Another year has come and gone....

can you believe it? This year has been fun, lots of new adventures in our lives. Lots of big steps! The year started off REALLY bad for me, I woke up at 12:10 on 1/1/08 and was sick with the stomach flu. YUCK! While I was sitting at our back door wrapped up in a blanket with all three dogs sitting with me, trying NOT to get sick, I made my new years resolution. I think this is the first time I have ever kept a resolution. But, I vowed to ALWAYS have Sprite and Chicken noodle soup in the house. And, I did! : )
In February, Gary got his new bike. He was so excited! So was I, but I didn't realize how much other stuff had to go on the bike to make it the way he wanted it! But, I think he got it there. I am so glad he got it, he really enjoys riding!
We finally agreed and bought a new car! I LOVE IT! I think Gary really likes it too, he hated to drive my old car. He says that I finally have a grown up car!
In September we celebrated our 1 year anniversary in Branson with Gary's parents. That was a lot of fun. We rented a condo and were down there for three days. Got to do lots of fun stuff. Not including Starvin Marvins!
The beginning of November we bought the Insulation company. WOW! Things are going well, and I think we learned a lot when we bought it. Gary is very happy to go to work now, but I think he works for a real jerk! LOL Especially since the first time I worked for him he fired me! Things are a little slow right now, but we think most of it is the holidays, building is slow here, but there are still new homes and commercial buildings going up. So, we keep our fingers crossed that he gets the winning bid.
The holidays were great, got to visit both families for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and celebrated Gary's dad's 70th birthday on Sunday.
Seems like all we did this year was buy things! Guess we will have to work on paying them all off next year! We would love to get the shop built at our house next year, so that Gary can bring the insulation rig home at night, instead of leaving it in town where he has the shop now. It would be more secure at our house. So, hopefully we can get that done, if not, there is always 2010!
New Years will be quiet around our house. Gary will be leaving on the 31st to go to Texas with some friends to ride motorcycles. And, I will ringing in the new year with our puppies! Everyone says Gary can't go, because I won't have anyone to kiss at midnight, but I will, I will have my three babies! If we make it to midnight! ; ) It gets to be 10 or so, and my eyes automatically close.
We are looking to 2009 to be a productive year. Hoping that the economic problems start to get solved, and the economy starts to pick up.
We hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season, and wish you all the best in 2009. Always remember the wonderful times of 2008 and look to 2009 as a new beginning. Love to all, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! Gary and I will be heading to my grandmothers house around noon today, then to my parents later tonight. We will be in Illinois on Saturday and heading back on Sunday!

If you are traveling, be safe and hope to see everyone soon!

Gary and Lisa

Holidays....

Most of you know we spent Thanksgiving day with my family here at home. Friday we traveled to Decatur to visit Gary's family. It was wonderful to see all his family. Kim out did herself on the food, it was wonderful. It was nice to sit and catch up with so many of his family members. Saturday we headed back to Litchfield and stayed with our friends Rod & Jamie, but we also got to visit with Brian and Lisa for a while. We attended the Litchfield girls basketball game and got to see Micki and her family while we were there.
Sunday Gary raced in the Toys for Tots race. IT WAS COLD! And muddy! I told Gary that was the worst race that I have ever been too. I don't think my feet have thawed out yet! But, Gary and his partner got first in their class! So, that was pretty cool.
The drive home took us over 7 HOURS!!!!! Interstate I-70 was bumper to bumper from St. Louis until we got off in Kingdom City. I thought I was going to climb the walls of the car. Ryan was about as irritated as I was, and bless Gary's heart, he sat there and listened to me bitch and whine the whole way and never once got mad. See why I love him so! He is such a good counter balance to me. The things that drive me crazy, really don't bother him. And the things that drive him crazy usually drive me crazy as well! LOL
Gary was back to work on Monday, and I started decorating for Christmas. I have decided that decorating for Christmas is a pain in the butt. I love Christmas, but getting all that crap out that we store all year long, just to decorate with for a few weeks!?!?! Anyway, the tree is up, the house is decorated, all I have left is putting the lights up outside. I am hoping that Gary will do that. :)
The insulation company is doing well, Gary has several jobs lined up and the phone is ringing more. Pray that it continues! I love it that Gary now enjoys going to work. I know he still has a lot on his mind, but he is doing very well with it. I knew he would, he is really good with people, and above all else, he is honest. He even told one customer that they really didn't need any more insulation in their attic, and the guy had him put more in anyway. Then told Gary that he would have him back in a couple years to add more!
I don't know what our plans are for Christmas yet. Hopefully not spending 7 HOURS on the interstate! But hopefully we will get to visit lots of family! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, I know we did!

