It's been so long since I updated this thing, I forgot my password.

My bad. I don't know if it's just that I've been busy. Or just lazy. Or some of both.

In the meantime, my oldest child is now certifiably a teenager, having turned 13 on November 22nd. She and her friend rang in their teen-ness with a dance. It sure wasn't like I remembered from junior high. We used to stand together in little girl and boy-only packs and start to dance an hour or two into the thing. These kids got out and danced from minute one and never stopped. I kept trying to sneak peeks at who my girl was dancing with without looking like I was doing so. I never did make out who was who. They all look the same in the dark. Anna had a great time though and I think it's something she'll always remember, which is what I'd hoped it would be.

Emma's having a birthday get-together tomorrow night at the Festival of Lights Xmas event here. It's going to be freezing cold, but I guess that goes with the theme, huh? Sucks for me though.

My Christmas shopping is almost done, and I'm going to keep how much money I spent on the down-low. Just doing my part to stimulate the economy down here, right?

Our tree is up, Xmas decorations in the yard and cards on the way. I think I'm actually ahead a little this year. Maybe after Emma's party, I can sit back and relax some.

This has been one boring post, but hey, at least I got back on the wagon.

Thankful Tuesday

Yes, I still do have this blog. I'm just very neglectful lately. Work has been one busy place, and home life isn't so slow either. Can you believe my oldest will be 13 in 10 short days? Shit, how did that happen?

Thought I'd be thankful for today. I had a holiday for Veteran's Day today and had a nice day off.

Today, I'm thankful for . . .

1.) A beautiful Veteran's Day mass today at Emma's school. 'Paw-Paw' came to represent the Air Force.

2.) Having a John M. day because he was the only one home with me.

3.) Seeing Madagascar 2 with above boy.

4.) My mom for always being there for me.

5.) My sister; we definitely had ups and downs and now I feel like we're on an 'up'.

6.) Mark helping around the house consistently for the first time like . . . ever.

7.) Anna and Emma spending time with their little brother and liking it.

8.) Pecan season

9.) Warm afternoons

10.) Holidays!

Hope you're having a good fall.

Thoughts at 11:11pm on a Monday

1.) A little bit of Putt-Putt never hurt nothin'.

2.) I need to go to sleep or I'll never get up at the butt-crack of dawn for work.

3.) I really should go and blow-dry my hair or my new short 'do is gonna look really Maw-Maw in the morning.

4.) Dee-Dee, can you stop the howling? I mean, really.

5.) What am I going to get everyone for Christmas?

6.) Should I go in the pantry and scout something out for a midnight snack?

7.) I wonder why I can't lose any weight...

8.) This 'office' (read: room full of junk) looks a lot better in the pitch dark.

9.) How'd it get to be almost November already?

10.) I need to go buy that Kenny Chesney CD ...

Good night.

A Sunday Morning With John M.

Grateful Friday

1.) Carousels (and 'little' girls who are not too big for them yet).

2.) Friday night high-school football games with my family.

3.) Playing the Wii with my boy.

4.) Small town life.

5.) Bananas for breakfast.

6.) Cheaper electricity bills!

That last way may just be due to the fact that we were without power for a quarter of the month, but I'm going to take what I can get.
We're having great cooler weather down here. It's been really nice. Anyone wanna come down and visit?

Four!

My baby is four years old today.
In celebration, here's a list of four reasons why I love John M. being 4:

1.) John, you love to prove to me that you're a big kid and can do things. Example: "Mom, I'm big so I can sweep that up for you!". Go for it, boy!

2.) You're starting to learn all of your letters and love to spell things for
me, although you always do it from right to left. When you see a stop sign, you
say 'P-O-T-S' and I say right, 'Pots!'. We'll clear that up one day.

3.) You're big enough to want to pour your own drink, but not yet too big for
me to scoop you up and hug you for a good long while.

4.) You make me things now; cards, signs, all sorts of artwork and I want to
keep all of it to remind me of how perfectly sweet you are at this age.

I was planning on doing a list of four reasons why four is probably going to
be a pain in the butt, but let's just end it on a positive note, why don't we?

