My Three Monsters....

I figured I would give you a peek on how the kids enjoyed the weekend:

Yes, they were cold...

Some were freezing...

Some enjoyed the view...

A Quick Trip....

We snuck away for a quick trip. It was just an overnighter, but we had a blast. We headed down south to Monterey. On our way down, we stopped at our regular dining choice of Andersen's Pea Soup in Santa Nella. The kids know it by the windmill turning atop the building. Don and I grabbed a sandwich and, of course, Pea Soup!!!

Once we checked into our hotel we settled a few things before taking off walking throughout the town. We had a nice set up in our room, but please do not let the bedding tempt you because the mattresses were the hardest I have ever felt. I spent a long night tossing and turning feeling absolutely miserable. Don and the kids felt the same exact way. None of us slept. Yes, the hotel did happen to hear about it.

As we walked to Cannery Row we came across this beautiful mosaic mural hanging upon one building. This is only a sample as it was absolutely huge. My kids were excited as they studies some of the explorers whose names are inscribed upon this wall. The kids spent a good ten minutes studying this mural.

I found a really neat little store that sells Silver jewelry. All they had to do is mention everything was half off and i began my shopping spree. As I have always had an incredible curiosity with the sea I was thrilled to find a small square locket decorated with abalone. This picture does not do it justice in any way. I went back the following morning and purchased a locket for Corinna and Molly as well. They were thrilled!!!

After our restless attempt of sleep we drove down to Cannery Row to finish looking at shops when we came across the sweet little couple staring up at us. The girls had fun taking many pictures of our furry little friends.

As our trip wouldn't be complete without my favorite stop. I had to stop at my Ghiradelli shop to bring home my favorite chocolates. Yum!!!! And no... I do not share well....ask my children

The trip was fun, the kids had fun. We were worn to death and yet, even in our exhaustion we were not stupid enough to pay $225 for a shirt we found for sale in Carmel. At least I have some sense left in me!!!! Well, it was a fun trip. Hopefully next month's trip will be just as fun!!!!

I will miss him...

Not because of the numerous temples he has helped dot the earth with. Not because of the many sacred responsibilities he has carried off with grace and humility. It is because of his humor and most especially his heart that I will miss him, but I am ecstatic that dear Marjorie will have her eternal sweetheart back with her. He returned with honor and has most certainly heard the words: "Well done, though good and faithful son" falling from our Heavenly Father's lips.

My Dear Hubby...

I was off to take care for the banking for the store and walked in to see my hubby talking to his brother down in Texas. He was talking to him about buying property. Now, in our plans Don and I would like to buy a few hundred acres in a part of Texas to give us enough room to have our own pond for fishing...duck hunting for Don, and enough trees and cover for the deer to come in. I also want to build the house of my dreams which is oddly enough almost like Vikingsholm Castle in beautiful Emerald Bay in South Lake Tahoe. If any of you have made the hike down and up to it. I guarantee it is well worth it to take the tour...and fairly cheap as well. So, Don has given me the nod that if I can pay for my dream house then we will build it. Good enough!!!! That part was not what meant so much to me. He told his brother that once my book was published and the money was there we would be buying the property, which I told him the entire time that it was my plan to do that. When his brother questioned how long that would take Don responded. "Troy, you have no idea. I have prayed about it, and know that it will happen. She will get it out there and it is going to be a success." My brother-in-law then offered to pose for the cover. I politely declined explaining that I would rather have Fabio than Flabio and that I could get into copyright infringement since he already posed for the artists at Lucasfilm as Jabba the Hut!!!! Now, please understand he is a nice guy, very trim and healthy. he works out and is great shape...but not what I have in mind by any means. It just meant some much for my hubby to have so much confidence and praying that my dreams would come true in getting it published as I helped him get to where he owned his own business...his dream has come true. He told me that I have given him everything: a temple marriage, three pretty cool kids, and now helping him to own his own business. If he gets any sweeter I'll have to sell him to Hershey's so I can afford the land!!!! Hee hee!!!

What do you think?

