Gerben says what?

Want to see Mom?

2011-03-20T16:03:00.001-05:00

Wearing her old high school cheerleading uniform

Spring brings new life, new beginnings!

2011-03-15T10:33:00.002-05:00

Hello cyber world! I hope that life is treating each and everyone of you well!

As for me and my family, it seems that life is going well. Very well!

The extended family, mom, dad, sister & in-laws are all doing well. Mom has had surgery 0n her foot & will be having the other foot done come the 1st. Nothing major, just fixing some toes.

Little Sister is all fat belly and her and baby are doing well. Due date is May 10th & we can't wait to welcome our new little bundle of joy into our family!

Both of my little ones are starting softball. Lil Bit is playing T-Ball and her and her team are so cute!

Attila is playing coach pitch this spring. She played coach pitch summer ball last summer. That was an experience!

Ms. Hara is driving. Yep, she has her license and she is on the road!!! It's easy to make all the teenage driving jokes, but she really is doing a great job of showing up how responsible she can be. Also, she is getting all this college stuff in the mail, all the time. It just seems impossible that she is old enough for all this to be happening!

Red is working hard. He spent a whole lot of time on Oklahoma City last year. We missed him and spent a lot of time driving back and forth to see him, but it was worth it. Right now he is in town and working local. YAY! This could change by the fall, but only time will see.

And as for me. Well, it seems things are looking up for me. I hope. After working evenings at a local hospital for the past 3 or 4 months, I was offered a position at a pharmacy with daytime hours!

It's a little scary to think I'll be working with drugs, but I'm more than ready and willing to take this on! It will mean better hours, I'll be able to go to the little one's ballgames, better pay and right now the only downside I can think of, is I'll have to drive to Tulsa again. It was nice only driving into Sapulpa every day for work and with gas prices, it was better on the pocket book. But it means spending more time with my family so the extra miles really won't matter.

So yeah, things are going well. Life seems really good. I'm ready to face this new adventure head on!

HELL YEAH!!!

Waiting......

2011-03-08T22:22:00.000-06:00

2010/2011

2011-01-08T19:26:00.002-06:00

Wow, so it's been a really long time.

2010 was a strange and trying year for me and for my family. Oh it was nothing major life death's in the family or anything. But work was hard, and family life was kind of tough.

I think, I hope, I pray that I have finally found a place that I can call my "work home" for a while.

I've been working for a small hospital as the unit secretary in the evenings. It's really great because my sister works there as well doing the exact same thing only she works weekends.

Oh yeah! Lil Sis is pregnant with baby number 2!!! So happy and excited for her and her family!

But as far as work goes, it would be perfect if I had day time hours. It's closer to home, no more driving the turnpike every single day and my gas bill is cut in half!

Then there was Red working & living in Oklahoma City last year.

For 10 months the kids and I would drive to OKC every weekend to be with him. It was not a lot of fun, but it was what we had to do for the time being.

Right now he is home. It's nice, but with me working evenings, we still find it hard to spend much time together.

But again, just doing what we gotta do until something better comes along! (Hopefully a day shift at the hospital!)

Mom is doing great! I'll have to spend some time and get a few new pictures up of her. It's amazing really.

She weighs around 120lbs & wears a 4/6! It's crazy! =)

The kids are all doing well. Little Bit just turned 6 in November, Attila will be 8 next month & believe it or not, Ms. Hara is 16!!!

I hope I am able to get back into my blog. I've really missed it, but I have had little to no time to even think about things to blog.

So here's to a GREAT 2011!!

Spring time & stuff

2010-03-27T09:53:00.002-05:00

Hello.

I hope that you all are doing well.

Myself? Oh, I'm doing OK.

Life could be better, but it could be worse also.

Remember that whole "What do you want to do with your life" question? I think I know what I would LOVE to do, but I just don't know how to make it happen.

I would love to be a VA. Virtual Administrator. I just don't know how to charge for my services. What is fair for everyone? I already have at least one client & I would love to take it slow. Just a couple of clients at first and build from there.

How awesome would it be to work from home?? To be able to make my own hours and have more free time to spend with the kids!!

So I'm still going to do some research. See if I can't find some people to talk to about this type of work. Surly there are other VA's in my area.

Now, there has been a request of two for an update on mom.

I'll see about getting some new photos and giving a full update next week. But for now know that she is doing GREAT! She is now a tiny little shadow of her former self and is really enjoying going clothes shopping!

So I'll catch up with you all soon!!

Life is tough sometimes

2010-03-03T20:51:00.002-06:00

I'm sorry for being gone so long.

I'm sorry my last post was so short and bleak.

I feel like I need to tell you all that I am OK. But on February 11th, a friends 12 year old daughter was struck by a truck and killed.

It was a tough week, but I can't imagine what kind of hell my friend has been going through.

Along with that, we have had some life changes of our own. Red is living and working in Oklahoma City. He had been coming home on the weekends, but now he is unable to. I've gone up a time or two for visits & this weekend will be the first time I take the kids to see him.

His company has set him up in an apartment so he has his own place.

Then, because I've taken a large pay cut, we got rid of the Durango. I was sad. I loved that thing. But now we don't have a car payment & that helps out a lot.

Then there is the whole "What do you want to do with you life" thing.

Red keeps telling me to find what I want to do, what I REALLY want to do, and go for it. Only, I don't know what I want to do.

So for now I'm feeling a little lost. I guess I just really need to pray on it and leave it in God's hands.

So here is to an end to my long absence.

I've missed you all sooooo much!!

Life sucks.....

2010-02-18T22:53:00.000-06:00

Then you DIE!!

Roll with the punches

2010-01-19T18:31:00.002-06:00

Well tomorrow will make a week since I started my new job.

I love the job.

I love the girls I work with.

The pay is not great.

And it's temp so that kind of sucks too.

But it's experience in a medical office & who knows! It could lead to something wonderful in my future.

It's amazing that even though right now Red & I are facing some difficult times, it feels as if we have never been closer.

His company has put him up in his own apartment in OKC. I went up and visited him this past weekend.

It seems weird, but much better than him living out of hotels.

So yeah, that's about it. I'm exhausted & can't really focus right now, but I want to get by & visit you all! If not tonight, very soon!!

Sleep well my blogger buddies. :)

OH HAPPY DAY!!

2010-01-12T10:26:00.001-06:00

I got a job!!

I start tomorrow!!

And it's in the medical field!!

YAY!!

Fax resume, pump some iron, run some miles

2010-01-11T08:18:00.002-06:00

HELLO PEOPLE! :)

So I guess the last few posts have been less than fun. Life really is not THAT bad right now.

Red is working in OKC. He just left this morning to furnish his apartment. It seems kind of odd. Him packing up stuff to move into another place. But it's just so he doesn't have to live out of hotels. His boss did his very well. Company truck, furnished apartment & a small raise. And the apartment complex? Sounds amazing! Workout facility, two indoor pools and tanning beds! LOL, I think I'm going to go stay with him in OKC!

As far as my job hunt goes, it's going. I've had a few interviews. A few I feel just so so about. A couple I would LOVE to hear back from. Cross your fingers and say a prayer! The good thing is, since Red is doing so well with his job, I can afford to take a pay cut. I'm not excited to, but I can. So who knows? Maybe a dream job will come along & even if it's not the best pay, I could still take it and we would be A-Okay!

Also, since Red stopped smoking last year he wants to try to do a 5K or 2 this year. I'm excited and totally looking forward to it! So this morning I started back on my workout. An hour of weight lifting and elliptical. I HATE the elliptical, but I'll do it anyway. At least until the weather is nicer and I can go outside and run!

That's about it. I have to go now & see if I've gotten anymore bites on the old resume.

Catch ya on the flip side!

If you could?

2010-01-04T09:16:00.001-06:00

So now that I've found myself looking for work I wonder. What do I REALLY want to do??

If you had the chance to start a new career, to do whatever you want. What would it be?

2 boxes

2009-12-22T16:14:00.002-06:00

It's sad to see your 8 1/2 year career reduced to 2 boxes of stuff. Dammit, this sucks.

I have to do something! I have to find a job! It hasn't even been a week and I am already freaking out!

What if nobody is hiring?!? What if I can't find work?!? Red is working & will be working a lot, but I can NOT not work!

Since the age of 14 I've had some kind of a job.

How did this happen?

Where did I go wrong?

And to think, just last Thursday I was telling Goku how if you do good things, if you try to be the best person you can be, if you put out good, then good will come back to you.

What did I do that was so bad?!?

Why do I feel like I'm being tested??

And if I am being tested, why??

Why now?

And what if I fail?

I wish

2009-12-21T08:17:00.002-06:00

I wish you could make a living being a good wife & mother. =/

And I hope that I don't get what everyone else has had around here.

Little Bit, Red, my Mom, my Dad & now Attila is telling me her tummy doesn't feel good.

I need a Christmas Miracle!

Got to watch out for those curve balls.

2009-12-20T15:33:00.002-06:00

I guess I was fooling myself when I noticed the light at the end of this very long tunnel.

Sure I had a bad feeling about it. But I kept telling myself that 2010 was just around the corner & everything was going to be just fine.

By the time I heard the horn, it was too late.

BAM!!

That light was actually a pretty fast moving train & it totally took me out.

I've felt down. I've felt like the world turned it's back on me. Things have not always gone the way I thought they would.

I am now pretty scared. I am worried & wondering what is in the future for myself and my family.

So I'll say a little prayer, wish for nothing but the best in 2010 & hope like hell things work out!

Merry Christmas to my little office family! I'll miss you all like crazy & don't even think that you will get rid of me that easily Mark! You are the big brother I never had & I'm sure we will have many more hunting stories to share!!

Now, bring on 2010! I'm ready! Got my big girl panties on & ready to grab the bull by the horns!!

BRING IT!!!

Hello Interweb!

2009-12-15T11:00:00.002-06:00

I am feeling soooooooooooooooooooooo much better! I can't believe just how out of whack I was. No wonder I wasn't blogging or just generally enjoying life. So very happy to be back to my old self!

Of course I don't have much time right now. I just wanted to check in real fast. Let everyone know that I am better & I have pictures and stuff to post if and when I find some time.

I hope that you all are doing well and I look forward to catching up with you all!

See ya real soon!

Guess I’m not Super Woman.

2009-12-09T15:15:00.001-06:00

Had to go to the doctor yesterday. Depression and anxiety have me tied up in knots.

Hope to be back to my old self soon.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!!

2009-11-26T15:10:00.004-06:00

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and was able to spend it with the people you love!

My Turkey Day has been so very nice. Thought I would share some pix of the kids and dog!

My Goku

Pretty Ms. Hara

LOL, my Little Bit

GUSGUS!!! Man I just LOVE this dog!!

Gummy Bear! Can't believe she is already a year old

Another shot of Gus. My handsome fellow

Attila in a tree

Ms. Hara and Gus. Chillen

Now I'm going to go raid the leftovers!! :) BYE!

ZOMBIE!!!

