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January 2007
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September 27, 2007, 10:18 pm

The radio...

The other day as I was driving to sign Justice up for football, I realized I was scrutinizing the radio, or rather what was on the radio. I decided it might be a fun blog post and I had a pad and pen with me, so I jotted notes. I should note that for the most part lately, I listen to CDs or the CCM station, but now and again I revert back to flipping through every station (as was customary for me in my younger days). This is pretty much how it went...

(legend to make your reading easier: songs playing, talking on the radio, my thoughts, and actions and explanations)

...Four that wanna own me, Two that wanna stone me, One says she's a friend of mine. Take It easy, take it easy, Don't let the sound of your own wheels...

flip

...Now John at the bar is a friend of mine, He gets me my drinks for free, And he's quick with a joke and he'll light up your smoke, But there's some place that he'd rather be...

loudly singing along to the rest of the song

commercial... flip

...I know the truth when I look in your eyes, I saw the light in your window tonight,
So take your cheatin' hands, Off my red dress, 'Cause I ain't wearin'...

see a homeless man walking down the street (or at least he appears to be homeless)...

That guy is really close to the edge of the road. If I ran into him, that would really ruin my day. It would probably ruin his day too. That's a crazy pink bandana he's wearing. I guess if I was homeless I wouldn't think too much about fashion either. You know, Petra (thinking to myself... I don't always use my name, but sometimes... well, sometimes I just do), I should blog my thoughts on the way to football signups...

... Why baby why, should I listen to you? I cried, baby, cried, now I'm walkin out the door...

flip

...Come go with me we've got it made, Let me take you on an escapade (lets go), Es-ca-pade, We'll have a good time, Es-ca-pade, Leave your worries behind, Es-ca-pade...

singing along loudly until it ended, only replacing some of the words with made up words, because it's been over a decade since I've heard this song. Okay, maybe quite a bit over a decade.

DJ speaking

This DJ totally sucks. How do these people even get past the interviews to GET on the radio? Are they that short of people with actual speaking abilities that they have to put complete morons they find in an alley somewhere in front of the microphones? I should so have a radio show. Andrea could co-host with me. We'd be hilarious. I hope no one ever listens to all those old cassette tapes where we (*me, Timberly, Derek, Daniel, Kendra, Heather, et. al.*) made fake radio shows when we were kids. Wow. We must have been starved for something to do. No, I think we actually thought it was fun. And I think we actually thought we were the bomb.

flip

...I'm bringing sexy back {yeah} Them other boys don't know how to act...

singing loudly, but I don't really know all the words... and dancing in my seat completely oblivious to other drivers and passersby who may be staring.

I wonder if I'll ever admit to anyone that when Justin Timberlake comes on the radio that I usually leave it on. That'll be my little secret. Because wow - how embarrassing is that?

more dancing

...Take em' to the chorus...

commercial... flip

hey now what's that sound everybody look whats goin down...

arrive at flag football with the previous song playing over and over in my head... just that one line though, because it's all I know?

back in car. radio back on.

In Birmingham there's something something, ooh ooh ooh, la la la, sweet home alabama... where the skies are so blue...

*above is my version that I was singing... loudly - the radio actually got the lyrics correct*

flip

I could break a-waaaaaaaaay.....

no. flip

commercial... flip

commercial... flip

talk show about diseases... no thank you... flip

y su senora blatatuyo...

flip

This is Montgomery. And this is Gentry. And we're Montgomery Gentry...

flip

I'm so hungry!

Goodbye Norma Jean, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah...

Speaking of Marilyn, that movie the other night was so funny. But not really in a this-is-how-they-meant-it kind of way. That male swimmer dance sequence was so strange. And so obscene. Wow. Andy is hilarious. He was cracking me up that night. I hadn't laughed that hard in a while. And Justice's British accent? Wow. So funny. And so not British sounding.

...It seems to me you lived your life like a candle in the wind...

Why did Elton John just change the words of Marilyn's tribute song for Princess Diana? I think that was pretty rude. Didn't she deserve her own song???

*flip*

You're everything I hoped for, you're everything I neeeeed....

flip

lyrics I can't recall

I like Sammy Kershaw, but this song sucks

flip

Cause when the lovin starts and the lights go down...

flip

*a song I didn't jot down playing*

I hate it when people talk with that breathy voice during songs... makes me...

...*FLIP*

$2.81? I just paid $2.79 one mile down the road. I'm glad I stopped for gas back there!

...I just gave $2 to the homeless...

Who writes these lyrics? Better yet, who puts them on the radio?

flip

Panda Express. Yum. I wish I could eat there.

Oh it's what you do to me... Oh it's what you do to me...

I just don't get tired of this song even though they totally overplay it. I wonder who Delilah is and if she likes this song too? I'm starving! I need to eat now! Dexknows.com. Why don't they say what that site is for? Now I won't go there. Not without any information. Stupid billboard. What marketing genius came up with that? "Hey, let's just put the name of the website in big letters. People will be so curious, they'll run home and look it up." Yeah, you're a real braniac there. Traffic on Meridian sucks. I'll never make it to the farmer's market by two. I wish it was open until five. I guess I can go tomorrow.

