Friends, Fun and Makeovers

Who would have known that my girls could do makeup and nails pretty well? Even more who would know that 23 and 21 year old guys would allow them to "make them over"? These aren't ordinary guys either, one is in the Air Force and the other is in the Army and brothers-in-law. They are just such awesome guys and my two just adore them. Also Bobby, who is 21 is expecting his first child. The girls gave Linzy his wife a back and foot massage. They also gave the guys a facial with a clay mask. Those guys were so wonderful with the girls! Linzy and Alyssa took pictures, while I cooked. It was great. We couldn't convince Lee to let them doll him up.

We had such fun last night and played a great prank on Lee. Alyssa and I had talked about an April Fool's joke of me pretending to be pregnant. Alyssa had Linzy take a pregnancy test so I would have a positive one to show Lee. My friend Renee from Texas had given me the idea a couple of years ago. Sean, Alyssa, Linzy, and Bobby arrived around 4. Lee gets home around 6, so we had time to plant the test. We put it in the kitchen on the counter. When Lee came home, I told him to look by the recipe box. He was shocked to say the least. He looked at me sideways and said "It can't be mine." Bobby said it could be the milk man to egg him on. The look on his face was priceless. I just told him that the surgery isn't 100%. I told him we need to tell the girls and he told me to tell them because it's my news. Then he looked at me again and said, "You're kidding, right?" I couldn't go on and told him yes, I was joking. It was hilarious and his look was priceless. I don't think I can top this one.

Since Sean and Bobby missed Thanksgiving at home, we had a Fried Turkey feast. Stina made a cake for dessert and it was great. Sean, Bobby and Linzy hadn't had fried turkey before. We all ate very well and Lee was happy with his great leftovers. I think he forgave me for the prank because I got to him through his stomach. I love him.

Today was a fun day too. While I was at a Day Camp meeting in Boise, Stina stayed home to work on her hair. She wanted to pull her hair through a highlighting cap so she can have blue highlights. She needed me to help her when I got home with Lee and Kimberly. Stina's hair looks pretty good. We can actually see the blue this time. I am curious as to how long it will stay in. It is suppose to wash out. We'll see...

Kimberly learned how to braid hair today. She's all excited now. She wanted to do my make-up, but I had my shower. So did Stina. I will let them tomorrow. My skin is so dry up here, I don't want to wash it any extra. I have a pretty good lotion, but it still stays dry.

Lately, Caesar has taken to using me as his bed at night. Talk about interesting when I try to turn over. He also likes to lay on Stina's back when she picks him. Salem has decided that he needs to not only follow me around the house, use my rear as a scratching post and call for me, he has to sleep up by my head. He's such a mess. I don't know what all has changed in the move, but my loving boys are even more affectionate. I didn't think they could get any more loving...

I think I have finally adjusted to Idaho. I am really staring to like it here. Could be the pretty blue skies with wispy clouds and pleasant days with cool nights. The mountains still have snow are are very pretty too. I am so excited to be starting the first volunteer run Day Camp this year. It is all just so much fun. I am praying it works out well and we get all the volunteers we need. I am standing and believing that it will all work out. I am having so much fun with Girl Scouts! The girls have great Leaders and I can do the other stuff I enjoy... Blessings to all who read this! Good Night!

How to Volunteer...

Ever wonder how one gets started volunteering? Once upon a time before Septermber 2003 I did. Well, all I had to do was inquire about Girl Scouts... I met Tammy who said she could put my daughter in a troop, but they need a leader...

Now, 6 years later I am still in Girl Scouts. Since we moved, I am not the leader for 2 troops anymore. Instead, I thought I would only be a Girl Scout Trainer. Well, they learned about my love of Cookies. So, I decided to help with that. Ok, I told Lee this is it.

While I was up at Council, I asked if they have Day Camps here. Turns out, they don't. What did I do? Open my big mouth. A really nice lady, Brooke, from Council called and asked if I would like to start a Day Camp up here. Of course, I LOVE Day Camp and eagerly said yes. One neat thing is that Christina is old enough to really help me. Kimberly has some great ideas too, so we have a 3 person Day Camp so far. I know people will be calling constantly to volunteer to help with this venture.

As if all that isn't enough... I went to my first Service Unit meeting. They were in need of an Events Coordinator. Well, note the were. I am not that too. I am one of they ladies that they say "Bleed Green". I love Girl Scouts. It is a great organization and helps so many girls. It has shown me things to teach my own girls. Since I home school, you would think I can create enough things to teach them...

