Until next time…

Heather

My mom’s coming on Friday on her way home from her quilting retreat. Tim will be gone so it will just be the kids, mom and I and boy…Matthew is planning her weekend from the time she gets here until the time she leaves!

We’ve got so much to do, says Matthew!!!

We’ve not seen mom in months!

What fun we’ll have!!

Until next time…

Heather

So my very good friend Becki emails me this news story today…..

McDonald’s sued for having milk, wheat in fries-WSJ

Yeah…the one sacred food that I thought was safe with my Celiac Disease is no longer safe…

What a bummer.

I gave up alot when I was diagnoses, and I don’t have a severe form of the condition and can often cheat, but with McDonald’s I never had to think twice about them because they were potatoes and I can have them…

I guess now when I get the flare ups I don’t even have a “safe food”…

I’m bummed….

Until next time…

Heather

WHEN THE TELEPHONE DOESN’T WORK

The telephone repairman proceeded to the scene, curious to see
this psychic dog or senile lady.

He climbed a nearby telephone pole, hooked in his test set,
and dialed the subscriber’s house. The phone didn’t ring
right away, but then the dog moaned loudly and the telephone
began to ring. Climbing down from the pole, the telephone
repairman found:

1. The dog was tied to the telephone system’s ground wire via
a steel chain and collar.

2. The wire connection to the ground rod was loose.

3. The dog was receiving 96 volts of signaling current when
the phone number was called.

4. After a couple of such jolts, the dog would start moaning
and then urinate on himself and the ground.

5. The wet ground would complete the circuit, thus causing
the phone to ring.

This demonstrates that some problems CAN be fixed by pissing
and moaning.

Well today I was surfing some blogs and came across a post about the West Wing blogs and how they suck and so I went to look at them (and they do) and saw a banner ad for the new episodes of Deal or No Deal coming back (see banner ads DO work!)

Anywho…they have an interactive Deal or No Deal and so guess who got sucked in?

Yup!

That would be me!

The first time my case had $750,000 in it (and I “no dealed” all the way!) and the second time my case had $300,000 in it…

Wish I really had that money…

But if you have nothing else to do… play here

Until next time…

Heather

I was the envy of all my friends before but now I really am!

Guess what I got for V-day?

I got 2 cards…

and a dozen roses…

AND…

a beautiful garnet ring…

I can’t stop looking at it.

What did I get him? A can full of snacks…I feel so bad…

but that’s okay…the anniversary is right around the corner and I can redeem myself…

I AM the luckiest gal around…

(that and he’s at Lowe’s right now getting the new trim for around the doors, so I’m sure I’ll have more pictures soon…:) )

Until next time…

The luckiest woman in the world….

Anywho, the paper was talking about Valentine’s Day and how men spend more than women because they are guilted into it and that women express their love all year round and this is the one day that men have to.

One woman went so far as to say that she didn’t have to buy her Valentine anything because it was “her” holiday.

I’ve been thinking about this alot since I read that article, and yes, I even read it to Tim. I didn’t do it to guilt him into it rather because I thought it was comical.

See, I don’t see Valentine’s Day as my holiday. However, I am a woman and I do like to be wooed from time to time. I just happened to fall in love with a man who isn’t a wooer. And that’s fine by me.

Let me tell you why.

He may not shower me with gifts and call me by a pet name. (That’s sickening anyway…)

However, have you seen my house? Have you seen my new doors? Did you tell you about the new office that he’s building me? Did you see the new bedroom? Did you notice how my car still runs? Have I told you about the girls’ nights out that I’ve been able to participate in?

See…

None of those things would happen, look as nice, etc if it weren’t for him.

I’ve been posting pictures of his latest remodeling project and my friends are jealous because their husbands can’t do it or won’t do it unless they are nagged about it. I don’t have to nag. (Shoot, half the time I just come home and walls are gone!)

No, I don’t see today as my holiday.

I was very tickled with the sappy card that was on my desk this morning when I got up. Did he do it because he was guilted into it? Maybe…I don’t know. I hope I didn’t guilt him into anything.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that sometimes love is more than gifts and words.

And I’m the luckiest woman in the world.

