Tick

I have an eyelid twitch. IT. IS. VERY. ANNOYING! It just started yesterday at rehearsal. Stress?!?! Actually, rehearsal went quite well - it's just lots of work. At one point, I was a bit frustrated and I just wanted to shout, "Lexapro, take me away!!!" Anyway, I have a twitch. It sucks. My eyelid is waving goodbye to you.

ho hum

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. The musical is going well - we finally got our scripts and the cd on Monday. We have a lot of work to do! But it's coming!

Hmmm.... let's see.... as of late, my world has been revolving around school, musical, and sleep. That's my day. Last weekend I did get together with M for a fun afternoon of mall walking and then of course, shopping! On Saturday T's sister, her husband, and 3 of their 4 boys came over. They pulled in at 9am - I was still in bed. Oops! No one told me when they were coming!!! The guys worked on framing up part of the basement!!! If you've been to my house, you've no doubt heard my grand plans for our basement - right now it's just a big open space full of all our extra crap. The extra crap drives T crazy, I'm not so bothered by it. Along one wall, we're installing 4 walk-in closets (9'x5' each) so that all our crap can go into them!! We also have one part that has all the necessities (furnace, water heater, etc.) that is being enclosed to have it's own room. That's all the framing that happened this weekend. We're going to work on the basement in stages. Eventually, there will also be another bedroom/craft room, a full bathroom, and an entertainment area with kitchen and bar. I wish we could finish it all off, but there's that damn $$$ factor working against us. The closets and the furnace room will all be finished off this year, and we'll also finish pouring the patio off the walkout. That's all for the home improvement this year. Last year, we focused our efforts outside - new house=no landscaping. I'm sooooo glad that's done!

This weekend I'm very much looking forward to sitting on my butt and catching up on the tv I'm missing this week. Thank God for Tivo. I'm also going to visit a friend who just had a baby. I swear, babies are just popping out all over the place. Since Christmas, I've known 4 people who have had babies - another teacher at my school is due next week and another one is pregnant. Sheesh... something in the water around here. I bring my own water from home! :) And that's the way it's going to stay for a few more years!!

Skiing and Cows

Odd title, I know. But I have to tell you about both! This weekend T and I went to Shanty Creek skiing with some friends. We had a great time - and I only fell twice! :) I don't ski very fast, so I don't fall very hard. I did my first night skiing when we got there Friday night. I took a wrong turn on the first hill and went on one that was a bit too challenging for me. I pretty much screamed the whole way down. But I didn't fall. :) After that terrifying experience, I stayed on my nice, slow green runs. My favorite up there is called 'Chicken's Choice'. I am not ashamed of the fact that I'm a big chicken. There were lots of people on the slopes Saturday - including many little kids taking lessons. That always freaks me out that I'm going to catch an edge and go careening into a group of innocent little people. I successfully maneuvered around them. Then, there was this very large group from a rehabilitation center who took people with disabilities skiing. Basically, the person would sit in this chair with a ski on the bottom, and someone would ski them down. And there would be about 10 other people skiing around them with bright orange vests. Well, I started going down my Chicken's Choice just as the person and their entourage went, and so I just stayed clear of them. Until one of the orange vest people thought I was getting too close and she threw her arms out and yelled 'STAY BACK!' Hello, yes, I'm not a very good skiier, but I do know how to stay out of people's way. Like I'm going to go gunning for the disabled person. Friggin eh. Anyway, it turned out to be a beautiful weekend. Except for driving home Sunday. Icky. T drove- I slept.

