My Life In Pictures...not always pretty but usually an accurate portrayal of my life.

Contrary to popular belief, rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.

2008-12-22T21:28:00.007-06:00

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OK, maybe nobody thought I really died, but since I hadn't posted since what, October, I guess you might have wondered. This is even a record for ME in not posting. I must say I was prompted tonight from a Christmas letter I got from my friend Rhonda - you know you who you are!!!! - who wrote in her Christmas card " 'Don't faint, it's a post' I'm tired of reading that! Ha ha!"

So, she guilted me into posting! Hey, its Christmas - what a better time!

So first of all, let me wish all my blogging friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I may or may not be back to blogging regularly, but I'll try to at least post here every now and then.

I can't write a brief synopsis of everything that has happened in my life in the past few months, but there have been highs and lows. Everything is good though...life is good. Just can't believe it is already Christmas. For those of you reading that get my annual Christmas novella I send out, sorry, but this year, I haven't yet written one. Not sure if I will. Heck, I didn't even send out any Christmas cards. I am going to try to do a "New Years letter" but even that is in doubt....just wasn't prepared for it all this year. In fact, although I do have my Christmas shopping done and I did get the tree up (which is about ALL I did), that is just about it. I don't have one gift wrapped. I have to work tomorrow, but I'm off the rest of the week so I hope to get everything wrapped tomorrow and Wednesday. Heck, I better cause Thursday is CHRISTMAS!!!

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Brandon is doing totally awesome. Doing fantastic in school and loving guitar lessons. Still playing basketball. Had another knee injury that put him out for a few weeks, but he is all better now. He keeps all of us entertained. He is such a ham. His biggest request for Christmas is a cell phone. Heaven help me.

The pictures I've posted here are of our recent trip to the scenic Talimena Drive which we did October 31 weekend. Got lots of great pics...these are just a couple of them.

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All is well with me also. Since I haven't been blogging, I have been on Facebook some. You can usually find me on there quite often. If you are on there and aren't already on my friends list, add me. Email me and I'll give you my name on there. As I said in my last post, I've been reconnecting with a lot of old high school friends. (and I use the term "old" loosely - we aren't old are we???)

In fact, they are having a mini-reunion this coming Saturday that I plan to go to. I'm really excited about that and seeing some people I haven't seen in a long while.

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One of the main things I wanted to share with you in this post is a song that I came across a couple of weeks ago. It has totally spoken to me and touched my heart. The song is "Heal the Wound" by Point of Grace. This video actually shows the words to the song so I encourage you to watch the 4 minute video. I found the words to be extremelly meaningful.

These words just spoke to my heart in light of some things I've experienced lately.....the end of relationships, a broken heart, and seeking God's direction for my life. Although I don't presume to know where any of you are in your daily life or what struggles you may face, I do know that God can heal whatever wounds you have. He can build something out of nothing. He is the answer you are seeking and the medicine for whatever ails you.

And this song spoke to me because I think it is my heart's cry these days. Although by the world's standards, I'm probably a "good person", I know my heart and God knows my heart. Through this song, I was reminded that it is my wish that God reminds me how far he has brought me and that he never leaves me or forsakes me. "He heals the wound but leaves the scar." May he show me and remind me daily how merciful he truly is. I don't deserve the grace he so freely gives and he gives it not only to me, but all who ask.

If you have a few minutes, please just listen to the song and the words. I think you'll be blessed.

Wishing you and each of your families a beautiful and blessed Christmas and holiday season. May we each remember what the reason for the season truly is!

Don't Faint - its a post!

2008-10-23T21:00:00.007-05:00

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So. very. bad. about. posting. Gee, I'm surprised if I have any readers left. I really do appreciate those of you who are still here....I love ya!!! My blog has just taken a back seat these days. Been somewhat busy - mostly with good things. To tell you the truth, I've been on Facebook a lot lately. I usually log in there most evenings and chat a bit with my friends. It seems to be a tiny bit easier than blogging cause you don't have to compose a post, etc. Plus, lately on my blog I've been connecting with a TON of people that I went to high school with. It has been a lot of fun seeing where people are and what they are doing now.

Our 25th HS reunion (it can't possibly be that long!) is coming up in 2009 and I'm really getting excited about that. I'm planning on going....so I'm starting to talk to a lot of people on Facebook that should be there. It has been fun renewing those friendships. So, that is probably my best excuse for why I haven't posted here.

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I'm sorry to say I have read ZERO blogs in weeks. I am truly afraid to log onto to my bloglines account for I feel sure it will say I have about 3 bazillion posts to read and I just can't face it!!!

I got a really sweet surprise in the mail the other day. My friend and fellow blogger ROBYN sent me a care package all the way from Australia!!! Here is a picture of what she sent me. I was so surprised and it was just so neat to get such a nice assortment of things....just "because". And the nicest note to go along with. So Robyn, thank you for being such a sweet friend and blogging buddy. She sent a t-shirt, some Veggimite and crackers, some candy from Australia and a really, really beautiful calendar because she knows how much I love my photography and it has the nicest pics in it...all about Australia of course.

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Let's see...so what else has been keeping me busy? Work isn't that busy so it really isn't that...Brandon is still playing soccer and basketball is about to start. They have 22 games between the middle of November and the end of January so we shall be very busy with that before long.

Two weekends ago we had a really fun Saturday. I went with my ex-brother in law and his son to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Refuge in Glen Rose, Texas. Oh my goodness, that plade is cool. Tons of animals and you drive through it. I got hundreds of pics so of course, I'll try to post a few later on....need to go through them first and watermark some, etc.

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Then, last weekend we went south to visit my ex in laws (still great friends with them) and spent the weekend. He is a big hunter and is teaching Brandon to hunt...so this was a "pre-hunting" visit where he showed him how to use the gun, etc. We'll be going back in November so they can actually go on a real hunt. WE might actually have deer meat to eat (not that I'm that thrilled about that..) Anyway, being gone on the weekends is part of what has been keeping me busy also.

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The pictures in this post are from our weekend at my ex in laws house. I got out my macro lens and took some pics in their backyard. Amazing what you can see with one of those lenses. It opens up a whole new world. Really fun.

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One sort of fun thing too is I decided this week to audition for a play at our local community theater! I must be crazy to do so as the rehearsal and production schedule can be quite grueling...but it is something I wanted to do for a long time. It is the play "The Homecoming" which was written by Earl Hamner, Jr. and was the basis for The Waltons TV series. I was really excited about it and I did well, reading for both Olivia (the mother) and for one of the Baldwin sisters (one of those bootleggin spinster sisters). Unfortunately, I did not get a part, but I had fun trying out. Oh well, maybe next time!

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So, I guess that is all for now. These are the things keeping us busy. In between there, I've been feeling up and down - some days good, some days bad (and I mean emotionally not necessarily physically) so I think I just haven't been in the mood to blog lately. But, things are looking up and life is good if not perfect. I have much to be thankful for.

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BIG NEWS!!!!!

2008-10-12T13:27:00.000-05:00

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I have known about this for a while, but I just haven't posted about it....haven't been very good lately about keeping up with this here blog but for what its worth, I will try to post when I can. If I even have any readers left out there. I don't blame you if I don't.

OK, on to the news. I JUST WON A PHOTO CONTEST!!!! It was a contest sponsored by NBC5 in Dallas Ft. Worth. It is for a calendar they were making called the "North Texas Weather Calendar". You can check out the website HERE. I submitted quite a few of my pictures and they ended up selecting two for publication in the calendar!!! So, my name is in lights!!!

The first photo is one of me holding the calendar turned to May. Yes, that is MY PICTURE!!! The one with the butterfly on the flower. I took that earlier this year when we went to Brandon's state art competition in Dallas. They also chose a picture I took of a bee on a flower for the smaller inset picture for March. It is pictured below...as best as I could take a picture of the picture....

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In fact, you can even order the calendar if you wish. (I get no money from the sales of it unfortunately...but it IS a very nice and pretty calendar...) Just go to the link above if you want to order one.

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They did send me two free calendars, which was nice. Unfortunately though, I did not receive any money for the photos, but I did get recognition and for now, that is good for me. I will add this to my "portfolio" and someday maybe National Geographics will hire me - ha ha.

I really was very excited about this and I plan to keep entering contests. I'm hoping to win one that has a prize of like a 21-day vacation to some exotic place - ha ha.

OK, so I got a little excited snapping pictures of myself with the calendar..but hey, this snap happiness is what got me in the contest mode to begin with.

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I know I'm bragging here, but please indulge me just a little..I also was a finalist for a local photo contest here in our town. A magazine picked my picture of snow on a pond (see pic below) as a runner up in their photo contest. They wanted a photo that captured the essence of our town. I titled this "tranquility". Anyway, I didn't win, but at least I did get my photo published in the magazine and got some recognition.

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CHICKEN WINGS ANYONE??

2008-10-08T20:03:00.003-05:00

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OK guys, this is a first for me. About a week ago, I was actually contacted by Al Malekovic from a company called COUNTRY BOBS. He had come across my blog and asked if I would be interested in receiving a free sample of their sauce, trying it out and writing a review about it. I was like "hey, free stuff!!! I'm in!!" And the fact that is free food stuff, well that is an added bonus.

I received two bottles of the sauce and decided to use it last night. As you all probably know about me by now, I'm not a fancy cook. Heck, I rarely even do cook...but I thought I'd try some chicken wings with this sauce. It was really very easy because all I did was take the chicken wings, poured the sauce straight out of the bottle, put a tiny bit of seasoned salt on them and baked them for 45 minutes.

I tried to document the process below. In pictures of course. Below is after I put the sauce on, before the oven. Not quite ready, unless you want a touch of salmonella. No thanks.

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Baked those babies for 45 minutes and this is what they looked like when they came out. My mouth was watering just smelling it. Well, I wasn't disappointed. They were really good.

I must say that the sauce passed the test! It was really good. I can say I heartily recommend it. In fact, I had some leftovers and I ate those for lunch today!!! I will definitely use their sauce again. They sent me a lot of recipes along with the sauce, so maybe next time I'll get more creative.

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In the meantime though, check out their website. www.countrybobs.com I have to say what really impressed me even more than the sauce itself, was their motto "Christ is our C.E.O." I am proud to support what they stand for! So happy eating everyone.

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I'm the Cycling Queen - NOT!!!

2008-10-02T19:00:00.000-05:00

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Yep, this is me the other night. (Actually this was about a month ago or so..) I have a friend who is a big cyclist and he encouraged me to go on this "beginner" ride with the local cycling club. He just happened to have an extra really nice aluminum racing bike that he said he'd let me ride. The ride was scheduled to be about 15 miles and probably take about an hour. I wasn't sure if I was ready or not!

But, I figured I'd try it.

It was quite hot that evening - we started the ride about 6:00 and finished about 7:30! I actually did enjoy it; however before I got done, I started to get really, really tired. I had a stitch in my side that wouldn't go away and although I was drinking water left and right, I felt like my throat was made of sandpaper. All that was tolerable though, it was my BUTT that killed me.

The seat was actually a guy's seat, I think and we didn't really have time to make the adjustments needed to perfect the bike before the ride. I found the leaning forward position a bit uncomfortable after a while...and my butt - well, there is no nice way to say it. My crotch was killing me!!! In fact, at the time I'm writing this post, it has been 4 days since I rode and it still hurts! I really think I bruised the butt bones. I thought I had enough padding back there - ha ha.

I didn't have any riding pants - just my regular gym shorts and a tank top...so my buddy said I definitely needed to get some riding shorts. They are specially made for gals and they have padding in all those "tender" areas. So, IF I try it again, I'll have to get some of those pants.

The ride itself was actually really fun and I was impressed with myself that I rode 15 miles my first time out. My buddy said we averaged 15 to over 20 mph most of the time. He said he was really impressed with my skills. I think he may have been blowing smoke up my sore bottom. ha ha

I did do well I guess - but it took everything out of me. I may try it again someday.....

Brandon's luck in soccer

2008-09-29T20:00:00.000-05:00

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Brandon had his second soccer game (the first home one) on Monday night. So, I rushed there after work to see the game. I thought it was a great time to try out my "new" zoom lens. I didn't have it during the last soccer season. I am not posting any of the shots here except a couple of Brandon but they turned out great! I am really happy with the way the lens performed.

Anyway, he sat on the bench for the a lot of the first half. The coach finally put him in and I'm not kidding, within five minutes, he was hurt. Another player collided with him and knocked him to the ground, hurting Brandon's left knee. Here he is signaling to be taken out.

He spent the rest of the game sitting on the bench in pain.

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I didn't think it was that big a deal, but he couldn't walk on it - it was really hurting him. He asked for ice and then we went on home. There was another game, but he wasn't feeling well. The knee wasn't swollen or didn't appear to be, but it was hurting him.

Long story short, I took him to the doctor the next day and he has most likely hyperextended his left knee or sprained it. The doctor isn't 100% sure - it could be more serious, but he doesn't think so. WE have to go back in a week to recheck. Brandon is using a crutch to get around. Lovely. Last year he was out from basketball due to a broken finger so I sure hope that isn't what we are facing here...with a hurt knee. I think is is getting better though - he seems to be in less pain and can get around OK with a crutch. I think he is bearing more and more weight on it....but dang, can we just have one injury free season??

However, can you see how BIG he is getting? At the doctor, he weighed 157 pounds and was measured at 5'6 1/2!!! Where is my little boy?? I'm thinking he is going to be tall!!!

