Marion, IL

In a Hampton Inn about 500 miles into our adventure, listening to Evan whimper as he fights falling asleep even though he is out-of-his-ghourd-tired. His sister long ago gave it up. She is a smart one, that girlie.

Anyway, the kiddos did just great on the trip and we toyed with the idea of driving straight through but decided we were ALL just bored and could use a stopover. We went for a swim, and then enjoyed a complimentary happy hour in the lobby. We'll see if we are around in the morning for the hot breakfast. This morning we hit the road at 4:15 a.m. and we'll probably do the same tomorrow. With the early start, Evan and Rowan sleep through a good part of the trip. Quiet babies, less stressed mommy and daddy.

We hope to be at Scott's cousin Kristy's place by noon (in Little Rock, Brent...) Scott's mom, aunt and other cousin will arrive shortly after. We will have Kristy's 3-year old, 18-month old, and cousin Steph's twin 6-month olds in addition to our twosome. Should be a riot. The agenda calls for family photos on Thursday and boating on Friday (though I'll be staying back with all the kiddos and an additional two babysitters - too hot, and too long of a day for the babes to be out in it.) We return on Monday, though we're toying with the idea of driving overnight to return. It's a 14 hour drive, and if we did it overnight the kiddos would sleep through almost all of it. We'll see.

Evan's asleep now. We're not far behind.

Don't laugh

Mom/Gram is going to have eyelids lifted. This will be in about 3 weeks and I'm amazed at how much I need it. Tested today and now its wait for insurance approval, which the doctor says there will be no problem with.
Maybe my headaches will be lessened. YAY!!!!!

Tired Day

I am so happy for a 4 day week but it's been an icky one so far! My body decided last night that it does not want sleep, no matter how tired I was. I laid in bed from midnight until 3am just staring at the ceiling and petting the cats. Finally I drifted off but man am I tired today. I may not be a fortune teller but I see a nap in my future. After work and school work of course. Thankfully the weather broke and we are hovering in the 80's for highs. Not too shabby.

Dad

Things are looking up for the most part. Mobility is improving and so is the mindset. Gads, it was scarey for awhile. This is the last week for the therapist and that will be a relief.
Dad made his way through the last 2 months NL yesterday with his new glasses. There are still 2 lines for 1 with his vision but the glasses do sharpen the words.
Getting even more quiet here as more folks have gone for varied amounts of time. The clubhouse is closed for remodeling so our July 4 potluck is not possible and with the temps so hot and humidity high it isn't outdoor function weather either. We are getting rain more frequently and that brings the lakes up.
Our Star Fruit is producing to where I can give some away. Picking it is a bit challenging because I'm not familiar with how it is suppose to look ripe, yet.
Have a great weekend and I hope to see lots of fun blogs.

Chicago

This was the scene as we were driving into the city. We are DEFINITELY not driving again in this town. We walked north on the Magnificient Mile a ways to the John Hancock tower and had a drink in the Signature Room on the 96th floor. What a view! We have reservations this morning for the Architectural boat tour on the river and tonight at Mike Ditka's restaurant for dinner. We have a gap in the middle of the day not filled in yet -- working on it.

Busy week!

Just wanted to check in to let you know we haven't fallen off the face of the earth! We had a great visit with Aunt Di and Uncle Jerry this past weekend, and my Mom joined us on Friday for a nice visit, too. Evan and Rowan so like seeing their Gemma!!!

Scott and I enjoyed our first date night in awhile while Gemma stayed with the kiddos. We had dinner at Ruby Tuesdays and then saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Great movie, but for my money, I'd go see Star Trek. We've seen both, and the latter is my favorite bar none, and no, I am not a Trekkie.

Sorry I haven't posted any pictures, yet, but we had our 13th showing yesterday so had to clean house, and today I'm packing for the four of us to travel to Arkansas for the next week. Packing is a lot more time consuming and requires a bit more planning than it used to. Anyway, if I'm MIA from this blog and the babies' blog, you'll now know why.

Hope you all have a very enjoyable 4th!

