Playing catch-up...

I know it has been a long time. But, in my defense, it has been a very busy several weeks. In fact, I can't think of the last time David and I had a weekend where we weren't doing anything or didn't have any visitors.



David said this morning, "Can you believe it? In the past few weeks, we have seen more people from home than we usually do while we're at home."

And, he's right. David's mom, sister and nieces were out here visiting for a few hours a few weeks ago. Then, we had a visit from David's sister Tracie and her boyfriend, JD. This weekend, we entertained Rachel, Kirk and David's sister, brother-in-law and nephew.

Somewhere in the past few weeks, I was also able to fit in a trip home. I had originally decided to take just a few vacation days in August to go home and ride and maybe show at one of the smaller paint shows. Then, I found out that our team was working on some market research for one of the equine brands and was hoping to get some video to go along with the PowerPoint presentation and handouts. So, I moved my trip up to July and took the video camera home with me.

While I was home, I was able to hang out at the Illinois State Fair Illinois Paint Horse Show and the Farmer City Fair. Even though I didn't get to show that much, it was wonderful to catch up with everyone and have a chance to just watch all of the classes - through the viewfinder of a video camera, of course. And, you know me, I also used it as an opportunity to take some still shots.

Of course, up to this point, David was still working nights and part time, and couldn't come home with me. After I had been home a few days, we noticed that a job he applied for (and, unfortunately, and turn down an offer for) had been posted online again. After talking it over, we decided he should go ahead and apply for it - just to see.

A day later, he got a call asking for an interview. The next day, he interviewed, and a few hours after that, had a job offer!

So - drum roll please - DAVID HAS A FULL TIME JOB! He will be working for a company that writes newsletter and press releases for other corporations. He'll also get to do quite a bit of traveling, so it should be a pretty exciting job and a nice change of pace - and paycheck.

I'm really looking forward to the change of schedule, too. It will be so nice to finally be working during the same time of day. We'll both be home at the same time, can eat supper together and spend the rest of our evening relaxing together.

Anyway, David starts August 7. He still has to work until August 13 for the Journal Star because they're very short-staffed. That following weekend, we're planning to head back home with Tracie and her boyfriend for a quick weekend at home. I suppose that's it for now - but, I did drop some pretty big news, so that should hold you all until I can post again. Which, of course, may be tomorrow - or it may be next month!

God is great and people are crazy...

Not just the title of a country song.

I have found that this is just as true as it can be after a crazy couple of weeks of celebrity deaths...and a long holiday weekend.

We started out with Ed McMahon. Then, it was Farrah Fawcet, followed by Michael Jackson and then Billy Mays. It seems as though it has just been one after another.

Of course, anytime someone dies, it is a sad occasion. I hate to see anyone lose a loved one. But, sometimes, it seems as though things just get a little out of hand in the aftermath - especially in the case of a celebrity death.

Take, for example, Michael Jackson. Following his death a couple of weeks ago, I dusted off my Jacko albums and downloaded a few additional songs to complete my collection. I have been rocking out to Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal, Dirty Diana - and many more - at work, at home and on the treadmill.

I have found that I find Michael Jackson's death increadibly sad for many reasons - not just because he was an incredible performer.

Jackson was a musical genius. As my husband said the day he died, "I feel like this is similar to the day Elvis died - only, this time for our generation." I think he is absolutely right. But, what I find more upsetting is the memory Michael Jackson will leave behind. Unfortunately, it will be more than Thriller, moonwalking and incredible stage performances. He also leaves behind a troubled personal life and a few questionable actions. His persona and life was so clouded with his strange behavior that I'm afraid we'll never know - or be able to appreciate - his true gifts and legacy.

As for me, I plan to keep on listening to these golden '80s tracks and will try to limit my thoughts of Michael Jackson to a young, talented guy in a red leather jacket - doing the most unbelievable dance moves I have ever seen. In fact, I might take up trying to learn some of those dance moves in my free time...oh, who am I kidding - I dance like a fat, white kid.

