Christmas Eve

I am as giddy as a little kid. I didn't get to go to Christmas Eve at my in-law's last year because I was sick. Most of Tom's family I only see at this get together so I really missed out on quite a bit. We had a new baby born that I didn't even know about until the gift exchange list came out and I had the new baby's name to buy for. My nephew moved back home with Mom to get a leg up on finances, and a neice moved back here from Kansas City. I wasn't clear that she was even in Kansas City to begin with. Wow. I am an awful relative. I don't keep up with Tom's family the way I should. I do check out my neice and nephew's myspace so I sort of know what is going on with them, as for the rest, I am totaly ignorant of their lives. I don't feel as guilty as you might think. My Tom didn't really keep up with his family either. When he did, he didn't relay any information on to me, so I was ignorant when he was alive also.
To be sure, I enjoy all of them. I have been blessed with wonderful in-laws and wouldn't want anyone to think otherwise. Many of the young girls are so interesting and fun to talk to. When I am driving home I always think "Wow, why don't I talk to them more" because I have so much fun conversing with them all. So the blame lies withen me, I admit it. I don't call and don't visit with them like I should.
The point to all this is, in a very few hours we will be heading out the door to make the drive to Hutch to see them all, and I do mean all. My Mother-in-law doesn't ask for anyone to visit her except on Christmas Eve. To miss that is the quickest way to be excomunicated from the family. I have only missed twice, once because I was recovering from a major surgery and last year, I was puking up my guts. I do anticipate the visit, however I hate the drive. Ever since Tom died I have a hard time making the drive. I usualy cry all the way there and all the way back. The first year was the worst. I missed his presence so much it made me ill. Even though I an engaged to the most wonderful guy in the world that loves me beyond measure, I miss Tom. I am sure that will never go away, it has gotten easier, but won't leave me. Until you loose your spouse you won't understand. It is not like divorce where you severe the relationship, then move on. The relationship was not broken, or discarded, it was taken away entirely. Even though you move on, a part of you stays anchored in the past, unable to move away. Your love for the person doesn't leave you.
On a happier note, I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas. I wish you lots of fa la la la la's and much mistletoeing. I hope you swoon from the scent of fudge and peppermint. I hope you eat so much chex mix your lips feel shriveled up from all the salt in it. I hope that one crazy relative gets on your last nerve and it is enough to last you until next year. I hope your livingroom floor is a mess Christmas morning and your trash can is overflowing until the trash men show up and save you. I hope you remember to read Luke second chapter and revel in the awsomness of Christ's love for us. Merry Christmas loved ones, AW

Ahh, the smells of Christmas.

One thing is for sure, I don't need any stupid candle that smells like baked cookies to make my house smell good. I have started making Christmas treats. So far I have made Chex Party Mix, Oyster Crackers with dry Hidden Valley and dill spice, and 18 pounds of fudge. I still have the Puppy Chow and Chocolate Covered Pretzels yet to go.
The kids decided to get into the mix yesterday and dug out my 1001 Cookie Reciepe cook book. Kaitlin and T.J. decided to make gingerbread and butter balls. While we were at Wal-Mart getting the gifts for the Keazer gift exchange we picked up the items we needed to bake those cookies. They got the butter balls done, sort of. I didn't help them a bit. This was their first solo project baking. You know, they can't do anything without fighting. The butter balls are a little on the dry side and some don't really resemble balls, but they are so proud of their efforts. They took some next door to Anthony and Alyssa. Alyssa said "They taste like biscuts with powderd sugar". I explained the difference between baking and cooking. Not all cooks bake and not all bakers cook. I also told them they will never get good at it if they never try it. So, today they will tackle the gingerbread. We aren't making men, just cookies. I didn't have the cash for all the decorations and I don't own a cookie cutter. I made this executive decision after doing quick math in my head and realizing I am broke from Christmas shopping. I can't wait to see the kitchen after this adventure. However, I impressed upon them the need to clean the kitchen as though they had never entered it in the first place, and they did.
As for me, today, I will finish my treats up and start the labor of wrapping presents. This year T.J and I decided to do the "themed tree" and went with all silver and white for decorations. It looks great. I decided to do the same with the wrapping paper, silver and blue, even the shirt boxes. I think some of Auntie Karen has rubbed off on me. Anyone who has ever seen her packages knows what I am talking about. You would almost rather NOT open them so you don't spoil the wrap job. She makes them look so beutiful. Mine won't look that good I am sure but I will at least make an effort, and they will all match under the tree, this year. I may grow tired of matching things and go back ecclectic which is my true nature I think.

Vacation!

I am so happy, I am on vacation until the 29th! I hope you like the new pics. I was on my way to Derby going the back way and had to stop and pull over several times. It is begining to look a lot like christmas I think. Nox spent the night last night and I got som cute pics of him.

Getting over Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was great! We went to Medicine and had a grand feast. Mike's dad can really cook. He put on a huge spread all by himself. He is such a good cook. He made everything that you would want at a Thanksgiving feast. T.J. had been sick days prior to the holiday so we were worried we may not make it. Then Mike came down with a terrible cold. He took cold medicine and away we went. He is still feeling bad today. I didn't get very many pics, I did however, take several videos, one of which I posted on myspace. I don't know how to do it on the blogspot or I would. The blogspot is harder to use then myspace and doesn't have as many cool features. Anyway, we had a wonderful holiday. I hope you all did also. I am looking forward to Christmas. I got the house ready tonight so we can put the tree up tomorrow. I will try to get some pics and not just videos!

