C’EST LA VIE: February 2007

Opps!! My Bad!!!

...Smoking monkeys?? Good Lord!...

OK...So I went to the store today to mail a package to Misty and get another pack of cigarettes. {No, I haven't quit yet, but SOON...very soon!}
As I was standing at the counter chatting with the fella' that works there, a man came in holding one of those portable oxygen thingys and walked up to the counter.

Out of respect, I told him to go ahead in front of me and laughed that I was keeping the fella' who works there from doing his job...Honestly though, I just didn't want him to see me buying a pack of cigarettes...you know, with him being on oxygen and all.

So...to my surprise, this guy asks for 3-packs of Marlboro and proceeds to pay for them and can hardly wait to get out the door, rip one of the packs open and light up!!

My first thought was "Isn't oxygen highly flammable??" and secondly, "My ohh my... what a sick picture THAT just painted!!".

Isn't it strange how, with everything we know and something so "truthful" starring us directly in the face, that we continue to be so hardheaded?

Another victim of "the Marlboro Man", puffing away his life while his oxygen pump hummms in the background.

Wow...

Killing The "Marlboro Man" Before He Kills Me!

Well...It's inevitable that with the rising cost of cigarettes, the bans enforced by the "evil smoking nazi's" and the fact that almost everyone I know is bugging the hell out of me to QUIT SMOKING!...Denny and I have finally decided to give it a try.

BUT...I am going to forewarn you that it is NOT going to be a "pretty sight" and I will more than likely be here ranting and raving very often! {Unless I "relapse" in which I won't tell you!}

My plan is to start sometime during the last week of February and go into March smoke-free {angry, anxious, and possibly depressed...but nonetheless, smoke-free!!!}................

R.I.P. Mr. Marlboro Man! I {think} I will miss you dearly! ;-(

The Mystery Of Mirror Lake

~Mirror Lake~Ohio State University~

Mirror Lake sits in a ravine on OSU's North Campus and has long been the center of many traditions dating back to the late 1800's.

One of those traditions which takes place during "Beat Michigan Week" is the annual jumping in of students the night before the big game!
They even have a club called the "Mirror Lake jumper-inners"! Hehe!

"Craziness!!!"

"Misty and Lindsey in the lake! {This was mid-November so you can only imagine how COLD that water was!}

"These fella's were all decked out in their OSU pride....minus clothes but you'll have that! Haha!!

~And....adding even more to the "mystic" of Mirror Lake, you can also walk on it when it freezes over......

"Misty and Lauren~Frozen Mirror Lake stander-oners~Feb.2007"

There Never Seems To Be Enough Time.....

"...But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you."
{"Time In A Bottle" by Jim Croce}

~Well, Misty wanted to come home to visit her friends at Marietta College for the weekend so we decided it might be a good experience for her to take the Greyhound Bus from Columbus here.
NOT!
She had a horrible experience at the Columbus bus terminal, got harassed by some really seedy characters and spent the entire ride home basically fearing for her life!
Needless to say, she will not be taking that form of transportation ever again!!

~We did not see much of her during the whole visit, but managed to "steal" her away long enough for a shopping trip with Gramma.....

Then dinner and drinks with Brad, Daddy and I at The Brewery that evening.....

....Sunday morning she came home with just enough time to shower, grab some stuff from her room, check her emails....

....And then we drove her back "home" to Columbus, stopping along the way to eat at "Friday's" {Fried Mac n cheese bites! YuM!!} and over to see her AGD Sorority house on campus....

**~Whew!~**

~BeAuTiFuL!!!~

*Looks like you could almost reach out and touch those beautiful feathers!
La-la-la-LOVE my boy!!!

"She was not quite what you would call refined.
She was not quite what you would call unrefined.
She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot."
~*Mark Twain*~

Pearls, Squirrels, And Alpha Gamma Delta Girls

~Misty joined the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority at OSU this quarter and is having so much fun getting to know all her new "sisters"!
{She is pictured third row and center from the bottom}

~Misty and her sorority "sisters", Emily, Jesse and Lauren wearing their Alpha Gamma Delta shirts at the first official meet-and-greet! {Lauren will also be her appartment roomate for Fall quarter!}
~Misty was appointed vice-President of Sorority Activities and is already planning a Valentine's Day get together for all the girls!

