There's another woman involved....

...and her name is VISTA!
So Fiance Chad brought home a new computer and monitor, a much bigger monitor! This should be a good thing. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Windows Vista OS was such a disappointment and frustration it caused us to fight...really fight. I'm the webmast for KVOR so I need to be able to task that computer to do many things at once at fast speeds. I thought I had stepped into my time machine back to 19-97....wait, what's that sound.. grrrrrrrrrrrr beep beep beep, beep beep beep beep!
FREAKIN DIAL up! That's what trying to get anything done on Window's Vista reminded me of. URgh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today we are considering taking the computer back and trying to get something that we can use. Not to sound like one of those people...maybe I do, but if Microsoft wants to gain customer loyalty they'll create a product like they did with XP and stick to it. We don't need fancy upgrades, we need consistency and reliability. No wonder so many people will agree with me. I have yet to find someone who is not bad mouthing VISTA!

Back to running!

After taking some time off for injuries and various other excuses, I'm back to running. I bought a new pair of running shoes yesterday and took off for the Y. The first three-tenths of a mile came easy and then....not so much. I had friends and family offer some great advice on training...thank you very much. I'll keep you posted on my success!

Happy Birthday

So it just seemed like yesterday she was born. You'll hear moms say this time and time again when it comes to the Birthday of their littles. Hannah Elise will turn 7 this weekend! I cannot believe how time flies. When older people say this to you when you're little, you think it will never come. Time does not fly when you are a child. It stands still.

Maybe it's when our worlds get bigger that it all picks up speed....maybe it's just that NOW we are responsible for so much. There are many demands on our time and our attention. It makes it easy to look up and say "wow, where did it all go?". I took Monday off work to spend time with my daughter on her special day. Because there will ONLY be so many!

Plan NOT to plan!

Jim Arthur often asks me when I'm doing the traffic in the morning...Anne Boswell, what are you planning for the weekend?
I usually respond that I plan NOT to plan. Weekends are usually are catch up for errands, chores, cleaning, organizing etc. I usually go into Hannah's room and proclaim that I cannot find the floor which turns into a whole morining of "now, why are we keeping this?" LOL. If you are a parent you're nodding along with me on this one. She sighs in her "practicing to be a teenager tone" and cleans it up....a little.
I would love to tackle cleaning my desk today but like most Saturdays, I will cherish time spent with family. We'll cook together, maybe watch a movie, go to church tomorrow and have family game night playing Wii or the new Boggle game Han got from Grandma for Christmas. Plans for the weekend don't have to be expensive or require a lot of plan. Planning NOT to plan is the best plan. Now, are you confused? LOL!

Happy New Year!

So it's back to normality for a lot of us. What I mean is...time to take down the tree and put it all away until next year.
A lot of folks make new year's resolutions. I have before but I now look at it this way. If you need a starting point to do something differently in your life, fine, use it. Make a new year's resolution. But if there's something you want to change, change it any time of the year! There's no better time to do something than right now!
A friend of mine said he was resolving NOT to resolve. Good move! Make your positive life changes any month of the year, any time of day and tell someone about it. Research shows if you announce your plans you're more apt to hold yourself accountable!
Good luck to you...you know, in case you made those plans!
And Happy New Year!

The date is set!

I couldn't be happier. I never thought planning a major event like a wedding, much less my own, could be so thrilling.
Saturday, September 4th in Lincoln county, Colorado I will marry my best friend, Chad Taylor. I was able to reserve the reception location today, talk to a few people about music, get my bride's maids to say yes and I choose my color palate. I selected chocolate brown and green. The flower arrangements can be white and orange Gerbera daisies. I think it will look nice, casual, simple and be under budget! :) My daughter is going to walk me down the aisle. My father died ten years ago this February 9th. I'm excited to go through this process and just wanted to share it with you. If anyone knows a photog who will travel to Hugo, CO (East of here in Lincoln County), would you kindly send me the info?

I said YES!

I said yes to a question I had not really expected. Well, OK, I had an idea it was coming soon but didn't know it would be now. Boyfriend Chad asked me to marry him and gave me a ring on Christmas Eve! He presented me with a gift. I opened it and it was a photo frame...."uh, huh, I thought....so....". He then explained that we would need a photo of us to go in the frame...because I would be wearing his ring, then he pulled it from his pocket. yippee I jumped around like a teenage girl winning tickets to see Bryan Adams in concert with backstage passes. OK, I'm dating myself, I know. I jumped around the house so happy that I hurt my knee, and then my ankle.
I think we're doing it in September.

