Get this.....yesterday I had pulled the trash can out from under the bathroom sink to empty while I was doing laundry...I left it sit for a minute. I go back to get it..it had been put back under the sink FULL....I asked Keith why he did that. He said and I QUOTE " Cause I did not know what you were going to do with it". DUH>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I could NOT BELIEVE this comment. Did he honestly NOT know what I was going to do with it? HUM.....let me see...the options would be?????? I guess he has to be INSTRUCTED it needed emptying rather than observing the fact that it was overflowing and could be emptied. I have NO idea what he thought I had planned on doing with it. I assume the possibility of actually EMPTYING never even entered his mind....or he perhaps would have considered doing it himself. AND...if he did not know what I had PLANNED for the trash...why could he not open his mouth and ASK me what I was going to do with it?? THESE are typical things he does that can really GET ME TICKED!! I swear he acts sometimes (MOST TIMES) like he has no common sense at all and if he does..he rarely uses it.

Well...just found out a son of my former supervisor passed away suddenly in his sleep Friday night. He was 33 years old. Don't know the reason yet...but really makes you realize NONE of us know how long we have on this earth do we? I have recently been thinking a lot about living and life and passing on...etc. We would LOVE to have the assurance of living forever and being here for our families and friends. BEING HERE may be the issue as we don't really have all the control over that we would like. There is no guarantees huh? Even if you are the healthiest you can be and exercise every day and do all the so-called RIGHT things...you could end up like Eric who died in his sleep and could be from natural causes. Weird.....I believe as Christians and believers we live forever. I know once we have families we wish and want to live forever here on this earth. I guess as I am getting older and see those around me getting older and talking about passing on or passing on...it makes you wonder about life and what you are doing with your life and what you need to do with your life. Does everyone have something to look forward to in their lives every day? For years to come? I know of many who don't have anything to look forward to now. Makes me wonder will I or my family all have anything to look forward to in time? and over time? Will Noah? I believe so....but like with my grandpa...grandma said he sometimes just wishes he were dead or would die. I know my great grandma used to wish that to. Did their life get so miserable or unhappy that they honestly wished that? Where does things change? I know some are in bad health and could be suffering....I guess part of me understands why someone like that might wish they would die. They probably get so tired of hurting or being in pain....that it over takes every thought and action on their part. But what about just getting older.....basically being okay but just getting older. Aren't we supposed to look forward to that somewhat? Seems most I know don't look forward to it much at all. I know I catch myself sometimes wishing time would stand still in certain areas of my life....hahhaa..but keep moving on in others. I wish and pray my family and friends and myself to be here forever.....anyway...can be a bit depressing. Makes you want to certainly live your life to the fullest now though.....so guess that is a lesson to be gained from this sad sad story.

Alright..take a breath............

I meant that to read HE had slept in too. I was already up and working out here..on weekends I let KEITH sleep in till whenever he gets up.....working and taking care of Noah at the same time.....so it was HIM who slept in..not me or we.

SO......Keith makes a comment to me yesterday that kind of ticked me off. He was yawning...and I said "I don't want to see that"...and he proceeded to tell me "I've done about as much as you have today". I looked at him like what??? I had been up since 2:00 a.m. working. I took a break to sleep for 2 hours in the morning BEFORE he and Noah even got up. I worked then till noon. I made breakfast..got Noah up...and dressed and ready for the day...myself...worked till noon..passed a large kidney stone and then smaller ones....made lunch after I cleaned out the fridge..did dishes....a load in the washer and by hand.....and then prepared supper in the crockpot. Meanwhile taking care of Noah with some medicine as he has had a fever for days...and sniffles. HUM....guess that did not qualify me the right to go in and sleep that afternoon for an hour....something I NEVER do.....but did yesterday. Guess he was ticked about that...who knows. Not like he did much. He go up...showered...came out and SAT and READ the Sunday paper. Enjoyed the coffee and muffins I made for breakfast.....sat some more....only got up if someone asked him for something. Waited till lunch..enjoyed that taking a break from playing on the computer.......shortly after this is when I slipped off to nap...while he worked so hard...he PLAYED on the computer some more with Noah. GEE.....what a tough life and schedule. OH...we had slept in too....did not get up till around 7:30 or 8:00. I do NOT even remember a day when I could sleep in till that time. SO.....can you not see the comparison between our days? WOW...they are almost identical huh? Brother......I told him one day I could let him see how much ALIKE (NOT) our days are..he could pretend to be me and do my schedule. Course....he then proceeded to tell me he did not mean any of it...blah...blah...blah. I would say with as QUICK as the comment came out...he meant it.....even subconsciously but he meant it. Makes me sick.

