weekend update

Over the weekend, J. saw “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” on TV and played the part where Willy Wonka says the best kind of prize is a surprise for me a couple of times. It was funny to see that she did the inflections and laugh just right.

I’ve not updated much lately, have I?

A couple of weeks ago, I applied for a different job within my company and got it. I started training for/doing the new job last week – and training the person who’s doing the stuff I used to do. When I got home every day last week, my brain was tired. I spent time with the kids, did the dinner thing and went to bed early. I’ve become a morning person from all this going to bed early. I think I like it. 🙂

We’ve got fun things planned for the 4th. I’m looking forward to a 3 day weekend.

The best kind of prize

Today when it was almost time for me to leave work, 12 yr daughter J. called and asked if she could cook dinner. I have several things in the freezer that she could bake in the oven for dinner, so I said yes. She said all she needed me to do was stop by the store to get garlic bread and ranch salad dressing.

So I did.

When I got home, J. met me at the door with a purple flower from one of our Rose of Sharon trees/bushes. She proudly showed me how she’d oiled our old wooden dining table & chairs (inherited from my grandparents), how she’d swept the living room and kitchen floors, set the table, had salad made and the oven ready for garlic bread to be heated.

After we had our dinner, she was still grinning from ear to ear. When I told her how nice it was to come home to a cleaned up house and a prepared dinner, she said, “The best kind of prize is a surprise! Tee hee hee! (Willy Wonka – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) . J. asked me to close my eyes after she got out dessert plates and pulled a cheesecake with cherry topping out of the fridge. She was so cute cutting and serving it. She told me it took 1 1/2 hours to make, because it had to be refrigerated for an hour.

Now 14 yr daughter, B. has just fed the dogs and is cleaning up the kitchen so I don’t have to. Isn’t that sweet?

I must have done something right along the way, no? 🙂

meme

I saw this over at Annie‘s, who saw it at Karen’s and thought I’d give it a go.

1.What is in the back of your car? Paper grocery bags (3) and one insulated bag

2.What color is your toothbrush? Green
3.Name one person who made you smile today.  Today? It’s 6:00 AM, do the dogs count? 

4.What were you doing at 8:00 AM? I’ll be at work at 8:00 AM 

5. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Brushing my teeth
6. What is your favorite candy?  Ferrero Rocher (did I spell that right?)

7. What is the last thing your said aloud? Good morning, Dobby!
8. What is the best ice cream flavor? Chocolate with pecans
9. What is the last thing you had to drink? Water

10 What are you wearing right now? PJ’s

11. What is the last thing you ate? Pork chops, salad, corn on the cob – last night’s dinner.

12. Have you bought any new clothes this week? Yes

13. When was the last time you ran? Saturday
14. What was the last sporting event you watched? Watched part of the final game between the Lakers and the Celtics
15. Ever go camping? Yes

16. Do you have a tan? Not really

17. Do you take vitamins daily? Yes

18. Do you go to church? Yes

19. Do you like Chinese food more than pizza? Yes

20. Do you drink your soda with a straw? At home, no.  

21. Are you someone’s best friend? Yes.
22. What are you doing tomorrow? Working.

23. Where is your dad? At home, most likely sleeping. 

24. Can you say the alphabet backwards? When I’m looking at it in print, yes.
25. Do you have a maid service clean your home? My children and I clean – mainly me.

26. Do you have a favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? At home, I wear a pair of Birkenstocks that I love.

27. What color is your car? Red.
28. How do you like your popcorn? 94% FF KettleCorn

29. How did you get your worst scar? Surgery
30. Look to your left. What do you see? Dobby’s cage (he’s a cockatiel)
31. What color is your watch? Silver with a little gold.

32. What do you think of when you think of Australia? Wombats and beaches.

33. Do you use chap stick? No.  Carmex sometimes.
34. Do you have a dog? Yes, two dogs, Sophie and Smokey.

35. Last person you talked to on the phone? Chrissie.
36. Have you met anyone famous? Yes. 

37. Any plans today? Work.

38. How many states have you lived in? Seven – Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Nebraska, Illinois, California, Louisiana.
39. Do you dye your hair? No. I used to get highlights, but now am all natural.

40. Do you like cats? Yes, but I’m allergic so I cannot pet them. 

Wanna play? Tag… you’re it!

it’s been a Jonas sort of weekend

Our living room tv has played Camp Rock about eleventy million times this weekend. And the Burning Up video, by the Jonas Brothers, too.

Have you seen them yet? You may not have if you don’t have tweens/young teens living in your house.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Summer Movies and Oil

1. The other day I purchased gas for $3.96, which was less than the $4.37 my local station charges per gallon. What is the current gas price in your area for regular? I got gas last night for $3.61 a gallon.  I paid $35.00 and got almost a full tank. 

2. Will your vacation plans be altered by the price of gas? Not really, we don’t do really big vacations.  I usually don’t have much vacation time available after taking off work for sick kids during the year.  This year our big vacation is planned for the week of Fall Break.  The condo is already booked. 

3. Is there any movie this summer that you’re looking forward to seeing?  Saw it last night with the kids – Camp Rock.

4. Gas prices aside, what is your favorite vacation destination? The favorite place I’ve been is South Padre Island, the place we go most often is Branson, MO, the places I will see in the future are Europe, Australia and Hawaii.

5. Will you watch more film on DVD than in theaters this summer? DVD

6. Will you fly anywhere this summer? Not planning to fly.

7. Guess: How high will a gallon of gas peak at? Locally?  Around $4.50 to $5.00 a gallon.

8. Will gas prices effect who you vote for in this fall’s election? No.

9. How much will the price of home heating oil effect you? Not much. We use gas heat, a gas stove and a gas powered hot water tank, but I don’t think that’s the same as home heating oil, is it? 

buying favor?