I love you, my boy, for four million reasons.

Love,

Mom (even from right to left, it's still me)

Not the Diary I want it to be

This blogging thing lately has not been what I set out for it to be. It's supposed to be a diary of sorts, something for my children to read one day and remember what we were doing at any given point and time. I haven't been doing that. Everything gets in the way.

As I sat here and finally downloaded the pictures from the past month or so from my camera, I realized all that I've been missing out on 'writing in my diary'. And telling my kids in the future. And telling YOU.

For starters, we did a semi-remodel of our house over the summer. We had all of the rooms painted, enclosed our garage to make a family room, added a carport on the back of the house and replaced all of our carpet with wood floors. I took some pictures. Here's a couple. I really love the way it turned out; it's pretty boring now because most of the pictures aren't hung on the walls, so there's much bareness.
Is that a word? Oh yeah, and while we were on vacation in June, Mark built John M. a loft over his bed. Yep, he just threw this together one week. I knew there was a reason I married that man!

We took the kids fishing before the hurricanes set in. We caught the most fish I've ever caught on a fishing trip. Not saying much, but hey. All in all, I think there were over 30 of them. Guess who caught the biggest?

Anna's cheering is in full swing. It's definitely keeping us all busy, but when I see her out there doing her thing, I love it. She has a smile that can't be beat. I may not see it enough in these 'tween' years, but when I do, it melts my heart.


Emma got her ears pierced 3 weeks ago, something that's she's been deathly afraid of doing for years. She was very nervous, but after the first 'gunshot', she looked at all of us like, 'So, what was the big deal?'. She's anxiously awaiting the day when she can wear a new pair of earrings.


I'm going to try and keep this posting up more frequently. Please help me to keep it going! If you're on Facebook, write on my wall and give me a nudge in the right direction. Or just email me and tell me to get it in gear.

Whew, now I feel better!

Post-Gustav Musings

Hurricane Gustav has come and gone and hopefully Ike will stay away. I think the last hurricane that affected me personally this much was Andrew back when I was fresh out of college and living in Baton Rouge. Katrina and Rita were huge for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, but not horrible for me.

Gustav made sure we would never forget him. It sounded like the wind was going to blow the house down, John M's swingset collapsed, my mom's pool looked like a swamp and our yards looked like doomsday had struck. It took A LOT of cleanup and it was baking hot, we were without power for 8 days, and groceries were hard to come by. Oh yeah, and Mark's barn blew away. In the end, our house had no major damage and everyone was safe.

The funny thing is, most of our time after the storm (we were off of work for a week) was good. Why? I'll make a short list.

1.) We spent it together, with my mom, and my sister and her family. The kids played in the puddles, made lots of play dough art, and laughed a lot.

2.) We got back to basics. I cooked 3 meals a day (well, for a while, until McDonald's reopened!) We hung clothes out on the line to dry. I think I'm gonna leave my clothesline up; I found that I loved having one.

3.) The storm brought a little cool weather for a couple of days. There was a nice breeze blowing off the lake and for 2 nights, we slept with the windows open and had to cover up with 2 blankets. Amazing, when the usual September weather is in the 90s.

4.) When things started to get back to normal we appreciated things we usually take for granted. Mostly air conditioning!

Now, let's all cross our fingers that Gustav's friends leave us alone and I can use my clothesline because I want to, not out of necessity. I'm off to buy some clothespins . . .

Stormy

Gustav is on his way.

Thank goodness for Mark otherwise I'd be totally unprepared. I'm more the 'It's not gonna be that bad' type. We're pretty far inland so we usually get some wind and rain, but nothing really bad. That's the way to jinx us, huh? Knocking on my head right now.

I'm also Mrs. Last Minute and went to the store in my hometown today at 1:00, only to find that had closed up shop at 12:00. You snooze, you lose.

We do have a few batteries, a couple of working flashlights, a generator, and lots of junk food. Isn't that all you need?

I'll check in after Gustav leaves town.

