Way To Go

Teen tried out for the high school play and made it. He only wanted to be in the background choir as it is a musical. But he made it. They are doing a play called "Back To The 80's!" What a play! I have read a few bits and pieces of it and all of you 80's children would love it just as much. Click on ---> Back To The 80's to see more about the play. I can hardly wait.

Tween tried out for County Choir and found out today that he made it. He was so excited he texted me from the bus to tell me. We live literally less than 5 minutes from the school. He just couldn't wait to tell me.

Of course I had no doubt that either of them would make it.

My heart is just swelling with pride right now!

Stacy

Keeping Busy

Since the older two have gone back to school and Little S goes 2 half days a week, I have a little bit of quiet time to myself.

So this is what I have been up to:






This last one is my favorite. In case you can't read the tag, it says "Tell the story..."

I have been saving the fronts of Christmas cards that I receive and cut and piece them together to make new cards.

Perhaps you will find one of these in your mail in December.

Stacy

This & That

It has been kind of quiet around here the last couple of days.

Friday I went with Laurel to Pgh for her treatment. Do you want to know what my favorite part of the whole trip is?

When traveling to Pgh you are on a highway that is mostly surrounded by fields and hills and such. Then you come around the last corner in the middle of nowhere and see this. To me it is beautiful. I have been to Pgh a thousand times and I have never gotten over the 'wow' effect coming into the city.

Friday was quiet here. The football game was an away game so we didn't go. Although we did win.

Saturday morning, Teen had play practice while the rest of us did an abundance of laundry. The only thing that is nice about having to go to the laundromat is all the laundry is done at once. I am not constantly doing laundry.

Then we went to my nephews football game. He is 12 and plays midget football while my niece cheers (she is 10).

It was really quiet here on Sunday.

Little S found a friend:

After playing with it for a few minutes, we set it free on the nearest tree:

Hope your weekend was as nice.

Stacy

T.D.I.

First I want to answer what was hiding in the picture - yes, it was Little S in the window. Very faintly. In fact I didn't even know he was there until after the picture was taken and my MIL pointed it out to me.

Now on to the title of today's post. T.D.I. sorta like TMI but a lot different.

I feel like I went to bed last Wednesday in Western PA and woke up on Total Drama Island. Seriously. There has been more crap going on around me in the last week than I really care to think about.

Here are a few examples:

* Hubby's cousin is no longer speaking to him and now his uncle isn't either. (Long story)
* Dory's father died.
* My friend Sue's mom woke up and couldn't walk.
* Last night one of the neighbors boyfriends tried to beat her up. (Yes, cops were called)

These are just a few of the things I have been dealing with this week.

I hope that when I went to bed last night I actually woke up back here in Western PA. I kinda like it around here.

Hope all of you have a great evening.

Stacy

Weekend Visit - Part 2

After Kraynaks we went to Eat n' Park for lunch. This is Little S's favorite restaurant.

After that we drove over to Linesville to see the spillway. My step-dad and grandma had never been there before. Everyone had a blast feeding the fish.

Here is a picture of how thick the fish are.

After that we came back to my place to relax a little before they had to travel back home.

This is my Mum and step-dad Tony and Little S.

This is my Mummum - She hates to have her picture taken. We have to catch her off guard.

After they left we went out to my MIL's to catch up with Hubby and Teen. They were siding my MIL's house. When we got there Tween started helping out also.

There is something hidden in this picture. Can you see it?

This is mostly what Little S was doing while the rest of the boyz were working:

Just being goofy and entertaining us. What a hambone!

Stacy

Weekend Visit

My mum and step-dad and grandma came up Saturday to visit. We had a really nice time.

First we went to Kraynaks and walked through Santa's Christmas land. This is a free 300' display with almost 100 trees. Every tree is decorated differently and can give you some great ideas for your Christmas tree.

Here are a few ideas:

Gingerbread Trees

How about Cupcakes & Ice Cream Cones?

Or your Favorite NFL Team? GO STEELERS!

Even an Upside Down Tree.

At the end of the display is the real reason for the season:

There is much more to share, so I am going to split this up into several posts.

Stacy

Please Pray

Today when you pray, please pray for my dear friend Dory.
Her dad died unexpectedly Friday morning and the services are today.

She needs strength, love and support. There are a few situations that are unresolved that need prayers.

Thank you.

Stacy

4 Year Old Knowledge

Little S is always making me laugh.

This morning he came up to me and said he had "sunburn" on his arm. I told him that he couldn't possibly have sunburn as we haven't been out in the sun.

"Yes, sir mum, look right here."

As I look I said "Oh that is brush burn."

He replies "No it isn't brush burn, I didn't put my toothbrush there!"

He was so serious, he cracks me up!

Stacy

Not Exactly What it Was Meant For But....

It works for me.

Are you ever someplace where you need to remember something when you get home?

Or how about when something comes on TV at night and you need to look it up on the computer, but you are really comfortable and would rather do it later?

I have the perfect solution!


This is my cell phone. I use it to remember things. How you may ask?

I have my email address set up in my contacts. I simply send myself a text reminder of what I need to do.