The day after.

Last night was Justin's big event the Downtown Throwdown II. Wow, was it great. It seemed to me that there was more in attendance then the last one. The show went off without a hitch and they raised $3500 for Jo-Jo to help her get to China for her surgery. Wow! We got a new boxing commissioner here in Kansas so Mike was able to work the event. He officitated half of the event. he did a great job as usual. I am so proud of him! I had what in retrospect was too much fun. I woke up with a horrible headache and upset tummy. Hmmm. Anyway, I did get my spiffy new videocam to work! I was able to download to my computer all the footage I took and somehow I will figure out how to post it on myspace soon. I am too tired for that nonsense tonight. I love that camera! It is only as big as my cell phone but wow is it wonderful.

Fight Day

I am soooo excited! Today is the day of Havic Productions big "Downtown Throwdown II" at Cetnury II. I have had my out fit for a month. I took yesterday off to get my house clean and tie up any loose ends so I have all day today to do what I want. Mike's Dad and brother with their women will be in today. It is up to me to entertain since Mike is in Ponca City working until later this afternoon. I am looking forward to that, his brother is a hoot and so is his Dad. Last night my girlfriend Jamie took me shopping with her to find a shirt for the fights. While we were out my stepdaughter Shandi called and asked me to pick something up for her and she would pay me back when I got home since she got off late and had no time to shop. I also picked up a rocken pair of boots for me. The point of all this is, I am ready for the fights. I also go a spiffy new digital videocam from Mike. I am having a bit of trouble using it. It does so much I get confused as to how to record then play back and such. I only have a few more hours to master it. Oh, I DID read the instructions. So I promise some pics sometime this week.

Veteran's Day

I had today off so I went SHOPPING! I went to Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Pier One. I love PierOne, and they had CLEARANCE! Yippee. I met up with Jamie and we had Mexican. What a cool day. I have not done one thing constructive at all. How awesome is that? I finally got some new pics up there. I had to show Jamie how to send them in an e-mail, so no more snickering about me just now burning a cd.

Just because.

I am so glad Mike is home from Colorado. Wow do I miss him when he is gone. We spend Waaay too much time together so when he is gone I am at odds with what to do with myself. You will be pleased to know I burned my first cd. No big deal for most people but I am a dork, so it is quite a feat. Clap, hold your hands together and go shake them over each shoulder and go "Yea!" Don't laugh, I am very pleased with myself. Actually my kids got several iTunes cards for their birthdays and I got in there and burned a cd off of their play lists. Thank you everyone that gave them iTunes! I also burned cd's with all my photos on them. Wow. I feel good about that. I would hate to loose like several hundred pics. Damn those digital cameras to hell. I can't beleive how may pics I take because I don't have to go get them developed. I end up "saving" tons of them just because. Just because what? Oh hell, I don't know, just because. This philosophy has helped me keep photos I might otherwise just delete. Oh, it will all fit on a disc, just keep it, just because. Fine, so now I have a gazillion pics I will never use for any reason, but, I kept them just because.

The weekend is here.

It looks like I need to update my header photo there, we are into fall and I still have a summer photo up. Kaitlin's birthday was Thursday, I got her a new digital camera. Wow, does she love it. She is taking pics of everything, and I mean everything. I remember my first camera, what a let down compared to the digitals of today. I got that nice little 110, woo hoo, you leaded the film, pointed, clicked and nothing. Then you had to wind it up and at the end of the film roll you had to wind it all back the other way. Wait for a few months until your Mom took you to the store to develop them, then wait another month for Mom to pick them up. Then, once you got them back half of them were of your finger that had inadverantly gotten in the way of the lens and another third of them were black or so fuzzy you couldn't tell what they were of. Lo and behold about 2 or 3 of them had people or recognizable objects in them. Of those 2 or 3 you maybe got one that was worth keeping because the objects eyes were open or they didn't look completly stupid. However, there is something to be said for film photography, I still like to hold photos in my hand and tuck them away into a photo album with a nice little caption next to them. Somehow I feel like they are more real them the uploaded pics on a computer screen. To be sure, I love the fact we can all share so much of our lives with loved ones across the country in a matter of seconds. But I still like to warm up a cup of tea on a rainy day and dust off the photo albums and reminsce with my children and laugh at my dorky old hairstyles and glasses with them. Barring flood or tonado those pictures will be around for quite some time, but I have lost countless pics on my computer because the computer has failed and I did not back up my files on disc like I am suppposed to. I don't miss the days of having countless undeveloped rolls of film lurking around the house in a drawer. I remember having to take in about 7 rolls at once to get developed. some of the pictures I got back were so old I could not remember taking them! In either case, kudos to the digital, and kudos to the old film photos. They both have their place. Chow for now.

The got through the Forest of Terror

Wow, another busy weeked. I don't want to sound like I am complaing, but boy have I been on the go. Saturday was T.J's last regular season football game. They lost. Darn. They will now go to at least one tournament game, after that we will have to see what they will do. So, for now, they still have practice. Darn again. Satuday afternoon T.J's best friend Justin lost his grandma to breast cancer. Darn, double darn. Just one month ago she was sitting next to me at a football game, and at that moment nobody even knew she had cancer! Triple fn darn. I hate that anyone has to go through what me and my family went through. The 28th is the anniversary of Tom's death. I miss him so much and so do my kids. Even though I am engaged to a wonderful man and am so blessed to have him I still miss Tom. Saturday night the kids and I went with Shandi and her new man to the Forest of Terror. I loved it. It was the first time that Kaitlin and Shianne had ever been so we had fun watching them be so scared. Both of them swear they will never go again. Lol. Today I went jean shopping. I think I should just kill myself. I hate the fact that you can never find a good fitting pair of jeans. I found one pair out of about 15. I don't have to say anymore because you all know how it is. I also got to visit with a friend of mine that lives in Missouri. She was here visiting family so I buzzed by to see her. Then of course I had to dig out the sweat shirts. That meant moving all the summer stuff out of the closet. No wonder I am tired!

