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August 27, 2006
May all your days be as fine as this one was.
Cool new Irish toast? I had the BEST day yesterday! My dad had called a couple of days ago to tell us he was taking us on an adventure. We had to be at his house at dawn on Saturday (8 am), dressed as we usually are. By the way, this is an AWESOME torture technique for small boys – the military ought to look into it. So, with our imaginations fired up, we arrived at my dad’s house to find that he bought a gi-normous motorhome. We cackled with glee. I hereby vow to never sleep in a tent again. We drove the motorhome over to Cape Girardeau to get gas (gas is usually ten cents or more cheaper in Missouri). The thing is just great – it is about 20 years old but in perfect condition. Want to know the scary part? *I* drove it back. Y’all had no idea how much you should have been fearing for your lives if you were on the road with me. Did I mention that I have no depth perception thanks to having only one good eye? I only drove it on the highway – Dad drove it into our little town with little streets. Picture in the Gallery.
Once I realized that we would be home at a reasonable time, I conned my stepmother into going to Paducah with me. It still cracks me up that I can visit three states in one day (five if I wanted to work a little harder). So, with the boys fishing with their dad, Doris and I set out to do some damage at the closest yarn shop around. It is only 45 minutes but far enough away that I won’t be going to the poor house for it. We spent nearly two hours with the owner in fiberly bliss that only another addict would understand. I got some fabulous wool top for spinning that is handpainted in my favorite colorway (you don’t have to fully understand that shop talk – just know that it was the equivalent of buying some really good crack cocaine). On our way home, Doris and I stopped at an antique type mall which is also like crack to me but the best part was that I left with every bit of my money in my pocket (opposite of my goal for the yarn shop!).
I got home and rocked on my front porch swing and spun on my drop spindle for two hours listening to my favorite bluesy playlist. See the pretty by clicking here. As soon as it cooled off I went for a 3 mile run. When I got home, I realized that I had broken through my first weight goal and have now lost 20 of the 30 pounds I have been wanting to take off for about three years. That just capped off one of the best days I have had in a while (and they have not been bad either).
Today will be back to the grind – throw some dancing music on and clean house. Later, my ex is coming over and I am helping him bathe/dip his cats. Much hilarity will ensue. We may need pictures. Hmmmm. Not a bad idea.
Posted by DebC at 11:30 AM | Comments (2)
August 20, 2006
Peach Cobbler
Okay class, get out your pencils. If you do not eat sugar for a month and then have a giant bowl of peach cobbler, you will feel sick and have a hangover the next day. The next day, if you do it AGAIN, you will still feel sick and have a hangover. Harrumph. Hey did I mention I have now lost 16 pounds? Wheeeeeee only 12 to go.
Jake and I did the 5K walk Saturday morning. We came up on the course and burst out laughing. It was exactly the course (except we also did the big hill at the very endthat was not part of the 5K) that we had just done and declared too boring and easy. If you chose the walk portion of the 5K you were not allowed to run which meant that I did it in 43 minutes - that is a 13 1/2 minute mile. Not bad, but I decided that I will run the next one (the Apple Festival 5K in Sept). Jake came in at 45 min. He was so mad at me that he literally stomped down the last leg with this furious face. The officials were laughing - I told them "I broke him this time, he won't talk to me for the rest of the day". He was mad right up until he took a first place medal for the age group 19 and under (he is 9). Guess who has decided to do the next 5K with me? Ahhh victory is sweet.
I got a new mower! My sad riding lawnmower that my Dad bought dies each time I use it and uses a can of fix a flat each time. Walmart was having a sale on riding lawnmowers - he called to tell me to go see. I thought, hmmm, I will humor him but I have not had the best of luck in the lawnmower department (I burned up my pushmower and an electric weedeater as well). I took one look and knew it was mine. I was RIGHT. This thing ROCKS. The only problem is that it isn't purple. But it is a sexy red and that will work. It mows up some hellacious inclines without even a blink. I asked it to marry me. Just kidding, Y'all know I am not the marrying kind.
