AblesAntics

Baking Giveaway winner

2011-02-17T16:45:00.003-06:00

Howdy all! I have been working hard all week and this was the first chance I have had to pick a winner. The winner is

Susitravl !!

Congratulation Susi! If you will email me your address I will get your prize pack on its way!

Everything else here is going fine. February came to Dallas Texas with a bang, where we had 5 snow days! We might miss one day of school, but 5? It was nuts to say the least. The day after all the snow and ice hit I was with power for almost seven hours! It got down to 56 in my apartment, so i spent most of that morning in the heaviest sweats i have , buried under the comforter off my bed. On a good note I got caught up on my reading and did lots of crochet:)

Will write more when time permits, hope all is well with everyone in the blogosphere:)

Baking Giveaway!!!

2011-02-04T08:51:00.001-06:00

Ok, raise your hand if you are sick of this cold weather, snow and ice! I know my hand is raised high. I live in Dallas Texas, and although we do get occasional bad weather in late January/early february, this has been nuts!! No children in the entire metroplex have been to school since Monday. Our metroplex is covered in ice and we just got snow lastnight. We are not used to getting cabin fever... So what better way to fight 'the fever' then to bake! This is a giveaway from My BlogSpark, Betty Crocker and Glad! Gladware Food Storage Containers. They sent me a fun prize pack which has a 1 pound pouch of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix, a 3pk of Gladware Deep Dish Food Storage Containers and a $25 giftcard to Safeway Food Stores (including Randalls and Tom Thumb). They also gave me one to give away! First of all, please visit BakeSweetMemories.com and browse all the delicious yumminess. Then come back here and tell me in the comment section which recipe you would like to try. This is mandatory if you want a chance at the giveaway! One additional entry for each of the following : - following this blog - my friend on Facebook This contest will run for one week only , ending on Friday February 11,2011 @ Midnight (CST) Good Luck!!!!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T08:45:00.000-06:00

Hoping everyone had a safe and wonderful beginning to 2011. I spent the day with Nicole then went home late and went to bed, not seeing Midnight at all,lol. I got some fun stuff for Christmas,including 3 books, which is always a good bet with me. The biggest and best present Nicole got was an IPOD touch, which turned out to be pretty much her only present! I am going to be having another contest pretty soon, so stay tuned, be safe and parents enjoy back-to-school week. Nicole went back today and wasn't real thrilled about it, but she will get over it.

Winner of Movie Cash

2010-12-16T16:56:00.000-06:00

Ooopsie! I am a bit late in posting the winner of the movie cash contest. I had only two people enter, but with 7 comments I still put them in a bowl and picked. The winner is Hot chica In Me!! Congratulations! Please email me your address so I can get your movie cash on the way!!!

Free Movie Cash!! Enter Here!

2010-12-03T16:35:00.002-06:00

*In the interest of full disclosure I did not receive any monetary compensation from My Blog Spark and General Mills. *

Howdy to all there out in the blogosphere! I know I haven't been around in a while, so to make up for it, I am hosting a contest through My Blog Spark and General Mills.

Here is the information:

Starting in November, you can receive a free movie ticket when you purchase two specially marked packages of Big G cereals including Honey Nut Cheerios® (17 oz.), Cinnamon Toast Crunch® (17 oz.), Lucky Charms® (16 oz.), Trix® (14.8 oz) and Reese’s Puffs® cereal (18 oz.).

After purchasing two participating cereals, visit generalmills.com/moviecash to enter the unique code found inside each box of cereal and print your free Movie Cash certificate (good for one admission of up to a $12 value at participating theatres). To find a participating theater in your area, log ontohttp://emoviecash.com/dis_locator/.

If you win, you will receive TWO boxes of General Mills cereal and FOUR free Movie Cash! Sounds like a great deal huh? All you have to do to win is

( Please leave separate comment for each entry)

MANDATORY ENTRY - How do you spend family movie night?? do you go out? bake pizza? make popcorn? Let me know!!

Additional Entries ( Good for one each):

1 - what is your favorite General Mills Cereal?

2 - friend me on Facebook

3 - follow my blog

This contest will run for one week , through Friday , December 10th at Midnight ( CST)

GOOD Luck!!

Korie

2010-09-22T07:22:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! It's time once again for Mama Kat's Writers Workshop!

If you don't know what this is , please go check it out. Once a week she will put up 5 prompts to get your brain in gear, then you chose one of those, write your post and link it up on Thursday morning!

You get new visitors to your blog and you in turn get to read some new posts and find blogs you may not have known about! FUN FOR ALL INVOLVED:))

Out of this weeks prompts I chose number 4 -

Write about my pets least likable trait.

Thats easy. I currently have four pets. One bird and three dogs. Most of them are mild mannered and don't give us too much grief. With one exception - Korie.

Korie is our biggest dog. We got her when she was just about 6 weeks old. Our next door neighbor has a Yellow Lab who had 8 puppies. They weren't sure who the daddy dog was because all the puppies came out black or gray, lol.

She was destined to be our daughters dog. She said she loved the other dogs in the family but they weren't 'hers'. So she picked out this particular puppy ( who at one time was running around the porch with her head stuck in a dog food can!), named her Korie and in started our waking up every three to four hours to let her out and feed her.

Just like we had had another baby. She let the entire house know she had to go potty or was hungry for her puppy milk.

I guess my daughter thought she would stay the cute little puppy that she was. Looking at the mother dog she should have gotten some clue that she wouldn't.

My daughter took her everywhere , did fun stuff with her, and cleaned up after her. It was a real love connection.

But the dog grew. And grew, and then grew some more.

She is now a 54 -lb , one year old Borador. ( We figured out the daddy was a Border Collie a few doors down...)

She is sweet and lovable to us, but watch out visitors. We took her to obedience classes and those work for her not going after food, and sitting on command and all that jazz, but I guess the protectiveness and the aggression of the Border Collie overtakes her and she will try to go after anyone that visits our house. It is sad really when Nicole has a friend spend the night that they can't play with her dog - she is usually banned to the backyard.

The trainer says it is the Border Collie tendencies coupled with the loyalty of the Labrador that kind of went haywire with her.

She is a very cute, sweet, big , lovable mound of black fur, but sometimes that loyalty gets a little skewed and she shows her ugly side. To the four of us that live in the house she is wonderful, but please let us know in advance if you plan to visit, because we will have to put Cujo, ( Whoops , I meant Korie) outside.

( I was trying to post some pictures of this lovable baby ox, but either my computer or Blogger is not cooperating.) SORRY!

Where in the World.....

2010-09-19T08:47:00.005-05:00

did they get this idea from?

Now I'll say this - I am proud of my breasts, but never, ever EVER under ANY circumstances would I go out in public like this - even if it were to honor dear old Mickey Mouse -

Now I'm not trying to offend anyone - especially all you Mickey Mouse lovers out there, but I had to share. If you know me, you'd know that when I received this e-mail I laughed my but off! So go head and laugh!

Obviously these two were really proud of their boobs!

The Winner of the Totino's Giveaway

2010-09-17T18:58:00.003-05:00

Wow! I had 20 entries into my latest giveaway for General Mills and Totino's Box Tops for Education through My Blog Spark.

The winner hand picked by my lovely daughter Nicole is:

lmurley 2000!!!!!

Congratulations! I will be notifying you by e-mail as well. Please have your address to me ASAP so I can get your prize pack in the mail!

Thank you to all who entered! Hope to see you entered in my next giveaway!

Writer's Workshop

2010-09-15T17:57:00.002-05:00

Woohoo! It's time for another episode of Writer's Workshop prompted by Mama Kat. Basically you choose one of the weekly writing prompts she suggests, write your post, then link it up Thursday morning and wait for feedback!

This week she had several really good suggestions, and I liked this one - thought it would be an easy post to write - so here goes... I chose

3.) Write about what blogging means to you. Why do you blog? What purpose does it serve you and how have you benefited from sharing a piece of yourself online this way?

Hmm. How to answer that. Well, lets see. I originally started blogging about two years ago at the request of my friend Lena. I had moved away from her and so we didn't get to see much of each other so she suggested I start blogging so that we could stay in touch.

It sounded kind of fun. I always read her blog and started to get some ideas. The day I did my first post I (foolishly) thought only Lena would see it. I was shocked when I started getting comments from people that I didn't know! All of them were nice comments, welcoming me and such. So I started reading other blogs, and soon was following several and still am to this day.

I've made real life friends through the blogosphere. There are others that I talk to via Facebook and blogger but have yet to meet in person , but SO WANT TO!

The people I have met through the blogosphere have

- inspired me

- sympathized with me

- made me laugh

- made me cry

- made me go " um, wth were you thinking?"

I think you get the idea.

Some ask why I do it. I consider myself a people person. I love to meet new people. I love to hear about what others are writing, thinking, watching, or listening too. I love to talk to and hear from others who share my interests. Unfortunately I don't blog as much as I used to because I'm not home as much , but I still like posting and reading my friends posts. I may not always leave a comment, but I try to!

I don't ever worry about talking about myself via this blog - yes I share stories, but I don't give such personal details that it is dangerous or TMI!

I like it, I'll keep doing it, and I hope you'll join me in my adventures - some new ones may be happening soon!

Till then...

Back to School with Totinos!

2010-09-08T16:52:00.003-05:00

* In the full interest of disclosure, I was provided a backpack with school supplies and coupons for FREE Totino's products through General Mills and My Blog Spark. I was given no other compensation*

Wow! Here, Nicole is entering her 4th week of school! It is so hard to believe that another school year has begun.

This fall, Totino’s is helping to support your child’s school. Totino’s Party Pizzas will now carry Box Tops for Education! Now through September 15, Totino’s is offering two Box Tops for Education on every Totino’s product. Totino’s is also giving away 10,000 Bonus Box Tops, school supplies and free Totino’s snacks to eight lucky schools through the “Make School a Better Place Sweepstakes!” To enter, visit
http://www.boxtops4education.com/Sweepstakes.aspx/Totino-s--and-Avery--Making-School-A-Better-Place/304w.

Doesn't that sound great? I know that after school Nicole likes Totinos party snacks ( the pepperoni are her favorite) and the party pizzas on Family Movie

Night.

So wouldn't you like to buy a snack that your kids love AND help out their school at the same time? To get you and your child off to a great start collecting those box tops I've been given an extra Prize Pack through General Mills and My Blog Spark!

I am unable to provide you a picture of the prize pack at this time due to my camera being weird, however, I will tell you all that you will receive:

* a backpack

* a 4-pk of highlighters

* two large glue sticks

* a clear binder

* a calculator

* two coupons for FREE Totinos products

* a certificate for 25 EXTRA Box Tops!!!

Now to win all of that heres what you must do:

MANDATORY ENTRY - Tell me the funniest thing that happened trying to get your kids back to school the first day , or maybe the few days before while you were trying to get them back on a schedule.

( the following are good for 1 extra entry each, and must be left in a seperate comment)

* be a follower of this blog

* if you follow me on FB

Good luck to all who enter. This contest will run through Wednesday, September 15, 2010. It will end at Midnight (CST) on that date.

Yoplait Giveaway Winner

2010-08-17T15:31:00.002-05:00

The Yoplait "Keeping Cool in School" giveaway that I hosted last week ended this past Sunday at Midnight. Had a really busy day yesterday so finally got down to sorting out entries and picking a winner:

Congratulations to Ashley!

I need you to email me your information so that I can get your prize pack on its way!

I will be hosting another giveaway for fun stuff soon, so stay tuned!

It's Hotter Than A...

2010-08-16T23:29:00.003-05:00

Finish the sentence anyway you want !

Here in Dallas ,Texas we are suffering through the third straight week of triple digit temps. You break a sweat going from the house to your car. You take the dog for a potty walk and pray that they make it a fast one.

You would like to walk around naked, but that wouldn't help and NO ONE would like to see that.

I received this via e-mail the other day and I think it is an accurate description of just how hot it is here...

Back to School Giveaway!

2010-08-10T09:27:00.006-05:00

* In the interest of full disclosure I was provided a Keeping Cool in School gift pack and a coupon for a free Yoplait product through Yoplait and My Blog Spark. I received no other compensation.*

Wow! It's that time already! Nicole starts back to school this coming Monday the 16th. We had her orientation yesterday, where we found out who her teacher will be. She didn't get the one she wanted but the one she got seems nice.

I always have a problem with what to put in Nicoles lunches for school. Very rarely does she want to eat school food and I really can't blame her there... but she is a pretty picky eater. One thing she does like is the Yoplait GoGurts. If she eats nothing else I pack for her, I can usually count on her at least eating the yogurt.

If you have never tried the Yoplait Gogurts , they are really good for school lunches. They can be eaten soft like regular yogurt, or as a frozen treat! It won't hurt to buy this and then put them in the freezer till you are ready to have a nice cool treat. They come in cool flavors that kids love too, such as Strawberry Splash and Chill-out Cherry.

So, when asked if I wanted to participate in this My Blog Spark giveaway I agreed! I received a coupon for a free Yoplait yogurt product, along with a Keeping Cool in School prize pack.

The prize pack includes an insulated lunch tote, a sandwich container, two pencils, a flexible calculator, a flower highlighter with 5 colors, a water bottle, and a fan pen ( which might come in handy here in the 100 degree Texas heat when she is going from class to class! lol).

Yoplait and My Blog Spark were nice enough to give me an extra prize pack to give away to one lucky reader! It will contain all of the above items, plus the coupon for a free Yoplait yogurt product.

1-The mandatory entry is to tell me how you handle school lunches. Do you let your kids pack their own? Do you pack them a nice nutritious lunch and hope they don't trade it? If so, what kinds of things do you pack? This might help some of us who are challenged with coming up with new ideas that our kids will eat.

The following are good for one entry each. ( Please leave a seperate comment for each! )

* Follow this blog

* Friends on Facebook

This contest will end at Midnight CST, Sunday , August 15.

Good luck and DON'T FORGET THE YOGURT!

Catch- up with Pictures

2010-08-09T11:09:00.005-05:00

YAY!!! I'm finally able to get pictures off of my phone again! Nicole found the blue tooth key that links computer to phone!

So, here is a ton of pics that I have wanted to share with you for a while!

ENJOY:))

Here is Nicole and her favorite teacher Mrs. White on the last day of school. She was Nicole's homeroom teacher as well as her science teacher.

This is Nicole with the rest of her Battle of the Books team. They made it through the first two elimination rounds, but got beat on the third. They had to read 10 books each for this competition. They did a great job!

One of the many sets of baby booties and a hat I made last school year. Several teachers had babies. This was for a baby girl.

This is a baby blanket I made for a baby girl. It turned out really pretty.

This was another baby girl blanket I did in more traditional colors. This one actually went to Michelle of My Two Army Brats for her new baby Mackinley.

We got a ton of snow dumped on us in late January. This was Nicole all bundled up while we played outside a bit.

Korie romping through the snow - she loved it!

This pic was from when Nicole's school went to greet the troops at the airport the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Patriotic Nicole at the airport waiting to greet the troops

This picture is from my younger cousins graduation party. Mollie, on the left, will be leaving this coming Friday to go to the University of Arkansas at Monticello. On the other side of Nicole is her other cousin Kimberly, who is a sophmore this year!

This was Korie on the day of her graduation from obedience school. See the little graduation cap next to her? We tried desperately to get her to wear it, but it was a no go.

Well, I hope you enjoyed those! I've held on to them hoping I could show them off soon! I can finally delete them from my phone now that I have them on the computer.

Will write more tomorrow, hope everyone has a great day!

WINNER - Penguins of Madagascar DVD

2010-08-04T16:30:00.003-05:00

Howdy to all out there in bloggy land:) I was planning on having this drawing this morning, but as always real life interfered a bit.

I printed out each comment that was left as an entry to this contest and Nicole drew the winner, which is...

PIXIE 13

Congratulations! If you would please e-mail me your address so I can send you your Penguins of Madagascar gift pack, I will get that right out!

Have fun, and I should have a back to school give away here pretty soon!

Happy summer!

Volleyball Camp Fun

2010-08-02T10:46:00.003-05:00

Nicole came to my moms last Tuesday to spend the last few weeks with us before she goes back to school. The first night she was here, she went with my cousin Julie and her oldest daughter Mollie to watch Mollie work some Volleyball games that evening. She stayed on the court with Mollie for a bit, but then decided she didn't like the balls coming at her that fast, so she switched to working in the concession stand. She wound up having a great time, so Julie asked her if she wanted to attend the Volleyball camp there for the next five weeks. She decided it sounded like fun.

