New House

So, Terry and I are finally buying a new house. It's been over 2 years since we owned a house and we are soooo ready for this. It's 3060 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath, with a den and a loft, both of which could be made in bedrooms, but we don't wanna! It's got a beautiful kitchen with an island and a vegetable sink, a huge formal dining room and livingroom, and a family room almost as big as the front. The backyard is 55 ft from the back of the house to the wall, plenty of room for a dog run, a porch, an actual yard with a spa! Got to get a spa.

Pictures to come later. I'm going to post a picture of the model, with some pics of the inside of the model and then the steps of the house being built.

Too excited!!

Thank you

Lela, if it wasn't for your calming words and your love, I wouldn't have calmed down enough to realize (the next day of course) that there was another option. And that it was the right one. I spoke to the first mortgage person, and even though the closing costs are more than the second one, the loan has been approved at 100% financing. I went this morning and gave them an earnest deposit and next week, after Terry gets home, we go in for contract and pick out the elevation for the front of the house and the colors.

Thank you very much, Lela. Your inner voice helped me, when mine was silenced by pain and anger.

Two Exciting Events This Weekend

First: Derek gm'd his first game. We chose World of Warcraft for him, because he loves the MMORPG so much and because it is just like D&D 3rd Edition. Moreso than we realized. This way, it's his game, his campaign and we join in his world when he wants us. Terry thinks Derek needs to find a group of friends to play with like he and Rob did when they were a couple years older than him. I agree. Derek did well for his first time and the other little boy who joined us, actually the son of one of our regular D&D people, surprised Terry and Rob with his "unique" way of looking at the game. Who knew you could use Animal Handling to send two undead dire wolves packing? Technical stuff aside for that little feat, it was still pretty good thinking on his part.

Second: Micaela went to her first concert on Sunday. She got tickets to see the Cheetah Girls for Christmas with the promise of a T-shirt and dinner with mom. Her smile was absolutely worth sitting in that big stadium, listening to a bunch of kids sing to tapes of their songs. The Cheetah Girls put on a very good show and I have to admit, I really like the message they give the girls. One of their songs talked about how the color of their skin didn't matter, it was the fact that they were friends and sisters that made all the difference. Another song was based on Cinderella. The chorus said something along the lines of "I don't want to rescued by a prince. I want to rescue myself." Go Girl! Independence is a great thing to teach the girls, as long as they learn respect for others in the process.

Overall a good weekend.

Forgiveness

I forgive you.

Edit: Moving on, because it just isn't worth it. I suggest, you do the same.

Please Let This Be An Isolated Incident

Day 7 of the new year brings the family a $1300 bill to fix Terry's truck. The damn thing started having problems before Christmas, but he was able to work around it, thinking the injectors just needed cleaning. So he bought the fluid, put it in and nothing much happened. Then it started dying everytime he was sitting at a light. The RPM was sitting between 500 and 600.

So we take it in, have the place look at it, and they give us a bill of $1300 to totally fix it. $300+ for a 'major tuneup', $300 for the O2 sensor and carb thingy, and $700 for something else, I don't remember.

Terry wants to pay the full $600, to at least get the vehicle moving again and I have to play the bad guy and tell him no. I agree to the O2 sensor and carb thingy, so the vehicle moves again and we still have to do the tuneup.

Just when things start to pick up (settlement for Terry's accident from 2005, Feb 10 will be another bonus day), we get hit. What the hell!

And for those of you saying "karma", well kiss off. Our family does plenty of good things for Karma: Donate to Goodwill, Safe Nest (shelter for abused women and children), Opportunity Village (place for disabled people to do things), gave back an extra Guitar Hero II game the guys gave us for free. You don't know me, or us, as well as you think you do.

Sorry, wrong kind of rant. The truck sucks. That's what I meant to say. I don't like the truck. I wish he had bought the other one instead of this one. There.

2007 So Far

So, let's see...

The kids are still arguing. Go figure.

