Almost Christmas!!

Hey all,

Well, we are just all doing fine here in NM. Got to see Tyler last weekend for Kalyn's birthday, so that was nice. We had a great time in ABQ. Went to a couple of different malls and had dinner at El Patio and then spent the night at a cheapee hotel. I got a discount because of where I work so it was $40 for the night. Kinda nice eh?? Kalyn had a nice birthday and got mostly money which is what she wanted. She's doing really well saving her money and also in school. She leaves Thursday to go spend the rest of her Christmas vacation with her Dad. Shane and Steph are driving here from Kansas. They will stop on Wed and see Tyler for the night in SF and then come get Kalyn on Thursday morning and then head to Utah/Colorado for Christmas. I think I have to get her in Durango the weekend of the 1st, but haven't found out that part yet. Will keep you posted. That's really all I've got right now. We've been going to parties, parties, parties, which is really fun!!! lol Hard to believe 2011 is right around the corner. Can't wait to see what the next year will hold!! Until next time...

Christmas time!!

Hey all,

Not toooo much to report....kinda bored these days with cleaning less and got all my Christmas cards done and mailed out!! I do need to bake still and I plan to make all the dough tomorrow and then slowly get them made this week. You see, we are going to Albuquerque next weekend to shop and have fun for Kalyn's 18th birthday, so I want to be able to give Ty some of the homemade cookies that he just loves!! I made some chocolate chip/m&m cookies this week and took some to work. They turned out so soft and delicious!! Yumm!! So, yes, I have a Christmas party this coming Friday, the 10th, then Saturday we head to ABQ for the night and come back sometime on Sunday. Should be real fun.

I didn't have to clean for Angie, this morning. She's been cleaning all by herself!!! LOL she is having a mold problem in one of her bathrooms, so she said she's been staying on top of the cleaning. I'm so proud as I'd like to get away from cleaning for her. I'm slowly weaning her down to once a month cleanings. Typically, its been every third week, which is fine. I still have Mrs. Courtright to do and she is usually once a month. She brought some jewelry by the bank yesterday and she has a gorgeous little ruby and diamond ring that I want. She's asking $200 so we shall see what Santa brings me!! I also need to pay my Grandma for a sweater she is knitting me. I can hardly wait!! I'm so thankful for all the people around me!!

This weekend is holiday fun weekend in Los Alamos. We've got breakfast with Santa, arts and crafts events and then the light parade tonight at 6. I work here at the gym til 7, so I will have to watch it while it goes by, from here. It's gorgeous weather today also!! I remember bundling up, some years, cuz it is soooo coooold for the parade. It's nice to see people actually here in town doing things and shopping. Most people head down to Santa Fe or ABQ to do stuff.

Well, that is about all I have for now. Take care and look forward to hearing from ya out there. Until next time....

Jody, Tyler and Kalyn

Hey all,

Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful!! We had a great time with Tj and Diana, Kevin and Jesse too. Here is our annual family pic. It was nice to see Tyler!!! He is soooo tall now. LOL Take care and enjoy the weekend!!

Until next time....

Woohoo for turkey!!

Hey all,

Well, our dinner went wonderfully on Sunday evening and we still have plenty of leftovers. The pies turned out great and the turkey was so juicy and moist!! There were 8 of us for dinner. Now this week, Tj and Diana are here and they brought Jesse up with them from Albuquerque, so on Thursday, there will be Tj and D, me and K, Tyler and Emily and then Jesse and Kevin all for Thanksgiving dinner at the townhouse! Should be a good time. I plan to bring veggies and then the pie that I won at the Turkey trot race on Sunday.

Tj and Diana leave early Friday am to drive to Arizona for granddaughter Tamra's wedding!! Kalyn decided she wanted to go also, so they are taking her along too!! I will take K over to their house on Friday morning and then they are either returning to ABQ on Sunday eve or Monday eve and will drop off K at Tyler's house and then I will fetch her from there. They will be taking the interstate back to Florida so they are coming up as far as ABQ, which works fine. Will be nice for K to go see her cousin's wedding and all the family on that side. Tamra is Wes's (Shane's brother) oldest child. Wes and Mandy had 5 kids. Tamra is 3 months older than Kalyn, so she is still quite a young bride...but can any of us really talk about that?? lol I think not...been there, done that.

I'm working at the gym right now, so thought I would update you all. This place is a mess tonight, so I better get cleaning!! I swear, nobody does anything around here!! lol Until next time...

Pies!!!

Hey all,

I got the pies baked and potato salad finished as well!! I snapped a couple of pics for you all to see!! Enjoy!! I also took a pic of the cats on their electric blanket...they love it!! lol Then, the Thanksgiving day display is what I have out at work. Gotta head to work here soon....until next time everyone!!

Big weekend happs....

Hey all,

Well, it's Friday night and I'm on my way out the door to work!! I work tonight and Saturday afternoon at the gym this weekend. Our big weekend plans are as follows:

Friday-work at gym til 10pm, go home and start some laundry.
Sat. am- make two pies, one pecan, one pumpkin and potato salad and maybe clean up the house and more laundry.
Sat. pm-work at gym til 7, come home and more laundry and cleaning up of the house.
Sun. am-go to church, 2pm run the 2.5 mile Turkey Trot up at the Mid School and then at 5, we are having our turkey dinner!! Turkey, stuffing, potato salad, cranberries, rolls, corn casserole, mashed potatoes with gravy, and pies with whipped topping. There will be 7 of us for dinner. Myself, Kalyn, Reuben, Nicole and Tony (R's daughter and son in law), Kalyn's friend Cara and also Simone (Reuben's daughter). Should be a great time and it's also Nicole's birthday so I think Reuben is going to pick up a small cake for her.

That's our plan and also fit in to watch the Packer/Viking game on Sunday!!

I will take pics!! Until next time...

Thanks!!

Hey all,

Well, my post yesterday got some big responses, so I wanted to say "thank you" to those of you who commented. It really means alot to me. I appreciate the hugs too!!! lol I'm basically fine, you know you just get down sometimes and that's just life. Church helped this morning. (that darn pastor always knows what to talk about!!) We have been discussing "joy" in our lives and today it was about if you are a "shallow" pool swimmer or a "deep" end swimmer. He asked what type of friends we have. People that bring us down or people that stand behind us no matter what. He also mentioned that one needs to "swim the other direction" when you are friends with people that try to steer you in the "wrong" direction. So, one can apply this to almost any situation. I mostly had tears throughout the sermon. It was quite spiritual today and was nice.

After the service, the church was taking donations for 14 baskets of kindness to give to families for a Thanksgiving meal. Reuben and I bought a turkey to donate!! Then, as I'm home cleaning, I had a thought...we have this 19 year old girl that works at the gym, that is pregnant (due in a few weeks) and was just put on bedrest as of Friday night. I thought...hmmm...wouldn't that be nice if we put a box out at the gym (cuz everyone knows her) and kind of have a "donation to the baby" box for her!! I texted my boss Carrie and she said that was a WONDERFUL idea and she will start working on it tomorrow at the gym. I plan to get diapers and wipes at first and then see what the other members of the gym and co-workers can bring. I'm very excited about this and it is putting me back to my "joyful" self!!! I even texted another coworker, Sharon, and she was all excited to help as well. So, look what I've started and it sure makes you feel good!!! Until next time!!.....

Just life right now....