This past Friday night was her first time. She had played a bit of V-Ball at her school in gym, but that is nothing compared to how these girls play. They had placed her with the younger kids because she hadn't played much, so she learned how to serve and volley. She worked muscles she didn't even know she had, so she was a bit sore, but still had a lot of fun.

She can't play any sports at her school until 7th grade, but she says she likes volleyball and she wants to try it some more :) The camp is the next 4 Fridays. The next two won't be bad, but since she starts back to school on the 16th, we will have to see. We will try our hardest to get her here.

Here is the picture of her that I took when she was ready to get on the court

Isn't she getting big? She is so pretty, smart , and funny. (but shhhh, I may be just a bit prejudice)

And speaking of Volleyball, Mollie was awarded a full athletic scholarship to the University of Arkansas at Monticello. She will be a Cotton Blossom::)) She leaves for college on the 13th, so only 11 days away! ARGH!

Last Wednesday my aunt and uncle had a cookout. After all the good food was done with, Kimberly, Nicole, my mom and my aunt sat down to play Scrabble and Julie and I got into a Wii match. She kicked my butt in bowling and tennis, but then I wiped the floor with her while boxing:) Told her it was the first time ever that I'd kicked her butt. We had a lot of laughs over that for sure. ( not counting the time we were little and I beat her over the head with a Barbie doll!) I know in the past we had some problems, mainly stemming from miscommunication, but we have worked all that out.

Well, that is about enough for today. I will announce the winner of my Penguins of Madagascar DVD review tomorrow.

Hope everyone has a great week:)

Revisiting the 80's

2010-07-26T09:11:00.002-05:00

* If you haven't yet entered my Penguins of Madagascar DVD giveaway, click here! The contest will run through Wednesday*

Who would want to revisit the 80's you ask? Well I still like some of the music from then, and I did most of my growing up in the 80s, graduated highschool in '89, so I kind of like the 80s. Saturday I was on my way back to my moms and I sooo wanted to do something fun, but had no clue what to do.

I tried calling a few friends, but no one was home and just when I was about to give up for the evening I got a text from my friend Nancy inviting me to a bar for an old acquaintaces bday party. 80's style. The bar where it was , was having an 80's night , and they had even made drinks to help us remember those times. One was the Boy George ( which I was told was fruity!), and the other was the Madonna. I did one shot of the Madonna and it was GOOD!

Those who know me know I don't drink, but I had to try the Madonna shot because it sounded delish - it was cranberry juice, vodka and peach schnapps! YUM!

There were several people that came dressed up like they were stuck back in the 80's and we had soo much fun. There were several dressed as Madonna, a few from the group Poison, one or two that looked like the lead singer from Ratt, and many others. The bartender was even dressed like a contestant from the Nickolodean show Double Dare!

There was a lot of karaoke going on, and in between those songs, they played nothing but 80's music. We were waiting for someone to show up in parachute pants, but unfortunately no one did.

Nicole starts back to school in 3 weeks so this past weekend, while I was at the house Chris and I took her school shopping. We still have to get a few things, but for the most part she is set.

I have to go get ready for my day, will write more later! Hope eveyone has a great week:)

Penguins of Madagascar DVD Giveaway

2010-07-20T11:13:00.002-05:00

*In the interest of full disclosure, I was provided with one box of Trix cereal, two penguin launchers and a Penguins of Madagascar DVD from General Mills, Nickelodean and My Blog Spark. I received no other compensation.*

Hi everyone! The other day while I was at home I received a package from My Blog Spark, who had teamed up with Nickelodean and General Mills to help launch the premiere Penguins of Madagascar DVD. Included with that were two penguin launchers, and a box of Trix cereal.
Even though Nicole is almost twelve, she had fun with the penguin launchers , while eating the cereal! She even found another launcher in the box of cereal, so now she has three, lol.
Since she is still enjoying her summer vacation, she was able to pop the DVD in too, which she enjoyed.

Currrently, inside specially marked boxes of General Mills cereals, you’ll “commence operations” with one of five characters from The Penguins of Madagascar; Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, Private or King Julien. Each participating cereal contains one character launcher with mission details outlined on the back of the box including:
Dive In, Soldier – Set an empty plastic cereal bowl on the table and try to pop your launcher into it. Wear a helmet or you’ll be squid bait.
Longest Propulsion Launcher – Challenge your troops to see who can launch their character the furthest. Go long or go back to the zoo.
Target Practice – Create a landing zone with a spoon and try to strategically drop your character into the sweet spot. Hit the target or go back to the drawing board.
Clear the Wall – Do you have enough projectile pop to push your launcher over the top of the box? Proceed launchin’ troops, earn those wings!

I also have another box of goodies to give away to one lucky reader! You will receive a box of Trix Cereal, penguin launchers and the Penguins of Madagascar DVD, which includes tons of fun extras, including a Rockin' music Video and sneakpeaks from Dreamworks Secret Headquarters!
It is a perfect way for your kids to spend a summer morning!

Mandatory Entry - tell me what your kids like to do during the summer in the mornings. Do they love to sleep in? do they pop out of bed ready for adventure?

( Please leave seperate comments for each entry!)

The following are good for one addition entry each

* if you follow my blog
* if you are my friend on Facebook

The contest will run today, through Midnight ( CST), Wednesday July 28th.

Howdy!

2010-07-06T19:54:00.003-05:00

Wow, time is flying by way too fast. The school that Nicole attends goes back on August 16! So we are on the countdown for school supplies and uniforms. Hopefully my private life will be back on track by that time!

Nicole and I went to see Eclipse today and had a great time. Loved it by the way. Can't wait till Breaking Dawn comes out now. Also saw today on the previews that the last in the Harry Potter series will be coming out in two parts. The first one this coming November, the second in June of 2011. When I questioned this out loud, Nicole simply asked me if I wanted to sit through a 5 hr movie?

Ok, she has a good point, lol. My butt would go to sleep if I sat in a movie seat that long.

My mom and I didn't do much on the 4th, but we did eat hot dogs and watch a lot of good movies.

I hope everyone else had a great holiday week.

And PLEASE forgive me. I never did announce the winner of my $30 Kroger Gift Cards from My Blog Spark, General Mills and Kroger Food stores -

It is Christi, of Rant, Rave and Roll. congratulations, and I hope you try some new healthy General Mills products and have fun while eating healthy!

Hope to post again soon.

Too Early and Too HOT!

2010-06-19T13:06:00.002-05:00

It is too early in summer to be this HOT! We are already reaching temps with a heat index of 101-105! YUCK! Just to take my moms dog for a quick walk we come back way too hot. If I want to workout, I either do it here in the house, or go to the gym here on site. I would love to get out and walk in the fresh air, but again too freaking hot.

Nicole has been here at my moms also, for the past two weeks. We have kept busy. We went to the movies, and my mom and I took her ice skating, but she was happiest because there are three pools here.

I was back at home on Wednesday, and when I was on my way back here to my moms, Yvette ( mother of Nicoles BFF Carson) called me to see when Nicole was coming back home since Carson wanted to see her. I talked to her and we decided she would bring Carson over to my moms the next morning so they could spend the day together. She wound up spending the night and they had so much fun. A couple of hours at the pool and they were pooped. Added to that, chicken for lunch, along with the peanut butter cup cookies we made and they were out by 11pm. Usually when the two of them are together they don't go to sleep much before 2 or 3 in the morning!

When we finally got them up around 830 the next morning I made Crepes and sausage for them and her dad came to get her. My mom, Nicole and I watched movies the rest of the day where we stayed cool.

Today we will round up Nicoles stuff and wrap Chris' Fathers Day presents. He will be coming here tomorrow to celebrate and we will make him lunch and go swimming, and then he is taking Nicole back home with him.

All in all it has been a good week. Hope everyone has had a good week as well.

Will write more later!

Dear Blogging Buddies

2010-06-15T20:40:00.002-05:00

This isn't a bad note, it is an apology.

An apology for not blogging the last month or so, and being lax when I was blogging. I know all of us get in that kind of rut now and again, or real life interrupts and blogging gets put on the back burner.

I've hinted that I had a lot of stuff going on in my life right now and I wasn't kidding. Most of the stuff is quite personal and I still am not ready to reveal all. What I will say is that physically I am doing a whole lot better than I have in a long time. I've been consistently working out in one form or another and am totally loving the results! Right now, its hard for me to see the results and my friend Flea suggested that I start measuring the main parts I'm trying to whittle down and then I could see the results. That was a great suggestion and I will probably do that this week.
Emotionally I am getting to a better place too, and that is all I'm going to say about that.

Since the Sunday after Nicole and I got out of school I've been staying with my mom in Arlington. It has been so much fun. Granted I talk to her every day, sometimes twice, but I am finally getting to spend time with her. While I am here I plan on learning on how to make Noodles and Dumplings. Those are both things that my grandmothers could make from scratch, and that they taught my mom and now it is time for me to learn. It should be interesting if nothing else:)

Nicole has been here with us for the past week and we have had fun too. We've done a lot of swimming,( with SPF 50 sunscreen), and we went and saw the new Karate Kid movie on Friday. Today we all went to the mall so Nicole could ice skate after I came home from my 40 mins aerobics class.

Good times all around.

More good news on the homefront is that Chris got a new job. He liked is old job, but this one is a bit more money and we now have benefits ( read INSURANCE)! YAY!!! So hopefully things will continue to look up, and get better with time.

I'm hoping all of you out there are having a good , fun and safe summer! When I get home, or when I am able to get to the library and get on a computer I will catch up on all of your news. My mom has a computer which I'm currently using, but it is a dial up dinosaur and I am unable to load Facebook and blogs, due to the amount of time it takes to do so :P

I haven't forgotten ya'll, and I hope you haven't forgotten me:)

( oh and a side note - A big congrats goes out to our family friend Lacy, who graduated on June 8! and my younger cousin Mollie who graduated on June 4, had a party on June 5 and left on June 6 for Paris for 9 days with several of her friends. She just got back home yesterday so I haven't had a chance to talk to her, but ugh I'm just a bit jealous! lol.)

Have You Ever....

2010-06-02T20:19:00.004-05:00

Time for another edition of Mama Kats Writers Workshop. I've been trying to do this weekly, to try my hand at writing different types of posts. She comes up with , or finds interesting prompts weekly, so if you haven't tried it ,please go check it out!

The prompt I picked this week was #4 Begin each line of your post with “have you ever”.

I chose this , and I'm not sure I can come up with a long post, but I will try to make it interesting. However, by writing this I'm NOT admitting to anything!

Have you ever wanted to pull your hair out... then thought that you would look good bald?

Have you ever wondered what planet your child hailed from because he/she acts so weird... but then realize that ALL kids that age act weird?

Have you ever gone to work having forgotten to put your make-up on... then have everyone you run into ask you if you are feeling ok?

Have you ever been trying two different shoes on with an outfit to see which looked better... then got busy, went to Church and only then realized you still had two different shoes on?

Have you ever worn a new pair of heels to an event where the floor was slippery... and then slipped on said floor in your new heels and fallen on your butt showing everyone what you had on under your skirt?

Have you ever had time alone with your spouse where he/she was trying to get romantic...and you were so tired that you fell asleep?

Have you ever laughed so hard...because your significant other farted so loud in their sleep they woke themselves up?

Have you ever been to the movies watching a serious movie...and busted out laughing instead of crying and had everyone staring at you?

Well, Have you????

Win Free Groceries

2010-06-01T08:33:00.003-05:00

* In the interest of full disclosure, I was given a $30 gift card to Kroger's Grocery Store, provided by General Mills, Krogers, and My Blog Spark. I received no other compensation, and any opinions expressed here are strictly my own.*

Recently My Blog Spark contacted me to see if I would like help in eating healthier and losing weight. This couldn't have come at a better time, since I was starting to work out more and snack less. I knew I couldn't get swimsuit ready, but I could do something to feel better about myself.

Since Krogers is a big supporter of The Biggest Loser show, and provides a lot of the General Mills healthy products used on the show, they would provide me with a $30 gift card to try some of those products out.

When I recieved it in the mail I went shopping. There is a big selection at my local Kroger store of General Mills cereals, of which I chose Chocolate Cheerios, since they are low in fat and may help reduce my cholesteral levels. I also chose Fiber One Granola Bars, which are filling and taste great too!

As for cereal, you could also choose Total. It comes in a variety of flavors that can also help keep you on the healthy track. Those are just a small sampling of the variety of food that General Mills offers.

Now once you have decided to take off a few pounds and eat a bit healthier, you can go to the Pound for Pound Challenge website to help you even further. For every pound you pledge to lose, they will donate 14 cents to the local food bank of your choice to help those in need. I won't tell you how muchI pledged to lose, but just let me say that I feel great that my local food bank will be getting a substantial amount of food!

However I did not pledge an unreasonable amount. I kept my weight loss goal realistic, as I'm hoping you will.

General Mills, Krogers and My Blog Spark was also kind enough to provide me with another $30 gift card to Krogers for one lucky reader of my blog! Who wouldn't like free groceries??
I hope that you will buy and try the healthy General Mills products, but if you don't, we won't come get you!

Ways to Win:

1) MANDATORY - tell me what you do to stay healthy, and which General Mills product helps you with that.

the following good for one additional entry each! and they MUST BE in seperate comments!

2) follow my blog
3) blog about my giveaway, and the pound for pound challenge.

Good luck, and this contest will end at Midnight (CST) on Monday June 7, 2010.

Curiosity Killed the Cat

2010-05-22T07:58:00.001-05:00

You Are Incurious

You are just not that interested in the world around you. You are content as is.

You don't investigate much, and you're pretty reluctant to try anything new.

Your world is probably quite safe, but it's also quite dull. Wake up!

Pay closer attention to the world around you. It turns out that it's a pretty interesting place.

How Curious Are You?

Blogthings: We Have a Quiz for Almost Everything

So Not Good

2010-05-18T20:34:00.003-05:00

No, things are ok here at the moment. This is another post inspired by a prompt from Mama Kat's Writers workshop.

All you have to do is head on over there , usually on Tuesday afternoon and pick a prompt from the extensive list, do a post on your blog and go back and add it to Mr Linky on Thursday so everyone can enjoy it!

The prompt I picked this week was

#2 - What was your medicine? Write about a time you remember being ill.

This particular illness took place in 2003. In December. Flu Season.

Normally I didn't get a flu shot, but always got Nicole one. At this time she had just turned 5 like two weeks before.

Chris came down with the flu around Sunday or Monday of that week and was pretty sick, with high fever, nausea, aching, and everything that goes with it. The one thing I remember him complaining about was such a horrid headache. With him suffering from migraines, if he complained of his head I knew it had to be bad.

I tried to avoid him like the plague. I made him soup and such, but he moved into the living room and stayed there till he was better. Avoiding him didn't work as that following Saturday I woke up with a headache so bad it felt like I couldn't stand up and hold my head up or it would just explode off my shoulders.

I woke him up , asked him if that was how his started , he said yes, so he got up to take care of Nicole. He had to go to work that day, so couldn't stay there. Basically I alternated between the bathroom and the bed all day. However, with a 5 yr old , I was worried about her getting sick too. She had had half a dose of the flu vaccine by this point so I just kept my fingers crossed that she would be ok.

She was such a good girl that day though. Mommy couldn't really get up and fix her lunch, so I told her what to do , which was go into the refrigerator, get a hot dog, put it on a plate and hit the number buttons I told her too and the start button. ( By this age she knew her number and letters and could do this, with me watching her from the bedroom.) Although I realized I had to get up to cut it for her, but she did so good that day.

Anyway, Chris came home from work that night and brought me Theraflu. Blech. Unsweetened Lemony nasty drink on an upset stomach didn't sit well. My fever was over a hundred and frankly I don't remember if it was that night or the next night but Chris wound up taking me to the hospital. They did a test on me to see if I was dehydrated and sure 'nuff big time. I won a hospital bed of my own for the next week.

I do remember them giving me meds for the nausea and such and I ate some graham crackers and apple juice, but it still didn't stay where it belonged for long. Chris had to go to work the next day but didn't . He had my mom call his boss since it was a long distance call from the hospital, and he actually got in trouble since he hadn't been the one to call! ( his boss was an ass). Even when my mom explained he couldn't call because I was in the hospital.

