Ice Update...Finally

Sorry this has taken so long. You know how things are. I did have time to snap a few pictures at the height of the devastation. I've added all the pics to my picture blog. You can go here to check them out. http://picasaweb.google.com/tammiek1966

So, here are the excuses:

#1 No Electricity. Remember my brilliant plan to rent out sleeping bags when and if we get another major storm like January `07? Well turns out I didn't take into consideration that I could lose power along with the others that I work with. I almost had to move in with Frank and Teri. Fortunately we are on a friendly basis and they weren't planning to charge me.

#2 Along with no Electricity, there was no cable. No cable means, no Internet at home. I didn't take lunch breaks because the phones were ringing off the hooks. Like the power companies, we only had a few people available to answer phones and try to be understanding when we were told that we didn't care about (insert whomever you wish at this point) because we weren't in their neighborhood doing a story. I was able to refrain from reminding these folks that if they didn't have power that meant they didn't have tv and therefore had no clue where we were reporting.

#3 My spare time was spent worrying and praying for my cousin, Irea Nichole and her wonderful son J'son. He had just completed another round of chemo when he caught a virus. He became ill the night the storm hit. He has literally been in the hospital since. The dr.'s figured out the problem and hopefully he will be going home today.

#4 Christmas is so very close and we were supposed to be with Nannie on the 15th. I probably don't need to say more than that. I miss her terribly but am beginning to make peace. The bedroom is finally beginning to smell like both of us. I've hung pictures of her in there and talk to her often. The time without tv or radio actually forced me into dealing with Nannie moving on.

#5 I have begun reading the Dark Tower series again. Mayhap we will have discussions from time to time if ye ken it. I had forgotten how much I really do love Roland. The downside to this being the "re-read" is that I know he is going to let Jake die. But there are so many things I had forgotten. It's fun being on the road to the Tower once again.

Off to the reception desk.

Long days and pleasant nights to ye. (Expect the High Speech to appear randomely within the blogs for awhile...)

Hayden's Recipe for Hot Dogs

Hot Dogs by Hayden

Get hot dogs from Wal-Mart.
Then you go home and turn on the oven a little bit.
Put the hot dogs in a pan with juice and milk.
Put the pan in the oven for like...30 minutes.
You get them out with a greasin' thing...it looks like a spatula but I don't know what it's called.
Put them in a plate and I take them in the living room and granny feeds me.
After I get done eating, I go play in my bed room, actually in the toy room."

Ice Update

Just to let you know, I'll be back after the Ice Storm happenings settle down.

We have no power at home, we do have running water.

We have power at the station, however, no running water.

J'son is in the hospital again. Please pray for him and Nichole.

Long days and pleasant nights...

The Ice Cometh

Sorry I haven't been here for a very long time. We have allowed life to get in between us and blogging. I'll try to not let that happen again.

Anywho. It is Sunday morning. We woke up to ice. Millie begged me to let her get online and show the pictures we took of the absolutely horrible stuff. She also needed to catch up on her email that she has been totally ignoring. Nanna - she is still waiting for you to bring Colt to play with her.

Here is just one picture of what the trees look like outside. Need I say that I HATE ice, snow, cold? The puppies are actually sound asleep again on the couch. Millie, of course, under the blankie.

Nothing much going on. Yesterday was the Tulsa Christmas Parade. I decorated the tree that was in the shot between Chuck and Carole. Last Thursday was the Pryor Christmas Parade. Keeping Lincoln focussed is a chore that takes more than one person. He was thrilled that he had his own float.

Other than Christmas preps, not much to report. To see more pictures of our ice storm, go to my web pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/tammiek1966

Long days and pleasant nights to ye...

Happy Birthday Patty!

To my Older and Wiser Sister - Happy Birthday! Patty prefers pumpkin pie to cake as her birthday cake - so here ya go, I am giving you a slice of 100% calorie free Pumpkin Pie!

Patty is a whopping 13 months older than me - I figure that's at least a decade. And while my first thought for today's blog was to talk about everything I have to be thankful for...I remember today is a very joyous day and one of the things I'm most thankful for is officially 2 years older than me today!

Happy Birthday Patty!

long days and pleasant nights to ye...

Our New Bed

Sorry folks, but it seems that the only pictures of the puppies for awhile will be on "their" new bed. The bed is so very much softer than my old bed. And the great irony of the whole thing is that Nannie never ever EVER allowed animals in her house, much less on the bed.

She did begin to get soft and offered to allow them to sleep on the porch one weekend. I decided to let them vacation at Uncle Jimmy's house. There are cats to chase in Canadian.

Anywho. Millie (who is named after Nannie) has convinced Toby that they have to go back to bed right after breakfast and immediately after dinner. So, I'm pretty sure they sleep there all day too. In fact, making the bed in the morning is difficult. Today I literally shut the door and locked them out until the bed was made.

Thank you for the new wonderful bed Nannie. Hope you don't mind that the puppies like it as much as I do.

Long days and pleasant nights.

No Longer a Shar-Pei

The weekend was a bit stressful. Millie evidently stepped on a wasp or a stinging creature of some kind. At one point she looked like a baby shar-pei.
I was online desperately looking up whether or not dachshunds could take benedryl and if so, how much. Then when I learned that she was probably reacting to a bee or wasp sting or maybe even a snake bite, I began looking up aspirin and benedryl combo's on dachshunds.
Saturday night was the worst. All night she paced on the bed. And randomely decided that she would feel much better if she could scratch her face on my face.
Last evening I finally found the stinger. I had been looking on her face and neck - where the swelling was the worst. Then I noticed that she was licking her front legs and paws. So I studied her paws - sure enough - there it was in between two fingernails. I pulled it out, she jumped up and attacked me, then Toby. By this morning she was her beautiful dachshund self.
Thanks Jo and Renie for the helpful advice.
Long days and pleasant nights.

I baked a pie!

Finally, I have a picture to prove to all 2 of you that I actually baked a pie. Isn't is beautiful?

Yep this is my first ever raisin pie. It won't be my last since I learned that Splenda tastes just like sugar in the pie. You honestly don't know how excited that makes me.

Also I found this cute picture of my absolutely adorable Millie on her new bed that she loves.

More later...

long days and pleasant nights

Garth Visit...

The annual Thanksgiving meal at the station was yesterday. The way it plays out is the station buys the meat. Everyone else signs up to bring food. If you don't want to cook you can pay $5 for the meal. All proceeds go to our Education partner - Park Elementary. This year I opted to cook.

I felt that after that weekend in September with Nannie, I can bake anything. That is the funniest thought I believe I've had in a very long time. Raisin pie and Blackberry cobbler - almost totally from scratch were included in the meal yesterday. The only difficulties I had were that the cobbler had no top crust. Who knew it would fall? The only variation from Nannie's recipes (and strict instructions) was that I used Splenda in lieu of sugar. No one noticed that difference. Both were heartily eaten. I'm sure that they weren't enjoyed solely due to my standing over the dessert table, pointing out what I had made (from scratch) and insisting they be added to the each individual plate. Pictures of the dishes were taken, however, I can't figure out Nicole's camera so that will have to wait for another day.

This morning when I arrived at work, I was caught in the coffee room staring at one of the morning guests. I honestly thought that I was back in the early 1990's. Garth (young Garth) walked in to get a cup of water. I was pretty sure that no alcohol had been added to my oatmeal or coffee before coming to work. I looked around and Trisha wasn't there. It was odd. Turns out this gentleman has been named the "Best Garth Look-Alike" in all of America - supposedly by Garth himself. Honestly, I paid attention to the song he sang on the show. Not that impressed. Once you've seen the man himself perform, well let me just say, he is not duplicatable. (hope that's a word.)

OK, off to find more to do...

Long Days and Pleasant Nights.

Impulse Buying Sucks

Ok roll your eyes now and get it over with.

Jo, you can get up off the floor and stop the hysterical laughter.

Yes, today I went to WalMart to purchase the stuff necessary to make blackberry cobbler and raisin pie (from scratch) for the station Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow. I almost made it out of the store with only the stuff that is needed for Nannie's recipes. When what did I spy hanging out on the counter by the register? You guessed it - Toby! And I can't just walk by and not at least touch the disc that bears his likeness.

