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.

Can you wear a T-Shirt to Church?

This won't be a long blog, however, it is necessary. The weekend was rough. Daddy had that stress-attack and Nannie found out her sister has alzheimer's.

When I talked to Nannie on Monday she was more depressed than I have heard her in two years. So, Tuesday was especially important. She had a doctor appointment and then Patty had one later in the day. We had lunch then Nannie came back to work with me. She was like a school girl. It was so fun. I heard stories I have never heard as she told them to my co-workers. They gave her some "goodies" to take home, including a t-shirt. Now, if you know Nannie, you know she doesn't wear t-shirts.

Imagine my shock when Patty called to tell me Nannie wore the t-shirt to lunch the next day, and planned to wear it to church that night! She told everyone at lunch where she had gotten her new clothing and that she searched her closet to find matching pants. She ended up in white slacks because none of the blue ones matched.

The best part of the story is that she is smiling again.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to Ye!

Life Smucking Sucks

Did you ever feel like running away would solve all your problems? Maybe get a whole new identity and start over... Sounds good, except new problems will arise and then what do you do? Start over again?

The last couple of days have made me wonder what it would be like to run away and begin new as someone else. I used to do it. When I was a teenager, that was the beauty of being on stage. You could be someone else for a couple of hours. There was always a beginning and an end to every situation. No guessing, no incomplete synopsis. Somehow, things always worked out. I really wish that's how things were in real life.

Why can't life be like a day on the river. Not Jimmy's river, my river. The toughest thing you do is open a can of beer or soda. The worst thing that happens is you bite into a bologna and cheese sandwich expecting mustard but get mayo. I long for this life!

I'm tired of living on the edge of Boo'ya Moon looking at the Sweetheart Trees and hoping the long boy stays asleep a while longer.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ye...

Mother's Day

I've been a bit down this week. Sunday is Mother's Day, my daughter will be working and unable to join the BBQ fun with the rest of the family. The whole morning thing is beginning to wear on me in ways that I can't go into online. I think only 2 people read this, but well, you never know when something from your blog will be printed in a newspaper in say, California. So, I'll keep most of my thoughts to myself.

This is finals week at OU and move-out is going on. So Nicole has been very busy and stressed. However, for some reason has also found the time to call and just "chat" with her mother, several days this week. Only one phone call being for money. I found this suspicious.

Today, I woke up at the absolutely ungodly hour of 3:30 am. I was terribly surprised when my phone rang and it was Nicole at 4am. She claims that she hadn't been to bed yet and just wanted to make sure I would actually be at the station today to call and wake her for class or something. Again suspicious but, she is 20.

The rest of the morning wasn't so good. I went to QT for coffee - all the pots were turned off. So I'm off to Bristow, coffeeless. Which explains why I took the wrong exit off the turnpike and ended up back in Sapulpa, adding 30 minutes to my 30 minute drive. GGGRRRR

Finally made it to the station around 7:15am. Started to leave around 10am to run an errand for Chris Lincoln, when I was called to the lobby. Those beautiful tulips you see in the picture were waiting for me. They came with a card saying "Love you momma. You're my Favorite!" So now my day is much better.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ye - and don't forget your mother this weekend.

Toby and Millie are Home

Sorry I haven’t updated anything this week. Honestly it has been an extremely weird week.

I left the babies with Aunt Patty and Uncle Jimmy Sunday because my apartment was scheduled to get sprayed for unwanted critters. Then the plan was that I would spend the night with Nannie Monday, then head on down to Wilburton Tuesday morning for the Roadshow. On the way back I would stop and pick up the babies. Well, the weather had a different idea. The Vinita show Monday morning was practically rained out, the forecast wasn’t great for Tuesday, so the crew (minus me) filmed the Wilburton stuff Monday afternoon to be aired Tuesday morning. What does this mean for me? Well, I didn’t get to go to Wilburton and the babies had no way home. Although, I’m sure they could’ve driven if someone would have offered keys. I worked my regular schedule Tuesday, which turns out, has screwed up my whole week. Then Jimmy was told he has to work 12/7’s until further notice. So they brought the babies home Tuesday night.

I tried to get a pic of the babies together, this is the best I could do. Now I’m preparing for bed. We just got back from a walk, and with our new schedule, 8pm is very late!

