Not too Shabby..............

Alright, after I have been going on and on about how wonderful Alaska is, I have to show you some pictures of my neck of the woods. Sometimes I take this area majorly for granted, and I don't really take the time and stop to look and remember how beautiful it is. We really are lucky to live here. So, here are some pictures from "Tubbs Hill" in CDA, as me and the girls were walking it today. Gotta love Beautiful Idaho!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our trip....

Alaska was awesome. We had a GREAT time. We were glad to come back to our home, but sad to be out of Alaska. Every minute of it was really great. The ship was cool, the view from the ship was cool, the stops in the ports were unbelievable, the shows were cool, the room was bigger than we thought, the food was good, but we probably will never go to another buffet again....., there were like 2000 people on the cruise, but most of the time, you totally could not tell. The weather was a little cooler than we thought it would be, but we were dressed for it, and it was fine. I thought seven days would drag on but they really didn't. We looked forward to the next port stops. We saw some things on that land that we may never have been able to see and I was just taking it all in. Trying to take tons of pictures, and trying to keep it all in my head. I was actually very comfortable on that ship. (ok, one day I felt sea sick and that sucked...) But, all in all, I miss it now that I am home. Not the ship in general, but the trip. I would recommend it to anyone, and I think it is something you really should experience at least once in your lifetime. It doesn't have to be on a cruise ship, but you HAVE to see it...... great Alaska. Trust me. We truly NEVER tired of the scenery. I am not sure I ever would.

I have to quit writing for now, but I could go on and on......so I'll keep telling my friends and family about it until they make me stop.....

:-)

The view from a cruise ship....

Here we are, looking all.........bad. Every picture I took we look like dorks. Why??? Why couldn't they turn out. We were listening to a comedian at a comedy show on the cruise, and he made a really good point, he said..."Why doesn't anyone like their picture. They are always like.....look at that, that picture made me look terrible, it makes me look fat, it makes me look weird...." Well, the punch line is this.....when you take the picture and look at it......it's you. Yep, that's what ya look like.. I know, it's depressing, huh.....

Anyway, all the pictures of us aside, I got some really great photos of Alaska. It was awesome. I want to move up there. Joe is not convinced. But it is so great up there. Oh, and most of the towns up there you have to boat or fly into. Talk about getting away from your crazy family. That would be perfect. "Nope, can't come over. That is.....unless you have a plane or a boat??? But, chances are you don't. Darn-it. And we REALLY wanted to see you......"

I'm just kidding guys. I love ya!!!!

Activities for kids on the cruise ship......

Ok, this is truly funny, people. I just noticed this picture in my "collection". I had loaned Danielle my camera, while she was in the kids program, because they were going to go whale watching, and she wanted to take some pictures of the whales. Ok. So, when she got back, I asked her if she saw any whales, and she said.."nope", so I went on taking pics and didn't think anything about her taking pictures. Until today, as I was previewing the pics...........

"Ok, whose little kid was the criminal mind???" Not my little angel, I am sure. Anyway, she couldn't have done it. Why??? You ask. Well...............First, she knows how to spell die. (DIE not Biy), second, she would have never taken the picture, as it would be entered into evidence.....

:-)

Oh, and if you are having trouble reading it, I think at the top it says " The criminal masterminds"

then down below....."do not come you will biy (die). "

and last but not least, "we will burn you"

Nice, and all this time I thought she liked the kids program because of their kid friendly activities.

Welcome to Ketchikan

Ketchikan Alaska. Gotta love it. It is the cutest little town. It is right on the water, it has a wooden boardwalk, it has majestic mountains, it has tons of recreational opportunities. It is perfect. We went to the museum, we learned about the natives and the meaning of their totem poles, learned about the salmon industry, walked around town, saw an otter in the water, saw a crab boat from the "Deadliest Catch" show, and on top of that, went shopping. What a great day!!!!

My new profession?????

Actually, Danielle is better at it than me. She panned $7.88 worth of gold in less than 5 minutes. I think that works out to be about $94.56 an hour. Wow. We are gonna ship her up to Alaska next week so she can pay off our lovely vacation. Jokes......

Anyway, we took this awesome train that is called the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad. It takes you up to White pass summit, in Canada, from Skagway, AK. The train is "old" looking, and it has tons of character, the scenery is awesome, and after we finished, we went to a gold mine and panned for gold. How much fun is that???? Tons. After we were done, we took our $22.00 worth of gold flakes, and put them in a glass "locket" that danielle can wear as a necklace. She loved it. So cool. Read on........

