Living with a Cowboy in the City

Kauaii: Day 4

2011-08-24T20:33:00.003-05:00

So Day 4 started with at trip to Princeville Valley Adventures. We went on the Jungle Valley Adventure. The trip consisted of a mile hike, 3/4 mile of kayaking, followed by more hiking and then the zip line. The zip line was 480 feet over a valley 150 feet below then across a swinging bridge to 450 feet of zip line back. Then more hiking to a waterfall that we jumped off the rock ledge into the pool below. We had lunch and then hiking back, kayaking and more hiking. This was probably the most unexpected fun part of our trip. We all loved the kayaking and wished it was a longer ride.

Our Little Miss was the first on the zipline. She had been on a zipline diet of brownies all summer to gain enough weight to be able to ride.

Here's her momma's reaction.

The brother was being a little showoff.

Later that night, we went to the Smith Family Luau. The food was good and the performance was pretty awesome.

Little Miss jumped up on stage to do a hula dance. She's a preformer.

The opening ceremony with a real live cooked pig.

Kauai Day 3

2011-08-17T20:48:00.003-05:00

Day three we found ourselves on a catamaran around the Napali Coast. The ride around the island was great. We saw three pods of dolphins. The weather was awesome and we were able to go further up the coast line than normal. On the way back, we got to stop and snorkle along the coast line. The Napali Coast is rated one of the top 10 coastlines of the world and it's easy to see why. It was a beautiful cruise. My brother-in-law wanted to tough it out and didn't take any motion sickness pills, needless to say, he fed the fish most of the trip. Poor him, but I didn't feel sorry for him.

This excursion was fun. I love snorkeling and boating. Mom handled the trip well.

The rest of the day was spent boogie boarding and then having a nice dinner at home.

Kauai Day 2

2011-08-14T20:30:00.002-05:00

Kauai day 2 started with being up before the sun came up. The five hour time difference made getting up at 5am feel like sleeping in. I went with the brother and family for a drive up the north coast. We stopped for some mountain shots and just to look at the beautiful island. Then it was off to find Hanalei Bay for a little beach time.

We then went to the famous lighthouse on the island and were able to see amazing views of the coast line form the point. The lighthouse was under renovation so we didn't get to get great picture.

Next it was off to meet up with the whole crew. We drove down the south coast and around to the west. We stopped off at Spouting Horn to see the water come in through the lava flows and we saw several sea turtles. Sea turtles are supposed to bring good luck.

We were then on our way to Waimea Canyon. It is considered the Grand Canyon of the island and it was beautiful. We had a great time there. It was the beginning of our planking experiences. (more on that later).

The day was amazing and so much fun for all.

Day One of Kauaii

2011-08-13T21:26:00.005-05:00

August 2nd was the beginning of our very first family vacation since we all left home. Mom wanted to take all her kids to Hawaii so we planned our trip to Kauai and we were off. There were 13 of us total. My mom, sister Kim and her husband Darren, sister Suz and her husband LeeRoy, me (my husband wanted to stay home and take care of the house and dogs, whatever!), my brother Rob and his kids, Braden and Haley, and his wife Missy, her mom Catherine and her sister Brenda and Brenda's daughter Jamie. What a Crew!

The first surprise happened at the airport. My neighbor who works for the airport, bumped my mom and I up to first class for the first leg of our flight. Then he found me and told me he had two more first class seats, so I had him bump my nephew and niece up to first class. This was their very first flight and my nephew's 16th birthday. They were so excited, the look on their face was priceless.

At the Phoenix airport, I made arrangement for my uncle to be at the airport to see my mom. Both are in poor health and this will most likely be the last time my mom sees her brother. It was great. Brent had never met my sister-in-law or the kids. It was 27 years since he had seen my oldest sister. The picture below is the family minus the two brother-in-laws.

Mom also got to fly first class to Kauai, thanks to Brenda. Mom looked so happy when we finally got there.

If you ever wondered what luggage looked like for 13 people-here it is. We were all so excited to be in Kauai.

The picture below is from the first sun rise on our semi-private beach. We rented a house near on Anahola bay. It was a small slice of heaven.

83

2011-07-30T21:27:00.003-05:00

Today was the day I broke 90 on the golf course. I once scored a 90 and my goal was to break into the 80's at some point this year. The new golf clubs this year put a damper on the score but today was the day. I shot an 83. Woo Hoo!

Chloe's New Tags

2011-07-30T08:49:00.002-05:00

I just had to share this video. I finally got tags for Chloe--I misspelled her name the first attempt at getting tags. Who misspells their own dogs name? Me. I just couldn't put "Clhoe" on her so she had to wait until I made it back to the pet store. Here is her reaction to the tags. It made me laugh.

Where has the summer gone....

2011-07-24T19:48:00.002-05:00

I just looked at my blog to find out that I haven't posted anything since May 11th- really. Where has the summer gone.

My work blew up about 3 months ago, we had a massive amount of turnover for one reason or another and all pretty bizzare reasons or events. I have worked lots of hours and had lots of sleepless nights and it's not all settled yet.

Home life and hubby are going good. We've had a few bumps over the last couple of months but for the most part, we work through them and come out better on the other side. It's interesting learning to negoiate life with someone that doesn't ever go away.

Sadie has really started to show her age and has slowed down a lot. I'm so worried about her. It's made me think about her not being with us any longer, which is incredibly sad for me. Cowboy loves her as much as I do.

Chloe has been a challenge--a great puppy challenge. Cowboy is the pack leader for sure and I am her play mate. I love that puppy to death. She got spayed last thursday but it wasn't a good surgery. It took longer than expected and the cut was 8 inches long. Our task is to keep her calm and that is a huge chore.

Mom continues to not do well. She's not walking well and not getting out of the house. She said she wants to give up. I'm saying prayers that she will find the will to get better and move on.

My plan is to get back to blogging--so

13 Goals

2011-05-11T22:34:00.000-05:00

Goals-
This is a hard one for me since I live by short term goals all the time.

At work, my goals are daily--more like a "to do list". Right now, with all of our turnover, this is the best approach for my sanity.

Personally, I usually have a project that I'm focused on. Right now we are in the middle of a kitchen remodel. Granite tomorrow....yeah!

Life-Continue to improve my marriage, retire by 60, live healthy, move back to the country.

Golf- break into the 80's this summer.

Tonight- sleep!

Assignment 12-What I Believe

2011-05-02T20:59:00.002-05:00

What I believe-

*I believe in God. I think God is good and he created all things good. I believe that God can take care of all things and will show us the path if we put our trust and faith in him.

*I believe that there are three things that are better kept private, opinions about religion, beliefs about politics, and thoughts on abortion. All are private and should be kept that way, and it's not right to force or impose your thoughts about these three subject on someone else.

*I believe in love and faithfulness.

*I believe in family and sticking by family through thick and thin.

*I believe that people have the capacity to change and become something different if they want to be.

*I believe that if you put out good in this world, you will get back good.

*I believe that if you think you can do something, with work, you can do it.

*I believe in me.

Assignment 11- Favorite TV shows

2011-04-24T18:40:00.002-05:00

So what are my favorite TV Show-

First of all I love reality TV shows--and will occasionally stop and watch an episode of something that I don't follow regularly. Shows like Ax Men, Ice Road Truckers, Deadliest Catch, one of the many Real Housewives, and on and on. For me, I like to see how real people act and behave...

So what do I really watch-

Survivor. Love, love, love this show and want to be on it someday. My ex-boyfriends son was on it. I love to watch the social dynamic that occurs in this situation.

Criminal Minds- Cowboy and I just started to watch this show together and have fallen in love with it.

My other three reality shows--Amazing race, The Biggest Loser, and the Apprentice.

I like 60 minutes. Give me a 20/20 over a comedy.

Grey's Anatomy- who wouldn't want to watch McDreamy and McSteamy.

HGTV and TLC have so many shows that I love and have gotten many ideas for my own home.

But probably my biggest secret is watching the bridal shows--I only became interested in wedding shows only after I planned my own wedding. I want to get married again because I loved my wedding day.

10-something you are afraid of

2011-04-21T22:25:00.002-05:00

One of my biggest fears is that I will grow old alone and die alone. I think of this often. I don't have kids so who is going to take care of me when I get old-that is assuming that I will live long enough to get old and need taking care of.

My great aunt did not have children and for numerous reasons, I ended up being her guardian. I wonder if one of my nieces or nephews will do the same for me. It really scares me when I think about it. For now, I'm just going to believe that Cowboy and I will grow old together and die at a ripe old age in our sleep.

Picture of Friends

2011-04-07T21:50:00.003-05:00

My two best friends in the world, Sharon and Tonya. Sharon and I met in 1984 at college. We pledged the same sorority and out of all the women that pledged that day, I have pictures of the two of us together. Now 27 years later, we are still best friends and have so many stories to tell. She lives far away but it feels like she is next door. Tonya, on the right, was an employee that I hired in 2002. She was special from her interview and over the years, our friendship has grown and gotten better and better. They are the best friends that anyone could have. I'm so lucky they are in my life.

Day 8--I mean assignment 8- places I've traveled

2011-04-06T21:32:00.002-05:00

When we were growing up, travel wasn't much in the plans. My dad was a hog farmer and it was next to impossible to leave the farm. I do remember that we took a trip to Branson and one to St. Louis. On the trip to St. Louis, my mom gave us a new barbie outfit each hour to pass the time. She and my grandma had made them. In high school, I went on an exchange trip to Aladdin, WY population 11. I stayed with a family for a week in the middle of no-where but did get to go to Sturgis for bike week (actually we just drove through). We did get to see the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, and a few other sites along the way. It wasn't until I was in college that my traveling began. Spring Break at Daytona, a road trip to Lubbock, TX, pledge sneak to Dallas, TX, senior sneak to Iowa. I have travel a lot since then- Myrtle Beach, Norfolk, LA, San Diego, Yuma, Phoenix, San Antonio, Houston, Nashville, Louisville, Detroit, Green Bay, Niagara Falls, and many more places. My favorite thing to do is to just hang out in a place and do local things based on the advice of locals. Lately, my trips are to St. Augustine to see my dear friend. I'm most excited about going Hawaii in August.

