Erik - Ruptured Ear Drum

Swimming lessons in a new pool last week, and by Sunday he had a horrendous ear infection, trip to Now Care and a Rx for antibiotics, by Today his ear drum burst and while he did get relief from the pain, the blood all over the pillow case was pretty scary. Two months projected to heal. No swimming for at least 10 days. That is not going to be fun!

'Holy Prostitutes'

A man is driving down a deserted stretch of highway when he notices a sign out of the corner of his eye....It reads:

SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS
HOUSE OF PROSTITUTION
10 MILES

He thinks this is a figment of his imagination and drives on without second thought....

Soon he sees another sign which reads:

SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS
HOUSE OF PROSTITUTION
5 MILES

Suddenly he begins to realize that these signs are for real and drives past a third sign saying:

SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS
HOUSE OF PROSTITUTION
NEXT RIGHT

His curiosity gets the best of him and he pulls into the drive. On the far side of the parking lot is a stone building with a small sign next to the door reading:

SISTERS O F ST. FRANCIS

He climbs the steps and rings the bell. The door is answered by a nun in a long black habit who asks, 'What may we do for you ! my son? '

He answers, 'I saw your signs along the highway and was interested in possibly doing business....'

'Very well my son. Please follow me.' He is led through many winding passages and is soon quite disoriented. The nun stops at a closed door and tells the man, 'Please knock on this door.'

He does so and another nun in a long habit, holding a tin cup answers the door... This nun instructs, 'Please place $100 in the cup then go through the large wooden door at the end of the hallway.'

He puts $100 in the cup, eagerly trots down the hall and slips through the door pulling it shut behind him.

The door locks, and he finds himself back in the parking lot facing another sign:

GO IN PEACE.
YOU HAVE JUST BEEN SCREWED BY THE SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS.
SERVES YOU RIGHT, YOU SINNER

Driving through the Night

Sunday... a day for rest or for division of property.. we opted for property.
Jasmine needed us to resolve the property in Albertson. G'ma and G'pa's Dodge and Mom's Ford to gather and store bed, recliner, entertainment stand, and grill and whatnot.

Got out of Missoula at 4 pm, got the Ford loaded back up in Lolo at 6 pm, had BBQ sandwiches for dinner and then made it 1 mile out of town before remembering Erik's Baby Blanket, turned around and fetched it, and back on the road. Took a lot of photos with "precious" along Highway 12, went on some different paths including following the Lewis & Clark route off the main highway.

2 hours and Exhaustion set in near Peter King Road (Mile Marker 1000, just shy of Lowell, Idaho. folded down the back seats, moved the gear to the front passenger seat and spread out the sleeping bags, pillows and blankets. the Elevation was 1500 feet above sea level and it was very toasty and no blankets were really needed, just padding for under us. Slept for 4 hours to take the edge off the headache.

Stopped in Kamiah, Idaho and secured some Motrin and water, made it 6o miles before the Migraine made driving shear torture. Stopped near Pardee, Idaho County, Mile (Marker 60), and slept another 2 hours and then the sun came up around 4:40 am... absolutely unreasonable of it to do that.

Made it the last hour easily, only a little brush with the 'law' on the reservation, was 'warned' for going 57 in a 55 (have to watch my P's and Q's) but all was well. Learned about Lewis & Clark (200 years ago) and the Nez Pierce Run and the Ant and the Yellowjacket.

Missoula Farmers Market

We went downtown and we saw lots of interesting people and items at the Farmers Market

one thing that was the most noteworthy was all the bicycles. There were many bicycle racks to attach bikes too and they were all full. the racks are pretty kewl

This is important to us as a family since we want a community that is bike / pedestrian priority. While the Alternative Transportation - Mountain Line is a nice idea, it doesnt extend past the 'urban area' of Missoula. Like Lolo, Montana. We have investigated Missoula Ravalli Transportation Management but we really would like to see a commutor train that utilizes the rails already in place from Darby Montana to Missoula Montana could even ad through to Kalispell, Montana. We got excited about Missoula in Motion, but it sadly appears to be a long way from fruition.

Lewiston Idaho

Nestled between the Snake and Clearwater Rivers, Lewiston and Clarkston boast a rich history and diversity for even the most discriminating outdoor or cultural enthusiast.

The celebrated Lewis and Clark Expedition brought Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to the Clearwater Valley in 1805. Lewis and Clark embarked on a search for a trade route through the Northwest. They followed the Clearwater River from the Bitterroot Mountains to its merger with the Snake River, the site of the present-day twin cities of Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington.