So on that note...I went to bed around 8:30 last night because I was going to go to work at the hospital last night. Keith got 2 phone calls....woke me up. THANKFULLY it did NOT wake up Noah. Then it got so stuffy in the house I had to turn the AC on for a bit..then I woke up cold at 11:15 or so and I had to turn it off as it had not kicked off on its own yet. Then Keith came into bed and woke me up with that.....and then Noah came in shortly after that.....so I came out here in the front room. Felt like I had NO sleep at all..which basically I had not yet. It was now around 12:30 a.m. SO I decided to sleep for a couple of hours and wake up and see how I felt. I slept pretty good out here...but did not feel up to working..so I decided to sleep and work today...and then go into the hospital to work tonight. I guess that will be okay. I have to clean up the office...as the file clerk took another position and is quitting..she was not the cleanest person to share an office with. So..I have to do that before I do any work anyway tonight. So tonight will be fine. Will be so nice to be able to go into work and find my office like I left it last. Nice and clean and organized. I DO HOPE AND PRAY whomever takes her place will be more clean and pick up after themselves..etc.

Well...I have to work. More later. Parent teacher conference this morning.

Me

We went to see Keith's oldest daughter and her new baby today and Isaak. Isaak is something else. He can be downright mean and rough. I don't like for Noah to play with him too much because of this. For example:

BEFORE we even got out of the car...I told Noah that if Isaak tried to push or shove him or hurt him to let me or Keith know. To say "no"...and let us know. I was holding the baby. Isaak seemed mellow at first. Once Noah was in though he changed. He started to rough house in the front room. Keith had taken him an easter bucket with these nerf type balls in them. Isaak could not wait to get them out of the bucket to begin throwing them as hard as he could at Noah. Poor Noah just stood there...saying "no". BUT Isaak ignored him and kept tossing them and laughing. Noah did not quite know what to do. He knows we don't let him throw anything let alone balls (even if nerf-like) at people especially IN the house. PLUS..the house was a little messed up..so Noah had no place to run to. OKAY..be honest. It was unreal Kelley says she is cleaning all the time. I guess she took some time off. I don't go to visit someone to check out their house and part of me feels guilty or bad for even mentioning this...but don't most of you if you know company is coming over at least pick up somewhat and have a place for people to be able to come in and sit down etc? NOT HERE....dishes in the sink and table....trash everywhere...blankets..clothes...toys....STUFF all over the place....sofa....floor......etc. It was a mess. Makes you feel so special to know someone went to all that effort to WELCOME you into their home huh? Anyway...Noah stood there. Keith was trying to tell Isaak to quit throwing the balls. I finally told Keith and Noah we don't let him throw anything in our house and he was not to throw the balls back to Isaak. This worked...and Kelley finally told Isaak to STOP throwing the balls at Noah.

THEN....he jumping up and down on the floor...>Noah was just about going to do it too. Keith said no....and Isaak said "let's go to my bedroom". So off they went. I was not happy about that at all. Visions of Isaak hurting Noah played in my mind. Meanwhile I was holding the new baby....who is very cute by the way. SO TINY though...still only 7 pounds, 11 ounces now. Anyway.....I could not get up off the sofa....I heard Noah saying over and over from the bedroom quietly " no.....no......no......no...". SO>>.I finally told Keith to go check on him because Isaak must be doing something to him. He checked. Here Isaak had taken his play tools and was FIXING NOAH. Keith asked what had happened to his cheek. NOAH's CHEEK. Isaak brought out this monkey wrench that works and he said I fixed Noah's cheek with this. Noah's cheek had marks where you could see where ISAAK had put flesh from his cheek into the wrench and tightened it down. Like a C-clamp...it looked like a C-clamp. Now Noah has been told at school to be nice and to SAY nicely no....and to not push or shove..etc. AND Noah may have thought Isaak was just playing and he may not have known this was not OKAY to do. BROTHER. I was ticked. Noah did not seem to be that hurt...and they played some more. Next thing I know Isaak was chasing after Noah trying to STAB HIM WITH A FORK!! That was about when I told Keith we had to go. I had told Keith this was what I was afraid would happen. Anytime Isaak is around Noah these days he wants to pretend to shoot him...stab him.......push him...bite him...things like that. Noah would be MUCH better off not being around that. Keith totally agrees!! I told Keith if Kelley does not stop things in their track now..Isaak will just become more mean and more evil.....and probably begin to prey on other more helpless things. Like animals or his baby brother. Not sure...but sometimes kids start out that way. He looks like a child that has fetal alcohol syndrome...and they can develop behavioral problems as they get older. Course Kelley and everyone would deny him ever having anything like that. But he looks like he has it. I know the man she got pregnant with Isaak was on drugs and alcohol a lot..and Kelley I believe drank and could have done drugs then. Not sure....BUT....it would not be a total shock to me. ANYWAY......we left there...ran to Super Target and then out to eat. Some kids there were exactly like Isaak..mothers not watching them or correcting them. They were just running wild. Meanwhile Noah was watching them. He then wanted to go play the car race games they have there. Keith and him did that for 2 races and stopped.Noah proceeded to try to have a temper tantrum. I told Keith to sit him down. I told Noah he better get ready cause we were going. Meanwhile Keith went out to get things ready. Noah let out a scream "DADDY" as loud as you can imagine and high pitched. It was the first time I have ever seen him act like that. I told him to come to me so I could talk to him. He did...I picked him up and told him we don't act that way at home and we certainly do not ever act that way in public. He calmed down.....we got him a refill and left. SEE...just BEING around wild kids like that rub off on yours. I told Keith we were never like Isaak as kids...or if we ever tried I am SURE we were put in our places and GOOD!! He said he did not remember being like that either. I told Keith this is another reason why I am really leaning more toward a private religious school or home schooling..haha. ALTHOUGH I know they have problems too. I just don't want Noah to be around some of the people in the world that he does not or should not be around. There is plenty of time for that down the road. I certainly don't want him around anyone like Isaak as a role model. MAN....my stomach was in knots by the time we left. I would NEVER have left that go on in my house. Kelley did not really say much at all. So you start to imagine down the road 10 years....15 years...and how our kids will end up if the world is all still here by then. I don't think things look favorable for Isaak if things don't change soon.

