Thursday, January 31, 2008

Not feeling very well

I got the stupid flu that The Prince had last week. I've got a fever, a cough and really bad body aches. :-( Hopefully, tomorrow will be better, and I'll get back to posting here. I'm starting to really love my blog.

Blessings to you.

Monday, January 28, 2008

On the weight loss front

I forgot to mention that I got some good exercise today! When I went to bed last night, I thought, "You really must get up and take the dog for a walk tomorrow. It's not supposed to rain, so you have no excuse." When I woke up, I had the same thought. It took me about an hour to get it all together, but out the door I went at about 10:30. Man, it was cold. Now, those of you in the mid-west and northern U.S., don't scold me. It wasn't cold enough to snow, or even have ice on stuff. It was cold for Southern California.

There was a cold wind blowing in my face, and big, dark, ominous looking clouds coming in my direction. I hesitated, then called my mother-in-law. I asked her if she would come rescue me if it started raining while I was walking. She said she would, so I kept going. I wanted to go to the post office and back (which is only about a mile from my house).

I dropped the mail, and turned around. The good thing was, I kept up a brisk pace due to being cold and because I didn't want to get rained on!

The doggie and I made good time. We were only about 5 houses away from home when it started to rain! We ran the rest of the way. :-)

Then, since it never did really rain hard, I got motivated to do some weeding in our backyard. I don't know if I've mentioned before that we did construction 5 or so years ago, and our backyard never recovered. It's concrete, dirt and weeds...(Marilyn, here is where you cover the computer screen while your hubby is in the room) and a 1,000 sq. ft. garage. Oh, yeah, I did mention this before. :-)

The soil is very soft and moist because of all the rain, so I spent about an hour pulling up all the green stuff back there. I didn't finish, but I was out of breath, so I figured I probably burned a few calories. Yay me!

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled program.

I've been tagged!

Toni tagged me for this meme. This should be fun!

Here are the rules:

1. You must post the rules before you give your answers.
2. List one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name).
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and that they need to read your blog for details).

A Actively seeking Christ. Could also stand for Anxiety. I haven't been able to get over it lately.
N Need a haircut (well, actually, just a trim).
G Gotta have chocolate - one little piece of dark chocolate, most days.
E Eclectic homeschooler. Meaning, a little of this, a little of that.
L Like to laugh (I wouldn't be married to Gearhead if he couldn't make me laugh. I would have killed him by now.) :-)
E Eyebrows need waxing. :-)

Sorry, y'all. I don't think I was very good at this one. Two of the six have to do with personal hygiene! *sigh*

I hope you come back after reading this drivel!

Okay, I tag...
Lady T
Tigerlilly
Daja
Elisa
Christine
Marilyn

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Hairy situation

So, I told y'all about The Princess and our adventures in hair color. Thought I'd give you some pictures to ponder.

I loved the red. She had it during her play (see pics from "A Christmas Carol.") Her blue eyes really popped with the red.


Here she looks a little emo. For those of you folks who don't know what "emo," is, let me elaborate. Emo is short for emotional. You've seen those kids who have their hair dyed black, hanging in front of their faces, wearing black skinny jeans. Another notable about emo kids is, you can't tell the girls from the boys. The Princess is not emo, she just plays one on t.v. Not really.


And here she is after a misadventure with some curlers. She has naturally curly hair. This is the result when she uses foam curlers overnight. I kinda think she looks like Harpo Marx.


I tried to upload a pic of the very quiet Harpo, but I couldn't make it work. That's okay. The black helicopters would probably rain down on me, and you'd never hear from me again...


This is kind of a very scary picture of me, for several reasons. This is the first day I dyed my hair brown from blonde. I had very dark circles under my eyes, and no makeup, except that I did remember to darken my eyebrows. I also look like I want to kill someone. I don't, but it looks like it.

I like that my eyes look green. They are usually hidden behind my glasses. So, now you know what I look like - sort of. Sorry to do this to you on a Saturday. :-)

Friday, January 25, 2008

Sick, sick, sick

The Prince has a fever, The Princess has a sore throat, and I'm not handling it very well. I don't know why. I just want to run away. When I'm sick, I prefer to be left alone, so I don't coddle the kids a lot when they're sick. However, they want to be coddled, and I don't wanna.

I finally got some work. After a month of no work. On the day that my kids are sick. What are the chances? I felt horrible driving away this morning while The Prince was coughing up a lung. Fortunately, both the jobs I had were quick, so I wasn't away very long. And I made some moola - always a good thing.

Can you tell I'm stressed? Even my writing is weird.

I think I'm sick, too. Sick of thinking and talking about this possible Texas move. Sick of living here. And yet, God gave me some bright, shiny moments today and yesterday.

I was out at 5:30 p.m. yesterday to take The Prince to guitar. There was no traffic. It was rush hour in So Cal. The cars were going speed limit. I'm not complaining, but it was surreal.

We also had a field trip yesterday to a nearby university. The kids learned about rain forests, the animals that live there, the plants that grow there. It was neat. I am afraid, however, that going in and out of humid, warm buildings into the very cold outdoors probably pushed the kids over the edge, health-wise.












































After the field trip, we hit a Wendy's with our friends. And what follows is a picture of one of the sweetest babies in the whole, wide world. The Prince has dubbed her "Our Little Ray of Sunshine." I call her "Sugar," 'cuz she's that sweet. She has three older siblings that adore her, in addition to her mommy and daddy. Those cheeks get smooched many, many times everyday.

