Happy 25th Anniversary.......i guess......

Posted by: cheryl

Yes, I know he spelled it wrong, but I don't care. Ritzy took the time out of his very busy day to write this on his dry erase board in his office, take the picture and send it to me. To me, that means a lot!!!!!
He also informed me of a more accurate date of his leaving. Was later than he expected. I don't like it, but what are ya gonna do. Is this deployment ever gonna be over??????
I have already decided that I am not going to church tonite. I asked the kids if they would like to go out and eat. Mamma's buyin........I do not want to spend the evening alone!!!!
I better find something to do around here today or it's gonna be a bad day ;-)
My "maid" is washing the dishes right now, when it finishes I will put the dishes away.... already finished the laundry........
Put a card in the mail for Ritzy......
I sat outside for a little while this afternoon. Wasn't too bad with the breeze blowing and the umbrella up on the patio table. Cut some low limbs off the pecan tree, oiled the windmill so it would not squeak. I'm sure the neighbor appreciates that ;-) especially at night.......
Our dinner at Cracker Barrel was good, I had their rib eye steak, baked potato and salad. Also, I enjoyed the company of the kids. (i guess they really aren't kids anymore at ages 24 & 22 are they?) Don't care.....they will always be my "kids"...
Sure missed Ritzy though ;-(
I sure am glad this is the last anniversary we will be spending apart. I think 3 is enough for anyone......
I still have to write Ritzy that email so I'm outta here for now..................

Hurry Up & Wait....

Posted by: cheryl

I feel like that is what I am doing. I go about my daily life, but all the while waiting on Ritzy's deployment to come to an end. Talked to him today, he is just as ready as I am for this to be over also.

Ran my errands, went to a neighbors and bought all the tomatoes they had for sale. I really miss that garden this year. While at walmart I was looking at the "fresh" okra and green beans. They did not look very good so I did not buy any. I need to drive around here and see if anyone else is selling anything out of their garden.

My dad usually puts in a huge garden, but even he did not plant anything this year. I think I have said this before, but ever since I was a child, this is the first year that my dad has not planted a garden. Part of the reason being: all the wet weather we had this spring made it pretty difficult to plant and also dad has just been really busy. ( even tho he is supposed to be retired)
Went to the sister's to play with the kids and on the way down there I noticed they were with their dad in the hayfield watching my dad and brother-in-law rake/bale hay. I stopped the truck and "sissy" got in with me while "bubba" rode his 4-wheeler back to nana's. They looked hot so we got something to drink and ran some water in their little pool. They had fun, cooled them off too.
When I left I noticed some clouds in the west. I had been home about 10 minutes when I was trying to send Ritzy his daily email when I noticed the tv satellite went off. The internet satellite also went off. I told the son that I was going to take my bath and try to get online later. He hollered at me and said the reason the satellite was off was because it was blowing and pouring rain outside. I didn't even hear it earlier. And where it came from, who knows???
As I was leaving the sister's I noticed the guys were still in the hayfield and found out later that they got "caught" in the rain ;-)
I called my mom and she said dad was soaked when he got home.
That shower just formed right over us and it rained for about 20 minutes.......
They did get all the hay baled though......thank goodness!!!!!
Well, tomorrow is the day that Ritzy and I will have been married for 25 years. It has gone by so fast!!!!
I guess I had better go for now and see where my thoughts take me tomorrow.

Another Day Marked Off The Calendar......

Posted by: cheryl

That's all I see about days like today. Not much to report or think about this Monday. Ritzy called and we talked for a little while. Had to cut the call short because the place he was calling from was about to be closed for cleaning. Told Ritzy that I used the flower bouquet picture on my blog yesterday and he could not believe it. I told him it was really pretty and he said " I guess it is ok... " ;-)
Gonna have to be cause I ain't takin it off, hahaha!!!!!!
He was also telling me about a conversation he had with someone there at the DFAC and they were telling him that he might be "extended" for a longer period of time, because they could not find anyone to take his place. I told him that was NOT his problem, haha!!. They were snickering as they said this, he said. I got quiet and told him to let whoever said that know that - Ritzywife failed to see the humor in that little statement...I have never been more serious!
I am ready to have Ritzy back home where he belongs!!!!!!!
I am going to try to get to sleep a little earlier tonite. My not being able to sleep is about to get the better of me and I have to try and change, if possible.....The sad thing is that I've been this way since last October when Ritzy's deployment started. Don't know if it will happen but I am gonna try . Just have to wait and see.......if I can't sleep, then I reckon I will be right back in here till I do get sleepy..............
Have some errands tomorrow and that's about it for my Tuesday.......
I have already sent Ritzy his nightly email, so I guess that's all for now........................


Special Flowers..........