ANYWAY..that was our exciting morning. It is now nice....being home where it is picked up and organized and clean...and QUIET!!! Sun is shiningand all is right with the world. FOR NOW anyway.

More later

Well...I watched a show on Oprah yesterday about losing weight. WOW...those people were pretty impressive and motivating. SO...it got me to thinking about ME...and WHY I don't seem to do anything about losing MY extra weight. SO..I have vowed to eat better and less and move more. Today I tried to just walk to get my mail. This was just around the corner! My heart was pounding by the time I was halfway there. I just kept thinking of that one woman on her show that had difficulty doing the same thing..but she lost her weight. AND I kept thinking of what Oprah said....to do it FOR YOUR HEART!! I am SURE my heart is begging me to lose 25 pounds, 50 pounds...something to HELP IT OUT SOME. So...I am going t start. I MUST DO THIS. IF I were really good and like some of those people on her show..I could be at my goal weight by the end of this year. But here it is April already..and almost into MAY!! drove by the lake where I would like to go walking some mornings. I was just coming home from work and not really dressed for walking there. SO...that is when I decided to start slow..walk to get the mail...and do some exercises in my house to hopefully build up my endurance some. I am still going to start walking too. I was walking every day here for awhile. That only lasted about a month. Walking around a lake might be better for me as it is beautiful early in the mornings. So....we will see. I am sitting here drinking my coffee. Having a nutrition bar. So far so good.

I LOVE NOAH so much!! He shut off the computer last night...came over to me...he looked super tired. He crawled in my lap and I held him....like within 2 seconds he was sound asleep. I noticed him breathing....and his and my breathing were in the EXACT same rhythm and pattern. I wonder if that has anything to do with him growing inside of me for 9 months? It is wonderful to notice things like that. There are many things about him that remind him of me. We also seem to have this "understanding" and "connection" where many times we can just look at each other and no words are even necessary. We KNOW what we are both thinking. He is so sweet and loving.

WOW..I remember when I was little and my grandma used to have such a HUGE bra..or so I thought. I NEVER thought I would see the day when MY OWN bra could be used as hats on small children!!

I sometimes feel so bad about myself Why do I have to lose my temper all the time over dumb things? I HATE that about myself. MUST work on that to STOP it.

Dad: THANKS for the pictures. Looks like Audrey loves the Easter Bunny. I need to send her that other small gift. Cannot believe I forgot that.

Nice here..we are actually getting some rain. Noah and I will color some Easter eggs today. Keith's dad is coming for dinner tonight before he and Keith go to see his daughter LeighAnn's play at school. Noah and I will stay home as I doubt he would sit through a high school play. I am making BBQ ribs, potato salad and baked beans for dinner. Not sure what for dessert. My fridge is pretty full so it will have to be something that does not require refrigeration.

