Nada

All ended well with the drama yesterday.
Today is Jon's birthday. He's an old man of 36....getting closer and closer to 40.
I started the day early....in the office by 7am. I have several meetings scheduled for today, as well as payroll.
The forecast shows the high to be in the mid sixties today. Looks like fall is here.

Hotel Drama

We had a Jamaican guest...a truck driver from North Carolina- who called the front desk this morning requesting the phone number for a taxi. To make a long story short...ended up calling 911 because this 31 year old was having severe chest pains. The ambulance guys checked him out and then took him to the hospital. I had to call his trucking company and tell them where the truck was parked. I hope everything turns out well.

Sunday Happenings at the Schaefers

We went to church this morning and enjoyed the service as usual.

Then Bridgette and I went to Lowe's and bought fish food for the koi and algaecide for the pond. I gotta get the premises looking good for Bridgette's birthday dinner in a couple of weeks.
This afternoon we watched the movie Righteous Kill. I like it when the kids watch tv with me. Right now Reese is watching some volcano documentary on the national geographic channel. Imagine that. So....I gave in and let him watch that while we're recording the season premiere of Desperate Housewives. It was a selfless act, I know.

Donnie arrived home from spending several days at the farm. I was so happy to see him. Bridgette and I clapped and cheered when he walked through the door.

I have quite a busy week lined up. Here is last week's newspaper picture of the wine & cheese reception....with another article coming out next week.

A day in the life of a Homecoming Queen

Sage Fulton 2009 Homecoming Queen, Petersburg High School


First the hair...


Then the make-up


All dressed up with dad...

She's a winner with Gramps.

And off she goes!

I'm so glad she's mine.

SKEETER!!!!!!!!! He did it again.

This n That

The kids are at an FFA meeting...and they're eating supper there. I am here cooking a ton of food because I set out a bunch of meat to thaw at the beginning of the week....enough meat to last a freaking month. Especially considering that Don and I ate out one night this week. The kids were gone for supper on Monday. And I ended up cooking fish one night instead of pork tenderloin. So, by the time I go to bed tonight there will be enough food in the fridge to feed an army. But no one is here to eat it because I know the kids will have frozen pizzas while I'm gone. Hmmmmm.
Wasn't that a long paragraph about nothing!
It rained all day today...and it's still dreary and foggy.
I had a good day at work. I was interviewed for an article in the Rolla Paper and the St. James Paper because we're doing a dual ribbon cutting next week. I made sure I was able to proofread the write-up before it went to press, and luckily I only had to make a few minor changes. Donnie is paranoid about how much information goes out about him. Understandably so I reckon.
We had a housekeeping meeting today to go over some ways to make things operate more efficiently. We had pizza during the meeting. I printed up a monthly newsletter for the employees. And they were so excited. It doesn't take much to make people feel like they matter. I am working diligently to beat the odds of the enormous employee turnover rate in the hospitality business. So far so good...I just gotta keep letting them know how much they're appreciated while also maintaining a high code of conduct. Pretty much like raising teenagers!
I'm getting my stuff ready to head to Texas tomorrow. I am so very excited to see my babies!

Total Frustration

Today, I set up two separate meetings next week with a couple of very key people who can help benefit my business significantly. I made arrangements for mine and Sue's trip to Dallas to attend hotel training in November. I paid all of the hotel's bills. I wrote the first monthly employee newsletter, made color copies for each employee, and then put them in envelopes and addressed them. I had a business lunch with my husband and Curt. I made arrangements to work at the band festival on Saturday. I took Bridgette to the doctor and to the pharmacy to pick up her medication...twice. I took Reese on an excursion to take pictures of dead trees on the side of the road. And the list goes on....
BUT...
I couldn't for the life of me sign onto my own damn blog!!!
Everyone else could!

Until finally...I got it to work! And now I cannot even remember what I wanted to blog about.

Look at what Reese made in shop class!!!