I love Saturday Morning.

I really do love Saturday mornings. I love when everyone is asleep and I am the only one up, coffee cup in hand with nothing to do but sit here and pluck on the keyboard. It is so chilly outside, it is about 39 degrees. There really is frost on the pumpkin, or at least the last remnants of a tomato or jalapeno plant! The ground is still all wet from this entire week of dreary, drizzly weather. I can see the leaves changing and I love the way they look on mornings like this, all damp and colorful. Today T.J has his last football game. What a relief! Tonight Shandi and her new man and I are taking the kids haunted housing. That will be so much fun. I will let you know how it goes.

They tell me I am glowing.

No, I am not pregnant. Lol. Everyone at work tells me I am glowing. Must be the marriage proposal huh? I really am happy, I still feel all goofy and love sick. I know, stop before you get sick. Lol. Anyway, this time is so different then my other marriages, back then it was like hurry and get it done. I had so much going on with little kids and such I couldn't enjoy and savor anything. This time is so much more thought out, it is what we want to do, not what I have to do. To be sure, I would have married Tom anyway, but I really had to, or rather felt I had to for the kids sake. This time I just plain want to marry the guy. I know that there is no reason other then we want to be together and that is just awesome! This time I can plan what I want to do, not what has to be done. I can take my time, or not, it doesn't matter. There is no sense of urgency like before, and that is so nice.

I'm getting married!

That's right, I am getting married! I am so excited, I feel like a teenager going on her first date. Mike asked me to marry him Wednesday after the kids and I got home from my little brother's birthday party. Wow, I didn't expect it at all. I didn't think I wanted to get married again and I had no idea I would say yes, even to Mike. Something about the look in his eyes told me he meant it and I just turned to mush. He was afraid I wouldn't say yes, matter of fact, he was convinced I would say no! He said "Third time is a charm, or a nightmare. I guess we will both find out together". Lol. As to when and where, it will be after the first of the year and I am thinking either the beach (and you all know WHICH beach) or Vegas baybe. I think it would be cool to get married by Elvis but, I also would love to get married on the beach with just like 4 guests two of them being my little one's. And, I blame this all on Stacey.

Why oh why do I have to work?

I keep asking myself, why oh why, do I have to work? Man, I am pooped. The weather has finally cooled off so it is not miserable at work, but, it is still work. Just 6 short months and I won't be back in that stinking warehouse anymore. It seems as if time is standing still in that aspect. I hate my job more and more everyday. Most of it is that I am getting too old to do that type of heavy work anymore. It may be better to say I am gettin too old and don't want to do that type of work anymore. There has to be a better way to make a living. We went to Mcpherson for some fights this weekend. Sorry, no pics yet, but I will do that soon. After the Mcpherson trip we made a trip to see my Father-in-law so that sucked down my Sunday. My brother from Maryland was here last night on his way to Phoenix so I was busy with that. Tonight T.J had a choir concert. Poor kid, he hates it. He was put in there for lack of another class and there are only 3 boys in the class. He is such a trooper, he got up and sang anyway. His football team has only lost one game. We will travel to Hutch this Saturday for his next game. He is excited because his grandparents will be able to see that game. Kaitlin has her last cross country meet on Friday. She has not gotten any medals but she has finished every race and did not stop to walk once so kudos to her. Not bad since she only did it to get out of housework, huh? Well enough for now. Cheers to all of you lovely people, miss you all and I promise to post new pic before the end of the week.

Jocelyn

I want everyone that read this to go to my myspace and please check out my granddaughter Jocelyn's myspace. Please do this for her and our family. Now all that said, I had a wonderful weekend! Thursday right after work Mike and I took off to Medicine to see his Dad. We left the kids with their older sister Shandi and we didn't come back until Saturday afternoon. We had a ball. We might have had too much of a ball. I think the Wild Turkey we drank was bad because it gave both of us a terrible headache the next day. It also made us very tired and lethargic. Hmmm. Beyond the bad turkey, we had so much fun.

Please, no more partys for a while!

I really am too old for this. Jamie had her birthday party yesterday. Friday Mike and I got a bit buzzed and went to play miniature golf. I will never drink again. Don't scoff, I just may never drink again. I will also never smoke again. I am just enjoying the time with Mike. His season is getting ready to break loose so our time together will be limited. He already has all sorts of dates set which translates to money for us but lots of time away from home for him. T.J. got let out of prison. I hope he meets with the parole officers demands and doesn't reoffend any time soon.

The day after Hurricane Willms.

