out with the old....

and in with the NEW! Bring it on 2011! I'm ready for you! I'm not going to "recap" 2010.   l.o.n.g. story short, the year just stunk. From beginning to end! So..... I'm holding my glass up in the air and saying..... 

                       2011..... just BRING IT ON!                     

Happy New Year!

just love it......

I just LOVE this! 

Spritz the bowl..... and no one else will ever know! Yes! That is how it works. You actually spritz the bowl.... before. Then the poo-pourri traps the smell below the spray. THANKS LaDonna!!!  And you are welcome Jessica, Michele, Gabe, Mom & Dad! You WILL be thanking me for this gift! You WILL love me more when your poo don't stink! :-)

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

We love you so very much! Enjoy your day!! {heart} {heart}

Merry Christmas Charlie Brown.......

......................

 Merry Christmas to all.......

And to all.....

Goodnight.

eve.......

 

Christmas eve.... eve. I'm sure that the clocks at work were on "slow" today. It sure seemed like it took forever!  And having tomorrow off probably made it feel even slower. Why can't we just be happy with what we get? Why do we always want more? So...... I sit here. Waiting for Jessica to make the trip across the state safely. I've been able to see her more lately. First Michele's and my trip for the weekend a couple weeks ago. Then my meeting in Topeka the end of last week. And now for Christmas. I could really get used to this. Before long, Michele will be making that move across the state too. How different things will be. But at least the girls will be together and that is a good feeling. I think though...... that I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy! Enjoy the holiday! Enjoy my family! Enjoy the time!

Merry Christmas Eve....eve

keeping warm......

whew......

What a week! But glad to be home. This was my facebook status this morning.......

You know you were overtired when..... you wake up during the night, can't figure out where you are, can't figure out who is snoring in your ear, get up and find the light, turn it on and go.... ohhhhh..... it's my husband! Glad to be home!!!!!! :-)

So........ my meetings went well. Not very informational for the other ladies, but since I'm fairly new it kind of answered some questions for me. Glad I went. Enjoyed bonding with Jessica! But there just wasn't much time in the evenings to do what we wanted to do. The best part was being able to take Jessica & Gabe out for supper Wednesday evening. It has been many years since I have been able to see Jessica on her birthday. The middle of December seemed to always be finals. What a nice evening we had! I hope Jessica enjoyed it as much as I did. So yesterday I was glad to be heading home, but wishing I could spend more time with Jessica. It will be so good in May when Michele moves that way. 

it's your birthday......

Happy 24th birthday Jessica!!!! Love you lots and lots!

A Christmas letter.....

As my children keep saying.... I'm a scrooge this year. We do have the tree up. And it is decorated... thanks to Michele. She just wouldn't take no for an answer. Thank you Michele! As we were pulling the decorations up, I ran across three boxes of Christmas cards. And no, I'm not sending them out this year. But if I were to send them out, this is what the letter would say inside.........

Dear Family & Friends,

      This year has been a very busy year for our family. A lot has happened and we are waiting for the new year to start. In short.... this year has really stunk!

      ~ We lost my sister Charlene the end of May. It is so hard to have that ray of sunshine.... just be gone. They say time heals.... but I'm still waiting for that to happen.

      ~ Michele has had three knee surgeries. April 15th they went in and reconstructed a few things in her knee. In short words, they broke the bone under her knee. She ended up with 2 screws, a pin and a small pin that was drilled into her knee to hold the new ligament.  On June 17th they had to go in and break the scar tissue that was preventing her knee to bend. Very painful! And then on November 24th they went back in and took 2 of the screws out. She is healing well, but will be "taking it easy" for a couple more months so the bone where the screws were taken out can heal and get strong. We know that there is not a true fix, but hope it helps. 

       ~ Jessica is keeping busy in Topeka. She switched jobs in May and now is the Assistant Manager for College Hill. She is still looking for that "perfect" job in her degree of Marketing. And I'm sure with her determination, she will find it. It just takes time.

       ~ Roger is "STILL" driving the truck. I'm sure he just drives in circles every day! :-)

       ~ Me.... well..... I'm just hanging in there. I have went to working 3 1/2 days a week. Just need some extra time for myself. Taking care of the "home" and holding everything together.

      This year has been rough. But we did it together. Together as a family. And from our family to yours..... We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

                                                                     Love, 

                                                            Roger, Corina, Jessica & Michele

just rambling....