Day 7- Movies

2011-04-04T21:46:00.004-05:00

I guess I should be saying--assignment 7 versus Day 7, since my days don't run consecutative. On with today--MOVIES There are several movies that I just love and will watch them over and over again-either on DVD, VHS or TV. The first was probably the Wizard of Oz. This movie was a family event and we watched it every year religiously. The other movies that I loved and still do Man on Fire--must be the helper in me that feels for the broken spirit of Creasy. Lion King-what can you say Hakuna Matata (did is spell that right) Shawshank Redemption-cause every one has to have hope The Notebook- Alzheimer's runs in the family and I wonder what it was like when my grandma realized Sweet Home Alabama-good old fashion love story Legends of the Fall-the family dynamics and love twist, get me every time Avatar-I'm not a sci-fi lover but loved this film, probably why it makes the list Who can forget- TopGun- my first love and I had lines from this movie memorized and would watch it every weekend. I love movies.

Day 6- Things that make me happy

2011-04-02T23:48:00.002-05:00

I always say I'm not a dog person, but I'm a Sadie person and now I'm a Sadie and a Chloe person. Sadie has brought me so much happiness in my life. I love her dearly and I'm falling in love with Chloe daily. It makes me happy to see them getting along.

My most recent happiness come in the form of an almost 3 year old grandson that has come back into our lives. I have a feeling there will be lots of babysitting in our future! I loved watching Jared with Sadie and Sadie with him. Such sweet moments.

Day 5- My Siblings

2011-03-31T20:50:00.004-05:00

So let me tell you about my siblings. My oldest sister, Kimmer Kay, as she was called by my brother is only 23 months older than me. She was the "bossy" older sister and always got to be the teacher when we played school. We had a lot of sibling rivalry because it was always two against one. One of the clearest memories I have of her is when she threw an ink pen at me and it stuck in my arm. However, I have the greatest appreciation for her. She had the biggest heart. She is kind and generous. She loves her children and grandchildren with the greatest passion. Her life has not be the easiest but she is a fighter and is super resilient. Then there is Suz. She is only 1 year and three days older than me. We often get mistaken as twins, especially when we were growing up. We were always the same size. I was the tall one. We have a running joke about which one of us looks older. We fought like cats and dogs, especially after Kim left home. Suz was the shy quite one. So not a trouble maker in our family. She turned out the be the adventurous one. She is the globe trotter and always has unusual jobs in weird locations. Then there is the little brother. He is 4 1/2 years younger than I am. Spoiled rotten by everyone. He was a pain as a little kid but we all loved him. He has become an amazing man. Guided by his faith and love for his family, I could not be prouder to call him my brother. I'm sure if my parents knew some of the trouble we got into, their hair would be gray.

Finally, there is my 3rd sister. Techinally my sister-in-law but she hold the same spot in my hearts as my sisters do. I can't remember a time when she wasn't around. Miss is the best addition to a family that anyone could have.

I love my family and feel like the luckiest person in the world to have them in my life. I can only hope that they feel half the love for me as I feel for them.

Day 4- My Parents

2011-03-30T21:59:00.002-05:00

I love my parents. It's that simple. Here's a pic of my dad holding his great granddaughter.

Below is me and my mom. (not sure what I was doing with my mouth)

My parents met in 1957 in the back of a car cruisin' main street in Chanute, KS. They were seniors in high school and a car load of girls jumped in with a car load of boys and they were history. My dad followed my mom around for the next 5 years until they were married in May 1962--almost 49 years ago. Mom was a city girl and dad was a farmer. They settled in rural southeast KS and made a family, a home and a life together ever since.

My parents taught us the value of a hard days work. They taught us that even if you are money poor you may be life rich. They taught us about the importance of sticking by family through thick and thin. They taught us about unconditional love and support.

Because we have had some health challenges with them in the past couple of months, it as brought a new awareness to each of us four children about the incredible job they have done of raising a family. I think we value them more now then ever before and the lessons that they have taught us. In a day and time when families don't get along, ours is stronger then ever thank to my mom and dad.

So here's to you Sharon and Marion-- I love you with all my heart!

Oops- I missed a day

2011-03-29T20:48:00.003-05:00

Blogging Day 3 Challenge-First Love So I have somewhat of an excuse- yesterday was my 2nd anniversary so didn't think it was quite appropriate to blog about my first love. I didn't date much in high school and didn't really have a boyfriend in college. So I didn't have my first love until I finished college. I had just graduated and was living in the same town I went to college. I was working my first real job. When I met my first love , Jimmy Don Q.. I met him at a cowboy bar when I was out with my friends. All I remember was that he asked me to dance quite a bit that night and that he talked a lot. I saw him a couple of weeks later and we ended up dancing the night away. He was in the army, divorce and had a son--all the things that I said I did not want in a relationship. That night he wanted to take me out to for breakfast and then take me home. No go. (I had such good boundaries with him). We had a date that Monday and the rest was history. We saw each other almost daily from then on. He was fun, so nice and great to be around. He was scheduled to leave about 8 months after we met and I kept saying that I would say good-bye when the time came. In the end, I moved with him. I was so in love with him and believed that I would be married to him for the rest of my life. We were together for over a year and in the end, he was transferred to Korea, where he got married about 4 months after being there. He broke my heart. But in the end, I'm glad that I had met him and loved him. There are times that I wish I could see him one more time. There are times that I wonder what my life would have been like. I used to think about him often but over the past 21 years, that memory has faded and he's just a sweet thought that crosses my mind every now and again.

Day 2 of Blog Challenge

2011-03-27T21:10:00.002-05:00

Day 2- Meaning behind your blog title. My boyfriend at the time (now my hubby) had really struggle with the thought of living in a big city. He has always lived in small town Kansas and more often than not, in the country on acreage. He moved to the city to be with me. My Cowboy is a real cowboy at heart. He wears his boots with shorts and his cowboy hat is most often on top of his head. I love that he is his own person and doesn't really care what others think of him and how he dresses. "Living with a Cowboy in the City" is really about how we are navigating our way in this world and it happens to be in the city for right now. I'm sure my next title will be "Living the Cowboy life in the Country".

30 days of Blogging

2011-03-26T21:29:00.003-05:00

I am taking the challenge to do the 30 days of blogging as seen on my friends Caroline's blog.

Day One- Introduce, recent picture and 15 interesting facts.

So I have been blogging for about 3 years after Caroline convinced me to try it. I wanted to capture all the moments I had with my Cowboy so I could have a history and memory of our life. I'm a Clinical Director for a Substance Abuse Services in a community mental health agency. A job I've been at for almost 17 years and love but feel like I have no idea what I'm doing most days.

I grew up on a farm and am the only ones that lives more than an hour away from my parents in the city. I met my hubby 17 years ago but only married him 2 years ago. We were on and off during that time.

I love the neighborhood we live in with our two dogs. We are truly country folks that just happen to live in the city.

Here is Chloe and I about a week ago.

15 Interesting facts-

1) I love Survivor and have dreams of being on the show, I've sent in my video and application a couple of times.

2) Despite having two dogs, I don't consider myself a dog person and don't get real thrilled about other dogs.

3) I'm pretty crafty and love to scrapbook, sew and do any artsy craftsy thing that I think I can re-create.

4) I've only been in love with two people and they happened 20 years apart in my life.

5) Sadie was the first real pet I ever had.

6) I am a pro at chasing pigs, driving tractors, and doing general farm work.

7) I only started golfing 10 years ago, my attempt to meet men.

8) I love to play games--all kinds of games, so much so that my husband often has to tell me to get off my phone or computer.

9) Once I graduated college, I've only asked my parents for help one time, for a loan for a downpayment on my first house. Everything I have, I've paid for since.

10) I always end up being the "president" of the organizations that I belong to--HOA, alumni groups, work groups, etc.

11) I love to speak in public.

12) My dream job would be a "flipper", flipping houses in real estate.

13) I love folding laundry. (My second dream job would be to work for Tide "loads of hope" folding all the laundry...haha)

14) I love being in water, swimming, boating, sitting on the beach, if water is involved, I'm there.

15) I love to be snuggled at night- I'm not a good snuggler but I love to be held.

Chloe

2011-03-06T19:39:00.002-06:00

Cowboy and I have been debating on whether or not to add to our family. I want a baby and he wanted a puppy. So we added a puppy. Meet Chloe. Chloe is a 7 week old weimaraner/German short hair mix. She is adorable. Her first night was long, lots of crying. But, knock on wood, no accidents in the house yet. Today has been much better. She is learning about us and has done better. Sadie is not thrilled that she is here but we are hoping that in a few weeks they will become fast friends.

I think we have bonded. She loves to be held and cuddled.

Daddy decided her name. Chloe was our favorite waitress at one of our favorite restaurants. Since he couldn't have the real Chloe, he got this one instead. haha

Our belated Christmas

2011-02-20T19:31:00.003-06:00

We celebrated Christmas late--but I was so thankful that we were celebrating.

The big Texas Hold'em game.
My Sister-in law, better watch what face you make, you'll never know where it will end up.

The sisters.

My niece, don't we look alike. (my mouth is full of yummies)

Mom and the niece.

Sadie just lounging in our bed. Spoiled rotten girl.

The Cowboy and I after church, the picture for our Christmas card that never got sent.

Wow, where has 2011 gone....

2011-01-24T20:02:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that it's already January 24th. This month has flown by. I still don't seem to be able to get into the swing of everyday "normal" life.

My mom had her surgery on January 12th. It was a long day of waiting, the surgery and then waiting more. She had her thyroid taken out because of a small tumor on it. The tumor was cancerous but it was all removed and so she won't have to have anymore treatment. They also took out a para thyroid glad that was 8 times the normal size and one that was 15 times the normal size. Immediately, her level dropped. She is still recovering but she is getting stronger and stronger every day.

We have spent much of the beginning of the year on the road or in the hospital. I wouldn't have traded it for the world if it meant that it would help my mom. The Monday before her surgery, she went back to see her doctor and he said, "The last time I saw you was the last time that I thought I would ever see you". He also told her that if it weren't for her kids, she probably wouldn't be alive. Persistance and rentlessly saying that saying Mom wasn't right got the right kind of attention.