Okay, onto the cow adventure. I was coming home from school last night, when I hit the dirt part of our road, I noticed 6 very large black cows jumping a fence and start running down my road. Um... what the hell do I do now?!? I had never been in that situation before. So, I went to the person's house, but no one came to the door. I thought they might want to know that their cattle were hoofing it toward town. So I followed them for a bit and called T to look out the front window. He said "Are you driving a herd of cattle home?" Yep, I'm a cowgirl - I drive 'em around with my Explorer. So T said he'd call the police and told me to back up and go around the block to come at them from the other way so they'd stop running. Did I mention that we live out in BFE and rarely do cars drive by? So I went around the block and was able to stop them just past our house. As I tried to push them to go the other way, they decided to keep running, not down the road anymore, but up our neighbor's driveway. At least they weren't in the road anymore. What a surprise to anyone who would drive down the road! T went back to the house where the cows lived and was able to find the guy who owned the cows. He said the guy was standing out in his driveway, scratching his head wondered what happened to his black angus. So T ended up getting our quad and helping the guy round up the cows out of our neighbor's field and back down to their house. We never know what goofy things are going to happen out in the country.

More Vacation!

T and I are leaving Friday for an extended weekend up north. We're finally going skiing!! It's been 2 years since the last time we hit the slopes. Last year, the weather never seemed to cooperate with the weekends that we could go, so we had a year off. We're not big-time skiers. Usually once or twice a winter we'll ski for a weekend. Having the slopes so far away, and crazy lives, it makes it difficult to find the time/energy/moo-lah. I have packed all kinds of reading material and comfy clothes to hang out when not outside. I'm good for a few hours a day and then I'm ready to warm up and give my legs a break. I like to hit the smaller hills- I'm not much of a daredevil. I just love the shush-shush of going down the hill. Not a big thrill-seeker here. We're going up with some friends that we haven't gotten together with in a long time. They are leaving their son (who is 18 months) for the first time with grandma and grandpa for a whole weekend. He'll be fine- I just hope mom and dad aren't too preoccupied with thoughts of him instead of being able to enjoy themselves. Hopefully I'll have some pics from the hill the next time I post. Have a terrific weekend everyone! :)

I'm back!

After I typed that title, I realized that many of you probably didn't even know that I had been gone, due to my lack of posts recently. And I will apologize for the negative tone my last few entries have had. It's just been kinda crappy around here. Anyhoo, I went to Florida for the weekend! This was the first time that T had been down to visit Grandma in Daytona. It was sooooo great to wear shorts and t-shirts everyday. It was on the cool side, but hey, it's winter there too! When we left Lansing, it was 10 degrees, when we landed at 9pm, it was 60. Much better!!! Of the 3 days we were there, it was generally in the low 70's. It was great to show T around town and go beachside. Although, we never were able to go down to stay at the beach. Ugh! That's the best part!!! There is absolutely nothing like being at the ocean - it's probably my most favorite place in the world. We ate down there at our favorite restaurant right on the pier yesterday (we're on the pier in this pic). Wow, it doesn't seem like it was just yesterday!! We also went inland a bit to Blue Spring to see the manatees on Sunday. There were gators there too! Very cool. Anyway, it was great to get away from the drama and trauma around here.

This is T and Grandma before we left Monday. They're standing by the plant that T's family sent for Grandpa's funeral last March. It was what we would call a house plant in Michigan - in Florida everything grows crazy fast outside.

Pissy

I am very pissy today. Namely, because there is school. Yes, I am quite pissed because I had to get up and come to school this morning when I had many things already planned for my snow day. But I'm mostly pissed because my superintendent wants to push her own agenda instead of keeping our students' safety at the top of her priority list. I had a lovely day on Monday. I got a lot of things done at home and I was looking forward to just one more day!!! It was especially nice given the piece-of-crap week I had last week. When I drove in this morning, it was negative 9. NEGATIVE NINE! On the news, Terri DeBoer the weather whore said that exposed skin can freeze in 3 minutes. At my school, all the kids walk. A lot of their parents do not have transportation - and if they do, usually it's not very dependable, especially in sub-zero temperatures. If I was a parent, I wouldn't send my kid to school if they had to walk! Right now, I have 3 kids gone. I thought I'd have a lot more than that. Ugh. PISSY!!!

