College Boys Birthday - #19

Having a little trouble with this one.....This is the baby, my youngest, the one who I have been focused on all through high school - with marching band, band trips, etc we have spent alot of time together. I guess I have known the time was coming - and its here - he does his own thing, has his own friends, his own life and turning lose is not easy but you have to do it, especially with boys. So Im trying, but its not easy. Since Im at work, I don't have access to alot of his pictures but I will share just a couple - he was an adorable baby, a cute kid and a handsome young man. Next year, he will no longer be a teenager but I know he will be great at whatever he does and I will be there to smile, clap and cheer him on...
Go Get Em Taz - You ARE AWESOME!

30 Day Shred - Day 2

As promised I completed the work out again. It was a push but once I got going I kinda worked out the soreness and felt pretty good. One hour later - ARE YOU KIDDING? I could hardly get out of the chair. This morning - Im doing good to stand on these 2 things that i don't recognize as my legs because they are refusing to work!

Sounds heard as I struggled to get out of bed "OUCH", "ow, Ow, OW", "Ohhhhhh" - yes soreness has set in, thighs, arms, abs - all of me - good grief, Jillian knows her stuff but if this is Level 1, easy, how will I survive Levels 2 and 3?

Day 2 - Level 1 - about the same, maybe a tad bit easier, still have to take a break now and then.

Result - even MORE sore than yesterday. but being College Boy's birthday will probably have to skip tonight....might try to fit it in since its only 20 minutes, but no guarantee.

30 Day Shred - Day 1

I got Jillian Michaels' 30 day Shred DVD for Christmas. Last night I did the level 1 work out for the first time. On each level there is an easy version and a hard version - I , of course, am doing the easy version. According to the DVD you are to do this EVERY DAY for 30 days.......I will try but I am so sore just from Day 1.

However - I will blog on it everyday because I know lots of other people doing this workout and there are alot of people who have questions regarding this workout - so as a true beginner, trying to get in shape - we will see how this goes.

Day 1 - Level 1 - easy -the workout was fun but fairly hard - hard as far as effort you must put forth to complete it. You do 2 cycles of: 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs then a brief stretch and cool down - about 20 minutes total.

Result - I am sore - I did have some sweating and muscle burning during the workout - will have to push myself to do it again tonight.

Heard at the Office

Ok, I have to share this (withholding names and titles) but it was really supremely funny.
So - this giant styrofoam container arrives - we don't know who sent it but inside is this bizarre frozen turkey, wrapped around a chicken, wrapped around a duck - now I don't know WHO in the world would REALLY eat that but anyway........someone #1 says this is going in the trash, we don't know who it came from or anything, someone #2 says it could be a bomb, someone #1 laughs and says Yeah its an IUD several of us snicker until someone # 3 says Uh.....different device..........to which I said yeah, can we just insert an E in the middle there?

I don't know if ANYONE thinks this is a funny as I do but quite honestly, IM STILL LAUGHING!

I just wanted to share my Christmas Dogs :) I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and the best 2010 EVER!



Much Love,
Selita and Family

The coolest email someone sent to me.....

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come outof the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

This week, I found out.From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember. -The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ. -Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. -The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament. -The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation. -Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy. -The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes. -Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control. -The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments. -The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish.

Darned Navy!

I was talking to Navy boy via Skype last night - he was in Florida last week and didn't call me !?!?!?! Now, like myself, im sure your asking "why NOT?" - It turns out he was here for a class and had leave approved and was going to surprise me - how fabulous is that? Well 2 days before he finishes up his class to go on leave - the Navy says "nope, sorry - no leave - come back to Italy" so he goes back and now he can't take leave until January - but you know what? Thats ok.......he is safe, he is in a good place and I can't feel better knowing I will see him soon !!! Yippee!

The Rush To Christmas

I think its a good thing that I have most of my shopping and wrapping done cuz I just got a good look at my calendar.....sheeesh - tonight is the Hubby's company Christmas Dinner/Party - Saturday and Sunday we are IN the Nativity Pageant at church - with 2 performances each evening (our Nativity Pageant is more like a play) - next weekend on Saturday we have our car club Christmas party and Sunday we have the Christmas Choir performance at church - the 18th we move College Boy back from College until January - that weekend will be my holiday baking for the few people that I bake things for - the 21st is my company Christmas Dinner and then the next weekend is Christmas......College Boy's birthday is December 30th and then NEW YEARS EVE. I will need all of January to recuperate from that!

HAPPY 2010

A real first

It is December 3rd and I am shocked even at myself. I almost completely done with my Christmas shopping AND wrapping........for years I have been a last minute, put it off, don't really want to do it, fight the crowds, I hate shopping kind of person. This year, I ordered a few things online, had a couple of really productive shopping trips (can I just say, Kohl's totally rocks) and last night I wrote down what I had bought and what I still needed and was COMPLETELY shocked to find that I only need a couple more things and I am done! I even shipped Jerin's gifts to Italy on Tuesday........I must say that having that done early really lets me enjoy the holidays :)

First Snowfall 2009

Just wanted to record it....it was beautiful when I got up this morning and the back yard was a blanket of white and big fat snowflakes were falling. The great part about Texas is - we had that but here it is 12:30 in the afternoon and its all gone - so no treacherous driving - just the beauty of it all.

Tech Vs. Baylor

On Saturday we went to the Tech/Baylor game - the game was real good - and close and we yelled and yelled and game out victorious. Thanks to Staci for getting the tickets. Cowboys stadium was amazing and being in the company of good friends was a double blessing. But now..its back to work and real life :)

Happy Thanksgiving

Iwant to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends/family.....Mother of the American Thanksgiving, Sarah Hale wrote, "Let this day be the grand Thanksgiving Holiday of our nation, when the noise and tumult of worldliness may be exchanged for the laugh of happy children, the glad greeting of family reunion, and the humble gratitude of the Christian heart".

