And it's thru...

Jason has finished his first construction project... I was his beautiful assistant :)~

Man, seriously I am pooped. The clubhouse is sooo neat, any kid would love it! Jason did so good, I am very proud of him. The kids are excited about it too. We didn't have any MAJOR accidents... well other than my clutzy self tripping over a limb and landing tummy first into one of the kids chairs and HAND first into the gravel. I am a bit sore from that.

It has become cold again here in Montana... Not nearly as bad as it has been, but definitely not "Spring" weather. The wind was blowing horribly yesterday. Now, as of this morning, I know that a cold front was being driven into Central North Montana... I have a friend in Cut Bank who had 2-4 foot snow drifts this morning. Ahhh, Montana weather and how it doth surprise us.

I got published again on the Daily Corinthian web site with another photo. My friend Travis calls me the, lets see how he put it... Shoot-a-holic??? I think that was his diagnosis for me. It's fun seeing that something I did is getting a little attention. I am getting attention on the flickr site too... a little bit, it's just exciting that maybe...just maybe... I have found my niche in life.

Other than that not much has been going on... We are hanging in waiting on nice weather, Jakub is still having tball... Jack is becoming who he is...my silly little man and Jason is an Amazing Daddy and awesome husband.

Construction and a bike

Yeah, I'm not very gifted in that area, but after a long delay in promising my son (so, we moved to Montana...), I wanted to make him a club house. We have the foundation set and the floor started. By tomorrow, he should have it.

Also, we got him a bike. It's part of his birthday, but truly, he had outgrown his old 12" bike. We upped him to a 16" and simply swapped the training wheels for what is now Jack's bike. That way, both boys are decked in red bikes that should last barring our dog eating a tire or two. It's definitely possible.

Pics will come as soon as we're done.

After the storm

It's been about a week since we have all (minus Jason, Thank the Lord) have been sick. Jakub and I still seem to be stuck with this nasty cough, but other than that we seem to be getting over it. It wasn't until today that I got around to really going through the photo's I took of the kids and Amanda Parker last weekend. I really wish the one's of Amanda had turned out a little better. She was so much fun to work with and didn't mind having me in her face and telling her... "OH HEY, I have an Idea...climb up in that tree"... ha ha ha ha. First off, so I can make excuses...I felt like garbage that day and also, it was a yuk day. I wish I had taken some that captured how fun loving and gorgeous she is. There are a few, but not as many as I'd have liked. Practice makes perfect and I plan on making her pose more for me later... muah ha ha ha ha!

As for this weekend, we had planned on going to Missoula, but haven't heard anything from the person we were going to meet there. So looks like our Sunday Missoula trip may be a no-go. I am sure Jason will welcome the break, seeing he has been Super-Dad this past week.

I don't have much more to report on... go check out my flickr pics!
Love y'all!

My Hubby

He got to brag on me...now it's my turn. Jack and I have been sick for the most part of the last three days. I am talking the kind of sick that makes you want to crawl up in a hole somewhere and die.

Jason has not only covered his shifts at Monarch (and extra shifts there too), but covered my shifts at home. He has been so amazing and he has no idea how much I appreciate everything he does and has done for me the last few days. He hasn't complained either, not one single time. God surely blessed me when he gave me Jason... I couldn't imagine many other people putting up with me and my crap...ha ha ha ha. Though, now that we have matured and have nearly been married 11 years, we now seem to have a better understanding of one another. We appreciate each other more and I would say even that over the years our love has grown stronger. Sometimes, after 11 years, we forget to tell each other just how we feel or how much we appreciate what the other does... Sheila Beaty and I used to jokingly argue that either one of us at the time had the best husband on Earth... all joking aside now, I honestly do. Sorry Ladies, y'all will search forever if you think he's still out there.

So here's to Jason Newcomb, the love of my life, my dream-boat, my best friend, the most amazing father and the guy I look forward to living out my lifetime with... I love you and appreciate everything you do for me and our family. You, my dear, are a gift from God!


DEZ

Sickness, fantasy, Spring

So, Dez is pretty sick. Bed-ridden mostly. Jack is coughing but doing okay for the most part. I have tried to step it up and help out around the house at the same time working regularly and not so regularly at work. Been busy. :) Been quiet on the web as a result. So, here's hoping my family gets healthy.

At the same time, I get a notification from a life insurance policy that states my application has been postponed because I have not had a followup stress test. I don't remember the first stress test although thankfully Dez does.