2009-11-20T10:57:00.005-06:00

The show was great!!

We had SO much fun!

Here are a few pix!

Rob is just amazing & I LOVE John 5!!

So life has been busy.

Attila started basketball and she is in Girl Scouts.

Hara is still working on her book. 17,000 words and counting!!

Little Bit turned 5 on the 11th.

Work has been so busy and stressful. But it's OK.

I still feel down from time to time. Not real sure what that is all about.

Neither Red nor I have managed to connect on the deer front, but my FIL did finally put a doe down with his bow. Tomorrow is opening day of rifle and we will be out again.

I hope that all my bloggy friends are doing OK. I really hope to stop by and visit with everyone this afternoon. Just depends on how work goes!

So have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!!

Being in a funk

2009-11-06T14:07:00.003-06:00

It's never fun to find yourself down. Feeling like poo and wondering if you are even a good person.

That is where I have found myself this week. I've felt like a mountain of crap has fallen on my head and that I can't really blame anyone but myself.

Of course it's not true. Shit happens.

But that is when I start to get all stressed out. Thinking about all the possible what if's and tossing and turning and not being able to sleep at night.

It sucks.

But I'm working to pull myself up and dust myself off. Get back to life as usual.

So..............................................................................................

My thumb is black and blue from closing it in the car door last week. Everyone keeps telling me, "You know you are going to lose that nail right?" Yeah so I've heard. But at least it doesn't hurt anymore. It just looks really bad.

Little Bit had a bad tooth that we finally just had to have pulled. This was actually the start of my stress at the beginning of the week. Wednesday they pulled the tooth and she is back to her old self and feeling GREAT!

Attila bounced back from strep and is doing wonderful! She did drop a few pounds, but she is working to put that back on.

And Ms. Hara is working on a Novel. Yep. A novel.

See, that kid loves to write. All the time writing stories with her friends and writing stories on her own that her friends take home to read because they really enjoy her writing. Then I was reading the Red Neck Diva's blog post about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and it hit me! I bet that my Hara would LOVE something like that!

So I sent the link to her and by the time I got home Tuesday night she already had over 2,000 words. And she just keeps rocken it man! As of last night she had 8,000 words! Now you should know that this thing is suppose to be a 50,000 word novel! She has a long way to go, but she will get there. I have faith in her. And thanks again Diva for blogging about this!

Oh, and also because of the wonderful grades Ms. Hara brought home on her report card, we are taking her to the Zombie concert Sunday night! She is so excited. And I'm getting there too. But a great loud concert might be just what I need to feel like myself again and get back to enjoying life.

2009-10-29T17:57:00.001-05:00

Hello internet. Its been a while. Sorry. Been hunting (still havn't killed anything) then Attila was sick with strep & my baby niece had surgery Monday night. She had a cyst that they had to drain because the doc said it was MRSA. Now everyone is doing better. Oh, but I shut my thumb in the car door this morning & that totally sucked. =( Just wanted to touch base with everyone & let you know I'm not dead.

Still chasing deer

2009-10-21T19:02:00.001-05:00

Now if this big boy would just show himself during the day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVE OF MY LIFE!!

2009-10-14T15:46:00.001-05:00

2009-10-08T18:02:00.001-05:00

Hello interenet. Right now I am setting @ a table at Charlestons Restaurant waiting for the people I work with to get here. It's raining buckets outside & two coworkers are stuck at the airport trying to pick up our boss from out of town. I have no idea how long I'm going to be setting here all by myself & I would so rather be at home right now. *sigh*

Not much time

2009-10-08T09:36:00.002-05:00

BUSY BUSY BUSY!

Cookout is tomorrow!

Looks like cold and rainy weather!

Placed an order for a giant tent just in case!

Have to get tickets handed out and double check the head count!

Must have enough food!

Oh yeah!

And check out MOM!

Have a great day!!

Be vewy vewy quiet

2009-10-06T15:07:00.002-05:00

Miss me?

I've been haning out in a tree!

Don't believe me?

Check it out!

LOL, impressed yet?

October 1st was opening day for deer archery so of course I had to take some time off!

I have not had any luck yet, but the season is still young!

I just didn’t want you all to think I feel off the face of the earth or that my teenage daughter had drove me to the looney bin!

Thank you all by the way for the sweet comments.

Needless to say, work is CRAZY because I did take so much time off.

The end of this week is supposed to be our annual tenant appreciation cookout & wouldn’t you know? They are calling for cold temps and rain.

Oh well. I guess if it gets too wet will move the DJ in to one of the buildings and clear a spot for a dance floor!!

One more thing before I go.

CHECK OUT MY GUS GUS!!
How freaking cute is HE?!?

I know. SOOOO CUTE! :-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!

2009-09-29T12:55:00.002-05:00

I can't believe you have been in my life for 15 years now!

I am so lucky to call you my daughter!
You are goofy and silly! LOL, a lot like your momma!

You make me proud every single day of my life!

Kind and thoughtful!

And just the best big sister EVER!

We can rock out together and talk music all day!

I know that you will do great things with your life!

LOL, even if you do enjoy dressing up like............um,

what are you suppose to be in this picture again?

Sweet and sassy. Fun and silly. Smart and sometimes outspoken!

I love you Goku. Ms. Hara.

DAUGHTER.

((HUG))

And I can't wait to see what is in store for you in the next 15 years!

I know it will be amazing!

Puppy update!

2009-09-24T15:04:00.002-05:00

It’s still very busy around the office. I’m down to 4 days a week (trying to use up some extra vacation time) and then we have our annual cookout coming up along with the every day going on’s I feel like I’m running in circles!

But I do want to give an update on the puppy. First, his name is no longer Pablo. I wanted it to be Augustus. You know, from Willy Wonka. “Augustus stop eating!” because, well he has gotten his appetite back 10 fold. But the kids were not too excited about the name so we settled on Angus. And we call him Gus for short.

He is acting and eating and playing just like any normal healthy puppy! We will still need to give him another worming treatment, but other than that, he is GREAT!

SEE?

LOL, it's not the best picture, but it's the only one I have for now. He was waiting for me to let him back in and I thought it looked like he was smiling so I just had to take a picture!

So that's it for now! I'll try to catch up with everyone soon!

Want to see a new picture of mom?

2009-09-18T11:31:00.004-05:00

Check her out internet!

Total weight lost to date….98lbs!

She had surgery on her shoulder a couple of weeks back and she is going in on Monday to have the stitches removed. Other than that she is doing great! And happy as can be!

The other picture I would like to share with you is a rescue puppy we took home on Wednesday. Would everyone please say hello to Pablo (that name is subject to changed).

We are told that he is a full blood French Mastiff (Dogue de Bordeaux). It’s a long story. But our dog Rex passed away I guess close to two years ago now. Then Buddy came up missing. We have our suspicions that the UPS driver might have taken him home with him. He LOVED that dog. But we have found ourselves without a canine companion.

Then we found out that some unsavory guys are living way too close for comfort and 3 weeks ago a house down the road was broken into during the middle of the day.

Because of this Red and I had started to talk a little about getting a new dog.

In the mean time my father’s truck broke down and he was shopping around for a new used one. He found a used truck in Broken Arrow that was well within his price range & so Wednesday my mother went to pick it up.

Well while there this guy had a big old baby of a dog that my mom just thought was the coolest thing ever. She told the man, “That’s the kind of dog my daughter needs!”

So this guy knows a guy who is having some family issues and has two puppies that he really needs to find homes for. Of course we said we would be interested in taking a look. But I have to admit I was shocked at the state of this puppy once we seen him.

Cut to the chase. We end up taking the puppy home. I really don’t know if he had been feed or taken care of at all or for how long.

I do know he was sick and throwing up all night long and he refused to eat or drink anything. I’m not going to lie. I was scared. I really thought he was going to die on us.

But I took him to the vet on Thursday. Found out he has a bad infestation of hookworms & an infection in his digestive track.

I’m happy to report that since then he has stopped throwing up and has started to eat and act like a real puppy.

I know that we are not out of the woods yet, but I don’t feel as if he will fall over dead on us any day.

Now I would love to stay and chat, but I have to get a few things done around the office. I have WAY too much vacation time so I’m going to have to start taking Monday’s off. So less time at the office means less time to visit. But it’s all-good.

You just never know.

2009-09-14T12:19:00.000-05:00

Our time on this blue ball can be fleeting. You never know when you will be called home.

I really wanted to write this heart felt compelling post, but I feel lost for words.

Maybe, in some cases, words are not needed. They can clutter and take up space.

Just remember bloggy family & friends, tomorrow is not promised.

Good Bye Aunt Linda. I’ll always remember how happy & full of life you were. Seeing you ride around Kellyville on that pink scooter. LOL, you were loud and funny and you made me smile and laugh right along with you. Oh my goodness I remember setting around listening to you tell stories and the crazy things you would do. I’ll never forget that laugh. As big as the whole outdoors.

You were one crazy lady.

And you will be missed, but never forgotten.

Well that was fun!

2009-09-12T17:56:00.000-05:00

But there will be no tropical islands in our future. Not now anyway.

Basically Hawaii offered the same deal as OKC. That’s cool, but the cost of living in Hawaii is about 3 times as much. And Hawaii Glass Company came right out and told him that he was probably over qualified for the job. But they want to grow & Red told them to keep him in mind.

So for now I’ll just enjoy looking at pictures of Kauai. Go ahead, do an image search for Kauai Hawaii & tell me that is not the most beautiful place you have ever seen.

Holy Crap!!

2009-09-11T14:05:00.000-05:00

The Hawaii company JUST FREAKING CALLED LOOKING FOR RED!!!!!

How crazy would THAT be?!

2009-09-10T13:37:00.000-05:00

So Red has put his resume and portfolio “out there”. It has gone as far as Hawaii!

No, they have not called.

But seriously! Hawaii?

Talk about a fish out of water!

I’ve never even seen the ocean and the thought of even visiting a place like Hawaii seems unimaginable!

Let down?

2009-09-09T15:42:00.004-05:00

Tuesday has come and gone.

Mom’s surgery went well and she is home resting. I know she can’t wait until it is all healed up and she can use her arm again.

As far as Red’s interview goes. It was fine. They want him. The job is his if he wants it. But it won’t be until December.

I don’t know why I feel let down by that news. Maybe because we were all tied up in knots just anxiously awaiting the interview. Or maybe it was because of all the time and work I put into his resume and portfolio.

For now Red is just waiting. Waiting until his current employer sends him to OKC for work. Waiting to see if he still wants to go with the other company when December rolls around. Waiting to see if any other offers come in.

No matter what, I think that we are all just happy the wait is finally over. I was going broke trying to keep us all entertained and preoccupied!

So seeing how I have all these pictures of Red’s jobs I figure I’ll share some with you.

Platinum Fitness in Tulsa

St. Johns Hosptial and MOB in Broken Arrow
MPSI in Tulsa

BOK Center in Tulsa

Utica Place in Tulsa

Natalie MOB in Tulsa

Collins Hall @ TU in Tulsa

Stillwater Bank in Tulsa

And that's all folks!

