Boys weekend at "The Shack"

You'd be amazed at how many inquiries I've had regarding the shack and Will's first trip there since this post a couple weeks ago. I'd thought I would just fill you in on their adventure:


Welcome to "The Shack". Is it everything you thought it would be?

And here is a view of the interior of this cozy little abode. It makes you just want to snuggle right up with an airplane blanket, a plate of smoked fish, and a shot of Captain Morgan, doesn't it?

Do you notice the writing on the wall? No, it's not a warning to get out before the winch in the attic (which appears to hold the whole house together) cuts loose; it's a hunting record listing the date, the time, the shooter, the shootee, and any relevant details of the hunt. If you look very closely you can see my dear husband's record form November 3, 1984 indicating that he bagged an 8-pt buck at 4:30 pm. Yep, I have a remnant of the proof laying on the floor in my basement work-out room.

There's my proud little hunter man.

Beautiful view, huh? Thank God we stopped at Walmart the night before and purchased a nice little pair of rubber boots...

Apparently Will was trying to shoot a squirrel in a tree with his little pellet gun. He said, "Mom, I hit it right on the head, he stopped eating his nut for a little bit, looked around, and then kept eating again."

In addition to all the exploring, shooting, and walking they did over the weekend, I'm told that they also got a lot of work done as well. They repaired the roof and built a deer stand.

And do you see the cute little building on the left side of this shot? You guessed it - the outhouse. But, hold on to your hats everyone...this is no run-of-the-mill outhouse. This one comes complete with a glass storm door and a skylight. Yep, you read it right. Hard to get that picture out of your head, isn't it?

So, all in all, the boys had a great time. In fact, Will informed me that he actually could have stayed 5 more nights. And next time, he thinks that all of us should go.

Ummm....I think I'm busy that weekend. Something about getting my nails done...

About my first born...

I found this on another blog and thought I’d borrow it! Thanks, Jenny!

But I think I’ll rename it: "About my first and only pregnancy with my twins…"

1. Were you married at the time? Yes – about 3 years
2. What were your reactions? Really?? I didn’t quite believe I was pregnant – I always thought I’d have some sort of “internal knowledge” or “gut-feeling” about it…
3. How old were you? 28
4. How did you find out you were pregnant? We were on a weekend trip to Madison, WI for our friends’ Neil and Missie’s wedding when I realized that pregnancy might be a possibility. A few hours before the wedding while we were in the hotel getting ready, I made Bill drive to the nearest Walgreen's to buy a pregnancy test kit. He came back with a Valu-Pak of 3. I took 2 tests before the wedding and one the following day. They all had a very, very faint + sign appear. Even after that, when I went back to work on Monday, I had one of the other nurses draw blood and asked the lab to run a test. After all that, it finally sunk in.
5. Who did you tell first? My parents, then Bill’s parents, then our siblings.
6. Did you want to find out the sex? I did not, but Bill did. The night prior to our first ultrasound at 20 weeks, I laughed and jokingly said to him, “OK, we’ll find out the sex of the baby only if it’s twins.” Ha. That’ll teach me…
7. Did you deliver early or late? With the twins, my doctor didn’t want to let me go beyond 37 weeks. So, after some 3rd trimester complications, I became pre-eclampic and was induced right at 37 weeks – on the nose.
8. Did you have morning sickness? Just for the first 3 months. I had to snack continuously to avoid it. And I dreaded brushing my teeth…that was the worst.
9. What did you crave? 6-inch Cold Cut Combo on wheat. (We lived close to a Subway).
10. Who irritated you the most? Nobody.
11. What was your first child's sex? One of each!
12. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 64. I know!! But the most horrible part is that I gained 22 of those lbs in the last week!
13. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? I started having contractions at 31 weeks and spent a month in the hospital on bedrest. But it wasn’t actually as bad as it sounds – I was at the hospital where I worked so I got to see lots of friendly faces all the time, people brought me 3 meals a day, and I didn’t have to clean. Kinda like being on a spa vacation.
14. Where did you give birth? KU Medical Center in Kansas City
15. How many hours were you in labor? They started the induction at 6:00 am, but Bill and I just sat around watching boring TV shows all morning with no excitement at all. At about noon, they manually broke my water – but neglected to tell me that I might start having a little bit of pain associated with contractions. Hello??? It hit me like a freight train right out of the blue. It really took me awhile to figure out what was going on. I got my epidural shortly after that and we just hung out again. Around 4:00 pm I had to start pushing and Will was born 5 minutes later.
16. Who drove you to the hospital? My sister Jill actually went with me a routine appointment the day before. My BP was too high and I had gained a ton – so they just admitted me right then. I remember being so thankful for my Jilly being there during that time. She so kindly helped me shave my legs (since I couldn't reach them anymore) before my last doctors appointment, and upon my crazy request, she made a special trip to Kohl's to get me some small gold hoop earrings so I would have some type of birth-giving-appropriate earrings to wear for the big day.
17. Who watched? Just Bill. Oh yeah, and then like 2 OB doctors, a Neonatologist, a third year resident, a first year resident, a couple med students, 2 NICU nurses, 3 OB nurses, a respiratory therapist, and a few other random strangers that just happened to be in the vicinity.
18. Was it natural or c-section? Natural.
19. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? I loved my epidural. Although I’m not convinced it was actually working…
20. How much did your child weigh? Will was 7–4 and Madison was 5-12.
21. Did your child have any complications? On the day after she was born, they thought Maddie has a seizure so she was moved into the NICU and had a CT of her head, a lumbar puncture, lots of IVs and was started on antibiotics. Everything ended up just fine for her. Will and I went home on day #3 and Maddie joined us on day #5.
22. What did you name him/her? William Dais (after a long Gallagher family tradition – and my maiden name) and Madison Brynn (after the city in Wisconsin where we fell in love and years later found out we were pregnant – and Bill’s favorite name)
23. How old is your first born today? Nine. gulp…

