Happy Halloween!

had a successful if somewhat exhausting Elementary Fall Festival...came home to nap in front of a Finding Bigfoot marathon, did manage to wake & up & see the new one! took katie up town to meet friends to smash pumpkins when said friends returned from the Jamesport JHBB tournament. will she end up on the neighbors facebook page in a pumpkin stealing video???
while I am having trouble letting go of some aspects of childhood, trick-or-treating is one I didn't really miss tonite. I was proud of her Perry the Platypus costume, and that she was very nice to her preschool buddy Kylie!
Nellie the school cook shared her concern with me over Katie not eating breakfast or lunch.
we don't carve pumpkins anymore, don't make fantabulous halloween treats like caramel apples or popcorn balls, don't hide in the dark to scare trick or treaters, I did buy some ringpops & left the porch light on this year, no trick-or-treaters. haven't had any for years. too far off the main drag.

All Hallows Eve

my favorite holiday...and altho I bought some pumpkins, just not getting into it. did a small porch display. bought a new halloween tshirt but put on my comfy North Mercer Athletic Dept. Hoody instead. just cold. and losing interest in everything! I cry so easily. I can't get pumped up about anything. maybe just part of the natural aging process? because I don't think it's serious enough to go to the dr. asking for Rx that could cause anything from uncontrollable anal seepage to insomnia to suicidal tendancies. took the day off for the Elementary Fall Festival. don't even really want to go! took Katie & Bre to school after I finally got them up....how Kevin gets Katie up everyday and off to school I don't know. she can be very trying. of course, I keep setting my own alarm later & later...hibernation season is upon us. just too damn hard to get out of bed in the morning. guess I'll finish my Pepsi & head to post office & school...see if we need to set anything up yet.
did some cleaning last nite....throwing stuff away is so cleansing! of course I should reduce-reuse-recycle, but that ends up with stacks of shit sitting around the house. cleaned thru GS stuff, throwing away old meeting notes, projects, etc. started a new genealogy scrapbook with asst. pictures, newspaper clippings, etc. need to clean out the scrapbook bag by my bed...did make some room on the bookshelf, though. progress!!!

todays photo shoot....

perfect day, beautiful subjects! here are a few of my faves...

deleted another facebook relative...

no reason to go into details...but I have a feeling this is how those big blank holes appear in genealogies...when the self-proclaimed genealogist of the family gets pissy & quits making notations on different branches...ignoring, oh say, births... am thinking I should just keep track of my own immediate family & the hell with the rest of them. don't want to intrude on anyone's privacy. although my theory is if you post it online...it ain't really private. but whatever.

weekend update

Katie ended up going to Barnwarming with Cash, he hasn't officially asked her out, but some of his friends did? and yes, he was the quarter back of the Princeton JHFB team, keeping in line with her life goal of marrying a NFL Quarterback...you gotta start somewhere, right? her camera was broken. as in toast. Saturday night she had a bonfire/weanie roast at Emily's at Bethany, so dropped her off & shopped at Walmart, found a new pink camera.
today's plan is a photo shoot, want a new picture to put on the mantle. maybe Breanna is coming? can't talk Mr Bubba into it. he says definitely the NEXT weekend he comes home. uh-huh.
it is a beautiful fall day, perfect for portraits. and we found Katie's 3 new AE long sleeved shirts in the car...how long had they been there? who knows?
threw away her razor collection per Nurse Practicioner Dermatologist. purchased NAIR. and new razor. forgot plastic gloves. she thinks the Tagamet is working, bought 2 more boxes of that, too. some of the spots are drying up & scabbing over.
did the weekly turtle tank cleaning yesterday, the one who wasn't growing & whose shell was getting soft was dead. He/She was buried in the rocks right in front of the little country church in front of porch. we definitely have a pet cemetery theme going here...how many pets have been buried in various spots in our yard since 1995? Snoball, litters of kittens, all of Boo-duh's first litter of puppies, Baby Nala, Bunny Foo-Foo, fish, Mr Frog, Sierra the Hamster, Templeton the Gerbil....
how many (now deceased) pets have we had?
1 rabbit
dogs: Shannon Lee, Baby Ryan, Little Miss Scooby Doo, Missy, Scrappy Doo, Nala, SnoBall, the basset hound who ran away the first night...
cats...Pochohantas, Nala, Socks, Mr Cat, Lucky, Mischief, Princess (I seriously can't remember all the cat names...)
fish: Norman and many others
1 frog
hamster: Sierra
gerbil: Templeton
chickens: Nugget and five others

there have been many tearful ceremonies in our yard, lots of mounds of rocks. does losing pets make kids stronger? or would they be better off not listening to their moms bitch endlessly about litter boxes, flea treatments, vet visits, walks, feeding, etc?

hope

note to self...

people who hide bodies in storage units do tend to eventually get caught....but as my clever son pointed out to me...usually because they're dead & quit paying rent. hmmmmm...

