Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Top Ten Tuesday - Lovin Thy Dern Self Edition

1. I can cook most anything I want to. Except for instant rice. Seriously. I can dissect most any dish and re-create it, but that dang instant rice usually ends up runny? Hmmm.



2. I love my kids, and everyone else's. I am coaching volleyball this season, and the kids and I are having a ball...more on that later. But, kids and dogs just know I am a safe place and that I adore them. Yep, I do. Guilty as charged. I am a pretty darn good mommy, that I can always stand upon, if nothing else in the world is going my way.



3. I am a good amigo. People usually want to talk to me, and share their problems and thoughts. I have had one student call it "pastoral". I took it to mean related to Louis Pasteur, so I was like a disease? Huh? No, I kid. I kid. I guess I must put people at ease, and I like that I can be that for some people. I guess that's why I am in the profession I am in.



4. I think I am pretty fun. I like to laugh, and to make others laugh is a hobby of mine. I usually try to take a boring bunch of stiff academics and at least give them one chuckle per day. Even if it's a small, quiet, shoulders barely rising and falling sort of laugh. Academics don't do the belly laugh thang. I think it's forbidden in the first day of professor school.



5. I am tough as heck. I can lift more than most people. I can generally take a high level of pain. I just think it comes from thinking you were a boy until you turned 12. I just don't get too wrapped up in sniveling. I am a "suck it up" kinda chicky.



6. I love camping, hunting, fishing and the great outdoors. I think it's something that is part of our heritage, so I am glad to be honoring that part of our roots. I know it sounds overly dramatic to extrapolate this out of a simple desire to sleep in the woods, but seriously. I know Dad has told me that Grandpa wanted his kids and his grandkids to enjoy the woods as much as he did. I do, Papa McCumber. I so do. Dad said he sometimes would go find a tree and just sit under it with his back propped up against it and nap. I try to do this now, with some regularity. Not because I am a lazy bum that loves the whizz of the bugs in the trees and the smell of the pine and the sun on my face, but purely to honor my Grandfather. Geez, give a girl some credit...



7. I am honest. I get my arse in a sling sometimes because of this. I am honest, even if you would really rather I didn't tell the truth. So sorry, but I am a slave to the truth. I only lie when telling the kids that the almond M&Ms are all gone. Ok, that's usually a lie. Kidding! :)



8. I work hard. I am a very productive person. Most of the time. (Except for 3pm bath and literature hour...) I can get alot accomplished very quickly. Especially under pressure. I THRIVE under pressure. I think it comes from backup dispatching at the Sheriff's Department when I was a wee one...17 to be exact. I only had to dispatch if the main dispatch was swamped...so I had to be able to handle alot of pressure. I love working hard, and love accomplishing alot. Doesn't make for many "favorite colleague of the year" awards at work, but hey, whatcha gonna do?

9. I am passionate. It's a blessing and a curse, really. It leads me to say things when I am empassioned about something that I later regret. Usually when I am angry or fired up, I can be a bit "outspoken", shall we say? But, I usually have an opinion about things, and I love that I live to the extent that things excite me...and get me fired up.

10. I am adaptable. I get that from my Momma. I can be in the most bizarre situations, and still feel pretty comfortable. I was thinking that once when I was in a room full of snobby people and high priced hors'derves that I would be just as comfortable on a tailgate with a bunch of rednecks drinking beer.

See, this was a fun topic. When was the last time you had time to write ten things about you that you liked? Or, about your cousin? So sweet, Becky! You're my hero. :)

Monday, September 29, 2008

Top Ten Tuesday Topic...and a Monday Funny

Ok, this lady is a hoot. She is funny, and I know funny. Yep, g'head, insert the "you look funny" joke here. I can take it. :)




Top Ten Tuesday topic this week will be:

Top ten reasons why I love myself. Awww, ain't that sweet? We should love ourselves, you know?

:)

Happy Blogging!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

More on that chick I dig...


