Blah

I'm totally depressed. I've lost 5 pounds in the last two and a half weeks, which is a great thing but I have a long way to go. My blood pressure is up and down, like a friggin yo-yo. I've been cutting back on salt but I was never a huge salt person anyway. I have stopped drinking diet soda because of the amount of caffine in it, I really don't think all that caffine is good for me anyway. I went on the tread mill today for a little walk but I would rather be outside in the sun. It's just to cold to walk out there. I still have post nasal drip from that sinus infection and the cold air makes me cough. Everything will be much more fun in the spring. I know I just have the winter blues.

I went to the post office today and mailed a ton of packages. I ended up spending $97.00 in postage but the up side to all of this is that I don't have to look at the boxes anymore or the crap in them. Foe, Tami, Mom, Tisha and Rue will be recieving boxes within the week.

I'm going to get back into this blogging soon. I kind of miss it but I'm so wrapped up in my High Blood Presssure that I spend most of my time trying to relax. I'm doing all that I can do to keep it under control, so I shouldn't stress out so much. I figure I will start saving for my funeral...that will help relax me. I'm totally kidding...just making a bad joke there. I'm just having a bad day, that's all. I have a funny feeling that tomorrow will be better. I'm off to drink a few glasses of water. Tata!

I'm alive!

Hi Everyone! I know, I know, I have not been blogging. I've been fighting this stupid sinus infection and trying to remain calm. Why remain calm? Well, because when I went in to see the doctor about my sinus infection and ended up having x-rays and an EKG. It seems my blood pressure was sky high...which was a first for me. He put me on some blood pressure medicine and took some blood for tests. My cholesterol is normal so that is good and you will all be glad to know that my blood pressure dropped a lot when I went back today for all my results. I had to get one of those home blood pressure machines and I have to chart my blood pressure twice a day for the next month. It's not such a big deal really.
I decided its time to get serious about a diet. Let's face it, I'm lucky nobody ever gave me the nickname Chunky before. Anyway, I have decided to get the American Heart Associations cookbook and try out some new recipes. If I find a good one, I'll pass it on. Poor Sam is going to be pissy. I'm not cooking for him anymore, I'm cooking what I can eat...and he is going to have to suffer along with me. Well, I have always made him add his own salt because I'm not a big salt lover...but I'm eating more fish. Yeah, this is going to be an issue.
Anywhozits, I'm still around and kicking. I just have not been feeling very perky so the blogging had been put on the back burner. I never seem to have much to say when I have stuffy sinus issues. I'll try to blog more....

Meet Blockhead...

 That's what I have been calling the silly squirrel that I found chewing up a wooden block. I know they have to keep their teeth worn down but you'd think he could find something tastier than a chunk of wood off a scrap pile. I think this is the goofy squirrel that I saw eating my pumpkin and who fell in through the top of it when the lid slid. Yep, Blockhead....he's entertaining.

For Aunt Vickie!

It seems my Aunt Vickie, who was never a drinker, has become a wino. Don't believe me, have her show you her basement. Enough said. Anyway, you will note her comment on my last post...where she refers to Milk bottles and label removal. Yeah, it wasn't milk bottle labels, it was wine bottle labels. She called me last weekend for some advice on how to remove wine labels. I did a few google searches and found the one where you bake the empty bottle at 100-150 degrees for 10 minutes and they use a straight razor to pull it off the bottle. You will be glad to know that it works great for most bottles. It really depends on the glue they use.
Anyway, Vickie removed all the labels so she can decopauge them on her table in the basement. She just needs something to do with the bottles. I found the perfect thing for her. She can make a Christmas tree for their front lawn. LOL, nice!

I tink I'm tick.

I called the doctor already and can't get in until tomorrow. It seems that everyone is ill. I'm sure I have a sinus infection. I was just feeling better and then BAM, I started feeling crappy again. Over Sat I slept for 14 hours straight. Good sign that I have something working on me. Since then my nose has let loose and I have knocked off two boxes of tissues. At first everything was very clear so I figured I was having an allergy attack of something...then BOOM...the sinus pressure got worse and after a few hours of constant blowing of the old noser, some very thick and frankly, discusting colored snot started coming out. It's really gross. I won't share any more about it.
So, I need to figure out what to take to get me by for another night. Hopefully I will be able to sleep but its kind of hard to when your head feels like a balloon that someone is sitting on and may pop at any minute. Lovely!

