Kansas Weekend in Pictures

We spent a long weekend visiting Julie and family in Kansas.

Words will not do it justice so here's a few pictures and a video!

Anna loves Patrick lots as you can see - he however is ever cautious of big sister! For good reason! Notice the tighter grip around his neck? Soon enough he will be taking more than 3 steps at a time and be able to run and chase his big sisters!

We went for a walk in the Kansas grasses and Anna tried to catch all moving things.

Butterflies were the prize. Uncle Mark was the assistant catcher on this mission.

Patrick doesn't want down - he wants up!

Always the goofy faces! Fun at the zoo.

Megan trying not to fall - and she didn't either! With a little help.

Anna is a future bug catcher or maybe vet - she had so much fun chasing butterflies no matter where we went - and she finally caught one when we went walking at K-State! I'll post the video tomorrow it is taking forever tonight. Slow connection or something - LOL!

Apples, Bugs and other fun!

So we live near the apple orchards and that bring with it bugs. Fruit flies to be exact! Never did I consider this a by-product of where we live, but we have developed a way to kill them that is non-toxic to the cats. Apple cider vinegar in a bowl - you put saran wrap over the top and poke a few holes and magically they are dumb enough to get trapped or maybe drunk enough to not care? They are everywhere. The kitchen of course, the bedroom, the bathrooms and probably the basement! argh! Can't wait for a frost to snap them off!
And in other news Mark has had fun with his new toy and also got a new weed whacker to chop down the weeds. Did you know that you shouldn't do this to poison ivy? Or if you don't know what you are whacking (meaning you can't identify) to step away with the whacker and let them grow? So yes, he now has poison ivy all over in little dots. Since we weren't sure it was poison ivy as it's all over and spotty he went to the med center and they gave him some drugs. I hope they work fast! It is not something I can get so that's good. Need to find a way to kill the poison ivy in the spring so we can be itch free all summer! And if you aren't scratching your body by now rest be assured my legs itch really bad! It's just the thought mind you that is causing it.

Mark's New Toy

If you can't tell what this is it's Mark's new John Deere - words can not describe it better than pictures in this case.

West Point Football!

Helen and Barry with West Point in the background. This is off the road we take going to the game and is VERY high up. It's a long ways down.

Saturday we took our guests - Mark's parents over to West Point for the Army game against Akron. Of course we are not even going to discuss the game as we all know how good they are not this year. We tailgated a little bit and then hopped on the handicap bus for the trip down the hill. I was all excited as we were moving along pretty fast, but as we approached the stadium we got stuck for 30 minutes while the Superintendent exited his bus. We were blocked from one drop off area, but being it is the handicap bus there are no other spots to drop off so we wait and whined. We missed the jumpers who sky dive into the stadium and that is so cool. Since only Mark and I knew what we were missing we were the only ones bummed (and whining to the 10th degree). I have a feeling it was really the Hall of Famers getting off the busses as it turned out there were seven of them! Bobby Knight was one of them. Argh. I did get a few pictures, but only this one had Knight in it.

He is the 2nd from the left (I think)

One last shot from about West Point. To fit in we wear our Army gear. Even though they totally stink the lunch boxes we got at the 1st game are now going for over $40 on E-bay. Weird.

My Big Fat Owwie

by Cali (the cat)

Since she isn't up for sitting still and typing I'll take over. About two weeks ago Cali had surgery and I'm finally around to posting the pictures. As you can see it was quite the ordeal. Who would have guessed that her skin was so spotty! Dr. Fischer did a great job and if you ask me I think he has great name for a cat vet - cats love fish right?. He has the coolest "ranch" probably not so cool if you are the patient however, but I thought it was very fun looking. The tumor was not cancerous and shouldn't grow back. Her fur is not growing fast so I probably won't need to get out her Halloween outfit from Aunt Stef this year.

The stitches (above)

All better! And we can finally pet her without avoiding the stitches. She even sat still last night while I tweezered out one last remaining stitch. She likes it when Mani grooms her so I'm hoping she doesn't think that is my new job. He can keep it!

slacker

Yes, I know I am a slacker this week in terms of blogging and this past month in terms of no pictures. Boring I know. Not that it's been that busy or anything. We do have company for the weekend so just maybe I can get a few pictures taken - we do have a few rooms pretty done. The walls are still bare so ok not done. The fun for this week was a trip to NYC today for a seminar for me. 3 hours on the train roundtrip is the new time. Longer than before. I almost finished my book on tape. Ok enough drival ... off to bed so we can have fun tomorrow at the Army game! West Point here we come!

