~In That Moment~

1st day of Fall~

2011-09-22T14:26:00.003-05:00

and I have failed miserably at keeping everyone up to date on my blog. I promise though in the coming weeks I am going to post photos from the summer and get you all caught up in the life and times of ..... *drum roll please*.... A-N-G-I !!!! woot woot ;O)

In the meantime enjoy the weather and have a great weekend. Im heading back home to spend the weekend with an old highschool friend... and btw... its a boy :O~

Perfectly Imperfect~

2011-09-14T12:29:00.001-05:00

A couple of evenings ago, I stepped out on the deck to go get the mail and saw this beautiful creature taking a little break. I ran back in, got my camera and snapped this photo. The colors so pretty!!! I hurried to the mailbox thinking that some folks think that God sends us our passed loved ones in forms of beautiful butterflies or dragonflies.. but I didnt have that overwhelming feeling.. I felt something different.. but didnt realize until I got back to the deck and took the close up photo below.

Upon closer inspection of this pretty blue and turquoise butterfly I noticed that his wings had been damaged. And then it hit me.......... and it hit me hard. I am damaged... I may not look like it on first glance.. but when you get up close you may be able to see or feel the damage.. That not only I have damage... we all do. And its ok. Its really ok. We are all damaged in some way.. we are not all perfect... but dammit.. we survive and we are beautiful. It was just what I needed especially with all the pressures of late of trying to be the perfect mother, friend, worker and person. I needed this. And I hope sharing it with you will help you understand me better. I feel that I am indeed Perfectly Imperfect and its all going to be OK! :O)

I want to love you...

2011-07-26T13:50:00.001-05:00

Good song.. great band...

Thought Id take out a few minutes to say hey and whats up?
Things are going along... Im hating my job, but thanking the man above that I still have one all at the same time.

Personally.. Im still seeing Mike, keeping it slow and steady. I think perhaps I am not ready for any commitment. He is sweet, but comes with a full suitcase of baggage, and well.. Im not really into that right now. Save that drama for your Mama you know what I mean? LOL

Hows your summer? Hope its good!

Hello Im strange!

2011-06-22T09:51:00.006-05:00

Well kinda.. but mostly just MIA... I know you are just DYING to know what Ive been up to?!!?

I havent been doing much really except surviving and living and working and sleeping...... andddd dating the cutest man alive! ;)

This past weekend Mike {my SuperMEX} I call him and I went to Branson, MO to see my Mom and her husband and hang out. We had a great time.. altho it went really fast! I got to see my Mom happier than ever and really TALK with her. We laughed and had a great time and they really liked Mike a lot. Means a lot to me that they do.. makes everything better!

Summer just seems to be just that altho Im looking forward to jumping in the pool during my vacation in July! Im going to take the boys back home to Dads I think and spend the weekend swimming and fishing.. and eating bbq! hehee Also looking forward to visiting my Savana and JR! and my brother Daniel! Not to mention Preston and Ciera!!!

Other than that Ive been just keeping busy with Jack my wonderful dog.. he is such a joy in my life!, Kitty.. a pain in my butt... and the boys this summer trying to spend as much time as possible with them. As a matter of fact Hunter is going to come to work with me 2 times a week starting next week.. through out his summer vacation. Saves on daycare which is outrageous and he is a pretty good little helper!

OH my computer at home is down.. dont know whats wrong with it.. maybe blew up? I dont know but it makes me sad! I had a bunch of bookmarks and pictures left to print... hopefully I have a bunch of copies on my facebook account that I can print. I dont think I even want a home computer anymore.. I never seem to use it. Not with the new cell phone and having the one at work. I dont know.. still thinking about it though.

Here are some pics from the weekend at Branson!

Me and my Momma... she is my Mini-Me heheee :O)

Me and Mike aka SuperMEX ;O)

also.. pic of Hunter losing two teeth during the first 2 weeks of summer vacation! ;)

Hope you are having a great summer! :O)

Gone to the dogs~

2011-05-29T21:41:00.002-05:00

Never thought Id be making a "dog" altered project.. but.. lookie here! hehee. I had been saving this coffee container to alter... and low and behold one day it came to me... Make a treat jar for Jack... So that is exactly what I did.. it took me about 10 minutes.. I just cut, distressed and glued the paper on, added some stickers and violaaa. Its perfect for his lil snacks Ive been using to train him to go into his "house" before I leave for work in the morning!

Hope you are having a great weekend! :)

Staggered visit and Jack!

2011-05-17T22:21:00.009-05:00

Hello blog world! So.. in the past couple weeks a new man has came into my life... Jack. He is a rescued teacup Yorkie. He is the sweetest thing in the world and I think he and I were made to be together! Hunter and Justice just love him to bits too. He is a welcomed addition to our little family... even if I do have to get up and take him out at 5am every day :) heheee

As you can see he is right at home in the car and on Hunters lap. These pics were taken on our way to pick up Hunter from Preston and Cierra. We had to wait for them at Bass Pro and Jack was anxious to see his new boys! :)

After Preston and Cierra met and Justice got in with me.. these two lovey birds went to Six Flags. I felt horrible for them because it rained the entire day! Even though it was miserable they said they had a great time. This makes Momma happy. Later that evening Justice and I met Preston/Cierra over in St. Louis at Noodles & Company... and let me just say... it was AWESOME!

Preston, Cierra and I all had the Whole Wheat linguine with mushrooms, onions, brocolli, peppers, wine sauce, cream and parm cheese along with a parm crusted chicken breast... this was KILLER! :)

Justice had the Wisconsin Mac n Cheese with grilled shrimp. And as you can tell.. he enjoyed every little bit of it! :)

It was a great weekend... next up... stuff stuff! ;)

To date or not to date???

2011-04-21T20:24:00.004-05:00

Well hello blog world.. how are you?
Instead of sitting around complaining that I am bored with nothing to do, I thought Id take a look at your blogs and try to get back into reading and commenting again. Ive missed you!

So whats up with me you ask... well lets see... a whole lot and yet not a lot. Lately I have been working as usual and just coming home and trying to relax. I have went on a couple of dates... 3 to be exact.. the first two.. HORRIBLE.. the last good. And Ive went out twice more with him, lucky for me it is totally a friendship kind of thing and we both have the same expectations which makes it nice when you are new out of relationships. We have a lot in common. I do have plans for a couple other dates and have canceled a couple lately because I just wasnt feeling well or not "feeling it". Im not sure that this is what I should be doing at all right now. I do know however that I feel lonely. And I dont like that feeling one bit. Whatever will be will be right? We will just relax and see what happens.

In family news.. The boys and I have went to several new movies lately. The 2nd Diary of a Wimpy Kid and then Hunter and I went to see Rio. I would highly recommend both of them. I enjoyed them very much! I cant wait for warmer weather, nicer weather to hit the drive-in with them. They are so excited about that. Me too ;) its been a LONG time!

Kitty moved in with me this week.. she is finally getting used to where everything is... ahaha and Im so happy.. she was jumping on my head in the middle of the night.. gah!

Have a great weekend.. Here are a few new pics! ps: I dyed my hair "black cherry" I love it!!! :)

Ahhh the country!

2011-03-21T13:12:00.005-05:00

This weekend was good in spite of Hunter and I both being sicker than a dog! It was good to see Dad.. we visited a lot. I hate seeing him grow older and weaker.. and with him he knows and realizes it and I think it depresses him. I always try to give him little tasks to keep him piddling some. :)

I was able to finally get a picture of Preston and his new girlfriend Ciera. They've been dating several months and actually live together now. She is a cutie, and very quiet. A very responsible girl for her age! We went to their apartment Saturday and had a pizza party.. the boys adore their big brother and Ciera.. as a matter of fact Justice has spent several nites over there. It makes me feel good since I cant be there for Justice as much as Id like.

Preston and Ciera

My brother Daniel brought his family out to Dads and we flew kites and played ball outside until it started raining. We then had dinner. Little niece Savana told me she wanted to go home with me! hehe She was so cute, she told me she is excited about her birthday coming up this next weekend. She will be the big 4!!! We got along famously! She even shared her "makeup" with me. heheee Wish I would have had a better camera.. I just adore her blonde curls!!!!

Savana

All or Nothing!

2011-03-18T10:20:00.002-05:00

Headed out to my Dads for a visit with him and the boys... its good to be surrounded by everyone.. wish I had a camera!!! hehee
Ive been pretty down, so this is a welcome change. More to come next week.
Enjoy your weekend! :O)

New Ink!

2011-03-15T15:00:00.002-05:00

Yup.. this past weekend my son Preston and his girlfriend Ciera came up to hang out with me.. They came right in and said heyyy lets go get tattoos! I was down with that for sure! hehee. So we hung out, went to dinner and took off and got our tats. Preston got his last name tattooed down the back of his arm and Ciera got a beautiful butterfly on her foot... and here is mine below.

Its a devil kitty..... kinda like me... MeOwwww ;O)

Guess who's single???

2011-03-12T08:35:00.000-06:00

YES!!!! Justin Timberlake.... HE WILL BE MINE... OH YES.. HE WILL!!! ;o)
Have a good Saturday!

Get OUT!

2011-03-11T09:57:00.001-06:00

Hey world whats up???....

How bout the world news right now???.. Get OUT its horrible.. the earth is falling apart at the seams!!!
Firstly.. Hawaii. My brother and his wife are still there.. as a matter of fact they were to do helicopter tours this week before they were scheduled to head back to the mainland. They are being transferred to Texas and was finishing up their time in Hawaii. I spoke to him this morning and they were safe on the 28th floor of their hotel and he said it looked like low lying flooding was all that was going to come of this tsunami. I hope and pray for their sake that all is ok and will be until their departure to the mainland!

So has spring sprung in your neighborhood yet? Not really around here, but I did notice that the finches are starting to come back and it just seems like everything is so alive right now. Hunter told me the other day that he was sure that March was coming in like a lion but would go out like a lamb.. I said I sure hope so buddy! hehee

It sure has been windy around here too. We went to the park last Sunday and there were some folks flying kites... they let Hunter and Justice take turns and they loved it. Especially Hunter! I bought him a new kite this week. He was very offended that I gave it to him on a rainy day.. he said Mom! Really? ... who gives a kid a kite on a rainy day!!!! hahahaa. Ooops.. I had to tell him it wont always be rainy! hehee

So.. Im all moved in.. just have a mess of scrapbooking junk dropped in my living room and kitchen that needs to be organized and put away. Im kinda waiting until I can hook up my pc.. and the hold up with that is that I had to order a new monitor and Im waiting for its arrival.

All of this and my friend Cat came in with her husband Don for a very short and GREAT visit this past Monday. I cant wait to post pics from the visit. This weekend in the St. Pattys parade in St. Louis... Preston and his girlfriend Ciera are coming up to join me. I plan to let loose and have some much needed fun!

Hope you have a great weekend. :O)

Hello World!

2011-02-25T10:48:00.003-06:00

Hey there... hows it going???... I have been soooo busy..!!! Moving... all settled for the most part, just need to start sprucing up, then I will get my scrapbooking stuff and where to put it? oyyy I just dont know. And wouldnt you know that during all of this.. not only 1 but both of my cameras and my cell all couldnt take photos... YIPES!!!

Anyway, thanks to a great friend and wonderful person... I have my cell back and snapped and got to edit/play with a shot of me... the NEW me this morning.. thought Id share and let you all know Im still here, Im still alive and Im GOOD.. real good. Everything is going to be good!

ps: Can you see the piercing? Its still not healed.. ouchie!!!
I hope to visit your blogs soon and catch up!!! Once I get net service at home again. Woot!
Have an awesome weekend my friends!!! :O)

Wooooo

2011-02-08T15:10:00.001-06:00

I feel like someone has been playing with me! hahahaaa

at least I still have a big heart! ;O)

Well...

2011-02-05T20:05:00.002-06:00

Today was different. First off Im sick again! Can you believe it?? Its like the 4th time Ive been seriously sick like this since Thanksgiving! I think if Im still not better by Monday Im heading to the doctor for sure. Right now Im thinking I have pneumonia as it hurts to breathe and Im coughing up blood. Gah!

Second.. got my nails done.. I so love getting my nails done.. what a special little treat. Makes me feel so girly and together. I got a light purple. I wanted light pink w/white tips but I have fungus on 3 of my fingernails so it isnt pretty. Yeah I know.. maybe I should give it a rest, but I just cant! haaa..

Third on the list for today... Hair dye! I got a new color called Intense Dark Red. Im anxious to see what it turns out. It looks red at this point but I still have about 20 minutes... Yikes!!!

Fourth.. today I got a Marilyn Monroe piercing!!! Ive always wanted one.. and today just decided to take the plunge! It turned out super cute, didnt hurt at all. I cant wait to wear a little jewel in there. heheee :)

Fifth... sorry no pictures.. I cant figure out how to work my stinking cell phone to get more pics on it. grrr. LOL

Hope you are having a fabulous weekend.. stay warm.. we had 3 inches of snow this morning.. wasnt expecting that but it was a nice fluffy snow .. so pretty!

Hello .. anyone out there?

2011-02-02T14:17:00.007-06:00

Hello from ice covered nation here... Im at work today and its snowing..
We have about an inch of ice on the ground.. but not the amount of snow some of the folks around the midwest have endured.

Btw... if you didnt know.. I bought a new car... and here she is under all the ice Monday night when I left work...
And the ice off the mirror... it was the first time Id ever seen ice actually froze to the tires. While I was scraping the windows my jeans kept sticking to the ground frozen... scary feeling!