It's quiz time....Can you tell that I am bored?

Sex? Where is the sex?

My Mom works in a school. She said she can't check my site from school anymore because their system rejects my site because it says it is a sex site. HUH? WHAT? Am I missing something here? I bet it is because I have a post about the time I visited the Sex Museum in NYC. I mean, seriously, why else would it think that. You know how those server sites work, they scan for certain words in sites. Let me tell yah, I may have a dirty mind....but I don't let half of what I think escape into my blog. Oh well, I guess OK. she will just have to check my site from home. I still don't get it. It's like living in a small town...you may not be doing anything wrong, but you get the reputation for it anyway. Tis life.

Cookie VS Ernie: Tough toss up.

You Are Cookie Monster

Misunderstood as a primal monster, you're a true hedonist with a huge sweet tooth. You are usually feeling: Hungry. Cookies are preferred, but you'll eat anything if cookies aren't around. You are famous for: Your slightly crazy eyes and usual way of speaking How you life your life: In the moment. "Me want COOKIE!"

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

OK, OK, I had to take that stupid test three times to get the Cookie Monster result. When I answered the questions truthfully, I got this one:

You Are Ernie

Playful and childlike, you are everyone's favorite friend - even if your goofy antics get annoying at times. You are usually feeling: Amused - you are very easily entertained You are famous for: Always making people smile. From your silly songs to your wild pranks, you keep things fun. How you life your life: With ease. Life is only difficult when your friends won't play with you!

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

My Cousin Cindy's Dog

I don't care what Cindy thinks...Bella is a viscous dog. Harmless, huh. I don't think so. That's no chicken leg she is hauling around the house. I'm going to call her Killer from now on. She'd sooner eat you than look at you. Poor Dani, she was right handed too. I think its going to leave a mark. First Bella...I mean Killer, chewed off most of the finger nail polish that Dani was wearing and then she pounced. She grabbed Dani's thumb for a little innocent thumb wrestling and the next thing we know, its Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom in Kansas. ( Did I just give away my age? ) OK, I meant it was The Nature Channel.

See, this is what happens when I am bored and my Cousin sends me pictures of her dog being frisky. I copy it to Paint and get funky with it. Bella is a wild dog, but only when she is trying to get a stuffed animal or a ball out of your control. She's actually very tame. I just thought it would make Dani and Cindy laugh. I don't know about you, but she scares me a little in that picture.

Here is the original picture for reference:Yep, I'm good!

Want a really good laugh?

Read the post below this one first, then come back to this one....its worth it.

Ok, did you read it?

Remember how I was gloating because I bought my Christmas cards for next year really cheap? Yeah, it was really very shameful. Well get a load of this...


Wait for it...



Wait for it...



WAIT FOR IT....


I bought five boxes of the same card for 99 cents each....AND....


They were in Spanish. LMAO, Like those are going to be useful to me. OMG, OMG, OMG, what an idiot, huh. I almost deserve to be called Peaches after that no-brainer. Holy crap. WEll, it's OK. Now I have a ton of Hallmark envelopes for a steal. I always seem to make mistakes on the envelopes anyway. I'm going to cut up the cover of the cards and make something out of them.

Actually, how funny would it be if I actually sent them out. I totally believe that most people don't read the cards they get unless they look funny. Skimmers, that is what they are, they are skimmers. I wonder how many of my num-skull relatives would notice anyway. Huh, could be fun. I'm going to have to think about it. With my luck everyone would start calling me Peaches in Spanish. Oy Vey!

90% off is a wonderful thing.

I had to run out today and get a few things, so I stopped in CVS. OMG, Christmas jackpot. I found they had Hallmark boxed sets of Christmas cards on sale for 99 cents. Holy cow! So I found a couple boxes I liked. While I was in the check out line a lady told me she was just at one of the other CVS's and that they had more of my cards, incase I needed more. BINGO! So I ran over and found my cards, window candle lights that I got for a sleal and stockings.....nice stockings which I am going to pass out next year with gifts in them. I can't even tell you how many bags I had and what my total bill was. I spent $20. Yeah, for what would have cost me an arm and a leg more. If I had been a witch and not let that old lady pull in front of me, I could have been there a few minutes earlier and snatched up the three boxes of lighted stars that a lady grabbed just as I entered the isle. Darn it, darn it , darn it! Ahhhh, How I love signs that say 90% off.

