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.....

Slowly but surely.....

Has anyone been wondering where the heck we have been for the last few months. Well, here is a preview....this is a before and after picture of our fixer house that we have been slaving over. Well, the "after" is not completely "after", as we are not done YET. There is definitely more to be done.....the blue screen door has GOT to go and I have shutters to paint, and we need to pick a color for the front door and the porch floor, we need to remove the temporary "work bench" from the front porch, oh.....and I have hanging baskets........anyway, it is "sort of" coming along. We have been working so hard on it, and really just want to be DONE. Poor Joe has a first job and then gets to go to a second when he gets home from the first. I am sure he has about had it with this project. But, it is kind-of rewarding to see some progress and some good change, I think. I am hoping he feels the same. It will be a good thing when it is done. But, so far, the changes look good to us.....hopefully it isn't just because we are dead tired......
Oh, and I can't wait to post some pics of the inside. Just a bit more to be done in there, and I can share it with ya. Patience, people.

Thanks Nike.....

I am sure you have heard the news reports about the football "star" Michael Vick and the allegations of dog fighting. Thankfully Nike has pulled Vick's items off of their retail stores and their online stores. They have suspended him without pay from their endorsement deal.
I was watching a show the other night like 20/20 or something, and it showed some clips of dog fights and I literally just about puked. This is disgusting, people. This is sick. I could not even continue to watch the show, it was soooo bad. These people who are involved in this dog fighting need to spend some major time in jail. Ok, I guess he is innocent until proven guilty, but IF he is involved in this crap, he needs some MAJOR help. And, as far as I am concerned, some major jail time. Hopefully the NFL will take this VERY seriously, because this guy should NOT be a role model for kids if he is involved in this at all. This is truly a disgusting "sport" and whoever is doing crap like this needs to be punished. Sick. These people are just SICK!!!

Lovin' the Heat.......

Who likes to do landscaping in the 100 degree heat for 5 hours??? Yeah, me neither. Only I didn't realize it until afterwords, when I am pretty sure I just about fainted from heat exhaustion. "But all this work on the fixer house is well worth it, honey...."
Atleast it will be.....when we are DONE....
:-)

Thank You, honey!!!!

This post is for my husband, Joe. He is currently out of town working and I am sure he is super tired and feeling a bit lonely (If he even has enough time between work to think...). We are just so lucky to have him as a husband and father. Thank you honey for working so hard and making such a great life for us. We love you and couldn't be more proud of ya.

~Kelli and Danielle.....
Oh, and lets not forget Nieko...

Oh Where are my Fellow Tongue-biters???

Where are you?? Am I the only one left?? Ok, if you have no clue what I am talking about, I will let loose....

I am the worlds best "tongue-biter". You know, when you were little, and your mom told you to "bite your tongue" when you really wanted to say something, and it would just be wrong to say it.....so you just had to keep quiet. Do you remember that??? Was my mom the only one who did that??

I am beginning to think that she scarred me for life. I mean, because I still do this. I still bite my tongue on a daily basis. "You want to totally take advantage of me???" "SURE, go right ahead...". I just smile to people as they are being rude as hell. I also tell myself that they just must not have meant it in the rude way that it sounded, because there HAVE to be more kind people out there. There just have to. Or am I the only one that loves to make a complete ASS out of myself at times, by rolling over and not saying CRAP.

The problem is, I think there need to be more nice people out there. Ok, not nice like my mom, nice (lol......huh, lyns....), but just people that are thoughtful of others feelings and concerns. People who are on your side. People who genuinely care for you. People who are real, but kind. People who don't get off on treating you like a complete idiot. (AND, YES, I DO have friends like this, and for you all, THANK YOU!!!)But continuing on......

I am not saying that speaking your mind is not ok. Believe me, I love to speak my mind at times. But I truly believe that if speaking your mind makes another person feel like total SH**, you probably should sugar coat it a little. Don't compromise your integrity by keeping quiet like I sometimes do.....just sugar coat it a bit. I am not saying that you should hide under your 500 count sheets and never say a word again, I am just saying that respect goes a long way. Really. Let's all get our big girl panties on and take a class in compassion.
There, I am done venting. And I feel better now.

Wow......It's about time....

Alright, don't get me wrong here, I LOVE Idaho. It is beautiful, it has four awesome seasons, and my friends and family are here. So, why am I complaining, you ask??? Well, Idaho has like the LOWEST minimum wage in the nation. Yep, you got to hand it to our state government, don't ya. They are saving the businesses money left and right. But what are they doing for the worker??? Zero. Yep, Zero.
When Idaho lawmakers passed a minimum wage bill this year, they called it the "do-nothing" bill. They decided to sit on the fence and wait around until the feds MADE them raise it up. How nice.
So, today, the Idaho minimum wage will rise up (if you can call it that) to a whopping $5.85/hour. This would have NEVER happened if the feds didn't require it. Think about how much our cost of living has increased lately???? Who thinks $5.85/hour is a living wage??? I'd like to hear from you if you do. Oh, I know "dubya" doesn't have many problems with it, just check out the movie trailer I posted on my myspace account...( www.myspace.com/kellivalerio ) and view the movie clip and see what he thinks about people having to have three jobs at a time to make a living. He thinks it's pretty great. I know they say he is from Texas.....but are we sure he doesn't have Idaho roots????