Oh, and the book giveaway. The lucky winner is Cheryl! And it's her birthday weekend too! Cheryl, send your mailing address to me (frogola69@yahoo.com) and the book will be coming your way.

Want to win a book?

Do you like getting free stuff? Is the sky blue? Are you watching Olympic swimming competitions just to check out the guys’ hot bodies? Okay, so ‘yes’.

I’m joining in a little game started by Kia at ‘Good Enough Mama’. She had a children’s book giveaway, and I won a free book. Go me. So, now it’s up to me to ‘pay it forward’ and give a book of my own (or of John M’s own). Poor child doesn’t even know I’m raiding his bookshelf.

I’ve chosen the book, ‘Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale’. Sorry, I couldn’t part with the original ‘Rainbow Fish’ because it’s one of my favorites (oh yeah, I mean one of John M.’s favorites). I think ‘Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale’ is the third in the series and its lesson is one of seeing past physical differences and acceptance. It’s a sweet story and has beautiful artwork. And did I mention, it’s FREE!

If you would like to win it, for your kid (or yourself), you need to leave a comment. It doesn’t have to be about why you want the book, just any old comment will do. ‘I love cheese’, etc.

On Sunday August 31st, I will put all of the entrants’ names in a bowl and have John M. choose the winner.

If you’re the winner, you get the book and you get to ‘pay it forward’ with a book giveaway of your own. And maybe I’ll win yours and we can start this whole process again. Won’t that be fun?

Bits of Thanks

I notice these days I offer lots of short prayers, recognizing small things I’m thankful for during the day.

My mini-prayers usually go something like this ‘Thank you Lord for (fill in the blank here) being able to pick
Anna up from cheerleading’. Or ‘Thank you God for letting me find that (fill in the blank here) I was looking
for.’

I feel silly for doing it sometimes, but I figure a small prayer to recognize something good is better than no prayer at all. For someone who rarely makes it to church for one reason or another, it’s a step in the right direction.

I wonder, does anyone else do this? Let me know.

(The teachers at John’s school take pictures during the week and post them. He tends to look a little worried in each one.)

7th, 5th, Pre-School

Regrets

Any month, Any day, 2003

Dear Renee,

I know the girls make you crazy sometimes, fighting, arguing, not leaving your side for more than a couple of minutes at a time, whining, saying 'Mamaaaa' until you want to scream.

I know that sometimes it just seems like one more chore to go next door and visit with your grandparents and find out what's going on with their lives.

It's just a little too easy to walk across the yard and go and hang out with your mom and dad. You take it for granted every single day of your life.

But, one day all too soon, in just a few short years, so much of it will be taken away from you. So many of the people who formed who you are today will be gone. So will the innocence of your little girls; them needing you and wanting to spend every second with you. Don't take it for granted.

One day, very soon you'll want it all back so badly, it'll hurt your heart to think of how it used to be.

John's Wish

You know that big, blue octopus? Oswald.
We were watching that last night; Oswald had a wish coming to him so he was consulting all of his animal friends on what his wish should be and what they
would wish for.

John M. looks at me with this 'duh' expression on his face and says 'Well, I'd
wish for a big, big, big slip and slide that went all the way to the sky'. He
seemed to be thinking 'Why does Oswald even have to think about it? Doesn't
everyone want one of those?!'.

Vacation.Over.Big Frown

We made it back from San Antonio a few days ago. So, my first vacation without Mark, and with all 3 kids went better than expected. Except for long, hyper John-nights in the hotel room. He left with a skinned up knee, busted lip, and a foot bo-bo also. Boys, huh?

The girls loved the virgin daiquiris by the pool and all of the kids loved the S'mores on the fire pits at the hotel.

I'm ready to go back again. Is that wrong?

Flying Solo

We're leaving for vacation Saturday. This is the first vacation where I've taken all of the kids without Mark. He has no earned vacation time at his new job, so it's just me and the kids. We're not going far, but I'm still a little nervous about it. Mostly, the drive and locating things. Directions are not my thing. In fact, I have absolutely NO sense of direction. Thank God for our trusty little GPS Magellan. I'm hoping he helps me out.

