Let the Prom Drama begin....Like Aurora, her dress keeps changing

[mamacatnv]

Yeah, it's funny that the folks buying and riding the Harleys are OUR age. The younger folks can't afford them. It's been a lot of fun riding so far. We're going on a mountain trip with some other folks mid-July. Should be a lot of fun.

Like you, I love travel too.

We're planning on a cruise over Christmas/New Years. Haven't investigated yet, but need to start looking.

Probably going somewhere into the mountains here for a few days this summer. We would also like to go to Europe next summer - it's been all DH's idea, so hey, fine by me!!!

How fun...................I have several friends who have bikes and are in clubs that go on lots of road trips throughout the summer. Most of their kids are grown or nearly grown and are out of the house or they never had kids but have lots of toys! Those things are spendy and my girlfriend who bought herself a Harley for her 40th b-day has spent more on accessorizing the bike than I think it originally cost It's always something, usually has chrome in the title

My DH is a total home body, it takes an act of Congress to get him to go anywhere other than Home Depot! and God forbid it be his idea, I would fall over and faint!

I have never been on a cruise - where would you cruise that time of year?
Personally, an Alaskan cruise is my dream, the rest of the family is not too thrilled with the idea, they want tropical!

 

[Sandy V.]

How fun...................I have several friends who have bikes and are in clubs that go on lots of road trips throughout the summer. Most of their kids are grown or nearly grown and are out of the house or they never had kids but have lots of toys! Those things are spendy and my girlfriend who bought herself a Harley for her 40th b-day has spent more on accessorizing the bike than I think it originally cost It's always something, usually has chrome in the title

My DH is a total home body, it takes an act of Congress to get him to go anywhere other than Home Depot! and God forbid it be his idea, I would fall over and faint!

I have never been on a cruise - where would you cruise that time of year?
Personally, an Alaskan cruise is my dream, the rest of the family is not too thrilled with the idea, they want tropical!

Yes, the Harley was expensive enough, but when you buy the leather jacket, the helmets, chaps, gloves, rain gear, you've spent a HECK of a lot more money than you ever want to think about!!

We did a cruise about 5 years ago to the Southern Caribbean. Flew to Puerto Rico and cruised to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados. It was a lot of fun and very relaxing. Great to get away from cell phones and work. I would love to do an Alaskan cruise sometime. I think that we're looking for something that goes to Bermuda or maybe even Belize. I haven't even started looking yet.

DH always has lots of great ideas for travel, but I am the travel agent for the family. DH wouldn't have a clue how to make arrangements!!

 

[mamacatnv]

DH always has lots of great ideas for travel, but I am the travel agent for the family. DH wouldn't have a clue how to make arrangements!!

True of most Hubbies!

My In-laws have done several cruises (heck, they live in FL, so it is easy) they liked Aruba the best. I have heard Belize is beautiful - sounds like a lot of fun and if you are anything like me planning is half the fun! (When I can actually settle down and make a firm decision )

 

[Sandy V.]

True of most Hubbies!

My In-laws have done several cruises (heck, they live in FL, so it is easy) they liked Aruba the best. I have heard Belize is beautiful - sounds like a lot of fun and if you are anything like me planning is half the fun! (When I can actually settle down and make a firm decision )

Yep, making a choice is the most difficult part! I spend quite a while making up my mind. But once I do, I rarely change it.

 

[mamacatnv]

Yep, making a choice is the most difficult part! I spend quite a while making up my mind. But once I do, I rarely change it.

Lucky - As we know, I question my decision until my feet land in the place I have agononized over!

I must say, I rarely change things around, but I do make myself and my family crazy by constantly questioning my decision

BTW for the moment we have decided to stay at the Schlitterbahn resort for the whole trip and drive to the attractions we want to see.

 

[Sandy V.]

BTW for the moment we have decided to stay at the Schlitterbahn resort for the whole trip and drive to the attractions we want to see.

You'll have a great time, no matter how the hotel arrangements play out. The Texas weather should be more than hot enough to enjoy lots of time at the waterparks.

 

[mamacatnv]

How is everyone?

