This would NEVER happen at home!!

I traveled today for work. I drove to Kearney (by myself, by the way, and made it safe and sound, no getting lost!!...I'll address my getting lost issues at another time...). After checking in at the motel, I decided instead of going to the workout room, I'd walk because it was BEAUTIFUL outside!! So, I walked a while and then walked over to Carlos O'Kellys to eat. In the past, I would have dreaded eating alone, but it doesn't bother me anymore! So, I was seated. I didn't get waited on immediately, but it was no big deal because I read my emails on my phone and then checked out facebook on my phone and posted some birthday wishes and other things. Chips and Salsa came and the waitress took my drink order (it was Mug-o-Rita night, so I thought I should participate~~ (mug o ritas are 1.99!!) I told her that I needed to have my drink billed separate from my food since I was eating on the school's money. It took a while to get my order in, but I was busy on my phone, as I said. The manager brought me free queso dip because she said it took so long to get my order in. I ate almost all the chips and salsa, and just a bit of the queso dip. My drink came after a bit, and they were out of mugs, so it came in the giant margarita glass! It was taking a while to then get the food, but I am used to that, most times our service is not all that great around home. Plus, it seems like I am hexed to get slow service when I travel too. I didn't think much of it, but perhaps since I was alone they noticed more that I wasn't getting my food. If I had been conversing with someone, it probably wouldn't have been so obvious! So, the manager comes with an envelope for a free entree next time I visit, and a coupon for a free dessert as well. Wow, I NEVER get that kind of service. I give them thumbs up as to making the customer feel like they want you to come back! By the time my food came, I wasn't all that hungry, but had ordered the navajo taco, so I ate around the edge some. I asked if I could get a diet pepsi to go (to bring back with me) and next thing I know, my whole meal was also free! Can you even believe that? I was truly surprised and amazed, and I am going to let the manager know I truly appreciate how I was treated! It was so nice of them! I did have to pay for my mug-o-rita (2.00) but the school got off scott free! Wowza~ !!

I then took a little bit longer path back to the motel and am settled in watching "The Biggest Loser" finale. I am glad to say that the "red lady" will not be winning the 100,000 dollars. She really just annoys me. I haven't decided who I am hoping to win the big prize...guess I don't have a "fav".

I have some work I need to address this evening too. I plan on getting up early to work out and/or walk.

Tomorrow I have a training which I know will be good, and I will learn a lot...then the long drive home!

Whew!

Last week, I left here on Tuesday right around lunch time, and headed to Denver to the T + L Conference. What a great experience. So much information to absorb!

We missed driving in the snow storm both coming and going. While in Denver, they got 19 inches of snow! Wow!

We didn't get that much here at home, but down the road at Little Miss Chloe Bean's house, they got 24 inches! Wowza!

Of course, being in the city meant eating out at fun, and delish, places. We at Italian the first night (Venice) and then at the Cheesecake Factory the second night. Finally, the last night we ate at Hard Rock Cafe. It was all fun. And our hotel was very nice as well! So, even though you are thinking hard the whole time, it is still somewhat of a treat.

Luckily I did hit the workout room at the hotel a couple times to stave off at least a few of the extra calories, and we did a lot of walking!

We got home Friday night, and it was good to be back home.

A Day Away...

We headed to South Dakota today for our annual bike ride on the Mikkelson Trail. We did not ride today, but just enjoyed the day. We will ride both Saturday and Sunday.

Today, some of us went to see Mount Moriah. (It is Deadwoods' historic boot hill cemetary, where "Wild Bill" Hickock, Calamity Jane, Potato Creek Johnny, among so many others were buried.) It was really interesting and also a good hike. The cemetary is on a hill, and is quite a bit of walking. We really enjoyed it.

Here is a slideshow, be sure and click so you can read the captions about the photos. If you want, you can go to the photo page and view instead: (Mount Moriah Photos).




After, went to the crab legs and prime rib buffet at the Silverado, and ate too much. It was quite tasty! We walked for quite a while, stopping in various stores to look around and casinos where I played a whole $2.00 on the nickel machines, and then headed back to the motel. Tomorrow, up bright and early to peddle....

