We had a wonderful Christmas. The weather in Ohio was beautiful for the most part. On our trip down we took what looked like a short cut and ended up only taking us 8 hours to get to Ohio. We were both very excited. On the way home we tried a different route and it ended up taking almost 12. So, we've decided which route we'll always take home :-)

While in Ohio we stayed with Jay's parents. They always welcome us and our furkids into their home, which is very nice. Our furkids all in one house can be quite overwhelming to people who do not have dogs. The kids love to visit also. They get stuffed full of treats and Carol always has found a receipt online and cooked them up some yummy stuff. This season I tried one of her doggie treats and it was the most horrible thing I have ever tasted. I almost gagged.

Anyway, We visited Camden Baptist Church for Christmas Eve. It's been a while since we've been to church since our move so it was very refreshing. Now that Jason is home permanently we plan on starting our church hunt. I'm really looking forward to it also. Afterwards it was off to Mom and Jacks for Jacks famous Pizza. Then it was off to Tina and Terrys for some cards and visiting. I'm not a cards player, unless it's Nerts, so I spent my time playing with Tyler, the coolest kid on earth :-) I beat him in Pool and was quite excited since I'm horrible at pool. Then again, when I think about it, he's 6. He's really good for a 6 year old too. Then we played Go Fish and Uno Go Fish. We had a great time. We got back to Jason's parents house around 1:00am. I had to wake Jason up so he could let us in. Stac spent the night with us too so that was fun.

Christmas day we spent the morning with Jay's family. We received tons of fun gifts. The one we both enjoyed the most was the baklava that we both received. What a wonderful gift since it's very cold here in PA and we both enjoying being out in it. No more freezing ears and faces. We headed to My family's house around 1:00 for the evening. We had a wonderful time. I decided this year would be a great time to start the family tradition of having an ice cream eating contest. Each participant would have to eat 1 pint of ice cream as fast as they can. Jay and I purchased the ice cream. Chocolate for Jack and then Blue Moo Cookie Dough for the rest of us. Rick had Peppermint Ice Cream though once he joined in. Jack, the cheater, tried to beat me by cutting out a huge portion of his ice cream. He did this by warming up the ice cream until it gently rolled out of the container. He cut off a huge portion of it. Then he placed the remaining ice cream back inside the container and put it back in the freezer upside down so it would go unnoticed. CHEATERS NEVER WIN JACKIE POO!!!! Anyway, so he ended up finishing first, go figure. I finished next, then it was Rick and then Daniel. Rick didn't start in until about 2 minutes after Jack and I began. Ahh, it was so much fun. Next year I'm keeping a good eye on the ice cream so JACK won't try to cheat. If he hadn't cheated I would have won. Although if Rick would have started when we did it would have been a close competition with me in the lead, Rick next and then Daniel. Jack would have finished last because I would have placed Ex Lax in his and he would have been somewhere else. He he he.

Here are some photos of our Christmas Ohio visit. Some are frightening but if you know my family you'd understand our humor.

More Funny Christmas Songs by Stacy. I don't know if you guys enjoy these as much as I do. On this series of songs I actually fell out of my chair laughing so hard. The dogs thought I was crying, which I was from laughing so hard. I Hope you enjoy. My sister is the best!

I saw mommy beat up Santa Claus

underneath the the mistletoe last night

she told me that that creep

was lookin in the window for a peep

he thought that we were tucked inside our beds fast asleep

Then I saw mommy kick him in the shin

and knee him in the chin

oh if the cops could have seen mommy beat up Santa Claus last night!

Over the river and through the woods

to Tonya's house we go

the horse went away, now mom pulls the sleigh

through the white and drifting snow

Over the river and through the woods

Oh listen to her groan

she gives a screech, she gives a moan

as over the ground we go.

Over the river and through the woods

when she's tired, she does sway

we give to her a voice of triumph

for it is Christmas Day!

Stacy the snowman

was a jolly happy soul

with a cuban cigar and a sloppin' nose

and two eyes that really glow

Stacy the snowman is a fairtytale they say

she is made of snow but the birdies know

how she came to life one day

There must have been some magic

in that old green thong they found

for when they placed it on her butt

she began to dance around

Stacy the snow man

cursed a lot that day

for the birds don't know a thong mixed with snow

makes for a crappy day

she ran through the village

while the thong still held on tight

she squeal and yelled

onto her broom she held

and whacked with all her might

Two little birdies, well they bit the dust that day

and it goes to show a thong mixed with snow

makes for a crappy day.

Go yell it from the mountain

over the hills and everywhere

go yell it from the mountain

that Stacy's pants have torn!

That day she was a'skatin'

on top the frosty ice

she went a little fast then

when she fell her pants did slice

Go yell it from the mountain

over the hills and everywhere

go yell it from the mountain

that Stacy's pants have torn!

Dashing through the snow

in a one horse open sleigh

over the fields we go

laughing all they way ha ha ha

Bells hooked on our skirts and the winds still kick them up

what fun it is to ride and sing while showing off our butt

oh jingle bells jingle bells jingle on our skirt

oh what fun it is to ride with nothing but a shirt

jingle bells jingle bells jingle on our skirt

oh what fun it is to ride with nothing but a shirt

Have a golly jolly Christmas it's the worst time of the year

I don't know how to drive in snow, so have another beer

Have a golly jolly Christmas and when you drive down the street

yell "Oh no" to friends you know before you crush their feet

Oh ho the driving snow falling on the frozen street

Someone jumps out of the way, apologies from me

Have a golly jolly Christmas and incase you didn't hear

Oh by golly have a golly jolly Christmas this year!

Jingle bell jingle bell jingle bell smock

associates ring and they also swing

working and smirking with bunches of fun

Now the walmart hop has begun

Jingle bell jingle bell jingle bell smock

security alarms chime cop action time

runnin' and gunnin' and throwin' a swear

in the frosty air!

What a bad time, it's a sad time

to curst the night away

Jingle bell time is a swell time

to go riding in a black and white sleigh

gitty up officer Bob, pick up your club

and beat him on top the head

kicks and tasers and the jingle of the beat

thats that jingle bell, that's the jingle bell

that's the jingle bell smock!

THE COOLEST KID IN THE WORLD

If Jason and I were ever to have kids I would want him to be like my little cousin Tyler. He is the coolest little kid ever and whenever I go home and visit I love to hang out with him and get into stuff.


Tyler - I hope the next time I'm home we can hang out together and maybe walk through the woods looking for stuff to kill. Wouldn't that be fun?

His First Kill of the Season

So sweet and innocent, right Tina?

I don't have much to post tonight because frankly all I did today was paint. Finally though our bedroom is complete, which leaves one more room. The kitchen and basement stairway. Ahh, I can finally see the end is near. Today I started on the kitchen though. I painted the ceiling. When I went in the bathroom after finishing up I couldn't help but laugh at all the paint on my face. So, I took a picture. I hope you enjoy :-) I've also attached a photo of the finished bedroom. Once I'm finished with the whole house I'll be sure to post the photos of all the rooms.