"they see me rolling and hatin try to catch me ridin...

uh... FLIP

Some say love, it is a river...

I forgot about this song. It pretty much sucks. But I do like Bette. I should watch Beaches again. Barbara Hershey's hair in that movie I got from the library looked horrid. She looked like a wet poodle.

flip

Here's the Smashing Pumpkins...

FLIP

whining emo song

flip

rap

flip

latino

flip

Justin Timberlake playing again

I wonder if I should just keep it to myself that I like his music. I'm such a dork. He's so weird looking. I wonder why the youngsters flip out over him. So strange.

...yeaheaheah...

My stomach is eating itself. that lady needs to get off her phone. she almost side-swiped me. I wonder if anyone has said about me "that lady needs to stop writing in her notebook while she is driving." Hmm. Oh there's the Safeway that's having the grand re-opening. I guess I'll get a card for the deals. I hate those stupid 'club cards'. Such a hassle. Maybe I won't go get the deals. I really don't want to fill out an application for a club card.

...cause a free wind is blowing through your hair...

I'm glad I wasn't a teenager in the 70s.

flip

...so hard to find my way, now that I'm on my own... my how you have grown...

I guess I should find a place to eat. Because I can go on NO longer without food.

Sha la la la la la la la la la la la la la. Sha la la la la la la la la la la la. La de da.

September 27, 2007, 9:49 am

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Binky and Stephanie!

And HAPPY late ANNIVERSARY to Timberly and LeRoy! :) :)

September 26, 2007, 12:33 pm

Prayer request...

Before I start on an update, let me share a prayer request with you. I'm sure most of you are aware of my fave cousin, Kendra, and how close we are. She called me yesterday with news of her son, Zane. Zane is three years old (one of 9 children), and had to have emergency surgery to remove his spleen yesterday. Initially, the doctors thought he had a large tumor in his stomach, but thankfully that was not the case. He only has one kidney, so since the left kidney that is usually holding the spleen in place wasn't there, his spleen had twisted around and was essentially a dead organ. No spleen means he will get sick more easily and that he will not heal as quickly (for the rest of his life). As of yesterday, he was upset and crying because he couldn't have anything to drink (a just-turned-three year old doesn't understand why he can't have water for his hot throat). He can't eat or drink for a couple of days and will remain in the hospital until he can hold down food and drink, once he can have it, and have a bowel movement... possibly until Saturday. So please keep Zane in your prayers, along with Kendra and Tim and the rest of their children.

More than you probably want to know...

I felt good by Saturday (my last post about having a migraine was on Friday) and Andrew and I took the kids to the fair. Well, three of them. Brittany and Justice were down with the flu so they stayed home and laid on the couch. I have photos to upload from the fair and will try to do that later. We had a great time, and watching Jacob see the farm animals was awesome! :)

Andy left Monday morning for training and we haven't seen or heard from him since, aside from a two minute phone call yesterday. :( He'll be back on Friday though. :)

Justice has been having football practice every day, but they'll cut back to two a week next week. His first game is this Saturday and he is excited and nervous about it.

Brittany had a letter sent home requesting she be tested for honors classes. She's a smartie pants. And excited, because she is VERY college focused already, and honors classes will look good on her high school trancript.

Jarvis' 4th grade 'curriculum night' was last night. His teacher seemed to think he was doing great. She said, "Did I read correctly that he skipped the 2nd grade?" and I replied "yes" and explained the story to her. She said "well, he is doing great... he's right where he should be... no, he's doing BETTER than he should be. In fact, from the looks of this first couple of weeks, I'll be recommending him for advanced classes next year." This was right after we heard a mom asking about a quiz that came home where her daughter had only gotten about half of the questions correct. The teacher had been telling her that almost the whole class did the same - that they were still learning. Jarvis brought that same quiz to me yesterday with a 100% on it. Not that I'm bragging or anything. :)

Sunday night, Jacob kept me up most of the night. I'm pretty sure he was experiencing the flu symptoms that Britt and Justice had on Saturday. So I didn't do much on Monday - I have to have my sleep. But then Tuesday (yesterday) - after a good night's sleep - I felt amazing. Better than I have felt in a while, and I had SO much energy. I went non-stop from the time the kids got on the bus until I went to bed last night. I got so much done. I was hoping the same would be true for today, but then...

I woke up in the middle of the night last night feeling nauseous. Ugh. Flu symptoms. If anyone knows me, then they know that I HATE throwing up. I would rather give birth than feel nauseous. I'm not even exaggerating. I don't want to even think about pumpkin bread for a while. I made some delicious pumpkin bread yesterday (with Carolyn's recipe - yum!), but I won't be having any more of it. I also made some delicious homemade chicken/veggie stew for dinner, but it was the bread I could taste last night. I only threw up a couple of times (the kids felt nauseous with their symptoms, but didn't throw up (lucky!) - it's mostly a sore throat, runny nose, aching all over kind of flu), but I was up most of the night. I got Brittany up at 5:30 (her usual waking time), and Jacob woke up before she left for school. She brought him to me, and I was feeling so nauseous still. She offered to stay home from school (sacrifice, you know? :)), but I told her no... at first. She was like "well, I'll keep getting ready, but let me know." I nursed Jacob (he still nurses once a day - in the mornings), and then I realized I was still pretty bad off. I took Brittany up on her offer. Justice, who had been sleeping with me (the kids take turns when Andy's out of town), was awake by now and knew what was going on. He woke up Jarvis and Darby for me and made sure they got ready for school (and I just remembered that I forgot to ask if everyone brushed their teeth - hmmm). Brittany took care of Jacob, and I slept until 11:40. I'm feeling better now (no nausea - whew!), but I still have the achy flu feeling and a sore throat... and a headache (but what else is new? At least it's not a migraine). Wow - that was a long story about vomit.

