Monday, January 21, 2019

OMG. I just have to get this out there.  

When my younger son was growing up, I was told he is very literal.  So if you tell him to clean the living room, he will go clean. but not the entire room.  he may clean the coffee table of put away some stuff from out there, but not the entire room, because I didn't say Clean the entire living room.

Both my boys are grown, my younger is 19.  He was in college but he burned his hand real bad at work and could not use it for much for about 3 weeks.  He was attending a culinary college. so obviously he could not do any of the hands on assignments and since he is right handed, most of the written ones were out also.  so he failed a class. the dean told him he was out of school till he wrote a letter apologizing for missing classes and failing the class. he refused to do so. He moved back in while look for an apartment near the job where he burned himself. Yes, it is that good of a job. and his title is chef, so he likes the job.  

He has a few chores since he moved back in.  Put away the clean dishes, both from the dishwasher and if I wash anything by hand.  Keep his room clean and take the garbage to the curb.  I know, your thinking, wow that is hardly anything.  You would think I was asking him to cut off his right nut or something.  To take the trash to the curb. you have to put all the bags of trash into the back of my truck and drive it down the 3/4 mile driveway and put them in a big plastic box every Tuesday. seriously, I take it out of the cans in the house and stack it by the door to get it to the truck.  and at least half the time, it never gets moved. he will so, he does it more. So I will give him 3/4's of the time done. but how hard is that to do??? ok, on his room.  I know it is real hard to take the clean clothes and hang them up or put then in a dresser, and by putting them all over the floor, it makes a nice soft clothes rug to walk on.  that way your feet don't get cold.  and it is so much easier to toss the trash in his room near the trash then take the extra two steps to get it all into the can. 

But my biggest grip is the dishes.  I tell him to please get all the clean dishes out of the dishwasher and put them away. and he does! but Silverware is NOT a dish, it is a utensil. it will remain in the dishwasher. And if I wash things by hand, like large ladles or the good chef's knives and leave them on a towel on the counter, they will stay there till I put them away or they get used again. because they are NOT dishes.

I understand he gets all this from his father.  He is also literal in his own special way. I do not DARE send him to the store without written instructions ,including pictures.  with him, you never know what your getting. I was sitting on the couch and asked him for some chips, that he was pouring into a bowl for himself. he walked over and gave me 3.  another time he will being me the entire bag.  I have 9 cats now cause I told him having a couple cats around will help combat all the field mice we had a problem with.  I once told him I liked Epson salts to soak in at night. he bought me 3 bags.  but on the other hand, I hat bubble baths and he bought me a gallon jug of bubbles cause he remembered I said something about bubble baths.

I just needed to vent about dishes and other things.  sometimes you just need to write it out and send it to the world so you can get past how crazy life makes you.  I will now go back to working un updating my jewelry inventory and helping the world sparkle a little bit more is $5 Jewelry!

Night all.  and keep sparkling!


Tuesday, May 8, 2018

What a long week

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Last weekend I was selling my Paparazzi Jewelry at the Dogwood Festival in Piketon.  It went pretty well.  while I was there the manager of the Wild Turkey Festival stopped by and asked me why I hadn't signed up for a booth there.  I thought I had. so he took my information and assigned me a space. I left most of my jewelry in my Truck after the dogwood since I would only have 3 days between the two events.

What a lot of these small of these small town events do is get the people needing to do community service to work at the events, helping the concessionaires set up and take down, picking up trash.   They had assigned 2 young men to help me.  one sat in a chair and complained the entire time he was helping me about how tired he was and how hard it was for him to help put up my tent.  The other one helped about 15 minutes then he ran off saying something to me about having to see his patrol office.  Then another guy stopped to help me since he saw I was all alone.  he had his niece and nephew with him. he helped me set up and put up all my displays.  so I gave him a tip for helping me.

