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Where ya been?

Well I've been kind of busy. Last Monday I went to pick up a slightly used but FREE to me 50" Sony TV from my father-in-law. (It's cool to have someone in the family work for a super cool, high-end audio/video place.) We decided that if we were going to have a big screen tv that we need to have a place to put it. Wednesday was our 9th anniversary and I went out to buy a new entertainment center to put the TV as an anniversary gift to each of us. Then we decided that if we were going to have cool stuff like this we also needed to update our livingroom, so I went to work....

Here's what the old room looked like with people in it (from Oda Mae's birthday party)



Here we are working on the emptied room...


Here's the new room...

and the new TV and Entertainment Center...

Why did we really do all of this?

We wanted to play Yars Revenge on a big screen!

Tonight we realized every 80's kids dream. Atari on a 50" screen!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!

Yep, we have the extension cords for the Atari 2600 joysticks! We can sit comfortably on the couch and live it up. The 2600 has never been so big. Besides Yars Revenge, we have Video Pinball (I kicked butt tonight at this game), Super Breakout, Pac-Man, Circus Atari, Frogger, Space Invaders, and Asteroids among others.

Yes, we know you are all jealous. Don't worry you can come over anytime and play.

Dominus Vobiscum,

-OD

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Pottie Time, Excellent....

Well, our new system seems to be working. Last Wednesday, before I went on my trip to Oklahoma we started putting Oda Mae on the potty every 15 minutes. Yes, that's a lot of times on the potty every day. Since then, she has only had about 4 "accidents" and the rest of the time she has been going on the potty! We are very proud of her. She has her own little potty chart with stickers that she gets to keep track of. Occasionally, she'll tell us she needs to go, but usually not. I hope we get to that part soon.

Yesterday, we went to every 20 minutes. This morning, (after she hadn't pooped in 3 days) we went to every five minutes. We still missed the big event. I think there's more coming though. We'll go back to every 20 minutes after she wakes up from her nap.

During nap time we wear our "Cowboy" panties. They're pull-ups with Woodie and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story on the front.

Oh, and the timer. We bought a "special" kitchen timer for Oda Mae to hear when it was time to go potty. Apparently the joke now is that when she grows up, every time she hears a bell ring, she'll have to go pee. Wont that be a fun when she grows up!

D.V.

-OD

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Collecting Dead Relatives

I'm here in Indian Territory today. I'll be headed back home sometime today. Thursday I took off towards Stillwater, OK. The 4+ hour trip wasn't to bad. As soon as I made it into town I checked into the local Motel 6 and headed for the public library. I was there for only a couple of hours and found loads of information about my family. It turns out that George M. and Margaret E. Burnett (my great-great-great grandparents) were buried in Fairlawn Cemetery just a few blocks away from where I was at the library. My great-great grand uncle Roy Burnett was buried there too.

The next day, I went to visit first thing in the morning. I braved the torrential rain that had just passed over Oklahoma and waded through the ankle deep "cemetery" water to go find my people. Afterwords I headed over to OSU to get some obituaries from the microfilm newspapers they had. (The ONE reader/printer they had at the public library was "Out of Order") Unfortunately, the 6 reader/printers they had at OSU were not cooperating either. The student workers helped me out by getting the obits printed digitally for me. Thanks student workers!

Afterwords, it was time to head to the county court clerks office to check out some probate records. I photographed just over 300 individual pieces of paper. I should have plenty of "very interesting" reading over the next few days.

I finished up my research at the public library and then I was off to the great "city" of Yale, OK. Not much to speak of in Yale. A small library with "good folk" and a cemetery that provided the final resting place for my great-great grandmother Mattie B. Fowler.

Today I'm in Tulsa going to find out some more information about my indian heritage (I hope!)

Dominus Vobiscum,

-OD

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The Potty

Now I know what the most difficult challenge in life is. The Potty! Oda Mae just wont go. She knows when she needs to go, she can tell us when she went, she can tell us what she needs to do, but when you get her on the potty she holds it. Then she holds it some more and then some more. When she is back into a diaper and all comfortable again she lets loose. This week we decided to try and go full force into the panties, see how she reacts. She loves wearing them, but seems to not get the idea that she needs to go in the potty. Yesterday, Oda Momma and I decided that maybe we should get a timer and make her sit on the potty every 15 minutes. We'll see how that goes today.

I'm pretty sure Oda Mae is ready for this, Oda Momma is not so sure. We will take any advice anyone is willing to share. Or if anyone is willing to take Oda Mae for a month or so and get the whole potty training thing done, we'll be happy to take her off your hands when you're finished.

Monday was Oda Momma's birthday. (No, I didn't just now remember that!) Last Sunday we had a little party with Cannelloni and Pineapple Up-Side-Down cake MMMMMmmmmm. I just wanted to let Oda Momma know that I didn't forget to put up post about it. There is a cute picture of Oda Momma and Oda Mae in Area 365 this week CHECK IT OUT.

Tomorrow, Oda Mae and Oda Momma are going to visit Gee Gee for an overnight adventure. I on the other hand am making a little genealogy trip to Oklahoma. I've very excited about this trip. There are lots and lots of records just waiting for me in the county clerks office. Gonna go to the county library and find some cool stuff as well. I'll keep you all updated. The best part is that I leave this afternoon as soon as Oda Momma gets home from her half day of work.

Dominus Vobiscum,

-OD

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No better time than the present....

(FREE BOOK...SEE BELOW)

Why can't I have it all?

For a long time now, I've thought that to have something good in your life, you could only have that one thing. ie: Family, Health, Home, Career, etc...

I tend to concentrate on one aspect at a time and let the others fall by the wayside. If I start working towards one goal I start getting negative thoughts about the others. I'm sure many of you who read my blog feel similar. Maybe some of you do have it all and you are appreciative of that.

In some aspects of my life I've allowed what I think other people feel or say about me to cause me to feel less than adequate about myself. It is my own fault for allowing negative thoughts to bring me down.

Some of this was brought about by a book that I read a while back called The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. There is a LOT of hype about this book. A LOT! After reading it, I think that there is some truth to what it says about having good thoughts. Having good thoughts tends to cause you and the people and world around you to do the things that need to be done to accomplish the task at hand.

I'd like to pass on my copy of The Secret to the first person who e-mails me at b j t u l l o s [at] s b c g l o b a l [dot] n e t. Obviously, eliminate spaces and put in the correct symbols (I don't want any electronic spammers.) You don't pay shipping or anything, just get a free book. Read it and see what you think. (edit: July 3...I've still got it!)

I already know what the AREA 365 picture will be today. It deals with another post from several days ago. I'm looking forward to taking it!

Oda Mae is waking up now, "Time to make the donuts!"

Dominus Vobiscum,

-OD

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