Hey all,

Well, October was quite the busy month!! Went on my trip, taking care of Kalyn's things for her graduation and working all my jobs. November hasn't been quite as exciting, but still busy. I've been in kind of a "slump", if you will. Part of it has to do with my job and another has to do with not being able to workout as much as I would like to. Most days I just don't even wanna do any working out. I've decided today that it has to do with my bank job. I was really disappointed in the raise I got for this new position. Of course, it didn't help that my boss was bragging to everyone that she got such a large raise that her husband can now quit his job if he wants to. Ok....so I thought...well if SHE is getting that than I should be getting a good raise as well. She told me the amount of the raise and I about died.....not anywhere even CLOSE to what I was thinking. I wanted to be able to quit my gym job or maybe even just the cleaning jobs and cut back at the gym...well that didn't pan out, so I'm a little sad about it. This past week I decided to just "hang in there" and do the best job I can. She assured me that after 90 days, we would chat and see how it's going. It's alot of report work, managing the tellers and just have more responsibility on my shoulders. I'm basically getting $100 more a paycheck which comes to $2400 a year and that is after taxes. I feel it should be double that, at the very least. ugh..... :( So, I did accept this position and I told her flat out that I was not happy with the amount at all and I still have to work my other jobs. I've been pretty grumpy at work too. It's just really hard to be happy when I'm not. you know?? But, I am trying my hardest...just so you know...I also put some new songs on my ipod to get me more motivated and that is helping me.... soooo.... I should be back to normal soon, i think, I hope, i pray!!

We are still going to church every Sunday. It's really nice there and a small crowd of folks too. Reuben seems to like it alot too and even bought himself a new, hand stitched, calf-skin Bible as an early Xmas gift to himself. It is beautiful!!!

Kalyn is still getting straight A's and doing so well in school. She is having issues with her gallbladder so next week we will be looking into "natural" meds that may help dissolve these stones she has. Reuben works with a naturepath (??) person that can give her herbs and healthy stuff in a drop form to get rid of them. We figure it won't hurt to try this (and she has to watch very closely what she eats) first and then if it doesn't help, we can always consult the surgeon about surgery.

Tyler is doing well. He is having car issues (brakes) so he is asking for his Xmas money early to take care of that. That little car of his is something else. Gets great gas mileage and has lasted him a couple of years already. It's a 1987 Honda Civic.

So, that is my saga for today...I guess sometimes life throws things at you and you have to learn to sink or swim. My whole life I have gotten through a lot of different issues and have survived, so I'm sure I will be fine. Just one of those times, I guess. Maybe I just need an extra hug?? lol Until next time....

Almost Halloween!!

Hey all,

Just a little quick note about the happs...

I cleaned at Angie's today and then now I am working at the gym until 7 tonight. I'm sleepy-sleepy today. Not sure why, but I am surviving the day!! We got K's pictures back in the mail so I got those all cut up and separated out. I also got all my Xmas cards in line and stamps purchased and labels made so all I have to do is sign them all, get pictures put in the cards and then ready to mail!!! I wanted to send the pic of kalyn and I that Andy took in the Xmas cards, but it is kinda dark and K said she would rather we took a different photo. So, we will have to work on that. lol

My friend Joe came back to my house yesterday and got the new thermocouple installed on the water heater. He said the color of the gas, etc looks much better now. The water heater is 12 years old and has always worked fine but he said it was starting to blacken something towards the back of the water heater and the flame didnt look healthy. He only charged me $25 to come check out my furnace, lay my water pipes nicely and replace that thermocouple. I gave him $50. It would have cost me a ton more to have someone else do it for me. He's great!!

Kalyn is getting straight A's, has one online class done and is doing really really well these days. I'm so happy with her...Now only if she would clean her room!!??

It has been one year already that Shane and I have split up. Hard to believe how time flies. Kalyn has progressed so much in the past year. She was a mess when the breakup happened and now she is just more happy than ever. I think she is thinking of graduating and how grownup she almost is and so that may be helping her. Graduation will be here before we know it!!

Reuben and I are doing really well. He is a sweetheart and takes good care of me. I have never in my life been treated so well and been so happy. He respects me, lets me be me and is very supportive of everything I do. I had no idea that someone like this could ever exist. I'm very happy and I think we plan to be together for a long time. He tells me everyday and I mean everyday, how lucky he is to have me. awww...I know....

Well, thats all I've got for now. Can't think of anything else to bore you all with...OH....Halloween...duh...the reason for my title!!! Friday the 29th is our Trick or Treat Main St where all the businesses participate and hand out candy to about 1000 kids. Well, we, at the bank, are dressing up as "The Flintstones". I got my Betty Rubble costume and tried it on and it looks good!! Catrina will be Pebbles and Lesley is Wilma. Carl was going to buy his Fred costume today, so hopefully he did. I will take pictures and post here and on Facebook.

Until next time....

Back to normal....

Hey all,

I had a wonderful trip, got home safe and Kalyn had the house all nice looking for our return!! I did a ton of laundry and catching up with cleaning, bills, Kalyn's graduation stuff and then packaging up some souvenir purchases I had made for a few people. Couldn't afford to get everyone something..unfortunately!! Finally, today, I am able to watch football, while I finish up last minute stuff around here. I think I'm pretty well organized now and got things whipped up. LOL

Kalyn and I went through her pictures and she chose the ones she wants people to have, etc, so we got the order placed at Walmart.com. They should come next week!! We also had to sit down and order her announcements, cap and gown for graduation. I had to write a deposit check and mail that off, but first had to make copies of it all to send to Shane so he can reimburse me for half. I'm so happy Kalyn and I got all that done. Whew!!

Well, that's about all. I have all my trip pictures on Facebook, so go take a look there. Back to work tomorrow!! Love to all. Until next time...

Nicole and Tony's wedding!

Hey all,

Well, here I am again with another great update!!

Tuesday we got up early to try to see the big ship, Oasis of the Seas, come into port, but we only saw 3 OTHER ships pull into port that morning. Oasis is soooo big, they docked at another port right up the street from us. Since we had no idea they were docking there, we went ahead and got a taxi to Magen's Bay and just decided to meet them there where the wedding was to take place. We wandered around and around the beach looking for Nicole's wedding site. We finally found it (the nice minister lady asked us if we were there for "Nicole's wedding!! lol) and plopped our stuff down in the shade. The humidity here is just unreal plus we had already gotten sunburned from being outside so much, we were a little sick of it at this point. lol

The first truck load of peeps arrived. It was Tony and his parents, brother, two of Reuben's daughters, Nicole's aunt, hubby, their two grown kids, their spouses and then the one daughter has 3 little girls. Plus a couple of random friends of theirs. Then, Nicole's truck arrived with her one sister, her mom, stepdad, stepdad's parents and I think that's it. Not too many of us. They had Tony turn around so he couldn't see the bride and at this point, we were all on the beach, under some trees to be shaded with. Reuben was called over and he walked Nicole down the "aisle" and also gave Nicole to Tony. I had forewarned him that he may get to do that and his response was "well, they haven't mentioned anything like that to me"... I'm glad he was caught offguard! lol He looked so nervous. All went well and afterwards they took a ton of pictures while everyone dipped their feet in the ocean. Then, we all climbed in the truck and headed to the court house so they could file the marriage license. Then, we continued on to the boat docking area and with our passports in hand, we were able to board the boat, tour it and then attend the reception!! We took a lot of pictures on the boat and during the reception, etc. Had a terrific time.

Around 5, we took one last guided tour with Tony, Nicole, Cosette, Simone and Tony's brother Joe. They took us to the climbing wall, the chapel, and to the deck where you can overlook the swimming areas and stuff. We took more pictures of the ship and Tony and Nicole and then it was time to leave!!! They only docked here for the day. There was not a dry eye when we left. Reuben and I stayed and watched the ship leave and then started walking to a restaurant we've been wanting to try called Oceana. Very high priced seafood, but it was delicious. We shared an appetizer and main course and it still cost $100 with the tip. lol Oh well, we didn't go out to eat the evening before because I wasn't feeling well, so I guess this made up for it. We got back to the room around 8:30 and kinda crashed after a shower. Reuben had a lot to drink so he was out right away for the night around 9. lol

Today, we slept in, strolled down the street and got some last minute souvenirs and then stopped at Bumpa's for a nice croissant breakfast sandwich, then had a little ice cream. We found a taxi to take us up to the Sky Line view place, but he said he would drive us around the island for cheaper!! He gave us a history lesson and also took us to a few new places we hadn't seen yet. We took more pics and then decided it was too hot to be outside so after the tour, we came back to the hotel. We plan to go explore later, when it cools down. Plus, we are so sunburned, we hate to get burned any more. It is a beautiful clear day today!!!! Tomorrow morning we head to the airport and fly most of the day. We should return to Abq by 5pm and then drive to LA. It will be nice to be back home!!

