Monday, August 30, 2010

Do plants eat meat?

Hailey got new books.  They are like Encyclopedias for young kids.  They are educational and she really likes them.  They have cool pictures and SIMPLE explanations.
I like these.........

Here look inside.......

Hailey likes Egyptian stuff......


This is one of Hailey's favorites, she likes lizards.......

 
Hailey really likes that blue tongued Skink in the upper right corner.  She giggles when she sees it!

While I do not home school, I do not see any reason not to try and help my daughter with her education.  We have been enjoying them.  As she is just starting 1st grade Mom has to help her read them, a lot of words are beyond her yet.  She picks a few more up all the time though.

I think these books will serve her well for quite a few years.  There are like 20 of them, and she also got some educational software for the computer. 

These books are put together by The Southwestern Company and published by Miles Kelly Publishing LTD.

Gentrie

(Disclaimer, these book companies do not know me and have no idea I am writing this blog.  I just think the books are awesome.  Thanks!)

Friday, August 27, 2010

Window cleaner.......What's that?

What I saw when I looked out the window tonight..........I think I need to wash my windows!

Gentrie

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Tires & NASCAR..

Tomorrow is Friday yeah!!!!  This week was rough.....I'm glad it's almost over!  Ever have one of those weeks?  I suddenly got buried at work.  Now I'm up to my eyebrows in work.

I was so privileged this weekend as to use my spare tire for the first time EVER on my truck (7-1/2 years).  Yeah, Mark really enjoyed putting on too, I'm sure.  Although he did comment on the cool system Ford has for carrying their spares on their trucks.  I think his word may have been 'Slick'.  I'm glad he was doing it though, them 16" tires are HEAVY!!!  Whew!

Hailey is watching a cartoon about car racing dogs on TV.  Does this mean she'll love NASCAR?

HHHHMMMM...........


Gentrie

Friday, August 20, 2010

BLT's with M

Tonight it's one of my summertime favorites for dinner!  Here are the players:

BLT's!!!!!!!!

Toasted whole wheat bread, Mayo thinly spread on both sides, bacon, tomato thinly sliced, crispy lettuce.........and eat!

YUUUUUUMMMMMMMYYYYYYY!

Of course, Mark had to have corn on the cob.........AGAIN!

It IS wonderfully sweet and juicy good, BUT I can only eat it so many nights in a row......

Gentrie

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Some wishes do come true.......

Hey look, the broken TV is fixed.  This morning I turned it on and hit eject.  A ruined movie ejected and it has worked ever since!!! 


I guess it needed a time out too!

Gentrie

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

No more TV.....

Our TV broke tonight.  Mark is grouchy about it, I'm not sure why though since he'll just go upstairs and watch something up there.  Hailey and I are the ones that won't get to watch it anymore.  I'm hoping with a little rest tonight and all day tomorrow, whatever is bothering it will remedy itself and ....poof.....it will be fine. 

(I know, wishful thinking.)  It's not like I watch a lot of TV, but I do have certain shows I like to watch. 

Why is it that men are allowed to get pissy about things breaking and be grouchy whenever they want but women can't?  When a woman gets grouchy or pissy about something then its a major catastrophe.  Why are you so GROUCHY?  Quit being such a GROUCH!  (I'm saying these in my best snotty 6 year old voice I have.)

I love my husband, but you know what?  I think he PROJECTS his grouchiness on me a lot.  Now I am grouchy though......he projected it right on over here and look........it stuck!  YUCK!


I think I need to go meditate!

(HA!  I wish this were me!  :)  )

Gentrie

Monday, August 16, 2010

De-clutterfying

I'm not sure that is actually a word.  I'm using it anyway.  I am going to get rid of shit.  Is that more clear?  Not as poetic though, I know.

We are a small family of three and I can't believe the crap we have.  I was looking around our house the other day......really no need for a lot of it.  I have reciepts and tax returns from when I was in high school!!!  Mark wants to do a bonfire, and now the weather is cooling off enough to do that one of these evenings.  My point to that stement is that a lot of that old paperwork will be going in that bonfire.

I'm downsizing in more ways than one.  Hailey has a bunk bed that is a full size bed on bottom and twin on top.  We are selling it.  She only needs a twin bed, I know why we bought the bunk bed.......unfortunately that scenario has passed and it takes up a lot of room in her bedroom.  I have clothes in my closet I have not worn for years, other things floating around our house that we do not need.

I'm feeling like we need to downsize and get rid of a lot.  Am I nesting, or what is going on with me........I can't stand to look at it anymore. 

City wide garage sales are coming up in September again......guess what.......it's all going out the door!

Gentrie

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Memories, friends and sewing rooms

So yesterday Mark and I dropped Hailey off at a friends house to stay the night and then we headed north to Minneapolis.  We were on a machine to meet up with some old (they are not old.....our friendship is) friends of mine.  I distinguish them as mine because I have known LeeAnn since high school days.  Mark was introduced to LeeAnn at her wedding.  Which was a sad day for me because shortly after her wedding she headed to Minnesota with her new hubby!  I was lost!

All is good again as we are now (by some LARGE and unknown twist of fate) in Minnesota also.  Although, we are still lots of painful hours away from each other!  So they were in the cities for a conference and as we are only 1-1/2 hours away we said (translation: I) said we'll be there by the time you are done!

Here is a photo of a photo of us in our younger days...

LeeAnn and I were inseparable......attached at the hip.......finished each others sentences.......very very close.
Ironically our lives have managed to parallel each others in weird other worldly ways and we often discuss this unnatural phenomenon.  We were meant to be friends for life, we both know it.  Even though we only physically talk to each other once every few months, the Internet has brought us back close together again.