We finished setting up my tent and stock about 4pm.  sales were light on the first day, but mostly it was people just looking at the set up, so I wasn't expecting me to sell much the first day (thursday).
For the last week a large white dog, looks like a Shepard but all white, has been hanging out around our house. So I posted on facebook asking if anyone knew who he was and where he belonged.  when I was leaving my house I saw a larger dog, all beige, but built like a rottweiler.  I didn't think anything about it.  we have 3 dogs and they have friends who come over and play.  so off I went to work.  had a good day at the street fair.  but about 9pm I get a call from home telling me these two dogs were in the house fighting all over the place and they couldn't get the out. and that I had to be home right away and stop playing with my jewelry hobby and get home.  I was about a hour away. and I was still busy.  I finally was able to close up my booth and leave about 10. so I got home about 11pm.  when I walked in Tim had Jasmine locked in his closet inside of out master bathroom and the big beige dog was guarding the closet door and they couldn't get him out. the white one was also in the house but when I got there and told him to get out, he went right out.

I found out that Niota had bought a bicycle and Andrew and her had left the door to the basement open for a breeze and that was how the dogs got in the house.I went upstairs  everyone was having panic attacks.  I did not understand how they could not get the dog to go out.  I made sure all our dogs were somewhere safe. then I went to see the dog in our bathroom.  when I reached to get his collar he  growled at me so I smacked him and said no. that usually works. but he snapped at me. so I smacked him again.  truly this usually works for me. I had a leash to hook on him to get him out of the house. but he was having nothing to do with that.  when I reached the third time to put the leash on him he attacked me. he bit at my stomach and grabbed my arm.  so I decided me needed a new way around this.  there is a bathroom right across from our bedroom.  so I opened that door.  told Tim, I was going to get the dog to follow me, because I had got him mad at me and Tim would and he need to close the door behind him.  I opened the back door and the laundry room door so we could get him out, then I closed to door to the stair down stairs and blocked off the rest of the area between the master and the laundry room. 

I went and pissed the dog off again and he started to follow me to get me.  as he followed me, I backed into the bathroom and kept "poking" as he was following me. Tim closed the master bedroom door behind me just I slammed the bathroom door in his face.  now we had the dog out of all the rooms and the only place for him to go was out the laundry room door. so when he went that way, I quickly left the bathroom and closed the laundry room door so he was tuck outside. I told the kids to get upstairs with me.  They came up and closed the door behind themselves.  but they forgot to close the outside door.  so incomes the big dog to the basement.  we are now all upstairs and the dog is now in our basement.

Now I am calling the cops because my arm is bleeding and that dog is back in our house and we were all stuck on the main level of the house.  one cop shows up and gets out his pepper spray to keep the dog away from him.  The dog came out to see him then ran back into the house.  eventually the animal control office shows up as well as the emergency personal to look at my arm and another couple cops.  the dog was at the top of the inside stairs trying to get through the door. this guy that was HUGE. goes up the stairs with the stick with the rope on it and lasso the dog and that was all he wrote.  I was watching him drag the dog down those stairs and just as he got down the dog realized there was more room. he tried to get away. that huge animal control officer took that stick and slammed it to the ground pinning that dogs head to the ground.  I thought it was funny as heck.  he said to the dog, "Want to try that again?" then lifted his head and finished walking him out to his truck.  I then had Andrew go with me to the hospital to get a tetanus shot.  got to bed about 4am.  got up at 10am and got ready and went to the street fair (Saturday morning).

When I got to the fair, I found out myself and other concessionaires were robbed. they took someones laptop, another guys t-shirt stock and about 150 of my rings.  I am sure more was taken but not sure what else.  then I had another good day of sales.  Andrew had Prom that day.  and I was supposed to stay up till 2:30 to pick him up at the School.  I talked to his dates father and he agreed to pick up the kids and meet me closer to our house.  so I got home about 11:30 pm and sat on the couch and tried to stay awake till I had to get him.  I fell asleep. LOL  They called me and told me to I was late. Andrew had a bug bite on his leg that was looking infected, so off to the hospital we go, again.  got home at 4am again. then went to bed. got up and 10 and went to the fair for the last day.

Sunday was a completely uneventful day, worked to just after 5pm and loaded up my car and went home.  I am ready for a relatively quiet week before my next event in Circleville next weekend.  Wish me luck.

