A fun Saturday

This Saturday Debbie and I had the whole day to ourselves. We were ready to get out of the house!! We have talked about going Cross Country skiing to see if we like it or not and Debbie came up with the idea and I happily said yes. We headed up to Logan about 10, rented some ski's and Debbie took us up to a golf course next to the mountains.
The wind was cold so we both put on every stitch of clothing we brought and took off. About 5 minutes into it we were both sweating to death in our space suites....wow. What a work out!!!! There were about 30 deer running around with us..... so awesome. So about 20 minutes into it Debbie wanted to take all of her clothes off and lay naked right where that first picture is.... yes she was that hot... lol. We made it about a mile and said "that's enough!" We then went out with our friends for a couple of hours.

We are both sore today.. my arms and Debbie's legs but we had a great time. This probably isn't something we will do all the time but maybe once or twice a year.

I know this has nothing to do with skiing but these poor dogs waited patiently for me to finish this blog post to take them potty. Are they CUTE or what???

Dear Mexico... please dont change

A fun talent....

The last couple of days several people have come over to the house bringing all kinds of cookies, sweets, flowers and such for Cass as she is healing. During conversations with a few neighbors on some activities the young women were going to do, Debbie and Cass got invited to a house down the street from us Wednesday night to learn how to crochet (I call it Yarning). Debbie used to do it so its a revived talent.
Wednesday night they bring home a couple of hats they were working on and had fun. About half way through the day today after some meetings, I IM'd Debbie and asked her how they were doing. She said "I went online and learned how to crochet flowers so I am making flowers for the hats" haha. (youtube.com is the bomb) Today I come home from work and guess what they were doing all day long..... "Yarning" hats. That put a big smile on my face......Cass was hooked up to her ice machine on the couch and Debbie on the other side of her both with their faces down making things.

I love coming home to my family.... you guys are so funny. Always up to something.

Caray "the best Vacation shoes EVER!"

While packing to go to Mexico I had an epiphany that I do not need to take ANY shoes rather than flip flops. Well guess what.. I WAS WRONG. The first night we were there I wore my flip flops and was happy as a little lark flipping around!! Well the next morning Sam and I were walking on the beach (bare foot) and I said to him. "my toe hurts... I had a blister between my toes. Normally this would be a pain in the "toe" (ha ha) and you would live with it. But when you are in a foreign country and have NO other shoes but flip flops.. This is more than a PAIN.. This is a problem.. So I limped around the first two days and walked barefoot whenever I could. Picture below is day 1 of my owie!After having a drink in Puerto Adventuras we were walking and I said to Sam. "Look at those shoes", they were kinda like sandals but they were neoprene and had NOTHING that went between the toes. We bought them for me and they saved my little toes life. My toe got worse the entire trip (below picture was day 4) but I was ready to go because of my new Mexican sandals. The shoes name is Caray and I have already looked online to see if I could get more. They are the best shoes EVER.. I wore them ever day and night, dressy and non dressy, walking or sitting, wet or dry. They ROCK. If you are ever in Mexico get a pair.. and while you are at it, get me a pair. I "heart" them!!

My Wife... an amazing woman

I have always appreciated Debbie so much for how she takes care of her family on a daily basis. But during more challenging times (like with Cassidi's surgery) and I see Debbie step up to the plate and completely take over and make sure all the bases are covered.

She sets her alarm several times in the night to go check on her, give her meds, make sure the ice on the shoulder is ok, comfortable, feeds her etc...
During the day she cleans her, hand feeds her, puts lotion on her feet and gives her a foot massage, constantly gives her drinks and waits on her hand and foot every minute of the day to make sure she is taken care of. I have never seen this kind of care for anyone, anytime anywhere. Cassidi should appreciate her mom very much.... I know I do.

Thank you for everything you are doing honey. We all love you!!

Cassidi and Debbie crashing on the couch for a power nap after a long day. As you can see, Cass has her cell phone permanently attached to her at all times as usual

Sam and Debbie play doctor!!

Not what you are thinking...

IM conversation between Sam and I..

