ooohra

Ooohra

 - A motivational cry used by the United States Marine Corps.

Sometimes also used as a general response to an order or question.

What guy doesn't like an "I Love Me Wall"?  Well in our house we not only have an I Love Me Wall but an I Love Me Room.  It all started with the decision to pull up some old carpeting and replace with easily washable flooring since this is the room the dogs spend the majority of their day in.  And as the saying goes...one change leads to another. 

After spending a good day pulling carpet, painting walls, buying flooring, cutting and placing we retired for the evening knowing the next day would be me alone putting everything back into place as Blaine would be out of town.

We had original plans of adding a linoleum to this room but found this flooring on sale, I can't say that I am disappointed that we found laminate as cheap as we did!

The top shelf holds various meritorious awards for exceptional service.  I noticed after adding this that one of his medals had fallen and the other is about too...guess I better get that fixed!  I also need to find a better frame for his boot camp photo.

We had decided together to hang some shelving and put up Blaine's medal and sorts on them but it was after Blaine had left for the day that Justin pulled down Blaine's military pack from the attic and started finding some other things to add to make a surprise "I Love Me Room".

It is just a start but it was fun digging through his things and finding places to add them, the kids got a kick out of looking at all the photos he had too.  We didn't hang any of the ones from Desert Storm but rather found some that were based more on his military occupation and about happier times in his career.

The flag we have hopes of it being hung outside, but with all our MN winds and our lack of large trees in our yard for protection we need to get a pretty sturdy flag pole; so for now it will hang proudly in this room. 

As far the hats, the top is from Desert Storm and the bottom is the standard issued cover.

In the frame is Blaine's proudest award that he was given; this was awarded to him for taking prisoners of war while being under enemy fire during Desert Storm - it is the highest award he could receive before getting the bronze star.

The figurine is a Marine that Justin made in art class a few years ago,

the helmet which I think is super cool is standard issue; and yes that is a clock holding it up for now.

Yes, we even made the spare bed look like a military rack...but we added his tent blanket at the foot and a dust ruffle, these are not standard - LOL!

I am looking for more ideas as we have a full wall open, surprisingly in our area finding military or patriotic pictures, decorations or really anything is slim to nothing at this time.  I would love to hear your suggestions if you have any!



Semper Fi



the assignment

For my photography class we were assigned to take a few pictures over the week and turn in about four to a half dozen photos to be critiqued.  I played around a bit this weekend while the kids were tubing and then of Justin's guitar...I'm needing to get a few more by Tuesday night before I making my decision on which ones to turn in, but in the mean time I would love to hear what you think so far....

She's a beauty

I love the weekends, I love being with my family, I love seeing them smile and I love hearing them laugh.
This weekend we spent the weekend at lake Howard, we found the campground to be quite interesting to say the least...but the lake - she was a beauty!



The kids spent lots of time out on the water with the canoe and a kayak catching Bass, Crappies, and Sunnies; we didn't keep anything that was caught but they sure were fun playing with.

Even Blaine found time to do some some fishing - - -check out the big catch he got and the fish that came to take a gander!

All jokes aside, it was a beautiful day followed by a beautiful night.  While I didn't get the sunset I was hoping for I did think this sun picture did turn out better than I was expecting it.

And I even captured a tender moment between a brother and sister sitting out on the dock together trying to do a little evening fishing while supper was cooking.  I love how well these two kids get along, it make my heart melt a little thinking about how their sibling relationship wraps together so intricately.

While I love going to the lake and spending quiet time with my little family, both Blaine and I agreed we wished we had family and friends that would come along on these adventures and share in the fun, unfortunately either the ones that like the lakes have a lake home or the others have summer sport commitments with their kids or do not enjoy the lake.  So if you fall into a category like us that love the lakes but travel via a camper...give us a call sometime we'd love to roast some marshmallows with ya!

Happy Monday Everyone, hope your week is fantastic!!

He's but a caterpillar, at rest!

"Someday, I will be a beautiful butterfly, and then everything will be better."

