And the Sky is blue again,

Ended up making Beef Mushroom and Barley stew last night. It was one of those, see what ya got and turn it into something edible, you hope, meals. It was a pared down version of my Beef and Barley Stew. It was very good. Tonight is Chicken Tacos and Spanish Rice - This is always good.

The rain has stopped and roads are opening back up. A few friends have headed out of town and a few more are finding their way into town. We are still waiting for the pickup to be fixed. Hopefully this afternoon. The shop apologized for it taking so long, they are short a mechanic or two, so things are taking twice as long as usual. Oh Well. They are fixing it, that is all that matters.

I was thinking yesterday, that this is really the first large money issue we have had with the truck since Mom gave it to me. I guess it isn't too large money, but anything over 500.00 is big to me. We have done the typical upkeep, but this is really the first breakdown or problem we have had and Mom gave me the truck 5 years ago, I think. Steve and I were talking just a few weeks ago that we needed to find a mechanic to do a good run thru the truck and get things replaced - belts and such. We also need to look into new shocks and brakes this spring. It is time for all of those things to be done. I can't complain - this truck has been a great vehicle and it has lots of more years in it. I have started to think that we might do some re beautifying of it and get it looking new again and it will be like we have a brand new car. I love this little truck - I was so excited when my mom said I could have it when she bought her new one. She could have just traded it in, but she didn't and I am glad. Time to start putting a bit of money into her and getting her back to almost new.

Anyway, off to do laundry. I was going to save it and do it at Barbara's house, but I think I am just going to do it today at the terminal and leave with all clean clothes. So, laundry and I think I will crochet a bit in the midst of waiting for loads. Off I go, have a good day, T

Snowed in in L.A.

Weather is strange. Mother Nature is a fickle woman. Right now, every freeway into and out of L.A. is closed due to snow or flooding. We have been in rain since last night and we are about 10 miles south of downtown L.A. and it is flooding all around us. It is craziness. We have friends trying to bring loads in and friends trying to get loads out and none of them are having any luck in going anywhere. I am glad that we are not trying to get anywhere at the moment. By the time our pickup is fixed everything should be un-bumfuzzled and we should be able to get to Bakersfield without too much more drama. Anyway, just wanted to give a little weather update. Later, T

And The Grand Prize Is. . .

And over $800.00 later we will have a fixed vehicle. I guess it could be worse, but jeez. We are just hanging out in the big truck in L.A. until Thursday night or Friday morning, that is when we get the truck back. We will then pack up and head up to Bakersfield. Gotta love unplanned expenditures, especially at Christmas. Oh Well. Merry Christmas to Steve and I. We won't be getting our planned gifts, I am just glad that we will still be able to spend the holiday with his family. Everyone else's Christmas is taken care of and we won't be out in the middle of no where.

I am going to head into the terminal and make some Spanish rice or Mushroom Barley, can't decide which. Hope everyone is having a good day. T

The woos of being a Grown up.

Morning, Ya'll better be getting things wound up for Christmas, it is almost here. We were getting all packed up and ready to head to Bakersfield last night and the water pump on our pickup went out. We had taken a break and went a about a mile down the road to dinner and when we came back, Kablooey. We had started loading the pickup and Steve noticed pretty green stuff leaking out from under the pickup. So, we both looked at each other once her figured out what is was, and said Merry Christmas. Jeez. Isn't life and crap that happens grand? Oh Well, I am just glad it happened before we headed to Bakersfield and not during the trip. There is a large mountain pass that we have to go over to get out of L.A. and into Bakersfield and we see people brokendown thru there all the time. So, we are blessed that it happened before we left, as to not leave us stranded roadside. Steve is going to take it to Pep Boys today, we don't have a mechanic in L.A. as of yet. Hopefully it won't take too long and it will cost withing reason. Anyway, that is where we are. As soon as the truck is fixed, we are heading out. Gotta love the drama of hoilday travel. T

Christmas Vacation!

It's officially Christmas Vacation for the Pedersen's. We got into Los Angeles early this morning and Steve made the executive decision that we are done working until after Christmas. I agree. The weather around the country and the plan for us to be in Bakersfield by the 22nd leads to the decision to stay put until then. Dispatch won't guarantee that we will be back by our deadline, so we are parking it.

Today is going to be very busy, once I can get Sleeping Beauty out of bed. We need to throw out our fridge. It died a couple weeks ago and we haven't been anywhere at a good time to wrangle it out of the truck. Huge pain in the butt. I am going to try and take pictures of us tossing it. I know, thrilling. Then we are going to clean the big and little trucks and pack to head down to Steve's mom's house. We are going to be there until the 30th, I think. It depends on how freight is moving. If things are slow, then we might stay over the New Year. This morning I have bought Steve a couple of things for his stocking, they should be at his mom's early next week. I have made a grocery and menu list for our time in Bakersfield.

I cook most of the time while we are there. Barbara isn't into cooking anymore (never really was, if the truth be told, she had a very finicky husband, much like mine - like father, like son.)and I don't get to cook very often, so I get the kitchen and I get to have fun. The only thing I hate is her oven, but I am getting the hang of it. Her over cooks about 50 degrees too hot. It is crazy. So, despite quite a few burnt items, I am figuring out her oven. I know most of the things in her pantry, and so I am going to use a bunch of things there and hopefully keep the food costs down. It will be fun. Some of the holiday stuff that I will make are a pecan pie for Steve's Grandma, she requested one back in September. Cheese ball and crackers, of course. Orange Rolls, Heavenly Hash, a Pumpkin Roll. I don't know what else. There are quite a few people around that we share the cooking extravaganza with, so nothing should go to waste.

Steve has requested Stuffed Shells and a Mustard and Balsamic glazed Pork Tenderloin (his fav) with spaghetti squash. I have been craving soup, so I think I will make a turkey soup with dumplings after the Christmas turkey is consumed, and I might make a Potatoe and Bacon soup and an Onion Tart one night. Most of those things we will have leftovers, so that may cover it. I have a box of quinoa that I want to make, not sure how to do it, but it is intriguing. I am loving barley salads and such, so I am thinking I will do something in that direction. I am going to take pictures of some of the stuff we make over Christmas, we will see how it all turns out.