*EDIT: After much consideration, Misty decided to terminate her pledgeship to Alpha Gamma Delta because it was taking up too much of her free time that she could be studying and doing things with her friends that are not members of the sorority.

I think it was a good learning situation even though it was quite costly. She is still friends with a few of the girls and now has more time to pursue other activities.*

Random Acts Of Love

*Denny brought me home flowers the other night for no real reason other than to brighten up my day and to let me know how much he loves me!

*I cut them short and put them in a small vase on my bedroom dresser so that I see them first thing in the mornings and remember how blessed I am to have him!

"What are you doing the rest of your life?
North and South and East and West of your life
I have only one request of your life
That you spend it all with me."

"APP-AHH-LAY-SHEN"

*Misty said that several of her college friends had been teasing her about being from Appalachia so we decked her all out in true "APP-AHH-LAY-SHEN" {it's a running joke!} gear provided by her Uncle Jim....who, by the way, takes his hunting very seriously as you can see!!!
Haha!!

A Winters Day Walk

~Even the Geese were all huddled down on the island trying to stay warm!

~Seagulls flying over Devols Dam....I think they are LOST!

~"Mom? Are you ready to go back home yet? My feet are COLD!"....Poor Abby! She is getting so old and grumpy!

~Ice formations~

BRRRrRRRR!!!

~Tuesday, February 6, 2007~

Yes, that temperature is correct!
It was only -12 degrees yesterday morning and everything {including the thermometer} had a glistening layer of ice on it!
Kind of pretty to look at but man, was it COLD!!
BRRrrRRRRR!!!

~My 44th Birthday!~

~Saturday was my 44th Birthday and because I was so unhappy about being another year older, I decided to put a fun twist on the whole evening! ;-)

~It was also my friend Heather's Birthday {although she was only turning 33!} so I bought us light-up flashing princess tiaras and magic wands, pins that said "Birthday Girl", princess bubble wands, flashing finger lights and plastic beads!
I basically did all my shopping in the little kids birthday section at WalMart and we had a blast with that stuff!!!

*Happy and slightly drunk Birthday girls!*

*Happiness is being treated like a princess on your Birthday!*

*My "partner in crime" trying to distract the hubbies with her cleavage at a game of shuffleboard! That grin of hers is priceless!*

*More cleavage to distract the fellas! Haha! It worked too!*

*Birthday kisses!*

*Yep! That's a drunken grin there, but at least I didn't get sick like my poor Heather did when she got home! ;-(
She said that after she hugged the toilet for awhile, she proceeded to lecture her boys about drinking too much, not realising she was still wearing her flashing tiara and princess gear!! Haha!! No wonder the boys were giggling through the whole lecture!!

~Sammy And The Snowy Day~

~We finally got some measurable snowfall the other day and Sammy enjoyed sitting at the windowsill and watching everything turn white!~

Visiting Misty At OSU

~In January we went up to visit Misty at OSU, tour the appartment she and a friend had picked out, sign the lease and pay the deposit fees. I was very proud of her for taking the time to research this, check out several places and not just pick the first "dump" she saw! {*And believe me...we saw ALOT of dumps!}

It is directly off campus on the other side of High Street, in a good neighborhood and within walking distance of all her classes which are all a "plus"! Also, the appartment itself was clean, already furnished and cozy!! I am sure the girls will have a blast decorating it and moving in during the Fall 2007 quarter! {And another big "plus"....I can go visit her on the weekends or whenever and stay for FREE! Yay!}

~We stayed at the Baymont Inn this time and it was actually quite nice!

~Misty and I enjoyed laying on the bed and talking about everything till the wee hours and watching TV!
ALSO! She surprised us with tickets to the Bucks vs Iowa basketball game and we had a great time watching the game and cheering them on in their own stadium! {Soo much better than watching them on TV!}

GO BUCKS!!!!
~Misty, Denny and I sitting way up high in the "nosebleed section" aka. the student section! With my fear of heights, I was a little apprehensive at first but after I got into the game I forgot how high up I was!