Two Kids, a Gear-head and Me

40 Days of Lent

2009-02-25T09:11:00.000-08:00

So, I'm talkin' to the kids last night about the fact that Lent is starting today. I explained what it is, and how church tradition is that you give up something sacrificially during this time to honor God and His sacrifice, and to prepare our hearts for the miracle of Easter.

The kids chose to give up something each of them dearly loves. I could not think of anything that would be appropriate to give up. I made the mistake of asking the kids if they could help me think of something...when I was sitting here on the computer. I am giving up blogs for the 40 days of Lent! They suggested I pick two to check regularly, but give up the rest.

I won't say which two blogs I'm going to keep up on, but they are fairly new to my repertoire because they are about eating vegetarian. Oh, I didn't mention I'm eating vegetarian? Yup.

I know I don't post often, but now I'm going to be thinking about it a lot...for 40 days, at least. :)

God bless you during this Lenten season. See you on Easter!

And another public service announcement...

2009-02-04T21:57:00.001-08:00

The French have some cool words and phrases that we use in the English language; words like, deja vu, a la carte, and my daughter's favorite, ballet.

There are some French words that people just should not use if they don't know how to spell them or say them. Words like "voila." It comes from a French expression literally meaning “look there!” Of late, in the blogosphere, I have noticed a rash of "walah" and even worse "viola." *sigh*

Thank you, again, for listening.

Trust

2009-02-04T21:21:00.000-08:00

I am in awe of my kids, again. Growing up, I just did not get along with my brother. I still consider our relationship...sensitive. So, when I see my kids trusting each other the way my son trusts his sister, it really warms my heart.

This is the second time he's let her cut his hair. This time, it was done under a little bit of duress; I said, "She cuts it, or I shave it all off!!!" It was getting a bit too messy for me.

I don't think I've ever seen a professional hair stylist at this angle while cutting hair. That would make me dizzy.

Or, get a crick in my neck.

The finished product. She straightened his hair after she cut it.

She told some friends, "My brother looks like a high school hottie!" How's that for a sister's compliment!?

There might have been once that I referenced my brother and "hot" in the same sentence, and I doubt it was about his attractiveness. It probably went more like, "He smells like hot poop."

Blessings.

I just had a thought...

2009-02-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

If my bank goes under, I will lose less than $200.00. There are advantages to being broke. :)

Blessings.

2009-01-25T19:48:00.000-08:00

I am very blessed that my kids get along pretty well. They have the occasional spat, but overall, they really do love each other.

A little while ago, I told The Prince to vacuum the family room. I then asked La Princess if she had emptied the vacuum cleaner after she used it earlier today. Of course, she said "no." I told her to clean it, but The Prince jumped in and said, "That's okay; I'll do it." Such a sweet boy.

Yesterday, after it had rained her quite a bit, the kids decided to go "splash in puddles." Yes, they are 12 and 14. And yes, I said "yes."

Um yeah, barefoot.

He is officially considered "accident prone" now. He got completely soaked in that puddle.

Check out this awesome leaf! The kids had to get pictures of it.

All these pictures were taken by the kids. They took my camera (gasp) when they went puddle hunting.

Fortunately, they decided to take a walk to Grandma's house, and she got to deal with the wet clothes. By the time they got home, they were all dry. :)

Blessings.

When will I start to believe?

2009-01-21T23:24:00.001-08:00

I've mentioned before how my work as a notary signing agent (loan signings) has slowed to a crawl. Well, it's actually slower than that. The Gearhead has been working side jobs to try to keep our heads above water. Seeing the dark, dismal writing on the wall, I started looking for work the last few days. Not sure where to look, since I've been out of an office job for about six years, and I only want to work part-time. Well, truth be told, I don't want to work away from home at all.

So today, after I left a Fedex-Kinko's store where I inquired if they were hiring, I saw that I had a voice mail on my cell phone. Dang thing doesn't work in my house, and it registered a message that I had received about a half hour earlier while I was at home. It was a guy who owns a signing agency. He was referred to me by a notary friend, and said he would be getting quite a bit of work in the next few weeks, and needed good notaries. I called him back, and put my name in the loop for signings. So, for now, I'm waiting to see if the work comes through. I had a signing yesterday, I have a potential one for tomorrow, and if what this guy says is true, the next few weeks could be busy.

I have felt for quite some time that I was meant to be at home with my kids. For years, I denied that voice that kept saying "Just quit. It will be okay." I was too afraid to let go of the security of my job. Oh, the years spent being such a stress puppy. When I finally couldn't take working in an office anymore, He provided the notary job, and it was really good for about four years. It tapered off, and here I am, getting my heart's desire: To be a stay-at-home mom, 100%. Of course, it comes with the stress of not making ends meet, so it's not ideal. And just as I fully realize that our little family is fast sinking financially, the work picks up...or seems to.

So, when will I truly believe that God has it all in control; that He will neither leave me, nor forsake me? Really, it's quite ridiculous how many times He's come through for me, and yet I'm still a Doubting Thomas.

Blessings.

If you can't say anything nice...

2009-01-20T14:24:00.001-08:00

It's Tuesday, and since I flaked on praying for the President-elect for the past few months, I can at least pray for him today, of all days.

Lord God, I pray for President Obama. I pray that his heart and mind are governed by You, by Your Word, by Your statutes, not the ones of this world. I ask for protection over him and his family during the coming four years. I also pray for protection of our nation...the one that has gradually turned its heart towards Your enemy. And yet Lord, You are merciful and holy, and I praise Your holy name. I pray for a revival such that has never been seen in our country; that Christians would rise up and draw the country back to You, and that many would be saved. In Your Precious Name I pray. Amen.

Okay, so I said something nice, and now I'm going, because I don't have anything else nice to say. :)

Blessings.

No mo snow

2009-01-13T22:59:00.000-08:00

It was at least 85 degrees here today, and the snow on my blog just looks wrong, so off it goes. I sure hope the temps cool down before Spring, or this will be the longest Summer, ever!

Nothing much going on here. The Princess has a sinus infection, so she's been a bear for the past few days, but the antibiotics have kicked in, and she's feeling better. The Prince's face is quickly recovering from his snow accident. His neck still hurts, so off the chiropractor we go. The Gearhead went to bed at 6 p.m. (!!!!!!)

Um, yeah, so that's life at my house right now. *crickets chirping*

Blessings to all!

Public Service Announcement

2009-01-08T22:08:00.000-08:00

There has been much talk in the blogosphere about dropping some excess tonnage in this New Year. Thus, if you recognize yourself, take heart. It's everywhere.

Please note:

You do not "loose" weight. You lose it. That is all.

Blessings.

Christmas, 8 days later

2009-01-03T00:32:00.001-08:00

The Prince playing Christmas music.

The Gearhead showing off his gift from his parents.

The Prince trying out his Chucks.

The Princess and The Gearhead's mom.

The Princess opening stocking stuffers. Note the hair and make-up. She stayed up late on Christmas Eve doing the hair so that she'd look pretty for Christmas morning pictures. Who looks pretty in Christmas morning pictures?!

The Prince got a 12-pack of Coke from Grandma & Grandpa for his new mini-fridge that he got from us. They contributed 1/2 of the cost of his "big" gift, a camera, which he got at my folks house later in the day, but Grandma wanted him to have something to open at our house.

The Princess put on everything wearable that she got, when she opened it. Thus, she has two necklaces and two pairs of socks, and those geek glasses.

The Gearhead's mom opening her gift, a set of mugs. She wanted them over a year ago, but I failed to get them for her until this year. She looks happy, huh?

Our Christmas tree.

Me, baking. This was a few days before Christmas, but I didn't stay up late doing my hair and make-up, so I don't wish to publish a Christmas morning picture of me.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and God bless you!

A lesson in gravity

2008-12-30T14:23:00.000-08:00

Night before last, my friend, Tracey, called to see if we'd like to head up to the snow in our local mountains. The Princes loves the snow, so we made plans to head up about noon on Monday.

We caravaned with some other friends. As we made our way up the mountain, it was clear that there were lots of other people with the same idea. My friend and I smelled something burning as we drove, but her car didn't indicate a problem, so we kept on going. The Prince kept saying "I have a bad feeling about this," when he saw how many cars were heading up.

These are the cars lined up along the road.

When we got up to the area where the kids could sled, I had second thoughts. It was really crowded. I figured since we'd driven for awhile to get there we could just play it by ear.

"T" and The Prince set off and quickly put a lot of distance between us and them. They were motivated to use those snow discs.

It was a beautiful day. And I wore the WRONG shoes. Cowboy boots, to be exact. I kept slipping and sliding, and I fell farther and farther behind. The boys headed straight for an area with a very steep slope.

This is the slope.

And this? The Prince on a backboard, waiting to be loaded into the ambulance. On his first try down that hill (which I would have told him NOT to go down had I been close enough to tell him), The Prince hit a bush and went airborne. I was thinking, "He's dead." I honestly thought that. I couldn't move very fast, but a very nice man grabbed my arm and got me over to where the Prince was lying on the ground, face down. Some other strangers were asking him questions about his legs and arms and neck, and my friends (who all wore much more practical shoes for the snow) were all around him. He said his neck hurt. And then I saw the blood on the snow. The left side of his face is badly scraped, and he cut his lower lip.

I finally decided to call 9-1-1 because I was worried about his neck, and didn't want to make him walk across the slippery snow to get back to the car and go to the hospital. I had to get to a snack booth because none of our cell phones had reception up in the mountains.

I will never forget how calm Cherie was in talking to me and The Prince (and tending his wounds), and how Tracey waited for hours in the parking lot of the hospital in case we were discharged quickly and she could get us home, or how Sandy and Kellee offered their snow boots so that he wouldn't slip on the snow (when were thinking we were going to walk him to the car), and how Josiah and Tyler helped carry the backboard with the paramedics. All the kids and parents were so concerned about The Prince, and they never even got to enjoy the snow yesterday, and no one complained at all.

The Prince is feeling very self-conscious about his face. I looked at him from the time of the accident until we were discharged, but he won't let me see his face now. He is wearing his father's welding mask around the house. I'm not kidding.

I feel blessed that he wasn't badly hurt (in the scheme of things), and that so many people, strangers and friends alike, were there to help.

And that burning smell on the way up? It was the brakes on Sandy's van. They were smoking on the way down the hill, and a wonderful stranger honked and yelled and got Sandy to pull over so he could tell her! They had to sit for awhile before they could head down again, but had to pull over a second time! I'm telling ya, the day was kinda cursed.

So, rather than a warm, fuzzy Christmas post, this is what you get. Sorry 'bout that. But, I will be back with Christmas pictures soon.

FYI, I got The Prince's permission to take his picture, and to post it here. I told him he'd want to show the pictures around someday...a long time from now.

Blessings to you!

Did y'all have a Merry Christmas?

2008-12-27T15:39:00.001-08:00

We did. It was very nice. Pictures to come, but right now, I have to give a shout out to Lou. She is having a giveaway on her blog, one which I am entering. She is giving away $150 worth of scrapbooking supplies from Cosmo Cricket. I have to say, I cannot get enough of scrapbooking supplies. They are too much fun. In fact, I have probably collected enough stuff to last me awhile. Now, I've gotta get scrapbooking!

I'll be back soon with Christmas pics.

Blessings to you!

I'm done, are you?

2008-12-19T14:40:00.000-08:00

I'm starting a trend: Every one of my post titles will be a question. What a gimmick! I'll become like Pioneer Woman, with readers coming out of my ears! I'll get to go on a talk show...to talk about my incredibly clever post titles. Then, I'll make up my own calendar to be sold for charity. Then, my husband will become a very hot cowboy. Yeah, yeah, I know, ain't gonna happen. I like my hubby just the way he is, and he did wear cowboy boots to our wedding.

Anyway, I just realized that apart from a very few stocking stuffers, I am done Christmas shopping. How cool is that? The kids started a tradition a few years ago of wrapping each other's stocking stuffers, so I don't have to do any of it! That leaves me with the parents, my niece and my brother to wrap for. I love it! I kept things simpler this year, so there isn't that much to do, but it's even better than I planned.

In other news, we went to the Aquarium of the Pacific today.

My friend "L" got attacked by the birds as soon as she walked into the Lorikeet Habitat. She has nectar in a little cup that they just lap up. And that little cup? Three blinkin' dollars!!! Just ridiculous, but it works great if you want to be in a scene from "The Birds."

Do I look nervous? I have a long history of being pooped on by birds (starting at the age of 2; I'm not kidding) so these guys had me a little intimidated...and hoping I wouldn't have to figure out how to get bird poop out of my hair later on.

Here's The Prince and his buddy, "T." They're harrassing the sea anemones and starfish.

And here's The Princess and Cousin "B" doing the same, though I think they were tickling rather than harrassing. It's a girl thing.

And this, my friends, is what I call "Success!" This darling otter was moving so fast most of the time that I couldn't get a good picture of him. The flash made an unattractive bright spot on the pictures, so I had to get in close to the very dirty, smudgy glass. FINALLY, he paused to look at us weird humans, and I got him!!! Isn't he the cutest?!

Once agan, I have written the most non-cohesive post I could muster. This time, no alcohol involved, so I have no idea why this is so.

Hope you have a blessed weekend!

Snow in Southern California

2008-12-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

Well, the forecast says rain, but I'm seeing snow, are you?

Fragile!

2008-12-14T22:40:00.001-08:00

Now, if you've ever seen the movie "A Christmas Story," you will not pronounce that title in the typical American way...think Italian..."Fra-geel-aa!"

