Truckin'

I grew up a loggers daughter, and now despite my best efforts, I am a loggers wife. It's a feast or famine industry. Either its logging season, he's working as many hours as can legally be fit into a day/week, we never see him, and we have money or it's break up and we're dirt poor and he's home 24 hours a day, wishing he was at work. Right now, it's full swing logging season and the only way I get to spend any amount of time with him is to go to work. Yesterday, me and Toby went for a ride. We had to get up at the crack of 6 am... (it's the Christmas holidays, the're only hauling one load a day, so he gets to sleep in from his usual 2am start time)

She slept or stared blankly the whole way to the block.

If you think the ride in on the goat trail seems bad, try it on the way out! The heavily loaded trailer pulls and pushes your truck around as your trying to navigate the bumpy, skinny little road that winds it's way around gullies, and over over one lane bridges, barely wide enough for your truck.

Smoke Break. I should ride with him everyday, he doesn't smoke while we're in the truck with him, so he only had three that whole day!

Back onto the main road, its snowing and blowing so hard, you can't seen the other trucks coming until they are really close...

...and you're not sure if theres room enough for both trucks on the road. I really don't know how he does this for a living, every day, without us there to entertain him.

Happy Holidays!!

Wow what a week! This is the first time in days I didn't have a million things to do, a houseful of people, or somewhere to be! We had the best Christmas ever!

 My tree went from this.....

To this....

And my husband went from this....

to this.......

after quite a bit of this....

It just wouldn't be Christmas if someone didn't get drunk, shave a stupid mustache and blow up the Christmas tree! I'm just glad they drug it outside before they lit the match.

Too Busy!!

 I had big plans a few weeks ago of getting my Christmas baking all done and freezing it, so I could just spend the Christmas holidays doing what ever fun things came up. We ate every crumb  within 24 hours. So here I am, three days before my family comes, preparing for a Griswold family Christmas. We are going to have a houseful for a few days, so I am washing ALL the bedding, remaking beds (and making kids sleep on the couch) cleaning bedrooms, cupboards, the fridge, the freezer, and making cookies and candy, and last minute present and grocery shopping. I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off, doing so many things at once, that today I made 85 spicy molasses cookies before I realized I forgot the baking soda. They're perfect for some Christmas day skeet shooting. I don't recommend eating them, the dentist is closed for the holidays.

Concert Season

It's the time of year for Christmas concerts. It's all I see when I go on facebook. People gushing about their kids doing such a good job, and their so proud of them. Umm, is there a different kid of Christmas concert that my kids school doesn't know about? Am I having hallucinations of awful Christmas carols, with even awfuller singing? I can't help but wonder if I'm missing a genetic component vital to the enjoyment of Christmas concerts. They really are the most tortuous events I've ever had to to endure. 500 people crammed into a gym. Not enough chairs, of course, so the walls are lined with people 10 deep, with all the tallest ones in front. So I move up to the front, but still against the wall, where the only body part I get to see of my kid is his left shoulder, but I'm pretty sure he is "pulling a Britney" as he puts it, and lip syncing. The cool kids DON'T sing at christmas concerts you know.  Don't get me wrong, my kids sing all the time. I love hearing them sing.  I really do enjoy, and encourage it. But at Christmas concerts, the only kids you can hear are the tone deaf ones, completely butchering an already horrible song. During which, they are also  picking their butt, or nose, or adjusting some other such body part.  And then there are the siblings of these kids who have no interest whatsoever in watching the concert. It's much more entertaining to roll around the floor, kick the seats, rip their socks off and throw them at unsuspecting audience members, and demand to be taken home RIGHT NOW!! With the mother trying all the while to convince the little jerk that they need to watch! they'll like it! and to be good or Santa won't come! and if they continue the behavior, she's just going to ignore him! "Umm... well.... pardon me ma'am, but I can't seem to ignore the little asshole, so do you mind if I spank him for you?"  I know I don't have the best behaved little girl but I try to save the please-be-nice-lessons for the video, hardware, or outdoor supply store, where it's not interrupting 500 people that I am pretty sure, are just as thrilled as me that it's once again Christmas Concert Season..... yip-ee.

Five Fingers

Nope I'm not talking about them in the discount sense. FiveFingers are the coolest shoes I've ever seen in my life. I am die hard barefooter. I wear bare feet for half the year, and living where I live, that can get quite cold. I usually bust out the flip flops in March sometime, and reluctantly put them away in late November. Even in the winter, you will rarely catch me wearing socks. They make me claustrophobic. I wear them in my shoes, but take them off as soon as the shoes come off. So, when one of my favorite people posted them on Facebook, I was beyond excited! I can't wait to get my dirty little feet into a pair!

They actually provide some support to your instep, don`t cause blisters, and are machine washable! This particular style is good for such activities as, Light Trekking, Climbing, Canyoneering, Running, Fitness Training, Martial Arts, Yoga, Pilates, Sailing, Boating, Kayaking, Canoeing, and Surfing! I can`t wait to try them out, even though I don't do 95% of the listed activities... but thats besides the point, now isn't it.

Reality Check

I recently took a trip and the hotel we stayed at had a pool. The Hotel I stayed at also has full length mirrors in the rooms. I suddenly realized the way I look in my head is not the way I look in a full length mirror, in my bathing suit, in real life. I have since been working myself up to doing the 30 day shred. I made it 10 days last time I tried it, lost 8 lbs, and sabotaged myself with 10 lbs of butter tarts. Today was day one of 30. I wasn't 4 minutes into the workout when I realized I want to do this everyday for the simple fact that when I am done, I am going to hunt the bitch on the video down and kick her ass! And by the looks of her, I need to do about a 90 day shred. But that doesn't matter. Her complete irritating-ness and my wanting to kick her ass is all the incentive I need to get through the next 90 days, and then I am going to take her out. Good thing I completely overdosed on cake balls last night, I might not have had the strength to come up with this hair-brained, fat torturing idea.

Cake Balls

I have cabin fever and it's only December 15th. It's going to be a long winter. I miss trapping. I look back through old pictures and really miss trapping!

 Instead of days filled with being in the bush and checking traps, and skinning animals, my days are filled with baking cake balls, eating cake balls, and then crying because I ate too many cake balls. I seriously need to get a winter hobby besides baking.