Relevant "Logic". . Everyone concentrates on the problems we're having in this country lately; illegal immigration, hurricane recovery, alligators attacking people in Florida Not me. I concentrate on solutions for the problems. It's a win-win situation.+ Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border.+ Send the dirt to New Orleans to raise the level of the levies.+ Put the Florida alligators in the moat along the Mexican border.Any other problems you would like for me to solve today?<

by the way...i did not write this. i simply read it and laughed about the truth behind it!!!

Listening to the radio...

Being that that we own a general store we have the radio tuned to a country station. Right now they are playing the duet with Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus called: "Get Ready, Get Set, Don't Go." If you have not heard this song, I would think you were crazy, it is about Billy's daughter Miley growing up and leaving the nest. I really feel the same way. Corinna is 13 now and I look and remember back to taking her to her first day at kindergarten and remember what it was like to let her stretch her wings a bit. She was five years old and I was excited for her., just like another friend who is recently very excited about her son going to Sunbeams. The kids just grow up so fast and now I look to find my oldest daughter now a teen, next year she is allowed to go to church dances, the year after she starts working part time after school, the following year she starts dating, then she heads into senior year and college. Where did my baby go?!?!?! At the same time though, I am excited for all these really cool experiences she is going to have and she is ready for them. As she ages and matures bit by bit I will ready to watch her shine, but for now I want to keep my baby fairly near for the last five years of her youth.

Who in the world is reading this?!?!?!

I just took a look at my counter and realized that I was up around 1470. Who are you people reading this. I have received one comment from a person down in South America who apparently has added my rantings to her blog roll. Truly my life is not that exciting!!!! I feel as bored with my life as the next person!!! I know my core of friends who read, but it seems there are others out there lurking. hmmm... I wonder who the are!?!? For those who are tuned into my dearest boring blog I am headed to Monterey this Monday. Perhaps I will find a few good pictures to add on here!!!! Then I won't feel quite as boring!!!

If I had them...

Now, I do have to admit...if I had the money at the time to buy my kids rain boots I sure would have. While all the other kids at school had these beautiful little boots they wore to school. My children dealt with tennis shoes. it hurt that we could not provide for the kids. We simply did not have the money...I had $25 to budget our meals for the week with. it made things very difficult and that is where the depression came in. So, my dear friends please understand I was truly not trying to "one-up" one of the other coolest mom's in the world. I just was remembering back to when I had that same feeling. It doesn't come very often, but it does come to everyone. Of course I was also reminded by my hubby that if the kids did wear boots that day...they would have been filled with rainwater and mud so i am glad we went barefoot that particular time!!!!

Coolest Mom Ever!!!!!

OK! So, I was reading a friend's blog and I must admit that she was pretty cool letting her kids out in their shiny rain boots to play in the rain, but my dear hubby reminded me of when I flipped out with the rain up in Oregon. THAT is when I earned my title as the coolest Mom ever. I had dealt with a lot of depression up there with no sun and a lot of rain. One day after walking home from school with the kids i apparently flipped and brought the kids in. i took their jackets and put them away. Then i told them to put away their wet shoes, socks and their backpacks and then meet me at the front door. We all rolled up our pant legs while all the kids giggled uncontrollably. We then played follow the leader outside in the rain. I was the leader and the kids' eyes grew big as I jumped into a huge mud puddle. I told them we were playing follow the leader so they had to follow. With huge grins they jumped from mud puddle to mud puddle with me until we were covered head to toe. Our good friend, who happened to be a clean freak was watching from her window shaking her head, but if you ask my kids...it was more fun in the puddle than staying clean that afternoon.

I am sorry!!!

I feel I have totally neglected my dear blog and i feel so sad for that. It is tax season and in keeping with my day job I am struggling to get ready the thigns that I need to have ready for the upcoming audit. Ugh!!! I truly can't stand the thought of having to do any of my taxes and the store's taxes. Truly it is just an organization thing. I am not gifted with organization which I have learned is something that I will accomplish with one fo my latest callings. As Head Cook at camp I have got to have incredible organization skills, which I am hoping to accomplish someday. there is hope folks...at least I hope there is. I figure that we are never given more than we can handle so I should be fine.

