Tracy....Tony has finished putting together your gift!!
(and,LOL, Kyle still needs to stop by and get his barbecue sauce:)
P.S. This was taken with the camera that we broke,lol.....I almost think it takes better pictures NOW :)
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Christmas Vacation 2007 in MN
These are all the pictures we got taken Before we broke the camera! (see entry below)
We had a fantastic time, and it was Great, being together with everyone after 4 years! and we also had lots of Snow :)
Happy New Year, everyone!
Redskins-Vikings game in MN 2007
Tony and I had an absolute blast, going to our first pro football game ever at the Metrodome!
(and the Skins won,Yay!!)
We managed right after we got there, to accidentally break the screen on our camera...sigh...but, we continued to take pictures, in the hopes that even though we couldn't see What we were taking pictures of? they'd still turn out.
I think they turned out pretty good, considering that we had no idea what we were taking!!
and yes, I Did wear a Vikings shirt,lol, I just happened to have one. and then I freaked people out sitting around us, by cheering for Washington anyway :)
We can never say Thank You enough, to my most awesome brother, for this great gift!!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Quote of the Day
When I got dressed to go to the Wreaths Across America ceremony in Staunton on Saturday
I came downstairs and asked April how I looked?
Her answer?......"Overtly American"
ROFL. This is what I was wearing:
(the picture is me on the left, with my aunt Lynn )
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Coolest Christmas Gift Ever!
From my brother.....Tickets to the Game when the Redskins play the Vikings on Dec.23 in MN!!!!
Row.Freakin.TWELVE. behind the Redskins Bench!!
Woo Hoo!!!!!
(And I'd like to take this time to officially say THANK YOU, to
THE Best Brother Ever in the Whole World!!!)
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Y.M.C.A.
The high school is doing the musical "Beauty and the Beast" this year.
and imagine my thoughts when April came home a few days after the tryouts and said "I got a part! I'm a village person!"
ROFL.
Yay! for April,though, and cousin Bryan got a part, also!!
Tomorrow, April is singing "O Come, Emmanuel" as a solo at church. We are hoping we can get at least a little bit of it on our camera!!
Friday, November 30, 2007
We Have a Driver!(and a Deer)
April passed her learner's permit test, Yay! first try :)
Congratulations,April!!
and, Kyle got another deer today...go, mighty hunter:)
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Your Grinch Name :)
From my friend,Sasha http://www.myspace.com/sashaispretty
go here
Click here: Grinch Name--Discover your true identity
to find our your Grinch name :)
(Mine is CRABBYGROUCH CRANKYSHORTS 
)
Leave yours in the comments!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas :)
Woke up last night to find April and Tony starting the Christmas decorating :)
Monday, November 26, 2007
Popcorn and Pancakes (and whiskers on kittens...)
Well, really, I don't have anything to write about 'whiskers on kittens'...but I just had the Raindrops on Roses song from the Sound of Music pop into my head when I was trying to think of a title for this post.
Some of y'all may remember my infamous 'pancake story' ?
Last night we were finishing putting together the Christmas boxes to send to Dustin, and Mom had suggested that we pack the cookie package with popcorn. So Tony put a bag of popcorn into the microwave and turned it on, and then we went upstairs to look for the right sized box to pack stuff in.
While we're discussing which box out of the many empty boxes I have been saving might work best, I suddenly say "Is that the smoke detector going off downstairs?" and we run back down into black smoke just Rolling out of the kitchen, and the smoke detector beeping crazily.
Tony grabs the smoldering bag of popcorn out of the microwave and throws it in sink, and then he and I are running around throwing open windows and doors and turning on the kitchen stove fan. I ask him "What did you Set the microwave on???!! Did you use the popcorn button?!" and he says "Yes, I used the popcorn button! I think it said like 3 minutes?" and I'm like "I think you pushed the popcorn button more than Once,then, it's only like a minute forty seconds!!"
and then he turns to me and smiles and says "Well, honey, I guess you're not the only one in the family now that's had a microwave accident!" and we both start cracking up.
He washed up the microwave plate and wiped down the microwave and, after the smoke had cleared a little, popped a second bag of popcorn (on the Right setting:) and then we left the bowl sitting out for the popcorn to cool until we finished packing the boxes this morning.
On the way back from the post office this morning after we had mailed the packages, I thought about the Popcorn accident again, and started laughing until I had tears in my eyes. Tony asked me "What is it?" and I gasped out "You want to know what the best part of the story is? After all that, we didn't even Use the popcorn to pack the box with after all!!" and collapsed back into laughing my head off, while he started laughing,too.
Just another 'day in the life', here on the 'Dork Family Homestead' :)
Friday, November 23, 2007
Thanksgiving pics
We went over to Lois' to have Thanksgiving dinner yesterday with all the family, had a Great meal :) thought y'all might like to see the pics.
Tracy and Adam have a good picture up of their family here
and a nice thing on the top left of their blog with rotating pictures of Charlotte :)
Tony talked to Ashleigh yesterday, and she had gotten one phone call from Dustin, he's doing OK.
I need to get ready for work, just wanted to get the pictures up. Hope everyone has a good weekend!
Monday, November 19, 2007
A visit with an online buddy :)
Had a milblogging buddy (and fellow Soldiers Angel )visit with us this weekend, and had a Great time!
She's my friend, Courtney, and blogs over at Cat is my co-pilot
We took her up to Skyline Drive and got some great pictures up there, I think.
It's always so much fun to see in person the folks you talk to so often online!