A look out the window towards the trees and our drive Tuesday morning.

It was snowing this morning when I came to work. and no one had cleared the roads so I had to park my car over here..

Its cold.. thats for sure! The sun is shining and the snow flakes are swirling like Im all jumbled up in a snow globe.

Things on the home front are moving along. Todd and I have had our moments but try to remain calm and adult like in every way possible. Sometimes its hard for others to believe or understand but until they live with us, they have no idea. Thats all I have to say about that.

...Anyway... this week I should be signing on my new lil place. Im excited to get going and get moved. A whole new adventure Im sure. I wish the insurance wasnt such a big issue.. wears me OUT! hahaa. Will keep you updated on the new place, the snow and all the other things that are taking place in our lil corner of the world. Hope you are staying warm and happy!

Check out this turkey... my brother sends me this photo from Pearl Harbor in Hawaii yesterday.. it was a balmy 81 degrees there.. soooo not fairsy!!! hahahaa ;O)

The jig is up!

2011-01-20T10:13:00.003-06:00

So yeah, the jig is up on so many levels. haaa.

First off.. I know my blog posts have been anything but perky as of late. Im not perky. Things here are ughhh. Todd and I are experiencing some major difficulties right now-heading straight for divorce court Im afraid. I dont really want to talk about it right now, but it is what is going on.
Im sad, angry.. he is too.. we are just trying to keep it adult and light and understand each other as much as possible and keep level headed. So many emotions though its crazy!

On other notes.. it snowed.. like a LOT!!! hehee we are at 8 inches and its still snowing!!!
Yesterday was Justices 11th birthday and today is Hunters 6th birthday.. Cant believe my babys are growing up soooo fast!!! We had Hunters party this past weekend and will have Justices this weekend if weather permits me to be able to go get him! I will be posting pics very soon from those.. in the meantime...

Here is me at the office this morning.I look like such a dork! hahahaaa.. but yeah. heheee :)
Have a great day and be safe if you are out and have snow! Also keep praying for me/us.. I/we could use it!!! Thank you in advance!

Maybe someday...

2011-01-19T11:29:00.002-06:00

Changes

2011-01-18T11:02:00.002-06:00

Sums up my life right now... will return upon being settled... pray for peace in my heart and happiness for my soul. Thank you...

Only God Knows Why...

2011-01-11T15:17:00.003-06:00

I've been sittin here
Tryin to find myself
I get behind myself
I need to rewind myself
Lookin for the payback
Listen for the playback
They say that every man bleeds just like me
And I feel like number one
Yet I'm last in line
I watch my youngest son
And it helps to pass the time
I take too many pills it helps to ease the pain
I made a couple of dollar bills, but still I feel the same
Everybody knows my name
They say it way out loud
A lot of folks fuck with me
It's hard to hang out in crowds
I guess that's the price you pay
To be some big shot like I am
Out strecthed hands and one night stands
Still I can't find love

And when your walls come tumbling down
I will always be around

Yeah
As it...hey

And when your walls come tumbling down
I will always be around

People don't know about the things I say and do
They don't understand about the shit that I've been through
It's been so long since I've been home
I've been gone, I've been gone for way too long
Maybe I forgot all things I miss
Oh somehow I know there's more to life than this
I said it too many times
And I still stand firm
You get what you put in
And people get what they deserve
Still I ain't seen mine
No I ain't seen mine
I've been giving just ain't been gettin
I've been walking that there line
So I think I'll keep a walking
With my head held high
I'll keep moving on and only God knows why

Only God
Only God
Only God knows why, why, why, why
Only God...knows...why, why, why
Only God knows why
Take me to the river edge
Take me to the river, hey hey hey

It may take a while for me to find myself.. but Im going to keep moving on.. just like Kid Rock says in this song!

Winter Bug!

2010-12-29T16:26:00.005-06:00

Wow, I have the winter bug. I was super sick over Thanksgiving and now Im sick again. I am not sure what is going on.. but boy am I ever miserable!!!

Just thought Id touch base. Will update more when Im feeling better! hehee :)
In the meantime.. here is a recipe for a really good soup! hehee

Chicken Noodle Soup

2 teaspoons butter
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 small potato, diced
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
4 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
4 ounces egg noodles
2 cups cooked chicken

Melt butter in large pot.

Sauté the celery, carrot and onion for 2 minutes.

Add potato, thyme, poultry seasoning, chicken broth and bouilion.

Bring to a boil.

Add noodles and chicken and cook on low for 20 minutes.

Merry Christmas in photos!

2010-12-25T23:31:00.020-06:00

Hunter ready for his 1st Christmas singing debut!

Very first Christmas program!!!
SES

Hunters Christmas Program

Justice, Hunter and JR enjoying Dinner

Niece and Nephews enjoying Christmas Dinner!

Me and my BABY hehee

My brother and his wife Jen

The loves of my life!!!!

The kids posing in my late Grandma O. style.. missing other grandkids, but she would be proud that I had them pose like this hehee.

My crew celebrating Christmas at Dads

My brother Daniel and I

He got "the move" we cant wait to play!

The best gift expression ever via Justice!

Hunter and his cousin Alana playing around!

Todd and I Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning!

Hunter all dressed for a day of play!

Ruby loves the snow!

And this just about wraps up the rest of December... We had a white Christmas, a quiet and peaceful time. I hope you did as well! ;O)

How can it be?

2010-12-12T15:13:00.006-06:00

Ok, so here it is December 12th.. arghh, and I might mention our first snow of any signifigance of the year!!! .... I didnt even finish October LOL

Well, not much else happened in October anyway. Oh, my birthday came and went... hahaa thats about it. Officially 43!

November.. it went by sooo flipping fast!

In November Todd went to deer camp.. got two deer for the freezer, Hunter and Todd went to a hockey game, Hunter had his Thanksgiving Feast at school and sang for the very first time... it was sooo adorable...and then Hunter and I went to a hockey game.. The seats were A-Mazing!!! Here are a couple pics from the Thanksgiving Feast and game!

We ended the month with Thanksgiving. We hosted it this year and everything turned out perfectly and we actually got to spend some quality time with Todds Momma Debbie. :)

So here we are mid December.. this is the LATEST I have ever put my tree up. But just now finished with it and it is fabulous!!! I just need to clean the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom and Im done with the house. and maybe I can relax and catch up on all of my friends blogs. I miss keeping in touch with you all. Happy 12th day of Christmas! :O)

O-M-G

2010-11-29T19:10:00.004-06:00

How can it be the end of November and I STILL havent caught up with October yet? What the heck have I been up to? Lots and nothing all at the same time.

Let me tell you though, I have been working hard at one thing in particular and that is my weight. My brother has been training me and its been a slow work in progress, but the weight is coming off. Im more determined than ever.

Other than that.. every once in a while I will cling onto a subject and study the heck out of it.. get immersed in it and forget about everything else. That is where I am right now. The new is starting to wear off a bit, so I plan to get back to the ho-hum of every day life real soon.. boy bet ya'll cant wait! hahaa

So.. for Halloween... Hunter knew wayyyy back in the year, maybe even after last Halloween that he wanted to be a zombie. I was so happy because I love doing the makeup and well he has always been scared of scary costumes {still is} but was willing to do this. It was quite hilarious.. and as you will see in his photos.. if he'd been a different color he could have went as "Buckwheat" from the Little Rascals hahaa ;)

He was hilarious and even made a video for me that was just a hoot!

2010-11-22T07:59:00.005-06:00

Hunter with his pumpkin {was a skeleton}
This was my niece Alanas... she didnt have a pumpkin so we gave her one!
Here is my pumpkin.. hehee
Another close up of Hunters pumpkin. I tell ya, my arm muscles were killing me the next day from scraping so hard on those pumpkin guts.. and this was the first time ever I actually had awesome, big, fat seeds to dry and bake.. mmmm :)

2010-11-22T07:54:00.005-06:00

So how was your weekend??? Mine was ok.. getting back into the groove of things finally.. at least my house is semi clean. Lots of stuff going on this week with Thanksgiving plans. Thought Id catch up some more on my October stuff. The following pics are for Red Ribbon Week. The war against drugs. They had a crazy dress up week. The first day I didnt get a pic.. it was wear a red shirt day.. Hunter chose a Cardinals baseball shirt to wear.

Crazy sock day-these are actually my socks.. so funny!
These two pics are from NERD day.. he even had the nerd personality down.. he was a cross between Napolean Dynamite and a real nerd. LOL
This was hat and sunglasses day. Daddy decked him out in camo everywhere. He also had a lil trip to the fire station that day, so Im sure he needed the sunglasses since they walked from the school. :)
The last day was dress up day/Halloween. Hunter chose punk rocker and I made him a cardboard rockin' guitar. hehee We had blue paint for his mohawk, but I used it to paint the guitar.. little did I know that stuff wipes right off.. what a mess!!!
Back with more tomorrow.. :)

2010-11-18T02:48:00.008-06:00

Two days in a row.. whats up with this picture. ahahaa Well, it just so happens Im up in the middle of the night, a bit nauseated.. so thought Id share some fall pics and a pic or two of my Aunt and Uncles 50th wedding anniversary party. This took place the 3rd weekend of October. I tell you, I did not unpack my bags til November?!!!! Heck to be honest my suitcase is still in the bedroom floor! ha!!

Anyway.. This is my Aunt Pat and Uncle Ben.. they live back home and I miss them so much its not even funny. Aunt Pat is my Moms sister. She has had a rough way to go in her life.. so many medical problems. And after their party the following Monday she went in for a biopsy/surgery to remove breast cancer cells. Every thing went well and the nodes are all safe from cancer cells.. praise Lord! She is still having radiation just in case. She is a strong woman and we are all so happy. I tell ya, I was just sick there for a while. But God does answer prayers! I hope she will continue to get better. She was really shy getting her pic taken with me. hehee :)

While back home I visited this crew... My friend since foreverrrr Rhonda and 2 of her daughters, Lakyn and Jodie and her granddaughter Taylor. We had a fun day at the park. Hunter isnt pictured but he was with me and we just had a great time catching up in the sun.. as a matter of fact for October I got a lil sun on my back/shoulders. Funny!

The day we left I colored my hair.. hahaa. So anyway, I had to pose with my Dad, its a great pic I think. Thank you Hunter the photog!
Hunter and I took the long way home to see what we could see along the bluffs of the Missouri River.. back home as I call it. But the trees still hadnt quite turned. It was a nice drive anyway and Hunter learned all about "bringing in the crops" as we saw a LOT of that going on! ;)
This is an old railroad trail that the state turned into a walking/biking trail called the Katy Trail. It is a LONG ride/walk.. miles and miles along the river bottoms and cliffs. Someday Im going to walk or bike it. Ive went for short walks but not like its meant to be enjoyed. :)

Anyway.. weekend 3 down of October. heheee Back with more laters!

A little bit of a catch up if you will..

2010-11-17T19:44:00.012-06:00

Hi ya'll.. Ive neglected my blog long enough. I have been blogging on another private blog for the past 3 almost 4 weeks, it consumes a lot of my extra time so that is why this one is getting neglected. Argh.

Sooo let me take you back to October and the 2nd wedding of the month~
My niece Amanda got married to her b/f and baby daddy.. Jon ;) They had a beautiful outside wedding at the Lake of the Ozarks on a dock by the lake. The entire family and friends stayed at a huge resort in cabins. It was awesome!!! In our free time we all spent time in the jacuzzi in our room that overlooked the lake! Everyone was jealous of our jacuzzi eheehehe.. but when I researched I figured I better get what I want as I may not have another chance to vacation this year.

Here are some pics from the wedding and our time at the cabin, ps: Preston even showed up the day after the wedding for my birthday lunch!! ;O)
My birthday lunch my boys posed for me :)
Me and my sweetie!
Hunter loving the bubbles in the jacuzzi!
Justice said he soaked away all his troubles and worries hehehee
My niece Amber with Amandas baby girl Addison.. she is a DOLL!!!
Todd and Hunter on the boat after the wedding. Long story short, we ended up getting stranded in the middle of the lake because the boat ran out of gas.. thankfully someone got us to shore and we walked back to the resort.. The boys say.. That wasnt a boat ride, that was an adventure! hahaa
The happy couple-Jon and my niece Amanda-she looked sooo pretty!
Jon and Amanda
My brother Neal and his daughter Amanda getting out of the boat! Getting ready to walk down the isle.
The boys enjoying the pool at the resort, there was this bridge over the center of the pool. We had a lot of fun in that pool, til Todd dived in with his cell phone. hahaa. oops!!

Thank you!

2010-11-11T07:34:00.002-06:00

Thank you to all the Veterans today and always for everything you do! I so admire each and every one of you!

ps: ONE of these days I'll update further on my blog.. I almost forgot my login/pw.. crazy huh?

So many things.. so little time!

2010-11-05T15:37:00.006-05:00

Sooo.. I will totally have to catch up on the October.. since it flew by. But for now.. leaving you with a picture of Justice in the hunting blind with his brother Preston hunting. They didnt get anything and only saw a doe the last like half hour. They shot at her, but nothing.. too far away. I like that Preston took him hunting and played a very important role in his brothers life. Nothing like it in the world. I hope it made Justice feel as special as he is!

Well hello blog..

