Well it’s that time of year again, when I try to play catch up and let you know what we have been up to during the year. All I can say is yet again this year has flown by like no other. So far, as of October I have flown 83,385 miles. Most of the travel has been domestic travel as the last time I flew international is when I took a group to Paris, our Ireland and Costa Rica trips. Lately I have been going to Canada as well, but is that considered international?
In June of this past year, I was able to work Wal-Mart week. I can say that I am a shareholder of Wal-Mart especially since I worked there before Delta. But they do put on a show for their share holders. All kinds of celebrities came in. I got to see my friend David, whom I haven’t seen since I graduated from College. He has done well for himself and has a wonderful family. Katelyn got to go to several Vacation Bible Schools within our town. The first one that she visited was at her school and she really enjoyed the “Beach Party” that they had. She tried a Baptist Church one, but didn’t want to go as she didn’t know anyone. We tried to get her to stay with Amy Singleton, but she wouldn’t have any part of that either. In June we celebrated my birthday… well actually I did and had a meeting to go to the very next day. I was also introduced to this restaurant in downtown called “Fritti”. It has the best vegetarian brick oven pizza I have ever tasted. Thank you Josh for showing me that place!
In July, my friend Maryann got married. She had a lovely wedding at her house on July 4. She celebrated with “Fireworks” and a good ol’ fashion BBQ. It was a grand time that everyone had. James, Michele Price-Travers child celebrated his 2nd birthday and Katelyn and I attended a Braves game before she was wisked down to Florida to spend time with Mimi, Don, Lisa, Tony and Keith in Lido Key. Lido Key was very nice. I was able to make it down to have Friday, Monday vacations. The beaches were beautiful as that is pretty much all I was able to do. I understand that Katelyn went shark tooth hunting and went out on the boat. She was so brown during that vacation, she looked like she had baked in the sun every day. You can still see some of her tan lines from this past summer.
In August, we went to yet another Braves game. Katelyn and I love those and we go anytime we get a chance too. She got on the jumbo tron at one game this year with her friend Emily. On a sadder note, my friend Jeremy Fowler ended up passing away from Cancer. He left behind a wife and 3 small children. He was such a great guy and I can’t believe a young sole got taken away so fast off this earth. We will miss Jeremy! Katelyn also was able to go to Chuck E Cheese night for her school fundraiser and we hit Six Flags White Water as many times as we could during this month as we had to use every bit of our season pass during the year.
In September, we celebrated Katelyn’s 5th Birthday Party by going to Jump-a-Roos/Kangaroo Kids. She had a blast with all of her friends. Thank you everyone for attending and making her day special. She began soccer this month and we were able to attend a Rodeo and see Sesame Street and JapanFest. Logan, Katelyn’s cousin also celebrated his first birthday and on another sadder note, my friend Melanie’s dad passed away during this month.
In October, Katelyn went with her school to celebrate “Farm Day” by attending Southern Belle. A local farm and pumpkin patch. She also had to visit the Dentist and we had to put her on Flouride Pills as her teeth are so frail. She has had 5 cavities so far and she is only 5 years old! Katelyn had busy days at school as she started Kindergarten this year and also had to celebrate Hoe Down Day, 50s day, and Orange and Black day for Trick or Treating. She had a big surprise too by going to see Disney on Ice.
Early in November, Katelyn got to attend Steven and Ansley’s birthday parties. She had a blast at both of them. We had several Girl Scout events and mom had to go to several out of town visits during November for her work. We were all thankful when vacation came and we went to Banff, Canada.
During our vacation we had fun! It took us practically all day to get there on Sunday and when we finally arrived in Calgary we ate at an all you can eat Japanese and Korean place. The sushi and tempura were wonderful and Katelyn’s new found Japanese favorite is Tempura and noodles. Then on Monday, we went out and explored the town. We bought some groceries to last us for the week and then went on a historic walk through downtown. We found the playground and pool, which also had a hot tub and sauna for mom and dad. On Tuesday, we went out to Lake Louise. The snow there was so wonderful and powdery. There were several people ice skating on the lake so we went out and tromped around on it too. We didn’t have any Tobaggans to slide down the hill, but Katelyn and mom had slick pants on so we used our behinds to slide down the hill. It was so much fun and then later that night we headed back to head in the pool again. On Wednesday, we went to the Cave Basin and the Upper Hot Springs. The cave basin had an interesting tour and we smelt the sulphur water and then later when we went to the Upper Hot Springs, we got to spend time in the hot water. It didn’t smell like sulphur though as the Hot Springs has modernized their pools. They are heated naturally, but they also add chlorine to the water to neutralize the sulphur, which is great because it stinks. I am allergic to sulpha based drugs and they didn’t affect me one bit! That night we ended up eating Steak at Bumpers. Apparently, Alberta is known for their beef. On Thursday, we celebrated Thanksgiving. It wasn’t traditional at all for us. We ended up heading back to Lake Louise area again only with Tobaggains and ice skates in tow. We were going to do both there, but due to Global Warming, we were afraid to get on the lake today with our skates, so we opted for Tobaggaining instead. We must have done that for about 2 hours and then we gave up and headed back north. We ended up in British Columbia where it was much more colder and we were able to see Elk along the side of the road. After driving for about 1 hour in British Columbia and heading back downhill where the snow was melting we decided to turn back around and head back about 2 hours back to home. We ended up stopping at the lake that was one exit up from where were staying to go Ice Skating. I promised Katelyn that we would skate on a pond and then we did. She had so much fun, but she was worn out. Then later that night, we went out to the Grizzly House which was a Steak and Fondue dinner house. We absolutely did not have a traditional Thanksgiving feast. We had the following:
Salad, Neuchatel (cheese, wine and Kirsch fondue), Exotic dinner – Shark, Alligator, Rattlesnake, Ostrich, Frog Legs, Buffalo, and Venison. Hunter Fondue – Buffalo, Wild Boar and Venison. Dessert – Chocolate Fondue with melted Toblerone chocolate and fresh fruit. Cooked in oil and also on a Granite stone that had been in a kiln for about 6 hours.