Thanks for coming to visit,Courtney!! :) We loved seeing you!
Kyle gets a deer!
Kyle got his first deer using a black powder rifle last week! ( I had to wait for the pictures :)
Friday, November 16, 2007
They're Home!
Tracy,Adam and Charlotte are home :)
and I'm sure they will have lots of pics up later, but for now Tracy sent us to a friend's blog, who was there at the airport and took some pics
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
The Happy Family is on the way Home :)
Tracy,Adam and Charlotte are heading home now. Adam had a post with pictures up today
and he has even More pictures up on Flickr
and I think this one of 'The Three Cousins' is one of my favorites!
(Charlotte,Tabatha, and Ariel )
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Received my first Christmas card yesterday
But I have 'issues' with it,LOL. It was in a mailing from the Salvation Army. BUT, the pic on the front of the card is of a snowman with a cardinal sitting on it's nose! How the heck does That say "Jesus is the reason for the season"????
Shouldn't the Salvation Army, of all groups, NOT be trying to be "PC" ?
And I'm also irked that they spent money on sending out Christmas cards in a mass mailing.
Geez, maybe I need breakfast? I seem cranky,LOL.
Friday, November 9, 2007
You Know your Brother is Cool when....
His words are linked by 'Snarky Armchair Economists".
Click here: Markets Emerge!: more Breakfast Links (eat up, no dieting here)
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
I got flowers :)
Tony brought me flowers yesterday, just to give me a smile....I thought they were beautiful, wanted to share:)
He helped April make 'Japanese Cheesecake" for the International Festival that the school is having(which confused me, because she's in Spanish class,LOL, but I guess they could pick what they wanted to make)
Yesterday was Aunt Lynn's birthday....Belated Happy Birthday,Lynn!
Today is Takaho's birthday.....Happy Birthday,Takaho!! (which I think in Hong Kong,it's tomorrow, so that would mean it was yesterday...only not the same yesterday as Lynn's birthday.....ok, now I'm getting confused again!!:)
Tomorrow is Uncle Don's birthday, so....Happy Birthday Early, Uncle Don!!
(at least no confusion with international datelines There,lol)
The other reason I posted the flower pictures is that, sadly....right after I said "oh,thank you,honey, they're beautiful!"....I looked to my left and said "OOOOhhhh.....Snacks!!" and grabbed a brownie and never thought to thank Tony with a hug and kiss....once again, food trumps romance,lol, a sure sign of aging!!
So I'm putting it out there for the whole world to see....THANKS! for the flowers,
Tony!! I love you!!
Monday, November 5, 2007
Babies Everywhere:)and a Bear
Every morning (or afternoon,LOL, depending on what shift I'm working) the first place I head for is the computer, to check out, of course, how my newest niece is doing
My brother-in-law is doing a Fantastic job of chronicling their days in pictures and posts, plus he writes Really well:)
Although you can hit their link for all the latest, I just had to share this picture, because I think it is "Best Baby Glare Ever" :)
Two other couples from the agency that Tracy and Adam are with are also over in China right now, and in case you wanted to check out their links
and the couple that was blogging here
has set up a separate website to use for the trip.
Lastly, son Kyle emailed a picture from his phone of a bear....they aren't hunting them yet, but they were out casing the woods (is that the term I want? LOL)
The picture was dark, I tried to lighten it up a little.
I've never eaten bear meat, so I hope he gets one when they can actually hunt them!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Yet Another Zen moment
So yesterday afternoon, Tony calls and asks me 'What did you call for earlier?"
I said "Well, I was wondering what time you thought you'd be done working, so I could figure out when to start supper."
Just then, the smoke detector starts going off.
I say "Since I couldn't get you, I decided to go ahead and cook. I'm cooking right now."
Tony says, "I know...I can hear the smoke detector!"
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Saying Goodbye- A Pictoral History
(This should be subtitled "Why no one will ever let me try to operate a camera again in an airport at 4 a.m.")
Thursday night I got off work at 11 pm, got home before midnight, and we were on the road to Baltimore International Airport by 1:15 a.m., to take Dustin to start his journey back to Hawaii, from whence he will deploy to Iraq sometime later this month.
The drive up consisted of April sleeping, and Dustin Trying to sleep,LOL, but his Dad and I kept talking to him. The conversation was nothing earthshaking, just random thoughts that occurred to each of us along the way.
I was studiously Avoiding thinking 'we're sending him off to a war", until his Dad turned to him at one point as we neared the airport and asked "Do you have enough change for vending machines, in case you want some snacks?"
And I felt the tears well up. To me, that was just all the love and concern that his Dad felt for him in one short sentence. We're putting him on a plane and won't see him again for almost two years, and he's going to a war zone...and besides praying and wishing him well and sending letters and care packages once he gets there....there's really not much else we can do for him.
All the things you want to say, all the love and concern you want to express and it all boils down to asking "Do you have enough change for snacks?" It was just such a typical 'Dad-ish' thing for Tony to ask, and illustrated for me in a nutshell both how much Tony loves Dustin, and why I love Tony. So, I sat with tears rolling down my face for a few minutes. and sent up yet another silent prayer for safety for this young man going off to war, for his Dad who is sending him off, and then dried my eyes, because I wanted to be 'strong' when we got to the airport. I did Not want the last thing Dustin saw before getting on the plane to be me sobbing my heart out, no matter how much I felt like doing so.
We got there shortly before 4 a.m., and unbeknownst to Dustin, we had brought the camera to take a few pictures.
