Flashing Lights, UFOs, and Aliens

I don't know if there is life out there in outer space, but when I was a kid I thought a UFO had landed in our front yard and the "Aliens" were going to beat our door down in the middle of the night.

I am a pretty hard sleeper and can sleep through just about anything. So I am not sure what it was about this night that made me wake up.

It was 3 am and I was sound asleep. When I woke up I saw flashing lights. Keep in mind we lived in the boondocks, the middle of nowhere. I was terrified. I crawled out of my room and into my parents room to wake my Mom up. Nothing wakes my Dad up. I kept telling her that there was a UFO outside my room. Of course she thought I had lost it. I never talked about aliens or UFOs before, but I loved the movie ET. We poked and prodded my Dad until he got up and went to the door. Cause you know the "aliens" were beating on the door.

I will never live it down.

It was a police car with it's lights flashing, and a policeman (alien) beating on the door. I don't even remember why he was there, but he scared the living daylights out of me.

Working Girl

Sunday afternoon McD and I were working hard around here. He was cutting down cedar trees, big and small. I was chopping thistles before they went to seed. I will admit, I am not very attractive when I work. Let me paint this picture for you. I had really old jeans on, a tank top, work boots, my hair up in a pony tail with all kinds of shorter hairs popping out everywhere. You ladies can relate, can't you? No make up on. And I was sweating like a man.

I carry my camera with me wherever I go. So I just happened to have it when we went by one of my favorite trees. It is the perfect tree for photos. McD agreed to let me take a few photos of him on that tree.



We get out and 25 shots later he decides to take a photo of me. Oh no! I carry the camera and take photos for a reason...so I am not in them. Put me in a professional studio and I love it. But in snapshots I look like an idiot. Gotta have that professional touch, called an airbrush. LOL

Muncy Photography - see if you can find me and McD. I secretly wanted to be a model. Shhh!!! Don't tell anyone.

So I get on the tree. I smile. I look like crap. But I smile anyway. You will notice the photos of me are not here. Sorry. Somethings just aren't meant for the net. If someone needs a photo to scare pests out of the garden let me know. We may be able to work something out.

But then he did it, he made my day. He went on and on about how good I looked. Of course I laughed. You can imagine the conversation. No make up. Hair a mess. But apparently he likes the way I look when I am out there working.

Thank goodness. Cause I think I am pretty scary.

He really knows how to make me feel good. And I love him for it!!

Mortifying Moment 2

Yesterday I traveled almost 3 hours to my hometown. For a hair appointment. It went great - love my new cut. Then we received a call that my Grandparents were coming and would be there at dinner time. So Mom and I rushed around trying to get everything done that we had planned before they got there. We did it! What a day - I was feeling great!!!

Then...

We got to the restaurant to meet my Grandparents. The Cracker Barrel. We walked in. I looked up and saw a lady that looked vaguely familiar. Apparently I looked very familiar to her. She yelled out, "Is this my Second Grader?" Not just once. Twice. It was dinner time. The waiting area/store was pretty full! I had more people looking at me than I could count. I do not like being the center of attention, especially with people I do not know.

Here she came. Mrs. Tomlinson. Second grade teacher obviously. Apparently I have the same "little 2nd grade face" and I am just "beautiful." This lady does not speak softly. She is screeching everything she says. That voice was so annoying in the second grade and it just keeps getting worse!

I stood there with a smile on my face. For at least 10 minutes. It seemed like an hour. This is the second time I have seen her in a year. Lucky me! The last time she met McDreamy, was told all about my life as a student, where I live, if I have kids, etc. So what happened this time. I had to tell her everything all over again. Except this time the kid thing went a little further. After asking how long I had been married, 14 years, she said that that was fine. Her son and his wife waited 7 years. And "waiting is fine if you want children." My reply, "I don't." I have 2 step-sons that I love very much, one of them has twins and I love them very much, the other son has one on the way. I do not want kids of my own. If you think that makes me a bad person, then...see ya! I did not tell her all of that. But I wanted to.

