Last night was a rough one. I got angrier with Adam, than I have in a very long time. The other day, when I saw our mortgage payment had increased due to escrow, I knew it was taxes, insurance, or both. I told Adam, if our home insurance had gone up, I was going to get quotes from some other places. I already knew we’d been paying more than we should, for insurance. Adam had set that all up, when we first bought our house here. Adam assured me he’d call and figure it out. Awhile later, he told me they had said it was because our state and county have increased our property taxes. I trusted that, and left it alone. Until, last night. I was telling Justin about this tax hike, and Adam spoke up. He said, “Well, like $40 of that is because insurance went up.” Immediately, I started seeing red!! Adam had not bothered to mention this, to me, until just then. I felt like he’d lied to me. I let it be made clear, exactly how upset that made me, too.

I know it seems contrary to popular belief, but I’M the saver. I’m the one who’s always financially planning, investing, and looking for ways to save money. I’m not perfect. I do mess up. Adam just sees his paychecks, and figures it’s more than we could need, so what’s the worry… I, on the other hand, track every dollar in and out of all our accounts. We aren’t “rich”. We have bills, like everyone else. We’re fortunate to be able to have all the things we do. I’m not ungrateful. I’m just cautious. Adam tried to argue that “$40 a month more for our insurance isn’t that big of a deal”, but it is to me! Not only that, but he should’ve told me about it, in the first place.

I made calls today, and got several quotes. It turns out, we can combine our homeowner’s insurance with our car insurance, and spend way less than we’ve been paying for home insurance. Going from $2800 a year, down to $1040 a year, is a good chunk to save!

Adam ain’t perfect, y’all. I really chewed him out, last night. I told him it isn’t fair to bust my chops about something that he turns around and does too. I can’t hold him down and spank him, but I’m a damn good “attorney”. I know how to argue, when I’m in the right. I don’t like to be upset with him. I get no pleasure from all of this. He was wrong, though. It mattered a whole lot, to me. I know how to make the dollars stretch. I’m paying half our mortgage every other week, rather than the whole amount just once per month. Doing that will have us paying off our house 1/3 quicker. Rather than it taking 30 years to pay off our home, we can do it in 20. I’m a forward thinker. It’s how I feel safe. I need to know there’s a plan for the important things.

Adam has been pretty quiet, today. I don’t want to be mad at him anymore. I hate to have a crappy evening. I really don’t want to do it again, tonight. All I need is for him to understand and acknowledge the reasons why I was so hurt and angry. I hope we can have a better night.

~Collin Raye

I just finished peeling and dicing potatoes, for our supper tonight. I’ve got ham and cheesy potatoes cooking, in the oven. I’m listening to “90’s Country” music, on my Spotify. This song came on. I haven’t heard it in a long time, but I love it.

Adam’s busy as heck, catching up at work. It was after 7:00pm, when he got home last night. Probably be late again, tonight. I’ve got a sick daughter, too. I got a phone call from the school nurse, yesterday. She had gotten sick to her stomach, so I picked her up. She’s still not feeling very well, today. If she’s still throwing up, tomorrow, I’m taking her into the doctor. Usually these stomach bugs only last 24 hours, max. I hate that she’s feeling so crummy. Also, I do not want whatever she has!

I need to vacuum the floors, but I was trying to stay quiet, so Mj could rest. She’s slept near constant, since I picked her up from school. I did dust all the ceiling fans, and around the house, where the walls meet the ceiling. There’s so much construction, all around us. We get a lot of dust, and cobwebs that form super quickly, too. Wyatt has a baseball game, this evening. It’s real cold here. The high was only 43 degrees. I would be miserable, if I was him. But, he’s fine with it. Adam and I can’t be in the stands, watching, tonight. I can’t say I’m upset that Mj gave me a good excuse to stay inside, where it’s warm and cozy.