Until next time....

Coral World

Hey all,

So, Sunday evening, we ate at the Greenhouse Bar and Restaurant. We had walked down there and got a good table next to the open window. Our server, Dale, was awesome!! He liked how giggly and fun WE were also!! It was still happy hour, so we got 4 drinks and appetizers and then had dessert. Didn't really have "dinner", if you will. LOL We had a great time and Dale told us we had BETTER be back to see him!! Most of our servers have been just wonderful folks!!

Monday, we ate breakfast at Glady's restaurant. Much better than the hotel breakfast we had on Sunday. We ate at Glady's for lunch on Saturday, so we figured it would be delightful and it was!! We also shopped at some of the shops again and then got a taxi to Coral World (we called ahead and YES they were open!). We wandered around there and saw all kinds of birds, sharks, fish, iguanas (just roaming around freely) and then headed to the Observation area where you can go do the "Sea Trek", where you put this 75 lb helmet on and walk under the water and have sealife swimming by you and you get to touch small creatures in the sea. We were sooo happy we did that!! Took about an hour and then we were done. We purchased the jump drive disk so we could have the pics they took and also had videos too. We ate a quick lunch afterwards and then caught a taxi back to town. This taxi driver took us the back way of the island, so we got to see MORE of the island than before. These drivers are just awesome around here. Showing and telling you about the island!!

She dropped us off downtown at the little vendor tents and I bought a Prada purse and wallet for $60!! The guys price kept coming down the longer I stood there thinking about my purchase!! lol Couldn't resist $60!! lol We then walked down and stopped at the Big Kahuna Bar (again...happy hour), had a couple of drinks and then went back to the hotel. It was still early, but I was feeling sick from the drinks and just couldn't eat anything. I went to sleep around 8:30!! I woke up at 10:30 and Reuben was sound asleep as well!! LOL

Right now, we are awaiting Tony and Nicole's ship to get here. We can see them pulling into the dock from our hotel room. Pretty amazing to watch those huge ships come in. The wedding is today at Magen's Bay and it has been closed, so hopefully it is open today!! Until next time....

St. John!!

Hey all,

Well, we took the taxi to Coral World this morning, after an awful breakfast at the hotel restaurant, only to find out that it was closed today!! That's how things are here...you probably need to call ahead and make sure places are open before you go there. The little shopping places are only open from like 10-3 also. If you don't get up in the morning and get around, you won't get to shop!! Crazy how that stuff works around here. So, the taxi driver suggested we take the ferry boat over to St. John's. We got to the ferry station, just as the hourly boat left, of course, so we had to wait another hour before the next ferry left. I played a couple of slot machines and then we checked out the local maps, while we waited.

Finally, got on the ferry and rode up front and snapped some pics of St. John's ahead of us, as we approached it. Very cool to ride the ferry over to another island. We could see the British Isles in the distance also. They greeted us at St. John's with a rum shot. You could choose mango or regular or BOTH!! We took one of each and then visited a couple of shops. We stopped at the visitor's center and decided we would go ahead, find a taxi and take it to Trunk Bay Beach, since it is one of the most poplular beaches on St. John's. It is actually a part of Virgin Islands National Park, so you have to pay to use the facilities and such. Very beautiful beach and I took lots of pics and then more pics of the beach from higher spots of the island as we took the taxi back to the ferry station. We got to the ferry station in time to take the very next ferry back to St. Thomas! We got back to St. Thomas, got another taxi and talked to some very nice folks from the East coast. They were staying at the Marriott so we got to see another part of St. Thomas, which was very cool. We got back to our hotel and are relaxing, showering and getting ready for another fun evening in St. Thomas. Last night was very cool once the sun went down, so that was lovely to walk back to the hotel in.

Really loving the time here and wish I could post some of my lovely pics, but they will have to wait. Talk to you all soon. Until next time....

In St.Thomas!!!!

Hey all,

So, thought I would keep you up to date on the happs here in the US Virgin Islands!!! LOL It is so nice here!! Everyone we talk to is really friendly and offer to suggest places to eat, shop, etc. Very helpful.

The weather is hot and humid!! I bet the humidity level is at 80%!! ugh...not used to that at all!! Surviving it though by just wearing very little clothing!! lol

We got in last night and it had just stopped raining. They had gotten dumped on from tropical storm Otto. They say Otto is swirling around still and may come back. Hopefully we are gone by that time. They said they haven't had that much rain here in five years. We caught a taxi and got to our hotel, the Windward Passage. The room was ok, we have switched rooms since last night due to the fact that we had a leak by the entry doorway, non-working hair dryer and no working vent fan. This room is much nicer and with an ocean view now too!!!

We got settled last night and then decided to look around town for something to eat for Reuben. Well, it was like 9pm and we began our journey walking across town!!! We walked through dark streets with creepy guys either sleeping on benches or just popping out from nowhere. I was scared to death, but didn't show it!! I think with Reuben's size, they didn't dare mess with us!! lol I bet we walked a few miles and would go from restaurant to restaurant until we found one open and serving food, not just drinks. We finally found one out at Havensight, which is a big ship port area, almost across town!! We went to the Shipwreck Tavern and it was so cool!! Our waiter was awesome giving us tips on stuff around town, etc. We decided to take a taxi back to the hotel, since our walk there was so sketchy and scary!! Cost $8 to take the taxi back.

Today we slept in late and then got ready and started walking again, but went to the downtown district this time and shopped for souvenirs and ate at Glady's pub. Very quaint little place. All the shops/restaurants have huge doors for when they have hurricane's predicted, to protect the windows and such. Kinda cool. We also hiked up this hill to Blackbeard's castle and to "99 steps", which is actually 103 steps!! We went up and down them. Lots of walking and picture taking!! Then got back to the hotel, relaxed by the pool, switched to our new room, freshened up and headed out to get our free hotel drinks and then to find dinner!! We chatted with some folks here at the bar and they told us to try "Hook, Line and Sinker" in the Frenchman's area. It's only a couple of blocks from here so we walked there and had an awesome dinner/drinks and a fabulous waitress, Val. Val suggested we go to Betsy's bar afterwards to shoot pool, etc. We went there and played 3 games of pool. The locals are so nice and smiley and friendly, its unbelievable!! We had a great time and then walked back. Betsy's bar must have a Packers fan, cuz there was Packer stuff in a few places. I took a pic with me next to the stuff and will post sometime!! lol

We are back at the hotel early tonight to rest up for tomorrow and to shower and relax!!! Not used to the humidity and such. I'm very thankful for the walking we've been doing!! Then maybe, I won't have to use the fitness center here!

That's all I've got for now. Until next time....

St Thomas bound...

Hey all,

Haven't written much here lately...too darn busy!! ha-ha

Been on vacation this week and next week also from the bank. Had to work a couple of evenings at the gym, but now, tomorrow, I'm heading off to the island of St. Thomas!!! I have Kalyn all set as far as phone numbers to call if she has an issue and food in the cupboards and fridge! Hopefully she remembers to feed the cats....

I hope to have a ton of pics to post when I get back. It's supposed to rain while we are there, but the temps will be in the 80's!

Worked a lot on the house this week, getting it ready for winter. I had my friend Joe stop over. He checked the furnace, the water pipes and the water heater. The water heater needs a new thermo coupling so he's gonna purchase it and install it next week when I'm back home. He also suggested I take the water heater out and put a metal plate under it cuz right now it's just that board under it. He said when they get wet, the water heater falls right to the ground!! I hope that doesn't happen as long as I live here. I may ask how much a project like that would cost me. Got the roof patched, the Jeep fixed and purchased a used/rebuilt computer from a friend and also a new router for the computer. ugh....all these purchases make me crazy!! But, it all had to be done. When it rains, it pours. Hopefully that is the end of that for awhile.