Also Sunday

Hi all from Farwell. It's been a busy weekend. I spent Friday and Saturday nights at the Millers' - Friday to hang out with the Pitts and Saturday night was a date night for Scott and Tracy. Ray had to wait an extra day to celebrate his birthday. Today, we went to a movie, then shopping at Sam's Club (and that is always a treat for Ray!) then out to Red Lobster for dinner. He got to choose everything and we've had a really good day.

Love to all

Sunday

Hi, all. We had a great time last night at the Fraternity reunion and are getting ready to head to Chi-town. It is supposed to be a 3 1/2 hour trip. Hopefully, the traffic will cooperate. We have reservations at the Hampton Inns & Suites downtown and a list of things we want to do!

Rowan, Evan

Who Loves Ya?

Friday

Hello all from Freeland. We had so much fun visiting with George and Lee in Warren. George has a new iMac with a 24" screen with over 19,500 pictures from recent years. It has a face recognition program on iPhoto to help find specific pictures of people. Very cool. He is also a Master Gardener. I'll post a picture of them in their yard.

Now we're chillin' with the Millers and can't stop smiling at the babes. Rowan is going to be a reader - the book she has in her hand is called "Who loves ya, baby?" and she is looking at the picture of Dad & Mom from the top of this Blog and smiling like crazy. Evan is a noise maker. He was playing a game with Jerry where he would throw that purple thing on the floor and Jerry would pick it up. They played until Great-Uncle Jerry figured out it was a game:) We're looking forward to Sandy's arrival in a little bit. Scott & Tracy took the twins to a Dr. for the 9-month check-up.

tree

This is the tree in 1975. Who is that woman with my man?

JONI

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE. HOPE YOUR PAIN HAS LESSENED AND YOU FEEL LIKE YOURSELF SOON . Love Gram and of course grandpa

Thursday

Happy Birthday to my favorite daughter-in-law! We are at George & Lee Stepanovic's in Warren. Looking at old pictures and trading some on flash drives. They have Skype where they have real-time talk with picture with their son, Glen, in Arizona. I'm going to look into that when I get home.

We're headed to Tracy & Scott's later today. Can't wait.

Happy Birthday Joni.
Don't work too hard.

Hot, hot, hot

Was this what everyone was wishing for a couple months ago? Just for the record - I didn't!!! Remote starters - greatest invention since _______________. (You can fill in the blank; today I'm inclined to say "flush toilets") Great idea about the labels, Tracy. That will certainly keep everything easier to find.

As I have already told a couple of you, I am ALMOST pain free today for the first time in months! (Not counting my legs, of course.) I've been going to physical therapy for lower back and neck pain for the past couple weeks and the exercises the PT has me doing has worked SO well. Makes me want to dance! XOXO

Great Day

Yup, the sun is shining and things on the home front are much improved. Good idea Tracy about putting our name in the label.
Our neighbor fixed our outdoor hose and watering is a pleasure now. We did get some rain last night but not enough to even count.
Have talked with a couple of you and that sure helps in this extra quiet Park, as of now. I'm not complaining as things will get hectic all too soon.
Everyone love each other and get a hug and pretend it's from us.

Checkin' in!

Looking forward to the Pitts' visit this week!

Nothing much new to report on our end, so I failed to write for the NL this month. House is still on the market, Scott's job is status quo, I'm still playing golf weekly, and the babies are still growing like crazy (more on them, including photos, on my blog.)

Been fighting a bug since Sunday (food poisoning?) and think I finally have it beat. I'm doing the couch-to-5k running program and managed to run Sunday (big mistake) and today (man, is it hot!) Rowan and Evan accompany me on my runs (if you want to call it that...we are slow) right after their morning bottle, but even at 7am it was well into the 70s and humid. Oh well, it's good for us. At least that's what I keep telling us (they aren't convinced.)

We leave before the crack of dawn on the 30th for our vacation in Arkansas. We're driving and will be there for a week visiting Scott's side of the family. Should be a nice visit...Scott's cousin had twins in January (also boy-girl) and his other cousin has two small ones as well. We enjoy seeing them.

Hope ya'll have a great 4th!

Question re: the blog...you'll notice at the bottom of the page where you type a blog entry there's a line that says "Labels for this post". What do you think about labeling with family names? That way if you ever wanted to refer back to a post written by the Millers, for instance, you could do so. I see some of you have already used it for other labels, which is fine. There is now a list on the right so you'll see what I'm talking about. I'll demonstrate here, and if you want to do so on your next post, go for it...

