Day Five at the Cabin

Our last full day.

We got up this morning and drove down the mountain to White Sands.  We've been before.  It's pretty awesome there. We didn't stay too long because it was HOT!

We rinsed off the extra sand with a couple of gallons of water.  We went back into town to eat lunch and then we headed over to a car wash to vacuum the sand out.  Lots and lots of sand.

Then we headed back up the mountain to the cabin.  First we stopped at the opposite side of the train trestle that I hiked to the other day.  I took the boys picture.

We're going to head out in the morning.  We'll stop for breakfast at a local cafe and then the long drive home begins.  I dread re-entering the heat.  Thank goodness for the pool.

It's been a fun little vacay.  I'm ready to see Mr. B's smiling face in person.  Doing Face Time has been nice.  But you can't beat the real thing.  I may even smooch on him a little.  *giggle*

Time for bed.  Long day tomorrow.  The good news is that I'm mostly packed.  Just gotta load up.

Day Four at the Cabin

Today was a touch lazier.

I was right.  I woke up pretty sore from that hike.  If I'd been smart, I would have gone and done it again.  Instead, I was lazy.  I played three games of Candyland with Cameron.  He beat me two out of three games.

I sat out on the deck for a while trying to get a good picture of the hummingbirds feeding.  This was about the best one I got.  Keep in mind, I only have my little point and shoot with me.

We finished the evening off with watching The Bourne Supremacy.  I think Mom and Dad are hooked now.  One more to go.

I was getting ready for bed when my nose started running.  I went to wipe it only to realize that it wasn't snot.  It was blood.  I had a gusher coming out of my right nostril.  A common occurance for me at this altitude.  Got it under control, the kids are close to asleep and I am not far behind them.  Tomorrow we are going to White Sands National Monument.

The time away has been relaxing and peaceful.

I won't lie though - - I sure miss Mr. B.  And I'm not the only one.

Check back tomorrow for more adventures.

Day Three at the Cabin

This daily blogging thing is fun.  I think I like it.

So today - - fun.

I went hiking.  *pause for dramatic response*  Yes.  I hiked.  I've talked about doing this one for a while.

It was only about a 2.5 mile trek, round trip.  But the elevation was around 8600 ft.  Several joke that the hike is truly uphill both ways.

Both my dad and Mr. B have done it before and they both said that I couldn't do it.  Oh really?  Why not just catapult me right back to high school and tell me I can't do something?

I will tell you this.  I can.  And I did.  It was hard work because I'm uber-out of shape.  Here I am at the beginning of the hike:

And here is some of the "along the path" stuff.

You really can't get a good feel for the incline here.  But I assure you, there was one.

Noah and I saw this huge tree that had been cut down.  It was ginormous!  He posed on top of the stump.

I pretended to try to pick up the trunk of the tree.  Ha!  SO not happening.

Here is a pic of what we hiked to:

It is the Mexican Canyon Trestle.  You can read a good account of it by someone else here.

This is me smiling when it was all said and done.  I won't lie - - it kicked my butt.  I had to stop several times on my way back.  I told you I was out of shape.  My lungs were burning and I was struggling to breathe.  But I was gonna do it y'all.  And I did.  At this point, my legs began to feel like jello.  I rode quietly in the van back to the cabin. I took a shower because Cam said I smelled bad.  Who would have thought?  I really didn't sweat a lot.  It was a cool 66 degrees for the hike and it even rained on us some on our way back.  But I guess funk is funk and I needed to wash it off.

I ate a quick sandwich and then crashed for a few hours.  I slept hard.  The window was open and the cool breeze was blowing through my room.

I am proud of me.  I did it.  It was SO worth it.  We'll see if I still feel that way in the morning.  Mr. B said he was proud of me.  That makes me smile.  I love to make the mister proud.

Day Two at the Cabin

Not a lot happened today.  It rained a couple of times.  I was digging that.  I tried to take a nap this afternoon.  The window was open and I had to cover up with my fleece blanket.  *snicker*

I got this picture of a mule deer this afternoon.

Dad threw some deer corn out this afternoon.  We'll see if the deer come any closer.

We watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics this evening.  I'm looking forward to swimming and gymnastics.

Having a blast.  Check back again tomorrow!

Vacation Inspiration

My brother inspired me.  He is blogging every day from their family vacation and I thought I'd do the same thing.  

We already did the Sea World thing as a whole family.  That was a lot of fun.  Here are my two favorite photos from that adventure:

Cameron had just finished feeding the dolphins when this one popped up right in front of him.  We pet them and had a blast.  Well, Justin wouldn't touch them.  Actually, he was pretty unimpressed with most of the sea life part.  He was there for the water park.  And the food.  Typical Justin.  Cam was quite the sport though.  He also fed the sting rays.

