quickie

Busy weekend! I worked on Saturday, then Kate, her friend Ronnie, and I cleaned house ALL DAY yesterday, bleh. But it looks good and the in-laws are coming, and it's nice to feel like I accomplished something.

While we were working our fingers to the bone, Joe and Jim were at a race. Joe won!!! Yay :)


Mrs. Parks wanted a picture of Newman... I didn't get one last time because it was dark. So here it is, isn't he beautiful?


Saturday was Homecoming, so here's Kate n' Kurt. They're pretty beautiful too :)


Song of the day, "Magic Carpet Ride". Very upbeat and snappy, unfortunately I only know about 6 words from it and they are STUCK! Aaarrgghh...

Peas Out :)

just stuff

I know, I promised to keep blogging but it's been a while... Sorry I've been busy!

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Yes, I did go to the talky doctor, twice now. He says I am definitely ADD, but what surprised me is that I am also pretty OCD. Wow. Who knew? I guess all those songs in my head are an OCD thing more than an ADD thing. Whatever... ADD, OCD, Dee Dee Dee. Seems like it's all pretty much the same. Give me some pills and make it go away!

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Remember the saga of truck shopping? Well, with the "sky is falling" mentality lately, we decided if we didn't buy a truck now, we probably would never be able to. What with our bottom-of-the-heap credit scores and all (that's a whole other subject I ought to blog about someday). So on Saturday we loaded up the Honda and headed to low-overhead Bellevue, WA. Home of the $700,000 mortgage and the Yuppie European car. We went there because some guy named RCurtis (that's not a typo, it's arrcurtis) had called us and told us he had "exactly what we were looking for". Believe it or not he did, and we brought home the most beautiful big blue Dodge truck ever! I named it Newman on account of the death of Paul Newman and the fact that it's almost exactly the color of his eyes.

Anyway, we had brought the Honda thinking we were going to trade her (Penelope Pitstop) in. You gotta understand, Penelope and I have been together for 10 years now. I love her. I did NOT want to trade her in, but alas, she is aging and really doesn't have a spot in the driveway of my life right now, a truck is what I need. I was very sad and positive that I would actually cry real tears if I had to leave Penelope on that lot. Hooray! They didn't really want her! They insulted her superiority by offering a stupidly tiny amount of money for her, so I said thanks but no thanks and prepared to take Penelope back home. Then a miracle happened... We went to Bremerton and had a lovely breakfast with our dearest friends Scott & Bridget, over piles of sausage and hashbrowns we hatched a deal. Bridget (who loves Penelope almost as much as I, although she calls her Hot Rod) was eager to buy the car! And, knowing the value of such a superior and fantastic machine, she was willing to pay an appropriate amount of money to purchase my amazing Hot Rod. So I am happy. I have a beautiful new truck named Newman and in a span of less than five years, my best bitch has gone from being a mini-van-driving-mom-taxi to being a hot-rod-driving-killer-career-woman. You go bitch! Love ya :)

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So this is random as hell, but I wanted to point out an example of Americans being just wrong-headed.

I am the new Campaign Leader for a fundraising drive at work. Ya know, where the company collects money from you then sends it to the charity of your choice. It's a cool program, the money comes straight out of your pay, so you don' t have to write a check or anything... Yadda yadda yadda. Anyhoo, so a gal calls today wanting to know how you can find certain charities and I decided to go on the website to poke around and see what kind of places one can send their charitable dollars. I did a search in Whatcom County, then by "category". First I put in "Homeless/Housing Programs", there were 8 charities. Then I put in "Hungry/Feeding Programs", there were 7 charities. Next I put in "Aging/Elderly Programs, 6 charities. Finally I put in "Animals/Environmental Programs", get this, 133 programs. I kid you not! Apparently no one gives a crap about the starving kids or sick old people in Whatcom County, but GOD FORBID a fricken Kitty Cat should be without a home, an outpouring of love and cash will hit that kitty cat like a bleeping ton of bricks. I can't even spell the sound I'm making in my throat right now! I say lets saute' the fricken kitty cats and serve them to the fricken homeless starving families, then train all the fricken volunteer veterinarians to take care of all the fricken sick old people. Finally, we make every single one of the fricken Foster Families take in a fricken homeless HUMAN instead! There's my rant for the day and my solution to the County's problems

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Done now. Cya!

By The Way...

Today's song is Dumas Walker's

For those of you not "in the know" it is a catchy little country ditty popular in the mid 80's by the band (get this) Kentucky Headhunters. My favorite line (which I've now sung in my head 249 times this morning) is "We'll have a slaw burger, fries, and a bottle of Skee, bring it on out for my baby and me".