Posted by: cheryl


Aren't these Beatuiful????
Ritzy "colored" these and sent them along with other pages this past week. You see, my sister sent him a "just for giggles" box. It had coloring books, crayolas, a toy chain saw etc.... in it. Stress relievers.....So, Ritzy has been sending his "artwork" back home. If you look real close you can see that he signed this one.
About the chain saw......a few years ago I was stumped on what to get him for Christmas, so I thought since we have a woodstove a chainsaw might be a good gift. This is when Ritzy found out how much he loves cutting wood. He wore that poor chain saw out ;-)
I was telling my sister that he can hardly wait to get home so he can cut some wood. Well the nephew happened to have a battery powered chainsaw that he did not play with anymore so she sent it to Ritzy so he could "practice" till he returns home. He has it sitting on a file cabinet in his office. I think he has gotten some strange looks and questions, but that's ok.
We had a Family Reunion to attend today. The food was pretty good. Ritzy called just as I was finishing my lunch. I went outside to talk to him. Told him about all the "fun" he was missing. Yeah right.........he hates reunions, hahahaha!!!!!
Came home and took a short nap and then it was time for church tonite.
After church was over I went down to the sisters to visit with her grandkids for a while then returned home.
Gonna take it easy tomorrow, have some errands Tuesday, Friday.........

Saturday Cleaning.....

Posted by: cheryl

Most of the people in this house got into a cleaning mode this morning... Thank goodness!!!!!

The daughter went thru some "stuff" and finally threw away most of it. I took out the trash and vacuumed. When I came back in I noticed a piece of "lint" in the floor so I picked it up and it felt cold.....I looked down and yuk............there embedded in the lint was a little dead frog.... I about had a fit. The son was sitting on the couch snickering, the daughter didn't even want to see it. I warned the daughters friend to not pick up any lint he sees laying around. He just laughed. It was gross. I still think someone "planted" it...................

It's going to be too hot to do anything outside so we may as well do something inside.........
The rest of the day went along but not very good.........I never received that daily call (which I look forward to and which also gets me thru each day) from Ritzy, which is very unusual, I know I'm not supposed to be concerned but when he has called every day since being gone and then misses, and doesn't send an email to let me know what is going on, I can't help but worry a little. Made the rest of the day kind of bad......
I went to that nephew's birthday party tonite, although I sure wasn't in a "partying" mood. The food was good plus we had cake and ice cream. I'm pretty sure he liked all of his presents. He was playing the ones I got him when I left. He told me that he wanted "army" games for his Playstation 2. I found him a 3 cd set of "Medal of Honor". He said he really liked it. Gee, it's hard trying to figure out what a 7 year old would like these days. Little sister's birthday is in 2 weeks and she will be 3 and I have to try to figure out what to get all over again ;-)
I still have to study my Sunday School lesson for tomorrow and email Ritzy, plus take my bath so I reckon this is all the "thinking" for now.

Can't Wait.................

Posted by: cheryl

That's right..... I can't wait for this deployment to be over. I recieved my anniversary card from Ritzy today. Of course it made me cry. A couple of reasons: one - I cannot believe how fast the past 25 years has flown by( with the exception of these last 12 months), and Two - Ritzy and I cannot be together to celebrate our 25 years together. I placed it on the table next to the laptop and Ritzy's picture, so that when I am at the computer I am looking at it.
Had a good conversation with him to day on the phone. We are just counting down the days until he returns home and we can go visit his family in Wisconsin for a few weeks.
We heard today that his mother was in the hospital and now in a nursing home for a little while for rehabilitation, while his dad is at home alone. Makes us even more anxious to want to get up there.
Me and the son took his car over to my brother's to fix the air conditioner in the son's car. If my brother can't fix it then more than likely it can't be fixed. He is a lot like my dad. They can do and fix anything. He and the son must have done a good job because it was pretty cool on the way home........
I came in the kitchen after the son got home from work and there was nearly new KitchenAid mixer on the table. he said my dad saw it in some apartments while on the job a few weeks ago and it was still there today so he asked the manager what he would take for it and they settled on $20. Can you beleive it??? A $200 mixer for $20.........I cleaned it up and it looks brand new(didn't take that much cleaning). I have always wanted one like that but I was not about to shell out that kind of money for a mixer. hahaha!!!!!!!
Dad has always been good at spotting or coming across bargains.
Already have a place on the countertop picked out for it ;-)
Guess I will have to do some cooking and baking to try it out.........Hmmmmm,,, maybe that was Dad's reason for getting it, ya think????
Anyways, thanks Dad!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday/Anniversary..............

Posted by: cheryl


Today is my youngest sister's birthday, her husband's birthday and their 24th anniversary. We met at her house and brought all the fixins' for Taco Salad. Brought cake and ice cream too. The kids played and had a good time. They had corn dogs or pizza or both if they wanted them. They weren't too wild ;-) no major injuries or mishaps.........

Ritzy called while we were on our way there and I gave the phone to the nephew so he could tell his uncle hello. Well, he finished talking but before he handed me my phone he closed it. I said noooooooooo!!!!. I then explained to him that he just hung up the phone. I had only been on the phone a couple of minutes. After a few minutes Ritzy called back, thank goodness. I would have had a really rotten day if he had not called.........
We had a good time visiting with one another. And yes, that brother-in-law was there the whole time. I guess it takes a lot to scare him off. hahaha!!!!!
When it was time to go I gave my sister a hug and told her happy birthday and said "I guess it is his birthday too so I better give him a hug, don't want him feeling "left out". He was in the kids bedroom trying to get something out of the closet, the kids were all talking at once so I walked in and said 'time out' (meaning I wanted the kids to shhh for a second) but the brother-in-law said "am I in trouble, do I have to stand in the corner?" I said, "nope you have to do something worse, you have to hug us goodbye!!!!" He said he would rather stand in the corner ;-)
Told you we like to irritate (in fun) one another.....
Too bad, he ended up with the hugs...........
Nothin' to do for the rest of the day......I think I will make my own kids eat leftovers or throw a pizza in the oven. I am not even hungry.
It is just a little over a week from my and Ritzy's 25th anniversary. Gonna be interesting to see how that day goes...............