Friday, December 15, 2017

Dec 15th 2017

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not real sure what I feel like writing about.  My inability to remember where I put my Kindle from one minute to the next.  Christmas coming up and feeling totally broke. being a buffer between Tim and our boys.  now that Andrew is leaving in July, Tim is becoming more and more bitchy.  he knows he is going to miss his son, but men are not allowed to feel emotions. so he is striking out at everyone.  not sure how we will manage for the next 7 months.  Alex kinds sneaked out so we didn't have this ongoing crap.  but Andrew on the other hand has a start date when he must start school. no getting around it.

I have a showing tomorrow. it is a Christmas shop at the high School. so I loaded almost everything into my Truck.  I still have the big stand and the 2 tables and everything on them. but that is better than waiting till 8am and trying to do it then.  it will be cold enough loading the big display and tables into the back of the truck.  at least it is only one display since I have removed the other one.  I also have 2 boxes I have to mail sometime tomorrow.

on to other things.  I followed a new recipe for pie crust an made an apple pie.   I usually Hate pie crust and just eat the filling, this time, the crust was great and the apples were a little to tart. so I am keeping the pie crust recipe and not using the apple pie recipe.  Here is the recipe:

2 1/4 cup all-purpose Flour (sifted) *I didn't sift but spooned it into my measuring cup
2 TBsp White Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 stick (12 TBsp) COLD unsalted Butter
6 oz. COLD Cream Cheese
3 TBsp Cold Heavy Whipping Cream.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
Cut the butter and cream cheese into small cubes. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture until it resembles course crumbs with pea-sized pieces.
Drizzle 3 TBsp of Cold heavy cream over the dough and cut into the dough with a spatula until dough forms moist clumps.  Divide the dough into 2 pieces. press into flat disks, cover tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

I am stopping there cause the rest is just like baking any other pie. you can use this recipe for 2 deep dish pies or one double crust pie.  the crust was light and sweet. so I liked it.  most crusts just taste bland to me.  anyway, it was really good.  would probably work real well for fruit tarts also.

I was given a cook blank book with a personalized cover that says Susan's Recipes. So now I am actually writing down recipes the family likes.  it in not like I don't also have about a thousand digital and hard copy cookbooks here. what is one more. but this one will just be recipes I have tried and liked.

Oh Tim brought home another dog the other day.  The day after thanksgiving one of his co-worker told him they found her wondering in the west side of Portsmouth and they couldn't keep her and would we like her. they had her for about a week, then we got her the Monday after thanksgiving.  Yep, I came home and there she was. well now almost 3 weeks later and she is looking VERY pregnant. so we are now going to have puppies.  Andrew and Alex just laughed and asked if we were going to keep the puppies. Umm NO.

well it is late and I have an early start in the morning. wish me luck at my event.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

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Tonight I went to bingo with my boys.  I had to laugh because about half way through Andrew decided he was tired and so I was helping him mark squares.  Just like when he was in grade School. but when I started getting a little behind, both boys started helping me. <S>  I love how things repeat themselves and then show me how grown up they have become.

After Bingo we went to Chik-fila to eat.  and sat and discussed there plans for the future and where they want to live.  but they both agreed that they need to have a MIL apartment on one of their houses, so I can move away.  I told them that I need to move South, not North.  so who oever moves south gets me. <S>

Remember how I have stopped drinking Diet Dr. Pepper.  well that is what I got at the Bingo Hall. so her it is 5am and I am Still wide awake.    Just love the caffeine high.  and now I will sleep all morning.  I wish I had more of the MC8 NanoZzz Nighttime Rest Shot that stuff knocked me right out!  I am going to have to order some!!!  adding it to my list of things to buy... oh and if anyone wants to get some also, here is a link. https://myclub8.com/shop/?rep=115196

I know I sound like I am selling the stuff, but I am mostly saying it worked great for me!  it is the best thing I have tried so far. I can't wait till the repackaging of the mist comes out!