                                                                                         ~ Heimlich ~ "Bugs Life"

I have always been very fond of flowers and have a few that I cater to more than others, this year being no exception.  I always have a rose bush that sits on my deck for me to look at daily, nurture, smell the sweet fragrance and cut a few of it's beautiful flowers to display on my table.

As I was tending to my choice of rose this year, I found a black spot on one of the newly opened blooms and I went to pull it off thinking this was an odd spot for a blemish, it wiggled and pulled away.  I instantly yelped and pulled my hand away, then after carefully pulling the petals back I found this cute little face looking back up at me.  As I slowly moved my hand back to it wanting to pull it off and look at it, it wiggled back more into hiding.  I know they can't talk but I imagined it asking me to please leave it alone and promising not to eat the petals.

Part of me still wanted to pick it up, just a like I did when I was a little girl, and find a jar to keep it in so that some day it would grow to be a beautiful butterfly.  Oh the joys of the simple kid life and the imagination that we can still carry.

I walked away leaving it behind to grab my camera, it crawled out again for me to get this picture; it was a mutual agreement you might say...I get the picture for the cute memory and it got to live as long as it wanted (or as long and the flower lived) on the beautiful rose that sat so perfectly for it to perch as a makeshift home.

I checked again the next day and it was still there, but that darn wind we have around here decided to end the our meetings the following day and the caterpillar was thrown from the flower and the petals also lost their vigor and beauty.

Fortunately for me, there is always another flower, or more, opening often to replace the ones that are no longer.

 

Here's to a beautiful Monday, hope to hear from you soon!

                            

Dairy Queen vs. Tutti Frutti

So this is my ice cream trip debate.
I am a HUGE ice cream fan and it is probably one of the top 5 foods that I would have on my list (if there ever was one) of what I couldn't live without.

So, when a decision is made to go out for ice cream, I am in what one would call a debate with myself on where one I want to go to more.

With the Dairy Queen I tend to find a favorite and then stick to just that one ice cream treat for a long period of time.  For the past year or so I have been stuck on the Buster Bar Blizzard.  Any time we go I am bound and determined to find something different but then at the last minute go back to my old favorite stand-by.  It hasn't done me wrong yet.

This is not my picture, since I have not yet been able to make it home with one in tact to actually take a picture and I guess just to be honest I have never thought about taking one either...but here's Dairy Queen's take on it.  Doesn't it look yummy?

Yesterday, that oh so very hot Sunday, we made the decision to take a trip to Tutti Frutti.  What I like about going there is that I am forced to try something different each and every trip, since the yogurt flavors are always changing so must my decision of the toppings I want to go along with them.  It also favors me that I get to decide how much or how little of each I would like. 

This trip I opted for a few yogurt flavors like watermelon, key lime and white chocolate, then I topped it with strawberries, kiwi and just a little hot fudge.  I snapped this picture quickly because we stayed and ate it outside on the tables in front of the store.  With the heat and humidity as high as it was...it was a race between me and the sun on which one of us was going to savor that sweet coldness of the yogurt.

No surprise here...I won, and it was deeelicious!

 Where is your favorite ice cream stop?

What's in your purse series

Today I am hoping that I can get some of the ladies to send me pictuers of what they keep in their purse.  It's pretty simple and I am hoping to get a minimum of 5 people to participate. These will be posted on Wednesdays until all have been posted (1 each week) There will only be first names used OR if you have a blog yourself that you would like me to list just let me know.

Here’s all you need to do:

1. Take a picture of your current purse (or your favorite).

2. Take out all the contents and spread them out and take another picture.

3. Make a quick list for me of what the contents are and if they are a “specialty” item or a notable

     item list the brand and/or where you purchased it.

4. Answer the questions below or type something else about you and/or your purse; you can even 

     send a picture of yourself if you want so everyone can put a face to the purse.

