Notables

As I've spent the last week (as many of Americans have) watching and listening to the financial crisis in this country. Honestly, sometimes I wish I was ignorant. I know it's better to be aware and help effect change but this stress is getting to many of us. So I dedicate this blog to the hundreds of words of wisdom from many wonderful people in my life. I have incorporated so many of their advice into my life and try to take their lessons with me daily. I want to share some of them - some are related to stress and dealing with it and some are just wise and worth sharing. Please feel free to share your favorites.

Roger Brewer (God rest his soul): "Surround yourself with good people."
Nancy K (and I have a wealth of stuff from her): "You can't control what people do. The only thing you can control is how you react to it."
My Dad: "If you lose say little, if you win say less."
My Dad: "It's better to have a lot of good friends than one best friend."
My mom - although not a direct quote: put others first, be kind.

And of course, from the Bible:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

You all are going to love this!

Today, evidently, was Drive Your Tractor to School Day at DCHS. My mom called me completely hysterical after she dropped Ryan off this morning because she got there and was very puzzled until Ryno very matter-of-factly told her what day it was. Steve sent me some pictures from his camera phone, but I'm not able to upload them, and sweet Cyndi drove by and took these shots because I wanted to share it with all of you who have Cokato blood or understand Cokato blood. Funny stuff. FWIW, Stevey sure wishes he had a tractor today. And I quote, "but lets be honest, id love to have a john deere and be all awesome like the farmers. and carry my coffee mug around all day. id be pumped." Now we'll find out if he reads my blog.

Okay, and are you kidding me? Who's the wise guy? Thanks for making my day! (Blow this one up if you have to to see the little tykes tractor next to the combine. Totally worth it.)

The Too-Cute-Not-To-Post picture

Here it is. Come on...!

Biggest Loser Junkie

I love this show. I'm so glad there's more than one season per year. Sure, it's a little unrealistic weight loss by "real world" standards, but it's inspirational none the less. My notes from this week's episode:

1. Felt good to take a break from CNN and the whole economy mess and the election. Is it November 4th yet?

2. I love Bob Harper.

3. LT: (not a direct quote) "I came to a fat loss show and I gained three pounds. Wouldn't you be mad if you went to a makeover show and they made you uglier?!" I don't know if it's his east coast accent, but that CRACKED me up!

4. I don't have a favorite yet. Stay tuned.

I'm also looking forward to The Office, and Grey's Anatomy. Oh, and Presidential Debate #1.

Seeking Vacation Suggestions

Cory and I are considering a winter vacation with the kids in January or February. I'd like to go to Florida because we get a) planeride b) Disney and c) the ocean. We spent one night this summer with out kids in a hotel room and have no desire to do that again. This time I want bedroom doors that close so the kids (and their parents) sleep well! Happy kids = fun days, right? In fact, we're now considering renting a vacation condo. It's overwhelming to begin that process, so I thought I'd reach out to my network. Chances are there is someone out there who has a great suggestion to help us make that decision. Thanks in advance for your input!

*Yawn*

I realize that I'm slacking in my blog entries. It's just that I'm so tired! Thanking God that I've been very busy working with buyers and sellers the past two weeks, so I haven't had time to catch up on here. Goal for this week: take a too-cute-to-not-post picture of my babies. That'll work. XOXO

Sleepy, Honey?

Cory's addicted to Advil. I keep telling him he should quit, but he figures it's good for every ailment. So he takes it frequently. I buy it in the econo-size...I don't know...300 or so in a bottle? Anyway, about a week ago I cleaned behind my bathroom mirror in an effort to organize everything in this house (figure it'll take me 10 or 12 years). Embarrassed to say I haven't cleaned behind that mirror in the three years we've lived here. In the process, I threw out all expired medication. Included: Vicks vapo-steam, Aspirin, unopened Vitamin D, Tylenol PM. I made a little list of things to replace. Then I remembered an ad for Advil PM and knowing my hubbie's said addiction, I thought...hmm...oughtta try that. So I picked up a small bottle of it at Target. Four days pass. Last night I was brushing my teeth and think to mention to Cory, "Hey, I replaced the Tylenol PM that had expired with Advil PM. Thought you might like that." You know that look of confusion, then registration, then hilarity, then embarrassment? My dear, sweet husband has been liberally taking Advil PM for all of his aches and pains, real and imagined for FOUR DAYS! The label says (which we could hardly read through our laughter) "Do not take more than two tablets in 24 hours." Cory was taking them three and four at a time. Sleepy much, darling? (Which leads me to wonder...do they work? Wonder how much of that is psychological?) Explains the snoozing during his Fire Systems class on Monday afternoon, I guess.

What a Fire Smells Like

Can you smell the stink on this guy? Cory came home from a fire (an actual fire, which, yes, he put out with the help of his crew) and REEKED like fire last night. He was on a high for quite a few hours afterwards. As the wife of a firefighter, I very seldom give much thought to what he does. He leaves for a call and unless it's the middle of the night and he's gone too long, I don't think about what he's doing. I'm so proud of him and his line of work and someday I'll post a picture of him in action. It is a goal of mine to chase a fire truck someday and get close enough to the fire to take a picture. No easy task. First of all, I'm not dragging the kids out of bed. Second of all, in all the "good" fires, they make us stay pretty far back. Hmph. Someday, though, the boys are gonna see their poppa in action. It's pretty amazing. Plus who doesn't love turnout gear (as Ellen would say, "Am I right, ladies?!") Stinky, but adorable.

Courtesy of Cole

All moms have spaghetti pictures, right? This one is courtesy of Cole. Thanks for your help today, too, Laura, couldn't have done it without you!

