A Prairie View

Making A List

I need to start making a list. David will be giving me a list of what he wants. I had a plant on the corner of my desk — and it died. Imagine that. That corner really needs something. I have a wooden sunflower plant box there, but it just seems to be out of my place. My app’t is at 4:50, and then Ethan doesn’t need to be at Barbershop practice until 7:30, so we will have a little time to kill. If I make a list, maybe I can shop with a purpose in mind, instead of mindless browsing and buying stuff I don’t need!

Wine Racks

When we traveled for the company we were working for back in the 80’s, we are able to take a few days and spend some time with friends who lived in California. We had a wonderful time. The most memorable thing about the visit was how different we live from the way they live. We stepped outside of our way of life, and was introduced to things we had never seen or done before. For instance — drinking wine. They had the most beautiful Wine Rack,filled with a variety of different wines. Coming across the website The Vine Store, reminded me of this visit, and of the different racks that could be purchased, as well as accessories.

They ship wine racks nationwide. I was surprised to learn that there is more than one style of rack. I would be hard pressed to decide, with the choices being Wood Wine Racks, Metal Wine Racks, Hanging Wine Racks, Wall Mounted Wine Racks as well as Wine Rack Furniture, Specialty Wine Racks and Wine Glasses. They try to meet the needs of both the individual as well the commercial wine storage needs. All their products are shipped with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

I Don’t Wanna Go

I really don’t want to go — I have a weigh-in appointment this afternoon. But, David has been doing his own little plan, and he lost 5 lbs this week. So, I have a “list” of things I am supposed to pick up for him. If I don’t go, I sabotage his efforts, and I don’t want to do that. Not to mention, not going sabotages my efforts. I did good 2 weeks ago; but this last week has been fill with fair food, cotton candy, and bad eating out choices. Why can I not get my act together and do this right, like I did last fall? what is holding me back? So. I don’t quit. I keep trying. Trying is better than not doing anything. But its still frustrating.

Cheaper Than Hotels

Spain is widely know for Flamenco music and dance, bullfights, lots of fun in the sun, and has much much more than that to offer. Traveling to Spain is a dream of mine. I would love to travel outside of the US and Spain is at the top of my list. But I would have no clue how to go about taking such a trip. Where would I start? Where would I book accomodations? What tourist attractions would we want to see? Cheaper Than Hotels.com is one such resource that makes traveling to Spain and other foreign countries a snap.

Whether it be Hotels in Barcelona, or Hotel Accomodation in Midrid, they allow you to make last minute (inside 21 days) and year round (outside 21 days) reservations. Room types are suitable for those traveling by themselves, as well as couples, families and larger groups. Imagine staying in a beautiful hotel located in the heart of Madrid. The Hotel Puerta de Sol has the charm of the original building and occupies a 19th Century building, but has state-of-the-art technology innovations of the 21 century. Cheaper than Hotels.co.uk makes traveling easy and affordable.

A Clear Calendar

The week has started out busy for Ethan, but not for me. Yeah! He was called last night and told that Praise Band practice was changed from Wednesday night to tonight. And he has Barbershop practice tomorrow night — and GAP Wednesday night. He is working a shift for someone else on Thursday, (it was his day off), and … well, I’m not sure about Friday. And he’s scheduled to work Saturday. Me? I have an appointment in Topeka tomorrow afternoon, but other than that, I don’t have anything on the calendar. We have school enrollment next week that I will do one afternoon or evening, and I still need to decide what I am going to do about VBS. I could hang around, help out where needed, take pictures, count offering, etc, like I have before. Or. I could enjoy the time off for the first time in 10 or so years. It is such a relief not not to direct this year.

