Monday, September 10, 2007

Please take a moment...


Tomorrow morning, to remember those who died on September 11, 2001

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Whew...busy summer!

I know I'm horrible about updating, but it has been a really busy summer so far. We've had a ton of rain, and the lake level is so high that most of our dock is underwater!


We had our annual BBQ on June 30, and it was a blast. We had about 60 people...the food was excellent, the weather held out, and all in all, it was wonderful!

My weight loss surgery was five months ago, as of yesterday. I've lost 54.5 lbs, and seem to be holding there. I'd love to lose another 25, but I'm ok with where I am.

Everybody is doing well here...Shannon's having a great time living at the lake. She's been working full-time, babysitting. She's been saving some money, tithing some, and spending some...as it should be :)

Scott is, of course, in his element, smoking and grilling meat all the time, fishing, taking care of the yards (a full-time job!), and having a blast enjoying the summer.

So, we're doing great!

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

And today's word is...

Main Entry: hy·poc·ri·sy
Pronunciation: hi-'pä-kr&-sE also hI-
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -sies
Etymology: Middle English ypocrisie, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin hypocrisis, from Greek hypokrisis act of playing a part on the stage, hypocrisy, from hypokrinesthai to answer, act on the stage, from hypo- + krinein to decide -- more at CERTAIN
1 : a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion
2 : an act or instance of hypocrisy

If the word fits....

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Rusty

Our puppy, Rusty, has grown into quite a handsome dog. He's very good...well, all except for digging in the front yard, for which he may die, if Scott ever catches him at it! :X

He's pretty smart too, except for the aforementioned, and has learned sit, stay, down, leave it, and is now learning to catch his toys in mid-air, so I shot some pics tonight.

By the way, if you ever see him riding around in the golf cart, don't laugh...it's his favorite pasttime ;)



Oops! Missed!


I can catch it in my paws - does that count?


Success!


And again!


What goes up...


Sunday, May 06, 2007

Sheesh!

Well, our golf cart got stolen in the middle of the night Friday/Saturday, and Scott spent yesterday trying to find it, and while I was trying to get Shannon ready for her prom and attending our HOA meeting (oh, you're looking at the new Secretary - not quite sure how that happened!).

Scott was able to discover that our cart had been stolen. They left it down the road about 2:15 when it ran out of battery, and 45 minutes later, it was gone, so we think someone saw it, trailered it, and took off. Kind of funny...while Scott was out looking for our cart, he found two other ones that had been stolen too. We know that two girls had stolen one girl's grandmother's car, and it was two girls that stole our cart, so we think it's the same ones. One girl got caught and is in custody. If they admit to it, I'll be going after her parents for the return of the money our cart was worth.

Of course, with the BBQ coming up, and the fact that we really enjoyed owning one, it was imperative that we replace it immediately. So we have a new (used) one. This one has a windshield, new seat covers, and it has a "truck bed", so we can haul small things with it. It's also gas powered instead of battery powered, so that's a nice change. It cost more than I wanted to spend, but from what Scott has been able to research on them, we actually got it for about $1000 less than they normally go for. I'll post pictures after the seats are done, and Scott has

Shannon looked utterly gorgeous for her prom. She's still asleep, so no idea how it went, but from the pictures on my camera, it looks like she had a great time.

This picture was taken just before her boyfriend picked her up:


Saturday, April 14, 2007

Well, that was interesting!

We had a nasty old storm come through the DFW metroplex yesterday, leaving tornadoes all over the place, killing two and hurting five others.

It came right for us out here in Quinlan, but the oddness of living on the lake continues - the seriously bad stuff went around us.

We got an inch of rain in about 10 minutes, a little hail, lots of wind, thunder and lightening, but no tornado, and it was over faster than it took to get here.

But you have to prepare for the worst, so the high school was opened to those who wanted to evacuate. All we could do was put the dog and cat in the bathroom, and the birds in the closet. We stood at the front door listening and watching. It was a helluva storm, that's for sure!

It's been cold, windy and overcast all day...definitely an odd Spring!

Sunday, April 01, 2007

We got rain!

We finally got some great rainfall - 6.45"! We're getting lots of run-off from the creeks and pastures around here, and the water is touching the dock. It's also supposed to rain again next week, but I doubt if it will be as much as we got the other day.

The house is all repaired from the fire damage, except for the storm windows in our bedroom, but they did get the inside windows put in. The AC unit is in, thank God, because it's been in the high 70s and low 80s for the past week.

Scott's been busy working on getting the lawns in shape, and Shannon decided to repair the kettle in our front yard to a darker green, with a white border. She hasn't gotten the border on yet, but when she does, I'll get pictures.