Blog on my dear friends!!!!

I knew it...

Well it happened just as I knew it would. I am not going to say I told you so to my dear hubby, but it is on the tip of my tongue!!!!! He decided the kids were old enough for paint balling. He took money he had been saving up for some time now and blew it all on paintball guns and supplies. Not only did he buy the things he needed for himself, but for Molly and Bryan as well. Go figure!!!! The kids were not real fond of being shot at!!!!! he bought them chest protectors and everything, but in the end shot them in the legs causing welts and now bruising. I was so angry at him when the kids showed me their war wounds. Molly said she never wants to play again. Being a boy Bryan is geared up to play again, but Don now has guilt issues on the entire subject and doesn't want to take them out and play ever again. I seriously wanted to scream when i heard all of this yesterday. I didn't. I just closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. Inside my head though I was screaming. is my hubby the only one that does things like this?! Ugh!!! I can't wait to see what he decides would be a whole lot of fun next. We shall see!!!

Happy Birthday Corinna!!!...Oh no!!!!... a teen!!!!

Well, we definitely made it through the evening. Corinna was very nervous in the beginning thinking that her friends would not show up. Fortunately, they all did and Corinna did a good job of keeping them all busy while we awaited the arrival of the limo. Can I just tell you how excited the girls were that they were going to ride in that. Unfortunately, many of the parents thanked us later for setting the bar so high for their daughters party, but you know what? You only turn into a teen once. You might as well go in style...and I had a discount!!!! Yay!!! We took the girls ice skating in Dublin and i was thrilled that I did not have to hear the squeals of teen girls about once thing or another...very thankful indeed. They ate some pizza, skated to their hearts content and a few who have never skated before found that they were quite good at it as evident by Molly. In the end the limo took the girls to their homes at the end of the night. their driver was kind enough to lend his cell phone for the girls so that they could call their parents when they were being dropped off for the photo opportunity. it was very cute and the girls all had a great time and now I am quite thankful that it is over and I do not have to worry about having another teen until...next year...and the year after. Then I should receive a lifetime achievement award in primary and be moved on my way...Right?!?! I thought so anyway. Now if you will excuse me...I need a major nap!!!

When I was a little girl...

When I was a little girl I was quite sure that there were zombies under my bed...even though I had a water bed and literally nothing could be under my bed I was so afraid of the dark that I was quite sure that if I even had a half of an inch of my finger hanging over the edge then I would certainly be seized and killed right then and there.

Now, here I am sitting in the dark of the middle of my living room. It is nearly 11pm. All are quiet, except the few giggles from my girls telling their sisterly secrets. I just don't have the heart to tell them to be quiet yet. I actually embrace the night now. When everyone is asleep in their beds I have time that belongs to me and only me. I am no longer mom or wife. I am simply me. Perhaps that will be the name of a book that I writes someday..simply me. We shall see.

Tomorrow I will take aspirin in advance of coming home from work as we are hosting Corinna's 13th birthday party on Saturday. As of Sunday i am a mother of a teenager. Now, for most people that would cause quaking of knees and lines beginning to form across their face along with a bulging vein in their forehead. To be honest, i totally love my kids moving into this point of their lives although i am having a bit of trouble with the concept of in five years Corinna will be graduating high school and then moving onto school. her latest choice is to go to culinary school. Whatever she chooses she will be great, but it will change...we've got five years until we send her so something will change. I love watching her independent and truly loving her life. For the most part she is my easy kid, but she is sooo emotional right now. All part and package of becoming a woman which I am proud to say that she handled the entire transition quite gracefully. She even laughed as we joked about her ice skating party if her period started that she would fall on her rear end and cause a large red streak across the ice. needless to say we really had a good time laughing at everything. It was quite fun. I love my life, but I also love the silence when they are all asleep.

Looking back...