Debbie says:
Hey you, they are going to call in different pain killers for Cassidi to Walgreens.
should I get some bandages when I go get them or do you want to?
Sammy says:
I can at lunch
on my way home
Debbie says:
so you can change her bandage when you come home for lunch? I will get sick if I change the bandages. should we get bandages or just BIG bandaids?
Sammy says:
lots of gauze im sure
Debbie says:
lets get those really big bandaids also.
Sammy says:
I think we should put some padding in there to protect it
ok
Debbie says:
how would we stick the gauze?
Sammy says:
duct tape
Debbie says:
hot glue?
Sammy says:
lol
Debbie says:
gorilla glue!
Sammy says:
perfect

Cassidi finally has her surgery

Ever since I have met Cassidi she has complained of her shoulder hurting and popping. Well we kinda knew it was going to be way tough on her as well as expensive so we waited for the right time. Cassidi got her school in order and we finally were able to get her in to the doctor. Yesterday morning they put 3 permanent staples in the front part of her shoulder, a temporary one on the top to hold things in place while things heal and they also pokes 2 or 3 holes in the rotator cuff to promote more blood flow and faster healing...in other words.... Cass is going to hurt for a while.

In one month she goes in to start rehab but even a couple of days after surgery she is supposed to start squeezing a ball and moving her arm 30 degrees to each side and up.

You did great Cass! We love you

Before Surgery- SMILES and a bit nervous. Sexy socks girl!!

After Surgery- NO SMILES but feeling no pain at all.

Surgery!

After years of problems... Cassidi had her shoulder fixed for good today. Had the surgery done at Mckay Dee hospital and I simply cannot say enough good about them. They were wonderful.

She is sleeping and we are gearing up for a very long recovery.

Hugs to Cassidi!!

Vacation for Dos!

Sam and I have promised each other that these Vacations for two will not end.

With much dismay from our kids we book at least a couple of vacations a year for just the two of us. Just like the other vacations this was WONDERFUL. If you have never been to Mexico I can't say enough wonderful things about it.

I am going to stick with telling a story here and there about our trip but I am going to start with our accidental nude beach.

We rented a car for the day and drove about 45 minutes south to Tulum Mexico and we go to all of the "eco boutique" like hotels on the coast of Tulum (GORGEOUS GORGEOUS GORGEOUS). We found this quaint little beach side bar/grill that hardly noone was at and we put our butts on the swings at the bar and ordered some beers, ceviche, and fajita's.. It was picture PERFECT...

Sam looks at the resort to the left and looks at me with HORROR and says..

"Debbie, all those men at the hotel (on the beach) next to us our NAKED"..

well me being the "woman" I am was so excited. Not because I was excited about the potential of getting nude on a beach but talk about GREAT PEOPLE watching.. and the best thing about it.. The men where playing paddle ball on the beach.. Now try to get a mental picture of a bunch of naked men, running around on the beach after the ball, bending over, etc..... I sat and giggled the entire time. I mean I could not stop looking...like a train wreck but better... I MADE SAM STAY AT THAT BEACH FOR ALONG TIME...

Our typical sleepless night........

Here is a picture of our typical night at the Campbell's. We crawl in bed watch a few minutes of TV and fall alseep (dont get me wrong.. for the sake of keeping this blog family rated I am leaving out quite a few things hah) but I always wake up in the middle of the night can you guess why? We have dogs that like to sleep right in between us. I roll on them, I move them to the foot of the bed, I wake up again and Winnie is right in the middle again under the covers. I cant stand that she does this but Debbie says... "She just needs to be warm" lol
I hope someday the dogs will want to sleep in their own bed and I can snuggle with my wife at night with out rolling on a dog lol.

Diet Pills!!