I finally got my Christmas decorations down yesterday. Although we haven't celebrated Christmas as family, I figured I didn't have an excuse to keep them up any longer.

Cowboy has been a real trooper through all of this. He has sat in the hospital for hours with my mom, bought her shakes, driven me up and down the highway.

I love my husband. I love my mom. I'm lucky to have them both in my life.

Mom Update

2011-01-06T21:19:00.003-06:00

So here's the scoop on mom and other such stuff.

I went to see Mom in the hospital on the 27th. Happy Birthday to her. The doctor walked in to see her and asked what big holiday did we just have and mom's immediate answer was "My Birthday". I knew she was on the mend. She had improved so much over the course of a couple of days with her calcium within normal limits. I really knew she was on the mend when that evening when she was able to carry on a conversation with three people in the room.

On the 28th, my mom was asking to see my dad. She couldn't remember anything. We have told her the story of her being hospitalized and what happened when but she doesn't remember any of it. Maybe a blessing in disguise. Dad came up to see mom. This whole ordeal has made me realize how much my parents really love each other.

On the 29th, mom was released. She went home and was thrilled. They have found a 1 1/2 inch tumor on her thyroid and an abnormal para thyroid gland. She will have to have surgery to have them removed but she got to go home. My brother stayed with my parents the first night and then they were going to take my mom to the nursing home. However, we all stepped up and spent one night with the folks until mom had enough strength to be home alone.

Cowboy and I got Saturday until Sunday duty. I played beauty shop with Mom--pedi, mani and hair dyed with a little trim. She said she felt better. I was so impressed with her progress. She is getting better every day.

She went back to see her doctor on Monday and he told her that the last time he saw her, he thought it would be the last time he ever saw her. He said that if it wasn't for us kids, she might not be alive. He called us persistent. I think that we are very lucky that we got mom where she needed to be.

Mom is not out of the woods yet. She has to have surgery on Wednesday. They will take out her thyroid and para thyroid. She will be on a synthetic thyroid for the rest of her life. I'm excited to see her progress after she has the surgery.

New Year's was un-eventful for Cowboy and I. We were able to sneak off and see a couple of good friends overnight. We are still waiting to have our family Christmas but we have so much to be thankful for, that I don't need much more.

Long road for two weeks

2010-12-26T14:12:00.003-06:00

First and foremost, Merry Christmas to all.

I'll start from where I left off in my last post. My mom was admitted to the hospital on the 13th, where they treated her for her bladder infection and watched her calcium levels go down (but not enough in my opinion). On Thursday of that week, she was transferred to a nursing home for physical therapy to start walking and regaining her strength.

I went to visit her on that Friday. She was aware of where she was and not happy about it. She was not walking but would get up and walk some. She was feeding herself and asking to smoke and leave. She wasn't where I had hoped but seemed to be getting some better.

I had to go back to work so I didn't see her until Wednesday. My sister had spent several days with her and kept saying she wasn't getting any better. She took mom to the dr on Monday and they had scheduled a CatScan for Wednesday.

On Wednesday, I went back to see her. She was so much worse. I spent the day crying--I tried to not cry in front of her but the tears kept coming. She couldn't talk, walk or feed herself. She was confused but seemed to know what was going on. I had stopped at her dr's office to ask him to see her but he was out of the office. They scheduled an appt for Thursday.

My heart was so broken. Everyone in the family was so very worried and there were more tears shed than has been cried by our family in the past ten years. I stayed at my parents house on Wednesday night. Cowboy was coming down of Friday for our Christmas celebration.

Thursday morning, when I arrived at the nursing home, mom couldn't even sit up straight in her wheel chair. She was so out of it. More tears for me. I took her to the dr and he took one look at her and sent her to the ER. Thank God. Once she was at the ER, the doctor there took time to look at her records and did a few blood test and sent her on to KU Med center. Again, thank God.

Her calcium levels were up another point--normal is 10. She was at 13.8, up from 12.8 when she was first hospitalized a week before. I left to pack my things and head back home. Cowboy and I met mom at the hospital. Within one hour, they had done more test on her then had been done in the previous two weeks.

She has now been in the hospital for 4 days and is finally to talk and is starting to eat on her own. She is scared and wants to go home but seems to be doing so much better then what she was.

They are thinking that there is a tumor on her parathyroid gland that is causing it to overproduce calcium and making her calcium level to elevate to the point of toxic levels.

This has been the scariest event. I'm thankful that mom is on the mend. It has been the best Christmas present ever. I realized how much my mom means to me and my family. She is a rock for our whole family. I'm praying for a full recovery.

Heartbreaking weekend

2010-12-13T18:26:00.002-06:00

This weekend was such a bag of mixed emotions. On Saturday, my niece came up and we crafted Christmas presents all weekend. It was a blast and I totally enjoyed myself and I think she did too.

Sunday was my family (extended) Christmas lunch. I was so looking forward to spending time with the cousins and catching up. This was our year to host so I went straight to the building before stopping by Mom and Dad's. When Mom arrived, I was surprised and shocked. She looked so bad--really beyond bad. She was barely coherent and couldn't really talk. She would start to say something and then loose track of what she was saying and she couldn't stand and walk without someone holding on to her.

About 1:30p, she wanted to go home so my nephew and I helped her home and put her to bed. When I got back to the gathering, I talked with my dad and he broke down and started crying. I've only seen my dad cry once in his life at his mom's funeral. My heart broke. He doesn't know what to do or how to handle the situation. So we put together a plan. My sister would go with him to the hospital for pre-op instructions. My brother and I would take off work and call my mom's doctor and deal with mom.

Long story short, straight to the ER where they found out mom had a really severe bladder infection and very toxic calcium levels. She was admitted and now we're hoping we can get her medicine figured out and get her on the road to recovery.

The whole situation has taken an emotional toll on everyone. My heart breaks for both of my parents.

Crafty Season

2010-12-10T21:09:00.001-06:00

I was going to post pictures up of my Christmas Craft but blogger is not cooperating. My niece is coming tomorrow to have a crafting weekend with me. I'm pretty excited.

Christmas Pics

2010-12-05T22:03:00.000-06:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2010-12-04T21:23:00.002-06:00

Cowboy being gone at this time of year is great because it allows me time to decorate for Christmas. However, I decided that before I could decorate, the house needed to be cleaned. Heating our house with a wood stove is great because we don't have a huge gas bill but the downside is dust. I was sitting on the couch and noticed the fine layer of dust under the couches, table, entertainment center, etc. It was driving me crazy. So I cleaned under everything. I mean everything and then put a floor polish on the hardwoods.

Our house is spotless. It looks great and all "Christmas-ie". I feel like I got a ton accomplished today and Cowboy will never know how much work it took.

So the fan on the wood stove stopped working and the kitchen sink is not draining very fast. Actually, it drains at the rate of a turtle stuck in his shell. I had to break down and tell Cowboy after my awesome neighbor came over to look at it. I was hoping it would get fixed before he came home. No such luck.

Speaking of Cowboy. He called me today and told me that my folks invited him to the community supper. He went and ate and played bingo. It just cracks me up to think of him going to our small town community dinner and playing bingo with all the old country folks.

Tomorrow is craft day. That is after I sleep in forever in the morning.

Being Single

2010-12-01T21:28:00.002-06:00

I secretly love this time of year. No not the beginning of Winter or December, but the beginning of deer season. Cowboy leaves me for several days. He's gone and I get the whole house to myself. No one complaining if I'm blogging or on Facebook. No one to pick up after or complain if I don't have the dishes done. No one to tell me what I need to do or what I should do.

I'm going to decorate for Christmas. It's so much better to do this with Cowboy being gone. He won't complain about the mess or the fuss that goes into making the house look festive.

I like my moments of singleness. I was single for 40 years give or take a few relationship in there. I like revisiting the times of being single. But don't want to go back so my little vacation is a nice break.

Work Irritation

2010-11-30T20:20:00.002-06:00

I'm really irritated with work. It's getting under my skin. The issues is really about having some folks on staff that need to develop more skills in working with people. (My staff is being punitive with clients right now.) We've identified that and will develop a plan to improve that but still, it gets to me.

When something starts to bother me, I tend to get bothered by every little thing. One area that is really bugging me is the work ethic of some of my staff. They are late to work but expect to leave right on time and then complain when their work is not done. They expect to not have any problems or consequences when all of their work is not done. And then they get mad at me when I have to address the problem.

I was talking with a co-worker about this and she made a comment about the new generation of worker. Really, have we lost our work ethic. Has our society really forgotten that we can't get things for free. Have we lost the value of doing an honest days labor and settle for instant gratification and selfishness?

I hope not. I hope it's just me being annoyed.

Week In Review, take 2

2010-11-28T20:07:00.002-06:00

It's been a busy week and no blogging was done. So just like last week, here's a recap.

Sunday: Dinner with the son and daughter-in-law was good. Everything turned out good and the boys ate a ton. I tried making an apple pie for the first time ever and it turned out yummy. We spent most of the day there. It was good.

Monday: My boss finally finalized my evaluation and it was very good. My hard work was noticed and I even got an unusual bonus. It was big and nice and I was thrilled.

Tuesday: nothing exciting happened.

Wednesday: I earned every bit of my bonus and more. Work was frustrating and I was only there until 12:30pm. I rushed over to my friends house and to decorate for her wedding. Then it was off to home to pack and back for the wedding. The wedding was very nice and they were surrounded by their family and friends without lots of big to-do. I drove home and Cowboy stayed behind.

Thursday: Cowboy came to the farm and I cooked the big Thanksgiving meal for the whole family. The family was there and we had a great day. I love spending time with all the siblings and my mom and dad. I am very fortunate to have the loving family that I have.

Friday and Saturday: Both days were very trying for me. My mom isn't getting around very well. We spent most of the day in the house doing nothing and I mean, nothing. Friday night we did go eat Mexican and Saturday we did venture to town to buy cornbread. I love my parents dearly and it's hard to watch them age and not be able to get around very well. Dad is having knee replacement surgery in Jan. Mom is just struggling to walk and get around well. She's almost stopped driving all together and doesn't have much energy. I know the were thrilled to have us home.