 

~ Sometimes life is so hard! Sometimes you ask why? I know why, but that doesn't make it any better. I miss my little Sis so very much! But I do know that she is enjoying Heaven, and that is what makes it all okay. A couple days ago a high school friend of mine lost her grandson in a tragic truck accident. He was 2 yrs old. And  this was the second grandchild she has lost. How do you handle that? Do you just keep going thru the motions of each day? This babies life was just beginning. Now his family will always wonder what he would have been when he grew up. And while I muster in my sorrows..... while I miss Charlene till my heart hurts.... while I cry until my tears are dry..... I am so very thankful for all the years my family got to have her in our lives. For everything she taught us. For all the love she gave us. And I'm so very thankful she flew away to heaven in such a peaceful way. I miss you Charlene Ann! I know you are now enjoying a life that you never got to see before. That you are running and jumping and screaming....... I'm alive!

back to the real world....

I had so much FUN this last weekend! I'm tired! Michele is tired! Jessica is tired! We are ALL tired! Whew.... what a weekend. We shopped till we dropped, but had a GREAT time together. But it was good to get back home to Roger. Today Michele's appt. went pretty good. They took the stitches out. It is still red and swollen. The Doctor thinks it might be getting irritated from the gauze. I know that sounds silly, but I guess they are the ones with the education. So now she is to keep it uncovered. And will go back to the Doctor in 2 weeks. Her stomach is still funky, but hopefully that will be better by then. If not, she is suppose to go see our regular Doctor to see if something else could be causing it. It sure will be nice when she feels better and this is DONE and over with!

Next Wednesday I'm heading BACK to Topeka. I have meetings on Thursday & Friday there. (December 16 & 17th.) Isn't that so cool that they are in Topeka??? I'm thinking so! Wednesday (December 15th) is Jessica's 24th birthday. Wow! It has been a few years that I have been able to be with her on her birthday. The other ladies that are going are staying at the motel, but me..... I get to stay with my baby!! :-) Yeah me!

bonding....

We are in Topeka! Bonding!! I had signed up for Roger & I to go to my work Christmas party for Saturday evening, but then Michele had asked if I wanted to go to Topeka. Yes... no... yes... no... yes... no.... YES! I thought that maybe I would be more help to Michele helping her drive back home this evening. She left earlier this morning to go to Kansas City. A friend of hers was going to tutor her in one of her online computer classes which has been giving her some problems. The things we do for love. And to be really honest... I wasn't sure I really wanted to go to the party anyways. We left Friday as soon as I got off work. Boy was that a long day! Then yesterday we just hung out and did some shopping. The girls both found some things that they wanted. As they get older it is so hard to get what they want without them picking it out themselves. So.... while Michele is in KC, Jessica & I are going to have a early lunch and then go to the Mall. Yes, we went there yesterday, but didn't spend too much time there. Michele's knee was hurting pretty good, so we decided to do our clothes trying on today. Michele is not good on waiting... hehe. Hopefully all three of us have a good day. We will be heading back west this evening.

Tomorrow Michele has a checkup on her knee. It is still draining a little and pretty black & blue. They will be taking the stitches out. I have a doctor appt. for my back and then even Roger has an eye appt. CRAZY! And here it is suppose to be my day off! Guess I'm not getting any rest these days off..... :-)

hmmmm.....

The Thanksgiving holiday is over. The food is gone. The fun is over. Jessica has left for Topeka. Mishi will leave for Hays in the morning. The new week starts tomorrow....... We had such a nice time!

girl~friend....

Finally! Jorge has a girl~friend! It took a few visits, but they are now friends. They do fine until Jorge gets tired, and then he don't play well with others. Gets a little grumpy. But hopefully it will get better and better every time. 

 And when Marley gets tired....... :-)

it's a dogs world....

Do they like each other? Well....Marley has ADHD. Jorge has grumpy butt. Does that answer the question?? But it looks like they both like their pillows!

mission IMPOSSIBLE....

So.... last year we did so well! We were so happy! We got our tv's! Three to be exact. This year.... not so much. CRAZY!!! Jessica, Courtney, Cody & I headed for Hays. (Roger went to bed. Mishi went to bed.)We were going for the midnight sales at Wally World. Oh my goodness! Was it CRAZY! We met up with Mom and Dad. It didn't take us long to ditch our carts. I've NEVER seen so many people. And they were rude, rude, rude! Jessica just about popped a few people for taking Cody out with carts. People were actually lining up for the tv's at midnight. The electronics were not to be un-rapped til 5 am. And the check out lines, they were L.O.N.G! So, we spent $0.00! Bought absolutely NOTHING! (Guess we did go to the quick shop and buy two pops for the ride home.) Now that we are at home, Jessica is checking prices online. And the pan set she wanted.... the one that we thought was such a great deal... only $10 off. So.... it is official! We have decided that next year we will do our Black Friday shopping from the comforts of our lazyboys! Go TEAM UMMEL! :-)

OUT!!.....