TOMORROW!

2009-09-07T15:03:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow is a big day.

Red has a job interview in OKC. It could be a VERY good thing for our family.

Also, my mom is having surgery on her shoulder.

It shouldn't be anything major and she should be home tomorrow afternoon.

But for now, I'm just waiting for today to be over.

I think we are ALL just ready for tomorrow to be here.

Wish us luck!

Where have you been?!?

2009-08-31T16:50:00.001-05:00

I know, I know.

But there might be changes in our future.

Like WOW that is good kind of changes.

I’ll probably know sometimes next week.

Well actually I will know something next week.

It has to do with Red and his work.

He keeps telling me not to get too excited.

And I’m trying!

Really I am!

I just love him so much and want him to have everything that he deserves.

So next Tuesday @ 9:00 am.

It’s going down!!

OH CRAP I almost forgot about his truck!

The kid who was working on it said there was nothing wrong with it.

Gave it a complete tune up & only charged him $100 bucks.

But of course if next Tuesday turns out as well as I hope it does, the truck won’t be an issue.

Fingers crossed and prayers sent!!!!

I can see clearly now the rain is gone!

2009-08-21T14:53:00.002-05:00

Ah, yes. Life feels almost comfortable again. I still have not heard anything about Red’s truck, but I kind of thought the guy would wait until this weekend to take a look at it. Besides, after looking at a couple of mid size trucks on line, Red was not so excited about getting into a long term commitment with a new vehicle.

My babies seem to be doing OK. Even Little Bit. No more rocks in the ear for that girl. Attila seems to be enjoying school. Although I can already tell she is going to be the child that will put off homework until 5 minutes before the bell rings the day it’s due. Ms. Hara has changed her schedule around. She seems very happy with the new arrangement. I’m guessing that it’s because she has more classes with her friends now.

Yep, all I want out of this weekend is peace and quit. That and maybe a little bit of time to go out and shoot my bow.

*Words of Wisdom*

*People who fly into rages make bad landings.*

Is it safe to come out?

2009-08-20T09:57:00.002-05:00

LOL, I say that half joking. But I did announce this morning that today was NOT going to be a bad day.

So far, it’s all good.

Now as for Little Bit.

The doctor said that SOMETHING had been in there because it was inflamed & there was dry blood. He wanted her to go ahead and take a round of antibiotics & he also sent her home with some ear drops we use 3 times a day to help with the swelling. She has not been complaining about it and is not running a fever. So fingers crossed!

As far as Red’s truck goes, I don’t know what is up with it.

He said that it just died while driving in to work. It would not start again. He went down and rented a tow dolly & by the time he got back to the truck, it started right up. He took it to a guys house that worked on it for him last year. And wouldn’t you know it, it started up again at this guys house.

Maybe that’s a good sign?? Maybe it means that whatever is wrong with it it’s not anything major?? Could be, right??

It’s just that neither one of use really want to get into another car payment. My car & his truck are both paid for. We make payments on the Durango and we just really don’t want to add to the bill pile. Actually I would be over freaking joy-ed if we could just get all of our little things paid off and never finance another thing EVER! I don’t know if that is possible, but I would like to NOT add to our debt with another car purchase right now. I guess we’ll see what happens!

So.....

2009-08-19T18:49:00.002-05:00

Got a call yesterday afternoon from the school nurse.

Little Bit had put a rock in her ear.

So I got up early this morning to take her as a walk-in to the Okemah clinic.

On the way, Red calls. Says he truck just DIED on him.

Arrive at clinic. They are not accepting walk-ins on Wednesdays.

At this point, I was ready to freaking cry.

Take Little Bit to the ER.

Finally get her in to see a doctor.

No rock. Lots of blood and nasty in her ear.

Red gets truck dropped off at a guys house who will take a look at it for him.

Little Bit was given ear drops & meds & sent on her way.

I've been locked in the house.

Almost afraid to go out for fear of what else might go wrong.

As of right now, I have the ringer turned off on the home phone, I've had a couple shots of rum & I just want to tune out the WHOLE WORLD!

*sigh*

Ever have one of those days?

2009-08-18T12:54:00.001-05:00

No matter what you do, you still manage to screw it up?

I hate to bitch because one super great good thing did happen. I was so relieved when I noticed this morning that it almost made the fact that I left my lunch setting on the bar at home (D’oh) no big deal.

So I had brought Little Bit in with me this morning because Mom had a doctor’s appointment. Come to find out she had a flat tire so she went to the house and got my car. No big deal. I’m glad that we have the extra car for times like this.

She shows up to take Little Bit into school & I give her the key to the Durango & told her to go ahead and take it & leave my car with me.

After she leaves it hits me. I left my Pike Pass in the Durango. D’oh!
Then I talk to Red and he has some left over pizza from Stavaston’s that he had for lunch. But I’ll have to take the Pike to get to the job site. D’oh!

So now I’m setting at my desk eating mini Hershey bars out of the candy dish on my desk & trying to just be thankful for my “One good thing” because it is really a good thing & I hate to seem ungrateful. But I still might have a shot of rum when I get home just because I can.

Almost just gave up.....

2009-08-17T15:15:00.002-05:00

And still might.

I don’t know what has happened to me & my blog. It’s frustrating and a little disheartening. I want to write & I want to share, but something keeps me from it.

I almost deleted the whole thing today.

Almost.

But as I was reading the blogs of my bloggy friends I just couldn’t stand the thought of hitting that delete button.

So I won’t.

For now.

Since I’m here I’ll share a few pictures of our first day of school.

It’s really hard to believe that Ms. Hara is now in High School, Attila is in 1st grade and my Little Bit started Pre-K.

Here is my pretty little Attila.

And then Red said he wanted to scare off those High School boys so he took Ms. Hara in on the Fatboy. LOL, I guess those boys know what might answer the door if they come a knocken.
And then my baby, my Little Bit.

She looks so tiny in that picture and I was worried that she might get scared. That was the furthest thing from the truth. Actually we have taken to calling her “Little Momma” because she is there to hold the hand of any child in her class that might be scared or afraid. I really didn’t expect to see that in my baby girl but it sure makes me proud.

Want to see something amazing?

2009-08-05T15:13:00.002-05:00

My mom! Down to 160lbs and still going!

Doesn't she look GREAT?!?

HERE IT IS!!!!

2009-08-02T11:17:00.002-05:00

Lil Sis's pet project!

My Baby's Bag!

http://www.mybabysbag.com/Home_Page.html

Go check it out!

It's still early. She has so much more that will be added as time goes by!

And of course as things are added, I'll post them here so that you can check them out!

Feel free to pass the link along to friends and family that might be interested!

Help us get her web site out there!!

THANKS!

Something on the horizon

2009-07-29T15:23:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone. I know I’ve been MIA. For a while. Sorry about that. You know how life sometimes gets in the way of all the fun stuff.

I promise I’m not just goofing off and ignoring my blog and my fellow bloggers for no good reason.

There is the normal life stuff.

Red’s truck is running again! YAY! End cost was a little over $400 bucks, but it’s running like new and that makes me HAPPY.

Then there is school coming up fast. I can’t believe all three girls are going to be in school this year. Ms. Hara is going to be starting High School and that just seems CRAZY to me. Also, she cut all of her hair off. Check her out!

This is her at her 8th grade dance back in the fall.

This is her now!

Her inspiration was the artist P!nk. And yes, she has it spiked into a mohawk in that picture.

Tomorrow will make two weeks for Red being smoke free! How amazing is THAT?!?

Mom is quickly dropping the pounds! Before long she will be raiding my closet looking for clothes to wear. And happy! Oh my goodness you all should see her. Smiling all the time and just truly happy. It just makes my heart smile.

The other thing is a project I’m helping Lil Sis with.

It’s exciting and a little scary. LOL, more so for her than me. I’m just trying to help out & stay out of the way! We are getting a crash course in putting together a web site. She has done amazing all on her own. I’m not real sure why she thinks she needs my help! LOL, I’m pretty sure that she doesn’t give herself enough credit.

I have my fingers crossed & saying a little prayer that this goes as well as I think it can.

And don’t worry. In another week or so I shall unveil it here for the bloggy world to see! I think that some of you mom’s, mom’s to be, grandmother’s, aunt’s and anyone who has a baby, is expecting a baby or has a shower to attend will find this interesting!

So wish Lil Sis luck and I’ll be updating very soon!!

The verdict is in.

2009-07-16T12:06:00.000-05:00

So my high school friend, we’ll call her Cowgirl and her husband, let’s call him Mcee Dees (because he and I worked at McDonalds together back in high school) showed up Monday night to look at Red’s truck. I swear those two are angels sent to me in my time of need.

Anyway, after Mcee Dees had a chance to crawl around under the truck for a while he found that the transmission cable had a kink in it. That would explain why it seemed “too short” after we tried to hook everything back up.

I’m not sure how it got the kink. Mcee Dees says it was nothing I did and that it was probably already going bad when I started working on the neutral switch. I’ll go with that!

The only down side is that it’s a dealer only item so I can’t buy one at any old parts store. I’ve called a local Chevy dealer here in Tulsa and they have one. $105 bucks! Seems kind of high, but if it gets the truck back on the road and going again, then it’s worth it. Guess I know where I’ll be on my lunch break today.

So let’s see how much this little experience has cost us.

New starter: $150.00
Pay Cousin to put on starter: $ 80.00
Neutral switch: $ 35.00
Transmission Cable: $105.00
For a total of: $370.00!

Ouch! So that’s why my pockets are empty!!!

2009-07-15T12:07:00.001-05:00

Have my head down working away. Happy Hump Day Everyone!

2009-07-14T16:57:00.001-05:00

Give this a go. I am going to try blogging from my fun! Wish me luck!

Hot enough for ya?

2009-07-13T16:05:00.000-05:00

Uh, yeah I don’t really have much to say. Or I guess I just don’t feel much like sharing?

I’m sorry I’ve been such a bad blogger. I’ve found myself over at Facebook more and more. I guess because it’s so easy to do quick updates from my phone. I almost forget that, “Duh, I have a real live blog!”

So I hope that everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! Did you all get out and enjoy the weather, eat some good food and catch some fireworks show?

Let’s see. What have we been up to at Gerben Says What?

We bought a new seat for the Fat Boy. Actually we bought two. Only because the first one didn’t fit.

For 4th of July all the kids were at someone else’s house (Dad’s, Big Momma’s) so Red and I just hung out together. We went for a motorcycle ride lounged around the house. We did go into town that Sunday and had dinner with everyone for Big Momma’s birthday.

Then of course there is that whole thing from my last post. Sigh.

So one Monday morning Red woke up and got ready to leave for work. His truck wouldn’t start. So we figured it was probably the battery and he jumped in the Durango and went on into work.

Well needless to say it was not the battery. But just one quick call to my cousin and we find out that it’s the starter! Great! That’s not too hard.