5. Email me your list and photos to keller2bjk@yahoo.com and I’ll do the rest.

Answer the following questions or list your own!
a.) When choosing a purse to purchase what do you look for (large/small/certain color/style)?
b.) If you also carry a wallet or organizer does it need to match your purse?
c) Do you change your purse with your outfit, or wear one for a "season"?
d) What is your ‘must have’ that you carry in your purse?
e) What is the most random thing you have in your purse today?

 

Here is where the idea came from if you want to get an idea of what it would look like.

I hope you join in!

Don't forget Mom this weekend!

Breaking news here!  All moms, with kids of all ages, want to receive a gift on Mother’s day.  Ignore their sweet smiles and echoes’ of “oh you don’t need to get me anything” because secretly they are want to be doted on, appreciated and given that high five for being all that they could be.

Now as for the gift, these can range in great deal, and to be honest, she has something in mind but don’t expect to be able to figure this out guessing.  If you want to get her something you know she wants and you have been given no hings, just ask, but if she is one that loves to pretend that there really isn’t anything don’t panic - - you still have at least 24 hours left to figure it.  We all know how busy things can be; we all know that even if it is last minute it doesn’t mean that you didn’t have your whole heart in it.

Here's a few ideas just to name a few.

Give her some Quiet Time, find her a nice bottle of bubbly for the bathtub, and give her the time to spend alone, with soft music and serenity. If there are little ones in the house, make sure that this bubble bath is kid free!

If your crafty, how about looking up some DIY websites and finding a quick project, moms will love that you took the time to make something just for her!  These pretty vases come from a DIY website, you can get there by clicking here Pretty vases, you can create this is in a matter of minutes and then fill it up with her favorite flowers.

This little novel turned out to be one of the top sellers for 2011 and is continuing into 2012.  If mom is a reader this might be one that you can find at any local stores that sell books.  If she isn't into this kind of book, your in luck...there are a million to choose from.  Maybe even a journal would be a great idea for her to have to write her memoirs!

If she's more of a techy person, why not consider a Kindle fire, with this little gadget she can down load her favorite books and read them when ever it is convenient, it even has a light to read in bed.  You can download apps of all sorts, check email and play music all at a reasonable price.

Cook her something, better yet bring her breakfast in bed!  If your not much for cooking here is a website that has some great ideas and some don't even require any cooking skills! 
Cooking ideas

If none of these work, scan the Internet for more ideas but what ever you decide, make sure Sunday is made into a "Mom's" day. Treat her like she is royalty even if it is just for this one day.

Happy Mother's day to all the great ones!

Learn how to drive you idiot!

Have you ever noticed that when your driv'in, anyone going slower than you is an idiot?  And anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
 
 And here's one of those things you have to do every time you drive, especially if you're in a hurry.
It happens at you approach a red light, and you find several lanes of cars ahead of you. As you roll up to the pack, you have to decide which lane to get into. You have to guess which looks like a good bet to take off quickly, so you can move out fast when the light turns green. With half a block to go you have to decide who's the really fast asshole in this group up ahead.
Forget the Volvo, she's listening to public radio, and drives the way she lives - with fear and caution. You'll want to avoid that Toyota with the fish symbol; Christians drive as though Jesus himself was a traffic cop. And, by all means, ignore the Lexus with the heavily made-up, bejeweled pig woman. She has the reflexes of an aging panda.

Ahhhhh! Here's the correct machine to get behind: a Camaro with four different shades of primer paint and a bumper sticker that says "I date my sister." This guy's a real risk-taker; full of crank, and on his way to an AC/DC concert. You'll be home before you know it.     ~ George Carlin ~

Heart thumping, fingers flying, arms flayling, curse words spewing, cars revving, horns blaring.  Sound familiar?  Would you consider yourself to be one that experiences road rage or would others say you are the one that more than likely causes it for others?

I'm quite certain we have all felt road rage at one time or another, some with more rage than others and for different reasons. 

Generally I don't get road rage but I have been known to "give the bird" to people without giving it much thought. Really...I do - surprise!  The one time that still sticks in my mind that quite frankly made me look more like an idiot than anything was when I was younger and still living in Grand Forks.  I was working at an office down town and I had parked on a side street this day.

