Burrr... cold... day....

It's been windy and on the cool side here in northern Wyoming. It's storming up in the mountains.

No walk today... too cold... (Am I a whimp or what?)

It's just after supper here. We had tacos, a family favorite. It'll be time to put Aaron to bed VERY SOON... Matthew has a scout meeting tonight.

Our iMac(at least 5 years old now) hard drive is going.... Rich bought one of those MacMinis.. it keeps freezing up on him. What a pain! It's going back to the store tomorrow. Apple support said that the RAM may be a problem. Hmmm... Another trip to Billings, a 180 mile round trip at $2.07/gallon for gas...

Time to put little guy to bed.

Time for bed...

My day...

-Worked all morning.
-Got a call from Matthew's school about an IEP meeting TODAY AT 3:20... I didn't know anything about IT! Rich was in Billings... he didn't know about it either... the notice was in Matthew's backpack...
-Back in time to make supper (canned chilli... doctored up)
-Off again to a church meeting.
-HOME and ready for bed...

Busy day!!!!

But... things got put into perspective when I read Mel's blog... Would you stop by and give her a couple words of encouragement?

entering the zone...

You are now entering the zone.... of... BB gun negotiations...
Yes, Matthew (now 11 years old) wants a BB gun. Now... had we still be living in the city... outside of Boston... this would be a "non-issue!" But we're not... we're in the wilds of Wyoming... and there's lots of safe places to shoot a BB gun at Grandpa's farm...

Oh... sigh...

Don't read this next paragraph if you're eating right now...
I was busily getting ready for Easter dinner. I was alone in my kitchen... had sent everyone to Grandma's... I was singing an Easter hymn to myself...

When... I got a little to0 comfortable and carefree... in chopping up my cucumber. OUCH!!!!
I'll spare you the gory details. I'm OK... not stitches...

Recently, I told Richard that I wanted to get one of these slicer thingys. He reaction... oh no... you'll be cutting your arm off with that!

Does anyone have a mandoline? Do you use it? Do you like the brand that you got? Would I be cutting myself all the time with it? (OK.. I know that you can't answer that one!)

How was you Easter? We had a really nice afternoon. It was a nice warm day. The boys played outside most of the afternoon. I went for a nice walk...

Rich and I headed down to the property to check things out. The mud is drying up... We'll be working on the house again soon.

Out for a walk...

The boys were at the park playing and Rich was home making his very yummy clam chowder. Oh man... is that stuff good!!! Rich warned me NOT to BLAME him if I gain 2 pounds tomorrow....

I decided to escape for a nice walk down to our property. It was a pleasant late afternoon with bright sunshine. I walked around the upper blocks near our property then down the canal road backtracking to our little piece of Wyoming.

There's this open spot that is prairy grass surrounded by Russian Olive Trees. Oh... the view of the mountains... Heart Mountain and Bear Tooth Mountain crowned in snow shimmering in the beautiful colors of sunset. I just stood and stared at the majestic beauty.

Then I sat down in the prairy grass just memerized by the quiet of my peaceful solitude. Ahh... Soon, I found myself laying back in the grass, my eyes focusing on the white puffy, swirly cloud formations with a background of bright blue sky.

I have found a new special place...

I came home at dusk to find my family enjoying that clam chowder without me... Richard was ready to send out the calvary to retrieve me...

When will I learn?

Sometimes I must learn and re-learn.. and... yes... learn again...

When Aaron doesn't get to bed ON-TIME... he gets a bag case of the UGLIES...

Why don't I seem to recall this FACT??? Sigh...

Wanted to take the family out for lunch today.... but...

It's healthy to laugh at one's self...

OK... I got this new cell phone from Verizon. It's the flip up kind. It's got a speaker phone on it that I just love... I'll give my mom a call and we can chit chat while I'm working in the kitchen....

Anyway...

Been faithfully putting it on the charger the past couple nights... but noticed that it was down to one bar in the graph thingy. Well... You ready?

