A party, a holiday and a national Holiday.

We hosted our Company party a few weeks ago and it was a great success! We had over 90 people attend this year; it was lovely to see so many people enjoying themselves.
Of course, a couple of the people are my favorites.

Wearing my wedding pearls; Mom would be proud!

Christmas was fun. Different, but it was fun. We celebrated on Christmas Eve with all our regular people (12), but not in our regular family room/kitchen since that might not be done until 2022!
This year? We were in the Craft room. (which is also the laundry room, the office, the dogs room, my makeup/vanity room, my workout room, our kitchen and our dining room)
We're not just multitasking people, we've not got a multitasking house!!!
We did a potluck and it was fabulous!

When you run out of chairs for dinner.....

Guess who turned 20 two days after Santa's arrival?
No, not me, but thanks for even letting that thought cross your (apparently senile) mind.
Our little Lindsay is no longer a teen.

She's always been one of my favorite children. She's doing great in school, stays busy with her sorority and hasn't been arrested ONE time.  (See why her day is a national holiday?)
She and her sister are actually moving in together late January. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? 

I hope ALL Of you sweet people have had a nice Christmas. Wishing you a beautiful, healthy and joyful 2016.

XOXO

Hello~Hola

Do you remember me? I remember you. I don't always remember ME, but I remember you.
And Adelle. She's very memorable. But who isn't ready to say GOODBYE to that song already.

Lots of happenings at La Casa De' Busy Bee. In case you know actual spanish, I don't.

Lolo has recently moved back home. Temporarily. We're happy about this. Why? Cause we weren't happy with her choice in a partner....it took her some time, but she's come to the same conclusion as we did 5 minutes into the relationship. He's NOT worthy.

So, she's back home for now and with her comes her baggage.

Max.

She adopted him from the humane society a few months ago.

If you're a mathematician as I am, we're up to THREE dogs now in a matter of months.

He comes with his own battle wounds (burns) too; we have no idea what happened to him.

He's sweet and jumpy. Like Tigger.
He's also a cuddler. Like Suz.
He's 17lbs of love. We think he's part Basenji and perhaps chihuahua. Perhaps 3 years old.

He and Callie are the best of friends.
Cocoa is kinda like the third wheel....*sigh*

I feel like I need to tie a pork chop around Cocoa's neck so someone will play with her.
What? Well, according to my Dad, that was the only way I had anyone to play with as a kid.

See why I am the way I am?

We're making progress on our house renovation too. Not fast enough for our liking, but we're trying to be patient. We're SO thankful that we are even in the position to do this....so, we'll bide our time.

I've got men coming and going around here ALL day long.
Hopefully the neighbors will still respect me when this is all said and done.


Happy Humpday.

Bee thankful.
Bee grateful.
Bee someone's hero.

XOXO

All I want for Christmas is a squeegee.

We're finally able to SEE some of the progress on our renovation. 

So much time and money spent on things I can't see; like electrical, structural etc....who needs that when I want to see pretties?

BEFORE

We only added 100 square feet to the interior and it was taken from the covered lanai area. You can see on the upper photo where the breakfast nook bay window is? 

That wall has been brought out to the exterior column. We'll no longer be having breakfast. 

Now, we've got 40 feet of pivoting glass doors along the back. 

AFTER

Pivoting. Folding. As in To Pivot. Or to fold. 

A view from the interior. 

It's not that we're not neighborly, we just don't want construction dirt in the door tracks. 

Or neighbors.  

Kidding.

not.so.much

I know how smart all of you are and you're all about to purchase stock in glass cleaner.  

Right?

When you have a minute can you whip up a lasagna for me?

In my family the tale of tales is most of the fun. Or is it the telling of tales?

You know, when something funny happens, we love to relive it over and over.

We perpetuate it. Beat it like a dead horse. 

I know for a fact that not every family finds this behavior to be entertaining.

My side of the family? Yes. Oh, hell yes.

While I was in GA this summer helping my Mom get through her health issues we had a discussion regarding my Brother Mark when he was sick. I was around 19 and he was deathly ill; battling the effects of AIDS. He hardly had an appetite. ever. One day he wanted a slurpie; one from the genuine slurpie store 7-11.

I was in a town that I didn't live in, driving around looking for a 7-11 with no map, GPS or cell phone. It took me a few hours (I'm directionally challenged out of my comfort zone) and I finally found a slurpie and made it back to my Mom's place.

Mark on the other hand had now decided the slurpie wasn't as appetizing as it had been a few hours ago. 

*sigh*

While I was trying to entice my Mom with food, drinks, snacks etc....she was not having any of it. 

I retold this Slurpie story to her. She and I had a good laugh about it and she shared with me this little nugget:  

When HER mom was battling cancer, my Mom was trying to entice her with food, drinks, snacks etc....but her mom didn't like the sound of anything.