Many of you know I'm a huge Lynyrd Skynyrd Fan. I've been listening to WEBN Cincinnati every day while I paint. A few weeks ago a Skynyrd Parody came on and I about died. It was the best Parody ever. I tried to find the lyrics online and didn't have any luck. So, this parody is played a few times a day. I've been tuning in and when the song comes on I stop what I'm doing and write down a line of the song. Now I haven't gotten far but here's how is goes (picture is sung by a hick playing the banjo)

Can you play some Lynyrd Skynyrd please?
I will get down on my hands and knees
Can you play some Lynyrd Skynyrd please?
Maybe Three Steps or Call Me the Breeze
Come on Sir I know you can
Just play for me Simple Man
Their a simple band
They play Simple Man
Their a simple band
They play Simple Man
Can you play a Lynyrd Skynyrd Song
You can play Free Bird or Ain't too Long
Ol Skynyrd sounds don't sound the same

Ahh, once I've written down all the words I'll post it again. It's the best. I wish I could find it and download it.

Funny Songs by Stacy

deck the halls with lots of anger

la la la la la la la la la

tis the season to encourage danger

la la la la la la la la la

watch the neighbors as they trimble

la la la la la la la la la

pelt them with a rather large thimble

la la la la la la la la la

You're a mean one Mrs. T

you really are a turd

you're as charming as a leprechaun, as tasty as a curd, Mrs. T.

you're a dirty old lady with a squacking black bird!

You're a foul one, Mrs. T

I can smell through the phone

I cringe when I listen to you droan, Mrs. T

I wouldn't touch you with a thirty nine and a half foot pole!

I HAVE A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yippee. I'm proud to say I finally have a job. I had an interview today and they called me a few minutes ago to let me know they would like me to join their team. Woo Hoo. I will be working at Berwick Offray as a Sales Coordinator. Recognize the name? You should, Jason works their too :-) Although this could be weird working in the same office together we'll be in opposite ends of the building. Their is one bad thing about working at the same company as my husband, who happens to be the computer guru. No more GOOD MUSIC FRIDAYS! Darn it huh? Unless he gives me the ok :-) Tonight I am going to take myself to Applebees for dinner to celebrate. I sure wish my hubby dub dub was here to share this dinner/evening with me. That's ok though, he can just take me out to dinner to celebrate when he gets back in a few days. Did I say I finally have a job? Woo Hoo.

So what have I been up to the last few days? Well Jason came home over the weekend and spent a few days with me. I was sure to put him to work putting up shelves, hanging pictures and blinds. Sorry honey. I had to do it. So while he was here we didn't have any play time. No hiking, biking or exploring. That's ok though, we have plenty of time to do that. :-) On Monday I was up before the rooster crows to take Jason to the airport to head back to Memphis. I haven't been up that early in a LONG LONG time. It was still darn when I returned home too! Needless to say I hopped right back in bed and slept until around 9:00. At that time it was up and painting. Our bedroom is almost complete and that only leaves one more room to paint. The kitchen. Does it seem like I'm taking forever? Well I am. In between painting I take LOTS of time to jam to WEBN, play with the kids, and email my mom during the day. So, I'm not working all the time on painting. Another thing that has kept me busy is our yearly holiday newsletter. We send letters to almost 100 people. Imagine having to address and slap a stamp and lick all those envelopes. It takes forever. I have to stop every now again just to my tongue can get juicy again. I've already mailed a huge amount of newsletters already. I have like 12 more left to send.

Well I'm getting hungry so I better get ready to head to Applebees. I already know what I'm getting. I'm getting a big fat juicy steak. Ummm.

It's been a few days since I have written. With good reason though. Jason came home. Jeep and all. I was so excited to see him even though the poor guy had just been on the road for over 15 hours. Yikes. He was sure to call me through each state he drove through though. He called me in Maryland and then had me wait on the phone until the PA state line. I sure thought that was funny. Since he's been home I've been putting him to work doing stuff I couldn't do. So on Friday night Jason and I drove to Wilkes Barre to pickup some stuff he needed to complete the closet shelves and other things. We also picked up our paint for our bedroom. We've decided to go with the red color we used in our old house. I think it will look really nice. After that we drove to Buckhorn to go to Quaker Steak and Lube. One of our favorite places to eat. We tried the Burger with hot sauce and man, it was awesome. So the next day it was work time for Jason. He worked on the closet and other things while I worked on getting the spare bedroom ready for Stacy. I'm getting so excited she's coming.

Today we woke up early and headed to the lake for a 2 mile hike. Kenzie was able to come with us. The lake is so beautiful and it's such a fun walk. While walking through the wooded part of it the trail would go away at some points. It was perfectly fine, we knew we couldn't get lost since we were walking around the whole lake :-) We even made it to a marshy area full of mud and stuff that we had to walk through. I'm a fan of getting muddy so this was fun. Luckily I had on my snow/hiking boots so my feet didn't get wet at all. :-) Ahh, mud, so much fun.

So now we're heading out to go antiquing. It should be tons of fun. We're hoping to find some stuff for our house. I'll be sure to write more later after the weekend is over.

Oh, by the way. Crazy Carie sent me an email the other day that had me rolling and crying. I've decided to post it for others to enjoy. She told me that since it was for the disturbed she naturally thought of me. Crazy Carie I think knows me all too well. The Christmas Carols listed below, really only one really describes me. It's the one for Attention Deficit Disorder. Enjoy!

Christmas carols for the 'disturbed':

1. Schizophrenia --- Do You Hear What I Hear?

2. Multiple Personality Disorder --- We Three Kings Disoriented Are

3. Dementia --- I Think I'll be Home for Christmas

4. Narcissistic --- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

5. Manic --- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and.....

6. Paranoid --- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me

7. Borderline Personality Disorder --- Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire

8. Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why

9. Attention Deficit Disorder --- Silent night, Holy oooh look at the Froggy - can I have a chocolate, why is France so far away?

10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder --- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle,Bells, Jingle Bells

Merry Christmas to me! So I've been talking about my Christmas gift but I've failed to send a photo. Once Jason get's here I'll have to take a photo of the kids going through them. Might I add what a lovely day it is today?


Today I've been taking it very easy. My back is really hurting from working in the flower beds yesterday. If you knew exactly how much I removed from the flower beds you would understand what a huge chore that is. So, I've mostly been hanging with the kids. We went downstairs and watched a little bit of Pirates. Then I received a call from a lady that set up an interview with me for tomorrow at 12:15. Since I wasn't too sure where the place was I went out to find it so I would ensure I wouldn't be late tomorrow. The place has an awesome view. It sits at the top of the mountain and you can see other mountains in the distance. It's basically a dump, I mean that for real :-) It's a trash service. The dump isn't their but their trucks and other stuff is. So everyone please be sure to pray for me.

I have to tell you, last night I got in the mood to watch my Lynyrd Skynyrd DVD. It's been way too long. I had a huge smile on my face and sat and sang through the whole thing. One of the songs I got emotional on. It's Red, White and Blue. It's an awesome song/video and I think all of us seem to forget about those brave men and women fighting for our freedom as we speak. Everyone please be sure to say a prayer for these troops each and every day. Here's the lyrics just in case you haven't heard the song.

