Camping, camping, camping!

So, um, as you may have guessed, I am going camping! Yay! If I could, I would live there...except that I really do enjoy having people around most of the time. Not that I go visit anyone, but I like seeing that there are people there, if you get what I mean.

Anyhow, I will be going first thing in the morning, and will return on the 27th, as late as I can possibly make it, and still have time for a shower when I get in...lol

Wanted to let y'all know I'll be thinking of ya (well, at least sometimes!), and I'll post pictures when I come back. I'm sure Dave will on his blog, as well.

Y'all take care! Try to stay out of trouble while I'm gone, huh? :)

Hurt...

Isn't it amazing how the people that say they love you are often the ones who hurt you the most?

My mom's birthday was last Friday, and I bought her a copy of October Sky (the novel, not the movie, about the farmer who wanted to build his own spacecraft about the time that Sputnik was going up). Her reaction then was "What in the world made you think I would like that?" She hadn't seen the movie, or any of the ads for it, but vaguely knew about it once I gave her a brief description. She said she would read it, but sounded pretty doubtful that she would enjoy it. I bought it for her because I thought she might like something a little different than what she's been reading (romance novels, because they're cheap and throwaways) and I don't know what books by her favorite authors she has or hasn't read anymore.

Apparently I screwed up, though, because a week later she still hasn't started to read the book and asked me again tonight why I thought she would like it.

So now I am sitting here, in tears, feeling like I've somehow disappointed her yet again (won't go into other stuff right now), and wondering if I'll ever be able to please the woman.

Sorry about the pity party. I'll try not to let it happen again.

Hope y'all have a better day.

New pictures!

Okay, I have to post some pics of Keagan 2.0--he's sans oxygen cords now! Ain't he cute?
Oh, that's my youngest son Matt holding the baby--I don't have any real good pictures of him lately, so I'll have to get some.

And did I mention that we got a new camera? Better than half-price at Kmart, on clearance! (Man, I love sales!) Anyhow, we've been playing with it for the last couple of days. Got some pictures of our critters (the cat is Patches, the dog is Tex), plus some flowers that I saw while walking on Sunday. The two pictures of the rose are actually the same flower in different light.

And this is a picture of the end of a sunset. Didn't get all the awesome colors because I was out too late, but this was still pretty. I was standing on one corner and zoomed in towards the park across the street. I'm going to be trying to get some other sunsets pretty soon, plus fireworks this Friday should be cool too!

I can't wait to be able to take the camera camping! There's some really great views up there! Not to mention all the critters! :)

Anyhow, I'm off for today. Hope y'all have a good one!

Be careful what you wish for...

You just might get it!

I've been getting new jewelry items at work (very cool stuff, most of it), but no new layout to tell me where exactly it's supposed to go. So for the last 4 weeks or so I've been asking "is it here yet?" The answer has always been "nope, not yet"--until this week. It came in on Monday, but I couldn't start on it until after I had all this week's freight put away and the order done.

Got that stuff done and got to look at the new layout. I just about fainted on the spot! The packet was about an inch and a half thick (most of it new labels), but the worst part is that everything is moving! I kid you not, I mean everything! So I now have 3 carts full of stuff that is moving further down the aisle, and big empty holes that I need to fill in. And I think it needs to be done by the end of next week. (Or that's when they would like it done, anyway.) No pressure.

'Scuse me while I hide somewhere.....yeep!

On a side note, Tree and Rachele had to go out of town today. Tree's dad died yesterday, of (as yet to me) unknown causes. So they are going to be with his mom until the funeral on Monday--they have to be back by Tuesday night due to an appointment that Rachele has on Wednesday.

Guess that's all for now. If I think of anything else, I'm sure I'll add it later.

Have a good one!

New news...

Okay, first things first: Tiny has been home for about a week and a half, and is doing wonderfully well! He's gaining almost an ounce a day. Tree says that when he eats, you can almost see him getting fatter! lol I promise to get some pics on here soon! He does still have the oxygen and monitor, but doesn't need very much oxygen, which is good. He gets lots of cuddles from everyone around. Rachele says he's still pretty quiet, except when he's wet--then he lets EVERYONE know about it! lol (One of the best parts about being a grandma--I don't have to change diapers if I don't want to!)