Love to all,
Gary and Lisa

P.S. Did I mention that we were on the interstate for 7 HOURS!!!!

I got fired!

The first offical week of owning the insulation company is over. Today Gary and I went to insulate an attic, and HE FIRED ME! Can you believe that? How can you fire someone that you are not even paying to work?!?! LOL Guess I don't have to worry about giving up my weekends to work with him! Those bales of insulation are HEAVY!! And it is dusty and dirty. Yuck! And, while we were there, it was sprinkling and spitting snow...so I guess getting fired was a blessing for me! :-)
Things are going REALLY well so far with the company. Since I work in real estate, I think that will help with some of the jobs. In face an old family friend was in my office on Friday, I told him about the company, and Gary is going to shoot an attic for him on Monday. I think I should get at least 25% of the profit from the job. I gotta make money some how!
We have been working on flyers and bus. cards and such all week. He has been getting several calls a day to place bids, so it is looking very good for us. The market is still slow, new construction has pretty much come to a stand still in this area, but is starting to pick back up. He will keep busy with attics for a while, especially with winter so close.
I am so proud of him. And, I can tell that he is enjoying reaping the rewards of his labor. Right now it feels like we are on the go from the time we get up until the time we go to bed, but hopefully we will soon be caught up on paperwork and get use to the extra "work" owning your own company is. Then things will settle down and feel normal.
Hope all are well! And hope to see most of you over Thanksgiving!

So far, so good!

Tomorrow is Gary's first official day of owning the insulation company, and I think he has a pretty full week. He is going to Columbia to add some insulation to one of his friends attics. Columbia is about a 2 hour drive, and normally he won't be working that far from home, but he can pick up the insulation in Columbia and not have to have it delivered. Then he has a fiberglass job that will take him a day to so.... so, at least we will already have money coming in!!! YEAH!!!! And, I know he has some other contracts but I don't know what they are. I am trying to not be "nosey". But, it is REALLY hard! Hopefully as time goes on, we will both relax! Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know what was going on with the company!

SURPRISE!!!!

Some of you already know, but for those of you who don't...... Gary is buying the insulation company! I am very proud, excited, nervous..... but I know that he will be very successful with it! I know it is going to be lots of hard work, long hours, lots of stress, and I won't even be the one doing the labor! I am so proud of him, and I know he is proud as well. We had talked about it before, but nothing serious, then he took me to lunch on Tuesday and said that he wanted to do it! Of course, as soon as he told me, I had a million questions, but I REALLY tried to not let them all fly. He gets ticked at me when I ask to many questions!
Hope all are doing well, and hope to see everyone soon!!!

Blah, blah, blah!

Since I haven't posted in a while, I figured I better do so. Not a lot of excitement going on right now around our house. Gary has two races left for the year; one is this weekend, but we will not be going to it.
We have successfully re-financed our house in the past month. And, are hoping to be able to build a garage for Gary. He needs someplace to go tinker with his toys. Especially since the grass has pretty much quit growing, so he doesn't have to mow every other day. And, we could use some extra storage. I don't think we will start the garage until next spring, but it is something to look forward to.
Right now our plans for Thanksgiving are a little up in the air. At this point in time, I believe we will be in Missouri on Thanksgiving, and heading to Illinois on Friday. We will be in Decatur Friday night to Saturday mid-afternoon. We will them be traveling to Litchfield, and Gary will be racing in the Toys for Tots race on Sunday.
And, Christmas, I have no idea. I haven't even began shopping for Christmas, I feel like I am REALLY behind since I am normally almost finished shopping by now. Oh well.....
Other than that, nothing new. The dogs are doing good, except Jasmin found some pumpkin seeds somewhere in our neighborhood and decided to eat them. And, she didn't digest them, they came up in the living room. But she seems fine now. Dewy and Piglet are still rotten, and enjoy annoying each other as much as possible.
I will try harder to keep up with this blog, sometimes I feel like I don't have time to breath let alone update this, but I promise I will try! Hope you are all doing well and hope to see everyone soon!
Oh, and Fran if you are reading this, I will have your glow box with me when we come up for Thanksgiving. Hopefully we will see you, if not I will leave it with Mom.