We drove to British Columbia one day to see what that had to offer, and then headed home.
In December, we have done most of the traditional Holiday items. We had breakfast with Santa, saw Mr. and Ms. Claus and then also appeared in a parade. We attended Ryan's birthday and Katelyn was in her Christmas play. We also had a holiday party with Girl Scouts and a Christmas party with her school.
Christmas was somber this year as well. Katelyn ended up going to the emergency room on Dec. 24 for an ear infection. Luckily Keith wore his Fire Dept shirt and got in/out of the hospital fast (3 hours). She was put on Amoxicillin and Tylenol w/Codine. She is all better now, but she was not at all excited about opening up her presents that Santa brought. Her big gift was High School Musical phone, but really an MP3 player, but mommy tried to load it on the computer, and it didn't work. I ended up taking it back and Katelyn is fine with getting a regular MP3 player. We spent most of the time inside and contemplating about going to FL to see Nana, Aunt Jenna and Uncle Jake. Each day was viewed, but we either didn't feel well, or flights were full one way or another. I guess we can't win them all.
New Years Eve - Carolyn was the only one awake, so I rang it in with Dick Clark!
I hope all is well with you and would love to hear what you and your family have been up to.
Beginning in January Katelyn will be selling Girl Scout Cookies, so please let me know if you are interested in them. Katelyn has to go to Camp!
All the best, The Minnihans
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, June 09, 2008
Until June 2008
Hi All:
Is anyone really interested in an update on what has been going on with me? Well if anyone who “really” knows me it is the same old s***, just a different day. Ok, It’s June now and nothing has really ever changed. I still travel a lot for my job. I still am trying to be the best mom I know how to be and am in a loveless marriage. Go figure, like I said same crap just a different day. I’m sure if anyone reads this and doesn’t really know the whole story they will be shocked, but quite frankly, I am not. It’s occurred so much it’s not even funny. You try and try and it gets you no where, oh well. I am a desperate housewife!
So, do you want me to start from last Christmas or what?
Not much really happened during New Year’s. I miss my buddy Claudette and her kids celebrating this year as they moved to Wyoming and living it there. The best new years I have had recently is when Claudette brought her 3 children over and all we did was celebrate until the kids konked out until around 11pm and I brought in the new years by waking Claudette up to say “Happy New Year”. This past year I think was no different than any of the previous years as Keith had to work Jan 1 so it was no fun for us again this year.
I did bring in the new year on a kind of celebration. I purchased a new/ 07 with 7K miles on it.. Black Honda Accord. Yes, 3 days later I got in a wreck in it and smashed up the front of it. I think that car has been doomed from the beginning ever since as it is attracted to other things. Oh that was the 2nd wreck as in December, I also had a wreck with the Expedition by pressing the gas instead of the break as I was trying to back the car into the trailer to take it on a Christmas Daisy Troop parade. Go figure. I really have not had any luck with cars this past year.
As a Daisy troop, we earned our bowling badge and going to try to earn other badges during the summer. I will be hard with everyone’s schedule, but hoping with school out and things a little calmer with my job that it will be a little easier.
Also in January, I was suppose to be off to Denver to visit my friend Angela, but instead headed to Stuart area to bury Elenaor, Keith’s Grandfathers long term mate. They were so sweet together and they had so much fun together it was sad to see her go. She will be missed. She had a semi short battle with Cancer, only 8 months or so and it spread quickly.
In February, Katelyn and I were able to see Go Diego Go and she loved seeing it as Dora is always on an adventure in our house.
We also went to her school to have pancakes for breakfast for her and to see her in her play. In April she had an artshow where she got to show off all of her extraordinary work. Since it’s now summer, she has brought it all home to view and I hope to take pictures of it and post it online at an art website where her masterpieces can be purchased if desired.
I was also able to visit Chicago for work. I had never been there before and really only went shopping up/down a street near the river that runs through the city. I can say it is very eclectic and I do get a better feel for the city now. I only had a few hours of free time, so it was well spent to me.
