It's getting hairy over here

Christmas is coming fast, and there's lots to do! Actually, it's not Christmas so much as the 18th. I heard the other day that anything that is being mailed USPS first class has to be mailed by the 18th to arrive before Christmas. I haven't even made Christmas cards yet! And I bought a bunch of supplies for them, so I have to or I'll get in trouble with the other half. AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!! (Kristina, that was a total Cathy reference). I wasn't feeling so stressed, but I think I took a too lax attitude and now I'm freaking out!

I'm just sayin'

So, I've made a name change here. I've been thinking about it for a while. Anyone who spends very much time with me will know that "I'm just sayin'" is totally my catch phrase, so I thought it was fitting to change the name of the 'ole bloggity!

Winter Wonderland

Just checking here...I still live in the land of the Okies, right? Here's why I'm asking....

We're lousy with snow over here! I'm just sayin', we're not supposed to have weather like this. It's supposed to be warm. Well, maybe not Florida warm, but certainly warmer than 15 for the high! We started with thunderstorms at 35 degrees on Wednesday, and it went downhill from there! Freezing rain, then sleet, then snow, then sleet again (and what exactly is the difference between sleet and freezing rain? One freezes in the couds and the other on the way down? Either way, I'm not a fan).We've got a bunch of snow over a layer of ice. Yuck! I'm not sure what the official tally is, but we're looking at about 6 inches around our house with drifts of 2 ft.! Once again, this is OK, we're not prepared for such nonsense! The whole city shut down yesterday and today. Chris and I needed some food last night, so we ventured out to Target, and it was us and like 4 other people. Holy Cow! Chris has been working from home, and my classes were postponed 'til next week. They even closed the Airport and the freeways. When you only have 15 snowplows for a city this size...you're in trouble!

The puppies adore the snow! They hate the freezing rain (Scoob wouldn't go outside in it), but they love the snow once it's on the ground. They always end up with white faces from plowing it. Chris let them out this morning and kinda forgot they were out there (he's working downstairs, I'm working upstairs). Forty-five minutes later, I hear this, "Uh-oh." When I investigated, what did I find, but two little babies with snoballs in their skirts. Darn Scottie cuts! So, off we went for a warm bath. Silly puppies! They're already dying to go play in it again.

Don't get me wrong, I *love* the snow, but I'm totally getting cabin fever over here. I'm just dying to get out and go do something. And that darned Chris is actually working. Sheesh!

Perfection

We (or more aptly, I) have experienced some serious moments of perfection over the last few days. In a nutshell, they are:

• the puppies



• the Library



• mashed potatoes



• Christmas

When we got home from San Diego, the puppies were waiting for us at home. Bob went to the kennel, picked them up, and brought them to our house. I thought that was super nice of her. We missed them so much. In the evenings, the little girl just doesn't stop cuddling us, even when we go to bed, so it was weird hanging out and not having them. Scooby gave Chris a serious what-for when we got home. It was just adorable. Since we've been home, I have a new 1.5 feet tall shadow. Scooby follows me everywhere. Guess he wants to make sure we're not leaving him again. Although, they got some serious doggie play-time at the kennel. He seriously enjoys being the alpha!

While we were still gone, I mandated that we were getting library cards. I'd had one before, but kept misplacing it, plus it was under my maiden name. And chris hadn't ever had one. Crazy, huh? So, one of our we're-back-in-town-and-running-around errands was to the library. I hadn't been to the new one before. Holy cow! It's awesome. Chris was totally impressed. He wasn't impressed the the selection of DVDs or CDs, though. I told him, "What did you expect? It's not like it's Blockbuster!" I found that highly amusing. I was seriosly blissful in the library. Surrounded by all of these books....that are free!! I've been feeling guilty about all of the reading material I buy lately, and not only did this relieve some of that guilt, but I love the library! All that opportunity to learn and expand! Yay!! I don't think Chris checked anything out, but I did! here's the list:

• The Death of Che Guevara (it's fiction) by Jay Cantor



• White Sister by Stephen J. Cannell



• Photoshop Elementxs 3 for dummies



• Careers for Travel Buffs & Other Restless Types by Paul Plawin

I can't wait to finish these and get more!

We had Thanksgiving with my mom on Sunday. I was the official maker of the mashed potatoes, and if I do say so myself, they were simply perfection! I made a full 10 lbs. for the 3 of us so we'd have plenty of leftovers. We've been eating them constantly. It's fabulous! To go along with our potatoes, of course we had gravy. Our Target sells Boston Market gravy that has actual pan drippings in it, and it is sooooooooooo good. I'm never making gravy again!

Christmas has hit! And I am overly excited about it! We have 2 trees up, and I'm probably putting up a third. We're putting up the outside lights in stages, and we're getting presents together to send to family. And I'm loving every minute of it. Last night we sat and watched tv with only the Christmas tree on. Pure bliss.

So like my t-shirt says....Life Is Good!

right here.....

in San Diego! Well...on our way home, actually. We spent Thanksgiving on Coronado Island. It was awesome! We spent part of 3 different days at the beach! We got tan over Turkey day and didn't go to Mexico! We could've gone today too, if we'd planned better. So, we settled for a beach-side lunch. Not bad for the day after Thanksgiving! Actually, we had T-day dinner somewhat beach-side. We went to Sheerwater at the Hotel Del. It was fabulous! Just a few feet from the ocean and eating outside! Can't get much better! we also went to Point Loma/Cabrillo National Monument, the Midway Aircraft carrier, the Maritime Museum, Seaport Village, Horton Plaza, and of course.......Sea World and the world famous San Diego Zoo (plus various and sundry things on the island like At in the Park). We just had the best time! I'l definitely share pictures soo. I think I'll have some editing to do, as there was a spot on my camera I couldn't get rid of!

I'm just sayin'.....

I just love this picture! Last night, we went to the Oklahoma Aquarium for an EDS reception. I guess it was to say "howdy" to the new employees and a thanks for working so hard during the transition. They even brought roses for a couple of guys' wives. Apparantly, most of the people in their group left, and the two of them have been working 100+ hour weeks. Sure glad that's not us! That's one dozen roses I could do without!

The reception was nice. I'm trying not to be a Frasier about it. See, there's this one episode of Frasier where he takes his girlfriend to Belize for the weekend and Niles and Martin find out about it and go along. Frasier ends up having the worst time, but it's more because he's a grumpy-bear and looks at everything totally negatively. So, if you ever hear me say, "I'm trying not to be a Frasier about it," that's what I'm referring to. Anyway, if I were going to be a Frasier about it, here's what I'd say:

• the food was OK. It was supposed to be barbecue, but the only thing I really liked were the sausages. Holy yum!



• speaking of the food....my dessert had grill marks on it. I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be a cobbler of some sort, but the grill marks and the taste kept me away from it.



• there was an open bar for the first hour...except if you wanted an import beer. Then it was $4. How is that an open bar? And, how is Shiner, which (if I'm not mistaken is a TEXAS beer) an import? So, we drank Bud Light. But hey...it was free, so who's complaining?



• So-and-So the Magnificent performed after dinner. It was bandied about that he should be called So-and-So the Mediocre 'cuz he wouldn't entertain a group of 4th graders. I think he just tried too hard. So-and-So necessitated another beer (with 3 minutes to go in that first hour)



• The glasses of water they served had a decidedly fishy taste to them. It was the worst water I've ever tasted. I felt like a European of the middle ages - drinking beer 'cuz the water would kill you!



• it was like 9,000 degrees in the place. Chris' boss wondered if she was having her own personal summer. I told her that if she was, then our parents' quest for grandkids was in serious trouble, as I was having my own too!



• We were told we could stay at the aquarium 'til 9:30, but most people got out of there as fast as possible and they started shutting the exhibit lights off (I mean all of them) at 9:00. What the heck?



• We tried to go to one of our fave restaurants for some chips and salsa afterwards (it's basically next door), and they close at 9 Mon-Thurs. What? Are you kidding me? We just wanted sit at the bar, share a mango margarita (anoyone contemplating visiting us, that alone is worth the visit to Tulsa) and snack on some of the best chips and salsa in town and they were closed! Seriously. I didn't know we lived in the sticks! (but that doesn't really have anything to do with the reception!)

Like I said, though, I wouldn't want to be a Frasier about it. Really, though, we had a nice time sitting with Chris' boss and co-workers. And free entry to the aquarium was a definite bonus. It usually costs us like $30 to go! And, apparantly I shoot much better photographs after 3 beers. Who knew? I'll leave with a couple more pics.
 