BTW: Lisey’s Story is worth the purchase. Classic King.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ya

Hayden's Day

Hayden had what can be described as “the perfect day” yesterday. Uncle Jimmy and Aunt DaDa picked him up early and off they went to the Armed Forces Day parade. He loves to play the drums; in fact his momma bought him a drum set. So imagine his delight when the marching band walked by with a whole row of people carrying huge drums that you played on both sides. He has told everyone that he really needs those. He also got to climb into some of the military vehicles, and “shoot” a gun from one of the vehicles.

Then Aunt DaDa and Aunt Tammie took him to put flowers on Grandmomma’s grave then to the Dam. In the process of this adventure he scored a badminton set and a new shovel and rake, not to mention the green ice that was yummy. He loved the lake. There were people fishing and oh my the size of the fish they were reeling in.

We went back to Aunt DaDa’s house where he and Millie tried to build a lake like the one we went to in the front yard. Poppie and Grannie came over and we grilled chicken. The day ended with a bath that had sponge bob soap or something like that.

I guess it is a good thing that Patty and I don’t have our own grandchildren. If yesterday was any indication, that is.

A Boland Bool?

Was it a bool? A Boland Bool? It’s possible. After-all, once you visit Boo’ya Moon you automatically think everyone understands when a bool is in progress. Unfortunately for Jo and me, we had not been to Boo’ya Moon when we witnessed the Boland Bool at the Calf Fry. We thought he had simply lost his smucking mind.

Here we were thinking that he had forgotten the Face of His Father, when in actuality, he was probably just in a bool. Now the question is, are there stations to this bool? This could be fun, yet, when dealing with bools, you never know what awaits you at the end. Most of the time, the really good bools, the end consists of a nice RC or candy bar in exchange for a job well-done on figuring it out. Hopefully, in the Stations of the Boland Bool quest, the end will find us at a JB&S concert that doesn’t feature the band from Boo’ya Moon or Mid-World for that matter.

Sai Boland, I beg ye pardon for losing faith and thinking ye had forgotten the face of your father. Now I understand that when I closed my eyes that night, your aim was true.

We were well met after all. Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ye…

I know Horses, Damnit

This isn’t going to be a very long blog. The new sweeps hours are about to kill me, and Millie swears she gets absolutely no attention now. I did have to blog about today’s trip though…

We were in Pawnee. This weekend is their annual Pawnee Bill Wild West Show. It was fun. There were horses, tractors, people in Wild West outfits, even a couple of gunslingers. One horse was a bay, mind you not anything as handsome or loving as my Strait, however he was mild-mannered and very tired, kept yawning. Then there was an appaloosa – the one in the picture. Yes, I had to call Jo and ask what the horse that looked like a Dalmatian was. Then when I saw a horse that I thought was very pretty, and I had never seen like it before, I asked the self-described wrangler what kind of horse it was. He looked at me and said “the kind with 4 legs.” I replied that I knew that so then he kindly told me it was a quarter horse. Well hell, anyone that has spent more than 5 minutes with Jo could tell you that, so I’m pretty much a damn expert. So at that point I was a bit fed up with this so-called cowboy that pegged me for nothing but a City Girl – pointed at the not as handsome or bright as my Strait and said, “that’s a Bay, what is this?” Well he became a bit nicer and said something about spotted gray or some crazy something. Then we began swapping horse stories, you know I have so many.


Anyway, the morning was fun, a bit muddy, but fun. Then I spent a very long day at the station.

Traffic Jam at 4 AM?

As you know, I’ve been working with the morning crew. Today we went to Sallisaw. I drove myself since I had to be back at the station to cover for Darrean and do the rest of my regular job. I’ve also discovered they really don’t need me until around 5:30. So I stopped at QT for gas and coffee and then was on my way by 3:45ish. As I top a hill barely on the Muskogee turnpike, I’m stopped by a semi literally parked in the middle of the turnpike. I had seen what can only be described as a plethora of emergency vehicles so stopping to me seemed to be the logical thing to do. Then immediately I called the station. There had been a semi crash and evidently it had caught fire. Exactly an hour and 15 minutes later – I was able to confirm that indeed there was a shell of a truck on the side of the road. Needless to say, instead of arriving at my destination at 5:15ish, let’s say it was more like 6:20ish. Tomorrow we are off to Pawnee. Hopefully no more excitement on the road will happen.

Long Day and Pleasant Nights to ye…

Where the F@*% is Boland?

