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January 30, 2008, 10:43 am What should you be when you grow up? So I clicked on this quiz and the only question was "pick the image that appeals to you the most" so I was like "yeah, this'll be stupid", but yeah - it was pretty accurate - at least accurate of who I *want* to be. Take the quiz yourself and see what it says about you (link at the bottom). [p.s. photos coming later - as soon as I get off my lazy rear to put the camera and computer in the same place so I can actually transfer photos] :)
January 29, 2008, 5:04 pm Just wanted to tell you that I will update the photo-a-day page tomorrow, and also share some photos of Jacob's birthday celebration (which was two weeks after his actual birthday - between Andy being in the field, and me not feeling good - it kept getting postponed). Until tomorrow. :) January 27, 2008, 12:47 pm "S-T-A-R-I-N-G, I can't stop staring"... I don't mean to stare at people, I really don't. It's just that sometimes there's no way to avoid it. For instance, when I was driving home the other night, I passed a lady in a truck. I did a double take, and I have to admit, I did a few seconds of open-mouthed staring. She looked like and was dressed similarly to, the bird-woman in Mary Poppins... and she was clutching the steering wheel like it was trying to go somewhere, staring ahead of her with absolutely no expression on her face. That's not what made me stare though. I was staring because she had a dog on top of her. Not a little dog in her lap panting out the window... a fairly good size animal sitting on her shoulders, pushing her further towards the steering wheel she was so intent on keeping in place. But she still just stared with no expression, as though she didn't even notice this animal on her back! And there were two more dogs in the passenger seat (of course!), and I'm not sure, but there may have been even more of them in the back. Wow. My husband threw me out... I had a few bad days (health-wise) this past week, but continued to go for walks (there were some rare sunny days I wanted to take advantage of) and run errands - just to get out of the house. So it was evident to my husband that I needed to get out (I don't usually go for walks when I have a migraine, physical activity makes the migraines worse - but I was feeling stifled in my cave). So on Friday afternoon, he was like "get out!" And I was like "how rude!" And he was like "no really... you need to go!" So I went out. It used to bother me to go out alone on the weekends - partly the crowds, and partly because I think I used to care what people thought. I'm not sure. But I don't care at all about that now. I mean, I prefer to go out alone on a weeknight - solely for the crowd avoidance, but I couldn't possibly care one bit less of what people think anymore. In fact, when I notice someone looking like they feel sorry for this woman who is so clearly alone, it rather amuses me... I once had this group of three women ask me if I wanted to sit with them at the theater since I was alone - and I was like "um, no thank you - I have four kids and am just out for some peace and quiet" and they were like - "Oh! We totally understand!" and they left me alone after that (obviously, that was pre-Jacob). Anyway, I went to the theater, after getting something to eat, and it was packed. I was hoping I could still get a good seat, and I actually managed to - yay. I saw 27 Dresses, a cute, mindless, romantic comedy about nothing. It was just what I needed! I went home refreshed and ready for the day-full-of-things that I had coming up on Saturday. I love how Andy can just tell when I need to get out, and he makes me. Because I wouldn't think to go on my own very often. Oh - I've started adding the date of when the last photo was added to the photo-a-day page. I just added three new ones (although none of them are anything to rush and see, but I did leave some lengthy captions for your entertainment). Link on the left. :) January 24, 2008, 10:07 am Ah, memories... I was thinking about how much I would have enjoyed the internet as a teenager, and then was watching my nephew playing the piano on my sister's blog... and it dawned on me: I'm SO glad these things were not readily available to me, because I'm pretty positive that Kendra and Daniel (my cousins) and I would have made more "talk shows" than we already made and would have posted them all on youtube for all the world to see. And yeah - that would have been really, really pitiful. It still makes me nervous when I think of all the cassette and VHS tapes that they must have in their posession - where I'm most likely speaking in accents other than my own, seeing how much like Mariah Carey and/or Madonna I can (or rather, can't) sing, and just generally acting like an out-of-control mental patient. I only have one such video in my posession. Marci (my sister) was a talk show host, and she was interviewing two streetwalkers in an interview entitled "A Day in the Life of a Hooker". The hookers? Me and Kendra, of course! I made Kendra and Aunt Cherry watch it when they were visiting a few years ago... I really should just destroy it. Because it's not even funny for the sake of being funny - it's hilarious because of how STUPID and SAD it is! lol! Wow. You know - I don't really see my kids making fools of themselves in this way. I mean, they have made videos before, but never any so embarrassing. I think Marci has more of these embarrassments in her posession - I seem to remember some races by the trailer?! Wow. And wow again! January 23, 2008, 8:59 am The '08 Presidential Race... I'll just get right to it, in no particular order:
Okay, so I didn't go into all the issues, such as taxes, abortion, illegal immigrants, health care, etcetera. Once it's down to who we'll actually be voting for in the November elections, I'll get into all the details regarding whomever is left. I'm sure you all can't wait. :) January 22, 2008, 2:33 pm Miscellaneous shenanigans...