It's been awhile

I think this is the longest I've gone without posting anything. I've just been kind of bored with myself. Actually, I've logged on several times to start a post, but every time, I get side-tracked and don't end up posting. I got an email the other day admonishing me for my blog slacking, so here I am (this is all because of you Dee)!

So, what have we been up to in the last bajillion years? Lots! We've been doing tons of stuff around the house, with lots of decorating being done this week. Bob and Mary came over and helped me whip this place into shape. Man, it's amazing the things you see when you look at them through a fresh pair of eyes! I think the last time I posted was about a month ago here's what we've been up to since then:

• decorated the house for Halloween/Fall



• I got a new BIG client



• Bob & I went to Dallas - well, not Dallas so much as Ikea in Frisco



• Chris put together a ton of furniture



• Tulsa's Oktoberfest



• we decided on a whim to go to San Diego for Thanksgiving



• the puppies dressed up for Halloween & helped pass out candy (they hated every minute of it)



• Chris turned 29 (Nov. 2)



• Chris got a 65 in. tv for his birthday (and it was too big for the living room, so he exchanged it for a top of the line 57 in.)



• I got a new haza-gaza wide-format printer and LOVE it!

If anyone's interested, I've been making a scrapbook of Oct. I took a picture every day of the month and then making a 6x8 scrapbook of it. You can see it at 2 Peas in a Bucket. Click on the thumbnails to see larger pics and read the journaling.

Just one of those days

Today should be a Monday for me. It's been rainy and gloomy and Seattle-like all day and I've been fighting a headache all day and I've wanted to climb in bed and cuddle a puppy all day. Mimi's been sick. Today is the third day with several times today. Dog up-chuck is gross and quite often yellow. But, the good news is it hasn't been chunky! I have her a Pepto, (the pill variety, just try to imagine what a mess giving the liquid to a dog would be. blech!)and now she's alternating between curling up in her bed and my lap. Poor little baby.

I got the Frommer's newsletter today and got all excited because the had all of these Thanksgiving travel deals and we wanted to take a trip over the day of the Turkeys. Only, we live in the middle of nowhere, and the You-Live-In-The-Middle-Of-Nowhere-And-Have-To-Pay-Extra add-ons are making the trips not so cheap. Bummer. I let myself get excited about adding a new country to my list this year.

The past few days have been great, though. Chris and I are getting a lot done around the house, and that feels good. Less and less boxes every week makes Jamie a happy girl. And Chris too. Well, a happy boy, anyway. It's hard when you're not home much, and we haven't really been lately. The last 3 Saturdays I've been gone all day! Anyway, we got a ton done this weekend (even with me being gone). We worked on my scrapbook room during Monday Night Football, and we've gotten it to the point where I actually know where stuff is (the stuff I've found, anyway). So, I'm happy to report I've started working on my Layout A Days. It's a challenge @ 2Peas (my scrapbooking mecca) where you make some sort of a layout every single day. Just a fun thing to challenge yourself.I haven't done very well since the move, but I'm starting to get back into it, and I'm doing a monthly album where I take a pic every day and scrap it. The one up above I did today, and the pumpkin one I did yesterday.

Saturday, mom and I cropped at Scraphappy's all day. It was their Crop for the Cure event and we  had a blast! Mom won a Brighton Breast Cancer Awareness bracelet that I love, and I won a free massage. Way to keep the prize winning in the family, huh? My dear friend from high school, Tara, was up for an event and came by the store when she was done and hung out. Then she came over to my house for a while and finally went over to Bob's to spend the night (we don't have the guest bed up yet and she wasn't loving the prospect of our couch, LOL!).

Yesterday I had lunch with my friend Rachel and her baby, Alyssa. Afterwards, we headed over to the Pumpkin Town pumpkin patch, and I took like 300 pictures of them (mostly of Alyssa, but I got some good ones of mom and baby too). That was a wonderful feeling. I'd been wanting to go to the PP for pics for a long time, but knew the puppies wouldn't cooperate. And, I'd been disappointed with many of my "photo shoot" pics of Alyssa thus far. But this time, I came away totally happy. I can't wait for Rachel to see all of them! Tonight's a Pampered Chef party at her house. Shhhh......don't tell Chris.

Mimi! Don't Kill Turtles!

So, we're settling into everyday life in the new house. We're still missing some everyday items, but we're settling. This morning, I had to dig through a box to find the thermometer, as Chris thought he was running a fever. He wasn't, he was sleeping in his robe under the sheet and two blankets, so he was hot. The puppies LOVE the backyard. Yesterday, I was looking out the window and saw Mimi pawing at the ground ferociously. When she looked up, she had something yellow in her mouth. I decided investigation was necessary. When she saw me coming, she dropped it and ran. Turns out it was a turtle. Eeeeeeewwww!!! Later, I noticed she had turtle guts in her beard. Once again....eeeewwwwww!!! But, the turtle was gone when I went back outside later. Guess it wasn't dead after all. Nevertheless, she was sternly admonished, "Mimi! Don't kill turtles!" Kinda cracked me up when I did it.

Chris had oral surgery on Friday. He had an impacted wisdom tooth removed. It was actually at an angle, so it was pressing up against the tooth next to it. It mostly didn't hurt, but it was a good thing to get it out of there! So, we went Fri. morning to his appointment. We were early. The doctor was not. We waited for like 30-45 minutes before they called him in. Then, I'd barely gotten started reading my book when I got a text message from Chris. He was done already. About 15 minutes, that's it! They didn't let me come back to get him for another 10 or so, but still, that was quick. Plus, they let him keep the tooth. That was the first question I asked. Yes, even before I asked how he was. But, yeah, they let him keep it. But the gory part is, they didn't even clean it up at all. I mean AT ALL! There's still gum attached to it, and they just wrapped it up in a paper towel, so when he opened it up to show me, there was all this wet blood around it. I don't usually have a queasy tummy, but that came out of my husband, so yuck! Chris hasn't been the best patient in the world. He's making me crazy. He's not doing all of the mouth rinsing (salt water...blech, but still) and teeth brushing that he's supposed to, and he went to an Alice in Chains concert Saturday night. Not the smartest move ever. (Let's not discuss whose idea the concert was. But, in my defense, there was no mouth surgery yet when I suggested it, and then I didn't know until after the mouth surgery was scheduled that the tickets had been purchased) Don't even think I went. He went with one of his friends. I'll be glad when he gets back to 100%.

Happy Hangover

Yesterday was perfect, just what the doctor ordered! We were so happy just to be together. Stupidly happy. You would have thought we were newlyweds if you'd seen us (which, we officially no longer are). We even sat on the same side of the booth at dinner. But, that was more so we could both watch Monday Night Football than anything.

730 days

Today is our two year anniversary. I can't believe it! We've been married for two years. How is that possible. That means we've been together for over 5 years. WOW! The last two weeks have been rough, but I couuldn't have done it if not for Chris. He is the man God intended for me. I know it. And I am so very thankful that he is in my life. I never actually thought I'd get married...until I met Chris. It didn't take very long for me to know that he is a very special person and I wanted him to be around for a very long time. Thank goodness he felt the same way about me! So, here we are at 2 years married with 2 babies (of the fur variety) and a fabulous house and we both have great work opportunities. Life is good. Very good. I thank God for the man that Chris is and that he's mine and I'm his. It's a good day, a very good day.

Moving Sucks

But our new house rocks! We've been so busy with moving and work, we've barely had time to rest lately. But, that hasn't dulled our happiness! We are so stinking excited to be in this house. It feels like a mansion compared to the condo we were in. The puppies have rapidly acclimated to the backyard. They are in heaven. The first day, they spent the whole time in the yard,and they were a little unsure of things. They kept looking at us like, "When are we going home?" But, by the third day, they'd figured out that, "Who wants to go potty," means getting to romp about with no parental supervision. Yippee!! Needless to say, they've been just as exhausted as we have.

