Just wanted to see if I can make everyone happy like me today....It is the "baby's" LAST first day of school!! Now all I have to do is make sure I pass everything! :) Have a Happy Monday!

Finally Something to Look Foward to!

Ryan and I decided before school starts for me on Monday that we would take some time off together from work. Well, that is where I am at right now...on a mini vacation with my sweetie. It definitely was something to look foward to all week long for me since work has been so unpredictable and for Ryan, since his boss is such a you know what. So, we are only about an hour and a half from Lubbock, but we were able to go see Palo Duro Canyon like we have been saying we were going to since we moved to Lubbock-three years ago! I went in May with Quala and Alli, which meant that this time I kinda played tour guide. It was a lot of fun. Ryan and I really enojoy hiking(when we both don't have bugs swarming us!). Today we didn't even hike a whole mile and we weren't climbing up a mountain at a steep elevation. Either way, I think we both wished that we lived closer to mountains or valleys that we could hike up. Really great exercise and So much to see!!

After we were done hiking and souvenier shopping Ryan wanted to go to another place he learned about in his Art class-Cadillac Ranch. So, we look up directions on the internet and we drove out there. All it is is old Cadillacs buried half way in the dirt, sticking straight up in the air. It really doesn't sound too great, but you are encouraged to bring paint and then paint anything you want on the cars. Funny as it sounds, it was a lot of fun! The wind almost knocked us over in both places today(excuse the hair) but it was tons of fun just relaxing and exploring new things together. Here are some pictures and I am sure Ryan will post somethng later too.

(by Ryan)

The following website gives the story about Cadillac Ranch. it's considered a modern public art piece, and people come from all over the world to dusty old Amarillo, Texas, just to see it and add to it.

http://www.libertysoftware.be/cml/cadillacranch/ranch/crabtr.htm

Ryan's famous pose:

Can you see the amazing canyon behind us? It is really hard to take a picture yourself and try to get a great background too.

Here is the view without us hogging the frame.

Just a pretty background:

Can you see Ryan in this picture? He is wearing a red shirt and kahkis shorts. I had to yell at him to come back because I thought I heard a rattlesnake! I guess it was just me being a pansy!

Now you see the "cave" from the outside or from the road...

Now you see it from the inside....

This is the Cadillac Ranch. I thought the cars might be kinda old and rusty since they have been there for so long, but the paint was so thick on them that you counldn't even see the lug nuts on the tires!!

I decided to get inside the car to paint something. Less likely that someone else will paint over it!

I figured that the cars would be pretty much multi-colored and no matter how dark you sprayed something on, it was not going to show. So, Ryan and I bought black paint to put a backdrop and then red to write ontop of black. It was a good idea since the most popular colors on the cars were red and black!!! Ryan did a really good job painting after all his experience painting racecars.

His finished product:

Ryan helped me stand on the top of the car to reach a place that was still blank.

Ryan didn't need my help climbing up his car to write on the top. Ryan was in a big climbing mood today...everything he saw he told me, "hmmmmm I wonder how I can get to the top of that!" I told him he must have that in common with John!

We had someone take our picture, thankfully. You actually get the whole view!

It does not seem like it has been too long since I posted. I guess when you really are doing nothing more than working, the days just all blend in. Work has been driving me crazy this past week. One of the supervisors had a nasty rumor that someone started, then she was having problems at home too. So, she called in a couple of days and also has a sour attitude when she is there. Usually when she calls in I work, unless she "fixes" the schedule before she leaves the next day. Instead of calling in, she will call the third superviser and ask if she wants to work, therefore bypassing me completely. Mom heard a lot about this last night. It is okay now I think. Sorry I hate talking about work so much, but that is really all that I am doing right now. Today I got the day off....practically had to beg for it and I have to be at work at 4:30 in the morning. Anyway, I spent my day cleaning mostly. I washed clothes and wanted to wash my car. It has been drizzling and just gloomy outside all day. Not a good day to wash the car.

It is good that I work in the morning tomorrow since Randy, Quala, and Allison will be in town tomorrow night. They are moving Alli up here. The plan right now is work, nap, then they get here, move in, eat, sleep, etc.... I am really looking forward to seeing all of them. I guess I will get to see Alli a lot more now since she will be up here with us! Cooking supper for three some nights?? We shall see.