And while your at it, please remember all our men and women in the armed services who can't be with their families on this day, and say a prayer or your own, for each of them. They certainly deserve Thanksgiving.


Happy Birthday Navy Boy - I appreciate your service and every time I proudly wear my United States Navy Mom sweatshirt - I have at least a dozen people who ask me to tell you how much THEY appreciate your service. So to you and your friends, those with whom you serve, I hope all of you know you are appreciated and that I love you with all my heart!

Homeopathic Medicine

First of all, let me say, that I am HUGE believer in homeopathic medicine. Several years ago I was suffering (and I do mean suffering) from what the doctors called, Chronic Ulcerative Colitis. My GI doctor had me on 3 different medications, one of them a sulfer drug - which is really not good for ANYONE to take and so I went on a hunt to cure myself of this condition. I took myself off of ALL the medications and began taking Aloe Vera and Salmon Oil gel caps (cuz liquid aloe vera tastes like feet and Im not ever drinking that again!) (Oh and my side note to keep me out of trouble 1- I am NOT a homeopathic doctor or herbalist or anything and 2 - if you decide to try something like this, please consult your doctor) ok, now hopefully i won't get sued......anyway, I completely cured myself of the "Chronic" illness that had plagued me.....at my next visit to my GI doc he said, whatever your doing, keep it up - you have cleared up all signs of the colitis - OK YEAHHH I rock! So, moving on......growing up a I NEVER had issues with allergies....I turned 30 and it was like WHAM - and the evil sinus monster SPOKE "NOW YOU HAVE ALLERGIES and THEY WILL BE BAD" and yes, they are. I heard of a homeopathic sinus spray called Sinus Buster - ok, a normal person might have said - Sinus Buster ? Really? Let me know how that works out for ya....but me, even after I saw the picture of a red pepper on the front of the box AND read "contains capsacin" I said "how bad can it be?" so I bought it. Took it home, opened the box, read all the labels, yes even the part about the "temporary sensation" and used the spray..............................................................................have you ever been hit in the nose so hard it made your eyes water? Imagine that and then multiply it by about - oh, I don't know - 100 ? And you can't get it out - its a very fine spray and when its there, its there....so I waited - it seemed like a really really long time but Im sure it was probably 30 seconds or so - and the "sensation" was gone......and I was like Wow, ok - my sinuses ares opening - its a miracle!!!! But it didn't last terribly long so I knew this was one of those homeopathic remedies that you have to build up in your system - which meant the "sensation" would be felt MANY TIMES OVER.......hoping that round 2 would be better was short lived - I sprayed, my eyes watered, I made some kind of sound between a groan and a yelp - 30 seconds later, gone....all better......and then again this morning. I thought WHAT IS WITH THIS STUFF, why doesn't it get any better ? But Im not giving up - I WILL PREVAIL!

Wore Myself Out!

Friday night we stood in line for over an hour to see New Moon - ok, yes I admit it, it was worth it - the special effects and characters are just fabulous. Saturday we hit the ground running, we took College Boy's car to the Subaru dealership, drove to Denton to watch UNT barely lose to Army (it really was a good game), went to dinner with my parents and College Boy, took College boy back to campus, then went home - at this point, I was already a little tired. Then Sunday we went to church and as we always do, went to lunch afterwards with Hubby's parents - since Hubby and I needed to go to the mall anyway to finish shopping for Navy Boy, we ate lunch at the mall, did some shopping, went to another store, did some shopping (I am being vague on purpose in case Navy Boy or College boy reads this blog, which Im pretty sure they NEVER do but still, playing it safe) and then headed home to change and finish our errands....it was about that time, that I remembered that I was supposed to call my bestest bud and see about going to the movies (Sorry "A" I didn't forget you, I remembered before I forgot again - I still love you) and then we resumed our rat killing (errand running for those not "in the know" on that term. Target, Grocery store, etc. The highlight of the day was buying a stand mixer - I have wanted one FOREVER - but the Hubby, while watching America's Test Kitchen on Saturday - discovered which one was best, so it was time to buy me one...woohoo! By the time we got back home - I made some pumpkin muffins for breakfasts this week, cleaned up and I was DONE, FINISHED, OVER. Somehow I always need Monday just to recover from the weekend.

With that said - Hey "A" lets do lunch, call me!

Kinda Sad

I was just sitting here thinking, when I realized that Navy Boy's birthday is in 9 days.....this makes the third year in a row that I do not get to spend his birthday with him. When he turned 22 - he was in Great Lakes, IL in Navy boot camp (he did get to call me, but he was so sick, and they had taken out his wisdom teeth, and he had dry sockets - when I hung up the phone, I must have cried for an hour). When he turned 23 - the "poor" boy was in Greece, on the island of Crete....STUCK on an island in the Mediterranean. And then this year, turning 24 - he is in Naples, Italy. So, while its really cool to be him - having birthdays all over the world, I am sad for myself not getting to see him or spend it with him. However, I always send boxes of good stuff for Halloween, Thanksgiving/Birthday, and then a bigger, better one at Christmas.....so he knows Im here and that I love him ...... I guess in the big scheme of things, thats all that really matters, that he knows I love him and that he is safe, huh?

YOUR SO FUNNY!

I have this very quirky personality (yes Im sure there are a couple of people who will comment on this statement) but the first thing people usually say - within about 10 minutes of meeting me is, YOUR SO FUNNY! Its also very common, when Im really angry and going on about something for people to say, YOUR SO FUNNY WHEN YOUR MAD.......well that one throws me a little because sometimes when your mad, you want SOMEONE to take you seriously....well - that seldom happens. But the most perplexing thing to me is when Im trying to be funny, or WANT to be funny - I am sooooooooooooo not funny. I am the SINGLE WORST joke teller on the planet...I NEVER EVER get them right. I guess that just kinda proves that you gotta be who you are and not try to be who you aren't and work with what God gave ya!

Tuesday, really? *ugh*

This week is dragging........I don't even have alot to say......just that!

