Our Good, Bad & Ugly weekend.

Good: Last weekend my son had another race out near Wendover, Nevada.Both my boys were there, my hubby & my dad. We camped out together even thought it was for a very short time.  As bedtime came early friday night as it was going to be a very early morning.  Everyone got up around 4am.

One son was going to race and the other son was working at a spot out on the course to make sure everyone followed the rules!  Racers had to be on the starting line at 5:45am. (some people didn't get the memo, heck, the sun didn't even want to come up that early!!

After 138 miles of racing, my son finished 1st and he was the 2nd over-all racer.  He started 11th off the start line. (they start 1 at a time and leave every 30 seconds) He had a fantastic race!!! 

The Bad: This guy was pitted next to us & was from Las Vegas. He was about 30 miles out & hit a ditch of some kind, breaking off his front wheel. Several guys had a bit of bad luck this day.Also, bad was the freezing weather friday night & saturday morning. Once in awhile my dad & I would head back to the trailer to warm up.  Thank goodness the sun finally came out & started to warm things up.  The wind was blowing, but it was finally dying down.  After the race, we were able to settle down in lawn chairs & watch the buggies & trucks race.   It was turning out to be a nice day (weather wise)

The ugly.   As we all were seated outside waiting for more fun, my dad get's a phone call.  My mom has taken a tumble out on the street & cracked her head.  The ambulance arrived & gave her a ride to the hospital...( Ok mom, u out rode the guys as you got lights & sirens during your race). LOL.  Thank goodness my daughter in law was home & she drove over to be with my mom at the emergency room.  She has no idea how much I appreciate that or her.  I was afraid my mom was going to be by herself & then never let us leave her alone again.  My DIL is a blessing!!!

For Mothers Day, my brother is sending her a motorcycle helmet and I may end up getting her some elbow & knee pads.  Hopefully the doctor will release her today.
I'm on my way over there now to see how she's doing.

Not funny Mother Nature

Ok, really. Did Mother Nature NOT get the memo about spring?
Last week it seem like she was in my corner. Nice weather. Sun shining. And my tulips started to bloom.


Heck, my neighbors tulips have been blooming for a couple of weeks now. See how pretty theirs are. I need to get with it & plant more this fall. (that will make the hubby happy). lol.


I'm sure by the end of the weekend, my tulips will be gone, as Mother Nature thinks that Christmas is around the corner & decided to dump 18 inches of snow in the mountains last night. This is what I found outside my front window today.

The weather man said we can continue to expect rain & snow thru saturday.

Mother Nature, I'm not laughing!!

Weekend race

So, our plans for this past weekend was to head out to Las Vegas for a race.
That got cancelled, as my son could not get off work for the 3 days it would take for us to travel, race, travel again.
Then why not race down in Delta, as it's closer & we can camp out. Well the rain came & so did the cold. And once again, he couldn't get off work...well,finally we got the Official word Friday night! At 10PM!! He CAN race!!
I made a mad dash to Wally Mart & trailer was loaded & good to go at midnight.
Up at 5am, on the road by 6:30am. We get to the race course & everyone is coming up to us and saying "what r u doing here, your suppose to be in Vegas". Some guys were even saying "Dang, I thought I would at least have a chance at first without your son being here".(Yes,he usually finish's 1st or 2nd, but it's not a given.)
Everyone has now gone down to the starting line & my son is still not present. He pulls in last minute, jumps out of the van, runs into the trailer, puts on his racing gear,jumps on his quad, which his dad has waiting. Good to go!!
We had such a blast. The flag drop's & Chris got the hole shot.
(notice in the 2nd picture, Chris is already at the bottom of the hill & everyone is still on the top)


After an hour of racing, Chris does take the checkered flag for first.(He finished almost 2 minutes infront of 2nd place.) He gives a "thumbs up" to his fans at the finish line.



But after all that, guess who ends up with the trophy?? And check out his bike. It doesn't even have an engine in it. (yet)

Having fun

What can I say? My husband and I went out and had a BLAST with the grandkids a couple of weekends ago. The weather was windy but otherwise, it was nice.

