The continuing saga

So technically, he's not totally right. We don't know for sure it's a tree.
But look how much it has changed since the last time I tried to convince myself that I was right.
And now I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that it's probably not a weed. (notice the words fact and probably used in the same sentence? I must not be totally convinced.)
OK, so I'm sure it's not a weed. Sheesh.
I'm not telling Chad that it's not a weed though. I'm just not going to say anything more about it.
He won't see this post and I'm not saying it's a tree.

Rosie

Do you guys remember Rosie? Here she is with her sister Mitzi when they were first born last June.

Mitzi moved away soon after about 8 weeks. But Rosie thought she would just stay here and play ball.

But then she started dreaming of the outside world. And wished for her own little girl. So she moved to Las Vegas where she could live the rest of her life as Makenzie's very own doggy.

I got a letter and a picture from her the other day. She said she is happy and content. She loves her new family. Here she is with Emma. She wishes us well, but doesn't really miss the dirt. She has grass now.

This bud's for you.

These are for you! I stole them from my sister. Go ahead, take them. Do they smell good?

OK, so I didn't really steal them. My sister gave them to me as a birthday gift. Only not for my birthday and not from her.
They bloomed on Thursday and they are purple. Thursday was my mom's birthday.

Just Kidding!

Ha Ha. I was just kidding when I told you yesterday that I wasn't going to blog anymore. Did I trick you? Were you like, NOOO, she can't do that? I hope you were worried. But if you weren't, that's ok too! I don't even know why I said it. Just one of those moods I guess.

But really, I don't have anything to blog about today. Have any suggestions?

Oh, I do have one thing. My poor dog Alley doesn't feel good today. She came the house tonight walking weird. At first, I laughed at her cause it looked funny. But then I realized something was wrong. She's not really limping, but kind of high-stepping. Like if her leg is kind of numb and she's not quite sure where to step. My poor Alley. I hope she doesn't die soon. I would really be sad and I gave her a really funny hair-cut. I don't want her to die with that do, that would be tragic.

Ok now, any suggestions?

No more blogging!

I just wanted to tell you all that there will be no more blogging. I have run out of things to say. I just can't come up with one good post, so I'll have to hang it up.

Well...except for that one picture that I want to tell you about. I'll save that for tomorrow.

See you then!

More Sundance Drama

Here is the link (click here) to the news story about the Sundance Kid that Lindsy mentioned. We only get to see CJ's legs though (darn it). I can't wait to find out the answer. Is it him? I'm gonna guess yes.

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You know the drill

I knew I'd find a way

SMOOTH...I finally found a way to blog at work. All I had to do was start a blog centered around you guessed it...work. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. Oh well...better late then never.

Inside - Saitta Trudeau (Check it out here!)

Sticks and Stones

Do you know what this is? It's a stone. Karley took this picture under the bleachers at the races. She said it was pretty.


Do you know what this is? It's a stick. Poor thing. was being choked out by weeds and grass.


So I pulled the junk and gave the little stick some room to breath.

This lady bug was mad though...she was sleeping under the cool grass.
Hey! Does it look like that stick is getting some buds? Naw! It can't be. Why?
Because it's a weed stick. Weed stick's don't get buds.

Spray on Bed Liners

Look how cool!
Anthony is doing Vortex Bed Liners right here in Pahrump, Nevada.
This is a brand new 2009 Dodge Ram. He preps the bed then sho0ts this black vinyl stuff into the back of the truck.
Did I mention that this is a Brand New 2009 Dodge Ram Pickup? And now it has this really cool spray on bed liner that will save it from rust and damage. Woo Hoo Anthony! That is way cool.

Text to Photo

Before we get to more of the great photo's the kids took, I want to tell you about a fun texting conversation I had with my dad today. He will probably kill me for showing you, but he doesn't read my blog very often so maybe I can have it buried before he reads again. hehe...

Me: Have you talked to Sindee lately? She doesn't answer me.
Dad: Talked to her yesterday. she had yesterday &today off.
Me: Ok. Did you really type that? Or did someone else? ;-)
Dad:Ha ha
Me: That's what I thought!
Dad: Just me & myself. text message is for the birds
Me: It is? Like chickens? Or like turkeys?
Dad: Both
Me: LOL (laughing out loud)
Dad: B4N (by for now)
Me: LOL. I am impressed. TTYL or TTL for short. (talk to you later)

a few minutes later...

SinDee: Dad said you are trying to get ahold of me? Are you texting my house phone again?
Me: Oh let's see.
Me: Ummmmmm. Yep! I should fix that.
Me: I'll resend.

I love texting!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't know for sure which kid took which picture. They sure did manage to get great pictures of all the adults.

Little Photographers

I love giving the camera to the kids to play with. I always get great pictures that I never would have taken myself.

Like this picture of the back door. I wouldn't have thought to get this shot, but Baily did.