Finding things to do for 7 / 8 year old boys is a little difficult. All signs downtown say
NO SKATEBOARDS.
NO ROLLERSKATES
NO BICYCLES
NO SCOOTERS
NO FUN!!!

we are searching for a more kid friendly area.

Packing... Texas Style

Unpacked:

Packed:
so Preparing to go camping means different things to different people. some it is considered roughing it in a 3 star hotel. we are a little more rustic.

What we consider as essentials:

one Honda Civic Hybrid
Thule Bike rack
one 9x13 tent
one 9x13 tarp
one Ozark trail two burner stove
one Coleman Florescent lantern
four Therm-A-Rest self inflating Foam Pads
four -0F Sleeping bags
four pillows
one gallon of water
four pool noodles
two bottles of propane
propane lighter
one electrical cooler with car adapter
four marshmallow roasting sticks
a collection of CD's
two cell phones
a laptop computer
a portable DVD Player
DVD Collection
Nikon Digital SLR Camera
bag of clothes for each person, with 5 changes of clothes
two Nintendo DS Lites and Games
one 26" Trek
one 26" Specialized
two 20" Trek
two booster car seats

TWO ADULTS
TWO KIDS
TWO MONTHS
TEN THOUSAND MILES

When I put ME first

each day I wake up and wonder, what will I eat today.

I look at the eggs and think *augh* not again.

I know that cereal doesn't agree with me, I just do not know what is worse - not eating, or dumping when I do eat. I can eat Cheetos or some other junk and be just fine.. no dumping.. I am pretty good with protein bars, they tend to hold me steady but my dh gives me the look that they are not 'food'.

and that sets the precedent for the day. coffee to smooth away the headache from not enough sleep which seems to be an ongoing battle lately.

by lunch, I am so busy and on the go that anything is better than nothing, and I usually get to 'anything' by 2 or 3 pm... could be a protein bar, a bowl of soup, or some chicken. I continue to keep the portions small. I still eat off a saucer.. by evening I am able to eat anything and not dump which is a much more pleasant experience, but then I tend to get a couple of times which is why I am still getting in way too many calories each day and my weight is inching up.

that and dehydration... holy cow. that is a serious problem here in the heat (90's each day) and while I am getting better about picking up propel in the gas stations and fixing water bottles with propel. but overall... I just feel so sucked back into the 'mommy zone'

dd#1 wont wake up to drive on her self chosen cross country trek, dd#2 wants to know what to do.



dd#2 can't get her dh to get the military move to proceed in an orderly manner, could I figure out the phone number of the office on the base that she is moving to so that she can make arrangements.

dh wakes me up on his way out to work because while he HATES to work, he hates that I want to 'sleep in' totally ignoring that I was at dd#1 house until 3 am helping her pack and move and so have only been asleep for 4.5 hours.

dh calls to let me know that the postage went up several months ago and I need to travel 6 miles to pick up $.01 stamps so that his REBATE letter goes out okay. screw that, I will slap another $.41 stamp on it and call it good.

did I mention that ds#1 is screaming for me to help him with HIS chore that he must do to earn HIS Nintendo DS and is pitching a fit because he doesn't think that he can, that the job is too much. (move rocks that I can pick up with one hand, he is almost 9 years old) and is pitching a fit that I wont help him.

ds#2 is actually doing really well, just had to go out at 8 am, and ring the doorbell to his own house today for some evil twisted reason while I was sleeping.

so I have 5 monsters, this is self inflicted torture and I do not eat well. I do not eat right. I do not like the feelings I get all day. I do not like the dumping on healthy food I do not like the belly that I have acquired in the last 9 months (started in November 2007 - 18 months post op).

WHAT to DO, what TO do?

really think about what I am doing to myself and is it really worth it?

and time to be much more SELFISH. so today, instead of sleeping, which I should be doing, I am typing. instead of eating a protein bar, I am waiting for my coffee to cool. I can hear the Cheetos groanin and growling down my intestines and they are making a horrible racket.

I have sent ds#1 up to get me the protein bar, and I am going to cancel the trip downtown today. we are going to just have a 'down day', for whatever that means - it is more like a finish up a hundred chores on the house before we leave for the summer. but it will be prudent for me to do this rather than try to get in a trip to the museum AND all these chores.

the garage needs to be cleaned out.. augh!!! see.. there I go again.. I simply can not just REST...

but I have eaten the protein bar at 10:25 am while typing this, that my 8 year old found for me, so the shakes should not be too bad this morning. I have given the 8 year old the chore of watering the front yard. I must get better at delegating and taking care of me.

Just for Fun

Butterfly

Crazy Town Butterfly