It's like this...

The forest behind my home is being cut down today. They began yesterday and this morning they reached the back of my fence. This machine clutches a tree, then a saw cuts through it, picks it up and tosses it aside. It's brutal. And very fast. I was talking on the phone with my next door neighbor about what was going on behind our homes and I thought that having a BB gun trained on that guy in the machine might be fun for some stress relief. She thought it might be fun to do that guy's job. I don't. It would kill me to cut down that many trees. There is a lot more light in my house now because the trees are gone. That won't be good this summer when it gets hot out again. It was nice in the back of our house in the evenings because the trees kept us cool. I'm going to miss that a great deal. If I'm here, that is.

I am saddened. I have a lovely forest of trees behind my home. It's home to rabbits, possum, squirrels, numerous birds and other forest critters. We get some of them in our back yard on occasion and it's been fun. The trees are being cut down today to make way for more houses. I don't want another house behind me. I'm selfish. I want my trees and my forest friends. We have been spoiled here and I'm aware of that fact. I can enjoy a lovely bubble bath in my bathroom with the blinds open and know that no one is there. Privacy is at a premium lately around here. I am sad.

Our kittens have begun to open their eyes. Their cute factor has risen exponentially! Hubby was holding one of them when I snapped this picture. He's also wearing his Monterrey t-shirt. It's six years old. He needs new clothes. His cute factor is in no way lessened by the t-shirt, however.

This is what my youngest daughter told me she was going to do to me by doing my hair, makeup and fingernails this afternoon. She wants to make me look forty again. Oh my. First she collected my makeup bag, perfume, brushes and fingernail polish. She removed the combs in my hair and began brushing my hair vigorously. Normally I enjoy it when the children want to play beauty shop with me because there isn't anything quite as relaxing as having your hair brusehd or played with. Ok, that could just be me, but it feels so good. This time, not so much. She was yanking and pulling then began spraying hair gel all over and pulling my bangs this way and that. At one point she had them flat on my forehead and under her breath she commented that it made me look too much like a hippie and that wasn't the look she was going for right now. After my hair was shellacked into place, she went to work on my toenails. They are now a shimmery pink. So are most of my toes. Next came the bl...

I drove up to Seattle to drop my son off at my sister's house. Tomorrow they are all going to Meany Lodge , up Snoqualmie Pass. It's so far into the snow and woods that they have to park and have a snowcat haul them the remainder of the way. As we drove along I informed him that I would appreciate it if he'd come home with all of his limbs. His reply? "Sure, I'll bring'em all back but I can't guarantee that they'll all be working" Gotta love that boy and his sense of....adventure. He is thrilled to be able to go and I'm glad my sister and her family had enough room to take him. Allison was totally bummed out that she couldn't go so we had to stop at Kidd Valley and get her a strawberry milkshake. Ok, there was also a chocolate one for Daddy, a vanilla one for Ashley and a rootbeer one for me. Delicious way to end the day and begin the drive back home.

Last night we had a financial guy come over and visit with us. Before he arrived I sat down and made a balance sheet. You know, adding up all the debts and assets. I briefly wondered into which catagory I should put the children and then decided they should be both a debt and an asset . They are both. They're definitely an asset during tax time. Four nice deductions to be taken off our income tax. However, I think you should be able to deduct the ENTIRE amount of money each child has cost you over the course of the year. I'd even be willing to keep receipts for that! Then of course there is the pain and suffereing they cause. I'm not certain there's a way to put a dollar price on that, but I'm willing to try. Of course the joy they bring would cancel out any debt liability they may incur, so it could be a toss up for my girls. For my son? I'd make a mint off of him. He's insane. He and his cousins (Cody and Cameron, who spent the last couple o...

Ally stayed home from school today. Just when I got over the crud, she appears to have come down with it, poor thing. She was coughing most of the night. I know this because she and Ashley slept on a mattress on the floor by my side of the bed. Her voice is nearly gone. I drove Ash to school this morning because neither one of us was moving too quickly and we missed the bus. She was fine with that because she'd prefer I drive her every day! Then I went for a little drive all by myself. I could do this because my nephews, Cameron and Cody are here spending a few days with us. It was nice. I turned on the CD player, listened to music and reveled in my solitude. I don't get much time alone and sometimes I simply crave it. I went to Fred Myer's to pick up some juice and medicine for Allison. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my glasses with me. I couldn't really read the medicine boxes but bought one that said Dimeatapp cough and cold. I thought the box was a l...

