Welcome to A Prairie View. I am a 50 year old Christian wife, mom and grandma, living her life out on the great plains of Kansas. You will find me at our church in the mornings (I am the secretary), and by my husband's side in the afternoon (he dispatches 15 trucks for a trucking company).
I love to read, write, blog, do Bible studies, and search for the meaning of my life and why I am here. I am glad you stopped by. Please leave me a comment if you would and let me know you are were here.
Man. This week has gone by way too fast. I suppose thats what happens when you dont’ work Monday’s; but it just always feels like a Sunday when you dont’ work those holidays. And then your head spins around because Friday gets here in the speed of light. Today was “newsletter” day. Got it printed and out in the mail; and then beat it out to the office (late!) to finish up the billing that should have been done several days ago. Not totally my fault. I TOLD David to check it Saturday so it would be done, and maybe I’d go out Monday and work on it. Well, he didn’t, and I didn’t, so it was there for him Tuesday. Only, Tuesday was a Monday X 2. So, he didn’t get it checked until right before I was ready to leave on Tuesday. I got most of it done yesterday; but still needed to the copying and in the envelopes part of it. I really wanted to get them in today’s mail. So, I told him I was stopping at 3:30, and get out in the mail whatever ones I had done. As it worked out, I got them all done, and they all went out today. Not bad, considering they usually go out on Tuesday’s. This whole week is off. But Still. Its nice to have an extra day off, not having to work. Even if it does “mess with your head” to what day it is later on in the week.
Ugh. We are now through May. Isn’t it April showers bring May flowers? What about all the May showers we had? And now there is another storm rolling through, and we are one of the counties they are keeping an eye on. After the Greensburg storm, I am a little apprehensive about going to bed. I’m sure I will at some point. Have a couple more assignments I need to finish up tonight. I think I have 3 total that are due, and then I will we totally caught up. That is a good thing because then I can start concentrating on PPP again, and some of those that have a short reserve time. With all the others that have been assigned to me, I haven’t had much time to do the others. But I sure like watching the PayPal account build. It’ll be paying our house payment this month, buying tires for my Explorer. And David had some “hands on” experience with a Kodak Easy Share dock printer thing the other night, and I have a feeling we will have one before the month (of June) is over. I wanted one a year ago, but it was kinda like “what do we need that for?”. But now that he has actually used one (his brother has one, and he says he can sell our camper — where he is working, the guys are paying $500, $600 or more a month for rent, and alot of them are looking to buy campers cheap to live in. We have a cheap camper…. so David and his brother took pictures of our camper the other night, and then went over to his house to print them out (my printer is still up at the church).
At any rate, the numerous emails I’ve gotten the last few days, all depositing money in my Paypal account, reminded me again just why I do these silly entries :)
Ethan has been involved in one activity or another since he was little. First it was Tigers, then Cub Scouts, and on to Boy Scouts. Somewhere along the line, he developed a passion for singing, for drama, doing plays and various different productions. Solos at church. My blog is filled with lots of entries where I suppose, yes, I am bragging about him. I truly am proud of him and all of his accomplishments.
Now there is a website — Bragoff – which is a family website with a social element. It is a great way for people to come together and brag about their interests and show off things they have or have done. We probably all do that in our blogs; but Bragoff then brings us all together, where we can find others who share a common interest or love for something. The community is build around people posting and rating pictures of .. well…anything and everything they like — their pets, their cars. Fish. Trophys. Babies. Hobbies. The common denominator here, is we all like to brag about them a little.
These are just a few of the things people have to brag about …
Ethan recieved his first check yesterday. What a moment. I think he finally “gets” it now. Trying to figure out what to pay, what not to pay, balancing need over want. And making what you have last for 2 weeks. Its a fine balancing act. Some do it better than others. He wants to get a checking account. I’m not so sure about that - other than maybe doing it the way I do. I have a checking account, but no checks. It allows me to put money away, and yet I can draw it out whenever I need to. Its also connected to my PayPal account, so there is money that goes into it through that as well. But the key thing here — I have to physically go the bank, and draw out money to get it. If its not there, then they aren’t going to give it to me. Thats not the case with checks. It eventually catches up with you; but that “spur of the moment’ thing tends to kick in. Doing it this way, though, actually has worked for me, and I think IF Ethan was to get some kind of account, it should be the same way. I’m not ready to turn him loose with his own checking account yet.
