The really empty nest

Now that I've had time to sit and think and process, this empty nest thing isn't really so bad. I miss my kids all the time and still have to catch myself looking for them, but I'm doing OK.

When Baby Bird took the furniture, we did some rearranging and redecorating. I now have a library! I've wanted one my whole life, I love books and I love to read. I love the feel of books, the look of books and even the smell of books LOL My family thinks I'm nuts but oh well. They are now all out on display and I'm adding to the collection all the time. I have had a book club for a few years and that helps get me reading things I might not normally pick up so my collection is varied. I also set a goal for myself of 75 books to read this year and I've just changed that to 100. I'm loving this space!

Manly and I have also decided that it's now a big priority to travel and see our kids. Instead of whining about them being gone, we just go to them. We are also developing our adult friendships. So much time was taken with the boys activities that we built our entire social life around them. While that worked well then, it left us lost now. So we have traveled and vacationed with friends and I have a great group of girls, our "Goddess Group". We do all kinds of fun things together.

I'm also trying to get motivated to get the upstairs re-done. Now that all the bedrooms are empty, they need cleaning, repainting and redecorating. All of those things I enjoy. One is finished, one is in process and one is just being started.

I also have lost 75 pounds and Manly has lost 65. We are trying new hobbies that keep us active. We run, ride bikes and are starting to hike. The weather is going to start getting bad soon so we are thinking of getting some exercise equipment. I also Health Coach with the program that we lost all our weight through. It's so rewarding to help others find good health.

So the blog is going to focus more on the development of hobbies, those things we never had time for when all the boys were home as well as the revisiting of old ones. Come along for the ride and keep me company :-) I promise not to go too fast.

Baby Bird leaves the nest!

So now we come to the reason for this blog. Baby Bird has officially left the nest, he moved to another town for a different school and got his own apartment last month. The little stinker has 2 jobs, a full college schedule and is doing well. He also has a cute girlfriend that we love.

The apartment is great and we helped by giving him our sofa sectional. We also spent the time leading up to the move going to garage sales and thrift stores and after we were done, the place looked great! Of course we couldn't leave with out a trip to the grocery store to stock the shelves. It's a Mom thing.

I am now really an Empty Nester :-(

Manly turns 50!

Can this be true? Is the man I'm married to really 50? WOW where did the time go?

We had an out of control party! It was at the farm and people could bring tents and trailers to just stay put. I even flew home middle child as Manly's birthday surprise. Of course that didn't go smooth :-( They had tons of flight cancellations and he kept getting bumped, so what was supposed to be a 2 1/2 hour flight that got him in at 11:00, ended up becoming an 8 hour ordeal that got him in at 5:00. And I guess the airline called and left a message about the problems and Manly heard the whole thing, but the dear didn't tell me so I thought he was stilled getting surprised LOL

It was so fun it took me 1 full day to recover and it took Manly 3 days LOL. There are pictures and video but I have yet to get any of them (well except for one that I would never post LOL) and I'm sure that Manly is glad of that. But take my word, it was epic!

4th of July

A quick note - the 4th of July is a big deal around here, both for our town and for our family. All the kids usually come home and we make it an all day event.

It starts with the Firefighter Pancake Breakfast which we all get up and go to. A side note-there is a mandatory song that must be sung the whole drive in and as loudly as possible, good job everyone for getting your voices heard :-) Then we stake our spot and watch the hometown parade. This year, Manly and I decided to run in the 5K fun run that starts the parade. I don't know how I let him talk me into this stuff LOL. But we made it and then walked back up to watch the parade with the kids. Middle son was unable to come this year for the first time but we had just flown he and his girlfriend up to Seattle for the wedding and couldn't do it again. I missed him and cried LOL. The grandpuppy tried to get excited about the parade but could really care less :-)

Then we head back out to the farm and have a BBQ. This year Manly put on a Hot Dog Buffet and it was AWESOME! We had different dogs and tons of toppings and then all the sides and drinks. After that we go back into town and have drinks at the various pubs and visit the craft and food booths. Then it's the fireworks!

After, we come back out to the farm with anyone that wants to join and have a bonfire and s'mores. It's the perfect hometown celebration!