Kalyn got her Senior pics done and they turned out wonderful. I will have to work on those when I'm back also. Kalyn wants to be a part of picking out who gets what pictures and the sizes, etc. I will need to order her announcements and gown here soon also. Then, the Yearbook!! She's doing so well this year!! She's also working really hard on her online stuff too. She has to get those done in order to graduate. I told her to get 3 of them done by Xmas and then she will only have 1 to do before the middle of May. So far, she has one almost done, another half done and then one to begin. I'm so proud of her!!

I got a promotion at the bank and after a week of deliberating, I took the position although I did not approve of the amount of money they offered me. It's a 10% pay increase, which I think is not very much at all for the duties I now have. I am a Banking Operations Supervisor!! I am in charge of the tellers now and will be doing some of Lesley's duties also. I get to have my own office, if I like also. Lesley is now a Vice President and is over-seeing all 5 bank offices. We have Catrina back as a teller and then we hired Carl back in May, so we are fully staffed with us 4 peeps there.

We are doing Flintstones as our theme at the bank for Halloween!! They haven't told me what is left to choose from yet!! lol Should be fun!!

Must go now and maybe do some packing!!! Until next time......

Senior pictures!

Hey all,

Drove Kalyn and our previous neighbor, Andy, up to the Jemez Mountains today so Andy could do his photography magic and take awesome shots of Kalyn for her Senior pictures!! So far, from what we saw, he did a great job!! Photos to come!! We were gone 4 hours and I predicted it would probably take that long to drive up there, pick out several locations, have Kalyn do a few different wardrobe changes and then drive back. It was awesome weather, awesome company and it was a grand time!! He's charging me alot more than when he did Tyler's so, not too thrilled about that, but oh well. A lot cheaper than what it could be, I suppose.

Saturday the 25th, me and some friends ran the Yum Run 5K race. We had a great time and got our workouts in for the day just by participating in it!! It was a chilly morning, but perfect for running!!

This week at the bank, I should find out the money offer for the new position they are offering me. I hope it's enough to quit my other jobs. That way, I can dedicate more time to Kalyn and working out. Hopefully, they offer enough.

Made fajitas tonight in the crockpot, so I best go and tend to those. Make sure you all watch Monday Night Football as it is the Packers and daaaaa Bears!! Until next time....

Mid September....

Hey all,

Yeah, yeah, I know.....it's been awhile since I last wrote...just didnt have time or feel like updating!! I'm working at the gym today, so I may as well take the time to type away!!!

I'm up for a promotion at work...still haven't been told how much or anything yet. Hopefully they get on that soon so i can figure out my life and my jobs!! I may be dropping a night or two at the gym and also only clean for the Courtright's. I'm excited and scared, but I do need more work to do and the experience will be wonderful for me. Also at the bank, Catrina is back full-time as a teller!! She quit 4 1/2 years ago and I took her position over at the Customer Service desk cuz she had it sooo organized!! Cat will back me up at work and also help Carl at the teller line. Lesley got promoted to manage all 5 offices of Community Bank and so she will be very busy with that. I even get my own office if it all works well.

Kalyn is doing really well and really getting anxious to graduate!! She had her ultrasound and xray of her stomach yesterday and we will find out the results soon. The doctor said he couldn't see anything on the xray, but would wait to take a look at the ultrasound too. She doesn't have any pain if she stays away from spicy foods, which she has been. Poor thing...

Tyler is good...we went to ABQ and saw his place, went to lunch and also to see his new kittens, Zoe and Mikey. They are cute.

The state fair is going on right now, but I don't think we will make it this year. I've never been to it, so I'm ok with that!!

Three more weeks until Reuben and I leave for St. Thomas (virgin islands) for his daughters wedding on 10-12-10. We are both so excited. I think I am ready as far as any necessary clothing etc. I will get to use my new luggage, all 3 swimtops, hobo bag, beach towel, water shoes...lol...that's all the stuff I have bought since Xmas cuz I knew I would need them for this trip. Lying on a beach sounds REAL good...right now!! lol

Can't think of anything more exciting right now. Just working away as usual and I've been exercising more too, so I'm feeling the good effects of that. I'm hoping when I cut back down on jobs, I will have lots more time to workout!!

You all take care!! Until next time...

Another weekend upon us...

Hey all,

Well, I got Kalyn home safe and sound from her travels to Moab, Kansas, Dallas, Oklahoma City and back. She had a fun time, overall. I got her home and sure enough, the spending began!! Had to buy her school supplies, shoes, pay for her school fees, food, personal items (hairspray, etc)...it is neverending. Shane was able to give her $30 towards her new exercise shoes, which I appreciate so much! We had to order some "unmentionables" online and then I think that was all I could afford for the moment!! I had ordered her jeans before she left for her trip, so she is good there for a bit. Kalyn came back home with a really good attitude and was ready to get herself set for her Senior year, this year. I'm happy she is all gung-ho. I hope she realizes this is it...she has to get her stuff taken care of or no graduation! Her classes are all real easy, so she should be able to get her online stuff done also.

Tyler had a good birthday. He got a lot of money and I hope he is out buying clothes with it all. Him and Emily moved into a new place just right up the street from where they were AND they have a roommate. He said the electricity is NOT included with rent like his past place, so I'm hoping he doesn't freeze this winter!!! lol

I'm keeping super busy right now with all my jobs. Mrs Courtright just called me today to have me come over on Wednesday again. She was walking her son's dog while they are out of town moving their kids to their respective colleges, and the dog saw an animal and jerked her and down she went and broke her arm!! I feel so bad and she has a houseful of company for a family wedding today. Ugh...so I'm going there Wed after work. Tomorrow I do Tj and Di's house on Barranca and maybe Monday evening too if I don't finish tomorrow and then work at the gym Tues and Thurs nights. Busy!! But the money will be nice.

Next weekend, Reuben and I got invited to a friend's lake house for Saturday and Sunday. Should be a great time!! It's about 2 1/2 hours south of here. No kids invited though..its adult weekend, they said. LOL There are other couples going as well. Reuben is off backpacking this weekend with his daughter and her fiance. He won't be back until Monday afternoon. He always looks forward to getting out in the wilderness so I'm happy he is doing this. He wanted me to go also, but I just couldn't take Monday off from work and I have all these other obligations going on right now. Oh well...there is always next time.

Went to Angie's today and cleaned for her. She just got back from being in South Dakota for 3 weeks so she had her wood floors all redone while she was away. It looks really really nice. 4 guys from her church showed up to move the furniture back in for her. I could only get the kitchen, 2 baths and the living room done today. We got a lot of dust and walls cleaned before the guys showed up, so that helped. I brought over my last Magic Eraser cuz I knew she had a ton of scuff marks along her walls and I'm sure glad I brought it over. The walls look amazing now. She really needs to paint some areas and I told her she should do that now while the house is still pretty empty. She likes to keep alot of things she really doesn't need so I'm trying to encourage her to go through things and rid of them!! Her divorce still isn't final quite yet, but getting closer!! They were married over 20 years!

The bank has lost several key players in the last weeks, so they talked to my boss, Lesley and may start having her do some more stuff. She asked me if I might be interested in doing some more things and I told her sure. I won't do anything else unless there is a raise involved!! lol

Well, that's all I have for now. I'm working at the gym and doing the deposit, so I better keep moving on that. Until next time...

First day off!!

