Same 'ol Same 'ol.....

Next Saturday is the Rodeo and Rodeo dance here in Hick County. I told Andy that I was going to the dance, and he said "Don't let one of those cowboys get a hold of you."
I was like "Excuse me!?!?! YOU are the one who goes home to someone else every night..." He just sort of ducked his head and said "Yeah, I know."
I couldn't believe that he would even THINK that he had any control over me at all...
I didn't tell him that there won't be anyone worth my time at that dance anyway... Let his imagination get to him...LOL
Tried to get the door latch fixed on my pick up yesterday, but the part hadn't come in, so I have to try again today. I hate that 3-11 shift, makes it hard to do anything else. I could have got up earlier to get more done, but then I would have been tired by the time I had to go to work. *sigh* Thankfully I only have to do it yesterday and today. Then I have Friday off, and work 6 am to 3 pm on Sat, Sun, and Mon. Monday is time and a half, so that 9 hour shift is appreciated. I never have any plans on the 4th anyway. Park out on a dirt road and watch the county fireworks display out at the high school football field. Kinda like to get some fishing in this weekend, but I don't know if I will or not.

Strange dreams...

I keep having reaccuring dreams about an intelligent looking man, older than me, with a pony tail and a full beard coming into the store where I work and saying, "I'm looking for someone called Amethyst Hawke. Have you ever heard that name?"
I always wake up wondering who he is....

SW Kansas is NOT as bad as Buffalo thinks it is....

I started to put a few pictures here of some of the beautiful places in southwest Kansas, but there were too many... So, if you will indulge me, I would like to take you on a tour of some of my favorite places in Southwest Kansas, including a page of storm pictures that are incredible...


Click HERE ...

Just another weekend

Well, 4 days have gone my since my last entry. Guess I should have something to say by now, wouldn't you think?


(This is a picture of a typical Kansas wheat harvest. Andy doesn't drive one of this type of grain truck, though... lol)
Yesterday, Andy was helping his boss's harvest crew. There was a young kid running the combine, and he loaded Andy's truck just fine, but when the kid went to pull away he forgot the lift the auger. He hit Andy's stack on the passenger side with it and bent it forward at about a 30 degree angle. Now his truck looks a bit funny coming down the road, sort of like a dog with one ear bent ... LOL.



This is really close to what Andy's truck looks like (before the "stack" incident... LOL)
One of the other trucks got stuck in the field, fully loaded, and twisted the drive line on it. The combine wouldn't pull it out, so Andy and I left about 4 pm and went out where the crew was then harvesting to get the tractor and grain cart. We brought it back, and pulled the truck out. Andy and the boss's teenage son fixed the drive line earlier yesterday morning. I always have such a blast with him in the truck, and harvest time is one of my favorite times of the year. (Just a Kansas country girl at heart, I suppose...LOL) We stopped by Allan and Rhonda's house for a few minutes, and then we both went home, I got home around 12:30 am. I am glad that when he is working, he doesn't have time to stop. It would be hard to still say no if we had time alone in that sleeper... LOL
Got up at 5:30 am to get ready for work. He had today off from driving, but was going to go run a swather most of the day for his dad, and had his and his parent's yards to mow. Hoping he gets time to work on his truck, but doesn't look like he will until harvest is over.
It was pretty funny, they harvested my mom's wheat the day before yesterday, and Andy hauled her wheat to the elevator... LOL
I worked yesterday, and today, but have the next two days off. Going in for a little bit tomorrow to "brain storm" with the manager to decide what topics need to be discussed in Tuesday's store meeting. Other than that, unless a chance to go with Andy comes up, I am just going to hang around the house...

A bit of a quiz...

Questions:
How many of you have your photo online?
Is it accessible by anyone, or do you only show it to certain people?

I finally have an online photo of me, it was taken at the bar where I work during the class reunion weekend. I had been working, and it was late in the night, so I don't exactly look fabulous, but it's not too bad of a picture... Just wondering how other people handle their onliine photos of themselves...

