This and That

Ok, I have nothing new and exciting in my life atm, except I'm enjoying a nice quiet holiday weekend. Nicole and I went to the show today, and then out to dinner. I've done almost all the laundry and in keeping with the promise to myself, it is ALL folded and hung up and put where it belongs. YAY ME!!

Anyway...

There is much going on in the blogging world atm...heres a small rundown...

First, Hallie of WWoW is campaigning for President , along with Mr. Sock Monkey. She is trying to get a representative from each state , and she will come visit you!
Read more of that here.

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Second, Michelle of Semblance of Sanity , is hosting a Q & A session. If you have a question she will more than likely have an answer for you! Click here to find out more about that!

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Third, Manic Mommy announced a great contest going on atm at Bettyconfidential.com. If you haven't met BETTY yet, you really need to!

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And last but not least , my 200th blog post will be this week. There will be a contest featured on that particular post co-hosted by moi and my BFF Nikki. There is a fabulous prize up for grabs too for the winner so keep checking back! Oly like 3 or 4 posts away me thinks...

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Hope everyone has had a great 3 day weekend. We have survived our 2nd week of school and I finally got called to sub my first class next Friday! I'm excited!

Have a great Labor Day and don't forget to watch the MDA telethon if you get the chance!

How Do You Talk?

Take this quiz and find out if you talk suthern, or like a yank!
I registered as 58 % Dixie. - Barely Dixie.
I thought this was pretty funny considering I was born in Chicago , IL and moved to TX when I was 8.
Have fun!
Let me know what it said about YOU!

Clarification

Ok, I've heard ya'll occasionally comment on people that leave anon comments and sometimes they aren't nice. I've never had one of those until lastight. This wasn't per se a mean comment, but it was like they were telling me I didn't know what I was talking about. I did - believe me , I just didn't know an easier way to put what I did.

I'm talking in regards to my comment about the MDA labor day telethon and the fact that my mom and I have CMT ( CHARCOT -MARIE-TOOTH). It is not a FORM of MD, it is a peripheral neuropathy , meaning it only affects lower legs and arms. Is very rarely fatal , yet it is debilitating. The MDA covers over 40 different types of neuromuscular problems , I guess is the right word for it.

Does that explain it a bit better? And just fyi - the little girl who is this years MDA GOod Will Ambassador has CMT - and my braces look pretty much like hers on a larger scale.

Have a great day!

HoMe aLoNe

/SIGH... with Nicole off to school now, and Chris at work I've been having ALOT of alone time. More than I can handle actually. I see stuff that needs to be done , I do it or don't. Eat or not. Read or not. I have so many options. I'm sick of T.V to a point, my bestest friend lives 8 hours away, another really good friend lives like 4 hours away. /sigh...

I'm my own worst company... I do have the dogs and the bird of course, but they don't talk. They are just like children , barking , growling and/or tweeting at me because they are hungry. The bird screeches when she wants out of her cage to fly, the dogs stare at me like automatons when they have to go out...

My older dog doesn't always act like she wants me to hold her or whatever, but then God forbid I have to go to the bathroom during the day, she will come and scratch the door till I lean over and let her in, or she will just follow me in, and then proceed to sit on my feet while I'm on the toilet... yea , thats comfy... then when I leave the bathroom she goes back and lays down on her pillow. Really, I can go potty all by myself! I've done it before!

Whenever I eat they have to be right there though. They have not figured out that I am NOT giving them salad, mac -n- cheese, cereal, milk, v-8 juice, chocolate , or meatloaf.
I NEVER try to eat THEIR food, so why on earth would they want to eat my food? Really I'm sure their doggy biscuits are fine, as well as their dog chow but I'm not going to try it.

The only time I can get away from them is when I'm back here on the computer. Now this only works if I have the TV on , because it pops occasionally and the older dog thinks it is shooting her. This also means they will occassionaly come back and let me they have to go out. the younger dog is guiltier of this than the older one, but I have walked into the den to find a present. She follows me till she sees me notice her present and then she will try to tuck her nubber (tail) between her legs and run for the hills ( bedroom). I then throw her outside because of the little present. /SIGH!

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Anyway, thank you to all for the kind things you said about my dad, and thanks for putting up with all the pictures I've posted lately. I've actually had a good time doing that.

