A month's gone by

Since I haven't told anyone about this blog yet, I guess it doesn't matter that I haven't posted in a month, but I really want to make this a regular thing.

Let's see, a month's worth of material. Well, The Prince and I spent an entire week visiting good friends in TX. They have twins, a boy and girl, and the girl was in Europe for two weeks. Long story short, they wanted The Prince to come visit their son while their daughter was in Europe...that turned into The Prince and *me* going to TX. We had a marvelous time there.

The Prince and I left VERY EARLY on a Monday morning. While waiting for our flight, we heard that they were asking for volunteers to take the next flight (an hour later) since they had overbooked the flight we were on. I volunteered, since the reward was another set of plane tickets! They didn't take us up on the offer after all, but the lady at the counter bumped us up to First Class!! I had never flown First Class, and it wasn't the kind of First Class you get on a fancier plane, but we had lots of leg room, and a full breakfast if we wanted it. I knew it was going to be a great trip. I had downloaded some praise music onto my MP3, and I jammed most of the way to TX with it blaring in my ears. I felt so incredibly blessed, since The Prince has horrible motion sickness, and feels claustrophobic on planes; well, with all the extra room (and a window seat, thanks to a kindly old man, and a bit of Dramamine), he had a stress-free flight....

Until we got close to DFW airport. The pilot said a massive storm was headed for the airport, and we'd have to circle for up to an hour until the storm passed! Yuck!!!! Well, the storm decided to head a different direction, so we were only about 20 minutes delayed after all. Then, after we landed, the pilot said we'd be on the tarmack for awhile, since there had been a lightning strike at one end of the airport, and for the safety of the workers, we'd wait for awhile to make sure there were no more lightning strikes! The Prince sounded a bit anxious about both delays, but I assured him that this was just routine stuff when storms were around. I didn't let on that I was a bit nervous about it, too.

Our friends greeted us at the baggage claim, and our adventure in TX began. "N" and I planned to give the boys alot of down time to just play, since they are both homebodies, and prefer to just hang out. We did go to Medieval Times, Mrs. Baird's Bakery, an Independence Day parade, a pharmacy/soda shop, and to see "Transformers." N and I saw "Live Free or Die Hard" and went to Hobby Lobby and an awesome scrapbooking store. We also watched a ridiculous amount of tv, especially after I hurt my knee. We don't have cable here at home, or regular t.v. for that matter, so it's kinda like a kid in a candy store when t.v. is available.

Oh, yeah, my knee. Despite having a great time in TX, I sustained ANOTHER injury, this time to my left knee; it was my left toe a week before we left. I was stepping off a porch onto a very muddy area (it had rained for three weeks by the time we left TX). My right foot slipped, and my left was up on the porch. My leg just kinda buckled, and my friend, who was several yards away, said she heard a "pop." I couldn't tell if the pop was my knee or my behind hitting the mud, but the pain was excrutiating. I couldn't talk for a few minutes. Fortunately, my friend got ice immediately and I could walk on it...but it felt wobbly, for lack of a better word.

I didn't want to go to the doctor while in TX, so I bought a knee brace, and limped along for the rest of our trip. I got an x-ray when I got home, which showed no bone damage. Now, I have an appointment on the 31st to see an orthopedic surgeon, and maybe get an MRI. Meanwhile, my chiropractor is doing physical therapy three times a week to help get the fluid out of the knee. It feels great after she works on it, but at night it hurts pretty badly.

While we were in TX, The Princess was in another state with a group from church. They went to a ranch and rode horses, river rafted, swam, and in addition, worked the ranch. She learned how to do siding on a house, and to fix a fence. She desperately wants to spend the whole summer there working next summer. Now, I can see how that would be a great experience for her, but I couldn't talk to her for a full 7 days this time (no cell reception), and it was really hard for me. I assume if she works there, they have land lines for her to keep in touch, but it's a long ways away. We shall see.

