Friday, January 5, 2007 Stuff and Nonsense
So when I finally thought I was going back to work after the holiday break and blizzards we get snow, again. Just 3 or 4 lovely inches of big beautiful flakes, but it was enough to close school, make driving a bit dangerous and keep me home since my boss of the day canceled...
 Our buried Suburban and blocked driveway
 Just internet friends no longer!
I won't be posting anything over there, too much of a hassle!!
I also signed up at Homeschool Alumni, I'd recommend checking that out if you are a homeschooler. The friends that dropped by showed it to me and thought it was a genius idea. So, come on over and say hi! |
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Wednesday, January 3, 2007 Happy 2007!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!
After some family drama my Christmas plans were changed, so I visited friends and family in Pueblo and then went to Denver to spend Christmas with my sister. I was away for over a week all together, living out of my little black suitcase.
During the drive to Pueblo the first of our two massive snowstorms started hitting, the roads were beginning to be covered in a layer of snow as I entered Colorado Springs but we made it safely to my sister and her husband's house.
That day we went out ice skating, did a little shopping, and saw the movie Eragon. My little sister was insistent on seeing it as it's one of her favorite books ever.
Our other days there were spent visiting with friends, going to the mall and stores buying gifts or making cookies at the house.
The night before we headed to Denver the Pueblo group of friends had a Christmas party which was great fun. Everyone got a gift and my sister cooked a delicious turkey with all the trimmings.
Due to the snowstorm Denver was basically shut down (DIA didn't move for two days), so I was concerned about trying to make it up there... I was on the phone with my sister and she was telling me that she was snowed in, but the roads were probably as clear as they were going to get before another snowstorm moved in. So it was do or go home or get stranded in Pueblo. I made the decision to run for Denver. Usually driving times between Pueblo and Denver is around 2 1/2 hours. Well not this time. Since I-25 had just reopened the traffic was bumper to bumper all the way, many times dropping to a crawl of 15 mph or so... I felt like I was in California! All total the trip took 5 hours. That's right, 5 hours!
The road crews had done a good job getting the interstates cleared off, but the lanes sometimes abruptly ended in a drift many times larger than my mom's car!
Once in Denver I pulled off I-25 and headed inwards on Hampden. Never in my life have I seen so many cars! The roads were all snow packed and beginning to turn icy. When I began to get close to my sister's home I could feel the car's tire starting to loose traction on the snow, so I pulled in just in time. Her parking lot, however, hadn't been cleared yet and there was no place to park... I eased it into a gap in the snow and ran in, and then we went back out to figure out what to do. She had spent all day shoveling out one side of her garage, but it was 6 or so inches shy of being wide enough for the car, so I carefully, but quickly rammed it into the space. Once that was done I realized I really didn't have a way to get out of the car! Lol! Luckily I could open the door just a tad, and then I shoved it open, enough to squeeze out, with my feet. I had finally made it, I was exhausted and frazzled!
My other sister was coming to Denver as well, but she was an hour behind me. She had a bit more trouble with the ice but also made it safely. We both declared that that drive was the worst ever.
Our days before Christmas in a snow covered Denver were fun, spent seeing some movies, playing games, eating out, walking the downtown mall area and looking at the lights. It was a great time.
 
Some pics from Denver.
All the side roads were still a mess even by the time I left Denver, so navigating those in a car was not exactly easy! I really missed my 4WD at home... Oh well.
Once we got home a couple days after Christmas there were a million things to catch up on. My web host (BliksemHost) had disappeared, not answered my emails, their phone was disconnected... I have to admit I was a bit panicky. All of our website were down for 2 weeks... So I worked hurriedly on getting them transferred to a new host, which as those of you who do that know is a bit frustrating. Finally all was well again and I turned my attention on New Years.
Then I got some flu-like bug and was down and out for 2 days. Yucky.
And then, it gets better!
We were hit with a HUGE snowstorm, basically a little over a week after that first one. For two days we were in a complete white-out blizzard. When the snow finally settled and the winds died down we looked out to see a world of white.
