We did our 4th party yesterday at my sisters so today I have to go to the store and get some things done as we have a tropical storm coming into the gulf and they say it may be here Wed or Thurs so busy bee is me!!!!
PODA:
store
bake banana bread and some muffins
get garage a little more straightened in case we have to bring stuff in.
mow
laundry
Have a great 4th guys! We are grilling hamburgers this afternoon at my parents! I am already craving them!!!!!
Yesterday I did pick up the living room halfway but didn't get to laundry. DH suddenly wanted me to come watch Batman with him instead so I went along. Honestly I'd rather have done laundry-- the movie was r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w. But it made him happy.
So today: laundry and finish picking up the living room. I may have talked DH into going to see fireworks with me tonight, since I went to see Batman with him last night! Here's hoping.
Happy Independence Day, and a belated Happy Canada Day as well.
I'm baby-stepping along, and the house is looking pretty orderly. More importantly, it's quite peaceful here today. I rearranged the living room last week - amazing how a small change can make such a big difference in the feel of a room. It's much more conducive to conversation and generally "hanging out" together - such precious commodoties as DH will deploy to Iraq in about 5 weeks' time. DH and DS7 are in the living room now, playing City of Heroes on the new laptop. I did two loads of laundry and hung them out. I just need to fold it and put everything away. Otherwise, we've had a peaceful, lazy day. I ventured out only to walk 2 miles with the dog this morning. The rest of the day has been spent reading Goblet of Fire in between naps
Becky, we saw Batman a few weeks ago. I enjoyed some of the individual performances (particularly Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Liam Neeson) but I found it to be gratuitously violent. It was as though the special effects team were showing off ("look at the gore we can create here") which took away from the story.
Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th!
Rose
But it has got me moving! I have 5 more weeks of summer and lots to do.
I will check back in later with a list.
I am not supposed to be on the computer. DH ran something last night and didn't want anyone on it today so he can finish it tonight. Checking for something.....
Good Morning! Hubby left early this morning, after late nite of fireworks and fellowship...forgot I promised to watch a friends kids early! So I awoke to my friend at door...eek
Tada
one cup of coffee
PoDa
get dressed!
MR
pack for pool
scrub my floor~totally yuck!
Rose! I love rearranging my furniture! Glad you had a relaxing time...good for rejuvinating!
Jana! You little punk, get off the puter...tee hee
Becky~Good woman, going to see a movie with hubby! Hope he made the fireworks with you!
Hello to all ya'll who haven't made it on yet...fly fly buzz buzz
The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket~Maxine
Yesterday we did make it to the fireworks-- parking was impossible at our first-choice place, so we found a place with a smaller show. Still pretty.
TADA:
-went and got another u/s (they had trouble seeing the heart last time), baby looks good; I am somewhat elevated risk so may need more monitoring in the 3rd trimester, but for now all's well
-put away laundry
-made a nice breakfast (frozen cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs) for me and DH
-called and refilled a prescription
I still have another phone call to make, then I'm just going to relax and do homework for the rest of the day-- summer school starts up again tomorrow.
We didn't do anything special for the 4th, although DH took the kids fishing late in the evening. And I took them to Wal-Mart before that so they could finish spending their gift cards (and I could get groceries).
Not much to TA DA today. Still un-motivated. However,
*Applied for pregnancy medicaid at the health clinic; took a test; guess what, I'm pregnant. (9 wks)
*Picked up a kitty carrier, t.p. and milk on the way home
*Washed some laundry
*Swept laundry room
*Cleared shoe rack, tossed old ones, and put summer shoes back on in a orderly fashion
*Went to Wendy's for mandarin chicken salad (me), burger (DH), and frostys (kids)
*Deposited a check
*Returned a library video (overdue; ouch)
*Straightened living room
*Vacuumed
*Made girls straighten the foyer
Haven't seen Batman, not much interested. However, DH wants to take me to War of the Worlds this weekend. Mom's going to babysit. I did rent Wallace & Gromit from Netflix and the kids loved that. The sheep in the sweater was just too cute. Also, watched Princess Mononoke myself the other night.
Our Siamese cat ran away on Sunday. She's an inside-only cat. At least she has her claws, though. We spotted her today at the edge of the woods between our house and the neighbor's, but she was all freaky and wouldn't come to us, and ran off. We have had strays hanging around outside for the longest time, and we knew she'd be scared off by them. So, DH took the male off to the vet, but it would cost $50 to have him humanely put down (he's not in the greatest shape). He ended up just letting him off a distance from our house. I know that's not the best thing to do, but it's not our cat in the first place, and he's been spraying all over the outside of our house, including inside the garage. There's another male that hangs around and that's really mean and beats up on other cats, but I'm not sure he's a stray. He may belong to a neighbor. We may have to resort to certain, ah, Pavlovian measures with that one. The female, who is pregnant, I plan to take to the animal shelter as soon as they have an opening (waiting list). Man, it's impossible to get rid of strays around here! You take pity on one, and it attracts a bunch of others.
In other news, I've been collecting fruit flies in order to feed the two little peepers the kids brought home the other night.
My kitchen is a wreck and I have to start supper, so more later.
Becky, glad everything is ok with the baby. Are you just about to bust with excitement? Have you thought about what you want to do in the nursery?
Susannah, HOW are you collecting fruit flies???
We had a nice 4th. Went swimming. Watched 2 different firework shows from the back yard, there in the far off distance but still a good view. Let Trey do a few sparklers, had steak and baked potato for dinner, very nice day
We started back to school today, reviewing 1st grade until the first of August then starting 2nd grade mid August.
So, TADA!
*First day back Homeschooling went well
*done both Kelly's kitchen missions (my stove looks like new )
*1 load of laundry
*27 fling boogied upstairs
*Spiffied in the front Living room
*called and made 1 year appointment for Savannah (Aug 8th)
(can ya believe shes almost one!)
About time for dinner, guess I need to have a look see in the pantry. See yall tomorrow
Jamie Lea
My goodness you all are just having a great time with the holiday and getting all sorts of stuff done at home, too.
Too funny Jamie Lea, you mentioned Kelly's mission on the stove. I don't even get the emails, but coincidentally that's exactly what I did last night--tore apart my stove and scrubbed it all, and also took everything off of the kitchen counters and windexed it all. All that's left is to shine my sinks. The one on the right that I "use" gets spiffed pretty much every day. The one on the left, however, underneath the dish rack...that's another story. Ew!
Yo Vonnie...thanks for the link. It was so much fun to hear you. I'm so glad I have high speed now, or I probably would not have been able to receive it very well. I enjoyed the whole program, actually. I even bookmarked the site for future reference. It's so hard to be available when those shows are on the radio, so it's nice to have the option to listen on demand.
Well, my loving mother surprised me this morning with a wicker bookcase. She's owned it since 1979, but it used to be plain wicker. This weekend she spruced it up by painting it all fresh and white, and this morning she brought it over. It's exactly what I've been waiting for in the Room for Borrowed Children. So, my PODA for the next couple hours is:
organize shelves
bath
watch "Finding Neverland" one last time before it gets returned tomorrow.
I have a breakfast meeting for the web job tomorrow. Yum.
Sleep tight,
Julie
"We must have patience for love, born of an accidental look." --Me
Had a great 4th. So great, we stayed an extra day! LOL! Left Friday, back Tuesday. Set off sparklers, made smores, I'm officially sick of bacon and eggs for breakfast. And I kept the camper fairly clean, did dishes after every meal. Had one shower (hey, we have to conserve water. There is no electricity or running water up there). I'm ready for a good shower tonight (and good baths for the kids). We stayed in the camper, but DD8 decided to be adventurous and stayed in the little kid tent for three nights.