On the down side, the store I used to love to check out, closed. What the! They had a big sale and everything....I totally missed it. Crap. Excuse me, I have to go pack away my sale items....hehehehe....I kind of feel like I wond the lottery or robbed a bank and got away with it.

Yo Peaches!

My cell phone rang a few minutes ago and I about killed myself getting the stupid phone out of my purse. I answered it and its a little kid, who I can barely understand. I didn't understand what she first said so I had to ask her to say it again. Then I realized this wasn't a child that I knew. Then I asked her who she was calling for and when she said "Peaches" plain as day, I knew they dialed wrong. I said, "Aww, sweetie, I think you dialed the wrong number, there isn't a Peaches at this number. Have an adult help you dial the phone again, OK." and she said, "OK!" and screamed, "MOMMY" in my ear before she hung up. If I am not able to regain my hearing in that ear, I may have to blame Peaches for having a hard number for a kid to dial. If Grandma Kaster was still alive, I'd track down Peaches and have Grandma lob a squash at her. If she could nail Cousin Mike while he was at a dead run, I'm sure she could have beaned Peaches when she didn't know it was coming.

Germ Fest 2007

Every single person that lives in this house was ill yesterday. Every single person. You know what that means! Yeah, they made me sick. I don't think I have the full blown illness, I'm in the fighting stage of it. My whole body hurts, I was nauseous, my head hurt but I don't have the bad cough everyone else had or the running nose. I have no idea how many boxes of tissues they have gone through but its a lot.
Yep, so Sunday consisted of me lounging on the basement sofa with remote in my hand. If I wasn't sleeping through a movie I was watching it. Here are just a few shows I slept to...Hope Floats (twice), The Family Stone (also twice), Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, there were several movies that I had never watched before, but I don't think I actually watched enough of them yesterday to tell you what they were about. Yep, it was all about resting on the sofa. I had zero energy. I finally tried to eat lunch at 3PM, a plain bagel none the less. Yep, yesterday was not productive. I've done more in the hour I have been awake today than I did all day yesterday. Now I'm tired again so I'm going to rest for a little bit. I need to go to the store later. I need to build up some energy. I hope everyone else is escaping the creeping crud.

Cindy's dolly

Once, long, long ago, My parents decided to go to the Nebraska State Fair and ditch me at my Cousins house. Aunt Louise babysat me so the parental units could have a fun day walking around the Fair Grounds picking up free stuff like, yard sticks and eating all that yummy fair food. I kind of remember that day. I think I cried. Anyway, Cousin Cindy let me have her doll for a little bit and Aunt Louise took our picture. Now anyone that knows Cindy, knows without a doubt, that she loved her Mrs Beasley doll. LOOOOOVED it! So its kind of a big deal that she let me have it for a little while. Cindy has always been a good egg.
OK, now its time to make fun of the outfits my parents have on. Love the mocs dad has on his feet. Those could not have been comfy to stroll in all day, oh and dig the shades. He was soo cool. Then Mom has on her American shirt that I remember her wearing quite a bit. She was a brave soul back then to wear white pants to a fair. I wouldn't do it, I'd be so filthy by the time I got home. This must have been taken in Sept of 1971...which puts me at 16 months old. Awww, good times!

What does a BABY HOG look like?

Well, I will show you...
This is Pop Pop, the biggest baby hog of all time. You have to fight him for the baby....you have to be quicker than him, smarter than him, and that's not hard but you should know that he will fight dirty to get to that baby before anyone else. You'd think someone held a match to his ass, he burns rubber getting to her as soon as he thinks she is around. He calls Rue his little hottie, and tells EVERYONE how lovely she is. Oh and she knows her Pop Pops voice. I was holding her with her head on my shoulder, trying to burp her and Pop Pop walks in the house. He starts calling her name, asking where she is...and she starts tossing her head around looking for her Pop Pop. She is a strong little thing, she was lifting her head and turning it from side to side before she was two weeks old. Even the doctor was shocked that she could do that so young. But I digress...

Anyway, Grammy spends a lot of time looking at Rue when Pop Pop is around and very little time holding her. The Man is a BABY HOG! Just look at the following picture.