Tree

The maple Jerry is looking at was 6 feet tall and about one inch in diameter when we planted it.

Wednesday

Another HOT day in Michigan - as most of you know:) We had great visits with our friends here in Lansing and nostalgic drives around campus and the area. We drove by our house on Magnolia. Remember that little dinky tree we planted in the backyard? Check out the picture.

Today, we're meeting the Rays in Lowell for lunch and then to Royal Oak to see Stepanovics. Good Day to all.

Fathers Day QUIET here except for your call. Thanx for the cards too. Precious thoughts and memories were shared and Tracy and Brent yours were received too, also, Marc g'pa got your e message.
Dad/G'pa felt lousy Sunday and frankly I was glad when bedtime came. Monday our dentist took care of the tooth that had the temporary crown, that was loosing or lost its grip, and having that dental work done really took any energy my guy had left. He didn't even want a Frosty, DARN!
The e-nl keeps me busy copying and I can see further changes for the future but am leaving my thoughts tucked away.
Joni, Happy Birthday, our card will be late, SORRY!

Father's Day

Eric had to work this morning, so Joni, Jerry, & I went to nearby Fraze Pavilion for "Breakfast with the Beatles." A local radio station played the music, there was an omelet station for buying food, and lots of shade. It was nice. We stayed about 2 hours then Joni & I went shopping. We got some things for us and a Father's Day present for Jerry - with matching shorts for Eric. Aren't they cute?

Happy Fathers' Day, Guys!

We went to RNR for the weekend but came home early. It was already promising to be hot and humid in Wolverine and that means miserable. We saw a fawn, not more than a day old, in our driveway on the way in Friday night. We tried not to scare it too bad so it could get back to its mama. Ignore what I said in my NL about liking my new refrigerator up north. The pilot apparently blew out and I had a bunch of spoiled food. I'm really getting sick of messing around with propane powered refrigerators. I'm sticking to coolers and ice!!!

Next weekend is the Pitts' visit - can't wait!!!

Sunday

It's going to be another hot day in Dayton. It was already humid when I went for my walk this morning. I didn't mention it, but when I went out on Friday, I got lost. I had to call Joni to come pick me up. I was over a mile off course. I did print a map before I left home, but forgot to bring it with me.

Dinner last night was good. Excellent margaritas called "Bad Juans." The house limit is 2 - that should tell you something. Today Eric has to work this morning. Joni & I are planning on going to "Breakfast with the Beatles" where a local band plays a tribute to the Beatles. It's a free concert in a park. Jerry may go with us. After the mall opens, we are definitely going shopping.

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads.

A Day

We've had a great anniversary so far. Neither Eric or Joni had to work, so we've held them captive all day. We ate brunch at First Watch then went to a local attraction called Young's Dairy. There was a lot of things for little kids to do: petting zoo, little tractor rides, a slide, etc. We played putt-putt golf. We didn't add up the score because there was a coupon on the back we used when Eric & Joni treated us to ice cream from the dairy.

We left there around 2:45. The National Air Force Museum was on the way home and it was free, so we stopped. It was pretty neat. The place was only open until 5 and we wanted to watch the IMAX movie "Fighter Pilot" at 4, so we just got to see the "early flight" section.

Tonight we're going to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. And I'm pretty sure there will be some card playing later. Bye for now from Ohio.

I noticed a mention to Jim and a deer at Meijhers. Can someone clue me in as to the title of that blog. Tried to find it this morning but time has eluded me to look further.

Travels

We arrived a-ok in Dayton. We ate at J. Alexander's (where Eric works) on Wednesday night. Yesterday was Eric's day off and he drove with us to Monticello, KY, to see Bob, a friend of ours. He had called a couple of days ago and seemed pretty down. It was 200 miles, but Jerry really wanted to go. We drove through a horrible storm system in the middle of KY - lightning right next to the car that made the hair on our arms stand up. Lots of cars had pulled off the road. Glad we made the trip although it was a long day.

