The Good & the Bad...

A few updates for those keeping up with the Rock Man's progress.

The Good: He is a little bit better each day. (and when I say little, I am looking for the slightest signs & calling it progress!) Today he is still very wobbly on his back legs, BUT he is able to walk on the wood floors & sometimes without falling!! And, he hiked his leg today for the first time and didn't fall over! Other than that, he is about the same....

The Bad: I did have to help him up twice today & as a result, I have thrown my back out again!!! What is that saying? When it rains.... :-)
So, now we are both down for the count!

However, these little setbacks have made me count my blessings!! I have had a tremendous amount of support/emails/phone calls from friends and family. And once again have to give a shout out to my awesome neighbors!! Rocky fell this afternoon & my back was already out & Kenya came right over to help us out! Luckily, Kevin has been in town too & helping us out (he's about to cook dinner ~ yum!) If we hadn't known each other for 20+ years already, I would say all this might send him running for the hills! ha!

She said/he said food review

Ok - we went to Chun's Mongolian Grill tonight that just opened fairly recently.

Lori says: It sure wasn't what I expected! I guess I thought it would be a "nicer" place to eat. It was more like a fast food type atmosphere. I did like the grill and watching them make the food. However, I could've done without looking at raw meat being thrown on top of the bowl of goodies I had mixed up. I give it a fair rating ~ not anything to brag about and I doubt I get a craving for it. So ~ I guess TaMolly's stays as my no. 1 local pick! :-)

Kevin says: Not really a mongolian grill. The concept was the same as other mongolian bbq's, but I would have liked to have had better explanations as to the marination of the meats. Also, instead of just naming the sauce options, they should describe what goes into the sauces. These 2 things would have made it easier to make better taste selections.

My Rock

These are some of my favorite pictures of Rocky! Had to share b/c so many of you have sent us well wishes, advice and kind words over the past few days. Rocky has had a rough week ~ that is for sure! (His mom & dad have too!) It is not fun seeing your beloved pet of 9 years suffering!

We still have to see what happens over next few days, but today he is able to get up on his own!! (A major improvement ~ especially since he is back at home with me & I can't lift him!!) He is also walking on his own ~ just VERY wobbly like he is really drunk! His hips do decide to give out on him occasionally, but he gets back up. His spirit & attitude are great ~ not one grumble with all the pain he is in! (He is much better than me!)

Keep sending him good doggie thoughts b/c he is my security blanket & I'm not ready to say good-bye just yet!

Mom's new addition

I think she is just gorgeous! She is a champagne color. I don't think it really shows well in the photos & has a white blaze on her nose. They got her last weekend but just picked her up today. She is from a really good trainer that all their horse show friends get their horses from. AND she is due to have a colt in March!!!! How exciting is that!! This is a second for us, but a first for Autumn (who will be in heaven!!). This is supposed to be a horse that anyone can ride & should make a great horse show horse for Autumn one day! How lucky is Autumn! All kids dream of having a horse, and this is her third one! ha!

Storm Chasers

Kevin (what do you know ~ he has a name! LOL!) & I have accidently been chasing tornados and thunderstorms in AR for the past two days. We tried to take his nephews last night to the Cave City football game. One of our high school classmates is coaching the Cave City HS team in their first year of having a football team. Apparently, we were driving straight into a tornado but kept on going! Needless to say, just as we got there, they were cancelling the game and everyone was clearing out to head for cover!!! So, we turned around and tried to book it out of tornado range! The kids and I decided the car ride was fun, and it wasn't a total loss!

Once we made it out of the bad weather zone and safely back home, we went bowling!! Haven't done that in years! We had a blast & I think I broke a 100 for the first time ever (luck only! ha!) Kevin couldn't handle losing to a girl, so in the last two frames he got strikes and came back to beat me by 10 points. (or maybe I let him win!) ha!

Earlier today we chased storm #2 when we headed to our old hometown of Newport. We stopped in at Mom & Dad's ~ where they informed us a bad storm was due any minute. Did that stop us from heading out on the 4-wheeler? NO! Did it encourage us to stay close to home even? NO! Luckily, we missed the storm while out goofing off on the 4-wheeler but just barely!! The sky fell out right after we parked it in the garage. Good stuff! :-) I don't know if I could tell you the best part of the weekend so far, but I will say that riding the 4-wheeler made me feel like a kid again & I never had a care in the world!

Entertainment

This is my neighbor, George. He came over about a month ago and asked to use the computer to print off some music sheets & teach himself the guitar. He was back three hours later and played one of the songs already. I was impressed!! He came over tonight & entertained us all with the latest songs he's taught himself ~ black bird, Stairway to Heaven & Purple Haze.