My son Jake is going to be graduating from Basic training on the 13th of this month. I'm really proud of him. He wasn't sure he would make it through, or that he would give up on it. I think it's been good for him, though. I hear the same maturity in his voice that I heard in my brother's when he was in, and also in my son Daniel's when he was in it. It may be hard, but they have to be. They have to make sure that their soldiers aren't going to break at a crucial moment. The only thing that scares me is Jake's MOS, which is forward observer--which is another way of saying scout. That means that Jake has more likelihood of being called into active duty (he's Nat'l Guard) sooner rather than later. I've already had one son in Iraq, and I worried about him the whole time. It was pretty much God watching out for him that kept him alive over there. I can only pray that He'll do the same for Jake. One thing I do NOT want is a couple of soldiers presenting me with a flag.

Ooookay, that was a little more serious than I expected to get.

On the subject of being a radiology tech: Not sure I'll be able to do that. The school itself wouldn't be much of a problem, but the time factor might. I'd have to do regular classes (prerequisites) for a year first, then apply for the radiology program. They only take 16 applicants every year, so you have to have VERY good grades. Then it's two years (solid, no summer break) of classes and working at the hospital to get the hands-on training. I don't think I'd be able to do that and still work even part-time. Unfortunately, we don't have a place here that would pay me to go to school and learn this stuff. So I'm going to look into some other options. I'll keep y'all posted.

And now for the fun thing: If you look to your right, under my profile, you'll see some cute little dragon eggs. If you click on them, you can help them hatch. And if you would like dragons of your own, you can go here: http://dragcave.ath.cx/ You'll have to start an account, but boy, it's a lot of fun!

Okay, I'm off for now. Have a good evening...or something, since it's midnight!

Counting down...

Tiny gets to come home on Friday! He's up to 5 lbs., 9 oz. as of yesterday evening, but I didn't ask Rachele what he's at today. Probably not more than an ounce or two more than that. He will have to have oxygen at least for a while when he comes home, but hopefully it won't be for too long. Rachele and Tree are, of course, VERY excited! Rachele's been having a bit of a hard time reconciling not being pregnant and not having the baby here with her. And only seeing him a couple of times a day for an hour or so each time just doesn't quite cut it.

Anyhow, that's all for now, just wanted to post that quick update. On an unrelated note, I'm planning to make some phone calls tomorrow to see what all I need to do to get started on a radiology degree. It's a major change from working retail, but I think it'll be a good one. Wish me luck, folks!

Just to check in....

Haven't posted in a while, so I guess I should catch you all up.
A couple of weeks ago, I got to hold Tiny for the first time--I was almost afraid of breaking him, he seems so fragile. He's gaining weight fast now, he's up to 4 lbs, 10 oz! He's also been moved out of the incubator and into a regular bassinet, which means that he can regulate his own body temperature. Oh, and apparently he has a "super-power"--the ability to produce really smelly (the kind that can knock you over) diapers! lol

I'm looking forward to spring making its full appearance here, because I want to do some work in our yard and make it look nice. I've got some hostas and a bleeding heart that I want to plant, and I want to pick up at least one rose bush, as well as a raspberry bush and a blackberry bush. I've got some shrubs I need to trim before they try to take over the yard, and I want to get more stepping stones--right now the path only goes about four feet from the front gate! : )

A while back I posted that I was thinking about getting a different job. Well, I'm less stressed about my job now--it seems that either less stuff is getting stolen (which was my main frustration), or else I'm just more relaxed about it. But I still need to be making about twice what I am, which isn't going to happen in retail. Not here, anyhow--by the way, I'm only making $8 an hour, which is sad, considering that I could go to work at just about any fast-food place (eww--been there, done that, don't want to anymore) and make $8.50 to start. Bleah. So I'm toying with the idea of learning to be an ultrasound tech. Just have to figure out how to pay for it...

On a more fun note, last weekend, Dave, Heather, Tex, and I went to Riverfront Park. That's an undeveloped park just a couple of miles from our house. There are a couple of lakes there, and always a bunch of Canada geese and some ducks there. Heather and I fed the ducks and geese, and then I wanted to go for a walk on some of the trails. She didn't want to, though--she just wanted to wander around by the main lake with Tex, so off I went by myself.

I saw (and heard!) a bunch of red-winged blackbirds, a muskrat swimming in the smaller lake, and a beaver's lodge (but no beaver). There was a HUGE cottonwood that the beavers had tried to chew down, but apparently gave up on. It looked like an axe had been taken to it, and it leaned a bit, but didn't seem to be in any danger of falling down. Also there were a couple of places where tree branches came all the way to the ground and made "caves." I can't remember now if the trees were dead or not, but hopefully not, because those would look cool all leafy and green! I wish I'd had more time to go walking around, but we had to get home and finish cooking dinner. Next time I'll try to make sure I've got a camera so that I can put some pictures up.

Okay, I think that's all for now. I've really got to get out and do some stuff so this blog isn't so boring...lol Have a good one, folks!