Anyway, he is fine, but I'm anxious to see what the doctor says on recheck next Monday.

*I've been sooo lazy about posting. I wrote this post over two weeks ago....but I thought I'd go ahead and post it. Brandon's knee seems to be fine. He hyper extended it and on the recheck, it seemed much better. He is still supposed to be careful and stretch now before playing soccer, etc.

I haven't been that motivated to blog lately....hopefully I'll get move motivated soon. :)

This is Funny!!!

2008-09-16T20:44:00.003-05:00

Ok ya'll, Brandon showed me these videos the other night and I got the biggest laugh out of watching these. They are both very short, so take a minute if you want a laugh. I had never heard of these before...have any of you?

Did this make you laugh? I could watch these over and over again. I'm rolling!!!

It just occurred to me that I never finished posting my vacation pictures from this summer. I'll try to do that soon. I have a few more to show you. Plus, I'm entering three of my pictures from this summer in our annual Arts competition. I'm kind of excited about it....I just got them blow up into 8 x 10's and I picked out frames and had them finished at Hobby Lobby last night. I have to turn them in on THursday so I'll try to take a picture of them before then.

Why Yes Mr. Clinton

2008-09-14T21:02:00.002-05:00

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Is that not hilarious? The mask is a pretty good likeness no? We were in Hasting this weekend and Brandon begged me for this mask. I finally relented because I thought it was pretty funny. They had a Hilary one too which I almost bought. I thought it would be funny if Brandon and I went as Bill and Hillary to something for Halloween...but I only got the Bill one. And in case you are wondering, I don't really care for either one of them but I do like the mask.

Brandon has really made me laugh this weekend with that thing. He has also scared the FIRE out of me with that. Let me tell you, if you aren't expecting it, and you round a corner and see THAT face, it would scare you too. :) He has been teasing Lexi with it too. It is pretty funny to see her reaction when he has that mask on. She was growling at it pretty fiercely. She doesn't like Bill Clinton either. They say dogs are a pretty good judge of character... ha ha

This weekend was spent trying to get caught up on household "stuff". Oh yea, and I figured it was time for a movie too so Friday I went and saw "Righteous Kill" with Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. Really good movie! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Saturday we finally got some of the rain and wind from Hurricane Ike. They projected the Dallas area would get bad rains and wind, but we really didn't get anything that severe. It was just really rainy and not that much wind. I'm glad we were spared, but I do feel for all those in Houston/Galveston, etc. that have lost everything. Very sad.

Oh and this weekend I started watching some videos that I've had for FOREVER. 24! Have any of you ever watched that series? Well, I never have though I have several friends who love it and follow it. Well, I have Season One on DVD but have never watched it. My friend Karen has told me for the past year or two - to watch an episode and "you'll be hooked!" Well, she was right. I have now watched 3 episodes and I'm thinking about watching more tonight before I go to bed. It is a guilty pleasure. You just can't take your eyes off the show. Anyway, I'd be curious to know if any of ya'll have watched it or like it.

I'll leave you with some more lovely pictures of Brandon clowning around...hrrmmm - I mean Bill, clowning around.

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Oh and in case you ever wondered what Bill Clinton would look like if he picked his nose......

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And then ate it.....

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Well be curious no more! Now you know!!!

A Little Common Sense (Obviously not so common in my household)

2008-09-11T09:18:00.003-05:00

File this under the label of "stupidity"

One should always wait until the door of their garage is actually OPEN before trying to back their car out of it.

Just a thought. Nuff said.

I'm Back!!!!

2008-09-10T20:27:00.003-05:00

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Well, I made it back in one piece. Had a really good trip (for work) to Washington DC. We stayed in the Gaylord hotel which is located right on the Potomac River just across from Alexandria, Virginia. Most of my time those five days I was gone was spent in meetings or preparing for meetings, but my co-workers and I did have a free afternoon/evening to check out the surrounding area. We ended up taking a ferry across the Potomac to Old Towne Alexandria, VA. It was BEAUTIFUL there. I just love the historic, quaint feeling of the place.

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The picture at the top is what the hotel looked like from the ferry.

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Cobblestone sidewalks and rows and rows of historic homes and just pretty architecture and such “atmosphere”. We walked and walked and finally found Christ Church, which was beautiful. It was getting dark by the time we arrived. I did take some pictures of the old headstones. Some of them dated back to the late 1700’s. How cool is that? The lighting was so low and I didn’t have my tripod so it was difficult to get good pictures. I’ll post a few that I turned out OK.

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

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We also ate dinner at a really nice restaurant. It is always nice when your company picks up the tab at an expensive restaurant! I had the pecan crusted chicken and it was fantastic! We really enjoyed the ferry ride back that night as you could see the Washington DC skyline in the distance with the Washington Monument and US Capitol Building in view. There was a tour they call the “Monument Tour” that would take you on a 2-hour boat ride and you could get off to see the monuments and explore on your own, but we didn’t have time to do it. It was such a nice evening though, we really enjoyed ourselves.

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This is what it looked like as the monuments came into view. You can see them wayyyy off in the distance.

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(my co-workers and I enjoying our cruise!)

Here are a couple of shots of Alexandria.

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I returned late Sunday night and Monday morning it was back to reality. I've been meaning to write ever since I returned, but work has kept me busy as well as the huge pile of laundry that accumulated when I was gone.

Our trip home was uneventful except the guy I got stuck next to in the plane felt the need to sit as if he were a giant TRIANGLE – with his elbows taking up both arm rests and jabbing into my “personal space” and into my seat the entire 3 hour flight. And he wasn’t a cute young single guy either. UGH. Quite the opposite. A somewhat burly older man. Lovely. I couldn’t believe the guy was so oblivious. His body (legs included) just seemed to flop into my space. I was soo close to saying something to him, but I so hate to “rock the boat” that I did not. At one point, when he leaned up to get something and removed his right elbow from the arm rest we shared (he took up the entire thing), I quickly put my left elbow on the arm rest. Well, that didn’t phase him! He just put his arm right on top of mine thank you very much!!! And the entire time I’m having to have this guy’s arm laying up against me. YUCK! I wanted to suggest to him to purchase two seats next time. I was never so glad for a flight to be over with! Oh and I should add that at one point, I looked down and no kidding, there was a FLEA (ok, it could have been a gnat, but it sure looked like a flea) on my left hand!!! Not enough that the guy was oblivious and inconsiderate…he also had fleas!!!! (HA HA – it is humorous now in the retelling of this, but at the time it wasn’t very funny)

Oh yea and here are a couple more pics of the grounds of the Gaylord. Really nice!!!

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Labor Day and I'm Off

2008-09-01T20:43:00.004-05:00

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It was a relaxing weekend. After going to the doctor last week, I got on some meds for my wicked sinus infection and now I'm finally feeling better! Almost as good as new. I turned down an offer to spend the weekend with some good friends cause I felt I needed to stay here and rest. And I guess it is good I did.

We didn't do too much of anything. I took a few naps, did a bit of housework (but not much) and finally got myself packed for my work trip. I leave tomorrow for Washington DC and will be gone for the week. So, not sure when I'll post again. I won't have much free time while there. I'm there for meetings so I won't be doing any sightseeing or I don't believe I'll have any time to do so. :(

I was able to go fishing with my dad this morning and we tore them up!! We caught 25 that were big enough to keep. See the picture of me above with my big Crappie. (that is prononced "Crop-E" in case you didn't know..) It was about 14 inches long which is pretty big for that type of fish. It was a nice morning. I got a couple other pics too which you can see below. It was a nice morning.

Well, I'll write when I can. Hope everyone had a safe and happy Labor Day!

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Double Standard?

2008-08-29T23:00:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist taking a picture of and posting this. This is my boss' trash can in his otherwise neat office. Lovely no?

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This is the same guy who has told my other boss to tell me and my co-workers that our areas look cluttered and that we may not put Walmart bags in the refrigerator because it doesn't look good.

Hmmm....kinda strange, don't you think?

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And yes, it always looks like this!

Lets just hope my boss doesn't look at my blog :) I really do get along with my bosses for the most part...but I thought this was just begging for a post. :)

In other news...lets see. I haven't posted for a few days cause I've been SICK AS A DOG. It started with what seemed to be allergies - watering eyes and that rubber band, tight feeling around my temples along with stuffed up nose. Well, starting about Tuesday night, it just got worse and worse. I woke up Wednesday miserable. Had to go to work because we are under the gun to get stuff done for our pending trip to Washington DC. Went home and went to bed at 6:30 p.m. WEd night. Felt horrible - mentally and physically. After a restless night of sleep, I decided to go to the doctor on Thursday. Bad sinus infection. Now I'm taking four different kinds of medication and trying to recover. Went to work Thursday and today, and I must say, I am feeling a bit better today, though not nearly well.

I toyed with going out of town this weekend to visit some friends, because I HATE being home with nothing to do over a Holiday weekend. It somehow makes me feel extremelly lonely for some reason. Silly I know because for one thing, I really don't feel that great and I need to rest, second, I have a bunch of stuff to do around here before I leave on my trip and this weekend is my only chance to do that and third it is kind of silly to go somewhere just because I don't want to be home "with nothing to do." So, I've elected to stay here and try to fully recuperate from my sickness as well as cleaning the house and maybe throwing a few "fun" things in like going to a movie or possibly going fishing with my dad on Monday (that depends on how I'm feeling and if I get my packing and stuff done before then...)

I'm also feeling a bit melancholy because remember the nice guy who I had gone out with a few times (who was nice enough to fix my garbage disposal, etc.)? Well, he has now decided he wants to date someone else. Found that out earlier this week and it came as quite a shocker. It literally happened overnight. Unfortunately, that is the breaks in dating isn't it? You win some, you lose some, etc. It just tends to throw me for a loop because I guess I always have such high hopes and time after time, it just doesn't work out for one reason or another. I'm fine, but just quite a bit disapointed that it didn't work out. It wasn't anything I could have prevented but still, it hurts nonetheless. One day you are talking to someone almost 24/7 and the next, they are out of your life. And this hit about the same day as my sickness did so it was a double whammy.

Kind of ironic/funny/not so funny - we had talked about being able to have a date this Friday night without kiddos - maybe finding someone for Brandon to spend the night with...so we could have a real "date night" sans kids. Then, tonight, I get a call from his buddy's mom asking if he can come over and hang out and spend the night. So...Brandon is at his buddy's house and I am here all alone - with no date. Kind of like the "all dressed up, but nowhere to go" kind of thing. Oh well, its not like I feel that great anyway, but it is just the timing - tends to sorta suck! So, I thought I'd update the blog and try to get a few things done around here. Figured I'd go to bed early too, but I guess that isn't happening.

Tomorrow I'm attending the funeral of a good friend of mine's brother. He passed away a couple of days ago from cancer. Really sad. I'm reminded that I really need to try to look at the positives and the good things in my life - that life is too short to dwell on the little negatives and disapointments. Now if only I can remember that for more than 10 minutes! That is the challenge.

I hope to update my blog again soon, but I'll be leaving for Washington DC in a few days and will be gone for a few days so I'll update when I can. Have a great weekend everyone.

More Vacation pics - are you sick of em yet?

2008-08-26T06:48:00.000-05:00

These were actually from June 20 and our drive from Glacier to Idaho. We stopped at this dam (sorry, but I can't remember the name of it) on the way. It was tucked back in this little town and we parked and hiked across this quaint little bridge and there it was. The water around this dam was just surging and was actually quite pretty.

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We hiked around the area to see what we could find. We saw an Osprey nest up on one of the telephone poles near there. We saw a chipmunk and a really cool looking squirrel. Here is the squirrel. I got some good close up shots of it with my zoom lens. I thought they came out really nice!

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Here is the sign that was posted about the Osprey. I thought it was pretty interesting.

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This particular osprey picture was one I actually took in Idaho and not one that we saw where this sign was. There was a nest near the dam where this sign was, but it was so high up that I could not get a good look at the bird inside! But, the picture I did get was taken alongside the road in Idaho - alongside a road that lined water. There in the water were all these platforms they had built presumably for the osprey to build their nests upon.

Best Shot Monday - First Day of School - 8th Grade

2008-08-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

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Well, let me back up. I took this picture actually on the night BEFORE the first day of school. I had to laugh (and smile inside) cause this is what I saw in Brandon's room. He has a calendar that he has already marked his schedule on, as well as his soccer games and stuff he feels necessary to keep up with. Also, it is lying on top of the clothes he has out to wear to school the next day. I always get my clothes out the night before for the next day. It is one of the anal retentive things I do. I guess he takes after me!

The picture below was what he looked like the morning of the first day of school. We usually take it by the swing in our yard but it was raining pretty hard on the first day so this was the best I could do. You could tell how UNTHRILLED Brandon was to have his picture taken. After all, he is 13!!! AW mom!!! Well heck, at least I didn't try to follow him in the school and take a picture of him in his desk. :)

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Now fast forward to AFTER SCHOOL:

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When I got home from work Wednesday night last week, this is where I found Brandon. Fast asleep in the living room! And yes, I guess it appears he carries that danged gun around with him everywhere.

He said he had a good first day - I guess it wore him out!

A Rare Sunday Post

2008-08-24T11:15:00.005-05:00

I don't normally post on Sundays. Or much of the weekend for that matter. Why you ask? Well, for one thing because I find that most of the bloggers out there seem to take a break on the weekends. Therefore, if I post something on Saturday or Sunday and then something on Monday, nobody reads what I posted on Saturday or Sunday. And although I know I should be posting for ME and not anybody else, I love my visitors and I love having comments. The anal retentiveness in me hates to have a post that doesn't get a chance to get any comments.