Beautiful Alaska

Here is a picture I took from the Tram that takes you up on top of a mountain above Juneau, Alaska. What a view. The picture doesn't really even do it justice. But, it was super beautiful. The tram took you up the Mt. at a surprisingly fast speed, and the trip down definitely wasn't cool to those of us who hate the ferris wheel at the carnival. It was sorta like that, but worse. Danielle and Joe seemed to be just fine, while I was a different story. But, get me back on solid ground, and I was ready to go panning for gold........(see next blog....)

He knows we are leaving..........

That's all I have to say. He wouldn't move from this spot on my suitcase today. I feel terrible for him. He won't be treated badly, by a long shot. He is going to grandmas for a week. He doesn't even have to sleep in his kennel if he doesn't want to. Poor thing......

Ice Cream Truck Drivers

You know, here in post falls, the ice cream trucks are few and far between. Usually if you can hear them, they have already passed your house, like they are in the Indy 500, and there is no turning back. As I have been at our house in CDA, I have heard them on a daily basis, and they drive really slow through the neighborhood, enabling little kids to get their shoes, their money and go outside. When Danielle was little, like 2, we had her convinced that the ice cream truck didn't actually have ice cream, it was just a truck that drove around the neighborhood playing songs for us. So, whenever she would hear it, she would be like...."mom, dad, there goes the music truck....". It actually seemed really funny then, but now it seems kind-of mean. God, what were we doing.....we were being mean, just to save a couple bucks????? Sorry honey, I know this will probably be the main reason you will be in therapy for years......(kidding.....)

5 Reasons to be an Ice Cream Truck Driver:

1. Kids love you.

2. Free ice cream for yourself

3. You get to cruise slowly through neighborhoods playing loud music, and no one says...."Turn it down!!!!"

4. The money is good.

5. You don't have to have an education.

5 Reasons NOT to be an Ice Cream Truck Driver

1. Kids love you

2. Free ice cream for yourself

3. Irritating kids can't decide which ice cream to choose...."Uuuuuummmmmm, maybe the fudge bar....No....wait......the......ice cream bar....No........wait.....

4. The music plays over and over and over.......

5. Parents probably think you are a child molester in disguise. (not necessarily MY thoughts........I don't think.......)

Single Male Shitzu looking for cute Single Female Shitzu

We are currently searching for a "girlfriend" for our dog, neiko. We would love for him to be the daddy of some cute puppies. Preferably pure bread dogs, as he is papered. So, last year we did bring him to a little girl dogs house for a couple of hours for 2 days, but apparently, it was not enough time for my shy boy to warm up to her. So, we are still looking. We do have some reservations, being that it would be his "first" time, and he is like, scared of his own shadow, let alone another dog. So, anyway, if any of you know of any cute girl shit-zu's, let us know!!!!

Three days and counting.........

Yeah, it is getting down to the wire. I am barely thinking of anything else, these days. It is kind of good, kind of bad. I have been having nightmares that we get to the port and the ship has already sailed off, or we don't have all the paperwork in order, so they wont let us on. I am going crazy about this. So, I will be super happy when we board the ship, without a hitch. THEN, the relaxing will begin.

Oh, here is a picture of Danielle in the group of dancers at her recital on Monday. ( she is in the front row in the green camo shirt and kacki pants. Sharee is holding the mike, she is the owner and sister to Julianne, the winner of Dancing with the Stars.) She did an awesome job and a good time was had by all of us. Great job Danielle. Keep up the great work!!! Oh, and she also just passed her swimming class. Only one more class (besides life guarding ) is offered at the YMCA after this one, so she is doing really great!!! Swim team, here we come....(maybe we will take the summer off, though :-) ).

Camping, Anyone????

Just thought I'd show you a picture of our new camper. Kidding. As if you couldn't tell. This is the one that got hit by a clump of trees in a wind-storm. It is still sitting on our property. My grandpa came up to our property about 2 weeks ago, and we felt kind-of funny about still having this trailer up there, that used to be his, that he bought brand new, and so we kind of moved it to the side of our property behind our picnic table, so maybe he would not see it. Well, as we were all sitting there talking, with the trailer crushed in the background he was like..." So, it's nice to see you got that trailer taken care of......." Oh gosh, I knew my grandpa had a hard time hearing, but now the eyesight is going too????? :-) Kidding grandpa, we love ya.....