More Wyoming....

Good morning!

I am writing posts ahead of time and having them post over the next few days, as we will be taking Brooklyn home this weekend :-( It will be so quiet around here! So , anyway....I mentioned that I would write about Register Cliff and the Oregon Trail Ruts. My mom and I took the kiddos out there to see these. Wow, those places have really changed and been upgraded since my childhood. Anyway, it was interesting to them to hear about the Wagon Trains and people that traveled in them, seeing where they had traveled and where many had written on the cliffs. While out and about, we also saw the obstacle course that the Army National Guard uses for training, the river, the walkway, and many other things as well. I enjoyed seeing this all through the kids' eyes and hearing their comments.


We also spent some time in Hartville, of course. John and his brothers helped finish up the chain link fence around his mom's house, and we also did some other chores as well.


We enjoyed spending time with extended family, and especially our parents.

For a complete view of photos from our week, click here: Vacation Photos.

Thanks for listening!

That Blasted Jackalope

W-e-l-l.........Dubois has the "giant jackalope" that you can sit on and take your photo at a gas station there. Here are photos of the kids on this jackalope:

For those of you not in the "know"...and my blogger friend, JoJo: this is what a jackalope is:

The jackalope—also called an antelabbit, aunt benny, Wyoming thistled hare or stagbunny—is an imaginary animal of folklore consisting of a cross between a jackrabbit and an antelope, goat, or deer, which is usually portrayed as a rabbit with antlers. The words jackalope and antelabbit are portmanteaus.

It is possible that the tales of jackalopes were inspired by sightings of rabbits infected with the Shope papilloma virus also known as Epidermodysplasia verruciformis, which causes the growth of horn- and antler-like tumors in various places on the rabbit's head and body.^[1] However, the concept of an animal hybrid occurs in many cultures, for example as the griffin and the chimera. Indeed, the term 'chimera' has become the categorical term for such composites within the English language.

Anyway, outside of that gas station, is a plastic or fiberglass or whatever jackaope as well. Of course, the kids wanted their pictures on it. Here are some of those photos along with a couple from the original jackalope inside as well:



Well, I thought, hey, I should get my photo up there too. So, I start to climb up, thinking I could flip my leg over just like getting on a horse. (Which, by the way, I have never ridden...so why in the heck would I think I could hop on this in that manner??) I must have been thinking I was very nimble and in shape..but ........I slipped and started falling. I knew I didn't want to fall on the barrier around the bottom of the jackalope, as it was wood...railroad ties, I believe, and that would hurt! So, I was trying really hard to maintain my balance and NOT fall....and I felt like I was flailing around in very, very slow motion. (Later they told me it looked like slow motion as well....!) Anyway, I finally lost it and landed in the highway...right in the lane of traffic (which I didn't even realize)...and head first. Ouch! I banged my head so hard! John and Tina drug me off the roadway, and immediately I had this huge bump on my head. It was horrible. But, I remembered that if you get an outward bump, that is what you want for a head injury...ouch, though! John said, I'll help you get back up for your picture. I said, I didn't care about my picture anymore. He said, Oh, I'll help you, so I got up on there, very very shakily. I got my photo, and grimaced thru my smile....


I don't even like the picture...ugh. But, oh, well, I got my picture on that evil, horrid, blasted jackalope. We went home where I sat around with an ice pack on my head all afternoon. I didn't feel sleepy, but John watched to make sure I didn't sleep. Who could sleep ... it HURT! Anyway, I had this huge bump on my head, and thought maybe I was elephant man or something. It progressed swelling some and I then became 'cro-magnum' man for a couple days. On the night of the second day, my eye had some slight purple around the side when I went to bed. When I got up in the morning, I had one heck of a black eye...and I mean one heck. Not to mention that I still had this bruising big old bump on my head. Good grief...I was a sight! Here is a slide show of the injuries: (as if you wanted to see these)....



Let's see, I am actually writing this post on Wed, July 29. This is the first day I have worn any type of eye makeup...I still have a purple half circle under my eye. I still have some purple lines on my eye. My head still has a bump and is bruised. I get a headache every so often, because I start stressing about it...wondering those what-ifs....I mean the story is funny, but there are a lot of tragic stories out there. I was lucky. No more riding strange animals for me....