I took an entire series of pictures of this little darling. One of the blessings of our homeschool group is that there are many young families, so I get my baby fix on a regular basis now. :-) You saw all those cute little boys the other day, right?


Thank you, Jesus, for "E."





I avoided traffic today, as well. I only cussed once when a guy in a truck sped up on me as I was trying to change lanes. I may eventually be able to put a fish on my car, at this rate!

Both my jobs went incredible smoothly, and the clients were all very kind, and nice to talk with. That is another blessing. I hate it when people are snotty or just plain boring. Additionally, I made double the money on one job because it entailed more work than they previously told me. So, yay me!

And, I got a close-up view of some snow today! The area I was working in is at a little higher elevation than we are here, and the snow was just a few miles away on the foothills - I took pictures with my camera phone, but you couldn't really see it very well. Then, as I was driving home on the freeway, a mini-van with snow piled on top was chugging down the freeway. Made me smile. See, I'm counting my blessings and feeling better already.

I'm off to cook a roast. I know, I know, it's almost 8 p.m. on a Friday. We have tons of leftovers from the past few days of cooking, but I got an awesome deal on a roast because it had to be sold by today. I just don't want to leave it uncooked, so I'm going to make Herb-Crust Chuck Roast. I let you know how it comes out.

This is turning into a long post.

I have to tell you something incredible. Ready? I GOT MY FIRST BLOG AWARD!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not thrilled or anything...OKAY, YES, I AM!!! It's a kindness award from my bloggie girlfriend, Sniz. Isn't she the bomb?! I have to put the little label on my blog, which I will do since she sent me instructions. However, after reviewing this post, she may take the award back. How kind could I be if I want to escape when my kids are sick instead of lovingly caring for them? *sigh* Maybe I'll wait on posting the label until she sees this post. :-)

Have a beautiful weekend!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Busy day!

Got up this morning to a phone call from a company I do work for occasionally (infrequently is more like it these days). The job I had for this morning changed to Friday morning. Okay, good.

Then I got rolling, the Prince arose from his slumber, and I spent too much time on the computer looking at blogs. :-) The Princess I let sleep in. She's been under the weather with a sore throat and headache for a few days.

I had an 11:00 job, which took all of five minutes. Came back home and tried to get stuff done here. I actually washed a window *gasp*. I feel like the house is shaping up a bit (and staying shaped up), for the first time. My dining room table is somewhat cleaned off, as is the bar in between the kitchen and the dining room. And the kitchen counters are wiped off more regularly, and don't have as much stuff on them, probably because I'm cooking more than I ever have. All this can be attributed to the fact that I'm about 95% a stay-at-home mom now. My work (that used to take up about 25 hours a week) has slowed to less than a crawl, which is why the Gearhead is working so much.

I decided I'd better make some food to have here for the kids, as well as for Gearhead. The man tends to eat me out of house and home during the winter. Don't know why. I made Easy Garlic Chicken. It is soooo yummy! The whole house smelled like garlic.

Then, I had a 3:30 job...that took a stinkin' two hours. I really wish I could put sound effects on this blog. That one would sound like the "Psycho" theme.

Meanwhile, Gearhead was here at home watching three darling little boys. My friend, Daja, and her sweet hubby, Gana, had an event to attend tonight, and asked if we could watch their three middle kids. Man, they are fun. When I got home, they had been here for about an hour-and-a-half. They had already eaten, and were having sword fights with The Prince and his friend (who I enlisted to come over and help entertain the little ones). The boys were so very good. I got some good snuggle time in with them while we watched "Spy Kids 2" and "The Incredibles."










When Daja and Gana got here to pick them up, Gearhead went out to talk to Gana (who was waiting in the car with the baby). He told me later that he told Gana how great his kids behaved, and how much fun he had with them. It was really great to come home and find him laying on the floor with them, and feeding them, and making them feel at home.




That was my day! I hope your's had as many blessings as mine did!

Monday, January 21, 2008

I got in trouble for that last post...

The Gearhead was reading my blog last night, and gave me heck for not posting what kind of Harley he has. It's a 1950 Panhead. There, I said it.

Threw more stuff out today. Lots of stuff. Our trashcan lid is barely closing! Gearhead took a van-load full of clothes and other various and sundry...stuff to Goodwill. We keep the receipts and use them as charitable contribution write-offs. Gearhead doesn't like yard sales, so this is my alternative.

Texas update: The Gearhead's buddy that lives there is lining up some interview-type things while he's visiting. It will be interesting to see what comes of that. I still don't know how we'd manage his looking for a job while trying to sell our house here. I have to trust that God knows the details and will provide a buyer, even in this market, if He wants us to go.

I'm tired tonight. The Princess has a friend spend the night last night, and they stayed up late, then got up to watch "Titanic." Can't watch that movie without balling my eyes out. Just so ya know, I edited a few parts for the kids.

Okay, off to bed.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

I'm a copy cat

Heather over at OMSH recently wrote about her husband buying a new toy. Gearhead has his own toys (as boys will), but they're not new, in any way.














I think I said it on a comment on her blog - a man on a horse, and a man on a Harley - be still my heart.

This is the Gearhead just an hour or so ago. He went for a ride to a Harley store with a buddy. Our weather is really nice right now, and with rain looming on Monday (and beyond) he had to get the bike running and take it for a scoot. :-)

And if you have to know, the car is a 1931 Model A. It was the Gearhead's grandfather's, so it will probably move with us to Texas, if we go. He's actually out driving it around right now.