January 20, 2008, 10:56 pm Photo a day... I finally got my photo a day pages going. Click the image below to take you there. I'll also include a link in the top left of the sidebar. I'll try to update it at least every couple of days. :)
I made the title graphic with the cool free stuff I got from designerdigitals.com. :) January 18, 2008, 9:49 am My family, more health details, The Force, blog stuff, and other movies... But first, a photo:
"M, N, O, P, I could go on all day..." Andy has been gone in the field all week, with no way to talk to him, but he just called me a little while ago. I really missed him, even though it's only been since Sunday night that I saw him. He came back from the field early for staff duty today, and will be home in the morning. Yay. I can't wait to see him. A little bummed that he has 24-hour staff duty again on Sunday, but he'll have Monday and Tuesday off so it's all good. Justice's first basketball game is tomorrow. He's excited, but bummed at the same time - because it's at the same time as his friend's birthday party, during which an airsoft gun war is going to take place. He really wanted to go to the party. Oh well. Jacob is the most adorable thing ever! I'm sure I said that about all my kids at this age. You all know how much I love the newborn stage, but I think this age is my favorite - even with the toddler lets-see-how-much-I-can-get-away-with independence tests. He's really getting into his games and toys (trains mostly, but also cars, balls, dragons [what he calls dinosaurs], and all the other boy stuff... and wearing shoes that are too big for him - any of our shoes will do - he thinks that's hilarious); his vocabulary increases daily; he was counting to ten, but that has turned into 1-2-3-6-7-8-10, so I guess he figured 4-5 and 9 weren't important anymore; he cuddles with me ALL the time, and it's SO sweet; he's become more picky about what food he wants to eat - and discovered that mom just pulls out the last meal he didn't eat when he says he's hungry again (much to his chagrin); he LOVES candy and asks for it a lot - and I probably give in too often; he likes to play hide-and-seek without telling anyone... we'll just wonder where he is and then find him grinning in a corner somewhere being as quiet as a mouse. Anyway, it's just the cutest age and his personality is really showing. I love it! Just scroll to the next topic if you don't want to read more boring health issues... I'm figuring more things out, and since some of you are actually interested (i.e. two or three of my relatives), I'll share some more details. As far as my blood sugar issues go, I've pretty much figured out, I think I am 'pre-diabetic', and should be able to prevent or at least delay, the onset of Type II Diabetes if I can control my blood sugar levels with diet and exercise. There are two things involved - 1. is IFG (impaired fasting glucose) and 2. IGT (impaired glucose tolerance). I have the 2nd one. The first one is your blood sugar levels after fasting (like in the morning when you wake up), and that's usually normal for me (under 100) - at least when I have tested it (although I do feel really bad if I go too long without eating). The second one is your glucose levels after you eat. That's where I have issues. When I was testing my blood sugar regularly (up until last spring), my numbers after eating were sometimes in the diabetic category (over 200), but more regularly they fell into the IGT category (under 200, but over 140). I haven't been testing my blood sugar for a while, so I'm being optimistic that I'm still in the IGT category. When I started eating properly like I had been eating with the gestational diabetes, the doctor tested my sugar after I ate lunch (at my last appointment), and my blood sugar was a mere 131... but that was after I ate a very healthy lunch, and had been eating that way for a while, so I think if I just continue with the eating proper portions of the right types of food (not always easy to do) at the right times of day, that I'll be okay. I feel absolutely terrible when I eat crap for a meal (i.e. a pre-made/frozen chicken pot pie with some doritoes - a meal that wouldn't necessarily have a harsh effect on a 'normal' person), or if I eat a meal where the carbs and protein aren't balanced. I'm hoping to get this all figured out soon because I feel so much better when this is under control. The migraines are an entirely different issue, and I think that's where some of you got confused. When I mentioned I was feeling better - it was in the above category, not this one. I'm still dealing with migraines, chronic neck pain, and some other symptoms (some of which are just causing each other in a vicious cycle). But it's become more bearable since I figured out the blood sugar thing. The two combined was kicking my rear. I went through a few weeks where I wasn't having as many migraines - although they were still there, but they have picked up the frequency again in the past couple of weeks. I'll bore you with the symptom list that goes along with that another time. I'm pretty positive the pill isn't actually causing the migraines, but I think it's possible it is making the migraines worse - so that's why I'm going to try going off of it for a while. I know some of you are so not interested in any of this, but this is *my* online journal, and this is something that is pretty much taking over my life right now - so I'm sharing it. :) The force is strong with this one... So as you know, we watched the six Star Wars movies recently. I had never watched them all in a row, and I may never do it again. First of all, did George Lucas have some sort of a stroke before he made episodes 1, 2, and 3?!?! There are SO many inconsistencies between the first trilogy and the second trilogy, it's ridiculous. I mean, did he go back and WATCH the first three?!??! And did he have any of the actors actually audition??? The kid who plays Anakin Skywalker in episode 1 - sure he's cute - but he cannot act... at all. And Queen Amidala??? Is her voice the most annoying ever, or what? What's with the monotone voices with everyone? In the first trilogy, there was actual humor and sarcasm and personality thrown in. But in the most recent trilogy, I don't think I laughed once. Sure, the special effects and the action were great - but I think that is the ONLY things good ole George was paying attention to, because the acting, the plot, the dialogue, and more completely SUCKED in episodes 1, 2, and 3. You'd think someone would have pointed some of that out somewhere along the way. I mean, this was a big budget movie... surely they had someone going back and checking to see if the story was consistent with the other movies??? And oh - how contrived were they??? "Oh wait - we forgot to incorporate Princess Lea's hairdo - let's make Natalie Portman have side-hair-buns too." Are you kidding me?? Well, I thoroughly enjoyed episodes 4, 5, and 6 - mostly because of Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, but also because they seemed to actually have a plot. Sure, some of the acting was forced, and sure, the special effects were 30 years old - but the story, the acting for the most part, the relationships, everything - seemed more real. And the kid who plays Darth Vader in episodes 2 and 3 (Hayden whatever) annoyed the CRAP out of me! 1. He can't act. 2. Two words: his hair. 3. His whining just seemed like that's how he is in real life - not how Anakin would actually act... it wasn't believable such a whiner could become as powerful as Darth Vader. 