awaiting the film crew....

should I be cleaning house instead of picnicking pretend historical pictures for hours on end? I guess I'll know when the reality film crew arrives at my house....but will it be Hoarders or Clean House?

my imaginary world...

in order to get the necessary 'gifts' from friends on my frontierville challanges, I have resorted to imaginary friends to help me get the gifts faster. today my newest friend showed up....

Lysander Lyman Lemonballs. he joins Callie Jay Canary, Tallulah Jane Puffenstuff, Ella Ewing, Daisy Duke, & Tommie Jo. Katie, my real life daughter, is beginning to worry about me....and Koren, my other real life daughter, had her flight cancelled & is stuck in a Best Western in Florida with a bad sunburn. They'll fly back tomorrow. She misses her cats!

2 hour delay

and good thing, too, since I fell back asleep after my alarm went off & never would've got up for work! the iciest place was the driveway and the truck running board. Today is my husband's birthday. The sun is shining. The OTC order came. and one of the band booster gift basket dvds. have to get ready for tomorrow's meeting, then take Mr Birthday Boy to Des Moines for supper. I have decided that NO MATTER WHAT Katie will be on that Jr KC Chief Cheerleader Team. I may be selling bodily fluids & extra organs....but we will make it happen.

have to make a hotdog run....Grammy's Grocery closes at 6 p.m. We are lucky to have a grocery store in our small town paradise!

life in the fast lane

I worked the weekend, the HyVee contract went thru (thank GOD!), Kj was home, now he is back at school. Kate had snow-makeup-day practices Friday nite & Saturday morning. The Homecoming BB game KJ had came home to see was cancelled. they went ahead with the dance. Thursday nites game was postponed till Sunday. Kevin saw some of it, Kate stayed for all, & called for a ride home. I left work to go to the GS Leaders Meeting, then back to check risers. there was quite a bit of snow Thursday nite, Mercer had a 2 hour delay Friday, most area schools just cancelled. tonite is freezing rain, complete with thunder & lightning. in Febuary. I know Global Warming is supposed to be a big government conspiracy, but with weather like this, you gotta wonder....

friday

2 hr delay for Mercer....several other area schools cancelled for snow. the homecoming BB games were cancelled. KJ made it home from NWMSU. Kevin had taken the nite off. Katie had makeup dance classes from another snow day. the zipper ripped in KJ's coat, found him a new one on clearance at Orshelins. also bought a glue gun, glue sticks, & ribbons for dance.

Thursday nites games were postponed till Sunday afternoon. Thursday nite dance class was put off till Saturday 10-12 a.m.

what I have learned from watching true life crime shows....

1. don't use your computer....EVER!
2. don't use your cellphone in area of murder.
3. don't buy bullets in your hometown.
4. same for disguises
5. don't leave the to-do murder list lying around.


and it's snowing! (again...so much for our spring break....)
Koren & Cody are kicking back in Florida on the beach right now....

hitched up the wagon

and journeyed into town for supplies....after a family dog walk at the park and backyard chores. no boots at Orshelin's for Miss Katie. did the flea stuff on indoor pets. made a pretty decent supper. against my better judgement, I started a new facebook game....Wild West Town. but damnation, I do look cute!

monday already...

first day of 12-in-a-row....altho I am taking days off next week....so first day of not-quite-12-in-a-row. and my riser week. spring like weather is gone, gone, gone. cold damp wind. no walk at the park for the doggies today. fell asleep on the couch watching an interesting special about trying to find blood relics of Abe Lincoln to DNA test for 2 possible diseases that were his 'other killers.' but now I won't know till it comes back on again & I happen to find it....weight loss, dizzy spells, cold hands, bumps on the face and lips, elongated limbs, too small head, lanky body...and the three boys died in childhood. did they prove anything?
Homecoming Week at Mercer....Katie had planned on dressing 80s for Decade Day today....but overslept. she has her Tacky Tuesday outfit laid out....we'll see. her class plays the anthem for the big game on Friday, got permission from Stephanie to miss the snow-make-up-day dance class so she can play in the band. counting down the days till Showstoppers....which is NEXT WEEKEND!

epic dance weekend

Saturday Kevin, KJ, Grandma Janet & I watched The Dance Studio put on a show at the Stacy Center Winter Carnival 2011. she brought Vivian home with her for a bit, then we went to the Dance Studio Competition Team Sleepover in Bethany. we were early, so went to Walmart where the girls did a photo shoot. (they also did one at Kum-n-Go!) the girls all seemed to have fun...Katie's group stayed up most of the nite. She came home on Sunday and crashed. I showered, facebooked, & picniked.