I got up early this morning and decided to go for a jog. I had printed a route to follow, but didn't want to forage around for it and wake up Jerry, so just left the house. Being directionally challenged, I got lost and had to call for help. But I really got in a good workout:)

Eric is working a double today; Joni will be home for dinner. We're catching up on e-mail today and may do some exploring or see a movie. Both Eric & Joni have tomorrow free. We're leaving on Monday for Lansing. We want to drive around the campus and visit the MSU bookstore for my new t-shirt.

Eric & Joni have convinced Jerry to start using gmail, so if you would be so kind to send him an e-mail at his new address so he can build his contact file: sparty.pitts.71@gmail.com.

I loved reading the NL from "new" contributors. I can't imagine the scene at Meijer's, Jim, when the deer broke in!

A "first" for Gemma!

Evan and Rowan were angels last night. I got kisses and hugs from both of them and we had some wonderful play time in the family room. When it was close to bed time, I hiked them upstairs to the nursery and let them play up there little longer (while I caught my breath!). Because he is so impatient, I changed Evan into his p.j.'s first and tried to give him his bottle. He fights me on that everytime so after a couple ounces, I plopped him down in bed and let him hold his own darned bottle. I was changing Rowan and looked around just in time to see Evan sit up by himself. Tracy had seen him sitting, but I actually saw him do it - three times! I kept laying him down and putting the blanket on him, and POP, up he goes! He uses his blankets for leverage. What a card he is!

Babysitter

I had hoped Mom might write a post about her experience with Evan and Rowan last night during my golf league. I would write about it in my blog, but it's her story to tell, and I know she was excited about it.

Mom??

What A Day

Got our dishwasher installed & ran the first of many loads through it.

We are now in possession of a signed purchase agreement. Your turn Tracy & Scott.

I saw my first deer on our side of the river tonight. Nice ending to the day.

Go for it Jim and Kathy. It's always enjoyable to go out with each other and just keep it that way.
A new dishwasher.If I remember right this would be under the counter, not portable.
Jim I enjoyed the pictures of you on the roof with Spring cleaning, great shots Kathy. That reacher does have many functions.
Will you get to see the Pitts while they are up north? Wish we were there.
Tracy's blog today is super and the pictures continue to intrique me/us when g'pa looks at them.

30 years. WOW

We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary today! Went to Bay City, ate at Bob Evans & picked up our new dishwasher. Here's to another 30+ years.

Doing Good

Patient now doing therapy with Chuck, the therapist, and we are just home from the eye app. New glasses for the Mr. and I may have eyelid lift. Evaluation June 30.
Hope all write for the NL> Mom and Gram

Getting Ready

Hair done. Nails done. GPS addresses entered. Packing started. Jason is picking us up at 7:15 tomorrow morning.

Spare time...

Well folks, now that the school year is FINALLY over, I can have more time for all those things that I didn't have time to do at work while I was super busy these past few months.  Like, bill paying, online shopping, and of course... the McQueen blog!!  

I am one of a few 12 month employees that CPS has, so my co-worker and I are here all summer long.  It's not too terrible, our building is very air conditioned, which is more I can say for our apartment, so I'll keep cool.  It's just us two and the janitors, who are all very funny friendly people.  We do maintenance of our technology around the school.  Moving of computers and projectors, updates on our network.  I work on getting out a DVD that we make for the seniors, and creating graphics for the upcoming year.  

This summer could be a bit busier because our school's 10th anniversary is next year, and we're producing a huge documentary for the occasion.  Haven't had a chance to start on it yet, our principal, who gives us the go ahead on any decisions, has been out since the end of May.  She took a cruise the last week of May (what??!?!!?  who does that?) Then got sick, and has been out ever since.  Sooooo, more news on that another time.  Stay tuned for more blogging from the windy city.  

Home from sales conference

Flew out on Tuesday afternoon from Cincinnati to spend the rest of the week at a company conference in Chicago. It was a looooooong few days but tons of great information. And it was awesome to see all of my Real Whirled classmates again and meet some of my field counterparts for the first time.

Eric was working when I got home last night around 8 o'clock and since I was so pooped, I was sleeping when he got home and barely awake when he left for work this morning. He usually doesn't work Saturday but it's graduation day at one of the local universities and the restaurant is historically slammed, so he picked up a shift.

