Monthly Archives: September 2008

Lucky Weiner-Fish Hunt Club

While the rest of our hunting group, for as I call us the “Lucky Weiner-Fish Hunt Club”, was off hunting all week, Jason and I had to come home and work all week.  I caught a ride to camp with him Friday afternoon.  I rode the bus from IHS to Heppner with the Junior High Volleyball team and watched Emma’s games.  Jason was nice enough to pick me up there on our way to camp.

On our way – this was the view we had – one GORGEOUS sunset!  It was breathtaking!

 

After a weekend of unsuccessful hunting, but lots of fun, the crew headed home.  Tod has two special riding spots in the pickup.  One is on the fold down arm rest in the back seat when the girlies aren’t with us, and the other (much to my dismay) is right in Aaron’s lap.

 

Here we are, the “LWFHC” – Rob, Josh, Shelby, Me, Aaron, and Jason.

And this is our caravan home – five pick-ups and four camp trailers.

Eleven more months until we get to do it all over again!

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Schtuff

Big happenings in the Tolar Home lately.  The plumbing, framing, and mechanical inspections have all passed, and we’re almost done with the wiring.  The electrical inspection is scheduled for either Wednesday or Thursday this week.  After that, its insulation city!  Sheetrockers are coming Monday to hang the garage, so we will be insulating like crazy all weekend getting it ready for them.

After we got home from hunting Sunday, Aaron, Katelyn, and I stopped by so Aaron could help Dad and Tom put the French Door in place.  It’s not actually installed yet – just held in place with bracing for now - but we had to get it out of the kitchen area so Dad and Tom could finish that wiring.  We were supposed to only have a single-swing door (only one side opened), but the place we ordered our doors messed up the order and we ended up with a double-swing door (a big mistake in our favor), so that was a very nice surprise!

   
   
 

I even ended up helping – holding it in place from the outside when a couple of the braces fell off.  Katelyn was our photographer for the day, and she did a WONDERFUL job!

It seems as if we were moving at the speed of light over the summer, then slowed down in August, but all of a sudden, we’re back on the fast track.  I am astonished at how much has gotten done so quickly.  We really didn’t do any work in June (it was basically all contractor/concrete work), so we’ve been hard at it for a total of 13 weeks.  We are just now heading into our 14th week.  CRAZY!  That means we’re down to between 6 to 12 weeks before we move in – depending on whether or not you look at the aggressive schedule or the one we’re actually sort of following.  I can’t believe we’re that close already!

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Four Reasons

  

I am thankful every day.

They make me laugh, they push my limits, they are my world.

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Friends

Friends are those rare people who ask how we are, and then wait to hear the answer. – Ed Cunningham

I got a sweet e-mail from a great friend yesterday, and this quote was right at the top.  Then she asked me how I was, and here is my answer:

Me?  I’m ragged.
I’m actually really good, I just feel like I’ve been run through the ringer about 10 times without a break between.  Between hunting season, three schools (mine, Emma’s, and the girls’), building our house, and all the other various activities that have been going on, I just don’t feel like anything is getting done with any quality.  I hate to say this, but it’s a blessing Aaron’s at hunting camp this week and only Katelyn and I are home because I feel like I will actually be able to get caught up on some of the housework I’ve been slacking on.
I am treading water, keeping my head above water, but that’s about it.

I feel like I unloaded on her (sorry, Lindsay).  I feel guilty for dumping on her, but I actually felt better.  It is amazing to me how quickly my mood lifted after only 6 sentences.

It seems to be the season for everyone to be running crazy, and it just made my day that someone took the time to ask, even through her busy schedule

Thank you, Lindsay!  You are amazing, and I hope you know how much you are appreciated!

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Guess who’s coming home ~ EARLY!!!

Megan, Brett, and Mya were scheduled to fly back to the United States on September 30; but today they finished all of Mya’s final requirements, and she is now the proud owner of a passport.  Instead of coming home on Tuesday (they would get here Wednesday some time), they are coming home on Friday.

I know they will need time to get settled back into life in Pendleton, Mya needs time to get to know her big brothers Cade & Zack, and they need to spend time together as a family, but DARNIT, I just want to snuggle the little munchkin.

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Wax Job – I needed a Monday Funny

I’ve gotten this via e-mail several times, and it never fails to bring me to tears with laughter.  I had an okay day, but I definitely needed one of these . . .

Wax is not your friend!

CAUTION: Be prepared to laugh out loud…I laughed till I almost cried as I could just see this happening!  All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises of easy, painless removal – The epilady, scissors, razors, Nair

And now…the wax.