Anyway, in other news: David and I just wrapped up the big Torbert-fest family weekend in Council Bluffs. Denise did end up renting a big house for the entire family (minus David's older brother and his wife and kids) to stay in.

Let me tell you - I love kids, but I'm sticking with my decision to leave children out of the equation for a few years! Whew, keeping up with three kids under the age of four is exhausting and I don't know how his sisters do it.

But, besides the craziness of three little ones running around the house, it was nice to see everyone and catch up. Friday, we spent our day at the house chatting and playing a few games. Saturday we went out to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha (pictures to follow - if you're anxious, hop on Facebook). Let me tell you - if you're ever in Omaha, take the time to go to the zoo. We got to the zoo a little after ten and left just before three in the afternoon, and I bet we only saw half of the zoo. It's an enormous zoo, but has incredible attractions and was a lot of fun for everyone. David and I are already talking about going back ourselves just to see the rest of the zoo.

We spent the rest of Saturday afternoon at the house - playing games and watching TV. Sunday afternoon, everyone took off for home. And, I have to say, it was really nice to have to look forward to a short one hour drive - rather than eight hours.

David spent our afternoon Sunday watching TV and catching up on some much needed sleep.

Of course, today it was back to work. This weekend I have a doctor's appointment and then I'm looking forward to a relaxing Sunday with nothing to do.

Tuesday, David's mom and his sister Amie - and her two little girls - will be headed back through Lincoln on their way back to Denver. So, it looks like we'll be entertaining them for a day or so. I've got to do some heavy-duty cleaning before they come because David's neice, Eileen, is incredibly allergic to everything.

The rest of July is pretty packed as well, but I'm not going to go into that now.

All I know is I'm ready to take a summer break from summer.

Her eyes turn green....

If you're familiar with the Josh Abbott Band, you'd answer with, "when she cries." While that is one of my favorite songs, that's still the incorrect answer.

The correct answer is, "when all of her friends get to go to a Cross Canadian Ragweed concert and she's stuck at home, alone, with lots and lots of work to do over the weekend."

Cross Canadian Ragweed is playing at the Sangamon County Fair tonight, and let me tell you, everyone and their dog went to the concert. I could barely escape the "RAGWEED CONERT!!!" status updates on Facebook. Jerks.

I would have loved to have been able to head home for the weekend and go to the concert, but it's actually good that I didn't. Next week, I'm headed to New Orleans for work and I still have a lot of things that I need to finalize and finish up, so it looks like I'm going to be putting some hours in this weekend.

Of course, with this trip to New Orleans lined up for next week, I'm beginning to feel a little bit more like a member of a nomadic PR tribe, and a little less like a 24-year-old that lives the quiet life in Nebraska with her husband.

The week before last, I rented a car, set the cruise control and headed south to Texas (but I won't complain about that because we all know I love it there).

Anyway, in a nutshell, I'm now a member of a nomadic tribe of PR practitioners and my husband no longer remembers what I look like - which may be a good thing.

Of course, next weekend I'll be in New Orleans and the weekend after that is the Fourth of July. David's family - his parents, sisters and all of the kids - are planning on making the drive out to Nebraska for the long holiday weekend. So, David and I are working to find some fun things to do that won't cost us an arm and a leg.

Right now, we're thinking a visit to the zoo in Omaha, and perhaps the children's museum here in Lincoln. We might even try for a Saltdogs game and an airshow in Seward. All in all, it should be a fun weekend. And, it will be nice to have some visitors again.

I think that's it for tonight - I can't think of anything else exciting to add to tonight's entry. In fact, if you're all still awake and have read this far, I'm really impressed.

Have a great weekend!

I'm in Heaven...

...in a little - well, big - place called Texas!

Oh, man, I just love it down here. I drove down to Gainesville on Monday for work and I have just enjoyed every minute. It is so neat to see ranch after ranch after ranch. And, some of the ranches are more than that.