Just don't ask...

Social Networking

Since I really have no social life and part of my job is schmoozing I've decided I need to get better at "social networking". You know, MySpace, FaceBook, Twitter, etc. The problem is, I don't have time to keep up with all the new gadgets and applications. I can barely blog, much less update profiles, invite friends, send bulletins, and so on. Maybe I should get my daughter Kate to be my social director? I could give her extra computer time (or something) in exchange for posting random stuff for me. The trouble with that is, if she's mad at me for some reason she'd probably sabotage me... Like invite the biggest dork from 8th grade to be my friend and tell him I "always had a crush on him", or post comments on my boss's space like "You're a big loser and I should have your job" or whatever... Probably not a good idea.

So I've updated FaceBook, which I really don't like much because you have to be someone's "friend" to see anything about them. I prefer MySpace, where you can lurk and spy on people and they never have to know. That 8th grade dork? Yeah, he's a Chemical Engineer now with a beautiful Barbie Doll wife and a Mercedes. Who knew? The fat chick who was the drunkest, sluttiest, girl in school? She's married to a preacher, has five kids, and her tagline is “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God”, um, yeah...They're living in a mini-van in the church parking lot.

Anyway, that's my randomness for today. Gotta get ready for work now.

Oh wait! Wait! I have an appointment with the talky doctor!!! Next Wednesday. I'll keep you posted...

Ciao

Money talk and stuff

So, this is totally wierd. I accidentally made the first good financial decision of my life!!! Last month with the markets so wierd (and because I needed frickin GAS money), I decided to sell some stock. Keep in mind, we are only talking a couple hundred dollars, but I looked at the six or seven places that we were investing and decided to sell the Lehman Funds. I'd made about $75 bucks on $200 in the last year, so it was performing pretty well, but I just had "a feeling". Turns out I was right! ...for once in my life :)


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Many people would find this strange, but last weekend I attended my ex-husband's wedding. I gotta tell ya, I was a tiny bit worried that it would be really uncomfortable, not really for my sake, but for others (his family) who were wierded out by my being there. Turned out to be just fine. Poor Glenn looked like he was about to keel over the whole time, but Natalie was beautiful, the kids were clean and well-dressed, and it was a short and sweet ceremony. I was the photographer, so I'm posting a picture of the family...


Most of the guests were pretty lame, so I sat at the biker/hairdresser table, which we all know is much more fun than the "family of the groom" or the "young drunk Navy idiots" table. The following is a picture of Dave Pollard (one of Mrs. Parks' ex-husbands) and the very cool hairdresser. Not pictured is the very gay makeup guy, he left early, which is probably for the best cuz he'd had just enough Mimosas to start hitting on the "young drunk idiots". Things were gonna get ugly...


I was most concerned about the former sister-in-law. We weren't exactly close when I was married to her brother, so things have been decidedly chilly since the divorce. She's just a very unhappy and disapproving woman. Take a look and you'll see what I mean...


But after the reception was winding down (and she'd had several glasses of wine), we had a little chat and all was well. It was great to see the family, I'm glad they accepted my presence, and I'm a lot less worried about graduations, weddings, babies, etc. when my kids hit those milestones. I love my ex-in-laws and I am glad my kids have such great grandparents. This is a very cool picture of Paul and Wilma...


So for those of you out there living an ex-husband nightmare, I am proof that you can be friends. Its not always easy, but it can be done.

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In case you're wondering. NO I don't have an appointment with the "talky doctor" yet.
Aaaarrrggghhhh!

Remember me?

Okay, I apologize. I dropped off the face of the cyber-earth for a while there, but I'm back. Why am I back you might ask? Well, I guess I kind of have a new mission, muse, subject, whatever... And also, I've figured out why I was gone. This is a loooong one, so go grab a cup of coffee, I'll sing to myself 'til you get back.... "Like a virgin, touched for the very first time...." la la la

You see, I've finally discovered why I can't stick to anything (no, I'm not made of Teflon! Although the discovery of Teflon is actually a really cool story... ) Okay, I won't digress, maybe I'll tell you that story some other time. I've decided to share my discovery with you. I'll try to blog about what's going on, maybe I'll even write a book, it'll be titled "House Full of Crazy", what do you think? I imagine this will be one of those "Epic Journey" kinda things, because now that I know what my problem is, I plan to try to solve said problem. I'm taking you with me. A literary sneak peak for you.

My discovery? I have adult ADHD. I just figured it out.