Cousin puts the new starter on and it fires right up!

YAY!

So the following Monday morning Red jumps in his truck and heads into work. Everything is fine until he stops in town. When he put the truck back into drive it sounds like the starter is trying to turn over again.

Call cousin.

Cousin at first thinks there is something wrong with the new starter.

Take of new starter.

Put on another new starter.

Fires up fine.

Put it into drive and that same horrible, grinding sound comes screaming from under the hood.

UGH!

So now we are told that it’s the park/neutral switch. That seems to be a pretty easy fix. The part only costs $35.00 bucks but my cousin is getting ready to move to California and so I have nobody to help me with this part.

And just as a little FYI, Red hates working on cars. He would pay someone any day to fix his car or truck. And if that didn’t work he would trade it off, take the hit and buy something new.

So being the caring and thoughtful wife that I am I thought to myself, “Self. This doesn’t look so hard. Two bolts & a couple of cables! Shoot you got this girl!”

This girl ain’t got nothing but a major headache!

Red’s words.

DON’T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!

But he said it in a loving way.

He knows I didn’t mean to mess things up. And really, after all that I’ve read and all the people that I’ve talked to, I don’t think it’s messed up in a major way. But maybe more than he or I can fix.

LOL, and you know if it had JUST been his truck I probably would have been OK. But no. Things were bad all the way back to Friday.

Took the day off to get Little Bit in to see the dentist. That’s a story I won’t even get into. Just know that she was not able to see the dentist. Partly because of me and partly because of the dentist.

Since the dentist fell through that’s when I got the bright idea to work on Red’s truck.

Then this morning with Red’s truck still down he went to jump into the Durango and it had a flat tire.

Yeah, the stress finally got to me and I lost it. I cried like a baby.

But really, who could blame me?

Now the tire on the Durango is fixed. YAY! Out of the blue my friend from high school calls me just as I’m losing. She must be an angel sent from heaven because her husband use to be a mechanic in the air force and they will be out tonight to take a look at the truck.

I have my fingers crossed. And, you know, if you feel like crossing your fingers as well, I wouldn’t be apposed to it!

LOL, now aren’t you glad I blogged today?

Feeling Bummed

2009-07-11T20:16:00.000-05:00

Red's Truck is broken AGAIN!

Thought I would be the "great" wife and try to fix it myself.

Think I probably made it worse.

Now I'm sad.

:-(

Summer Fun

2009-07-01T12:06:00.002-05:00

So my mom spent yesterday with Lil Sis and the kids. Wish I could hang out by the pool!

Check out how big Ky is getting!!
Got her hat on to protect her eyes!

Little Bit takes the jump!

LOL, the kids thought that it was too funny when the dogs jumped in the pool with them.

Attila is a pro! Check out her backwards flip! LOL, or something like that.

Because it was requested.

2009-06-29T10:48:00.000-05:00

So how is mom doing? Any updates on mom?

Great, & yep!

Mom is only 32lbs away from her doctor’s goal!

YAY MOM!

She had a bad couple of weeks there. She came down with a bladder infection and her family doctor put her on antibiotics for 3 days. She got to feeling better, but within a day or two she was sick again. So another round of antibiotics, feeling better, then sick again.

After consulting with her gastric bypass doctor she found that because her stomach is now so small, her body does not absorb the antibiotics like it once did. Therefore she would have to be on a 2 week round before she would heal from the infection.

So now she is feeling so much better. Back to her old self & enjoying her smaller body. She is so excited because she can wear a size 14 now and some of those are even too big.

This past weekend they had a big yard sale at Lil Sis’s house and mom sold all of her “fat” clothes. Yeah, it was a good day for her.

One other quick update. Red is doing so well on his attempt to quit smoking. I know he still has a long way to go, but when a pack to a pack and a half smoker can go all day only smoking 3 or 4 cigarettes, that’s a big deal.

Keep it up honey! I’m rooting for ya!

It's summer time in Oklahoma!

2009-06-23T08:39:00.002-05:00

All you Okies out there try to stay cool and drink lots of water!!

Bloggy Random Stuff

2009-06-16T12:54:00.002-05:00

Yeah so I don’t have much to report here at the Gerben front.

I figure I could do some random pictures and babble on about stuff. I’m sure you all won’t mind. Right?

Well first picture is the one and only picture I have of me from the night of the CSI awards. LOL, I heard about it from friends all they way to my MIL on how there were no pictures of me or Red and I together. So one picture is all anyone got so it will have to do!

And if you look down in the corner of the picture, you will see little Minx peeking around the corner.

I’m very happy to report that she is fitting in well with the rest of the family. Oh sure, her and Baloo fight like siblings from time to time. Most of it comes from him setting his giant fat cat butt on her and holding her down. Older brothers are such a pain sometimes.

Here is Minx relaxing on the back of the sofa.

Such a hard life I tell ya!

So on to weather, we have had our share of stormy weather. Nothing too bad in our area. High winds and lots of rain.

Friday while at work we had a pretty nice storm move in. I ran outside and got a picture of the clouds rolling in.

Then that night we had some more pass through. I got a couple of pictures of the lightening at night. Nothing too spectacular, but still kind of cool.

And I guess the last picture we will “show n tell” is this little guy.

We found this little froggy fellow on our back porch. Setting up there were the porch light is at. He set there all day long and then when then sun went down, he disappeared.

And that will end our bloggy random stuff for today!

Just two little stories

2009-06-11T16:04:00.000-05:00

Living with little one’s can be so much fun. The things that run through their minds sometimes.

So I twittered about this when it happened.

Last Saturday Red and I were taking the babies in to meet Big Momma. They were going to spend the night with her and we dropped my car off at the local Wal-Mart to get new tires.

I handed my keys to the tech and told him, “It’s the little green Galant”.

Attila says, “OH! So all little green cars are called Galants?”
ME, “No baby. Mine is a Mitsubishi Galant, but MeMe’s little green car is a Ford.”
Attila, “OK. What is the Durango?”
ME, “The Durango is a Dodge Durango.”
Little Bit, “OH! So we can throw balls at it?”

So now my youngest thinks she can play dodge ball with the Durango.

The other story is from Tuesday. My mom took the little one’s over to Lil Sis’s house so they could work on going through the mountain of clothes and shoes that they plan to put in a yard sale. They end up working on this stuff all day and the whole time they are setting in the garage labeling clothes with price tags; the two little ones are playing in the kiddy pool.

Around 4:00 that afternoon I receive a call at work. It’s my mother and she just says, “Please don’t be made at me.” Of course nobody ever wants to hear those words greeting them on the other end of the phone.

ME, “What?!?”
MOM, “I swear we put sunscreen on them THREE times!”
ME, “What? Are my babies sun burnt?”
MOM, “They are sooooo brown!”
ME, “Are they burnt or are they brown?”
MOM, “They are just soooooo brown, but I swear we kept sunscreen on them all day long!”
ME, “I’ll check them out when I get home mom, but don’t freak. They are little Indian babies after all.”

So when I get home I see my two little ones and they are brown. Very brown, but they don’t appear to be burnt or in any discomfort.

My mother had left some aloe stuff there at the house in case they needed it, so after their bath Little Bit brings the bottle to me and says,

“We have to put this on now or our skin will fall off!”

I’m happy to report that my children still have all their skin and it’s firmly in place on their bodies. My sides hurt however because I believe I may have split them from all the laughter.

Finally Did It

2009-06-08T11:26:00.002-05:00

Just a couple of years ago we lost my Grandmother to cancer. Her name was Nova Mae.

I remember when I was pregnant with Ms. Hara I found the name Nova in a baby name book. I was surprised to see it was a Native American name and it meant Butterfly chaser.

Grandma always loved her gardens and birds and flowers and butterflies and really just EVERYTHING nature.

So I had made up my mind that I was going to get a butterfly tattoo for Grandma Nova.

It is kind of hard to see because it's still so new. But I love it. It's simple and sweet. This is for my Butterfly Chaser. My Nova, my grandmother.

We love you and miss you Grandma! You will never be far from our hearts.

As promised!

2009-06-05T14:56:00.002-05:00

So last night. Let’s just say that it was not what we had expected.

We enjoyed ourselves and I was so proud of Red, my face hurt from smiling so much.
But I got the feeling that CSI is a dying group with its membership dwindling. Sad really. The speaker that was there from Hawaii sounded on the verge of tears a time or two as he spoke about the good ol days.

Except for the somber speech about the future of their organization, the night was light hearted and fun.

So would you like to see Red in a jacket and tie?

Here he is with his righ hand man.
Pictures of the BOK wall as a Flintco Rep talks about what all went into the building of the massive glass wall.

And this is just before Red ran back to his seat so that he wouldn't have to say anything.

And our boys at the end of the night.

So The Summit Club was nice. The food was good and the view is wonderful. I was afraid I would feel out of place, but that was not the case at all. Chances are we will never have another chance to go to the club so I'm thrilled that we were given this opportunity. And it is all thanks to the hard work of my baby. Love you RED! XOXOXO

Tonight is the night!

2009-06-04T14:44:00.002-05:00

Well I'm going to be leaving the office in about 15 minutes or so. Go wash the Durango and head home to get cleaned up for tonight.

I'm getting pretty excited about the whole thing. And I'm so proud of Red I could just POP! I'm going to try to get lots of pictures. I hear The Summit Club is beautiful and the view is breathtaking!

Have a wonderful night & I should have pictures up tomorrow sometime!

Catch ya on the flip side!

So how the heck are ya? Been busy?

2009-06-03T12:00:00.001-05:00

Yeah, I guess you could say that life just got away from me. Or at least it pushed blogger to the back of my tiny little mind.

I was actually going to update last week, but Red was playing Resident Evil 4 on the Wii & as he put it, “I got lots of cool weapons now! Why don’t you play?” He had that look in his eyes that is usually reserved for our kids when they desperately want something. So instead of blogging, I was per pressured into playing Wii.

It was OK. I’m not very good at it & he usually ends up getting frustrated with me anyway because I end up taking Leon (character in the game) around in circles because I get lost easy. Don’t laugh. It’s true! Nobody else I know can be looking for Skiatook and end up in Arkansas. For those out of towners, Skiatook is North of Tulsa. I was heading very EAST! For a VERY long time.

So Mom is doing very well. She is down to 186lbs! The doctor said that he wanted her final goal to be her weighing in at around 140lbs. She is getting so close to that, it’s crazy! She looks good and feels good & I’m just really happy for her.

Our new kitty has settled in well. We named her Minx & her and Baloo are becoming good friends. That is such a relief because that first day he puffed up three times his normal size and charged her. I was a little worried, but by the second day I guess he figured we weren’t going to send her away so he better get use to her being around. I’ve tried and tried to get some good pictures of her but she doesn’t set still for very long. My mom told me the other day that she had gotten some really cute pictures of her & I was all like, “Dude, send them to me because I can’t get the little turd to set still for more than 2 seconds!” Yeah, mom still hasn’t sent me any pictures. Guess she is too busy being skinny!