2010-10-27T10:03:00.003-05:00

oh how I have missed you!!! I cannot believeeee how fast October has went by!!! I have a super ton of catching up to do. I will try to get that done over the weekend this weekend. I will finally be home. Our house is a disaster and I STILL havent unpacked fully from the last weekend I was gone. How bad is that?

I did manage to capture a picture of "Cousin Eddie" before he went out to a Halloween party this past Friday. hahaa More pics and updates to come. And dont worry.. I'll be visiting YOUR blogs soon.. I miss ya!!! :O)

Isnt he just precious? ;)

Raising Hope

2010-10-07T14:07:00.002-05:00

I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!!

I just laugh and laugh watching this show. Todd even likes it. Im so happy I decided to tape the series. I need a laugh now and then.. we all do!

Speaking of which.. how ya'll been? Good I hope? ... Got your fall decorations out, winter clothes out?... I have and am... altho I hear this weekend it will be warm, high 70's. Perfect really for my niece who is getting married Saturday and lucky for her it will be beautiful for her outside wedding! We cant wait.. we are off tomorrow and wont be back til Sunday sometime. I have a horrible cold but hoping that it will calm down or pass before the festivities Saturday and the BBQ Sunday!

Have a great weekend! :O)

Honey, you sure clean up good!

2010-10-05T11:41:00.008-05:00

My sweet hubby Todd~

My sweet baby and me~

Beth and Matt-The happy couple!~

Todd escorting Bridget{Beths sister}

Hunter and I~

Matt and Beth Johnston~

I hope you enjoyed the photos from our friends Matt and Beths wedding. They got married last night out by a lake.. it couldnt have been more perfect!!! I am so very happy for them. I know Beth had a hard time with the planning and didnt have a whole lot of help. But it was pretty, classy and we had a really good time. If I was to complain about one thing, it would be that it was held on a Monday night.. but hey, its their day so why would I complain. ;) hehe.

Todd sure cleaned up good dontcha think??? He was super handsome I thought. Hunter was wanting to stay and dance the night away but we just couldnt he had 4 pages of homework to do and I had sleep on my mind after a busy day at work. I told him not to fear we have one more this coming weekend-wedding that is!!! My niece is getting married Saturday and we are leaving Friday night to go down and spend the weekend in a cabin at a resort at Lake of the Ozarks. I sooo cannot wait! Woot woot!

Have a great week! :O)

heheheee

2010-10-02T08:18:00.002-05:00

I double dare you to have a great Saturday!!!! ;o)
ps: we are showing our house at noon today... wish us luck!!!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

2010-10-01T15:27:00.002-05:00

Just checking in to say hello and because I feel its super important that you do this... please go in for your yearly mammograms and check yourselves monthly. Early detection can save lives. Ive always told my friends if you are too scared or nervous to go, please ask me to go with you. I dont mind at all. Or I can be of support in any way that youd like. Just go! :O)

I dont think I have ever really posted much on the subject of breast cancer. But most people I dont think do- unless they know someone who is a survivor or victim or someone currently diagnosed. My mother-in-law is a breast cancer survivor, altho I did not know her during her battle, but if I had I would have been posting this then. I would have joined her in the battle and supported her in any way possible. I intend on doing just that for my Aunt Pat who was diagnosed with breast cancer this past Monday. Its been really hard and I cannot say how many tears were shed at first and how bad it made ME feel. I finally quit feeling bad for ME and apologized to the good Lord for being so selfish and started praying for my Aunt. She goes in October 11th to find out what the treatment plan/surgery is going to be. Her heart is very weak at this point so we are fearful that they wont be able to do much. I do pray however that God is with her and eases the pains she will feel in the coming days, weeks and months.

Starting October 11th I have decided that I am going to do what I need to do to get my life in order. I just feel like this is a sign from God that I have a chance.. weight is the only thing keeping me from living a healthy lifestyle. Im thankful that I am young enough to turn it around and I pledge to do so in my Aunts name. I can do this. I will do this. Its time. I will do this alone on my own or with a partner, we shall see.. it doesnt matter because in my mind I am going to push away the pain like my Aunt has for years with her bad health, put a smile on my face, work hard and push through until I am the healthy person I deserve to be. I know this is the only wish she has for me. I completely feel indebted to her and will do this for her!

Sorry this post is so heavy.. its the way my entire week has been. Im hoping the beautiful weather will be a breeze of relief and put an end to all the yuck. Hope you have a great weekend too! :O)

Hey there Mr. Blue...

2010-09-24T00:55:00.002-05:00

Justice and I at the Finn Inn back in February 2010.

Seriously.. how sweet is Justice in this picture??? I feel like I never post enough about Justice. He is the middle son, 10 years old.. he lives 2 1/2 hours away from me all the time. He is my most sensitive son and wears his heart on his sleeve 24/7. He is smart, emotional, loving and talkative. He also marches to the beat of his own little drum!

For some reason.. or many Justice is having some issues right now. I think for a while now anyway. He was raised and is raised by his father and has been with his father mostly until about 2 years ago when he got remarried. Not only did he take on a new step-mother but step-siblings as well. Its been a hard adjustment for him. He has never really "understood" the break up of his father and I. Two weeks ago he was talking to me and expressed once again how he wished that his Dad and I would still be married. He loves the idea of "family". And he wants us all to be together again. Its hard on him. He cant understand it fully.

Later this morning Justice will be seeing a Licensed Counselor to see if maybe he will let out some of his thoughts, talk things over... find alternatives to escaping..which is his survival code at the moment. Get some insight to things that his Dad and I cannot do. I hope that this is what he needs and that he gets the help he needs. I fear that I have not been such a good Mother and have been out of his life too much. I will never get over that fear ever Im afraid. I just hope to be better in the future. I want him to have the future he deserves, the now that he deserves. It kills me to see him so unhappy and sad. His teacher told us that he is having daily crying spells up to 10 times a day. This just isnt good. Something is eating at this lil boy. I pray and hope that you pray with me that he gets the answers or at least the understanding that he is lacking and that I cannot give him.

I love him so much... he is my shining star and I want him happy like every child should be!!!

Somethings you just cant...

2010-09-22T09:46:00.001-05:00

Ive been having a bit of a problem lately... this pretty much explains it. I will be fine.. always am.. but sure wish I could figure out why I am the way I am! Hope your week is going good! Happy Hump Day!

A Sunday Confessional...

2010-09-19T19:03:00.004-05:00

Well its Sunday, and Im here to confess a couple things.

1) I love Mickey Roarke

2) Today I have been less than sluggish!

First, my love for Mickey Roarke... why? Im not so sure, but I just do .. I think he is hot, love his movies lately.. have you seen The Wrestler? Oh man! I love his body.. and everyone in Hollywood says he marches to his own drum. Thats cool right?!

Second, yesterday was so much fun. I met up with an old friend and we had such a great time! I didnt want it to end even if I did have a thumping headache. As a matter of fact it was such a good time that today was just a big fat F-A-I-L in comparison. I dont remember being out of bed most of the day. I dont want to eat, talk or do anything. Ughhh. I hope this doesnt last I do know that. They say seasonal depression is on the rise, but normally I love what the fall brings.. all the smells, colors, outdoor activities... Halloween. :)

Oh well, tomorrow is a new day, and being sluggish and down is better than being placed in the ground!

My view of the StL!!!

2010-09-16T14:40:00.004-05:00

hey guys!!!! Guess what??? I got all the billing done and I can play around a little today and tomorrow... whew- right?!!!

I thought it'd be kinda cool to take some pictures of my surroundings.. things I see on a weekly basis.. buildings and such... You don't see people taking these kinda pictures really anymore unless it is of a specific building for a specific reason or it is a business photo. This past weekend I was driving through the city and captured a couple photos with my cell {yes, driving and clicking pics is dangerous-please don't do this at home!}.

In the first pic, its me driving over the Martin Luther King bridge going into downtown St.Louis from IL. The bridge is over the Mississippi River and recently was changed from an open 3 lane layout to a 2 and 1 lane layout. The 1 lane going in and the 2 going out. And it scares me to death! I still wont cross over into downtown on that bridge at night! Too scary!!! The first time I had a panic attack and almost came to a complete stop in the middle of the bridge. Whew! Ive gotten better about the daytime and can make it across without having to take a different bridge and driving through downtown traffic.. but one more panic attack and I'll be back to doing that route again.. but lets hope not! On the good side, I get to see the beautiful Arch, the Gateway to the West every time I make this trip.. so that's awesome! We do have a pretty neat skyline I think!

In the second pic, I'm driving back over the MLK bride into IL. I'm shooting to my right looking out the window towards the Arch.. and you can see the other bridge that I detour during panic attacks photographed.. and that is called the Eads Bridge. A lot of times in the summer they will close down that bridge and you can walk across to the casino, or watch the Arch fireworks on the 4th. ps: You can really walk across it all the time, there are special sidewalks for it! This bridge is super old and just beautiful in its architecture! I love having pics taken down on the landing near it! {This is where all of Hunters photos were taken this year by my friend Cat!}

The last pic is a picture of a couple buildings I find to be VERY interesting in East St. Louis! They are super old as you can tell, and abandoned. They even have trees growing out of the tops!!! Id love to get a closer look at these buildings but they are located in a very dangerous city. I wouldn't go there in the dark let alone the daylight. :( Its sad, because these buildings are architectual art!!!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this lil tour.. maybe I'll do this so often and maybe you'll do the same. You never know when it may spark interest or memories. :)

Loves It!!!

2010-09-14T04:21:00.004-05:00

I love this photo!!!

My brother-in-law and one of the nicest people I have ever met-Jim and his daughter, my niece-Alana. They were challenging each other to get the best photos of the air show this past weekend.

Making Memories... its what its all about!

ps: Its 4.27am and I cannot sleep worth diddly. This OT is killin' me. Or is it the sinus/allergy season?..oyyyy
pss: If you look in the comments section of the Inspiration Saturday there are my answers to some of your questions. ;)

Air Show!

2010-09-13T19:13:00.008-05:00

Did I ever tell you that we live with the Air Force base right behind our house? hahaa.. Yes we do!

Needless to say we hear a LOT of planes coming and going.. and let me just say, they shake the windows, keep us from sleeping or hearing conversations and they honestly excite me every time I hear or see one! ps: They used to scare the pee out of me though! hehee

Anyway.. almost every year the base hosts a big air show and they usually have the Thunderbirds or Blue Angels perform along with other old war classics. They put on a great show and lucky for us we have a comfy yard view of most of it. I wish my camera was more awesome because I could of gotten a lot of greater shots.

Hunter and I sat out Saturday afternoon for some and I forgot my camera, but Sunday we sat out in the yard for 3 hours! I brought my camera and here are a few of my fav shots of the Blue Angels! ...and one of me and Hunter ;)

Inspiration Saturday!!!

2010-09-11T19:16:00.004-05:00

Wellll.. thanks to that sneaky sneak Laura... I got the thrifty bug and decided this morning when I woke up that I wanted to visit two of my favorite thrift stores today! And I did just that!!!

First stop the Belleville Salvation Army. I have always found some sort of bargain here! From the time I moved here and would go into town for doctors appointments when I was pregnant with Hunter and until I started work I would stop in at least once a month. I stocked up on play clothes, Halloween costumes, picture frames, books and just all kinds of goodies. Today was no different! I think I hit the jackpot! Todd gave me a $10 limit and away I went!

Today for $9.38 I got the following: A leather football {not pictured because the boys were playing with it}, a Liz Claiborne purse, a tie for Hunters soon-to-be Halloween costume, a pair of shorts for Hunter from the Childrens Place, 3 books and the best find.. a LIKE NEW Cards McGwire jersey.. I almost pee'd myself!!! SCORE!!!

Next stop... a little church ran thrift store on the corner downtown Belleville! We got the boys bunk beds there a longgg time ago.. and a lot of my buttons for scrapping came from there. I was so excited to go in.. but my limit in there was $5.. Todd the meanie said so. Anyway.. I found about 3 things that I reallllly wanted but didnt get, maybe another day. It was a stove top perculator in perfect condition from Corning Ware, a vintage metal red plaid thermos and a enamel green bowl. Of course when I got out to the car Todd says.. why didnt you get them. Ha! "rolls eyes"... anyway...

I spent $1.30 and got 4 packages of white/orange/red and antique colored lace for scrapping and these five books! I figured theyd be perfect for Hunter since he has been craving a bit of variety than what is in our library lately...and the biggest news................... The one book... Garbage Can Cat... I had it when I was a kid... again... I almost could not control the inner screamer in me!

So.. I must say thank you Laura for the inspiration to get out and thrift. There was only one thing missing.. I wish you could have been there with me.. because I just know that it would have been a great time!!!

ps: If you guys dont see me around for a bit.. Im neck deep in billing/invoicing at work. What a drag!!! I even brought stuff home to do..ughh.
One week and I should be back to regular business though. :)

Have a great rest of the weekend.. and be sure to write me and tell me what YOU did!!! :)

Who knew?

2010-09-07T22:27:00.003-05:00

Who knew a breakup that didnt even involve me would be so emotional?

Last week Preston broke up with his long-time girlfriend Rachel. She called me Thursday morning sobbing. She was just sick and heartbroken. I didnt know what to say to her as I hadnt heard from Preston. She said that he stated that he was thankful for all she and her family had ever did for him and that she was a model girlfriend, that he just needed time alone and wanted to be single. And although I cannot blame him... he is only 21. It was just so hard to hear! Rachel, her brother, Mom.. her family just so close to us. I just hate it! I cannot tell you how many tears I have shed. I sobbed the entire rest of the day and quite a bit last Friday {Im sure this contributed to my headache as blogged about previously}

I spoke to Preston briefly on Friday, but he did not mention, nor did I anything about anything. And again I cried for him, for her.. just so sad.