Well, it is almost noon, so I think it is time to wake up the princess and get him to work. I don't enjoy this part of the day. Hope you all are having a good day, Love you T

California Sunshine

I hope everyone is on their final stretch of Christmas shopping. I am close. We got into L.A. yesterday morning, so we were able to get a few things done. No we still don't have a load out, and I am not sure what the issue is, last night was team night and it looks as tho all the other teams headed out. So, dispatch is getting a call from the lovely miss Tiff this morning. That is going to be a not fun phone call. I will be nice, but after the past 10 days or so, I really don't feel like it. We have had crappy miles and crappy loads, anyway, we were hoping we would get out of here in a timely manner, but I guess that was too much to hope for. Okay, enough whining.

Back to Christmas. We are a giftcard givin' couple again this year. There are a few things we have bought, but for the most part giftcards are where it is at. I hope people enjoy them, and it makes things easier on me. Trying to get a big truck into a post office is a pain in the behind. I have done a bit of crocheting - Steve's Grandma is in a resthome and doesn't have room for much stuff. But she has a bookshelf that she said she wanted doilies for, so I made her a couple of doilies. I need to starch them when we get to Steve's mom's house. I need to crochet more, I can tell in my stitches that I am out of practice.

I am still stumped on what to do for my Grandma, but everyone else is handled. I have really missed doing the holiday thing this year. I miss the tree, the cooking, the chaos. Doing all my shopping online leaves a bit to be desired. I bet if I was in it that I would be questioning my sanity, but I do miss it. Eventually I will get to do it all again.

Well, I am going to call dispatch and find out why we are still sitting here after 24 hours, and then I am going to go take a shower. Hope you all have a nice day, Love you T

Week of Wife Drama. Why is it that the wife always has to have emotional drama? Steve and I have just ended a week from hell in the relationship department. I swear, if I could just be logical and leave my psychotic, premenstrual, female drama at the door life would be so much easier for all of those involved. My poor husband loves me thru all my insanity, and of course during the whole meltdown that makes me even more pissed that he won't fight with me. Jeez, he can't win. But all is fine as frogs fur again and I am normal for another few weeks until the hormones and pain put me over the edge again. You would think I would see it coming and be able to deal and not be so crazy, but it catches me off guard every time. I pray for the day that I either get everything ripped out of me or menopause hits. What is the point of it all, really? Anyway, on to better subjects. . .

Thanksgiving was horrid, because I was being Bitchzilla. We drove about 1300 miles that day, mostly because I was being so horrible that Steve didn't want to be around me and I didn't want to be around him, so we just kept driving. I hope everyone else had a good time. Mandy cooked her first Thanksgiving dinner and it was a huge success. Nobody got sick from anything she made, as she feared might happen, so I believe that is considered a good meal. I knew she would do a great job, just call her Martha Stewart. And then Sunday they had a big whoha and blessed Porter. She had a very full week.

Mom and Blair are still cruising around the world. I am not sure where they were on Thanksgiving. I want to say Spain, but don't quote me on it. They will be back on Dec. 13th. I love that they are able to travel, but I hate it when I have mental breakdowns and I can't call my mom to whine and have her get me back on the right track, as only a mom can do.

Kudos for me. Steve has yet to figure out his Christmas present. WooHoo! This is Christmas #4 and he has figured out every gift, except for one. I wrote him a poem our first Christmas, he didn't have a clue about that one. But other than that, he has figured out every gift I have ever gotten him. It sucks. He is even going thru the bank accounts now trying to find out how much and where I bought it from. Hee Hee, I am sneaky, I can do a cash draw on my fuel card each week that then comes out of my paycheck the next week. I don't ever do it, but for the past couple of months I have been doing it and stashing the money away, so he isn't seeing any money coming out of any account and he is stumped. He never checks our payroll statements, so he has no clue that is what I am doing. After Christmas I will share what he got, but just incase he comes on here, I don't dare say what it is yet. He never reads my blog, but he would be just that sneaky.

Well, I better get off of here and get my paperwork done for the evening. We are in Taylor, Michigan tonight (suburb of Detroit). We delivered our load of carpet and furniture to our terminal here and there wasn't a load for us tonight. We will get one in the morning, probably heading to Atlanta.

Love you all, T

Hey Kids,

I hope everyone is getting their final grocery store visits done and prep for Thanksgiving is in full swing. I love cooking Thanksgiving dinner. It is one of the easiest meals, big, but easy. We won't be anywhere that I can cook this year. If all works out we will be driving about 1000 miles Thursday to parts East someplace. We are in Helena, MT now. Steve drove us in about midnight and now we are just waiting for dispatch to get into the office and get us out of here. I shouls go into the drivers lounge and do a couple loads of laundry, but I am having a hard time getting motivated to do it. We are hoping that we get a load to Missoula, which is only 125 miles, then a load to L.A., which takes about 24 hours, it is about 1250 miles from Missoula to L.A. Then we will be in good shape to get a good load out of L.A. on Tuesday night which should take us East to deliver on Friday and keeping our fingers crossed, there will be something to bring us back West on Friday. Most companies don't do any recieving or shipping from early afternoon Wed to the next Mon, so I am nervous we will be sitting someplace for a few days. If we get loads that just come in and out of our terminals then we could stay moving, I hope that is the case. It makes life much more simple when we can just go terminal to terminal, and we usually end up with alot more miles. Oh, well. We will see what happens.

Hope all is well with everyone, Love and miss everybody, T

On the road again

We are out of the snow for the moment. We got clean! WooHoo! Three days without a shower is only ok when you are camping. And we are now just waiting to get our next load assignment. We are sitting in Hopedale, MA, it is just outside of Boston, with an empty trailer and it is a beautiful, sunny morning. A bit cold and breezy, but wonderful. I just got off the phone to my mom and she and Blair are about to board their plane for their most recent trip. This one is about a month and it is a long cruise that includes a few days in Rome. They will be back on December 13. She loves being able to travel, it is one of the best things about her marrying Blair. Of course, Grandma had to give her drama before she left, but that is nothing new.

Oops, looks like our new load is coming thru on the trucks computer system. We are headed to Sayreville, NJ. Ick. We are going up to New Hampshire and pickup some furniture and then down to NJ, That means I have to drive thru NY City today. What a lovely thought. Oh Well, could be worse, could have to do it in a snow storm. I didn't say that, if I say that, it might just happen. Damn, crossing my fingers now, heehee!

Love you all, T

Can't Sleep and in need of a shower, in a snow storm.