This was the view from Darby's bedroom window on Sunday night:

The novelty of Mt. Ranier has still not worn off for me. It's so breathtaking.

And a preview photo from the fair:

Can you find Jarvis and Darby? :)

I went downstairs a few minutes ago to get something to eat, and my morning hot tea... and Brittany forced me back upstairs. Well, I had gone down there and started straightening up the living room instead of making my food, and she was like "what are you doing? That's why I'm here." She brought me my food and said she'd take care of Jacob and clean up. How did I get so blessed with such a giving, helpful child? Thankfully, this flu only had the kids down for one day, so I'm hoping the same goes for me. I have things to do. :)

September 21, 2007, 10:15 am

Drugged...

Well, I have been feeling so much better lately, but apparently I am still figuring it out. I've had a migraine for three days and it's kicking my rear. I do have the prescription medicine that helps dull the pain, but then I feel drugged and still unable to function properly (and as soon as it wears off, the pain is extreme again). It's all very frustrating, and I wish I just had a list of foods I can and cannot eat and then I would just follow it. I haven't added too much to my diet, but did try some organic barbecue potato chips the other day so I'm thinking that might be what caused this migraine, but I'm not sure (once I get a migraine, I'm down for 3, sometimes 4, days, so you can see why I'm so determined to figure this whole thing out).

*some content deleted as I realize I was being kind of 'catty' that day and I don't want anyone to be offended if they happen to google me* :)

I blame the drugs for my ramblings today. And you can too. I hate taking medicine, but the drugged feeling is much better than flinching at the slightest glimpse of light because it causes too much pain in my head. I think I'll take a nap now. Jacob has been taking two naps a day while he's getting his eye teeth (one of them has barely poked through and the other one is trying) so I'm going to take advantage of the quiet.

I'll try to be in a better mood for the next post. Don't judge me too harshly for this one. :)

September 18, 2007, 1:47 pm

Two in one day...

I'm a blogging maniac today. Actually, I'm just kind of chilling today because I worked my butt off around the house yesterday. Not that I don't still have a million things on my to-do list, but I'm just a bit tired today. So I figured I'd share a couple of photos. I have not been faithful in learning to use my camera on manual, and I've discovered that I have a huge problem when it comes to photography... I'm blind. I wear contacts, but they can only do so much. So when I'm looking at the little screen on my camera, a photo can look fabulous, then I get it on the computer - and lo and behold, it's blurry. Huh. So I'm having to actually memorize where the settings need to be (such a hassle) for different lighting situations. And I haven't made all the necessary memorizations yet. Because I really do hate memorizing that kind of stuff (I did terrible in school). It's not that I'm not capable... I just don't want to put forth the effort. :) But I do want to take good photos, so I suppose I'll eventually make myself remember. :) Anyway... I'm rambling... so here are two blurry photos I took of Jacob this morning. He likes to raid the kitchen cabinets and spread tupperware all over the house and put bowls and colanders on his head like a hat. I don't always let him get into them, but now and then I figure "why not have more dishes to wash?" Oh, and the black thing in his hand in the rocking chair is the coasters holder. He likes to spread the coasters all over the living room as well and then eat the holder. Coasters and tupperware and a colander - the funnest toys EVER! *I don't actually have 'real' tupperware - I just use that term b/c everyone knows what that means - I actually have the most generic plastic containers available to me* :)

And yes... I had to roll his jeans down at the waist so they'd stay on. He's a runt (his weight was in the "less than 3%" when I took him to the doctor last week). He eats constantly and is developing just fine, so no worries... he's just small. :)

And I am still on a cooking frenzy! And yeah - I know I cooked the chicken upside down - long story. But I made a delicious roast chicken with roasted potatoes/carrots/onions, more fresh corn on the cob from the farmer's market, and homemade zucchini bread (with all organic ingredients, which by the way - Andy could not get enough of... we finished off the entire loaf... but it took like an hour and a half to make). This was last night's meal; I have only been making the it-takes-three-hours-to-make meals about once per week or twice at most. The rest of the time, I try to keep dinner under an hour. I'll probably just make some simple spaghetti for the fam tonight (and I'll have something else - because I'll be using their chock-full-of-preservatives ingredients that they love and hold dear... eventually, I'm sure I'll switch over to all-organic all-the-time dinners... but I am letting them enjoy the old meals for a while longer). :)

September 18, 2007, 8:33 am

My thoughts on the news...

