Finally Times Two

The rain we've been having has caused Louie Blue and Mr. Butler's baseball tourney games to be postponed again and again. But it finally stopped long enough for Mr. B to play on Tuesday and Louie on Wednesday. So that's the first FINALLY.

The second FINALLY is that since it was single elimination and they both lost, baseball season is finally over.

Louie Blue had a fun season. It was her first year to ever play and she didn't do very well, but she had a great coach, and was lucky to have a good group of kids for the most part on her team, and most importantly had fun.

Mr. B didn't have the best year. His coaches were not good and played favoritisms toward their own kids, had pretty poor tempers when dealing with little kids, and were poor loosers. So he is very happy to finally be done with the season and looking forward to football.

I'm just looking forward to the free evenings for awhile.

Weekend In A Nutshell

The musical on Friday was amazing! I had so much fun! For dinner we went to Ichiban and then walked down to the Pioneer Center. Yep, in heels and all and it was FREEZING!

The cast was so good. They had great voices and acting abilities. And we had the best seats! Can you believe we had the SECOND row? As you face the stage, we were on the very far right. It was neat to be that close to the stage and the orchestra pit. Me, being blind, could actually see facial expressions and little gestures you normally don't get the chance to see from far awaya, and it was really neat to see the musicians. Abba music is really good! And I'm not afraid to admit it. We had a great time and I am so glad to have gone!

Saturday I cleaned house, did laundry, and went grocery shopping. How jealous of me are you all? It rained pretty much all day. It was cold and dreary and wet. I am tired of rain; as is my frizzy humidity crazy hair and greasy skin. I am a desert girl and just can't handle all this moisture.

Saturday evening we went as a family (minus Big A cuz he was on a date) to see my brother in law play guitar at Bully's Meadowood.

Sunday I ended up having to call the bishop a half hour before church started to get someone to sub my lesson because I couldn't get in touch with ANYONE and I went back to bed and spent the rest of the day there with a killer migraine.

I'm feeling much better now!

Mama Mia!

I am totally excited to be going with J and our friends, Cory and Traci to see this show tonight. I have never seen a Broadway show before and we are using this night out as an excuse to get all gussied up. Any night out with our friends and without kids is a great night!

Long Time

I have officially been married for longer now than I was un-married. Yes, I was only 18 when I married my love, and we have been married for 18 1/2 years now. I think it is quite an accomplishment these days for anyone to still be married for as long as I have been. Here's to another 18 1/2 years!

Another Month Down In History

I can't believe it's June already. May went by so quickly!

The kids all get out of school on Wednesday, but the weather has cooled down yet again, so it doesn't feel like they should be heading into summer vacation.

Big A is working at Wild Island again this summer. Sadly , we just could not afford season passes this year...I just can't think about it; it makes me too sad.

Baseball is thankfully over this week. Mr. Butler hit an amazing in park homerun on Saturday and got the game ball. He hasn't had the best season though, becuase he got unlucky with the coaches he got drafted by...but that's another story. Louie Blue is just loving baseball and has a fantastic coach.

J is working on wood bases for our taxidermist and keeping very busy and making some extra cash.

I'm just busy keeping up with all of them.

One Full Month

I have been at my job for one full month now, and I must say, I really like my job. I am blessed to work with 6 great women, and I enjoy what I'm doing (cash application and general office help in the accounting department). The company itself is just a great company. It supplies physical therapy and rehab supplies to hospitals, long term care facilities, and the like. They have a great work ethic and it's a real employee friendly place. Working is fun!

I'm so glad I was able to find a job in the health care industry; it is a growing business despite this bad economy.

Another Year Older...

Today is my birthday. I think I'm going to be 27 this year. At work everyone celebrated with a delecious chocolate cake. And a song. I love my new job by the way!

I celebrated on Friday with Jason and our good friends Cory and Traci. I have wanted to build my very own build a bear at the Build a Bear workshop for a very long time now, so I did just that. A cute little curly tan bear with a cute pair of denim overalls. I named him Tanner.

We ate dinner at Macaroni Grill. We had appitizers, the main course and chocolate birthday cake, with which I was sung Happy Birthday to in Italian.Traci gave me my gift; a pair of totally awesome, gorgeous purple high heels and some Depeche Mode cd's that I only had on tape. (The old ones from the 80's). I love them all!!!! My friend did good.

My dad sent me money so I bought shower gel, lotion, and purfume at Bath and Body Works. Butterfly Flower; my new favorite scent.

After dinner we went and saw the new Tom Hanks movie, "Angels and Demons". I loved the movie! Now I want to read the book.

