I'VE GOT FRIENDS.........again......

I've been up in the Dallas area for almost 7 years now and I'm finally making friends. I decided to stop being a hermit. Here's part of the group they call "The 30Somethings". I think I'm one of the oldest, but luckily everybody thinks I'm one of the younger ones ..... shhhhhhhhh, don't tell ;-}

And yes, if you look real hard, there is a guy in the right-hand side window. He's a little strange, but funny!

Why I Love My TV

These are my favorite TV shows. See what a diverse person I am, all the way from Hannah Montana to Lost. Oh well, I may be a grownup, but I still love my Disney!!!
Of course, I've got plenty of time to watch TV, unlike most of you.

Last but not least, American Idol!!!

My Celebrity Look-a-likes (or so they say......)

I know, I know, Matthew Perry??? At least it's not the Cowardly Lion....I was really expecting him to show up -- I think it's all the hair :-}

Hey wait, I don't see any double chins on any of my look-a-likes. What's up with that????

Turn It Up!!!

I've got music, thanks to Holly -- she's so high-tech ;-} Unfortunately it takes a while to start playing....so please be patient, it's there!!!!

It's the heart of rock-n-roll ....... it keeps beating .....

Just HAD to Have a Big Cookie......

Yes, yesterday was my "39th" birthday -- can you believe it???? Me neither. I had a great day at work, many flowers, balloons, money, gift cards and a fabulous strawberry cake......but, I just had to have a Big Cookie.

I called the Great American Cookie Company and ordered a cookie for me to pick up at 6:30, since I had an appt at the stake center at 7:00. On my way home, the radio announced that I was driving directly into a tornado warning area. I was spooked, so I called Joy to keep me company during my drive. I had to get to the mall to get that cookie!! I made it there, got the cookie and had about 15 minutes to get to the stake center.

As I proceeded to leave the mall, from the Dillard's exit, of course, the wind and rain were incredible. There was stuff flying all over the place. I knew I shouldn't go outside. So I went back into Dillard's and hoped to wait out the storm. It would be okay if I were just a few minutes late for my appt.......

Well, the firm alarms started going off, everyone in Dillards starting going towards the escalators (I was on the 2nd floor). So I decided it would be best to follow. I started cutting across the clothes area and "bang" the lights went out. (Mind you, I'm carrying a big cookie, plus another little (heavy) bag because I just "had" to do a little shopping.) So I weaved my way through the clothes, in the dark, and finally make it to the escalators. I had left my cell phone in the car, of course, but luckily everybody else had theirs so there was a little light. I had to feel my way down the escalator, PRAYING that the lights didn't come back on while I was going down or else there would be pieces of me and cookie all over the place.

I finally made it down the stairs and realized we had been locked in Dillards. I sat on the floor in the men's department for about an hour and a half in the dark, with the sirens going off, with a bunch of strangers. Needless to say, I missed my appointment.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!! At least I won't forget it.....and at least I didn't get hit by a tornado!! There's always a silver lining, if you look hard enough....... :-}

A Very Cold Easter Weekend......

I went down to Corpus for Easter.....brrrr, it was cold, but at least it wasn't snowing like it was in Dallas. I had a great time and enjoyed freaking everybody out with my "big ole" scar........

Julie's kids coloring Easter eggs

Brock is such a doll!!

I sure do miss the good-old days of napping.......looks good, huh?

My "Brain" Surgery......

I just wanted to thank everyone for your love, support and many prayers during my "brain" ordeal. It's taken a little over a month, but I'm really starting to feel much better. I do still have moments where it gets pretty bad, but that's usually only when I over-do it.

The doctor said I can't play golf for "at least" six months.......sorry, Dad! And I can't ride a roller coaster for "at least" a year. No more extreme sports/contact sports for me. Darn it!!! You know how much I love bungy jumping.......

Thanks everyone!!!!

San Francisco - Part 1

Here are a few pictures from my trip to San Fran last week. I had a great time!!

The Seals (or Sea Lions....I don't know the difference)

The outcast (just like that poor Meerkat!)

Almost to Alcatrez

Lombard Street (The crooked street)

The Gang (Minus Steven who was taking the picture!)

San Francisco - Part 2

Here are a few more pictures from San Fran!!