Today has been completely non-productive for me. I have literally done nothing but nap and watch some TV. I feel so lazy!

Well, about time for bed again - lol!

Saturday Yard Work

Jim & I spent part of the afternoon trimming dead limbs out of trees. I got to move him around the trees in the bucket of the loader. While we had the loader working Jim decided it would be a good time to clean out the gutters. Yuk, what a mess. Note the red handle behind Jim in the first picture. It is the "grabber" that Mom got us one year. It's amazing the odd things we find to use it for.

G'G'ma

Gads, Diana says she was sore and that we kept her busy. Well we did do that and she did a fine job EXCEPT messing up over the box we needed for Dads new TV. Oh well, she made arrangements for Comcast to come today, they came 3 hours early, and now we have great reception in the den/spare room.
As Diana wrote she and Lori went to Solomons Castle and we rested and slept as they wore us out too.

Castle

Lori & I had a good time at Solomon's Castle. It was in the middle of absolutely nowhere in Ona. When I left to come home, I went through the charming towns of Hull and Nocatee where there was not much more than a convenience store. I did drive through Arcadia and can't figure out what all the fuss is about the place. I have no desire to go back and explore. Anyway, here are a few pictures of the place.

Sore

My muscles are sore today from lifting and toting TVs, computers, and furniture. But I think all the technology issues are settled for the time being. Got Mom's new external hard drive sync'd with hr files and it works like a dream. It is a "portable" so it doesn't need an electrical outlet.

Mom bought a new LCD HDTV for the guest room. I tried to hook it up, but couldn't get a signal. Called Comcast and learned it needs a box. Someone is coming today to install it this afternoon.

Lori and I are driving to Ona, FL, to see "Solomon's Castle." He's an artist who built the exterior with discarded printing plates from the local newspaper. She and Brian have been there before, but Lori was in a wheelchair and wants to see the parts she missed. I've never heard of it, so it should be interesting. Then it's home for me and packing for our trip to Dayton and points north.

took bait

You got me hooked and this is and will be interesting. Love you all.

Busy, busy

The twins and I had lots of outings this week. Lunch with a friend Tuesday, grocery shopping yesterday, and lunch with an ex-coworker today. In fact, we also stopped by Scott's aunt's office while in Midland, and then ventured over to do some shopping in Saginaw. I talked to Aunt Di while on the road - the babies had fallen asleep so I just let them have their afternoon nap in the car.

We're heading over to GR on Saturday morning to visit my friend/former roommate, Tricia (she was one of my bridesmaids,) and her husband and 3-month old boy/girl twins. They have a pontoon boat and a kegorator, so it should be a good time. How lucky am I that one of my best friends had boy/girl twins, too? We're planning a trip to the lake over Labor Day as well, and cannot wait until the twins are older and can really play together. Just like we used to.

Ft. Myers

Hi all from Ft.Myers. I came down on Tuesday as I planned. Yesterday, Mom & I tackled signing up for Comcast Cable and DVR and high speed internet. We picked up the equipment because I was confident I could hook it up myself.

I did, mostly. I changed the modem location to their guest room but ended up calling Comcast because I couldn't get the connection CD to work. Turns out, the CD was the problem. The tech I talked to had to reset the modem. Then all was well. Got the wireless router hooked up and Mom is organizing her documents into folders.

The TV was another matter. The back of theirs didn't look like the diagram. And when I turned it on, I got the "no signal" message. Jerry helped me out on that one. I had to change the input... and a couple of other things and YAY - success.

Lori is here now and I need to make a trip to Publix.

I'm pooped!

It started last night with babysitting with the twins. While that in itself is not always tiring and the benefits far outweigh the occasional twinges, I stayed the night in Freeland and had to go to Grand Rapids this morning for a technology seminar (does that sound boring? It mostly was!) Anyway, it was 120 miles, most of it on a two-lane "highway", and I had to be there at 7:30 AM. Yawn!!! The good part was that I got out early and headed home. Ray and I then went grocery shopping (we were insanely low on everything!) and then out to dinner. As nice as that was, I almost fell asleep in my salad! Now, groceries put away, the neighbor's payroll done, and me in my jammies. So, yeah, I'm pooped.