Calf Fry 2007 has come and gone. For the most part is was a fun time. I missed Pat, sorry PFG, and CCRW, again sorry, but what I did see was truly spectacular.

More on what I missed… Seems that Thursday night after I left some chick picked a fight with Jo and well, Jo ended it. Then Friday night some chick deliberately poured beer on Jo’s head, twice. Well, that did NOT go over well. From what I hear Security was called and psycho chick minded her manners after that. Saturday night Jo truly was a “Rock Star” literally, many drunks were high fiving her because they had witnessed the bar brawl from the previous night. The good news is that a couple of the impressed males were actually cute – as Missy would say. =)

Now to what I witnessed: Saturday began very well. We had a drink, then ate our share of testicles and drank some more. Johnny Cooper began the day. Sorry no pics of him, he is all of 12 and for a white boy, he had a nice afro, not to mention the 1970’s style sunglasses that were two sizes too big and his grandpa, dad and two great uncles were on stage as his band. The kid can sing though and actually made an old Barbara Mandrel song rock. Keep your eyes on him, once he reaches puberty he might be something. Then No Justice took the stage. I’ve liked them the other two or three times I’ve seen them. They are good musicians and really pretty too! Next came Kevin Fowler, I always forget that I really like Fowler. He is very country, very funny, and ROCKS.

Ok, so the night has been fun, we’ve drank our share of Stillwater 3.2 water. We’ve been primed for the main attraction, the crowd is going wild, I’ve had to pee for at least an hour but afraid to lose my spot – so I sucked it up and took it like a true Boland fan. Then Boland is introduced, the crowd is going wild – a man that looks like Boland comes on stage. Something odd – he has this, uhm smile (I use that term loosely) on his face. I thought “Oh he is happy to be home” turns out, he really tried to smile all the way thru his set. It was so very painful to watch. If you closed your eyes you knew you were in the presence of the man, but when you opened your eyes again, well that alien was on stage. It seemed as though Jo and I were the only people there that noticed this. Classic Boland comes out on stage, sings his songs, smokes his cigarettes and the only movement is to go get a drink of beer or take a shot of jager being offered by a fan. Where the hell did this dancing around, smiling, really creepy guy come from? All the way home I was perplexed over it. Perhaps his new label is having him try new things, or perhaps it was the rehab. My money is on the wife. Marriage is a really bad thing and this is proof. He had no cigarette and no beer. There is nothing on http://www.thestragglers.com/ site to indicate any of these changes. His music is still the BEST, he still sounds the same, so I encourage you to buy The Bourbon Legend if you haven't yet. And if he is in your neighborhood, please go see the Ghost haunting the honky-tonk's because he really is doing it the way Hank did. You will be well met indeed. I’ll have to take a leave of absence and begin following him around to get to the bottom of this.

But first I’m going to eat lunch, and read some more of Lisey’s Story.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ye…

Calf Fry Night 1

The first night of the Calf Fry was fun. I had totally underestimated my ability to sleep during the day. After working practically all night Wednesday, I arrived at my very quiet apartment around 11:30am on Thursday. The plan was to sleep until about 6pm then head out to Stillwater. Well, I absolutely could not sleep. So by the time I arrived at the party, my body was already beginning to rebel. I found the gang at front center, where I knew to look. There was an empty place right by the fence and I asked the really tall girl if it was "reserved" she said yes her sister and friend had gone to get beer. I told her I would move when they returned, and she was shocked when I was true to my word. So shocked in fact that she made room for me next to her! And then when Jo came back from her visit with Pat, my new friend was about to kick Jo's ass because she mistook the Green Glow friendliness for something more like me being harrassed by a tall blonde. Should I say that we were very well met?

Reckless Kelly rocked, of course. Then I found myself alone with, well not one of my favorite people and realized I really had to pee. By the time I made it to the bathroom, for some reason I don't think they had the mile long row of port-a-john's this year, I was about to pass out. So I made my way to the parking lot and then back to Tulsa. Slept for 2 hours, if you don't include the naps on the turnpike, then back at the station and ready to roll by 2:15am.

Needless to say - I slept from around 1pm - 9pm and then back asleep by 10:30 and didn't wake until around 7 this morning! I did miss Night 2 of the Calf Fry - sorry Cross Canadian!