25th Anniversary and Wedding Recovery

We arrived home from all the wedding festivities on the 16th and then it was our anniversary on the 22nd. We were tired and monetarily empty, so we didn't plan a big celebration. We were also babysitting the "Grandpuppy" while Eaglet and the wife were on their honeymoon, which was to Thailand by the way (lucky kids). But..........

Manly surprised me with a spa retreat! We went to a lodge/spa for 3 days and just relaxed. We had a wine/beer reception each night in the main lodge and then had our own adorable cabin!

We had a step down spa tub, large flat screen TV, fireplace, a shower the whole family could have fit in and a kitchenette for the wine :-) We were given a basket with champagne, glasses, chocolates and a fuzzy warm blanket. It opened up to the National Forest out back of the lodge and we loved it. Manly thought we could move in and just be hosts for the lodge. There was also a beautiful flower arrangement from my parents. The package came with movie tickets, free appetizers, and dessert at the restaurant.

We have been running to get in shape and decided to go for a run one morning. Well, we didn't take into account the heat and altitude change, we just couldn't do it. But we figured we would make it a hike since there were so many great trails. Bad idea! We go so lost. We were gone 3 1/2 hours and had to climb fences and gates and even ran into a horse graveyard :-(. We luckily found our way out and didn't even fight, but we were just in time for our couples massage. The hot tub felt wonderful on our sore muscles, but the massage........Poor Manly was having his first massage and it HURT!

We got a chance to relax and be together, that was worth the whole trip.

Happy Anniversary Manly and I love you as much now as I did then. It's still the butterflies in the tummy kind of thing :-)

And More.....

After I got back from California we had to leave for Seattle, and I mean right after. I got back on a Wednesday and we left the next day! We rented a condo in Seattle for Manly, Myself, the 3 boys, a girlfriend and my parents. Did I mention it was a 2 bedroom condo? It was "cozy" LOL We were all there for my Eaglets wedding; yep, my oldest boy tied the knot. It was a great time, with all the sides of the family in town and lots of fun.

We started with a big multi-family BBQ at the kids house, it was so fun with all the people and their dog Yuri was holding court on the deck. They have a great house where you see the sound out one window and the Space Needle out the other side. It's huge and very funky and very Them! Eaglet has and office and the new Eaglet's wife has a painting studio. They love it and it was fun for all the people to see it and love it too. We spent a week up there and had an absolute blast!

But the real reason we were all there.......the wedding. It was a beautiful event and went as we all hoped. A good time was had by all and had a lot of things that were tailored made to them. For one thing, all the guys wore Vans tennis shoes, and purple or green ones at that. Then they all wore aviator sun glasses. Middle son even performed the ceremony! Then besides the cake we had a candy buffet and the catered meal was breakfast for dinner. Besides the usual dances, we had a parent boogie and a father/son dance that made everyone laugh. The two of them were gorgeous but of course.......I Cried!

It was so wonderful and we are so lucky that we absolutely love her and are thrilled she's in our family. We also love her family and they have the greatest friends, we feel blessed by them all.

I also got to have all my kids around and that is a very special thing. With all the boys spread over 3 states, and getting older with careers and families, it's going to become all the more rare.

And, aren't they a handsome bunch?

I'm Alive!!!

Yes, I live! I knew you were all worried so I thought I better send out a message. And no, it's not an SOS, really I'm fine :-)

I have had the busiest last 5 months, truly truly busy, no joke. Around our family we had; one college graduation, one wedding, one 25th Anniversary, one 50th birthday, one youngster move out into his own apartment and one new beginning to the Oregon Duck Football season. Told you it was a lot :-) So, in chronological order..........

My middle son graduated from college! He went to Chapman University in Orange CA so that meant a trip for us down south. We stayed with my brother-in-law and his wife. We came a few days early and stayed for 2 weeks, bless their hearts for putting us up (or putting up with us LOL). My son's girlfriend's family offered to host his graduation party at their house, so bless their hearts too. And as a nice gift, the friend that he started kindergarten with came to be with him for the end of school. I cried, but then I cried the whole 2 weeks, I know, big shock huh? He really enjoyed his time there and made some great friends with both students and professors. I am forever grateful to them since he was so far from us. We then moved him and 2 friends into Hollywood! They were all film guys so we figured if they had come this far, they needed to give it all they had. They found a great place they could afford and after my Honey left for home to get back to work, I moved them all in and got it homey looking LOL I even drove a U-Haul through the freeways of LA, that was terrifying!!