Mallomars

Mark found a coupon for something he thought was a new product and bought a box at the grocery store. Turns out it's not new they've been around for ages and it's just something that is mostly sold in the New York City area - 70% of them in fact! Normally I don't like store bought cookies - I love the homemade ones! However these are very good and not that bad for you. Kind of like a piece of candy, but not. Unfortunately Mark doesn't like them so the box is mine! The chocolate coating isn't dark chocolate, but it's more of a cross between semi-sweet and dark. The cookie is crumbly and the marshmallo is soft and gooey. Yummy!

Hole in the Wall

Can you believe there is a game show by this name? Yes. Hole in the Wall appears on national prime time TV. This is almost as good as Wipeout - Almost. Since there is just so much on TV right now (NOT) we fought last night over who had to pick the show to watch while we ate in front of the TV. Maybe Mark was just being nice because he got home so late and I made a nice dinner. Either way I chose this show. I know don't ask. Even HGTV was passed over (it was a dumb episode). What caught my attention was the headline. Sumo wrestler sandwich - skinny man sandwiched between two 400 pound men - watch them fit through the hole. Ok. So we watch - the best part is when they fail to create the shape that they need to and then get knocked in the water. They have to go underwater as it's sort of like a sweeper that knocks them down into this pool of water. I'm sure your children will get a kick out of it. You will enjoy watching the people in silver and gold body suits. It shows you EVERYTHING! This leads me to my next thought - would I wear an outfit like that complete with a helmet and goggles on national prime time TV for a measly $8,333 (before taxes)? If we beat the other team. You see it's teams of three that complete. Last night for the ladies the teams were the New York Meatballs (the ladies all had round bellies) and the Philadelphia Sausages (I think that's what it was) and those ladies were a bit thick all over. Is that sick humor or what? And I watched it - to the end. Wonder if it's on next week?

Cell Phones can now be called by Telemarketers

Got this at work - great reminder. You can do if for your home phone too in case you've moved recently - like me.

Cell Phone Numbers Go Public today this means that all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies tomorrow and you will start to receive sale calls. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS.

To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked.

You cannot call from a different phone number. It takes about 20 seconds.or go to http://www.donotcall.gov

Are you a follower?

So there is a new "gadget" in the world of blogging. A "Follower" - so far I only have one and well, her blog is blocked unless you ask for permission or are invited. LOL! So is Steph (sister #3 - aka the world's best cat sitter) a leader or a follower if she is the first for my blog? I would say leader for now! Kind of a good idea to make note of who you are following if you ask me. I need to get on the ball!
Have you ever noticed the "weird" stuff people blog about - and no I am NOT talking about any of you reading this - all my friends and family are very wise and sage bloggers. When I'm bored I like to click "next blog" at the top of the page. Sometimes it's entertaining and other times I am floored by what people blog about. Hello! A stranger just found your blog and you are giving way too much info! Did you know people can find you by googling if you don't set your blog up right? Scary if you ask me! Most of the time I could care less, but really I think if you are reading someone's blog I would hope you set up your own (hint, hint to no one in general). If you've enjoyed finding me keep in mind I'm no rocket scientist and you too can have a blog. Heck, I'd even help you set up a cool background. Nothing too special however because that would require skills I probably don't have.
Ok, so I admit it I'm totally avoiding my most dreaded chore... I'm really not in the mood to unpack yet another box or make dinner yet so I'm really procrastinating here! But that's ok because it's going to rain all weekend and all I have to do is unpack boxes - right? Of course you're saying it's fine to wait until later. ahhh.... hope there is something good on TV tonight - we are taking the night off!

Check out Pandora

If you like music this is a really cool website. www.pandora.com
You put in your favorite artist or song and then it picks music for you and creates your own radio station. And it's FREE! As you hear songs you can thumbs up them or thumbs down them and it will remember that you like or don't like them and pick more music for you. Wonder if you could totally confuse it with too many up's and downs? LOL!

Better than the Kirby Man?

A while back Julie mentioned the Kirby man and I think we've met his twin brother the Water Man - nicknamed Yahoo. We invited in 3 water people to test our water and recommend a system the weekened we moved in. We knew we had sulfer. So we called the person our inspector recommended, Mark called some Yahoo from the phone book and we met the Culligan man at the fair. Yahoo comes first and says we have sulfer and it is creating bugger slime in the toilet tank. No duh. We knew that. Water is hard, etc. Inspector dude comes and says the same thing. Culligan man is actually a lady and she says the same. Of course all three tests are quite different in numbers. So inspector dude and Culligan recommend different chlorination systems with carbon filters to take the chlorine back out. Yahoo recommends some other system that Inspector dude says will plug up right away. Yahoo says chlorinators make your basement moldy. Ever hear of a dehumidifer? Yes, they work amazing I know.
Since Inspector comes highly recommended we go with him. Yahoo is mad we didn't choose him and he calls Friday night to yack my ear off. Very annoying to the point of harrassment. He calls on Mark's cell phone and asks for me! Then Saturday we are in the middle of trying to clean out the office and some new guy shows up. Uninvited may I add! I made Mark answer the door not really knowing who it was. Turns out he's been sent by Yahoo to sell us a $7000 Rainsoft system. Go blow air bubbles buddy! They don't even work for the same company! What the heck? After he introduces himself he heads back to his car to get his kit. At this point I tell Mark I am not dealing with him that I'm ummm... deaf - yes that's it - I can't hear. Awful lie I know, but I can't stand this anymore. I hate water people! Leave us alone - there are many ways to deal with sulfer and ours is really not that bad. It's very mild honestly. So Mark says he will get rid of him if I let him take a nap. DEAL! The guy never made it in the house! YAY! I'm so happy!
And Mark was such a sport - he never took that nap!