Perhaps this is where I should point out that I have never yet read the instruction manual on the camera? I just use it, and Most of the time it seems to work out OK.
It started out well
(and then Tony took this picture, which the picture is all right, but what in the world kind of face am I making? LOL:)
and then this is where the trouble started
although I've lightened it up now with Picasa, the flash didn't go off at the time I took this. So, they told me to take it again....
(and here we have a candid shot of Tony saying 'The flash didn't go off again' and Dustin beginning to think 'this is Not going well!')
Then each of them decided they were going to show me how to make the flash work. First Tony
who managed to also take a picture of a light fixture while trying to show me how to operate it.
Then Dustin
and I managed to take a great picture of his Feet, while he was trying to tell me what to do.
Then April
who got a great picture of Her feet, also :)
I attempted yet again to take a picture of Tony and Dustin
and Dustin clearly looks dubious that this is Ever going to work out, in which case he was correct....although the flash went off numerous times for everyone else, it never Once worked when I was taking a picture.
After several more flashless photos, in which I now have a great timeline of the people I love getting progressively More exasperated and annoyed that I can't seem to make the camera work correctly, and gee, isn't that what Everyone wants for their picture album? LOL
I got one final shot of Dustin, who by this point just looks....resigned. Thinking to himself, I'm sure "She is Never going to be able to operate this camera!(" and possibly also "I am So happy that they brought the camera?" snort. NOT.)
After this whole episode, we said our Goodbyes, and hugged our MP, and sent him off through the security line.(and I bet by that time he was breathing a sigh of relief,lol, that we were finally letting him go!:)
And so he wends his way off to war, and we,while going home, took a wrong turn even though this time I Was reading the directions(I just read them more closely After I said 'I think you need This exit").....and we had the lovely experience of getting caught in Beltway traffic for 45 minutes at the beginning of the morning commute in DC.
Which, at least, managed to take our minds off being sad for awhile.....it's hard to be sad when you are trapped in rush hour traffic in a strange area. (I even pointed this out to Tony,lol, 'gee,honey, at least this takes our minds off being sad', and I'm pretty sure the look I got in return was Not an "I'm grateful to you" look, more like an "I'm going to throttle you if we survive this" look:)
We got home Friday about 7 am, and all crashed after being up overnight.
And now, we will shortly begin the next 15 to 18 months of being the family of a deployed soldier.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
What are you doing here? :)
When you can be over at my sister and brother-in-law's blog, reading the awesome stories as they bond with their new daughter ? :)
http://emanoff-china.blogspot.com/
It has been the coolest thing in the world, to be able to follow along with their bonding with my newest niece.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The article is in the newspaper :)
Please go check it out :)
Dustin McClenney, 20, of Harrisonburg kneels next to his truck. McClenney, who was known in high school as “Krunch,” will leave for his first tour to Iraq sometime next month.
Photo by Thomas J. Turney
Monday, October 29, 2007
Welcome to the Family!
To my beautiful new niece!
I sat here crying happy tears for my sister and brother-in-law.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Our Week
Here's some pics from April's concert on Wednesday, and just some random pics of Tiger and Ginger.
My week didn't start out too great, as the car wouldn't start for me when I tried to leave work last Saturday morning. Tony drove down to work and got it started enough for us to drive it and leave it in the shop. It needed a new....something....LOL, good thing I'm not a mechanic. I got it back Thursday afternoon.
The house where Tony has done some work this past year caught on fire when one of the children of one of the renters was playing with a lighter, so it's pretty much a loss. It didn't totally burn down, but between smoke and water damage, it's basically going to be back to square one as far as getting it ready to rent out again.
Dustin has been on 'Hawaii time', lol, so we see him at weird hours :) We'll take him to the airport Friday the 2nd, boy, the time sure has flown.
I've of course been following Tracy and Adam's blog...only TWO days to Charlotte!!:)
I also found another way to spend time on the web,LOL, like I needed to do that? A friend sent me an invite for a book thingy, I actually thought it was pretty cool
and so I've been spending some time adding books I've read, and books I Want to read. It's fun, to see what other people are reading. (and it's given me ideas for more books I want!:)
The week seems to have gone by so fast!
Hope everyone has a good weekend:)
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Tony and Dustin, and Tracy and Adam
Here's Dustin showing Tony something on the computer. I grabbed the camera because I liked this picture of father and son together :)
The reporter from the local newspaper came yesterday to interview Dustin (and us) and I'm not sure when the story will be in the paper, I'll of course post the link whenever the story appears!
Updating on my other news, Tracy and Adam are now in China!!!
and I can't believe, after these Many YEARS of waiting, that as of today, they are only FIVE DAYS TO CHARLOTTE!!!!!!!
Friday, October 19, 2007
A WONDERFUL weekend coming up!!
Dustin comes home Sunday for about 10 days, Yay!
and Tracy and Adam leave Sunday for China, and to fetch baby Charlotte!
Click here: A Red Thread to China
Hurray!
Hope everyone has a Great weekend! :)
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Today's My Day :)
On October 18 in 1960, I was born
(Grandad holding me)
I grew up in a fairly normal family.
and all of a sudden, I'm turning 47!
LOL...how did that happen so fast?!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
"My town"
Someone told me they'd never heard of where I live,LOL, so here's a link to our city page
and here's a link to a short photo tour from one of the drop-down menu's on that page.
Puzzle
This is the latest puzzle that Tony finished, of the Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai.
We actually picked this up while we were 'bed shopping' for Dustin,LOL, which just shows that we are easily sidetracked.
