OMG

I have a little hidden obsession with the reality show Dancing with the Stars. I do not rearrange my schedule to watch but if I am not available I do record it on my DVR and watch as soon as I can. Well tonight, I along with many others across the nation, were shocked at the results. It seems that little miss Cheetah Girl, Sabrina Bryant, was eliminated. She looked so scared as they started announcing who was safe and who was in the bottom two. You could practically see her shaking. She was a contender from day one and last night was her last dance. It was likely her worst dance, not a good way to end it. I feel sorry for her but was impressed with her professionalism and her ability to hold it together with grace. The boys will be mad, we had voted for her a couple of weeks but not last night. Was it our fault? I won't blame myself but I do feel for her. Hopefully this exposure will help her continue to climb the ladder of success.

Oh yeah, and the boys went trick or treating tonight and we had company. My pal Vicki and he daughter Megan joined us. We had a fun time and have plenty of candy for the time being. We were out longer than I had planned but not by much. The weather was quite bearable and the company was good. The boys have Halloween Parties at school tomorrow. They'll come home plenty wired I'm sure. Gotta love a cupcake high!

The way it all went down

OK, so here is my trip report backwards. I uploaded these photos and could not get them to go the other direction. We headed to IN on Friday around lunch. I drove with a migraine until I had to pull over and take a 30 minute nap, then we got into IL to drive through rain all the way across the state. No one coordinated potty breaks very well and since it was raining the wet dog smell was tough to avoid in the enclosed car. The good news... We Made It!

Friday we visited for just a few minutes with mom and dad then crashed. Saturday I ran a couple of errands, the boys went to sell raffle tickets with my dad and my wonderful mom gave my dog a haircut! Around lunch Joan, Mike, Natalie and Landry came over to hang and eat tasty grilled cheese. We hung out, I got another birthday present! and tried to keep the princess entertained. All of the sudden it was time to go to the main event, Tyler's Eagle Ceremony. The camp was super busy but we found a place to park and headed in. The ceremony was really nice, we saw lots of people we hadn't seen in a long time and we had Papa John's Pizza for dinner. I was a happy camper for sure!

After Tyler's event the boys ran around for a bit then we parted ways. We got lost going to my sister's but made it in time to hang out a bit before getting down to business. This was not strictly a social event. We had 1000 envelopes to stuff. Well, we got 995 done before we ran short on one item. Close enough in my book! We then headed back to mom and dad's to crash. The boys of course weren't too tired but I managed to send them to bed around 10 Iowa time.

Morning came way too soon. We were up and the boys spent some time playing with the puppies while I got ready for my day and loaded the car. We headed out a little before 10 to meet up with the in-laws for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. After a too quick meal we headed west, destination HOME.

The drive was pretty uneventful. We made three stops at McDonald's, don't ask, and did a little better with bathroom breaks. We drove about 500 miles in 7 hours and 45 minutes. The breaks were short and the roads were dry. This was a good trip.




This was the view I had waited for all day! Heading west through Iowa I got to enjoy the sunset and my music as the boys munched on McDonald's "one more time" and one last time this weekend.






This wonderful lady set my kids up for Halloween. Candy, coins and Spiderman folders! She always has treats for us. This time we got cereal and Mac N Cheese. I love it when she does my grocery shopping. I men that with complete sincerity.







We met the Culp, party of three, at Cracker Barrel for breakfast before heading back to IA. While we were waiting to be seated Mary received a VERY exciting phone call. It seems that little miss Megan had won a story writing contest sponsored by the Logansport Pharos Tribune! Her mom was practically glowing with pride! Other BIG Culp news is Matt's move to the day shift at SIA. I don't think it is called that anymore, but you get the idea. He has worked second shift forever. This will be a big adjustment for everyone in the house. Good luck guys! PS Mary, I am seriously interested in getting that CVS song. If you ever get the chance to download it for your phone system send it my way. PPS, Matt, Denise is taking care of my Aspen Mulling Spices. She is headed this way in less than two weeks and knows exactly where to get them. Let's just pray they carry them this year!












Will's favorite part of the trip was seeing Tango's puppies! They have cute "dance" related names like: Salsa, Samba, Twister (the twist), Big and Little Bertha and ???. All VERY sweet even when they pee in your lap, right Will?








A definite bonus to going to Indy was seeing this cutie! My first nephew Landry.

The reason for our trip stands above, the handsome blond in uniform. Congrats on your accomplishment Tyler and kudos to mom Denise too! Love you both. The boys really enjoyed spending time with Tyler after the ceremony. They ran around like hooligans at Camp Belzer and have the dirty clothes to prove it. They are pretty pumped that our friends will be heading west to IA in less than two weeks to see us. It will be a short visit but I am quite certain that we will pack it with FUN!

On the move...

Got you thinking didn't I? You thought I was going to announce my new address didn't you? Well, not so fast people! We are just moving east this weekend for some time with family and friends who are just like family.

The boys and the dog and I are on our way to IN tomorrow around noon. I plan to go to work for the fun part of my day, that would be UNO at the nursing home and taking S to work. Once I get that taken care of I will go pick up my own kids, then the dog and head outta dodge.

I am hopeful that we will have an uneventful trip to and from with lots of mellow fun while we are there. The boys are excited to see cousins, grandparents and their god-brother while we are there. I am looking forward to the 36 hours between the two eight hour days of driving.

Fred is crazy busy at work so he will be busy busy busy here while we are away. Hopefully our being gone will give him less to be distracted by. He was super busy last weekend since I was attending my bus class all day Saturday. He should get a little break from us this weekend. It seems fair. He may try to get a couple of projects done around the house. I really have no expectations beyond him doing the laundry so we all have clean underwear for Monday. I know he can handle that!