Displaced

This will be my last year teaching 3rd grade at my building. Due to budget cuts, 5 positions at my building are being cut. Me, being the lowest in seniority at my grade level, is that position. We knew that some things like this were coming down, but we didn't know for sure until the school board meeting Monday night that it really was happening. Therefore, I will be in search of another position within my district. I have 7 years seniority and there are plenty of places for me to go. Unfortunately, I'll most like have to do a "bump" and take someone with less seniority out of their position. It's a not nice thing to do, but it's part of our system and that's the way it works. I am not a layoff or a pink slip, but unless 5 elementary people retire this year, then the people at the bottom will be. This is something that I never imagined would happen in my district. However, students moving out of district or out of state, have had a huge impact on us. Our economy sucks. We've had a really good fund balance up until this year, so nothing major (like staff) has had to be cut. Right now, we're in the position that a lot of other districts have been in for quite some time. I think what upsets me most is that my school is awesome the way it is. We have 5 good elementaries in my district, but this building has the most flexible staff, the most challenging students (behaviorally and academically), and we make it work. Our MEAP scores are great, we all go way above and beyond what I know others within the district are doing. Plus, we're all great friends and get along so well. I truly love coming to work everyday. Today was the only day in the 5 years that I've been here that I didn't want to come to school. Unfortunately, T said that I couldn't stay home. Our superintendent came and talked to each of us who have been displaced individually. That was a fun meeting. I was so upset by just the thought of the meeting that I couldn't eat this morning- not good for my stress level, but great for my diet. We have our bump meeting sometime in the next few months. I'll find out for sure then where I'll be. Everyone at my school is trying to stay positive and enjoy these last few months we have together. It sucks. A lot. But, life will go on and sometimes change can be a good thing. At least, that's my stance as of now. In the meantime, I'll be collecting boxes to pack up my classroom.

In other news... the party we had for our theatre group this past weekend was a roaring success. Lots of people, lots of food. Everyone commented to us about how great it was. And it really was! Party planning is one of my favorite things to do, although I'm really looking forward to not having theatre-related things to do this weekend! Oh, and BTW, I didn't win, but it was an honor to be nominated. Maybe next year... :)

Finally Friday

No, I have not been on one, continuous snow day since my last post. I wish! This week I took my class to our local YMCA for water safety/swimming lessons. The kids had a blast (it's usually a third grade highlight). Every other year, I just sit and watch - take pictures and get caught up on paperwork or take my phone and check email. This year, they didn't have enough volunteers to help out, so I went in the pool too. I love to swim and I had a great time. I'm always amazed at the amount of kids who have never been in a pool before. My parents have home movies of me jumping off the diving board when I was 2 and a half. No swimmies either- they were for wussies! Every summer we spent at the cottage and I was always in the lake. I had a little blow-up boat that I used to row all over. When I was little, my grandpa was worried I'd go out too deep and he'd tie me and my boat to a tree in the yard. I hated that damn rope. Anyway, swimming is great, and if you don't do it- try it! Or the lifeguard will just throw you in. Either way.

I did receive one oddball comment from one of my goofy kids. The first day that I walked out to the pool deck in my swimsuit, the kid says to me, "Wow, you're Mrs. R. PG-13!" I really wasn't showing that much cleavage! I never ever know what's going to come out of their precious little mouths. :)

This week I have been hard at work on a dvd for a little celebration that b and I are planning for our theatre group. Scanning sucks. Scanning poor-quality, older than dirt newspaper clippings sucks even more. I think that I am finally done scanning and can now put the thing together. BTW- I do that- make fun dvds for parties, anniversaries, weddings, etc. T thinks I need to start a little business doing it - if interested, give me a call. :) Anyway, the party is Sunday and I really hope it goes well. This is the first major function that the board has trusted us with. Plus, it's the first giving of our new awards. Like the Tony's - we have the Spiro's. Named after one of our longtime directors. I'm even nominated for best supporting actress for my portrayal of the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. I don't think that I'm going to win - but it was an honor to be nominated! :) ha ha... I'll keep you updated next week of the results.