My night began as any other normal weeknight.   Come home, fix dinner, play with the kids.   I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind  for the next few hours:

“Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet.”

So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom.  It was one of those “cold wax” kits.   No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off. No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I’m not a genius, but I  am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out.

(YA THINK!?!)

So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees.

(“Cold wax,” yeah…right!)

I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull.   It works! OK, so it wasn’t the best feeling, but it wasn’t too bad.  I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me!  I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.  With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship.

I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet. Using the same procedure, I apply the one strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering the right half of my *hoo-hoo* and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek (Yes, it was a long strip) I inhale deeply and brace myself….RRRRIIIPPP!!!!

I’m blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!….OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!

Vision returning, I notice that I’ve only managed to pull off half the strip. CRAP!!!  Another deep breath and RRIIPP!!  Everything is swirly and spotted.  I think I may pass out…must stay conscious…Do I hear crashing drums???

Breathe, breathe…OK, back to normal.

I want to see my trophy – a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip!  There’s no hair on it. Where is the hair???

WHERE IS THE WAX???

Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet.  I see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip. I touch.  I am touching wax. CRAP! I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair.  Then I make the next BIG mistake…remember my foot is still propped up on the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down.

I hear the slamming of a cell door.

*Hoo-Hoo*?? sealed shut!

Butt?? Sealed shut!

I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself “Please don’t let me get the urge to poop.   My head may pop off!”  What can I do to melt the wax? Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!!!  I’ll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right??? WRONG!!!!!!!

I get in the tub – the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment – I sit.

Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub…in scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn’t melt cold wax.  So, now I’m stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cement-epoxied myself to the porcelain!!  God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!!  I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It’s a very good conversation starter –

“So, my butt and who-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!”

There is a slight pause. She doesn’t know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located, “Are we talking cheeks or who-ha?”  She’s laughing out loud by now…I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.

YEAH!!!!! Right!!

I should be the joke of someone else’s night.  While we go through various solutions. I resort to scraping the wax off with a razor. Nothing feels better then to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!!  By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I’m pretty sure I’m going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event.

My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace…. the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax.  What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and …

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!

The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend.  It’s sooo painful, but I really don’t care. IT WORKS!! It works!! I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair….

THE HAIR IS STILL THERE…….ALL OF IT!!!!!!!!!!

So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I’m numb by now.

Nothing hurts.  I could have amputated my own leg at this point.

Next week I’m going to try hair color……

I know - it’s a little off color, but it always makes me laugh. 

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Hunter Harley

Last Friday, Harley got to go hunting with her dad for the very first time.  They went dove hunting.  Though she didn’t actually get any birds, she had a great experience, spent some quality time with her dad, and enjoyed the great outdoors.

 

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Meeting Mya

This is a video of Megan and Brett meeting Mya for the very first time.  Grab some tissues before you watch it – I’m not a crier, but I can’t help it every time I watch this.  Probably because I know what a tough journey it’s been, and I’m personally connected.  Who knows.

Can’t wait to meet the little sweetie!

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Our New Niece – Mya

My sister-in-law, Megan and her husband, Brett, have been going through the process of adopting a baby girl from Viet Nam.  I’ve posted about Mya before; HERE.  After over two years, and many countless hours waiting, Megan and Brett are finally in Viet Nam.  They left the States Friday, and after a few delays, made it to Viet Nam today.

They now have their baby girl, Mya, and this is the news we have so far:

Monday, September 15, 2008

Guess Who We Have?

 

 We are so in love! Mya is sweet, cuddly, and easy going.  She is absolutely perfect!! I can’t wait for all my family and friends to meet her!!! I promise I will post more once I am actually awake!

Aaron, the girls, and I can’t wait for them to meet Mya, either, and we are so thrilled for Brett and Megan and big brothers Zack and Cade!  They will be home sometime around September 30.

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40 Years

Today is my parents’ 40th Wedding Anniversary.  It’s so amazing to me – I don’t feel like I’m old enough to have parents who are old enough to have been married for 40 years – I think it is awesome!

They have taken the weekend to go to Wallowa Lake Lodge, golfing, hiking, and enjoying some quality time together.  They totally deserve it, and I am thrilled for them!

Congratulations, Mom & Dad!

This is the only picture of the two of them together I could find.  It’s with their baby girl, Luna, and it is fom Memorial Day 2006.  Um – we need to have a photo session, especially since the last one you had taken was at your 25th Anniversary.

This quote fits them perfectly:

Our wedding was many years ago.  The celebration continues to this day.  ~ Gene Perret

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