I spent today in bed, and not in a good way. I started getting a migraine last night before bedtime and it raged most of today. I had all the classics, light sensitivity, motion sensitivy, sick to my tummy and extreme pain. I need to see a doc about getting an Rx for these as they keep comimg at me. I was so proud of my hubby. He got all five girls up and going this morning for church. Our three girls (our son is up in Seattle staying with a friend) and two nieces that have spent the weekend with us. He fed them and took them off to church. He made them lunch and he made them dinner. I love that man. I'm so lucky to have him and I know it. I've said it before and I'll say it again. He has the kindest, most gentle heart of any man I've ever known. Our children are so blessed to have him as their father. I'm feeling such gratitude this evening---I've been so blessed in so many things in my life. Caring parents who taught me right from wrong and loved...

We were one of the thousands freezing and awaiting the power to come back on. The lights went out yesterday around 3:30. I got a phone call on my cell around 5:30 from hubby who had run out of gas on the freeway. Normally that's not a problem. Ok, it's a problem, but it's a fixable one that doesn't take five hours. This time it did. Trees were down everywhere, power lines were down on streets so streets were blocked off and closed. This was during the Friday evening rush hour, which made it all the more fun. The story takes some interesting and bizarre twists with me driving five kids in a suburban that wasn't mine, that was nearly out of gas itself, but I won't go into that right now. Suffice it to say that we survived the five hour rescue trip and returned to a freezing cold house. Thankfully we're prepared for emergencies like this and we had candles, flashlights and MP3 players. Ashley brought a cardboard box downstairs loaded with blankets. ...

Apparently my region received an arctic blast last night and today. I haven't noticed too much, being as I've stayed inside all day. Jenny called me to tell me that there were trees down in Tacoma, wires down and all the traffic lights were out. I'm not sorry to have missed that particular fun. I slept in this morning because my children have Mid Winter Break. This consists of no school on Friday or Monday. I was awakened by my cell phone at 7:30 a.m. It was my sister, telling me I slept too much. She may have a point, but I'm not telling her that. I have slept a lot lately, but mostly because I've been sick with a sinus infection and bronchitis for the past two weeks. Yay me! I'm beginning to feel better though, so yay me again! While she was talking to me, my father beeped in. Apparently they were together, walking at Northgate Mall and were tag teaming me on the phone for some reason. Did I mention that I didn't answer my phone Wednesday mornin...

Finally got all the documentation together that Boeing requested for Hubby's rehire. I drove to Seattle today (in my neighbor's WONDERFUL suburban, as my van still has the chic duct tape and plastic window). I picked up my Dad, drove downtown and he dropped me off so I could go in and get birth certificates. Yes, I had to admit defeat in the search for hubby's expired passport. We found one of mine, but not his. Of course, you know it will turn up in the next couple of days. After we got the birth certificates, we drove to south Everett and Dad showed me the trailer he wants to buy. It's absolutely gorgeous. He could live in that, while he traveled around. It has two tip outs and is very roomy. Of course his doing that is dependent upon us selling our home and moving into his home in Seattle. We have much to decide.

Ok, we are now the proud and exhausted parents of four new kittens. One is white, the others are all carbon copies of their daddy. We call him Uncle Daddy, since he is both. :eek: The white one was born last and seems to be a bit weak.

My little girl has given birth to two kittens today. The first one caught me by surprise and the second one took more than two hours to arrive. I think she's got at least two more in there. It's going to be a long night. Imagine giving birth two hours or more apart four times! No thank you.

Boeing wants to rehire my husband after his layoff, but first we have to prove that it's him. This requires either his passport (we have two, both expired but we cannot locate them) or an official birth certificate. Riiiiight. And I just have these things laying around my house. Ok, I should. I mean if I was the woman I am supposed to be, I'd have all that stuff organized in a nice little spot and be able to lay my hands on it right this very second. Obviously, I am not the woman I am supposed to be. That's not news to anyone who knows me. I can be very organized about some things. In fact I can hide things and NEVER ever see them again because I don't remember where I put them. It's a gift.

Today, due to a sinus infection and bronchitis, I stayed home from church. The entire family did, as hubby awoke with a serious migraine. We were like two ninety year olds, squinting and gasping for breath while shuffling to the bathroom. I swear that we are aging in dog years. It could be the children. They are usually at fault for most things. I'll happily lay this one on them as well. Especially my son. You remember him? The one with the 'girlfriend'. Son's pal called today and I picked up the phone. I decided to play a little game with him. Feel free to try this at home people. It's safe and you can really learn a lot from your children's friends because they are really not too bright. Me: 'Hello?" Jobe: "Hi, is Chris there?" Me: "Jobe?" Jobe: "Yeah, it's me. Big Red" We call him Big Red because his hair is, well,....red. Me: "Hey Big Red, how are you hon? Did you guys have fun t...

