New Addiction...

I have a new addiction. The Stumble Upon extension for Firefox is beyond fun. You designate areas of interest and when you feel like surfing, you simply click on the Stumble toolbar icon. It takes you to a random site that fits one of your interests. I have found so many cool new sites! Love it!

Perfect day...

Yesterday was a perfect day (other than the fact that I had to work).
The weather was glorious. Temperatures were down 30 degrees from a few days before. You could actually breathe outside.
After work hubby and I played golf, ate at the local Dairy Shoppe (drive-up sandwiches and soft serve ice cream - you know the ones), shot my bow (a new passion of mine), and sat out on the deck until I got cold. Yes, COLD!
Hope your evenings were as relaxing as mine.

Chick Trip 2005 Report...

The Chick Trip was great (as usual)! It is always great to spend time with friends.
Galena was very cool. For those who don't know, Galena has been restored to its original 1800's condition throughout downtown and the oldest sections of housing around the river. The entire downtown is made of quaint shops squeezed in side by side along a narrow road that is BUSY! There were hundreds of people on the sidewalks checking out the antique stores as well as the other very unique shops.
The house we rented was unbelievable. It was decorated with a lodge-style flair, complete with antique skis, snowshoes, and deer hides. It had five bedrooms, five baths, family room, deck with grill, screened porch, and a fantastic kitchen.
The Friday canoe trip was not our best, I must admit. We are more into the launch, float, steer, and drink type trip. This one was a 10 mile trek down a river with NO CURRENT. It was blistering hot (as our sunburns attest) and we paused under trees lining the river often to try to stay cool. They took us five miles upriver to the launch point, so at the half way point of the trip we were back in Galena and were able to take a break and stretch. All in all, it was a 6 hour river adventure that left us with sore muscles from 10 miles of paddling, nasty sunburns, and complete exhaustion. We all collapsed after showering up back at the house and slept through until Saturday morning.
We lazed on Saturday morning but then all decided to go shopping. We walked the downtown all afternoon and then ate dinner at Fried Green Tomatoes. It was GREAT! Absolutely sumptuous food and the BEST service ever. After dinner, we went on a ghost walk. The guide runs a bed and breakfast in town (Annie Wiggins) and made the walk a lot of fun. Most of it was basic Galena history, but there was enough murder, suicide, and ghost tales to make it really fun.
It was all over too quickly! The countdown to 2006 has begun!

New car!!

I did it. I traded in my much-beloved Grand Am on a silver 2005 Impala. It is much bigger, yet gets better gas mileage. Rides and drives like buttah. (It does need a spoiler though - can't let go of the sporty thing).
Most importantly - it merges. I can't stand a car that "thinks" about it before accelerating. I'm all about the MERGE!
Also highly important to me is the butt. Car butts have distinct personalities. Some are really UGLY! The rest of the car can be completely adorable, but throw a bad butt on it and it's ruined. Impala's have an AWESOME butt! Even without the spoiler, the butt is fantastic. With one - well...need I say more?
Part of the car butt effect is the tail light. Some have evil looking tail lights. Some have dopey sappy looking ones. If you have never noticed, start looking at tail lights like eyes. Eyes say a lot about a person and tail lights give cars a human look. Love the tail lights on the Impalas. Some of my all time favorites.

Chick Trip 2005...

Well, it's time once again for our annual Chick Trip. We leave on Thursday morning. Last year we went in August and this has caused some problems this year. Paula won't be joining us - despite some VERY strenuous persuasive tactics. She has just sold her house and is dealing with kids coming home after being with the ex for a couple of weeks. She just doesn't feel like she can go and while we understand, it just won't be as much fun. Who will marvel at the amazing freezing technique of Smirnoff's? Who will cry just because you are?

This year we are headed to Galena. We've rented a beautiful house and are planning to canoe the Galena River. This river used to be called the Fever River. Through some miscommunication back in the early stages of planning this trip - it was thought that we would be canoeing the BEAVER River - which all thought to be appropriate.

Another year older...

No, not me. My kids. Jacob turned 17 yesterday. In a few short days. my other three have birthdays.
My oldest will turn 21 on the 18th. The twins turn 13 on the 18th. That's right! Three out of four children were born on the same day.
Shit. I'm getting old. No little kids left.

Feeling summery...

I was feeling summery today, so decided to redo my template and create a banner with all of the things that make me think of summer. Hope you all like it.
Have a fun and safe July 4th!

Scary week...

One of our twins gave us a scare this week. He plays life field for his JH school team. During the game on Tuesday. he had a high fly ball completely miss his glove and hit him in the chin.
His four bottom teeth were pushed back with the worst one clear back under his tongue. Emergency room here we come!
The oral surgeon finally showed up at 11:00 pm and pulled them back to where they belong. yes! Physically pulled them forward. It was killing him, but Jordan was such a trooper! Mom was about to pass out, but he was awesome!
The dentist bonded the teeth together to make them stronger while they heal.
They gave us a script for Tylenol 3, but Jordan hasn't wanted anything for pain. He says it doesn't hut. the lip is still swollen, but he really looks good considering.
Last night here was another game, Yes, he played. I was torn between not wanting him to be afraid of the ball and wanting him to protect his face. I really held my breath during a foul ball.