Vacation Pics

Okay, here are some more pics from our vacation. I think these were all taken at Silver Dollar City!

Branson Day 2

Hello all! We are half way done with our second day here in Branson. We have been having LOTS of fun. When we got into town on Sunday, we found our condo and waited for Gary's parents to get into town. Went out to dinner to "Starvin Marvin's" which was really bad! So, Dad is no longer allowed to pick out the places that we eat! LOL Yesterday we went to the IMAX and saw Deep Sea. Dad, Mom and I all enjoyed it, Gary fell asleep! Then, we went to the Titanic, which was really cool! If you are ever in Branson, it is well worth the money to see. We went down to the Landing and walked around, and I found a massage chair that I really need. We didn't have enought time for dinner before going to see Shoji, so we had pie for dinner. Again, Dads choice!

This morning, Gary and I saw a cute little ground hog in the parking lot below our condo, so I named him Harry.

Today, we went to the iHop for breakfast/lunch, which was an experience. While we were there, a guy was promoting his new music show so he was singing Dean Martin along with his boom box. Then Mom and I went to a scrapbooking store and some quilting stores. Dad and Gary went to see 57th Heaven where they had a whole bunch of vehicles from 1957. They really enjoyed it. Tonight we are going to eat, then to the Jim Stafford show. We will be leaving the condo around 10 in the morning, and heading to Silver Dollar City. Then home! We are having a wonderful time, I will post more pics later! Hope all are well.

Gary & Lisa

All Birthday Partied out!

I have attended 3 birthday parties in the past week! I am all partied out! Last Sunday we attended my niece Abbie and Maddie's birthday party. Abbie turned 3 on Aug. 12 and Maddie turned 1 on Aug. 20th. SO, Amie- their mom- decided to combine the party, which went over very well.
Then, this past Saturday, Gary and I went to Decatur, IL. to his grandma's birthday party. It was really great to see everyone! We got to see Matt and Addison- Kristi's (Gary's cousin) kiddos that she adopted from Guatemala. They are absolutely adorable! I don't know how Kristi keeps up with the two of them, they are very busy! And, we also got to see Morgan- Gary's Cousin Mike's little girl. She is a doll baby. It was great seeing everyone, we hope to start making more trips up to Illinois.
Then, Sunday, I attended my other "niece's" birthday party in Springfield, MO. Kaelyn is my best friend Tara's baby girl. She turned 1 on Sunday. For only having a 30 minute nap all day long, she was in a very good mood.
So, I spent over 13 hrs in the car this past weekend. Being back at work is a blessing just because I can stand up and walk around when I want to!
Next weekend is the last "big" weekend of the year here at the lake, Labor Day weekend! And, I am planning on spending it at HOME! Actually, I will be painting the living room. I know how to have a good time. Gary always says that I am loads of fun! LOL
Anyway, then in a few weeks, we will be taking our vacation!!! I am so ready! We have rented a condo in Branson, MO for a couple of nights, and Gary's parents are going to be coming down with us for a few days. I am so excited!!!! I will be sure to take my camera and post more pics of our vacation.

Hope all are well.

He sure is brave!

I honestly have to say that Gary is the bravest person I know. Why do I think this? Because he is teaching me to play golf! So, he must be brave.
We have been going to the driving range a couple of times a week, and I have gotten to where I hit almost every ball I swing at. And, Gary told me that I no longer look like I am swinging a baseball bat!
SO, after a couple of weeks of going to the driving range and "practicing" hitting a golf ball, Gary decided that it was time to take me golfing. Yesterday we went out to a local golf course around 4:30 to miss most of the traffic. Well..... I think I need to start sleeping at the driving range. I SUCK!!!!! At least I am a big enough person to admit it, but I really suck at golf.
Gary was laughing at me because I was SUPER- DUPER impressed with myself that I hit a ball over the water and didn't hit it into the water. As the day went on, I think I was getting better, but I still suck!
So, if anyone has any "pointers" for me on how to become a better golfer, please share. Gary says that I am improving.... glad he thinks so!

We FINALLY did it...