Sadly, I really don't get the whole love affair the Gearhead has with cars and motorcycles. Cars are a part of the culture here in Southern California, and it is definitely a big part of his life. Me? If it gets me from Point A to Point B, it's a good car.

He, on the other hand, built a very large garage for his projects and toys, which took up most of our backyard. It even has a full bathroom, office and loft for storage. It was as big as our house when he was done. Good thing he added a family room, bedroom and extended the kitchen, or I'd have been a tad put out!

The Prince is more into new cars ("Mom, that's an Enzo Ferrari!" "Hey, did you see that Porsche!"). This from the kid who wants to be a pastor when he grows up. Of course, it's an ongoing joke that he's going to be a "Pastor with a Porsche."

The Princess loves the "whee" cars, as in, "Wheeeeeee, this car is fast!!!" She loves to ride the bike with Gearhead, but I say a little prayer every time they take off. She actually rode to the desert on the back of a bike he rented last year! The Harley he has isn't for long distances. It's really hard on his back.

**************************************************************************************

I am so proud of my decluttering and tossing today. I tell ya, it's liberating. It's still really hard for me throw stuff, but it's so necessary.

Well, my brother is headed over here with his quad so that Gearhead can fix it, and he's bringing steak. I'd better get cooking!

Please visit Daja's blog

I mentioned World Vision's 30 hour Famine earlier. My homeschool friend, Daja, who is teaching the missions class for our homeschool group, has facilitated the kids joining the effort to feed starving children. Our kids are raising money between now and the end of February, when they will fast for a full 30 hours, while doing service projects.

Please visit Daja's blog when you have a chance. There is a slide show and more information about the 30 Hour Famine. I'm not politically minded, and I don't like asking for anything from other people. I do, however, believe in helping those that can't help themselves. 29,000 children die everyday from preventable causes, and I know that we can help.

Also, if you are so led, leave a link to Daja's blog from your blog. We want to raise as much money as we can. The kids are having a babysitting night on Valentine's Day (where they charge people to watch their kids, and the proceeds all go to World Vision), having a pizza day at Round Table (where they give a percentage of the proceeds to our group's effort), and other service projects to raise the money. The kids took on a pretty large pledge (between their individual pledges, and the group pledge), and I know that God can provide the way. Not only will this benefit children in other countries, but our children's faiths will be greatly increased on seeing what God can do when the faithful put feet to their faith.

Thank you so much, and my God richly bless you today.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Life is interesting

My friend, Terre, called me today. We are high school buddies, who re-connected in the past few years. It's been fun to get to know her again.

She had called a week or so ago, and I kept forgetting to call her. She tried me again today, just to say "Happy New Year." We got to talkin' and I mentioned the possible move to TX. She replied (as so many do) that she has a dear friend that moved out there about seven years ago, and they just love it. I told her that just about everyone I know knows someone who moved there from California!

She went on to say that this friend is a realtor! Well, since GH is going out there in a few weeks, I might just call her and see if she can show him some houses. My friend from TX will actually be here while GH is there, staying with her husband! How weird is that?

I put GH on the phone with Terre because she had interesting idea. Her friend enlists handymen to work on the homes she's trying to sell, or the homes that are sold and still need work to prepare them for the new homeowner. Seems I know a guy who's darn good at all things handy! So, I'm going to encourage GH to talk to Terre's friend, and just find out how much work she needs. GH's dream is to be self-employed, and that would certainly be way to do it. We'll just see.

It was just a regular day around here. The Princess FINALLY finished her room, so it's spiffy clean, including the closet. She had to call in "reinforcements," aka Grandma, to help her finish. My darling mother-in-law has a knack for organizing, so the kids will call her to help sometimes.

The Prince worked on school for awhile, then went to Missions Class at Daja's. They are learning about the 10/40 window (the part of the world where very few people know about Jesus), and are now focusing on the 30-Day Famine. They'll fast for 30 hours, but between now and then (at the end of February) they are raising money to feed the starving children of the world. Such a good exercise for our spoiled, American children.

Speaking of food, I spent a good long time making dinner, since The Princess had requested Chicken Chimichangas. They are soooo good. If you decide to make them and are using spicy salsa, don't add the chili powder. And, if you don't like Indian food, don't add the cumin and cinnamon. I have a salsa mix that is very spicy, so I just added a teaspoon of cumin, nothing else.

The Prince just got off the phone with his buddy in Texas. They played video games while talking. It was an interesting, and slightly disturbing conversation. I could hear both sides, because The Prince accidentally put the phone on speaker, then we couldn't figure out how to take it off.

Prince: Hey, what's up?
Friend: Nothin'.
Prince: What are you doing?
Friend: Playing my Wii.
Prince: Oh...*setting up video games*

It pretty much went back and forth like that until his friend's dad came on the phone to talk to me. The Prince loves to talk on the phone, but most boys his age couldn't care less. His friend will call and they talk for a few minutes, and his mom is always amazed he stays on the phone as long as he does. The Prince brings that out in people. :-)

Boring day here, I guess. Just the usual. I am making some headway on getting stuff out of the house. There is a huge pile of Goodwill stuff by the front door (our collection area), that GH needs to take in. It feels good to purge, even if we don't move.

My Little Prince

The Prince said his knee was hurting tonight before he went to bed, so I got him a cold pack and set him up in his bed so he wouldn't have to extend the knee. I'm not sure what he did to it. The poor kid wears orthotics in his shoes because his feet aren't just flat...they actually roll inward. I think he gets neck, back and knee pain from having such messed up feet.

