The M&M Club

I used to eat peanut M&Ms every day. It was my afternoon snack. So people started buying me them for my birthday and just to bribe me to do something for them at work. This started to spiral out of control when I started getting M&M gifts (not just the candy). I now own this collection of M&M things that are displayed on my office file cabinet. Everyone who walks in goes "so you like M&M's" and I have to explain that I USED to but now like dark chocolate and I really don't eat the m&ms anymore. I admit it is a conversation starter but I am not sure I want that conversation.




Then people started bringing me gifts from other countries. I have several items from China, a sheep from England, a loch ness monster from Scotland. I have my OU Sooner dog on a couch too. My latest addition is a Mr. Potato Head Braves figurine. I saw a couple other people with these for other teams and I knew I had to have it. It was my impulse buy but had to wait a week for it to arrive. It now serves as the separator between the M&Ms and outsiders.

Topsy Turvy

Well we finally did it. The Topsy Turvy from tv was bought and now has two tomato plants in it. Not only did we have to buy the thing ($9.99 from Walgreens) plus two tomato plants ($4) and 40 lbs of top soil ($2) and a hanging stand ($10) because it wouldn't get enough sun hanging from the awning. I expect 30 pounds of tomatoes in 60 days.



Unpacking the box and reading directions


Hand filling it with dirt per directions


Hanging in the back corner of the yard for the perfect amount of sun


Pouring in the one gallon of water slowly per directions


The finished product

Life is just a blur

Do you remember when you were a kid how long a school year felt? You never thought it would end and you couldn't wait until you were a year older. And now that you are an adult time flies by so fast you wish you could just slow it down. It's the end of April already and that leaves one more month of Whitney being a sophomore in high school. Just a few months until I have another birthday and last year's seems so close by. Another summer vacation to plan when we just got back from one at Christmas (ok that one isn't too far behind us). The weekends go by so fast that you wonder what did I do with my time. Did I accomplish anything with that time? Even time at work seems to pass by quickly. Will I ever be able to clean off my desk so you can actually see the wood or will I continue to live out of piles? Is there time to take to go outside on a beautiful sunny day to enjoy some of it? How do you slow down time to make sure and enjoy it? Or are we all just destined to move through it like the speed of sound?

Touch a Truck

Dan and I went to the Farmer's Market this morning and at the fairgrounds was the annual "Touch a Truck" fundraiser for the children's section of the library. This is a huge event where children can see, touch, climb and all around play with trucks/cars/vans of all types. The big hit is being able to blow the sirens in the police cars and the horns on the semi-trucks.





The radar truck is actually from my work. We have three of them. Needless to say there were lots of little boys. We knew our nephew Noah would have had a blast and we would never have gotten out of there. Dan thinks he needs to fly here for next year's event but I bet they have one closer to Spokane somewhere.

Being Outvoted

I have been officially outvoted by my family in our car search. Now that Whitney is driving we need to get a second car that she can drive. My 1997 Dodge Stratus is a stick and she hasn't learned that. It has a multitude of other problems but since I drive it about 500 miles a month, it really isn't a big deal. So we first thought we would buy a second SUV similar to what we currently have and then the three of us would share the two cars. When Whitney went to college she could then have one of the cars and we would get "my" car. Unfortunately I can't seem to make up my mind and find something that works in the price range I want to pay. So the second option was for Dan to get a new car and I would get his Honda CRV and then Whitney would take that when she graduated and I would get a new car. Of course, I could not commit to that either.

So now comes the outvoted part. Dan is going to teach Whitney how to drive the stick and she will have my car. He will get some better tires (pretty bald right now) and then she can drive it to school and work. I am supposed to go pick out my dream car because I have been told I no longer have a car. This came as a shock to me because now I have to figure out what I want and actually go buy it. So I have to car shop (that is almost as bad as clothes shopping but not quite). And I don't have a lot of time because I'm borrowing Whitney's car now.