In places there are 6 foot drifts (and we didn't get the worst of it out here). We were completely snowed in, no way to get a vehicle in or out. The county came and dug us out (much love to ya boys!), but we only have the use, right now, of 2 of our 8 vehicles. But, it's actually not been that bad. Sure it's an inconvenience, but we never lost power, we had plenty of heat and food (though chili and hamburger is getting a bit old), and look at all the moisture!! We've gone sledding, snowball fights, etc. Why cry about it?
So my New Years was stuck at home this time, but I had a great one, and I hope you did too!
As far as resolutions? Nothing I can exactly point at right now, but I have a few. *wink* |
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Friday, October 27, 2006 Bits and Pieces
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Please tell me that I'm not the only one who
can't find time to do everything you want to.
As you may imagine, from my blog absence lately, I have been
insanely busy. Work, family commitments, chores, getting ready for the
quickly coming winter season... It never ends. It seems that all I do any
more is say, "I am SO busy!" But, it's the truth. I just
hate sounding like a broken record.
A few things, as there is no way I can catch up on over a month of
my life in one post:
Since Kit Carson Day I came down with 3 separate colds, one right
after the other. I wasn't "down and out" but for a couple days
all together, I actually managed to keep going to work through it all.
The last cold seemed to throw me back into health fairly quickly, which sounds
odd and is odd. I felt ten times better after I recovered from that cold
than I had for a month.
Been helping work cows (it's Preg-Testing season), though not as
much as my mom has. She's gone almost every day during the week to help
out. So far she's helped with about 2000 I believe (it may be more than
that). I helped out with 400. It was a long day, but praise God for
good weather!
Here's a picture of me that evening when we were almost through. I look
tired!
As some of you know my little sister started going to public
school here in KC this fall. Since mom and I have to work to support the
family there wasn't any way for mom to keep homeschooling her. It was a
really tough decision, but so far everything has been going well. I'm definitely
learning a lot more about public schools... My little sister, despite a
rough first week, has adapted well and of course has made a circle of
friends. We had them over for her birthday, which was a wild night of
giggling and shrieking girls (I was chaperone). I seem to have made a hit
with all her friends, as whenever I go to a school function or event I am
literally swarmed! It's fun. Then there are all the younger girls
who follow me wherever I go. I love it, they are all great fun and so
cute!
I have become a card shark. With my circle of friends from
the Melodrama we have been getting together almost every weekend to socialize
and play cards until the wee hours of the morning. Pitch is a wildly
popular game out here, and after several nights of this game I think I have it
figured out and I'm a lot more confident in playing it. Poker is another
favorite, especially Texas Hold
'Em. Now this is a game where I have some talent. A couple of the
guys said they didn't want to play with me any more... lol. Somehow they
can't say no the next time however.
Oh and yes, the cold weather is moving in! We've already had
our first 3 snows of the year, nothing really substantial, but it's been awful
pretty to see those snowflakes falling. We still haven't gotten our
woodstove set up, so evenings and mornings in the house are FREEZING!
Especially mornings. You know, there is nothing quite as shocking as
waking up in your lovely warm bed, the blankets all around you, the sunlight
drifting through the window, then realizing you have to get up out of that warm
bed. Throwing the blankets off is the first shock as the cold room air
hits you while you are still drowsy. Then your feet touch the floor and
you stumble around the room to pick out your clothes for the day. Then your
feet touch that frigid bathroom linoleum and you get Goosebumps on every
surface of your body. And then the worst. You take off your still
warm and cozy pajamas and slip into your jeans and shirt, which are ice
cold. Now you are cold to the bone and wide awake. And coffee is
starting to look REALLY good.
Well, I'd better wrap this up, as I have a list to accomplish
today (burn the trash, load some lumber, feed some animals, clean the house -
again - , try to sell something...)
