Good Morning

Good Morning!  It is just another day in paradise.  I am actually fully dressed, the animals are all fat and happy and I have my 3rd cup of coffee next to me!  The only big thing ahead of me for the morning is my Bible Study homework, but I enjoy that, so it isn't exactly "looming" over my head.   Wes and Betsy are in school and Katie and Michelle will go in late today as it is reading FCAT day (in the entire state of Florida) and they have both already passed it and do not need to take it again.  So, it's nice and quiet here as everyone is doing her own thing. Katie is actually reading a great book by Dr. David Jeremiah about worship.  She even asked me what would be a good Bible study for her to do this morning?  Wow.  

 I have a ton of laundry to do today, my gosh, it is unbelievable how it piles up over the weekend!  The rest of the house is doing alright still from all of the cleaning I did on Saturday morning (note my last entry).  Robert did walk into the kitchen with dirty boots (it was raining all day Saturday) right after I mopped the floor, but after the tongue lashing and guilt trip I gave him he actually apologized!  Well, it is getting on into the late morning and I want to finish my Bible Study homework before noon.  The men will be home for lunch around 12:00.  Got to run! ::~Bye~::

AWESOME CONCERT KATIE!!!

Wow, what an exciting night.  Katie had her concert at the Florida Opry in the downtown Plant City auditorium.  She did and exceptional job.  She ended up doing 7 songs, all country music like: Valentine (Marina McBride), How do I live (Leanne Rimes), Born to fly (Sara Evans), Here's your trouble and Cowboy take me away (Dixie Chicks) and a few more.  I was able to call Nannie and Papa on the cell phone and hold it up so they could hear it too, all the way to South Carolina. It is now very late and I have to sing in church in the morning. My first Sunday morning solo since joining the church 8 months ago.  Not a big deal, but I do need to get my "beauty rest!"  Night all. ::~bye~::

Where's all my help?

Where is all my help?  They are all still in the rack at almost 11:00 am.  I just had to take their pictures for posterity's sake.  They will want to kill me of course, but they don't know my password, therefore, they will be shamed before the entire world for still being in bed at 11:00 in the morning while the mother (that would be me) slaves away scrubbing floors and toilets!  Well, my floors should be dry now, so back to work I go.

              Here I am.  This is me tonight.  Farmer Brown is in bed, aaalll the kids are watching a movie in the den.  I put on a pot (decalf of course) and have glued my butt into the computer chair. I have surfed the net....read other journals....email friends and loved ones (hi mom! I told you I'd mention you in my journal today!) and even IM'd with my web-buddy Michelle for a while.  The evening is winding down and my pillow is looking mighty good about now. I am so proud of my graphic accomplishments this evening.  Good night all.

Learning to insert graphics

 I am so awesome!  I figured it out!!

Pictures I found

Here are some pictures of our mama Bassett Hound and her 12 puppies, before and after.  We are down to just 5 puppies left to sell.  They are over nine weeks old now, so we are about to reduce their price...................waaaayyyyy down.  Free!

Quasi is feeling better

Well, breathe a sigh of relief, Katie is feeling better today.  She is home from school one more day because her face is still swollen, but thank God the pain is about gone and she can open her mouth again.  That will come in handy tomorrow night when she is scheduled to sing at the Florida Opry.  She is doing a set of 6 songs and we were really thinking we would have to cancel yesterday.  We have several people coming to hear her from up to an hour away, so we are really breathing a sigh of relief.  The plumber is here fixing the kitchen sink and I can hear him and Katie and Michelle (she stayed home from school because.....support Katie?...hold her hand?....uhhhh I'm not exactly sure) anyway, they are talking away with the plumber.  And let me tell you, he IS the stereotypical plumber. (I didn't check for the 6" exposed crack, but everything else is text book!)  They are really amusing him with their teenage girly girl conversation.  Katie was in there singing away a minute ago.  Uh Oh, I forgot. Go into my friends and family journal and see my new pictures.  I have several new ones.  Well, I have to go, the plumber just hollared in that he's all set, so bye y'all.