Me, Donna and a Mime

The Bridge (Golden Gate, that is)

Another boat arriving on Alcatrez

Solitary Confinement (Below - Very Creepy!)

The "Trolley" we took everywhere.

NASCAR Baby!!!

Terry's last race. If you look closely, you can see two number 44's. The old car is the car Terry drove when you got his first win -- his son Justin is driving. They got to make a few laps at the beginning of the race at the front of the field. It was sweet!!!

Can you see Bobby in the truck??

He didn't win......

He might be a redneck...........ya think????

Happy Halloweeeeeeeeeeeen

Halloween at Work. We dressed up in our pajamas -- it was the most comfortable day of the year!! Like the shoes? At home when I had them off, I couldn't tell whether they were my shoes or Chloe!

Halloween at Home. Doesn't Tara look cute as a kitty -- you'd think she would have scared Chloe, but of course, Chloe adores her, even if she was a cat. We had a great time decorating the house and scaring the neighhorhood children.....not really. Although there were many who were too scared to come up to the house. We had it pretty dark and had Halloween music playing. But how can the Addams' Family and Ghostbusters be scary????

BYU Football

Tara and I went to the BYU/TCU football game last night. We had a great time. BYU won, of course!! Tara really had a good time -- we were "high-fiving" all over the place. On Tara's run to the concession stand she "literally" ran into Shawn Bradley, former Dallas Maverick's basketball player. Good thing she didn't spill her nachos all over him. Boy, is he tall!!!!

I saw a few people from my past. Anyone remember Clyde Esplin? It's really odd how I keep running into him. He lives in Mississippi now and flew in on his boss's private plane. Must be nice.

Go Cougars!!!!

ARLINGTON BURNING.....well, just a little bit on my fence!!

I woke up at 4:30 this morning to make one of my 50 million trips a night to the restroom and smelled something odd. It was an extreme cigarette smell. I waited just a second to decide whether or not I had a problem and realized I DID have a problem. I immediately put my contacts in and threw on some clothes. Tara now lives with me, but of course, was over at Holly's -- so I was all alone. I went into the main part of the house, nothing. I called Mom, figuring that she would be nervous when the phone rang at 4:30. She told me to look outside and BINGO there it was. My neighbor, the bunny-rabbit neighbor, had a pile of hay in his backyard that apparently spontaneously combusted -- at least that's according to the firemen. I'll investigate a little more once I get home tonight. I called 911 -- my first time ever. I was nervous. The wind was blowing about 30 miles an hour and I was afraid it might catch my roof on fire. The firemen arrived less than 1 minute after I hung up with 911 -- they're really close. I apologized to them that the fire wasn't any bigger....they laughed and said to be grateful that I caught it in time.

My neighbors are really starting to concern me. Did I tell you somebody mailed me a ceramic bunny the other day???? If any of you mailed it to me, yeah, real funny!!!! Well, at least my life is starting to pick up in the exciting department!!!

Invasion of the Boyd Camp

How'd those Adamses get in there?

And Even More Reunion Pics

Dad & Marvin / Mom & Aunt Mary

Even More Reunion Pics

Jenna







Nathan








Aubrey & Ella








Jerry

More Reunion Pics

Please don't shoot.

Especially you crazy guys. Do you think you're in the military or what? Oh yeah, that's right, you are!




It's okay, Ella, since you're so cute, you just go right ahead and shoot!

Reunion Pics

My golfing buddies, Bryan, Jeremy & Phil. At least we didn't come in last!!

Jeremy drove our cart -- it was quite the ride, as I'm sure you all can imagine. He tried to run down every prairie dog he could find. He also ran over every golf ball he could find and sunk them into the ground -- it didn't matter if they were in play or not. Obviously we weren't playing with Tiger, but we sure did have a lot of fun. Oh yeah, remember the Marshall -- "Don't drive in the desert!!" Hello, we were in New Mexico!




On our way back. Can you see the white sands????











Well, we almost made it back. Good thing it's cool in the mountains!!

A Bunny's Revenge

Two weeks ago a new family moved into the two-story house next door. This past Saturday I caught my neighbor scapling his portion of the yard that is attached to mine. He saw my astonishment (and disappointment) and later apologized. He said he was trying to get the yard even and just messed up. Hmmmmm.....