I wanted to alude to my Friday post about my SMELLY FART/BAD ATTITUDE. I guess it really wasn't that bad, but the expression of my attitude stinking and emitting an odor was just too funny not to post. I got a laugh out of it anyway.

Work is stressing me out lately a bit. Details really aren't that necessary, and really things aren't that bad. Just more annoying than anything. One of those situations where there are too many chiefs and not enough indians. Lots of bosses and therefore you don't know who to go to to get something nailed down. Things don't really GET nailed down...and everything seems to change at the last minute. Really, again, it is MY attitude. I just need to get it back in order. I need to be (and I AM) thankful to even HAVE a job......The rush is on right now though because right after Labor Day, I'll be traveling to the Washington DC area for our yearly meetings with a bunch of our committee members. This is where we hash out details about next year's conference. It is very labor intensive and for me, very stressful. I'll be glad when this trip is OVER.

That leads me to something else that is totally stressing me out right now: Money.

Brandon is 13 1/2. Within just a year, he will need braces. Within a couple years after that, a car. And then (drumroll please) COLLEGE. And oh my gosh, how am I ever going to pay for that? I really have been thinking so much about all this lately and to be honest, it truly depresses me. I try not to worry about it so much but my faith is being really tested. I just don't see how I can meet the rising costs of the future.

Brandon's school is awesome. I would love for him to continue to go there. However, it is costing me an arm and a leg. And frankly, I'm being nickled and dimed to death when it comes to school stuff. I guess that is to be expected. But, everything I turn around, there is another fee, another cost, another check I have to write.

School just started last week and in addition to all the school supplies, the new uniforms, the tennis shoes, all that stuff that goes along with going back to school...there is a fee for his soccer uniform - about $25.00, a fee of $85.00!!! that the school charges for his participation in this sport (and they will charge $85.00 for EACH sport your child participates in so that in the fall, I'll owe ANOTHER $85.00 for basketball and then in the spring, an additional $85.00 for track!) School lunches are $4.00 a day! He needs another pair of tennis shoes for gym....a $15.00 portfolio for art, a new sketchbook (these are in addition to the supplies I already bought him) oh and to top it off, he needs a graphing calculator! So, yesterday we were off to my favorite places - Walmart - to purchase an almost $100.00 CALCULATOR !!! I'm sorry, but I didn't even know what a graphing calculator was! Brandon is taking Alegebra I and beginning Physics this year (yes, in 8th grade!) and he said the calculator will be used this year and he can use it all through high school. I figured I would get it for him since even though it is not REQUIRED this year, it is needed. The money flow should slow down, I hope, but I am just so frustrated right now.

In fact, today I'm starting a journal of sorts. Tracking. I'm going to keep a notebook of every. single. penny. I. spend. every one. I figure if I want to keep more of my money, I need to see where it is all going. Then, after tracking all my expenses for a couple of months, I can more readily see where the big holes are and where my money is going.

My health insurance is also causing me great stress right now. Can I just say that BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD sucks the big one. They are horrible. I am paying a lot of money (several hundred dollars) a month for healthcare just to cover me. And this is healthcare that EXCLUDES more than it INCLUDES.

I pay more in premiums so that I can go to the doctor and just pay a co-pay for routine stuff. That way, I'm not hit with unexpected trips to the doctor. Mostly, it should just cost me the $25.00 for the office visit and then the px cost. I pay through the nose for prescriptions too because Blue Cross and Blue Shield excludes so many medications. Also, I pay more because of my history of migraines and because of the cost of my migraine medication. Basically, the pills I take for it cost me around $20.00 EACH pill. And this is WITH insurance. Lovely.

I've been really frustrated with BCBS for a while and need to look at other options I guess. The problem is, I know other insurance companies probably aren't much better. Everyone out there has to deal with these issues, I know. I'm not alone and my situation is certainly much better than many people. So in a way I feel bad for complaining at all. What would be really great is if I worked for a big company that provided health insurance for me - a company that could afford to have large group coverage that I didn't have to pay out the nose for. But, where i live, that ain't gonna happen. I would have to relocate to another city to get a job like that.

Anyway, I'm getting off topic. My latest complaint with my insurance is they still hadn't paid an invoice from my primary care physician from September of 2007! I finally called them about it because my doctor's office is billing ME for it. I paid my $25.00 co-pay so I shouldn't owe any more, if it worked like it should.

Well, my insurance company (the "wonderful" Blue Cross and Blue Shield) is saying that they applied the full amount of the visit to my deductible. Why? Because BCBS says my doctor's office coded the visit as a "surgical procedure". I exlained it WASN'T a surgical procedure. Ya know what it was? I had EAR WAX REMOVED from my ear. um, it wasNOT a surgical procedure. BCBS says their hands are tied - the way it is coded, they have to charge it to my deductible. They suggest I call my doctor's office and get them to recode it.

I call my doctor's office and after talking to them, they said they would have someone else call me back and see what they could do. Another lady calls me back and the short version is they can't recode it. That code is what they have to call it. The lady at my doctor's office said she totally understands it is NOT a surgical procedure, but that is how they have to code it. Ear Wax removal - coded as a surgical procedure. She said that this is a grey area and my insurance company knows it. (and I am sure she is right) - that they have the ability to look at the charge and see it was for ear wax removal and pay it like they should - as an office visit.

So, here I am STUCK in the middle. The consumer. It really, really, really pisses me off. I really blame BCBS rather than my doctor. I believe BCBS could rule the other way and process my claim like they should. And the money here, well it really isn't that much - only about $25.00 after I looked at it - the difference betwen what I would owe if they charged it correctly and the way they did charge it...but it is just the principal of the matter!!!

I guess was just sort of the straw that broke the camel's back for me on Friday - this little deal was just the symbol of the frustration I feel in dealing with my insurance company and the cost I'm paying for health care - shoddy health care coverage I might add. And sometimes it is enough to drive me to tears. Like Friday.

But anyway, today is another day and I'm OK. I have decided not to try to fight it any further because it is only about $20.00 I'm fighting over and my time is worth much more than $20.00. I could appeal it, but I don't think it would do any good and it would cause me further grief....so for now, I'm letting it lie.

But, doesn't that suck?

Have a great Sunday. I'm off to have lunch with my ex-brother in law and his son who are in town for lunch.

Can You Smell It?

2008-08-22T10:27:00.001-05:00

Some days my attitude stinks so bad, I think I farted.

Today is definitely one of those days.

What is This? - Part 2

2008-08-21T01:00:00.003-05:00

If you missed my PREVIOUS POST, check that out and then read this one.

Ok, do you give up? I feel sure most of you already guessed what it is. It is "someone" under my sink, fixing my garbage disposal.

Pretty cool huh?

This person, who shall remain anonymous, was nice enough to volunteer to replace my garbage disposal that went out last week. The one I had has been in the house since I bought it, so I guess it was time. It corroded out and had big holes in it that I discovered when I saw a huge bunch of water pouring out from underneath my sink.

Coincidentally this was the same evening said very nice guy was here having dinner and fixing my ice cube maker. REMEMBER THAT? Now my ice cube maker works perfectly! I am soo thankful I have nice people to help me with my messes!

Oh yea, and good guessing everyone. I loved REBEKAH'S answer the best - ha ha.

Wordless Wednesday - What is This?Part 1

2008-08-20T01:00:00.000-05:00

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I love this picture. Of course I know where I took it and what it is of, but I'm just curious if it is that obvious to all you out there at first glance.

It is an interesting picture though, isn't it? I don't know why it is so appealing to me. When I saw this, I had to grab my camera.

Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you what it is, but in the meantime, I'd love to hear your guesses.

The Times They Are A-Changin

2008-08-19T01:00:00.000-05:00

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I can see change on the horizon. And I can’t tell if it is going to bring me rain or a beautiful day, but I see it coming. Just thinking today about Brandon and me and the future I guess. I see him on the very cusp of being a full-fledged “teenager” complete with raging hormones, acne, and excess hair. (ewwwww!) I don’t think he has hit puberty full force yet. I guess I would be kidding myself to think it has not started, but it certainly hasn’t totally manifested itself yet. He has some tell-tale acne sprinkling his nose and chin and his voice – well, his voice is sounding a tiny bit deeper, but more of a hoarse nature to it. Hard to describe – different, but not the “squeaky” change or very deep voice I would imagine would occur. Mostly I guess, it is not so much his physical appearance, but his actions that are indicative to me that change is on the horizon.

He is involved in our youth group at church, which is a great thing. He is really wanting to spend a lot of time up there, basically whenever the doors are open. They have a great time – they play music – several guitar players and singers are in the group…they play cards, and games and have lock ins and just have a great time, all within the confines of the church. In fact, he came home and told me last night that he is now “in the band” up there. And of course, there are girls. In the past, Brandon has never shown an interest and on the surface, he still isn’t. However, I am wondering if his recent influx of interest in activities at the church as to do with a few very cute young ladies I have seen at the church. In particular, a set of twin girls that are just as cute as they can be and another gal that Brandon actually danced with at Cotillion and won a dance contest with last year! So, I’m thinking he has some ulterior motives for his involvement. I could be wrong.

All I can say is “I’M NOT READY!!” I’m not ready for my little boy to turn into a man!!! I also realize of course that my not being ready has nothing to do with it, but I can at least complain on here, my blog, my outlet!

The thing that really brought this to my attention was the other night, they had an event at the church. Brandon said they were watching a movie and it started at 6:00 p.m. I was riding with a cycling group at the time (more on that in a different post) so I had my parents drop him off. I couldn't remember when I was to pick him up so when I got done with my cycling (about 7:30 p.m.) I went by the church to pick him up.

They were watching a movie (Radio) and hanging out. I told Brandon "come on" because I didn't want to have to run back up there to pick him up later. He didn't want to leave, but he came. He said they weren't done and could he stay. Without thinking, I said no - I had come there to get him and didn't fancy the fact of going BACK to pick him up later. We ended up getting home. He was asking me to go back after we got to the house. I was like "no, of course not" but then I realized, as the tears spilled down his cheeks that it would really mean a lot to him to get to go back. He said they weren't nearly finished - they were going to watch and discuss the movie (and the movie wasn't nearly done when I got there he said) and then they were going to do other things....and he was going to miss them.

I breathed a heavy sigh and really contemplated. I was taken back to my own youth when these things took on dire importance. Connecting with peers, etc. So, I gave in. I decided we would go back and I would ask the youth director exactly how long they would be. If it was a while, I would let him stay. Brandon very seldom cries. This was something that brought him to tears. I guess this is what made me realize I think the puberty has started!!! I felt for him I guess.

Took him back and talked to the youth director. Turns out they WEREN'T nearly done. Brandon was right. After the movie, they were going out to the local park and were going to play volleyvall until rather late. He offered to bring Brandon home after. I said that was fine. So, he was so happy to get to stay and enjoy being with his freinds. There are only a handful of days left until school starts back (it starts back on WEdnesday August 20 for us) so I felt inclined to let him enjoy the last few days of summer.

I guess this little incident just opened my eyes to what is happening in front of my eyes. My little boy is growing up.

And I'm so not ready.

Best Shot Monday - Future NRA Member?

2008-08-17T20:00:00.001-05:00

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Had to grab the camera for this one! Walked into Brandon's bedroom one night to turn off his light and saw this! Pretty hilarious. This is an air gun (soft pellet) in case you are wondering. Not sure why he took it to BED with him....

Here is a closer look at it in case you are really into the gun thang.

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Be sure to visit TRACY'S SITE for more Best Shot Monday!

Wordless Wednesday "Why Yes, I'm Back On Weight Watchers....Why Do You Ask?"

2008-08-13T06:58:00.003-05:00

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A picture truly can be worth quite a few words....or at least worth about 15 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

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For more Wordless Wednesday Participants, stop by the official WW HUB or by 5 MINUTES FOR MOM

More Vacation Pics - June 21

2008-08-12T01:00:00.000-05:00

June 21 we spent our first day at the condos in Blanchard, Idaho. This farmhouse was right near the entrance to the area where we stayed. I just loved the way the sky was so blue against the red farm house. They also had Llamas out in the field. When I got out to take the picture, these llamas RAN as fast as they could over to me and started making this funky noise. It was funny! In the second picture, you can see the Llama in the bottom right corner.

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

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This day we just had a rest day - just drove around in the towns near our condo and relaxed. We were pretty tired from riding in the car so much.

Best Shot Monday

2008-08-11T01:00:00.001-05:00

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The other day, Brandon was playing with his laptop on my bed and Lexi gets up there and lies down her chin on his keyboard. She was like "Ok, get off the computer and play with me!!!" - It was really cute.

This weekend was very laid back. I haven't really been feeling the greatest. I think it is allergies or sinus stuff. Not really sure, but I didn't feel great the entire weekend. I think I'm finally on the mend. I lost my voice around Wednesday or so and it just kept getting worse. I think it is finally back mostly, though still not normal. Brandon had a lock in at our church from Friday night at 9:00 until 9:00 a.m. Saturday so he came home and went to bed. He slept from 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning until 4:30 p.m. Saturday evening. I finally had to wake him up because I was afraid he wouldn't be able to get to sleep that night. I myself pretty much just stayed in bed sleeping and watching TV. Just didn't feel like doing much else.