Just how smelly am I??? I am sitting in Austintown , Ohio, in a snow storm. It is 2:30 in the morning, I can't sleep. Need to go about 2 miles to the terminal in about 4 hours and I need a shower, desperately! I am having a moral delema (sp?)- do I not stink and feel so icky that I don't tredge thru the snow and crap in the parking lot of the TA truckstop to get a shower, or do I suck it up, wake up the slumbering Stephen, talk him into the joys of a shower and get the whole damn thing done? Quite the question. I know life will be better after the shower, but trying to convince myself and Mr.Stephen of this is becoming quite the chore. I have 2 hours and then all is lost, due to the fact we have to get our trailer to the terminal and get the freight off of it. I am sure the shower will lure me into the truckstop in the next few minutes. I at least want to die clean. We are heading into quite the storm that is hitting the states of PA and NY. You may not hear from me again until the spring thaw.

Love ya All, T

South Dakota Storm

Well, Sometimes trucking is driving down the road and sometimes trucking is sitting on your butt in the middle of South Dakota in a nasty ass storm. We are headed to Spokane, Washington, and we were supposed to be there today, but we ran straight into the nastiness that is South Dakota. We got into Mitchell just as the wind was really starting to hit and the rain was coming in. We topped off our fuel tanks, and found a nice parking spot about 2:00 yesterday afternoon and we haven't moved since.

The freeway is currently closed from about 10 miles east of us to about 400 miles west of us. So, even if we wanted to be stupid and try to drive in this mess, we couldn't go anywhere. Some trucks are being stupid and taking the county roads around the freeway to stay moving, but I can't imagine that that is a very smart thing to be doing. But, we know that many truck drivers are not the most brilliant of individuals. There isn't much snow where we are, but the wind is awful and it is a sheet of ice due to all the rain before the temps dropped. West of us in Rapid City, they have 47 inches of snow. plus 70 mile and hour winds, not power and temps are dropping below 0. That is where we are heading, so we are probably going to be sitting for another day or 2. The roads will probably open up around us mid day, but further down the road doesn't look good for a few more days. We are going to go into the truck stop in a couple of hours and take a shower, have some lunch at the restaurant, buy a few snacks and come back to truck and hunker down again for the night.

Poor Taz is having the worst time of it. He needs to poop and it is soooo freakin' cold that all we can get him to do is pee and he is begging to get back in the truck. I have an old towel that I think I am going to put on the ground for him and see if he will be able to stand on the ground long enough that he will do something. The trials in the life of poor little ole' dog in the winter.

So, that is the the update for today. I will probably be calling a bunch of you, because I am starting to get bored. So, be prepared. heehee Love you all, T

Hey Kids,

Just a little truck driver update. We are in Hickory, North Carolina at the moment, just waiting on a load of furniture to finish being loaded. We don't know where we are going, just that it is furniture. We are assuming west, but ya never know. As soon as I assume something, I am usually 99% wrong. This is not pessimism, it is reality. heehee.

I love North Carolina. It is a beautiful place. Both Steve and I love it here. I wanna find a lake here and a small house and I will be a happy girl. I don't require alot, just a bit of water and a place to sleep. How easy is that? Someday.

Steve is sleeping and I am trying to be quiet and not wake him up. I just watched the movie Juno and bawled. I am not sure why, I just did. I hope our load is done soon and I could get a couple hundred miles done before it is Steve's turn to drive, but from the looks of things it is going to be a while yet.

Love you all and miss you, T

I am feeling very lost and emotional today. Not sure why. Anyway, since I am not sure how to explain it and trying to think about it is making me cry, I am going to stop and read my book.

Loser Blogger Raise Your Hand!

I am a loser. Yes, we all know this and I will shamefully take on the title. I can't believe I haven't blogged in over a month. I have been in a major life slump and I haven't been wanting to do anything that wasn't necessary for survival. Alas, blogging got nixed for a bit. Hopefully, I am back and my little moment is over.

Biggest news in the past month is that Mandy has had her second baby. Porter was born on October 2 - I hope that is right. I am the suckiest sister in the world if it isn't. Amy and Mom were able to make it for his grand entrance. Mandy had a hard time with Trey, but Porter came into the world easy as can be. Mandy is doing great and everyone is home and happy.

We are in L.A. at the moment. Our load to Baltimore should be ready any minute and then I get to fight Saturday afternoon L.A. traffic. Not as bad as Friday night L.A. traffic, but no fun. We should make it to Baltimore by Tuesday morning if all goes well.

Our health is good, Taz is good, Life is good. Only thing not good is snow is starting to fly and I HATE IT! My dream would be to drive our butts off from late March thru mid November and then take the rest of the crappy weather months off. Maybe someday, hah! Who am I kidding?

Oops, I think our load assignment just came thru, Talk to ya all later, I gotta get our of here as quickly as possible. Later, will be worse traffic. Hope you are all well, and love and miss everybody.

T

Reading

Sometimes I kinda regret reading a book. The Road by Cormac McCarthy is one of those kind of books. I had a really hard time with this one. It is very dismal and depressing, and even when I try to think of deeper meanings, it is still dismal and depressing. This book is about a father and son traveling south after the Apocalypse. I am sorry that I can't recommend reading this book. I can only think of a few people that might enjoy it - Steve being one of them.

I have also finished Gilead. It was better, a bit slow, but enjoyable. This book is basically the observations and lessons learned of a small town preacher to his young son. I am always interested in seeing another's perspective on the world.

I am half way thru The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao. Then I will get a new batch.

We are in Middlefield, Ohio right now. Our load should be ready in a couple of hours. We will take it to Atlanta and then go back up to Dalton for our next load. Which will probably be our load for the weekend.

Hope all is well with everyone, T

THIS WEEK HAS KINDA SUCKED

Morning,
Well, I guess running up and down I-5 has given me a renewed appreciation for those who do it all the time and reminded me why I hate it. We have had to run solo runs this week and that means, so far this week we have done 2200 miles. That is usually our total for 2 days. It is Friday morning and who knows what crap we are going to get today. We are being unloaded in Portland right now. I told Steve that I hope they don't have any freight and we sit here over the weekend. We could go see my Dad and Kristi if that is the case. Even if we don't get out of here until Saturday, we would be able to call them tonight. Lets cross our fingers. Knowing our luck this week, we will end up with a crap run that we have to "hurry" and pick up and then it won't deliver until next week. Can you tell I am a bit cranky? I am sick of this week and I want to get a good run and actually make some money. I hate being out here for no reason. If we can't run, what is the point? Truly?

Okay, I will stop whining. Hope everyone is well and has a good weekend. I will write again when I am in a better mood and I am not such a downer.