Katie is sick

Poor Katie.  She has an impacted wisdom tooth and it may be absessed.  She started with an earache a couple of days ago and it has progressively gotten worse.  This morning she awoke with her face swollen.  She thinks she looks like Quasimodo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame.  Anyway, my day consisted of being a walk-in at the doctor's office.  It took 2 hours to see the doc.  I'm glad we did though, it would have just gotten worse and with the weekend coming!  We are supposed to go to the blood bank tonight to donate blood as a family.  My neice, Brady (2 mo. old) is having surgery on her skull next week and we are all donating blood in her name.  Bless her heart,  her head is not growing properly.   Well, I have neglected a million and one things today and must get caught up before farmer brown comes home.  See ya!

Orange blossoms are here!

The orange blossoms are finally beginning to bloom.  I am so excited as we have several hundred acres of orange trees around us.  From now until the middle of March we will wake to the sweet and intoxicating scent of orange blossoms.  I included a few pictures that I took today also.  Wes is working on the farm today and he called me from the tractor and asked me to bring him a snack to the fence.  I took these pictures of him then and that was when I noticed the orange blossoms, so I took a picture of those too, just incase y'all don't know what they look like!  I wish you could scratch and sniff!  Have a great day!

Not a Jeff Gordon Fan

Ok, I have to vent for a minute.  I am so mad!!!  Jeff Gordon?  Come on!  I can't stand him.  Why did he have to win the 500?  What happened Michael?  I was there with you buddy!  And Junior, the whole room was pulling for you!  Give me a break....Jeff Gordon,..... putz!

The prettiest day of the year!

What an absolutely gorgeous day!  I just came in from playing with my new Bassett puppy Tater.  She is so precious and playful.  The kitten was out there too and they played so cute together.  I included some digital pictures.  Anyway, our new daughter (Michelle, Katie's friend) moved in over the weekend and got registered for school this morning.  Her mom is moving here this summer and since she will be a senior next year she wanted to finish out the school year here so she won't have to be a new kid to start out her senior year.  She is very sweet and nice and I don't forsee any problems.  She is very pretty and has a boyfriend at this school that she met through Katie on her weekend visits up here.  So, here I go, another chapter of my life so to speak.  Well, the day is calling me away.  I want to get out there!  I saw on the Today Show this morning that the Northeast is covered in snow this morning!  And to think I am lucky enough to be living in paradise!!  WIt is very sunny, probably about 72 degrees with a nice breeze.  The humidity is next to zip.  I love Florida.  Wish you were here! Bye!

 

3 More Puppies sold!

Today was a great day!  We had a family come over and pick up 2 puppies.  I was just about to tell them about our 2 for 1 special (ha ha ha) when they said they would take 2 and then proceeded to pay full price for them! YEAH!!!! Then a little while later an employee of my husband came by with his 3 kids and got another one.  So that makes a total of 5 down, 6 to go.  No problem.  Got to go to bed, way past my bedtime.  Goodnight y'all!

You've got to be kidding me!

This definitely goes into my "you've got to be kidding me" file.   About a month ago, Robert called me and said that the George Strait concert tickets just went on sale.  He said "stop what you are doing and get us 5 tickets, I don't care how much they cost".  So I spent 2 hours online with ticketmaster trying to get them.  Finally, I was able to get 4 (the max they sell at once) for a grand total of $280.00!  Well, today is the day! Concert day!  And what do you think happens?  Robert calls and says "I don't feel like driving all the way to Orlando (about 2 hours in rush hour traffic) why don't you call around and see if we can sell the tickets.  HELLO! CONCERT IS IN 3 HOURS!  So, we give them to our 3 kids and Matt (the boy Katie plans to marry). They are now down to about an hour and a half before concert and are still here!  Matt is on his way.  Holy cow, does life ever get dull?  Anyway, great for me (even though I am in love with George Strait) because Robert and I are now going out to dinner by ourselves.  Someplace cheap after our Valentine's fiasco!

 

I'm getting there!!

I have finally figured out how to add pictures to my journal!!!!! I am thrilled.  Now I just need to get some more pictures!  If you will go in my family tree journal you will see a few.  I know you're going to think that I only love Wes, but he downloaded most of these pictures from friends and I don't have any of anyone else!  I am on a mission now!