We have been dealing with lots and lots of smoke from the Tahoe fire. Woke up this morning all congested and that was with the house closed up and the A/C cranking all night long. Most of the tv programs kept getting interrupted last night with updates - Oh rats, we didn't have to watch every minute of America's Got Talent (which by that show, it does not ) DD loves that show and has declared it family TV night

We had not had much smoke at our house until yesterday and the wind blew it right over our house. Winds are projected to be high the next few days.

The status of Uncle's house is still unknown and may be for a while longer until the damaged areas become accessible. There is comfort knowing he is safe and sound in Sac.

Another twist to my vacation plans
When I originally bought our airfare in early Feb. we were departing out of Sacramento since it was almost $500 cheaper than Reno . I have been watching the fares every day since. This morning I was able to snag flights out of Reno for only $100 more than I originally spent (the gas to Sac. would have been more than that) needless to say, I am thrilled! This also changes our departure scenario slightly, instead of leaving Austin at 8 in the morning we now leave at 7 at night, putting a whole new spin on going to San Antonio for the last couple of days of our trip. DH just here I go again

This weekend we are headed to Graeagle, CA for their home town 4th of July celebration - the setting is beautiful, a small quaint town full of beautiful trees and in the center of town is a really nice pond for swimming, paddle boating etc. They have the most incredible fireworks. We take the pop-up camper and go up there every year. It is only an hour from our house and like going to a whole nother world! The kids love it. We catch up with some friends who live up there and BBQ and socialize all day, along with floating in the pond. On Sunday, they have a pancake breakfast at the fire house and then a fun parade.

What you all doing?

Sandy, did Tundra get her bath yet?

 

[Sandy V.]

Sandy, did Tundra get her bath yet?

No ma'am. And I'm not sure when DD will get around to it. Tundra needs a good brushing again; she is STILL molting!!

Thought of you again yesterday when the news said that getting the fire contained was still very much a work-in-progress, and that the fire had spread to other areas. Stay safe!

I hardly watch any television in the summer, it is just SO bad!!

Did DS's senior photos yesterday and I am optimistic that we are going to be happy with the results. He sometimes puts on this cheesy smile, and the photographer got him to be WAY more relaxed. Did some with the letter jacket and the lacrosse stick, but decided against taking them with the car.

Actually, we should be getting some boy/car photos back from a commercial photographer soon. Long story - through a friend of DS's, we were contacted by a publisher who writes those newletters folks get from insurance companies on a semi-annual basis. They were writing an article about people who buy/search and find cars on the internet. Well, that's how we found DS's car. So they "chose" us, interviewed us, came out and took pictures of DS (and DH and me in some shots) and his car. We got a $250 "modeling fee" out of the deal, so not bad!!

We drove up to Wyoming last night to buy fireworks to take back to Nebraska for a celebration the day after the 4th. Late night, but at least we don't have to spend time this weekend doing it.

With last weekend's busyness, we are toning down this weekend. I think DH and DS will play some golf. We have a Harley Owner's Group meeting (H.O.G.) on Sunday. That's about it.

On the 4th, we're hanging out and going to the local parade, which is actually pretty cute. DS and girlfriend will be walking her family's llamas in the parade!! Should be hilarious to see and yes, I will try and get a photo.

That evening, there's a fireworks display in town.

The next morning, we're leaving for Nebraska because DH's nephew is getting married on Friday evening. We'll get into my MIL's on Thursday afternoon and shoot off the fireworks that night with MIL and DH's brother and sister and their families (the ones not involved in the wedding; they'll be at the rehearsal dinner).

Then on Friday, we'll head to Lincoln for the wedding. We're spending the night at the hotel where the reception is going to be held. Before the wedding, since we're close to the Husker shops, we may have to stop and buy something. Go Big Red!

Then Saturday, we'll drive back, taking our time. There's a really cool go-cart place that we always stop at on the way home if the weather is good.

So that's what life looks like here in Colorado at the moment . . .

 

[horseshowmom]

Just popping in for a second. I've got 25 teachers in training all this week. They don't have to be here until 8 a.m., but I get here at 7 to get everything ready, meet with the presenter, etc. Then I have to stay afterwards to take care of all the paperwork.

On top of that, I had to be at the funeral home Monday night, and I've got a school board meeting tonight. Do we have a "collapsing into a lump" smilie on here?