the dreaded Prairie Pox

my friends are ahead of me again....I have to visit 7 more neighbors, harvest 151 more wheat, clear 5 wildflowers that have yet to appear on my farm, build the doctors office, find 4 more peach pies, and harrass my friends for more wagon trailers.

now to the real world....slept in, got KJs college laundry done, caved into request for Mercer Pizza Plus for supper, got the Showstoppers patch off her quilt and onto her dance jacket, tacked down all adjustments on dance costumes, charged camera batteries, moved shoes to competition bag, labeled everything, found & printed off dance makeup directions...walked dogs at park.

our tax refund was in bank Friday, Kevin paid Redi-Reserve, personal taxes, Willis Garage, liscenced KJs car, washed Bonneville, paid back our loans to the kids.

I did my orders for OTC (band carnival, GS Camp, GS Easter Egg Hunt), and the Historically Speaking Juliette Low patch order. think I have badge orders up-to-date, just have to do our last 2 events.

planning a Camp Out Back for July....ordering Outback plush animals ($1.24 each) & Outback hats ($2.09each) for the girls....going to research Australian facts, foods for us to try, etc. then will do some Australian activities....games?....take an Australian hike in the pasture looking for wallabys, etc....

Katie shot down my whole GS Sunday/I Have The Magic In Me idea....learning magic tricks while they make our pizza at Pizza Plus. (I am still debating it.....I think it's cool!) ---also drove to the church sign to see what times Sunday School & church are so I can get the facebook event made & invites to mail made.

today she dances at the Stacy Winter Carnival in full makeup, hair, and costume. then home to shower and to the Dance Sleepover in Bethany. I will stay, too. Mr Bubba is home to dogsit. (he didn't know that was in the cards when he came home for the weekend!)

get down with the sickness

Frontierville. the last frontier in facebook games. I gave up Farmtown, Farmville, Country Story, some pet game, Zoo Paradise, CityVille, YoVille.......

I 'befriended' Tallulah Jane Puffenstuff to give myself gifts I needed to complete challanges. Tallulah has been a godsend...she has really saved my ass. but now....I need chocolates from 2 friends who don't play Frontierville. so, I have now 'befriended' Daisy Duke & Callie Jay Canary. am I losing it? quite possibly....

but all my friends are challanges ahead of me.....it's either quit my job & play fulltime or keep 'befriending' people to help me out.....I've taken imaginary friends to a whole new level!

Think Pink

Katie wanted to blow off the Pink Out game at Princeton in favor of the Cardinals game at Mercer. I made her go....her biggest fan Grandma Janet was going just to see her dance. and dance she did....well, she mainly talked to Vivian, but she was on the floor. I planned on taking her to Mercer game as soon as she danced....her dad vetoed that. we ended up leaving boys halftime & had a day late valentine's steak supper at Crossroads, where my old boss Bill Heck ruffled her hair & asked her if she knew her mom had worked there when she was about Katie's age.

got off work in time to take Katie to dance today. got the GS badge order up-to-date....came home, made supper, watched the new The Middle, did the bills a day early! Woo-hoo!

got a letter from Aunt Mary today.....she had not once, but twice in paranthesis....(don't put this on blog.) I have seemingly taken annoying to a whole new level. and that's the rest of the story.

stuff I forgot.....

Katie won a necklace at Koren's jewelry party. Koren lost her keys.....I shared her pain. I do that kind of thing all the time. If you retrace your steps enough....sometimes you get lucky. and she found them. Katie made a Valentine's Box out of ZebraDuck Tape. she was excited about that! and she took over the GS meeting when we finished our activities, she lined them out into a game of hide & seek, let them set the rules, and when they were done, they did the Cha Cha Slide, Cupid Shuffle, and Solja Boy. she was nice to Jessie. and we took some neat deer pictures out at the lake.

BUT her new yellow light up ball has disappeared. tragedy.

love

I promised Kj I wouldn't put this on facebook......

Sunday

we slept in after yesterdays road trip...I am making vegetable soup for us for lunch, pizza rolls for the kids. Katie is making a super fantastic valentine's box. think we're ready for the girl scout meeting. KJ will go back to school today, then it will just be us again. (sigh...)
the sun is shining, the birds are singing....life is good.

the weekend.