I was looking back at my life after reading a friend's blog and she mentioned OMD and Depeche Mode. When she did that totally brought back a lot of memories for me. Those two were acutally the last two conerts I had gone to. I went to OMD with a mutual friends of Tami's..Jason & Virginia. It was right before my baptism and we headed up to Sac for a club concert. It was truly awesome. It so reminded me of my teen years and I needed that reminder. Depeche Mode was huge for me growing up. When Don and I were married we actually went to the concert in the City with a couple of friends and had a blast. To hear them perform "Somebody" in concert was incredible. they are wonderful showmen and honestly i didn't expect that much theatrics with them. i loved it!!!! And just to prove to you that I am in no way shape or form perfect...my first cocnert was Ratt with Poison opening up for them...yes I knew every word of "Talk Dirty To Me." Sorry all...That was PB...Pre Baptism!!! good thing I was washed clean...wow!!!!

Let me clear this up....

OK! I started the whole "Bucket List" thing because i know we all have ideas of how we want to spend our lives and what things we want to accomplish. Some things may seem very small to most and fairly insignificant. They truly don't have to be anything really big, but just simple things. Here are a few of my more simple things:

*Be a stay at home Mom again.

*Feel like I am a good Mom- this is one of my major insecurities.

*Have a clean home- some may say it is is impossible, but if I were a stay at home Mom it would certainly be in the realm of possibilities.

*Finish reading the Book of Mormon straight through. I am a spot reader. I will either look up a certain topic that has touched my heart. I have most certainly read the entire Book of Mormon..just not in order.

*Be able to cook a decent dinner- I truly have no time to actually even cook. I love to cook, but it is hard.

*Get a dishwasher- enuff said!!!

* Believe in myself more.

*Be prideful less.

*Work in the temple when I am able to truly appreciate it.

*Be as humble as I was up in Oregon and receive the instruction through dreams like I did back then. it was the absolute coolest time of my life although I struggled.

*Love my fellow men--including the rude people that i come into contact every day.

See...very simple things but things that I can work on myself. I swear I am going to get a bucket and decorate it someday and write down the things I want to do

oh and by the way Don clarified that I may get into a cage with Great White Sharks all around me as long as he is not there to see it. Anyone want to go down to South Africa with me?!?!?! Just checking!!!

OUCH!!!!

No, I did not hurt my knee...I promise! The "ouch" I was talking about was a recent turn down notice form a literary agent. It could have been quite bruising to my ego had I not had a good sense of humor. Here is the line in her rejection letter that really zinged me:

"I just don’t find myself compelled enough to want to see more."

Wow!!! From what I have heard it wasn't too bad of a story, but I guess my letter did not work on her. Oh and believe me I am not shedding tears one bit about it. I have a collection of my rejection notices piling up. I am keeping them to remind me of where I have come from. it will make it THAT much sweeter when I manage to get it published. Right? I have quite a collection of them for now, but that is all right. Dr Seuss was turned down over 25 times. JK Rowling was turned down on the Harry Potter series nearly the same amount. The more I throw it out there...the better methinks!!!

Don't worry, I am not taking this too much to heart. I sort of laughed when i looked at the agency name because they were actually from Canada. I had sent a query to them by mistake as i would rather support my dear friends here in the US. Don laughed and said: "Silly Canadians, they will learn what they missed when your book is published." It always feels good to have my hubby on my side. He is probably the best BFF I have ever had in my life!!!

Good News....

Well, I am updating the Jeep situation. As it turns out I am not getting the Jeep. Now, you may be asking. "Why is that good news?" Well, I am not sure quite yet, but in the end there is a reason and more often than not the reason is a good one so I thought I would cut out the middle man of being upset and grumpy and just treat it as good news. Perhaps the economy is going to be rotten or something is going to happen. I am not going to worry about the what ifs. It is definitely not worth the stress. Besides, why go farther into debt if I can help it. I mean this with all my heart that I know i went through it for some reason and though I can't figure out quite what it is at this moment I will and then i will have a V8 moment and think "Duh!"



