An Unexpected Opportunity for Some Serious R & R

When we first moved back to my husband's small town and he took over responsibility for his family's funeral home, we learned so much about the role of a funeral director. My eyes were opened to the compassion and stability my husband would provide to so many families. I also learned that someone needs to be available to answer the funeral home phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The first year my husband was that person. It was a challenge and we are thankful that we now have another employee with whom to share this responsibility.




Sometimes a situation will arise that offers an opportunity. Last week my husband oversaw a funeral in our building and the family asked if he could drive their loved one down to the Branson, Missouri area for a burial. 99.9% of the time we find a way to fulfill each families wishes and he agreed. My husband calculated the drive time and realized he would need to spend the night. The night, you say?



Over the years, we have heard about the Big Cedar Lodge in the Branson area and an idea was hatched.




I stowed away and after the burial, we headed south to the Big Cedar Lodge. Have you been there?





The road leading to the property winds all around through the woods and sports a "Don't even think about riding your motorcycle on this road" sign. The registration and nearby buildings are gorgeous, both inside and out with a post and beam design, beautiful stained glass and glorious views. We walked over to a cozy coffee house and sat out on the patio in the January 65-degree weather?!?! Can you explain that temperature to me?





Several lodges overlook the valley and this was ours, Falls Lodge...

Our room had a fireplace, jetted tub and balcony. We enjoyed the sunset from that balcony. We were also joined by many creatures, very similar to the room shown here...

no big deal when you are married to a hunter who has more mounted animals than this mini-collection.

Later we ventured to one of the restaurants. You may wonder about a Devil's Pool Restaurant or a Buzzard Bar, but we ate surprisingly well. KC Strip for him and Shrimp Pasta in Marinara Sauce for her.

Big Cedar Lodge is owned by the Bass Pro Shop, so you won't be surprised to learn that I anticipated a bait shop feel with a hunting lodge setting. Thankfully, I was wrong! The property and lodges do have a wildlife theme, but they also encompass all the modern ammenities with a few surprises thrown in. Artisan ironwork graced every building and our room was spectacular. My partner in this sneak getaway was a huge part of the package...you'll have to come up with your own on that one.

We're back to the real-world, re-charged, ready to wrangle boys and take care of business.

Happy New Year, I think!

At the start of a new year, I began to reflect on the previous year and thought to write some words on 2008.

Hmmm...2008 was an exceptionally difficult year for my family and reflections don't seem like such a good idea right now. So how about some resolutions? I just love to dream.

1. I will get my tushy moving again and permanently reclaim the in-shape bod I had for about six months back in 1998. I was chasing around two boys, 2 and 4 years old, while my husband was in Mortuary Science school in Kansas City (home on the weekends). My social needs were being met during tri-weekly exercise classes. I can do this!

2. I will become a Mother Extraordinaire, keenly interested in any topic brought forth by one of my boys and infinitely patient with their... shall we say... creative antics.

3. I will fall madly, deeply in love with house cleaning.

ha ha ha ho ho ho hee hee wha ha ha ha, tears coming, oh...oh...oh gasp gasp snort. Those are so good! Quite possible, too!

Oh, alright, let me try again-

1. I will periodically take some time to re-balance my brain in light of my chosen loves: school, job, volunteering, shopping, cooking, gardening, reading...and most importantly, kids, husband, family and friends.

2. I will work to organize more and develop the habit of actually looking at the calendar each and every morning. No more relying on the brain for 2 or 3 day stretches as the brain does not appear to be as elastic as it once was.

3. I will expand the garden by adding more potatoes and corn. I will put in a strawberry bed, blueberry bushes and an asparagus patch. Planting the flower and shrub beds in the back yard will also be on the list. I will definitely have less weeds (oops, can't control that one).

4. I will continue on my quest to keep unneeded items moving on to people who need them.

5. Under intense pressure from my brother and his wife, we (I'm saying we here my Mortician buddy) will expand our recycling efforts. Milk jugs, cardboard, glass bottles, food scraps (into the composite pile, couldn't that count...somehow???).

6. I will budget my grocery needs. Sniff, sniff...sob...hiccup. I love grocery shopping! This one could be very difficult, but I am committed.