Like almost every one out there the battle of the bulge caught up with me last year. I was 15 pounds heavier than I had been the year before and then after my head injury I gain another 5 pounds.. So yes THAT IS 20 pounds..
I had not struggled with my weight for years and the reason is not something I am proud of but I am going to tell you. My good friend Jan had a rocking body.. I mean a HOT body. So one time when I was at her house about a decade ago I said to her..
"HOW DO YOU DO IT?"
So Jan gave me a bottle of diet pills and I lost about 10 pounds in two weeks. So I called her and said
"Okay I am biting where do you get these pills"..
Jan went to Mexico on vacation about every four months and she would buy these diet pills from there. So I jumped on the ban wagon and would give Jan $100 every few months and she would bring me back the diet pills and I was able to stay quite slender.
Well Jan died (it was terrible) a year ago last September. So not only was one of my best friends gone, my "diet pill" connection was gone also. So over the next 18 months I gained the 20 pounds.
Well I finally was sick of not having any Levi's to fit in so I said.. FORGET THIS.. and I got off the couch, joined Nutri System and started to work out (Pilate's kick your butt) and I have lost all the weight. It is the first time in my life I have ever lost weight WITHOUT Diet Pills.
So if you know or you yourself are a Diet Pill junkie.. Let me tell you. It has taken a hell of a lot of work to get my metabolism back in shape and the weight came on VERY fast when I quit taking them.
I think the scariest part of this story is I truly do NOT know what the diet pills were (which I am happy because I would not have quit them). Jan would just get them for me and I would take them and not have an appetite...
So please don't judge me... IT HAPPENS..
Woot Woot here is to Mexico in a bikini this year!!!

a "Uti"!!

I have been suffering from a U.T.I. (urinary tract infection) the last few days. Sam gets up early this morning and goes to Walgreen's to buy me some AZO to kill the U.T.I. pain.. Cassidi is home with us and I am complaining that it hurts (every woman that has ever had one knows this) etc. and Sam comes home with the AZO box and I take my pills and we proceed to eat Nachos for breakfast... any way the below conversation takes place.

Mom: (crawling onto the counter in a short robe) "Wow, Sorry Sam am I flashing you my Vajayjay"

Sam: "YES YOU ARE, AND I LIKE IT"

Cassidi: (big smile) "THEY CALL IT A UTI ON THAT BOX, I read it"...

on the box it says.. Will kill U.T.I pain... I have no idea what Cassidi thought was wrong with me!!!

18 years of being "Just Cassidi's Mom."

Happy 18th Birthday Cassidi. We think you have turned out rather good..

Dear First Born
I've always loved you best because you were my first miracle. You were the genesis of a young woman, and the fulfillment of young love and the result of 36 hours of labor. You sustained me through the hamburger years, the first apartment, and the seven-inch TV I paid on for 36 months. You were new, had unused grandparents, and enough clothes for a set of triplets. You were the original model for a mom who was trying to work the bugs out. You got the homemade baby food, the open safety pins and three-hour naps. You were my beginning!

Here is to adulthood honey!

The sweet sweet smell of fresh paint!!

OOOOO.. So so so much better!!

I am quite certain that Sam and I had the WORLD'S Ugliest paint job in our basement. We bought the house over a year ago and the FIRST thing we were going to do is paint our basement, then our bedroom. WELL neither one of them got done till last weekend. The ugly purple stripe in our basement is gone.. gone..gone.. It looks so good and clean (finished picture above).Sam putting the finishing touches on!!

Brock priming the walls. Had to prime the entire room so the ugly purple stripe would not show through!

Now, lets do our master bedroom......

Science Fair, SMIENCE FAIR!!!

I dislike science fair projects. I think it is a slow painful act of torture on parents... Well we are done with Brocks this year.. Thanks to Brian (Cassidi's boyfriend) and Cassidi we are FINISHED.. WHAT is it you ask!!! a Rube Goldberg Project!!!

Winnie has a new trick

Last week sometime we were all watching TV or something in the family room and Debbie starts teaching our dogs a new trick...... to play dead when she shoots her gun with "BOOOOM" After a few treats later I piped up and said "Winnie will never learn this trick she is too stubborn...... George is much more trainable"
Yesterday I ran to pick up a few gallons of paint for our weekend project and I get a call "she did it she did it.... we are sending you the video right now.... call me back when you see it"

I officially eat my words!!! Every single one of them and all my snide remarks as she was training her... haha.. Sorry Debbie.... I will say one of your favorite phrases in the world..... YOU ARE RIGHT nice job

Becky Sharp!!!

I am writing this blog a little tongue in cheek because I want to make sure if Becky Sharp (or anyone who knows her) reads this blog it is a compliment NOT anything else.