Since we are on home schooling... My next lesson in volunteering (after Sunday School), is the home school co-op. Yes, there is always a need there. I think I found an idea for a class or two for next year.

When I tell Lee or the girls about my ideas, I am met with faces that say please don't forget about us. Christina even said she doesn't want to share her mom. I thought the older they get the less they want you. I guess I was wrong. I think that is a good thing. At least I know I am loved.

Now that I have the Day Camp flyer sent off for approval, I am going to get some sleep. It's so hard to sleep when there is so much work to be done. Oh, did I mention I have only 3 months to pull off the Day Camp. Normally, we start planning that back in June after the previous day camp.... Please keep my in your prayers and help me learn to say "no."

First Snow

Oh, glory days! We got our first snow that has stuck over the weekend. It was suppose to be here Friday, but it came on Saturday instead. It has been snowing off and on since. The girls have already built a snowman. I will get a picture later that I can post.

We finally got our tree up. Unfortunately one strand was being cantankerous, but dear Lee took care of it with the light tester. I still can't locate some of the inside decorations. Needless to say, no stockings yet. Kimberly and Stina have been busy wrapping gifts. Kimber wants to see presents under the tree. Looks like I will have to start wrapping. I have to mail some things back to Texas too. I think I am finally done shopping--I hope.

Well, time to play in the snow. I guess this makes the cold worth it. And with the wind, it's quite chilly. I found some down coats on sale for the girls. They need them.

I hope you have a blessed day!

Long Time No Writing...

I have a lot to catch up on...

First of all, my Air Force buddy, Jim got me started on Facebook. Alyssa and Trish got me back on Myspace. So, I have been happily reconnecting with friends for the past week. I just signed up for Facebook last Sunday. It is so cool. I don't feel quite so lonely.

The picture of everyone on the porch is our friends from the apartments who went Trick-Or-Treating with us. Idahoans take Halloween seriously! There were adults and children dressed up in the middle of the day at Wal-mart and Sams. They were out by 5 p.m. and candy was gone by 8. The girls didn't get the usual candy fest like Texas. I know better for next year.

The picture of my laptop with the desktop rotated 90 degrees was Kimberly playing on it and "pushing buttons" while I cooked dinner. Needless to say she doesn't touch it anymore. She has her own computer anyway, so she doesn't need to use mine.

I am praying everything works out because I may have a renter for my house in Texas. I am so excited about that. One less thing to worry about. I just hope she is as blessed by the house as I have been. I know she'll have the best neighbors.

Speaking of neighbors, my next door neighbors up here moved from Texas. Randy was stationed at Fort Hood for 14 years. They are very nice. They prevented me running over Lee and Kimberly's bikes that were behind my car.

I am still unpacking and very frustrated. This house just doesn't have any room. I am going to have to get rid of stuff or get a storage unit. I've got to get the cars in the garage. We are already having frost on the windshields.

Lee and Stina finished getting the living room cleared out so we can rent a sofa. Our friends are coming over here for Thanksgiving. It would be nice to have somewhere to sit. I don't want to buy one until I know I have a renter and figure out what I want and save up for it.

We had snow yesterday. It didn't stick, but some of the flakes were quarter size and the girls caught them on their tongues. They were so excited. It was neat to watch them play and just enjoy the snow. I know there's more to come. By Friday we should have more snow and Saturday a winter mix. I love when they predict that. I am so glad Lee joined the Commuter Ride and doesn't have to drive very far in it. His car just isn't made for ice or snow.

I started looking at what I need to do to try and start selling on ebay or just on the web up here. I have to pay $100 just to register my business up here. That's keeping my incorporation in Texas. It's just crazy how much everyone wants to dig into your pockets!

Well, it's late and I'm finally sleepy. I'll post more later. Blessings.

Adventures, Adventures

Well, my life is not without its little adventures this week....

Yesterday when I went to take the girls to homeschool PE, the car was dead. No lights, no alarm, no nothing. Great a dead battery. I have been trying to figure out how Kimberly's door was ajar. I know I went out after the family outing for bicycle tires and checked. It finally hit me, she left something in the car and went out after I had checked.