I have also been re-inventorying all my jewelry.  and WOW, I am finding real cute pieces I forgot I had. LOL  I am going to TRY and do a live at least once a week.  just need to know when is the best time each week to do it.  so if you are reading my blogs let me know when you thing would be the best time to watch.

night all, or well Morning everyone and Happy Halloween!!!

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

day 3 or 4?

On Health and MyClub8 -
I have not had a Soda since they poured out my last one at the MC8 Convention on Saturday.  no headaches but not sleeping much.  I didn't sleep at all last night but fell asleep for 2 hours this morning.  Is it the the bottles of enriched water I have been drinking? or the oil?  Who Knows.  I am hurting today but that is probably because if the cold nasty weather.  Cold makes my hands and feet ache. I am sure the new products from MC8 will help me with my day to day aches and pains and hoping it will also help me get more able to manage my day to day aches and pains.

On my Paparazzi Jewelry and Accessories business -
oh get this, I had finished inventory on two of my stands of necklaces and was going to bring the last three to my desk so I could do those and be finished with necklaces. I moved my table that was covered in Jewelry room covered with stuff I needed to inventory and the legs folded.  aaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggghhhhhhhh, well I guess I am inventorying that stuff next.  I just stood there looking at the mess, folded the table closed, grabbed the necklace stands and walked out the door.  not dealing with that mess today. LOL.... I love being my own boss.

On to my Family and Home life -
ok, now on to yesterday I asked Andrew to toss the trash of the deck into the back of my truck.  I think he missed with one of the bags, cause there were none in the yard and then there was,  but he had left the gate open.  Now Winston is still young and has some bad habits I am working on breaking and one is the need to shred all Trash.  So we keep the gate to the deck where the big wooden box I made to put the trash bags till trash day when they go in the back of my truck and get taken down the hill (3/4 mile) to the curb for pick-up.  if the gate is open, ANY trash not inside the box gets shredded all over the deck and carried to the yard. so Yes I am Always saying, close the gate, Put the trash inside the box and close the lid. blah, blah, blah.  You would think this is all second nature. Anyway, there was a bag in the yard and some scattered trash around it.  So I asked my husband to pick it up and put it in the truck.  OMG!!! you would think I asked him to sacrifice his first born or manhood or something! 

Now this is important, before I left on Friday, I swept all the things Winston had shredded in the last week or so in the basement and asked the guys (husband and 18yr old son) to Please pick it all up.  I also cleaned up the kitchen before I left and suggested they buy something for Dinner on friday and saturday cause I wouldn't get home till after midnight on Saturday. Heaven forbid they manage to cook a real meal.  all I have are ingredients at home and no real food.  You know, microwave chicken nuggets and frozen meals.  When I got home at 4am on Sunday morning, I walked in and and the pile I swept up was now scattered all over.  The kitchen had dishes on EVERY counter and the trash can was over full.  I was gone 1 1/2 days!  that was all!

The last time I mowed (riding mower), and yes I do the mowing.  My husband can not figure out the mower.  I ran over a bunch of springs buried in the grass and locked up the blades.  it took me a couple weeks to get the springs out.  I had to jack up the mower and put blocks under it, then crawl under and yank them all loose with pliers.  OK. so Tim was complaining he was going to have to hire a gardener since I could never get the lawn mowed.  realize we own a lot of land, hence the riding mower.  Then he was complaining that I did not get everything he needed from the store. not that he gave me a list of what he needed.  I was just supposed to know.   In the last week or so I have heard, he should hire a gardener since I can't be bothered to keep up with the yard. Hire a Maid since I can't keep the house clean. Hire a book keeper since I can't keep him in beer money.  Hire a cook to make sure he has food on demand, even if he didn't know he was hungry till the food was finished and in front of him.  oh and don't for get run my jewelry business. drive our son around because he hasn't taken his driver license test yet.  and learn about running an affiliate business I am thinking of doing.  but I do not have a real job, he has the degree and earns ALL the money. and I do nothing. 