He is now working in the "industry" and able to pay his bills so really how much more could we ask for right now. We are so proud of him but we miss him all the time, all of us do.

This is the first of many posts so hang on folks it's going to be a crazy ride :-)

Updates

So, on the To-Do list, I'm not doing very well. I finished the spiral bound books for coaching, I read the book club book, made treats, mailed Easter baskets and caught up with clients. But then other stuff starting taking over. I had to order Middle Child's grad announcements, order his cap and gown, do some letters, have a few meetings and various "this and thats". Oh well, I guess that's why I am the Queen of Ideas :-)

On the Reading list, I'm doing great! Hhhmmm think that might have something to do with the other list not getting done? Just asking. I am now up to 32 books so I think I might revise my goal, instead of 75 I might try for 100. I found that I read a lot on the airplane and I have discovered a few series I like. I really like The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins. The third comes out this month and I WILL be reading that. I also like the Goddess series by P.C. Cast. She also wrote the House of Night series but I have read all those so far. These other are twists on the old mythical legends and very fun.

Then there is this little guy. I mean look at him. How can I not be distracted when he comes near me? I knew you would completely understand.

Happy Easter to all of you!

Catch Up Idea

So I am a big blog follower, in that I have my favorite blogs and truly do follow them well. On one of my favorites, she set a goal for herself to get some projects done. I thought, hhhmmm, that's a great idea. My Manly calls me the "Idea Girl", I come up with great stuff but "sometimes" lack the ambition to follow through on the work part :-) And, since I got back from my DC trip, I have needed to finish digging out of all the things that piled up while gone. Voila, a perfect match. Here are my projects/to-dos that need finishing:

• Finish second baby blanket
• Make treats
• Mail Easter baskets
• Finalize MS Walk team
• Catch up with clients
• Finish reading club book for March
• Pressure wash the chicken coop
• Have a work book spiral bound
• Program Manly's new remote
• Book rehearsal dinner space
• Paint a shelf I got for kids
• Make dentist appt

Those are the pressing and time sensitive ones. So there they are in black and white for all of you to keep me honest. Can I do it? We shall see. Oh and the DC pictures, oops, add that to the list, Post DC pictures LOL

Another Trip

Well, after getting home from Mom's, we took a little tip to Seattle to celebrate the Eaglets 24th birthday. Let's just say we felt our age in more than one way LOL They did a 12 hour pub crawl for the birthday. They started at 2:00 pm and the plan was to go till 2:00 am. We got there at 6:00 and could only last till 11:00, then it was back at their house in bed. They all made it but I don't have any idea how, they have way too much stamina. We got up the next morning (and I use the term morning liberally) and had a big breakfast with all the kids friends.

Now we are off to Washington DC for another trip. We will be there for 5 days. I hate flying to the east coast, you lose a whole day traveling and you have to get up too freaking early. Our flight leaves at 6:00 am and we live about an hour and half from the airport. Now the real kicker.......it's stupid daylight savings time! So we have to move our clocks ahead an hour at 2:00 am. We have to get up at 1:30 because we have to switch back the clock at 2:00 and pick up our friend at 3:00 to catch a flight at 6:00. Did you catch that it's all AM?! Why even go to bed?

Oh well, once we get there it will be a blast, I love DC. Pictures will follow.....after I catch up on sleep of course.

Mom

While Manly is out of town I thought it would be fun to go visit my Mom. So I call my Mom and the lovely lady lets me know that it has actually been at least 6 years since I've been over there. Yikes, I'm a horrible daughter! I got all caught up in the life of my kids that I didn't visit her at all, they are always came here. Again let me say, I'm a horrible daughter.

My Mom lives over the mountain, a 3 hour drive. So I packed my car and took off Tuesday morning. After I got there; we visited a little, went out to lunch and then hit some fun little stores in the town they live. Then we came back to the house and relaxed and made our plans for the next day. Then........my stomach started gurgling. I thought maybe it was just my going off my diet.....then it gurgled louder. Then it cramped up, then it yelled at me. I spent the rest of the night getting rid of whatever was in my stomach that didn't want to be there. And, it really didn't want to be there. Suffice it to say that I felt a little like Linda Blair in the Exorcist. It lasted until I saw the sun rise the next morning, I was exhausted. I finally slept till about 10:00. I thought I felt better the next morning, but I was so weak I couldn't left my head. I spent the whole day on the couch in and out of consciousness. My poor Mom, I finally come over and we could do nothing, I felt like a slug. Today I felt back to normal so we tried to go do a few of the things we wanted before I had to head back over the mountain.

