I think the cows are done being sick (we'll check temps again in a few days). The girls and I are feeling much, much better, but now Nanny (Grandma) has the bug and has to go back to CA. : (

Jan 02


Diana likes the new Yahoo toolbar.... she can check new mail messages without leaving facebook and visa versa! : )

Jan 09


Diana has been unbelievably awake since 3:30 this morning!

Jan 15


6:19 and counting... exactly how early can I send the girls to bed when they are not tired, are not sick, and are not in trouble? 6:20? ; )

Jan 15


Isn't it warming to know that the world squabbles over who gets to help Haiti the most? Now, if only all of that help would actually get to the people...

Jan 17


Diana just realized that she missed an important scheduled call yesterday (important to her any way). :(

Jan 19


Diana is fighting a losing battle against sleep. Why? It's only twenty after seven... no shower... still need to put the girls to bed... feeding the husband might be a good thing... but my lids are getting heavier... and heavier... I'm thinking the shower can wait... the girls will eventually realize that they should go to bed... and maybe the husband could fend for himself?

Jan 22


Diana is awake after a wonderful 12 hr nap and dreams of a European trip... Keukenhof... Salzburg... Munich... Neushweinschtein... again someday...

Jan 23


Diana spent an hour this morning preparing her "studio" (livingroom) for portraits of the girls. She ironed the backdrop, set up the tripod, was preparing to move the furniture, then...

Jan 23


Some days!

Jan 24


sometimes you're the bug

Jan 25


http://www.flickr.com/photos/shebearhooper/sets/72157623349014457/detail/

I've been obsessing with FooPets of late - here are some pictures of my pets (I tried to upload them to FB, but it didn't work).

Feb 20


And, so, Mark said I should go take some pictures... he has some of the best ideas! : )

Feb 20


Diana is taking a mini-breather from FooPets. 3-2-1 gasp! I'm still here! : )

Mar 05


Diana would bang her head against the computer screen, but she's somewhat possitive that she'd regret it - the wall is more durable...

Mar 08


This is soooo funny - I laughed till the tears were streaming! Enjoy!

Mar 13


Diana did something REALLY stupid yesterday. You see, she is always after everybody to NOT leave the door to the dishwasher open when they leave the kitchen because she can't see it. Guess what she did? Yep, she did it to herself, so she shouldn't complain about feeling like she fell off a horse since she ran into that door so hard, should she? Thankfully, the dishwasher door remained in tact... ; )

Mar 20


Diana has evidence of a great pasture... one of her horses (Ishtar) foundered yesterday. : ( Thankfully, it appears that she will make a full recovery and still desires to go out and gorge herself on the luscious, green grass despite her feverish condition!

Mar 27


Diana can hear the far away cry of "Work needs done" from some distant land. Should I choose to ignore it or heed the warning? hmm...

Mar 28


Spring is here... we've gotten 2+ inches of rain in the last 24 hrs... Mark is concerned about the cows drowning... ; )

Mar 29


Diana has a lengthening to-do list...

Mar 31


Diana is reminded on this day of sanctioned foolishness about how easy, and entertaining for some, to point to the atheist and declare Thou Fool! totally forgetting that we each have played the fool at some point in our lives.

Apr 01


For some reason, getting up after 9am doesn't get more work done... but, I guess I needed the extra zzz's after getting up in the middle of the night to give a loudly coughing horse some eucalyptus.

Apr 04


"The be-all and end-all of life should not be to get rich, but to enrich the world." – Bertie Charles Forbes

Apr 10


give me the chocolate and no one will get hurt!

Apr 12


Diana spent some time out in the beautiful spring sunshine today. Yep. It was amazing. She actually moved away from the computer and decided to do some weed-eating. She walked all the way to the shed, rummaged around and found the weed-eater. Then...

Apr 14


Diana is aggravated. The kids are fighting... the day is fleeting... and this mouse has a mind of its own (and it doesn't want to go in the same direction as I do!)

Apr 20


Apr 29


"Be aware of wonder. Live a balanced life — learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some." – Robert Fulghum

May 02

"We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee." – Marian Wright Edelman

May 06


Diana took pictures of her horses today... Gypsy sure is showing her age! She gets a lighter color every year and her back is even starting to sway!

May 08


It is a man's duty to have books. A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessities of life - Henry Ward Beecher

May 11


Diana learned how to run the rototiller today! No missing body parts... nothing broken... : )

May 14


"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment." – Lady Dorothy Nevill

May 16


needed a little pick-me-up and thought others may enjoy it too : )

May 16


Diana saw an ad for a 1-hr facial... sounds heavenly! : )

May 18


flowers are blooming, the grass is growing, and the work is never ending ; )

May 22


Is it really, truly THURSDAY?! I think some evil time-sucking monster is taking days out of my week!