Summer has arrived. The kids are out of school, but still seem to bounce out of bed bright and early even if we could all just sleep in! Got Little Bit signed up for Pre-K and Attila has graduated to 1st grade. Ms. Hara is officially a freshman! Dang! When did my children all grow up?

It is a little sad to think that my baby is going to be attending school this fall. Well, if she survives this summer. She has entered into the “Why, what, when, where & how phase” of life. I don’t remember the other two being this persistent. Little Bit questions EVERYTHING! I mean I guess it’s not a bad thing, but you can only answer “Why is the sky blue, why is the grass green, how do plans fly?” so many times before you lose it. That and she is always saying, “When I am big like momma” and she follows that with something like. When I am big like momma, I’m going to set in the front of the car, or I won’t have to ride in the shopping cart or I’m going to wear shirts that show my belly. And yes, that last one worries me a little. She could either become a fitness instructor or a pole dancer. I’m crossing my fingers that she finds a passion for aerobics in the coming years. Hey, a momma can PRAY can’t she?

This week we started a new little thing. See before Red and I would get up early during the week & I might go outside and run a mile or two while he rode his exercise bike in the house. Well he has become a bit jumpy about me being out in the dark early morning hours running by myself so he has asked me not to do that anymore. Either that or buy a headlight to wear so he can look outside and see where I’m at. I told him I would think about the light thing, but I’d imagine it would be pretty rough running while lugging around a car battery. (I’m kidding, I’m kidding.)

So now what we are doing is after we get home from work we round up the little ones and we have Gerben Family Walk/Run Time. Thirty minutes walking or jogging with the little ones before dinner and bath. We only started it this week, but I’ve found one really great side affect. The little ones are usually passed out by 8:00. Their bedtime is already 8:00, but with it being summer time and no school we might let them slid a little here or there. LOL, now there is no need! They run and jump and play and get themselves right tired for the night. See? Exercise is good for you! Drop some pounds, get healthy and get a good nights sleep! Hmmm, I wonder if this could be the reason for them jumping up out of bed bright eyed and bushy tailed so early every morning?

I guess the last thing to report on is that Red won another award for the BOK Arena Wall. We have a dinner to go to tomorrow night at The Summit Club. It’s a fancy “members only” dinner club so I’ve been stressing out on weather or not I might eat with the wrong fork or just fart at the dinner table. I figure they would frown on that.

But I’ll take my camera and I’ll try to get some good pictures. I’ll probably Twitter about it right up until we actually go in for dinner. And if I shart (thanks Ace! One more thing to worry about) I’ll be sure to Twitter about it while I hide out in the bathroom.

Here’s to not making a fool out of yourself while in the company of rich folks! YeeHaw!!

The new kitty is home!

2009-05-26T09:05:00.003-05:00

You will have to excuse the look of surprise on Little Bit's face. She had been awake a total of maybe 10 minutes & then momma went and flashed a light in her eyes.

MORE playing in the hair color

2009-05-18T13:36:00.002-05:00

Yep! The little ones have red tips now. And their daddy did his goatee in red also.

Life is short so you should enjoy the little things!

I forgot

2009-05-14T16:45:00.000-05:00

I told you all about my new hair color, but I hadn't showed you yet!

I know. It's still kind of hard to see with the Gerben hat and all. :-)

Another MOM update

2009-05-12T08:45:00.001-05:00

She looks great & is starting to feel more like herself. She hasn't been on the scales, so I'm not sure what the total to date is, but I can tell. It's a lot!!

Hope All The Mom's Out There Had A Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-11T15:30:00.002-05:00

I know. I should be beat with a wet noodle for being such a horrible blogger.

Just a quick update. Mom is doing better. She was under the weather for a while. Thought it was an infection or a blockage in her kidneys. They still hadn’t found out what was going on. She was running a fever and felt tired and run down. After all the tests they have done I’m thinking it was an infection and her body was just having a hard time fighting it off.

She has not gotten on the scales again, but it is so obvious that she has lost more weight. She came over to the house wearing blue jeans. BLUE JEANS! I didn’t think I would ever see that! I’m so proud of her!

Anyway, just thought I would share a couple of pics.

Sunday we did a lot of yard work around the house. This is just one shot of the massive yard we have to mow and try to keep up with during this wet time of the year.

And then just a few quick pics of the kids and Mother’s Day fun!

The cake.

My Little Bit out on the back deck making smarshmellos. You will notice the sticky sweet mess around the mouth and lips.

My super sweet Attila and a couple "Flower" pens she gave me for Mother's Day.

And the brat better known as Ms. Hara. LOL, she did good helping around the yard and just being a good teenage daughter.

That's it. Now I have more work to do. But if I find some free time in the next day or so I'll post pics of the Talon's Game from Saturday night.

KING GERBEN!

2009-05-06T08:33:00.001-05:00

It’s May ALREADY!

2009-05-04T11:07:00.001-05:00

Were does the time go?

Oh well, time flies and all that jazz.

I would say time flies when you’re having fun, but it’s not really been all THAT fun.

Attila ended up with strep throat last week. On top of that she has been having even more tummy issues. I’m afraid she is a little too much like her momma. Worries about ever little thing, holds all that stress in and just let’s it eat her from the inside out.

What, you might ask, does a 6 year old have to stress about? Good question! The only thing I can think of is the thought of 1st grade looming in the not so distant future.

Anyway, we have her on over the counter tummy meds for acid and it seems to be doing the trick. The problem with Attila and her tummy issues? Well other than the obvious one of her hurting and not feeling well? Little Bit started this whole, “My tummy hurts” thing as well.

At first it was simply for the fact that Attila was getting all this attention because she didn’t feel good. But Thursday night was different.

When I arrived home from work she told me her tummy hurt. Red said he had given her a tums. You know, simply to please her for the time.

After getting a hug though, I could tell she was a little warm. I went ahead and gave her some children’s Tylenol and then got them ready for bath time.

She didn’t play like she normally does in the bath and really just wanted to be done so she could get out.

After bath, I asked if they would like a snack. Little Bit chimes in, “Can I have ice cream?” And then puked all over the kitchen floor.

Now it’s Monday, & everyone seems to be healthy. ~knock on wood~

Let’s see. What else? Oh yeah, crossing my fingers that this next weekend is the weekend we get our new kitty. Between bad weather and sick kids, we just have not been able to meet up yet.

I colored my hair yesterday. I had two bottles of PURPLE that I had planned to use, but guess who now has a purple goatee? LOL, well at least now maybe I won’t be the ONLY bad influence on my teenage daughter. Unless……………………………….Maybe I am so awesome that they BOTH are trying to be like ME?!? Mmmmuuhahaha (that’s an evil laugh)

But my hair was supposed to be “Nutmeg” or a dark brown. It actually looks BLACK so now I’m all goth style. Not that there’s anything wrong with goth. I just don’t think it looks that good on me. So now it’s time to get some tan on this poor, white, old skin of mine.

So now I must be off. There is work to do and it’s not going to do itself!

Say What?!

2009-05-02T16:39:00.002-05:00

I received a text from Lil Sis this morning.

LiL Sis:I jst signed up 4 the Rt 66 quarter marathon Aug 1st!! Eeeek!

Me: OMG!!

Yeah, and then a few short texts later guess who agreed to join her?

This could get interesting!

My Mom! The Incredible Shrinking Woman

2009-04-30T08:53:00.001-05:00

Sorry, I didn't mean to leave off her total weight loss to date, I just didn't know! Oops! But I spoke with mom and to date she is down 58lbs!

GO MOMMA, IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY, GO MOMMA WE'RE GOING TO PARTY LIKE IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!

Yes, because I don't have enough on my plate already

2009-04-28T14:40:00.001-05:00

What the heck man!? Twitter? Really?

Yeah, I'm there. But not doing a very good job of it so far.

LOL, hey if you want a good laugh way don't you hope on over to twitter and poke fun at ME!!

http://twitter.com/Gerbensayswhat

Oh that possum!!

2009-04-14T19:45:00.002-05:00

Ms. Hara read my last post.

She went and pulled out her very old, very used copy of Possum come a-knockin.

And read it.

Out loud.

It's actually very sweet. Looking at her little name, printed on the inside cover. Some letters backward and not at all neat. And then, on the very last page, my dad's neat print says, "THE END".

After looking at this, I don't think I could ever part with this copy of Possum.

*sigh*

This, That & The Udder!

2009-04-14T09:09:00.004-05:00

DANG! It's already the beginning of another week!

Well as busy as I've been, I figure I will never be able to post all of my pictures or updates from the past couple of weeks if I do them one post at a time.

So today we get one GIANT post that includes pictures and stories and all that fun stuff! Sound like a plan Stan?

Let's see. I guess I'll start with the Talon's game. March 28th was the home opener for the Tulsa Talon's! Now we love us some arena football and we couldn't wait for the first game of the season. Red wanted to splurge so we got tickets as close to the field as possible. Basically we ended up with nothing more than a foam wall between the players and us! Very cool!

We had such a great time. Red caught a "Joe Momma's" T-Shirt for me, during the middle of the game the guy who walks around handing out goodies and talking to fans walked up to Red and asked him his name. He then gave him some Oklahoma lottery scratchers. They put Red on the big screen and everything! We didn't win anything with the scratchers, but we didn't care!
All Red really wanted was a football. And that night he almost got one. Although I think if he would have caught it we would have been banned for life!

The quarter back for the other team was a guy who use to play for the New York Giants. The Hefty Lefty is what they call him. During one play the QB rolled to our side of the arena and then, in the heat of the moment, Red took a swipe at the football as The Hefty Lefty reared back to throw it! I was struck with horror as I saw Red's hands swinging wildly in the air trying to knock the football free of the QB's hands.

Thank goodness he failed in his attempt to get us black balled from all Talon's games.

But it was a very exciting night. We high fived Swoop after a touch down and clapped and stomped and carried on all night long!

In fact, next month is Talon's vs The Yard Dawgs and we plan on going to that one as well!

So now some of you might be asking, "How is mom doing?"

Very well!

She said that she wanted to document the whole thing so I made sure to get a picture right after they brought her to her room.

Actually, I don't think she looks all that bad. I mean, yeah she has that dang sleep apnea mask on, but other than that, not that bad at all.

And then a picture the day they sent her home.

Setting up in a chair and everything!

She had a couple of really rough days after surgery. Mostly had to do with her bad back. Now she is feeling much better as far as pain goes, but now she is starting to gag on her protein drinks. It's hard when you are limited to what you can eat/drink, but then when those things make you sick to your tummy, you feel pretty miserable.

And just for the record, mom is down 14lbs so far! YAY MOM!

Oh yeah, this is a picture of my sweet little niece & her PawPaw. Ain't she just TOO CUTE?

Moving on...........................................

When Ms. Hara was little she had this book that she just LOVED! It's written by Nancy Van Laan & it's called Possum Come A-Knockin.

It's a fun little read and it goes something like this:

Ma was busy cookin

in the kitchen makin taters

when a possum come a-knockin

at the door.