4. He can't act. 5. He can't act. 6. He was not attractive in the least - Natalie Portman would NOT be attracted to him. Let's see, what else? Oh, Jar Jar Binks - who even thought of that character? Only kids 5 and under like him. The only characters worth watching in 1, 2, and 3 were Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor. I thought they did an EXCELLENT job of working with poor actors and a poor script. Worst episode: I - The Phantom Menace (it was almost painful to even watch and I was reminded of how disappointed I was when it came out in the theater). Best episode: VI - Return of the Jedi (I like the Ewoks, and Han, Luke, and Lea were great - even if Lea all of a sudden having Jedi premonitions was a bit much). (V - The Empire Strikes Back is a close second). Really? I love music. I listen to it a lot! So I was surprised that only two people were interested at all in my music video post from a few days ago. It didn't make me cry or anything (I really couldn't care less what kind of posts everyone reads or ignores). I just thought that more people than Matt and Andrea were into music like I am. Weird. I thought I'd get more "that music sucked" or "thank you for sharing that awesome song" kind of comments. lol :) More Reviews... Freedom Writers - I got this from the library the other day. I never watched it because it really didn't look that good to me. But it was excellent. And I love true stories too. It was very touching and very well done. I recommend it. The Brady Bunch - The kids and I watched the first disc of the first season (another library find). It's pretty hilarious. Not because it's actually funny, but because I keep thinking about jokes from the Brady Bunch movies from the 90s when I'm watching it ("Hey Heidi, go yodel in your own yard!"). Anyway, my kids really liked it, and it's fairly wholesome, so we'll get the rest of the discs from the library too. Band of Brothers - We've gotten the first two discs from the library (there are 6 discs - 2 episodes per disc). It's pretty good so far. We'll probably watch them all. David Schwimmer cracks me up... I think more because I think of him as Ross than anything else - and him being a mean prick makes me laugh. Yeah, that's all I can think of for now, although I'm sure I've watched more than that since my last review. January 16, 2008, 3:01 pm 'Just because you're paranoid, don't mean they're not after you' I'm online reading all about medical stuff and symptoms. I didn't know my sensitivity to light had a name - photophobia. My eyes are very sensitive to light - sunlight, bright indoor lights, headlights when driving at night, etc., whether I have a migraine or not, and I will sometimes wear sunglasses when driving even if it's really cloudy - if it's at all bright out - and Justice tells me that it's embarrassing, and I tell him the stories of the enormous sunglass-type things that my mom used to wear over her glasses and she looked like she was ready to go into the spaceship in 2354, and that even though I'm wearing sunglasses at times he deems inappropriate, at least they are Dolce & Gabbanna! At which point his eyes just glaze over and he asks me again to remove them while mumbling something about how psycho I am. And I laugh. And he cowers in the seat because I am embarrassing him. He and I love to punch each others buttons. It's fun. At least I think so. He'll probably need years of therapy to undo the damage I'm doing by wearing sunglasses in the rain while in his company. I'm in the process of making decisions and coming to conclusions and avoiding doctors as much as possible. Though I do need to go to the eye doctor - I'm on my last pair of contacts and my prescription is expired. How is it already over a year since my last exam?! I'm *pretty* sure I'm going to go off the pill after this cycle - at least for a while and see what happens. Heck, I've tried everything else, you know? May as well try this too. January 15, 2008, 6:24 pm Great posts come in threes... I either ignore you or I inundate you with long, multiple posts in one day. Don't worry, this is the third and last post for today. :) Just wanted to let you know that I have started on my photo-a-day page(s) and it should be up soon. I'll leave you with a small preview of January. I have more photos than I thought I did... I found Brittany had used the camera a couple of times this month as well, so yeah - since I didn't take photos those days, her photos will do the trick. :)
January 15, 2008, 5:00 pm Back from the land of metal hooks... So I got back from the dentist. I had two small cavities that needed filling, and I decided to forego the numbing. It pretty much felt the same as when I've been numbed for fillings, except I could feel my face... and I didn't have a needle stuck into my gums. The drill was just as loud and just as vibrationy and I still clenched my hands together in my lap and squeezed my eyelids as tight as possible. And since the cavities were shallow, I only felt real, actual pain on two occasions... and it was brief both times. The dental chair is like a torture chamber. They lay you upside down and use the suction tool to suck up any excess saliva around your teeth, but they totally forget about all the saliva that is gathering at the back of your tongue and dribbling down your throat. I wonder if I would have a chance to even let them KNOW if I choked on my spit before I just gagged to death! At one point, one of the fillings (silver, because my insurance doesn't cover the white ones - ugh) was going down my throat! I thought the dentist had dropped a tool down there and he'd grab it, but then it was just this metal that felt like it was slithering down and I was going to die... so I gagged and raised my hand (what you are told to do if there is any pain). He then saw, or maybe he already did - or maybe it was only about 2 seconds and it seemed like it was 3 minutes - and he had the assistant suction it up. Apparently one of the cavities was on the side of my tooth and it was difficult to get it to stay in place at first. The worst part is the drill though. I HATE the drill. Ugh. The mind-numbing shrieks that the drill lets off as it bores holes through your teeth is unbearable. I do like my dentist here though. He thinks I'm funny. And that's pretty much all it takes for me to like someone. Laugh at my jokes and you are my best friend. And in situations where I'm tense or uncomfortable (i.e. the dentist), the sarcasm and jokes are flying left and right. You should hear me when I go to the OB/GYN... I could host a show at the Improv with those jokes. January 15, 2008, 10:41 am On my playlist today (if you don't like one, give the next one a chance, there's a variety)... Cat Power...
