Puke & Rally

Today was a normal cram filled work day but since I forgot my lunch I made plans to run home to heat up a GF freezer dinner. Yep, they make those. Expensive but hey if you have to spend your kids' college fund to have some quick food in the house, so be it. When The Man and I stocked up last week, we included three such freezer dinners for just such an occassion.

Turns out, The Man and Princess had just arrived home so they pulled me out one and had it ready by the time I got there. They'd left at 330 this morning to go deer scouting in the woods some 45 minutes from our house. Fun times, glad they let me and Duchess sleep in. Snore.

Anyway, so while curled up on the couch listening to their adventures in scouting and learning to spit sunflower seeds, I ate my lunch.

It was the worst tasting crap I've ever eaten in my life.

After three bites, I mentioned to The Man that it was terrible and after eating the chicken out of it, I was gonna have a quick salad. Cause I live on salads. I wish that were a joke. No. It's not.
The Man grinned (yawning the whole time, cause he was sleep lacking) and pointed out that it wasn't chicken.

Excuse me? Not chicken? Than what the Fark is it?

The box says and I quote "Organic tofu rice bowl"

HOLY CRAP!

It shouldn't surprise you that I gagged and spit the entire contents of my mouth back into the bowl right in front of them both. Then made my way to a salad.

I turned around and The Man is chewing thoughtfully. OMG

What are you eating?

"I wanted to see if it's as bad as you said it was"

I sent him straight to bed, but I'm pretty sure he brushed his teeth first.

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Idiots......

It was said in passing.........and it wasn't personal, so I shouldn't take it personal. But dang it, when a civilian, who has never served their country other than paying taxes, comments on the military, it's usually wrong.

"At least in the Navy, you never had to worry about him not coming home alive"

WTF?

After sharing a piece of my mind, I sat down and went back to work on a project. But I kept thinking about it.

They have no clue........just because the Navy tends to be ship bound doesn't mean there aren't risks and danger involved......

I remember the night I got a call that he was chemically burned while training a young kid on some equipment. The kid messed with something he shouldn't have and The Man pushed him out of the way when it burst and took the burn. Six weeks later when he walked off that ship still wearing bandages, my heart stopped beating. Until he smiled.

There was the deployment that I got a call telling me that he volunteered for an off boat mission in an area where they were trying to peace keep and would be back in a week. A WEEK. I can't remember anything about that week, except that he finally called.

Or there's the story that still gives me nightmares. When he called me from the ship one night during a brief underway. His voice thick and low, to tell me he loved me and would always love me and kiss the babies for him. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know something was wrong but I put on a happy face and coo-ed at him and sent him back to work. Then I took the phone outside and sat for hours smoking ciggie after ciggie until he called the next morning. Seems there was a problem with a piece of equipment that they lower from a man sized hole in the bottom of the ship, seems that it was stuck and water was flooding the room too fast for the pumps to pull water. Problem was, they really needed this equipment to work. So they locked (please read that again, LOCKED) my husband and one of his kids, and his LT in the room. It was either fix it or just let the room flood. So behind a locked and sealed door, they worked until the water was neck high before they finally manhandled the gear into place and the pumps could dry the room.

Over ten years, you collect those war stories up and put them away safe where you can use them to reassure yourself that yes, you've had worse times. And this too shall pass.

Military life is dangerous for everyone. Pilots are at risk, people who work on the flight deck are at risk, hell even cooks in the galley are at risk.

Broad general conclusions by idiots really piss me off.....

Pardon me, while I go put my soapbox away.

Be back this afternoon.....

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Be Still My Heart!

