Thursday, September 30, 2010

Bringing Y'all Up to Date!

Well, here I am again about to ramble on for who knows how long! I thought it was about time for another update on the trails and trials of this trophy wife!

The last 3 weeks have been CRAZY!! or Cray Cray! as the kids are saying these days! :)

We got settled here in New Castle, Colorado, on Monday, September, 13. The next day was James' birthday. He went to work while I looked for a way to make the day special for him. Three days later I was on a plane bound for Texas!

I flew into IAH and took a shuttle to my old school. It was fun surprising the kids! They screamed when they saw me (I think they were screams of delight not screams of fear). I really enjoyed seeing the kids again.

On September 17 - 19, I was with 9 of my friends at a beach house in Galveston! It was tons of fun even though it rained all weekend. We just sat around playing games, working a puzzle and laughing so hard my sides were sore all weekend.

After that, I went to San Antonio to spend some time with Dad and take him shoe shopping. That turned out to be quite a challenge! The doctors had changed his medicine and he was having adverse reactions! He was very confused. At one time he thought there were snakes in his room. Needless to say that was a rough time.

On a happy note, I was able to spend time with Samuel Jacob Dyson! For those of you that do not know, Sammy is the son of one of my bff's and he is Dusty's bff. Anyway, spending time with Sammy will cheer anyone up! He is such a fun kid! We went to eat at Alamo Cafe, San Antonio's BEST RESTAURANT! Then we went shopping for those few items every college freshman forgot to bring. It was fun!

The end of the week was spent helping Sheri with final preparations for Audrey's wedding. What fun that was! I got to spend time with Sheri's great aunt Dot, what a hoot! She is a very spry little 87 year old lady! She has some great stories to tell! Sheri's former college roommate, Diane, was there too. What a neat lady!

James and his mom were able to fly in Saturday morning. Then the rush began to make sure everyone had nice clothes, shoes, and hair for the wedding! The wedding was beautiful! It was held in a private stone chapel with the reception at Raveneaux country club. It was great fun!

Sunday morning James and his mom flew out and the kids went shopping and back to school.

I had a wonderful lunch with the family of a former student which I will write about more in my next blog.

Now, I am back in Colorado. It's beautiful here! The mornings are quite chilly, in the low 40's, but the afternoons warm up to the mid 80's. Yesterday I sat out in the sun for about an hour. My little siesta in the sun was interrupted by a phone call from our realtor. She had great news!

Someone put an offer on our house! I could not believe it! Just earlier at lunch James prayed for our house to sell and here less than an hour later, that happened!

The offer was a good one, so we accepted it! How exciting! Please keep us in your prayers, the buyer has 10 days to back out or change her mind! Pray that she just falls more and more in love with the house and the sale goes on without a hitch! IF all goes well, we close on October 29th!

Today is a laundry and shopping day. I think I will make Chicken Wellington for dinner!

James and I love it here Colorado. We eat our meals outside on the picnic table beside the creek! It is amazingly beautiful! Many nights we sit out by a fire and search the stars for satellites and shooting stars until it gets too chilly! What a life!

Come visit!

Patti

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

WHOOO-WHEEE!! What a trip!

The past 4 days have been a whirlwind! James and I decided Friday at lunch that we would just take the easy route and stay with his current job in Marshall for the next month or so. Less than one hour later James called me to say pack the trailer we’re going to Colorado! It seems the Marshall job was going to end sooner than expected and his boss suggested James go ahead with this new opportunity in Colorado. So less than 24 hours later we were loaded up and headed to colorful Colorado!

