Camp Out

Ben, Colin, and I spent the weekend at Gov. Bebb Preserve for Cub Scouts. It rained on Friday, was mostly beautiful on Saturday (except for a thunderstorm early in the evening) and we had a pretty good time! Remind me NOT to take 2 teenagers with me next time! One is hard enough! Colin was allowed to bring a friend, and he chose Nick. Two hyper teenagers with a bunch of hyper cub scouts is not a good mix!

Some of the fun things we did: nature walks, a speaker about birds of prey (we got to see a kestrel, Eastern Screech Owl, Peregrine falcon, and a great horned owl), the boys jumped off a big log into the creek, played card games, told ghost stories, and ate lots of good food made in the pie irons. We slept in the youth hostel, so we didn't have to set up the tent. The hostel was great...there was a lot of room for sleeping (all of the boys from Den 1 slept there), there was electricity, a fridge and stove, a huge fireplace, and two big tables. All in all it was a fun trip, but I am beat! I love my bed!

Tire Trouble

Man plans, God laughs. Don't remember where I heard or read that, but it's so true! Today was a fiasco! Ben had an opportunity to participate in a discussion panel for kids about food at Qfact Marketing today. He'd make $50 for sitting in on a discussion. Pretty easy way of making money, I'd say. Problem was, he had to be there at 4 PM all the way in Blue Ash, about a half hour trip with no traffic or problems. So I left school early (got someone to cover for me so I wouldn't have to get a sub), picked Ben up early from school (about 15 minutes) and we made our way to Blue Ash via the highway. This is where the craziness began. My tire blew while I was in the left lane of I-275, just before the Tri-County exit. I wasn't able to get over to the exit in time, so I had to stop on the side of the road. There is no shoulder since there was construction, so here I am in a pile of dirt! Long story short the tow truck man had to drive past us, dispatch for police aide (since we were in a dangerous spot) and an hour and 45 minutes later we were off the side of the road, our full-size spare (cool!) tightly on and on our way back home...in MAJOR rush hour traffic! Needless to say Ben didn't earn his $50, I didn't get my "cut" of the earnings for taking him, and I now need to replace my spare tire. Good thing is my spare was full-size and in great shape, so I don't need to buy a new expensive tire. Just a replacement to put as a spare. Thank God we were not hurt, hurt no one else, and caused no damage to our car or any other vehicle on the road. It could have been much worse. God is laughing at my crazy plan to make some cash and put me back in my place. What's hard to see in the picture is there is no side to the tire. You are seeing the inside. CRAZY!

Prom Season

Here's my niece, Katlin, who's a senior in Florida. My sister sent pictures of her prom, and I had to share. So freakin glad I don't have a daughter! She's too beautiful, and the dresses these days don't allow much to the imagination. I haven't seen Katlin or her brother, Kevin, since the summer of 2003, and we will get to see them in June. Cannot wait! Around here all I am dealing with is getting to the video game store to pick up the much-awaited Pokemon Diamond version for the Nintendo DS, the attitude of a 14 year old, and keeping up with laundry!

Nicole C Mullen

I went to see Christian singer Nicole C. Mullen tonight with Janel and Jodi. WAKW and Tri County Assembly of God church put on a free concert to promote her new CD. To quote Jodi, the concert was "OFF THE HOOK!" That girl is talented! She can sing! She was born and raised in Cincinnati but now lives in Nashville (of course, when you make it big in the industry you have to move to TN to rub elbows with the big guys!) I also saw a student of mine, Jas'Marie, who was separated from her family. Her face was so cute when she recognized me. Then she asked, "Where's Miss Gail?" She must think we do everything together! Anyway, if you have a chance to listen to Nicole C. Mullen, you have to listen to "Redeemer." It will bring you to tears, like it did tonight for me.

Goodbye Pigs

Last January, Sucker Cyndi adopted 2 guinea pigs from Liane in Indy. They had a new dog and no one was paying any attention to the guinea pigs, so I took them. (Never have paid for a guinea pig before, but they cost a fortune in litter and food!) Alan's been threatening to get rid of the guinea pigs. All they do is eat, drink and poop. They make a mess, and the only place for them was in the living room, so we had litter all over the floor around the perimeter of the cage. Ben and I were at the pet store yesterday picking up a free fish and saw people looking at the guinea pigs. I quickly wrote a note letting them know we had 2 to get rid of. Handed it to them, and they followed us out of the store, told us they'd take them, and followed us home! Ben is a bit upset, but I was the one who cleaned the cage and pretty much cared for them. The girl who's getting them actually takes her pig with her everywhere! She even sleeps with it! So I know they are going to a good home. So long, Raskal and Cocoa.

Ugly fish doll

Okay, this might be ugly, but it's all the rage (apparently.) Perry's been designing them, and Jodi's been making them. Ben saw one and had to have one. So we consigned Perry to design one for Ben and I made it last night. Jodi's are cuter, with hand-work, but I did Ben's all by machine. Within a week it'll be on the floor of the family room covered in cat and dog hair. If you don't believe that people actually pay for these things, check out http://www.babybungalow.com/uglydolls.html

Well, it's a rainy day. I am off to sew a dress for a girl who's in West Side Story. I am so glad it's not a warm sunny day!