I can’t believe the fun it was looking back at old posts! I kinda forgot about this site- as I have not been on forever, but hey – I’m still alive! I have moved back to Nebraska, graduated from college, and bought a beautiful home since I last posted.
I am going to have to go looking too see if any of my old Xanga friends are still around – and maybe I will make a big ol post one of these days! Happy Wednesday!
I am still alive – yes, isn’t it shocking??? I looked at my site today and couldn’t believe I had not posted since October…eek!!
Lots has happened…I have a wonderful boyfriend and am extremely happy!! Frank and I have been dating since September and it is wonderful. Needless to say (as if I had spare time before) I now have an even crazier life – as he lives an hour away from me so I spend weekends up where he is usually…and he does a couple karaoke shows where I live, so on those nights I am out and singing!
In November I went home for the Thanksgiving holiday and also to my 20th HS Reunion. It was so much fun! I was quite nervous about the whole thing as I have not seen my classmates for YEARS! But – it was great to catch up with many of them. There were only 26 or so of us there out of our class of 48..but it was good!
Seeing my family was fun – and an extra perk…the night I got home was the final show of “The Music Man” at my church. If any of you remember from a few years ago of blogging…LOL…I was in Godspell and Joseph at my church. I really miss being part of the music ministry and doing the yearly dinner theatre. Last year they put on “Fiddler on the Roof”, but I was not able to see it….so I was very excited this year. It was really good – they put on an awesome show!
All of my neices and nephews are getting huge! They make coming back to NY harder each time – especially when they keep asking me when I will be home “for good!” I do miss home, but still love NY and having Frank in my life makes my plans to move home a bit farther in my mind… 
I will try and blog a bit more later – but I hope everyone has a great holiday!!
At the Christmas Program – (in back) Cammy, Casey, Kendal & Christian
(in front) Carrie, Kimbal & Jake. My mom made all the girls’ dresses for Christmas!
Abe at Thanksgiving – we celebrated Christmas since I was home 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A funny….
I wanted to send some sort of Christmas greeting to my friends and colleagues …
…, but it is so difficult in today’s world to know exactly what to say without offending someone. So I met with my lawyer yesterday, and on his advice I wish to say the following:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the summer solstice holiday, practiced with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2007, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country great (not to imply that Australia is necessarily greater than any other country) and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.
By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms:
This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.
Best Regards,
The Wisher
Slacker Alert!! Yes…i am…again…oops! As per usual, I am very busy, working my nanny job, and 2 other pt things…I am a bit discombobulated lately!! Also, going out a bit more and having a great time.
I was lucky enough to get a few pictures this week – so this is the Aunt Annie bragging time…dont’ I have the cutest nieces/nephews!!!
Abe
Christian reading his Toad & Frog books
Kendal – what a fashion statement for eyewear!
Kimbal
Jake, Carrie, Casey & Cammy enjoying handmedowns
I have been enjoying summer vacation – things are not as hectic. I think we all needed a break! I have been having fun with my friends and that makes life much more pleasant. One of the coolest things – my friend Kathy spends the summers in NY with her mom and thank goodness I remembered that! I had not seen her, or her kids for probably 7 years, so we have been catching up and hanging out. It is fun – and almost like no time has past – LOL – except the fact her kids are all grown up….don’t they know they need to stay little! 
Also – my friend Adriana got a karaoke machine a few weeks ago at Costco. It is a Leadsinger machine, and I must say it is pretty cool! It has about 2500 songs and they are actually good – not to cheesy! The whole machine is basically a microphone that plugs into your tv. The music chip is in the microphone itself, so there is not a huge machine to mess with – it is very cool, and we have had more than one fun evening of singing and drinking…..LOL – good times!!
On a more serious note (and another reason I have not xanga’d much)
…It has been a couple worrisome months in my family. My dad had a cough that wouldn’t go away this past winter and about 1 1/2 months ago he had to have a lung biopsy – which turned out to be pretty ok. He has a lung condition (I can never remember the name) and it is just something he will have to live with – gotta love being a farmer and breathing in all the dust and such. So…that turned out ok, but about the same time his hip started bothering him. It was to the point where he could hardly walk…again, if a farmer is complaining – you know it is really hurting. He had a MRI and saw a specialist. This doctor couldn’t find anything specific, but was concerned to send him on further and he had to get a MRI. That was also inconclusive – and he had an invasive biopsy on Thursday. The doctor was happy with the way things look, but we will have to wait and see what the pathologist says next week to completely rule out cancer…but we are all keeping our fingers, eyes and everything else crossed! The doctor is not sure if it is arthritis or ?, but hopefully they can get things figured out. It is not fun to see my dad in pain.My mom did retire at the end of May – no more teaching! I think she is really going to enjoy this, and it is good that she is free – especially lately with my dad and his issues. She has been a Behavior Disorder teacher for about 17 years (i think) and is ready to not have to deal with those lovely jr.high kids – LOL. Now she can enjoy being a grandma and not having to commute!