We hired movers to help us, but used the "budget" company in town. They were a little suspect. It took them over 4 hours (more like 5) to load everything up, and they didn't bring everything. It was a good thing I was at the new house painting b/c I would have been reading them the riot act. Afterwards, Chris was extremely glad he didn't have to do the bulk of the moving. He'd thought he and his friend Eric could do it all. Eric did come over and help (thanks a million), but there was NO way they could have done everything, and Chris would have been out of commission for days. Apparently, one of them commented on all of our backpacks, and Chris told him about us traveling through Europe. He got all excited and told Chris that he'd heard that there were places in Germany that were bars where you could just go up to the counter and order pot. He assured Chris that he didn't think Chris was into that sort of thing, but wondered if he'd heard about that ever. Chris said, "um.....not in Germany, but maybe in the Netherlands?" The guy said, "Oh yeah, maybe in Amsterdam." Too funny!

So, we've almost gotten everything out of the condo. It's the little things now. LIke tweezers in the bathroom drawer and the shelves on the wall in my scrapbook area. I can't wait for the day I never have to go back there. That probably sounds horrible, but I was just so ready to be out of there. I was allergic to the place, and it was so dark. I don't even turn on the lights here and there is tons more light. Get this....there's at least one window in every room....if not more! Who ever would have thunk?

it's official!

It took almost two hours of signing about 25 phone calls, and 3 trips to the bank, but It's official! We're homeowners!! We have the keys in our hot little hands. We're so happy & excited we can barely stand ourselves. I'll post pictures asap!! Gotta get moving, the cable guy comes in an hour!

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow already! I can't believe it's here! Sept. 15th. We're closing on our house at 11:00 in the morning. OH MY GOSH! We've been packing like mad people over here. And, I don't see how we're (I'm) going to get it all done. Chris is working today, so, it's kind of left up to me. Yikes! Scooby and Mimi are very confused right now. Mimi is totally scared of the boxes. She doesn't like them at all. Especially the broken down boxes that we haven't put together yet. Poor little girl. LOL! Bob came over last night and packed up the rest of the kitchen. Most of it was already done, but there still a few dishes we'd been using plus the food in the cabinets. I think she got all of it done (I was working on packing my scrapbook stuff...talk about scary!). That was more of a help than she'll ever know. I was just feeling so overwhelmed!

So, Chris is officially out of the dog house. I'm not sure I posted about him being in the dog house, but here's the deal. He decided to be in charge of getting the utilities taken care of, but didn't get the cable company called until last Friday. The first available date they had was the 26th. This wouldn't be a big deal if it were just cable, but we have our internet and phone through the cable. Oops! Well, I had a guy in class this week who has a bunch of friends that work at Cox, and he gave them a ringey-dingey. We now have an appt. for 3:00 tomorrow. Yay!!! Our refrigerator isn't getting delivered until Sat. though. I wonder if that was dumb. Oh well. No matter now. I'm pretty sure it can't get changed. Wow! This is a big week!

Never Forget

I'll never forget where I was 5 years ago today. Bob had gone to breakfast with a friend, and I was doing something in her room when the news came on the Today Show. I called her and then Chris (the next day marked one month of dating) and then I saw the second plane hit. I was in utter disbelief. How was this possible? How? How? I try not to think about it now. I still collapse into tears at the drop of a hat. I was watching the rememberance during Half Time of Monday Night Football just now, and simply could not hold it together. None of those innocent people deserved such a thing. When Bob and I were in NYC in March, I insisted we go to Ground Zero. We were going to skip it, but I got a feeling that we needed to go and wouldn't take NO for an answer. So, we went. And I broke down. Just like I knew I would. I just can't handle it. It makes me so mad. So very mad. And sad. It makes me think of how united we were in the months following. How happy we were to see the flag and sing the Anthem and recite the Plege. We've forgotten that a little bit, and it makes me mad and sad. We must be diligent and make sure such a thing never happens again. We have to take the fight to them...to the people who would have it happen again and again. To me, it's a way to honor those we lost so senselessly. I pray we stay vigilent.

I hate WalMart

(I wrote this on the 7th, but it didn't post)
Mom and I are going to a Scrapbooking weekend retreat tomorrow, and we NEED pictures! So....WalMart to the rescue, right? Humph! I got everything all ready on their website, which was no small undertaking, and then went to checkout and you can't order and pay there anymore. You have to pay online and pick up at the store. Nope, not happening. I don't want them to have to refund me if I don't like pics. So, I burned the pics and went there and ordered them. Apparently they're having problems. when I picked them up, every single picture for the mini albums printed out black. And it wasn't me! So they had me try again. No dice. By this time, it's 8:40, and I ask my mom if she'll zoom us over to Office Depot before 9:00. We don't get out of there for another 5 minutes, and wouldn't 'ya know, on the way there are 3 cops with us. So we make it with just a minute or 2 to spare and buy ink for my printer so I can print the stinking things out myself. And then I come home and my printing program won't work. I'm not sure I'm supposed to have pics for this weekend! Finally, about 1 in the morning I got them all printed. I'd really prefer to be in bed right now.

Two Weeks

So, the third time is a charm. The sellers agreed to our repair requests, and have already started getting them done (we've seen the invoices). It was touch and go there for awhile. Apparently they were thinking about letting the contract go because the repairs were going to go over the amount they agreed to pay. Their realtor told them not to be dumb. Thank God. I don't know if we could have handled having to go out and look again. So, we close on the 15th, and we're going to start moving as soon as possible afterward. We're so excited, but can't wait to be done with the move. There's still so much packing to be done and we're both downright sick of it. Like I said, can't wait to be done. Chris has pretty much given up on the packing, so it's mostly me doing. it right now. I think I use a lot more paper than he does! His friend Josh moved a couple of weeks ago and still had a ton of boxes in the garage, so he donated them to us. Thank goodness - we were starting to run out! So, I guess I'd better go pack some more!

I can't think of an interesting title

I haven't been blogging much. Duh...that's obvious. I've wanted to. I've felt like it, but then again, I haven't. Sure, we've been doing some stuff, but the ever-present subject is the house. And it seems like I'm saying the same thing over....and over.....and over. We're still waiting for some final info on the repairs. We had to extend the date for that 'till this Friday. It's a good thing they wanted to change the closing date to Sept. 15. We had asked for Aug. 29th. I don't think everything would be ready.

So, the most exciting thing for me lately is that I've been touching up/proofing photos. I usually hate doing this and have put off doing both our Europe pics and my Ukraine, and now I have thousands waiting for me. I'm not going to do them all, obviously, but there's so many good ones, how am I to choose. (and by good, I mean ones I like) It was taking me forever, and I wasn't happy with the results, and the other day I just happened upon this tutorial at 2Peas. I love Sande Kreiger's scrapbooking style and was checking out some of her layouts online when I found it, and let me just say, it was a total EUREKA!! moment. Now that I've used her method, I remember doing it before, but had lost it in the depths of my brain. It is making my life so much easier, and I can't wait to get them all done. Plus, it saved me $100 (for now, anyway). I was going to just buy some Itty Bitty Actions to help me, but I'm doing OK without it. It probably would make things easier, so I'll get them eventually. Anyway, I thought I'd share some of my results. The first one is the original, the second is one I touched up on my own, the third one I did with the new method.

 

I'm famous!!

Well, sorta! This weekend, Creating Keepsakes magazine is here in little 'ole Tulsa. So, we all know where I've been! Who ever would have guessed that just so many women would show up for something like that? It's unbelievable. Today, there was a fire drill and noone left. Rachel said there was no need....you couldn't smell any smoke. I was already outside. We were just coming back in from making our first trip to the car. That's trouble! Yesterday, we had a day long album class. It was fab! It was taught by super fab Stacy Julian (here's where the famousness comes in). I took her some OK shaped cookies as a thank you for being here. Pretty cheesy, I know , but these gals share a lot of themselves with us, and I wanted her to know I appreciate it. Her class was awesome - designed to help you have a different way of looking at scrapbooking. Loved it. But, I have to admit, I was a tad grumpy. Yes, it's true. We were supposed to bring 200-ish pictures with us to class (nope, that's not a typo). So I dutifully placed an order with Winkflash for about 100 pics. Figured I could round up some more from my humongoid log of pics. The order finally arrived.......at 5:00 yesterday afternoon. Another grrrrrrrr moment for me. I couldn't really do anything, didn't have enough pictures. But I totally enjoyed being there and soaking up SJ's way of thinking. I love her perspective on SBing!

Another day...

I wish I had another dollar. LOL! Not too much going on around here. We've been cleaning our house like crazy. Monday, my mom's cousin's son (what exactly does this make him to me, I wonder?), Bart, came over. We had a nice time while I helped hime with a special project.