Because I know you are all just dying to know what I think, I'm going to give you my comments on the top ten most popular news stories on CNN.com this morning. Calm down... quit being so excited. By the way, I do not endorse CNN in any way, shape, or form, however, that is who we are using for today's news commentary b/c their 'top ten most popular stories' list is easy for me to use on my blog. You can read what CNN reported at the previously mentioned link, if you so desire. Or look it up on foxnews.com.

1. Friends, family: McCanns struggled to have children

Seems to me they should have struggled more... to the point of not having them. First and foremost, you do NOT leave two 2 yr olds and a 4 yr old ALONE "checking on them frequently" while you dine at a restaurant down the street. One of the MAIN 'rules' of parenting is you have to actually supervise the children - especially when they are young. This article tries to humanize the parents a bit more (they probably paid off a journalist), but the entire thing just seems fishy to me. Perhaps the child WAS kidnapped, and the parents had nothing to do with it, but I still hold they they are initially responsible because they left their children alone (and in a foreign country too - not even in the 'safety' of their own home - I scream "horrible parents!"). {added note: I do feel sorry for them - so you know I'm not that cold - it must be horrible to lose a child, under any circumstances - but I still feel it's their own freakin' fault}

2. Student tasered at campus forum

Meyer's first mistake was attending any event where Kerry was going to be present, let alone speaking. He doesn't sound like the brightest star in the sky though.

3. Homeowner uncovers mortgage fraud

It's a good thing Ann Fulmer has so much time on her hands and likes to spy on her neighbors. Go Ann!

4. :-) turns 25

I only got about halfway through this story, because - really - who cares?! What blows my mind, is not the invention of the emoticon, but the fact that this story is number 4 on CNN's most popular list today!

5. Abizaid: U.S. can live with a nuclear Iran

So, how long do you think it'll be before we're in an all out war with Iran? I give it a year.

6. Minister's back Blackwater shutdown

Yep, in a country like Iraq, sometimes civilians have to pay the price (which is sad, and another reason I'm truly grateful I was born in America - if I were born Muslim, I'd probably be one of the women that got shot by her husband or father for defending herself against abuse). Back to the story, my question is this: Were the Blackwater dudes not supposed to defend themselves and the officials they were guarding? I'm just sayin'.

7. Ex-Spears bodyguard rebuffed in effort to testify

It's a sad state of affairs when Britney Spears is continuously in the top ten news stories. At least it's not Paris Hilton anymore, I think I'd rather read about Britney - at least she offers some interesting tidbits (head shaving, drug-induced VMA performances, driving with a child on her lap *gasp*, etc.). You can take the girl out of the trailer park...

8. White Stripes cancel all 2007 tour dates

So Meg is depressed and can't travel. It's a good thing I clicked on this article... wow. People care???

9. Commentary: Admit it America - you can't get enough of O.J.

Um... I had enough of O.J. when he was not given the death penalty for murdering his ex-wife and her boyfriend! I still can't believe he was 'held financially responsible' for their deaths, but wasn't guilty. What kind of a crock is that? If I'm ever in court for anything serious, I want his lawyers! I actually didn't read this whole article (maybe 1/3 of it) because I already skimmed the previous articles about O.J.'s Vegas robbery. Why does he think he is so cool? If someone has your stuff and is selling it - call the cops? Don't barge in with guns and steal it back. Wow.

10. Woman pursues mystery of Dachau drawings

"Then the infamous horde of Nazis overran our town, disrupted our life, murdered my parents and little sister, and robbed us of all we had." How can I say anything about this article? I had no idea what it was and almost didn't even start reading it from the title, but I ended up reading every word once I started on it. I, or any of us, just cannot even imagine the torture these people went through. So sad.

I was surprised that the polygamy stories had dropped from the top ten list. Maybe I'm the only one that's fascinated? I have always been interested in stories about these crazy, child-bride, polygamy freaks. The main thing that puzzles me, is HOW they keep all these women in their 'flock'!?!? The men - sure - they get to be 'gods' on earth with as many teenage brides as they want - and they get to rule over them with an iron fist, rarely getting charged for any of the abuse they bestow upon their 'loved ones'. But the women?!!? I mean, it's not like they live in a Muslim country where their head will be chopped off if they run, you know? They aren't even on an island with no money for a boat. They are in UTAH!!! Hit the nearest highway and hitch a ride with a trucker, you know what I mean??? Yeah, yeah, I know they are 'brainwashed' and all that, but still. They HAVE to know that something's not right about their way of life. At any rate, I hope Jeffs gets life in prison and I hope they don't isolate him - I hope they put him in with the other inmates... the ones that will *hopefully* beat him to a bloody pulp on a daily basis. I'm not normally a violent person, but this guy deserves it.

p.s. By the time I finished writing my blog, the White Stripes story had moved to the #1 most popular spot. Huh. Are they really going to be missed that much??? If so, maybe the fans should send 'Meg' some Prozac so she can hit the road with the rest of the band after all?!

September 17, 2007, 12:19 pm

What's new, Pikachu?

Did you know that when, in yahoo mail, you click the 'subject' button, it generates random subjects? Most of them are pretty funny. It's where I got today's blog title from.

