i am actually, actually almost on vacation. a surfing do-over, if you will. without the surf and sun but with all the fun. :)

i can't believe i plowed through everything that needed to be done, but i did. i am. i will. i leave the boys partially under control (except for monday), the husband has a list the size of my arm, the dogs are set...and then, i looked in the mirror. oh my. i could use a haircut and a brow wax and a mustache shave, and maybe some make-up and a comb...

i made karen promise not to clean or make anyone stop farting or burping just because i'm coming. i want them to be the real deal. i guess this means me too. and the real me is a cheap ass (can i say that here?) so i am NOT paying $25 for luggage. i'm packing a carry-on full of sweatpants and fleece and calling it good.

can't wait to see virginia. and baltimore. and i might make it to the monkey's soccer game and gabe is winning an award and there's a corn maze for tanner and karen is picking me up in baltimore, we hope. i get there tomorrow at 1:45 and laughed outloud when karen told me she thought it was 8:30 and had planned her whole day around it. yep. this is how we roll. i am prepared for anything. i just hope my airplane doesn't break. i also hope i don't have to sit next to any chatty people on the plane. i have that whole hermit thing going on and just because i'm going to see karen doesn't mean i have to start liking people.

ok. i guess we'll talk to you all later. maybe we'll duo-blog this weekend. just don't believe anything karen tells you, she loves to exaggerate.

it was opening pheasant weekend at the jboy house. fortunately, the husband is not a rabid pheasant hunter who needs huge hunting parties and day-long excursions and big fancy hunting dogs. he is definitely a hunter. he's just not a Hunter. thank goodness.

and because he is not a Hunter, he was totally cool with the boys, the puppy and i tagging along with him on saturday afternoon. i wanted to see sidney at work and i wanted to see if crosby would like it. i was also wanting a long walk in a field on a sunny afternoon.

we left about 3:30. i decided to drive separately in case the puppy or the boys needed to come home early. the husband loaded the rusty 1993 dodge truck up with his eleven-year-old, three-legged best friend and i followed him out to see what this was all about. we immediatly started hitting gravel back roads along with the rest of south dakota. there was so much dust being kicked up it was like driving in a snow storm.

we "hunted" for about three hours and got one bird. i think the husband has a lot better luck when he's out there being "solitary man" cuz he and the hound usually come home with three in an hour. i drove the boys home and he stayed out a bit longer. on our way home, we saw two pheasants right in the middle of the road. i let the boys out to chase them :)

we got back to town and i just couldn't help myself. i had to go straight to the car wash. proof that i will never, ever be a Hunter myself. but i will gladly be the hunter's wife anytime.

i'm not going to write about the 24-page newsletter or the 12-page campus guide or the 3 radio spots or the tv spot or even the pro bono PSA. all due by next wednesday before i can jump on an airplane bound for BALTIMORE to see karen. I know, i know. karen lives in virginia. that whole east coast thing is so confusing, don't you think?

anywhoo. baltimore. not sure how i screwed that one up, but let's just say the travelocity customer service representatives didn't speak much English. however, karen assures me that baltimore isn't that big a screw-up...it will just involve me hopping off an airplane and taking the metro to washington d.c. where she will pick me up. a little rendition of country mouse meets city mouse. i wonder if i need a token to ride the metro? where do i get the token? how much is a token? do they even use tokens anymore?

yep. this ought to be good.

in other "ought to be good" news, i have recently:

*joined an exercise class called Rythmix. it combines powerful dance moves with boot camp and aerobics, to really loud music. the instructor is a maniac, but boy can she shake it. can i shake it? no, not so much.

*completely lost all email contact on my blackberry. so when i do get lost in baltimore, you won't have to worry about getting an SOS email from me.

*been secretly car shopping for a big, gas hogging SUV. big enough to carry about 4 kids, two dogs, luggage, skis, ice skates, tennis rackets and bikes--all at the same time. it would be great if it could cook dinner and do laundry, too.

*did i mention i booked a plane ticket to baltimore to visit karen? it happens next thursday and life is so crazy right now i haven't even really had a chance to think about it. but i will. and when i do, i will think about how i can't wait to see her :)

*i spent the entire day yesterday talking to computer support people and alternatingly pulling my eyebrows out. the computer is still not fixed, but my eyebrows are looking sweet.

*have recently done some amazing things and met some amazing people, i just can't remember any of it.

that's about it. if any of you have any insight on tokens, computers, SUVs or eyebrows, let me know. just not via email...sigh.

there are 82 calories in a grasshopper. the hound eats about 20 or 30 grasshoppers per day.

no wonder she is getting so tubby.

we heard some sad news today. crosby's dad had a stroke and passed away this weekend. his name was elwood and he was a very cool old guy. i actually have an article on him in a sd hunting magazine where he was claimed to be "the best of the best" back in his day. we have only known him as the old, lumbering sweetheart of a lab who lived next door--and of course, as crosby's dad.

i guess we are lucky that we got to keep a little part of him before he died. rest in peace, elwood. we hope your daughter does your legacy justice.

ok, tonite i'm going to a fancy dinner party at a fancy house with fancy food and some very nice people.

i will time how long it takes me to spill something or say something inappropriate, and i'll report back.

i give myself about 1.25 hours, or two glasses of wine. whichever comes first.

drum roll please.

we are within one week of having 14 days of "no season" for anybody in the house. that's right. no football, soccer, baseball, hockey, hunting, volleyball, golf...for about 14 days. i'm not sure what we will all do, but it will be nice to eat real dinner together every night. i think maybe the bikes and kayaks will get a little more use. we went last sunday and it sure was fun.

after 14 days, the real insanity begins with hockey and hunting followed by sunday night volleyball, tuesday and thursday night bootcamp, wednesday night church night and monday night dog classes.

at any rate. let's not think about that yet. happy almost no season to us. what season are you in?