The other good news is that I almost blew my New Year's resolution...#9 which was not to fall down and hurt my knee. Well, my ankle gave way coming out of the train car with a bag of dry cob on my shoulder and I fell down. Luckily, I did not hurt my knee...however my shin on the other hand hurts like crazy....Shh...don't tell Don. He won't let me walk again without guidance!!!



And good news number three is that I had an idea for a totally new story of sorts. I am kind of excited about it and will start writing shortly, but you all will need to be kept in the dark for now!!!!! I love that feeling when I first get the idea for the next story. I am going to continue on with Ethan and Ari, but the way my brain works is that if I am still to finalize the manuscript then i can't go any further with them until i am done. So here I am. I am going to be starting a new story while I am finishing up the one currently i am on. We shall see what happens with that one. I got sort of a bee in my burr and actually sent out quite a few queries so hopefully I will hear good news....someday.

i hope you enjoyed my good news for the day. By the way. I am curious...does anyone else have a bucket list?!?!!? I don't want to be the only crazy one in the world.

Sorry, But I am thrilled!!!

Today has been an interesting Sunday. I am teaching Sunbeams and I truly love them. They are awesome!!! I will be more prepared this time in case three extra wee ones join us. that was a shocker. I expected 4 and got 7. WOW!!!! A big thanks goes out to Sis. Ellefson who joined me since Ben was a bit shy about being there. I also want the thank Grandma. I am not sure who she was but her extra three grandkids were there and I was truly thankful for them all!!!! So i am happy. However, the anxieties that I faced were to tell you the truth horrible.

For those of you who do not know I have taught Sunbeams before. The last time I taught was in the old ward before the great dissolving of our old one. In that particular class I asked for assistance of a second adult to help me out. I even told them I would teach every single lesson. So, with one child who was autistic and another that was ADHD I plodded along taking aspirin before even leaving to church. Until the one fateful day...My dearest little Trevor was running around the room. I was just waiting for him to slip and run directly into the wall. When telling him very strongly that he needed to stop running and sit down he screamed: "You are not my mom! You can't tell me what to do!!!" A nanosecond later he slipped, fell and slammed his sweet little head into the air conditioning unit and blood started pouring out. Can we just say the sunbeams were traumatized!!! So was I!!!! I stood there directing the sunbeams to retrieve the Primary President...as it was her son...while I applied direct pressure to his head. It took 4 or 5 staples to close the wound. So..now you know the anxieties that I faced teaching a new set of sunbeams in the same exact room that this happened.

Apparently, the Lord has seen to grant a smile to me as I had just gotten out of church and made it home when I was able to catch the end of my beloved San Diego Chargers win the second game in a row that they were not expected to win. Now, please understand, I am not saying that Heavenly Father has helped them in any way, shape or form. When I was young I was born in San Diego and as I grew up and was just about the age of my Sunbeams when my grandfather and parents would take us to see Charger and San Diego Padres baseball games. I remember the Charger games the most as we would bring a couple hundred rolled tacos from El Indio's along with some truly fresh made corn tortillas that still make my mouth melt thinking about it!!! It was a family tradition to go at least twice a year and the rest of the time we would gather on Sunday and cheer on our team. Please don't be too offended, but I was not a member then either. So, when my dear Chargers play on Sunday it is more than just a football game. It is my time with my Grandpa for whom I will always miss. He was my favorite person in the world..aside from my parents. So, when my team wins I can picture my Grandfather sitting in his easy chair raising a fist cheering for our team. Thanks for the memories Grandpa!!! I miss you!!!

Bucket List...

I wasjust talking to a customer today and "Bucket List" was brought up. basically, it is a movie where two men are trying to complete everything they have always wanted to do and written down and thrown into a bucket. They try and complete it before the end of their lives. At least that is what I understand. So, my question is...do you have a bucket list? if so, what sort of things do you put on your bucket list? Here is mine...strange as some of them seem:

*See a book I had written on the shelves of a bookstore.- At least I am working towards that!!!

*See a Great White shark in person- Don won't let me get into a cage with one swimming about. Go figure!!!

*Survive Girl's Camp as Head Cook- We shall hope and pray that happens this year. I am still a bit jittery so that may not happen.