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I would like to remind everyone that this weekend is Labor Day Weekend. For me that means that the Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy is on! I urge you if you can to donate ! You cannont imagine the money needed to do the research to find cures for the OVER 40 DIFFERENT TYPES OF MD!!!! or to send every child affected by MD to summer camp.
The MDA has done so many extraordinary things that my mom and I can't thank them enough!
I will soon post pictures of the hardware I have to wear on my legs and I will try to get pics of my moms. They are soooo attractive!
If you would like to find out more about our form of MD called CHARCOT-MARIE-TOOTH, please click HERE to visit the MDA website.

Ya'll come back now ya hear??????

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today would have been my dads 66th birthday. He passed away November of 2004. I don't feel like crying every day now, but on days like this it is hard not to shed a tear or two. I know he can see us from Heaven , but I wish he was here on Earth to see Nicole growing into such a beautiful girl.

One thing alot of people remember of my dad was his humor. Gosh did he love to tell jokes. Apparently he was like his dad in that respect from what my grandmother used to say.

I've found some old pitures that I thought I'd share with you. Hope you enjoy!

This is my dad holding me when I was a baby.

This was my dads highschool graduation picture

I added this picture of me to show you just how much I look like my dad. This was me around the same age. The dog I'm holding was his dog Whiskers

My dad in the Army

My dad posing with their two dogs at the time, an older Whiskers and puppy Chou-Chou, who was a schnoodle. She was originally given to me by my uncle but when I moved into my apartment she didn't go with me.
This is one of myfavorite pics of my dad. If you noticed in the other photos he didn't smile much because he didn't like getting his picture taken. See the big smile on our wedding day? Was it because he was giving me away? lol. He and chris always got along, and I think this shows that dad approved of the man I chose to spend my life with.


Happy Birthday Dad! I love you and miss you!

Cute Poem and a Bit About Me

Cleaning Poem

I asked the Lord to tell me
Why my house is such a mess.
He asked if I'd been 'computering',
And I had to answer 'yes.'

He told me to get off my fanny
And tidy up the house.
And so I started cleaning up...
The smudges off my mouse.

I wiped and shined the topside.
That really did the trick...
I was just admiring my work...

I didn't mean to 'click.'

But click, I did, and oops! I found
A really absorbing site
That I got SO way into.
I was into it all night. Sigh...

Nothing's changed, except my mouse,
It's very, very shiny.
I guess my house will stay a mess...
While I sit here on my hiney.


I just want to thank my MIL for emailing that to me. Thank you to whoever wrote it, LOVE IT! and it is soooo me.
I worked alot in my bedroom this weekend. I threw tons of stuff out, set stuff aside to be given to the local outreach center, and I actually put stuff where it belonged!
I don't mind washing clothes, but its the folding, and hanging up and putting it all away that is the PITA part. HOWEVER , the last two weeks I have made myself fold the laundry as soon as it comes out of the dryer. Everything gets hung up.

I feel soo much better, and am giving myself a big pat on the back ( even though I want a cookie) for getting off my hiney and not letting the laundry pile up:))

Ok, now for the more about me part. I was tagged by Karen Deborah of Fresh Fixins for this interesting meme, I've never seen this one before.

7 things I plan to do before I die

1) Lose weight
2) Live a long, happy life
3) See Nicole grow up, and be happy in whatever she chooses to do
4) visit Mackinac Island
5) visit another country ( France, Ireland, Italy, etc...)
6) Have enough money to go on a long vacaton and not have to worry about spending it!
7) win the lottery so I can accomplish some of these goal:))

7 things I can do

1) Dishes - I have it down to an art form
2) write upside and backwards
3) bake - good cookies, kolaches, and assorted goodies
4) Still Bellydance a bit
5) draw blood ( for 8 yrs I was a license carrying blood sucker:))
6)Spell very well
7) Love my family

7 things I cannot do

1) Type good anymore ( thank goodness for spell check!)
2) Iron
3) Run without looking like I'm having some sort of attack
4) Make tight hospital corners with bedsheets
5) control myself around cheesy pepperoni pizza
6) fry chicken ( please God for the life of me , someone tell me how to fry good chicken!)
7) stop thanking God for my beautiful family

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex.