	Artist: Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyrics
	We don't have no plastic L.A. Frynds, ain't on the edge of no popular trend. Ain't never seen the inside of that magazine GQ. We don't care if you 're a lawyer, or a texas oil man, or some waitress busting ass in some liquor stand. If you got Soul We hang out with people just like you My hair's turning white, my neck's always been red, my collar's still blue, we've always been here just trying to sing the truth to you. Yes you could say we've always been, Red, White, and Blue Ride our own bikes To Sturgis we pay our own dues, smoking camels, drinking domestic BREWS You want to know where I have been just look at my hands Yeah, I've driven by the White House, Spent some time in jail. Momma cried but she still wouldn't pay my bail. I ain't been no angel, But even God, he understands. My hair's turning white, my neck's always been red, my collar's still blue, we've always been here just trying to sing the truth to you. Yes you could say we've always been, Red, White, and Blue Yeah that's right! My Daddy worked hard, and so have I, paid our taxes and gave our lives to serve this great country so what are they complaining about Yeah we love our families, we love our kids you know it is love that makes us all so rich That's where were at, If they don't like it they can just get the HELL out! Yeah! My hair's turning white, my neck's always been red, my collar's still blue, we've always been here just trying to sing the truth to you. Yes you could say we've always been, Red, White, and Blue

It's almost 2 and I'm already exhausted from working today. You ask, what have I been doing? Take one guess......Well besides painting I've also been working in the flower beds. Yes, it's winter and I'm working in the flower beds but their is a reason why. Lately the kids have been throwing up a lot. When I go outside I've been noticing that they are digging and eating stuff in the flower beds. So, since it was nice out today I decided it's time to clear them out of all the mulch and other stuff. Man, what a lot of work. I have like 10 - 12 bags full of mulch that will be heading to the trash. My back hurts from bending over but I still have more work to do so I'm going to suck it up and get to work. Well, after I post on my blog :-)

When I came in from the yard I was covered in mud. Which shouldn't surprise anyone. I seem to always have mud or something all over me. I'm such a tomboy. I also had a few band aids on my fingers where I took off some flesh on some of the rocks. Yumm, I'm sure some of you are going, eww, too much information. Anyway, I also had tons of mud caked under my fingernails. Since my back hurts I didn't want to get up and look for the fingernail clippers so I took the box cutting knife and used it as my finger nail cleaner. More tomboy things to do.

I'm only going to work a few more hours and then I'm going to spend the rest of the evening on the couch with the kids watching TV. They have so much fun laying around the house with their mommy!

On Friday I drove down to Middletown and visited with the Univar facility. Before I left Univar their was talk that maybe I could work out of my house when I moved as a buyer for the Harrisburg facility. So, on Friday I visited with Jeff Moran. I also met with the General Manager and another guy I can't remember his title. They all wished I was closer because they said they would hire me right away since I have 3 years experience with the company already. They said that maybe in a few months something would come up and I could work out of my house as a telesales position but the telesales position has not been approved yet by the GM. He is meeting with a company where I live next week and he's going to take my resume and highly recommend me to this company. So, maybe something will happen. I'm really in no hurry, besides being bored, I want to be sure I find a position that I really like. After my meeting with Univar I picked up Jason at the Harrisburg International Airport. What a podunk little airport. I actually laughed when I pulled in. Afterwards it was off to McClure to pickup my Christmas gift from Jason. I asked him for some weave poles from Mad Agility here in PA. First off, it took us FOREVER to find their house. The directions off Yahoo we're misleading. Not to mention that a lot of the backroads around here are not marked. So, after 2 hours on a 1 hour trip we FINALLY arrived. The people that make the equipment are very nice. They invited us in and showed us all their equipment they make. They also showed us their house remodeling and we talked for a while about our dogs and agility. They are going to supply the ring equipment for the AKC Agility Nationals in Columbus next year. Each year the manufacturers of the equipment place a bid and then 3 manufacturers are chosen to supply the equipment at Nationals. So, they are both really excited to be given this opportunity. Here's the website for their equipment for all my agility buds.

http://www.madagility.com/

That evening we ate at my favorite place and then headed to Wilkes Barre to get some winter gear. Since winter is quickly approaching I knew I needed to get some snow boots and base layer to use while hiking and walking around the area. So, we both purchased our base layers and I purchased some boots for myself. So, about the boots. They have this "Fur" on the top that's really girly looking and frilly. I hated to even buy something with girly fur on it however the boots were amazingly warm and comfortable. So, I got them. We then went to Bed Bath and Beyond and purchased a feather bed for our mattress. We decided to do this instead of buy another mattress because we honestly couldn't find a mattress we really liked for the money. We also got a down comfortable since we really do not have a comfortable comforter. Merry Christmas to us.

On Saturday we got up around 8:30 and headed to the Delaware Water Gap to hike a section of the AT. The hike was really nice and it was so beautiful outside. We didn't want to stay long so we just hiked a few miles. Good Ol' Kenzie was able to go with us and had a wonderful time herself. Here are some photos of cute Kenzie posing for us.

So I couldn't go on with my day without posting this. My question is, how did she board with the match?

Flatulence forces emergency landing

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - It is considered polite to light a match after passing gas. But not while on a plane.

An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing Monday morning after a passenger lit a match to disguise the scent of flatulence, authorities said.

The Dallas-bound flight was diverted to Nashville after several passengers reported smelling burning sulfur from the matches, said Lynne Lowrance, spokeswoman for the Nashville International Airport Authority. All 99 passengers and five crew members were taken off and screened while the plane was searched and luggage was screened.

"SUPERSTAR"

I'm a SUPERSTAR! Last night I watched Superstar. What a funny movie. Here are some of my favorite quotes. Please, this is rated R, Ha, just kidding.

"Sometimes when I get nervous I stick my hands under my arms and I smell them like this"

"I have to be a little honest with you. Your intense energy is making me feel a bit bombarded"

"Thomas, Stop pretending your high on drugs. It's a sin even pretending"

Here's a little Superstar trivia.

What car is the only car you see parked and driving throughout the movie? (answer at the end of this blog)

So yesterday is also snowed. It was so beautiful. It was spitting large flakes and didn't even stick on the ground but it was still beautiful. I took some photos. You have to click on the photo and view it larger to actually see the snow :-) It was so pretty though. The furkids went wild. Kenzie just loves the snow.
Today I woke up at my usual time, 9:00am. Since I finished painting the office I started working on putting it together. After a while I went to Walmart and returned some things. I also picked up some shelving that we're going to use in the office closet. I don't like things sitting out because then they collect dust and I HATE to dust. he he he. While I was out I received a call from a lady in Memphis from Helena Chemical. She heard I was looking for a job. She told me they are not doing any hiring right now but will keep me in mind for the future. She also said she talked to their branch here and they gave her a staffing agency to go to for employment. Now this staffing service isn't even listed anywhere so I had never heard of it. She gave me directions and everything. That was so nice. I also received a email from Jason's employer asking for my resume. They have a Customer Service Position available. Hopefully something will happen soon. I'm about to die of boredom. You know, at least I'm able to work on the house though. That's one very nice thing. Then I came home. Loaded up the Jeep with tons of trash from unpacking boxes and drove them to the end of the driveway. Now, I'm sitting here typing and listening to WEBN Cincinnati. I promise, I'm hooked. It's so nice being able to listen to it every day though.