In other news, I was saddened to hear of the passing of K's grandpa. Much love goes out to her and her family.

In more other news, I don't know what the deal is lately with all the people around me having those 'come to my party and buy stuff' things. They're everywhere! So far, just this week, I have purchased from Stampin' Up, Creative Memories, and Lia Sophia jewelry. Why? I have no idea? Moments of weakness, I presume. Will I have enough in my checking account this month to pay my mortgage? Maybe. Will I have some kick ass new stamps and scrapbooking stuff instead? Definitely. :) BTW- I'm thinking of hosting a CM party soon. Anyone interested? shameless plugs all over this post... sorry!!

Okay, it's Friday. It's after school. My report cards are done. My papers are (almost) graded. I'm whipped. Going home. Have a good weekend everyone!

ring ring (part 2)

Love those 5:30am phone calls! :) Yes, I do have another snow day today. It's been a great weekend and now I get one more day of it! Why was it great? We had nothing planned. I got things done around the house when and how I wanted to with no time constraints. Awesome. I can't remember the last time that had happened. A long time.

I have been doing some experimental cooking lately. Since I've been on this diet/health kick I've been trying to find recipes from weight watchers or lowfat cookbooks. I've never been much of a cook (why? because my dad is a professional chef - he always cooked and I just enjoyed the ride, I never really paid attention), but now I'm feeling better about being in the kitchen. I even planned out our week of dinners. I feel so much like a grown up. :)

TTFN...enjoy our snow-covered world! It finally looks like Christmas!

Update

Just a quick note - the Z pack really helped and now I'm feeling much better. Our washer gets fixed today! hooray! We're going to see my cousin play basketball at Hope tonight (he plays for Albion). I'm on a new diet/excersize plan and have lost 3.8 pounds in the past week. I get to really eat tonight though- Johnny Carino's. Love love love that place. :) Our weekend was not very eventful - until sunday. We had our final Christmas, with my Aunt and Uncle and 2 cousins. Afterward, down came our tree. :( I was sad to put it away, but it's about time. The "wintery" stuff I left up. I doubt that will come down until the end of January. The house always seems so bare after I take down the Christmas stuff- so I try to leave it up as long as possible without becoming one of those 'crazy holiday ladies' who leave that stuff up until the fourth of july. The copy machine at my school is broken. It is a horrible thing. I hope the copy machine near you is still working, I might come over and run some things. :)

I'm back!

To work, that is! Sorry it's been so long since a post, but I had quite a lengthy one I was working on last weekend and then by some strange phone line twist of fate (we have dial-up at home -bleck), I was booted off without rhyme or reason. Pissy is how I felt the rest of the day. So much so, that I didn't get back on and type it all again. I think it was a recap of our Christmas(es) and New Year. Long story short- Christmas- awesome, busy, long long day. Day after- shopping! and then napping and putting away presents. New Year's- we were supposed to visit some friends and then they all came down with the flu. Ew. We stayed home and had a nice dinner with my parents since they didn't have any plans this year. On to new things going on: 1. I came back to school on Tuesday. 2. I have a sinus infection which has now traveled down to my lungs so I have a nice, smoker's cough. 3. I hit a new blood pressure low at the doctor's yesterday - 82 over 60! The nurse said "Wow, you really ARE sick!" 4. The enter key doesn't seem to want to work so I have to continue typing like this. 5. Our washer broke. We now have solved our lack of places to ski problem- we have mountains of laundry in our house!! The motor seems to have died. It was making this funny clicking noise, and the clothes came out more wet than usual. T tried to take the cover off to look at it. That was disaster #1. The repairman came yesterday and has to order parts for it. But he hooked it back up so we could at least use it. Last night T was doing some laundry and the motor totally died. That was disaster #2. We spent a good 45 minutes getting all the water out of the washer, with cups. 6. I get a massage tonight! 7. I think that's it.