While we were in Kansas, it was freezing cold! We didn’t get to spend any time outside, or get out the ATVs. The kids had a lot of fun, anyhow. We went to their family’s shop, and played pool. Several of Adam’s brother’s friends came by, too. Adam had more beer than he’s used to drinking, so I didn’t drink. I volunteered to be the designated driver. It was still a lot of fun, though. I really like his brother’s girlfriend! She is such a sweetheart. I spent a lot of time talking with her. I accidentally gave my nephew a big ol’ goose egg on his head. He was sitting at the top of the steps, trying to be sneaky, so he could scare one of the other kids. I snuck up behind him, and said RAWWWR, as I touched his shoulders. He jumped so hard, he smacked his head on the stair railing. Thankfully, he thought it was funny. I loved spending some time with my niece and nephew, and seeing all the kids have a blast, together.

Jackie is moving out, this weekend! I’m so happy for her. They’ll still live close, so she won’t be hard to see. I’m kind of excited to have the whole basement. Adam’s family wants to come down, this summer. That’s a perfect guest space to have, for them. My sister, her husband, and baby Pj are going to be moving to Texas, this Fall. I love that I can have somewhere for them, when they come home to Tennessee, too.

Aside from a couple eye rolls, and once when I flipped him off recently, Adam hasn’t had any reason to bust my butt. He gives me a smack, when I do those things, but it isn’t that serious. If I rolled my eyes, or flipped him off when we weren’t joking around, that would be very different.

Mj is requesting some chicken broth. I’m going to fix some, and pray it stays down in her belly. Wish us luck!

We made it home! I drove about half of the drive back home, and I averaged 80 mph all the way. Even going through St Louis, 5 lanes of traffic…There I was, in the very most left lane, following the cars before me, who were also in a hurry to get home. I was ready to get out of that car!

I was opening our mail, and our mortgage bill was in there. I opened it, and got an unwelcome surprise. Our property taxes have increased by $140 a month, now!! I think that is absurd. I was very very grumpy about it.

My brother had a friend he had gone through boot camp with. He’s been close to this guy for all these years. His name was Jason. Jason’s wife called my brother, on Friday, to inform him of some tragic news. Jason had an asthma attack, that led to cardiac arrest, and he was in the hospital. He was unresponsive, and they were going to be doing brain scans, to see if he still had any brain activity. I talked with my brother, awhile ago. Jason did not have any brain activity, and he passed away today. He leaves behind a wife and a 2 year old daughter.

As aggravated as I am, about discovering our monthly mortgage payments are increasing because our stupid government decided to raise our taxes, that news was a big reality check. I’m heartbroken for everyone who will have to live without Jason. I need to step back, and thank our Lord above, that my worries are nothing more than a few dollars. Our lives can forever change, in an instant. I am so grateful for the people, and the blessings that I have. We will deal with the stuff life throws us, and be just fine, as long as we have each other.

We made it to Kansas, about 4:45pm, this afternoon. We made pretty good time! Adam’s mom is Catholic, and since it’s Lent, she cooked everybody fish filets, mixed fruit, and macaroni and cheese, for supper. our niece and nephew were here, waiting for us. The kids are all downstairs playing, now. Adam, his brother, his mom, and I are watching a movie. Well, they’re watching…I’m not, clearly. It’s COLD here! It’s about 32 degrees, and the wind just bites through your clothes and into your skin. The kids really want to ride 4 wheelers tomorrow, but it needs to be warmer! Everybody will freeze, if it’s still like this out.

I’m fixing to go put on my cashmere sweatpants, and get cozy. Adam’s mom always has all kinds of hot cocoa and coffee stuff here, for me. I think I’m going to make a cup of hot cocoa.

If y’all haven’t seen “The Wizard of Oz”, that title probably made no sense… Dorothy, from that movie, is trying to get back to Kansas.

Well, it looks like plans have changed. We’re not leaving until tomorrow morning, now. Adam is going to be working late, tonight. I was grouchy about it, and I kind of got an attitude. I checked myself, though. As I mentioned before, I do not want to sit on a freshly spanked ass for 10 hours. Oh well. Now Jackie and I will be able to hang out, in the kitchen, tonight.