Good Weekend

I picked up college boy on Friday night - I actually took he and one of his college buddies to dinner (the buddy took college boy to the DMV when college boy LOST HIS WALLET for the 2nd time this semester) - I promptly informed him that I was not cancelling his debit card, buying a new wallet or worrying over his lost drivers license - he could do it all HIMSELF this time and then MAYBE he would be more careful. When he bought his new wallet - it had a chain that attached it to his pants........maybe THAT will work!

Oh yeah, about the car - HE LOVES IT - he called it awesome and spent all day Saturday running around town in it.....so I was happy about that.

Saturday afternoon, there was an impromptu gathering of some old friends from 20+ years ago and we had a great time, we laughed, we took silly pictures and we just caught up - but the funny part was - it was like we had never been apart - we just picked right back up :) It WAS SO MUCH FUN! "A" fixed chili - oh it was good :) And later she fixed hot dogs but "K' and I had to stop her and ask her what the heck she did, as we were watching. She put water in a pan, put the hot dogs in the pan and then squirted a bunch of ketchup in the pan........we were skeptical but we must admit, the dogs were good!

We will do this again soon - it was too fun not to!

A Day

I was off yesterday, it was Veteran's Day and the credit union is closed. It is so nice to have a day off in the middle of the week when most other people are working.

I went with the hubby to pick up college boys "new" car - and that was ridiculous: The guy who sold us the car, shows up, has us sign papers, takes the money, hands me the keys, and off he goes. I, being a responsible adult, lock the car doors and go up to take the tour of hubby's office. I come back down, get out the key to unlock the door, slide the key into the lock and it won't turn - hmmmm - so I go to the other door - slide they key into the lock and it won't turn - same thing with the trunk.......Now, keep in mind.....I took this key OUT of the ignition - this key STARTS the CAR! So, I call THE GUY who sold me the car....."Whats the deal with the keys? I can't open the doors", "Oh yeah, that key doesn't work on the doors, there is no key to the doors", "What? You gave me a key to the car that won't open the doors?", "yeah", "But I locked the car, now I can't get in, what am I supposed to do?", "Call a locksmith, I guess", "Did you know about this?", "yeah", "Why didn't you tell me there was no door key", "you didn't ask, maybe you should have checked the car out a little better" - OHHHHH NOOOOOOO I was NOT having that - so I told him HE COULD CALL THE LOCKSMITH AND HE COULD PAY FOR IT. After "some discussion (those of you who know me, will know how that conversation went and I that I DID NOT LOSE said discussion) THE GUY sent me a locksmith and he paid for it. However, now we know that we have to replace the ignition switch AND rekey all the locks to fit the new ignition key....oh joy! The fun of buying a used car! Other than that, that is one awesome little car.

Later, I went to meet an old friend for lunch - we met at 1 - when we finally left the restaurant - it was 3:45 - I bet our waitress was not very happy but the restaurant wasn't crowded so its not like we were keeping someone else from sitting down.

Followed by choir and dinner out before heading home totally and completely worn out :)

All in all, it was a good day :)

Veterans Day

While I am thinking about it....tomorrow is Veteran's Day - not just myself but many of my friends have children scattered about the world, protecting our freedom - even while I worry about the way things are going here in the good ole USA. However - I want to say now - in front of all who read my blog - I am proud of our family members -fathers, sons, brothers, mothers, daughters, sisters - everyone who has or currently serves in our military - you are the reason we have what we have and why we ARE the greatest country in the world. My wish for you this day is to stay safe and always remember.... YOU ARE AN AMERICAN - BE PROUD OF WHO YOU ARE!

What the heck just happened?

So Im working......like any normal work day - my phone rings and someone says to me "Hello, this is a blast from the past" they use my name......so Im a little confused until the voice says "This is your old friend "A" and I have been looking all over for you" - Well you could have knocked me OVER with a feather. I have been friends with this wonderful lady for about 24 years but we had been estranged for probably 7 of those.....we lost touch and just quit talking. Life gets in the way - as we all know. We also have a mutual friend that I had had a HUGE falling out with some 5+ years ago and they were back in touch, as well. I tell "A" "well I will be ready to move on if "K" calls and apologizes". (Unfortunately, my memory is good and pretty long and it had been a very hard few years, without my other dearest friend) I hang up with "A" and moments later the phone rings - it was a voice I would have recognized anywhere - It was "K" calling to apologize but the minute I heard her voice, I knew the apology wasn't necessary. Out of no where two of the three Musketeers reappeared........and The Three Musketeers Ride Again.....it has been a very very good day :)

The CAR

Saturday morning the Hubby and I drove to Carrollton to see a man about a car (no really, we did) and we wound up purchasing said car for College Boy. You see, a few years ago we bought College Boy the cutest truck - a little white Mazda B2500 with blue and green pinstripes and looks almost new. BUT....it has a manual transmission - yes, we tried to teach him to drive it, and yes "technically" he can, BUT I am a mom and my mom brain says - teenage boy, who has trouble driving a stick shift, driving around in what amounts to a big tin can - ummmmm no. Now he has a 2000 Subaru Impreza -now, I would tell you the car is cute but College Boy takes offense to that so I will instead tell you - ITS COOL. And it really is a GUY car. He has not seen this car yet, but he is the one who found it and sent me pictures and info so he KNOWS about it. He is pretty excited to say the least. Now - who wants to buy a really cute little truck?

New Roomate - the Saga of #3

Well it appears that college boy has had it with roomate #2. See roomate #1 was PERFECT - but last year he had requested a private room and none were available but when he got to school - well, one became available, so perfect roomate #1 - moved out.

