HERE'S TO SUMMER!!!!

Summertime!!! Love, Love, Love, summer. It is a good time to live in the Great Pacific Northwest. Beautiful days and gorgeous nights. The sounds of summer are my favorite. Kids playing, dogs barking, mowers mowing, the smell of grass, joggers pounding the pavement , bikes whirling by, and birds singing.!! Then there is Family Reunions. This is a perfect time to catch up on what everyone has been doing .


My sister and Her New husband, Robert, are flying out from Florida in a couple weeks. They will be visiting Forest and Stacey for a few days and then they will be staying at my house for the remainder of their visit. I am planning to get family together for a Bar-B-Que.


All of this sounds great. Lots of food , laughter , and fun. Yippee!! My brother Randy and his family live in beautiful Hawaii and I would also like to invite them as well. Quite a ways to travel for one dinner, but who knows , I will throw a shrimp on the Barbee for them, just in case .


Here's to summer.!

TEAM WRIGHTHOUSE, THE SWIM, THE BIKE, THE RUN, THE AMERICAN IDOLS!!!!

Team Wrighthouse, Wow!! You guys are such an inspiration, so encouraging, and very supportive. You are what many Family's try to be. If I had not started to read your blogs , I am very sure I would not have started working out again so soon . And I definitely would never have opened a blog of my own. You all have such will power and energy and attitude. BIG ATTITUDE !! I have learned that you need to stay focused, positive, and hungry for the win. I know its hard, and sometimes a lot of fun. But it's always worth it. You gain self confidence, a new zest for life, and control over your own mind and body. Sometimes you may have "Big But's", sore limbs and body parts, You may even have to swim in "puke", but hey in the words of Simon. Randy and Paula, "YO YO DOG, YOU ARE THE NEXT AMERICAN IDOL".! You are mine anyway.

THE PRICE WE PAY

Fuel . OUCH. The price of fuel is about to win the constant battle we are having with It. For a Truck Driver, this is devastating. Our truck , a 1999 Peterbilt gets around 5 miles to the gallon. Not a lot ,when , in California the price of diesel is $5.05 a gallon. That means it costs over a $1.00 a mile to haul the loads that we get. WAKE UP AMERICA!!!! We have resources here ,RIGHT HERE, In our own Country. We could supply ourselves, we do not have to get it from other Countries. We can control the price we have to pay.

We know many Drivers who have had to walk away from this business due to the rising costs of operating their trucks. The way fuel continues to soar we will likely be joining them soon. It is a struggle to meet all the standards each state sets for trucks to enter and drive thru them. All the licenses (IFTA, HVT, MONTHLY MILEAGE,) registrations, insurance, permits, not to mention maintenance, tires, parking, and Heaven help you if you have a Truck Payment.

We all need to remember "IF YOU GOT IT , A TRUCK BROUGHT IT" . Seriously think about that. Everything you own, reached you, on one or more of its legs of travel by truck. Everything!! It does not seem like there is anything that an individual can do about the rising costs of fuel. Driver's talk a lot about striking for just one day. They say that's all it would take. If every truck in a America would NOT buy fuel for One day the results would be catastrophic. The problem with this is organization. There is always a lot of chatter about it, but it does not reach everyone. It needs to be someone that can reach every Driver to really get the word out there. So, I just had to vent a little ( I just paid a very high fuel bill). We love our truck. It is a good truck and a nice way to make a living. Maybe not for long though. We will "Keep on Truckin" until we are forced to stop. The price of everything will continue to go up. I promise to vote for any candidate that can help end the war and lower prices of fuel. Are you out there. I hope you are.

This is the price we pay!!!!

DANCING WITH THE STARS

I love TV. Watch tons of it. Some of my favorites are all the silly reality shows. Shows Like Survivor, So you think you can Dance, Big Brother, and Dancing with the Stars are great. It makes me happy to watch them. America's got Talent and Last Comic Standing are in my watchable group as well. I just cannot seem to get enough. I think I get quite depressed when they end each season. But lucky for me, there is always a new one just about to start. So I get hooked really easy on these mind numbing shows.