Kj is home for the weekend. Saturday Kate & I went to KC to Koren's Jewelry Party, we grabbed lunch at Chick-Fil-A drivethru, got to hang out with her for a bit, then bought valentine's box stuff at Michael's on the way home. long day, but fun. thank God for my co-pilot Katie & the GPS. I get so frazzled on road trips!

Lola went to the vet....she had 2 teeth pulled, got a cortisone shot for her arthritis, and tore an ACL she'll have surgery for next weekend. poor grandcat!

the sun is shining, the birds are singing, some of the snow is melting. I am trying to get ready for todays Mind Your Manners Girl Scout Tea Party, have to clean house, drag in chairs,

get the dress up clothes ready...it was originally supposed to be yesterday at the same time as Koren's jewelry party that I'd forgotten about....Koren called & reminded me, so rearranged everything, but some confused little girl showed up yesterday...my bad. even with my wonderful planner, I am not keeping my shit straight! maybe I also need a personal assistant. could I deduct that off my taxes? hmmmm....

a nice relaxing evening at home....

got home in time to take Katie to ballet, took some pictures of class. she wasn't real thrilled. we came home, walked the dogs, watched some rather disturbing Deadly Women in the dark (1 was a 12 year old girl & her 23 year old boyfriend who killed her mom, dad, & 8 year old brother). I 'did the bills' while Katie was showering. have to get real creative some paydays! somehow we keep on going.
a nice relaxing evening at home....

wednesday

got our taxes done, the education deal got us more $ back, so we can pay off our mechanic, our ready reserve, our son, our personal taxes....Kevin is worried about the contract negotiations at work so says we'll put off buying the tv till he knows all is well. Katie had ALL her dance classes tonite....except for ballet, which is regular time tomorrow. took some snow pictures, got KJ's FAFSA done. had a brain fart and couldn't remember the password....then looked where I always put everything and there it was. the sunlight streaming in the windows revealed how truly dirty the floor was, so swept, mopped, & swiffered, kind of cleaned the inside of the front windows. the dogs got several chilly potty walks today. we had lunch at Toot-Toots, we hit right after a huge rush, they were out of chicken and the dessert bar was bare, but what they had was very good. mailed back the books I didn't order, and the DVR we didn't order. now on to bills. the highlight of my week....maybe I'll have a moment to kick back before I have to pick up Miss Katie!

life is good.

"$100.00 reward for the damned fool who started the gold boom."
scratched onto a Navajo country boulder by a disenchanted gold seeker.
Yellow Dirt An American Story of a Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed by Judy Pasternak

took the day off, Katie had some problems getting motivated & missed the bus, took her to school. colder than a witches patootie. spending the morning picniking old family photos from Grandma Amanda's scrapbook...thinking I should photograph the Jennie Neill scrapbook I made & put it on line, too.
have an H&R Block appt. for 11:30, probably should get Mr Kevin up & going. Sasha & Daisy somehow ran out of dog food, fed them a mix of Ms. Cuddles food & Hayley & Booduh food this morning. and DAMN! it feels good to sleep till 7 a.m.! life is good. life is good.

the wild wild west

katie met me at the band boosters meeting after work...we put together a Wild Wild West band carnival....with a Best Dressed Cowpoke Competition...Sidewinder...Stick Horse Race....Brand The Calf...There's A Snake In My Boot....Diggin' For Gold...and a BBQ Sandwich Meal! Yee Haw! Fun For All!

walkin' in a winter wonderland...

yeah, yeah, it's a Christmas song, but it's also a fact of life here in good ole Mercer MO. taking the dogs out to do their duty is like setting off on an artic adventure.

Miss Katie is at the home ballgame. Miss Mom is home. (it is good to stay home!) Mr. Dad is of course at work. he was kind enough today to deposit the GS cookie $ into the GS account. need to start working on my badge order now....it will be Awards Ceremony before I know it! and have to get my Band Carnival stuff ready for meeting after school tomorrow. I know I had it ready...but where did I put it? Do I have enough time to find it? Will I even remember to go to the meeting tomorrow?

also have books to mail back on my pressing list of things to do...some more cookies to deliver....and a daughter to pick up here in a couple of hours. and build a Pony Express on Frontierville....and find 5 thorns....life is busy.

Toddlers & Tiaras

no Bob's Burgers....but did find something else to watch....and man, those mamas make us dance moms look pretty low key and mild mannered! wowza! and I got to sit

on the couch with my dogs and my blankie & make rude comments....my kind of entertainment!