VACATION!!

The holiday season is now upon us, and I truly can now be festive because I don't have to go to work until January 2! :) After a harrowing week, I spent the weekend baking and addressing Christmas cards. It was lovely! I've been looking forward to it all week. Now I have a whole week before Christmas to get my s--t together so that everything it ready. December is always so nutso at school that I tend to leave a lot to do at the last minute. But does it always get done? Yep! Well, most of it. Some of the time. Anyhoo, I'm very ready for a couple weeks away from my normal life and just be at my house. Right now, I want for nothing. Except I do have one request. K, could you please update your blog so that when I check it, I don't have to look at the bare behind of a giant Japanese man? Thank you. Very much. Love and kisses. Bye for now.

Ring Ring

5:30am "hello?"
"No school today! Go back to bed!"
Love it love it love it. The two greatest words to a teacher SNOW DAY!! It wasn't until I became a teacher that I realized how people have these vast misconceptions about teachers and snow days. No, we don't have to go to school. Yes, we still get paid. Yes, the teachers actually look forward to them more than the kids do. Especially at my level - elementary. My kids really want to come to school. I realize that they get more jaded as they get older, but I think it's kinda sweet. Today is a wonderful day for a snow day - a three day weekend! I have a ga-jillion things to do before next Friday and this helps me get closer! I love my snow day!

In other news, I visited the chiropractor for the first time ever. He was fun. I laughed through the whole thing - he was funny and I was nervous/anxious/in pain so I didn't quite know what to do or expect. According to him, I had lots of stuff out of whack and he proceeded to whack me until I was right. It didn't hurt, except for one particular jab in my lower back. When I got home, I felt awesome! The next day, pain pain pain. I'm now doing the whole ice for 20 minutes, off for an hour, repeat when I get home at night. I'm also still taking my meds from my real doctor, although those are not working so well anymore. I'm a mess. It sucks getting older.

Speaking of getting older...T turned 30 over the weekend! He's really officially "my old man" now. :) He took it in stride. I bought him an air hockey table for the basement - it was a big surprise and I think he really liked it. We haven't had much chance to play it this week, but we did last night and he kicked my butt in sudden death. I need more practice!

Well, I'm off to enjoy my school-free day. I hope everyone else out there was able to stay home and not go out in this icky icy stuff.

update

I've been looking through the blogs and there doesn't seem to be much updates as of late. Reminding me that I probably should update my blog as well. Not much going on in my world. The neck/back thing is getting better - no more yoga class for me for a while. Much love goes out to my wonderful muscle relaxers, my heating pad, and my pain pills (which I found out are generally prescribed to arthritis sufferers). I'm off school for a conference for the next couple days, so I really only have to physically teach one day this week. I got to ride to work with T this morning since his work is just down the road from where my conference is. The closest I'm sure that we'll ever get to carpooling or working in similar fields or even in the same cities.

This weekend I did a lot of cleaning up around the house. Somehow I agreed to have my school's staff Christmas party at our house. I love having people over, it's a lot of work, but lots of fun. Especially at Christmas time. It's supposed to be really nice (weather wise) this week, so our plan is to get all the outside stuff done. Then, over the long weekend we'll start getting the inside decorated. Last year I think that I had the whole house done by the middle of November. It was our first Christmas in the house and I was so excited to unpack all the decorations I had been accumulating and saving over the years. It was a ton of work, but great fun. It should be much easier this year.

If I don't post again later this week, have a great Turkey day everyone!