Hey all,

Here is my very first fleece blanket that I actually made today!! I'm trying to decide to give it to a friend that had a boy back on St. Patrick's Day...OR give it to a complete stranger next weekend for whom I had been invited to the baby shower, but can't go due to working at the gym. It's actually the gym owners brother that has a girlfriend that is pregnant and that's who the shower is for....what to do ....what to do... I hardly ever see the other friend, but thought it would be a nice gesture to give them something for the baby. I wanted to do a St. Patrick's Day one, but haven't found fleece this time of year. Maybe I could wait until his first birthday?? lol

My first day off is going well. I started, last night, cleaning the house, making the cookie dough and things like that. I'm glad I did cuz this morning I did have to go into the bank and open, etc for Lesley. I told her that was the least I could do since it's just her and our new teller, Carl, there all alone, while I am off. So, then I stopped at the gym and said hello to Reuben, cuz I knew he was working out, ran into Smith's for some stuff, dropped off mail at the mailbox, came home, baked cookies, baked brownies, looked at a couple of necklaces I need to fix for Mrs. Courtright, did laundry and some other odds and ends. Then finished with all that and went and visited with my friend, Keith, then stopped at the Post Office for the bank and dropped off the mail to them and some cookies, worked out, ran into Smith's again (!!), came home, threw food in the crockpot and now just made that blanket...whew!! I still need to go out to the shed and see what I can conjure up to sell in the yard sale over at Tj and Diana's tomorrow. Maybe some older beanie babies!!

Tonight, Reuben and I are taking his youngest daughter, Cosette, bowling. She leaves for California on Labor Day weekend, so he wants to spend some time with her. I decided to join them for a little bowling.

Sunday, we get to drive and see Four Corners and then up to Cortez to meet with Barb and pick up Kalyn!! She's been gone 3 weeks. They had a lot of fun going to Six Flags in Dallas and she got another tattoo!! It's on her foot this time. We will then drive down to Durango and meet with Aunt Julie, see her place and eat lunch. Reuben wants to stop in Pagosa and go to a bow/hunting shop. He's looking for a bow.

On the home front...my living room tv is going kaput!! Soooo....looks like I will have to get another one. It's not like I'm short on tv's or anything around here, but it's nice to have a larger one in the living room!! I had my couch shampooed the other day (professionally), so it looks and smells cleaner!! Tj and Diana will be picking up their dry sink next week, so I will move that curio cabinet where the dry sink was and then put my treadmill in the living room in that corner. Barb will eventually take the curio cabinet and I will need to get a new one. They aren't too expensive, but nothing like how they used to be made!!

Well, I better get in the shed....take care.....until next time....

More new stuff!!

Hey all,

Wanted to post some more pics of the things I got with my birthday money.

The precious moments, "Mom, your love makes me blossom", is from Kalyn and then the bedset and valances is what I got with some of my birthday money. I also moved the furniture around in my bedroom (yes, again) cuz I thought the tv would be more cozy in the other corner of the room. My treadmill will eventually move to the living room once Tj and Diana take their drysink back to their new townhouse here in LA.

That's all I've got for now....on my way to work. Until next time....

Birthday stuff

Hey all,

I had the most wonderful birthday ever!! I had about 15 people over on Friday night and we threw some hotdogs on the grill, we had a ton of cake (Tj made me one, Reuben bought me one and I had made cupcakes already!) and then a cheese/fruit platter. Of course, we had beer and then a few people brought more over! We all had a fun time and then around 9:15, those of us that were heading down to the casino, got ready to go and we left! 5 of us went down to the casino and I won a bit of money over the course of the evening, so that will be nice to spend with any actual birthday money I received. It was the most perfect day! Thank you to everyone out there for all the birthday wishes....that was really sweet!!

Reuben got me that Hobo bag that is in the 2nd picture of my blog. It is from a client of his that makes things and sells on Esty.com. (I figured Aunt Jacque might want to check it out!!) Anyways, he got it for our trip to St. Thomas in October!! I had just been thinking about what I will bring to carry things in, etc. Perfect idea he had!!

On Friday, we went to Santa Fe during the day and I had my first mammogram appointment. It went well and didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would. I will hear back in a few days from them about the results. It went very quickly and we were out of that office in no time. Loved it!!

Kalyn sounds like she is having a fun time with her Dad. That's good!! I hear Six Flags is in her future!!??

Tyler is moving this weekend and don't have his new address yet, but I will get it!!

I had the entire weekend off, so yesterday I just hung around here and recovered from Friday night...today we may go to Santa Fe again. Tomorrow at the bank is my party and it's also Christine's last day. She is off to go see her hubby graduate from SOCOM school and then join him at his duty station, which they don't know where that is yet. We hired Carl, a few months back so he will move up to full time like Christine was. He's not that good and his 90 day probationary time is up on the 19th of August. Catrina applied for the part-time teller position (as you may or may not recall she used to work there before) and also my friend Angie did too. I'm hoping Lesley hires one of those ladies to make our lives a lot easier than having someone brand new come in. We shall see what happens.....

That's all I've got for now...Happy August!! Until next time....

Hike today

Hey all,

Today, Reuben and I, went to one of the various hiking trails around town and tried out my new hiking boots that he got for me for my birthday. They were pretty expensive, but when you are out hiking and backpacking you have to have comfortable foot gear. He also got me socks and then a rain pants and jacket set for hiking too. I still need to get some hiking shorts and a couple of shirts (that are not cotton, he says) for hiking/backpacking trips. I will get those with any birthday money I get. We had a nice two hour hike and man...I was/am beat!! We are still gonna go hit the gym and do some weight lifting anyways. Don't need the cardio workout today!!

Kalyn was gone most of the weekend to ABQ for the Mayhem concert. There are like 12 bands or so that play all day. She stood about 10 ft from Rob Zombie and then got to meet some of the members of the band, Korn. She also had them sign their CD for her. She bought a t-shirt as well.

Tyler was in town again, so him and his friend Matt came over and ate dinner last night with me and Reuben. They were hungry, he said, and had no food to eat at Emily's, so Ty called me up and asked what I was makin' for dinner!! What a funny guy!! I told him, anytime he is hungry...give me a call!!

We are just kinda chillin' right now...I've got steak fajitas cookin' up for dinner in the crockpot and doing laundry!!

Next Sunday, we are driving up to Durango to meet Barb and Steph for the Kalyn drop-off. She will be gone almost 3 weeks. That will be a nice time for Kalyn to spend with her father. Reuben and I will meet Julie for lunch and then drive back. Takes up most of the day driving up and back, but it's enjoyable.

Have a good week!! Until next time....

The Happs....

Hey all,

Just thought I would let you know what's happening with us lately....

Today I got a wonderful massage first thing this morning since I didn't have to clean or work at the gym until later today. That was very nice...

Last night, myself, Kalyn, Tyler, Emily, Kev, Tj and Diana all met for dinner at DeColores. We gave Tj his Father's Day gift cuz they weren't around for the real event. We had a lovely time and they filled us in on their wonderful trip and how the house is doing on the market. They have a couple of real interests on the house, so they are hoping something comes through. Kev and them are looking at a house for him in Santa Fe today.

Kalyn will be going to Moab on the 25th of July. Reuben and I will drive her to Durango to meet up with Gram Barb and then we will have lunch with Auntie Julie. We go back and get her around the 13th of August. Kalyn will be in Moab for a few days and then will drive to Kansas with her step-mom Stephanie and Steph's daughter Cassie for a visit with her father when he gets back from California around the 2nd of August. Should be a good time for them.

It was good to see Tyler this weekend and last weekend. He's happy cuz he gets fed and his clothes cleaned for FREE!! LOL Love kids!! He is in town cuz of the Jemez Mountain Music Fest. Their band is playing today and then my friend Dave (and former coworker at the bank) is playing with his band on Sunday so, myself, Kalyn and Christine are all gonna wear our shirts with his bands' name on it and head up and see them play!! Tyler's band is Kamikaze Death and Dave's is Obelisk. I will take pics!!

We may have had a bear in the neighborhood last night. There was a tipped over trash can and then wood chips scattered and then also bear droppings out in the street!! Scary!!