To my delight it has two cd's and hopefully a video. I'll keep you updated.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights.

It's a Wonderful Life Indeed

Those of you who know me, know that life hasn't been all that great the last few weeks. You also know that Christmas isn't one of my favorite holidays.

It's a Wonderful Life is one of my two favorite Christmas movies and definately in the top five of my all time favorite movies. This last month I have come to know how much one life affects the world around a person. And indeed, I know that one of the bells that rang last week was significant of Nannie earning her wings.

Every time someone asks me how I like being back in Tulsa, the answer is always, I love it. And then the follow up - how do you like your job is followed by I LOVE IT. The people are wonderful, the atmosphere is wonderful, it's is just where I belong.

I've never been gone from a job more than a week at a time. For Nannie, I was away from work for two solid weeks. I have to admit that when I noticed that the mail had been sorted and handed out, I was concerned that they may have learned how to live without me. Today was my first day back and the first day of living my life without Nannie.

The mail was taken care of, however, nothing else was. What a wonderful surprise. Carlton couldn't even operate because he had no one to find him a yellow legal pad. Chris had no clue how I handle timesheets and time cards, they guessed at that. All the on-air persons gave me huge hugs (even Frank and Lincoln) and told me how much I was missed. Carlton and Chris assured me that I would never again be gone a full two weeks.

Thru all this, I know that if I had needed a few more days, it would've been granted. I also learned that my job is secure and they love me as much as I love them.

Also, one of the first things that Nannie did when she arrived in Heaven was to find a church I would go to. Let me explain... I've been casually visiting different churches and haven't found a spiritual home in 2 years. This upset her. Our conversations always turned to the question of whether I had found a church. Today I saw in the Sapulpa newspaper that one of my favorite priests has been assigned to the Episcopal church in Sapulpa. So my answer is, Yes Ma'am, I'll get my tail to church Sunday. Thanks Nannie.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ye...

My Baby Girl is 21

November 9 is a day that ye should begin celebrating. It is the day that Nicole was born. The year only matters a few times, and this year is one of those times.

She was at the bar at Midnight Thursday to have her first official drink. Then she continued the celebrating Friday with happy hour and on into the wee hours of Saturday morning.

She and Ryan arrived at my house Saturday afternoon in time to drop-off their stuff and meet her grandparents for dinner. They came back to my house for some OU football and beer. Then they were off to meet some friends.

This is where the story begins to get a bit funny. Grab a beer and read along. Nicole and Ryan were a bit irritated with their friend before leaving my place. You see, he kept them from going to the bar for 2 whole hours. Then he decided, without consulting Nicole or Ryan, to bring along his 20 year-old girlfriend. At the same time he decided to do this, he also decided that instead of going to a bar they would go bowling. After a couple of conversations on the phone, and one threat of abandoning the friends, Nicole and Ryan finally left my house around 9:30ish to go bowling. I did remind them that bowling alleys sell beer. That made it a bit easier.

I pulled out the sleeper sofa. Placed clean sheets on it and a quilt. Then I went to bed. This morning when I woke, I thought it was odd that they made it into the house without the dogs alarming me. The reason is - the bed wasn't touched! So, I put on coffee, let the dogs out and began putting the bed back together. In the middle of that Ryan came falling thru the front door announcing that Nicole is freaking crazy. Then Nicole came falling thru the front door. She went straight to the bathroom. Ryan walked in circles around the living room with me trying to get him to go lay down on the bed. He finally went that direction, I finished with the couch and heard a loud THUMP from the direction of the bedroom.

I turned to see what happened. There sat Nicole in the middle of the floor. She had fallen off the bed while trying to get on it. Honestly I should have helped her, but the laughter prevented me. They both finally found the bed and didn't move for a good 3 hours.

I had to get ready for the party so I went to the bathroom via my bedroom. It smelled like day old bathtub gin that had gone bad. I found her car key on the bathroom floor and her Arvest card in the washing machine. (I am her mom and washed the smelly clothes)

Ryan was the first awake and we had lunch while I heard the story of the night before. Seems they didn't make it to the bar until 1 am. Fortunate for Ryan - he found a credit card receipt from the bar - he left the tab open for Nicole - she managed to drink $47 in shots. Tequilla shots. I really don't need to say more, but I will...

Ryan and the bartender carried her to the car. Ryan had to explain to a passerby that he wasn't trying to take advantage of her, she was actually with him before getting her to the car. He was smart enough to know that neither of them could drive and tried desperately to find my phone number. He didn't so they slept in the car in a parking lot. He stayed awake long enough to hold her head while she vomited several times and to make sure she was ok.

He woke up at around 8am because the car was moving. Somehow Nicole had gotten they key and decided to drive to my house. He said as scary as that was - when she went into the ditch at my house was the absolute scariest part.

I'll end with, we all had fun laughing at and with her at the birthday party. She had a wonderful 3 day long birthday that she won't remember. You Go Girl!



And this is what she looked like an hour or so before leaving Tulsa to go back to Norman.


Happy Days and Pleasant Nights to Ye!

Nannie

It has been a very long 2 weeks. Actually the last month seems to be endless.

Uncle Fred died Sept 29. The day I moved into the new house. Nannie literally lost her life-long best friend that day.

A few days after the funeral she became ill. She never recovered.

That's about all I can say at this point.

Mildred Louise McKee Dellinger was reunited with her husband and brother about 5pm, Sunday, Nov. 4.

She will be laid to rest Wednesday morning - November 7.

Long days and pleasant nights to ye.

Goodbye City Life?

Green acres is the place to be.
Farm livin’ is the life for me.
Land spreadin’ out so far and wide
Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside.

New York is where I’d rather stay.
I get allergic smelling hay.
I just adore a penthouse view.
Dah-ling I love you but give me Park Avenue.

The chores. The stores.
Fresh air. Times Square
You are my wife Good bye, city life.

Green Acres we are there!

Wait a dag-gone minute. I moved to the "country" a couple weeks ago. After last night's Storm of the Century I'm considering moving the 3 blocks it will take to get me back to the City.

I lost my cable connection. At first I thought it was just the storm that had blown out something. Seems that is exactly what happened - it blew my cable line off the pole. Now, I know you think that there was life before cable, let me plead my case. Tonight is an extremely important game. Hopefully it will be the last ALCS game. I must watch this game. The problem is, even if I did get rabbit ears for the TV - the game is only on cable. Baseball existed half a century before TV so I think I'm just in whining over this.

Rocktober is HERE!

Let's just say that up until literally this week I haven't been too interested in the notion of the MLB Playoffs or World Series. Why? Well let's just say that I didn't (and still don't) think some of the participants were "real" MLB teams.

Let me do some 'splainin'. After the awesomeness of the MLB in the 1970's, baseball went thru a very bleak period. It was during the 1980's that we saw two major league player strikes. One of them affected the playoffs and World Series. My team was winning the race at the midway point that year. Then after the strike they were eliminated. The strike being the deciding factor. That is also the decade that saw Pete Rose permanently banned from the Hall of Fame for gambling. These were very dark days. We had no single team or player that stood out and caught the love of the fans. It seemed that everything MLB had been was gone. Not to mention the sky-rocketing prices at the pro-ballparks. A family could no longer afford to spend an afternoon or evening enjoying America's sport.

So in the early 1990's the MLB commission decided that to get more fans to attend, they would just add 4 more teams. Technically they only added three. The Washington Senators were reborn in that decision.

So to get to my lack of interest this year. Back in 1993 the first season of the "new" Colorado Rockies. I vehemently denied them access to my television for the years that followed. Then a few years ago, maybe 2 or 3, they bought the Tulsa Drillers. This is a team that I truly enjoy watching. It's baseball at its best. Still, I refused to acknowledge the Rockies. Then, Tuesday, Oct. 16 Chris Lincoln (greatest sportscaster in all of Tulsa) announced that there were eleven Drillers on the Rockies team. WOW! Texas never did that. btw - we can partially thank W. for that.