Oh, and our newest purchase: A Wii Fit! I had enough credit at a local store to completely pay for it so I didn't have to put out any money at all for it. Brandon just hooked it up and is playing it. I'll have to try it out later. It looks like a lot of fun. I understand there is some test you can take and it will give you your "Wii Fit Age" - hmmm - not sure I wanna do that!

Hope everyone had a great weekend (and a more cheery one than I did!)

Continuation of Vacation - a "Beary" Scarey Day - June 20

2008-08-07T01:00:00.000-05:00

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OK, so the title is goofy. It wasn't really scarey at all.

Continuation of our trip earlier this summer. We were really hoping to see some bear and we did see a couple in Glacier National Park, but we were always on the lookout for more. So, on this day, we were driving to Blanchard, Idaho (from Glacier) to our condo where we would spend the next week.

As we were driving, my mom shouts "hey, there is a bear in the middle of that field!" So, we turn the van around and drive back by to see if it really was one. She was right.

This is what we saw:

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See the black line looking thing in the middle of the grass. Yep, its a bear!

This next picture gives you a better look at it.

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I must mention there was no shoulder on the road in this particular part of the highway. So, Dad, Brandon and I got out of the van and Amy halfway pulled the van over in the grass. There weren't any cars coming at that time. I got out my zoom lens and started shooting.

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Is that cool or what? my zoom lens really came in handy when this guy decided to stand up in the middle of that field. He was eating something in the field and every now and then, he would stand up and look around at us.

We eventually walked over to a gravel road beside the field and a sheriff's car was siting there also watching the bear. It turned on its siren to show us how that made the bear stand up. It did indeed stand up to see where the noise was coming from. I got some more shots of it. I just thought it was so cool to see it pretty close up (but not so close it could get us). I am loving this 400 mm zoom lens I got!

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

We felt we were really lucky to be able to see this bear and get some good shots!

Stay tuned because there are still more nature and travel shots to come.

Oh yea, and Brandon is coming home late Thursday night. They decided to drive back tomorrow all day - they will be here late, but he should be here tomorrow night. I talked to him today and he said the soaring through the trees deal was FANTASTIC. He wants me to come back with him and do it at night!! I would love to go. Maybe we'll be able to go back someday.

*Freezer update - I still haven't tried anyone's suggestions and the shirt is still stuck in the freezer. I do plan to get it out one way or the other. Thanks for all your helpful suggestions.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

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Why yes,

that is my freezer.

Why yes,

that IS Brandon's soccer shirt FROZEN in the ice cube maker.* WHAT???????

Would you like a closer look?

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Oh yea, and not one word about the amount of ice cream in my freezer :) It is after all.....LIGHT.

*Yea, he stuck his shirt (and pants and a blanket) in the freezer so he could put them on before he got in bed to cool himself off. He opened it to find the shirt FROZEN SOLID IN the ice cube maker. Problem is, I can't get it out. I'd have to totally thaw out the freezer, but I don't have another one to put my stuff in in the meantime. Any suggestions?

Best Shot Monday and The Weekend

2008-08-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

*For Best Shot Monday, I couldn't pick just one photo....the one below is my favorite. I couldn't believe these deer just stood there without moving as I drove the car up. They finally did run off, but they let me get some good pics first.

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I'm a blogging wimp. I must face that fact. No matter how hard I try to keep up with this blog and reading and commenting on others, I can't do it. I just can't. And part of me thinks it is silly to try. Nobody out there is pressuring me. I'm pressuring myself. And I don't know how to stop it. I don't want to give up blogging - I love it. However, I DON'T love the pressure I feel to post or read and comment in order to "keep up". So, I'm just doing the best I can. And I hate to start tons of posts with "sorry I haven't blogged in so long". People get sick of reading that!!

So, let us proceed with this post.

Life has been full and good lately. Brandon leaves tomorrow morning with my parents for Colorado. They are doing this really cool thing calledSOARING TREE TOP ADVENTURES. Check the website out. How cool is that? So, they leave tomorrow to drive there and do that and then drive back. They are going to visit a few more historical sites in between. Brandon has had an activity filled summer! I wish I could go with them, but I really need to stay here as I can't really afford (monetarily and time wise both) to take off work for the week.

I took Brandon up to the school yesterday as they offered free physicals for those kids that are going to participate in athletics in the coming year. It was nice I could do this for free. Found out Brandon is now 5'5" and weighed in at 155!!!! Oh my gosh. I knew he was taller than I. I'm 5 3 1/2 but I thought he was just over that, but I didn't know he was 5'5". And I don't think he has even hit puberty yet. Wow. He had a friend over to spend the night Friday night so they had a good time.

Oh, people have been asking about my date. It went great (this was last week) and I actually had another date this weekend with him. We watched a movie and actually went out to the wildlife refuge and took some pictures. It was really enjoyable! He is not a photography buff, but he seems to not mind my obsession with it. He is a hunter so he really liked seeing the deer out there! I got a couple of good pics of some animals which I'll try to post here. I still need to edit them so I hope to get them on this post. I won't say any more about the dating thang cause I never want to feel that I'm exploiting anyone on here - ya know? But, it seems to be going well. I think I have another date for next week!!

The movie we watched yesterday was Blood Diamond with Leonardo DiCaprio. It is an excellent movie - very dramatic and compelling. But it is also very disturbing. Have you seen it? Definitely don't let your kids see it. It is very violent. In fact, the movie kind of stayed with me and I've been thinking about it. It is based on what I would imagine is what happens in other countries where they mine for diamonds...and how they treat the natives who dig for them. It is sickening.

The part that bothered me the most was that they take children from their parents (young boys) and they kidnap them and then train them to become soldiers. They give them weapons and have them kill and they inject them with drugs. These are KIDS - Kids that looked to be as young as 7 and 8 up through teenagers. Just sickening. Anyway, despite the disturbing subject, it was a good movie.

Also, I should post about THE HEAT. We are melting here in Texas. Melting!!! It was like 105 yesterday. You certainly don't want to go out during the day and do anything. Even going out in the evening is almost unbearable. UGH. Makes me want to hibernate in my air-conditioned house.

I should end this post. I have a number of sets of photos that I need to work on editing so I suppose I should start on that. The weekend is rapidly coming to a close and I still have work to do.

I still have about 7 more days (apx) of photos from my trip to post. I'll get around to that in the next century. I hope.

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More Vacation Pics - June 20

2008-07-29T07:44:00.002-05:00

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I really don't have time for a decent post though I want to post something to say hello...so here are a few pics from June 20 of our vacation. These are in, you guessed it, Glacier National Park!!! These were taken early one morning on our drive up Going to the Sun Road. I tell you, I never tire of being around this type of scenery. Isn't it gorgeous? I hope to post some bear pics tomorrow (or soon) - as soon as I have a chance to get back to the computer.

I actually have a date tomorrow night so that is exciting!!!

Enjoy the scenery:

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P.S. - the last two pics aren't identical, though they look like it. I took sooo many pics of the same scene, many turned out similar. I think I probably took over 100 just of this little scene.

Have a great Tuesday everyone :)

A completely unexciting post

2008-07-27T15:35:00.003-05:00

Pretty much nuthin about nuthin...but truth be told, I'm avoiding paying bills...oh I have a ton of stuff to do, but I'm sitting here at my computer doing what I usually do. Procrastinating. I hate it when I do this. Here it is 3:30 on a Sunday afternoon and I haven't even started what I figured I'd get done yesterday (or two weeks ago)

Anywho, this'll be short cause I don't have much anyway, but I thought I'd share a few exciting things.

Number 1:

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This is what I found on the kitchen cabinet yesterday afternoon. Yea, we don't have trash cans here can you tell? I would think my 13-year old would be trained better, but I guess it is just easier to litter the counter (and floor, etc.) with trash than throw it away. Let me just say, I better not find the chewing gum stuck under my coffee table!! (ha, just kidding - he doesn't do that)

Number 2:

A lot of this has been going on. Relaxing. Yesterday Brandon lay in my bed (with the dog) and watched movies while I dozed for part of the time. We did run a few errands, but we relaxed also. It really is good to have him home.

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Number 3:

A while back, Brandon was playing with his air soft gun (soft pellets) in the house (which I mistakenly hadn't told him not to do) and he busted out one of our track lights high in the ceiling. UGH. I could barely reach it even on the highests of ladders..but I finally got around to replacing it this weekend. I had the hardest time trying to unscrew the darned broken bulb. Stupid me, tried it with no gloves on and guess what? Yep, I cut three of my fingers on my right hand. Stupid. I then put gloves on and finally got it to come out.

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Today after church we're just lazing around again. It is too hot outside to do anything out there. Brandon is heading with my dad to a fish fry with the church group this evening, but I'm staying here! I guess I should get on to my bill paying. Just wanted to say hello to the internets. :)

A Wildlife Refuge Video Montage

2008-07-26T09:50:00.003-05:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I think this will be easier to use than the one I posted before. And by the way, this montage features some additional, better pictures than were in the original one I posted. I visited the Wildlife Refuge 4 times this week (July 21 week) - morning, sunrise, and two different sunsets. So, I got a variety of pics. I still have some better shots I want to get as the animals tend to run when they see a human and I want to get some much closer up shots. I'll have to practice and plan it out.

I really like the sunset photos in this one. It was sooo beautiful out there that evening.

And Brandon made it home fine last night - about 9:45 p.m. They had a great time at their camp. They did a lot of mission work, volunteering at food banks and a ranch place where kids ride for therapy. Brandon told me they worked very HARD in the hot sun, digging for hours on end. Hmmm...sounds like the book "Holes" - ha ha. Anyway, he said it was great, but a lot of work. The last day they got to enjoy going to White Water Bay in Oklahoma City. So, he came home tired and sunburned.

We slept in this morning. That felt good. Of course sleeping in only meant I slept until 7;15 or so, but it felt good to just lie there and stare at the wall without having to rush somewhere or to get ready. We're just hanging out today, trying to get his school supply list in order. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Oh yea, and I have had a couple of dates from the internet dating thing. It is going well. At least, I got a little activity out of it. It is too early to tell for sure, but it looks like it might be promising :)

Wildlife Refuge Shots

2008-07-22T17:35:00.005-05:00

*Another note - I removed the montage from here and posted it in the next post because I added to it and because it was auto playing (in both places) with the song....so sorry if you are looking for the video...check out my July 26 post.

*Well, it appears it works, but it is too wide for my template. I don't know how to fix that cause I only cut and paste the html code from the onetruemedia site. Maybe some of you out there can help me? In the meantime, I think you can still see most of the pics....

OK, I hope this works. The above photos were taken last night at a local Wildlife Refuge. I have been there before, but I really don't know my way around that well. A friend of mine who knows the place very, very well took me out there to hike and to hopefully get some good shots. I got some fairly good ones. I actually plan on going out there bright and early tomorrow morning (before work) at the crack of dawn, to try to get some sun rise pictures. Wish me luck on that!

I cannot BELIEVE how busy it has been since Brandon has been gone. Remember how I told you I did the Singles deal on a trial basis? Well, seems to have turned out really good. I got a lot of responses, which shocked me actually and I'm talking to several different people and we will see what develops. Part of me thinks "I don't have time for this!!!" but we'll see. Trying to keep up with all that can be exhausting. My trial subscription ended but it was really worth it as I have already met some nice people (friends but could turn into something else...who knows).

In other news, I went and weighed in today at Weight Watchers and guess what??? 2.4 more pounds lost!! That means I've lost 7 pounds in the three weeks I've been back. About 4 more and I'm at my goal weight!!! 2 more and I'm back where I was hovering. I really hope to lose about 10 more but we shall see. I am working out a lot (went to two classes last night after work) and that is also what is taking up a lot of my time. Between working full time, working out, trying to keep everyone emailed and updated and keep up with Bloglines (which is a losing battle!!!) and keep all my ducks in a row. Well, lets just say I'm not getting enough sleep!!! Calgon, take me away.

It is all good though. Things are going well.

I have a bunch more vacation pics to post but I have to find the time to write the posts. I'll get around to it.

In the meantime, enjoy these pics.

Best Shot Monday

2008-07-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

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Here is my Best Shot Monday photo. This was taken in April when I visited the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens. I could barely even see this little guy on the flower until I got out my Macro Lens. I just love taking photos with the macro lens as it opens up a whole new world!!

By the way, the watermark on this is my old blog site, which is private (in case you are wondering...)

For more great Best Shot Monday photos, check out TRACY'S SITE

Brief synopsis of our weekend:

Brandon arrived home on Friday evening. Yea!!! It was great to see him. This boy of mine, who is now taller than I.

Saturday I started out the morning with an approximately 14 mile bike ride (yeh me!) with a friend of mine. Since I don't think I can fit my bicycle in my car, he came to pick it up in his truck. We saw all manner of wildlife on this ride and it was totally, totally awesome. We saw a herd of wild hogs, a BEAVER crossing the road and swimming in the water, buzzards, geese, deer, a bald eagle, a beautiful full moon and lots of sunflowers. And just pretty scenery. I loved it. OK, so my butt was very sore, but hey, you can't have everything. What a workout. I'm hoping to get to do that really soon. Then, I got home about the time Brandon was waking up and cooked a big breakfast of pancakes and bacon. YUM!

Saturday we ran errands and hung out. Saturday night we went to see The Dark Knight. It was good. WE both enjoyed it. Oh, Friday afternoon I went to see Mama Mia and I loved it. Very cute and great music!

Sunday was church of course and packing up Brandon for his camp. I did make him mow the yard tonight.