First, we got up at the crack of dawn and drove south. We met my son, daughter in law and cute little granddaughter out in the desert at a race site. I'm pretty sure my granddaughter was the cutest girl out there.
This was a some-what large race with riders from all over the western states. They also had some demo bikes that people could "test-drive". My son wanted to ride one, I'm guessing to see if he still had what it takes. LOL. He suited up & drove off and appeared to have some fun. He came back, and rode another one. (different engine sizes). Then he would come back, talk about the bike and they would ask him if he would like to ride yet another one. I think they had 5 or 6 different size dirt bikes out there. He rode 4 of them I believe.
I don't know who was more excited. My son or my husband. He said it was so good to see his son back on a bike.


After we left the race, we drove out to another place & met my other son & my grandson. I had so much fun following my grandson on his little quad. He drove it till the battery had no more "juice" to it and then Grandpa had to "tow" him back over to the truck. I would say maybe 30 yards. LOL, but to a little guy, that is a long ways!


What can I say except this was an eventful & wonderful day!! I can't wait for the next one..

4.9 Earthquake! Really??

My hubby flew home this afternoon from Oakland & I drove out to the airport to pick him up. I left early to get some Ice Tea for the road, as the weather was so nice today and Ice Tea was a must!
I pulled up in the "Park & Wait" 45 minutes early. I was set! I had a good book & a cool drink. It was about 70 degree's & I had the windows rolled down just waiting for a cool breeze to blow my way. Well, the wind was hardly blowing at all. I was lucky to catch a slight breeze once in awhile. I sat with book in hand & a paper to fan myself. As I continued to get deeper into my book,I thought someone snuck up behind me & started shaking my car! I looked in the rear view mirror....nothing. Then I looked in my side view mirror.....nothing. Also thinking in the back of my mind..."oh crap, I need to hurry & roll up my window as someone is messing with my car & I don't need anyone car-jacking me"!! I thought I was going to have to break out my can of ......

Then I thought "the wind is not even blowing enough to blow a plastic bag across the parking lot, so why is my car moving like it's in a wind storm"? (Ok, a slight wind-storm). My car stopped moving & I was back reading my book & thinking, that was weird.
After picking up the hubby, dinner, unpacking & getting ready for work, the news comes on 3 hours later & said there was a 4.9 earthquake up in the north/eastern part of the state. I thought 4.9?? really? Bet those "never been in an earthquake, God fearing, the world is coming to an end people are freaking out"!! 4.9 will wake you up for sure. For a minute, I had to stop & realize I wasn't in California. I did tell the hubby since he flew in from the Bay Area, he brought it with him. LOL

I know you will think I'm weird (Tryn, no comment!) but I wish I would of been at home so I could feel it & know what it was. Sitting in the moving parked car, I would never guessed it was an Earthquake. Oh well, I know my girlfriend in CA wrote me & said she would trade me her Earthquakes for our snow. I said "Any day"!! Earthquakes I can deal with....Snow I can NOT!!!

April 15th

Oh great. Today is tax day. That means I will be taking a drive to the post office at approximately 4:45pm. Why should I give my money any earlier to people who will just turn around and spend it on something stupid. I could say what I think is stupid, but I don't want to offend anyone that might read this.


On a good note, today is also freebie day. Or maybe a way of some businesses saying "Sorry, I know you have no money today of all days, but if you come to our place of business & spend money that you don't have, we'll give you something free as a Thank you".



Here are just a few I found.


Starbucks: Free coffee, you just have to supply the mug. (I'm sure you can buy one there for under $10)



Rubio's: Free Grilled Gourmet Taco. (just print coupon off their web site) I love Rubio's!!



McDonald's: Free Southern style chicken biscuit or chicken sandwich (check local stores to see if they are participating)



Chick-Fil-A: free mini-biscuits from 6-10:30am ( again, call & see if local stores are participating)



Cinnabon: bite size cupcakes from 6-8pm

(what luck, the hubby is flying home today. Maybe he'll get me a cupcake)



T.G.I. Fridays: $5 gift card on purchases between $15-$25. $10 card for more that $25 purchase.



