2 hrs later…. nap over, bottle, and half a tub of fruit, and Great Grandma Bryson came to visit. He played peek-a-boo with her, using the sheet on the couch to cover his head. He also showed her how well he can shoot his basketball. Ok, maybe not shoot, but he puts it in the hoop and scores points! He was sure happy to see Momma when she got here.

And now he’s gone home, and the house is terribly quiet. Can’t wait till next Carterday!!!

Here's a couple of pictures from today. I have more, but between my slow internet connection and blogger, it's taking too long to load them.

Mega Blocks = Mega Yum!

What? Can't you see I'm busy!

Fresh Start

2010-01-01T15:53:00.000-06:00

I’ve never been much for resolutions; New Year’s or otherwise. In fact, I’ve never been good at following through with anything. Unless you count my marriage I guess. Not so easy to just quit that. So maybe my New Year’s Resolution this year should be to refrain from setting a New Year’s Resolution. Nah – can’t even do that. I have a few things I’d like to accomplish this year, and if I put them in writing, maybe I won’t be able to abandon them so easily.

Improve my health. I’m currently taking 7 different medicines everyday, and I hate it. I went back to Weight Watchers in September, and although December was a bit rough, I’ve lost 26 lbs, and I’m not stopping now! If I can continue losing weight, I might be able to go off the blood pressure medicine, and maybe even the diabetes meds.

Spend less time on my butt and more time moving. It won’t take much to make an improvement here.

Write more. This is the 1st blog entry since March, which is when I decided to take up blogging again. I wasn’t very successful at that time. I’d like to try and write a little something every day, but that’s just setting myself up to fail, so for now, I’m just saying more. More than nothing should be a piece of cake!

So I guess that’s enough for now. Hopefully these are realistic goals. Stay tuned…..

overtime

2009-03-14T09:57:00.000-05:00

It's Saturday morning, and I should be in my nice warm bed sleeping in late with Hossy. Instead, I find myself at the office. Working. What is wrong with this picture? Surprisingly, not too much. I kinda like working on the weekend. No phones ringing, no constant interruptions. No one wanting to know how much they owe for monthly fees, even though the amount hasn't changed in 2 years (yeah - that's not annoying). Crank up the loud music, turn up the heat and have at it! I don't usually work overtime, but after taking a couple of weeks off when Carter was born, I'm still playing catch up. I love my job, but I don't really have a back-up person who can do it when I'm gone. My boss did submit a couple of the medicaid bills, but other than that, it just piles up. Guess I shouldn't complain, at least I know they can't get along without me. HA. If I know nothing else, I know that everyone is replaceable.

When I finish here, I'm headed home to work on income taxes, and then this evening, Greg and I are going to Erin and Brent's to babysit!!! They are taking a well deserved evening off to have some grown up fun with their friends, which means we get to spoil Carter!

blessings

2009-03-09T16:05:00.000-05:00

It's been one month since our lives took a wondrous turn. One month ago, Carter Kahle arrived, and our lives are changed forever. It's been almost 26 years since I first came to know the unconditional love a parent has for a child, and although my memory ain't what it used to be, I'll never forget that feeling of euphoria. The good news is it only gets better! Now we can fully enjoy him without the worries that go with being a parent. There is that pesky problem of sharing him with his Mommy and Daddy, and of course his Grandma and Grandpa G. But I'm learning to live with that.

A friend told me that for now, I should take every chance I get to cuddle and rock him, while he still likes it. How true. I could sit all day staring into those big eyes of his, and not to toot my own horn or anything (ha) but when he's being a little fussy butt, I hold him close to my face and talk softly to him and before you know it, he's mesmerized. He also likes my singing. Hmm, he obviously doesn't know what singing is supposed to sound like yet. Erin says he likes XM 60s on 6. His papa will be thrilled for that. I personally plan to introduce him to something a little more modern. By age two, he'll be singing along with Hinder, Seether, and Theory of a Dead Man. (note to self - go to Walmart and buy the "cleaned up" version of those cds)

And what, you may ask, is better than becoming a grandparent? Just when I didn't think I could ever love my daughter more, watching her become a mother has taken it to a whole new level. I'm bursting with pride!!!

2nd time around

2009-03-05T12:30:00.000-06:00

I'm still asking myself if I really want to do this again. Will I be dedicated enough to update regularly? What will I write about? Will it be interesting enough to keep readers coming back? All these questions, so few answers.

I absolutely loved my last blogging experience. It came at a time when I needed to do something creative. Something that made me feel good about myself. But then those needs kinda went by the wayside, along with most of my free time. My other dilemma; I write about the things going on in my life. And presently, I work for an employer that has very very strict confidentiality rules. That's a huge chunk of my day to day life that's off limits.

My first instinct is to write about the newest love of my life, Carter Kahle. And I'm sure I will write about him, but since his Momma has a blog that is pretty much dedicated to telling about his life, I may not have much to add. Once he's a bit older and starts hanging out at the farm with meema and papa, I'm sure I'll have stories to share.

Let's just see how it goes for now.