Ow

I had a little injury last week and it's still bothering me a lot. As many of you know, I've been really trying to get healthy the last few months - basically kicking my butt with excersize, trying to eat well, etc. Part of my regiment has been to balance out all my cardio with a yoga class once a week. Well, last Monday I went and it was fine. Until we did "the plow". Basically, you lie on your back, then put your feet behind your head. Fine, I had done it before with no problems. This time, I somehow went too fast and really screwed up my neck. I actually heard it go crack, creak, pop, crunch. I have now been in pain for a week and a half and today I go to the doctor!!! I can't wait!!! The otc meds I've been taking aren't even touching it anymore. I walk all hunched over and I am pretty grumpy. My poor students, I try not to take it out on them, but I've had a pretty short fuse the last few days. On top of that, a lot kids in my class have some nasty coughs that their parents don't seem to notice, so they come to school and hack on me. My face has also seemed to revolt against me and my skin care regiment. I somehow aquired 5, yes FIVE, shiny red zits over the weekend. WTF?!?!? I feel pretty... oh so pretty...

In other news, today is the first day of firearm deer season. My school district used to always take this day off since so many students and teachers wouldn't come to school. We no longer do that, apparently my town isn't as redneck as we used to be. T and my dad are out in the field behind the house this morning. Neither of them have gotten anything yet, so our freezer is starting to look a little bare. Hopefully today!

Basketball & Halloween

No, I did not play basketball on Halloween, those are just my two topics. First, Halloween. Fun time, my kids were quite good, still a very tiring day, but they live it. :) We had a record 26 trick-or-treaters! My mom (also a teacher at my school) and I give out maps to our kids to come out and t-o-t at her house. I live about 15 miles away from school, a bit too far for many kids to make it, so I go to my parents' house and camp out there. Good time.

Last night, my parents and T and I went to Van Andel to see the MSU spartans men's basketball team in action in their first exhibition game against Grand Valley. T went to GVSU, so it was 3 vs. 1 in our crowd. Surprisingly, the spartans looked like crap and the lakers looked pretty good! We were behind most of the game, but then put them away in the last few minutes. There is a player on GVSU's team with the last name of Redder, so we had a good time cheering on "Cousin Dan". haha... T says that he's a distant relative but not sure how distant. I think that grand valley should have a good season. I'm a bit worried about my spartans - they lost too many shooters. Damn it, basketball is always my saving grace after putting up with looney John L. all football season. grrrr....

Another grrr is trying to upload pictures. Lately, whenever I try to upload pics to this site, it will not do it. Then, I'll get on the next day to try it and it will go right through. Today is issue #1. Therefore, no pics. At least not today, maybe tomorrow. Anyway, I'm off to get poked for my allergy shots. yuck.

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone out there in bloggerville has a great halloween! Today is a very fun day at school, but also incredibly exhausting. As you can imagine, my little darlings are oh so excited for our party this afternoon. They're already pretty pumped full of sugar, and then it will just get worse as the day goes on. I've gotta keep my little song and dance pretty entertaining if I want them to learn/do anything productive this morning.

In other news...
1. T is now home from South Dakota - hooray! :)
2. We got our new mattress on Thursday and we LOVE IT. No more sinking to the center, no lumps, just pure bliss. It is now even more difficult to drag my butt out of bed in the morning! My side is plush and T's side is firm, we had no idea a mattress could be made like that. Fab-u-lous.
3. Visited with old friends over the weekend and did quite a bit of shopping. Christmas is almost done! At mall #2, I had to buy a new pair of shoes because I just could not walk another step in mine.
4. I have shows coming up this weekend! It's our annual Music Revue. Come see it, it will be pretty good! I sing a solo - all by myself! hee hee... and a duet with Ben. We kick ass. Check out www.ioniacommunitytheatre.org for more info.
5. Finally booked tickets for spring break.
6. The countdown to Christmas break can now begin, and tomorrow is when I officially break out the Christmas cds.
7. Saw a production of Little Shop of Horrors on Friday, it kinda makes me want to do that show (we are putting it on next fall). Even though I have sworn off doing any more musicals for the time factor. I dunno, I have a year to make up my mind. I'll see how our "Suddenly Seymour" is received and go from there, I guess.
8. We're going to see the MSU men's basketball team kick some GVSU laker butt at Van Andel. Thank goodness football agony is almost over. Basketball will redeem us (we hope)!!!