You get the picture.

Well it seems, we had our own little possum problem. See?

This little possum didn’t wear a top hat and it was not so cute and funny. We found it was living under our house and that is not good.

We already had to replace so cables to the satellite because a critter had chewed threw them. Hmmm, I wonder if it was our little friend?

No matter. It’s gone now. But not before Little Bit asked if we could keep it! She wanted to share her ice cream with it and pet it on its head. EECK!

Our last subject for today.

I guess most of you know last weekend was Easter. It was a busy weekend with dinners and family get togethers.

Sunday night Red pulled out a bag of sour jellybeans and gave the two youngest both a handful.

Then I set back and took pictures.

Oh yeah, check out those faces!

Attila did better than Little Bit.

And right after this picture was taken, Little Bit ran to the trash can and spit them all out!

So that's it. I have nothing else to say! I hope you all enjoy the pictures and our little stories.

GERBEN OUT!!

Exhausted

2009-04-09T12:20:00.000-05:00

Well gee, that was a nice little break now wasn’t it?

First things first.

Mom is slowly getting back to her self. One thing that I don’t think ANY of us thought about was her bad back. Those first couples of days were really bad. She had a very hard time moving around with us helping her and you could forget about her moving around all by herself. She was over compensating for the sore tummy and put way too much strain on her already bad back.

But new pain meds & she is really doing well now. No trouble swallowing her liquids so far. Cross your fingers that she keeps that up.

In the mean time Dad, Lil Sis and I have all been taking turns taking off work and staying with her. And then on the days I am at work, I go in an hour late so I can get the two older girls off to school and leave early so I can pick the two older girls up from school. Little Bit has been coming with me and staying at the office during the day. If I have to eat one more Happy Meal, I’ll puke!

So my hope is that next week mom will be able to move around even more and life will begin to get back to normal.

The other thing is my phone line at home is all but out and since all we have is dial-up, I can’t even get on line. It sucks. Makes me sad. But they should have it fixed no later than tomorrow! YAY! Makes me happy!

I’ve also started working with Lil Sis doing a little part time job. Nothing major. I make enough cash to put gas in my car to drive back and forth to the “real” job. It’s called credentialing and I actually really enjoy it. Takes up a lot of time. Yeah, because I have so much free time on my hands as it is! But I enjoy it and I get to work with Lil Sis. That is a major plus! But I think I might have to actually look into getting a laptop with a broadband card. Because with the dial-up down like it is now, it’s next to impossible to get any of it done.

That’s it. Just wanted to post some kind of an update. I wish I had more time to write. I still have the Talon’s game and pictures to share with you all. And then we had this whole opossum fiasco complete with pictures. And next week is Ms. Hara’s 8th grade prom and Attila has a field trip to the museum tomorrow with her school. It looks like we might be picking up our new kitty around the 25th and please, feel free to continue contributing names. Although I must admit Bleu, I really like Gerbalicious! But every time I say it, I start singing that Fergalicious song in my head! EEEEECK!

I’m the F to the E, R, G, the I, the E. And can’t no other lady put it down like me!

OK

2009-04-02T10:20:00.002-05:00

Well mom went in @ 7:45 this morning. The doc called @ 10:00 & said she is doing fine & it went well. If her pain is OK she could go home as early as tomorrow around 5:00pm.

I'll update more later. She is being moved to a room & we are going to go see her!!!

Tomorrow!!!

2009-04-01T08:29:00.001-05:00

Nervous. Anxious. And a little excited for my Mom.

I’m not sure what time she is suppose to be at the hospital in the morning, but I will post an update as soon as I can.

Name Game

2009-03-31T09:33:00.004-05:00

Well Mom’s surgery is set for Thursday. That means that this is a short workweek for me. Since that is the case I have a lot of loose ends to tie up here at the office before I take off.

Mom is doing fine for now. She is on a liquid diet so she is only able to eat Jell-o, broth or tomato soup. Not much fun, but it just means she is that much closer to getting this done and starting a new way of life. A healthier thinner life!

Now here is the “Name Game” part of my post.

We have decided to get a kitty.

The family has picked out a 6 week old American Bobtail. Same breed as Baloo, but this little girl is the longhaired version and she is what they call a rumpy because she has no tail. This is actually a flaw in the breed, but I like it. Gives her character I think.

And now the debate begins on a name. Red said, “Just call her Rumpy.” But that just doesn’t sound right. So I will leave you, my faithful readers with this challenge.

NAME THE NEW KITTY!

I have no preference so go ahead and toss out any names you like. Her Dad’s name is Einstein and her Mom’s name is Sahara. LOL, how ironic!

Now have fun & let the game begin!

Last act of defiance

2009-03-30T12:19:00.003-05:00

Well old man winter had one last surprise in store for us! At least I hope that was the last we see of him for a couple of months anyway.

I mean, it wasn’t all THAT bad really. We still managed to make it to the Talon’s game. Which, by the way was one of the best games yet! That one deserves it’s own blog all together.

So we woke up bright and early Saturday to see it raining. No big deal. We knew weather was heading in. It was the hot topic all week long.

Red and I took the little ones in to see Big Momma. Even though Attila was still feeling a little under the weather, Big Momma wanted to see her girls & they couldn’t wait to see her either.

By the time we dropped them off and headed back into Sapulpa the snow was coming down and it just seemed to get heavier and the flakes were getting bigger.

We made a quick stop at the local Wally World just to pick up a couple of things.

And actually at this point I was shocked, surprised and completely touched when we ran into a family friend and upon seeing her she said, “Oh hey! I read your blog now!”

LOL, I didn’t know what to say other than, “Thank you” and blush. A. LOT. She was really too kind with her complements and praise. But hey, I’ll take it!

So by the time we finished up and headed for the parking lot the snow was falling so fast and so heavy that it was really starting to pile up. Cars were getting stuck and people were running around with kitty litter trying to help each other out.

Well here. Just check it out for yourself!

This is out in front of Wal-Mart

The Sapulpa golf course
This is about 3 or 4 miles down the road from our house

And this is the dirt road leading to our house

Needless to say we ended up losing power. We got a hotel room in town and spent the night there.

The snow didn’t last long. Just look! This is almost 24 hours later.

And today there is even less sign of the snowstorm. Now it’s muddy and windy and in the mid 60’s.

Oh yes. Oklahoma weather! Ya just got to love it.

Thanks for the well wishes all!

2009-03-26T10:18:00.002-05:00

It’s kind of hard to believe that a week from today Mom is going to be going in for her gastric bypass surgery! Of course, if she hadn’t fallen ill she would have had surgery yesterday. Still. NEXT WEEK?!? I’m excited for her and I know she is very excited too.

So the last couple of weeks I’ve spent a lot of time working from home. Not the best situation, but pretty much my only option since folks in my household can’t stay healthy.

I’m crossing my fingers that we are finally over all the nasty sickness.

Did you hear? We are expecting some crazy weather the next couple of days. We have gone from upper 70’s last week to a winter weather advisory for some areas in Oklahoma. They are talking snow people! SNOW?!? And not just a few soft little snowflakes. Nope, depending on how hard and how fast it comes, we could see anywhere from an inch on up. It’s crazy I tell ya. Just crazy.

I’m hoping that it’s nothing too bad because we do have a pretty busy weekend planed. Saturday is the season opener for the Tulsa Talon’s and we have tickets. And then Sunday there is a large “meet & greet” BBQ cookout for a forum I visit often. There will be lots of folks there that I already know and am friends with and some that I’ve never met in person before. It should be lots of fun if the weather will cooperate.

You know, I’ve had this blog for over 4 years now. Kind of hard to believe really. But I am still looking around at other places to maybe move this blog or start up something new. I’m not real crazy about the idea of starting over again. I’m kind of fumbling around trying to figure out how to even BEGIN if I end up starting over from scratch! How weird is THAT?

Now on a sadder note, our dog Buddy is gone. I’m afraid that we might have a rogue pack of coyotes roaming the area and he may have fallen victim to them.

See we live out in the country. It’s not unusual for they’re to be wild animals around. Deer, rabbits, squirrels, opossums, raccoons and yes-even coyotes. You can stand outside in the early evenings and hear them yelping and calling to one another.

Because we live out in the country we also have our share of abandoned animals. It’s not unusual to come home from work and find a new stray setting outside your house as if they belong.

I feel for them. What can I say? I have a soft spot for animals. I don’t “take them in” so to say, but I will give them scraps to eat or something. I hate to see them suffer but I just can’t afford to take them all in and give them a home.

But anyway, during the past couple of months we have seen less and less of the strays. There was a little brown puppy for a while. There was a small brown dog that the kids just called “Brown dog” and others. And then we Buddy. He was just a mutt. Red picked him up from a lady standing outside of a Wal-Mart with free puppies.

We tried to make him a housedog, but Buddy wouldn’t have it. He loved to go outside and play in the ponds and run and chase some of the small furry critters. You know, rabbits and such. Finally we gave up and just let him stay outside where he seemed the happiest.
Buddy never strayed too far from home. He would go visit my Uncle who lives down the hill from us or he would go across the little dirt road and see the guy and his wife who lived there.

But then one day we woke up and Buddy was gone. We looked for him with no luck. The gentleman who lives across the street came by and asked if we had seen Buddy. He was missing our little black and white fella. He said he would let Buddy into his house sometimes and give him biscuits. Little snacks that he had bought just for Buddy. This guy even drove his truck to some neighboring houses to see if someone might have pinned Buddy up in their yard or something. I mean, he was a great dog. Very friendly, not a mean bone in his body and he had the warmest, kindest eyes I think I’ve ever seen on a dog.

It hurts my heart to think that coyotes may have lured him away to his death.

Buddy dog, no matter where you are I hope that you are feeling no pain and have all the rabbits and squirrels you can chase. We miss you boy.

New Date

2009-03-25T09:27:00.001-05:00

Well we have a new date for mom's surgery.

April 2nd.

Just next week!

I would stay and visit, but I'm kind of busy.

Attila has been sick off and on. I've missed some work because I had to stay home with her.

But she was feeling better this morning. *fingerscrossed*

Have a great day everyone!!

Sunday Afternoon at the Gerben house

2009-03-23T10:08:00.001-05:00

BLOOD! And palm readings

2009-03-20T16:36:00.001-05:00

Well it’s finally Friday! YAY!

Today has been interesting.

I went to the doctor’s earlier today because I was starting to worry that I might have a sinus infection.

I do not.

No fever just lots of sinus pressure and the doctor feels like its just allergies. Well it is that time of the year.

Also today one of our tenants was hosting a blood drive. Just about everyone here at the office signed up to donate.

I use to donate on a regular basis. When Ms. Hara was born she spent a month in the hospital and in that time she received several blood transfusions. After that I was real good about donating whenever I could. Then one time I almost passed out. It was the first time anything like that had ever happened. It scared me. So I stopped. I know, that was not the smartest thing to do.