1) Sense of Humor
2) He can do housework ( cook, clean, iron, scrub toilets)
3) nicely defined glutes in tight wranglers
4) Likes to read
5) gorgeous eyes
6) sexy smelling cologne
7) being himself - not trying to act like anyone else

7 things I say most often

1) huh?
2) go clean your room
3) I love you
4) pick up your stuff
5) quit begging ( said to dogs when they are begging for table scraps)
6) TURN THAT DOWN!!! ( referring to music and/or tv)
7) Have a good day!

7 celebrity admirations no crushes

1) Jane Seymour ( these aren't crushes, so women count!)
2) Will Smith
3) Diane Keaton
4) Patrick Swayze
5) Morgan Freeman
6) Tommy Lee Jones
7) Johnny Depp

7 favorite foods

1) Pizza
2) Chicken
3) Steak
4) crepes
5) peanut butter cookies
6) Broccoli Cheese soup
7) did I mention Pizza?

7 people who need to do this.

Hmmm, I'm not going to tag anyone for this, but if you want to do it, GREAT! just let me know!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

MY BFF NIKKI

Meet my BFF Nikki. We have been friends for 24 years. We met in Ms. Shores 7th grade math class. Atthe time she was also good friends with Mary. The three of us quickly united over the horrors of Junior HighSchool and were forever bonded. We lost track of Mary forone reason or another and now its just me and Nikki.
This picture was taken the week before our high school graduation, at our Bacclaurate ( sp??).From l-r its Nikki, me ( don't you love my big glasses???),and Mary.

I don't remember when this photo was taken, but this is 'Hot Nikki'.

This was Nikki before we went out to party for her 21st birthday.

Nikki and I have been through so much in 24 years as only true friends can do. We have been there for each other through hookups, breakups and eventually when we met our true loves. This is Nikki , late at night, at my apartment, helping me make the bouquets and such for my wedding. She is a very talented artist, and did my boquets as gorgeous as ever!

She is also very selfless. Her birthday happened to fall on the day that Chris and I had planned for our wedding. I wanted to honor her in some way for all the help she gave me that day , and since my dads birthday was two days later when we would be on our honeymoon, I decided to bake them each a cake, (like I didn't have enough to do already the day before my wedding, lol) and have the entire reception sing to them. Here is the look on their faces when they got their cakes. ( her mom had hers and my mom had my dads)

Look who caught my bouquet!!! ( her mom is sitting behind her and her sister Kim is standing behind her). True to myth that the person who catches the bouqet is the next to get married is sooo true, because the following April 11th, Chris and I were standing up for her wedding to William ( who she met thru Chris and I when she showed up for dinner one night and Chris brought a friend home from work for dinner)! It was instant attraction.

This is a pciture of her little family then. Gosh Nathan was only like 2 in this picture! She has now added a little Cherub named Sonya who just turned 6. Unfortunatlely for me, when my puter had problems not to long ago I lost the recent pictures she has sent me!
She still lives inTexas, butnow lives like 8 hours from me. That totally sucks, since due to our schedules we can't see each other near as often as we like. thank goodness for emails, and phones!


SOOOOOOOO

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKKI! YOU'RE THE BEST!!!!!!

Visit her blog HERE!

My (pre) Anniversary Post

Well, our 12 yr anniversary is getting closer. We've got some stuff that has come up and we won't be able to go out to dinner but we will soon, no big deal. Hope everyone enjoyed the pictures I've added to my posts lately, I'm getting better with my scanner , right?? lol.


I do have to mention something cool that happened after I did yesterdays post though.

I chekced my comments early this morning and low and behold there was one from a CNeal. It turns out that she is the author of the book I got Chris for an anniversary present. When I typed the name and such , she said she got a Google alert that someone had posted something about the book.. I think that is awesome!


I hope you enjoy the pics I'm about to share with you. I have some fun posts coming up in the next few days so please come back to visit. I've got one I'm doing tomorrow that I think everyone will enjoy, and I've been warned by my BFF Nikki, that it better not be something that happened on the same day as my wedding!


Guess you will just have to wait and see Nik , huh? ( insert evil grin here!)


Ok, this first picture I took of Chris about a year before we were married. I've always carried it with me, its one of my favorite pictures of him of all time.

This is my other favorite picture of him. This was taken before our wedding. I hadn't seen him yet at this point. I was still at the hotel getting fussed over by myattendants.

This of course was after the wedding, with all of our attendants. We got married outdoors in the Gazebo in the Historical Town Square here in Lancaster. It was very humid and overcast that evening. It started raining as everyone was getting in their cars to go to the reception.