I am needing a nice break, so Annie will be very happy. My nieces/nephews keep asking me when I am going to be home…and now I can honestly say – very soon!! I will be home until July 31st..then my brother and SIL are going to drive back with me…and they will have a few days vacation in NY. My brother is a die hard Yankee fan (and has been his whole life…along with my mom)…so he can’t wait to see the game. We are going on the 1st which is also his birthday – so he will be in heaven!!
Aunt bragging pictures:
It’s the weekend – yeah!! Last night I went to karaoke – had a nice relaxing evening!
This week has flown by…very busy (as usual) and things have been a bit better. I have just had it, and let the kids now! We have had more than a few discussions about being disrespectful and what is appropriate behavior….i think it has helped. At least they know I am not going to take it and if they really want to make me mad and lose privileges…keep it up!
Petal is growing and is so cute. She is really a great guinea pig (and I have not always been fond of guinea pigs!) She is calm and easy to hold. JA still loves to play with her and it is awesome to see him calm down and it is almost a different personality when he plays with her.
Nice Petal! 
Attack of the Guinea Pig!
Beth’s (the mom) birthday was this week – we had a nice dinner on Thursday night..thus a good celebration! I think Thomas’ favorite part of the presents was the bubble wrap in the gift I gave…they song “I like big butts” comes to mind – LOL
Goofy Thomas!
Beth and her girls! My favorite part of this picture is Julia (the 8 yr old)…she had a palatal implant put in about a month ago – thus the huge gap in her front teeth. She looks so cute and is quite proud she can put her finger between her front teeth.
I hope everyone has a nice weekend!
Hey guys!
Week is going quickly – thank goodness! I am having moments of trying to figure out if I should stay in NY or go back to Nebraska. I think it is a combination of being homesick and ready for the kids to be out of school. They are all moody and difficult…thus making my job just a bundle of fun – NOT!!
Oh well..I’ll figure it out one of these days. I thought my mind was made up to stay…but I am really getting frustrated!!
On a fun note - Petal is getting old enough to have veggies and such. I have given her a few carrots over the past couple days…she has also tried parsley and a strawberry top (which she didn’t really go for). Give her time…LOL – I think she will love all of it!
Not so sure about the strawberry…
Yummy Carrots!
I can even toss it!
1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE .
“If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.”
2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
“You better pray that will come out of the carpet.”
3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
“If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”
4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
” Because I said so, that’s why.”
5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC
“If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me.”
6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
“Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”
7. My mother taught me IRONY
“Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to cry about.”
8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS .
“Shut your mouth and eat your supper.”
9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
“Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!”
10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
“You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.”
11. My mother taught me about WEATHER .
“This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.”
12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
“If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times. Don’t exaggerate!”
13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
“I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.”
14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
“Stop acting like your father!”
15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
“There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do.”
16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
“Just wait until we get home.”
17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING .
“You are going to get it when you get home!”
18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
“If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.”
19. My mother taught me ESP.
“Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you are cold?”
20. My mother taught me HUMOR .
“When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”
21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
“If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.”
22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
“You’re just like your father.”
23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS .
“Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?”
24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
“When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.”
25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE
“One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like YOU” !!!
Yes – I am, yet again a Xanga slacker. By the time I make it to my room at night…I want to be braindead…not doing things that are constructive. LOL 
This has been a crazy week! Working late pretty much every night – and on Tuesday – Thomas turned 12!! That is just wrong!!!! (as I started with the family a couple weeks before he was born) My little man can’t be 12…
Thomas and Julia – she was having so much fun with Thomas’ birthday!
Thomas goofing with JA – he was in all his glory!
