Star spotting in beautiful north Idaho........

Drum roll, please............................

Yesterday, while in Lowe's for about the 100th time in the last month, joe and I were in the appliances, spending all kinds of money, and who do we run into???? Dennis Franz. Yep, from NYPD Blue. He was buying a coffee-pot. You know, I didn't even recognize him. I had a quick thought that he might be someone special because as the customer service guy was helping me, he turned away and left me high and dry and went over to this guy in the coffee pot section. I was wondering what was up, because these associates in kitchen and bath make commission, and I was in the middle of a transaction that was gonna be tons of money total, because I was buying 3 major appliances, and the customer service guy just up and left me to go sell a coffee pot??? What?? It better have been a damn nice coffee pot. So, when he came back, he said, isn't that guy...........................um, from NYPD Blue??? And then I turned and looked and he was right. I would have never noticed. I think that is one of the reasons why he probably likes to live on the lake in beautiful Coeurd'Alene. None of us hicks from up here in Idaho notice that he is "famous", and you get the bonus of a great place to live.

Yes, I am alive......

darn-it anyway..............kidding. I just have been so busy, I haven't had time to blog. Good grief, where are my priorities???

I have been busy with the fixer house, and all of danielle's activities ( dance, swimming, etc..). But, I do have some new news......I am going to New York!!!!!!!!!! Well, I am flying into New York and then heading to Connecticut to see my friend lynsey!!!! I am sooooo excited. Not only do I get to see my close friend and her new baby (by then), and her husband, but, I also get to go to the east coast. Yeahhhhhh!!!! It's like a win, win. I am escorting her mom, who is deathly afraid of flying, hasn't ever done it before (lets hope she actually goes through with it.....:-) ), so I will have to feed her some Valium and some relaxing beverages, and we will be on our way.. :-) Kidding.....I hope. :-)

So, I will have a busy couple of months ahead of me. We are currently trying to meet a deadline at the fixer house so we are ready to get carpet in two weeks. Keep your fingers crossed, I am already nervous. So, in a month we are headed to Alaska via cruise ship. Wooo-Hoooo. Lets pray we are done with the fixer house by then. Then, it will be 4th of July and shortly after that, east coast, here I come.

Anyway, I just thought I would do a quick update, but I really need to get to work. Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, it's off to work I go. Oh, and I was wondering if anyone out there likes yellow walls.......???? Because, I picked a paint color, and I knew it had a bit of yellow in it, but I thought it was more on the tan side, and I painted a little room by the dining room with this "mystery-color" and by golly, It was yellow. No denying it. Yell-ow. With a capitol Y. Let's hope it tones itself down a bit. Does paint do that????? Oh, and the pic I posted is just an example, not the actual wall. Just thought I'd add an example for ya!!!

Home Owner Associations....

Many of you probably know that we live in a community that has a home owner association. We moved into our neighborhood because of this "perk", and because Joe and I are super picky about the appearance of our house, we wanted neighbors to feel the same way. We thought this would be a perfect solution to the problem of "messy" neighbors. Well, we have been here in this house for about 9 years, and over the years we have seen more bad neighbors than good. For some reason, the board of directors of our association doesn't seem to enforce many of the rules in our CC&R's. Our neighbors yards are full of weeds and dying, their houses need fresh paint, they have multiple cars parked outside their garage, they park on the street and in the sidewalks, their dogs bark at all hours of the day and night, all of these being violations. We have written letters, gone to board meetings, called members of the board, to no avail.

This is why it seems strange to us, that whenever we have a small "violation" of the CC&R's, they quickly send us out a notice and are right on top of it. So, yesterday I received a letter from the board about our boat being parked on the side of our driveway, as we were cleaning it up to sell and it probably sat there for 5 days. This was definitely a temporary thing, as we already sold it. Anyway, I will let you see the letter that the board member sent us, and the letter that I am sending them in response.

His letter is this.....

Dear Mr. and Mrs. XXXXXXXX, (us)

The home owners association is working very hard to preserve the value of the homes in our development, by eliminating unsightly conditions, such as parking and other violations on the individual lots. It has come to my attention that you have a boat parked in front of your home in violation of our CC&R's. Please remove said boat immediately. I know that you take great pride in your home, as we all do, so please cooperate with us in our attempt to maintain the beauty and value of the development.

Sincerely,

John XXXXXX

Architectural Compliance Committee

Here is my letter in response:

John XXXXXXX, Chairman
Architectural Compliance Committee


Dear Mr. XXXXXXX:
We would like to inform you that we did receive your letter about our boat being parked in our driveway and that it was a violation of the CC&R's of our development. We had already moved the boat behind our fence (which we have a variance for ) upon receipt of your letter.
We were actually quite surprised that you would even notice our boat in our driveway, as our neighbors 3 cars are always parked in their driveway and over the sidewalk, thus blocking the view of our boat. We were under the impression that the board could at times be lenient with certain situations, and would allow a boat or RV parked in front of a house for a couple of days out of the 9 years that we have lived in this community. Unfortunately, that does not seem like the case.
So, you will be happy to know that we sold the boat, and now you will not have the problem with us, but we would hope that you are following our other neighbors just as closely as you do us. We can see many violations right out of our front door, and have complained numerous times about these violations, to no avail. We are one of the few houses on our street that uses our garage for our 2 cars, and do not park in our driveway. Our three neighbors have a total of 12 cars and 1 boat that are parked on the street, in their driveways, and over the sidewalks in front of their houses. We would appreciate some attention to this matter.
Thank you for your time,


Joe and Kelli XXXXXXX

Sad, but true........

Ok, it is no secret that our "fixer" house, is no question, a "fixer" house. Yep, needs TONS of fixing. But Danielle and one of her friends just said some things lately about the house and about it's condition. I'll fill ya in..........

On our way to our friends "fixer" house here in Post Falls, Danielle and I were having a conversation in the car about it because we hadn't seen it before. So, Danielle says, " Mom, is there house as bad of a fixer house as ours...?" and I said..."No, I don't think it's as bad as ours, because it's alot newer and stuff." And then she says.."Good, because ours is a dump." Yep, kids tell it like it is, that's for sure.

So, yesterday, my friend decided to take her kids to ours. The kids are looking around, and of course they noticed the "smell" and then they decide to go out to the "garage", and one of Danielle's friends comes out and he says, "Kelli, there is a hole in your shack." So I asked him again what he said and he repeated the exact same thing. I wondered where he even heard the term shack. I had to laugh. Kids are so funny......they just let it all out, no holds barred. Too funny....

So, I added a pic of our "shack". Enjoy!!!!!!!!

Thanks......................................

I would just like to thank my neighbor for the "wake up" call this morning. I thought I was gonna get to sleep in a bit until I heard him fire up his lawn mower at about 6:55am. Give me a break, already. Once, I mowed at 8:30am and I thought THAT was kinda rude. Well, I don't anymore...........