Sleepless In Seattle

I have lived in Kansas all of my 48 years, except for a few years in Michigan in my twenties. When David and I were first married, we worked in a family owned business (his mom and dad owned the business), and we did alot of traveling during the summer months, going to fairs to sell the product that was manufactured during the rest of the year (puppets and plush toys). Even though we worked our tails off, we did get to see alot of great country. Our favorite place was a town just outside of Seattle, and we both agreed that if we ever decided to leave Kansas for whatever reason, we would probably invest in some real estate in Washington State. We loved the people there, the beautiful mountains, and yet, you also weren’t too far from the beach either. The weather in the summer wasn’t too terribly hot, and for whatever reason, we just grew to love that part of the country.

No Fun At The Fair

David didn’t stay very long at the fair. Usually he’ll run into someone he knows and talks all evening; but apparently that didn’t happen this evening. Plus, I know he was tired — he worked all day, changing truck tires. The livestock show wasn’t holding his interest, so he called to see if there was anything I wanted from there (like a hamburger, cotton candy, etc). Not really, so he came on home. We let someone borrow our camper that had to be at the fair all week with their livestock, I would assume, and so we need to go help them get it back to our house tomorrow. Ethan doesn’t work tomorrow, but he did get a call tonight that they will be having Praise Band Practice, which is normally on Wednesday nights. Works for him, esp. since he doesn’t work. I do have a list of things I would like for him to do, so its not like he won’t be “working” — just not at his “real” job.

He’s kinda excited. Minimum wage went up. So, with this next paycheck, he’ll be seeing an increase in pay. I make more than minumum wage at both places, so I won’t be seeing any difference. I still smile with I think about what he said this evening about the ride bracelets. He’s learning.

Bathroom Sinks

I am always a little timid to go in public bathrooms these days. Gone are the days where you pull the handle to flush or manuever the faucets at the bathroom sinks to wash your hands. Its all automated. And yet sometimes, you are looking for the things to make them work, and feeling like an idiot because its just not there, and yet, nothing is happening. And then, as you contemplate just walking away, it flushes. Or you are waving your hands in front of the faucet, trying to get the water to come one. And then look around to see if anyone is watching. Is it just me and I’m an idiot? I understand the health factors behind all the new automated features, but it still always makes me a little nervous to walk into a bathroom I’ve never been in, and wondering if I will be able to figure everything out.

Luxury Home

We live in a small town, in a small house. But, with just the 3 of us, and in a couple of years, it will just be the two of us, its big enough. It works. But, there is always that dream. To have something better. Bigger. A luxury home, with many rooms, state-of-the-art appliances and features. A room for everything, instead of of a bedroom doubling as an office. A kitchen with an island. A room for just my scrapbooking, complete with organization shelves and bins. A bedroom that you could lost in, complete with a huge walk-in closet, and a bathroom with a jacuzzi tub and again, lots and lots of room. This, of course, isn’t who we are, but it is nice to dream sometimes.

Too Funny

For years … the little county fair is the last week of July. A few carnival rides, livestock show, demo derby… you know, the whole small hometown setting. And, every year, on the last night of the fair, its “bracelet” night. The bracelet is $15.00, with the bracelet, you can ride all the rides you want, instead of having to buy individual tickets. Every year, we have had to buy Ethan a bracelet, even though we have said that it wasn’t worth it.

To quote him just a few minutes ago, when his dad called to see if he was going down to the fair this evening … “Now that I am a working man and I have to buy the bracelet myself, I realize …. Its. Not. Worth. It.”

Hmmmm. Imagine. That. Now why didn’t WE think of that???

Its In The Mail

I tend to take things I really like to do to an extreme. I love reading, and have bookshelves full of books. Scrapbooking — drawers and organizers full of scrapbooking supplies. Blogging? yep, have several of those as well. Before the days of the computers and email, and quite honestly, before the days of “David”, I was married before, and lived a life quite opposite to the one I’m living now. I stayed at home and raised our sons. And I mean, I literally stayed at home. We didn’t attend church, we weren’t involved in any social groups of any kind, our friends consisted of a high school friend and his wife of my husband-at-the-time. He bought the groceries, he did all the “in town” running for us (we lived out in the country). A very very isolated life. Because of my love for writing, he did allow me to have pen pals. Snail mail was wonderful. And of course, I didn’t have just one or two snail mail friends. There were days I would receive Mailboxes full of mail. Letters, gifts (like when my children were born), exchanges of stickers, books, stationery. In some respects, I miss that part of my life. But it was another lifetime, another way of life, and the life that I have now is so much more fulfilling and I am totally blessed by my husband, and my family, and those people I have met through working and just being a part of the community.