Grammy is trying to smooth down Rue's hair and Pop Pop is getting his hand up there to do it so she can't touch Rue. BABY HOG! He's not even a little bit ashamed of his behavior either. Nope, not a single bit. OK, to be fair he did share her at our Christmas get-together with family. I think that is because he couldn't take her in the basement and he knew with the rest of the Kaster's around he would get ganged up on if he didn't share. Plus they were trying to watch football and get a card game going.

Re: My Childrens Book

Whatever you do, Mother Dear, DO NOT pull out the "Roger and Toby" book that I wrote and quickly illistrated for my Childrens Lit class. SERIOUSLY, nobody is to look at it. Yes, I got an A. Yes, it is kind of cute. Yes, I know you guys think I should have it published, but honestly....It needs a serious rewrite. I have never liked certain things in the story line, but have not known how I could resolve it. I actually have an idea about it now and I wrote it down, but I need to read it again to see if it will work.

Anyway, I don't think you realize how difficult it is to have a childrens book published. I'd have to have a literary agent, have the book copyrighted in advance because you can't even show your synopsis around with out it being swiped. What I really should do, is write several books and then try to get a agent, if I were going to go that route.

I have a cute idea for a "Bunny Rue Rue" book. I might work on it next weekend.

How to attract hot firemen to your home.

Perhaps, this should be titled, how NOT to attract hot firemen to your home. Well, We had three pillar candles burning in the fireplace, like we have done for years. Suddenly the wax caught on fire and the whole fireplace was in flames. Of course the vent wasn't open because it has never opened (we never have a real fire going for that very reason...just a few harmless candles....haha) and the glass doors on the front of the fireplace suddenly didn't want to open up without the whole thing coming off and its not such an easy task to try to open them with oven mitts on because the metal is now searing hot. So, the house started to fill with smoke and we opened the window because we were afraid the fire alarm would go off. I mean the fire WAS contained it was just so damn hot, I was nervous and called the fire dept to get their suggestions. I explained the story and the guy said, "Oh, well, I'll just send a guy over to take a look." Fine, but a few minutes later we had a hell of a lot more than one or two guys at our door. At one point I think there were eight fire department SUV's and ofcourse they had to bring the big rig. They had the whole street blocked of and for a second I thought there was a parade going on outside. Seriously, you would think the whole friggin house was in flames. The funny part, is by this point the wax fire had burnt out. Well, I think the guys were bored or something because they proceeded to make a friggin mess on the off white carpet upstairs. I don't blame them, they were just checking to make sure that the fire didn't escape the fireplace. I mean, you could still feel the heat coming of the bricks. So the guys ripped off the glass and metal doors, then they"fixed" the flue so it opens and by "fix" I mean they tore that sucker friggin off and squirted some flame retardant up there. I tried to tell them that the embers that dropped were from the hammer the chimney guys dropped in there last fall when they put in a new liner on the other chimney. Do you know what a can of flame retardant does when it drips down, mixes with black soot from the fire and drips out onto the off white carpet? It creates a holy friggin mess. They put a ladder up to the roof, took off the roof cap and looked down it to make sure everything was fine. but they did this as they pulled the entire flue down and all the broken brick from the old liner came crashing down into the liquid stuff that was all over. Don't get me wrong, it was the right thing to do....I just wasn't looking forward to the clean up. I still have more to do tomorrow.
The guys sure were nice and several were very HOT...but in a good way. They got to use all of their fun equipment, like the camera that reads the heat in walls and such. They were running all over the house. Yes, hot men, all over the house, chatting it up with me... however, it wasn't worth the mess. There has to be a better way to meet men.

Don't worry, We are laughing about this now. Earlier, it wasn't so funny.

Where's my remote!

When Pop Pop isn't hogging the baby he is in his "dungeon" watching TV. Normally he has the remote in his hand, 24/7. I mean, even in his sleep he adjusts the volume and changes channels. Who knew that ADD still affects you when you are sleeping?! Anyway, I was watching three movies, two ball games and several misc shows with him when Mom called us upstairs to eat. Well, I had to steal his remote. I seriously had to. He is a terrible flipper and the insanity needed to be stopped. I brought it upstairs with me and Mom saw me hide it. After we ate, Pop snuck away to his dungeon again, without clearing his dirty dishes from the table...AGAIN, so I really didn't feel bad about him going downstairs and tearing apart the basement. I helped Mom with the dishes and when we were done cleaning up the kitchen we went down stairs to find him using his caveman remote....aka his toe, to switch channels. He had pulled up one of the video game rockers and made himself comfy. I guess he got tired of looking for the remote, plus he figured I took it. He hid my book and wouldn't give it back until I gave up the remote. Luckily Mom had grabbed the remote upstairs and took control of the TV for a while. I think she enjoyed yelling at him to keep his feet of the furniture. He's as bad as a kid. Oh, and I did get my book back. I found it but didn't tell him about it. I made him give my book back later and he couldn't seem to find it where he hid it....hmmm, wonder why. I know, I know, I 'm a little bit evil. Just a little bit.