Well, not really, we've joked about me being ADD for years, but only in a couple of little ways. You see, I always pictured ADHD people as those who can't sit still, are always doing a million things, speak out-of-turn or inappropriately, etc. None of that really applies to me. I tend to be more super-low energy and put a lot of thought into what I'm going to say. So, while we joke about how impatient I am, I never really thought I fit the mold. Then I took a test...

Here's how it happened: I was sitting at my computer (like always), my house was a mess (like always), and I wanted to get motivated to get up and clean it (like always). I googled "procrastination" and one of the first things that popped up was a site about ADHD with a quiz telling you whether or not you have it.

Here are some of the questions that came up:

Do you have a messy house?
Do you start many projects but never finish them?
Do you pay bills late because you've misplaced them or forgotten about them?
Do you have trouble concentrating on what others say because you're too busy composing your next sentence?

Do you hate waiting in line, or being on hold?
Do you have a lot of "chatter" in your head?
Do your thoughts bounce around like a pinball machine?
Do you "tune out" boring or mundane people or tasks?
Do you constantly lose or forget things?

Um, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and so on! I scored 72 out of 75 and when the results were tallied it basically said "GET TO A PSYCHIATRIST IMMEDIATELY". Really. The word IMMEDIATELY was honestly in all caps! 

So, wow. It was kind of enlightening to think that I'm not just lazy or have no willpower or whatever, I've actually got a "disease" and like any disease there is treatment available. Cool. It turns out that instead of having a hyperactive body, I have a hyperactive mind. There's meds and therapy to fix it! Or at least help. You think I might actually get organized? Get my house cleaned?  Arrange my filing cabinet? Deal with a slow internet connection without going off the deep end? Sweet!

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Here's the funny part...Well, if you aren't ADD you might not see the humor... When Jim got home that night I told him what I'd discovered and that I AM going to go see a therapist to get all straightened out. But me being me, I asked him to remind me the next day to actually make the call and get an appointment. He did. I tried.

I googled around for a therapist near my work and found one only a couple of blocks away, so on my lunch break I went down there. The office had mood lighting and soft background music. There were plants and lamps and mellow colors, just what you'd expect. The hippy-dippy receptionist took some information from me and told me the therapist would call me on Monday to set up an appointment. What? Call me on Monday? Don't you understand? I HAVE ADHD!!! I can't wait until MONDAY to set up an appointment!!! I want an appointment right this very minute. And if I can't actually get an appointment for right this very minute, I want you to look in your little book and tell me exactly when I can have an appointment. Then I can take out my trusty cell phone, enter the appointment into my calendar, and set a nifty alarm telling me exactly when my appointment is. Wait till Monday, sweet Baby Jesus that's gonna drive me NUTS!

It's not Monday yet. I don't have an appointment. I told Jim I should have said I was suicidal. Bet that would have gotten me on the damn mood-lit books!

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In case you know me and you're kind of thinking I'm making this up or whatever, I want to give you a taste of a couple of hours in my head... 

My husband often asks me what I did all day. This is a tough one for me and I usually just produce a blank stare.

"Well, I um...unloaded the dishwasher."

It went something like this:

I got up, and while I walked to the coffee pot I hummed the chorus from "Like a Virgin". Then I had my coffee, smoked a few cigarettes, and poked around on the computer for an hour or so. "Touched for the very first time". On the MSN homepage there's an article about tasty chicken recipes that looks interesting. I cruise around the recipe site for a while and find one I want to try. So I figure I'd better go get the chicken out of the freezer and put it in the sink to defrost. "Like a vir-ir-ir-ir-gin". I get to the kitchen and see that the sink is crammed with dirty dishes, so I've got to do something about them before I can take out the chicken. But first I need to unload the dishwasher. "When your heart beats next to mine". I get about 1/2 way done unloading the dishwasher when I have to pee, so I head to the bathroom. When I come out of the bathroom (which is right next to the laundry room) I realize that there's a load of jeans in the dryer to fold so I start folding laundry. Within a few minutes the phone rings and it's my mom wanting me to check something out for her online. "Gonna give you all my love boy". So I go to the computer to google it and decide first to check my email. In one of my emails there's a link to an interesting story about the Large Hadron Collider, so I click on that and start to read. Within the story there is a mention of Quarks. What's a quark? I wonder, so I click the link and try to find out. The quark story leads to a link about black holes. Holes? Wait! Jim's got a pair of jeans that need to be mended."My fears are fadin' fa-ayast". So I get up from the computer and go rummage around in the closet for the holey jeans. I can't find the jeans, but I do find Katy's baby book. Awwww, I flip through the book looking at just how sweet she was when she was tiny. Which reminds me, I promised to mail her dad a statement from the insurance company. I go to my desk, rummage around for the statement, I can't find it, but it's too late, the mail lady has already come and gone, so I put on my slippers and traipse out to the mailbox anyway. "La La La La only love can la-ayast". (Irritating, isn't it?) I see that there's a notice that some bill hasn't been paid, so I come back in and sign back on and go to my online bank to see if I can afford to pay it. I should, but I instead I notice that there's a charge for $65.00 from Arco that I didn't know about. Arco! Doh, I promised Joe I'd get him some gas for his bike before his lesson today! "Oooh like a virgin". So I change from the slippers to flip-flops and head out to the garage for the gas can. While I'm out there I notice that the horse's water needs to be filled so I turn on the hose. While I'm waiting for the water to fill I check my little garden for veggies and sure enough, there are zucchinis ready to be picked, so I pick the zucchinis and head back toward the kitchen where I notice that I've left the dishwasher hanging open. "Touched for the very first time".I realize that Jim will be home in 1/2 hour so I'd better start making dinner, but before I can do that I need to finish unloading the dishwasher, which I do. See? I was busy all day.