Speaking of the bus class... I received in the mail today a certificate suitable for framing. I can not imagine who might actually do that, but I found it helpful that they marked where I could fold the paper so that I can frame it to wow all my peers. I suppose I'd be willing to show that bus driver certification off as soon as I get paid as a bus driver. Until then, back into the manila envelope it goes.

OK I am worn out! I can not wait till I get a good nights rest again. Will came in way early this morning and Fred has been sleeping poorly all week. His tossing and turning leads me to do the same. I'll be glad when his to do list is shorter and he is not so stressed. That leads to bad night for him. Poor guy needs a break, oh and I do to! I am off to see if I can get to sleep before him, maybe if I am deep enough into REM he won't bother me. Here's hoping!

Tuesday 10

I have seen some other bloggers do list of 10 things on Tuesday. They are really random list of 10 things, so here goes mine...

10 things I could make for dinner (but won't tonight)
1. Tacos
2. Chicken Enchiladas
3. Spaghetti
4. Homemade Chicken strips
5. Peanut Chicken
6. Teriyaki Chicken
7. Pork Tenderloin in the crock pot
8. French Toast
9. Hamburgers
10. Homemade Pizza

Off to cook?????

We might get our money's worth?

Here are some photos of the boys playing in their Halloween costumes. They have their homework done, ate their yummy dinner (thanks mom!) and even had homemade cookies for dessert. Instead of just getting their PJ's on they got their PJ's and costumes on. I am laughing out loud because their mock Star Wars battle is driving the dog absolutely crazy. You would think that there were real special effects and everything. Best $ spent on costumes to date!

Sorry, it's been a few days...

I have very good reason for not writing in a few days. Thursday was kinda hectic after school as I needed to prep the house for the sitter. I had to go to the first 1/3rd of my Bus Class that night. Thankfully the boys were in good hands with Sara and I could concentrate on the task at hand. I was concerned about how applicable the class would be for me since I am not running a "real" route, before and after school. Well, thankfully or maybe not, I had plenty to learn and felt the time fly by. 4 hours later I headed home with my head swimming. It seems that I was not very well prepared for my bus job and I learned way more than I should have in this class. The good news is that this class is required and the bad news is that it is required. Friday was a weird day at school and I invited some of the girls over to celebrate completing the week but everyone scattered so no commiserating, I mean celebrating, was done. It all worked out though. I needed to get some stuff together for my monthly scrap night.

Fred got home a little after 6 and I left a little before 7. I got 5 pages done, well, no journaling but the layouts are pretty well complete. Yeah! I had fun chatting with the girls in the group too. A good way to end the week.

Saturday morning came way too early. I had to get up at my usual 6:39 to be out the door by 7:30. I was quiet enough not to wake the boys and I headed back for the next 2/3rds of my bus class. It ran from 8-4 with a working lunch. I continued to learn plenty and although my butt got tired of sitting it was well worth my time. I have a laundry list of stuff I learned, concerns I have and expectation for improvement by me and the transportation people. I have to figure out how to share the information most effectively but that is going to have to wait a few days while I calm down and contemplate.

Today was great so far. We laid low this morning waking up in shifts and we were all dressed and out the door around 12:00 to go to Ames. I kinda kept putting off Halloween costume plans and realized we only had 9 days left until the big night. Nic has decided to recycle his costume from last year, he is a Jedi I think, and Will is going to be Obi Wan Kenobi. Fred was shocked by the price of costumes, just why I kept putting off buying them. Well, we have two new light sabers, one new costume and two happy boys. Yeah!

I am baking a pumpkin pie, my second of the season. Fred is home all week so I thought I'd make something he'll enjoy working through with Nic. They are the pie guys around here. I am going to go do some ironing for the 45 mins it has left to bake. Tis the season for long sleeved shirts that need ironed. Gosh I miss the $1.50 dry cleaner in MI.

Another day...

Well as Wednesday comes to a close I again can be thankful for SOOO much.

First and foremost, my mom called tonight and I recognized her voice and that made me feel so loved. She is still recuperating for an unknown illness, blood tests should tell more tomorrow, and she loves me and took the time and energy to call me. I am so blessed.

Second and nearly as important, Will and I made a deal that involved "trying" and it worked and he is not in pain tonight. Amen!

Third, my DH called and shared that he bought me a gift. He loves me and that makes me smile even when he is a few states away. It was a silly gift bought out of guilt, not to me, but to the lady who reeled him into her kiosk, but it is thoughtful and sincere and something that I have wanted to try, as I too was intrigued by a lady at a kiosk once, but could never bring myself to buy. Sweet sweet DH.

Fourth, but not least, my godson was traveling to spend the weekend with his dad tonight. He had to fly through Midway out of Indy. His flight was delayed and he got to Midway late and basically missed the last flight to his ultimate destination. Well, the boy talked to the gate agent who called the pilot who turned the plane around and returned to the terminal to get him on board. AMAZING I tell you! His mother's worst fear, her son stranded in an airport overnight, was about to be realized, but it wasn't and he will safely get to his dad tonight.

I need to go and tidy up my house for the sitter who will be spending the evening with the boys tomorrow. I must attend my DOT/DoE Bus Driver Education Class tomorrow night and Saturday. I know you will all be waiting with baited breath to hear all about what I have learned. I asked the bus barn lady if I needed to take anything with me to class to show I was registered or anything, she said, "Nope, just No Doze." Well, I think that says it all. Good night!