I had been plugging the charger connection into the headphone jack. OK... go ahead... you can laugh! (LOL!)

kids slept at grandma's last night...

The house is very quiet this morning... I think that the boys may be going to the farm with grandpa this morning... we'll see...

It's spring vacation here. The kids had 1/2 day yesterday at school and now don't go back till Tuesday (3/29).

Rich is going to make his famous Clam Chowder today. It's so yummy!

As my son Matthew was begging to go out to eat (my cooking can't be THAT bad!)... Taco Bell... Chinese food... Pizza... I noticed his beautiful eye lashes. I don't know... they just seem so long tonight...

Why do boys have the most beautiful long, black eye lashes? It's just NOT fair!

Supper...
Hamburgers
sweet potato (I'm the only one who would eat it)
salmon burger (for me)
salad... (me again..)
peas..

It's been lightly snowing most of the day here. But most of it has been absorbed by the dry soil. The mountains have a nice fresh blanket of white. It's so pretty!

Grandpa brought the horses from the farm to the pasture between our houses. Actually, there's a large pasture behind our little house too... all connected... I like looking out my kitchen and office windows and seeing them grazing... (Maybe I would just take this for granted had I grown up here... but... remember... I'm a city-girl (from Boston) gone country... so all this country stuff still mezmerizes me!

homemade Cream of Broccoli Soup and...

Supper at our house...
First course... cream of broccoli soup.
Matthew attempts to eat it by holding his nose and swallowing fast...
Aaron decides he doesn't like it because Matthew made such a fuss.

Lemon chicken and stir-fried brown rice...
Mom, what's wrong with this chicken? Can't we have something NORMAL?

Should I even discuss the nice green salad?

OH NO!!!

OK, I thought I was doing a good thing by adding that comment thingy... Halo something... but I see that I have totally messed up... and now... I have NO comments...

Hmmm...

Sorry! I love your comments. I'll try to get this fixed up!

PS... It's snowing here.... and we're back to cold....
Grandpa put the horses back in the pasture. I can see them behind the house... right from my window in the office.

My family...

I had my hair restored to my natural color. In my mind, I am the blonde of my youth... but with each pregnancy... my hair got darker and darker...

(My husband is getting a big laugh out of this... "restored to my natural color" has got him laughing so hard... he's choking!)

Anyway... I have blonde highlights again.

My son, Matthew, asked me, "Mom, why is your hair YELLOW?"

OK, the important thing is that I LIKE IT!!!!

I'm off to part 2 of the Interior Design class at the college. This is the final night. We're learning about color and going on a field trip. More later!

Bright sunny, warm day...

Greetings from sunny, spring-like Wyoming!

It turned out to be a beautiful day here. It is so good to see the sun and to have a warm day. Been cold here for a week or so... I'm about ready to head out for another walk.

Matthew just left on his electric scooter for basketball practice. Aaron's at homework club this afternoon. Rich headed to Billings, MT with our iMac...

Oh... the hard drive on our iMac is going... Sad... it has all the tax stuff on it... of course! Rich took it to a mac fixer place. They say it'll be $400 to fix it... Shoot!

Homemade pizza for supper tonight. I'll get the dough mixed up after my walk. Better head out before my indians come home.

Thoughts of home...

I made chicken curry last night. Chunks of chicken, carrots, sweet potato, onion, and celery served over Jasmine rice. Yummm!

My friend Kieko from Japan, showed me how to make this years ago. It's been a family favorite since then.

I have to say that I do miss the wonderful cultural diversity of Boston. It must be time for a trip home!

Have a peaceful, restful, calm Sunday... one that prepares you for the week ahead!

ABCs of Renewable Energy

Rich and I were out for a date last night. We went to a lecture on the ABC's of Renewable Energy. It was really interesting! The instructor recently installed a wind turbine (which is on the grid!) at his home. Rich went for the tour today.

Matthew is off to the farm this morning to help grandpa move the pigs around. Grandpa has a hog farm!!!