Oh, quick note of interest before I go. My dear sister Amber
is going on a business trip to Las Vegas
and invited me to join her! So, I'm off to Las Vegas
to stay in a fabulous hotel and act like I actually have money for 5
days. LOL! We found an awesome package deal online for one of the
best hotels in Vegas (The Signature at the MGM
Grand) so for the first time in my life I'm going to stay in a room with a Jacuzzi
tub, bathrobes, a flat screen HD TV, a room half the size of our entire
HOUSE! Then we'll go see the sites and take pictures, eat out at some
swanky restaurants. (Is it weird that I get all goofy at the thought of
eating at Emeril's restaurant!?)
Anyways, some fun relaxation time coming up for me. I am
nervous about flying however. I never have before...
Until I write again, God bless!
P.S. Some important ballot issues are coming up this Election Day across the
nation. See Micah's blog on
Stem Cells!
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Wednesday, September 6, 2006 Success and One Crazy Day
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We did it!
After months of preparation and practice our 4 performances went off very well.
Amazingly there was hardly anyone who forgot a line, so my job and
our other prompter's job was a breeze. The audience's reaction to the
play and to the musical intermission acts was great! Not a dry eye in the
house, because everyone was laughing so hard. Everyone who saw it
said that it was one of the best performances ever, which was thrilling to
hear! There's nothing like seeing your hard work and effort pay off like
that.
I'm working on getting some pics and video uploaded, but
that may take a while. Hope to have it done soon however.
I almost feel as if I need a week to recover from the whole thing,
I'm exhausted in every way from this whole process and the butterflies leading
up to each performance.
Now a lengthy explanation of my Kit Carson Day experience:
Let's just start off by saying that it was absolutely nuts for me. I woke
up at 6:30 to get dressed, pack
EVERYTHING I needed for the day (clothes, outfit for the dance later that
night, etc, etc.) then I rushed off to town to help Jeramy (our play's
director) out with the rodeo which he was hosting and organizing at his arena
in Kit Carson. I was one of the timers/score keepers, announcers.
Bad thing was, is that we had a FREEZING morning! It was
about 50-55 degrees, windy and damp. Halfway through everything I and the
two other girls running the event were shaking uncontrollably, even though we
all had hoods and coats. Jeramy was so kind and ran to his house to get
us all his big winter coats and gloves. We looked hilarious, but that was
helpful. Even with all that, however, we still couldn't get warm.
After the rodeo was over (about 12 noon),
I ran down to the old pool hall (i.e. Melodrama building), parked my car there
and then ran to the free fireman's BBQ to try and get a bite to eat. Met
up with some of my friends, neighbors and family and was trying to say my
hellos and eat my food at the same time. 10 bites or so later I realized
I had 10 minutes to get in my costume and make it to the school to get on the
float for the parade. Whew! But I made it and by that time the sun
was starting to come out (FINALLY!) and I could take my jacket off. The
parade was fun; we threw candy to all the little kids and pelted the towns
people as hard as we could.
Then it was off with the costume for a couple hours and I hung out
with my sister Laura and her husband Jeremy as well as my two other sisters,
Carla and Amber.
After that it was our first performance of the day, at 4 o'clock. I believe this was our best performance,
we were all "up" for it, did amazingly well on our lines and everyone
was having fun on that stage, enjoying the reactions of the audience. And
we had a superb audience! All my family visiting was there and, though I
couldn't look at them from the stage (or I'd smile and break my character), I
was loving it! After we wrapped it up we all stood outside the front to
meet and greet all the audience. Then a supper was provided by the Kit
Carson Chamber of Commerce, which we all devoured. I hadn't had anything
to eat except for those 10 or so bites of BBQ, so I was starving!
By the time of the 7 o'clock
performance I, for one, was dragging, I was so tired. Everyone said it
was my best performance yet, but I honestly thought it was one of my
worst. I seriously needed a nap or something! I guess it made the
grumpiness of my character just right. lol! It really was a good
show though, and we had fun with it, seeing as it was the last one. It
was almost hard to believe, all that work and preparation and there it was
already, the last one.
