Janet, I'm glad you love your phone. I got Mike a new phone, but it's just a simple flip phone. He barely uses his phone to talk, so there is no way I would pay data charges for him, lol! He takes the iPad if he goes somewhere that he thinks he'll need it.

Diana, I got such a kick out of Dean's puppy! Sounds like the perfect pet:p

Mike has been at the ranch since Thursday, and will probably come back Tuesday. He is bow hunting...some. I think he just enjoys being out in the Hill Country, it's so pretty there. I'll be glad when he get's home, it's getting too quiet around here.

I'm glad that you finally got your new phone, Janet. I guess the phone company is complaining about my old Razr!! They're going to be changing something and it's not going to work as well......sounds like a way to get more money to me!!

Homecoming was COLD!! We stayed for the parade and I looked around at the booths......ate, visited with some old friends, then came home!! It was just too chilly out. The grandkids were all in the parade in different places......except for Dean. It's so good to see the kids involved in different areas!!

Glen left yesterday morning for his sister's house in Nebraska with his two brothers. His sister, Dana, was suppose to go to but her son fell and broke his wrist so she stayed home with him (BTW......Daya broke her wrist last week too.) They are going up to hopefully get some things decided about what needs to get done on their Mom's house.....plus Brenda has a barn that needs some work on. I'm not sure exactly what they're doing on it but they're all good at stuff like that. I think that he'll probably be home on Wednesday sometime.

I don't have Dean today so I'm trying to get some much needed cleaning done. Things have really been stacking up and I'm tired of it. We have some really busy weekends coming up and I'd like to start now getting things in order and cleaned up. I also think that this week I'll get Dean's room done and start on getting things painted for Karlie's.

We froze last night......got down in the upper 20's. I'm not sure what that will do to our beans. Farming is always a worry.

Oh.....and we're going on the cruise!! I need to get a check in the mail. I'm excited!!! We have to get a passport too!! Glen's going to do some scuba diving so he's happy!!

Diana, I would love to go on a cruise! Where will you be going?

This past weekend was Thanksgiving up here. We went to visit my mom since she was all alone (my dad was out moose hunting). It was a good visit but we really didn't do ANYTHING. It's very weird for me now because I feel like I'm always so busy! Scott and I played some pool in the basement, and we visited with a friend and her family one night. On Sunday, my dad called and said it was supposed to rain and snow for the next three days in the bush (they were about 5 hours north of home) and they already had three moose and just one tag left, so he was coming home! So that was a nice suprirse that I got to visit with him too!

Last night after work I stopped at my brother's house to pick up an SD card with our wedding slideshow, and a cord for his video camera that should have the wedding speeches on it. While I was there, his two girls called me auntie for the first time. They have always just called us "Lindsey and Scott" but when Morgann told me about her day, she said "Auntie, guess what?!" and then when she showed me the craft they were working on, she called me "Auntie Lindsey" :) It was just little, but it really made me feel special.

Oh, and the video camera did not have the speeches on it. In fact, you can't record at all without a card - it has no internal memory. My brother was sure that it did. I had a little cry at home, thinking they weren't actually recorded at all, and that was the one thing I really wanted. But he said he found a card at home that it might be on, so we'll get that today.

Last night, we were up almost all night. Every two hours we had to get up, clean Layla's diarrhea off the floor, put her in the shower and spray off her butt, and put the towels she was laying on in the laundry. We had a pretty good system going by about 4 am. She hasn't had diarrhea in about 4 hours now, so my fingers are crossed. I am working from home today. I wonder if it might be from the vaccinations she had on Tuesday evening.

Lindsey, I know what you mean about it feeling weird to have nothing to do, especially when you've been so busy. You need to learn to relax and enjoy those times. I always forget that Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in October instead of November like the U.S. I know your mom enjoyed seeing you and Scott and I'm glad your dad got some moose and got home in time to see you! What a treat!

I've been so busy for the past week that I've been reading the forum but not posting. We had my mom's birthday party on Saturday and it was really nice. Family started arriving on Friday and I had company until Tuesday. I was so busy, but it was all a lot of fun. Most of the family in for the party had never been to our new house so that was fun showing everyone the new digs. We had great fun. It was pretty cool outside so we were able to build a fire and the kids got to roast weenies and marshmallows. My mom was so happy to see everyone and so glad that everyone came to see her.

I've been very busy at work, it just seems that we have more and more to do. I want things to slow down but they never seem to do that! I'm going to try to have a relaxing weekend!

I have an exterminator coming tomorrow. I have acrobat ants in my shop. It's a metal building but it has foam insulation inside and the ants are excavating the foam to make a nest between the foam and the metal. At first I thought they were termites because I saw all these flakes everywhere on the floor. But the lady at the exterminator place asked me to describe them and she said they were acrobat ants. They have heart shaped butts! LOL! They have shorted out the light switches in the front of the shop, supposedly they are attracted to electricity. After the exterminator gets rid of them, then I have to get an electrician out to fix the light switches. I have lights in the back of the building so there's no hurry on that.