One of the gifts Thomas wanted was an aquarium. His parents ended up getting him a 10 gallon starter set (dad decided not to listen to me….fyi – 10 gallon is too small and be prepared to do lots of cleaning!!) Anyway….I set up the tank on Wednesday, and that afternoon we went and picked out the fish. He now has 3 Rams, a rainbow tetra, albino shark, angelicas catfish and one snail named Sydney! It looks pretty good, but the smell is already annoying to some (which is the problem with small tanks..they can’t fix themselves before the algae takes over…not enough water) again…oh well.
As we were looking around the pet store….a cute lil varmit caught my eye. They had just gotten in 2 baby guinea pigs that day. Talk about cute – and me being a sucker for cute animals…I had to get one of them. I paid for her, but left her at the store so they could make sure she was healthy – as they had just gotten her in. I went back on Saturday to pick up Petal – she is just adorable, and the owner told me they could have sold her 4 times over…which i have no doubt.
Petal is so calm and very affectionate already. She doesn’t freak out when you hold her and quickly starts purring…or whatever you call it with guinea pigs. She makes her little content noises and shudders…it is very cute!
Now we will see if the cats will just leave her alone. As Sasha and Beatrice are know for their killing/stalking of the outside creatures…it will be interesting. Especially since she is so small right now – fits in your palm easily…i think they look at her as a fun thing to try and kill. So – I will be watching them closely and keeping the door to my room closed!
My brothers kids spent Saturday night at my parents so my brother and his wife could go to a wedding. Needless to say they had fun! Playing outside in the mud…and then getting to have a bubble bath in my parents new tub. It is wonderful! I miss taking baths!
Rub a Dub Dub!
I think this is a cool picture…the kids wanted to see the cemetery which is by my parents church. We grew up going to a church that is now about 130 years old. Not many members left – I think about 15-20 people are there on a given Sunday…but it is the epitome of the country church. The cemetery is up the road just a bit – very small but interesting to see. Casey’s middle name is Mae – after my paternal grandmother…so she had her picture taken beside grandma’s headstone. The interesting thing to me, is that Grandma’s birthday was April 24th – the same day as Thomas’…she would have been 97 this year (she died when she was 89).
And Carrie was facinated by the “flowers” – can you ever pick enough dandylions? 
I hope everyone has a great week!
I’m so glad it is Friday – has been a long week for some reason. I am loving this weather, but my allergies are being quite the pain in the patootie!
My brother sent me a couple cute pictures this week of Abe. He called the other day to let me know that I was one of the 3 people Abe was excited to see in his photo album. For their 1st birthday – my mom always makes the kids a picture album of all their aunt/uncles/cousins – etc….it is very cool – and the kids love them. I guess he got very excited when he saw my picture and said “Aunt Annie!!” I can wait to see them in a couple weeks. I’m going home for 5 days to be at my cousin’s wedding…a very fast and crazy trip – but seeing the kids will be wonderful!
Having fun with Dad at home -I think he is feeling much better!
Also – I got an email last night from them as well…they took the plunge and have a new puppy!
Abe & Daisy
She is a boxer/bernese mix – she and Abe will have fun!
My sister took her kids to Grandma& Grandpa’s for a sleepover last Friday –
looks like all had fun!
Christian can eat his weight in noodles!!
of course Kimbal found the rocking chair
Baking Bread with Grandma Flying a kite with Grandpa
This made me laugh – had to share!
—————————————-
A girl asks her boyfriend to come over Friday night to meet,
and have dinner with her parents. Since this is such
a big event, the girl announces to her boyfriend that
after dinner, she would like to go out and make love for the first time ..
The boy is ecstatic, but he has never had sex
before, so he takes a trip to the pharmacist to get
some condoms. He tells the pharmacist it’s his first
time and the pharmacist helps the boy for about an hour.
He tells the boy everything there is to know about
condoms and sex.
At the register, the pharmacist asks the boy how many
condoms he’d like to buy, a 3-pack, 10-pack, or family pack.
The boy insists on the family pack because he
thinks he will be rather busy, it being his first time and all.
That night, the boy shows up at the girl’s parents house
and meets his girlfriend at the door. “Oh, I’m so excited
for you to meet my parents, come on in!”
The boy goes inside and is taken to the dinner table
where the girl’s parents are seated. The boy quickly
offers to say grace and bows his head.
A minute passes, and the boy is still deep in prayer,
with his head down. 10 minutes pass,
and still no movement fromthe boy.
Finally, after 20 minutes with his head down, the
girlfriend leans over and whispers to the boyfriend,
“I had no idea you were this religious.”
The boy turns, and whispers back, “I had no idea
your father was a pharmacist.”