The scariest part of all this is what Chris told me after I was lucid again after like the 2nd day and my fever was gone. I normally have a low white blood count. I don't get sick often, its just when I do , I get really sick. Chris had told the doctor that so when they saw the results of the CBC they wouldn't freak. Well, the doctor did freak - he had said my WBC came back very low. When Chris peeked at the lab report it was labeled Critical.

So not only was I in the hospital for a week, but I had won myself my own isolation room - meaning anyone that came in had to wash coming in and going out, wear a mask, gown and all that jazz. It really sucked. Eventually I got better, after they gave me a shot in my stomach to boost my WBC. I was released on a Friday and my MIL came up to help Chris take care of Nicole ( who THANK GOD didn't get sick) and me while he worked that weekend. She bought me a pair of blue flannel jammies, that I just recently had to retire - they were so comfy:)

Thank goodness I've never had the flu that bad again. I get a flu shot every year in October now. I don't ever want to be that sick again, where I actually don't remember some of it.

Well. What a trip down memory lane.

On a much brighter side, I see a light at the end of the tunnel, although a faint one.

So I can keep a bit of a smile on my face at this time.

( We are on our final countdown to the end of school. Nicole gets out on the 27th, so we can't wait!)

Cluck, Cluck

2010-05-18T20:31:00.001-05:00

What type of Mother Hen Are You?
by Montessorimom.com: Educational Resource

I picked up this quiz over at Flea's Blog. thought it was cute:)

So, what kind of mother are you?

Shoes

2010-05-12T06:43:00.002-05:00

It's time for another post linked to Mama Kat's Writers Workshop.

The prompt for this post that I chose was

Write a 20-line poem (rhyming or non-rhyming) dedicated to your favorite piece of clothing (could be a shirt, hat, shoes, etc.).

This particular prompt caught my attention because although I love shoes, I can't wear a lot of the cutsey , sweet little different kinds of shoes due to my leg braces. I thought it would be fun to do a poem about shoes, so here goes:

Lost Shoes

Oh shoes, my shoes

Where for art thou

did I lose?

With two under the couch,

one black and one red.

One in the dogs mouth

one under the bed.

Oh my blue shoe do I see?

With the cat chewing on it

so delicately?

Though no match to be

found,

shoes certainly abound.

Flip flops, mules, slides

and tennies,

cute little loafers

filled with pennies.

Oh shoes, my shoes

where for art thou

did I lose?

__________

I hope you at least got a small giggle out of that one:) I've worn these leg braces for seven years now, and admittedly when I realized I could no longer wear cute little flip flops , and sandals and such, I got angry. Actually had to grieve for the shoes I could no longer wear, although it would save me money on pedicures! I still get those from time to time, but don't like people touching my feet anymore, so it makes it a bit difficult.

Till next time...

Mothers Day

2010-05-09T20:36:00.003-05:00

Here is to hoping that each and every mother in bloggy land had a wonderful Mothers Day.

Thank goodness my Mothers Day and birthday did not fall on the same day this year. Either way I usually get a combined present, but sweetheart that Chris is, it is usually very nice.

Friday I was off work and took Sue to her cousin Joanie's house for the weekend. I enjoyed a day of shopping and not doing much else, although I did exercise after I picked Nicole up from school. I'm back on the weight loss train, but trying to do it by eating healthier and doing mild exercise that doesn't hurt my legs and arms.

Saturday included Korie going to her 7th week of obedience school. She gets her diploma next week and a photo to go on the graduate wall, lol. This week she got diagnosed with a yeast infection in her ear, so holding her down, and muzzling her to get medicine in her ear has just been a joy - NOT!!! lots of snarling, growling and snapping goes on at those times while Chris wrestles to hold her and I put the medicine in. Thank goodness it only has to be done once a day.

As honest as I can be right now I will tell you that my life is very difficult right now. I'm stressed, upset and just trying to get through each day in turn. I am thankful that we only have a few weeks of school left and that I will be very busy during this time. It will keep me from having too much time on my hands. Time to think. Time that I would rather be doing anything else but think.

Sometimes too much thinking can get you in trouble.

I will continue to post, and honestly try to do it more. It might help me sort some thoughts out, but if I have a post that just seems like fluff a time or too, please understand:)

I hope everyone had a great weekend, and will continue to have a great week ahead. I've started trying to participate in The Writers Workshop over at Mama Kats, it has been fun and challenging, so if you'd like to give it a shot click HERE , then click on the Writers Workshop tab.

( oh and if you are wondering what I got for my present - I received Season One of Army Wives, book three of the newest quartet by Nora Roberts, and three movies in a little box that looks like a beat up highschool locker that is titled Flashback 80s Pack and includes The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Weird Science)

So, how was your mothers day?

No Ketchup for my Toesies TYVM

2010-04-28T13:22:00.002-05:00

Another Writer's Workshop prompt from Mama Kat!

All you do is visit her site, pick a W.W prompt and do your post. then go back to the WW on Thursday and link your post so others can read it!

The prompt I picked is Write about a time when you stuck your foot in your mouth.

I'm sure I've done that plenty of times, some without even realizing it. However, this post deals with my inexplicable ability to switch the beginnings of words.

Such as the time my husband asked me what I had for lunch.

My answer?

A Churkey Ticken sandwich... a*k*a a turkey chicken sandwich. I hadn't realized what I did until he was like wha?????

or the time I was working at a doctors office and needed to call in a prescription for a patient. They wanted it called into the Eckerds pharmacy on Arkansas. Only problem with that is there were two on Arkansas at that time, one next to Minyards and one on the other side of town near Winn Dixie.

My question to the patient? " which Eckerds? the one near Winyards or Minn Dixie? "

Oh My God. Seriously???

Those two occurrences are just the beginning in a long line of unintended tongue twisters. I obviously have my tongue in front of my eye teeth and I can't see what I am saying!

Chris and Nicole think its hilarious when I do this. I've caught a few before they escaped through my lips, and I usually do it when I'm tired or in a hurry, or flustered.

What Chris thinks is really freaky is that I can also do it intentionally when I'm retelling one that I've said, lol.

me? I just think I'm a bit nuckin' futz.... :P

__________________________________________

I hope everyone is having a great week! mine is a bit laid back after a rough start. Saturday we took Nicole to the ER where she was diagnosed with Strept throat. She was one sick little girl - had such a horrid headache she just laid around for two and a half days reading her newest James Patterson book. She went back to school yesterday and will be taking her last TAKS test tomorrow.

School is over here on May 27th, then its planning time for our trip to Colorado!! WOOHOO!

Will write more on that later.

Its In the Water

2010-04-23T09:48:00.002-05:00

I'm no longer allowed to drink the water at the school where I work.

Chris said so, as well as Sue.

It is contaminated. No, not with anything harmful, but so far since the beginning of this school year, 3 teachers have had babies. There are currently 4 more teachers due to have babies from the end of May through the first week of December!

I'm crocheting up a storm to keep up with all the baby presents, and each and every one has been happily received:)

So I've been bringing a refillable water bottle because don't dare drink the water out there, lol. Chris and I always talked about having two kids, but I don't think we could handle having to start over, when Nicole will be in the sixth grade!

I've continued to be busy, subbing, crocheting, and reading. Lately everyone has been wondering about my choice of books. I read a wide range of books on a big variety of subjects. Recently however, it seemed I was hell bent on depressing myself.

First off, Nicole's teacher suggested a good book, albeit a sad one - Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. It focuses on school bullying and a kid who just couldn't take it anymore and went to school with a gun. While reading this book, occasionally I'd have to put it down and pick something else up to read.

Those other books I picked up?

A ghost story/story of self discovery called 'The Girl Who Stopped Swimming'.

then , there was a book that Nicole and I saw that was being offered by Scholastic Books called ' The Devil's Arithmetic',depicting a story of the Holocaust. It is written for young adults, but I immensley enjoyed this book, and recommend it to anyone!

Then I picked one up at the library the other day by James Patterson. I've mentioned I love to read his books before, but had never read this one. It was called Alex Cross's Trial.

It dealt with lynchings that took place in Mississippi, during the uprising of the KKK.

Whew! I've finished all of those books, and my brain needs some downtime, so I'm back to reading two books of the Elm Creek Quilts series by Jennifer Chiaverinni.

On a parting note, I will say it has been one week since the unexpected death of C.J. Twomey, son of John and Hallie Twomey. If you would like to give your condolences, prayers , or well wishes, please go HERE.

For Those Who Don't Know

2010-04-19T12:29:00.003-05:00

I know a lot of us read the same blogs, and in that way we are one big family.
As recent as last Thursday, April 15, one of our family suffered a tremendous loss.

Click on this link to give your prayers and well wishes to Hallie, John and Connor Twomey,

If you don't know, Hallie writes her blog under 'The Wonderful World of Wieners'.

No one should have to bury their own child, so please go by and say hi.

Love This Song!

2010-04-12T11:54:00.003-05:00

Sorry guys if this isn't the best video for this song, but I had to mention it as well as share it. The song is called ' History In The Making', and it is by Darius Rucker ( formerly Hootie of Hootie and the Blowfish).

This is one of those songs that speaks to you. Music is a very powerful emotion catcher. Think about it. Sometimes I'll hear a song and get transported back to junior high school, or the school dance with my first real boy friend.

If you haven't heard this song, listen to the words - it is just awesome.

Hope you enjoy it and have a great week!

And the Winner Is...

2010-04-11T19:13:00.005-05:00

Congratulations to Nikki, who won the 'Get In Touch With your Inner Goddess" gift pack from Yoplait yogurt and My Blogspark.

She wrote

"I like to read P.C. Cast's "Goddess" series of books to get in touch with my own "inner Goddess"! They are such good reads! As for my favorite flavor, hmmm, I've always been partial to honey and vanilla, so that flavor sounds delicious! Thanks for the opportunity to win and congrats on getting picked to do this!

For as much as I read, i've never read those books - might have to give them a try soon:)

Your gift pack will be on its way soon!

Enjoy!

Sorry I've Been M I A and Coming Home

2010-04-09T10:59:00.003-05:00

I haven't really been M I A I've been reading blogs and commenting and such, but have been running ( like always) so much, that I haven't had time to do many posts, which I've been missing.

If you have not checked out my contest - click HERE. It ends at midnight ( cst) today , Friday the 9th.

The last two days I've been trying to drum up volunteers for our spring book fair at school. I'm happy to report people have stepped up and I have only a few slots left open, so hopefully I can fill them, or Sue and I will fill in.

The part about coming home... I thought of this Easter Sunday. I will admit and please don't criticize me but I haven't been back to Church much since that fiasco when I worked there. I miss going though.

On Saturday we had an Easter Brunch at my friend Yvette's house, where there was a lot of really good food and new friends to meet. Afterwards Sue, Nicole and I went to stay with my mom for the night so we could go to church with her the next morning, although not the sunrise service.

Unfortunately Sue woke up with a sinus migraine Sunday, so just Nicole and I went with my mom. Back to the church that I grew up in, where I had my first Communion, where I was confirmed, and where both of my cousins got married. Granted it was much bigger than when I originally attended, but hearing the Pastors sermon and singing old familiar songs, I truly felt like I had come home. I truly enjoyed it. I felt great the whole day afterwards, however I feel like it would be way to expensive to drive back and forth there every Sunday for church. I wish I could find one around here that gives me that same feeling.

What is your favorite part of the Church service, if you attend one? I like the singing and the familiar recitations.

Will check back in over the weekend. we have 5 more weeks of obedience school for Korie, and so far so good.

Yoplait Greek Yogurt and Your Inner Goddess

2010-04-05T09:08:00.005-05:00

*In the interest of full disclosure I was provided two coupons for new Yoplait Greek Yogurt, and a 'Get In Touch with my Inner Goddess' gift pack. I was given no other compensation and all opinions are my own.*

YAY! I was recently asked to review new Yoplait Greek Yogurt through Yoplait and My BlogSpark.

I love yogurt but am very picky about what kind I eat. I have eaten other types of Yoplait yogurt and was always very pleased, so i was excited to try this. I took my coupons for two free cartons and went shopping. I found it in my local grocery aisle in four flavors - Strawberry, Blueberry, Honey Vanilla and Plain.

I decided to try the Blueberry and Honey Vanilla. With no fat and 12 grams of protein it was a great midmorning snack. The packaging said the yogurt had a 'rich and creamy' texture. . They were not kidding! The yogurt had a very creamy texture, was light and full of rich flavor.

As a thank you for trying their new yogurt, Yoplait and My Blogspark provided me with a gift pack to help me get in touch with my inner goddess. It contained a wrap around body towel, slippers, hand towel, nail brush , body bath sponge and a hand held mini massager for your back. After last week at work I sure needed it!

They were also nice enough to provide me with one extra 'Get In Touch with your Inner Goddess' giftpack for my blog readers!

Mandatory entry:

Tell me how you get in touch with your inner goddess.

Additional entries ( good for one entry each!)

- tell me which flavor of the new Yoplait Greek Yogurt you would like to try

- follow my blog

Good Luck! This contest will run through 12am CST , Friday, April 9, 2010.

No Juvie for me TYVM

2010-03-29T08:42:00.004-05:00

I got this idea off of Mamakatslosinit.com. She has a weekly writer's workshop where she gives you prompts, and you can pick one or more to write about. After you have written your post(s), you go back there on Thursday and put the URL into Mr Linky so that your story is shared.

I saw one this morning that caught my eye. The prompt was 'write about something you stole'.

Ok, I can confess this.

When I was around 14 or 15, my parents bought me a Seasons Pass to Six Flags. My cousin had one, friends had one, but this was my first. I was excited. My bad decision was going with a girl that was a bad influence on me. My mom was never really fond of her , but she let me go anyway.

We were having a great time, window shopping, eating and riding the rides.

This girl decided to teach me to steal little stuff when I came across something in one of the many shops there that my 14 yr old self just couldn't live without. After that first success, we tried it at another shop, and another.

Now mind you, to us that day it was fun. We got away with it and figured what the hell, its just little stuff. What we didn't figure on was what to tell MY mom when we got home.

( This girls mom was hardly ever home, so she wasn't monitored very closely.) My mom however watched me like a hawk. I came up with the lame story that I had won all that stuff playing games.

Sounded plausible, right?

WRONG!

Like I said, my mom watched me like a hawk. She knew I hadn't gone to Six Flags to play the games, I went there boy watching and to ride rides. Even if I had played one or two little games, I couldn't have played that many to win 4 or 5 things.

Since my mom and I had a pretty good relationship and I usually told her everything, I eventually broke down and told her how we got that stuff. She couldn't do much about the other girl, but she made me throw all my little 'prizes' away and made me cut up my season pass. My FIRST season pass. EVER.

To this day, that remains my ONLY season pass. I've never owned another.

I can't remember what else was included in my punishment, but whatever it was , it set me on the straight and narrow, since I've never stolen another thing.

So, what have YOU stolen????

Back In The Swing

2010-03-24T11:52:00.003-05:00

Well Spring Break is officially over and we have been back in the school swing for 3 days now.

We had a great spring break, and so far this first week back hasn't been bad at all.

I worked yesterday in the Special Ed department. Some subs will not agree to work there, but me? I like it. Some of them aren't sure how to communicate with those children or whatever. I think they are a very sweet bunch of kids and they usually accept me pretty well, as some of them don't like big changes in their schedules. I work this coming Friday too in elementary art - thats always fun:)

I think I forgot to mention that all of my moms cardiac tests turned out fine - she does not have to have another heart cath or any more stents at the moment. They think it might be a problem in her lungs if she continues to be tired and out of breath, so she has to get that checked by her regular doctor. She was diagnosed with mild asthma a while back and it hasn't really been a problem, but she might need a bit of extra help since this has been one hellacious allergy season already.

We found out these past couple of days that my aunt Donna ( my moms twin) has squamous cell skin cancer on her head. She is having it removed in the next couple of weeks and will probably have to go through some sort of radiation treatment, so if you could send a few prayers her way it would be appreciated.

Everyone else seems to be ok at this moment , thank goodness. I hope everyone out there in bloggy land is doing well too!

Will hopefully get to check back in tomorrow! have a great day!