Since we've been back, we haven't done a whole lot. We usually spend alot of time at the beach in the summer, but I can't walk on the sand with this knee, so we've been home. I didn't have work for the entire week after we got back (thus losing TWO weeks of income), but it seems to be picking up again.

The Gearhead and I talk alot about moving to TX. We live in a very congested (and getting moreso all the time) area. We've both lived here our whole lives, and the quality of life just keeps getting chipped away. The biggest thing that keeps us here is our parents. Both sets live within a few miles of us, and they are all aging. The Gearhead is the only child now, and I am the only daughter, so we feel obligated to stay. However, I would not have to work if we moved there, and in fact, we could sell our house here and buy a house outright there...and a much nicer house at that. The Princess has informed us that we can let her know our address when we get there, since she won't leave here. Silly girl.

Pulled a "Claire" yesterday. Running up some stairs at church, foot slipped on step, big toe jammed into concrete step. Yep, it hurts. It might be broken, but I just refuse to go to the doctor, so I'll never know. Does it really matter? It hurts, and it's black and dark blue...and it hurts.

So, I actually went to work today in flip flops. Had to explain to the man "I'm so sorry I'm wearing flip flops. This isn't my usual work attire." Then I flashed the black and blue toe, and got sympathy! Hey, maybe I'll invest in some black and blue grease paint for future use. Naw, not worth it. Now the flip flops are starting to hurt the toe, so tomorrow will be interesting. Just call me the Barefoot Contessa....or more appropriately, the Barefoot Clutz.

Had the kids "graduation" last night at our church. Way, way, way long but it was fun to see the talent displayed by the kids, and a "real" graduation of our one senior. Just five more years 'til The Princess graduates...if she ever gets any school work done! Then, I may never see her again! She's so motivated to own a restaurant and move to New York...well, I guess it's the other way around. Of course, she wants to attend chef school first, and become a Le Cordon Bleu Chef. Oh, and she told me tonight that she wants to be a dance teacher for little kids in her spare time. Oh, and don't forget, she must perform in musical theater, as well. Her goals exhaust me! :-)

The Prince, on the other hand, says he will be content to live in a trailer and make the least amount of money possible, which is funny, 'cuz he LOVES money. The child has more money at times than in is my checking account! Sad but true! He saves, he tithes and he spends frugally. What's really sweet is that he likes to treat me to a coffee or something now and then. I have a hard time accepting his generosity, but I do let him now and then.

The Princess blows every penny she gets. However, she, too, is generous...she usually blows her money on me or someone else. She spent all her money on a Mother's Day gift for me when she was only about 7 or 8. Last month, she took me out to lunch because "no one ever treats you to lunch, Mommy." What a sweet girl, eh?

On another subject: I've been reading a book about spiritual gifts. Seems I haven't spent much time thinking or praying about it, but my biggest concern right now is determining my kids' gifts. The Princess is almost 100% an administrator, which makes sense. She makes lists, wants things done in an orderly fashion...and is a slob. No time for trivial stuff like cleaning.

The Prince is almost 100% compassion. Very, very sensitive, feels other people's feelings, sometimes very negative. There's lots more to both gifts, but I've only just started reading the book. :-)

I'd like to know what The Gearhead's gift(s) are, too. May be service, since he's the guy to call when you're in trouble with a car, or home repair, or just about any disaster - he can fix it. We shall see...

My first post!!!

After spending months reading other people's blogs, I decided it's time I got my own!

I'm thinkin' I'll just write about all kinds of stuff, though my attention is currently on weight loss and personal finance.

As you probably gathered from my blog's title, I have two kids and a car-guy husband.

We homeschool. Yep, qualifies us as weird, I know. However, I can honestly say that my kids usually leave the house with their hair brushed and clothes matching. :-)

I'm not sure how this all works yet, so if you run across this blog, please post a comment! Just be nice, 'k?