May 27


"Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus." – Alexander Graham Bell -- and now I know what my problem is... I'm too busy thinking about what comes next!

May 28


"If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again." – Flavia Weedn

May 29


Diana just witnessed her cat eating a spider! :P

Jun 01


Diana is thankful to not have to be outside in the cold rain!

Jun 02


Diana is feeling sleepy with a kitty curled up in her lap!

Jun 03


Diana burned herarm today... she unhooked the electric tape, then proceeded to open the metal gate still holding the elec. fence handle, when she heard a very loud snap and received a surge of energy to every cell in the body. Mark says I must've touched the handle to the gate. Note to self: don't do that again... ever.

Jun 04


For all of my friends who were concerned about my hurting myself yet again before bed last night, the answer is: no, I did not. I'm glad too because it is not an unusual thing to ram my thigh into the corner of our cedar chest or to try to break a toe once my shoes are off (haven't managed to.... yet). Today HAS been a better day, though I did handle a sharp knife earlier... Of course, the day is not over yet! ; )

Jun 05


It's the cat's fault. ;)

Jun 07


: pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and do it again until you quit falling on that cushion behind you...

Jun 09


Diana is sitting here wondering if she should continue waiting for a music video to load (it has been over 5 minutes and is only at the half way mark on a 4 minute song) or if she should forget about it today...

Jun 10


Diana had a new experience today. Her cat, ahem, peed on her! Yeah. Thrilled.

Jun 11


It won't be long and the barn will be ready for hay - good thing too since the hay is just waiting for the warm weather that'll hit any day now!

Jun 12


The girls were laughing at my totally trendy, end-of-day, falling-apart hair style. I told them that all it lacked was some static to make it fritz every direction and it would match my mood!

Jun 15


Diana spent the entire afternoon doing ironing and performing the sock mating ritual (which never seems to create baby socks... such a waste!). Blahck!!

Jun 16


Diana just spent a highly relaxing afternoon watching her children play in the river with other kids while she visited with other adults. Marvelous!

Jun 21


Love crazy characters like Murdock on the A-Team!

Jun 22


Diana's mind says: Get back out and pull some more weeds; her body says: I don't even think so!

Jun 28


Diana is enjoying the company of her in-laws for a couple of weeks. : )

Jul 02


Diana re-injured her shoulder yesterday while playing with her children. She is unsure as to what really caused the original injury, but it was almost healed after a month's time. It just plain hurts now! :'(

Jul 03


singing: He didn't bring us this far to leave us; He didn't teach us to swim to let us drown; He didn't build His home in us to move away; He didn't lift us up to let us down

Jul 11


Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

Jul 15


one of my favorite horse catalog stores went out of business :'(

Jul 19


Many thanks to all y'all for the birthday wishes - I feel much loved.

Aug 01


"When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time." – St. Francis De Sales

Aug 11


My laptop is possessed.

Aug 12


Diana is fighting sadness.

Aug 16


I have my pictures!!!

Aug 18


Thursday?! where ever did Monday, Teusday, and Wednesday disappear to?!

Aug 19


Diana is having a time concentrating on work. Dishes? :p Floors? :p Laundry? :p Ditch it all and head for the river to read in the shade while the girls splash and play! : )

Aug 20


I am not procrastinating. I'm just easily side-tracked.

Aug 24


my mind, along with my desk, are in a choatic state. Maybe if I clean my desk, I'll be able to think.... umm, but not... right... now...

Aug 25


Diana is looking around the house and wondering: when did it get so dirty?

Aug 27


Diana praises God for plastic lens with scratch-resistant coatings, spring loaded hinges, and flexible metal frames as she, once again, walked into a half open door. She really needs to learn not to do that one of these days.... but, at least, the glasses survived! ; )

Aug 30


Getting ready for the in-laws to arrive tomorrow evening.

Sep 02


Mark couldn't remember the name of this song... : )

Sep 05


some how, I've managed to spend 5 whole minutes completely alone (well... aside from the companionship of my computer...)

Sep 07


The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong. --Andy Rooney

Sep 08


As I was watching Mark work on the barn this week, I was humming this song... : )

Sep 11


Diana has a whole closet full of clothes that don't fit - how exasperating!

Sep 12


At the risk of sounding, um, you know... OLD... it is kind of hard getting back up after sitting cross-legged on the floor for a couple of hours... :p

Sep 14


unsubscribe, remove, delete, spam, and start all over again!

Sep 15


My husband thinks I'm messing with odds. He says that for each day that I don't back up this computer the odds increase 100:1 that it'll crash. I just don't understand it - it's "only" been 15 months since the last backup...