Tuesday

I have a doctor's appointment at 10, then it's off to Ft. Myers for a few days. Eye Dr. appointment yesterday was unremarkable - no change in prescription, no new problems. THAT'S what I like to hear!

Wow

Ok, silly me, after all the fal-de-ral about the NL I wasn't sure how the blog would go over. I guess it's going well huh?? I kind of figured some people wouldn't/couldn't participate as much (no names Mom, I promise), but it's still fun keeping in touch with family.
I don't have much news ATM, just some snippets. The girls are attending summer school thru June 25th. I enrolled Anne in Pre-K since she hasn't started Kindergarten yet, but they moved her up to the K class on the 3rd day! Guess she's too smart for all the easy pre-K stuff (duh). The school boundaries for St. Joseph were changed, so the girls will be going to a different school next year. They'll be taking the bus & know enough of the kids there as many will be transferred from their present school that they won't be lonely. Of course, they make friends so quickly that I'm not worried.
Alan is doing fine, no talk of lay-offs at his work (thankfully). They DID decide to change the dress code, forbidding sweats (after 5 years!). Of course, that's ALL Alan has, so it's a mad dash to buy him some new pants as the rule is effective immediately. I can't just run to Wal*Mart & pick up some jeans for him due to his size. UGH. He HAS lost over 10 pounds, tho, and still losing. Doc wants him to lose 20 more to hopefully help lower his blood pressure.
The baby & I are doing fine. I am 25 weeks along as of today. Our c-section is already scheduled for Sept 16th so this little one will share a b-day with the twins! I have been put on Glyburide for my blood sugar as diet alone was not keeping it down. Thankfully, the pills are working, so no insulin for me! I still have to watch my carbs which is good as it has resulted in a weight loss of about 9 pounds.
Ok, 'not much news' turned into more than I thought! Love to all!!

OHHHH, I forgot to mention... looks like the kiddos & I will be in Michigan next summer (first time since we moved in '03)! Any chance of a little reunion? Maybe? I know it's a whole year away, but HEY, I'M COMING!!! Yippeeeeeee!

First word

Evan is now saying "mama." Over, and over, and OVER again. Loudly.

Be careful what you wish for.

Grilling again...

Bought ground sirloin today at Cub Foods and am making delicious burgers for us and another couple that is joining us in a bit. Still loving the weather but had to give in and turn AC in as it got up to 87 today...a bit too warm in the house w/out the air on.

Looking forward to a lovely evening of yummy food, games and lots of laughs with our new friends! :)

Sunday

Made it through the baby shower. The expectant mother's dad, my friend Rich, was sick and missed the whole thing. The event was on the big front porch of their condo building on Sand Key. There was a nice breeze, but it would have helped to have ceiling fans. At least the rain stayed away and it was a nice party. (No games:)

Yes, it really is June

It sounds lovely in Ohio but in Traverse City, it's downright chilly! There's no sitting out on the patio tonight! Jon and RaeAnn have gone to a euchre party and Dylaina, Kaelyn and I are watching TV. Funny, it doesn't feel the same as when I stay with the twins - go figure! Having a wonderful visit just the same.

Can it really be June?

So, EP and I are sitting out in our "Florida" room with all the windows in the house open - no A/C - and loving every minute of it! For those of you in the North, this doesn't sound like such a big deal, but for the Florida folks, you know how very little time you actually spend outside in FL b/c the weather is soooo hot and humid. We've been sipping coffee and chatting out here for over two hours and haven't broken a sweat (not a minor feat for those of you who know me well).

Everyone here keeps warning us that heat and humidity will come...but can it really be all that bad if it's only here for a few weeks?

In the meantime, we're planning to grill out, eat and chill on the patio as much and as often as possible! :)

Test

Test

Another First

Earlier in the week, I became a blog expert. (Well I might need a little more private tutoring) Tonight I will attend my first baby shower. I'm thinking they better have lots of Vodka. I have a few questions:
How many people get in the shower at 1 time?
Do the furniture and floors get wet?
Will someone wash my back?
Does everyone get his own towel?
What did all those people do to get so dirty?

sunny skies in Chi town

Hey family!  I'm officially an author :)  Here are some pics from my day with Jim.  I've become unemployed as of a couple weeks ago... Kurtis is temporarily on hiatus.  I've been looking for another job, but have had no luck so far.  But on gorgeous days like these, you gotta sit back and enjoy life for what it's worth!  