If my laptop was used only for what I do, we wouldn’t have a problem. But *cough*somebody*cough likes video games, and for some reason, that seems to use alot of memory. The Memory Store appears to be a good resource for upgrading laptops or desktops. We don’t need Dell memory, since we don’t have a Dell machine, but they also have numerous other brands,and I do see our machine within their list. Or. I could just my son to quit downloading games on my laptop, and I wouldn’t need an upgrade — right?
Monday: off
Tuesday: 3:00 - 7:30
Wednesday: 3:00 - 8:00
Thursday: off
Friday: 3:00 - 7:30
Saturday: 10:00 - 7:00
He needs to submit 2 “request off” forms. Next week for Jason’s wedding. And then the end of June for the Forensic’s 1-Act. Their team made it to Internationals (which are in Nebraska). He will be gone the whole week; but it was a committment that was made before he started working. So, we need to look at the calendar and get this pinned down. I don’t think you can turn the request forms in early, so there is a specific date for each that he will need to do.
I would really like for him to be able to take off the 9th. We have 2 things scheduled that day. But. I don’t want to set a precedent of him being able to take off for everything he’s involved in. If that was the case, he coudln’t work at all this summer. He is giving up alot, but…that is the working world, and at some point, you have to make choices, and that includes ones that make you money. He’s at that point. So, for the 9th, he’s not putting in a request off form, and we’ll just see how it plays out. If he works, fine. If he doesn’t, then great. We’ll go back to our original plans and head to Kansas City to see friends and possibly watch a Royals game. If we can’t go to KC on the 9th, I’m hoping we can get together with them, just our family and their’s, at least once this summer. Easier said than done, though.
With the building of the new church building, it has been fun — and interesting — to watch it all “come together”. How the sanctuary and fellowship hall compliments the offices and other rooms within the church. The minister’s room has really come together with all the various home furniture touches the ladies have done. He has a wonderful desk area set up, with lots of storage space and bookcases. Thats just on one side of the room. On the other side is a very comfortable looking “living room” area of sorts. It has a couch, 2 easy chairs, a coffee table, 2 end tables. A very nice area to hold small meetings, or to counsel people, or a place of comfort while he talks to someone who has just lost someone, and they are going over the funeral details (he likes to personalize them, so he always meets with the family to find out more about the person who has just passed). On dreary days, he turns his lamp on, and it just has this cozy comfy warm look to it.
Did I have a blanket or a favorite toy? Tell about it.
I had lots of favorite toys that I played with often — pickup sticks, monkeys in a barrel, a turquoise pickup truck and lots of barbie dolls. But. My most favorite “comfort” toy was a big teddy that I slept with every night. My mom made it, and she stuffed it with stocking hose. It made that bear so soft and cuddly. He was my companion, my confidant. I remember one day, one of my cousins knew how much I loved that bear, and tried to take it away from me. I pulled. He pulled. And my beloved bear tore. I cried. And cried and cried. My mom stitched him up — reminded me of the time I had hit my head and needed stitches, and that Mr. Bear would be OK. I don’t have Mr. Bear anymore; but I do miss him. Even after all these years.
Curiosity killed the cat. Of course we all know that is nothing but an old wives tale. Curiosity is actually a very healthy thing, and is the focus of Synovate, a market research company. It is their job to learn what people like, and why they like what they like. From agriculture, to food and beverage, health care, or travel and tourism …. these are just a few of the areas of interest that they have and are researching for marketing purposes. This knowlege helps product designers and manufacturers give people what they want. They aren’t just a “local” business in the small corner of the country. They operate across 6 continents, in 50 countries, and across 24 timezones. Now THAT is some territory.
Don’t get me wrong. I love having the extra day weekend. Not having to work today. But. Now my whole week is going to be thrown off. Tomorrow is Monday. I will have to keep reminding myself that its Tuesday, and the next day is Wednesday. And there are Wednesday things to do. A couple of weeks ago, David didn’t get the billing checked, so I did other stuff, and then did the billing on Tuesday. Threw my whole week off. I was talking about something with my boss, and he had to correct me that “today” was Thursday, no Wednesday. My whole sense of days and time is so easily thrown off balance when my weeks aren’t routine.
