Just a Girl Getting Ready to Leave Town

The forecast is looking marvelous for Mexico. Not so marvelous here in MN. While I am sitting ocean side, enjoying an 83 degree sun shiney afternoon, enjoying a Corona.....Minnesota will be getting buried with snow.... Sorry folks, as much as I love you all, I'm glad it will be crappy weather I am missing out on.

There is much to do to get ready to leave town and the cavemen behind for 5 days. Especially since there won't be any email or cell phone contact. Cell usage fees get a bit spendy when you leave the country. So, they will get the text that I have landed safely, then I'm shutting my phone off. In this day and age of constant instant contact, it will feel a bit weird not being in contact.

In order to make the cavemen happy and not grumbling the whole time I'm away, I have set them up for my absence. I am baking a chocolate cake (at 11:42 pm mind you), I have lasagna in the refrigerator, and babysitting and kid shuffling arrangements all planned out.

Last evening I did my last tanning session. I went to the upgraded bed for the full 15 minutes. I'm thinking 10 minutes would have been the way to go. I am now a lovely reddish brown color. Oh boy am I in for it when get there. I will be fully loaded with an arsenal of sun screen and after sun lotion. I got my last minute shopping done, disposable underwater cameras, extra batteries for my purse sized camera, a swim suit cover, ect... This evening I finished up the laundry, picked out which clothes are going and which ones can stay home, got my eyebrows waxed and eyelashes tinted, attended an informational meeting at school, filled out some last minute school paperwork for the cavechildren, and baked a cake. Yep, that should cover it.

I of course can not forget to come home with my list of items I need to bring home...a rattlesnake, a jump rope, a refrigerator magnet, a t-shirt, a kitten, and then what ever I want. I will see what I can do for that list and hope it all fits in my suit case with out making it weigh over 50 pounds.

I have also been practicing up on my Spanish. Hola! Dos Cervazas por favor. Gracias. Yep, that may be all I need to know. I am taking my cheat sheet along with me, just in case I need something besides beer. LOL.

Tomorrow that leaves me with tying up the loose ends, hoping that whatever it is I forgot to pack (there is always something), I can buy it when I get there or live with out it. And the last minute hopes and prayers that I land safely, have a great time, and am at ease that the guys can indeed live with out me, at least short term anyway.

Three Days Til Paradise

Thursday morning at 6 am I will be headed to the airport with three great girl friends and board a plane to escape to Paradise, otherwise known as Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. I can not wait to escape the cold, the job, all my responsibilities at home.

I did some shopping for clothes for the trip, and got my stock of Tums, Immodium, and Airborne.

We are staying at an adult only all inclusive resort on the beach. It looks so lovely and we plan to spend much of our time enjoying ourselves there. We are also going to take a day tour to Tulum and Xelha. We will get to see some of the Mayan ruins and an eco-park where we plan to go snorkeling and cliff jumping.

I am taking two cameras with me and all my memory cards, which will allow me to take about 1750 photos. That's a lot of photos for 5 days, but that is the great thing about digital. My laptop will stay home, so I won't be able to download my photos onto it until I get home.

The hubby is jealous that he doesn't have a ticket to run away to paradise. Poor guy. LOL. I told him to take a guys trip this year and he didn't want to.

I spent the last month tanning, so that I don't burn to a crisp the minute my lily white skin sees the sun. I'm sure the sun will be pretty intense as Playa Del Carmen is just 20 degrees north of the equator.

I asked the boys what they wanted me to bring them home from Mexico. Kevin said he wanted a rattlesnake and Sam said he wanted a kitten. Hmmmm...I really don't think those two things will be coming back with me. At least not real ones anyway. If there was a way I could bottle up some of the sun and warmth, I'd definitely be bringing that home with me.