I baked some cookies. It helps to warm me up, when I bake something. It’s chilly, today. High was only 59 degrees, and it’s cloudy and dreary. Adam’s mom said they got snow there, earlier this morning! Yuck. I hope it isn’t intolerably cold, when we’re there, because I’d like to shoot some guns. The kids love riding 4-wheelers, and taking “the general” out riding. It’s a 4 seater ATV, and it’s a lot of fun. We’re planning to get something like it, for here, this summer. To Mj, a million dollars is more money than she could spend. She was telling us, the other day, if she won a million dollars, what she’d do with it. She says she’d buy all the houses on our block. She’d have one for Jackie and Justin. One for her best friend and her dad. One for her grandma (Adam’s mom). And, one for her cousins to stay in. She told Jackie she’d buy her a truck with a “snorkel” on it, so Jackie could take it out on the water. She also said she’d hire a driver, so if Jackie and I wanted to get “woozled” (her words), we could still go somewhere. That one made me laugh! My kids know, I won’t ever get behind the wheel if I’ve had, even ONE, alcoholic drink. I’m very particular about that. I always try to drill that into their heads, as well. It’s just not worth it. Obviously, one million dollars could never buy all of those things, but it was cute how all her plans were for everyone she loves! ❤️

I’m hoping to be on our way, by 7:00am, tomorrow morning. Adam suggested leaving at 5:00am, but ugh…I’d rather aim for 7:00. We could be there by evening, and not be too tired to enjoy it with everyone. I honestly prefer driving at night. There’s less traffic. The kids sleep through most of the trip, so we have way less potty breaks. Oliver also doesn’t require as many of them. We don’t want to be leaving here late tonight, and not arriving until after sunrise, because that’s so much harder on us. We’d need to sleep, and then we’d be trying to recover all weekend. If we leave in the morning, we should be able to have a fun Saturday and Sunday. Still, I wish we could’ve left here this afternoon, so we could have all day Friday there, too. I’m doing my best to adjust my attitude.

I’m going to boil some chicken, and throw it in my crockpot with some BBQ sauce. We’ll have pulled chicken sandwiches for supper, tonight. I’ve got leftover pasta salad, and I’m going to make some fries. I’m planning to bake some muffins to bring with us, for breakfast, tomorrow. Adam and the kids like chocolate chip, but I like fruit muffins. So, I’m making both. I need to finish packing, too. Guess I’ll go get started on those things.

Pj got here at 7:30am, this morning. Then, my sister and her husband went to the hospital. He had shoulder surgery, today. I had Pj until almost 5:00pm. My sister picked her up just a little bit ago. Her husband’s surgery went well, though.

I didn’t get much else done, today! I need to pack for our trip. I’m going to get my oil changed, tomorrow morning. Adam’s working for part of tomorrow. Then, we’ll leave for Kansas.

I’m making some cheeseburger macaroni, and corn on the cob for supper, tonight. Wyatt had baseball practice. We’re waiting on him to call and tell us he’s ready to be picked up. Jackie and Justin are heading to buy a washer and dryer. They’re getting the keys to their new place, next Friday!

The last time we made a Kansas trip, Adam spanked me, the night before we left. I am not going to do that again, so long as I can help it! It’s been a busy, but great day, here. Not much to write about, but it was fun having Pj. Mj is so good with her, too.

“We’re just holding it down here in BFE
Still rolling around with a burnt CD
Free Bird, five minutes deep
Head bopping up, down, up, down, up, down
We got what we got, we don’t need the rest
Can turn this parking lot into a party
With an ice chest, dancing, cold beer
Man, we live it up, down, up, down
We live it up down
Here”

Morgan Wallen (feat: FGL)

My poor hubby had one truck break down. It won’t be done getting repairs until Friday. He tried to replace it with a temporary one, so everything could stay on track. This truck, it turns out, can’t be driven until it’s inspected…So it’s utterly useless.

I do my best, to lighten the mood, when he’s having a crappy day! That seems to have done the trick, even if temporarily 😉

Mj and I took the dogs for a walk. I got the pasta salad done. I’m not going to bake the cornbread until later. It’s best when it’s warm, fresh out of the oven. Mj helped me wash off all the doors and baseboards, around the house. Wyatt’s been outside practicing baseball. He’s supposed to vacuum his bedroom, before the end of today.