Saturday I spent cleaning the house, uploading my new CD's and laying in the sun, and napping, and watching the Preakness. Woo hoo! For the filly and girl power. I love horse racing.

The weather has been beautiful (finally). Big A started his job at Wild Island over the weekend. Only 2 more weeks of baseball left. Life is busy, but good.

1st Place Winner!!!!

We had a Ward Chili Cook-off and Pinewood Derby race last night. Yours truly won 1st place for my super hot chili. I was so excited. I never win anything...but now I won this...

I'll have to dig all the cans out of the trash so I can remember exactly what I threw into it and post my recipe.

Mr. Butler ran a pinewood derby car in the race, but didn't do so well.

At least one of us is a winner!!

After the dinner we went and watched/listened to my brother-in-law play guitar at Bully's Meadowood. He just started learning to play about a year ago and is really good! He plays all the songs from memory. Him and a buddy play, the buddy sings, but my BiL sang one song and he was great. It was a blast.

Today, I'm celebrating Mothers Day with my family and lovingly remembering my own dear mother. Two years ago I spent the entire day with my mom on her last Mother's Day on this earth, and I'm so glad I have that memory. My mom was the best, and I miss her everyday. I am very grateful she was my mom and my friend.

Happy Mother's Day to all my blog friends on this beautiful day!

I'm Back...Aren't You Happy?

The day after Easter the kids and I left Reno for a change of scenery and some fun before I started my new job. We went to Santa Cruz California for 4 days!

Monday, after we got to my dad's house we drove down to Capitola Beach and played in the surf before dinner. Mr. Butler totally loves the beach and ocean! After dinner we drove past the Santa Cruz lighthouse and the darkened Boardwalk (it was closed).

Tuesday, my Dad's lady friend, Sally, got us tickets to the Boardwalk. The day was super windy and a bit cold, but we had a ton of fun. My kids now love the boardwalk as much as I always have. Mr. Butler is my adrenaline junky. He went on the log flume ride all by himself, and went with me on the not wooden roller coaster. I went on the ferris wheel with Louie Blue and decided I do not like ferris wheels. Big A loved the dinosaur train ride (of course). I can't wait to go back!

Wednesday, we went to the Seymor Marine Research lab at UC Santa Cruz ang got to play with the star fish and sea annenomes and see the two bottle nose dolphins. I love dolphins, by the way! It was again very windy and colder than Tuesday so we didn't get to see the tropical birds and it was maiting season for the elephant seals so we couldn' see them either for obvious reasons...Later in the day, we took a picnic lunch and went to the beach in Aptos and walked out on the peir to the cement boat.

Thursday we spent the entire day playing in the sand and surf at Capitola beach. The wind was finally gone and it had warmed up, but the water was fridgid, so Mr. Butler was the only one who really played in it. We got to play in the tide pools, collected lots of shells and rocks, got sand in places sand should never be, and got sun burned beyond belief. It was great!

Sadly, we came home Friday. But, that night was 80's Bunco, which I wore things that were actually from the 80's, and I won with the most wins! Even with my serious sun burn, I had so much fun!

I started my new job on the 20th and I just love it.

The 2 little ones are enjoying baseball still. Louie Blue got her first two hits of the season on Saturday and got game ball. She's not very good, but she's having fun, and that's what's important!

J is working on wood bases for our taxidermist and keeping busy with it and making money to boot! He enjoys it and he does very nice work!

I have over 200 pictures from Easter and Spring break, but my home computer is just about out of memory, so I can't downoad my camera disk. Hopefully soon! Actually as soon as I have some extra time, but what's that?!

Sorry this post is long, but now you're mostly caught up!

Happy Easter!

More Baseball...Hey...Our Lives Are Consumed By It Right Now

We are up at the fields on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Rain, wind, or shine.

Mr. Butler is the one in all black; he's on the Orieols this season. Louie Blue is in the grey pants and is on the Twins.

Mr. Butler...

He used his own money and bought a power drill. He loves being just like his dad. So, he got a bunch of scrap wood and set to work building a little box for his bunny to go into when he's out on the lawn. This is him and Louie Blue working on it.

My Project Completed

My home came complete with ugly old curtains. It was time for a change, so I got the material to match my color scheme (forest green), and sewed them and J and Mr. Butler helped me hang them. I think I did a good job, even if I do say so my self.

Projects

Over a year ago, I missed an Enrichment Activity due to the flu. I finally started and finished it....Louie Blue just loves it. I had fun making it for her. It looks quite nice hanging in her room.