After that meet and greet we changed into our dance clothes and
headed to the school for the dance with the live band. I was excited
about it, and I was finally feeling a bit more energetic. As many of you
know, I LOVE to dance. So, after a while there (waiting for everyone to
show up), I barely sat down at all. Not only did I have all the guys I
know asking me to dance, but I met quite a few guys who I ended up dancing with
quite a bit! Did a little two-step, a little swing, a little
Cotton-Eyed-Joe, and loved every minute.
After the dance was shut down at 1 in the morning, one of my
friends, Jill, invited everyone over to her house for breakfast. Turned
out that Jill had invited half of the town over for breakfast so her house was
packed with people she didn't know. It was a great breakfast though, and
I made some new friends before taking a few people back to their homes and then
getting home myself at 2:30 in the
morning.
So that was my Kit Carson Day experience. A very long, but
very happy day!
Here is one picture I've managed to get uploaded - not a real good one though
as the original was REALLY blurry.
Left to Right:
Back Row: Melissa (aka Lindy Lou), Me (aka Dora), Kendra (aka Evette), Mandy
(aka Aura-Lee), and Rusty (aka Beaureguard)
Front Row: Brenda (aka Hallie), Jill (aka Mrs. Mason Dixon), Jeramy (aka Horton
Smedley), and R.J. (aka the Colonel)
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Thursday, August 17, 2006 Waterparks and Baseball
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Practice in the melodrama I'm acting in for
Labor Day (aka, Kit Carson Day) is going really well. For the past week
we've been performing/practicing without our lines in our hands (first time was
TOUGH!). Two weeks left to go, and we're all getting somewhat nervous
about getting it all ready. We had a photographer from town come in on
Tuesday to take pictures of the scenes to place in the local newspaper.
Acting for a camera got us all messed up. *grin*
Last Tuesday I went to a swimming party with some friends from the
area, got repeatedly dunked, and came down two days later with a nasty
cold. Trying to say your lines loudly enough to reach across a building
with a sore throat is not pleasant... The cold didn't seem to really slow
me down to much though so I muddled through it as best I could. On
Saturday however I could definitely feel it. The sinus pressure, the
sleepiness, the runny nose. But I had been invited to Pueblo
to see my sisters and some friends and then head to Denver
on Monday to go to Water World. There was no way I was missing out on
that. So I packed my bag, jumped into my
oh-so-lovely-Blazer-which-eats-gas-like-a-pig-on-slop, and headed down the
road. The 2 1/2 hour trip wasn't real exciting, so there's really nothing
to tell you about that. Upon arrival at my sister and her husband's house
I collapsed on the couch and caught up on news and life in general. But
my health took a steady fall downwards. By the end of the night I was
lying on the couch under a blanket, with Kleenex's in hand and popping some
Tylenol Cold. The next morning I felt somewhat better, but still pretty
pathetic. We hung around the house, went to the mall to window shop,
rented a movie (V For Vendetta, which I'll have to review for you, because I enjoyed
it so much), then went out to eat Chinese with our friends Josh and Lisa.
It seemed that everyone had an errand to run at Walmart that evening, so we all
drove over and hung out there, while Lisa shopped for groceries and camping
supplies, and everyone else bought their fishing licenses. Josh's brother
Matt, who drove up from Oklahoma,
met us at Walmart, and then dropped by the house to play a golf video game with
us. I think I'm getting the hang of that game... Sort of.
The next morning we awoke to pack our swimming gear into the car
and drive 2 1/2 hours up to Denver
where we all planned on spending the day at Water world (the 6th top family water
park vacation destination in the US!).
I haven't had so much fun in a while. Tubing down waterslides all day
with a group of 10 friends is something everyone should experience. Matt
and I had our own adventure when we tried out the Screaming Mimi (and yeah, you
scream) and hung out in the wave pool when we were separated from the rest of
the group.
Matt was celebrating his 22nd birthday (Happy Birthday Matt!), I
think he had fun.