Whew...that required actual thought!

Funny how certain memories around this time seem so vivid, while with others, I struggle to remember if that was actually me - or if I saw it in a movie...

Sea Devils Fun Meet

Tuesday night our swim team had a "Fun Meet". It simulates a real swim meet in that it is a great chance for the new swimmers to get a feel for the pace of the events and the official starting process, and also lets the parent volunteers figure out how to run the computer timing system, concession stand, etc.

We have several swimmers in the neighborhood this season. Gracia, Clare, Maddie, Brenden, and Will.

Happy Birthday, Babe!

We celebrated Bill's birthday tonight with a quick dinner of Breakfast/Brunch casserole before swim practice; and then carrot cake decorated by unsupervised kids before bed. As strange as this combination may sound to you...they are 2 of Bill's favorite things.

Well, not the unsupervised kids part...

Happy Birthday, Billy!

We love you!

I have to vent. Before I burst a blood vessel.

(Warning: if you don't want to get political, support the American Family Association, or are offended by homosexuality - turn back now.)

(Seriously. I mean it.)

Dear crazy nut-job lady across town,

After coming across your email in our in-box, I feel driven to respond. Personally, I take offense to this garbage. I believe the America Family Association is an extremist, so-called-Christian hate group.

They are a closed-minded group of individuals fixated on a homosexual agenda which promotes discrimination and radical views. They are people who regularly campaign to exclude gay persons from the civil liberties and freedoms that you and I enjoy. They promote a message with which I absolutely cannot condone.

The problem here is that the Boy Scouts of America does discriminate against homosexuals. Why should an exception be made for The Boy Scouts Cradle of Liberty Council? If they cannot comply with the anti-discrimination policy set by the city of Philadelphia, it may be feasible for them to find another location that has cheaper rent and doesn’t mind intolerance. Unfortunately, the national leaders of the Boy Scouts of America cannot set an example for what, in 2007, we would expect in a modern civil society: Acceptance.

I feel sad that young boys are being caught in the middle of this political and totally unnecessary debate. Perhaps a better served “Action Alert” (instead of the one you suggested) could be sent to the Boy Scouts of America in effort to persuade them to acknowledge the importance of such character qualities as tolerance and acceptance.

So, in my open, liberal and (oh, yes) Christian opinion, please feel free to send the attached letter to your own friends and family - as that is your constitutional right. But please, know that in my “American family”, we are trying to teach our children lessons of equality, broadmindedness and consideration for all individuals.

Regards,
Tammy


If you want more information - you can Google it...