Speaking of radio stations. Since I'm home all day long, every day I've been listening to WEBN all day long while I'm working around the house. I strongly think that radio stations play the same songs every day in the same order. I heard the song I posted the other day again, actually twice today. Ozzy, ACDC, Soundgarden, 3 Days Grace, Godsmack, Disturbed, I hear them all day long. Same songs too!

Ok, ok. So, on another note. I was reading the online newspaper today and here's the funny headline. This should tell you how small our town is for this to make headlines.

Lawn display 'joke' draws complaints
'It doesn't look good'
The town has gotten complaints about a holiday lawn display along East Fifth Street featuring two lighted reindeer that appear to be mating.

You should see the photo. I tried to copy and paste it but it wouldn't let me.

Anyway, I'm signing off for tonight. Here's the answer to the movie trivia. The answer is a Lime Green VW Bug. It's the only car you see driving and parked in the movie. Sometimes several will drive by at the same time. Watch it, it's funny.

Christmas Songs/Poems
Submitted my Stacy Martin (my sis)

Silent fight, mute the night

all has falln' with the light

round young surgeon, death and life

cut that organ with a knife

sleep assisted with drugs is peace

sleep with drugs is peace

OH, you better watch out

you better not cry

you better not spit, I'm telling you why,

Stacy Clause is coming to town

She's wearing a suit, that's way too big

if you ask, she might do a jig

Stacy Clause is coming to town

She stalks you when you're sleeping

she calls when your awake

She bust your windows, enter your house

and pelt you with a rake

so, you better watch out, you better not cry

better not alert the cops, I"m telling you why

Stacy Clause is coming to town

Oh silly pea

Oh silly pea

how little is your surface

Oh silly pea

Oh silly pea

how little is your surface

You taste so good in my mouth

As you begin your descent south

Oh silly pea

Oh silly pea

how little is your surface

Joy to the world

your dads a bum

lets kick him in the tush

and watch him land

outside in the snow

and laugh until it hurts

and laugh until it hurts

and laugh, and laugh until it hurts

He'll cry about

how much pain he's in

but we won't give a hoot

'cause last Christmas

he threw at us

poo onto our door

some poo onto our door

Some poo, oh poo onto our door

Stacy the two legged reindeer

had a very funny walk

and if you think thats amusing

you should even hear her talk

all of the other misfits

used to trip her with a rope

they never told her straight, but

they laced her favorite cake with dope

Then one foggy Christmas eve

Tonya came to say

Stacy, you two legged dork

Why don't you grow wings and be a stork

Then all the other misfits

squeezed with all they hope they had

For Stacy the two legged reindeer

had perty wings and she was glad.

Its just one of those days
When you don't wanna wake up
Everything is nuts
Everybody sucks
You don't really know why
But want justify
Rippin' someone's head off
No human contact
And if you interact
Your life is on contract
Your best bet is to stay away
It's just one of those days!!

Actually, I'm having a fabulous day. I posted the lyrics to that song because I just heard it and I think it's funny. Every now and then everyone has one of those days though and that's why I laughed. :-)

Let's see. I woke up at 9:00 which is now my usual wake up time. I started painting, imagine that :-) After coming out of the closet (he he he, I was painting the closet today) I decided that I was tired of painting and needed a day off. I received a call from the PA license place telling me I could get my tags so I decided to head into town for lunch and then get my tags. I went to my favorite pizza place Original Italian Pizza and had a Stromboli. I have to say, I'm a pizza lover and this place is AWESOME! My Stromboli was WONDERFUL and I kept telling the wait staff and the people that prepared it how awesome it was. It was filled with Motz cheese, steak, tomatoes and mushrooms. Ummm, when they brought it to me it was huge however when I started to eat it I just couldn't stop. I'm totally going to get it again. Now I hate onions but they sauteed the steak in onions and umm, it was sooo good.

Ok enough about the food. So I then headed over to the license place. Now I'm going to give you some words of advice when relocating to a different state
1. You have to have your drivers license before you can register your vehicle (check one)
2. You have to have proof of insurance (check two)
3. If you have a lean on the vehicle and it's in both names both people have to be present when you get your license (whoops, no husband)

Anyway, needless to say I didn't get my tags. I told her I was going to try to get them this weekend when Jay is in town but he also has to have a valid PA license when I get my tags. The license place is only open on Thursdays, so, we're out. I asked her how many days I have to register my vehicle in PA and she said 30 days. I told her next week I will have lived here 30 days and Jay isn't going to be home by then. I told her if I happen to get pulled over for something and I'm not registered would I get a ticket. She said "no" but honestly, I don't believe her. So, no reckless driving for me until I can get registered. Then I'm free to drive as recklessly as I want. Ha, just kidding.

So, I came home and decided to take Tay and Chase to the lake for a run/hike. Hopefully it would get Tay's mind off how much she misses her daddy. Anyway, boy was it cold. I couldn't find my hat so I was in trouble. My ears are frozen. I wanted to take photos so I kept my gloves off. Harry, my hands are freezing. Here, you can have one of my extra pair of gloves. You mean you've had an extra pair of gloves this whole time? Ahh, sorry, just quoting Dumb and Dumber. Anyway, not only was it cold but it was muddy. My poor shoes are covered. The kids had a wonderful time running through the tall grass. I've uploaded photos for you to view. Hope you enjoy.

Chase doing her normal jumping stance

Taylor, you can't catch me

Ha, you still haven't caught me you slow dog

Never going to stop me, never going to stop (Chase singing Rob Zombie)

Ok, so this is a photo of the mountain we live on. If you can see the black circle that house is a few houses down from me. The arrow is right about where we live :-)

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. I know some are traveling and I hope she'll post on her blog some photos of her trip. She shall rename nameless :-)

I've spent the weekend doing nothing but.....painting. Ahh, my life. I guess I should become a professional painter. It wouldn't be that bad if everything was nice and clean and not an ugly color or scratched all too bits. The joys of home ownership. I'm happy to report though that the hallway and the living room are finally complete. After days and days of painting, trimming and whining about how bad my back hurts the rooms are done and look very nice may I add. I would post photos however the pictures are not hung on the walls yet. Jason will have to do that. I have scoliosis and everything I hang is always uneven. It's wild too. I go through the house and level things how I think they should be level and Jay runs behind and straightens them up. It's honestly hilarious to see.