Fun Questionaire

This is one of those many girl quiz emails that goes around. Only this time I thought it might be a neat blog entry ~ kind of like getting tagged. Anyway ~ here goes:

1. FIRST NAME? Lori
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Not that I know of...
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? last night (got upset about my HS friend's Mom who is still in the hospital)
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? sometimes
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? turkey (smoked or oven roasted!)
6. KIDS? only fur kids
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU ? Yes! :-)
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? yes
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Daily!!!
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Absolutely not!
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Captain Crunch or Frosted Flakes ~ not the adult stuff, the Tony the tiger kind ~ ha
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? no
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? yes
15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Rocky Road
16. SHOE SIZE? 8 1/2
17. RED OR PINK? Red
18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR SELF? my freckles ~ I would love to have my cousin Kristen's complexion
19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Pa Chilcutt
20. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? khaki pants/no shoes
21. LAST THING YOU ATE? sweet & salty trail mix
22. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Nala purring
23. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? green
24. FAVORITE SMELL? I have lots ~ puppy breath, someone grilling/smoking meat, freshly cut grass, and the feed store (reminds me of the country life!)
25. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Sandy
26. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? their smile/laugh
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Dr. Pepper
28. FAVORITE SPORT? Football
29. EYE COLOR? hazel
30. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? yes!
31. FAVORITE FOOD? Italian
32. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? happy ending!!
33. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIE THEATRE? How to Eat Fried Worms (took some kids from school)
34. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU Wearing? burnt orange
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Can I have both please? :)
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? anything with chocolate ~ love the fudge brownie with ice cream
38. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Predator by Patricia Cornwell
39. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Jax & Simba sleeping
40. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Nothing but I did tivo Boston Legal!!
41. FAVORITE SOUNDS? laughter/kids having fun/thunderstorms
42. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles
43. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Australia
44. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Kennett, Missouri
45. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Christie

Classroom classic

Today I had a little girl try to slip a piece of paper in the boy's seat beside her that said "kick me please". FUNNY! (of course I didn't laugh out loud - just in my head! ha) He was standing up helping someone with their work, and she had tape on it and everything - she is a character! I caught her in the act and she tried to throw it away. It's nice to see some "innocent" trouble! LOL! So, I wasn't too hard on her. Kinda reminded me of back in the day when we would pass notes that said, "Will you go with me? check yes, no or maybe" Ahhh...life was so simple then! :-)

Football, cheerleading & the County Fair

I had the BEST weekend! Friday night, me, my friend, and Taylar went to the local high school football game. Our team lost, but it was still fun. I love HS games ~ takes me back in time! Saturday my friend and I had a full day!! That morning we went to watch my cousin, Kayce cheer for the 4th grade football team. She did great!! Then, we cruised through some local flea markets, grabbed lunch, and watched the Razorbacks. (or rather he watched the game, and I snuck in a nap! ha!) That night we headed to the White Co. Fair to take his nephews out for a night of fun and met up with my parents at the rodeo. It was a great night. The kids rode rides & we all watched the demolition derby and rodeo. (And oh the junk food!!!) After the rodeo, the boys had to ride the mechanical bull ~ several times!







And once again, Monday comes too soon.....

YUMMY!!

Breakfast this morning compliments of my "special friend"! Oh my ~ can he cook!!! I am gettin' spoiled (but hopefully not fat! ha!) He's making homemade pizza right now ~ the crust and everything!! Apparently, I am the only house in America with no rolling pin in their kitchen. Since we all know I don't cook, you can guess that my kitchen is very ill equipped for a real cook! I see a shopping trip in the near future...as long as I don't have to use any of it myself! :-)

More on the weekend later.......

Healing or just spoiled???

My pitiful boy!!

Opossum Hunter

Jax has caught & killed so many opossums since we moved here 2 years ago, that I have officially lost count!! Yesterday morning, I went out on the deck to find yet another one!! GROSS! That is not what you want to find or smell first thing in the morning! I had open house at school that night, so the boys were outside having a good 'ole time and giving all the wildlife a run for its money. When I got home, Taylar ~ my neighbor ~ fed the boys for me. She didn't see the opossum that she walked right past!! yikes!

I couldn't deal with picking up a nasty opossum first thing in the morning, so I covered it and hoped they would leave it alone (which they usually do once the "chase" is over). Apparently they didn't & tossed the nasty thing around all day! NO puppy dog kisses for me ~ thank you very much! yuck!! Lucky for me, my "friend" got to my house before me (& was surprising me with another yummy home cooked meal) & he took care of nasty opossum for me. (And no, he didn't cook it! ha!)

Jax has paid the price this time though. He has hurt his back leg ~ no doubt from jumping to the top of the 6 foot fence to catch the nasty opossum!! So ~ he is laid up & hopping around. Maybe I'm opossum free for few days! :)

Teacher days

You never know what the day will bring when you are a teacher! Honestly, it is one reason why I like my job so much though - all days are different! No getting bored at this! ha!

One of my boys got suspended today! ALREADY! It's the 3rd week! This is another first for me! Buzzing the office to retrieve a child is something I haven't done in years!! I've had my share of "troubled" children & challenging kids, but we've always managed to keep our problems in the classroom. I guess the office will have my room on speed dial this year! Two of my little boys who have given me so much grief exchanged words today and one of them threatened to kill the other one ~ a big no, no! So, he is suspended for two days or until his mom meets with the principal. I wonder what the classroom atmosphere will be like tomorrow!!