Wow, what a night. I am feeling just how you would expect me to feel. Originaly we were going to have some people over to a simple little BYOB with a fire and chips and dip around 8 in the evening. This would give me plenty of time after T.J's football game to get everthing ready. Right? No. Mike wanted to invite Bill and Jamie over a little early and feed them some steaks. Fine, we could do that, they could come over around 6:30 and I would still have time since it was only 2 people. Right? Wrong. Sometime Friday night, and I do mean night, Mike feels guilty about not feeding his kids. What? You are joking right? No. So, what began as a simple little get together turned into a big bar-b-Que. As expected the football game ran way over so I was just getting home when people were rolling in. Oh my. Don't get me wrong, I love having everyone over, I just didn't have time to plan ahead for it. Mike got the bright idea to make people put their nose on a golf club and run around it ten times then hit a whiffle ball. Oh, my. Glad it was just whiffle balls. I think there are about 20 whiffle balls in the ditch behind our fence and in various neighbor's yards. Bill was the life of the party, he decided to start a water fight with Kaitlin and I. As in real wars, there are no clear winners. But there were plenty of soaked people after. Stacey brought S'mor fixens for the kids and that was a huge hit of course. So, as predicted the night was a huge success. You may wonder why T is not mentioned, or in any pics. He is in "jail" for the next week. He got grounded. Kaitlin brought up how when she was grounded during one of our famous "fight party's" she wasn't allowed to join in the festivities. So there you go. fun was had by all except T, oh, we did feed him bar-b-Que and he did escape his cell more then once.

Monday

Wow, what a week we had. T.J. lost his game Saturday 18-19 in overtime. Darn. Kaitlin had her first cross country meet. Her team took 3rd. Not too bad for their first one. I am proud of her for finishing and not giving up. We have most of the bedroom done. Whew. It took more then we thought to get it done but, I think that is how those kinds of things go. KK has 2 meets this week so I think between that and football I will be swamped as usual. Sunday we built a fire in the firepit and sat out there until late. We even ate our supper out there after the kids went to bed. It was so nice. The weather has finally dried up and the temp is just perfact. I love fall.

My vacation

My vacation so far sucks. I had great plans to renovate my bedroom but it appears that I will not get any help with the project. Great, so I will persevere, surely I can at least paint the room adequately. If not, well it is my room anyway so no harm no foul I spose.

Monday

Well, here are some of the pics I promised you. I can't beleive how pretty Kaitlin is getting all of a sudden. T.J. commented how much weight he has lost since he started football, you can really tell in the pics. Today Kaitlin joined the track team. I am glad she is doing something. I told her she had to do most of the housework since T spends 8-10 hours a week at football. I said when she found something to do (listning to music and tv don't count) to keep herself busy she would not have near as much housework. Wow, I guess that was all the motivation she needed! If I had known that I would have said that months ago. I also wanted to see if my sis would really check out the blogspot by posting the one pic. We shall see.

Glad to be back

I am glad to be home. The kids, Trace and I drove up to Wamego to see my sis and her husband. It was a great trip. The kids were great and so was the weather. I got some much needed sis time which has been sorely lacking for quite some time. but, alas, I fell in a freakin hole. I don't think my back will ever heal correctly, if it does I will just fall again! Lol. I got some great pics but I am too tired to post any right now so you will all just have to wait on them. When we rolled back into town I dropped off the kids and washed the truck then went to Wal-Mart to buy groceries. Now I feel washed up but content to feel that way. It has been a very busy weekend but way worth it. I have to announce that Kevin had his first neice finally! Samantha was born by c-section and from what I gather is doing very well. Woo-hoo. Yell like a redneck. I can just see him Mom and Dad right now! I honestly can see what Bonnies face looks like with that smile on her face!

I feel like a Queen.

O.K. I didn't go to the movies, I didn't sit around and eat bon bons and watch soaps, and I didn't shampoo the carpets like I said I would yesterday. Mike was out of town, and the kids were in shchool so I had all those hours to burn. I had all these wonderful plans I listed above and what did I do? Nothing. All working Mom's know nothing is good. Nothing is wonderful. Nothing is bliss. Well, I did something, but, nothing constuctive really. I did do my housework since I am going out of town today and I don't want to come back to a messy house. My laundry is all done and the house is spotless, well, as spotless as it can be with 2 kids, one grandkid and 2 dogs running around in it. Then I went tanning. Mental note, time to buy more minutes. I won't be using much once summer is over but this is when Mike uses them. He likes to look tanned when he goes on his Rasslin trips and his season will be gearing up soon. I went and got a pedicure. I am addicted to those. I had to find a cheaper place then Sveta's since I love pedicures so much and could not afford Sevet'a anymore. Now the Asian's do mytoes and do a might fine job of it! I hooke dup with my friend Jamie and we did what we do best, shop and eat chocolate. Lol. Then alas, reality set in and the kids came home. Back to football and careing for others again. It all ended too soon, but for one brief moment I was single with not a care in the world.

Another weekend

Well, another week has come and gone. It has been a long stressful week to say the least. My wedding anniversary with Tom was on 8-7. I still miss him so much. I had a rotten head cold that sort of tried to become a chest cold. I finally did kick that but it took a whole week and a half. I ran into Annette at Wal-Mart and she still won't talk to me. It's too bad. Mike and I are going to Oklahoma to visit a friend next weekend. We will do some fishing, it should be lots of fun. Hopefully I won't get stuck in the mud and hopefully we can keep the truck out of the mud as well! LOL!