After telling her my life story all over again I thought the conversation would be over. No! Since we did not ask her about her life, she started offering information. I don't really remember most of what she was saying. Except for the part about her volunteering at the same school she taught me. She reads to 1st graders. She wants to teach them manners and literature. I wish I could put in here exactly how she says literature. It is most annoying. I think this lady is nuts! She asked me if I remembered her reading poems to us, and of course stories. But she is reading the children the classics. And then she recites part of some poem about a calico cat or something, and asks me if I remember it. Okay...I lied. I said yes. But how else was I supposed to get her to shut up? It didn't work.

Finally, after being re-introduced to her husband. Then my Grandad bringing up my health issues. Their table was ready!! Hallelujah!

We got our table. I am in the middle of a bite, chewing and all. She walks up to me and asks me if I have a card. HELLO?!?!? I just told her I was a student. Do all students carry a card? What the? So I told her no, but as soon as I did I would get one to her. She said, oh I have something with my address on it. Please drop me a line. (Who says that anymore?) Email...hello! She gave me her deposit slip.

So am I expected to write her? I mean really. I never liked this lady. I was taught not to hate anyone, but it was really close. In the second grade, during recess when I wanted to be playing with MY friends, she was making me play with the Special Ed kids. Well, I did what she said because she was the adult. And she went to our church, was friends with my Grandparents, or so I thought, and I would get in trouble at home if I didn't do what she said. So I did it. I couldn't stand her for that reason. I didn't even like recess during the second grade because of her.

Now she wants me to write her. Why does this lady keep popping up wherever I eat back home? I think I will write her. I will send her a graduation announcement in December!!! And thank her for her inspiration!!! LOL

Momma Mia

Everyone meet Mia!

Mia (previously known as Baylor) found us on May 15th. She and one of her young, now known as Woody.



We ran an ad in the paper for a week. The only calls we received were calls from people wanting the puppy. No one wanted the Momma dog. We had started calling her Momma Mia, but have shortened it to just Mia.

We gave the puppy to some friends. Decided we would keep her. Hoss (our other dog) needed a friend. And they were already inseparable. So we couldn't send her away now. Then we made an appointment to have her spayed. (We didn't need any puppies!)

At 10:45 p.m. on May 28th we received a call. Well, I think it is totally rude to call someone after 10 unless it is an emergency. So, I did not answer the phone. I did listen to the message. I was furious!! It was the Owner of the dogs! At almost 11! Don't they have any manners? I was ticked off. I could hardly sleep! So.....

I called them back at 6:30 a.m. and Yes! I woke their butts up!! I was so pleased! Two can play at that game. They woke me up the night before.

I told them that we gave the puppy away. It went to a good home, yada yada. He said that is all he cared about. I told him that I could bring him the momma dog. And he paused. He paused! Okay...your dog has been missing for who knows how long and you pause!? Then he says, "Well, I really don't want her." WHAT!? "Do you want her?" This is where I paused. Trying to choose my words wisely. I said, "We had already decided that we would keep her. So I guess we will." I then asked him how long they had been missing - he said they ran off the day before they found us. If that is the truth then he didn't feed her. We could count each and every rib when she came here. They only live a couple of miles away.



We found out her age, that they are full-blood, and that this was her second litter of pups. Oh and her name, well...we didn't think she looked like a Baylor (isn't that more of a boy name?).

I Am So Thankful!

When we meet someone new we introduce ourselves, shake hands and possibly have a conversation. Sometimes we make little notes to ourselves about the person so we can remember them at a later date.

But never ever would the greeting involve this...smelling of one another's rears.



Oh and I am so thankful!!

Freaky Family Facts

Do you know someone that chews their fingernails?

Well, my Sister chews her toenails!!!

EWWW!

MudButt

Have you ever heard the term - MudButt?

This is the term the kids would use when the twins would have a dirty diaper. Just imagine the little ones, and I mean little, running around saying "MudButt!" until someone would change their diaper.

This photo isn't exactly the same mudbutt, but I thought it would be better than the alternative.