I have also finished up a sewing project for my kitchen and dining room but I can't post pictures until I have J to help me complete it all the way. Check back soon for photos...

WOOO HOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I got a job!!! I don't start until the 20th of this month, however. It's a huge company that supplies long term care facilities in 48 states...and small world, my boss lives across the street and down 2 houses from me. I'll be doing cash applications, filing, helping with AP, and whatever else they ask within the accounting department. The company seems great...in this economy, they are growing, because, unfortunately, everyone gets old, and the need for long term health care has grown as the baby boomers age, and they have a great benefits package (vacation time, medical, dental and vision and 401k) and I really like the two ladies I interviewed with a lot.

This job will be better than the one I was at...I think by working for the last job for 13 years, I was stuck in a comfortable rut and by being laid off, I was forced to get out of that rut and now I have found something even better. And I won't come home smelling like dead fish anymore, so that's a huge plus...:)

Now, I have 2 weeks I don't have to stress about finding a job and I can get a bunch of stuff done around the house and have a mini vacation...I may take the kids down to visit my dad next week while they are out on spring break...since I won't have any time off for a year now...

April 3, And Woke Up To Snow

Spring, Nevada Style

Baseball Has Begun

Mr. Butler "Outstanding in his field". Two games, 2 doubles, unfortunately, both games were a loss.

Louie Blue on first base with J coaching...

Mr. Butler smiles...

Louie Blue crossing home plate....YAY for girl power!

Louie Blue hanging with the team...all smiles...

Mr. Butler NOT wanting to show off his new cap...this boy is so onery!

Louie Blue sporting new head gear...

In Case You Haven't Already Heard...

I became a victim of the failing economy and got laid off from the job I've worked at for over 13 years.

We're pretty much screwed.

I'M GOING!!!! I'M GOING!!!!

We got our tickets for the August 12th concert at Shoreline Amphetheater in Mountainside, CA. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Depeche Mode and CAN NOT wait to see them in concert. I have only loved them since I was about 14 or 15 years old, have pretty much every album they've made, and have always wanted to see them in concert. Yay! My wish is coming true!!! Can't wait until August!

Good Bye Winter-Hello Spring!

Happy 1St Day of Spring!





Although the weather may not be "Spring-Like" in this neck of the woods, the calendar says "First Day of Spring" and that's good enough for me! That means there are only 90 or so days until SUMMER!!!!

Pissed Is Putting Lightly

Yesterday, I came home from work to find Big A sitting on the front porch with a couple of his friends. Couple of bad seeds we don't really let him hang around with, and don't allow in our home if we're not home. Now, it seems, I can't allow them on my front porch either. I step out of my truck and step up to my front porch and see this...

Yes. Big A's turd friends GRAFFITIED my front porch with a blue marker!!!!! Then they had the audacity to blame it on Louie Blue!!!!! I guess they thought since Mr. Butler and Louie Blue had used CHALK on the front porch, it was ok to use a marker. That doesn't wash off. That is permanent. WHAT?

I was absolutely shocked. Two 15 year old boys. I don't tolerate graffiti well as it is when I see it on fences and such, but on my own freaking front porch? A home that someone lives in and walks on the front porch several times a day? Are you kidding me? Obviously the elevator doesn't go all the way up on these two boys. It was all I could do to not knock the two of them into next month, but I didn't really want to spend the night in jail. So, what I am going to do is rant on my blog and then go talk to the one kids grandmother that he lives with. He lives with his grandma because his mother is a crack addict and his father is no where to be found. We can't get it off our porch. We tried sandpaper and graffiti remover spray, but no, I get to step over it every time I go into or out of my house as a constant reminder. I know I'll get no help from the kids grandma, she's a poor single old lady raising a bunch of misfit kids her daughter can't raise. I will however let her know that neither of the boys are allowed on my property, and should I ever hear of them setting foot on my property, I will call the cops. There should be some repercussion for property damage, but with all the stupid budget crunches in this town, the cops could care less.

I am just seriously upset and really wish killing turd punk kids was a legal option. Maybe if kids like this were killed the world would be a better, cleaner, less "tagged" place to live.

I feel like it lowers the value of my house by thousands; I know it doesn't, but it looks so disgusting, it just makes me sick.

Someone should tag the stupid kids face with permanent marker so they have to walk around with it on their faces for a while, but I'm sure that would be considered child abuse, and I don't want to spend a night in jail over those two punk turds. If I'm going to jail, it's gonna be for something good.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

St. Patrick was born in the year 387 AD.

The Guinness Book of World Records says that the highest number of leaves found on a clover is 14.

40 pounds of green dye are dumped into the Chicago River every year on St. Patrick's day.