Or this of Kristy, I think she was scared.

How about this one of all the medicine and the Macaroni and Cheese? Oh wait, I took that one.


And this attempt of Alivia's eyelashes. Umm, I took that one too.


But this one of my kids when they were little was taken by Baily, she didn't believe grandpa that the one on the right is her daddy. So, grandpa took it off the wall so she could get a good look at it, and it doesn't hurt to take of picture this cool picture.

Here's a good one of Awesome Lindsy. Someone waist high took this. We're all about big eyes and tongues here.


I asked Karley why she was taking another picture of the TV. She said she wasn't. This is a picture of the trophies on the TV. (silly grandma)
This is Sharon, she's awesome too! But shhh, don't tell Lindsy. And see what I mean? Big eyes and tongues.


These chips are for the ride home. Did you know Pringles makes cheeseburger flavored chips? YUCK!
That brush in this picture isn't really used for anything, we don't brush our hair here.
I'll show you some more great pictures tomorrow.

Lindsy's Awesome! (she told me to say that)

But it really is true. (she told me to say that too! I was going to say it, but she said it before I had a chance to write it.)

And she's happy with that.

Let's Play

I have an idea. I'm just not sure how to implement it. I want to start a new game, and I want you to play. For now, we'll play it on this blog and if it goes over well, I'll move it to it's own.
Here is what I'm thinking;
Let's write some stories together. I'll start the story, and then you add on to it in the comments. You can even add your comments anonymously if you want, although I hope you'll really want the credit for your part of the story.
I think this will be really fun. I haven't completely thought this out yet, so there aren't really any rules. Let's just see how it goes. Ready to give it a try? Let's start out with something really silly.

This is a story about Mickey Mouse, only he's not really a mouse, and his name isn't really Mickey. It's Brian, but he likes to call himself Mickey. His mom always says that he shouldn't tell people that his name is Mickey because it confuses them. He thinks it's OK because some of the other mice in the neighborhood are named Mickey. "Mickey and Mouse just go together" he tells his mom. "Yes Brian", his mom says "but your not a mouse, and only mice should be named Mickey". "One day", his mother continues, "you'll see when..........................

OK. it's your turn. Add a word or a paragraph or whatever. Have fun.

Heat

I'm a heat person. I like a lot of heat. A lot of different heats. Here are a few of my favorites:

Oven heat: Ohh, it just feels good to stand over the stove with the oven door open. Give it a try. After baking, instead of wasting all the fabulous oven heat, open the door and let it pour out.

Dryer heat: This is the best part of doing laundry. Grab the towels out of the dryer as soon as they are dry, but before the cool down cycle. Wrap them around your shoulders and just bask in the heat.

Electric Blanket heat: Nothing can make me go to sleep quicker than a bed all warmed up with an electric blanket.

Shower heat: If your skins doesn't turn pink, it's not hot enough.

what's your favorite kind of heat?

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It's someones birthday!

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My blog

Wow - I just happen to love my blog right now. I just want to look at it...for a minute, or two, maybe a little longer.

I'm sure you all think I've fallen off my rocker, but really, I haven't. I just didn't know this would be so much fun. So with a little help from a few places like; thecutestblogontheblock.com and picnik.com, I think my blog looks fabulous right now.

Sorry, I'm not usually so vain. I am just really surprised. I didn't know I could be this creative. And I had no idea that it would be this fun. When I first started blogging, I was really shy. I've moved up now, and I'm only kind of shy. It used to feel like I was standing in front of a million people, naked, and they were looking at every imperfection. And now, reality has hit and my million people have turned into about 5 or 6, and my clothes are back on, and I'm on my couch in my living room visiting, and it's not so scary. In fact, it's kind of like therapy.

Ok, thanks for listening.

Spring Time

I'm so ready for spring. I've had enough winter and I can't wait to see the trees blooming.

Hey, I wonder how Chad's weed-tree is doing. I'll have to check it out and let you know.

More on Pocahontas

Remember a while ago, I told you (here), that I was related to Pocahontas? I also showed you a picture so you could see the resemblance. Well anyway, I wanted to tell you where I got that from.

Back in 1987, my mom's cousin Clyde was the Editor of a book titled "Our Heritage". He describes the book as "a collection of the writings of various descendants of Edwin Whiting. Their subject is a history of the Whiting Family over a period of two centuries."

The very first story in the book was written by Clyde G. Leamaster in 1986 and it's titled:

A Biographical sketch of the Parents of Edwin Whiting

The second footnote in this first story is the reason I say I'm related to Pocahontas. This is what it says:

There is some claim that the mother of Sally Hewlett, a woman named Mary Lewis, was a descendant of the famous Indian princess, Pocahontas, who married John Rolfe, and was taken to England where a portrait was painted of her in 1616. It was John Rolfe who first learned how to cultivate tobacco from the Indians and it was he who introduced tobacco to Europe. It is said that Pocahontas died at the age of 21 in 1617 in London, leaving one son. The claim that, through her mother (Mary Lewis, b. 1763) Sally Hulett descends from Pocahontas is not fully substantiated but if it is true, then she would have been a great-great-great-grand-daughter of that famous women in early American history.