Superbowl Sunday

not going to watch it. don't care about the commercials or the halftime show. Katie & I are going to have Mercer Pizza Plus for supper. after a long day at work, just want to sit on my lazy butt & possibly catch a new Bob's Burgers or something ghostly or wild animaly. I think I just made up a word!

Saturday

my weekend to work, so Kevin got to take Katie to special dance class @ the Bethany studio. I was up late last nite counting and recounting cookie $ & doing forms....Mom came over today while no one was home & left a check in the mailbox for her & John's cookies, then ran the money & forms into Tami. now, just to stress over how I'm going to get the cash into our account before Tami turns in the council check...can I talk Kevin into doing it for me? or leave work & run to the bank early morning? just when you think it's all over...
took snow pictures, now if they would just load....

cats in the garage

usually we strive to keep the outside cats....well...outside. but it has been a long, hard, cold winter. they wiggled under the front door Kevin had fixed, I was running them out every day....but I have taken pity on them. the neighbors dogs have figured out how to climb up on the deck rail & eat the food I put out for the cats. and baby, it is nasty outside. so, I have been feeding them in the garage. no water, though. they'll have to go outside & eat snow. and hopefully go potty....will be doing some garage cleaning when spring arrives...

and Daisy has become the escape artist. here in the house she is all lying around, being lazy & content. but she hears that front door open & she is outside like a shot. in the beginning you could call her back. no more. you have to follow her. this afternoon she ran for the park, I walked after her, she came back, and the neighbor was driving...I was afraid Daisy would get hit. he saw her & stopped until I got her corraled. when she is outside she is a puppy...all frisky & frolicking. is she trying to run away from us or does she just love to be outside? hmmmm...

leave a couple of gals home on a snowy night....

and they're baking chocolate cake & watching Deadly Women...after I took a 2 hour nap in the chair with the dogs when I was supposed to be watching Yeti Histories Mysteries...
I am becoming bored withe Zoo Paradise....for one thing, it takes waaaaaay toooooo long to feed all these animals I've acquired. Will finish up the 2 babies in my nursery, take some pictures, & probably be done for some time. did get my church finished in Frontierville...still have one damned groundhog to trap.
another Mercer snow day. Kevin took me to work, think I'll try it alone tomorrow. Roads are cleared....not bare, but passable. walking the deep snow checking risers wore my sorry ass out.
cookie chairperson called to see how I was doing collecting $....down to 2 sets of sisters. have to get on SNAP &enter prizes. no school Mercer tomorrow...they had a planned teacher in-service.
Kevin back to work. I know they posted online yesterday that NWMSU would have classes today....dress accordingly.

97 Orchard Street

this early 1900s wisdom had me rolling on the floor!

Disgruntled husbands could be made more manageable if their wives would only take the trouble to cook for them.

I love this book! very interesting!

Blizzard 2011

tried to get to work today....Kevin pulled the neighbor out of his driveway....we got about a little past Marie's and the road was drifted shut....turned around & headed for Princeton....a quick stop at Snappy's for breakfast & gas revealed that Burt Clark the maintenaince man was snowed in at Wade 4 & the Wade road was drifted shut. We went that way anyway....came upon Tricia Rudimant buried in a drift on the other edge of Ravanna. Kevin had a nice conversation with Shelby Goodman, who had made it over past Lije's before he turned around & came back....we tried to push Tricia out, but she was stuck, so gave her Willis' # for a tow & headed back. took some snow pictures, fed the dogs, changed our sheets, read, took a lengthy nap, now making Katie cheesey pasta for supper & we're having homemade chicken pot pie. Kevin & Katie journeyed out to Lineville to get Katie kleenix. she has a cold.

Mercer & NWMSU cancelled. I-70 was still closed when Koren got up, she called into work. Kevin was going to work an extra day, he called in to work. we'll see how the world looks tomorrow....a tractor went thru about 12:30a.m., followed by the maintainer at 3a.m., but the problem is the #!$%^&* highways!

Ralph Osborn

Blizzard 2011

I wanted to cry driving home from work....no visibility....drifts...windshield icing over...thank God it's just a few miles! if we can get out tomorrow, Kevin is taking me. called KJ to check on him, then Koren called to check on us. Mercer & Maryville called off school, Koren took a grownup snowday. cornbread, beans, & fried potatoes for supper. Mr Nice Guy put on his bib overalls & pulled both neighbors out when they slid off our curve. no school Mercer tomorrow. pictures of wrecks on facebook....Koren said the news said Warrensburg had 21" of snow & 2' drifts....