Posted by DebC at 12:54 PM | Comments (1)
August 15, 2006
Spring River Arkansas
Hey guess what? I have now been to Arkansas. I am pretty sure that was the only state I had not been to. Ahhh, my life is complete. I was invited to go with a friend of mine on a canoe fishing trip. He is a fishing guide (who knew there was such a thing, I have always just winged it!) He took a bunch of guys (yep, I was the ONLY female along) down to Mammoth Springs area in Arkansas. I discovered that sleeping in a camper is way more fun that sleeping in a tent. Oh, and the air conditioner rocked too. I hereby apologize to all the yay-whos that I mocked for their luxury camping. We got in a canoe first thing Saturday and fished our way down a very fast current complete with little waterfalls to go over. The best part was watching all the drunk floaters wipe out on the falls. All you had to do was reach out and catch the unopened beers floating by. Now that is what I call service. I learned how to use "spinners" to catch trout. Caught 7 the first day and 7 the second day (we were back on the river the second day too). Unfortunately, I did not get to eat any - we had steak and I forgot about the three we kept. Anyhow - pictures in the gallery.
The boys go back to school on Friday (can I get a YEE-HAW?) but it is only for half a day. We have the famous Peach Festival this weekend in Cobden. It is all about the peaches. Gonna eat me some cobbler. Jake and I have been walking three miles or so at night and we have registered for the 5K walk on Saturday morning. Grandpa is riding his side car in the parade a little later. Should be lots of fun.
Anyway. I leave you with this odd conversation - falls under the category of things that just shouldn't be said.
Seth (age four): I can touch my eyeballs with my fingers.
Mom: Don't do that, you will get them dirty.
Seth: Well how do you clean them?
Mom: You have to lick them.
Seth: My tongue won't reach.
Mom: Oh well, I guess you shouldn't touch them then.
Seth: OK.
Posted by DebC at 09:34 PM | Comments (3)
August 09, 2006
Camping, camping and more camping
Well, camping with 900 little boys wasn’t so bad at all. Alright, so it wasn’t actually 900 but 13. We held the First Annual Cobden Campout last month and had a blast. The boys started setting up tents around two on Saturday and by evening we had 9 tents and a very rowdy party going on. We found out that touch football involves a bit more than touch and that putting black cats in the fire is a bad idea if you want to roast marshmallows later. Oh well, makes for some exciting smores when they sporadically go off after you thought they were all finished. By the way, don’t tell anyone about that last part. It was a “well, why not” kind of thing. The heat was unbearable and the squirt gun war was abandoned for the slip n slide. We put it up on a hill and the guys had a contest to see who could go the farthest. Ten feet past the plastic of the slip n slide – my field is just now recovering. The boys ended up piled in one tent giggling all night. I found out at 5:30 am the next day that they were making crank calls. In our town. Gah. Good thing it wasn’t MY caller ID. I am positive all those boys slept the entire day when they got home. We will definitely do it again next year except when it is a bit cooler and when I don’t have to be the only adult present. Pictures in the Gallery.
Next, we went down to Van Buren, Missouri to camp on the Current River with Grandpa. The campground is fairly nice but the weekend we went turned out to be the same weekend everyone else in Missouri and Illinois went camping there too. Grandpa and Eli rode down to the campground in his new motorcycle with side car. We ended up relocating our tents to a different site that was bigger. It looked hilarious because we simply picked up each tent (three) and paraded them down the road one by one. The campers next to us were a very nice and only slightly rowdy huge group that only got in trouble once for having a beer bong, hahahahaha. The next morning we woke up to huge booming thunder. Not exactly floating weather. I sent Eli up to the camp store to do some intelligence work – he got in line behind fifty other people asking the same question. Ended up eating a leisurely breakfast and by the time we were done, it wasn’t looking so bad. We rented a bunch of tubes and put in right at the edge of the campground. Brrrrr, cold. It was baking hot the day before and ended up being hot that day too. We got used to it quickly and had a very nice float with just the right amount of fast and slow places. We saw a HUGE black snake on a rock wall just as we were getting started – added just the right element of fear to make the float fun. The houses along the river were just disgusting. Nasty, filthy rich people – hate em all. I need to win the lottery so I can live like that too. Hurrumph. The boys did pretty good with a minimum of the usual whining (will they ever grow out of that?). Jake lost his mind at the end when he thought that he was getting separated from us (stopped to look at a turtle). Could not convince him that we were all going to the same place. Over all though, very nice float. Need to do it again in the fall when it isn’t so hot… oh and when the HOTEL isn’t so crowded. Jake got to ride back in the side car with Grandpa, so there is now harmony in the world again. The pictures are still on the waterproof camera, so they will have to wait.
Friday, I am going on a canoe fishing trip in Arkansas with a friend of mine. I am not a big fisher person but I am definitely up for the outdoors part. It is so nice being back to a place where I can do outdoor stuff now. We are already planning a trip skiing this winter, YAY! (Mr Keith where are you?!)
Posted by DebC at 11:28 PM | Comments (2)