I had a great weekend. My husband is so awesome! I spent 8 and 1/2 hours by myself on Saturday!!! A much needed 'mommy break'. I ran a couple errands (signed Justice up for football, went to the farmer's market, got gas), then I got my hair cut, finally - it has been so unhealthy since I went from blonde to brunette - I can't wait until all my natural roots grow out (they're only about 3 inches long right now) - I got six inches or so chopped off and it feels healthier already... I'll probably keep it this length until all the fried ends are gone. I also got lost at one point... the fair is going on (we were going to go this weekend, but Andy had to work and I only had a certain time period to sign Justice up for football, so now we're planning on going this coming weekend)... so there was tons of fair traffic around the farmer's market, along with blocked off roads... so I had to go a different way? Yeah, I ended up in some town I had never been in and had to call Andy to get on google maps and get me back to our town. lol Let's see... I had a delicious strawberry smoothie from Forza, and some Quizno's (not my favorite, but they will make a chicken salad to my specifications), and I went to see The Kingdom, which was really good. I was so relaxed by the time I got home. :)

Then on Sunday, we went to church in the a.m., then after lunch, I worked on some cards I'm making for a swap. Then, the whole family had a nerf-gun war, which was fun. Brittany was stoked because she popped Andy in the back of the head (dad doesn't usually get killed in these things). Then I headed out (alone again - two days in a row!!!) to the library and Wal-mart.

So it was a fabo weekend, and I'll leave you with a few photos...

Justice opening his birthday gifts (two more nerf guns to add to his collection, along with a skateboard, some GI Joes, a new sweatshirt, and snack cakes). :)

Jacob, all ready for church yesterday.

And a sneak preview of my new hairdo (the photos didn't turn out well, so I'll have to take more to share later in the week). You can't really tell, but it's shoulder length and layered. The top layer kind of goes under and the bottom ones flip out. It's actually cute, but I have to learn how to fix it properly. lol

September 14, 2007, 9:18 pm

This and that...

We got the van running today - hooray! It was just the battery, thank the Lord.

Jacob is talking up a storm, in complete sentences half the time. His favorite phrase of the moment is "Ow... that hurt" - he doesn't cry though, just brings whatever 'hurts' to me to kiss, and then he's off to play again; he's also a fan of "mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom..." Yesterday, he got his last set of immunizations until he goes to school. He did okay, although he did look rather betrayed when I let the nurse jab two needles into his leg (poor baby!). But she gave him a sucker (his first one ever) afterward so he quickly forgave her (and wondered where I had been hiding the Dum Dums all his life).

Justice got his birthday presents tonight. He was very happy. I took photos. I'll try to get some up this weekend, but they are still on the camera for now. I still can't believe he is 12 already. He is so funny; he cracks me up on a daily basis. He and I 'get' each other and make each other laugh a lot. Only he has figured out that he can sometimes get out of trouble by making me laugh... I'm a sucker for humor. lol Oh, Justice is getting signed up for flag football tomorrow as well. He wasn't going to play, because he didn't see the point of playing if he can't tackle? But he changed his mind when he found out all his friends from school are going to play (and yes - he has a ton of friends after just a week and a half of school - he always makes friends immediately - him and Darby do. It takes Brittany and Jarvis longer).

Tonight, Brittany went to a football game with our neighbor. Her son is a senior and is on the team. But don't worry - Brittany isn't going to watch a senior play football (we aren't yet to the point where she's interested in that, thank goodness). His younger sister, who stays at our house before and after school each day, is doing a cheerleading thing at halftime... so Brittany went to hang out with her and watch her perform. :)

Darby is loving school so far. And LOVES riding the bus. I've been having the kids ride the bus this past week since the van was out of commission, but I didn't really expect that they'd like it so much. I'm not sure yet if they'll keep riding it or if I'll go back to driving them. It IS nice not to have to make that trip twice a day. :) Oh, Darby's favorite part of going to school, I think, is picking out a cool outfit and accessories each day. I'm pretty sure she's going to grow up to be a cheerleader... and a typical one at that. It's so funny how different she and Brittany are (Brittany would never dream of being a cheerleader or anything like it... I'm pretty sure she'd rather chew off her own arm than put on a cheerleading uniform - lol). People that think that children are a product of their environment are retarded. Each person is BORN an individual - and I have the five entirely different from one another kids to prove it! :)

And that leaves Jarvis... Jarvis is such a cutie. He's getting SO much taller lately and looking more grown up. But he still has his cute little cartoon character looking face. His whole life, I've been wondering when he was going to outgrow that 'cute' stage... but at 8 1/2, he is still just way too cute. I'm sure he'd love reading this - ha!

I will leave you with a photo of Jacob from two days ago. When you are 1 1/2 years old, nothing beats pushing an empty laundry basket around the house - well, maybe sitting in it while your big brother pushes you around - ha.

September 12, 2007, 11:51 am

Congratulations to Daniel and Michelle on the birth of their new, little baby, Samuel! I cannot wait to see photos!!! :)

over 600 - the number of emails in my inbox earlier this morning
15 - the number of emails in my inbox right now

I'm so happy I finally took the time to get control of my inbox! So now I should be able to respond to emails more quickly. Sorry to anyone that did not get a response from me - I tried to write back to the ones I thought needed attention, but for the most part I am starting from scratch. So write me again if I didn't write to you... and then I'll write. :)

September 11, 2007, 8:55 am

Remember...