Finally she said to my Mom, "oh, you know what? Lasagna sounds good right now."

Well, have you ever made a lasagna appear quickly? Nope, that takes hours. Not a human on the planet has all the ingredients in their pantry/fridge at once. So, shopping, prepping, cooking.

Of course, you know how this story ends.

By the time my Mom "whipped" up the lasagna, her Mom didn't want it anymore.

So, that became part of our daily conversation. 

Me: Mom, what do you want to eat? I'd mention a few things and of course, lasagna was always one of them. She never did ask me whip up a lasagna, although I would have. 

I missed her terribly on Thanksgiving as this was the holiday we always celebrated together.

*Sigh*

This pic has nothing to do with this story, but it was on Thanksgiving morning. Lolo adopted Max recently. To be clear, Max is the dog, not the child. Callie was in the pic too, but decided she'd been photographed enough already and fled the scene. 

So, who is up for lasagna? I've got 5 hours to spare.......

Oh wait, I don't have an oven. Or a kitchen.

Could I offer you a cherry slurpie?

The Coach's birthday extravaganza; complete with a visit to the pot store.

I feel like I've slipped into a blogging hole.
I have SO much I want to share, but have a hard time getting to it.
What have I been doing? 
I could tell you, but then again, I could also NOT tell you.
I'm super secretive. HA

Finishing up Coach's birthday trip in a nutshell.

Some of the other things besides archery, fly fishing, spa-ing and eating that we did in Wyoming was:

The boys shot sport clays. They enjoyed it and dang, they're handsome. 

 On a morning walk at the lodge, Kelly and I witnessed the moving of 400 sheep! Two cowboys and several dogs moved this gang along the dirt road.....they were so vocal!

We left Wyoming, drove south to our next destination;  

Gateway, CO. I stepped WAY out of my comfort zone for my love. 

We took a UTV tour through rough. [ROUGH} terrain, along deep {DEEP} canyons.....the Coach is a good driver, but I was white nuckle-ing it. 

Sample photo of an UTV (Utility Task Vehicle)

I'm terrified of heights....and there were many heights!

 The view at the top was well worth the chance of dying. 

The resort gave us bikes to use on the property. Mine was metallic orange!

The morning of Coach's 50th birthday; we rode our bikes to a helicopter pad. We were flown from the resort to an airport near Arches National Park in Utah. 

 We were picked up there by a driver and he gave us a tour of Arches park. We stopped for a picnic lunch. The day couldn't have been more perfect. 

Remember that comfort zone that I'd previously stepped out of ? Well getting into an helicopter took all my will power....but surprisingly, it was fabulous. 

I enjoyed every minute of our trip in the air. (30 minutes each way) Helicoptering is way better than air planing.

I now need a helicopter. (FYI, my birthday is 9/10 if you'd like to get together on a group gift!)

 This was the view from our patio at our casita in CO. Not too shabby. There were even horses in our backyard....oh, and wild turkeys. Gobble!

 I'm sure you're wondering if we stopped in one of the bajillion dispensaries while in CO? Well, yes we did. We're so nosy and didn't know what the heck to expect. Pretty neat really; it's like walking into a really clean (and maryjane smelling) pharmacy/store. 

Did I purchase anything?

No. 

Well, I almost bought the girls a canabis coloring book....but then I'd have to buy sharpies or colored pencils to go with and by this point I was on a contact high; couldn't get myself together for all that.

HAHA!

She used to chase cows, now she's chasing her next nap.

A few weeks ago the Coach and I were discussing adopting another pup. I'm perfectly happy with having one dog; it's easy. Cocoa is 10 though, and for a boxer, 10 is really old. The Coach thought that it would be better to adopt while Cocoa was still here, so she could show the new dog how our house works.
We're talking about adopting an older dog. No pups for me thankyouverymuch. We were going for the senior dogs; the ones that aren't always given another opportunity for a home.
You know the ones, 4 teeth, all gray, doesn't care to chase my yard bunnies.

I texted the Coach on a Friday morning when he was out of town at a softball tourney and said I was going to fill out the application online for adoption, just so we can get the ball rolling; knowing we'd not be ready until the house renovation was done. (Christmas? New Years?)
He was so excited and shared this news with the peeps who were with him at the time.

Fast forward to a few days later. One of the peeps at the table with Coach when he got the text is a friend of ours who is a rancher. (also a great softball coach) He has working dogs and one of his favorites was getting up in age and couldn't keep up with the horses and cows anymore. So, she spent her days just sitting in the kennel.
Alone. Bored. Sad.
If she wasn't a favorite, well, she'd not be there anymore.
Working dogs aren't treated as we treat our pets. NeedIsayMore?

I don't have to tell you how the rest of the story goes.

