You Pierced What?!?!

story on my fitness blog

My GUT WRENCHING woes and ohs....

Mr. Grizzly Bear Hung Out Underneath The Archers Tree Stand Last Week - UGH!

Today He Got This Big Ol' She Bear!

Here is the Pack Out Crew!

Normally, I would not put up a blog post so soon after the last one, but its been a week of extraordinary events and lately I've found myself feeling like I'm going to hurl over one thing or another so in the sheer attempt to debrief, I will tell you my many tales of woe and oh!!
Last week, Kevin III was up in his tree stand archery hunting. One day, he missed an elk. Another day, he was stalked by a large bear who he never got a good shot at. The day after that, A GRIZZLY BEAR hung out underneath his tree stand!! If that isn't enough for a mama to pray about, read on......
On Monday, I called the consignment place where we left our Suburban at. It had been on the lot for one day and off the lot for a week and a half. They claimed a week ago it was "being checked out by a mechanic". A week and a half later, it was still missing. I told them I was coming to get it.
Tuesday, I was leery about facing the creepy car salesman. "Be nice" my daughter chastened me. Nervously, we parked at a neighboring lot and walked over. When we got there, nobody was there and the place was locked down. Finally, after making several phone calls, the creepy car salesman showed up. Thankfully, he handed me the title and keys without trouble. Still, my imagination had gone wild, and I was a nervous wreck. After that, i had a several hour computer class at the hospital.
When I got home, the house was a horrible disaster. The boys and Miss Moonbeam had survived the day safely, but the house had not. I escaped outside to focus. Puppy and Miss Moonbeam in tow, I breathed deeply. No sooner had I walked in the house than Super Catman announced "something was wrong with his braces". He had been eating the breakfast cereal I bought for dinner. Quizzically, I gazed in his mouth to discover that HIS BRACES WERE BROKEN AND HE HAD INADVERTENTLY EATEN PART OF THEM!! Well.. just a small piece, but wire none the less!! " OH GOD"I thought. My stomach lurched and I thought I might pass out right there. "Whats next?" With prayers and petitions, I phoned the Orthodontist and Emergency Department. "Uh.. my son accidentally ate part of his braces along with his breakfast cereal" just sounds so so preposterous......
Both MDs assured me that it would likely pass, as did my brother in law "This too shall pass" - lol!! Should he have any cramping or fever it would mean xrays and possible surgery. I am PRAYING it will, indeed, pass. Today, when the boy informed me of his desire to defecate, I sentenced him to Miss Moonbeams potty frog. After that, we took the doodoo outdoors to smear upon a rock together and search for the culprit to our woes. No luck. I guess I will be dissecting poop again tomorrow......
PMS should be enough, but its not. Today, I waited on pins and needles wondering why the Orthodontist hadn't called me back. My husband discovered that the whole spacer was hanging there by one wire. Apparently there was more damage than just the eaten, broken wire. Finally, I called and talked to somebody who gave us instructions on manual dismemberment of a spacer. Again, my guts wretched as my husband laid our boy on the table to do the job. I just don't know if I'm cut out for all of this!! I am literally "all thumbs". Last week, I some how sliced both thumbs (at different times).
This afternoon, my eldest shot a big ol' she bear. As you may guess, my house will soon be overcome with the powerful odor of rendering bear fat. He took the kids along to help him pack it out. I stayed home and gave Miss Moonbeam and puppy undue instruction as I constructed some enchiladas and pear crisp. After that, I talked to the nice body piercing lady about Miss Virtuous and scheduled her dreaded appointment for a NOSE PIERCING. Do pray for me this week..........

Attack of The Mutant Crazy Horror Movie Infestations

Miss Virtuous doing her thang.....

Our Friend and her baby (I still have to give her a blog name)....

Their Family

Goat Girl's Foster Son with the clay cow he made






Goat Girl and her foster boyz

Me and Miss Moona

Playing by the campfire....

Goat girl and Hubby

The boyz having crazy fun - not a flame thrower ;-) Its a sappy stick...

Miss Moonbeam succumbed.....