One of the big differences in the upbringing of The Gearhead & I is that my family celebrates all the holidays (in a secular way, for the most part, but they rock the gifts and the dinners, etc.). When the Gearhead's fraternal grandmother died, so did all the family get-togethers. Seriously. This was all before my time, but I have never been to a non-funeral family gathering with The Gearhead's entire family. So, The Gearhead's view of holidays is quite, what I feel to be, watered down.

Case in point: Valentine's Day. Direct quote from The Gearhead: "It's a Hallmark holiday." Thus, no celebration (at least after we got married).
Case in point: My birthday. Until a few years ago, no gift. My family did all the planning and gift-giving. Otherwise? No birthday. That has improved, I have to say.
Case in point: Christmas. If I didn't get gifts for our kids, for his family, for my family, there wouldn't be any gift-giving. He'd just rather let it go on by, without a big fuss. After 17, almost 18, years of marriage, I'm kinda getting used to it. There are times when I get really upset about it, but for the most part, I deal.

So, the other night, The Gearhead decided to watch "A Christmas Story." We own it. I was sitting in this very spot before the computer, listening to him guffaw throughout. The man rarely watches a movie, and even more rarely will he watch the same movie more than once, so this was a big deal. When the movie was over, he said, "There, now I've had Christmas. If nothing else happens for Christmas, I'm happy." WHAAAA???!!!!! Have y'all seen "A Christmas Story?" I just can't imagine it completing anyone's Christmas dreams. But, that's just me, I guess. He did mention that he'd seen on the internet that you could actually buy one of those fishnet stocking lamps and have it delivered in a big wooden box, just like in the movie. Here's a link to the scene, if you haven't seen it before: "Fishnet Stocking Lamp."

The Gearhead's birthday was this weekend. He is really hard to buy for, so I usually just tell him to get something he wants. He does that anyway, all year long, so it's just kinda blah. I was at a music store, and they had these for sale:

Oh yeah, baby. I bought one. That's what he got for his birthday. It got quite the chuckle out of him.

Happy Birthday, Biscuit!!!! :)

FYI: The cohesiveness of this post is questionable. Therefore, in the spirit of full disclosure, I have to be honest. I had a drink tonight when my dear ol' dad began telling my husband's friend one of his war stories - loudly - ad nauseum. So, if this post doesn't make complete sense, let's just chalk it up to that, 'k? Thanx.

Praying for Obama

2008-11-25T22:39:00.000-08:00

Just realized it's Tuesday!

Lord, I pray for President-elect Obama. I ask, Lord, for Your influence in his life, for him to truly turn his heart towards You, to seek YOUR will for our country. Thank you for being all knowing, and all powerful. In Jesus' Name.

2008-11-25T22:38:00.000-08:00

Take the Quiz here!

I knew it! I get the guy! :) Yippee!!! Oh yeah, I'm married with children already. Oh, well.

Praying for the President-elect

2008-11-18T19:14:00.000-08:00

Daja had this idea straight from God, and I decided to join with her in praying for our President-elect.

So, I'll join Daja in praying that a strong, Godly black man comes along side him to guide him. My own prayer is that he reconsiders reinstating UNFPA. I don't understand why we should fund abortions in America, much less in China (for instance), where abortions are forced on mothers who have already had a child.

As Daja said, feel free to use the picture above, and join us in praying fervently for President-elect Obama.

Blessings.

2008-11-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's Monday already. The weekends don't have that much kick when you are a stay-at-home mom. That is my title now, since I work so infrequently that I can't really count it. I've wanted this since before my kids were born, but this is the first time it's happened, and not because we were planning it, per se. And thus, the financial problems. Oh, well.

I am trying to get the grocery bill down, and it sure is helps that gasoline is $2.39 today, versus over $4.00 a few weeks ago. I joined The Grocery Game recently. I had used it years ago, and cut our grocery bill to about $40 per week. I stopped because we had no more room for the stockpile!!! I use it differently now, but it is helping a little bit.

The Prince and I are heading to Disneyland on Wednesday, because it's The Happiest Place on Earth, and that's where I need to be! We bought the tickets a long time ago, and they are expiring soon. I get to go twice, this time with The Prince, then with The Princess in a couple weeks. We had to buy four tickets, but The Gearhead doesn't like Disneyland (sick puppy that he is).

Blessings to you!

The one where I lose my mind

2008-11-14T17:36:00.001-08:00

Are ya sick to death of the word "Texas" yet? I AM! So, I'm going to think about it tomorrow, 'k?

Pictures, that's what I need!

The kids have been participating in a public speaking class with our homeschool co-op. They were not happy about it, but The Gearhead and I insisted. This is how the table looked at my friend's house, whose kids were partnered with mine for the second assignment, which was a debate.

"D" and The Princess were working for 8 hour stretches at times to learn all they could about the topic of the debate. They had to learn both sides, and be able to argue both. "D's" mom and I probably put as much work into it as the kids did. We felt quite overwhelmed at times, but figured everyone else felt the same way. We found out that they certainly did. The kids did great (especially these two).

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

This is our piano. Well, truth be told, it's my in-laws piano. It was given to my husband's grandmother when she was a teenager, and the tuner told us it was about 90 years old. It hadn't been tuned in years, and since The Prince is taking piano lessons, we decided to get it over to our house and get it tuned. See that lovely pile that the tuner (Vick) is pointing to? That, my friends is a mouse's nest. There were droppings inside the piano all over the place. Additionally, there were little paper parts that were completely gone from mice having eaten them. So, our tuning project went from about $150, to a whopping $300. Luckily, the in-laws paid. I love in-laws.

Vick was at our house for about 3-1/2 hours. I had never seen all the inner workings of a piano, so it was quite fascinating. Did you know that when they do the actual tuning, it's so repetitive and soothing that people fall asleep? Both The Prince and my mother-in-law fell asleep while he was tuning! The Princess and I weren't here, or I would have gotten pictures.

The Prince was overjoyed that he finally got to play a real piano at home. The keyboard just wasn't the same, so it's been relegated to church for Sundays only, since he can't very well cart a piano to church.

Man, are you as bored as I am, now?

The Princess and I are headed out to see my niece sing at an opera recital.

Have a blessed weekend!

I'm a real blogger! I have a troll!! And, THE GEARHEAD SPEAKS!!! Oh yes, he does.

2008-11-12T20:53:00.000-08:00

If you look in the comments from the last blog post, you will see this, a comment by "Anonymous":

Why Texas?? I am sick of Cali people coming here, this is a very conservative state, the last thing we need is Californians driving up home values here.

Don't mess with Texas, stay in your land of high taxes, state income taxes and gay marriage.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term "troll" in the Internet world, a troll is one who posts inflammatory comments anonymously, as this person did. I chose to publish it, because it goes to show how narrow-minded and judgmental people can be, and I want to warn those of you who are just starting blogs (Hi Cherie!) that they are out there. You NEVER have to post anonymously, as some would have you believe. All you have to do is make a profile with Blogger, which doesn't have to have a blog attached. Also, I do have one friend who posts as "anonymous," and then signs her name in the comment, so I know it's her. This person did not do that.

I am going to answer said "Anonymous" aka "Coward," this time. But this is the last time:

Why Texas, you ask. Well, there is a laundry list of reasons. We have friends there, and we've visited a number of times in the past few years, and love it. We are very conservative, and are fish out of water here in our home state, despite living in one of the most conservative areas of the state. We plan on becoming Texans in every way if we move there. We are not white collar snobs (though not all white collar folks are snobs, in my experience). I'm not sure how moving there will drive up home values, but if you own a home there, and your home values go up, isn't that a good thing?

We voted "Yes" on Proposition 8. And it passed. Gay marriage is not legal here as of November 4, and I don't understand how our moving there has anything to do with that.

Oh, and for your information, Texas property taxes are higher than ours; so much higher than ours, they more than make up for our state tax. Your sales tax? THE SAME AS OURS (for now). Do your research, Mr. or Ms. Troll, before posting such uninformed garbage.

Blessings to you, Troll/Coward. You need all you can get.

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

The Gearhead speaks, y'all!!! He read the troll's comment, and had to jump in. Here ya go. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions of said Gearhead do not necessarily reflect the thoughts and opinions of this blogger, but they come pretty darn close.

Gearhead here. I walk into my family room to be informed by my better half that her blog received it's first troll comment. Great! I can't pass up this opportunity, either.

I have been told by more than one native-born Texan that I will fit in Texas better than they do, and my family is very welcome . I can't wait to meet one of you in some Texas diner. You will not know me, but your fat, lazy, disrespectful carcass will be easy for me to pick out of a room full of the friendly, polite folks that most Texans are. The time will come when I'll over hear some self righteous local whining about something stupid, and I will be reminded of you and this here blog, and chuckle.

Take comfort in knowing that I pray to God that I follow His will in all areas of my life including how I vote. So here it is TROLL:

#1) If your concern is that we're not conservative enough for you, relax. Texas will become more RED if we show up. I have never been stupid enough to vote to tax ourselves on anything.

#2) If you are afraid you won't be able to buy a house, don't despair. If your Grandma hasn't kicked you out of her trailer yet, she probably won't just because we move there. (hahaha Trailer Troll)

#3) Gay marriage a problem for Christian families in Texas, too? You bet. I'm glad the citizens of the Texas state capital city didn't vote on our Prop 8. That would bring new meaning to the term "Cowboy Wedding."

All that said, I understand that a lot of Californians seem to bring too much pretentiousness with them. Trust me when I say, if I encounter a good example of this, I will introduce myself to them as "100% former Californian," and "Don't Mess with Texas." Also, understand it will take every strand of restraint I have to keep from slapping the cheap, knockoff, O.C. swap meet cologne off their poser, metro-sexual selves.

God, guts, and guns built this country! Got the guts to put your name on what you say? E-mail me, pal, we might be neighbors soon! ;) Greasy@dslextreme.com

Kinda fun meme

2008-11-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

I love The Simple Life at Home - the blog and the reality, I 'spose.

Anyway, I decided to do this meme:

Bold the things you’ve done and will admit to:

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (I wish, fyi)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (well drawn, more like, but I bolded it anyway)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Johnny Depp, y'all - when he was about 18 or 19, and Sean Penn, and others who I can't think of. I live in So Cal, after all.)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (two!)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Sure wish I could bold the Paris ones. That's a dream I have; to go to Paris and see where my ancestors are from. Dijon, France - isn't that cool?

Anyway, if anyone wants to play, have at it, and be sure to leave me a comment so I can come see!

Revisiting Texas

2008-11-09T21:25:00.000-08:00

I've spent the past few hours looking at property in Texas again. This may be the only way out of our financial problems. When we were talking about it at the beginning of the year, I have to say I was excited. I've never moved farther than five miles from my childhood home, so it seemed like an adventure. When the Gearhead finally said it wasn't going to happen, I tried to look at the bright side. I tried to relax in traffic, to enjoy the weather, to be thankful that I am here for my elderly parents.

Now? I'm not so excited. I did a great job of psyching myself into accepting our circumstances here. The reasons to move now are more concrete, like "If we stay here, we're just going to fall into more and more debt." I could go out and get a full-time job, but we've lived that fantasy before, and don't want to go back. I couldn't make enough to make all the stress and trouble worthwhile anyway.

Updates to come, I'm sure.

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

This is Breahna. Isn't she pretty?! She's my husband's cousin's daughter. She calls me "Aunt Claire," and has since she was little. She calls The Princess her other half. I'd have her living here if I could. I love this kid.

And here is La Princess. Yup, same dress. They were amazed that despite the fact they are shaped differently, they could both wear the same dresses.

This picture cracked me up. They thought this was a hoochie mama dress, so The Princess did a little dance to emphasize that fact.

They cannot resist the MySpace look. So goofy.

Have a good one, y'all. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

2008-11-08T13:13:00.000-08:00

I've been in a bit of a funk. Finances are super tight since my work nearly dried up. The Gearhead hasn't gotten as much side work as we would like, but is expecting a few checks soon. Our bills are paid, but I've had to charge groceries. We had done Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, and I believe his philosophy (Biblically-based) is right on. However, when you don't have enough money to make ends meet, you can't very well pay off debt. I had sworn off credit cards, until there was no money for groceries.

All this to say, I have got to learn to stop worrying. God commands us to not be anxious, yet I am the anxiety queen.

"Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard you hearts and your mind sin Christ Jesus." Phillippians 4: 4-7

Do I rejoice in the Lord always? Nope. Do I exhibit a gentle spirit, especially in stressful situations? Nope. I am so not everything that God has called me to be, and yet He gently guides me towards His heart.

It doesn't say that our prayers will be answered by God solving all our problems. It appears to me that merely praying and thanking and letting our "requests be made known to God" is what brings peace.

He grows us during trying times. Someone said recently, "Heaven would not seem as wonderful if our lives here were pain-free." I am not a citizen of this world, but of heaven. We should keep our minds on that, and realize that the trials here bring refinement.

The bottom line for me today is this: I worried, and fretted, and didn't sleep, and got angry. And then, I did some accounting for my notary business. I am not good at accounting, and only do it about twice a year. One company didn't pay me all year, to the tune of hundreds of dollars. It was a clerical error in their office. I am expecting that rather large check in the next few days, which will mean I don't have to charge groceries next week. The Gearhead is also expecting a couple payments, so maybe that will take us through the next month.