We cleaned the place up. Keith went to Big Lots and found a nice second computer table/cart on sale from 40.00 to 20.00. He brought it home and it only took MINUTES to put it together. I have that second computer from work you know here at home now...so I needed a roll-away cart to put that on and GET IT OFF MY KITCHEN table. So..this is nice. Black metal tubing and shelving...matches the black computer from work. You can roll it into the bedroom closet when not using it or leave it set up out here. We redid our entertainment center to make room for it if we wanted to leave it out here all the time. Is nice. The place is sure looking good. ALL cleaned up out here now and almost all decorated the way I want. I have a couple more things for the living room and kitchen/dining area to get and hang up. I still have to finalize our bedroom and organize it and Noah's and our closets again. We donated a lot of things to charity already. We need to condense Noah's stuff and do some CREATIVE storing...like in trunks with lids that can also be used for seating or something. I want the toys to be more out of sight than they are now. Looks like too much sitting around out in the open in tubs or buckets or bins.

Then...we will paint this early summer....want to redo the bathroom and kitchen. WOULD LOVE to put some wainscoating (sp?) under the bar area in the dining room/kitchen. THAT WOULD LOOK Great!! AND then some trim at the bottom or even a foot rail since there are some bar stools there.

We turned our kitchen table around..looks like we have tons more room now. I like it. I banged my head on the kitchen light last night as I forgot it hung so low and with the table moved I rammed right into it!! OH WELL>.hahahah.

I want to put a wallpaper border up in our bedroom and do some murals or something creative in Noah's room. Maybe on Canvas so we can take them down in the future and not have to paint over them and he can keep them. Also want to make some new curtains for his room and maybe some for out here beside our blinds. I would also love to pain at least ONE wall out here in the living room. Just not sure which one. The ceiling really needs painting BUT..it is one of those POPCORN style and what a pain in the butt that would be. PLUS>.they are super high VAULTED ceilings..so not sure what we will do. I think it would look nice to put wood up there and beams. I bet that would cost a pretty penny.

Anyway...we took our NEW gas grill BACK to HOME DEPOT since the new fire codes for Westminster will not allow anyone living in multiple family dwellings to have open flame grills of any kind on their balcony or patio. We thought about getting an electric one but decided to hold off for now. I would like to do a small fountain. We did get some nice hanging pots with flowers in them. I am also going to plant some flowers in boxes to hang over the balcony railing. Everything is looking nice.

Keith has not heard anything back yet about that position in Columbus. He is thinking they won't be able to offer him enough for him to even consider taking the job. He is also still on vacation this week so maybe they did not want to bother him.

Noah keeps saying he wants to go to Grandma Lincoln's house. He took a picture of Audrey around with him last night....into the kitchen..and to see the new computer table...and then to his bedroom window with him as he talked to her the entire time as if she were really there. Poor kid...would love to actually have someone around his SIZE and family to visit with I guess. He should enjoy his visit tonight with Grandpa Leonard and LeighAnn on Sunday afternoon. We also still need to get over to see Kelley's new baby and Isaak. He likes to play with Isaak who will turn 4 at the end of May.

We were in the car the other day on our way to taking Noah to preschool. I heard him saying something about God..asked him what he was saying. He said "I want to see Jesus lifted high" and "praise His name forever". We were listening to a CD of praise and worship music and he was saying the words to the song. He then wanted to hear that same song over and over. He KNEW the words almost immediately. He then went around singing these songs at home....is very cute. He keeps MY HEAD and thoughts more in perspective!! Kids are so TO THE POINT!! His art work from the art show is going to be on display at this one local library in May with the other kids artwork too. I have pictures still to develop from that show. I have a picture of Noah and his class at school. I will have to scan these and post them on line and send you all a link when I am done.

Well..I need to get those ribs in the crock pot. Noah and I will do cookies probably tomorrow now. I am exhausted from working around here till after 10:00 p.m. last night and then running into work at the hospital for about 30 minutes early this morning (3:00 a.m.). So....lots to do work-wise and then coloring eggs!

MMMMMMM...smells like rain...and my NEW bamboo windchimes sound so pretty!! The birds are singing everywhere.....SPRING is here!

LOVE YOU ALL!!

Me

Wow...been a long time since I wrote in here. Figured I better do it today. Been meaning to do it...seems time slips away and it becomes another day..and another.

Anyway. Noah is such as sweetie pie. He LOVES praise and worship music. SO do Keith and I. I LOVE the fact that HE LOVES IT. We were in the car on the way to his preschool the other day listening to a song. At the end are words.. "praise His name forever and ever"....and I heard Noah saying something. He was singing " I want to see Jesus lifted high" and "praise His name forever". He sure does keep things in perspective for me. Brings it all back to the level of importance life should always be at.