The Man and I have been rowing this boat together for twelve years. Seriously, by now we truly know each other. Which is why it's so easy for him to light my fire. He is the only person on this earth that can make my happy perky self go from normal to "I'm gonna set you on fire" mad in 60 seconds. So the other night when we had one of our rare disagreements, well that was fine by me. Snotty looks and self righteousness work for me. (Don't judge, I'm being honest here, I do so enjoy me some self righteous moments)

It lasted two hours and then we went to bed, barely speaking without our feet touching. I hate that, I always sleep better when our feet are snuggling in bed. I vaguely remember him getting up when his alarm went off, as we have two alarms, set an hour apart. I also vaguely remember him leaning over my side of the bed, digging me out of the covers and giving me a hug and a kiss, telling me to have a nice day.

It wasn't until I was in the shower that the vaguely hit me. I turned and looked out my shower to my vanity. There sitting on my vanity is the first picture I ever took of The Man. It was our first time ever going anywhere together. He was 19, wearing his cowboy hat and laughing over something I'd said (cause he actually thinks I'm hysterical! Who knew such a person existed?) He wasn't just laughing, his eyes were twinkling and scrunched at the corners. I love that face.

I closed my eyes and rested my head against the shower wall and the smell of his aftershave hit me upside the head. Yep, he shaved that morning and the heat from the shower made it "The Man Sauna".

Argument over......

Damn I'm getting too easy in my old age. Years ago, I could have milked it for all it was worth.

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Do You Smell Fish?

The Man and I have been on a Gluten Free quest. Recipes, recipes and more recipes......oh my. So far, the girlies haven't noticed at all that there is no gluten in the house......I'm not saying a word. Plus they still get wonder bread and hotdog buns so I honestly can't see them complain.

So Saturday evening, we had planned a special fish dinner. Now, me and fish? We go one way. Southern fried catfish or fried/boiled/scampi shrimp. That is it. The End.

Except, being GF means opening the door to proteins, lean proteins. Open door, enter fish.

I won't lie and say I wasn't scared. Cause I'm picky and it's not fried. But The Man found this recipe and being a spinach lover, he was ready to try it.

Then we got the call that company was coming.....opps, sorry but we're having grilled fish. Their response, no prob, what can we bring? Oh, seems not everyone is as picky about their fish as me. Okay. Freaks.

It started with tilapia fillets (2 freaking lbs of the stuff) and alot of ingredients that I needed to stock my new kitchen with anyway. Balsamic vinegar? Ohhhhhh yeah, who doesn't keep that on hand. So after a quick trip to the store, I was ready.

We followed a recipe we found off of this woman's incredible site. OMG, I wonder if she needs a new best friend.......cause hi, I'm right here? Can I have cooking lessons too?

So off we went......

Okay this looks great.......(enter fake yum here?) But yeah, the grill is great.......so I had hopes. Plus the topping was smelling and looking so great. I was getting a contact high. (****note for my mother: use of wording "contact high" is soley learned from movies.....I have NEVER used drugs of any kind. I'm the good child. And I really want that pie safe. Waiting till you die just won't work for me. Amen)

So that recipe, yeah baby, look at what came off my grill........I'd show you pictures of it on my pretty square plates, but noone would stop eating to let me.

This challenge is getting run. Next up? Roasting asparagus........heaven help me. I hate asparagus but I'm gonna make myself eat it, cause I'm tired of potatoes.

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I'm Doing It Again....

Shhhh....don't tell The Man, but I'm doing it again. I'm getting very tired of being in the same place. Yes, we've lived in our new house, all of one month.....yes, we've lived in Ooootah all of 1.5 years and been out of the military exactly 1 year, 6 months and 6 days.....

But I'm ready to go.

I hate that about myself.

I blame ten years of being a military wife. I'm ready to pack and get the hell out of dodge.

Maybe I should re-decorate?

Or in my case, finish decorating the new house....

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Scouting...

