Delaney & Kara

Delaney went to Apple Valley to visit her grandparents & to visit her sister. They always have fun together.

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas morning was spent opening stockings & talking on the phone!












Then we went to my parents & had breakfast and opened presents. There seemed to be a theme between Delaney & my Dad's presents! It was a great day!!

I love Christmas cards

As I am sitting here tonight opening the mail.... I am telling Delaney how much I love this time of year because I love all the cards & photo's..... I go to open and envelope & slit my finger open. Just thought that was share worthy. I still love to get cards & pictures. No matter the paper cutting sacrifice.

Mailed out & being a passenger!

Today I dropped the last of our Christmas cards in the mail box! The search for the card picture was not as exhaustive as last years. We looked through all our pictures from the last 12 months & picked the best one. I had to fill Delaney in on how important taking nice pictures with me is. Our picture was taken by Delaney when we were in Spearfish this summer on vacation. We went up into the hills for breakfast with the family & it was raining & cold. We had funky rain hair & little makeup & it is even off center. It is the best picture we took all vacation together. We were both laughing and having fun & totally relaxed. So the mailing stress is over.... Delaney got her permit signed off today. She drove us to dinner at Del Taco tonight. I get motion sick. She weaves in her own lane. She is not used to my car yet. She did really good & I didn't get sick. I only clawed my seat 2 or 3 times. It was great. She was laughing at me and trying not to stress me out. I am sure I will not get to do any errands alone for quite some time.

Driver's permit!

Delaney got her driver's permit today! She did great on the test & keeps asking for the keys. I am learning the art of teenage selective hearing.... again.... According to my mom, I already had it once. She has to drive with a driving instucter first, then her permit will be valid & I will need nitroglycerin!! Watch out world!

Black Friday Begins....

In more way's then one, this IS black Friday! The time of year has come where people seem to think that there is no more shopping etiquette. They now feel the need to tell anybody who will listen just how bad parking is. How far away they had to park. How nothing is priced fairly in this store or anywhere else for that matter. Just stand quite the next time you are out & you will hear some variation of this. Someday (I think this day is coming sooner and sooner) I think that I will have to let somebody have it. Not the little old lady with her walker who needed a handicap parking spot when they were all full so she had to park in the farthest spot, no she gets a free pass to whine. The lady carrying her life in her small suitcase of a purse she has smacked into 3 people with, talking loudly on her cell phone about things that you should only talk about while you are in the car alone will probably me a more satisfactory target for my wrath. Nobody cares how tired you are because you partied all night. Nobody feels bad that you had to park so far away from the door. We probably parked right beside you because you took our spot. We don't care that you can't find the blah blah blah brand you want. Neither can we. Yes, everybody is in the same fix this time of year. We are all out shopping for groceries & gifts. We are all having Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner on the same day. Shut up and wait your turn like the rest of us, preferably with a smile on your face. Do not yell at the cashier that the people in front of you took way to long or make fun of what they bought. Chances are they are still getting their purchases together to haul out to the car & they probably parked in your row too. They waited their turn in line just like you did & your cashier does not care that you think you are more important. Not many people do. Do not push & shove to get to what you want. Say excuse me when you bump into somebody & pick up the stuff you knock off the shelf. Treat other people around you how you would like to be treated when you don't have your head up your rearend. Smile at the people waiting tiredly on the bench for their families. Do not litter your Starbuck's cup in the parking lot. Carry it up to the front of the building and put it in the trash can. Just because it is a festive cup does not mean it is a decoration. It is still litter. I truly think I have had it with the general public. I think I am doing the rest of my Christmas shopping on line!!! Happy Holidays! DISCLAIMER: If you recognized yourself in any of these statements, rethink your shopping attitude. I know I do every time I get a crab apple in my line at work!

September & October

What a busy few months! Delaney has turned 16 & is currently enrolled in drivers ed online & when when she is done with that, she will do the behind the wheel training. She is still a little kid (she loved her spiderman sheets best) and she likes to get all dressed up to go out to dinner. Then we had Halloween. We ended up recycling a costume from years ago. It is amazing how different it looked on her once we cut it off!!! It was also very funny to see her go out to the party with her "morman missionary" friend. I turned 35 very uneventfully (as in no photos) with dinner at Red Robin with Delaney & my parents. I also had to have a biopsy that came out GOOD!! The thoughts of "what if" did consume my mind during the 7 to 10 working days while waiting for results tho. Funny enough I had the bill from the lab and the e.o.b. from insurance before I got the results. Hmmmm..... Is it any wonder people are fed up with health care?