This is always how it goes. I have continued this same pattern for years. God is so patient with me. I am posting about this so that hopefully I will remember next time that He will not leave me or forsake me. We have never gone hungry (though a little less food would probably do me good). We have never missed a house payment, or even paid one late. We have decent clothes to wear. We drive old cars, but they get us where we need to go. And we have way more cars than drivers in this house. We are so spoiled in America!

I've been reading Pioneer Woman's blog this past week. Her husband and daughters were in the Dominican Republic with Compassion International. Please go there and look at the pictures they've been sending, and the ones her daughter took. I am ashamed to have complained about my situation.

Blessings to you.

Come on everybody, here we gooooooo!!!!!!

2008-10-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

This post actually should have come before the last one, chronologically speaking.

Ten points to whoever knows why I titled this post the way I did. It does have to do with Peter Pan, but I need more specificity than that.

The Princess was in yet another play, Peter Pan, a month or so ago. I think this was my favorite that she's done so far, besides Seussical. She was one of Tiger Lily's indians. Check out these pictures:

This the pristine dressing table, before everyone tore it up. These girls don't spent a lot of time cleaning up until after the show.

The girls all take turns doing each other's hair. The Princess has very thick, very curly hair, so she usually straightens it to make it more stylable.

This is Issa. She is a doll. She and her brother have been in many shows with The Princess. In fact, Issa's brother was her dance partner in A Christmas Carol last year (That' s him in the top hat, if you click on "A Christmas Carol")

This is Tiger Lily, aka Sarah. She's a kick. The kid is really talented, and she and The Princess really bonded on this show.

La Princess. Or, Ugga Wugga Princess, in this case.

You might be wondering what's up with The Prince. He was recently asked to play keyboard at The Junior High service at our church. He has really been loving it. He was upset this past Sunday because they had a guest there to lead worship. The Prince said to me "Mom, playing is how I worship! I don't sing!" He truly felt gipped!

This is Annie and Tudor. They are acting out a bible verse to help the kids memorize it.

Here's the Prince getting ready to play.

Here, some of the kids are doing hand motions to a praise song.

We got to babysit a sweet little guy last weekend. His name is Jon, and he loves Michael, and vice versa. We did our usual babysitting trip to the park.

Jon wasn't too sure about that slide, but he'll go anywhere The Prince is going.

Jon had a book about Jonah and the Whale, which is apparently his favorite. I think we read it twenty times while he was here!

I hope your week is going well, and that you feel God's presence in your comings and goings!

Be blessed!

When Dreams Come True...

2008-10-25T17:33:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl, I loved to dance. I took tap and ballet classes at the Parks & Rec. from the time I was about three. Not to toot my own horn, but the teachers always put me in the front row so the other girls could watch me. I have a talent for memorizing dance routines, I guess. :) So, yes I tooted my own horn. Sue me.

I took ballet with a very serious teacher until I was about 12. Then, I switched to tap for awhile. The last dance class I took at age 16 was tap. After that, I got into English (dressage) horseback-riding, and that took center stage (or center arena - whatev) for several years. During that same time, I was on the drill team at my high school. We were not a "military" style drill team, but a dance style. We had awesome choreography, and it kept me dancing for those four years.

A few years ago, The Princess was taking class at a local studio, and we both signed up for tap. The class had three different levels of tap students, and I was in the middle! Imagine, at 40 years old (and the oldest one in the class by about 20 years), and having not taken class since I was 16, I wasn't even the worst in the class! Unfortunately, the teacher was flaky, and he missed so many classes that we just quit.

The Princess has also taken dance since she was about 3 or 4 (can't remember which). She, too, started out at Parks & Rec. I remember she wouldn't dance at first. She just stood next to me with her little elbows digging into my leg, watching the other little girls carefully. She finally got up there to dance, and loved it.

When she was about 8, she took ballet with a wonderful teacher who lived just a few blocks from us, and taught from her converted back-house. The Princess did really well with that teacher, and stayed with her for about three years, until she got divorced and moved away. :(

The Princess decided to take a break from ballet. She started Jazz at another studio, and finally did start taking ballet again. The ballet teachers were a couple, he from Russian, she from Mexico, both of whom danced professionally. They really challenged The Princess, and she loved and hated it at the same time. Ballet is, after all, a discipline.

Then, she started taking class at yet a different studio. She was able to take Jazz, Tap, Musical Theater, Acting, Voice and Creative Writing. She really didn't want to take ballet, but then realized that ballet is the basis for all other dance, and decided it was time to start again. The girl obviously has a love of performance, and I saw her grow so much during this time. However, it came to the point where she wasn't being challenged enough, her favorite ballet teacher quit, and the studio wasn't offering more advanced classes. A few weeks ago, we moved on to yet another studio. This time, my mom and dad offered to pitch in most of her tuition, which was the only way The Princess could have attended. Grandparents ROCK!

I haven't mentioned that she has decided to try to dance professionally. It's a huge commitment, and she knows it's a tough business, but she has to try. That's how dreams are, I think...a little on the crazy side.

And so, one of her dreams came true today. She has wanted to dance "en pointe" for years. She's talked about it, dreamed about it, hoped for it, and despaired that it would never happen. There were no pointe classes at her last studio, so the option wasn't even available...until now.

Voila!

She must have tried on four pairs before the best fit was found. The lady helping us said "They will not be comfortable." There is a specific fit you want, though. And, she was wearing padded toe covers, which are hardly any padding at all, if you ask me.

They have a mini-dance floor, so you can try out the shoes.

And up she goes!

It was fun watching all this. The lady at the dance store (whose name I didn't get, darn it) was very knowedgable, and wanted to be sure The Princess's first toe shoes were just right.

Ta da!!! She isn't shaped like your traditional ballerina, but she can dance like nobody's business.

Regarding the "costume" changes: this kid knows that Mama's gonna take pictures, so she wore the skirt, and changed into knit ballet shorts while we were there, for a more balletic look, I 'spose.

Truth be told, this is kind of a dream come true for me, too. I was weeks away from going en pointe when I was about 12, but I flaked out. I just knew it was going to hurt, and it just wasn't worth it to me. I really regret that decision. And frankly, my feet are ugly anyway, despite not going en pointe.

And so, when the Princess sat there having her pointe shoes fitted, then got up and actually raised up onto her toes, I got a little teary-eyed. She is so much more goal-oriented than I ever was, and it makes me really proud.

Blessings to you!

I have another post hot on the heels of this one, so check back soon.

Adventures in Cooking

2008-10-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

I may have mentioned before that my housekeeping skills are less than stellar. For some unknown reason, my mom and dad never required me to do chores. In fact, my room was such a disaster area that they would just close the door.

Similarly, I was never taught to cook. When The Gearhead and I got married, it was a big joke among my friends that he'd be doing all the cooking, since I didn't even know how to boil water. I even got a little plaque at one of my showers that someone had made that said "Gearhead's Kitchen." Except, it said his real name. :-) He proudly mounted that sucker in plain view in our apartment's kitchen. It was a little demoralizing.

Eventually, I did learn to cook. And now? The Gearhead says I'm a good cook, and my mom says I'm a better cook than she ever was. I beg to differ, but I do know my way around the kitchen now.

So, a few weeks ago, I found a really awesome book called The G.I. (Glycemic Index) Diet by Rick Gallop, via my bloggy friend, Mel. She has had some success in the past with the diet (which is really just a healthy way of eating), and I really needed to get back to my weight loss efforts. Then, I got Living the G.I. Diet, also by Rick Gallop. Half of that book is a cookbook. I've been cooking up a storm since then, and everything so far has been really good. The Princess and the Gearhead have been eating everything I make. The Prince is so darn picky, so I never count on him to try new stuff. My friend, Cherie, has joined me in doing the diet. She had the fantastic idea to cook up some of snacks and trade half of them so we can try more things and have more variety.

I'm getting away from my original intent for this post.

So, last night, I cooked up two batches of soup: Navy Bean and Southwest Chicken and Bean. The Navy Bean isn't my favorite, but it's very filling. Again, per Cherie's advice, I let the soup cool a bit, then separated it into serving size freezer bags, and put them in to freeze. The Princess had the Southwest Chicken & Bean Soup before heading to the theater tonight, and LOVED it.

A little while ago, I decided to have some Navy Bean Soup. Only problem? I had put the bags on a steel wire shelf in the freezer, and the soup had frozen around the wire. The soup bag The Princess had was lying on top, so it wasn't affected, but the other seven bags were frozen solid onto the shelf. I had to laugh. It's so like me to not think ahead on stuff like that!

The Gearhead went to work, trying to pry the bags off the shelf.

That was not a fun job. It was as if they had become one with the shelf. I tried using a butter knife, but that was obviously not going to cut it (hehe I made a pun).

He finally had to take the shelf out of the refrigerator. I kept giggling my silly head off. He just shook his head. And sighed. And wondered how in the world I get along in life.

It finally came down to running warm water on the soup until it de-thawed enough to pry it off.

The soup is esconced in the freezer again. This time, I placed it in a metal pan, so it won't adhere to the inside of the freezer.

And that's how it's going here!!! How are you?

Bad, bad blogger, Part Deux

2008-10-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

Why oh why, can't I just post lately? I spend a lot of time on the computer, looking at other people's blogs, but can't seem to get myself to come here and post. I got a talkin' to today from Daja. She looks really nice, but she can sure guilt a person into doing her bidding!!! Just kiddin', Daja dahling.

Anyway, all is well here. Well, all is okay here. Times are tough all around, and we're feeling the pinch. The Gearhead is working like a dog to keep our heads above water. I haven't had a call for work in almost two weeks...yeah, it's that bad. But, God is good, and we have food to eat, and a place to live. Can't really complain, ya know?

Okay, I'll be back soon...I hope. I know I've made myself a liar more than once here, and I KNOW y'all are checking here DAILY, because my life is just.that.interesting. I'm sure I have pictures I haven't shared here, like our last couple trips to the beach (oh, so darn much fun), and to the County Fair (hot and expensive), and of my doggie's foot injury. My camera is all the way on the other side of my expansive (giggle, giggle) house, and I'm just too lazy to go get it. I'll post pics later. Maybe. If I feel like it.

Blessings to all,

If I'm a party girl...

2008-08-22T23:48:00.000-07:00

...then why the heck am I home, on the computer, wondering why I have no recent emails (like in the past few hours), on a Friday night?! I did have a Mike's Lemonade tonight, so does that count as having a party (or being a party)? *sigh*

I don't need answers to those questions, by the way, because the answers are painfully clear.

The sad thing? I'll be checking here tomorrow morning to see if anyone as pitiful as me was looking at blogs on a Friday night.

I'm where the fun happens

2008-08-20T22:11:00.000-07:00

The Gearhead is on the rampage around here. He's working his full-time*much-hated* job, plus side work to keep our heads above water financially, and he's dealing with the pain of a hernia. All this adds up to a very grumpy, crabby, husband and Daddy.

I, unfortunately, am not the most disciplined person. This, of course, adds to my husband's angst. My house is usually a mess, my kids' rooms are a mess, and my life is generally unorganized. And truth be told, I like it that way. Well, except for the messy house thing; it would be nice to have a maid, but that's sure not in the cards, and I'm too busy living to clean like a demon. I'm kind of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl. This irritates the Gearhead to no end. He calls me "Party Girl." He means it in a good and a bad way, I'm sure.

I've noticed that when I try to leave a room to go to another to read or just get some peace and quiet, the entire family follows me. I'll leave again, only to be followed AGAIN. Drives me crazy. I asked my son the other day why they all follow me. His response? "Mom, you're where the fun happens."

And there you have it. The Gearhead is right: I'm a party girl. I probably should have been the fun aunt instead of the mom, but I am what I am. My kids are growing up as undisciplined as I am in some ways, but I love the people they are growing into.

In other news, The Prince got asked to play keyboard on the worship team for Junior High at our church. The Princess is looking into taking ballet at a "serious" studio very soon. She is highly motivated to dance, and wants to do it professionally, eventually.

So, that's life here right now. Kinda crazy. I don't feel like we've had much of a summer break, and now we're gearing up to start school again! I am selling curriculum at a used curriculum sale this weekend, but my table will be more like never-used curriculum. Lots of homeschool moms buy stuff that they never even get to. And that's me. I don't think we'll be using abc workbooks at this point, so down the road they go.

Be blessed, and if your kids haven't yet started school again, enjoy them! :-)

He's home from camp

2008-08-16T15:05:00.001-07:00

Oh, my.

The dog was pretty happy to see him. So was I.

I'm a bad, bad blogger

2008-08-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

If anyone even checks here anymore, I apologize for being gone so long. We've had the busiest summer I can recall. The Princess especially has kept me on my toes with rehearsals, and classes, and social life. I can understand why some parents are happy when their kids can drive.

Okay, onto the pictures. I promised Bossy I'd post some of Seussical, so here goes. The performances took place on three weekends, after about six weeks of heavy-duty rehearsal.

That's the Glamazon (my other nickname for The Princess) on the left, with the blue beret. She was the tallest cadet, so not hard to see. The boy on the far left played JoJo. A boy or a girl can play the part. He was fantastic.

Here's the Glamazon in her Who costume, minus the shoes.

Here she is again with her friend, "D." (What's with the shoe deficit?! I just noticed this...)

And here are she and "D" as Hunches. I couldn't figure out what the heck a Hunch was, but if you see the show, it will become clear, sort of. (Ack, this time the other one doesn't have shoes!)

There were many tears from the cast at the cast party. The whole group really bonded during the grueling rehearsal schedule, and many of them probably won't meet up again. *sigh*

La Princess is off to a movie with friends today. I'm supposed to be cleaning, but ya know what? Almost anything sounds better than cleaning, so not much has gotten done.