Thanks for the great pictures you sent, Ma and Pa. Thought I would share them with the blogging world. Too funny. Also, check this out:

http://www.lagrandeobserver.com/News/Local-News/Youre-who

Pretty cool for my little tiny town...also this lady is from my homeland...and is my mother in law's hairdresser! :) I love small town life! :)

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Top Ten Tuesday - Things a Man Should Never Say to His Wife

1. You should dress like that chick, she looks hot!
2. Is your hot friend single yet?
3. How many of those are you planning on eating?
4. You STILL look pretty to ME (Yep, I have heard those words)
5. What do you expect after two kids? You think you'll look like a bikini model?
6. Go ahead. Go out with your friends. Have fun! (Trap. Don't do it. You'll never live it down as long as you live...at least in my world.)
7. How old IS that babysitter?
8. Remember when your hair used to be long and beautiful?
9. I hope you love your new cordless drill I got you for Christmas. (Yep, that's right. That's what I got for Christmas.)
10. Go ahead. Go take a nap. I'll take care of the kids and dinner while you rest. (Again, trap. You'll never live it down and the kids will not be supervised or fed when you awake.)

Ok, mine aren't funny. Don't ask me questions about males right now. I hate them all. Besides my father, brother and especially my son. They're it. The rest are pig dung.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Back to Skoo



Here's the back to skoo pics for 2007-2008. E got her new hairdo on her birthday...the day before school started. She has been wanting a "boy" haircut for some time, so she was so excited. We hadn't quite perfected the 'do by day one, but we are getting better and better. Just in time for picture day...day after tomorrow. This year we're busy...imagine that. Volleyball three days a week, mom is coaching. Football two times a week...dad's coaching. Fiddle one day a week. That leaves Sunday without an activity. Phew. As one of my life's favorite professors once said "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." I am a friggin saint, then. Fo sho. Happy Back to School... A couple weeks late. :)

See that little tooth hole there. Yep, first tooth..gonzo! He pulled it himself with no tears. He's no biiiotch.. my tough little man.
Mr. Serious..

Top Ten Tuesdays - Stuff I Would Spend My $$ on if Gas Prices Weren't So High

1. Gas - I have a big car with little mileage - Where would I go? The phrase "anywhere but here" fits
2. Furniture. I love furniture but don't have ANYTHING I want...yet.
3. New work clothes - A girl can only wear the same black slacks and dress shoes for so damn long
4. Shoes. Duh. Will...always...want....more....shoes
5. New water heater. New furnace. New vacuum. (How is it that crap all falls apart at once?)
6. Weight Watchers food and club thingy. I am such a tubby. I need to get skinnier.
7. Airfare to a warm place with cute cabana boys and lots of umbrella drinks
8. New computer. Mine is old and slow.
9. Kitchen remodel
10. A little St. Bernard puppy :) Or a Burmese Mountain Dog. Or a Mastif. Or another dog the size of a hereford cow.

:)

Monday, September 15, 2008

SNL...I could hardly wait

So, the moment I laid eyes on the rip snortin' maverick, and my new hero, Sarah Palin...I was thinking of Tina Fey in a SNL sketch. Sad, I know, when politics for me are reduced to how funny SNL will be for the viewing public...but I swear I thought I was the only one noticing their strong resemblance to one another. Of course I wasn't...

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/palin-hillary-open/656281/

I tried to stay awake for it Saturday night, but I just couldn't. So, thank goodness for the www.

:)

Friday, September 12, 2008

Happy Birthday to My Little E

Birthday Party. Luau Theme. LIMBO LIMBO! How low can you go?
Raise your Tiki glass to 9 years of fun!!
My sweet little princess flower girl. She's an old hand at this thing...this is her third wedding. And now, sigh, for a trip down memory lane.
LOVE this picture. The panic on ALK's face. Hurry up, TAKE THE SHOT!!!
The wonder in her sweet little eyes when she's looking up at the Easter Bunny.
My little pea pod. It was typical trick-or-treating in E. Oregon. Ok, kids, take off your parka and your Sorels and your scarves and hats so you can show off your costumes~! This was so sweet on her!


