Russ home and new tradition

I took Friday off to head to Quincy IL to pick up Russ. Being the good wife that I am, I got up at 4:30am and was on the road by 5 to get there by 10. Well, it only took me 4 hours to get there. I beat him there so went to Big Lots and Dollar Tree to kill some time. We ate lunch there in Quincy and left there around 12:30pm. Got home right at 5...unloaded my car and stashed most of it in his car to take to his orientation in Fort Dodge next week for the new job. It will be nice to have him home this week.

Decided since Mom is not having Thanksgiving any longer at their house (first time in 40+ years it's not there) I would have Mom and Dad come up on Wednesday afternoon and spend the night. That way I get to spend a little extra time with them before they head south. Then we can get up on Thursday and get our last minute dishes prepared and head to Steamboat Rock where the tradition has been passed to Mom's great niece, Amy.

Now that we are at the other end of the traveling..it makes you watch the weather channel more closely. Also, mom doesn't like to drive after dark, so we'll have to leave Amy's early enough to get back to Nevada..to get them headed back to Perry in good time. But that's OK. We will still have a great time visiting with the relatives and pigging out on the GREAT food that will be on hand.

So next week starts a new job for Russ and we are so in hopes that this company is the real deal and doesn't blow smoke to get drivers hired. It would be so wonderful if he could call this place 'home' until he retires. They sound like an awesome company, but time will tell. We are going to remain optimistic.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

The List

If you want to play along, just copy the list and highlight all the things you've done.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

That was fun. Great list to work off of. Makes you remember some good old days.

New opportunity!

Well, Russ is going to be starting a new job on December 1. The company where he is currently at, Sharkey Transportation, just didn't turn out to be what they had promised. Their equipment is certainly below par according to Russ. They also were not getting home weekends as promised either. He was only getting home for his 34 hours off. So he would get home usually on Saturday morning and go out around noon on Sundays. Just not enough home time to get anything done.

He will now be working for Decker Transportation out of Fort Dodge. They are supposed to be a family based trucking company and he is supposed to truly get weekends off. I'll post more later after he's been there for a bit.

So this coming week will be his last week at Sharkey. I'll have to head to Quincy IL to pick him up..so that will be either Friday or Saturday. Then he'll take the week of Thanksgiving off. That will be great. That way I know he'll be home for Thanksgiving. That's not something that I have been able to say very many times over the years. He sometimes makes it home and sometimes he has not. So we will enjoy this year and then see how the company handles other holidays going forward.

So here's hoping that Decker is the cats meow and Russ can call this company home until he retires in 12-13 years. Wish us luck

As the weather starts to turn colder, I am going to go back to these Hawaii pictures more and more often. I am currently working on my Hawaii scrapbook album. I need to get it done, so in the dead of winter I can pull it out and remember what a great time we had and how wonderful the weather was.

It was absolutely picture perfect the whole time we were there. We had so much fun and did a lot of great things. We saw lots of whales on the whale watching excursion we went on. The helicopter ride was worth every cent we spent on it. We both were a little hesitant about going up in the helicopter but it was so worth it to be up so high and see all the great things the island had to offer. We saw lots of waterfalls that you would NEVER see from the land. We always had some down time each day to just relax as well. I enjoyed going out by the pool and taking a book with me.

So it's dreary days like today that make me go to these Hawaii pictures and treasure the memories that Russ and I created on that anniverary vacation.