Finally Done!

For those of you that don't know what that means, there was a commercial back in the day for something and I cannot for the life of me remember what it was right now, where the little girl put the back of her wrist to her forehead and said "Finally Done!". My mom loved that commercial and she would always do that when she was done with some chore like cleaning or dishes or something. Even after Jefferson hospital severed her tongue and she could speak any more, she would still put her wrist to her forehead and you knew exactly what she meant!

Soooooooooooooooo, this week's finally done and the countdown is: 9 HOURS AND 11 MINUTES Till we leave!!! yea!

So not that I am a daily blog poster by any means, but this will be the last time I post until after we get back on the 9th.

Picked up my new reading glasses after work today. Yes, I've reached the age where I need my contacts for distance and a pair of glasses to wear with them in order to read or work on the computer. Why not just get bifocals? well, I hate the way I look in glasses. Always have. Besides, I hate seeing the reflections in the lenses. And glare? That's the worst. And when we go out, I don't usually have to read, unless it's a menu. So, putting them on for a few minutes here and there is not a big deal. I do have to say though, these are the best looking pair of glasses I have ever owned!

And here's a kicker for ya! My boss, the greatest boss in the whole world, was leaving today at 1:30 pm to go home and use here glorious built in pool. So, before she leaves, she hands me an envelope with a card in it that says Be safe and be happy on the front (which has a picture of a very colorful, traditionally shaped kite. The inside has a hand written message from her that says "Have a Great Week! -- Diane. Oh, the kicker? Had $100 in it too. For no reason. Got me a bonus. Got me a bonus. Love that woman!

Well, Everybody have a safe and happy, relaxing Labor Day holiday. Love to all.

It' s now 11:01 , 2, so now the countdown is.........
(8 hours and 58 minutes)

And I don't know where the time comes from that shows when you posted, but it is not my time zone!

Counting further down; Jordan; What a day!

Well, at this post it is 4 days, 7 hours and 36 minutes till we leave for Eldora at 7 am on Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had Jordan this weekend and we were so busy, I didn't take any pictures! I am an awful Nonnie (that's what I want Jordan to call me) We had alot of fun, though. I picked him up on Friday after work and we came home. He played with all his toys, pulling everything out of his toybox! the Popcorn popper, the Fisher price barnyard, the airplane, the race car. the farm truck, the stacking rings, and the shape sorter ball! I had shaped blocks and stacking rings from one end of the house to the other!
Saturday morning we went out to breakfast per our usual. Jordan had cheesy scrambled eggs, milk, applesauce, bacon and home fries! Then off to order my new glasses at the opticians, and to Kohl's to get Dean new kickers. Then to the produce store for some mushrooms, plums, a lemon and salami. (they have a deli, too!) Home for a nap, then Dean made dinner. Porterhouse steaks on the grill, sautee'd mushrooms and hashbrowns. While Dean was browning the taters, Mr. Jordan walks into the kitchen, put his little hands on his hips and just starts babbling at Dean! It was like he was saying "Isn't dinner ready, yet? I'm hungry!" And he must have been hungry cause he ate about half of the filet out of my steak, some hash browns and some mushrooms! I was stunned!
Sunday, we had waffles and milk for breakfast. Jordan had some yogurt and milk with his waffle. Then he played till nap time. After nap time it was off to Aunt Donna's for a swim. Jordan loved it. I asked him if he wanted to get out of the pool and he said no. I asked him if he wanted to be done swimming and he said "No, not done". So, he can talk, but he does that jabberin' most of the time. Can't wait till all that becomes real words! Then it was out of the pool, a quick lunch for Jordan and then we had to take him back home.
Dean and I watched the Steeler game until half time, then it was bed time for us. Final Score: Steelers 27 Eagles 13. Niiiiiiiice.

Today at work, I was pretty busy. They day flew by! It was 5 to 12 before I knew it! Then I got lunch at 1:30. Then it was 3:00 before I knew it, the 4:12-time to get stuff put away so I could leave at 4:30 which is my normal quitting time. Went and got the tires rotated on the truck, picked up my new contacts, then home. Had dinner and started cleaning so that the house is all done when we leave on Saturday morning.

Now its 4 days, 7 hours and 17 minutes. Can ya tell I look forward to this trip?

Counting Down; Sandra + Jesse; Baseball card Collection

Well, it is 8 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes till we leave for our long camping trip to the big race at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg Ohio. I don't know why they say it's Rossburg. When you mail them the check for your race tickets and camping permit, it goes to New Weston, OH. (Not to be confused with West Newton, PA-which I do. I really have to pause and think when I type it).
Maybe the New Weston post office is where their mail comes out of because it's closer. Like at Parker Plastics--my work. We are located in Bethel Park. Pay the business taxes to Bethel Park. But our mail? Comes from the Castle Shannon Post Office. Weird. I know. It's probably just me.