Calm................

Posted by: cheryl

Ahhhhhhh!!!!! After yesterday, I sure needed a day like today. Nice and calm......no surprises, no griping, no nothin.......
I didn't do much of anything except the normal household chores. Tonite I grilled chicken and pineapple outside. Boy, I think those mosquitos had me for dinner...... I fixed a couple of side dishes to go along. The daughter even said it was good....WOW!!!!
I went down to see those kiddos for a while. The soon-to-be 7 year old started 2 weeks of summer school today. I asked him what he learned and if any of his friends were there and he told me he would not tell me anything unless I told him what I was buying him for his birthday (which is this coming sunday)....I would not give in and neither would he ;-) Either we both won or we both lost, depends on how you look at it I guess......... After this 2 weeks of school, he gets 2 weeks off then school starts. He will be in the Second Grade.....Where has the summer gone?????? In some ways it has gone by fast, but when I think about Ritzy it seems to have gone by at a snail's pace........
Me, my sister, sister-in-law and Mom are all going over to our youngest sisters tomorrow for lunch. It is her and her husbands birthdays. It is also their anniversary. Can you believe it....
I called her to see if she was going to be home and she told her husband what we were planning and I said that I guessed that he could come too since it is his birthday too. He said, "You mean you are inviting me to my own house??" I said he was invited as long as he didn't spoil the fun or cause any problems. You see he is a Baptist Preacher......Personally, I think he is nuts for wanting to be the same house with his Mother-in-law, wife, and 3 sisters-in-law, don't you?????? He doesn't stand a chance ;-)
He and I are always kidding each other. But, he is a pretty good brother-in-law. I guess we will keep him.........
I had better enjoy the quiet tonite because there will also be 6 kids in ages from 1 to 8 there. I have a feeling the calm will fade fast once everyone gets there..........................................

I Can Do Without Days Like This.....

Posted by: cheryl

This being Sunday and all, I usually take the day off from housework, blogging, or anything for that matter. But this day is something else so I decided to come on here and "vent".
I guess what started it is Ritzy's call. He told me yesterday that he would call between 1-1:30 pm Oklahoma time. I said that was good because it gives me a chance to eat dinner with my family and not have to be talking while everyone else is eating. One of the only things even close to normal that has gone on since this deployment. Well I got my salad and took the first bite and my phone rings. I thought it can't be Ritzy, because it was only 12:30, but here he was calling.......I am so glad to talk to him, but I was really looking forward to eating with everyone else. Then he tells me that he called early just cause he wanted to..............
I then come home and try to take a nap, and after a little while I needed to go into the bathroom. I was barefoot and stepped on a WET rug. ( Evidently someone had caused the toilet to run over) and just left the soaked rug in the floor. Wasn't very happy about that either!!!! I then put that rug in the tub until I could get home from church and wash it. I then went back to lay down but just as I was beginning to doze off that darn cell phone rings again and it is the daughter asking if we have certain food items at the house. I told her I knew of one of them but I was NOT going to go look for the other one cause I was trying to rest. I don't rest in the recliner, I was on my bed with the door shut to drown out any noise in the house........I guess she got mad and hung up. I then put my phone on "silent" ;-)
Then the son comes and asks me where something is and I tell him. Gee, when I need something, I look for it!!!!
Anyways I went to church and went down to the sisters for a little while. The little kids were with their daddy in the hayfield so I left. When I walked into my kitchen I about had a fit. Didn't say a word but proceeded to rinse the dirty dishes in my sink and load them into the dishwasher. It seems the daughter came home while I was at church and left me this little mess. I was NOT happy.
I then proceed to wash the rugs, then the daughter comes in and tells me that there is a basket of towels that need to be washed and wanted to know if I washed them. I then tell her I haven't even seen them, if she wants them washed she can do it herself. I already had my own things to do. After taking my bath I go into the utility room and find a basket of her clothes which were pretty heavy sitting on the ironing board which is next to the hot water tank. I put the basket in the floor and proceeded to tell her that it is not wise to put anything, especially anything heavy on that ironing board because it could fall into the tank where the propane is connected.
For smart kids, sometimes I have to wonder where their "smarts" are !!!!!!!
My dishwasher just finished, and I heard the dryer buzz so I am hoping things are getting back to "normal", whatever that is ................
I don't know if this did any good, but I sure feel better ;-)

A Lot of Thinking Going On........