So, wish us luck.

Hopefully, we'll party like this cat up top!

I . . . (stolen from Cheryl)

I am: burnt out with work lately. I need a vacation (or possibly early retirement!)
I think: I need a margarita to help me feel better.
I thank: God that my family is healthy and happy.
I know: that my kids are growing up way too fast.
I wish: I could lose those 6 lbs. I just discovered I gained.
I hate: obnoxious people.
I miss: my friend, Jolie.
I feel: hungry!
I shop: online way too often. I started Xmas shopping today.
I crave: a big Ol' Timer burger from Chili's with fries and jalapenos!
I wonder where my lost pair of sandals are.
I dream: about seeing my Daddy again.
I love: my Guitar Heros on the right.
I always: eat too much.
I sing: to my Sugarland CDs in my car.
I cry: way too often.
I don't always: make my bed, wash the dishes in the morning, etc.
I write: with my left hand.
I pray: in my car on the way to work.
I lose: sandals, apparently.
I listen: to my girls' music because they make me!
I am scared: of the dark.
I dance: like a spastic chicken.
I need: hugs from my kids.
I surf: WAY TOO MUCH.
I dread: the dentist.
I anticipate: summer vacation!
I laugh: a lot. People around me crack me up.

Are you still around? If so, Wake UP! It's over now.

Lookout Summer, Here We Come!

As you probably know, SUMMER is my favorite time of year. Yes, it's steaming hot down here, but for a woman with the body temperature of a king snake, this is a good thing.

I thought I'd make a little list of things I hope the summer has in store:

- lots of days at the pool

- popsicle after popsicle

- some rainy days for splashing in puddles

- a day or two at our local water park

- oh, feasting on some Dippin' Dots at the above water park

- a nice, relaxing vacation

- another trip (or two!) to the beach

- backyard barbecues!

- some tubing on the lake for the kids (I'll watch from the boat!)

- taking the boy fishing

Here's to summer!

Beach Bums

We spent Memorial Day at the beach. The weather was nice, the breeze was great and the kids had lots of fun. Hope y'all had a great Memorial Day!

Mud Puppies

A couple of weeks ago, we had lots of rain. Which, in my yard, equates to a lot of mud puddles.

This is what happened next.

8 years down . . .

Only 6 more left.

No longer an elementary girl.

Sniff, sniff.

Yes, I did cry a couple of times on graduation day.

It's 8 minutes into Mother's Day 2008

and I'm reading blogs.

Can't sleep. I was looking back at my posts from last summer when I noticed I had done a 'John M likes' post. I haven't done another one of those in a coon's age (Lord, I'm no Dooce, huh?), so I thought I'd give it a go.

Some of my boy's favorite things at the age of 44 months:

1.)As of last weekend, swimming in the pool. At the mention of it, he starts jumping around, saying 'I'm so 'cited!!' and asking for his life jacket.

2.) Any kind of animal, including bugs. We went to a Wildlife Center today and he loved every second of it.

3.) The Wii. His new favorite game is Mario Karts. He loves to be Bowser because he's 'strong and has big muscles'.

4.) Singing in the car. His sisters and I have him singing all of our favorites, Kenny, Sugarland, and I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T!

5.) Playing in the dirt. I think this one has been on the list for a while. Piles of dirt are his favorite.

6.) Riding his new John Deere tractor. He loves it.

7.) Painting, coloring, playing with play-dough, cutting, gluing, you name it. He's an arts and crafts junkie. He's also starting to write his letters. Woo-hoo.

8.) Oh! How could I forget this one? Picking flowers. Or cutting them with his little mini-scissors. He loves to pick them and give them to me. The only problem is the stem is usually about 1/2 inch long. It's hard to put them in a vase like that.

9.) Picking (and eating) blackberries. Yum.

10.) Watching 'Sky High', 'The Jungle Book', 'Cat in the Hat', and 'Mickey's Great Clubhouse Hunt', not necessarily in that order.