Back home to find a badly in need of mowing lawn, a few dead plants, mama cat and kittens MIA (but I haven't checked down in the barns. We left a nice 75-80 degree mountain to 95-100 degree microwave county. I'm staying inside for a while). Also a garden that needs water and weeding in the worst way. But, not doing it tonight. I'm resting. I'll unload the camper tomorrow, too. I had the cold the entire weekend, too. Bleh. Have headache today, everytime I cough. Not fun.
Anyway, hellos to all! Congrats Vonnie on the puter and the writing!!
PODA
morning routine
read paper
water gardens
mow backyard
wash sheets and remake bed
1 load laundry
grocery store for a few things only
mail Ds's thank yous
wait for my dad and stepmom to arrive
They will be here til Monday morning. Have lots of fun stuff planned that we can pick and choose from. can't wait,I'm as excited as the kids!
Up this am, and raring to go!
TADA
rearranged front room~piano and all! Vacuumned and dusted...and tossed crapola...lots of papers and "what in the world is this" stuff
homeschooled kidlets....and lots of laughs
clean off patio in backyard..hosed it down with bleach and cleaned furniture
Poda
boys sheets in wash...dry and help them make bed
mop floor in kitchen
walmart run
The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket~Maxine
As usual, I'm feeling unmotivated, but I have SO MUCH to do!!
The girls and I got the camper unloaded this morning (while DH gabbed on the phone to his father, who we just spent the last 5 days with. Didn't even open the door for us!!! Yeah, I'm a little agitated at his ungentleman skills). We got almost everything that needs out unloaded (clothes, food, pillows and favorite blankies. DH can get the guns and his guitar stuff himself). On my second load of laundry now. DH is wanting some Chinese food all of the sudden, so we may go to town and get a few needed items at Walmart and go eat. I may get to MIL's too and pick up that quilt.
It rained last night! It's been weeks, but we finally got some. Folks, pray a bit this week for us to get a couple more inches so we can plant.
Julie, don't you just LOVE when you've already done the mission
Jenny, we need rain too, glad you guys got some.
TADA
*MR
*Grocery store run this morning, needed dog food, picked up some other stuff while I was there.
*Homeschooled (went well)
*zone work and mission
*watered grass and around the foundation (my doors are sticking due to the dry weather, gotta love south texas)
*helped Trey write his grandma a letter (his handwriting is so much better lately)
Bout it, headed to bed now. See you gals in the morning.
JL
I'm gone, ya'll are busy. I come back, ya'll hide. Whassup with that!
Ok, I've been busy this morning already. Well, I'm exhausted, so I must have been busy. My garden is SO way out of control (weeds, not veggees). So I'm trying to get a row a day done. This would be so much easier with my rototiller, but it doesn't want to start anymore. So, I hoed. LOL! Got both sides of the squash done (my one row that is doing well. I've got tons of squash coming out of my ears!!). Also almost all MR done. Still need to make my bed. DH was still in it when I went out to work in the garden. I wanted to get out there while it was still cool enough.
Never got my Chinese yesterday. DH just dangled that carrot in front of the horse, then jerked it away. He called from Walmart, "hey, I'm in town, what do you need". I wanted to scream "I NEED CHINESE FOOD, YOU DIPSTICK!!!", but instead, I said, "Tide w/ Downey and milk". I was stuck cooking Chicken and brocolli teriaki last night, which I hate, but DH loves.
I have no idea what is for dinner tonight. Something that goes with squash. On that note, I need to find a recipe for squash, other than fried (which I love, but it's so messy and time consuming).
I have a HUGE TODO list on my computer. It's really big. I know today I'm going to mow the lawn and maybe out by the barns. Since DH fixed my mower yesterday. not sure what else I'll get done. Maybe I'll stay in for a while and update my website.
Glad you had a great time camping, Jenny. You are sure a go-getter. I hate when DH changes his mind about goodies, too.
Our kitty came back! DH found her on the porch in the wee hours (he just happened to be up with insomnia, reading). Now DD9 is begging to keep pregnant mama cat too. Told her to take it up with her father. Oh, and she's lost her gecko her daddy got her.
The river is really high today, with all the rain we've been getting. I think our septic tank needs pumping too. Phew! The whole house smelled like a sewer this morning. It's better now. I've got the windows open.
Saw the news about the bombing in London as soon as I got online.
TA DA:
*Cleaned out from under tea cart and supply cart this morning
*Washed dishes
*Ran to store for energy drinks (DH), Coke (me) and frozen foods. I got a nice bag of cherries and another bag of apples on sale.
Must get lunch for the kiddies (late breakfast, so late lunch).
DH has been running some scan on the puter which has limited my time here. Well, my TADA will show that maybe I need a self imposed computer ban!!!
TADA:
garage cleaned, ALL TIDY ladies!
cleaned grount in kitchen and bathroom! YUCK!
found hand me down jeans for DS4, tried them all on
returned couch pollow to friend
called on a school job for friend and forwarded her the info
called insurance and changes some items. Reduced bill by about $250! YEAH!!
contacted Chiro to see if we have a balance - NONE! YEAH!
returned library books
cleaned chairs to the dining room table
cleaned hall closet and reorganized another
moved about 50 books from boxes onto cleaned and cleared shelves
picked out paint for bedroom
made cookies with kids
mowed and weeded front bed
PODA:
dinner - chicken is thawed...thinking Nacho chicken sounds good!
paint a small bulletin board for office
bills
make DS7 try on shirts to see what size I need to order for school.
move rest of books to a new home
get college catalogue
Waves to all!
Jenny - I want a camper!!! And chinese food!
Susannah - glad kitty is home!
Anne - You moved a PIANO??? YOU GO GIRL!
Well, I've been following the track and projected track of Dennis and he sure looks like he's gonna give us some grief. We're inland, but he's probably going just to our west which will mean we will get those strong winds and possible tornadoes. Got to be prepared here for major power outages, etc. So, I went ahead and got my groceries yesterday. Didn't really get anything out of the ordinary for us except maybe an extra pack of lunch meat and a pack of "C" batteries for the radio.
So, my PODA today is:
* Get DD to preschool (my Mom is picking her up)
* Work at office (may be taping plate glass windows; I don't know yet)
* Make bank run and pay power bill
* Lunch w/friend
* Grocery store for bag of dog food
* Clean up plastic garbage can to put some water in it (in case our water plant loses power - for flushing)
Tomorrow we'll put the cell phones on chargers, get laundry all done, etc.
I hope all of this is for nothing, but it's sure sounding bad. It's a category 4, will weaken as it crosses Cuba, but then it has hours in the open water of the Gulf to gain back to a category 4, which is what they expect it to be at landfall. By the way, landfall is expected Sunday evening between Mobile and Pensacola. I have a lot of family in Pensacola, so please keep them in your thoughts & prayers. They will stay and ride it out like they did Ivan. I think I'd tuck tail & run myself!
Keep us posted as much as you can! I go into over drive during hurricane season. It doesn't help that my dad if Fire Chief and Emergency Management coordinator for the county. Well, I guess it does help but he keeps us hoppppiiiinnnn'!!!! Always something to do, if not at home at the fire station! My prayers are being sent you way.