Enter roomate #2 - not such a perfect match. Roomate #2 is the type that drinks Perrier and joins greek fraternities (ummm have you met my son? He is SOOOO not the type to do that stuff). Besides roomate #2 is a bit of a NEAT FREAK - so if College Boy was gone for the weekend - he would chunk all of his stuff into the closet :( - AND if he didn't have an 8AM class he would get up and turn College Boy's alarm clock off so HE would then miss HIS 8 AM class - I told College Boy - that better stop or I am going to take care of THIS problem......if he wants to pay for you to re-take that 8 AM class then fine but if not, he had better not touch your clock (yeah Im kinda mean when you rub me the wrong way).

So today I get a text message from College Boy - "Probably moving into a new room tomorrow"
- So I said to him "Whats up, call me when you get out of class" - here is the SHOCKER - HE DID - he called me when he got out of class - EEEK - I think he might be possessed !?!?!?!

Anyway - a guy downstairs roomate just moved out - this is a guy that College Boy is kinda "cool" with (these are his words so please don't judge based on this post) so they are going to room together.......*sigh* I just said good luck, don't leave anything behind AND call me with your new floor and room number........

I hope this is a better roomate for him.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHH

I am going to rant for a minute - so if you don't like ranting then don't read my post. Home Builders are the WORST. They are criminals who get away with stuff, and I for one am sick and tired of it. So sick and So tired in fact that if I find an attorney who will take my case (and only get paid if we sue for attorney's fees and win) then Im suing! I have had 5 years of pain and suffering over my well! It was not dug deep enough and now including all the PAST problems with not being able to drink the water and having decent water pressure and having a faulty pressure tank - NOW all my appliances including my toilets and shower are being ruined by sand and sediment (and oh yeah, dead ant pieces) that SHOULD NOT EVEN BE GETTING INTO MY HOUSE! Today the home builder's construction person was so rude to me that I just wanted to scream! Its just a matter of time before I have to replace all my appliances because of the sand and sediment.......I wrote a letter to the CEO, I wrote a letter to consumer affairs.com and in 5 days , Im writing to the better business bureau and the Texas Homebuilders Association AND the media.....I have had it - its not like I did something to cause this - this is faulty workmanship at its core - and someone needs to pay for it BESIDES ME!

Ok, rant complete - anybody have any suggestions?
Im calling Shelly Slater at Channel 8 :)

WHY?

Why do I have to be the one who works closer to home? That means that I am the first one home in the afternoons......when your the first one home to a house with THREE BOXERS living in it - you never REALLY know what your going to find. Even though they are "sequestered" to particular spaces there is still that GREAT unknown - as boxers are VERY CREATIVE animals. But on this particular occasion it was not their creativity so much, as the fact that ONE of them was not ummmmm (looking for delicacy here) feeling well. This is the 2nd time in a month that I have come home to (again delicacy) a huge mess and since I get home almost a full hour ahead of the hubby - I have to go ahead and clean it up alone. So I pulled on my rubber gloves and got to work. I had just finished when the DH came in the door all smiling and happy - I on the other hand.....was NOT! His first question.....Uh oh, why do you have the mop and bucket out?

Man, I HATE being the first one home!

Got Bored

So I changed my layout - tell me what you think?

Sounds of the Stadium

The Hubby and I got off work and made the trek to Denton to see College Boy and BAND perform last night. It was called Sounds of the Stadium and if you have never heard a full college band perform INSIDE a coliseum - it is something to be heard - though you will likely NEVER hear anything else again :) - We didn't realize we had the added treat of getting to hear all 3 high school bands from the Denton area (being band parents and boosters all through high school, we enjoy this sort of thing) The area schools are Denton High School, Guyer High School and Ryan High School - now, no offense to those high schools but the difference between these guys and when UNT took the court - was staggering - and when UNT plays You'll never walk alone (which is kind of their THEME song) it will almost make you cry.

Afterward, we took college boy to dinner - cuz goodness knows they don't get enough to eat at college (yeah right) - and we had a very nice visit. Of course, afterwards he says - can we run by the grocery store? I need a few things - and YOU all know who paid for those few things, right ?

Ahh the life of a college kid.

30th Reunion

Saturday night we attended my 30th High School reunion - about 70 people (out of a class of about 300) showed up - it was really very fun - most of the folks I was closest too were there (see a few pics on my facebook page) Its listed under Selita Sprunger - so not hard to find :) There aren't many of us out here in the world (Im sure there are several of you who will say Thank Goodness) hahaha - Anyway - I thought everyone looked pretty good and there is a rumor of a big reunion this summer involving the first 5 graduating classes from our high school. I always like to remember that MY class was the "Charter Class" - first Seniors to ever graduate from our high school - so it was cool ...now if I just had my class ring back :( (someone stole it from me, Senior year).

HE CRACKS ME UP

Ok, get this....college boy (who has come home every NON Football game weekend since the semester started) calls up and says - Im not coming home this weekend - I have plans with "the guys" - "ok..sounds good" (saves me 2 drives to Denton, right?) - "What are these big plans", I ask....."ohhhh we're just gonna go to the park and hang out and stuff, cuz thats what we do" - I said "oh please - Im not so dumb that I believe that you and your buddies "planned" a weekend of hanging out in the park" - so I let it go for a day or two - finally today, I text him and I say - so you gonna tell me what YOUR REALLY doing this weekend? He makes me promise not to get mad *rolling my eyes* College boy is headed to Austin with 4 of his buddies to some medieval convention where they will stay in some kind of tent village "for the full medieval effect" he says. I thought - the boy is 18, what did he think I was going to do, ground him? HA HA HA HA HA YEAH , RIGHT! So, safe trip college boy - call me when you get back!

Who knew?

I guess when I had my children - wrapping myself up in what they were doing, being all about them and their needs and just "being there" were the most important things in my life. It was what everybody that I know did - but now they are 18 and 23 - out in the world doing their own thing (how many times have I said that lately? I am still trying to convince myself that it is a good thing). So where did all my friends go? Where did all the people I knew when I was doing what they were doing go? Its strange, but I was planning to go shopping the other day and everyone was working and it popped into my head.....I have no friends.