Love, T

Morning, Morning. . .

Morning,
Happy Monday to Ya'll. We are sitting in Lakewood, Washington waiting to find out our next load. Steve brought us in here last night and got us docked all nice a pretty at our terminal. Now we get to play the waiting game.

I HATE CRAMPS! and being a girl. I am just sayin' that today and for the last week I have hated being a girl. Okay, whining time is over. Also, I don't think I want to be a boy either. I guess my options are kinda limited. Oh Well.

Bye fer now, T

Pulitzer Prize Award Winners

I wish I could say one of my new goals was hatched in my little brain, but it wasn't. I willingly give all the credit to my friend Jacque. She is reading all of the Pulitzer Prize Winning Books and I thought that this was a great thing to do, so I jumped on the bandwagon. I am very excited. I got on the computer today and bought a few of the ones I want to read first. I have read a few of the PP Winners thru the years, but embarrassingly few. I am going to get some brain power flowing and read some good books. I am going to keep a list of the ones I read on a sidebar on the blog, just for my own information, I am sure it will be boring to everyone, but this is about me. heehee! Like everything should be!

Love you all, T

2008 The Brief Wonderful Life of Oscar Waoby Junot Diaz
2007 The Roadby Cormac McCarthy
2006 Marchby Geraldine Brooks
2005 Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson
2004 The Known World by Edward P. Jones
2003 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
2002 Empire Falls by Richard Russo
2001 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
2000 Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
1999 The Hours by Michael Cunningham
1998 American Pastoral by Philip Roth
1997 Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser
1996 Independence Day by Richard Ford
1995 The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
1994 The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
1993 A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler
1992 A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
1991 Rabbit at Rest by John Updike
1990 The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos
1989 Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler
1988 Beloved by Toni Morrison
1987 A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor
1986 Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
1985 Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie
1984 Ironweed by William Kennedy
1983 The Color Purple by Alice Walker
1982 Rabbit is Rich by John Updike,
1981 A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
1980 The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer
1979 The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever
1978 Elbow Room by James Alan McPherson
1977 (No Award)
1976 Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow
1975 The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
1974 (No Award)
1973 The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty
1972 Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
1971 (No Award)
1970 Collected Stories by Jean Stafford
1969 House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday
1968 The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron
1967 The Fixer by Bernard Malamud
1966 Collected Stories by Katherine Anne Porter
1965 The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau
1964 (No Award)
1963 The Reivers by William Faulkner
1962 The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor
1961 To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1960 Advise and Consent by Allen Drury
1959 The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters by Robert Lewis Taylor
1958 A Death In The Family by James Agee
1957 (No Award)
1956 Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor
1955 A Fable by William Faulkner
1954 (No Award)
1953 The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
1952 The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
1951 The Town by Conrad Richter
1950 The Way West by A. B. Guthrie, Jr.
1949 Guard of Honor by James Gould Cozzens
1948 Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener
1947 All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
1946 (No Award)
1945 A Bell for Adano by John Hersey
1944 Journey in the Dark by Martin Flavin
1943 Dragon's Teeth by Upton Sinclair
1942 In This Our Life by Ellen Glasgow
1941 (No Award)
1940 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
1939 The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
1938 The Late George Apley by John Phillips Marquand
1937 Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
1936 Honey in the Horn by Harold L. Davis
1935 Now in November by Josephine Winslow Johnson
1934 Lamb in His Bosom by Caroline Miller
1933 The Store by T. S. Stribling
1932 The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
1931 Years of Grace by Margaret Ayer Barnes
1930 Laughing Boy by Oliver Lafarge
1929 Scarlet Sister Mary by Julia Peterkin
1928 The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
1927 Early Autumn by Louis Bromfield
1926 Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis
1925 So Big by Edna Ferber
1924 The Able McLaughlins by Margaret Wilson
1923 One of Ours by Willa Cather
1922 Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington
1921 Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
1920 (No Award)
1919 The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
1918 His Family by Ernest Poole
1917 (No Award)

Just Drivin'

Good Evening All,
All is good in the Big Red Truck today. Nothing exciting happening. I guess that is good, exciting things while your driving are usually not good things. I am sad that we will be missing 2 big event this weekend. Trish is having her family shindig this coming weekend and it sounds like she has a lot of fun things planned. Also, Jenny and Mike are blessing their baby this weekend in Utah.
The worst thing about this job is missing everything. It is amazing how many activities and family events that I took for granted. We hope that in the next few years we will be able to take a couple of months off in the winters and just visit family and then go back to work. I don't know if it will ever happen, but I can always hope.
Man, I sound awfully whiny tonight. I guess I have been for the past few days. The gas pains of being a new vegetarian are not fun and I guess it is getting to me. Was that a bit T.M.I!? I am enjoying eating this way, but by about 2 p.m. I am dying and gasing poor Steve and Taz out of the truck. Oh well, this too shall pass. Ha, I just got the joke I made. I am so freakin' blonde sometimes.
Anyway, I am going to head to bed, hope ya'll have a nice evening, T

Hidee Ho Ya'll,

Well, we are in Bakersfield at the moment. We brought a load into L.A yesterday and then needed to fill prescriptions and such, so we took a day and drove up to Bakersfield. We got our drugs, I have given Barbara's kitchen a work out. I made gazpacho, vegetable soup and barley salad today.

I am doing the vegetarian thing lately, due to reading a pyscho book called Skinny Bitch. I thought it was going to be a kick ya in the butt, eat good food, motivate you diet type book. NOOOO! It it a vegan fanatical tirade, but something got into my head and I haven't been able to eat meat since. It has been about 2 weeks. I know, it is crazy, but everytime I try to eat meat, I want to throw up. I guess things could be worse. Maybe this will help me more than I realize. I have already had to change some of my meds for my diabetes, so that is a good thing. So, we will see what happens.

We will be heading back to L.A. tonight and heading out in the big truck, to where we don't know yet.

Hope everyone is well, love and miss you all,

Tiff

Long Time No See. . .