What I did:

unloaded the diswasher

sang (in my head) the chorus  of a song that I HATE about 2,000 times

What I didn't do:

defrost the chicken

fold the laundry

check on my mom's stuff

fix the holey jeans

send the statement to Glenn

pay my bill

get Joe's gas

turn off the horse's water

and a million other things that needed to be done!

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So to make a short story long, what I thought was early Alzheimer's is actually late ADHD. I know I've had it all my life, I was just never really bothered about it until I realized that it's probably responsible for many of the day-to-day issues that negatively impact my life. The main one being my inability to finish anything. I see now that I don't even start many things because I know that my endless self-editing and perfectionism will make a simple task nearly impossible. Aaargh! I will be happy if I can just keep a tidy, somewhat organized house. Hell, if I can complete only half of what I start, the second half of my life ought to be productive and successful. Wish me luck!

Please comment, advise, nag, and tag.

moto joe

I told you a couple of weeks ago that I was letting Joe ride Katy's motorcycle, remember? Well, as I suspected, it didn't take long for him to get very bored with that, so he tuned up his YZ105 and started begging to ride it. Now keep in mind, the 105 is not the big fast bike, but it's certainly no putt-putt either. So, since he'd actually gotten off the couch and did a little work, I rewarded him by reluctantly agreeing to let him try it. As soon as I nodded my head he started jumping into his gear. Kinda looked like a firefighter when the tones go off, I think he had the whole get-up on and was out the door in about 60 seconds!

I trudged out to the very dusty track to watch. I had 911 on speed dial and as much as I wanted a couple of Valiums and a bottle of wine, I soon realized that I really didn't need them. He was fast and smooth and in control. Was he being careful? Well... If there's no crying in baseball, there's no careful in motocross. But he was being mindful of his limitations and he wasn't jumping.

My whole point in writing this is to tell you about Jim. When he found out that Joe had ridden the race bike he kinda blew a gasket! A three-hour "discussion" ensued with all of us voicing our opinions about Joe's readiness to ride, the merits of riding Kate's bike vs. the 105, Joe's limits and whether he is aware of them, yadda yadda yadda. The conversation wasn't really heated, but we certainly weren't all in agreement. Jim felt that he was not ready. Joe felt that he was. And I felt that ready or not, he'd actually be more careful on the faster bike because he has more respect for it. Anyway, Jim's final word was "We aren't going to agree, so either way one of us isn't going to be happy". Fair enough. Mom's the tiebreaker.....

(insert Jeopardy music here)

"Honey, why don't you just come out and watch him for a little bit? You can see how he does, and then I'll let you make the final decision."

(more Jeopardy music)

Here's the gist of the phone call I got from Jim at lunchtime the next day. "We're going to have to get a new chain for that bike so he can race next week."

Well, we certainly don't agree on that! I don't want him racing, so I'll be the one unhappy. Men are retarded, whether they're 13 or 30ish. Sheesh.

summertime

Well, summer has finally arrived! I looked at the long-term forecast this morning and it's nothing but little sunshines for the next 10 days and beyond :) Yay! I guess that means I'd better start watering things. It seems no matter how hard I try, I just can't get very excited about being a gardener. I understand that it is very therapeutic to many people, but to me it's just work. Work that makes my fingernails all yucky chipped and dirty. Of course, putting pretty little flowers in pre-made beds is not too bad, it's the weeding, pruning, cleaning, hauling, whacking, digging, raking and mowing that feels like a lot of work to me. Wish I could afford a landscaper...