Great Journals out there!

I have been reading other journals (to kill some time) and I am so impressed!  There are some really good writers out there!  There are some people who should be writing for a living!  My journal is pretty boring in comparison to some I read this morning.  I haven't spent much time reading about other people's lives, but starting today I am. I am also going to comment on some and hopefully make some friends.  I really enjoyed the following journal and plan to check in on it often: A lil' country charm! Well, I must get back to reading other journals!

Nothing special

Today is starting out as an ordinary day.  Nothing special.  Everyone got off to school and work fine and the house is quiet.  I am working this afternoon and then have a ladies seminar at church at 7pm.  I don't have a whole lot to do around the house today, so I will spend some "quality time" with the animals. My little kitty Dizzy has a limp this morning, so I need to check that out.  The puppies are barking already, still have 10!  Their mother, Abbie, is getting tired of them too, she nips at them for every little thing.  Their big brother, Fred, from her last littler is a good brother and plays with them, but he is only 1 y/o, so he is a little hyper and I worry that he will accidently hurt one of them.  They've got to go!  I may go saddle Mariah, my appaloosa and go for a morning ride.  It is really foggy this morning and cool.  Or I may just grab my book and read for a while.  It's nice being home!!  I don't miss working full time for anything in the world.  Well, I have bored you all and even myself with this entry!  God bless everyone who reads my dribble!

Jammy day

It is after 10:00 am and I am still in my pajamas!  I am still drinking coffee too.  I have already folded 2 loads of clothes and ran the dishwasher, but I just don't feel like getting dressed.  I got home around midnight last night after driving an hour away to watch Wes play industrial league softball.  I didn't want to go, but when I arrived at work yesterday afternoon I was told to call Wes.  He says "mom, dad said that he will come to my game tonight only if you ride with him, will you come? Please? I'll make you a plate of food to take with you.....please." How do you say no to that?  The last thing I felt like doing after getting home from work at 7:30pm was drive an hour and watch a softball game!!  So, I said yes, and when I got home he met me at the door with 2 boiled hotdogs in a hamburger bun (this was supper?) He says "you like mustard, right?"  I'm in a daze at this point, Robert is already in the truck waiting so I just grab it and start eating.  He then hands me a glass of lemonade and says "lets go!"  So, I dutifully went and watched him and got home around midnight.  Betsy comes in my room at 6:00 this morning and asks me to help her straighten her hair. (she has very thick wavy hair 1/2 way down her back)  It takes at least 30 minutes to straighten this mass of waves, but she refuses to go to school with wavy hair. So, that is how I ended yesterday and started today.    I can hear the puppies barking, all 10 of them. Yes, we gave 1 away.  We have decided to keep 1, so we have 9 to go.  No one has called about our ad either.  Help!  These are pure bred Bassett puppies! Come on people!  I feel like I have done nothing but gripe and complain this morning, but I am really feeling good today.  I am going to get up and get dressed now.  I have alot of mouths to feed out in the barn.  Bye y'all.

In touch

I am feeling very happy.  I just IM'd with two very special friends from the past.  I went college at a Baptist university in the early 80's and I  talked with 2 old friends this morning.  I also gave them this link, so I hope you enjoy reading my mindless prattle!  I highly recommend journaling to everyone and Lori and Mikki I would love to read yours if you create one!  Bye y'all!

Still freaking out

Just to let you all know, I am still totally freaking out about spending almost $200.00 on a meal last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Expensive Valentine's Dinner!