Oh, almost forgot! We went to our house inspection on Monday afternoon. There were a couple of things that need to be fixed, but nothing major. The structural guy kept telling us what a great, solid, wonderful house we're getting. A far cry from our last inspection. I certainly didn't have the same stomach in my throat feeling this time. Funny, though I got a little nervous as I walked in. But this time, it's super excited nervous. Last time, it was "this just isn't good" nervous. I am so excited. We have just over a month. When we first started this process on this house, Sept. 15 felt like forever. Now it's already feeling close. How are we ever going to get everything packed? And we already have like 40 boxes packed. And we've taken several boxes to Goodwill. Oh my!

So I forgot to mention, we went to the Tusla Zoo on Saturday also. I was so hung up about the lines and the no gas. But to the zoo we went. I don't know if I mentioned, but it was HOT on Saturday. I mean really hot. Normally I wouldn't attend the zoo in this heat, but it was free, so we went. Chris was highly amused by the no guns signs all over the place. Especially when you go into the restaurants/gift shops. So, it's okay to have it outside, but not inside?I've been wanting to see the butterfly aviary, and we went early in the morning, so no worries, right? Ha! The heat totally zapped us, and we took a 2 hour nap between the zoo and the balloons. I got some really cool pics, though. I was a tad disappointed in the butterflies. There were way less than I expected. I think they may have lost a few. Still pretty cool, though. I'd never noticed butterflies fluttering their wings just so much. Sure, they fly, but many of the ones we saw looked more like hummingbirds, their wings were moving so fast. And, it was virtually a greenhouse, so we had the sweat rolling just from standing in there. Still, though. Pretty darn cool. I think lots of the animals were hot. I mean, it was over 100, so they were napping in the shade and not too active. Have to go back in the cooler fall or spring.

Saturday made me realize I really need a new lens for my camera. I have this fab camera and I'm using a not so fab lens. Sure, it works OK, and it was great when we first bought it, brand new, but I don't think it has image stabilization, and it's super slow moving. Chris wants to know what this is going to cost us. I told him between $100 and $2,000. He laughed at me.

still here

at the balloon festival. Or more precisely, the parking lot. Wait, no - even that doesn't properly describe it. It's more of a dirt/dust pile with a few scraggles of grass in it with a bunch of hay laid down on top to help alleviate the dust. Some might call it a field. Oh how I love Oklahoma! I'm so not a country girl. But I haven't even gotten to the good part yet. There's one single-lane exit with a line about 3/4 mile or so long. We waited in line for 30 minutes without moving a foot before we pulled over and parked it. Our gas light came on. Yep, we're almost out of gas with no end to this line in sight, and once we finally get out of here we have to not only find, but also get to a gas station. So we wait until we won't have to wait. Ironic, isn't it? I hate irony. Oh, and have I mentioned? It's hot. (Chris wants to be sure the whole world knows it's not a dry heat.)

*update*
Chris just went to ask a cop if he knew of a gas station. The cop said that there's one a mile away, but he wouldn't reccomend that one. He said Chris would be a whitey in a non-white neighborhood. Little does he know...Chris is brown!

it's 8:00 pm

and still 96 degees out. Man, do I hate OK in the summer. Oh yeah...and we're outside...and it's HOT! We're at the annual Tulsa Gatesway balloon festival, and I'm bored...and hot. We're waiting for the evening glow, which not-too-long ago was questionable. There was was a lovely breeze which made it feel slightly less than Hades-like, but it was actually 12 knots and the cut-off for flight is 10. So, the mass ascention was cancelled (no pics of the sky full of balloons) and the glow was in question. Looks like the baskets are going out now. Thank goodness, 'cuz the band doing sound checks is about to drive me insane. Maybe there will be something to take pics of soon. Although, a couple of the bands actually sounded about the same as the sound check. Did I mention the festival is at one of the local tribal casinos? Ironic, me thinks. Oh, and by the way....it's hot. Oh egads! The mike check didn't seem to make a difference for the band from Waleetka. Oh. my.

'spose I should mention

I no longer work at the pool. It's been about two weeks now, and it's a good thing. I don't know how we ever would have found our house with me working so much. It was wearing on us. We couldn't have a discussion about the house without it dissolving into a fight. Not so good. We're not fighters. Chris definitely isn't. It probably also stemmed from the fact that when I was honest with myself about my deep down feelings, it didn't feel right. And then there was the fact that I just wasn't involved enough.

I enjoyed the pool and I miss the kids I worked with, but I'm not so sad I'm not at the pool right now. My last two days, it started really heating up in these parts, and I'm not sure we've had a day under 100 since then. Those last couple of days, it was so hot (How hot was it?) that the pool was no longer cool. It was worth it to jump in, though because hopefully upon exiting, there would be even a puff of a breeze across the wetness to cool you for just a moment. Blech. It was like swimming in a bath tub. I like a nice cool pool. I think that comes from being a swimmer when I was young. Competitive swimming pools are supposed to be kept in the low seventies. That and the fact that we were always in the super-freezing Pacific, I got accustomed to the cold water.

It was really hard for me to quit. I knew I needed to. I really needed to. I was frazzled. But, I felt like a quitter. Why couldn't I make it work? I'm sure some people could, but the combination of everything just made it not right for me. The house-hunting, trying to manage my own business stuff, the working situation, the heat, the hours. It just wasn't working for me. I felt really bad leaving the kids that worked for me, like I was abandoning them. But, I had to get over myself and remember that they didn't really need me. Everything would go on the same way without me. Sometimes that's a hard pill to swallow. I also had to remind myself that we'd all be going our separate ways in about 3 weeks anyway. I quit on a Friday and Sunday was my last day. It was weird being there for those two days because they'd already replaced me and that person was trying to take charge while I was still there. Again, I just had to let it go. She wasn't doing anything personal to me, and very soon, it wouldn't matter one iota. So I just enjoyed hanging with the friends I'd made over the two months I spent at the pool. Sometimes I miss it, but mostly (like almost all the time) not so much.

Verbal Confirmation

We have the house!!! The contract has to be changed and initialed, but last night we verbally agreed to their counter-offer. We made our offer with the expectation that they would come back with a counter, quite possibly this one. And, we are confident that it is a fair deal. We're paying full price and they are paying all of the closing costs. Fine by us, seeing as the comps show we're paying less per sq. ft. than other houses in the neighborhood (which is fairly small)! We'll know for sure after the appraisal. It's funny, though, we feel such a sense of relief and like it's all over, but there's still so much to do. For right now, closing date is the 15th of September. We  originally wanted to set it at the 25th of Aug., but they don't have anywhere to move yet, so we gave them a couple of weeks. We met the couple the first time we saw the house, and they told us they have to move b/c the husband has spine and knee issues and can no longer go up the stairs. Apparently, they had a contract on another house, but the woman selling it fell ill and could no longer sell it. So, we wait. Which gives us more time to pack. How do we have this much stuff crammed into such a little space?

Trying again

We've found another house. Hopefully, this is it. I'm a little gunshy after the first two no-gos, but this one looks good. There are no other offers on it and it's only been on the market 3 weeks. It's the same floor plan as the last one (not only are all 4 bedrooms upstairs, but the utility room is also! how cool is that? and, the master has a sitting area), it's impeccable (it's 13 yrs. old, but looks brand new - original owners who are an older couple), has beautiful back yard, and the best part is, we don't even have to paint to move in. How often do you see that?  We'll see how things go! Here's a couple of pictures!

And just like that

it's gone. No house for us. It turns out the homeowner had already accepted one of the other offers and the realtor didn't know. How did the realtor not know? We can't figure that one out. Nevertheless, we don't get that house. He apologized profusely and said that if this deal falls through, he'll be sure we know. It's okay. Chris is more upset than I am. Obviously it wasn't meant to be. But oh, it was just so perfect. We'll find something else, I know we will. Our realtor is awesome. So, together we'll find the right thing.

We Found One!