Spring Break ( cont)

2010-03-19T07:47:00.004-05:00

Well, after our exciting start to spring break, it has continued to go well. Tuesday it was kind of rainy and icky so Sue, Nicole, Carson and I went to the movies. They went to see Alice in Wonderland, while I went to see Our Family Wedding.

Alice In Wonderland was never one of my favorite children's stories, so I opted out of that one.

After that Carson came back to the house and her and Nicole played a while. When I took her home I went on a Shamrock hunt again, this time at Albertsons. We went in to get a gallon of milk. They had MDA Shamrocks all over the place, so I figured everyone was happily handing out shamrocks.

We got to the checkout and the young checker didn't ask the people in front of us, and he didn't ask us, even though we saw the shamrocks sitting there. Nicole in all her 11 yr old-ness piped up " oh what cute shamrocks, mommy look..." still the checker didn't seem to have a clue.

After he handed me my milk, I mentioned that he should have offered me a shamrock, and he would have gotten a t-shirt. He was like " huh? what shamrocks?" I picked one up off his counter and showed him - he was totally clueless. He must have missed that employee meeting...

Anyway, Wednesday we stayed around the house for the most part and did laundry and small stuff like that. Thursday Nicole and I packed a picnic lunch and went to the local park. It has a small lake full of ducks and has picnic tables around there , and a playground further down the walking trails. We took our dog Cher with us. We sat and ate lunch, then got up to walk it off. The weather was so pretty.

We had not been back to this park since they redid it , so when we got to the playground , we were pleasantly surprised to see exercise equipment. They had a stair-stepper, chin up bar, push up bar, sit up bench, tai-chi wheels, as well as some other stuff there. It was really nice.

We kept walking and got the dog some water, rechecked out a library book for Nicole and decided to walk the trail again. this time we stopped at the equipment and tried some of it out - I will definitely be going back there.

Not sure what we will be doing today, but tonight we are invited to a friends house for a midnight viewing of New Moon, then Korie has her 2nd day of obedience school Saturday.

I hope everyone has been having a good week:)

** I've always said I'd put a picture of my MIL Sue up, but she doesn't like her picture taken, but here is the one of my whole tiny family taken January 31 at the MDA Stride and Ride.

L-R is my mom, Nicole, Chris, Sue and me**

(Obedience) School In Session

2010-03-17T08:44:00.003-05:00

You read that right folks. Nicole's school is on Spring Break, but Korie's isn't.

Korie, our 45 lb lab mix. She has issues. I guess we didn't socialize her enough as a puppy. She doesn't like strangers in our house, and that includes family she hasn't seen in a while. It makes it hard to have company over due to her incessant barking and fear that she might fright bite, meaning if shes nervous she will nip out.

She will be in school for 8 weeks and will hopefully get her diploma on May 1st. My mom does not care for Korie a whole lot, as she nipped at her at Christmas. My mom says shes sure Korie will receive the dunce cap instead of a diploma though.

I'd have to say that Saturday was interesting. The class consisted of Korie and a timid little terrier mix. Korie barked, then barked some more. The louder she got, the louder the trainer had to talk. She ignored Korie's barking , and eventually she settled down. Until some shopper decided to look at the training going on, and Korie was all over that wall/window like white on rice, and barking again, lol.

I've heard from past graduates that this training program is good and works, so we will have to see. On the up side, she did not potty in the store:) When the trainer brought a pail of water for them to drink out of, Korie tried to swim in the bucket and kept splashing water out of bucket all over the floor; the trainer used that as an opportunity to see if Korie would go after her hand and she did. She did not hurt the trainer because the trainer knew what she was doing, paying attention to the dog.

The classes will last an hour a week, so we will just have to see how it goes. Will keep you posted and hopefully we will have a well behaved puppy on our hands very soon.

* Korie is scared of the vacuum. Has been since she was tiny puppy. Sue got the dust buster out yesterday and she attacked Sue's hand, so that is definitely one issue we have to work on!*

Very Interesting

2010-03-16T09:06:00.003-05:00

Well, we are now in official Spring Break mode.

Spring in Texas usually means a butt load of rain, and Mother Nature sure is doing her part.

Due to Mother Natures hilarity, we will probably go see a movie today.

We did however , have a very interesting start to this Spring Break.

Friday I totally enjoyed my day alone. Sue was at my mom's for a few days, Chris was at work and Nicole was at school. In the afternoon I went to pick her up like normal, we came home and POOF, we have no electricity. It was on when I left, had been gone about an hour or so, so I didn't know when it had gone off.

I went and checked with one of our neighbors and it hadn't been off too long. He had already called the electric company and they said it would be back on around 6.

Great.

Can't cook dinner with no electricity, so I called Chris at work and he said he would give me money so Nicole and I could go out to eat, since he had plans that night. Nicole and I wound up going to Chili's , which is one of our fave restaurants. We had a great time, we talked, people watched and at some really good food. We came home and when we turned on our block realized that there was still no power. Although it was a very clear night, there was barely enough moonlight to see. The entire block was pitch black.

We made our way in , calmed down three very nervous dogs, ( apparently they thought we were burglars until they heard our voices). I let Chris know and he told us to pack up and go to a hotel if we wanted.

** SIDE NOTE** With the CMT I'm very unsteady in the dark. With a pitch black house, 3 dogs and a child, it was an accident looking for a place to happen.

So in the ensuing darkness, we packed one huge bag, Nicole's DS, books, cards and assorted stuff and headed to a fairly nice hotel about 15 mins from our house where we found a reasonable room and made camp. We both slept well and in the morning went to Waffle House for more good food. Luckily Chris had sent me a text msg when he got home and apparently all the electricity was back on, so we came home and took Korie to her first obedience class, which is a whole other post:)

If you are on Spring Break right now, how is it going?

Rrrriiiiiibbbbiiiittttttttttt

2010-03-09T07:11:00.001-06:00

A six year old goes to the hospital with her grandmother to visit her Grandpa.

When they get to the hospital, she runs ahead of her Grandma and bursts into her Grandpa's room .

"Grandpa,Grandpa," she says excitedly, "As soon as Grandma comes into the room, make a noise like a frog!"

"What?" said her Grandpa.

"Make a noise like a frog please, please, please- because Grandma said that as soon as you croak, we're all going to Disney Land!

Don't ya think that will make all Grandpas have a warm and fuzzy feeling?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Nothing Goes as Planned

2010-03-08T09:03:00.002-06:00

That is pretty much a given. If you plan something , any number of things could go wrong. Or right for that matter. This came to me very early yesterday morning while I was watching Father of the Bride.

I was tired, I hadn't slept well and my mind was wandering. I was laughing at Steve Martins antics in the movie, and playing on Facebook. One particular scene had me cracking up. Where he was trying on his tux from prom, and he thought it still fit. Or the one where he loses it and starts tearing apart packages of hot dog buns and gets thrown in jail.

I started thinking back to when we were planning our wedding. Chris was away on the road a lot. That left my mom, dad and soon to be mother in law to deal with my imagined catastrophes. Like when I tried to decide which flowers; or tried to find a place for the rehearsal dinner.

Do you remember the scene where he thought it would be a good idea to have a barbecue in the back yard for the wedding? The bride and groom burgers? lol My father tried to get me to order barbecue for our reception. I nixed that idea since I don't even like barbecue! ugh, what is it with men and barbecue?

Admittedly nothing really went wrong for our wedding. Granted it rained, but waited till after the wedding was over. The night before , when we got to the restaurant for the rehearsal dinner, they said they didn' t have our reservation, but that quickly got fixed.

What silly thing happened in the planning of your wedding? Did your parents freak? or try to make you do something you really didn't care for?

Oh What a Beautiful Day!

2010-03-06T18:34:00.002-06:00

Wow, today the weather was so pretty! We all got to sleep in a bit, but I was still the first one really up. I felt so good because I cleaned out my closet. I hung all my purses/bags up on their hooks, hung up all my clothes and got rid of a huge box of stuff that I haven't worn, or won't wear again.

While I was doing all this Chris woke up, and announced that he and his mom were going to a baseball game this afternoon. Huh? what baseball game. Turns out that Sue's cousin's grandson was playing in the next town over so we all decided to go to the game. With the fresh air, light wind, family, baseball and all that jazz we had a blast. We also all pigged out on a variety of frito pie, popcorn, hotdogs, hotlinks and nachoes, lol. The game was a tie 6 to 6 but was still a lot of fun watching.

Afterwards we went on to Lowe's to get a few things we needed and I also wanted to see if they offered me an MDA shamrock. I'm currently a secret shopper for certain stores and if they offer me a shamrock , then I introduce myself as an MDA client, thank them for raising money and hand them a t-shirt. The cashier did indeed offer me one, so I in turn did my thing and gave her a t-shirt. She was surprised and happy:) Now I just have to go check in my other stores later this week.

When all that was said and done, we decided we didn't want to eat dinner at home so we went to a local cafe here in the town square. Can't say much else about that except that it was good! We wound up bringing some home though, since our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. Guess we ate too much at the game.

It was a great day. It is actually supposed to stay pretty nice, in the low to mid 60s till around Wednesday. So until then we can soak up as much sun time as possible.

Heres to hoping everyone is having a great weekend too!

Mom

2010-03-02T09:25:00.002-06:00

Well, my moms heart is at it again. Making her short of breath and extremely tired. My mom has a large, generous and loving heart, but when it turns on her watch out.

She has an EKG scheduled for tomorrow, and a stress test for the 10th. Usually when this kind of thing happens she needs another heart cath and stent. If the tests show anything lets just hope that is all she needs.

She is currently staying with my aunt ( her twin), and has her dog Tipper in a kennel. She is looking for someone from a loving home to take him. It is just getting too difficult to care for him. She too has CMT and it is getting more and more difficult for her to walk him. She has a few people that she has in mind, she just has to ask them if they would take care of him for her.

Heres to hoping everyones week got off to a good start! I worked yesterday and I'm scheduled for this Thursday, but so far thats it. I can't believe that Spring Break is right around the corner. For Nicole's school it is the week of the 15-20th. Not sure what we are going to do yet, but will think of some fun stuff. I'm sure she will want to spend some of that time with her BFF Carson.

Bye for now:)

Everybody Loves Brad

2010-02-26T08:29:00.003-06:00

Good Friday Morning to all:)) Nicole is off school today, so I'm off work too. Hoping to get some chores done around the house.

The other day when I was off I had a bunch of things planned that didn't get done. Instead Sue and I went to renew her truck registration , then we went to Petsmart to register Korie for obedience school, then on to Sams Club and found some great food bargains. Of course while Sue was busy shopping for food, I got lost in the book section. Weird, huh?

Anyway, from there I dropped her off at home and met Chris who had gotten off work early. I had a meeting with Nicoles teacher that day and he wanted to come. Now Nicole isn't having any actual school work problems, just problems with some kids in her class. I mean come on, 5th grade boys are soooo immature. She has just let it build up till she comes home crying for an hour. That is not my baby. I'm trying to tell her she is growing up and as much as I would like to tell her it will get easier, I can't.

She wanted to have this meeting with her teacher because she is Nicoles favorite. She trusts her, so she wanted to talk to her , with us present. The teacher , after hearing Nicole out, put her mind at ease, and said she would watch said boys a bit more closely.

What memories of 5th grade do you all have , or any words of wisdom for my sweet girl?

Ok, that had NOTHING to do with the title of my post, but this does.

Did you watch Everybody Loves Raymond? I did, and LOVED it. Loved Brad Garrett as Robert. Loved him too as Jackie Gleason in the movie about Jackie's life. I about fell out of the chair laughing when I saw this 7-up commercial:

Sunday oh Sunday

2010-02-21T19:16:00.002-06:00

Wow, what a weekend this has been. Friday was my only day off that week. I was supposed to work Monday, but we didn't have school due to no power. Then I had more kinder kiddies on Tuesday, Music on Wednesday, and 4th grade on Thursday.

I have 4th grade again tomorrow and 6th grade Tuesday. I happened to run into one of the 6th graders I know on Friday - she told me good luck , they don't listen very good at all - oh joy...

After experiencing pretty good temps here this week, we have a 70 percent chance of more snow Monday night into Tuesday evening. They are predicting approximately 2-4 inches. That is what they said last time and we got the 12 inches, so I guess we will see...

I'm excited to be doing this post, only because I'm typing it on our brand new laptop. We got our income tax refund on Friday and Chris went shopping. Big boys and their toys, lol. Except in this case I like the toy he bought. Its fun to be multi-tasking; that is watching tv and being able to do a blog post, and be with my family.

Sue was pleasantly surprised today. She got home from church and her friend called asking if she wanted to go to the Dallas Opera house to see Phantom. Since she had never seen it on the stage before she happily agreed. Since she has gotten home she said she had a great time and loved it.

Nicole will be going to camp again in Colorado this year, and hopefully we will get to take her and have our very own vacation! Considering we haven't had much of a real vacation in like 10 yrs, this is something to look forward to. I have also never been to Colorado so I'm really excited.

Well, I'll sign off for now, and here is to hoping that everyone is well. I've read that several bloggy friends have been ill with either food poisoning , or the tummy bug going around. Either way they've been really sick. I think we have finally gotten rid of that bug here in the Able household.

So here is to hoping everyone has a great week!

Which Generation Are You?

2010-02-18T08:10:00.002-06:00

I've always wondered about this myself..& now I know.
People born before 1946 were called (The Silent generation)
The Baby Boomers, are people born between 1946 and 1959.
Generation X, are the people who have been born between 1960 and 1979.
And Generation Y, are the people born between 1980 and 2009

So, why do we call the last group Generation Y? I never really knew until I saw a cartoon which explained it very eloquently below...& sure makes sense doesn't it!!

LOL, this was another funny e-mail I received from Sue. It makes sense though, doesn't it?

Heres to hoping ya'll are having a great week!

Snow Days

2010-02-15T07:46:00.002-06:00

We don't have many snow days in Texas. Yes we got a bit of snow on Christmas Eve, but that was more ice than anything, yet it was pretty and mostly all gone by Christmas Day.

When they had been predicting snow off and on since then in our area it was a no show. But this past week, they moved it back a day or two but said it was definitely coming and we were to expect anywhere from 1-4 inches. The whole week was a bit strange though.

That Sunday I watched the Super Bowl with Sue, because Chris went to his friends house. We made pizza and she went and got her and Nicole Chicken nuggets, and we just ate and watched. I hadn't felt all that great most of the day, but just passed it off as it was almost that time of the month. It wasn't... I went to bed around 10 or so and woke up around 11 and was up all night sick. It really wasn't pleasant to be shivering with chills , not being able to get comfy and not being able to stay out of the bathroom for more than 10-15 mins at a time. Needless to say I wasn't able to work on Monday - didn't even eat much solid food till Tuesday. I did go to work Wednesday, then Thursday too. We all got sent home by 1pm that day though due to the snow.

It had started snowing around 4am Thursday morning, and by the time we left for school that day, it hadn't stopped. It was really coming down and they were now saying we were going to get up to 7 inches, instead of the original 4. The kids at school were ecstatic - some of the little ones had never seen this much snow. Nobody wanted to do any work. I was working with 6th graders that day and I had them for lunch duty, so after they cleaned up, we all went outside and had a good ol' fashioned snowball fight. I had a blast since I hadn't done this in a long time. It was really good packing snow too. If you did it right, they didn't fall apart when they hit their target. Boy did I give as good as I got. the Vice Principal, was just standing at the window telling them not to hit anyone in the face, and laughing.

Well, the 7 inches came and still no end in sight. They closed the school at 1pm due to the inclement weather. Now my parents had taught me how to drive in this stuff, but I had only done it maybe 3 or 4 times. The cars in the lot had been sitting there getting snowed on for close to 5 hours by the time they let us go. I couldn't back out of my space - all my wheels did was spin. So finally Nicole and I watched the car parked in front of us maneuver their way out and I just pulled through and kept going. We finally got home safe - it took us almost 45 minutes for a normally 15 minute drive. I wasn't taking any chances and drove no more than 30-35 mph the whole way home.

When we got home it was still snowing, so Nicole and I went out to try to build a snowman but to no avail. We thought we would try it the next day after it had stopped snowing. We wound up getting 12 .5 inches that day - which was a record for this area in one 24 hr period. We didn't have school Friday, and today we still don't have school. The snow is mostly gone from the roads, now there is just ice, but the school doesn't have any power, and hasn't since Thursday night. Hopefully it will be restored , and we will have school tomorrow.