Posted by: cheryl

My thoughts today are about a lot of different things. Where do I start??
Well I just finished eating one of those fine peaches. I swear it was as big as a grapefruit. I picked it out today while freezing the bushel of peaches I bought Thursday. I put them in the food saver bags so they can freeze, then in a day or so I will cut the bag open and vacuum seal it. They will keep for a long time. The son asked if I was going to save any to eat and I said, of course. Anyways, that peach has been sitting in a plate on the table by my computer today and I was trying to pick just the right time to eat it, which was about 5 minutes ago ;-) Darn, it feels like I swallowed a basketball after eating that huge peach. haha!!!
I put up enough peaches for 6 cobblers this winter. I will probably be making at least 1 more trip to Porter for some more of those wonderful peaches in the very near future.
This was one of those days that I really missed having Ritzy around. I was alone (again) tonite, cause the kids had their own running around to do. Don't get me wrong, I like and treasure my alone time, but since Ritzy has been gone there has been way too much of it.
I went down to visit the niece and nephew, we played for about an hour and I came back home.
The son called as I was writing this and told me to look out the window. It seems that there were a lot of motorcycles in front of him. I sat at the dining room window and counted 48 of them going by. These were some fancy bikes. All lit up and quiet. I would have liked to have seen them in the daylight. If he had not told me they were coming, I would have never know it because I could not hear them. NICE!!!!
I got the weed eating done and then blew the grass off the sidewalk, flag base and windmill base.
Don't know why it "bugs" me to have grass on those places, but it does.
Ritzy was going to have to take care of some "business" after his shift tonite and I don't think he was looking forward to it. I really hate it when Ritzy tells me that people have a problem with the way he does his job. He never puts out less than 100 percent of anything that is asked of him. He puts up with a lot. I am so proud of him and the way he conducts himself in the army and his regular job .
I told you the thoughts were kind of going crazy tonite.........
Saying it again - I will be so glad when this is over and he is back home!!!!!
I told him today in our phone conversation that I can hardly wait until he gets home because we are going to visit his parents in Wisconsin for a few weeks. This year it will be so wonderful to get away and just give our full attention to each other. When we are there it is almost like we are alone, because his parents are older and they aren't able to be up a lot and they go to bed real early. I could not enjoy the trip last year because I knew all the time we were there that a short time after returning home was when he would be leaving for this deployment. I don't have to worry about that ever again. He has put in almost 21 years with the National Guard and he is outta there in a few months after they return home!!!! Yippee!!!!!!!!
That may sound like I don't support him, but nothing is farther from the truth. I have always supported his work and time in the Guard, and even helped when I could, but I am ready to have him to myself and not have him gone that " one weekend a month and two weeks a year"!!!!!!!
In the past 5 years he has been deployed 2 of them.
I am also thinking about that 25th anniversary coming up in about 10 days. ;-(
I was in the same "boat" last year because of their training for this deployment. Because of that we missed number 24 too...........

Where Did The Shade Go?!?

Posted by: cheryl


That's what I thought after seeing my tree after the trimmers left this afternoon. Funny looking tree huh?? Well, it was pretty heavily damaged during last December's ice storm, which took out a lot of the tree. The electric company said back then that this tree was on the list to be trimmed this spring/summer. I have been seeing those little orange trucks with the black writing on them since all the tree damage last year. Today they finally made it to our house. This is our main "shade" tree. Looks like a stiff north wind may take it out. This tree has been in this yard ever since I can remember. We live in the house that I grew up in. The tree has got to be at least 60 years old. Would hate to see it go...
I took pictures and emailed them to Ritzy. He called today while they were working on the tree.
Didn't do too awful much today. Resting from all the running around yesterday and I will be putting up those peaches tomorrow.
There is a huge pile of limbs out by the road & in my ditch, and I am not too thrilled about that. But they should be gone soon.
One good thing to come of all this is that the grass will finally be able to grow under the tree now. The tree has provided so much shade over the years that grass has hardly ever grown under it.
Don't have to worry about that now ;-)

Just Peachy.......

Posted by: cheryl











I know,,,,it's corny but who cares. As you can see, we made that trip to Porter today. Me, my sister and that nephew. Gee, that kids mouth was going all the way down there and back. Me and Nana just tried to ignore him ;-)





The only bad/sad thing was that Ritzy called just as I was getting into Tulsa. Our normal 30 minute call was cut to only 5 minutes today. He said it was making him nervous to know I was driving in that town while talking so he said he would say bye. I could tell he was sad that we could not talk. I was too, but anyone who has ever driven in that crazy town knows that you need all your "wits" about you when you are behind the wheel.





I returned home and proceeded to make a peach cobbler. It is in the oven as I am writing. probably needs to cook about 10 more minutes. I have some vanilla ice cream that can't wait to sit on top of it. hahaha!!!!!





I bought me some yellow squash, onions and new potatoes, while there at the orchard. For supper - I'm getting ready to add some tomatoes, salt and pepper to those, mix it all up with some corn meal and fry it in a pan that I have fried bacon in. Talk about good home cookin '!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was hoping they would have okra, but the squash will do. After eating that then we'll go for the peach cobbler!!!

Well, as you can see, that cobbler made it out of the oven. Looks good!!!!!


I figured, what the heck, as long as I am taking pictures, I might as well take on of the "stuff" cooking. What else do you call it - (squash,tomatoes,potatoes,onion,bacon, & corn meal)?? haha!!

We just call it squash or okra (if we have okra), it is just a known fact around here that all the other stuff is added.

I am not planning anything for the rest of the evening. Just eat dinner, dessert and go outside for a little while.

Will be thinking about Ritzy, and how much I miss him and hoping everything is going well for him tonite.