At least it was mudbutt and not something else like caca's or something worse.

Did you have a special name for the dirty diapers?
When I was a baby, they called them dirty diapers.

BloggingChicks

Are you a chick? Are you a blogger? Have you joined bloggingchicks?

I did!

We live in the...Forest?

Back in the day. Or when I was about 9 years old. My Aunt and Uncle from California came to visit us. She wasn't like anyone I had ever seen before in my life. She looked like a female Ronald McDonald. Okay, that may be harsh but as a kid that was all I had to compare her to. I loved Ronald McDonald and all of his toys. So it was meant in the best way! She really made an impression.

My family was in the middle of building a home and they wanted to see the building site. We drove them out there and they were amazed. The house wasn't huge or anything like that, it was a very modest house. But they obivously hadn't been out in the country very much. Or as they called it...the Forest. She asked me if I was excited that I was going to live in the forest. I was a bit confused. Cause we weren't going to live in the forest.

I wonder if they expected us to hitch the wagon up and take them to town.

Quote of the Day, June 21

I don't know you well enough to miss you. - - Johnny Cash

New Friends

A momma dog, now Mia, and her puppy found us in May. We found the puppy a good home and kept Mia because she and my dog Hoss had become inseparable. We got her spayed and she loves her new home.

Her previous owners, a whole other story, said they had cattle but we couldn't tell. She barked and barked at the cattle. She minds pretty well, so she stopped when we yelled at her (several times). Then one day this is what we saw...


This is Mia sitting by the fence because she knows the calves will come over to her.


Mia turned around and started licking this heifers nose. The heifer even licked Mia. Interesting friendship.


When the heifer gets all into the whole attention from Mia thing, Mia decides she has had enough and goes and sits just far enough for her new friend to be able to watch her. Which she did for quite a while. Mia ended up laying there for most of the morning.

Quote of the Day, June 19

The main obligation is to amuse yourself. --S.J. Perelman

Mortifying Moment

With the U.S. Open ending yesterday I thought I would toss out my mortifying golf experience.

Many years ago, more than ten, McDreamy and I along with some friends had taken to playing golf. Basically, we chased that stupid little white ball. But we practiced at the driving range quite often. Had even gotten a little better. And then...

Then one evening our friends called wanting to go to the driving range. Sure. We'd love to. When we arrived there were only a few other people there. We all got our balls, lined up and started driving that stupid little white ball. If you've never been to a driving range here is how it is set up. There is a long row of golf bag rests about 15 feet or so apart. Or that is how it is here.

We are talking and laughing. Having a good time. When I pull out a driver and tee up. When my club hit the ball something went terribly wrong. Really. Really. Wrong. It did not go straight out into the range. It went straight up the person's butt that was standing in front of me. I can still picture it to this day. We had no idea who he was. He grabbed his hiney. I hit the ground howling with laughter. Trying to apologize all at the same time. Everyone else in my party was laughing. We were in tears we were laughing so hard. Oh the poor guy. He kept a hold of his hiney. Packed up his stuff and got the you know what out of Dodge.

Needless to say...no one would ever stand in front of me again at the range. Now. I just don't go.

Father's Day

We may not shower him with praises
Nor mention his name in song,
And sometimes it seems that we forget
The joy he spreads as he goes along,
But it doesn't mean that we don't know
The wonderful role that he has had.
And away down deep in every heart
There's a place that is just for Dad.....
--Author Unknown

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY POP!

Earth. Wind. Fire. Water.

IT RAINED!

And it is supposed to rain some more!

1.2 inches is not a lot compared to what we need. It is a start though and you won't hear me complaining.

We are weird folks. I will admit it now. I won't deny it. We headed out to see the clouds and rain coming in. See. Weird.

Off to our west there was a strange pink color to the clouds. It was almost 10 p.m. at this time so we knew it had nothing to do with the sunset. But that is the kind of look it had. McDreamy got bored with it all, or wanted to see the Severe Thunderstorm Warning one and went in the house. I went into the house to see if I could capture the pinkish clouds on camera. I couldn't. But when I made it back outside the pink was coming up from the ground. FIRE!