The 4th was great. Had a good time with the kids and the food was abundant and the race was fun!! We had an awesome fireworks display and were able to get out of traffic and get home by 10:15!!

That's all I've got for now!! Eagerly anticipating my 40th birthday and to see how my Auntie Jacque whips up my apron and cushion!! Love to all!! Until next time...

Happy 4th of July!!!

Hey all,

Did I ever mention how much I LOOOVE the month of July?? Well, it has my favorite holiday and it also has my Birthday, so it IS my favorite month!!! So far the month is going along just fine!!

I ran the annual 5k race this morning. I did ok, but had a really good time with some of my friends there!! 3 of them had never run a 5k before and 2 of them beat me!!! LOL oh well....I was just out for a leisurely jog!!

Reuben invited over his daughter Nicole and her fiance, Tony, to come grill out with us here at the house. I made sure to ask K if it was ok with her. Tyler dropped by and he and Emily may join us also!! Should be fun and then tonight drive down to White Rock for the Fireworks spectacle...can hardly wait.

I have Monday off, so R and I plan to drive to Santa Fe real quick for a few things that he wants to check out at REI. He is also test driving a Honda Civic that he may buy and it will be nice to take it for a drive out of town to check how it handles, etc. It's a 2005 and would be very economical for him. He drives a 1989 Jeep Wrangler right now. Not very reliable and hard to get out of town in. LOL he will still keep the Jeep for getting in the mountains, etc. Kalyn gets to be the proud driver of his Jeep which makes it nice for ME to have MY Jeep back.

That's all I've got for now. Hope you all have a wonderful day!! Until next time....

Almost July...love summer!!

Hey all,

Well, it is now summertime in LA! Lovin' the warm sun beating down on us. I usually walk to the post office for the bank on a daily basis to check the mail, so it has been wonderful enjoying the heat beating down on me while I go there and back. Sometimes, Kalyn has the Jeep so I am unable to drive around for my lunchbreak, so in those cases, I have been walking as well. It's quite enjoyable!! lol

Speaking of Jeep, finally got my plate and registration yesterday!! Woohoo, it is officially MINE now!! So, so happy about that. I checked my credit report (everyone can check their credit for free online at annualcreditreport.com from all 3 agencies...just fyi..) and Zia shows up on my credit as me paying them for a vehicle loan. Very nice!! Everything on the credit report looks good. Had a few things under Shane's account that I am an "authorized signer" on, so I called those peeps up and had them remove my name. I have no obligation to them, but just in case, I wanted to cover my tracks.

All jobs are going quite well. Can't complain too much about that.

Went to the Isotopes baseball game on Sunday with Kalyn and Reuben. We had a great time and we also did some clothes shopping before the game. It was nice to be out of town for the day and do something fun.

Kalyn is working out the final details of going to see her Dad and Steph when he returns from being in California for the month of July for training. Steph will meet us in Durango to drop off Kalyn and then havent heard how she is getting back from Kansas yet. Steph is staying in Moab for the month of July while Shane is gone. She still has a 14 year old daughter that lives there and wants to spend time with her. Steph will drive her daughter and Kalyn to Kansas and then they will greet Shane home and then both girls will be there for a week or so. I think we are planning the dropoff in Durango for Sunday, July 25th.

I'm running the annual 4th of July 5k next Sunday. Looking forward to competing in it. I talked a couple of co-workers from the gym to run it also, and they signed up!! The power of persuasion!! hahhaha

Okay, well, that's all for now. Until next time....

Father's Day!!

Hey all,

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there!! I took some pictures of some "wild" flowers that grow around here. Enjoy!! Until next time....

Roses!!

Hey all,

Here are some pictures I promised you!! The first one is the house with the top trim painted brown to match the rest of the trim!! We also took "The Schultz'" sign down and painted the house where that was mounted.
These are my beautiful roses that are blooming in the front walk/driveway area. I trimmed them back this year and been watering them religiously and look what became of all that hard work!! (not really that hard of work!!) I'm pleased how pretty they are!!

Thought you might enjoy those!! Off to Kev's house!! Tj and Diana put it on the market today and they had two showings already today and an open house is set for Sunday!! Kalyn had to go over and make sure the dogs were put up for the showings....so here we go!!! LOL

Until next time...

Sunday doings

Hey all,

Well, I got the three things done today that I had hoped to get done, so I'm a happy girl!! I mowed, painted the trim of the house and touch-ups by the windows, etc and got my workout done. I'm exhausted, but now complete with all jobs on the outside of the house!! Woohoo!!

Had a really nice weekend finally getting some things done around here for a change. This coming week I will have to be over at Tj and Diana's more to make sure all looks good for house showings and then I have to clean for the Courtright's at some point and then also my friend Angie. Always someone's house to clean. One of these days I hope to be done doing that. Once Tj's house sells, that will be one down, the Courtright's only need me once a month unless it is Spring cleaning time like we are doing now and then Angie twice monthly, but sometimes only once. Kinda sporatic, but it seems like usually they need me ALLL at the same time!! lol

Gonna watch "Night at the Museum 2" and do my toe nails and eat dinner (turkey brats), wish me luck!!

Until next time...

Pretty good week

Hey all,

Well the time is just flying by with Kalyn gone. I'm working and such and barely have time to be home to enjoy the quiet!! She should be back Tuesday or Wednesday and Barb will stay here overnight with her 3 little dogs. Should be fun. Barb will also pick up some of Shane's stuff he left behind at Diana's and also a couple of house decorating items here at my house.

My house was egged Tuesday night so I was pretty upset. Stayed up late cleaning up the mess outside. It was BAD!! K's bedroom window was just COVERED in egg and way up top of the house got it too. Ugh....I got through it. I finished cleaning up the grill cover today cuz that got hit pretty hard too. Plus, that egg smell STINKS!!! ick...

Today I changed out some screens for my windows. That was pretty fun and easy!! Tj gave me the screen and I bought the tool you use and some more cord, but didn't need the cord. I just recycled and used the cord already on the screen. I gotta work this afternoon so thought I would get some of this other stuff done around the house. The only thing left to do is mow the yard and paint the very very top of the outside trim on the front of the house. It never got painted when we painted a couple of years ago, so I will do that also tomorrow. All that should take less than an hour. Supposed to be really hot this weekend so that will be nice. I can go take my run in the sun!!!

Speaking of run, my new shoes are wonderful!! I should really be getting them a lot more often than I do. I can REALLY tell a difference in the running and the distance with the new shoes. Very nice. I like the Brooks brand. Very comfy and fitting for my foot.

Went out to eat with Tj and Diana before the Memorial weekend and now last night we went down to El Paragua in Espanola. They leave Tuesday for about a month long trip. They are driving up the Pacific coast highway from California all the way up to Vancouver. They will stay in Colorado with Jennie, Ryan and Katy for the 4th and then they will be back in LA until Aug/Sept. It's nice to have them back in town. They put their house up for sale and we shall see what happens. Kev and I are in charge of putting the dogs up when the realtor needs to show the house. I also have to go over there about every other day to make sure all is neat and clean for showings. Diana had the window people come and then they are coming back to clean the house (like take cobwebs down, take apart their big light fixtures and get all the bugs out, etc) so it should look really nice and then I can keep up with it after that for sure!!

Reuben helped me last weekend with things around the house. We got the swamp cooler going, the water all hooked up for the outside faucets, etc. He was a big help. I think I see a painter in my future for tomorrow while I mow!!! Until next time.... :)

New Rooms

Hey all, Well I promised pics of the two rooms that I've been messing with and here they are!! The picture above is looking into my room from the doorway. The corner desk is new and that is my treadmill sitting next to it. And of course, Sugar laying on the bed!!

This next photo is the new tv stand. I put my dresser inside the closet to make more room. I spared you all and didn't take a photo of inside the closet (even though I REALLY wanted to and yes it is clean!!)

This is the new guest room/craft room. I love the new futon cushion. It is VERY thick!! It looks very classy!! Tyler was the first one to try it out last weekend.