I will be home tomorrow to take that call (from Ritzy). Won't have to worry about traffic...........





















How I Spent My Wednesday........

Posted by: cheryl



The pictures say it all.....My sister had some extra tomatoes. The brother-in-law got a little happy when he was buying tomato plants for the season ;-)

I bought the rest of the ingredients yesterday and spent today making salsa. It won't go to waste around here, I can guarantee you that much... We love it!!!! Took most of the morning. Only thing is - I should have worn some protection for my hands while handling those jalapeno peppers. haha!! I knew better, but oh well......
I had just enough left after filling the jars to eat for lunch with some chips. yumm!!!!!
I ended up with 2 gallons total.
I also had some "overripe" bananas, so I decided to make some banana bread. I'm surprised I hadn't forgotten how to cook, with Ritzy being gone ;-)
The kids are going to wonder what the heck got into mom..........
Ritzy called while the jars were in the water bath and of course the time was up while I was on the phone, so I told him I was putting him on "speakerphone" and he clammed up. I said where are you, and he said "I don't like speakerphone and I ain't gonna talk." Is that stubborn or what. He is so funny......So I finished taking the jars out and picked the phone back up. I told him he was nuts!!!
I think I just heard the last one seal, yippee!!!
My "maid" (dishwasher) just finished the dishes. Now all I have to do is wait and get ready for church tonite. Think I will throw a pizza in the oven for dinner tonite. The son knows I don't cook on Wednesday's anyways. Too little time to clean up kitchen before church. I have a "thing" about leaving a mess in kitchen. I just don't do it!!!! Wish the kids would pick up on that!!!! Also, during the summer I never know what time the boy will be home.
The daughter has been having to work long hours and has not been getting home till 10 or 10:30. I know she is young but, no matter your age you still need your rest...........
Speaking of rest, I had better get mine tonite because tomorrow my sister and I are going to Porter after some of those wonderful peaches. Sooooo, that means I will be putting up peaches Friday. May have to make a peach cobbler while I'm at it ;-)
Staying busy helps, at least for a little while, to keep my mind off how much I miss Ritzy. I am so ready to have him back home. From what I hear, he is also ready to be home. This waiting sure is hard. I will probably be saying this more than once, but the end of the month is coming up and I am sure am going to miss him on the 30th. We will be married 25 years on that day. I can't believe how fast these years have gone by.
He sent my card yesterday, I sent his card yesterday also. I told him, heck - they may even cross in the mail. Wonder who will get theirs first??????
Changing the subject a little, Ritzy about "had a cow" (wonder where that phrase came from) when I told him that I paid $3.99/gal for gas yesterday. I told him that I do not do any unnecessary running around. Somebody's gettin rich over this and it sure ain't us........
I guess this is enough thinking for one day, we'll see what tomorrow brings.........

First Spanking ;-(

Posted by: cheryl

Well, I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. Tonite, I was at my sister's and the little 3 year old wanted to go outside. So Aunt Cheryl said sure. We were out there and she was riding her "cycle" when she took off after 'DooDah' (her grandpa) who was on the tractor. I told her to stop and she kept going. Then I hollered "Freeze!", She stopped and I ran down to where she was which was about 30 yards away. I was thinking all the way, I don't want to do it but it is for her own good. I reached her and told her that when I tell her to stop that she had better obey. I then gave her 2 swats to show that I meant business. It broke her heart (not more than mine tho), a lot more than it hurt. She then put her hand in mine and we walked up to Nana's house. We stayed outside a little longer then went in. I sat at the dining room table to talk and guess what???
She crawled right up in my lap and gave me a hug. I gave her one back ;-)
I told her that I loved her and if she doesn't mind me that I will have to do that again. She said "k"......
I talked to Ritzy today and he said it was really hot. I told him to go take his shower and put on some cooler clothes and try and get cooled off. I don't know how they make it in that hot weather over there.
The nephew called early today and asked if he could come to the house, but I was busy getting my house back to "normal" after the weekend.
He asked about the rest of the week and I had to say sorry, because tomorrow I have to do some errands, buy groceries. etc....
Wednesday I will be making salsa, Thursday my sister and I will be going to Porter for some of their fine peaches. Yumm!!!!!!!! Friday I will probably be putting up some of those peaches for some peach cobblers this winter.....Saturday I will be recovering ..........................
I think we are actually going to have a "dry" week, this week. Gee, haven't seen that in a while.
I still have to send Ritzy his daily email, so if I don't want to be up all night I will say so long for now and hope that I have made my point with Sissy...............

Kinda Cute Isn't He??????

Posted by: cheryl



I guess today started out ok enough. I did keep getting interrupted while trying to drink that coffee. The son decided he wanted waffles. I haven't made them in a long time. So we dug out the waffle iron and I proceeded to making him his waffles. They turned out pretty good. he wanted peanut butter and honey in them so that's what he got. Got that cleaned up and Ritzy called. After my talk to him, I then finished up the laundry. The daughter was home so I told her that instead of paying me back that $20 she owed, I would call it even if she would wash and clean Ritzy's pickup. I think I got a bargain, huh???
Of course it is gonna rain, but it stays in the garage, so who cares ;-)
I was sitting at the computer in the dining room listening to the hum of the lawnmower as the son was mowing when "something" moving on the window caught my eye. It was this little frog trying to climb up the window glass. I reached for the camera for some fun, shooting pictures of him. I stuck the camera almost next to the glass and snapped these shots. He didn't even jump away. Heck, he even turned and gave me a profile shot.
I thought about going out and catching him for that nephew, but grabbed the camera instead. I think the frog will appreciate that, if you get my drift ;-)
I see that we have some rain clouds moving in, so I guess I had better get out there so I can weed eat and blow the grass off everything. Then I will watch that rain and storms move in and soak everything again.........