After Water world closed we decided to go to the Rockies
game that night. I have never been to a major league (or even minor
league) baseball game, and stepping out into the seating area for the first
time was quite the experience, as well as sitting up in the nosebleed
section! lol The game turned out to be one of the best I've seen in
a while. My favorite Rocky, Todd Helton, had some great hits. In
fact, it had been so long since I'd watched a Rockies
game that he was the only one I recognized. Nevertheless, it was
great. There was almost a major fight in the infield after the Rockies
pitcher hit the batter twice (or came close to it... couldn't really tell) and
the ump threw him out. All the players rushed on the field, along with
the coaches, managers, etc., etc.. It was quite funny to watch,
especially when the crowd is screaming and booing at the same time.
Thankfully the fight never fully became so the game continued on, tied at 3-3
at the bottom of the 9th. Then with two spectacular hits, the last a home
run the Rockies won the game and the crowd leapt to
their feet cheering. A great, great night. Well worth $9, I must
say!
Here are a few pictures that I do have (more to come soon from
friends with cameras).
 Our view from our "nosebleed" seats - quite nice I must say.  The Rockies scoreboard/video thingy with one of our beautiful Colorado sunsets as a backdrop.  My sister Carla and a friend, Max. Intently watching the game.  Jeremy and Laura, the cutest couple ever.  Max, who has fallen asleep.  Matt the birthday boy. In this group of friends, the birthday boy or girl must wear this hat all day and add some kind of pin to it. Matt added a Rockies pin.  After the game, all the guys decided to hoist a girl up for pictures. You couldn't tell we'd been having a day of fun can you? Right to Left: Laura and Jeremy, Me and Matt, Lisa, Josh and Lisa's sister Gina. |
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Friday, August 4, 2006 Chores
Mom and Rebekah went to Pueblo to visit my sisters, while I stayed home to answer the telephone (just had a big ad come out in a magazine, so the phone rings off the hook with catalog requests, questions and orders), and catch up on chores.
Have you ever noticed how when several people in your home leave for a couple days or go on a vacation that they leave the house in, well, kind of a mess! But when you all leave you try to leave the house somewhat neat. At least I've found this to happen around here.
So I was a busy little "housewife" yesterday and then again today. Getting laundry done, folding the clothes, cleaning the bathroom, washing a rather large bunch of dishes (which I am positive I didn't get dirty) so I will have pans to cook in and utensils to eat with, vacuuming the floors...
Oh... speaking of vacuuming the floors... We have had one of the worst seasons of flying ants here. Do you get those? They look like large red ants with wings. They fly to every light source and all the males will huddle together trying to get to the female, ending up with a large "ball" of angry ants. I'm not real fond of insects, just ask my friends who've all seen me act like a sissy when there is a spider or almost any kind of bug. Anyways, so having a gillion ants in your house at night dive bombing you whilst they try to get to the light is NOT my way of having a good evening. Our house must have a flashing neon light at every possible bug entrance, "Come in and party!" It's to the point where I leave a light on in the laundry room or bathroom, wait a good amount of time for all the ants to leave my room, then I shut off that light and fumble my way to bed in the dark. This way I don't have to leap out of bed throwing off my clothes to find the ant who thinks that crawling on me is a way to make friends. Yes, trying to sleep after that is nearly impossible as every hair that moves on your body feels like a bug.
It's so bad that if there is a moon out I shut the curtains so the ants don't flock to the window, and I cover the light on my iPod speakers with a sock so they don't attract to that. And don't even think about being on the computer with no other "brighter" light on in that room. Not unless you like ants on your screen, that is.
So every morning I get to wake up to an array of dead ants on the kitchen floor. So gross. I can't wait until the ants die.
On to other topics... I have melodrama practice tonight. That's right! I am in this year's Kit Carson Day Melodrama (the closest thing Kit Carson will ever have to live entertainment). I've grown up watching this each year and it is one of the funniest things you'll ever see. All the cast, intermission acts, and musicians are local and there is only one thing they strive to do. Make You Laugh! The play (or melodrama as we like to call it) is always over the top. You have your fair heroin, your handsome hero, and your evil villian, along with some other hilarious sidekicks. The lines are, in a word, melodramatic.