Where I work, we don’t use enough envelopes to justify the cost of pre-printed envelopes; but we do mail out enough stuff that handwriting the return address can be a monumentous task at times. Printing my own address labels is usually the route I take, although we do have an address stamp. Of course, the next hurdle is finding a good source of blank labels, at an economical price. I think I have just found a good sourse. Planet Label is an online retailer that specializes in laser and inkjet labels. Planet Labels has been in business for over 15 years. They strive to bring new label products to their customers, and they have a extensive selection.
Planet Label also does preprinted labels. If you are a crafter or a do-it-yourselfer, they have labels for you. These include brown kraft labels, waterproof inkjet labels, and khaki tan label lines. As you browse through their site, they suggest ways of using labels that you probably have never thought of. This seems to be a good resource for labels, and the next time we need to order labels, I am going to suggest ordering from them.
David just called. Ethan is done fine. David sounds in a better mood; and his attitude is a “good” one …”I’m glad it didn’t sell”. He’s not mad; and no. He didn’t call anybody else. Everyone calls him when they need something. But. He’s just that way. And. Ethan is doing fine. Just “Mom” here having the anxiety attack. This is the truck Ethan had the 2 fender benders in. I suppose its fitting that he is the one driving it at its last “hooray”. I’m just glad Ethan wasn’t driving it when it happened. THAT woudln’t have been a good deal At. ALL. And David says he has another motor he can put in it ….Why do I feel like the poster child for something out of Jeff Foxworthy’s monologue here?
I thought this was going to be a good day; but somehow, I don’t think its going to end up that way. We have several vehicles, too many actually. Since Ethan has his own car now, David decided to sell his old Chevy. Yes, there were a few things wrong with it, but he wasn’t asking a fortune for it either. Every Memorial Day and Labor Day, our boss (at the trucking company) partners with a good friend of his, and they have a consignment sale. So, David took his truck to the sale, still unsure if he wanted to sell it or not. He told them he wanted a certain price out of it. If he got it, fine, if he didn’t, fine.
He didn’t, which he was OK with. As it turns out, it was a very good thing. Ethan just left to take him the tool truck (the truck our boss bought David to drive back and forth to work, and for business stuff. Not a new truck, but nonetheless, a “company-owned” truck). They are going to have to pull David’s truck home. I know he’s going to see it as a major frustration, as “money lost”, etc. But. I am soooo glad he DIDN’T sell it, — and have this happen to the new owner on the way home. It will be ok. We have several other vehicles to drive. Its not like its going to make life inconvenient for us. I have my Explorer. David has the company truck AND a “good” little Ford Ranger. Ethan has a car. Oh, and David also has motorcycle. PLUS, this red truck that just quit. He talks about me and my purses…:) [grin].
I hate sending Ethan out to help him. Ethan is an inexperienced driver. But. When it comes to pulling vehicles and such, Ethan has more experience than I do. I helped David yesterday, unload his motorcycle, and it got high centered, and I had to do some pulling backwards and forwards while he was holding on to his motorcycle (which was on a narrow board ramp …) It took hours for the heart to stop fluttering and the anxiety to leave. I was so afraid I was going to mess up and end up doing something that made him drop the bike, or hurt him or ….
So. I now sit home. Praying that all that comes out of this is aggravation. And they both get home. Needless to say, David’s not a happy camper; and that won’t make for a pleasant evening either. *sigh.
My husband and I work in a trucking company. At the moment, there are 11 drivers, some are lease trucks; the rest the company owns. David has built a reputation in the grain hauling world that this particular company is reliable and he will do whatever he can within his power to get the load there, on time. I have often thought that we should “spread the word” about the company. Not so much to advertise for more drivers; but just to promote who we are, and what we do. Such as printed T-shirts. That would be something the guys would use, and tells people who this particular drives for. Custom Ink is a good resource to turn to for printed Tshirts. I am anxious for David to get home, to show him the design lab. I was able to go in and create a Tshirt that I think would be awesome for our company.