Cleaning house

Yesterday was spent cleaning up my scrap space. It took all afternoon to dust, sort & reorganize it all into useful piles! I'm feeling very pleased with myself today & ready to get down to business..... Right after I hit the big sale at Michael's!!

Really mom?

The Question posed to me at 1:15am this morning..... It is no secret that I have occasional vivid dreams. Last night's was very vivid..... I woke up gasping for breath (out of a much needed DEAD sleep) with the only thought being a picture in my head of blood splatter on Delaney's bathroom ceiling. EWWW! I bolted into her bathroom, checked the ceiling ( still plain pink) and then went into her room (still apparently in somewhat of a sleeping state) . I had left the hall light on so I whipped off her blanket and started poking & prodding her. She kind of mumbled "mom???" I asked her if she was bleeding & she said "no, I am not on my period" meanwhile, I must of tickled her a bit because she goes, "really mom?" kind of giggled, grabbed her blanket, rolled over & went back to sleep. Much relieved, I climbed back over the gates to my own bed & thought about the last 30 seconds..... Once I reviewed them a few times in my head, I decided that it was kind of funny... Scary, but funny.... I guess you never totally outgrow sleep walking! I asked her today if she remembered me coming in & waking her up in the middle of the night. She said no, but she did ask why & laughed until she cried when I told her my story. Isn't it funny how it takes so much longer to tell a story then the actual time it took for the event to take place?? So goes the first day of her Jr year in high school...........

Blogging Layouts

I have finally learned how to use a new background for the blog! Devonne showed my how to do it. Now just picking the right one is going to be the chore.... I love Shelsscraps! She has some really neat stuff on her page!

Whore in a Sweater

Tonight I went out with Amy & Todd to Soboba Casino to watch her brothers band play. They are a newer band & are unsure of their name. They are using Soul Cracker (they have a white guy who sings r&b) but in the course of normal conversation (Somebody asking who was the whore in the sweater at a reunion they had been to) "Whore in a Sweater" came up. It was tossed around as a band name or great song lyric. They announced it somewhat jokingly as their name during their last set. Our table was a rather boisterous at the announcement. I met several of Amy's friends & had a really great time watching the mating dances being preformed by some of the people out their dancing. You have to hand it to them for going for it! I danced in my chair all night with most of the people at the table. It was tons of fun & I can't wait to do it again!

Happy Birthday Weekend DeVonne!

This weekend is DeVonne's birthday! She is a great sounding board, scrapping buddy, car pooler, dining out diva & most of all friend! In searching my pictures for a photo of her or us together, I had to go back to 2006! So beware my friends..... I will have a camera in hand & not be afraid to use it next time you see me!

Home Sweet Home

We left Grand Junction about 1pm after brunch with "Corky" When we were driving into Vegas we hit a mini monsoon!! HUGE wind gusts & 30 feet visibility with my wipers on as fast as they could go!! FOR 10 MINUTES!!! It was horrible! At least it was short lived! We decided to just drive all the way thru... We got home about 12:30 this morning.... We finally fell asleep between 2 & 3 this morning.... We are so glad to be home! Pippi is SO glad too!! Now that we are home, I am going to go back and add pictures to the postings from vacation. So go back and look!!

Dinner with Corky

Since we got in late & Shonna worked all day we decided to go out to dinner. We went to the Texas Roadhouse. It is a big noisy fabulous place to eat. Jon decided to tell our waitress that it was my 40th birthday. They brought out a saddle for me to ride on while they sang me Happy 40TH Birthday. It was so nice of Jon to think of me.... He is so going to get paid back in spades for this one day.... When he least expects it too!

The longest 4 hour drive....

When we got up and left Denver this morning we expected to roll into Junction about 3pm. We had some rain, but nothing outrageous.... THEN we got up towards the Eisenhower tunnel. There was an accident on the west side of it so they closed the 70 west. It was snowing, so that was appropriate. Then they diverted us to the 6 west. It is the truck go around the tunnel road. Then they decided it was to icy so they again turned us around. Then we pulled into Georgetown & asked a fire/rescue man if there was an alternate route. He gave us one..... By the time we got into Junction it was about 7 1/2 hours. We did see a fire on the way into town. Along the freeway. I think the fates are trying to tell us to get home! What a day! I was just glad it was not us in the accident!!