The song above is on the Juno soundtrack. I also really like the song "He War" which is more upbeat, but I don't like the video... so look it up on youtube, or download it. I really like her voice. But most of her videos that I've seen suck, and are just strange. So just listen; don't watch. lol. Oh, and she's from the South. That gets her extra points from the Southern girl that I am. :) Deathcab For Cutie...
I usually don't watch music videos because the majority of them are either completely bizarre or they're full of naked people... or a combination of the two. This one falls into the category of "completely bizarre". But I really like this band - introduced to me by my husband and... uh, The OC. lol. The Walk the Line soundtrack...
I love Joaquin and Reese. Yes, we're on a first name basis. :) Of course, nothing beats the real... Johnny Cash...
I chose his last video to share here, it's what I'm listening to today... the Nine Inch Nails cover, Hurt. Of course, I Walk the Line, and about a million other classics, are also on my playlist. They should be on yours too. Hallelujah...
I love this song! If you like the song, but don't like this singer (John Cale), there are a million other covers of it. Jeff Buckley has a good one, but his intro is forever long - and I'm not into long intros (although you can find it without his 1 1/2 minute intro). K.D. Lang does an awesome job singing it as well. You can find a ton of them on youtube. You can even find sole piano versions of it, along with videos from the 87 TV shows and movies this song has been in. The song was written by Leonard Cohen, but I don't like him singing it. Not available for viewing on youtube (Read: I didn't feel like searching for them)... 'Come on Eileen' - Reel Big Fish (I don't actually know who originally made this song because SO many people did a cover of it. But this is my favorite version) 'When I Think about Cheatin'' - Gretchen Wilson 'Only the Lonely' - Roy Orbison (and anything else by him) Okay, that's enough shenanigans for now. I have to go get a cavity filled this afternoon, and I'm NOT looking forward to it. I hate going to the dentist. I do have a few photos to share. I've been trying to take a photo a day - starting a few days ago, instead of on January 1st as originally planned. I may make an extra page specifically for that - we'll see how it goes. Have a good one. January 14, 2008, 11:20 am Books... For a while now, I have been wanting to make a database of all our books. I think it's more to satisfy my OCD rather than the fact that the database might serve some actual purpose. Because really, why do I need it? Our books, aside from the ones that I color coded on the shelves in the living room - the rest of our books, are already divided by genre, so it really isn't difficult to find what we are looking for. And it's not like people are checking them out and they need to be kept track of that way. So why, for the past eight years or so, has "catalogue books" been on my list of projects?! I think I might just force myself to cross that one off the list. Because why?!?! You know?
January 13, 2008, 3:06 pm Three things... 1. Birthday Greetings: Happy birthday to Charmaine (a day late - sorry Charmaine... and I hope your surgery went well!!!); and also to Jacob (he's two today - but we're not celebrating until next weekend when Andy gets back from the field - he doesn't know the difference, you know?). :) 2. I forgot what number two was going to be. Sorry. 3. For the adventurous: copy the questions from part 1 and 2 below, and answer them on your blog! I'd love to hear your answers. :) January 12, 2008, 2:20 pm Q & A {fun facts to know and tell} Emailers asked (and by 'emailers', I mean the person who wrote the first question below... and if you can't figure that out then sorry, I can't help you): Ummm.... Hmmm... That's a tough one. I don't know if I can pick. lol. Well, obviously my favorite FIL is Thor. I love that we get along so well and can talk openly. And he makes me laugh. :) Neither? I guess if I was forced to choose, I'd pick the guillotine. Quick and painless (although I imagine the anticipation would totally suck!). I'd really prefer to die painlessly in my sleep of very old age. Really?! How do you come up with these things?! I guess it would be a camel so I could lean back against a hump. "Crazy Enough to be True" I can just make one? That's a toughy. I suppose it would be this: No abortions, ever, at anytime, for any reason. Hmmm. I have absolutely no desire to go into space at any time ever during the course of my entire life. So this is also a tough one. I guess it would be the moon, because it's the 'safe' choice - I know people have been there and returned safely. I'll leave the exploring uncharted territories to someone else. :) They are putting you in charge of a nostalgic TV network that shows That would be the best job ever! 1.The Patty Duke show - because of "but they're cousins, identical cousins"... a song that has stuck in my head for the past 20 years since the last time I saw a rerun on Nick-at-Nite. If I can still remember the catchy theme song, it definitely deserves a come-back. 2. WKRP in Cincinnati - because it was funny. At least I think it was. And I still remember the theme song. 3. Mr. Ed - What's better than a talking horse? And also... I remember the theme song. 4. The Facts of Life - "you take the good and take the bad, you take 'em both and there you have..." Are we noticing a trend here? 5. Sisters - a show that I thought was fantastic in high school, about 4 sisters with Susie Kurtz and Sela Ward and the girl that was in Fletch Lives and another chick. But I've not heard hide nor hair of it since then. Who knows if I would think it was good now, but I'd like to give it another shot. Oddly enough, I don't remember the theme song at all. So many others... Charles in Charge, Father Knows Best, The Munsters, Growing Pains, Car 54 Where Are You?, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Addam's Family, Golden Girls, Quantum Leap, Green Acres, I Dream of Jeannie, The Scarecrow and Mrs. King (I think), Seinfeld, The