Tonight he finally told me.. and basically the same thing he told her. I just asked him to please make it a clean break and do not give any false hope. He said he hated to be the jerk and do the breakup, but he didnt see forever and didnt want to put her through that if that was the case. Words sooo hard to hear. For her, for me. And tonight, she posted her Facebook status as Single and it started all over again.. the tears.. the sadness. Why is this effecting me so much?....

I think because when I was 21... Prestons Dad asked me for a divorce and basically said all the same things to me that Preston said to Rachel. It just brought all those feelings flooding back.. the heartache. I tell you the pain that I felt was just sickening. I literally thought I was going to die it hurt so bad. As a matter of fact, Ive always said since that a broken heart hurts worse than any real physical pain I have had to endure. And I am sticking with that still.

I know with time all will be well for the both of them. They are both smart kids, they both have a huge future ahead.. with or without one another. I just wish it wasnt so hard. Im going to pray for strength for Rachel and Preston to get through this rough spot in the road, thank the good Lord that they hadnt gotten married or had children yet... and selfishly pray for myself while Im at it. I can no longer pretend that it is PMS that is making me emotional! I guess I need some healing too!

Thanks for listening!

Chocolate chip-banana-nut Cresents..

2010-09-06T22:56:00.007-05:00

well that sure was a mouth full ;) haha

Last week I was cruisen around the net and came across a blog that had a recipe for cresent rolls with chocolate chips in the center.. and I thought, wow, how simple. So when I went grocery shopping the other day I got some cresent rolls and decided yesterday to experiment.

I rolled out the cresents and then layered mashed banana and chocolate chips to the fat part of the cresent.

Then I added a sprinkle of chopped pecans and about a 1/2 teaspoon drop of peanut butter.
I wish now I had mixed the peanut butter and mashed banana together and spread onto the cresent, thinking that would have been a lot easier, also would have had a more even taste instead of the surprise peanut butter glob, which wasnt so bad.. but some people may have turned their nose to. Also note.. kinda press the chips into the dough, that will help when rolling these lil babies up!

Here they are all rolled up... I had a few nuts try to escape.. ha, funny how that sounds familiar ;) hehee

Next, I drizzled some melted butter over the tops of the cresents and then sprinkled plain ol' sugar over them.
Popped them into a 350 oven til golden brown. It took less than 10 minutes.

The outcome... beautiful little sweet treats!!! I think next time Id like to add a little sugar to the bananas to take the bitterness away.. but overall a neat lil quickie dessert! And because I explored with this.. I think I shall with many different flavors in the future. Never be afraid right?... Right! :)

Have a great week!!!!

Just watchin' the clouds roll by...

2010-09-03T23:33:00.000-05:00

Today was a very long day... it didnt start out too good as I awoke with a horrible headache. I didnt even want to get out of bed I was that miserable. Good thing I was off work huh? LOL.. NOT, I wanted to be happy and bubbly on my day off! ;) I got up though and showered and then Hunter and I set off for our days adventures. I must say.. the kid was a pure angel. He was polite, respectful, helpful and really just a model child. {Where'd that come from? ;) hehe} He absolutely loves school and said he would miss it this long weekend. WOW.. love to hear that!!!

Anyway.. we started off the day with a little visit to my office. We really didnt do anything but sit and chit chat with the girls. Todd had mashed the tip almost off of his thumb earlier so that was quite the subject matter for us. Plus our agenda for the day. I know they were jealous of what laid ahead of us. hehehee

We went and grabbed lunch for Todd and took it to him since he was working through lunch trying to get a work project finished before the long weekend. Then back on the road we went.I had to take a necklace that I had bought back to Fashion Bug and a pair of earrings that I so embarrassingly bought 2 of a while back. {long story short, I thought they were actually 2 different pairs, but turns out 1 of the 2 were just turned around backwards... DUHH!!! haha} Hunter had a grand time helping me pick out a couple other necklaces and we were outta that joint!

Next stop.. the Pediatrician. O-M-Gosh... so dramatic! Hunter and I were the 1st ones there and it was so quiet in the waiting room. All the sudden a Policeman busts through the front door and runs to the back of the building. We see a ton of cops outside and hear sirens. I guess they had a back entrance and were in and out like that.. we never saw them again. I think someone had to be taken to the hospital ;( That was pretty wild, but all of the employees there seemed very calm.. except for Doc Joe.. he was very shook up you could just tell. He had a hard time getting focused on what he was doing. He gave Hunter a book-They always do!!! I just love this about them!!! Then did his physical. Hunter had grown THREE inches in the last year!! Doc Joe has always said Hunter was going to be a football player and reaffirmed it again today! Next, the sad part.. Hunter had to get 3 injections. The poor dude tried to be brave, but ended up crying a tad after one of the injections. I felt for him because they did look a little overwhelming. And guess what? He isnt done, he has 2 more next month.. this is a 3 step process getting him ready for school with the immunizations. whew!

I think he did pretty incredible and off we went to the *Halloween store*. Which was really the Dollar store hehee. Todd had been there the evening before to pickup some items and told us that they already had quite the Halloween collection out, so that got Hunter all kinds of pumped up. That would be his reward for doing well at the Pediatricians office. We found all kinds of scary candy that I went ahead and bought, an afro wig in black for his costume {to remain a secret} hehe and some window clings for my office. Hunter picked out a huge toy gun/Army kit, I must say it was very cool for the price! Also got a few necessities.. like the new Gain dish soap! I cant wait. Yes, I am excited. LOL

We came home.. changed clothes and headed out to do my most favorite part of the day... watch the clouds roll by!!!! We have a huge hill behind our house, so we took blankets and pillows and laid there and watched the beautiful clouds! Talked about the shapes and what clouds would taste like. Hunter says... soap! haha yuck! I say.. cotton candy! yum! We did that til I remembered that I wanted to try the tshirt bleaching that I found through Homemakers fabulous lil blog! I made one, Hunter made one and by the time we were finishing up my niece Alana came outside {they live next door} and she got to make herself one. For the first time I dont think we did terrible. I especially loved Alanas! I liked mine well enough to wear it out later when we went to dinner and shopping... so guess it wasnt too bad! ;) And even with his wounds Hunter found some time to jump around and act like a little boy. While we had been laying out on the hill he had said he wished we had a blanket to cover up with.. I truly think if we had he would have been out like a light!!! hehe The fresh breeze, Mom and the sun.. so beautiful!!!

Hunter used his Army men as stencils!

Alana and I used a metal decorative cross from my house! We plan to dazzle them up with fabric paints.. I think I'll try a different shirt though first!

Finally.. Todd came home and we all freshened up and headed out for Chinese.. after that JC Penney. I tell you.. I cannot stand our JC Penney! The one back home is out of this world.. but here BLAH I say.. just BLAH. I never find any REAL bargains and I always end up irritated and sweaty by the time I leave. Tonight was no different. Todd and Hunter were even clamouring to get the heck out of there. But we did manage to get Todd some new jeans and Hunter a pair of flip flops on clearance, some new undies and a tshirt. By the time we left there it was 9pm and Hunter was begging to go home and just go to bed. And that is exactly what we did!

What a full, full day!!! :) Thank you for letting me share it with you! I know Im long winded, but it is 2am and I cant sleep now LOL.. maybe Im over tired???

Have a great weekend!!! ;O)

Today

2010-09-02T13:37:00.003-05:00

I am........

heartbroke
selfish
mad
sad
emotional

but........

I am also.....

blessed
happy
healthy
loved
in love

so you know what... everything is going to be ok... with a little time and a little prayer... its all going to be OK!!!

ps: I think I really want that tshirt ;)

Do ya doodle???

2010-08-30T13:55:00.002-05:00

I do.. I doodle all day some days.... hahaa and it is quite obvious from my desk calendar at work!!! You see at work sometimes Im on hold a LOT... and what else to do if I have all my other work done and have no other multi-tasking to do.... doodle! I miss the days of doodling, drawing and coloring. Its been a perk having to help Hunter with his homework when we get to color!!! hehee. Oh, and it is also obvious that I eat a lot of Chinese food... and keep the good fortunes... hoping some day they all come true. :)

Do you save your fortunes?

Do ya doodle? color? draw? paint?.... If you used to and havent done it in a while, pull out some crayons or markers and get to it... it will make you feel like a kid again... dont forget to lay on the floor, kick your feet around and drink some chocolate milk while doin' it! :)

Toodalooo...

Funny lil thing..

2010-08-30T07:35:00.002-05:00

So we recently switched internet/cable tv to Att U-verse and per their promotion we were awarded a $200.00 gift debit card. Now, with this debit card you have to use it all down to the penny, you cant go over and only certain places will take it. Heck, even Att wouldnt take it as a payment. So I was pretty nervous using it.

Luckily for me I had this and was able to use it to put a down payment on a cabin for the weekend of my nieces wedding in October. That was only about 96.00. I used it a couple times for lunch also. It left a balance of 51.43, so we decided to fill up the tank with gas. Knowing it wouldnt take 51.00 I told Todd well try real hard to get 41.43. Well the gas station would only let us use it in whole amounts hence 41.00. .... so that left the balance of 10.43. Where would I use exactly 10.43????

Well this past Friday Todd and I went to lunch .. both saying wouldnt it be cool if it came to 10.43.. and we were both like.. yeah right. Well we got our total.. it was 8.00 something. and we were like oh darn.. but yay a cheap lunch for 2 right!!! Well I get to the window to pickup the food and find out that Todd didnt get the soda he ordered. She added it on and violaaaaa it was 10.43!!!! We high fived and were laughing so hard that we spent that exact amount.

I tell ya.. its the funny lil things that make a person smile! ;)
Have a great week!!!

His very 1st~

2010-08-29T16:12:00.006-05:00

Hunter got his very first Red Rider BB gun this weekend. His Dad, without my knowledge.. promised him a BB gun if he completed all of his chores, school work and extra school work this past week. He did successfully and with great pride and joy. I thought it was a bit pre-mature, but a country boy will do what a country boy will do! I think we should have waited for the semester end... oooyyyy ;)Anyway.. here it is and here he is so proud. Maybe this will be incentive to keep up the good work, because he knows if he doesnt he doesnt get to shoot it!

He really is a *dead eye* as he explains to me while taking photos! hehee :)

It was a FULL weekend!

2010-08-27T09:38:00.000-05:00

Uncle Greg and my sister-in-law Melly!

Uncle Greg
Johnny and Hunter fencing!

Here comes the rain!
Storm watchers {preston and rachel}

Nasty clouds!!!

Me and Preston hanging out!

Well, its about time I posted about last weekend huh? hahaa. I have had a very busy week at work and just no time to do diddly! Ive been working lots of overtime this week. But back to regular schedule next. And then onto billing which I dread, especially since my helper Nancy moved away!
Anyway, last weekend was pretty short and sweet. After Prestons graduation we hung out with my Mom and her husband in their hotel room and then Preston, Rachel and I went back to Dads, hung out and watched the storms with Todd and Hunter and then went out to dinner. By the time we left the restaurant it was raining so heavily that I could only drive about 24m.p.h. and the lightning was so close I kept seeing the flashes.. Yikes!

Saturday morning we got up and headed out of town and back home.. got home dropped everything and took a nap. Got up and headed out to do grocery shopping. We didnt get home til 9pm Saturday night. arghh.

Sunday we got up and I cleaned house a bit and made some buffet potatoes per Uncle Gregs request and we left for the bbq held for Uncle Greg Sunday afternoon. {Uncle Greg is Todds Uncle and we are so close to him, but he lives in Texas boohiss! So we dont see him but once a year} I loved seeing him and all of Todds uncles and old friends... and cousins. My kid loved playing with theirs too.. and Johnny of course! ;)

Wow.. so that was last weekend... What are you up to this weekend?
The weather here has been absolutely beautiful!!! Tonight Im headed out to get Justice. Preston and Rachel are up for a Rascal Flatts concert/Six Flags and tomorrow I am planning on washing the car, spending time in the yard swing and sitting around the campfire tomorrow night with family and friends! Im going to look for and get these huge marshmallows to toast.. I saw them at Walmart the other night and they look like sooo much fun!!!

Have a great weekend!!! :)

Graduation

2010-08-23T07:33:00.007-05:00

Well after a longggg summer, I am finally able to blog about Preston being in the Police Academy and ultimately his graduation this past weekend! I cannot express how proud, proud, proud I am of my son! Preston completed his Police Academy and is now an official Peace Officer. He went to school at the University of Missouri via their Law Enforcement Training Institute. It was a 600 hour school but as the instructors said it was actually over 750 by the time all was said and done.

The photo above is a class photo. Preston is in the last row on the right 4th from bottom {behind bald guy} hehee. These were the uniforms they wore to class daily. They also had red bands on their wrists and name tags that they were not allowed to take off and if they did 80 push ups for the whole class. Preston forgot his name tag twice during the year :O hahaa, and boy did he pay for it. Not only was he embarrassed but he had the whole class on his buns!

