Almost

Cowboy and I hit the links today for one last round of golf before I head to Florida for the next week. On number 16, I hit my driver over a large pond onto the green and this far away from a hole in one. I couldn't believe how close I got. It was almost like being one number off from winning the lottery. If I had just been three inches closer.....

Vacation Update

So I've been on vacation for a week now and loving every minute of it. Here's a recap of my week:

Tuesday: I scheduled a facial. There is a teaching academy across the street from my home and they had a cancellation. I was off to get my facial for $25 and an hour of relaxation. Except my wonderful husband keep calling me and texting me. Then it was off to get my hair done. It's been over a year since I've had a hair cut. Three inches cut off and highlighted with caramel and auburn. She also straightened my hair. Cowboy asked what I did to my hair. He said in needed curls. I was able to finish painting my basement floor in the afternoon.

Wednesday: We got up and scraped the windows outside. Then my brother brought the kids up. The boys went out for a golf outing and I took the girl. Little Miss and I went out for chips and salsa, her favorite. We then went shopping and she did well for herself. I thought Cowboy was a talker until I spent the day with her. My ears were almost tired at the end of the day. We all then went out for dinner at Stroud's. Yummy fried chicken.

Thursday: It was up early to go play golf. The course was nice but the play wasn't so great. It was a beautiful day. Home to take a nap and then we spent the evening painting the windows and garage doors. It was fun working on the project with my hubby.

Friday: Cowboy got up early with me and we walked Sadie around the neighborhood. I went out to lunch with some friends while Cowboy pillaged all the apples from a tree in the neighborhood. The house where the tree resides is vacant and we didn't want the apples to go to waste. We played golf with the son and DIL at one of the nicest courses in KC. Cowboy and I both played awesome. I had the most beautiful drives all day long. The scorecard went up on the refrigerator. We all went to out to dinner afterwards. It was a great day.

Saturday: We slept in and then hit the gym. I started peeling apple and making applesauce. It was a big undertaking. We made enough to freeze 12 quarts for this winter. Cowboy then got the motorcycle out and he took me to dinner at the Salty Iguana. Yummy Mexican food.

Sunday: We had a tee time at 11a at a little country course. As nice as the course was on Friday, this course was just the opposite. About on the 9th hole, we had a little tiff and didn't speak again until about the 15th hole. My boy runs his mouth a little to much sometimes. Then it was home to finish the apples. I bagged 10 quart bags for cobbler this winter. I also made one really good cobbler for dessert.

Today: Just the gym. I did a little work from home. But napped a lot.

I'm really enjoying my time off from work. I'm also looking forward to heading to Florida on Wednesday.

Vacation

Yesterday, Cowboy suggested that we head down to my folks house. I've been wanting to see the parents and haven't been to the farm since Father's Day. We rolled out of the house early and were on our way by 7a. (Up that early on vacation, really, why??) Got home in good time. Mom was so excited to show me pictures of her trip to Washington DC.

My dad decided that he was going to fix lunch for us. I can't ever remember my dad cooking anything. Well, maybe he grilled way back when. He made us spaghetti and meatballs. It was okay but not gourmet. Just so cute that he did it and was so proud of himself for cooking for us.

I picked a bag full of apples off the tree in the back yard and made homemade apple sauce for the folks. Cowboy baked a loaf of beer bread for mom. So they were set.

My brother and his family came over and my big sister and her girl showed up. It was so good to spend the day with the family. I need family time so much.

Today, Cowboy and I hit the golf course early. I played a great round. The best part about it was that it was free. Cowboy and I then went to the gym his afternoon. On the way to the gym, we stopped at Petsmart to buy dog food and Cowboy decided to eat a dog biscuit in front of a very long line. Why would he do that? He is crazy, I mean seriously crazy. But I love him. Great first couple of days of vacation.

1994 to now

In 1994, I had just graduated from my grad school. With my master's degree in hand, I went searching for a new job. I had two interviews, on with the Sex Offender treatment program in Lansing Maximum Prison and the other with a drug and alcohol treatment program in KC. I accepted the position in Lansing and then went to interview at NorthStar. For some reason, the job at NorthStar seemed like a better fit. I had worked with sex offenders in the past and lost my job because a new company took over and the contract was going up for rebid again--so I was hesitant to take the position again and lose my job all over again.

I ended my job and took off two weeks to vacation with my friend and then with my family. It was a great two weeks.

I then went to work at NorthStar and haven't left. My career there has been awesome. I have a job that I love and I'm doing something that I love on a daily basis. But I haven't ever taken a two week vacation since 1994. Even when I got married, I was only off for 8 days.

I told my boss this year, that I was going to take two weeks after our accreditation visit. That is done and over. Friday was my last work day until September 8th. I will be off a whole 17 days. No wearing a watch. No getting up early unless I want to. No place to be. No decisions to make.

This will be my time to rest. Relax. Take care of me. I am so excited.

Gosh I miss blogging

I have been horrible about blogging lately. It's not because I have nothing going on because I do. It's not because I have too much going on, because I don't. It's not because I haven't been motiviated, because I have. It 's just that I haven't done it. Shame, shame on my.