Money is a little tight thanks to a dog who had to have $300 in blood work to find out there's nothing wrong with him. Just like when we spent $2000 for a surgery to find out there was nothing wrong with him. Damn dog. Also, Christmas was a little more expensive than we had planned. Bought presents for Derek, only to find out, he probably wouldn't like them, so we had to do all his presents over again and save the others for his birthday.

My oldest brother finally went back to Denver today. With the blizzards plaguing the city, there wasn't much chance he would make it into the airport, let alone home. Sad to see him go.

Work is busy. Making up for a week off takes time, but believe it or not, I did it in one day. And even includes the half day I took off yesterday.

Speaking of yesterday, I had my second root canal in two months. This time I did the whole thing in one long, three hour procedure. Now I just have to wait for the permanent crown to be delivered and have that put on.

Family is good, not necessarily healthy, but what can I expect with a child who has asthma? She returns to school and what happens? She gets sick... again. She's going to have to make it to Friday night, because she's already missed too many days of school.

Future January Plans:
1. Go to Baltimore with Terry on 1.18.07 to 1.21.07
2. Go to Atlanta for training meetings... again.
3. Work on getting passport for the Bahamas. Yes, you read that right. Bahamas. White sandy beaches. YAY!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Merry Christmas to each of you. I hope your day was filled with happiness and joy. I know some of you have had a harder year than you'd be willing to admit and things just didn't go right for Christmas. Your friends and family love you. The material things don't matter.

Happy New Year to each of you. I hope each of you are able to do the things you say you're going to do in your blogs. Me? I am just going to keep going as I am: spending time with my family, my friends, writing and enjoying not stressing about things or people who do not have permission to try to make me feel bad.

Best wishes to everyone and your families.

Freedom of Speech Rules!

Date - Nov. 25, 2006
Place - MGM Grand Arena
The Event - Dixie Chicks, Accidents and Accusations Tour

An absolutely wonderful concert. Sound was good. The girls sounded great. The opening act was entertaining. All in all, well worth the money spent.

The bad of the whole thing? I had a somewhat large woman sitting on my left hip the entire night. She even acted offended when, after standing up when the DCX walked out on stage, I sat down. Like, how dare I want to sit in the seat I paid $100+ for. She was also nice enough to share the peanut shells with me from the peanuts she was eating. I think I have enough shell pieces in my shoe to make at least three complete peanuts.

The good? Again, an excellent concert. Loved spending the time with Terry away from the kids. Dinner with him was delicious. We talked about the new book and he helped me come up with an idea of how to get Shayanna to talk to me. She's a stubborn elf, but I think I've found the way to get to her.

Wonderful night. So glad we did it.

Happy Thanksgiving

Here's hoping each of you have a great Thanksgiving.
Try to be thankful for your family, as well as your friends.
Tell your family how much they mean to you verbally, not just in a blog or a letter. Remember telling them means more than having them read it.
Call someone you haven't spoken to in a long time and just let them know you care.
Move past those hurts you think you suffered, or the pain you think you endured and make it a good day. Remember, while you feel the hurt, you're not the only one.
Eat lots and look at the scale on Monday. Friday is a bad day to do that.
The shopping on Friday can be hectic and dangerous. Try to remember it's the thought that counts, not the time you spent in line waiting for the present.
Try for one day, just one day, to be happy without any strings attached. Enjoy the day, enjoy the food, enjoy the company. Save judgements and criticisms for another day.

Birthday Fun

So, this year, Derek had to attend a campout with the Boy Scouts of Troop 430. Normally, I wouldn't make an effort to follow, but they were going to Zion National Park and I've always wanted to see it.

And was it worth it! I drove 2.5 hours and after leaving St. George, it is a very beautiful drive. I even found a parcel of land I would love to own, if only we could afford it. 78 acres, from the highway to the Virgin River. Well worth it in my opinion.

We stayed at the Cliffrose Lodge and Gardens just outside of the park. If we looked real hard, we could even see the campsite for the scouts. We didn't though. We were too busy enjoying ourselves. Turns out my parents once stayed there as well.

Springdale was a beautiful little town. No fast food, no shopping centers, just little stores and restaurants that could handle the traffic created by the park.