As Fridays go.....this one was not the usual woohoo, let's chill in our yard and relax. Nope, The Man drew a deer in the state drawing. Which means, scouting. Since we are new to this beautiful state, he is going off word of mouth and maps. So we were out looking for deer. Do you ever go scout deer? No? You should......it's fun. Luckily my camera was in my bag, cause as soon as I pulled into the garage, he drug me kicking and screaming to the jeep for a trip. In my work clothes.....but there was Dr. Pepper on ice so I gave in. Plus he brought my book. I love this man to the very bottom of my SOUL.
About two hours into our drive, where we pulled over one for an emergency run through McD's (cause their french fries are the only thing I can eat from there and I was starving) I put my book down and noticed that Duchess had given up the effort. Napping sounded nice. Princess was behind me reading Charlotte's web.
2 hours and 14 minutes into the trip, I started asking "are we there yet", all I got was a smoke break. Sweet. But then seconds later on the road, we spotted our turn off. Off the man highway into the elements. Wow, and what elements they were......
We drove and drove and drove. Passed several Ward get togethers with RV's and such and then the road began to narrow to one lane, the overgrowth was rapid and the signs stated federal land, i.e. hunting land........I had another Dr. Pepper.
Look how utterly happy my man is. He is just tickled pink to be out there. Ahhhhh, smoke break please.

We finally got to the area where I took over driving and he began scouting. There is nothing hotter than a man in the elements, comfortable with nature and totally confident in his abilities. I'm a perve.
Spot the hunk? Anyone want to play? This is the point where I had to use zoom as he wandered a little too far from me and I was getting nervous. But you know how scouting is. The kids got out and kicked rocks, played with some rolli-pollys and avoided the fresh deer poo in the road. I just watched for recently broke out of prision people, cause that is my fear........I was armed. We always carry in the woods and such as snakes and things are frequent sights. So I was the guard on duty. I like to think I'm setting a good example for my girls. Protect yourself at any cost, do not wait on anyone to do it for you. Plus the gun matched my belt.........sweet.
We did pass some visitors along the way........ummm hi, a little far from home aren't you? Cause we were up high in the mountains at this point. I shared my Dr. Pepper and we were able to pass in peace. Duchess and Princess were dropping trail mix out the window at this point, cause they were worried that the poor thing would go hungry.
At this point, I decided it was time to turn around. I left work early on a Friday for this? Seriously, somebody needs to take better care of their beef! How rude. The Man was pleased because we'd already seen several deer at this point.
Did I mention that I was in my work clothes? Pointed toe high heels at that? Well I was....Aren't they awesome, I do love a good shoe. Oh and I was driving? Well I was 4x4-ing most of the time. The road was crap. But at one point, I'm in 3rd, 4x4-ing over this horrible ravine and The Man is in the passenger seat and he just blurts out, "this is totally why I married you!" Ahhhhh, then he goes, "wish you'd do this more often" so I slammed on the breaks and we got out and had us a "come to Jesus" over the fact that I can be classy and still a redneck. He just laughed and pushed me back inside the jeep.

We made it back out to civilization and the girls and I insisted on using a regular bathroom so we stopped at this cute little log cabin to potty and refuel........except I couldn't have anything in the store, so I had three ciggies and another Dr. Pepper.
Then we stopped at a park we found too, to work out the kinks.......except the kink took my camera and took a million pics of me.....the ones of my butt, you will never see. Thank you very much.
On the way home, we amused ourselves the best we could........The Man was in the zone. He was hungry and was determined to find a place where I could eat too.......
Duchess ignored us and played her Disney game.......between the giggles and beeps off that game, some Flogging Molly on the radio and Princess snoring, who could read?
Welcome to The Boonies........

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Starting Over Again.....

Hi I'm Hope4Grace and I'm an addict. I'm addicted to meat, potatoes, anything fried. In fact, my favorite food of all times is fried foods. Yum.....there is just something about fried catfish, or fried chicken or fried mushrooms or fried okra.....omg stop me now.




However, due to some medical problems, I'm having to learn to eat another way. Gluten-free. When my doc told me this, my first response was "fine, I'll just cut out gluten", I didn't stop to ponder why he looked at me with such pity.



Now I know.....gluten-free = no wheat, rye, barley.....................

