Ormond Beach

 So.... here I am at our brand new site.

Ormond Beach is inland of Daytona Beach.

Which makes NO SENSE!

(There is no beach here in this town...)

Anyhow.

There is the 24 hours race at the Daytona Speedway

this weekend, so all the hotels were either booked

or charging a RIDICULOUS amount.

(I'm in a crappy little Days Inn and paying

$251 a night!!!!)

Anyhow.

We got here and there are 34 students pre-registered.

By this tie we all know that aren't all showing up.

But even if we get half we are in trouble.

My boss ordered tables but they haven't arrived.

The RVP (Regional Vice President) who owns

this site just looks at me like a lost soul.

I talked to him on Thursday and recommended

that if the tables hadn't arrived, he should have his

office manager get on the phone with a Party Supplier

and rent 6 banquet tables.

But he didn't.

So I got there Friday evening and there were no tables.

They DO have a conference room, but it is TINY.

So I took all the big gooshy chairs out and replaced with

with narrower student chairs.

I put two on the end, and 4 on each side.

With me at the top of the table.

The wifi is TERRIBLE and my iPad refused to even

connect with it - said it was unsecured.

My iPad will connect with the unsecured wifi at a hotel!

And WalMart!

But not here!!!

So we had to get creative for the presentation.

And then Saturday morning, the students started to arrive.

And more came.

And more came.

At 8:00 I had 12 students.

(I can only fit 10.)

And then an angel showed up!

Kim is "almost" an RVP and asked if there was

anything she could do to help.

I told her I suggested to the real RVP that he run

to WalMart and buy some tables, but he said he

wouldn't until 1:00.

Which is 5 hours too late.

So she jumped in her car, ran to Sams Club and bought

8 banquet tables, delivered them, set them up and

set up chairs for 15 people (because TWO MORE showed

up while she was gone) and at 9:00 we were able

to move out of the squishy, non-state-compliant

conference room and out into the main room.

Thank goodness!

I don't know if she is going to return them, keep them, ...?

I don't know. I don't care. I am just grateful she bought them!!!

I taught all day Saturday.

Today I'm having the new guy, Tyrone, teach.

This is his first class, so he's struggling a little,

mostly with pace (he's going too fast... but that's

just nerves and he'll settle down...).

Meanwhile, I'm in the conference room.

Listening in, but mostly reading a book.

hahahahahaha.

The Next Adventure

 Just picked up my newest rental car.

It's a little Nissan Rogue.

A compact SUV.

It's a nice vehicle!

Lots of room inside, BIG trunk space,

lots of head room and leg room....

But the stupid dash thingie won't show your

speed you are currently driving.

Instead it shows you AVERAGE speed.

A little freaky when you are sitting at a stop

light and the dash says you are going 34 mph.

WHAT?????

Kyle and I messed with it for a couple of minutes

and I finally gave up and changed it to show

what I'm listening to on Pandora instead.

Guess I'll just have to use the old fashioned

speedometer thing instead.

Sheesh.

Other than that though, it's pretty nice.

I'm heading off to Ormond Beach, which is

just inland of Daytona Beach.

There is a big race there this weekend, so getting

a hotel was pretty dicey.

I'm in a Days Inn.

Ugh.

But it was nearly $250 / night and that's my cap.

Everything else was starting at $350 - $500!!!

For a BED!

I remember when Motel 6 was $6!!!

And then we were all scandalized with they

started Motel 8!!! WHO was going to pay

eight dollars for a bed?????

HA!

Anyhow.

This is a two-weekend gig.

I'm training a new instructor.

I'll teach Saturday and then he's taking over,

so all I have to do is observe.

YAWN.

I have a good book.

(grin)

Freezer Camp!

 Yesterday was freezer camp day!

We headed down to Vero to pick up the beef.

It all fit in 5 large Coleman ice chests.

(We borrowed 4 from Brock, next door...)

Once it was all in the coolers, we headed

back north to the house.

The entire process took 2 hours.

When we got home, we brought all the coolers

into the house and started on ear tag #8.

(The white coolers)

First we took all the meat out and put it into

piles of like kind of cuts.

Kyle was our scribe and did a great job

of keeping count of all the different

cuts of meat. (There were 20!)