This year we are headed to the South, Mississippi that is. This means that we all have to speak in a southern accent. Now, none of us have ever even been in the deep south, so we are winging this one. I play a grumbling cook. Not sure why mister director/villain exactly chose this part for me (sends a raised eyebrow in his direction), but I enjoy it anyhow. I'd rather have a part that is quirky and something I can throw myself into than a part that is somewhat normal. Practice thus far has been hilarious. We've all collasped into fits of giggles at one point or another. I'd do this again at the drop of a hat just to have this routine of laughter with friends.
I hope that when we actually perform this on Kit Carson Day (September 2nd, for those that are counting) I'll get someone to film it and then put it online (or at least part of it) for you all to watch. I guarantee you'll laugh.
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Sunday, July 30, 2006 Catching Up
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After being reminded (so kindly I might add) that I haven't
blogged in almost a month's time, I'm back to jot down a little news for my
wonderful readers. First of all, I CANNOT believe it's been a month since
my last post. Un Be Lieve Able! Time has just been flying.
My cousin's wedding went really well, the ceremony was informal,
but powerful. My mom's cousin's husband said some wonderful things.
The wedding party came together and laid hands on the bride and groom and
joined in prayer for their life together. It was an amazing moment.
There were quite a few moments of laughter as well. During the rehearsal
the night before a cricket had fallen out of the lighting in the ceiling (the
wedding was held in a 4H fair building) and a fellow bridesmaid and myself
shrieked and kept a nervous eye on the ceiling, lest one of its buddies should
join it, but land on our heads by mistake. So during the wedding, in the
midst of the vows what should fall from the ceiling just beside the
pastor? Yeah you guessed it. The whole wedding party cracked up and
the other bridesmaid gave me a look and we burst out laughing. Oh the
memories we'll have from that one.
Last week Mom, Rebekah and I drove to Kansas
City to help an old friend, Robin, from Kit Carson
move to her new place in Hays, Kansas.
Her and her husband and their little family (they have two adorable boys) were
leaving the big city. She is a chiropractor and is starting a new job in
Hays. Packing up and loading the trucks went really well. The humidity
was hard to get over, since we're dry land natives. The heat was
intensified and while Ive experienced it before Mom and Rebekah have never
been in Missouri in the
summer. It was completely foreign to them to be sopping wet without
having been in water. lol I must admit it was funny.
They were so kind and took us to Oceans of Fun in KC where we
cooled off in the pools and waterslides. Unlike Colorado
the pools were very warm! It was odd. You didn't really "cool
off" you just got wetter.
Robin also took us for a driving tour of downtown Kansas
City, some of which I am familiar with from my yearly
trips via train to Missouri.
I was able to point out Union Station to mom and Beka who were amazed at its
size and splendor (if you've never seen it, it is a really neat old building -
my grandparents were there in the 40's or 50's). I also
"introduced" them to my friend's fountain which is right in front of
the train station. There is a story to that one, but I'll be kind and not
publish it for the world to see.
Overall it was a lot of work, a lot of sweat, but enjoyable!
For the drive to Hays we really had a caravan. Robin's husband, Tim,
drove the big U-Haul, Robin drove all the kids in her minivan (a SPORT minivan
I should add), Tim's brother and wife drove their pickup with yard stuff in it,
mom drove our car loaded with TV's and pillows and blankets and pictures, and I
drove Tim's car. Yes. I drove in Kansas City.
And I lived to tell the tale! Amazing isn't it? I have to admit that
I was rather proud of that accomplishment. I might have been nervous as
can be, but I made it! The drive was rather long - 4 hours I believe, or
was it 5? Anyways, I was pretty tired when we rolled into Hays that
afternoon. Luckily there was a crowd of friends and family there to help
unload and set up house. Then there was pizza all around.
After getting home on Sunday I crashed, then woke up the next
morning to rush back into work and chores. The week has been crazy with
jobs, orders, and just catching back up with life.
So hopefully I'll be around a bit more and keep this blog a bit
more current than a post every month.
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To everything
there is a season,
and a time to
every purpose
under heaven...
A time to love...
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