Oh, and then when Joe and our friend Shawn were moving the trailer from the front of our property to the side, they had it in back of the truck on the hitch with a cable over the top of it so it wouldn't fall apart en-route, and they had a quick thought that they should go drive through one of the local campgrounds, pulling that hunk of metal, and ask some of the happy campers if they new of any open camp spots around. "Whoo-Whee, hey we've been drivin' on them there rough roads all day, we're ready to call her a night.....Do y'all know of a nice spot we can park this beauty so we can start up a camp fire and enjoy the evenin' air........"

Oh my gosh, I would have paid to see that.

Quote for the day..........

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.

~author unknown (to me, anyway)

Ok, so, I have yet to "catch on" to the meaning of this quote. I mean, I really mean well when it comes to organization, but when it comes down to it, on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the lowest) my organization skills would be..................uhhhhhhh.............hmmmmm........................-1. That's a big NEGATIVE one. Yep, below the scale. WHY??? Why, I ask you?? My mom taught me to be organized. My husband would LOVE me to be organized. My life would be SO MUCH easier if I WAS organized. So, what the hell is the problem??? I couldn't say. Because if I knew, I would gladly change it. I think I used to be better, and I am getting worse with age. So, probably when I am 70 years old you won't even be able to find ME, because I will be hidden under my huge piles of papers and stuff. Good grief. I better crack open a beverage, while I go try to find some stuff I need.

Oh, and here is a picture of the inside of my purse. No, this is not a joke. This IS what it fricken looks like right now. "Would a bigger purse help?", you ask, "Heck no." "would a smaller purse help?", you ask. "Nope." Tried both options. I give up.

It's a Boy!!!!!

Congratulations to my friend Lynsey and her husband Matt. I heard through my "phone tree" yesterday that they welcomed a 6 pound 8 ounce boy into the world. Best of luck, guys. I hope everyone is doing well.

Six days and counting........

I am literally counting down. Less than one week to go and then we will be relaxing pool-side and enjoying the vast Alaskan scenery. Oh, doesn't that just sound awesome??? I know, I am sooooo excited. You don't EVEN know how bad I need a break. The only other person that I think can even come close to understanding this need is Joe. He has been right there beside me for the last 2 months, and to make it worse for him, he has a full time job with travel on top of it. God bless him......he is just exhausted.

We were hoping to be more finished with this fixer house, but hey, you can't get everything you want these days. ( Why the hell not????)....Anyway, we will just go on the cruise, and the fixer will be waiting there to greet us when we get home....unfortunately....

Danielle has her dance recital tonight, and we just got back from the rehearsal. I truly think we could just skip the recital, after all the screaming and un-organization at the rehearsal, I think I have seen enough for today.....:-( No, I'm kidding, I would not miss this moment for the world.....obviously, or I wouldn't be putting myself through THAT again....So, it should be super cute, and half-way through I am sure Joe and my mom will be leaned over in their seats sleeping, while I watch the 3 year old tap dancers tapping away, at their own beat. Oh, some of the little ones just stand there through the entire routine and NEVER even tap. Nope, they don't even use their spendy little shoes at all. I know that if they knew how much their parents paid for their outfits, they would at least put one tap into their step.....they are super cute though, just not too energetic when they are in the spotlight, in front of hundreds of people. Oh well, I guess you can't blame them, it would be pretty intimidating.

Well, that's pretty much all I can think up for today, we are wondering around like zombi's here. There is only one word that is getting me through my days......V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N.

And I thought I was just "gifted"....(note sarcasm...)

Have you heard the news?? Scientists have just discovered the part of the brain that is responsible for deja-vu. You all know what that is right?? You know, you do something that is totally "new" to you, and somehow, you feel like you have done it before?? Well, the research is not pointing in the right direction for my taste.....they have concluded that deja-vu is a MEMORY problem. And not a good problem. They said that if you are doing something or have been somewhere that is similar to what you are currently doing, your brain might not be able to distinguish the difference and therefore, you will feel like you have done or been in that exact place before. Therefore, the feeling of Deja-vu. So, all along, I was thinking that I was experiencing so much of this that I must be somewhat psychic, but all in all, it's just another PROBLEM with the brain. Go figure....

Someone got paid off......

Ok, I don't know that's what happened, I am totally speculating. But, what else could have happened. Paris couldn't have turned deathly ill after like 2 days. Ok maybe it was more like 4 days, but still, give me a break. I know FOR SURE that if they put my butt in the slammer, I wouldn't be gettin' out till my time wuz' up. Not that I want to try it and see or anything............