Oh... we're well into tax preparations! My dear sweet accountant husband has graciously taken on sorting through my many receipts for this biz and that biz. He loves that kind of stuff... I on the other hand.... CRINGE at the thought! I love talking with people and he loves all the detail work. It's a good combination, the two of us!

I'm sad to report that I have NOT been out for my daily walks since the weather turned cold about 1 1/2 weeks ago. I sure feel it too!

Today I shall:
GO for a nice long walk!

where have I been?

Tuesday was parent/teacher conference afternoon. I just love this little town.... with teachers that actually live in the community (for the most part). Country life is very much agreeing with our boys!!

Each parent/teacher conference was very enjoyable with lots of positives... both boys are doing very well this year. Whew....

I could have had a whole blog last year... all about Aaron and kindergarten... I used to cringe everytime the phone rang... it was school... and Aaron would be having a tough day....

But... he's doing great this year!!!

Wednesday was Matthew's birthday.... but I was in charge of a big dinner at church... the next day... Thursday.. was recovery day... for me... Oh, I also managed to squeeze in... getting my hair done!

Thursday (yes... that was yesterday...OK...), Grandma made Matthew his favorite meal of fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I made a chocolate cake with chocolate frosing (which ended looking like um... throw-up!) and covered it with ground up oreo cookies and gummy worms. I know... it doesn't sound appetizing but remember, we're talking about an 11 year old here!

Friday... went to the health fair blood drawing thingy. They got 2 tubes worth from me for various tests....

Tonight is DATE NIGHT!
I signed us up to go to a lecture at the college. The ABCs of Renewable Energy. The gentleman who is giving this one night lecture put a 10KW wind turbine near his home... generates all the electricity for his home with it... and with the extra... he sells that back to the electric company. Woody, I know that you'd love this class!! Anyway, we're both looking forward to it.

That's my life for this week! How's it going with you?

What was I thinking? Oh... what was I thinking...

Chords of this popular country song rang in my mind as we struggled to get Aaron out the door for school....

Rich took the boys out for dinner at Taco Bell (my kid's favorite place!) and to see the movie Robots last night. The movie started at 7:15. They got home about 9:15pm. Yes... I agreed to this!!!

Lesson learned...
Not enough sleep makes for a very grumpy little guy come morning!!! Hey, I knew this already... what was I thinking?

Snow!

It's a snowy Monday morning. Got a dusting during the night, but it's melting away. When I got up this morning, our kittens were waiting outside to come in... all covered in a blanket of snow. Poor things!

They like to be outside now that the weather isn't so cold.

Matthew got his motor scooter on Friday. It looks like this one, but it's not the pro model. He and Rich put it together yesterday.

Oh my... I feel like I should still be sleeping... Just took some of this to get me going.

Rich and I will be going out for lunch today. That will be nice. We're running to Cody in a few hours.

It's sooooo nice to have him back home!!! Hey, how was your weekend?

Rich is HOME!

Greetings loyal visitors at the kitchen table!

Ah.... Rich is home!!! He got in last night around 9pm. It's so good to have him home. I didn't realize how anxious I was during his trip. The boys too!

I feel settled again....

Just spoke with my Dad in southern, New Hampshire. They got another foot of snow from that storm yesterday. New England has sure had their fair share of snow this year!

We even had snow, sleet, and rain yesterday. For a while it looked like a blizzard here in northern Wyoming... But by later in the afternoon, the ground had soaked up all the moisture, and the snow was all gone.

I haven't been for my walk for a few days now... And I sure feel it!

Time to get ready for church. Have a nice Sunday. May it be peaceful and relaxing!

Did I say that it was nice & sunny?

Right after I wrote my blog entry this morning... the sun quickly got clouded over. What a nasty day it has been. Snow...sleet...wind...cold.

OK, back to housework...

Getting ready...

It's Saturday.

Rich will be home today, probably late. He stayed in Sioux Falls,SD last night. He's got about 700+ miles left to go. He's been hitting lots of snow.