I'll try to post a pic of my two chocolate babies in their halloween gear tomorrow! Happy tricks and treats everybody! :)

Par-tay!

Saturday was Melinda and Virlena's super duper Halloween party. As always, it was a fabulous time. The best part- I got to partake in the tequilla/jello shots because Ben was driving! Hooray for Ben!! :) Wonderful fun was had by all - here are a few of the pics...

This and That

Here's the pic that I tried and tried to upload a few days ago. Technology is weird. Some days I feel like I'm in complete control of the devices I use, and some days I feel so incredibly lost. Anyway, here are my boys, all decked out and finished hunting. These were the first green heads that were shot behind our house - very exciting! :) Too bad, we already have a lovely stuffed duck that T shot in N. Dakota in our living room (his name is Chuck - Chuck the Duck), or else T would probably have gotten this one done. Taxidermy is something that I vastly do not understand. But that's a topic for another post.

In exciting news, this weekend is M's World Famous Halloween party! :) Fun fun fun!! :) This year, I'm actually dressing up and my costume is kick-ass!! T is hunting so my date will be Ben. Happy Sweetest Day, Sweet Tea! I'm going out with another guy!! Haha... j/k!!

Yesterday my mom and I went to have massages at the Aveda salon in Belding. It was veeeeeerrrrryyyyy nice. I have become a total aveda addict - I came home with 5 new bottles of crap to put on my hair and I've been enjoying the smell of them all day long. The stuff is not cheap, but I think it's my new guilty pleasure. Better than porn or drugs, I suppose.... :)

In sad news, a very special little dog died this week. M's canine sister, Mickey passed away on Wednesday. I have many fond memories of staying with her while M's parents were away on trips. Such as the time when I took her outside and she got all muddy - I didn't know where her doggy shampoo was to clean her up, so I used my Big Sexy Hair shampoo and conditioner on her in the kitchen sink. Big Sexy Mickey! When G & P first got her, I remember seeing the ferocious little darling in their van and she would get so worked up and excited she would poo in the van. Icky. Luckily, she grew out of that unpleasantness. She was a sweetheart and will be missed terribly. My grandpa thought she was just an awesome dog too - it helps me cope to know that the two of them are together somewhere playing and watching over us.

Have a swell weekend everybody!

Been Long Time

Sorry it's been so long since the last post, but it's been crazy. I don't have much of anything exciting to report about last weekend, but I do from the weekend before! :) It was my bday weekend. My parents and T and I went up to Clare to golf and spend the weekend. Here's some pics from our golfing adventure:



It was a gorgeous weekend. We also went to the outdoor shopping super-store, Jay's. Luckily they did have some pretty Brighton jewlery, but not enough to keep my interest for the entire time we were there. So my mom and I found some comfy chairs in the camping section.

It was also PUPPY DAY! All these people come to the parking lot and sell their hunting dog puppies out of their cars. It was the most adorable thing I have ever seen! Puppies puppies puppies!! There were two litters of Weimers - even some of the blue ones!! It was all I could do not to come home with one or a few. It didn't stop me from picking them all up and lovin on them a little. There's no way that we could have a puppy right now. Two grown up dogs is plenty at one time- I can't even imagine having three!! Smokey is already 8, and Tim tells me the life expectancy of big labs with hip issues is around 10. It's horrible to think about life without him, but it will happen someday. When that happens, then we'll think about a puppy. I can't see that we would ever go down to just one dog. When T goes on hunting trips and leaves me at home, I have to have to dog to protect me out in BFE where we live!! :) Not that anything ever happens, it's just a matter of company and security. Speaking of T and the dogs, here's a pic of all my handsome boys that I took this past weekend after T came back from duck hunting out in the field by our house. Now we have enough for a la orange! :) yum yum...okay the pic seems to not be cooperating, I'll try it again later...