Pops 30 foot light display...

Someone asked how he got the lights up like that. Well, what you can't see are the two large maple trees its between and the branch that it is hanging off of. Now if you ask my Father how he got it up there, this is what he would say. "Well, it took a ladder and a lawn chair." He would go on to explain that he sent my Mom up the ladder while he sat in the lawn chair. Of course he had to get up and hold the ladder a few times. He says she got up the ladder alright but she had some trouble getting down, he had to tell her where to put her feet." Yeah, that is what he is telling EVERYONE! Don't you wish you had a husband like that?! Anyway, see all the spots that look like the lights are out? Those are actually where branches cross in front of the lights. I'm sure you will be happy to know that Mom and I took down all the Christmas lights before it rained and snowed, and most importantly, while Pop was at work. You see, that way, things got put away the way properly, not just crammed in boxes, taking up twice as much space. That is if they even made it into a box. More on the Baby Hog in later posts.

Thank you Amy!

My friend Amy made a cake for Bunny Rue Rue's baptism. Not to say that we poured cake on her head instead of holy water, but we ate it after lunch. Bunny Rue Rue's cousins on her Daddy's side were kind of flipping out at the idea of eating her nose. Something about eating baby boogies.
Yeah, well I couldn't resist...I ate that little nose up to a few "Ewwww's"...and let me tell you, it was super good and I'm proud to report that there were no boogies in site. Yep the only thing you could see was super moist cake and the coffee I spilt on my Pops "the Baby Hog"....lol, remind me to tell that story later.

Don't try to trump Auntie Nett

Bunny Rue-Rue's Aunt Peg came up to me at the baptism and said, "You had to trump me didn't you?!" I asked what she was talking about. She said, "You had to give Rue her first Christmas bear before I got a chance to give her the one I bought for her." I just smiled and said, "You want to try to trump me, you better be a little faster the next time."

I don't know who she is kidding...everyone knows I'm going to win the spoiling game. First of all, I am farther away and won't see her as often as I would like. Then there is the whole competitive spirit of the thing. Yep, lets face it, I will win. Don't even try to push your luck. When I am a woman on a mission, I'm invincible. Yeah, I kick ass and take names later. I"M AUNTIE NETTER doesn't that say it all?! Hell yeah, it does! I'm the queen of this contest and Bunny Rue is my Princess in waiting. I figure, my only real competition is Pop Pops the BABY HOG, but I think I can take him. Basically because, Mom only gives him so much money a week to spend because he would blow cash everywhere if she didn't. I'm not even sure the Man knows ATM cards exist

Bunny Rue-Rue's Mom...Tisha aka Kanga, told me that she thought Peg was going to spoil the baby for Christmas. Well, when it was all said and done, Tisha declared me the winner of that battle of best Auntie. Hehe! Take that!

Here is what I have in the works for the year so far:

1) I am starting a book collection for when she is a bit bigger. I'm mailing her one or two hard back books a month. I took care of the Christmas books for December and now I have one of the Olivia books ready for January but I think I should find a nice book about snow to add to it. I'm taking suggestions.

2) I'm working on her Valentines Day present. I already have a bib for her. I have another Olivia book and I need to find a cute Valentine's Day book.

3) I'm debating what I should get Bunny Rue Rue for her half birthday. Yes, I'm celebrating her half birthday because her actual birthday is so close to Christmas. Her Half Birthday is June 9th. I'm thinking I should get her some kind of book shelf/ toy storage system. I have some ideas but I'm leaning toward a book shelf that looks like a doll house. When she is older she could toss everything on the floor and play dolls with it. Kanga might kill me though...I need to think about it some more.

Yep, Peg is going to have to kick it in high gear to out spoil me.