Sunday: Cowboy and I left the farm early. He had a large load of wood on his new trailer. I got home to do laundry and then worked in the yard for about 3 hours. Cowboy unloaded wood and then we went to the store and bought a new TV. Yeah, we had talked about getting one for a long time and have looked and looked. It was our Christmas present to each other. I got it all set up and it's awesome.

On another note, I'm wedding ringless. We have a neighbor who is a jeweler and he is making a band of diamond to go with with ring. He is using diamonds from a ring that I inherited from my grandmother. I'm so excited. He said it should be done this week.

In a week that we think about all that we are thankful for, I must say that I am thankful for my wonderful family, all my great friends, my amazing husband, my loving dog and all the blessings that I have been given in my life.

Week in Review

2010-11-20T18:59:00.002-06:00

Time to Recap the week:

Last Sunday: Cowboy best buddy drove through town after deer hunting and ended up staying all night. Cowboy was pretty happy to see him. He lives in Tennessee and doesn't get to spend much time with him so it was good to have him around.

Monday: The state was in to audit our programs this week. It's a big deal and I remember when I first started that we did a lot of scrambling around to make sure everything is like it should be. We don't do that anymore but it's still stressful and not a fun process. They were her until Thursday. We ended up having to give $520. $0 from my program. Great audit for us, since most agencies our size gives back $3000 and our mental health side of the agency had to give back $6000.

Tuesday: pretty non-eventful day--more state auditing.

Wednesday: My friend came over to have a dress altered and I ended up ruining the dress. I was ironing the part that I fixed and the iron melted a hole. I felt so horrible. I ran to the fabric store to find some matching fabric with no luck. But I came up with a plan.

Thursday: My quest continued to find fabric. No luck so I presented my options to my friend. I hope she continues to be my friend. I also decided that I wasn't working on Friday. My little celebration for a great audit.

Friday: We decided to play it by ear. Stayed in bed until 9:30. Went to the gym. Came home and Cowboy's friend returned. They went out and shot pool for a couple of hours. They came home a little tipsy. Cowboy managed to grill steaks and we had a yummy dinner.

Saturday: I found a great tee time, at a great course for a great price. We headed out to play the last round of the year. Cowboy and I had a couple play in with us and it turns out the the guy that joined us was the little brother of a friend of mine 20+ years ago. (I had such a huge crush on his older brother). Small world. I parred the last hold to win dinner. It was a fun day.

Sunday: (not here yet) We are planning on going over to Cowboy's son's house and taking a BIG thanksgiving dinner over there.

These three days off have been very good for me. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and time down on the farm.

So Tired

2010-11-17T21:21:00.002-06:00

I'm tired. Sleep issues. I can fall asleep but I can't stay asleep. I'm awake for a couple of hours in the middle of the night. It doesn't make me happy. I just want to sleep every single night all night long. Is that too much to ask? A week of solid sleep with no getting up to pee, letting the dog out, is that too much to ask for? Really, I don't want to be selfish but couldn't that just happen for me?

Leader Angst and Great Advocacy

2010-11-15T20:24:00.002-06:00

I seem to always end up in a leadership role. Sometimes by choice, sometimes by work and sometimes because no one else steps forward. I don't really mind most of the time. Except tonight. I came home to a message from a neighbor complaining rudely about another neighbor. So much for being president of the Home Owner Association. Can I duck this responsibility? Don't think I can ignore this one. We have the hoarders that have moved in next door. Actually the hillbilly hoarders have moved in. They fenced in their backyard for the dog but when I drove by the other day, the back yard was filled with junk. So now they put up an 8 sided chain link fence (like panels) for their dog. The back of the house is lined with 5 gallon buckets. And now there are 7 cars in the driveway with one being a big old "dollar" van. Really! Really-- just go away.

On another note, our insurance company denied paying for a doctors visit for Cowboy. It was only $68 but it's $68 that they need to pay. So I appealed the denial. We finally got the news today that it was overturned and the insurance company is paying....good for me. My husband was just going to pay it. Yeah for me again!

Grocery Store

2010-11-08T20:50:00.002-06:00

Have you ever been in a grocery store, you have seen little kid throwing an absolute fit and their parent acting even worse. It makes me want to step in most of the time and break up the situation for both the kids sake and the parent sake.

Tonight, I stopped by the grocery store and it must have been bring you kids grocery shopping night. Lots of kids everywhere.

As I was approaching an isle, I heard a dad say, "I'm about ready to throw your toy away, then we wouldn't have all this drama." My first thought was, here we go again--another big scene where both lose control and it all turns out bad.

However, when I got to the end of the isle, I saw the dad standing face to face with his about 7 year old daughter. She had her hands resting on his and they were looking each other in the eye and he was saying to her, "I just want you to breathe". She was calming down and the drama was done. What a wonderful way to deal with a trying situation.

Sadie got bit

2010-11-05T21:08:00.002-05:00

My poor sadie got bit. We have a fence across the street from us that is old and rickety. I know there are two dogs that stay in that back yard. Every time I walk Sadie past this fence, the two dogs bark and then will sometimes get in a fight or some kind of skirmish. Last week, they got out and Cowboy and a neighbor semi patched the fence.

Well the dogs busted through the fence again today and came after Sadie. Cowboy was outside but didn't see it happen and Sadie ran into the garage. But one of them, bit Sadie on the front shoulder. She was bleeding a lot.

Cowboy cleaned her up and took the bloody towel over to the dog owners house. He said he 'didn't chew his ass' much but firmly let him know he needed to fix his fence and not let he dogs bust through the fence. Cowboy then helped him find his dogs and get them back home.

He has pampered Sadie all evening. My poor baby girl. She is not a fighter. She's a lover.

Question of the Day

2010-11-04T19:44:00.002-05:00

So the question of the day yesterday...What is something your partner does not know about you?

So I posed the question to Cowboy. At first, he said I knew everything about him. But as we talked more and more, I actually learned a few things about him.

When he was 4 years old, his family was very poor. His dad and his uncle went to a nearby city to a department store. They had lots of kids bicycles in the front of the store. Cowboy's dad found a bike and walked it up and down the front of the store and when he got to the end, he kept on walking. Put it in the back of the truck and drove out of town. Cowboy loved the bike. It wasn't until years later that he found out his dad didn't actually pay for the bike.

Another year, when money was scarce, Cowboy's mom said she didn't want the usual cedar tree from the pasture but they couldn't afford $25 for a store bought tree. Cowboy and his buddy went to town and got a tree and delivered it to his mom at 10p at night. His mom asked where he got it and Cowboy replied that he got the tree from the store. His mom noted that the store closed at 8p. Yep...he just helped himself to the tree. He put it in the back of the truck, laid down with it and rode that way until he got out to the country.

Cowboy's family and Christmas....oh, my.

I'm writing a book...

2010-11-03T20:32:00.002-05:00

I swear when I retire I'm going to write a book. No two books. One will be about all the excuse that clients give when they test positive for drugs.....

"I was having sex with my boyfriend and he was using it." Really? Like his sperm will absorb into your blood stream.

"I wasn't using it, I was just touching it." Really, so if you touched gasoline, you would pee it out?

My next book...They crazy things that employees do that will get them fired.

It's okay to come to work as a substance abuse counselor drunk. And not just drunk, blowing a .25 drunk.

Or apparently, it's no problem to move clients into you home and have sex with them.

Really, what is wrong with people.

Happiness

2010-11-01T21:19:00.002-05:00

My friend is getting married. I stopped by her house tonight to look at a few wedding plans. I called Cowboy on my way home. He asked if my friend was excited. I made the comment that I hoped that they could be at least as half as happy as we are. To which Cowboy replied, "if they could be half as happy as we are, they will be twice as happy as most people."

Finders Fee

2010-10-31T21:00:00.002-05:00

Cowboy buys and sells for a living. He will look for car, trucks, windmills, you name it for other people and will charge a small finders fee for buying something or a small fee for selling something for someone else.

This week he found a sweet, 2006 Grand Prix, fully loaded, super clean car with 44, 000 miles for $8500 for my niece. He was teasing her about a finders fee.

Today, my sister was her along with my mom, other sister and niece. My sister tried to give Cowboy some money for finding the car. But Cowboy wouldn't take it.

He told me later he thought of the perfect thing to say only a little late. He said he should have said, "I don't want a finders fee from the Page family, because I already found the best thing about the Page family, MJ."

AAAHHH.....

Craft Show's

2010-10-24T18:44:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite things to do in the fall, is to go to craft shows. I get great ideas and find great things to buy. A craft show that I went to a couple of weeks ago, I found a booth that was selling charms and beads. I found a couple of charms that I loved and then picked out 5 beads and the lady made the necklace for me right on the spot. Here is the pics of it. I love it.

Today, I went to another craft show and got my idea for Christmas presents for all my friends and family. Can't wait to get started on them. I'll post pics when I make them.

Man's Room

2010-10-23T20:55:00.002-05:00

So we finally got DT (the deer) home from the taxidermy shop. We named him DT for his drop tine. We then had to re-arrange the man's room. Cowboy is very proud of his deer and is looking forward to shooting his son this winter.

He looks really good and his eyes are so lifelike.

Here's the view from the top of the stairs. DT is on the left and Bucky is on the right. Yes those are antlers all over the place. We spend most of the winter in the man's room and all summer in the living room upstairs.

The coyote skins were moved over the couch and lined up all in a row. It really feels like a man cave down there now. I thinks it's better all in one room and not all over the house.

Cooking for my Hubby

2010-10-21T21:23:00.002-05:00

It seems like the last couple of weeks, I have turned over my cooking duties to my hubby. I love to cook. And so does he. Many nights, he will take over since I have worked all day. And I have let him do this. I love being pampered.

This week, I got back in the kitchen--well, at least, two nights this week, I have gotten back in the kitchen. It felt good. I love to cook. I especially love to cook for my hubby. I think I'll make a commitment to cook at least one night a week.

Oh, I even cleaned up and did the dishes. I usually let him do that also. Not going to guarantee that I will do that all the time.

Little girl in pink

2010-10-20T20:57:00.002-05:00

Cowboy and I went out for dinner and on our way home, we catch the neighborhood teenager making out in the car with his girlfriend. Cowboy slows down so the head lights are shining in the car. He then drives by slowly and honks and give the poor kid the thumbs.