We had a horrible storm that came through yesterday. I know some other areas had the same sort of storm but the winds, they reported, got up to 70 MPH. I was talking to my aunt Shirley on the phone inviting her to the family reunion in PA in July and I had to cut the phone call short because the wind had blown our canoe over and it was moving down the hill. Our driveway is steep and our canoe is 80 lbs. I knew if I didn't go and catch it right then it would either fly into the home at the bottom of the hill or it would just go down the hill and I wouldn't be able to get it back up. So I went outside, turned it back over and went back into the garage. The wind blew it right back over and it started down the hill again. I then got the keys to the Jeep, moved it out and the canoe in for the night. The next morning I get the news and see all the damage to the area. Thousands without power and 2 million dollars worth of damage to the area. I was very fortunate not to have any damage to our house.

So Sunday I had planned on going to church but I really didn't want to go by myself. I felt the church hunting should be done together. So, I stayed home and started trimming the office. I'm the type of person that starts a project and then lets it sit for a while as I start a new one. With that said, I decided I wanted to paint first instead of trim. So I started to paint. As I got higher on the wall I realized I had forgotten to Spackle the holes in the wall. So, I painted only 1/2 way up the wall and left if. I told Jason about it and then laughed. Tomorrow I'm going to finish rolling the wall and then tomorrow afternoon I'll start on the trim.

I also put the tree up in the house and got out some of the Christmas decor. Some of the decorations are buried in our garage and won't be able to make it out this holiday season. Since the tree was up and the shelties looks adorable I figured I would take a Sheltie Sisters Holiday Photo. I knew I could get them to sit for a split second but I knew it would be tough to get all 5 to sit. That will come later when we take our holiday photo for our newsletter. Anyway, here it is. The 2006 Christmas Holiday Sheltie Sister Photo. Poor Tay misses her Daddy.

Happy Friday Everyone!

So it's been a while since I've written. A lot has happened to keep me busy. First off, I HATE PAINTING! My back hurts, my shoulder hurts, I'm taking a break. The upstairs living room and hallways isn't finished but I have time :-)

Secondly, Most of you know I'm not a huge fan of Memphis. Anyway, yesterday Jason was in a car accident. 7 car accident actually. Since I'm so far away I was really scared/worried for him. Here's the scoop. He was driving down Winchester to get something to eat. A guy was stalled in his lane, actually he later found out that guy had just hit someone. Anyway, so the guy in front of Jason slammed on his breaks. Jason then slammed on his breaks, then the lady behind Jason hit Jason and then pushed him into the guy in front of him. Now for the funny part, a guy in the other lane slowed down to see the accident and ended up getting rear ended himself. When I talked to Jay his first words were "Only in a Jeep" turns out the other cars we're banged up really bad and all his Jeep had was a few scratches. He's still going to have it looked at to make sure nothing underneith was damaged but so far it looks good :-) I thank GOD he took care of Jay.

Today I got up and took Kenzie for a walk after dog doo doody (hehehe). It's really warm outside today. That's all going to change tomorrow though. It's suppose to snow for the next 10 days and be in the 30's as the high. Winter is coming and I'm very very excited. Jason has never been skiing so I'm looking forward to taking him :-)

The furkids are crazy. They are so bored and into everything. I have no idea why they are bored though. They stay out all day long running around and playing.

Ok, so I have 2 friends that I was reconnected with on My Space. I was going through my old Senior Book and found some quotes and other things. Reading back on the quotes I was laughing histerically so I figured I would share with everyone. :-) Abs/Shae, good times, good times.

Jobless and Lonely

Whine Whine Whine.....I'm jobless and lonely. Good thing I have dogs to keep an eye out on. So, I'm sick of painting and working on the house and I'm sick of not having a job. Maybe instead of taking that break while Jason was here I should have been looking for employment. I hope God provides me with a job soon so I won't go crazy.

As far as the painting goes. I've been painting since we moved in. My shoulder is starting to hurt so I'm needing to take a break so I don't end up in Physical therapy again. But, as I sit around on my posterior I can't help but look at the walls and at all the stuff laying around and thinking, I can't take a break, I need to keep going.

I do have good news. I was able to find an agility instructor for the area. She's an AKC agility judge and doesn't start classes until Jan -Feb due to Snow and the holidays. But, she has my contact information and we talked for about an hour about our furkids. Ahh, the dog lovers world. I love being in with the dog crowd. You get to meet so many people who do not have kids, only furkids. Which is perfect for us because the dogs are our lives. But, I do miss Tammy and Charlie a lot. I miss their friendship and especially the doggie fun days and dog agility classes.

Nothing more to write. Just needed to whine.

Now for additional information about my day. I woke up early to head to Buckhorn to Office Depot. The job hunt starts today and my printer is broken. So, I need to run off copies of my resume. While I'm out I'll get some blinds and kitchen stuff to arrange the kitchen better. It's still messy since our kitchen is a lot smaller than our last kitchen. When I got home I painted some. I'm hoping to be able to paint the hallway and upstairs living room tomorrow. I also need to run to Hazelton and get my car tags. I'm very happy to get new plates. I think I might try to get Agility or I may stick with my FurXFur for the plates. Any other suggestions? After painting some it was such a nice day that I took Kenzie for a small hike. Since Kenzie is Jason's dog she doesn't mind me well and she ran off. Luckily I found her and put her on leash as punishment. Maybe tomorrow I'll take Chase or Sam. I took some photos of 2 covered bridges down from our house. One of the bridges was damaged in the June Flood (Twin Bridge) and has been moved to a site so it can be refurbished. It said no Trespassing but I wanted to get a photo of it. The 1st of the Twin Bridges was totally destroyed and some boards found on the banks was saved in effort to rebuild it. It's very sad.

By the way, is their Porcupines in PA? I promise, I seen one dead on the road.

50,000 Reward

The reward is for anyone who can help us finish our deck out back. You really won't get 50,000 but you'll get a big pat on the back the next time I see you! He he he. So here are the outside photos of our house. The first is taken at the top of the driveway. The second one is at the bottom of our lot. You really don't see the driveway nor does this photo actually show you how steep the drive is. The 3rd is the rear of our house. It needs a bit of work :-) Notice the temporary fence? I can't wait until the spring when we can build our new fence. Now for the deck. Those are the last 2 photos. The first is taken in front where the hot tub will sit. The second photo is at the top of the hill looking down on the deck. A pool used to sit their and it's going to be our new hot tub local. The deck is nice and in really good shape. We thought about putting a step down into the hot tub and then wrapping the steps around. That would make for a nice place for people to sit. But, if any of you have any other suggestions that would be great. See my next entry for additional photos from today.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

I hope everyone has as good a Thanksgiving as I did :-) Mom and Jack came down Wednesday evening. It took them forever to get here. They said the traffic was horrible. Since we live in the sticks I met them off the interstate and drove them to our house. I gave them the grand tour and then we talked a bit and went to bed. Both of them were extremely tired. I totally understood :-)

Thanksgiving day I still wasn't feeling very good. 3 weeks now and I was still sick. While mom and Jason fixed dinner I went downstairs and slept. Jack wasn't feeling well either so he slept too. It was probably good I was out of the kitchen anyway. I'm not a very good cook. Dinner was great and afterwards it was late so we went downstairs and watched Shall we Dance. Mom had never seen it.