I took some great pictures and am going to look for a new bluetooth key today so I can get them off of my phone to show you! There are so many pics I have to share!

Now I know my friends in the North are laughing at me saying "twelve and a half inches? BAH! That's nothing" but believe me - there are no snow plows in this part of Texas! We don't have round the clock sand trucks. They were going to try to put some anti ice solution on the roads, but with all the rain, it was just going to get washed off. So all this snow was definitely news!

I hope I can get our pics up, if not I will link to our local news channel so you can see our snow!

Heres to hoping everyone had a great Valentines Day! I got a box of Reese's PB cups and a really cute card, so my days was a good one. We didn't do much for the day though, but Chris and I had gone shopping Saturday and had fun just being together.

Will blog more tomorrow!

Writers Workshop

2010-02-12T08:17:00.002-06:00

This is something I haven't ever participated in, but am giving it a whirl. My bloggy friend Hallie usually does this on Thursdays , and I too thought of something to write after seeing it. It is a writers challenge from Mama Kat at Mamas Losin' It. I'm going to try to do this from now on , since it is a challenge...

( heres the button , if you want to go check her out:

One of the challenges you could choose, was to make up a Do's and Don't list. This one I thought I could handle pretty well since I just happened to be talking about this to someone the other day.

so here are the Do's and Don'ts of Pregnancy Bedrest:

( This also comes from personal experience)

DO take your doctors advice and keep your ass in bed/ on the couch or whatever he/she says. It is not only for your health, but your unborn baby's as well.

DON'T decide there is one more load of laundry to do, or you just HAVE to vacuum the furniture because you saw a crumb. STAY IN BED!

If you are a friend of a pregnant bed-ridden woman, DO call her, visit her as often as possible, bring her things she might enjoy reading. If you accidentally wake her up, so what - she was probably sleeping due to boredom! She would be delighted if you called!

If you are that friend DON'T tell her anymore pregnancy horror stories - she's probably heard enough by now to give her nightmares!

DO catch up on watching movies you have missed, or books you haven't had time to read.

DON'T read all the horror stories on the internet, or books about what can happen to your unborn baby if the person in the story had your diagnosis, ( like pre-eclampsia)

DO at least read enough to be informed of your condition, and the warning signs of something 'not quite right'.

DON'T get mad at your significant other if he doesn't fold the laundry exactly the way you do, or if the dishes don't sparkle quite right. At least he's doing them, right?

DO thank him for doing the best job he can, both at work and at home.

DO try to positive during this time and DON'T become depressed

and in the end, when all is said and done, DO enjoy your baby. After all, most of that bedtime is going to be between you and him/her. Talk to your baby, they will hear you! Listen to music together, make plans for when they are finally here. Tell them all the things you will teach them.

DON'T lose your mind:)

( That will come AFTER they are here!)

Ok, thats my say on that matter. Any thoughts? or things you would add to this list?

( I know I haven't been around lately, and I'm sorry, I miss everyone, I miss posting. I've caught up on ya'lls blogs, and I promise to blog more in the coming days! )

2010 MDA Stride and Ride

2010-02-02T22:08:00.003-06:00

Ok, unfortunately I only got one picture and I will scan it into the computer tomorrow to post, but for now you'll just have to deal with me telling you about it.

Saturday we woke to below freezing temps, but thank goodness it wasn't into the teens and our area did not see the snow and ice that fell north of us in OK. We bundled up in sweatshirts and jeans and headed to the new Arlington Stadium. We had never seen the inside as of yet and were overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. Once inside it was hard to move. We were ALL on the concourse looking down onto the field. And by all of us I mean the hundreds of people that turn out each year for the victory lap celebrating the funds raised for MDA.

In years past as a team captain I was never able to raise enough money , but I always showed up to walk. This year with the help of my BFF Nikki, my family and the fabulous people I work with , I was able to raise $100. That may not seem like much, but I was very proud of it. Especially since $82 only covers ONE MINUTE of research. We could designate what we wanted the funds to go toward ( i.e. Duchennes MD; general research; Limb - Girdle MD ), so I put my funds toward CMT , which is what affects my mom and I.

Some of the people that said they would walk on my team were unable to show that morning due to unexpected circumstances, so it was just me, along with my mom, Nicole, Chris and Sue. They had local highschool bands performing, along with dancers, cheerleaders and the like. One thing for sure - it was LOUD! Once the walk actually started, about a half hour after it was supposed to, one of the H.S. bands kicked it off with a drum roll and off we went. Once victory lap around the concourse. There were so many people, and we were actually very near the front of the whole thing, once we got around the entire concourse and looked back, there were people filling the entire circle. Some were just coming around the first bend. All along the way they had people waving pom poms, flags, and signs cheering all the walkers on.

Now my mom can't walk that fast, so her and I held hands. She had her cane in the other and boy were we walking proud. It felt good, and the total length we had to walk was just under a half mile. That may not seem like much to someone with legs that work right, but to us it was fantastic! I can walk more than that, but my mom is having a harder time getting around now, and falls more than I do , because she can't feel her feet that much anymore, so she thinks she is picking them up, but really doesn't, so she is more at risk of falling, but she still exercises 3 days a week and I can barely ever catch her at home!

I even saw some girls from the drill team from my old high school. They were walking in honor of someone in their class I think. I caught up with them, and thanked them and they gave me a big hug - it was awesome:)

Afterwards we went to my moms to warm up. We chowed down on some chili dogs and fritos. While we were eating lunch , Nicoles BFF Carson called and her and her mom asked us to meet them out at Barnes and Noble, so we went there, the girls did some American Girl activity while all of us adults browsed the bargain tables. We had gift cards from Christmas to spend so we had fun doing that. We all came home with at least 2-3 or more new books.

It was a wonderful day, it never really did warm up, but with having walked for something I believe in, being with family and friends AND spending time in a book store, well, my weekend was pretty well complete, and I still had one more day to go!

Heres to hoping ya'll had as great a weekend as I did!

Delayed

2010-02-01T06:00:00.002-06:00

Saturday we participated in the MDA Stride and Ride, along with a bunch of other stuff. We had a great time, and I promise to tell about it after work today. This weekend was fun and interesting if nothing else.

Heres to hoping everyone had a great, safe and happy weekend. I will catchup on everyones blogs here within the next few days, but right now I'm off to get ready for work. I have Kindergarten today - should be a fun day:))

Never Fails

2010-01-26T06:45:00.002-06:00

Goodness!

Remember the MDA Stride and Ride that I've mentioned a few times these past few months?

Well it takes place this coming Saturday.

Well, in the past when we've participated its been really cold those days and this year is no different.

Where last week we had highs in the low to mid 70s? This week the temps are steadily dropping, and by Thursday night / Friday morning we might see some of the white frozen stuff falling. Its supposed to be in the high 20s/low 30s Saturday morning , and this time the walk is at the new Arlington Stadium, NOT indoors at the mall like previous years. BRRRR!!!!

The snow should make for a interesting morning Friday as well since Nicole has school and I am supposed to work, LOL.

Wish us luck!

BZzzzzzzzzzz......

2010-01-24T09:07:00.002-06:00

Busy like a bee that is. all in all we are doing great though - no complaints.

Nicole got through her first two TAKS benchmarks this past week, and I was there working three days. I had first and second grade all those days - it was an adventure for sure! But I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love working there. Everyone I work with is nice, and I like being where Nicole is. Sometimes I get to see her during the day and sometimes I even get to have lunch with her, which both of us enjoy.

She has her last benchmark this coming Tuesday. Then those are done till they take the actual TAKS tests to pass the 5th grade sometime in March or April I think. We got Nicoles first semester report card this past Friday and she past all subjects with nothing less than a 94. I'm also happy that we haven't had that many absences due to sickness. Last year by the end of the first semester I think she had something like 10, but so far we only have 5.

She will also be getting her H1N1 shot this week - she is not excited about that but oh well, I'd rather she be uncomfortable for a day or so , then come down with the flu and be sick for a week or more.

I'm working tomorrow, Thursday and Friday this week, but have something going every day.

I will definitely post Wednesday after we have her PT evaluation.

My mom is also doing fine, she went back for a final checkup after her most recent eye surgery and everything is great. Now that we have her eyes fixed, she is finally able to get a new pair of glasses and hopefully that will be it for awhile.

Hope everyone has had a good weekend!

All Better Now:))

2010-01-18T20:36:00.002-06:00

FINALLY, we are all feeling better Food is staying where it should ( thank goodness). One of my comments on my last post actually asked if it was morning sickness... um NO!!! not unless my MIL and Chris would be pregnant too!!! Another thing I'm thankful for is that Nicole never got sick, because at 11 yrs of age, I don't think she has EVER made it to the bathroom to do so... ( sorry if that painted a picture.)

Thank you to all who sent best wishes to me , not even knowing what it was that had me a bit worried. If you remember back in June I think it was, that Nicole went to an Ortho specialist because of her knee. She was in a lot of pain and her knee was swelling and had small bruises on it. At the time they told me it was growing pains and that should it get worse to bring her back. They had also found a small cyst behind that knee, but said that shouldn't be causing her any pain.

Well when this winter season hit, oh boy did it hit her knee. There wasn't any position she could have it that was comfortable. It hurt to participate in gym at school. We tried ice, we tried heat, and we tried icy hot. I didn't want to keep giving her Advil or Motrin every night so I had to call the specialist back and see what was up. It was definitely not much better. We had to wait a while to get an appointment but it was finally this past Friday.

After a thorough examination, they said she has very loose joints and that that leg is a bit weak. Physical therapy should be able to strengthen it. We left there with four exercises she is to do nightly and they said that the PT would call me sometime this week to get her set up. Talk about efficient! First thing this morning at 9 am, the PT called to set up Nicoles initial evaluation. It is scheduled for Wednesday the 27th of this month, so we only have to wait a little over a week and she has those 4 exercises to do in the meantime. She has only done them for three nights and they aren't comfortable to do , but she gets through them ok.

I also have to take her in soon to get her evaluated for CMT. When my mother and I were initially diagnosed in 2003 they checked her for it then and she showed no signs, but said to get her rechecked between 10 and 12, so I have to set that in motion by getting her records from the first doctor and getting them to the Dallas MDA clinic. That should be fun!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and a good start to the current week. As long as everyone stays healthy, we should be just fine too!

ttyl:))

Sorry!

2010-01-13T21:07:00.003-06:00

Sorry for not keeping up with my blog as much as I normally do... sometimes life interferes and nothing can be done about it!

I wanted to do this post yesterday and forgot, then today I was supposed to work all day. I only wound up working till 1030, which is when I left because my stomach started going cuckoo and I wasn't going to be able to keep running to the bathroom and leave the little kinder kiddies by themselves. So I came home and laid in bed and read and watched Desperate Housewives!

( never got into the show much until this week - its kind of funny!!)

What I was wanting to do was a quick welcome to a new blogger. I used to go to school with this woman, who is now married, the mother of a teen and tot, and her and her husband run their own business. She was always writing life updates via Facebook and someone ( not me though) suggested she start blogging. Please stop by and welcome my friend Cathy of The Adventures and Escapades of Joe Cool and Llama Llama.

She seems to be keeping her blog pretty well updated. Stop by, say HI! and heres to hoping ya'll have a great rest of the week. Gotta do something Friday that is wriggling the back of my mind with a teensy bit of worry. Will talk about it more either Friday afternoon or Saturday.

I'm a bit Grossed Out, are you?

2010-01-11T11:19:00.004-06:00

I don't care HOW bad I needed to use toilet paper - I would pass, thank you very much.

Butt ( lol) the question is, if the toilet paper broke off, or got stuck, would YOU stick your finger in there to fix it or retrieve it?

This funny as hell, yet kind of gross e-mail was forwarded to me from my mom. Thanks loads, hahahaha!

Hoping everyone had a great weekend! We sure did! Some family came up from San Antonio Saturday so we got to visit and exchange Christmas gifts with them. Then we all went out to eat at Romas ( my favorite Italian Restaurant !!!)

Nicole only has a four day school week so she was happy to find that out. They are off Friday for a teacher work day, and then Monday for MLK day.

So far I'm only working Wednesday this week, for Kindergarten,so that should be fun:)

Going to go cruise the blogosphere now and do some catch up reading!

Valentine's Swap

2010-01-07T09:25:00.005-06:00

Good morning to all! I hope everyone is staying warm in this frigid weather. I do have to say that living in Texas since I was 8 sure has thinned my blood to cold weather. I have pictures of me dressed in a snow mobile suit, with only my eyes showing, sitting on a 6 ft snow drift when I was like 7. Haven't seen that much snow since then!

A lot of schools around our area are closed or starting late today but Nicoles school wasn't closed and she was not happy about that. She was all ready to walk out the door this morning in her short sleeved uniform shirt and her sweatshirt jacket.. I was like 'not going to happen ' - I told her short sleeved shirt fine, but zip sweatshirt jacket, pull hood up , then put regular jacket on, with that hood too and her gloves and scarf. She was like, its not windy, I'll be fine! What she didn't realize at the time is that our house was blocking most of the Northern wind, and once she got to school and started to walk across the parking lot she'd see I was right for telling her to bundle up...

Remember I had participated in the Halloween Blog or Treat swap, as well as the Santa swap? Well now its time for the Valentines Day swap. Shannon has once again come up with a fun way for us to meet different bloggers.
Here is the button, linked to her site, if you would like to participate or see what it is all about!

Oh, I was also talking with Hallie this morning via Facebook and she called me a wimp lol, because I told her how cold it was here in Dallas, and she said up there in Maine , it was a balmy 22!

Have a great day all, and I hope everyone stays safe and warm

Schools In!

2010-01-05T09:59:00.000-06:00

WOOHOO! Nicole is back in school! Christmas Break is OVER!!! YAY!!!!!

( you can see this and more fun doodles compliments of Rick Green - just click HERE!!!

New Year Humor

2010-01-01T09:25:00.006-06:00

Happy New Year to each and everyone of my bloggy friends!

Before I do todays post, let me say that those of you who know me know that I don't go out in the evening much. Usually what I want is right here at home. However an old friend of mine from high school was coming back into town this week and wanted to get together. I agreed , and since I was going to be dropping Nicole off at my moms for the rest of her school vacation I was just going to stay there Wednesday night, ( everyone that we were going out with , and where we were going was in Arlington where she lives...).

Now mind you I haven't seen most of them in 20 years. It was like we hadn't been apart. I had so much fun! Since my night sight while driving isn't the best, one of the guys came so I could follow him to the restaurant. We met two others there. So just the four of us ate, then took off to a local pool hall, where one more showed up. We played pool, which I totally suck at, blasted music, they drank and we had more fun. Then the guys left and us ladies headed to a kareoke (sp?) bar, where we met two other guys we knew.

That was past my bedtime and the end to my evening. I got home around midnight or so. When I walked in Nicole was still awake and my mom was sound asleep, lol. Nicole hugged me and said I stunk and I agreed. Smelled like cigarettes and when you don't smoke you think you wreak!

Anyway, it was a great time, everyone was nice and I want to do it again!

Ok, enough of that - here is todays post. It is from more of my emails, but I thought,'why not start the new year off with humor? after all it is the best medicine!!!'

poor baby...
um ouch?????
I sure hope so...
nuther dumb blond
hehehehehehehe... GO PEPSI!
Get me outta here NOW please

if only it were this simple...
Now, if you want to complain about your job in the new year, think of these poor folk...

ooooph..

are you done yet????
please don't miss, please don't miss.....

Pink Glove Dance

2009-12-29T07:38:00.002-06:00

Ok, this is soo blog worthy ! I received it in an e-mail, which is where I get a lot of cool stuff from. I think my Aunt Betty sent it to me - she seems to find the coolest videos and such!

I know it isn't October which is officially Breast Cancer Awareness month, but I'm posting this anyway, because people don't just get diagnosed with Breast Cancer in October!!!!

It is called the Pink Glove Dance, done by Employees of the hospital, all wearing what else? PINK GLOVES!!

It is really cute and the music isn't bad to boot either:)

So please click 'STOP' on my silly Christmas songs and please click 'PLAY' on the video. Hope you enjoy it and pass it on too. Please feel free to post it on your blog as well - the more people we have aware, the faster a cure might be found!!!!

Whew! Time to Relax!!