Something else to note, Thursday morning Nannie finally decided to go to the doctor to check out her horrible cough that I've been railing her about for over a week. Turns out she is close to having pneumonia. The aggravating thing is that instead of calling someone that lives within a few minutes of her, she called and left me a message. So after talking to her, I immediately called Patty. Please keep her in your conversations with you higher power.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ye...

May Book Begins

Day 1 of the 20 Counties in 20 Days road show went well. It was very chilly and at one point rainy. The crew was pleased with the breakfast, thank heavens. Lol The other news is that I now get to be a part of that crew for the whole month.

The big story is Toby and Millie’s visit to Aunt Patty and Uncle Jimmy’s. They had not been in Aunt Patty’s car 5 minutes when she received her first spanking. It wasn’t her fault that Aunt Patty left her neckbrace in the back window – and Millie felt the need to chew on it. They are having fun playing outside and keeping tabs on the bird.

Pat Green is at the Calf Fry tonight. Pictures will be here tomorrow!

Long days and Pleasant nights…

Porn is backing up on the Internet...

I am never disappointed by Dr. Gregory House. Last night we learned that "porn doesn't download itself" and if your best friend is dating the woman you want, well you need to go condo shopping.

I would give you a Lisey update, but last night my new eyes were killing me and I took them out. I was going to read using the old faithful glasses, except my eyes didn't want that either. So the puppies and I watched House and then whatever was on the History channel.

Anywho, it was thankfully a dreamless night. I didn't move until Millie began her whimpering that she needed to pee!

Long days and Pleasant nights to ye.

The Week in Advance

This is going to be a very quick blog, just to keep all of you (lol) informed and let you know that I am still alive and kicking.

First, the week is going to be full. The May Book begins Thursday. This is the month that sets all our sales guidelines. Very important. We are embarking on a month long tour of the viewing area in an actual RV! Sean is letting me go on the first 2 just to help out where needed. Woo Hoo.

This weekend is the Calf Fry. I am 2 sizes smaller than I was the day I turned 41, tanned and ready to party! Also, Saturday night I'll be center stage, boot touching close to Boland...right Jo?

Now I'm off to continue following Lisey's story. When I last left her she had just arrived at her older, nutty sister's house to find two of her sisters covered in blood, at the hand of the older nutty sister. I'm sure it will get crazier, gorier, and absolutely terrifying by the end of the story. This is King, afterall...

Long day and pleasant nights to ye

Blessings

A week like this makes me stop and think and count all my blessings. It’s only Wednesday and already the week seems to be sooo long.

Monday was the next to last radiation treatment on Nannie. I had the privilege of having lunch with her, Patty and Jimmy. It isn’t every 41 year-old person that can say she had lunch with her Grandmother, and they weren’t at a nursing home. I am blessed to still have my Nannie. She still lives on the farm in the home she’s had since, oh I think the year I was born. Her mind is sharper than mine and her health is pretty damn good for someone that has been around 85 years.

Then the shooting at the college in Virginia happened. Of course the first thing I did was call Nicole. Then after I found out the second person killed was a resident assistant trying to protect a resident, and the building where the worse part of the shootings took place was an Engineering building, well, I almost sat down and cried.

I am blessed to have a wonderful, strong-willed, intelligent daughter that is a perfect fit as a Resident Assistant. Another blessing is that her soul mate is equally, if not more intelligent and an Engineering student that actually attends those 8am classes. So naturally my mind goes to the “what-if it were OU” mode.

Then, yesterday, OU is placed on full lock-down because a person was seen carrying a suspicious object. Ryan was in class when this happened – early morning class – he called Nicole and suggested (you don’t “tell” Nicole anything) that she stay in her room. Another Blessing – Ryan. Fortunately, it was only an umbrella; everyone is on pins and needles right now.

Last evening Nannie called me, she was a bit upset. She had an eye appointment today in Tulsa that she had already rescheduled once or twice and there was no one to take her. She apologized for calling me, however, I have told her time and again that she can always call me. What else is vacation time for? Anyway, I had another blessing, more valuable time with my Nannie. We had a wonderful time. Even had lunch at the Cracker Barrel.

Wonder what blessings tomorrow will bring…

I'm No Republican... but...

Ok, so Jo sent me an email that I barely even looked at other than to see that at the end it said something like contact your elected officials, here's what you should say... Since it came from Jo, I figured I had better do it or I would most definately be hearing about it for at least the rest of my life. So, I did it and received an automated response, or so I thought. We were semi-impressed. For those of you who haven't seen it, I actually have a letter written to me and signed by then President Bill Clinton, helps to be persistent in your correspondence. Anywho, tonight when I opened my email, to my astonishment, I actually had a reply from Congressman Sullivan talking about the issue I sent. WOW! So here it is...