Chris and I finally found a house we really want last night - it's an unbelievable house and exactly what I wanted. So perfect. When our realtor called their realtor, he said there were two other offers on the house, but they were still at a stage where they could consider another offer. So starting at 9:30 last night, we were trying to put together an offer. It's been crazy! Now, we've already heard back from them and they want a letter of approval from us. This house is more than we'd planned on spending, so we have to go back to the lender. Which, may not end up being our lender. Our realtor said she thought some of the costs looked high...like one and two hundred dollars high, so she suggested another lender. This may actually work. Oh my gosh!!!

house hunting is hard work

I had no idea! Holy cow...it seems like my thoughts are consumed with finding the right house all day long. I can honestly say that I think it's a good thing I'm no longer at the pool. I have the time to go through the listings (the 500 that Chris finds while at lunch) and say yay or nay. I can't imagine what it was like before the internet. We're able to look at them online and map them and make a decision as to whether or not we want to see them based on locale and price. In looking at the listings, we saw that the house we tried to buy was put back up on the market - for $5000 more. My jaw dropped. It should have been for $5000 less. But, they're trying to get as much as possible out of it before it goes into foreclosure (which apparently is this saturday). We found a house that I absolutely love and would be super, but it just isn't quite right for Chris. So, it isn't quite right for us. I know we'll find the right thing....someday! LOL!

That's pretty much all we're doing right now. We're boring house hunters. I've been pondering the idea of selling

We're Homeless

Not as in the have no where to live homeless, but as in the have nowhere to move homeless. That's right, no house for us. Not yet, anyway. It just didn't work out. Once they did the inspections, we realized just how much was wrong with the house. It's a fixer-upper at a non-fixer-upper price. So, we submitted our requests and we couldn't come to an agreement. Actually, they didn't really try to come to an agreement with us. It was a little odd. When we (Chris) asked if there was a time constraint on getting in the requests, the answer was no, it was open-ended. Then, we found out today it had to be agreed upon by midnight tonight. Yikes! I guess that's why they weren't willing to talk to us. On top of that, it sounds like if they don't have it sold by Sat., it's going into forclosure. They really tried to pressure us, and we didn't go for it. So, no house. We're sad. We were excited about the house. It had tons of room and that's what we liked about it. But, surely we can find another house with lots of space/room. We're going to open houses tomorrow. Hopefully the next go-around won't be quite like this one. Hopefully we'll find just the right place.

SOLD! We think

Chris talked to the realtor on Monday, and she said the bank that holds the 2nd mortgage on th e house is willing to accept our offer as long as the seller knows he still has to pay them back in full. That is not our problem, but they are putting it in writing, so we should have a final yes soon. We hung out with Rachel & Josh on Monday nite, and on our way home from their house decided to swing by "ours." We were shocked when we saw a sold sign in the front yard. Holy cow! Still no official yes, but the sold sign bodes well! Closing is set for the 21st. Who knows, we could actually be in our own house by the end of the month. Scary! Speaking of scary, when we stopped to look on Mon. nite, we noticed some orange lights flickering against the house. They were actually quite large and quite bright. I was worried that some local yocal moron was setting off fireworks and started a fire. It would be just my luck to have gone through all this and then have the house burn down. So, Chris went up to the fence to check it out. The guy who's living there had flames several feet high coming from his Weber grill. Yikes! You've got to work pretty darn hard to get flames that bad from a grill that small! No house problems, and the guy didn't notice Chris and wonder what this big guy was doing peeking over his fence!

I am 30

Yesterday was my birthday. And now I am 30. It doesn't really bother me. It doesn't make sense to me to get upset about getting older. There's nothing you can do about it. But, it does amaze me that I can be 30 years old. I have seen all of the things that happened in the past 30 years. There are people who work for me that are half my age. Literally. Wow! How is it possible?

We had a fabulous day yesterday. Nice, quite, and easy. Usually there's a big party involved, so there's all the craziness that goes along. The last minute cleaning and lamenting that it's not clean enough. The worrying, the arguing. Never fails. This year, I didn't even have time to think about a party, so Bob decided to put it off a little. There will still be one, just not yet. Chris and I started the day with Starbucks and bagels. We actually sat outside at the Starbucks and looked at the paper a bit. Something we never do since we live 1/2 a mile from said Starbucks. It was totally relaxing and perfect. We kept cracking each other up. The people next to us had to be glad when we left. I am not a quiet laugher.

We spent the afternoon at Bob's house. Chris, Bob, Scooby and I went swimming at Bob's neighbor's house. Mimi came along, but stayed as far away from the pool as possible. Again, totally relaxing. We spent 2+ hours lounging in the pool. Very nice. Then, back to Bob's for food. Grilled steak. Yum. Finally, we headed off to The Lion King. It was fabulous. Just outstanding. I would go again if I could, but last night was the last one of the run. The whole thing just blew me away. I took my camera in and snuck some pictures. Just couldn't resist. We finished off the day with ice cream cake. Couldn't have been a better day. And, I still got presents. A Coach purse from Chris. The tickets from mom, plus a SB gift certificate & SB bag. All in all, it was a totally memorable day. My husband and mom are the best.

Doh! I almost forgot to mention. My crazy awesome husband made me a card. Yes, that's right, made me a card. He raided my scrap stash and hand-crafted a card with stickers and rubons and stamps. He said he had to wait until after I went to bed to finish it, and he learned that he hates rubons. According to him, "Rubons suck." Bob couldn't agree more. Too funny. And, too sweet.

By the way, we still don't know about the house. We're so tired of it all. And what with the holiday this week, who knows when we'll know. The contract says they have 10 days, and they started it June 28. So that means they have until the 7th. IF, that is, they include the weekend days. If not, they have until next week. I guess we'll find out something eventually.

We think we got it!

but we're not sure! I just got a call from Chris in which he said, "I think we got the house!" Still nothing from the realtor. But, Chris checked his bank account this morning and the check that we gave them for earnest money had been cashed/deposited. Now, call me crazy, but shouldn't have someone told us SOMETHING before this? And the fact that it's already gone through means they deposited it yesterday, if not before. This is the craziest transaction ever. Chris is calling the so-called realtor now (I think...I was thinking so hard about what is going on that I'm not sure what he said). Don't get me wrong, I/we still want the house, but this is mildly anti-climactic!

I got stung on the....

you know what! And man, did it hurt. I was getting into the pool, kind of sitting on the side, and all of a sudden I felt this little sting on my rearous-endous. And, it kept getting worse. Finally I stood up, and there was a dead wasp in the gutter. Dead, and he still got me.

We've had an eventful week at the pool. Yesterday we had a bloody nose. Apparently my lifeguards missed the part of lifeguard class where they tell you to clean blood up with bleach. There's even a question about it on the test. Must have missed that one. A member decided to be funny. His friend was at the end of the board. He hopped up, ran to the and and tackled the guy off the board. All the while, my guard is blowing her whistle and telling him not to do it. I was hot, as it wasn't the first time he's been called down for this. Did I mention he's 19? I seriously let him have it and informed him he was old enough to know better. Had he done it again, he would have gotten kicked out in front of all of his friends. Funny thing is, he's not so bad when it's just his brothers there, but add friends (and especially the girls) into the mix, and it's just trouble.

The day before was an even bigger doozy. I was just sitting down to lunch w/Chris when I got a call. "Um....Jamie? Some kid just had diahrrea in the pool.....and there's a lot of it. What do I do?" There's still some debate over just what it was. Maybe vomit? Then, a kid got his hand slammed in the door. Well, not really slammed, so much as caught a little bit. I've never heard screams/crying quite like that, espcially out of a little boy. Turns out, he's overly dramatic. By the time I was done talking to him, he was already using his hand just fine, but still screaming bloody murder and crying. One of his counselors told me it was the 17th time he'd cried that day. No, that's not a typo. I wonder what Jr. High is going to be like for that kid? What else.........Oh yeah. Some little day care brat peed on the floor. Inside right in front of the vending machines. I kept thinking the boy's room was a terribly stinky mess and had someone check it out. Nope, not that. What could it be? Finally I noticed a yellow tinge to the puddle on the floor. Nice. My boss called to see if I was going to be at swimming lessons the next morning. Probably not since I'm not teaching swimming lessons in the mornings. Oh, well could I? Nope, sorry. He needed a sub, so I figured out a solution for him. I got to clean up a dead mouse. We all know my love of the stinkers. (if you'd like more detail, read this) BLECH!!! And, the day was topped off by a phone call from one of my guards who informed me that she broke her foot the night before and probably woudn't be able to work the rest of the summer. What a day!

We are winners!

We won the PowerBall. Well, to be exact, not the whole PowerBall, but a PowerBall prize. On the 6/21 drawing, we got two numbers and the PowerBall. So, we won! $7. Not much, but still so fun to win something! The bad thing is, we bought it in AZ, so it has to be redeemed in AZ. I guess we'll send it to Chris' cousin Lisa. Either that or keep it as an $8 souvenier from our trip ($1 to buy it and the $7 we won).