They are OUT! The screws are finally out! We were in... and out.... in just a little over 4 hours. Now that is a record! And as you see, Mishi has her screws. We told EVERYONE that she wanted them. She even told them that if they forgot we'd have to go dumpster diving. Silly girl! (And I'm sure we would have too!) It was very weird to see her get up off the bed and walk. Not just walk, but without crutches. And not much of a limp. Now that it is several hours later.... it is starting to hurt. Now she does have a limp. But as she said.... the pain is not like before. So that is GOOD! She is to take it easy for the next couple months. First to let the incision heal. Also to let the bone heal. They don't want to take any chances for that to break. So.... easy it is! 

Now that we are home, we are starting our cooking for Thanksgiving. (Or I am) One of Mishi's requests is... potato salad and deviled eggs. YES.... potato salad. Silly silly! But that is okay. Potatoes are potatoes. If she is feeling up to it we will be heading to Mom & Dads. If not, we will be staying home. Either way.... our tummies will be full!!

surgery.......

Yes.... surgery again! We thought 3rd time was a charm. Guess not! Tomorrow Mishi will be getting " her hardware" removed. And it will be number 5 for this knee. Hopefully it will be the L.A.S.T!! Then we are ready to celebrate Thanksgiving. Wish us luck!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Yesterday was Mom's birthday!!! Michele and I decided to surprise her last night, but she ended up knowing what was going on.  She knew something was up. Guess we are not very good at planning. BUT, we had a very nice time. We showed up at her door with a present, a bottle of wine and a taco pizza. Her favorite!  Happy Birthday Mom!!!!!

Also....... yesterday a salvage yard came and got The Virgin Whores van. It is G.O.N.E! Guess they won't be coming back to visit us. :-)

Now we are getting ready for this next week. Work Monday & Tuesday. Mishi's surgery on Wednesday. Turkey Day on Thursday AND....... early to rise on BLACK Friday! Jessica is in the planning process as I write.  

Go TEAM Ummel!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uE-EfEXHk8

Sweeeeet Saturday.....

Thank goodness it is Saturday! I thought the weekend would NEVER get here.Whew! Roger was on vacation this last week. Has spent most of it at his Mom's. Audrey took off a couple days too. They are insulating. Busy busy! I have a list of things I'm needing to get done today too. Hopefully Mishi will be able to help me. She was feeling poorly this last week, but went to the doctor and got some medicine. Feeling much better now! Got to keep well for her surgery. After Jessica and Gabe went back to Topeka, Gabe also went to the doctor and got meds. Hopefully he is starting to feel better soon too! Me..... I'm also feeling a little under, but will live. Go Mom! 

Talk about a Mom..... My Mom.... She is doing pretty good. Still having pain, but getting there. Her most frustrating part is not being able to use that shoulder. Will be a long 6 weeks.

Listen..... can you hear the guns??? Yep, it is the first day of pheasant season. Watch out! Duck! And be careful!

Well.... my peeps (laundry, dust, sweeper, etc.....) are waiting for me. Have a GREAT day! And stay warm!

Flashback Friday.....

wonderful.... but over :-(

We had such a wonderful weekend. It was so nice to have the girls.... and Gabe home for the weekend. Basically just hung out. I was so sad to see Jessica and Gabe go back to Topeka. And Michele will be leaving in the morning to head back to Hays for classes. It will be soooooo quiet! Then this afternoon I sewed while Michele and Roger got their naps.  :-) Even Jorge was tired. He doesn't play well with others... poor Marley. Now we have two and a half weeks!!!!! Then we get to have Jessica and Marley for 4 days. And Michele will be home that Tuesday, but will have surgery again on that Wednesday morning. She will be getting her "hardware removed".  Hopefully we are home early enough for me to start my Thanksgiving cooking. Guess we'll see what kind of a meal we will get. :-) And after that...... Black Friday!!

Mother.....

Mom didn't get to go home yesterday. Sounds like her tummy was upset and they thought it was best to get that under control. Done! She is feeling much better and is now resting at home. Take care Mom! And get well soon! Love you!

Good day Monday!

This Monday has been just about like every other Monday. Busy! The day I try to get everything done that I didn't get done over the weekend. In time for me to go back to work tomorrow. And this weekend... I didn't get much done. I think I was suffering from jet lag. Or just dragging bottom!