Deep breath. OK. I feel much better now.

Boys weekend up north

As I'm writing this, my dear husband is enroute to "The Shack" with my sweet little baby boy. They're heading up north to spend the weekend with Uncle Brian, Great-Uncle Paul, and Grandpa's Cousin Ricky. Will is so excited for this "Gallagher Manhood Ritual", he's hardly been able to contain himself and I think he's aged at least 6 years in preparation.

Last night I heard Bill and Will discussing their plans. From what I overheard, this is what they'll be doing:

1. Walking in the woods in the mud
2. Driving by the neighboring lake
3. Looking for bugs in the woods
4. Looking at the tree where they dump the contents of the outhouse
5. Playing Monopoly and Chinese Checkers
6. Searching for bears
7. Watching flies get zapped
8. Shooting clay pigeons
9. Watching mice drown in a bucket of water
10. Eating lots of eggs

This morning Will packed his own backpack full of stuff suitable for a boys weekend: pocket knife, Dragon-Rider book, MP3 & headphones, air-pistol & target, GameBoy, and his cozy, cuddly airplane blanket. What more could a nine-year old want?

Well...maybe some Purell. After breakfast, Will thoughtfully asked:
"Do you have a sink and some soap up there?"
Bill's response: Nope. No running water.
"So...if we touch something's guts, we just have to eat without washing our hands?"

My sweet little germophobe. I hope he does OK.





As they left, I gave strict instructions to be careful, don't fall down the stairs, don't get lost in the woods, don't get shot, don't get in a car accident, and return with lots of pictures and detailed stories about everything you do.

And in response, Bill said to me (as he says to me every other time he goes up to that mouse-infested, stinky, falling-down, man-heaven shack), "What happens at 'The Shack', stays at 'The Shack'."

But as they turned to leave, my wink to Will was returned with a cute little one-dimpled smile.

I'm not worried. I'll get the whole scoop.

Who you gonna vote for?

My friend Liz forwarded this link to me a couple days ago. It's a list of several questions that you answer, which are then matched to the US Presidential candidates' viewpoints.

Very interesting...

Select a Candidate

I still don't really know who I'm going to vote for, but I never really took myself for a Rudy Giuliani supporter before...

Back in the saddle...er, starting blocks

Well, we're back at the swim-thing again. This time, both Will and Maddie are in the SeaDevils Swim Club. Maddie absolutely loves swimming, the club, and all things concerning it. Will seems to really like it as well; but some days I'm not sure if he's really into swimming, or just thinks that having his own pair of fins is the best thing ever. We'll see...

Maddie had her first meet of the season this weekend. She improved on most of her previous times, and had a really great meet (despite a couple of DQs). Oh, well...

Thought I'd share a couple pictures and videos:

Maddie in Lane 1

SeaDevils cheering on a teammate

50 Freestyle (Maddie: middle of screen, black goggles, yellow cap)

100 Backstroke



And regarding the new fancy camera thing...give me time. I promise the quality will get better! (After I buy a zoom lens or two, purchase PhotoShop, take a couple classes, and figure out the meanings of aperture, ISO, exposure and flash compensation...)

Just wait...you'll see.

And then I'll have to work a second job or win the lottery to pay for it all.

Ahhhh...the memories

I heard an old KISS song on the radio yesterday and it got me thinking about how songs from the past can bring back old memories. Like the strong, take-your-breath-away, oh-my-God-that-feels-like-just-yesterday memories. Funny how it all comes rushing back: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Just thought I'd share with you...

“Baby, Baby, Don’t Get Hooked On Me” by Mac Davis. This could probably go into my Earliest Memories file, as we were still living in our old house, meaning I must have been about 4 years old. My mom and dad had just returned from a shopping trip to Aberdeen (about 75 miles away, but the closest town with any resemblance of shopping). They unloaded all their purchases, and one in particular caught my eye. It was a record album of Mac Davis. It was all white with just the outline of his face and features on the back cover. And it was just screaming to be colored in. I clearly remembering taking the album and a blue pen and stealthily heading for the dining room. To be precise, I was actually heading under the table in the dining room. Let’s just say that Mac Davis was my parent’s absolute favorite. And they were not happy.

Anything by ACDC reminds me of 1987, bitterly cold Saturday nights in January, and peach schnapps.