Last night when I got home from work , It was really hot in my house. I decided for a change that I would do my pilates ( which I do three or four , sometimes even five times a week ) outside. It is a little after midnight by the time I changed into my workout clothes and there is a wonderful breeze. At first it seems a little awkward to be outside, but I actually think I like it.
Most of the time I was laying on my back looking up at the gorgeous stars. Wow, there were so many and they were really bright. I may have to do this a little more often. It seems to shift my focus from how hard pilates are ,to thousands of other thoughts running thru my mind.

When I finish , It occurs to me , Hey I too was Dancing with the stars. I smile!!

CHELSEA'S WEDDING

Andrew with his dog Watchee-Mo, he is 4 years old. Denise's
youngest son.
This is Timmy.

Tim with his Daughter, Misty. Misty is 19.

Debbie , Denise, and Tim

Tressa, and Andrew. Tressa is Denise's Daughter and she is 13.

Denise, Chris ( Her oldest Son, 17) Chelsea (Her oldest Daughter, 19, Tressa (Her youngest Daughter, 13) and Andrew (Her youngest Son, 4).

Tressa, Preparing to sing at the Wedding. (did a really good Job)

Denise nd Donavon, (Chelsea's Son, 18 months)

The Wedding Party.

The Bride arriving .

Grandpa Lovik walking the Bride down the Isle.

Nathan, (The Groom) waiting for his Bride.

Listening to the Minister.

Mr & Mrs Nathan McCloud.

Their new little Family.

Everything turned out pretty good. Denise was a mess. She was going in a hundred directions at one time trying to organize the set up of the wedding. It was held in a little park just down the street from her house. She lives in Newport. It was very sunny but also very windy. The worst things that happened were the best man and maid of honor did not make it in time for any of the ceremony. But there were plenty of subs. It was pot luck and everyone brought a dish or two so there was a lot of food. The wedding cakes flowers all got smashed but it still looked Pretty. All and All it turned out to be a good Day for Chelsea and Nathan. They were going to Seaside for a three day Honeymoon.

A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK

A couple of years ago I was standing at my kitchen window, which faces our backyard and I was watching Jake do some dorky thing, and I happened to noticed something that looked liked eyes twinkling in our round fir tree . There is a little Hole in the middle of it ( see the photo) and something was staring at me!!! At first I am thinking S N A K E. But that's what I always think when I see something in our yard that moves. I do not like snakes. It rarely is a snake , but sometimes it is. I approached carefully reconsidering that it is probably a bird, maybe. but when I get close enough I see the most adorable tiny tiny chipmunk. He is no bigger than a walnut. So Cute. Instantly I fell in love with this little guy. We love nuts and always have some kind of supply on hand so I rushed back in the house got some cashews and sunflower seeds, wash all the salt off them and take them back to the Hole in the tree. He's Gone. Dang. I leave the nuts anyway. Maybe He'll be back.

Well, the next day the nuts were still there. So I figured he probably went back to his home,( do chipmunks have homes?) Anyway two days later I am working on staining our fence and see a few of the sunflower seeds and one cashew sitting on the rails of our fence. Ye pee!! He's back. He' moved the nuts to the fence . So I continue to leave nuts for him everyday. Most of them are disappearing quickly. But I never see him again. Shy?, Scared?, Um, I don't know.

A month later about Four O'clock in the morning I hear a very strange noise. It sounds a lot like one of Jake's toys squeaking. Jake's laying beside the bed, it's not him, so I go back to sleep. Next Morning around Four O'clock the same noise wakes me up. And again the following Morning. Its still dark outside so I can't see anything. One afternoon I hear the noise. Finally, I can peak around the yard and find out what in the world all the squeaking is about. And sitting in the Hole is my little chipmunk. He is a big boy now. I call him Chip. He gets more nuts everyday and it quickly becomes a bit of a habit that he actually squeaks or barks when he wants to be feed.

This goes on for a long time.

One of our neighbors, who is a great guy, and loves animals, has added several bird houses to his own backyard. One day he asks me if I have seen any of those "pesky chipmunks" around. I lie,Um, No, As I casually brush the cashews off the fence. He says a while back he had to get rid of a couple of them that were getting into his bird seed. So, Now I am a little Scared for Chip.

Time goes by . Chip is so funny the way he always barks for food. It's a real game. He has become a friend.