Don't get me wrong - I have lots of aquaintances and alot of people I know, but if I needed someone to just call up and talk or maybe talk into going shopping with me or I don't know, just have lunch (that is not a family member)......I have no one. Is that sad and pathetic or just me feeling sorry for myself? Work, Home, Church, repeat.

I guess I wonder who knew this would happen? I used to have friends, I used to have people to hang out and do stuff - or just talk on the phone to - but mostly it was for our kids and less for us. So if I can give any advice to those who are going through raising your children and keeping your life like a moon revolving around their little planets - don't lose your friends......one day you will wish you had them.

Diet Update

Oh yeah, I almost forgot - diet is still going - really I am shifting from calling it a diet to a lifestyle change because clearly I can't go back to what I was doing, after all - thats what GOT me here, right? So, unofficially (since I haven't seen my doc yet) the count is 17 pounds. So at least Im going in the right direction. Motivation is starting to lag a bit just because Im pretty sure Im coming up on a plateau (I can tell when the loss starts to s l o w d o w n) and THAT is what always gets me.....so I have to figure out how to MUSCLE through the plateau.........so - on we go.

Children

I guess I just did it all wrong. Somewhere I lost my manual on how to raise a child. Somewhere I must have messed up and flipped the whole thing upside down. My boys are now 23 and 18. The oldest is off with the US Navy, in Italy somewhere - I get occasional emails letting me know he is still alive and well. The youngest is off at college doing whatever college, freshman, boys do - I really don't hear from him unless he needs something.

So - last night Im on the internet because Navy boy had emailed about Oktoberfest and said to go to his facebook page and see pictures - which I promptly forwarded to everyone in the family(including his dad and step mom) so everyone could enjoy the update........only I see one of the lines on his page tells me: (MY son) has listed (step mom's name) as his mother.....hmm, I think....well thats nice to know. I actually found that I was very HURT by what was probably an innocent statement. Later, Im talking to college boy, who informs me that my calls to him are NOT helpful, in fact they are distracting so I told him, ok, you know my number, call me if you need me. Afterwards I thought - wow - what did I do? One doesn't claim me as his mom - despite 23 years to the contrary, the other tells me I am distracting him - all I can think is - wow, I must have done this parenting thing alll wrong.

Family Weekend

I almost forgot to talk about Family Weekend and as soon as I pull the pictures off my cell phone, i will add them to this.

Family Weekend at UNT turned out to be more fun than I expected. While Friday night didn't really START out that way - Saturday redeemed the weekend for me (even though UNT lost the football game in true UNT fashion). Friday night the MIL and I (the hubby was returning from a business trip) went up for dinner and "we thought" watch the college boy perform at the Pep Rally - well apparently when you have a band the size of UNT's band your pep bands are broken up into different squads........pep rally wasn't the college boy's squad.......do we wound up going to the mall instead where he bought a new jacket and all was well with the world.

Saturday, was fun -we ate, hung out in mean green village and then watched the mean green march.....LOVED IT - there was a hilarious guy dressed in a green suit that covered his face and all - the dancers (seperate from the Cheerleaders) are on par with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders (Yes, they are THAT good) and over all, I was impressed.

The Band - well, what can you say about one of the top ranked bands in the US - they were exceptionally good and Dr. W (the director) is without a doubt one of the nicest, most laid back and competent marching band directors I have had the pleasure to watch.

We had dinner with the college boy, after the game and then took him back to the dorm and drove home.....it was a first for me, seeing a college game and all those crazy kids that dress up in the school colors and paint themselves - It would have been nice, if they had won but I supposed UNT is not "known" for its football program - but just for good measure: GO MEAN GREEN

Arborlawn's Got Talent?

We participated in a little program at our church called Arborlawn's Got Talent....and I guess mostly it does......but sometimes things just don't really go the way you plan - the FIL and I are singing Unforgettable - a duet - a couple of lines or words in the song - his mic goes out and it becomes mostly a solo of ME......kinda messes up the purpose of harmony. We survived.

Craig did a "singing skit" to Anything you can do I can do better. It was actually cute and very funny and got good reviews. Craig was incredibly nervous :)

come on Microsoft, really???

Where to start......College boy got a Zune for Christmas......by June the screen went out on it and then it refused to ever charge again. After QUITE the run around and some rather ridiculous conversations with support people who DO NOT speak english, I sent it back for "service" - I made sure to enclose a typed, signed letter stating DO NOT send this to back to my home address because it comes via UPS and they will try 3 times to deliver it and if no one is there to sign for it they will kindly send it back to Microsoft. I just got email notification from Zune Support that (a refurbished) unit was sent to - - - wait for it, are you ready.....can you stand it??? MY HOUSE! And whats more, what is up with the whole refurbish thing? I sent them a pretty new one.......it better be better than what I sent them (and believe me, I took pictures).

Next - we love to play Halo - to the point that we have all the maps for Halo 2 pretty much memorized....we play against my brother in law, sometimes my sister in law joins in sometimes it my beautiful little 7 year old neice......so we decided HEY lets all upgrade to Xbox 360 and play Halo 3 - before we used to hook up through a software program and play remotely from our own houses.......however, apparently Microsoft didn't like that so they made all the new programs where you can ONLY play through Xbox LIVE AND you have to PAY to do it......now, mind you, its not enough that the Xbox costs a fortune and only comes with 1 controller and 1 headset (who plays video games ALONE anymore?????) but now we can't even do what we want to do which is play together online remotely without paying MORE MONEY!

I am really NOT loving Microsoft...I think I will buy a Dell laptop!

I knew it!

So.....after much drama with the bank I now hate (the cancelling of the debit card), more drama with UNT (getting the college boy a new ID so he could EAT) and further drama by making the college boy take care of business on HIS end, instead of MOM TO THE RESCUE....College boy calls - the conversation goes like this "Hey mom, wanna hear something reeeeaaaalllllly funny?" "Am i going to think this is funny ha ha ha or funny as in Im going to kill you later?" He says "oh no, your gonna think think this is hilarious" - I said "ok, lets have it" - "Dr. W just sent me a text message, he has my wallet"....................................now I ask you - would find this funny ha ha or funny as in DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO LOOK THERE ?????????????