So here we are trying to get out the door. Car dead, battery charger packed in never land (Lee swears he saw it somewhere). We checked with the neighbors we've met. They weren't home. Just my luck. As embarrassing as it was, I started trying to wave somebody down. Third person was the charm. She had to go get her grandchildren and then helped me. It was refreshing that she knew how to jump start a car. Made quick work of it. At least hooking it up. then I get lights, camera, no action. I flipped the switch on the alarm and the horn starts blowing, lights blinking. Luckily it finally responded to the key fob. Then the car started. So, off we go uneventful, right. Not!

Kimberly missed her class. I'm taking Stina to hers and the battery light comes on whenever I stop. I take it to Auto Zone to have it tested and the alternator. Well, they tried but the battery was too low. So, no test. Well, luckily Lee takes a van pool and his car was in town. So I parked my car where I could use his to jump it if I needed to and took his car.

So off to PE to get Stina. I thought she saw me when I waved to her. Well, she didn't. I wondered why she wasn't coming over after PE. I looked for her while Kimberly was on the walking track up stairs. I thought I heard my phone but didn't get it in time. Then I look towards the doors and in walks Stina. Poor thing was waiting outside calling me.

We did our errands and met Lee back at the cars. My car decided it would start, so I was not complaining. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Stina made dinner so I could try to follow the Election. I don't have TV until Monday, so Todd texted me with updates. The girls got a government lesson last night. They were waiting for each update too.

Today, I got up early, made coffee and sent Lee off to work. I sent some stuff dealing with my house to Russell. I had to get some donations on the porch by 7:30, so I was putting those into bags. Found where the girls missing socks and underwear went. Another mystery solved...

I mark the bags and start putting them on the porch. The first bag, fine the door didn't shut all the way. The second and third bags it shut behind me. No big deal just go back in. Well, these locks are the kind you can turn the handle to get out and it locks behind you. Did I mention it was cold and I was in my pj's without a robe? The girls are still sleeping. Great, now I'm locked out. It took about 10 seconds and I remembered that I had put a lockbox out with a key. I was thanking God for telling me to do that last week. We don't have a keypad on the garage, so that wasn't an option like in Texas.

The rest of the morning has been uneventful. I can handle that. I have to get a couple of packages off in the mail now. Trying to find a box for one. Located my large envelopes for the other. Now, I have completed this year's birthday gifts just in time for Christmas... Ugh... It was much easier when I lived close to everyone and didn't have to think about sending stuff home....

Oh a couple years ago, when Stina was at her prime she kicked in two of the bedroom doors. Since it is being fixed to rent, the doors have to be fixed. I told her she would pay for them when they got replaced. She now gets to pay me $180 for both of them. She took it pretty well. I hope this will help her get that stubborn temper under better control. She is doing better. Could like all of us, use improvement. Her temper gets her into more trouble.

Well, that's all my tales for today.

Blessings.

Culture Shock!!

I know this may sound funny, but I had some very real culture shock on Friday! I know Halloween is fun for all. Back home you expect to see a few kids in costume in the afternoon. Well, in Idaho the kids and parents were in costume in the middle of the day. I had to run errands and get the last two items for Stina's costume--tights and black eyeliner. The girls and I just looked at each other. We're talking about at Sam's and Wal-mart. I just couldn't believe all the people dressed up at 3 in the afternoon.

I also learned that we had better get out by 5:30. There were so many trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood, most of us ran out in about an hour and a half. I bought like I did back in Texas and I thought we had a lot back there. Next year I will have to buy 4 Sam's bags of candy instead of my usual 2. We had the light off, but when we returned home, some people just followed us to the house. We had friends over and had to make sure the porch light was off and they still kept coming. I guess they saw the living room light on. Go ahead and laugh at me.

The kids had a great time. Alyssa dressed Buddy up as a cowboy. He was cute. She went as a witch and Trish was a cow. I mean she had the complete costume and makeup. She was funny. I did not get to dress up. My black dress for my witch's costume has not showed itself yet. Neither have my black shoes. I'm missing one whole section of my closet. Not necessarily a bad thing since I have to share a closet with Lee that isn't even the size of either one of ours back home.

We got to meet our next door neighbors on Saturday. They moved here from Texas. Randy was stationed at Fort Hood for 10 years. Now he works for the Sheriff's Dept. Chris said she has family here. Now, how we met is interesting. Lee and Kimberly left their bikes behind my car. They waved us down to let me know they were there. I couldn't see them.