Back from the end of the world...

I am finally home. I have two days off, and then I start working back in "my" store. I am sooo glad to be home.
Monday, I only worked until noon. Andy had broke down outside of Seiling, Okla., and spent hours waiting on the side of the road for a tow truck to pull him into Woodward. I told him to let me know, and if he was having to stay down there, I would make a road trip to come see him.
It ended up being the rear end on his Peterbilt that went out, and amazingly enough, the nearest one they could find was in Dodge City. It was going to cost a small fortune to have it delivered, (It weighs about 700 lbs) so Andy told his boss that he had a friend in Dodge right then, and that they would bring it down for them. His boss asked him how much his friend would charge, and Andy said $100. So, he called me up, I went out to the East end of Dodge and they loaded the rear end into the back of my pick up, and I drove the 2 hours down to Woodward.
After they got it unloaded, Andy and I went to Wal Mart, went out to eat Mexican food for supper, and went out for a cruise in a big beautiful campground area outside of Woodward. There are so many deer in there, and they seem so tame, they aren't scared of humans.
Anyway, then he bought us ice cream cones, and we were just laughing, and playing around. It was so fun. It is great when we are somewhere where no one knows us. We went back to his motel, watched videos on GAC, laughed, talked... Then we snuggled up and slept for about 2 1/2 hours, which is when I got up, got dressed, and drove the two hours back to Dodge in time to go to work. I had so much fun down there!
Last night, he called me while I was at Rhonda's house saying he finally got the truck done and unloaded, and was on his way to pick up a load of rock, and could he call me when he got to town? I said yes, of course. He called when he finally got back to town, about 1 am this morning actually, and I went out and met him where he was dropping off the load of rock he had brought up from Oklahoma. I had left some things at the motel he had brought, and I wanted to see him again anyway. We laughed and talked some more, and then I left, with him right behind me. As soon as we came out on the road, one of "our" songs by Shooter Jennings came on the radio. I went to my store and bought a pop, and then I went back to where he was fueling. I asked him if he had heard what came on the radio, and he said he did. I told him that it wasn't a coincidence, and he said that no, he didn't think it was either... I went on home and went to bed.
Now this morning, I am trying to get laundry done, and straighten up things that no one bothered to straighten up when I was gone. I am using my truck to help Rhonda move a love seat later to her mom's house about 10 miles down the road here in Hick County.

Update

Thursday night, the night before I had to be back in Dodge, Andy called. He asked if I was busy, saying that he was down at the Co-op fueling, and thought maybe I wanted to stop by to say "hi". I did. He stood at the passenger window of my pick-up and talked to me. When I got ready to leave, I held my hand out to him. Instead of taking my hand, he walked around to my side, leaned in, and gave me a few soft kisses.
"Isn't that better than a hand shake?" He asked.

Friday when he called me the first time, he said that his wife had kept him up until 4:30 am picking fights and arguing. He had to get up at 6 am to get back on the road. She's famous for that.
Every time he calls me here, I love it, but when I hang up the phone and everytime I think about him after that, It feels like I have a big hole in my chest and I get very homesick.
This week the company put me up in a suite. Whirlpool tub big enough for 4 people, spiral staircase up from the living area to the bedroom with a king sized bed. It's been wonderful.
I'm glad this is my last week here. They run things so differently from the way we do in our store. This has been sort of a "working vacation", but I can't wait to "get the hell out of Dodge"!!

Back for a few days....