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

The Prince is off at camp this week, and I am really missing him. His camp experience last year was less than stellar (there was a bully involved), so I'm a little nervous this year. However, he has grown so much, and gotten so strong, that the bullies better watch out.

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

Um, I never posted pics of my Texas trip. Well, I'm not going to. It's all "Here's me scrapbooking. Here's Nat scrapbooking. Here's the CM consultant, um, scrapbooking. Here are our roommates...scrapbooking. Oh, and here's us eating, in between - you guessed it - scrapbooking." Blah, blah, blah. So, never mind on that.

In current scrapbooking news, I feel like an absolute junkie. I can't drive by a Michael's or a JoAnn's without stopping and seeing what's new. The coupons I get every couple weeks never go to waste. Never. I dream about lay-outs. I finally decided that I'm going to set up a table here in our family room so that I can scrapbook whenever I want instead of waiting for events to go to.

Do you know what the Gearhead said? He said, "Now you know what it's like to have a hobby." He's so right. I kind of get how he obsesses about cars and engines and parts, etc. It's all becoming clear.

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

Tea. We do tea a lot. My mom loves to take me and the granddaughters to tea. So, here we are, sipping away. (Please note the pinkies.) The tea room had hats to wear, so we tried on about 20 different ones each.

Here we are. My mom only has three grandkids, and two are girls (obviously).

This is me. Yeah, I know. Everyone thinks it's The Princess when they first see it! She took the picture, and told me to take my glasses off. So, now I'm looking at getting contacts. I actually LIKE this picture!

And here's my darling niece. She can hardly do a picture with a straight face. She's very funny.

I'm thinkin' this post has gotten mega-long, and there is way too much to catch up on, so I'll just start over. Hi, my name is Claire, and I'm a bad, bad blogger. But, I'll try harder! I swear!

May you be richly blessed today and always!

2008-07-11T11:36:00.001-07:00

I'm still kickin', y'all, which is probably apparent from the commenting on other blogs. :-) As for those who guessed at how I looked different...yes, it's the hair color. I saw come pics of me with the dark hair (which kept getting darker every time I dyed it), and just wasn't feelin' it anymore. So, I got blonde highlights, and I'll be heading back to blonde a bit at a time.

Since I've been gone, I've been to Texas for a week, and brought back a kid with me for ten days. The kid is now back in TX, and tonight is opening night for "Seussical," a musical based on the Dr. Seuss books...and The Princess is not only in the production, but has four costumes, and six total changes. As Pioneer Woman would say "lawsie mercy."

I've become obsessed with scrapbooking. Three-and-a-half days of uninterrupted cropping, and now I can't stop thinking about the pictures and the layouts and the cost (!!!!) of it all. I'm going to an eight hour crop tomorrow, where I will hopefully get more than one page completed. It takes me FOREVER to get my creative juices flowing, but since I've been thinking about it so much, I'm pretty sure I will do well.

I'll be back soon with my Texas pictures, and kid pictures, and Seussical pictures and tea pictures (again!). Because you know that's how I roll.

Have a blessed day!

I'm still here!

2008-06-05T18:51:00.000-07:00

Last week, on Thursday evening, I was invited by my mom to see "A Chorus Line" at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles. I had seen it when I was 19 with my friend, Sabine (she bought tickets for my birthday). Although the dancing was amazing, the acting was a bit disappointing. However, my mom took me to a French restaurant beforehand, which was awesome! Our little town has a lot of good restaurants, and this is the newest.

Then, on Friday, we went to a huge water park with some of our homeschool friends. The park wasn't crowded at all, which is great for me. I really don't like crowds. We went on several rides and just had a wonderful, relaxing day.

There's the Prince posing with the water park sign.

Then, on Sunday, The Gearhead, the kids and I decided to go to the beach. The kids and I love the beach, but the Gearhead hardly ever goes with us. We spent a few hours in the afternoon listening to the waves hit the sand, and watching countless sailboats on the water. Ah, heaven.

I hope the Princess's legs don't blind you with their whiteness....

That's the Prince out there in the waves. He was the only one brave enough to go in the water. It's really COLD!!! He doesn't mind getting sandy, as you can see.

So, hey, do you notice anything different about me? Leave me a comment, and tell me what you think. Do not say it looks like I've gained 15 pounds. It may be true, but that's not what I want you to notice. :-)

Thank you for your kind comments last time. I'm doing better, though I really need to make some changes in our lifestyle here. That's hard to do.

I'm happy to report that the widow of the man who passed away last week is doing well with her pregnancy. She was still having some contractions, but they were under control. I have friends who went to the funeral and said she gave an amazing speech, and even had everyone laughing and crying. Continued prayers for this family are greatly appreciated.

Have a blessed, beautiful, joyful day!

Parenting

2008-05-29T01:03:00.000-07:00

I think I hit my limit tonight.

You have probably gathered that my kids are named "The Prince" and "The Princess" out of a little bit of disgust on my part. I am thoroughly disgusted tonight. I can't even tell you why. I'm too embarrassed. But I will say, I need prayer, and lots of it.

Speaking of prayer: I pray a lot. All the time. I've fallen off the wagon as far as Bible reading and fellowship. I have felt isolated for a long time. Can't put my finger on the cause; I do know it's not God's fault. I went wrong somewhere, and now I have to make my way back. I'm so glad He's forgiving.

I know this sounds random.

If I don't write stuff down, it bounces around my head. I'm just remembering that I used to journal, and it helped to get my head straight. It's 1:00 a.m. I can't sleep for the stomach ache I have, caused by anxiety about my home life.

Thanks for reading, if you got this far. I'll be back to myself soon. Hopefully, an improved me, who actually feels like she's doing God's will. Yeah, that would be nice.

You know what got me on this bumming path today? A very young man (mid-20s) went swimming yesterday morning in a fitness pool. He died in that pool. No one yet knows why. This same man has a wife and two-year-old son. His wife is 7 months pregnant with a boy. She is so distraught that she is in the hospital with premature labor.

This young man returned from Iraq last August. He survived 18 months there as a helicopter pilot (medi-vac, I think). He was constantly shot at. We prayed for his safety all the time. And he survived.

I don't understand. I can't imagine. I'm so sad...and I've never met this family. I've met the young man's brother and his family. They are wonderful, God-loving people. Why?

My own problems pale in comparison. And yet, it drove home a sad truth; I'm not living up to my potential, and I'm not encouraging my kids to, either. I have work to do.

Indiana Jones

2008-05-27T23:07:00.000-07:00

We saw it yesterday. I was not disappointed. It was totally unbelievable. It was silly as could be. Lots of humor. The audience laughed out loud a number of times, and cheered and clapped, too! The special effects were amazing (Industrial Lights & Magic strikes again), and I was happy to see Harrison Ford can still rock it. He's got some awesome biceps! I was completely entertained. I was driven to distraction, however, by imagining what the ride at Disneyland will be like! :-)

I was astonished that several people brought their very young (like under 5 yo) children. There were some pretty scary, loud parts that The Prince especially would never have tolerated at that age. The movie overall was pretty clean...didn't have to cover the kids' eyes even once.

See ya later!
.

Home Sweet Home

2008-05-24T11:14:00.000-07:00

Not that I'd know, lately. Man, I just want an entire day or two to decompress.

Work has picked up a lot. The money is good. However, I am therefore printing documents, taking calls from signing agencies, making calls to borrowers to confirm appointments, trying to help the kids with school work, trying to cook (Ha!), trying to keep up on laundry (hahahahaha), getting La Princess to her classes, trying with all my might to get a working budget (lololololololol). You know, just generally trying to do it all, and not doing anything well. *sigh* I'm tired.

So, I have not been here to blog. I get on the computer, and I check my many bookmarked blogs, but can't bring myself to post to my own blog. Sorry 'bout that.

I haven't worked on the weekends in awhile, but today I have two jobs. So, I'm out of here soon (at about 12), and won't back until 4:30 or 5. I'm glad we have a three-day weekend...I guess I will have my two days of rest!

I really, really, really want to see the Indiana Jones movie. I got some movie tickets by doing a grocery deal at my local grocery store (Pavilions). So, we get to see it for free!!!!

The kids and I saw the Narnia movie the first Friday it was out. Oh my, it was good. I like it better than the first one. The acting was much better, and it was more action-packed and violent. Sorry, I like some violence in my action movies. :-)

I hope everyone out there is well. I'll see ya soon!

Be blessed, and stay safe this weekend.

Mother's Day Tea

2008-05-10T18:57:00.001-07:00

I was kinda feeling sorry for myself. Since we are trying not to spend money, I decided that instead of our usual decadent dinner or brunch out for Mother's Day, we would host a party here at our house. Therefore, Mother's Day will have nothing to do with my own motherhood, just my daughterhood, and daughter-in-law-hood. Yes, I know. B-O-O H-O-O.

However, my mom's dear friend, Lena, invited us out to her church to a Mother's Day Tea today. I figured it would be a nice time, but no big deal. Well, it turned out to be truly lovely.

It was a long drive out to Lena's church. So, we had to stop at Starbucks. Mom bought us our drinks, and we sat for a few minutes, before heading out again.

This was our table. Isn't it pretty? Each table had a hostess who had decorated it, including providing the china. They had a contest in three categories: Most Elegant, Most Original and Most Fun. Ours was in the Most Elegant category, but lost out to a table done in a French theme, with the Eiffel Tower as its centerpiece. We were robbed, I tell you. :-)

The men of the church were our servers. They kept our teapots full, and made sure everyone had all the cold water and pink lemonade they wanted. Mom and The Princess enjoyed their tea very much.

Ahem. And then, there's me. The Winner. Oh yes, I am. I won a gift basket with a beautiful bracelet, a stack of cards (they called it "card stock") and ***drum roll, please*** a $25 gift card to AMC Theaters! Oh yeah. Indiana Jones, here we come!

I really, really, really despise pictures of myself, but I had to gloat. What's that saying? Pride comes before a fall? I almost broke the camera. :-)

And here's Mom and her friend (and our hostess), Lena. Lena actually treated us to the day, which was so wonderful! My mom and Lena first met while working at Mervyn's years and years ago. They now meet (along with Lena's husband and my dad) once a month to have lunch together and shop. They actually look a little bit alike, too.

The guest speaker was a lady who founded a lovely place called "Moses House." Her talk was called "Every Mother's Heart." She quoted Sophia Loren (though when I looked it up, someone else said it), who said, "Making the decision to have a child -- it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." Truer words were never spoken.

And she read this scripture: Jer 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

And so, I am feeling guilty for having a little pity party this week. I can honestly say, I've had my Mother's Day now. I'll be cooking tomorrow, but my brother is bringing some of the side dishes, so I really have no reason to feel put-upon. It's all good. And God is really, really good to bless me despite myself.

To all you mom's, have a blessed, beautiful, wonderful, joyful day!

Tagged by Elisa

2008-05-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

Since she insists I am suffering from writer's block, here goes: :-)

Here are the rules if you decide to play along:
1) Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog
2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4) Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I had a blankie when I was little. It was trimmed with pink satin. I loved to suck on the satin (along with my thumb) as I went to sleep. My mom tried to get me to give up the blankie over and over. I wasn't going for it. One day, she was taking some trash out to the trash can and saw my blankie inside! However, a little while later, it was gone. Yup, I took it out. I did eventually give it up. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

2. My mom was an Avon lady at one time. They used to actually go door to door in their assigned neighborhood. Years after she had quit, we decided to clean out the cabinet in the bathroom that held all the Avon stuff she had accumulated. We started giggling, then laughing, then gasping for breath when we saw all the cheesy little perfume bottles, etc. Mom peed her pants. Oh.yes.she.did. Which almost made me pee my pants, but it didn't. I had better bladder control than she did.

3. I have a younger brother. We didn't get along real well as kids. We are still very, very different. I am pleased as pie that my kids get along, and really love each other. I hardly ever have to apply cold packs after their fights.

4. Although I have the smallest feet, and am the shortest in my house, I come in second for weight. At least I think so.

5. My parents were always the oldest amongst my friends parents. I am the oldest of two. My father was 37 when I was born; my mom was 32. That was OLD back then. Nowadays, people do that all the time.

6. Ack, this is getting harder. Hmmm....okay. Despite being an extrovert, I really, really, really like alone time. I dream about going on a cruise all by myself. Isn't that awful?

7. I don't know if I've mentioned this one before: I always wanted to have at least three kids. I babysat all the time (and absolutely loved it) from the time I was 13. I bought my first car with babysitting money, for Pete's sake. I married someone who only ever wanted two, unfortunately. I dream (yes, I'm dreaming again) of doing the foster-to-adopt thing. Of course, my dreams rarely line up with my husband's, so....

Okay, that's seven. Thanks, Elisa!

I tag the following: Daja, Trish, Tigerlilly, Renna, Mel, Andrea, Nola.

I'm thinkin' they're all gonna kill me, but HA!!! only one of them knows where I live, and I can take her (I think). :-)

I am pitiful

2008-05-04T19:52:00.001-07:00

I've finally figured out why I don't blog more. It's because I LOVE to read other people's blogs more! Also, I hate how long it takes to upload pictures to my blog. I wish it were a lot quicker, so I could just load 'em and go.

So, just as an update, we are not moving to Texas. Yes, I'm heartbroken. Movin' on.

Pictures, pictures, pictures:

This is The Princess and "D." "D" has the voice of an angel, and we found out at the showcase that her brother does, too! He sang a Michael Buble song (I Feel Good), and oh my. So amazing. Both "D" and her bro are in our homeschool coop.