And can I say, that age 3 is my favorite age? He cracks me up on a regular basis. And he's so sweet, I could hug him all day long. He's even somewhat independent, so I can get some things done around the house. I really don't want age 3 to end. And he starts school in 3 short months. Unbelievable.

I love you, John M. You're my best boy.

What I don't talk about

I don't have a 'tell-all' blog.

It's supposed to be a diary of my life. Something for me to look back at
when the kids are grown.

But it's definitely an edited version.

I guess because I worry about the people that I know. I mean really KNOW that read it.

I want to keep certain things to myself, because if I share too much, they'll know that my life is far from perfect.

I want to put it all out there to share with you. Well, not ALL but more.

I decided to start tonight and share something that I 'don't talk about'.

I perpetually feel like I don't fit in. Maybe it all stems from elementary school. I can distinctly remember not fitting in, as early as first grade. I had friends, but I usually felt like I had to try hard to be what I thought they wanted me to be. This continued all throughout my school years, and ended up with me being painfully shy, even through high school.

I've outgrown most of my shyness; I've never outgrown the insecurity. The feeling that I won't be liked for who I am. The feeling that people would rather be talking to someone else. The feeling that I'm not interesting. Or smart enough.

At the age of 38, I feel like I should be more comfortable with who I am and say 'screw it' to anyone who doesn't like or accept me. But I can't shake the insecurity many times.

I've made strides with just being who I am, not trying to be something else for someone else, because I think that's what they want or expect or need. I have hopes that this will make me feel more accepted and liked for truly who I am. The truth is most times, it just makes me feel different. Alone. Misunderstood.

But, at the same time, in doing that, I do feel better about myself.

That will have to do, even if I don't ever really 'fit in'.

Grateful Friday

So grateful . . .

- that it's finally Friday!

- for those green eyes above

- for warm summerish days

- to be going on a mini-vacation in two weeks

- for packages of goodies coming in next week (that I ordered this week!)

- for my Agapanthus about to bloom any day now

- that there's only 2 1/2 weeks of school, homework, etc. left for the year!

- for getting to watch Emma at archery class yesterday. Yet one more thing my kids can do that I never learned how.

- for Anna's graduation dress problem being solved.

- for everyone in my family being healthy.

Hope y'all have a great weekend. It's gonna be a wet one here.

The Graduate

How did I end up with a child going into 'high school'?

Actually middle school, but it's considered part of high school, and
definitely not elementary.

Anna graduates next month. There's a ceremony and a party afterwards.
And a dress and shoes and gifts. And I'm not ready. I mean, I guess I'm 'ready'
as in, we have the dress and I'm working on the gifts. I'm not ready mentally
is the thing. She's gone into 'grown-up' mode, wanting to stay by herself, not
go to the 'babysitters' house, etc. Hell, she even talks about driving!
She's only 12!!

I remind myself that she is no longer a 'little kid' and I have to learn to let
go. I just prefer to do it grad-u-a-ll-y...

I'm making her an elementary years scrapbook for her graduation gift. Above is a
little montage I'm working on for it. If you have any good gift ideas, for a 12-year-
old going on 21, please throw them at me.

I wish . . .

John M likes to 'I wish' lately.

It's his passive aggressive toddler way of stating what he really wants, but won't go the full nine in asking for.

He also has a fascination with cops lately, or as he calls them 'po-lice offiters'.
At first, he saw them as 'bad guys' and he was afraid of them (probably because I mostly refer to them in fear, like 'Oh s&!#, a cop, let me slow down before they catch me!').

But I explained to him that po-lice offiters are really there to keep us safe. He asked me how they keep us safe. I told him that if someone tried to steal him, the po-lice offiters would arrest that person and put them in jail.

That had him thinking for a little while.

Then he says, 'I wish someone would try to take me but real slow.'

Me: 'What?!'

He said, 'Real slow, mama. Then, the po-lice offiter would have time to get there and save me.' And then, you see, he could meet the elusive offiter, but still not actually be stolen.

Works for me, as long as I don't get that speeding ticket.