We have had some nice weather lately. Is soon to change and colder temps moving in with rain and possibly even some snow. We will see. We cleaned up the gas grill and took it back to Home Depot since we cannot have any open flame grills now living here at the condo. We thought about getting an electric one but decided to hold off for now.

Got some nice beautiful potted plants and flowers...so gorgeous. Hung a yellow ribbon and flag outside. Flowers are out there too. We are thinking of a small fountain now in place of the grill. Would be nice. Will probably plant some more flowers in boxes to sit over the balcony rails.

We took Noah putt putt golfing yesterday. We all had a blast. Was so much fun. Did not have my camera. Next time I will take it as there are many good pics to be had there.

We are cleaning up the place today. Lots of sweeping and dusting to do. Have a few decorations up for Easter. Keith's dad is coming to dinner Friday night. SHould be nice. Having BBQ ribs, potato salad and baked beans. Probably orange jello dessert for dessert unless I think of something else. Maybe Texas sheet cake.

Dad is sending me his digital camera. SHould be nice. Not sure why but I will be more than thankful. AND I will use it. He is anxious to see pictures I take with it.

Fought off a migraine today. Probably related to that time of month!! Aren't you glad you read that? Anyway..is better now.

Ran to pick up some packages at the post office this morning. We went to the store yesterday after putt putt golf. Picked up our honey baked ham for Easter. Should be nice.

Need to get busy with all the reorganizing and spring cleaning around here. We did take 5-6 boxes of stuff to charity. MORE to do though. Ordering more home decor too.

Well..I cooked some eggs for us to color later. Will do cookies tomorrow or Saturday. Noah enjoys both. SO DO I. Who knows....Keith may even participate. He can drive me crazy sometimes though. He is super nosey too!! hahaha. Oh well...

Not heard back yet about his possible transfer to Columbus, Ohio. We are both thinking it is probably not going to happen now. I doubt they offer him enough to even consider taking it. We will see.

Well..I need to gather my thoughts. I should not wait so long to type in here. I forget all the good stuff. More later.

Me

Okay...so I decided to stop this morning at Krispy Kreme to pick up some donuts. NOT that we need them or anything..but I thought some of their glazed ones would be nice and some of their glazed creme filled. Well..I decided to order TWO DOZEN so KEITH could take some into work. I named off the donuts I wanted in the box. OF COURSE as usual...they messed the order up. I did not get much of anything I ordered..and NO glazed creme filled. I guess God is trying to tell me something. So...guess this means Keith will have even MORE donuts to take into work for the night shift. OH well...they will LOVE IT.

Nice....not too chilly outside today. They are calling for another snow storm on Thursday and into Friday. Guess we will see it if hits us. Could be another blizzard but not as much snow.

GOT TO RUN TO THE BATHROOM.

More later...coffee is also ready

Me

Well...we had a BLIZZARD! We got 32 inches here were I live....basicall inside for 2 days. It was nice though and very pretty. Keith decided to try going to work on Tuesday anyway...but he did get to leave early which was good because he made it home and probably would not have had he waited till his normal time off work. He came home and took one of the few remaining parking spots that was left. A good one though because it did not drift too bad. We went outside on Wednesday and played in the snow some. Could not really do much as it was up to my butt....and much deeper for Noah. BUT..we had fun. It was a heavy, wet snow too...so it was hard to shovel or move around in it. Perfect for snowmen though! IF YOU could get out to some area where you could walk around to build one.

The next day people (Keith and the neighbors) all began shoveling their cars out. That was a process. BUT....someone borrowed a shovel and then they took turns using the same shovel while the other rested to dig the cars out. Was a great way to meet the neighbors and made friends. I made some crockpot stew and corn muffins for dinner. GREAT BLIZZARD MEAL!! We never did lose our power which was a blessing because like 72,000 other people did at various times during this snow storm. MANY roofs collapsed as well but we have nice slanted ones here..so again we were very fortunate.

Keith went to work on Thursday. I did Thursday night to Friday morning. By then the main roads were very clear and just wet. Our parking lot was dug out and the sidewalks shoveled and all was well in the world again. The snow is still melting....water is everywhere but we desperately needed that so no one is really complaining.

Things are pretty much back to normal now except for huge piles of snow still melting and snow on the ground that is still very deep that is slowly melting. The squirrels are coming back up now that they can get around....and the woodpecker was even around.

I took some fantastic pictures of the snow. It looks surreal.

Well....we are at war and my niece is over in Kuwait.....driving the trucks that haul the patriot missiles. I think about her every day and wonder how she and her comrades are doing. We are in the process of trying to get a big package to send to her next week. Every time I take a shower....grill out....read a book...take a nap...etc...I think about how fortunate and blessed we are and how much most take for granted. I think about her and how so many over there have NONE of our conveniences right now.