We finally agreed on and bought a new vehicle. We got a 2008 Dodge Nitro SLT 4x4... and I LOVE it! I know I am really going to miss my little car, but our next door neighbor is buying it, so he told me if I ever wanted to drive it, I could. I am so spoiled!

I told Gary that this is the first vehicle I have owned that has not been black or white, and it is the first one to have 4 doors. He said he was glad that his little girl is "growing up". So, I stuck my tongue out at him. ; )

Here is a picture of the new car... hope all are well!

What the heck?

They are moving a house in across the street from us. A HOUSE! They are MOVING a house! Not a trailer, not a double wide, a HOUSE... Now, some of you might have seen this done before or on tv, but let me tell you, it is the strangest thing in the world to look out your front window and see a house sitting up on a trailer being moved.
They actually started moving the house last week. It took them 4 hours to move it 17 miles. Then it sat on our gravel road from Thursday morning until Monday morning. What a pain in the butt! So, they moved it down to the lot that they are putting it on on Monday... but it is still sitting in the middle of the road. People are having to drive in part of our yard in order to get around it.... needless to say Gary and I are not happy about that. Here are a few pics of the house once they got it moved across the street. The guy moving it says they have to turn it 180* to put it on the foundation....what the??? Glad I don't have his job.

Here is what we look at when we walk out of our front door...


Here is a little closer pic, see how UGLY the house is?
And, here is the view from the road, our property is on the left side of the pic...
There is just enough room for about 3/4 of a car to pass the house without getting into our grass. But, you can see our neighbors cute little wiener dogs.
So, hopefully when I get home tonight there will no longer be a house in the middle of the road.

Rolling, rolling, rolling

Haven't posted anything in a while, not a lot going on right now. Here are a few pics Ryan took of a storm that went over a couple of weeks ago. There were micro burst tornado activity with this storm, we were in the front yard and watched the clouds rolling.



And here is a cool pic he got of a hummingbird at one of our 6 feeders. Gary is obsessed with the birds this year. 6 hummingbird feeders, 3 finch feeders, and a suit block. We have birds EVERYWHERE!!!
We have been doing LOTS of yard work, I put in 11 box woods this past weekend around the house, and hope to get the other side done this weekend. We have also been dropping lots of trees in the "woods" next to our house. Gary wants to get it thinned out enough to plant grass and mow.... I don't think we need to cut all those trees down, but it does look nice all thinned out.

Our garden and tomato plants are going NUTS! But, we only have 1 red tomato and 1 zucchini ready to be picked. All the rain this spring is really messing with the tomato plants, but hopefully they will continue to ripen. I will try to post again soon.

And the storm moves on...

We had some pretty scary weather last night, but nothing bad happened. Our phones started ringing about 12:30, and there were a couple of tornado's spotted around the lake. So, we loaded up the dogs and went to my parents house. We finally got home about 2:30 this morning.

Things are great here, the flowers are blooming, the grass is growing- like crazy! I think Gary mows 2 or 3 times a week!

He has also been racing, here are a few pics from one of the races.


Here he is sitting on the starting line,


And, they are OFF!!!


Hope all are well.

I've been slacking!

Well, it has been a while since I last posted. Not a lot has been changing. Gary has started his races. We have been busy around the house, cleaning up the woods and burning, washing decks and getting ready to stain them.
We did have a bad week last week. Wednesday night we discovered that half of Ryan's Adderall were missing. I had the script filled on Tuesday, then, all of our quarters out of our change jars were also missing. There are only a few people who know where we keep the key to the house and that would feel safe enough walking into our house with the dogs in there, so we knew who had taken them. Needless to say, the neighbor girl who house/dog sits when we are gone was put in cuffs and into the back of the cop car. It was a long, stressfull night, but hopefully it will all be straightened out soon.
Still car shopping, we sold the van, so now we just have to find the vehicle we want, don't know if we will ever agree on one though.
We are still hoping to get up to Illinois soon, but it seems like every weekend that we might be able to go, something comes up.
Ryan will be out of school next Tuesday, I turn 29 on Monday! Boy, next year will be tough! The dogs are doing great, constant entertainment.
Hope all are well, and hope to see you all soon.

Row Row Row your boat...