Traffic Gauge

Living in a very small rural Kansas town, the closest thing we come to a traffic jam is when a farmer is moving his combine or John Deere tractor from one field to another, and he is having to take the highway, and is only running 20 mile an hour. I have traveled enough though to have gotten a taste of what is for some people an every day thing. Driving in traffic, surrounded by hundreds of cars, moving down the highway at a very fast past. Until you come to a dead stop. Or just crawling. An accident ahead, or road construction. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you get get an up-to-date, up-to-the-minute traffic report ? Big city commuters, there is a solution.

“TrafficGauge device offers real-time traffic anytime, anywhere with the TrafficGauge handheld, TrafficGauge for Cell, TrafficGauge for PC, TrafficGauge for Widget Suite and TrafficGauge for iPhone. Each product or service offers simple to use and easy to read traffic maps. These maps are the best in the industry. The device is an award winning, customer-loving favorite for navigating traffic in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. The cell phone and PC/Mac software is free and works in most major metropolitan markets.”

Weekend Stuff

This weekend has sooo not gone according to plan. It was almost 6:00 last night before I could call the day my own. Granted, I got quite a bit accomplished. Just not the things on my list. But. This upcoming week looks a lot less hectic, so I’m hoping to get back on top of my game here. Vacation Bible School is not this week, but the next week. Since I’m not “in charge”, I may be able to bow out. I’ll have to bow out one day anyway for my weigh in in Topeka. Just gotta decided about the other 3 days. See how the work week goes and decide from there.

Moving To An Apartment

When I first moved back to Kansas, I lived in an apartment for several months. In 2 short years, Ethan will be moving out, and I would imagine he will be moving into an apartment as well. Sometimes you can find a house to rent; but assuming he’s going to college, not living at home, and not living in the dorms, then you can safely assume he’s living in an apartment. If he is close to home, then it probably won’t be a big deal to find something for him. But, he moves further away, then how do you go about finding something? Looking on the internet, I found a few resources formoving to an apartment. Apartment Guide.com is a nationwide apartment finder and locator. You can search for over 6 million apartment units for rent. Views of the apartment floor plans, and photos of the property are also available.

I know moving to an apartment, esp. out of the town you live in, or even out of state can be stressful at best. But if you have some idea of what you are getting into before you go to actually see the apartment, that will relieve some of that stress involved. I still find it hard to believe that in less than two years, this will be the stage of life that we are in. Apartment hunting. College orientation. My “baby” is growing up, and moving to an apartment is just part of that process.

Blogathon 2007

I had forgotten that this weekend is Blogathon 2007. I had considered doing it again this year, but since its tomorrow, I think I’ll just stand on the sidelines and cheer those friends I sponsored and others on to victory. 24 hours hours of blogging — for a good cause. I have enjoyed doing it in years past … but I’m kinda glad the pressure is off and its not something I’m committed to do this year. There are times I just have to say … enough. Is. enough.

Almost the Weekend

Just have to get through this afternoon (and finishing that wonderful quarterly report), attending a parade, and then the weekend is mine, mine, mine. I had 2nd thoughts about attending the parade; but I was told the float turned out really good, so I want to get pictures of it. Meaning, I will be there. Ethan has to work until 8:30, so he won’t. But David and I can leave from work, and attend together. This is the first year that he and I aren’t right smack in the middle of it. Usually this has been our responsbility, and ultimately, we would end up driving the van as well. So, it’ll be nice to sit on the sidelines and watch this year. It’ll be different. The fair board decided there would be no throwing of anything (candy, etc). So, it’ll be interesting to see how everyone does, and what happens.