April 18, 2007
Ms. Tammie Kolker
7251 South 92nd East Avenue, Apartment 8
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74133
Dear Tammie,
Thank you for contacting me with your concerns regarding the decision by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) regarding the determination of rates and terms for webcasting. I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.

On March 2, 2007 the CRB, a federal agency created by the United States Congress, was tasked with updating royalty compensation rates for music performers which expired at the end of 2005. These updated and subsequently increased royalty fees are to be paid by Internet Radio stations for streaming music during the years 2006-2010. The CRB's three-judge panel, created to set digital music royalty rates, decided to increase the rates retroactive to 2006 for companies that stream music over the Internet. The increase will apply to small and large broadcasters alike, as well as Internet simulcasts of traditional over-the-air radio stations.

Currently, Internet broadcasters must pay royalties for the use of a song to music publishing organizations like the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Media, Inc. (BMI) for the public performance rights to the song itself. Additionally, they must also pay royalties that compensate the performers of the music. However, traditional over-the-air broadcasters are only required to pay for the performance rights to a song. They are not required to pay royalties to performers. The CRB's decision to raise the music performer compensation royalties, which only Internet broadcasters must pay, is creating what some perceive as an unfair imbalance in an environment where the ultimate goal should be an ability for Americans to have fair access to music, while allowing those with legitimate intellectual property rights just compensation.

As a result of this decision, parity in radio rates has come in to focus and been addressed in Congressional hearings regarding the direction of the future of radio. As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I too am a proponent of innovation and share your belief that we should accelerate technological advancement in a fair and balanced manner. As issues regarding the future of radio come before me, I will keep your thoughts in mind and continue to fight for technological progress, innovation, and fairness.It is an honor to serve you in Washington. If you would like more information on this issue, or would like to share your thoughts with me via e-mail, you may visit my website at sullivan.house.gov. Please do not hesitate to contact me again should you have further concerns on federal legislation or programs.

Spring Fever

Woo Hoo! Spring is back. After spending almost all day Saturday on the couch under a blankie cuddling with two adorable dachshunds… Sunday we had to make up for it. So while mommie wash, folded and put up clothes; cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed the living, bed and bathrooms; bleached counters – you get the picture, the babies took in the sun. Ok, gotta get more stuff done…

Bad Breath Banishers - for dogs

I'm going to try this for Toby. If you've met Toby, you understand. I'll let you know the results...

2 cups brown rice flour
1 Tablespoon activated charcoal (find this at drugstores, not the briquets!)
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2/3 cup low fat milk
Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Combine flour and charcoal. Add all the other ingredients. Drop teaspoonfuls on oiled sheet, about 1 inch apart. Bake 15-20 minutes. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

Dog Food Recipe courtesy of I-Love-Dogs.com

Dear Dogs and Cats...

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run. I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years, canine or feline attendance is not mandatory.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough! To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets
1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

Remember: Dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3. Are easier to train
4. Usually come when called
5. Never drive your car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't worry about having to buy the latest fashions
9. Don't wear your clothes
10. Don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

Easter is for Family

This was a good weekend. The babies and I trekked down to Norman. We had fun. Nicole has a fish tank under her tv. Millie spent most of our visit trying to catch a fish. She scratched, licked, bit and barked and never managed to catch one.


Toby relished in his time with his sissie. He napped next to her and they even played with his new orange chew toy. He even “claimed” her bathtub no more than ten minutes after we arrived. Other than that they were both on their best behavior. =)

I was experiencing a rare allergy attack and took some sinus and cold stuff to help me sleep. Nicole couldn’t get me to move, so she spent the night with a friend. The babies and I woke up around 8am. Went out to potty and managed to lock ourselves out of the building. We had no phone, no keys (not even to my car) and I was wearing pj’s with only a light jacket. What a dilemma. So, upon finding the predicament, we found a piece of sidewalk to sit on and waited. Fortunately, Nicole came home only a few minutes later.

Easter service was nice. St. Luke’s at OU is a small church, which was a nice change of pace. The priest was wonderful. The songs were nice, it was a totally pleasant time. I might only be thinking it was so nice because I was finally at holy communion with my wonderful daughter, but then maybe not. Then we had lunch and the babies and I made the journey home. I’ll have pics as soon as Nicole gets them to me.