I guess we'll have to call him "Fiance Chad" now. Oh, and here's the story board of how it all went down in chronological order of course. A picture IS worth a thousand words.

Simple Christmas ...Please!

Look in the stores and while you're still donning your shorts and flip flops, you'll find Christmas trees. It's almost Christmas in July anymore.
The commercialization of the holidays is only getting worse. The season is bombarded with pressure to do more. Cards, parties, letters, photos, decorating....obligations galore.
I remember a Christmas when we waited until Christmas Eve to decorate the tree. We did so as a family. My Aunt popped corn we strung as garland and we brought out hand-made ornaments that had a history and a story. We did a tiny tree at her house and a big one with my mom.
Most importantly, there were memories. Everyone would tell a story of their favorite Christmas and would put an ornament on the tree. My mom would tell us again about her favorite ornament...it was a star wrapped in tin foil with a toilet paper roll on the back to secure it on the top. It didn't show and it didn't matter that our tree didn't have a Home and Garden Network color coordinated theme.
My other Aunt, Aunt Teenie, as we call her would prepare a big dinner....it's prime rib and Yorkshire pudding, cream cheese mashed potatoes and brandied flambe fruit for dessert. One year she nearly burned down the house with her elegant candles getting too close to a beautiful silk floral display. My cousin, Gordon, a retired Fire Chief, just watched in amazement with little excitement. That same Aunt, now a cookbook author, recounted that memory in her book.

So it's not what's on your tree, or under your tree it's what's in your heart. What do YOU remember about Christmas in your home? I hope they are happy memories.
Merry Christmas!

Hamster toy recall? solution offered

This past week there was another news story about another toy recall. It's a little toy hamster that is realistic...like a real animal! You can play with it and it jumps around in an interactive manner. Something about it is poisonous!
Funny, I was thinking our way of thinking has become a little well, ok, not poisionous but definately bent.
What is wrong with getting the child a real animal? A pet provides a child with responsiblity and committment. It teaches them to care for something. An animal is a wonderful companion for children and adults alike. Oh, it goes to the bathroom and makes a mess? I can almost hear my response comments now. Oh, if a child is too young they can't care of it. Ok, that's true, under the age of four, that is true. But most children are very capable of handling this responsibility after that age. My daughter has been in charge of morning animal duties now for two years and she's just six. She changes the rabbits hay and makes sure the water isn't frozen, and feeds him. She gives the dog his breakfast. She fills the cats bowls in the morning. I handle the PM Pet duties.
So before you consider buying some cheaply made, possibly soon-to-be recalled piece of plastic junk, consider making room in your heart and home for an animal that will bring you much joy in the years to come. There are numerous rescue agencies that have dozens upon dozens of furry creatures in need of a home! However, make sure you're willing to make the promise of caring for them for at least a dozen years.

Angry? Why?!

I read something interesting today. A large number of people under the age of 30 are angry. I thought it was a strong word to use. I don't feel like I can recall more than a few times in my life when I was "angry". Mad? Yes. Disappointed? Certainly! But "Angry" is a word my family didn't use much. For us, it always conjured up feelings of angst. If you were "angry", you were out of control because it meant that something had got the better part of you. When you hold onto anger, it only affects you...really. I mean there might be a few folks who receive the unpleasantness of your feelings at first, but in the end it's all on you. If you allow yourself to be angry you'll be the one carrying that burden around. Everyone else forgets it. After all, it's not their problem. Learn to understand the anger in your life, confront it and try to let it go. It will hurt YOU in the long run. I know...it sounds all new-age and everything but it works. Try it and e-mail me back with your success.
Now, I shouldn't tell you to "let it go" without telling you how I do it. Not sure this is the right way but it works for me. I try and have a "gratitude" moment everyday. When I feel fat or sausaged into my jeans, I realize that many much bigger women would love to be in my shoes. Speaking of shoes, when I feel clumsy and lanky because of my very tall height, I tell myself, many women would love to be taller. I usually can see over most heads in a crowd and turn heads sometimes and that's a true blessing. When I feel like I'm worried about paying my bills I think of the people who live in homeless camps who have nothing at all.
So getting back to my point on why I started this blog.....Angry? Really? Why?
Will you remember it a year from today?

Junior

Our family is dealing with a new kitten. awhhh he's so cute. Yep, he's that....awh he's so soft....yep, Oscar is a very soft little being but I had forgotten what sleepless nights feel like. It HAS been awhile since my little was waking me every two hours for the overnight feedings. Oscar is a little handful and frankly we're worried about the Christmas tree this year. He's probably going to climb it!