Oh, and get this. I cooked a nice dinner tonight (which I seldom do) - chicken fajitas. Homeade pico-de-gallo and homeade flower tortillas along with some very tasty chicken fajita meat I cooked on the grill. I had a bunch of it that I cooked and we ate less than half of it. I had a big chunk of meat left that I was going to use for lunches this week. Yum. I saw WAS.

I come back here to the computer to type up a lovely post for you all, and I hear a clatter in the other room. I thought that Brandon was throwing his dish in the sink, like he is prone to do so I get up to say "put that in the dishwasher" and I realize he isn't in the kitchen at all. My container that had the meat in it is EMPTY. Empty I tell you!! That dog ate the rest of my chicken!! I was so ticked. She got right up on the cabinet and ate it all. GRRRR

On a totally different subject, at church this morning, I lean over to Brandon to ask him something and realize something is amis. What is wrong with this picture?

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Yep, he had his shirt on inside out sitting in the pew in church. I leaned over and whispered to him to let him know. He immediately slipped out and changed. How funny is that? I'm sure the people behind him had noticed and if they were observant, probably noticed that he changed it. oops.

June 19 - Hike and about a Bear

2008-07-18T00:02:00.000-05:00

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Ok, so back to our vacation. I told you I had a lot of photos...and I still have about oh, 10 posts or so with what I consider the best or the most interesting pics.

This was at Glacier National Park. We started out that morning and drove up one side as far as we could. Remember, I told you the Going-to-the-Sun Road was closed part way up so we could only drive the 12 miles out of like 50. So, we came to the end and they had this walking trail that was actually made for a wheelchair. It was ramped the entire way with a wood walkway. Really cool. It was about a total of a mile. My mom doesn't usually go on the walks with us, but she went this time. I was glad. She doesn't get to hike with us much. She broke her ankle in three places a few years ago and since then she just isn't able to walk very far, especially on any ground that isn't flat. She is afraid she might fall again. Don't blame her.

Anyway, we were on this trail fairly early in the morning and there weren't any other people directly near us. We came to a bridge over a beautiful waterfall. We were all about taking pictures there so we hung out a bit. My mom was crossing the bridge and my sister was withher. My son and I had just posed for my dad to take a picture of us (he was at the start of the bridge) when we heard this crackling of the leaves. We looked to the left and from underneath where we had been standing, crawled a BEAR!!! We hadn't seen one on our trip so far and we were hoping we would see one (though not so close). Unfortunately, Brandon's reaction was to RUN and scream as fast as he couold to the other end of the bridge. It freaked us all out. I got him to quietly come back and we watched the bear as it plodded along right in front of us.

Dad was holding his camera up taking pictures and I was right behind him, trying to also get pictures. My hands were shaking and I was simultaneously freaking out and excited.

Then, the bear stops walking along the path AWAY from us and actually looks at my dad (or at us) and turns to face us (double gulp) and starts walking toward us. (I'm really wishin I wore my Depends about now...) and below is the picture I got of it coming our way. This bear comes towards us and it not very far from us and just stops and looks at my dad. (dad is kind of small so maybe he was thinking "not worth lunch" or something. I don't know, but I was freaking...trying to tell my dad (in a low voice) come ON dad, lets go!!!

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DAd just stood there taking its picture. He got a pretty good one, though it is fuzzy, like all mine. But, can you believe how close this bear was? The below picture is the one my dad got. Tell me this isn't dangerous!! We weren't in a zoo and there were no fences. This bear was not that far from us.

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And then, just as quickly as it came to look at us, it turned the other way and walked off - up the path to the left of the waterfall and on its way.

So, that was a huge amount of excitement for us. We laughed about it a bit later because my mom is deathly afraid of heights and bridges and she was really not wanting to go across the bridge. It was funny, she has NO PROBLEM getting across that bridge when the bear showed its face. I mean, I've never seen my mother move that fast. We laughed about that after the fact!

So after that, we continued along the path. We then came to a place that went uphill to another couple of trailheads. Brandon and my dad went up to check it out. Mom and Amy decided to head back to the car. So, I joined my dad. I saw that the sign said the shortest trail was a 2 mile hike!!! I don't think they realized that. So, we set off on this trail. We ended up hiking the whole thing - so we hiked like 5 miles - 2 miles there, 2 miles back and the other part of the trail was a mile. Man, was I tired after that!!! So, these next shots are some of the scenery we saw along the way.

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I thought these tree roots looked cool.

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I loved how the sunlight played in these trees - it almost looked surreal. Doesn't this look like what the forest might have looked like in Little Red Riding Hood or some other fairy tale?

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We also would come out along the river every so often...the trail would wind around -coming by the river frequently.

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My pictures don't do the beauty of it justice.

The hike was supposed to lead us to a lake so we were anxious to see what the view looked like after our long hike. Here it was. It was indeed beautiful!

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I wish I had had weeks to spend in Glacier. There are hundreds of trails similar to this one - each reaching another beautiful venue or scenic vista. I never tire of seeing God's creation.

Well, that is it for this day's pictures. I hope you've enjoyed our day.

I should mention that Brandon will be coming home tomorrow!!! He'll be here for the weekend and then Monday he is off to church camp until Friday. We have plans to go see The Dark Knight this weekend, so that should be good. I also plan to go see Mama Mia tomorrow afternoon before Brandon gets here. Popcorn here I come!!

Everyone have a great weekend.

UNBELIEVABLE!

2008-07-16T15:25:00.004-05:00

I’m completely caught up with my Bloglines account. I’ve looked at all the 70 some blogs I have registered with Bloglines and at least skimmed through most of their posts. My account is “clear” at this very second so NOBODY and I mean NOBODY post anything for about a week, k?

That way, I can get caught up with other stuff in my house besides the blogging.

Ha. Like that is going to happen. But, it does feel pretty cathartic to finally feel “caught up”, at least with that. And I know it won’t last for more than what, 30 seconds or so before SOMEONE, some evil someone decides to post a picture of their kiddo or tell the internet about their day. Curses.

Ya know, if you keep up with reading blogs daily, it really isn’t so bad. But, for some reason, I just can’t seem to do that and I also can’t seem to stop apologizing for not doing so. Someone pass me one of those “blogging without guilt” buttons! Seriously, I hope to keep up with everyone, at least for a while, but I know me and my life and it won’t be long before Mr. Obligation is knocking at my door and more important things take precedence, like oh, my son and that little thing called sleeping.

Speaking of time suckers, two nights ago, I decided to try something out. Internet dating. I won’t lie, I’ve tried internet dating in the past using a variety of services. Met some really nice people and some totally losers too, but I just got burned out on it. I haven’t dated anyone in quite some time so I thought what the heck, why not try it again. So, I am. I’m basically finding out this is another time sucker. Emphasis on the word SUCKER. We shall see how it goes, but the service I’m trying is allowing me to try it for a few days for free. Once I pass the free mark (next week sometime), I’ll then have to pay if I want to continue. And I’m not sure I’m going to. I might. Or I might not.

I am actually having quite a bit of activity on my “profile” so that is a good thing. And I’ve had a couple people email me. I guess I’m just not THAT excited about it because I’ve tried it before and all that emailing and typing and question answering and asking and pouring your heart and soul out and then nothing. Well, it is exhausting. And I guess that is why I haven’t done it in some time. It seems rather futile and hopeless. Same ole people out there (most of them losers) looking for love. BUT on a positive note, there has to be some good men still left out there or so I’m hoping.

And when Brandon’s school starts back and the summer winds down, I doubt I’ll have any free time to keep up with it, but like I said, I may not even join. What about ya’ll out there? Have you ever tried internet dating and if so, did you enjoy it? Have any horror stories or experiences you wish to share, good or bad? I’d love to hear them.

On a final note, I weighed in at WW on Tuesday and I lost another POUND. So, I’ve now lost 4.6 pounds in 2 weeks so that is good! I still am wanting to lose about 13 more pounds ideally (and more if I can) but at least I’m not gaining for now.

P.S. - the picture I posted is totally unrelated to this post. I just feel funny posting without a picture!!! This picture was of the North Carolina countryside on our vacation in June of 2006. I just loved this picture with the red barn and the view from our vista. This was taken with my old Canon, before I got the REbel Xti.

How To Cool Off In A Texas Summer

2008-07-16T14:00:00.000-05:00

OK, Kailani of An Island Life is having a neat writing contest. For all the details visit HERE. I'm kind of late entering as I've been busy with other things (like catching up on blog reading!) so I hope this isn't too late. (I believe I have until midnight tonight)

First, take two mischevious little boys who want to cool off and have some fun. (See picture below)

Second, get a bunch of water balloons.

Third, have them strip down as much as possible without being indecent (the boys, not the balloons).

Fourth, go outside (this one is very important)

Fifth, Fill up the balloons with water.

Sixth, Take the filled balloons very carefully to the agreed upon place for the fun to begin.

Note that squeezing the balloon like this before you get ready is NOT recommended.
Also note that zipping up your pants is probably a good idea also.

Seventh, get your friend to stand directly under the said water balloon while you stand ready with a nail or any other sharp object.

Eighth, insert sharp object into balloon and wallaa, you have a way to enjoy a Texas Summer!!!

Alternatively, if you don't have any friends, you may do it to yourself!

Finally, if you are feeling really adventurous, you can do it multiple people at the same time!

What a great way to enjoy a Texas summer. (by the way, these were taken a couple of years ago when Brandon was quite a bit smaller!!!)

June 19 pictures - Mountains and Waterfalls

2008-07-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

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Time for more vacation photos. These are as you guessed, from June 19. This day we drove to Waterton Lakes National Park (spent a couple of hours) and then drove on Going to the Sun Road for as much as we could of it.

Going to the Sun Road is this awesome road that spans 40 miles from West Glacier to St. Mary, and it goes right through the heart of the park. However, because of the high elevations, and because it was cut right through the mountain, there are many parts of the year that the road is closed. Unfortunately, the road hadn't even opened for the season while we were there. So...you could go about 12 miles up on side and 13 miles up the other..but then you had to turn back around and go back down the way you came.

The parts we did get to see were breathtaking. I was very disapointed we did not get to drive the whole way. I have heard it was an experience like no other. They said on the very top of the mountain, around Logan's Pass, that the snow drifts were at least 100 feet high!! Also, they have lots of avalanches and so the road was just not passable yet. It was hard to imagine that only a few miles up, these conditions existed, because where we were was very temperate and beautiful.

These first few pics were of one of the stops on Going to the Sun Road. I can't remember which one exactly. But aren't they beautiful? The one below is of course, my dad. I thought it turned out good. Actually, I'm kind of disapointed in the quality of these pics displaying on here. The actual photo itself is much superior to the version being shown. I think this is a drop shots thing. Not sure. These photos appear sort of blurry or grainy to me and the actual photos just aren't like that. I hope it isn't too distracting.

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

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As we drove along, I saw these pretty flowers that I had to get a shot of.

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These next two shots were of one of the most beautiful scenes I think. The below picture is of St. Mary Lake. In the second shot below, the island in the middle is called "Wild Goose Island".
This was what we saw at the BOTTOM of Going to the Sun Road. Can you imagine what scenery would have been waiting for us at the top? I can't imagine.

In fact, going back to Glacier National Park and traveling Going to the Sun Road (the whole way) is one thing that I am putting on my "Bucket List" or things I want to do before I die. It was just breathtaking.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

The last couple of pictures were of a lake that was on the Going to the Sun Road. The water was crystal clear and the way you could see the rocks through the glass-like water was just so cool.

Going to the Sun Road and the scenery we saw in the day and a half we were at Glacier National park was probably the favorite part of our entire trip. I will leave you with a narrative from the back of a book I purchased called "Going to the Sun Road by C.W. Guthrie. The following is from the back cover:

"Traveling Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road is an experience like no other.

Crafted over a steep and unforgiving route - one that some thought impossible - the Going-to-the-Sun-Road spans 50 miles from West Glacier to St. Mary, taking travelers through the heart of Glacier. This marvel of engineering offers visitors some of the most awe-inspiring views in the world as it traverses the Garden Wall, with its 1,000 foot drops, crosses the Continental Divide at 6,646-foot Logan Pass, and winds its way through the magnificent mountains and along the shore of St. Mary Lake.

Park officials, landscape architects, construction engineers, and countless laborers toiled nearly 20 years to carve a road that least damaged the magnificent country it crosses - something that had never been done before on so large a scale. It was designed to harmonize with the landscape in such a way as to be almost unseen.

One of the most scenic highways in the world, the Going-to-the-Sun-Road set the standard for all national parks. It is the best of its kind."

Best Shot Monday

2008-07-14T05:00:00.002-05:00

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This photo was taken this summer at the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens. I loved how much detail you can see on this bee, down to the pollen on its legs. How cool is that? I love capturing details on flowers, bugs, bees and insects.

For more great Best Shot Monday photos, check out TRACY's SITE

I'm going to try to start participating in the Best Shot Monday. It is a great way to share a special photo. Ok, so I know I have like 3,000 special photos a week, but hey, here is a chance to showcase ONE.

That sounds very fishy......

2008-07-12T22:19:00.003-05:00

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OK, the title is corny, but what the heck. These are a few of the fish (Crappie) that my dad and I caught when he took me fishing on Thursday night. Not bad huh? Most of you probably don't know that much about fishing or Crappie, but these are pretty good size for Crappie. They aren't huge fish like Catfish or Bass. Anyway, after I got off work an hour early, we headed straight for the lake so we could have a few hours before dark. I enjoy fishing in the evenings. It tends to be very peaceful.