So I tuned in Tuesday night and watched them whoop up on the Diamond Backs. Who still are not a MLB team in my book. They played solid baseball and what a game. The star of the team is Matt Holliday - born right here in Oklahoma! In fact he is the NL MVP this year! Now hopefully they will kick some Indian butt! At this point I must apologize to Gan's human part - I really don't want the Red Sox to go to the World Series. It's time for the Tribe.

Long days and pleasant nights.

Nicole Visited

It was "Take Your College Age Daughter To Work Day" for me. She had dental and hair appointments in Pryor and decided to stop in Tulsa for some of Mama's home-cooked food. I was going to take off early, but Frank was on vacation and Clint was asked to do TDFN. I called Nicole and she was happy to stop by East Central and hang out while I worked.

She and Chris became fast friends. I can't say that for Clint. Seems Clint allowed his OSU side to come out while in the presence of well, an OU person. We all know how quiet Nicole is and that she never speaks her mind. So, don't worry Frank, you are still her favorite Weatherman.

After the news, we picked up my new kitchen table. Then we were off to the house. She and I made ghoulash, fried potatoes and cornbread. Patty and Jimmy were in town for Miranda's 21st birthday and came over for dinner. We had a blast.

Long days and pleasant nights to ye.

Been Away Too Long

Sorry that I have been absent. The last few weeks have been some kind of crazy. The bullet points to catch you up are:

I moved. Holy cow was that an interesting time. Kara and I painted for what seemed like a month. Turns out it was only 3 days. Then the move day was pretty smooth. I had no clue how many or who would be there to help out until literally the morning of the move. Kevin had enlisted and was scheduled to leave for boot camp the Thursday before moving day. Thank Gan the Army doctor noticed a weird rash-like something on his torso. That post-poned his departure so, he was able to help. Jimmy's Service Emergency was cancelled, however, he was forced to work 6 day weeks at that time. He was out. Colt became very ill and had to visit the dr. the morning of the move. Fortunately they arrived at the apartment about midway thru the loading. Patty had surgery on her shoulder, Steve has Hep C treatments going... Kenna and Miranda dropped by to help me with the packing... It all worked out very well in the end. Especially since all Daddy had to do was give Kevin orders, drive and eat. =) A couple weeks later and the place is beginning to look like home. Patty has already made and delivered curtains!

Work has been more demanding than normal. You can see how busy I am these days... So no time to blog there.

I finally turned on my computer at home night before last. Seems I need to call Cox and find out why the Internet connection isn't working.

The MLB playoffs are in full swing and honestly the blog takes back seat to that.

Long days and pleasant nights to ye.

Did You See Me Winning?

Hayden is officially a Boys and Girls Club member. Yesterday was his first soccer game.

He called me at 5:30 last night to ask if I'm coming to his game. Well, I was at work in Tulsa, the game started at 6pm, so I had to say no. Being 4, he didn't let it drop there. He assured me that 'Calester isn't very far and I could make it. When I disagreed, he said, "Let me talk to Frank." I'm not sure what Frank could do to fix the fact that I was a two hour drive from the soccer game that was starting in half an hour.

Patty and Jimmy (aka Aunt DaDa and Unc Immy) made it to the game. Patty said that he was the most excellent goalie. Even while he was flapping his arms like a bird. Then the coach let him on the field to play. At one point he was kicking the ball and running by them. He looked to the sideline and yelled "Do you see me winning?" I'm sure that everyone on the sideline fell off their chairs laughing at this.

I'm so sad that I missed this game. Sometimes I wish I lived closer to 'Calester.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights.

Moving

Moving day is approaching fast. Honestly I coudn't have picked a worse week to do this. Co-workers and I have been spending hours at the new place painting and cleaning. I really don't want to move in with the grime from the 20-something male. I have two 20-something male nephews and trust me, I would disinfect before moving into a place they had recently vacated.

Anywho, House premeires tonight. I have the ol' DVR set to record and will watch it before I go to bed, but I won't be there to view it while it is happening. =( This is also ABC premiere week. I can't wait for Gray's and three new shows. This is highly unusual for me. However, I've been addicted to House and Gray's for 2 seasons now. And I can't not watch the spin-off of Gray's. When she first cam on the scene, I really didn't want to like Addison, now she is one of my favorites.

I've also been so preoccupied that I haven't kept up with the news. To my surprise Kiefer was arrested for DUI. OMG - I'm going to have to rush to LA to stop this totally false accusation.

On the home front. Toby and Millie love their new home. They have a new friend, Dopey. Dopey is a standard dachshund. The three of them love to run up and down the fence barking at nothing really. When Dopey is in his house, Millie sits by the fence patiently asking if he can come out and play. Toby sits quietly and waits.

Moving day is Saturday. The countdown has begun...

Long Days and Pleasant Nights.

OU Comes To T-Town

That's right. Tonight the OU Sooners will be in town to face the Golden Hurricane. While I would like to say this will be an absolutely awesome game, but I really can't.

The Sooners are like light-years ahead of TU in the football realm. My heart is for TU though. Back when I was a young-un, TU was my college of choice. The Theater Dept actively recruited me and although I had an offer of a 4-year full-ride at NSU, I chose TU. That is where I met Jeff and well, the result of that meeting is the creation of the Light of my life.

Ok, back to the game... While OU is expected to give TU a serious Whomping, you must remember the brain power that is required to attend TU vs. the brains of the OU boys. When you consider brain over brawn - well TU wins hands-down.

Ok, OU does have smart people too. Nicole and Ryan for example. However, they are not on the football team. So realistically when you compare the football teams, OU may be meaner, but TU is SMARTER. In the long run the TU boys will cumulatively make more money than the OU boys.

So, in my way of thinking, this all makes TU the winning team.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights.

Homecoming

This is a word that means different things to different people. To me it is the second Sunday of September. Not just this year, but every year as long as I can remember.
There are certain things you just don't miss: Nannie's birthday, Decoration (you get to pick West Liberty or Palestine), and Homecoming.
Although, I have missed several over the years it is always wonderful when I'm there. I'm not sure who thought up Homecoming, but I am sure it happened long before I was born. This is a day set aside each year where the service is (as Brother Ralph says) AB LIB and anything goes. Everyone currently attending regularly are encouraged to call those family and friends who no longer call Palestine "home" to come "home" for a visit. After Sunday School and more songs than you can imagine, you get a brief sermon and then FOOD! Oh my the food.
This year was especially special. Patty was crippled and Nannie needed help cooking. So she volunteered me. I was more than happy to go along for the memory. She taught me that to cook a ham you need the biggest one in the supermarket and it can't be bought in McAlester. They don't know how to properly cut a ham. You need at least 10 handfuls of brown sugar to properly cure the ham once you have it in the bag. I can also make Nannie's raisin pie and her blackberry cobbler. I promise these items will not be made in my kitchen until after I get on the Honeysuckle Rose in October. =)
I can count on one hand the number of times I've been to Palestine in the past year. That is sad. But we had so much fun. In fact, Patty, Beth and I began planning stuff for next year's Homecoming at the end of this Homecoming. By the way, the tall blonde is Beth Stanfield-Something. I'm pretty sure she and Patty were the same height at some point.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights.

Guess Who's Moving In!

Millie will be able to herd a horse! Well, first we will have to train the horse not to use Millie as a soccer ball.

Millie loves going to Uncle Jimmy's because he has cats to herd. In fact last weekend she managed to get 6 of the 7 onto one table at one time. The fact that cat food was on the table had no bearing on the achievement.

The point being, Jo is positive that Strait is now spoiled beyond belief. He has been living at the Aunt Kathy Horse Resort since Tex (aka Diablo) was born. Now the time for him to come home is nearing and I'll have a back yard. Jo also knows that Strait will be treated like a true farm animal. No spoiling at Aunt Tammie's house.

Hmm, I might need to get a larger bed. Strait is a bit bigger than Colt and the bed was crowded with Toby, Colt, Emma Lou and me.

Long days and pleasant nights.

Did You Miss Me?

Oh my gosh I can't believe I haven't blogged in FOREVER!

Not much to say. But, I should've kept you updated.