Sep 15


the cat waylaid me. Now, I must stay put and be still instead of cooking and cleaning as I should be...

Sep 17


Diana is looking forward to the weekend

Sep 23


Hey World! My girl's got a learner's permit! Life will never be the same... : )

Sep 28


Which is it? Several rolls of hoses? Several hose rolls? Several hoses in rolls? Oh! [snaps fingers] I know! Several coiled hoses!

Sep 29


to choose, to choose. What shall I do? Play games or... work? :S

Sep 30


Diana checked off one major item on her to-do list today. Progress!

Oct 03


Diana has injured herself. Again. Didn't run into any thing this time, though. Chose to knock a pan lid off of the counter, slicing the big toe of her sandle-clad foot, instead. :S

Oct 04


I like it... in the bedroom. "It" doesn't seem to go any where else! : )

Oct 07


Diana has finished In the Company of Secrets... and has started Book 2. A book about the web we weave for ourself when telling lies, paying the consequence of our actions, with a touch of history of the town Pullman, Illinois.

Oct 10


Final tractor payment is in the mail! Yee-haw! : )

Oct 12


Mark doesn't usually comment about house work; but, as I was trying to create counter space to fix breakfast this morning, he said: It's a little messy in here, don't you think?

Oct 13


Diana got up, blinked, and it was noon; blinked again and it was bedtime (or so it seemed). I think of all the work I used to get done once upon a time and wonder what is wrong with me?

Oct 14


Much. MUCH. Much much much. Better!

Oct 16


Diana is in a love/hate relationship with herself.

Oct 17


Diana had an enjoyable hour on a horseback adventure with the girls (though the girls didn't exactly find her "adventurous" and not at all inclined to improve herself).

Oct 19


Diana has awesome children who are getting much better (faster) at cleaning the house! : )

Oct 27


ever sit around afraid to start a project because you KNOW that as soon as it gets going you WILL be interuppted?

Oct 28


It is time to cut this kitty's claws! I reached out to steady my man last night when he looked ready to fall over and left a long, jagged scratch across his back without even trying!

Oct 29


Watch out for those vicious velociraptors - I hear it is an unpleasant experience to be caught by one.

Oct 31


My daughter believes it is time for me to have a new profile picture.

Oct 31


By popular demand - a new profile picture! This lovely lady was one of my first close up subjects (Mark was standing by to ensure a quick retreat if she became agitated).

Nov 01


Today is one of those days when you're so busy thinking that by the time you turn around you've forgotten what it was that you were going to do because your brain has already moved on to the next item. :p

Nov 03


For lunch I fixed burnt offerings. It was barely edible. :p

Nov 03


Is it just me or is any one else having problems with Yahoo Mail? I click on a message to read it and am transported to an entirely different message. Exasperating!

Nov 03


Last night, my status was emblazened upon my mind: The acrid aroma of charcoaled vegetables still lingers in the air of my spacious kitchen.

Nov 04


My daughter thinks it is time for a new profile picture... again! Preferably one that does NOT include a spider. Or snakes. Or any thing else that could be considered creepy.

Nov 05


ok, new picture. This is me and Max while we were in Germany. He was a very special bird!

Nov 05


My newest pictures of the work being done on the barn are certainly not my best work, but I don't really want to re-take the pictures so I am sharing what I have.

Nov 12


13 new pictures of the barn

Nov 13


Just received my first Schwan's catalog (that I can remember anyway). Now I am hungry!

Nov 15


Diana does NOT like petting wet dogs. Or cats. Now if only they understood that...

Nov 16


Diana is going from room to room thinking: "Nope, don't want to do that. Nope, not that. Nope, not THAT either!" Deciding instead to bore my friends with indecisiveness.

Nov 17


"Why waste time learning, when ignorance is instantanous?" Hobbes says to Calvin

Nov 18


Many of you do not know yet, and I hope you forgive me for not contacting each of you individually, but I need you all to know that my mom died recently. I am adjusting.

Nov 21


The memorial service for my mother will be held at the Artichoke Seventh-day Adventist church in Appleton(?) Minnesota on Saturday November 27 at noon.

Nov 22


This is the first time I've been on FB for a week. For those of you who are wondering how I am: I am adjusting. And getting over a cold.

Dec 07


Took the time today to create a special "home" for one of mom's beloved virtual pets. I know, I'm weird.

Dec 11


This is Gretchen

Dec 11


broke my flashlight. :(

Dec 16


My eye lids are getting heavy, but as soon as I lay down I become wide awake!

Dec 18


Diana just gave the dog a good rub down and he was like: ooo la la, do that some more!

Dec 21


Diana is amazed at the little things that make us happy.

Dec 28