Millie has been asleep almost since we left Moore. She only woke up long enough to eat dinner – then she had to potty, otherwise she has been under a blankie, sound asleep.

The only other notable occurrence over the weekend was my visitation from Pat Green. That’s right, I said Pat Green. I’ve been pondering whether to go to all 3 days of the Testicle Festival or just Saturday. Well, last night, Pat Green came to me in a dream, and we discussed my thoughts. He assured me that by going to see him in concert and enjoying myself, I will not be considered un-loyal to JB. And if I go see him and stay the night with the gang, I can always go on over to Enid and do some family time Friday, then come back for Boland on Saturday.

You know what this means? I HAVE to go see PFG now. After all, he did take time to visit my dreams.

Long nights, pleasant days to ye…

The Gunslinger Born

I was married to a comic book collector for 10 years and never understood the NEED to have comic books on at least a monthly basis and most of the time, a weekly basis. I never understood the addiction and the strength that addiction has over ones soul. That is I never understood the addiction until approximately 3 weeks ago. Upon reading the first Dark Tower edition released by Marvel Comics, I seriously couldn’t wait until the next one came out. I had actually placed the books back in their plastic covers and placed them in a place where no harm would come to them. Then I caught myself doing the strangest thing, I would take the books out and just look at them. Just hold them and absorb the whole “Kingness” of them. Do ya kennit?

The realization of my addiction hit tonight. I found out earlier in the day that our supplier had delivered the latest volume. If I did not go fetch my copy tonight, it would be a week before I could get it. So what do I do? Of course I rush home from work, walk and feed the dachsies, feed myself and drive off to Claremore. It wasn’t just any drive. I had to drive in a weird April Snow storm. I calmly waited outside a movie theater where the transaction was to take place, in the freezing snow. I have never felt more like a junkie in my life. And yet, I am confident that this won’t be the last time I go to extremes for my SK fix.

Go Your Course In Peace...

KITT Being Auctioned

Who's with me, let's buy KITT! My jaw fell to the floor when I saw this on the headlines. As most of you girls my age, I was glued to the TV once a week to watch David Hasselhoff (pre baywatch) and KITT go on many capers. I always wanted a car that would talk to me, and it wasn't in my head.

So, the sale price is only $149,995. I have $2.00 to start the whole thing. I'm sure we can have the full amount sometime before the end of the day.

New Friends are Fun

The weekend was filled with adventure and fun. Saturday we cleaned house and washed and folded clothes. Then for fun we planted flowers. Aunt Patty stopped by. She had a new aunt with her. Millie loved Aunt Wanda and Uncle Bud. However, she did whine when Uncle Jimmy ignored her.


Sunday was even more fun. We went over to Angie and Cocoa’s house. Carole was there too. The six of us went for a walk to the park and then back. Then Millie and Angie ran and ran and ran like a couple of wild dogs. The best part is that Angie and Cocoa asked us to visit again. Hope you enjoy the pics of everyone, if you look close Millie is telling Carole a secret in one of the pics.

We were also finally able to listen to the MP3 player outside without having the earphones in. I’m sure you know who we were listening to. =)

Do You Know a Real Cowboy - I Do

I also wanted to share these pics of my uncle. Over the weekend my cousin visited Nannie. She took her son and her brothers son with her. They are city kids and she is educating them the way we were educated. Weekends with our uncles at Nannie's house.

Uncle Wayne always hides from the camera. If he is forced to be in front of one, he will make faces. I couldn't believe these wonderful pics of this man. Nicole once wrote a story about a "true Cowboy" and how she knew one. She was writing about Uncle Don, but Uncle Wayne also fits the mold.

Millie's New Coat

It rained today. Millie likes her new raincoat. It is a pretty pink and she pranced around outside. Somehow her tummy was still wet when I took the coat off. Toby, of course, did NOT have a coat. He is too manly to wear clothing.

Baseball Season is Here!

The countdown has begun. April 1 at 7:05pm we can finally watch the Cards on ESPN!!! Let's do the happy dance. Baseball season is upon us.

The boys are expected to win their division but not the whole thing. The facts are that they have most of their lineup from last year back and we can be Series Champs again this year. We have to find a designated drive for LaRusa...