Reaction to the President's address to schools...

"what did the President say in his speech today", I asked my little girl, who is six and in the first grade.
"Uh, he said boys are stupid and sometimes girls are too and we're supposed NOT be stupid!" she replied happily.
"Are you sure that's what he said?" I inquired.....
She answers "well, no he also said to behave so your teacher doesn't pull a card and call your mom!" This is how they discipline in the schools now, they pull a card (this is probably like the adult version of probation) and when they have to pull a card three times, they lose time outside formerly known as recess.
Ok, well that's how the president's talk to the schools was heard through the ears of a six year old. I'm wondering what the older kids thought. I'll never know but sometimes I'm sure if we interpreted life like a six year old, it would seriously STRESS us much LESS.
After all, didn't someone once say all you really need to know what life you learn in kindergarten?

You're in trouble!

"You are SO in trouble" never gathered many an admiring...
..glance as it did from one country boy to another. Like when one goes into a bar to have a drink with his cousins and imagines that his girl will throw a fit. Well, I didn't but I did figure something out.
I made an astonishing discovery this weekend. Men and boys and guys and all creatures born of the male gender from the country LIKE to get into trouble with the women. It's like a rite of passage. They do something just bad enough and then talk about how much it's going to get them in trouble. The "oh, no, you're in for it", "you've had it", "boy, I'm glad I'm not YOU!" seem to be a call of bonding of sorts. It seems to turn into a contest. "Oh, yeah, well check this out....". The sheepish grins of proudness when they're called out on the behavior. The behavoir, by the way, isn't bad...they just think it is.


Now let's take a trip to the city, shall we. No member of the male gender raised in the city will ever try and purposefully get into trouble with his woman. Nope! Not going to happen. They will AVOID conflict at all costs. They will not talk about it, not think about it, not even imagine that it could happen. For it's uncomfortable to them to be in the doghouse. I tested this theory out today when I tossed out a scenerio for my city boy friends and co-workers. They looked almost green and ill when faced with the possibility of pissing off the old lady (as one of them affectionately called his). Another resembled a deer in the headlights look while another agreed he'd rather be a deer and jump in front of a car before making the woman mad.


Back to the country. It's like the whole "I gotta real BAD bull" thing....I'm guessing they live for the spunk, for the challenge. They want something hard to have and soft to hold. They appreciate what they have. But they will be the first to tell you, they actually like to be in a little trouble. It makes them feel like someone cares enough to pitch a little fit about them. So, ok, I get it. Country men love a little trouble. Not a whole lot. They probably appreciate the amount a fiesty redhead could dish out. That's why you'll hear the fiery REDHEAD mentioned more often in country music than any other genre.
So Travis Tritt wanted a little "T-R-O-U-B-L-E!" I think he knew exactly what he wanted.
He wanted to share a beer with a cousin in a bar owned by his ex-girlfriend and swap "you're in for it" stories.

Boy, You're in trouble! Nuff said!

Just another stormy day...

I noticed today how musical a storm can be. The curtains sway flapping against the wall as the winds pick up. You hear a rumble in the background. It begins very slowly. The rain comes down with a gentle drip drop, drip drop and starts to build...DRIP DROP DRIP DROP...whooosh Crackle, boom! I really missed these storms. It seems as though Colorado hasn't had the really big ones like the place in which I grew up....Oklahoma. I guess it's just how it's been for the last few years. This year has definately been wet and the storms have been gargantuan in size. As the storms moves out the showers disappear slowly...drip drop drip drop....the winds die down and fade away. It's the beginning, the middle, the climax and the end.

Recession Beach

If you are like many of us, you've decided to stay home this year. Despite some great travel deals to somewhere tropical, it's just NOT in the budget.
Hello.
That's me!
I spent the afternoon at what I like to call "Recession Beach", or uh, the backyard. The deck is my pretend sandy beach. I have a lounger there where I can lay back and close my eyes to relax. Except the slobbery ball that's dropped in my lap from a pooch who wants to play ball. Oh, there is an upside to that.....since we didn't travel somewhere this year we saved a bundle NOT having to board him at the Vets. We didn't have to pack. We didn't have to spend hours at the airport. We didn't have to do anything.
And well,
we didn't.
Welcome to Recession Beach!
Enjoy the peaceful oasis of your backyard.
It's nearly free.