Pink Glove Dance

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!!

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

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

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??

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)

( 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

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 ?

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!

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

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

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

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!

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?

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...

( 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

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

DFW Stride & Ride 2010: Marcy Able

2010 Stride and Ride

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!!!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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!

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?

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

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

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

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...

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;))

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

Heaven

I know I haven't changed my music player in a while - I promise to make up a new list and post it, so you aren't listening to heavy rock
But before I do that thought, I wanted to share a video with you.
For those of you who are country music fans, you probably know who Jason Aldean is.
Do yo also remember Bryan Adams from the 80s? sang Heaven, and Summer of '69, among others...
Well, on CMT ( Country Music Television) Crossroads, they paired Jason Aldean and Bryan Adams for a show.. It was AWESOME!!
Click here to see the video of 'Heaven', with Jason Aldean singing lead and Bryan Adams doing back up - they did such a great job on it!

They're "Kid'ding, Right?

Not sure how many of you saw this big announcement this morning on the Today show, but The Dugger Family , all 18 of them, were on and the mom announced she is approximately 3 mos along with # 19 !! WTH????

I'm sorry, I cannot condone this. This is MY blog , and if you don't like it, then GO somewhere else! I mean, come on. I"m glad she is healthy enough to sustain 18 pregnancies so far. I'm glad they can support them. I'm glad that they have alot of love in that family. However, there are sooooo many homeless kiddos out there, that need love,need attention, need someone to care that I just don't believe having 18 kids of your own DNA is responsible in this day and age.

Kate Gosselin was only pregnant twice, and ended up with 8 - ok, I can handle that.
Octomom chose to have that many at one time - thats insanity in my book.

I understand that the Duggers both came from large families. Heck, my grandmother was one of 11 - but they had a farm to look after.

I know what having ONE baby did to my body, I can't even begin to imagine what its done to Mrs. Duggers! I'm not going into that, because I don't want to be mean, but think about it.

Thats my opinion and I'm sticking to it!

I gotta go to work in a few hours, so I'm going to go do some light housework before I get ready. Hope ya'll are having a great day!

It Didn't Get Done...

Not sure I mentioned this, but Chris went out of town this weekend to his cousins funeral. That meant that Nicole and I were fending for ourselves this weekend. No biggy, I had big plans for Friday Movie night, and then spend the rest of the time working on stuff that needs to be done before my MIL moves in.

Friday movie night was fun. We ate pizza and popcorn, and watched the new Wizards of Waverly Place movie premiere on Disney.

Saturday NOTHING GOT DONE!!!! It was a good day though. I woke up early, thinking I'd get some Facebook time before Nicole woke up. I ate breakfast, fed the dogs, and was playing on the computer when the phone rang at 845. It was my BFFs hubby William who I knew was coming through town later that day. He said he was nearly to our house and needed final directions. Um, ok, but Nicole is still asleep and I'm still in jammies.
So I gave him the directions, told him to drive slow so I had time to hop in the shower, and get dressed. I did so very quickly, then woke Nicole up to get her in the shower. He stayed and visited till like 11 or so. Still no biggy, we were doing great, and enjoyed his visit. BUT. ( you know there is always a but), when he was on his way here, my phone rang again. I didn't recognize the number, and it was a male voice, saying HEy there! i was like Hey... he asked if i recognized the voice. NOPE. If I had had my mind on the phone call at that moment I would have recognized it - it was our friends from OK, calling to say there would be coming through town on their way to the new Cowboy stadium for the Cowboy/ 49ers game that evening and would we like to meet them somewhere. YUP we would!

So by the time Nicole and I headed out to do the grocery shopping, we had just enough time to come home, unload the groceries, sit for about 30 mins or so and back out we went to the restaurant. We had a great time visiting with them, and they were sorry that Chris wasn't with us, but we called him on the phone and took a picture of them for him to see.

Yesterday we did wind up cleaning and doing the stuff that was supposed to get done Saturday, but then what I had planned for Sunday went to boot. oh well, seeing old friends was fantastic and made for a great day.

Here is the picture of Dawn, Tony and NIcole. Too bad they look like they have no faces, since I took the picture with the sun behind them:))


Hope ya'll had a great weekend!

Catch - Up

Well, Nicole is halfway through her second week of 5th grade and so far she is LOVING IT!!

She really likes all her teachers and is slowly making new friends. She is very friendly and sweet so she shouldn't have any trouble in that area.

I'm horrible though, I didn't take a picture of her on her first day, so I took this one this past Monday - isn't she a cutie? and for her to have that big a smile that early in the morning , well, for her , that is just downright amazing!

I subbed a half day on Monday and all day yesterday. I loved being back , and seeing alot of the kiddos that I worked with last year. Most of them recognize me which is a good thing. I have like 7 more days scheduled already, so there should be plenty of work for my MIL when she moves up here , which is only like 5 weeks away!

A couple of things have happened over the last week or two , and some people needs thoughts and prayers if you please:

Laura aka Peach lost her beloved pooch Squirt the other day. Seems she went to sleep and passed peacefully, but for anyone of you that has ever lost a beloved pet - it is hard, since they quickly become family.

I had previously asked that you keep my friend Christina and her family in your thoughts and prayers as her MIL got seriously ill on a recent vacation and was hospitalized. They are back home and her MIL is now in a local hospital there , being taken care of by her own doctors. Anyway, after numerous tests it was found that her MIL has a brain tumor on her frontal lobe, and will need surgery.

My husbands cousin passed away early yesterday morning. He had not seen this cousin in a long time but they had been very close a long time ago. Since my hubby is so wonderful with words he was asked to write the obituary and eulogy. He will be leaving for Abilene Friday afternoon with some other family members. Nicole and I had never met this particular cousin, so we are staying home this weekend.

and last but certainly not least, my younger cousin Mollie , the Volleyball champ ( 17yrs ol, 6'2", being sought after by tons of colleges, played VB in Junior Olympics, kicks major VB butt), anyway, she hurt her shoulder this past weekend at some games they went to in another city. She can't play this week, so hopefully she won't be out of commission to long ,as it is her senior year of HS, and she made the Varsity team!

I yanked these photos off of FB from my Cousin Julies page - ( she is their mom):

( These are their Volleyball pics )

This is Mollie - isn't she a beaut? She has a very weet smile, but watch out if you are on the opposing VB team as she will whip your butt!

This is my other cousin Kimberly. She too plays VB, in a different position then Mollie, but wow, she too will kick your hiney if you are not on her team! She isn't old enough to be on the Varsity VB team, but she made the starting team!

And the very last picture is of our puppy Korie - and just how big she has gotten - she is now close to 30 lbs, and loves to play keep away with her rope bone or ball, stick, your fingers, whatever ... she is starting to lose her puppy teeth, so she is chewing more than ever, but she still has yet to ruin any shoes - she just chewed a hole in the corner of a couch cushion...

Anyway, hope everyone has a great day!