Friday, I drove up with Micaela and the son of a friend of ours, who was unable to be there. We had lunch at a place called Panda Garden Chinese, which wasn't too bad, though I have definitely had better in Las Vegas. Then I dropped the boy off with the scouts and Micaela and I drove through the park's scenic route, just to look at things. Terry was coming up later and we had a few hours to kill. She and I had dinner at the Pioneer Lodge and Restaurant. I had the prime rib, with a rosemary and thyme aujus. Though the meat wasn't cooked the way I like, it was still the best prime rib I've had. Mouthwatering and the aujus was just.... to die for. Terry showed up later and we watched TV, then went to bed. Well, ok, Micaela went to bed, but the rest (to quote Lela) is none of your business.

Saturday, we drove the scenic route again with our friends. We took the path to the Lower Emerald Pool, and even got to see the scouts. Derek made a strong effort to hug me and tell me happy birthday and that he loves me, in front of ALL the younger scouts. He made my day. I'm very proud of him. I got to talk to my dad and everyone else who called me got voicemail. I appreciate all the calls I got. All of you really helped to make my day special. After the Emerald Pools, we had lunch at the Zion Lodge, which was pretty good. Then we went to The Weeping Rock. A natural creation causes the water from 1000's of years ago as well as recent rainfall to come out of the rock and makes it look like it was crying. Terry called it a big crybaby and made us all laugh. You should also see his version of deer caught in the headlights of a car. We almost died as we were trying to cross the street. And I'm sure the driver of the car he did it in front of thought he was insane. Then we drove up to the Temple of Sanawava, which leads to The Narrows, where the older scouts were. We took the path to the Narrows, but I missed it because the wind picked up and got dirt in my eyes. Terry took pictures for me. Dinner was at The Bit and Spur, which my father tells me once was a real mexican restaurant. I had the Rib Eye steak with onion strings and a sauce that was great. Cooked exactly the way I like it. I enjoyed every bite and actually had to force myself to stop eating or I'd explode.

Sunday, we picked up the boys, which took way longer than we had expected and drove home. Then we watched the football game, GO BRONCOS! Had dinner with my dad and stepmother, brothers and girlfriend, then came home and just vegged.

Overall, a very nice weekend. I can't wait to go back to Zion. It's just really a great place to see. Pictures later!

If Your Life Was A Movie, What Would The Soundtrack Be?

Via Steve, Via Lela, Via BD... Thought I would give it a listen. See what kind of weird stuff I came up with.

What to do...
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, Etc)
2. Put it on shuffle/random.
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button

Opening Credits:
Please Remember by LeAnn Rimes

Waking Up:
Cowboy by Kid Rock

First Day at School:
Because The Night by 10,000 Maniacs

Falling In Love:
As I Lay Me Down by Sophie B. Hawkins

Breaking Up:
Another Brick In The Wall by Pink Floyd

Prom:
Lay Down Sally by Eric Clapton

Life's OK:
Unusually Unusual by Lonestar

Mental Breakdown:
Come Together by Michael Jackson

Driving:
If I Can't Have You by Kim Wilde

Flashback:
I Stand Alone by Steve Perry

Getting Back Together:
Here I Go Again by White Snake

Wedding:
Vindicated by Dashboard Confession

Birth of Child:
Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion (appropriate, Derek's fifth grade class sang this at their graduation to sixth grade ceremony)

Final Battle:
Tearin' It Up by Garth Brooks

Death Scene:
Hold On Loosely by .38 Special

Funeral Song:
Take It To The Limit by Eagles

Sex Scene:
Give Myself To You by Train

Dance Sequence:
Entr'acte by Andrew Lloyd Weber from Phantom Of The Opera

End Credits:
Against All Odds by Phil Collins

Not sure about this. Some of these just seem really WAYYY out there.

Vegoose - October 2006, Halloween Weekend

Vegoose is Las Vegas' version of Woodstock.