*Retire and buy several hundred acres and build my dream home on the acreage- we've already started looking for the property in either Texas or Wyoming.

*Take pictures of a Grizzly Bear fishing in an Alaskan River- No cage required for this one.

*See a pod of Orca in the wild. No---I am not going in the water for that one!!!

*Go to Scotland and meet my best friend- Sounds weird, but we have e-mailed nearly daily for seven years. I often wonder why we were separated by such a long distance here on this earth.

*Visit Ireland, The Netherlands and the UK to see the places where my ancestors came from.

Now, that is the short list as I have been able to mark several off my list. Here are a few that I have marked off:

*Swim with Dolphins- For an ocean person like me it was incredible. Getting to ride belly to belly with them was truly awesome!!!

*See the Sistine Chapel in person- Again, awe inspiring. I will never forget the feeling as I stood int he center of the room and took in the masterpiece before me.

*Walk the streets of Venice- It was the best feeling to spend the evenings getting lost with my eternal sweetheart.

*Tuscany- need I say more?!?!

* Bear children- Sometimes I can hardly bear them, but I do anyway.

*Disney World- For a Disney Fan it is a must see. I am dying to go back!!! Someday!!!

* Temple Marriage- That of course is a hard one considering I didn't join the church until 16 years ago. However, from the moment I looked into Don's eyes I knew that this life would never be enough.

What is on your Bucket list? And what have you already accomplished?

First Chapter...

Well, some of you have been interested in the story that has really caught on to a few people. So, Instead of clogging up my nice little blog here I have started a new one www.tammycaldron.blogspot.com where I will release a chapter every so often. I do ask that all of you who read it please give me your honest opinions. Please keep in mind... I am not a professional by any means. I jsut someday hope to be. I have a pretty thick skin when it comes to opinions so don't feel like I am going to fall to pieces... it takes far more than that to make me get upset.

Thanks & Enjoy!!!

New Year's Resolutions...I can live with!!!

All right, there is always a whole flurry of new year's resolutions that everyone starts getting into such as lose weight, be happier, work harder, make more money...among many more. I have decided to take a lighter approach to it all. I have made a list of resolutions that I can truly sink my teeth in and live with.

#1) Accept myself for who I am and stop wishing that I had someone else's figure.

#2) Accept that I am truly not fashion forward, but admire those who are and ask advice...hint hint...if anyone knows of an online store for larger women that has truly cute clothes please let me know!!!

#3) Do not kill my children when i ask them for the millionth time to clean their rooms.

#4) Do not answer the telephone at work: "Caldron's General Store...Can you help me?" Not very professional, but extremely funny.

#5)Write something everyday...blog is included.

#6) Look for humor in the worst situations.

#7) Receive 20 rejection notices for my writing...you can't get a rejection if you don't send out your work...I already have 3 rejections!!!

#8) Take a chance...you never know what will happen.

#9) Try not to fall down and hurt my knees this year.

#10) Keep my sense of humor to help others smile when they are down.

So, there we have it. My resolutions for the year. I think I can live with them. What do you think? Throw out your opinions!!!! I love them!!!

Now you know...where the insanity comes from!!!

I just thought I would share with you our family portrait from Christmas. This is my parents and my two brothers, my sis-in-laws, my hubby and our mess of kids. Can you see where the insanity came from? I figured you would. My mom ordered shirts that read "Colborn University", my maiden name, for all of us for Christmas, just to add some extra fun for the family portrait. Yes, and before you ask we did do the "serious" portrait, but it sure wasn't as much fun as this one. I can guarantee that!!!! Happy New Year to you all!!!

I never thought of it THAT way!!!