When you live out in the middle of no where and need rain as badly as we did. This can freak a person out. So I am worried about the fire. McD said it wasn't one, so quit worrying. Less than 5 minutes later we are smelling the smoke. And the wind was blowing like crazy. In our direction.

Thank goodness the rain came when it did.

Quote of the Day, June 16

If you can't convince them, confuse them. -- Harry S. Truman

(This suits today perfectly. One of my 20 page papers is due today.)

Rain...Please Rain

I love spring time. Officially it isn't summer yet. Even though we have had the summer time temps, sometimes 100+, but it doesn't officially start June 20th or 21st. So where were the April Showers? May Flowers?

We are in a drought.

By the way, did you know there are two ways to say drought. Some people say it like it is spelled, others throw a "th" sound on the end. I don't understand that second one, but hey whatever floats your boat. Or should I say flies your kite. I don't know, I made that kite thing up. Without water their boat isn't going to float. As you can see our pond is completely dry, and that boat isn't going anywhere.

Anyone know a raindance? I am willing to try it.

Fireflies

As kids we loved to chase and catch fireflies. Now after learning a bit more about them I bet they were pretty mad when we disturbed them.

Read on...

There are 136 species of fireflies, each with a distinctive rate of flashes per second (produced by a chemical called luciferase), which they use to attract the opposite sex. Their favorite hangouts are east of the Rocky Mountains and away from the city lights. You'll see more of them in July, when the adults come out to mate. Oh yeah, and they're not flies -- they are beetles. (Info found in Real Simple magazine.)

Okay, so here we are, kids trying to catch these flying beetles with lit behinds trying to find the opposite sex to mate.

No wonder we don't see many anymore. The mating ritual gets interrupted by little people!

My New-found Gift of Dowsing

Dowsing is a new term for me. I grew up hearing it called witching, or water witching.

Dowsing is the action of a person -- called the dowser -- using a rod, stick or other device -- called a dowsing rod, dowsing stick, or divining rod -- to locate such things as underground water, hidden metal, buried treasure (yea, right), oil, etc. Since dowsing is not based upon any known scientific or empirical laws or forces of nature, it should be considered a type of divination. The dowser tries to locate objects by occult means. That is why it is also known as "witching for water."

We drilled for water on Tuesday, and got nada, nothing, zilch! They drilled through 40 feet of shale and after pulling the drill out saw nothing but dust. It was a sad day. These guys have got it made. Sure it IS a lot of work, I will give them that. But they do not believe in "witching", they just pick a spot they think there might be water and they go for it. To me there is something wrong with that picture. Wouldn't you want to know that there is a good chance you will hit water instead of just a shot in the dark?

After basically just throwing away all that money, see they still charge even if they don't find water. Might find water, might not...still get paid. It kind of chaps me.

After throwing the money down a deep, dry hole...I decided I was going to try to witch some water. They say some people have the gift, and other do not. Our neighbor told me that she had some rods and we would test my ability at her house. She knows where there is water there and I do not. So...we did it! I did it!! It was so exciting!

Then we spent the next 3 hours witching water on our place. Now we have an idea where the water is, and we are going to get someone that has been doing it a while to see if he finds water in the same places we did. :) This man we will have witching has already witched us one well, so we know he can do it!

Then we can drill with a little more confidence.

A Green Thumb

My Mom has green thumb. Not literally. She had a dream to have a rather large flower bed. The dream came true a few years ago. Every year I try to take a few photos of her beautiful flowers.

This year the lilies captured my attention.



There is also this one but I am not sure what it is called. I think it was her Clematis.



My thumb is slowly but surely getting greener. I think time has a lot to do with it, in my case anyway. And maybe remembering to water. I am working on it. So far I have kept some of my plants alive.



One day I hope to have a bigger flower garden just like Mom's.

The Innocence of Children, pt 2

One day, back in the 70s, my Mom and I were out shopping. We were at C.R. Anthony's buying some new clothes, I guess. We were having a great conversation just between mother and daughter. And then I asked her, "Mom, why is Daddy black?"

