Done with vacations!

We just got back from Jonesboro. We had a great time. Best part I got to see Reagan with my own eyes. She is really a doll. I was “Reaganized", I just wanted to squeeze her, and she was so cute. Reagan is at that age where everything is an adventure and she sees everything with new eyes. She loved the lights from the disco ball at the wedding reception and she wanted to simply just follow the lights and dance around. Reagan is definitely a living doll. Sad to say I didn’t take one picture, which is so unlike me. Hopefully Debbie will send some. Hint hint!!

Leaving!!

After we realized how big Katrina had gotten we started gathering and packing. I wasn't sure what mom and dad wanted to take. Medicine, important insurance papers, a few clothes; I think we all kind of went in shock. My dad wanted to take some new tools that he had just bought. I think my mom thought that he was loading all of the tools so she didn't take much. My dad did take the very old portraits of relatives and I think my mom picked up a few things. And of course they loaded some coolers with the food from the frig. At one of the stops mom noticed how empty the truck was and said we could have brought more but by then it was too late. Oh well.
Now one of the reasons that we had went to Mississippi was because my dad had some overhead lights and electirical wire that Bob could have. He had also mentioned that he had a big stainless steel sink, all of this for our big shop. On Saturday they had loaded Kevin's truck and then here comes the Big Sink. Alrighty then it was a big sink, we strapped it down and it was as long as the truck bed. It has three sinks that are attached together. BIG, did I say big. It was big, when I get the pictures back I will post them on the blog. To say the least when we were going down the road we got quite a few double takes. I wonder what everyone thought. "Looky there! There goes a guy who is taking the Kitchen Sink with him!!"
Dad decided to take the back roads. A few other people did also, but definitely not as many as there would have been on the main roads. We followed dad down the road, I kept looking through the back window just thinking that there was one big, huge, hurricane coming. When we stopped to get gas the other people were in a daze also, most of the them had no destination. Town after town they had stopped and there were not any hotel rooms to be had. At one of the last stops we made after we had entered Arkansas, the gas station attendent had told people that they would probably have to go to Little Rock for a hotel room. I felt bad for them. But alas as the days went by, I realized that they were some of the lucky ones.

Vacationing with Katrina

Ok in my last blog I said that we were going to visit my mom and dad in Mississippi. We left on Thursday evening and drove all night. My mom and dad live between Picayune and Kiln. We arrived about 12 the next day. We visited some and then went to Gulfport to one of the casinos and had some of the best seafood that I have ever eaten. It was an all you can eat buffet, and we got our fill on shrimp, crab legs, muscles, and of course dessert.
After we ate we each took $20.00 to play the slot machines. I ended up winning my 20 back; I think Bob lost about 10. Kevin was the big winner; he had 50 to the good when we left. When we left, dad drove us around Gulfport and showed us all of the buildings that he had helped build.
The next morning we got up and drove into the French Quarter, walked around, took a few pictures. We stopped at lunch and had some shrimp Po’boy sandwiches. Walked around some more and left about 3. As we drove home we noticed the police were setting up the barricades by the roads. Originally we were going back the French Quarter, but decided against it.
After we got home dad and Bob decided to take a nap, so mom, Kevin and I decided to go to the gulf and do some swimming. We drove on along I-10, found a spot and walked along the beach and started walking in the water. We walked for about 15 minutes and the water hardly was over our waists. We did swim but there was oddness about the water. The water was very hot and had a sticky consistency. We started picking up shells and they had hermit crabs in them. Thought it was best to leave them. We went home and got dad and Bob and went out to eat again at Ryan’s in Kiln.
The next morning when I got out of bed I turned on the T.V. and all of the stations was reporting that Katrina was a category 5. When mom and dad woke up I told them about Katrina and we decided it was a good time to leave.

Weekend over:(

Wow the weekend is over, wish it was Saturday, oh well. I finished Eleven on Top. When I was reading this book I kept thinking poor Stephanie, her life is so dismal. Even Lula and Grandma's lives looked a lot better than hers. Now I bet Janet E. just writes just one more, to make it an even dozen. What do you think?

Bob finished the siding on the shop, he only has the soffits to finish. Now there has been much discussion about how to put them up. But I think we finally have it figured out. We kept asking people if they knew how to do soffits and no one knows. So I guess it's safe to go ahead and put them up and no one will know if they are not done right. Right!