Phil Collins “Sussudio” reminds me of my first car: a bright orange 4-speed Dodge Omni with a cool spoiler of the back and white vinyl interior. This was the first cassette tape I played in that car. The second one I played was a copy of the“Eliminator” album by ZZ-Top with the song “Sharp Dressed Man". Can you believe they let you get a license at age 14 in South Dakota?

“Melt With You” by Modern English – My family had just got satellite TV back in 1984 and I stayed up late one night watching a show called “Valley Girl”. Anyone remember that? To this day, I remember this song being in it, but don’t remember anything about the plot of the movie. But I do know, however, that I probably wasn’t supposed to be watching it. (Totally unrelated to the movie, but if I had to name my favorite song of all time - this would be it.)

UB40 – “Red, Red Wine”. My first night at college, in August of 1988. There were about 5 other kids from my hometown that went to SDSU. As freshmen, we moved in 1 day earlier than the rest of the dorm residents. Since we were all new, we had no idea of where we should go, what we should do, we didn’t know anyone else, and hadn’t quite figured out the “college thing” yet – we all just sat in one of our dorm rooms and listened to this CD. What a pathetic bunch of losers.

James Taylor, Cat Stevens, and The Doobie Brothers all remind me of the summer I met Bill back in 1991. Hence, the Birkenstocks…

J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold” and Prince’s “Party Like it’s 1999” reminds me of my parents’ Couples Card Club. The other kids and I were probably in 5th or 6th grade, and getting to that stage in life where we were much too old to “play” as we had done monthly during the past 8 years of our lives. So instead, we would just listen to music and try to memorize the words so we could show off our knowledge in school the following Monday.

Randy Travis – “Forever and Ever, Amen”. All I can say about this is: Old college boyfriend. Thank God it didn’t last forever and ever. Amen. And, hallelujah.


Any that you’d like to share?

Woo Hoo for me!!

I'm so freakin' out excited! I feel just like a little kid on Christmas morning!

Except that it's October.

And it's not morning.

And I'm 37 years old.

But otherwise I feel just like that...



Here is my new toy:

...and I look forward to eventually torturing you all with my new hobby.

Childhood choices at a chinese buffet

I guess this is what you get when you turn a 9-yr old loose at a chinese buffet.




And can you guess whose plate this is?

(Here's a hint - I hate sushi, mussels, and shrimp mixed with other food or sauces...)

I really love you, babe. But...

I think I need to start this post by stating that I love my husband dearly and there is no one else I’d rather be married to (well, maybe except for Brett Farve…) I knew from the first day I met him that he was the one for me. He’s a great dad, an amazing husband, he’s incredibly intelligent, way cute, and he makes me happy. But, my God – he’s driving me crazy with his freakin’ car!

You see, we have opposing views on many things…politics, spirituality, and the importance and relevance of math in one’s life (but that’s a story for another time). You name it; we could have a pretty good debate over it. Our most recent source of contention has been his stinkin’ piece of crap old “reliable” 1994 Dodge Intrepid.

I think our basic foundational beliefs in cars and their functionality, reliability, and appearance stems from our childhood experiences and our own fathers. My dad likes toys and spontaneous purchases, and he still does (right, Mr. Corvette?). He gets a new car every few years, and has ever since I can remember. He doesn’t like to mess with repairs and won’t chance safety by ever questioning their reliability…it’s just easier to trade it in and start over. Bill’s dad, on the other hand, has always been very handy under the hood of a car or truck. He taught his son about repairs and the importance of maintenance. He is very smart, practical and carefully calculates several factors (repair costs, Blue Book trade-in value, personal fix-it ability, safety, finances and Consumer Reports) when deciding to buy a new car.

God knows I love them both dearly, but they are a little different in that way…

So, here’s the story on Bill’s car:
(disclosure: the following technical car information and automotive accuracy is coming from one who know absolutely nothing about cars - me):

• Purchased about 5 years ago from my sister Jill for $1000
  
• Woo hoo – no car payments since 2002!
  
• White, multiple rust spots throughout the body that my dearest has since “fixed” with a can of spray paint. You can hardly tell until a new spot appears…
  
• It’s huge - even longer than my minivan. It's really hard to get it parked right and it barely fits in the garage. In fact there's a few scratches and dents in the back bumper to prove it.
  
