Peter ordered this for after his hunting trip:
I have no words…
If you are a fan of deer and elk meat, please message me so I can get you a BIG package. I support the hunting. I do not support me eating the spoils. Picking buck shot out of my teeth is not on my bucket list, FYI Peter.
I know I’m 2 weeks behind in this post…but I promise it’s still informative. And funny.
Several years ago PW and I developed some pretty strict rules for vacation. They are as follows:
Rule #1: There are no rules.
Rule #2: See rule number 1.
You see, when there are too many rules about what time is bed time, eating vegetables and limiting cartoons, no one has any fun. There are too many distractions and differences from normal life to carry on a normal routine. So, we say to hell with the rules. If Baylor doesn’t even look at a veggie for 5 days, she will not die. If she doesn’t go to bed at 8pm, she will probably be a little crabby the next morning….but there’s also a chance she’ll sleep past 6:30am. Does one more Doc McStuffins cartoon mean I get to keep reading my book? Then watch away kiddo. We’ll mold your mushy brain back into shape next week. Cheesecake for breakfast? Why not (this was one of mine and it was fan-freaking-tastic). French fries for lunch? Sure. No nap? Let’s throw those dice! Multiple cocktails on the deck of the Del with lunch? It’s vacation!! (Sad I missed on this one this year – I do, however, plan to make up for it next year).
I think the most fun part about the no rules is when Baylor realizes it. She will ask for something she knows she normally doesn’t get and then when she gets it, the look of surprise on her face is priceless. More than once I said “we’re on vacation! Run amok!”. And by the last day her favorite phrase was “we can because we’re on vacation!!”.
The caveat here is that while this makes vaca fabulous, it can make the return home a little troublesome. The key is to emphasize when it is and when it isn’t vacation. The declaration of “vacation over” makes for a lot of sad faces all the way around, but it makes it more understandable when the cartoons get turned off, the platter of veggies served and the wine gets left in the rack (maybe it was PW who struggled most this time around…).
My post for Scottsdale Moms Blog today has some great “recipes” for getting out stains…lame? Maybe. Useful? You bet! The Biz and Shout combination once got red paint out of a white shirt – just saying, it’s worth the read!
Tuesday afternoon I got a call from my mom telling me that there was a fire at the ranch. Her voice was all I needed to hear to know that it wasn’t good and that they had no idea if their homes, business and escape route were about to go up in flames.
Montana is experiencing the same drought most of the west is having and everything was crispy dry when we were there in July when the norm is lush and green. It was dry to the point that the annual 4th of July fireworks that my step brother puts on (and that rivals most municipal fireworks show) had to be canceled. And now hearing how quickly a small fire in a tree went to structure and life threatening in under 10 minutes, it was a good decision.
Because of the rural location, fire support is hard to come by – or is unconventional to say the least. A neighbor has a water truck, but if the neighbor doesn’t answer the phone, there’s no water truck. The closest fire department is a half hour away and the forest service has to scramble helicopters to come to the rescue. Thankfully the ranch boarders Yellowstone National Park and sits on an 80 acre lake so once help arrived, they were able to gain control of the situation.
This is a picture from last summer of the Paradise Valley
And this is a picture of from the height of the fire yesterday – you can see how yellow the grass is.
Thankful for the forest service and the three available slurry bombers – this picture is about 50 yards from the parent’s deck
The aftermath. The estimate was about 100 acres burned. The sad part is that it will take close to a decade for this to become lush and green again.
I think it’s safe to say that the family is feeling blessed that this wasn’t worse, but sad that it happened at all.
I saw on one Melissa F’s Facebook page (what?! you don’t read Fontyfest?? You so crazy) a link to a blog called Suri’s Burn Book. It is, in a word, amazing. Short, snarky and all told from (allegedly) Suri Cruise’s perspective. I am dying and so grateful for this new little gem. Thank you Mrs. Fonty for the introduction to such a lovely and hilarious way to waste 5 minutes of time!
Apparently I used the wrong version of counsel when writing an email to Peter and my mom this week. This morning I got a post it note on my desk:
I thanked Captain Spelling and then went back about my business. He then proceeded to make fun of my spelling abilities, which, he has known for the last 13 years are less than stellar. I told him that the way I would remember the difference between council and counsel is that the S in legal counsel is for shithead.
That was enough to make Captain Spelling retreat from the office. And gave me an excellent pneumonic device for remembering the difference between the two words.
Scottsdale Moms Blog participates in a Twitter Tasting thing (that’s the best explanation I can do) with Fresh and Easy. It’s a really fun idea – basically Fresh and Easy contacts the SMB group and invites us to participate. Those that are in receive a F&E gift card and the names of three wines. You take your gift card and pick up the designated bottles. Then sign onto a Twitter room (?? I don’t twit so I don’t fully understand what I participate in) and follow the instructions as to which wine we’re tasting first. Then all you have to do is drink and tweet about if you love or hate. Does it sound like a fun and free way to drink? Then I’ve done a good job explaining.
I was contacted by Erin at F&E a few months ago about participating in a tasting but sadly had to decline as Mr.Man was on his way.
While on the phone screaming at Kodak Gallery about where the hell my archive DVD and where the hell my pictures are on Shutterfly, FedEx arrived with a very heavy package. I began to open and pull out Fresh and Easy brand baby item after item. Perplexed, but still yelling on the phone, I opened the card. It was from Erin and her Fresh and Easy team congratulating us on our upcoming baby! I was so shocked by the sweet gesture, I gave a momentary reprieve to Kodak Gallery. It was like the best and worst customer service all happened in the same 30 seconds.
I was completely struck by how thoughtful someone I have only ever exchanged emails with could be. It’s good inspiration to do random kind acts.
There was also a GIANT chocolate bar in the box…it didn’t make it to the photo….
Phew. I’m exhausted.
I hope you are enjoying some fun, family time and cocktails this 4th of July! And thank you to all the service men and women who keep our country safe so that we can celebrate!
Um, how did I miss this memo? Peter pointed out the fact that as of July, Kodak Gallery is closed and Shutterfly is taking over. Which is ok with me, I don’t think Kodak is really that easy to use and they are transferring all the pictures for free…but is anyone else as paranoid as I am? Has anyone else worked for a database company where shit just went wrong for no reason? Because I have and I do not trust that something won’t go wrong and all the precious pictures of Baylor’s first moments on this earth, Bear and Travis playing in the Maryland snow and the blackmail worthy Senior Night pictures won’t somehow be lost or destroyed.
So I set out to download a copy of each album…which I quickly found out isn’t possible. You would have to do it picture by picture. Boo. So as I surfed around, I found that they are offering a special deal on archive DVDs (see? I’m not the only paranoid one). So I chose the option, selected all and assumed that all 20ish of my albums would be added.
Except I have 86 albums. And over 3,600 pictures. I told you I was the family photographer. BUT, I was pleasantly surprised that the total cost to have all of them transferred to DVD was only $37. Yes, still forty dollars I have to spend. But for my peace of mind, which often comes at a much, much higher price? Totally worth it.
Now the bet is how many DVDs it will take to hold 3,600ish pictures. PW said one. I say at least ten.
The Goon Room 