I can't believe it has been six years already since that horrible day in 2001. I was on the couch with a horrible flu for two weeks and I just kept seeing footage on every channel... the entire two weeks. So sad. And what about that video with bin laden saying our entire Nation should turn to Islam?! Yeah dude - kill thousands of our people and we'll all be running to join you???? The guy is INSANE (and pure evil). I hope we find him so he can get what he deserves.

Take a minute to remember and pray for the families of those who died that day... I'm sure this anniversary has to be difficult for them.

September 10, 2007, 9:49 am

Sunday...

Everyone was ready for church a few minutes before we had to leave, so I took a few photos. I can't believe how big they are getting!

Then Andy, after we had all gotten up early and gotten ready, remembered (I had forgotten?) that the van was having trouble, and we certainly don't all fit in the Jeep. Small story: On Thursday morning, I got the kids up and ready for school, and we loaded into the van... and it wouldn't start. The bus had come about five minutes earlier, so we were out of luck there. I went across the street, finally, and met the neighbor for the first time (Darby plays with her little girl, but we had never actually had a conversation). Anyway, she was VERY nice and let me borrow their 'emergency' van - an '88 beater that they have 'just in case'. So the kids made it to school (and on time), and Andy came home early enough for me to go pick them up in the Jeep. Anyway, we're pretty sure it's the battery. We can jumpstart it, but it won't start on it's own. So fast forward back to Sunday (where we were in the photo)... we decided we'd take both vehicles to church and then we could just jump it in the parking lot to get home. Well, Brittany noticed that we had left the front door wide open, so I had to sit still just after we'd gotten going, while Britt shut/locked the door, and it died. Andy started it again, but we decided we'd not try to risk taking it out if it was going to die on me. So we had a Bible study at home (which was really good, by the way - Andy is such a good teacher!). The kids are taking the bus to school this week, as we aren't going to be able to fix the van until this coming weekend. We are praying it is just the battery and not anything more serious!

Brittany took a few photos of Andy and I in the back yard. :)

Jacob came over to give me his I-must-touch-Mommy-at-least-once-every-five-minutes hug. :) He's so sweet! :)

A few photos of Justice and Jarvis' G.I. Joe forts that they set up in the back yard over the weekend (don't you love our lush grass?! ha!).

These first two photos are Justice's (he took the photos too)

Justice trying to kill himself on the back patio.

Darby, who had already changed into another pair of shoes, even though it wasn't even 11 am by this point. She's a Barbie doll - she would change outfits 30 times a day if I let her! :) Oh, she got about 4 or 5 inches cut off her hair before school started. Andy cut hers, Justice's, and Jarvis' hair last week. Brittany wants to get hers cut too - we just haven't done it yet.

part of Jarvis' G.I. Joe fort :)

I made funfetti cupcakes (those things are SO delicious) for Justice's birthday. BUT... I did not eat one!!! Go me! I accidentally (by reflex) licked my finger when some icing got on there, but it was just a tiny drop... I remembered after that and used the sink to wash off any stray icing. :)

I cannot believe Justice is 12 years old already. Next year, I'll have TWO teenagers!!!! How crazy is that?!?! I don't feel old enough to have two teenagers... well, I suppose I AM younger than *most* mom's with two teenagers though... I did start a little young. lol :)

:)

I was going to bore you with another photo of food from last night, but alas, I forgot to even take one. I made homemade biscuits again (and they were incredibly awesome - I improved on the areas that were lacking last time; this time they were thicker and more moist). I made lots this time so we can snack on them for a few days. I also tried a new chicken recipe, which was okay. I got it out of the July Real Simple magazine. I've been trying more new things lately. Oh - and I made some *brown* rice this time and it was actually pretty good. I thought since we were so used to the white rice, it would suck, but it didn't. Oooh, and steamed broccoli - YUM! I've been cooking a LOT lately. I am going on OVER a week with NO migraines (hallelujah!!!!) and my energy levels are increasing. Apparently it was all these food intolerances that I didn't even realize I had. I wish I had known years ago. I have suffered from migraines, blood sugar issues, chronic fatigue, stomach issues of all types, a low immune system, etc. for years... and now I'm feeling better than I have in years. I still have some tension headaches - but those are NOTHING compared to migraines, and my stomach is still fighting with me daily, but that's no biggie either. I think I'm on the fast road to being healthy, and I'm really excited! I recommend to anyone and everyone to go totally organic (I'm not completely organic yet, but I will be... I will never eat foods again that are loaded with chemicals and preservatives and MSG and just total crap that does *not* belong in my body... now I'm just working on finding more sources for organic meats and produce). Andy wants to eat healthier now too, and so does Brittany. The other kids... not so much... lol.

p.s. In case this post wasn't long enough: I want to chop off my hair! The bottom half of it is so fried from all the dying - covering up the blonde with the brown didn't disguise the damage. The top few inches are healthy though, so I'm thinking of getting it cut around shoulder length (a flippy-funky-layered do) and keeping it that way until all my natural color grows out. I'll keep you posted.

September 8, 2007, 9:04 am

HAPPY 12TH BIRTHDAY TO MY AWESOME SON, JUSTICE! :)

7:05 pm

late birthday party, salmon, and jazz...