Jetsons, Just the Ten of Us, The Cosby Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, A Different World, Who's the Boss?, My Three Sons, The Muppet Show, Frasier, Gilmore Girls, The Brady Bunch, Remington Steele... I'm sure there's more, but I think that's enough to get a daily lineup going. :) There are five things: Brittany, Justice, Jarvis, Darby, and Jacob when they were first born. The first time my newborn babies looked up at me that first time I held them in my arms... nothing else in the entire world has ever compared to that. Australia. Because from the photos and hearsay, it seems like a gorgeous place. And also, I love the accents. I know... I'm deep. I would pick 9 people I've never met before from all different walks of life. That would make it a lot more interesting for me - getting to know new people, and also for the viewers. I also think it would make it more real if the experiment was to see how people get along. If I chose people I knew, then I'd probably choose those I was already able to get along with, so the experiment would kind of be pointless in that case. And I would definitely beg to be able to bring my husband and children to at least hang out with off camera - a year is a long time. :) I've actually put lots of thought into this one (who hasn't?). :) Once I divvied it up (because I already know I would first pay a tithe, split some up amongst friends and family, put some into savings and interest-growing funds), and then I'd be left with about 15% to spend at will... then I'd get an awesome house by a lake with mountains close by. Probably in Tennessee, since that's where we've decided to end up. And the coolest corvette I could possibly buy. www.petracarden.com - I already post anything I want. :) Actually, I guess it'd be a site where I could just post freely what was on my mind (more so than I do now) about my life, my experiences, and what I think of people and places and ideas... without regard to who was reading or who might be offended. January 12, 2008, 12:54 pm Casting all your care upon Him... Warning: personal health issues discussed below. Don't read if it makes you uncomfortable. Just skip to the next post with fun questions and answers and look for Q&A:Part 2 coming later today. So I've been in a bit of a dilemma regarding my health. And since you know how I love to bore all of you with every sordid detail of my life, I'm sharing with you (okay, I do spare you lots of sordid details, but for some reason, I feel no need to be private about my health). Between blog comments, phone calls, and emails - I have had at least six different people bring up the correlation between birth control pills and migraines in the last week or so. Coincidence? Or not? I also had a nurse bring it up at one point in the past six months or so, saying that the combo had affected her. I have had migraines, to some degree or another, since I was around 19 or 20. I have been on the pill at some point or another since I was around 18 or 19. So while I have had migraines at times I wasn't on the pill, there could very well be a connection between the two. It's just been in the last couple of years that they got so bad that I felt the need to seek medical attention for them. As far as birth control goes, while I'm not looking to have any more kids anytime soon (or ever, as long as that's God's plan too), I'm not on the pill for that reason. I hate being on the pill. I hate anything that messes with the natural order of my body and messes with my hormones. I am on the pill because of very painful endometriosis symptoms that I have when I'm not pregnant or on the pill (I will spare you all the gory details of what those symptoms are). I say 'symptoms' because they can't 'officially' diagnose me with endometriosis without going through some invasive procedures, but along with my self-diagnosis, doctors have also told me they thought that was the problem - and they just put me on the pill so we don't have to do said invasive procedures. So, therein lies the conundrum. I could go off the pill and see if that helps the never-ending migraines, but then it's almost certain the other issues will reappear. There are also other pros and cons to each, and right now I don't know what the correct answer is. I also just read recently that the risks of being on the pill increase when you are diabetic. So while I believe I am doing a decent job of keeping the diabetes under control (but don't know for sure because the doctor didn't want to prescribe test strips for checking it), I sometimes wonder if going off the pill might help in that arena as well. But then I remember the reasons I'm on it, and I'm back to square one. Here's where you come in: 1. If you have experience in these areas that you haven't already shared - please do so. Because of the advice of a couple of my readers, I am going to start taking a calcium/magnesium supplement and see if that helps some of these areas (the extra calcium could possibly aid in the endometriosis symptoms as well - if I decide to go off the pill - another thing to think about). I do like hearing from you. 2. I have quite a few readers whom I consider to be good Christians. Please take a minute to pray that God will show me what I need to do. Thank you! :) January 11, 2008, 7:06 pm (<--- I'm amazed I haven't put 2007 yet this year) Q & A {fun facts to know and tell} Ali asked: Um... you know how I feel about the word "goal". LOL! I guess my biggest goal for this year is getting a better handle on our finances - getting credit reports fixed and sticking to a budget and building up some savings. (I'd also like to finish getting everything in our house organized, but I guess that's two, huh?) Matt asked: Swimmingly! :) I'm doing all the pages on the computer and will print them on cardstock (probably) and use my bind-it-all (already bought the coils) to bind them. I'm still shooting for an end of February/beginning of March send-out date (which possibly means April, but we'll hope for better things). :) Kendra asked: 1. What is your greatest regret? I guess I could use the old I-have-no-regrets