This picture of us was the April after we got married. We were both standing up for my BFF Nikki's wedding to William.

We have had alot of good things happen in the past twelve years. The main thing of course is Nicole:)) We've also had some bad things happen to us. I think we all have to have some bad along with the good in order to be a better couple. It has brought us closer.

Chris is my best friend, lover , and confidant. He is smart, handsome, funny, and caring. I can't imagine ever loving anyone more than I do him.

I am indeed a lucky woman!

Happy Anniversary Honey!!

I Got My Surprise!!!!

Yesterday late afternoon, after Nicole had gotten home from school it started raining. Again.

It sounded like it was coming down pretty hard so we went and opened the front door to see .
Lo and behold there stood a pretty good size box , recently delivered. I quickly stepped outside to get it before it got soaked. As soon as I saw the return address, I kind of knew what I had gotten for my anniversary. Nicole told me to open it, but I told her at least not until her dad got home since he was due within the hour.


As soon as he got home I told him I received a box and told him the return address. I also convinced him that if in fact it was my anniversary gift from him, it would be downright cruel to make me wait until Sunday to open it. I mean, I would be home all day, alone with that box whispering ' Marcy, come open me... you know you want to....'.

I wouldn't be able to stand it. So he agreed to let me open it as long as I gave him his present too, which I did and he loved. I got him the book ' The Gospel According to Harry Potter - The Spiritual Journey of the World's Greatest Seeker', which he has wanted for awhile.

Here is the picture of my beautiful basket:

The basket included 3 jar candles and one votive, one beeswax lipbalm and rose scented body lotion. The really cool thing is that the lady who he got it from is one of our in-game friends from EverquestII.

Her name is Connie Dubois and she runs Bayoumoon Candles. Yes, she is based in Louisiana, hence the reference to the Bayou. Her main thing is the candles, but she does the lotions and lipbalm, as well as soap on the side.

I can tell you the candles smell amazing. In the basket , on one of the jar candles the lid says Happy Anniversary! and I can't say it has just one smell, but i can detect a hint of baby powder and is perfect for an everyday , around the house candle. The other scent, Satin Sheets, to me smells very sultry and belongs in a candle -lit bedroom , and me thinks it would go great with the massage oil that I received from my BFF Nikki. The third candle , along with the lotion is called Rose of Esharia. ( Esharia is my characater name in game... which I thought was pretty cool, it was Chris' idea.) The fourth candle is a mini votive of mixed berry scent. The lipbalm smells like honey and the mini airfreshener is called Twigs -N- Berries, and smells Heavenly. Here is what the Candles look like outside of the basket:

Aren't they pretty? I can tell you that as I sit here and compose this post , I lit the Rose of Esharia candle and it is a very light scent and is not at all overpowering. LOVE IT!!!!

So please go check out out CONNIE'S website, as I can atest first hand she does AMAZING WORK!!!!

Tune in tomorrow when I will do an anniversary post. I know our anniversary isn't till Sunday, but I have a surprise for someone as my weekend post... and you just have to wait and see:))

Have a great day!

I Need Sleep

Not posting anything major today. Up alot during the night. Thunder. Lightening. Dog scared of said thunder and lightening. Chris and I not alot of sleep. Sewage system either got struck by lightening or all the rain water backed some sewer water into out main bathroom near our bedroom. Woke up at 145 thinking older dog scared of thunder and lightening had messed the bed. Woke Chris, discovered smell coming from drain in tub - yuck...
took blanket, dog and flashlight into den with hubby - watched TV till 330 , till storm once again calmed down. Alarm went off at 545am. Currently encouraging child to get ready for school. I can barely stay awake and will promptly crawl back into bed as soon as shes off for school.

niteynite:))

UPDATE!!!

I didn't get as long to nap this morning as I had hoped. I will clarify that one of the things that woke me up was my toilet bubbling over like a cauldron - it was that loud... Ran to the front of the house where I see city water dudes working on the sewer of my neighbors house. Toilet stopped bubbling, but by then I had nasty toilet water on the seat and partly on the floor - cleaned up said toilet water, got dressed , played on computer and didn't do a flipping other thing today.
Will write more tomorrow:))

Off To School She Goes!

It's official. My little girl started 4th grade today. She was a bit excited and apprehensive at the same time. Here she is all dressed and ready to go :

Having spent most of her summer away, I had plenty of days alone in the house to myself, but today feels a bit different for some reason. I"m so proud of her, she is growing like a little weed, but alot prettier than one! Prayers that all goes well today.