Custom Ink specializes in screen printing & embroidery. They have volume pricing, and you can get a quick quote from them. They guarantee 1-2 week delivery. They have dozens of ideas for creating shirts for your event, group or business; or if you want to create your own, they can do that as well. Custom T-shirts and more, design them on line.
Memorial Day a United States federal holiday that is observed on the last Monday of May (observed this year on 2007-05-28). It was formerly known as Decoration Day. This holiday commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. It began first to honor Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War. After World War I, it expanded to include those who died in any war or military action. One of the longest standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911
But American tradition has taken it further than that. We “remember” everyone who has died. Family members, loved ones, friends — we set aside this day to remember. To go to where they are buried, if we can, and decorate the graves. My aunt was buried close to my mother’s grave. Actually — my mom and my step-dad’s. After my step-dad died, my mom kept his urn on her entertainment center, with a picture. When she died, I buried them together. Sadly, we had joked about this just a few weeks prior to her death, that when she died (which I thought would be years and years and years from that moment), that she was NOT going on my entertainment center. She laughed and said that was OK, just don’t sell her at a garage sale. Little did I know…
I remembered both my mom and my aunt this Memorial Day holiday. A good friend of my aunts, as well as 2 of my other aunts, all sent money for me to do “something”. I bought some artificial flowers to put out there; but I also bought a couple of wraught iron poles with a hook, and hung a pot of live flowers from it. They both loved flowers and gardening, so that seemed appropriate. I will go out from time to time to check on the flowers, and replace them if I need to.
It can happen anytime, anywhere. One minute you are fine. The next you are not. You are in need of medical attention. But what if you are out of the country? and you are needing medical assistance? does your insurance cover you 24/7, no matter where you are, no matter what you are doing? Many health insurance carriers may not cover you outside of your home country. So what do you do, when you know you will be traveling outside of the country? This is where travel health insurance comes in. International travel insurance to be specific. All Aboard Benefits is a company that you can check when you are seeking travel medical insurance.
All Aboard Benefits can provide you with the global coverage necessary to keep you covered, no matter where you are. Whether you are going overseas for an extended time, basically living abroad or short term , for like a vacation or business trip, they have the policy for you.
All Aboard Benefits is a Texas based company, established in 1983. They are an independent broker of individual medical insurance policies, group health plans, employee benefit packages and more. Don’t enter into a vacation or business trip without knowing where you stand with your health insurance. Planning ahead will take the worry out of equation, and you can travel out of the country, knowing that a medical need arises, you are covered.
Sinced we didn’t camp, we went to where the campers were. David’s 2 brothers and their families camped up near Topeka, so we went up there this afternoon for lunch/supper and just some general family time. Ethan had to work, so he didn’t go. While we were there, David’s mom and dad came with their motorhome. They had a booth at an show somewhere, and were on their way home. So, they come tooling in with their motorhome and cargo trailer. Kinda wished we had taken ours up there this weekend; and yet, it would have just been me up there with everyone. So, what we did is fine. We’ll have a chance sometime this summer to go camping. I was able to snap a few pictures. I’ll add the rest to the Photo Blog.
Oh. And by the way, thats not a puppy she’s holding. Its a baby goat. David’s niece just bought a few goats (they are like 2 weeks old), and they still need to bottle feed them; so they had them out to the campsite as well.
We are coming into a season where bridal showers, parties of all kinds, reunions, and holiday get togethers are abound. Make your shower or party or reunion stand out from the others by having candy bar wrappers personallized with your special event. Candy UnderCover is a a candy bar wrapper store.
They make gorgeous, edible favors for weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, birthdays, anniversaries, corporate events and holidays. You can choose from their wide selection of one-of-a-kid, hand designed wrappers, or if you don’t see what you are looking for, email them for new design ideas. They would be happy to create a whole new look for just that special event.
Ethan does alot of play productions, and sometimes, a mom does something special for all the kids that were in the production. This would be a really cool, really unique item to give them, personalized candy bars — with the name of the production, the date, and maybe even a simple design on the candy bar wrapper.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am admitted purseaholic. I am better than what I used to be, but still, that desire is still there. And esp. if I have a chance to WIN one. A Dooney & Burke one no less. My most fav-o-rite purse brand. I have *cough*several*cough of their handbags.