Farking great! Let me tell you. For the past month, I've been the gauntlet. I've sat at home in front of my open fridge wondering what I could eat that wouldn't make me sick. Ditto on the pantry.

For a solid week I existed only on hashbrowns I made myself and bacon. During that week, I did my homework. Then The Man and I decided the best thing to do was set up the house as mostly GF with exceptions: The Man and kids would keep regular bread for sandwiches and some quick fry foods in the freezer. Everything else, GF. I just heart him to pieces for that, that he is onboard before we even knew what the hell we're dealing with. Plus it helped that I asked him to take the girls and go out to eat someone totally not GF at least twice a month........I'll stay at home and eat a rice cake.



The Man took me to B&N and sat me down in a comfy chair in the cookbook section. Somewhere I never go, cause hello.........slutty, dirty romance novels are on the other side of the store.... But he sat me down and proceeded to bring every Gluten-Free (here on out refered to as GF) book/cookbook he could find. I had quite the stack.



I started with :
and then worked my way through cookbook after cookbook until I found three that I felt I could use. When you take the processed foods out of your diet, your cooking times get a little long. Let me tell you.

So the southern girl who loves her some fried sh*t, is starting over.........literally. I'm learning how to cook all over again. I have a learning curve though, The Man has become as fanatical about as I have. We're the scouting, cooking team.

Yesterday we spent three hours at our local grocery store looking for GF foods. I found some cereal.........thank you Rice CHEX! I heart you alot! I found oatmeal in the tiny teeny GF section (you'd be surprised at how many stores have GF sections, you'd never notice them until you needed them) so tonight I'm making oatmeal cookies. We found chicken broth, some frozen dinners, chips, salsa, non-wheat flour for baking........we literally hit the gold mine. So far, this is the most we've found and we were celebrating in the aisle!

So here is my first real all GF dinner.........

I named them chicken pockets.......so when The Man called on his way home from a class and said, "what's for dinner?" I said.......chicken pockets and he asked if he could stop at McD's....har har.......

So I make a "chicken pocket" bar on my bar at home.......everyone got foil packets and they could fill it up with chicken and veggies, I had stocked up with fresh herbs so I was ready for food that had flavor. Drizzle some olive oil in there and then sit aside.......it was time to light the grill.

Now for me, the grill = The Man's territory so I never bother with it. Except I needed these babies grilled.........so I braved it


First off, what a nasty, unflattering picture of me.......moving on.......Since the backyard is in progress (okay, well it's in the very beginning stage, i.e. planning) we got a little charcoaler since we're waiting to get a natural gas grill once our deck is done. This is a project for another day. Just note that I have NO experience with fire of this nature.

Oh PRETTY! So I got a little flame going. I was so proud of myself.........
Then I had to call The Man cause, um.........do you let it burn with the lid up or lid down? How long? Did I use enough coals? Is it too close to the house? Why does my face feel red? You're how close to the house?

Turns out, he was really close......and he took over.......and in between making fun of my chicken pockets and my grilling experience, managed to get it done.
Now doesn't that look just yummy? Served with a side of corn and a salad.

Welcome to GF cooking people......it's gonna be a bumpy ride.....

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Entertaining Myself.......

Is it obvious that I don't have alot to do at work today? Cause hello............ So this is a recent pic of me.......I'm liking my odds here....if only from neck down, looked as good.........

WTF is Billy Idol doing in my dang collage? This is a recent not os great pic of me......but I keep it faithfully real around here. So enjoy.......

And this is my scary, work badge picture from last year..........dear Lord in heaven, help me, cause I'm pasty white and my hair is orange and I have fat face.........Thankfully it was LAST year.......

Speaking of my badge, this is what I did to it before we put it on my actual badge. We're a small company so nobody really complained although everyone noticed...dang......

So in the end, I went wiht the cowboy hat.........I think it's so me.....