For Crying OUT LOUD!

Im just having "A DAY" - the hubby is out of town on business AGAIN - same as last week.
Last night we had big thunderstorms which was really enough all by itself, but then - there was a very LARGE scorpion crawling through the living room that Buster (the YOUNGEST of our boxers) decided to "protect" me from - so while Im trying to "catch it" so I can take it outside (yes we have a cup we use for CRITTER removal) he is steadily barking at it, growling at it and jumping at it trying to GET IT FOR ME! I couldn't take time to put Buster up for fear that the scorpion would hide and then I would have a large, loose, scorpion in MY HOUSE!

I never sleep very well when Im alone in the house - its like the house suddenly becomes UNSAFE - so I had chairs under the front and back door knobs and I lock my bedroom door when I go to bed.....and then every noise, every squeak has me sitting upright....well the thunder and lightining from the storm did not subside until around 2-ish this morning (and now you know how I know this).

I get up, its raining again - so it was a fight with Pete (the OLDEST of our boxers) to go out in the rain and do his business, but finally he did after some physical pushing to get him OFF the porch. I get to work, which is going to be a busy day anyway only to discover that I left my cell phone at home.....ok not a big deal - so I text the hubby and the college boy (using my computer) to let them know if they need me to call me. EXCEPT THAT I get a return text message (to my computer) from college boy, telling me he has lost his wallet.....since he is in class, I had to deal with cancelling his debit card....I then remember - his drivers license AND his student ID was in that wallet. He can't EAT on campus without the ID - which I think he has to pay $10 for which he no longer has a debit card to pay with and without his drivers license I don't think he can write a check AND how do you get a replacement ID with out your drivers license to prove that you are the student requesting it and how do you pay for it with no identification ??? Losing your wallet is a very very very bad thing.

I am being OVERLOADED by negative Energy!!!!!!!!!! Where is the Chocolate?

Sometimes It is just the LUCK of the DRAW

College Boy sent me a message last night - "I have AWESOME news" - I can't imagine what it is......so he tells me he is playing at the Cowboy's Game on Sunday - in the new stadium and everything - "once in a lifetime chance" he tells me. They are unveiling Tom Landry's statue and the Cowboy's star.......I said "how did YOU get a spot? Your a freshman, thats not normal"...apparently ALL the upperclassmen get to go for sure then they held a lottery for the remaining spots (apparently only 200 of the UNT band get to go) - Well Travis "won" a spot and will be playing at the game this Sunday......now, how cool is that?

As the world turns

So the diet continues - its going well - i was pretty proud of myself - last night in 30 minutes, I walked 1.61 miles and 3550 steps - now this is based on a pedometer that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.....one night I got back from my normal walk and it showed I had gone 21 steps......so - take it for whats it worth :) I AM going to buy a NEW pedometer. I don't go back to my weight doc until the 28th so giving a report until then won't be "official" so you have to wait until then for my official total lost - so far :) In the meantime, if you haven't ready the Flat Belly Diet, I highly recommend it (no, unfortunately, they are not paying me to say that). Although they have made a believer out of me with this MUFA business.

The college boy is ok - he was sick yesterday. I got a text message that said (and I quote) "could you have someone bring pepto at some point because i had a really bad stomach problems that caused me to get up several times in the middle of the night" - I felt really bad for him but I wonder who he thought I was going to get to bring him some Pepto at 11:30 am? I will definitely send him back with some after this weekend. Then we got to talking about an English paper that he has to do this week - he gave me a very long list of reasons why he couldn't do the paper, we discussed and argued back and forth - so I finally said to him "it sounds to me like you don't WANT to do the paper - that being the case, why don't I just come get you, withdraw you from school - try to get some of my money back and you can go to school again when YOU can pay for it" he didn't like that idea, and soon began working on the paper. At last check last night, he was almost done and its not due until Thursday.....It is particularly frustrating because he is such a good writer - if he would just use his skills to write what the teacher wants, he would probably make an A. So we shall see.

The navy boy is good too - he has a BIG test today (he is testing for Petty Officer) - he said he is prepared so good wishes for him to do well on the test!

The Hubby is off in Birmingham Alabama - this consulting work is GREAT FUN for me (said dripping with sarcasm).....but he seems to love it and admittedly he is very good at what he does. But he will be home soon and all will be well again.

So back to the daily grind - and OH Happy Birthday to my baby sister (tomorrow). Thats her on the far left...isn't she adorable?

As promised

I started a new diet - oh about........31 years ago (no Im just kidding, this one is wayyy more recent). Anyway I am seeing a diet doctor who is giving me a GREAT appetite suppressant and monitoring me once a month - the first thing he said was "fix your plate as you normally would and then.....cut everything in 1/2 - take it off your plate and put in a seperate container and put it in the fridge or throw it out" - so I did. Well it worked and I knew this was going to be all about calorie restriction without counting the calories - except that Im a tad bit OCD about some things so - I count them anyway......so, while doing this I ran accross a little thing called "The Flat Belly Diet" and it gave me lots of ideas for low calorie meals that are filling and have enough protein that it really stays with you and consequently I have cut my calories probably by about 1000 calories a day (I was a pretty BIG eater and I am also a stress eater which Im learning to deal with) and I walk for 30 minutes a day - at first it was barely a mile but now Im up to 1.5 in 30 minutes so Im walking faster and working harder. The benefit of my hard work to date is around 15 pounds.......BUT I have about 50 more to lose soooooo we will see how it goes....stay tuned :)

Update on the College Boy

I guess its all going well - of course, now that he is "on his own" (right Im still paying all of the bills but HE is on his own) anyway, apparently I have no right to know what is going on.....he is still trying to see how many activities he can get involved in and meanwhile all i want to know is ARE YOU GOING TO CLASS AND DOING YOUR SCHOOL WORK.......of course he gives me that "attitude" that I so can't stand so I usually end the conversation before an arguement ensues....