Taco Del Mar: Free taco w/printed coupon (they have yummy fish tacos also)



Maggie Moo's: 1 free slice of ice cream pizza between 3-7PM



Ben & Jerry's: Free Cone Day



Dunkin Donuts: Free donut w/coffee purchase.



P.F. Chang's: 15% dinner discount



Papa John's: Lg pizza w/3 toppings for $10.40. Order on-line & coupon code "1040"



Office Depot & Staples: Free copy of tax documents (up to 25 pages)



Baja Fresh: $2 Burrito



Subway: Free cookie (they have a great snicker doodle cookie)



Ok, so those are a few things I found. Here are a few more for AFTER tax day.



Jack in the Box: Friday, April 16th....free small fry (at participating stores)



iTunes: People Magazine is offering 10 free songs from the "Country Sampler". (get code from People Magazine web site) Also: iTunes has a weekly free download.



Target: Sunday, April 18th only, get a free reusable bag w/any purchase



Remember, not all store's are participating, but it's worth checking out if your out today.

7.2 Quake hits home

This is the web page my computer has been on since 5pm. And I have been refreshing it constantly, and will continue to do so through the night.

Just as everyone was sitting down to Easter dinner, our phone rang. It was an unknown number, but it was the area code back home. I picked it up to a voice I had trouble recognizing. The female voice said "Natalie, I just wanted to call to let you all know we are ok". I was trying & trying to recognize this shaky voice. I responded "that's good". And then again, she said "I didn't want to worry you guys". Then I realized it was my Mother in law. I thought "what is going on & why does she sound so weird". I then asked "What is going on". She said "we just had a really big Earthquake". She was upset & scared.

OK, now anyone that is from "Earthquake country" pretty much knows anything under 5.o doesn't even count in the "big" category. And anything under a 4.0 is "nothing to talk about". And I know my MIL, she will call in the "under 4.0, because, that is who she is. She's a great lady & worries all the time about her family. And she always wants to keep us in the "now". But something was defiantly wrong, as I could hear it in her voice.

I asked right away, "how big was it". She replies "6.9"! I asked is everyone ok, and she said she has called all the kids that she could, as phone lines were down, but once in awhile she could get the cell phone to work. She said they have no power & they just keep "rock'n & roll'n" and it won't stop.

Quick updates that she had off hand. The oldest son, he lives in a mobile home & it fell off the foundation. Next daughter, things fell off the walls & out of cabinets. Next daughter, also lives in a really nice big mobile home out in the country & not sure of the foundation yet, but also has things on the floor that shouldn't be there. Youngest son/brother, things the same. Stuff on floor & broken. Now his Father in law lives right on the Mexico/CA border & his house/stuff is pretty much "toast". My niece's husband, who is a firefighter was running out of the house & something fell on his foot, so now he is limping around trying to help my in laws, as my MIL will NOT go back inside the house. She said every time she tries to, the ground starts to shake again.

Of course I then call my brother (see last Earthquake post about him & my BFF) I asked him if he was ok & he said "yeah, just hanging out". He was at a family Easter party & was afraid to go home & access the damage. He's pretty sure he's lost a few TV's & stuff from the walls. Then my aunt calls & says she was at my cousins having dinner & stuff started flying out of the cabinets in the kitchen & the "girls" in the house were screaming & running for the doors. (I don't know why, but u always run for the door during an Earthquake, just watch out for falling poles/trees). My aunt said she was trying to walk outside, but fell onto the couch & just "rode" it out. She went home & her chandelier was still moving. And her bedroom TV was on the floor. She said in all her 70 yrs living there, that is the biggest one she has been in.

My MIL called one more time before 9pm. They are still rock'n & roll'n. There is a slight breeze, so it is keeping the weather nice to be outside. (my aunt was just happy that she got her power back on so she could turn her air conditioner back on). LOL. I can remember when I was 19, we had a 6.1 and I slept outside for 2 nights. It was fun. Like having a camp out/block party. I can also remember the look on my young boys faces when they went through their first Earthquake. They thought it was really "neat" that the water was splashing out of our swimming pool.

Since 3:40pm their time, they have had 4 aftershocks that rates 5.0 or over. 16 aftershocks between 4.0-4.9. 82 aftershocks between 3.0-3.9. I stopped counting after midnight their time.