Glad to hear everything is going well. Have a great weekend!

 

[mamacatnv]

Do we have a "collapsing into a lump" smilie on here?

This was the best I could do. Here, this will help

 

[Sandy V.]

Just popping in for a second. I've got 25 teachers in training all this week. They don't have to be here until 8 a.m., but I get here at 7 to get everything ready, meet with the presenter, etc. Then I have to stay afterwards to take care of all the paperwork.

On top of that, I had to be at the funeral home Monday night, and I've got a school board meeting tonight. Do we have a "collapsing into a lump" smilie on here?

Glad to hear everything is going well. Have a great weekend!

Hang in there, Horseshowmom!!!!

 

[mamacatnv]

Sandy: Hope the Sr. portraits come out the way you want them too. The boy/car photos should be fun - what does you DS drive that garnered that type of attention?

Poor Tundra.................I know that we kinda skipped Spring here and all of a sudden the cats started to shed like crazy! Can't hardly keep up with the cat hair that is on the loose in the house it is everywhere! And yet, the fat cat does not seem any smaller DH has a new name for him "Biff Biscuit" poor Simon, he is so misunderstood

Fireworks, you sound like us. We don't have to drive to another state but out into the middle of nowhere NV to a little town called Shurz. We have a friend that makes the run every year and then we store them until January when we have the big post NYE party at their house. They are out in the boonies and the fire danger in the winter is almost nonexistent. We would never dream of using them around here in the summer, highly illegal and highly dangerous. I personally don't want to get the bill for the 10 million dollar fire! The winter works, plus the Sheriff can't get out that far before we are done with the "display"

Sounds like next week will be a busy one for you. Be safe and have a good time.

Horseshowmom:
Did you get them teachers all trained right and proper yet? Hope your conference went well and that you have a relaxing weekend.
Did I miss something? Why were you at the funeral home


Fire:
The fire is lying down at the moment, but the winds are supposed to kick up this afternoon. We are far removed from it and only have the smoke to deal with. I do feel so sorry for those people who have lost their homes. Right now there is a lot of finger pointing going on and most of it is directed at the TRPA (Tahoe Regional Planning Agency). The TRPA has very strict rules about clearing your land and "defensible space" is not something they take kindly too.

The news showcased a number of homes that survived despite the neighbors being destroyed and several of them pointed out that they had "illegally" cleared their property despite the TRPA rules. It will be interesting since this has been a hot button for so many years.

Getting ready to head out tomorrow after work, I need to stop at the butcher and make the required meat purchases. Our family is a bunch of eaters and all our events start with what is on the menu

Friday night - BBQ bacon burgers, Sat morning - BBQ country bacon & french toast, Sat night - BBQ italian sausage, bratwurst & kielbasa, Sunday morning - more country bacon & some chuck wagon steaks..............yummmmm........Did I fail to mention we are a bunch of carnivoires Oh yeah, there will be some alcohol purchased for me to go with all that meat - usually beer and wine coolers for this particular event!

Have a good day ladies...........

Pam, still thinking of you often

 

[Sandy V.]

Sandy: Hope the Sr. portraits come out the way you want them too. The boy/car photos should be fun - what does you DS drive that garnered that type of attention?

Poor Tundra.................I know that we kinda skipped Spring here and all of a sudden the cats started to shed like crazy! Can't hardly keep up with the cat hair that is on the loose in the house it is everywhere! And yet, the fat cat does not seem any smaller DH has a new name for him "Biff Biscuit" poor Simon, he is so misunderstood

Fireworks, you sound like us. We don't have to drive to another state but out into the middle of nowhere NV to a little town called Shurz. We have a friend that makes the run every year and then we store them until January when we have the big post NYE party at their house. They are out in the boonies and the fire danger in the winter is almost nonexistent. We would never dream of using them around here in the summer, highly illegal and highly dangerous. I personally don't want to get the bill for the 10 million dollar fire! The winter works, plus the Sheriff can't get out that far before we are done with the "display"

Sounds like next week will be a busy one for you. Be safe and have a good time.