Dr. Suess also celebrated his birthday during Feb and we were able to attend a birthday bash for him at the mall.
During the beginning of March my work allowed me to travel to NYC where Katelyn and my mom and Jenny tagged along and got to see the city. However during that weekend a storm erupted and they had a hard time getting home. At least they were able to make it to Ellis Island and we stayed near ground zero, so at least they were able to do a few touristy things while they were there. And the best of all it was all free to them!
In March, Lisa celebrated her upcoming nuptials with a Bridal Shower. She received several nice gifts and the shower was very lovely in Florida. Keith participated in a fight, but lost to his opponent in the last 10 seconds of his fight. Katelyn and I found as many easter egg hunts as we could find as she loved finding those eggs. I think they are still all over the house now. And my friend Angela also came into town from Denver and we were able to see her.
I also found out that on the last season of the Bachelor one of my co-workers step-daughters was one of the last 2 contestants. Now she is the Bachelorette, so I have been trying to follow that on tv as it comes on. She said that she has been having a blast with the show.
In April, Katelyn and I visited the Camp Expo. Let me tell you, prices of camps have sky rocketed to easily $150-$250/week. So if anyone is looking for a great gift idea for Katelyn, please be sure to get her a camp certificate. All or partial payments of camps would be nice. They have all kinds available and I wish that I could attend some of them with her as well. Some of the ones that I do want to send her too are Circus Camp, Gymnastic Camp, Girl Scout Camp, Computer Camp and even Cooking Camps. She will have a blast and next year is when she can really start making some choices for herself.
We also went to the Princess Breakfast at Chick Fil A. All the princesses were there and we stood in line for about 1 hour to see them. She got her picture taken with most of them and made a crown and then we got our food to go as it would have been even longer if we sat around and waited to be seated for breakfast.
I was also able to take a self defense airline training course that is usually given to flight attendants to fend off terrorists. I was lucky and was able to take it too since I fly so much. Look out terrorist, don’t mess with me!
Katelyn, Emily, Kelli and Myself all went to see Cinderella at the Center for Puppetry Arts. It was kind of similar to the classic Cinderella tale only they make the marionette puppets onsite and we were able to make a little puppet as well to take home. They also had a display there about Sabrina the teen age witches cat and how it was made and all it’s outfits as well as a display about the muppets. I didn’t know they were made around my year of birth too. They have been a huge success in the puppet world.
Katelyn also went on her first Girl Scout campout trip in April. Mommy got in trouble because I stayed with her in the evening as she didn’t make it by herself all night. She got scared. Another girl in her tent wimpered all night and 3 out of the 4 girls all toppled out of their twin size beds onto the floor at various times during the night. She had a great time being with the girls and went through a bridge up ceremony where she got “baked” into a brownie. She also earned her first try it brownie badge by making jewelry, planting flowers and making a pinwheel. I can’t wait for brownies, but I did learn that we have to sell Fall Product and Cookie Sales before we can earn any other additional money for our troop. I want to do lots of things, but I really dread fall product time and hope that others will volunteer for Cookie Sales as well. I am also now the recruiter for the county so Sept/October will be busy for me with Girl Scouts.
Lisa’s wedding was the last weekend in April. She had a beautiful ceremony in a Catholic Church and then a great reception at Jackaranda Golf Course (I could be spelling it wrong) She had 4 girls and Katelyn was a Flower Girl. She was so cute with 2 other little boys. I do have to go online and purchase some of the best ones to have in the house. She really had a great time and was the star of the show as she was the only kid at the reception. She was so very cute and the best photo that I wish turned out a little nicer was with her sitting on stage resting her feet and enjoying some cake and talking with Don on stage. She didn’t know what to think.
May has now come and gone and it has been another busy month for us as well. Katelyn got to have several celebrations at school such as Tooth Fairy Day, Ice Cream Social Day, Fairy Tale Day and Water Day. During Tooth Fairy day the tooth fairy came and visited them. Ice Cream day they got to make their own Sundae’s. Fairy Tale Day was the hardest one to do as we had to memorize a Fairy Tale and Dress up as one, so Katelyn was Hickory Dickery Dock. She said the saying to her class mates and I was able to find Gummy rats at the dollar store and she gave them out to all her classmates. She had a fun time. During the last week of school is when they celebrated and had Pre-K Graduation on Monday and then Wednesday was Water Day where they got to get wet at school and Friday was the last day of school party with Coke, Cupcakes, Chips and Dip and Veggies. Luckily all the same kids (6) will be in her Kindergarten class as well so she won’t be frightened away by not knowing anyone. Next year I will also have to save all of her work and hopefully get her into 1st Grade if she does well. I kind of dread it as I know it will be a battle and it’s just because the county’s cut off date is Sept 1 and her birthday is September 4.