Other parents may feel like this though:

This doodle is compliments of Rick Green

Have a great Monday:))

A Cute MeMe and a T.P Eater

I was tagged for a meme by Michelle of Honest and Truly. So here it is.

The rules are as follows:

1. Link the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged
Okey Dokey, here are

6 UN-spectacular things about me...

1. I lost one of my permanent front teeth when I was 12.
I used to take baton -twirling lessons at the local recreation center. I was running up the bleachers ( instead of the stairs) just before practice started and tripped. Thankfully the edge of the cement bleacher broke my fall and knocked out one of my front teeth. Braces had to move all my teeth forward and one of the side ones was capped and made to look like my front teeth:))


2. I cry at odd moments of certain movies.
Ok, so this may not be so odd, alot of people cry at movies, but Chris thinks its funny. Like this weekend Nicole and I were watching Father of the Bride 2 with Steve Martin. At the scene where they are playing sappy music and hes holding his newborn grandson and daughter I was tearing up.

3. I'm Directionally impaired
I'm not kidding. Marrying an ex-truck driver may have been the best ( or worst) idea I've ever made. I drive by landmarks , not by north , south , east or west. Don't tell me to go west down I-20 , exit McKinney St. and go North for a mile and a half. I will NEVER make it to where I'm supposed to be. Like when my cousin was going to college at North Texas State University in Denton. She asked me up there for a party weekend with her sorority. Normally about an hour drive? took me almost two hours, couldn't find her dorm, lol and wound up in the guys sorority house parking lot instead of hers. Yup, you guessed it, Chris does NOT let me navigate anywhere.

4. I'm an avid computer gamer - aka GEEK
Chris got me hooked on a game called Everquest II. You create a character, earn money, kill TONS of ugly looking mobs such as vampires, gnolls, bees, attacking trees, gorillas, and some stuff that can't be classified as a real life type monster and is usually the brain malfunction of a programmer. Seriously , in one of the dungeons that we go into , there are these things that look like flying sperm with teeth. Yea, what was THAT particular programmer smoking when he thought that mob up. My main character is a lvl 79 Enchantress.

5. I'm not good at math
I made passing grades in school until I got to Geometry. It gave me nightmares. I had a tutor most of the year and still only squeaked by with a C. On the other hand I loved Algebra, especially the problems that took one entire side of notebook paper to do. Lets see how good I remember it when Nicole gets old enough to do Algebra. Thank goodness Chris is good at most types of Math.

6. I read. Alot.
I know I mention that in the 'About Me' section of this blog, but maybe you don't understand just how much I like to read. When I had Nicole everyone told me that my reading time would be seriously cut . I told them no it wouldn't. When I've felt that I've been neglecting my books, or I wanted to escape from real life for like 10 mins, but I have to take a shower, get ready for my day yada yada yada, I've taken that book in the shower with me. I face the wall for a few minutes letting the hot water relax my back and I read. If we are going somewhere and I don't want to be in the car? I'm reading. Even if its like a 15 minute trip. I've been known to throw my current book into my purse when we are going to a party or family get together. Chris has stopped asking why and just deals with it. Occasionally he still asks ' you really think you are going to get a chance to read?' The answer is always a resounding yes...
The biggest book I've ever read was 1021 pages and was the Biography of King Henry VIII. Totally Awesome.

Now I have to tag 6 fellow bloggers.

My BFF Nikki of ADDNikki
Hallie of WWoW
Peach of The Silence is Broken
Allison of The East Tennesee Bradys
Stephanie of Manic Mommy
Bogart of Bogart In P Town

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K, now for the T.P Eater...

I've mentioned in the past that my mother got Nicole and I hooked on the Discovery Health channel. Lastnight we were watching 'Untold stories of the E.R.' and they had this women that came in complaining of abdominal pain. She was a frequent flyer and the staff did not want to deal with her. The doctor that got her freaked out because as he was talking to her she was eating toilet paper. Her friend handed her a roll of TP and she tore bits off and ate them. O.M. G. They did a pelvic on her and nothing. She stood up, kind of fell into the nurse and actually bit her on the boob and the nurse kind of flopped her into the wheelchair. Then she started holding her stomach and complaining that she was going to throw up. Turns out she had an ectopic pregnancy. I know that is no laughing matter but come one, did it get stuck on some undigested TP? ( no I'm not stupid enough to think TP could get in your fallopian tubes ) but come on... she said she had been doing it since she was like 12 as a nervous habit. I say total whack job, what do u think? I mean, qustions arise when you think of someone eating toilet

paper. When she goes to the bathroom, does she actually have to wipe? or does it automatically do it for her??? Do her blood tests show she gets enough fiber in her diet? does she use TP that is safe for septic systems and breaks down automatically? does she prefer quilted? one or two ply?