• It’s been stalling lately. A lot.
  
• He has a “trick” to get it restarted while coasting. Usually.
  
• Replaced the spark plugs ($$)…
  
• Didn’t work
  
• Replaced the fuel injector thingy ($$$)…
  
• Didn’t work
  
• He called me last week to tell me he was stalled alongside of I-94 in rush hour traffic and his “trick” wouldn’t work.
  
• Had to call tow truck.
  
• Ooops! False alarm. Turn around, tow truck…got it started after all.
  
• Sh**! Stalled again. Called very-helpful-neighbor Varen for a ride.
  
• Ooops! False alarm. Again. Turn around very-helpful-neighbor Varen.
  
• Whew…finally made it home
  
• Drove 4 little kids up to the school for swimming.
  
• Crap…stalled again. Should they all walk home?
  
• Never mind – it started!
  
• Replaced the fuel pump and little screw-in gadget ($$$$)
  
• To be continued…

Personally, I’m never touching it again. I don’t want to get stuck alongside I-94 in rush-hour traffic. Just the thought of it makes my bladder tingle. Plus, I don’t know the “trick”.

So, I ask you, readers: When is it time to put this big, white hunk of partially-rusted metal out of its misery?

Yesterday, you say?

OK…I’ll pass that along to Bill.



So, although I hate your car more than almost anything in this world, honey - I love you. (And by the way – I was just kidding about the Brett Farve thing…)

We'll call her "Helen"

When I got in line at Target yesterday, I looked up and saw I was in Helen’s line. I don’t really know her name, but to me, she looks like a Helen. Since I was a couple customers back, I debated backing out and picking a line that was not Helen’s line. But then I got trapped. So I stayed.

You see, I try to avoid Helen.

Upon our first encounter about a month ago, I thought she was just an incredibly unhappy and miserable woman who hated her Target cashier job and wore latex gloves to avoid touching other people’s filthy groceries. She repeatedly glared at me as I pushed my cart up and requested “Paper, please.” She audibly huffed with each can of crushed pineapples she placed in the bag. And she never smiles. Ever. Never ever.

So, I’ve been through her line several times and it’s always the same thing: glare – scowl – gloves – huff – glare – huff – scowl - etc… And the gloves. What is with that? Does she have some strange obsessive-compulsive disorder in which she cannot allow herself to touch groceries? Is she a germophobe? Boy, is she in the wrong line of work. I love Target. I love Target so much; I sometimes go there just for fun. And she put a sour note at the end of each visit.

Then one day last week, my curiosity got the best of me. As she was huffing and pulling on the gloves, I asked her, “So…why the gloves?” She looked up with yet another scowl and said, “It’s the paper bags. I’m allergic.” Huff. And she proceeded to bag my groceries.

Really? Allergic to paper grocery bags?

I hate plastic bags at Target. I actually hate those plastic bags anywhere. Sure, they’re fine if you just buying a bra and a couple tubes of toothpaste. But $163 worth of groceries? Shoved haphazardly in those little plastic bags? God, I hate that! I refuse to use those bags. Plus, the liberal, democrat, Al-Gore-loving side of me feels a little greener using paper.

So, that brings me to where I started this little entry. As my turn approached, I slowly wheeled my cart up beside her. She looked up and glared, ready for me to make my usual request for paper. My eyes went from hers, to the big latex gloves lying beside the cash register, and back to hers again. She continued to glare, and met my gaze, as she fluffed open one of those plastic bags. I stared at her as she placed the first box of Cheerios in the plastic. And then added 1 more (since that’s all those damn bags really hold, anyway). It was like a showdown – I swear I saw a tumbleweed blow by in the corner of my eye. And then I opened my mouth…

…and didn’t say a single word. Gah!!!

So, am I a big wussy wimp? Or am I just a concerned person not wanting to witness, much less be the cause of, an anaphylactic reaction?

I think I’ll just avoid Helen’s line on my next trip to Target. Who the hell is allergic to paper grocery bags, anyway?

Don't you just love a quiz?