2009-12-28T07:19:00.004-06:00

I had a wonderful Christmas. From catching up on other blogs last night , seems like most of you did too! Thats a good thing:)

Unfortunately no pics, but here is how things went in a nutshell...

Thursday morning it was raining, but snow was predicted. Chris went off to work, while Sue, Nicole and I headed to my moms. We saw the rain turning to snow on the way. Once we got my mom safely back at our house, we hunkered down because they said the snow was definitely coming, expecting 2-4 inches.

Huh? now we have had snow here before, but not on Christmas - not for a verrrrry looong time!

We visited and were having a good time, when Sue and Chris decided to go to Gamestop. On Christmas Eve no less. Crazy. Anyway, Nicole went to play on the computer at that time, so my mom wanted to try out our Wii. She used to bowl in a league as well, so we tackled the bowling and had a blast! First time ever using the Wii and she scored a 129. She then did her fitness age, which consisted of three events and she scored well - only three years above her real age! mIne? not so much.... we then had a boxing match, which I ended up winning, but she did knock me on my butt at least once:)

After dinner we opened presents. We decided to open all but one and leave that for Christmas morning. Everyone got a lot of goodies, mostly what they had wanted and some they wanted and didn't realize!

I got : pretty new sheets for our bed; two books; a new purse; shower gel; a Scentsy pot with three different scents of wax; and we got a huge paper shredder which we had been wanting.

Then there was what Chris got me. He told me it was hidden, and if I didn't find it, he was going to just take it back and get his money back. Nicole gave me a hint though and said all I had to do was look for a new ornament... what??? an ornament for Christmas. It couldn't be that simple, or it wouldn't be Chris!!!!!

Do you realize how many ornaments were on our tree??? I looked. Then I went back and looked some more. What made it funnier, is that there were several mini presents all wrapped and stuck through out the tree! It also didn't help when Nicole is saying, " mommy I'm looking right at it , don't you see it??" NOOOOO!!!!!

The third swing by the tree I spotted a Helzberg Diamond bag. A tiny Helzberg Diamond bag... hung right in the front. It was red, as were most of the ornaments on our tree. So I did find it , and it was an absoutley beautiful pair of Pearl earrings!

We then woke up Christmas morning to my delicious sausage, egg and cheese breakfast casserole and went to see what Santa had brought. Of course Nicole had a huge pile of stuff, and so did we! Santa had brought us several Wii games along with the accessories, including a golf club, baseball bat, two steering wheels, and two rifles!!!! And it was a white Christmas to boot, so it was good all around!

Later after dinner, we took my mom home, which was fun. Only because all the ice had not melted from in front of her house. Throwing a ton of rock salt down and holding on to each other for dear life, we finally made it to her front door. And stayed there. Till Chris came to get me a few hours later after visiting his cousin in the hospital.

The rest of the weekend was spent mostly in pj's and just lazing around. On the down side, Sue is sick and going to the doctor today - and Chris got sick last night - so we will see just pray that Nicole and I don't get it:)

My mom goes back to the eye surgeon tomorrow for a recheck and then if she is cleared to drive, Nicole is going to go over there for the rest of the week!

Hope everyone has a great start to their week!

Christmas Cookies Rules

2009-12-22T21:30:00.002-06:00

In light of the fast approaching holidays, I thought you would all be wise to follow these rules. Cookies are sooo good this time of year, they are so cute, and pretty... to bad they don't last very long.....

☺☺ Save the Earth; It's the only planet with chocolate!

☺☺ Christmas Cookie Rules

1. If you eat a Christmas cookie fresh out of the oven, it has no calories because everyone knows that the first cookie is the test cookie, and thus calorie free.

2. If you drink a diet soda after eating your second cookie, it also has no calories because the diet soda cancels out the cookie calories.

3. If a friend comes over while you are making your Christmas cookies and needs to sample, you must sample with your friend. Because your friend's first cookie is calories free rule #1 is yours also.
It would be rude to let your friend sample alone, and being the friend that you are makes your cookie calorie free.

4. Any cookie calories consumed while walking around will fall to your feet and eventually fall off as you move. This is due to gravity and the density of the caloric mass.

5. Any calories consumed during the frosting of the Christmas cookies will be used up because it takes many calories to lick excess frosting from a knife without cutting your tongue.

6. Cookies colored red or green have very few calories. Red ones have 3 and green ones have 5 - one calorie for each letter.. Make more red ones!

7. Cookies eaten while watching Miracle on 34th Street have no calories because they are part of the entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel.

8.. As always, cookie pieces contain no calories because the process of breaking causes calorie leakage.

9. Any cookies consumed from someone else's plate has no calories since the calories rightfully belong to the other person and will cling to their plate. We all know how calories like to CLING!

And finally...

10. Any cookies consumed while feeling stressed have no calories because cookies used for medicinal purposes NEVER have calories. It's a rule!

Eye Surgery and a Mini Vacation

2009-12-18T15:36:00.002-06:00

Well, I've been at my moms house since Wednesday and am enjoying my little mini vacation from my normally hectic life.
Chris brought me over to my moms Wednesday and she was kind enough to take us out to breakfast. The rest of the day we didn't do much , we just got a few groceries, watched TV and then made chicken and eggplant for dinner. Then it was early to bed due to us having to be at the Day Surgery center by 630am Thursday.
For a while now my mom has been having what looked like hairs hanging in front of her left eye. Come to find out the back layer of her retina was coming off. Sounds painful right?? She said it really wasn't really painful , just reaaalllllly annoying. All fixed now though, and she should be back to normal activities in about a week.
Since I wasn't there to help with the last day of school before Christmas vacation, Sue volunteered and had fun. She was there till they got out at 1230 - needless to say she is tired but happy.
Today my mom and I rented he movie Julie and Julia. If you haven't seen it, it is really cute. Basically it is about a lady ( Julie ) who decides to cook and blog her way through Julia Childs entire cookbook. It is really a sweet and endearing movie. Not a chick flick - my mom and I thought there was a little something in there for everyone - although younger kids might not understand it.

Well, I hope everyone is done Christmas shopping and almost done wrapping all the gifts! I will finish wrapping mine on Sunday after I get home. We did finally put our tree up Tuesday before I came here, and I think that is the latest we have ever put it up. I'm happy to hear from Sue and Nicole though that Korie has NOT tried to eat the tree.

The only bad thing that happened Wednesday that I heard about is that our washer went kaput. Some part broke on it and Chris said it would have cost more to fix it then to get a new one, so he and Sue went washer shopping. Fun all around!

Hugs to all and hoping everyone is great!

Already??

2009-12-15T10:30:00.002-06:00

It seems like we already celebrated Christmas recently. It can't be time for another one so soon can it? According to the calendar another one is almost upon us!

This year has really flown by. As I sat wrapping and bagging presents this morning I was thinking of friends and family. Family that is no longer with us, what Christmases were like with them around and such. Thankful for the friends and family that is still around and that I am able to share this holiday season with.

I was also thinking of friends and family who have recently lost a loved one in their life. It is never an easy thing to do , but it is worse around the holiday season. For some, this will be there first Christmas without their loved one. I know how that is and I will hope and wish and pray that they find comfort in some memories. One particular memory I have is when Nicole was born.

She was born two weeks after my Uncle Dave passed away. All he wanted was to hold on long enough to see her born safe and healthy. It was not meant to be. I did take some comfort that he met her in Heaven before she was born though. I was not able to go to his funeral since I was on bed rest with the pregnancy. I was sad and cried a lot during that time. However, after she was born, the only crying I had time to do was for lack of sleep and when Nicole wouldn't stop we'd cry in unison.

Anyway, that first Christmas we went to my cousin Julie's house to be with my family. My Aunt Cecilia decided to give everyone a very beautiful picture of her and my Uncle Dave in a silver frame. I was happy and laughing, everyone was enjoying newborn Nicole and we were opening gifts. When I opened that picture up, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't my uncles face for sure and I totally lost it. I put the picture down and ran to the bathroom to cry. Once I calmed down I really looked at the picture and saw my Aunt and Uncle together and thought back to all the teasing and stuff that he had done and it made me smile.

I'm hoping that along with tears there will be smiles of remembrance and joy for my friends Margo and Marda, who will be dealing with their first Christmas without their fathers. Someone gave my mom a poem at Christmas when it was our first Christmas without my dad and she had gotten it from a friend when her husband had passed. My mom gave it to me, and I intend to get it to my friends to help them .

In regards to this post, please go read this post and give all of your love and prayers to the young mother mentioned here.

__________________

On a totally different note, I am once again going to stay with my mom tomorrow through Sunday. She is having another eye surgery - this time to repair her retina because the back layer is peeling off!!!! OUCH! she says it doesn't really hurt, but it is affecting her vision because it constantly looks like a hair hanging in front of her eye.

Hope everyone is well!

More later

I Did Not Know This ( Christmas Story)

2009-12-11T11:33:00.002-06:00

( This was shared with me by email via a family member - it is a beautiful story and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!)

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me.

What in the world do leaping lords, French hens,

swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out

of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

This week, I found out.

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were

not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone

during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.

It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning

plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each

element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality

which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John .

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness,

Gentleness, and Self Control.

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol ...so pass it on if you wish.'

Santa Swap Package

2009-12-05T07:39:00.002-06:00

I had mentioned a few times that Shannon had once again put together a blog swap. Once for Halloween , this time for Christmas. The Santa Swap was done a bit different this time as whoevers name we got, also got ours.

Well, I got Lyndi of the Clan Lou. We each filled out a little questionnaire about our holiday likes and dislikes, if we had kids, what kind of candy we like, etc... Shannon did ask one thing that would make it more meaningful. She asked that we try to send something to our blog buddy that was a token of our home state, city or whatever.

Thursday when I got home from work I had my package. I mailed Lyndi's on Monday so she should be getting it soon. I got the cutest and sweetest letter ever from her. She said she had a lot of fun shopping for me, as I did for her.

I will wholeheartedly apologize right here and now , since I am unable to post pictures due to my camera going kaput, but I LOVED EVERYTHING!!!!

I received just a plain shipping box, but when I opened it, it was filled with all sorts of goodies.

I had written I liked chocolate - she sent me snowball whoppers. I said I liked lotions and candles and such - she sent me a homemade candle and some lotion that was made in her hometown. ( let me just say here that the Lemon Cookie candle smells good enough to eat, and the cucumber melon lotion is divine!)

She also sent me a mini box of chocolates, a snowman refrigerator magnet, and since I mentioned I liked Santa - she sent me a rubber duck dressed as Santa!!! Also mentioning I loved snowflakes, the entire box was scattered with silver snowflake stickers, since she loves to Scrapbook. She also included a box of mini Christmas lights and peppermint tinsel for me to decorate with.

I'm not going to list here what I sent her, but I put a lot of thought and time into it too, and I hope she loves her box of goodies as much as I did mine!

Well, thats it for now, its early Saturday morning and I'm going to go hunt me down some breakfast!!

Have a great weekend!

Noel, or No Well ?

2009-12-02T16:24:00.002-06:00

The other day when I was at the school, I happened upon the music room where the Choir was practicing for their concert. I thought they were singing The First Noel, which is a favorite Christmas tune of mine, so I stopped to listen. It quickly became apparent that that was NOT what they were singing.

Today I asked the teacher what words they were singing, since it definitely was not the traditional version. She told me it was the Animaniacs version.

I found it on YouTube, so please click off on my playlist and sit back and enjoy this very twisted version of The First Noel.

Funtabulous T-Day Weekend!

2009-11-30T11:24:00.003-06:00

How was ya'lls Thanksgiving?

Mine was great. We had it at my moms and it was just the five of us. Mom made the turkey, green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes - we brought the pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes and rolls. for just us it was a lot of food - but all good and now mostly gone!

Friday my BFF Nikki came into town with her two kiddos to spend the weekend with us. Wow did we have fun. They got in late that Friday evening, so we didn't do much but sit around and visit and watch movies, but Saturday we shopped! We got up and all headed to IHOP for breakfast, then home to finish looking a bit more presentable and check our bank accounts and off Nikki and I went with the three kiddos to Uptown Village in Cedar Hill. ( it's an outdoor mall... )

While there we went to Bath and Body works, and Old Navy where we found tons of great bargains. By that time we were getting a bit hungry again so off to Paciudos for some gelatto, then we went to Barnes and Nobles and spent even more money. After all that , the kids were getting tired so Nikki and I dropped them off to rest at home and her and I went out for some good Italian food , then off to the yarn shop that I always frequent.

All in all it was a great weekend. Nikki and her gang left very early Sunday morning. It turned cold and rainy throughout the day so we hooked up our brand new WII ( our family Christmas gift) and spent the better part of the day challenging each other in tennis, bowling, baseball, boxing and golf:)) ( btw, boxing is NOT my thing, but bowling is!!:)) lol)

I didn't get paid till this morning, so I just got home from finishing MOST of my holiday shopping, now its off to get a haircut.

Tell me how your turkey day went! and I hope everyone has a great week:))

R.I.P Cooper

2009-11-23T11:46:00.003-06:00

Well, you know the old adage that Mondays always suck, well this one does for sure.

Yesterday Cooper got up but refused to eat or drink anything all day. She was acting a bit disoriented, and she slept 90 percent of the day.

I got her to take a bit of water last night and she pottied twice before we turned in for the night.

She got me up around 2am needing to go out again, then went back to sleep till around 5, when she woke up and threw up. After that she drank a lot of water and we went back to sleep. My alarm went off at 7 so that I could wake Chris up for work. I got up and went the bathroom, wasn't in there long at all, but when I came out Cooper had pooped , and it was almost nothing but blood.

I took her to the vet and after running some tests and doing an exam she determined that Cooper was in critical condition with kidney failure. We had to have her put to sleep.

I miss her terribly. She was my anniversary present 8 years ago. I found some old pics of her and thought I'd post them here as a mini tribute, some you've probably seen before, but just humor me, k???

Very Busy, A Concert, and a Welcome Home

2009-11-23T11:12:00.002-06:00

Wow, this week has been nuts to say the least. I mentioned in my previous post just how crazy it was going to be. I'm so looking forward to resting this week, seeing family and friends and eating tons of good food.

Friday , after Nicole and I got out of school we came home to find Chris already home from work ( a BIG surprise), and he told Nicole he had made arrangements to take her to her very first concert that evening. So within the hour they took off for Belton, which is about 2 hours away to go see the Casting Crowns ( Christian Rock band). They got home around Midnight and had had an absolute blast.

We were supposed to get up mega early Saturday morning because the 2nd through 5th grades were going to greet the troops coming home from overseas between 7 and 9 am. They gave us a number to call the night before to make sure the flight was on time. It wasn't scheduled till 230 that afternoon, then 420, then 530. Finally they were due in at 9 pm and that was final.

Off Nicole, Chris and I went to the airport, with our big Welcome Home sign, and our school shirts on. Between all the classes, they had made over 300 gift bags to hand out , along with cards and banners.

That was one experience I would LOVE to do again, and now that I have the flight info number I will . Before the men and women started coming down the ramp from customs, they made an announcement to not try to hug or reach out to the men, unless they seemed receptive. We didn't know what they had faced over there and may not want to be touched. When they started coming down the ramps some indeed just walked on by like we weren't there. It was very humbling. Then others ran down the ramp trying to high 5 everyone.

One Lady soldier came down the ramp holding her daughter, with her husband behind her carrying all her stuff, and she was singing loud and clear " The Starts at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas". Needless to say we all joined in.

Now I've been to the airport and flown since 9/11, however, I'd have to say I did get a bit freaked. Standing off to the side of the door where they were coming thorugh, was a police officer holding an assault rifle. When I pointed this out to Chris, he pointed out the other 3 discreetly placed around that area too. Wow. Guess I just wasn't ready to see that....

Anyway, I got TONS of great pictures, and if I can find our Bluetooth key to transfer them from my phone to the computer I will - they were fantastic. Our vice-principal was even there. The kids had a blast handing out the gift bags, and even if the soldiers didn't want to shake our hands, most of them made an effort to hug the kids and thank them for the gift bags. Most of the gift bags included some sort of chips, crackers, candy, and a handmade card from the kids.

Man I hope I can get the pictures off my phone!!!

Will write more later.

Pumpkin Pie

2009-11-19T18:24:00.003-06:00

Whew! I've been so busy this week I don't know whether I'm coming or going. I will update ya'll tomorrow when we get home from school, as Nicole gets out early for the Thanksgiving holiday!

