Stop! Confession Time!

Friday!  The best day of the week adn the best time of the day is coming--going home time.  But before we can get on with the weeeknd, some confessing must be done:

• I hate lingering coughs.
• I have a nasty one right now from being sick earlier this week.
• Mornings are OK, but the cough gets worse as the day goes on.
• By evening it sounds like I'm trying to hack up a lung.
• Not fun.
• Our puppy is definitely growing.
• He might end up being bigger than we thought he would.
• Bruiser took a tumble down the stairs this morning. 
• All of them to the basement.
• Thanks goodness they are carpeted.
• And that he's little.
• He has a scrap on his back, but that's it.
• I, on the other hand, about had a heart attack.
• Laundry weekend.
• Enough said.
• Oh so ready to be going home from work.

So what do you have to confess this week?
Link them up with Aubrey.

Just Kill Me

Sometimes we are faced with things we really really don't want to do.  For me, this is public speaking, like giving a presentation.  I loathe it.  But every time I do it, I get good reviews and feel just a bit better about myself. What doesn't kill me makes me stronger.  But dying sounds so much easier.
This week the spin cycle is all about things that could kill you, but don't and you end up a stronger or better person.  I am an introvert and a creature of habit.  I like to stay firmly in my comfort zone.  Life really doesn't let me stay there though.  I am constantly pushed to do things that I don't want to do for work and with my kids.  Things I would actively avoid given the choice.

• Public speaking
• Teacher conferences (they still kind of intimidate me)
• project plans at work
• presentations for work
• contacting people I don't know for work

These are just some examples of things I wouldn't do if I didn't have to.  But some things that have moved me out of my comfort zone have brought me some very nice rewards.  Going back to school after I had Turbo has turned out well.   I was very afraid I wouldn't be able to do the math--calculus was kind of scary--but I did it and did it well.
Working as an exploration geologist was a whole new realm for me, but I did well at that too.  They didn't ask me to present anything, thank goodness.  After that tanked, I was able to beleive in myself enough to talk to the financial coordinator in the geology department and see if she knew of anything that might be available that I could do and it got me the job I have currently.  All things I would not have just spontaneously done.
I do have to give credit to Nick.  He has faith in me and pushes me to do more than I would without him.  Knowing he believes in me makes it a bit easier to suck it up and just do it.  (I push him too, but that's a whole nother story.)
So while I might have wanted to die before doing the uncomfortable things, I have turned out stronger for doing them.  What has made you want to die, but feel stronger after it was over?
Spin it up and join Gretchen and Ginny Marie for other spins and link up!

WWTK-Favorites And I am Alive

Hi everyone!  I know you were all worried sick about me, right?  No?  Well maybe one or two of you.  I was down with the flu.  So much fun. Doing better now and trying to play catch up with everything that had to slide while mom was down.  Not that Nick did a bad job, but there were things I still had to catch up on.
Now let's see what We Want To Know has for this week:
{1} If you could be any animal, what would you be?  A cat.  They have a wonderful life.  Eat, sleep, be loving when they want to, pampered, and they look so cool.
{2} What is your favorite color, why? I really like Green.  I look good in just about any shade of it and it is soothing to me.  Purple runs a close second though.
{3} If you could only have one meal for a month, what would it be? Lobster.  I love seafood and we live so far away from the ocean that it's a real treat when we do have it.
{4} What is your dream car? An SUV.  One that I can load up and then take to the mountains and drive down a bumpy dirt road with no trouble. Not wildly picky about the make or model as long as it's four wheel drive.
{5} If you could be doing anything right now, what would you want to do? At home sleeping or reading with absolutely no interruptions and all the tasty snacks (that won't add a pound no matter how much I eat) I want.

So, how would you answer the questions?

Link up with Kensie and Scriptor.  They would love to have you join in.

Confession Time Friday

Whew, survived the week.  I have not been so happy to see a Friday in a very long time. Nick gts back this afternoon and I get some relief in the kiddo department.  Helpful, because I think the kids were generous with their germs and I have what they had last weekend.  Yay!

• I truly wish my kids could kepp thier germs to themselves.
• Thullee is fitting in just fine.
• He's driving Guiness nuts, but Guiness is dealing with him far better than we expected.
• He getting big too.
• We had frost this morning.
• I had to turn the furnace on.
• Tis the season of warm chili, soups and casseroles.
• Not that I have a go to casserole.
• Should probably try to figure one out.
• Got any suggestions?
• With fall comes all the fall stuff we need to do.
• Like get firewood.
• Clean windows.
• Find the snow shovel.
• Tune up the Four wheeler.
• Send Nick hunting.
• Start baking.
• Wash all the blankets in the house.
• Kind of like spring cleaning, only it's so the house is nice to be in when wee can't go outside.
• When Winter lasts as long as it does here, we definitely need the house to be nice.
• Helps some with the cabin fever.