After further review, the man must be a genius. By trying to even up the yard, somehow he carved a rabbit (or like animal) into the grass. Looks like a Pez dispenser to me. After my recent encounter with the backyard rabbits, it's just a bit freaky. Does anyone else find this odd??????

Should I be concerned that I've potentially got a fruit loop living next door??

A Bunny Tale

In an effort to beautify my yard prior to families’ arrival for the reunion, I set out to mow the yard. The front yard went great. I even, for the first time, took my gas can down to the gas station and filled her up — I had to ask my neighbor how, of course. But I did a great job, nothing blew up, and I was very proud.
Then came the back yard. After mowing approximately half the back, I was surprised by a little bunny rabbit hopping in front of my path. See how cute he is?

This is an actual picture of him in my kitchen. Chrystina is holding him. He sat there so quietly, didn’t even budge with the flash.
Any who, back to the story.....I immediately stopped mowing and ran to the bunny’s rescue. He ended up over near my flowerbed and I went over to talk with him. I tried and tried to coax him away, but to no avail. After much "baby talk", I finally decided that he was not going to move and told him to "stay". I would simply mow the yard and keep a good eye on him. He must be a good listener, because he didn’t move an inch!
I went back to the mower and started it up again. Looking down I noticed a wad of white fur — not a good sign!! I also saw some movement. I knew instantly that something was wrong. I felt sick. I turned off the mower and ran to the aide of my trusty neighbor Jason -- it’s a good thing he lives next door! He opened the door, concerned about the look of panic on my face. I proceeded to tell him that I believe I mowed over a rabbit -- not a big rabbit, but a "baby" rabbit mind you — it does make a difference. Jason laughed it off and came over to take a look. He said not to worry, there’s tons of them, they multiple like, well, "rabbits." (Geez, it appears somebody might be just a bit insensitive :-} )
When we arrived back to survey the damage, Jason did indeed confirm my worst fears. The good news, I only got one. There were still two left. Jason captured both and let them loose --
IN MY OTHER NEIGHBOR’S YARD -- imagine that!! Jason cleaned up my mess while I finished mowing nervously. I went inside to call Joy (because Mom was already at the reunion) and cried — I had killed a baby rabbit and had separated a family. I was devastated!
The next day Joy, Phil and Nathan arrived. They tried to find the rabbits while I was at work, but only found the hole that their mother had dug for them. I came home and looked again — nothing. They must be gone.
Jeremy & Chrystina arrived later on that night and we decided to let the boys twirl sparkers in my back yard. Being that my neighbor Jason is a fireman, and the fact that we’re in a drought, we all thought it would be prudent to get the hose ready. So........we all went into the backyard and I proceeded, barefoot, to get the hose ready just in case we set my house on fire. As I moved the hose, and mind you it’s dark out, one of the rabbits jumped across my path. Of course, I jumped and screamed -- and so did all the kids, especially Baby Jerry. Then a gecko ran across my foot -- I jumped and screamed again....... and so did all the kids.
Jeremy spent the majority of the night searching for the rabbits with an itty-bitty, baby flashlight and finally found them. He picked the first one up and almost dropped him -- have you ever heard a rabbit scream??? It’s a really freaky sound!!
We only saw them a couple more times in the back yard and once in my garage, but now they are gone. Thank goodness, after three weeks of worrying and nervousness, I finally got back up on the horse and mowed again!!

Pooped Out

Hello there. I've just been working in the yard all day and thought I would share with you the "excellent" job I did -- ha, ha. After many years of living in my own home, I've come to the realization that taking care of your yard every Saturday is lot easier than letting it go for a few weeks. The mowing, weed eating, edging, etc., just seems to get done quicker if there isn't a ton of grass to deal with. It's amazing it's taken me this long to figure this out -- or I guess what it really is, is the fact that I'm just lazy on most Saturdays. Believe it or not, last Saturday I even cleaned out my "fountain". My "fake" fish really appreciates it. He was getting pretty green -- after all, he is a fish, not a frog!!

Here's my Fountain...you can see my fish???

Here's my flowerbed.....there are flowers, you just can't see them very well.