And as Waconda Road suggested, I google earth-ed my neighborhood to prove to you that yes, I do live in the fraking boonies, see the crop circles and mountains.......no mall, no nothing....sigh.

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Hello Ooootah

So last week after having all my medical drama (my testing and what not) The Man decided that I needed a drive in the beautiful Oootah moutains to make it all better. Ooootah is how Duchess pronounces our new state's name. Cute huh? We snaked our way up the mountain, once we actually got into the area, I actually put my book down and in my drug induced haze, appreciated the sites, sounds and smells that only nature can produce.....

Our first stop was to get out and walk along a creek.....I tend to be very narrow minded in all my pursuits. So I was totally focused on getting as close as possible to the water for pics without actually getting wet.

Lucky for me, Duchess walked right up and screamed "Mom, don't move, snake...." while back pedaling and running for The Man. I stood there like an idiot until he motioned me back and then announced it harmless. Thanks, honey. Really.......

So the rest of MY trip was spent in the front seat of the truck. I'm a fast learner, what can I say.
I just love how unspoiled and beautiful the areas in the mountains are here. This could explain why The Man has completely embraced Oooootah while I'm holding out dreams of moving to Ireland or maybe back to San Diego.....hello beach! But since I'm outnumbered, I'm trying to love Oooootah, really I am.
It helps that my girls are so completely comfortable here. They love being outside, they are completely fearless, unlike their momma. They seriously wanted to cross this stream, cause "Momma, the gate is open", well sugar, so are the gates of hell and we surely don't want to go there. No. Now get in the car and somebody find the snake bite medicine in your dad's emergency kit. I'm sure it's there.......right next to the "momma needs her chocolate" emergency stash. I wish I was kidding.

But seriously, in the mountains up here, you can truly drive dang near to the top. The views alone are ALMOST worth the extremely bumpy ride getting up here. Thank you drugs. I felt little to nothing.
But man oh man. I wish I painted. Cause I'm seriously wondering if I could do this justice. The right side of my brain is yelling, no......... the left side is going "maybe it's that one thing you are just fabulous at......"
Then again, I forgot all about painting it when The Man started talking boats. I immediately went into NO NO NO status. No boat for you. NONE.
Did I mention that Duchess now dresses herself? Yeah, I take no blame for that. I'm encouraging her individualism....is that spelt right? I just know that she is totally thinking "if I only had a boat", she gets that from The Man.
But that quickly became......." I wish I had brought my bow " when this beauty was just wondering down the side of the road. Completely cool with us driving so close I could count the tattoos on it's butt..........wait, never mind........drugs.....it was the drugs, completely legal, doctor prescribed drugs.......

******Brad........I fixed it "I swear!" Delete me and then add me again to google reader. Cause I actually have myself on my reader page.....and it works. How self obsorbed is that?

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Breathing Deeply

Test results are in.....

I'm okay.

Still have some roads to travel with this I'm okay.

Going to go have a "come apart" now, then I'll be back in top form later

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19 Again...

Just to let you know, this past weekend, I rocked it like a 19 year old again. And I'm still paying for it now. My hips hurt from shaking my stuff all night long. My feet hurt from jumping up and down all night long. My arms hurt from having them waving over my head all night long and The Man is sporting some seriously baggy eyes for having to keep up with my bad self, getting four hours of sleep and then going to work. Poor baby. I slept in.



We went to see Flogging Molly.



I'm in love. I already was slightly in love with two of their CD's in rotation in my car and one in the house, but now I'm ready to sign on as a groupie and drag my family from show to show if they'd let me carry bags or something.



However, that being said...........



Let's examine my very very sheltered existence first. See turns out I'm really as modest, prudish and unworldly as I thought I was. We went with another couple. They are awesome and we were having a blast. But once we pulled up to the event, we realized it wasn't going to be us and 15 other people in a little venue. Nope, they packed this place. Who knew.....especially here in the boonies of Utah. Woohoo....... But as we got out and got at the very end of line. I started worrying outloud. There were alot of stoners, punkers and skinheads in the crowd. Plus alot of older people and some normal looking people like me. For God's sake, Internet, I dressed up and wore jewelry and full on makeup. People were moving out of my way all night, like royalty had come to town.......not cause I was royalty, but probably so they didn't get any NORMAL germs on them. I was like Bigfoot, a rare sighting.