Until then, I will leave you with this insight as to how Pumpkin Pies are made...

I KNEW there was a reason I'm not a big fan of pumpkin pies!!!!!

Answers and Apologies!

2009-11-14T08:12:00.006-06:00

So So Sorry I didn't post the answers to the fun brain quiz from my previous post! Nicole stayed home from school on Wednesday, took her to the doctor Thursday because she was still sick and turns out she got hit with a double whammie! She had strept throat and a sinus infection. Needless to say she stayed home yesterday too. I went up to the school and got her work though and she will stay busy this weekend.

ARGH, blogger is being weird today. First it wouldn't let me sign in, now its not letting me post the answers correctly. User error? I'm not sure. It IS early on a Saturday morning. Will try again later.

Got Your Thinking Caps On?

2009-11-11T07:58:00.002-06:00

Good morning to all in bloggy land. My Aunt Betty sent this little brain quiz to Nicole and I thought I'd see how well ya'll faired. I'm not going to post the answers till tomorrow. Leave your answers in the comments section.

1. Why are 2009 dollar bills worth more than 2008 dollar bills?

2. Johnny's mother had three children. The first child was named April.
The second child was named May. What was the third child's name?

3. There is a clerk at the butcher shop, he is five feet ten inches tall
and he wears size 13 sneakers. What does he weigh?

4. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the
world?

5. How much dirt is there in a hole that measures two feet by three feet
by four feet?

6. What word in the English Language is always spelled incorrectly?

7. Billy was born on December 28th, yet his birthday is always in the
summer. How is this possible?

8. In California, you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg.
Why not?

9. What was the President's Name in 1975?

10. If you were running a race, and you passed the person in 2nd place,
what place would you be in now?

11. Which is correct to say, "The yolk of the egg are white" or "The yolk
of the egg is white"?

12. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other
field, how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in another
field?

ANSWERS WILL BE POSTED TOMORROW!

I've worked the last two days, and am not scheduled for anything else this week so I'm gong to catch up on some housework and such. Next week will be tough and not sure how much I will blog since I'll be at school every day next week for some reason or another. I just know it will be crazy busy.

Last night Nicole was complaining of a headache, stuffy nose and had a low grade fever. This morning she said her head was pounding, so we let her stay home, in case its the flu. Please pray that it isn't.

You Know You're a Nurse When...

2009-11-09T06:42:00.002-06:00

( This was e-mailed to me by my Aunt Betty. Although I was not a nurse, I was a Medical Assistant, and worked in a hospital, I understand these perfectly!!!)

1) the front of your scrubs reads "Nurses... here to save your ass, not
kiss it!"

2) you occasionally park in the space with the "physicians only" sign...
and knock it over.

3) you believe some patients are alive only because it's illegal to kill
them.

4) you recognize that you can't cure stupid.

5) you own at least three pens with the names of prescription medications
on them.

6) you believe there's a special place in hell for the inventor of the
call light.

7) you believe that saying "it can't get any worse" causes it to get worse
just to show you it can.

8) you wash your hands BEFORE you go to the bathroom.

9) you believe that any job where you can drive to work in your pajamas is
a cool one.

10) you consider a tongue depressor an eating utensil.

11) eating microwave popcorn out of a clean bedpan is perfectly natural.

12) you've been exposed to so many x-rays that you consider it a form of
birth control.

13) you've ever heard a patient with a nose ring, a brow ring, and twelve
earrings say "I'm afraid of
shots."

14) you've ever placed a bet on someone's blood alcohol level.

15) you've told a confused patient that your name is that of a coworker
and to call if they need help.

16) your bladder can expand to the size of a Winnebago's water tank.

17) you have seen more penises than any prostitute could dream of.

18) you believe that not all patients are annoying ... some are
unconscious.

19) your family and friends refuse to watch medical sitcoms with you
because you spend the whole time correcting everyone and pointing out upside
down x-rays.

20) you don't get excited about blood, unless it's your own.

21) you've sworn to have "do not resuscitate" tattooed on your chest.
Soon.

22) discussing dismemberment over a gourmet meal is perfectly normal to
you.

23) your idea of fine dining is anywhere you can sit down to eat.

24) your idea of a good time is a cardiac arrest at shift change.

25) you believe in the aerial spraying of prozac.

26) you believe that "shallow gene pool" should be a recognized diagnosis.

27) you believe that the government should require permits to reproduce.

28) you believe that unspeakable evils will befall anyone who utters the
phrase "Wow, it's really quiet, isn't it?

29) you have ever had a patient look you straight in the eye and say "I
have no idea how that got stuck in there."

30) you've had to leave a patient's room before you begin to laugh
uncontrollably.

Well, I hope that gave you a giggle to start your Monday off with! Hope everyone had a great weekend 'cause its back to the grindstone!

Saturday

2009-11-07T08:39:00.004-06:00

Well its Saturday and I woke up to a drizzly morning. I hope it clears up enough for us to have a fun spa day for Nicoles birthday! Sue and I are taking her and her BFF Carson to the spa and we are all getting pampered. Then out to lunch and shopping a bit as long as the weather holds out.

Just FYI we DID NOT have Halloween candy for dinner Thursday night. Nicole was gracious enough to want pizza. I can live with that at ANY time!

Well, gotta go get ready! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Please don't forget to look at my previous post and donate to help sponsor me and my team in our walk for MDA! Each walker needs to rais e $82 - which only covers ONE MINUTE of research!

DFW Stride & Ride 2010: Marcy Able

2009-11-06T16:24:00.000-06:00

DFW Stride & Ride 2010: Marcy Able

2010 Stride and Ride

2009-11-05T17:31:00.004-06:00

As many of you know, I have a peripheral neuropathy and due to that I am taken care of by the Muscular Dystrophy Association ( MDA). My mother also has it.

This year I am a Team Captain for the Greater North Texas Stride and Ride to be held January 30th. I have an online donation center where you can email the link and such to friends and or family. So far I have 8 people on my team that will be walking with me on that day and I am PUMPED!!

I haven't attended in the last two years, but I did the 3 years before that and it is a blast! There are so many wonderful people that you meet, that all come together for one great day and try to raise funds to find a cure for over 40 different types of Neuromuscular Diseases!

If you want to read more about the type I have, you can Google Charcot-Marie- Tooth, or click here.

Please click HERE to go to homepage for my Stride and Ride Team.

Please help me spread the word and thank you in advance for any donations.

/sniffle - My Baby is 11!!!!!

2009-11-05T09:22:00.003-06:00

Wow, its hard to believe that Nicole is 11 today! When I took her to the doctor the other day for a check on her knee, she measured in at 5 ft 1 in! No wonder she has been a bit achey - shes been growing so much!

I woke her up a few minutes early this morning so that she could open her presents before school.

She was happy with what she got! She will get a present from my mom on Sunday when she comes out for a birthday dinner. Speaking of dinner, I have no clue what we will be eating for dinner tonight. Since it is Nicole's birthday she gets to decide. We may be eating leftover Halloween candy for all I know!

Sue and I are going to go have lunch with her today at school, then take her for one more present when we pick her up. She wanted me to take her out of school after lunch but I wouldn't agree to that, so she wasn't real happy. Saturday Sue and I are taking her and her friend Carson for a spa day - we are all getting mani/pedis, then going out for a nice lunch. Afterwards we are coming back here for the girls to play for a while together and Sue has to get ready to go to a wedding.

Besides all that, I'm starting to finally feel like myself. I had such a great day yesterday. I was feeling a ton better, plus the class I was subbing for was 7th grade math and I understood it! it was Algebra, which I was pretty good at in school. I was able to help the kids and most of them finished it in class and didn't have any homework! Then yesterday evening I went up to the crochet shop. I have to buy more yarn, as I have 3 more lapghans to make!

Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

My Little Zombie

2009-11-03T09:41:00.004-06:00

Ok, I know Halloween was this past weekend, but since I still was not feeling all that great, I'm just now getting around to posting Nicole's costume pictures. That morning we found a Zombie makeup kit at WalMart, complete with fake blood, and all that jazz.

She wanted to be a zombie baseball player. So when I went to lay down for a bit before all the Trick or treating fun started she decided she was going to do her own face. I have to admit she did a pretty good job. Judge for yourself:

The only thing I did to help her with her costume was spray all the black hairspray in her hair!

Quick Monday Update

2009-11-02T16:50:00.002-06:00

As usual I'm running around like a chicken sans head... however I'm feeling much better and I thank everyone who has voiced concern, or get well wishes via facebook and my blog comments.

I went back to work today and am feeling sooo much better! I can talk and not get thrown into a coughing fit that makes me almost pee my pants! We had a fun Halloween day and I will post pictures tomorrow of Nicoles costume - she went as a Zombie Baseball player - she did all the makeup herself and it was great! We did two trunk or treats, a small haunted house in the neighborhood and then handed out candy till around 8 that evening. Even though it was almost 10 that evening I still had a few older kids knocking on my door for candy! No way was I going to answer them!

Some friends did NOT have a good Halloween though, like my friend Yvette - they woke up to a brick thrown threw the back window of her Suburban! There were random acts of vandalism throughout that whole neighborhood apparently.

Well I gotta go start dinner, but if you want to participate in Shannons Santa Swap , click on the following button , she is starting to mail out surveys of your likes and dislikes, so make sure to let her know soon!

Hope everyone had a great Monday!

Halloween Blog or Treat

2009-10-29T13:52:00.002-05:00

Well I FINALLY got my package today! It was in no way Jennies fault - I never thought it was. The blame lies with our wonderfully slow postal service. Anyway, since my computer crapped out and I can't get into it right now and post pictures, you can click here to see what all she sent me - she posted it on her blog:))

Check out the rest of her blog at www.awelcomingheart.blogspot.com

Gotta Love Maxine

2009-10-29T09:18:00.003-05:00

Well folks, I won't be a downer and say I still feel like crap, and couldn't get into the doctor yesterday, so am going today! I thought instead of trying to sound witty and humorous I'd let Maxine do it for me!

I received these in an email from a friend.

I still haven't done much in the way of decorating for one of my favorite times of the year. I keep waiting and hoping that my Halloween blog or treat box will come , but alas it hasn't. Its supposed to rain here again all day, so maybe I'll be able to put some stuff out for tomorrow so I don't have a totally undecorated house for the few trick or treaters we will get!

Still coughing

2009-10-28T07:05:00.003-05:00

Ugh! I am still coughing and feeling not so good. I am going back to the doctor today so hopefully she will make me feel better this time. Just give me a shot in the butt and get it over with/sigh...

Today is Nicoles field trip to the science museum and I don't get to go . She is thrilled however that Sue is going. Not sure how thrilled Sue is about that though, lol.

Hope everyone else is doing well and I will try to catch up on my bloggy friends today if I get to feeling better. I still have not received my Halloween Blog or Treat box, but promise to share it with you when I do!

Sunday Serenity

2009-10-25T07:42:00.003-05:00

Ahhh. It is nice to be the first and only one up on a weekend morning. Gives me a chance to catch up and chat with friends on Facebook, catch up on my bloggy buddies, eat breakfast in peace and quiet.

It also gives me a chance to reflect on the coming week, which is going to be busy. I work all day Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Wednesday is Nicoles field trip to the Dallas Museum of Science. One of us will be going with her, just not sure who. We've been there before , but there are some things that the kids will be doing that we missed so it should be a lot of fun.

She also announced to us last week that she has decided to run for class President. President Nicole - has a nice ring to it , doesn't it? This is fun for the kids, but also a learning experience. They will be going through nominations, elections, campaigning and voting. Their is even an election committee, of which I volunteered to be on :)

I'm still waiting anxiously for my Halloween Blog or Treat box of goodies. My buddy said she mailed it out, so now I guess I'm just waiting on our postal system. /sigh. The lady who I got to buy stuff for received hers and liked every bit of it! I'm glad since I had so much fun picking it all out. Shannon of the Mommy Files is once again doin' her thing - now she has come up with a Santa Swap, along the same lines as the Halloween Blog or Treat. I'm sure she will have a button for that soon, so when it becomes available, I will let you know so you can have fun too!

My blogger/author friend Dawn of Because I said So... has announced that all 6 of her Swine Flu ridden kiddos is on the mend. I was very happy to read that. She said that was a hellish week or so. I don't have the Swine Flu but am still dealing with this freaking cough that just won't go away! I'm still taking my meds like a good girl, but geesh, enough is enough already.

Will try to write more later in the week. Hope everyone is well!

Achooooooooooo

2009-10-21T10:11:00.002-05:00

Ugh, hope I didn't get any on ya!!! Sue said I better get to the doctor since Chris was sick last week and the fact that I work in a petri dish, ooops, I mean school. I went and the doc said I just have an upper respiratory infection. um, duh....... but I don't have a sore throat , no aches or anything, just a bad cough and the occasional nose blowing. Fever hasn't gotten above 99.7 , which they don't even consider a fever anymore, but its just enough to make me feel like crap.

I was supposed to work today but with all the predicted rain, the cross country meet got cancelled for the school, meaning the coach I was supposed to sub for wasn't going to be gone, so I guess its a blessing in disguise , because I"m staying home today and doing NOTHING!

I do have to make two phone calls, but alas I can make them sitting down, so thats not a big deal.

Hop on over to give Dawn some hugs and prayers since 5 of her 6 kids actually have the Swine Flu , and she is starting to feel sick. Its a scary thing.

Thats about all I have for now, hope everyone is well:)

Hmm, Where Do I Begin?

2009-10-20T09:19:00.002-05:00

Well, here in the Able household it is still a bussel (sp?) of activity. After all the rain we had the week before we realized that it all had leaked down our sloped driveway, under the foundation and into the garage room, so we had to tear that all up. Upon getting all the carpeting up we realized the nincompoop that put the carpeting down did so on old tile without removing it first. What a freaking headache. Needless to say Sue's room will NOT be complete for a while yet.

In other news, Nicole had her People to People interview Saturday. They were very impressed with her and of course she got accepted, now our only goal is raising the money for the extraordinary opportunity. We are looking heavily into fundraising and corporate sponsors at this time.

I myself am working more than I did last year. Maybe due to all the sickness going around but I'm not complaining. I love working at Lifeschool , since everyone there is so nice!

Nicole got her 3 wk progress report for the 2nd 6- week period this past Friday and again made straight A's! We are soo proud of her. Her math teacher commented that she was an'outstanding student'. Since her math teacher thinks this, she decided to challenge Nicole a bit yesterday which did not make for a happy child on my part. Whatever she had just started teaching them yesterday, she handed Nicole a worksheet on it at the end of the day as an 'enrichment page' . I looked at it and was completely lost. I am NOT smarter than a 5th grader on that particular part of math. Chris helped her though and she tried for over an hour to figure out the 6 problems. She tried and that is all we asked, but she just couldn't figure the last few out . Hopefully her teacher will show her what to do!

Due to all the rain we've received the mold count is totally outrageous, so I sound really funny talking right now since I'm allergic to mold, but otherwise we as a household are relatively healthy.

That's all I have for updates for the time being. I work only half days tomorrow and Thursday so hopefully I will be able to catch up on all my bloggy friends this week!

I previously mentioned my participation in Shannons Halloween Blog or Treat. I can't wait till I receive my box of Halloween goodies. I had a blast shopping for my new blog or treat buddy. I will put a link on here to her blog on that post when I show my goodies too.

Hope everyone is well!

Gettin ' Er Done!

2009-10-11T07:09:00.003-05:00

Wow, what amazing progress is being made around our house! As I mentioned Sue is going to move into the garage room. I've also mentioned that it had been used as a bedroom previously, but when Chris' cousin moved out and got married it got used as storage. We didn't realize the amount of crap we would find in there.

Sue decided to hire a friend of Chris' to help organize it into something livable. She is anxious to get her own space done, and she has been sleeping on the couch in the den since she arrived. She doesn't mind this , but still wants her room.

I haven't taken any pictures of the garage room in progress but will probably this week. I did however take pictures yesterday when we were rearranging the den. Our plan was to remove our ugly old second hand couch that didn't really match anything, along with at least 2 of the 3 recliners. Replace it with Sue living room furniture and end tables and coffee table, which blends nicely with the dark paneling in there.