Cowboy said it reminded him of the saying, "She the little girl all dressed in pink, she's the one that made my finger stink". To which I replied, "You would know". He said they were all stories, just stories.

He said, the guys would sit around the break room and say, "tell us a story Whitey" and he would tell stories about making his finger stink.

He's a dandy.

I'm spoiled especially when....

2010-10-19T20:05:00.002-05:00

My Cowboy spoils me all the time. But he spoils me especially when it that "time of the month".

I think that he is afraid of period time.

I also think that he's thankful that he's not a woman and doesn't go through this monthly.

Whatever it is, I'll let him spoil me. He fixes my dinner and lets me eat it in front of the TV. He lets me skip the gym in the morning. I get out of washing the dishes.

Life is grand except, cramps, emotions, and all the glory that goes with mother nature's blessing.

Goings Ons

2010-10-10T22:17:00.003-05:00

Life is just moving along and it seems like it's just moving faster everyday. So here's my goings ons as of late.....

1) Watched my nephew play in a golf tournament today (actually I only got to watch 9 holes). I'm so proud of him. He is an outstanding young man and has so much in store for him.

2) Call me Madam President for one more year. The Home Owner's association had their annual meeting today and I was re-elected.

3) My wonderful hubby got my hot tub up and going and I've been visiting it frequently.

4) Again the hubby shot his first deer of the season, which meant that I had lots of work to do. But we now have 8 lbs of deer jerky and 25 loaves of summer sausage. He thinks he will shoot two more.

5) The deer from last year is now safely and proudly on the wall in the mans room. It really looks like a mans room now.

6) I've hired a new team leader at work and am loving her and the fact that she is taking on so much supervisory stuff. It makes my job much easier.

7) I'm still worried about my Sadie. She is getting some really big fatty cyst and she is still falling up the stairs. Her eating is getting some better.

8) My mom is not doing well. She doesn't sound well. She doesn't look well and she's not making good decisions for herself.

9) I'm loving this fall weather. I wish it could stay like this for 6 months.

10) I've been doing several things by myself lately and getting a taste of my former independence. Although, I'm loving it, I still like doing lots with my Cowboy.

11) I designed a great necklace at the craft fair this weekend and had it made. I put a pic up soon.

12) My feet have been killing me lately (actually my right arch). It seems like I always have some part of me hurting.

13) I really need to be losing weight. I get really frustrated that no matter how hard I try, the scale doesn't like me.

Not Like my younger days

2010-10-01T21:25:00.002-05:00

Do you remember when you were young and could go out on a Friday night and party until dawn? Do you remember being so excited to hang out, drink and flirt? Meeting people, mingling, talking about nothing was considered a thrilling evening.

So the thing is, I know that I used to do that. But for the life of me, I can't remember why I used to do that. I'm sure I enjoyed it or I wouldn't have done it so often.

Now, I almost dread the thought of going out. It's almost a chore. I love being at home. I love just hanging out with people I know and being casual and laid back. I love flirting with my husband.

Isn't it funny how things change in your life and what you did in the past only seems like a distant memory.

Happy Birthday to Me

2010-09-29T19:56:00.002-05:00

My friend called me on my birthday and said, and I quote, "Just think, we, I mean you because I don't want to include myself in this, but you have lived half your life". To which I replied, "I did an age test on my sister's iphone, which I'm sure is right, and I'm going to live to be 101, so I haven't reached my halfway point yet."

Have you ever really thought about your halfway point? I wonder if I passed it yet or if it's still to come. I'm hoping it's still to come.

My birthday was good. Cowboy gave me a charm for my pandora bracelet. He took me out to dinner two nights in a row. I love my birthday. I wish I could still have a birthday party every year just like when I was a little girl.

Creeping back in...

2010-09-10T21:45:00.002-05:00

I can feel the stress creeping back into my body. No! I spent two and 1/2 weeks trying to get rid of stress in my life and three days of work and it's all back. It probably didn't help that I got up and worked from 7:45a to 8p today.

You see, the thing about my job is that I get "punished" when I come back to work because the work just piles up and no one gets to do my job. So not fair. I love what I do and wouldn't change it for the world but it's just not fair that I have tons of work to catch up on.

The one ray of good news is that I hired a team leader that hopefully will take some of the responsibility off my plate and then I won't have so much to do.

But for now, I'm just going to relax this weekend--that's all that I can do.

Vacation

2010-09-09T20:49:00.003-05:00

I highly recommend a two week vacation every year or at least every other year. I feel so much better and more relaxed then I have in ages. I did a really good job of not thinking about work (well except for the two huge proposals that I had to write). I also answered a few emails but that was more about saving my sanity then giving up vacation. My last week was spent in Florida with my best friend.

I hate that my friend lives so far away. I hate that I only get to see her twice a year. It is always so sad going to the airport. Lots of tears and hugs and tears and hugs. My heart aches when I have to leave.

I love spending time with her girls and doing things with them. I got to teach them to sew and we planted flowers together. It was the first time we also got to do a little grown up shopping. If they lived closer, there could be so many more memories like that.

It's amazing how our lives take such unexpected paths that lead us to where we are.

Almost

2010-08-31T22:03:00.002-05:00

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

2010-08-30T22:13:00.002-05:00

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

2010-08-23T20:26:00.002-05:00

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

2010-08-21T22:47:00.003-05:00

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

2010-08-18T22:24:00.002-05:00

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

2010-08-11T22:19:00.002-05:00

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

2010-08-10T21:26:00.002-05:00

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.....

2010-08-08T21:23:00.002-05:00

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

2010-08-03T21:36:00.002-05:00

(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

2010-08-01T21:01:00.003-05:00

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.

2010-07-28T22:27:00.002-05:00

So for the past 5 days, my life has been consumed by golf. We got to have my nephew up for the weekend and loved every minute of it. His dad brought him up on Friday and the three of us played a round of golf. On Saturday, Cowboy, the nephew and I played a round of golf and Sunday we played again. Saturday and Sunday night, I took him to the driving range. He was a qualifier for the State Kansas Junior Golf Association state tournament. We gave him the opportunity to play on courses similar to what he would be playing in the tournament.

Yesterday, I went to watch him play his first round. I felt like I was on a miniature PGA tour. I was fun walking and watching him play. He was young in his age group but did a good job. We are very proud of him.

Here he is getting ready to tee of on number three. He has a beautiful swing.

We practiced a few sand shots that came in handy in the tournament. He made a good out.

Afterwards, we got to hang out and chat and goof around for his mom who insisted on taking a few pics.

Clean Clubs

2010-07-21T21:38:00.002-05:00

My wonderful husband cleaned my golf clubs today. I think he has been feeling a little guilty for playing golf with his son twice this week and with his buddy another day. He has been treating me extra special all week. I don't think that I'll complain to loudly.

On a side note, my nephew is coming up for the weekend to practice his golf skills with me. We're going to play Friday, Saturday and Sunday. He starts his state golf tournament on Tuesday so we are going to give him some practice on courses similiar to what he will be playing on.

It's so freakin' hot....

2010-07-19T20:32:00.002-05:00

You know what insanity is? It's spending the day at an amusement park with the family on Saturday from 11a to 5p. The heat index was only 110 degrees and there was no wind and only black asphalt pavement. That is only part of the insanity. I decided to ride the roller coasters like I was a 20 year old. Well, this 45 year old body wasn't to pleased at the end of the day.

So let's just add a little more insanity....We played golf yesterday in the middle of the day. And not only did we play 18 holes of golf, we played 27 holes of golf. It was freakin' hot. Even my new golf shirt didn't whisk away the sweat. I was ringing wet.

So tonight on the way home from work, I told Cowboy that I wasn't walking until it cooled down. But my neighbor caught me and I went for a walk, then cleaned out the hot tub and then pulled weeds from the garden. I must be crazy!

Follow up from June 21st.

2010-07-15T20:59:00.004-05:00

This is why I love my husband with all my heart.

Today, he went back to my work and found the girl that hit his truck. She was a little nervous to talk to him but did. He gave her a card that was somewhat spiritual that said even in the bad times look for the rainbows. He wrote a note that said, "Not all bad things that happen to us, end bad".

Inside the card, he had a fresh $100 bill for her. Her eyes were as big as saucers. She was just laid off her job due to her pregnancy. She's due on August 2nd.

(He had talked the auto shop into fixing his truck for $100 less than the insurance company paid him)

CARF

2010-07-13T21:44:00.002-05:00

Our agency is certified by CARF. It is a three year certification and the visit starts tomorrow. I've been really stressed by this and I'm sure a total bitch to my staff to get their stuff done so that we are ready. I will be really glad when this is all over. I am vowing to not put work in front of family for the rest of the summer.

I'm going to try to rest, relax and rejuvenate!

Worried

2010-07-11T21:02:00.002-05:00

I am very worried about my Sadie girl. Her appetite is gone. Don't forget that my girl is extremely food focused an has eaten every breakfast at 5:30a and every dinner at 6p or her stomach gets all growly and such. Today, she didn't eat one thing until 8p.
This has been going on for a week or so. She still eats some but about half of what she used to eat. She still drinks. Poops and pees. Cowboy went to the pet store and got some "gravy" for her food. She'll eat a little better with that but still not like she used to.

I'm wondering if it is a change with her age. Maybe it's the heat. It just makes me a little worried.

Weekend

2010-07-06T21:13:00.002-05:00

The Cowboy and I had a jammed packed weekend that was "all about me" as the Cowboy would say. Friday night, Cowboy decided that he would walk around the neighborhood with me because he was convinced that I wanted him to so I could show him off.

One of my most absolutely favorite things about our neighborhood is that people are out in their yard and stop and talk. We visited with several neighbors and even met a really cool couple that just moved into the neighborhood. John and Ashley are newlyweds. She told me she was a social worker--I liked here even more then.

Saturday was golf day with a twist. My friend Dr. T has kissed several frogs since her divorce. However, this weekend we got to meet her potential Prince. They hit the course with us. She seemed like she was having such a great time and the Prince was awesome. Cowboy doesn't say much about people he just meets but said he "liked the shit outta him". Huge endorsement.