I am not Irish, I am English and Dutch. I do not have green clothes, but half of my living room is decorated in green (the other half is maroon). I do how ever have emeralds, that is my birthstone. I have emeralds in my ears and on my fingers. That's all the green I can wear. At least it is something.

Oh, and when Louie Blue was younger, she called today "Thanks Patrick Day".

End of Basketball

Thursday, the 12th, was Mr. Butler's last basketball game of the season. To celebrate, before hand we had a pizza party. This is Mr. Butler next to his coach. Sorry, Big A killed the battery on my cell phone, so these shots aren't very good.

At the pizza place we went to, there was a coin machine that had fake mustaches in them. All the kids thought it would be fun to each get one and wear them during the game. They were playing the team everyone called "Psyco Team" because the coach was just plain crazy, and even 9 nine-year olds couldn't stand her or her team, and whenever we played them, we ended up beating them by like 40 points, so the kids thought the mustaches would be a fun touch to try to lighten them up. It didn't work. They were still psycos and we beat them by a lot! The kids were so funny wearing these stick on mustaches. The pictures don't do them justice.





All in all, it was a great season. They had 10 games. They only lost 1 game, and tied one game, which they won on a coin toss. I think Mr. Butler enjoyed basketball so far more than the other sports and really can't wait until next season.

Running, Running

Louie Blue has decided to test the waters of sports. Both her and Mr. Butler will be playing baseball this spring. It all starts tonight. The running that is.

Work is the slow part of my day...because as soon as I get off, the running begins.

Mr. Butler has a Basketball end of season pizza party at 5 near the gym where they play, followed by the final game of the season at 7.

Louie Blue has baseball practice at 6, clear across town from the basketball stuff.

Also at 6, Mr. Butler's baseball team has a team meeting a few miles down the hill from Louie Blue's baseball practice.

So...I get to take Mr. Butler and Big A to the pizza party and the basketball game.

J will drop Louie Blue off a bit early at her practice, and go to the team meeting.

We don't know yet what Mr. Butler's baseball practice schedule looks like. We'll probably find that out at the meeting. We know Louie Blue's practice schedule is Thursdays at 6 and Saturdays at 5. I figure with my luck, there will be no practices at the same time at the same ball park. I'll probably be running 4-6 nights a week. Crazy daze lie ahead for this family!!!!

And, as I'm typing this post, J sent me a text telling me that Louie Blue's coach called him and wants him to help coach her team...I can see "Team Mom" in my future here...

Good thing I'm good at running in heels, because I think I'll be doing lots of it!

Mr. Butler has so far been our only sports involved kid (baseball, football, and basketball; Mr. All-Star) and it's hectic at times...but two kids? Yeah, this could just about kill me. HA HA! If I can survive my old house, I can survive this, right? Kim, please tell me I can!?!?!

This Is Funny, Yet It's Not, All At The Same Time

"The Wal-Mart store in northwest Reno is opening tonight after a bomb threat had closed the store for a short time.



The threat was reported earlier this evening. No arrests had been made as the investigation continued.


The store and its parking lot had been closed more than 90 minutes as officers investigated. The store is near the intersection of West Seventh Street and North McCarran Boulevard.


Reno Sgt. Dave Della said it is not known whether this threat is related to the threat that closed a Safeway store in Truckee on Tuesday evening.


Reno and Truckee police are in contact with one another."

I shop at this store and I usually leave cussing and in a bad mood. The store just sucks. The shelves are always empty, the merchandise moves around weekly, the people that work there don't have much more than a 4th grade education, they only open like 5 checkout lines at a time, the self check involves the "hall monitor" as we call them, more than the regular checkout lines do, and it's a filthy place. But, all the Wal Marts in the area are like this. Plus, I also deal with this store on a supplier end as well, and let me just say, they do not have it all together...but that's a story for another time. Unfortunately, in this poor economy, I've got to save money, and Wal Mart is by far the cheapest place around, so I have to make do...but I'm sorry, this bomb threat is just plain funny.

I do believe it's called KARMA!! I just LOVE KARMA!!!!

If One More Thing Breaks...

My 56 year old home is just that. OLD! I am so sick and tired of things not working in it. The toilet, the heater, the thermostat, the water heater, the persistent settling so the doors won't open or close correctly, the garbage disposal...the list goes on and on. Like, for instance, the lake in my kitchen from the stupid dishwasher that is now leaking all over the floor, and the dish hands I have from having to wash the dishes by hand last night.

Ugh! I'm ready to set the house on fire with me in it!!!!I hate my stupid OLD house.