1. WHAT CURSE WORD DO YOU USE THE MOST?
I try not to. Sometimes I just catch myself mouthing the word…

2. DO YOU OWN AN IPOD?
No. I don’t really like to figure out how to use stuff like that.

3. WHAT PERSON ON YOUR TOP 8 DO YOU TALK TO THE MOST?
I don’t know what a “Top 8” is, but I talk to my sister Jill a lot.

4. WHAT TIME IS YOUR ALARM CLOCK SET TO?
5:00 on work days, otherwise my kids wake me up about 6:15 after they get dressed on school days. (Does that make me a bad mom?)

6. DO YOU WEAR FLIP-FLOPS WHEN IT'S COLD?
Are you crazy? I live in Minnesota.

7. WOULD YOU RATHER TAKE THE PICTURE OR BE IN THE PICTURE?
Depends how much I weigh…

8. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Dreamgirls. I couldn’t quite make it through the whole thing - zzzzzz

9. DO ANY OF YOUR FRIENDS HAVE CHILDREN?
Most

10. HAS ANYONE EVER CALLED YOU LAZY?
I don’t think so

11. DO YOU EVER TAKE MEDICATION TO HELP YOU FALL ASLEEP?
No – I have no problems in that department.

12. WHAT CD IS CURRENTLY IN YOUR CD PLAYER?
John Mayer in the car and Dixie Chicks in my room. Odd combo, huh?

13. DO YOU PREFER REGULAR OR CHOCOLATE MILK?
Both are good

14. HAS ANYONE TOLD YOU A SECRET THIS WEEK?
Not that I remember…just for that reason, I’m a really good keeper-of-secrets!

15. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU HAD STARBUCKS?
I don't remember - I actually prefer Caribou.

16. CAN YOU WHISTLE?
Yep – but not very good

17. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Smile

18. DO YOU THINK PEOPLE TALK ABOUT YOU BEHIND YOUR BACK?
Only good things, I’m sure…

19. DID YOU WATCH CARTOONS AS A CHILD?
I liked Scooby Doo and Smurfs

20. WHAT MOVIE DO YOU KNOW EVERY LINE TO?
None. But I do know every word to “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”.

23. DO YOU OWN ANY BAND T-SHIRTS?
Not anymore. My first band shirt was RATT when I was 14.

24. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SALAD DRESSING?
Blue Cheese.

25. IS ANYONE IN LOVE WITH YOU?
A whole bunch!

26. DO YOU DO YOUR OWN DISHES?
I like to do my dishes despite the fact that we have a dishwasher. I think I’m a little OCD and it feels good to have my dishes clean, organized and in one place. How’s that for weird?

27. EVER CRY IN PUBLIC?
I try no to.

28. ARE YOU ON A DESKTOP COMPUTER OR A LAP TOP?
Desktop.

29. ARE YOU CURRENTLY WANTING ANY PIERCINGS OR TATTOOS?
No piercings, but I’d get a tattoo if I could figure out what to get and where to put it. Since I don’t know those – I’m taking it as a sign that I probably shouldn’t get a tattoo.

30. WHATS THE WEATHER LIKE?
Humid, rainy, warm. Is it really September?

31. WOULD YOU EVER DATE ANYONE COVERED IN TATTOOS?
Sure, if I wasn’t married. My husband has a great one – you should ask him to see it…

32. WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE THIS?
Drove the kids to school – too rainy for the bus stop.

33. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SLEPT ON THE FLOOR?
I have no idea…but that would kill my back I wouldn’t be able to walk for a week.

34. HOW MANY HOURS OF SLEEP DO YOU NEED TO FUNCTION?
7-ish

35. DO YOU EAT BREAKFAST DAILY?
Yes

36. ARE YOUR DAYS FULL AND FAST PACED?
Sometimes.

37. DO YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE CALORIES IN THE PACKAGE/BOX?
I try to.

38. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Never…

39. HOW OLD WILL YOU BE TURNING ON YOUR NEXT BIRTHDAY?
I'll be 38, but that’s almost a whole year away.

40. ARE YOU PICKY ABOUT SPELLING AND GRAMMAR?
Yes -but not in comparison to my husband. That’s exactly why we can’t write our annual Christmas letter together anymore.

41. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO SIX FLAGS?
Yes

43. DO YOU GET ALONG BETTER WITH THE SAME SEX OR THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Hmmm…depends.

44. DO YOU LIKE MUSTARD?
Spicy brown.

45. DO YOU SLEEP ON YOUR SIDE, STOMACH or BACK?
Side and back

46. DO YOU WATCH THE NEWS?
I love to watch the news.

47. HOW DID YOU GET ONE OF YOUR SCARS?
Exiting my desk the wrong way in 2nd grade. I got my foot caught on the metal bar and fell right on my face. 16 stitches in my chin. Owww….

48. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU MAD?
The TruGreen ChemLawn receptionist. Actually the whole damn company pisses me off. Don’t get me started.

49. DO YOU LIKE ANYBODY?
Sure…dumb question, don’t you think?

50. WHAT IS THE LAST THING YOU PURCHASED?
A Tastefully Simple thing from my friend Dawn.

149, baby!

Some of my long time readers may have already seen this one; but in honor of my guy, Brett - who just so happens to be the winningest quarterback in NFL history, and just so happens to have defeated two playoff teams and brought his awesome Green Bay Packers to a 2-0 record (which, by the way, totally makes the Viking’s 1-1 record look pretty sucky), and just so happens to hold nearly every passing record in Packer history, and just so happens to have the cutest little smile ever...

… this is my tribute -



It's a catchy little tune...feel free to sing along if you want to.

Addiction

My name is Tammy. And I’m a blog-a-holic.

Hi, Tammy.

Yes. I know I have a problem. You might actually call it an addiction, really. It’s blog-surfing.

Really? Sounds dull…

Sometimes I’m amazed at how much time I can waste on this little habit. The minutes hours fly by as I delve into the lives of strangers. I look at pictures of their cousin’s friend’s wedding, read amazingly clever and really funny real-life stories, cry at their emotional out-pouring after pain or loss, and nearly wet my pants at the hilarious political satire.

Crazy chick.

I’m not sure what the appeal really is? I guess it’s all a bit voyeuristic, actually.

Freaky, crazy chick.

Today I thought I’d lure you into share some of my favorites.

First, my favorite one is Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. I’ve linked it here before. But I have to tell you again because I love her. I read her everyday. She is absolutely funny, candid and has a hottie cowboy husband. Pioneer Woman writes about her life on a working cattle ranch in Oklahoma, her obsession with PhotoShop, her retarded brother Mike, her 3 little punks, her big-city-girl-marries-cowboy life story, hiney-tingles and calf nuts. She takes amazing photographs and has a thing for Ethel Merman. She also writes a food blog with really great recipes called Pioneer Woman Cooks. Definitely check it out!

Cowboys, calf nuts and Ethel Merman? All at the same site? Hmmm…

I’ve recently discovered Circle Jerk at the Square Dance. It is filled with satire and sarcasm. It’s an amusing commentary on the state of the world and a great political blog. Well, that is, if you’re a Liberal. If you are a Bush-ie, you may want to skip this one. Check out his “Best of” list of the right side. God, I wish I was that funny…

Yeah. Me too.

Boobs, Injuries and Dr. Pepper is absolutely hilarious. She is a mom living in Mississippi. But it’s not at all a “mommy blog”. She cusses. A lot. I love how she can make seemingly mundane things very funny. In fact, her blog is like a written version of Seinfeld. With a few f-enhiemers flying around.

One more for you to check out: i am bossy. She is cute, quirky and has this funny way of writing in third-person all the time. And she does really cool stuff with her pictures - she can write on them! I haven't figured out how to do that yet...

Try Googling it, computer nerd.

So there it is. The “best-of” my addictions. Out there for the world to see. Now I need to get on with my day. Thanks for your support at this meeting. Can someone please show me to the door?

Uhhhmmm, yeah…Security?

Remembering...

This morning I hit my snooze button twice, was awakened by my son’s inquiry of the weather at recess today, and finally crawled out of my warm, cozy bed – feeling that this was no different than any other morning. The sun was shining brilliantly in a beautiful, clear blue sky. I helped Maddie dry her hair, cleared their breakfast dishes, and watched them run out to meet the bus. And then I realized it is September 11.