Alvin and the Chipmunks

I forgot to mention the other family we visited while we were in Dubois...Alvin and the Chipmunks. This chipmunk family lives in Tina and Adam's yard. Ah, so cute....the little creatures are fairly tame....and seem to go thru a lot of food. We know, we know, they are not pigging out, they are hoarding it for winter.

Watching through the window in the sunporch...
Alvin?

Watchers....Sophie and Chloe

Yummy...

They were awfully cute, and in the mornings, I could look out my bedroom window and see them scampering around out there in the mountain beauty.

Vacation Part 2

After a day at home after our trip to Dubois, we headed to Guernsey/Hartville to visit our parents, which are Chloe and Brooklyn's GREAT grandparents, of course. (GREAT in many, many ways, that is!) Brooklyn loves to fish with his great grandpa. Chloe got to fish for the first time with them as well (last year she went, but just kinda hung out for a while). They had a blast.

They were surprsingly patient and enjoyed the area as well as the fishing. We could see the fish jumping in the lake as we watched. There were campers and other fisher"people" around to see as well. Chloe got to help reel in Great Grandpa's big carp....
and it didn't even scare her. She didn't mind touching worms either...but drew the line at the slimy moss that was on the line a couple times! (I can't say I blame her, although I bucked up and took it off for her!

Brooklyn caught two carp! (We didn't keep any carp, but it was fun for them to catch them...) and was proud because he "outfished" Great Grandpa...although Great Grandpa also really caught two because he also caught a "shad", which is a small fish about the size of a big minnow! (He must have snagged it reeling in..but it was so funny to see that tiny little fish on his line. :o) )

Awww...contentment...they had a lot of fun fishing. We had a full heart just being there with them. Who can resist these faces?




Coming soon---Register Cliff, Oregon Trail Ruts, Hartville, and more....
Also Coming soon---That Stinking Jackalope....

Vacation

We were able to take Chloe Bean and Brooklyn to visit Tina and Adam in Dubois last week. We headed out of Nebraska on Friday and came back on Tuesday. We had a wonderful time there. We got to see some wildlife, only not nearly as much as when we visited in April. We drove over to Yellowstone for a day, and saw Old Faithful and the National Park. We visited Jackson Hole. We saw Sinks Canyon near Lander. We had a blast. We enjoyed the mountains and the fresh mountain air. We enjoyed the scenery. We loved seeing Tina, Adam, Ruger and Sophie. The kids loved every minute. I think they loved being at their house just as much as the sites and places we saw. They loved climbing the rocks near their back yard, going out and finding rocks, hanging out with Tina and Adam (Brooklyn sang the song "Adam's Number 1" several times), and they said Tina was the best auntie ever. Chloe was quoted as saying "This is the best time of my life". She is 5. We made many wonderful memories. I can't cover all we did in my post, but you will be able to catch up with the photos. Later in the week, we went to visit their great grandparents...I will write about that part tomorrow. I will post the link to all of the photos soon, I have a few more to put on. But, here are a couple to see from the first leg of our vacation in the meantime.

I'm Back....

....from visiting family and seeing sights with our two grandchildren. Back from learning all kinds of things like "the dinosaurs are instinct, grandma!" and "we are sleeping in sleepover bags" and "a lamborgini can go over 200 miles per hour" and "we could just teleport over to Tina's house and we'd just be there" and so much more...so I have lots of stories to tell...lots of blogging fodder to share! Meanwhile, just look at this innocent giant jackalope....I am telling you, it's evil...purely evil....


(story to follow...)

It was fun!

We had a great time visiting in Wyoming over the holiday weekend. I will write more as the week goes on.

This photo shows just part of the fireworks we all had in Hartville..yikes!

Hope you all had a great time too!

Update

As I mentioned, we drove my mother in law to Denver for doctor appointments last week. We had some really bad weather on the way going and coming home! We were lucky, though it was ahead of us both times, but on Wednesday, we did spend some time running from the hail and tornados!