cliche, but that would be a lie. I definitely wish I had made some wiser choices in my life, although many of my mistakes molded my character and helped me grow. I'm having a hard time narrowing it down to one thing I regret more than others. I suppose to generalize it (and spare you all the gory details that you so crave), I would say I wish I had been a better Christian earlier on. I feel like I had such a poor testimony to so many people over the years when I wasn't living the way that I should, and I think about what a good influence I could have been, but wasn't. And I hope that my poorly thought out actions didn't hinder them from accepting Christ. On the other hand, I have been able to help quite a few people with examples of how I screwed up, yet God brought me to where I am in spite of myself. :) 2. What is your greatest lesson learned thus far? That I have no control over anything. It's ALL in God's hands. 3. What ONE book (aside from Bible) would you take to a deserted island? "How to Survive on a Deserted Island" (Does that book exist? It should.) :) 4. What ONE food item would you take? (pretending that no matter what it was you would live) Filet mignon. Yum. I love me some good steak! And hopefully some potatoes would be growing on the island to go with it. I could build a fire to cook them with tips from the previously mentioned book. :) 5. What do you fear the most, if anything? God. Also: worms, caterpillars, and slugs; being on someone's shoulders (that's weird, I know, but I can't handle it). I think that's it. I'm fairly fearless aside from those items. Go me. 6. What is a character flaw? Thanks Kendra. lol. Um... I'm an interrupter. I can't help it. If I have something to say, I just blurt it out even if the other person is still talking. It's a weakness, for sure. I wish I knew when to shut up. :) 7. A character strength? Uh... Hmmm... this is the hardest question on here. Seriously. I've answered everything else and am back to this one. I keep thinking of something and then I remember that maybe I'm not as good at that thing as I thought. I guess I'll go with patience. 8. Who is your favorite cousin? Um. I'd have to think about that. ha! Seriously, Kendra, you know you hung the moon, and no one could ever top your spot of fave cuz! {BCF} :) Andrea asked: 1. If you were still single and childless, do you think we'd be listening to you on the country music radio by now? No doubt in my mind. I'd be topping the charts for years on end. Hey - that may still happen one day! "Billy Bob Threw Earl in Front of a Train on a Rainy Monday". lol! Actually, I'd be letting someone else write the songs and titles... my talents lie only in belting out the tunes. Although I'd like to think I'd know how to play my guitar as well - if I didn't have kids. :) Hmmm... I think I'd be Oprah... but can I take my kids with me? She doesn't have any, and I like having them. But she gets to interview all sorts of interesting people, she's got more money than anyone would ever need or want, and she does cool things to help people. And I have always wanted my own talk show. But maybe you meant someone fictional? In that case, I guess I'd be Cinderella - after she gets the castle. Yeah - that question was too hard. I'll put more thought into the fictional character and get back to you. My husband. He amazes me. I don't know very many people (if any) who are willing to make major changes to become a better husband/father/Christian, and he has totally wowed me with his constant improvements. Add that to his selfless patriotism and his ability to make people laugh... and there you have it. Andy is my hero. January 10, 2008, 5:01 pm I have nothing to say today... Usually when I start out by saying I have nothing to say, the thoughts just flow. I wonder if it'll work today. Hmmm.... yeah, still nothing. I'll have to get back to you when I have actual words to share. p.s. Keep asking questions for a really awesome post. Seriously. It's going to rock. January 9, 2008, 1:49 pm I've got sunshine in a bag... I realized yesterday that I am not registered to vote in the state of Washington. So I filled out the form online just now, and will mail it in a few minutes. I'm feeling much better today - remnants of the migraine are gone, and my cold is improving much. My photo-a-day in 2008 is really working out swimmingly... I've taken one photo in nine days. Awesome! Apparently you can't freeze bananas for very long before they go rancid. So I had a blueberry/strawberry smoothie. It was actually good - I never combined the two berries in a smoothie before. School started two hours late today - even though the roads weren't bad. But the roads were bad on Monday. So they delayed school on Wednesday just in case. Instead of on Monday. Brittany waited at the bus stop for almost 30 minutes before she came in and told me there was no bus (I had no idea she wasn't gone - I don't actually get out of bed until it's time to wake the other kids). And I had *just* woken up the other kids to get ready - like two minutes earlier. Man! I could have had another hour, at least, of peace and quiet. Oh well. {lol} The kids enjoyed wreaking havoc on the house for an extra two hours before school. And Jacob loved having them here as playmates. So you should ask me questions on the comments page. Anything. And I'll answer them in a post soon. The sky is the limit. Heck - you don't even have to stop at the sky. So ask away. Don't be shy! :) January 8, 2008, 2:58 pm Because cotton is comfy... It's nearly 3 pm, and I'm still in my pajamas. It's just one of those days, you know? I'm still reeling from the week-long migraine, with an annoying cold on top of it. And I didn't get enough sleep last night (I need my beauty sleep, people!). So I haven't done much today. Of course, I took care of Jacob, and I did a little bit of cleaning up, but our new chore plan, in conjunction with some recent organizing I did, is working rather well, so my daily cleaning amounts have dropped considerably. So I need to feel like I haven't completely wasted an entire day (I get feelings of guilt rather easily, even