Portia

This is an older photo from a vacation to Holden Beach, North Carolina in the summer of 2007.  Portia and Celeste decided to try out their mad skillz at wave riding in the blow up canoe.  I got this shot right before they were both dumped into the ocean.  

I'm using this photo for my entry for the "I Heart Faces - Beach Fun" contest.  Check out the I Heart Faces site for other great entries!

Ahhh!  Memorial Day weekend - finally it's almost here!  Being the first work day off since New Year's, this is one of my most looked forward to long weekends.  And as a plus, Jami & Larry, our greatest friends from Indy, always come down for the long weekend and hang out with us.  Last year we all went camping at Dog Woods, but this year we'll be hanging at the house.  We'll be doing a small cookout on Saturday afternoon with some porch dwelling and cornhole on the agenda. And it will be the last time to hang at this house on Memorial Day weekend!  I've already warned them that there are boxes and corners of disaster everywhere.  I have managed to keep the guest room box and clutter free though.

Portia is supposed to be home visiting starting Monday for a week or so since this Friday is her last day of school. She may be getting a job at the local pool where she lives, which would be wonderful for her, but will limit her free days during the summer.  But what better place to work in the summer than at a pool and make some money!

As a house update, the appraisal was yesterday on the new house and we should know the results by the end of this week.  Waiting is the hardest part, especially since once we find out if the appraisal came through ok we'll get a closing date soon after.  And I'm very anxious to know some dates so I can plan more efficiently.  In the meantime I think I've boxed almost all unnecessary items and thrown out almost all unwanted items.  Thanks to my brother, almost all the painting is done and we only have a small list of home repairs left to do.  

Things are moving along!  We also have a potential buyer for Dog Woods and the camper, which would be an added bonus.  I will miss it, but there is no point in living on 11 acres and keeping a 6 acre getaway when we'll be literally living in a get-away all the time - with running water and plumbing, no less!

Portia was home for the weekend for her birthday and we took her and three of her friends bowling at King Pin.  Once again, I won the first game and tied Jason for the second.  Muahahah!  Though Portia's boyfriend (playing on a different team) was the overall winner - he kicked bootie!  We played a couple of games, had some pizza and then headed back home to hang out for the evening.

Charlie and Christina brought Scrappy over and him and Lois Lane are like two peas in a pod!  They are so cute together!  Now we just have to work with Buddy and Molly for some doggie harmony.

Portia is playing guitar in her music class so she's learning some of the ropes from Jason.  Now she even has her own guitar!  She seems to be settling in well at her new school, even if she's only been there 2 days before they had 2 snow days.  Her 17th birthday is Wednesday so she's home for the weekend to celebrate with us.

There is no change in Blue today.  We'll be evaluating him again in the morning before calling the vet to give a status update and see what's next.  Stay tuned...

The Christmas season is upon us.  My tree is up, but there is only one gift under it. Buddy, apparently, likes to play with wrapped gifts, scoot them around the living room and chew on the paper, thus my little 2 foot tree will be nekkid of gifts this year. Shopping is close to being done, just a few more items left.  It's busy season for sure and our weekends are totally booked through New Year's.

Last night we went to our annual Christmas party hosted by our good friends Charlie & Christina.  It's always a good time and last night was no exception!  Yummy lasagna and breadsticks for dinner, lots of good snacks and the traditional White Elephant gift exchange was a hoot, as always.  I ended up with 2 dvds, a jar of homemade canned peppers (which Jason is thoroughly enjoying), a gourd, a plastic reindeer and a pocket knife that looks like a key - ha!  Jason got a good one and snagged a 4-piece set of wine glasses.  Unfortunately as I was putting one in the dishwasher this morning it became a 3-piece set. (Exactly why we don't buy expensive wine glasses.)

Portia has decided to move in with her (biological) mom and will be officially moving next weekend.  So we've been busy getting her packed up, filling out school transfer forms and tying up other loose ends.  I hope the move is a good choice for her - it sure won't be the same without her home, but I hope to get to spend some quality weekends with her in the upcoming months.