A view of the clouds ahead of us on Wednesday

Hail on Roadway Near Minatare 6/10/09

It was not a good day to travel it seemed, but we actually didn't get any hail damage, and only dealt with the rain mostly. Whew!

Memories from last weekend...

I finally got my pictures uploaded from the trip to Wyoming last weekend where we attended our nephews graduation. We really enjoyed being with family, wish there had been more there. We got to finally meet some great nieces, and believe me, we fell in love with them...such little cuties! We had such a nice visit with all, and enjoyed the graduation ceremony and reception, too.

Weekend Memories

We sure enjoyed our visit with our folks this weekend! We don't get to go do that nearly often enough. We spent the day Saturday with my folks in Guernsey. We got there mid morning. It was rainy there, just like at home! We called my sis, and we all went out for lunch. It was yummy, and we had a nice visit there too. The place we ate at is a place I worked at in high school...with many changes and renovations since then! We enjoyed just visiting at my parent's home all afternoon, and my mom made some of my hubby's favorite foods for supper...fried chicken and cherry pie! My sister came over for supper, too, and we all visited a while, which was really great..I enjoyed it all so much! Then, as I posted, we watched that movie (Disturbia) ...yikes!~ Sunday morning, I went to church with my mom...you probably remember how much I love my "hometown church", right? And, I did enjoy being there again. John had headed up to Hartville to visit his mom, and I went up after church. During the course of the day, we got to see and visit with three of his brothers and some of their kids, too. It was so nice. Of course, got more good food up there, pork chili, fresh tortillas, etc., and later, caldo (a soup). We had such a nice visit with everyone. Click on the slideshow below (click on lower left corner to view captions) for a small slideshow of memories of the weekend!

A Review of the Trip

Hello. I am back from our trip to Omaha. We got home last night, and I am a little tired today...but sure did have a good trip. We not only learned a lot of wonderful new things, saw a lot of great gadgets and fun tips and tricks, but renewed our vision and love of technology. It is great to be with these people, to hear what others are doing, and network with so many wonderful new friends. It was also great to travel with my friend, S. We always have a good time together, and I do enjoy her company so much! S and I attended a workshop on Wednesday all day ahead of the NETA conference, so we got into Omaha on Tuesday.

Our rooms at the Embassy Suites were completely amazing, and the people working there were all so accomodating! It was such a treat to stay there. I thought, wow, I must be a "hick from the sticks" to think it was so great and that all the amenities were so amazing, but I think everyone felt the same way! Not only did they host a manager's reception each evening, they also had a wonderful made to order breakfast, in addition to a state of art workout room, I loved the treadmills! I took a bunch of pictures (click to view in photo albums)...so I am putting the slideshow on here...



We enjoyed dinner on Tuesday night at a recommended Mexican restaurant, called Azteca! It was very yummy! Wednesday, S and I attended a workshop all day. Then, we went shopping right after it ended....I got some really good buys! I have pictures of my shoes and watches on the slideshow! They were really great buys. I got a couple tops as well, and we had a blast. We then went to the Managers reception for snacks and drinks at the motel, while we waited for the rest of our group to arrive. We enjoyed dinner at the restaurant at the motel with them that night. I did get a workout in early Thursday morning...but not much else, other than a lot of walking...so will have to push hard again now...

The NETA conference started on Thursday, and had wonderful keynote speakers and sessions. It was great to learn new things, meet and talk to new and old friends, and connect. That night, we went shopping a bit with K and J before we went to downtown Omaha for supper, where we ate at Upstreams, and it was wonderful.

Friday morning, we attended another keynote address and sessions before we headed out around noontime....we stopped in Lincoln for lunch, and took turns driving home. I was tired, but enjoyed the trip. I am glad to be home...sorry this post is so long!

On the Road Again....

I am leaving today for the next few days for a workshop and then technology conference in Omaha. I am sure I will get really smart. Well.....maybe...ha! I will be traveling with my friend, S, and know we will have a good time laughing and talking all the way. I love my friend. I got out my suitcases and Sissy has been latched onto me ever since. She wants to go with me! Poor baby. She has to stay home and watch out for Sammy and my hubby. I will post from our motel, which looks like it will be awesome, brand new.