Last night my husband took me to a very nice restaurant for dinner.  They had a special for $99.99 per couple.  It happens to be his bosses restaurant, and he pulled a lot of strings to get reservations as they were booked solid.  As I looked at our budget, I was a little concerned about spending $100 plus tip on dinner, )on a Monday when payday isn't til Friday), so I asked my husband if he wanted to go somewhere else since our 15 year old would be home alone.  He said "sure, but call right now to cancel the reservation"  Well, I called and the girl that answered was his bosses sister and when I told her the reason she said, "Just bring her along!"  I was stuck, but thinking that she could just order something cheap off the menu, I said "Ok, that sounds great"  Not wanting my husband to know that the real reason I wanted to change our plans was over money, I said "Let's go"  Well, let me tell you, not only was our couple meal $99.00, but our daughter's meal was $49.00, because you could'nt order off the menu with the special going on!!!!!!!!!!!!  So, our total came to $168.00 after tax, but before tip!!!!!!!!!  We ended up spending $188.00!! On dinner for 3.  So now, I am totally freaked out over our finances and barely got a moments sleep all night long!  Why do these things happen to me?  I am a magnet for this kind of stuff.  My husband said, "oh honey, don't worry about it, it was worth it."  Hello! it was totally not worth it!!!  It was a spinach salad,  tomato bisque, filet mingon, garlic mashed potatoes, steamed zucchini and yellow squash and bland steamed fish with marianara sauce. Dessert was  2 squirts of strawberry mousse in a chocolate violin with a couple slices of strawberry on the side.  Tell me where the $50 per meal came in!  I need to get over it and maybe hit the Amscot today so we can have food in the house this week!  I am NOT a cheap-skate, and the food was delicious, okay, I admit that, but give me a break.   I hope the rest of my week goes better.  The George Strait concert is Friday night and we are all looking forward to that.  I am going to run now.  The washer just stopped and I have a ton of laundry piled up to wash.  God bless you all, and if anyone wants to donate to our empty bank account let me know! (just kidding, unless you really do!)

I'm Freezing!

It is a freezing day here in Florida.  Not REALLY  freezing, but I am cold!  My hands and feet are cold.  I think the temp. is around 58 degrees right now, but it was in the 40's last night.  Robert got up this morning and took a shower and was hollering to shut the bedroom windows!  You know it's cold when he wants the windows closed.  I am ready for summer.  I love it hot, hot hot!  I had to bring Robert and Wes lunch today on the farm (yes, Wes is working on the farm this weekend because his car insurance bill is due next week!)  The wind was really blowing out there and the guys had black dust on the faces.  I am glad to be in the house on days like this.  I am about to go to Walmart and the feed store.  Katie has 2 friends over for the weekend and they are heading in to the mall.  They all have Valentine's Day shopping to do.  Katie and her boyfriend broke up for 2 hours yesterday, but are back together.  She is in love with 2 boys.  One is a freshmen in college and he is our favorite, the other is in 11th grade with her and he is not so great.  The boyfriend is the 11th grader and the college boy is in hot persuit.  She is torn between the two, but doesn't want to break up with her guy.  She told the college boy that she wants to marry him some day, but she's not looking for that kind of relationship at this time in her life. (that's good)  But he likes her alot and that just doesn't make any sense to him.  The boyfriend thinks this guy is pestering Katie and told him to leave her alone.  He doesn't know that she wants to marry him.  Talk about a love triangle!!  I am going now.  I must get to the store.  I still have a lot of housework to do.  I got up this morning and put on the movie "Notebook", so I had a late start on cleaning.  By the way, I highly recommend the movie.  Be sure to grab some kleenex!  Bye y'all. 

Beautiful Day

What a gorgeous day!  Paradise!  I meant to write yesterday about my mother-in-law day, but was too busy.  Monday was actually a really nice day.  Aunt Helen didn't feel like going to the Salvador Dali Museum and so we just went out for lunch and a drive to the beach.  It was very pleasant and I feel like a heel for complaining.  Anyway, today I don't have to work at all and I am happily sitting here listening to Mozart on my iTunes while the everpresent sound of barking puppies is in the background.  A great blend I must say!  Only one week to go and they will be ready to sell.  Monday they will go to the vet for their last shots and worming.  I will be sad to see some of them go, but I am tired of the care they require and shoveling poop every morning.                        My son has decided to drop a class.  He says it is too much work and he can't keep up.  He is very bright and had very high SAT scores, so I know he is capable of doing the work, so I must admit that he is too lazy.  I hate to say it, but it must be true.  He still has no job and his 1st car insurance bill is do next week.  He is now playing softball for 2 teams and so I guess his priorities are fun, fun and more fun.  I won't let it ruin my day though.  He must make his own way in life, so hopefully he will wake up soon.               I began getting the pool ready for spring yesterday.  We don't cover it for winter and so the water was beginning to get greenish.  It was fun to clean the sides and vacuum the bottom and pour in the shock treatment.  It looks pretty good today.  It will be way too cold for the kids to go swimming until the end of April ( June 1st for me!!), but at least it will look pretty when we sit out there. Many people in Florida keep it up year-round, but we can't justify the expense when no one is using it.  Well, I feel like reading for a little while.  My man will be home for lunch in an hour, so I must enjoy my hour!  God bless!