Anyway, I prayed with him, and tucked him in. He said, "Mom, I'd really like to spend some time with just you. We had so much fun at Legoland that time! When can we just have time to sit and talk - you know - just you and me?" Be still my heart. Now, I've got to find a time when he and I can just hang out. I think I'll pen him in for Monday afternoon, since the Princess is at class.

Then, after I had him well on his way to dreamland, I went to pray with The Princess. She avoids going to bed at all costs (remember the Math incident?), so we talked for awhile. She pulled out the programs from four of her last six shows to show me all the autographs from her friends. Then she checked to see how many texts she'd used so far since 12/26. She said, "I'm not even going to tell you!" Well, I grabbed her phone and gasped! 2,768 texts! I told her her thumbs are going to fall off from texting so much! She's sure she's building muscle in those thumbs, and that that's a good thing. :-)

Then, after we prayed, she leaned over and gave me a big hug. I asked her "Do you know how much I love you?" She said, "A lot." I'm not buying that all teenagers become monsters, because so far, I've got a pretty good one. Then, as I was leaving her room, she got up and hugged me again for a long time.

My heart is full right now.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Hair

The Princess decided, oh, a number of months back that her beautiful medium blonde hair was passe, and that she wanted to go a reddish blonde. Off to Target we went to find some hair color. See, I never dyed my hair until I was older, but I figure if this is the worst she wants to do, at least it's reversible.

So, we're looking at hair color. And she keeps gravitating towards the blonde ones! I keep saying, "I thought you wanted a reddish color!" And she says, "A lighter blonde is sounding good!" Well, a "lighter blonde" turned into nearly platinum blonde! I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me.

A very few months later, she was trying out for "A Christmas Carol" and wanted to look more serious (very prejudicial that she didn't think blonde hair was "serious"). We dyed it back to close to her natural color. But, just a few weeks later, she wanted to dye it red. Oh, my. The red was GORGEOUS! If you look at the pictures from her play that I posted awhile back, that's her with red hair.

And then, just a few weeks after her play, she decided to go brown. Well, it really looked black at first, and lightened up a little. THEN, she wanted to go back to red. Unfortunately, the red turned her hair dark auburn, since her hair was so dark. She was less than thrilled. So, now we're going to gradually lighten her hair to get it ready for red again! What's that you say? Has her hair fallen out from over-processing? Nope. Can't believe it, either.

At the same time she went brown, so did I. My "natural" color is a medium brown, so that's what I did. I can't afford expensive blonde weaves anymore, so brown it is...and I actually like it. It needs to be re-done because the blonde is starting to show through. I have to darken my eyebrows and wear make-up (well, I should wear make-up, but I don't always), otherwise I look really pasty pale, but other than that, it's nice!

The Prince also has hair changes. The Princess talked him into straightening his hair. He's kept it very short for years, but is wanting to grow it out a bit. We are finding out that his hair is very wavy and thick, so it's growing up and all over the place rather than out. :-) She used the straightener and made it all lie down nicely, and he looks soooo cute! Yep, I've got to get some pictures uploaded.

The only one who looks the same is the Gearhead. He's a handsome devil, so why mess with success?! :-)

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Oops, skipped a day

I got so carried away visiting blogs of people who were leaving me comments, that I forgot to post yesterday!

I cannot tell you what a thrill it is to receive comments from everyone. I feel like I'm making all these new friends.

Okay, what's been up at our house? Well, I'm still battling the "raspin' gaggies and the clingin' heck tooheys." That's a quote from my dad. I don't think what I have is a cold, more like allergies. I'm tired of being tired.

I'd like to thank Stephanie for her encouraging comments the other day. She's on a weight loss journey, as well, and just had a milestone weigh-in! Congrats, girlfriend! I'm going to be visiting you to read those posts you mentioned in your comment. I do need the encouragement right now. Seems I'm not eating enough, though. Since my nose has been plugged, I can't taste anything, and I just forget to eat. I've noticed if I don't eat enough, weight loss comes to a complete halt, and sometimes I even gain a little! Doesn't seem fair.

Stephanie needs a tutorial on how to post a link, so here goes. When I did the link to your blog, above, I first typed your name, and left a few spaces after it. Then, I went to your blog and moved my cursor into the url box. Then I right clicked and clicked on "copy." Then, I went back to my blog, where I was doing this post. I highlighted your name, then hit the little button on the toolbar that is next to the "T" with the color chart. It kinda looks like little links overlapping a picture of the world. It asks for a url, so I right clicked and then clicked on "paste," then hit "okay." Voila, you have a link. I'm not very good at explaining things usually, so I hope you can figure it out from what I said!

I've laid down the law with my kids. I told them all activities are OFF until their rooms get cleaned. The Prince got a used mini-fridge for Christmas (GH got it for free from a friend), and it's been sitting in my family room since then! It's supposed to go in his room. For some reason, he just loves the idea of getting a drink out of his own fridge when his friends are over. He also wants to buy his own tv so he can play video games in his room. Since we don't watch tv, I'm fine with that, but he has to buy his own tv. We've been looking on Craig's List, and there are alot of full size tvs for sale for cheap! Since he's the money kid. he already has the funds. he just needs his mom to take him to see them.

The Gearhead will be heading to Texas soon, and my friend in Texas will be here during the exact same time! She'll be visiting a friend here who just had a baby, and the Gearhead will be scouting out the job situation and looking at houses. We still haven't decided what we're going to do, but we're just continuing to research. I think we're both tired of thinking about it.

It's late, I'm tired, so I'll check in later. Be blessed!