Movie & Lunch................

Posted by: cheryl


Well, we took those kiddos to the movie today. It was a pretty good movie. The 3 year old slept thru most of it. How a 3 year old can sleep thru that much noise is beyond me ;-)
Ritzy called about 30 minutes into the movie. I got up and went to the back of the room where I could still see the movie and talk. It was kind of hard trying to talk to him and watch movie at the same time. At one time I had to go out of the theatre because the sound was so loud. The nephew liked it tho and that is what was important.
After the movie we ate at Chili's, which is always fun. I wasn't too hungry so a salad with some of thier lime grilled shrimp "hit the spot".......
After lunch we came home, and here I am. Posting a lot earlier than normal today, I guess because I don't have anything else planned. I also hope to get to bed at a decent hour tonite....
I sit here in my dining room watching all the cars go by. Thinking about everyone finishing their workweek and getting ready for the weekend and it makes me sad. My weekend isn't any different from the last week. Nothing will change since Ritzy is gone on this deployment.
Sometimes I sit out on the patio and watch all the people carrying on with their "normal" lives and all the while thinking that it is so hard waiting until that is happening in my own life again - when Ritzy makes it back from this deployment. Makes me sad and proud at the same time. Not proud I am going thru this, but so proud of Ritzy and his willingness to serve his country all these years.
It is good to get out of the house like i did today so I can forget, at least for a little while, how much I miss hubby.

More Rain.........

Posted by: cheryl


I woke up this morning to an all familiar sound........((rain)).......again.....Is it ever gonna stop????

Must have received between 2 and 3 inches overnite and this morning. The ditches were running full as well as all the streams.
Didn't get much sleep last nite, was up til 2am, woke up again at 4am, couldn't get back to sleep and stayed up till a little after 5am. went back to bed and woke up again around 9. I sure hope I get better sleep tonite.....
My niece, "Bubba & Sissy's" mom called today around noon and asked if I wanted to go to town and grab a burger at the Sonic, so I said sure.....
Came back home and did pretty much nothing all day.
After last nite I needed a day to recover......
Ritzy called earlier than normal today, I had emailed him about what happened last nite and he was worried about me. I told him I almost didn't tell him because I know he has enough problems over there. He told me I better not ever keep anything like that from him. I promised I wouldn't if he would not keep his troubles from me. It was so nice to talk to him.........he had sent me 4 really sweet emails during the night ;-)
Told him things were going ok, for the moment.......
Me, my mom, sister and the 2 kids are going to see the movie "Journey to the Center of the Earth" tomorrow. "Bubba" asked me about a month ago if I would take him and I said - it's a date!! His nana, granny and sister decided they wanted to tag along, it will be fun to go out as a group..... I can almost guarantee you that it will take all three of us adults to corral the 3 year old during the movie ;-)
I hope I get to watch it....haha!!!!
I have already emailed Ritzy so I think it is time for me to get some rest to prepare myself for tomorrow. I have a feeling I'm gonna need it ;-)

Emotional Day.......

Posted by: cheryl


Today started out with a phone call. I was asked to come play the piano at the local Senior Citizens dinner today. I said sure. So I got up , took care of some church business while in town before going to the center to play piano. Heck, I got a free meal out of it. Good home cookin' Yumm!!!!!!!!!!!! Ritzy called while I was in the middle of playing, so I quit to take his call. Explained why his call came first and they all understood. After talking I went back to playing.

I then had to go to Vinita to the Wal-mart to get a few things including what I was bringing to church fellowship dinner tonite. While on my way back, i get a call from a sister to see if i can take her to another town. So I said sure, just let me get home to put up these food items. Took her to town and got back home around 4pm. Had about 2 hours before it was time for church. Spent that on computer reading the day's news.

Went to church, we had our dinner and then the business meeting started. It seems there were some people not satisfied with the way I was doing the business of the church, why they did not come to me first, I don't know. It was made to make it look like I wasn't doing my job. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am not bragging, just stating a fact. I keep the books and the business of our church up to date. It seems they were having problems with their checking account and were trying to blame it on the way I make deposits. One does not have anything to do with the other. Once you write a check, the money is gone, whether the check clears the next day or the next week. I guarantee you that they were checking their bank balance and writing checks on the balance without deducting the outstanding checks. Anyways it was all I could do to keep my composure. I stopped everyone and said that honestly, it has been very hard to keep up this job with my husband gone to war in a foreign country. Even so I have done the best I could and everything is up to date and stays that way and if I have done anything wrong, I apologize. Also told them that anyone who wanted the job could have it, but guess what::::no takers!!!!!!!! Our Director of Missions (since we are pastorless at the moment) turned to me and said that I owe no one an apology... It was so hard sitting thru that meeting. I don't know what the heck was going on. Afterward he told me not to take it personal. I asked how a person does that and I told him that "eventually I wouldn't....