Damn, I forgot the nails...........

I was at Lowe's in Spokane today, you know, looking for crap for the fixer house. I think I know that place by heart, for sure. I know the exact route to all of their clearance tables. Heck, I could lead you to the clearance section faster than the employee's could, I know the short-cuts. I'll hook you up!!!!!!! Anyway, on my way out I saw a strange thing in the parking lot.......(no, I'm not talking about my car that was literally bursting at the seams because I had already crammed way to much stuff in there already......) but, I saw a hearse. Yes, a hearse was parked in the parking lot of Lowe's. It just seemed odd to me. Was the driver like, on his way to, well, you know........the cemetery, and he forgot he needed to pick up some 2X4's???? What??? I just feel bad for the family and friends who were waiting around the grave site thinking.............."Where's Grandma, I thought that damned hearse was right behind us............."

Oh, and one more weird tid-bitt, the hearse had a scull and cross bones on the liscense plate.....

You know, I know they are totally the "in" thing right now, but doesn't having them on a hearse sort-of cross the line??? Just wondering.

Bloomsday, baby.......

Here is a picture of me and my friend Julie walking through the finish line at Bloomsday 2007. Julie, her husband, her brother-in law and I left Post Falls at 6:40 (way too early for this girl....) and we took the bus to downtown Spokane. After stopping at a local coffee house for our morning coffee, we were raring to go. I almost missed the start of the race, as I was in line to use the potty for a half an hour. I got up to the second person in line and then I heard the pop of the gun that is the start of the race. So....after a second of panic, I bagged the potty situation and ran to meet my friends. I did alot of "excuse me, and pardon me's" and I finally met up with them down the road. Thankfully. But everything else went off without a hitch, and a good time was had by all. Oh, one little complaint.......I don't like dark green. Didn't they know this while they were deciding on a T-shirt color. :-) Oh, and our finish time was 2 hours and 18 minutes. Not bad for walking the whole way...........

Oh, Julie and I are in the right side middle of this photo, I'm in red, and she's in white. We both have black pants on. Sorry I couldn't make it bigger....

"But, Mr. Police Officer............"

I was reading a forwarded email today, and it reminded me of something that happened to me a couple of weeks ago here in Post Falls.

I was leaving Wal-Mart, and it took longer in there than it should have....like usual... and I was headed for the local video store, to return some movies that were about to be late. So, I took the "back" way, kind-of through some empty lots and fields, thinking I could make up for "lost" time, and save myself from a late fee. So, I was rounding some corners, and one had a stop sign, but there is like NEVER anyone back there, so I thought I didn't have to come to a complete stop. I mean, for pete's sake, I thought I was the only one in town who knew of this "secret" short-cut. Evidently not. So, shortly after I failed to come to a complete stop, I see lights in my rear view mirror. After I say a few choice words to myself, I pulled to the side of the barren road. I start to pull my documents out, because I have been in this situation a time or two....and I know the routine. Mr. Police Officer comes to my window and asks me if I know what I did wrong. Now, what do you say when they ask that question??? It's kind of a trick question. So, my usual answer is..."No, officer." So he then informs me that I did not come to a complete stop. "Oh," I answer. " I guess I wasn't paying attention and since there is never any traffic on this part of the road, I looked really quick that way and then I continued. " So, he asks to see my drivers licence and insurance/reg. I find all of them but my insurance card, so he goes to his car and says he will get it when he comes back. I am irritated by now. When they go back to their car, I know very well what is next. Ticket Time. And if you know me, when I realize it's ticket time, I also get this weird urge to say something really stupid to the officer because I feel like I'm getting a citation anyway, and what could it hurt.........

So, he comes back to the car, and he asks if I found the insurance card, and I say "Yes Officer, I did. And I bet you are pretty disappointed by that." and he says, " Why is that, Maam." And I said, "Well, I am sure you are trying to meet some sort of quota or something and just a simple violation like not coming to a complete stop probably wouldn't be as satisfying to you as a no-proof of insurance violation." So, then he replies, as he hands me back my papers, "Maam, we are just trying to enforce the law out here, and here is your warning, please be more careful in the future.." Oops, I sure put my foot in my mouth......Maybe I'll keep it shut next time. But, I doubt it.

Cute saying of the day.......

I saw this in an email forwarded to me by a friend, and I thought, OMG that is sooooooo me, so here it is...........

I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are: eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That is my idea of a perfect day.

What is this world coming to???

Ok, I need to vent about this for a minute. Here in Northern Idaho, prices for houses are going through the roof. Literally. Prices for gas, groceries, taxes, utilities, and tons of other things, are sky high. Here's the problem..........our wages.

Now, I am not speaking for myself here, because I have a very part-time job for the city, and I get paid a fair wage for working there. And, Joe and I are super lucky, because he has a job 10 miles over in Washington, and he makes a fair wage for working there.

So, I am actually venting for many of the "working middle class" that live in this area. How are they making it? Well, the fact of the matter is, they are BARELY making it. I know some people who in the past three years, haven't received a raise of more than $1.00. Total. That means they have received a measly .33 cents a year. And actually, they are the lucky ones. Some other people have received ZERO. So, as the price of housing goes up, and everything else under the sun goes up, does it really seem fair that wages still stay this low?? Who in their right mind thinks this is ok?? I want to hear from ya!!!

Here in Idaho, the minimum wage is at the lowest of the fricken nation, I think, and it is at $5.15. Wow, thanks. Oh, and if you're lucky enough to make tips, you get a measly $3.35. Thanks. Who decides this crap. Oh, let me guess, our state government, which is.................................republican. Is this a coincidence??? I think so, because ten miles over, in Washington state, (democratic state) their minimum wage is $7.93. A whopping $2.78 per hour difference. You have to drive just 10 minutes to Washington to get a HUGE pay raise.

Oh, but the big businesses keep rolling in over here in Idaho. They get Huge tax benefits to move here and they don't have to pay their employees as much as they would elsewhere. Perfect set-up for them, right???? That's exactly what they are thinking. But who is thinking about the people who are losing their houses, don't have medical benefits, can't make a living wage. I don't think anyone is.

What were they thinking?????????

When I say "they", I mean the American idol voters. My fav "idol" Phil, got voted out last night. Why?? I liked him. Oh well, usually when you make it that far on idol, you get a real huge boost to your career after the show. So, I am sure we will be hearing from him again. Oh, and Chris Richardson got dumped too. Those two were the ones I really liked. But, I do like Blake, and Danielle thinks his "beat-box" stuff is way cool, so I guess we will be rooting for him. My thoughts are that Lakeesha and Melinda needed to go instead of the guys. But, what do I know............

We got ripped........

No, I am kidding. I did have high hopes, though. But, Brandon Roy took the title of Rookie of the Year for the NBA. Adam Morrison was number 10 last I checked. Bummer. Did his knee injury have anything to do with it???? Probably not. But, hopefully, he recovers quickly and is raring to go for next year. Can't wait!!!