Once they were split into kinds, we then

split them into quarters. Many split nicely,

and some we ended up with 1 or 2 packages left over.

Then it was time to take the left over,

random pieces and split them between

the 4 quarters.

There were still some leftovers, and they

went into our freezer.

Next we weighed the boxes and wrote the pounds

and that it was steaks and roasts on the outside

of the box.

Then it was on to the #28 ear tag.

(The blue coolers)

Same process.

Once they were all weighed and marked,

it was time to work on the ground beef.

We counted it all and ended up with 154 packages

of ground beef - each weighing 1.5#.

We put split all those up and into their boxes.

Then we had to take a couple of the quarters and

turn them into eighths! That was kind of a pain

in the neck, but we got it done.

Boxes of meat EVERYWHERE!

The boxes fit perfectly back into the coolers

(with 2 going in our chest freezer for one family,

and 1/2 of a beef going into the standing freezer

for our meat consumption this year.)

People started showing up to pick up their beef.

They all stayed for a bit to visit - most of them 

are from the ward, so they are all friends with each

other, so it was a fun little get-together.

And then... we were DONE!

Whew!

Except that we weren't.

We still needed to go grocery shopping.

I have been doing a pantry/freezer cleanout month

this month and haven't been to the grocery store

for a few weeks except for things like oranges and milk.

So the cupboards are looking pretty bare!

Kyle and I went on a quick trip to Sams and then WalMart

while Rod fed the animals and took care of the dogs.

When we got home, Kyle and I made some chicken, rice and

mixed veggies and then we all sat down to eat.

And we all fell asleep.

It was a long, busy, productive day.

We were all tired!

(And pretty sore today... those boxes were HEAVY!)

But it's all done now!

Lots of happy families with lots of good quality beef.

One family bought an eighth, and when they got home,

they took a look at it, jumped in the car and came

straight back to claim the final unsold eighth!

So it's ALL sold.

The money is deposited.

And we are done with beef until we move to Kansas.

It's been a fun ride!

Teaching In Tampa

 Here I am.....

waiting while my students do some busywork

and I let the clock run out to 6:50 so we

can call it a day and go home!

It has been a pretty good class, but

BOY OH BOY the questions!!!

And so many of them really don't have

anything to do with the course material.

How do I do this.... fill in unrelated thing,

like recruit people, or sell this thing, or

if I sell this insurance will we take Zelle????

Really?

Is that going to be on the state exam?

Well, no, but can you answer anyway?

NO!

hahahahahahahaha.

I'm exhausted.

Good thing they are nice people.

*mostly

There was one guy that I was VERY happy to inform

that because he was 3 minutes late this morning he

would be counted absent, he was ANGRY and 

while cussing a blue streak he left.

Darn.

Tonight? I'm going to take the easy way out

(like I did last night, honestly) 

and just hit the drive-thru at Arby's (next door to

my hotel), grab a sandwich and a bottle of water

and eat in my bed.

Nite!!!!!

New Doors

 Poor Steve! (the door guy)

Once he got the doors off and started messing

with them, he discovered they were in

AWFUL shape.

Much worse than he expected.

So he sent Rod to Lowe's for a bucket of Bondo.

And then he got to work.

And he worked.

And he worked.

And he worked.

(gaping hole and Beau supervising...)

Gonna have a LOT of glass.

And at 2:00 he took a break and grabbed

a sandwich (and I let all the dogs out of their

crates for a potty break...)

And then it was right back to work!

He finally finished up at 4:45.

(He started at 9.)

The doors are much heavier than before.

I guess because they are mostly bondo.

But can I just say,

they are BEAUTIFUL!

Before.

After.

I should have taken a picture this morning

with the sunlight streaming in, but I was

busy trying to get ready to drive to Tampa.

We think it makes the house look a little more

up-to-date than those old rounded ones.

When I came out of my bedroom this morning I walked

into the living room and wondered why the doors

were open. They weren't, there was just 

SO. MUCH. LIGHT. it felt like they were open!

It's going to be wonderful!

I'm Baaaaaaaaack

 Well.

That was no fun.

It was "just" a cold, but it knocked me out.

Mostly I slept.

The old adage starve a fever, feed a cold kept

running through my brain, but I just

couldn't eat. Or drink.

I probably would have recovered quicker,

but I just couldn't.