Ex-husband called the house yesterday to speak with the kids. He asked 13 yr old son to hand the phone to 14 yr old daughter at the end of the first phone call and she hung up the phone without speaking to him. She’s not spoken to him much for over a year because of some things that happened last March that added to the already strained relationship that was paved with broken promises and lies. Ex called back after she hung up to tell son that he won’t be buying 14 yr old daughter anything for camp since she won’t speak to him. Nice of him to send that message from one sibling to the other, huh? He has been telling son and 12 yr old daughter that he’ll buy them extra clothes and stuff for camp this summer.

Fourteen year old daughter told me last night that she doesn’t want him to buy her anything because what she needs from a dad cannot be bought. She said she needs a dad who spends time, who is interested, who cares, someone who knows parenting is not just about buying things.

I agree with her. Parenting is about a lot more than buying things.

Europe

Mom is leaving tomorrow to spend 24 days in Europe. She will be visiting Greece, Italy, Austria and Germany.

In Greece, she will visit Athens, Santorini, and Isthmia. In Italy, Bari, Salerno, Rome, Perugia, Pescia, and Sandrigo-Vicenza. In Austria, she will see Friesach and Radstadt and the visit will end in Munchen, Germany.

I don’t know how to make those 2 little dots above the “u” in Munchen, or even what they’re called. I feel sort of bad about that.

I’m so excited that she’s able to travel like this. While I will miss her a lot, I cannot wait to hear all about her trip and look at photos and the treasures she will find after she gets home and used to Central Standard time again.

Safe travels, Mom! I love you. 🙂

lounging

Sophie likes to sit in our green armchair beside 12 yr old daughter, J.  Smokey was on the other side of J. when this was taken. I love the cute expression on Sophie’s little face. She’s such a sweet little thing.

Spamalot

When I went to see Spamalot last week, I didn’t really know what to expect.  I have not ever watched any Monty Python shows or movies, but had heard enough to expect irreverence and humor.

It was funny, somewhat crude and not something I’d take my kids to see.  Some parts were very funny and some parts had spoofing that I thought was taken too far, but that is probably part of what Monty Python is all about.

Overall, it was a good show.  The stage sets were wonderful, the actors were talented, volunteering was a blast.  The other volunteers that were there with me were great and I enjoyed getting to know them.

nephew

Look how cute he is!

My one year old nephew still has that cute bow-legged diaper waddle when he walks. I love seeing that little waddle that babies have when they start lurching/toddling/walking around.

Snip

This is Snip, Dad’s horse. He’s a few years old – I cannot remember his exact age. He has a way of seeming to know what we’re saying to him. One day Mom said, “Snip, don’t you eat those Daffodils!” He smiled, shook his head up and down, leaned over the fence right there in front of where he is standing in the photo and ATE THEM! The kids like to feed him apples and carrots. 🙂

Today makes 45 years

This man just gets better each year, doesn’t he?

Happy Birthday, Johnny!

Many thanks to Michelle (of Michelle Martin Photography) for permission to use this great photo.

39 years

My parents have been married for 39 years tomorrow. They were married at age 20, so 2/3 of their lives have been spent together. Longer than that actually, if you include the dating years.

They have been by each other’s side through richer and poorer, sickness and health, raising three daughters and loving 16 grandchildren. They’ve worked hard to create a family that has faith in God, integrity and strong moral values.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! I love you.

I want to post a photo of Mom and Dad, but I do not have their permission so I won’t.

I love a rainy night

except when it knocks out the electricity on the entire block I live on. Something happened with a lightning strike, a transformer and fire. I don’t have details, just frantic details from a neighbor who loves to share this sort of news at 10:30pm in the midst of tornado warnings, rain, howling wind and frantic searches for candles.

I’m hoping it won’t take a week to get us back up and running at my house, like it did during the ice storm in December.

The lights went out 5 minutes before I got home from “Spamalot” last night.

EDIT:  At 2:30pm this afternoon, our electricity was restored.  When I got home, A big orange electric company truck was in front of my house.  I smiled, waved, thanked them profusely.  They probably thought I was nuts.  Maybe I am.  Or maybe I’m just happy to have cool non-humid air in my house again.  🙂

Thursday Thirteen #54

 

Thirteen things:

1. Thursday night (05 June 2008) is the first night I get to volunteer at the Civic Center for a performance.

2. The show I’ll be volunteering for is “Spamalot.”

3. I don’t know much about the show, but am hoping it will be good.

4. J. needs a new viola because she has gotten much taller this past year.

5. The size of viola a musician needs is based on the length of their arms. I don’t think it’s based on anything other than that.

6. At the beginning of last school year, I was not told that J. would likely need a different viola each year until she stops growing.

7. This weekend, we’ll be getting a different viola for J.

8. Smokey (our Chihuahua) weighs almost 10 pounds. He’s looking a little chunky lately. I think he’s been eating Sophie’s food when we’re not looking.

9. Now that J’s carbohydrate to insulin ratio has changed, we’ll be looking up carbohydrate counts of foods again until we get used to the new ratio.

10. I’m reading another book by Orson Scott Card, but I cannot remember the title at the moment.

11. I wonder why I have had 2 wisdom teeth come in over the past couple of years when they never showed up on x-rays before. Have I just now gained wisdom that others had at age 18? 🙂

12. When I heard on the radio today that Rick Springfield will be performing locally on June 14, I immediately thought of Dori and Val from More Hip than Hippie. They LOVE Rick Springfield.

13. Sometimes a milkshake is perfect for dinner. Like today, for example.

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