TADA:
dinner - Nacho Chicken it was
painted bulletin board, will need another coat I think
PODA:
run to insurance office to sign some papers for changes and pay the bill, also gonna set up on direct debit.
return shoes at Academy, they are already falling apart! 2 weeks old!!!
my mind just went blank....I know I have more errands!!
Finally some time to post. Been busy with work and kids' activities.
Wow Jana, that was quite a PODA! That sounds like a big job your father has.
Vonnie, I hope Dennis treats you well - what a pain! I've never been through a hurricane.
Glad you found the kitty Susannah, but I think that the last thing you need now is more kittens! Not that you asked for my opinion!
HI Jenny - love the fried squash too - we did plant a few squash plants in our tiny garden this year.
Our local festival is this weekend with lots of fun activities planned. Unfortunately it is pouring now, so not sure what we'll be able to do! Darn!
I decided to have a garage sale this coming weekend after several years of donating everything. My parents had some stuff for me to sell from their apt. so I decided to tackle it. Trying to price a little bit each day so it is not overwhelming at the end.
TADA so far:
Wegmans
delivered goodies for church bake sale
Dollar Tree
laundry going
walked dog
emptied dw
unloaded groceries
paid bills
made mammogram apt. for August 1st
PODA left to do:
shower (woops!)
fold and put away
maybe clean bathroom if there is time
maybe scrap some
Vonnie, hope the worse passes you by. I think I'd like to ride one out just once. Not a bad one, but I think it would be so adventurous! Or maybe I'm so desperate for rain, I'd sit thru anything to get some! LOL!
Susannah, my cats came back, too. All 6 kittens, mama and daddy are all here. mama just hid them while we were gone. They are still a wild bunch, not sure why. I've been around them since they were a week old. Mama and Daddy of course like to be loved, but those kittens are just skittish as can be!
I was up and at em again this morning. Got three rows done (weeded) in the garden and replanted the green beans. Still can't get that tiller working, even after I drained the old gas, refilled it and added B-12 carb cleaner. Oh well. I suppose it is God's way of saying "get the hoe and get to work the old fashioned way!!" Well, I got the blisters to show for it.
But, I have some TADA from yesterday:
*Mowed the yard, front and back
*mowed down by the corrals and barns (what I dared to do, anyway. Some of it could be filled with baling wire and crap in the weeds, I don't want to tear up the mower again)
*watered the front
*cut and sewn together binding for MIL's quilt. got it attached to the front by machine. Now is the hand part attaching to the back. Quilt ended up being 80x96.
*helped DH move tractor to Baghdad (what we call one of our fields. It's about 800 acres with 1 mile long rows). It's about 15 miles away. Afterwards we went to town for the much promised chinese, then back to inlaws to visit with SIL and the baby (and nephew, too).
Just got a message on the machine that plans have changed. MIL, SIL and kids were coming over here later today. Now they are going to Albuquerque instead for SIL's shopping). I'm bummed. Chance will be really upset, he and my nephew are best buddies (they are just 6 days apart). He cried all the way home last night, didn't want to leave him (and nephew did, too. Kept saying, "Chance my favorite buddy!!"). FIL has gone to Kansas for gift for SIL (a player piano. I'll explain later), and DH is planting. Got enough rain on Baghdad to plant there. So, just me and the kids. Alone. By ourselves. Well, got lots I can do to keep me occupied.
About SILs shopping and stuff. She is opening a Beehive Home. Which is an assisted living place. But it looks just like home. Her husbands grandmother was in one before she got too bad for it, and since then, that has been her goal. It has 12 bedrooms with baths, I think, and a big kitchen and laundry area. Porches, and I don't know what else. But you can hardly tell it from other houses, and it's real homey like. Anyway, that's what she is shopping for, her furniture and fixtures and stuff. And that is what the player piano is for, too. SIL is an RN and has her bachelors in nursing, so this is perfect for her. The walls are up now, hopefully it will be open in November, and she already has someone moving in as soon as it's ready! Anyway, more info: http://www.beehivehomes.com/ We are very excited and happy for her!!
Ok, I've worked hard outside, water is on in the garden now (and it looks pretty good with the parts I got done). Time for some computer time. And a shower. And I'll work inside on misc. crap the rest of the day. And cook the squash. Lots of squash...
I got my website updated. Couple of prego pics on the baby page, new pics for June and 4th of July and some news. No big. www.jandjessary.com/updates
And Jamie got a new site for her bunch (check out her thread). And a note on the prego pic she included. Helllooo! You had over 12 lbs of just baby in you!!!
Does Tony Blair have a sweet and comforting voice or what? It's just so polite and perfect English, I could just listen to it all day! Under better circumstances, of course.
got the dishes done. And still watering the garden and replanted cucumbers, too. late, I know. but hopefully I'll still get something off it. I never got that shower. Heck, I never even put a bra on, so I'm a free woman today! LOL! I'm not going anywhere, nobody is coming here. At least I brushed my hair. I've just been vegging in front of the puter working on pictures and stuff.
I have mostly been vegging. Took out some trash, called my cousin, and that's about it. Napped a lot. I've been very sleepy lately, and was sick this morning. Maybe the baby's having a growth spurt or something.
Well, as time marches on, it is becoming more likely that Dennis will make a pretty direct hit on Pensacola where my extended family lives. They are staying & riding it out as they did with Ivan. I wish they would come on up here to be safer, but in the same situation I would probably want to stay, too.
The track is definitely showing it going to our west, which puts us on the east side of what will be a tropical storm when it reaches us. If it gets back up to a category 4 before landfall, it could still be a category 1 hurricane when it passes us, but we're hoping not. So, I've been a busy little bee getting prepared for possible extended power outages. We lost power for about 24 hours with Ivan, so it's pretty likely we will this time, too. DH decided last night would be a good time to clean out and organize our storage room (it's interior), and then promptly ran out of steam before he finished, so my house looks as if Dennis has already hit it! He has to finish certain things in order for me to even be able to function in the house.
My TADAs so far today:
* Got batteries put in two lanterns
* Have telephone numbers, info assembled together
* Working on laundry
* Went out to get ice (two bags in case we need to put cold stuff in cooler & one bag to cool drinks)
My PODA:
* Put meats in foodsaver bags and put in freezer (can't do until DH cleans off top of freezer)
* Move bottled water in from my car to refrigerator when meats are taken out
* Finish laundry and get it all put away
* Run dishwasher
* Make taco soup and refrigerate
* Charge up video camera
* Check portable DVD player
* Put batteries in radio and tune to local weather station
* Get outdoor furniture & bikes tied down with bungee cords
* Plug in cell phones p.m. to get a full charge
You know, I may be going overboard with preparations but I'd rather be safe than sorry. With all of the tornadoes and bad storms we have in this area, it's good to have all of this stuff done & organized anyway. I hope my instincts about this storm are wrong, but the more I watch it on tv and internet, the more worried I am becoming.
I hope you all have a great day. I need to go blow DH out of bed with dynamite and get him to finish what he started. I want to have my house back in order by this afternoon.
Vonnie, good luck riding the storm out and cleaning the aftermath (both the before and after Dennis).
We had a good storm here last night too. First one was in the house, me and DH had a round because he isn't setting a good example for the kids by not trying the squash I prepared. DD6 and I ate it up, he and DD8 didn't even want to TRY it. Finally got them both to eat a bite, but that was all they would do. I've got to get him to eat squash some way other than fried!!