Anyway.....just wanted to touch base...had missed a couple of days.

Bye for now.

Me

RAINING cats and dogs outside.Getting colder too! I think we may be in for it this time round. WE are overdue and really could use any moisture we can get so we are not really complaining! If this were snow right now it would be unreal It already IS snowing in the mountains and foothills...

I could go to bed right now and sleep! I am so tired for some reason. I need to try to get my bills and paperwork done tonight and mailed out if I can. They have to be mailed out. None reall overdue...but I like to mail them early or definitely ON TIME.

The wind is slowly picking up. My windchimes are chiming more. I may have to take that one down later tonight.

Noah is eating pizza warmed up for his supper and playing his roller coaster game on the other computer. This keyboard is starting to mess up..will have to replace it soon.

Anyway....we did replace our windshield a week or so ago. A nice rock flew into it while Keith was driving to work. Made a HUGE crack. Had to replace it. So...a new windshield. Keith has been buying a lot for us lately. He bought me a carpet cleaner..well..us......and a new gas grill...and paid for the windshield for the car.....etc. Next is a tv...he wants to get a 25 or 27 inch one.

Okay. I am tired...want to finish doing a couple of things...put my jammies BACK on and do bills or sleep and do them later. Somehow however I doubt that will work...so I better do it first. I DID make it to my meeting at work today. Will have to attend a few more this year. Also need to complete my manual for work. I REALLY need to do that. It was due in Jan....not mandatory but I would like to have it done before APRIL.

Okay..bye for now.

Well..been nice weather lately that is for sure. Been grilling out nearly every day...been in the mid to upper 70s each day. Windows open..doors open. Nice!! In for a HUGE change this week though. Raining already. They are calling for a winter storm warning already. Supposed to be blizzard-like conditions soon...starting tonight with snow....total accumulation by Thursday morning 1 to 3 FEET of snow with winds gusting over 40 MPH! I hope Keith has enough sense to stay home if the weather gets too bad. I think at my work there would be so many cancellations I would probably end up taking a few days off myself if I can. I have more than enough vacation time on hand.

Anyway.....been super grumpy lately. Not sure what my problem is. Keith is a pain in the butt too. He is strange acting. Maybe I am rubbing off on him. I doubt I am very pleasant to be around some times. I am obviously going through "the change"...or beginnings of it anyway. JOY JOY for everyone huh?

Noah is on spring break this week from PRESCHOOL...can you imagine that? They are planning a field trip for his class next month. I guess I will go along if I let him go. Sounds like it could be fun.

I have fresh coffee brewed...my wonderful Village Candles lit....one Ginger..one Peanut Butter Cookie..smells so good! I have a new brand of candl lit too..Guild House...maple scent. ANOTHER winner. ALL smell wonderful so this room now smells super super good!. My blinds are open and I am looking out at the rain...something we have not seen for a long time with this drought! Course SUNNY Colorado does not have many cloudy days anyway...we have sunshine over 300 days per year!!

Well...due to run down to work for a meeting today. GUESS I will try making it. Another one on Friday. HAVE to try to get to that one too. I guess the weather may change things..never know.I would personally rather just stay here in my jammies!!!

Okay..need to get back to it.

More later
Me

GOD is so good. What a gorgeous beautiful day outside today. Makes you all antsy for spring. About 70 degrees. Keith and I ran over to Home Depot this morning to get a gas grill...almost have it put together...may have to test it out tomorrow. Supposed to be even warmer. Nice breeze...well...it is actually pretty windy today. BUT nice....sunny....very warm. All my windows and doors are open.

Stopped at the mall today after we picked Noah up from school and took him to the library. Ran around there nd then had lunch at Chick-Fil-A. It was good. I stopped in at Carlton Cards. GREAT buys in there. Got some Village Candles on sale...50% off!! WOW...so I picked up a giant 38 once Gingerbread one and 16 ounce peanut butter cookie one. THEY SMELL SOOOOOO GOOD! I LOVE these candles I think the best...they also had Old Virginia Candles on sale 50% off. LOVE those too....I just ordered a triple scented one the other day.. called Grandma's Kitchen. Has banana nut bread on top...and then boysenberry and blackberry cobbler as other layers. I think that is right. Anyway....it smells so good. JUST like baking in your own kitchen. YUMMY! I may have to go back and get that other peanut butter candle next if this smells as good as it does unlit. SMELLS JUST LIKE COOKIES that is for sure.