Monday, January 14, 2008

A good day

Our day got off to a great start, though a late start.

Poor Gearhead didn't walk in the door until 12:30 a.m. That's an 18 hour work day. He couldn't get up this morning, and we all slept in a bit, though not as long as he did.

The Prince got right to work on his chores, and The Princess started in on her school work. She's a bit behind from all the time she spent on the play in December, and then Christmas. So, she did a ton of work today. The Prince got to work on his school, and did quite a bit, also.

For some reason, it's really hard to do our regular stuff when Gearhead is around. I don't know why. When he woke up, he had a headache (a frequent thing, unfortunately), and was a bit of a bear, but the kids got him in a good mood, and they all rough housed and had fun later on. I'm going to have to figure out how to post sound bites. The Prince has the most infectious laugh! He had us all gasping for breath just listening to his laugh.

Then, the Prince and I took the doggie on a walk. We went to the post office, to The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and then to the bank. I love combining exercise with errands. I can fool myself into thinking I'm doing something good for the dog by walking him, and just getting things accomplished.

Then I had to take The Princess to the dance studio. She goes from about 3:30 (to help teach a class of little kids), until 7:15! She's a busy girl.

I made a really good dinner of chicken, rice, green beans and salad. I marinated the chicken breasts for two days in the fridge, then grilled it on the bbq. The marinade is simple and soooo delicious. You just put the breasts in a bag, pour an entire bottle of FAT FREE Italian dressing in the bag, then put maybe a teaspoon of low sodium soy sauce in the bag and shake it all up. Let it sit for at least two days. I've gone three days before, but two days is fine. Oh my. It's so good. I would never use FF Italian on a salad; it just tastes gross. But, as a marinade, it's awesome, and only adds a "condiment" to my daily food exchanges. Gotta love it.

I have a confession to make. You won't be hearing me talk about complete meals much. We fend for ourselves most of the time. I make main dishes like meatloaf, or enchiladas, or whatever, and then everyone just grabs when they're hungry. I grew up having dinner at the same time every night, together, as a family. I hate that we don't do that, but Gearhead has a different sort of work schedule, and is ready to eat dinner at 4. I hardly ever have it ready by then, so he eats whatever he can find, and then will eat a bit later in the evening, but not a full meal. *sigh* He and The Prince eat breakfast together on the weekend, since I make a full spread with homemade hash browns, eggs and bacon or sausage, maybe some toast. The Princess doesn't like breakfast, so she fends.

Also, with running the kids to various activities, the family meal just never happens. I'd really like to get at least one night a week that we can sit down together. Before we started watching our pennies, we went out to eat frequently as a family. Those days are long gone, so I think I'll try to get family night started.

God bless you!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Briefly

I just walked into The Princess's room to tell her to go to bed, but before I could open my mouth she said, "I'm doing Math...and it's fun!" Um, the kid will make any excuse to stay up late.

Meme - 7 Weird Things About Me

My friend Sniz tagged me for this meme:

The rules are as follows: Simply link to the person who tagged you. SHARE SEVEN WEIRD things about yourself. Tag SEVEN bloggers to do the same AND include a link to their blog. Let each person know that they have been tagged and finally post the rules on your blog.

1) I yell during movies when something exciting happens. Like, blow yer ears out, yell. We were watching Flyboys tonight, and during one pivotal moment, I could hear the vibration of my yelling in my own ears. Now, that's loud.
2) I can flare the nostrils of my nose over and over. The rest of my family can flap their ears. I only have my nose.
3) I am a baby freak. I looovvee me some babies. My friend's baby, Emilee, is my addiction currently. Whenever she is near, I have to have her. I take her from her mother, her father, her sister or brothers, or any other person who dares come between me and those soft, sweet baby cheeks. And she LOVES me right back. If she's fussing, it only takes a few seconds for me to calm her. I really should have had one more of my own. I have a couple other babies who endure my non-stop kisses when they're around, including Daja's.
4) I have to dance when I hear a song I like. It's nearly involuntary. I have been known to stop in the middle of a conversation and boogie around my kitchen, or the car, or wherever I happen to be. If it's 80s music, all the better. Here's one of my favorites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UqKRGW6_rw
5) I think Adrien Brody is cute. Sue me.
6) I used to say that The Wizard of Oz was my favorite movie, but the truth is, I like most movies I see. I think I just like the experience of going to the movie theater and immersing myself in a different time or place, or time and place. So, what's weirder, having the The Wizard of Oz as your fave movie, or liking every movie you see? You be the judge.
7 ) I sleep on a couch. Every night. Every single night. Don't ask.

Ack, now I have to tag people. I don't know if I can tag 7, since most of my friends have been tagged! Let's see. Okay, I think I have it. Daja, Lady T, Tigerlilly, Scarlett, Dana ('cuz it's brown in TX, and she needs something fun to do). I'm gonna stop at 5, and please note, this is a NO PRESSURE MEME. If for any reason you do not want to participate, I totally understand. But, it was kinda fun thinking of weird things about me.

Looonngg day

It started at 5 a.m. ***needle sliding off of record***

I DON'T DO EARLY MORNINGS. But, I did today because The Gearhead had a side job that started at 6 a.m., and I had to get up to make him a lunch to take with him, and to make sure he was awake before getting in the car. I saw him off, and went back in to try to sleep a while longer, but alas, I probably fell asleep at 7 a.m. just before the alarm went off! *sigh* The Prince does not take kindly to missing church, so I got up, got him out of bed, and got ready for our day. The Princess, who had spent the night at Grandma's called at 7:45, having just woken up. She promised on her crown the night before that she would wake up for church if she stayed at Grandma's, but, and I quote (and in her most scratchiest, tiredest voice) "The alarm didn't go off, and Grandma didn't wake me up!!!!" My response wasn't very sympathetic, I'm afraid. She's pulled this before. As much as The Prince hates to miss church, The Princess can always find something "better" to do.