It's sunny here today. Amazing and mood-lifting. I forget how wonderfully beautiful this place is sometimes under all the low gray clouds scudding across the sky. Today has been a revelation. I need more light. Not just in my weather, but in my life. I've been...well, I guess you could call it depressed, for a bit. So much on my heart and on my mind. I've big decisions to make in the very near future and I'm not the best at making decisions. Now if only someone would make the decision for me, I'd be a happy girl. That way if it all went wrong I'd have someone other than myself to blame. Ah well. Decisions to be made, hamburgers to make. Since it's so sunny outside we've decided to barbecue some burgers on the grill outside in the backyard. I'll peel some potatoes and make some fries to go with that as well. There's a artery clogging fun meal for you! It's Friday night. We're going to live a little.

I know this isn't news to a lot of people, but still, it had to be said. Today I had to run to the bank and the video store to cash a check from my publisher and rent that new Wallace and Grommet (Grommit?) movie. Hubby called and said I was to do this, so I did. But first I had to change. You see I was wearing this really ratty tangerine colored t-shirt that I use for schlepping around the house and doing chores. So I shucked the shirt and grabbed another t-shirt. A clean one this time. The weather was actually sunny out so I opted to not wear a jacket. I went into the store (where the bank is located) and had my check cashed by an overly-cheerful bank teller. I stopped at the deli and got myself a piece of chicken and a drink, paid for my stuff and went back out to the parking lot. As I sat in my vehicle, my cell phone rang. I looked down, because I keep my cell phone in my bra. (Yeah, yeah, I know). While looking down to retrieve my phone I discovered that my shirt was ...

Ever since we moved here nearly two years ago, my son has stated that he hates it here. Hates, hates, hates it. It's not where he wants to be, it's 'gay' ( a term that teenagers use to describe something they don't like.) The other evening we were driving back from a birthday party at Chuckee Cheese, where, by the way, I saw more Mullets than I've seen in years, I asked my son if he wanted to move back to Seattle. He hesitated. My mom radar went off big time. Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Me: "Who is she?" Chris: "Who is who?" Me: "Your girlfriend" He did a double take at me. I knew the second he hesitated that there had to be a girl involved because any other time I've asked him that question I get an immediate 'I hate this place' response. Me: "What's her name" Chris: "Who?" Me: "Your girlfriend" Chris: "How do you know I have a girlfiend?" Me: "I'...

We're back on the Boeing Roller Coaster of Love! A woman called today and asked to speak to my husband. I told her he was at work. She said she was from Boeing and I told her that loved her. She laughed. He starts mid to late March. I can't sit still.

A clergyman and a former president of the United States turned her funeral into a public bashing of President Bush. Using a funeral for politcal bashing is something they both should feel ashamed for doing. I know I'm ashamed of them and I think they owe the King family a huge apology. They were there to honor a good woman and instead they used the funeral podium in a disgraceful manner. Shame on you Jimmy Carter. Shame on you Rev. Joseph Lowry. Shame shame.

I find it repugnant that people are being killed in this absurd war about cartoons. I also find it interesting that CNN pixelated the cartoons of Mohammad in order to be 'sensitive' to the Muslims, yet they show degrading pictures of Christ without pixelating them. Could it be that they know Christians won't rise up and declare that they be slaughtered for their audacity? I see such a level of stupidity here that it boggles the mind. Now Iran is having a contest for holocaust cartoons , apparently upping the ante in this juvenile squabble amongst should-be-adults. It's a cartoon jihad. Lovely. I found a t-shirt that I found mildly amusing. Perhaps they'll take this war to bumper stickers and shirts next. I see a marketing ploy here in the works.

This is what I awoke to this morning. The sky is beautiful and the world appears to be coated in cold white frosting. No rain now, just freezing temperatures. That's ok. I'll take the cold over the rain right now. At least I can walk comfortably in the cold. I took this picture from my daughter's bedroom window. This time I was careful to watch for sneaky backpacks that might attack me.

I had a backpacking accident over the weekend which has left me somewhat injured in body and of course, pride. It wouldn't have been so bad if my clumsy fall hadn't been seen by my husband. I will say this, he's good in a sprint. He saw me go down and got to me so fast I couldn't believe it. He was trying to lift me up and I batted him away and asked him to please go get some ice, preferabley two ice packs. One for my leg and one for my backside. He made sure I was all right then he went downstairs to the freezer to retrieve the ice for me. I'd tripped over my teenagers backpack and fallen in her room. That doesn't mean I'm not in pain, people! My left leg went straight out in front of me, my right knee bent and slammed into the carpet and I sort of rolled over onto my rear end. This reminds me that I need to put a DANGER sign on her door for furture reference. Did I mention ouch? Ouch. And Owie. Oh yeah, I have a nasty cold too. Will someone pla...

This was funny as all get out. Love the irony.

