Bad, bad blogger, Part Deux

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...

...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

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

Oh, my.















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

I'm a bad, bad blogger

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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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!

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!