But in the past couple of years I’ve gotten better about donating. I’ve told our tenants that if they have another drive and it’s been long enough I’ll donate again.

While there a lady came in who clamed to be able to read palms. I don’t know who she was or where she came from, but everyone was excited to hear what she could see by looking at their hand.

Well hell. I’m just laying here with a needle in my arm. Why not.

“You are the one that everyone wants to go to the club or bar with. You don’t mind talking to anyone and will strike up a conversation with anyone. You have fun and enjoy yourself and enjoy the company of others.”

I don’t know, do you all want to hang out with me at a club or bar? LOL, be warned I will probably make you wear a Gerben hat!!

I don’t know. Does that make me fun or just really annoying?

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE AND PARTY LIKE A GERBEN!!!

Reschedule

2009-03-18T08:43:00.000-05:00

Well unfortunately they are going to have to reschedule my mother’s gastric bypass surgery. She officially has a sinus infection.

As of right now we don’t have a new date, but she should know something by Monday. She is understandably disappointed. It is a shame that she had to get sick this close to her surgery date, but we know it’s only a matter of time.

I will post information as it becomes available to me.

For the rest of us, we are all doing much better. I think Ms. Hara is getting bored though. It’s Spring Break and because my mom has been sick since Monday, Ms. Hara has been staying home with the little ones while Red and I go to work. When we get home in the evenings she is so excited to talk to someone, anyone who is over the age of 6 years that she is like a little motor boat talking non-stop for the better part of an hour. LOL, who am I kidding? That kid is always going 90 to nothing! I think it’s her age.

I’m thinking about moving my blog. I’m not sure to where or anything like that right now, but I am giving it some thought. If I do make the move I’ll be sure to post the new url address so anyone who wants to follow me can.

The weather here is beautiful right now. Maybe a little on the windy side, but 80’s with sunshine & bright blue skies. Just wonderful! And Red is feeling so much better; he rode the Fat Boy to work today. LOL, I swear that man is just like a little kid when it comes to his motorcycle. Ah, yes Spring is almost here!

It’s Saint Patrick’s Day

2009-03-17T10:39:00.001-05:00

And I’m pretty sure that folks started the party early on this festive day.

If folks don’t smarten up, I may just be forced to do some drinking of my own.

#1. If it’s SOOOOOO hot you almost passed out TWICE! Then why in the hell did you wait so freaking long to call about the temperature? Did you think the A/C fairy would magically come and adjust the stat for you while you ran to the restroom or something? Please, don’t set and suffer for God knows how long before you finally call to try to figure out why it’s so hot. For all I know the unit on the roof could be busted, but until you call me so I can send someone over to check it out, you won’t be getting any cooler.

#2. I have 13 buildings I take calls for. THIRTEEN!! When you call and say it’s freezing in room 200, don’t get all high and mighty when I ask you again, “Where are you located?” because I have 13 different rooms 200 and I’ll be damned if I’m going to just send my guys on a wild goose chase trying to find your frozen ass.

And last, but surly not least, I would like to know who the asshat is that dumped a poor little dead puppy wrapped up in a blanket on our office property. That is just sick you butt munch. I hope you find a little something extra in your mug of green beer!

Cough, cough, sneeze, sneeze.

2009-03-16T09:03:00.000-05:00

So last week was pretty much a nightmare.

It all started the weekend before last. Red was feeling run down. Coughing and congestions followed. He went in to work on Monday (3/10) but only long enough to turn in the guys hours and get everyone squared away on what to do for the day. He called in on Tuesday and then Wednesday he tried to go to work.

I say “tried” because I wasn’t at work 5 minutes when my phone rang and it was Red begging me to come and pick him up.

I was finally able to get him in to the doctor’s Wednesday afternoon and that was when we found out he had bronchitis.

So Friday finally rolls around, Attila barfed in my bedroom doorway & so I knew she would be staying home with her daddy.

But Friday ended up being a repeat of Wednesday. I made it about 15 minutes at work when my phone rang and Red was telling me that Attila was still throwing up and I just HAD to come home.

Attila never did throw-up again & I made her and her daddy sleep most of Friday. The weekend found everyone feeling better except for me. I think I was just feeling run down though. Lots of rest and little of anything else found me feeling better this morning.

And this is why I didn’t respond to your text messages Daven! Sorry man, I didn’t even have my phone on. I hope that you all had a FANTASTIC GERBEN good time & I wish we would have been feeling better & could have gone out with you all.

In other news. Mom’s surgery date is growing near. It’s kind of hard to believe that it’s NEXT week! She is excited and nervous but also I little worried. She is feeling a little under the weather herself and she knows that they won’t be able to go through with surgery if she is sick. I’m hoping that she is feeling better later on this week.

And now one last thing. If you will take a look over at my blog roll you will notice a new one. Jimmie’s updates.

This is the blog of a young couple and their premature baby Jimmie. I would like to encourage you all to stop in and visit. Maybe leave them a comment or two.

And with that, I will bid you all a good day!

4:30 A.M.

2009-03-13T08:05:00.000-05:00

The bedroom door is flung open violently.

Standing in the doorway is Attila.

"My belly hurts!" *BARF*

So that’s how my morning started out. And yours?

Ugh

2009-03-12T15:46:00.002-05:00

Red has bronchitis.

It has NOT been a fun week.

I finally got him to go to the doc yesterday.

What is it with you men and going to the doc?

But anyway, they gave him lots of different drugs & told him to stay home the rest of the week.

Now I just hope that nobody else gets sick!!!

Yeah, I know.

2009-03-04T16:18:00.001-06:00

I’ve been MIA. I’m sorry about that.

Of course I’ve been busy. Work has been a little stressful, but nothing I can’t handle. The kids are all doing well. Red is working away on his MOB (medical office building) and hospital.

I’ve found a gastric bypass forum and I am spending a lot of time over there. Just reading. Trying to figure out what my mother is going to be going through. What we should all expect after her surgery.

It’s really quit amazing really. The stories and pictures of all these people! I’ve managed to get my mother to sign up over there and she has even posted a little. I think being able to talk to people who are in the same boat as she is really helps.

So that’s about it.

Welcome March!

2009-03-02T09:36:00.004-06:00

Can you believe it? It’s already MARCH?!?

This is going to be an interesting month. My calendar is dotted with different doctor’s appointments for my mother and then on the 25th we have the big day.

I know she is excited. I’m excited for her.

You see, my mother has not always been a heavy woman. No, in her youth she was a very athletic & active lady.

In high school she was a cheerleader & she played softball and basketball. Her and my father use to go boating and water skiing.

But all of that changed shortly after Lil Sis was born.

Mom slipped a disk in her back. And she wasn’t even doing anything like skiing or softball. She was lifting a small baby bathtub with about an inch of water in it.

After that, she was never able to get back her old self.

There were back surgeries and chiropractors and endless days and nights of pain. Because of this, she was not able to be as active as she once was which meant she was unable to burn those calories and drop the weight.

There were times when she would lose a large amount of weight. Usually by using some crazy, fly by night diet fad. It would never last.

Now my hope for her with this surgery is that she is able to get back down to a healthy weight and in doing so is able to become more mobile.

Just a few more hoops to jump through & then it will be time.

Time for my mom to reclaim her life!

So here is to March! May it be a wonderful new beginning!

Anyone interested?

2009-02-26T08:28:00.002-06:00

My mom's black pug, Baby Bear had 4 babies yesterday. Three girls and one boy.

This is Baby Bears last litter. These sweet little gals and guy will be needing good homes! *hinthint*

Thank you!!!!

2009-02-20T14:06:00.002-06:00

*smooch* *smooch*

Thank you, each and everyone of you for the birthday wishes!!

You all rock & I am so lucky to have such great "cyber" friends!

Now I'm sorry it's been a little slow around here. Work is busy. Very busy.

Then there is mom's surgery & all the doc appts that go along with that.

It will probably be days in-between posts but I promise things will get back to the norm probably after March!

Until then, I'll miss blogging and reading everyday.

Oh yeah! I created a monster!! Lil sis is already looking for runs! Eeck! Guess I better start training!!

Thanks again everyone & I'll catch ya on the flip side!

GERBEN OUT!!

A little of this, a little of that

2009-02-17T11:17:00.002-06:00

K, so you all already know that Saturday was the birthday party.

Want to see the cake? I bought it at Merritt’s and for whatever reason; Attila wanted dragons on her cake. So, she got dragons.

Then of course, she had her eyes closed when I tried to get a picture of her and her cake.
Oh, and check out how big Kyla is getting!

We had a large crowed this time. Usually I buy 10 kid’s meals and we end up with 2 or 3 left over. Not this time! We had little one’s running all over the place & I think they all had a good time!

So the long weekend is over & it’s back to work.

For some reason February seems to be dragging along even though it’s the shortest month of them all. Hmmm, I wonder why that is.

I have a visitor today at the office.

LITTLE BIT!

My mother has a doctor’s appointment so small fry is hanging with her momma for a couple of hours.

Oh yeah! My mom’s surgery is set for March 25th. In the mean time she has a whole mess of appointments she has to attend. Even another sleep study on Thursday.

I’m excited for her. But I worry about how the recovery will be. I know it won’t be any walk in the park. I think that mom is ready for it though. At least she seems to be.

I’ve been horrible on my diet.

Diet? Diet? What diet?

Yeah, that’s why I hate New Years Resolutions. But I’ll jump back on that diet wagon probably after this weekend. Because Friday is my BARFDAY YO!

I hope you all bought me super cool gifts. And if not, don’t feel bad. I’m happy with a simple “HAPPY BIRTHDAY”

Speaking of resolutions. I talked to Red a little about his “story” & the possibility of doing it in blog format. He seems cool with the idea, but I just don’t know yet when we will set down and start writing. Thanks again Papa Bear for the link you emailed me.

So yeah, I guess that’s about all I have to report at this time.

GERBEN OUT!

Picture it.

2009-02-15T17:54:00.000-06:00

So Saturday morning I woke up and started to get ready for Attila’s birthday party set for noon.

Red announces that he is going to take his new bow (yeah, because he needed ANOTHER bow) into the shop & have some things changed.

So I get the two little ones ready, head over to my mother’s house and pick her up. We still had to stop and get the birthday cake.

Word of advice. Never think that on VALENTINE’S day you will be able to simply walk into the baker and just pick up your cake and be on your marry way in just a matter of minutes. Needless to say, we were 30 minutes late to our own birthday party.

Other than that, the party went very well. Lot’s of kids and I think that everyone had a good time.

Afterwards Big Momma took the little one’s with her for the night. I dropped my mom off at her house and then headed home myself. At this point it’s after 3:00.

I walk in the door & can see that Red is taking a nap. The TV is off and the bedroom door is closed.

Setting on the kitchen table is a beautiful arrangement of flowers, a heart shaped box of chocolates, a card & the iPod shuffle with a note that says, “Play me.”

The song was Meatloaf I would do anything for love. The card brought tears to my eyes.

Yeah, I am one lucky gal.