(and we never did find a bed, but Ken and Lynn gave us one, so a friend of mine said to me "See, sometimes it pays to find nothing." which I'm thinking I should cross-stitch that phrase and hang it on the wall,LOL.)
The puzzle is supposed to glow in the dark, too, but I haven't seen that yet....I think the corner we have it in doesn't have enough light.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
"Friday Night Lights"
It was fun to go to the football game last night, first high school football game we've been to this year. (Even though we left at half-time, because Spotswood was winning 40-0...they eventually won 47-13.)
It wasn't as cold as they had called for after all, on the way home I saw a bank sign that said '55', although it did intermittantly get windy, so I was glad to be wearing a winter coat.
As we sat at the game, I started wondering how many football games I've ever been to in my life. (must be the upcoming birthday that's sending me down memory lane,LOL :)
I'll be 47 on Oct. 18, and I started going to football games when I was about 13. That's 34 years of being a football fan, which makes it somewhat astonishing that I still have such a lack of knowledge about the game itself, ha ha.
I've said it before in past blog posts (like a year ago, on a different blog) but I was uniquely privileged while growing up to have as my best friend the daughter of one of the sportswriters for the Kalamazoo Gazette, while growing up in good old Parchment, MI.
Dick Kishpaugh, who passed away in a car accident a number of years ago, always took his daughter Carol and I along to the sports events he covered, if we wanted to go.
Thus, when I think of the seasons? 'Fall' always means 'football' to me, 'winter' always means 'basketball', spring always means 'soccer' (which is actually more because all my children played soccer when they were younger, and even though they played fall and spring? I always like spring soccer better...it was Warmer then:) and summer always means 'baseball/softball'.
It was only as I grew older, that I realized how much the opportunity of going to all those games with Mr. Kishpaugh added to my life.
Last night, for the first time, it Really felt like 'fall' to me, finally going to the football game. I suppose because going back all those years, that was what we Did every fall. We went to JV games on Tues nights, and Varsity games on Friday nights.
Years and years of going to football games, there's just something about the crisp fall nights and the bright lights on the playing field and the roar of the crowd that's in my blood now, I guess. My mind went back to a JV football game 100 years ago, probably I was about 13 or 14, and one of our players got a broken leg. I can't remember his name? but Kalamazoo had two major hospitals, Bronson and Borgess. Borgess was the'Catholic' hospital, and Bronson was the 'Methodist' hospital.
So, while they were taking him off the field? the player said "Is there a Methodist hospital in the area?" Joking thru the pain, and even though his name is lost in the mists of time to me, I can still recall his wisecrack :)
They had the Rockingham Rec League players there for the game last night, and watching all the very young boys out there on the field before the game? My mind went back over all the times I attended the cousin's games when they were younger, here in Virginia, and I went to their Sat afternoon games.....and then years later, going to games when my oldest son, Ben, played, and a few years later going to Dustin's games, he started playing when he was 8, I think.....and then all the games all the way up through Dustin's high school career, first at Spotswood and then at Page county.
And the college football games I've been to...going all the way back to attending some Western Michigan University games, and then attending JMU football games with my boys when they were younger.
I had forgotten about attending WMU games before I moved away from Michigan, until last night. Carol and I must have been about 15, and we went with the leaders of a Girl Scout troop where we assisted, for mentally retarded girls at a special center. The leaders were attending WMU, and I recall thinking how exotic and avant-garde they seemed to us little high schoolers, lol, as they were sharing a big house where boys and girls lived In the Same House together! Pretty racy, back in the 70's :) We thought they were the ultimate in 'cool'.
Like I said, maybe it's the upcoming birthday, or the fact that the big 5-0 is getting closer every year? but it was a revelation to me last night, while I sat cheering the team and marveling at the swiftness of one of the players, just a joy to watch him carrying the football down the field, at how much a part of my life football has been for so long.
And it all goes back all those years to Mr. Kishpaugh, and him taking two goofy girls along to every game he covered.
God rest his soul....and thanks, Mr. Kishpaugh, for giving me the love of a game that has ended up being such a major part of my life for so many years. I still might not know all the names of the positions,lol, or still might have an astonishing lack of knowledge of the basics (last night, I asked Tony 'what's offside again?")but I realized last night that there's very few years of my life where football and attending football games Wasn't a part of it.
So now, even though the paper said today that we are going to have 'dull' leaves this year, due to the drought conditions this past summer.....yes, it Finally really feels like Fall to me. Because I was sitting in the stands at a football game last night, as I've done for 34 years :)
Friday, October 12, 2007
Tracy and Adam, and Kirby.....
Adam and Tracy will be heading out for China soon, they have so much info up that I'll just say 'Aw,heck, go read their whole blog!" :) Click here: A Red Thread to China
and Kirby gets another mention in the blogosphere
Click here: Kirby Daley: Europe, Japan not attractive markets; U.S. recession likely on the hells of housing downturn :: Discu
I need to get some sleep, I worked last night, and Tony and I are going to a football game tonight (his alma mater) but I just wanted to quickly let y'all know I'm still alive :) This week has seemed Long, and at the same time has kind of flown by. Our weather has taken a cold turn (which means I'll freeze tonight,LOL) but then is supposed to go back in the 70's next week....our trees are so confused!
and Kirby gets another mention in the blogosphere
Click here: Kirby Daley: Europe, Japan not attractive markets; U.S. recession likely on the hells of housing downturn :: Discu
I need to get some sleep, I worked last night, and Tony and I are going to a football game tonight (his alma mater) but I just wanted to quickly let y'all know I'm still alive :) This week has seemed Long, and at the same time has kind of flown by. Our weather has taken a cold turn (which means I'll freeze tonight,LOL) but then is supposed to go back in the 70's next week....our trees are so confused!
