Still Exhausted

Girls Trip '09 was a success! We had a great house on Lake Sara, near Effingham, IL. We stayed on the same lake last year, but a different house. This house was nothing special, but was perfect for what we needed. On the shoreline, there was a boathouse with a sundeck on top...perfect! We honestly spent most of our time down there. Lots of sun, lots of drinks, and lots of fun! For those who read, join us if you want next year...it's my turn to plan! What do you think...a trip to my favorite place??? I think we should be WI bound!

I got a little too much sun on Friday, so I kind of hid out on Saturday. I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. I was so engrossed in making jewelry (I know, surprise, surprise!) that I forgot to put on sunscreen. Still kicking myself for that one! Got some pretty stuff made, though, so that makes me feel a little better!

One of the coolest things I saw was on Sunday morning, as we were sitting on the deck drinking coffee and getting motivated to pack up. I should mention that I pay attention to EVERYTHING going on around me. People, cars, birds, etc. Just ask Kira (I spotted her and Justin when driving back from WI a month or so ago when going through Rockford!) Anyway, I looked across the lake and saw a mama and baby deer on the beach right across from us. Living in the middle of nowhere, it's not uncommon for us to have deer in our yard, so I wasn't that surprised to see them. I was surprised to see that the fawn couldn't have been more than 4 weeks old, which is surprising this late in the season. And this little fawn was crazy! He was racing back and forth along the water line, playing in the sand. He was sooooo cute! Then his mama would corral him and he'd calm down for a bit. Then back to racing. This went on for almost a half an hour...entertainment for Amanda!

I'm always amazed at what we encounter during our travels. Last year, we drove down on a Sunday. We typically "road trip" to our destination, but were having a hard time finding watering holes on Sunday. We stopped in this little town near Champaign to get a drink. We found an American Legion (our fave places to stop) and it just so happened that two members were up on the roof fixing a light. They let us in to go potty and get some drinks, and we ended up staying for over an hour! This year, however, we were on a time limit, so there was no road-tripping. We did, however, stop at a gas station to use the facilities. We walked in and it smelled H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E! Like someone opened up their butt cheeks and rubbed them all over the walls! I'm hoping it was a sewer backup of some sort, but the bathrooms smelled better than the store. Yikes! It's always an interesting trip.

Anyway, I'm going to try to post some pictures soon, though I'm not sure how many appropriate pictures I got ;). Hope everyone else has a great end to their week to start another great weekend!!!!!

Girls Trip!!!!

Tomorrow morning, I'm leaving for my annual girls trip, and I can't wait! Nevermind the fact that I have absolutely nothing packed or ready to go yet. My young Kayla at work is back to her antics. She was about 2 seconds away from getting my size 12 shoe in her backside the other day (okay, not really.) She's going to be the death of me. Teenage girls suck. Teenage boys aren't much better. I stood in toilet water (I tell myself clean toilet water) for the past 2 days. I have two boys who don't like to follow rules and flooded their rooms, the hallway, the other rooms, the showerstall....you get the picture. Just when you thought you hated your job.....

Vacation could not have come at a more opportune time! Nothing but sleep, sun, relaxation, and drinking. What more could a person want??? Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week and weekend! PEACE OUT!

My Sister's Keeper....sort of.

This past week I went to see "My Sister's Keeper" with my good friends Jenn and Liz and their mom, Diane. I read the book by Jodi Picoult about 3 years ago. If you have not read a Jodi Picoult book, I highly recommend you do so. For me, they are soooo intoxicating that I can't put them down. My Sister's Keeper was my first Picoult book, and she writes in an interesting manner...from everyone in the story's perspective. Each chapter is designated for a different character's side of the story. That being said, she is probably one of my favorite authors. She writes about real (not necessarily true) things, things you can feel yourself going through. And she makes you think about situations from the "other person's" perspective. Obviously, with this glowing review, I highly recommend you read one of her books ;).

That being said, the movie was not much like the book. The premise was the same, but tons of things were changed. I can honestly say I prefer the book to the movie...it is much more descriptive and heart-wrenching. The movie totally changes the plot of the story. Normally, this makes me very upset, but I can understand why they did this. If they followed the book, it would have been a 5 hour movie! I highly recommend that you see the movie, but keep kleenex close...you'll need a whole box! It would be a great rental!

Canine or human?

This has always been the question with my dog, Butch. He is a canine, but he thinks he's a human! I swear, if you look into his eyes, you can tell what he's thinking. Take, for example, the other night. My brother is back from Florida, but to Butch, he "Stranger Danger." When Brad is around him for the first few days, Butch gets this fearful look in his eyes, like "He's okay for now, but please don't leave me alone with him!" The other night, I heard Butch push my bedroom door open and kind of pace around. He eventually laid down and slept on the floor. When he woke me up to go outside, he "herded" me to the living room. That is when I saw my brother, passed out on the floor in the living room (he'd been out for quite a while the day/night prior to this! Welcome home!) Butch stopped, looked at Brad, then me, then Brad, then me with a look that said "Do you believe the balls on this guy? He's sleeping in MY living room?" He entertains me.

Last week we had some pretty fierce storms. Of course, when it storms, I go to the fire station and usually end up out in the middle of nowhere checking for tornadoes...God love small towns! Butch is not a fan of storms...at all. He gets very nervous and paces around most of the time. When he was younger, I would take him to the fire station with me, and he'd be distracted by everyone there. However, he no longer wants to get in the car, so now he has to stay home. When I got home that night, I found him in my room, with his head buried under my bed. Poor thing! I usually always find him in my room if something bad has happened...apparently it's my job to save him!

I have so many more stories about Butch. He's the funniest dog/human I've ever met! One of my favorite stories is from when he was little. He and my dad were in charge of handing out Halloween candy one year. Dad had cooked some bacon and made "bacon sandwiches" (his version of BLT's). The doorbell rang, and dad put his open pepsi on the endtable, and the uneaten half of his sandwich on top of the can. When he went back to pick it up, all he had was the pepsi! Butch swiped the bacon sandwich without spilling the open can of pop it was sitting on, then looked at my dad with a "What? It wasn't me!" look!

My poor old puppy is just that...old. When we got him, we were told he was a black lab. And he looks like one, one that was bred with a Great Dane! He's huge! He has really long legs, a Dane head and hips, but looks like a lab. He's 12, and I'm not sure how much time we have left with him. He's really failed in the past few years. He remains, however, my entertainment.