So, 45 minutes later, I picked her up and headed to church. The pastor gave a great sermon on worshiping God with our money (the dreaded tithing topic), and really spelled it out well.

This afternoon, we've had The Prince's friend over. They've been playing video games and digging up the backyard. I had to re-direct their play when one kid had a hatchet, and the other had a tire iron, and they were playing with them like swords! *gasp* Yeah, living with a gearhead, there are lots of dangerous tools lying around, just waiting to decapitate, or at the very least, maim. We've never had a major accident, but The Prince's friend has gotten hurt at our house twice, and I did not want to send him home with any new wounds.

When I called to check on the Gearhead, he said he may not return home until after midnight. He's doing all he can to keep us afloat financially, and I have to say, I appreciate him so much. He's my knight in shining armor. I guess my nap doesn't seem so important after all.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Trying to post everyday

So, like I said, we're kinda under the weather. However, The Prince and I raked leaves in our front yard for about an hour. Man, that's hard work! I'm not much of a yard work girl, but the Gearhead threw a fit that we weren't doing enough around here, so we hopped to it!

The Princess is off making riches babysitting. She is really getting to be the preferred babysitter for little kids everywhere! :-) I was that girl at her age, so I think it's kinda neat. And what I REALLY find neat is that she has her own money, and doesn't have to bug me for Starbucks money all the time.

I gave the kids a speech (after their dad threw a fit) about how we don't keep our home clean enough, and we should look at it like this: God gave us everything we have. If we don't take care of it, we're are dishonoring GOD! The Princess actually said, "Yep." I don't know why I can't keep this house up. It's very frustrating.

I'm off to get started on some more de-cluttering and general cleaning. *sigh* I hope I grow to enjoy it someday.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Feeling icky

I have a STUPID cold, and not much to say today. Hope my bloggie friends are all well.

Still no pics to post - we're all under the weather and feeling blah.

Also, I HAVE to do the meme that Sniz sent, so look for that in the next few days.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Today's triumphs

I did just as I said I would: I walked around a very large park today. It only took about 6 minutes at a pretty brisk pace, but it felt good. I had planned to take the doggie for a walk when we got home, but since I was up so late last night posting, I was too darn tired!

Okay, before I get rambling again, I'll say "good night!"

Hopefully I'll get those pics posted tomorrow. The Princess will be babysitting in the a.m., but she'll be home in the afternoon, so we'll see how it goes. Maybe my dark circles won't be so dark if I can get a good night's sleep!

Third post, new look

This seems more readable to me. Let me know what you think.

An apology, and a short post

I write long, long posts, and I wanted to apologize. I use the word "I" way too much. I think I should start writing in the third person like Bossy.

Naw, that would drive you, and me, nuts.

So, this is just a short little post to say this may be the only short little post I ever post, so there.

it is 1:11 a.m., and I am tired and silly.

Self Improvement

Here's the deal: My father is turning 80 in February. We (my brother, mom and I) are having a surprise b-day party for him at my folks' house. We are PRAYING for good weather, since my folks' house is small, and people will have to mull around outside to breathe.

As I mentioned before, I have family members who have been downright rude in their comments to me. Some of the worst offenders (from years ago) will probably be attending said party.

Now, I've lost 35 lbs. However, these folks haven't seen me in years, and I doubt they will notice a difference. To them, I'm still fat. I can't remember what I weighed the last time I saw them. I have avoided weddings and other family get-togethers to avoid these folks. Needless to say, I'm starting to get nervous.

Instead of worrying myself into a tizzy, I'm going to use these next five weeks or so to get back to business in the weight loss arena. Moreso, exercise. I lost this weight by eating less, not exercising, so I figure I can really make a dent in the last 35 pounds if I exercise, too.

So, here's my plan:

1. Track my food everyday. Shouldn't be hard. I have all the materials from L.A. Weight Loss/Pure Weight Loss, and I have a friend who used to work for them who I can call for help if need be. I've gotten out of the habit of eating all my veggies everyday, so that's my first priority; that, and limiting the carbs. I never was a big bread eater, but lately sandwiches have been sounding good. If I eat cereal for breakfast (which I usually do), I can't have two pieces of bread at lunch, so no sandwich. Argh.

2. Exercise. Now, I haven't determined what is a good amount to start with. I have a gym membership, and I have a dog. I really prefer to walk the dog; makes it seem like I'm doing something good for him. :-) Combining errands with walking is motivating, and doesn't feel like exercise; to my bank to deposit a check, to the post office to drop some mail, or to Blockbuster for movies/video games.

The gym membership is cheap, which is the only reason it hasn't been canceled. I have literally paid $15 per month for about 12 years; I think I average twice a year, so each visit is about $7.50. Still a bargain!!!!! I think I could make my dollars stretch even further if I would just GO. I have a very fit friend who likes to call me twice a year to go to the gym (she does most of her working out at home), so I think I'll call her tomorrow to get me going. She has good advice on lifting weights and using the machines, so it's like having my own personal trainer.

Also, I bought The Princess her own membership when she turned 12, so I could drag her along. The Prince has already asked to come to the gym when he turns 12 (which is only a few months away), so I could start a family revolution!