Without skipping a beat Mom said, "Just because he is." Of course there were others around us, but she didn't even look up from her shopping.

What makes the story even better is that my Daddy wasn't black. When I was a child, my Dad's job kept him working outside in the sun quite a bit. He tanned very easily, sometimes to the point that he could look like a black man. Until he put shorts on. Then everyone knew he was most certainly a white man.

I don't remember ever saying this, but have been told this story many, many times. I wonder if they are just making it up? (They aren't!)

Quote of the Day, June 12

I realize that humor isn't for everyone. It's only for people who want to have fun, enjoy life, and feel alive. -- Anne Wilson Schaef

Adventures with Granny

Everytime I am with my Granny it seems we are on some kind of adventure. Even if we are just shopping, something happens.

Granny rarely comes to visit me and this is fine. I should be the one making the two hour trip to her house. But she decided to come and check out our new home one day (years ago...we are now in the big fifth wheel). We almost always go shopping when we are together, which is fine with me. I am not a big shopper, but we always find some bargains.

She had just gotten a new mini van and wanted me to drive her around in it. All I could think about was that I was actually going to be driving a mini van. But I had sworn I would "never" drive a mini van. (Never say never!) We got in her van and off we went. We had lunch at the mall and shopped there for a while. Then for some reason she wanted to go to K-Mart. So off we went.

In Kmart she didn't find what she wanted, so we left. We walked out the door and got into her van. Or what we thought was her van. We were in someone else's van! Apparently, they did not lock their vehicle and we were sitting in it. I thought I had unlocked her van with the keyless entry fob, but I could not get the key to work and told her that something was wrong. After mentioning the problem to her I noticed that all of her "valuable treasures" usually in her van were not there. The fluffy sheepskin things were not on the seat belts and more importantly her Bible was not in between the seats.

She started laughing so hard I didn't know if she was going to be able to get out of the van. I was just worried the owner would show up before we got out of there. We rushed (as fast as a granny can) to her van and just sat there for a minute howling. It was just too funny!!

Free to pee

Here in the United States of America we are granted the right to pee for free, or use a toilet without being charged. Could you imagine having to go to the bathroom so bad that you couldn't stand it but you couldn't find a quarter? Or better yet some odd amount like $0.45.

Years ago I traveled to Europe with my Granny and her dear friend, Elaine. Now this is quite a pair. We were going for a church retreat in Germany, but we went a few days early so Elaine and I could go to Austria as well. My Granny had been there before. She is a regular world traveler.

We signed up for a private tour of Salzburg, Austria. There were many, many beautiful sites to see. We saw a mountain where the movie The Sound of Music was filmed. But it was covered with snow so we were unable to jump around and break out in song.

On our tour we made a stop at a very unique building, I do not recall exactly what it was, but it was very pretty and closed. The guide said we just had to see it. We were getting ready to walk around and take pictures when Elaine announced she needed to tinkle. Well, the tour guide was no where to be found, so off we went to find the W.C. (water closet). They are not called bathrooms, or restrooms there. We found a whole bunch of them. They were locked! We could not figure it out! Then after paying a little more attention to the locks we found that they were not just locks. You had to insert change in them to get them to open.

We wanted a free pee. My gosh, charging to go to the bathroom? Are they crazy!?

Well, someone else must have been in worse shape than Elaine when they came across this little problem. Because after checking every lock we found one that had been busted. Elaine was estatic! You have to understand that she is a penny pincher deluxe. To the point that she was not going to pay to pee. She was so happy that she didn't have to pay that she talked about it all day!

My...

bologna has a first name, it's

O-S-C-A-R.

My bologna has a second name, it's

M-A-Y-E-R.

I love to eat it everyday and
if you ask my why, I'll say....

Cause Oscar Meyer has a way with

B-O-L-O-G-N-A!!!

Thanks to the wonderful Oscar Meyer television commercial I will be singing this all day long.

(Oh, and by the way...I cannot stand bologna!!)