Next weekend we are going to Mississippi to visit my mom and dad. It will be good to see them. Bob, Kevin and I will travel on Thursday night, stop somewhere to sleep and then finish the trip on Friday morning. This will be the first time that Bob has made a trip down to the gulf. I think we will go to New Orleans and maybe swim in the gulf. Of course Bob may not want to swim with his broken ribs. So I guess he can watch or maybe look for shells, Ha Ha!

The next book I am going to read is titled Eventide, it is about a town called Holt, Colorado. The library director, Micaela, where I work ordered the book since I am a Holt and I am from Colorado. Clever huh! I will let you know what it is like. Now my new strategy is that I will read when I walk on the treadmill and at night when I can't sleep (except tonight I am blogging). Then the rest of the time I am going to really study for the GRE. I need to take this test before I can enter the MLS program at Emporia University. Now why am I doing this? Oh yes so I can go back to school and acquire a Masters of Library Science. What am I thinking!!

Bucket vs. gut!

I know I have not talked about loosing weight much. Wonder why. Oh yes I remember now, it is because I am in that place where I want to say enough. BUT I have made a resolution not to quit this time. So if I have a bad eating week that is ok. I will have a better one this week. I have lost about 15 lbs. but I keep thinking that this is just a drop in the bucket. I guess I just want the bucket to get smaller. Ha! No I think I meant for my gut to get smaller, yes I am still doing my sit-ups. I average about 30-35 every other day. Fun stuff!!

Bangkok Tattoo and Stephanie

“Bangkok Tattoo” was quite an "enlightening" book. The setting of the murder mystery was located in the unseemly side of Bangkok, Thailand. When I was reading the book I tried to think as a Thai would think. But I kept going back to the way of American thinking. The book did go into some detail about Buddhism and the influence that it has in Thailand. When I was in Okinawa last year I talked to a few of the enlisted men there. Most of them loved Thailand. Now I know why. Now I can say this with little conviction. After I finished the book I got to thinking that maybe Thailand is not as bad as the author portrayed. What I mean is that if someone in Thailand read a book about the unseemly side of America I am sure they would have a horrid impression of our way of life. So actually I suppose there is good and evil in all countries. It was one of those books that stay with you for a few days.
I am now reading the new Janet Evanovich book, “Eleven on Top”. I am about half way through. This is the 11th of the series. In this book Stephanie Plum has quit being a bounty hunter. But I think the “bounty hunter” has not quit her. The characters are still funny and after 11 books they are like family to me. In fact this morning as I read while I was on the treadmill I was feeling a little like Rex, Stephanie’s pet hamster. He was walking in his wheel and here I am on the treadmill. Well better go for now.
Love to all, Ronda

Busy! Busy!

The last few weeks have very eventful. Let's see, on a Monday poor Kayl hit poor Tristyn's head and his tooth fell out. Then on Tuesday my father, fell when a scaffold broke and thankGod nothing broke on him. He did have to stay in the hospital over night but he was only bruised inside. Then on Wednesday my husband Bob fell from a 8 ft. ladder and broke number nine and ten ribs on his left side. Then to top it off on Saturday I opened the top of my closet and it was full of mold. I thought this would make a great biology experiment. Whew! Then of course we had to clean it up with bleach water and repaint the closet with kilz paint. I kept thinking "thank you Lord, everything could have been much worse than it was". Isn't it funny how a person can have peace in the chaos.
The next week was much calmer, I did go to Overland Park for a conference at Johnson County Community College. We gave a presentation on our adventures with a wireless mobile lab. I went with the reference librarian. We had a great time. This was the first presentation that I had ever done. It was good experience. The title of the presentation was "Judy and Ronda's Excellent Wireless Adventure". We went with the theme of "Bill and Ted's ExcellentAdventure". We included mpeg files from the movie and all of our headings were pretty "Excellent".
So far this week has been good. We did go out and work on the shop and I am holding the ladder for Bob. I told him "Do not get on the ladder unless I am with you". Does he listen No! of course not. OH Well gotta love him.

Be still my heart!