As you can see, it was quite the mess in there yesterday. That is one of Chris' many cousins, Marda, who had the spent the night at the request of Nicole and was helping us yesterday morning.
Here is one of our friend Kenneth wrestling a chiar out the back door.

We finally got it all put back together and it seems there is more space than ever! I never realized just how much room three recliners took up. We still have to put a few minor touches in there and I will post those later this week.

I will try very hard to blog this week, but I'm subbing almost all week, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed:))

I'm sorry to not have posted a picture of the illusive Sue yet, but I will soon. I'm just not ever able to catch her standing still for very long, lol.

Hope everyone has a great week. Oh btw, I got my Blog or Treat Buddy match from Shannon at the Mommy - Files, and went shopping Friday afternoon to get stuff to send her. So hopefully I will be getting my Blog or Treat box soon and I will share it with you. We are going to put our Halloween decorations up probably tomorrow evening, since we have to finish up Nicoles science Fair project today.

Adios for now;)

Where is NIcole?

2009-10-07T09:33:00.003-05:00

Well I know she is at school, because I dropped her off there. At least I think it's her.

See I know the old saying if it walks like duck, sounds like a duck, and looks like a duck, then by golly it probably is a duck, but heres the thing.

Monday I got Nicole up at the usual time for school. Since she has a shower the night before I thought she didn't have much to do in the way of getting ready, but it still usually takes her the entire hour and a half for clothes, shoes, hair and organizing her stuff. Somewhere in there she eats breakfast and brushes her teeth.

For some reason, MONDAY morning mind you, she had everything done by 6:45 am - I got her up around 6... she even made her own lunch.... and we left on time.....

Yesterday she stayed home from school because we thought she had pinkeye,but doc said it was just really bad allergy eyes thank goodness.

Today? Same thing as Monday. She was dressed , had eaten and made her lunch by 7am! Again, we left ON TIME!!!

So, it looks like Nicole, sounds like Nicole and all, but is it MY child? Still trying to figure it out...

Saturdays and Sunshine

2009-10-03T09:15:00.003-05:00

Howdy to all in the blogosphere! Here in Dallas TX we woke to a bit of a chill this morning. Actually had to go in the closet and retrieve some blankets so Sue and Nicole don't turn into bedridden icicles. ( ok, its not THAT cold, but my thermostat reads 67 - and when it does a sudden drop like that - its COLD!)

It is now officially my favorite month. I love October - it signals FALL , which I just love. I wish I lived someplace where I could actually see the changing colors and such, but I don't. I'll just deal with it. Here during the summer, most of the grass and stuff turns brown from being burned to death in the sun, then it gets chilly and stays that way. No changing of colors for moi.

But October also brings with it some fun blog events, two of which I'm involved in and promised to mention here! First of all, my friend Michelle of SoS is once again at it! This time for Sanity's Blogtober Tip Parade - click HERE to check it out.

Second, Shannon of The Mommy Files, has started a Halloween Blog or Treat. Click the cute little pumpkin button on the top of my right sidebar and join the fun!

Nothing else is happening that is tooo exciting here. Our state fair has once again come to town and we are hoping that we get to go this year. Every year the school kids get a free entry ticket for Faire Day, but we have NEVER been able to go on that day. This year it is on Friday the 9th, so not sure if we will get to go or not.

The weekend of the 9th also is the weekend of my 20th Highschool reunion which I am going to be unable to attend. It sucks, but I have reconnected with so many people on Facecrack, I mean book, that I guess it won't matter - I'm sure I will get to see tons of pics on there.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

A Great Bargain

2009-10-01T09:27:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I got to do what I've been looking forward to since I found out Sue would be moving in with us. Her and I went out for the day after dropping Nicole at school. We had to run one necessary errand,then took off to this Ladies resale shop near our house - they were having a 50% off sale and I wanted some new work clothes. Well, I just wasn't prepared to buy all I did for so little - I got three pairs of slacks, matching tops , a dress and one pair of earrings that match two of the outfits I got and I only spent $48!!! Amazing!

Then we went out for Chinese food, got our hair cut, then went and got our flu shots.

I have to admit, this whole flu thing has got me kind of freaked out. I don't usually get my shot till the middle or end of October.

I hope everyone is doing well. I have to work this afternoon so I must sign off now and go finish getting ready.

Have a great day!

Updates and Pictures

2009-09-30T08:36:00.003-05:00

Well, we are now settling into a bit of a routine with 4 people and 4 dogs in the house. I have to say four dogs is a bit much, but Korie finally has someone to play with. Korie, now almost 40 lbs, is best friends with Sadie . They are like Mutt and Jeff. They play tug of war with anything they can find, and they also like to wrestle. 40lb dog usually wins by sitting on the 8lb dog, lol - it is just too funny. Don't underestimate Sadie though, as she will grab Kories nose in her mouth for a good bite!

Here is Sadie making herself right at home on my lap the other evening while we were watching TV.

In other news today, my aunt came through her double knee surgery well Monday. She has a long road to recovery ahead of her , and right now is in a lot of pain, but over all is doing well.

I got a bit of a treat the other day while my aunt was in surgery - my young cousin Mollie was there on her clinical rotation through her Health Sciences class in high school. I've mentioned Mollie before - she is the kickass V-Ball player! Isn't she cute in her scrubs? The lady sitting behind her is my moms BFF Shirley - not even sure she knew she got in the picture, lol.

Well, I've finally started getting paid again, so today I'm going to get my flu shot, and Sue and I will be going for haircuts as long as Mona can get us in. Then we just may go shopping, and out for Chinese.

Hope everyone is having a great day and week! TTYL

Wonderful, Exciting, Adventurous, Expensive...

2009-09-27T20:27:00.003-05:00

These are all things that I would use to describe the opportunity that has come up for Nicole.

A few weeks ago we got a letter addressed to the parents of... well, it was an invitation to an'informational meeting' for Nicole to travel with a group of People to People Ambassadors.

Well, never having heard of this group before I did some research online and found out that they are accredited with the BBB, and that it was actually founded in 1956 by President Eisenhower.

It explained that starting the summer between 5th and 6th grade students are invited to travel to destinations as a child ambassador and have some incredibly awesome experiences.

The trip that Nicole was invited to was is called Experiencing Western Canada. We got the confirmation of the meeting that was this past Saturday at a local college. We didn't think it was a hoax, but were still skeptical. As Nicole spent the night with Carson Friday night just Chris and I went.

What we found is that the kids that are allowed to travel is 5th - 12th grade. Starting in 7th grade the kids get High school credits and into 9th and above they can earn college credits. Upon completion of the trip they actually receive a transcript. The groups travel in numbers of 40 with no less than 4 leaders per group. It is a fun trip, but is also very educational. Some of the trips can be to Australia, parts of Europe, Africa, or Japan.

The only thing that we see as even a minor roadblock is the cost. Just to turn in the application is $400 upfront, which goes toward the final cost. We do have her scheduled for her interview on October 17. We were assured if we couldn't turn it in right away , there would be other groups going throughout the summer to the same location, so she wouldn't be denied the chance. She can get a corporate sponsor, and even scholarship funding. We are looking into ALL of these options. They even gave us a website for fundraising. Obviously she isn't the first one to need it.

We have no clue who nominated her, but that is the only way this group accepts the name of a student. She has to have 3 personal recommendations, as well as a questionnaire that she fills out. All of that has to be brought to the interview. We already have the two teachers picked out that we will give the papers too to fill out, and then the one adult that is familiar with her that is not a relative.

Please say a prayer or two that all comes together and that she gets to go. Their trips can last up to 21 days, but the one she is invited to is 12 days, so hopefully we can get it together!

____________

Also, keep my aunt Donna in your prayers as she is having double knee replacement surgery Monday morning; and my cousin Dale, as he broke his collar bone in a bicycle accident.

We also get the scores of Nicole's testing that she had last week for the gifted/talented program, so please keep your fingers crossed!

A Friday Funny For Ya;))

2009-09-25T07:18:00.002-05:00

THE POTTY

A LITTLE THREE YEAR OLD BOY IS SITTING ON THE TOILET. HIS MOTHER THINKS HE HAS BEEN IN THERE TOO LONG, SO SHE GOES IN TO SEE WHAT'S UP. THE LITTLE BOY IS SITTING ON THE TOILET READING A BOOK. BUT ABOUT EVERY 10 SECONDS OR SO HE PUTS THE BOOK DOWN, GRIPS ONTO TO THE TOILET SEAT WITH HIS LEFT HAND AND HITS HIMSELF ON TOP OF THE HEAD WITH HIS RIGHT HAND..

HIS MOTHER SAYS: "BILLY, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? YOU'VE BEEN IN HERE FOR A WHILE.

BILLY SAYS: "I'M FINE, MOMMY.. I JUST HAVEN'T GONE 'DOODY' YET."

MOTHER SAYS: "OK, YOU CAN STAY HERE A FEW MORE MINUTES.BUT, BILLY, WHY ARE YOU HITTING YOURSELF ON THE HEAD?"

BILLY SAYS: "WORKS FOR KETCHUP."

Getting Situated

2009-09-23T20:14:00.004-05:00

Wow! What a week so far. We seem to be getting into a bit of a routine now that my MIL has moved in. I never assumed nor asked her to be the house maid , but she was kind enough to do most of the laundry, and depending on who cooks dinner, the other does the dishes.

I got called into work on Tuesday, then had to work all day today and all day tomorrow. I have the same class for two days - a fairly good group of first graders with the exception of two that I have to keep my eye on. They are what make my day interesting:))

I got home about an hour ago from my Wednesday night crocheting/knitting circle. I'm so happy that the shop opened - I found the sweetest bunch of ladies and we all range in age. I'm not by far the youngest one there - that would be the shop owners niece who is a senior in High School.

My MIL ( Sue from here on out) decided to skip tonight but will come up there with Nicole and I next week as she is still tired from all she has had to do to get ready for the move. She will fill out her application tomorrow and go into school with Nicole and I on Friday to turn it in and meet Nicoles teacher. Nicole is excited to have everyone meet her Nanny!

I hope everyones week has been going great, I have checked out a few blogs, but have not gotten around to as many as I usually do, so give me a little while and I will catch up!

I'm also LOVING our cooler temps! we were actually in the high 50s this morning!

Short and Sweet

2009-09-21T08:51:00.002-05:00

Okies, this post is really short, because I have to get in my kitchen and start merging all the stuff my MIL brought with what we already had. She didn't want to throw food out that she had, so she brought three boxes of dry goods!!!

She and Chris got back here safe with a giant U-Haul, which we have to return today , and my house is, well, packed...

So far I"m not scheduled to work this week, so I think she and I will be working around the house and getting things in order.

Keep your fingers crossed since today is the day that Nicole is tested for the Oasis program!

Also, some really exciting news about Nicole that I will reveal next Monday!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Happy Monday!

I PROMISE to get some pics of my MIL and her puppy up here soon! Shes like Chris in the fact that she doesn't like her picture taken randomly - living with my she will have to get over that!

Not Their Intended Use

2009-09-18T13:42:00.002-05:00

After I took Nicole to school this morning I came home as usual. Chris was still at home since he didn't have to go into work as early as normal. He had Korie ( our now 32 lb puppy) with him. She had been laying across his lap after they had played a bit while I was gone.

When I got to the kitchen on the way to the den, I heard a yell of pain from Chris along with a string of money in the jar words and Korie's name mixed in. I went back there and asked what happened. All I saw was Chris scrunching his eyes closed in pain and holding his hands over his happy place. He said " She used my nuts as a springboard".

Ouch.

Here is a picture of just how big she is getting:

I Believe

2009-09-16T09:16:00.003-05:00

I believe that everything will work out the way it should in the end - I have to believe that!

Thank you to everyone for the kind words to me during this very frustrating time:)

I'm in a little better mood than I was Monday.

Anyway, on to better things:

First, my friend Christina is having a give away for some Ponds Cleansing Towlettes - she loves them and highly recommends them! Click here if you'd like to enter for a chance to get them!

Second, with all the scares around concerning the Swine Flu and such, I thought it would be good to at least get a giggle out of it: ( I got this from my mom in an e-mail )

SWINE FLU SYMPTOM

CHECK

If you wake up looking like this,

don't go to work

Sorry if anyone got offended by that - I thought it was freaking funny!

But seriously folks, it obviously is NOT something to mess around with. Wash your hands, don't put your hands by your mouth or nose ( so that means NO PICKING! for you gold diggers out there...) , and if someone is coughing and sneezing all over the place hand them a tissue:))

Be assured I will be getting a flu shot as soon as I get paid this month, and hopefully will be able to get the swine flu shot as well - it scares me !

Well the countdown is 4 days till my MIL will be here - I can't wait for her to get here, but all the moving stuff around and painting and getting for the upcoming garage sale I could do without.

Well, I'm off to read ya'lls blogs, so toodle loo for now:)) Hope everyone has a great day!

Enough is Enough

2009-09-14T08:52:00.003-05:00

Now I could be talking about kids fighting, or wanting the voices in my head to stop , however in this case I'm talking about rain. It has rained with very little reprieve every day since Friday.

The weather people had been threatening it most of the week, but Friday it started and hasn't stopped. I also checked out the forecast for the next 10 days and rain is predicted with a better than 50 percent chance 8 out of those 10 days! ARGH!

This really puts a damper on things. The dogs don't want to go out and go potty because we haven't equipped them with flippers and masks, my bird hates it because her beloved sunlight isn't streaming in through her window, the only shoes of mine that I can wear are my crocs since they are water proof. Well, you get the idea, it sucks.

As for other things going on, my MIL will be here soon, but due to the weather we are thinking it might be later rather than sooner, we will have to wait and see.

- Chris got an unexpected day off work today - his boss called him early and told him he didn't have to come in today due to the weather. Now I've mentioned the deplorable conditions he works in, so we are kind of wondering if the rain caused the roof to collapse or what. Lets pray that isn't the case since that would mean that he wouldn't be working...

- Nicole is going to be tested on the 21st at school for the gifted /talented program so keep your fingers crossed. She is very excited as the program at this time is focusing on science and social studies.

- Nicole has the school science faire coming up so she is trying to figure out what kind of experiment to do.

- My BFF Nikki is having to make a few decisions regarding her career and is going through some health problems due to the stress it is causing, so please give her a thumbs up that it will all work out ok.

- Me? I'm doing ok for the moment. I too am going through some stuff that I really don't want to discuss at this time, but just be assured that I am healthy. That is all I an say at the moment. Maybe after it all works itself out I will feel like sharing. I can say too that it is hard, I'm doing a lot of soul searching with occasional tears thrown in.

I hope everyone else is doing well, I' m going to end this post for the time being and go read other blogs that I have to catch up on!

Haven't Been Around

2009-09-10T07:01:00.002-05:00

Hiyas everyone! Here to say QUICKLY that I am still around - just either working at school all week, or working around the house in the evening after dinner getting the final stuff done for my MIL to move in - which is just aroudn the corner on the weekene dof the 19th!!!

Hope everyone is doing well and is looking forward to the weekend!

Will catch up on all the blogs I've been missing reading this week hopefully tomorrow!

Hugs to all!

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-06T07:56:00.002-05:00

Ok, not sure when I posted last - I know it was this past week, but I'm blank for the moment on exactly when.

Lots going on - brain on overdrive. So much so that Friday I was sure after working all day with a class of first graders it was oozing out of my ears. /sigh.

Anyway, this week has been really busy. Seems like nothing got done. So this weekend, Nicole and I are taking the time to clean. Since we don't have a car. Since Chris isn't at home ALL WEEKEND.

Why is Chris not here and why are we carless for THREE days you may be asking?

Well, Chris had planned a few weeks back to go to his moms this 3 day weekend and help tie up some loose ends before she moves. Do some minor work on her house and stuff. Well, his cousin Jay was going to go with him. They were going to take Jays truck, leaving us with the car.

Well , Jay had to get a tetanus shot for travel purposes this past Wednesday. Within a few hours he started having a slight reaction, then it got worse. By Thursday he was in bed per docs orders for the next 4-5 days. Turns out he had such a bad reaction from the shot that it was about one step down from an anaphylactic reaction, it was that bad.

Well, Chris couldn't NOT go, so him and his other cousin Brett took off for San Antonio Friday evening and will be back sometime Monday. Nicole and I had plans, but now they just inclue NOT getting on each others nerves and doing some much needed cleaning.

Hope everyone else is having a great Labor Day Weekend!