Wedgie Stops Burglar

I heard this story on the news today and laughed. I had no idea that my son's teaching me about wedgies would be used to fight crime. Criminals beware...I know how to give a wedgie too! It's the new Super Hero...Wedgie Woman! It's a bird, it's a plane, No...It's Wedgie Woman!

Would-be burglar foiled by atomic wedgie

Posted: Feb 17, 2009 09:56 PM

By Christopher Francis

A Salt Lake City woman nabbed a suspected car burglar using a technique every schoolyard bully knows by heart... or by the seat of the pants, in this case.

Yvone Morris says she was working in her office at an animal hospital when she noticed a young man walking past her office. A few minutes later, she heard a car alarm going off.

"So I looked into the parking lot to see where the honking was coming from," said Morris.

She soon saw the man going through the car of a co-worker. Morris told the receptionist to call police and headed out to the parking lot.

"He came out of the building, got in front of the car and yelled 'Hey!'"

Morris said she told the man, Frederic Baze, 21, that he was busted and the police were on the way. But the suspected thief took off.

"He moseyed up the hill and took off around the corner and I just followed him," said Morris.

Morris caught up with Baze after he slipped on some gravel. She grabbed his hooded sweatshirt, but he slipped off the hoodie and kept on running.

"I grabbed the back of his pants which in turn ended up to be his under garments," said Morris.

That's right. Baze was caught by an atomic wedgie.

Morris admits it wasn't best idea. "In hindsight, yeah there is probably a lot of things that could have gone wrong but thankfully they didn't."

Still, Morris says she had to do something. "It's very personal when somebody does that to your possessions and I thought if there is someway to stop him, then I want to help," said Morris.

As for the suspect, Frederic Baze, he faces burglary and possession of stolen property charges.

KUTV/Salt Lake City contributed to this report.

Funny Sign

Here is one good reason it is always best to travel with a camera.

Got my hair cut

Before & After:






This is the longest I've ever grown my hair out. Long hair like this is a pain. It was fun to grow it out long, but I honestly won't be growing it out that long again. I just don't have the big thick head of hair like the Hollywood type. The long, luxurious, flowing, gorgeous hair in the shampoo commercials. NOT! When it's wet, it sticks to you. It sticks to your neck, your back, and your armpits. Gross. It breaks, it falls out, and gets all over the bathroom. I'm sure my husband will be pleased he no longer has to pull gobs of hair out of the bathtub drain. Not to mention I was starting to look like Cousin It and most of the time I was pulling it back because it got to annoying to deal with.

I told my husband before getting it cut that I was only getting three inches cut off. I came home having cut off twelve inches. One foot of hair. Yikes! After being together for 18 years, he is used to my drastic hair changes, so he wasn't too surprised I cut so much off, but it still had shock value. My oldest son was shocked and said "You crazy woman!" I guess he's not so used to me making drastic changes to my hair. When I look back at old pictures, my hair style isn't one that stays the same time after time.

The gal that cut my hair was so excited. My hair was the longest she'd ever cut, so she had a fun time cutting, sculpting, trimming, and shaping. I didn't donate any of it. The stylist didn't ask and I'm not sure it was in the best shape to donate anyway.

After my hair cut, I feel like I have so much more hair. My hair actually has some body and wave to it. Which is exciting considering my hair has always been so stick straight unless I curl the heck out of it.

11....Wow, he's 11

My oldest cavechild turned 11. It is hard to believe that 11 years have gone by. He celebrated by going to a tubing hill with with two of his best friends, Lizzy and Anthony. He also invited two other kids, but they could not make it. The kids had a great time tubing. It was above zero degrees, and a bit windy, but not bad if you were moving and shaking.

I was a bit nervous that his friend Anthony would not make it to go sliding with him. Anthony's parent's don't speak English and it is hard to communicate getting together. But we made it. Good thing Anthony speaks clear English & has his own cell phone. So it was a bit challenging to get him to come with us, but we made it work.