The second storm gave us a bunch of rain. PTL. Hopefully we didn't get too much where we already started planting (because it will wash out and have to be redone), but enough on the stuff we hadn't so that we can plant there. This farming, it's a tricky business! DH is out checking rain gauges now. The storm broke the rope on my flagpole. I have no idea how we are going to get up there to fix THAT! I don't even think our fire dept. has a truck with a ladder on it (nobody has 2 story houses here, who needs a ladder! LOL!).
I'm half done with the binding on the quilt for MIL. I got a shower this morning. I may try to weed the garden a bit, but it might be too muddy (since I had spent all day watering it yesterday before the rain hit).
Need to work on the house desperatly. I have company coming next week (long lost cousins I haven't seen in 14 years). I also need to figure out bills (didn't we just do that?). And I would like to get started on the garage soon. We are turning it into a family room/music room/misc room. It will still have the freezer and weight set that's out there now, but I need to find places (or dump) the rest of the stuff that's in there. Need to put on french doors where the garage door is, lots of patching the drywall and cleaning, and put in some flooring. And a few other things. I think we are going to put in one of those steel carport thingies for my truck (since it won't fit in the garage anyway) and the 4-wheeler and lawnmower (which can't fit in the garage because of all the stuff). I'd like to have my gardening tools out there, too. Anyway, just rambling now. Stalling. Time to get to work.
I'm watching DD2 nap in our hotel room in Wausau WI. We're on our way home from MI and decided to break up the trip a bit rather than go all one day. Neither girl is inclined to sleep in the car (yes, even if we put them in the car at 4 am and drive all day long) so we got up a little less early (5:30) and took off for this resort-waterpark (with wireless in the rooms, obviously!). DH and DD6 are already splashing, but DD2 reaaallly needed a rest. It's only 3 hours to home from here, so I think we'll stay for most of the morning (sorry church!) and head home during the afternoon.
Had an awesome trip. It's great to check in and see all the excitement: missing gekkos, hurricanes, pregnant cats, and the bitter struggle for Chinese food. I'm looking forward to getting home and getting organized. DD6 has VBS (not our church, but one organized by a friend) all week, so I am looking forward to that!
Shaun
"Home is not the one tame place in a world of adventure; it is the one wild place in a world of rules and set tasks."
-- G. K. Chesterton
I've stocked up, organized, washed, tied down and dug in getting ready for Dennis who may be a category 4 when it makes landfall! I cannot believe it has grown that strong again. Please remember and pray for my family members in Pensacola. They are boarded up and ready to dive inside and close it up behind them tomorrow morning. My Aunt will call me as soon as it is past them to let me know & I'll contact all family up here. They made out OK with Ivan, but Dennis is a different species it appears.
Needless to say, my day has been consumed with trips to the store, laundry and cleaning up. We DID get the storage room & laundry room organized and everything cleaned back up. I still need to sweep, mop & vacuum the floors. I am going to put my cell on the charger tonight in case it gets bad before I get a full charge tomorrow afternoon. I assume we'll have church in the a.m. but probably cancel the p.m. service. I've got mine & DD's clothes ready. DH has to work tomorrow, so he'll miss church.
Well, I'm gonna go. There is a really bad issue with an adoption that came from our agency that will probably impact adoptions from DD's region negatively and that has been heavy on my mind last night and today along with the storm tracking. So, I'm emotionally spent.
I am going to go get a good night's sleep since we probably won't sleep tomorrow night.
For all in Dennis's path. You are really prepared, girl. You must be very tired. I'm sorry to hear about the adoption issue too.
We've got folks in Louisana. For a while, I was wondering if they were in the path.
Anna Kate found the gecko. Olivia spotted it near the cage, actually, a few days after it had escaped. Thank goodness, its disappearance corresponded pretty much with the cat's. I really didn't think it could survive that long without water, so it was a real answer to our prayers. Anna Kate loves it and was quite worried.
Glad to see you peeking in, Shaun. God be with you on your final leg of the journey! Ours don't sleep in the car either. Tried that trick once. Only once. Heh.
I went on a date tonight! With DH. Just wanted to make that clear. We went to see War of the Worlds (very good! the little girl reminded us of Anna Kate). Then we went to Pollo Loco, a Peruvian restaurant billed as Cuban (?), for sandwiches. Then, our neighbors had invited us for coffee and cheesecake. I got to meet the new college president. He was a nice, laid-back guy. We watched the blue-collar comedy DVD and laughed our heads off. We skipped a bit so I could come and relieve Mom of her babysitting duties. I felt bad for keeping her so long. Our friends gave us some NY cherries. I shared with Mom; she loves cherries on the stem.
J.D. had a fever while we were gone, though. Poor little fella. No church tomorrow. I'll post separately about him.
Not much to TADA. I haven't been keeping up as well as I ought and have been feeling a bit discouraged about it. All I want to do is sit around and read The Brothers Karamozov. What is it about that novel that makes it so engrossing? I can't put it down. I also read That Hideous Strength almost straight through.
Oh, I did go yard-saling this morning, but didn't find maternity clothes. I found a pretty pink Rose Cottage dress for Anna Kate for next spring ($1). And I found a pink jacket for her for this winter ($3). And I bought Taco Bell for DH and me. And milk and cokes.
Well, I can't sleep, as much as I need to. Dennis is a category 4 hurricane now & there's no weakening in sight before landfall. I do have faith that God will protect us, yet I can't help but feel nervous especially for my family members in Pensacola. It looks as if Mobile will take a direct hit. When it reaches our area, it will still be categorized as a level 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of greater than 73 mph. That is bad, very bad.
So now we wait and pray. The last email I got from my aunt said to pray for them as they had to make some decisions. I hope they are considering coming north. Though there are no hotel rooms, they have family here so they have places to stay. We only have a tiny house, but we could at least put up my aunt & uncle.
Well, I'm gonna go turn on the tv softly and see what they are saying now. The reports locally are getting more detailed as it looms closer.
I'll plan to check back in at least one more time with you guys. But, if you don't hear from me after landfall you can assume that we've probably lost power.
We're back from the epic, 9 day, family reunion/camping trip. It was a great time, and I am as tan as I have ever been in my life. We got in late last night and everythng is total chaos. It will be a huge PODA day.
PODA
get soaking wet laundry in the washer now (we got the remains of Cindy yesterday)
unpack the camper
water the windowboxes
continue laundry
meal plan
groceries
clean out van
clean camper and back down off the lawn into the driveway
mow lawn
make dinner
Have a peaceful Sunday everyone, and hang in there Vonnie! {{{{{HUGS}}}}}
Comments
Thanks for the new thread, Anne!
We did our 4th party yesterday at my sisters so today I have to go to the store and get some things done as we have a tropical storm coming into the gulf and they say it may be here Wed or Thurs so busy bee is me!!!!
PODA:
store
bake banana bread and some muffins
get garage a little more straightened in case we have to bring stuff in.
mow
laundry
Have a great 4th guys! We are grilling hamburgers this afternoon at my parents! I am already craving them!!!!!
Jana
thanks Anne!
Yesterday I did pick up the living room halfway but didn't get to laundry. DH suddenly wanted me to come watch Batman with him instead so I went along. Honestly I'd rather have done laundry-- the movie was r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w. But it made him happy.
So today: laundry and finish picking up the living room. I may have talked DH into going to see fireworks with me tonight, since I went to see Batman with him last night! Here's hoping.
Lazy and loving it today!
Happy Independence Day, and a belated Happy Canada Day as well.