Great day in bloggerland. Once again another wonderfully scrumptious blog. I am breathless and very excited to say the least. IT'S MY GRANDKIDS!
Bet you didn't know I had such a famous family. Wait a minute! if the Brady kids were around in the 70's how old would that make me? Oh well, check out the site and enjoy. http://lifeasabrady.blogspot.com/

Addiction and Bloglines and Humor!

I must confess, I now have this addiction to blogs. I find great joy everyday in sneaking a peek in others lives. Every morning I check to see if anyone has added anything to their blogs and look for the many comments. For all of you fellow blog addicts there is a web site called Bloglines that allows you to add all of your blogs. You only have to click once and any blog that has been changed will be highlighted. In addition to my family and friends my Bloglines list also has a few blogs from other librarians and a couple of comics: Get Fuzzy and Unshelved (this site is library humor, no snickering).
Ok while I am confessing I am also addicted to Get Fuzzy, I love the cat, Bucky and the dog, Satchel. They remind me so much about our dog and cat. Our dog, Kelsi is kind of laid back and a little bit goofy. Our cat, Zena-Warrior Princess Kitty, has an attitude, of course what cat doesn't. So, for a good laugh check out the Get Fuzzy web site… and for even more fun the Unshelved site.

Falling away!

Ok the pounds are falling off, even as I write. I have this feeling in my stomach. I think it is called hunger. Haven't felt that one for a long time. For some reason Misty seems to think that she is going to win. We will see, of course she has youth on her side. HA!
So far lost 13 lbs. and holding, only bunches to go!

Another wonderful blog!

Here we are folks a new blog. It is from my son!! Cool huh! So check it out one and all! Not sure where he got the name. But I do remember a period of time during puberty that he wanted to change his name to Axel. Ha! Ha!
Whatever!!

http://livinglikearockstar.blogspot.com/

The Race is On!

My brother, bless his heart has lost a bunch of weight. Lookin Good! But now the girls in the family are the biggest ones. Not good at all! Even our Dad has lost some weight, and he looks good and even feels better, so mom says. Soooo. There are five siblings, I am the oldest, then Rusty, Rockey and the twins Misty and Cristy. Rusty has been thin for years(he runs 5 miles a day). So there was no pressure there. But Rockey now has lost weight, and I will say once again looking very good. Needless to say us'in girls are going to catch up with you boys. So watch out!! Love to all, Ronda

Missing Mexico!

Our friends in Puebla!
Finally got the pictures back from Puebla, I really miss everyone there. We had a really great time. We went out to eat every night at a different restaurant. It was fantastic! I loved the mexican food there. It is nothing like what we have here. Everything tasted so fresh and really really good. (part of it could be because I didn't have to cook)

View from hotel room!

This Folks is the Lap of Luxury!
This was the view from the hotel room. I had fun relaxing around the pool. What a life!

The wonderful stairs

The Wonderful Stairs
Yes they were wonderful, everyday, sometimes even twice I would walk up and down them. The first 2-3 days my legs were so sore, but then no more pain. I had to walk down them to get to the Gymnasio and then back up again. I worked out about an hour a day, first the eliptical, then the bike and then of course my sit-ups, I did 50 one day. I lost about 6 lbs. Yeah! The flowers at the hotel were beautiful and very colorful. I loved the palm trees and the giant aloe vera.

Hola!

We returned from Puebla! I do believe we had a fantastic time. The weather was wonderful, most of days were about 24 C.(figure out that one) In the evening most everyone desired a jacket. But alas we have returned to the old heat of Kansas! 101F Yipee! Air condition here we come.
It has been a busy week at the library, catching up on email, answering questions, and just having a great time reconnecting with everyone.
More to come!

Off to Puebla Mexico!

We leave in the morning, so I am packing like crazy and the house is upside down. Suitcases are all over, the laundry is being done and trying to decide what to take. Whew! Thought I would take a break and type a few.
I looked on the Internet today and the weather next week in Puebla is supposed to be in the 70's and raining. What!! I wanted to sit by the pool, tan and just veg. Oh well! I am supposed to be studying for the GRE. Guess I will be doing that if it is raining! Bob is happy about the cool weather, so I guess it will be good for him. And I need to remember that this trip is about him and his work and not me. I am just very thankful that I can go along. I did find out that there is Internet on the Executive level at the hotel. Maybe I can dress up like an executive and sneak in and log on. I guess we will see what happens. I would like to let everyone know how it is going. And yes I will remember not to drink the water:)
Well have a good week and keep safe. Ronda

The Roof is On!