when they are unwarranted. I don't know what that's about, but I'm trying to overcome it). Anyway, so I'm doing something that doesn't take too much energy, but needs to be done. A budget for 2008. I'm looking for ways to cut back, ways to save, etc. I think I'm going to get rid of the internet on my cell phone, because I rarely use it anyway - just to do things like check the weather real quick or to look up movie times when we are out and decide to hit the theater. So it's kind of a waste of money. I'm already pretty frugal in a lot of other areas (I get most movies from the library - although we do occasionally still rent or go to the theater for must-see-right-now movies; we don't really eat out - although a drive-thru run still happens every now and then; I rarely buy name brand clothes/shoes for the kids unless they are on super-clearance; we buy store brands of groceries and I never shop at the expensive grocery stores [Wal-Mart or WinCo are our stores of choice]; I very rarely buy clothes/accessories for myself anymore - although I probably should factor in a fund for that sort of thing; etc.), but I'm looking for more ways. If you have something you do to save, let me know what it is. Oh man! And I just remembered I think a library book is due today. Urgh. I wasn't planning on going out. :-P January 7, 2008, 11:32 am Digital is pretty cool... So I finally updated my blog for the new month and year. I know you are ecstatic about that (if you can't see the new banner, etc., hit refresh). :) Scrapsupply.com, along with some other companies, gave away quite a few packages over the Christmas holidays. They accepted nominations for people who deserved free scrap supplies, and my good friend Ali, who knew I haven't been able to buy much in the way of scrap supplies lately, nominated me. She's such a sweetie. Well, I got some free digital kits from Katie Pertiet at Designer Digitals... and they rock! I haven't done much in the way of digital scrapbooking, although I do use Photoshop for creating elements for my blog, and for altering photos. Anyway, the designs you see here on the new blog updates are from those kits... SO much fun to play with too. AND... the things I got are going to make the recipe books I'm making a little snazzier as well. :) So - thank you to Ali, Wendy, and Katie... you guys totally made my week!! :) Jacob is currently watching Polar Express for the 1,876,453rd time. He loves it! And he goes around yelling "All Aboard!" all the time. So so cute!! And... I get to do things like update my blog when he is enamored with the "train movie". I can't get this song out of my head lately (from the Juno soundtrack... although it's been around for a while... and I'm pretty sure I've heard it in more movies than just Juno). You'll pretty much either love it or hate it.
January 7, 2008, 11:31 am HAPPY BIRTHDAY TITUS! :) January 5, 2008, 3:25 pm While we're at it... So while you are commenting on the three posts below - go ahead and offer an answer to my poll: Do you like that the guestbook opens up in a new window/tab? Would you prefer it just opened up in the same window as the blog? Let me know. :) January 5, 2008, 2:12 pm "Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?" So I've started the New Year with a bang... a banging headache, that is. I have spent the past 6 or 7 days battling a migraine. My goal for the year (well, one of them) was to take a photo every day so I could put them in a 2008 photo journal that I'm making. Well, here it is the 5th day and I haven't touched my camera once. So that's going well. And I still have a Christmas tree on my blog banner. What's up with that?! And don't get me started on how behind I am in responding to emails, returning phone calls, and mailing things that need to be mailed. BUT... other than those things, 2008 is awesome so far... Andy has been off the whole year (he returns to work on Monday), and he has given me lots of time to myself the past two weeks, along with lots of good family togetherness time; we've gotten lots of cleaning and organizing done around here; we've had the kids re-take the Spiritual Gifts tests, as it's been over two years since the last time and we wanted to review the book and see if they had made changes; the kids are on a new plan for getting chores done - today is the first day, but we think this is going to be the best plan yet (when you have 7 in the house, everyone must pitch in and do their part - of course, even if I just had one kid, I'd have them do chores - it teaches them several things: not to be lazy, to clean up after themselves, resonsibility, obedience, they even learn a little about earning money since they get an allowance for doing chores... [and I learn not to be so controlling about how the house looks - lol]); we've watched quite a few movies over the break, and I just got all the Star Wars movies from the library for whomever wants to have a Star Wars marathon with me (we had a few of them on VHS, but there is no longer a VCR in the living room so we're working on building the DVD collection). I'm not a *huge* Star Wars fans, but I recall enjoying the movies to some extent and have never watched them all in a row, and have only seen episodes II and III one time each - in the theater, I think. So far, Jarvis is the only one that seems to be extra excited about it though - lol. Justice said he will watch the newer ones with us, but he has no interest in the old ones. I haven't seen them in YEARS so maybe they aren't as good as I remembered?! I recall really liking Hans Solo, although I recall C3PO and R2D2's walk through the desert lasting for what seemed like hours... incredibly boring hours. I'll let you know how it goes. :) We had a couple of other marathons over the winter break too - the Bourne movies are so good, no matter how many times I see them, especially 1 and 3. I like sitting and watching a trilogy (although it usually takes us 2 or 3 days to get through one set of three). Some others I'd like to watch again in the near future: Terminator (I watch this trilogy fairly regularly, Back to the Future (I saw this