Drugs? Oh yeah. I walked by some chick asking another couple if they had drugs. There was even a woman who had taken drugs Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., had no recollection of what happened between 2 and 6 p.m., then around 8 she comes looking for someone to help her. And, there was a group of about six people smoking pot behind the stand I was working in.

Smoking? Yes.

Alcohol? What concert doesn't have alcohol?

Three stages, music from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Audio overload. It was funny to see people younger than me try to act like they're hippies. Who knew dreadlocks were part of the hippy wardrobe? I certainly don't remember seeing any dreadlocks in the pictures my parents have, or any of the other pictures I've seen about the Flower Age.

Missed Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Miss The Killers. Got to hear Phil and Trey, good music, not sure who they were. And I was inundated with the sounds of Widespread Panic for three hours.

Besides some personal issues and being on my feet most of the day and allergies wrecking havoc on me, it was a good day. Very cool to see.

Character Update: Shayanna Silvermist

(Borrowing Lela's format, cause she said I could :) )

Villain Name: Shayanna Silvermist
AKA: Nightdove
Server: Virtue
Level: 14
Archetype: Sonic/Sonic Corruptor
VG: Order of the Bloody Rose
Personality: Calculating, blood thirsty
Currently: Shayanna thought she had found two men she could trust, besides Kaleb Lucian and Thorn of Hate. She has recently learned that because she has shut herself off to every man, getting her into bed has become a conquest in the eyes of the men she had wanted to trust. Lyria and Rose have approached her with the chance to help her heal psychicological wounds or block her emotions behind walls that could not be guaranteed to hold the flood back.

Character List

Champion
Sister Vixen (50 mind/storm controller)
Solitaire Wolf (41 DM/DA scrapper)
Sweet Revenge (23 MA/Regen scrapper)
Rylanna (16 Storm/Rad defender)
Midnight Cross (15 Eng/SR stalker)
Fire Scorpion (12 Fire/Kin controller)

Virtue
Amira Dynasty (20 DM/Regen scrapper)
Shayanna Silvermist (14 Sonic/Sonic corrupter)
Darkest Angel (9 Warshade)

"Mrs. Campbell... This is the school nurse"

*sigh* Ok, who doesn't dread that call from the school? You always think the worst, to find out it was something small, like they fell and the school has to notify you verbally that they treated your child with ice and let him/her rest for a few minutes before sending them back to class.

Derek tripped today coming out of his Orchestra class. Landed on his left wrist, ball of the wrist, wrist bent, probably jammed it, but nothing is broken. We went to the Quick Care, had it x-ray'd and they put a sling on it. He gets out of P.E. for a week and Orchestra, because he plays the Cello and can't do it now. Doesn't matter what instrument he plays, he would have had to gone a week with no playing anyway.

Update On The School Shooting

The police found the kid who shot the girl. It was a 16-year-old boy. Not sure the reason still, but they arrested him Tuesday. Fortunately some of the students on the bus came forward and ID'd the kid. Guess we'll find out eventually why he did it.

School Violence Hits Home

In the past few weeks, Las Vegas has seen an increase in children taking weapons to school. This is not in addition to everything else that has been seen in the country itself. This is purely in Las Vegas.

Last week, as I was driving to the airport for my trip to Alaska, I drive right by an elementary school that was on lockdown. I found this out as I was driving past it. There is a high school not too far from the elementary school and both schools were on lockdown because a former student of the high school had returned to the school with a gun. The most frightening part? I was within a two mile range for the schools my children attend. What was to keep the guy from going to my daughter's elementary school or my son's middle school? Not a damn thing. Violence is not restricted to certain streets just because the police do a lockdown.

And then, when I arrive in Alaska, and get to my hotel room and watch the news, I hear the story about the school house back east where the girls were held hostage and shot in the Amish community. If an Amish community is affected by all this violence, what's to protect my own children? No matter how hard I try, I can't be with them 24 hours a day.