Anyway, hope you enjoyed the meme. If you eat TP, please don't let me know , that would be TMI.

Saturdays Pictures

Ok, Ok, Ok. I did not post the pictures from our day out yesterday with that post and even got a comment of WHERE R THE PICS??? so here are the pics. I totally forgot about doing this while eating lunch, and browsing at the dollar store, lol, but did get the before we left pics and one of Nicole getting her hair trimmed. She didn't take one of me getting mine done, but I will have Chris take one and will post it for your viewing pleasure ( read with a hint of sarcasm).

Isn't she purdy????

Moi

Mona cutting Nicoles hair

What happens to Cooper when Nicole gets bored. Nicole was even kind enough to have the chefs hat cover Coopers missing eye. Immediately after this was taken, Cooper rolled over and tried desperately to get the hat off herself.

Well my baby goes back to school tomorrow as I'm sure I have mentioned. I will post a pic of her from the morning before she leaves when she is all fresh faced and in her clean uniform ready to face a new year. She is looking forward to it. She and Carson were discussing over the phone lastnight who they had in their classes and whatnot and it was kind of funny to listen to.

Anyway, hope ya'll are having a great weekend! Catch ya later:))

Our Girls Day:))

Well Nicole and I are up and about doing little things aroudn the house to apass the time till we go out to lunch and to get our hair cut and trimmed.

I want to thank all of you who gave advice on what to do with the Barbie situation. After a few days I just off-handedly remarked to her that why don't we get a box and pack all her Barbie stuff up and just keep a few out to play with. That way if she wants them we have them and if she does't want to play with them they go in storage. She grudgingly agreed and brought them to me where I proceeded to start going thru them one by one, but asking her on each one. Pretty soon she stopped what she was doing and joined me in going thru them and carefully putting them away!!! She kep about 6 out and has been playing with them ever since. No tears, No complaining she wants to throw them all away. So again I thank all who left me little ideas and such on what to do:))

LATER! ( I will take pics of our day out and before and after pics of the Do's)

Beaches

This post may be a little late in the season, but I think people still go to beaches.

I like beaches. I've been to Hawaii, the Bahamas, and North Carolina Beach. I've also been to Galveston, along the Gulf. All beautiful, and for the most part pleasant experiences.

Nicole doesn't remember when she was at a beach, but she was only 18 mos old so that is understandable. NOW however she is not sure if she ever wants to go to a beach. She has seen too many reports of hurricanes, tsunamis, and such that she now tells me she will not go to a beach for fear of getting sucked into the water.


If she had been in my room with me the other day folding clothes I swear she would never go near water again.

I was channel surfing to find some mindless drivel to take my mind off the mindless task of folding clothes/hanging up clothes/sorting socks. I came across a show called "When Beaches Attack." It was intriguing and a little scary, which was probably its purpose. This is a little info I got from it...


When you think of beaches, this type of picture might come to mind:



Pretty , isn't it??

Now imagine you go swimming, having the time of your life. You come out and start to get a bit itchy. Pretty soon you have a rash spreading that looks like this and makes you want to scratch your skin off:

Looks kind of painful, doesn't it? This is what caused it:

Meet sea lice... This is why it is recommended that you thoroughly rinse yourself off at one of those showers up and down the beach. You wash your suit in hot water and soap before putting it on the next day. They said just rinsing it out and letting it dry will not get rid of these little pests. Rinsing off is also a good idea if you have come in contact with a jellyfish. Or even the spray of a jellyfish ( I know this from first hand experience). Chris and I didn't actually get stung by a jellyfish, however one had been near enough to us that we both started itching like crazy and went running down the beach looking and praying for one of those shower thingies.

