Vacation

I am sitting at work right now, thinking about vacation. I want a vacation. I haven't been on a real vacation for a long time. It's been so long I can't even remember. I just got my annual vacation dump of 3 weeks, and let me tell you, I am itching to use it. I am single I should be able to go and do whatever I want. The only problem with that is that it's not too much fun to do things on your own!! Sorry it's not. Who wants to go to some new place and have to do everything on your own? Maybe some people, but I have never been a do things on your own kind of person.

Usually when I take time off it is to go home and visit my family which sorry but isn't really a vacation. Yes it's relaxing, and some place other then Omaha to be, but I grew up there, I visit there all the time. It's not really new or exciting. And yes I usually go shopping twice a year with my family. To Chicago, or Minneapolis, or sometimes I go to Kansas City, but come on now shopping isn't really a vacation either. I like to shop, don't get me wrong, but I like to take in the sights and see the city too, and when I go shopping with my family I don't get to do those things. Or the other place I go on a regular basis is up to Okoboji, IA and see my best friend and her family. Again relaxing and not Omaha, but not really new or different. Been there probably a hundred times.

So here I sit thinking about where or what I will do this year. Let's see go up to Wisconsin and see my family, or go up to Okoboji, IA and see my best friend and her family.

My dream would be to sit on a beach somewhere warm, and sunny with a good looking cabana boy bringing me drinks. Or Italy to take in the sights, and the food. Or England to see the history, or Paris. Or even New York City to see some shows, and shop. I don't want to go to some place where you have to fight lines to see things. I want some place quiet, but some place where there are things to do if I want. I don't want to be on anyones schedule. I want to pick and choose what I do, and when I want to do it. Give me my iPod, and a couple of good books, some Satelite TV to watch my sports, and cut me off from the rest of my usual world. Give me someone to wait on me and make my drinks, and rub my feet. Oh a spa weekend. That's sounds good too. A Sven, a tall dark and handsome european to massage me, and pamper me, and tell me how wonderful and beautiful I am. To feed me strawberries, and champagne, Ok not champagne, or strawberries, but cheesecake, and martini's (and of course I wouldn't gain a pound).

Or just take me away to anyplace that isn't here. In Omaha, (which I usually love). Some place where I don't have to think about bills, and work, and meeting deadlines, and doing things to make other people happy. Please fairy Godmother come and wave your wand and take me away.

My #1 Guy

Noah Michael Sautter. And amazing 9 almost 10 year old. Actually his birthday is tomorrow. Wow where does the time go. This little guy is so wonderful. My sister has 3 kids and I love them all so much. I have enjoyed watching them all grow in to the people they are. It amazes me how much I love each of them, but for different reason and in different ways.
Noah will always be my #1 guy. He told me quite a few years ago, when he was asking me why I didn't have kids of my own, and I told him it was because I wasn't married yet, that he would marry me. I always make him promise he will never get to old to give me kisses. And he always promises me that. He might get to old to give his mom kisses, but he still has to give me kisses.
This last weekend he came and spent some time with me. I wasn't sure if he had gotten to the point where this wasn't cool to do anymore, and he assured me he still wanted to hang out with his aunt so we did. I picked him up and we went to Dairy Queen so he could get a blizzard, he wants to try them all. And then we had some time before the movie we were going to see started so he decided that he wanted to just drive around. And that's what we did. We drove around Bellevue. It was kind of cool. There is more history there then I knew. Then as we were driving he decided he wanted to find Big Elk the Indian Cheifs grave. It took a couple of wrong turns but we finally found it. Not as exciting as I thought it would be, but Noah thought it was cool.
Then we head to the zoo so we could go the Imax 3D theater. Now this is pretty cool. For anyone who hasn't seen a 3D movie, DO IT! This is the second one Noah and I saw at Imax. Last year we went to see a 3D Dinosaur Movie, this year it was Sea Monster (Dinosaur Fish). You really do feel like you could touch this animals, and feel them. There were a couple of times I had to move out of the way because I felt like the animals were going to run me over. It was very interested to hear about how these animals are discovered, and what the story is in the grand scheme of the earth.
Noah also wanted a couple of things from the gift shop so that's what he got. He wanted a shark tooth necklace, and a Dinosaur Dig Out, which is like digging for dinosaur bones. Noah wants to be an archeologist when he grows up and even talks about finding a dig somewhere in the midwest so he can go and do it now. (This is what he wants to do with me next year. He is already thinking about it).
After the zoo, we went to let out a friend of mine's dogs that I had been watching while they were on vacation. Noah was so excited that the dogs "liked" him. Then we went to Applebee's for dinner. After Applebee's we went back to my house where he played the Wii. Sometimes I wonder if the kids would want to come over to my house if I didn't have the Wii? But if that's what it takes then so be it... After a couple of hours we put in Fraggle Rock and watched that until it was bed time. Noah wanted to sleep on the couch, and I slept in my bed.
The next morning I woke up with a headache so he watched Fraggle Rock some more until he was ready to do something. He wanted to start his Dino Dig Out so I set him up upstairs, at the table and that is what he did. He was so methodical and careful with it. I was just amazed at how careful he was. As he was working on this Dig Out I told him I thought he should become a brain doctor so he could come up with a way for me to get rid of my headaches. (which I don't get very often, but when I do they last for a couple of days). He proceed to tell me that brain doctors don't really do that, but if I had a headache I should rest. I told him I had been doing that and it didn't work. So he said "Well then take some asprin. And if that doesn't work it might be a head cold so maybe you should take some cold medicine." Well ok then. Doctor Noah has come up with my treatment plan. At lunch time we went to Buffalo Wild Wings, at Noah's request. One of his immediate goals is to be the youngest person to do the Blazin' Challenge. To eat 12 of the hottest wings in 6 minutes with out taking a drink. He is training for this. Each time he tries to eat more and more of the wings without taking a drink, until he can do one flavor, and then he moves up to the next one. Right now he is at Caribean Jerk, which is hotter then most men that I know can eat. He ate 3 without anything and then he looked at me and said he should have gotten ranch and celery, so I went up and got him some. It was pretty priceless.
Overall I had a wonderful time with him. I try to spend one on one time with each of the kids at least once a year, and then I spend time with them thru out the year at different times for different reasons. I go to their games, and cheer them on, and try to encourage them in whatever they are trying to acheive. My hope is that I will have loved them the best I know how, and they can turn around and love some one else. I hope and pray all the time that they know how much I love them, and how much I am in their corner cheering for them every step of the way.