Been a busy week at the Holt's this week. I think we have had company everyday. I guess everyone is coming over to look at the new shop, I know it can't be because of our winning personalities!!
We wanted to get the roof on before we leave on a trip we are planning on the 18th-25th to Mexico. Actually this is a working trip for Bob and a vacation for me. I know! Not fair to Bob but hopefully he can get some sight seeing in while he is there. Ok back to my story, once again our friends and family planned to come over this Saturday and help finish the roof. It rained half the morning, but by 10:30 Kyle talked Bob into getting started. ( I think Bob was planning on a nap, but Kyle would have none of that). Good for Kyle! They got done except for 4 sheets and they are coming over early in the morning and finish. Yeah!

Big Shop

Hi There,
Here is the product from the hard work of family and friends, thank you Lord for good friends and family! This weekend we will start the siding. Kyle thought it would be a good idea if we looked for instructions, what a funny guy! Bob and instructions, hmmmm, don't know about that. But I will try to find some today. Last weekend was very nerve wracking when they put up the trusses, Cece and I were standing below worrying and praying, even Riley joined in with "Careful Daddy". One highlight is that Sueburbon saved the day. (pictured above, she is green)The trusses ended up by the road because when they delivered them after a rain the truck couldn't get down the driveway. The guys moved a few of them with the trailor but that meant that they had to lift them on. UGGG! Someone suggested that they just put a chain around them and pull them down to the shop area with one of the trucks. So they tried but they wouldn't budge. Bob said lets try the suburban, sure nuff they attached trusses, Bob drove with tires spinning, Kevin guided the front of them with a scoop shovel, Chad jumped up and down on them to give them weight and Kyle was busting a gut. All in all they now have a fun story to tell. One other thing that happened is that I introduced Cece, Kyle's wife to blogging, she got really excited and started one of her own. Here is the address http://seeaboutcece.blogspot.com/
Well have a good day, Ronda
Big Shop

Now for the little....

A couple of months ago I went to the Big Well in Greensburg Kansas, the memory is still fresh in my mind. But I do not regret my decision to walk down into the “big chasm”. I do believe in balance so now that I have seen something “big” it was time for the “little”.
Last week with my fellow librarians we departed to Independence Community College to listen to a speaker. When the session was over we thought it would be great to go and visit the “Little House on the Prairie”, this is “an official Laura Ingalls Wilder home site”. It is located about 6 miles south of Independence Kansas. As we traveled down the road we saw three vultures, this brought up a conversation about other birds that eat dead things. We decided that they are buzzards. Riveting! I thought we did good, we only made one wrong turn. Nothing like traveling with 7 librarians, at least we were divided up into two cars. I did find out what a “K” turn was. It’s always fun to learn new things. I am just glad I didn’t have to do it, there was a “big” ditch close by and this was a day for “little” things, not “big”.
For years I have always said that when we moved to the farm out by Leon Kansas that I thought it was like the Little House on the Prairie. Boy was I wrong. As we approached the home site, we could all see that this was a “little house”. It looked so cute and compact. As we entered the small home we decided that they were a lot shorter and definitely smaller. The furnishings were sparse, no knickknacks in this house. The surrounding area was prairie grass, mingled with flowers, I was picturing Laura running and skipping through the field with her hair flowing. Maybe I have watched too many Little House shows. The “Sunny Side School” and the “Wayside Post Office” were also at the location. There was also a nice gift shop in the farmhouse next door. Which we had to promptly visit, I wanted to get at least a few post cards to remember this occasion. There were some paintings done by a local artist of the “Little House. I thought that I would like to have one to remind me of not only the Little House on the Prairie but of the days I spent on the farm in Leon. I had one picked out and someone mentioned that the frame didn’t fit the painting so I went back and looked for a different one. I saw one with a smaller frame and the number was 53, wow I was born in 53 it was a sign so I bought that one. Here is the website with lots of info http://www.littlehouseontheprairie.com/

Here is the picture I bought http://www.littlehousestore.com/description.asp?prodID=2009

Ok now that I have seen the “Big Well” and now the “Little House” I am ready for something medium.
Any suggestions?