One and a Half Men and a Jackass

Am I the only person sick of seeing Charlie Sheen's face?  Some guy in California doing drugs, hanging out with hookers, and generally making an ass out of himself wasn't really news the last time I checked.  And as much as I love entertainment magazines, I refuse to buy one if he's on the cover -- only encourages the publishers to keep him there.  Sure Two and a Half Men is a good show.  Well, an ok show.  But they've been on long enough and it's syndicated, so it will keep airing forever - so what if they don't make any more.  It's not like they would have wrapped the story lines up in a final episode anyway.    Blah - I've talked about him long enough.  On to more important issues..

I cut my toenails this weekend. 

Farm show report:  We went - aaaand we saw lots of farmers!  And the same stuff we always see.  We did sit and listen to a guy selling the best cookware ever made.  Really.  Just ask him! Are you wondering if we bought it?  Well you'll just have to stay tuned  for 4 to 6 weeks to find out.  Hmmm.  We also tried out the Viba Body Slimmer machines.  That thing ROCKS!  Well more like SHAKES.  check it out;  www.vibabodyslimmer.com   We're seriously thinking about ordering one.  After using it for just a couple of minutes, Greg's back stopped hurting, and considering all the walking we'd done that day, that in itself is something.  I'm thinking there are several people in our family who could get some good use out of it. 

Here's a few pictures from Carterday last week.  He got to play out in Pa Pa's shop - which of course, he loves.  He thought about trying to climb the big ladder, but changed his mind just before he got in trouble!  Pa Pa gave him a tape measure, and he was very fascinated by it.  He tried to get Lucy with it (like Pa Pa did) but couldn't quite get the hang of it. 

  

CHEESE!





He also discovered the toy semi truck and trailer sitting in the shadow box on the wall.  It's been there for years -- Grandma Ruby gave it to Greg when we got the shadow box, shortly after he bought his semi.  She even painted the truck and trailer to match his.  Carter was very excited to get to play with them.

Cheese again!  Silly boy!

He's all ready for March madness -- Meema got him a new KU t shirt, and Momma taught him to say Rock Chalk Jayhawk!  



Entertaining the Mini-Masses

Wow – what a response! Color me blushing!  I’ll do my best to keep the posts coming, hopefully every few days. Until we get internet at home again, I can only post at work, which means nothing on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.



Speaking of internet at home, that is still a bit of a sore subject. Greg decided he was ready to start paying for it again, so I did some research and found our best option is to go back to the phone company for DSL. The only other viable option was satellite, and besides being considerably more expensive, we’ve heard it’s not the most reliable, especially in bad weather. Now that was about a month ago – Greg never gets in a hurry unless work is involved, so I’m still waiting. One thing I’m going to make sure of is that we have a wireless router installed so I’ll have internet on my laptop too. Whoo-eee mother! If we can just get us one of them there new fangled dig-it-al recording thingys for our tv, we be gettin’ closer to joinin’ the 21st century! Course we still only get 6 local networks, but we can’t be movin’ too fast, now can we? God I hate being a white trash hick.


Sorry to report our Carter bug isn’t feeling too hot. He’s got the virus that’s going around and is having trouble keeping food down. He did come over yesterday for Carterday, and seemed to be feeling better most of the day. I think he feels worse at night. We had to go help Papa load some wood he cut in the pasture, so Carter rode with me in the backhoe. No complaints there! And since he wasn’t feeling 100%, we didn’t want him outside much, so we both stayed in the backhoe while Papa did all the heavy work. All we had to do was dump the loader bucket full of wood in the dump truck several times. We (ok I) only encountered one problem – backed right into a big tree stump once. Didn’t seem to do much damage to the hoe, and I only got a slightly dirty look from Greg, so no big deal!

But WHY can't I help Papa?

I can’t believe how much more Carter is talking! He’s started putting words together and forming sentences. Whenever anyone flushes the toilet he always waves and says “Bye peepee, bye poopoo, bye wahwah”. He also does a dead on impersonation of Harry the cat. If you ask him what the kitty says he meows sweetly, but if you ask him what Harry says, he growls like a lion. The funniest thing is the way he laughs when he sees Harry – I swear it’s the evilest little laugh I’ve heard coming from a 2 year old!