Meet Callie.
She's 8 1/2 years young.
She's part Catahoula leopard cur and part Black Mouth Cur.  (both working dogs)

Callie the retired cow dog.
She's kind of a mess. The Coach lovingly referred to her as a "junk yard" dog.
I don't think she understood the phrase, so she's ok.

Callie who has never lived in a home.
Or had a bath.
Or a soft bed.
Or a day off work until recently.
Callie who has 6 teeth.

And heart worms.
And hook worms.
And an ear infection.
(all health concerns being addressed--no wonder she couldn't keep up!)

Callie is now part of our clan.
our gang.
My people.

Today is her three week anniversary.
We took her with the thought that if she didn't work out, she'd go back to the ranch.
No harm. No foul.
We believe she's staying.

She has a great disposition and is very easy.
She and Cocoa are indifferent to each other. Not in love. Not in dislike.

Although, Callie is starting to think that she is the sole proprietor of both dog beds....even though she can only lay in one at a time. We're working on this little bit of bullying issue.

So far, she's tore up a pair of my underwear and a tank top of mine.
So yeah, she's obsessed with me.

Can you blame her?

So, no boxers for us for now.
My next rescue is going to be another boxer.
Well, that's my intention....usually rescues just show up whether you're looking or not.

XOXO

Robin Who?

A continuation of Coach's 50th birthday trip. 

We had many choices for our extracurricular activities; some of them involved actually going outside! 

(Some of you will get that joke; my children will be horrified by it.) 

All four of us were excited to try our hand at Archery. 

Our wonderful guides gave us directions on how to use these particular bows. This was nothing like the ones I used with my girl scouts years ago. 

Do you see the deep interest in mine and Kelly's eyes?

A little (and perhaps surprising) fact about Kelly and I; aside from being peaceful, orchid growing, nature loving, recycling divas, we're both obsessed with The Walking Dead. 

Yeah, as in the Zombie Apocalypse. 

One of our favorite characters on TWD is Daryl Dixon. Daryl is all bad azz with his crossbow.  

Kelly and I figured if we can master this bow business, we'd be good in the event of a zombie apocalypse.  And unless people stop using that damn Styrofoam, it's going to happen.

Practicing using regular targets prior to starting the archery trail. 

Of course, the boys were pretty darn good at this. 

But guess what?! Kelly and I were kicking azz as well. 

Oh, except that time when I accidentally shot the bear in his paw. I'm sorry Pooh bear!

As a matter of fact, Kelly was the only one to make a "Robin Hood" Shot. (when your arrow splits/piggy backs a previous shot arrow)

 At one point, the Coach was setting up, aiming his bow at a target when one of our guides told him quietly to stop. She saw behind the target several REAL deer and didn't want him to accidentally hit one of them. 

See, we're NOT real killers. 

Well, unless we're talking about zombies; then I'm taking as many down as I can. 

Our archery trail was almost 3 hours long.

We had so much fun, but this Robin Hood was ready for a nap...pretending to save the human race is exhausting!

Happy Monday!

XOXO

Turns out that Fly fishing doesn't require you to leave the ground.

A continuation of Coach and Don's 50th birthday trip extravaganza.

When we arrived at the lodge were assigned two 'guides' for the duration of our stay.
The guides are in charge of our fun. Remember Julie from the Love Boat? So, yeah, we were assigned two Julies' but these Julies' fished, shot guns and archery.....along with other things I'm sure. We assumed they'd give us male guides; I assumed all the guides were males, but I was wrong. We had two young ladies who were so knowledgable in things that I've never even thought to do. 

Jeff and Don spent more time with them than Kelly and I. After all.....there was a spa at the lodge. I didn't need a guide to get me there. 

The first thing the boys wanted to do was try fly fishing. They both loved it!

It's all catch and return, so don't fret over these lovely trout. I believe the Coach looks quite dashing in this get-up. 

Kelly and I decided we'd join them one afternoon and see what all the fuss was about.

This is us in front of the lodge prior to us catching ALL of the fish. 

Admit it, we look good in waders. They hide a myriad of things; I'm looking into finding a pair in  salmon or chartreuse for my spring wardrobe. 

I just couldn't help myself. 

Turns out, I only look GOOD In the outfit....I'm actually terrible at fly fishing. 

Can I use the excuse that my eyesight was still so bad at the time? I literally had serious issues with depth perception. But I think, I just don't have the patience for it. 

Don and Jeff caught lots of those babies. 

Even Kelly was a fish lover slayer. 

What I did catch was this Eagle watching us....he was most likely shaking his head in pity at my fishing skills.

 And later on, I caught my second wind while killing time in this hammock. I was already over my fly fishing pity party....I've got other things to do. Did I mention there was a spa?

 Still, it was a fun adventure to share with my Coach. 

"Here Suz, I got this for YOU!"

Has anyone else tried their hand at this elusive sport? 

If you just did it for the excuse to wear waders, fess up. 

XO