Tuesday

Pretty easy day here in Missouri. Work went well. I placed my first order for Circle E Candles for the gift shop today and I am so excited to have that little piece of Texas here. Joyce the housekeeper was off today and she called me this afternoon drunk as a skunk. She wanted me to go into business with her...I'm supposed to buy a building, remodel it and turn into a sports bar and she'll run it for me. Too funny. I think she would drink up all the profits!
I cooked supper tonight for Donnie, Greg, and the kids. I fried a ton of fish. We also had coleslaw, beans, cornbread, fried taters and onions, store bought lemon pie, and raspberry iced tea. Yum, yum. My hair and my house smell like fish, but gosh it was worth it. And guess what? Reese and Bridgette slept through it all...without even eating supper. And they're still asleep. They must've had a long week. But it's only Tuesday!

Sunday

We all slept late this morning. Actually, Reese didn't get up until 1pm. We all needed the rest. Bridgette seems to be bouncing back from being sick a lot quicker than I am. Guess it's because I'm an old woman.
The kids have been good helpers all day. They went to the grocery store and then Bridgette cooked supper.
Donnie made it home from the farm.
The kids are doing homework and Donnie and I are watching the Cardinal game. It was nice to see BB get on facebook. She'll really enjoy it.

Saturday

Bridgette and I went to the band festival in Farmington today to watch Reese and the rest of the Screaming Eagle Band compete. Although the band did not advance to the finals, we had a really good time.
It's definitely a different crowd, and we watched some amazing performances. Bridgette and I came home early because we weren't feeling good. Those darn sinus infections are ruthless. We had a nap, and now that Reese is home we're all watching the Tech vs. Texas football game and chillin out.

The dance

As usual, the girls swarmed Reese.

Bridgette and Juanita.

Rock 'n Roll, Dude!

"The good kids." (Yeah, right.)

Down the hall.

The boys.

Siblings. I'm glad these two get along. Not like my family...where the song goes like this:

We ain't fam-i-ly...my brother and my sister hate me....hahahahehehe

On their way.

The sweet but awkward corsage moment. See Skeeter at the edge of the chair looking on. The..."I've got to fix my boobies while his back is turned"...moment.

Now..."We're ready to go!"

Bridgette had thirty minutes to go from a pony tail and shorts to full make-up and dress. We were so rushed. Plus, I left my camera at work and had to use Bridgette's semi-broken one. Hopefully Reese will get some better pictures at the dance.

This kid is looking more like me every day

Way to go, Reesie

Reese placed 8th at the cross country meet at Steelville, plus he improved his time by five minutes. We're so proud of him and his medal! Just wish his mom could operate a camera!

Pre Homecoming Festivities

Bridgette refused to have her picture taken...so I got a shot of Santa Clause in the background. Here's Max looking tough riding on the football float at the Homecoming Parade.

Some things never change. Reese must have spotted something shiny! Now he's back. What a good looking guy!

I really didn't want to go downtown to watch the Homecoming Parade. What's the point of it anyway? But I was really glad I did. Not only did I get to see two of my boys, but I also got a much coveted t-shirt thrown by the cheerleaders. I was sitting in my lawn chair taking pictures when the rolled up t-shirt came flying my way and landed in my lap. Yay for me!

Getting Ready...

The plant the bank sent. Pumpkins

They're nice...but not as nice as the ones from Watson Farms.

Some flowers for the sitting area. Getting ready to serve wine & cheese at the reception this afternoon.

Summary of the day

I had a busy day at work, but didn't get as much accomplished as I'd hoped. I called Mom and we had a nice visit this afternoon. She filled me in on "As the World Turns at the Watsons"...too funny.
The kids and I went shopping for Bridgette's homecoming dress and Reese some dress shoes. We found what we were looking for and then some. Bridgette is going to the dance with Aaron and Reese opted to be a photographer instead of taking a date. He said it was the best of both worlds. He gets to use a fancy camera for the evening, as well as hang out with his friends.
We talked to the blondies this evening. They are neat little ladies and I cannot wait to see them!
I wonder if there's a boy named Aaron in Reagan's class????Hmmmmm....seems to be a family trend.
That's all for now.
Good night, sleep tight, sweet dreams, don't let the bed bugs bite.
I love you.

Piss Cutter

I had the preacher of the First Baptist Church in stitches trying to explain the meaning of the phrase 'piss cutter' to him and his wife, Charlotte. This was after she'd already called her mother to see if she'd heard the phrase before. Hmmmmm.
And you didn't think I had any special talents!