Anyway..spent money I was not planning on today but am happy. Picked up some more things to put in Brittney's box. Sending her a package overseas. Hope she enjoys all the stuff I have accumulated.

Well..Noah wants to play trucks and cars. I am off for now. Will talk more later.

Me

oh and it is so windy out here. Sounds like the roof is going to blow off. Yesterday our damper to the fireplace blew open by the wind and now I cannot shut it tight..it keeps falling open. Not sure if WE are responsible for fixing that or the home office people.

ALSO....Keith noticed a tiny dab of moisture inside one of the skylights the other day. He wonders if there is a gap around the side. I told him with all the winds we have been having who knows. There could be. I have never noticed any condensation on the inside before...this was a tiny amount but still. Maybe it just needs to be tightned or something....and maybe air is getting in underneath it part way. We have never had any leaks or anything. BUT......something else to keep an eye on.

We checked out toilets and lights and all kinds of things at Home Depot yesterday. Noah LOVES Home Depot and places like that and looking at all the stuff there. He really does. He did not want to leave. So...we spent a little time there checking things out. Keith was also pricing some inside doors as we need to replace a few. Whoever lived here in the past had an animal of some kind who scratched the doors all up. The bedroom doors anyway. They look pretty scratched...so he wants to replace them. We don't really have any tools or stuff to work on things like that so I am not sure what he might do. I think he wonders if he can do it himself without the right tools...and he may pay extra to have them installed. BUT..HOME DEPOT can really rack up the money for doing that. SO...we will see. No rush....

Keith picked up a portable Bissell steam cleaner yesterday that was a great price. SO..I ended up testing it out and cleaning the carpets. You should have seen all the crap and crud and black water I poured out of the machine! YUCK!! BUT....man...this is one of the best investments we have ever made. The carpets look so much better it is not even funny!! SO NICE and clean. I was worried about using any carpet cleaners on the floor except like CHEM DRY because of kids sometimes getting sick after carpets are cleaned....and that disease......so I still hope and pray nothing happens to Noah. BUT...we needed to do something...this was an allergen type formula I used to...so hopefully more safe and less toxic and with less chemicals..etc. I did not want Noah on the carpet while it was wet either unless he had shoes on...yeah right. Well...that plan did not work too well. I thought his feet looked a little red when we headed to bed last night. I will check them again today. Now my bare feet felt a little funny too although they were not really red. So maybe it will just be a small local type reaction and then fade away. The carpets did not take long to dry. AND I brought in floor fans to help with that. BUT...I told Keith if you clean them well and then clean them every so often to KEEP them clean...the carpet sure looks better and will last longer probably. It was looking pretty dirty.

Today we are probably going to go back to Home Depot and pick up this small round gas grill we saw and liked. Probably after we take Noah to preschool we will head over there and pick that up. Comes in a HUGE box but we don't have far to go home from Home Depot..it is right down the street around the corner. I told Keith we could either stick the box in the trunk and tie the trunk down for that short trip OR...take the stuff out of the trunk and fold up the box and bring it home that way. Will be nice to be able to cook out on the balcony. I washed the door glass yesterday and pulled the fridge away from the wall and MAN all the crap back there. It had been blowing all these dust bunnies everywhere so I swept it all out really good from below. I think it will be fine now. I had never done that and the way it looked I don't think ANYONE ever had done that before. I then cleaned the floor and mopped and waxed it. Cleaned all the cupboards off really well too.....wiped everything down. Needless to say....I should have taken some Tylenol last night..because today I can barely move!! Normally I know this is how I will feel the next day so I take Tylenol in advance. I did not. Just did though now so hopefully my aches and pains will feel better soon.

Had planned on getting back up to finish watching Planet of the Apes. Never did that either. I may just have Keith tell me how it ends. I think it is due back today. Maybe it isn't. If not I can keep it and watch it. I will check in a minute on line and see when it is due.

Some bratty kids were messing with things around here again early in the evening yesterday. They pulled the globe off the light outside and took the light bulb over at the building beside us. I saw the kid come over and try to take our globe off our light below our building but he couldn't budge it. Good thing as I was standing there and would have taken his picture and then yelled to him. They ran off throwing rocks at this other light that is out now too. Then I saw him later on the roof of the covered garage down the parking lot a ways from us. ON THE ROOF running around and throwing things down. SO I called our management office and told them about it. They will have to send someone out to fix and check the lights AGAIN. This looked like the same kid who used to hang around with that other kid who used to live here who was such a problem.

Anyway..getting a very late start at working. I woke up at 12:30 a.m. and was going to start working then but didn't. I came out here and went back to sleep. I HAVE to STOP doing that. SO...just getting started now and need to get back to it. Will have to work some today in the day I guess and I also have a ton of paperwork to sort through and bills to pay.

