Happy Anniversary, Kelly and Ron!

It's a day early....but Happy Anniversary, Kelly and Ron! Nick and I were just talking about your icy wedding day on our travels to Illinois!

Wishing you another year of wedded bliss!!

Turkey Day in Review

Ok- so my pie didn't LOOK perfect...but my family thought it tasted fabulous. And believe me, they are an honest bunch.... I just need to work on my presentation!

We had a great Thanksgiving...here are some pictures of the day!

Mom had plenty of "helpers" in the kitchen...which worked out well when I dumped about a cup of stuffing on the floor (by accident) later in the day. Anna was only too happy to help clean it up.

MMM...TURKEY roasted to perfection! Kiss the cook!

Mom sharing some family pictures with Grandma O. and Uncle Paul before dinner.

Nick the Master Turkey Carver....his presentation was flawless.

Grandpa O is patiently waiting for turkey...and some of my pumpkin pie... that went well with his rum mixed with a little egg nog.

Dad O. enjoyed dinner so much that he doesn't even seem to mind all the dishes! Nick and I helped clean up the aftermath....

Pepper enjoyed an after turkey nap on her old sofa... She had spent a large part of the afternoon ridding the neighborhood of squirrels...so she was pooped out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, FOOD, and remembering all the blessings in our lives.

Here are some of the things I'm thankful for:

• A wonderful husband...who I love with all my heart.
• My family...grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, and sister - near and far.
• Good friends that bring laugher and fun to life.
• The opportunity to move to Santa Claus- and a mother-in-law who made a sacrifice so it would happen.

So...from our house to yours... HAPPY THANKSGIVNG! Can someone please pass the whipped cream???

My Personal Assistant

Due to a water main leak in Boonville, the courthouse (and rest of the city) is without water. Now this doesn't sound like a big deal- but when there is no water...there are no bathrooms ...anywhere...in the whole town. I wish I had known that before I filled my to-go mug with coffee for the drive in.
Anyways...the good news in all this is I am doing some work from home today (where the water flows freely and bathrooms are available).
My personal assistant, Pepper, is on standby, should I need any copies prepared for my afternoon farmers market meeting. Doesn't she just look ready to hop right on it? As you can see, I'm a demanding employer who allows no slacking on the job.

Oh, I'm sorry... don't let me disturb your nap, Peppy.... go back to sleep...

Boiler Up!

Today we spent a toe numbing afternoon cheering the Boilermakers to victory over their biggest rival Indiana University. And what a game for Purdue!! They stomped on IU...with a final score of 62 to 10. What a great tribute to Coach Tiller's last game!

Cold but happy Purdue fans.

Did you know that Jesus is a Boilers fan? ...because he sat behind us at the game.

Student who came as Jesus.

Hail Purdue!! Boiler Up!

It's FRIDAY!!!

It's finally Friday!! Yeah!!
After a frustrating week of dealing with the car insurance people (or NOT dealing with them, which is my beef)... I am ready for the weekend! And we have plans... fun plans! Nick and I are going to the Purdue vs. IU football game tomorrow with Nathan and Sarah. We're probably going to freeze...which is why I plan to cheer for Purdue as enthusiastically as I cheer for my Illini as a strategy to keep warm.
Nick had a meeting up on campus today...so I came up with him today- and am finding ways to amuse myself on campus. They are having a blood drive at the Union... since I'm O negative, I thought I'd give them a pint. It turned out to be a little ego boost for me. They thought I was a student- asked me what my major was...if I lived in the dorms... HA! A month from 30 and I can still pass for a college student. Whoo hoo!
Then...Sunday, we are headed to Nick's Grandma and Grandpa Williams house for Turkey Day- Round 1. Let the stuffing begin!

Dodge the Deer

Yesterday, I was just telling Nick that we're boring and I haven't had anything blogworthy happen in over a week. Next time I'm just going to keep my mouth shut.

After a fun evening with the girls that included dinner (with a tasty drink), and chick flicks I headed home. (It would have also included Jerene's hot tub if I hadn't left my swimsuit by the door at home.) It was late- but not extremely late. Traffic on the interstate was light so I was able to turn my brights on to better see, which was fortunate since what I saw was a rather large buck in the adjacent lane. He was facing the other way...and I was really hoping he'd continue on his current path into the grassy median. No such luck. As I got closer, he turned, and ran right in front of my car. Now I know everyone says this- but it was a BIG buck. I didn't have time to count the points on his antlers- but this wasn't his first year. I did not swerve (the cop later complimented me on not swerving)...and he ran right in front of my car. And this is what my car now looks like:

Just wait... it gets better.

Pretty, huh?

The orange in my sweatshirt has made a cool swirly pattern in the dent, don't you think?

And just in case there is any doubt in the insurance company's mind of whether or not the deer ran into my car... there is deer fur stuck in the bumper.

Sigh.

Mom's Musings from the Dog Show

Editors note: This was printed with permission by the author, Mom O. I have added a few comments throughout in italics... because it's my blog... and I can.

Yesterday I got the following email from my mom on her experience at the dog show last weekend. For those who don't know, my parents' weekend hobby is showing their dogs in agility, obedience, conformation, pretty much any activity that a dog can do!! Read on for more funniness from the dog world by my mom, Sue Oshinski.