They also said don't play in the surf with those plastic blowup rafts and such because they are made for pools and not strong enough to withstand the power of some of the waves. They also said to know the beach where you are going. Become familiar with it. Beach patrol usually puts out different color flags for different dangers, such as sharks, strong undertow, sea lice and such. I doubt very highly that you would want to get caught drifting out to see on a cheap plastic raft , enjoying the sounds and smell of the sea, the sunlight on your body , and then come up against this:

They also recommend that when doing this:

that you be VERY careful to not put the sand anywhere near your mouth and such. This is why you need to carefully monitor children who may want to taste sand. They say that E-Coli, Salmonella and Shigella have been found in beach sand. This is due to the fact that people walk their dogs on the beach. The dogs may have pottied in the sand and buried it. Also, how many people do you think, when surrounded by that much water will actually stop having fun and go find a public bathroom in which to pee. Not many I'm guessing. /shiver and EWWWWW!

So go to the beach if you want but please be careful and have a great day!

It's Hump Day!

Wow, 5 days till the start of school. Seems summer has flown by.
Monday night we went to her orientation. We found out who her new teacher will be. We found out where her classroom will be. She was NOT happy. Let me explain.
Nicole goes to a Charter school. A Christian based Charter school. ( Like most or all school districts prayer is not allowed in the classroom but the school is held in a Church and you know HE is present. )
Anyway, there are three buildings. Her campus currently goes K-10th. This year she was so excited becasue she was moving to the Middle school building for the 4-6th grades. When we found out who her teacher was and where he classroom was we had to double check the map. It said her classroom was in the old building - the baby building if you will ( her words not mine). Her classroom this year is right next to the one she was in last year for 3rd grade. When we met the teacher she asked her right off why she was in this building and NOT with the other 4th graders. ( Her freind Carson is even in the other building). Turns out her teacher explained that they added another 4th grade class this year and needed another room. She will apparacntly be in the 'baby' building the first half of the day and the middle school building the other half of the day. She will still get a locker, which in her mind is a right of passage, and such, so I think she will be ok.
Her teacher also mentioned that her class will be doing alot of mentoring to the little kids, reading to them and such, which she is ecstatic about. She is a natural with little ones, which boads well for her upcoming baby sitting years.

Good news I found out the other day is that she can still wear her navy blue modesty skorts. She can also wear the plaid skirt if she wants, but thank goodness we don't have to get her one before school.

Chris is going to the lake with his cousin Brett this weekend to fish, and to take care of the lawns before his Uncles comes down next month. That means that Nicole and I get a girls weekend. We are going to go out to lunch, go grocery shopping, get some new stuff for school and get our hair cut. Oh excuse me, she is getting her trimmed NOT cut, lol. I'm getting mine cut , it is driving me nuts. I will take pictures of us on our fun day outing and share with you. Hopefully I will start getting calls to sub soon:)) /fingers crossed.

In other news, our 12 yr anniversary is coming up on the 24th. Remember I said some posts back that Chris said he was thinking of something for our anniversary but wouldn't' tell me? welllll, the other night we were on our computers while Nicole was at Carson's, and he was looking some stuff up, typing and such. I couldn't see what he was reading and/or typing because I am that blind, lol. However when I got up to pass behind his chair to let the schmutzes out (read dogs) he minimized what he was looking at. I knew it wasn't naked ladies or anything like that, but when I asked him he said it was none of my business so I just left it alone.
I won't keep bugging him like I am itching to do. I already have his anniversary present and I can't really say what it is because he reads my blog sometimes, but I will say it is something he has mentioned in the past that he wanted.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Lotsa Stuff

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Nicole spent the night with her friend Carson Friday night and we got her back late Saturday so all was good. We spent most of the weekend watching the Olympics, mainly mens and womens gymnastics, womens synchro diving and swimming.

Ok, down to business. Ever since I posted about my getting a pair of YUMS shoes, but didn't post a picture of them I have gotten TONS of hits for people googling for Yums shoes. So I took a picture of mine and of Nicoles to post , so when people google them they can see them.

Here are my Bubble Gum Yums:

Each shoe has the YUMS logo on the back:

These are Nicoles Candy Apple Red Yums:

See the picture of the Candy Apple on the bottom? Tex has designed the bottom of each shoe to match its name. So on my Bubble Gum ones, it looks like splotches of pink bubble gum. The Cupcake ones have a cupcake, the Grape a picture of grapes, etc...

Cute arent they??? If you wanna see where they are near you , go to the website.