I also got to take a business trip to Canada. We spent a day in Toronto, then off to Hamilton, then off to Halifax. We actually spent almost 8 hours flying standby on Air Canada between Toronoto and Halifax as it would have taken us about that long to fly confirmed and an all day trip just to get there on us. Let me tell you that if you need to fly intra Canada, Air Canada is a nice product. I should be saying that, but it is especially when you get first class! During our wait times in Toronto we ran into some Air Canada employees and they also advised to get some lobster in Halifax. They said it was the same price in the airport as it is at the fishing docks, but I don’t think that is true. I paid $10.99/lb at the airport and when I asked the airport guy where is the $5.99/lb lobster, he said that it is at the fishing docks. So needless to say I got ripped off but it was a nice big lobster. Before we ate them, Katelyn and I had a little lobster race and then off to the 2 pots they went. They did turn bright red and were very good to eat. Katelyn had a good time pounding their brains out of the shell. All I can say it was good therapy for me. When I returned I had to connect via Boston so a lot of people were looking at me because I didn’t get any Boston Lobster, instead I had Canadian Lobster and personally if there is a difference they might have been a little better because they seemed to be a little bigger.
Halifax was a nice place to go and I do hope to return there some day, but when I was there (in May) I had to wear my winter jacket and hope that I would not get too cold walking down the street. I will definitely have to return, but probably not until July/August time frame. I want to go back and see the graves where most of the Titanic victims were buried and also stroll along the wharf area to eat more seafood and to visit the memorial where SwissAir went down. You know I worked Pic calls for that flight… very sad!
On a happier note, Katleyn and I got to see Riverdance. She liked the foot tapping parts, but during the singing parts she was tired and looking forward to bed. It was a good show, but not sure if it is worth the high ticket price.
May has also been my month of Celebrity Sightings. I saw Barbara Walters going into the Four Seasons for lunch. Barbara Walters is a very smaller older lady and not what you would think she looked like on TV. Of course she had her entourage, but was able to move about the streets with ease. On the train at he airport I rode between concourses with Corey for Corey In The House. One of the lady’s that I late found out was on my flight was able to get his autograph. I also saw hottie Jason Lewis from Sex in the City. David (my boss) was able to sit next to him. At first I didn’t know who he was except that I knew he was on TV, but thought he might have been on the Bachelor or something like that, but later when I was able to go online, I was able to find out who he really was. Go to Google.com and click on Images and then type in Jason Lewis all of his pictures pop up. He is so hot! Maybe he was in town promoting the movie this weekend as I later saw him in Baggage Claim as well.
During the last weekend of May I had vacation time booked for Lost Wages, Las Vegas, NV. Well, if anyone wants to know. My Las Vegas vacation was a total flop! The first day we get in, we had the whole day ahead of us. We did get on the first flight out from Atlanta to Las Vegas and we checked into the Hilton Grand Vacation Club. The hotel was nice and was a typical Hilton Hotel. It was kind of small for us though as we were kind of cramped in the small quarters. We didn’t make it to the darkness as it doesn’t get dark until 8pm or so and Katelyn was so tired from getting up at 5:30 am to try to catch the flight. We headed to bed early in Vegas. Hence early to bed means early to rise. Well that is what we did. We did get up kind of early and had to stick around until about 9:30 am or so in order to go through our Time Share presentation ordeal. While we were at the presentation, we tried to get out of it so bad as we proceeded to tell the lady that we were going to get a divorce and it was really a waste of her time to try to sell us something as we were probably not going to get through the year together. She agreed and let us go. Finally we were free to have the rest of our “vacation”.
Well Day One (Sat) we walked all up and down the strip past Treasure Island and ate at one buffet at the Sahara – not good. The second day (Sun) we just hung around the cold pool as it was only about 72 degrees there. Needless to say when we were in the water it was mainly in the hot tub. Keith was pitching a fit most of the time so advised him to go home, but of course, he didn’t. I was going to hang around since I had already paid for it and couldn’t get out of it. We ended up eating at a kind of authentic Thai Chinese Food place and that was very good. We did that before we walked to the Stratosphere. I really wanted to go to Freemont street in the evening, but Katelyn got worn out from playing in the pool most of the day.
Monday was check out day and the flights were very full because most people were getting away for the long weekend. So I booked day three at Mandalay Bay only because it was rated as one of the best pools to be at. Caesars Palace was also rated as being one of the good pools, but I read remarks online that they were going under renovations so decided against that hotel especially since it was about $50 higher than Mandalay Bay as well.
Mandalay Bay was really nice and had a Casino below and a wave pool, hot tub and lazy river, but on the far end of the strip. It’s quite a long walk from Mandalay Bay to Treasure Island. On the last day that is what Katelyn and I did in the evening. I had to wake her up to see the pirate show at Treasure Island and then we walked back through the hotels to get to Bellagio where I woke her up to see the fountains. I assume she liked them as she watched them, but really didn’t talk about them the next day.