We are celebrating Justice's birthday next weekend (school supplies were expensive, so if he waits a week, after the next paycheck, he gets better gifts); I'm going to make some cupcakes tonight (for us to have tomorrow). He gets a spread-out-for-a-week birthday though, so he's happy. :)

This afternoon, our neighbor across the street, brought over some salmon fillets - fresh from his catch this morning! I have NEVER cooked fish before (unless you count shrimp) and I honestly have never eaten salmon before aside from maybe one taste one time when I was much younger. I'm not a fan of 'fishy' tasting seafood, so I always get a white, flaky fish IF I am eating seafood (which is rare). Anyway, you all are aware of my quest to become healthy, and this fish was about as fresh as you can get, so I cooked it up for dinner tonight. It was actually pretty good. I wouldn't seek salmon out, but it is supposedly like THE best food for you. I cooked some rice and steamed some zucchini and the combo was pretty yummy. I know, I know - white rice is not what I should be eating in my new diet - but upon reading the package, I didn't know that the organic brown rice takes twice as long to cook (well, the kind I bought), so I had the white rice for one last time - lol. I baked the salmon with olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and garlic.

Today I put together most of my jazz music for a fabulous playlist. I love listening to jazz while I scrapbook... I actually cleaned a lot today, but managed to sit at my scrap desk for a while and whip out a few cards - the jazz gets my mojo going. The artists in my current playlist: Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Buble, Etta James, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, and Nancy Wilson. I have some other jazz, but it didn't make it to this playlist. Hmmm... I'm wondering if anyone knew I was a jazz fan. Did you? Brittany loves jazz too.

I leave you with a few photos and stories:

Jacob takes up a lot of my time while the kids are at school. Who knew? Usually he has an older sibling willing to play in their room with him, take him to the backyard, etc. So now that they are gone all day, he demands MUCH of my time. Which is okay - I am just not used to it. I enjoy spending time with the little cutie though. He's so adorable! We were playing in the backyard on Friday (we went on a hunt for things that didn't belong - we found a left-behind army man, two junked cars, some colorful bead things that Jacob was enamoured with, and a couple pieces of trash). :) Anyway, Jacob says "flower" pretty well now (he's talking up a storm!) and likes to pick them (I didn't tell him they are weeds) and smell them and then destroy them. :)

The grass was in pretty pitiful shape when we moved in, and we have a lot of clovers in the yard. We just haven't gotten around to fertilizing it yet. One day soon, hopefully. :)

Justice got some birthday presents from G-ma and Pappy in the mail yesterday and he was moving so quickly in the dim light that I didn't get any good pictures. lol He got a cool Army chemical bag, and a telescope - he LOVES them. He got a cool bionicle from Grandma and Grandpa last week too. He loves getting loot in the mail (but who doesn't?!?!). :)

Because I thought you would all want to see the results of my first time making salmon. :D p.s. This is my favorite way to have zucchini: I steam it (in the veggie steamer that Matt & Carolyn gave me for my birthday like 9 years ago or so - that thing is awesome!), then drizzle melted butter over it and sprinkle it with sea salt. Yum!

September 5, 2007, 10:04 am

The house is quiet...

The kids are at school, and Jacob is taking his morning nap. So strange. We've had the longest summer, because school ended in May in Texas and didn't start until now here in Washington. The teacher's strike finally ended, and today is the first school day. Brittany hopped (okay, maybe 'hopped' is too strong of a word for that early) onto the school bus at 6:29 am, a full hour before I had to even wake the other kids up since their school doesn't start until almost 9! Then, I drove the other kids, along with the girl that lives next door, to their school around 8:20, but I think we can easily go ten minutes later from now on.

Yesterday, I *finally* finished Darby and Jacob's room. I still want to find a rug for in there, but that'll have to wait. I wish we could paint the walls. White walls are so boring. Anyway, here are photos of their bedroom and from this morning...

Got Darby's beads hung up outside her door. THAT was a chore. I finally had to just use thumb tacks b/c I couldn't screw or nail in the thing that holds the beads b/c of the way it was designed. But at least they are hanging now, and Darby is happy. :)

I got her canopy hung up too. She's thrilled. She wraps it around her while she sleeps (with her "sleep hat" and her mask - both of which say "Princess"). lol [p.s. do you think she likes pink and purple?]

The first photo above shows the shelves that took me a WHILE to get up. Hey - it was just me putting them up, and I can't find the charger for my electric screwdriver, so I had to use the handheld one - and some of those screws took a minute... but at the end BOTH shelves are perfectly level - yay me! :) Darby painted the top two paintings; I made the small ones under the shelves. Oh - and there is another shot of her super cool dollhouse (the one on the shelves is the My Little Pony castle she got for Christmas last year - she loves that thing too). Oh, and yes, she carries a purse with her pretty much everywhere now... switching them out periodically (to match her outfits, of course). Can we spell p-r-i-s-s?!?! :)

The second photo above is from Jacob's 'manly' side of the room. The way we have it set up (which you'll see when I do my virtual tour and post it - hopefully one day soon), the lines are pretty clearly defined so Darby isn't inundated with blue/green and Jacob with purple/pink. Ha. Anyway, as I was hanging things on Darby's side, we (the kids and I) realized Jacob's wall looked really blank - so I whipped out those two paintings on the right with those left over wooden animals (and train) from the project you see on the left over his dresser. Um... I never claimed to be Monet or Van Gogh... but Jacob really likes them?! He came in and yelled "Frog!! Fish!!", so I was happy. :)

First photo - sight from last night before bed... all the kids backpacks and bags with the school supplies (tissues, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, etc.) ready to go in the morning. :)

Second photo - Okay, so Brittany is a little blurry - it was 6:25 am and I wasn't quite awake? :) I can't believe she is in NINTH grade!!! Where does the time go???