Fire:
The fire is lying down at the moment, but the winds are supposed to kick up this afternoon. We are far removed from it and only have the smoke to deal with. I do feel so sorry for those people who have lost their homes. Right now there is a lot of finger pointing going on and most of it is directed at the TRPA (Tahoe Regional Planning Agency). The TRPA has very strict rules about clearing your land and "defensible space" is not something they take kindly too.

The news showcased a number of homes that survived despite the neighbors being destroyed and several of them pointed out that they had "illegally" cleared their property despite the TRPA rules. It will be interesting since this has been a hot button for so many years.

Getting ready to head out tomorrow after work, I need to stop at the butcher and make the required meat purchases. Our family is a bunch of eaters and all our events start with what is on the menu

Friday night - BBQ bacon burgers, Sat morning - BBQ country bacon & french toast, Sat night - BBQ italian sausage, bratwurst & kielbasa, Sunday morning - more country bacon & some chuck wagon steaks..............yummmmm........Did I fail to mention we are a bunch of carnivoires Oh yeah, there will be some alcohol purchased for me to go with all that meat - usually beer and wine coolers for this particular event!

Actually the car isn't all that special, Melissa. It's a 1995 red BMW 325is. We found it through an internet search; it was in Denver and had less than 50,000 miles on it, which was FANTASTIC for an 11-year old car. They were just looking for SOMEONE who had found a car through the internet, DS's friend's mom remembered that was how we got DS's car, and then she called HER friend who locates these folks for the magazine articles. Then they called me to "pre-interview" us, we got "approved", and then they did the phone interview and came to snap the pics a week ago Tuesday.

I spent part of my evening plucking strands of loose hair from Tundra's coat. She is starting to look just a LITTLE better!! But she absolutely hates for me to do it, so she is NOT a happy pooch when I'm standing over her.

Yes, we are big fireworks folks. Can't get any of the stuff in Colorado because of the potential for fire hazards. There are lots of community fireworks displays, all closely monitored by the local fire departments.

I had heard about how those who "violated" the clearing policies near Lake Tahoe were the ones whose homes were spared. You're right; there will be a LOT of angry discussions about all of this when the fire is finally put out. Glad to hear that you're not in any immediate danger.

My goodness, your camping menu sounds WONDERFUL!! Food fit for a king and queen. Have a wonderful time!!

DS got his first paycheck from his landscaping job today. The deal was, he deposits half and uses the remaining half for gas and spending money. He was so proud to have some $$$ that he earned himself. Now we'll see how long it takes until he spends it. With the price of gas, it may disapear quicker than he thinks!!

Have a great day, all!!

 

[mamacatnv]

Actually the car isn't all that special, Melissa. It's a 1995 red BMW 325is. We found it through an internet search; it was in Denver and had less than 50,000 miles on it, which was FANTASTIC for an 11-year old car. They were just looking for SOMEONE who had found a car through the internet, DS's friend's mom remembered that was how we got DS's car, and then she called HER friend who locates these folks for the magazine articles. Then they called me to "pre-interview" us, we got "approved", and then they did the phone interview and came to snap the pics a week ago Tuesday.

Wow, that is a deal! Due to the small market here, we always scour the internet when car shopping. That is cool that you guys all got interviewed and paid for doing so! Ds drives a 94 Honda Accord, it was his Dads and we got Dad a 5 speed Honda Civic when DS started driving. Now DS wants the Civic

DS got his first paycheck from his landscaping job today. The deal was, he deposits half and uses the remaining half for gas and spending money. He was so proud to have some $$$ that he earned himself. Now we'll see how long it takes until he spends it. With the price of gas, it may disapear quicker than he thinks!!

Did you frame it?
That is what we make our DS do also - 1/2 has to go into savings to pay us for his car insurance and the other half goes into his debit account for his play $$$$ - we take care of gas and maintenance since he does the insurance. We figured it was a good incentive for him to "behave" as a driver.

Kids and cars scare the crap out of me! DS's best friend has a Honda Element that his parents bought him brand new almost exactly 1 year ago. He rolled it last weekend, (he is okay) pure stupidity, he was going too fast plain and simple (he admits this). His parents went out the very next morning and bought him a brand new Scion 2 door coup. I don't know about you guys but we told DS "You wreck this one and the next one is on your dime" I don't think that is unreasonable. It scares me to think they so easily replaced his vehicle when he was so obviously careless. He has gone flying by me on the Hwy more than once which I always chastise him for. Okay, putting away my soap box - the mom is a really good friend of mine and I don't feel I can say this to her, so you guys get to read my vent

 

[Sandy V.]