I have to admit, if I was going to get sick, I'm glad it was with Mom. I felt like a kid again, she got me jello and even sugar free Popsicles!

Again, I'm so sorry Mom. I promise next time to be more fun.

Stylist

Today I had my appointment with the stylist, it was a blast! As many of you know, I have lost a lot of weight, 65 pounds so far. I have no idea how to dress or what looks good on me since I have spent the last many years hiding in clothes.

Karen came to my house and spent 3 hours getting to know me and figuring out my body style, my personal style and my colors. I'm an Emerald by the way :-) Then we went to my closet and looked at what I should have, what I already had and key things to get. We tried on some things and put piece together, we had a little fashion show.

I know that I need to get a few things to extend my wardrobe, like a good thinner cardigan and a versatile yet fitted jacket. I also need to not always hide in black; I can wear teal, shades of darker purple, navy, charcoal and maybe even a shade of orange if I get brave. I have good shoes and purses, a big vice of mine finally paid off! I have a waist now and can even wear a wide and funky belt.

This was something I won on another blog, the homebasedmom.com. Karen also has a blog, stylebykaren.com, I've been following it and can pick up more tips, she is even planning a series on jeans, which I have a lot of by the way LOL

LOST

Dear Lost, I just wanted to make sure that you realize that this is your last season. Just curious because supposedly you are going to answer questions but I'm not seeing that yet. In fact, I have more questions than ever. And, what's up with that alternate story line? Are you trying to really mess with me? Geesh, where did Jack get a son? I thought Helen left? Rose is married to Bernard right? So many questions and so little time. I'm trusting you, I'm sticking with you, I got your back but please.........Don't keep me lost!

My progress

I've been reading like crazy and I love it! You remember that my goal was 75 books this year? To date I have read 17, not bad huh? I have read the two book club selections so far as well as one I didn't get read from last year. It's great!


This is one that I recently read; The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It's considered a Young Adult title but let me tell you, it's pretty intense. It deals with a future post revolutionary time when the country is torn apart in war and then separated into 13 Divisions. As punishment for the war, each division is required to send a boy and a girl to compete in a "last person" standing stand of battle at the capitol. The whole thing is televised to the divisions and people can sponsor fighters. I found it really dark material. These are kids 12-18 years old and they fight to the death. Some divisions consider it a big deal and train their kids for it, while others hate it and don't talk about it. I couldn't put it down and read it in a day, granted I stayed up till 2:00 am :-) But just a caution before you give it to your kids. The message is a good one and the writing is great, it's just a little graphic.

On another note, we had a very relaxing day watching the Superbowl. There was a young man from our local high school on the Saints. He graduated not all that long ago, my kids know him. So it was fun to not only watch him but see the team win. It was just Manly and I so we laid around in the couch and snacked on healthy stuff and drank diet soda. I know, wild aren't we LOL

Valentines Day was equally quiet. Manly had to work so we celebrated the day before. As a Fire Wife, you get used to that kind of thing. We used to go to the same restaurant each year and have the same dish, corny I know. But the restaurant closed down and we went to plan B. When we met, we loved the same restaurant and ate there a lot. So we went there and had a great time. Hhhmmm, food seems to be a big part of our lives, wonder what that means?

Hope you are having a great February, the weather here in the Northwest is fantastic! I'm off to work in the yard.

My Goal

There is a lot of talk in the blogging world about what people are hoping for the New Year, beyond your normal "resolutions", so I thought I would jump in the fray LOL

This year I decided that since I was going through all these changes, that I would go back to something that was always really important to me, BOOKS. I have always been an avid reader, even when the kids were growing up. But you all know how it goes, you don't get to read as much as you would like or you have to read things like parenting books so much you forgot what reading for pure enjoyment was like. We formed a Book Club a couple of years ago which is great! I would highly recommend that to you. We don't pick heavy literary selections, unless one of us really wants to. We meet once a month and talk about the book and catch up on each others lives, it's a very good way to get at least one book a month read. But, I will also say, I didn't always get the book read, life would get in the way even then.