Sunday, October 7, 2007
'Randomness'
I posted a more 'rambling random' post over on my other blog
But the gist of it was,
a Pic of me (on pain meds) in one of my new T-shirts
I caught up on some reading while I recuperated
Click here: Amazon.com: By the Light of the Moon: Books: Dean Koontz
and Tracy and Adam have booked their tickets!!Yay!
other than that, it's Sunday afternoon, I feel pretty good, we are draining the pool, Tony is watching the Redskins play, April is at a friend's house, and the next door neighbors one house over cut down most of the branches on the beautiful tree that hung over our fence, darn.
oh, and besides all the birds who stop by to eat on our porch? sometimes, we get squirrels :)
(you know I've just been waiting,to figure out how to fit this picture in a post,LOL:)
Have a good week,everyone!
Monday, October 1, 2007
Blogging will be Light this Week
Due to the outpatient surgery I'm having on Wednesday.
So, I'll see y'all when I get back!
Another Zen moment
I'm cleaning the house, and listening to music. The doorbell rings. Several nicely-dressed ladies passing out religious tracts from a church.
The song that's blasting when I open the door? "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails.
I thanked them nicely and told them I already attend a church, with the chorus of that song blaring the entire time I talked to them.
I feel pretty certain I got some extra prayers sent up for me while they were walking away,LOL.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Random Pictures from a Country Drive today
Took a drive out in Rockingham County today, thought y'all might enjoy the pictures:)
Friday, September 21, 2007
More Family News :)
Proud of my brother again, here's a video of him on CNN
and for news from youngest sis and brother-in-law, they are going to be busy,busy,busy! getting ready to leave for China and their new daughter!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
April and Bryan in the Singers Glen Opera
April and her cousin Bryan performed today in the third and last show of the
Singers Glen Opera (4th one listed) by Alice Parker
at the
Singers Glen Music and Heritage Festival
and, of course, here's a slideshow of the pics I took at the show today:)
and here's a little bit more about what the Singers Glen Opera was about.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
"Weekend Update" :)
Hmmm...I only seem to get over to this little blog about once a week. Sorry 'bout that!
For another entry in the "I Have No Life" category,lol (or else just "I have a really Sad life!":)
I was excited to Finally find my Fave song from the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" on MySpace, and be able to add it to my profile!
http://www.myspace.com/kathisoldiersangel
(these are the 'days of my life',folks, I hope the excitement doesn't get too out of hand,ROFL)
An old friend called me recently and asked me if I'd start attending Bible Study Fellowship with her, which I'm excited about doing.
For more about 'BSF" as we refer to it?
Click here: Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
it was interesting to note that when I Googled to try and find the sites to pass on this info, about the third result to pop up was a page 'slamming' BSF, which appeared to be written by a disgruntled former member? I never thought it was that controversial, I attended BSF once before about 6 years ago. But I guess it just shows you Can find anything on the Internet.
Son Kyle stopped by today, always nice to see him:)
April is out performing in two shows today, and I will see her performance tomorrow, in the musical program she's participating in this weekend. Cousin Bryan has a lead part.
April was excited to learn that this year's musical will be 'Beauty and the Beast", and she'll definitely be trying out for a part!
I spent yesterday being sick, but fortunately, I guess, it was a day off for me. Although it irks me to get sick on a day off! at least I didn't have to miss work then, did I?I'm still feeling pretty 'blah' today.
(which might explain the less than scintillating posting here today,lol)
well, that's about all the news here right now.
I got one of those email forwards, that I really liked, so I'll repost it here.
-------------
May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly
where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that
Has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God
...
Let His presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom
to Sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of
us.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Moment of Zen :)
Driving home from the store with April, and Haddaway's song "What is Love?" comes on.
We've probably seen the movie "Night at the Roxbury" (or parts of it) at least 5 times,if not more.
April looks over at me, lifts her eyebrow and simply asks "Mom?"
And without another word between us, faces solemn......we start in unison the 'head bob" from the movie,along with the music :)
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
It's Official!!!
I'm going to have a new niece!!!
Hurray! for Adam and Tracy:)
You can go here, to see the upcoming, much-anticipated, and LONG-AWAITED, beautiful addition to our family:)
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tracy and Adam are in the HOME STRETCH!(and,'almost famous':)
Tracy and Adam are now only DAYS away from their referral !!YAY!
and, they are also running a fun guessing game on their blog,about their baby
plus, they are 'Almost Famous":)
I can't wait! to find out if I'm getting a new niece, or a new nephew...and I am So Happy, that their Waiting has almost come to an end!!
(and yes, once they get the word? I'm sure I'll be trumpeting it all over the blogosphere,too:)
Back to School
One of the benefits of taking endless pictures and then never deleting them from my computer is, I can almost always find a picture to go with the 'theme' of a blog post,lol. Yesterday, which was back to school day for April, I was looking for a Back to School graphic, and then ended up never getting the post done before I had to leave for work.
This morning, I suddenly remembered 'Hey, I HAVE a picture of a school bus...from one of Dustin's track meets two years ago." (and yet, I didn't remember what my work schedule was for this Friday,lol, go figure.)