Quite some time passes. Then My Neighbor sees me outside and excitedly announces that he has finally taken care of that darn chipmunk that keeps climbing into his bird houses and making a mess. C H I P!! Oh my gosh, Chip. I ask him what he's talking about and I think he can tell I am a little panicked. He then says he has simply "relocated him". WHAT? Oh , he just took him down to the end of the road where there is a nice wooded area a gave him a new home. That better be true.

Poor Chip. Chip doesn't live on this old block anymore. I Hope he finds another fir tree and lives happily ever after. I still leave a few nuts on our fence , Just in case......,,

BA LONE E

MY BOLOGNA HAS A FIRST NAME , IT'S O S C A R

MY BOLOGNA HAS A SECOND NAME IT'S M A Y E R

OHHH, I LOVE TO EAT IT EVERY DAY,

AND IF YOU ASK ME WHY I'LL SAAAY, CAUSE

OSCAR MAYER HAS A WAY WITH B O L O G N A!!!

For Nine Long Long hours this song went thru my head yesterday. What is up with that. I remember the cute chubby curly headed kid who sat on the edge of a dock fishing and eating his bologna sandwich singing the praises of Oscar Mayer Bologna. But that was , like , thirty some years ago. No clue why this charming little song was stuck in my head. Maybe , I think , because my back yard neighbors have a yappy little dog that they were screeching for all morning . Oh by the way, his name, you guessed it , O S C A R !!!. Glad to put that behind me . A new glorious day. Hope no one yells for their dog named Hotdog.

FAT KIDS , SKINNY KIDS,

KIDS WHO CLIMB ON ROCKS,

TOUGH KIDS , SISSY KIDS ,

EVEN KIDS WITH CHICKEN POX,

LOVE HOT DOGS ARMOUR HOT DOGS......................help

Hard Days Night!!!

TA DAH!!

This is just a picture of the first Lilly I have grown from a bulb. It opened up yesterday. There are fourteen flowers on this one stem !!!. Pretty.

This is how cramped it is beside the shed. Nearly impossible to reach the top middle ,it's 14' long.

This is our shed after we emptied it and shoved it forward off the old floor.

This is our new floor! Actually the old metal shed doesn't deserve a floor this nice....

Today we worked all day building a new floor in our shed. That was hard . It was nearly dark when we finished. We have a 10' x 14' metal shed and the old floor had simply rotted away. Those metal sheds seem to sweat a lot. We could not take the shed apart because the screws are pretty old and not wanting to loosen. So we ( and by we , I mean me and Kim, and by me and Kim and mean Kim, picked it up and shoved it off the old floor. I was using a pressure washer that we lifted it up on so I could roll it while He lifted it and pushed from the opposite end. Surprisingly it moved OK. While Kim was rebuilding the floor I painted the roof. That was the second and last time I ever paint that roof!!. It is so cramped in that part of the backyard that we have it sitting in . There is about one and a half feet on one side, next to the garage and currently it is up against the fence on the other side. This is something that we have been needing to do for a couple years and today was the day. Next Saturday me and my Brother Tim are going to our Niece's wedding. Chelsea will be getting married in Newport at a park. I have been asked to be their photographer. They really should get a good back up. Hopefully it will be sunny and beautiful at the coast.

MY AMERICA

WOW the 4TH of July !!!! I am very proud of my Country and especially the men and women that have chose to serve in our Military, I feel lucky to be an American. Freedom, total Freedom. I Love this beautiful land. My Husband and I have been across and around the United States twice. What an adventure. What memories. So wonderful to see. With so much Beauty in every State it's hard to pick a favorite place or thing. We of course went to all the famous you've heard about them your whole life places, and they definitely knocked our socks off. But Jeez, no one ever tells you about the little towns, the quiet rivers, the peaceful breezes that kick up in places like Tennessee. I 've posted a few favorites. Happy 4TH of July Americans!!!

4JakeJake

I loved my collie. He is gone now but He will own my heart forever. My home is so still. Its really strange not having him stick his rather large head in my lap every time I sit down. We always called him ninja Dog cause you would see him in one room and the next thing you're tripping over him in another. Jake was such a great friend. He is missed a lot. I wanted to post some of his really dorky puppy pictures. I laugh everytime I see them. My little tribute to my buddy.