I don't know why The Princess has to do this "look." She's a weirdo.

There's the Princess in the finale. All the kids who take voice sang "Seasons of Love," from "Rent."

The tall kid with dark hair, almost in the middle of the picture, is "D's" brother. The one with the voice of an angel (like his sister). :-)

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

The Princess began taking ballet as a little girl of about 3 or 4. The classes were held through our local Parks & Rec. When she was about 7, she was blessed to attend classes with a lady who lived just a few streets north of ours, and had converted her garage into a studio. She was a former prima ballerina, and The Princess learned a lot about classical music, and the proper names for the positions and ballet moves.

When "Miss Judy" moved away, she didn't want to take ballet anymore. Until now. She just started taking ballet a few months ago at the dance studio she's been attending for over a year. I was beyond thrilled when she got to perform at the showcase.

Sorry about the quality of these pics. I did an auto adjust in Adobe, because they were really, really dark. Someday, I'll upgrade to PhotoShop. The Princess thinks that first pic is weird looking, but I kinda like the affect.

And that's one of her best friends with the long, blonde hair.

Here are her two best buds. She calls them "Twiggy" (the blonde) and "My Mandie" (the brunette). They all have silly names for each other.

By observation over the years, I've found that threes usually don't work. I mean, if my kids have a friend over, and then another one comes along, usually one person is left out, or there is arguing amongst all three. Not with these three. They love dance and theater, and they support each other, and pray for and with each other. Maybe that's the key. They were all in a "showcase" with their dance studio a week or so ago, and this is how they were acting afterwards. It was pretty cute.

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

You may remember this tall beauty from the sleepover. I call her "Punk." These two LOVE the mall. More particularly, they love to try on dressy dresses. I dropped them off a few days ago

They tried on over 20 dresses. In fact, they decided to do a page in our homeschool yearbook entitled "27 Dresses."

We think Punk looks like a mannequin in this picture. :-)

This black and white number was The Princess' favorite. I think this is one of my favorites on the Punk, too. I can't believe my daughter and her friends look like this. I mean, they're gorgeous!

They took this picture just 'cuz it looked cool. I like the affect.

They really should have used the flash, since a lot of the pics are a little fuzzy, but The Princess said the pictures were coming out better if they took them in the mirrors, and the flash made a big bright spot on the picture. Oh, well.

And what, you may ask, has The Prince been up to? Look if you dare.

He wanted to get the lizard close to the camera, but I kept saying "Noooooo, just keep it there and I'll use the zoom!" I cannot believe The Prince can actually catch these little guys, but I've watched him, so there is undeniable proof.

Okay, so I shoulda warned you to get your favorite beverage again. Oops.

A very interesting announcement

2008-04-26T22:59:00.001-07:00

I am now the shortest person that lives in this house. I also have the smallest feet.

That is all.

The problem with scrapbooking...

2008-04-20T00:31:00.000-07:00

I went to a scrapbook "event" today, since it's National Scrapbooking Day! The event ran from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. I've been to a few of these before, so I knew what to expect. I actually spent some time Thursday evening and this morning sorting pictures. I have a huge bin full of pictures dating back to, um, 1996. Yes, the year my son was born. And he just turned 12. Yikes.

I only got about five pages done today! It takes me forever to come up with a plan. I think I have to do some power lay-outs (laying out a number of pages before you actually put them together) before my trip in June. Otherwise, I'll come home from that trip with a few pages per day, and that would just be wrong.

Since I now have a beautiful new computer armoire, I am using my old desk to sort pictures. I have to say, it's not pretty. It's very, very messy. But, I am going to that scrapbooking retreat in Texas in June, and I simply must have a plan in place by then.

Here's the new armoire. I got it FOR FREE from some friends who are completely gutting their home, and are buying all new custom furniture.

Isn't it pretty? It had some dings in it, but I used a brown Sharpie and VOILA, you can't even see 'em now! I have more stuff in there now, and have more to put in, but I think it will keep our family room in better shape.

Anyway, that's all for now. Hope you have a great weekend!

The Prince is 12!

2008-04-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy couple days. Friday night began The Prince's birthday festivities. He had his buddy, Tyler, spend the night. We ended up seeing "Nim's Island," with Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin...and Gerard Butler. *sigh* Very cute flick, and completely clean. The boys thought it was a chick flick.

The next day, The Prince, Tyler and Jarren went to LazerStar. They played four games of Lazer tag, and played a slew of video games. They won an abundance of tickets, and were able to buy each of them a toy gun and a gob of plastic army figures.

This was a jump-rope game. The light went around, and you had to jump "over" it. It was hard!

Time to cash in those tickets.

We usually have two birthday parties per kid now: One for the friends, and one for the family. The grandparents just wouldn't think it was cool to spend an afternoon at a very loud place like LazerStar. We tried the Chuck E. Cheese thing with grandparents one time - it wasn't pretty. So, tonight, The Prince's actual birthday (Tax Day Baby), we had the grandparents, my brother and a cousin over to celebrate.

The Princess & The Prince with Grandpa Shutterbug. Yes, that's what we call him.

An interesting development: The kids want cold, hard CASH for the their birthdays and Christmas now. The Prince wants to buy himself a new game system, so he raked in the bucks! Makes opening gifts kinda anti-climactic, I must say.

So, I wanted to get pictures of The Prince with everyone. It came time to sit with Daddy. "Um, hey guys, can you just take a normal picture? Guys? Hello!!!!!?????"

Never mind. Then, I had to participate in some bad picture posing, as well.

Here's a public service announcement for those of you with little kids: ENJOY THEM. THEY GROW UP TOO QUICKLY. Pretty soon they will be your height. Their voices will deepen (at least the boys' will). They won't be able to climb up on your lap for a hug and kiss when they hurt themselves (or someone else hurts them). It happens in a flash:

The Prince eating cake on his first birthday.

And on his second birthday.

And on his third birthday.

I wish I had a time machine. Really. Okay, I'm off for a good cry.

Blessings and love to you.

Better grab your favorite beverage...this might take awhile.

2008-04-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

Updates first:

The Princess' headache continues. She is currently in Texas with her dad, but yesterday we went to a Chinese herbalist. He diagnosed her problems (and named them without any history) by her pulse, from her wrist to her elbow. It was an interesting process. We were given an herb mixture to make into a thick tea, which she is to take 4 times a day, at four hour intervals. By the fourth dose, she had major gastro-intestinal problems. :-( So, I sent her off this morning (at 5:00 a.m.) with her dad, and without the herbs. She just can't be cooped up in a car and have these problems right now. I'll be contacting the doctor tomorrow about this.
My weight. I don't talk about it much. If you haven't read way back, you don't know that I lost 35 lbs from April of '07 to about September of '08. I then hit a plateau, and maintained...until a few months ago. I've now gained 10 lbs. I feel AWFUL. It's only a matter of getting back on my program, and moving along again...and letting God handle all the garbage in my life, instead of eating.
The Prince and I are on our own until next Tuesday or Wednesday. As I said before, The Gearhead and the Princess are in TX at this very moment, currently looking for lodging for the night. They will attend a car show in Austin over the weekend, then head to Dallas area to stay with our friends there, then head back on Monday or Tuesday. I'm voting for Tuesday. There's a certain AWESOME house that is just a few blocks from our friends' house that I want him to look at. The dream has not died. :-)

Now, for pictures! This first set is The Prince and his "homey," who we affectionately call "Tyleroni."

Here are two little piggies.

"Come on, Tyler! Let me take your picture!"

All I said was, "Can you guys get closer so I can take your picture?" They just can't be normal.

This is *normal* for them.

'Course, you'd have to ask around to see if anyone's ever seen Tyler truly act normal. He's basically a bunch of silly wrapped up in a 12 year old's body.

Remember that sweet baby, "E?" My kids and I were blessed to watch their three older siblings last Saturday while their mom and dad went to a wedding. That park down the street from our house really comes in handy. :-)

Before you lecture me on letting kids go face down on the slide, I have to say this:

We homeschool. We march to the beat of...our own drummer. That's how we roll. And I checked with his mom later, who confirmed that they too allow the kid to slide face down. Ha! They homeschool, too, so I knew she wouldn't mind.

'Course his older, mature sister, Riley, had to make sure he wasn't going too fast.

And about that tow-headed boy you see there. Let me tell you a little tale:

This is Jacob. He's 4. He is cuteness personified, even when he's naughty, as illustrated below. He got a drink of water from the fountain, and soaked the entire front of his shirt. That's not where the naughty comes in.

This is where the naughty comes in. He laid down in the sand, and rubbed his wet shirt into it.

And did I stop him?! Nooooooo! All I could think was, "I can't wait to show these to his mom!"

He finally got up and realized I was taking his picture, which didn't really seem to bother him.

He calmly walked over to where I was sitting, and promptly fell on his knees again, right in front of me.

Yeah, he wasn't AT ALL ashamed of his sandy ways.

The Princess was hanging out with some friends and met us at the park, before heading back to our house.

That's The Princess in the middle, flanked by her two best friends. They are such cute girls. And that's Mel the dog, if you didn't know.

This is how the girls spent their afternoon:

And this is how the boys spent theirs:

It was major estrogen in one room, and testosterone in the other!

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

This is The Princess with her friend "K," her brother and a family friend. They are very colorful, no? That shirt the Princess is wearing was white when she left home! They had just concluded a Hindu spring celebration wherein, for some reason, they throw powdered colors on each other, and squirt each other with water.

"K" has been a friend of The Princess' for a number of years. They are also homeschoolers, but they moved away last year, and we don't see them very much anymore.

It was K's 16th birthday, so they met at a local restaurant in the morning, then proceeded to the park for this festival. The Princess was the only Caucasian there, and they really made sure her blondish, reddish hair got LOTS of color in it. Which would have been fine, except...

...it's henna. And y'all may know that henna is darn near permanent. So, after resolving to never let her color her hair again, this is what we have. Her comment? "When I was in 3rd grade, I used to think how neat it would be to dye my hair blue. I don't think it's very neat now."

Some of the color has washed out, but there are still decidedly blue sections. I've never used the term "It'll grow out," so many times in such a short period of time!

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

Note the swelling on the left cheekbone. The Prince and his sister were horsing around, chasing each other through the house. I was peacefully taking a shower.

The Princess came in the bathroom and said, "Um, The Prince got hurt." She wasn't hysterical, so I just said, "Okay. What happened?" She said that he went in his room and closed the door. She had her hand on the doorknob, and started to open it just as he grabbed the doorknob from the inside and pulled. The door smacked him in the face, and pushed his glasses into his cheek. It doesn't look as bad here as it did in real life. Oh, and that expression? Strictly a re-enactment of his distress, not the real thing. I'm not that heartless.

And this is a few days later. Ah, a lovely shade of black and blue.

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

And now, if you haven't fallen asleep already, I have more scrapbook pictures. These are some of the first pages I'd ever done, besides my dad's book. I've decided to take a totally different route with scrapping, which I'll elaborate on after I show you these:

These are The Prince's first and second birthdays. I had so much fun doing these pages. I didn't get too crazy, but they are colorful and fun. He loves them. Every so often he asks me to pull them out so he can look at them.

These are pages I did of the construction we did on our house about six years ago. It was quite the ordeal. Whenever you act as your own contractor, and then do all the work yourself, it's gonna be dirty, messy, stinky, stressful. And it was. But, we now have a family room and The Princess was able to move out of the room she shared with her brother, and got her own room. My kitchen was enlarged and completely remodeled.

And, let's not forget The Gearhead. He got a 1,000 square foot garage, with a bathroom, office and a loft. Poor guy.

My new tactic for scrapping will be to use a color scheme for each child. The Princess chose pink and green, and The Prince chose black and green. My girlfriend in Texas has mastered this approach, and accomplishes an incredible amount when she is able to work on it. When I return from Texas in June, I'm sure I'll have lots of pages to show you.

Blessings to you (especially if you got this far!!)!!!

I'm alive, I'm alive!

2008-04-01T11:24:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the week-long sabbatical. I've got pictures to show y'all, and stuff to tell you, but feeling overwhelmed by life at the moment.

I'm going to upload some pics and get them posted here ASAP.

Just venting

2008-03-25T00:53:00.000-07:00

I am sooo tired of The Princess' headache. She is, too. Today, it got to an 11 on a scale of 1-10. I darn near took her to the E.R. She started shivering, then fell asleep, and woke up feeling a little better.

Later, she was able to go to a class she takes, and then in the evening the headache came back with a vengeance. She drank two glasses of black iced tea at 10:30 p.m. and it went away. I wonder if she's able to sleep. She has to get up early in the morning to babysit!

I called her pediatrician today, who, by the way, I love. She was so understanding. I told her about the neuro and drug he wanted to put her on, and that we wouldn't be doing that. She didn't try to talk me into it, but did say, "I don't prescribe that drug." Hmmmm....

We'll be doing blood work in the next few days. I'm praying we can find answers. This poor kid wants to get back to her life, and I want to stop stress eating.

Blessings to you all.

HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN, INDEED!!!

2008-03-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

We went to an Easter Vigil last night at 11 p.m. It was lovely, and moving, and uplifting. As we entered the church, we were each handed a small bell. The church was dark until the end of the service, and when they turned all the lights on, everyone rang their bells. After hearing of God's preparation of His people for the sacrifice of his Son (the Passover, and then the exodus, and then Jesus' death and resurrection), and being amazed at his provision, what a wonderful way to celebrate Jesus!