So proud of her new teeth. :)Oh, my little swimmy suit model. Lovin it!

Her first ride on a horse. I knew then we had an equestrian on our hands.
I think I was modeling a naptime demo for her. I am good at napping.
She loved Rock and Roll Elmo. Lovin the Eeyore ears too.
A real live bunny in a photoshoot. Brave photo studio, I'll tell you that.

I have such an amazing daughter. God was smiling on the world the day he sent her down. It's hard for a mother to express just all of the qualities they love in their children, but I'll try.

Her intelligence far surpassed her mother's years ago. She is the best big sister a boy could ask for. I have always called her the deputy mom. I don't think I could have raised T without her. She's such a help to me, and I am excited about this pre-teen stuff, because we talk hair and clothes now....but we still get to play Barbies and Pollys. Yay for me. When I close my eyes, I still see that little face the moment she was born. So incredibly beautiful yet strong. Holding her head up just moments after being born. She was 9 lbs, so she was always healthy and strong. Still is. I have yet to see her fail at something she truly wanted to learn, do or try. I know that as she grows, her beauty and strength will be traits she will continue to show the world.

So, happy 9, E. Emmster, Emma Bean, McGloskey, Sissy poo, Sissy, Sweet Pea, Emmy, Emma Saywhen, Emmer, I couldn't love another baby girl on the planet as much as I do you, sissy. You made me a mother, the thing I had waited my whole life for. I will love you forever.

:)

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Top Ten Tuesday...10 Worst Songs for a Wedding or a Funeral (Isn't that redundant?)

Wedding
1. I Ain't as Good as I Once Was - Toby
2. Bring on the Rain - JoDee Messina
3. White Trash Wedding - Dixie Chicks (exerpt: I shouldn't be wearin' white and you can't afford no ring. Consider the source.)
4. You Give Love a Bad Name
5. What Was I Thinkin' - Dierks

Funeral
1. Thank God and Greyhound- Roy Clark (Google it, folks. Sheesh.)
2. Life Goes On
3. Na Na Na Na...Hey Hey Hey...Goodbye
4. Celebrate - Kool and the Gang
5. Hot in Herre - Nelly :) Boy I am funny.

Ok, so you only get ten. It IS a top TEN list afterall, isn't it? Plus, ten each would be dad burned hard. :)

Toodleoo.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Farewell, Sweet Summer

Are you the kind of Mom that is glad when summer is over? Are you the kind of Mom that drops the kids off and speeds away in the mini-van in a delerious stupor, or are you like me...when the end of summer fills you with a sense of dread. The feeling that the glorious fun-filled days of swimming, tanning, camping and lying in the hammock are gone... Gone, I say!

Well, this post is a quick summary of the rest of our summer. I would like to give a hearty thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for a summer to remember. We spent most of our time this summer in God' s country, and I can't thank them enough for the warm hospitatlity and the great summer memories. Love you!


The classic buried in the sand poses...from our July trip to the coast with Grandma and Papa.

E, T and I at our good friends' Billy and Caroline's wedding. Kids were the ringbearer and flowergirl. Too sweet.
The amazing location, as well as the amazing bride and groom. What a gorgeous wedding in the woods.
One of my best friends from college, Kerri, and I at her wedding one week later. So nice and relaxed. Was a great wedding and reception. She held out, and found the man of her dreams and I couldn't be happier for them.
Swimmy lessons at good 'ol Gleason pool in JD, where I took swim lessons when I was a wee one.


A fun trip to Unity reservoir where we boated and the kids got to ride in their blow up monster truck towable thingy. Pretty sweet. Such a riot for them. They SOOOO love it. I think they rode for over 3 hours one day without stopping.

Phew. That's about it. BUSY BUSY summer. Stay tuned. More news coming soon...E's bday...first day of school... good stuff.