I asked him today if there was anything he did NOT want me to do today since I was incapable and incompetent to even know how to do anything.  now back to trying to decide how to rebuild my current jewelry displays to me easier for me to move by myself, cause when Andrew moves away to College in July, I am going to lose my muscle and will have to set up and break down all alone.  Cause my Jewelry business isn't a real job, it is just something I do to waste my time. 

Off to clean the litter boxes and fill food and water dishes for the 9 cats and 1 dog, I do nothing for either.  Then I need to drive my son to Scouts.  Since he turned 18 they advanced him to Junior Scout master. So he still needs to attend, so I still need to drive him.......

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Starting Over

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Trying again to start blogging,  I can hear the voice in my head that trying is failing, just do it.  I need to set an alarm to remind me. then I can argue with my alarm about how I don't have anything to say.  but I ALWAYS have something to say.  I am tired and sore, but I am here.  I am try a new product from MyClub8.  it is a very new company and I am hoping it works great for me.  I even signed up to be an afiliate.  if you want to join my wellness journey you can.   https://myclub8.com/shop/vision-kit/?rep=115196

I am not saying this will help you with anything you have, I am TRYING this and will say how I feel.  I have pain in my hands, knees, feet.  I also have issues with wanting to crawl into a hole and want to sleep the year away.  I have a new large support group that is going to be helping me with all of these issues.  

I have also decided to go cold turkey and stop drinking soda.  which is Hard for me.  I know smokers and drug users and alcoholics have a MUCH harder time quiting, but I am only truly addicted to the caffeine in Diet Dr Pepper.  so that is going to be fun.  

and let me tell you, it has taken me over an hour to type up this little bit because I keep being interrupted.  it is like a mom going into a bathroom, suddenly everyone had to be to talk to you that exact second.  even the cats and dogs will be at the door when that door closes. Andrew is cooking hamburgers and I had to taste them to let him know if it was good.  Tim had to talk to me to see if I am going to the store, already did. Damon is doing a live chat and I am listening to that also. Lexxi is trying to join the chat. one of my Jewelry customers was asking me where to find a piece she wanted and when I was shipping the next thing out.

Life is never boring in my house.  I will post again in a day or two.