The next two photos are of Preston accepting his certificate and being congratulated by the Administrator and Instructors. Can you believe I really didnt cry... only a couple of times I got choked up. My heart was about to burst and I almost threw up on the way to the ceremony thanks to the nerves! :)

Proud Momma moment!!! :)

My Moms proud moment.. I was so happy she made it. He was happy too!

I have such a good kid.. it was soooo hot and I drug him up through campus after his party just so I could get a picture of him in front of Jesse Auditorium!!! He only complained a little bit, but smiled real big for the picture ;)

It was a bit stressful planning a luncheon for Preston being in another state, but it all came through, the decorations, the cake... the location/restaurant was all SUPER good! And all the family was there. The only one missing was Justice and believe me, Im still steaming over that one. ;( We made the best of it and had a good time in spite. I think Preston had a really good time and was happy with the turn out. He sure had a very proud crowd behind him!

As for Prestons future plans.. well he wants to volunteer at the Academy and do some Auxiliary police work getting to know the smaller towns and working with the bigger towns around us. He is also working part time back at his old place of employment Ovid Bell {which is a printing press}. He hopes to go back to college and get his Associates so that he can go on to be either a City police officer or some kind of high risk security.

I couldnt ask for a more respectful, honest and fair son. Congrats Preston and many best wishes in all your future endeavors.. You make this Momma proud!!!

You and Me..

2010-08-18T21:42:00.000-05:00

Most of our days are "to be determined".. and most of them are shared with laughter, love and blessings. I couldnt ask for a more wonderful relationship being married to my best friend! I want to grow old with this man... I want this love to never end. Happy 6th Anniversary Todd, I love you... *more*.

Eta: Our anniversary is Friday the 20th, but since I will be out of town ... thought Id post now :)

A couple of things..

2010-08-16T07:51:00.003-05:00

This weekend I did manage to get some scrapping in. I get so overwhelmed when I go into my room that I almost dont want to even do anything anymore. I wish I could just start all over. Clear everything and only buy what I need for a specific project. Ohhhh but the papers are just sooo pretty. Just like this card for example. I loveee the Basic Grey dinosaurs papers. I used them on this card for my Dads birthday card. I was going to say something like older than dinosaurs but decided against it in the end hahahaa. Its simple, but hey I managed. And I got the twine idea from my friend Jenn! :)

I also finished this... can you believe Ive been working on this for about 3 weeks in my spare time? I just couldnt figure out how I wanted to do it or work it. Ahh but finally it all came together this weekend. I love the red and brown together. I think I may give it as a gift..or maybe as a blog giveaway! I got the frame from Big Lots.. it was only 50 cents!!! So what a deal ya know. I bought 3 so and gave 1 away to my niece, but still have another to do. Cant wait!

I also made the teacher an altered treat can. I wish Id taken a pic of it.. it was so stinkin' cute. Im going to make another so I'll be sure to post a pic of it soon. Save your crystal light containers because thats what I used, it only took an hour to pull together so I know you'll want to try it when you see it.

Today is Hunters first full day of school.. and Im not going to lie...I came home, cried ... no... sobbed. I went straight to his bedroom and laid on his bed crying my pea-pickin' heart out. I knew today would be hard on me, but I didnt realize just how much. *sighs*

I have lots to do this week, its Prestons graduation on Friday and we are out of here on Thursday- so I hope I can post a bit more through out the week... if not.. have a great one folks. I'll be back with details of the graduation and pictures!!! :)

I really dont like you!

2010-08-15T04:58:00.003-05:00

August!!!!
You are hot, humid and generally a pain in my buns! If it werent for my parents birthdays, Hunters first day of school, our anniversary and Prestons graduation this month... well Id just rather sleep right through you... in the a/c of course! And to have 31 days... what an insult!

{Ramblings brought to you by an insomniac who is irritated that this months wake up time in the middle of the night happens to be 4am instead of the good ol' 2:30am wake ups...gah!}

and...

2010-08-14T22:28:00.003-05:00

at this point.. its how I feel too! hehehee

Hope you are having a great weekend! ;O)

and he is OFF...

2010-08-13T22:35:00.010-05:00

to Kindergarten that is!Hunter started a new chapter in his little life today. He went to school for the very first time! He only had a 2 hour day today, but it was anxiety filled and happy!
Hunter had also insisted on riding the bus. He did get that panic look on his face when it actually pulled up but we hugged him and told him it would be OK! Off he went. We got into the truck and followed the bus to school. He didnt know we did that or that I was following, watching, yearning to help him and snapping as many pics as I could. heheeHe turned and saw me and I walked with him to his class line outside. Once the bell rang we all went to his classroom {kids and parents}. We all said the Pledge of Allegiance {I'M SO HAPPY they still do this!!!} and then the teacher read the kids a story that left all of the parents shedding tears. It was called The Kissing Hand. What a cruel thing to do to us parents huh? hehee After that the kids were on their own to learn about one another and the teacher. He then rode the bus home and got off with a huge smile. I think the day was a sure success!I did really super good compared to how emotional I usually am and only shed the tears during the story, and seriously wouldnt have if I hadnt seen the other Moms and Dads tearing up. Todd did really well too. Altho I did think he was going to get on the bus with Hunter. He wouldnt let him go and told the bus driver to please take care of his baby and make sure nothing happened to him! hehee
He described his 1st day as a little scary and a lot happy! hehee

My Momma told me..

2010-08-11T10:26:00.000-05:00

There are SEVERAL things my Momma told me.. but one of the ones I still carry with me today is: "Don't ever ask why honey.. likely hood is that you will not like the answers, so don't waste your time asking why!"
So when I saw this little inspiration poster I thought of that quote from my Momma! Shout to my Mom-Gloria!!! ... I love ya. ps: she is the spitting image of me.. only tinier hahaaa ;)

"Karma is a funny thing"

2010-08-10T11:15:00.005-05:00

Have you ever seen the show My Name is Earl? Well.. the premise of the show is exactly why I'm writing todays blog. Karma is a funny thing.
The story of Earl is as follows: Earl is a low-life who buys a winning lottery ticket, only to get hit by a car, losing the ticket in the process. He then realizes in the hospital that his bad luck is the result of karma in which fate punishes him for all the rotten things he's ever done in his life; therefore, he then decides to dedicate his life to making amends to all the people he has hurt in his life.

So anyway... Karma. I got it and got it good. The story: Recently a client came into my office and asked if I'd like to come to a dinner/talk for her employer which was a Spine and Wellness center. hmmmm Free dinner? Talking about medical stuff... sure I'm in right?!!
It was the last week of Nancy being here {see previous Nancy posts} and I asked her to be my guest and go with as well as one of the girls I work with. Free dinner, talking back pain, headaches and general aches was perfect for a girls night out! ;) haha especially at my age! *Snort*

We get to the dinner.. which was OUT OF THIS world I may add, perfect Italian place with outstanding food... listen to the guest speaker, ask all kinds of questions and tried not to act so interested as that we would be pestered at a later date. Anyway.. the speaker asks us to fill out all these papers and it includes our name/address/phone number. I knew I wasn't going to go to this place... so I did it. I lied! I put a false name/address/phone number and told my friend from work to do the same. She said she couldn't do that!!! I was like ok.. well they are going to be relentless in trying to get you to go there. {And sure enough they did in the end} So as the night drew to a close I started feeling more and more guilty about it and eventually changed mine back to the correct info, just requesting that I get no phone calls. I felt good about changing it and felt bad for thinking that way to begin with. Terrible Ang.. terrible!

I drive home... get out of the car... and BAMMMMM, karma bit me straight in the rump!!! I tripped on my flip flops and fell right into the exterior mirror of my truck. I cannot tell you the immense pain that ensued! Luckily I did hit the mirror and not the ground, no telling what kind of shape Id been in then! It threw my body into a complete torque and I was sore for two days afterwards.. and still today 2 weeks later still have a bruise and heavy contusion under the skin!!!
Never ever will I ever do something like that again. Its true "Karma is a funny thing" ;O)

Lesson learned... I'm only human!

Short visit back home...

2010-08-09T20:21:00.000-05:00

Lets see.. Im so far behind on blogging.. but Im trying really hard to catch up! Not this past weekend, but the weekend before I took a little trip back home by myself and did some visiting with Justice, Dad and Preston. Mostly Justice! While traveling, I saw several bad accidents luckily they were on the opposite side of the highway, but still, it left me feeling cautious and nauseated all at once. I drove straight through light rain and as I approached the county line back home I came up a huge hill and saw this!!!!I was freaking OUT! I thought for sure Id see this cloud touch down and Id be a gonner! As I passed the cloud it started raining so hard that traffic basically stopped. I actually had to put on my flashers and pull over as did everyone else. By the time I got to the country road leading me to Dads there was so much water over the road I was scared it may carry me away. I think I was being over sensitive but after that hard rain and black sky I was a big ol scare-d-cat!!!

Got to town finally, picked up Justice and headed to Dads. He had a huge pot of chicken and noodles ready.. they were so awesome! Preston and Rachel joined us and we spent the evening just visiting.

The next day we got up and got ready and I took all the kids to the mall. JC Penney was having a crazy crazy sale. I got so much stuff I couldnt hardly carry it all. Took the kids out to Chinese and had a good time talking with Rachel and Preston about their future plans.

Later that night Dad took Justice and I out to the Mexican place in town, its our fav! We then took a small drive and ended up at my brothers house to visit with him and the nieces and nephews. I then took Dad and dropped him off at the local Bar/Grill with his friends and the Justice and I headed to the late show.It was good to have a date night with just Justice, Im sad that I didnt get a picture of us together when we went to see the movie Despicable Me. But the memories will last a life time right!?! BTW, the movie was awesome. We had to go to the late show, I was scared that Id get super tired since we had such a busy day, but it held my attention and I admired Steve Carrells voice the entire time. :) Id highly recommend the movie. It was very touching as well!

The next day Justice and I had breakfast together at the park, dropped him off and I headed home.

On the way home I stopped and visited with my ol girlfriend Kerrie. I havent seen her in almost 8 years!!! So it was nice to catch up. As a matter of fact I stayed there for 4 hours just chit chatting. I hope as time goes by we can mend some fences and become best friends again. We had been best friends since 3rd grade for heavens sake. Just so much crap and time has came between us. But this was a good step forward I believe. :)

Finally.. home!

So hard to say goodbye!

2010-08-08T13:22:00.006-05:00

Last week we had to say goodbye to our good neighbor and friend Nancy! Nancy came to be a great gal to be around, we went to dinner, she taught me how to crochet and helped me stuff invoices at work when I needed help. She was like my stand in Grandma.
Sadly she had to move on and moved away to North Carolina.
For her going away Todd, Hunter and I took Nancy out for steak-her favorite. Hunter had a good time capturing photos for our memory book! Altho I will miss Nancy so very much, I wish her all the best in the rest of her days!
Thank you to my lil photographer Hunter and his self portrait! :O)

Part 2 of the Super Vacation!~Finally ;)

2010-07-26T21:34:00.001-05:00

This is part 2 of our vacation back a couple months ago. Sure did go by fast! Id love to have another vacation like this. It was wonderful!!!
Justices ballgame!
Dad and the boys fishing.. Dad caught the keeper!

Swimming.. oooo we got sooo burnt, but it was FUN!
Dinner out several times with our favorite people! So happy to spend a lot of time with Preston and Rachel! :)

Lots of bowling! It was awesome, after 9pm they turn off the lights and its all lit in neon and they play oldies videos. We had a fantastic time and will be doing this again when we go back!

More fishing! Rachel and I caught the big ones this time! hehe Its been FOREVER since I went fishing, so it was pretty awesome!

Fathers Day ... Hunter could hardly wait to give his Dad his card. So much love!

Last minute playing at the park before leaving *back home-Missouri*. We were so sad to go, but had such a great time.

Whats for Supper?

2010-07-25T21:32:00.006-05:00

Whats for supper this week?... My friend Linda always does a Monday Menu of the week and I love reading all the yummy stuff she plans to make. I especially love when she tries new recipes and shares. I thought today Id write down what I *think* we will be having this week for supper.

Monday~beef stroganoff, green beans and biscuits
Tuesday~beef pot pies/pizza rolls {I have a dinner meeting to go to so I will be eating Italian-YUM}

Wednesday~tuna noodle casserole w/peas and biscuits
Thursday~turkey burger burritos and Mexican rice

Friday~out- {I will be away all weekend so the boys are on their own}

ETA: Here are the 2 necklaces I made last week. The 2nd one was made for my niece Alana. She LOVED it!!! I did it using scrapbook paper, glue and a rubon!
I plan on making more of these!!! ps: Next time Im going to use the Dimensional Modge Podge!Also, I am working on an altered picture frame. Im having troubles figuring out what kind of flowers or embellishments to put on it, so it is still sitting on my desk. But as soon as I get it done I definitely want to post the pic for comments/constructive criticism! hehee
In addition I will be back with pics from the rest of our vacation down at Dads!

Have a great week!!! ;O)

Garden of the Gods..

2010-07-24T22:20:00.011-05:00

The last leg of our Southern Illinois get away was spent in June at Garden of the Gods in Shawnee National Forest. It was beautiful! It was hot and muggy, but we braved the trails and headed up to see these fabulous rocks out in just the middle of nowhere! God really did have a hand in this. The Indians hid in these hills and its amazing to think that possibly there was actually water running through here at some time.