Also, over the weekend someone (probably me!) left the spotlight in the backyard on and I didn't notice it till yesterday. I noticed it because I went to turn it on last night and it was already on, but there was no light :(. It wouldn't be so bad but it is at the top of the chimney - waaaaaaaaaaay up high - tooooooo high for me to scale the ladder to change the bulb. So I'm going to ask the neighbor this weekend. He put the light up when Gary and I first moved in. I have a ladder tall enough to get up there, it's just not gonna be me going up that ladder.

No wonder no one has been here....you're all so busy. Diana I so love my iPhone. If I'd known how much I would love it I would have gotten it a long time ago and figured out a way to afford it. The carrier we went with since our old one didn't have the iPhone is Sprint. We can all talk on our phones in the house now with no problems. The old one....not good at all. Plus most everything is unlimited so we are very happy with the change.

Diana...where are you going on your cruise? How exciting! When will you get to take it?

Lindsey I sure hope you can get the recordings you wanted. I know I would be so disappointed if I couldn't.

I know what you mean Gayle, I've been here reading more than posting too. I posted quite a bit a while back, but then just kind of ran out of steam..lol. I'm glad your Mom and family had such a wonderful time together. I would be exhausted.

I've gotten a few odds and ends done around the house. Still need to trim the shrubs if it was just a tad warmer or if the wind would quit blowing. Still have quite a bit outside to do before winter gets here, like put lawn items away in the garage. I'll get it done...I hope.

It has been busy here too! Today is rainy and chilly...yuck! I'm taking the dogs to the vet later. Annie needs her rabies, Max has goop in his eyes, and Sophie is just coming along for the ride, although I want the vet to check her out and make sure she is okay. She is still very small, and weighs so little!

How exciting about the cruise, Diana! When is it, and where are you cruising off to? Linds, I hope you find the speeches! How sweet that you are now "Auntie!"

Gayle, it is good that you found these ants before they ate all of the foam and really nested in! I wouldn't go up on that ladder either!

Janet, you have become an electronics geek! I have new land line phones to set up. Wanna come over here and do it for me? i used to enjoy all this, but it's just one thing after another lately!

Betsi, how are you lately?

I'm going to take in the fuscias today. It's going to be 35 degrees tonight, so this is probably my last chance to get them inside. I still have miniature roses blooming! I guess that will stop soon enough.

Sorry I've been MIA. Dean's been sick with a cold and I haven't gotten hardly anything done this week. Today he was finally better. It was so good to see him playing and being his old self again!!

I got the deposit sent for the cruise so we're for sure going!! It's from April 14th to the 20th.....right when Glen's busy planting but he said that he's alright with going. We'll spend a couple of days at sea......then Montego Bay, Jamaica.......Grand Cayman.......Cozumel.......then another day at sea. We leave and return to New Orleans. Glen's inviting his dive buddy and his wife to go with us since it's where they've been wanting to scuba dive at. We'll see if they go or not. They have two daughters getting married in the next few months!! Marva says that they still have a few more spots open for others to go. I'm trying to talk Jaci and Nate into going too!!

Glen was suppose to have a men's campout tonight but it's rainy so it's been canceled and they're just having a picnic. Glen had invited some boys to go with him so he's going to just take them camping. They'll just be in the back yard.....in case it rains.

Lindsey, I hope you find all of your wedding stuff. Also, how sweet that your nieces have called you "Auntie"!! I hope that Layla's better soon too!! Poor girl!!

Judy, I hope the dogs are all alright. I really need to take Jazzi and Reuger too. You might have the vet treat Sophie for worms. Sometimes that can affect their weight.

Gayle, I'm glad that you're going to relax this weekend. You deserve it. After having company and a party last weekend especially!! I know that you enjoyed it but not you need to rest up!!

I've never heard of acrobat ants!! I imagined them turning somersaults and back flips!!! I hope that they're easy to get rid of. Oh.....and you definitely need to ask the neighbor about changing your light bulb!!

Janet, I'm sure that you're busy playing with your new phone!! I know that Jaci's does so much!! I would love to have one.......just don't want to pay for it!!

I need to get the yard ready for winter too. It's hard to be outside because the chickens have just ruined the yard. There is absolutely NO grass now......Ok.....a little but not much!! It makes me mad everytime I look at it!! I do want to get the outside windows washed before it gets too cold.

Hi All! I got my acrobat ants treated but sadly now I have to trim my trees because they were also living at the base of the tree and going up the tree and down the limb that is just barely touching the roof of the shop. Oh well, I was getting ready to have all the trees trimmed anyway! Then, I'll have to get the electrician out to fix the lights. Sigh. These are the kinds of things Gary took care of - he would have done all of them himself before he got sick, and then afterwards he would have called and arranged them and been here for the workers to do the work. Now, I have to be here for everything, it is a pain sometimes!!! I haven't seen my neighbor yet, but I will sometime over the weekend, I'm sure.