3. PRAY. I should have put this first. The only way I got over my cravings and snacking is through prayer. So, I will be getting back on track with my Bible reading and praying first thing in the a.m. and while I walk. Nothing better than praising God for a healthy body while making it healthier!!!!

4. Post pictures of myself *gasp* before and "after," or present time. I really avoided the camera when I was heavier, so that will be a challenge, but I'll have The Princess take my picture tomorrow or something, and post it. I can't believe I said that. Man, I'll have to do my hair and make-up and find something to wear! We have a busy day tomorrow, so it may not happen until Friday, so don't start harassing me, ALRIGHT???!!!!

Oh, oh, oh, I just had an idea!!! We will be at park day tomorrow, so I'll try to get there early and walk around the field! Yeah, good start!!!! I'll letcha know how that goes.

God's love to you.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Home Improvement

I am not an organized person. My house is usually in some state of messiness, especially the dining room table. GH likes to think he's an organized person, but "his" garage is a God-awful mess, so I'm thinkin' he must mean his thoughts are organized. Yeah, that's it.

With all this talk of moving, I've started looking around the house and thinking: "There is no way I'm moving that, and that, and that, and that...." So, I've begun to purge. I figure, even if we don't move, we'll have a tidier house with less stuff.

The Prince tends to be the neatest one in the house. His room gets messy, but he has days when he just has to clean it up, without being told. The Princess, on the other hand, has to have privileges revoked, and entire days devoted to cleaning! She a big-time list maker, but when it comes to organizing her room, she's couldn't care less. Like mother, like daughter, I'm afraid. We'd rather read a book, or watch a movie, or engage in just about any other activity than cleaning. So, although I get upset with her when her room goes into pigpen mode, I have to realize she hasn't really had a terrific model of housekeeping. I remember as kid that my folks finally just closed my door, and left it at that.

Chores. You know, those things that need to be done to maintain a household? I NEVER HAD TO DO ANY CHORES. Not one. Gosh, I wonder why GH had to teach me to cook. And I've gotten more advice about cleaning from my darling mil than from anyone. It's embarrassing, actually.

My kids, on the other hand, have chores. The Princess unloads the dishwasher, crushes aluminum cans, vacuums the living room. Unfortunately, I have to tell her to do her chores everyday! You'd think she'd realize that the dishes in the dishwasher need emptying everyday, but no. The Prince has to scoop dog poop (lucky guy), vacuum the family room and take out the recycle stuff. He does his chores on his own sometimes, but again, I have to remind a lot.

I have a plan. I'm going to send them both to Africa on a missions trip so they can understand the honor and privilege of living in this country. What? Too drastic? So what. The Princess is already on board (it was her suggestion, initially). She will probably be going next summer, since our plans for this year are so up in the air. The Prince will have to wait for his trip. He's just not mature enough to be away from home for six weeks yet.

In the meantime, both kids are participating in World Vision's 30 Hour Famine. They are each raising money individually, and with friends from our missions class/homeschool group. World Vision puts this on every year to raise money for starving children. The kids will then have a 30 hour fast, during which they will hang out together. I'm not sure what all they will be doing (I'll be there), but they both think that being hungry will be "no big deal." Neither of them has ever fasted, so I think they're in for an interesting experience.

The Prince is always so motivated to raise money. He cracks me up. I just don't have that confidence to walk up to people and ask them for their money. He, however, did just that the day after he got his materials. He walked next door, asked for a donation, and came home with a check for $50.00. It's a God-incidence for sure that the next door neighbors had a dear friend who worked for World Vision who recently died, and they were going to make a donation to World Vision in her name! How's that for God's timing?!

Have a blessed day!

Saturday, January 5, 2008

People who sabotage our weight loss

So, I've lost 35 pounds since April. Yay me. I gained back a few during this holiday season, but I'm positive I can turn that around. 'Nuff said on that.

Twice during the holiday season people commented to me about what I was eating. As in, "You shouldn't be eating that, should you?" It took everything in me not to really lash out. The very people who said such things (and they were almost identical statements, at different times), have been very critical of me over the years for being overweight. One recently told me I shouldn't get rid of my fat clothes, since I'll be in them again!

The clincher here: Both people are in my FAMILY. Not my children or husband - they have been more than supportive, just so ya know. But not an aunt, uncle, cousin - so, you've narrowed it down, right?! And the sick part: I'm ashamed of who said it, so I'm not even going to get any more specific.

Can I just make a semi-public (for all my two or so readers) statement here? If you know someone who is struggling with their weight, please never comment on what they're eating unless they've asked you to do so. Overeating is a heart issue - it's not about the food. Pointing out what you think they should and shouldn't be eating is fruitless, and in my case, makes me want to eat even more! I haven't figured that out yet, but I'll let you know if I do. :-)

One of the people who made the comment was told, in no uncertain terms, that those comments are not welcome and will not be taken kindly ever again. The other is pretty much impossible to talk to about such things. Gearhead will, however, be talking to said person if he ever overhears anything. He was not happy when I told him what was said.

My hands are shaking as I type this. For the first time in my life, I'm not willing to let anyone get between me and my health goals. And that's the thing, isn't it? I can't let the stupid comments of others affect my ultimate goal.

Rant over. Thank you for "listening."

Friday, January 4, 2008

Friends are not overrated

Back to Texas talk. Here's where we stand:

The Gearhead is now actively looking at the job market in the Dallas area. It's tough going when you're starting from scratch. He met with a friend whose family's business had a warehouse there awhile back, and got his input. He's talked with his friend who lives there. And last night, we sat down and talked and talked and talked. *sigh* Man, I'm tired of talking (which is weird for me - I talk a lot).