We got back late last night and slept in this morning.  It was nice, I miss her already!

On another note, my sewing room is STILL torn apart!!  I can't get to anything because it's all crammed in one tiny room off my sewing room.  Frustrating!  My goal is to have this issue righted by the end of next week.

This is my sewing room in the basement without the disgusting carpet that was once there...


Here's the contents of my sewing room so closterphobically crammed into the tiny bar room!
There is a sewing machine in there somewhere.  Don't worry friend I am going to dig you out again!
I PROMISE!  I MISS YOU!


Gentrie

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Re-connection

I went to Quilt Guild tonight, and as is our tradition, went out to Perkins afterward with THE GROUP.  I want you to know I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.  I missed them.  It has been 2 months before tonight and on the way home I vowed to never miss another meeting.

Do you have friends like this?  Or a group like this?  Someone or somewhere you go or visit that all is right with the world and laughing is inescapable?

I love "Our Cult"  as one of my friend's son called us.

XXOOXXOO to my cult friends!

Love you guys........

Gentrie

Monday, August 9, 2010

Drama, Drama, Drama

Hailey and I went to our local library Saturday morning.  It's very small, but we can have books brought in from any library in the county.........so really it's quite BIG!


We walked because we live in a small town and the library is really only about two blocks from our house (in a 'round the corner kind of way).  I took back two books I have read and we checked out some movies and more books.  (I already finished mine.  I read way too fast....) I also like the fact that we can check out current movies for 1 week for free!  Gotta love a library card!

We took pictures of the pretty flowers in front of the library....they were so nice.

This is the picture Hailey took.....

I took this one......

and this one......

Hailey likes to play games on the computer for a while.......
She's concentrating.....this one had to do with reading I think....

Then we headed home and Hailey asked if she could take a picture of spongebob on TV......um no.  But you can take a picture of something else, just two, that's all honey.  OK, (as she giddly takes the precious camera) only two pictures.  She runs upstairs.

Later that same day..................

(and it would seem about 20 pictures later)  Mom did get her camera back.  Most of the pictures were of spongebob and patrick on tv, there were a few others though....................


and.........



Did I mention there is a lot of drama in our house?

Lots



Gentrie

Friday, August 6, 2010

Oh where oh where has my little dog gone...........

I have had the oddest songs floating through my head tonight.  Everything from Mozart to 30's swing to chidren's songs.  It's been very odd.  Hailey and I have been dancing around the kitchen like goof balls to Mom singing whatever pops into her head.

Hey!  We finally got the house cooled back down.  It's been getting into the low 60's the last couple nights and we finally got the house temp back down to 72.  It's supposed to get stinky hot again though this weekend so we'll see how long that will last.  I'm enjoying it right now though!!!!

Maybe we'll go swimming at the pool tomorrow.  Hailey loves to go swimming, sometimes I wish we had an outdoor pool though, they are nice in the summer.

I do need to clean my house though........yick!  I did a major cleaning last weekend so I just need to do superficial cleaning now.  Did I tell you I cleaned out Hailey's room while she was gone?  Two bags of STUFF (translation....toys) went to good will.  (hehehehe)  She hasn't even noticed.  I knew she wouldn't.  Mom is so sneaky!!

Hailey and Mark have been wrestling a lot......making up for lost time.  A few calls have been made to Santa already ratting out one or the other.  Feet have been sniffed......(don't ask).

And.......we are back to watching TV upside down again........

Yep......that is a tattoo on her chest.  It's been there for weeks, the others have come off.

Gentrie

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Really about nothing.......

Hi!  I'm coming back online!  I had a break from my computer.  I'm back now though.  Guess who else is back?!?!



I think I mentioned this in my last post.  I just wanted to put a picture in of her.  It's a Mom thing.  Looking back I did not post any pics of Elli leaving though.  I have airport shots.  Wait.......here are a couple!

Elli checking bags at the airport......(we had to move a few things around so BOTH bags would be under 50lbs!)  Airports will do anything to charge you more money!


Elli getting ready to go through the security line.  We couldn't go to her gate with her (we might try to hijack something or something).  You know us crazy Midwesterners!

We miss Elli.

One thing about Hailey being home......I don't have to worry about my house being too clean anymore!  Yep, the clutter has returned.  Toys, shoes, clothes, toys everywhere.  They are everywhere!  What sucks is it's too hot to play outside for long.  The humidity is crazy and the heat is crazier.  We did manage a night at the fair.  and get this, our air conditioner broke, puked out!  It's been 80 degrees in this house for about two weeks straight I think.

HOT!  YUCK!  I need to get my basement back together and move the TV down there so I can be relatively cool.  Can I move my kitchen down there too?  Way to hot to actually COOK up here.  We had tacos tonight by the way.  YUM!

OK, so see you guys next time...I promise to get back on it!

Gentrie

Monday, August 2, 2010

It's been a while....

I think this is the longest I've ever gone without blogging.  I took a time out.  Sometimes adults need timeouts too.

Hailey is home!  I could tell she was torn between coming home and staying at Grandma's!  Good to see Mom, I missed her........Grandma's house is way more fun!  I could tell Grandma was BEAT though......she needed a timeout!  Hailey is a bundle of energy and go, go, go.  It's a little like having the energizer bunny in the house sometimes.  Of course Dad is NO help, he just eggs her on.

Have I ever told you it is like I live with two kids and not just one?  They wrestle and fight and bicker and squeal (well Hailey squeals mostly.....I have heard Mark squeal once or twice too though)!  The chaos has returned.  No more quiet, on the up side......no more boredom.  Life is definitely not boring with those two in the same house!

Well, better get going.....just wanted to drop a quick note and let you all know I'm still here!


Gentrie