Hiya Yall, I wouldn't be surprised if no one is checking our blog anymore since I haven't written in so long. I actually have tried to post 3 different times, but we have been in crappy internet service areas and so I lost my posts. So, hopefully today will be better.
Fabulous news!!! Jenny had her 4th baby!!!! Yeah. She was induced yesterday, and all went well for mom and baby. 7 1/2 lbs, girl, named Katrina. That's all I know at the moment. Haylee will be soooo glad that she didn't get another brother. This is the 13th grandchild for my Madre, jeez, my procreatin' sisters. 9 girls and 4 boys. Our next addition will be in October, Mandy will be having her second baby, another boy.
More good news, Steve's sister, Sherri and her family are okay after the earthquake in L.A. yesterday. The epicenter was literally just yards beyond their backyard. Very Scary! But, they are all okay and the house didn't get hardly any damage, Sherri said that people farther out got more damage than they did.
We are currently in Hopedale, Mass., (just a bit southeast of Boston). We delivered our load of carpet this morning about 3 a.m. and now we are just waiting to get dispatched out. Steve has gone to bed and I got to sleep in. Very nice. I am not really looking forward to leaving, because I usually have to go thru New York City, which is usually not very fun.
Well, I am going to let Tazzer out and have some breakfast. Talk to ya all later, Tiff

Good Evening All,

Long, Long Day! I have spent most of the day trying to get from Massachusetts to New Jersey. This means, no matter what roads you take, you are stuck in traffic, and tonz of it. It was Friday and that means it was hell. I finally got to New Jersey. 200 miles took me 8 1/2 hours. Fun, Huh! Anyway, I am done for the day. Steve is going to sleep a few more hours and then we are going to pick up our load going to Dalton, GA. We will deliver it to the terminal tomorrow night and grab our load going to Kent, WA. Last time we were supposed to go to Kent the company stopped us in Missoula, I guess we will see what they do this time.

Sorry, I don't have any fun stories, it has been a very long and frustrating day, and I am not in a very good mood. I will try to take a picture or two this next week, so that there will be new scenery on this page. Anyway, I am gonna go so I don't get pissy and whiny.

Have a good weekend, Love you all, T

It Is HOT!!!

Hey Ya'll,

We are getting ready to leave Bakersfield. Steve had to go to the doctor the end of last week. His bloodwork came back with wonderful results. 6 months ago his triglycerides and cholesterol numbers were insanely high. They were higher than the charts go. Not good. He has been on some massive meds and we have had to watch his liver function because the meds were so intense. The med combo has worked, His Triglycerides are at 252, normal is 42-193. His Cholesterol is 135, which is actually low, WooHoo! His A1C, that is a blood sugar test, it tells what his blood sugar average has been over the past 3 months. His is 6.4, non diabetics are between 4.3-5.8, so this is wonderful. He is doing soooo good, I am so glad.

We will get down to L.A. this evening and leave on our next trip early in the morning.

We have been running like crazy and we will be again starting tomorrow. It was good to have a few days off in Bakersfield. It has been really hot, but we got a few things done for Steve's mom and a few things done for us.

Steve bought me a fun present while we have been here. I got a Sony EBook Reader. I love it. Steve got one last fall and I have been wanting one, so he went and got me my own, since I had kind of taken his over the past few weeks. It saves on us having to haul lots of books around with us, we just buy them digitally and this little machine stores them and we read from it just like a book. The screen isn't lit like a computer screen so you don't get the same type of eye fatigue, so you can read like you do a regular book. It is great.

Well, I will let you all know where we are headed in the next day or so. Hope all is well with everyone, love and miss you all, T

Morning All, We are currently sitting in a very dreary Austintown, Ohio. I think our dispatcher has forgotten about us. We got in last night, dropped our trailer at the terminal, came over to the truckstop to shower and such - And it is know 11:15 local time and still no new load. I have done everything I am supposed to do to let her know we are ready to go, I even gave her an update yesterday morning when we were 700 miles out, so that she could plan ahead a bit. She is usually very on the ball, but it is like the aliens have abducted her. Very weird.

Okay, I just called Krissy (our dispatcher) and got her voicemail. I never get her voicemail. It is official, she has been abducted.

Hope you all have a good day, T

I'm Baaacckk. . .

Okay, I feel like it has been forever since I have been on here. Life just got in the way for a few weeks, but all is well and I am back.

Lewis' clan should be on the trek to Utah. I wish I could be there, but it just can't happen this year. I was home for 10 days for Grandpa's funeral and just a few days before that I was back in Bakersfield seeing the doctor again. My MRSA decided to make an appearance again, so we had to nip it in the bud quicker than last time. 3 antibiotics this time. I am done with one of them, but still have a few days of the other 2. The one I have to stick up my nose twice a day. I hate it sooooo much, it is like filling your nose with Vaseline, it is very gross.

Grandpa's funeral was nice. Small and simple. He would have approved. The flowers turned out different than I had originally planned in my head, but they were nice, I think they looked good and Grandma said she liked them. I used more of her favorite flowers, since she was the one that needed to like them. She is a fan of yellow roses, so that is what I used. I did a casket piece and 3 easel pieces. Stacie's talk was the best. She talked about what we all remember about Grandpa and it was just perfect. She could have taken up the entire service and I would have been happy. Steve did a wonderful compilation of pictures put to music for the family. He has everything from Grandpa's childhood, marriage, kids, work, military, grandkids, viewing, funeral, the works. It is about 20 minutes long and every time I watch it, I cry from the 2nd picture clear thru to the end. He did such a great job on it for us. Grandma is doing okay. I talk to her most days and she sounds better than she has in quite a while. Don and Mom are worried about her, we all are, but I think she will do okay. I am keeping my fingers crossed. She wants me to come home, but she always wants me to come home. I tell her I can't and she saves the job postings in the paper for me. She circles the ones she thinks would be good for me and sticks them in with my mail. She has done this since I started driving and she will probably do it until I don't drive anymore.

We just got back in the truck on Monday. We haven't had many miles, but we are supposed to get a load back East tomorrow. Tonight we are doing the Vegas turn around. We go to Vegas tonight and then back to L.A. tomorrow morning. We will then get a load back East Friday night about midnight. Hopefully we can get moving again and put down some good miles in the next few weeks.

We both have to see the doctor in June. Steve for his 3 month check up. The meds he is on makes it so he has to go in and have blood work and have his liver checked every 3 months. I need to have my MRSA checked again, which is going to the bain of my exsistance.

July is going to be fun, we do our big vacation with my mom and the 4 girls and their families. I missed the January sister get together in Texas because I was sick, so I better be in good shape for this one. I hope to be able to see my dad and my sister, Trish sometime in the fall. Then, we aren't sure what the holidays will bring this year. We have a few thoughts, but it is too far away to really think about.

Okay, I have rambled enough. Love you all, T

Just a little update. . .