So that brings me to my goal for 2010. I want to read 75 books this year. That sounds like a strange number but 50 seemed too few and 100 seemed too many so that is my compromise. It started with the Book Club selection; any book by Nicholas Sparks. Instead of picking a title this month, we picked an author. I read "The Gaurdian" and liked it, just liked it. I know people rave about Nicholas Sparks so I figured I would read something else by him and before I knew it, I had read 4. I also read Dear John, True Believer and Nights in Rodanthe. I found that I just "liked" them, I guess I'm just not a Nicholas Sparks fan, they seemed so sad and depressing. That lead me to read other books to get rid of the sad feeling, and the next thing I knew, I had read 4-5 other books. I'm now reading "The Immortals" series by Alyson Noel. So, I'm on my way, not a bad start to the year.

On another note, a lot you know that I lost a lot of weight in 2009. I now Health Coach for the program that helped me to do that. I'm loving everything about it but I don't know how to dress anymore. I don't know what looks good and what fits. Another blog I follow was having a contest to win a consultation with a personal stylist. I'm so excited about this, I have never really known what looks good on me. I spent so many years dressed in "mommy" garb and being overweight on top of that, so not only do I not have a personal style, I have no idea how to get one :-) This could not have come at a better time. For all of you looking for another blog to follow, I highly recommend this one, http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/ by Leigh Anne Wilkes out of the Portland area. She helps you to find the pretty in your everyday life and celebrates being a wife and mother. She also has older kids so I can relate to her. I suggest you check her out, she is very fun. So thanks again Leigh Anne for choosing me for the stylist, I can't wait!!

I'm off to visit my kids in Seattle, I'm so excited about that too. It's a good week.

Depression

I haven't posted for bit. Manly had to go back to work since we'd been gone a lot and I got all caught up in the first day so I sat....and sat.....and sat :-( I tried cleaning out that annoying drawer in my dressing table that needed it. I caught up on all the shows I'd recorded and not watched. I rented movies. I reorganized a cupboard that was bugging me. I e-mail a bunch of people. I read the book club selection and then 3 more by the same author. But mostly I sat and get depressed. I missed my kids, a lot. Oh they all called at least once a day, like they usually do but they seemed SO far away.

Number 1 son has kicked the wedding planning into high gear with his girl. I wanted to drive up there and stay a bit but it wasn't realistic, I mean they had to work and all. Number 2 son is embarking on a great internship and trying to make all his classes fit. I wanted to fly down and help him register and buy his books but again, it wasn't realistic, I mean another flight and being gone again. Baby bird is just loving life at school. Was it weird that I wanted to go get his laundry? I was craving contact. The poor kid is the only one close so I worry I smother him. It doesn't stop me.......but I worry about it at least.

Any suggestions? I don't want to make large life changes because I'm not in the right frame of mind but something?

So I'm trying to find more things to do.

Today I had lunch with an old friend. She's the friend that's known me most of my life and still loves me. We have spent time when we talked all the time and time when we went without talking for months. Either way, we are still friends.

We met for lunch and talked about our kids. We had kids roughly the same time and the same number, I have 3 boys and she has 3 girls. We have moved and moved back, and we are now close enough to meet for lunch whenever we want. The problem is, she works and I travel and we still find it hard to connect. So today was a nice treat.

We talked about my latest trip, our kids sports woes and her granddaughters. We just talked. Do you have a friend like that? It really is my sanity lock. I can tell her anything and I don't have to be in a good mood unless I really am.

We all need friends like that. Friends that love us, don't judge us, are always there for us, understand us and never leave us. We can fight but we never leave for good.

I also have a group of friends, The Goddesses. We are the same way except we do it collectively. We have times when it's all of us and times when it's just a few of us but there is always one of us available for another. The group is called into action when ever needed, right now it's needed. When one of us hurts, we all hurt. We love our friend and she is hurting a lot. So, we all hurt, a lot. Because we love her and her family.

My hope is that you all have friends like that, we all need them.

While we were in Vegas last week we ate at 2 of our favorite places, In 'n Out Burger and Texas de Brazil.