random stuff in a box

so.... no I am not done unpacking - not even close. Why is this taking so long? Other than having killed a whole tree to pack our house I am finding random boxes with random items. The last box is the reason for this blog. It could almost be called a party box. Great for being stuck in a hurricane - which we did not get in the end. Just a bunch of rain. Ok, back to the box. It has 4 random bottles of alcohol - one of which I will be cracking open for dinner. Rum punch I believe - looks like Hawaiian Punch so it much be good. It also contains 2 rolls of shelf liner, a set of tools, olive oil sprayer, 2 candles and several kitchen brushes. WTF? Mark says it is probably the leftover box. I found it in the office with boxes of books. Uh huh, weird I know. If only I had my camera! That is still MIA too. We are getting really close to being unpacked actually. The living room, kitchen, dining room and bathrooms are pretty much done. Except for the random boxes I am finding....

Hurricane Hanna

Mark informed me last night that we might have our first hurricane in NY. Huh? You're kidding right? Hanna is expected to hit tonight and tomorrow. Now I still have way too many boxes to unpack so the thought of it raining and us not going to the Army game tomorrow is fine by me. I can also sleep in!!! So this morning Mark calls to tell me it's "busy" at work. That means people are buying lots of groceries. Huh? Oh yes, the hurricane is coming - silly me. I think it's a bit of over kill - I mean how many blizzards and snow storms have I lived through? I did hear that Long Island (over an hour south of here) might get some "winds" on the radio - no mention of how fast those winds will be so that leads me to believe maybe 40 mph or something silly. The DJ's were actually laughing about it. They must not get many real storms around here or something. I'll be sure to take pictures of this one!

TV Time

So we have a new cable provider - Time Warner. Now that I have the remote control figured out we are good to go - I couldn't figure out how to use it so I wasn't watching TV unless Mark turned it on. Finally asked him last night how to work it. Well you push the power button. Duh - but I swear it didn't work for me when I did that. So now I can watch TV and smooth packing papers. Woohoo! So like most of you I'm struggling to find something good to watch - you know there is NOTHING on TV right now. We did some channel surfing last night and low and behold we have two local 24 hour news stations. One is great. NY 1. Live news all the time and it's not just New York, but pretty close. They even have a team at the Republican Nat'l Convention. And with our remote you can do live voting on issues. what fun! Not sure if it works or not, but I pushed B for the heck of it.
The other news station is the Hudson Valley News station and let me tell you it's just like 9 & 10 News out of Northern Michigan, but better. Hilarious! The weather man has the biggest puffiest eyes I've ever seen in real life and his hair is surely not a wig, but should be! It's almost like watching the comedy channel. We ended up watching Wipeout, which I've watched a few times and find funny. It's way better than the RNC. I mean who wants to hear about some crazy pick of a VP when you can watch people get sucker punched in the face and then fall in mud or bounce off the big balls. Crazy people. It was the last 15 minutes where they try to jump on the big rotating wheel and end up in foamy water. I hope it wasn't soapy tastying foam. My guess is those poor suckers are really sore the next day. oh, yes back to unpacking....

We Survived!

and no there are NO pictures just yet as that would show a mess of boxes and papers waiting to be flattened. I was warned they would wrap everything and thank goodness they didn't wrap each piece of silverware individually as what we had to unwrap was more than enough. Spent at least half the unpacking time uncrumpling the paper things were wrapped in or I would have been trapped in a house of crumpled papers! So I would say we are 60% done and actually ate dinner at our dining room table on Monday night. woohoo!
We didn't just work all weekend as there was some play - Mark got his new "toy" delivered Friday and that meant it needed to be tested out. I got to drive the Deere too when I helped put in the mail box post. Mark is becoming more and more handy thanks to the internet. He printed out instructions on how to put in a mail box, installed it and then helped out some poor guy at Lowe's when we went back to pick out a better box. We also went to a football game at West Point Friday night and picked apples, nectarines, and plums on Monday afternoon. Sunday we went to a BBQ at the neighbors - Saturday??? hmmm.... oh yes, dealt with three delivery people at once. They never show up on a time and then they show up all at once. So it's back to work for the week - that's a good break!