In a Fog

Yesterday morning this whole area woke up in a fog. I really think it affected everyone kind of like a full moon. What a strange day. Thank goodness it is over!!!


This morning the sun was shining bright! It is going to be a great day!

Hope everyone has a bright sun shiny day!

Have you ever...

had a song stuck in your head and just can't shake it?

Today's song is:

We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About
by Jimmy Buffett

The Innocence of Children

On Spring Break of 2005, McDreamy and I went to spend a few days with his oldest son. Normally, we stayed in a local motel because there just wasn't enough room at their house. But this trip was going to be special. They had just built a new home and now there was room. We were very excited. We could help with baths, night time rituals, etc. They were 2 year old alarm clocks. It was great, until...the morning after our arrival.

The human alarm clock, Poohsie, came calling at 6:30 in the morning. That would be fine if we were back in Oklahoma, but we were in Colorado where the time is an hour earlier. I began my altered morning ritual. Trying to go to the bathroom alone being the first on my list. When I achieved my first task, I almost screamed! I had been attacked!!! I wondered why I was itching most of the night. I had been bitten at least a hundred times. By what? I am not sure. We are guessing it was fleas. McDreamy, in the same bed all night long, did not get one single bite. How can that be?

I was so embarrassed, but I felt I had to say something. So, I went to Em and told her, and then showed her as well. She gasped! The bites were everywhere. All around my panty line, the backs of my knees, my ankles, my belly button...it was awful. We found some itch cream, and back to the bathroom I went.

We were all to go to town that afternoon. I thought I would go ahead and apply some more itch cream before we got into public and things became unbearable. I was sitting on the couch applying the cream to my ankles and shins when Poohsie wanted to play doctor. He wanted to apply the itch cream. Nothing wrong with that. He loves his Grandma and wants to help. Awww, how sweet.

I had not thought about the fact that I was unable to shave that morning due to the severity of the bites. (I really do shave...I just realized this is the second post about hairy legs.) I helped him get a little cream on his little fingers and he reached out and rubbed the cream on a couple of bites. He looked up at me with a really sad look on his face and said..."You've got splinters."

For the next two minutes nothing itched. We laughed and laughed! Then I had to explain why I had "splinters." I will never have hairy legs again...just splinters.

Quote of the Day, June 7

The miracles of nature do not seem miracles because they are so common. If no one had ever seen a flower, even a dandelion would be the most startling event in the world. --Unknown

A City Girl Visits the Country

If you have horses then you will know what I am about to say is true. When city people find out you have horses they automatically want to come and ride them. Agree?

Well, that is kind of what happened. A co-worker's daughter, that is about my age, asked if she could go riding. She is a very nice girl and I like her a lot, so I said yes. The doctor I worked for is a horse man, so he insisted that I take the afternoon off...just to take Jennie riding. It was great! I was out of the office!!

She had been riding before, in my presence - just not my horse, and she rode quite well. I had no reservations.

We saddled up and caught up with McDreamy, who was out checking cattle. We meandered around the ranch looking at cattle, longhorn cattle and other sites. McD's horse had to stop to do his business, as horses often do. He raised his tail and proceeded to take a crap right in front of Jennie. She was astonished! Not that he was doing his business, she had witnessed that before. But her exact words were...

"Holy crap!!! That is the largest sphincter I have ever seen!"

Spoken like a true city girl!

Love is...

the flower you've got to let grow. (John Lennon)

Today is my parents' 36th Wedding Anniversary. Therefore, the theme of the day is Love.

Love doesn't make the world go 'round.
Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.
-- Franklin P. Jones

Newlyweds become oldyweds, and oldyweds are the reasons that families work.
-- Unknown

A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance, and tenacity. The order varies for any given year. -- Paul Sweeney

Their wedding was many years ago, yet the celebration continues to this day!!!
Love you Mom & Dad!!!

Lesson Learned

I slept a little late today. Big mistake! Huge! McDreamy woke me up at 8 a.m. We were to be at Sunday School Class at 9, and keep in mind it takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes to get there. He was thinking there was no way we would make it, but we did.