Spearfish SD

We made it to Spearfish in time for a later lunch... I had a malfunction when setting my alarm... You must put it to am instead of pm if you want it to go off... We hung out & visited & shopped & visited some more. We got to meet Matthew's girlfriend Dana. (she's my favorite that I have met) Josh got a new puppy. His name is Lincoln & he is 10 weeks old and the calmest Lab I have ever seen in my life. He tells him to stay and he does. He is beautiful & soft and cuddly too... I am sure he will grow up to be a big ol' beastly boy! We went and looked at a house with Josh too. It was a nice place. I think he will be in the market for a house here soon. We had a great time and left there after lunch at Cheyenne Crossing.

Wrapping it up

Today is our last day in Aberdeen. We got up early (9am ish) to run errands and be able to go to the fair to eat lunch. Melanie & I split a foot long corn dog & fry bread taco. Then Delaney had to go get a plain bread. She was horrified that the lady asked if she wanted powdered sugar & honey on it! I on the other hand was THRILLED!!! I promptly got myself one! The funnel cake place was not open yet, so this was a wonderful subsitute! Then we came home to watch Allie try on Zach's new football outfit. Pads and all. Not quite a fab fit. It took Melanie & I to get her out of it. Grandma Perla came over and hung out a bit. Then we went out to Mina for one last boat ride & home so Brian & Zach could go to their first football practice. Now it is time to pack it in & load the car so we can hit the road in the morning about 7 for Spearfish.

Mina Lake

Today we got up & had coffee with Nancy & Perla. We laughed til 12:30 when it was time to get ready to go to the lake! Brian & Melanie have a place out on the lake (about 20 minutes away) and we took the boat out & rode the tubes! It was really fun. I rode the little tube with Allie & that didn't work out so well for me. I slid off. Then we borrowed Super Mabel from Brian's brother Chad. It holds 3 people at a time sitting up on a mattress like "sled" I rode it with Allie & Morg's. It was GREAT! We had fun & when we pulled in without anybody falling off SOMEONE (Chad) rode by on a jet ski & doused us good! It was funny. Everybody saw it coming but us. It was super fun. Hopefully tomorrow Melania & Delaney will go in the water. It is SO fun!

Aberdeen SD

We made it into Aberdeen SD today. We stopped over in Murdo last night. Great beds at the hotel again! Our drive was fairly uneventful. I did kill a bird who was silly enough to fly into my car. Delaney pointed out a herd of beautiful black cows and as soon as I looked over, one of them climbed up on the other one for some bovine love. We laughed til we had some tears on that..... Then today driving north, I almost hit Bambi! We did see more then 1 deer. One had a rack of antlers that anybody would be proud to have on their wall! We hung out with grandma for a bit today & then my aunt Jennifer is moving out of her 3rd floor walk up. (42 stairs up from the street) into a 6 stair walk up. WHY??? I was the door monitor. I was really good at opening it for them as they came out. I did go all the way up once. That was enough! We are going over tomorrow to help her clean it out & get the last few little things. She had a large group of men tonight to help her with all the boxes & furniture! (thank goodness as she has lots of stuff) And last but not least..... why do the mosquito's love me so much? I have gotten a few nice bites already & tonight when I got gas one of the little buggers got me right on the forehead. I am sure I will resemble a cyclops tomorrow! I will let you know......

odds & ends

Today is our last day in Grand Junction CO. We went shopping at the mall for what seemed like days.... Sami got the rest of her school cloths & her b-day/Christmas presents from me! I love saving on shipping/handling. Delaney made out pretty good as well.... Shonna had gotten her 2 gift cards for at the mall & she got to spend them. They really have good sales this time of the year... Then we went to the Mongolian Grill. You get a bowl & you go thru a salad bar style line where you pick your meat, then you season it, then you load your bowl with veggies as many as you can fit, then you pick your sauce then they grill it for you and put it over your choice of rices or pastas. It was the bomb! We also had a yummy desert...

Cheesecake pie

1/4 c raspberry spread
1 6oz graham cracker crust
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 1/2 cup milk
2-4oz size cheesecake flavor pudding mix
1 tsp grated lemon peel (optional)
1 8oz tub cool whip
spread raspberry spread on bottom of crust, top with raspberries. pour milk into bowl & add pudding mixes & lemon peel. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes. Immediately stir in cool whip. Spoon over raspberries in crust & refrigerate 3 hours minimum before serving.