I'm baby-stepping along, and the house is looking pretty orderly. More importantly, it's quite peaceful here today. I rearranged the living room last week - amazing how a small change can make such a big difference in the feel of a room. It's much more conducive to conversation and generally "hanging out" together - such precious commodoties as DH will deploy to Iraq in about 5 weeks' time. DH and DS7 are in the living room now, playing City of Heroes on the new laptop. I did two loads of laundry and hung them out. I just need to fold it and put everything away. Otherwise, we've had a peaceful, lazy day. I ventured out only to walk 2 miles with the dog this morning. The rest of the day has been spent reading Goblet of Fire in between naps
Becky, we saw Batman a few weeks ago. I enjoyed some of the individual performances (particularly Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Liam Neeson) but I found it to be gratuitously violent. It was as though the special effects team were showing off ("look at the gore we can create here") which took away from the story.
Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th!
Rose
Well, TD will pass us this time!
But it has got me moving! I have 5 more weeks of summer and lots to do.
I will check back in later with a list.
I am not supposed to be on the computer. DH ran something last night and didn't want anyone on it today so he can finish it tonight. Checking for something.....
Jana
Good Morning! TADA mornin
Good Morning!
TADA
morning routine
read paper
spread more mulch
disassembled dunk tank to return today
put away laundry
general tidy
PODA
dust and vacuum entire upstairs
clean main bathroom
return dunk tank
couple calls
My dad and stepmom are coming in tomorrow evening so want the house nice and clean.
We had a good time last night at a friend's barbeque. The fireworks were awesome...35 minute show!
Tired today but lots to do.....
Heidi
Tuesday, and way behind...lol
Good Morning! Hubby left early this morning, after late nite of fireworks and fellowship...forgot I promised to watch a friends kids early! So I awoke to my friend at door...eek
Tada
one cup of coffee
PoDa
get dressed!
MR
pack for pool
scrub my floor~totally yuck!
Rose! I love rearranging my furniture! Glad you had a relaxing time...good for rejuvinating!
Jana! You little punk, get off the puter...tee hee
Becky~Good woman, going to see a movie with hubby! Hope he made the fireworks with you!
Hello to all ya'll who haven't made it on yet...fly fly buzz buzz
The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket~Maxine
hi all
Yesterday we did make it to the fireworks-- parking was impossible at our first-choice place, so we found a place with a smaller show. Still pretty.
TADA:
-went and got another u/s (they had trouble seeing the heart last time), baby looks good; I am somewhat elevated risk so may need more monitoring in the 3rd trimester, but for now all's well
-put away laundry
-made a nice breakfast (frozen cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs) for me and DH
-called and refilled a prescription
I still have another phone call to make, then I'm just going to relax and do homework for the rest of the day-- summer school starts up again tomorrow.
Hi, all!
We didn't do anything special for the 4th, although DH took the kids fishing late in the evening. And I took them to Wal-Mart before that so they could finish spending their gift cards (and I could get groceries).
Not much to TA DA today. Still un-motivated. However,
*Applied for pregnancy medicaid at the health clinic; took a test; guess what, I'm pregnant. (9 wks)
*Picked up a kitty carrier, t.p. and milk on the way home
*Washed some laundry
*Swept laundry room
*Cleared shoe rack, tossed old ones, and put summer shoes back on in a orderly fashion
*Went to Wendy's for mandarin chicken salad (me), burger (DH), and frostys (kids)
*Deposited a check
*Returned a library video (overdue; ouch)
*Straightened living room
*Vacuumed
*Made girls straighten the foyer
Haven't seen Batman, not much interested. However, DH wants to take me to War of the Worlds this weekend. Mom's going to babysit. I did rent Wallace & Gromit from Netflix and the kids loved that. The sheep in the sweater was just too cute.
Also, watched Princess Mononoke myself the other night.
Our Siamese cat ran away on Sunday.
She's an inside-only cat. At least she has her claws, though. We spotted her today at the edge of the woods between our house and the neighbor's, but she was all freaky and wouldn't come to us, and ran off. We have had strays hanging around outside for the longest time, and we knew she'd be scared off by them. 
So, DH took the male off to the vet, but it would cost $50 to have him humanely put down (he's not in the greatest shape). 
He ended up just letting him off a distance from our house. I know that's not the best thing to do, but it's not our cat in the first place, and he's been spraying all over the outside of our house, including inside the garage. There's another male that hangs around and that's really mean and beats up on other cats, but I'm not sure he's a stray. He may belong to a neighbor. We may have to resort to certain, ah, Pavlovian measures with that one. The female, who is pregnant, I plan to take to the animal shelter as soon as they have an opening (waiting list). Man, it's impossible to get rid of strays around here! You take pity on one, and it attracts a bunch of others.
In other news, I've been collecting fruit flies in order to feed the two little peepers the kids brought home the other night.
My kitchen is a wreck and I have to start supper, so more later.
Love,
Susannah
Hello :-)
Becky, glad everything is ok with the baby. Are you just about to bust with excitement? Have you thought about what you want to do in the nursery?
Susannah, HOW are you collecting fruit flies???
We had a nice 4th. Went swimming. Watched 2 different firework shows from the back yard, there in the far off distance but still a good view. Let Trey do a few sparklers, had steak and baked potato for dinner, very nice day
We started back to school today, reviewing 1st grade until the first of August then starting 2nd grade mid August.
)
appointment for Savannah (Aug 8th)
So, TADA!
*First day back Homeschooling went well
*done both Kelly's kitchen missions (my stove looks like new
*1 load of laundry
*27 fling boogied upstairs
*Spiffied in the front Living room
*called and made 1 year
(can ya believe shes almost one!)
About time for dinner, guess I need to have a look see in the pantry. See yall tomorrow
Jamie Lea
busy busy...
My goodness you all are just having a great time with the holiday and getting all sorts of stuff done at home, too.
Too funny Jamie Lea, you mentioned Kelly's mission on the stove. I don't even get the emails, but coincidentally that's exactly what I did last night--tore apart my stove and scrubbed it all, and also took everything off of the kitchen counters and windexed it all. All that's left is to shine my sinks. The one on the right that I "use" gets spiffed pretty much every day. The one on the left, however, underneath the dish rack...that's another story. Ew!
Yo Vonnie...thanks for the link. It was so much fun to hear you. I'm so glad I have high speed now, or I probably would not have been able to receive it very well. I enjoyed the whole program, actually. I even bookmarked the site for future reference. It's so hard to be available when those shows are on the radio, so it's nice to have the option to listen on demand.
Well, my loving mother surprised me this morning with a wicker bookcase. She's owned it since 1979, but it used to be plain wicker. This weekend she spruced it up by painting it all fresh and white, and this morning she brought it over. It's exactly what I've been waiting for in the Room for Borrowed Children. So, my PODA for the next couple hours is:
organize shelves
bath
watch "Finding Neverland" one last time before it gets returned tomorrow.
I have a breakfast meeting for the web job tomorrow. Yum.
Sleep tight,
Julie
"We must have patience for love, born of an accidental look." --Me
We're baaaack! Had a great
We're baaaack!
Had a great 4th. So great, we stayed an extra day! LOL! Left Friday, back Tuesday. Set off sparklers, made smores, I'm officially sick of bacon and eggs for breakfast. And I kept the camper fairly clean, did dishes after every meal. Had one shower (hey, we have to conserve water. There is no electricity or running water up there). I'm ready for a good shower tonight (and good baths for the kids). We stayed in the camper, but DD8 decided to be adventurous and stayed in the little kid tent for three nights.