So do you have confessions for this nippy Friday in September?  Link them up with Aubrey.

 

Spin Cycle--What I Did...

...On Summer Vacation.  Yep, time for a recap of what we did on summer vacation.  With pictures (this nets extra credit!)
Summer started for us with this:

That was June.  Just after school got out.

There were squirt gun fights.

We camped for the Fourth with some rafting and dam building.

I went to a Jamie Johnson concert.

Crash.

Ride 'em Turbo.

Some park fun.

Then we cooked pizza on the grill.

Turbo got braces.
In August we:

Camped again--Woo Hoo three trips this summer!

I turned 40 on the Green River.  The best way to turn 40 ever!

We got a puppy.

And then it was back to school time.  For Labor Day weekend we replaced our fence. It looks great.

And that was, in a nutshell, what we did for summer vacation. I'm tired after looking at it. But what great memories!
Go see Gretchen and Ginny Marie for other spins, or spin up your own take on summer vacation and link up!

A Letter To the Boys

I found this link on Kensie's blog, but the original link was on Sarah's blog Our Journey.  It's Flash Forward Fun.  This week it a letter to your kids in the future.  Sounded fun, so here goes:

Dear Turbo - You are our first.  The one we made mistakes with, grew with and really figured out this parenting thing with.  You have given us some of our best moments and some of our worst. Know that we love every inch of you.  Your creativity, quirky sense of humor and genuine love for those around you make you very special.  Never lose that.
For now, though, let's take a few guesses on what you'll be like in the future...

Food Preferences: I hope you will end up loving food as much as your dad does.  you will probably be able to put away as much as he did when he was your age.

Studying/Profession: You have always expressed interest in the sciences.  Which ever one you choose, I know you will give it your all and be the best you can be at it.

Children: I really hope you do, you will make a wonderful father.

Sports: A state champion swimmer and possibly cross country skier. but you enjoyed the school plays you were in and enjoyed band too.

Settle Down: where ever life takes you, hopefully someplace fun to visit.

Tattoos/Piercings: not going to say no, express yourself , but remember, you do need to be presentable for work.

Personality: A total extrovert that is everyone's friend.  Fun to be around and if not the life of the party, definitely a necessary component to the fun.

Dogs or Cats?: Dog.

Republican/Democrat: A moderate with Republican leanings, mostly because that's what we are.

Grades: Solid average--B with As in subjects you enjoy.

Height and Weight at 18: 6'3" and 150.  Tall and skinny.   You're headed that way now.

Grow up to be yourself, no matter what the crowd seems to want.  Be strong and be kind.
 
Love you!
-Mom

Dear Bruiser - You are and always will be my baby.  As the youngest, you have had to work to differentiate yourself from your older brother.  You are most definitely your own person. Stubborn, determined, fun to be with and sweet. Know that your parents love you for you and always be yourself.
For now, though, mom has a few guesses on what you'll be like in the future...

Food Preferences:You are going to be a bit pickier, you are right now, but hopefully as you grow you will try new things, there's some really good food out there, trust me. You will probably be able to pack it away like your dad and older brother.  I have scary memories of the teen years.

Studying/Profession: Totally up in the air right now--you're not even 5 yet.  Going with your interests, superhero? Not a really viable career path, but you never know.

Children: Yep, kids, cause you'd be great with them.

Sports: you love your sports.  I'm going with football and basketball, maybe wrestling, baseball.  You do love the ball sports. You also loved the choir and band as well.

Settle Down: Close to home, far away, either as long as you're happy.

Tattoos/Piercings: Same goes for you as for Turbo.

Personality: More the introvert like your mom.  You gauge the gathering and then dive in.  You will have a few really good friends, but not be the life of the party.  That's OK.  Being an introvert is great.

Dogs or Cats?: Dogs, duh! 

Republican/Democrat: Moderate with conservative leanings.  We are and that rubs off.

Grades: School came easy to you and you excelled.

Height and Weight at 18: 6'1" and 170, built solid from the ground up.


It's been fun watching you grow into who you are today.  I really love you and hope you have a great life.  I also really hope you are close to your brother and that you always know you have someone to rely on there.

Love you!
-Mommy

 

WWTK-Extra, Extra!