SO...that is the latest with me.

Me

Well..fighting a sinus headache or early migraine. Not sure which....I guess I will take something and see if it improves. Have some oney Baked ham slices in the oven....and some homemade buttermilk biscuits Will whip up some eggs and hashbrowns in a bit. Sounds good. Coffee is already brewed!! All smells so good. I am getting to where I like Honey Baked ham and turkey better than any other kinds. Not sure if this is a "good thing" as Martha says or not as they are much more expensive than the other kinds. Of course Grandma Custer makes the best ham sandwiches in the entire world and at least I have learned to do ham like that now in the oven. BUT...Honey Baked is pretty good too for eating any time.

Anyway....Noah just ate 2 pancakes..he was really hungry this morning. We brushed his teeth and hair. I will desperately need to take a shower in a bit.

Found a great buy on Enesco's Peter Cottontail figurines on ebay from a guy out here in Denver. SO...I had to get the set even when all along I said I probably never would. It is cute though and the figures look just like from the video movie.

Birds are chirping outside and the squirrels are coming up to eat along with the birds. ALL are hungry I guess today.

Off for now...more later.

ME again

Another day! Warming up here. Was near 70 degrees F on Friday!! SO nice....very much like spring. Noah is my sweetie pie. He is so sweet. He now goes around singing "My God Is An Awesome God" all the time. He loves that song. When he is especially happy he will start singing it out of the blue for no reason. The last few nights as the sun sets..he sits and looks out his window and the beautiful clouds and sings it up to the sky. I finally asked him if he sun setting and the clouds and all reminded him of God or Heaven and he said "oh yes!" all excitedly. Then he went back to singing some more. He seems to have this connection between him and God that just comes natural. We still do not have a home church but we enjoy praising God and listening to worship music a lot. Noah seems to "connect" to many o these songs. AWESOME GOD is one of them. He now is really enjoying and wanting to listen to it over and over "I Am Crucified In Christ". I kind of found that an odd song for him to "relate" to but he does. Then again nothing really surprises me with Noah. He is far beyond his years in many ways and yet still does not talk much. This "natural connection" between him and God fascinates me. I think children can still see things and know things we have since forgotten.I think we all have that ability when first born....and I think we could remember things "OF GOD" and still "see" things as children. I know Noah seems to have this ability anyway. I think we all did but then slowly lose it over time as we get older and our innocence gets tested which affects "what you believe in". etc. Kids are so honest too. They tell it like it really is no matter what. I sometimes ask Noah if he sees God or Jesus or angels. He calls Jesus (Oh...the BIG BOY). He says he has seen angels....and I asked if he has angels around him and he said he does He said he has 3 little angels and the BIG BOY around him. He said they were all boys. The angels he described as having wings and something bright on their heads. The BIG BOY was described as a lot of bright light all around him, especially his head. Then another time he said his angels did NOT have wings. I pray constantly that God places his most precious angels around Noah to protect him and keep him safe. I pray for that hedge of protection every day and night. I am SURE he has angels and God watching over him to keep him safe. Anyway..I find this all so fascinating.

We watched Spiderman on video last night. Was good but pretty violent in some parts. We will probably watch Miss Congeniality later today as I also got that from the library. I got Planet of the Apes too but I don't really care about seeing that much although it may be good. Keith will probably watch it though.

I am slowly feeling better. Had some kind of a viral upper respiratory thing for the past 7-10 days. Finally starting to feel better. This really kicked me on my butt this time round.

Well...I want to try to update my virus scanner before the web gets busy and I need to get back to work. Will write more another time.

Me

Well...another shuttle has exploded. This one was coming in for a landing and something went wrong. They so far do not believe this was terrorist related...but I guess we will find out more later. 7 people gone....just so hard to believe. Everything was going well and nothing like this was expected. God be with all those families involved and offer them comfort and peace.

Went into work last night. Picked up tapes to do here at home this weekend. Will only have about 4 left to do after I finish this tape I am currently working on. Our weather is supposed to be changing drastically. To be in the 70s today and then snow for like the next week. We will see. We desperately need some moisture but every time they call for it we seem to not get it or not as much. I did not want to go into work however on Sunday if we were going to get snow so that is why I went in last night.

All well today so far. My head feels better though the headache is not completely gone. MUCH better though than yesterday. I did manage to do all the laundry yesterday including all our pillows. They fluffed up very nice!

Super windy again today. Gusts have been blowing semi trucks off the highway it has been so windy.

Well..need to finish this tape. More later

Me