Now, the next question is why were they there? We were getting ready to go on a family ride. Last weekends ago Lee and Kimberly popped their tires on these weeds called goatheads. They are little stickers and are very numerous around here. Lee fixed Kimberly's. The girls talked him into a bike ride mid week. I told him he could take mine since his wasn't fixed. Well, he popped my tired and Stina popped hers. We were headed out to get the self sealing inner tubes. Seems we need them a lot around here.

Lee just came in to check on me. He noticed that I have my "blogging buddy". None other than Salem. He's gong to hate it when I get these boxes unloaded. I also have Chance keeping me company. He likes that I let him outside. He's a good boy as long as he's not getting scavenging for food. He ate Stina's Halloween candy. Oh, she was mad. She was particularly upset that he chewed her pumpkin that she has used since she was 6.

Well, I had better cut this off. I have to get the girls to bed. They have both had their showers and brushed their teeth. Please comment if you'd like. I'd love to hear from you. I tried to put it on here. If there is a problem, I will try to find it. Take care!

Blessings!

Ooh It's Halloween

Every morning for the last two weeks, I hear how many days to Halloween? Today it will be the squeals of delight at the girls remember that they get to dress up and do a candy feast tonight. I always enjoyed Trick-Or-Treating as a kid, so we made our own tradition. I don't bring a lot of sweets in the house. We have one night a week for dessert and two days a year for loads of candy--Halloween and Easter. The Easter bunny loves the Garners. Yes, they know what Easter is all about, but it includes candy.

They are also excited that BJ (Dad), Trish (Mom), Auston, Terrence and Eli are going with us. Alyssa and Buddy (her oh so cute dog) are also going. Sean, Alyssa's husband, is in Iraq right now and is sorely missed. He is an instigator with a wonderful sense of humor. (Please keep him in your prayers.) They were our neighbors at the apartment. So we are going to meet at my house around 7 and go Trick-Or-Treating. This neighborhood is big just like my one in Texas, so I'm sure the kids will not be disappointed.

Did I mention about my menagerie of critters? Well, Ally (cat) has decided that she wants to freak out around midnight and 5 a.m. each night. Nice. I put her in Stina's room so Lee can get some rest. Unfortunately, Shell (cat) was in there too and decided she wanted out about 4 a.m. this morning. Right before that, Chance (90 lb Labrador) convinced Lee to let him outside. I woke up when Lee got back in bed. Silly dog, I let him out right before bed and he must of just sat on the porch instead of doing his business. Needless to say, I've had maybe 5 hours of sleep and got up at 4. Now, all critters are peacefully sleeping...

The girls are still asleep, so I at least have some Mommy time. After I finish this, I will be working on refinishing the entertainment center. Kimberly in her wisdom back in Texas would shove apple cores, candy and chewed gum behind the TV. Needless to say, she did a lot of damage to it. So about half of it needs to be redone. I have sanded it and it's ready to be worked on. Now, I just have to do it. I thought I would get bored not doing my volunteer work. I was wrong. I have 2 end tables and a coffee table to refinish next. Why are kids so destructive or is it just mine? At least now, I am better able to keep an eye on them. Good thing being on sabbatical. We even have clean rooms. Kimberly is even starting to clean her room without me reminding her. The bathroom is a different story. But every night after baths, they get to clean up.

I was so happy when I found my Clean/Dirty magnet for my dishwasher! I am training the family to put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher when they are done. It's a slow process. Well, they don't always know when I have emptied it. I attempt to do it when I make Lee's coffee, but if I don't get up early it sits a while longer. Well, now that the magnet is there, there won't be any questions. Ha, another excuse banished!

I'm sitting here typing and listening to my black cat (Salem) making his "baby noises" while he sleeps. He really does sound like a baby making sleeping noises. Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to trade places with him. He follows me around most of the day. If I'm in the kitchen after sun up, he's sleeping by the back door in the sun and occasionally gets up to rub my legs. I can't go in a single room without him. Even the bathroom I have to wait for him to saunter in and babysit me. Sometimes I think he is part dog. He even meows through the house if I leave a room while he is sleeping and he can't find me. It's so funny. He's my playful one too. He loves the milk carton rings and anything else he can bat around. The real entertainment is watching him stalk Shell. He and Shell tolerate each other. She swats him while he sleeps and he pounces on her whenever he can. The boxes have proven a neat playground for them. Shell gets as high as she can and glares at Salem as he tries to figure out how to get to her. I think I need to switch with them for a couple of days--just to act like a kid all day long, not just when the girls aren't fighting....

Happy Halloween!!