Blogging

So today I am just going to give random thoughts. A couple of weeks my family was all together, and my mom and my sister were telling me I'm not a blogger because I haven't "blogged" in a while. Well here is what I say to them. I have been sick, and so because of that I haven't really had the energy or the desire to blog. That being said. I don't have a whole lot that happens in my life on a regular basis so that makes it hard too. Plus two weeks of the last month I have not being at home, I have been dog sitting for some of the people I work with while they went on vacation so did not have access to a computer to do blogging at home, and for once I have been busy enough at work that I didn't have time to do blogging at work. That now off my chest....
A couple of weeks ago my family came into town. My whole Brady Bunch family. My mom and George, and George's daughter Jennifer and her husband, and 3 little blond girls, and George's daughter Carla and her son Tegan. And they all stayed at my house. It was the best time I have had with family in quite a while. The kids were all so good, and played together so well. And the thing that surprised me the most was how quickly Jennifer's girls warmed up to me. I love little kids. I love playing with them, and spending time with them, and listening to them telling their stories. And there are too many little kids that I have meet that I haven't liked. Most little kids take a little time to warm up to new people though. But not these girls. Although I have to admit that I didn't hit it off too well with Sailor this youngest at first. I always hear stories from Nana Sheri about the girls, and she always calls Sailor the naughty one, so this is the first thing I said to her... I hear your the naughty one. So she hide in Grandpa George, and wouldn't look at me for the longest time, but man once I shared my frozen pink lemonade with her, she was my friend, although she acted like she wasn't. It ended up being a game for the rest of the weekend between her and I. I like to think by the time she went home, she was thinking I was ok. On the other hand Sadie, the middle girl, was my friend right from the start. We got to the zoo, and I took her up to see the Geico Geko and she was by my side for the rest of the weekend. Her dad asked her to come up with him and see some of the zoo things, and she wanted to stay with me. It was pretty cool. It just amazes me some times how little kids will be like that.
The only bad part of the whole weekend, was my brother. Now I love my brother very much, but there are times I can't stand him. He has this way of bully the family into doing just what he wants. If he doesn't get his way, and we don't all kiss his ass he will make things miserable until he gets his way. Which is wrong. He needs to grow up and see how much our mother and George have done for him. I don't care if he wants to spend time with me. I don't care any more if we are ever "friends" but I know how much his behavior hurts my mom, and that is not ok. Mom and George, have helped him out so much, and they still do so much for him. I know if I needed the help they would help me like they have helped him, (and they have helped me out when I needed it) But no where near what they have done for him, and yet he still dumps all over them, and makes them feel like they haven't done enough for him. You are almost 30 years old. Grow up and act like an adult. This is what I want to say to him. Grow up and take responsiblity for the things YOU have done. The things that have happened too you aren't any one's fault but your own. Mom and George have given you numerous chances to make a better life for yourself and you have just pissed them way. If you want the things Carrin and I have WORK for them!! I have been working since I was 17 years old, and I didn't get anything I have by just waiting for people to give them too me. I have worked and saved, and made a better life for myself ON MY OWN!! I moved away from my parents when I was 19 years old. Not just out of the house, but 500 miles away. Yes I lived with family for awhile, but they didn't pay my rent or buy my food, or my clothes, or put gas in my car. I did that all on my own. That's what life is about. It's about find something you can make money at, and work at it, not just getting pissed off, and leaving and then blaming it on everyone else because YOU SCREWED UP!! Ok sorry enough about that. I think I am down for now. I will come back in a little bit and write about my time with Noah. Hope this tids you all over until then.