Today was Stake Conference and I normally consider it a "Mormon Holiday" and don 't want to go, but in the effort to continually improve myself I am working on a few things this year. Stake Conference is one of them. I was truly surprised to see how many wardmembers were there. So, I am happy to report that I did indeed get something out of the conference and I was thrilled to go. Elder Claudio Costa was speaking on the scriptures and truly studying the scriptures. Now, I have to admit that I read and I dwell on situations and stories finding as many deep meanings as I can in them, but I had never thought to look at them as if they were real. I know that sounds strange, but for me being a convert of a mere 16 years the scriptures are still a fairly new thing to me. I have always done my best, but now I am finding how truly remarkable they are. He brought to life the story of Lehi departing Jerusalem to head to the promised land and I truly had never put myself in that position. I actually felt sympathy for Laman and Lemuel. I felt a bit more closer to them than Nephi who always chose the right and never murmured. Perhaps I can become closer to Nephi throughout my life, but for now I will go and do what the Lord commands...

As the midnight hour approached...

As the midnight hour approached, something miraculous happened!!! I realized that once I added a few updates my book was finally finished with the rewrites. I felt so good. Not because I was so wonderful for writing a novel, but because I had set out to do something and for seven months I have spent most of my free time letting my fingers travel as fast as they could across the keyboard desperately trying to relate the visions in my head and put them down on paper. I became amazed as I tried to sleep at times and found I could hear my dear characters: Ari & Ethan talking to me excitedly about the upcoming portions of the story. It became so difficult to block out that I spent many late nights letting it all come out until they wore out and I could finally push the save button and then crawl into bed....sometimes at 2am and needing to get up at 6am. Some of those times were very ugly mornings for me and I growled all day, but I am wonderfully thankful to my dear hubby who smiled at bedtime when he noticed my restlessness. he would simply say: "Tell Ethan & Ari I said hello." So that i would be encouraged to write down what was running through my mind. he has been a wonderful support even though he is not a fan of reading. It nearly killed him to spend 3 hours sitting in line while we waited to pick up the last Harry Potter at the midnight release. He understands that this is my thing like anything having to do with hunting and outdoors stuff is his. For that I will always be grateful. Now I get to work at trying my best to get it published...we shall see!!!

Just a tidbit from the middle of the night...

This is something that I had written a few weeks ago. i woke up in the middle of the night and broke out the laptop and this is what emerged. Enjoy!!!

I talked to a friend today…

I talked to a friend yesterday…her husband asked her for a divorce.
I talked to a friend yesterday…she is battling depression.
I talked to a friend yesterday…she is fighting for her life.
I talked to a friend yesterday…she watched her father beat her mother.
I talked to a friend yesterday…when she announced her engagement her fiances family protested the marriage.

I talked to a friend today…with the strength of the Lord she stands with her head held high.
I talked to a friend today…through the dark clouds over her head she has found the sun beams streaming through.
I talked to a friend today…She has kicked cancer in the butt.
I talked to a friend today…She knows she is worth more than that.
I talked to a friend yesterday…She just celebrated her fifteenth anniversary ready for an eternity to the man the Lord has sent just for her.

You never know when facing turmoil what can be in store for you. I actually wrote this as a challenge from a friend. I will read to her for the first time when we go back to Girl's Camp. From there we shall see where the future has taken us!!!!

What is it?!

OK!! This will be testing your skills people!!! Can you tell me what it is. I will give you a hint...it has something to do with the storm running through our area right now. Truly when I saw this it made me laugh. Our handyman on the other hand was none too thrilled. the look on his face was priceless though!!!!

He only saw work involved!!! Now, in case you haven't figured it out that is the gutter from our store that decided to fly off into the yard. We were greatly amused!!! It is just a few screws to put it back in. This too shall pass.

I would also like to take this time to introduce you to the Valley's latest resort.....Lake Caldron. Just enjoy a day with the family at shore's edge!!!! Fresh squeezed lemonade from our very own lemon tree!!! Can't you just picture it? We will soon be constructing cabanas and taking reservations for this upcoming summer. We are hoping to stock our lake with some world class fishing just around the corner in good ol' Tracy California!!!!

Reservations are limited...CALL TODAY!!!!

1 (800) RUU-NUTS!!!!

Oh...and yes...that is my darling daughter playing along with my insanity!!!

Watch out California!!!!