I worked from home today because by the time the exterminator got finished, I didn't have time to make it to school for my conference call. So, I made arrangements for them to call me at home. I got quite a bit of work done today, surprisingly. Usually I find all sorts of things to do around the house when I'm supposed to be working, but today I really got a few things done.

I am REALLY sore from my exercise class. Mondays workout was very intense and then I think I overdid it on Wednesday for weightlifting. I'm still REALLY sore today. I was supposed to go to class this morning, but couldn't go because of the exterminator coming. My workout partner was out of town too. But I don't think I would have gone anyway because I was just too sore. I'm going to do a home workout tomorrow and will probalby take it easy. I don't like feeling all sore and creaky all the time!

Diana, I think you will enjoy the cruise. Gary and I have been on 3 and he went one other time with his sisters. It's fun and the food is usually GREAT!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I'm sorry to hear that taking care of the ants is going to be harder than you thought. I can imagine that you're missing Gary because of all of this. Glen always takes care of that kind of stuff too. Hugs.

Sounds like you got a lot done from home. Maybe you should work from there more often.......it's probably more relaxing as well.

As for the soreness.......take it easy for the weekend and enjoy just "chilling" for awhile!!!

We have rain, rain, and more rain!! Glen and the boys.....5 in all......showed up this morning before the rain started. They had made pancakes and bacon over an open fire......the boys had cooked it. They did a great job!! Now they're all going to go fishing!! Glen thinks there's a pause in the rain so they're going to venture out. This afternoon we're suppose to have some more bad weather.

Gayle, I'm glad you won't have ants to worry about anymore!

Diana, that cruise sounds like so much fun!!!

Judy, how are Max's eyes? I just took Layla to an ophthalmologist because her eyes are gooping so badly. Turns out, everything is normal. We just have to clean her face every day because there are chunks of black dried goop in the corners and black streaks down her face. But nothing is blocked, and her tear production and quality is normal, and her eyes are not irritated. So I guess we just deal with it, like everything else lol!

Speaking of Layla, she was also quite sick on Wednesday night. On Tuesday we took them all for vaccinations, and on Wednesday evening, Layla started having diarrhea. Overnight, we were up every 2 hours to shower her off and clean up trails of runny watery poop between our bedroom and the bathroom (she always seems to run there). So I started putting towels under her to sleep, and I did three loads of laundry overnight, washing those poopy towels! Anyways, in the morning I went to the office, grabbed my laptop, and worked from home. She seemed to be better after I fed her some pumpkin. Through YT I found out that she is way over-vaccinated. The only reason we were still coming to our local vet was for vaccinations - we have lost trust for everything else. Apparently the vaccinations are a money-grab too :(

Today, I got my new passport in the mail, and the safari company sent us a couple of safari journals, with spaces for entries and color pictures and information about all the African wildlife we might see :D It is getting a little more exciting, but I feel like I should be more excited than I am! I think I'm just so busy that I'm not really thinking about it yet. I'll get more excited for it after Christmas :D

Lindsey, my dogs don't go anywhere, so I haven't gotten them their shots for over a year. I think it's a waste too. If they were out running the yard or someplace other than home then I'd think about it more. We spray the area we have fenced in for them. Besides...it just costs us way too much money for all 6 dogs and the two cats. The cats are all up to date on their vaccines so I won't be taking them again for at least two years...at the earliest. My Vet keeps sending us reminder cards

It just makes me so angry that the rabie vaccine is the same for one year as it is for three. The only reason our county vaccinated every year is because its law and because of the farm animals.

Janet, our dogs are getting 3-year rabies vaccinations, but yearly boosters for everything else. Apparently yearly boosters are not recommended anymore. It is still effective long after one year. A person on YT told me that the vet buys the vaccine for about 61 cents, and then way overprices to give the vaccine.

Our vet is having Layla get DHPP + CV at the same time every year. Apparently CV only affects pups under 8 weeks of age, and DHPP should not be given with any other vaccine. The other two dogs both got DHPP +CV and Rabies vaccines. It was an expensive evening, and apparently needless! My dogs are rarely outside of our house and yard. Our neighbors have no pets either, so the yard is pretty safe. Even if we do go out for walks, we rarely encounter other animals. I think they have a pretty low risk for getting anything.

I guess it goes to show you just can't trust those you think you can trust! Obviously our vet has more training than we have, but I still have to find out online that she is doing things wrong.

My neighbor came over and changed the lightbulb on the spotlight. Of course, I had gotten the wrong bulb and had to make a flying trip to Home Depot. But he also needed to caulk a crack in the chimney, so he did that while I flew to Home Depot. I'm really glad to get all that done. He knows an electrician who is supposed to call me this week to change the light boxes the ants shorted out.

Speaking of ants, you should see all the dead ants in the shop :eek:. I had to get out the shop vac to vacuum them all up. Wow! there were a lot of dead ants.