Before

Here are some pics of our magnificent fixer house BEFORE any of our renovations. We better be able to work some miracles here, people. Check out the light fixtures, top of the line, let me tell ya. Oh, and the chipping and peeling paint, that adds character, for sure. And that Kitchen, why would we want to renovate that???? Note the can's of Kilz paint......... hip-hip-hooray, they have actually helped. The smell isn't TOTALLY gone (says the girl with the super sensitive nose...), but it is almost there. I think the downstairs is smellin' pretty darned fresh. Oh, and we brought Neiko over there because you know, he is a male dog and male dogs pee if they smell pee, and he was about ready to lift that little leg of his upstairs, before I stopped him. There will be no more peeing in this house, Neiko. That'll teach him...........

The Seattle Times..............

Here we are, on our weekend trip to Seattle. This was not your "normal", everyday trip to Seattle. My friend and I decided to take all of our kids.....ok, there was only 3, but anyway, we took all of them to Seattle for the weekend, without the hubby's. So, this was a first for both of us, and we took my mom along for "moral" support. She actually helped out alot, and sat in the back with the screamin' kids. No, they were super good, and we had a great time. I can actually say that I would do it again. I am telling the truth here people. I know, that does sound strange coming from the mouth of the mom who most of the time is so easily irritated by screaming kids, ............but it's true. I am actually typing this as there a are 4 kids outside in my back yard and they are screaming at the top of their lungs. Literally. You wouldn't believe that noises like that could come out of such little bodies. But they do. :-)

Anyway, back to Seattle, we drove over, stopped at an awesome outlet mall, we went to a Mariner game, we went back to the hotel while the kids "swam" ( this was actually more like doing tricks in and out of the water than swimming...), we got up in the morning and went to the Seattle Center and went up on the Space needle (although Danielle chickened out at the last minute, darn it. ), then we went to the Science Fiction Museum, and us adults actually thought that was super cool, they had the actual chair that "scotty" from Star Trek sat in on the Star-Ship Enterprise. Way-Cool, Dude!!!! The kids had no clue what that even was......Anyway, then we went downtown and went to the Aquarium, fed some deep sea creatures, and then we hit a mall on the way out of town and we were off. We pulled into town last night at around 10pm, and Danielle was like........."mom......can the boys stay the night??????" and I was like " I think you have had enough fun for one weekend....". Anyway, she wasn't buying it.

It's been a year..........

And it doesn't feel like it. One year ago today I got the bad news from my dad, who was down in California. His brother, my uncle, had died. Most of you all know he had cancer. We still miss him just as if it happened yesterday. His face and smile still fill my memories, and I still cherish them, and hope they stay this vivid forever.

So, the other day I was looking through my daughters school journals from last school year, and I came across this one in particular. You know, I knew how much the death of a family member effected me, being an adult, but I guess I underestimated how it effected my daughter. I mean, she was definitely effected by it, and I could tell she hated that I was upset, and wanted mommy to be "fine" again. But, I knew she was still small, and I really wasn't sure how she would handle it. I mean, most of the time young kids can be distracted very easily, and if she got a new game or something, her thoughts would then be about that "new exciting toy" she received. So, I watched her progress, and made sure she knew it was OK to be sad, and that if she needed to talk to me about it, I would. And we went on with our normal routines.

So, then I run across this journal entry. She had written it almost a month after he had passed away. It really didn't surprise me that she wrote this, but it hit me like a ton of bricks when I saw it. So, here it is, and I just thought it would be nice if I posted it on this day, to remember my uncle buddy, and how much I miss him. We all do.....

(the words Danielle wrote in the journal are:

May 22, 2006

On april 28, 2006 my uncle buddy died.

I can not get over it.

On May 1, 2006 I wrote about it

in my journal.

I am still kind of sad. )

"That there is some Gooooooood smellin' stuff...."

Last weekend, my mom and I were in our fixer house, and we were getting ready to texture some of the walls. So, I bought some cans of spray paint primer and I thought we could lightly spray it on the walls before we textured them, you know, just to be safe. So, we sprayed away, and the whole room was shortly filled with this white "smoke". This smoke was the primer, of course. Yes, some of it still got on walls. Unbeknownst to us, lots of it got on us, also.

So, we went about our business, and we textured 2 of the walls, and then Joe and Danielle came to the house. Danielle went to greet her grandma and gave her a huge hug and said...."Gosh grandma, you have alot of hairs in your nose." And my mom was like..."Well Danielle, everyone has hairs in their nose." And Danielle then said, " Yeah, but you have ALOT." So, my mom thought this conversation was quite strange, but she just chalked it all up to old age and went along with her business.

So then, my mom and I got into my car to run to the hardware store to get more texture stuff, and when I was driving down the road, I checked myself in the mirror to see if I was "presentable" enough to go in a hardware store, and I just about crashed. My nose was filled with white primer. It was coating the hairs in my nose. I looked at my mom and her nose was the exact same as mine. So, I pulled into the parking lot of the store and laughed my butt off for about 5 minutes, and when I finally came too, my mom said " That's why Danielle kept talking about nose hair....", and so we laughed till our stomachs ached.

God I am glad we didn't walk into that store like that. They would have probably just chalked it up to the local "druggie" problem that we have in this area. I am sure they would have thought we snorted about 5 lines of coke each...........

What a difference a day makes!!!

I stayed away from our fixer house today. Mostly because Joe is in Salt Lake and danielle had an appointment at the torture chamber ( I mean dentist) and I had to take her and then nurse her dizzy little self back to health. ( this included a little "therapy" at the local mall...) I am super proud of her, let me tell ya. She did the best she has ever done at the dentist. We got in, and out with no major melt-down issues. Well, I may have had one but she didn't!!!! (kidding.....) By Gosh, SHE is handling it better than ME.

Anyway, I feel refreshed. I feel like I can go back to the house tomorrow and see it in a new light. (Just as long as the "smell" is not there upon entering..........)

I think I will go look at carpet and flooring samples tomorrow. Shopping is a GREAT distraction!!!! Oh, and it's fun too.

Note to realtor.........

Next time I call you and ask if you will show me a listing that we are considering buying to fix up and sell, tell us you are busy..........

Note to self............

Next time the opportunity comes up and you are thinking about purchasing another fixer house, please take into consideration that your decision making skills may be hampered due to long term exposure to paint fumes...........

Question for the day........

Do cats pee while going up stairs????

Just wondering, because it sure smelled like it yesterday as I was painting each and every raunchy one........

Did I mention that I can not stand cats?????