My eyes are doing so much better. A small incident yesterday sent me to the eye doctor this morning. I discovered a stye or something like that on one of the sutures. This suture had been trying to come out for a couple of weeks so when I noticed white stuff on it, I called the Dr. This morning he told me it was nothing to worry about. It was only the stitch wanting to stay in while my body wanted it to go. So he took it out, popped the white thing, gave me instructions to put neopsporin on it for a few days and I was on my way.

Patty is also doing well. When I checked on her last night she was complaining that she is bored. This is good news. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, she had a torn muscle in her shoulder that needed repaired. While repairing the tear, the doctor found the real cause or her pain, a bone spur sitting on the torn muscle. He removed that and now she is on her way to recovery. One final note on this...I never signed up to wash my sister's hair or give her a sponge bath. =)

I'm slowly getting into class this semester. It's different when you don't physically go to Claremore every day.

Long days and pleasant nights.

Moving

Yep, I have found a small, one bedroom house that is perfect for the puppies and me. It is even so close to work that I can walk. All I have to do is climb Mt. Crumpit.

It has a small yard so Millie can go out and bark to her hearts content. This place is less expensive than the apartment. So life is getting better.

More details later.

Long days and pleasant nights

Let's do the timewarp

Have you ever been surprised by Memories? Last night I was going thru pictures and stuff to find something for a new project. While digging in an undocumented stash of pictures, I came upon a cluster of papers from my freshman year at TU.

What a timewarp. There was a letter that had been handed out to us along with the flight itenerary, hotel info and rehearsal schedule for the Washington trip. Right on top of that was the review from the Dallas newspaper that compared me (Tammie Smith) to a young Bernadette Peters. Oh my, has it really been 22ish years since that happened? On the back of this copied article was a letter that I had written to a friend. It talks about a date I had the previous weekend with someone intelligent and a Stephen King fan. He was an English major. I'll be damned if I can remember who that was. Obviously not much has changed about me... still huge King fan and well, I guess since the letter is in my stuff, it was never mailed - again not much of a change for me. lol

It was fun. I found myself laughing and I guess I had that corny smile a person always gets when the past surprises them.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights...

Bestest Aunt Tammie Ever

I had a pretty exciting weekend.

It began with what was supposed to be an uneventful and boring cleaning of the inside of my car. I placed the puppies on their harnesses and took them with me. I thought they would like being outside with Mommie. It was all fun until another resident decided to walk her rather large canine within the view of my puppies. Millie and Toby raised hell barking. I realized the sound of the barking was greatly reduced, looked and Toby had magically broken free of his harness. He tore out ready to eat the canine that was at least 800 times his size. Once he reached this horrible creature, the barking seized instantly and he looked at me totally confused. He had caught it, now what?... was the look on his face. Needless to say, they were both taken inside the apt for the duration of the cleaning.

Then we went to Petco to have their toes trimmed. Toby pooped in the lobby, Millie tried to bite one of the dachshund manicurists. Then when that didn't work, she peed on her. Needless to say, Petco was happy to see us leave.

In the midst of this drama...I was named "The Bestest Aunt Tammie EVER!" I also received 4 unrequested hugs. Not just hugs, great, big, bear hugs. All I had to do was take her a basket that turned into a cage for her animals, a princess doll, one blinking princess crown, one pair of high-heeled princess shoes and one princess wand.

The Barber Cut Off was yesterday. T came up and helped us. We had a blast. We laughed heartily at the woman that dropped food all over Cindy and actually accused Cindy of being rude because she didn't give her an autograph before cleaning up the food and carrying it to a chair for her. Anywho, we had fun and everyone actually thought T was nice and fun. I think she drugged them...

Last night I decided to place two quilts under the sheet on the transformer bed. It is getting rather hard on my back. It was fun making the bed with a puppy playing chase under the sheet. You should try it sometime. Seriously, I have a puppy you can borrow for the chase.

Long days and pleasant nights...

Week in Review

What an interesting week. Out of the blue I'm going to get to see WILLIE. OMG For a better description of how that feels just mosie on over to the Dancehall - JoJo's Dancehall, that is. I'm not as jazzed about the Pat Green part as she is. I mean he's an awesome entertainer and all, but the part I'm dying for is to actually be front-row-center for WILLIE. The Red Headed Stranger, one of the Highway Men, the Willie of Waylon, Willie and the Boys... the OMG I get to be so close to Willie I will actually be able to feel the sweat fly off his face... excitement that I can't explain if you don't know Willie. Also did I mention that I get to make my first trip to the Armpit and get to stay at Aunty Kathy's B&B? That's exciting too.

As you see here, I'm now the "Manager of the Year." Actually the envelope said "Employee of the Month" but signs in the parking lot don't lie, right? I have proof! Anywho, the best part of that day was the free ice cream. The ice cream truck makes an appearance on occasion. This occasion, according to the GM, was my being named "Manager of the Year!" or maybe he said it was a big thank you for the excellent team coverage of the PGA. My eyes were hurting, so it was a bit fuzzy. Those of you who are Reagan fans can understand "fuzzy". Did I mention that I have my very own parking place, with my name on it? This also makes me eligible for Employee of the Year. That's a popularity vote, so don't count on me getting it. However, it is a great excuse to get Daddy into a suit and take him to the Country Club for our company Christmas party. I do need a date...

Tonight I accidently watched a biography about Elvis. This was an interesting one that I haven't seen before. It was actually home movies very well blended with family members talking about memories. They also played the exact perfect Elvis song at the exact perfect time. I actually cried at the end. Those of you who grew up in a household with a mother like mine will understand. We can tell you almost anything you ever didn't want to know about that man. I do love his music. I am sad that the fans (in my opinion) led him to his unintentional overdose. The worse part is that since Elvis has been gone 30 years now, that means it is getting close to that anniversary for John Lennon. Lennon is my Elvis. But not to distract from this anniversay... the world lost one of the greatest artists ever Aug 16, 1977.

A couple other things to note: Hayden has completed his first full week of school. He didn't want to go to school the first day. In fact, his momma had to carry him in. Since then though, school isn't so bad. Evidently you get to color and play. He has also been promoting Frank. I guess now I work for Frank, at least that's what Hayden says. He also refused to allow everyone to begin eating Monday night because he decided that Aunt Tammie was driving to Calester to eat with the family. (this is where we all say AAAAHHHHH)

Zeke came to visit Sunday. He was so cute playing with Millie.

Nicole is hard at working checking students back in for another semester at OU.

Long days and pleasant nights.

Stitchless!

Wow, it's already been 10 days since I had my eyes treated for Basset Hound syndrome. Today the doctor gave me the all clear to continue with the ice packs and being extra careful in the shower. =)
He said I look absolutely fabulous (you really must sing that last word) and the last of the bruising and swelling will be gone before I know it. He took away the stitches that were still there. I was also instructed to begin using vitamin E oil as often as I think about it.

Long days and pleasant nights to ye.

Catching Up...

Maybe I'm not as tough as I once thought. Nor do I bounce back as well as Nannie. This is me a full 7 days after the Basset Hound Eye removal. Perhaps it was not such a good idea to head back to work Tuesday and Wednesday. Anywho, this morning I gave in and decided to stay at home the rest of the week. Sorry Clint.

In other news...

Nicole does not have ulcers! Hooray. This is her minutes before she went under the uhm tube for the upper and lower GI testing. Bless her heart, the medicine that was intended to clean out her bowels - cleaned out that plus her tummy. By the time she was taken back for an IV she was so dehydrated that it took a couple of sticks to find a good vein. She is now on a high fiber diet. Resident Advisors reported to work this week. Sorority girls moved in today. Nicole is working very hard to make sure things run smoothly. That includes the mopping. She also reports that thanks to that new Toyota Rav4 - the move from her summer residence to her fall residence was about 100 times easier.

Other things that have happened in the last week...

Look who's FOUR! Hayden had a swim party. Of course Aunt Tammie bought all the required accessories to begin his Tee Ball training. I'm certain he will be the star player next spring.