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Well the kids have been at their dad's this weekend, so it's been awful quiet around here. Nice. You're probably picturing us running around the house half naked enjoying our freedom, but noooo... Jim wrenched his neck really bad on Friday, so we spent half of yesterday at the doctor's office getting him checked out, then another hour at Walmart getting his scrips filled. It was so beautiful out I wanted to go DO something, but the poor guy could hardly hold his head up, so I brought him home and tucked him in at about 3pm and he slept for a good 4 hours. Of course I should have used that time to clean the house or weed the garden or clean out my car, but instead I sat on the couch and flipped between the dog show on Animal Planet, Motocross on Speed, and Intervention on A&E. Strange taste in TV, I have. Doggies, druggies, and dirtbikers--oh my.

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We also ran around and got together Kate's big birthday gift. Took two days to find just the right stuff... I can't tell you about it now, cuz she might read the blog, but suffice it to say we spent way too much money and she's gonna LOVE it :)

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K, I gotta go get moving. Sorry about the spotty blogging, it's hard to keep up in the summer. And of course, now that I am working I don't have my morning hours to sit in front of the computer. It's okay, I'm liking the job and Lord knows we need the money. So, until next time -- ciao.

boring

Seems I was wrong about the digital needing new batteries...What is needed is a new digital. The one we have got dropped out of a vehicle and is broken. Bummer :( because we had all these cutey patootey cousins roaming around the place this weekend and I have no pictures to show for it. That makes for a boring blog. My apologies!

I'll just describe the scene for you: Mom and James in the RV, Nick, Jen, Elijah and Amelia in Kate's room, Joe and the dogs in his room and Katy on the couch. It was a house full, but it will be even worse on the 19th when we are having Kate's big birthday bash. Then we'll add Sandy, Jeremiah and their kids and probably a dozen squealing teenage girls. I think we've invited about 30 people so far. It should be barrels of fun! My wonderful Mom gave me some $$ to help pay for the party, THANKS MOM!!! I'll make sure there's a working camera on hand so I can get pics.

Overall we had a very nice 4th. The weather cooperated, someone else cooked, the kids blew stuff up and still have all their fingers, what more could you ask for?

Sun's out and I've gotta get moving--Ya'll have a bitchen day :)

work

Well, I started my new job yesterday... So far so good. New jobs are wierd ya know? I met probably 40 people yesterday and don't remember any of them, I walked a mile around the campus (in heels) and couldn't tell you how to find the cafeteria, and I got about a dozen new computer sign-ins and have no idea what half of them are for. S'pose I'll figure it out.

Speaking of heels, I wore my almost-cutest shoes yesterday. They were $4.99 on the super clearance rack at Mervyn's about three years ago. I LOVE THEM! I am working with mostly women, mostly 40ish, and apparently mostly with shoe fetishes, because I had about ten of them come to meet me because they'd heard how cute my shoes were :) There's a hint for any of you starting a new job, wear uber-cute shoes and everyone will remember you!

I stood in my closet at 6 o'clock this morning searching for something to wear and realized that I have great shoes, lots of cute skirts and slacks, and about three shirts :( So after work today I stopped in my favorite consignment store and bought a couple of shirts. I need more, but I will wait until I get my first paycheck so I don't have to justify more expinditures to my DH. I'm really not a dress gal, which is too bad, because a nice dress is easy, you don't have to match anything... Maybe I'll go dress shopping next time.

I was going to post a pic of the uber-cute shoes, but the camera's out of batteries. Maybe tomorrow.

C-ya

hot, hot, hot

Well the weather guys did finally get it right and it was HOT this weekend. Woo Hoo! Of course that means I was completely unproductive, sat around like a lizard in the sun, conserving my energy (which was non-existent), and trying very hard to keep the blood in my veins somewhere below boiling point.

To accomplish this I killed several Coronas. I'm not really a beer drinker, but I'll tell ya, those Mexicans have it figured out! There's just nothing quite as refreshing as an ice cold Corona with a couple of lemons floating around in it on a really hot day. I know you're supposed to use limes, but I prefer lots of lemons. Occasionally chewing the little pithy parts and spitting a seed across the lawn just to keep things interesting. I wonder if I'll get a lemon tree sprouting up? I'm also reading a really good book. So I enjoyed my last couple of days of unemployment following the shady spots around my yard with a book and a beer. Nice.

Today I get to clean the house, go to the bank, get the horses' feet trimmed, and prepare myself to hit the workforce tomorrow. Doesn't sound like nearly as much fun as flippng pages and killing Coronas, but at least it won't be 90 degrees. Can you imagine how worthless I'd be if I lived somwhere where it's hot all the time? Arizona here I come :)

friday

My mom replied to the blog yesterday with this:

Well, Grandma says, Evil Knievel did it, why can't Joe??? And I happen to know that Joe has God on his side. Of course, that Knievel guy must have had Him, too, or he wouldn't have lived as long as he did with all the crashes he had....