The next morning we got up kind of early and went down to the Mandalay Bay pool for about 1 hour. It was still kind of cool in the morning to go swimming in the wave pool, so we went to the hot tub for a while and about the last 15 minutes we went in the wave pool. She was loving it and wanted to stay longer, but kept telling her we had to get home to see Cletus. She was kind of grouchy from no sleep while on the plane and demanded her own stuff. She did real well as there was a TV on board the plane and I put it on Nickalodean for a while for her and then she had Animal Planet and then the map of where we were flying from Texas on. She also played the last hour of the flight with her VMAX. Finally got home almost close to 10pm EST to go to bed and then hopefully we will have a good day tomorrow.
She slept until almost Noon.
The only part that made the trip so miserable was Keith. He badgered me every chance he got to say something. He is so rude by telling me that I am fat in a swimsuit, doesn’t even want to be near us when walking down the strip, consistently tells me he wants a divorce and says he is going to fill out the paperwork, but never does and loses patience with everything that I say. So, I am not talking to him anymore. I really don’t need him anymore as this Las Vegas vacation was the last vacation I have planned with him. He tells me all the time he doesn’t want to be married, but refuses to fill out the paperwork. I tell him I will sign it, but not without my lawyers getting involved and of course he doesn’t want that. I think he thinks I am stupid or something. I don’t need to be around a person that makes me miserable especially when I was trying to plan something fun for us to do as a family. Oh well, Keith doesn’t want a family, he just wants someone who will look good for him, do things his way and not say something back to him. That’s not me and he should have realized that from Day one. I guess he never has known me or appreciated me for who I am. It’s was our Anniversary on May 28 and of course he forgot it (not even a saying of “Happy Anniversary”). Should I have expected more in my marriage? I didn’t expect much, but a simple Happy Anniversary and that wasn’t even remembered. I think I am chopped liver in Keith’s eyes. Why should I treat him with respect?
Also, we set up our pool in the back yard had vacation bible school work day and then went to White Water with Emily and later find out that our Air Conditioner fan has broken, so cost us $460 to get it fixed. Keith got upset with me again over the payment of the A/C, but if he would have read the bill he would have found out the truth, but he proceeds to tell me that I am a thief and the worst person in his life. I think he needs someone to seriously talk to him or to get on some kind of medicine because he is very screwed up in the head and I am nothing like what he keeps accusing me of. I have purchased a “For Sale By Owner” sign to place in the front yard of the house as if I hear any more attitude from him, I will put the house up for Sale and move. I don’t need the crap that I get from him, especially when he threatens me most of the time and tells me all the time that he contemplates Jail vs his happiness. Part of me wants him to think Jail as at least he would be out of my life and not make me miserable anymore. I honestly have never heard of anyone so messed up in the head as he is by thinking whatever stories are made up in his head are actually the truth and what I am. I think he needs some psychological help as I really believe he has seen too much disaster working in the crappy town he works in. He is really out of control and his job doesn’t provide any type of services to assist him with his issues or if they do he doesn’t take advantage of them because he thinks he is too macho for that. Oh well, his loss as I really don’t like the fact that Katelyn hears all his banter against me on a daily basis and I constantly toy with her coming from a broken home without her father vs hearing the sayings that she hears as “normal” Every chance I get, I tell her Daddy is being mean and that is not nice just so she doesn’t grow up thinking that the way he talks to me is “normal” because it is not. He has some serious issues!
Hope everyone is doing well and that if you want to see some pictures online they are at walmart.com and the username is my email address and the password is password. Love to hear what is going on with you.
This summer will be busy for us. I have to finish up Daisy Badge work and then prepare for Brownie Badge work for Girl Scouts. “Bake Some Daisy’s into Brownies” J Also, lots of summer movies playing on greens, VBS for first 3 weeks of June. July vacation in Lido Key and then Beginning of August - Back to School.
Be safe and enjoy the summer and until my next posting……Love, Desperate Housewife, Carolyn
Is anyone really interested in an update on what has been going on with me? Well if anyone who “really” knows me it is the same old s***, just a different day. Ok, It’s June now and nothing has really ever changed. I still travel a lot for my job. I still am trying to be the best mom I know how to be and am in a loveless marriage. Go figure, like I said same crap just a different day. I’m sure if anyone reads this and doesn’t really know the whole story they will be shocked, but quite frankly, I am not. It’s occurred so much it’s not even funny. You try and try and it gets you no where, oh well. I am a desperate housewife!
So, do you want me to start from last Christmas or what?
Not much really happened during New Year’s. I miss my buddy Claudette and her kids celebrating this year as they moved to Wyoming and living it there. The best new years I have had recently is when Claudette brought her 3 children over and all we did was celebrate until the kids konked out until around 11pm and I brought in the new years by waking Claudette up to say “Happy New Year”. This past year I think was no different than any of the previous years as Keith had to work Jan 1 so it was no fun for us again this year.
I did bring in the new year on a kind of celebration. I purchased a new/ 07 with 7K miles on it.. Black Honda Accord. Yes, 3 days later I got in a wreck in it and smashed up the front of it. I think that car has been doomed from the beginning ever since as it is attracted to other things. Oh that was the 2nd wreck as in December, I also had a wreck with the Expedition by pressing the gas instead of the break as I was trying to back the car into the trailer to take it on a Christmas Daisy Troop parade. Go figure. I really have not had any luck with cars this past year.