Okey dokey, that should do her. I'm optimistic about 2009! This year will bring many wonderful, memorable experiences to my family and friends and a new beginning to our country. I wish you all many blessings. Happy New Year!

I've Been Away

Hello Everyone,

I've been away...on an African Safari! No? A backpacking trip across Europe! What? No? A scuba diving adventure in Key West! Pfft! Oh, Alright! I've been right here with my nose in my testbooks. I've been studying math, math and way-hey more math. I've been thinking about math, talking about math and even dreaming about math...what defines a field? What defines a group? What's the order?...you will not believe that order has nothing to do with, well, order.

I finished my finals on Thursday and, yes, I was so very excited, except that I was so very tired that it took me a couple of days to realize I had in fact finished my finals.

Tomorrow...hopefully, I will have a new post. Today was one of those days where so much happened I want to share it all but need a little time to get it contemplated, sorted, organized, outlined, parsed and written. See you then.

Back to the 80s

We continued to celebrate Rechelle's 4-0 birthday last night. She and a gang of newly 40 gals decided to host an 80s party. She explains it here.

Initially I wasn't feeling the 80s vibe and decided to wear a retro-ish shirt and old knit poncho, then the day before the party I sat in my closet and tried to conjure the perfect 80s outfit. As my eyes scanned the pants, shirts, sweaters and skirts, a little something caught my eye.

Do you see it?

It's was crammed back in there with my old business suits and high school prom dresses. Thank you, Mom, for saving these treasures all these years.

I thought, "ok, if I can get my 40-something self into that, I will just have to wear it". By some miracle I got the thing on, so I explained my plan to my husband. He ran downstairs and came back with his "plan".

Here we are in our 80s glory...the Kirkwood High School hockey cheerleader and the Wamego High School tennis star!

Our friends, Dale and Nancy came over just before the party. Nancy helped me try to get big gorgeous hair like hers. Ah...well, half a can of hairspray later. I wasn't one who ever truly achieved big hair. I must not have had enough AquaNet...

Off to the party we went, which conveniently was next door!

Here are the birthday girls ...

You could start a forest fire with that cake! Us over-40s can throw down the jokes, can't we???

We spent the first half hour cracking up at all the "costumes" from Flashdance to Preppy to Madonna to High School Jocks... and lots of mullett wigs. We then danced the night away to all those unforgettable 80s tunes by the Flock of Seagulls, The Gogos, The Bengals, The Clash, Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Prince... now that was a night to remember. Thanks, Rechelle and Mike for hosting!

For more 80s retrospective, check www.countrydoctorswife.com.

I'm Back...from the Political Blackhole

We interrupt this political programming to say...the election is over, you may return to your life!

I don't know about you, but I have been consumed by the election information. I've read political commentary, reviewed polls and developed a close personal friendship with Anderson Cooper. Whether your candidate was elected or not, it sure has been interesting. Compelling, engrossing and addicting would be my personal adjectives. I've enjoyed and fretted over every minute of it! We couldn't really lose, could we? Either the first African-American president or the first female VP, which would signal progress toward a more fair and equitable future. This election, however, was even larger. We are facing the worst economic issues since the Great Depression. People are losing their jobs and their homes.

So I hope we will pull together regardless of whether or not our candidate won. We'll try to make good, responsible, personal choices, and we might even be ready to sacrifice for the good of everyone, because I have the sense that the ship carrying all of us is taking on water. When we help each other, we, in the end, help ourselves. I'm very hopeful that we will see positive change. I realize it will take a while... maybe years, but we live in an incredible country! A country of hope and renewal... one where dreams can come true.

So let's weather this storm together and know that good times will return and with them the hope of a good life for even more people worldwide.

100,000 People gather in St. Louis

Wow! That's what he said... I say, Wow, too. This photo was taken from a vantage point under the Gateway Arch with the Mississippi River behind and downtown St. Louis in front. An estimated 100,000 people gathered in my home town to hear Obama speak. I wish I had been one of them.

On Being a Woman

I was sharing with a friend the other day how it seems at times my tendency towards absent-mindedness and being a scatter-brain rises to epic proportions. She explained that she read somewhere or other that as our hormones bottom out each month before, well, it has many names, I call it my monthly "friend", the female mind has a hard time putting two thoughts together.