I went to a farmers market this morning and bought a delicious carmelized red onion and blue cheese mini quiche. It was soooo good, but very rich so I only ate 1/2 of it. it was only 6 inches, but half of it was all I wanted at one meal. So I have dinner for tomorrow night too! :D I also bought some homemade soap for Christmas gifts and some great smelling organic kitchen counter cleaner for my daughter. I had to make a Walmart run so I got that done and then went by my mom's to take her a few things.

Then I veged out, watched TV, cooked a little bit and here it is after 9:00PM. I don't know where the day went!!!

My days just seem to get busier and busier. I exercised at home this morning and tried to take it a little easier than my instructor. I felt sore and stiff, but it was much better and this evening I feel pretty good. I guess I was just overdoing it in class. I'm old and creaky! LOL!

I had a nice lunch out with good friends, and it was good to see them. Then I have faculty meetings all afternoon. Those can be exceedingly boring and these today WERE boring! My butt was tired from sitting all afternoon too.

Then when I got home I had a letter from my mortgage company wanting more documentation about taking Gary off the mortgage papers. I called my attorney because I'm not sure what I'm supposed to send them, but she didn't call me back. I have a conference all day tomorrow and I know she'll call when I can't answer. I just love playing telephone tag for days!!!

Every one is so busy.... I am now in Janesville Wisconsin on Vacation. But my Hubby is still working but he is a Happy man considering he gets to come home to me at night now and has me to hug instead of his pillow at night. lol. I know not what you wanted to hear. Its a 5 hour drive from our house in Northeast indiana.
Long but very pretty drive. Gary took me down LakeShore drive in Chicago. It was very pretty. Lots of big waves on the lake. Got a few pics. Got here and unloaded the vehicle and then we went to the store for supplies. Today I am going shopping alone. Thats okay. I don't mind. Just to get things I need and to do some christmas shopping. Then will come back and start back up on my hats and headbands. Everyone have a great week.

Everyone seems to be getting so much accomplished. Lindsey, I don't think all the boosters are need either. Sometimes I think it's just a racket with such high prices, so I've decided to just go every two to three years.

Gayle....I think you have been just about the busiest...lol. Wow! It's so nice your neighbor was able to help you out.

Linda, I'm glad you get to spend more time with Gary and someplace other than Indiana. Hope you can post some of your pictures soon.

I've been getting little odds and ends done here. We have the new front doors in and they look really nice. They fit so well and there are no air leaks. Finally..lol Still have some window caulking to do before winter, but it will get done.

This morning after the route I cleaned my bathroom cabinets. I thought I had cleaned them recently, but there were still a few meds of Mom's in there. I threw out all the old meds and other things that I just didn't need or use anymore. Even threw away some old perfume that I think I've had for years. It may still be good, but it's gone now. I sure have room in my cabinets now!

Sorry that I've been missing again but I've been so busy!! We have a Chi-Alpha group coming from Wichita this weekend for a hot dog roast and hayrack ride. They'll mostly be outside but still I'm cleaning and straightening the inside. This is a group that we love to have! There will some international students and they are always interesting. We have every weekend filled with hot dog roasts and hayrack rides until the second weekend in November!

I shampooed the living room carpet on Saturday. I did it not too long ago but while Dae Lynn and the kids lived here it got really bad again. It looks so much better now!

Gayle, what a sweet neighbor you have!! You should bake some cookies or something and take over to him!!! Or pick up a pie from the farmer's market!! I'm so glad that your ants are taken care of. Yuck!!

Linda, how nice that you get to spend some time with your husband!! I'm sure he really misses having you to come home to! Enjoy your time together!!!

Lindsey, I hope that Layla's better. It always breaks my heart to hear that she's having any problems. She's just been through soooo much. Give her a sweet hug from me!!

I don't keep up with our dog's vaccinations.......mostly because I forget. They ARE expensive!

Janet.......you are soooo organized!!! I don't have that gene!!! Well.....I just have a lazier version of it I suppose!! I could use your help in getting rid of outdated stuff in my cabinets!! LOL I took some Hamburger Helpers to church for our food pantry.......and when I looked at the dates I was ashamed of myself!! I did tell the woman in charget that they were "very" outdated and she was still going to put them out and let people decide if they still wanted them or not. I will say.....that I have bought new food to go there and don't just give them my outdated food!!

Dean's just not getting the hang of potty training so this morning I set him in the bathtub and took his diaper off and let him clean himself.......Mean, I know. The funny part is that he told me I was not a nice Grandma!! Maybe he'll start getting the idea of using the toilet now!! I wasn't mean about it. I just wanted him to know how yucky it is!!! We'll see tomorrow how it goes!!

Throw some cheerios in the toilet and let him play bomber...lolol or giant putting out the fire!!!

He said that you are not a nice Grandma! That's too cute! At least he knows it's yucky to clean up! Boys can be difficult to train. I like the cheerio thing. There is something people do with M & M's too. You can be sure that he will not be wearing diapers to his wedding!