Wow!!! I woke up this morning hearing the blowing going on outside. It didn't phase me at all the be perfectly honest. As some wardmembers can attest we get some pretty good wind storms up in Oregon so truly this is not a truly scary storm to me. As you can see by the photo out the front door of the store the wind seems to believe it is pretty fierce. We were laughing earlier as we actually saw some tumbleweeds rolling down the train tracks. Unfortunately, Don is out in the middle of the storm racing against time to put away the feed he had picked up early this morning....and we have a two trailer load of shavings coming in later today that he will have to sit on the forklift and unload. Poor guy. I am thinking soup and grilled cheese tonight for dinner for him. Anyway, Aside from throwing about 10 shingles off of our store roof not much damage to report other than Molly's and my hair. We got it cut last night and we styled ours this morning. The wind seemed to have other ideas of what is fashionable as you can see by the photo!!! Poor Molly got blown about just coming over to the store for a visit!!! That's all right, there is more to life than the having each hair perfectly in place... Don't you just love that face?!?!?

One smile and one complaint....

OK! Let's start off with the smile. As most of you have been reading my automobile soap opera you will get a kick out of the fact that i just got a call from the dealership that is holding my precious Jeep hostage...well not really, but they ARE the legal owners until the financing things can get finalized. Anyway, I got a call to check in with how my loan process is going. i am doing fairly well and it is getting closer and closer. Either it is going to happen or not. Anyway, the smile though came from my friends at the dealership. The finance manager and the owner have taken my dear little jeep and hidden it behind the Hyundai dealership (it also belongs to the owner) and the two of the tucked the keys away in the back of the finance manager's lock box. they are keeping it away from the other customers until i know yes or no. That just made me smile incredibly to know that there are some really nice people in the world.

now, for my complaint. As I am sitting here in the store you would not believe the smells that walk in the door. i can handle most of them as our clients are not the well-to-do, but the farmer's, dairymen, and all around hard workers of the world. Many times they come in smelling of the dairy, fertilizer and that sort of thing. I can handle that. You are wondering where my complaint is going aren't you? My one huge complaint is that we have several different men that come in that wear an incredible amount of cologne. Is there a nice way of telling them not to bathe in the cologne? I have been known to yell at the gang members that come in to stick with school and grow their brains instead of beating each other's out. I have been known to tell youth that come in smelling like pot that if they come into my store smelling like that ever again i will call the police and send the drug sniffing dogs over to their house jsut to get them arrested. i ahve been known to yell at drug dealers. How in the world do you tell a customer that he wears waaaaaayyyyy too much cologne? That could be a sensitive situation. Any suggestions? Oh and by the way just for common knowledge you should see the young men in the gang when they come in. They pull their pants up because I don't allow their underwear showing in the store. At least, they don't wear way too much cologne....

Finally done!!!!

You all are not going to believe it...but I have finally finished a project that I started last year. I finished this quilt that I made for Girl's Camp for my bed. It will be nice and toasty at night when the bears are lurking around ready to nibble the toes off of the girls' feet. Would you believe I found some great sheets that are color coordinated with the pinks and oranges. LOVE IT!!! Don laughs, but you should see him when he gathers his hunting supplies. Besides, he actually helped me coordinate the colors. Those of you who know him...please don't tell him i posted it on the blog. He'll never live it down!!! Poor guy hates the fabric store!!!!!

Still Loopy....

Well, today was one of those fun days at work. Today was the dreaded inventory days. It is the day that we have to count each and every item in the store. We have it all written down and now tomorrow I will be spending time with my new best friend...the adding machine. I know, I know!!!! You are totally jealous of me. You all are just dying to be like me!!!! NOT!!!! To make matters worse tax season is fast approaching and I will no longer be resting and taking it easy at work until I get all of the documents together for my taxes to be done. I am so thrilled. wooooo. Of course, since you can't see I am rolling my eyes and twirling my fingers up in the air. Ahh the fun and excitement. I will survive, but to give you a hint of how bad this season is for me...As I am adding up the numbers, Don slides chocolate under the doorway and runs away as fast as he can.

Let the Countdown Begin.....

Countdown to 2008!!!

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!