Just a little update today. We are in Middlefield, Ohio picking up a load of cabinets going to Atlanta. The loading dock just called and said the load was done, WooHoo! It is almost 800 miles to Atlanta, then we will shoot back up to Dalton and hopefully a load to L.A. will be ready for us.

I have a couple fun stories, but they will have to wait until later since I need to get a move on.

Hope all is well, Love and Miss you all

-T

Purty Places

We get to go to some very purty places. We were on our way to Portland the other day and stopped to have lunch at this rest area along the Columbia River. This was the view we had while eating our turkey sandwiches. This is one of the perks to this job, I can't tell you one day that I haven't seen something absolutely beautiful while on the road. Now that we have our nifty camera, I get to share a few of these fun things.

We just left L.A. and I had to stop in Barstow and fuel. I am not very motivated to start across the desert on I-40. We are headed to Jessup, Maryland, that is just East of Baltimore, and then to someplace in Rhode Island. I haven't figured out quite where our destination is as of yet. We should be in Jessup Tuesday morning. Well, I had better do another 100 miles or so before handing the wheel over to Steve, so I will write again tomorrow, I hope.
Love you all, T

Picture of the Week. . .

We were delivering a trailer load of clothing to Ralph Lauren in Greensboro, North Carolina and they had geese running around. The warehouse is out in the middle of this forest and there is a big pond nearby, so there are lots of animals. These 2 geese weren't afraid of anything. We drove within about a foot from them and they didn't even flinch. Anyway, that is the explination about the geese.

-T

My Websites List. . . .

IFrogz - Thanx Lori, is the best. You go on and pick out fun covers and stickers for your IPod. It is addicting, and they are having a sale and so it is even worse. The only covers we have found that fit our 160G IPods.

Sony - To drool over fun toys I want. Toys I don't need, but that I want anyway.

Whatever - with Alexis & Jennifer. This is a radio show I listen to everyday and I read their blog. They are snarky and bitchy and they are very inappropriate, but I get a kick out of them.

Daily Herald - Okay, I am a freak. I have an obituary fetish. I love obituaries. I know this is something that I should get help for, but I refuse. I have numerous Newspaper sites saved and that is the only reason, so I can get on every few days and check the obits. I even do it for cities that I know no one. It is a sickness, Steve thinks I am a complete freak, but I have to do it. It is so bad that I do it before I check my email. Is there a support group out there - Obituaries Anonymous?

PajamaGram - They just have fun, cute jammies, and I love jammies.

That's All - T

The View Outside Our Office Window. . .

Steve and I were both up doing the trucking thing together today. It was really nice. We don't get a chance to be up together when driving very often. So, he drove, I navigated and messed around with the camera for a while. I didn't get pictures of the prettiest trees and scenery, but you get the gist that it is Spring in North Carolina. Everything is greening up and blooming, it is gorgeous. (Gotta love the bug smeared window shot, heehee)

We are heading to our terminal in Hickory, North Carolina tonight, it is about 80 miles away from where we are now. Swapping trailers and then heading down to Dalton, Georgia for a load of carpet heading to Portland, Oregon. If we time it right we might be able to swing seeing my Dad and Kristi. We deliver on Thursday and we have basically drive right past the house. It hasn't worked out for us to call them when we have delivered to Portland before, but I keep hoping and crossing my fingers.

Both, Steve and I are finally on the mend from the nasty colds we both got - Thanx Mom! We still are sniffing and coughing, but the major stuff is gone. YEAH!

Well, I am going to get caught up on paperwork, so we can get paid next week and Steve is going to get us heading in the right direction - I hope.

-T

On The Road Again, FINALLY. . .

We are officially back to work. I feel like crap, the cold monster got a hold of me a few days ago. Steve is finally about over it, but still coughing quite a bit. We got into Santa Fe Springs, CA. this morning, delivered our load of talc, dropped our empty trailer, turned in our paperwork and now we are hanging out until this evening when we will get our new load assignment. Steve drove us from Orem up to Salt Lake and then all the way to Barstow, so that I could get some sleep. That left me 100 miles to go for delivery. Steve rocks!

Since we are just off hometime, we don't have the normal housekeeping duties to do while we are here. I am just going to veg and shower this evening. Steve will sleep most of the day so that he will be ready to run tonight. Hopefully we will get a good run East. We ended up being at Grandma's for 10 days, more than we had planned, but it was nice to be off the truck for a while.

We hope to stay running good until the end of May and then take a few days off. We will need to go to the Dr. by that time, so timing should be good.

Steve had a good birthday. He was sick as a dog, but he got lots of good loot. He is sooo dang spoiled.

Taz got a clean bill of health at the vet, got new meds (he takes Prednizone for his heart/lungs), and got his shots updated.

Anyway, enough of me rambling, I am going to take some more cold drugs and take a nap. Hope everyone has a good day.

Love, T

I was Tagged. . .

I got Tagged by Trish, so here goes,

A: ATTACHED OR SINGLE?
Attached
B: BEST FRIEND
Steve, of course
C: CAKE OR PIE?
Pie
D: DAY OF CHOICE
Monday - I know I am a freak, but you get a whole new week to start.
E: ESSENTIAL ITEMS
Clean Shower
F: FAVORITE COLORS
Purple, green
G: GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS?
Most definitely bears, red or clear
H: HOMETOWN
Orem, Utah
I: FAVORITE INDULGENCE
Ice Cream - I hate that I crave it so much
J: JANUARY OR JULY?
January
K: KIDS?
Steve and Taz
L: LIFE ISN’T COMPLETE WITHOUT
Smiles and laughing
M: MARRIAGE DATE?
January 29, 2005
N: NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS
5 Sisters and their huney's
O: ORANGES OR APPLES?
Oranges
P: PHOBIA OR FEARS
Spiders, heights, wind
Q: QUOTE
"Hang it in your ear, chickie" - Mom, and you have to do the hand gesture that goes with it
R: REASONS TO SMILE
Spring is here, almost. My silly dog.
S:SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN?
Wonder Woman
T: TAG 4 PEOPLE
Bug, Lori, Jacque, and mom - My mother will just shake her head and say "Hang it in your ear"
U: UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME
I have 3 tattoo's I want.
V: VEGETABLE
Asparagus and cucumbers
W: WORST HABIT
"Picking" at Steve - dry skin, zits, ingrown hairs, I love anything gross and infected, I know it is sick and wrong.
X: X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND?
X-ray
Y: YOUR FAVORITE FOOD
Chinese
Z: ZODIAC SIGN
Gemini

I am sure you were all just glued to your chairs reading my thought provoking responses.