Last Day of School????

How can it be?? This year just flew by for me. I think Danielle feels the same way. This morning she was actually totally bummed that today was her last day. She was like..." I wish we had at least one more week." And I said, "Why, honey?" And she was like..."Because I like school, mom..." I know she likes school. I just thought being able to sleep in for the summer might out-weigh the "trauma" of not getting to go to school every day. That works for me...So, I think summer break has good parts, and bad parts. I might have to find some day camps to put Danielle in to occupy her time. We do have tons of stuff planned, but for my child, it is never really enough. So, happy summer, guys. Have a good one!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Yeah, Oprah!!!!!

You know, for some reason when Oprah does something, people listen. Don't know why, but they do. If you are one of the lucky authors that she picks for her book club, you are set.

Anyway, I just had to blog about how happy I was to see her guest on the show yesterday. Some people probably just about puked, but I was super happy to see none other than Michael Moore on her show, doing an interview. They were talking about his new movie coming out called "Sicko". This movie is about the health care crisis here in America. For those of you who have never heard of this "health care crisis" you have been living in a cave, ok. Where I live, people are struggling every single day to pay for health care. To get their child's teeth cleaned. To get their life-saving medication, even to get a simple physical. It is awful what this country has come to. I am so tired of all of the people who have their own medical insurance, and therefore, are not worried or even concerned about what other people are going through. It's crap. The lower middle class is suffering here. The lower class gets medicare or medicaid. The people who are working hard just to make it and are in the middle class, are not "poor enough" to qualify for federal or state aid, so they are just on their own. Well, I know their struggles. We are currently lucky enough to be able to pay the premiums from my husbands work for our medical insurance. There was a day, though, that all we had was a "major" medical policy. In other words, we had a deductible of about $7500.00 for our family, per year, and if and unless we spent that much in a year, the expenses would then be covered at about 75%, but anything up to that, zero. So, I think most years we came pretty close to reaching that deductible, but I don't think we ever used the policy. So, we were actually one of the lucky families. We didn't have to worry about getting some dreaded disease and not being able to pay for it. Because we did have "some" coverage. So, having experienced that, I truly understand the struggles that alot of Americans deal with on a daily basis. People should NOT have to wonder if they can afford to take their child to the doctor. They should just be able to do it. They should be able to get quality health care for their family, without going broke in the process.

So, back to the movie....

He raises some REALLY good points about our health care system here in America. He says in the movie that for example, if you call the fire department to your house for an emergency they come, free of charge. You shouldn't have to worry about calling them because you might not be able to afford it, you just call. So why, don't we have a universal health-care system???? A fire is an emergency, so it's funded by the state. But a health crisis isn't an emergency??? Why?? Ok, I understand the issue of how to fund it. But I am not claiming to know how to do it. I think possibly you could do some research from MANY of the other countries that are not living in the dark ages anymore, that already HAVE a universal health-care system. To me that doesn't seem like rocket science, people. I don't know, maybe it is.....Either way, I think Michael Moore has the right idea. So, check out his website if you're interested......check out his video clip on his website www.michaelmoore.com. It's very interesting. Also check out the movie that is in theatres on June 29th. Lets try to stop ignoring this problem and get off our butts and do something!!!!!!!!!

A sight for sore eyes........

Carpet. Who knew how much carpet would come to mean to me, these days. We had our carpet and vinyl installed in our fixer house on thurs. and fri. Wow. What a difference. We worked and worked to try to get the house "ready" for carpet. And, we did it!!!! Yeah!!! It is sooooo nice to see some progress. I swear, it was like we were slaving every day and we weren't getting anywhere. Well, I am sure that we were, but I know it was looking really bad there for awhile, but they do say it looks bad while you are working on it, then it eventually gets better. So, I am happy. But, I think yesterday Joe and I came to the conclusion that we may not be done with this house by the time we "set sail". Not good. But, I need to be ok with it and suck it up like a big girl. We are making progress, and trying as hard as we can, (am I trying to convince you guys......or myself????) so it is just gonna get done when it gets done.

2 weeks till cruise time. Hooray!!! We really need a vacation. Bad. I think Joe is about ready to strangle me when I walk in the fixer house after he has been there for like 12 hours and I am like...."Uuuuummmmm, that doesn't look right........" I need to keep my trap shut, already. But its really hard.....for me, that is. I am not sure my opinionated self is cut out for this. He will probably think twice about this next time. This....meaning, the fixer house.....Not, our marriage......, I hope.