See a new product in a store and want to check out if they have a coupon for it online before you buy it - send yourself a text.

Laying in bed and see an actor you just can't place, but you know you've seen before - send yourself a text to imdb it in the morning.

Something really funny, neat, odd, sad happen that you want to remember to blog about later - send yourself a text with a few words to help you remember.

Is there something you use an everyday item for differently than it was intended?

Stacy

PS - There are several comments to the comments that were left for me, so check back.

Bored!

There isn't much going around here right now.

I had an interview Monday morning. I won't know for another week about the outcome. It sounds like a really great position and the starting pay is better than where my last job ended. WooHoo! So when you pray, if you could say a quick prayer for me.

On a lighter note:

Stacy

Little Boys & Rain

What do little boys like to do after the rain finally stops?

GET READY!




JUMP!


SPLASH!
Look at that Smile!

STOMP!


STOMP!
And that SMILE!

AND MORE STOMPING!
And an even Bigger SMILE!

THEN DUMP OUT THE WATER!


What do you do after the rain?

Stacy

Rain Again

Last night it rained until about half time and then finally let up for a while. This is all before IKE is even near. It is going to be rainy forever I think.

Unfortunately we lost the game last night. But it was close 20 - 18. So we are now 2-1. Not bad so far. Just bites that we lost on our own turf.

Today it has been raining again most of the day. But it is warm despite the rain. And muggy, sticky, yucky.

I will leave you with something a little more uplifting.

Friday Finds

Not much going on here. Just a damp rainy day. Tween is marching with the High School band tonight so I will be sitting in the rain this evening. Yeah - What Fun! NOT!

Tween had pictures at soccer last night, so again no game pics to share.

Wednesday was Mercer County Band Night. I got a few pics, but due to the stadium lighting, they didn't come out too well.


So here are my fun picks for today:

1. Engrish Funny is a hilarious look at what other countries "think" we are saying.

2. Engrish.com is the sister site with more hilarious signs.

3. If you think that you have a twisted thinking process sometimes check out I am Neurotic. You will instantly feel more normal.

Have a great weekend!

Stacy

Rainy Day

Today I had planned on getting pictures of Tween at soccer, but due to the rain soccer is cancelled tonight. So pics will have to wait until Thursday.

So what do we do on a rainy day?

Grandma came and picked us up and took us to Little S's favorite restaurant for breakfast.


Out to a restaurant to eat and he chooses cereal. Silly kid. He did eat a little eggs first.

Here is Grandma and Little S.


Then we ran some errands with Grandma. I have a friend who loves to do what we did next.


Anyone care to guess who this friend might be?

Grandma is getting new siding and she needed to get some color swatches to decide what to paint the shutters.


This pic is just for that special friend! LOL


Stop by her place and ask her about this pic! (Love ya friend!)


Stacy

We've Been Busy!

The boys started Soccer. This is Little S's first year.


He is so silly. Just look at that expression.

I don't have any pictures of Tween yet. I haven't made it to his field as I am the Team Mom for Little S. He doesn't have a game Tuesday, just pics and practice so I will get some pics of Tween then.

Teen is helping to coach Little S's team. One of the coaches works shifts and can't always be there.

Again Little S with the silly face.

Friday Night was Football!


Teen is in the High School band.

That is him in the middle. It was warm and raining on and off so the director asked them not to wear their full uniforms. Their jackets are white and only a year old.

This was our second game of the season and our second win.


Then on Saturday Hubby took Little S to Home Depot for their Kids Project Day.
Little S and Hubby getting everything ready.


Seth hammering away with Daddy holding everything in place. (Holding his breath hoping his fingers don't get smashed in the process. )


Screwing the final pieces in place. Daddy had to help hold it into place and put enough pressure on the screw.


All done! A paper football game. Just in time for the start of the NFL season.



How was your weekend?

Stacy

Stand Up To Cancer

At 8 PM (et/pt) 7 PM (ct) on Channels ABC, NBC & CBS Stand Up To Cancer will be televised. This is the first of it's kind collaboration of all of the networks. What a more wonderful way to bring them together than to help find a cure for cancer.

Did you know that 1500 people die each day. 1 in 2 men. 1 in 3 women. because of cancer.

If you go to the Stand Up To Cancer site you can find out much more information. And for $1 you can dedicate a star to someone that has cancer.

Why do I care about cancer?

Although I have never personally had cancer, I have been touched several times in my life by cancer.

My first experience with cancer was when I was 18 and about to graduate from High School. My dad was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer in June 1989. By the time they found it, his whole gut was polluted with cancer. It had affected his stomach, liver, spleen, intestines, etc. They took what they could and started the treatments. Chemo is a terrible thing to have to go through and radiation is no picnic either. He lived until the end of February 1990. It was a terrible horrible way to die. He suffered and was in pain a lot of those few 8 months.

If I could go back and change anything from that time I would have urged him not to take the Chemo and radiation. He was so sick when they found it, that it didn't help him. That does not mean that Chemo does not help. I just think that in his situation it would have been better to just make him comfortable for the final months.