I got to stay home today so I got a lot of stuff finished up. I cleaned up Kalyn's room, now that she is gone until the 8th. I also did some small things around the house and finally that Mr. Fix-it guy, Joe, came over today and put my new exhaust fan in the kids' bathroom. He only charged me $25!! I told him NOOOO....I will give you $50. He drove to Santa Fe to buy the fan, had to go to two or three different places to get it and then it took him an hour to install. I figured $50 would be the cost of just the fan!!! So, that was nice of him.

I'm about to go workout, so I better go. Enjoy the pics!! Until next time....

Almost Memorial weekend!!

Hey all,

Well, I've been real busy working on my days off from the bank!! I've been doing cleaning jobs, working at the gym, doing things around the house...It's never-ending!! I'm having a good time though.

Reuben and I drove to Santa Fe on Monday and did a bunch of different kind of shopping. I had to get a couple rugs, some things for the swamp cooler, flowers to plant...things like that. We had a good time and ate at Panda Express. We had to be back so that I could work at 6 and we got back to town about 4:30.

Tuesday, I planted my flowers, I got my haircut, met Catrina for lunch, cleaned for the Courtright's for two hours, went and visited with Keith and then took a short nap before working at the gym last night.

Today, I mowed the lawn, trimmed all the grass around the house and shed, got the ladder out and went around the entire house caulking all the cracks and washing all the windows, turned the water on for the hoses for outside and then watered the plants. I had yardwork planned for today and that's what I've done so far. I'm gonna make lunch for me and K and then she needs me to get her hair dyed for her. I also need to run some errands uptown, but may wait until I drop her off at work to do that. I work at 6, so will get it all done before that. I don't work at the gym after tonight until next week, so that leaves me the weekend to do whatever. Pretty excited!!

Thursday I have to be at the Courtright's to clean more. This time the main level. She is having me do the "spring cleaning" now. I did the upstairs yesterday. She had me polish all the wood furniture, dust all the blinds, dust off the 3 ceiling fans, clean both bathrooms up there and then vacuum. Then, I will come home, have lunch and then head to Angie's for the afternoon. I can't clean for her on Saturday due to me going to the graduation, so she is having me Thursday and possibly Friday for a little bit. She has a renter in her basement now and needs help getting that all ready.

Friday, I have a guy coming over to finally fix my fan in the kids' bathroom. We keep postponing him coming over, so hopefully he does Friday!! LOL Kalyn also leaves Friday for a week to go to Clovis with her Grandma Barb. Shane and Stephanie are coming here to LA for the weekend. They are staying at Tj and Diana's house. Tj and Diana got back here yesterday and we saw them in the parking lot at the gym when K was dropping me off to work!! lol Anyways, I also took a load of Shane's stuff over to T and D's house in case he would like to take it back home with him and that way he won't need to come over here for any reason.

So, that's what I've been up to.....busy, busy, but it's so nice to get some of this stuff done. I won't have another vacation until August, so I better enjoy this now!! I pretty much have everything done now. All the big stuff anyway....well we still have to do the swamp cooler, but that's not too much of a big deal.

That's all I've got for now. Until next time...

May stuff.....

Hey all,

Well, not much going on around the 2 Schultz' house these days. I'm working on changing up some of the items of furniture in my house. So far, I got the futon in the now "new" guest room/craft room and also got a corner computer desk (to make more room for me in my bedroom) and also a tall tv stand for my bedroom as well. Stayed up late last night putting the tv stand together, but got it done. Looks good too. I promise pictures when I get everything moved around. I have to put the treadmill in my room now due to the futon in the guest room. I really couldn't pass up a free, very nice looking futon, so I'm putting up with having the treadmill in my room. oh well...

I moved my regular dresser into my closet instead of having the tv sit on that. I got the new tv stand setup and it is ready to go. Leaves a lot of room already in my bedroom. I left the computer desk at the bank (thats where I had it delivered) so I will need to go by there and pick that up to begin assembling, etc. I'm real excited to have a "change", you know? Now, I will just need to find time to enjoy my craft room and new look in the bedroom.

I'm helping K this weekend with some catch-up schoolwork and also her defensive driving class (online). We need to get it all done this weekend, so I'm taking tomorrow and just dedicating it to helping her. I told her today that I have the whole day to help and get it done. Her final test for the DD has to be proctored, so I want her to do that on Tuesday with my boss, Lesley, at the bank. The proctor has to be a notary. The DD course is due the 25th and so is her community service. She has done 6 hours of the community service, so we are almost there!! So proud of her!!

Until next time.....

Mother's Day 2010

Hey all,

I had a pretty wonderful Mother's Day and wanted to share with you....

I got this soft, soft Gund bear from Kalyn and the card too!! She surprised me with it by saying (as I walked in the door from getting my Mother's Day facial!!)...."Mom, will you put my laundry in the dryer please?"....so I said "sure!"...and proceeded to walk to the washer/dryer area. I opened the door and look what was sitting there to greet me!!! I thought that was really cute!! I can't stop talking about how soft this bear is. She knows me too well!!

Tyler called me around 6:30 while we were eating dinner. We chatted for a few minutes and then we were finished. It was really nice of him to call and I was hoping he was going to!!

Kalyn took me to a movie "Furry Vengeance" and then we had steaks on the grill for dinner. The whole day was really nice!!

Until next time.... (did I mention the bear is soft????)

Happy May!!

Hey all,

Wow!! This year sure is flying by. The weather here has been cold and snowy!! Not what I predicted for the beginning of May!!! As we speak, I'm wearing a sweatshirt cuz I'm chilly!! Soon it will warm up and I think it is supposed to sometime this week.

Not much going on today. Had to clean for Angie and now feeling lazy, lazy. I laid down for a bit, but now feel like doing something to feel motivated!!! Ah well....it's Sunday!! I can be lazy if I want. Already went and visited Keith for the day. He's had company so I haven't seen him since Wed or Thurs.

Kalyn is off seeing the play "The Wiz" over at the High school. She gets extra credit for going so she decided to go. I'm proud of her.

That's all I've got for today!! Until next time...

Wednesday, my last day off!!

Hey all,

Had a busy Wednesday. Took Kalyn to the doctor for a follow-up. They will be sending her to a nutritionalist. The lady has called me already to make an appointment, but I was on the phone with Dish network trying to get our new replacement receiver hooked up. I will call her back though. Got back to LA, had to go mail a few packages and then Kalyn went to school and I went and worked out! Had a good workout, then drove home, did a few things and then headed uptown to mail back the old receiver. I got a call from Nicole at Zia and she said to come in and sign the papers for the Jeep!!!! I was soooo excited!! Got all that done and then came home again and then had a massage at 5. Reuben took me to the Blue Window to eat to celebrate the loan that I got. It's so unbelievable that I got it!!! Had a really awesome day!!

Back to work today!!! But thankfully, it's Thursday!! Until next time...

Tuesday, my day off!!

Hey all,

Today was not as eventful as the past few days, so that was nice. I went uptown in the a.m. and opened an account at Zia Credit Union. If I get a loan, they are going to suggest that I do that anyway, so thought I would get ahead of the game here. I saw my former co-worker, Natalia, over there. She is now in charge of the tellers at Zia. She's originally from Russia and a very nice friend. She worked with my at Community Bank. So, chatted with her, opened the account and left. I then went over to The Blue Window to wait for Catrina to show up for lunch. We had a wonderful lunch (she paid...cuz she said she owed me) and we had good chats!!

I went home and had lunch ready for Kalyn when she came home for her school lunchbreak. She had asked me previously to do that for her!! After she left, I got on the computer and such and then went and mowed the lawn. Didn't feel like doing much else so I laid down and took a nap!! Woke up feeling refreshed and then got ready for work.

I will let you know how the loan goes tomorrow. I sent her an email stating that I dropped off the papers to her today while she was out and that I opened an account too. Until next time...