I have food in my cabinets and my pantry that are older than yours Diana!! I am waiting for really bad weather to do the kitchen cabinets, pantry and closets. The drawers need doing too. All this means is getting out the garbage bags, and making a trip to the thrift shop! I am a bit afraid to clean out the food....I'll have empty cabinets! My silverware drawer is chaos! I have things in their that were my mothers, or that I have from when I first got married, 40 years ago. I don't even cook! Food storage containers are so cheap these days, I have a good mind to dump all of those odd covers, and stained containers, and just buy a new set. They are so hateful to store, especially the tops! I use baggies whenever possible! Thank goodness we have a good dollar store!

As for the dogs, I do the rabies every 3 years, even though I have read that the vaccine does last for 7 years. Living in the country with all these critters running around all summer, I don't take a chance. I had a lot of bunnies living under my walk this year. There are squirrels, chipmunks, moles, and who knows what else around all summer. I do forget to frontline them though, and that's a big mistake! Ticks are still around.

Max has to go back in 2 weeks for his eyes, but they are much better with the drops I am using. My vet is reasonable, and I have the money at this moment, so I took them all for checkups, etc. Otherwise, aside from Max's eye thing and Annie's rabies, I would not have gone.

Today is manicure day. I am stopping at the farm stand on the way home. I want some zucchini, onions, and tomatoes, and apples. I'm making quinoa, and I want to throw some veggies sauteed in oil in there. I make it with chicken broth, and I'm going to add turkey sausage. That should feed me for 2 or 3 days. I have gained over 2o pounds, and, if I have food already made for dinner, I find it easier to eat right.

How is Layla doing, Linds? How are the other dogs? Do they all get along now?

Judy.....I think that we are sisters!! Your drawers and cabinets sound like mine!!! Trust me......Janet is NOT a sister in that way! She has everything so very organized that she should help other people with organizing.......namely ME!!!

Dae Lynn and I are having a garage sale the first weekend in Nov. and I have things in the cabinet that need to be added but I have so much already in the basement so they'll just have to wait until next year or maybe the next year.....etc!! LOL

I've never had quinoa so I'm going to have to look up that recipe. I'm sure it's good!! Our farmer's markets are pretty well done. We had a pretty good freeze the other day that took care of the gardens around here. Bummer!!

I got Dean's sign painted last night. It didn't turn out quite like I wanted so I need to do some more work and take some sandpaper to it. I think that it will turn out pretty nice in the end. If I get that done then tomorrow I'm going to take everything over to Dae Lynn's house and get it all put in Dean's room. I'm so excited about getting it all put together. Then I think that before I start on Karlie's room I'm going to get Jaci's bedroom painted so I can get my furniture set up in there before I get it all junked up!! I can't wait to get it done!! The bad part is that there is a border at the top of the room. Hopefully it will be easy to take down.

I forgot to add that our new baby, Jed, is due any time now. The doctor was wanting to induce Tammy today but decided that she's not ready. She hasn't dropped yet so I think that it will be a week or more yet. I guess that we'll see!!

I got to see some sonogram pictures of him the other day and he has a little round face just like Elijah did and he has Feyn's mouth. It's so funny that you can see things like that already. The sonograms were amazing to look at!!

My day was not quite as busy as the previous ones, so I feel better tonight. I'm packing to go to Houston this weekend to see my babies. I'm also taking my car in for it's first service. It's free at Toyota and if I take it to Houston, I don't have to wait on it or find a ride to and from the dealership, cuz my sweet daughter will pick me up and take me back. That's nice. I need to take the pickup in for an oil change too, but I have to take it to the Toyota place here in Austin because it's only free if I take it to where we bought it. Ugh. I'll have to wait on it.

Oh! I sold the travel trailer today. Well, not actually me, but the consignment place sold it for me. They got a much better price than I expected, so I am happy. I had to pay the 10% of the selling price, but I feel OK about that since they got more for it than I expected.

Well, I'd best get off and finish getting ready for school and Houston! :)

Judy, Layla is doing very well :) They sort of get along now. Lucy will go sleep right beside Layla, but after Layla is already sleeping and can't feel that she's there lol! Layla still gets all riled up when Kash wants to play or wants attention from me. But there is not drama all the time like there used to be! They can all fall asleep in the same room together lol.

Diana, a new baby! That is so exciting!

Gayle, that is great that you got one more thing out of the way, and got more for it than you thought you would!

I am just really really emotional and snappy lately :( I am just overwhelmed with work and trying to keep up with housework and trying to keep up with this diet and exercise thing (taking up half of my free time every night, while not losing any weight anyway). I had a bath and a little cry tonight. Last night I slept almost the whole night and the three nights before that I didn't sleep more than a few hours. I don't know why, I'm just feeling wide awake at 2 or 3 in the morning. So that is probably taking a toll too!

This weekend we are watching my nieces for an evening on Saturday. Actually, we are picking them up in the afternoon while we do some shopping for our halloween costumes (my brother is giving them $20 each to buy something for themselves) and then we are taking them out to eat, and then my brother is buying us tickets to a hockey game so we will take them there! Hopefully it's a good game! He texted me today and said they are really excited to "hang" with us :D And I am happy to spend some time with them too! I honestly don't think I've seen them for more than a couple of minutes since our wedding!