This weekend will be the first HOME football game so the band will be busy (I wish we were going but we have other obligations this weekend) and its supposed to rain but thankfully, I don't think they are supposed to be in full uniform...I think this weekend is Khaki's and UNT t-shirt. UNT won the first game (away game) so lets all cheer for the Eagles (ca-caw)!

Anway - I guess time will be the only thing that will tell the tale - he will make good grades and stay at UNT or he will make bad grades and come home to work and go to TCC. Its his choice.
Anyway, Happy WEEKEND EVERYONE! Next week I will tell you all about my new diet and how its working ;)

Mom's Birthday

My Mom turned 60 on Saturday - I took charge, gathered "The Gang", made a reservation at Abuelos (if you have never been there and you like Mexican food, it is a MUST) and had a great birthday lunch with Mom. Now let me say that my Dad just turned 68 in July. Look at this picture and tell me, do these people look in their 60's to you? (I had a picture on here but was told by my mother to remove pictures of her from MY BLOG on the Internet)

I must have some pretty good genetics to draw from here :) (we can only hope). Anyway, after the lunch and really fabulous birthday cake

(It was a Tres Leches with strawberry filling and fresh strawberries on top) all the girls went shopping. As is standard -Mom and I found NOTHING - a few of the others found a few things - but it was a fun time :) - Happy Birthday Mom!

College......Really?

So Travis moves in.....LOVES his new roomate - new roomate (who requested a private room last year gets the call that a room is available so he moves out) In comes the new roommate who kindly brings Travis some Perrier (Travis has never had Perrier so that will be interesting) .....they are still seeing how they click - this one is not a music major like the other one, he is not in marching band with Travis like the other one but hey, maybe thats a good thing, who knows. (I will post dorm room photos later).

First week of "real" class time - The call: "so here is what is really cool, taking notes, in history, on my laptop - its wayyy easier. English sucks - I need an english class where I can use my laptop. We had to hand write a 2 page paper and I didn't even get finished with it (wow, how did all us "old" folk manage?) ".....but Russian, is my favorite class and Im going to do really good in there" (Russian, seriously? Who speaks russian these days?) Of course then there is Music and Marching Band and I suppose it is, what it is because I don't hear as much about those.

He plans to join some music fraternity - he plans to play LaCrosse - he has been playing Ultimate Frisbee "in his spare time" when he is not in some other dorm visiting with some "new friends" - somehow all this "getting involved" is MY fault cuz I told him to "get involved" - so where are you going to fit in school work there Trav???? He SURE better make time.

I can already tell, this is going to be quite an adventure - not just for Travis but apparently for me, as well :)

What Now?

The move on campus went much better than I expected. There were no tears, no sadness and no big sighs.......we moved him in, got him unpacked, got his bed made, his computer set up and then we went to WalMart for some food and other things he needed. He had a 7 PM pizza social with the band and then a band meeting so we dropped him off with pretty much an I love you, bye! Craig and I were pretty tired so we went and found a place to eat dinner and then we went home.......all in all it was a pretty good day. I will post pictures of his dorm room after my visit this weekend - he forgot his OTHER mouth piece for his saxophone so we will take it to him, take him to lunch and then head back home......its a good thing he is so close ;) Oh yeah, he really likes his roomate too :)

Today is THE day

Today we will move Travis on campus at UNT. He is so excited and that helps to keep me from being as sad as I probably would be otherwise. We have bought all the necessities, we have packed his clothes and my biggest hope is that we have taught him enough so that he makes good decisions. I hope we have taught him to be a leader and not a follower (if all of your friends are going to jump off of a cliff, are YOU going to jump off too?) I would hope he would say no to that. I hope we have taught him to be responsible and mature in most situations (a little immaturity never hurt anybody:) and I hope we have taught him that he can come to us with anything - it doesn't matter what it is. But above all I hope he knows that he has the love and support of his entire family as he wanders off on this big adventure and he is never doing anything by himself - we (and GOD) are right here! So go, and fly - and do your best cuz thats all anyone can ever ask of you.

6 Days and Counting

We are only 6 days away from sending "the baby" off to college - I say sending, really he is just going, after all it is HIS choice. I am happy because he will just be 50 minutes away, I am sad because he is "the baby". The oldest, as most of you know, is 1/2 way around the world, In Italy. He is in the Navy and I know very well how the Navy watches out for them.....but Im still a Mom and I don't think having your kids SO FAR AWAY ever gets easier. And so, while having Travis only 50 minutes down the road, this is really not easy. We have shopped for bedding to make sure he will have a soft, warm place to sleep. We are borrowing a mini fridge for his snacks and (ahem) SODA!!! And of course we are sending along a microwave for those middle of the night hunger pains :) He will of course, come home on some weekends to visit and do laundry and as I have said MANY times, If I get to lonely, Im driving to Denton and taking him out to dinner! But he is doing a good thing, he is going to college, so he can get a good job and take care of us when we are too old to take care of ourselves :) So here is to college, and children and Mom's everywhere - it will be ok, honest!

Fun Weekend

After news of Craig's job offer - the HR lady called back and asked what we were doing on Saturday Evening - we had no plans so she said told us, they were having a company event at the Ballpark - so she sent us tickets (Travis went with us) a season ticket parking pass and stickers for the Bullpen Suite (where the group was gathering) the seats were AMAZING - they were inducting Toby Harrah and Ruben Sierra into the Hall of Fame AND my favorite Nolan Ryan was there! We got lucky with the rain - it all went South of us and the evening was nice. They even had a full buffet - so we got to eat and watch baseball (whats better?) I guess better is when the Rangers win, cuz they lost that game :)

Saturday morning however, got to have lunch with my mom, dad, uncle rodney and ethel, they had come to take Leggs (my brother's horse) out to their place in Montgomery (what a lucky horse).