On Friday we decided to go to Gettysburg. Jack had always wanted to tour the battlefields. It took around 2 hours driving time, which went by quick as mom and I slept. Once we arrived we looked everywhere for the Visitors Center. Then we ate at the Lincoln Diner. It was ok. Afterwards it was off to the Visitors Center. Jason and I got our National Park stamp and Jack purchased a Auto Tour of Gettysburg. The auto tour was suppose to take 2 1/2 hours of pure driving. Not including the times you got out and looked at the graves, statues, etc. We ventured out and after about 5 of the 16 stops about 2 hours had already passed. So, we figured we should speed up a bit. The sun was starting to set. I'm not sure if any of you has ever toured Gettysburg but you can rent a tour guide for the day to guide you around. Jack found this one tour guide that someone had rented for the day and basically followed them around. At the end of the day Jack got his name so he could request him as a guide next time Jack visited. I uploaded all the photos to my photo site. If for some reason you cannot get the link to open please let me know :-)

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/tonyamckenna/album/576460762352309265

On Saturday it was off to Philly. It's such a beautiful drive. We drove through the Pocono's, Jim Thorpe State Park and a few other places. That evening we all went to Quaker Steak and Lube. It's becoming a favorite of mine.

Now it's Sunday. Mom and Jack left early this morning for Indiana. I went to sleep and slept until 11:30. I was so exhausted. Then I woke up, took a few photos, which I'll share. I worked on our filing system since all our office files are still in a box. Then I worked on painting the trim in the hallway getting ready to paint the walls. I'm planning on watching a movie tonight.

Speaking of movies. Jason is very proud of his new home theatre. Now that it's all hooked up I took some photos for you all to view. I have the before photos with their furniture and the after photos of our theatre.

Before Photos/Downstairs Theater Room

After Theater Room Photos

So today is clean the house day. Mom and Jack are on their way. I told mom I was only going to clean the rooms we would use the most. The rest of the house is a mess with stuff laying in the floor since the big move in. One of these days it will all be organized but for now, it's not. We're heading into town tonight to get the remaining stuff that we'll need. Mainly Toilet paper. That's pretty important huh? No more leaves on the trees for people to use. Of course we could always pull them off the ground? he he he. Sorry for my sick sense of humor.

Anyway, I have more photos that Jason took yesterday. I hope you enjoy. We're going to be driving around this weekend to see more of the covered bridges so I'm sure I'll have more and more photos to post on Sunday when everyone has left :-)

Today we got up early and headed into town to get donuts. Dalo's has the best donuts ever. They are soooo good. We had to get back by 9:30 because our Radon system was getting installed. Once we arrived back at the house it was time to go through some more boxes. Only a few more left. I think I mentioned we had 5 left, well, I lied. Now, maybe we only have 5 more left :-) I'm still sick and was really tired by noon so off to bed I went. The shelties and Sam all joined me for a few hours. When we woke up I ate some more donuts and then Jason and I uploaded yesterday's episode of Prison Break on the web and watched it. I can't wait until the cable is installed so I don't have to catch up on Prison Break on the internet.

As promised I finally have some photos to upload. The first few are the before and after photos of the guest bedroom. That's the only room in the house that is completed at this point. My computer monitor is going bad so I'm not sure if the photos look ok or not. I hope they turn out.

Before

After

Today has been crazy. We slept in again. I don't know what we'll do when we have to go back to the real world and actually get up and go to work early.

Once we got up we headed to the lake near our house to take some photos and let Kenzie romp in the mud. Our computer is still not hooked up so I can't post any of the photos yet but I promise, they will come. Jason said he's going to work on setting it up tomorrow for me :-) Just have to get it out of the boxes.

After the lake we headed to Bloomsburg or Bloom as the locals call it. I needed to get a new cell number so I can start my job hunt. I'm really looking forward to starting work again. I know, that sounds so weird.

We got lost on the way home trying to take some back roads. I'm a bossy front seat passenger and I told Jason that he was going the wrong way. I'm normally the direction giver however today I was wrong and he was right. Being the wonderful, loving wife that I am I told him I was wrong and he was right. His first words was "I don't think I've ever heard that come out of your mouth before" he he he, he so funny?

Once we got home that's when the fun began. joke joke. I finished painting the spare bedroom getting it ready for Mom and Jack on Wednesday. Jason finished the temporary fence for the furkids and then started working on the garage. Our garage you couldn't walk through. It's a mess. The hot tub is taking up most of the room. We couldn't put it up until a concrete pad is laid and it's too cold out right now, so, it's going to have to sit for the winter. I'm kind of sad because I could really use it. After finishing up the bedroom I went downstairs and helped Jason on the garage. With us both working together we got things put up rather quickly. It's now almost 11:00, I'm on a daytime cold medicine and have tons of Mountain Dew in me so I'm still a bit wired. Maybe I'll work on the computer room some more.

The shelties are crashed on the floor with Tasha. Kenzie and Sam are off somewhere sleeping. Sam's been upset with me because I haven't been giving her my full attention like I normally do.

What's up for tomorrow? We'll you'll just have to come back and see :-)

Today was quite busy. We slept in until about 7:30, which is great. The dogs just love to wake us up early. I started painting the ceilings upstairs. I had paint all in my hair and on my face after I was finished. They have this paint that is awesome. It's American Tradition ceiling paint. When you apply it it looks purple, when it dries, it dries white. So you can tell where you have painting and where you haven't. It's the coolest. It looked especially good in our pink room with purple carpet. he he he. That room is just hideous. Makes me laugh.

Jason started changing the locks on the doors but he found out that one of the locks they keyed, they keyed wrong. So, we had to go back to Lowes. We timed it around lunch time so we could eat at Panera Bread. That has become my new favorite place to eat. I didn't bother cleaning myself up since I knew I was going to work again when I got home. I hated walking into Panera Bread though with my hair all white :-)

When we got home we worked on the temporary fence. Our neighbor came out to visit for a while too. His name is Larry and he's really nice. He has a lab named Bailey that's really cute.

Tomorrow we're going to finish the fence and I'm going to work some more on the spare bedroom for when mom and Jack come and visit next week.