God Bless America!

I got the privilege of attending a Rememberance Ceremony at the fire station today. As expected , the chief did a great job. It's a day to honor the fallen and remember their sacrifice. More than that, even, it's a day to remember to celebrate our freedom and thank the men and women who work hard every day to protect that. As the chief said, it's important for us to remember this day every day by living a life of service. The most touching moment for me was when they rang the 5 - 5 - 5 on the fire bell. In the past, before radio communciation, that was the tone for a fallen firefighter. Five rings, a pause, five rings, a pause, and then five rings. Thank you to those 343 firefighters who gave their lives seven years ago, and to their families who gave them. Thank you to all the people who sacrificed their lives, both in emergency service and otherwise. I am grateful every day to live in this amazing country and try not to take for granted that this freedom isn't free. To those of you who continue to serve...with all my heart...thank you. God bless America!

PS Thank you to John McCain and Barack Obama for putting your differences aside today. I appreciated the unity.

Who's this big kid and what happened to Cole?

I picked Cole up after school today and couldn't believe what a sixth grader looked like? Seriously, who's the kid with the rock-n-roll tshirt and looks 15? What happened to itty bitty Cole? Boy - the little boys were thrilled to see him. He's doing great in middle school and growing up so fast. All those cliches are true, you know!

Happiness

"Happiness is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it eludes you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder." - Thoreau

Speaking of "Peace"

Check out my three year old. He insisted on taking off his shirt once he got the sunglasses on, but I confess that the peace sign was really my idea. He caught on quickly and told me, "No, Mom, I do this. I'm free [three]!"

Mindi

Always Forever and No Matter What. Peace and I love you.

One more then I'm done, I promise.

Mindi - love the shorts. Peg - how handy...your camera case doubles as a cig holder. Note mine in my breast pocket. Okay, I'm done seriously. (Poor Steph, drawn in for no particular reason. Please tell her I'm sorry. At least she looks cute!)

Game on.

The game. Mindi, why so angry? Didja lose or something?

Guilty Pleasure Admission 1

Run's House. Love it. Oh, don't judge me...this is the first of many admissions, I'm sure. :) Besides, who doesn't have one or two??

Arizona

Julie - remember you?! Of course! (Sorry this picture scanned so dark; none of us had digital cameras in the mid-90s...heehee)

Happy Birthday, Maylee!

It's my neice Maylee's fifth birthday today! Cory and I took her and the little boys to the MOA this morning...very fun day. I hope the rest of it was special, too...many more happy happy birthdays - we love you!

My new thoughts

Okay, so I've been thinking about this for a couple days re: the election. How much of our decision who we support is simply based on our gut? I finally understand how the anti-Obama people feel...if you feel like I feel about Sarah Palin. I already said I thought her speech was good. But from a deep-down place, I don't like her as a VP candidate (nothing against her as a woman or a mom). I don't trust her. I think she's underqualified. And it mostly comes from a non-rational place...my gut. If you've read the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (and if you haven't, you should), there's something to be said for that instinct. It's valid to listen to it and make our decisions based on it.

It'll continue to be an interesting couple months, I'm sure!

Sarah's Speech

Well done, Governor. Nicely written, exceptionally delivered, uncomfortably vicious. I understand your nickname now. Mindi - you gotta be excited :)

Reminder

You know how sometimes you get a reminder from God? Tonight I was driving along, feeling kind of stressed for my Sellers...it's hard to sell your house in this market. In the midst of feeling anxious about what additional things I can do to help them, I look up and see this. No rain, a beautiful crisp day. And I remember my parents telling me that a rainbow is a sign that God won't ever flood the earth again. And this rainbow, I think, was reminding me that God will take care of us. His way. I love those reminders. Now...anyone in the market for a townhome in Plymouth?

Gracias, Amigos!

Thanks for our new roof! It looks really good. I really hope the one of you who took a step through a vent hole and cracked my ceiling is okay. Boy it sure was surprising to see all of that popcorn ceiling raining down when I was making dinner! But seriously, thanks for all your hard work today...of course it rained for the first time in a week the day you were scheduled to be here. Glad you found some room to stay dry in my miserably cluttered-with-kids-riding-toys garage. :)

Sarah Palin

Boy, there's a lot of crap floating around about her in the blogosphere! I'm anxious to hear from her and about her at the RNC this week (although I read rumors that she won't be speaking??). I'm trying really really hard to withhold judgement and wait until she's had a chance to make her case, but I sure wish she'd hurry up! She's getting smothered by the allegations online before she's getting a chance. Come on, Sarah, show us your stuff...

Good-bye, Summer...

Dear Summer, thank you for coming. Your visit was greatly appreciated after the visit of your brother Winter that we had last year (didn't see my neighbors for so many long, cold months.). Thanks for the sunshine and the long days, we'll miss you!

Prayers for Gustav's victims...

I cannot understand why one would choose to live in a place that frequently gets hurricanes. Or earthquakes. Okay, I guess I can see that because then you get CALIFORNIA! I'd take CA with earthquakes. I'll take a random tornado any day (but I may re-post about this when it's sub-zero in January). But that's not my point. I'm sending prayers for those in this storm - that they stay safe and that those who left get to return home soon. For those of you from "my board" who have evacuated...my continued prayers. Stinkin' storm.

Happy Labor Day!

I've lived for 31 Labor Days. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't know what we were celebrating today, so I looked it up. According to Wikipedia,

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working citizens".

My thanks to the Central Labor Union. And to all of you who work hard to support yourselves and the ones you love. Happy Labor Day...have a barbeque!