Art dog with Goat girls #2 Foster son

The Archer finds a pair of $230 Italian Sunglasses snorkeling - the boys are impressed!

Taking Miss Moonbeam on a walk

The Moonbeamer!

Friend with son...

Giving Rides...

Archer with his designer snorkeling find! Isn't he handsome ?!

Me and the girlz

Three Too Cool Here For this Picture!!

Sherlock is giving our pup some lessons in "fetch"

The Archer loves our pooch :-)

My girls in the boat...

Me and my pup!

It was a day I had looked forward to with MUCH anticipation. Having worked most of the week, and working a 12 hour night shift, getting off the morning of the big day, I was EXHAUSTED and ready for sand, sun and water. We had arranged to meet with a bunch of our friends and play in the sand and water together. It was the kind of thing dreams are made of.... except a growing frustration began to overtake me. I was jam packed in the Tundra, with puppy on my lap. Miss Moonbeam was stuffed in her seat next to me. "Stuff" was jammed around us and I could barely breathe it was so warm and stuffy. The beautiful waters were out there awaiting me, but my husband kept looking for the "right place" to camp along them. He loves 4wding and exploring. I was tired, nauseated and I had to go pee.....

We had left the boys with the boat at the boat access in order that my dear husband could "scout". Just when I thought I may get teary, he drove onto the perfect oasis of a place. A giant secluded sandbar in a remote bay. It was perfect. Our friends would gasp at its beauty and vastness. My husband was proud of it. Then we got out. I was supposed to make some quick sandwiches so he could get the boat. I noticed a few yellow jacket type bee things. Then a few more. Gingerly, I opened the bread on the coolers and set up an assembly line of sandwiches along with lovely deli turkey and bread. The rest of the family unloaded THE ENTIRE back of the truck of gear. Suddenly, it happened! Scary music please. REALLY SCARY MUSIC!

Bees flew out of no where. They surrounded me. They started landing on the meat, the cheese, the bread. They crawled on the sandwiches. They were everywhere. As fast as I swatted them off, they jumped back on. Stuff was falling off the coolers, the beautiful expensive pound of meat was getting ruined! One stung me! It burned bad! I rushed into the lake to cool it off. When I got back they had TAKEN OVER the sandwiches. Hurriedly, I tried to stuff them together to hide in the car. Another one stung me! I was just sure that some of the horrid creatures were in between the bread slices and somebody would eat one! As I carried them to the truck they swarmed around me angrily!! I lost it..... My husband was getting ready to drive away and leave us all here! I got hysterical. He got mad. The bees kept circling. The kids were afraid. It was awful. Me, the fearless emergency department nurse and mother of 5 had a melt down right there. No sleep for 34 hours, caffeine with drawl, I don't know. All I know is that I wasn't going to be left here to be stung again. I couldn't even protect the kids. How could anybody possibly cook anything here let alone eat? This beautiful, picturesque place had quickly evolved into TERROR and CHAOS! It was hard to imagine that just a few weeks before these settings were pure heaven for me.....

My husband loaded everything back in, quite annoyed. He took us to another place. He had to drive a crazy 4wd route to get there. I read my Bible trying to pull myself to some semblance of sanity. The Sock Fashion Expert was melting fast. The boys were waiting.... Nothing seemed good. When at last he dropped us off, we hauled EVERYTHING again, out of the back of the truck. We saw a few bees. They milled around. One stung Moonbeam! I could feel myself losing it again. My husband left quickly. The Sock Fashion Expert wilted. She sat out in the water trying to avoid bees with a forlorn look on her face, head between her knees. Would there be any hope for a good weekend with this dire crisis? Read on and see.....

I can't say everything got better instantly. I was tired.... very tired. I couldn't keep functioning without some kind of rest. Bees still flew around, but they were not as bad. We were afraid to eat, but did it quickly. A few came around, but they didn't swarm us. I tried to keep it together. After a swim and rest in the sand, and a beverage, my mood improved significantly. Still, it took the better part of the nice day just to find the spot. That night, my husband wouldn't let puppy in our tent. I wanted to cry again. He left the door open and she ended up sneaking in and sleeping on our feet anyway.

