Check out this song....

The song is called...."The Story" and it is by Brandi Carlile. She is an artist from Seattle, and once in a blue moon they play this song on the radio. It is just whacked out enough for me to like. Crazy....Check it out...

http://www.myspace.com/brandicarlileband

Bathroom before and after....

Lots of work went into this one......

Kitchen area before and after.....

We are super happy with the way the kitchen turned out. We couldn't be more pleased with it. Hopefully it can impress some future home-owners!!!!

Kitchen stove area, before and after.....

Yep, this IS the same house. Hard to believe, huh.

My little Tri-athelete

Here is Danielle, shortly before the triathalon started. She trained all week in a camp for this race, and she was ready to go. She swam first, then biked, then ran. It was super awesome, and we were so proud of her. Oh, and the second picture was her posing at the finish line. Her hair had already dried from the swimming.....it was so hot that day!! Great Job Danielle!!! We knew you could do it!!!

Yikes!!

Here is Danielle jumping off the rock.....Ok, it's not the "top" of the rock, but it's still the rock.....

Before.......and.........After...

Here is a view from the front porch of our fixer. The pictures are from different angles, but you kinda get the picture..I hope....

I hate spiders!!!!

Why am I so darned scared of spiders?? They are little. You wouldn't think they could harm you, much. I Do know of some spiders that do bite, and there are some that live in this area, and I have seen them around, and it freaks me out. I am sure most of the spiders I see are harmless, but I am still scared to death of them. I don't like ants, bees, earwigs, potato bugs, any kind of spider, beetle, dragonfly, moth, I could go on and on.

So, this creates a problem, because in life you are bound to see these creatures from time to time. Especially in a basement. Especially in a basement that is cool. Especially in a basement that is dark most of the time. I have been known to call my dad and ask him to get a spider that was here in my house, when I was home alone. I have also been known to have Danielle get them when she is here because she could really care less. I can't even post a picture of a spider on this blog because I hate them soooooo bad.

So, anyway, if I could just NOT go in the basement during spider "season" (which is obviously now...), then I wouldn't. BUT, the laundry room is down there. So that poses a bit of a problem, because for some reason Danielle and Joe expect some clean clothes once in awhile. Geez, high maintenance....:-) (note the sarcasm....) So, I have actually considered washing the clothes by hand in the garage. But, I am pretty sure if I start hanging out in the garage, I will probably see some....... you guessed it..............spiders.

If You're Reading This....by Tim McGraw

We have been hearing this song on the radio ever since Tim McGraw performed it on the country awards in June or July. Every time I hear it I have made some comment to Danielle about how sad it is. Then alot of times I would turn the station, because I was driving and my emotions would really get to me. So, the other day we were at our fixer house, and Joe and I were working and Danielle was hanging out, and this song came on the radio. I didn't turn it, I just kept on painting and listening. After the song was over, Danielle came in the room I was in and said..."Mom, I know why you keep saying this song is so sad." And I said, "Really..." and she said "Yeah, I just listened to all the words, and it IS so sad." So, this sparked a really long conversation between me and her about the war, our troops, why we are in Iraq, the Iraqi people, freedom, killing, and everything else that is tied to this war. I totally talked to her about it like I should talk to an 8 year old, and I think she understood in a way what I was talking about, and what is going on over there. At least as much as an 8 year old can. I really want her to know about what our troops are going through, without upsetting her too much. So, we had a great opportunity to talk about it, and because of that, I think I also realized why they play the song so much, even if it is sad. I will try not to turn the station like I sometimes did, and I will listen to it out of respect for the ones that have fought, and are still fighting. God Bless our Troops!!!

Check out this video: If YOUR READING THIS (TIM MCGRAW TRIBUTE)



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What draws a crowd in Post Falls?

A fire. Yep, if there is smoke in the sky in Post falls, people drive as fast as they can toward the smoke to see what the heck is causing it. I should know, because I "sort of" did this today.
Danielle and I were getting in the car after shopping, and I looked up and saw a huge black cloud of smoke coming from right down the street. So, of course I drove towards it. Well, it happened to be a car that struck a gasoline tank at a local gas station and it just burst into flames. Huge flames, tons of black smoke. So, as we were looking around, we noticed that NO emergency personnel were there yet. So, I dialed 911 and they said they were on the way. So, I drove down the street about a block and parked so I could see what was going on at a safe distance. Danielle and I were completely shocked at how long it took the fire department to get there. They are literally 2 blocks away from this gas station and I swear it took almost 10 minutes for the fire truck to pull up. Even longer for the ambulance. I am sure they were going as fast as they could, but it just surprised us how long it actually took. It took at least 5 minutes for even a police officer to show up. Five minutes of people just wandering around the fire. I just couldn't imagine what would have happened if the entire gas tank would have blown. Tons of spectators trying to get a better view would have been hurt. So, anyway, that's the story, and hopefully the driver who was taken to the hospital will be ok. And luckily no one else was hurt.