In 'n Out Burgers are not in Oregon so any time we go south, we try and stop by. The have the simplest menu and the best burger sauce. Look at this menu, could it be any more simple? Now if you are in the know, and we are, you can ask to have your meal "animal style", that means you get cheese sauce and grilled onions on your burger and/or fries.




Everyone in our party got their order that way except for me. I mean come on, I have was eating off the diet anyway, how bad did I want to get? Secretly, I just don't like cheese on anything, weird, I know.


There is also a little something about In 'n Out Burger that is kinda cool. Look closely at these pictures..........



Do you see the bible verse reference on the packaging? It's not talked about and it's no where on their website but different biographers have said that it's the brain child of one of the family that owns In 'n Out after he became a born again Christian. He felt he needed to be able to answer to God about spreading his word and this was his way. It's not the verse, just the reference and you can find it on the wrappers, the soda cups and the milk shake cups. Cool huh?

The next place we go to is Texas de Brazil. This place is an experience not just a meal. It's based on a Brazilian Steak house where servers some around with meat on skewers and you eat till you want to explode! You start at the salad bar which can be whole meal in itself. They have rice dishes, salads, grilled veggies, soups, cured meats and some different cheeses. Then you just sit back and relax while these fun people bring around all kinds of meat on skewers. They have beef, chicken, pork, lamb, you name it and it's prepared in lots of different ways. When you want meat you turn these cards over to Green and when you're full you can take a break for a while by turning the card over to Red.

The hard thing is, all of it looks so good that you keep eating even after you're full, which of course I did. The bacon wrapped chicken was so good and the garlic steak was to die for!

Texas de Brazil is our annual tradition in Vegas, they are so fun and the food is so good, you must go there. I've heard there are other places like it and I confess I've never tried them but our friends say this one is one of the best. And the husband part of our friends was born in Brazil.

Vegas

As you know, I spent the last week traveling. The first few days were semi-local with the Fire Fighters where we had a blast! Lots of late nights and good dinners. My friend and I played the lotto slots to get ready for my second trip......... Las Vegas!

We stayed at the Luxor and were there to visit a Trade Show in order to find new products to feature in a business we have. The trade show was good but the lack of US and Union Made products was disturbing. There are so few that we found maybe 6-8 vendors that would work for us. Sad isn't it?

So, a little side note. We walked past this wall each day on the way to the Trade Show, can you say "What the heck?"

But then it was play time! I am notoriously tight with money when gambling so I stick to the penny slots only. They are fun and I can play for hours on $20 and not feel too bad when I lose it. Lucky for me, I seem to be winning this time, go figure. This was a machine I played more than once and turned my $20 into $71 this time. I played different machines at different casinos and still did OK. I loved it!!

Manly played craps and did pretty well also.


We did a lot of other things in Vegas that were fun too and I'll write about them in later posts, let's just say almost all of them revolved around food LOL.

On the way home we decided to bump up to First Class. It was totally worth it but can I tell you, people are nuts. I mean just stupid nuts. If you live in the Portland area you probably heard about the disruptive passsenger on the Alaska Airlines flight (NO, it wasn't Manly LOL). Just dumb people.

When we were asked if we would like a "snack" we thought, well sure. This was the "snack"! As well as all the drinks you wanted. They just kept coming around, they were so nice.

All in all, we came home with more money than we went down with and in Vegas, that is a VERY good thing :-)

So, how do you know that the Baby Bird has landed? You see things like this........

And you get weird calls like "Mom, is it OK if I come back out to the house tonight?" Does anyone else think that's it's weird that your son would call and ask if it was OK to come home? I mean, what does he think is going here while he's gone? Do I look like the party animal? Who knows? LOL Maybe I do...... Maybe I'm throwing giant parties and not inviting him? Maybe I'm rolling around in twinkies and yoo hoos and don't want him to see it? Or maybe I'm sitting on the couch bawling my eyes out because I miss my kids and he doesn't want to be reminded one more time? That's probably it but lets let him think it's the parties :-)

I'm all packed and ready for a week of work and play. I head out to spend some time with my second favorite people, my Fire Fighters. Of course my family comes first but this group comes in a close second. Manly puts on a Educational Seminar for Fire Fighters around the state and I get to tag along. It's a great time so I may be a little scarce as we catch up.