Yes Lindsey, you've got so much going on and that is certainly part of the reason for you feeling bad and not sleeping well. I hope things get better! Did you have a good weekend with the girls? I hope you got to rest just a little bit!

I made it home from Houston and have had a nice productive day today. I did some cooking for the week and cleaned up a little bit. I broke a dish on the tile floor in the kitchen and it went everywhere!!! I had to sweep then get out the vacuum to be sure that I got up all the little slivers!

I'm taking my mom out to breakfast in the morning to Cracker Barrel. She got a gift card for CB and it must be burning a hole in her pocket because she called to see if we could go over the weekend. So I'm taking her tomorrow and then we need to go to the back and do some business. It should be a good day.

I have two dinners out after work this week. One is to meet some researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch and the other is a fancy smanchy dinner with doners to the School of Nursing. The dinner with the researchers will be OK, but the other one makes me uncomfortable. I never quite know what to say.

Gayle, I hope you can just smile and get through it! That's what I do when I'm uncomfortable lol.

I hope you enjoyed your breakfast with your mom!

I have actually been sick since yesterday. On Saturday when we watched the girls, Morgann had not been feeling well. During the hockey game she spent most of the time just laying against my shoulder, and we gave her a children's Tylenol for her fever. When we got back to their house, they went straight to bed. So yesterday afternoon I started to feel unwell, and I had a fever too! I felt groggy and feverish at work all day, but I had a 2 hour nap after work and woke up feeling quite a bit better.

I found out today that my brother has changed his wedding date again... but not only the date, also the location. Apparently the rest of the family has known for weeks! The girls just mentioned this weekend "Mom and Dad are getting married on a beach in Mexico!" so I asked him about it this morning... and yup, it's true. They were supposed to get married here next summer. Now they are getting married in Mexico next November.... sounds great, but Scott and I are attending my cousin's wedding next November in New Orleans! We are the only people going to their wedding... we are their wedding party and their only guests! This cousin has been my best friend my whole life and was my bridesmaid too. My fingers and toes are crossed that they do not pick the same weekend :( Neither of them have a date set yet... my brother is going to set one soon, but my cousin is waiting for next year's NFL schedule to come out :rolleyes: lol. Her fiance is a huge Saints fan and wants to go to a game while they are there. So there's my newest dilemma lol! I told them both each others' plans though, so hopefully when one picks a date I can let the other know to work around it.

I also don't have that kind of holiday time available next year.. thinking my brother's wedding would just be a weekend in the city, I have all of my holidays next year spoken for! We booked our trip to Africa and had planned on going to New Orleans (and maybe a few days of travelling down there if we had extra time!) So it looks like I will have another year chalk-full of overtime, if I can get it! Maybe after that, I can relax a little!

It's so nice reading about everyone's plans and how busy you all are. I don't have a whole lot going on here. I did spend some time on the phone and watching the rain out the front door. It's in the 70's so it's very nice out.

My friend Diane's mother turned 95 this past Sunday so I went to the party at the nursing home. She made me feel that she was so glad I was there and it made my day. Guess that's about all there is in my exciting life...lol.

Man, this is turning out to be a busy busy week!!! Plus, I have 40 papers to grade from last week!!! They are interesting to read, but they are about 8-10 pages, so it takes some time. I'm tired in the evenings, but that is about the only time I have to grade them!!!

My mom fell in her apartment over the weekend. She actually just slid off a folding chair, so it wasn't a bad fall, but she did hit her ribs on the way down so now they are painful. They started her on some Aleve so I'm hoping that will help. She's OK when she's not trying to reach or pull with her arm on that side. I afraid I scolded her to be more vigilant. At her age, a fall is the most devastating thing that can happen, but thankfully she was not hurt badly.

Well, my sweet Abigail has a broken foot and it is a really bad break. She hurt it last month in a volleyball game. Her mom took her for a xray and they said it wasn't broken, that it was strained ligaments. They gave her steroids and it got better, but not well. This month it started hurting more, so Brooke made an appt with an orthopedic doc, but of course it took 2 weeks to get in. The ortho doc immediately saw the break, it's called a lisfranc break and is very serious, especially if it is unstable. She had an MRI today and another appt with the doc in the morning. If it is unstable, then she has to have surgery to put in a plate, screws and pins. She will be no weight bearing for 6-8 weeks, then after 3 months they'll take out the pins and she'll be partial weight bearing for a few more weeks. :( Poor baby. They will know tomorrow what needs to be done, but of course we are thinking it may have to be surgery since she has walked on it and played volleyball for 2 months.

Poor Abigail. It seems like we've been having a lot of broken bones around here. I hope that Abigail gets good news on her foot. What an awful time to have it broken.

