Day 339

Took Scott to a baseball card show today so he could pick out his Christmas gifts. I did it by myself last year but he stress of it was too much!!! I think I WAY overpaid for the card I bought last year so I let him come this year & negotiate the price. It worked out GREAT & he was able to complete his set of 1959 cards!!! Woohoo!!!

Day 309

Pretty sunset on my drive home....

Day 278

More volleyball pics. I sure wish I could get better pics. Becca got to play ALOT during this game. The other team was NOT that good. Becca did very well. I wish she could play this much in ALL the games.

Day 249

After the joy (it really was fun) of the tournament at Bethel, we decided that Becca can go to Pana/Rosamond on the bus. Well, if she's going alone, she's going to need a bigger bag to carry all her stuff. We looked at all the stores & found one we loved at Target. Only problem: the only one they had was BOLTED to the price tag! HUH?? So they checked & had 2 of them at the Florissant store. Before driving 20 minutes there, I called them to make SURE they had it. They did & were holding it or me in Guest Services. Becca is VERY happy w/her happy pink gym bag. I'm happy to NOT go to Pana!!!

Day 217

Pretty butterfly we saw outside our hotel today. He/She sat there posing for us while I took pics. When I was done, he/she flew away. Pretty!!

Day 187

Ok, some people (my bros) will think this is the silliest thing but that's 'cause their kids are being raised totally different than mine. Their kids pee outside, have driven cars (to be fair, only in the driveway) since they could walk, have had their own 4-wheelers forever and have mowed lawns for $$$ since they realized they needed $$$$. LOL My kids are probably too sheltered. This is my fault but one of those things you only realize when it's too late???

Becca will turn 15 in a few months & wants to get her drivers license. She's never even been behind the wheel of a car and asked me the other day if the horizontal pedal was the gas?? I'm thinking I've done a dis-service to my kids. So, Scott decided that a little legal "behind the wheel training was in order. We let them drive the lawnmower around for a bit to see what it would kind of be like to drive. Nick had no fear of the mower & no idea where he was going. Kept going around in circles & way too near the tree for his mother's comfort. Becca was a little more timid about driving but more careful too.

While we're doing all this in the front yard, our neighbors across the street were out. Between them, they have raised 5 kids. I'm guessing they thought we were just crazy for getting so worked up about the "practice". Some of you are probably too. I know my brothers would be!!

Day 157

Nick's turn to pick dinner. First, he chose Buffalo Wild Wings. He had gone there on Wed night w/a friend, decided he liked it & wanted it for dinner tonite. Then, since Scott was NOT coming with us (he want to play cards w/the folks) he decided to pick a restaurant that Scott doesn't like. So, we ended up a Red Robin. I like their burgers but their fries are a bit flat. The seasoning is TOO much on the fries so I just put a tiny bit on my "plate" (basket, wax paper, whatever) and dip the fry. Yes, since it's MY plate, I double dip when necessary.

Why does the service at RR always seem to suck?!?! Our first trip there, they messed Scott's burger up TWICE & then the waitress complained to us that even tho the kitchen messes the orders up, the waitress always gets shafted for it. This did NOT please Scott & she got shafted on her tip & he refuses to go there anymore. The 2nd time I went (kids & I only), we got HORRIBLE service!! I chalked it up to the waitress assuming that I wasn't going to tip (women tip less than men, usually) so I DIDN'T tip & left a note that the service was bad & that's why no tip. This time, the service was adequate but not stellar. I'm not asking for the moon, just my soda refilled BEFORE I'm sucking ice out of the bottom of my glass and if you advertise bottomless fries, occasionally ASK if we want more! Of my soapbox now!

Day 126

The AC went out in the van. The van that has 103000 miles and transmission problems. I took it to a repair place and for the bargain price of $60 they told me the a/c is SHOT & will be at least $2000 to fix. ACK!!!