Monday, my day off!!

Hey all,

Had a busy, wonderful Monday off!! Kalyn went to school and Reuben went down to DMV to take care of some stuff, so I was at home, car-less, and decided to make some phone calls and take care of odds and ends. I save change in this one jar, so I got that out and was rolling the coin and then Reuben got back, so we headed out for our adventure down at Ojo Caliente (hot springs!!). It's a place that has several hot tubs/hot springs and then a regular swimming pool...all outside!! (His co-worker Kim had a punchcard for that place, so we got to go for free!!) It was a gorgeous, clear blue-sky day, a bit windy, but great!! We both got sunburned and we were only there 2 hours!! It was nice and relaxing!! We drove back to Los Alamos (Ojo is down the Espanola way) cuz Reuben had a 3 o'clock massage appointment for himself. He is supposed to get a massage himself for every 10 he gives other people. Kind of impossible sometimes.

Dropped Reuben off at his appointment and then headed over to Zia Credit Union to see if they could help me with a loan, now that I am officially debt-free!! The lady told me that everything looks really good to go ahead with the loan. She said she explained to her boss that due to the divorce, I had these issues and previous to the divorce, all my payments to creditors was phenomenal. SO...the nice loan lady is off today, but will get a hold of me tomorrow so we can get this done!! I'm so, so, so happy, you have no idea!! I go back to the bank on Thursday and can't leave Thursday or Friday cuz it will just be myself and Christine there, so I'm hoping we can take care of it all tomorrow!! Or possibly, someone could come to my bank and we could sign papers there. What a relief!!!

Kalyn requested chicken alfredo last night with garlic cheese bread, so that's what I made last night. Turned out really good. Kalyn has one month of school left!! She's excited. She got her jury duty part of her punishment done (for speeding) and now needs to work on her community service and defensive driving class. Both need to be done within a month, so I'm hoping she gets on that soon.

Today I'm going to lunch with Catrina and then I work at the gym tonight. It's supposed to be a nice day so will probably just mow the lawn and things like that.

That's all for now....take care!! Until next time....

Days off.....

Hey all,

Just an update to say hello and that my days off are going wonderfully!!! Friday I spent the a.m. vacuuming out the Jeep, then went to Kevin's and cleaned for 2 hours. (I've been trying to dust all the book shelves, etc and finally finished that project) I drove home and began cleaning at my house!! Got some walls washed, picked up cat hair along the walls on the floor, mopping, cleaning up K's room, bathrooms, etc. Got a lot accomplished on Friday. I stopped at lunchtime and picked up some tacos for K's lunch and picked her up from school. She drove back to school, so I was stuck at the house and decided it would be a great time to just clean. I did watch "Precious" in the afternoon, which was an ok movie.

Saturday, Reuben and I had to go to Santa Fe quite early. He had a 2 hr class to take for the duathalon that is going on today down in White Rock. (He is volunteering as a helper/masseuse for the racers. I was going to help too, but got asked to work/swap shifts with people at the gym. I'm working 10-6 today at the gym, which is the entire day that the gym is open!! LOL We usually have two people split it up, but both of them needed to swap and so I just offered to work the whole day if someone took my shift on Saturday. So, in the end, I get two extra hours which is always a good thing.) We went to IHOP, first thing, to eat, then went to Target as he had a giftcard and I wanted to get a few t-shirts and a pair of shorts. I ended up getting a new swim top (one I almost bought last time, but it was too expensive. This time it was 1/2 price!!), zip-up sweatshirt, bermuda shorts and some t-shirts, all for very little money. We then left there and had time to stop at Kohl's. EVERYTHING was 1/2 price!! Oh man...wish I had extra money yesterday!! LOL I did get 3 tshirts that were $5 each and another pair of shorts. I had a $10 off card from them, so only spent $20!!

I drove Reuben over to the massage school and then left him there. I then drove over to Walmart, looking for K's hair spray. She uses Fructis and they keep changing the style/formula so it's really difficult to find now and eventually we will have to switch to a different kind, but for now, this was my mission....to find the hairspray!! No luck at Walmart, all they had was the new stuff. Ok...next...

Drove up to Smith's.....no hairspray, but bought a magazine....Drove to Payless Shoes...nope no hairspray AND no shoes I liked....Drove to Kmart (thought of my Aunt Jacque)...nope, no hairspray. Drove to Walgreen's (thought of Aunt Julie)....YES, hairspray!! AND they had 2!! Bought both of those up and still had time to drive across the street to Bed Bath and Beyond!! Finally time to go get Reuben and head back to LA. He had a client coming in at 1pm and I had a facial scheduled at 2. Picked up some Taco Bell for K and headed back!!

The rest of the day was really nice. Had the facial, went to the gym and ran on the treadmill, then we came home and cooked ribs on the grill. Learned a new trick!! With the pork ribs, if you boil them slightly (like brats) the inside gets cooked and then you throw them on the grill!! You get rid of excess fat on the ribs this way. They turned out very moist and yummy!!! Saves grilling time too!!

Well, enough of my rambling....as you can see I am stalling to get ready to go to work!! LOL Looks like a gorgeous day today!! You all have a nice one! Until next time...

Winnings!!!

Hey all,

Every quarter at the gym, the owners draw two names out of this "kudos" box that we have at work. The employees receive the "kudos" when they do something extra around the gym like cleaning or a task she wanted us to do, etc. So, you put your little "kudos" in the box and then after the quarter is over, she draws two winners. Well, last quarter it was myself and Katie (an instructor) that won. We each won a $25 Chili's gift card and Reuben and I used it on Valentine's Day. THIS quarter, I won again!!!! I won a $40 gift card to the clothing store Beall's here in town and the other lady, JoAnn, won a $40 massage gift certificate to go see Reuben!! I'm glad I didn't get the massage coupon!! I think the owners know better!! LOL So, I'm all excited about my gift card.

Until next time....

My Friend Keith

Hey all,

Just thought you all would like to see the "other" man in my life!! He is 82 and his name is Keith Kelley. I try to stop over at his place for about 20-30 minutes every night that I am off from the gym. I check to make sure he is doing ok. Sometimes I have found him well and sometimes I have found him sick as a dog!! He is a very famous artist. He has his paintings all over the country, in museums, hospitals, etc. He has one that will be put in the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City soon. I took a pic of him today and some of his paintings to share with you all. We tease each other all the time that we are probably related as my grandmother's maiden name is Kelley. Spelled the same and everything. Kinda funny. Enjoy!!!

Until next time...

Blah, rainy Saturday.

Hey all,

Not a lot happening, but wanted to post about the day. It was a bit rainy this morning, but now the sun is out, so that makes me a bit happier today. Just feeling a little blah..not sure why..no reason to be down at all!! Oh well, I guess everyone is entitled to a "down" day.

I got to Kev's house about 8:45 this morning, started my dusting back in Tj and Diana's room and bathroom, then at 9:25 had to leave for my haircut appointment. Had a good chat with my stylist, Ruby, and then left and went back to Kev's to complete the cleaning. Got a lot done over there, but had to hurry at the end as it was getting close to noon and I had to be to work at the gym at 1. Got home in plenty of time to change, make my lunch and throw a load of laundry in the washer. Now I'm still working and it's almost time to call it quits.

I think I am making tacos and tostadas tonight. It's quick and easy and sounds good!!

Not sure what tomorrow holds....Gotta do laundry and then Reuben wants to go watch a group of people rock climb, so we may go do that. He is getting a facial at 10:30 so I will probably go for a run while he does that.

I have another small vaca at the end of the week. I am off Friday the 23rd and go back on Thursday the 29th. I have to work a full day at the gym on Sunday the 25th to help cover some people. I have a couple of appointments while I'm off so I'm hoping to do some scrap booking this time since I don't have a whole lot going on. I didn't request off from the gym cuz I would only work part of that time I'm off anyway. No big deal...

Okay...enjoy the day out there and love to all. Until next time...