Holy moly! We have been getting LOTS of rain lately, and more is on the way Wednesday, Thursday and Friday! So, Gary and I have started to build an arc! Just kidding. But, Ryan and I did walk down to the creek the other day to see if the water fall was still flowing, and it is! I took my shoes and socks off, crossed the creek and had to climb up the hill to see the top of the fall. It is so pretty!
You don't get the full effect of the fall, but it is probably 15-18 feet from where the water comes out of the rock to the creek below.

Gary has a new love in his life...

He just bought a brand new 08 KTM 300 motorcycle. Rode it for an hour and it already has a dent in the pipe! Can you believe it? That is like buying a new car and running into a pole before you even get it home!!! He is just like a little kid with his new toy. He picked it up last weekend while Ryan and I were in Springfield, I was shocked that it wasn't sitting in our living room when we got home!




Other than the new bike, not a lot going on. We will be making a very quick trip to Litchfield tomorrow to deliver Gary's old bike to the guy who is buying it. But, we will pretty much have to just get there and turn right around and come home.

We are hoping to make a trip to Illinois to visit everyone soon. But, we are getting ready to start car shopping also, so our weekends will kinda be tied up until we get a new vehicle. Plus Gary's races have started so every other weekend we are off to the races. CRAZY! It seems just like yesterday was the end of his races and they are starting up already again!

It's your BIRTHDAY, Happy Happy Birthday!

Today is Gary's 44th birthday! I told him this morning that he is better than 2 22 yr. olds anyday! So, if you read this, give him a call to wish him a Happy Birthday!

I've been tagged!

I have been tagged by Kristy! Kristy is now part of my family. She is Gary's cousin, and I think she is truly one of the strongest women I have ever met, she is such a sweet and caring person, I am very glad that she is a part of my life.

The rules are:

1. link the person who sent this and leave a comment on their blog so their readers can visit yours
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share 7 strange/weird facts about yourself
4. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and link their blog
5. Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Humm, 7 strange/weird facts about me? This is going to be kinda hard!

1. I am about 70% deaf in my left ear. One of the interior bones in my ear never developed correctly when I was a baby.

2. I hate to be in a car. I am getting better at this, since I have been with Gary and we take road trips so much, but I could literally climb the walls when I am cooped up for very long in a car.

3. When riding in a car, as the passenger, I am always applying the breaks or trying to hit the gas to speed up. I really think I need those petals installed on the passenger side of the car!

4. When I start cleaning, I have a hard time stopping. It just seems like one thing leads to another. I start dusting the furniture, then I see the trim and tops of the doors, and then I need to wipe the doors down, and then the door handles need to be cleaned and sanitized, and while I am sanitizing the door handles, I might as well hit the light switches on the walls and the lamps. Oh, the light bulbs are kinds dusty, so I better wipe those off, and the light fixtures are a little dusty, so I better put them in the sink and wash them, then the sink is yucky so I better clean it before I put something else in it, but when I open the cabinet to get the sink cleaner out, the cabinet is all dirty and everything is just shoved in there, so I better straighten that out, and on and on and on. But, I never finish dusting!

5. I have a tendency to go on and on about things. See #4 for an example!

6. I have a very hard time asking other people for help. I think this comes from my first marriage and living on my own, in my mind, if I can't do it, then it doesn't need to be done. Gary gets kinda mad at me sometimes over things things that I "don't need help with", but he is really happy that I "don't need help" when it is time to put the Christmas lights on the house. I don't even ask him, I just climb up there and do it.

7. I don't think this is weird or strange, but some people do. My husband it 15 years older than I. But, he acts about 10 years younger so I guess it all just about evens out! And, he is my very best friend!


I am tagging.

Steve

And the following are MySpace or Facebook


Ben
Meghan
Toree
Anna
Julie

Not much going on...

Not a whole lot going on here, been a pretty quiet year so far. Ryan is doing much better in school, and Gary and I are just working and playing as much as we can. I think our friends Brian and Lisa from Illinois are coming down this weekend. And, Tara might be coming up and bringing the baby. I haven't seen her since before Christmas so I am sure she has grown a ton!!!
Gary and I are starting to plan our trip to Colorado for this year. I can't wait to get back there, it is so pretty. But, I don't think we will be going over our anniversary. We would like to take Ryan with us this time, and I know Gary wants to take his bike to ride in the mountains. I think some of his other friends will also be going to ride. We think Ryan will get a real kick out of the mountains, and he is excited to go.
Hope all are well!