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True to expectations, it was. It was also very hot. About the time it was getting nice, we had to leave because it was also getting dark. We caught quite a few, but these are the three biggest.

This weekend I'm just trying to get some stuff done. Cleaning, running errands.
On Friday after work, I did go work out. For two hours people!! Or almost. I did a 45 minute cycle class (which I haven't done in quite some time and my bum is feeling it!!) and then a 15 minute abs class and then a 45 minute Body Blast (group weight lifting) class. I was completely spent when I got done with that! But, I'm glad I did it. I am feeling the effects today...I got more sore as the day wore on today.

This morning, it felt GREAT to sleep in. I had to be at the library at 10:00 a.m. to help with book sorting (I volunteer there every now and then) otherwise I might have lay in bed even longer!!! Lexi wanted me to get up though as she was licking my face and jumping on me.

I've been busy today! After working at the library, I went and saw Journey to the Center of the Earth. It was pretty good. It is showing in 3D other places, but not here. I bet it would have been really cool in 3D. I then bummed around Hastings for quite a while, turning in some books for store credit and then spending some of that store credit on some DVDs. I got "Reign Over Me", "Memory", "Evening", "Cold Mountain", "A Good Year", and "Don't Say a Word". They all look good. I would link to all of them, but hey, I'm too lazy.

I also ran some other errands, like taking stuff in my garage to Goodwill (yea, its done!!) and stuff like that. Did the obligatory Walmart run also. Now I'm stocked with groceries.

I'm really trying to get my house clean cause I actually am having guests tomorrow night (Hi Trudy!!!) My friend Trudy and her husband and their son and KATHRYN'S son Isaac are coming over for dinner. I'm having lasagna, salad and bread and probably some type of homeade cookies for dessert. So tonight, I've been cooking and cleaning. Really cleaning. Like scrubbing counter tops and bathrooms and such.

A clean house. Gotta love it. And since Brandon is gone, it will or should stay clean a while. But you know what, I'd chose having him here over a clean house. I miss him :)

He did call me yesterday and he is having fun. They are in Branson right now. Found out that he DOES want to go to our church camp so he comes home on the 18th and then he leaves again on the 21 - 25 for church camp. So...a little longer without him. At least I'll get to see him on the weekend!

Well, I know this post was riveting. I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Some Random Thoughts on Where I Want To Go With Photography

2008-07-11T00:32:00.002-05:00

I have been doing a lot of thinking about where I want to go with my photography…and let me tell you, my mind goes in so many different directions. I guess the sad part is that out of so many possibilities, could end up doing nothing at all due to the vast amount of choices and my general lack of time to think through my options. So, I’m trying to really think through things and research some of my options now that I have a little more time than usual (with Brandon being gone).

A few options I’ve been toying with include:

Taking pictures of people – advertising individuals, groups, couples, families, etc. – selling them either a disc of their pics (so they can get them printed elsewhere) or figuring out how to get them printed myself for people – do I use a service like Walmart?? Do I get a lab that does it remotely? How do I do this???? How do I find a website (that doesn’t cost me an arm and a leg) for people to look at the photos I’ve taken to decide which ones they want? Do I want to get into selling them the actual photos too or do I just want to take the pics, edit them and burn them a disc??

Magazine/photojournalist – thought of contacting local newspapers and magazines and sending them samples of my work and seeing if they would hire me (maybe on a contract or individual assignment basis) to take pictures for a story they are running or cover a specific event, etc. Or maybe even just be a periodic contributor of a pretty picture to spice up their magazine or newspaper…(I’m thinking with this they usually want someone who can write AND take the pictures. I think I can spit out a decent sentence, but I don’t really consider myself a writer at all. To be honest, I do think I can write a good article or piece, but I have no formal training in it and I think I am such a perfectionist, that the amount of time I spend to write something would just be too great to make it worth it!

Selling my photographs – at art shows or festivals – setting up a booth selling individuals pictures I’ve matted or framed…with this I would have to guess what pictures people might like and then spend some money to get an inventory of those pictures for them to look through and a few to sell (I could always take orders, but lets face it, most people want to carry it with them right then and there) Then there would be the issues of purchasing set up stuff – like display racks, tables, and all that kind of stuff.

Selling my photographs – online. I’ve been looking at this option most closely. I’m really toying with setting up an Etsy shop. That seems like a great place to start. I am still looking at the ins and outs of that – how much would it cost me to put a few photos out there and how would I ship them, how much would I charge, what would I name my shop, etc. Again, all these decisions that have to be made. And I don’t want to put out a bunch of money to do one thing or the other until I’m certain that is the direction I want to go. I don’t really HAVE that much money to spare. Read, I virtually have no money to put towards the start of a business…..so that is one reason the Etsy shop seems like a good start. I believe it only costs 20 cents per item to list an item. Of course, I would probably want to list 100 or more items..or maybe I start with just 10? Or a few?? I guess I could do that and then add as I go along….

I just wonder too – will people actually BUY my photographs? I think some of them are definitely good enough to sell, but will people actually BUY them? I guess the only way to find out is to put them out there…and see…

Stock photography (photo sales) – I think some of my pictures are good enough to do this with..but the rules and process I’ve looked at at a couple of these places are quite rigid. You have to spend quite a bit of time for each image, making sure it is perfect and then thinking up key words people would use to search for it….I have yet to submit any of my pictures to any of these websites, but I’m considering it. Like everything else, it takes time to research how it works, the ins and outs of it, etc.

Photography in conjunction with chartable efforts – this could include a bunch of different things. I really would like to use my talents to do good for others also. I’ve thought of things like going on mission trips with my church to document the work and the trip…..making powerpoints of the trip afterwards….also maybe some type of a ministry with my photography – I’ve thought of volunteering to take photographs of children of people at our local crisis center…people who have nothing….how much would they treasure being able to have a nice photograph of their family or their children? Stuff like that.

So this is my problem. Getting started. I feel like I have some ideas and some of them may work, but it is actually getting out there and putting them into practice – getting started. Is that the hardest part? I’m not sure. I also am a perfectionist. Um, you may not be able to tell that looking at my blog, but I am. I like to have it all planned out – start to finish – everything in order and all figured out BEFORE I START. (which often hinders me in both my personal and work life!) OK, I realize that is probably not realistic, but that is how I am. And I think that is one thing that prevents me from functioning normally. (ha) I would like to have the whole thing figured out – what I’m going to do – where I’m going to market to, what I’m going to sell (which photographs) – which direction I’m going to go – before I start…and basically, I think I’m discovering if I wait until I figure it all out, I’ll never get started! I compare it to the advice my ex husband and I got when thinking if I we were going to have a child: “If you wait until you have enough money to have a child, you’ll never have one.” I think that is very true!

So, I’m just putting my thoughts out here for cathartic purposes more than anything and to sort of put pencil to paper with my thoughts. Also, some of you may have been where I am and if you could give me any direction or advice, those thoughts would also be greatly appreciated.

Do any of you have an Etsy shop and do you find it is worth it? Are you making any money doing it (cause lets be honest, I do want to make some extra dollars!) or are you just covering your costs? Any advice?

I believe what I’m really looking at right now is selling my photographs on line – probably by setting up an Etsy shop. That way I can see if there is even any interest for them…and I can brainstorm ways to market my website….free photo giveaways perhaps, stuff like that. AT the same time, I am going to try to get some photos submitted to some stock photo places….to see if that is a feasible option for me. (meaning, if they reject everything I’m sending them, then it may not be an option for me!)

I think my heart is more with nature photography and spontaneous pictures rather than posed, portrait photography. If someone asks me to take their families picture and they are going to pay me to do it..great, I’ll most likely agree. But, I think I get the most satisfaction from traveling and shooting nature, etc. I like being creative and being able to use my talents to get a really good shot that people ooh and aah over. Also, I’m thinking with the Etsy shop, I won’t have to have a big inventory of pictures. If someone orders a print, I just print it or get it printed without having to actually have any “on hand” – I have all of them on my computer ready to be printed. Then, as I get great shots, I can add them to my inventory.

June 18 - the rest of our day's best pictures - Animals Galore!

2008-07-10T00:01:00.001-05:00

Well, Brandon called me tonight. I was sooo glad to hear from him. He and his dad (and their family) had just left the movies. They saw "The Hulk". Brandon gave it rave reviews. He is having a good time, so that is good. They are headed to Branson next, I believe. Our church has their youth camp the week after he returns and although I really want to keep him home with me, I told him about the camp and he is deciding if he wants to go to that or not. If he does, then he'll come home on Friday the 18th and then go away the 21-25 for camp if he decides to go. I am doing my best to now sway him one way or the other. We shall see.

OK, on to more trip pictures. My sister had researched this place near Glacier National Park called Goat Lick. Below is information I copied off the informational sign that was posted near the goat lick site. (that I thought you'd be able to read, but you can't!)

Mountain goats prefer the rocky cliffs at higher elevations. Yet each spring goats descend from the high country to natural mineral licks along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River. Apparently the goats need the salts and minerals in these eroding banks. The main lick is the gray section of the cliff visible from the viewing platform. Goats can often be seen at a secondary lick located in the gray rock directly across from the river. Specially constructed fences direct goats under the highway,providing safe passage to the lick. Before the fences were built, vehicles
posed a serious threat to the goats.

So, we first got there and went to the "viewing platform" specially constructed for viewing. We were thrilled to see a goat and her baby, but kind of disapointed that this was all we could see. The goat was really far off, but with my telephone lens (400 mm), I got a good zoom on it. So, we stayed around there for quite a while, hoping to see more.

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Everyone else had wandered off when I was looking up to the right of where the picture was taken and through the trees (and kind of up on a steep hill above the "viewing area" I saw a glimpse of some other mountain goats. I started looking and it appeared to me there were many of them...but you couldn't see them for the trees. So, I hopped over the viewing platform area.....it wasn't roped off, and you could tell other people had blazed a trail there as the ground was quite worn.

Well, I made my way up the steep slope to a clearing and my heart skipped a beat when my mind caught up with what my eyes were seeing. There were mountain goats EVERYWHERE. I mean EVERYWHERE. Probably 25 of them or more. The position I had climbed to was actually underneath the highway bridge and the goats were under the bridge and all over the cliffs there. You really couldn't see them FROM the highway, but from this vantage point, you could. I felt like I had just won the lottery!!! I started snapping pictures left and right...again with my 400 mm zoom. I was soo glad I had purchased this lens and it really came in useful during our trip. The only problem was, I wished I had had my monopod with me as a lot of the pictures came out a bit blurry. But, a lot of them came out good as you can see here.

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Look at this cute little baby!!! There were several mamas and babys. I just could not believe how sure-footed they are on such a steep mountain side. It was completely amazing (and a bit scarey actually) to watch.

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This was from another vantage point. After viewing for a while from the side of the cliff, we decided to hike up to the highway and down the side of the road on the opposite side of the highway from where we had been. I then saw this baby underneath the highway. Isn't he/she cute??

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So after we watched the Mountain Goats (and I took like 150 shots of them), we drove on. We then came across this deer that was just on the side of the road. Since there was no other traffic, we just stopped and I slid open the van door and shot this picture. The deer didn't seem too afraid of us.

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More mountain scenery we saw as we were driving near Glacier. I just loved the way the green fields and the fence accented the mountains in the background.

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Then, we headed into Canada into Waterton, which is also basically Glacier National Park, but on the Canada side. And wow, was it pretty! Brandon and I had to have the obligatory picture next to the sign marking the entrance.Um, and yes, he is now taller than I am.

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Beautiful Upper Waterton Lake. Just to the right of this, out of the picture is a beautiful hotel called the Prince of Wales hotel. Just gorgeous!

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And as we made our way into Waterton Park and were walking around, we saw this!!! A little fawn following its mom around. I jumped out of the car and again used my telephoto lens to get these shots. That baby would not stay still. It was trying to keep up with its mama.

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

This last picture gives you an idea of the size of the fawn. It was tiny!!! And oh so cute.

Well, that is my pictures to share with you today. Of course, there are many more on the way.

Tuesday and a few July 4 Weekend Pics

2008-07-08T10:09:00.011-05:00

*Edited to add - I just came back from weighing in at Weight Watchers and guess what?? I actually lost 3.6 pounds!!!! I almost fell over. I was sooo excited. I still have a ways to go and I can pretty much guarantee I won't lose that much again in a week, but still, that was great! (I had gained 10.8 pounds in about 3 months so I'm trying to lose that plus a little more) OH heck, who am I kidding, I'm trying to get down to about 105.....but let me say that ain't gonna happen.

This week is flying by, which is a good thing considering I was really kind of dreading these next two weeks without Brandon here. I do miss him a lot, but it does make for some guilt-free “me” time. In fact, I can already see this week and next filling up with things to do (and obligations to fulfill) so this is a good thing.

Ya know, in the scheme of things, when you consider that I work full time and then try to work out at least once a day 5 days a week or so, and then do maintenance stuff like yard work and house cleaning and laundry….there really isn’t that much extra time even with Brandon gone. Those things pretty much take up the week. I’d much rather be busy than bored. I don’t take relaxation too well, I don’t think…..but I do hope to have some time to get to some cleaning (organizing), photo sorting, and time for finally catching up (short lived as it will be) on my blog reading.