God Bless Grandmas, and dirtbike riders too! :)

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80 degrees today?

I sure hope the weather guys got it right! It was supposed to be hot yesterday, but I don't think it got much above 65. I was at the track in a sweatshirt and not quite warm enough. Grrrr. I am ready for summer.

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Speaking of the track...

Kate's Kurt crashed pretty bad last night in practice and got a concussion. It's his FOURTH! I think I'd buy that kid the most expensive helmet I could find and swathe him in bubble wrap before I let him ride again.

The upside to Kurt getting hurt is that it gave us an opportunity to get to know his family a little more. His mom (who is a firefighter/EMT) took him off to the hospital for CT Scans, so we didn't get to meet her, but his dad (who is a motocrosser) stayed at the track to race. We also met his Grandma Jeri, who was very cool. His grandpa on the other side of the family happens to be Ed, the farmer who owns all the land around us (and spreads crap on the fields occasionally). Small world here in Custer.

After dad raced and loaded up the bikes we figured they'd head out to meet up at the hospital, but they wanted to stay and watch Katy race. Isn't that nice? Kate says she is Kurt's first girlfriend, so it looks like they must approve since they made an effort not only to include her in the concussion updates, but to take time to speak to us too.

It's kind of amazing to me how much better I feel with Katy dating someone I like and approve of. Not just because of the kid himself, but because of his family. It kind of feels like she has a bigger safety net and even more family to watch out for her. That bullshit about "Well, if she's happy, I'm happy" doesn't fly with me. I didn't care if she was happy with the last one, I definitely was not!

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Toad & Kim

It's their 10th anniversary today (WOW). Jim is going to babysit for them while they go golfing. Isn't that a cool thing to do on your anniversary? It was Kim's idea. She decided she didn't want to just go out to dinner, she wanted to try golfing. She's done it once before and enjoyed it and thought it would be a fun thing to do tonight. I think it will be a great way for them to spend some time together and the weather should be perfect. Congrats guys, enjoy your day!

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K, I'm out to enjoy the sun :)

blogless

It's kinda wierd, I haven't really had much to say lately. I guess cuz not a lot is going on. The kids are finally out of school and the weather's been beautiful, so we've been hanging out outside a lot this week. It's supposed to hit the 80s this weekend which I know some people hate, but I can't wait! These are my last few days of unemployment, so I am thrilled that the weather has been great.

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Sneaky Joe

I found out Joe has been sneaking rides on his sister's motorcycle. Nothing crazy, just hopping on and riding around a bit while they're out in the field. So yesterday I figured I'd let him get on the bike and really feel it out, with my approval and my very watchful presence.

My reasoning is this... The bones are healed as much as they're going to be. Now the big task is to rebuild muscle, strengthen ligaments, and continue rehabilitating the hands. In my opinion, riding a motorcycle is great for the hands. The actions of holding onto the grips and reaching and pulling in the clutch and brake levers are using every muscle that needs work. The particular muscles/nerves that are damaged happen to be very difficult to isolate using traditional therapies, but the work of riding used them to their full extent. The proof is the fact that after 1/2 hour yesterday his left hand was tired and sore.

I had been nervous that he'd hop on a bike and think that he was going to be as good as he was on February 18th. After watching him yesterday I realized a couple of things. He is as good as he was on February 18th. What I saw is that Joe is such a good rider that even after 5 months off the bike, doing a couple of laps on a very tame trail bike is about as dangerous as walking down a set of stairs. More importantly he knows his limitations and he is fearful of pushing them. Kind of like when I was pregnant; I didn't stop riding horses, I just stopped riding crazy horses... I made him stop several times and tell me how it felt. He said it felt great, but he knew he wasn't yet strong enough to ride his race bike.

Maybe I'm the worst mom in the world, but I can't tell you how good it felt to see him in all his gear out there looking like he'd never had a day off the track. Knowing that every little molecule in his body has been longing to be back on a bike every minute of the last few months. It's hurt me so much to see him lose his vibrance and vitality. Yesterday for just a little while, it was all back. He was happy and confident and doing what he loves for the first time since 1:30pm on February 19th.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not about to give him free rein and tell him to get out there and rail. I have just decided that it's time to start including motorcycle riding into his rehabilitation routine. 30 minutes a day on the pokey bike with a parent supervising and no jumping!!! I am positive we will see huge improvements much faster now. As far as the doctors go, they said return to normal activities "as tolerated". What exactly does that mean??? He'll only be able to tolerate the slow bike for a few more weeks, then it will be endless badgering until we let him get on the YZ. Don't worry, that won't happen any time soon.