Growing Old

We all grow older but most of the time we really don't feel it. I actually feel younger now than I did ten years ago. I'm taking better care of my body and it shows. However, there is one part of your body that you really can't control the aging: your eyes. Your eyes won't repond to better diet or more exercise. They do what they want to do. I started wearing glasses when I was ten for near-sightedness. Then I moved to contacts when I was 21. When I turned 40 I had Lasik so I could see clear all the time. What a wonderful moment that was. But this past week, age has caught up to me. I now need reading glasses. I work on a computer all day and the screen would get a little blurry. You have to move the newspaper farther away to read the little print. And numbers on my spreadsheets would start looking the same (not good when I try and balance millions of dollars). So today I am sporting a fantastic pair of reading glasses. I asked the eye doctor if the generic ones would work and he said you could try. So with the help of Dan and Whitney I picked out a $8 pair at Walmart. So far so good. And Dan thinks they look pretty hot too. (Sorry Whitney for that comment).

What do you take if you have to evacuate

Last week we had a range of wildfires all around us. Lucky for us they were several miles away and not coming towards us but terrible for those affected. One of the things you do in a situation like that is mentally prepare for what do you take if you have to leave your house and never see anything else in it again. I made a list so I wouldn't forget anything. You know that less than 5 minutes you have to shove everything in a car moment. So my list was something like photos, family videos, jewelry, change of clothes. The last thing on my list humored Dan. The only reason I wrote it down was because Whitney told me to. It was to take Abby. Now Abby is as much a part of the family as any of us. And I would never forget her. But Dan kept the note just in case something happens in the future we know not to forget Abby.

Walt Disney World and Children

We are watching home movies tonight and we picked out the time we went to DisneyWorld for Thanksgiving in 2000. This was our second trip to Disney. Whitney was 8 this time (first time she was 6). I believe that the time between 6-8 is the perfect time to go with a child. The sense of wonder in their eyes and enjoyment is so worth the money. We went for Christmas this last year and while we had an amazing time it was definitely different with a 16 year old. So for all you readers out there, I recommend the early elementary age for Disney. Of course, I'm thinking the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's look like good ages too.

For more on children at Disney, go look at Dan's blog with photos from this past year.

Interesting Things at Work

I work at the National Weather Center and we have a huge variety of people who work here. So the attached flyer should be an indication of what happens here. It's not every business that has its own brass band.

For Hannah

This post is for Hannah. I finally got my purple nails so took a picture just for you. Happy Easter!

Abby - What I'll Do For Love

Abby is probably one of the sweetest dogs you would ever meet. She loves Dan so much she follows him everywhere. In the morning if he takes Whitney to school, Abby usually will get to come. So about 15 minutes before she knows Whitney is leaving, she starts stalking Dan. She will push open the bedroom door and sit there so he can't go anywhere without her knowing it. She recognizes the sound of a big glass of ice because that means Dan will be driving somewhere so she wants to come along. Dan has even made her a special bed in his office so she can be near him. Now that the sun isn't coming in the back windows anymore, she really likes staying with him.


She will even jump up on a hard wooden bench and be close to the guitar just to be with him.

Pom Mom

Whitney made the varsity pom team yesterday so now I'm really officially a pom mom. What does a pom mom do you may wonder? First I have to make sure all the uniforms fit properly so that means a trip to Kim's Alterations. Then there is the pom gifts for camp. The last two years I've been on the bag group which entails making sure the girls like the bags to carry their shoes and water bottles and make them unique. Then there is the golf tournament. I've gotten away without doing anything the last two years for this because it is a varsity event, but now I have to do something. I hate being outdoors and of course the end of May in Oklahoma is not kind to fair skinned people. I'm not sure exactly what job I will have to do but I'll find out this week. Then there is finding four golfers who want to play at $100/each and $400 worth of hole sponsors. And of course I will become a faithful fan of Norman Tiger football and basketball.

All this being said, I am very proud of Whitney and what she has accomplished. When she sets her mind to something, she is unbeatable.


******UPDATE******

Once again, I am the bag lady for pom. Wonder I can make it four for four next year?

Another one bites the dust

Another pound lost its fight with Tracy! I'm now at 8.4% lost. The person in first place sent out an email listing in great detail what he has done to lose all his weight. A total lifestyle change with changing his eating habits and starting to run. I haven't even started to add exercise so I guess maybe I should.