It was winter time, I managed to get into my car to start it and then exit quickly to brush snow off the windows.  During the time I was brushing snow I was not thinking much about the traffic going by and it getting thicker by the minute. My mind was on the snow and how it was pretty, it wasn't too cold and I was in no hurry at all. (Correct, no kids yet)  I got back into my car, adjusted the radio all the while watching out the mirror for a break in traffic to pull out.

Where I was parked was close to the river, so there was really no where to go other than to the end of the road and make either a right or a left turn and of course it was a 3 way stop.  Not the best choice of parking but it was close to the office door so I thought I was getting rock star parking that morning.  I quickly learned others were smarter than me.

I waited for a period of time to which I thought was long enough, all the time my blinker signalling that I would like to not spend the night here in this parking spot so please be kind and let me out, but apparently this was misleading to the drivers going by; they must have assumed I was guiding them with flashers to the end of the road.  I slowly turned the front end of my car out further into the traffic hoping this would shed a little light on the subject, yep...nothing.  Then traffic seem to slow, so I pulled out a little more. still no give.  At this point at least an hour went by, OK not really but my patients were wearing thin.  I decided to go for it, and the lady coming up the road didn't think this was in her best interest and proceeded to blare her horn at me. 

I then of course did my famous "bird flip" at her and pulled out anyway.  Only to discover that I hadn't taken my mittens off, so of course it now looked like I was giving a friendly wave to her, which explains her bird flipping back at me and the verbal curses being mouthed that I was supposed to understand.  Clearly I did and clearly my red face was not from the snow.

Road rage can be caused by numerous thing. According to the 2012 statistics, traffic congestion is one of the most frequently mentioned contributing factors to aggressive driving, and aggressive driving is one of the most common causes of road rage. Aggressive drivers are more likely to become upset/angry while driving.

So with our little amount of traffic congestion here in Fargo, what would be the likely cause for us to get road rage?  Statistically we rate at a very low amount of "reported" road rage but I myself have seen people getting cut off, blocked from passing, fingers in the air, verbal profanity being mouthed behind the glass and rearing up behind cars on the interstate because they want to go faster than the car in front of them is doing, and that is just from driving with Blaine!

Whats your your road rage today? 

None:  I have not seen one monkey driving today.
Low:  I made it work, and only one person cut me off!
Average:  I got cut off, tailgated, blocked, the usual.
High:  I might have used my horn once, cursed, basically got angry once or more.  Saw a                  
monkey picking his note.
Extreme Danger:  Full mood drag racing, using your finger, people hanging their heads out the
window to curse.  ROAD RAGE!

Share what you have experienced, or what causes your road rage, I'd love to hear your stories!

It's never easy

Last weekend started out to be a great weekend, we were up in Little Falls, MN for Justin's Regional hockey tournament.  The team started out a little shaky losing their first game Friday night but came back on Saturday winning the next two.  This put the boys in great spirits and a good spot, they would be be playing on Sunday morning at 9:00am for a chance to play Sunday afternoon for second place. 

We all woke up on Sunday morning with high hopes. Blaine dropped Justin off at the rink, came back to pick us up and to extended our check-out time at the motel in hopes that they would have a win thus giving us a place to be for a few hours since the second game was not to be played until later in the afternoon. 

My phone rang and I saw it was my dad, I naturally assumed to hear his voice on the other end extending a good luck message to Justin, instead I hear his voice crack and my mom in the background...I thought she was coughing but quickly realized something was not right with either of them.  I then hear the news....grandma passed away this morning.

After much deliberation, anger and tears it was decided that the game must go on, Justin would not hear this news until after all games had been played, fortunately, I would not see him before his first game as I am not very good at hiding my emotions.

The game began and they gave it their all but they were defeated, thus also ending their season; they came out with their heads hung low but we reminded them what a great year they had and to make it to Regions was a great accomplishment.  Justin asked if we couild stay to watch the rest of the games that day...it was then I had to whisper in his ear of what I had been trying to hold in until we had some privacy.  His eyes dimmed and his face became expressionless, he quickly told his friends he had to go with no explanation and to the truck we all went.