One thing about Earthquakes, you can't see them coming . I bet people were just starting to fall asleep & their last big one was at 11:17pm & was 4.2

Looks like they had to close down the Interstate from the valley to San Diego and traffic had to detour onto a back road. I'm just so glad I wasn't there to answer all the stupid questions that would of been coming in on the 911 lines. "How big was that quake". My favorite response to those calls where..."I'm not sure, this isn't Cal-Tech, call them"!

Happy Easter

I hope everyone has a Happy Easter & don't eat to much chocolate!

And who's idea was it to make this some type of Easter Candy? Really?

Yes I will post cute little Easter pictures sometime next week.

April Fools

I think Mother Nature was trying to be funny today, but I was not amused.

She started last night & continued through the morning and laughing the whole time. What did I do to her? I never played a trick on her, but if I could, I certainly would now.

So much for hiding Easter eggs on Sunday. The weather is not going to get any better. Not funny Mother Nature!! It's Spring incase you didn't get the memo!

The Princess & The Outlaw

Oh my. You can't turn on the TV without coming across some sort of comment about that cute and talented Sandra, (aka: my husband's next wife) and that Outlaw Jesse (aka: what the hell was he thinking?)
I will admit, I have been watching any and all type's of entertainment news shows to see what the latest update's are on Ms. Sandra. She just seems like a real genuine caring type person. I feel so bad for her.
Why do men do these stupid things?
I think Lorraine Bobbitt had the right idea. I think if this was the way a wife could punish her hubby, there would be less Tiger's & Jesse's in the world.
Just my opinion.

Smile

In all fairness, I have to give equal blogging time to the other person that makes us smile. Last friday she got to come play & we had the time of our lives.

My husband & I get right down on the floor with her & play with her & her toys. She so wants to crawl to get her cute little hands on them, but just can't figure out how to get those knee's to move. She get's up on them, rocks back & forth ....but then decides that just giving up & rolling over will possibly get her to where she wants to go quicker. (or just look at Grandpa with those big blue eyes & he'll get it for you) .

Grandkids are the best!!!! Just ask a Grandparent!

Happy Green Day

Sending out some Irish love, even though I'm not Irish. Be safe out there!!

Something old, something new???

Ok, so someone is trying to learn how to say "thumbs up", but just can't figure out what to do with these dang little pointie fingers when he does it. Just to dang cute I must say!

And can you tell that something is missing from one of these two following pictures? Hmmmmmmmmm.

And no, it's not the cute little smile or devilish look in those eyes.

Trouble Tuesday

I woke up today with tons of "stuff" on my mind.

I was thinking about friends from High School.

I was thinking about my brother & his family.

I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner.

I was thinking about my boys & their wives & kids.

I'm thinking about co-workers.

I'm thinking about my mom surgery.

I'm thinking of what to blog about.

I'm thinking about the weather & to camp or not to camp.

I 'm thinking why am I thinking so much!

It's driving me crazy! Why do we do these things to ourselves?

At the Races.

Last weekend we set out for a weekend of fun & sunshine in Primm, NV.
So ok, the sun didn't get the memo, but we still had a blast.









Just like his cousins, my litte nephew has taken up racing quads. He's been doing this for awhile now & really enjoys it.

My nephew in red. My son on the blue quad.
This was his very first really "big" race. He always goes & watches his cousins race in CA/NV/AZ, so this day it was his turn to put on his racing boots & enjoy some fun.
He got to do 2 races & had a blast. The other plus was just as he was crossing the Finish Line, the skies opened up & it started to rain.

I just have one question to the men in my life. Why is it you will get on a 2 wheel or 4 wheel machine & haul butt thru the desert at a high rate of speed, but your afraid to ride the roller coaster with me at Buffalo Bills? (u can see the yellow rails for the coaster in the background of this picture. It looks like fun!)

Good job and great race! Can't wait for your next one.

Weekend in Nevada

Good thing I made reservations back at the first of the year when my hubby asked me if I wanted to go down to Primm, NV and meet up with my brother, SIL & nephew. I usually wait till the last minute to make a reservation. I had no idea this was "NASCAR" weekend. As we drove by the race-track on friday it was packed with trailers,campers,semi's and lot's of cars. It was crazy.