We left Marshall around 11:00 am. I will try to upload a picture of our crazy caravan, but picture a white 1-ton dually pick-up pulling a 27ft travel trailer pulling a trailer carrying a 4-wheeler. Behind that is little ole me driving James’ Jeep. We drove that way all the way to Abilene. It was actually kind of fun. We bought some Walkie Talkies before we left so we could tak along the way. My handle (radio name) is Ninja Mamma! Thank you Sara B for that name! I gave James the name Triple Threat since he had 3 vehicles. I tried to name him Mr. Frisky but he wouldn’t go for that. It sounded too much like a little foo foo dog’s name. We nearly ran the batteries out trying to be the first one to spot a DQ or Sonic. I won, of course!
About 6-1/2 hours later, we met Dustin and Ashleigh in Abilene so we could leave the 4-wheeler with Dustin. In Abilene, we (by we I mean the boys) unhitched the 4-wheeler trailer and hitched it onto Dusty’s truck and then hooked up a tow bar to the Jeep and hooked it to the back of the travel trailer. Dusty was so kind to take the 4-wheeler off our hands since James can’t use it on this job. That took FOREVER!!! Ashleigh was soooooo bored until she found our walkie talkies! Then she was quite happy. She would leave one where the guys were and say the most random things! It was funny! If the guys moved, she would somehow manage to get a walkie talkie to where they were! We laughed forever!
Finally they oops, we got the Jeep hooked up and we went to dinner with the kids and then headed to Lubbock for the night!
We arrived in Lubbock around 10:00 PM but did not make it to the hotel until nearly 11:30! The idiot at the desk sent us all the way around Lubbock. I called and asked for directions and he told us to go East on the Loop. We were maybe 2 miles from the hotel, but we should have gone west! When I asked him why he sent us that way, he said “I thought you were coming from New Mexico.” Well, that was more than this girl could stand! I said, “Why in the world would you tell anyone to go east? West is west whether you are coming from the north or the south! West never changes! It’s always west!” He did something no one hardly ever does and I’ll tell you it shut me up! He said, “Oh! I am so sorry! I feel like a complete idiot!” Well now I couldn’t very well say what I was thinking, “Yes, yes you are an idiot” so I just had him try to get us there around all the construction. The loop around Lubbock is currently CLOSED in some places and the exit takes you away from the direction you need to go! I HATE Lubbock!

We finally made it there and managed to find a spot big enough to park our crazy caravan! I tried to save us some money and did not stay at my favorite hotel in Lubbock, the Embassy Suites. I chose the Courtyard by Marriott because it was about half the price! Now we know why! The hotel is under construction! It was filthy! Our bed was concave crossways in the middle so when I laid down on my stomach, I was basically doing a back bend. Sleeping on my side was not an option and if I sleep on my back, I snore too much. Needless to say neither of us got much sleep.
We headed out the next morning after getting a full refund for our night’s stay. Most of that day was uneventful. I did drive the caravan for about an hour while James took a power nap. We had a nice picnic lunch in New Mexico at a rest stop. It was cool outside and absolutely beautiful. It was all good except for the signs that read “CAUTION! Look for snakes!” That made me quite uncomfortable especially when James made me think he saw one. I jumped out of my skin!
If you have ever driven to Colorado by way of Amarillo Texas, then you are familiar with the Raton Pass. It is a steep, up and down, crooked stretch of the highway where New Mexico and Colorado meet. Pulling that rig was quite a chore and it doesn’t slow down as easily either! Luckily James was driving then and there was really only one freaky spot. We were going downhill beside an 18-wheeler when suddenly a sharp curve came up. We tried to slow down and get behind the truck, but the car behind it wouldn’t let us over so we had to take that corner on the outside lane next to the tiny guard rail next to a huge cliff! From then on we mainly stayed in the right hand lane.
We got to Monument, Colorado around 6ish Colorado time. We spent the night with James’ sister Diana, and her family. She had cooked us a yummy dinner. It’s called Yakimash? Her daughter, Katie, calls it Yuckynasty, but we loved it. It’s a meat, vegetable, and rice dish and Diana use Elk meat! Delicious! We ate dinner on the porch and enjoyed the cool evening until it got too cool and I had to borrow a sweat shirt! Diana also baked us a chocolate cake with gooey fudge frosting!
That evening she and her husband, Don and the kids took us to their new store. You should go online and check them out! Go to www.blackfacedsheep.com. They have the most amazing and unique items! After that, we got to go to the stables to see Kamryn’s new horse, Wendy. She is beautiful! We also got to see Holister, Kennedy’s horse. Holister will beg for a peppermint candy. When Diana would hold a candy in her hand she would hold it tight until Holister would duck his head and bend his right leg. It was pretty cool! We really enjoyed our short visit with them and are so excited to be closer to them now.
Monday morning, we got up and headed for New Castle. Don and Diana both suggested we unhitch the Jeep from the trailer and both of us drive. That was good advice! The drive here took a little over 4 hours and we went through many mountain passes some worse that the Raton Pass. My favorite part of the trip was driving through Glenwood Canyon. Holy Moly it was beautiful! The highway runs along the side of the Colorado River. The canyon walls seem to go straight up forever. I read that at places the canyon walls can reach 1000 feet in height! It was amazing! The Jeep does not have a lot of power and I was amazed that James could pull the trailer uphill faster than I could crawl up with the Jeep. I spent most of the trip in 3rd gear! Finally we stopped in Glenwood Springs and I could barely pry my fingers from the steering wheel. We both got in the Jeep then and drove around looking for an RV Park.
We found one just a few minutes away from James’ office. It’s beautiful here. Our site is beside a creek. At first I kept thinking water was running somewhere but it was just the creek!