This week on We Want to Know, we want to know how much you know about the news.  So here goes:

 

1.) How up on current events are you? I stay aware of what's going one, but try not to over saturate myself.  Which is not so easy in this day and age when information is at your fingertips. We don't really have local news expect for a newpaper that we don't subscribe to.  And it's website stinks.
2.) Do you watch, listen to, or read the news? I like to read my news on the internet. We don't usually watch the news, most of ours comes from Denver and is not terribly relevant to us.  Where do you get it from? I will check MSNBC and YaHoo news for major headline stuff.  There are a couple of local websites that I use to keep up with local stuff.
3.) Do you use social networking to find out about world events? Not really.  I've found that most of the stuff that comes through social networks is highly biased. Not that the major news isn't biased, but on social networks the possibily that it's been altered is greater--it's like the old game of Telephone or Gossip, by the time it gets to me it has no real connection to what it was to start with.
4.) What is one news-like event that has happened in your city recently? Our college football team is doing really well this year.  Doesn't seem like much, but welcome to small town Wyoming (even if we are one of the larger towns in our state.) Close to us, but not, is all the flooding in Colorado.  The road damage alone will be impacting the area for the next year or more.
5.) Would you like to be more or less aware of things happening in the world? Sometimes more aware, but then when something does happen we hear about it to exhaustion and I don't care anymore.

So how do you stay up on current events?

Link up with Kensie and Scriptor.  They would love to have you join in.

Random Musings

Made it through Monday.  I'm pretty glad yesterday is yesterday.  It was not so stellar a day. Onward to Tuesday! And the random:

• Parents can make you crazy.  One of the chairs in our living room is showing some wear and tear.  My mother so kindly informed me that she switches her chairs around monthly to even out the wear on them. Yeah, I'd do the same if I didn't have an entire house to look after along with three other people. But thanks for the tip Mom.
• Both boys got sick over the weekend.  Bruiser had a wonderful cough.  Turbo got a sore throat and was actually the sicker of the two.  They both stayed home yesterday.  Today, Bruiser goes to school. Turbo gets another day at home resting. 
• Has anyone else found the Not Always Right site?  It showcases how stupid people can be. It is entertaining.
• I am on my own this week.  Nick is out in the field looking at outcrops of the reservoirs we work with. He's having fun, staying in a hotel and eating out.  I'm at home with the boys.  Fun times.
• Thullee is growing fast.  He's half again as big as when we brought him home.  Guiness is very tolerant of Thullee's enthusiasm.  We are getting better at the getting him outside to potty, and he's getting better at giving us some sort of sign he needs to go out. My carpets are very happy about this.
• The laundry mountain was enormous this weekend.  I swear the loads were spawning in the dark.  It was nuts the amount I had to do.  And I still have sheets to wash.
• I have to have another date with Jillian.  Probably two this week.  I'd prefer three, but the schedule won't allow for that. Especially with Nick gone.
• And to show that even teh most protesting kid can be shot down but the tired bug:

• And the puppy is oh, so loved.

So what's your random?  Link it up!
Stacy is back with the Random Rebel, so link up your random!

Now That the Rain Has Come, and Gone

So we finally got to see the sun this morning.  That last time we saw it was last Sunday. That was a really long time of off and on rain, sometimes heavy, for 7 days.  We were lucky and didn't get the flooding that happened south of us in Colorado. It did usher in a more fall like feel, but got kind of dreary after a while.

Friday evening I got a girl's night out.  We had drinks, conversation, and then headed home. Once I got home, Nick had a friend from college who was in town for a visit so we had drinks on the back deck.  I maybe had a few too many.  Saturday morning was rough for me.  I was more than a little hungover. Haven't done that in a really long time.  I think what got me was the mixing of alcohols.

 Anyhangover, Saturday was mostly a bust for me.  I was a complete bum. Nick ran errands, helped his folks, I laid on the couch. This did not get any laundry done.  The dishes piled up. By afternoon, I was sort of feeling better and was able to resume more normal mom duties.

Sunday was a lazy day.  I got more laundry done (which has been mating in the dark and making an obscene amount of laundry). I even made dinner, clam chowder. However, Turbo came down with a sore throat and bruiser has a nasty cough.  So today, I'm home with them both as couch lumps. Fun times.

So how did your weekend go?  Hopefully better than ours did.  I could have done without the self inflicted brown bottle flu.

Soggy Confession

So it still raining here.  I know, some places having 4 days of rain is not something to take note of, but here it is.  Just south of us in Colorado, things are flooding like crazy.  We have flash flood warnings here. We got 3/4 of and inch of rain at our house yesterday.  It's a monsoon, people! Any way, on to the confassions:

• I recieved my first confirmation that I am 40 in the mail earlier this week.  
• Time magazine evidently feels that my turning 40 entitles me to their senior citizen's discount.
• They mailed me the offer on Tuesday.
• See:

 

•  I am most definitely not a senior citizen.

• Next I will be getting AARP stuff in the mail.
• When did 40 become senior citizen territory?
• Although, the discount is amazing.
• If I was at all interested in Time, I'd take the offer.
• I get a girl's night tonight!  
• Really looking forward to it!
• And I must do the workout tomorrow.
• Blech. 
• But yea to pant fitting better!
• Keep the goals in mind!
• I think I might, just might get a scale.
• Nick hates them, but I want something to help keep track of progress.
• Maybe if I don't keep it in the bathroom it won't bother Nick so much.