It's hot

I am so hot. It is hot at work and football has started so after work I get to go sit in the heat some more. Nice, real nice. Mike and I went to Medicine Lodge for the weekend and had the best weekend we have ever had. I got stuck in a cow suck hole, which I can tell you sucked, for real, it sucked my shoes right off! So I am stuck in the mud clear up to my knees digging my sneakers out with my butt in the air and Mike sneaks up behind me and you and I both know what is on his mind. I told him if he knoked me over I would kill him and throw him in the pond. The next day we went fishing again and decided that around noon is was time to leave because of the heat. Mike takes me to another little pond he knows about and got the truck stuck in the mud. What happened was he was shaking the steering wheel and looking at me to see my boobs jiggle and we shushed off into the marshy area. Well, we had to have his friend come tow us out. All in all it was more fun. We sat there in the truck and just laughed and laughed, he is such a goof ball. School is getting ready to start, woo-hoo. Oh, and by the way, I had no idea there was a difference between football cleats and baseball cleats. Apparently there is so now T is a proud owner of baseball cleats and is playing football. Geeze.

July 31

Well, the kids have been at my sisters for 4 days. They will come home today and I am so ready! they drive me nuts when they are here but the house is way to quiet when they are gone. The time alone with Mike has been "da bomb" to say the least. We have run off the the casino and got home sort of late. One night we blew up the camping mattress in the front room and ate ice cream and watched tv all night. We rented "The Bucket List, Fools Gold, and Into the Wild". I highly recomend Into the Wild if you haven't seen it. The Bucket List was hard for me to watch because what is was about but sill worth watching. Then Fools gold is simply full of eye candy, yummy, and a cute story line. So all in all it has been a good few days alone with Mike. Even Shandi has been scarce since she knows we want some alone time. I only answered the phone for my kids and Kevin. Oh, by the way, it is official, I will be going to Ingleside and Port A again for vacation. This year it will be just me. Woo-hoo. I so plan on sitting on the beach with a beer in my hand and a cigarette in the other all day. Kevin and I will show the world exactly what the term "beach bum" REALLY means!

I am still here

Well, so much has happened since I last blogged here. I got a myspace which is just as much a time killer as this page is. I had to get it since Shandi sent me some pics from her myspace so I had to create my own. I am stupid. Anyway, I fell 2 weeks ago and got a hairline fracture in my vertabrae. No, that is not what hurts, it is my leg that hurts, I also tore some muscles in the back of my leg when I fell and that is what kept me from working for a week then put me on light duty for another week. I am doing much better now and on Monday I will return to normal duty's at work. How did I fall? I slipped on a spot of water on the floor in front of the kitchen sink and no I wasn't drinking. Well, I WAS drinking water at the time. Stupid water. That is what I get for drinking the hard stuff I spose!

Tuesday the 1st

Well, what can I say? The fights rocked. My man was so good as a ref. I was so proud. He did the entire card by himself! He had 2 title matches and one pro title match. He was perfect. I was standing outside smoking and I over heard someone say "Well, at least we had a good ref tonight". Yessss! The after party was a little lame but I had had enough beer by then I really didn't care much. You can tell by the pics I am sure. It was a nice weekend all around. I am so glad he always takes me with him. If you had told me three years ago that I would be hanging around the fight world I would have told you that you were nuts. But, here I am, in as Kevin puts it "In the Alpha Male World". Lol. I love it. I love that my man is a stud, I know that is one thing that bugs most of you about him but, since I am the one dateing him I spose that is all that matters is what I think. That is just one of the many issues it appears that people have with him. It should be said again, I Love How Tough My Man Is. I love that I can go to any where with him and not one person would think of disrespecting me because of him and what he can do. Yes, he does give off a cocky attitude and some have mistaken it for being insecure and Short Man Syndrome. I hate to tell you, it's not it at all, he is cocky. He isn't afraid of bucking horses, or a 2000 pound bull or any thing else. So call it cocky and insecure, I like it.

I'm back!

I know, I know, it has been forever since I posted ANYTHING! Sorry, it is summer and there is so much to do to the house. I will post more pics later. As you can see I got new furniture, I also have re-done my utility room. I have been very busy with the house and yard. Apparently, all my renovations have struck a sour note with several of my friends. These people seem to think that all the things that have been done to the house are "All Mike's fault". There is way too much for me to let you in on just at this moment but rest assured, I will address all the false alligations thrown at Mike in the last week or so. My computer has no place in my new living room so I hastily set it up in my kitchen so I could check my email and post this for you all. I will take some pics of the utility room and my new front yard and post them soon. I will be going to Hutch this weekend (the 28th) for some fights. My kids will stay all night with their Grandparents while Mike and I go to the fights. Mike will be an official so I guess I will be the one going and he will be working. Glad to be back. I hate to say it but, with the fights it will be at least another week or so before I can post again. X's and O's to you all.

May 29

Well, here are the long awaited pics. I have been so busy working in the yard I havn't had any spare time. I feel bad blogging while Mike is out in the yard STILL working! I had to dig up all those flower beds, I couldn't keep up with them. The yard is so much easier to take care of now. I will add things later if I want but, for now I need less to weed eat around!

April 23

It has been so long since I have been able to sit down to the computer! Annette's daughter Jewell came into town for a short visit with her new baby Annette, she is a little doll. Shandi moved about 2 minutes away from here last weekend. The kids and I helped her move on Friday and Saturday then we spent half the day Sunday mowing and rakeing her yard so the kids would be able to play in it. I was so tired and sore Sunday. I had no pain releiver at all in the house but, I was too tired to even go get any. Now that is tired! I have spent so much time with Shandi I have a weird disconnected feeling not having her right next door anymore. I am so used to her and the kids simply comming and going at will it is strange to no have them here. Mike is done with his wrestling season for this year. He got back from Sacramento Monday and I am glad to have him home again. Now he will concentrate on his MMA match making and officiating.