We are still NOT homeowners. I'd finally had enough of not knowing yesterday. It was Saturday, we'd made the offer on Wednesday. Seemed like a long time with no word to me. So, Chris called the realtor. Apparently the seller is a moron. Oh, wait, we already knew that.  The realtor faxed him the papers, he couldn't figure out how to make his fax work, so he hadn't gotten the papers. His daughter was going there (Idabel - where it is, I have no idea, but I know it's in OK) this weekend and taking the papers with him. It sounded like he is going to sign them and on Monday the realtor will fax them to the bank (that's after his daughter drives them back to Tulsa and drops them off at the realtor's office). Hopefully we'll know something by the end of the week. That's what she told Chris. The end of the week? Seems like a long time to me. Not that there's anything I can do to speed the process along, but this just seems like a screwed up deal to me! Plus, the realtor didn't have the decency to let us know what was going on. A simple phone call whould have sufficed. I liked her right off the bat, and I'm a pretty good judge of these things. I think this is a small fish for her. I think she usually does transactions at least twice the price of ours, so she's not as into it. I'm just sayin' is all.

I have to apologize for the boring posts lately. There's just not that much going on in our lives. Actually, that's not true. There's a lot going on, it's just the same things over and over. Crap at the pool (at times literally! LOL!!), craziness at Chris' office, house stuff, and......that's about it. Between classes and the pool, I've been working a TON. But, when my paltry check comes in, it makes me wonder why. Why am I working so hard for so little? Yesterday was a good day, though. We didn't have more than 4 swimmers until like 3:00. So, we just played in the pool (and yes, cleaned a little). Chris brought the puppies by and Scooby had a blast swimming with us. He was even able to get out by himself in the deep end!

BTW, I read somewhere that you're "not allowed" to post unless you include a picture. So, I've included a picture from the Tucson Botanical Gardens!

But it's a dry heat

yeah. whatever. it's hot. plain and simple. HOT. Did I mention it's hot? I heard the local weather yesterday. they actually said the words, "It's only going to be 100 today." When you hear the words only and 100 together in a sentence, you know something's wrong. I informed both Chris and his fanily the other day that God did not intend me for this business. Not one bit. Nor did he intend me for the cold. Yep, he meant me for San Diego. We've had an awesome time. Just a great vacation. Not enough sleep for me, though. I've been waking up at 6 (or even pre-6 - the horrors!) and not going back to sleep. We've seen a lot of Chris' family, which is good. We're actually pretty glad his reunion got cancelled. Uncle Juan had everybody over to his house that night and it was just great hanging out with everyone hearing stories. We were supposed to stay with Chris' cousins to save money (house), but we ended up at the Shraton Tucson with a suite. It was quite nice and we spent a few hours by the pool. Very good stuff. Speaking of the house.....nothing. We haven't heard a thing. No news is good news, right? All in good time. Right?

Goin' to Kansas City...

or rather IN Kansas City. We're here in KCI sitting on the floor waiting to go to PHX (Phoenix). Once we get there, we're driving down to Tucson. We're floor sitting because on our last flight we didn't get to sit together. Bummer. Seriously. See, we're flying Southwest and were the victim of their no assigned seating. We're not about to have that happen again. Chris sat between two guys bigger than him and I seriosly missed his shoulder to snore on.

We've put the house situation on hold. Easy to do sine we're going to be out of town 'til Tues. night. We were pre-approved, but the realtor told to check out another lender, so we did. They're going straight to full approval rather than starting off with the pre-, and they won't get back to us until Mon. or Tues. The realtor didn't want us to make another offer until we find out for sure from the lender. Her reasoning? The bank won't accept the offer until the lender says something official anyway. Don't people usually make offers before they get all of the financing settled? It seems fishier and fishier to me. Chris had wanted to make an offer before we left, but I just didn't have a good feeling about it. So, I was actually relieved when Chris told me what the realtor said. If it's meant to beM it will still be availablw when we get back. If not, it won't. And I feel peaceful about that. I just didn't feel peaceful about making another offer just yet.

It's just a land of confusion

and we don't know where to go. This house situation is really confounding us. Actually, me. Chris know what he wants to do, but I'm not sure. I'm very unsure, and I'm not sure how to get sure. Clear as mud? There are so many unanswered questions. And he's leaving for OKC at 6 in the morning. I have no idea when he'll be home. Then, we leave for Tucson on Friday. I'm tempted to just say lets forget about the house until we get back. Maybe we'll have a better idea then. I'm starting to feel like maybe if it's still available then, it's the right thing. But if it's the right thing then, why isn't it the right thing now? I just have so many concerns. And so many questions. Hopefully Chris will be able to get some of them answered tomorrow.

It doesn't help that I'm exhuasted. It was just physically. Now it's both physically and emotionally. The pool is wearing me out and the house is wearing me down. Not a good thing. Speaking of the pool, I found out today that at least 2 of my guards have no idea how much they're being paid. And, one of them hasn't filled out his tax forms. Oops. We'll see what they pay me. Don't know if I mentioned it, but there's a dispute about my pay. Hope it's what they told me in the beginning. If not. Well, let's just say that I don't expect it to be a problem. If it is, we'll go from there. I just realized I don't think I called and confirmed with all of my guards what time they're working tomorrow. Could be a problem. Great.

Maybe....Maybe Not

The offer was rejected. We're not that upset. Yes, we would've preferred it be accepted, but we're not distraught about it. It seems the owner made a deal with the bank. When we made the offer, we were told he had no part in it and the bank was the one making the decisions. From what we understand, the owner convinced the church for which he is a pastor to make the mortgage payments until he sells it, and the bank agreed to let him be the seller. But, the bank has to OK the deal. This is bad for us, b/c the owner owes $20,000 more than the asking price. So, he won't accept anything less than the asking price and has no way to do the $5,000 in closing costs we'd asked for. Even with that, it still isn't a bad deal. So, we're still considering. We're going to see about the loan and then decide. Yes, we already had a pre-approval from another company, but the realtor suggest we look around (the one we'd used is known to pad their closing costs a bit), and she gave us the name of someone she uses all the time. We'll see what she has to say, and then go from there.

On the pool front, we had 9 swimmers this morning for a total of 20 minutes. Mondays we're closed, but in their quest to make $$, daycares are scheduled on Mondays from 11:00 till 3:30. It thundered and rained on and off all day today and was chilly (only 87 for a high - it was over 100 on Sat.), so our two big groups cancelled. Our one small group came, but they had to get out after only 20 minuted b/c of thunder. I felt bad for them, but I was glad to get out of there when we did. Especially b/c they'd told one of the big groups they could come from 2-4 (in hopes of  the weather clearing) and I had a haircut at 4. This way, I was able to go to Sam's (again) and still make my haircut.

Speaking of, I love that Amy (haircutter). She's got such a sweet soul. Just love her. Her girlfriend of like 30 years (their moms were preggo at the same time & were next door neighbors) was there. What a wonderful bond those girls have. They were in diapers together and bridesmaids in each other's weddings. I have to admit, I was a smidge jealous.

I don't want to get my hair wet

I heard a father tell his son that yesterday. I had to do a double take. Not something you hear from the men so often. The pool has been relatively quiet lately. We were busy for us for a Saturday yesterday. Usually we have few enough people that we can go with one guard most to all of the day. (depending on the swimmers, 15 or less) Yesterday, we had to go with 2 for most of the day. When you only have 3 and it's darn near 100 and miserable, it makes for a long day. Chris and I went to Sam's yesterday morning. I have a business card for the pool, so we went before all the regular riff-raff can and bought a bunch of stuff for the vending machines at the pool. That's one of my responsibilities, stocking the machines. It's a new thing for me.

Chris and I have both been nervous about the whole house thing. We're pretty excited. It fits us perfectly. Two story. 4 bedrooms and a bonus room. 2200 sq. ft. The living room is kind of small, and the kitchen isn't what I wanted, but for the price, the size, and the locale, we thought it was perfect. They are trying to keep it from going into forclosure, but the bank is already the seller (don't really get that). We'd found it online and drove by it on Sunday night. Well, on Tues. or Wed., they dropped the price 10 grand. So, Chris went with my mom to see it on Thurs. afternoon. He liked it OK, but she said I HAD to see it. So, we went back at 8:30 that night after I got done with the pool. I thought it was great, and on the 2nd go around Chris loved it.