So, voila, with the 'picture to fit the theme'. April started back yesterday, big Miss Sophomore now:) She said her day went well. It was Bryan's birthday, but I didn't get a card to him....me, the letter and card lady, I know, I'm a slacker! I gave April a ride to school, she can't get a ride with Bryan because he is driving the Exchange Student That Isn't Living With Them Until Jan to school everyday (the exchange student is living with another family for the first half of the year, I guess that's the way they do it. There was supposed to be a Third family involved, but that didn't pan out. Personally, I think I'd rather stay with only One family for the school year,but then again, what if you Hated the family you were with? so I guess that's a good way to work it.)
Sorry, I almost lost track of my train of thought there,lol. Anways, there's a Virginia law that you can't have more than one other passenger in your car that is Not related, if you're under 18, or something like that (to stop hordes of young people riding with a new driver). Although April keeps protesting that Bryan Is her cousin, I don't really think an officer would agree that a nephew of your aunt-by-marriage is a Close relation? and so my answer is just 'No', to her riding with Bryan and Exchange Student.
But it wasn't the Young Drivers that scared me to death yesterday when I took her to school,lol, it was the Parents! First of all, for a brand new high school of only a few years, I have thought since last year that the traffic pattern for dropping kids off there just sucks....why would you build a school and route the drivers dropping off kids through the high school parking lot,anyway? (to drop your enrollment figure when said parents run over the poor kids trying to walk to the school doors?to see how well your students respond to the stress of dodging traffic?I've never been able to come up with an answer.)
Also, the middle school is only a few miles from the high school, and they start a few minutes later....so you have parents barrelling into the high school parking lot to drop off those children, and then zooming 100 miles an hour (ok,maybe not That fast) to run to the middle school and drop their younger children off there. All of which meant that I felt like I was lucky to make it out of the parking lot alive yesterday,lol, and I also griped like a snippy elderly woman 'where are the police officers when you need them, they should Be here for the first day of school because these people are driving like they're in a Nascar race!"
Well, the police officers were there Today,at least, so everyone was driving more sedately this morning.
Speaking of driving, all April needs to do is take and pass her test for a learner's permit, and she can start driving. Yikes! how did That creep up on us so quickly?
Except, she keeps saying "I can't find the booklet to study for the test." Which doesn't give me a whole lot of confidence,lol, in how much she'll pay attention When driving...(but it Does give me the opportunity to give that lecture about 'well, if you'd organize your room.....!":)
I imagine we'll get to it sooner or later. If she's not pushing it, I'M not going to. I know we survived all the others learning to drive, so we'll survive this too, but I can't say I'm looking forward to it again....mostly because that 'phantom brake pedal' STILL doesn't work on the passenger side,ha ha, plus I also think I need to renew my prescription for anti-anxiety meds from the last new driver we had, before we start this.
Choir practice for church also starts for April this week, and handbell practice starts in two weeks for her. And she is in the chorus for that Singers Glen Opera, which Bryan has a lead part in.
So, we are back to being busy again!!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
My brief life as a 'Carny' :)
Well, as I sit here writing this, I am lobster-red. Sun-burnt,fried, toasted to a crisp....whatever euphemism you wish to use,LOL, I am the poster child for Too Much Sun:)
I applied sunscreen yesterday before we went to work at the fair (and why exactly did I think that only One application would be sufficient when I was spending 5 hours in the sun? can't recall.) I actually was more worried that April had not applied sunscreen at all, in our rush to leave the house.
As it turned out, she ended up working in a booth in the shade for her shift....the poster-dart booth, I suppose you call it....you know, pay 2 dolla and throw a dart at a poster, if you hit a poster you get it.
I ended up working the kiddie fun house...which was Directly in the sun the entire time I was there.
Even though I got burnt,I had a Great time! I got spoken sharply to by a carny supervisor at the beginning,lol (gee, nothing like finding out you're not cutting it as a carnival worker,for pete's sake,rofl)....actually, he was very nice but just gave some suggestions for how better to run the job.
What it consisted of was letting mostly smaller children in groups of 3 to 5 through the funhouse, and then you had to Watch them going through, and be ready to turn off the barrel at the end of the ride, as some of the really little ones couldn't walk thru it, or were scared.
What a joyful way to spend the day:) with hordes of laughing and giggling 2 to 8 year olds running through the funhouse, and trying to come out through the barrel. There were older kids coming through sometimes, but it mostly seemed to be the little ones. I had to stop the barrel twice and go in to 'rescue' some Really little ones who just stopped and started crying about halfway through,LOL, and I had to let one mother go in to get her little one Out one time, but overall most of the kids were having a wonderful time:)
Because of the way I had to stand (with my back towards the sun, as I had to have my hand on the control to stop the barrel rolling) I am weirdly burned....my neck and back, of course, and then my calves,for pete's sake...so I suppose when this fades I'll end up with lovely tanned calves and pasty white shins,rofl, which doesn't everyone aspire to? My shoulders are burnt, and just my cheeks on my face....so I guess more than anything I look "Splotchy" :)
I volunteered to run the ride because you had to be at least 16 to run it, and we were out of 16 year olds in our group. Several of the other parents who went along,Tony included, ended up being 'relief staff' where they just went around to the various games and booths that the kids were working and gave them a 15 minute or so break by taking their place. Two of the relief mothers got bored with doing this, as the kids didn't realy need That many breaks, so at various times they came over and helped run the funhouse with me for awhile, and also had a blast doing it:) and Tony came by twice to give me a break, and then just stayed there with me the last hour to help run it.