April 12

Whew, it is done! Mike went out of town on the 28th and did not get back until the 8th. My truck went into the bodyshop with hail damage. Well, I was stuck at home with no man or no vehicle so I did what anyone would do, go nuts. Shandi and I went paint shopping and here is the result. Mike txted me goodnight from Reno last Friday night at 2 a.m. and for the life of me I could not go back to sleep, so, I got up and painted the red wall. I was back in bed by 4:40. Then back up by 9 and hitting it hard again. Shandi came over to drink coffee and did the cutting in for me. There were both were in our pj's sucking on coffee mugs and cigaretts painting. Lol. Do we need a life or what? I also moved the living room around, painted the hallway the same off white in the kitchen, and hung a wicker and grapevine shelf in the bathroom. Shandi said I was tweekin! Now that some funny stuff. So now my living room and kitchen are both Eddie Bauer Barn Red and Cloth for those of you DIY types. Yesterday was my birthday also. Debbie and Jamie took me to lunch at Bell Luna, yum. Mike forgot. EVERYONE I know called him and gave him shit about it. In his defense, this is his first birthday with me. Anyone that knows me knows that I never remember birthdays, I remember the month but not the dates, so it is no big deal to me. I hate the fact that I am 42. Just saying 42 and feeling it spew forth from my mouth like puke bothers me. Lol.

March 30th

Oh what a day I had! Most of the past week has been spent by Shandi, Mike and I tag teaming each other and watching Justin and Stacy's children. They have 4 of them, they both work full time and Justin was putting together the MMA event so they needed help. That in itself was an adventure! One evening Mike and I had us plus 12 to feed! Which, believe it or not, I loved doing. Now understand, I don't want to do it every day, but I did like having all the kids over. Yesterday it seemed that Shandi and I spent the better part of the day getting ready for the event. Guys won't get that but all the chicks reading this will. Lol. Our neighbor from across the street came over for a bit and found out what we were doing that evening. She looked at us and said "It is only 3:00, you don't have to be there until 7, why are you getting ready now"? LMBO. We just looked at each other and giggled. But, as you can see by the pix I posted it paid off because we were smokin' hot! I wore those new Silver Jeans, I have NEVER paid that much for jeans, EVER! Thank goodness my man paid for them, cuz I never would have bought them otherwise.
The event itself was a success I think, I don't know the final numbers but, people seemed to be having a good time and the fights were good. It is all about the entertainment! I have very sore feet from my high heels, and I smoked more last night then I have in a week. What an awesome time! The downside to it all for me was Mike couldn't be there, he was under contract to work in Topeka this weekend. Darn! I had to txt him after each and every match to tell him who won and how. At the beginning of the evening that was fine, but give me a few beers and wow, it got somewhat challenging! Now I have a few hours to recover before I go pick my kids up from Jim and Debbie's house. I will sip my coffee and look at the gray mist outside and revel in what a great life I have here in this little burg.

March 29

Well I am back! Tomorrow is the big fight night! Justin (Mike's son) has a production company and he is putting on a show at Century II. It is a 10 fight MMA event and I am stoked. Sadly, Mike can't be there, he is in Topeka for a wrestling tournament. He left today and will get back Sunday then turn around and leave Monday for Reno and not get back until the 9th. Then on the 16th he will turn around and leave for Sacramento on the 16. I posted the latest pics I have taken. Joselyn is Stacy's little blind girl. She is a doll and I got to babysit her the other day. She loves to sing and dance and is so sweet. We have also gotten Lennox several times and Kaitlin really won't put him down. Somehow I am settling in to being a Grandma. I'm still unsure about all that except I love having the kids over. Mike loves to cook and I run around taking care of the kids and it works. Trace is the only one that calls me Grandma, the rest call me Nanny which I prefer, it doesn't sound so old to me. I think I am just kidding myself, old is old. Nanny, Grandma, Granny whatever, it means old! How the hell did this all happen I wonder. I am still the 15 year old at heart that loves to rock out. But when I do my kids get really embarrassed.LOL. Anyway, I was told by Mike I had to txt him after every fight with the results. Not asking much of someone that will be drinking I am sure. So, check back and I will fill you all in. That is unless some of you make it to the event.

He is Risen!

And the proper response when someone says that to you is "He is risen indeed"! I love Easter. Today was super for me. Trace and Shandi went with me to church. Shandi went to my Sunday School with me. It was really nice. As you can see from the pics I made a bunch of baskets up on Saturday evening. Nine total. Each basket must have weighed about 4 pounds of nothing but pure chocolate with some gumballs thrown in for good measure! My sister tells me I have turned into my mother or grandmother, then she laughs. Great, I am my mother, every womans greatest fear realized. Mike got to officiate 4 fights at the Pub Thursday. You can view last months at www.pictage.com Americas pub Valentines Day Massacre. Happy Easter to you all!

March 16

Wow, what a weekend! We had Deb's party Friday night. I forgot my camera so sorry no pics. The kids spent the night at Jim and Debbies so Saturday I took full advantage of the situation and cleaned the house. Saturday night was the party at Stuart's house. In true Irish fashion the entire house was decked out in green and alcohol! The fridge was so full of beer nothing else would fit. Lauren says "Ah, what a beautiful sight". LOL. Stuart made the traditional St. Pat's turkey. Lol. There was corned beef also of course. So today, I plan on napping!