Tomorrow we're also planning on taking Kenzie to the lake for a run. We're hoping to be able to take some photos also. Well, hopefully it will not rain. If we get some I'll be sure to post some :-)

Men's Undies

Ok so the title is a bit scary but this blog entry is too. So, the stupid movers packed our dressers and combined them together. So, I can't find ANY of my clothes. Hint Hint, underwear. So, after looking and looking for some undies my patience ran out and I just took a pair of Jason's. Now I'm not sure if any of you have wore mens undies before but they sure are tight. They don't fit comfortably either. One good side to them is they fit my rather large posterior. Maybe it's Jason's butt that's big. ) ) (anyone catch that's a butt)

So today's events, other than the undies, has been very uneventful. Jason and I are both sick right now so we decided that today would be movie watching day. We'll we turned on LOTR and I ended up sleeping through it until around 2:00. Jason didn't sleep during that time but worked on his speakers, home theater system and our temporary fence. When I woke up Jason decided he would take a nap so I started working on the spare bedroom. I can't remember if I've mentioned how outdated this house is but I'll go ahead and mention it again. The wallpaper was horrible. So I put on some WONDERFUL wallpaper remover and it came right off. Low and behold, what's underneath the wallpaper? Hideous PINK paint. Yucky. I'll post photos later when all our stuff is unpacked. Tomorrow I plan on sleeping again. I think the more I sleep the better I'll feel. Tomorrows agenda is painting the ceiling in the spare bedroom, hallway, and upstairs sitting room. If I have enough time and feel up to it I may work on painting the trim in the house. Jason is going to work on the fence, replacing our locks, and hanging the blinds in the house.

Stupid bugs.....So I'm throwing this in because up north we have these stupid annoying lady bugs. I know everyplace has them but I seriously think the northern states have them worse. I have no idea how they get into the house but ours is swarming with them. They love our drop ceiling in our basement. I'm writing this because one just flew at me and hit the computer monitor. Gurr, the sweeper will get you tomorrow stupid bug.

Time for some underwear readjustment....

Quoting Dumb and Dumber


So most of you know that our favorite movie is Dumb in Dumber. We'll we're on our way to State Farm to sign up for insurance and what do you know, we got lost. So we started quoting the beginning of the movie.

"Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to the convention center? I'm giving a lecture today and it seems my drivers a bit lost"

So Jason decided that when he gets back to PA he would like to sit down with everyone and quote the movie. He thinks Chris should play Jim Carey, Carie should play Mary, etc. Maybe Jacob could play Harry :-) ha ha ha.

So our stuff was delivered today. The movers have been a nightmare since day one. So we started to unpack some things and it seems the stupid people wrapped Chains around Jason's speaker stands. Needless to stay he filed a claim and is very furious. I'm so glad that everything is delivered and in one piece. Well, so far.

Today we're getting high speed internet so I don't have to listen to Jason anymore. Sorry honey. So, tonight maybe I can write more about what's going on.

Seems I'm sick again. I started to feel good but once I got back to PA and out in the cold damp weather it came back. Maybe it's also because I've been wearing the same damp socks for the past week :-) Seriously. They stink to high heaven. Jason didn't know that I had taken my shoes off last night. He started walking through the house telling me how horrible the house smelled. I told him it was my feet.

Anyway, write more tonight. Hopefully.

1300 miles, homeless & jobless :-)

I write this blog out of our Jeep we've been living out of for 5 days. Piled with clothes, dogs, and other things. So far our trip has been a very nice one. We set off on our homeless adventure on Thursday after the movers left. Our trip has been an adventure ever since.

On Thursday around 7:00pm we received a call from Jason's mom. She was diagnosed with pneumonia that was contagious and just wanted to let us know. We had planned on staying with them for the weekend. Since I'm already sick I didn't think it would be a good idea to stay with them. Jason will be gone and I'll be staying by myself in PA. I didn't want to risk getting sick and being all alone so I told Jason I would rather find someplace else to stay. Since we were right outside of Nashville we knew we only had a few miles to decide whether to continue to Ohio or go the shortest way to PA. I called my mom, who complained about the furkids and didn't really want us to stay. I basically told her to decide and not beat around the bush. In the meantime I logged online and called tons of hotels in the area looking for a place that would keep 5 dogs. No luck. So, I called my WONDERFUL friend Marla. Marla is like family to us. She owns a boarding kennel and has tons of barns. I called her and was like "Marla, can we live in your barn for the weekend". She wasn't home so I left a message on her cell and on her home phone. Just when I thought all hope was lost mom called back and said we could stay with her. I was so thankful. Honestly, I was so stressed at that time I forgot to thank her. So, a few minutes later I made the call to thank her so much for letting us stay. So, the adventure continued. By this time it was going on midnight and we still hadn't made it close to Cincinnati. Jason had been up since 5 that morning and was exhausted so we pulled over and I started to drive. Once we made it outside of Louisville on 71 the traffic came to a dead stop. I had just passed an exit ramp so I felt stuck. I guess the traffic had been sitting for a while because people were outside of their vehicles walking around. I think one guy was even using the restroom. Anyway, we didn't bring the Atlas because we had made this drive several times in the past. I could see the exit ramp I passed was 9B and had a general idea how far out of Louisville I was. So, we logged onto Yahoo maps trying to pull up 9B. No luck. I called my Jack and had him pull out a map. He gave us an idea where exit 9B was and where it would take us. So, once again we pulled up Yahoo maps. We thought about just staying parked and sleeping while the cleaned up the accident but I knew we only had 2 hours left to drive and just wanted to get it over with. Jeep to the rescue, I pulled off on the shoulder and up over the hill to the ramp. It was so much fun I have to add too. Jason stayed logged on and we continued making our way through the backcountry of KY. God Bless wireless internet service. It has came to our rescue several times.

We arrived at moms house around 3:00am. By then Jason was going on 24 hours of being awake. We unloaded the fully packed car and put the kids to bed and then went to sleep ourselves. The kids woke us up at 9:00 and around that time we received a call from Marla. She was so sad she had missed our call and wondered if we still needed to stay in the barn. We told her that mom had let us stay with her and then she offered to keep the dogs for the night. She wanted to give us some relaxing time without them and also visit. Our kids LOVE aunt Marla too. So, we loaded up the kids again and took off for Aunt Marla's house. Once we arrived in Trenton and headed that way the dogs started barking and getting excited. They KNOW where she lives and how to get their. We used to go to Marlas with them almost every night when we lived in Ohio.

That afternoon we met up with Mom and Jack at Skyline. My sis had been with us for the morning and we planned on going to some stores to look around. Around 6:00 we headed home to mom's house. That night we went to sleep really early. We were so tired.

On Saturday Jason went to visit his family and I stayed at the house and Stacy and I slept for most of the morning. Both of us were so exhausted. That evening we went over to Tina's house for the family Thanksgiving dinner. Now, I have a huge family. Everyone was so shocked to see us their.

Come Sunday it was time to leave again. We loaded up the car and headed for PA. The drive ended up taking us 9 hours. We drove through Pittsburgh, a city I had never driven through before. We almost got lost but ended up getting on the right track :-) We met Dan the Realtor Man at our house around 3:30. We did the walk through. I'm getting so excited about moving in. Then we took the kids to the hotel for the night. Jason and I went to Lowe's for a bit to look around. Then we went to Quaker Steak and Lube. They had really good wings and loaded spicy fries. We went to sleep really early.

Now, we're back in the car again this morning. We're about to close on our house. I'm not sure if many of you know but our closing money is being held by our bank in MS. So, we're praying that it will clear today so we'll be able to move right in. If not, it's another homeless day for us again. I'm so ready to get out of this car and settle in. Not to mention I haven't been able to sleep for a week because I'm SO EXCITED!