Kids and cars scare the crap out of me! DS's best friend has a Honda Element that his parents bought him brand new almost exactly 1 year ago. He rolled it last weekend, (he is okay) pure stupidity, he was going too fast plain and simple (he admits this). His parents went out the very next morning and bought him a brand new Scion 2 door coup. I don't know about you guys but we told DS "You wreck this one and the next one is on your dime" I don't think that is unreasonable. It scares me to think they so easily replaced his vehicle when he was so obviously careless. He has gone flying by me on the Hwy more than once which I always chastise him for. Okay, putting away my soap box - the mom is a really good friend of mine and I don't feel I can say this to her, so you guys get to read my vent

I understand what you're saying. We live in suburbia up here (12 miles north of Colorado Springs) and there are some very affluent families that have done the same thing that your son's friend's parents did. They buy one expensive car after another for their kid when they wreck it. I agree with you - that WON'T be happening at this house!!

You should see the students' parking lot at the school compared to the teachers' parking lot. It's actually pretty sad how much nicer the kids' cars are as a whole.

 

[mamacatnv]

You should see the students' parking lot at the school compared to the teachers' parking lot. It's actually pretty sad how much nicer the kids' cars are as a whole.

We have a wider mix of demographics at our high school and the kids are generally thankful to have a car since many of them don't get one. Our Booster group bought several yearbooks for Sr.'s that could not afford to buy them - it gets interesting when we travel to schools like Incline Village (hoity toity Lake Tahoe)that is within our school district or to some of the schools in other areas of town.

 

[mamacatnv]

Good Friday Y'all (I'm practicing for vacation!)

Yep, it be a Friday headed towards a holiday. I left the house for work at 7, got out to the main road where I was behind 4 trucks with their beds full of BBQ's, coolers and dogs pulling either a camper, a boat or waverunners. Proceeded behind them to the freeway where I encountered an assortment of RV's, more boats, dirt bikes and a few ATV's! Oh and the ::cop: are out in force

Let the weekend begin: DH got me a bottle of my favorite wine (Nevada City Winery, Gwuesterminer sp?) I love it and only a couple of places here in town carry it - NV City winery is a small establishment in NV City, Ca where DH took me to a beautiful B&B for my 40th B-day where we discovered this wine.

I'm only here a couple of hours today and then .off for the woods pulling a camper of course The only difference is we don't use Big Ugly the truck to tow the camper, we use the Honda mini van it is more comfortable and we all get a seat and seat belt. I am a city girl afterall

Simon the fat knows something is up. He must sense we are going somewhere because he gets really clingy. He is one of the reasons I always pack at the very last moment or when we take big trips, I pack and then store it away in the garage for a few days because he becomes such a wreck. At 5:30 this morning he was pacing across me on the bed meowing, nudging my face and just being a royal pain, he followed me all over the house until I left when I tossed him up on DD's bed to go snuggle with her.

DS is off today, no work or football so the brat DD gets to stay home with him. I should say she gets to stay home and do her thing because she is under strict orders not to wake him for any reason.

Have a fun, safe and relaxing weekend girls

Melissa

 

[Sandy V.]

Have a great weekend, Melissa, and drive safely out there!!

I love the feeling when you're getting ready to go on vacation!

Your wine sounds yummy. We had a really good Blackstone Chardoney with dinner last night. Gonna have to go out and buy another one!!

Pam, Eliza, and Horseshowmom - hope all is well with you too.

 

[mamacatnv]

Pam, Eliza, and Horseshowmom - hope all is well with you too.

What she said!

 

[mamacatnv]

Happy Monday:

I'm a little sun burned in some places and a lot sun burned in others. Next time I need to take the shorts off and then apply the sunscreen to the area that the shorts covered but the bathing suit did not, oops! I have thighs that currently resemble hot wings!
Also a little dehydrated and a little sleepy, all symptoms of a great weekend The fireworks were terrific as always and I swear DD is going to turn into a Poly Wog with the amount of time she spent in the water!

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Melissa