So here's my quick update-

-I lost my golf game and then I found it.
-I beat my husband on the golf course on Sunday and he pouted for two days.
-I have two days of work left and then I will have 17 days off, work three days, off 5 and work 2, then back to normal. (I haven't had a two week vacation since 1994)
-Cowboy continues to make me laugh because he is so funny.
-Sadie is eating again and driving me crazy from the minute I walk in the door until I take her for a walk every night--I guess all the worrying was for nothing.
-We have an opportunity to go to Hawaii next year and I am bound and determined to get into bikini shape if it kills me.

My Dad's Dinner Plans

I'm not sure that I've ever described my dad in my blog. Dad is very much like the farmer in the famous picture, holding the pitch fork. He doesn't show much emotion. He doesn't travel out of his comfort zone. He doesn't travel out of his 10 mile radius. In fact, he has only been to see me in my town 5 times in he last 10 years. He doesn't do things socially with others unless my mom makes the plans. So after telling you all this, I called my Dad on Monday night to see how he was doing. Mom has been on a trip with my brother since last Wednesday. Dad tells me he has dinner plans for Tuesday night. What? Who? Where? He called a classmate from high school. He had three girls the exact same ages of my oldest sister, me and my brother. His wife died two years ago. So my dad called him and invited him out to dinner. Ahh... Who is this man and what did you do with my dad. I'm so proud of him for breaking out of his comfort zone and making social plans.

Toilet Seat Covers

I know this is so random. But am I the only person in the world that hates toilet seat covers? Really is it that important to have a rug on the top of your shitter? Is it really decoration for the bathroom to make the john look prettier? I just don't get it.

The only reason I ask, is that I have taken three clients shopping for start up apartment supplies in the last two weeks and the first thing they want to buy is a toilet seat cover. Really? I'd be going for the bagel toaster or microwave. But a toilet seat cover.... I just don't get it.

That's what friends are for.....

Cowboy and I got up at 5a to head out to spend the day with our friends, Freddy and Sue. We were at their house in April and spent the afternoon with them. They had just had a flood in their kitchen and were going to have to redo the whole space. I told Sue that when she was ready, I would come and help her gel stain her cabinets to make them look old and worn. The boys could go fishing. Well, today was the day for the project.

Let me add that, Fred and Sue live a very modest lifestyle and have very little money. Their house is a constant work in progress and it seems like something is always going wrong. They don't have air conditioning except for a teeny tiny window unit in their bedroom. It was a hot day and I sweated a lot. The cabinets got done and looked great.

The boys went fishing and didn't fare as well. The caught a few fish but while they were out fishing, Fred's brakes went out on their one and only vehicle. Fred commented that he didn't have the money to get it fixed and wasn't sure what he was going to do. Cowboy and another guy, Steve, jumped in and went to work. They tore out the broken parts, went to town and bought new parts at the store. In a matter of no time at all, the truck was fixed an on the road again.

Freddy is to proud to ask for help, so he traded some old guns for the work that Cowboy did. Cowboy said the guns weren't worth the money he spent but he would never let Freddy know that. Freddy also sent us home with tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, and peppers. Cowboy considers it paid in full.

When Cowboy told me how he helped his friend out, it made my heart full.

People

(Dedicated to my Friend)

I got a call from my tearful friend yesterday. Amidst the sobs and sniffles, I hear, "I have no People".

We all need people. I remember moving away from my home into a new city alone for the first time. There is a feeling you get when it dawns on you that you have no one. It's really no one in close proximity to you for support or help in your time of need. You feel incredibly vulnerable and alone. You have really scary thoughts like, if I got really sick and couldn't help myself, will anyone look for me? Will anyone miss me? Will anyone care?

I remember there would be weekends that I would leave work on Friday and not talk to a single person until Monday morning. I would sometimes just walk around the house and just talk to myself, so that I could hear something.

When you are alone, you have to build your family. That is so easy to say and so hard to do. You feel like you are imposing upon people. You feel like you are a bother. And it's so hard to ask for help.

But as you ask, as you build support, you gain a family. One day you wake up and you have "People".

My Dear Friend, You Have People!

A NO Golf weekend

This weekend golf was not on the agenda. I can't say that I was to sad. I had my fill of golf last weekend so a break was in the cards.

This weekend we went to a family reunion for Cowboy. It was for his adopted mom's family. We have gone for the past several years so it feels like family now. Cowboy's best friend, WD, and his family made it back from Tennessee. It was good that Cowboy got to spend some time with him. It has been a year since he has seen him.

On the way down, we stopped to see Ross and Betty. They lived across the street from Cowboy when he lived down in that part of the country. It was good to see them for couple of hours. Ross had a stroke a year ago and now has to use a walker. He's 90 and looks great. He's frustrated that he's not like he was but he looks great.

We ended up staying the whole day, even going out to eat with WD and his family. Thank goodness we have a wonderful neighbor that let Sadie out a couple of times for us.

WD's wife and I were talking a dinner and I commented that Cowboy has OCD but can't ever remember what it's called. I got his attention across the table and asked what he had. "ADT" his reply. Gotta love my home alarm guy.

Today, the OCD Cowboy detailed my SUV. It looks great. For all the challenges he gives me, I can proudly drive around in a super clean vehicle.