I spoke to my parents in southern New Hampshire. They're getting another blizzard which should dump about another foot of snow on them... Boy, New England has been hit hard this year! They seem to be back in that snow cycle.

It's a beautiful sunny day here. You know... before I came to live here and was just an occaissional summer visitior, I didn't think that Wyoming EVER had a cloudy, rainy day.

We would generally come out for Pioneer Day which is the end of July. And it would just be gorgeous! Sunny, warm, and dry... Now... remember, I'm from New England!

Today...
Clean the house
Begin and hopefully finish tax preparations...
GO FOR A WALK!
Maybe... take the kids to see Robots... maybe... if their room gets cleaned-up...

Happy Friday!!!

Good morning bloggin friends!

It's a beautiful sunny day here in northern Wyoming. Supposed to get up in the 60s!

We'll be taking a trip to the big city (Billings, MT) today. The kids are out of school at 12:15 (every Friday, they get out at that time!), so... off we'll go.

Matthew has been scrimping and saving his allowance and working extra jobs in order to buy himself one of those electric scooter thingys. So.. he now has enough.

Rich was in Wisconsin overnight. He's making his way back home. He delivered our pillows and picked up supplies for the next campaign...

It will be so good to have Rich back home! I miss him!!!!

Oh ya... then there's the dreaded TAX... preparation... I've decided to delve into that on Saturday afternoon. Two business... and personal stuff....
OK, I need a change of attitude about this... let's see...

"I am so looking forward to receiving my tax refund! Getting all my stuff together won't take long... then I'll be done!" How's that?

The Farmers are...

Just back from an incredible power walk with my friend Ana. Whew...

We walked out toward the country. The farmers are out preparing for the next planting. I was sooo excited to see this!!! It's a wonderful sign of spring!!!

It's just beautiful here this afternoon.

We're having homemade pizza for supper... well... actually just boys are having pizza. I'm on a day 1 rotation on my program... which means fresh fruits and veggies for today.

Boys and paints...

Got home last night from helping serve dinner at the church...
Grandma was watching the kids for me...
Aaron and his buddy were playing at her house while she was cooking dinner...
Well...
They had gotten into these arcrylic paint tubes (watch out when kids are quiet!) AND GOTTEN PAINT all over themselves... and I don't know what else (haven't been over there yet to survey the damage!) They couldn't get the paint out, so they just broke the tubes in half...

Rich update...
Rich is on his way to pick up stuffing. It finally made it to Massachusetts from Canada. I'm hoping that he'll make it back Saturday evening or Sunday. Single momhood is tough!!!
My heart goes out to anyone in this tough situation!

What? It's 6pm, already?

Hi bloggin' friends!
I enjoyed a nice walk at noon time today. The mountains were so pretty with newly covered snow. The bird were singing away, declaring the coming of Spring. I even heard a chickadee's song as I neared my home.

Rich is still in Massachusetts... Our shipment of stuffing hasn't made its way from Canada yet.... And snow is on its way tonight.... Sure hope that he's able to head back home tomorrow.

Pinewood durby is Thursday evening... Thankfully... Uncle John is helping Matthew with the car's most important feature... wheels! Woody, I would have asked you if you lived closer!

I'm off tonight to church to help with a dinner....

A peaceful morning... short lived!

Oh my... my little guy (age 7) must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. He was a beart this morning!!!

After spending "time on the wall" (a place for him calm down... and get himself together), he did eventually get to school.

And now... my house is quiet again. Just me today. Rich is still traveling.

Does anyone want to come do my dishes? I'll trade off a chore that you don't like, OK?

Robyn and I are taking our friend Ann out for lunch today. She's had a tough couple weeks... family stuff (need I say more?)

Time zipping by...

Good morning! The above audio is just a good morning welcome!

Ah... another Monday! Is it me or do the day and weeks seem to zoom by at an alarming rate?

I was just telling Matthew that he has only a couple months left of school. My kids get out the end of May.

OK, I should be sleeping... but...