I had no plans for last night, but a friend called and asked me if I would take photographs (for money!!!) of her son’s birthday party. I said yes, but the problem was there really wasn’t much subject matter. The “kid” is a 17 year old who just had about 10 friends at a local restaurant to eat. You would have thought that maybe some antics would have gone on – some craziness, but really, there was nothing. How many pictures can you take of 12 kids eating their dinner? Not too many, let me tell you. It really was nothing to take pictures of. I was really disappointed too in the way the few I did get turned out. The light was horrible in there and the way the kids were seated, well, it just wasn’t conducive to photography. I don’t think I’m even going to charge my friend anything as it really didn’t turn out well at all. I’m not sure I even got a few usable pictures! It was disappointing.

After that, I rushed home to take care of my yard and get it mowed because we are supposed to get rain the next couple of days and I didn’t want it to get any longer than it was. I really wanted to go walking with my dog, but it was 9:20 when I got inside the house and I hadn’t even taken a shower, groceries from a quick Walmart trip (done after work but before the photo deal at the restaurant) were all over the place needing to be put up. I had a lot of things yet to do before I could go to bed…so I nixed walking. My aspirations were to get up at 6:00 and walk, but I ended up going to bed at 12:30 a.m. so I decided I really wanted the extra hour of sleep instead. I plan on working out tonight after work.

Thursday night I plan to go fishing with my dad as soon as I get off work. At least this weekend I have NOTHING planned. Well, except working out on Saturday morning and now that I think about it, I need to help with book sorting at our local library….I sort of need to volunteer to help with that cause I’m on the committee to do it, but I missed last month’s sorting. So, see what I mean? The week is filling up!

I did finally get to talk with Brandon this morning! He is in Indiana with my ex’s husband's wife's family and their cell phones don’t work there nor do they have internet? (the tragedy of it!!!) so he was calling me from their home phone this morning. I was sooo glad to hear his voice. That is only the second time I’ve talked to him in the almost week since he’s been gone. I’ll be happy to get him back home again.

I have lots more vacation pictures to post..I’ll try to get the next post together tonight when I get home. (I’m at work right now…) For some reason, I can’t access my dropshots account from my work computer. Have no idea why!

Oh yea, and I’m going in to weigh at WW today – I’ll let you know how it goes. I haven’t done wonderful this week, but I haven’t been really bad either. Over the weekend at the lake, I did eat a few things I shouldn’t and out of almost necessity, I had one meal at McDonalds (fries and chicken nuggets – yum!) but overall, I wasn’t horrible. So, I’m hoping I at least maintained. I hope I lost….but we shall see. I’m going at noon to weigh in.

After I wrote all this, I thought – hey, I could share some pictures of my July 4 weekend…so see below (and above) for a few of the ones I liked. I took quite a few pictures…none were that exciting. It was a really nice weekend to get away and relax with old friends. My friend has a lakehouse on Grand Lake so my friend Jana from Oklahoma City and her family, met my friend Chris (from Tulsa) at her lakehouse on Grand Lake for the 3-day weekend. We spent the weekend boating, tubing, fishing!!!!, and jet skiing. It was very relaxing and a whole lotta fun.

Well, I can't get the darned pics to post down here in the body....it isn't giving me the html code. GRRR - so I'll just tell you down here what the pictures up there are of:

1) Me eating a catfish I caught. ha ha

2) Chris and I jumping into the lake off the boat. We took the boat to this cove and fished and swam and ate lunch. It was so. much. fun.

3) This is Lucas doing fireworks at our campfire we had on Saturday night.

4) This is a fish I caught with Lucas looking on in the background. The kids were fascinated with the fish I would catch (and I caught about 25 or so, no kidding...) - they would want to see it and touch it and then it would wiggle and they would run away screaming. Pretty funny.

5) The final one - me riding on the inner tube. I wasn't going to do this cause last time it hurt really bad - all the bouncing, but it was fun this time so I was cutting up as you can see.

Best Shot Monday

2008-07-07T08:23:00.005-05:00

I thought since it was Monday and since I have so many yummy pictures I want to share from my recent vacation, I would share the below shot for Best Shot Monday (http://slurpinglife.typepad.com/slurping_life/2008/07/a-macfourth-cel.html) hosted by Melody of Slurping Life. Sorry for cutting and pasting the link...for some reason, I can't get blogger to insert a direct link to it....I'm so html challenged!

This picture was taken in Glacier National Park (on Going to the Sun Road). I wish we had weeks to spend there, as this place was gorgeous.

I took some pictures from our weekend lake trip, but they weren't that exciting. I did get back home safely last night so today it is back to the usual routine. Work. Ugh. I will be posting more vacation pictures later this week.

Happy Monday and hope everyone had a Happy 4th!

More Vacation Pics - These from June 18, 2008 - Glacier National Park!

2008-07-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

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This (and some others really similar) are some of my favorite pics of our entire vacation. Glacier National Park is: Breathakingly gorgeous. Stunning. Just can't describe how beautiful it was. I captured these early one morning as we set out for the day. I took a ton of them and more will be shown later, but I did want to show you a couple of my favorites at the start of this post.

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

OK, the picture below is one I took as we were getting close to Glacier. This is what the scenery looked like from inside our car. Lovely photo, I know. Nice view of my mom's head too :) I figured this was a great way for you to share in the experience just as we saw it....hee hee.

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Yep, we passed this too along the way. I took this from inside the car...I only wish I had my tripod set up as this train made its way across the trestle. How cool is this scene?

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And here we were, at the park! Finally. We arrived late afternoon on June 18 and so we tried to make the best use of the rest of the day. One thing we realized while there was that up north, the days are much longer. It stayed light until probably close to 10:00 p.m. and it was light starting before 5:00 a.m. WOW. We weren't really used to that. It worked to our advantage though as we could see more stuff.

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Our first stop was a short hike on one of the trails to a beautiful waterfall. Mom was even able to make the hike. If you have been a reader of my blog for a long time (my old one), you will know that mom broke her ankle a couple of years ago and had to have surgery so she can't walk long distances, especially on rough terrain. She was however, able to hike to this waterfall, so it was cool.

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

We then drove to a different part of the park that had lots of trails. Amy, Brandon and I took one. This is what the lake looked like as we started out on the trail.

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We took the hike around through the woods to a ways around the lake. When we got to the opening, there was a couple trout fishing. This is what they had caught so far. How cool is that? Man, the scenery was just so beautiful. The waters so crystal clear blue that you just couldn't stare at it long enough.

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This one is of my dad and Brandon at another waterfall in the park...though I don't think I'll post ones of this waterfall as I don't think I watermarked any of them. I thought this picture of the two of them turned out well though.

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I'll leave you with some more of my favorite pictures....I hope ya'll aren't getting tired of looking at all these.

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Well, I think that is enough for now. Next up will be some really cool pictures of mountain goats that I got...and other things I'm sure.

Oh yea, and Happy Fourth of July!!!! Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend. I'm off the lake for the weekend.

Some Random Thoughts

2008-07-01T22:35:00.001-05:00

EDITED *Well, I just got back from dropping him off in Oklahoma (met at a halfway point). All went well. He is so excited to go, which actually makes it easier cause I know he is having a great time. I've been on the road for quite a few hours so I'm pretty tired...and yep, the house sure is quiet. Although tonight, I am so tired I'm not sure I'll notice. Once I lay my head on the pillow, I think I'll be out.
Thanks for your sweet thoughts and hugs :)

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Well ya'll, I'm feeling a bit sad :( Not too bad, but just a little. You see tomorrow, Brandon is going to be with his dad for a couple of weeks (for his summer visit). I know the time will fly and it'll be gone before I know it and he'll be back, I still miss him when he is gone. The house is quiet. Too quiet.

I'll fill my time, I'm sure. But, right after he leaves, the void is just pulsing it is so large. It feels odd. I should be used to it and in many ways I am...but I still miss his company. He is excited to go through and his dad has fun things planned. I think they are going to Indiana (where some of his wife's relatives live) and also to a Six Flags park somewhere. The thing Brandon is most excited about I think is they get to do fireworks! We can't really do them here, but he will get to do them with his dad, so he is pumped!

I will be with my buds this weekend at the lake so this weekend will be busy. Then, of course I'll be working the rest of the time he is gone. I plan to try to get hte house cleaned and get caught up on a few things since I SHOULD theoretically have extra time.

I'll also be trying to work out some because friends, let me tell you. The last few months of indulging myself haven't been kind to me. I went back to Weight Watchers tonight for the first time in a couple of months (actually since April...) and guess what? I've gained 10.5 pounds. TEN AND ONE HALF POUNDS. Lovely. Oh well. I expected it for sure. And I've been eating like crazy for literally months on end...but now it is time to shape up. I don't want to go back where I was (51 pounds ago!!!) so I went back to the meetings tonight. I guess I'm going to try to stick to the program again and start going weekly.

WAAAHHH - I wanna banana caramel sundae!!!! Will power, willpower.

Well, I should sign off. Stay tuned for more vacation pictures.

P.S. - the picture above is one I took of Brandon one evening. He went to bed before I did and I thought he looked so sweet sleeping...awwwwww

Prairie Dogs and Buffalo - 2nd half of our 6/17/08 Day!

2008-07-01T13:00:00.000-05:00

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Here are the rest of the June 17 shots (the ones I decided to post). I guess I should tell ya'll that in the 2 weeks we were gone, I took over 1,675 shots. 1,675 is the number of shots I have left after deleting the ones that didn't turn out or weren't what I wanted to keep. WOW.

As I said in my last post, this is the day we drove from Jamestown, North Dakota to Walford City, ND. The below pictures are from the Roosevelt National Park. The first thing we came across was a Prairie Dog Town and these are some shots I got there. (I loved watching these little creatures!)

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
This is one of my favorite shots. This little guy or big guy I should say was just sitting there slumped over and he actually almost fell asleep and fell over as we were watching him. (These were taken with my zoom lens so we weren't that close to them...)

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
This little guy was digging a hole while we watched.

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Then, we drove further into the park and through it and we saw a lot of scenery like this:

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And this:

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

There were also quite a few of these guys (Buffalo/Bison) at the entrance of the park and we could see some on the hills as we drove through the park. They are HUGE and actually kind of ugly creatures!)

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
This was the view from one of the lookouts in the park.

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My last picture was one of the field waterers we saw along the way. I know there must be a technical name for these thingies, but I have no idea what it is. Can someone enlighten me? I don't know what it is about these things, but I really was intrigued by them. I just happened to find this one actually watering and stopped to take some pics of it.

Stay tuned for my next set of pictures, which are from East Glacier Park. They are spectacular or at least I think so!!

Home Sweet Home

2008-06-30T13:45:00.000-05:00

Yep, we are HOME!!! Got home yesterday evening and boy was it good to see our house. We had a WONDERFUL, awesome vacation, but there is nothing like coming home to sleep in your own sweet, KING SIZE bed (with all the room you want!!!)

Unfortunately, the last day of our trip (which was all driving)I developed a headache which turned out to be a migraine. UGH. I think maybe the fact that our Saturday drive (We were in the car for about 15 hours!...which took us from near Scottsbluff Nebraska to my sister who lives near Kansas City, Missouri) was the longest day EVER probably contributed to the start of my headache. Or perhaps it was just the culmination of two weeks of stuffing myself with the most junk food possible, or perhaps just knowing the wonderful vacation was coming to an end?

Whatever the reason, I did develop a headache despite my taking two of the very expensive migraine pills I just bought. oh well.

I woke up this morning with a still nasty headache. I decided to not return to work until tomorrow, taking a sick day today. I just feel I could work with this pounding headache. I think the rest did me good cause now it is late afternoon and I am feeling much, much better. I think I'm gonna live. And I'm actually kind of glad to be returning to work. (Ok, I'd rather return to Glacier National Park for a couple of weeks, but ya can't have everything!)

Now to some more pictures!

These were taken on 6/17, Tuesday almost 2 weeks ago. We drive from Jamestown, North Dakota to Walford City, North Dakota. In between we visited the Knife River Indian Villages, the Enchanted Highway and drove around in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park (north and south units). WHEW! That is a lot for one day!

So, here are quite a few pictures from that day. I hope you enjoy them.

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This first picture is one of the metal sculptures that make up the "Enchanted Highway" which is a stretch of road that runs on a 32-mile stretch from Regent to Gladstone, North DAkota. You can read more about the ENCHANTED HIGHWAY HERE! It is pretty interesting actually. In brief, Gary Greff, who is a retired school principal, decided to build these metal sculptures to entice visitors to come to his hometown.

The Enchanted Highway features the World's Largest Metal Sculptures produced by artist Gary Greff.Gary is a native of Regent, North Dakota. He was a teacher and a school principal and had never done any art work or welding prior to 1989. He then began dreaming of ways to bring people and businesses to the small community of Regent -- fearing the town would someday die if it relied solely on farming. A hay bale strongman built by a farmer inspired him. He watched people pull off the road to snap photos of the oddity. He wondered how many people would stop for huge metal sculptures.

So here are pics of the sculptures that I got along the way.

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

This was the sculpture of giant crickets.

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Amy and I decided to try to fit our butts into the little kids bouncy things. Lets just say they were a slight bit too big to fit (our butts that is) - ha ha.

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This is the Fisherman's Dream sculpture.

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The Pheasant Sculpture.

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The Theodore Roosevelt Sculpture.

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The Family Sculpture.

We then went to Regent and enjoyed a nice lunch of Panini Sandwiches. Here is a picture of my sister, my dad and Brandon hamming it up behind one of the sculptures on the main street in Regent.