Growing up and showing horses, I got used to looking at the breed publications and seeing names like Carol Rose, Tim McQuay, Hollywood Dun It and many, many more.

Well, today, I drove by Carol Rose's ranch. I also drove by the home of Hollywood Dun It - and it was literally like a normal person driving by a movie star's house: total awe and wonder.

Sadly, tonight I had to leave my one true home and head back into Oklahoma for an interview tomorrow. After that, I think I'll be headed back to a less desirable state (at least for now): Nebraska.

Anyway - in a nutshell - I'll be living in Texas one day. I'll own a giant ranch that is home of some famous horse and will have a giant, automatic front gate with my initials on top - just like everyone else has.

Now that I have that information off my chest....

This weekend was so much fun. I drove over to Waterloo, Iowa, on Saturday for a little reunion with my boys and their significant others. It was so nice to see them and have a chance to catch up. We rehashed some of the same old jokes and made some new ones and really, just enjoyed each other's company. I hope this is something we can do every year. As Brian said, "I like annual parties. Really - let's do this again. Not it for planning it..."

Looks like I'm on the slate for next year's "Reunion of Legendary FFA Officers."

I suppose that's it for tonight. I'll try to take some more pictures tomorrow while I'm out in Oklahoma and be sure to post them - soon (because I know Kirk gets a little antsy).

Welcome...

...to the first meeting of slackers anonymous. That's right - I'm the president and I'd like to welcome you to our (my) first meeting.

I've been slacking on the blog and I know it. My apologies. Because it has been a while, I can't think of a better place to start than with a little update:

1. Lonelytown, population 1.

That's me. David has been in Illinois for 10 days, and I am certainly ready for him to come home. He left last Wednesday to spend a few days at home, then he and his dad headed down to Shawnee National Forrest for a week of camping. Of course, Southern Illinois isn't exactly known for it's exceptional cell phone reception, so it has been nearly a week of little to no communication. Yep, I'm ready to have my husband home again.

2. Home is where the heart is.

Even though David left for home on Wednesday, I had to hold out until Friday. I took off a few hours early on Friday and made the eight hour drive home for the long weekend. It was so nice to be able to spend a few days at home with nothing to do. Well, I guess that's not completely true. Janell had a couple of jobs lined up for me when I got home. She wanted to wash and clip Buck and then take some new pictures of him for our farm ads.


Of course, I had already planned on taking LOTS of pictures while I was home (and I did - if you would like to see them all, log on to Facebook and check them out), but it was nice to get a horse out and mess with him.



Sunday, I spent a good portion of the day visiting with Grandma Shirley and Grandpa Don. I also drove down to the farm to see Nancy, Cheryl and Ted. It was so nice to be able to catch up with everyone. I also spent some time riding. Mom mentioned that there were a couple of young horses that needed ridden, but wanting to be able to return to Nebraska in one piece, I just rode Lucky. I thought my chances of staying in one piece would be best with Lucky.





3. No, I'm not pregnant.

So, I got home from, well, home, late Monday night. Of course, I had to get up the next morning and head to work. As I was sitting at my desk talking on the phone, I took my shoes off and pulled my foot up to rest it on the opposite leg. I looked down and saw that BOTH of my ankles and feet were extremely swollen.

My left ankle had been hurting - for no reason really - but, for both of my ankles to be swollen was really weird. I called mom to ask her if that had ever happened to her before, and of course, she had to ask the question: "Now, Rachel, I'm going to ask you a question. Are you pregnant?" To which I responded, "Nooooooooo Mmmmoooooooooommmm." The follow-up, "Are you sure??" The final answer, "Yyyyeeeesssss Mmmmmmooooooommmm."

I have no idea what was going. Three days later, my feet and ankles look much better. They're still a little swollen, but much less than before - I can at least get my feet into my shoes. The plan is to ask my endocrinologist about this strange occurrence at my next appointment next Saturday.