Life is so good, I can't wait for Sunday!

Hayden and Frank

I’m very tired. Just got home from our 3rd of four weather shows. This one was special and demands a blog. Mom and Dad brought Hayden. He was so wonderful. He helped me with everything. =) He met Frank and was even on the 5pm weathercast. The pics don’t tell the whole story. He loved every minute of the night. Thanks Frank and David for making his little life wonderful.

So Many Things To Say

Millie and Toby visited the farm. Millie absolutely loves going to Nanna’s and getting run and run and run like a totally wild dog. The best part is there is no harness with Mommie attached at the other end. Then Nanna sent Mommie on a shopping trip. When I came back, well, someone had convinced Nanna that the collars bearing identification were strangling both Toby and Millie. So she saved their lives at the last minute by removing those horrible things from around the precious babies’ necks.

Anyway, we had loads of fun and ate way too much grilled chicken. Oh let me just mention for a moment that we went to see a movie that a friend of Jo’s swore we HAD to see because it is sooooo awesome – 300.

Well, I’m no movie critic, but I’ve never been more bored in my life. ‘nuf said.

Sunday was probably the most active. (Going to the Mazie Prairie is only tiring for Millie, Toby and I tend to do nothing more strenuous than get a beer from the fridge) Sunday, we were up and on our way to Uncle Jimmy’s house by 8:30am. He puppysat while Patty and I went to church with Nannie. Now one wouldn’t think going to church with your 85 year old grandmother would be eventful. Well, with my family life is always an event. Nichole was there with J’son and Emery. Those boys are too cute for anything. If you don’t believe me hop on over to The Sweetens http://www.thesweetens.blogspot.com/ and it will be proven to you. Anyway, the second trip out, I was privileged to go with the boys. We had a blast dinosaur hunting in the big forest by the church. Then we had lunch in town with Nannie. On our way back to pick up the puppies Uncle Jimmy called. Millie had an accident. She had sliced her leg open. She was so sweet and crawled in Uncle Jimmy’s lap to show him the boo boo. She wasn’t so sweet when Mommie held her while Aunt Patty administered medication and a bandage. We tried to change the bandage before our trip back to Tulsa. Three adults could not contain a 13 pound dachshund long enough to change a bandage. Oh well, she was walking fine when I left this morning.

That’s all for now, I will update this blog with pics of the Sweeten boys…

Ranting

I can’t believe the gall of the Republicans in the White House. Not 24 hours after the devastating news of Elizabeth Edwards they have to try to steal the health attention of the masses by sending Tony Snow off to the hospital with his own little version of cancer. Do these people not have one original thing that isn’t something made-up like WMD’s and Sadam’s connection to Al Qaeda?

Moving On – but not forgetting….

Millie has started a new annoying habit. She will dig on the top of my head and then either try to roll where she dug or get a lot of hair in her mouth and pull. So I searched for a reason last night. I came up with two viable ones: A) she is trying to mask her scent so that her prey (Toby) doesn’t recognize that she is sneaking up to attack B) she is bored and wants attention.

Now, A is viable because one of her favorite games, right behind chase the toy that Mommie has just wrestled from her jaws and thrown, is attack Toby. He in turn will run and hide beside me. The rule of the house is that Mommie is home base and therefore you can’t touch the one touching Mommie. I didn’t make the rule, I just know that’s what it is.

However, B is more likely the reason she has adopted this new behavior. She is very much the personality that must always have attention and be in the spotlight. Even if she is sleeping she has to be the one closest to Mommie but also touching Toby. The only toy, food, chew bone, etc. worth anything is the one that Toby currently has. Again, I didn’t make the rule, I just know what it is.

In other news, Nannie has to get radiation. She will undergo 16 treatments in a 4 week period. That means 4 visits a week. Fortunately they only found 2 places that need this type treatment. The third place can be frozen off, it is pre-cancerous.

Final rant of this blog:
Sports Illustrated is not a very good magazine. I've decided to no longer read the copy the station pays for so the Sports guys can keep up. Why? you ask... Well they have printed that my boys indeed are expected to win their division again this year. However, they go on to say they will lose the first round in the play-offs (which are stupid and a whole nuther rant) to the Mets. What? They don't even have an absolutely awesome catcher anymore. What the hell are they thinking. Oh and it does get worse, I know you can't believe it, but it does. They have the Mets losing to the Dodgers and then the ultimate insult - The Dodgers losing the World Series. WHAT?!

