Random things

I am in need of another random things post, so here is my Wednesday version:

• I really feel like I need to get my blogging on.  I got a comment this weekend from kbreints at A Little Crazy and a Lot of Love that she just posted her 1,481 post.  I figured this was among all three of her blogs as she also has one to showcase her awesome photography, Bird's Eye View, and Portal to the Past which is a collection of beautiful photos that her Grandmother Inez took many years ago.  But NOPE, she confirmed that all 1,481 came from A Little Crazy and she has been blogging there for only four years!  I have been blogging for about two now (I looked it up, my first post on blogger was September 18, 2009, happy almost 2nd blogiversary to me!) and I have a whopping 243 posts total, like I said blog on Sarann! 
• So we did not go to the bowling party last weekend, it was just too far.  We opted to stay home and watch the TV debut of the Wyoming Cowboys, and it was a good football game.
• For quite some time now I have thought that I should finally get brave and go see a dermatologist and have a skin cancer screening done.  I got burnt a lot as a kid and fake-baked in college.  I have been passing the buck and read a while ago that it's becoming more and more difficult to see a dermatologist because there aren't enough to go around.  It was easier for me to shrug it off as I won't be able to get in for months anyway.  So today I got a health email that I subscribe to from WebMD and it was about detecting skin cancer and got me all worked up.  I have one dark mole on right ankle that worries me.  The darkness is the only thing that fits the melanoma profile, but still it was enough to make me search out dermatologist providers.  The one that popped up is in Page, AZ which is where the bowling alley is, so 75 miles away.  I called expecting them to say they wouldn't be able to see me until sometime next year, but guess what...they had three open appointments next Tuesday, and it's even a lady doctor!  So no more excuses, I'm going to get checked out.
• Yes I know how dumb fake-baking is now, but dang I looked good all tan!
• Still no word on the job yet- patience, patience, patience...ok I'm good!
• Austin is counting to ten now completely on his own with no help, it is so cool! The other day he counted to ten and then repeatedly said something like "fourteen" over and over and over like he thinks all the teen numbers just sound the same.
• Oh, the twin babies are here, born 9-10-11 and doing great for 34 weeks.  One was just over five pounds and the other was just under, so pretty big for so early.  Names are Lucy and Aaron.
• This morning I was running a tad on the late side and the kids that I drive to school got here a tad on the early side, so I didn't quite have Austin dressed when they got here.  I went and opened the door and the older boy came running into Austin's room.   I told him to tell his Mom to come in and she came all the way to the bedroom too, which you have to pass through my kitchen to get there.  Dustin is out in the field so last night I had to do all the Austin parenting myself and by the time I got him in bed my Mom called and I talked to her until after 10:00pm.  Then I was too tired to clean the kitchen so there was all the dirty dishes in the sink and on the island I still had the pear peels and chopped tomatoes from dinner that I had not composted yet.  I realized when I came out with the boys that my friend got to see all that... oh well.  I honestly don't know how single parents or military parents do it when their spouse is deployed.  I am ready for Dustin to be home!
• Tonight was Mommy-Son date night.  When we got to Pizza Hut I heard a little voice say "is that Austin" and I looked and it was one of his old daycare girlfriends on a Daddy-Daughter date.  When they were leaving I heard the Pizza Hut guy say "tell your daughter to keep reading those books" so I thought maybe they were cashing in a Book It certificate.  That is such a cool program and I really commend Pizza Hut for participating in that program.  I have many found memories of getting to endulge in pizza with my Book It certificates. 
• I just yawned, so I guess I should quit rambling on and get to bed so I don't have another late morning. 

Wordless Wednesday

A very blurry cell phone photo from our Mommy-Son date night at Pizza Hut

9-10-11

Today is just a great day so far.  We went to our friend's twin girls fifth birthday party this morning.  Other than being stung by a wasp Austin had a blast with all his buddies from his old daycare, not to mention the huge amount of sugar he consumed between the koolaid drinks, candy and cake!

My friend Wendy's water broke last night, she is the one pregnant with twins after four rounds of IVF.  She had to be medivaced from where she lives to Ankorage for an NICU since they are at 34 weeks.  They made it there safe and sound and are in the process of delivering those sweet babies!!!