I am just making sure you all know that I am very serious about this issue. This is why it is sort of a strange thing that we purchased this fixer house. Why, you ask??? Well, the owners of this house were cat breeders. Yes, they had cats coming out of the woodwork. And I am very serious about this, people. Fortunately, they rented their U-haul, pulled it up to the back door, and loaded about 30 crates full of cats into the back. (all this info provided to me from the nosy neighbor next door....) Oh, and by the way, he also filled me in about something else................the house smells like cats. Duhhhhhhhhhh. We already figured that out. Actually, when I walked up to the front porch for the first time to view this lovely home, I smelled it before I even went INTO the house. Yep, it was that potent. So, upon entering this "cat home", we really didn't get much of a surprise.

But you know, I researched this problem before we bought this house and I saw that there were a ton of different products you could buy to remove this god awful stench from any area. So, I called around, searched the internet, talked to some people that had a similar problem, and we decided to go on with the purchase.

So, I purchased a couple of gallons of this stuff they call "nature's miracle". Oh, yeah, it's a miracle all right, its a miracle I paid so much for that crap. It was like 30.00 dollars a gallon and after applying multiple gallons..........guess what???? Yep, we can still smell kitties. Natures miracle my ass.....

So, then we got an air purifier. Commercial purifier. You know, the kind that insurance companies use to get the smoke smell out of a burnt house.......This had to work, right. Well, I think it did help a bit. Actually, everything we have done has improved this stench, but none as of yet have removed it.

Here's a funny little tid-bit......The furnace would not start up during the home inspection. It was a fairly new furnace and so it should have still been in working order, so the owner had a repair man come out and look at it, and sure enough, it was clogged up by something. Hmmmmmm, what could it be...........................yep, CAT HAIR. Fricken balls of cat fur. Nice...
So, they un-clogged it and the furnace fired up like it was brand spankin' new.

Oh, and Joe has been vacuuming cat hair from the vents, from the corners, from the seams in the wood floors, everywhere you can think of. Gross, huh.

So, today, we started painting the floors and about 3-4 feet up the walls with Kilz. This stuff is supposed to trap in the odor and make a barrier. Cross your fingers guys, this HAS to work. Otherwise, our only other option is to have the place fumigated. Sounds like fun........guys in big orange suits with respirators, looking like they are headed to a meth house clean-up. Nice.....I'm sure anyone that see's that will be the first ones standing in line to buy the place when it goes on the market..............

Open Up and Say AAAAaaahhhhhh

Hooray!!! Another trip to the dentist. ( I am sure you know that the "hooray" is a total joke...)

Yesterday, we made the trip to Danielle's dentist. We make it there like clock-work, every six months. I am sure you know from previous posts, that Danielle HATES the dentist. If there was anything I could do to keep her from going, you better believe I would. Anything. But, unfortunately, she needs to go. Actually it would probably be best to go sooner than every six months, but then she would REALLY be burnt out.

So, I don't know about all of you guys, but I had awesome teeth as a child. I did not have a single cavity till I was like, in junior high. My mom didn't let us eat much candy, we didn't drink pop, so we went in for our yearly cleanings, and taa-daaa, they were always short and sweet. No problem-o. This is not the case for Danielle, unfortunately. And no, we don't let her drink pop often at all. Special occasions only. Because we know better. Pop and sugared juices and sugar fruit snacks=more cavities. So, they are all a no, no.

The poor little thing has a million teeth crammed into a very small mouth. No room in between teeth for crap. And she also has what dentists call "soft" teeth. So, they are VERY susceptible to cavities, as we have seen. So, my little girl, who is deathly afraid of dentists, has had more work on her teeth at age 8, than I have had in my entire life. Joe included. She has fillings, crowns, teeth pulled, teeth sealed, teeth brushed with fluoride, teeth saturated in fluoride, you name it, we have done it. I actually think I should take a course in dental hygiene, because I sit her down after "we" brush her teeth as a group effort, and then I take a flossing pick to her teeth and scrape and floss every individual teeth. We then use our sonicare tooth brush twice. She hates this routine. but I truly hate to think what situation she would be in if we didn't do this.

So, after her cleaning, I got to go back and talk about the "plan" with the dentist. They wanted to pull multiple teeth, crown another "baby" tooth and fill 2 more(one a baby tooth.). Yippee!!!!! How exciting. We get to come back here 2 more times. We can't wait!!!!

So, today I got my sleepy little girl out of bed and put her in the car and we were off to the torture chamber. They gave her a little pill to calm her nerves........and next time I am gonna ask for one of these pills for myself, as I could use some calming of MY nerves after sitting in a chair for an hour waiting to comfort my daughter that has just been through hell..........not good.

So, they numbed her, they filled a tooth, and then for the "good" part, they pulled 4 teeth. yep, 4. Oh, and not to mention, these were all baby teeth that I paid good money to get filled and crowned a while back. So they just pulled thousands of dollars of hard earned money out of her mouth. good grief. And we still have to go back next week. Yeah..........I can't wait.

Danielle's connection with Dancing With the Stars........

Hey everyone. Just a cool note that I keep forgetting to post.......

Julianne Hough, partner to Apollo in Dancing with the stars, has a CDA connection. And more than that, Danielle is currently enrolled and has been enrolled in a Dance Studio in CDA that is called Dance Wise, and the owner/instructor is Julianne's big sister. Cool huh. Sharee (julianne's sister ) has been out in LA visiting her and giving her moral support and I bet even advice on those hot dance moves..........So, I just thought I'd post that fact. It's a small world after all. Oh, and she did sooooooo awesome last night, 10- 10- 10!!!!!!! Perfect.

~is this what's ahead for my little danielle???????

:-)

Curfew for cats?????

First of all, no offense to my cat loving friends...............

But, yes, it's true, the city of Walla Walla, Washington is putting a curfew on cats at night. Any cats that are out after curfew........................go to the "pound".

I actually think this is an awesome idea. Whoever knows me, knows I absolutely can not stand cats. Never liked them. Not even when I was little. My nightmares contain cats. I despise cats.

So, back to the curfew....................what an ingenious idea. This cat problem is getting bigger and bigger here in post falls, and I am assuming in many other cities around the country.

Joe and I have actually had a huge problem with cats roaming in our neighborhood. Ever since we moved here we have tried to deter cats from coming on to our property. We have sprayed the bushes with deterrent, put a gel in the soil they were "frequenting". To no avail, of course. These cats have used my garden beds as their litter box for years. I am sure this is just handy as ever to the cats owner, as they do not have to clean out the litter box at their home, the cat just comes over here to use "mine". Nice.

We have figured out who owns the cats and then gone and confronted the owners. Their favorite response is........"You can't keep cats inside or on a leash, it is natural for cats to wander all over.....". So???? I really could care less. I had a toddler that wanted to play in her sand box. There is no possible way she could have, as the cats had adopted it as.............well, you know.

My front yard garden beds were full of this crap, also. It is so disgusting.

I called the "animal control" for the city of post falls. They currently and never have had any regulations regarding cats. Now if it is a dog, it is another story. I truly don't think either one should wander around town off a leash. What's the difference between cats and dogs, I ask???