Sunday, we had a surprise visit from Rob and Stacey.

Stacey was my pledge daughter in college and has a been a really good friend for a long time. They are a modern day "Brady Bunch" family. She has a girl and two boys and he has as girl and two boys. They all live with them but every other weekend, the kids go to the other parents. So they got a free weekend and came to see us. We hit golf course again. Only after Cowboy surprised me and bought me a some new golf clothes. (He has a "dry fit" shirt that I love and now so do I.)

Golfing and then out eat and then home for a few beers, movie and dessert. We are all such homebodies that we had no desire to go see the fireworks. We fed them a good breakfast and they were on their way.

Cowboy got really sick Monday afternoon. Chills and spiking fever. He was on the couch the rest of the day and I went to the neighbors for dinner. This morning, I took him to the doctors and then to get his script filled. He's on his way to a full recovery.

It was a great weekend. Now I need about 30 more of them in the next two months.

Crazy, Crazy and more Crazy

2010-06-30T22:01:00.002-05:00

I swear that our clients at work are crazy. They are nuts and are acting like they have no common sense. Rules, so what. Guidelines, oh well. I just want to go in my office, close the door and never come out again. Doesn't sound so good for the manager to hide does it.

I'm praying the craziness goes away.

It's all about Golf

2010-06-27T19:31:00.002-05:00

I'm so proud of my nephew. He has made it to the state golf tournament again this year. He is young in for his age group and played against mostly high school students. I have watched him grow up playing golf and he has become an amazing golfer. I remember when he was about 2 years old, he would walk around with his plastic golf club saying, "I'm Tiger Woods". (pre-tiger woods scandal). He has practiced alot and played alot to get where he's at. Great news is that he is playing at a course near us, so we will get to see him.

Where the Universe spins out of control.....

2010-06-24T20:54:00.002-05:00

I swear that the Universe is off it's axis (is that even the right term). Everything is absolutely crazy this week and some of last week. I'm getting so annoyed with having to deal with crazy people that being a greeter at Wal-Mart is starting to look very appealing. It almost like everything that is happening has to be just a little crazier than the next.

I NEED A VACATION AWAY FROM THIS UNIVERSE....Any suggestions???

Happy Banana

2010-06-23T20:21:00.002-05:00

How can a day start any better? A happy banana from the one that you love along with a note that says,

Dog has been pooped this morning

Call Title Mortage people today

Eat watermelon and banana for breakfast

Poop yourself this morning

Luv u, have a better day!

XOXOXO

PS. don't forget your lunch, phone, papers, (lights out) etc.

Observant Dad

2010-06-22T20:50:00.003-05:00

My dad told me that on Saturday afternoon Cowboy was laying on the living room floor with Sadie and he heard snoring. He looked on the floor and saw that Cowboy had his mouth closed so it must have been Sadie snoring. Dad then told me that one of them must have passed gas because he could smell it.

The next morning, Cowboy and I were laying in bed and he said, "Your Dad is sure observant. I was laying there and let out the quietest gas possible. " "Your dad got up and left the room. He sure is observant."

How funny. My poor Dad. I know how stinky Cowboy's butt can be. He always says those are just little butter bean farts that don't smell.

Cowboy's

2010-06-21T20:00:00.002-05:00

Cowboy is so particular about his truck. It's spotless. He takes such good care of it.

Today, I had him meet me at work so he could spray the weeded around one of the home's we run. He was walking around the yard with me, when I noticed a car had hit is truck. We went over there and a really young 19 year old girl was caught up on his bumper. Normally, Cowboy would blow a gasket and cuss and yell. I was braced for the wrath of Cowboy to come pouring down on this poor little girl.

Instead, he calmly helped her get the vehicles unstuck and then let me go about the business of dealing with her insurance company. He was very fortunate that she had insurance. Actually, that was the first thing out of her mouth..."I have insurance".

Later, he flagged her down and apologized for getting so upset.

He did so good. I was so proud of him for containing his anger and looking at the situation just a little bit differently.

Weekend on the Farm

2010-06-20T21:13:00.003-05:00

Cowboy and I went to the farm for the weekend. It's been a while since we have spent the whole weekend on the farm. So for father's day, we headed down to the farm.

We met up with mom and dad and then headed to town for dinner. Town is about 4 miles away and has a population of about 50. But there is a cafe there. It used to be the store and the restaurant was a couple of doors down. (I worked at the old Town and Country Cafe in high school.) A couple came in and made the store into a cafe and moved the store part next door. They serve a great dinner. I decided to pick up the tab--it was a total of $28 for all four of us. Bargain!

Saturday morning, Dad, Cowboy and I headed out to the golf course to meet my brother and nephew for a big golf challenge. We got there at 8a and no one was there to rent us a cart so we started playing. (Golf courses in the city open at dawn.) We had a blast. I did win a couple of holes outright from the "boys". We threw in a game of bingo, bango, bongo. Cowboy and I were the big losers of the game and on the score card. My nephew is 14 and is an amazing golfer. He beat us all.

Saturday afternoon, mom and I went grocery shopping. Then it was home to make chocolate chip cookies for dad and potato salad for Sunday lunch. It was a lazy evening at home.

Sunday morning, mom and I ran to town to buy a few birthday gifts for her great-granddaughter. I finished fixing lunch for 18 of us. Country style BBQ ribs, baked beans, and jello salad. It all turned out very yummy. The most of the family was there. The day was loud, crazy and a lot of fun.

It was good to be with my mom and dad for the whole weekend. It was good to be around the farm and get re-centered and relaxed.

Happy Father's Day Dad. You have done an outstanding job of raising an amazing family.

Randomness to catch up

2010-06-15T20:31:00.002-05:00

I sit down to blog and have a little case of writers block or actually I have so many things that I want to write about that I write nothing, no filters. So I'm just going to put my randomness out there.

I was bored out of my mind this weekend. We didn't do anything and I didn't have any energy to do anything. I laid on my couch a lot and watched TV a lot. I was such a slug.

Our garden is growing but we've had to re-plant part of it three times that I'm not sure what is where and now the damn deer think it's their salad bar. Where is Cowboy's gun when you need it.

Our basement had water in it yesterday. All related to the freakin' rain that won't stop. Bummer was that although we have tons of storage, I had three boxes that were in the room that got wet and they contained old scrap books, pictures and other stuff. I spent two hour going through old emails from boyfriends and pictures when I was stick thin. Oh to be skinny again.

I went to the eye doctor on Friday. My eye doctor is so hot. I seriously thought about asking him to have an affair. I did call Cowboy and told him that if anything happened to home, I would be okay since I would be a doctor's wife. I wonder if it would be wrong to ask him to be the father of my baby. I'm serious about that. He asked be to look at his ear, he had nice ears. Where else do you want me to look, Dear Doctor???? Yum-yum.

We're headed to the farm this weekend and I can't wait. It seems like forever since I've seen my momma and daddy.

Cowboy and I are doing really well. I love that man. I was telling him the other day that I was amazed how we just seemed to get on the same page more and more as time goes by.

I have all these crafty ideas rolling around in my head but I haven't done to make them come to life. I really worry that sometimes that I have a few bi-polar symptoms--periods of mania and bouts of depression--all very mild.

I continue to be very frustrated about my weight. I am going to the doctor on Friday--complete physical. I can't keep gaining weight or I'll weigh 300 by the time I'm 50. UGH

He's learning

2010-06-07T20:38:00.002-05:00

Just a same recap in case I haven't talked about this lately. Cowboy has OCD and he is meticulous, especially about our vehicles. He also has a short fuse and likes to rant and rave, at me.

I picked up a 31" used TV for my brother and didn't get it unloaded before I went to work. As I was driving, it tipped over and left a little scratch on the window seal. Really, barely a scratch at all. Most people wouldn't have even noticed. But Cowboy did.

When I asked him to help me unload it, he started his ranting and raving. I told him to stop and he did for a second and then started again. I told him not to start on me. He said fine and then added, "don't talk to me before you leave."

I then sat a box down in the garage. Cowboy asked what was in the box. My come back, "you told me not to talk to you". I went on into the house and started watching TV. About 20 minutes later, he came down from the computer room and was civil to me.

It is really the first time, I didn't listen to his ranting and raving and told him to stop and he did. He thought about it and apologized about it later. Maybe he can learn. Maybe.....

Another Good Weekend

2010-06-06T21:33:00.002-05:00

We had a great weekend. My friend, Dr. T and I went to the movies. Sex in the City 2. Loved it, but didn't think it was as good as the first. It seems that I see those movies at the right time in my life to fit what is happening to me.

It was really good to get together with her and spend time with my friend.

Saturday, we went garage sale-ing and then came back to the house to clean it. We got a little sidetracked when Cowboy bought a new bike. I'll have to post pictures. He can't decide which motorcycle he will keep. The boy cannot keep them both.

We got all our flowers planted around the house. We got 1/2 the house cleaned. Laundry done.

Today was beautiful out and we hit the golf course. We played with a couple of guy that weren't really that fun. That's twice in a row we've had bad luck with our golf partners. However, I played so much better. My goal is to shoot in the 90's on a regular basis. I've done it twice in a row so maybe I'm getting there.

Right now, Cowboy is watching a chick flick with me. I love that man.

Ding Dong

2010-06-03T21:57:00.002-05:00

I was in the shower this morning and Cowboy heard a door bell. Ding Dong. Ding dong. He comes downstairs and check the front door, no one there. He checks the back door and looks out the windows, nothing.

When I get out of the shower, he asked if I heard the doorbell. No, I was in the shower. He said it was really weird that heard the doorbell but no one was there.

On my way out the door, I picked up my phone and saw that my co-worker had called. Her ring on my phone is a doorbell.

Mystery solved but funny that Cowboy was so stumped.

Morning Send off

2010-06-02T21:02:00.002-05:00

Cowboy walked me to the door this morning, said good-bye and watched me get in my car.

I turned to wave goodbye and he was standing in the door, drawers down waving good-bye with his weiner. Really, big wave good-bye.

He makes me smile.

Awesome Weekend

2010-06-01T22:03:00.003-05:00

Oh my gosh, the weekend was just what I needed. I came home a little early on Friday and took off my watch. I didn't want to be tied to a time schedule and I didn't want to make grand plans.