The next morning, early, we zipped puppy out. She proceed to make her own entry by ripping a hole by our heads. Her head popped in. We yelled. She ran away. Five minutes her little head popped in through the hole. Cute as it was, she got her nose smacked. Away she ran again. Things improved. My husband didn't say much about the incident as I feared he would.

That morning was beautiful. My husband decided to move us down the beach 1/4 mile to where there was vehicle access for our friends who were coming. I ran along the beach barefoot with puppy following. It was idyllic. My husband drove the boat along with all our stuff piled in.

Sure enough, there was yellow jacket sign all along the beach. Sock Fashion Expert was concerned. This time,I felt peace. I had read a chapter out of the Bible that morning, and I felt ready to trust God again. My husband said "this is so frustrating - these beautiful places and they just ruin it". Finally, I didn't think he was mad at me about it all. It was the bees, not each other. After unloading stuff, I rested. My husband and the boys went on a killing rampage full of carnage and death. In the wake, scads of yellow jackets lay dead for probably 1/8 of a mile. When I made lunch a few came, but I remained calm. When my husband left to get the truck and meet our friends, my boys went all out making Yellow Jacket traps out of plastic bottles. I had placed a 1 cent bounty on each body. I slept and lounged in the sand and played in the water all day and the Yellow Jackets became few and far between. The power of God and THE FULL FORCE of my family had overcome them. Everything would be okay.

That day turned into the greatest day ever. As friends started showing up, they all were awed by the beauty of the remote sandy cove. Nobody minded that it took some crazy 4wding to get there. Children played. Kids who had never camped before got to camp for the first time ever in this beautiful paradise of powdery sand, sun and water. My friend, Goat Girl, put on some swim stuff I gave her and she looked so beautiful in it. She came alive and played in the water and clay a good long time. It was like God was smiling on us all over again. The horror of the bees had past and everything was happy again. That night we spent a long time around the campfire. Sock Fashion Expert and another friend played guitar and sang worship songs. It was idyllic. The boys ran around with flaming sticks as if they were "Lord of the Flies" or something, uh..not. They built a campfire of their own and I can't say I have ever seen some of those kids have so much fun. I felt so happy to be able to give them this beautiful place to play. The day was beautiful. The sun, the sand and water was simply intoxicating. My husband even conceded and let puppy sleep in our tent ;-)
It kind of makes me think of how many people start out doing something and quit because there is a lot of adversity. Had we never perservered, we'd have never enjoyed the fruit of such a beautiful place. It wasn't just for my family. Our friends benefitted too. Especially the little boys who'd never gone camping or for a boat ride. It was extra special for them, a memory they can always cherish. Don't let fear or adversity ever dictate your path. Plow through it and send those Mutant Crazy Horror Movie Infestations back to kingdom come ;-)

My New Foster Daughter

Isn't she sweet?!




Art Dog teaching her "fetch"

Puma Kitty is rather unhappy about this new turn of events....

We took her to the lake, and she got a little tired walking.....and wanted to be carried.

She was much more presentable after her bath.....









Miss Moonbeam tried walking her and things got a little tangled up.....

In the pink striped dress.....precious

Doesn't she look smart?!?

In the flower dress....sweet!

The Sock Fashion Expert was not all that thrilled, but seems to be warming up to her ;-)

Congratulations are in order! Yes, I am the proud new foster mama (of a dog) lol!! Its quite an exciting tale ( for me anyway)!! I've been waiting a L-O-N-G time :-)