The family came to Patty and Jimmy's after the party. Millie was so good with Zeke. He just cackled when she walked by. She kept trying to get him to play with her like Hayden and Sinclaire. Unfortunately, he can't crawl as fast as they run. But they did get along very well. The funniest part of the afternoon was when Zeke climbed up on Papa's lap and painted his face with a chocolate donut. For some reason he didn't was that jar of baby food Mooma tried to feed him after the donut.

Ok, back to the ice pack... Long days and pleasant nights to ye.

Why Did God Make Big Sisters?

I've wondered my whole life just why God placed me in a family that already had one daughter. I mean I am so damn special, yet she thought it necessary to give me to a family that, well, was already a family. Should I also mention how bossy that big sister has always been at this point or later?

Anyway, over the last 11 years especially I've grown to understand just what the Supreme Being was doing. Let me digress...

My mom has always told me that I have angels working overtime - literally 24/7 to keep me safe. It isn't easy. I've always been curious. I'm not sure when the bi-polar really began, Cherie swears it was waaaayyyyy before college. In a nutshell I think I'm fun - others are pretty certain I'm nuts.

Only in the last few years have I discovered the watchful angel that is actually human. That angel is indeed my big sister, Patty.

She is always putting things aside when I call and ask for a favor. Trust me, that happens often. For example, I don't remember the last time I totally packed all of my stuff or even half of my stuff to move. Patty is always there. She seems to even be there when I don't ask.

Do sisters have telepathy power? I think so, primarily because the three of us somehow always know when one is needing a shoulder or Pepsi/Diet Coke.

Last week Patty kept Toby and Millie for me. I had a minor procedure done on my eyes. (Too gruesome to go into here) The procedure took place on Friday. She spent the night with me the night before. Oh and I'll insert here that while on our way from her house to my apt. Renie called for help. She had an ingrown toenail removed an hour or so earlier and couldn't drive. Did Patty say "No. Tammie and I are in Muskogee at least an hour from you, figure it out"? No, she said, pull over and we'll be there as quickly as possible. See - Angel.

Anyway, Friday morning she gave me cereal and oddly went out to buy coffee, instructing me not to make any. (She later revealed that she tricked me into drinking decaf) Then I took the valium and well the next 2 days are quite blurry.

This is basically what I looked like Friday afternoon until Sunday around noon. Patty made sure I was fed and the ice stayed cold and the medications properly applied. Jimmy was thrilled to have me there, Patty cooked every meal. =)

One more thing, she has now had Toby and Millie almost two weeks. She didn't want me to go up and down the stairs more than necessary yet. And here's the kicker - she is allergic to dogs. Angel...

So, I'll end this 'Ode de Patty' with a huge THANKS BIG SISTER!
I'll never be the big sister Patty is.

Don't argue, who did Renie call for help? =)
Long days and pleasant nights to ye ... And never forget the face of your father - if you are as lucky as Renie and me, your big sis won't let you.

PS: Jo, I did have to edit the first paragraph, somehow Gan appeared...

Cole Has New Wheels

This is a 2006 Toyota Rav4. I took this pic from a Toyota site. Nicole's has a little over 22k miles and is midnight blue. Very nice and pretty. It was odd to see little Nicole driving a vehicle larger than her little two door Nissan. But it is hers and she is very very happy to have it.

She has earned this vehicle. She is holding down an A average at OU, not to mention her job as Resident Assistant. Her mom is responsible for getting OHLAP which pays her tuition. The RA position pays room and board. Her good grades ensures that she keeps all her scholarships. So, when she placed all that on the table, well, her dad really couldn't say no to her request. =)

79

Who knew that I could pass Algebra? Better question, who knew I would end up with a 79?!

Well, I'm happy to announce that the toughest class I've had thus far in my life is finally over and I indeed have a 79 average! Woo hoo!

Other than that, life is pretty good. I have a two week vacation until the next semester begins.

Long days and pleasant nights to ya.

Hayden's Visit

Hayden has been asking if he can stay with me and swim in my (his) swimming pool. So last weekend I went to Patty and Jimmy's to pick him up.

The weekend began rather badly. Toby was up all night vomiting. When he wasn't vomiting Millie tried attacking the family bird. Needless to say when Nannie arrived at 7:30am I wasn't able to move. So Patty took her to Tulsa for a day of crafting with Aunt B and Nichole.

It was a good thing that I stayed behind. Alecia called around noon and asked if I could go ahead and pick up Hayden. I, of course, had no objections. After a couple of episodes of Sponge Bob at Aunt Patty's house, we were off to Tulsa.

Our first objective after leaving the dogs at the apartment was going to the grocery store. Can you believe that there wasn't one box of cereal that Hayden or I liked? We ended up with eggs, bacon and biscuits. Yummy! For dinner we had lasagna and garlic bread with peach cobbler for dessert. Double Yummy!! Oh, and we also bought choco milk. A house isn't properly equipped without it.

We also boght Spiderman bubble bath and a pirate ship. He had to take a bath before dinner was ready. Then we walked Toby and Millie. Or should I say, Spiderman and I walked Toby and Millie. He insisted on bringing his Spiderman costume and wore it when we went out.

After dinner we transformed the transformer couch into a bed. Hayden watched Nemo and then we put in Madagascar. Next thing we knew it was morning.

First thing after breakfast we went to check out the pool. We were there about an hour then went to the park. We played there for a couple of hours then had a hotdog and ice cream.

Mooma showed up and the real fun began. We were in the pool around 3 hours before Poppie and Grannie arrived. Boy were we tired.

Things I learned from the visit: Yellow Power Rangers are girls, so when Hayden is a Power Ranger he is White; Yellow is ok when he is a Transformer; He is Pink when he is playing Sponge Bob because Patrick is Pink; Tom and Jerry is an OK cartoon if news is your other option; choco milk goes with any food group; He is moving to Tulsa so he can work with Frank.

It was a very fun weekend. I was worn out but will take him anytime.

Long nights and pleasant days to ya.

Rocklahoma Rocked

When you age, you tend to forget what it was that made you smile before. For me that is what Rocklahoma was all about.

I had forgotten how wonderful CC and all those others that rocked with him in the 80's were on the guitar. I love the fun rock-n-roll from when I was in my late teens and early twenties. The memories last weekend brought are so wonderful and also not so wonderful.

There were the parties during our senior year where we really rocked out to Joan Jett, Def Leppard and that sort. Not to mention the punk movement at the time. No, none of us actually dyed our hair pink, but we did think about it at some point.

There were the MTV and radio wars with my baby sister. She was all Quiet Riot and Twisted Sister. I leaned more toward Duran Duran, Def Leppard, Journey, Motley Crue... you get the picture. Don't get me wrong Quiet Riot was not off my play list, so to speak. We did both emphatically agree on Prince. The original Prince - if you ask me, and I am, Purple Rain was one of the top ten non Beatles albums ever made.

Then what about the fact that Nicole could sing Poison and Bon Jovi songs before she could put a sentence together. Her absolute favorite song was "....skinny bop bop bop bop skinny..." Makes me smile. When Brett sang that I was horrified to find that my phone battery was dead. This is mainly due to beer calls. So I couldn't call her. Or what about when he sang "Every Rose has it's thorn"? Talk about summing up my life since 1986! Give me something to believe in took me right back to watching that video standing in my living room in Tulsa, holding baby Nicole, balling my eyes out.

I would at this point like to leave memory lane, simply because I'm beginning to miss my first set of friends. The ones that saw me thru high school and my early twenties. For more pics go to http://picasaweb.google.com/tammiek1966/Rocklahoma2007

Now on to more technical Rocklahoma. I remember the day that Mark Nuessle and gang walked into our office. Barbara was trying to talk about country while covertly having me ask Jo questions to verify the "realness" of who these people were. Those first few years were chaotic to say the least. But as someone who has really worked one of their festivals, I don't mean for just a few hours, they have really matured. I didn't see one fight. Although the cute guard that let me take a couple of pics, told me he had to break up a couple. I hope I looked genuinely concerned...

The crowd seemed to really enjoy themselves. What a wonderful time we all had.

Oh, should I mention that it was in the 1980's that I also fell in love with SK?

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ye...

Goodbye Jesi

When I think of Jesi the first thing I see is her smile. She had the biggest most beautiful smile that lit her whole face.