Back home to find a badly in need of mowing lawn, a few dead plants, mama cat and kittens MIA (but I haven't checked down in the barns. We left a nice 75-80 degree mountain to 95-100 degree microwave county. I'm staying inside for a while). Also a garden that needs water and weeding in the worst way. But, not doing it tonight. I'm resting. I'll unload the camper tomorrow, too. I had the cold the entire weekend, too. Bleh. Have headache today, everytime I cough. Not fun.
Anyway, hellos to all! Congrats Vonnie on the puter and the writing!!
Be back in the morning. Just want to veg tonight.
good Morning! Welcome Back
good Morning!
Welcome Back Jenny and all other travelers...
PODA
morning routine
read paper
water gardens
mow backyard
wash sheets and remake bed
1 load laundry
grocery store for a few things only
mail Ds's thank yous
wait for my dad and stepmom to arrive
They will be here til Monday morning. Have lots of fun stuff planned that we can pick and choose from. can't wait,I'm as excited as the kids!
have a good one all
heidi
have energy, don't know from where! :)
Up this am, and raring to go!
TADA
rearranged front room~piano and all! Vacuumned and dusted...and tossed crapola...lots of papers and "what in the world is this" stuff
homeschooled kidlets....and lots of laughs
clean off patio in backyard..hosed it down with bleach and cleaned furniture
Poda
boys sheets in wash...dry and help them make bed
mop floor in kitchen
walmart run
The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket~Maxine
No energy. LOL!
As usual, I'm feeling unmotivated, but I have SO MUCH to do!!
The girls and I got the camper unloaded this morning (while DH gabbed on the phone to his father, who we just spent the last 5 days with. Didn't even open the door for us!!! Yeah, I'm a little agitated at his ungentleman skills). We got almost everything that needs out unloaded (clothes, food, pillows and favorite blankies. DH can get the guns and his guitar stuff himself). On my second load of laundry now. DH is wanting some Chinese food all of the sudden, so we may go to town and get a few needed items at Walmart and go eat. I may get to MIL's too and pick up that quilt.
It rained last night! It's been weeks, but we finally got some. Folks, pray a bit this week for us to get a couple more inches so we can plant.
class today
I had a class today-- much less tiring than the last classes, but still time-consuming and all.
Jenny, are you saying your DH has pregnancy cravings?
My DH is gone for the evening so I may take the opportunity to get something done. Or possibly take a nap.
Where's everybody?
On my way to bed so this'll be short.
Julie, don't you just LOVE when you've already done the mission
Jenny, we need rain too, glad you guys got some.
TADA
*MR
*Grocery store run this morning, needed dog food, picked up some other stuff while I was there.
*Homeschooled (went well)
*zone work and mission
*watered grass and around the foundation (my doors are sticking due to the dry weather, gotta love south texas)
*helped Trey write his grandma a letter (his handwriting is so much better lately)
Bout it, headed to bed now. See you gals in the morning.
JL
I'm gone, ya'll are busy. I
I'm gone, ya'll are busy. I come back, ya'll hide. Whassup with that!
Ok, I've been busy this morning already. Well, I'm exhausted, so I must have been busy. My garden is SO way out of control (weeds, not veggees). So I'm trying to get a row a day done. This would be so much easier with my rototiller, but it doesn't want to start anymore. So, I hoed. LOL! Got both sides of the squash done (my one row that is doing well. I've got tons of squash coming out of my ears!!). Also almost all MR done. Still need to make my bed. DH was still in it when I went out to work in the garden. I wanted to get out there while it was still cool enough.
Never got my Chinese yesterday. DH just dangled that carrot in front of the horse, then jerked it away. He called from Walmart, "hey, I'm in town, what do you need". I wanted to scream "I NEED CHINESE FOOD, YOU DIPSTICK!!!", but instead, I said, "Tide w/ Downey and milk". I was stuck cooking Chicken and brocolli teriaki last night, which I hate, but DH loves.
I have no idea what is for dinner tonight. Something that goes with squash. On that note, I need to find a recipe for squash, other than fried (which I love, but it's so messy and time consuming).
I have a HUGE TODO list on my computer. It's really big. I know today I'm going to mow the lawn and maybe out by the barns. Since DH fixed my mower yesterday. not sure what else I'll get done. Maybe I'll stay in for a while and update my website.
Here!
I've been hiding the last couple of days!
Glad you had a great time camping, Jenny. You are sure a go-getter. I hate when DH changes his mind about goodies, too.
Our kitty came back! DH found her on the porch in the wee hours (he just happened to be up with insomnia, reading). Now DD9 is begging to keep pregnant mama cat too. Told her to take it up with her father. Oh, and she's lost her gecko her daddy got her.
The river is really high today, with all the rain we've been getting. I think our septic tank needs pumping too. Phew! The whole house smelled like a sewer this morning. It's better now. I've got the windows open.
Saw the news about the bombing in London as soon as I got online.
TA DA:
*Cleaned out from under tea cart and supply cart this morning
*Washed dishes
*Ran to store for energy drinks (DH), Coke (me) and frozen foods. I got a nice bag of cherries and another bag of apples on sale.
Must get lunch for the kiddies (late breakfast, so late lunch).
Later!
Susannah
Less computer time = More busy work
DH has been running some scan on the puter which has limited my time here. Well, my TADA will show that maybe I need a self imposed computer ban!!!
TADA:
garage cleaned, ALL TIDY ladies!
cleaned grount in kitchen and bathroom! YUCK!
found hand me down jeans for DS4, tried them all on
returned couch pollow to friend
called on a school job for friend and forwarded her the info
called insurance and changes some items. Reduced bill by about $250! YEAH!!
contacted Chiro to see if we have a balance - NONE! YEAH!
returned library books
cleaned chairs to the dining room table
cleaned hall closet and reorganized another
moved about 50 books from boxes onto cleaned and cleared shelves
picked out paint for bedroom
made cookies with kids
mowed and weeded front bed
PODA:
dinner - chicken is thawed...thinking Nacho chicken sounds good!
paint a small bulletin board for office
bills
make DS7 try on shirts to see what size I need to order for school.
move rest of books to a new home
get college catalogue
Waves to all!
Jenny - I want a camper!!! And chinese food!
Susannah - glad kitty is home!
Anne - You moved a PIANO??? YOU GO GIRL!
Jana
Getting Ready for Dennis the Menace
Well, I've been following the track and projected track of Dennis and he sure looks like he's gonna give us some grief. We're inland, but he's probably going just to our west which will mean we will get those strong winds and possible tornadoes. Got to be prepared here for major power outages, etc. So, I went ahead and got my groceries yesterday. Didn't really get anything out of the ordinary for us except maybe an extra pack of lunch meat and a pack of "C" batteries for the radio.
So, my PODA today is:
* Get DD to preschool (my Mom is picking her up)
* Work at office (may be taping plate glass windows; I don't know yet)
* Make bank run and pay power bill
* Lunch w/friend
* Grocery store for bag of dog food
* Clean up plastic garbage can to put some water in it (in case our water plant loses power - for flushing)
Tomorrow we'll put the cell phones on chargers, get laundry all done, etc.
I hope all of this is for nothing, but it's sure sounding bad. It's a category 4, will weaken as it crosses Cuba, but then it has hours in the open water of the Gulf to gain back to a category 4, which is what they expect it to be at landfall. By the way, landfall is expected Sunday evening between Mobile and Pensacola. I have a lot of family in Pensacola, so please keep them in your thoughts & prayers. They will stay and ride it out like they did Ivan. I think I'd tuck tail & run myself!
Have a great day!
Vonnie
Oh Vonnie, I know the drill. My thoughts are with you!