You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can't take Texas out of the girl

I did a little redecorating while Donnie was at the farm. A few minor changes that make this Texas girl proud. I hope Donnie likes it.

Go figure...

Teresa is the kids' Sunday School teacher. She has a great smile.

Veronica

Ben

The assembly line

Aaron (Bridgette's secret admirer)

This morning before church the youth made breakfast to raise donations for a mission trip. Since I had to take the kids early anyway, I decided to stay and help. I used my gravy making skills to help glorify God.

Later on, during Sunday school, Charlotte, (teacher and preacher's wife) told me that after seeing my kids at breakfast, she asked her husband if he saw me anywhere. He told her I was in the kitchen cooking. She told him no...she was talking about Amanda Schaefer. Again, he told her I was in the kitchen cooking and had been all morning! Evidently she was quite surprised. Go figure.

On another note...Charlotte is doing a project on diversity for one of her graduate classes. She is using me as her example of how Midwesterners have stereo-types about Texans and other southerners. She gave me a page of questions to answer and also requested permission to use the picture of me holding the photo of mom in her wedding dress. Charlotte is doing a power point presentation. She's going to start with a picture of a toothless hillbilly....do the presentation on her friend, Amanda. And then show the wedding picture at the end and reveal that this is the real Southern Blue Bell she was referring to. It sounds interesting and I was very flattered she thought of me.

Flower Girl

Skeeter

We hadn't seen Skeeter since last night. He didn't show up in the morning...at lunch...or after school. We cased the neighborhood...asked around...and even went in the woods and searched for my beloved Skeeter. He's never ventured outside the driveway. His legs are too short to go very far.
When he hadn't shown up by 5pm I was devastated.
I felt sure my Skeeter was gone forever. I even cried real tears that totally freaked Reese out.
Don took me to dinner, and then we went to the football game. When we got home around 10pm, I was hoping that Skeeter had returned. No such luck.
I was the last to go in the house.
Nonetheless...I heard Reese holler...and then I heard the jingle of Skeet's tags. My Skeeter had been found!
Skeeter had somehow been shut up in the hall linen closet. A closet we rarely use. When Reese walked by, he heard Skeeter scratching on the door, and thus let him out.
Skeeter was shell shocked...he shook uncontrollably. I think he was beginning to think he would never see us again, too.
Anyway...we're glad he's back.

One of my favorite pictures of Reagan

Skeeter, Where are you?

I didn't see Skeeter this morning which is very unusual because he usually hangs out with me while I get ready for work. (lame, I know)
I asked Donnie to keep his eye out for Skeet because I was worried.
I called Donnie at lunch....and no sign of Skeeter. Don thinks he's in the house somewhere asleep. He said he sure hopes so...because if not, he knows I'll be a mess.

You darn right.

The Race

The girls watched from the balcony... the beginning of the Tour of Missouri race from St. James to Jefferson City... Here's my banner hanging at the hotel...

There was the support staff...

As well as a blur of bikers...

And then...WOW!!!! It was an amazing site to see.

Blessed

I'm feeling very blessed today.
I am so proud of each of my children and I love them dearly. They continuously inspire me and bring me joy.
I have a husband that expects a lot of me because he knows he married a smart and capable woman worthy of being his partner...and I love him for that.
I am fortunate enough to want to get out of bed every morning to go to work.
My precious Skeeter brings me an enormous amount of joy...
most of the time.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Now...moving on.
I worked a little later than usual yesterday...getting all the tour participants checked in and settled. Reese and Bridgette went to Wednesday night church. Donnie and Nick fried crappie and it was hot out of the skillet when I got home. Yum, yum.
Reese is deciding which girl to ask to the homecoming dance, while Bridgette is doing her best to dodge all the guys that want to ask her to the dance. She takes after me in that she attracts all the weird ones! I talked to Sage and Reagan last night. They sure are tired.
Donnie and Nick are laying petro-mat in the city again today. This weekend we have a football game, a cross country meet, and an area barn warming dance. Fun, fun.

Tour of Missouri

The hotel was buzzing all day with people here with the bike race. This is my kind of thing. Everyone was soooo nice. The race is in St. James tomorrow, but I'll be too busy here to make it downtown to the festivities.
If only I had the perfect front desk manager to hold down the fort.....Hmmmmm....wonder who that would be???