I watched Jay Leno's show last night and his first guest was one of my favorite if not the favorite actresses ever-Sandra Bullock. You know her. She's got that great hair, sparkling eyes and fantastic smile taht sucks you in from the moment you see her on the screen. From Speed to Miss Congeniality to Two Weeks Notice, she just wins you over. Well, a little more than a year ago, she married Jesse James. Not the outlaw, of course, but the famedbad boy bike builder and owner of West Coast Choppers and Host of Monster Garage. You wouldn't think that that sweet girl would be with that bad boy, but they are. Opposites attract. It must be true. And you know what Jesse did for their 1 year anniversary? Surprised her by taking her to Minnesota to see her idol -Prince- perform! Now how cool is that? A star as big as she is idolizes Prince. Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, Little Red Corvette, Raspberry Beret Prince. He packed her clothes, make up and toilettries, hid them in the car and told her he needed her to drive him to the airport for an appearance he had to make. The flight was a redeye flight at 6 or 7 a.m., So, she threw on whatever she had taken off and was on the bathroom floor the night before, pulled her hair up in a ponytail, no make up, nothing because she thought she ws just dropping him off! But, when they get there, he tell her she has to go into the airport with him and get on a plane to fly to Minnesota! She didn't say, but I am sure they had the best seats money could buy for the concert! She said she didn't even realize Jesse was beside her the whole time because she was so mesmerized by Prince. She had loved Prince since puberty (hers, not his) and has had many, many fantasies about him. She said Jesse started to say something at one point, and she interrupted him and said "I know. He's singing right to me".

And here's one for my nephew...... A baseball card collection estimated to be worth in the neighborhood of $50,000, was stolen from a Wisconsin man this week. The collection is said to have contained a Sandy Kofax (sp?) rookie card, several Roberto Clemente cards, several Mickey Mantle cards and several Hank Aaron cards, all worth big, big bucks by themselves, let alone in a collection. So, maybe you shouldn't post what cards you have. Might make people want to find you.................and your cards.

We're ba-a-a-ack; VICK-tory!; Off again; Rain, rain. Go Away.

Yes, we are back from camping. It started raining very early Sunday morning, so we had to break camp between the rain drops. Every time the rain slowed to a drizzle or stopped entirely for a few moments, it was a mad dash (mostly on Dean's part) to get all the outside stuff ready for storage. Roll up the rug that is our "patio" when we camp, disconnect the outside speakers for the stereo, take ot the stabilizing jacks, take down the flag and the party lights, fold the lawn chairs and the table. I take care of packing the inside and securing everything. Then I stow the chairs and table, rug, cooler, flag and speakers. Then go out and help him get the camper on the hitch. (one of us backs the truck, the other directs). Then I go back in make sure that all the vents and windows are closed, do a quick light check and we're off! We go to the nearby state park and use the dump station. It rained the whole way there, then quit long enough for us to get the tanks dumped and rinsed out. Rained the whole way back to my work, then quit just before we pulled in the lot where we store the camper. Got unhooked, and Dean went to the store (he drove his car to my work on Friday and left it parked there for the weekend) and I came home, unloaded the truck and had almost everything put away by the time he got back from the store. We work so well together. If only I could get that damn awning thing figured out. For life of me, I can't seem to get the awning on the camper unhooked on my side when we set up camp. It is really hard to lift it out of the hook at the top that secures it while its in the up position for travel. I thought that it was because I wasn't strong enough to lift out, but that can't be it, cause I help Dean lift the generator in and out of the truck and that sucker's heavy! So, I have come to the conclusion that it is that I cannot visualize what is supposed to be happening up there on top, so I don't know the "trick" to manuever the thing out of the hook. So, Dean just does it himself now. And tht's ok by me.................