Kristi and her family were here the past two weeks, but I didn't get to see very much of them - as it usually is when they come. But I did get to spend a little time with her and the kids. I'll fly up there later this summer (since I still have a ticket out there in cyberspace, due to canceling my trip right after my surgery).

It's been pretty uneventful around here, for which I'm glad. We go to work, Shannon goes to school, we hang out in the evenings, church on Sunday. We did go to a wedding last night (utterly and totally beautiful service and reception), but that's been pretty much it for social outings lately.

I'm having issues with my camera...not sure if it needs to be replaced or if it can be repaired, but a decision needs to be made soon on it...I'm not thrilled having no camera!

More later :)

Monday, March 05, 2007

A few pics

Photobucket wasn't cooperating with me last night, so I threw a couple of pictures up on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7226099@N06/

Saturday, March 03, 2007

This wasn't how I planned to spend my day...

Since Scott and Shannon had gone to Oklahoma for the weekend, I had planned to take a little nap and then get up and go to Walmart to stock up on groceries. Little did I know that my day was not going to go quite that way.

About 11:00 this morning, I'm laying in bed dozing, and I hear some rustling between our house and the one next door. Since it's pretty windy, I don't think much about it, and didn't think much about it when I smelled smoke - just opened my eyes and didn't see smoke in the room, so I just figured that because it was windy, I was smelling the fireplace, and I dozed back off. A few minutes later, I'm smelling smoke again and just about the time I decide I better get up and check it out, Rusty starts barking and there's serious pounding on the door. I threw on my robe and went to the door and our neighbor from two doors south of us said "I think the house next door is on fire!!!" I look over to the north, and sure enough, I see smoke and flames and so I tore back in the house, threw on clothes, let Rusty out of his crate, tried to grab the cat, grabbed the birds instead, grabbed my purse and keys and got the hell out of Dodge. Linda had already called 911, but we didn't have any trucks coming, and the fire department is only 5 miles down the road.

One of the guys from down the street realized that the flames were headed for my propane tank, so he ran over and turned it off, then grabbed a hose and started watering down the side of our house, and the grass and trees between the two houses.

By the time the first truck got here, the house next door was 70% engulfed in some very serious flame and it was apparent that there was no putting it out, so they started focusing on saving our house. We have a metal roof, so they had to pry the roof up, because the eaves were on fire. Watching this made me wince, but I'd rather they did it than not!! Then they turned their attention to the woods behind us; which were developing small fires here and there. After they had dragged every available hose up the hill and connected them, it became apparent to me that they weren't aware of the access road behind the hill, so I told them about it and they went up there to shoot water down the hill, instead of trying to shoot it UP the hill.

After it was all over but a few hot spots, which they are still working on at this time, the house next door is completely gone, our house has two broken windows, four sets of melted mini-blinds, a busted up roof and edge piece, and some water and smoke damage. The siding will need to be painted. We lost the wood privacy fence, and a few trees probably will not survive the damage...but our house is standing and in good enough condition to sleep in!!

Sadly, the house north of the house next door took more significant damage than we did. They lost a two story apartment behind their house, and the siding on their main house pretty much melted, but the house was saved. I don't know how much internal damage it received, but it's pretty ugly on the outside now.

I have to tell you - all of the fire departments around here are volunteer fire departments....and these guys were AWESOME. A couple of them, before they got too insane with the water, ran in the house, disconnected my computer and moved everything into the living room...my desk and everything on it, my filing cabinets, my printer, my computer and monitor...everything they could get their hands on and move, so that they didn't get water damaged. How freaking awesome is that?!? I want to thank the Quinlan, Kaufman, Terrell, South Tawakoni, Able Springs, Elmo and Lone Oak Volunteer Fire Departments for doing such an incredible job and saving my house!!

The neighbors are all aware I had surgery two weeks ago, so they were likewise incredible - feeding me, helping me up and down the hill (after the 2nd trip, I was wiped out), and putting plastic over the broken windows. We are truly blessed for the friends we have made in this community.

Pictures will come when my computer is set back up and I find the connector cable for my camera.

*yawn*

All in all...I'd rather have had a nap!

Friday, February 16, 2007

Life is great!

I had my lapband surgery on Valentine's Day. If you want to read more about that, head on over to Life in Texas, because that's where I'll be posting about my journey.

It's been great around here lately. Scott's daughter is living with us now, and she's a joy to have around. She's helpful, cooperative, funny, and just a great kid...we're delighted to have her with us.

Scott's been sober since December, and that is likewise a joy and a blessing :)

We're still praying for rain, because the lake isn't up nearly enough. I'm positive we'll get it though! (Faith...whew!)