Who knew????

I am here in CT, relaxing and enjoying the company of my friends. It is so nice to be out here and learn about this area with them. I am having a great time and it is super beautiful out here.
Ok, so here is a weird thing. They have fireflies out here. And, they really glow. I know, its probably not that weird to some of you who have seen this before, but I have not, so I am in awe when I see them. So, I actually got on the computer and did some research. They don't live in any part of the United States further west than Kansas. (Thus, the reason I have not seen any before....) The glowing is some sort of chemical reaction that they use to find a mate, and sometimes they do it just for kicks. Here is another strange fact.....frogs that eat tons of fireflies actually start to glow themselves. Who knew?????

Danielle's online scrapbook.......

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

How hip is that????

I am finally done with the "extreme" makeover of Danielle's bedroom. Who knows why I started this project while we are so busy with our fixer and all, but once I bought the bed, I was determined transform her room into a contemporary space. I bought her the black bed frame and then painted her other furniture black and I was not done yet..........I decided to paint the upper half of her walls black. Too much black, you say. Yeah, that's what I thought. But, it actually didn't turn out bad. It is super cute and you would never know it was the same room. All that matters is that my baby girl likes it. :-)

Important College News of the day.....

I was reading my morning paper, and I glanced at the Sports section and the college news for the day. The headline read "EWU mascot has feathers ruffled"

Here is the article in full.....

Seattle Chief of Police Gil Ker********** came to the rescue of swoop, the EWU mascot. When the eagle found itself in a sidewalk fracas with a bar patron in Pioneer Square early Sunday morning.

According to a Seattle Post Intelligencer story, the chief was being given a closing time tour of the club district when officers witnessed the man Vs. eagle confrontation.

Police said a man shoved swoop to the curb and then stomped on the mascot's back as another person dressed as a beaver watched.

Four officers broke up the disturbance. No one was injured all were later released without citations.

Many mascots from the Northwest were in Seattle over the weekend for a competition.

A police spokesman couldn't confirm the identity of those involved.

An EWU spokesman told the Spokesman Review::" Eastern Washington University does not reveal the identity of swoop, just like any other superhero".

Ok, I have a couple of weird thoughts......Where were Swoop's super powers when he needed them???? Because if he had any, you wouldn't think he would be on the ground getting the SH** beat out of him.

Where was the Idaho Vandal mascot when ya need him???

How much do they pay these idiots????

Wouldn't it be hotter than hell in one of those costumes especially when the temp has been over 100 degrees for days?? Oh, maybe that explains the havoc.........heat + Beer = well, not very good behavior......

Back to Reality...........

After 3 full days of floating the river, we are forced to come back to reality. Tomorrow is Monday. Tomorrow is the day we will get back to the old "grind". Joe will be back to work after a 5 day weekend. I will be back at our fixer house after a super relaxing mini vacation at the river. We are all ready to be out of the sun though, I think. Each of us is a different shade of red. Not really "burnt", but almost there. Even the SPF 50 sunscreen couldn't hold up to the swimming, rafting, and snorkeling that Joe and Danielle did. They had tons of fun. So, the temperature here will continue to be at or near 100 degrees for at least another 6 days. It looks like Danielle and I will be spending our fair share of time at the beach.......

What happened to my "girlie" girl???

Danielle informed me about a week ago that she would like to change the color scheme in her bedroom. OK, I thought, that shouldn't be a problem. Maybe she is getting tired of the "pepto" pink color along with purples and whites. But, she threw me for a loop when she told me she would like to do her room in BLACK and RED. What??? First of all, those are Wallace Miner colors, and that is not OK around here.....(tiger pride...). Second of all, where did these colors come from??? Who likes these colors??? I didn't think little girls did. At least, I didn't THINK she did. So, after the initial shock of it, I started thinking......black is the "in" color right now in furniture.....I could work with that....., black ACCENTS wouldn't be bad.....I could work with that, so I told her we could go shopping for black bedroom furniture. So, the first bedroom store we went into, she spotted it, not just a black bed, but a black WATER bed. Ok, I will admit, I wanted a water bed when I was little. My friends had water beds, and they were, like, totally cool ...., and my parents quickly shot down that idea by telling me that we had an old, historical home, and that if we put that much weight on the 2nd story (conveniently where my room was)that the bed would probably fall through. So, now I know that they were totally...............LYING..........and I suppose I am over it, but I still don't want to heal my wounds by letting my daughter have one. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's because I think she might get stuck between the water and the side???? Maybe it's because I have a fear of it popping, while all her friends are jumping wildly on top of it??? Maybe because.............well, maybe because I just don't. Can't that be a reason???
So, we went out shopping again today, and we saw a really cool contemporary black bed and we both fell in love with it, and she wanted to get it just as bad as I did, and the water bed thing fell by the wayside. For now, anyway......