On that long ride home and then to Grand Forks I did a lot of soul searching and wondering where the time went and how it came to be that I had lost two very special people in my life; and from out of no where comfort settled in and my thoughts turned from hurt to calmness as a vision of the two most in love people I have ever met being together once again.

(This is the sunset I saw on my ride home from Grand Forks)

There life was truly a love story.  They met at a dance (each with separate dates I must add), danced while my mom was growing up, belonged to a square dance group and they danced together until they couldn't dance anymore. They had the kind of love where they were always together, they held hands, and enjoyed each others company...always.  Even after grandpa passed grandma still saw him and spoke of and to him quite often; she even wore his wedding ring on a chain around her neck.

 

I made a video of grandma for her funeral and my sister found the most perfect song to accompany it; it's called Dancing in Heaven, written and sung by Jimmy Scott.  It's on YouTube if you want to hear it.  Here are how the lyrics go:

Dancing in Heaven 

My Mother and Father loved to dance

Music was in their soul
It kept them young though the years rolled on
Their song never grew old

I felt the world fall silent

When I heard they’d passed away

But then from out of nowhere
A song began to play….

Chorus:

Are you dancing in heaven tonight?

Holding each other so tight
Just like you did all those magic nights before
Moving to the rhythm of love

And though I’m gonna miss you so much

I know you’ll be alright
Cause your dancing in heaven tonight

Now there’s a place inside my heart

Where the music never ends
And anytime the teardrops start
I go back there again

I see you dance together

The way it used to be
And then I know that loves a song
That lasts through all eternity

Chorus:

~ Jimmy Scott ~

Here's to great memories and an even greater love story.

Until we meet again...rest in peace.

Working moms are lazy!

This weekend it was brought to my attention that a Facebook debate had started in regards to Stay at Home Mom's vs Mom's that work outside of the home; the craze was due to a TV program portraying a mom who spoke about stay at home mom's being lazy.

While I don't condone speaking about the habits of other parents, I did feel compelled to speak up in defense for those of us that must work after a statement was made on Facebook stating that "Working moms are lazy because they 'get to check out' every day and go to work".

What I don't think those moms understand is that not all of us work because we WANT to work outside of the home but in fact we MUST work for one reason or another.  They don't think about the worry that we must endure each day as we drop or infants and school age kids off into the trust of someone else to care for them and how we do not "check out" once we reach the office but instead split our brains to take care of the work we were hired to do and worry about all the things that could be happening in our absence to our kids and what we are missing along with figuring out how to make it all work. Do these stay at home moms stop to think that while they were home all day getting the daily chores done along with taking care and snuggling their young that we have only the evening hours fit it all in? 

I would like to share with these woman that while we are at work we have the guilt of feeling we should be home, rocking our babies, kissing their foreheads, and baking cookies for when they get home from school and just being there when they get home from school.  When we are home we worry about the work left undone at the office, we think about the meeting that is scheduled for tomorrow or how we are going to get the additional training that is needed to continue with this job without taking more time away from either work or family obligations; and if we don't get it all done will we still have this much needed job tomorrow.  Then after we put our kids to bed is when we start doing the dishes, washing the laundry, checking over the homework, trying to find time for our husbands and getting everything ready to do it all over again tomorrow and keep a smile on our face.
So while I didn't get to chime in on this debate, I would have dared these moms to share their work load list with me, share their daily concerns, and debate how they feel they can say "Working Moms are lazy".  I beleive that both the stay at home mom AND the job working moms work hard and are doing the best they can for the situation that is needed for THEIR family.

Before someone speaks about the working habits of another, I think they should spend some time thinking about what life changes would happen if the roles were reversed, how would you handle the changes and demands needed of you?

After now feeling I have gotten my piece said, I will get off my soap box and wish everyone a happy day doing whatever their job may be.