So, there you have it. My claim to famous relatives. Sally Hewlett (notice the two spellings of Hewlett)would be my great-great-great-great-great-grand-mother. So Pocahontas would be my "9-great" grandmother.

How cool is that?

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Hello?

Hey! I know your there. Why don't you say hello? You know you want to. Not sure what to say? How 'bout...hi, that ought to work. C'mon. It might be fun!

Pictures of funerals

"Grandpa's dead". That's what Camron told anyone who would listen. Marvin's dad, Stanley Marvin Hatton was buried today and I will forever have a picture of his funeral etched in my mind.

Camron is four and he is usually not very thrilled about being in church. Today was no different. He sat at the end of the pew in the first row with his parents. "I want to go home" he kept telling his mommy. His mom reassured him that we were almost done and asked him to please just sit there for a minute. He was fidgety and curious. Curious about all the people sitting behind him, crying. As he sat on his knees facing the back of the church, he finally laid his head down on his arms that were crossed along the back of the pew, like a pillow. A few minutes later, he was asleep.

As Camron slept, I couldn't help myself; I smiled. I think everyone else also smiled. It was definitely a kodak moment, one that I will not soon be forgetting.

*****Answers*******

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Prizes

Just because I'm feeling a little generous, I've decided to give away a 2nd and 3rd place prize for the "Did I Really Do That?" game. Why so generous you ask? Well, actually it's guilt. I'm just trying to pass it off as generosity.
Because of some unforeseen circumstances, I'm putting off posting the answers and winners. Don't worry though, it's just for a week or so. And now there are some really cool prizes that will make it worth the wait.

Did I Really Do That?

The final topics for Did I Really Do That?, are up. I'll leave them up without answers for a few day's to give everyone who wants to, a chance to catch up. Here's a peek at the prize. It's still anyone's game.

Family Ties

Did I ever tell you that I was related to Pocahontas? If you look close enough, you might see a resemblance.



Create your own FACEinHOLE

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Velma

This is the only picture I have of me with my Grandparents. Anthony was just 3 months old, and it was my birthday. My Grandma died 6 months later at age 62, and I really miss her. Now that I'm old(er), I can think of a million questions I would love to ask her.
Although I never knew "what was wrong" with her, she was always sick, and Grandpa took care of her. He bathed her, cooked for her, cleaned, did the shopping and tended to her every need. It's hard to define Grandma Ray separately from Grandpa, because almost every memory I have of her, includes him somehow.

There were the times when Grandpa would be outside working and I would just sit with Grandma and listen to the stories she would tell. Usually, they were more than just stories, they were lessons about consequences for ones actions. They were powerful lessons and she could back them up with proof. Like the time she told me about her brother, who sat on a thumb-tack that was put on his chair at school by some prankster. The tack went through a strand of thread in his jeans and caused him to get blood poisoning. Her brother died from that tack. Another time she told me of a young mother that left her hair dryer plugged into the bathroom outlet. Somehow the dryer fell into the bathtub as she was bathing her toddler. I think of that lesson everyday as I put my dryer away.

My Grandma couldn't smell and I was always curious about that. If there was no smell, there had to be something to replace it. Was it a different smell? I just couldn't grab the concept and would constantly question her about it. "What does apple pie smell like? What do lilac's smell like? What does dinner smell like?" She never lost her patience with me and would just say " I don't know, I guess apple pie smells like, apple pie."

I thought I had one over on her once. I wanted to paint my nails. I asked her if I could and she told me no, that the smell of paint made Grandpa sick (which I already knew). I begged, and she stuck to her guns, the answer was no. Grandma was about to take her nap, and...she couldn't smell. I quietly went into the bedroom and painted my nails. I didn't just paint them once either. I didn't like the first painting so I tried wipe it off before it dried and then repainted. I was so proud of myself. Then...Grandpa came in. That was the only time in my life I ever saw Grandpa mad. He immediately got sick and had to stay outside until the house aired out. Grandma wasn't mad and I wasn't in trouble with her. She just had the perfect opportunity to teach me a lesson and simply said " I told you". Those words stung deeper than if I had just been whipped with a belt. When Grandma told me something would happen, I usually believed her. There just wasn't any other choice. She could prove it.

Grandma Ray was the first close relative of mine to die and I was totally shocked and devastated. I loved her so much.

Monkey found this picture in my picture bucket the other day and wanted to know about it. So I thought I would post it here and share with everyone.