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

Happy 4th, guys. Hope you all have a great day!!!! It is currently 8:30pm and the fireworks have been going on in my neighborhood for about 4 hours now. The fire danger is EXTREMELY high right now, and there is a house fire about 14 blocks away, a fire along the interstate about 10 miles from here, and a couple forest fires to the north and south of us. So it should be an interesting night. The neighbor kids are currently trying to break the unofficial record of how many firecrackers they can light off at a time........ :-)

Oh, here's my latest pic of Danielle.......

Cute magnet I saw........

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.

Rosie Vs. Elizabeth......

Do I dare even touch on this subject??? As I am typing, my head is saying "I know better than to start....". But, oh well, this is what blogs are for, after all.

Whose side am I on?? Do I have to be on a side? No. I don't think I do. But, I suppose, if I HAD to be on a side, it would be..................(Oh, let the controversy begin...) Rosie. Don't get me wrong here, I really DON'T know or LIKE either one of them. Not even a little bit. But, even before Rosie was on the view....(which made me stop watching it....because she is way irritating....) I could not stand listening to Elizabeth. I'm sorry to all the Elizabeth lovers. But, she just bugs the crap out of me. Not to mention, she has consistently supported the Bush campaign, through thick, and mostly thin, and that is about enough to make me puke. She will not listen to reason, at all. (according to me....:-) ) She seems VERY one way with her political views. As are most people, I guess. But, my FAV people are those who have, yes, chosen a side, BUT, will listen openly to opinions of others and make a decision from their heart, instead of what they deem as "politically correct". That's all. And from what I have heard of her, she is WAY on the other side. And that is fine, it is workin' for her. So, she can keep running her mouth about all the stuff that she believes in, because you know, that's what this country is all about, but, I don't have to watch it. Yeah!!! That's actually the best part!!! Oh, but I did get online and view the "argument" after the fact, and it was kind-of funny. I really couldn't tell who won or lost, but I just wanted to see what all the "fuss" was about.

The reality TV Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...............

Alright, the end is nearing in reality TV land. Idol is almost over, dancing with the stars is like over tonight, the bachelor is over....well, one last hurrah tonight. I just need to get my feelings out about this bachelor thing. First, this show is really stupid. So why do I keep watching it? Why does it grab me hook, line and sinker?? I mean, I watch one or 2 episodes, and then I have to watch every single one?? Why?? Do I have a weird personality where I thrive on this stuff?? I don't know. But, last night, I just about dropped dead when he picked Tessa. I mean, don't get me wrong, she would have been my pick (if I was a guy wanting to settle down.....which I'm obviously not.....a guy....). So, he played the Bevin card sooooo much, that as Joe was nodding off to sleep he mumbled that he would pick her, for sure. Then, there I was, unable to go to sleep even though it was WAY past my bedtime, I was turning the volume up so I could hear every last word over Joe's snoring.....(sorry honey...secret's out....yup, you snore...), and he told BOTH girls he loved them. But, I thought, OK, he loves them. One of them he loves like a sister, one of them he loves like a, well, you know.......love slave. So, obviously, he would pick the one who he shoots bolts of electricity at every time he is near her. But, in the end, he picked the "good" one. The one that I think will be the "one" for a long time. Unlike the other, where in a couple of weeks the spark would be gone, and, well, then what's left??? Nothing.

same stuff, different week..........

Not much new going on here. Still working on the fixer house, and hoping to be done in less than 4 weeks. Yikes......

I saw this brochure online, I guess I should have read it earlier......

I picked out a carpet sample, and I really like it, and have ordered it to be installed in about a week and a half. So, Danielle was looking at it and she was like..."Oh, there is some green in it...." and I was like.."Yes honey, it has a few specks of green." So then she says " Well, at least if you barf, you wont be able to see it." What??? Where does this stuff come from?? I am starting to doubt every single decision I make for this house. Never before have I struggled to come up with decorating ideas and color schemes. I mean, for crying out loud, some of my friends have actually come to ME for decorating advice. Have I lost my "talent"??? Did it just up and walk away on me??? I can't stop second guessing myself. "What color is this??? Is it yellow?? Is it greenie?? Is it grey?? Too light? Too dark?? Too perky?? Too fricken bright?? Too dreary?? Not white enough? Too white?" Oh my gosh, I think my next step is gonna have to be decorators -anonymous. Is there such a thing?? If not, maybe I'll start one up.

Oh, and I am not sure if I just started being super picky, but it is getting outrageous. My mom can't paint right, Joe can't sand right, I can't choose colors right......(all this according to me...) this is really bad. Joe was texturing the walls, and every time he would spray some I would be like..." that's too thick.." so he would change the setting..."that's too thin..." Since when did I become so cranky about people helping me. Gosh, I should be grateful as hell that I have help. Pretty soon they are gonna throw the paint rollers and sand paper at me as they slam the door behind them. I am so sorry guys, stress just does bad things to me. I promise I will try to get help. I mean better. Yes, better.

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....