It's Ag Day at CSU.  They just whaloped University of Northern Colorado and I watched it on TV.  I so wish I could have been at CSU though as they have a big luncheon festival where they feature foods grown in Colorado. They have roast beef, BBQ pork, grilled lamb wraps, potatoes, corn, apples and melon.  When we live closer I will so have to try to make it to Ag Day again.  It's awsome that we are 2-0, Go Rams!

We may go to a bowling birthday party tonight, but we will have to drive 75 miles to the bowling alley if we go, so we are torn right now.  I am leaning towards going, but we shall see.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Thursday brain dump

I have had A LOT on my mind lately. I have thought of blogging some of it, but some of it is frustrating and hard to write about alone, so I'll just briefly unload things so I don't dwell too much on the areas of frustration!

•  Have I mentioned we are looking for a job???  Over a year ago we sat down and developed a list of potential places that we would eventually like to live that have Forest Service Offices.  We started keeping an eye out for a job in any of those towns.  I really thought we wouldn't see anything for a while, but right away there was a job in Rifle, CO.  We applied... they hired someone from within their own office.  Then a job in Grand Junction, CO came open and we applied.  They hired a guy who took a grade demotion for the job.  Then there was job in Newcastle, WY.  We applied... they said they received 12 highly qualified applications, six of which were at the level of the job looking to lateral into it which is what my husband is doing, they hired someone else.  Then a job came open in WY which is in a town about 20ish miles from Brandi, but I don't want to disclose her location.  We GOT AN INTERVIEW!!!  BUT, then the dear Forest Service implements a (supposedly) 30 day hiring pause due to Congressional budget constraint concerns.  We got confirmation that this job was effected by it.  So we waited, and waited.  In the mean time a job opened up in Canon City, CO with the NRCS, we applied... were not selected.  Did I mention we were still waiting on the job in WY?  Then a BLM job came open in CO, in a very sweet location to remain undisclosed for the time being.  We applied and GOT AN INTERVIEW!  That was two weeks ago and they told Dustin they hoped to have the announcements made by mid-September.  Yes I did say announcementS, one guy retired and another moved on so they are hiring TWO positions.  In the mean time the Forest Service is still in their hiring pause with no end in site, but we did hear back from the District Ranger that they (upper level Forest Service) discovered there was an error with the computer hiring program and that while everything was actually fine with the WY job, because there were errors in the way other similar jobs that were posted that they were going to scrap all jobs announced during that time and start from scratch.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  My husband may have actually been selected for that job, yes-they said they already made the decision and sent it in where it got held up, but we will never know, and it doesn't matter because they are starting over, UGH!!!  And as far as I know the hiring pause is still in effect anyway, thank you very much Tea Party (insert sarcasm in case you weren't able to detect it from my comment)!  So by the end of next week we should know about the CO BLM job, and in the mean time we are on pins and needles!
• Ok, so that first bullet was a dousy, but I'm not going to shorten it or edit it.  If you made it through the whole thing you deserve an award! You now see why it's taken me a while to be able to write about it.
• Our house is on the market with a Realtor.  My husband had a co-worker ask about seeing it, so it is our first hit.  The market is usually slow here during good times, and we all know our economy is in the crapper, so who knows how long it will take to sell, or if we will lose our tails on it.  On one hand I want it to sell soon so can buy a house when we move, but on the other hand, until we move I don't want to sell it because I don't want to deal with renting here again. 
• I think everyone I know and their cousin is preggers.  There are going to be so many babies in my life soon!  Let's see- two of my sorority alumni sisters are expecting, one with twin boy and girl who has a scheduled delivery date of Oct. 5 unless she goes into labor sooner, one just found out she is having a boy this morning and is due in January, my friend Brandi is expecting and due sometime next spring, two of my husband's co-workers- one mystery baby due any day and one just newly pregnant by IVF, my husband's fraternity roommate and his wife are expecting and due next spring after they lost their 7 week old preemie son last year, and several ladies I met through WebMD pregnancy/parenting boards are expecting again.  One of the WebMD lady's oldest son is just a month or two older than Austin and she is about 29 weeks along with her third son, good gravy she is a good Mom!  I just hope to join them very soon, but that is on hold pending the outcome of bullet #1, but seriously if one more person announces a pregnancy my head may explode, LOL!  I ordered gifts for the sorority girls yesterday and they are SO CUTE!  I almost ordered a fourth one to hang on for our next, but I did not since I don't want to jinx our efforts.  I don't know if either check my blog so I'm keeping it a secret.
• We are trying to figure out what to do to celebrate our anniversary which is October 1.  Again it's all riding on bullet #1.  If we don't get the job we want to go to San Diego.  If we do get the job we will go to CO to do some house hunting and maybe, just maybe we will recruit a family member to take Austin for the night so we can have some alone time.  Dustin asked what I want for a gift and I said if we don't get the job I would like a Canon SLR camera, but that it would have to be my anniversary, birthday and Christmas gift and he thought it was a great idea.
• I'm excited that I have been so into blogging lately.  I have posted more blogs so far this year than I did all of last year.  The 21 day summer challenge really helped bump up my number.
• I went to TRX this morning, go me!!!  I would love to lose 5lbs by my birthday next month.  I am trying to avoid going to the convenience store at work and loading up on junk snack food.  I bought rice cakes and mixed nuts to munch on at my desk and am trying really hard to avoid soda, but oh how I love my Mountain Dew!