I'd love to hear what you all think. Am I insane? Or is this good rehab...

i got a job!

Thanks Bridget and Alison for the great references! I will be working at the Bellingham Technical College helping administer all the money received through fundraising and donations. It's the department that gives out scholarships and awards. The hours are great, the benefits are great, and the pay's not bad. Better dust off my 'business casual' wardrobe. Bleh. I start on July 1st, I think it's the job I wanted... I'll let you know after a week or two :)

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Katy has a new boyfriend. THANK GAWD!!! We couldn't stand the last one. Lowlifepotsmokingshortstubbyscrub that he was. The new one is tall, cute, polite, CLEAN (as in no bad habits), a motocrosser, friends with Joe, enjoys spending time with his family, and he actually takes the time to interact with Jim and I. How refreshing! I think the best part is that he is tall, so she can actually wear heels to the prom :)

Summer's here, go enjoy!

the job search continues

AAARRRGGGHHH. I hate it!

I've had interviews just about every day this week. I guess that's a good thing, but I HATE interviewing. I feel like I talk too much, don't say enough, wear too much make-up, don't wear enough make-up, over dress, under dress, yadda yadda yadda.

Yesterday I interviewed for a postition at the Bellingham Technical College with the fundraising foundation. It pays well, has perfect hours, and would be such a great job!

Today I interview at St. Joseph's Hospital, which would also be a great job and would probably pay my tuition if I ever get into nursing school.

Tomorrow I interview at the Ferndale newspaper to be their Sports & Education reporter, how much fun would that be?

What if they all offer me a job? What if I accept the first offer, then the one I really want offers the next day? The problem is I don't know which one I really want... They all have many pros and not too many cons. AAAARRRGGGHHH!

Wish me luck!

father's day

Since my beloved is up and out and doing stuff I am taking it upon myself to enjoy dad's day on his behalf. I'm still in my jammies, the kids are frying bacon and eggs, I might not move much at all today...

My uncle Dwight gave Joe a bow a couple of weeks ago. Its a real hunting-type bow. We know nothing about hunting-type bows, so Jim and Joe headed over to my brother's house yesterday for a crash course in proper bow handling, shooting, etc. Turns out Joe isn't a big fan of the bow, but Jim has discovered a new passion.

He spent hours yesterday afternoon shooting the bow. Twang, thump...twang, thump...twang, thump. After digging arrows out of the chip pile about 20 times, he realized at some ungodly early hour this morning that what he really needed was a couple of hay bales to aim the bow at. So up he got and headed to the feed store to buy himself $20 worth of father's day hay.

I am glad he has a new hobby. Sometimes it seems like he just works and sleeps and that always makes me feel bad because he spends so much on everybody else's hobbies. I say that now, but I just googled 'archery equipment' and see that we can spend a whole lot of money on bows, arrows, braces, and all the other stuff he can buy for his new hobby. Ah whatever, no matter what it will be less expensive than three motorcycles a year and 100k worth of medical bills.

So enjoy your bow honey, we love you and you deserve it!

sheesh, what a week!

I can't believe its been a week since I blogged. Its been kinda wierd and awful.

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goodbye my hero

On Friday we went to my Grandpa Robin's memorial service in Oak Harbor. Ya know, I'm not sure how old he was, but he was eightysomething. He got sick around December, so it was a pretty quick run, which is best.

Grandpa Robin was a retired Marine Corps Officer who fought in three wars, a fact that always made me very proud. I think I had more respect for him than any other person I've ever met. We are losing our WWII vets now, so if you know one who is still with us, shake his hand and thank him for serving! Without them we'd all be pledging allegiance to the Communist flag and electing a new Kaiser every four years. Anyway, at the end of his service three Marines marched very slowly in, played taps, and presented Faye with an American flag. It was very moving and I don't think there was a dry eye in the place. I love the way our military keeps ceremonial traditions alive.

I'm a pretty matter-of-fact kind of gal. We all expect to lose our grandparents and I've felt pretty blessed to have so many of them around for this long. When my Grandma Tutu (Robin's wife) died 4 years ago, I wasn't sad about it, it had been a long time coming, she led a good life, yadda yadda. Then last year my Grammy Beaulah died and I felt the same way. But Grandpa Robin was my last grandparent and since hearing that his illness was terminal I've had a few sad moments thinking about that. For the first time in my life I am walking the earth without those ancestors. It makes me feel old.