one about six months ago, but I really like it?), Indiana Jones (the kids and Andy watched the first one the other day while I was cooking, so I saw parts of it... and I can't wait to see the 4th one that they are making), Die Hard (we watched the newest one recently, but I think it'd be fun to watch them all together... and yes, I realize this isn't a trilogy anymore), and I think maybe I'd like to even watch the Jurassic Park movies again. Oh yeah - and we just watched the 2nd and 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean. The first one is still the best though. And while I'm on the topic of trilogies (I really wasn't planning on blogging about this - I'm just rambling to all of you), I thought Shrek 3 pretty much sucked. I LOVE the first two (we watched the first one with the kids on New Year's Eve - we like to party hard), but three just didn't make me laugh that much. I love superhero movies, so I definitely saw the Spiderman movies, but I STILL don't like Toby McGuire as Peter Parker! It actually makes me angry (lol). And while the first two Spiderman movies were okay - they were good in spite of Peter Parker being so mousy and whiny... which YES, I KNOW he was a geek in the comic books... but in my head he did NOT have a whiny, annoying voice, okay!? - the third one was just horrible. The strutting down the street scene with Toby trying to be cool and 'bad'?! Because his hair was in his face?! That was just way too much of a stretch, okay? Although the sandman was kind of cool. I watched The Lord of the Rings movies in the theater and then again on video, but it's been a long time. I'm not usually into the whole fantasy genre, so these are not my first choice when it comes to entertainment, but I would watch them maybe once every five years or so. I think it's been about that long since the last time... or has it? I don't know. Who cares?! I can't WAIT to see the next Batman movies - Batman Begins was awesome! Several years ago, I rented the Batman movies from the 90s, and wow. Especially wow on that first one with Jack Nicholson as the Joker. I remember LOVING those movies at the time - lol. Movies have definitely come a long way! The Matrix? Eh. The first one was okay. We recently watched the Blade trilogy and that was good. Lots of action and lots of dead vampires. What else do you need? Mission Impossible - 1 was EXCELLENT, 2 pretty much sucked (I'm not a John Woo fan anyway), 3 was okay. Ocean's 11, 12, and 13 - awesome. I can watch them over and over. Oh yeah, Brittany and I watched The Godfather trilogy a few weeks ago. Good stuff. I love mob movies. Oh, and Sofia Copolla is a horrible actress - she was wise to switch to directing; although I have no idea if she's good at that. They're making a 3rd Toy Story (due in 2010) and I'm really excited about that - I love Pixar! And Toy Story is just plain brilliance. Oh X-Men - I love X-Men! Although I didn't like the 3rd one nearly as much as the first two. Okay, so I didn't just remember these all off the top of my head. Towards the end there, I found a list of film trilogies on Wikipedia... cause I'm a dork like that. And there are no more worth mentioning. I'm sure you are all glad that I rambled on at length on this topic. Now go watch a trilogy. I'm going to go get started on Star Wars with whatever kids want to join me. :) Oh, and scroll down if you haven't seen the other two posts I put up today. :) Oh again, and Happy New Year. :) January 5, 2008, 2:09 pm HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOR! :) January 5, 2008, 1:43 pm "Oh, just dealing with things WAY beyond my maturity level." I saw Juno the other day. If you haven't seen the previews, it's about a teenage girl who gets pregnant and finds a couple to adopt her baby. The previews make it look like a comedy, which there are plenty of funny parts, but it's more drama than anything else. I enjoyed it a lot. But it brought back a lot of memories of what it's like to be pregnant in high school. I had forgotten how depressing it was; how I cried myself to sleep every night; how I felt ostracized from most everyone at school, church, everywhere I went; how the nurses at the doctor's office, and even when I was in labor, made rude comments and/or gave me the "you're such a whore" and "there is no way you are going to make a good mother" kind of glances; how they didn't believe me when I told them I wasn't currently sexually active and didn't need birth control for my, what they imagined to be, hooker weekends after I had the baby; how most people had no idea what to say to me; how scared I was of being fat after the baby came; how I was pretty sure the youth pastor at my church wanted me to leave and never come back... but his wife was kind to me so I stayed; how scared I was that no guy would ever want to date or marry me (Andy and I weren't together during the pregnancy - he didn't know about Brittany until she was 5 months old); how alone I felt; how judged I felt; how scared I felt. Anyway, it all came swimming back to me when I saw this movie - even though the circumstances were different, and obviously I didn't give my baby up for adoption (although I did consider it as an option early on in the pregnancy - until I felt her kicking and had an ultrasound). It was definitely a trying time from which I learned a great deal... and I had to grow up really fast. But Brittany has turned out to be a blessing from day one until now, and I couldn't be happier that I am her mother. January 1, 2008, 8:40 pm 2007 is over! I've seen several 'Year in Review' posts on blogs today, so I thought I'd do one myself. Here goes: January 2007:
February 2007:
March 2007:
April 2007:
*Andy left for a six week school in Georgia.
May 2007: *Andy got home from Georgia!
June 2007:
July 2007:
August 2007: *I was at major work on fixing my health.
September 2007:
October 2007:
*Andrea and Adam came for a visit, but alas my photos (the very few that I took) aren't with me at the moment. November 2007:
December 2007:
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
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