I knew that I did not have time to shower so I used a little extra deodorant. You can't tell me you've never done that before! I got dressed, threw my hair up in a clip and away we went. I looked smashing! Or so I thought. On our way to town I discovered a huge stain on my shirt that covered my right breast. A solid white sweater tank with a big grayish-brown stain. I thought I would be okay because I was wearing another shirt over it and I would just remember to keep it covered. No big deal!

Trying not to think about my stained shirt, I started to lotion up. I often do that in the car while McDreamy drives. Time management, you know. As I smeared the lotion up my shin, I thought about the whole hairy leg situation. Hairy legs, capris, and sandals do not blend well. By this time I am thinking we just need to turn around and go home.

Now, I say that it takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes to get to church but sometimes it can take longer. Today it took longer. We didn't beat the train. This area has more train tracks than I have ever seen anywhere else. I should have taken it as a sign. But no, we trudged on and even made it on time. McDreamy was shocked.

We went to class. It was a great lesson. Everything was just great! I kept the stain covered and my hairy legs under the chair. Oh thank goodness my toenails were nicely painted.

After class we went to the auditorium. Sat down in our usual pew and began reading the weekly bulletin. McDreamy and I are kind of gawking around looking for friends and noticing visitors, etc. I thought to myself, "I might just pull this off, nobody is going to notice anything."

THEN... there it is...I see it in big bold print. Our names are in the bulletin. But why? What did we do, or not do?

It said that we were to be the "After Worship Greeters." What the heck? (Notice no cussing here!) I wanted to leave right then and there. Forget the worship service, I wanted to bolt! This is an assignment we have not had before.

Maybe here is where I should say how much I hate being in front of people. I don't like speaking in front of people. I am not good at walking up to people I don't know and speaking. Just thinking about doing this makes me sick to my stomach. Oh thank goodness I did not eat breakfast! There are 250+ members of our church and I only know a handful of them. This makes for a lot of people I don't know. (Thank goodness there were a lot of people gone today.)

We are the ones that usually hit the doors running after worship because there is only so much daylight and too many things to do. Then services start again at 5, so we just gotta go. We don't stay and "get to know" everyone like we should. (Lesson #1 - Stay and get to know the church family.)

While all the children are going to Children's Church, I leaned over to a friend and asked about our duties as "After Worship Greeters." She explained that we needed to leave during the last song and situate ourselves at the assigned exit. Then just tell everyone, thank you for coming. Or, if it is a visitor to tell them that we hope to see them again. I am just smiling and nodding on the outside, but in the inside I am shaking like crazy, my stomach is in knots and I can feel my temperature rising.

McDreamy is calm about everything. How could this be?

I fill him in on all the details and try not to think about it again until the last song. It was a great sermon so it wasn't a problem. The song leader goes to front and we all sing. Then he says that after the following song we will have the closing prayer. That was our que. As I leaned down to pick up my bible and purse I told McDreamy that we needed to head out and get ready to do our job. He told me no. NO?!?!?!? I couldn't believe it. I just got all the information from a lady who has done the job before. She knew what she was talking about. We needed to go. So I told him all of that. He still said no.

By this time I am about to freak out. I don't want to do the job anyway, and now we aren't going to be ready. I certainly did not want to let anyone down, and if we were supposed to leave during the last song then we already started off wrong. The last song ended, then came the prayer requests, then the closing prayer. We are still in the pew. I am sweating (not glistening or perspiring, not any of that girly stuff...sweat is rolling) and my stomach is killing me. Everything is over and we are rushing out of the auditorium. I can't even tell you what McDreamy said to me, but I remember telling him how mad I was at him. Then it hit me! Tears were coming to my eyes, my chin was quivering. I was about to start the ugly cry! I ran to the bathroom so no one would see.

There I was, a hideous stain on my shirt, hairy legs and now I am going to look like I have been crying. (Lesson #2: Always check your clothes before you leave, get up early and always shave.) I got myself composed and made it back out to do my job.