So we grabbed our tickets from will-call, once again showing what a normal adult I am. Everyone else was in the huge line to buy at the door. Hello, I saved $5 a ticket and bought online. Hmmmm. Freak that I am. Then we split into gender based lines for pat down. At that point, I really wanted to crawl back to the truck, but Cec wasn't having it. She was making me be tough. So I fluffed my hair and adjusted my cleavage, the show would go on......



Once the security guard decided I could keep my underwire but took my lighter (b*tch!) I was in. And immediately started whimpering until The Man came through the door too. People moved out of his way also, but not for the same reason. The Man was in a button down shirt and jeans with boots, but in this crowd, his wide shoulders made him a very noticeable Bigfoot.



We hit the ATM, got some sodas and found a place to stand very close to the stage when a group of people with very shiny nice bald heads started removing shirts and stuff. Hmmmmm. Strange, true there wasn't ANY air conditioning in the joint but dang, there is no need to get personal. I slapped my hair up in a pony, therefore transforming myself instantly into a 14 year old looking little girl with a fat face and waited for the opening act.



It was then we noticed the upper balcony had room to stand. Hello.....oh turns out, that is where the drinkers were. The adults were in the "club", cause in Utah you have to be a club member (hello, they get that membership fee as a tax, greedy state) to even be in a bar with "by the drink" is served. So since none of us were drinkers, we passed. Even though the view up there had to be better. Drunken neighbors were not our cup of tea. So we stayed put.

Until I noticed a very mean looking security guard guarding a doorway, hmmmm. Being the supreme nosy person that I am, I went over and made friends. Turns out, upstairs were private VIP booths with direct stage views and open windows providing breeze. Yeah, you following me here. For $25/person, we got ourselves a private booth. VIP all the way baby.

And when the opening act came on, some very strange little punk band.....lots of screaming....

This happened.....

So I never realized that mosh pits actually happened. I mean, I've heard of them but OMG. The lily livered country girl in me was beside herself, cause "Honey, there are GIRLS in there". Oh and I snuck my phone in to take pics....it was inside my bra, waaaaaaaay down so it missed the security pat down. But back to the moshing.......turns out, people actually do this. My Lord, I saw a 50 year old man in there.....Completely insane. I couldn't tell you anything about the opening band, cause I was fixated on this scene developing below me.

Are you seeing the girls in there? This was just the beginning of it too, it was still daylight outside at this point so the lighting was just barely good enough to get a pic. I was beside myself. And lovingly draping myself all over The Man cause he was smart enough to make me a VIP.

Want to know why? Cause where that lovely little mosh pit started? Is EXACTLY where we were standing. Oh hell no.....

By this point, we were sweating so badly that my make up was gone. My hair was a rats' nest and The Man shucked his button down and stuck it in his back pocket, it was white t-shirt city.

There was a little break while they set the stage for my band, woohoo....... and it was during this time that another couple came into our booth. Two women who were doing some serious grabbing and petting. We just pretended that we didn't see them until one turned and looked straight at The Man and whispered "Hello there...."

Never seen a man move that fast, he immediately picked me up (literally) and put me between him and her, "Honey, she wants to talk to you...." the idiot then stuck her lip out and pouted. I'm proud to say that all I did was get in her face and point out "Private property" and she apologized, kissed her girlfriend and left. Interesting little side note there, but funny. The Man didn't find any humor in that at all.