As I was checking into the hotel, a man with a beer was standing behind me & was just a tad "intox-a-ma-cated" (as I call it). He was from Bakersfield, CA & a fan of Kevin Harvick. He asked me if I was here for the races & I said "yes I am". He then asked me who I was cheering for. I told him "My little nephew". Now I have confused him. He said in beer breath "your little nephew is racing"? I said "yes, of course". Again, he said "Who is your little nephew, was number does he race"? I said, "Well, I'm here for the motorcycle/quad races". He was shocked that I wasn't there for the NASCAR races. I did tell him I was a Jimmie Johnson fan & he didn't like that answer any better. His son then came over & got him & he stumbled away.

As we drove home saturday night & passed the speedway, I took these pictures. It doesn't even really show how packed the parking lot really was.

And to the drunk that was making fun of me being a Jimmie Johnson fan. Take that!! First Place is sweet!

Did someone have a birthday?

Someone woke up this month & noticed that it was just another day. Nothing special. (just my big, fat birthday!). My parents had made plans to take me to lunch, but called in to say they were sick & could not make it, so change of plans. I thought maybe my grandson would like to go someplace with me. McDonalds or just for a drive, I didn't care. I called my DIL and then my son. Can I just say how happy I was when my DIL called me back & said her & my grandson would like to go to lunch with me.
I did my "happy dance" & we meet my son near his work. We had a great deli sandwich & "good times"!


Then, later on that afternoon my other son called & wanted to go to dinner. Bonus #2. Dinner with my granddaughter.
What seemed to begin as a day on the couch with a good book,& no one to sahre my day with (hubby even had to work & was not home) turned out to be the best day ever!!! Grandkids are the BEST present ever!

For the last 2 days, I've been.....

Watching the Olympics like...well, mostly everyone else. And I have learned so much about our friends to the north. I had no idea Canada was the 2nd largest country & the population of CA is larger than ALL of Canada. This would be the place for me to move to, except it's to dang cold!!

What else have I learned?

*I did not know that Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns was from Canada.

**Hundreds of anti-Olympic protesters forced organizers to change the route of the last leg of the trans-Canada torch relay. Now that's just Rude!!!

**That watching the women's Down Hill Moguls would make my knee's hurt!!

**That Apolo Ohno likes to start out at the back of the pack during Speed Skating. (had I known that, I wouldn't of been yelling at the TV so much).

**And that it doesn't snow 24 hours during the winter up in Canada. (it rains too).

Is it just me, or do all

Olympic stars look like kids?

Or could it be I'm just an old lady wishing I could stand up on ice skates or ski's at a high rate (or slow rate) of speed?

Now, what ticked me off about the Opening Ceremonies?

That K.D.Lang can take one of my all-time favorite songs & butcher it!! Like Ellen would say "put some shoes on lady"!!! "Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley is the only way to listen to that song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8AWFf7EAc4

(hope this works).

On a sad note, my heart goes out to 21 year old Nodar Kumaritashvili from Georgia (Soviet Union) and his family. My heart breaks for his coaches,teammates,family & friends.

On a happier note, since it's Valentine's Day...this is for you Colleen! Enjoy.

Super Bowl commercials

Who Dat???

Oh my. Poor Betty White. Men tackling her on the playing field at her age. What are they thinking? Just plain rude. And on top of that, they throw her in a mud puddle! Gosh, all I could think of was her nice pretty hair. That poor woman. And all she got was a Snickers bar! (yes I did laugh & it was one of my favorites! Especially when Betty says "that's not what your girlfriend says"

My 2nd fav was that cute little boy slapping his momma's date. I busted a gut on that one.

I really didn't pay that much attention this year to commercials, as they just seem to be boring, and the fact that my granddaughter had most of my attention. Between stuffing my face & playing with her on the floor, I just really didn't have time to pay that much attention to the TV.

Let me know what your favorite commerical was in my comment section. Of course the cutest picture was at the end with Brees & his son.

I really wasn't cheering for the Saints, but Brees did use to quartback for the Chargers, so I figure I can cheer for him at least.