Well, I survived my first week in Dodge City. I put in at least 10 to 12 hours every day, and will again for 5 days starting Friday. The manager of the other store is helping me a lot, and she and I are a lot alike in our thinking about how to get things done in a store, so it works well. The store isn't in too bad of shape. The manager in training that is slated to take over the store is pretty cool too, he has helped out, too. I get along with all the employees excet one, and I'm not worried about her. The others are all guys, and I always get along better with guys anyway... LOL
Rhonda and I laid out in the sun yesterday, and I overdid it for my first time out. Oh well, I'll learn someday... LOL.
I saw Andy last night for the first time in 6 days. He missed me more than he thought he was going to, I think. He called me at least once or twice everyday.
When I got off work, I went back to the motel. The television was on a swivel topped tv stand, and I would turn it so I could watch it from the bubble bath... LOL
He usually called when I was in the tub, and then again later, right before I went to sleep.

Another day in the life...

Rhonda and I took a load of trash from her daughter's boyfriend's house to the dump in my truck this afternoon. Her daughter, Ashley, and her boyfriend, Wes, moved and left a pile of trash for Rhonda to take to the dump for them. Nice, huh? Oh well.
I called Andy, I knew he was out in the country loading a tractor and a grain cart onto a flat bed by himself, so we went out and helped him. I didn't like the thought of the possibility of that tractor going off the side of the trailer with him inside when he was out there all by himself. His boss owns horses, and buffalo, and my son loved seeing them... He really likes Andy, too. My son is the same age as Andy's twin boys. He was taking the equipment down into Oklahoma where his boss and the rest of the crew are harvesting wheat. Andy has still been doing local runs here, and going down when the equipment needs to be moved. He should have got to the drop off place between 8 and 8:30, and I haven't heard from him yet, it's now 10:19. Hope that dang cart didn't fall off the trailer or something, it was pretty wide for the trailer. It's back tires are about 24 inches across, and about 19 inches of them hang out off the sides of the trailer. Made me nervous.
Anyway... My son was a holy terror today. Just acting wild, when we were with Rhonda and Andy, and all evening... Trashed some of my mom's plants in the front yard, made a swamp out of the bathroom floor (the ENTIRE floor, which, BTW, is carpeted!!) I had to pull out the carpeting and hang it out on the clothes line. *sigh* I am so ready for a bubble bath and going to bed... But the son isn't asleep yet, and I am NOT going to let him trash something while I'm in the tub, so I will wait until he is asleep. My mom is at her boyfriend's house, and my daughter is at her dad's house.

It's getting better....

Well, I got my pick up yesterday. It's really cool, I love it...
It's a 1997 4x4 Chevy S-10 three door extended cab, really dark green, tinted windows. It's not the full sized pick up I wanted, but it's better on gas, and it's a good "first truck". Rhonda and I took it for a short road trip yesterday... Already talking about a trip to southeast Oklahoma where she used to live to go party...LOL
I have off from work now until I go to Dodge. I am just cleaning up stuff here in my room at mom's, and doing the dishes and laundry and stuff. I have to go over pretty soon and get stuff from my house, and my bag to start packing. Last time I saw it it was covered in dust... it's suede, so I guess I'm going to have to clean it before I can use it... You can tell I never go anywhere...LOL
I'm a little worried about leaving my son with his dad for the whole time... I guess he will be alright, and I will try to come home at least once a week, or twice. I have to be there to do books 7 days a week, but I can cut one or two days a week short to come home. I am thinking about keeping notes in a notebook so I can make entries in my blog on the days I am home.
I talked to Andy, he pointed out that my pick up is almost the same color as his semi, which I thought was funny...

Good morning....

I am getting so nervous about running that Dodge City store. I don't know anyone out there, I have never been in the store... There are paperwork things that I don't really know yet, everyone tells me it's a dirty store with rude employees... Am I really ready for this??
I don't even have a vehicle yet.... *sigh* I wish I knew someone who had one I could borrow, at least until I could get somewhere to find a truck I can buy...
I just got off work, been working graveyards... Training the new guy... I've had 10 hours of sleep in the last 72... I am getting REALLY tired...
Spent a few hours with Andy on Saturday... He tried to get "romantic", but I told him as long as they were living in the same house that wasn't going to happen... He thinks he is leaving tomorrow on harvest, and I leave for Didge City on Friday, so who knows when we will see each other again...
So many things to try and keep in my head all at once....
Guess I will go take a nap...