On Saturday one of our Internation students fell and broke her pinky. She was from India and had never been to a hospital or had a shot before. She was really nervous but she had a friend go with her and of course, I went too. The people at our hospital are extremely nice and her doctor was especially nice and after a couple x-rays, a pain shot, and a splint, she was sent home. She still had a good time the rest of the afternoon but her friends were really taking care of her!!

I've been busy with Dean but not much else. I'm so ready to hold the new baby but we've got The Alley tonight. He's suppose to be home tomorrow. I can't wait!!

Wow, everybody has a lot going on!

My niece Casey has her wedding Saturday at 6pm. It's an outside wedding, and it was forecast to rain but now it's not supposed to. BUT the temperature is supposed to drop A LOT!!! She's gonna freeze in her strapless gown, lol! Today she brought me a blank canvas, a can of spray paint, lots of scrapbook paper, and a big wooden letter F, the initial for their last name. Then she said "do something with this, it needs to go over the food table"!! Her colors are eggplant and silver/gray. I'll be sure to take pictures.

How fun Betsi! Can't wait it see the pix!

Today is our Fall Break day so I have a 3 day weekend. It's so nice to have the whole day to myself. I woke up really late for me, like around 9:00. Of course I did wake up to make sure Ricky was up for work then I went right back to bed. I love just laying in my bed and slowly waking up.

It's cold here today. Went from the 80's yesterday to only high in the 40's and with the wind blowing it really feels cold. I was going to give the dogs a bath today, but decided not to. I'll wait until Days Of Our Lives is over and then I'm planning on going to town and get a few groceries. I love having a shopping list on my phone...so convenient.

Still coughing my head off so I may change my mind and stay home altogether...lol. Not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of the weekend. Decisions decisions...I may have to go lie down and think about it....lolol

The kids had a day off from school here too so I haven't had Dean today. I slept in too and all day long I've had trouble getting anything done. I did finally make it over to see our new baby!! He's soooo CUTE!! He looks so much like Feyn did when he was born. I'm going to have to get some pictures out and prove it!! Tammy's still really sore from her incision. Kiley was getting ready to leave for her cross country run at State. Feyn's going too so Tammy will be home with Karley taking care of her. I told them that if they need me I can be right over. The baby didn't sleep well last night and Tammy needs her rest.

We have our women's group from church coming out tomorrow for Rough N Rugged!! We'll be riding 4-wheelers, shooting guns, cooking hot dogs, and having a hayrack ride!! It will be a lot of fun......but like you, Janet, we're kinda' cool. I hope that it's not too bad though. I have a jewelry party to go to in the morning so it will be a pretty busy day.

Last night we went to Jaci and Nate's for supper and to play cards. Her cooking is definitely improving!! We had a lot of fun playing cards. Jaci and Nate finally beat Glen and I......and I think that it was probably a good thing. I don't think that Nate likes to lose!!

I was going to work on getting garage sale stuff priced but I'm just not feeling like it. I'll do it next week......the pressure will be on to get it done!! Our garage sale is next weekend at Dae Lynn's house. I hope the weather is nice!!

Yesterday I went to the HogEye festival at Elgin, TX. Lots of fun! Food, crafts, music and games for the kids. I went looking for a woman from whom I bought earrings a few weeks back. I really like the earrings and wanted some more, but sadly she wasn't there! :( Oh well, I bought some nicely scented homemade soap for stocking stuffers and a necklace/bracelet/earrings set for a friend's birthday. I had a fun time. I've attached some pics. One is just a view of a side street at the festival, the other is the Hogettes on stage. They all rode in on the Harley motorcycles you see in front of the stage. The guy in the middle with the ball cap is a Texas state senator and the man on the far right is the mayor of Elgin. They were singing a made up song, "it's OK to be a hog". :D

Love small town festivals!! Looks like they had quite a few booths too. Even if they had a festival here...it would be just too cold to get out in plus the wind. Okay now....I'm ready for spring....LOLOLOL

It was really chilly and windy at the festival yesterday, especially for us warm-blooded Texans, but everyone was just bundled up and since the sun was out, if you got out of the wind, it was OK. It's about 58 here right now, but there is no wind and the sun is out, so it feels good. I just weeded my garden (YES! I wore gloves) and it felt so good!

Waiting to see what this hurricane is going to bring us, and praying that we do not get any flooding in the area! I'll be fine since I'm on top of a mountain, and don't expect my house to blow away. Our electric lines are underground, so if we do lose it, it will only be for a short time. Our staff cut down the trees that would have come down.

Gina, stay safe!!!

Who else is in the hurricane's path?

We went out to a Halloween dance on Friday with two couples we have become friends with here in town. It was a lot of fun! Scott went as Al Borland and I went as Heidi from Home Improvement. It was a little chilly walking home at 2 am through the snow in jean shorts, but I'm Canadian so I can deal with it lol!! :D But really, I used to figure skate and our little small town rinks were never heated, so the cold doesn't bother my legs too much.

Saturday we headed into the city and did some shopping. I think we picked out new flooring for the back of our house! We brought home a sample and we both think it looks good :) And because we had a long night on Friday, we both fell asleep on the couch in the evening and went to bed at 10.