Jesi was only 20 when fate took her away. She and Nicole grew up together. I've tried to remember when Jesi first came into our lives and it seems that she has always been there.

She was one of the eight valedictorians from PHS class of 2005. She and Nicole attended every band camp together. They were both honor students and best of friends. Jesi was full of life and seemed to love every minute of it. She played the trumpet, she was so tall you rarely had to search to see her.

Her friends are working on a memorial scholarship/grant for the PHS band program. That is where her heart was for most of her young life.

We will say our formal goodbye Friday afternoon. Please keep Jim, Becky, Jaime and Carolyn in your thoughts. Also say a small prayer for her friends who are learning how to grieve at an age when they should only be thinking of tomorrow.

Nothing much

It's been an interesting holiday week.

Monday Nannie turned 86. Patty picked her and Sis up and they met mom, dad, hayden and Zeke at Western Sizzlin in McAlester. This was Nannie's birthday lunch. Evidently when everyone was seated Hayden looked around the table and asked where Aunt Tammie was and when told that Aunt Tammie was in Tulsa, that wasn't acceptable. He has since told me that I need to move to Calester so he can see me whenever he wants. Let's all say "AWWWW"

Yesterday, I spent a couple hours poolside. Would've stayed longer but the battery on my MP3 player died. It at least waited until the song I was listening to finished. So I packed up my stuff and went off to Kohl's. I bought some new shorts for Rocklahoma and a new pair of capri's for the Block Party Weather. I'm planning to charge the shirt I bought to Frank's clothing allowance. Shhh, maybe he won't notice. lol After shopping I called Kenna and asked if she would like Roadhouse steak. She agreed that she would. We skipped the 25 minute wait and went straight to the bar. My steak was a little too well-done for me but other than that, the beer was good, conversation wonderful and well it was the roadhouse...

Today we had algebra. I might mention that we were the only class in that building that actually met today. Again I think I'm grasping the stuff but the test will be hard and I'll probably fail it. I currently have a 74 average. That is passing.

Long days and pleasant nights to ye.

Happy Birthday

Two of my favorite people turn over another calendar year today.

Happy Birthday Nannie!
July 2, 1921 Mildred Louise McKee was born to Clarence and Hattie McKee. She is now the Mother of 4, Grandmother of 10, Great Grandmother of 13 and Great-Great Grandmother of 2.

Happy Birthday Jo
Jo was also born on July 2. We will go no further with that except that two weeks in a row she could've taken 20-somethings home with her. I'm so jealous.

How was my weekend?

Well, it began with finding Jason Boland at my workplace when I arrived. You have no idea how that made my day.

Then after work, Jo and I met some of my co-workers at McNellies downtown. It was fun we had a drink and split a sandwich and fries. Then we made the short trek to the Cain's. We made our way to the stage. Unfortunately the people (I use that term loosely) that arrived before us were pretty stoned by the time we made it there. They seemed to believe that they owned the stage and no one else was allowed within 30 feet of them. The very intoxicate male that thought he was a tough guy by threatening to kick my ass never stopped talking about how tough he is. Then some blonde trash that was standing near me decided to begin using her very large backside to push me further back from the stage. When I suggested that she stop doing that she alluded that if she were indeed pushing me I would be on the floor. To that I laughed hartily. I also held my ground while looking around to see if Carolyn had purhaps been dropped from the ceiling to join this interesting party.

Once Grady and I made eye contact that I was confident had been meant for me, Jo and I went for another drink and the bathroom. We had a blast from that moment on. Even when the interesting boy bought us drinks that we really didn't need. I don't remember ever having to flee a dancehall because we were afraid of a boy. Hmmm

Anywho, Jo fixed a computer so that my SK stories would work on the MP3 player. I spent the rest of the weekend either listening to SK read to me or reading the book posthumously written by Richard Bachman and edited by Stephen King. It was a book that really held my attention and actually finished in one weekend. The best part - at then end we received a bool! In actuality is was just a station for a longer bool that we don't get until Spring of 2008.

Now I must get some sleep. Algebra homework begins again tomorrow night.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to Ya...

Chat with Boland...

What a wonderful day this has been. I was a bit lazy this morning. Weigh-in had to happen on the way to work. I am another 5 pounds lighter than in January!

I drove into the parking lot around 9am. There was a tour bus in the parking lot, no big deal this is a norm for a Friday morning. So I was curious and was looking at the trailer as I drove into the back parking lot. When the Hell Pony became visible I almost crashed into the building while doing the double-take.

I ran into the building - slowed down only for a moment by the fact that in my hast I left my key-card in my car. Then I met Jason Boland. What a wonderful person he is. We actually chatted for awhile in the breakroom. They actually performed two songs on-air. Alien Boland was not present. That was a good sign.

Anywho, I did invite them to McNellies for drinks at the party tonight before we go see them sing at the Cain's.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ya...

What a Week!

Ok, I did get to make the trek to OU Children's center to see J'son. He is doing better than I expected. Actually, I didn't know what to expect.

This isn't an up-to-date pic, this one was taken at the McKee family reunion in early May. J'son still has all his hair. I'm told that will change. He sleeps a lot right now. He has had more than one blood transfusion. He is receiving chemo and that will go on for years to come. Right now the spirits are pretty good. Nichole is still planning to begin Nursing school in August. Family and friends are rallying to help with babysitting and cash. Prayers of course are always welcome. One never knows what Ka has in store for them.

Nicole met us at the hospital. She and I went to a nice place called Coaches for lunch. It was more awesome than appears from the outside. When we were trying to find a place to eat I wasn't paying much attention to the ballpark. Then we were seated in Coaches and I could see almost the whole field from my table. I'm definately going back to watch a game from their patio. Then on our walk back to the car I noticed 5 busts of famous Oklahoma major league ball players. Nicole was a bit embarrassed when I took a second trip by them to confirm my first assessment and then outrage that Johnny Bench was not among them. Well you can't imagine my glee when I stumbled on a bigger-than-life statue of him at the damn entrance. How the smuck had I crossed the street and not seen this? Nicole ran for cover as I became a tourist in Oklahoma. She grew up in my house and still doesn't understand that the Big Red Machines #5 behind the plate is an actual living demi-god. No one has ever owned home plate like Johnny and no one ever will.

Let's pray to Gan that the coming week will be a lot calmer than the last. On that note... long days and pleasant nights to ya - and please stay clear of the thinny

God Loves the Children

What do you do when you find out that a child has a life threatening disease and you are helpless?
J'son, a bright, happy 2 year old has been all excited about his 3rd birthday party. The party is scheduled at a park in Enid. He called me to get my address so that they could mail Aunt Tammie an invitation.
He has the most vivid imagination I have ever seen. We were hunting dinosaurs at church one Sunday. He almost had me convinced that the dinosaurs had torn down a building at the church.
About 3 weeks ago, he began running a very high fever. It hasn't gone away. Nichole has taken him to numerous doctor's and even the ER. Finally yesterday a doctor came up with a diagnosis. She sent him immediately to Children's Hospital. Her diagnosis was leukemia.
All the tests since then have confirmed the diagnosis. He is now in for a very long and brutal treatment.
We are still having a birthday party Saturday. He will still be 3 and I'm sure will be his spunky self.
Please keep him and Nichole in your palavar's with Gan or the Man Jesus.

Beg Ya Pardon...

Tammieland fans, I beg ye pardon for my long absence. I have been a bit pre-occupied if ya kennit. Almost as if I've been todash.

First the weather has been something that even fish are getting tired of. Second, Algebra has been so demanding on my time, and last Millie thinks if I'm home, she has to be on my lap or chasing a toy that I have thrown, or wrestling or, you get the picture.

Then last Friday, I found out that my wonderful boss is leaving Oklahoma. I'm still trying to convince him to take me with. He is moving to St. Louis. This can be a good thing. I will have a free couch to sleep on when I finally save the money to see the Cards play live. Anywho, they have called him about 3 times and he finally said yes. This is the job of a lifetime for him and I'm very happy for him and the family. Yesterday was a weird day in the newsroom. We were all happy celebrating Carole's 25 years as an anchor at our humble station, yet no one was happy about losing our leader. We have him until July 5.