Okay, yeah, I'm a fantasy fan. I love the stuff although I'm not well read. I love RA Salvatore and am growing to love Robert Jordan (finally started reading after years and years of denial). I have dabbled in writing my own, hoping for a much different result albeit keeping some of the elements I love. Hopefully, with God's guiding Spirit, I'll be able to discuss this more later. :)

The weather change has been very welcomed. It's nice seeing different colors other than white. Dez was growing sick of it, I believe. The Mud Season isn't so bad. I thought it would be horrible, but so far, it's not. Animals are moving about, which means bears will be soon. That freaks me out a bit. We still haven't seen moose; that'll come. Hopefully, it'll be when we're at a distance.

Been busy; haven't written much here or on FB. I am enjoying hanging with the family. Jake and I had a great day hanging out. He showed me a park at Noxon, went to work with me twice, and now is watching a movie on Scifi with me. I love fantasy. I want to get off my proverbial bootay and get busy writing. Help me; encourage me; push me even! :)

Peace,

J

My wife

Have I said how much I appreciate/love/adore/admire/etc. my wife? Okay, so there's a hint: I do. She spear-headed this move to the PNW; okay, so I helped clarify "where" exactly. She went from working/full time mom/wife to full time stay at home mom. I'm proud of her.

I come home, and she does everything she can to take care of not only the kids but also me, too. She's finding hobbies (photography) and balance (I think) in what she likes and enjoys. Doing it all with style. Not to mention, I don't have to worry myself at all about who's taking care of my kids.

So, this post goes out to my wife, Dez, for just being her.

I love you!

Photoshop...is GIMP

Today, after being inspired greatly by a friend of mine, Lori Nolan, I decided it was time to start learning how to manipulate... Pictures that is. I already know how to manipulate :)~

Lori Sent me pictures via e-mail that I asked her to do some photoshop color separation on.

(Lori Nolan did this one)

Since I cannot FATHOM spending that much money on a photo manipulation program Jason found one online for me for free. The name of the program is GIMP. I have had it several months now and have only messed with it a handful of times only to give up in frustration. After I got the e-mails from Lori though I decided that it was time for me to learn how to use this stuff.

So after spending the most part of the morning wrapped up in a tutorial I downloaded online, I finally succeeded!!! Now I believe I am thoroughly addicted to this program. If you have any Photo's that you would like manipulated just send them to my e-mail, deznewcomb@gmail.com.
I would be happy to use you a guinea pig!

(I took and manipulated this photo)

Dez

Foster Cline, Kalispell, and other goings on

Today, at our school, we had a guest speaker, Foster Cline, MD, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed hearing him speak. He was engaging, relevant, and humorous. Some of the big things that I took away from the lecture was having fun and not becoming frustrated.

In other news, I have returned to form so to speak and feel much better. The trip to Kalispell was fantastic. I think we all had a great, great time. I actually bought my first pair of cowboy boots since about 30 years ago. We shopped and just thoroughly enjoyed having our dog with us (whatever her name will be-Hannah or Willow). I don't think there were any major mishaps. I swam in the pool for the first time in months, and I did all right. I still have a long way to go. I don't swim that well, but I do much better than my "like a rock" efforts in the past. Also, in case you haven't, I suggest looking at Dez's pics that she has taken recently. I'm really proud of what she has captured, and I think she's enjoying herself. :)

I have felt somewhat stressed at work and made some mistakes, which I hate. We are growing, though, and that is fun and challenging. I am hoping that I am able to grasp all the things necessary and work for the betterment of our kids. Changes are brewing, so more on that later. Right now, I want to focus on doing the best I can for the kids and our parents. I have good intentions. Sometimes, though, I lack time to follow through with them-sure seems that way at least.

Kalispell

We finally got to take a little family trip on Sunday-Monday (Jay's days off). Jakub is on Spring Break and he has been begging to go somewhere to spend the night and swim in a pool. What better time to swim in a pool than "Spring Break". So, we pointed the truck North to Kalispell.

The trip over wasn't very far, about 2 and a half hours. The town of Kalispell is a good sized town. It has everything you need without being totally overwhelming. It is also about 30 miles from Glacier National Park (which we wanted to go, but didn't make it to). I found a hotel that we could bring the dog along with us... Good luck finding that... and having it be anything "nice".

We stayed in the Aero Inn, which I do NOT recommend. It is pretty much a hole, though I got what I payed for. We had to stay in a smoking room because of the dog. It smelled like someone had been smoking in it 24 hours for 30 straight years. Pretty bad for folks that don't smoke. It was a sacrifice we made though so we could bring the dog.