This afternoon we headed to a craft and trade show for the skating club here in town. We bought Christmas presents for the niece and nephews on Scott's side (wooden puzzles and toys) and some homemade potato and dill perogies and some Epicure dip mixes. Then we had to go home because we were out of money lol! After we got home, a friend we haven't seen in awhile stopped by on his way home from the city... he had another 4 hours to drive. But we had a nice little chat for an hour or so. During that time, I got a call that I won a door prize at the craft show! So I went to pick up the box and I will probably not use any of it other than a nice scarf! Oh well, it's nice to win something every once in awhile!

Lindsey, it sounds like you had a nice weekend!! Now exciting that you won something!! Maybe you can add the stuff that you don't want to other Christmas gifts.

Gayle, the festival looks like it was a lot of fun too!! I'm glad that you're getting out and enjoying yourself!!

Judy, you and Gina are both in my prayers during this storm. The weather people are predicting it to be so bad that I would feel so much better if you all just got in your cars and came to Kansas!! I'll make room for all of you and your families!!! We'll have a great time here while you wait out the storm!! Just stay safe!!

We had our women's Rough and Rugged on Saturday. We had lots of fun!! Some did target shooting with the guns.....and then Glen pulled out some explosives and blew up a little camping trailer that wasn't any good. I missed it......I was at the fire warming up!!

They also had a type of scavenger hunt where you had to find things in the junk yard and take pictures of it but then they never really found out who won that......I think that maybe it was just something to do if you weren't shooting. Then they cooked hot dogs and we ate then the women had a hayrack ride. I don't go because it's really hard on my joints and I don't enjoy having hay stuck under my clothes so I sat by the fire and enjoyed it. I ended up coming up to the house and giving Jazzi a bath because I spilled my hot cocoa on her and she was all sticky and then decided to roll in the leaves (the hot cocoa wasn't hot!).

Last night after church we went to our Pastor's house for soup and dessert. He had remodeled his kitchen and invited the board over to see it. It turned out really nice! Our pastor's wife is quite the decorator and has the house looking really nice! We had a nice visit with everyone who was there.

Today I've GOT to start working on garage sale stuff!! I'm just really having trouble getting motivated!! What I really want to do is paint Jaci's room! I got a sofa cover for the hide-a-bed that we have. It's like brand new but I don't like the color of the fabric on it. I bought it at an auction for not much and I don't think that the bed has ever been slept on because it still has the plastic on it. Anyway the cover I bought is a dark red. I'm excited to get the room all put together!!

Dean's a mess today. I've been wondering what he did over the weekend because he's been sassy and ornery!! Into everything!!! Even now I can hear him in the kitchen getting into something that he's not suppose to!! Oh well......that's life with Dean!!!

It sounds like everybody has been busy and having fun! I went to a Steampunk Festival Saturday at the Communty Center. It was okay...lots of nice people. I want to be on their Board of Directors, so I have to show up at events, etc. I really like the people who are involved in the activities. There are a couple of other places that have activities, but they are too hoity toity for me. Like cocktail party people. One place charges $75 for their fund raising dinner! Not my style at all!

This place, The Pine Hill Community Center, has a very diverse membership. There is a local group of Indians who are affiliated, and I did some drumming with them, and they showed me some dances. I love this kind of thing. There are lots of people who are into various things - artists, organic food, there's a Wednesday afternoon social club (you just hang out and chit char), zumba, pottery, etc.

Today, I got some batteries, and then hung out. It's getting pretty windy and it's raining. As long as it doesn't flood down in the towns, we will all be fine.

Janet, I pay a monthly charge for the DVR, which is how I get my cable. You can buy a Tivo, which might do the same thing. I'm not sure though.

Lindsey, I know what you mean about running out of money at the festival. I saw your Halloween costume on FB, cute! My legs would freeze and fall off at the hip if I were walking in the cold like you! Lol!

Diana, your day sounds like so much fun! You all have the most interesting gatherings at your place. I wouldn't like hay in my shorts either. Lol! I can't stand sand in my cracks either!!

Judy I hope everything turns out OK for you in the storm. Oh I would love the Indian dancing and drumming. Gary loved Indian powwows, we attended many many throughout the years. I DO NOT like hoity toity groups either. Pretentious people just turn me off. I would really enjoy living in your area with all the things you described, if it weren't so darned cold with so much snow!

Same ole, same ole here. Worked, home, etc etc. I did spend 45 minutes on the phone with Wells Fargo mortgage. I received an escrow overage check made out to Gary and I. Oops, can't deposit it with Gary's name on it. It has darned near taken an act of congress to show that I own the house. We did not probate Gary's will because we have a trust which meant that everything goes to me, but I had to send them the whole SIXTY-THREE page document to them to show the house was mine. The warranty deed should have been sufficient, but noooooooo. NOW, I have to make a request IN WRITING requesting they send the check to ME. Oh no, I COULDN'T make that request on the phone. :rolleyes: sigh.