Zinc Arkansas Miracle was the best dog EVER!! Zinc for short. We had him for many many years. He was a once in a lifetime kind of dog, rated right up there with Lassie and Rin Tin Tin. His story was the kind legends are made of...... Back when I was pregnant with Art Dog, I barely got off from work so we could make a trip into the Ozark Mountains of Zinc, Arkansas. It was a cold Spring in Minnesota and we were excited to be going some place warm for the week. Nobody at work wanted to give me the days off and it was nothing short of a miracle. Thrilled, we packed our kiddies up and made the trek over with my in laws. Flowers were blooming there and everybody was anxious to be out hiking. For quite some time, I had deeply desired a dog, a German Shepherd, but my husband had said "no dogs" and "especially no German Shepherds". With that in mind, I didn't even pray for one because I didn't want to go against my husband. Crazy as it would seem, wild dogs were running around down there and somebody had shot one leaving it up on a bluff. The one it ran with would run and snarl and dodge bullets, but once its companion was shot, it loyally remained near the body. Night and day it stayed there. One man held a gun up to it, but something made him stop. This time the dog no longer seemed to care, and just looked at him. "Its up there" he said.

I had been gone shopping and when I got back, my son, The Archer, was petting this wild dog that had come down off the mountains. Scrawny and wild, this dog had survived in the wilderness for some time, though there was something of kindness and intelligence to him. "He's probably full of ticks and worms, but you can take him home if you want to". I couldn't believe my ears. My own real German Shepherd mix dog! It was such an exciting day! That dog was the most wonderful dog ever. His exploits and honorable behavior is too long to mention here, but he learned fast and protected the children many many times. His death was 5 years ago this past spring. He was sadly missed, though he lived a very very full life.

For 5 long years, I waited for my husband to agree to another dog. About 6-9 months ago he said "okay" but had rather strict specifications. Month after month I emailed him pound pups and newspaper ads, but none of them impressed him at all. Many times I'd ask to stop at the pound and many times he'd always say "not today". Still, I never gave up looking. The other night at work, there I was on pet finder again. We happened to be going through another city on the way home and he asked me where all I wanted to stop. "Hmmm....thrift stores and the pound" was my usual answer. After all our stops, there we were driving home and I didn't mention a second thought about the you know what. Would you believe he drove up to the pound?! "Do you want to come in?" I asked gingerly. "No" he said " don't go picking out any run of the mill dogs. It has to be special. If its a special dog, I will come and look." I could hardly believe it! Dogs barked everywhere jumping up and down. It was a little overwhelming. Then I saw this sweet little puppy from across the yard. I just couldn't see any other dog after seeing her. She was so little and lost and my heart just melted. Instead of jumping up and down and barking, she just wanted to be cuddled. I couldn't bear to put her down so I asked the lady if I could show her to my husband. Turns out she couldn't be adopted until she was fixed, but she could be "fostered". I had had an application on file there for months and was already approved. "No puppies" my husband reminded me as I brought her out. "No big dogs" was another specification and she was a Lab puppy. Come to think of it, Labs were also not on his list of favorites ;-) When I explained the "Foster Mama" idea he seemed to think. I didn't have to pay for her yet. We could just take her home and "Foster her". If she didn't work out, she could go back. Amazingly, he said "YES!"

The rest was all a happy blur. There I was all muddy cuddling this little puppy and the nice pound ladies were loading me up with a dog dish, toys and a gigantic bag of puppy food! Since we've gotten her home, she's been such a good girl! Everybody in the family has different plans for her. The Archer has already taken her for walks, a motorcycle ride, swimming a few times and has been teaching her about how to find sheds. He has high hopes she will be quite the hunting dog and shed finder. Super Catman and Art Dog are working on "Fetch". Miss Moonbeam mainly doesn't want to be jumped on. Me, well house training and coming to being called are my biggies. She's making great progress in only a few days.

Today before work, I was lying on the swing trying to get a nap in before my night shift. Miss Moonbeam came to snuggle and poke and do what 3 year olds do. Puppy came home from her "swimming lesson" with Archer and wanted to snuggle too. There I was lying on the swing with a 3 year old and a wet, shivery pup. It was a crowded spot, but a happy one ;-)

We considered a lot of names... Penelope, Patience, Ebony, Dingo, Tabitha, Samantha, Luna, Cinder, the name ideas just kept coming. Finally we settled on Libby Liberty. Libby being her first name and Liberty the middle one. I'm sure we will be having a lot of adventures ahead with little Libby.......

My "SparkOmatic" EXTRAordinary 20th Wedding Anniversary EXTRAVAGANZA!!