Boy, that was definitely a lesson that hit home hard on Monday. Derek had been home for about 30 minutes, having walked home from school. As I leave the house to pick up Micaela, I notice the loud helicopter sounds and the police copter flying over the area of her school. "That doesn't make me feel good," I said as I got into the car and began the less than 5 minute drive to her school. Yes, I remember exactly what I said. In this kind of situation, I would be surprised if any parent forgot exactly what was said and exactly what they did.

I drove to the school, and as I got closer, the huge cluster of vehicles I had noticed immediately upon turning onto the street became clear. There was yellow crime scene tape across the street. The road was blocked by police cars; metro, highway patrol and school district. A group of students was walking in my direction as I slowly inched my van closer to the yellow tape, a knot forming in my stomach. Micaela waved her hand at me and though the knot didn't go away, a wave of relief swept over me.

She gets into the van and I immediately begin crying, trying to hold her close to me. She kept saying, "Mom, I'm ok. No one was hurt." She didn't know what had happened, only that there were lots of police and her school was put on lockdown because of it. Even the note that came home with her from the principle only said 'police activity'. The police escorted the children across the street instead of the crossing guards.

So, after I finally stopped bawling, I drove us home and began the search through the channels for some news. My mother-in-law, who teaches at the school, didn't even call me to tell me what she knew.

Turns out, a high school student was walking home after getting off her bus and she was shot in the leg by an unknown assailant. No one knew why, or at least they weren't saying and they didn't know who had done it. And they didn't know where he/she had gone.

So here I am today, sitting at home, trying to work and pay attention to conference calls while my daughter goes to a school that had a shooting within 100 feet of school property. Terry is out of town and doesn't truly understand how upset I was yesterday and I can't make him understand, not right now. He has a lot of stress to deal with at his hotel.

I watched my daughter walk away from me, into the school yard and it scared me. I haven't been this scared since I took my son to his school on September 11, 2001. I don't know what I would do if something happened to either of them.

D&D Campaign Over

Well, if you've gone to My Writing, you'll see that our characters died this past gaming session. Not exactly thrilled about it. What makes me unhappy is that we were not given a chance to try to escape. We were told, "you're captured, you're tortured, you're killed. Next game, what do you want to do?"

I understand Rob probably had it planned like that already and I will admit, the situation we were in was not a good one, so the chances of us escaping were pretty slim. But still, even the slightest chance would have been nice.

So, now we are starting a new campaign. Terry is going to play a monk. I am either going to play a ranger that is half high elf and half drow, or a moonknight. A moonknight is a prestige class Rob created. I have played one previously and she was pretty powerful. Rob has toned the class down some, which is actually pretty good in some aspects. I will be test playing the class for him, which means there will be things changed at the drop of a hat.

Terry and I had an idea of playing elves based on a couple I read about in the latest R.A. Salvatore trilogy about Drizzt Do'Urden. The elves fight in unison and in need of each other, completely dependent of each other. But, after the trouble we seemed to have in the last campaign playing a couple that were starting out, I decided against playing another couple. He asked if we were going to have our new characters together, even if we didn't play the elves, but I'm undecided. We are going to have to talk about it.

My Turn

Your Superhero Profile

Your Superhero Name is The Terra Demon Your Superpower is Electrocution Your Weakness is Salt Your Weapon is Your Secret Decoder Thorns Your Mode of Transportation is Phone Booth

What's your Superhero Name?

via Lela and Steve

To Continue What Mike Started

There never seems to be enough time to say it as many times as people deserve to hear it.

Friends -
I love you, Lela, Mike, Steve, Vinnie, Mark, J.D., Kelly who lives so far away and though our lives always seem to keep us from talking enough, Rob who deserves it even when he irritates the hell out of me.

Family -
I love you, Paul, Crystal, Jack, Diane, Dad, Junebug and Mom, even if we haven't spoken but three times in the past three years.

Loved Ones -
I love you, Micaela, beautiful girl that you are, joy that you bring me, stress you create.
I love you, Derek, handsome boy, maturing every day into a handsome man. God, I wish you would turn in your homework.
I love you, Sweetie, Bubba, the man who has stood by me through everything, who makes me feel better even in the worst of situations, who accepts me for my faults and praises the good.