I had my spinal decompression done this morning at 8am. Dr. Koerner's secretary thought I was weird to be scheduling my appointments so early on my day off. I had to explain how the older I get, the less my body lets me sleep in. :-)   Then I was off to the lumber store. I'm on a mission on getting an air tight wood stove put in our house and I'm NOT taking no for an answer. I have some information I will be taking back to him on Wednesday (when I go back to Dr. Koerner's again) and I'm thinking he may just be able to help me. Yah! After that I was off to meet Michele at her doctor appointment. It is official! She is having her last surgery on Wednesday, November 24th. They are "removing the hardware". The two screws, washers and nuts are getting taken out!! It should be only an out-patient procedure. Her two last surgeries she was there over night. So this surgery is sounding like a cinch! Doesn't even need crutches. Go Mishi! And we reminded them again that she wants to keep her "hardware". I'm thinking we will be having show and tell for Thanksgiving. 

I then did a little shopping at the Mall and of course got groceries. Gabe and Jessica will be home Friday night until Sunday. Guess I will feed them. We have lots planned, but we always have time to eat. Roger will be starting his vacation this weekend too. He is taking some days off from work to help his Mom with a few things at her house. Sounds like they will be taking down some paneling, insulating, and putting up some sheet rock. Busy busy! And while he is doing that.... I'm going to be going to work! Had my fun in Houston last week!!!

Michele went to Topeka this last weekend. Her and Jessica then went to Manhattan on Saturday to the KSU football game. Sounds like their seats were pretty high up. (Did I mention that Jessica is afraid of heights?? ) They had a great time together. Makes Michele want to get moved down there faster than May.

Mom had surgery on her shoulder today. Dad called and said it went well. They were able to repair her shoulder and she should be able to go home tomorrow. One shoulder down..... one to go!

Booooooooo!

Happy Halloween!

whewwww.......

What a week! And I made it!!! :-) I wasn't sure, but did. Thank goodness it is the weekend. But, do you think I could sleep in?? No way! Go figure! So... what is up for the day?

~ Roger is off today ...... honey do's?  

~ Washing clothes

~ Dishes

~ Dusting

~ Clean Jessica's room ....... Her and Gabe are coming home next weekend!! Yeah!

~ Ummmmmm ...... maybe nothing at all! Just enjoy the beautiful day! 

Happy Weekend!

Back in Kansas Toto!

I sure had a grand time in Texas! But sure am glad to be home!! My flight into Hays was suppose to land at 4:51 pm Tuesday night, but I didn't get home till about 11:15 pm. What a day! It started with a plane delay on my first flight. Then we had a ground stop because Denver had closed down due to the wind. So..... we sat on the runway. Finally got to Denver. Then after running from one gate to the next.... only to find my flight had been CANCELLED! Yikes! They also cancelled the following flight to Hays. So then they moved me to the next flight. Sooooo... what to do for 4.5 hours??? Time killed... and then THAT flight was delayed. I was soooooo tired by the time I got home. As Roger says..... I was tired and cranky! But it was well worth the time I got to spend in Texas with LaDonna, Tye, Logan and Drew!!!! :-) Thanks guys for having me! Love you all!!

me... me... me... me... me...

This last week has just sped by! Busy at work and busy at home. Trying to get everything done and ready for me to leave for Texas early this coming Thursday morning. I CAN'T wait and I'm not going to feel bad about that either! Thursday ~ Friday ~ Saturday ~ Sunday ~ Monday ~ Tuesday ...... me.... me.... me... me! I'm thinking that LaDonna and I are going to have such a nice time.

five, four, three........ 21

 We celebrated Mishi's 21st birthday this last weekend in Topeka with Jessica. And what fun we had!!

Boy has Marley grown!!

Harrahs Prarie Band Casino .....I gave everyone a $20 bill. Roger put his in his pocket and DIDN'T take it back out. Jessica put hers in a machine. Lost.... won..... won..... came home with $20.50. She was so excited to make .50!!! Michele got her eyes opened when she walked into the casino!! Wish we could have had a picture of that face! She tried....... came home with $15.00 and REALLY thought it was stupid. Me.... just my usual! I came home with $8.00.

SUPRISE!!!!!! {Dad told them that we were in Topeka celebrating Mishi's birthday. Could they do anything special? So the whole crew came clapping and singing. And then gave her ice cream! She was so embarrased! Her face was soooo red!}

 

Then our next stop was The Wildhorse for a little bit of fun and dancing. Not everyday a mother and father take their children to a club! :-)

Rick & Gayle came from Lawrence. What a nice visit we had with them!!

Lydia pulled herself away from studying!!

And Kyle came to celebrate too! Gabe WAS there at first, but ended up going home sick. Hope he feels better soon!  

We ALSO got to see Alan, Miranda & Kayla this weekend. Boy is Kayla growing up FAST! I just can't believe how much she has grown. Time flys! Who knows, before long they will be celebrating her 21st birthday.