I’m getting ready to head for home before the weather gets any worse. Today may be Thursday, but it’s my Friday for the week. Greg and I are heading to KC tomorrow for the Farm Show (weather permitting). We’ll probably go back to Jumpin’ Catfish for dinner, since Greg loves it so much and we don’t get to that area very often. I’ll definitely NOT be eating the catfish this time – some sort of chicken will have to suffice. Happy weekend everyone!

Typical Monday

Mr. Blogger and I are about to have a knock down drag out if something doesn't change soon.  Apparently no one can leave comments on my posts!  And if there's one thing this blogger lives for, it's feedback!  Not that I wouldn't write even if I knew no one were reading, but oh the JOY!  the EXCITEMENT!  the THRILL! when I see someone cares enough to leave a comment!  I've changed the settings so anyone SHOULD be able to comment, blogger ID or not, and when I visited my site without signing in, it let me comment.  Does it KNOW it's me???   So come on y'all -- if you're out there, even if you don't have anything particular to say, just say hi! so I'll know if the problem is fixed or not.  If you can't - drop me an email or tweet or facebook me with the bad news.


In other news... we celebrated Grandma Ruby's birthday as planned on Saturday.  And Carter was kind enough to provide the entertainment for the afternoon.  He was in such a good mood, silly, happy, laughing, just a joy.  Not that he isn't always a joy, because of course, he is!  The funniest part is how much he enjoys it when people laugh at him.  He's a  born entertainer, no doubt.  There were 12 of us in attendance; Grandma of course, Eldon, Diana, Candace, Tuff, Clayton and Kyler, Erin, Brent and Carter, and Greg and myself.  We all met at Green Acres early, so when Diana brought Grandma in, she was very surprised and very happy!  The food was delicious as usual, and we were able to enjoy a  nice relaxing lunch.  I think Grandma looks darn good for 95 years old!  Don't take it from me -- see for yourself!

And since it's been so long since I posted any pictures of Carter, here's a few of him too!

showing off!

look at that sweet smile!

blowing out the candle on his birthday cake!  Big TWO!



Workin for the Weekend

Good morning and welcome to Friday!  I just typed that sentence 3 times before I spelled morning right.  See - I told you I wasn't a morning person!  So yes, it's Friday and the weather is nice, and I only have to work 6 hours today, which means I can leave at 1:00 today if I want to.  Now I just have to decide what I might do with a few extra hours.  I could do something productive, like go to Jazzercise, since I skipped it last night (not likely as I left my gym bag at home) or I could go home and clean house (HA).  I could go visit Mom and see if she needs to go to the grocery store, I could go to Lyndon and pick up the tax forms I need to fill out and get to our hired man (wait - I have almost 2 months to do that) or I could go shopping with Amy.  Hmmm... wonder which option will win???  Considering today is payday as well, I think we all know where this is going.  Also, I received a $50 Walmart card from my employer this week for going a year without any accidents!  Free money is always nice, and since I'm not fond of accidents, it's a win-win!!!

Speaking of work, there are some changes coming to my department that I'm not exactly thrilled about.  My bff Amy is leaving us for a different position.  She'll still work out of this office, just down the hall now, which means we won't be working together anymore.  I'm happy that she has this opportunity for advancement, but I'm going to miss having her less than 10 feet away.  And it turns out there was a planned Reduction in Force for our department, but with her move, no one will be layed off, so someone owes Amy their job! 

Anyone have any special plans for the weekend?  Greg's Grandma Ruby turns 95 today, and the family is planning to surprise her tomorrow at noon.  Greg's sister has already made plans to take her out for dinner, but she doesn't know the rest of us will be waiting there for her.  I hope she enjoys herself.  She's had a rough last couple of months, losing her daughter in November.  She said then that no parent should outlive their child.  I can't imagine how that must have felt.  I doubt it's any easier losing your 70 year old child than a young child.  Losing Greg's Mom has been so difficult for all of us, but I'll save all that for another post.

Post Valentines Day Run Down

Just to wrap things up quickly, we had a nice supper, even nicer jumbo margaritas, and a good visit.  That may sound kinda wierd, but the truth is, we rarely see much of each other these days.  He's an early riser, I get up 10 minutes before I have to be out the door; I'm lucky to be home by 7:00, he's usually asleep on the couch by 8:00.  Doesn't leave much time for talking, now does it?  We do get a little more time on the weekends,  but unless I want to spend my day outside chucking wood or working in the shop, it's not that much more.  I don't know - maybe that works for us.  Sure leaves less time for fighting!  The key to a successful marriage is limited time together??? 