Here is my other favorite.

I just love how "telling" it is.  Boys will be boys.

And today - - we traveled with my parents and youngest brother (minus Mr. B) to the cabin in New Mexico.  Here is our photo of the day.

It's actually cooler back home tonight than it is here right now.  But not by much.  This picture was taken just before sunset out on the deck.  You can tell that Justin was beyond thrilled to pose for another picture.  You'd think he'd be used to this by now and at least humor me.

Not sure what is in store for tomorrow.  Good chance for rain.  I LOVE the rain up here.  And the thunder rumbling through the canyon below?  Awesomeness.  Sheer awesomeness.  Stay tuned.  I'll post a single photo of the day tomorrow.

Our New Family

What a blessing. Seriously.  These young ladies are amazing.  We have met with them three times now.  And - - wow.  Yujin and Hyeonyeong have been an incredible addition to our family.  I am amazed at the amount of English they know.  I think there are a few things lost in translation.  But ultimately - - the language of love triumphs.

They are the most gracious and sweet girls.  We are lucky to have them.

Here they are on their first night with us.  I picked them up at their dorm and brought them over to our house for dinner.  We had spaghetti.  Justin was pretty shy this night.  We were lucky to get him in any of the pictures.

Then a couple of days later, we invited them to swim with us over at my parents' house.

Seriously, how cute are they?  I know!!!

Then last night, they went with Cameron and me to a Colts baseball game.

We have had a lot of fun together.  They are learning a lot about American culture.  We look forward to learning more about their culture as well.

So blessed.

Host Family

A couple of weeks ago, we signed up to be a host family for a foreign exchange student.  They don't live with us, they live on campus.  We're just their home away from home.

We were accepted and given the opportunity to start right away.  There are a group of students that got here around the first of July.  They are in an English language course this summer and then they will spend the next two semesters at Angelo State.

When sent the list - - I felt like we ought to go ahead and take two.  So we did.

We meet them tonight and I am SO STINKIN' EXCITED!  We chose girls.  Well, I chose girls.  Because, there's enough testosterone around here already.  They are from Korea.  I'm a little nervous about the language thing.  We'll get there though.

They chose spaghetti for dinner.  They sound so cute.  I can hardly wait.

I'll post more about it tomorrow.  Gotta get some housework done first.  Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Good Saturday Morning To Ya!

Well, it's actually closer to noon.  It matters not.  I am in a much better mood today than I was yesterday.  I FB'd about it a little.  Here's the deets:

When we bought the van, just before I pulled it off the lot, I noticed a crack in the windshield.  I don't know how we missed it during our looking over before we bought process.  But it was there nonetheless.  So - - the dealer agreed to replace it.

Here's where things went "sour."  Although we didn't know that at the time.  The molding/trim pieces are one time install things.  When they come out, no matter how carefully, the clips will break.  Let me repeat.  They WILL break.  They lasted a while when replaced before.  Then a few months ago, Mr. B mentioned to me that they appeared loose and I really ought to get Honda to take a look at them.

Okay.

I called and explained the problem.  They wanted to send the van back over to the glass place that put the windshield in.  I had one other warranty thing that needed fixing, so I was told to expect to go without the van for a day.  School had just ended and I had a crazy-busy schedule for about the first three weeks of the summer and going without wasn't going to work.

Basically - - I let it slide.

Fast forward to about two weeks ago.  One of the trim pieces came off during a car wash.  Crap.  My hand was forced.

I went straight to the dealership and showed them.  They ordered the part and we scheduled the work.

Very long story short - - they have ordered the wrong part.  Twice now.  Twice.  I spent an hour and fifteen minutes in there yesterday, with my unwilling kids, and got NOTHING done.  (The other warranty thing got fixed during the first appointment where I went without the van for the whole day.  Thank goodness.)  Five minute fix for the trim pieces?  That's what I was told.  I'd be in and out.  Right.

I seldom lose my cool in these type of service situations.  I'm kind.  I was raised that way.  Kill them with kindness.  You attract more flies with honey.  *insert about a thousand other cliches here*  But this was the last straw.  I lost my mind.  I went off.  I'm not proud of the fact that I did this.  But I did.  It's not my intention to operate this way ever again.  With that said - - I got things done.  The necessary parts have been ordered.  All of them.  I have a promise to get a notification phone call as soon as the parts are in.  I've been promised a full detail and a tank of gas.  They were more than accommodating.  I'm sure they were like, "Holy crap!  Soccer mom has lost her dang mind."  It was that bad, 'yall.