I cant say that while we were up there on those rocks that I didnt get scared.. cuz boy I did. There was nothing to hold you up there, you were just there in space with the rocks and trees and air. Justice wanted to explore, but he is in that clumsy stage and we didnt trust him that close to the edge.. heck I didnt trust myself that close! Id start taking pictures, get dizzy and have to back off. The one pic of Todd is right beside a huge crevice that if you fell youd be dead meat! I love all the pics of this journey. I hope you do too!

After we left the Garden of the Gods we drove by this barn and painted on the roof were the words "Monky Ashe Cheez" ... say what??? LOL.. we were laughing so hard. It was almost as funny as the restaurant that we saw earlier that day that was called "Wok and Roll" haha a cute Chinese buffet. hahaaa

The rest of our vacation was spent back home with Dad, Preston and Rachel. We did a LOT back home too.. lived life to the fullest! I will be back later with pics from that trip as well! I wish it was time to go on another adventure! hehee We really enjoyed ourselves and the boys are still talking about it and ready to go again too!

2010-07-22T22:10:00.003-05:00

Ok, so basically my hair is cut in a combo of these two styles. Im seriously thinking about getting the red highlights... I know that I dont want as much red as what is in the top photo, but my bangs are more like that than the 2nd. I like the 2nd cut and color but the bangs arent the same as mine. Help?! What should I do? I need girlie opinions! I need a change!!! ;o)

My reality at the moment...

2010-07-21T13:41:00.001-05:00

I was reading Stephanie Howells blog one night and she had recently posted about our everyday realities. What really goes on.. no sugar coating. Some of mine today...

I have a sink full of dishes at home, and sometimes Id rather just stay at work as to go home and face the mess awaiting me.

Im worried about what the future holds as far as retirement and working .. most people have a plan in place by my age, but I dont. ;(

I have flowers that I bought before July 4th that still havent been planted, they are still in the containers from the store, if it werent for Todd watering them they'd already be dead.

Todd has been working a different shift than me lately and I hate it, I cant seem to get up or maybe dont want to because he is not there to keep me company ? in the morning? .. Not sure whats up with that.

Today I realized that I am totally not prepared to have a child in kindergarten... its been so long since Ive had a child to take back and forth to school. wow. Unreal!

I havent gotten a whole heck of a lot done at work today, because Id rather be on the computer.

My Moms husband was baptized into the Mormon religion this past weekend... and Im still not quite sure how to react.

What is your reality today?

Superrrrr Vacation!!!

2010-07-20T10:19:00.001-05:00

We had a fantastic vacation!!! It started off with a surprise trip for the boys to Metropolis, IL. We left on a Saturday morning and boy was it ever hot! We stopped briefly along the way at Fern Clyffe State Park. We used the bathroom {which was nasty! I really wish people would take pride in their surroundings!!!} and took pics by this enormous rock. The boys ventured up to a small cave and quickly came back as it was too hot & humid to do much exploring even in the shade.
We ventured on and ended up in Metropolis-home of Superman!!! The boys were super excited once we got there!
We went directly downtown to see the Superman statue and walk around the streets and see what was what! It was great, Ive never sweated that much in my entire life, but it was well worth it! We took pics at the Superman statue, walked a bit, got some shaved ice, then Justice got on this bungee jump thing. He hated it because it was so tight around his nether regions. But had fun just the same. While we were watching Justice all kinds of dressed up characters were walking around. Wonder Woman, Superman, Lex Luger, The Joker and his girl.
And then we saw the Storm Troopers. I thought Todd was going trip trying to get to them before they left the area so Hunter could have his pic taken with them. heheee
Later after walking around I found a little stand and the fella was selling all kinds of figurines. I looked closer and he was selling Lego people. I about cried. We found Hunter the Batman and Robin Lego characters and the fella selling them was so interesting. The boys asked him so many questions and he was a sure wealth of knowledge. Both boys got 2 figures and then he gave them 2 each as well for a GREAT price. The boys called him their hero of the weekend! heheWe settled at the hotel and went swimming.
The hotel was nice and we enjoyed every bit of our time there. It was funny too to wake up and walk through the halls with Lone Ranger and Clark Kent and have pictures taken with them and even Laura Croft Tomb Raider. hehee We were so tired that evening that we were all snoozing by 9pm!!!

We drove around and since we were so close to Kentucky went over the state line, ate dinner, explored and took pictures near the Ohio River and the Fort there in Metropolis.
Sunday we went back into Metropolis to the street fair and walked around, sweated some more and got some goodies to take home. Then we spent most of the rest of the time relaxing in the pool and swimming.
We took a little trip to Kentucky Lake and Dam one evening. It wasnt very exciting, but something to do and we liked the area so much we thought we may come back to do some camping some time and play in the lake.
Monday we got up and headed back home. We decided to stop at Garden of the Gods in Shawnee National Forest. Im so glad we did!!!...

more to come... Thanks for being so patient with me and my posting. I wish I werent so detail oriented sometimes.. then I could have finished a long time before now. hahaa ;)

Happy Birthday America!!!

2010-07-04T09:21:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July!!! Celebrate and have a good time.. all while being safe!!! ;O)

Nom...Nommm.. Nomm!!!

2010-07-01T21:43:00.004-05:00

I think Ive found a favorite new cereal! Its Honey Nut Shredded Wheat!!! Its sooo good for you and its delicious! It doesnt soften up too easy so beware of that if you have sensitive teeth like I do. But holy cow.. its awesome! If you like shredded wheat at all.. give this a whirl.. it has just the right sweetness to it!

Nom Nom Nommmm ;)

Sorry, so sorry...

2010-07-01T09:05:00.002-05:00

I am seriously trying to work on a blog post about our vacation. I keep getting interrupted and have tons of work to do at work, still catching up there. In the evenings Ive been cleaning house, re-arranging and getting things ready for Preston, Rachel and her Mom and brother who are all coming in Friday night to spend the weekend at our house for the 4th of July. Its exhausting. And to be truthful as Todd says "I'll be waiting for you to tell your story for the next two days" hahaa.. ok so I take a while to tell a story.. geez.. sorry, but I like details! ;)

Never fear.. I'll be posting the story and pics from vacation very soon. Thanks for hanging in there! :)

Sittin' here thinkin'...

2010-06-27T00:55:00.002-05:00

Ive been sitting here thinking of something fun to post to tell ya'll that Im back from vacation and finally caught up on reading blogs.. now I just have to do some posting of my own... but seriously folks its 1am and Im ready for bed. So.. Im back, will be posting soon... In the meantime, check out this etsy shop Pinkytoast with a bunch of my favorite paintings!

Welp...

2010-06-10T22:58:00.003-05:00

...I'm out of here peeps! Have a great weekend/next week.. We are officially on vacation time starting 5pm tomorrow {Friday} night. Catch ya on the next wave. ;O)

Its summertimeeee...

2010-06-08T09:50:00.006-05:00

This weekend was perfectttt! We picked up Justice and then Sunday went to the store and got both the boys water guns... and the fight was on. In fact it was so nice out that Hunter ended up shivering because he got cold! haha

Here are some battle pics!Its just the start of summer and both boys already have battle wounds too.. its only been 24 hours since Justices arrival... Pray for less injuries and more fun! heheeh ;)

Gettin' ready...

2010-06-05T21:07:00.005-05:00

This past week we have been getting ready for our lil family vacation. Here is a hint as to where we will be going... hehee
I got both boys these tshirts to sneak into their bags as a little present. I cant wait. I hope they like them! I got Justice a pair of cool swim trunks and tried like crazy to get Hunter the same, but NO luck. ughh. I dont know why I want or feel the need to have them match.. but I do. Ive always been like that. gah! Anyway.. I think tomorrow we may hunt for some fitting swim trunks for Hunter and Todd... they have some already but want new ones. Kinda like me.. I have a swimsuit, but I wanted a new one.. the last one had to be taken up and it was a last minute deal and I really dont like it. It would do in a pinch, but this time I planned it out a bit better! haha

Here is the swimsuit I bought from Fashion Bug and the cover up to go over it. I ordered two sizes smaller than usual and its still big in the bust area.. weird cuz Im pretty busty!

What do you think? Do you like?

Its Friday!

2010-06-04T16:07:00.003-05:00

Today I have a summer dip recipe to share... who doesn't love that? hehee

Cheese and Fruit Dip

2-3 bags of shredded cheese {use the multiple cheese blends, but not Mexican}
1/2 c. chopped fine celery
1 bunch of green onions chopped
1/2 c. pecans
enough mayo to mold the other ingredients together.
1 jar of Polanters All Fruit jelly {or any all fruit jelly} in seedless Raspberry flavor

Stir and fold into a saran-wrapped pie plate, press into the pie plate and once it has molded together in fridge for a couple hours you can flip out onto a decorative plate or platter. Spoon on some raspberry all fruit over the top and serve with Ritz or Club crackers.

This is a salty, sweet delicious dip.. I would have never thought to put all these ingredients together.. but everywhere I have taken this dip people have eaten it all up and asked for the recipe! Try it.. and enjoy! ;)

Have a great weekend!
We are off to pick up Justice tomorrow for his 3 week stay with us! I have so much planned for us.. going to be F-U-N!!! Other than that, just cleaning in store for me. Maybe going back to Fashion Bug to find some capris for vacation.. I will see if I cant post pics of the new swimsuit and cover up I bought for the trip. woot woot! ;O)

Self Sabotage!

2010-06-02T20:46:00.005-05:00

I came across this quote tonight and thought...What a crappy way to live your life!... I know, I did for almost 40 years..."We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person doesn't care at all." Its called self sabotage.. and its serious...its a killer, a true killer of your soul.

I would like you all to know that we are all worthy of love and caring!!!

I'm so blessed by God, my boys, my husband, select friends & family...even past relationships... without the sacrifices, love, support and prayers... I wouldn't have made it, I would have continued to feel like a failure, I would have died.

So please... if you don't feel worthy..... find it in yourself and/or in someone, who will support you in your journey to find the strength to overcome those feelings.. those feelings are wrong, so wrong. And YOU can rise above it and finally allow yourself the freedom to feel and receive love. We all deserve that!

Feels Like Home

2010-06-01T14:49:00.003-05:00

If you havent seen My Sisters Keeper... its a must, it came out in 2009 but we were just now watching it. Have a box of kleenex handy. Todd and I both bawled our eyes out. We loved the movie. Im sorry I didnt read the book. One of these days I'll have to for sure.

Here is a link to a video which is pieces of the movie and one of one of the songs from the soundtrack that I fell in love with-Feels Like Home by Edwina Hayes!.... Its just so sweet.. sad... true.

Other news: I gained about 10 pounds.. how I dont know, because I truly have been watching it.. ughh! Preparing for our trip June 12-20.. we are surprising the boys.. I cant WAIT!!!
I just have to get through these next two weeks of billing and Im out of here! woot woot!

ps: Jodie.. why did you have to go emailing me and reminding me that our "babies" are going to be SIX soon??? ... hahahaa.. will shoot you an email soon! You stinker! ;O)

Memorial Day

2010-05-31T11:48:00.002-05:00

Remembering those who gave all... Thank you.

Tequillllllaaaaa

2010-05-30T21:20:00.008-05:00

Wow.. last night Todd fixed the most amazing Margaritas.. and oh boy did I partake. NO, I didnt get wasted.. just a lil giggly.. but they were soooo good! We had went to our friends Matt and Beths house for a steak grill out. It was awesome.. we had great steaks, HUGE baked potatoes, salad, corn on the cob, watermelon and pineapple upside down cake. Needless to say we were STUFFED! hahaa.. After dinner we all went outside and hung out around the fire pit... why we had a fire going on a 90 degree night I'll never know.. hahaa but we had fun.. talked a lot, laughed a lot! And sweated a LOT! hahaa We were one hot mess I tell ya. hahaa. Its good to get out amongst friends and have some down time and forget about the stressing world around us. A much needed break!

Note: I need to apologize for complaining about my job in my previous post... I feel like a complete fool for doing so, especially when one of my friends found out this week that her husband lost his job. I just want to say Im sorry Amie and I hope new doors open for ya'll and that I will pray my lil heart out for a good ending to this nightmare. Big hugs!

Here are some pics from last night... oh and I suffered all day today with a headache.. but Im refusing to believe it was those margaritas.. I really think its sinuses... wonderful sinuses. ha!The fire pit from hell!!! hahaa

Our hosts Matt and Beth

Me and the hubster.. I told you we were SWEATING! hahaa

Pure evil goodeness! hahaa ;)

Matts daughter Savanah and Hunter, they played til they dropped!

and last but not least.. my HOT husband.. ehehe. We were blowing bubbles in his face and making him try to bite them... he was a good sport! hahaaa ;)

What are you doing this weekend?

Trash is VERY important!

2010-05-28T12:53:00.002-05:00

Ahhh just something I felt I had to post.. this was an actual call left on my answering machine at work... lovely. I didnt realize trash was so stinky or was sooo very important. Now I do!!!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

... man I love my job!
ps: Been having a very bad work week.. ready for the 3 day weekend.. Happy Memorial Day.. I hope you have a great weekend! ;O)

Prayin' for Lee to win!

2010-05-26T15:00:00.002-05:00

Lee Dewyze is definitely in it to win it. I think he was cheated big time last night with the song choices he was given. But none the less just love and adore him. I hope and pray tonight is a big night for him... if he doesnt get the AI title tonight thats ok.. I know he will do well! Why.. well listen to this! My favorite song that reminds me of my son Preston-Simple Man! ps: I sure hope you voted?! ;)

How does it feel to be a soccer star?