Labor Day Fun!

We had a really great Labor Day weekend.  On Saturday we of course watched FOOTBALL!!!  Oh how I love opening weekend, especially since it was a W-W-W weekend in our home: Iowa  CSU and Wyoming

Then on Sunday we headed to the forest for one last camping escapade for the summer.  We cheated and went to a lodge for dinner, it was so nice to not have to drag all the camping cookware with us.

When we got home on Monday we planned to go swimming, but it was a cooler rainy day so we hung out at home.  Dustin is in the process of replacing the rain gutters on this house so we worked on that while Austin helped.

5QF

 

1. Shoes in the house - yay or nay?

We mostly kick them off, both for comfort and because we have goat head stickers in our yard so kicking off your shoes helps avoid tracking them in.  I do however think it's rude to make company take off their shoes, so if I have invited someone over I put my shoes on so they feel comfortable leaving theirs on. 
 

2. What do you call them- flip flops, slippers, thongs, etc?

Flip flops!  Slippers are for night and thongs are panties.
 

3. What song are you almost embarrassed to admit you know all the lyrics to?

I used this one in a different context last week, but the Nine Inch Nails song "Closer".  Although I don't like the lyrics, I really like the way the song sounds, but when you have listened to it over the years like I have, I do know the lyrics.

4. What is the best quality to have in a friend?

This is a tough one because my friends are great and have many important qualities.  I guess I would have to pick loyalty, I love to know that I have friends through good and bad times.

5. Do you know what you want for Christmas?

My anniversary and birthday are before Christmas, so I have a wish list in my head, but all the things are too expensive so I won't really ask for them.  I would love a new camera, a really nice SLR.  I have a 35mm Canon so if I got a digital Canon SLR, the lenses would be compatible.  The cheapest one is over $500 though.  I would also love a new sewing machine.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with my current one, it's just a base model so I would love a fancier one that does cool things like embroidery.  A realistic thing that I would like is a juicer.   So if I am asked that is what I will request. 

Missin' my Pops

Today was kind of a weird, unexpectedly emotional day.  I got to work and my boss asked me to ride with her to go to TRX class, which I had planned to attend anyway (go me!).  I actually forgot to put my gym shoes back in my car from two weeks ago when I wore them during powwow, but she had an extra pair of sneakers, so I was able to work out.  When we got to the gym the guy who unlocks it was not there yet so we were sitting in the parking lot with the windows down waiting and we could hear the radio in the truck of our maintenance man.  We could hear that they were forming a search and rescue party, but we had no idea what was going on. 