We shopped a little bit and then headed back to the room and ordered Papa-John's. This is a luxury we don't have where we live because there isn't a pizza joint within 40-50 miles. We chowed down and then headed to the pool. I will have to say that the "Inn" had a decent pool, which was really what the boy's wanted.

We finally retired for the night. Another problem with the "INN" was the mysterious CONSTANT "popping" sounds in the wall all night long, and the fact that you could hear everything that was going on in your neighbors room. I am making it sound horrible. It was pretty bad, but seriously... we had a blast.

We checked out the next morning and went shopping some more. We found this Western Store that had boots on sale, marked down AND take 50% more off. We got the mens all a pair of NICE boots for like $107 bucks!!!

The reason we didn't go to glacier is because I wasn't aware that "pets" weren't allowed. I didn't know if they would let us in if we promised to keep her in the truck or what... Plus, from what I understand we wouldn't have gotten very far in. I have all summer to go, we will just leave a LOT earlier next time and during a time where it is warmer.

OH!! About warmth, it was BEAUTIFUL this weekend here. The temps were nearly in the 60's!!!! The sun was out and man was it beautiful. I now know that winter here only makes you appreciate the seasons soooo much more. Spring has nearly Sprung!!!!

On our treck back home we stopped in Libby and had some time at a playground and at Kootenai Falls State Park. I would have like to have stayed longer but we were all tired. We did see the falls and made it halfway over the bridge... of DEATH. I honestly can't wait to go back so we can explore more. I did get some really good photos.

Yesterday I did some MAJOR Spring Cleaning. I can't get over how AMAZING the weather is here right now!!! I opened all the windows in the house and let it air out. I plan on doing the same thing today, along with some more Spring Cleaning. I got all of our winter stuff taken to storage and got out the kids spring toys.

Tom came over last night, he is our neighbor... kinda like a stand in Pap-Paw till Pap-Paw gets here. He took the kids for ice cream last night. He is the first person, besides family that has taken them any where so I was a little nervous. Y'all know how protective I am of my kiddo's. I wouldn't have let them go if I didn't trust Tom though. He is a good man and is an extention of our family.

So, there are no plans today. Like I said, just cleaning more and enjoying this weather. Maybe the boys and I will go down to the river and skip stones or something. I have really enjoyed Jakub being off for spring break!

Dez's Challenge

Weight loss has been a thorn in my side for... well what seems like forever. I have been overweight for most of my adult life. I was especially so after I had Jakub. I reached 250-260 pounds while I was pregnant with him. I lost most of it... then gained a bunch back... When I started working on my weight the last time I weighed 235-240 pounds. I lost down to 180 and then got pregnant with Jack. Now, granted, I am not nearly that large now.

I had a rough time this past summer with my thyroid, low iron and stress. I gained about 20 pounds in a matter of a few months. I would say having a thyroid problem is pretty much a trek through Hell. You gain weight, lose hair, feel like someone has tapped out your energy...your emotions are whack... you have 2-3 periods a month and you honestly feel heinous. I joke and say the reason I went through it is because I made fun of Oprah when she said all her weight issues were due to her thyroid...I would tell her, TO HER FACE (yeah, on tv) that she needed to put down the CAKE!!! So, That's when I started going through it. Having horrible menses also depleted me of iron... I became anemic. When I finally made it to the doctor I was put on Iron and thyroid meds and sent on my way.

It wasn't long before I was feeling better, but the weight still kept creeping up. I quit taking the thyroid meds. Luckily for me my body seemed to straighten itself out. I don't really know what caused the thyroid issues... I have a theory that it was a combination of my breast reduction and my tubal Ligation... all in the span of 10 months. So, I was feeling better and my weight stopped rising.

That was about the time that we moved to Montana. So stress and pure laziness have kept me from even trying to work on my weight. Up until a couple of months ago that is. I started a weight loss challenge for myself on facebook. I had several people sign up with me to either lose along with me or encourage me. It wasn't very long that the group kinda went southward and now no one visits it anymore.

Since I started this challenge in February I have lost 10 pounds. I know that isn't that much, but I have not been very committed to it either. Over the last few months I think that my prayers are being heard...and things seem to be coming into persepctive. I have stopped several of my little quirky habits that I figured I would have till I died. Then about two days ago I started exercising. I kept thinking how rediculous it was for me to be sitting here in the house on my fat bottom not doing anything about my weight. I can't help but think of Bette Midler in Ruthless People making the best of her confinement and working her toosh off... Literally.

I don't have to be fat. I don't have to live like this anymore. Heck, why have I been??? So I am really gonna do it this time...you'll see!! (Less of ME)

Dez