March the 13th

Thankfully the work week is almost over. This has been one of the longest weeks I have had in a while at work for some reason. I am at a part of my job that is very demanding and makes me very tired. I work on what is called a purge which is just that, getting rid of things. I am at the part where I am getting rid of big, heavy bulky things, lots of ladder climbing and walking and boy do my feet know it. I treated myself to a pedicure today after work. Whew did my feet need it. It is sad that we have to pay people to massage our feet! Boy do my tooties look good! Tomorrow is Deb's birthday party and on Saturday is the St. Patty's Day party at my little brother's house. Stuart married an Irish Catholic girl so it is like a National Holiday for them.

March 9

Well what a busy weekend! We had Bill's birthday party yesterday and boy did I have fun. There was so much food. Jill always prepares enough food to feed a country, not a third world country but a country like Canada or the USA. I did go hungry to the party since I knew I would get "hooked up" and I was right. I had some lovely spinach rollups which had spinach in them. I was told that the girl that makes them had forgotten the spinach one time and they have never let her live it down. Everyone that got a rollup was told "They have spinach in them". It really was funny. I must admit, I cried on the way there, I couldn't help but think about Tom. It is hard to go to family functions, I always think of him on the way there. But, can't complain, I have family, right? I hope you all enjoy the pix! Next weekend is Debbie's birthday so I am sure there will be plenty more fun pix to look at!

Friday

I can't believe it is finally Friday. This has been a very long week. Last night Alyssa and Anthony spent the night and we had a brownie issue. Sometime around 9:30 they asked me if I could make brownies. Of course I told them no, it was too late. So they asked Mike if he would make them. He told them the same thing. I tucked all the kids in bed (or so I thought) and went to bed myself. Somewhere around 11:30 I smell brownies cooking. Hmmm. I see a light under my bedroom door and think to myself "Oh no they didn't". Yes they did. I get up to see an empty brownie box on the counter with a pan with brownie crust on it. Hmmm. It turns out they got up and made them anyway. Of course they all blamed each other, Kaitlin said "I told you guys to clean up the kitchen better"! T.J. said "I had nothing to do with it" yet he had brownie around his mouth. Anthony said "I told you even if you cleaned it up she would smell it"! Rotfl 100x. So, the kids are grounded from each other this weekend. Oh how much fun is it to have kids! The funniest part is they did not cook them all the way since Anthony was certain I would smell them so they ate them with a spoon since they were mostly dough. Lol. Now that is some funny stuff!

March 4

O.K. No, I didn't fall off the face of the Earth, nor did I get tired of blogging. I am not very computer savy and was having trouble with a blaster virus. I had to mess with firewalls and such and now I will have to regrow all the hair on the top of my head since I pulled it all out trying to fix the stupid computer. The good news is I got it fixed, the bad news is I have no idea what I did right to get it going again. Dumb luck that is for sure. I am over that awful flu bug going around lately, hopefully it is over with for the season. I missed 2 days of work and lost a total of 4 days due to the fact I couldn't get upright all weekend. I will post new pics this weekend I am sure. I did not realize how much I enjoyed my little electronic diary until I couldn't get to it! While I was sick I did rent "American Gangster". I usually love Denzel, not that I disliked the movie, it is just very slow until right before the end. Rent it just to look at him if nothing else. Time to go to bed since I have been sitting here on this computer for several hours now. Until tomorrow folks, sleep well.

Feb.8

Well, I just finished putting more pics of Tom here and it sucked just as bad as the other time. I really wanted to show Tom and his crew. Russ, Tonya, Randy, Kelli, Doug, Mike, Connie, Aubry are still kind enough to let me run with them. Tom loved getting together with all of them and partyin or play pool or poker. His entire crew is full of characters that really enriched his life and mine. There was never a deficit of laughter when they were all together. The last time they invited me out the song "So Far Away" by Nickelback came on the radio as I was driving to the restaraunt. I couldn't help think that Tom was wishing he was going to be there with us. For those of you that don't know, that was one of the songs Tom picked out for his funeral. He told me to think of him every time I heard it and I am cursed to do so forever. I cry EVEY time. I wish I had better pics of Tom. Please, please take lots of pictures of yourself and of all your loved ones. You never know when you won't get anymore.

Feb, 6th

O.K. I am a sloth. I did not, repeat did not work out today. You want to know the reason why? Well, because I didn't want to walk in the snow to the gym. I know I only have to walk one block but it was so yucky out thatI decided to DRIVE and do errends. There you have it, I am lazy. Not so much lazy just worried about my comfort. Lol. Anyway, I plan on "hitten it hard" tomorrow. I neglected to tell you all that I took the kids to a concert Monday night. We went to go see Casting Crowns. It was so good. If you are not familiar with their music you need to check them out, even if they are not your usual genre you just may love them. Last night I must tell you Kaitlin cooked dinner all by herself. She made a roast and it was great. Now, it was a very easy recipie: one can of cream of mushroom soup, one envelope of onion soup and a can of pop. Then just bake for 2 1/2-3 hours at 350. Sounds sick I know but it rocks. It makes the BEST gravy ever. Try it sometime. Also, am I the only person who really doesn't care this time around about any of the presidential candidates? I honestly don't like any of them. Hmm. I think I should run for office.