This is just one story and one example of the way cancer has touched my life. There are several more.

Aunt M - Breast
Grandma M - Breast
Kathy - Breast
Laurel - Breast
Amy - Cervical
Randy - Leukemia
Audra - Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Cindy - Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

It is sad that I know this many so close to me. I can think of a few more that are friends of friends and some acquaintances along the way.

I encourage all of you to watch this very special event tonight as a tribute to all of those who have been touched with cancer in your life.

Stacy

Mail Call

Look what I found in my mail today:

I can't wait to take it out tonight and use it.

A while back I answered a question on Lucky Dorito's Blog and I was the first answer correctly.

WooHoo! Here's to Happy Teeth!

Stacy

A What, Where?

My mum called yesterday morning and told me that there was an Ostrich across the road from her but up on the hill. (She lives in the country)

They called the police and the game commission and neither of them would do anything. They said it wasn't their problem. As you'll read, sadly it became their problem.

My step-dad and one of the neighbors found out it was actually an Emu and belonged to a farmer down the road.

By the time they came back it was gone.

This morning, this video was on youtube:



and this article was in her paper:

Taser ends emu scamper on Pennsylvania Turnpike
By Jennifer Reeger
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Buzz up!


Kathy Rooney was heading east on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Monday when traffic came to a halt near the New Stanton exit.

She immediately thought construction was at the heart of the backlog, until she saw a large, gangly bird loping straight down the center of the highway.

"It was coming towards us, but it was on the white lines," said Rooney, of Mt. Lebanon. "It was like it knew to stay on the white lines. It stayed right down the middle."


The turnpike interloper was an emu -- a large, flightless bird native to Australia -- that clogged the turnpike Monday for about two hours and sent state police scrambling to capture it.

"It created a backlog of traffic," said Sgt. Anthony DeLuca at the barracks in New Stanton. "Vehicles almost wrecked into each other, into the bird. We tried to chase it down and tried to catch it."

The bird -- bred for its meat and oil from its fat -- was trapped in traffic lanes surrounded by 5-foot high barriers on each side.

"Once it got in there it got stuck, and it didn't know what to do," DeLuca said

It freed itself at one point, running into the woods surrounding the turnpike. But it made its way back to the road again. Emus can reach top speeds of 30 mph.

After two hours of chasing it on the road, trying to corner it in the woods and even attempting a cowboy-style lassoing, troopers finally decided to stun the 4-foot-tall bird with a Taser to stop it rather than shoot it.

DeLuca said it was the only choice left.

"We tried everything to save the bird," he said.

The bird fell to the ground after the shock. Troopers moved the emu -- which was still alive -- to the side of the road. That's where it took its last breath.

DeLuca believes the whole episode proved too much for the big bird.

"I think what happened is after about two hours of running on the roadway, it probably had a heart attack," he said.

Why did the emu try to cross the turnpike? Nobody knows for sure.

"It doesn't belong to any local farmers," DeLuca said. "We believe it might just have escaped from a truck that might have been hauling emus."

Rooney said her friends tried to catch the bird too and she offered it some trail mix to no avail.

Rooney said she drove away from the scene fully expecting the emu would have to be killed.

"It was a dangerous situation. Somebody could have gotten killed trying to avert it," she said. "I'm surprised they tasered it. I thought for sure they would just shoot it. At least they tried."


This makes me so sad. Had the cops come in the first place it may not have gotten to the road. But they chose to ignore the problem.

The farmer said the animal was very tame as you can see from the video.

My parents called the paper first thing this morning and let them know the correct version of the story. It didn't fall off of a truck, it came from a local farm.

Just another prime example of our tax dollars. And a cover up no less for shear laziness.

Stacy

*Sorry if this was a little ranty but it makes me mad when an animal has to die because someone chose not to handle the situation the correct way.

4 Year Old Knowledge

Little S is always cracking us up. He says things so innocently and doesn't even realize that he is a hoot.

At the birthday party on Sunday, this conversation was overheard.

Aunt Mary: Little S come give me a hug!

Little S: You already got one.

A M: But I need another one or I will cry.

L S: I already gave you one.

A M: (puts her head down and starts to fake cry) Now I am crying.

L S: Your not crying. I don't see no red face!

LOL - What a Hoot! He just comes out with these things from out of nowhere.

Stacy

Labor Day Weekend

Hope all of you had a nice relaxing weekend. (Sorry Shannon :(



Sunday we drove a little over 2 1/2 hours away to celebrate Hubby's grandmother's 87th birthday. We had a really nice time of Food, Family & Fun.


This is Grandma with 6 of her 8 grandchildren. (2 couldn't make it)


The kids had fun playing basketball,


Badminton & Volleyball,



Cards & Card Tricks, (even during the car ride)



and even some Charades.



Wonder who this is?



Someone is playing Hide & Seek. Peek-a-Boo - It's Little S!



And this is typical Hubby. Sitting in the recliner (in the garage) watching Football.

He loves to wear those saying shirts that are so popular right now. Goofy Guy!


What did you do this weekend?

Stacy