Hi!!! Hope that you had a wonderful weekend!! Did you do anything fun?

I'm fooling around with some new software that allows me to capture audio for playback on websites and in email. If you're interested in Stress Relief or want a better understanding of how stress effects the body... would you check out this out?

If you do listen in... would you give me some feedback. This package is kind of exciting... as I've been trying to find an easy way to share information with people all over the country without having to use snail mail. I love technology, it makes my life so much easier!!!!

We had a quiet weekend. Rich made it out to New Hampshire in about 4 days. 2500 miles... in just 4 days. Incredible!!!!

Our pillows have been delivered. He'll pick up more supplies and head home probably on Tuesday.

OK... I'm heading to bed now... it's 12:55am on Monday morning...

Good Sunday Morning!

I can't believe that my boys are still sleeping.... it's 7:23am. Yesterday they were literally up at the crack of dawn... around 6am...

Hey Coach Steve! Thanks for dropping by today!!! Have a nice day.

I'm sitting here getting ready for a class that I'm going to teach at church. Each Sunday, we have 3 blocks of meetings. The first is called Sacrament, the 2nd is Sunday School, and in the last block the men and women separate for their own respective meetings.

Well, I will be the teacher this week for our women's meeting. I've been really excited about the topic because it has had such an impact on my life.... "thinking!"

Here's something for you to think about today...
David O. McKay
Chapter 23
"The kind of life you live, your disposition, your very nature will be determined by your THOUGHTS, of which your ACTS are but the outward expression. Thought is the seed of ACTION.

Interesting huh?

Well I'd better get to finishing up before the kiddos get up!!!!

Have a nice relaxing Sunday!

My son Matthew and I (Toni) at his 5th grade ski trip outing.
another picture by Toni

Good morning in audio!!!!

Good morning! For some strange reason, I woke up at 5am this morning...

I've been trying to figure out a way to share audio files both on my blogs and via email. As I was researching this... at a way too early time this morning.... I came across Blogger's Audioblogger

The one limitation is that the max length is 5 minutes... !BUT! It gives you the ability to add audio to your blog from any phone!!! So when you're traveling and don't have web access... !YES! you can still blog!

I've added an audio entry to my Shakstory blog as well. If you haven't been by for a visit (Yes... this is a blog related to my business!) Come on by and listen to Bonnie's story of over coming Crohn's Disease. She is my inspiration!!!!

Oh.... what an exciting morning!!!!

I'm back!

I can't believe that it's been a couple days since my last post...

It was a glorious day here in Big Horn County Wyoming! I think that it hit 60 degrees.
I worked all morning making calls then took a nice walk after lunch. Oh... it was so nice out!

On my way back a friend stopped by. We sat out on my pretty wooden bench, chatted and enjoyed the springy weather.

Rich is working his way across country with our pillows. First night he made it to Rapid City, SD, then LaCrosse,WI, and tonight... he's stopped in Youngstown, OH. He's making really good time!

Oh, tomorrow... I'm heading to Billings to the Home Show at the Metra! I'm excited about going. I need some ideas for my new house. And... I was thinking that next year... I might like to be an exhibitor. Never a dull moment here!!!

Oh my... it's 11:45pm. Time for bed.

Done.. .done... done!!!

My house is very quiet this morning.

You know the feeling when you've been striving to reach a goal... or get a big project done... AND THEN YOU DO? Well, that's how I feel today. Whewwww.....

Pillows are on their way from Wyoming to Massachusetts. I can see my couch and windows once again.

Now to do catch up.... like dishes and vacuuming and general cleaning... My house is a mess! So, if you stop by for a fruit smoothy (I don't drink coffee... sorry!), don't mind the mess.

It's a bright sunny day here. Has been getting up into the 50s. I've been doing such a good job at getting out for a walk every day. I can feel that spring is just around the corner.

I'm debaiting about planting a garden for this year... I feel like there are too many irons in the fire. Soon we'll be back into "house building" mode again.