After TRX we went back to the office and one of my coworkers, C, was walking out in the parking lot with tears in her eyes.  Her Mom was recently diagnosed with cancer and they found it in several different places.  I was affraid that she had passed on, but C said that she had spoken with her Dad and the Mom was just getting really weak and deteriorating fast.  We went with C and sat down at a picnic bench and talked to her.  It brought back so many memories of when I lost my Dad in 2008.  Her Mom also just turned 70 and was also a lifetime smoker who tried to quit, but just could not kick the habit.  It is hard to know what to say to someone who is grieving like that.  I found when I was in her shoes that I appreciated people who were sincere and realistic so that is how I spoke to her.  What I mean by that is I didn't try to sugar coat the situation by talking like there was hope and that she would make it.  I think it was ok, but you just never know.  One of the things she even said was she had started to think about the funeral and what she would want to say about her Mother, so I know that she is to that point and not in denial.  She was planning to go the three hours to see her in the morning, but I told her I thought she should go ASAP, that I had a hard time making that call too, but don't regret for a second that last bit of time I got to spend with my Dad.

So then we found out about the search and rescue operation.  Another one of my co-workers who is in charge of roads maintenance was out yesterday working on the road that goes up the mountain on the reservation getting it ready for hunting season.  In that area the wind blows hard and it is adjacent to a sand dunes so during the summer the road becomes impassible because of the sand.  When the monsoon rains come they pack down the sands and then the road has to be fixed to be passable in the winter.  Well no one realized at the end of the day that D had not reported back in.  The family called in and reported him missing so they went to find him.  Apparently he got the road grader stuck in the sand (we haven't had a good monsoon this year) and tried to hike down the mountain.  He did this a lot when he was a younger man so gave it no thought.  He however got to a ravine and could not physically get himself out so hunkered down for the night.  They were able to find him, but had to get a helicopter to lift him out because he was dehydrated.  He is also diabetic, but I'm not sure if he was having complications from that too, but I would imagine so after going for the night with no water and food.

So anyway, that was my bit of craziness for the day.  Since I was thinking of my Dad, and I have been scanning old negatives I thought I would share one of my family from 2002 at our family reunion.  My other brother and his three kids were unable to make it that year, so it's not all of us, but still a fun picture.

Off to School

One of my local friends is a teacher and just started back to school last week so they are taking their boys to the Learning Center with Austin.  It’s 17 miles from our town, so I offered to drive them to school with Austin since I drive out there for work myself.  It’s going really well so far.

Transformations

It never ceases to amaze me when I watch my little man transform from a baby to boy. There really is not anything baby about him other than that I put him in a diaper at night, and for the last two days he has awakened dry so that will be short lived.

Until now he has always been a total Mama's boy, but more and more I see him wanting to be with and like Dad.  Today was our Mommy Monday and all day he kept asking was "where Dad?", "where Daddy?", "where Papa? (Grandpa Steve who visited last weekend)", "where Dad".  This weekend we went shopping in the big city and went to the Home Depot to get supplies to replace the gutters on our house.  He was so eager to get right in there with Dad and pick the stuff out.  After putting back several things he grabbed and threw in the cart I suggested that he help Dad, so Dustin would pick out the parts he needed and hand them to Austin who would go and put them in the cart.  When we checked out Austin climbed up on the side of the cart and handed the parts to the checker guy.  Last week Dustin cut up his forearm on some barbed wire and we have been bandaging it, so of course Austin has been all about having a band aid, or bandage on his arm too.  Tonight he even got a hold of a pen and drew scratch lines down his arms like Dad's scratches.

He is speaking really well now and it is such a blessing for him to be able to communicate exactly what is on his mind.  He is so good at cognitive tasks too, my nieces and nephew gave him a hand held video game when they were here a few weeks ago and I noticed he was playing a Memory game on there and able to clear a 16 square puzzle.  We bought him a real Memory game this weekend and he totally loves it, other than he doesn't have the whole concept of taking turns with other people.  He loves to match the cards and really does have a phenomenal memory for such a young age.  I have also been going through his toys and clearing out the ones he no longer is interested in and as I was digging through the stuffed animals he spotted his Scout dog that has been buried for a while now.  He has been playing with it all weekend, and the great thing about it is you can plug it into your computer and enter in the child's name, then Scout says their name and sings songs that incorporate it and the spelling.  Austin has totally been spelling his name all weekend.  It's also encouraging him to practice pronouncing "Austin" since he seems to struggle with the s-t transition.  He says it more like "Ausin", but it has been improving all weekend.