So.  I will get to drop off Penny for a third time regarding this trim thing.  I will have to go without her for at least half the day.  Probably the whole day.  I will have to make arrangements to have someone to pick me up and and take me back to get it.  It's a pain.  So if they want to do some extras for me to make up for their craptastic service in the past - - fine.  I'll let them.  I am giving them the opportunity to make this right.

Now, if you're still here with me and listening to this nonsense about my van - - wow.  You are a good friend/fan.  Because I believe in paying it forward and not into sour grapes - - I'm going to do a give-a-way.  Yep.  You read that right.  I will give away a $5 gift card to either Sonic or Starbucks.  You get to choose.  All you have to do is tell me (in a comment below) that you read that whole lame story and now you'd like your gift card.  You have until Tuesday at noon to do this. You can comment as often as you want.  But your name only goes into the drawing one time.  Friends, family, fans - - have at it.  I'll post the results when I draw.

By the way - - a margarita and a visit with a very good friend cured all that ailed me last night.  Thanks, Shawna!!!

Honoring a conviction...

Earlier this year, I said I wasn't going to watch Big Brother.  I've only missed one season since the show started.

I've really felt convicted about what God would want me to do.  Is watching the show honoring Him?  I'm not judging anyone who chooses to watch.  Not. At. All.  I think we each have to make decisions about our lives based on our own reasons.  What's not good for me might not be good for someone else.  Make sense?  I know I'm a walking contradiction.  I watch Survivor.  I watch Grey's Anatomy.  I've seen some pretty raunchy movies.  See?  Not judging.  I just felt like God was laying it heavy on my heart to just not be a part of BB this year.

In addition to the quality of the show (it gets pretty rough), I decided that it was too much of a major time suck and I just couldn't do that to my kids this summer.  Here's the thing.  I don't just watch - - I obsess.  If I watch, I constantly peruse message boards to stay on top of things.  I always need to know who wins stuff before it airs on prime time.  Who's fighting?  Who "did" who the night before?  I've done the live feeds a few times, too.  That only ramps up the obsess factor for me.  I can't look away.

I survived.  I didn't watch it tonight.  I'm proud of myself.  I went back and forth for a while about it.  I was tempted.  Since I wasn't doing the live feeds, it would be okay.  Right?  In the end, I went with what I felt I was being led to do.  I avoided the whole thing.  Tonight was the biggest hurdle.  Whew.

Please don't misunderstand.  I'm not playing the "high and mighty" card.  I'm doing what I think is best for me.  And for my family.  I'm not looking for a pat on the back.  I just want to share how good it feels to honor a conviction.

My iPod Tried to Kill Me

Holy crap.  I could have died.  (Okay, I have somewhat a flair for the embellished, but bear with me here.)

Sometimes, I can't shut down at night.  Even with Ambien, my mind goes a million miles an hour.  Last night, my mind was on hyper drive.  Just little things throughout the day.  Good stuff, not-so-good stuff. Just stuff.  And I couldn't settle.  So, I went to my fail-safe.  My iPod.  Worked like a charm.  I get lost in music.  It soothes my soul and I drifted off into a blissful sleep.

(By the way, I've had some weird dreams this week.  Really weird.  In my dreams I've been a cafeteria worker, gone extreme kayaking with Heather and a couple of other crazy adventures.  Hmmmmm.)

I digress.

I woke up this morning thinking:  I need to find my iPod.  Mr. B is ALWAYS getting on to me because he says I'm going to ruin my earbuds by sleeping with that thing on.  It has yet to happen, but it sure does get tangled up.  Or the cat chews on them.  Last night was no exception.  I couldn't find them.  I felt around in the bed, and nothing.  Then I thought, what the heck is on my neck?  It was my earbuds.  Wrapped around my neck like a python.  They were trying to kill me!  My faithful friend?  The betrayal of it all.

I need wireless buds.  Nothing with a cord.  I have a dock, but it doesn't drown out other house sounds (read:  Mr. B's snoring.)  Wireless buds.  Hmmmmmmmmmm.  Off to Amazon to see if such a thing exists.  If not, maybe I just found my million dollar idea.

Recognized!

I got a blog award 'yall!  How cool is that?

Eleventy billion thanks to Traci over at Writer's Corner. Traci is a creative writing teacher.  But even better - - a writer herself.  And a dang good one.  She is someone that I'm actually grateful to Facebook for making a re-connection possible.  We were in youth group together in high school and then spent a short amount of time at the same university.  She is a faithful friend and someone I completely trust.  Go check out her blog.  Tell her I sent ya.  Ask her about Darcy.  She loves her fur child.  (Cutest dog ever. Seriously.)