The first person I saw was a friend, a good friend, so I was safe. We talked for a bit. While we spoke I watched a lot of people leaving that I was supposed to be seeing out the door. I didn't care. McDreamy was over there doing it. He looked like he hated every bit of it, and looked as uncomfortable as I felt. But he did it and he did it well!

Eventually I made it over to my assigned post. I even spoke to a few people. I was so happy when it was all over. I just wanted to go home. Then...

Then... I found out...WE HAVE TO DO IT FOR THE WHOLE MONTH OF JUNE!!!!

Quote of the Day, June 4

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you"?
~ William Arthur Ward

Quote of the Day, June 3

The longer I live, the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and the wonder of the world.

~ John Burroughs

Mother Nature's Alarm Clock

Every morning since late March, turkeys gobbling has been Mother Nature's way of waking me. The first time it happened, I sat straight up in bed and made McDreamy listen for it as well.

We had both grown up in the country but had never witnessed turkeys so close. Now we are on turkey row. At times we have seen approximately 50 in one spot. Usually in the middle of the road.

All day long we hear the gobbles. These days we don't jump up and run to the window. Okay, maybe we still do. It will never get old.

This is just another reason we love living in the country.

Quote of the Day, June 2

You can't have no idea how little I care.

~Tom Selleck, as Monte Walsh

"What the Crap?"

Bad Words. Cussing. Cursing. Swearing.

Have you ever noticed that you can cuss and swear all you want when the right people are around, but when your 3 year old, Mother, Grandmother, or Preacher is around you are on your best behavior?

McDreamy and I decided to quit cussing. Cold Turkey. It was a lot easier for me, until I got mad at something. It was a little more difficult for McDreamy. He is at work all day and those guys cuss like sailors. Bless his heart, he is trying.

He is trying so hard. He has been using the cover-up words. You know. Crap, heck, dang, shoot, etc.

On our way back from OKC one night, I noticed he was saying the silliest thing I think I had ever heard.

"What the Crap?"

I tried and tried not to laugh, but I just had to tell him how silly it sounded. I don't think he believed me. So, yes, I had to start saying it. Just so he could hear it for himself. He agreed that he had to find another phrase.

One of the most recent cover-up words is blue-blazes. "What in the blue-blazes?"

Now it is a joke between us. And it still gets a giggle out of me.

Quote of the Day

It is better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.
~Unknown~

A Horse in a Victoria Secrets Bra

Have you ever seen a Horse wear a Bra?

Well, I hadn't either until one of our horses, Babe, hurt her eye.

We loaded her up. Took her to the vet. The vet said, "Use a Black Bra to cover her eye." So that is what we did.

She is a draft horse, a Percheron, which is much bigger than your regular quarter horse. My little bra just almost didn't fit.

The poor thing had to wear it for almost two weeks. She is fully recovered now.

You know a girl loves her horse when she sacrifices one of her favorite Victoria Secrets Bras.

About My Life

I LOVE MY LIFE!!!! (Yes, I am screaming!)

I was given another chance at life and I am taking advantage of it.

I am a non-traditional student, and that title really fits. That title will not be mine for long though. I will graduate in December. The countdown is on! And NO! I do not know what I want to be when I grow up! So please, everyone quit asking. It is just all going to depend on the jobs available. (This is not my favorite part of my life...but it will lead to great things. I just know it!)

I am married to the man of my dreams. He is my McDreamy. We are making our dreams come true together!

We bought a small piece of land, 200 acres, that he likes to call a Ranch. If Tom Selleck can call his 60 acres a Ranch, then we can call our piece of land a ranch too. We have horses to ride and horses to drive, and a small cow/calf operation. This was one of our dreams that did come true.

Last year we made a huge, HUGE decision. We sold our house in town and moved to the ranch. We are not city/town people. We are 15 to 20 minutes from town...depending on which route you take. We love it!!! We moved from a 1800 sq ft home with a pool to a 30' fifth wheel travel trailer. Yes, really! Yes, we are crazy! But We Love IT!!!!