The dogs are all doing well.  Buddy has reached the 80 pound mark.  He could still use 10 or so pounds, but at this point he's healthy and happy and very smitten to be indoors and laying on our couch rather than being pinned up outside as he has been in the past.  He's over his food aggression and him and Blue are quickly becoming good buddies, which I never thought I'd hear myself say. Blue never plays with other dogs, but him and Buddy are like two peas in a pod!  This is a picture I got of Buddy one day when he was just standing by the chair and decided his big ol' head needed a rest.  Hehe!

That's about all I really have as an update.  Hopefully I'll be getting some exciting photos to share with all the festivities going on in the next several weeks.  I wish everyone happy holidays!

Whoo boy what a week it's been!

Thursday afternoon Jason spotted a baby fawn in the neighbor's yard right at the tree line.  Upon doing some research I found that sometimes momma deer will leave the baby to go find food and come back within a few hours.  So we left him alone for that evening, even though he was crying and not walking very well.  We didn't want to impose on nature if we didn't have to.

By that evening the baby had moved to the woods behind our fence line and was still crying out for his momma.  Jason walked back to check on him and saw a doe not too far away.  Naturally, we assumed this was the mother deer and left them alone.  There was no sound from the baby the next morning so we thought all was good.  Then that afternoon Jason heard him crying again.  At that point he decided we needed to do something, so he went in search of the baby.  He found him curled up in an open area of the woods behind the house, still crying.  Jason walked right up to the baby, but the baby didn't move.  Jason then reached out to pet him so he knew he meant no harm and the poor little thing got scared and ran about 20 feet before he face planted in the dirt.  Jason went to him again and did the same thing, and the wee baby ran again, only making it a few steps before he collapsed.  So Jason picked him up and brought him on the porch and put him on one of the dog beds.

He and Portia got him to drink a few ounces of milk before he tired out to take anymore.  At that point he called the Kentucky Wildlife Association who referred us to a vet clinic we could take the baby to.  From there a wildlife sanctuary came to pick him up and take him to their facility where they will nurse him back to health and re-release him when he is strong and healthy enough.  You can read the full store on our PetResearch site in case you ever find a baby fawn that appears to be abandoned.  And of course I got a few pictures!

In other exciting news, Portia got her driving permit on the same day!  *gah!* She's been a little hesitant to get it (she was eligible to get it when she turned 16 in January), but once she really thought about it and realized she could go to Taco Bell whenever she wanted to once she got her license it was on!  (Had I known this I'd have dangled a taco in front of her 5 months ago!).  She is getting my 2003 Ford Escape since I only drive my F150 now.  She's been out driving a few times and is picking up the ropes pretty well.  Of course, I had to get some photos of her first driving experience.

Showing off her permit:

Getting some last minute instructions from Dad:

And she's off...and smiling all the way!

And then today she took a big step.  Jason offered to let her drive "Big Nasty", his F350 Diesel down some of the back roads on the way home from dinner.  I thought for sure she'd chicken out (I would have) but she said "Heck yeah!" and drove that puppy all the way home.  :)

'Tis All Hallows' Eve...do you know where your children are?

Week two into the resolutions and doing good! We've been getting up at 5:15 each morning to get an hour of stretching and cardio in before work. Next week when we're better aquainted with awakening at the crack of dawn we'll add in strength training. We've been eating well and have cut out all alcohol *gasp* for the time being. I do miss my beer, but it hasn't been too bad. Luckily we stay busy with our jobs, work at home and the ever-busy schedule of a teenager in the house.

Speaking of teens, it will be a miracle if I make it to my 32nd birthday without my head imploding. Why must everything be so difficult, contain such drama and cause so much stress?! Apparently rules are made to be broken, chores are for days with nothing better to do and homework is an unimportant waste of time. Apparently the only thing that is important is boys, boys and, hmmm, oh yeah, boys. You can only spend so much time lecturing, calmly checking your temper and trying to rationally explain the "why" of it all before feeling like an utter failure or just giving up. As always things will work out in the end, but hoo-boy how interesting these next 3 years will be. For anyone else with teen girls, you have my sympathy and understanding. Those of you that don't, just pray for me!