Jarvis - not too thrilled to be doing a photo shoot on the front porch when there was actual PEOPLE outside. lol

Justice - smiling for me b/c I told him I was going to keep him out there until he did. ha.

Darby - very excited to be in FIRST grade (she's a big girl now - didn't you know??)

The crew... the girl on the right lives next to us and will be riding to and from school with us (she is SUCH a sweetie!). Jacob has bed head and is so sleepy (he was up an hour earlier than usual).

Darby's first order of business at school is to find her frog and put it on the 'cold' or 'hot' side showing whether she brought her lunch or will buy it.

Sitting down to start her day with a math/coloring page. And yes, she is wearing lip gloss. She tried to head out the door with lavish, dangly earrings, but mean old mom put the kibosh on that one - telling her she had to wear SMALL earrings to school... so she didn't have time to go get more this morning. It was a devastating turn of events (NOT wearing earrings on the first day of a new school?!?! *gasp*). She survived, however, and was excited and nervous at the same time.

And this is how I left her.

September 1, 2007, 8:04 pm

I finally decided to start a fresh page! I know the last page in the archives (click here or in the sidebar if you missed any of the previous posts) was titled 'June/July', but it includes all of August as well. Technicalities that probably only bother me. :) Anyway, I'll add some graphics later; just wanted to throw up a quick post with some photos from today and yesterday. I'll try to give you some more updates tomorrow. :) (oh, p.s. school still hasn't started - possibly on Tuesday, assuming the teachers and the district came to some kind of agreement to end the strike).

Yesterday, the kids spent a good portion of the day on a treasure hunt that Andy made for them... he was SO creative with the clues... I was impressed :)

Darby, during the treasure hunt

This evening, when I went to get the photos off my camera, I found a bunch of photos of things around the house - this monkey being one of them (it made me smile)... apparently Andy took photos this morning before I was up :)

Jacob loves animals. Especially cats and monkies. He makes the CUTEST cat and monkey sounds. He's almost as obsessed with monkies as I am. So when I saw this shirt at Target, I HAD to get it for him. :)

Close up of his shirt. He points at each monkey and says "gunkey" and then makes his monkey sound :)

At the Puyallup Farmer's Market this morning. They have this pavilion that's always full of booths and then there are tents spread around each side of it with more produce, plants, arts, crafts, woodworking, etc. I will miss the farmer's market this winter - I have loved going there this summer! :)

Some cool carved chess sets probably made by that dude in the background, but I'm not sure :)

table of plants for sale

I got some super fresh corn, 5 for a dollar... the girls and Jarvis shucked it for me. It was SOOOOOO good!!! :)

My southern style, organic (except for the baked beans, even the spices that I used were organic) dinner tonight - oh man - it was SO good... the best meal I've had since I started eating healthy.

So I have to share my biscuit story... This is only the 2nd time I've made homemade biscuits ever. They could have been thicker, but other than that they were DELICIOUS (and healthy... organic flour, organic butter, organic plain yogurt... only thing that wasn't organic was the baking soda - then I filled mine with organic butter and the organic honey from this morning's farmer's market - mmm, mmm, mmm). Anyway, the first time I made biscuits was when Andy and I were first married. I don't remember how many people were at the house, but I do remember Andy and Coby throwing the biscuits at each other... they were rock hard - inedible. Oh well. OH... and yeah - I almost ALWAYS make yellow/brown/white meals. What can I say? My favorite foods are those colors. And why would I add a sprig of parsley to add color? I mean, I have the apple and the corn cob holders, lol. You know, in case anyone wondered why there wasn't much color to the meal. :)

After dinner, the kids were cleaning up (I cook and they clean up, usually... they gotta earn their keep, ya know?! :)) so Jacob and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. He LOVES riding around in his stroller.

Today was an absolutely PERFECT day weatherwise. I got this shot of Mt. Ranier on mine and Jacob's walk tonight. I'm starting to sense the oncoming of fall, and I LOVE it. I didn't realize how much I MISSED autumn, living in Texas. Down there, there are two seasons - about two weeks of winter and fifty weeks of summer. I'm REALLY looking forward to experiencing all the seasons this year (and lots of rain - lol). ;)

After Jacob had his bath tonight, Justice took him outside in just his diaper (I'm sure the neighbors think we are complete white trash because of our barefooted and half-naked children - lol). Anyway, our neighbor's cat was out and Jacob went NUTS. He kept blowing it kisses, and meowing at it, and yelling at Justice to go get it if it ran off. He just couldn't get enough. It was TOO adorable. :)