Then, I asked them if we could shoot the cats with a B-B gun. (not to harm them, just to scare them.......)Nope. Against the law. Even if they are on my property???? That is crap.

So, the animal control suggested "trapping" these cats in cat traps. But, they were currently out of their lendable traps. Seems like others are having this problem also. And when you trap these cats, you need to bring them to the local shelter in order to stay within the guidelines of trapping these animals. Oh, and then they informed me that you can not just drop them off, you need to pay a fee to drop them off. Well, Joe was not hearing it. He liked the trapping idea, but not the forking over of our money.

So, we purchased a trap. Put tuna into it, and what do you know, it became the most popular place in the neighborhood for these visitors. We were trapping them left and right. Everyone was running around wondering where their precious feline was. We of course, acted like we did not know what they were talking about............(No, we did NOT harm these cats, if that's what you are wondering. We stayed within our legal range.....and these cats are currently back at thier homes, using their own litter boxes...........)

So, one morning, after we had the trap out front of our house in the morning, we had our neighbor, not a cat owner and the pastor of a local church, knock on our door and let us know that we currently had a cat in our "trap" and it was "screaming" in there and obviously wanted "out." "Thank you, " I replied. "I will let my husband know...." I acted like I was not involved in this act at all. But I still feel really stupid about it. So, we stopped trapping and we continue to have this problem, 8 years later. It is ridiculous people, just plain ridiculous.

Anybody have any solutions to share??????????? We would love to hear them!!!

Unfortunately.................

My computer is NOT broken.........

This is kind of the story of my life lately......

Well, probably not really, but I HAVE seen Joe look at me a couple of times lately like........."when are you gonna turn that thing off and do something productive???"

I thought this WAS productive.............

Yo, What Up............?

I took this picture while we were skiing last weekend, and I had danielle "pose" for the camera. Danielle, her dad, and Ron B. always joke around and get a kick out of acting like they are from the "hood", so I just had to take advantage of the opportunity. .....

Hymn #365

I was forwarded this email today,

and thought it was cute.

I know some of you don't open your forwards,

and sometimes I'm guilty of that too,

but I was glad I opened this one..............

A minister was completing a Temperance sermon.

With great emphasis he said,

"If I Had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river."

With even greater emphasis he said,

" And if I had All the wine in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river."

And then finally, shaking his fist in the air, he Said,

"And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river."
Sermon complete, he sat down.

The song leader stood very cautiously and announced
With a smile, nearly laughing, "For our closing song,
Let us sing Hymn #365, "Shall We Gather at the River."

Gotta love this one..................

The New Laptop..........

~"Please turn it down, Daddy is trying to finish your homework."

Isn't that just the cutest cartoon??? I found it online and just cracked up....

We just went out and bought danielle a new laptop. Before you say...." Oh my gosh, they are spoiling that little girl rotten...", know that I am using it during the day. Oh, and during the night, also. I mean, my computer downstairs is like, ancient. If you want to use it you need to allow at least 30 minutes for it to warm up. Then you can start trying to dial up to an internet connection. And sometimes it does it, and sometimes it doesn't. And as I was trying to delete crap that was bogging it down one day, I deleted Microsoft Word and the modem and some other crap that I was not supposed to delete, so it is like worthless. Can't even type a measly letter on the thing. So, this new computer has a login for me, and danielle. I am the administrator ( How important....) , so I get to put all the blocks on it and all that good stuff. But she gets to use that laptop instead of daddy's work laptop. He was getting tired of the "strawberry shortcake reunion" game bogging down his "just for work" computer. He couldn't figure out why the "Bratz"website kept popping up fashion shows in the middle of important emails. (Doesn't he have any sense for fashion..................like, come-on..........)

So, every once in awhile I wonder....."What makes a child spoiled???" I mean, I had absolutely NONE of this crap as a child. Ok, maybe for my brothers 10th birthday we got an "atari", but he would barely let me play it. (thus, the reasons for my counseling appointments.......kidding.) So, I mean, my mom wouldn't even let us drink pop. Did they even HAVE pop?? Oh yeah, my grandma used to give me sips of her diet pop on occasion. Let me tell ya, that old diet pop tasted like water but I sure thought I was special when I got to drink it....

So, whatever you all are thinking, just get over it. We have a well-rounded, well-adjusted child. Really. She only throws fits when we wont give her more candy at midnight. Jokes.

Update on our fixer house......

We closed on the property yesterday!!!! Wow, I don't think we have closed on a property we've purchased that fast before. But, the sooner the better is what we thought, and the sellers were not arguing. So, we will be getting the keys soon and then the fun will begin. Let's stop and pray that this will not turn out to be a new episode of the "Money Pit".

New plumbing, new floors, cat-smell-be-gone ( we hope ), new paint, yard work, more paint, lights, and on and on. This will hopefully turn into a great experience for us. It is either gonna go good, or bad. Probably not in the middle. The lady at the title company asked if we were going to live in this residence and I answered......."WE are not planning on living there, but I guess depending on how this remodel effects our relationship, everything is a possibility....maybe we will feud big time while we are doing this and one of us will think this previously cat-infested house looks pretty good....."

Just kidding Joe...............love ya. Let the arguments begin...................( "No, you're not working fast enough, put those fricken tools down and let me do it. Who told you that you knew how to install carpet on stairs...........it looks like sh__. Since when did YOUR opinion mean crap???" ) Oh, I can't wait. We talk so sweet to each other when we are stressed out..........

My Professional Opinion.................(NOT!!!!)

Just to give all of you my two cents, because I know you are chomping at the bit to hear it.........:-)
This DNA crap is killing me. Good grief. I think Larry B is probably a decent person. And yes, he is the father. The evidence is in.
But could I please tell you that I didn't want that to be the outcome............
I know, I am pathetic. I don't even know these people. Thank god. But I am taking it so damned personal. Joe is totally not on my side. I think since Howard has been with dani-lynn since day one, it is just way sad that she is gonna be taken away from him. I hope for the baby's sake they ease into this transition, because Howard is the only dad she has known.
Yes, I know that Larry has every right and should take the baby. He's the daddy. But I can't help but feel way sad for Howard. Not because I know him, not because he is a good or bad person, because I really have no clue. But because he looked so damned broken-hearted already. Now, he has one more heart-breaking issue to deal with. Sad, just plain sad.
Oh, and to add one more tidd-bit..................I don't like that Vergie lady. I hope Larry keeps that baby far away from that wack-job. (Again, just my opinion.........)

Skiing In April............

Who would have thought that we would be skiing in April??? How nice is that?? I guess that is one of the perks of living in beautiful northern Idaho.

We were in McCall, Idaho over a month ago and they were saying the snow was soft there then. Wow, lookout still had awesome snow this weekend. There were some soft spots, especially at the bottom, but the warm weather was to die for. I absolutely love spring skiing. No coats, no gloves, no cold feet, no hats..........does it get any better than that??? I don't think so.