And now, the explanation for the title of this post. I find myself without a very close friend for the first time in my life. Gearhead has always thought it strange that I don't have long-time friends. His closest friend is one he's had since Jr. High, and he has several others from school, too.

I had a best friend in elementary and jr. high, and then a different one in high school, until about the age of 21. Then, we parted ways.

This is my pattern: During a specific time in my life, I make friends. Like, when I was single and working, I had a group of friends (a rather large group of friends). Then, I became a Christian and got married and had a whole new set of friends. I worked for about three years after we got married before having The Princess; then, all my friends were people with little kids who went to La Leche League. When The Prince was about 2-1/2, I had to go back to work in an office, and again, the friends shifted (though I do have one friend I made when I was pg with The Princess who I love, and we keep in touch). That was a most miserable time in my life; I hated leaving my kids to go to work. They were enrolled in a Christian school, and many good things came from that, but I missed them sooooo much. 'Nuff said.

I don't intentionally do this. I've just never met someone who I was so close to that the major changes in our lives didn't affect our friendship.

Then, I became a homeschooling mom, and I have an entirely different group of friends now, but no real bosom buddies. I think I'm weird. I really, really would like to have one person who I can talk to and just spill my guts, especially with all the ups and downs I've been going through lately. My friend in Texas is the one I talk to the most, but I can't just go to coffee with her, or go to her house to talk, ya know? The Gearhead (being my knight in shining armor) has said I can talk to him anytime, and I do. There's just something about having a girl-friend to talk to...

Anyway, that's why friends are not overrated. I was doing okay with not having close friends until recently, and now I'm hurting.

I don't think close friends can be contrived, either. I mean, you can't say "I'm going out to make a friend now! Okay, here I go!" and then find someone who fits the bill. God has to be there, orchestrating. Which makes me think there's a reason I don't have a best friend, but only He knows why.

There's one homeschool mom who I talk to on the phone, and we can talk, literally, for two hours (we did over the weekend). We've shared a lot of stuff, big stuff....really, really big stuff. But, during our last conversation, she said that she had a best friend who really hurt her, and now she doesn't trust anyone completely. So, I figure she's trying to say, "This is nice to talk to you, but don't expect us to be really close."

And this is why I'm happy to be blogging. It helps to write it out. I often write stuff out, then delete it, but this one's posting.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

"I Am Legend"

I previously posted that I just didn't like "I Am Legend" very much. When I told my brother (who had loved it), we got into a long discussion about the movie and it's attributes. He finally laughed and said, "Um, I think you liked the movie, and you don't realize it!" I think he's right.

I took The Princess to see it last week, and I enjoyed it much more the second time. Surprisingly, I didn't see anything new the second time, though The Princess caught one thing that I didn't see the first or second time! And, in comparing notes with my brother again, he didn't catch it either. Now, I'll have to rent it when it comes out, and look for that one thing!

The movie is extremely nerve-wracking. One such scene lasts almost five minutes (I timed it the second time around). There is no music at all during that time, no suspenseful violins - nothing except the natural sounds from him and around him. I'm telling you, I almost felt like leaving the theater the first time, it was that gut-wrenching. I had both feet pulled up onto the seat, and I was hugging my legs. The Gearhead said I screamed twice; I only remember screaming once.

I would NEVER take the Prince to see such a film. He is very sensitive, and would have nightmares, I'm sure. It's not a horror flick, per se, but the images are disturbing at times, and the whole subject matter is very deep. I've thought about this movie for days afterwards, and it keeps coming to mind. Food for thought, for sure.

I will say this: Will Smith is an amazing actor. He is on the screen 99.9% of the movie, and his range of emotion is just out of this world.

So, I just had to amend what I said before. It's a great movie, if you're into suspense. And I am...I just didn't realize it at first. :-)

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Seems I like reading other people's blogs much more than I like posting to my own! I thought posting those pics would get me motivated, but it just made me realize how lazy I am! It's all so much work to keep a blog scooting along! Enough complaining.

Our Christmas was simple. I think everyone enjoyed themselves, though I was sick and kind of out of it. We usually have the in-laws over here in the morning, then go to my folks' in the evening for dinner. It was the usual, crazy tear-into-the-presents thing at my folks' house. Every year I think, "Where is Jesus in all this?" Every year, I vow to change thing for next year. We were forced to keep the gift-giving simple this year, but that doesn't change everyone else's habits. Oh, well, it's over and I've vowed to make next year more about Jesus and less about materialism...again.

This was probably the least eventful New Year's Eve we've ever had! We didn't go to a party or have one. We stayed home and waited for midnight while watching "Pearl Harbor." At midnight, we walked outside and listened to the fireworks going off, went back inside, and went to bed. The Prince was highly disappointed. He really enjoys tradition, and we usually have some sparklers left over from Independence Day, but not this year. I think we were all just tired this year. All this talk of a potential move has been exhausting, emotionally.

Um, okay, what else? Ah, my bloggie friend, Lady T is engaged!!! Her's is a weight loss blog, but she talks about lots of other stuff, too...including LR, her now-fiance. I am sooooo happy for her! Go on over there and congratulate her if you have a minute!

Back to the old grind today, homeschool-wise. I'm off to give the Prince a spelling test, and to put a fire under his butt to do his other work. He's my highly-resistant kid, so it can be really challenging to get him moving.

Blessings to you!