I think I may just die

OMG. I think I may just die. I started my workout yesterday after almost 3 months off. For those of you that don't know, I have lifted weights (free weights, not those girly machines) since around 1999. Oh my, I can't lift my arms, it is really funny to see me try to lift my coffee cup to my lips. I sort of stretch my lips out as far as I can and dip my head toward the mug. The entire time I am making a sound like "Ouugh". I can't take a large breath my ribcage hurts so much from my situps. I swear, I will never take that long off EVER. My goal is 40 more pounds this year. I am going back to Mustang Island to see my Kevin and Robin so I have to get beach ready. Not to mention I hate having a "muffin top" over my jeans. I am not so much hungry as I am in so much pain I don't think I could lift a fork to my lips anyway. I have to use my left arm to lift my right arm to scratch my left shoulder. Oh why oh why did I ever let myself get fat I wonder. I also started back at using the stairs at the city building every morning, that is 6 flights of stairs every morning. Three months ago I could jog up the stairs and not even break a sweat. Yesterday I thought my lungs were going to burst out of my body. Oh well.

Feb. 2nd and this sucked.

Putting all those pics of Tom here really sucked more then you will ever know. I have sat and cried the entire time. Goodness I MISS MY MAN! I think the only other thing that would suck as bad as having your husband die is to have a child die. I am changed forever, good or bad that is it. I am different and my life will never be what it was before. I hate not being able to talk to him. Oh people say you can still talk to him, but you can't. It is just words spoken out loud if you can't converse with someone. I hate not being able to share things about the kids with him. Kaitlin's grades suck and I can't tell him, I can't get any help from him, he will never hold me and tell me things will be o.k. as long as we have each other, because we don't have each other any more. Sure, I have a new love but not Tom. Mike can't take his place, just make a new place, and he knows that. So there it is, my tribute to Tom.

Jan 29th

O.k. I am back from the dead. I am able to stay upright the entire day. Yea! Now, I don't really operate at my full potential while I am upright , but non the less, I am at work. So, enjoy the lovely picture of me sick! I just hope it doesn't make any of you sick! Lol.

Jan. 26 and I am just leaving death's door

That's right, I feel like I am climbing back from the abyss of death. Last Friday I took care of little Trace when he was sick and got the gift that keeps on giving. I was sick Friday but pushed on through and finished my day at work. I have been in bed ever since. Quite a few of you called but I couldn't even talk on the phone, sorry. Mike works on the weekends but has been spoiling me at night when he gets home. I am so glad my kids are old enough to take care of themselves, other wise they might have starved to death the last few days. Next Tuesday is the car auctions so sickness is not an option. One year I had a court date for Robby and was told I needed to change it because of the auction! I ask you, what is more important then a court date? While I was laying there and unable to get up I watched TV, but I wonder why I pay so much for cable when there is really nothing on. Why is that? How can we pay for 72 channels and not have anything to watch? Hmmm. I ended up watching a western with Robert Duvall and the guy that played Lowell in Wings called Broken Trail. It was good, but too long I think.

Jan the 22nd

Well howdy to you all today. I had to go back to work after 4 days off. OMG did it ever suck. I am getting ready to start a small kitchen remodel and I am so excited. Well, ask me how excited I am when I am in the midst of it with a mess all around me. I am sure I will sing a different tune. The problem with my kitchen is an old woman owned the house before me and had NO color sense. My kitchen is pink and gray. Pink and gray for cryin out loud! She put bathroom pink colored backspashes up and it looks really, well, old. So, I am taking it upon myself and Mike to get er done. I just finished snapping by "before" shots and won't bother you with them until I get the "after" ones done. I just want to ask, "Is anyone else sick and tired of the cold"? It was 11 degrees when I left for work this morning. It almost hurt to go outside. Damn the lottery to hell for not letting me win!

January the 20th

O.K. I want to know who took a dump in my mouth last night while I slept! Eight of us went to Cheddars for a nice meal together. Then we went to see Mad Money, which by the way is good but I am not sure if it is "go to the theatre good". It is worth seeing anyway so even if you wait to rent be sure to see it. Then we went to Seneca Street. I think I smoked way too much as is evident by the way I can't breath today. I make a pack last from Saturday to Saturday. I was going to quite but I gained some weight and since I need to loose like 40 more pounds I started up again. It is as simple as that, smoke or be fat. Right now being single I would prefer to smoke. I should mention that I did a head count at the club and there was 18 people in our group. It was so much fun to just get goofy with all of the crew. I even got to dance in my stylin boot, not a simple task I can tell you. It was my excuse for not getting "Low". Lol, not to mention I am like all old and such.

Saturday Mornin da 19th

You know, I have decided, I have no life when Mike is out of town. We spent so much time together this summer with the justification that he would be gone so much this winter with his reffing. This is the second day in a row I am sportin my pj's clutching a coffee mug plinking away on the keyboard. I'm watching VH1's top 20 and I think I need to get Mary J. blige's new cd. Anyone else heard any of it? I love it. While I am at it I should note I said the same about Timbaland's latest and never did get it. My poor iPod shuffle is still wrapped up in the tent from the last time we went camping in October. I have GOT to get it out but it seems like such a pain. Kaitlin lost her shuffle the first day she had it. I had just gotten it loaded up with like 127 songs when she took it to the store with Shandi and lost the stupid thing. Tonight is a much anticipated night out on the town with Randy and his crew. Dinner, movie and drinks at their favorite little bar.

O.K. folks, bear with me. I am trying to fix it to where you can post. Remember, I am an idiot when it comes to computers. And I still blame Princess Jill for all of this.