The crowd filled up seriously at this point, while the house lights were still on, you could see that this place was packed.....hello, lovely little VIP booth. But once the concert started, 1/2 of this place was moshing and body surfing the crowd.......OMG
This was before we started stripping off clothing due to high heat........My dang hair went flat too, sigh.........can't have it all.
Oh wait, yea you can........Hello Flogging Molly. This is seriously how close to the stage we were in our little VIP booth. Seven band members, tons of instruments and wow, the best sound ever! It was a blast.......

And if you look really really hard, down by the accordion players foot.......you might see my blue gum I accidentally spit on the stage, I was trying to whistle and it didn't work out well.....

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The Things I do For Him

After twelve plus years, I should know to start praying as soon as the words "I have an idea" leaves The Man's mouth.......oh no......I always fall for the bait....... He took us 4x4-ing in the canyon right behind our house. Seriously, of all eighteen hundred pics I took, these are the best of the bunch.....sad huh? I really should take photography lessons. So we started out on this lovely little stretch of dirt that literally leads right out the back of my subdivision........cause I live in the boonies y'all.
Can you see the slight trail as it bobs and weaves up in front of us......yeah, at this point, I'm yelling for the kids to double check their seat belts and grab the "oh crap" bar above their heads.....cause sure enough......
After this little hump, the jeep went totally airborne and then went straight nose down on the path. There is truth in the fact that your life passes before your eyes, all I could think was......I didn't buy those red shoes and I should have......even though I hate red.
We leveled out and about a mile later I could see clear enough through the dirt to find a pond up there in the middle of nowhere. The Man has plans of stalking this pond for deer. Good luck to him, I'll be at home painting my toes and reading.
This is what the future held. Turns out other nuts with 4x4's love to come up here often. The Man swears there will be a return visit.

Afterwards, I went and bought those damn red shoes.

The things we do for our men.

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Home Improvements.....the beginning

So The Man wouldn't let me plant my little trees between us and the neighbors, said it would be all out war, not to mention rude. So we decided to plant them on the side of our house where they'll be our noise and sun break eventually.
Being the utter miser that I am, I got me some cute little tree/shrubs that were on sale. You can't beat $4.95 a piece. Yes I wanted the spiral shrubs but those barstards were $69 a piece. Wrong.
This is the veiw of the neighbors house, AFTER they cleaned up their backyard. Crossing my heart, I can't wait till they move. Oh if only they would move.
I love this face, it's the why are you taking my picture and sitting in the grass while I work face. This face and me, we go waaaaay back. It's also the face I get when I tell him I heard a thunk under my hood of the car, or that the toliet is not working......you get the idea. Hello cute face.
Royalty came out to help. Duchess decided to grace him with her presence. She wanted to be the water girl, and literally drove him insane asking if it was time to bathe the new trees. But she did manage to finally bring him the correct pair of shoes for the job.

Princess was off doing her thing. Riding the streets with a friend. This is her idea of quality family time now. Parents are so not cool. She even refuses to say I love you on the phone now too. The Man has this thing about ending every phone call with me or the kids with an I love you. And he'll patiently wait for your response. She refuses to cause she's too cool now. Drives him batty plus I think it hurts his little feelings too.
Duchess took three trips to get the correct shoes for The Man to accomplish this little dig of ours. Bless her heart, such a trooper. You know she is totally doing a mental vent right now.
The one thing I accomplished before I had a sit down, was putting up our ADT sign. Cause it's only fair to warn people that we now live in fort knox. Plus if you look very very very hard, you'll see my solar paneled outdoor lighting. I used four but I think I'm gonna go and get another box of them. They match my roof, cause we're all about fashion here.
Ahhh, she finally got to water......notice the tree hugger shirt and not matching skirt. Duchess dresses herself now and it's really interesting to see what she'll come out of her room wearing on any given day.
Better picture of my new lighting. Ohhhh so pretty.....plus I added some darker mulch. I just love my yard. Turns out the reason mine is sooooooo much prettier than everyone else is that I water every day, several times a day. And it turns out our town in on water rations so I'm suppose to water only three days a week, twice.......opps.......

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