Mother-in-law

Today is the day I have been dreading.  My mother-in-law's sister is in town (both widows) and they want to go to St. Pete to the Salvador Dali Museum.  She called and asked me to drive them.  I love her, I do, I really do, but.....where to begin.....she sort-of drives me bonkers!!!  She is a talker, wait, that is quite an understatement; she never shuts up!  She repeats the same stories of my husbands' family over and over and each time she adds a little more. (my husband says that the stories have been altered so much that they don't resemble the truth anymore!)  Every one of her 15 grandchildren take after someone from her side of the family, and we have to hear about each one. I get no credit for my blond-haired, green-eyed daughter who looks just like me and acts like my grandmother. No, my m-i-l says that she is exactly like her great-aunt on her mother's side.  It's insane.   Her sister is great.  She is really sarcastic and she's a millionaire which pretty much  means she doesn't care who she ticks-off.  If she likes you, (she does like me), then you are in-like-flynn, but if she doesn't.....then you don't exist.   She doesn't like a couple of my sister-in-laws, (she doesn't even remember their names!) which is why I am driving them.  She drinks Jack Daniel's and water all day long and never even gets tipsy.  For me coming from a strict Baptist background her excentricities are hilarious.  Anyway, I must start getting ready.  Pray for me y'all!!

Heading to work

Well, I am getting ready to go to work.  I am tired of working.  I have so much to do at home and it seems that work is interfering with life!  I have to wear scrubs at my office and today I am wearing my "Gumby" green ones.   That should perk up my mood, but it doesn't.  I'm filling in for the full-time therapist who called in sick again today.  I think this makes about 8 days in the last 3 weeks!  She is also going to be out tomorrow, so I will be working for her again tomorrow.  Oh well.   Robert wants me to quit, I want to quit, the kids want me to quit...so why don't I just quit?  Because I am an idiot.  I am loyal to a fault.  I agreed to work as a fill-in and I  will continue to do so because I don't have the guts to just walk away.  Oh, quit complaining!!  I really need to go now.  Got to be there at 3:30. 

Waffles!

I had the biggest craving for waffles this morning.  Only problem, no waffle or pancake mix in the pantry.  So, what's a smart girl to do?  Go online and look up waffle recipes!  And thank God I did.  I found a fantastic bed and breakfast recipe to die for and I ate 4 waffles for breakfast.  It was great.  I usually make toast and coffee every morning, but today I went hog wild.  Who cares, I enjoyed it tremendously.  Katie is sick this morning with the same crap everyone else had last week.  She never misses school, so she is still in bed at 10:47 am.   I almost envy her, but if it means being sick again, forget it!    Yesterday the septic tank man came out to fix our problem.  He said we "dodged a bullet" and was able to unclog the pipe that goes into the drain field. Yeah!!!!!!!!  Now I can go down to the barn without walking through the river of sewage.  Life is good again!  Now if I could just get that 19 year old son of mine to get a job.  He only has school 2 days a week.  4 classes on Mondays and Wednesdays.  He hates working on the farm with dad, so he quit.  Yesterday he says, "mom, can I have $5.00 for gas?"  GET A JOB!!!  You know I said it! and you also know I gave him $5.00.  I can't help it, afterall,  he needs gas to look for a job, right?  We'll see at 12:30pm when he gets home from school.  Well, the beautiful day beckons.  I can't resist the 72 degree Florida winter, and the 4 hungry barking dogs, 11 puppies and 2 horses that are pacing back and forth near the feeding trough.  A good day to all of you who venture into my little world.