I’m having a great day, so even if Adam isn’t, I’ll make sure that changes when he gets home, tonight. I’m not sure if we’ll see Justin, or not?

That’s about all I’ve got to write about! Hope everyone else is having a wonderful day, as well.

May we all get to grow up in a red, white, and blue little town
Get a won’t start, hand me down Ford to try to fix up
With some part time cash from drivin’ a tractor
Find a sweet little thang, wears your ball cap backwards
Kinda place you can’t wait to leave but nobody does
‘Cause you’d miss it too much

May we all get to see those fields of green turn gold
Watch a marching band play with the harvest moon comin’ up
And know that fifteen minutes of famous
Ain’t gonna be what makes us or breaks us but
We’ll all be watchin’ the TV the day that it comes

May we all do a little bit better than the first time
Learn a little somethin’ from the worst times
Get a little stronger from the hurt times
May we all get to have a chance to ride the fast one
Walk away wiser when we crashed one
Keep hopin’ that the best one is the last one
Yeah, you learn to fly, and if you can’t, then you just freefall

May we all know that nothin’ ain’t cool ’til you wear the new off
The sound of a quarter rollin’ down the jukebox
Play the Travis Tritt right above the 2Pac
‘Fore you get lost down some road
Slow rollin’ with the top off the back of a Bronco
Buy a cold sixer with a cashed in lotto
She’s smilin’ with her hair blowing out the window
Where you ’bout to go?
Yeah, you learn to fly, if you can’t, then you just freefall
May we all

~Tim McGraw

When I was about 13 years old, my dad had this old, restored, 1986 Chevy pickup truck. He would let me drive it around the back 40 acres. I thought I was the shit, driving that thing around there, by myself. That’s what I learned to drive in. When I was 16, I got a new car. I loved that old blue Chevy pickup, though. I called her “Ol’ Blue”.

It’s cooler, today. Only around 63 degrees, but it’s sunny. I just finished vacuuming the stairs, and washing the wall all alongside them. The kids get that wall covered in fingerprints and, Lord only knows, what else.

I’m hoping that Adam will be home in time to grill chicken for us, this evening. I’m going to make a summery style pasta salad. It’s got tri color (white, green, and orange) spiral noodles, olive oil, bread crumbs, bell pepper, onion, and tomato in it. Everybody’s been asking for more honey cornbread. So, I’m going to go ahead and make that, too.

Last night, as Adam and I were getting ready to take our shower, he smacked my ass a couple times. Normally, I’d know it was playful silliness. It hurt, though. I told him so. Then, he asked me about something. He was questioning me about something that I did not do, and I told him so. I got a little frustrated and overwhelmed, and I started to cry. I asked him if that was why he spanked me so hard? He put his arms around me, pulled me into his chest, and told me he believed me. He said he was sorry, he didn’t mean to make it hurt. Then, he asked me if I wanted him to show me how much it could hurt? I told him absolutely not! Later, when we went to bed, he made love to me. He held me in his arms all night, too. I could tell that he felt bad, for making me feel bad, over something I didn’t do.

It’s been a good day today. We’ve been our goofy selves. He ended up taking an extra day off work, so we can leave for Kansas a little sooner. I’ve got Pj tomorrow, and then we leave for Kansas, Thursday. We’re bringing Oliver with us, because he can be a handful. Diesel is staying here, with Jackie. He’s super easy. Just let him out to pee once in awhile, and put some food in his bowl, twice a day. Maybe some pats in the head, and back scratches, but otherwise, he’s not a very needy dog.

Jackie just came upstairs, for lunch. I’m going to go sit with her.