As soon as I can move around good again, and we have some sun, I'll take some pictures of Rusty - he's gotten to be a big boy! He'll be a year old next month - now if he'd just get past this chewing stage! He seems to especially like wood, which concerns me :(

Anyway, life is great! As we move into spring, I'm sure I'll be posting more. When it's winter and you're more or less housebound, there's not a lot to write about ;)

Sunday, January 28, 2007

More rain!

The rain we've gotten has helped a LOT, but it's not nearly enough. It brought the lake up to the same point on our beach as it was when we moved in a year ago last month. Actually, I just looked at the pictures from last January, and the water is up higher than it was in some spots.

I'm putting up some pictures, especially for Cathy :)




This time last year, there was no water this close









So yeah, while we're grateful for what we've gotten, we definitely need more! It was last March when we got all the water that lasted through Spring, so we're hopeful!

Saturday, January 20, 2007

What a strange week it's been!

Winter has hit Dallas with a vengence! We've had rain, sleet, snow, and I've spent more hours on the road in drive time in the past week, than I care to think about!

It's pretty unusual to look out our front door and see this:



Yes, that IS snow down on the beach. I know it's not much, but around here, it's enough to screw up the roads for days...and it did. This picture was taken last Monday (which fortunately, I had off). Last Wednesday, we got more sleet and snow - and it took us 3.5 hours to get to work! It has rained off and on all week, and has been raining slowly and steadily today (just about an inch is all)...but we're hoping the lake will come up another few inches as all the water on the roads and in the creeks makes its way down to the lake.

Counting down the days to my lapband surgery, but I swear, if I hear "but you don't weigh that much!", one more time, I'm going to scream!! If I didn't need the surgery, I sure wouldn't be putting myself through this. (So, if you love me, for God's sake, please don't say that to me!!)

Scott and I are attending church again, and starting 2/1, will be living on a very strict budget. We'd like to have all of our credit card debt paid off within a year, and my truck paid off 2 years after that. We've been reading Dave Ramsey's books, and on February 24th, will be seeing him live in Dallas. We're really excited about the prospect of being out of debt, and spent several hours this morning laying out our budget for February.

There are other things going on with us, but those aren't for publication. Suffice it to say, our lives got suddenly very busy, but this is a good thing!

That's it for now. Until next time...

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Scheduled for surgery!

I've been working towards having lapband surgery since last March, having put back on all the weight I lost on Nutrisystem a couple of years ago. They make you jump through a lot of hoops to have this surgery, but apparently I performed correctly, because I got the insurance approval and will be having surgery on Valentine's Day, of all days.

I'm excited - but also a little scared. I'm determined that this is going to work for me! Hopefully by summer, I'll be wearing bathing suits again!!

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Just a little behind!

I've been getting chewed out for being so behind on posts, so here's what's been going on.

Let's see -

Jonah has been returned to the SPCA (which is no-kill). As wonderful as he was, our original reasons for giving him up still stood - he was far too big for the house.

Scott and I have both given up smoking cigarettes, although he's still smoking those little cigars, Black & Milds, and I seem to be unable to control myself when I'm in social settings where others are smoking, but do just fine any other time. I'll be working on that one!

Part of the reason for not posting was that the lake had receded to the point where it was a mudhole - which was very depressing! We got some really good hard rain the other day though and it brought the waterline back to the level it was before the really hot summer weather started, although we didn't see that until this morning. (This is not to be mistaken for the actual "lake level". This is only the waterline as it relates to the shoreline at our house.) Rusty's outside running around now, happy to see the beach looking like it used to :)

I'll definitely do a better job of keeping this blog up, I promise!

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Certified Texan

You'll often see bumper stickers around here that say "I may not have been born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could!" I need one :)

But today, I became a certified Texan, when I signed the papers on a 2007 Ford F150 pickup truck! I never thought of myself as a truck kind of gal...but the more I drive it - the more I love it!





Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Another season

Judging by the rain we got today, and the low (for us) temps that we're going to have over the next week, autumn is definitely upon us, and Scott is already planning his winter projects.

The pelicans are still with us and it has been so cool having them around the past few weeks. They're amazing to watch - working in complete, graceful unison. I'll be truly sad to see them move on.

I don't think the dogs will be happy about winter. Jonah was reluctant last year to go outside to do his thing - and the two times that Rusty has been subjected to rain, he couldn't wait to get back in the house. Thank God we have laminate flooring - carpeting would be trashed with those two around!

But I can't wait for the rain to start in earnest! The lake is almost 11 feet low. It's going to take a lot of steady rain to get us back to normal. We're anxious to experience actually living on the lake as it was when we put the offer in on the house over a year ago, rather than having 150 feet of beach that was nowhere to be seen last year.