So now I'm just dealing with the after-effects

of basically not eating or drinking for several

days and losing nearly 10 pounds in the process.

Not like it will stay off.

But whatever...

I went into the town yesterday, intending

to only stay for an hour or so,

but ended up doing my whole 5 hour shift.

And stopped at WalMart on the way home.

That was touch and go.

I grabbed a little deli bucket of warm 

chicken nuggets on my way in and munched

on them while I shopped to get some protein

into my system and that seemed to help.

But by the time I got to my truck I needed

a little rest.

Thankfully I'm doing a "freezer / pantry challenge"

and trying not to buy anything this month.

So I didn't need much.

My thyroid meds were ready to be picked up

and I'm going to be out of town this weekend,

so I grabbed a couple boxes of mac and cheese

and some beans and weenies.

Rod doesn't cook much when I'm not here.

This morning the patio door guy (friend of Rod's)

is here to fix the doors.

Here's a before.

Check back for an after!

Sick

 Kyle has been sick and shared it with us.

Darn it.

I went to bed early last night and didn't get

out of bed until 10:30.

And then I spent the day on the couch,

wrapped in a blanket watching Master Chef Australia.

Unfortunately, I did have to teach tonight.

But it went ok.

Hopefully I'll be all better tomorrow.

Kyle changed hours, now he's working

the night shift with Rod so they go in at 11

and work until 9:00

(mandatory overtime until they all get caught up...)

So.

That's all the news that's fit to print.

ACHOOOOO

Temple Trip

 They are getting ready to close our temple

for a couple of months while they do

some structural stuff (hurricanes etc...)

AND

Linda (Kyle's old boss, my friend, and the

Stake RS Pres) and I went to the temple

together this morning.

We have gone lots of times over the years.

We will miss getting to do that.

She is moving to the ranch full time in February.

And, of course, we are moving to Kansas.

Anyhow.

It was a lovely morning.

I drove over to her house and she drove to Orlando.

(She is an uncomfortable passenger so prefers

if she gets to drive her own vehicle...)

We made it to the 9:00 session with plenty of time

to spare and there were LOTS of people there.

Many of them from our stake.

After our session we hopped in the car and

headed straight back home again, got to her place

just after 12:00. (Would have been earlier, but

the highway was getting new paving so traffic was

a little slower than we anticipated...)

I borrowed Rod's new truck since mine doesn't

have a working defroster and it was pretty foggy

and moist this morning.

When I left her house I stopped by the airport to

swap out vehicles because by the time he gets off

work, it will again be foggy and moist and that's

just not safe.

And my guy needs to be SAFE!

Unfortunately, he forgot his key for the truck

and so he couldn't drive it.

I didn't know that until I got home and saw

the key hanging on the key rack or I would

have just left mine....

(And I knew he was busy inside an airplane

so I just dropped it off and sent a quick text.)

So, Kyle (who is home sick today but could

use some Vitamin SEA) and I went to the

beach (chilly, but beautiful) for an hour

while we shared one of those fabulous burritos

from Big Island Burrito.

And then when we were done and the sun wasn't

quite as strong and warm, we packed up and

headed back to the airport to drop off Rod's keys

so he wasn't stranded.

And then home to sit on the patio and enjoy

a little more sunshine.

(And eat a couple of fresh peas from the garden...)

And then I had to come inside and teach.

All-in-all a lovely day!

Happy Monday!

 It's been a busy morning already.

Started with a quick breakfast of 

quinoa and some freeze dried peaches.

YUM.

A good carby breakfast to start the day.

Then I headed over to our new Elders Quorum

President's house for a quick meeting about

the state of ministering in our ward.

He gave me a really great compliment.

He is new to our ward, his family moved

in about 6 months ago.

He asked how long I had been RS Pres.

When I said since May, he said, oh, I keep

forgetting this is a new ward.

I thought you were going to say 4 years.

You really have a handle on this!

That was nice to hear!

I think we will work well together, 

we are both bottom line kind of people.

I don't need all the details, just give me

the highlights and the results.

Delegate. 

And then let them do their job.

Or not. And then don't swoop in to fix it.

HARD for both of us, but we are going

to hold each other accountable.

We both really really want to work on

helping people with their self reliance.

Temporal and spiritual.

Anyhow. 

It was a good meeting.