Books

Well, I suppose I should get to this "book list".

1. Number of books I have owned: Probably around 1000. Books have been one of my favorite things since I was little. They have always been like my best friend, and my escape when I wanted to get away from my own life for a while. In fact, in going through some stuff at my mom's, I just found the book that was one of my favorites when I was 2 or 3 years old. It's called "Me Too", and I used to love it! I also found my old Richard Scary story book.
2. The last book I bought? I bought several at one time, "Garden Witchery", and "The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine", and "A Green Witches' Grimoire".
3. The last book I read? "Blood Canticles"(or however you spell it!) by Anne Rice. I have a weakness for Lestat, what can I say...
4. The five books that mean something to me. Well, it all depends on which period of my life I am in, and what I am going through. There have been books that helped me immensely during certain times of my life that I never even pick up now. I can't even think of anything at the moment... I could tell you some of my favorites...
A. Rebecca, by Daphne DuMaurier
B. The Hours, by Michael Cunningham
C. White Oleander, by Janet Fitch
D. All of Anne Rice's books
E. The Hobbit, and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy
F. The Chronicles of Narnia
You know, I can't really think of any more right now... My mind is so busy with thinking about everything else, I can't seem to remember anything...
When I was in Jr. High, I had a book called "Beautiful Joe", about a dog... I don't know who wrote it, and I lost the book... I could never find out anything about it again... I loved that book...

Nothing exciting...

Well, I decided that what the guy was asking for that pick up was too much, so I didn't go to the bank. I really need to find something, but after checking the Kelly Blue Book price, I tried to get him to come down, and he wouldn't, so I told him I would have to keep looking. I can't go out of town to a dealer, and our little tiny one dealer in town only has new trucks, and I don't know anyone who will take me anywhere else, so I have to settle for what I can find here in Hick County.
I start working graveyards tonight for 4 nights in a row. I have to train the new kid, and Monday night I am re-training the other newest employee. Monday and Tuesday mornings I am going to do the books, also.
I really should go in this morning to learn the "Friday Roll-up" end of the week stuff. I haven't ever done that, so I will need to know how...
Andy and I both went to Rhonda and Allan's last night. I really miss being with him. We're still friends, though, and that's good. I would hate to lose him completely.

Stole this from Rednaked...

I am a hybrid of: Girl Next Door Indie Girl Click on the pictures below to read more: Take the 'What Kind of Girl Are You?' quiz at CookingToHookup.com

All the latest...

Well, today and yesterday Andy and I sat outside the store after I got off work and talked for like an hour and a half. Sitting on the sidewalk. He gives me a great big hug every evening before he leaves. I almost think he wants someone to see us and tell his wife so she will leave, thus making the decision that he is scared to make.

Looks like I am going to go run a store in Dodge City for 2-4 weeks. I don't speak Spanish, so in this particular neighborhood, that may be a hindrance, but I think I can make it. Means a $2 an hour raise, and tons more hours, and the company is putting me up in a motel. I am pretty psyched about going.
I test drove my friends pick up today. It's a '98 3 door Chevy, teal green. It's really nice. I have a meeting with the banker in the morning before going to work to talk about getting a loan for it. My mom is pissed, because she will probably have to cosign for it, and she is saying that she can't buy a car because if something happens to me, she will have to pay off that truck. I don't know what I will do. I really need a more reliable vehicle before June 10, which is when I am going to Dodge City. I have my heart set on a truck. I am just not a car person.
Well, that is all the news for now. I am going to finish up supper, and try to go spend some time with Rhonda. She and Allan have been having trouble, and we are sort of each others' leaning boards. Wish me luck tomorrow at the bank!