I also have finished something that I've been talking about previously - MY PURSE!! I can tell you I will NOT be making a lot of them as they are tedious, but I will carry mine as it is adorable!

Hope you can see the pattern well enough. The lump under the blanket that I propped it up on is on of my dogs, lol as she wouldn't move. So I could put stuff in the purse and actually carry it I lined it with a fabric a few shades darker, and also lined the handles so they wouldn't stretch. I don't like sewing so this was not fun for me, but I am pleased with my first attempt overall. I have to get crocheting now on some hats that people have mentioned they want by the time its cold , and I have at least one lapghan to make. I will post pics of those when they are done.

If you want a hat for you or a child or baby, or a lapghan, please let me know. As Hallie mentioned not to long ago its a little over 100 days till Christmas. Hats I can get out fairly quickly, lapghans 2-3 wks.

Now for a little problem. I went to tuck Nicole into bed lastnight and I off handedly remarked that I hadn't seen her play with her Barbies ALL summer so since she was cleaning her room , why not pack them away and that would give her more space. She said she hasen't played with them because they are old. Ok, she does have some of my old barbie dolls and I'm sure some of them can be thrown away - they've been loved literally to death. But she has gotten several new ones in the past 6yrs and much more recently (think birthday last November...) but she wants new ones. I told her that was not going to happen. We could go thru them objectively and get rid of the ones that were ruined or whatever but not any of the more recent ones! I told her after we go thru them we could pack most of them away and she could keep a few out. My mom packed mine away when I was about her age, so that makes sense. What would ya'll do? Did you go thru something similar wiht your Barbies? If you have grown children (girls) did you pack their Barbies away? Please let me know. I thought she loved her Barbies and would want to put them away for her little girl one day. Her reply? What if I don't have a girl???

Well PUNKIN, I didn't know I'd have a girl either but if you didn't, then give them to someone else!!!! UGH!!!

Have a great day, we have school orientation tonight to find out who Nicoles teacher is and meet her, so she is excited and so am I . I always loved the first day of school, didn't you??

Pictures and More Pictures

Well this Saturday has been totally lazy. Nicole wound up spending the night at a friends house so Chris and I got to sleep in this morning. While messing around on the computer, he also gave me a lesson in getting my pictures off of my phone and onto my computer. So here are a few I've taken , ENJOY!

This is Nicole holding Cooper while playing on the computer
This is Nicole holding our friends new baby Brayden, who in this picture was 3 wks and 1 day
My mom and her Tipper
My future Rockstar
This one was taken when we were in San Antonio at the beginning of the summer.
from l-r Carson, Kinley, Briley and Nicole ( Kinley and Briley are my step-nieces)

This is how Cooper and Cher spend most of their time
This is Cooper playing Queen of her Domain, lol

Hope you enjoyed those! I will have more in the following week.

Have a great weekend!

New Contest

But its not mine! Head over to see Michelle at SoS, and enter her newest contest on things you never thought you'd utter before having kids. Whoever makes her pee her pants the most will win one of her namesakes for you, a child or someone else you care about.

Also put that you heard about it from my blog! If you win, then I win a namesake too for referring you!

NOt much else to blog about today. I've now finished orientation for subs at my new job ( being a substitute teacher at Nicoles school), and gotten my fingerprints done. Now we just have Student orientation this coming Monday, and she starts on the 18th!

We have a bit of a relief from 100+ temps this past week. We have Hurricane Edouward to thank for that .

Also I learned about an awesome site called paperbackswap. I learned about it from my friend Lena of MorganFollies. You simply go to www. paperbackswap.com and sign up for a free account. You have to list 10 paperback books in good condition that you are willing to swap, and in return you get to request books when you have credits. All it costs you is the postage to mail one of your books if it is requested. I've already listed my 10 books, requested two and got the first one already , its fun!, so go check it out!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I will doing normal housestuff today, mainly trying to get my bedroom in soem semblance of order!
Take Care:))

Can You Believe This??

I'm at a loss for words today, highly unusual for me. While searching through some old emails I found these pictures and thought I'd share. Enjoy!

How do you ride this bike??

Aren't you supposed to dumpster dive without your car?

Um, ok. HOW??

Ok, just ugly.

OOPS!!
Aren't lighthouses supposed to protect against this?

Breathe, just breathe....

Maybe after getting fired as a captain, maybe the moron decided to try being a train conductor

Can a house say ouch?