2010-05-22T22:23:00.007-05:00

My Soccer Star!!!

This is the question we've been asking Hunter all day! hehee. Today was his very last soccer game of the season. It was probably the hottest temperature outside too.. way different from the other games. It was a GREAT day though.. and he did well. Today he kicked 3 goals.. Sharks won too! Out of 4 games total he scored 8 goals! We really saw quite the improvement this year! It seemed Justice was his good luck charm too, because the only game he didnt score any goals in Justice was not there. hehee Hopefully next year it wont be monsoon season when they play hahaa.. it was quite rainy this season! Several games were canceled because of the rain! I think Hunter had a real good season and lots of fun!

Going for GOAL!

High fives from Daddy!

2010 Soccer Team "The Sharks"

Greys and The Middle

2010-05-21T10:15:00.005-05:00

Did you watch Greys Anatomy finale last night? ... HOLY crap.. it was the most intense 2 hours on tv... holy COW... I cried, I had chest pain.. and even Todd said that was the best ever episode ever. Very clever... very good lead up to! I like that they didnt leave too big of a cliffhanger but enough to make us want to watch again next season!

So what is this couch tator going to do now that a lot of my shows have had their finale's ;)

Have you seen the new show this season called The Middle? If not.. go see if you can hulu some of the episodes its a neat little show that Ive gotten to really like! It is really a lot kinda like my life.. kinda like Rosanne hahaa.. Its pretty crazy and funny.. and human.
So... not much going on today.. bored out of my mind at work. I cant work on the books because the computer is down and my work is caught up. Calm before the billing storm in June I guess. Im flipping through scrapping blogs, hoping I have enough time this weekend to create some Graduation/Birthday and Fathers day cards. This weekend is also the last soccer game. Whew.. what a season. I think he had a total of 4 games, it was just a crappy soccer season.. and his coach blew! Oh well, always next year. ;) Im also going to research some things for us to do on our vacation. Looks like we are taking the 3rd week in June.. and traveling towards Kentucky! Woot woot.. I cant wait. :)

Oh small update on Preston. He is loving Police Academy!!! He passed his PT test and was 13th out of a class of 64 so not bad!!! He has another test today and another on Tuesday that he is pretty worried about. I know he'll be fine. He was telling me he got gravel in his hand because they were doing this exercise where they crawled on their hands and knees across a parking lot.. OUCH!!! Poor kiddo! But he said he is NOT going to let something little like that get to him. Im so happy he is strong willed.. Id have cried. hehee ;) Its good to know that he is happy with what he is doing. Makes this Mommas heart feel better!

Have a great weekend!

Blog slump fixer upper!

2010-05-20T04:15:00.018-05:00

I think I'll try out Amies blog slump fixer upper tag... read the questions, then type your answers into Google images-put one of the image representations on your blog.

Age at next birthday: 43Lovin' the pink... maybe I'll have a pink themed birthday party this year! Fun!

Place I'd most like to visit: Riviera MayaFavorite place: With MY 3 boys {I just borrowed these 3 from Google} heheThese guys are pretty darn cute though.. hehee ;)
Favorite object: Nail polishDont know if its my ALL time fav... but I love to paint my nails and toenails!

Favorite food: TamalesFavorite color: GreenFavorite pet: My Dog Ruby {cairn terrier borrowed from Google}Name of last pet: Pete-dog {here we have Pete Wentz with his dog}Where I live: Shiloh1st grade teacher: Mrs. Backer... my search kept coming up with Mrs. Bakers instead.. so thought this was an interesting image provided via Google, its uber old!Middle name: DawnBad habit: Eating when bored!College major: Medical Administrative AssistantI remember doing a LOT of this back in the day.... sometimes I miss it. Sometimes I dont. ;)

Favorite holiday: ThanksgivingI love reading blogs and would be delighted if you tagged yourself and did the same.
Have a great day... its super dreary here today. I sooo wanted to sleep in. That turkey Todd stayed home today.. I bet he is snoozing as I type. Gah! Anywho.. one of these days I'll get my ME time! ;O)

I HEART Lee!!!

2010-05-19T09:47:00.003-05:00

Well when I said the next post would be fun.. I was thinking joke or something silly.. then I went to Amies blog... oh LORDAY!!!!

Here is what I found... and of course I had to share. This guy is just too much!!! HEART HIM!!!

Go Lee! Dont look back... be the man, the star you are supposed to be!!! :o)

Urgicare to the clay parade!

2010-05-18T10:09:00.005-05:00

Ok... so let me catch ya'll up on what has went down since I last posted. Goodeness so much!

1st off.. I want to tell you that we tried out the pan pizza that I posted a couple of posts back and we HATED it!!!! It looks soooo good... but for us it was just horrible. I dont know what I could do to make it better?... Its just the biscuits.. they are horrible soggy in sauce. So.. if you try it and like it let me know.. otherwise.. forget I posted it. LOL

So last week when I was blogging about the soups I got a call from the sitter... I was dreading that. With me being sick I was worried that Hunter would catch something as in the recent weeks he would come up all the sudden with a high temp and we'd give him Motrin and that would kick it. Last Wednesday was such the case. She sent him home with a fever and we treated and he slept good and was fine Thursday morning.. altho a bit sluggish. And of course the docs office is closed on Thursdays and I knew there would be no way I could get him in on Friday, so I went on to work, hoping that it wasnt anything. By 4pm the sitter called and said she was washing him down as his temp was 102.5.
So I ran and got him and Todd and we headed to Urigicare. And waited.............. and waited. Sometimes I think they do it on purpose... but anyway.. We got in and saw the nurse. His temp was still the same and he was beginning to look really ill. He had no other symptoms, other than a headache on and off. And a bit of a cough due to drainage.. yick. The nurse looks into his throat and sees red w/ white patches and swears he has strep. She does the quick swab. Hunter didnt even gag.. he was so brave! So we finally get into see the doc. He hears something in his chest and decides to do a chest xray. I was so proud of Hunter...he really did everything they asked without question or worry. And they were less than happy workers I must say. So grouchy. Geez!

Anyway, when the doc came back in the strep test was negative, the chest xrays were negative but he was still uber concerned about the temp.. it had now risen to 103.6. They immediately gave him Tylenol and Motrin and a popcicle. It took a good hour to get it down to 101. They sent us home with a script for antibiotics because the doc was sureeee that he has strep. Also instructed us to take Friday off.
It took through Sunday for the lil fella to start feeling himself and jumping around.I felt so bad because I had to take him with me Friday to the oral surgeon for a check up and he was just shivering due to the high fever. ;( He insisted though. He wanted to do a family party night with clay so insisted on going and stopping at Hobby Lobby for the clay.

Friday night after Todd got home we just chatted and hung out for a bit til the energy hit us again and we had our family party time with clay. Todd whipped out 4 animals straight away! I worked on my mouse for a good while then decided to do a dragon, which turned into a bug of sorts. Hunter made donut stick, part of a house and a sea turtle. He was so happy that we all sat there, chatted and created. And the clay was a real steal! We got all different colors in a pack for $1.99. And we still have plenty left to do even more. Happy times!

So here we are into Tuesday and Hunter is feeling better, a LOT better.. I swear the kid had springs attached to his feet last night as he was bouncing better than Tigger all over the house! hahaa. I think Ive finally caught up on my sleep and feeling better myself except for a nagging cough, altho its getting better. Now Im dealing with a strange thing.. it feels like someone has punched me in the stomach. I dont know what is going on. I just chalk it up to "the change" or "pms" or something. You'd think Id need to be put out to pasture LOL.

In other news.. I have a skin tag like mole that came up on my face in the last 3 months, Im going to have to go to dermatologist to have it checked out. Fun. There goes our cash again. oh well.. better safe than sorry. With all the sickies I managed to lose about 4 pounds. woot. Lets see.. not much else except trying to plan a little trip for June. Its tough, I dont like swimming and the kids dont think its vacation without it. So hard. But Im sure we'll come up with something. Oh yeah.. one other thing. I discovered Pandora Radio. I loveeee it! Ive been listening to the Easy Listening channel a lot at work. So relaxing and who knew Id fall in love with Frank Sinatra, Floyd Kramer and Nat King Cole?.. eheheee check it out sometime! Maybe you too will discover something new! ;o)

Have a great week! Fun post coming up next! ;)

Soup for the Soul

2010-05-13T15:27:00.004-05:00

So after the wonderful "virtual soup" wishes my e-girlfriends sent... I got to thinking about the soups that really comfort me. Its not the chicken noodle soup we all know from Campbells or Grandma...no sir! I'll tell ya whats the BEST comfort soup ever

... but...... first off. Nothing beats a good bowl of creamy tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich.. am I right? Plunging that creamy velveeta-y.. buttery, crisp toast into a bowl of red deliciousness.. oooh YUM