Vacation in August 2004

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Vacation in August 2004 Let’s start with my weekend before our vacation. I got an e-mail from my sister on Friday telling me that Mom had to have emergency surgery. They did a colostomy on her. Her surgeon said she did well with the surgery but they were waiting for her to wake up. Her heart handled it well but they still needed to see how her kidneys were handling the surgery. Mom is currently 70 years old, and has been getting progressively worse since she was diagnosed with diabetes 13 years ago. She has lost most of her eye sight and is on oxygen all the time now. She also has been having heart attacks and kidney failure on and off for the last two years and is in the hospital at least every other month for one of the two problems. So I was a little concerned that this might be “It”. On Sunday My sister sent me another e-mail telling me mom was doing real well and if things go well she should be home in about a week. Things were looking up, Mom is doing great, Kids are going back to school in two weeks, we actually had money in the savings and all the bills were caught up. Monday, Tim sends me an e-mail to tell me the military is giving him 3 days off this week and wanted to know when I wanted him to take them and what I wanted to do with them. I thought about it and looked at our schedule. I decided, since the Military was having a base wide picnic on Friday he should take Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off so he could come to the picnic with the boys and me. He said, How about Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and we could go to Silver Dollar City in Branson MO. I countered with How about Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and we make it a 5 day weekend at Branson. Again he countered and said he had a half day of work only on Friday cause of the picnic and he wanted to take Tuesday………. Now WHY did he ask me what days I wanted him to take when he already knew what days he planned on taking? <S> SO I called him and told him to do what he wanted to do. He then drove home to discuss it in person and have lunch. While he was here for lunch I started packing for the trip. 4 people 3 days. No problem, stuffed everything into one big duffle bag on wheels. Finished up the dishes, and called a friend to have her come by to feed the critters while we were gone, made reservation for a Motel so we would have a place to sleep. He went back to the base and bought the tickets to Silver Dollar City (great discounts on base, $40 each and kids free for two days) and filled up the gas on the car. At 3:30 he came home, an hour early from work and wanted to know WHY I wasn’t ready to leave yet. <S> So I dug up socks for the boys and myself, Printed out a map to get us there and made sure both the cats were still in the house. Then we went to my friend’s house and dropped off the house keys and were on the road by 4:30 . At 5:30 the boys were starting to get fussy cause they were hungry and wanted dinner, but Tim didn’t want to stop. It took me only 30 min to convince him to stop and feed the family, and that NO we could NOT drive the 4 ½ hours to Branson before we stopped for dinner. <S> so we stopped a t a little dinner on the side of the road. This is when I find out HE only got $20 in cash for the entire trip. LMBO!!! So I paid for the diner with my visa, including the tip, Then he went ahead a filled up the car again just for fun and off we went again. About an hour later, Of Course the kids are gonna have to go to the bathroom. Hahahahahaha. He complained a bit but went ahead and stopped so we could have a little bathroom break. Then back on the road we went. Now the map I had didn’t actually give exact directions to the motel, just general ones, but the reservation confirmation I got had directions so we were following those when we got close. My instructions had miles and time to travel but the ones from the motel didn’t. The roads we were driving on looked like backwoods country roads even though they were listed as Highways. Tim was panicking because he thought we were lost. <lol> about 9pm we pulled into the motel and I got the keys while Tim stayed in the car with the boys. Of course the first thing the boys notice about the place is the pool and the first thing I think was “Darn, I forgot to pack swimsuits”. <G> We were on the second floor, so I dragged my butt up the steps and Tim dragged the duffle bag up. We had the boys take a bath and off to bed everyone went. At 6am I woke up and decided to go ahead and get up and dressed, so Tim decided he should get up also. After we were up we woke up the kids and went down for the “complimentary breakfast”, 8 types of cereal only one Andrew can eat, Donuts, Bagels, coffee and Orange Juice. Not the most conducive for my diet. I figure I might as well have bagel for breakfast since I will probably work off all the calories anyway with all the walking I am gonna be doing. The boys both decided to have Donuts for breakfast (go figure) and Tim had cereal. The park opened at 9:30 so we had time to kill, but decided to go ahead and go and see the shops at the entrance to the park. When we got there we found out they had this tour of the “ Marvel Caves ” under the park open, SO we figured Why not. We saw it took and hour for the tour and that would take up most of the time before the park opened, so we got in line. At the beginning of the tour the guide told us the tour was 60-90 min long and that there were over 600 steps that we had use, Also that there were no bathrooms and to NOT drop anything, no gum, not wrappers, nothing. I was still thinking about those 600+ steps I had to go down and up………… we started down. After the first 20 steps there was a gathering area, and the guide told us again to put all gum in the trash can, and that the first 20 steps we just walked down do not count in the 600. She opened a door and in we went. We walked down about 5 flights of stairs and then 4 ramps with stairs in between them. About half way down I am noticing my legs are beginning to shake a little with each step down. About ¾ of the way down I am holding on to the hand rails because I am afraid of slipping. Everything is damp