My daughter heard about this from my sister and came home and asked me why I did not "tell them off". I informed her that was not an option.

I claim to be a Christian and I had better let my life show it, no matter what comes.

I have always heard that Christians can be 'meaner' than anyone, and I am sad to say it, but I think they were right. It is so sad when people have to let their "true" colors show.

After coming home and having a good cry, and missing Ritzy to stand up for me, I think I will make it now ;-)

I can choose not to make this my problem and that is what I am going to do. I'll just keep doing my job and giving it my best shot.

Picture Blog

Posted by: cheryl











I was wondering where my thoughts would take me tonight when I looked out the window and saw a storm approaching , so I grabbed the camera and started "shooting"...Hope you enjoy.....
The next set of pictures are of some of my flowers that are blooming right now. Some four 0' clocks and gladiolus. That last picture is of the daughter's teacup chihuahua, "Roo". Our "guard dog". The only thing is: her bark is a whole lot worse than her bite, a lot like that "storm" I took pictures of. Got very little lightning & thunder and a few raindrops and that was it!!! It did cool the air down tho......
Today was busy enough, I had to get our church report ready for the business meeting/fellowship dinner tomorrow night. I then had to get some other business taken care of for the church. Let's see.....that only took 4-5 hours. By mid-afternoon I had it finished tho. Still have to figure out what I will fix for the dinner at church......Sometimes I don't know til I just walk in the kitchen and start opening doors ;-)
Talked to Ritzy....which is my favorite time of day. Being able to talk and listen to him makes my day. I also received 3 letters from him today. They usually make me cry, but that's ok....He is so sweet.....It makes me sad to know that we won't be together on our 25th anniversary this year. What are ya gonna do tho????? I think I will just be glad when it is over.
I guess that's enough to think about for one day, I still have to email Ritzy.....don't want to overwork the poor little brain..................

Quiet Weekend

Posted by: cheryl

Boy, I sure needed a quiet weekend after the holiday on Friday. The only thing is, with Ritzy gone it is just about too quiet. The kids have their own things to do and places to go, and I am usually left alone at home. I sit and think about going down to the sister's house to spend time with her grandkids or do I just stay home and watch the hours pass by on the clock..........
It is no fun!!!!!
I had just finished lunch at Mom & Dad's today when Ritzy called. It is so nice to be able to talk to him every day and to just hear his voice. That 30 minutes sure goes by fast!! I came home, nothing to do so I laid down and took a nap til the daughter called me and woke me. Of course, she hung up by the time I answered the phone. It was only an hour til time for church again so i stayed up. I still feel tired because of being woke up instead of waking up myself.
Don't have anywhere to go tomorrow, I will just do a little cleaning on the house. The son mowed today, so that is taken care of......
The sister said she may have to call me tomorrow to help watch Sissy (3 year old) for a little while. You can believe she will keep me hoppin' & wishing for those quiet times, haha !!!!
I have sent Ritzy his nightly/daily email. I still don't like the fact that as my day is ending, his is just beginning. That is so hard to get used to......I hope he has a good day as always.......
I guess I had better go so I can get rested up in case I get that phone call ;-)

Happy Fourth of July !

Posted by: cheryl




I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday.

We had our regular holiday barbecue at Mom & Dad's. The "platter" is my brother-in-laws. I didn't realize when I took the picture that there was a fly on his hamburger bun. yuk!!!!! ( I can hear Ritzy saying: well the fly has to eat too), I teased him about putting this picture on my blog today and he really doesn't think I would do it. All I know is after he finished eating he went into the house and we never saw him again til about 3 hours later. He was sleeping it off. ;-) I took a picture of that too, but I told him I would not post it ;-)

The first picture is my first try at "shooting" fireworks. hahaha!!! no pun intended. I learned after I got home and started playing with my camera that it has a "fireworks" setting.. oh well there's always next year......

I am kind of new at this digital stuff, can ya tell ?????? I am determined to learn, though!

After lunch we watched the little kids play, they are so cute and funny. We ate our supper and the son and the little kid's dad started lighting firecrackers. When it got dark they finally were able to shoot off the pretty ones. After that the daughter's friend was showing the 6 year old how to dance with lights. He put on a pretty good show. Couldn't get the nephew to get out there with him and dance tho. All of a sudden he got bashful on us.....

I finally came home around 10:30 pm.

Ritzy called today just as I was finishing my lunch, so I went into the house to talk to him, we were about finished with our call when our phones lost their connection. I hate when that happens, because it just seems we have unfinished business and it has to wait until we get to talk again. Gee, it's hard enough when we get to say our good-byes ;-(

Let me just say, the rest of the day would have been better if I had gotten to end our phone call like we normally do.

Well, we have one more summer holiday to make it thru before Ritzy starts home, and I sure am counting down the weeks & days. I have said it many times before and I will keep saying it - I miss Ritzy!!

The "holidays" just don't quite seem like holidays this year...............................

Another Holiday Without Ritzy........

Posted by: cheryl


Another summer holiday almost here. These holidays are usually my favorite times of the year ( besides Christmas of course), but this year they just seem like another day. I have one more to go before Ritzy returns from this deployment.