Calendar says March...

Weather says January.


At 4:30 this morning, it was super windy, but no snow.
At 5:15, still windy, still no snow.
At 6:00, dusting of snow, still windy.
At 6:20, 2 inches of snow, still windy.
At 6:40, 3 inches of snow, windy, and icy roads.
At 7:00, at my office, 5 inches of snow, not as much wind, still icy roads.
At 9:00, still snowing, roads still icy, not going outside to see how many inches.

I am sick of snow.

Oh, and I almost got hit by a city of Reno snow plow. If I hadn't of slid through the intersection trying to avoid him, (I had the green light by the way) and been so shaken up, I'd have stopped and got his license plate number, called the city and had him removed from his job!!!!! Guess red doesn't mean red for snow plows! Stupid jerk!

Yeah, spring starts in 11 days, but that's only what the calendar says...so what does it know?

Amazing

Early this week, the HUGE female golden eagle CRASHED into the passenger side windshield of a semi out near Elko. I couldn't find a picture of the truck, but the window was practically taken out. The bird landed in the truck under the seat. The truck driver at first thought it was dead, but then all of a sudden, the bird started moving!

She was taken to a preserve in Spring Creek, and was checked out fully. The ONLY injury she got was the swollen left eyelid! No broken bones, no internal injuries. It is just amazing. She is being held just as a precaution for a bit, and will be release back into the wild.

She is so beautiful, and I'm glad she was so lucky. The driver was uninjured, but the reports didn't mention the damage to his shorts!

Seriously Funny, But You Probably Had to Be There

The snow over night made my very steep driveway a sheet of ice. It was garbage day, and Mr. Butler thought he'd help his brother out by taking the garbage can down to the curb. Well, Mr. B got the can about 6 feet from the bottom of the driveway, and the garbage can started to tip over top first, so he just held on and slid down the drive way laying on top of the can; he kinda looked like he was on a motor cycle, the one like Tom Cruise rides in Top Gun. I was just coming around the front of my 'burban to dust the snow off, and saw this going all down. I asked him if he was ok, and he was, then he climbed off and tried to pick up the can and the garbage that had fallen out, all the while, slipping and sliding all over; he was wearing his skateboard shoes. It was so comical to watch, and I was trying not to slip my self, being in heels and all, then he started laughing and told me to go get his brother to help him lift the stupid can up. I went inside to get Big A and to tell J what had happened, and I was laughing so hard I was crying and could hardly talk. I told Mr. Butler thanks for making my day. It was classic.

Also, just showing how funny this boy is, last night on the news, they were talking about some story about taking your "inner" child to work, and he thought they said take your "hyper" child to work, and he was all excited cuz he thought he'd get to go to work with J or I cuz he is our hyper child. He's so funny!

Not Like The Other

This is what the view from my office looked like yesterday at 4 pm.

This is what it looked like this morning at 7 am.

I much prefer the 4 pm view.

I hate snow. There are 109 more days until the first day of summer. June 21 can't get here soon enough! Stupid snow!

Scottie Dog

Guitar Hero Heros

Promised Basketball Pics

Sorry some of them are so dark...




Mr. Butler is #35...He is loving basketball.

White Dress #2

Louie Blue was baptized on Saturday, February 28. She was the most beautiful 8 year old I have ever seen!

My Three White Dresses by Linda Gay Perry Nelson

My mom bought me a white dress,
Not red or pink or blue.
She said it was a special dress
Like very other few,
There has been just one before,
A dress not put away,
That I wore some time ago
Upon my blessing day.

As a little baby clothed in my first white dress,
My (Papa) held me in his arms,
There to name and bless.
so pure and clean was I just then,
With time to grow and learn
About the Father's plan for me.
My glory I must earn.
Now I've reached the age to judge
The wrong road from the right,
And I am here to be baptized
In this dress of white.

So once again I'm free from sin.
The path is clear to me.
I'll grasp the rod and hold on tight, I vow with certainty.
Just as mud would stain my dress,
Sin would stain my soul.
The is to repent or bleach,
For whiteness is my goal.
And if I try my very best,
Then richly blessed I'll be,
Wearing inside God's holy house
White dress number three.
So today I make this pledge:
I'll strive to choose the right,
Through this sacred baptism ordinance
In my second dress of white.








My dad, and his lady friend, Sally came up and brought a suprise for Louie Blue...my sister Elaine! Papa baptized her, and his wife, Kathy, even came! It was a very special day for Louie Blue.

After the baptism we went with family and friends to the Atlantis buffet. It was a day filled with good friends, good food, and good memories!