Ok, so I got a bit carried away. hahaa .. I do love tomato soup and dont even get me started on mushroom bisque... Lorday! ;)
~~~~Mouth waters~~~~
ok.. so after getting carried away again just now by the mushroom bisque thought and my urge to google up some yummy recipes and running down to Quiznos to get some... Im now wondering why Im about ready to post the recipe for the soup I started this blog to tell you about?!?

Goodeness.. so exciting!!!

Anyway...I actually have 2 recipes to post. I wish so badly that I had a photo of them to show you just how yummy they are.. but imagine.. and give it a whirl yourself... you are going to LOVE them! I got both of these recipes from my long time friend Rhonda. We grew up and went to school together and have traded some pretty GOOD recipes... her Mom and Aunts and Grandmas too! {LOVE friends like that!!!} So shout out to Rhonda! woot woot!!! ;O)

Broccoli and Cheese Soup
{It really should be called Cheesy Potato Soup in my opinion}

1 cup carrots {grated or chopped up tiny}
1/4 cup celery {chopped}
1 small onion {chopped}
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 cup chopped broccoli
1 cup velveeta cheese {chopped into hunks}
1 cup of frozen hashbrowns {I used the shredded not cubed}

Bring carrots, onions, celery and broth to a boil, turn to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Mix together flour and milk and add to veggies & broth slowly. Cook on medium until mixture is thick and bubbly, then add the rest of the ingredients {cheese, broccoli and hashbrowns}. I transfer to a crock pot and let simmer on low for a couple hours.. you can just cook until it looks ready for your liking.

I seriously always double this recipe. I use a whole block of velveeta and a whole bag of hashbrowns and broccoli. It is also great frozen then reheated later. YUMMMMYYYY!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clam Chowder

Sautee:
2 tablespoons butter and 1 medium onion {chopped}

to this add:

2 cans Cream of potato soup
1 can Cream of celery soup
2 cans New England clam chowder soup
1 can minced clams
1 quart half & half

Transfer to crockpot and simmer for a couple hours. Its really super easy since you are using a bunch of canned stuff, but has a hint of your own spin on it. I add seasonings and some garlic for good measure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ps: I was hoping to have posted this yesterday, but as I was just getting ready to type the recipes got a call from the sitter... a 3 hour trip to the Urgent Care ensued.... blog post to follow!

All out of sorts

2010-05-11T11:21:00.002-05:00

This week Ive been hit by another round of bronchitis/sinus crap.. non stop coughing, freezing, sweating, stuffy nose, no sleep. ARRGGHHH...
It started Sunday.. Mothers Day. I thought I was just tired and wanted to sleep in.. LOL, nope.. I slept almost the WHOLE day!... I was so weak and achy. Then started the deep down cough and wheezing. No appetite, then evolving into throwing up and diarrhea.. oh yeah the whole process! Last night I dont think I got more than an hour sleep. So Im waiting on the crash out hour to hit me at work soon. YIKES! Ive been taking Sudafed Plus so Im hoping that will work, it did help the headache at least.. and Im on antibiotics still from my oral surgery so.. if it turns nasty that should be covered. Soooooo...

I havent been doing a whole lot of anything. Last night Preston called and sent me a picture of himself in uniform for school.. I cant post on the internet.. but he is sooo handsome and sharp! He said his first day was a lot of filling out forms and getting to know people. He said it was super strict. I hope it teaches him some personal responsibility and organization. They wont put up with any excuses there I know. And he does too. Im so proud of him, and know he'll need lots of prayers because we all know what its like to be the new kid on the block starting anew and delving deep into those books all over again! hahaa

In other news.. The weight loss is going steady, I still havent lost anymore or gained. Todd went to the doc this past week and had a terrible report! His blood sugars are out of control {as always}, his b/p was up and his triglycerides were up. He got put on 2 new meds and was doubled on his stress medication. The doc thinks stress has a lot to do with it. And we all know what we do when we stress.. we take joy in the comfort of food. So, he HAS to change his diet. This will only help me so Im on board 100%. Plus I want my husband around for a LONG time!

In other other news... Justices last week of school this week! I cant believe its already over. That went fast! I think he really enjoyed 4th grade. He gave me that video of his class activities for the year and they got to really go on some good class trips and he did a huge biography on South Korea and Thomas Edison. He even got to dress up as Thomas Edison-so cute! Im so happy he loves school work. I wish the bullying part wasnt as bad for him... but maybe over the summer the kids will gain a bit more maturity.

Also.. this summer, our sitter is going to take a 2 week vacation. I will soon have to figure out what to do with Hunter for 2 weeks in June while she is in Hawaii. She says.. go with. Which would be wonderful since my brother is over there.. hahaa.. but alas... that isnt happening. One can dream though. hehee In the meantime.. I've got to do some thinking and planning. I do know that this summer we want to do a lot more camping, hanging out with Grandpa, hopefully moving, bowling with Grandpa and maybe take a mini vacation to Kentucky and the southern part of IL where Superman is from ;) hehe

Whats up in your world? Whats the latest scoop?

Lumpy Pan Pizza

2010-05-10T11:12:00.004-05:00

Lumpy Pan Pizza!!!

1	can (16.3 ounces) refrigerated flaky biscuits
1	can (8 ounces) pizza sauce
2	cups finely shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
16	slices (1 1/2 inches in diameter) pepperoni



	Print these coupons...





	About Concordance™

Heat oven to 375°F. Separate biscuit dough into 8 biscuits. Cut each biscuit into 8 pieces; place in medium bowl. Add pizza sauce and 1 cup of the cheese; toss to coat.

Spread mixture in ungreased 9inch square (2quart) glass baking dish. Top with pepperoni and remaining 1 cup cheese.

Bake 22 to 28 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

This awesome recipe came to my inbox courtesy of Betty Crocker this morning and I thought this is just to good not to share. The possibilities of this recipe are endless!!! Just think of the things you can add to this!!!

Hunter loveeeees pizza, its about the only thing besides lasagna that we KNOW he will eat! I cant wait to try this recipe and share the outcome. Hopefully it will be as positive as the reviews on the website.

Also I noticed that a lot of folks doubled this and put into a cake pan and baked it for the family. Im sure I'll have to do that as well.

Happy Monday!

Happy Mothers Day!

2010-05-09T10:34:00.003-05:00

Happy Mothers Day to all of you hard working, 24/7 Moms... I hope you all have a great day!!! So far today mine has been wonderful. Im truly blessed! :)and I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes ever~ There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one! ;)

Mothers vs Stepmothers

2010-05-08T04:17:00.003-05:00

There is a difference.... right?
I know that according to the dictionary there are two different definitions..... sigh. Still, I am having such a hard time with a current situation. Let me explain. Any advice would be awesome!

Justice lives with his father. Always has. I did not give him up. I did not NOT try to fight for him, but rather decided that being with his father was the best move for him at the time of our relationships demise. Fast forward to about 2 years ago. Justices Dad gets remarried. Awesome! But this woman has taken on a role that does not belong to her in my opinion. She calls Justice her son. Doesnt correct anyone when they call him his Mom. Justice to my knowledge does not call her Mom. But I have found he will not correct anyone either when she is being referred to as his Mom. Im so beside myself right now, I just dont know what to do.

I live in another state... so it is rare that I get to go to school or extra activities of Justices. I have spoke with his Dad about feeling left out when I do go and feel that I am treated like a stranger, rather than his Mom. Some of this is out of his control. But letting her know her role is something that he has had to speak with her about in the past and I thought/think is under control?

I dont know... I thought everything was under control until last night. Justice is up for the weekend and brought me a Mothers Day card with a video inside. I played the video and it was snips of pictures of his different activities throughout the school year. One particular clip was about biographies where the kids did reports and dressed up as their subject. The teacher took photos of the kids, their projects and the people that visited. All the sudden I see Justice. The next picture is of Justice and his Stepmother and the caption said "Justice and his Mom". My heart just sank. ;(

Ive been a Stepmother before and I would never ever ask those children to call me Mom. They have a Mom. I could and can in some exceptions see where a child would call a Stepmother "Mom".. especially when the child is very young and brought into the situation and/or the Mom is not in the picture. But these are not the cases with me/Justice.

Im just sad about the whole thing and then start 2nd guessing myself as to why Im so upset? If Justice is well adjusted and things are good here and there.. why do I do this to myself? I just know that when we move back home and I will be around more, it is going to kill me to be around this. I think thats why it is bothering me so much now.

Any suggestions?

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

2010-05-05T11:44:00.006-05:00

First off.. Happy Cinco De Mayo wooot woot!!! Who doesnt love celebrating this day? Mexican food here I come!!!! Thought Id share a recipe for taco seasoning that my Aunt Linda always had on hand to fix with her deep fried tacos... ohhhh man were they good!!!! I miss Aunt Linda and I miss those tacos.. I dont care HOW fattening they were.. they were AWESOME! hahaa ;)

Taco Seasoning~
2 t. instant minced onion
1 t. salt
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cornstarch
1/2 t. cumin
1/4 t. crushed dried red peppers
1/2 t. minced garlic
1/4 t. dried oregano

Keep stored in an air tight container and sprinkle in with ground beef or turkey when making tacos. Believe me its better than the pre-packaged taco seasoning you buy in the stores!

Next up.... Do you watch American Idol? OMYGOODENESS... Im totally in awe with the adorable Lee Dewyze!!! I love his voice and he is so stinkin' cute. Not in a "hot" way.. but in a awww kinda way. And today.. I figured out why!!!! He, in my opinion, looks just like my son Preston!!!! Im mean I tried to find a photo to match better but couldnt.. but let me just say.. Todd and I were like WHOA.. when we saw this pic!!! {click on photo to enlarge} Call us crazy.. but we are still thinking whoa... hahaa ;) Also... last night one of my favs.. Harry Connick Jr. ...was mentoring on AI... I just adore him.. he is HOT {yes he is old enough for me to be able to say HOT like that hahaa}!!! He is in my most favorite movie of all time too.. Hope Floats !!!! Love his swagger.. and loved all of the arrangements he did for the American Idol contestants.. especially Lee Dewyze!!! Im so rooting for Lee. His smile just melts me. :) And his singing rocks too!Im soooo rooting for Lee. His smile just melts me. :) And his singing rocks too!

Mini Doggie Album~

2010-05-03T21:30:00.012-05:00

I finally got off my duff and created something. A little mini chipboard album for my Mom for Mothers Day. I got the mini album at Target for 99cents! The lil paper kit I had for doggies was from Archivers from when I worked there back in the day. Ive always wanted to make a lil album for my Mom because she loves her doggie Milo so dang much. I knew she would appreciate it.

I hope you like it. Makes me want to do more.. except I wasnt fond of the many scallops!!!! LOL

Laid up~

2010-05-01T20:52:00.001-05:00

hahaa.. poor pitiful me. ;) Well the oral surgery went much better than expected. The doc didnt have to repair or get into the sinuses. He repaired the failed root canal and basically told me the dude who did it was an idiot. The wires or whatever they use to deaden the nerves when doing a root canal were all the way through my roots up into my gums irritating the sinuses. Fun huh?

So the pain was pretty intense last night and while I was laid up Todd and Hunter went next door to his sisters house to have dinner with his other sister that was in town from California. I was totally bummed that I didnt feel like going... but it worked out. I snoozed a little and watched the movie Doubt. I really really liked it! Kitty also crashed! haha

This morning I woke up and felt real good except for a slight headache. I was really impressed that the doc took time out this morning to call me and see how I was doing and to tell me I was a great patient. haha ;) That really means a lot that he called to check on me. More docs should I think.. its that personal touch that just rocks.

sooooo...later we went shopping for crying out loud!hahaaa
I got some really good yard sale deals.. lots of clothes for Hunter for fall. And then late this afternoon went to Fashion Bug and found some lounge capris, jean capris and a summer nightgown. Woot Woot. I think I may go back and get a couple bras next week. Then I should be good for summer.

Today is also National Scrapbooking Day. And although I havent scrapped today, I bought a chipboard album to do and some glue dots and plan on fixing up the album and doing some Mothers Day cards tomorrow. I also plan on getting my hair did. Its getting TOO long!!! Todd is taking Hunter out for the day so I'll have some alone time to do that ME stuff.

Im super blessed and happy! :)

p.s.

2010-04-30T16:59:00.001-05:00

ps: I finally got it.. I wasnt pressing the Transparent button to get rid of the white box on the signature.. gah! :O)

Cant help crafty~

2010-04-29T09:16:00.004-05:00

Sometimes you just cant help being a crafty person. I am just that.. a crafty ol' soul. If it looks plain Im going to dress it up.
Coffee cup decorations courtesy Mr. Happy Camper rubons from Cosmo Cricket ;)

A cry for help~

2010-04-28T13:11:00.003-05:00

Well.. as you can see, Ive revamped my blog.. once again. I love it right now... but this is driving me crazy.... this being

this.. my signature. How in the world do I get it to not show the white box. Ive tried program upon program and cant get it. I bet I spent 3 hours on it yesterday alone... thats THREE hours at my job that I worked on this. well maybe not that long.. but Im pretty frustrated.

Anyone willing to help a chick out?... I'll send chocolate.. or .. or something.. please??????

Workin' with Daddy~

2010-04-27T14:27:00.007-05:00

Last week our sitter called in sick.. just so happen to be Take Your Child to Work Day! How perfect was that? So.. before we even knew this was a *special* holiday... hahaa we decided that we wouldnt take the day off, instead just bring Hunter to work with us.

Todd just had to read water meters that day so Hunter could walk around with him and carry the flashlight. They came across several friendly dogs, a goldfish pond, many neighbors and a few toads. Also, along the way as you can see Hunter picked up his faithful pop gun. hahaa I guess he thought he had some protection from the *wild creatures* he and Daddy may come across.

It worked out really well. Hunter was very well behaved, even when he had to spend about an hour of his time in the office with me. We listened to Disney tunes and he helped me stamp some envelopes. At the end of the day he earned $10.. we took him to walmart that night where he promptly spent all $10 on a new set of Legos. ;)

Wow.. Im overwhelmed~

2010-04-26T11:33:00.004-05:00

I have so much to blog about... I wish I could be more constant.. but I just never have time anymore. Gah! Im drowning... overwhelmed for sure!

Lets see... FB.. the downfall of so many.. now I know why my friend Amy has never signed up for it. It has been nice being able to keep in touch with my brother and family more often.. but it does suck away your time. ;(

Scrapbooking.. I love it.. just have no time. CS has put on a fabulous birthday party and the sketches just keep getting better and better. One of these days I seriously need to sit down and work. I want to, but I need glue dots folks.. you never know how much you need them until you dont have them.. grumbles!

WLJ.. the weight loss journey took a detour through China, Italy and Mexico. I havent gained which is good, but havent lost either. I need to go back to concentrating on portion control and not eating out for lunch. And cut out that damn soda!

Work.. busy as always. Its up and down. I love my job-the things I do.. but sometimes the people and the boss get on my nerves.. same with anything though. I have started a new Safety Program for the company. Little thanks I'll get, but it will look dang good on my resume' ;)

Moving.. we are still trying to sell and look for jobs/move. I get panicked when I think about the time for Hunter to start going to school drawing nearer. To complicate things.. tonight is the Kindergarten round-up at the school here. I dont even want to go ya know.?! I think often that we are just going to have to take a leap and DO IT. Todd is grumbling more and more often about his job and how he wants to quit. I have gave him my wishes that he would just quit, even if he doesnt have a job.. find part time stuff and look back home. Concentrate on getting his face out there. We'll see.

The boys... they are just GREAT! Everyone kinda had the sickies and are still coughing due to all the pollen. So miserable and they all 3 sounded horrible!
1}Hunter hasnt had a soccer game in 3 weeks.. so hopefully this coming weekend he'll get a game in... altho they are calling for more rain. We have considered signing him up for tball, but I am none too happy with the Parks/Rec here right now.. and all games are scheduled on Sat. mornings.. which I hate! Will post about his day at work with Todd this past week.
2}Justice is doing dandy. He didnt complain too much this time he was up about being bullied at school. So I hope that with some seating changes that has helped. Also getting him to understand personal space and respect. His Dad and I have decided that just to be on the safe side we would like to have him talk to a professional, just in case he is depressed or something like that. He wants to talk to us, but usually breaks down and doesnt communicate his feelings very well. We are hoping that this will help .. someone can teach him the correct techniques. Justice starts baseball real soon.. already practicing. I hope I get to catch some of the games this summer!
3}Preston has turned in his 2weeks at work and is just about ready for Law Enforcement training classes to start. They start May 1oth. He has been doing a lot of fishing lately and had absolutely no luck in the turkey hunting department. But he is still trying. ;) He and Rachel are doing well. She is down to her last final weeks of her first year of college. Im sure she is stressed to the max right now. But will definitely be a help for Preston once he starts I know!

Lastly... my health.. goodeness. This Friday I go in for oral surgery. Last Friday I went to the surgeon and the bad news is that my failed root canal/crown has turned into a nightmare and I will have to have surgery to remove the failing tooth/roots from the sinuses. Yes the sinuses are involved and they arent letting go of that there tooth! The good news however, is that no one ever PULLED the tooth=pulled the sinuses out of place causing even more pain. So the objective is to cut into the gum delicately around the roots and release them from the sinuses. Hopefully they will remain intact and if so all is good and thats that. Buttttt if they arent then the sinuses will have to be cut and there will have to be a patch reconstructed over the opening of the sinuses. He swears to me that only 1 in 15 have to have this.. but Im thinking since I dont have insurance and am paying out of pocket cash.. I'll be that 15th hahaaa. Im praying not and he seems to be real nice in preparing me for the worst. Still... 24 hours of excruciating pain with the following 2 days of some mean pain to follow. Hopefully he will hook me up with some strong pain meds and I can sleep the pain away. Thank goodeness its the weekend.. I couldnt work with that going on. No way.

Sooo.. now you have the scoop on my life. Whats going on in yours?