I Did Something Crazy Today

For about 2.5 hours, I chipped ice off of a tennis court. Why? I wanted to play. I didn't think it was going to be all that hard -- it was, until someone brought a hammer. That actually worked pretty well. Of course I had to hammer with my left hand because I didn't want to overuse my right arm, had to save that for the match. We got the match in despite the fact that a river continued to run behind the baseline. I'm not sure about this whole tennis thing -- my mom's right, tennis players are worse than golfers. But we did win our match ;-)

Bizarre!

Well, did you know that I guess Atlanta owns about 6 snow plows? I think Cumming owns ZERO. Also, I don't think they have access to salt either. I am mind boggled that 6 inches of snow and a little bit of sleet below and on top has brought the city to a stand still. Get this: I went out for some chili from Wendy's today -- it was closed! So were: McDonald's, Chik fil A, Burger King, Arby's, Steak n Shake, Chili's, Subway and everything else except Huddle House (I don't even know what that is), Starbucks and Walmart. I ended up at Walmart, but they didn't even have chicken made up. I left with some bologna, bread, chips, salsa, bagel bites and milk...the staples. I couldn't carry much because I was afraid of slipping and falling on the ICED PARKING LOT. There was no way to roll a cart out to the car. So, tomorrow is day 3 of the schools being closed -- will this ever end? Temps are not supposed to get above freezing until possibly Friday -- that's the only way that this stuff will go away -- without snow plows or salt, we just have to wait for the sun to burn it off. It's interesting. I grew up in the north, we would never stand for such craziness! ;-)

Never Before Published (by me) Pictures

Since I haven't posted pix in awhile, thought I would put some random pix out here -- then I realized most of them are from Thanksgiving -- so not so random ;-)

Blogging

I still think blogging is better than Facebook. Kelsie says that my blog is boring b/c I haven't been putting pictures up. Here is some randomness: It's been cold here -- much to my dismay. Tonight there is icing -- kids went to bed sure that school would be cancelled tomorrow -- only problem is that it's supposed to be 50 plus degrees tomorrow. So, they have delayed school start by 2 hours. They are not going to be happy campers when they find this out in the morning. More randomness: I was sick on Saturday so I did some online shopping for Christmas. I went out a bit today too, so I feel much better about all of that. What else? I spent about 2 hours on the Walgreens website tonight trying to make our Christmas card. I will see how it turned out tomorrow -- then, well, I will have to see if I actually address them and send them out. I did buy stamps, so I guess it's a step in the right direction. Thankful that my father-in-law is healing nicely from his stay in the hospital and in rehab. He's headed back home on Friday! Kelsie, hope I didn't bore you to death!

400

The day came...this morning. The kids and I went to church (Kenny wasn't feeling well). After church, Kelsie had the car keys and wanted to drive home. As usual, we stopped at Donut Connection, that went pretty well considering the parking lot is crazy and getting thru the drive thru is a challenge because of how cramped it is. Then the realization hit -- in order to get home, we have to drive on 400. I figured, it's Sunday morning, traffic won't be bad, now is the time for me to get tough, bare down and let Kelsie get on 400. I was good until she tells me that I can't be eating my donut and drinking my milk, I need to pay attention to her. YIKES! So I stuffed the donut down (maybe a reason I need to drop about 20 lbs) and focused. She made a nice left onto the ramp; I looked over my shoulder to the left and the "no Sunday morning traffic" I had anticipated was not the reality...traffic everywhere. I tried to remain calm, and I did a darn good job of it -- here it came, here came the merging...whew, I'm home safe and sound.

October 26th...and more

Today is my husband's birthday -- Happy Birthday Kenny! We've had a good night, hopefully he's had a good day. He's working with Cam now on the Amazing Science Cell Project -- thank goodness because this mother is not a science-project mother!

It's been an eventful October. Cam finished up Fall baseball, Kelsie started her riding show season this past Sunday - she placed first, so that was cool. Ruth & Heather came for a visit, we had a good time with them here. Kenny and I made it to the mixed doubles playoffs. We were supposed to have our first playoff match tonight, but we got rained out. My women's doubles team made it to the playoffs too, we have our first match this Saturday. So, I'm tired, but thankful for our good health and all of the activities. Oh, Ken and Cam went camping this past Saturday night -- they had such a great time that they are taking Kelsie and Laura this Saturday -- notice that one person is missing from the camping equation ;-)

October...BRRRRR!

I can't believe it's October and about 45 degrees outside -- this is crazy! Hopefully it will warm back up soon. I spent 10 days in STL, mostly working. Back home now and need to get back into a groove. I understand that my husband was interviewed for his book while I was away. Now there's only 1 problem with this book of his -- I am not mentioned once in it! I think this is going to really affect sales, so in the editing process, I expect some changes...so don't give up!

The big news: KELSIE HAS HER DRIVER'S PERMIT!

Seriously?

Last week some friends met me at Lotawata Creek in Fairview Heights for dinner. It had been quite awhile since I had been there and I remember the portions being big, but this was crazy! Chris ordered some kind of burger with onion rings and this is what it looked like:



Check out how big the "toothpick" had to be to hold the thing together!

The steak I ordered was pretty "normal" sized, but the baked potato was humongous!

I'm Glad Today is About Over

Can't believe it's September -- we have nearly 4 weeks of school under our belt and for the most part, it's going well. Of course I found it funny when I went to meet Cameron's teachers and one of them told me how she tells the kids that they're like a family and Cameron informed her that he's the "older good looking brother" of the family ;-) Gotta love it. If you are wondering, he gets that from his dad.

I've been in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area this week. Today was one of those days that I'm thankful when it's over -- I had to testify at a hearing today and it was a stressful day, pacing around waiting for my turn to be called. Thank the Lord He calmed me down once it was my turn and it all went well. I hope to sleep well tonight and head back home tomorrow.

The Klaus' are on their way to GA for the holiday weekend, we are very excited about that. My parents will leave and they will arrive -- I think the week at home has gone well which I am also thankful for. Happy September!

A Strange Happening and An Uneasy Feeling

School starts on Monday, I can't believe the bulk of summer is over. The kids and I spent 5 days in IL visiting my family and I returned to something very strange. NO BLOG UPDATES from my husband detailing my closet, my cleaning lady, my car...it felt very strange.

Every year at this time, I feel a little "uneasy". Don't get me wrong, it's about time for the house to be quiet again during the day, but I am never quite ready for the busy routine to kick back in. Tuesday starts riding lessons again, Thursday starts piano lessons, I signed Cam up for Fall baseball today, and of course to and from school, checking parent portal and angel for homework/school happenings, I'm tired already. The summer has, as usual, been a really busy one, but the start of the school year can never really be duplicated...thank goodness!