Last month when we were landscaping we pulled out a shrub and laid it on the sidewalk. Out rolled a perfect Robin's egg. Now I've been a semi-country girl all my life and I have never found a Robin's egg in the wild. I thought it was kind of a cool reminder of my Grandpa Robin, the circle of life and the newness of spring.

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mom giving us all high blood pressure

Yesterday when I was on my way to a job interview I got a call from my sister Sandy saying my mom was being rushed to the hospital with chest pains and high blood pressure. Yikes! I turned around and headed toward Bremerton. None of her family were within shouting distance, Nick and Sandy were in Seattle and I was in Burlington, so I called my amazing friend Bridget who works about 5 minutes away from the hospital. Bridget left work early and headed over to see how mom was doing. She convinced the nursing staff that she was mom's daughter, barged her way in, and took charge. All things that I knew she would do, that's why I called her :) Turns out mom was fine, probably a panic/anxiety/stress induced thing. The docs made her spend the night, which didn't make her very happy.

The story goes...As she was getting ready to be transported to the hospital, she looked up and saw a God dressed in a firefighter's uniform. Thought she'd died and gone to heaven ;) Might have been this guy:

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the job search continues...

Which kind of explains the lack of blogging. Lots of emails, cover letters, googling, phoning, etc. Lots of interviews, lots of not-very-interesting jobs out there. I'll find something, but I refuse to jump at the first thing offered. Unless, of course, it's perfect.

That's it for today, gotta go dig through my 'business casual' wardrobe to find something appropriate to wear.

cya

you don't have to like motocross to enjoy the photos

This is 19-year-old Josh Hill from Roseburg, OR. Josh is one of the young hotshots on the pro motocross scene.

Nice to know that if the whole MX thing doesn't work out for Josh he can always be a plumber...

race update

I forgot to get pictures of the James Gang. Sorry. Suffice it to say that they all look good, haven't changed a bit, are still loud and crazy, and we had a lovely (too short) visit. The Gang is down to Dwight, Debbie, and Samantha (14). Ian has finally moved out and is living in Texas. Rumor has it that he loves it there and is gainfully employed. What more can you ask for for your high-school-drop-out-hard-partying-twenty-three-year-old son? Amanda (15) is in Juvy. Stole mom's car, went on a three-day joyride, ran out of gas, called to get picked-up. Mom obliged by sending men in uniform to get her. Don't mess with Debbie James!

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speed racer

Katy raced at Hannegan on Thursday night. Once again she started kinda shaky then got into her groove and finished strong. She got the holeshot (which is a really big deal in motocross racing)!!! But then she, uh, kinda got "stuffed" in a corner and went off the track.

When Katy's racing, pictures are always so much more entertaining than mere words. See for yourself:

good start
getting to the front
woo hoo, holeshot!
uh oh
nothin' hurt but her pride

The funny thing is, I ordered her a 'butt patch' that goes on the back of her gear pants that says "COTCHA LOOKIN". Too bad we haven't gotten it yet, would have been perfect for these pics :)

gas prices

Thanks Mom, for the funny email :)

ho hum

Well, I think I am looking for a job... bleh.

A part-time job. That pays really well. With flexible hours. Doing something super cool and interesting. I'm not having much luck. Are you surprised?

I started this blog yesterday, but got stuck filling out a fourteen page job application. Yikes! You'd think they ought to hire me for my dedication and stick-to-it-ive-ness just for completing the darn thing. It's for a part-time clerical job at the Tech school not even some top secret security clearance government undercover gig. Although, for a top secret job you should just give them your name and let them figure out the rest. Here I am in my job search... What a pain in the butt!

I am thinking what I should do is just walk into a couple of little local shops and tell them they need me. No more multi-page applications, custom cover letters, well-written resumes, or hours of searching. Just a handshake and "when can you start?". Those were the days.

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So its a race weekend for us. Joe and I are heading to Spokane this morning and Kate and Jim are staying home. They get to go to the Mariner's game tomorrow while Joe and I hand out papers and schmooze at the track. Think I'd rather go to the baseball game except for a a couple of things. FIRST--the neighbor is fertilizing his fields today and it smells ungodly!!! If you haven't experienced Ferndale's finest cow-crap-nitrogen-dead-fish fertilizer, you're really missing out. It is like a combination of decomposing bodies, 6,000 cows crammed into a closed barn in August, and that nasty pile of Pampers at the bottom of a two-week old garbage can. GAG-O-MATIC!

I will also enjoy the Spokane trip because we are going to stay with my favorite aunt Debbie! It is always a blast to spend time with the James gang :) I'll get some pics of the crew and blog when we get back.

Gotta get movin'. Everyone have an awesome weekend!