and slick. When we got all the way down, there was this landing where they took a picture of each family group, so we would have proof we made it all the way down <S> (yes, I will post pictures of the caves) after the pictures we walked through some winding paths where I even had to duck low to get through, stopping every once in a while for the guide to explain a little bit more about the cave. At the end of the caves there were again steps. This time only 3 flights<s>. We walked up those and through a door to a small tram that we got to ride back to the entrance of the cave. I just sat there thinking my legs will never be the same again. When we finished the tour the park was open. So in we went. We rode this ride and that ride. Well actually we rode EVERY ride in the park. There was only one that Andrew was not tall enough to ride. We were telling the kids to wait for us in this area where they could watch the ride while we went on it and this very nice woman agreed to watch the boys while we rode Wildfire. I laughed and laughed while we rode it. I would have gone again but since the boys couldn’t ride it, I didn’t. We stayed at the park till about 5pm then we went out for dinner. On the way home Tim and I were talking about how I forgot the swimsuits so we stopped at a Wal-Mart and picked up swimsuits for everyone at the discount counter, then we went back to the motel and the kids got to swim till about 9pm when we went up to go to bed. The hardest thing for me to do was Walk up those steps to the second floor to get to our room. I took it one step at a time with a pause in between each step. <LOL> The next morning again I woke up at 6. I took a hot bath to soak out my muscles because my legs hurt so much just touching them hurt. Then we went down (sob!) the stairs to get breakfast. Then BACK up the darn stairs to discuss what our plans for the day would be. We decided to go to Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum, then to have a Tour of Branson in the “Ride the Duck” tours. Ripley’s was pretty cool except it was full of ramps and stairs <S>. After that we went to the Duck. It is a tour of Branson on an amphibious Vehicle. We were each given a duck bill to blow for various reasons and we got on the Duck. The drive/tour guide talked the entire trip. He told bad jokes and told us good places to eat and sites to see. He told us the history of the Ducks. It was an old army vehicle that was made in 1954, if I remember correctly. It had been refurbished for the tours. After the tour of town he took us to a hill over looking the area and then down into the lake. Then all the kids in the Duck got to “drive” it in the lake. After the tour the boys got certificates saying they were honorary pilots <s>. By now our morning was pretty much done so we went out for lunch. Then we went back to Silver Dollar City and rode all the rides the boys liked best. We rode one rollercoaster 3 times in a row. <LOL> you could ride it backwards or forwards and they bath had to do it both ways. And they both had to sit with me while they did it. Again about 6pm we left and went to get some dinner. Then back to the motel. By now my legs were really beginning to hurt, but the boys wanted to go swimming again. I decided to just sit pool side and watch them swim. I sat out there till 9pm then made the trek back up the steps to the second floor. We dropped off our room key and left Branson Thursday morning about 5:30 and stopped for breakfast about 8am . And we got home about 11:30 . When we got home I notice this very furry black cat in our house. I was trying to place it since I knew it wasn’t one of my cats. Then I realized it was my friend’s mother’s cat. I called her up to let her know we were back and to ask her why her mom’s cat was in out house. She started laughing and said, that explains why she couldn’t find it last night when she was looking for it. It must have followed her to my house and got locked in when she left. So I tossed the cat out, Cleaned the litter box, fed the cats, and started laundry. Then I sat down. If I would have sat down first I would not have got up. <S> While I was sitting here reading my e-mail, the neighbor kid, Stacy, opened the door and said Bear (my black cat) was outside and she tossed it back in the house. So I pried my self up and caught my friend’s mom’s cat again and tossed it out the door again. I sat down and started reading my e-mail again…….. Then my neighbor’s other Daughter, Alyssa, opened the door and said Bear was outside and tossed her back in the house. Again, I pried myself out of my chair and caught my friend’s mom’s cat and tossed it out………about a min later while I was still trying to read my e-mail, the door opens again, and before they can say anything, I told them, that CAT is NOT Bear and I do not want it in the house. They closed the door and didn’t say anything<S> That evening, Andrew came over and sat on my lap, I cried out in pain. Tim Jumped up to spank Andrew for hurting me but I stopped him. I told him all he did was sit on my lap but my thighs hurt so bad it felt like some one had stabbed me. I took another hot bath and went to bed a little early ( 10pm ). The following morning I got up about 8:30 . It was so nice to sleep in my own bed. I truly hate hotel beds. They are so small. I am used to a California King bed and Hotel beds are little doubles. At 10:30 Tim came home to get us and take us to the picnic on the base. If I had not already told the kids all about it, I would have suggested we not go because I just wanted to sit around and do nothing. Instead we went to the base and walked around the park for three hours. Then back home. I got another e-mail from my sister telling me mom is doing great and her colostomy will probably be reversed in six months. Today is Sunday and I can finally walk across the room with out wincing with each step. I had a great time and would do it again in a heart beat, even with the killer stairs <S>. Tim is already planning out next trip, either Celebration City in Branson or Worlds of Fun in Kansas City , of six flags over Chicago . He figures he can get a long weekend in October. I told him we should wait till Easter break. We shall see. Aren’t spur of the moment vacations the best!!