This was the last weekend for lookout and the other local ski hills, but we are definately wanting more after our great weekend trip. So, we are looking forward to next year already. Season passes are bought and paid for, all we need is to pick out new ski's for Danielle. Can't wait!!!!!

Why do we celebrate Easter?

That is the question that my daughter asked me yesterday. You know, I think she was talking about the Easter that has to do with the "Easter bunny". That is the only thing some kids really think about when they think about Easter. So I told her that I was not really sure where the "Easter bunny" thing came from, but that the only thing I did know, was that this holiday we call Easter, really doesn't have anything to do with the "Easter Bunny", but it has everything to do with Jesus and Christianity. So, I explained to her that the holiday is celebrated by us because it is the day that Jesus rose to heaven, so that some day we also would rise up to heaven, and have everlasting life. She remembered us talking about this before, and it all started coming back to her.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

This is actually one of the most meaningful holiday's for Christians. I actually feel kind of bad that it has turned into the egg coloring, egg hunting, chocolate bunny eating, festival that it has. But on the other hand, I think it is also good that it has a special meaning for the little ones, because some of them may not really understand the true meaning behind this holiday, because of their youth, or for whatever reason. So, it is our job to teach our children about Jesus, and I believe that this actually helps bring them closer to loving this holiday for what it truly is. A celebration of life......everlasting life. On this day more than ever we need to be thankful for the sacrifices Jesus made for us, and know that we will one day Join him in heaven.

So, on this Friday before Easter, Good Friday, the day that Jesus was crucified and died on the cross, I am taking time to remember what the "true" meaning of this holiday is. I am trying to share my belief's and my knowledge ( though it may seem quite sparse sometimes ) with my daughter, for that is what I was taught to do.

Have a very happy Easter everyone. Find tons of eggs, eat tons of chocolate, have visits with family, and also take time to remember the "true" meaning of Easter.

Cute cartoon of the day.....................

Where did my ear-rings go????

Am I losing my mind???? Ok, yes. But why is it happening at the young, fresh, ripe age of just 31???? ( I mean 32.) Why???

The story is this. I am going about my business this morning, you know, applying make-up, fixing my un-fixable hair, and then I notice that 2 out of the 4 earrings on my left ear are like, gone. Not there. All the others are accounted for, including the ones on my right ear. So, after I literally feel a lump in my throat and about pass-out from the fear of the unthinkable....(losing one of the earrings that I just received as a gift from my loving husband)...I decide to tear apart the house and search. I took my already made bed apart. I got on my hands and knees and felt the carpet. I put my head on the carpet to "scan" the carpet with my eyes. Nothing. Yikes, it was getting scary. I began to wonder how long they were actually missing. Could it have been more than a day??? Who knew..

So, after suffering a mild panic attack, I looked over to my night stand and there they sat. On top of it with their backs on just sitting there looking pretty. So, what's so weird about that, you say??? Well, I have absolutely NO recollection of that happening. I do not remember setting them there. I do not remember taking them off. I never take my earrings out. (except for the occasional cleaning..) Crap, what kinds of other stuff do I do in my sleep?? It's not looking good people. Not looking good...............

OOOhhhhh, look at the pretty light..............

Here we are at the area now known as "the disaster area". Or, also known as, our river property. When we pulled up we noticed most of the snow is gone, so that means we need to buck up and get to cleaning up this mess. Looking around, I was so overwhelmed. Trees down everywhere, branches all over...............not good. So, we sat there and looked at it for awhile, and I told Joe that when he got done cutting some of the branches with the chain-saw, I would burn them. (I really don't think we want to put me in the controls of a chain-saw. First of all, those things are heavy, second of all, they are louder than hell, third, I would probably cut my leg off. Not that that ever stopped any one I know from using one. Out here in the woods, people get hurt with chainsaws on a daily basis. Just ask the Gribbles. )

Anyway, Joe carefully uses the chainsaw, and I start putting branches in these huge bonfires that we have created around our property. Normally, we only have one bonfire, but this is a special occasion, so we have two. These fires are creating so much smoke, that I thought the fire trucks would arrive at any minute, with the hoses out and ready to put out the forest fire that we must have created. But, then I remembered that we are in Prichard, Idaho.............and who knows how long it could take the emergency crews to arrive. Probably at least an hour. Definitely too late.

So, we just kept piling more flammables on the fires..... wood, brush, oil, gas........Creating a "white man's fire", as my dad would say.

So, Joe is still out there plugging away, and Danielle and I are in the house enjoying our new discovery.............We are actually connected to wireless internet up here in the boondocks. Wow, we are getting a signal from one of our neighbors, I guess. Who knew you could even GET wireless up here in the sticks!!! Anyway, we are enjoying it while we can.......lord knows it won't last for long..............unlike the pile of brush that is covering our property............

Happy Birthday Daddy.............

These days I mostly call him dad. But, on my bad days, I revert back to "daddy". You know how it is girls, even when your all grown up, he's still your "daddy". Especially when you need a shoulder to cry on.

So, its his 56th birthday today, and I just want him to know how lucky I am to be his daughter. I truly am blessed. After all these years, we have still remained so close. His burdens are mine, mine are his. We each want the best for each other, we truly have a connection that I think not many fathers and daughters have. He probably knows me better than anyone, and knows how my day has been before I even tell him. And I can tell just how his has been, just by looking in his eyes. It is a dead give-away in our eyes, as that is ONE of the outside things I got from him. You know, when it comes down to it, I'm sure I look much like my mom, but on the inside, I am my dad. And I thank him for being such a great person to be like.

I love you, daddy. Have a great day.

Look at this mansion...............

with the cute picket fence and the covered porch....how American...... This is the fixer house that Joe and I have been looking at and put an offer in on. This morning we learned that the offer was...............................yes, accepted. I am super happy, but nervous. Scared, but intrigued. We offered almost 20,000 dollars less than the asking price and they accepted. Wow. I think they needed to get out of it, and had borrowed some money thinking it would close sooner than it did. So, we had them right where we wanted them............that sounds mean. But actually, they are selling it, we didn't make them accept our offer, and they are gonna be rid of this house. Just what they wanted.

So, it has alot of curb appeal, I think. When you drive by or walk up to it, you are like..............oh, so cute. Then you walk in. And it is then that you realize why they didn't show pictures of the inside of the house online. No one would have went to look at it. Well, it's probably not that bad but it is definitely a fixer. But, there is really nothing structurally wrong with it, it needs paint, flooring, new counter tops, time, and love. Maybe more, when we actually get in there. But it is contingent on an inspection that will be done sometime in the next few days, and then depending on the outcome of that.............we will take it, or leave it. So, wish us luck!!!!!!!! Looks like were gonna need it.

Fav song AND video of the month.........

It is Dierks Bentley............Long Trip Alone.