Grateful Sunday

Okay, so I missed 'Grateful Friday' and 'Thankful Thursday', alright?

Today was a good day; nothing particularly spectacular happened, but it just felt nice and balanced. That's what I strive for each day, 'balance' and I do appreciate it when I feel like I've achieved it.

We spent the weekend in Gonzales at an Arabian horse show that Mark entered one of his horses in. We stayed in my brother-in-law's RV and it was crowded and COLD, but nice. Nice to get away, and nice to be together. We got back this morning, and I spent time with John M. at the park and the lake feeding the ducks. I caught up on some housework and visited my sister and her kids. Mark spent some much needed kid-time with all the kids the entire weekend, and I felt like it gave he and I some much needed peace.

So, I'm thankful for balance, thankful for family, and thankful that I had time to do this post.

Long Time, No Post

I didn't realize it had almost been a month since I've posted. It's been busy.
Anna just wrapped up her softball season, and Emma is just starting hers. Anna's well into the volleyball season, and just made the cheerleading squad for next year. That's all we need, one more thing to do.

We had a fishing rodeo last week and John M. loved it. That's where the pic comes from. I've found that Emma and John are like me (so far) and enjoy fishing, minus the putting the live bait on and taking the fish off the hook. Does the remainder even count as fishing? I say it does. Although, I did, for the first time in my 38 years bait the hook with 3 crickets! (I got tired of asking the 10-year olds to do it for me).

Springtime is here and I'm loving the warm weather. I think it's finally here to stay. I'm trying to work a little on getting my bleach-white legs a tad darker.
So, basically this is a boring post about nothing, but hey, at least I broke my non-posting streak.

Not Quite Joan

The ‘bad mom’ blues have me down some lately. Not on a ‘Mommy Dearest’ level, but just feeling neglectful.
I have this continuous feeling that I can’t give everyone what they need. I can give them little bits and pieces of time, and maybe a bigger chunk every now and then, but not enough. I guess there’s never enough time. That’s what it boils down to. Between hauling kids from activity to activity and trying to keep the house just a tiny bit organized, every minute is reserved for something. Oh, and then there’s school. We can’t forget about that, even though lately that seems to fall between the cracks. Priorities a little screwy here?

I feel the need to get back on track. Maybe just a little, nothing crazy. I need a day off from work and from the kids. I feel the need to organize. My thoughts and my space. Anyone offering to come over and help?

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Or maybe I just need a long bath . . .

Whassup

So, it's almost March, eh? I hope, with March, comes warm weather. Lasting warm weather, not just the little teases we've been getting.

Anna's softball season is in full swing now and I don't like to watch ball games with hard nipples. I'd much rather sweat.

In other news, my house is in disarray. We had to basically rebuild the front wall of our house because of moisture damage. Which led to having to spray for termites. And the destruction of all of our landscaping (which was pretty ugly anyway). And having to re-drywall part of John's room. Which leads to repainting. Oh yeah, and the floors are just half done in various rooms. It's lovely, let's just leave it at that.

In order to make myself feel better, I'm starting to plan a summer vacation. Any ideas?

I think we need a new farm animal . . .

Drumroll please . . .


















Cows . . . check
Horses . . . check
Donkey named Toto . . . check
Goats . . . not yet, but any minute now. Mark has goats on the brain.

So, tell me, what's a good name for a cute wee goat like this?

Little Pieces of Time

You know what I've noticed lately?

That I spend too much time feeling guilty about not enough time spent with each of my kids.

But a little chunk of time with each goes a long way.

Today, I spent the day home with John because he was sick. So he got a big piece of my time.

I had Mark get Emma from the babysitter's after school b/c I couldn't leave with John. I felt a little guilty b/c I hadn't really talked to her all day.

I brought her to basketball practice shortly after she got back and we talked pretty much non-stop the whole way there and back. About school, her 4-H project, friends, haircuts that we're getting tomorrow . . . And BOOM, just like that, I felt back in touch with her and so in love with her. And hopefully, she felt the same way.

Then, I wondered why I felt guilty in the first place.