The award comes with conditions/rules.  Here they are:

1.  Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to the awarding blog.
2.  Answer seven questions about yourself.
3.  Provide ten random factoids about yourself.
4.  Give the award to others.  (It said seven.  But I'm going to be a rebel on that one.)

Questions about me:

1.  Favorite song?  Beauty of the Cross by Jeff Johnson

2.  Favorite dessert?  Chocolate Fudge Cake

3.  What do you do when you are upset?  Haha.  Just blogged about it.  Depends on the level of upset-ness and who the perp is.  If it's a nagging thing, I internalize and then let it out in a passive aggressive manner.  If it's my husband, I usually stew and then let it blow over.  If someone hurts my kids - - I lose my mind.  Writing is definitely an outlet for me when I'm upset.  I also listen to a lot of music.

4.  Favorite pet?  Gus, my cat.  Here he is licking my face while I was trying to take a Sunday afternoon nap.  He loves me.  I'm certain that I'm his person.

5.  White or whole wheat?  Whole wheat.  A change I've made in the past year.

6.  Biggest fear?  I have three.  Tornadoes, Snakes and Puke

7.  General attitude?  Usually happy.  I love to laugh and I love to make those around me laugh.

10 Random Factoids:

1.  I am a total weirdo with my hair.  I'd grow it out if I weren't impatient.  But I also promised my grandfather, before he passed away, that I would never grow my hair long again.  He loved how it goes to a point in the back.  I do wear it super short.  I don't care if anyone thinks I should grow it out.  It's my head.  And my head is happy with short hair.  I get it cut every two weeks.  It shan't touch my ears.  And Opa loved it.  So there.

2.  I had LASIK eye surgery a few years ago.  It was one the best things I've ever done for myself.

3.  I have become a coffee snob.  No longer will I drink Folger's or any other crap they sell in a can at the grocery store.  I prefer to buy beans and then have them ground.  I absolutely love Guatemalan blends.

4.  I really need to lose about sixty pounds.  Yep, sixty.  It's a lot of work for someone who hates exercise and loves food.  But it desperately needs to be done for my health.

5.  I LOVE to get massages.  Full body massages.  So much that I might call and book one for later this week or next week.  I haven't had one in a while and I want/need one bad.  The tension in my neck is awful right now and that disc problem in my lower back is giving me fits.  I need to go.  Period.

6.  I have a total aversion to the smell of rosemary.  It's bad.  Mr. B is only allowed to cook with it when I'm out of town.

7. I don't like to talk on the phone.  At all.  Short conversations where you can get straight to the point?  Heck yeah.  But long drawn out, do I have to listen to you have conversations with your kids while I'm on the phone with you?  No.  Hang up.  Hang up now.

8.  Sarcasm/snark are my native tongue.  I hate wasting it on people that don't get it.  But I do.  That's helpful.  I have to be careful because it can (and does) hurt feelings.  So I must be wise when using it.  Sometimes it just comes out though and I can't help it.  I won't apologize.  It is who I am.

9.  I have a sister.  But I don't have a sister.  It is the most messed up, dysfunctional situation ever.  We rarely talk.  And we both seem to be fine with that.  I don't even know her anymore.  She is a total different person than the girl I grew up with.  It's sad because I always thought sisters were best friends.  Not the case here.  And I feel cheated because of it.

10.  I really feel compelled to tell you that I am a Conservative Republican.  I'll bet that most of you knew this already.  But just in case I have new fans, I wanted to get it back out there.  And this just in...  I don't "not like" Obama because he's black.  I am offended when I'm lumped into that category.  White folk who don't like him are just racist.  WRONG!  At least for me.  I don't care what color he is.  I'm not a fan of his and I will be voting Republican this fall.  I'm sick of the generalizations and labels each side is painting each other.


Oh, oh, OH!  This just in.  Refer to question number 6 in questions about me.  I just killed a snake on our back porch.  This brings the count to 12.  That's right 12 of those bastages have take up residence on my back porch.  Kill me now.  I was brave though.  I hacked him up.  How did I find him? I went out to call Gus inside for the night and Gus was EATING him.  Not sure which level of hell Dante would consider this.  I'm thinking the 9th Circle with Satan himself.  *shudder*

Okay - - now for my awards:

Working For Vacation

My Life with 3 Boys

The Finn Diaries

Enjoy!  And thanks again, Traci.  This was fun.  And it really helped my pissy mood that I was in earlier.