Something mildly interesting happened today - Scott found a rabies tag on our beach dated 1962. Considering the lake was impounded in 1960, and this neighborhood was built in 1964, I have to wonder how it go there. Guess I'll never know, but it's a nice little collector's item. It's in beautiful condition - barely scratched. Wonder if there are rabies tag collectors on ebay ;)


______________________

High Temperature: 73°F (at 4pm)
Low Temperature: 62°F (at 8am )
Avg Temperature: 68°F
Total Precipitation: 1.08in

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Too many pictures!

To post on the blog, so please visit our photo album here. If it asks for a password, use Helen.

We don't do "wait" too well around here, so we got the swing today. Scott stained it and after the welder finished the frame, they hung it. It looks great.

We also had another visit from the pelicans. They're the reason for going out to the photo album, because some of the pictures were grainy and resizing them made them worse.

Hope you enjoy!

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Is Summer gone?

The past week has been gorgeous! While we haven't gotten a lot of rain, we did get some, and the temps are staying in the low 90s.

Scott has been working extremely hard to get the dock finished before the rains do come, and he's almost there. After having new poles put in, he has primered and painted every inch of them, and stained all the wood surfaces. He still wants to put up a swing on the middle dock, but that may happen next year.

A couple of months ago, we paid someone to till our beach area, and they did a great job, but things were still growing, so we needed to do it again. I have this real thing about things touching me in the water, so it was imperative that all weeds be removed from the swimming area. As you can see from the pictures below, that area has been completely cleaned...nothing should grow there now!

Last night, just after dusk, the flock of pelicans which visited us for two weeks in the spring, returned. We watched for about a half hour, while they fed on the shad in the shallow part of the water. It was absolutely incredible to see. I wish I could have gotten pictures, but there just wasn't enough light. We're hoping they stay for two weeks this time, and hopefully, I'll be able to get some pictures. The flock is easily over 200 birds!

Here are the pics :)


The cleaned beach






Newly painted poles and stained dock




New platform leading to the steps, just installed today.


A couple of flowers which just popped up this morning!



My granddaughter, Alyssa, who spent last Friday night with us :)


A couple of happy dogs!




Saturday, August 26, 2006

Jonah's home!

When we rehomed Jonah back in January or February, I made it clear that if it didn't work out for any reason, they should let us know and we'd take him back. Then the girl who took him left the firm, and of course, our department changed firms, and I figured that I better call her and let her know. So, two weeks ago, I tried to call and the number was "not accepting calls at the request of the subscriber". Having no other way to contact her, I let it go and hoped all was well.

Yesterday, I was away from my desk and received a voice mail when I got back saying that these people had Jonah, the girl I gave him to had moved to Arizona and left him, and they couldn't keep him - did I want him back? I said yes and made arrangements to pick him up after work.

When I got there, Jonah was in their wading pool...lol...apparently, he still loves the water, was my first thought, while I was also looking him over to see how he had changed (not much, just larger) and how his demeanor was. He didn't seem to recognize me, and he seemed beaten down and cowered before the guy I was picking him up from. "Uh oh," I thought, "this doesn't look good". I got us both out of there as fast as I could.

All the way home, Jonah just laid in the back seat of the car. He still didn't seem to recognize me, but I'm sure he was thinking "Oh God, where are they taking me now??" Then, we pulled through the gate of the community and he perked up - sat up and was looking out the window with his nose in the air, sniffing.

As I pulled up to the house, he looked out the window on the side with the lake and he got very excited! I opened the door and he got out of the car and he just stood there, looking at the lake, with his tail wagging fast and furious. We went into the house, where Rusty was still crated, since Scott wasn't home, and I heard Rusty bark. The crate is in the bathroom, in the same place it was when we had Jonah the first time, and Jonah headed straight in there. Rusty let out a low warning growl, so I decided that I better leave him in the crate for a few minutes, which I did. When he quit growling, I let him out and then playtime began! Of course, there was the obligatory sniffing (both males) and some "who's going to be top dog" behaviors, but they've been having a blast together since.

When Scott got home, we all went down to the lake - and both dogs immediately headed for the water. After swimming for awhile and running on the beach, they just played together till they wore themselves out.

Jonah is 17 months old now, and he's much calmer than he was. His manners are better than they used to be. He seems genuinely glad to be home, and we're both delighted that he's here. We both initially had reservations and said we'd try it out for the weekend, and if it wasn't working with Rusty, then we'd go ahead and take Jonah back to the SPCA (because he still is really way too big for this house - he's over 100 lbs now, I'm sure!). But it looks like we now have 1 cat (who is not very pleased with us right now), 2 dogs, and 3 birds!



Jonah trying to contain an exhuberant Rusty


Pals :)

Welcome home big boy!