As a Daisy troop, we earned our bowling badge and going to try to earn other badges during the summer. I will be hard with everyone’s schedule, but hoping with school out and things a little calmer with my job that it will be a little easier.
Also in January, I was suppose to be off to Denver to visit my friend Angela, but instead headed to Stuart area to bury Elenaor, Keith’s Grandfathers long term mate. They were so sweet together and they had so much fun together it was sad to see her go. She will be missed. She had a semi short battle with Cancer, only 8 months or so and it spread quickly.
In February, Katelyn and I were able to see Go Diego Go and she loved seeing it as Dora is always on an adventure in our house.
We also went to her school to have pancakes for breakfast for her and to see her in her play. In April she had an artshow where she got to show off all of her extraordinary work. Since it’s now summer, she has brought it all home to view and I hope to take pictures of it and post it online at an art website where her masterpieces can be purchased if desired.
I was also able to visit Chicago for work. I had never been there before and really only went shopping up/down a street near the river that runs through the city. I can say it is very eclectic and I do get a better feel for the city now. I only had a few hours of free time, so it was well spent to me.
Dr. Suess also celebrated his birthday during Feb and we were able to attend a birthday bash for him at the mall.
During the beginning of March my work allowed me to travel to NYC where Katelyn and my mom and Jenny tagged along and got to see the city. However during that weekend a storm erupted and they had a hard time getting home. At least they were able to make it to Ellis Island and we stayed near ground zero, so at least they were able to do a few touristy things while they were there. And the best of all it was all free to them!
In March, Lisa celebrated her upcoming nuptials with a Bridal Shower. She received several nice gifts and the shower was very lovely in Florida. Keith participated in a fight, but lost to his opponent in the last 10 seconds of his fight. Katelyn and I found as many easter egg hunts as we could find as she loved finding those eggs. I think they are still all over the house now. And my friend Angela also came into town from Denver and we were able to see her.
I also found out that on the last season of the Bachelor one of my co-workers step-daughters was one of the last 2 contestants. Now she is the Bachelorette, so I have been trying to follow that on tv as it comes on. She said that she has been having a blast with the show.
In April, Katelyn and I visited the Camp Expo. Let me tell you, prices of camps have sky rocketed to easily $150-$250/week. So if anyone is looking for a great gift idea for Katelyn, please be sure to get her a camp certificate. All or partial payments of camps would be nice. They have all kinds available and I wish that I could attend some of them with her as well. Some of the ones that I do want to send her too are Circus Camp, Gymnastic Camp, Girl Scout Camp, Computer Camp and even Cooking Camps. She will have a blast and next year is when she can really start making some choices for herself.
We also went to the Princess Breakfast at Chick Fil A. All the princesses were there and we stood in line for about 1 hour to see them. She got her picture taken with most of them and made a crown and then we got our food to go as it would have been even longer if we sat around and waited to be seated for breakfast.
I was also able to take a self defense airline training course that is usually given to flight attendants to fend off terrorists. I was lucky and was able to take it too since I fly so much. Look out terrorist, don’t mess with me!
Katelyn, Emily, Kelli and Myself all went to see Cinderella at the Center for Puppetry Arts. It was kind of similar to the classic Cinderella tale only they make the marionette puppets onsite and we were able to make a little puppet as well to take home. They also had a display there about Sabrina the teen age witches cat and how it was made and all it’s outfits as well as a display about the muppets. I didn’t know they were made around my year of birth too. They have been a huge success in the puppet world.
Katelyn also went on her first Girl Scout campout trip in April. Mommy got in trouble because I stayed with her in the evening as she didn’t make it by herself all night. She got scared. Another girl in her tent wimpered all night and 3 out of the 4 girls all toppled out of their twin size beds onto the floor at various times during the night. She had a great time being with the girls and went through a bridge up ceremony where she got “baked” into a brownie. She also earned her first try it brownie badge by making jewelry, planting flowers and making a pinwheel. I can’t wait for brownies, but I did learn that we have to sell Fall Product and Cookie Sales before we can earn any other additional money for our troop. I want to do lots of things, but I really dread fall product time and hope that others will volunteer for Cookie Sales as well. I am also now the recruiter for the county so Sept/October will be busy for me with Girl Scouts.
Lisa’s wedding was the last weekend in April. She had a beautiful ceremony in a Catholic Church and then a great reception at Jackaranda Golf Course (I could be spelling it wrong) She had 4 girls and Katelyn was a Flower Girl. She was so cute with 2 other little boys. I do have to go online and purchase some of the best ones to have in the house. She really had a great time and was the star of the show as she was the only kid at the reception. She was so very cute and the best photo that I wish turned out a little nicer was with her sitting on stage resting her feet and enjoying some cake and talking with Don on stage. She didn’t know what to think.