“I know
We take it to the limit sometimes
Our friends get caught up in it sometimes
But can you tell me, who goes Good as it gets sometimes
Wish we never met sometimes
I’m not understanding”

“The things you say
They hit me with a right sometimes
Hit me with a left sometimes
I’m still standing
We’re still standing”

“No you are not alone
I am in this too,
This is us
This is me and you
So go, turn and walk out that door
Hope you find what you’re lookin’ for
Just know only God could love you more
Than I do”

This song just came on. Adam has said that to me, before. “Only God could love you more than I do”. ❤️

Jackie’s sister stopped by, with the baby, today. We sat on the deck and talked. Mj played with the baby. I had just baked some chocolate chip cookies. I was trying to bribe the baby into walking, using a cookie. She took one full step! That was her first step, too!

I also made some deviled eggs, just because.

Adam ended up having to work late, tonight. I’m making Ziti tonight, instead. Hopefully he’ll be home to grill our chicken tomorrow night, now.

Jackie and Justin just got approved to rent out a townhouse just a couple miles from us. They’re going to be moving there April 1st. I’m so happy for her! Selfishly, I’m sad she won’t be here all the time, but I truly am so thrilled for her. We love Justin. They’re a great match, and they’ll be close by.

Im babysitting for Pj, on Wednesday. My sister’s husband is having surgery on his shoulder. I told them I’d be glad to watch my sweet baby niece! I get plenty of help from Wyatt and Mj, too.

I suppose I should get my ziti started. All I do for that, is take a pound of ground beef and brown it. Add in pasta sauce. I boil my ziti noodles on the stove, and then mix noodles with the sauce and ground beef in a casserole dish. I top with shredded Parmesan, mozzarella, provolone, Romano, and Asiago cheese. Then I bake, uncovered, for about 15 minutes at 350. Just long enough to melt all the cheeses. I’m making my “homemade” garlic bread, too. I also made those deviled eggs, so we’ll have those.

We always go out target shooting, when we visit Adam’s Mom’s place. I realize this is a very American (particularly southern/Midwest) thing to do, but it is how we do. I grew up around guns. I’m actually a real good shot, too. I really enjoy it. Later, when the sun goes down, we go to their shop, play pool, listen to music, and have a blast. Adam’s dad owned a small business, back in Kansas. Adam’s brother still runs it. Adam started his own thing, here in Tennessee. He did it for me. I missed my family so badly. He promised he’d move me home to Tennessee, and he kept his word. I got to raise my babies, where my home is. They do love to go visit Kansas, though. We always have a great time!

We’re heading to visit Adam’s mom, end of this week. His brother will be there, with our niece and nephew. Wyatt and Mj are super close to them, too. They’re all close in age, so they have a blast together.

It’s another beautiful day here. About 80 degrees and lots of sunshine. It looks like it’s going to be a cold weekend for us, in Kansas. This weekend is only supposed to be in the 50’s here in Tennessee, though, so we’re not missing much by being gone. I have super sensitive ears, and Kansas is windy. Any cool breeze gives me horrible earaches. I have to wear a toboggan or ear muffs, unless it’s the middle of summer there.

Mj and I went grocery shopping, earlier. Adam’s planning to grill us some chicken breasts, tonight. Im making ziti, tomorrow night. The next night is my homemade cheeseburger macaroni. Thursday, I’m making pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches. After that, we’ll be at Adam’s mom’s. His middle brother is dating someone. We’re going to be meeting her, while we’re there. His youngest brother will be there, too. I’m actually pretty excited to see everyone.

Wyatt and Mj are across the street, playing outside with the neighbor kids. I’ve got some music playing, dishes drying, and fixing to sweep and mop the kitchen and entryway floors. I need to wash the windows. The dogs get their nose prints all over them. I tried to look cute, in jeans and a tank top, but I’m too warm. I ended up changing into some shorts. I think the kids and I will take the dogs for a walk, later on. As of last night, my dad still didn’t have power back. His neighborhood was hit much harder. A woman was killed by a falling tree, just a couple of streets over from him. I’m grateful we didn’t end up having any serious damage, and especially that we’re all safe.

Jackie will be up for lunch, soon. I’m going to make her some chicken broth. Her belly is much better, but still not great. I’ve never had food poisoning, but it sure does look miserable!