Wow, what a great album. What a great song. He just released the new video and it is awesome also. Gotta see it, you don't know what you're missing!!!!

Iceburg, Dead Ahead........

Yep, we're going on a cruise. Alaska, here we come. We have never been on a cruise before, so those of you who have had a bad cruise experience, just keep it to yourself, would ya??? Just kidding. We would love to hear about how you almost fell overboard..............

Danielle is super excited about it. I have been showing her all the brochures and pictures I have and she just can't wait.

Oh, last weekend we were watching the titanic, she had never seen it before and it was on HBO or something, and at the end when everything was going to pot, you know, life boats, life jackets, sinking ship.........I looked over at her and she had this look of horror on her face and was like..."Mom, is that real???" And then I realized that it was probably not a good idea for her to see that show before we go on a cruise. Especially in icy waters. So, I explained to her that it was a long time ago, and stuff like that just doesn't happen any more, etc. So, now I am focusing on letting her know all the good things about cruising. Hopefully she has already forgot about that movie, and if not, we aren't going till June, so it will be "all good" by then. Poor thing.

No title necessary

This is how I felt after I learned last Thursday that I booked a seven day cruise on the week that my daughter has her dance recital that she has been diligently rehearsing for now for months. We even have her very expensive but very cute outfit picked out and paid for.

To make a VERY long story short, I was able to call my travel agent and beg her to switch our cruise to the following week. She happily called me back and told me my problem was solved. Thank goodness for nice travel agent lady. She deserves a big huge tip or something. Although, I think we have spent enough money for awhile..............have you checked out the prices of cruises lately???????????? Wow. It's literally shocking after you add in all the taxes a fees and crap. But, I'm sure it will be worth every penny.

The Story of My Life.............

OMG, this is the story of my life lately. Why can't I find anything????? Lately I have lost just about every important document I need. I look, and look, and look. And then look some more. Library books are lost and then finally found, danielle's homework, a title to a car, you name it, if we have it here, that means I have looked for it for at least an hour before it was found. Crazy, I know. So, when my debit and credit cards were not in my purse on Saturday, I had a sneaking suspicion that they were NOT stolen from my purse, but that I misplaced the crazy things somewhere. So, after looking for 2 days, I looked all over my car, my house, my purse, everywhere I could think of, I called the bank to issue me new cards and stop the previous ones from working. I knew in the back of my head that the minute I hung up the phone after cancelling them, they would mysteriously show up. So, after I hung up, I went about my business and they didn't show up. I did a few errands and came back home to do my Monday cleaning. No, I don't just clean on Monday, but I will call today's cleaning "Mondays cleaning". So, I am on my hands and knees dusting the bottom of my dining room table and the chair legs ( because I think my neighbors have started up a dust factory and they are sending their new products straight over here.........) and what did I see. Dust. Well yes, but what else? Yep, you guessed it, my credit and debit cards. Who knew. My dog, who usually chews up every single little thing he finds on the floor that is not his, did not even touch these. Go figure. So, they are useless. Can't use 'em. Gotta wait for the "speedy" mail to come before I can go buy stuff. Oh this could be bad. Or as my husband would say "good".

You Find Out Who Your Friends Are............

I was listening to my good old favorite country music station, and a cool new song came on. I absolutely LOVE Tracy Lawrence, I have all of his old albums, but he just disappeared for awhile. I think I heard something about legal problems or something. Anyway, I could tell it was him just from his voice, and thanks to my car radio, it tells me who it is and what the songs name is just in case I missed it...........So, the song's name is "you find out who your friends are....". Wow. It has a super good tune to it, and I was listening to the words very carefully and they just hit home to me. It's about friends, and how sometimes you come upon bad times, and you figure out who your true friends really are. The lyrics are just sooooooo true. So, here's the chorus:

You find out who you're friends are

Some body's gonna drop everything

Run out and crank up their car

Hit the gas, get there fast

Never stop to think 'what's in it for me'

or 'it's way too far'

They just show on up with their big old heart

You find out who you're friends are

As I was listening to it, it made me think of some of the friends we have. Some of these people are family members also, but these people will literally do exactly what this song says. You need help-they are there. Bad day-they are there. Natural disaster-they are there. Need your dog watched at the last minute-they are there. Need help taking trees off a roof-they are there. Need help cutting wood-they are there. Need your child watched at the last minute-there. Need someone to help move furniture-there. Heck, even if you need bailed out of jail-they are right there. Getting into a fight-they are there sticking up for you. Death of a loved one-they are there. These people don't even think twice. They literally just come.

No, these people aren't just there when you are having good times, they are there standing in line when you are having the bad times, also. We all know the ones who are only there to have tons of fun when the going is good, but THESE people are there through the GOOD, and BAD. And let me tell you, these are the ones we want beside us when the times are good. It's just in there hearts to be there when the crappy stuff happens too. It is truly amazing. Truly humbling to me. These are the people that I look up to and hope that by their example, I am able to be that kind of friend also.

So, you all know who you are...................Thank you, we are truly blessed with your friendship.

March MADness.............

It's over for the Zags. I really figured it would be. Not to sound negative or anything, but they just aren't playing ball like were used to. Some of it I am sure is because of the loss of Josh Heytvelt. But, I really don't like to think one person could carry a team, so I don't believe they would have had a better outcome with him. Just my opinion.

Last night's game against the Hoosiers was really ugly. The Zags were playing terrible. The worst they have played all year. They were just plain and simply out played. Their percentages of shots made was absolutely ridiculous. Lowest percentage all year. It just wasn't their night. Too bad, because I LOVE to watch them play, but even last night I sort of had to turn away at times. But, their still my fave team around. See ya next year boys!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, I still don't think I can bring myself to say.................go cougs....But, hopefully they go far in this tournament, being a local team and all. There having an awesome year.

Here's my two cents.............

The federal courts decided Thursday that there will be no more field burning in Idaho. Except, of course, on the five Indian Reservations. What??? How ridiculous is that. I guess the reason is because the federal courts do not have jurisdiction over the reservations. It makes no sense to me.

First of all, I would like to be on record, that I actually think it is crap that Idaho farmers must stop burning their fields. They have been doing this forever. They really have no other alternative that is feasible. Small farmers will have to sell their property because they will not be able to afford the changes needed to replace the effects the burning has on their harvests. Larger farms will have many negative effects also. It was stated in one news paper article that the benefits of the bluegrass growing on the prairie GREATLY outweighs the effects of the burning of the fields once per year. If we don't have the bluegrass fields, the quality of air will be reduced. Who studied science in school. Who learned the effects that plants have on cleaning the air????? Obviously some people were sleeping through that class. Oh, and if there are no more farmers on the prairie, guess what is gonna happen..................yep, you guessed it...........Housing developments. Right on top of the aquifer. Great...............that's just what we need. More uncontrolled growth.