Prayer Request

Ok, I have to mention my political opinion. Please keep John and Elizabeth Edwards in your prayers. He is the absolute best choice we have for President in 2008.

If you haven't heard, you live in a vacuum. Elizabeth's cancer is back. She was diagnosed with Breast Cancer at the end of the 2004 campaign. She had undergone all the therapy and had been given a clean bill of health. Today they announced that the cancer is now in her bone and possibly in the lungs. This time it is not curable, but the doctor says it is treatable. She is only 57 years old with two small children at home. This has to be devastating to the family.

The good news for our nation is that John and Elizabeth are going forward with the campaign. Elizabeth, of course, will not be able to campaign as much because now she has to begin more medical procedures.

DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER BORN #1

This is OMG unbelievable. Thanks to Jo's accidental find - we have a new treasure that is totally awesome. Our epic novel series "The Dark Tower" written by probably the greatest horror/fiction novelist of the 20th Century and is definately the greatest in the 21st - Stephen King, has been made into a comic. It is being published by Marvel, again the best comic book publishers - so I'm told by my ex and my cousin. So, in an effort to educate and sell as many of these comics as possible, I cruised on over to Marvel and kinda copied their description of the series:

THE STORY:

“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” With those words, millions of readers were introduced to Stephen King’s Roland—an implacable gunslinger in search of the enigmatic Dark Tower, powering his way through a dangerous land filled with ancient technology and deadly magic. Now, in a comic book personally overseen by King himself, Roland’s past is revealed! Sumptuously drawn by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove, adapted by long-time Stephen King expert Robin Furth (author of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: A Concordance) and scripted by New York Times Best-seller Peter David, this series delves deep into Roland’s origins—the perfect introduction to this incredibly realized world, while long-time fans will thrill to adventures merely hinted at in the novels.

Be there for the very beginning of a modern classic of fantasy literature!
48 PGS./CARDSTOCK COVER/Parental Advisory …$3.99

In a twist to my life that you shouldn't be surprised by, Jeff told me where he gets his Comics and suggested I call. So I did and he had the first to releases! When I told him my name, he said he would place them in Jeff's bag, and that he will start adding a copy of that series to Jeff's monthly comics for me!

I am thrilled that I get a new SK Novel of sorts, in monthly installments! For this I can only say to SK - thanky sai

And the Winner Is...

...The battle of the Ice Creams happened last night. And oh what a fight it was. A negotiator had to be called because it became so vicious. For those of you that do not watch the Colbert Nation, and I feel sorry for you, it began a few weeks ago…

The owners of Ben and Jerry announced the release of the newest ice cream flavor for the year: Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream. They were invited to the show to help exploit this already wildly popular flavor. Then it happened, they stabbed Stephen where it hurts the most, his ego.

It just slipped, that they had also released a flavor named for Country Music icon Willie Nelson.


If you know anything at all about Stephen, this meant war. He waged a one Colbert Nation campaign against Willie’s Peach Cobbler. He even released a whole one attack ad against the ice cream and Willie himself.



(You can view the ad at: http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_colbert_report/index.jhtml)

Anyway, Willie came on the show last night for a final face-off. It could’ve gotten a lot uglier had they not called in our UN Ambassador, Richard Holbrook. There was a taste off and well, Willie admitted that SC Americone Dream was in fact “good.” After the show Stephen was invited onto the Honeysuckle Rose. That's not an every day occurance. Why Toby even wrote a song about his experience aboard the Rose. Stephen does say, however, that he did not get a contact high. I wonder...

So, there you have it. Stephen won. Now, go forth and buy Ben and Jerry’s Americone Dream and Peach Cobbler ice creams!

Alive Again

Ok, so I actually slept last night for the first time in at least a week. Let me rephrase that, I slept without the aid of Benedryl. The nightmare's were back but not as bad. So I really don't know what is worse, illness or nightmare's. Anywho, I forgot to turn on my alarm clock. Millie woke me up by licking my foot about 7:30 this morning. I was lucky, she barked really loud in Toby's ear to tell him that it was time to go potty.

I'll have more later when I have a little more time. I must give you my review of Willie on Colbert! It was interesting.

Welcome to the Family

Welcome Tuvok - he is a Seven week-old black and tan mini dachsie! He came to live with Renie and Steve. From what I understand he will put Millie to the test when he meets her...