And since it's my blog, and I can do whatever I want with it, I want you to know that the One who died for you longs to know you personally. If you don't know Jesus personally, please introduce yourself to Him. He's only a prayer away.

"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9

Have a blessed, beautiful Easter!!!

Just when I think my kids aren't learning a thing...

2008-03-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

At about 9:30 p.m. last night, The Princess emerged from her chambers and asked me if I could find her a dictionary. The last time I checked, the dictionary was in her room, but there's no telling what black hole it fell into (there are many in her abode; that's the only explanation for the many, many missing items over the years). I found a "Student" dictionary, and handed it to her. I followed her to her room and said, "What do you need a dictionary for?"

Are you sitting down?

My daughter - the one with the headache, the one who is unnaturally preoccupied with eye shadow and lip gloss these days, the one who changes clothes ten times before leaving the house, the one who can dance like an angel - is reading "The Federalist Papers." Not because she has to. Not because I told her to. No. She is reading "The Federalist Papers" because she is interested in early American history, and how the country's parties were formed.

She did the same thing with the Narnia books a few years ago. She read them all. Then read them again. Then, I started looking for other Narnia resources. There's an entire homeschool curriculum based on the Narnia books called "Further Up and Further In." She did that for awhile. I found books that used the Narnia series as a basis for other study, and she ate those up, too.

That led to a love of all things "The Inklings." If you don't know, C.S. Lewis was one of "The Inklings," a club of sorts consisting of writers who got together on a regular basis to discuss their writings. J.R.R. Tolkien was one of them, as was Edith Nesbitt. So, The Princess started reading Edith Nesbitt. She hasn't dug into J.R.R. Tolkien yet, but I think she will eventually.

So, I guess I ought to stop worrying that we don't do enough here for school. The Princess especially has a growing love of learning, and that's my ultimate goal. That, and a love of God.

Blessings!

The Miracle (NOT) of Modern Medicine

2008-03-20T18:32:00.001-07:00

The Prince got better, and the Princess started with the fever, etc. *sigh* And of course, we have our old friend the-never-ending-frickin'-headache that is still with us.

This is the headache info up to this point:

Headache began approximately 7-8 weeks ago;
Went to pediatrician, who put her on antibiotics for 10 days for a perceived sinus infection;
Antibiotics did NOTHING;
Pediatrician referred The Princess to a neurologist, who promptly ordered an MRI;
MRI was totally and completely normal, brain and sinuses included;
Neuro prescribed a drug which is not recommended for children under 18, 'cuz it causes suicidal thoughts;
And right there, I lost all trust in modern, traditional medicine (and she won't be taking said drug);
I made an appointment with a Chinese acupunturist/herbalist. Unfortunately, he doesn't have an appointment until 4/2.

So, although the headache persists, she seems to be functioning a little, tiny bit better. She isn't back to her regular energetic self, but we're getting there.

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

I wanted to give a shout out to my high school friend, Terre. She and I made connections again awhile back. It's so neat to re-connect with someone who I considered one of the nicest people in high school. I don't have one bad memory of Terre. She was and is an exceptional human being. Unfortunately, she lives far away, but we keep in touch on the phone. Love ya, Terre.

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

Work for me is picking up, which is why I haven't had as much time to blog (not that I'm that consistent anyway). I really don't want to get too busy with work, since the kids do need me to help with school and stuff. It's such a hard thing, finding a balance.

That's it for me for now. The Princess and I are headed to a "Mary Kay Cosmetics" party. Have a blessed Easter, if I don't get back here before then!

HE IS RISEN!!!!!!!!!!!

Adventures in Babysitting

2008-03-16T20:51:00.001-07:00

Well, in addition to dealing with The Princess's never-ending headache, we now have The Prince down and out with the flu, AGAIN. What the heck!!!??? Poor guy has a fever, pounding headache, runny nose and sore throat.

We had the five darling Gombojav kids here yesterday, and they were so looking forward to playing at our house, because of The Prince. You might remember that three of the Gombojav kids spent some time at our house awhile back. The Prince loves to rough-house and is so good with younger children.

When The Prince woke up yesterday morning, he had what I thought was a migraine (he's gotten them over the years). I shipped him off to Grandma's so that the kids wouldn't disturb him. Well, we took his temp later on and realized he had a fever. Bummer. Grandma brought him home, and he laid on the couch and tried to sleep a bit.

The kids were really good, and we had a blast. I was a little worried about how to keep them busy all afternoon, but it worked out really well. We started out at the park. There were threatening clouds above, but we risked it, and I'm so glad we did!

The Princess helping three of the boys onto the tire swing.

Captain enjoying the swing!

Ihbeleg laughing and laughing. I was pretending to grab his toes. He thought that was soooo funny! I tried to do a little video, but I couldn't concentrate on making him laugh and filming at the same time.

Meg and Izzy on the tire swing. They were screaming at the top of their lungs!

Captain in the sand. He "borrowed" this little rake from someone in the park. :-)

I know you're not supposed to let the kids slide face down, but we're homeschoolers, and that's how we roll. :-) Meg was hanging out on that ladder just like the Princess was the day before. It must be a girl thing.

Lucas kept saying "Take my picture!" He moved around so much that I got the fewest pictures of him! The Princess called to me, and then held Ihbeleg up above the side of the play equipment. Can you tell he's having a ball?!

That's Ihbeleg walking along the side of my kitchen. He was fascinated with the sound of the dishwasher.

And that's Daja and Gana, the handsome parents of all these cute kids. You can see where they get it. :-)

So, I think I've posted more pictures of this family than their mom posts on her blog! I was showing Daja and Gana the pics of the kids I had taken yesterday, and I couldn't believe how many pictures I have of them in my camera! We are in the same homeschool group, so we see them pretty frequently, and obviously, I love taking pictures of her kids. :-)

Be blessed!

At the park

2008-03-14T22:45:00.001-07:00

One of the things I love about homeschooling is that my kids get to spend a lot of time together. The Prince and the Princess have had their squabbles. Their fights are usually pretty short-lived, and they usually end up laughing.

I didn't have this kind of fun with my brother at my kids' ages. He was pesky, and I'm sure he thought I was horrid. We didn't do anything together; I just wanted him out of my room, and away from my friends. Ack, it sounds awful, but that's what I remember.

These two, on the other hand, kinda like each other's company:

The Prince hasn't always been as daring as he is these days. And, he certainly doesn't take after his mother. I skinned my knees so badly as a little kid by jumping off swings, that I just didn't do it as I got older. We had black top to land on in kindergarten. My, how things have changed.

Yep, that's my boy! You can call him "Superman." I could not believe how high off the ground he was in a few of these pictures.

The Princess is all about finding a way to relax, no matter where she is:

Not sure how comfortable this was, but it sure looks cool. :-)

We're going to have some cooler, wet weather this weekend. I'm hoping to starting some gardening (for the first time in my life) next week. I want to build a planter for the front of my house. The Gearhead tells me my plan sounds kinda "ghetto." Nice, huh? I'll post pics, of course, if my plan ever gets off the ghetto, I mean, ground.

Scrapbook - FINALLY

2008-03-14T19:26:00.001-07:00

I took a few pictures of the scrapbook I did for my dad. You will be underwhelmed, I assure you. It's nice and all, but in this case, I didn't spend a whole lot of time. I had to do 33 or so pages in two days, so it was utilitarian.

This is the letter from my aunt to my dad (her brother), along with a picture of their family. My grandfather died when my dad was only 15, and my aunt was 11 or so. The letter is pretty touching.

This letter was from a long-time friend of my dad's. They are elderly and don't fly anymore, but would have come from Maryland to the party, if they could have. The gentleman called my dad in the middle of the party, and called us a number of times in the days before to see how the plans were coming. :-)

Read this letter. This man and the "Don" referred to in the letter came from Northern California for the party, with their wives. Dad didn't get enough time to talk to them, unfortunately. I'm hoping they can get together again.

This was our French exchange student when I was a sophomore in high school. He drove me crazy (he really liked me, and I had a boyfriend). My parents still keep in touch with him. He's a steward for a French airline, so he comes to L.A. now and then, and he and my folks meet up for lunch or dinner. (I don't know why this is underlined.)

This is my goofy cousin and his family. He wrote a letter, as well, but I just took pics of some of the pages that were kinda pretty, not just writing.

Okay, that's it. Toldja it wouldn't be exciting, but at least I finally did it!

More Sleepover Madness!!!!

2008-03-10T22:20:00.001-07:00

Here are some more pics from the sleepover...and its aftermath:

Fun with weird make-up at 2:00 a.m., or so.

"Tag," all grins.

"Punk" and The Princess - super punchy.

"Tag" and "Punk" These two have been friends since they were little kids, and yet they and the Princess mesh beautifully. I love these girls.

Girly pile!!!!! No psychotic girls were injured during the making of this conglomeration.

They had to try really hard not to crack up here. This is what you call goth, at least that's what they tell me. You have no idea how far from these girls' personalities this picture is.

And this was Sunday after church. After just four hours sleep.

Yeah, it was like that. An ugly sleep it was. Snoring, talking in their sleep, etc. I should have gotten video, but I was too tired to be that clever.

I wanna have another sleep-over! It was sooo much fun! My daughter tells me I'm a freak. Little does she know, people say we're a lot alike...

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

So, speaking of fun...I had a really neat realization a few days ago. The Gearhead and the Princess are headed to Texas for a car show. They'll be gone about 6 days. I'm thinkin', "I wonder what I can do with the Prince while they're gone. Hmmmm..." and then it hits me! He has a weekend trip with the youth group from church. During the same time the Gearhead and the Princess are gone. Soooo, I'll have Friday, Saturday and Sunday to myself. No kids. No husband. Just me. mwahaha. I told a couple friends about this amazing occurrence, and the first comment? "Do you drink wine?!!" Uh, yeah! Me thinks another partay is in my future.

Just so my gentle readers (all two of you) don't get the wrong idea, I'm not a big drinker. I do enjoy a glass of wine now and then, but nothing too radical (at least not anymore). :-) I may have a few girlfriends over though, and we may have a glass of wine. That is all.

SLEEPOVER!!!!!

2008-03-08T22:23:00.000-08:00

Do not be alarmed. I have not allowed alcohol or drugs into my home, though the following video may imply it:

That's me, singing "Metal Health," and then laughing hysterically. The Princess is having her friend, who I'll call "Punk," spend the weekend while her folks are out of town. We've been having a good time.

We watched "Across the Universe," with another friend, who I'll call "Tag." Then Tag's mom came over. And we kept watching the movie. And we kept wishing for it to be OVER. It was very, very long, and very, very weird. 'Nuff said.

Hope the video entertains. :-)

Better late than never, Sniz Darlin'

2008-03-03T20:31:00.000-08:00

THIS IS MY SECOND POST TODAY: PLEASE DON'T MISS THE ONE BELOW THIS ONE.

Sniz tagged me a long time ago it seems, for this meme.

The LOOK AT THIS STUFF! ISN'T IT NEAT? meme

Find five things around your house (relatively) that say something about the person you are and snap a picture of them.

Tell us about them.

Link back to me in your post so I can be all nosy.

Tag five (or more...or less...I'm easy like Sunday morning, my loves **me too - Claire**) folks via their comments and tell us who you tagged.

1. This isn't in my house, but I hope to live in the house of the One who created it someday. :-)

2. I would not be married to this man (17 years this Sunday!) if he didn't make me laugh. A lot. Everyday. He'd be dead by now, and I'd be in prison, and our children would be raised by my crazy brother.

3. These are the shelves above the toilet in our bathroom. Too much stuff, and I really don't need y'all comin' over and looking at my personal hygiene thangs. So....

3(a). ...after years of wanting something to cover up the personal stuff, I designed and almost sewed these panels. There are two panels, so you can get into the stuff from the middle or either side. Two tension rods hold it in place. I almost sewed it, because I took it to my mom's so she could help me, but I got sick the next day, so she finished it.

4. This is the Princess (who will kill me when she sees these pics on here). When she was little, I read her an alphabet book ad nauseum that had little rhymes to go with each letter, and each letter was an animal. She still remembers the millions of times she was required (and is still required, as you can see) to perform the above re-enactment of the letters F and G.

So, on the left (and you MUST say this out loud, at the top of your lungs): Frogs frowning!!!!
And on the right (again, at the top of your lungs): Gophers grinning!!!

It was a lot cuter when she was 2.

5. Ya see this very pretty curio cabinet? It has held various and sundry stuff for years, but I love it's current assortment of glass and crystal. It looks soooo pretty when the light is on. In the next BIG ONE, I will lose it all, but at least it looks pretty for now!

This is really only the second one directly about me. I bought this cabinet was I was 19 years old. I lived at home, and I worked at a fancy department store. It was a floor model, so I got it for cheap. I paid $25 per month for two years to pay it off. I nearly lost it during the Sierra Madre Earthquake in 1991, but it only popped open, and some of my wedding gifts fell out and were broken. The cabinet just rocked and rolled.

I'm not gonna tag anyone, 'cause this was a lot of work (obviously, since I didn't really follow the rules), and I gave up tagging for Lent. Not really.

Adventures of Mel the Dog

2008-03-03T19:54:00.000-08:00

This is Mel. Or at least Mel's rear-end.

And what is Mel doing, you ask? He's hunting LIZARDS!!!!!!!

The kids and I were screaming, "Get 'em, Mel, get 'em!!!!" And he was trying with all his might. 'Cause he's a good dog, and always does what he's told (NOT).