So I think this blog is long enough. If you read the whole thing I thank you. Hopefully I will figure out how to load photos so this blog will be more interesting.
Have a blessed day!
PW

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Don't mess with me! I have nerves of steel and reflexes of a Ninja!

Life is never dull for this Trophy wife.

We are currently living in an RV park in Marshall, TX. I like it pretty well. It's a gated RV park and now I know why!

Here's my story!

I was coming out of Wal-Mart and noticed a creepy guy sitting on a bench right outside the door. I noticed him because the ash on his cigarette was really long. I remember thinking, "Geeze, Dude, flick your ash already." I did not say anything or make eye contact with him.

As soon as I passed by he got up and started following me, very closely! My Ninja reflexes kicked in and I knew this was not good! So I steered my basket to the left. He followed, still only about 2 feet behind me! I steered sharply to the right. So did he. Since I was still pretty close to the front of the store, I just stopped! I was not about to continue walking all the way to my truck with this guy behind me! My nerves of steel kept me from flinching as I placed my hand on my purse (which was in the child seat of the basket) as the creeper dude stopped for a second, caught off guard. Then he walked right past me to a red VW. I kept walking to the truck but kept an eye on the creeper. He only pretended to get in the VW but instead walked back to the bench in front of Wal-Mart. My guess is I outsmarted his attempt to steal my purse so he went to wait for his next victim!

I called Wal-Mart from inside my truck and told the manager what had happened. I described the man to the manager. He said he would check into it. Then the creeper got up and walked into Wal-Mart.

Before I ever reached my truck, I had James on the phone as back up!

I do have to give props to Dusty. He constantly tries to steal my purse out of shopping carts! He has yet to be successful! All that practice paid off!

You may now all call me the Ninja Queen!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Green Chili Pork Tacos....JUMMY! JUMMY!

New Recipe
I based this recipe on a recipe James’ cousin James Fogerson gave me for a similar dish made with beef. I added the Serrano peppers, switched to sliced green chilies instead of diced and added more of them. They have such a great flavor.


Green Chili Pork Tacos
Ingredients:
2 pounds of boneless pork chops
2 cans of whole green chilies
4 fresh Serrano Peppers halved and seeded
1 can of rotel tomatoes and green chilies use hot or original
2 or 3 medium baking potatoes peeled and cubed
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Chili powder
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
Corn tortillas
Cheddar Cheese
Sour Cream (optional)
Guacamole (optional)

Brown pork chops in skillet. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Transfer to crock pot. Pour juice from chilies into crock pot and slice chilies crossways into about ¼ inch slices. Add to pot. Combine the next 8 ingredients in a large bowl and add to crock pot. Cook on low about 8 hours or until pork is fork tender. With a fork, shred pork and mix all ingredients together. (At this point, pork mixture can be refrigerated for later use. The flavors will get more intense! ) Warm tortillas by heating on a griddle or skillet with a drop of olive oil. Turn once or twice until tortilla starts to puff slightly. Layer 2 corn tortillas on a plate and top with pork mixture. Top with cheese, guacamole, and or sour cream. Use 2 tortillas for each taco because they break easily. This will help keep the filling inside the taco.