Nicole came to stay with me Thursday night. We had fun just chatting and catching up. (like we never talk on the phone...lol) Her big birthday present to Ryan was leaving town on his 21st birthday. That way she wouldn't get in the way of his celebrations. I added to his bliss with a nice little gift. He is a wonderful young man and Nicole is blessed to have him in her life.

Algebra. I actually turned down two wonderful offers so that I could study. I didn't get to help celebrate my new wonderful friend Missy's 33rd. So sorry, but we will get together again. I still haven't been to Aunt Kathy's paradise vacation resort. (hint) Then Saturday Credence Revisited were performing at Frontier City and I had a free ticket offered. But Patty kept me supplied with the music, calling when she recognized songs, unfortunately she only recognized one. I blame Jimmy for her lack of good education.

I did make it to lunch with Daddy on Sunday. We ate way too much at the Golden Corral. That damn red velvet cake actually called my name when I walked by.

My steadfastness to studies paid off. While I have lost the B average, I am still passing with a 76 average after the first chapter. Now I have learned that I need to keep working the homework sections until I get a 100% on each section. That really makes a difference.

One last thing, please keep my brother Steve in your prayers. His liver biopsy was yesterday. Everything went well, we will know in a couple of days what course will be taken for the treatment of his hep C.

Now, I need to make use of this time to work on Algebra.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ya...

Weekend Review

Wow what a weekend it has been. Nothing all that remarkable, yet is was productive. I bought a steam cleaner and cleaned the bedroom carpet. There are still a few spots but it doesn't smell.
We had a whopper of a storm that lasted all of 30 minutes. It produced hail and horrible wind. This is a tree that used to stand in front of my building.

Sunday morning I woke to more rain. I finished the cleaning of the apartment and then tackled my Algebra problems. So far on homework assignments I have 100, 80, 90.9. Not bad so far. My first test will be one week from tomorrow. Hopefully I can get at least an 80.

The funniest thing that happened this weekend was the trip to the Veterinarian. Millie loves Doc. He has even tried to dognap her before. So it was very surprising when we placed her on the table to have some blood drawn for a heartworm test and she totally freaked. I've had dachshunds my whole adult life and this is the first time I haven't been able to hold a dog on the exam table. Mindy, the vet assistant, picked up Millie's paw and placed an alcohol soaked cotton swab on her leg. You would've thought Mindy had just chopped it off. She howled and jumped and tried to climb over me to get free. We tried consoling and talking to her, nothing worked, everytime Mindy even thought of touching her again, Millie was totally freaked. Toby didn't help, he was tied to the bench and cried right along with her. When her level rose so did his.

So we put her back on the floor and did Toby's poop exam and waited for Doc.

When Doc walked in, Millie barked at him. He just looked at her.

Now Doc is a big man that I'm afraid to argue with. Millie, however, told him that she was not going to be touched with that alcohol soaked cotton again. When that didn't work, she tried the "I'm the sweet innocent puppy" face. She lost the battle. Mindy had to practically lay on Millie to get her still enough. Oddly enough the needles didn't bother her.

The whole time Millie was howling, Toby was on my lap trying to convince me that she was a goner and we should just go ahead and run for the door before they had a chance to get to us.

After the most traumatic experience on earth, we went home and they each received a peanunt butter treat.

'nother day...

Algebra, algebra, algebra… For the next 7 weeks that’s what my main focus will be. Once completing College Algebra, I will be able to move on with my degree program. This is a do-or-die class. I’ve decided that if I do not pass, this is the last of my collegiate experience.
Sean was wonderfully gracious in allowing me flex hours so that I could attend class. I tried online Algebra. It is for the more math-minded person.
I’m finding that this teacher goes slow enough that I can keep up. He also gives us real-world applications for the problems we are trying to solve. Now I know why functions are important and that x can never be the same number.
More good news: Today I am wearing a size that is exactly two sizes smaller than what I was wearing at the beginning of the year. The pants aren’t tight at all!
All is good in Mid-World.
Long days and pleasant nights to ye, if ye kennit.

Algebra made easy...

I honestly don't know why I lost sleep last night over the beginning of College Algebra. Today was the first day of class and well, I've already made a friend. And we already know who we won't like for the 8 weeks we will be sitting together.
Today the teacher spent the entire 45 minutes explaining the syllabus and how to do our homework online. He also gave us a copy of what the problems will look like on the first test. Along with the test and all the homework questions for the first section he had worked them out for us. If we are still stupid and can't do the work, online there are video tutorials.
So, the chick that we don't like had about a hundred questions about this.
Mayhap this time I will pass.
Long days and pleasant nights to ye.

Back to Normal

Really nothing of substance to report.
The week back to work was surprising, and long. I've had new duties added to my roster. This is ok since it means OT.
Jo, Chanda and Jan saw the new Kevin Costner thriller Friday night. We met up afterward at Texas Roadhouse then moved the party to Wild Horse. It's a fun little drinking hole, if ya kenit.
Saturday night was the station picnic at Driller's stadium. It was a perfect night for a ballgame. The Driller's were number one in the Texas League going into game one of the night. Sorry guys but seems like every time I actually go see a game they lose.
Today I made a WalMart trip that should've taken 10 minutes and the staff must've been Taheen, because they could get nothing right, and if you looked closely their faces weren't on quite right. Then it was off to the station to clear out some paperwork. Now I'm taking a break from cleaning. While Toby and Millie promise to clean up for me, they forget.
Tomorrow is Algebra, day 1. I'm a bit nervous.
That's it for now. Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ya.

I was blind, but now I see

Is it true? Could I have been so deeply ground into the longing I had for the return of my rose-colored glass world (aka: The Clinton Administration) and so gravely frightened by the leader of the group taking us straight to Armageddon (aka: #43 and the Moral Majority) that I honestly missed a truly great band when it was introduced to me? Had I truly forgotten the face of my father? How in the name of Eld could this have happened?
Please walk with me down this very alarming path of the beam.
Sunday night, May 27, 2007 I highly recommended that my sister and brother-in-law attend a concert that I wasn’t particularly interested in attending. The ticket was only $20. I knew that Jimmy would like the music. They, from what I gather, are very southern rock in the Leonard Skynard way. I truly like Skynard and so does Jimmy.
That morning began rather gloomy with rain and well lots of rain. The concert was to be outdoors at an amphitheater. Daddy and Jimmy worked on my car. Patty and I returned to her home and anxiously watched the radar on the Weather Channel and various local stations. Ok, I also had an ice cream and two hotdogs to alleviate the anxiety. To our surprise the sun did come out. I felt as though I was in that wonderful story – All Summer In A Day… the author’s name has long been forgotten.
Back to the concert day, when we arrived we parked a long distance away assuming that we couldn’t find a place close. We were wrong. However, to our surprise and my delight, the line at the gate was literally a quarter of a mile, at least. We settled in for the long wait to get in. Commenting on the fact that the Chamber of Commerce probably had no idea how big a name they had actually acquired or that running spots on Texas radio would actually pay off. Another happy surprise came when a security guy told us of a shortcut to get in if we already had tickets, which we did. I might note that it was sometime around me hearing – shorter line this way and well nothing else that Patty decided to hand me one of the tickets. It seems I actually took off running. SOWISA babyluv.
I could hear a voice I recognized resonating from the stage. I knew I would be hearing Robert Earl – but to my great pleasure I was hearing Stoney! Pray yer forgiveness of Jimmy and Patty that they did not recognize the presence they were about to be in.
Ok we get in the gates and encounter what can only be called pure MUD. It was awesome. I was almost ankle deep in it at one time. We settled Patty in to her lawn chair and Jimmy and I were off in search of what the gods drink at these palavar’s. We got a bargain. Only paid $25 for a 6 pack of 16oz cans. Not to mention the highway robbery for water - $3 per bottle. Who the smuck needs water?
At some point Patty and I made it over to the souvenir line. Yes, I now have a t-shirt other then JB&S to wear at the JB&S concerts. We also had one of Jimmy’s cousins take this picture of us. Aren’t we cute?
Robert Earl was awesome. I wasn’t let down. Thanky sai Jo. While we were in the t-shirt line he sang Feliz Navidad. I had no idea that was his song, but have loved it for years. Again, thanky sai Jo.
Then came the main attraction.
I had completely decided to forget the Jesus Loving Freak song that I had heard a few years back. Really, would Jo love a band as much as she loves this one if they were JLF’s? I don’t think so. She has played enough PFG and other groups for me to think that. I settled into my own lawn chair and paid attention. Cody rocked. Yes I said it. He really caught my attention when he plainly stated that whoever had thrown that beer at him had better drink his smucking beer or he would kick his ass. From that point on he had me. Should I say, “He had me from I’ll kick your smucking ass?” We didn’t stay for the whole show, beg pardon sai Jo. We did see an hour and a half and I did hear Boys from Oklahoma. And I’m seriously considering buying their latest CD. They have a new one due out in October. I'll pre-order it.
Long Days and Pleasant Nights to Ye…

Ah Vacation...