In better news, I did have one of my best open houses ever tonight! I had lots of parents show up ~ not the ones you really need to though! :-) I have alot of sweet girls in my class. Unfortunately, they don't get the attention they deserve b/c of the "challenging" boys.

Anyway ~ I'm off to rest for whatever tomorrow brings! :-)

Around the pond...

Aren't these guys cool? I found them all over the plants in my pond! Anyone know what they are??? I hope they aren't killing my plants, b/c they are really cool looking!

I have had a pond for many years now, and this is the first time one of my pond plants bloomed! I was so excited! And it's pretty! :)

Enjoy b/c fall is coming and all the plants will be brown and ugly soon! (At least we aren't in 100 degree weather anymore!!!)

Catching Up

It's been a few days, but I've taken a few days off from life to re-energize! I have been too stressed lately between "life" and work stress. So, I escaped and am now focused again! I took a "mental health" day on Friday ~ not a good sign this early in the year, but may be what I have to do to survive this school year!!!

Thursday night, I met my Mom for dinner to celebrate her birthday. With the accident in Newport still heavy on our minds, I appreciated my time with Mom even more! The funerals for two of the ladies were the next day & my friend's mom was having surgery just that night. Prayers are still needed! The two women still in the hospital in Memphis need all the prayers they can get!! From what I understand, Ms. Pat has broken her back in 9 places and Ms. Carol has problems with her heart. Keep them in your thoughts!

I saw my "special friend" later Thursday night and spent the day goofing off with him all day Friday ~ it sure beat being at work! ha! We found the neatest place to eat lunch Friday. My cheeseburger was only $1.10!! Crazy!! It was like going back in time & the food was yummy!

Speaking of food, Friday night I headed home to take Tanner to the Fair. We had funnel cakes, sno cones, nachos, all the great fair food! We went to the rodeo and rode a few rides ~ he found girl for a bit to ride the rides with him and I got dumped! ha! But we went to the rodeo later to watch one of his friends ride barrels. Barrel racing and bull riding are my favorites at the rodeo!

Hometown News

I don't even know what to say except that this has weighed on me all day! These were outstanding women!! Please keep these families in your prayers!!


Truck Crashes into Restaurant, Killing Two
Wednesday September 06, 2006 8:04pm Posted By: Amanda Manatt

___ KATV Interact ___ • Signup for eNews Alerts • Whats Your Opinion? • Printable Version • E-Mail This Story
Newport - Two women are killed and five others injured when a truck crosses the center line and hits a fast-food restaurant in Newport. Current and former school teachers there were gathered at the Hardee's restaurant for their weekly night out together. The fatal accident happened about 7:00 Tuesday night on Arkansas Highway 367. Police say the truck was traveling southbound when it crossed the center line and the northbound lanes before crashing into the side of the building. Many in the small community of Newport are still in shock. This group of teachers had been getting together on Tuesday nights for years. Police tape surrounds the Newport Hardee's Wednesday, along with a wreath set up in memory of Beverly Tapp, who had just retired after 30 years of teaching and Jane Wright, a long-time secretary at Newport Schools. Both died of their injuries. Two other victims remain in serious condition.Jennifer Keedy had known the women for 30 years.(Jennifer Keedy, Friend) "I normally was with them and my daughter-in-law and grandson would be with them. Last night I wasn't feeling well, so I didn't come. I don't know why me."The driver, 44-year-old Gary W. Nicholson, had been out on probation for unrelated charges. He remains in police custody on DWI and drug charges and refusing a chemical test. Other charges are expected to be made later this week.

Quote

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring... all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

Labor Day Weekend

My weekend didn't really start until Saturday afternoon (had to go into work for a bit on Sat. mornin' and I'm still not caught up!! oh well!)

Saturday afternoon my "friend" from last week came to town & we went to the Farmers Market downtown. I love walking around downtown! We got some veggies and stuff for dinner that night and stopped & had an awesome mocha cheesecake from one of the vendors. Then we headed to the Clinton Library. Yes, I know I should've probably already visited being a teacher and living here, but I hadn't. Museums and history aren't really my thing. But, it was pretty neat. Now I can say I went~ha! Now here's where my "friend" earned some major points with me ~ we went to the meat market to get our steaks for dinner & while he was getting them, he got my dogs some steak bones!!! Hello?!? Major points! :) ha! Anyway ~ we (or rather he) grilled and we watched the Razorback game.

Nothing too major on Sunday except my "friend" cooked my favorite dinner for me! I was impressed! You all know how I hate to cook, so this is working out nicely! ha!

Happy Birthday Mom!!

My mom is 51 today ~ she doesn't look it!! I hope I look that young when I'm her age! I have much to be thankful for with my Mom & I don't know that I've ever told her. So - this is for you Mom!

Thank you for....
*going to all my games in HS to watch me dance (even if it was raining). I always knew you were there to support me!
*standing behind me in my divorce and being there to listen if I needed you!
*going to Hot Springs every year for my birthday & being a friend & a Mom at the same time!
*calling me to see how things are going!!
*sharing your love of critters with me ~ I couldn't live without my critters!!
*listening to me cry sometimes & giving me advice to help "mend the pain".
*being the awesome Mom & Grandma that you are!

Love you lots-