So it's football time today. I don't generally watch a lot of football but today is different because the team playing is MY team. It's their first time in the Superbowl and that's exciting. Even for my children, who know nothing about this stuff. It's fun to watch. Brings back a lot of memories of highschool and college football. I was much more interested in it back then.

It's not my fault that I'm being forced to consume more Danish Butter Cookies in order to make up for the Muslim's call for a boycott on Danish products. I wouldn't want the Danish to suffer any economic losses so I'm doing my part to help. (burp)

So, let me see if I've got this right. They want to kill, massacre and behead people for drawing insulting cartoons about their religion. I think I work up to a barely noticable miff when my religion is depicted in unflattering terms. I've yet to get the urge to slaughter. Perhaps I should work on that. I'm quite certain I can rise to a mildly disturbed state if I work at it long enough. Naw. Not worth the effort.

Ok, let me see if I have this right. They want to kill you for drawing cartoons of their faith? I'm not thrilled when my faith is ridiculed, however I draw the line at killing those who would use their free speech rights to do so. That's ludicris in the extreme. Get a grip people.

Ok, let me see if I have this right. They want to kill you for drawing cartoons of their faith? I'm not thrilled when my faith is ridiculed, however I draw the line at killing those who would use their free speech rights to do so. That's ludicris in the extreme. Get a grip people.

When my Ashley Rose was born two months early by emergency c-section after suffereing a stroke in the womb, a doctor told me that she would probably not walk, or talk, or lead a normal life. I was given a prescription for a wheelchair for my baby angel. Now, while she does wear a brace on her right leg to help her walk and she doesn't have much use of her right hand, she is brilliant. Brilliant enough to be nominated for testing to place her in the gifted program here in her school district. I drove her down there this morning and she was excited. You see, first grade is so boring for her (so she says) and she comes home each day exasperated that they had to color again! . "Mom, I already KNOW HOW TO COLOR!!" So we shall see. All I know is that she is a walking, talking, breathing miracle in my life and I'm so proud of her and what she has accomplished in her seven short years here on this earth.

Have you heard the news? The Muslim world is tying itself up in it's turbans over the publishing of cartoons depicting things like this: Apparently a Jordanian newspaper printed some of them and the editor was fired soon thereafter. The outrage this has sparked is interesting. It's all right for them to murder, to rape, to cut off the heads of anyone they feel is an infidel (anyone not Muslim) but put out a cartoon and they get a bit up in arms. Apparently there is an Alliance of bloggers that are creating their own Muhammad cartoons, further increasing the furor. There is a website with most of them posted on there. I'd link to it, but a lot of it is a bit off-color for my tastes.

There is nothing to report. Boeing is still being coy, leading us on. One phone call, then nothing. We itch to pick up the phone and call Boeing, but we don't want to appear too eager. Oh who are we kidding. We're about as jumpy as garlic on a hot skillet.

This guy is a crook, plain and simple. He's a hoodlum .

I'm getting a pimple. A PIMPLE! Someone has messed up my life's timeline and is trying to send me back to teenage hell. Ok, so it's just one zit, but still. Don't I have enough to worry about without pimples entering the picture? Gaaaaaah! I'm also getting a cold. It's very weird, but I can pinpoint the exact moment it struck me. I was getting into bed last night and suddenly felt this intense pressure in my head. I sneezed. That was it. Full blown cold. How weird is that? Needless to say I didn't sleep well. Hubby told me to grab some Nyquil but I didn't want to do that. It always makes me so groggy in the morning. (Like I'm Ms. Ray of sunshine in the morning on my own, but still).

Ah well. Who knew? I made a Mexican tamale pie thingy for dinner tonight. I love it and so does hubby. Not so sure about the kids. Since I also make dinner each night for the family across the street, I'll be interested in hearing what they have to say about this dish. It's very easy to make and quite tasty. You can make it as spicy as you like. I go for mild. That's me. Mild. No, I didn't say wimpy, I said mild. Fry up one pound of hamburger and one pound of Italian sausage with about a cup of chopped onion. Add two cans of stewed tomatoes, without the juice. Chop up the t'maters a bit. Add one can of corn, drained and toss in taco seasoning and chili powder to taste. Oh, salt and pepper. Can you tell that I don't use a recipe? Put this into a 9 x 12 pan. Mix up some cornbread (I use 2 boxes of that Jiffy cornbread mix and add a little sugar to the mix) and pour that over the meat mixture and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until golden bro...

Yesterday I made a double batch of Snickerdoodles. They haven't lasted long here with the kids and with me. They just taste too darn good. I should bake things that I hate. That way I wouldn't eat them. It's my curse to be such an incredible cook/baker/all round kitchen woman. Dang this gift of culinary prowess! My momma always told me, 'honey, never trust a skinny cook'. I assure you, I am completely trustworthy.

I should say this to more people!