Well, the Michael Vick dog fighting story is all we've heard since we got back from camping. What is the problem with these athletes that make so much money? Is it that they HAVE so much money? Do they have some sort of bad seed in them that they have to do terrible and illegal things with their money? Do they think they won't get caught or that they are above the law? So, I am glad he will never play in the NFL again, that he WILL go to jail, and if he hasn't invested the rest of his money wisely, he will now have nothing. After he serves his jail term, he will have to find a real job so he has income. Welcome to the real world, asshole. Serves you right. I hope someone in jail has a dogfight with you. Or better yet, makes you his girlfriend. Good luck with that, Vick. You deserve it!

so, we have the rest of this week and next, then we are off to Eldora. Can't wait for that. We have to do a camper repair before we go, though. Seems I broke my bed Saturday evening. I was putting something away and kneeled on it wrong and WHAM! I and part of the bed are on the floor. Hopefully a trip to Home Depot for some plywood and some brackets will fix it right up! We are going to get Jordan for the weekend because we won't be able to see him again till October! We leave for Eldora Next Saturday (9-1). We don't come home until the following Sunday (9-9). I am helping the owner of our company, Mrs. Parker, who I call Dee Dee, at her house on the weekend of the 15th for a nice sum of money. The 20th thru the 23 is the Pittsburgher weekend and the weekend of the 28th, we go to Deep Creek for the annual bowling weekend. Whew! September is pretty much like this every year for us. So glad we don't have kids in school!

Well, it's very early Tuesday morning and it is still raining. It rained all day Sunday, almost all day yesterday, and now it's raining again (or still). The Nascar race in Michigan was postponed from Sunday to Monday, then from Monday to today. If it is still raining in Michigan today, I think they will have to add the race to the end of the schedule because all the car haulers have to report to Bristol on Thursday, so they can't wait any longer to run this race. I remember when it rained at Louden (NH) one year and they added the race to the end of the schedule. They had to run in November. Do you know how cold it is in November in New Hampshire? Pretty cold. I tthink it was about 40 degrees on race day. At least Michigan Int'l Speedway isn't as far North as Louden, NH..............

I'm Audi and I'm outy

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new Audi commercial where the driver throws the car into a parallel parking space and the subtitle comes up " The Luxery car for people who know how to park." Hysterical! I love the way they slam the Lexus with the rear view camera! Or the Toyota Prius that parks itself? How cool is that? Anyone in their right mind that watches the Lexus commercial that gives the counts on how many times the driver has hit the landlord's car and how many times he's hit that tree doesn't think to themselves "Duh, That wouldn't happen if he had rear view camera, Duh." No they think, this guy would have lost his insurance a long time ago with all those claims! Or, maybe he should have gotten the Toyota so it could park for him!So, yea for Audi, even though I'm not a big Audi fan. But I do love the commercial for making me laugh out loud.

We will be outy this weekend. Going campin' at the racetrack. So, you won't be hearin' from me for a few days, unless it's by cell phone. No computer in the camper, ya know. Then, next weekend we are going to have a Jordan sleepover. Then the weekend after that, we leave for the annual trek to Eldora in New Weston, Oh!!! 10 days of camping, 3 or 4 nights of racing, one day of boating. It will be great! There's a lake not far up the road, and last year we went and checked it out. It's beautiful! So, we though we might go rent a boat this year and putt around the lake for a day. So, we leave on the 1st and will be home on the ninth. Since we have Verizon Wireless and the track has a sponsorship of Nextel/Sprint, we don't get a good signal there, so phone access is limited. (The track is owned by Tony Stewart who drives the #20 Home Depot car in Nascar, which is also sponsored by Nextel.)

And on a sad note, another wrestler has died. First Chris Benoit. I think he was a victim of self induced "roid rage". Now, Brian "Crush" Adams. I think that "roids" are the cause, but didn't hear that yet. Why do people have to put these drugs in their bodies when they don't know how harmful they will be in the long run? I am sure that all the wrestlers, baseball players, football players and whoever else take steroids in a non medical capacity should really think about what it will do to their heart. If they take steroids to make their muscles bigger and give them more strength, wouldn't dawn on them that is will make the heart bigger too since it's a muscle? And making the heart bigger is a dangerous thing, not a good thing. C'mon, people. THINK! That's my Soapbox for this evening. Be talkin' to ya'll when we get back from the weekender camping trip!

WAKE UP, PEOPLE!!; Gone swimmin' ; Cruise Control; Turn Signal

Have you seen the commercial for Pepsi that has more caffeine and ginseng added to it? Everyone is yawning and yawning and yawning till they show the guy that's drank the Pepsi. Yawning is contagious. Whether the yawn is nin person or not, it's catchy. I yawn every time I see that commercial. And the announcer that yells "WAKE UP, PEOPLE!" is he trying to sound like Ty from Extreme Home Makeover? I have to seave the room when that commercial comes on.

We went and got Sara and Jordan and took them to Dean's Aunt Donna's for a cookout and swimming. Jordan loved it! He was shivering after about 2 hours in the pool and still didn't want to get out! Here's Jordan and Dean in the pool.....


Jordan likes this turtle floaty thing....