This may take a few blogs to cover the whole time off. We had a blast! By we, I mean Toby, Millie and me. I’m not sure how much fun Patty had.
I’ll pick up the vacation story with Thursday. It was a rather rainy day. Hayden was on his first day of medication for a double ear infection. We couldn’t find him to begin with. Mom nor Dad were answering their phones. When we finally made contact it was only to find out he had been at Grannie’s waiting for us, when Grannie noticed a very high fever. We picked him up at Poppie’s work, had lunch with Nannie and spent time at her house cleaning and doing little things for her.
Friday was a little longer. Hayden was feeling much better and was in fact very talkative. We began with breakfast at Sonic. Then went to Eufaula to buy flowers for graves. We fed the ducks at the lake downtown and then to the dock. At the dock you can buy a handful of fish food for a quarter. We went through $3. Hayden also scored a frog ring that lights up and a real cowboy hat with a cop star on it. We spent the afternoon watching a three-hour marathon of Sponge Bob Square Pants. If you have never watched SBSP that long, I really recommend it if you can’t sleep. Mom made spaghetti for dinner Friday night. Let me just say that I have probably gained back all the weight that I lost over the last few months.
Saturday was fun. My kids came to Eufaula. We had lunch at a nice Mexican restaurant. The family met at the cemetery later in the afternoon then went to Nannie’s. Nicole and Hayden had a good time playing football in the cemetery after they dutifully placed flowers on the proper gravesites. We bbq’d at Patty and Jimmy’s then the kids were off to Norman again (loaded down with food) and I spent the night with Nannie.
Sunday’s blog will be split into two sections. Here is the first. Sunday morning we went to Decoration day service at Palestine. Patty swears that Ralph Wayne (yes that’s the preacher’s name) doesn’t always preach hellfire and brimstone, however, the last two times I have been there he has felt the need to do just that. My only comment to the service is that I guess I’ve been an Episcopalian too long to revert to the more loose structure. Nannie was happy to have me there, and that is all that matters. I left before the potluck lunch. My car was making a horrible noise that Jimmy and Ryan agreed were the wheel bearings going out. Daddy and Jimmy spent most of the afternoon repairing my car. Turns out the wheel bearings weren’t the noise culprit. The tires had the wrong pressure and seems that those tires will just be noisier than more expensive tires.
Toby and Millie had a blast primarily because at Eufaula leashes aren’t used. They did give us a fright when Toby followed by Millie took off chasing a dog that was headed straight to a Doberman pincher. Toby received that spanking. So the next time they felt the need to chase they stayed in “their” yard.
The rest of Sunday will come later.
Long Days and Pleasants Nights to ye.

Donkeys and Vacation

The day we went to Claremore, Monday, when the crew arrived at the Station, there was a pack of donkeys at the RV. They were the cutest things. We thought they were just visiting for the morning. Turns out they have adopted us. They walk up and down Mt. Crumpit and hang out at the helipad, as you see in this pic.

Now, on to the fun stuff. I'm actually on VACATION! Patty and I spent the day doing my errands. We began in McAlester. I had Hayden and had to get two new tires. Who knew that tires with threads showing and bumps were the reason my car was driving funny? Anywho, Hayden and I bought breakfast for Grannie at McDonalds, retrieved my car then were on our way to get Patty. First stop, Coweta for heartworm pills. Then we were off to Claremore to find the classroom I'll be spending the next two months in and to get a parking permit. Then to downtown to take care of a no seatbelt ticket and expired insurance. Tulsa doesn't make it easy to take care of traffic violations, three buildings, not to mention lines, later and that task was complete.

Next stop was Ollie's. Hayden loves to eat there. The trains run constantly. We basically shoved food into his mouth as he was watching the trains in fascination. After Ollie's we went to the station. Hayden talked to everyone except his hero, Frank. He just stood and watched him.

Then we went to the hospital to check on our friend that had a heart attack the day before. He is doing fine. His wife took my apt key so she could get a shower and a quick nap. While I was straightening the apartment Aunt Patty took Hayden to Krispy Kreme and then for an ice cream.

Last stop was Irene's house to drop off food for the sickies. We went back to McAlester and took everyone to dinner at the Chinese place. Hayden was worn out and still managed to stay awake until 2am. His mom was ready to shoot his two favorite aunts. =)

Today was a little more quiet. We had lunch with Nannie and kept Hayden occupied for a few hours. Turns out he has a double ear infection. He doesn't act sick and in fact says he feels fine. Except for the temperature, he was fine.

Patty has dial-up. So I may not blog again for a few days...

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ye.

Girls Night Out

Ok, I realized yesterday that I really am NOT as young as I used to be. I thought the Calf Fry was different. I mean, we had to drive all that way to Stillwater. Then we were basically standing for hours! Not to mention the beer.
Saturday night we had our first monthly Single Girls Only night. I was home by 1am and in bed by 2am. I literally slept all day yesterday. Millie had to stand on my chest and bark at me to get me up and outside before she went inside.
The party was fun. There were probably 15 ladies there. We ate and talked and had a wonderful time. Sorry, no pictures or exact stories, they are both strictly forbidden.
Today, we went to Nowata. That was an interesting trip. It is actually the first time I've gotten lost inside the town we were visiting. Everything was going well, I left about 6:55 to get the breakfast we had ordered last Friday. When I arrived, there was no food. The lady that took the order wrote that we would be in town next Monday. So, I settled into a seat and chatted with the folks in Nowata.
Nannie had another Dr. appt today so I had lunch with them, then came home to the babies. Millie has done nothing but whine today. Well, whine and chase a few rabbits. She actually drew a crowd when I allowed her to run back and forth at the fence while the rabbit sat safely on the other side having dinner and laughing at Millie. Toby thought about getting into the action, but honestly, he would have to run and well, he isn't into running.
Now we are back in the apartment and I'm finally sitting still so Millie can lie down and go to sleep. She was panting like crazy when I finally made her give up the chase and come home.
Tomorrow is Claremore in the morning, then I have a hair appointment. I'll be spending the night at mom and dad's then Hayden will go to "work" with me Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
One more note: Fasten your seatbelts or you will get a $20 ticket. I found out first hand today. The officer and I had a good laugh as she handed me the ticket.
Long Days and Pleasant Nights to Ye!

Traffic Cop Tammie

That's right, I was a Traffic Cop this morning. Oh my it was fun.

The morning began around 3:30am. Millie was up and ready to go before the alarm! She even forced Toby to get up. I hate having a dog that likes mornings.

For those of you that don't know, we gave away $25 of gas for 2 hours this morning at a pre-determined QT. I arrived around 4:20am and was assigned to Officer Jason. He and I had the sad duty of telling people that although the giveaway had not yet begun, they were in fact too late. Then, once we cleared that group and the actual pumping of gas began, I found myself directing traffic at the gas pump.

You may think I'm nuts, but I had fun this morning. We unfortunately had to turn away about double the amount that were able to get gas. Approximately 195 people received free gas. Most of the management team were there, I was the only "girl" and the best part is that I was allowed to use my "MOM" voice to keep things moving along.

We were very well met this morning. Now, I have to finish up a couple of things and then I'm off to Mid-World!

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ye.