Hey, We are the Birthday Countdown, 47 Minutes to Steve being a very old 41. HeeHee.

I am Doin' It. . .

I am doin' it. When Steve wakes up he is probably gonna cuss me and tell me how I did it wrong, but I took pictures of Gpa, and got him to smile, (that is achievement) got them on the computer and then one of them on the blog (I even cropped the picture). Man, I Rock! Can you tell I am a bit proud of myself? I usually need lots of tutoring and help when I am doing something on the computer for the first time. Show me once and then I am usually good to go, but I don't like pushing buttons and not knowing what it is going to do. I have caused damage before, so I am a bit skittish.

Anyway, we got the truck back. It really is a nice truck if you can overlook the computer having a meltdown about once a day.

Okay, I have to go and get dinner made. Grandpa's therapist is here and I need to go to the mall tonight and pick up my ring. So, off to work I go. Well, kind of work.

My next goal is to do a slideshow - Scary!

Later, T

Busy Week. . .

Long Time No Blog,

Sorry I haven't written all week, it has been a busy week. We made it to Salt Lake and then down to Grandma's. We have been trying to get mail sorted, Sami's baptism, the truck spring cleaned, laundry, Taz to get groomed and to the vet, my physical, taxes, see friends and do anything that Grandma needs done. And, in the process of all of this, Steve has caught a beast of a cold. We are going to head back out on Monday, hopefully that will give him a few more days to get feeling better, and for me to catch the blasted thing. Whoopee!

We have been bad this trip home. We have spent way more money than we should, but I guess we can make more. I bought us a camera, still trying to figure out how to work the dang thing, but hopefully I will have posted a couple pictures by days end, let's cross our fingers.

Steve got a second birthday present, well, he gets it tomorrow. A new IPod, his old MP3 player is full and he needs another, so he is getting the 160G IPod. He is soooo danged spoiled. I am going to take him to dinner tomorrow and give him his IPod. I know it will still be a day early, but most restaurants in Orem are closed on Sunday, so we are going to go tomorrow, hopefully he will feel up to it.

Well, we are off to run a few errands, so I will be back later, with pictures, I HOPE!

Love you all,

T

Getting Closer to Home. . .

We are unloading vacuum packed bricks of straw in Mesa, Arizona this morning. Steve is out helping and I am finishing up our paperwork. We will hopefully be heading back to Salt Lake today, unless something bad happened and our load fell thru. We will find out in about 30 minutes. If it did fall thru, then we will go to L.A. and then to Salt Lake.

It is beautiful in Arizona this morning and I hope the weather stays nice until we get home. Oops, looks like they are done unloading, gotta go for now.

Love ya all, T

Missoula, Montana. . . Still Winter

We have been seeing so many signs of spring. Lots of daffodils in medians and rest areas. Grass is greening up, snow is melting and the sand is dispersing. But, last night on our way into Spokane, Washington we had a couple big mountain passes to go over and Steve almost had to chain. This is a bullet the boy has been able to completely dodge. He hasn't had to chain since his class days, and that was a joke. The students take a tire in the classroom, not attached to anything and put chains on it. Nothing like real life. They don't even have to go outside and chain a truck, regardless of the weather. I am not looking forward to the day I have to teach him to chain. It is going to be a test of our marriage. I had to chain on my very first solo trip and so I think this bit of him driving for almost 2 years and still being a chaining virgin is very unfair. We will be on the side of the road, cold, muddy, loud and trying to teach him all at the same time. It would probably be easier to do it alone, but he has to learn eventually. I just dread the day.

I hope everyone's Easter was nice. I forgot it was Easter until it was too late in the evening to call anyone or email or anything. Oh, Well.

I had drama yesterday. We had pulled into our terminal in Missoula and showered and such. Steve had gone back to bed and I was finishing up some paperwork. I hit my hand on the steering wheel and the stone came out of my wedding ring. I am feeling very naked without my ring. I have the ring and the stone, so when we get into Orem at the end of the week I will take it to the jewelers. I have a few seconds of drama every time I unconsciously touch it and it isn't there. We are trying to decide weather I should get a plain band to wear on the truck and put my regular ring away, but I am having a hard time with that. I didn't realize how attached to the dumb thing I am. It would probably be best to not wear it, especially since I could lose the stone again and not be in the truck when it happened, then there would be major drama. I don't know if I will be logical about this or not, time will tell.

Well, it looks like we are going to spend a few days in Orem at the end of the week. We have to get our taxes done, my DOT physical, go to Sami's baptism, do Gma's hair, Taz to the vet and groomer, and on and on and on. Lots to do and not alot of time to do it in, but we will do what we can. Then we will be back on the road until the end of May, I think. I start to go crazy and need a break after about 6 or 7 weeks out. Steve could stay out indefinitely, but if he wants a happy co-driver he allows for the occasional pit stop.

Okay, this is getting really long, so I will let you all go.

Have a nice evening, I am going to bed soon and hopefully Steve will get at least 500 miles down the road before I get up.

Love you all, Steve, Tiff and The Taz Man

No Ambition. . .

I have no ambition to do anything. It is one of those lazy, get nothing done, crap days. I think we have done a total of 300 miles today. We need to get to Spokane, Washington by Monday morning at 5:00 a.m. We are about 2000 miles away, so we will be there in plenty of time. Steve is going to get up about midnight and then we should get back on schedule and hopefully I will get some ambition to work a bit in the morning.

We are hoping to be in Salt Lake by Thursday. We need to do taxes, I need my DOT Physical done, it expires mid April, and redo clothes for the season changes coming up. I hope we make it home in time to go to Sami's baptism.

I am going to bed, so hope everyone has a good evening and sleep well.

Tiff

Takin' a break

Howdy Do, We are in Taylor, Michigan - it is on the southeast end of Detroit. I drove the last 100 miles into our terminal and docked our trailer, unhooked and grabbed an empty. We are now headed to Ohio to pickup a load of Baking Soda for the Walmart Distribution Center in LaGrange, Georgia - just south of Atlanta. This is an 850 miles trip, that many miles would usually take us less than a day, but we are going to be on a lot of back roads today, so it will take us a bit longer. We drive thru a bunch of Amish towns on our way to Arm & Hammer and so the going is really slow. I don't like being on little county roads and such, Steve loves it. But, since it is my drive shift and he did over 600 miles in 10 hours last night, I guess I have to suck it up and do it. I won't get alot of miles done today since it is a delivery and pick up day, but it will be busy just the same. I will just try not to get lost and have to wake Steve up. I have a tendency to get lost getting in and out of places. I get turned around in towns and always end up going the wrong direction. Steve gets frustrated, but we all have to have at least one weakness. heehee. Okay I guess I have procrastinated enough and I had better get moving.