I had ended up getting only about an hour and a half of sleep after getting off work in the morning, tossing and turning I guess because I knew I only had a short time to sleep. So, we got done at 5 pm for running the rides (the games workers worked till 6 pm) and once we stopped? I realized how Tired I really was,LOL.
We grabbed dinner at the fair while waiting for April to be done, and then she decided to stay on and ride some rides. She ended up also going back and working again with the 'evening shift' from the school, when she ran out of money and tickets,lol, but I knew nothing about this at the time, because once we got home? I laid on the couch and was completely dead to the world for about 4 hours, till I woke up enough to go to bed and crash for another 6 hours.
It was a Beautiful day yesterday, clear blue skies and a nice breeze blowing and only a high of 81 degrees. One of the parents who had worked two other days at the fair commented that yesterday was the 'funnest' day she had had there, and I had to agree that I had a lot of fun, so I guess we picked the right day to do our turn helping out the fundraising.
Someone had asked if I'd take pictures? but honestly, I didn't have time. There were Very few lulls at my station, and I had decided against trying to keep up with the camera while I was there,anyway.
What do I have planned for today? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING,lol :) If it's nice out, I may go out and just float in the pool (perhaps trying to burn the parts of me that aren't already burnt,ha ha) but otherwise, my biggest plans are just to be a 'slug':)
Friday, August 17, 2007
Off to be a 'Carny' tomorrow:)
I work tonight, and then after just a few hours of sleep for me tomorrow, Tony, April and I get to be 'Carnies' tomorrow, and work at the fair.
Here's an article that was in the local paper, about working at the fair.
April went to the Dierks Bentley concert last night at the fair, and had a great time:)
Sunday, August 12, 2007
This kid grew up to be 'bearish' :)
Came across a mention of my brother by a financial blogger today
where the blogger said some very nice things about him.
It just tickled me no end, to think that this kid
grew up to be 'bearish' :)
Down Memory Lane
When I logged on the computer awhile ago and saw this news story
Click here: News - Tonight Is the Night for Fireball Gazing - AOL News
I was awash in a flood of memories of the first (and best) time I saw the Perseid meteor shower.
The year was 1974, and I was a 14 year old on a 'primitive camping' trip with the Girl Scouts, through Camp Merrie Woode out of Plainwell,MI.
Normally I went camping At Camp Merrie Woode (and by the way, I found pics of how the camp currently looks here ,which I thought was way cool :) but for 'primitive camping' we campers and two counselors went out to someone's farm, on their 'back 40',so to speak, and set up a camp from scratch.....yes, dug our own latrine, set up our tents, fire pit, and I remember lashing together a table of sticks to use for our meals. I also remember using some kind of tablets to treat our water that we got from a stream on the farm, which tasted 'ew',lol.
The folks who owned the farm drove out on Aug.8,1974 to tell us that the President was resigning and they wanted to bring us in to watch it on TV, as they thought it was an historical moment that we should not miss. The counselors agreed, so we all piled into the back of their truck and went in to their big old farmhouse to sit on the floor in their living room and watch Richard Nixon's resignation speech.
Indicative of a 14 year old mind,lol, I recall nothing of the speech and I'm not sure I understood at the time what a huge deal this was. All I have is a snapshot memory in my head of the President talking on the screen of a wood floor model TV (this Was '74,guys:)
It was what We said while we were there that led to us seeing the meteor shower. Someone mentioned the mosquitoes that were at our camp, and the folks who owned the farm in the next few days after that came out and sprayed around where we were camping to try and get rid of them. (what did they spray? no idea.)
Unfortunately, their good intentions went awry, and it seemed that they only managed to drive even Moremosquitoes into our camp.So much so that, after getting bitten unmercifully all day, we decided to abandon our camp for the last night we were there, and take our sleeping bags out into the middle of a huge field that was nearby. (we were camping in the woods.)
Only we hardly slept. We just so happened to have chosen a night that the Perseid meteor shower was occurring (didn't know that was what it was Then, found out later.) We had set up our sleeping bags and were lying in them idly chatting, when we saw the first meteor shooting across the sky...and then another, and another.
33 years later (good heavens,I'm old:) all it took was me seeing the news story above, to transport me back to a Michigan summer night when I unexpectedly saw the most beautiful celestial show I've ever seen, lying in a field and gazing up at a clear sky filled with heavenly fireworks.
I've never seen the meteor shower as clearly again, and maybe the magic of that memory was that it wasn't planned, it was just a happy accident that we decided to sleep in that field on that night.
But it still remains one of my most treasured memories, and since the news story sent me 'down memory lane', I thought I'd share it :)
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Speaking of cool?
Always so cool, to see the brother quoted in Reuters:)
(I still can't get over the fact that my little brother grew up to be this internationally quoted person. Now, if I could just understand what he says,LOL.
Seriously, most of the time I do. I definitely get "cash is king"....even if I don't have much myself,rofl:)
For yet More cool? Check out Adam and Tracy's latest car!
(all I can say is...Somebody better be taking me for a spin, when we visit!:)
I have to post about what my family is doing,lol...so much more interesting than "it's hot, and I'm sweaty",don't ya think?
And how is Your weather?
Here's today's forecast:
Click here: WHSV - Weather WHSV - Harrisonburg, VA Weather
( A "slight break of Lower 90's"????? ROFL.)
I ended up working 3-11 yesterday evening, instead of 11-7. We had the delightful (?) experience while serving supper last night to the resident's that, in the middle of this heat wave we're having.....the HEAT came on in the dining room!! Yikes!