What a beautiful day........

Look at what was over the top of our house today. Yep, a huge rainbow. The picture doesn't do it justice, because it was much more vibrant and colorful in person, but I had to wonder if I should start searching around our house for the pot of gold?????
Where is that damn thing anyway.....?????

What are people thinking?????

I heard this come out of a lady's mouth in a store today. I think she thought that since she was toting a Dooney handbag and some designer shoes, that she could just say any old thing she wanted......

She was up at the register returning a box of hair dye. I wasn't paying too much attention, just waiting for my turn to pay. So, as she was returning this, she was telling the cashier why she was exchanging it....."Oh, my friend told me to never dye my hair this black....that it would look just awful, like gook black awful."

What?? Now why did she need to say that. I mean, no, there are not many minorities here in N. Idaho, so she probably was not going to offend many, but I just wonder WHY she has to use that term. I mean, I have a friend that adopted two children from Asia, and I would just hate for her or her family to ever have to hear that. And I am not saying I am perfect, and I am sure I have said crap that I should not have said at times, but gosh, that just seemed so tasteless. Not even necessary. Hopefully she had no clue that it was a racial slur. Well, I guess in my mind it is, maybe in hers it's not. To each his own.....

Top 5 Reasons Why Coeurd'Alene is becoming "little California.."

I LOVE it here in North Idaho. That is why I find it soooo sad that it is changing so much. I really can't imagine living anywhere else, or ever wanting to, for that matter, but the changes lately up here have really bummed me out. Especially since I know this is just the beginning.....
It is not new news that people from California are movin' up here. No, it is not just California, but it seems to be the popular choice for some of them lately. I have been to California, and I will visit there again. Key word is VISIT. I was not too impressed. Some of the issues I had with California are now mysteriously appearing in our beautiful North Idaho. Yuck.....(oh, nothing against my CA friends......)
So here are MY 5 Reasons why CDA is becoming "Little California"....

1. One minute traffic on the interstate is going 80, the next second.....stopped. Stopped cold. ....Never used to happen.....Hmmmmmmm.

2. Crazy drivers. OMG, I can not believe the crazy drivers. The aggressive drivers. When I was in California, I understood why you needed to be an aggressive driver just to survive down there, well, now you do here......

3. Non-winter trained drivers. When it snows here, people can't drive. They go like 10 miles an hour on the interstate. Duhhhh, it snows here, people. Life still goes on, people still go to work, just another day in awesome N. Idaho.....

4. Packed street fairs. You can't even walk around without stepping on someones toes at Art on the Green in CDA. They have been having this for 20 years and it was always fun and peaceful to wander around the shops. Not now, its packed. Cram packed.

5. High Priced Housing. Yep, it has arrived. I hate to say it, but they are gonna price Idahoan's out of their own state when it comes to housing. Not all of us have houses to sell for a fortune in CA, and then buy a "reasonably" priced one up here.....Thanks.....
I know there are more than five....but I'm tired, and I want to stop typing....

Looking for kind owners.....

Who's supposed to be taking care of me?? I thought someone was supposed to groom me once in awhile?? Good grief, what are my owners thinking, letting me run around looking like I just got out of the pound. I need a hair cut for christ's sake. I can't even fricken see.
"Who's there....???"
"Should I be barking...?"
"I thought I just heard something....?"
"People, I can't see ANYTHING...?"
"Someone HELP!!!!!"
"Where's that nice dog catcher when you need 'em?"

Happy Little Bakers.....

This picture totally cracked me up when I saw it. Actually, it STILL cracks me up. I took Danielle and her two friends to the open house at the Franz bakery in Spokane yesterday. It isn't often that they have an open house to the public, so I thought we should take advantage of it and go see what bread making entails. So, as we entered, they were giving out "bakers" hats, and the kids noticed that the other people all had these hats on, and they asked me if we all had to wear them. I said..."I don't think so, I think you can if you WANT to, and if you don't, then you probably don't have to." I was wrong. The happy lady giving out the hats said they were ABSOLUTELY required for the tour. No if, ands, or buts, about it.

So, the picture tells you the story, and it fits each child's personality to a tee. There's Nate, (in the middle) who was perfectly fine with the idea, he is always game for whatever comes up, and happy either way. Braedyn (On the left) who was not too pleased with the idea, as he is all around BOY, and wears sports attire daily....., and Danielle was NOT at all amused, she was way to COOL for the hat, so she thought. So, as you look at their faces, you can totally tell their personalities, and it is just a great shot. Danielle is smiling that "When can I take off this stupid hat??" smile, Braedyn can't even muster up a smile, he is NOT happy, and Nate is just like...."What do we get to do next???". I love it.

Oh, and lets not forget, EVERYONE had to wear the hat. Yep, including me. I am not sure I have even had a hat on for like 20 years, like in little league or something.....that's how bad I hate hats. But, those bakers hats were quite stylish.......whatever.....