New Years Day: The MOVIE

Remember the movie Groundhogs Day? Yeah, well, several members of my family had a Groundhogs Day-like experience New Years Day. Let me start with the snow. My niece was baptized on Sunday and I became one of her sponsors. It had just started snowing when we left to go to the church (UGH, the Church and baptisms are a Whole other post) and it had been raining on and off through the night and morning. Add to this the wind that picked up, it was kind of nasty looking out. The picture is taken on our way home after church. It was taken on top of the hill, looking west on Broadway toward our old house and Grandma and Grandpa's, which you can't see at all in this picture because of the visibility issues. My dad had to go in to push snow in Lincoln at 11 PM that night so it was suggested that I go with him and stay at my Aunt Vickie and Uncle John's house that night. I called them up and Vickie said it was OK. I tell you, my parents were so glad to get rid of me...lol, or so my Father liked to joke. We left Tecumseh around 8PM the roads were super slick, basically one big ice patch and of course it was drifting snow which never helps the situation. I can't tell you how many cars were in the ditch and there was a bad accident before Syracuse with three ambulances, so someone must have been injured. Luckily Dad is a good driver in ice and snow, plus he has 4 wheel drive which always helps, but he did wear his seat belt, which he never does. If Pops is wearing a seat belt, you know it must be bad out. Honestly its good to know he does wear it in bad weather because I have always been concerned about him driving the hour to Lincoln to push show all night.

Anyway, I spent New Years Eve 2006 with my Pop, driving me to Aunt Vickie and Uncle Johns house. Then I sat in their basement drinking a glass of wine and chatting with Vickie while John flipped channels between the different New Years Broadcasts...Dick Clark and all. The ball dropped in New York, then we waited the hour for midnight to strike in Nebrasky. I guess we hit the hay around 12:30 or so. I slept on the basement sofa sleeper. It's funny, I slept pretty soundly, except for waking up stiff a few times. Sofa sleepers are just cushioned torture devices, I swear. I woke up at 7AM but then kept going back to sleep because Uncle John told me not to get up too early. They were on vacation and were sleeping in. I guess I finally rolled out of bed around 9-9:30 because I could hear Aunt Vickie moving around. I stripped the sofa sleeper, folded all the blankets back up, making a pile of things I used and a pile that I hadn't used. Then I put the sofa back together and moved all the furniture back where it had been. I jumped in the shower and dried my hair, got dressed and went upstairs. Aunt Vickie made a fun breakfast of pineapple, oatmeal, muffins and hot cocoa for us and after we were done. We went down stairs to watch the Nebraska bowl game on TV. John turned on the Radio to play over the game because the announcers were dumbos. There was a huge delay on the TV broadcasts and the Radio broadcasters were calling the play and a touchdown before the snap on TV. It really took the suspense right out of the game. We laughed about it but in the end it was too hard to take so John turned it off. Just after half time, John and Vick drove me over to the airport. I totally blame them for jinxing me...Let me state that right up front! LOL. The asked several times if I thought I would have delays because of the weather, ect. I knew that the airport runways are always kept pretty clean and that wouldn't be an issue because it was a lovely day out. Actually, from the drive in you could see the runways were clear. They dropped me off, I went in side and waited in line but nobody was at the counter so I started chatting with the people in line, like I always do. I'm annoying that way. I turned and glanced at the board behind the counter and as I was looking a white box appeared on the screen. I had the lady next to me watch my 65 pound suitcase while I crawled under the rope to get a closer look. It said my flight was now cancelled, to which I responded with a very lady like, "SSSSSSHIIIIIITTTTTT!" Then I noticed a sign on the counter that said to ring the bell once for service, so I pressed that button down and held it there for several, very long seconds....who knows, maybe a full minute, before Scampering back in line.

By the time I got up to the counter, I had already been rescheduled for the following day. I tried to get out later in the day but they didn't have anything that would work, I even said I would go to Omaha, but that wasn't going to work either. So, I had them prove to me that I had a seat assignment for both legs of my flight on the 2nd. She printed the ticket receipt out but it didn't show the seats so I made her try it again....and of course they didn't show on the tickets, so I had her sign my receipt, put her name and the number she could be reached at and both the seat assignments that were showing in the computer. I figured I better cover my bases in case she was trying to pull a fast one on me. I would have raised holy hell if they jerked me around and tried to bump me. Rule of thumb, always get a boarding pass WITH seat assignments.