We will go to my parent's house tomorrow and eat barbecue, which is one of my favorite foods. I don't care what it is, if it's barbecued it has to be good ;-) Favorite barbecue is brisket & baby back ribs.

My Dad has a soft-serve ice cream machine that someone gave him, and you can bet we will be having ice cream too. A root beer float sure sounds good after lunch. yummmmm.......

I have an uncle who always brings me some root beer just for that reason. That's really sweet of him. I used to clean his house up until this last fall, when the back decided to start bothering me. Saw the Dr. and she said running a vacuum cleaner was one of the worst things for my back so I quit cleaning houses. Only clean my own and sometimes that's enough. I still can't believe how much I have to do with 2 - 20 somethings living in the house.........

Speaking of those two, the son and a cousin went to see the new Will Smith movie tonite, I am anxious to hear how it was. The daughter and a friend went to my sister's house to swim. Soooooo,,, that means I am here alone, again..........I sure miss Ritzy!!!!!!!!!!!

I just ordered a 3' x 6' vinyl banner for his homecoming online a while ago. A lady who keeps us informed about what is going on with our soldiers e-mailed me about a company that was giving them to soldiers' friends and families . You get to order 1 per soldier. I got to design it the way I wanted, putting pictures, clip art, & text on it . Only had to pay a very small price for the shipping. That was really nice of them and I wrote and told them so. Should be getting it in a couple of weeks. Can hardly wait to see it.

Sometimes I think the people of this country forget that we have soldiers somewhere fighting in 2 different wars, and the families back home waiting on them. That's why it was so nice to hear about this company's generosity.
I guess I had better go so I can send Ritzy that "nightly" email. Have to wish him a Happy 4th of July. Hope he has a good day...................

Time Seems to Go By So Slow.........

Posted by: cheryl


Anyways it seems like it has during Ritzy's deployment. I found this wind chime in Branson this Spring on my trip with my sister-in-law. I decided when I bought it that it was going to stay in the house. I told Ritzy about it but he hasn't seen a picture of it.
Had a pretty easy day today. After mid-week church tonite I went back down to my sisters house. The little 3 year old and I sat on the deck watching the other older kids in the swimming pool. She kept wanting down, but mean ole me would not let her go. She can get away before you know it and she would have headed straight for the pool. It seems that I go there an awful lot, but I just can't go home and wait for bedtime, it's too lonely without Ritzy. These last couple of months of this deployment are the "pits" for lack of a better word......
I may go back down there tomorrow to help babysit cause the sister is busy doing fingernails all day and she needs someone to just watch the kids. I can already hear the little neice...."outside???" is the first thing she will ask, or she will ask "you wanna see Wucy (Lucy-the bassett hound pup)?
"Sissy" is so cute. She makes those sad faces and just melts my heart......
July 4th is almost here and I can still remember last July 4th so well. Last year I was thinking about how I would be taking this next year with my husband gone so far away. I am taking it just about the way I thought I would, no surprises here.........
I am so ready for this to be over. Probably sounds like whining, but who cares,,I don't like it and I am not going to pretend I do.
And then when I think about the last 25 years, it seems like the time has flown by. Where did it go? Why is it like that????
I think about how fast our kids have grown up and it is so unbelievable. It makes a person sad in a way, knowing you will never get that time back to do things over that you wish you had done different. You just have to rely on the fact that you did the best you could at the time. And always let everyone know that they are loved......One thing that it doesn't bother me to do is tell someone I love them or appreciate them. You never know what a kind word can do for someone.........
I love Ritzy and I have told him every day this past 25 years. I still tell him when he calls or when I send him that e-mail every night. He has done the same with me. I believe that is what has gotten both of us thru this deployment.
See, you never know where your thoughts will take you, and my poor little brain does not slow down, no matter the time of day or nite. It's always thinking about something!!!!!
I think that's one of the reasons I have a hard time going to sleep at night. This deployment hasn't caused the sleeplesness it has just made it worse ;-)

Nice Day............

Posted by: cheryl

Today was a pretty good day even tho I was pretty busy. Had errands to run, go to bank, buy groceries, buy fireworks for the 4th...........returned home and put all the groceries away. A couple of hours later it was time to start supper. I was in the mood for Taco Salad tonite so that's what we had. Took it to my sister's house to eat. After we finished eating, that little niece wanted to go outside so we went out for a little while, then she decided she wanted to get in the swimming pool with the "big " kids. My neice (her aunt) held on to her and she was having fun til she took in some water. After that she said she was ready to get out. ;-)
I don't know how they stood the water, it was too cold for me. Today while shopping ,I had bought "Bubba" and "Sissy" each one of those guns that you attach bubble liquid to and pull the trigger to blow bubbles so me and "sissy" played with that for quite a while. I was telling her mama that "Gee, when I was a kid all you could get was a little bottle of bubbles with a little wand in it. haha".
Came back home and started the dishwasher, and now it's time to end another day and mark another day off the calander waiting for Ritzy's return. I am just hoping we have a "nice" day Friday for the holiday. We have a pretty good chance for rain, but I will keep hoping for good weather. Sure would be a waste not to be able to shoot off all those fireworks. ;-) I know....I can always shoot them off later, but it's just not the same......................