And Baby Bird? The washer is free! There may even be some extra food stocked for just such an occasion.

Errands

So, have you ever had one of those days where you got up, had coffee and then it exploded (the day not the coffee)?

I thought, while drinking my coffee, Manly is going to be gone for the morning, maybe I'll go exchange my coat I got for Christmas. Manly, bless his heart got me a Northface coat. The only problems were, it was the wrong size and he went way overboard. I mean I don't ski or live in the Arctic so I really didn't need a heavy, double layer coat. He promised me he was cool with me returning it so I thought, today is the day. Then it happened.

While getting ready to take out the mail we notice, she's already come. Now I love my mail lady and she really puts up with a lot from us but I never know when she's going to be here. So since I was going in to town anyway, I might as well drop off all the packages at the post office right? Then Manly mentions "Since you have to go by the post office, why not drop off the recycling?" OK, makes sense , so I load up the recycling in the suburban. Then I notice I still have 2 movies I forgot to take back after Christmas (seriously late, so shoot me). Into the car they go. Next the phone rings as I'm leaving. "Mom, the book store doesn't have the book I need for class, can you find it there and mail it to me?" "Sure wonderful Son, I would be most happy to hunt that down for you" You believe I said that, right? The sad thing is, I kinda did. Then another Son calls and reminds me that he left his pills at home when he went back to the dorm and could I run them in to him? Well he needs them right, wouldn't any good Mom just do that?Yeah I know but again, I kinda did.

So my errand to take back my coat became multiple errands in 2 towns. The good news, I did get my coat exchanged. And the really good news, I got 2 coats for less than Manly paid for the 1 coat. And the really really good news? With all my weight loss, I bought a medium and a small!! Yeah you heard me, I fit a small. Now I fit the medium better but hey.....I fit a small, so there.

New Years Day Rose Bowl Party

Since I had 2 of the 3 birdies home this new years day, and we sold our Rose Bowl tickets (don't get me started, I'm still in mourning), I made Manly promise that we could have a party to watch the game.

I decorated with all the Duck stuff we would normally use while tailgating, adding a couple new table cloths.
We had food that we would normally serve at the tail gate; chili and chili dogs, smokey roll ups, chips and dips, candy, dessert and drinks. Then we threw in a bunch of friends and what they brought and it was good food. When we tailgate there are a group of army moms that sell jello shots as a fundraiser and we always buy some; so I had to make some, just for originality sake.

We had prize drawings at the end of each quarter and a scoring pool to buy in to. The kids liked that they won most of the prizes, and by kids we mean the 18-22 year olds LOL. It was a great time had by all except............My Ducks Lost!! How could they do that to me? How I ask you?

We love our Ducks and are happy that they made it to the Rose Bowl, next time guys.

So it begins

With the start of the new year I thought I would try something new, blogging. Let's see if an old dog can learn new tricks :-)

The Manly and I saw our last kid leave the nest this last year and for the first time, and I truly mean the FIRST time, we are alone with no kids. Now, all of you that know me know, I am never without kids. I was worried I wouldn't know what to do and I think Manly felt the same, the poor guy. I was a stay-at-home Mom for 24 years, so really, I guess you could say I'm now retired. EEWW that sounds old and yucky. So, what to do, what to do.

Well the first thing I did was decide that I needed to see more of my kids, makes sense right? While the last year was our baby birds last year of high school, it was MY last year of high school too. I threw myself into all that needed to be done, college applications, senior graduation party planning, volunteering, helping with final projects and chairing the Bond Committee for a new, rebuilt High School. While all that was keeping we busy, it was also keeping me from visiting my other boys that had been out of the house for a while. My bad. I also decided to drop all the weight I'd gained, so far it's 55 pounds! I am also Health Coaching for the program that helped me lose. Strangely, I also got back into baking. Fortunately the college kids get it all. We are also avid Oregon Duck Football fans so I decided to take our tailgating serious, season ticket holders and all you know.

So now it's the New Year, 2010 if you can believe it. My resolutions are: read all the books on my book clubs list, continue to lose weight, visit my kids more and get re-acquainted with my Manly. Sounds good right? Let's see if this blog helps keep me accountable (please read "keep her accountable")