May has now come and gone and it has been another busy month for us as well. Katelyn got to have several celebrations at school such as Tooth Fairy Day, Ice Cream Social Day, Fairy Tale Day and Water Day. During Tooth Fairy day the tooth fairy came and visited them. Ice Cream day they got to make their own Sundae’s. Fairy Tale Day was the hardest one to do as we had to memorize a Fairy Tale and Dress up as one, so Katelyn was Hickory Dickery Dock. She said the saying to her class mates and I was able to find Gummy rats at the dollar store and she gave them out to all her classmates. She had a fun time. During the last week of school is when they celebrated and had Pre-K Graduation on Monday and then Wednesday was Water Day where they got to get wet at school and Friday was the last day of school party with Coke, Cupcakes, Chips and Dip and Veggies. Luckily all the same kids (6) will be in her Kindergarten class as well so she won’t be frightened away by not knowing anyone. Next year I will also have to save all of her work and hopefully get her into 1st Grade if she does well. I kind of dread it as I know it will be a battle and it’s just because the county’s cut off date is Sept 1 and her birthday is September 4.
I also got to take a business trip to Canada. We spent a day in Toronto, then off to Hamilton, then off to Halifax. We actually spent almost 8 hours flying standby on Air Canada between Toronoto and Halifax as it would have taken us about that long to fly confirmed and an all day trip just to get there on us. Let me tell you that if you need to fly intra Canada, Air Canada is a nice product. I should be saying that, but it is especially when you get first class! During our wait times in Toronto we ran into some Air Canada employees and they also advised to get some lobster in Halifax. They said it was the same price in the airport as it is at the fishing docks, but I don’t think that is true. I paid $10.99/lb at the airport and when I asked the airport guy where is the $5.99/lb lobster, he said that it is at the fishing docks. So needless to say I got ripped off but it was a nice big lobster. Before we ate them, Katelyn and I had a little lobster race and then off to the 2 pots they went. They did turn bright red and were very good to eat. Katelyn had a good time pounding their brains out of the shell. All I can say it was good therapy for me. When I returned I had to connect via Boston so a lot of people were looking at me because I didn’t get any Boston Lobster, instead I had Canadian Lobster and personally if there is a difference they might have been a little better because they seemed to be a little bigger.
Halifax was a nice place to go and I do hope to return there some day, but when I was there (in May) I had to wear my winter jacket and hope that I would not get too cold walking down the street. I will definitely have to return, but probably not until July/August time frame. I want to go back and see the graves where most of the Titanic victims were buried and also stroll along the wharf area to eat more seafood and to visit the memorial where SwissAir went down. You know I worked Pic calls for that flight… very sad!
On a happier note, Katleyn and I got to see Riverdance. She liked the foot tapping parts, but during the singing parts she was tired and looking forward to bed. It was a good show, but not sure if it is worth the high ticket price.
May has also been my month of Celebrity Sightings. I saw Barbara Walters going into the Four Seasons for lunch. Barbara Walters is a very smaller older lady and not what you would think she looked like on TV. Of course she had her entourage, but was able to move about the streets with ease. On the train at he airport I rode between concourses with Corey for Corey In The House. One of the lady’s that I late found out was on my flight was able to get his autograph. I also saw hottie Jason Lewis from Sex in the City. David (my boss) was able to sit next to him. At first I didn’t know who he was except that I knew he was on TV, but thought he might have been on the Bachelor or something like that, but later when I was able to go online, I was able to find out who he really was. Go to Google.com and click on Images and then type in Jason Lewis all of his pictures pop up. He is so hot! Maybe he was in town promoting the movie this weekend as I later saw him in Baggage Claim as well.
During the last weekend of May I had vacation time booked for Lost Wages, Las Vegas, NV. Well, if anyone wants to know. My Las Vegas vacation was a total flop! The first day we get in, we had the whole day ahead of us. We did get on the first flight out from Atlanta to Las Vegas and we checked into the Hilton Grand Vacation Club. The hotel was nice and was a typical Hilton Hotel. It was kind of small for us though as we were kind of cramped in the small quarters. We didn’t make it to the darkness as it doesn’t get dark until 8pm or so and Katelyn was so tired from getting up at 5:30 am to try to catch the flight. We headed to bed early in Vegas. Hence early to bed means early to rise. Well that is what we did. We did get up kind of early and had to stick around until about 9:30 am or so in order to go through our Time Share presentation ordeal. While we were at the presentation, we tried to get out of it so bad as we proceeded to tell the lady that we were going to get a divorce and it was really a waste of her time to try to sell us something as we were probably not going to get through the year together. She agreed and let us go. Finally we were free to have the rest of our “vacation”.
Well Day One (Sat) we walked all up and down the strip past Treasure Island and ate at one buffet at the Sahara – not good. The second day (Sun) we just hung around the cold pool as it was only about 72 degrees there. Needless to say when we were in the water it was mainly in the hot tub. Keith was pitching a fit most of the time so advised him to go home, but of course, he didn’t. I was going to hang around since I had already paid for it and couldn’t get out of it. We ended up eating at a kind of authentic Thai Chinese Food place and that was very good. We did that before we walked to the Stratosphere. I really wanted to go to Freemont street in the evening, but Katelyn got worn out from playing in the pool most of the day.