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY MY SWEET LITTLE ATTILA!

2009-02-11T08:26:00.002-06:00

My life is so much richer & fulfilling because you are in it!

You are my blue eyed, softhearted little angel
You fill my world with laughter and smiles

My little Gerben in training

And I love you

XOXO

And the world keeps turning.

2009-02-10T15:03:00.002-06:00

I’ve been thinking that I don’t have anything to blog about. But then I stop and take a look at all the things going on around me and think, “What do you mean nothing to blog about?!”

Red told me that they would probably be working in OKC all next year. They have a verbal on a LARGE 3 story there. I’ve seen the drawings and it looks very interesting. As of right now they are saying they will be on sight 2/10/2010. Of course in the world of construction, things change and change often. I’ll just play the wait and see game for now.

Saturday my mom called excited about a phone call she had received the night before. For the past couple of months she has been jumping through hoops with doctors and her insurance company trying to get an approval for gastic bypass surgery. Well the call finally came.

The problem is now she has a pretty nasty cold that has settled in her chest & they can’t do anything until she has that all cleared up. But hey, she knows it’s only a matter of time now!

I’m happy and excited for her, but also a little scared. It’s not like it’s a simple procedure and then she will be thin. I just hope the road ahead of her is not too rocky.

My friends, IHP & Manders had a baby yesterday! YAY BABY! A happy healthy baby girl with lots of curly auburn hair. Some of you old timers might remember them. Ace Cold & XOXO Manders. They have since given up on blogger but I know they drop in from time to time. (as well as a few "new" readers. Hello Sapulpa I see you).

HI IHP & MANDERS! Congrats again on a beautiful little girl. You two did good & I can’t wait to meet her!

Speaking of birthdays and such. Attila turns 6 years old tomorrow. Wow, where did the time go? It is amazing at how fast they grow up. One minute you are leaving the hospital with this tiny bundle of joy & the next thing you know you are sending them off to their first day of school. And then take Ms. Hara! That kid out grew me a couple years back. And yeah, she thinks it’s hilarious. Yeah, yeah whatever girl. I’ll still kick your butt if you get out of line!

(do you think she bought that threat?)

So I have a birthday party set for Saturday and I guess there is still a chance that Red and I might get out and do something for Valentine’s Day. Or maybe we’ll just stay in & watch movies. It doesn’t really matter. As long as I’m with my love I’ll be happy.

And now I have to go check the radar. My “love” thought it would be a good idea to ride the Fatboy today & now it’s beginning to look like rain. Men!

That is cool!

2009-02-07T08:50:00.000-06:00

So back in January I finally added Google Analytics to my blog.

Funny, I’ve had this thing since October of 2004 & I just now added something like Analytics. I can’t believe I waited so long.

I have had visitors from Singapore, Norway, Finland and so many more!

I had no idea!

There have been visitors from 23 States just from here in America. Very interesting.

What I think is cool is the search engine results. It’s pretty neat to see how people find your blog.

Some of the key word searches that found Gerben Says What are:

Driving For Dummies
Munchies Man
Busted Up Cowgirl
And
Peter Griffin Says

So once again I’ll say it. Guess I have more readers than I originally thought!!

Hallelujah, hallelujah the TV is fixed!

2009-02-03T14:14:00.001-06:00

I know that probably sounds really bad, but you cannot understand how good it feels to finally have the dang satellite working and working right!

The tech called yesterday & said he would be out to the house around 3:30 or so. Which actually worked out well for me. But not so well for him.

He arrived around 4:00 & didn’t leave until 8:00!

I was feeling bad for him because he was out on the roof working on the dish in the dark. He found a short, which had caused the entire problem.

Short fixed. New dish on the roof. Now we are rock n rollen! YEAH BABEE!

Also Ms. Hara got the old TiVo box we had in the living room so now she can record shows in her room as well.

Yep, we are a house full of TV watching, internet surfing, Wii playing fools!

And we couldn’t be happier!!

Weekend round-up

2009-02-02T08:18:00.004-06:00

So how was your weekend? Do anything exciting?

What? How was my weekend? Eh, I’ve had better. Like when my TV actually works like it’s suppose to!

Bitter much?

Well it should be fixed today. Correction, it BETTER be fixed today.

After all the phone calls to the satellite company, different open air antenna’s & countless family members coming over trying to make it “work” I finally gave up and decided that we would not be watching the super bowl at home.

So we ended up at FIL’s house. It was fine I just always worry about the little ones running around his house. It’s nice. With lots of nice things & I don’t want my two little lovely’s to break anything. But the little one’s were on their best behavior & I couldn’t be prouder of them. YAY, no beatings!

So I took lots of pictures. I hope you are ready for them all. And Ms. Hara didn’t feel like going so she spent the night with her Meme. Sorry. No pictures of the brooding teenager.

Enjoy!

Attila and her cool shades.

Smile Little Bit!

Is there something stuck in my teeth?

Mmmmmmmm, ice cream!

Watching the big game with daddy

Little Bit and momma

I wanted to take some pictures of FIL’s house and all the cool stuff. This is his turkey he shot about 4 years ago out at our lease.

His first bull elk

His antelope

One of his many white tail deer

FIL & his girlfriend

The next several pictures are of all his Marine stuff. I can’t really label the pictures because I don’t really know what all of it is.

And there you have it. Our weekend in pictures.

Somber

2009-01-30T10:18:00.003-06:00

So I few months back my mother was looking at my digital camera. I don’t remember why or what she was doing, but she took out my memory card. She said something along the lines of, “Well that’s a tiny memory card. I have a larger one (memory wise) that I’ll trade you out for.”

Then she never returned the old card or appeared with a new larger one. This is why I didn’t take pictures at Red’s Christmas party. But anyway.

Well last week or maybe even the week before she gave me back what I thought was my old card. She said she couldn’t find the larger one she thought she had.

No big deal. The smaller one had always worked fine for me anyway.

Then I went to down load the pictures I had taken of the ice and found these pictures of my Grandmother on the card.

This one is really old. Look at how small Ms. Hara & Attila are!

One from my wedding day.
And I'm not sure when this one was taken, but I know where it was. My Uncle's church.

It’s kind of funny because I really didn’t expect to get that sad feeling in the pit of my belly when I saw these pictures. But I guess I still feel that way when I run across pictures of Grandpa & he has been gone so much longer.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this post. Maybe it’s just a chance to reflect on loved ones lost. It seems like my family has lost a lot in the past two or three years. Uncle Norman, Grandma, Uncle Don. They are each missed dearly & thought of often.

So maybe my readers can just take this as a reminder to tell those close to you how much you love them. Don’t take them for granted & remember that we are not promised tomorrow.

YAY! Work.

2009-01-29T07:48:00.002-06:00

Well I made it out today. I had to leave the house early. Like 6:15 early. But the drive was not too bad & I'm thankful for that.

I think we are suppose to get above freezing today so that will help out so much on the drive home. *fingerscrossed*

So here are just a couple of pictures from Tuesday morning. The ice kept falling all day so by Wednesday it was thicker and whiter, but I didn't take any pictures of that.

You can see in this first picture that the ice is still falling from the sky.

You can see how thick that stuff is on the trees. I guess we are pretty lucky we didn't lose power.

The front of Red's truck.

The Durango covered in ice.

I hope that everyone else is doing OK in all of this ice and crap. Stay safe and think warm thoughts.

Snow & Ice & Cold Oh My!

2009-01-28T13:47:00.002-06:00

Well we didn't lose power! YAY!

The TV is still jacked up. BOO!

Whatever the tech did when he was out here on Monday took away all my local stations. Not too fun when you are in the middle of an ice storm and you can't even flip over to the local 10:00 news & see what's going on.

We have another Tech coming out next Monday. Let's hope he can get this thing fixed.

Red & I were going to try to go in to work this morning. Well Red made it, but I didn't. Little Bit woke up last night sick so I didn't get much sleep. I figure one more day ain't going to hurt. And Little Bit is feeling much better now.

Oh, and my last post. The one about how grumpy Red was? Well disregard that. My honey is doing fine & so am I.

Well I have some pictures of the ice from here at the house. I'll see what I can do about posting them in a day or two. Dial-up. It sucks.

Blah!

2009-01-26T10:29:00.001-06:00

Maybe it’s the weather. Maybe it’s the new job. But Red has been a grouch.

A new large building with a pressing deadline. It’s stressful. I know. The weather doesn’t help. Just means he will have to work on weekends or whenever the weather will permit.

Yuck!

Ready for the storm

2009-01-25T13:07:00.002-06:00

Man I hope this is not like last year. But it looks like we have a possible ice storm moving in.

Ice box stocked?

Check.

Extra water for just in case?

Check.

Extra hay for the horses?

Check.

Now cross your fingers we don't lose power this time!

Much frustration.

2009-01-24T14:45:00.000-06:00

So for the past 8 or 9 years I have been a loyal “Satellite” customer. I’ve been more than happy with the services and programming that they offer. After about 5 years we updated to the Tivo service they offer. Television viewing would never be the same in our house.

About a year or so ago we updated a second box to the Tivo service. Shortly after the upgrade I noticed an issue with the first Tivo box.

Now for those of you who do not have satellite or a DVR service, this is how it works. You have at least two tuners. This way you are able to record a program on one tuner while you can watch another program on the second tuner. Or at least that’s the way it’s suppose to work.

I noticed that the Tivo box in the living room was having an issue with the second tuner. Like, if you would turn the second tuner to our local channel 2, it would be Stars movie channel. Channel 8 would be Discovery Kids & then other channels would just show a little blue box that said, “For ordering information call customer service.”

So basically what I had to do was always make sure that the “good” tuner was on the channel I wanted to record or else instead of CSI I would end up with Runs House on MTV2.

I put off calling and replacing the box because I had several cartoons saved for the kids on that box. The Bee Movie, Surf’s Up & Barn Yard just to name a few. But last weekend, I finally did it.

The new box arrived on Tuesday. I felt good knowing that soon I would not have to worry about which tuner was on which channel.

HA!

After replacing one cable because it finally gave up the ghost I was ready to set up the shows I want to record. Only there was a problem. I couldn’t get the thing to flip from one tuner to the other. It’s like it only has one tuner. WTH?

So I unplug the two cables, one for each tuner. Take one cable and plug it into the number 1 spot on the back of the box. Channel 8. The show was Lost.

OK.

Unplug it and take the second cable and plug it into the number 1 spot. Channel 8. DISCOVERY KIDS?!?

Oh hell no!

So there was nothing wrong with my original box? Well that’s how it’s looking folks. Now I have to wait. Wait for a tech to come out. And you know how they do it. Sometime between noon and four! Because we all know that I have nothing better to do than set around for 4 or 5 hours waiting on a tech to come out and probably flip one switch or change out one cable and have the thing working.

Yeah, I know it’s not life or death. Nothing too major but it’s been most frustrating.

Now you will have to excuse me while I go put the smack down on Ms. Hara because she won’t leave the computer monitor alone. Grrrr!