Results

Well, I may not be a math teacher, but I guess I can teach math! I just looked through the FCAT (state test) scores for my 7th & 8th graders. The average gain was 175 points. A gain of around 100 points is considered one year's growth. Yay for me.

Comments

Want to know how to keep track of comments made to your posts or on other posts?

Click on the comments link and then there is a link you can click on called "subscribe by email" after each post. Just click on that, and you should receive all follow up comments to that post.

Family visits

I already blogged about this on my other blog, but had a great time visiting my dad and Carolyn yesterday, as well as my younger half sister, her husband and baby Gavin. The babies all played on the mat together, and my dad was quite impressed about how well Rowan and Evan play together. They share EVERYTHING!!! Rowan was even putting the teether IN Evan's mouth at one point. The only time it didn't go so well is when Evan pulled the back of Rowan's shirt which toppled her over backwards. Totally an accident, but cry-worthy nonetheless.

Looking forward to Scott's mom coming for the weekend today. We don't have any plans, but I have a bridal shower to go to tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be yucky, so we probably won't get too crazy.

Hope ya'll have a good weekend!

Another Beautiful Day in Centerville

Working from home again this morning. Had the last injection scheduled for my back on Wednesday. It wasn't very pleasant this time; quite painful, in fact. And then I was in quite a bit of pain again yesterday. Lucky for me, Thursday is EP's day off so he was here to pamper me - and most importantly, make sure I didn't "over-do" anything. Sometimes when I take my pain meds, I feel so good I forget that I'm hurt - that is until the dosage wears off - ugh!

We've really been enjoying the weather up here. Eric and I cleaned up the patio a bit yesterday so we can enjoy the outside even more. We set up a card table and chairs so we can eat dinner and play games "outside". Can't wait to entertain!

Speaking of which, as we've mentioned, the hardest part of our move has been meeting new friends that we can "hang out" with. We've made some progress in that area as well. Eric works with a girl that moved here recently and she and her boyfriend came over for a game night a couple weeks ago and we're planning another get together soon.

Plus, I've been spending more time with our neighbor/landlord's wife. She is a Professional Organizer (uh, can you say SOUL MATE??? - lol) and specializes in paper management especially for people who work from home. She came over last Friday night and we split a bottle of wine, listened to some John Mayer and set up new home files for Eric and I. This weekend, while Eric is at work, she's coming over to go over more tips for my work filing system. I know that it may sound like a lame way to spend a Friday or Saturday night, but I'm loving it! :)

Well, I guess I better get some actual "work" done! Have a great day!

Freedom 2

I couldn't figure out how to add text once I had the pictures uploaded. I did it once, but the pics were in the wrong order, so I did it again but didn't write anything first.

Today is the first day of NO WORK. I don't have any plans but I did get an early start; up at 3:30 which gave me time to do my exercises and get in a 2-mile before the sun came up. I'll probably scan some more pictures; maybe do some shopping.

I plan to go to Ft. Myers on Tuesday afternoon and spend a few days. Mom & Dad want to get rid of their land line and get a cable modem. Wish me luck!

FREEDOM!

You must try this recipe!!

I made this when my dad and stepmom stayed for an improptu dinner tonight. Scott grilled the pork loin, I made the salads, and baked this cake:

15 ounce can of crushed pineapple, spread in a 13X9 pan
one box of yellow cake mix, spread over the pineapple
one stick of butter (I used 50% butter), use a cheese cutter to cut the butter into thin slices and place the slices all over the top of the cake mix (I did this long-ways instead of the traditional pats, and it worked just fine.)

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Oh.My.Goodness.

Yum. And took me less than 2 minutes to prepare.

Bad news, good news

I got my official letter from the state that I will be temporarily laid off for 6 days this summer. 1 day every pay period through the Labor Day holiday. Nice to have a day off but unfortunately I don't get paid for that day either.