Growing up in high school I had the same drama that every teenage girl has. It was dramatic, you know the drama and the high school/junior high games. So like most teenage girls I would go home and CRY to my Mom about it and my Mom gave me the BEST ADVICE ever, and little did I know at the time she said this that I, my kids, my friends, and now my step girls, would coin the phrase "BECKY SHARP THEM"!!!

My mom said to me the day I was complaining about one of my best friends doing something TERRIBLE to me and "How on Earth were we ever going to be friends again".. My Mom simply said to me, "Treat them like you would Becky Sharp!!"

explanation: Becky Sharp is a girl I LIKED. We were in the same church group together. I knew her, she knew me, we would occasionally talk, but we were not girlfriends. We did not do things together on Friday nights. I said "Hello" in the halls and always greeted her with a warm smile. We never had any problems, fights, fought over the same boy, simple relationship with NO DRAMA..

As a teenage girl this information was like GOLD. "Treat them like I would Becky Sharp!!!" "TREAT THEM LIKE I WOULD BECKY SHARP"!! It's was simple MAGIC!! It was the best advice ever.. So over the years when I would have problems with a girlfriend, a co worker, MY MOM, my sisters etc... I would think in my head.. BECKY SHARP THEM, BECKY SHARP THEM. As my girls grew up I found myself telling them the story about the nice girl I went to church activities with, named "Becky Sharp" and the advice my Mom told me that day. I have had the same talk with my husband, and my sister-in -law, my friends at the bar.. The Becky Sharp story is now a legend and it WORKS.... So now all my kids say.. "BECKY SHARP THEM"and even last night when I called my Mom to tell her a story of me running into a high school bully of mine, she simply said to me, "Becky Sharp" her!

So may you all "BECKY SHARP" your faux's today!!!

Mexico!!

Mexico is my second favorite place on Earth... Redfish Lake, Idaho being my favorite place but since our last "trip" (HA HA HA) there I may be moving Mexico to number one.
I love the slow pace of Mexico, the umbrella drinks, the SUN in Feb., the smells, EVERYTHING..

Sam and I did not get each other anything for Christmas and we are going to Mexico in a couple weeks for a week. Just Sam and I (we kinda like our freedom to do what we want when we want).. We are going just south of Playa del Carmen and across from Cozumel (last years trip).. So think of us in flip flops, sun burnt, moist skin, etc. etc. etc... LOVE IT.

SO I AM ON THE COUNTDOWN!!!

BRUSCHETTA...BRUSCHETTA...BRUSCHETTA????

So I secretly dream of being Rachel Ray. Not the new Rachel Ray with the syndicated talk show but the old Rachel Ray with the 30 minute meal show. I dream of having a silly little cooking show OR be Bridgette of Bridgette sexy beaches!!!!! anyway....

Sam and I watch Julie and Julia about a month ago and since then I cannot get one of the scene's out of my head. It has the husband (played by "hell if I know") of Julie and they are talking as she cook bruschetta.. She fries the bread in a frying pan (I assume in olive oil) and he eats it enthusiastically and says "how good it is"...
Well Done to the producer of Julie and Julia because that scene with THAT bruschetta has went through my mind over and over and over...... No recipe's of it ANYWHERE and now I just have a vision of perfect bruschetta in my head...
I have made bruschetta before but THIS bruschetta is what I am DREAMING of..

I am going to try to "remake" this recipe this week. I will let you know how it goes!

Karma!!! (IT'S REAL)

Ya know the saying of "What comes around goes around", or the "efing you give is the efing you get"!! IT'S ALL TRUE!!! IT'S TRUE, IT'S TRUE!!

Example: Through the Holidays Sam had his check book stolen out of his car WHILE PARKED IN OUR DRIVE WAY. He also had all of his C.D.'s stolen at the same time. So he comes in the house pissed off and says.. "MY C.D'S AND CHECKBOOK HAS BEEN STOLEN OUT OF MY CAR". So Sam calls his banks and reports that checkbook stolen and does a stop payment on that entire checkbook.
Well today in the mail comes two "stop payment" notices from the bank. The peeps with the checkbook had written two checks off the account. So Sam calls the bank and they fax us the checks and... Guess where one of the checks were written... Yep, you guessed it....

MAVERIK COUNTRY STORES!!

hmmmmm... I wonder if Sam and I know the folk that work there!!!!!!
KARMA IS A BITCH!!!!