Keep us posted as much as you can! I go into over drive during hurricane season. It doesn't help that my dad if Fire Chief and Emergency Management coordinator for the county. Well, I guess it does help but he keeps us hoppppiiiinnnn'!!!! Always something to do, if not at home at the fire station! My prayers are being sent you way.
TADA:
dinner - Nacho Chicken it was
painted bulletin board, will need another coat I think
PODA:
run to insurance office to sign some papers for changes and pay the bill, also gonna set up on direct debit.
return shoes at Academy, they are already falling apart! 2 weeks old!!!
my mind just went blank....I know I have more errands!!
Oh well, see you guys in a bit!
Jana
finally
Hi everyone!
Finally some time to post. Been busy with work and kids' activities.
Wow Jana, that was quite a PODA! That sounds like a big job your father has.
Vonnie, I hope Dennis treats you well - what a pain! I've never been through a hurricane.
Glad you found the kitty Susannah, but I think that the last thing you need now is more kittens! Not that you asked for my opinion!
HI Jenny - love the fried squash too - we did plant a few squash plants in our tiny garden this year.
Our local festival is this weekend with lots of fun activities planned. Unfortunately it is pouring now, so not sure what we'll be able to do! Darn!
I decided to have a garage sale this coming weekend after several years of donating everything. My parents had some stuff for me to sell from their apt. so I decided to tackle it. Trying to price a little bit each day so it is not overwhelming at the end.
TADA so far:
Wegmans
delivered goodies for church bake sale
Dollar Tree
laundry going
walked dog
emptied dw
unloaded groceries
paid bills
made mammogram apt. for August 1st
PODA left to do:
shower (woops!)
fold and put away
maybe clean bathroom if there is time
maybe scrap some
Have a great day everyone!
Andrea
morning!
Vonnie, hope the worse passes you by. I think I'd like to ride one out just once. Not a bad one, but I think it would be so adventurous! Or maybe I'm so desperate for rain, I'd sit thru anything to get some! LOL!
Susannah, my cats came back, too. All 6 kittens, mama and daddy are all here. mama just hid them while we were gone. They are still a wild bunch, not sure why. I've been around them since they were a week old. Mama and Daddy of course like to be loved, but those kittens are just skittish as can be!
I was up and at em again this morning. Got three rows done (weeded) in the garden and replanted the green beans. Still can't get that tiller working, even after I drained the old gas, refilled it and added B-12 carb cleaner. Oh well. I suppose it is God's way of saying "get the hoe and get to work the old fashioned way!!" Well, I got the blisters to show for it.
But, I have some TADA from yesterday:
*Mowed the yard, front and back
*mowed down by the corrals and barns (what I dared to do, anyway. Some of it could be filled with baling wire and crap in the weeds, I don't want to tear up the mower again)
*watered the front
*cut and sewn together binding for MIL's quilt. got it attached to the front by machine. Now is the hand part attaching to the back. Quilt ended up being 80x96.
*helped DH move tractor to Baghdad (what we call one of our fields. It's about 800 acres with 1 mile long rows). It's about 15 miles away. Afterwards we went to town for the much promised chinese, then back to inlaws to visit with SIL and the baby (and nephew, too).
Just got a message on the machine that plans have changed. MIL, SIL and kids were coming over here later today. Now they are going to Albuquerque instead for SIL's shopping). I'm bummed. Chance will be really upset, he and my nephew are best buddies (they are just 6 days apart). He cried all the way home last night, didn't want to leave him (and nephew did, too. Kept saying, "Chance my favorite buddy!!"). FIL has gone to Kansas for gift for SIL (a player piano. I'll explain later), and DH is planting. Got enough rain on Baghdad to plant there. So, just me and the kids. Alone. By ourselves. Well, got lots I can do to keep me occupied.
About SILs shopping and stuff. She is opening a Beehive Home. Which is an assisted living place. But it looks just like home. Her husbands grandmother was in one before she got too bad for it, and since then, that has been her goal. It has 12 bedrooms with baths, I think, and a big kitchen and laundry area. Porches, and I don't know what else. But you can hardly tell it from other houses, and it's real homey like. Anyway, that's what she is shopping for, her furniture and fixtures and stuff. And that is what the player piano is for, too. SIL is an RN and has her bachelors in nursing, so this is perfect for her. The walls are up now, hopefully it will be open in November, and she already has someone moving in as soon as it's ready! Anyway, more info: http://www.beehivehomes.com/ We are very excited and happy for her!!
Ok, I've worked hard outside, water is on in the garden now (and it looks pretty good with the parts I got done). Time for some computer time. And a shower. And I'll work inside on misc. crap the rest of the day. And cook the squash. Lots of squash...
Come on, guys, where are you!
Come on, guys, where are you!!!!!
I got my website updated. Couple of prego pics on the baby page, new pics for June and 4th of July and some news. No big.
www.jandjessary.com/updates
And Jamie got a new site for her bunch (check out her thread). And a note on the prego pic she included. Helllooo! You had over 12 lbs of just baby in you!!!
Does Tony Blair have a sweet and comforting voice or what? It's just so polite and perfect English, I could just listen to it all day! Under better circumstances, of course.
got the dishes done. And still watering the garden and replanted cucumbers, too. late, I know. but hopefully I'll still get something off it. I never got that shower. Heck, I never even put a bra on, so I'm a free woman today! LOL! I'm not going anywhere, nobody is coming here. At least I brushed my hair. I've just been vegging in front of the puter working on pictures and stuff.
quiet day
I have mostly been vegging. Took out some trash, called my cousin, and that's about it. Napped a lot. I've been very sleepy lately, and was sick this morning. Maybe the baby's having a growth spurt or something.
Dennis the Menace Bears Down
Well, as time marches on, it is becoming more likely that Dennis will make a pretty direct hit on Pensacola where my extended family lives. They are staying & riding it out as they did with Ivan. I wish they would come on up here to be safer, but in the same situation I would probably want to stay, too.
The track is definitely showing it going to our west, which puts us on the east side of what will be a tropical storm when it reaches us. If it gets back up to a category 4 before landfall, it could still be a category 1 hurricane when it passes us, but we're hoping not. So, I've been a busy little bee getting prepared for possible extended power outages. We lost power for about 24 hours with Ivan, so it's pretty likely we will this time, too. DH decided last night would be a good time to clean out and organize our storage room (it's interior), and then promptly ran out of steam before he finished, so my house looks as if Dennis has already hit it! He has to finish certain things in order for me to even be able to function in the house.
My TADAs so far today:
* Got batteries put in two lanterns
* Have telephone numbers, info assembled together
* Working on laundry
* Went out to get ice (two bags in case we need to put cold stuff in cooler & one bag to cool drinks)
My PODA:
* Put meats in foodsaver bags and put in freezer (can't do until DH cleans off top of freezer)
* Move bottled water in from my car to refrigerator when meats are taken out
* Finish laundry and get it all put away
* Run dishwasher
* Make taco soup and refrigerate
* Charge up video camera
* Check portable DVD player
* Put batteries in radio and tune to local weather station
* Get outdoor furniture & bikes tied down with bungee cords
* Plug in cell phones p.m. to get a full charge
You know, I may be going overboard with preparations but I'd rather be safe than sorry. With all of the tornadoes and bad storms we have in this area, it's good to have all of this stuff done & organized anyway. I hope my instincts about this storm are wrong, but the more I watch it on tv and internet, the more worried I am becoming.
I hope you all have a great day. I need to go blow DH out of bed with dynamite and get him to finish what he started. I want to have my house back in order by this afternoon.