Well, I need to go find the umbrellas.  If the rain keeps up we will have to get to work on an ark.  It's not like we don't have the wood to build something that would float.
Stay dry, and have a fabulous weekend!

Do you have anything to confess?  Post it and join up with Aubrey and feel all good going into the weekend.

Dreaded Exercise

I am sore.  Not as sore as I thought I'd be, but definitely sore. and in places I didn't think would get so sore.  I am also not sore in places I should be. See, I started Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I have done level one twice now.
I really wish there was the option to watch the video as a first time viewer and then as a seasoned viewer.  After I have done the routine a couple times, I really don't need all the explanation. I just need motivating talk and encouragement to keep going. (And I really wish she would keep doing the exercises.  She less motivating when she doesn't do the exercises herself as long as she demands from us.  Personal irritation.)
She really likes to hear herself talk.  I really want to tell her to shut up and just exercise after about 15 minutes.
I have found I hate jumping jacks.  After a couple kids and kidney stones, well, the plumbing has a leak or two. But only when doing jumping jacks. Yeah, so that's fun.
I suppose, in the long run this will be good for me.  Although I don't think I'm going to be able to do this daily for 30 days.  Life gets in the way too much.  I'm aiming for 3-4 days a week. Or as often as I can.
I also got Zumba Core for the Xbox.  I still need to try it out.  I'm hoping that I can use that for some exercise this winter. 
Anyone got any other exercise routines that you do regularly--that I can do at home, indoors?  Our weather will be limiting us to indoor activities soon. It's already too dark to run in the mornings.

From clker.com

I will keep telling myself that exercise is fun and should be part of my day.  My body does not believe me, but I'm going to keep saying it until it does.

WWTK--Fall is in the Air

We Want to Know time.  Up this week is fall.  It is definitely fall like here--rain, cold temps, shorter days--and I'm kind of digging it.  Not the rain so much, but the fall feeling in the air.

1. How do you feel about all of the pumpkin spice themed goodies? I'm OK with it--although it does seem a bit pervasive.  I will be making our Pumpkin pie bread soon.  That is when it is officially fall.  When it's cool enough to bake.
2. Do you have anything you do to prepare for the fall weather? Swap the sandals for shoes, dig out the sweatshirts and sweaters, when the weather permits, wash the outside of the windows.
3. What is your favorite fall activity? We have so amny things we do in the fall.  Go cut firewood, go hunting, process meat if Nick is lucky, but my favorite one is going to the mountains to see the leaves change.  The aspens turn yellow and they look awesome against the green of the pines.
4. Do you have any fun traditions around this time of year? With kids, the focus is of course Halloween.  Then Thanksgiving and the whole holiday rush. We do have a snow dance that we have the kids do before snow storms.  It makes the snow fun and not such a chore.
5. What is something you are looking forward to? Right now, making cookies with my mom, and hopefully Nick will manage to get an animal hunting, we really could use the meat in the freezer.

What do you feel about fall?  Grab the questions and link up!

Link up with Kensie and Scriptor.  They would love to have you join in.

Gloomy Random

It's still kind of rainy and gloomy here.  Makes me want to curl up with a good book and drink hot chocolate. But other things demand that I not do that--bills, kids, dogs, hubby...
Anyway on with the random:

• I'm not a fan of sand.  There is a sand volleyball court in the park a block from our house.  Last night the boys discovered the wet sand and had a blast playing in it.  They came home with sand in their hair, on their faces, everywhere. And wet sand sticks. To everything. They both showered to try and get the sand out of their hair, but I bet there's still some there.
• Rain.  Yesterday it came down in buckets for a while--enough that we got a quarter inch at our house in like 20 minutes.  That is lots of rain for us, where we have months that we average less than an inch. It was kind of fascinating to watch.
• This morning as I was walking to work (in the sprinkle of rain) I saw these:

•  Hummingbird moths getting breakfast from the flowers.  these guys were huge, but it made me smile on the walk to the building.
• Thule is fitting in wonderfully.  He's terrible about going outside to potty, but he'll catch on soon.  He is very enthusiastic about attention.  We call it a puppy explosion.  He just sort of explodes on to you.  Last night he launched himself off the sofa to my chair and landed on my head. He's a spaz.  But he does like to cuddle up to Guiness, who is very long suffering.

•  Bruiser is still hit and mostly miss on the pooping front, but he's making some forward progress.  I've decided that I'm done putting pressure on him.  He gets to clean himself up and his unders and if he goes Woo hoo, but otherwise, hey dude, clean up. Nothing else has worked.

Stacy is back with the Random Rebel, so link up your random!