We are getting closer to having a signed purchase agreement for our Brown Rd. house. Yipee, but I'm not celebrating yet. Has to pass some inspections & could still be a 6 week process.

Spring Day in Dayton!

BEAU-ti-ful day here in Dayton! Mid 70's and lots of sun. Here's a pic of Mozart playing outside. He's currently taking a nap but enjoyed his time outside earlier!

Only 13 days until we get to see Mom and Dad!!

I can't believe I've lived this long......

and never had a facial!! That was rectified today however, when I pampered myself with a new haircut and style and a facial. I had a guy do my hair and his shampoo was the BEST I've ever had. He actually massaged my head all over including my neck muscles with strong fingers. OMG, I was in heaven. And then I had the facial! It just got better and better and better. And yes, Tracy, I was told I have amazing skin, too! Thanks for the push to do this. What a fabulous day!

Happy hump-day!

Showings are over (please make offer...please make offer...please make offer...), house is clean, and today is a golf day. I'm loving it!

I did just have to scold my daughter, though. She keeps pulling her aids out (Evan is wearing a cap.) When do you think they understand the word "no" (nevermind actually listening to it), and how do you get a good "mom" face?

Aunt Di - yay!!! No more kids!!!

Time

Tracy,
Why is the time wrong on my post? It is now 7:49 a.m. Look at the time on the posting.

Boxes

I finally figured it out - how to get the "boxes" tab on Facebook. You click and hold on the little pencil in the upper right corner of the things to the left of the comments. You have a choice to remove the item or move it to the "Boxes" tab. If you don't have it, one is created FOR you. Geez, that one had me stumped. Yay for me.

Wow - even Dad can do it!

It must be easy! I'm excited to be moving the NL into the 21st century - I think it will be easier to write more. Today is one of my days off - and I'll be spending some of it making my car an official Ohio-an. Kinda sad, but also excited....

It's great to see so many people on here, and hope it continues!

OOPS. I meant Blogs, not bogs nor hogs nor pigs.

I'm a Blogger

This is a great idea. It makes sense in so many ways. Thanks, Tracy, for your work. It will, however, be a cold day in hell before I start "twittering".
I have been looking forward to today for months: The last day of school. Hopefully Di will have a better spot next year. It has been a rough year for her (and therefore me). Stress is not good.
Keep those bogs flowing. I will be reading, if not writing.

Another showing!

We now have TWO showings tonight! Yay!

Aunt Di, we're selling to the first person that offers, regardless of how quickly we have to be out. :) We'll all bunk up somewhere if need be.

Question - I get notification anytime a new blog post is uploaded via email. Do we want to forward these out to those who are not reading the blog, or not? It will be a cold day in hell before I send out another email asking that question. :) I also get notification when somebody leaves a comment on a blog post...do you want me to forward these to the post author, or are ya'll going back and checking your posts for comments?

Glad you are finding this easy to use. Yay us!

Ray finally had a trailer to deliver to New York, but he took a friend with him to share the driving so instead of being gone 2-1/2 days, he'll be home in 1-1/2. But I had TWO alone nights planned (whine). I LOVE sleeping with the windows open again.

Oh, Happy Day.

I got 5.5 hours of sleep last night and today is the last day of school with students!!!

Loving the new Family Blog!

This is a great idea and I love the pictures! I look forward to spending more time sharing what's going on with us in Dayton!

Life at the Miller's

What do I post about here when I have the other blog? Oh well...I'll figure out something.

We have a showing tomorrow night. It's our 7th. Wish us luck!

Picture

Jason took this picture of me in 1985. Geez, I look young (oh, I was.)

Monday Moanin'

It's rotten to spoil a very beautiful weekend with Monday work! But what a great weekend...watched the munchkins on Saturday, then shopped (alone - a rare luxury these days - with a retiree always lurking around looking for something to do). On Sunday, we shopped for plants, then planted tomatoes - a couple of those Topsy-Turvey things and three in newly laid topsoil to fill in holes around the yard. Hopefully, Ray won't mow them down. I'm all out of canned tomatoes so will need to put up 40 - 50 quarts this fall. Whew!

Aren't the munchkins adorable? Have a great week everyone!