End Of The Quarter

I’m almost there. I only have 4 more driver’s and I’m done with my part of the IFTA report. Each driver has a week’s worth of driving information that I have to record on a spread sheet.

Now. If I was efficient, I would be on top of it and inputting it every week. But when our boss got divorced a few months ago, the things his wife was doing became my responsibility. And I’ve just never gain the momentum to stay totally caught up on everything. So now we are down to the wire with the IFTA report. It is based on each quarter. And yes, I know, the end of the quarter was the end of JUNE, not July. But, we have 30 days from the end of the quarter to get it turned in.

I would like to put a little extra effort in next week and see if I can get on top of what has gone by in July already, and then, it would be a piece of cake, inputting their information each week. But, I’ve just never gotten to that point yet. And I haven’t been the dedicated employee staying until 8:00, 9:00 or working all weekend like my husband does for the company. I put my 20 hours in, and usually, that is that. 20 hours at the church, 20 hours at the trucking company. (and 20 hours for the paid blogging [grin] I would say enough is enough.

I do see light at the end of the tunnel though, and I do think I can finish up tomorrow. If not, it will only take a couple more hours Saturday morning to do it, and that would be OK. Just not all day. But I’m going to try my best to finish up tomorrow. Wish me luck!

It’s. Hot.

Its hot. Our little county fair is going on today through Sunday. Its a typical little fair. A few rides. Lots of events going on. People from all over the county displaying their prized vegetables and crafts and baking abilities and other various things. The livestock is all groomed up, looking their best. It has that small town atmosphere that only a small town can do. A town coming together for an annual event. But. Its hot. I will probably sit this out today. Maybe the parade tomorrow, depending on late I work. I suppose I should be there to take pictures of our float. But, I’ll just have to see how my day goes. Did I mention — its hot!

Service In The Shade

Besides dispatching for 11 trucks, and all that goes along with that, David also does alot of the mechanic work. Not all of it, and he has enough common sense to know when to actually send it to the shop and let “professionals” work on it. But for the little odd and end stuff, that is usually what he spends his evenings and weekends working on. He and the boss have talked about either turning one of the out buildings into a shop, or erecting a couple of steel buildings for what they need. It would definately make servicing the trucks, and changing tires alot easier. Alot of the things he does, its done out in the open, which means he’s out in the 100 degree heat in the middle of summer. Getting a shop is one of those things on their “to do” list … but its been there for several years now, so only time will tell when they actually get one.

Frontier Days

I wonder how Matt is doing. We called him the day he left, to see how he was getting along, and he was already there. Blew me away, but David did the mileage math for me, and it was possible, but it sure wasn’t what I had in my head for what it would take for him to get to where he was going. When WE used to go there, we always figured it was a 12 hour drive to Denver and a couple more hours on to Cheyenne. But. That was back in the 80’s and the speed limit then was only 55. He took the Interstate most of the way, and the speed limit now is 70 … and well…he’s a man. So, you know he pushed it closer to 75. And he didn’t stop. I was thinking he would get there around 10:00 pm. When we called at 3:30, he was already there. A huge relief to me, but it still just boggled my mind he could get there so quickly. I hope he is having fun. Cheyenne Frontier Days are going on right now — I would love to go back and spend a day there again.

Intranet Software

I have always worked in small offices, where there is just myself and maybe one or two others. But I am confident that under different circumstances, I would thrive in a larger office, with many employees. I would be interested in seeing how intranet software works. Epazz.com offers a 30 day free trial of their software. You just need to contact them to get started. The setup includes integration to backend systems, website content management, group scheduling, business email solutions, and much more. They make a seamless integration for you, working with you from start to finish. With their software, you can connect with the rest of your working world with a one point secure access.