Anyway, I called the jinxers up and Vickie picked me up. When we got home, Uncle John and Vickie suggested that I take their Jeep down to see my parents. They said they didn't need the jeep, they were not going anywhere and if they did need to run out they had the truck. I was a little hesitant at first but after thinking about the fun I could have with showing up unannounced, I decided it was worth the price of gas. I chatted with Vickie a little bit and they drove the 60 miles home. The city streets in Lincoln were crappy but the highways were basically clear and Tecumseh's streets were in good shape when I got there.

So here is what a naughty daughter does. I drove to Mom and Dad's house and noticed that Mom was in her computer room. I pulled all the way up to the garage door, because I doubted she be able to see the Jeep that way. I got out, hit the lock on the remote and the horn honked. I pushed open the front door and suddenly Mom peaked around the corner. She and heard the honk and didn't see a car in her driveway, so when the door opened she couldn't figure out who was coming into her house. It gets better. I goofed off with Mom for a few hours, while Dad was sleeping on the sofa in his "dungeon" aka his TV room/ den. He had been up all night pushing snow and had crashed on the sofa at 12:30 PM so he had been sleeping for almost 8 hours. Mom said she should wake him up to see if he wanted to eat. I suggested she just wake him and tell him that he had better get a move on because he had to drop me at John and Vickie's before he stopped at the shop to push snow. She wouldn't go for it. Something about that being mean. HEY! I know him, he'd do it to us he had half a chance. Anyway, we went downstairs and I sat in Mom's lazy boy recliner while Mom sat on the edge of the sofa and patted Pops leg to wake him up. You could tell he was kind of sleepy and She said, its 8 o'clock. Then he mumbled something about calling in to work because he thought he overslept. Mom told him it wasn't morning, that it was 8 PM. Meanwhile, he is looking at the TV trying to figure out if the football game on was the Nebraska game that he fell asleep to earlier. He was slightly confused so I went for it. I said, "Pop you better get a move on , you have to drop me at John and Vickie's before you start pushing snow." His head FLEW off that pillow and he was like, "HUH! What?!" Then he realized that my flight must have been cancelled or something. I totally gave him a Ground Hogs Day Movie Moment. He admitted he was a little out of sorts and confused. LOL, oh yeah! Of course when he had his wits about him again he made the comment that he was going to have to have a talk with John and Vickie. He had dropped me off, they were not supposed to bring me back....after all ,he was trying to get rid of me.

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I drove back to Lincoln the next morning and Vickie had a Ground Hogs Day Moment again. She dropped me off AGAIN. The second time in two days. That is her waving, saying, "Thank goodness, we finally got rid of her! SHEESH!" I really can't Thank John and Vickie enough for putting up with me. I almost feel bad for leaving a boobie trap in their basement for them. But HEY, who would really leave me UNsupervised like that for soooo many hours, especially with our history of pranks. LOL, kidding Vickie, kidding. I didn't do anything. I'm just grateful that you allowed me to crash your New Years Eve with Uncle John and steal your Jeep, but hey, you are the ones that jinxed me, so you kind of got your just dessert. lol! Thank you again. I'm working on a plan to repay you. Just wait and see what I come up with.
My flight left Lincoln on time only to be delayed for a nice chunk of time in MN because of wind delays at LGA. I thought I would leave you with a view of the Platte River from my flight. Nebraska means "flat waters" in one of the native Indian languages, don't ask me which one right now. I know, but for some reason I am drawing a blank.
I got home pretty late but at least I finally did get home. Even after the shuttle driver told me I would be the first drop off and then he was day dreaming and missed my exit so he ended up dropping me off last. Figures! Anyway, I got my suitcase unpacked and laundry almost done. Nancy has been home with some crazy flu that she picked up in Argentina. I better not get it. I managed to make it all the way through Christmas and New Years and not get sick, she better not pass her bugs to me. I'm friggin avoiding her like the plague.

Hmmm, I wonder if Uncle John got all of his Christmas decorations dug out of the snow and packed away? More misadventures later....I promise.

Happy New Year...I'm back

OK, OK, so I'm home a day later than I had planned....and everyone else had planned as well. These things happen......More on The New Years version of the movie Groundhogs Day later. I'm off to bed.