5QF

 

1. Did you make any fun purchases this week?

I really live in the middle of nowhere so I don't go shopping much, especially not on a weekly basis.  I mean I go to the grocery store every Saturday, but that definitely does not bring to mind the word "fun"!  We are going to the big city tomorrow, so I see some fun purchases in my future.  I'm thinking I need to finally break down and buy a juicer.  I have a bag of black grapes in my fridge from Bountiful Baskets and I just don't see myself popping them in my mouth as a snack, but if I had a juicer I could make them into jelly, and that would be wonderful.  I also bought a watermelon last weekend and it is SO GOOD, but I have eaten watermelon for lunch and dinner the last three days and there is still half a watermelon in my fridge.

2. If you could go to any musical concert, what would it be?

This one is tough for me for some reason, maybe because I don't go out much anymore so I just don't think about concerts.  A couple of years ago, ok almost three now-man does time fly, the New Kids on the Block, who were my first ever concert in 1990, reunited and my sweet husband was going to get me tickets to see them in Las Vegas.  The holdup for me was that I was about 6 months pregnant at the time and just could not fathom being there in all my whale-ness and still have a great time, so I declined his generous offer.  So now that I am not preggo, it might be more fun, but now they are touring with the Backstreet Boys who were after my boy band phase, so I'm not so interested in them.

3. What is your least fav/ most fav house chore?

Right now my least fav chore is cleaning out the bathtub after Austin has an accident, yuck I hate cleaning poo!  Is there such a thing as a favorite house chore?  Does cooking count, because I love cooking!

4. Would you prefer new appliances or clothes?

I'm not really a fashion diva so as long as I have plenty of clothes in my rotation I am not big on buying new clothes.  I would love a new fridge, but I want to wait until we move, and then I want to invest and get a super nice fridge with all the accessories that I have always dreamed about.  A new drier would be nice too since our old one pooped out this summer and I have been line drying our clothes for the last month and a half.  I don't mind it so much other than I dislike the crunchiness of line dried clothes, especially the towels.

5. Miracle Whip or Mayo?

I really go both ways depending on the application.  On lunch meat sandwiches I like Miracle Whip.  I put either in potato salad depending on what mood I am in and which kind of pickles I am adding, B&B pickles=Miracle Whip, dill pickles=Mayo.  On hamburgers I usually do Miracle Whip if its got lettuce and tomato, but if I have a mushroom and Swiss I like Mayo.

Cowboys and Indians

For the first time in the seven years we have been here the Western Legends Roundup and Kaibab Paiute Heritage Celebration Powwow were in the same weekend.  Legends is a celebration of all the western films that were shot around this area and it started Wednesday and went through Saturday and the Powwow was Saturday and Sunday.  It was a crazy busy weekend, but also a lot of fun.  My father-in-law drove out from Iowa to be here for both events too.  Here are some photos from both events:

The new Kaibab Paiute Princess

Tribal Council

Grand Entry for the Sunday session

5QF

1. Do you close the bathroom door when you are home alone?

I am rarely home alone, but no, I don't.  I also don't close the bedroom door when I shower so I walk out of the bathroom and to the room to get my clothes.  I would be in trouble if someone came home with company. 

2. You have to walk around with a word on your forehead. That word describes you. One word. What is it?

My husband says "SWEET" aww, he is sweet!  I don't know maybe today is should be "TIRED", LOL!

3. What store do you refuse to shop at and why?

I can't really think of a store that out outright "refuse" to shop at.  There are two mom n' pop grocery stores locally and I can not stand to shop at one of them.  It is super small so you are always getting stuck in the isles if there is someone else there, and their layout is odd.  It takes me forever to figure out where to find stuff.  They do however carry a certain type of juice that we love so occasionally I go in there to stock up on the juice.

4. If you participated in arranged marriages for your child(ren), who would you choose for your child(ren)?

I don't know, it just doesn't seem right for me to pick someone for him.  We know a lot of little girls and many of them are head over heels infatuated with Austin, but I can't say I would really pick any of them, not because of the girls, just because I don't know what they would be like when they are older.

5. If you could pick how and when you would die, would you?

Yep!   I think I've mentioned it on here before (is that morbid or what?), but my Mom has a friend who was in her late 70's and she went out dancing with her husband.  They came home, went to bed together and she just did not wake up in the morning.  It doesn't get any better than that!