Its All Behind You

I know the women that need to buy padded panty do so for a reason. And to them, they have just as many negative thoughts about how they look as I do. But this is one item I know I will never be in need of. I was blessed (or cursed, depending on how you look at it), with my mother’s hips, and flat it not a word I would use to describe my behind. But we all use items, of some kind, to enhance, hide, or help control some part of our bodies. I had just never heard of padded panties before, and what their use was. But now I know, and it actually makes sense. Just wish it was a problem I had. Its easy to add to to give that more curvy look to your bottom. But when your behind is big. Its. Big. And there’s not a whole lot you can do about it easily. It takes time, exercise, weight loss, and even then, sometimes, all of that doesn’t help. Its just there. *sigh. Maybe in another lifetime….

On The Same Page

I think Ethan and I have finally got on the same page to how his school year will play out. It is a plan that builds one thing on to another. I’m not letting him just jump in and be involved in anything and everything. His number one priority is SCHOOL. And everything else hinges on that. If his grades continue to be good, then he can keep working. With work comes a paycheck. With a paycheck, comes a “good” car at some point. As well as a class ring, senior pictures, etc. If he can make those 2 things work, we just paid his dues for Barbershop, so he is somewhat committed to that. Barbershop means practice in Topeka once a week. And then a few performances along the way. It’ll take some planning, to schedule those days off, but its workable.

If he can make THESE 3 things work … then he can advance on to another activity. He still wants to do forenesics and drama, plays, etc. Those won’t be things he’ll get into until later in the fall. So, we’ll see how committments 1,2 & 3 are doing. If he is making it all work with the 3, then I will consider letting him do another play. It just depends on when the practices are, what the play is, etc. I honestly think he can “do it all” if he applies himself. But there is also a limit to “doing it all”, so each activity will have to be well thought out, considered carefully, before we agree. It doesn’t take much to become overwhelmed and over committed.

Breakfast Gift Baskets

Sometimes I need to give a gift, and I am at a loss what to give. Esp. if it is a “thank you” gift. I personally love baskets, and when they are filled with things, thats even better. I will have to keep these breakfast gift baskets in mind the next time our Youth Director takes on an event with our youth, which involves keeping them overnight. What a special way to say “thank you”, for being a part of our kid’s lives, for teaching them about God, and just being a positive influence and role model. As our church secretary, I know how much it means to me when flowers or a gift show up on my desk from the elders, or even individuals of the congregation, just letting me know how much they appreciate all I do. Sometimes, I feel like I am not doing a good job, and its nice to know that the “outside world” within our church doesn’t think that way. I enjoy passing that feeling forward to others, to let them know that I appreciate what they do, because I’m sure, there are times, they feel the same feelings I have about not being appreciated.

Going beyond “just gift baskets”, I particularly like this company because it is a family owned business. I have been a part of a family owned business, so I know how much hard work and dedication goes into running a business like this. When it is family owned, it just seems like efforts are taken to go a step further than most companies. And Gourmet Gift Baskets.com is no exception. They have been in business since 1940, and it is their goal to go that extra mile to give the customer the finest quality product on the market.

Feeling Overwhelmed

I know alot of my feeling overwhelmed is self inducted. But I can’t tell you how thankful this year I am not doing several things that I normally do. Directing VBS has been one of my yearly activities, and this year it’s not. I started last year by co-directing with our youth director; and at the end of the year, it was wrote into her contract for her to be the director. That is a HUGE load off my shoulders. And then also, I believe its this weekend — I need to check because I want to be a cheerleader to a few people — the Blogathon. I’ve sponosred a couple of people, and it feels good to be on this end of it — being able to cheer THEM on, instead of be right in the middle of it as I have some years, being a participant. I have enough on my plate that blogging for 24 hours, even if it IS for a good cause, just isn’t on my agenda for this year. I have other things that take priority.

Gotta get busy, though! the day is young.