Enjoy!
Let me know if you make it!


PW

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Today was a blast and it's only 2:10!

Today has started out great! I went to lunch with the pipeline Wifes at Which Wich! YUMMY! I met 3 new friends! We all just laughed and laughed! Everyone is from Texas except Royetta, but that's ok I still like her! :) Everyone was giving me a hard time because James is looking into a job in NE Nevada out in the middle of FREAKING NOWHERE!! They were teasing me about snakes and lizards and huge bugs that smell like vinegar when you squish them!

I heard on the news that a man shot his stepson the other day IN OUR TRAILERHOOD! Saturday a little kid found pot at the swimming pool IN OUR TRAILERHOOD! Then today they had to shut the freeway down while we were at lunch because some fool was trying to jump off the bridge...He probably lives...IN OUR TRAILERHOOD!

So do I dodge critters in Nevada or bullets in the trailerhood?

I am headed back to Texas tomorrow morning so here I sit at the laundromat, but it's ok because GH is on the TV! Couldn't be better!

Dad's neighbor of more than 20 years passed away Monday. Her name is Judy. she and her husband Mel have been wonderful neighbors! Keep Mel in your prayers!

Gotta go put the clothes in the dryer!

Tootles!

PW

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

There's more than one way to skin a cat!

So my #1 job today was to pay bills and have our phone/internet/satellite cut off back at the house. A simple task? HA!

We have or should I say had our phone/internet/satellite services bundled through ATT. I called them, they asked for the last four ssn#s on the acct which I gave then and ba da bing ba da boom phone service and internet disconnected! No problems! Dish Network...not so much! ATT connected me to Dish Network to cancel service directly with them. Well, they asked for my name. I told the truth," this is Patti White." Because I'm not James they wouldn't talked to me. Even though ATT connected me to them and my acct was through ATT they still had to speak directly to James. Stupid people!

Guess what I did next! I called back, tried to lower my voice, and said I was James White! Heh heh! They switched me to 3 different people each who said, "Are you really James White". To which I answered as deeply and indignantly as possible, "YES!"

So they finally got all my information and disconnected the service. When we were done the guy on the phone said with a smart-assed tone, "Thank you ma'am!" I said "Ma'am?" and the guy hung up!

I guess I didn't fool anyone, but still got the service disconnected!

Highlight of my day!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Back at the laundry mat

Here I am back at my second home! I guess going to the laundry mat is not the worse thing in the world...I always treat myself to a Rt. 44 Diet Coke w/lime and a grilled cheese sandwich from Sonic! There is also free wifi which allows me to update my blog.

Today I made friends with 2 ladies here. One of them lives here in Shreveport and is only at the laundry because her dog did his business on her bed! She told me to try her church. It's called "The Simple Church" and it meets in the movie theatre! I think we may give it a try. Who knows?

The other lady I met is a pipeliners wife, too. She is YOUNG! Her husband is a backfill foreman. It was nice to have someone to talk to during the day! She only travels with her husband during the summer because she is a nursing student from Nashville. I love her accent! We compared restaurants and she told me of a steak and seafood place near here that she really likes. The other lady I met joined in our conversation and said the owners of that restaurant were good friends of hers. I'm thinking we might give that a try one day.

Saturday I splurged and bought a convection/toaster oven for the trailer. We don't pay for electricity but we do pay for gas so I thought it would be better to use that than our gas oven. James was the first to use it. He made cinnamon toast yesterday to go along with the scrambled eggs with potatoes and sausage I made, MMMMMM!

Today I think I will make a peach cobbler. I am going to make pepper steak sandwiches for dinner and that should go along nicely. Tomorrow will be meatloaf. I have to plan my meals only 2 days at a time because I have very SMALL fridge and freezer space!

I am trying to think of something funny to say. Some of you told me to start this blog because It would be funny. I think it's boring. Help me out by asking questions and suggesting topics.

Gotta go check the dryers!

Peace!
Patti