Katie's first Mercer HS dance....sigh...

Breanna came over here to get ready 4 Barnwarming....they were beautiful, as always. I hope they have fun! Katie's out-of-town date that she was so excited about fell thru. But she was prepared to hang out with her Mercer guy pals at the dance. I gave her a check for pictures...will she get any? will she take her own with her camera? will it be a magical enchanted evening? I sure hope so! any activity that starts with a weenie roast on a chilly autumn evening is sure to be spectacular!

be yourself

what would the child you once were

think of the adult you have become? hmmmmmm.....I don't think the child me ever planned on getting fat & spending years of my life in a hog barn, but I did want to be a mom!

if...

more Redneckin'

Redneck Girl

sure enough, my Daisy Duke wearin' days are over, & I probably wouldn't survive chugging a bottle of Boone's Farm, but I still enjoy barefootin'...and I would dearly love to have me an El Camino sitting in the driveway at the trailer park...

An Angel's Love

The Walk continued...

more pictures!

The Walk

after working all day, doing chores, and dropping Katie off at the JHBB game, I found the long leashes & took Sasha & Daisy for a walk at the park. Hadn't been in forever since Sasha is such a turd & has to bark at everyone. No one was there today, just us...so they ran & frolicked & I took some cell phone pictures of the awesome autumn scenery. This is the first time I've ever seen the pond there dry up!

furthuring education!

I knew she would! I knew she would! I knew she would! Koren has (or is going to ?) enroll in a community college to finish pre-reqs so she can go to PHARMACY SCHOOL! she has always been such an ambitious girl, and she burned herself out for awhile, but she is ready to move on. she had been talking about getting her Masters. she just needed a break. I am so proud of her! she is living the dream. when she wants something, she goes for it, she doesn't reason herself out of it and just keep on keepin' on. and for that, I am eternally grateful!

ahhh....the futility of it all...

if only I was allowed to take a camera to work...the majestic sights I could record! the dead rat in g barn. the butterfly crashing into the b barn window trying to somehow get back outside. the huge bird that endlessly flies around b barn. the intricately designed spider webs. the tipped over boar cart. the surprise feed spill. the occasional adorable baby pig. the sun twinkling through dust motes when the curtains drop. the flies. the cards rippling in the rare breeze. the line up of yellow boots. I guess you just have to be there...

this is my facebook status....
when a nurse practitioner sends your daughter to a SPECIALIST...why does said daughter see a NURSE practitioner at the Speciality Clinic? because I'm a mom, I could just get another mom to look at her...a specialist makes me think a DR. (my husband, who had to deal with all this while I was being a 'career woman' thinks it's nuts that I am p***** off)

this is the situation: after PE Teacher & School Nurse expressed concern over Katie's rash, she went to see our DR, who is actually a nurse practitioner. she referred her to a dermatologist. Kevin takes her to speciality clinic, to see a NURSE PRACTITIONER, who we have to pay specialist co-pay too. while I am at my fucking miserable job. then go afterwards to a stupid mandatory meeting. then when I get home & realize that she just saw a nurse, I am upset. I think I have good cause. sure, a Nurse Practitioner does have more training than just a nurse. But does she have as much training as a DERMATOLOGIST? I guess something good has happened, I have learned to correctly spell PRACTITIONER!

the absentee mom

I picked up Katie from dance practice, brought her home, fed her Jacks Pizza, took her to the jr hi game & dropped her off, then she got a ride home, grabbed a bag, & headed to Kayla's to spend the nite. Kevin still isn't home from his fun day. it's just me. (sigh)
I'm coming to the scary realization that when your kids grow up while you're at work, they don't see the need to hang out with you when you're not at work...

KJ's day in court...

Kevin went with him....$531 fine, 6 points on his license. can't wait for his insurance to jump up! the prosecuting attorney said to chalk it up to a life lesson or some such bullshit. how do you smash in someone's vehicle without damaging your own? when you take the rap for some other dipshit. but that's just my unbiased opinion. where are all the REAL law enforcement legends when you need them? (yes, I have a photo tribute....) it could've been worse, he got the minimum penalty. they could've demanded restitution, thousands of dollars, jail time, loss of license...

pUpPy PaLoOzA!

yesterday KJ went back to college & I picked Katie up....she had a big weekend...Britney spent the nite Thursday, then Katie spent the weekend at Kyla's in Bethany...complete with a movie date, 4 wheeler riding, Pizza Hut, 3 birthday parties, AND church! she didn't feel good enough to go to school today but perked up in the afternoon, practicing her eyeliner so she can be her sister Koren for her favorite Elder Person Day, and went out to hang with her puppies. then we watched Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides...she loves the mermaids, too! Koren called, they are going to have Thanksgiving on Saturday, an early supper. Ed & Norma plan on being there, need to let mom, dad, & John know.
Katie found shorts for her Halloween outfit.