Friday night, Cowboy and I jumped in the car and went to FiveGuys for dinner. We love their hamburgers. On our way, we saw a deer crossing the street (4 lane in town) and honked and slowed down to watch it cross in front of us. Only to see the car coming at us, slow down and hit the deer. Cowboy was pissed. It was senseless and so sad.

Saturday, Cowboy and I bought a great used car for his cousin's girlfriends daughter. We discussed keeping it if they didn't like it. It was fully loaded and drove like a dream. Cowboy started detailing it when we got home and I watered the garden. It was then off to the golf course. The first six holes were great. Cowboy and I got to play by ourselves. Then we joined the two guys in ahead of us, as the play slowed down. They were not fun to play with and we didn't enjoy ourselves very much. We have been pretty lucky that we always get to play with such nice people. Not so much on Saturday.

Cowboy grilled on Saturday night and we had an awesome dinner. Brats, pork chops and chicken on the grill along with crab stuffed mushrooms and fresh spinach. Yummy.

Sunday, we took the car to Cowboy's cousin and his girlfriend. They were thrilled with the car and loved it. I got to drive it. Sooo nice. We then went on to a friend of Cowboy's, Fred and Sue. Freddy and Sue are very simple country folks. They stopped all they were doing and provided us such a warm welcome. We sat in their yard in the yard swing and drank beer and visited all afternoon. They then grilled hamburgers and hot dogs along with homegrown asparagus and fresh salad from their garden. It was a perfect afternoon.

Sue said that Freddy had commented to her that he wasn't sure why Cowboy was his friend but he was grateful. There is only a simple answer to that. Freddy and Sue are great people and Cowboy is a great judge of character.

Monday, we got up and went to breakfast with our neighbors and then played golf with the son and daughter-in-law. I played great. We played on a beautiful course and it was a great afternoon.

I was so sad to see the weekend come to an end. I need more time with Cowboy just like that.

Random

2010-05-27T22:25:00.003-05:00

Just random thoughts:

1) work continues to amaze me...specifically the staff that I work with amazes me. Really, can't you just do your job.

2) my hubby has been very good to me as he should be after his stunt last week.

3) I hate having periods...I told you random. Especially heavy flows and hormonal headaches.

4) I think my dog is getting old and slowing down. However, she is learning to walk around our neighborhood without being on a leash.

5) I think I want to drink a lot of beer tomorrow night.

6)I'm so excited about a 3 day weekend.

7) We've had to replant our garden twice and I'm thinking we might have to re-do for a third time.

8) I planted elephant ears 1 foot deep instead of 1 inch deep and they still came up. Sometimes I really wonder where my mind has gone.

9) I've been playing lots of scrabble on my iphone and love it. I've never played the game before.

10) I haven't slept well all week. I think I'm running on fumes. No wonder staff and my period are driving me to drink.

Cowboy was IN TROOOUUUBBBLLLEEE

2010-05-22T22:21:00.002-05:00

On Thursday, I called Cowboy about noon to see what he was doing. He had decided to take a trip with his son out of town to look at a job. They had finished up giving an estimate for the job and stopped to play a game of pool. I needed to let Cowboy know that I had to work late. He said he'd be home about the time that I was getting there. Great no problem.

At 7:30p, I called again and Cowboy was still in Pittsburg playing pool. No need to wait for dinner he'd be on his way home soon.

Around 10:30p, the DIL sent a text, asking if I had heard from the 'boys'. She was concerned that the son was drinking and would be driving. After a 3rd, DUI. I texted back, saying Cowboy wouldn't let that get out of hand.

Finally at 11p, I got ahold of Cowboy. He said he had been playing pool and all night and hadn't drank that much in 20 years. He promised to stay the night and not drive home.

I called the DIL to say I heard from the boys and they were drinking but not going to be driving home. They would be staying at her brother's house, then she let me know her brother was out of town and they didn't have a key. WTF??? GREAT

I didn't sleep well at all. I tossed and turned. Had weird dreams and was pissed.

At 7a, Cowboy called. I was pretty cold to him. Saying I was glad he was safe. They drove home 2 hours after drinking for 9 hours. Brilliant move boys. Cowboy was at his son's house.

I had the day to cool down a little. Wasn't really pissed as much as I was really disappointed and felt pretty disrespected.

Cowboy apologized. I said my piece. He was pretty humble. He promised to never do that again. And I have been the "Queen" all weekend.

Marriage is tough.

Work Ethic

2010-05-20T21:59:00.003-05:00

I have always said that there are two types of employees, those that just show up for a paycheck and those that want to have a career. I personally think that I am a career person. I work had, take on lots of responsibility, take great pride in my work and do it all without complaining or causing problems for my employer.

I am super annoyed but those that just show up for a paycheck. Really, just plain annoyed. Just this week, I found out that we had an employee who would leave from her shift for hours at a time and would have sex in our work van. ICK. What is wrong with her? (We actually fired her months ago.)

Another employee is stealing from our clients and leaving long before her shift is over. "She done her time and worked hard" so why not. Really, are you crazy???

Here's the topper. We have given an employee a corrective action for not completing her delinquent paperwork for weeks at a time. She also calls in frequently when she is not sick. She has now filed a grievance against her boss for making her do her job. Really. Lazy, lazy girl. Get a clue and step up and do your job. Stop blaming your failings on your boss. She has been more than generous in giving you chance after chance.

One of the biggest job dissatisfier I have is with the employees that just show up.

Cowboy

2010-05-19T21:51:00.003-05:00

My Cowboy had a birthday on Monday. He turned the big 54. We didn't do much to celebrate but I did fix him a big old german chocolate cake. Surprise, surprise, it's Wednesday and the cake is gone. I had two pieces of it and guess who had the rest. Well almost the rest of the cake. He shared with some neighbors and his son.

I think my Cowboy is so handsome when he has his hat on. He makes my heart melt.

My Cowboy is game for about anything and I love that about him.

One of the things that I love the most is that he has such a huge heart. He is so good with Sadie. He loves me and takes such great care of me. Here to the birthday boy!

Pictures from the weekend

2010-05-12T21:00:00.002-05:00

Here are a few pictures from my weekend.

Cowboy and I went home for the weekend. My mom's first cousin (quite a bit younger) came back to Kansas for a visit. Tina had not been back since her father's funeral in 1997. She invited my mother out to dinner at the restaurant that her father built. So Saturday night, my Mom and Dad, Cowboy and I and my sister and her husband met Tina and her husband for dinner. It was a really cool evening.

On Sunday, all the siblings came over for Mother's Day. My dear brother was going to trim the bushes in front of the house for my Mom. A slip with the hedge clippers landed him in the hospital emergency room for 3 hours with his wife on Mother's Day. Three stitches later and he is recovering.
Cowboy and my niece's boyfriend are celebrating their birthday next week so in addition to having a Mother's Day celebration, we celebrated their 23rd and 54th birthdays. (Can you guess who's is what).

It was a good weekend at home. I was really sick but it was still good to be home.

My mother has been an amazing person in my life and I am very fortunate to have her as my mom.

StepMom

2010-05-04T22:18:00.003-05:00

Although I don't consider myself a step-mom, I get stuck in the position of having some situations that makes me feel like the wicked step-mom that never gets put in a win-win situation.

Because the daughter is such a mess, Cowboy wants to help her out again. He is talking about buying another car for her. Never mind, we are still paying for the last car and she hawked it for $500.

Really, what do I say. If I say, don't do it, I become the bad guy. But with all my might, I cannot agree with it. So I'm in a lose-lose situation. And I hate, hate it.

Cowboy feels so bad about what she is doing that his response is to help her. He doesn't have the money and he would have to use my (technically) savings account. He says he will get a job to pay it back. WTF, really. You don't want a job now for us but he will get one to enable his daughter. He wants to know that he has done all he can to help her. Really, as if he hasn't done enough.

We can't talk about this because it leads to arguments. We are on such opposing side of this situation.

I will pray and pray some more.

Catch Up

2010-05-03T22:13:00.002-05:00

I haven't blogged for awhile because I have so much to write about that I didn't know where to start so I have avoided blogging altogether. So I'll sum up most....

- The daughter has been a mess. Moved into a single women's home to gain support and help and left 3 days later with no place to go. Lived in a shelter, with a random guy, then spent a night in jail, and is now living in a hotel. Cowboy has been so upset and feeling very helpless with the whole situation. It has caused many sleepless night and lots of emotional distancing as he isn't good about talking about that situation.

-Work has been somewhat okay. Lots of pressure to get more done than I have time for but it's manageable. I had to have a conversation with one of my supervisors about her lack of work. I was really getting resentful about her 'hanging' out while I was working my ass off. She has gotten better.

-My mom was in town for the weekend. I love spending time with my mom but each time that I do, it makes me realize how much older my mom is getting and how much I feel the need to take care of her when she is around. She looks frail and weak and not to steady on her feet. She makes me tired.

-Golf has been good and then really good. I shot a 90 on the course and was thrilled but then the next week, it looked like I hadn't played golf in a long long time. Cowboy and I have been finding our grove on the course and no longer have any major meltdowns. Knock on wood.

-I been really thinking about the groove that couples get into, some that brings comfort and some that takes advantage of the other person. I don't want to take advantage of Cowboy and all that he does for me. I'm trying to do things a little differently and get a little frustrated when he doesn't notice or says something that is pretty negative.

-I love my new hot tub. I've been in it almost every night. It does help with my overall soreness.

-I would love to get my kitchen re-done and am looking at ways to do it for less than $4000.
Before we can do that, we have so many outside projects that need to be done. Painting, deck power washing, staining, and on and on.

-I'm constantly worried about money and have chosen to ignore my checking account but that doesn't seem to work when I get nasty overdraft letters from the bank. I really need to win the powerball.

-I can't even begin to talk about my weight.

Enough for the night.

Honeymoon

2010-04-26T20:18:00.002-05:00

I was washing the dishes tonight. Cowboy walked up behind me and hugged me and squeezed my butt. I turned to him and said, "You used to do that all the time."

Cowboy: "That was when we were in the honeymoon phase."

Me: "I don't want the honeymoon to end."