Cya!
Vonnie
Storms
Vonnie, good luck riding the storm out and cleaning the aftermath (both the before and after Dennis).
We had a good storm here last night too. First one was in the house, me and DH had a round because he isn't setting a good example for the kids by not trying the squash I prepared. DD6 and I ate it up, he and DD8 didn't even want to TRY it. Finally got them both to eat a bite, but that was all they would do. I've got to get him to eat squash some way other than fried!!
The second storm gave us a bunch of rain. PTL. Hopefully we didn't get too much where we already started planting (because it will wash out and have to be redone), but enough on the stuff we hadn't so that we can plant there. This farming, it's a tricky business! DH is out checking rain gauges now. The storm broke the rope on my flagpole. I have no idea how we are going to get up there to fix THAT! I don't even think our fire dept. has a truck with a ladder on it (nobody has 2 story houses here, who needs a ladder! LOL!).
I'm half done with the binding on the quilt for MIL. I got a shower this morning. I may try to weed the garden a bit, but it might be too muddy (since I had spent all day watering it yesterday before the rain hit).
Need to work on the house desperatly. I have company coming next week (long lost cousins I haven't seen in 14 years). I also need to figure out bills (didn't we just do that?). And I would like to get started on the garage soon. We are turning it into a family room/music room/misc room. It will still have the freezer and weight set that's out there now, but I need to find places (or dump) the rest of the stuff that's in there. Need to put on french doors where the garage door is, lots of patching the drywall and cleaning, and put in some flooring. And a few other things. I think we are going to put in one of those steel carport thingies for my truck (since it won't fit in the garage anyway) and the 4-wheeler and lawnmower (which can't fit in the garage because of all the stuff). I'd like to have my gardening tools out there, too. Anyway, just rambling now. Stalling. Time to get to work.
Have a nice weekend!!
Peekaboo!
I'm watching DD2 nap in our hotel room in Wausau WI. We're on our way home from MI and decided to break up the trip a bit rather than go all one day. Neither girl is inclined to sleep in the car (yes, even if we put them in the car at 4 am and drive all day long) so we got up a little less early (5:30) and took off for this resort-waterpark (with wireless in the rooms, obviously!). DH and DD6 are already splashing, but DD2 reaaallly needed a rest. It's only 3 hours to home from here, so I think we'll stay for most of the morning (sorry church!) and head home during the afternoon.
Had an awesome trip. It's great to check in and see all the excitement: missing gekkos, hurricanes, pregnant cats, and the bitter struggle for Chinese food. I'm looking forward to getting home and getting organized. DD6 has VBS (not our church, but one organized by a friend) all week, so I am looking forward to that!
Shaun
"Home is not the one tame place in a world of adventure; it is the one wild place in a world of rules and set tasks."
-- G. K. Chesterton
We're As Ready As We Can Be
I've stocked up, organized, washed, tied down and dug in getting ready for Dennis who may be a category 4 when it makes landfall! I cannot believe it has grown that strong again. Please remember and pray for my family members in Pensacola. They are boarded up and ready to dive inside and close it up behind them tomorrow morning. My Aunt will call me as soon as it is past them to let me know & I'll contact all family up here. They made out OK with Ivan, but Dennis is a different species it appears.
Needless to say, my day has been consumed with trips to the store, laundry and cleaning up. We DID get the storage room & laundry room organized and everything cleaned back up. I still need to sweep, mop & vacuum the floors. I am going to put my cell on the charger tonight in case it gets bad before I get a full charge tomorrow afternoon. I assume we'll have church in the a.m. but probably cancel the p.m. service. I've got mine & DD's clothes ready. DH has to work tomorrow, so he'll miss church.
Well, I'm gonna go. There is a really bad issue with an adoption that came from our agency that will probably impact adoptions from DD's region negatively and that has been heavy on my mind last night and today along with the storm tracking. So, I'm emotionally spent.
I am going to go get a good night's sleep since we probably won't sleep tomorrow night.
Y'all have a great evening.
Vonnie
Prayers going out
For all in Dennis's path.
You are really prepared, girl. You must be very tired. I'm sorry to hear about the adoption issue too.
We've got folks in Louisana. For a while, I was wondering if they were in the path.
Anna Kate found the gecko. Olivia spotted it near the cage, actually, a few days after it had escaped. Thank goodness, its disappearance corresponded pretty much with the cat's. I really didn't think it could survive that long without water, so it was a real answer to our prayers.
Anna Kate loves it and was quite worried.
Glad to see you peeking in, Shaun. God be with you on your final leg of the journey! Ours don't sleep in the car either. Tried that trick once. Only once. Heh.
I went on a date tonight! With DH. Just wanted to make that clear. We went to see War of the Worlds (very good! the little girl reminded us of Anna Kate). Then we went to Pollo Loco, a Peruvian restaurant billed as Cuban (?), for sandwiches. Then, our neighbors had invited us for coffee and cheesecake. I got to meet the new college president. He was a nice, laid-back guy. We watched the blue-collar comedy DVD and laughed our heads off. We skipped a bit so I could come and relieve Mom of her babysitting duties. I felt bad for keeping her so long. Our friends gave us some NY cherries.
I shared with Mom; she loves cherries on the stem.
J.D. had a fever while we were gone, though.
Poor little fella. No church tomorrow. I'll post separately about him.
Not much to TADA. I haven't been keeping up as well as I ought and have been feeling a bit discouraged about it. All I want to do is sit around and read The Brothers Karamozov. What is it about that novel that makes it so engrossing? I can't put it down. I also read That Hideous Strength almost straight through.
Oh, I did go yard-saling this morning, but didn't find maternity clothes. I found a pretty pink Rose Cottage dress for Anna Kate for next spring ($1). And I found a pink jacket for her for this winter ($3). And I bought Taco Bell for DH and me. And milk and cokes.
Later!
Susannah
3 A.M. and an Ominous Feeling
Well, I can't sleep, as much as I need to. Dennis is a category 4 hurricane now & there's no weakening in sight before landfall. I do have faith that God will protect us, yet I can't help but feel nervous especially for my family members in Pensacola. It looks as if Mobile will take a direct hit. When it reaches our area, it will still be categorized as a level 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of greater than 73 mph. That is bad, very bad.
So now we wait and pray. The last email I got from my aunt said to pray for them as they had to make some decisions. I hope they are considering coming north. Though there are no hotel rooms, they have family here so they have places to stay. We only have a tiny house, but we could at least put up my aunt & uncle.
Well, I'm gonna go turn on the tv softly and see what they are saying now. The reports locally are getting more detailed as it looms closer.
I'll plan to check back in at least one more time with you guys. But, if you don't hear from me after landfall you can assume that we've probably lost power.
Vonnie
Thinking of you, Vonnie!
The radar images are looking pretty scary! Stay safe!
Rose
Oh Vonnie!
Be safe. I'll be thinking of you.
We're back from the epic, 9 day, family reunion/camping trip. It was a great time, and I am as tan as I have ever been in my life. We got in late last night and everythng is total chaos. It will be a huge PODA day.
PODA
get soaking wet laundry in the washer now (we got the remains of Cindy yesterday)
unpack the camper
water the windowboxes
continue laundry
meal plan
groceries
clean out van
clean camper and back down off the lawn into the driveway
mow lawn
make dinner
Have a peaceful Sunday everyone, and hang in there Vonnie! {{{{{HUGS}}}}}
-Jo
Welcome back kitty
Um, did the cats eat the gecko?
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