I have to tell you about this experience I had at an agility trial this weekend. Here’s a short synopsis of my lovely weekend:
-I potty’d Zipper first thing and noticed a HUGE pile of dog poop with no owner in the general potty area. Since it was very early and there were only about 5 competitors there, I inquired who was so unkind as to leave the mess. A lady holding onto a Great Dane admitted it belonged to her dog but it “stunk too much to pick up” and she would get it in about an hour! There is justice in the world because the show secretary overheard and sent her out to pick it up – it’s a rule and she didn’t care how bad it smelt! (Speaking from experience...I've never found any that has smelled like a bouquet of roses....)
-I put Zipper’s crate in a very quiet room only to come back to find a Belgian Malinois and 2 Scotties charging at his crate and the handler – a young man – finding his dogs’ antics very amusing. He is lucky he left the room with his life! (It is not wise to make my mom mad or mess with her dogs - or family either for that matter).
-I managed to sit my chair down next to a young woman who had to call her husband after every run and give him a play by play. She did this by facing the course and sharing with him obstacle by obstacle every second of her pit bulls brutally ugly (and SLOW) non-qualifying run. Since there were eight courses, there were eight phone calls – at least. (If he was interested....wouldn't he have to come to the show with her??)
-I also managed to sit behind a woman who decided that putting a leash on her Sheltie would be a life altering event – she actually told me “he gets too stressed to wear a leash.” Ahhh, excuse me, but that’s a rule too and it’s a rule to avoid dog fights. A quick end to this story is her dog left the course and ran over to the area I was sitting in and decided she also would like a taste of Zipper’s backside. I had to push her dog away with my foot, because I was using both hands to control Zipper who by this point (after the Malinois and Scotties) had determined “a good offense is a good defense.” Needless to say this woman was sure I was kicking her dog. Again, my friends defended me, told the woman her dog was the problem, and I had every right to defend my dog who happened to be on leash sitting quietly underneath my chair like he has for the last 5 years.

Zipper under chair at dog show.

-I was quickly becoming very unpopular with my co-competitors because #1 I had friends in high places, #2 almost got 2 people kicked out of the show (for very serious show violations) and #3 my dog qualified on 8 out of 8 courses and taking home too much blue. I really enjoy the social aspect of showing dogs and meeting new people. Needless to say, I found shoulders a bit cold.
-Sunday the nice young lady with the cell phone was constantly whining at her husband her dog was tired and was getting worse. This was her set-up: she had a crate for her dog (never used except as a table), a chair for her dog and a chair for herself. Because her dog “liked to watch what was going on” she sat him in the chair all day Saturday and all day Sunday. Anyone who has ever owned a dog can tell you the most comfortable position for a dog is….lying down! I very much wanted to explain to this young lady why her dog was getting progressively worse as the weekend wore on but I was afraid it would result in another phone call to check my theory with her husband.
-Should I also include the gentleman who’s dog has allergies? His set-up looked like a walking vet clinic! He had cooled calamine lotion in a thermos, an Elizabethan collar so his dog wouldn’t chew her feet, two fans big enough to keep me cool 2 rows back, chamomile tea to sooth his dog’s feet after she ran and booties to put on her for trips outdoors. My only thought after 2 days watching this circus was why stress a sick dog? (This is Adrienne's favorite part of the story!!)

For the most past, the people I have met at dog shows have been wonderful and engaging people who just happen to like dogs a lot. This group of people were nuts and don’t make me anxious to spend more time with them – at another trial or at the other show!

THANKS MOM! TOO FUNNY!!

Halloween Tricks

When given the option between trick or treat....I will ALWAYS take the treat. I do not like to be scared....

Last night, after watching a movie and waiting for our ONE trick-or-treater... I decided to call it a night and head to bed. But when I got there... there was already someone - or SOMETHING- on my side of the bed.

Thankfully I had flipped the light on in the room, so Nick's little trick didn't have the intended startle factor he was hoping for. Nick and his brother, Nathan, love to play tricks like this on each other. Since Nathan doesn't live with us, now I get to be part of the fun. Aren't I lucky?

After giving him a hard time about how it's not nice to try and scare his wife... Nick then went on to share how he'd passed up on a golden opportunity to scare me earlier in the day. When he left to head over to the farm, I worked on vacuuming these off the ceiling (stupid asian lady beetles):

Because I am not as tall as some people, this required a chair to reach with my vacuum attachment at full extension. With the vacuum cleaner drowning out all the sound, and me concentrating on capturing the bugs and not falling off the chair, I was pretty much oblivious to the world around me- which is what Nick noticed when he came back into the house. He said it took all the self control he had not to sneak up behind me. I told him that this was a smart move on his part- because I probably would have been so scared that I would have throttled him with the vacuum attachment (it's hard plastic so stitches may have been required)- and fallen off the chair.

Needless to say- Pepper and I are both glad that Halloween is over. I have another year to prepare myself for the possible tricks my sweetie will cook up...

And Pepper has another year to get over the trauma of being dressed up like a ladybug fairy.