Friday morning, he called and at noon we made the offer. We never got around to calling anyone about being our realtor. The woman showing it said that because the bank is actually the seller, she could go ahead and write it up for us. We really liked her, so we just had her do it. After making the actual offer, I still like her a lot. She's very objective, and wants to make sure we're OK. So that's the story. Now we wait. Because it's the bank, it could take up to a week, which because we did it on Friday could be a week from this Monday. Which, we'll be in Tucson then. Good timing, huh?  Wanna see pictures? Click here.

Do We Have A Winner?

Possibly! Chris and I just started looking at houses yesterday, and we think we may have a winner. We each looked at one with my mom. She and I didn't like mine, they did like his. Enough that they had me come look at it after I finally got off of work at the pool. No, it's not exactly what I wanted. Definitely not the kitchen I wanted, but for the size and the location, and the price, it's outstanding. So, Chris is going to make a call today, and we'll see what happens. Scary stuff over here!!

In pool news, I got to get in and net out thrown-up pancakes. I've never had so much crazy stuff happen at a pool in such a short amount of time. Why did I have to get in? Welllll.....our big net is about 50 years old, and our smaller, more appropriate net is broken and has to be hand held. When the needed to be netted item is in the middle of the pool, That means getting in with it. Yay for me. I'll take this any day over the "pickle".

I think there's a pickle in the pool

A little girl said that to one of my lifeguards yesterday. She said go check it out. The little girl comes back up and says, "actually I think it's poop." The lifeguard says, "oops." So, we had a total CaddyShack moment. Cleared the pool and you know who got to go in after it. Net wouldn't work, it would have broken up. So, I donned some latex gloves and some goggles and went after it with a bag. It still broke up, but was better than it could have been. Don't get me wrong. It was 100% nasty. Totally and completely. I had a good wash afterwards. I wish it had been a Baby Ruth.

So, today is 6th day of the pool being open. I'm a bronze goddess. Well, on my way anyway. I ticked off a parent on the first day. I had to pull about 8-10 kids out in one day. We had a kid fall off the diving board and hit his foot on the wall (still can't figure that one out).  We've had a turd in the pool. Our chlorinator isn't working so we have to hand feed the chemicals. We've had to close for "weather" twice. It's been an eventful week.

excedrin migraine, advil & coke

they're keeping me going right now. I don't know what it is, but every day about 2 I have these horrible headaches. It's not like they're new, but I'm getting them at the same time. It must have something to do with being in the pool so much. That does not bode well. Yesterday, I took 2 advil, 2 sudafed, and an actual perscription migraine med. with a coke chaser and it finally dulled the pain a little. Not to worry, though, within 2 hours, it was back. Hopefully my allergies clear up a little and this doesn't continue every day. That many pills (there were more) every day isn't good.

On a good note, I'm almost done with my version of he$$ week. Yay! I am a little nervous about the Lifeguard testing tomorrow, but I should be okay. I hope!

Back to life, Back to reality

Back to the here and now of it. Man, I loved that song. I jumped into the thick of things today. Swimming lessons training, swimming lessons tests (which I think I bombed...ooops!), Lifeguard class, pool scheduling, now, studying for the swimming lessons (another test tomorrow) and studying for the lifeguarding. And it's already 10:00. Thank goodness for the dinner break during the lifeguarding, or I wouldn't have seen my husband today. I'm feeling totally swamped and stressed, but I know if I can just make it to Friday night, I'll be fine.

Good news, I found a good replacement wedding band. Nope, I didn't lose mine. The girls at the pool told me that being in the super chlorinated water so much will loosen the the stones. I wasn't super excited about wearing my rings at the pool this summer anyway, so now I'm looking for a band to wear. And I'm picky. Have I ever mentioned that Chris is awesome? He went to every single jewelry store at the mall looking at bands for me while I was at the  lifeguarding. And then I came home and found one for a third the price of the ones at the mall on QVC, and I'm totally in love with it. And, It's only $47! Hot dog!!

I was mildly nervous about the rescuing of victims during LG class - I'm not quite in the same shape I was last time I did all this stuff, but it came surprisingly easily. I did get a little more winded than I'd like, but I was doing better than most of the other kids (yes, I'm the geezer of the group) and for sure better than the other two girls of the group (never mind that they only weighed a buck-five dripping wet, I'll take my small victories). Funny note, we three girls (me and the two sophmores in high school to be) all had the same suit on. So, now I'm off so schedule and then study. And all I wanna do is scrapbook. Dadgum adultness....it stinks sometimes!

Homeward Bound

I head back home tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, I'm having a blast,but I'm ready to spend some time with my unbelievably awesome husband and the fur babies. I miss them.

It finally stopped raining. Yesterday was gorgeous, but I was indoors all day. Irony, huh? We took 3 classes from the fabulous Ali Edwards at the Scrapbook Zone (what an outstanding store!). She never disappoints. They were all rockin'. I found another stamp set I need. Yes, need! (that's on top of the ones I bought here!) We also cropped on Friday night & I met more Peas than I could ever imagine, including the 100% totally awesome Torm. She was the only one I knew for sure I was going to get to meet, and I was so darned excited. It was the most fun!!! I must admit, I was a bit amazed at all this fabulous Michigander talent (learned a new word!). I've never seen so much talent in one small place in my life! I wish we had more Peas in the Tulsa area. It was so fun getting together with people I "knew."

The only scrappy supply I brought with me was my Herma tabs, and I forgot that at the room. It was Lin's idea...she told me to just use her stuff. It worked so well. Brilliant of her! It was so much easier getting here with not having to bring it all! And, I actually got a couple of things done. I made a card.....Go figure! Lin and I just had a blast. We're both worn out, though. Those scrapbooking classes are a ton of work......and all we did was attend! I have a lot of respect for Ali. She gives a lot of herself in those classes. She shares so much with us. And, she's incredibly gracious, signing books and taking photos, and just chatting with all of us. Some of that has to get old after a while, but you'd never know it from her. What a fab gal! The best part? She brought her new book with her, and there was a layout in it that had not one,but three pictures of Lin on it. How cool is that?

Now to the packing. Uh-oh! There's a lot more to go home than came. Shhhhh.....don't tell. Problem is....all I want to do is scrapbook. I got so many ideas and felt so full of creativity after yesterday. It made me just want make something! And, be a creative person. It's in there, I know it is. I'm just going to have to let go and let it flow.

Where am I.......Seattle?

I thought I got off the plane in Michigan, but itls raining like Seattle

Wow!

Who knew the Detroit airport was so nice? I felt like i'd slipped through a wormhole to scandinavia. Guess that's fittingm huh? Best of all they have my all time fave Einstein Bagels right there in the terminal! And Hungry Howie's too - the best pizza on earth......well, this side of Venice anyway - but, we have that at home. Chris said that if we had all that cool stuff at our airport,we'd go just hang out there. Maybe that's what they're worried about! That's not to mention the tram in the terminal and the shopping. I couod have done some serious damage in Duty Free (it's open to everyone)! Not only that, there were ton of stores, including Brooks Brothers, no less. I even filled out a survey telling them what I thought of the airport. I think I'm the most stunned because this isn't the image one conjures up when thinking of Detroit. I'm just saying is all!

they call me the wanderer

Chris and I just returned from fabulous Las Vegas yesterday aftenoon, and here I am at pre-6:00 at the airport waiting to take off again. This time, I'm going to the super fab Lin's. Yay! More soon as I'm on the plane! BTW, Eric if you're reading thosm flickr stinks.

How Could I Forget?

It has been brought to my attention that my list of "cave" foods is sorely incomplete. Yep, it's true...I forgot one! (some of you wouldn't be surprised by that!) I got an email from the fabulous Miss Andi this morning who informed me that I left off poffertjes. Anyone who knew my in my collegiate days knows of my obsessive love for the little pockets of heaven! I extolled the virtues of the poffertjes this time last year, as they are a mainstay of Tulip Time in good 'ole Pella. No Tulip Time for me this year as I'm going to Vegas on Thursday and Michigan a week from Tuesday. Can you say busy? Thank goodness I bought a poffertje pan last year! I'm not sure it'll be quite the same, though! Oh how I love the poffertjes. I usually eat them 3 times a day. They're small, but packed with a punch of yummy goodness!!!

