Sunday Briefing

Well guys, I have a lot of interesting things to share. Actually I can only think of one...maybe two. The other stuff is more or less fluff and filler to take the edge off my blogging addiction. 


Let's do this in list form, since I am one of those crazy ladies who makes lists of all the other lists, and that's what makes me happy. If you prefer bullet form, you can take it up with me later.


1. I stopped biting my nails. I know this seems like it should fit into the "fluff and filler" category, but if you really know me, you should understand how huge, dare I say monumental, this really is. I have been biting my nails sine they started growing. That's from like pre-birth-in-my-mother's-stomach long time.. Well, 22 and 1/2 and  years later, they are now fingertip length. I have a sudden obsession with painting them. (This is a right of passage I never got to experience!) They are  a different color every day. I'm not sure how you girls handle the chipping, but I pretty much fit 22 years worth of nail breaking emotions into one big meltdown. It's not pretty folks. Though on the up and up, my husband enjoys the back tickles. 

2.  My henenymoes have found a new home (not a new mommy, just a new location) Don't know what heneymoes are? Lame. Read THIS to catch up.  After that one more straw that broke the horses camels back, a great friend of ours offered up her heneymoe palace. They seem happy with the move. Cheyenne was a little more apprehensive, as she got used to working the corners for extra cash um.. looking to score drugs nope, hang on....preach the gospel...erm...be a traffic conductor ahem, escaping for whatever reason. But she is now content with idea of ample amounts of attention and no longer feels the need to wonder the streets of Lyman. As for the boys, they go where the girl goes. Duh.  Trista, you rock! 









3. Brent is sick. He rarely gets sick so he is the "Honey, I think I'm dying, come spend my last moments with me and hold my hand..I'm going towards the light...."......."No babe, that's the  ceiling light...calm down" "....in that case, can I have more juice?" kind of guy. But since he takes such good care of me, I figure I'll bring him a jucie-juice or two.

4. I am getting a job! Well, looking for one. It's a little more difficult than you would think. Who would have thought a valley of 3,000 people wouldn't be able to employ every single one of  us. Get with the times Lyman.

5. The Boys got their nails trimmed last week.  Tank survived. Zip is still in therapy. Again, you're probably thinking "more fluff and freakin' filler" right? Wrong. (I don't know why my major life occurrences are about nails...but it's whatever) This very well might be one of my "one, maybe two interesting things to share". Anyway. Tank handled it like the true inner cowdog he really is, and Zip is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Wuss. No joke, the vet came running in as if the vet-tech accidently cut his whoo-whoo's off instead of his nails. That's how loud my dog was screaming. Screaming. Not just whimpering, whining, or crying, but full on two-year-old-just-got-his-candy-stolen-and-then-eaten-right-in-front-of-him screaming. I didn't think it was possible to get embarrassed because of your dog, but ohhh folks, it is. Very much so.

6.  We are selling some crap really valuable stuff we have that needs gone. Like pronto. My very big laundry room is being taken over. Please buy it. 

• DESK
• TELEVISIONS

7. Wyoming isn't sure what month to categorize February as. We are wearing flip-flops and snow coats all on the same day because here it's Sprinter. Or Wring. Either way, it's not Winter and it's not Spring.  And I'm pretty sure I am not okay with this. I no longer find the desire to dress to impress for Mother Nature, so I'm sticking with the fur coats and thermals until otherwise notified.

8. Update on other random happenings: Stella is still fitting in perfectly. I am working on the ambulance.  My diet is hanging by a thread. annnnnnnd.....I think I am just about fully recovered from sleeping on the floor. That about covers it. 

Bang Bang

We figured this imitation Spring weather wouldn't last too much longer, 

so we took full advantage and headed for the hills.

We spent the day shooting our Black Powder Riffle and playing "don't chase the bullets" with the boys.

Great way to stretch our muscles after sleeping on the floor.

Here is a video of the days events. Watch it and you can just see the frustration in me at the end. 

Who needs a mattress when you have a fort?

Ever have those momentary relapses where you resort back to a childlike state of mind? Sometimes it can result in horrible emotional outbursts in public having your own husband question your sanity, but other times you find your inner 12 year old to be quite fun and amusing.  Like Friday afternoon, for instance. Brent and I decided it would be an excellent idea to turn our basement living room into a fort. Yes, ladies and gents, a full fledged blankets-and-sheets-held-up-by-chairs fort.  It slightly resembled a circus tent. And by slightly I mean it literally looked like the circus set up tent in our very own living room- minus the elephant poop. thankgoodness. Ahem. 


After our fledgling spirits flew back to the past to reunite with our childhood bodies, we realized why God gave us the gift of maturity...and back pains.  I can remember when sleeping on the floor was like, so cool, cause beds we way over rated apparently. Had a sleepover with friends? Why, we can sleep on the floor! Our young bodies never new the difference between your uncool comfy Serta mattress and the tile flooring in your TV room. whodathunk. So there we were, fort well under construction, pillows stocked up, and circus tickets purchased ready for our camp-out. We we totally prepared to sleep on the bare carpet, because, um, hello...that's what you do in a fort. Alas, we both woke up on numerous occasions, in excruciating pain and wondering what the h-e-double-hockey-sticks we were thinking in the first place, but neither of us wanting to do anything about it because it would "ruin the experience." Duh. Even Tank (who normally sleeps on the bed, under the covers) was like "wow, ya, this was a bad idea...stop moving your legs so I can get comfy again". Zip on the other hand was all "Welcome to my life...ya jerks. Quite your whining and deal". (I like to think my dogs have a good sense of humor, Tank is very literal and realistic and Zip seems to be more dry and sarcastic...anyway....)