It's Tuesday, and that means it's Jazzercise day.  My friend Amy and I, along with her daughter Madison, started going to Jazzercise twice a week about a month ago.  I find myself with mixed feelings on these days.  The old me definitely does not look forward to exercise in any way, shape or form.  But at the same time, I have to say that it is fun.  And I do feel better after working out.  For sure I'm more aware of what I'm eating on these days, which is better than not at all.  I'm gradually trying to change my eating habits rather than going on another DIET.  Maybe a different approach will have different results.  I'm also concentrating less on pounds and more on improvements in my health, such as lower blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure, and lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels.  If I can improve them significantly, it could mean lowering or even stopping medication, which would be awesome.  Hopefully the rest (weight loss, body changes) will follow.  I have a feeling that starting with exercise instead of diet will help me be more successful this time.  Fingers crossed!

If today is Tuesday, that can only mean one thing -- tomorrow is Carterday!  I'm hoping I can pick him up tonight -- it's always so nice when he can spend the night before.  Papa gets to see more of him that way, and I get my little cuddle bug!  We took his Valentine's gifts to him last night, and he was so excited to see us!  I was surprised that when we got ready to leave, he was all happy and telling us BAH!  (that's bye in Carter-speak) and he wasn't the least bit upset.  Then I realized it wasn't us he was telling bah -- it was mom and dad.  He thought he was going with us.  Poor little guy -- as soon as we shut the garage door I heard him start crying.  Like all kids,  he's always ready to go somewhere with whoever's leaving.  So hopefully tonight, he can say bah and mean it! 

Happy Valentines Day???

Well it's Valentines Day, 2011.  And my husband, the sentimental fool he is not, actually began taking notice of this day several years ago.  Not with candy or flowers -- he would never waste his money on flowers and of course, I don't need candy.  But we do go out for a nicer than normal dinner every year.  This year, we chose to go to El Mez in Osage City, which is NOT nicer than normal, it's the same as normal.  But that's ok - we like it, and they have the best margaritas in the area.  So in 5 minutes, I'm off work (early!) so we can take Carter his valentines presents and head to margaritaville.  Check back tomorrow to see how the evening went!!!  (I predict mucho liquor will be consumed)

Regrets

A good man died a week ago.  A man I knew because of my job.  I can't really call him a friend.  In fact, I'm not even sure he liked me.  I never really knew where I stood with him, unless he was disgusted with me, in which case he let it be known.  But the thing is, I can't fault him for that.  He had a job to do, and it was the most important thing in his life.  He was looking out for his daughter, because she's unable to look out for herself.  Plain an simple.  I tried using my humor and charm (ha) on him the first time I met him, and that went over like a lead balloon.  I was intimidated by this man, even though I tried my best not to be.  I think he liked that, not so much because he liked having power over me, but because he knew I would always think first about what was best for his daughter, thereby not having to face his wrath.  Can't fault him for that either.

When I learned of his illness almost two years ago, my heart hurt for him.  We all knew it was a death sentence.  I even spoke to him about his treatment and outlook a few times.  I expressed my sadness at the hand he'd been dealt.  After a year or so, he stopped coming by the office; his wife came instead.  I've enjoyed getting to know her.  Talk about polar opposites.  It's always hard to know what to say to someone going through a difficult time.  You can offer the usual; "you're in my thoughts" or I'm praying for you and your family" but somehow that doesn't always ring true for me.  His wife stopped coming by the office a few months ago, using the mail instead.  I considered sending a "thinking of you" card a time or two, but felt it might be unwelcome in his eyes.  I worried he would see it as an attempt to "suck up" for lack of a better term.  So I sent nothing. 

Yesterday, when I learned he had passed away, I felt an unexpectedly deep sense of sadness.  His obituary incuded a link to a Caring Bridge website his daughter started 4 months ago after he was moved to Hospice.  Her journal introduced me to a different man.  A husband, a father, a grandfather.  A man I regret not getting to know. 

If I learned anything from this experience, it is that when in doubt, say or do something.  Don't remain silent.  You may never get a 2nd chance.  Rest in Peace Art.