This week I celebrate for my sisters' birthdays, J and J! (We all have J names!) One had a birthday the 19th and one today, 21st. They don't read my blog, but Happy Birthday to them! Have a great day!

Favorite Photos from our Trip

Best Friends

KING

King #2

Which is your favorite? Mine is the first one, Best Friends.....

Big Horn Sheep In Wyoming

I will post a link to my pictures after I get the captions done.

Last Week

I think Sammy mentioned to you all that I had gone on a road trip. My friend, S, and I went to Kearney for a workshop. It was a good workshop, and driving with her is always a lot of fun. We seem to find lots to talk about. I enjoy the time together!

Anyway, since I usually post pictures of our food, I wanted to post our meal for you. (This is largely due to the fact that we dont' have any fun places to eat here at home!) We ate supper at "The Venue" which is at the Holiday Inn there. MIND YOU, we did work out at our motel first! (Aren't you all proud of us???)

We both ordered the same entree:

(Seafood Rosetti ...I think that was the name!) The grilled salmon was to die for!

We shared a dessert....some kind of wonderful cheesecake...(NOW REMEMBER, we had worked out.... and we SHARED!)

For my drink, I had a wine flight...I tried a Pinot Noir flight. It was quite tasty. Not too much wine, so I was good on that one!

We also attended this big purse fair. We were really excited and had a lot of fun picking out new purses. Purses seem to be my downfall lately. My husband said "another purse"???? Oh, well, I didn't have one this color. Don't you love it???

About the Trip--#2

When we were getting ready for our trip to Arnold, the nice guy that went with us kept asking me if they had a workout room. This is mainly due to the fact I give him a bad time about how "buff" I am getting (not!) from my new exercise routine. In addition, he walks several miles a day himself.

So, we checked out the motel website (we didn't stay in Arnold, we stayed in Broken Bow...bigger than Arnold by far, but not big in any sense otherwise).

Yes, it had a workout room. He laughed that it was probably a manual treadmill. I said, no I bet it was a jump rope. It turned out to be a nice room, with two pieces of equipment...a treadmill (not manual) and an eliptical machine. No TV or any extras. The room was mostly empty. The photo to the right is not the actual room....

The funny thing about the room was that in the middle of the wall was a shower. An open shower. No door. No glass. No curtain. Not even a small washcloth to hide behind.Just a shower in the middle of the wall. Straight across from the shower was the outdoor wall...full of floor to ceiling windows!!!

Hmmm....what's up with that? I still can't believe it. And, I'm not lying!

About the Trip...

Happy Tuesday!

I had hoped to get some "real" pictures to add to my post, but they are kinda blurry if I remember right, so you'll have to just imagine that the graphics go along here. My friend, S, and I traveled to a small town, Arnold, in Nebraska to visit their school. Two other guys went as well. One of those guys was an annoying *ss. But, that's not my story. At least not now.

Anyway, we needed to get gas when we got to Arnold. So we found a gas station that said 24 hour service...use your credit card. So, we stop, and I get out with the credit card and the nice guy with us got out to pump gas. I walk around the pumps with the credit card. There is no place to put your card in on the pumps. Finally an attendant comes out and tells me I have to "come over by the buildin'."

Over by the building is a little wood stand that has a machine in it that you have to run the credit card through. Then you have to put in the pump you want to use. The attendant told me to put pump #3 (which turned out to be the most expensive pump---go figure!) Then, you go and pump the gas. After you are done pumping the gas, you go back to the little wooden box and run the credit card again to retrieve a receipt.

That's pretty up-town, don't ya think?

I personally think it would have been just as fast to go inside and pay. And, I was thankful that we were not there at night when there was no attendant to tell us what to do! I am sure the people in their town have probably figured it all out....but for us "city folk" (which we really are NOT)...it was quite the ordeal.

You may remember my recent gas station experiences, including the one in Grand Island, among other times. I truly do feel that I am "gas station impaired"!! Where is Goober when you need him?

Tomorrow--the modern day motel workout room.