All in all it was totally worth it. So  if anyone in your mid twenties is interested in experiencing oldie body issues, come talk to me. I'll send you the details...and the blueprints to our fort. 

Chili Cheese Dogs, these babies screwed my diet for weeks...but do I care? Absolutely not.

PS. We spent the morning singing opera. The both of us. Full out opera. Vibrato and all. At the top of our lungs. For like, 3 hours. Inspired by this amazing, AMAZING movie.


You can only be so lucky to be my neighbor. 


Some other good show tunes to sing along with, now that you have opera/musicals on your mind:


My all time go-to audition song: On my own
Brent's personal favorite: I Dreamed a Dream.
and our Duet of choice, sung ever so elegantly by Brent and I; Time to Say Goodbye. We sound just like them...if not better.


You can thank me later.






Enjoy your little hearts out.

ANYONE But the Steelers.

I think it's a pretty well know fact that I live for football season. My heart belongs to the Florida Gators. Even though they are good enough to play in the NFL Superbowl, alas, they aren't a recognized  pansy "professional" (and I use that term loosely) team. Brent has a unhealthy obsession with the Dallas Cowboys, but since they blew it and crushed our dreams gave it their best shot, they still didn't make it to the Superbowl. And since you can't watch the game without having a team to root for, we have decided to go with the Packers. So, for the next eight hours, the Clark household has devoted itself to being die hard cheese heads.  

Let me explain our reasoning to you.  It's not that we have followed the Packers or are proud life long fans, because let's be honest...we didn't love Favre. Out with the old and in with the new... and we think Aaron Rodgers is a stud. 

 Our biggest deciding factor: ANYONE but the Steelers. 

In a school just outside Pittsburgh, a first grade teacher Explained to her class that she is a Steelers Fan. She asked her students to raise their hands if they are Steelers fans too.

Not really knowing what a Steelers fan is, but wanting to be liked by their teacher, their hands all fly into the air with one exception. 

A little boy named Timmy has not gone along with the crowd. The teacher asks him why he has decided to be different. "Because I am not a Steelers fan." says Timmy. The teacher asks "Then what are you?" 

Timmy says "I am a proud Green Bay Packers fan!" The teacher is a little perturbed now, her face slightly red. She asks Timmy why he is a Green Bay fan. 

"Well, my Mom and Dad are Packers fans so I'm a Packers fan, too." Timmy responds. 

The teacher is now angry. "That's no reason," she says loudly. "What if your Mom was a moron and your dad was an idiot? Then what would you be?"

Timmy smiled and said, "Then I'd be a Steelers fan."

Happy SUPERBOWL everyone! :)

Eighty One.

It's happened folks. The world is freezing over. I thought Hell was supposed to go first, but apparently we skipped in line.  My thermometer is reading  negative 23 degrees with the wind chill. And we all know how much Wyoming likes its wind. The hard thing to understand here is once it hits anything below zero, it all feels the same. But on the flip side, I'm living in coastal paradise compared to Brent. He is working in negative 40..yes. negative four-zero degrees.  The main word of that sentence is "working". Meaning he is outside in that crap. Poor kid. 

Bear and Katrina nestled in their home ice cube.

 My brother and sister are living in New Jersey. So if anyone watches the news (or Live with Regis and Kelly like I do) you already know that they are literally living in a block of ice. My mom and pop are chilling in -17 degrees in Utah, and Hillary is at -18 all the way in Colorado. Then, I start to think of Sadie who is merely three states away in Washington,  complaining of 37 degrees. That's 37 in the positive.  Anyone care to know the temperature of my hometown in Florida? Eighty-freakin'-one degrees. I'm moving.  You're more than welcome to join me.




While half the nation sits inside our cozy little homes (because our door hinges are frozen), I start to think of things to keep myself busy.  I have checked out every craft-blog, only to determine I am not going into town to get the materials. My house is clean, because that was done on day #1 of being frozen in. Katrina mentioned running up and down the stairs for release of canine energy. Done. What's left? Well, here are some of the best ideas I have found here and there to stay entertained while inside. 

• Curl up on the couch, with a hot beverage and watch a movie you haven't made time for yet.
• Catch up on the book you have abandoned pages ago.
• Scrapbook. Because everyone has time for pictures, but not a minute to spare for doing something with them.
• Organize your closet. 
• Try some baking recipes, then share them with your neighbors.
• Blog. (really, who does that?)
• Spend time on a really cute crafting project. Here are some awesome craft blogs you should check out:
• Craftaholic Anonymous  and Kittycats and Airplanes 
• Try out some of the latest dace moves. Because no one really is watching, unless you have some nosy neighbors... like I do.