It's possibly a hormonal imbalance??? I'm so relieved. I was beginning to think I had early brain atrophy. As I've mentioned before I'm taking some classes at a nearby college and I've been studying for a midterm. I read a practice problem, calculate the answer and check to see if I'm right. My forehead is beginning to hurt from thunking it down on the table after each wrong answer. In almost every case, my reasoning has gone haywire and I've left out a step or two.



Well, that dreaded end of the monthly cycle has passed, so I'm hoping my hormones and my brain power are on the upswing... and fast. My test is tomorrow. Please root for me gals (and guys)!

Just to Say Hello

Hello Everyone,
Just a quick note. I didn't intend to take a break from blogging. The other parts of my life became very, very busy. I was working on my part of the preparation for a fund-raising carnival at Youngest's school. I was also trying to scale the side of a mountain of homework for my two math classes. Keeping my house together, my kid's fed and my kid's at the right locations for practices and games had not been forgotten. And...I have become fascinated with the...ok, I'm going to confess...the news! I've been a real news junky these last two weeks. If I turn on my computer, I check the latest polls, read the headline articles and check on various political blogs. I've watched CNN more in the last month than I believe in my whole lifetime. It's been captivating, interesting and at times, frustrating. So there you have it. Sorry to be out of touch and I hope to have a new story for you soon.

The Parking Lot

As most of you know, I'm a student these days. I've returned to Kansas State University to earn a second degree in Education. It's my hope to be a high school math teacher. Going back to school at 40-something is an unusual experience. My perspective is clearly very different than the typical college student's. First I cry as I write my tuition check and then am neurotically determined to earn straight As.

K-State calls me a non-traditional student. I beg your parden. I guess that's better than over-achieving nutjob. Anyway, as a non-traditional student, I do not live on campus or even in the same town for that matter. I need to drive to campus on school days and do the Parking Lot Sit. The Sit is an activity involving positioning your car at the end of one of the rows of parked cars and waiting. When someone walks to his or her car to leave, the person waiting the longest puts on a blinker and creeps toward the space. This signals to all the other Sitters that this spot will be taken...BY ME. Back off. I know Judo and could hurt you. It can become exceptionally tense.

It's very thrilling to Sit and as those who know me well understand, I don't do waiting very well. I much prefer to be just on time...well, ok... I'm usually a little late. Being a little late just does not work when you need a coveted parking space. So I arrive early and... I wait.




I observe many things as I wait...the young student driving the brand new Suburban or the cute blonde in the Jaguar??? I also grit my teeth at the students who choose to not do the Sit, but instead troll the lanes, driving up and down hoping to see someone starting his or her car. These rude co-eds then try to jump their car into the space before the students who have been patiently waiting. Grrrr.


Today I saw a girl that just made me giggle. This morning's weather was lovely and as I Sat I turned off my engine (no adding to global warming when it's not necessary) and waited with my window down. I began to hear a periodic soft chirp. Hmmm. I then saw a girl wandering around in the parking lot scanning for her car. As she got closer I couldn't help but chuckle. When she finally discovered her car, a wide, relieved smile spread across her face. I can get away with giggling, oh, yes, I can. You see I'm that girl quite regularly.

at the ball diamonds...

at the grocery store...

at Target...

at the Mall.

A Summer Lunch?

My friend, The Country Doctor's Wife is truly a fountain of wisdom, especially on matters of customer service, family relations and cuisine. I have no doubt that the new editions of Emily Post and Rachel Ray will carry numerous quotes from her blog. So when she paired two garden favorites together for lunch the other day, I followed suit.

After all, this spring I dove into the gardening world once again with an unparalleled enthusaism - reading organic gardening books and magazines, and dirting my hands whenever possible. I've studied and tried mouthwatering recipes based on homegrown vegetables and fruits, and have worked to bring more cooked-from-scratch meals into our home. As called for in the recipe, I have fresh homegrown tomatoes and cucumbers.

Aren't they lovely?

Something, however, went seems to have gone wrong. I've made a big mistake in following the recipe and I'd better consult CDW on this mishap.

Some pizza rolls showed up on a plate...



...my plate!