Lizzy and Kevin are apparently good friends. Her mom got lost, so she showed up late, but she ended up catching up and having a great time with the boys. She's not a girly girl, so I was glad she had fun as she was the only girl that came with.

We dropped the kids off at their homes and came home. Kevin had a surprise visit from Grandma & Grandpa Bley, so he felt pretty special about that birthday surprise.

Last night we did our traditional watching the movie "The Titanic". 11 years ago, on Feb 6th, my hubby & I went and saw the movie "The Titanic". We caught the late movie, figuring it would be our last chance to go to the theater before the baby was born. It's a great movie and five hours after we got home from the movie, my water broke. 8 hours after my water broke, and Kevin was born. So it's tradition to watch "The Titanic".

All in all, it was a great 11th birthday. I just can't believe 11 years has gone by so quickly.

Groundhog's Day

Today the Phil the Groundhog saw his shadow. Which means six more agonizing weeks of winter. I sure hope it isn't as harsh as January was, but it is only 4 degrees right now, with a windchill of -14 degrees. I'm not sure what Phil's odds are, but it seems like no matter what there are always six weeks of winter. I think we just need a reason to celebrate spring coming sooner than later, since January's are always so long and difficult. So we follow tradition and drag the little critter from hibernation and either blame him for a long winter or hail him for an early spring.

Groundhog's Day has always been a fun day in our household, as my mom's birthday is on Groundhog's day. I wonder if she saw her shadow today? Maybe she will bring us an early spring.

Happy Birthday Mom! I hope you didn't see your shadow!

My Big Kevin Costner Encounter

Tuesday afternoon my husband informed me that my favorite actor of all time was playing in a band at a local club in Minneapolis. So of course I had to go.

I got home from work and got ready. I had to look good in case I had a chance encounter with him. I was as excited as a teenage girl getting ready for the prom.

My hubby got home and off I went to the club. Parking was full. I drove around a while to find a spot and finally, I found one. Right in front. Bonus! I wouldn't have to walk by 10 feet to get to the front door of the club. Perfect for a cold night.

I went into the club, paid my cover fee, checked my coat, and made my way through the crowd. It was pretty packed and many of the people were crowed around the stage waiting for the cover band to come on stage. So I went to the back of the club where there weren't very many people. I stood up at the bar in the back next to another couple. When the cover band was on their last song, the bar tender said to me and the couple "Stay here, Kevin and his band will be entering from that door behind you. He'll be walking right by you." Well, talk about being in the right place at the right time and having some good inside information.

Sure enough, Kevin Costner and his band entered through the door that was closest to us. I turned around and he walked right by me. I held out my hand as he walked by. He grabbed my hand with his right hand and shook it with a nice firm hand shake. We made eye contact and he put his left hand over my hand, so he had my right hand between both of his hands. The hand holding lasted all of about 3 seconds, but it felt much longer than that.

After they took the stage, I moseyed my way up as close as I could get to the stage so I could get a good spot to watch the concert. One nice thing about being short is that it is easy to make my way through a crowd. I was able to make my way close to the stage and be in the second row. Two old haggard Wal-Mart Cow-Girl hat chicks prevented me from getting right up to the stage, cuz they'd been there for 3 hours. LOL...So I got behind them and got LOTS of good photos. But I had to snap between their cheap straw hats and their arms. But I've got a GREAT one of him smiling as he was looking right at me. We made eye contact at least 4 times during the concert.

It was absolutely the best celebrity experience ever. After the crowd died down, I went to my car and found a lovely $34.00 parking ticket on my windshield. Oh well, it was worth having a nice safe parking spot. Especially since I had gone down there by myself.

I got home and could not get to sleep, I was on cloud 9 and just too thrilled about the whole evening to get much sleep. That man is SOOOOOOO SEXY!! I'm still on cloud 9 from seeing my favorite guy.

Here are the best photo's I got of him.






Here is the official Kevin Costner and Modern West website to get a listen.