He kept getting deeper and deeper into the wood pile. It was really quite funny. His tail was flipping around, and we could hear him making funny grunting noises.

Isn't his tail pretty?

He finally started coming out of the wood pile. What happened next is startling...and I didn't get a picture of it, because I was SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS!!!!!! Mel caught himself a big, juicy lizard. It's arms, legs and tail were hanging out of his mouth. I got in the house as quickly as I could, since I KNEW he would be presenting me with his catch, and I just didn't want that kind of present!!!

I sure wish I had gotten that last picture, but you will just have to take my word for it.

The eyes...don't have it.

2008-02-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

The eye doctor says that her eyes are fine. *sigh* I was really hoping she just needed glasses, but no. He said, however, that there is nothing to indicate any kind of, um, bad thing, like a tumor. Ugh, I hate to even think that. There's no swelling behind her eyes. Okay, so tomorrow we have the appointment with the chiropractor. We shall see what he has to say.

I'm not doing the fast with the group. I'm feeling awfully raw emotionally, so I probably should, but I couldn't stay to worship with the kids because I knew I'd be a crying mess, and I just don't want to embarrass my son. (wow, long sentence) Anyway, I left him with a full tummy. We ate at Chili's as his farewell-to-food meal. Here are a couple pictures:

Mini burgers and onion rings, yum. Why does he look like it's his last meal? Because it is!!! (for awhile)

Yum, Dr. Pepper. Man, he's gonna crash when he gets really hungry.

Remember Rodney Allen Rippee? He can barely get his mouth around that burger!

Stuffed.

Have a blessed, beautiful weekend!!!

2008-02-28T18:31:00.000-08:00

So, we're heading to the eye doctor tomorrow to check out the Princess' sight. I'm really starting to panic a bit about this headache. She does okay one day, and the next is barely able to lift her head at times (like today). Saturday, a "wellness chiropractor" is coming to our home to see her and adjust her. He came highly recommended, so I hope he can help with her symptoms. He recommended we get into the neuro for the diagnostics, and rule out anything, um, bad. Since the neuro doesn't think a young girl with a headache for weeks is urgent, we still have more than a week to wait for that appointment.

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

'Member when I was talkin' about being "on program" with the weight loss thing? Well, it's amazing how quickly I can go "off program." If I'm hungry and not at home, there's no telling where I might end up...like A&W. Yikes. I've told The Prince that if he does his homework and has a good attitude about his class that I'll take him to lunch each Thursday after class. Today, his choice was A&W. Cheeseburger, onion rings, and a Diet Pepsi. Cracks me up. As if the Diet Pepsi will off-set the 3 billion calories you just ate. I'm again back on track now.

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

The Prince and I will be embarking on a 30 Hour Fast starting tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. It's put on by World Vision, and the kids of our homeschool group decided to fast and raise funds to feed starving children. The Prince pledged to raise $250.00. I was freaking out a little. I'm very uncomfortable asking people for money, even if it's for a good cause. The Prince, on the other hand, doesn't mind asking at all. :-) Neither does the Gearhead. Thus, The Prince (with Dad's help) has raised (at this moment) $274.40. He beat his goal!!!! He still has a few people who said they would donate, so hopefully he can get to them this evening. So neat. I wonder if he realizes how hungry he's going to be. We are doing a "juice" fast, so will be able to drink juice now and then during the fast. That and lots of water.

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

Please pray for the kids of Park Academy in the next few days. They range in age from 11 to 16, and most (if not all) have never fasted, much less for 30 hours. They'll be doing all kinds of activities together, and continuing to raise money for starving kids. They get to participate in several worship services, devotions and prayer time.

2008-02-26T22:49:00.000-08:00

What to write about, what to write about....

The Princess spent the night at my folks' last night. They then went to the mall today, where she conned Grandma into buying her three cute tops. They ate lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, and then headed home. This activity from the headache girl. Amazingly, the headache was better today, but tonight, she's hurting.

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

The Prince and I were home alone almost all day. I helped him with school, and we took a walk to Starbucks with the doggie. So, I actually got some exercise today! Our temps went up to the high 70s today, so there was no excuse not to get out there.

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

On the weight loss front: I was up a bit a few days ago, but I started on program again, and am down three pounds already. I'm pretty sure I was retaining water, since I hadn't been drinking a whole lot for the past few weeks. I really, really want to see myself down to my target weight by the holidays. That's 35 pounds in nine months. I don't think that's unreasonable. I KNOW it's going to take exercise, which is the hardest part.

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

Had a long talk with a friend today about kid issues. It's so hard to determine whether our early teenage kids are having hormone rages, or just plain ol' disobedience rages, or a combination. My take is that there's no excuse, even if they are hormone-induced. (Mean mommy, I know).

The Prince gave me attitude today while doing some school work, so I took away a sleepover we had planned for tonight. Yep, no warning. He smarted off, and it was G.O.N.E. It's amazing how much his mood improved after getting over the initial shock. And, he's been doing school tonight like it's going out of style.

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

I have been very lazy lately on posting pictures and doing memes and putting my awards up. I've gotten two now, and I just can't bring myself to figure out how to do it! I will get to it, I promise. I realized I was going to post weight loss pictures many moons ago, but haven't, as well. That's because I get really brave, and then when I'm not posting, I think "Um, what were you thinking, dork?! You're going to post pictures of yourself for all the world (well, all 8 of you) to see?!"

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

File this under: Weird things about Claireboe:

I have been sleeping on my couch since September when we remodeled our bedroom. The Gearhead has been sleeping on a twin bed in "our" room. Today, I decided that my aching back and neck could take no more...I set up our king-size Sleep Number bed on our floor, since the box spring is gone. Yep, I'm heading off to sleep on a bed! In my room!

'Night!!!!!

2008-02-24T00:05:00.000-08:00

My friend, Sniz, asked in the comments what the status was on moving to Texas. I'd say the status is...hmmmm, that's a very good question. You'd have to ask the Gearhead, who isn't talking.

At least for now, we're staying here. There's a Catch 22 here: If we were to move, we'd have a lot of work (mostly completing started projects) to do to prepare the house. At this point, the Gearhead is working, working, working, working, working, all the time to make ends meet (we're still not). So, he wouldn't have time to finish projects. And before y'all tell me I can do it, let me assure you - I can't.

God still hasn't given a clear answer about the move, either. The Gearhead is actively looking for a better-paying job. He is talking with a friend that has his own company who'd like to hire the Gearhead as his right-hand man. He'd pay him very well, and the Gearhead would be able to use his people skills (which are underused right now) as well as his technical skills (which are vast).

My honest feeling is that the Gearhead wants to try and make it here. I think he feels a heavy responsibility towards his parents (he is the only child), who would move with us. Although they would follow us, I think it would be really hard on them in many ways. He experienced a traumatic move when he was a kid (within the state), and worries that the kids could have a similar experience.

I don't quite know how I'll learn to cope here. Everyday I read the newspaper, and there is something that turns my stomach, whether it's crime, or more construction locally, or talk about traffic (because it's pervasive here). I've already eliminated t.v. from my life, so I have to read the paper just to know what's going on in the world!

Well, this has been a downer post. Wait, let's turn it around!

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

The Princess and I ushered at a small theater tonight, and we got to see "Dreamgirls" for free! It was put on by the studio that she attends for her dance classes. Many of the actors in the play were professionals. The entire production was well-done. I sure do love live theater.

The Prince went to the snow today! It's been his dream for a few years to go to the local mountains and enjoy the winter snow, but I'm not for driving in it, and the Gearhead isn't for the cold, so it hasn't happened. Well, some friends have friends (get that?) who own a cabin, and invited us along with some other homeschool friends for the weekend. When push came to shove, I chose not to drive it (chains were required), but I got a friend's family to take him. He came home with two sets of soaking wet clothes. Another friend who was there today said that The Prince and his friend were outside almost the entire time! He told me that I over-dressed him - that he was fine in a t-shirt! It was between 30 and 40 degrees out there!!

He is dying to tell me about his day, but it was late when I got home from the theater, and we're getting up for church in the morning, so I told him he'd have to wait until tomorrow.

Okay, so I ended on a high note! Yay!!!!

My Prince

2008-02-21T23:25:00.001-08:00

The Prince is a very sweet kid. I noticed that I don't talk about him as much as The Princess. I think it's because he's lower maintenance. She is non-stop with the activities, and the friends, and the plans.

He, on the other hand, is kinda easy going in his day-to-day life. He likes to lounge around with the dog, talk on the phone, play video games, run around outside, visit the neighbors, hang out with the Gearhead. He wants to be a pastor when he grows up, and live in a mobile home, to avoid being in debt. He saves most of his money, but has been known to be very generous in his giving (tithing, as well as treating his sister or myself to a Starbucks, for instance).

So, this post is all about my Prince. Observe the following photographs, depicting the silliness that is my son:

The goofy begins.

Note the sister in the background. She was saying, "You'd better be careful! She's going to put those pictures on her blog!"

He obviously didn't care if these pics were going public.

There's a little of that sweet stuff.

Ah, yes, there it is. I love this kid.

We are already starting to hear his voice crack a little, sometimes. Pretty soon, he's going to sound like his dad. He won't get people mistaking him for me or his sister on the phone.

Just yesterday, he was born and doubled the testosterone in the house. He smiled the day he was born. I'd show you the picture, but we don't have a scanner, and it's not digital. However, there is proof.

He was a very easy baby. Slept through the night early on (and that's saying something for a breast-fed baby). He has a stubborn streak, yes. But, then, that's a family trait, I'm afraid.

Here's a funny story about The Prince and his stubbornness. The Gearhead wasn't much for taking care of the kids when they were little. If I had to go somewhere, I understood that the kids would be hungry and tired when I got home. One day, it was nearing dinner time, and Momma wasn't home. The Prince, who was all of 2 years old, told the Gearhead he wanted pasta. Actually, he said, "Me want pasta." The Gearhead told him that when Momma got home, he'd get some pasta. Well, The Prince kept insisting "ME WANT PASTA!" louder and louder. Finally, the Gearhead put him in his room, and told him he could come out when he had settled down.

The Prince spent a few minutes in his room, pondering his next move, I'm sure. He finally said, "Okay, Daddy. Me come out." The Gearhead let him out of his room, and The Prince promptly said to the Gearhead "You me gotta talk." Stifling his laughter, the Gearhead said, "Okay, Buddy. What?" The Prince, in all his glory said, "ME WANT PASTA!!!!"

He and his sister get along pretty well. There was a day, about a year ago, that he had a meltdown, right in the kitchen. They had been arguing fiercely about something. He turned to me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Mom, she used to like to play with me. Now, all she does is ignore me or yell at me!" I nearly cried myself. Things have gotten better since then. They share a love of music, and spend time together, with him playing keyboard, and her singing. Or, they just goof off together. In fact, their dad frequently has to break up the fun in the evenings (pillow fights, etc.) so they'll go to bed!

The Princess sometimes helps him with his school work. In fact, one day I was so frustrated with him that I had to walk away. I came back in the room to find her teaching him some math...and they were giggling. Over math. In this house. That, my friends, is a miracle.

Have a blessed day!

Status update

2008-02-21T14:11:00.001-08:00

Weight: Up
Mood: About the same
Children: Royal (as usual)
Gearhead: Working
Work: Picking up (!!!!!)
Finances: Disaster waiting to happen

That is all.

Busy, busy, busy

2008-02-20T17:22:00.001-08:00

Ack! I'm touching down for about 1/2 hour before heading out AGAIN. This was our day, so far:

Got up and rolling this morning. The Princess' headache seems to be better, but she still gets nauseous every stinkin' time she eats. She can only eat small amounts at a time, too.

I helped The Prince with some school work. We got out of here at about 12:45, dropped The Prince at Grandma's, and headed to a "motel meeting" for the curriculum The Princess uses. The company is based in Tennessee, so they have these meetings where you can go look at the curriculum and buy it at a discount, and with no shipping costs (though it is shipped). We got her some Science, Literature (9th grade level, since the books were better), and more Math.

Then we hurried over to a dance store that is closing to get her some new ballet shoes. Hers were wearing out. Well, since the deals were so good, we got: Ballet slippers (1/2 price), jazz shoes (1/2 price), three leotards, a dance bag that will hold all her stuff so she doesn't have to carry two bags, two pairs of tights, and a free umbrella! The umbrellas look like the one used in "Singin' In the Rain." Gotta love Gene Kelly.

THEN, we zoomed (as much as you can zoom in rush hour traffic in So Cal) to her ballet class. She was 15 minutes late, and came out with her head pounding. :-(

We picked up The Prince, came home, and are preparing to head out AGAIN, to take The Prince to church. He starts Junior High tonight! I hope he enjoys it as much as he's enjoyed "Preteen."

That's it for now!

Big time BLAHS

2008-02-19T13:20:00.000-08:00

The Princess is still suffering from an awful headache. Going on three weeks. We have a referral in for a neurologist, and she's on antibiotics and steroid nose spray, in case it's a sinus infection.

She admitted to me today that she is really stressed about the prospect of moving. On one hand, she wants to move so we aren't so strapped for money. On the other, she doesn't want to leave her friends. The Gearhead is simply not talking about it. No movement, either way. *sigh* I'm wantin' to cry.

I talked to my dad last night. He said, "I'm just now hearing how much work you put into my party, and the scrapbook. You did a beautiful job." That was nice to hear. I have to get the scrapbook back from him to finish a few things, and I will post pics then.

Here are few from the weekend:

My uncle, Mom and aunt. Uncle C is my mom's brother, and Aunt N is his wife.