(Now, Anna has been gone ALL day but that's another story that involves a 12-year old's non-stop social life)

Gratitude Friday

I read Martie's post this morning and decided it was time that I do another one of these myself.

I'm thankful for:

- my girls' happiness at school. They both basically have nice, good-natured friends who they can count on to help them out and be there when they need them. They've had very little bullying and 'mean-girl' syndrome.

- John's daycare caregivers. I've mentioned Sam and Mike before; they provide such a great place for John to be during the day. They're like an extra set of grandparents for him, and the bonus is there's always lots of other kids there for him to play with.

- the general kindness of strangers. People letting me in, when I'm in traffic, holding doors open, going out of their way to help when they don't have to. (yes, a very nice man let opened two doors for me when my hands were full, on the way in this morning).

- my husband's sense of humor. He's been making me laugh this week talking about his new experiences with his new job.

- my mom helping out with all of my kids' school projects. Thanks God for her when creating Anna's family tree!

- a job where I can take off an hour here and there when I need to, b/c Lord knows that happens a lot.

- coupons! I'm about to use one right now to save on the latest school project for Emma.

That's all for now; Anna is on her way to see Hannah Montana tonight. She's so excited!

I hope y'all have a great weekend.

**updated 1:21a.m. Saturday. I'm making an addition to this entry. I'm thankful to God for keeping my girl safe. On the way to the concert (about 75 miles away), on a very rainy drive, the car she was in hydroplaned, spun out of control on the interstate and hit the guard rail. Everyone involved was very shaken up, but thank God, no one was hurt. She called me crying saying all she wanted to do was come home. That call was followed, about 5 minutes later by a happy call saying the police were there and she felt safer. Cue Mark to go pick her up, followed by a call saying he was taking the whole crew to the concert. They had a great time and got home safely about an hour ago. Thank you, Lord for watching over my family and thank you Mark for making your girl a happy one. Oh, and for sitting through an entire Hannah Montana concert.

Just to get out of the slump

Okay, so my mom requested a new post because she's tired of looking at my ass. Since she is one of my total of 10 readers, I'm going to comply with her request.

So, does this post have to have a point? I suppose not. What's on my mind lately? Unfortunately, what's been on my mind this week is sickness, death, and the uncertainty of what the future holds. Cheery, eh?

The reason for this is news that I've heard in the last several days; a friend's husband just learned that he has leukemia (he's just 33) and a former co-worker was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has only a few months to live. Both of these things hit me hard. It's a reminder of how fragile life is, how quickly things can change, and how we should appreciate every moment that things are good. Of course, that's not going to happen. I'm still going to get annoyed at day-to-day things like the car dealership taking forever to fix my car, finding baby mice that took up residence in my closet, and whatnot. So, let's scratch the 'every moment' from that thought, and just say 'more often'.

I'm going to work on recognizing the good things in my life and living by one of my favorite phrases 'Count your blessings, not your troubles'. Oh, and praying more b/c that's truly the only way that I feel have the slightest bit of control over anything.

That's it for now. I forgot to post a 'Happy Birthday' to my mom. She's just 26, if your dyslexic. I love you, Mom! Even more than my ass.

My ass

Well, actually it's my kids' ass, but here she is.

This is what happens when the kids join Mark at a livestock auction and some yahoo decides to sell a donkey dirt cheap.

John named her 'Toto'.

She is pretty cute though, don't you think?

Me in 2008

Happy 2008! (check me out on the left there; I wanted to post a picture of myself for this post and I have so few, so this is it, folks).

I've tried to think of an idea for a 'New Year' post, but couldn't really come up with something specific, so I thought I'd just jot down a few things I'd like to work on in the next year (or possibly forever).

- being more positive and complaining less.
- listening to others more and REALLY listening, not halfway
- spending more quality time with Mark and the kids
- eating more healthy foods
- decreasing the amount of 'stuff' that I have. Getting rid of the excess.
- reading more

I'm sure there are many more but those are the first that came to mind. Oh, and saving more money. But, I always say that and it never happens so ...

I hope 2008 has been good for you so far.