And squirting himself with the water gun while sittin on his mom's lap. Jordan will be having a brother or sister next year.


Then it was time to get our of the pool and get some grub. We had corn on the cob, linguini salad, coleslaw, burgers, dogs, chicken and potatoe salad. Yum! Jordan really likes Pap's linguini salad! He ate a whole plate full.

Close up of Jordan in the turtle floaty thing...


After a second dip in the pool, it was time to get our clothes on and get ready to leave.

Sittin on the couch with Pap pap and Cousin Jimmy after gettin' dressed to go home.

Man, we had a good time!!

But on the ride to pick Sara and Jordan up and bring them to Aunt Donna's, we travel on 837, aka Baldwin rd./East Carson street. Now the stretch between Beck's Run and the Glenwood bridge is a good 2-3 miles long with nothing on either side except railroad tracks on the upper side and railroad tracks, the bikeway and the river on the lower side. No Side streets or hiding places for cops. The posted speed limit is 40, but you can clip along there at 50 or so, if ono one's in your way. Dean sets the cruise control for this stretch. But sets it at 40 MPH!! I don't understand this. It seemed like he was going sooooooooo slow. This is the man that drive like a maniac out the parkway to get to the racetrack on Saturdays. It's 55, but he goes 70 or faster. Anyway, I ask him about the 40 mph cruising speed and he tells me "that's the speed limit". What? Are you kiddin' me? Drive like you want to get there! Now, my nephew has posted on his blog that when he drives his mom or his coworker John, that they comment on his over the speed limit driving. I do it too. If I feel safe enough and the road conditions are good, I will push it to about 7 - 15 mph over the posted limit. I know on my way to work in the morning, Lebanon Church Road is 45, then 40 then 35 MPH. What do I go? 55-60, 50-55, 40-45. I know that there are more often than not cops in the 35 zone, so I take it a bit easy there. Unless it's the end of the month where the cops are trying to make their ticket quota, I feel it's safe from getting a ticket to go 7 - 9 mph over the posted limit. And I neve really say anything about how fast Dean drives to the racetrack unless he's scarring me. (he tends to try to intimidate people out from in front of him, which really scares me.) I am all for doing at least 10 mph over the speed limit if you are in the fast lane. But, you better be going as fast as me (and Dean) or move the hell over!

I do use my turn signal for lane changes. I use my signal to let other drivers know I am going to turn soon and may have to slow down to do it. I use my turn signal to let other drivers know I am now going into the turning lane. I DO NOT leave my signal blinking once I am in the turn lane. I am in the turn lane. I am going to turn. I already let you know I was going into the turn lane to eventually make a turn. I don't have to do it again, unless you are that stupid!

Sonic Boom!; Heat Index; not myself

The Pittsburgh area is experiencing a Sonic Boom. This is not like the kind in the sixties when I was little and the jets went faster than the speed of sound and it went BOOM! This is the best kind of Sonic Boom! We are actually getting our first Sonic Drive in in the Pittsburgh area!

It will open at the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills Mall, just north of Pittsburgh on Route 28. Now, it's not as close to us as the one near my sister's house, but it's a start. I think if it does well there, that there will be others opening in the area soon. Perhaps at the Waterfront, which would be fairly close to us and enable us to get those wonderful Vanilla Cokes and Cherry Slushies!

Those cold drinks would sure help us about now. With the Heat index being around 98 degrees and all. If you don't know what a heat index is, it's how hot it feels with the actual temperature + the humidity. I don't know the exact formula, but I know it was bad enough that work shut down and didn't have second shift.

And I think that heat and humidity has really taken a toll on me. I really haven't felt like myself for over a week and a half now. We want to go camping this weekend. The humidity is supposed to drop on Friday, so, I hope so. Usually when we are going to go camping on the weekend, I clean the house and do the laundry the week before. I get up when Dean goes to work and clean 1 room every morning and simultaneiously do a load or 2 of laundry. I haven't done it and tomorrow is thursday already. I'll try to get something done in the morning and I have Friday morning, too. We'll see. Maybee camping will make me feel better too.

Sidebar: My sister went to San Antonio on a vacation with her friend Julia. She had a great time and sounds like her ol' self again. Now she's off to Little Rock to shop for school stuff. Their kids go back on the 20th! She has to be back on the 15th! But, that will keep her busy and into her old routine and I think she will be better as the school year progresses. It's Christmas I worry about. That will be rough for her. Maybe she could come to Pittsburgh?......Like the day after? Dean and I are off work that entire week. It would be perfect. Just a thought. Maybe some of the Arkansans that read th is could put that bug in her ear....................