10 Foods I Craves

Sophia posted a blogging challenge over at 2Peas, and this is one that spoke to me!! Her challange is to list 10 foods that you crave and would cave in to. Just 10? I crave foods like it's my job. I crave lots of food. I love food. May have something to do with why I need to loose some weight! So, here's my list

1. Cookie Dough



2. Rolls from Lone Star



3. Steak



4. Carraba's bread (with the oil & herbs)



5. Hungry Howie's Pizza



6. Cheesecake (esp. if it's from Maxie's or Junior's)



7. Taco Bueno



8. Blueberry Muffins



9. Pumpkin Loaf from Starbucks



10. Sonic Grilled Cheese & Cherry Limeade



11. Baskin Robbins ice cream cake (chocolate cake with cookie dough ice cream preferably)



12. Hamburgers from Louie's



13. IHOP pancakes with butter pecan syrup



14. Guacamole



15. Birthday Cake Remix ice cream from Cold Stone (it's like heaven on earth)

I couldn't keep it to just 10! I know there's even more than this, but I'm not thinking of them right now! Are you noticing a pattern to my cravings? Breads & Cakes. Yep, that's me!! You might call me a carbohydrate addict.

The Ministry has become The Republic

only my husband would use a Star Wars reference to describe the state of the Ministry of Magic in the Harry Potter book he's currently reading (Order of the Phoenix). The sickest part is that I got it. That's all he said and I knew exactly what he meant. We then had an in-depth discussion about it. I just didn't think it was a proper reference, as it's actually the Empire that is corrupt. But, he says that the Empire was originally the Republic which essentially mutated, so it was a fine reference if you have a full understanding of the way things were. Dear God, he's sucked me in. I've always been a nerd, but he's taken me to a level I never could have imagined.

I only buy the paperfor the obits and ads

I took my girlfriend Rachel's hubby to the oral surgeon today to have 2 wisdom teeth removed (blech!). The waiting room was what you might call an eclectic mix of people, many of whom were missing teeth. Guess that may have had something to do with why they were at the oral surgeon? Several also seemed as though they'd probably had a hard life. They had to take Josh back several times, as they lost his chart and had to re-x-ray him. I wasn't feeling so positive about their effectiveness, but it didn't seem to bother him, and, well, it is his mouth. During one of his trips back, I overhear the two older gals next to me discussing the Paper. They were extolling the virtues of the OKC paper vs. the Tulsa paper (a discussion I've had many times) and the fact that they hope their Social Security checks weren't involved in the current mix-up. But then, they got to the heart of the matter, the good stuff, what the paper's all about. The one woman (who, yes, was in fact missing teeth) turns to her friend and says, "You know, I only buy the paper for the obituaries and the ads." You know, the important stuff. And, apparently she buys both the OKC (100 miles away) and the Tulsa paper for both. Hum. Interesting. It totally struck me as funny.

But you know, we never get the last laugh. Whenever I laugh at someone out loud or internally, I always get mine. After some inner debate, I finally ask the gal at the desk if they have a restroom and shlep all of my stuff with me (my iPod, my Sudoku book, and my purse) into said room. Wouldn't ya know it, while I'm in there, I hear, "Who is with Joshua?" Uh...........that would be me.  So I pipe up from within the bathroom, "Oh! Me!" And hurridly extricate myself, making sure to wash my hands extra throughly because you know they were listening. I collected Josh and his instructions and we were on our merry way to the pharmacy and Braum's for a milkshake, which he has to eat with a spoon because he's not allowed to use a straw for a week! I couldn't eat out. At restaurants, I can't drink my beverage without a straw. Yes, I'm odd, but we already knew that!

My Husband Likes Will and Grace

and other random musings. I love that Chris watches Will & Grace with me. I may have mentioned this before, but I think it's the coolest. Most guys consider W&G a chick show, but Chris doesn't care. He loves Jack and Karen as much as I do (well, maybe not quite as much...I have a secret desire to be my own version of Karen Walker minus the alcohol and drugs) and laughs even more some times. It's so funny when he gets really tickled (especially at himself) because his whole body starts to shake and he doesn't make any noise at all.

I suffer from the wanderlust. I suffer terribly. I want to be traveling. I always want to be traveling. I want to get paid to travel. I secretly long to be a tour guide. Yes, I am a nerd. I'm not afraid to admit it. I want to travel the world. I want to see it all. There are a few hot spots I'd like to avoid, but I want to see/experience it all. And not just the touristy stuff. I want to have meals in a house with locals and go to church with them and smile and nod while they talk about me in their foreign tongue. I want to visit every state in the Union (and the protectorates) and as many countries as possible (I think I'm up to 16 right now). But how? How do you afford it? How could I do that now? I'm married. I have responsibilities. We want to buy a house, and he wants kids. Those things are not conducive to extended travels to countries without running water. So for now, I'll just have to long. And live vicariously through Casey, who spent a lot of days traveling around the world. His website is www.whereiscasey.com, and I'm loving reading every word and savoring the pictures. Some day, it will be me. Oh yes, it will be me. I just have to make do with the cruise we're taking to 2 new countries this year. I guess I can find a way.

My dogs have me pegged. Totally pegged. Today, there was something seriously interesting going on outside. I have no idea what, but Scooby was extremely excited about it! So, he came to get me. It's hard to believe that the dogs really do come and get me - they are dogs, after all. But no, they really do. I tested him today. He was outside barking his ever loving head off. Then, he came into the room I was in upstairs still barking. I ignored him. So he came over and jumped up at me and barked some more. Then, headed to the door and barked some more. Then came and jumped up at me and barked. Then, back to the door and guess what? Barked. Shocking, huh? And so, we continued as I slowly followed him down the stairs, stopping every couple of stairs to see if this really was true, and him coming back and barking more when I stopped. By this time, Mimi had joined in and threw in the occassional "yeah, what he said" bark for good measure.

So, they got me out the door, and they just continued to bark and turn and look at me and bark. I had no idea what was going on, but I'm pretty sure they wanted my help. Seing as I don't speak Scottie, and they don't speak human, I turned around and returned to my computer. And the barking/leading returned...twice. Finally, the third time, I went out the front gate to see what was going on. And there, near our fence was a squirrell. Few things get our dogs as excited as they were, but when they see squirrells and bunnies (and other small woodland creatures and the occassional bird), they can taste it. They're ready. So, I'm pretty sure said woodland creature had been in their territory. In order to appease them, I picked each one up in turn and let them peak over the gate and then walked them around out in front of the gate so they could see there was nothing (we conveniently missed the rodent). Funny thing, neither dog liked when I took the other beyond the gate. Each got left behind and cried about it. Big cry babies. So, like I said, they've got me pegged.

In other random news, our flourescent lights in the kitchen have gone out. This is bad. We have 3 smallish window in this condo and none of them sheds any light in the kitchen. In the middle of the day, it's like it's 9 pm in there. At first, we thought it was the light bulbs (all 4 at once, I asked?), but after purchasing 4 of said light bulbs, it was determined that no, in fact the ballast is going out. I'm fairly sure that the knower of all things, Mr. Barba had never even heard of a ballast before last year, but now he is totally qualified to diagnose one. (the other knower of all things, Bob, has kindly provided a second opinion and concurs.) This, of course, requires a call to the landlord. We're renting, and no matter how much I want it fixed, he gets to do it. Well, I say that now, but after waiting for Mr. Barba to call said landlord for 4 days and the landlord sitting on it for a similar amount of days, I'm starting to get tired of it. Yes, I could have called, but for some reason, the Mister vehemently says no every time I suggest it. Could it be that he has a working relationship (second job) with the landlord and doesn't see my letting him have it as conducive for business?

We had Carraba's tonight. Not what I'd call a Weight Watcher's approved meal, and as Bob and I started WW again on Friday, I should be consuming only WW approved meals. But, how am I supposed to see to cook? The other night, Mr. Barba brought down a halogen lamp from upstairs. Yeah, big help. Actually, it helped a lot more when he figured out it was a 3-way light and he'd had it on the first way. And still, we wait for the handyman. Every once in a while, the lights come on for no reason whatsoever and we just leave them on in hopes that they will remain. Unfotunately, each time this has happened, someone has forgotten and turned them off and it takes at least 24 hours for them to decide to come on again. Gotta love it. The first time it was me. The latest such incident was today. The Mister came home for lunch and I'd gone to help Bob with a training and then do my own training. The lights magically came on as I was making breakfast, so I left them on. When I came home, they'd been turned off. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.