Monday was check out day and the flights were very full because most people were getting away for the long weekend. So I booked day three at Mandalay Bay only because it was rated as one of the best pools to be at. Caesars Palace was also rated as being one of the good pools, but I read remarks online that they were going under renovations so decided against that hotel especially since it was about $50 higher than Mandalay Bay as well.
Mandalay Bay was really nice and had a Casino below and a wave pool, hot tub and lazy river, but on the far end of the strip. It’s quite a long walk from Mandalay Bay to Treasure Island. On the last day that is what Katelyn and I did in the evening. I had to wake her up to see the pirate show at Treasure Island and then we walked back through the hotels to get to Bellagio where I woke her up to see the fountains. I assume she liked them as she watched them, but really didn’t talk about them the next day.
The next morning we got up kind of early and went down to the Mandalay Bay pool for about 1 hour. It was still kind of cool in the morning to go swimming in the wave pool, so we went to the hot tub for a while and about the last 15 minutes we went in the wave pool. She was loving it and wanted to stay longer, but kept telling her we had to get home to see Cletus. She was kind of grouchy from no sleep while on the plane and demanded her own stuff. She did real well as there was a TV on board the plane and I put it on Nickalodean for a while for her and then she had Animal Planet and then the map of where we were flying from Texas on. She also played the last hour of the flight with her VMAX. Finally got home almost close to 10pm EST to go to bed and then hopefully we will have a good day tomorrow.
She slept until almost Noon.
The only part that made the trip so miserable was Keith. He badgered me every chance he got to say something. He is so rude by telling me that I am fat in a swimsuit, doesn’t even want to be near us when walking down the strip, consistently tells me he wants a divorce and says he is going to fill out the paperwork, but never does and loses patience with everything that I say. So, I am not talking to him anymore. I really don’t need him anymore as this Las Vegas vacation was the last vacation I have planned with him. He tells me all the time he doesn’t want to be married, but refuses to fill out the paperwork. I tell him I will sign it, but not without my lawyers getting involved and of course he doesn’t want that. I think he thinks I am stupid or something. I don’t need to be around a person that makes me miserable especially when I was trying to plan something fun for us to do as a family. Oh well, Keith doesn’t want a family, he just wants someone who will look good for him, do things his way and not say something back to him. That’s not me and he should have realized that from Day one. I guess he never has known me or appreciated me for who I am. It’s was our Anniversary on May 28 and of course he forgot it (not even a saying of “Happy Anniversary”). Should I have expected more in my marriage? I didn’t expect much, but a simple Happy Anniversary and that wasn’t even remembered. I think I am chopped liver in Keith’s eyes. Why should I treat him with respect?
Also, we set up our pool in the back yard had vacation bible school work day and then went to White Water with Emily and later find out that our Air Conditioner fan has broken, so cost us $460 to get it fixed. Keith got upset with me again over the payment of the A/C, but if he would have read the bill he would have found out the truth, but he proceeds to tell me that I am a thief and the worst person in his life. I think he needs someone to seriously talk to him or to get on some kind of medicine because he is very screwed up in the head and I am nothing like what he keeps accusing me of. I have purchased a “For Sale By Owner” sign to place in the front yard of the house as if I hear any more attitude from him, I will put the house up for Sale and move. I don’t need the crap that I get from him, especially when he threatens me most of the time and tells me all the time that he contemplates Jail vs his happiness. Part of me wants him to think Jail as at least he would be out of my life and not make me miserable anymore. I honestly have never heard of anyone so messed up in the head as he is by thinking whatever stories are made up in his head are actually the truth and what I am. I think he needs some psychological help as I really believe he has seen too much disaster working in the crappy town he works in. He is really out of control and his job doesn’t provide any type of services to assist him with his issues or if they do he doesn’t take advantage of them because he thinks he is too macho for that. Oh well, his loss as I really don’t like the fact that Katelyn hears all his banter against me on a daily basis and I constantly toy with her coming from a broken home without her father vs hearing the sayings that she hears as “normal” Every chance I get, I tell her Daddy is being mean and that is not nice just so she doesn’t grow up thinking that the way he talks to me is “normal” because it is not. He has some serious issues!
Hope everyone is doing well and that if you want to see some pictures online they are at walmart.com and the username is my email address and the password is password. Love to hear what is going on with you.
This summer will be busy for us. I have to finish up Daisy Badge work and then prepare for Brownie Badge work for Girl Scouts. “Bake Some Daisy’s into Brownies” J Also, lots of summer movies playing on greens, VBS for first 3 weeks of June. July vacation in Lido Key and then Beginning of August - Back to School.
Be safe and enjoy the summer and until my next posting……Love, Desperate Housewife, Carolyn
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