Until next time…

Heather

PS. Tim…if you’re reading this, our anniversary is on the 28th of this month and I will guilt you in to at least a card for that… Love ya!

So today I was helping Becki look for the normal blood pressure of a toddler and I came across an article called Kids Often Depress Parents.

I have NEVER in my life laughed so hard. I’m no doctor and I could’ve told you everything in this article except that fathers are also depressed. But after thinking about it…I knew that too.

Here’s the opening sentance….

Kids just aren’t good for parents’ mental health, sociologists find.

Laugh….go ahead…

Then read some more….

There are lots of great reasons to be a parent. But in and of itself, parenthood won’t improve your mental health — or your relationship with your spouse, says psychologist (and parent) Susan Jeffers, PhD.

“Society tries to tell us parenthood is the greatest fulfillment of all times,” Jeffers tells WebMD. “That is not true for a majority of people. One can find wonderful things about having children. But people are not talking about the negative effect it has on your life. And it is very hard on relationships.”

Come on Jeffers…tell me something I don’t know.

“You lose your peace of mind, your extra money, your privacy, and on and on and on,” Jeffers says. “The worst part of it all is how much you love them, because you worry a lot and you have to keep learning to let go and let go and let go.”

And here’s my favorite quote….

Jeffers says her son is responsible for her advanced education, because he drove her to seek fulfillment outside the home.

Can you see this kid physically pushing her out the door?

This article just cracked me up…

Wonder how many of my hard earned tax dollar went into this???

Until next time…

Heather

and they’re BEAUTIFUL!!!

It’s rough, but you an see how it will all look…and it opens up the room so much!!!!

Tim’s good…

Until next time…

Heather

I left the house for 4 hours Saturday…

just 4…

it was snowing hard, but not sticking to the roads…I went to get my pictures taken.

I left Tim in charge of the house…

When I came back…

Here’s what I found…

Yup…that’s the wall between the living room and dining room and it’s gone…

See that nasty plaid wallpaper? Yes…it’s finally leaving after almost 2 years!!!! YIPPIE!!!!!

These doors (that we got for free…) are replacing the wall on both sides…

But to put the left wall up, the brick had to come down…

Here’s the left side…(and yes, all of that brick will eventually go…)

And here’s one of both sides…he’s got the other door in now and it’s wired and he’s putting up the paneling…

I’ll keep you udated as it progresses…

man, i love remodeling!

Until next time…

Heather

There’s a funny story about ShopVacs in my family and I’m not involved at all…

Well, kinda…

See…I found the Christmas presents one year. Included was a ShopVac for my dad. He really wanted one.

We got caught. But we only got caught because my younger bro “lost” his $5 and mom found it in the closet…

Fast forward to Christmas morning. All of the presents had been opened but one. A big box with Dad’s name on it.

As he ususally does, he started shaking it and saying “I wonder what it is?”

Before you know it, John yells “Open it Dad! You’ll love it!! It’s a Shop Vac!”

In the middle of the snow storm, Tim and his buddy head to Lowe’s.

He returns with a ShopVac and immediately assembles it like a kid at Christmas. I said to him, “I didn’t know you wanted a shop vac.”

He looks at me and says, “Every man wants a shopvac.”

I wish I would’ve know that. It would have made at least one birthday or holiday a little easier to shop for…I know what ShopVacs are, where to get them, and know that I would’ve bought the right thing.

But now he’s happy, and he’s not eating up my vacuum…

So there you have it…in case you were ever in doubt….

Every man wants a shop vac.

Until next time…

Heather

We all had mops on our heads so we went Friday to get our hair cut…

Samara was the bravest of them all and chopped about 4 inches off her head… (I was cringing as she wanted to go shorter….) but it’s sassy and cute…

Matt looks hip with his new do…

And I’m quite pleased with mine as well…

Take note of the wall behind us…In the next post, I’ll show you what it looks like now!

Until next time…

Heather

IF I DIDN’T HAVE DOGS:

I could walk around the yard barefoot in safety.

My house could be carpeted instead of tiled and laminated.

All flat surfaces, clothing, furniture, and cars would be free of dog hair.

When the doorbell rings, it wouldn’t sound like the kennels.