I have much more sympathy for 'limp dishrags' after that,LOL.
April has been a counselor this week again at Camp Kaleidoscope . Darn hot week to be doing it!!
School starts Aug.28, and we're going to pay school fees today after Counselor April is done at camp, so I see the end of the summer looming large.
Life. It just goes so fast sometimes,doesn't it?
Well, the new kitten just jumped from the back of the couch to the back of the computer chair, and clawed my arm when I screamed and jumped....so I think I'll go tend to my wounds,lol.
KEEP COOL,everyone!!
Saturday, August 4, 2007
I LOVE Brad Paisley's video "Online" :)
Go check it out Here
I just think this song says it all, doesn't it?
We're all 'so much cooler Online".
Thursday, August 2, 2007
The "Dork Adventures" Continue
Yesterday, I mentioned that April and I were going to go swimming.
Several things happened that, sadly, I know fall into the category of "it could only happen to me."
(but, on the bright side? it's more material for letters to soldiers,LOL:)
First of all, we had gotten the air pump back from the person who borrowed it, and the top part of the pool needed some more air. I hooked up the air pump and happily stood there for several minutes enjoying the sunshine :)
Until, of course, I realized that I had hooked up the air pump Backwards, and so I wasn't putting air Into the pool......I was letting air OUT!
But wait....there's more!
I had recently spoken with the neighbors next door, who have a little girl, and told them I'd invite them over next time we swam. So, I did, and the mother and daughter came over.
We had a nice time swimming....it all turned ugly when they went to Leave.
We have locks on both the gates on the fence since we put the pool in, and so to get to the pool you have to go down the stairs and out through the basement. When they were ready to leave, April and I walked up the steps with them and discovered....we couldn't open the doorknob on the door at the top of the steps!
(we'd been having more and more difficulty using this doorknob prior to this.)
April ran back downstairs as I unsuccessfully kept trying to turn the doorknob and get the door open. We couldn't use our keys to unlock the fence gates as, you guessed it...the keys were on the Other side of the stubborn basement door. So, April (Miss Resourceful:) was getting the pool ladder out of the pool, to use it to try and climb over our fence...when, thank goodness, her Dad drove up.
She hollered over the fence at him and tried to explain that he needed to come let us out. I'm not sure he understood exactly what she was trying to say? since 'we're trapped in the basement,come let us out" yelled over the fence didn't really seem to make much sense to him? :) but,eventually, he understood and came inside to open the door.
Only, it wouldn't open for Him,either!!
Now, he was going back out to the truck to get tools to try and turn the doorknob, my neighbors are looking more panicked, and I am disgusted at this point, calling out to April "Just tell your Dad to throw the keys to you, and we're going out the fence gate!" because I have just given up on ever getting out the door.
We got out the fence gate, and my neighbors left. (do you think they'll ever come back?LOL) and as it turned out, Tony never could get the doorknob turned and finally had to take it completely Off in order for us to be able to use the door.
After he did, he turned to me and said "Between you getting locked in the shed like you did back in Feb, and now getting locked in our own basement? I'm not sure it's safe to let you go ANYWHERE, even in our own House!!"
And that was my latest dork adventure :)
Aww...a picture of Kyle when he was younger
The granddaughter of one of Kyle's old babysitter's sent me this last night, she'd just come across it and thought I'd like to see it.
MN Bridge Collapse-How to Donate to the Twin Cities Red Cross
Someone asked if all my family in MN were OK, and yes, thank God, they are.
If you'd like to donate to the Twin Cities Red Cross? From their website
Twin Cities Red Cross Responding to Hwy. 35W Bridge Collapse
Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the 35W bridge collapse tragedy.
The Twin Cities Red Cross is responding to the this disaster by providing mass care, mental health counseling and more to those affected.
NOTE - Due to call volume, we are currently experiencing difficulties with our phone systems.
Register as SAFE and WELL
To register yourself as SAFE and WELL or to search for information on a loved one - please visit www.safeandwell.org. Concerned family and friends can search the list of those who have registered.
To Donate Money and Blood
The best way to help those affected by this and other disasters is to donate money and/or blood.
To make a financial donation - CLICK HERE. You can also call 612-460-3700.
You can also mail financial donations to:
American Red Cross - Twin Cities Area Chapter
NW 5597
P.O. Box 1450
Minneapolis, MN 55485-5597
-------------
My thoughts and prayers are with all those who lost loved ones yesterday, all those injured or affected by this, and with all those still working on rescue/recovery efforts.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
The Flights are Booked...YAY!
Thinking of Christmas in August:)
We'll be going to spend Christmas with my family in MN, and the flights were just booked yesterday...YAY!
I have not been together with my whole family since my brother's wedding in Hawaii in 2003
although I did visit Mom and Dad and my sisters and their families in 2004.
And April visited with them in 2005, but I was unable to go.
Since Hawaii and the last time I saw my brother and his wife, they have had TWO daughters!
And the last time I saw my sister Sue's son,Jake, he looked like this
and now he looks like this!
The last time I saw sister Sue's daughters, they were still 'girls'
and now they have grown into beautiful young ladies
(as has April, who would shriek with horror,LOL, if she knew I had posted old pictures of her:)
Hopefully by the time we visit, Tracy and Adam will finally have the child they are in the process of adopting from China
and even though MN will probably look like This while we are there
I don't really care what the weather is like (as long as it doesn't mean our flight is cancelled,LOL)
I'm just going to be so excited to be together with everyone again!! :)
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