4. I might be the coolest person you know.

This is why I love my job: One of the girls I work with sent me an email today to let me know that we had a new testimonial lead to add to our list. This lady, Mrs. Brooks, lives in Tennessee and uses our products frequently. So, we may take a trip down to Tennessee to interview Mrs. Brooks about how much she likes our products.

Mrs. Brooks is married to Mr. Brooks. Mr. Kix Brooks - of Brooks and Dunn. Yep that's right. I might get to see their house and interview Kix Brooks' wife. I might be the coolest person you know.

5. We love visitors!

Looks like we're going to have more visitors headed out to see our place. Grandma Margie and Grandpa Dick called a couple of weeks ago and said they would like to make the trip out - the following weekend (which was Memorial Day weekend). I told them that the middle of June would work much better, but we still had to run through all of the weekends leading up to the middle of June. After all of that, it turns out that the middle of June really does work best. The circus begins the 13th.

6. I'm racking up the mileage.

I can't wait - next weekend, I'm headed to Waterloo, Iowa, to visit my four favorite boys. That's right, the legendary 2003-2004 Illinois Association FFA major officer team will be reuniting for one fabulous weekend. I can't wait to see my boys and catch up.

The following week, I'm headed to Oklahoma and Northern Texas for a few testimonial interviews for work. I love that area and I can't wait to go back.

7. There MAY BE light at the end of the tunnel.

David applied for a job with a newspaper in Beatrice (about 45 minutes south of Lincoln) a couple of weeks ago and finally heard this week that they would like him to come in for an interview. He's supposed to notify his supervisor that he is interested in the job - because both papers are owned by the same company - and then drive down to Beatrice for an interview on Wednesday. Pray, cross your fingers, work your voodoo - do whatever it is you have to do - to ensure that David gets this job.

Well, after that novel of a post, I think you should all know EVERYTHING that is going on with David and I. I'll try to keep you all posted - hopefully a little more frequently - with what's going on.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

And we have another one to add to the list...

No, not the "I love these things" list. This time, I'm adding to the "Things I don't so much like about Nebraska" list.

It has been a while since I've added to this list, so if you need a refresher it's understandable. Check this out for a complete listing of all things I dislike about Nebraska: http://racheltorbert.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html

Now that you've taken a little trip down memory lane, here's the latest addition. And, here's the kicker - I'm not adding this to the bottom of the list. No, this item has the distinct honor of now being No. 1.

Drum roll please....

1. Vehicle registration renewal.

Now, I know many of you are thinking the same thing: "Dude, I hate that, too, and I don't even live in Nebraska."

Well, my lucky Illinois friends, when you pay to renew the registration on your vehicles, you probably pay about $85.00 - if you're driving car. Here in Nebraska, they come up with a total based on how new your car is and several other factors. Which means, the grand total for Rachel is $359.00.

That's right, $359.00.

I think I'm going to get up early tomorrow and pay that @%#*$&% thing, but trust me, I'm not going to be happy about it. I can't believe I have to pay that much in registration - every stinkin' year!

Deep breaths....

Okay, on to something else. A couple of days ago, Aunt Cheryl sent me some pictures that really does prove the old saying, "Home is where the heart is."

A few months back, Grandpa Don finally bought something he had wanted for a long time - a team of Halflinger ponies. And, apparently, now that the weather is warm, he is taking full advantage of his new mode of transportation.






I'm hoping that I can make it home at the end of May for the Memorial Day holiday because I would love to be able to witness this for myself. However, I'm trying to get a trip planned for work at the end of May, and I'm just not sure I'm going to be able to work all of this travel out in a way that is efficient and won't kill me with all the driving I'm going to have to do. I guess we'll just have to see.

In other news, you'll all be happy to know that I have finally been able to stick to my workout program. For the past three weeks, I've worked out nearly every day, running between two and four miles and lifting weights. Now, to look at me, you wouldn't be able to see any difference, but I sure do feel good.