Ahh, till this evening or sometime tomorrow.........

Since Trish twisted my arm behind my back swearing she would break it if I didn't post something I figured I would take some time today to post an update on my blog.

So the reason I haven't been posting????? We're moving. You guys already know this move has been in the works for a while but we never imagined it would come this fast and this soon. Our realtor, God bless him, thought it would take ages for our house to sell. His comment on our Dec 1st move date was "WOW, we'll be lucky if it's sold by then" Our house was on the market for a good year before we purchased it so that's why he was worried! Well wouldn't you know it sold in a week! The sellers threw in a curve ball for us too. They wanted us out by the 4th. Yes, the 4th has come and gone and we're still in Memphis but bless those sellers they allowed us to stay in the house until the 10th. YIPPEE! So, after we signed the contract accepting the counter offer we set out for PA on our house hunting trip. All the homes I wanted to see and looked promising turned out to be a dump. My dream house was so horrible, once the door opened I didn't even want to continue looking. Our WONDERFUL realtor Dan suggested we look at a home that was a little more expensive that he listed. We told him of course. We walked into this home and it was love at first sight. Of course I was a little worried since it had a pool and a yard that was on a hill but the house was wonderful. All of the space was exactly what we was looking for. We also had another house in mind. A home that was a little smaller but had a flat yard. Jason and I went back to the hotel and did a pros/cons sheet. The Knob Mountain House WON with flying colors, or whatever the saying is. So, we put an offer on the house and a few hours later Dan called back with wonderful news. Not only did the buyers accept our offer but they also said they could move out when we needed them too. Good news for us since after the 10th we're homeless.

So since the house hunting was out of the way it was time for us to explore the area. We went to Ricketts Glenn State Park for a hiking trip. We couldn't hike the whole 7 mile Falls Trail because we had a meeting with the mortgage company to start the application process. The Falls Trail was incredible and we're really looking forward to finishing the trail once we move. We also took some time and started finding the 40 covered bridges in the area. We only saw 10 but hey, we have tons of time left to finish up :-)

Ok, so I have to mention our horrible trip back to Memphis. The airplane was a tiny plane. Jason and I was seated back by the clogged up toilet. It would have been fine in the door would have stayed shut. Every little air pocket the plane would hit the door would fly open and the smell was just horrible.

Ok, so back in Memphis we closed on our house on Wednesday. One big step down on our move and just one more closing to go. It was an exciting time for both of us but was weird too. Just seems like not too long ago we closed on our house here in Memphis.

On Friday I stayed home sick from work. I came back to Memphis with a cold. I'm sure it was because it was freezing in PA and I had forgotten a hat to cover my ears and the proper winter gear. Stupid me! Anyway, Friday Crazy Carie threw us a going away party. Although I was sick and not my normal wild self I had a wonderful time seeing everyone for the last time. After most of the people left Jacob, Trish, Crazy Carie and Chris, and Jason and I spent some time taking photos. It was so much fun.

Saturday Jason and I ran some errands. I was still sick so he only kept me out for a few hours before I was so tired. I went home and slept for most of the day.

Sunday, same thing. Still sick. Tammy had a picture day at her house that evening. It was outside and I probably shouldn't have went since I'm sick but since this is the last time I'll see all my agility buddies I made the sacrafice.

Monday, still sick. I'm at work now but not motivated at all. I'm spending all my time today researching U Hauls, making hotel reservations (which was tough with 5 dogs), and taking care of all sorts of other things. I'm also working on finding someone to take the freezer we're not taking with us.

Tonight and tomorrow we're working on getting everything ready to take with us. I'll start packing the car to make sure the movers do not take what we are wanting to keep with us. I'll be unhooking the computer and packing our camping gear to take with us. Doing Laundry, dishs, and continuing to go through stuff to throw out.

Ahh, so this will be my final blog post until our move is completed and our internet service is hooked up at the house. I will really miss everyone and I hope you will check back in a week or too when I make my next post.

WOW, it's been a while. But, a lot has been going on. Last weekend we had our last dog show in the south. It was at the Agricenter here in Memphis. Tay and Chase both did really well. Tay got a 4th place and a Q however Chase didn't get anything. She did, however have some very nice runs. I'm so proud of her and how she's coming along. Jay and I have decided to take some time off from dog shows since we'll be moving. Chase needs to work on her contacts and Taylor needs to work on her confidence. People really frighten her at shows. Especially children.

Well we have sold our house. It sold last weekend while we were at the show. We have to be out on the 10th. We're heading to PA next weekend on our house hunting trip. I am getting so excited. Jason and I are really working toward being debt free. So, our goal is to find a very inexpensive house to purchase that doesn't need a lot of work. Yes, it can be very difficult to find but I know God will open doors for us so I'm not that worried.

And now on the radio......

So a guy comes into work today asking to talk to the sales manager. When he starts to leave Archie, one of the guys I work with, tells him about my trip to Indonesia. So I uploaded my photos from yahoo and started talking to this guy about my trip. Next comes the big question, Can I interview you for my radio show? People who know me know I HATE talking in front of people. Yes, being on the radio is not in front of anyone but it kind of is. He has a radio talk show on between 12:00 - 1:00pm Monday through Thursday on 1240am. It's Christian talk radio. He asked to pre-record the show this weekend but of course I have dog show. He took my number here at work and is going to contact me for the show.

Tomorrow I'm off work for the dog show. I'm so excited. Chase only needs one more qualification to complete her NA title and then 2 more qualifications to complete her OAJ title. We've been working on our NA title for the past 3 shows. She seems to think the table is for spinning and jumping off. We're working on that though. Taylor can qualify this weekend also so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Today for lunch we met Trish, Carie and Chris at Taco Bell for lunch. I hadn't seen Trish in a long time and it was nice to see her again. We had a lot of fun talking about dogs, fainting goats and bodily functions. Ahh, my friends are great!

House Up For Sale

In case anyone is interested. Here's the link to our listing.
http://www.billmurdock.com/homelist.asp

In the Search field type in 240046. Their is also a virtual tour.

Now I know I've asked several of you before this question but our realtor is suggesting we paint our living room and foyer the cream color we have throughout our house. He says it will help with the sale. After looking at the photos would you guys go through the trouble?

Jeepin!

What a fun and exciting weekend. On Friday night we had the first people come and look at our house. While they were walking through we loaded up the dogs and went and had dinner at Fire N Stone Pizza. Man, I love that place. I think it's beating out Brick Oven if that's possible. Then we headed to Sams for gas and went home. Saturday morning Jay and I were bored. We took photos of our furkids for the first part of the morning. It was so beautiful out we decided to call Chris and Carie and see if they wanted to hang out. We ended up going to their house. We had lunch at Costa Vida, which is really good and then headed out to Covington Pike to go offroading. We had so much fun. Even Tilly and Kenzie. Don't they look hilarious? While Chris mastered the drainage ditch in his Jeep, I had to sit and watch since my poor Jeep is so LITTLE! Don't worry though. She'll be getting a lift soon :-)