The Princess and Grandpa

That's the scrapbook they're looking at. The Princess still had a headache at this point, but most folks had left already, and it was quiet.

Blessings.

The party's over...

2008-02-16T23:47:00.001-08:00

I'd be willing to say it was a huge success. Dad was appropriately blown away. My idea of having an "Open house" was the only thing that didn't really pan out. I mean, almost EVERYONE came at around the same time, but filtered out until about 7:30 p.m. Everyone was in the house, and it was getting so crowded! I told Dad "Go outside, and they will follow you!" :-) That did the trick. People realized there were tables and chairs in the backyard, and then it all flowed.

Dad loves his scrapbook, and spent some time reading it after everyone left. There was still too much activity for him to concentrate, so I left it for him to look at tomorrow. I'm going to add greetings from The Prince & Princess, and make pockets for all the cards people gave him today. I'm also going to print out the invitation on some nice paper and put it in the book.

My aunt and uncle from Kansas are meeting us for brunch in the morning, so the party continues!

We have tons of food left over, though the cake was the PERFECT size, so there are only about 2 slices left. Of course, those slices currently reside in my kitchen, along with two gallon size baggies full of sandwiches.

Sadly, The Princess hasn't been feeling well, and had a horrible day. She spent most of the party (including family picture time) in a bedroom asleep. :-( She's had a bad headache that the doctor says is likely a sinus infection; The Prince also has a sinus infection, and I just got over one. I got prescriptions for antibiotics that I haven't yet filled because of all the running around since yesterday.

Pictures to come. I'm too tired to do all that right now. And Daja, I will post pics of the scrapbook when I get it back from my dad. :-)

I'm in denial

2008-02-15T16:05:00.001-08:00

It's 4:00 p.m., Friday, February 15. In less than 24 hours, I have to complete a scrapbook, run around to get food and party accoutrements, and get dressed and coiffed for the party. So, why am I blogging? Um, it's a river in Egypt, doncha know? I tend to leave things to the last minute, then go into hyper-mode (which includes a loud voice and spastic movements). So, here I sit, typing away, wishing that scrapbook would make itself.

If you're the praying kind, I'd appreciate prayers. I'm dealing with a sore neck from scrapping and didn't get good sleep last night.

Don't miss me too much

2008-02-15T00:05:00.000-08:00

The next few days, I'll be consumed with my dad's party. My aunt arrived today for a five day visit. Dad finally has an inkling about the party. He told my mom "Something's going on." She said, "What?" He said, "I don't know. I just think something's going on." She said, "Yeah, we're going to Buca de Beppo for your birthday. That's what's going on." And rolled her eyes, and walked away. My mom isn't a very good liar, but she hopes she fooled him. Only two more days, and the deceit is over. :-)

I am madly scrapbooking all the cards, letters and photos I got from various friends, family and former co-workers to my father. I'm keeping it simple, but it's still a lot of work, I dare say. We decided on an aqua and brown color scheme. Well, to be honest, my awesome, rockin' friend Nat chose the colors, and had all kinds of other good ideas for the scrapbook. We're leaving four or five pages out for people to sign as a guestbook, which will comprise the first pages of the scrapbook. I'm going to have my kids do a page each, and then me and my mom and brother, as well.

I'll post pictures of some of the pages, if I think about it before Saturday. After that, the book will belong to my dad. :-)

So, I may not post for a few days. Then again, I just might. It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind, so there.

Oh, yeah, and Happy Valentine's Day. Whatever.

Life on the "should we or shouldn't we" roller coaster

2008-02-12T20:31:00.000-08:00

The Gearhead is no closer to making a decision about moving to Texas. I think at this point, he's so overwhelmed with all the dynamics that he just wants to take a nap. :-) As I said before, I'll be fine either way. If we stay, however, something's gotta give. We will never pay off our debt on our current income. So, if we go to Texas, big changes will be occurring. If we stay in CA...big changes will be occurring. Ack.

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

Oh.my.gosh. We had quite the dramatic morning here. You've all read about The Princess and her adventures in hair color, right? Well, she decided to go back to blonde. She was currently dark brown with red over it. It was pretty. We found a blonde color that claimed to lift a dark brown to a dark blonde. A friend who knows hair color advised against it. And I will tell you, SHE WAS RIGHT. The Princess ended up with the most hideous carrot orange you have ever seen. But, it wasn't uniformly orange. There were parts that were platinum blonde, others that were kinda brownish blonde, and everything in between. It was so bad that she cried!

We had appointments for hair cuts today (getting ready for the party, ya know), so I let her get her hair cut, and then the very nice girl fixed the color. She's now strawberry blonde with blonde highlights. I forfeited my own appointment for a cut, since I used all the money for her hair. She thanked me quite profoundly, but I told her the adventure is OVER.

Stupidly, I did not take any pictures of her orange hair! It was too traumatic, I 'spose. However, here she is AFTER the very expensive cut and color:

Cute, I know. She kills me.

Remember when I said the days here had been glorious? Well, one day when I was sick, The Prince was here with me, and was just itching to "do something!" I gave him my camera and said, "Go take some pictures for me!" This is one of them.

We don't often have those kind of stormy clouds. It was so pretty!

Next we have The Prince goofing off. He's growing his hair out a little, and can do all kinds of, um, interesting things with it!
This kid is really good-looking. Really.

I don't think I've ever posted a pic of the window-shattering doggie, Mel. He is so cute, but kinda dumb.
He's an Australian Shepherd mix, but I think he looks very Border Collie. We get lots of comments from people about how pretty he is. He often makes me really angry, though. Like, when my goddaughter came over tonight to borrow some tools from the Gearhead...and the dog peed on the *newly cleaned* carpet. Oh, yeah. He spent some time outside for that one.

Hey, it seems I'm back! Yay, me!

Blessings to you!

Still under the weather!

2008-02-10T10:57:00.001-08:00

Yep, you read that right. I got over the flu (after a week) but it looks like it's moved into a sinus infection. *sigh* I'm tired of being sick.

My friend from TX has been visiting, though we've only gotten to see her one-and-a-half days. She has other friends and a stepsister here who she's been visiting also. We're headed out to the beach for the day to see her and her stepsister and niece, so that should be fun. Hoping the ocean air helps the sinuses.

The Gearhead has been in TX since last Wednesday, coming home tomorrow. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say about possibly moving. I think I finally have peace about it. If we stay, it'll be fine. If we go, it'll be fine. I've been trying to really observe this place that I live, and I know there are many things I will miss. It has been GLORIOUS the past few days, weather-wise. And as long as I don't have to be out a lot, I don't mind the congestion. But, that's the thing. I have two active kids that need to be shuttled everywhere (especially the Princess). So, I stay home when I can.

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

I hadn't mentioned that my father is turning 80 soon. We're having a party next Saturday at my folks' house. He doesn't know that people are coming to celebrate his life that day! I can't believe we kept it a secret! He has old friends and family coming from Northern California, and old and newer friends from Arizona (I think) and locally, as well. My aunt and uncle (my mom's brother and his wife) are coming from Kansas! The party is an open house, so we're hoping we have a steady flow of people all day, instead of a bunch at the same time. The house isn't that big!

I did the invitations, and asked if folks would send a letter and a picture of themselves for a scrapbook for Dad. I got quite a few (and am still getting them), but now I have to put it all together! I'm going to keep it simple. I just wanted him to have something to keep to remind him of his 80th.

That's all for now! Thank you for all the well wishes. It's going to be a very busy week, but I'll be here as much as I can.

And the beat goes on...

2008-02-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

Stomach churning. Head pounding. Body aching. Cough irritating. Fever raging. Yep, still fighting this bug.

Thank you for the kind get-well wishes. I'll be back.

Not feeling very well

2008-01-31T01:00:00.000-08:00

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.

On the weight loss front

2008-01-28T22:56:00.001-08:00

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!

2008-01-28T11:58:00.000-08:00

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

Hairy situation

2008-01-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

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. :-)

Sick, sick, sick

2008-01-25T19:11:00.000-08:00

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!

Busy day!

2008-01-23T22:56:00.000-08:00

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!

I got in trouble for that last post...

2008-01-21T21:43:00.000-08:00

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.

I'm a copy cat

2008-01-19T15:23:00.001-08:00

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

2008-01-19T11:07:00.001-08:00

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.

Life is interesting

2008-01-18T18:43:00.001-08:00

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

2008-01-18T00:12:00.000-08:00

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.

Hair

2008-01-17T00:31:00.001-08:00

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?! :-)

Oops, skipped a day

2008-01-16T23:21:00.000-08:00

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!

A good day

2008-01-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

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!

Briefly

2008-01-13T23:52:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-13T21:20:00.001-08:00

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

2008-01-13T17:11:00.001-08:00

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.

Trying to post everyday

2008-01-12T18:15:00.000-08:00

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.

Feeling icky

2008-01-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

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.

Today's triumphs

2008-01-10T23:29:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-10T01:19:00.001-08:00

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

An apology, and a short post

2008-01-10T01:06:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-10T00:44:00.000-08:00

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.

Home Improvement

2008-01-08T20:36:00.000-08:00

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!

People who sabotage our weight loss

2008-01-05T13:52:00.000-08:00

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."

Friends are not overrated

2008-01-04T10:40:00.000-08:00

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.

"I Am Legend"

2008-01-03T16:19:00.000-08:00

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. :-)

A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

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!

WOW, second post in the SAME DAY!!!

2007-12-18T12:59:00.001-08:00

Here are some pics of The Prince, The Princess and Gearhead.

The older boy in the picture in the upper left is The Prince. I chose this picture because he is so sweet with younger kids, and this is one of his best buddies.

The pictures of the Princess are from last Friday, after the final show of "A Christmas Carol." The boy in the top hat played the young Scrooge, and they did a beautiful waltz together. In the picture above, with her daddy, she looks a little teary-eyed...and she certainly was.

But where are pictures of *me*? Hmmmm, that will take a little more bravery, and possibly a professional photo session, with hair, make-up and lighting.

I promise I'll get better with this picture thing. :-)

Second day IN A ROW!!!!!!!

2007-12-18T12:08:00.000-08:00

I'm sure my extensive blog-reading audience is just THRILLED to see another post (or at least LadyT is thrilled) ! :-)

Had a little disaster yesterday. Everyone was out of the house all afternoon. I returned first and discovered glass all over one end of our front porch. It seems our doggie, Mel, perceived that the postman, who comes to our home six days a week to deliver mail, was going to break into our house and murder us all. He broke one pane of glass in the process. *sigh* How do I know that's how the glass broke? Well, he always goes a little crazy when the postman comes, but we're usually here, and I either put him outside, or tell him to stop, and he does. And...we got a letter from the post office today, that if we don't restrain our dog they'll require that we put our mailbox away from the house. Oh, goody. I'll be calling them in a little bit to try to smooth it over. Mel will now be mostly an outside dog, which makes the kids and I very sad. He's a member of the family, for Pete's sake.

We picked up new orthotics for The Prince today. He has very, very flat feet, and has had orthotics (which fit in his shoes) for awhile now. Insurance doesn't pay for corrective orthotics, only the ones that make your feet feel better. Isn't that dumb? It's a quality of life issue for The Prince, yet the insurance treats it like we're in it for the fun.

Let's see, we need a little uplifting talk, eh? Okay. On the weight loss front, which I meant to blog about from the beginning, but haven't:

I joined a weight loss program in April of this year after a good friend was succeeding on the same program. At that time, I had about 70 lbs. to lose. Long story short, I lost 35 lbs. from April to August, or so. Great, right? Well, yes, but I'm a bit stagnated right now, and have been. I'm good at encouraging others, but I haven't had the oomph to get myself up and going again. The good news is, I haven't gained but one pound. The program I was doing (not WW) really taught me how to eat better, and I have internalized it to the point that I think all the time, "Oh, I need to eat another fruit today," or, "Done with the starch for today."

I know the holiday season is really not the best time to start again, and on a lot of blogs I read, people are taking a few weeks off of weight loss during this time. There' s one thing I've realized; weight loss is not about being "on program." It's about making changes 24/7, 365. Yep, that's right, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Independence Day, all of it. I used to look at weight loss as punishment for all the wrong I'd done to my body. Now, I look at it as finally taking care of the temple that God gave me, and undoing some of the damage I did to it. Not punishment but repentance. Ah, it feels like freedom.

I think part of my struggles lately are linked to the potential move to Texas. So much to consider, so many choices to make, even if we stay here. It is darn near a miracle that I haven't gained all the weight back in the past month, since food has traditionally been my drug of choice during stressful times. I keep telling GH, "I just want us to make a decision, either way, and then move on!!!!" He gets it, but ultimately it's his final decision, and I just have to be patient. HA!!!! :-) That's what I get for praying for patience...

Oh, I had my first, first-hand encounter with a high-speed chase yesterday! I was standing on the sidewalk talking to a friend, when I saw four helicopters coming our way, and then so many lights from the police cars that I knew something major was going on. I got inside and waited for them to pass. It's a narrow street (not our street, but one lined with small businesses and only two lanes going one way), so I would have been very close to the guy who was fleeing. He crashed a few miles up the road, thus ending a chase that lasted about two hours. I didn't like the feeling of being that close to that much drama.

This morning when I was checking the Pioneer Woman's blog, she had a link to another blog, asking for prayer. Here's the link to Bossy's blog.

Be blessed today. Amidst all the chaos that is the commercialized Christmas, try not to forget that love came down to save us all, and that's what we should be celebrating.