Scott & I went looking for new vans. We found a few bargains (given the economy & the auto market, I was expecting ALOT more!) and one van we LOVED. We talked turkey with the dealer and for $2000 and our van, we could pay $500 a month or the next 5-6 years! ACK

Given that they wanted $2000 for the joy of a car payment, we decided it was worth the $$$ to fix the van we have (and love more than the $1000 they were going to give us!) If we "pay" the savings $500 for 5 months, we've paid for the repairs. Any more months of use we get out of it are "free" (If anyone can follow what I'm saying here, I applaud you. And fear you as your mind works the same as mine!! Scary!!!)

So, we took the van to Wood River (you'll have to ask Scott why there instead of the dealer her in Alton) and for $2411.69, the repaired the AC, the transmission (just a leak), checked everything else over with a fine tooth comb and gave us a loaner car to use while they did the repairs. SWEET!! They pronounced the car in EXCELLENT shape after the repairs and they say we should get another 100000 miles out of it, easy!

So this is the loaner they gave us. While it's nice to drive a new car and play w/the toys I don't have (the kids loved the power rear windows!) I HATED this car!!! It's ugly, it's ORANGE and it's impossible to gracefully get in & out of. There are blind spots the size of Cleveland in it and the "cockpit" is way too confining! I'm soooooo glad to have my van back. Grimy steering wheel & door handles not withstanding. I think I'll take it for a good bath!!

Day 96

We had LOTS of flurries today. Luckily, none of it stuck. The trees & flowers look fine. But, it's supposed to get down to 28 tonite. We'll see what tomorrow holds.....

Day 65

I didn't take a pic yesterday. My media card is out of my camera & I can't get them together. In fact, I'm not real sure where the media card IS right now. LOL I gotta find it before I leave!

Anyway, this is a pic I took last year, 6/2/08 to be precise (at 8:32 pm according to my computer) I have NO idea why I took sky pics but, I'm guessing 'cause I thought they looked cool. I have a whole SLEW of sky pics on this day. I'm thinking this is from my back deck, looking over the top of my house. When I do random things, I'm gonna have to journal them IMMEDIATELY so I remeber what, when, how & WHY!!!

Day 37

The days are getting longer. Sunrise is earlier each day. Usually, when I leave for work, it's pitch black. Now, there's a hint of dawn in the sky. I'm weird; I LIKE leaving in the dark. Maybe I'm a vampire?? That would make Becca, the Twilight fan, happy. She wants us to move to Forks, WA. Unless you've read the books (which I haven't!) that doesn't mean anything to anyone.

Day 6

Wow! I spent all day thinking I had posted and I guess I didn't. Wow, that resolution didn't last long. Well, I guess I'll make up for it w/2 posts today.

Yesterday was laundry day. I got my fancy new LG Front Loader washer. It's pretty but, I'm afraid that might be all it is. I'm not sure I'm thrilled with it. I think I'll have to buy the HE soap to see if that make it all better.

Pros: LARGE capacity, detergent/softener/bleach dispenser that can be CLEANED (one of the problems w/my old washer was that it was FILTHY!!) and clearly, the cat likes it!

Cons: LONG wash times (48 minutes for an average load. Don't ask how long for a "sanitized" load!!) and even when I added MORE time for "stain cycle" the wussy stains on shirts didn't come out. I had to pre-treat, run it again & then the did come out, same as my old washer. The rest of the problems are user error or at least user ignorance: how much soap? how much softener, how big a load can fit into the dryer??

I was not able to purchase a new dryer ('cause the old one still works FINE) so now I'm worried that the giant loads I can wash in the washer are going to KILL my dryer. Although, I'm sure the dryer is just going to die of embarrassment as it looks so OLD compared to the washer. Poor dryer. It's 20yo (the washer was only 8) and still running like a champ. A champ that has had the snot beat out of it a couple too many times!

Anyway, I'm going to go today & buy the HE soap. Then, I will be confident that I'm putting enough soap in it. I'll learn to live w/the long cycles 'cause one day I'll be able to get the fancy pants dryer & it'll all balance out. The stained clothes are a rarity so I can deal w/that. I am REALLY HAPPY to have the washer & to be able to wash clothes when I want. I never realized how important that was until it was gone.

As soon as I posted this, I saw this cartoon. Thought it was appropriate. Although my kids, who had a snow day yesterday, pretty much kept themselves busy while I did all the laundry. I sure hope you can click on it & make it bigger!!