The ladies over at the Pinks and Blues girls blog are giving away a Dooney & Burke handbag. It is so cute and so summery. I. Want. It. All I have to do is link back to them, and sign Mr. Linky. I can so do that, esp. for a chance to win.
Ethan was actually in a better mood this evening than I thought he would be. Pretty talkative, and wasn’t as dog tired as I was thinking he would be. Thats good. Because when he gets tired, he gets grouchy. We still had things to do out to the cemetary, so once he got home, we all went out there, and finished putting the flowers and things I had gotten out there. I took pictures. I know that sounds a it morbid. But, money was sent to me to do some things out there, so I thought I would take some pictures that I could email, as well as send hard copies of to them people who contributed. I still have money left over, so what I think I’ll do — my aunt has a vase on the headstone, so I think I’ll go out every so often, and put out fresh new flowers. Probably artificial, but change them out more than once or twice a year. If I had done all of this earlier this week, I probably wouldn’t have had money left over. But everything I bought today ended up being 1/2 price. And, even though it was getting to be some slim pickings, I’m still pleased with what I got, and both graves look very nice. My aunt’s is decorated with purple and white flower and my mom’s with red. I’ll put a link in an entry when I get them loaded on to the computer, maybe post a picture here; but then post the rest of them over at my Photo Blog.
Other than running around doing this its been a pretty quite day. Ethan worked until 8:00. And then after leaving the cemetary, we went and ate supper. He has to work all day tomorrow as well. I think we are going to go up to Topeka and eat dinner with David’s brother and his wife that are camping out. That’s the plan for now. But in the family, its subject to change!
I feel like I have hit a wall. Mentally. Physically. I started on this weight loss plan in September. I did really really well on it. And then…somewhere along the line, I mentally stopped the plan. I kept attempting to do what I need to do; but I lose it before the day is over.
I’m NOT giving up. What was I doing that was different 8 months ago. What can I do to incorporate that back in my life again. One thing I know is to focus on where I am. I’ve been going to my weigh in appointments, and I know that I have lost a lb here, 3 lbs there, gained 1/2 a lb ….. but in the shuffle of things, I’m not sure exactly where I’m at. I need to look at that number. Focus on it.
I need to utilize a calorie counter. MyFitnessPal.com has some great tools that would definately work for what I need to do. Besides having a free calorie counter, where calorie counting would be a whole lot easier than the way I have been doing it, they also have an exercise section, where you can record the amount of exercising you have done for the day. And then you can pull it all together in the report section. Find support and encouragement within the MyFitnessPal community. This website is totally free. No credit card is ever required. Its there to help people lose weight the healthy way.
We should be camping this weekend. But, with David working, and now Ethan, I didn’t really feel like camping alone. But, I would like to, sometime, plan a vacation and just get away. All 3 of us. Before he has graduated and its just the two of us. A real vacation. No cell phones. No agenda. No worries about home. I know. I know. In a perfect world. But. In my perfect world, I would head to St. Thomas, or the Bahamas. And Vacations.net is just the website to help me plan a Great Beach Vacation , They have great visual images and virtual tours. In-depth information on the various places they are connected with. That information also includes amenities & recreational activities. There is thoroughi information on occomodations with detailed room options. They sort all their information by vacation style and related preferences. They have made planning a vacation the easiest part of your wonderful getaway. The rest is up to you.
Thats me. Myprairierose.com . I won. I won. I won. $100. They drew my name this week, and…. did I mention…. I. WON!!!
Now…for those of you who might be out of the loop of paid blogging…there is is super duper company out there, that I have loved since Day 1. PayU2Blog. They are a super nice bunch of guys. I have talked to a couple of them on the phone, and they are very accessable by email as well. We, as bloggers, are not just another number in a huge sea of bloggers. These guys take interest in us as bloggers, and have had some great opportunities, and then there is this weekly contest they have had for … well, 7 weeks now. If you are a blogger in their system, just make sure you have one of their banners in your side bar, email your name, and you’re in. You could win $100 –and don’t ever say “I never win anything”. Because that is exactly what I have said. But I did. I did, I did, I did. Ok. I’m just a bit phsyched here. Sorry. Go check them out, and if you love to blog, and you love to earn a little extra money — tell ‘em “myprairierose.com” sent you.
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