Classes start in a week. It is crazy to think this is the last fall that I have in classes and even here in Lubbock. Exciting!! Bailey and I are going to go on Monday or Tuesday and look at Tech rings so that we can get one!! This is my senior year! It might be a tough one though with all the classes I am taking-15 hours. It really doesn't sound like a lot just thinking about the hours, but the classes are all really involved. Plus, I might be working Saturday and/or Sunday mornings this semester, which will give me time in the afternoon to do homework, as long as I am not dog tired from getting up so early.

I better go. I need to call John back. Have a great weekend.

Out with the Old, In with the New(er)

Ryan has conquered his task of learning to ride a motorcycle. Today he actually took his driving test and got his motorcycle license. So why the title you ask? That is because he bought his current bike as a learning bike and now that he knows how to ride and is confident he will not drop the bike, he has purchased a new(er) bike. I really was worried about what he was getting himself into, you know the normal gilr/fiance freak out moment. But, he was smart about it all and got a really good deal. The bike he got is a 2001 Honda CBR 929 RR. It is in mint condition though and only has about 2500 miles on it. Apparently, anywhere he rides it, he gets comments on how great it looks. Since I don't ride with him, I don't know but I do know that he is about as proud of his bike as I am of my ring! That is pretty proud!! We named it already too...Maverick 2.1. Pictures following!...

I had a big issue today too. When I was home in Houston, Mom, Dee, Sue and I went to a jewelry store. There was a necklace that I bought that was glass, which I have only worn twice since I bought it, and it was my favorite necklace! Well, today I was putting it on and I had a vision of my dropping it and I told myself don't do that. Do you know what I did next? Yup. I dropped it. The glass pendant shattered all over the bathroom floor. I was so pissed at myself!! That started a series of brain farts for the rest of the day.



Everything else around here is business as usual. Ryan is supposed to be part time at his job and this week he was scheduled for 47 hours. He has already talked to his manager about it and they told him until they find him help, that is how it is going to be. I feel really bad for him. I know exactly how that feels and I wish that I could do something to help him with homework or work. The best I can do is just keep washing his clothes and make sure he wakes up on time. :) He will see my crazy side once school starts. One of our supervisors at my job is most likely leaving(the one that works like 50 hours a week). That could make an even tougher fall for me if they rely on my to take most of those hours on myself.

Making it through-

Ryan and I are making it through the summer. I can't believe it is already August-I am still trying to get money for school in order! The good news...this is the last year I have to worry about getting money in order for school!! Next, I will have to worry about money while I am interning! Woo Hoo! I am ready to take the next step to my career. My car has crossed a mile stone also, Betty now has 100,00 miles on her! I still love my car though. Ryan and I have to get my transmission fluid and filter changed though(didn't know that was supposed to happen every 50,000 miles) and my oil needs to be changed again. All routine checkups for her. Ryan's car is in good shape, however Maverick 2.0 (notorcycle) isn't in such good shape. Ryan has been taking him to work everyday and on his way home Monday, something started knocking. Anyway, this motorcycle was just his beginner bike to start with and now he is looking at getting something newer and more dependable. He didn't buy the bike he wanted to start with because he didn't want to scrap it up or anything while he was learning. Now he feels like a pro at riding. I will keep you up on that.
I cut my hair yersterday too. Nothing really different, just a trim. I actually wanted more cut off, but Ryan said he likes it a lot plus it is easy for me to fix. Bailey got her nails done while I got a haircut. Tuesday was her last day at work, so after work we all surprised her by having a get together at my house after work. She had no idea it was coming. Usually for someone's last day we have cake, so all night long she was hinting how disappointed she was that noone thought to celebrate her leaving. I think she rethought that when I opened the door to my house though! Good food and good friends!
I already told Sue, but if anyone else has read 'My Sister's Keeper" you might be interested. They are making it into a movie. Cameron Diaz will play the mom. Something else for me to go see!
Now, I have to wash some dishes. I made crab stuffed salmon last night, but I didn't do any of the dishes yet. Some nights I feel like Dad and do the dishes right away, others I am Mom and just rinse and finish washing in the morning! Thanks for the great mix of both of you!