From what I remember, this morning was not that much different from that historical day 6 years ago. It was beautiful. And, as I’m sure you can as well, I remember the exact events of those several hours. I was getting the kids ready for their first day of preschool. I had turned the Today Show off so we could get ready without distraction – we were running a little late as usual. I was preoccupied, trying to mentally make a list of the remaining items we needed to pack for our trip to Oslo the following morning. I, along with 12 members of my family, was going to Norway for my sister, Jill’s wedding reception. And I wasn’t quite packed yet. As I was telling the kids to get their sandals on, the phone rang. It was my mother-in-law Jan. She asked me if I thought we’d still be going on our trip the following day.

I said, “Well, yeah. Why? What do you mean?”

“Turn on the TV”, she said.

I stood there in my kitchen trying to understand what I was seeing. Along with the rest of the world, I became engrossed in the unbelievable reality of the events the unfolded in NYC, Washington and Pennsylvania that day.

Today, our world has been forever altered by the events of that morning 6 years ago. My heart goes out to the survivors, the families, and the heroes of 9/11/01.

Is summer over?

Yesterday my kids were both sent to the "Planning Room" (aka: "discipline room", I think) to call home since I forgot to sign their daily planners for the past 3 days.

This morning, we all overslept and they missed the school bus.

I think I need a back to school orientation seminar.

3rd Grade...Here they come!

Wow! It seems like just last week we were gearing up for the end of school and the start of summer. It's really hard to believe that it's now September 4 and I'm all alone in my house at 7:45 in the morning.

But, truth be told, we were all ready for it to start. The kids are anxious to meet new friends, see old friends, and get to know their teachers. I'm just anxious to have a schedule again. Too many times during the past 3 months, Bill or I have shouted from bed, "Turn off the lights and be quiet! We're trying to sleep!"



Off to school. I hope those backpacks don't lead to disc herniation...


The bus stop is right next to our back yard - which is very convenient on the days we're running late.

I think they are all ready for school. Look- there is only 1 little boy waving back at his mom and dad.

And then we all headed back to our quiet houses to waste the day with absolutely nothing to do.

Whatever...

Minnesota State Fair

Yesterday we joined thousands of other fair-goers for the Great Minnesota Get-Together. After meeting up with Jan and Bill, we walked and ate and walked and ate. And then ate some more.

Just look...


Grandma, grandpa and the grandkids

Maddie started out with some cotton candy...

And then I had a foot long corn dog slathered in ketchup and mustard...

And then Bill opted for cheese-on-a-stick...


And then Billy snacked on some mini-donuts...

And then we took a gondola ride to rest our weary feet and full bellies...

And then we had some more corn dogs...

And some cheese curds and root beer...

And then Jan and Bill couldn't resist eggrolls-on-a-stick...

And then we took a break from all that crazy eating and rode the Giant Slide...


And then the boys were lured into the Alligator Hut for some Fried Gator and frozen grapes...



And Jan just loved the Twinkie-on-a-stick...

And then by some odd chance, we ran into our old friends, the Knauss's from Madison Lake. Bill and Brian went to high school together back in Rochester and he was in our wedding (12 years ago tomorrow!) We haven't seen them for a couple years - so it was a treat to run into them (get it?...treat?...food reference...)

And then Will found some more corn dogs. Straight mustard for him...

And then we pulled up some shade to enjoy root beer floats, bananas-on-a-stick, and fried gopher tails.

Ha!! No such thing...I was just checking to see if you were paying attention.

And then Will got to beat up Michael Jackson in a virtual reality video game.

Really. He said that's what they did...

And Bill and Billy eyed the SlingShot. $25 a ride!?!?!

And then Bill helped Maddie finish her cheesy pretzel...

He looks a little crabby here doesn't he? Is it the heat? the crowds? the indigestion?

And then Will enjoyed a box of popcorn...

And then the kids jumped on the Turbo Tramp...



And then, to wrap up the day at the fair, Bill finally found his Scotch Egg that he had been searching for for hours.

"So, what is a Scotch Egg?" you may ask. I know, because I did.

I knew this one needed further explanation. A picture is worth a thousand words...

Kinda makes you feel like you were right there with us, doesn't it?

Does your tummy ache? Do your feet hurt?

And did I mention it was my 37th birthday? I had such a great time - and I couldn't think of a better way to spend my day!

Thank God I had my cholesterol checked last week...

Have a great Labor Day weekend!