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Since there are so many pictures, I think I'll end my post here for today. I may or may not do another one later. The next one will be of the Prairie Dog town that we came upon in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and some pics of the park and of the buffalo we saw there also.

Heck, I may even do another post today. We shall see. I really want you guys to enjoy the pictures and I'm afraid if I post too many at a time (like the 35 or so I want to post for each day...) then it may be a bit overwhelming. So....I'll stop here for now.

It is good to be home!

Pictures from the first of our trip!!

2008-06-27T22:42:00.001-05:00

Surprise! I actually remembered I could upload photos at slide.com as well as my drop shots so there is more than one way to skin a cat! This is just a small sampling of what is to come, but I figured this should hold you over until I get home and get some more posted.

These are from the firt two days of our vacation - June 15 and 16. We drove to my sister's house the first day, stayed overnight there and then hit the road the next day driving about 12 hours.

I hope you enjoy the short slide show of a few of my favorite images. Be sure to read the text at the bottom of each picture. I think you can click on the picture to stop the slide show if if goes too fast.

We'll be home soon and then more photos to come. Everyone have a great weekend.

A quick hello

2008-06-26T07:29:00.002-05:00

Just posting to say I likely won't be posting the next few days. We will be home soon and once we are, I'll start posting trip pics. I am really disapointed that I can't upload photos whie here, while I have extra time but for some reason blogger isn't cooperating with me.

It won't let me upload photos. Also, dropshots, which is usually the site I use to upload my photos to (and then I cut and paste the html code for my blog) isn't letting me access my photos either. Weird.

Anyway, stay tuned as I've been going through my photos and I've already picked out a bunch I hope to post. Um, about 150 or so. EEEEKKK.

Until then.....

Today and some Pictures to share with you!!

2008-06-24T23:09:00.008-05:00

This is a first. I'm actually going to share some pictures with you about our day TODAY and post this TODAY. I believe it is a first. Usually I have all these good intentions and either post them weeks or months later or never get around to posting them at all.

I brought my laptop in the car with me today so I was able to upload my pics as I took them and get some of them watermarked. Now, I just need to upload them for this post! I thought I'd share with you some of the best from today.

We left first thing this morning and drove along a scenic drive called the "Sekirk Loop" I think it is. We stopped at a place called Kootenai Falls. Mom had scouted the place out in one of her books so off we went! (she has good taste in where we go and what we see!!) We also went into Canada into a town called Creston.

First, some pictures from Kootenai Falls which also included a swinging suspension bridge. did I mention I'm afraid of heights? I wasn't sure I could make it across the bridge, but I did.

The picture at the top was what it looked like looking from one side to the other. Keep in mind, if people are walking on it (limit of 5 people at a time) the bridge would sway back and forth side to side. (eek!)

This picture shows what the bridge looked like from the side. We had to hike quite a ways to get to it. Isn't it beautiful? (OK, scarey, but beautiful)

Here is a view up the river from one side.

Well crappola! It seems the internet and blogger isn't cooperating with me, wouldn't cha know. I had about 16 more pictures I planned to post on here tonight but I can't get any more to upload!!! I don't know what blogger's deal is.

Normally, I upload them to drop shots and then cut and paste the html code here, which is MUCH MUCH faster than uploading them through blogger. However, for some reason, on this laptop, which is my work computer, I can't get to my drop shots account. So....I am left with no way to post my pictures on here for the time being. I'll try again tomorrow through blogger (which is painfully slow) and hopefully post more of the pictures.

I have to say, this is one of the things that frustrates me about blogging - stuff not working correctly. GRRRR - I hate spinning my wheels.

Well, enjoy these few pictures. More later.

Ramblings

2008-06-23T22:20:00.004-05:00

I think I have too much time on my hands. We are on vacation (with my parents and sister Amy) currently in Idaho. (tomorrow we are going to Canada to sightsee!!!) I'm thinking some more pictures are in order!!

Anyway, today we just stayed here at the condos and slept in (which for me meant waking up about 8:00 a.m....I just can't sleep that late for some reason!). I did go for about a 2 mile walk so I did get some exercise. This evening, I also went for a bike ride with Brandon and my dad. it was a perfect evening..the temp is about 70 degrees and it was sunny today. Very, very pretty. not too hot and not too cold.

Mom had originally planned for us to go to a national park today that is a couple hour drive from where we are staying but we decided to just stay here and relax due to the fact we will be riding in the car an awful lot the next few days and that can get old and tiring! So now we are ready for tomorrow!

I think I have too much time on my hands because the fact of the matter is, I have problems relaxing. I always have. It seems like though I complain about being busy, I like nothing but. Anytime I have a little extra time to "do nothing", I'm bored. And it makes my mind wander idly to silly things.

Things like feeling sorry for myself. And I hate that. I am so blessed. I know I am. I have everything that I need and way more than a lot of people. And I'm not just talking about material things. I have a great family and a nice home, a good job that I love (most days), a great son, my health, etc. So why is it that sometimes I tend to focus on the one thing that I think I don't have? That one thing is basically a Man. A relationship. That significant other.

Most of the time, I am OK with it. My life is so full without a boyfriend or husband to share it with. It is OK. Normally. But sometimes (such as today) it hits me. Everyone I see has a spouse or a boyfriend. And I know it is silly and really selfish of me, but I start thinking why not me? I know there is nothing wrong with me, but I can't understand why God has allowed me to be divorced and "manless" for 10 years!!!! TEN YEARS. It isn't like I haven't "paid my dues" ya know?

I truly don't understand it. I know I just need to trust God that he has my future in his hands and he knows what is best for me. But still, I'm human and I really want that companionship. I want sommeone to share all that I have with, someone to talk to about every little thing. Someone to share all the joys and sorrows with...someone to grow old with. I see my self getting older and it scares me. I don't want to spend the rest of my life alone.

Sorry for the complaining, but I just needed to vent.

Also, do you guys ever find yourself looking at other people's blogs and thinking "wow, I wish I had their life"? Silly I know. I do that. In all fairness, I guess I also look at other's lives and am thankful that I don't have to go through the trials and tribulations that some do....so I guess it works both ways.

Also, I've missed blogging. I really have. As I've been working my way through my bloglines accounts today (if I haven't gotten to your blog yet, I'm working on it...) I have about 70 blog feeds I try to keep up with and since I haven't been visiting anyone for months and months, some have hundredsand hundreds of updates. There just isn't time to read them all I'm afraid. But, I'm trying to read at least a few of them. I've been doing it for hours today. And thoroughly enjoying it I must say.

In doing this, I realize how much I love reading my bloggy friends' blogs. I do. I feel I have gotten to know so many of you (and some I do know in real life...) and I miss you. I truly do. So, I hope some of you are still out there and I hope you'll keep reading. I don't blame you if you don't...but I'm glad for the readers I still have :) I would personally hug each and every one of you if I could.

I'm going to post this and then I'm off to try to work on another post - one with a few pictures of our trip!!!

Night With Friends (After a Day at the Lake)

2008-06-22T19:42:00.000-05:00

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Doesn't that look good? Well, it WAS! After our day at the lake, Turk wanted to take us to this Turkish Restaurant in Dallas. We had reservations at 9:00 p.m. and they were supposed to even have Belly Dancing! Turns out the belly dancer cancelled so there was none of that. The food however, was really good. I have always been kind of a picky eater so I wasn't sure about it, but it was good.

Brandon liked it too. He even had a pizza with lamb on it!

The best part of it was that we also got to see our mutual friend Trish and her two kids. They were busy during the day (they had family in town) but they came over to meet us for dinner. It was great to see Trish and her kids Rachel and Cameron.
They are so adorable!

Brandon did his magic tricks (he is into doing card tricks these days) for them and they were loving it.

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Here is a picture of all of us.

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Trish and her kids.

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All of us girls!

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These were taken the next morning on our way to church. We are always goofing off. It was such a fun weekend,though it was too short. We are hoping to all get together again for July 4 weekend.

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Day at the Lake

2008-06-21T19:34:00.000-05:00

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A couple of weekends ago, my good friends came in town for the weekend. It was so great to see them, as always. Jana (the gal on the far left) and I went to high school and college together and Chris (the gal on the right)and I went to college together. We get together a few times a year and we always have such an awesome time when we do.

This particular weekend, we went to the lake in my friend Jana's brother in law's boat. Her brother in law's name is Mike and he was kind enough to indulge us for the day. He has access to two VERY NICE boats. One of which is actually a yacht! It is huge and probably larger than my HOUSE. We took out the smaller boat.

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There was fishing....this is Lucas (Jana's son) and Brandon trying their luck right off the dock.

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Lucas was quite amused at the fishing!

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This is a partial view of the yacht. Brandon and Jana climbed up in it to have their picture made.

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This is Turk, Lucas' dad, hamming it up for the camera.

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Chris, Dana, Annah and Jana sunbathing on the back of the boat. We went to an island and anchored up with some friends that Mike knew and we swam and fished and had a great time!

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This is Mike, our gracious boat host (Turk's brother).

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One place had a hammock alongside where their boat is docked. How nice is that? Annah is relaxing and Brandon is trying to sneak up on her. BOYS!!!

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Sailor Boy Brandon

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This picture might give you some idea of the way the dock looked. I could not belive how nice the places were. Big screen TV's, furniture nicer than in my HOUSE -all out in the boat slips (covered, but still outside). Really cool.

We had a great time. That evening, we ran home, cleaned up and went to Dallas for dinner at a Turkish Restaurant Turk wanted us to try. (he is Turkish if you hadn't figured that out...) It was fantastic. More pics on that in my next post.

The posting is a bit sporadic, as you all (the few readers I still have left) have come to expect from me. But, I'm a bit busy as I'm actually on vacation and have been for about a week now. We have traveled to Glacier National Park in Montana as well as a day trip to Canada even. Having a wonderful time and yes, taking lots of pictures. In fact, I've taken over 1,100 already! I'll share a few when I get a chance (after we return).

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

HIGHWAY ROBBERY

2008-06-14T09:24:00.002-05:00

I am stunned. Just went and picked up a prescription for my migraine medication. Maxalt - 10 mg pills - one in a package and if I have a migraine I have to take one, maybe two. The prescription was for 9 pills - that is the entire px: 9 pills. Know how much they cost for these 9 pills? $182.49!!!! That is over $20 freaking dollars for each pill.

Robbery.

That is what it is. Robbery.

And that is WITH health insurance. Although I do have a deductible for prescriptions so I have to meet my $200 deductible (which is basically what this was...) before it goes to the co-pay. Even then, it isn't cheap. I think my co-pay is $45.00 per px. Although I must say, that definitely beats $182.49!

And the thing is, I need the medication. I can do without it, but if you have ever had a migraine, you would pay whatever you could to take a pill so you don't get one. They are horrible. And I'm lucky. What if I were a senior citizen or someone on a fixed income. I just think it is horrible that medications and things we need for our health can be so out of reach...

I am just disgusted with healthcare and the price of stuff. It is so out of hand.

This is my rant for today!

Remember that sweet puppy Gabby?

2008-06-13T18:49:00.004-05:00

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The puppy that I found on the side of the road a couple of months ago? That I couldn't get anyone to take and so I took her to the animal shelter? The one that my sister ended up adopting? (Yea!!!)

Well, my sister just sent me a picture yesterday with the title "What was I thinking?" Then she leads in with "Obviously, I wasn't..." Poor Amy. Gabby had been being so good so she left her in the house along all day and came home to THIS. This WAS the carpet in her living room. She had also drug in three rugs from assorted places in the house and had chewed on those. Amy found them along with some shredded paper all over the living room floor.

Ain't it great having a dog?

You can't help but laugh (after you've had a good cry mind you...) Amy said she was wanting to get her carpet replaced anyway...guess this is as good a time as any!!!

Gabby is doing well by the way. Amy says that she gets along great with her older dog Ginny. She was worried Ginny wouldn't tolerate a puppy, but she has. I am soo glad it worked out.

Gabby weighs about 40 pounds now, by the way. Here is a picture of what she looked like before and one my sister sent me taken recently. She has grown, hasn't she? We get to see them very soon (Gabby and Amy) so I'm really excited!! WELL DARN!!! I guess I deleted the picture my sis sent of the older Gabby. So, all I have are the older pics, but they are cute!

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One Pooped Pup

2008-06-11T22:28:00.004-05:00

This'll be short, but I did want to post SOMETHING. I took this picture a few weeks ago. Brandon still does his dog walking for some people down the street. This dog's name is "Levi" and he is such a loveable dog. Levi likes to walk, but when Levi gets tired, he is DONE. As you can see from this picture, when he is done walking, he just lies down and doesn't want to move. Gee, I feel like this some days.

Anyway, he just stopped and lay down in the street towards the end of when Brandon was walking him. Pretty funny.

A video montage

2008-06-09T23:51:00.003-05:00

I could write a bazillion posts about what has been going on in my life since I last blogged, but I'll start with a video montage. This is about a 15 minute look at our conference. We just got back from San Antonio and had a great time at our annual conference. We work really hard, but we had a lot of fun too.

Most of the pictures in this montage were taken by yours truly. A few were taken by the professional photographer we hired....but most of this video is us having fun, at work and play.

Sit back, kick your feet up and enjoy 15 minutes of fun and good music.

I'll try to post again soon!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My New Digs!

2008-06-09T11:17:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my new Blog! I've decided to go public again but this time with a totally new site. I'll be adding a lot of pictures, of course and hopefully doing my fair share of posting! I miss the blogging world terribly!