And then on the way home I stopped at the UPS store

and returned some protein powder I bought and didn't like.

When I tried to return it on Friday there was a line

OUT THE DOOR!

This morning there was no line (yet) so I got that

taken care of. 

And it is next door to a Publix grocery store, and I

only had one thing on my list today.

(We are trying to do a pantry/freezer challenge and

only use stuff from the pantry...) but I was OUT of

good Lawrey's season salt and that's a travesty.

I bought an off-brand last time and its nasty.

So I popped in to grab that.

And they had some good buy 1 get 1, so I also

grabbed a couple of cans of soup for my lunch

this week, and some sugar free apple sauce to

make a cake for our lunches, and some

sugar free raspberry vinaigrette for my salad.

So much for NO shopping. Hahahaha.

But if I had popped into Walmart (also next door)

who knows what other nonsense I might have bought.

So I'm calling that a win.

And on that note, I need to send notes to the

speakers from yesterday's Stake Conference,

finish setting up the February teaching schedule

for all my zoom teachers,

make hotel and rental car reservations for the

class I'm subbing at the end of the month,

and then have some lunch.

And then we'll see what's next.

Saturday, Dec 17. NEW PUPPY

Monday, Jan 2. DON'T BITE MY CHIN!

And she is MUCH bigger now, 1 week later.

She is all legs.

And teeth.

(He just came in from painting, so he is covered in paint

and he just took off his hat... so yeah, not a great picture. lol)

(Rozann - notice the horse hanging on my wall! 

I LOVE it!!!)

Another "Last of...."

 As we slowly get ready to transition to living in Kansas,

there are many "this will be the last time..." events.

Yesterday was the last time we will take

steers to our local butcher (ie: freezer camp).

BK

He looks suspicious.

Red.

(We are SO clever in our names...)

They loaded incredibly smoothly.

Just hopped right in.

Did a lot of dancing around while we were

driving down the road, but that's to be expected.

And, there were the usual people slowing down

to take a picture or video as we drove 

down the highway.

They settled right in and got to know the other "campers". 

They will come back in their tidy package form

in about 3 weeks.

Rod did a great job of selling almost all of it.

We kept one side.

So for the next 3 weeks we will be doing a 

"eat out of the freezer and pantry" challenge.

Gotta make space.

It feels strange to NOT have steers in the back pasture.

Now we just have Buddy.

And the chickens.

Can we still say we live on a farm?

Just 1 horse, 20 chickens and 4 dogs.

Most of the horses are gone.

The ducks finally got eaten by a coyote.

And of course no more steers.

I gave away 2 chickens over Christmas,

the rest will hopefully pick up laying again

in a few weeks and provide us with eggs

until it's time for us all to leave.

Change is good!

(And feeding is MUCH quicker now...)

Happy Birthday Sondra!

Happy Birthday to my Big / Oldest / Most Seasoned????

Sister.

Um..... It used to be ok to say Big sister.

Or Oldest sister.

But these days?????

LOL.

Anyhow.

I didn't miss her birthday.

But I DID miss doing a birthday post!

I actually got online to do it,

but honestly, I had a RAGING ocular migraine

and had to rest until I had to teach that evening

and then afterward I just couldn't do one more thing.

But that doesn't mean I didn't think about Soni

multiple times throughout the day!

Hoping she was enjoying a delightful

mug of steaming, creamy hot chocolate.

She got to spend time with her girls!

(Yes, this picture is a thousand years old...)

But I thought a blast from the past would be fun.

2013 looking for venues.

At the fair with Greg, Matt and Littles.

In her beautiful backyard on the trip to move

Mom and Dad to Tucson!

Yup, all years and years ago.

And yes, we try to see each other every year.

And no, we NEVER take good pictures.

I found a great one the other day of the

fun hairstyle we shared one year,

but of course, now I can't find it.

Soni calls me every Thursday morning.

(Well, NEARLY every Thursday... but, life!)

I look forward to our visits.

We have so much fun chatting,

catching up on each other's lives,

or talking about earth shattering stuff.

Like chocolate.

I love my big sister.

She is such a great example of pure love for her family.

And love of life.

She loves what she does.

She loves the people she helps.

She loves where she lives.

She loves LIFE!

And I love her.

Happy (belated) Birthday Soni!