This was taken at the Dolphin show in Sea-World where I went with my family in the late 70's. I remember wishing I was sitting in the front row, that's where everyone was getting wet from the splashes.

Clara

My Grandma Bob was an organizer. Everything about her was organized. Her closets, cupboards, drawers, purse everything. I didn't get that from her, of all the things she did teach me, that one just passed me by. I knew she was organized, it just didn't rub off on me.

She was also a poster child for Miss Manners. She taught me the proper way to set the table, her and Grandpa sat at the set dinning room table every night. Grandma's table is the only one I have ever set. When her phone would ring, she would clear her throat and answer "mmmhello!" I asked her once, why she cleared her throat like that. She said her voice was usually raspy from not talking in a while and she wanted to make sure that the caller would be able to hear her properly. It's kind of funny, I sometimes catch myself doing that when I go to answer the phone. Not that there is any chance that I haven't been talking in a while, but I guess her example left an impression.

Grandma taught me that little girls should sit quietly and carefully at the kitchen table while painting their fingernails and that soft pink is an appropriate color. And to be very careful not to move while drying or you were sure to smudge.

I can still hear her matter of fact tone when she described in detail, who were in pictures and what they were doing. She explained everything with great authority. I think I got this from her, the need to explain everything, to death. The small details that maybe someone just might not see. Yeah, that's me, I'll point them out, just like she did.

Clara made me feel very safe when I was with her, she always had anything I could need. Kleenex, extra tooth brush, mosquito bite paste. Once she even put pads in my bag when I wasn't looking. She didn't tell me she knew I started my period, but she knew, I knew, that she knew. I always though it was such a treat, when I slept over, to wear her silky nightgowns. My favorite ( pronounced by grandma as fave-or-ite), was the pink one.

I still have a couple of quilts she made me. With a little repair, I'll keep them forever. And when she died, I got one of her sweaters. In the pocket, I found a tissue (which I threw away) and a hand written grocery list. I'll keep the list forever too.

As much as I miss her, I can't even imagine how much my Grandpa misses her. That's become very apparent to me lately because he talks about her frequently, and you can hear it in his voice. I'm sure she's patiently waiting for him.

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Clara and Velma

I never knew how it started, but my grandma's didn't really have their own identity. They took on not only their husbands last names, but their first also. So Clara wasn't Grandma Clara or Grandma Ketterer. She was Grandma Bob. With two sets of grandparents on my moms side, it was easy for us kids to identify which grandparents were being referred to. Her parents - Grandpa and Grandma Bob or her grandparents - Grandpa and Grandma Pete.

That tradition also carried over to my dads side. And that made Velma simply, Grandma Ray.

I've been thinking a lot about my Grandma's lately. I wonder about their lives and wish I would have had the insight to ask more questions and really get to know them while they were still alive.

The other day, my Grandpa told Chad I was a lot like Clara. Am I? I hope so. I also hope I'm like Velma. I think I am. I can see how lessons they taught me have impacted my life. And I think I am passing on some of those lessons to my grand-kids.

In my next posts, I'll share my two grandma's with you. They were very special women. I think you'll like them.

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Good-bye 2008

While I sit here, on this last morning of 2008, trying to think of something clever to say, I start to wonder what I can do to make 2009 a better year.

I know for some, 2008 has been a tough year. But it hasn't been so bad for me, and I can really only think of two major, life-altering events that happened. I'm sure there are more, but they must not be too dramatic if I can't remember them off the top of my head.

So for 2009, I'm hoping for some of the same from 2008. Of course I want the good times to be better and the bad times to hurt less, but as long as my family stays healthy and safe, I'm good.

Happy New Year

Desert Winter

We drove out to Amargosa over the weekend, and this is what we were treated to. One lonely tree, on the edge of an RV park. It was being sprayed by the sprinkler. Icicles, in the middle of the desert, are a very beautiful sight.

That'll do Pig!

You GUESS? NEVER guess. I mean, you gotta KNOW what you're doing!
Otherwise, you leave yourself wide open to suggestion. And that, to my
mind is the problem with this whole damn country.

Everybody's open to suggestion! Hmph!

You'll hear that (or a variation of that) often around our house. Grandpa Tucker said it in the movie Pure Country, and we steal it every chance we get. Most often, we shorten it down. Something like; I'll suggest something to Chad for dinner, he'll say "yeah, I guess". That leaves it wide open for me to tell him that's the problem with the whole damn country, everyone guesses. Or, Chad will mention to me that he wants to do something and when my response is "I guess", he gives me; "Guess? You gotta know what your doing."


Another favorite that we say often comes from Farmer Hoggett in Babe.

That'll do, pig. That'll do.

We usually say this to each other when we do something good. This one is pretty funny because when other people hear us say it to each other, they think we are being mean. We would never do that. It's just a term of endearment.

Are there any movie quotes you use at your house?