Had a good day.

Curt's baby is fine.
Reese did well at his cross country meet.
Bridgette and Mariah went to the JV Football game.
Donnie and Nick are dove hunting.
And I am enjoying a little free time alone!

I spent the morning catching up at work. The Tour of Missouri group arrives tomorrow, so we've been hard at work preparing for them...including gift bags for the rooms.
The maintenance man, Curt, had some troubling news. His wife is expecting their third child, a boy, due any day now. Friday the doctors discovered that the baby has parvoe. Yes, like dogs have, although the human kind can only be transmitted from human to human. None of the medical staff in Rolla knew anything about human parvoe. But it doesn't look good at all. Curt and his wife are at the hospital in St. Louis seeing a group of specialists and delivering the baby today. Please keep this young family in your prayers.

Reagan is a big sister!

The kids have a new baby brother...Ridge Ramsey.
They're so very proud!

The Lake and more

Donnie, Bridgette, Reese, and I spent Labor Day Weekend at Lake Truman. We fished for crappie...ran trot lines...hung out with Keith Higgins....and cooked out. We even went out and ate Mexican food one night. We had so much fun. Reese and Bridgette made great boat hands. We came home with quite a bit of catfish and crappie. We'll be having a fish fry sometime this week.
I was very proud of myself for driving the pickup and boat trailer down to the loading ramp and actually backing the trailer down the ramp and into the water so Donnie could load the boat. It's a lot harder than it looks...everything is backwards. I know I embarrassed the kids to death because it took me forever to back down there and as I was nearing the water Donnie had to make hand motions of which way I should turn the wheel. But...at the end of the day...I did it!!! And now that I know I can do it....I won't be afraid to keep trying until I get good at it.
Reese took some amazing pictures of the lake...as usual. And Miss Bridgette drove me and my car all the way home. In the holiday traffic and everything. She did a great job...and it's not long until she'll get her license.
Back at home...I'm doing laundry...Reese is at Cross Country practice...Donnie's piddling...and Bridgette's doing homework.
All of the kids are anxiously awaiting the impending birth of their baby brother. They are so excited!

Cross Country Meet

Reese ran a good race. He placed 26th out of 100 plus runners.

Great job, Reese!

Ma

Ma called this afternoon. Although she was sweet, it's obvious that she is not doing well. Kris and I had a chuckle on FaceBook about some of the things Ma has said over the years. She's always been one tough woman. The only tough part now is seeing her like this.

Blast from the Past

Here's a couple of pictures I got from Brittany Gregory's FaceBook from when we were in the sixth grade.
Reagan's age. WOW.

People Amaze me...

We received three counterfeit twenty dollar bills at the hotel. Some of them even passed the marker test.
What is wrong with people?

Let's talk about the massage...

Well, I was a little apprehensive about being naked and feeling naked...and having some stranger touching me. But those feelings quickly dissipated.
The massage lasted an hour and a half...and it was amazing. An added benefit that I hadn't anticipated was how great it was for my sinuses. She placed a hot stone on my forehead and two on my face (where my sinuses are) and left them there for about 30 minutes. It made such a difference that I'm going to try this at home.
Next time I do this...and there will be a next time...I'll choose a day when I'm not working. When I returned from lunch, it was pretty obvious I had been doing something, as my makeup was all rubbed off and my hair was flat. I would've been better off telling my employees what I was really doing as opposed to them using their imaginations!

That'll Fix 'em

I scheduled myself a hot rock massage for tomorrow at 11am.
I'll let you know how it goes!

Now Donnie is in the dog house!

He volunteered me (without my knowledge)to have lunch with his mother today...because he was too busy.
As if that weren't bad enough....
yesterday was opening day of dove season. All of the guys combined, killed a total of 158 dove. They're cooking the dove out at Peterson's barn tonight and Donnie told them I would cook the mashed potatoes and gravy. For like 50 people! And Greg bragged and bragged on how my gravy is "to die for". How much pressure is that? And Greg is correct....some body's going to die for it!
Thank God Bridgette agreed to come help me cook, or else it would be a total disaster.