The Most Wonderful, Most Romantic and Memorable Get Away EVER!!

Relaxing on remote beaches to sleep in the sand under the starry skies in the eveings....


He read me Patrick McManus and I read him Bill Johnson.

Refreshing Mornings.......






"Where do you want to go?" "I don't know - where do you want to go?"

Me diving off the rocks...

Hiking and exploring above a remote beach....

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On Sunday, we met up with the kids. As you can see, they were ready for fun!!

- Super Catman -

Catman and ArtDog

Miss Moonbeamer "yikes the beach"

The Girls

Miss Moonbeam waiting while the older kids are cliff jumping and diving....

My husband, Sock Fashion Expert and Archer doing a big jump together....

We missed the kids, but had a super fun time ALONE together!! I was glad to see my babies though....

ALL the kids love the boat!! SFE's perpetual smile....

Miss Moonbeam wasn't all that sure about going out in the water, but she loves her Daddy....

The Boys pretty much FROLICKED, wrestled and played all day!!

Smiling ArtDog

Miss Moonbeam "yikes the boat and yikes to drive"

Hard at play with The Fam

Me Diving off the rocky cliffs....

Archer Diving......

My husband encourages me as I "do it afraid"......

My amazing Son "swims his camera" over to the cliffs for these crazy jumping and diving pics!!

Miss Moonbeam played all afternoon with the cooking dishes we found along with her "sand purse"

Remote, Sandy Beaches, Big Clumps o' Clay for playing, Pristine Waters, Ninety Degree Sunshine, What More Could A Person Ask For?

Back around tax return time, I reminded my dear husband rather bluntly that it was our 20th wedding anniversary this year. He responded with "let me worry about that" and proceeded to pay off our debts and spend the money, "harrumph" rather wisely. Me, well I would have spent it going some exotic place......

Month by month, day by day, I worried the anniversary like a dog on a bone. "Uh, by the way, what do you think we should do for that big anniversary?" I'd hint subtly with the nonchalance of a neurotic baboon. The more I badgered him about it the less he was willing to discuss it and the more I began dreading the big day's arrival. I had this gnawing fear that I would be home doing nothing other than drowning in a mosquito infested swamp of self pity.

Finally, about 2 days before our anniversary, my husband said out of the blue. "What would you think about buying a boat?" "What?!?!" I asked, rather shocked. He'd been looking at houseboats, like we'd done for our 15th and he decided that it would make more sense just to buy a boat than throw a lot of money away renting one for a few days. He's just one of those practical minded people who can't stand to waste money. After thinking about it, I knew it was a great idea. Whats not to like about buying a boat? I'd been asking for us to buy one for as long as we've been married. It seemed like something he could peacefully spend money on and something that would satisfy a deep craving for romance that I'd been longing for.

Then he showed me an awesome one on Craigs list in a far away city. It was perfect. The next day, we embarked on the adventure. Turns out, it was a super nice family man who owned it and took care of it like a child. He was such a great guy that he threw in anchors, safety stuff, a pile of life jackets and even some oil and other assorted doo dads. My husband was real pleased and I could hardly contain my excitement.

It was well past lunch, but I couldn't possibly imagine eating once that boat was in our possession. I didn't want to do anything but try it out!! He was rather pleased that I had lost interest in the idea of eating in the big city. In the end, we took it out on Ponderay and had so much fun!! Then we docked her and ate at a restaurant not far from the lake. The novelty of docking a boat to go eat was just too much fun ;-)

That week, the official "anniversary get away" plans were full in motion. My husband worked like crazy getting stuff ready. By Friday morning, he was exhausted. Luckily, as he was leaving he happened to find he'd almost walked out the door without the keys to the boat!! Yikes!! With Archer and Sock Fashion Expert in charge, we left confident that they could handle anything that might arise. We also had a cell phone along just in case. I could hardly contain the excitement!!