When the doorbell rings, I could get to the door without wading through dog bodies who beat me there.

I could sit on the couch the way I wanted, without taking into consideration how much space several fur bodies would need to get comfortable.

I would not have strange presents under my Christmas tree — dog bones, stuffed animals – nor would I have to answer to people why I wrap them.

I would not be on a first-name basis with three veterinarians.

The most used words in my vocabulary would not be: “out,” “sit,” “down,” “come,” “no,” “stay,” and “lea! ve him/her/it ALONE.”

My house would not be cordoned off into zones with baby gates or barriers.

My pockets would not contain things like po-op bags, dog treats and an extra leash.

I would no longer have to spell the words B-A-L-L-, F-R-I-S-B-E-E, C-A-R, L-E-A-S-H, R-I-D-E, or W-A-L-K.

I would not have as many leaves INSIDE my house as outside.

I would not look strangely at people who think having ONE dog ties them down too much.

I would not have to answer the question “Why do you have so many dogs?” from people who will never have the joy in their lives of knowing they are loved unconditionally by something as close to an angel as they will ever get.

How very empty my life would be.

So my friend Becki came to visit this weekend. TIm was out of town so we decided to just have a gals’ weekend.

On Saturday, I called Jackie and Sondra to see if they wanted to hit Rancho Viejo and they did so we went. Sondra brought my birthday presents with her and I guess this spawned the whole “let’s get the restaurant to sing to her. Now, that wouldn’t be so bad, except here they actually put whip cream all over your face.

I was paranoid, but Sondra assured me that they weren’t going to come and sing to me.

Well, before you know it, this is what I looked like!

Yup! That would be me!

And then Sunday we took some pictures of Becki with the Pooches…

I’m surprised she didn’t try and take my dogs home with her…

Until next time…

Heather

Let me tell you why…

Well, wait! Let me back up and tell you why I had to run to the store to buy butter.

Yesterday, Becki and I went to Wal-Mart and out to lunch. When we came home, Napolean, the sweet lovable pup that he is, decided to tear the house apart. This included “reading” the magazines, chewing up the brand new placemats that I just bought last week and getting the butter tub off the table. I can only assime that he ate all the butter because it was clean and the butter tub was full of holes about the size of his teeth.

So tonight, I go to make chicken hats and I need butter. No butter. So I say, “i’m going to run to the store to get butter”

Before you know it, I have a list. I need beer, wings, spinich dip, and chips.

So off I head to the store.

I get the beer, wings, and spinich dip and head for the chips, and then I get a phone call. “Get ice cream” so I get ice cream. But before I could go and get the ice cream I have to find the chips. I swear to you I’ve never seen the chip aisle as bare as it was tonight. It looked like the bread shelves when they’re calling for snow. I got the last of 3 bags of tortilla chips and they were the bite sized Kroger brand…not what I was sent for, but it had to do.

Then I see the ketchup is on sale and I know I don’t have any so I pick it up. I see ropes and Napolean had just chewed the old one to pieces so I pick one up. Then I decide to get another one so each dog has one.

Coke is on sale, so I pick up 4 12-packs.

I see a full cart. It’s time to check out.

I get up there and the lady says “Looks like you’re having a Super Bowl party” and I said “I just came to get –”

You guessed it!

I forgot the butter.

So I had to run back and get the butter and come back and check out.

So here’s you’re notice, warning, what ever you want to call it.

If you need butter to make your dinner on Super Bowl Sunday, just find something else to make.

Until next time…

Heather

Great First Parent

Whenever your kids are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God’s omnipotence did not extend to his kids. After creating Heaven and Earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing He said to them was: “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”, Adam replied.

“Don’t eat the forbidden fruit.”

“Forbidden fruit? Really? Where is it?”

“It’s over there,” said God, wondering why He hadn’t stopped after making the elephants. A few minutes later God saw the kids having an apple break and He was angry. “Didn’t I
tell you not to eat that fruit?” the First Parent asked.

“Uh huh,” Adam replied.

“Then why did you?”

“I dunno,” Adam answered. God’s punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.

But there is reassurance in this story. If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give them wisdom and they haven’t taken it, don’t be hard on yourself. If God had trouble handling children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?