Other than that, David and I don't really have anything new and exciting to report. The job market still sucks and David is still working for the paper - hoping to find something - anything - full time.

But, David has the night off tonight, so we're going to curl up on the couch and watch some Deadliest Catch. Speaking of which, I think I have just enough time to jump in the shower before it starts....

Yours truly,

Needled in Nebraska
(A.K.A. - the Nebraska DMV is on my shit list)

"Tell me something, Norm. If you were a hotdog, would you eat yourself?"

"I know I would. I'd cover myself in mustard and hot relish - I'd be so delicious!"

All of you SNL fans out there will know who that is - Will Farrell playing Harry Caray. After going to the Cubs game at Wrigley this past Saturday, I just couldn't help but put that quote up here.

It was wonderful to go home this weekend and have a chance to catch up with everyone and do a few fun things. David and I got home Friday night and spent the night at my house catching up with mom and Janell then we got up at the buttcrack of dawn on Saturday (4:40 a.m. to be exact) to make the drive up to Metamora and meet Greb and Stephen to drive up to Wrigley for a Cubs vs. Marlins game. And, I have to say, my first Wrigley experience did not disappoint.

We got to Wrigley a little later than we wanted to, so there weren't any bleacher seats left. Lucky for us, we were able to find a great place to stand and watch the game. There weren't really any people in front of us and the sun was shining to make it nice and warm.

At the bottom of the 5th inning, some guy stopped where we were standing to watch the game. He stood right next to me (as in his shoulder touched my shoulder) and I thought to myself, "I know that guy...I know I've seen him somewhere." In my head, I was thinking he had to be from a TV show or something, but for the life of me, I couldn't understand why a TV star would be standing in the bleacher seats at a Cubs game.

Five minutes later, a girl walked up to the man and said, "Oh my gosh - I'm such a big fan of yours - can have my picture taken with you?" To which the man said, "Of course."

At this point, I knew he had to be on TV. However, when I got David (Mr. TV nerd himself - seriously, this kid could watch a show once and pick the star out in a different show or movie ten years down the road) he said he thought the guy was just a regular guy and didn't recognize him. So, for the next hour, I was completely irritated because I knew I had seen this guy on TV but I couldn't place him. Finally, after an hour of being completely annoyed, Stephen said, "Oh man, you're right - that guy is on TV. I think he's on The Big Bang Theory on CBS."

But, since we still weren't sure, David manned up and went over to a man that had taken a picture with the TV star in question and asked him point blank, "Hey - that guy that you took a picture with - is he famous?" Thus, our Big Bang Theory was confirmed. That's right, kids - I rubbed shoulders with an honest-to-God TV star. In fact, it was this guy right here...

To top it all off, the Cubs won, making it an all-around beautiful day. After the game, we headed home - completely exhausted!

Sunday, I got up early to go out and take some pictures of the latest Baum's Hilltop Farm babies - and boy are they cute! We have five on the ground right now and are expecting a few more. Unfortunately, my pictures didn't turn out too well for some reason. But, I'm thinking I might go back home at the end of the month because we'll have a long weekend with the Labor Day holiday.

Janell and I also headed over to Grandma Shirley's and Grandpa Don's to visit for a little while, but found out they had headed to Decatur to run errands. So, we headed over to Ted and Cheryl's and chatted with them for awhile. Then, I headed into to David's for lunch with his family and back home to see Grandma and Grandpa (Grandma left me a message that sounded like she was so disappointed to have missed Janell and I that I knew I had better stop by before David and I made the trip back home).

David and I finally headed West at around 4 p.m. With eight hours to drive, that put us home around midnight and we were both beat - especially after spending what seemed like the entire weekend in a car.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend and felt great to be able to spend a little bit of time at home. I'm actually looking forward to the end of the month in hopes that I can make the trip again.

I suppose that's it for tonight - you know me, I can't spend too much time on the computer - it's Deadliest Catch night. Oh, Mike Rowe....