I have read so many articles in the paper about people complaining about the burning. Usually it is a little old lady that has asthma and she has to go to the hospital a couple times a year because of the effects of the smoke. Ok, if the smoke is really effecting her, I feel SOME compassion for her. Some. I mean, if I had trouble with asthma, I would not move in directly north of these fields that have been burned once a year since the beginning of time. Kinda like I would not live in a house boat if I was afraid of the water. Kinda like I wouldn't move into a heavily forested area if I was deathly allergic to pollen. Go on a vacation for 2 days, lady. I mean, come on people, give the farmers some credit here. They have looked into every other possible option. The state ruled that they could not even find another feasible option. But, little old lady with asthma files a lawsuit ( along with others, I'm sure) and the federal courts finally come to a decision, no more field burning. Oh, unless you are on a reservation. That makes sense. We actually get more of the effects from the reservation burning to the south of us then the burning that happens in the field right across from our house.

The first year we moved here on the Rathdrum prairie, we saw that huge cloud of smoke and wondered what it was. Then we found out it was field burning. Yes, you could smell it. A little. Yes, you could see it. Yes, it made it look like a haze was over the area. This literally only lasted 1 day. At the most. Then the smoke was long gone. I grew up in a mining town where we all used wood stoves all winter long. I will tell you that the smoke from the those chimneys was way more potent than any smoke I have seen along this prairie. But even that did not bother me. I wasn't about to lobby for every damn house in the town to get a gas furnace so we didn't smell wood smoke. It just seems weird to me. So, there is my two cents. For whatever it is worth. I know this is a VERY controversial subject. But then again, I love to give my opinion on controversial subjects. Maybe no one wants to hear it, but that's another story.

Yee Haw!!!!!

On our long car trip home from Boise, Danielle asked me............"Mom, can you change the radio station to country, please." I wouldn't have thought this was weird, but she usually wants the station turned to "hip-hop" type rap music like snoop-dog or something. ( I think her only reason for doing this has got to be to irritate her dad.............) So, I turned it to country. Then I looked back at her and I was like..........."Why?" and she pointed over to Neiko and said " Because I want him to go to sleep."

Out in Po-Dunk

Is that how you spell that???? I have not used proper grammar in so long...............:-)

Anyway, these pictures are of Zims Hot Springs Resort, near McCall, Idaho. The story is, the motel that I made reservations for did not have a swimming pool. Ok, that does not seem like such a big deal to me...........But let me tell ya, my daughter thought that her world was gonna come crashing down when we got inside the grand old Super 8 and she noticed that there was no pool in sight. Heck, you can't be picky when you have a dog in tow. The choices were dogs allowed, or pool. Not both. So thats how it came to be.

So, after about an hour of shopping, we went back to the hotel and 2 minutes after sitting down on our beds Danielle was like............" I'm Booooooorrrrrreeeddddd". Ok. So, upon further observation, there really aren't too many kid friendly activities going on in McCall on a Sunday at about 6:30 pm. No movie theatre, no shopping malls, they have a skating rink but we went there and they were having a "shuffle-board" type tournament with grown adults, so there was no open skating. Bummer. So, we looked and looked through the yellow pages. I found a theatre that shows one show at a time in Cascade about 30 miles away. That was one option. Then, I saw it. There are a bunch of natural hot springs in the country around McCall. I got on the phone and called the closest one I could find and they said they were open till 10:00pm. Wow. We're there.

When we got there it was totally what I had expected and more. Old, out-dated building that was built by hand back in like 1700 or something. Quiet older gentleman behind the counter looking like he wished everyone would just go home so he could get back to bed. The steam was coming up around the outdoor pools behind us. The pools could have used some "re-furbishing" but they were huge. One of them was Olympic sized and the temp in that was about 95- 98 degrees. The other smaller pool was about 104-110 degrees. Steaming hot. Steam was rolling out of these pools and the water was coming straight out of the ground into pipes that fed the pools. Danielle was very intrigued. It didn't take her long to slip off her pants and jump in the water. Oooooohhhh, how good that felt. There were like 3 other people there besides us. Perfect.

So, I took a couple of pictures, got in the "cooler" pool and then slipped into the "burning" pool and relaxed. You can only be in there for like 15 minutes tops or I think your brain will fry like an egg or something. Anyway, I thought, what the heck, I'll try it. It felt HOT. Hey, when I had to go to the bathroom I went inside and went to the little girls room and guess what??? Even the toilet water was hot. Yep, the seats felt nice and warm and everything. Strange, I know. I think I might figure out a way to get our water in the toilets at home hot. It feels nice and toasty when you sit down....................Heck, who cares if our heating bill goes up. :-)

So, in the future, I am NOT going to pass these type of places up and say how cheesy they would be and how I wouldn't be caught dead in a place like that. Although, I bet people have died in that hotter pool.............. I am going to drag my butt in there and experience po-dunk. We are sooooo glad we did. You should too.

Oh, one more thing. Up on the fence by the pool there was a list of rules. You know, like, no diving, no splashing...............well, the last one said.........no spawning. My mom, Joe and I laughed at it but Danielle noticed it about 30 minutes into our swim and she was like..."mom, what does spawning mean?", and at first I was like, "I'm not sure honey" and I was looking to my mom and Joe for help and they just sat there. So finally I was like..." Oh, I think it is like when fish lay eggs in the water or something. So no laying eggs." She kind of looked at me funny and continued on with her swimming.

Hello, from the top of the world...........

Here's Danielle and Neiko, sitting on a rock, at the top of Whitebird Pass, about 1 hour out of Lewiston, Idaho. I had to have Joe pull over and take advantage of the great photo-op. So, there they are.

Update on Boise Invention Convention:

We went, we had tons of fun checking out all of the cool exhibits that they have there at the Discovery Center of Idaho, and of course, all of the cool inventions!!! That's the good news. Now for the bad news.........Danielle did not win. I know, it is awful. Unfortunately, I spent so much time trying to prepare my daughter for this terrible moment, that I forgot to prepare myself. As I realized that the hope in her eyes was fading away, I just about lost it. The only reason that tears didn't fall continuously from my eyes, was that I knew it might crush her. She was a trooper. She got up, made a comment about how she wished she could have won, and asked if we could go see some of the exhibits that we had not seen yet. What??? Where did I get this strong child??? I know for sure that I would not have handled that situation as bravely as she did when I was a kid. Actually, I know that I did not handle the situation as bravely as she did as an adult. Wow. I really was impressed. I still have a lump in my throat just thinking about it.

So, as I am writing this, I am NOT crying, (because she is in the room next to me), but I am starting to get a "momma bear" attitude. I wanted to protect my "cub" from getting hurt. I wasn't able to. But I am so proud of her. I really couldn't be more proud of her even if she would have won. She has already won first prize, as far as I am concerned.

Darn those other talented kids, anyway. Why couldn't they have been home with the flu or something!!!!! Just kidding...................really.