Cowboy: "The only way that I have found for the honeymoon not to end is to have lots of them and I have had more than most men that I know."

Seriously, how could you not laugh at my husband...silly boy.

Random thoughts...

2010-04-15T22:34:00.002-05:00

1) I played golf with the daugther-in-law and we had a great time. I don't really see her as a D-I-L, she is a friend with a husband that is just like my husband (ha-ha).

2) My hot tub blew a jet and Cowboy replaced it today with a new awesome jet. I love my hot tub.

3) Our lilac's are blooming and I cut lots of them to put into the house. Love, love, love lilacs. One the the true blessings of moving into our house.

4) I am thrilled that tomorrow is Friday and the weekend is a few short hours away.

5) I am thankful that I have a job that I love.

6) I still frustrated about my weight and think about it every day.

7) I need to make a doctor's appointment and everyday remember it only when the office is closed, do you think I might not want to go???

8) I wish I could take about a month off of work and just hang out. (I may swing a two week vacation soon.)

Mindfullness

2010-04-14T22:00:00.003-05:00

One of the great things about my job is that I get to teach a group once a week. This week I choose to discuss values and morals. I found myself talking about valuing my family. Today as I was reading a magazine I came across an article on mindfulness and instantly realized that I am a hypocrite.

I need to practice mindfulness. I need to be in the moments of my life and value and cherish those moments that I share with others. This world moves so fast and there is so much to do and so many ways to get drawn in numerous directions.

I don't want to be the one that goes through my life only paying half attention to living.

I'm going to practice mindfulness. I'm going to have to work hard, but I'm going to practice.

Family

2010-04-07T20:00:00.002-05:00

Do you ever wonder how you can come from a family that has so many dysfunctional members and yet you turn out to really normal?

Poor Cowboy, he has had his hands full with family today.

First, his daughter had move into a transitional living home on Monday that is set up to help single moms. They help you find job, provide you with transportation, help you get into school, help with day care, etc. She didn't like it so she walked out today.

Then came the call from his brother, who sometimes partakes to much in the whiskey. Cowboy's sister, who partakes to much in the beer drove 10 hours to see him and drank a case of beer today and was totally out of control. Dangerous situation.

They all want him to fix things for them. Poor Cowboy. I wish just once he would get a call saying everything was good and they didn't need anything. A girl can dream for her guy, can't she.

Easter Sunday

2010-04-04T20:37:00.002-05:00

Reason 2,546,328 why I love my husband.

Cowboy said he would go to church with me this morning. He did so without me asking and even put on his dress clothes that he seldom if ever wears.

Here is a rare glimpse of him all dressed up.
Doesn't he look so handsome. I was so very proud to walk into church with him this morning.

Cowboy and I have talked often about finding a church where we are both comfortable. I was raised Catholic and he wasn't raised going to church on a regular basis. He found a Baptist church that he liked in Arkansas but neither of us know where to start to find a church we both like here in the city. So most Sunday's, I go to church by myself.

I asked Cowboy if he wanted to become a Catholic. He's not sure about that. He would like to find a small family church. I hope we can figure this out soon.

Phone Call from Crazy Lady

2010-04-03T21:52:00.003-05:00

Today at 2:42p, Crazy Lady called me on my cell phone. WTF? She wanted to call me and set up an "Exit Interview" with my boss. Really. This is another reason why I fired you, you do not have good boundaries. What do you expect me to do on a Saturday afternoon, stop my golf game and call my boss to set up an interview with you Crazy Lady. Seriously.

Crazy and in need of people skills

2010-04-02T21:42:00.002-05:00

Here's a work blog. Just when I was so excited about work getting better, it took a terrible turn for the worst.

In February, I hired a new team leader (referred to as CL, ie. Crazy Lady)to supervise the counselors on my unit. My first clue that something wasn't quite right should have been the 20 phone calls that I got from her from the time that I offered her the job to the day that she started. Trust me, it has been a long 6 weeks.

Let's see here is a short recap of the past six weeks.
-one counselor threatened to quit
-CL took a couple hours off the second day of work
-she said she wasn't sure she could work there on the third day
-she called and quit at 9:15 and then called to say she wasn't quitting at 3:45
-she starting patting other staff members on the butt
-CL won't stop doing the things I told her not to do
-CL won't do the things that I was telling her to do
-CL walked out of work one day saying she had a migraine and then called me to say she had been driving around thinking (interesting migraine)
-she's missed 3 days of work in 6 weeks

So today, I let her know that she was terminated as she is still in her probationary period and it wasn't working. She then proceeded to tell me that I needed to work on my people skills and then she called me crazy.

It was not fun.

Happy Anniversary Cowboy!

2010-03-28T19:47:00.002-05:00

WooHoo, we made it! One year. One of the best years of my life. One year of saying husband and hearing wife. I am so proud of being married to my Cowboy. At times, my heart feels so full that it's going to burst. One year of being a team that is always there for each other.

We made dinner plans with Cowboy's son and his wife. I bought Cowboy a new wedding ring for our first anniversary. He didn't was a wedding ring when we got married so we bought him cheap $15 ring from Wal-Mart for pictures. He started wearing the ring about 2 months later. I couldn't handle him wearing a $15 ring so that was his present.

I also got Cowboy a replica of his groom's cake. He didn't get any on our wedding night and was very surpised when I brought it home. He loved it.

Today, we went to play golf. I played horrible. He surprised me with dinner out at Olive Garden. A good weekend for us.
Our baby girl taking a nap and wondering what we are up to.

Cowboy's new wedding ring. He loves it and says it's much more comfortable that the cheap one.

Cowboy's son and his wife on our dinner night out.

The replica of Cowboy's grooms cake. He was so surprised and loved that I thought about it.

The Daughter

2010-03-26T21:32:00.002-05:00

So the daughter turned 27 this week. She got to celebrate her birthday in JAIL. Just where every 27 year old should spend their birthday. She has been using pills and hanging out with the wrong people. It's no wonder that that is where she should spend her birthday there.

So the story that we have gotten so far is that she got stopped for speeding. When she got stopped, they found out she had a suspended license. She was given a court date and on the day of her court hearing, she was to tired to go. (Apparently, she didn't take care of everything that she needed to from her last go around with losing her license.) The weekend after the missed court hearing, her drug dealer came around and hung out the whole weekend and when he wouldn't leave, she called the cops to have him thrown out. The cops showed up and she had a warrant, so she was hauled off and the pusher was told to go home.

Will she ever learn? Apparently not. Today Cowboy got a call from the police department from a town that he took the daughter to yesterday. They were investigating a theft from a store in that town and wanted to talk to her. My gut tells me that she forged her prescription for pills and will soon get busted for that.

I feel so sorry for Cowboy. I can't imagine what I would do if she were my biological daughter. I believe she is very active in her addiction to prescription pills. She needs treatment an those in her life to stop enabling her. I'm not sure when that will happen. It is so sad.

Crazy Day Yesterday

2010-03-25T20:38:00.002-05:00

Yesterday turned into a crazy day for us.

My sister-in-law's father passed away on Saturday morning. He never regained consciousness after his heart attack and he had no brain activity. He died with his entire family at his bedside. Yesterday was the funeral. Our family has become very close with the SIL's family over the years, so it was an easy decision to take off work and go home for the funeral.

Cowboy had made arrangements to stop in a small town about 45 minutes away to look at some comes and gun scopes. We were planning on getting up at 5:30a to go to the gym, however, we didn't quite make that alarm. We slept in and snuggled until around 7:45a when we needed to leave by 8:30a. So we got up and rushed around to leave on time.

On our way, we stopped at QT for donuts. I sent Cowboy in while I waited. Then we drove 30 minutes to this guys house to look at the gun stuff. Again, I wait in the car. Cowboy comes out in about 15 minutes and can't find his money clip. (money, credit cards, etc.) He searches the car, his pockets, my purse, the car, his pockets, the back seat, no money clip. He is super pissed and is cussing, slamming the doors, etc. He was not fun to be around. So we head back to the QT. 30 minutes of him fuming and driving like a crazy man.

We get back to the QT, no money clip. Searches the road, the store, the parking lot, the trash cans in the parking lot, my purse, the car, the back seat. Crazy man on a mission. I should say, angry crazy man on a mission. After 30 minutes, we head out on the road again. I start calling the bank to cancel credit cards and got two cancelled before I lost phone service.

As I'm on the bank with to cancel another card, he get a call. The money clip is found. Apparently, he had taken the money clip out of his pocket in this guys house, went back into the bedroom and set it on the bed. When the lady went in to make the bed, she found it. But she didn't have his phone number so it took her 30 minutes to track down his number.

I was so glad he got it back. It took him another 2 hours to calm down.

We were late getting to my parents house and didn't get to visit with them at all but did take my mom and niece to the funeral. The funeral was very nice. Merl was buried on the family farm. We stayed for food with the family. It was so good to be able to be there with my SIL's family and support them.

The day was full of intense emotions...I was tired when we got home.

His Dad

2010-03-22T20:25:00.002-05:00

Cowboy and I went to the gym this morning and on the way home he told me this story:

Cowboy's words:

"When I was newly divorced, I was living in my mom and dad's basement. My life was pretty upside down and I wasn't happy about much in my life. However, I kept going to work every morning at 5:30a. I remember getting up and being real quiet so I wouldn't wake Mom and Dad up, and I would sneak up the basement steps. My dad would be sitting in the dark at the kitchen table and he would say, "You better eat something, son." He would have a bacon and egg sandwich on the table waiting for me. He would get up and cook for me and he didn't have to do that."

What a wonderful memory about a Dad. I really wish I would have met him.

2010-03-17T21:02:00.002-05:00

Someone got a new hot tub.

Someone got a new hot tub.

My Cowboy found a hot tub for two on Craig's List and we went to look at it yesterday. Cowboy made a great deal with the seller and it was ours. Cowboy gathered up his buddies and brought it home today. I'm so excited. I can't wait to get it up and running. If we had it going, I would be in it tonight for sure. I guess I'll have to settle for my jacuzzi tub.

Cowboy and I were able to play golf today. Since I didn't get to go skiing, I took today off and hit the links with my hubby. Oh yeah, I also changed my name officially with social security. Whew, just in time for our one year anniversary.