Love and miss you all, Tiff (Steve and Taz are snoring, LOUD!)

Crappy Weather

Okay, These spring storms suck. We have been stuck in more crappy weather in the past week than all winter long. We left L.A yesterday heading for Michigan, and we have hit snow in California, Utah and now we are in Colorado in icy/sleet/snow stuff. The storm we are in is going to be following us, or us following it for the next day or two, so why take the chance. We decided to stop for the night. We have a really light load of furniture and between the roads turning icy and the wind, we are being chicken and sitting until morning. The people that are waiting for their furniture are just going to have to wait one more day.

I let Steve have his birthday present and he is having a ball. I am sure that he ordered this bad weather just so he could sit and play on the computer. I know it is all a conspiracy.

Hope ya'll have a good evening, Love, Steve, Tiff and Taz

Early Birthday Present for Stephen

Well, I told ya that big box type electronic stores were evil. And I also said that Steve would want to get his own birthday gift. I stand by both statements. Steve came home from Fry's with his birthday present, 3 weeks early I might add. He came home with a 1 Terabite hard drive server thingy. He bought the case for said hard drive thingy months ago, but has been waiting for this drive thingy to go on sale. The drive thingy went on sale and that was all she wrote.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHEN!!!

I think I should wrap it up and not let him play with it until April 6. What do ya'll think?

I think he would die. It would be really fun to watch him have heart failure while I wrapped it up in Scooby Do paper and a great big bow. heehee. I am evil.

Now, I have to figure out what I am gonna get for my birthday. This is gonna be fun.

Have a good night all, Tiff and Taz (Steve is too busy playing with his thingy to be involved with this post)

The guy who invented. . .

I have decided that the man who invented the big box type electronics store, should be shot. It makes it way too easy for electronic geeks, the one in my head shall remain nameless, to spend way too much money.

Said, nameless geek is currently at Fry's Electronics and he called me when he got there and told me he just stood in the middle of the entryway and was completely overwhelmed as to which way to go first. It is Geek Overload at it's finest and I just had to laugh. He then couldn't get me off the phone fast enough, cause he had things to gander at and I was interupting. I went to Fry's with him once, I don't think I will ever do it again. He likes wandering way too much, and I am a get what ya went in for and get the hell out kinda girl. Browsing is not my cup of tea.

I also made a mistake this week and talked to said nameless geek about what he might want for his birthday. Buying for him is impossible. He would much rather get a wad of cash or giftcards and go spend it himself. Even if I was to buy him the exact item - model, make, everything perfect - that he would have bought, he would have been happier getting to do the purchasing himself. This situation sucks for me, I guess it is his birthday and not mine, so I should do what makes him happy, but dammit, I wanna buy him a present that he is surprised about and that he doesn't want to return. Just once. Is that so much to ask? So far in our courtship and marriage I have only surprised him once and it was with a gift he couldn't return, even if he wanted to. I wrote him a poem and had it framed, I know, pretty gushy, but I was a newlywed, I had an excuse. I guess I had better just suck it up and get used to handing him a giftcard for his birthday/Christmas/every occasion, cause if I don't the next 30 years is gonna be really long.

Anyway, We are in L.A. I am headed into the shower and then I get to do wifely things - laundry and grocery shopping while we wait to find out where we head to next. So, I better get to it before I lose all ambition to accomplish anything.

Have a good day Ya'll, Just Tiff and Taz today.

Sittin' n' Waitin'

Good Morning Fellow Blog Buddies,

We are in Dalton, Georgia at the present. We are waiting on our load to Denver, Colorado to get finished and while that is happening we are getting our oil changed. The shop we sat at for 4 days last week neglected to take care of it and we are now 6000 miles over due. Gotta love what that does to an engine. We only get oil changes every 30000 miles, so going over isn't very good.

We will hopefully be outta here in about 3 hours and in Denver tomorrow afternoon/eveningish. I guess I had better call Jenny and see what they are doing for dinner. Dalton to Denver is about 1300 miles, so if we hustle, we can do that in 24 hours. If we are slackers, which we usually are it will take about 30 hours. We don't want anyone to think we might be overachievers. HeeHee!

Well, I will talk at ya all later,

Tiff

Our First Picture. . .

Thanks to Blair, we have the first official picture for The Pedersen Files. Taz is the perfect subject - even if now he has alot less hair than in this picture. Poor little pooch, he is going to look like one of those hairless dogs soon. Eeekkkk! If anyone else wants to take pity on us and share some pictures, I will post them. I would love to get pictures of all the kidlets on here.

We are sitting in Portland, pretty much downtown. We got here about 3:00 a.m. and got backed into the dock and we are now waiting to get unloaded. There were 3 trucks that were here before us. so we will probably be here for a bit. It gives me a chance to say hi. Steve is sleeping, Taz is sleeping and I am importing audiobooks in my IPod. WooHoo!

This Ipod thing is new to me. Steve has always put everything on it for me and I just got to enjoy all of his work. Now, I am learning how to do it, and it is fun. And, I haven't broken anything yet. Steve says I break every electronic thing I touch. I don't think that is a very nice thing to say, but, if the shoe fits, I guess I have to suck it up and wear the ugly thing.

I hope everyone has a Fabulous Friday, Talk to you all soon,

Love, Steve, Tiff and Taz

And So It Begins. . .

Since everyone else is doing it, we will give into peer pressure and do it too.

Just say YES! Everyone says NO!

It will probably be a bit before this little page gets interesting, I hope that I can make it interesting. We still need to get a digital camera, one of the many things on the "to buy" list. Maybe this will make us buy it a little sooner. Or I have an even better idea, if anyone wants to give Steve or I a fabulous birthday present, or Easter present, or a present just cuz we rock, ya know that a camera would be great. heehee!

We are in Dalton, Georgia right now waiting for our load to Portland, Oregon. It should be ready about midnight. This is a 2500+ mile run, so we should be in Portland midday Friday, baring we run into any nasty weather and contingent that the load is actually ready at midnight. The life of a truck driver, hurry up and wait!

Happy Trails, Steve, Tiff and Taz