After an hours drive, we were out on Lake Koocanusa in no time and embarking on our adventure!! "What do you want to do?" "I don't know what do you want to do?" "Where do you want to go?" "I don't know, where do you want to go?" We sounded just like newbie daters ;-) It ws so exciting!! First we anchored at a remote cove so my husband could take a well deserved nap. I didn't last long with those beatiful, remote sandy beaches and beckoning green waters calling my name. I had to dive out and swim for shore so I could go exploring along the beach. Drift wood everywhere, powdery fine sand, big globs of clay. Could this not be an exotic paradise after all?! It was as close to heaven on earth that I could possibly imagine. Suddenly, flashbacks came from dreams I'd had as a little girl and I knew I'd walked this beach before. This was my destiny, realized, and this was the man, all along that God had intended just for me......

After swimming back to the boat, with a little persuasion, my husband woke up and swam the cove with me to explore paradise. It was probably 90 degrees and the waters were just perfect. We ran and played along the beach together like it was some kind of honeymoon paradise. It was like living out the most romantic movie ever..... After a good long while, we swam back to the boat. Some people had pulled ashore, but they were off in the distance and we never talked to them.

Next, we found a private cove to camp in. It was a beautiful place, and I couldn't imagine wanting to sleep in tent. He built a fire, and I warmed up some food on our camp stove. While sitting around the fire, he read me Patrick McManus stories and I read him Bill Johnson. It was idyllic. Then we snuggled up in our zipped together bags under the stars. Its the stuff dreams are made of :-)

In the morning we didn't have to go anywhere in a hurry and planned our our next days adventure. It was incredible fun just playing in the sand and water!! He found some cliffs and tied the boat up a ways off. After sunning a while, I couldn't imagine not playing on the rocks, so I swam over and dove off a few while he took pictures. He even gave me a foot massage. I felt so pamered!!! Everything about the whole weekend made me feel so blessed and pampered. It was like God just smiled down on us and gave us the perfect weather, and the most ideal everything. Later on he swam over to the cliffs with me and encouraged me up them higher. For a while, I sat paralyzed with fear on one, but he coaxed me off. After a while, I realized that the fear was never going to leave. I just had to "jump afraid". Then I felt like once I'd conquored fear, there were no limits anymore and anything was possible. Shaking and afraid, I did it again, but higher :-)

That afternoon, he took it out to choppy waters in another part of the lake and let the boat rock like crazy just for fun. I turned the radio on an old rock channel and as if on cue, the "Bad Company" song he dedicated to me and recorded for me when I was 16 came on. Again, it was like God just smiled on us and made everything passionate, romantic and euphorically wonderful.

Camping and exploring that evening was much the same, except that it was more like a dream than a reality. The stars were bright above us and the world was a wonderful place. We even saw some crazy ufos, though he makes fun of what I see when I don't have my glasses on ;-) In the morning, the kids woke us up at 7am sharp to tell us they were leaving. We laughed at how prompt they were. The kids were to meet us at the docks Sunday morning so they could spend the last day of the trip with us.

All of it would have been pulled off wonderfully except for the small inconvenience that the key somehow got bumped to the "on" positon and the battery was stone dead. Fortunately, the boat came with an extra little motor, and we trolled our way back. My smart man switched batteries with the car the kids drove so he could take them out for the day.

As you can see from the pics, the kids had a wonderful time too. We took them all over, showed them the cliffs and the remote beaches and let them play in the beautiful pristine waters all day long. It was another scorcher of a day and perfect for water play of all types. As if on cue, a little pink bag was left on one remote beach with toy cooking dishes perfect for Miss Moonbeam. She entitled it her "sand purse" and played all day with the dishes in the sand. Another beach had a crazy looking face on a ball one of the boys claimed. All day long the kids never stopped smiling. The Sock Fashion Expert had spend THE ENTIRE DAY before making all kinds of things from scratch for the day. She made 3 kinds of home made crackers, bean dip from dried beans, casadias and home made grahm crackers for s'mores. She'd thought of everything. Whan an amazing girl!! All in all, I can't possibly tell how wonderful the weekend was. All I can say is that it was the BEST ANNIVERSARY GET AWAY EVER!! And some of the best days of my life :-)