Sunday - was off to church and it was good to be there and not feel like everyone was feeling sorry for us - we were able to share the news that Craig has a job YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH

In fact - Good Luck today honey (its his first day)!!!! I love you!

Looks like its shaping up to be a pretty great week!

Happy Birthday INDEED

Craig got a job offer today! Hallelujah - GOD IS GOOD! After nearly 7 months of prayers, wishes, working, looking, searching, interviewings it finally happened! It is in consulting and will require some travel but even THAT is ok. We can finally relax a little - YIPPEEEEEEEEE

Happy Birthday Craig

Just a special post to wish a very happy birthday to my honey.

For those who are wondering, yes he is still job searching (almost 7 months now since he was laid off) but we are trying to stay positive and hope that something will come along soon (so, if you know of something shoot one of us an email).

I will fix him some salmon and wild rice and some broccoli with cheese sauce - one of his favorite meals and I already made him a birthday cake so - it will be as nice a birthday as one can have, considering the circumstances :)

I love you Craig! Here is the best gift I could do :) I know its not in the drive way but hey - you can look at it :)

More Birthday Fun

So Saturday was my ACTUAL birthday - so we went out to dinner with Craig's family - we went to Logan's - I LOVE their food. Afterwards we came back to our house. My mother in law made brownies and we got some vanilla ice cream and had brownies and ice cream -yum!

That day ;however, we were dorm shopping for Travis (he moves in to his dorm on August 19th to prepare for marching band - Go EAGLES!) and then with some of his own hard-earned money he purchased a digital camera - he is so proud of his first major purchase - lets see if he takes better care of it than if it had been OUR money :)

Then Sunday was dog bathing day - we bathed all 3 of our dogs....and now they smell good and look good - once again I was caught camera less - I really better get on the stick :)

When Jerin sends me pictures of his weekend trip to Rome, maybe I can post one or two of those! What a life that kid has :)

A little laugh

Someone sent this to me and it is too funny not to share...its a little long but worth the read if you live in Texas:

Dear Diary,
Just moved to Texas ! Now this is a state that knows how to live!! Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. What a place! It is beautiful. I've finally found my home. I love it here.
June 14th:
Really heating up. Got to 100 today. Not a problem. Live in an air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun everyday like this. I'm turning into a sun worshipper.
June 30th:
Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today. Lots of cactus and rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing the lawn for me. Another scorcher today, but I love it here.
July 10th:
The temperature hasn't been below 100 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat?
At least, it's kind of windy though. But getting used to the heat is taking longer than I expected.
July 15th:
Fell asleep by the community pool. (Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my body). Missed 3 days of work. What a dumb thing to do. I learned my lesson though. Got to respect the ol' sun in a climate like this.
July 20th:
I missed Lomita (my cat) sneaking into the car when I left this morning. By the time I got to the hot car at noon, Lomita had died and swollen up to the size of a shopping bag, then popped like a water balloon. I learned my lesson though. No more pets in this heat. Good ol' Mr. Sun strikes again.
July 25th:
The wind sucks. It feels like a giant blow dryer!! And it's hot as he!!. The home air-conditioner is on the fritz and the AC repairman charged $200 just to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts.
July 30th:
Been sleeping outside on the patio for 3 nights now, $225,000 house and I can't even go inside. Lomita is the lucky one. Why did I ever come here?
Aug. 4th:
It's 115 degrees. Finally got the air-conditioner fixed today. It cost $500 and gets the temperature down to 85. I hate this stupid state.
Aug. 8th:
If another wise a$$ cracks, 'Hot enough for you today?' I'm going to strangle him. Dang heat. By the time I get to work, the radiator is boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like baked cat!!
Aug. 9th:
Tried to run some errands after work. Wore shorts, and when I sat on the seats in the car, my a$$ caught fire. My skin melted to the seat. I lost 2 layers of flesh and all the hair on the back of my legs. . . Now my car smells like burnt hair, fried a$$, and baked cat.
Aug 10th:
I’m convinced now that the weather report is a recording. Hot sunny. Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny. It's been too hot to do crap for 2 damn months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Doesn't it ever rain in this damn state? Water rationing will be next, so my $1700 worth of cactus will just dry up and blow over. Even the cactus can't live in this heat.
Aug. 14th:
Welcome to HELL! Temperature got to 115 today. Cactus are dead. Forgot to crack the window and blew the windshield out of the car. The installer came to fix it and guess what he asked me??? "Hot enough for you today?" My sister had to spend $1,500 to bail me out of jail. Freaking Texas . What kind of a sick demented idiot would want to live here??
Will write later to let you know how the trial goes.

RAIN...at last!

Its finally raining - after several 100+ days and lots of heat we are finally getting a respite. Of course the thunder, lighting and losing power is not the MOST fun thing but at least its a good hard rain.

Yesterday we had the JULY birthday celebration at Mom's and it was fun - it was for Craig, Dad, me and Roy......it was a lot of fun but can you imagine that I did not take 1 picture ?

Wild and Crazy Hot

Friday night we attended a gathering of Craig's old high school band members....well, actually it was about 10 years worth of band folks - Craig had a good time...only a handful of the ones from his years were there. It sure is a wild bunch!

Sunday we went to Sandy Lake park in Carrollton and boy was it hot! We were there to hang out with some of the folks from Craig's college fraternity but only 2 or 3 of them showed up. It was mostly the older folks but we met some new people had some hot dogs and about died of heat stroke.

Bass Hall (Review)

Last night we went to the Bass Hall to see Casa Manana presents Little Shop of Horrors. It was so much fun........this was the most well done play I think I have EVER seen....the voices were amazing, the way they handled the plant growing in size, and the puppeteering was spectacular and at intermission ...well I don't want to spoil it for those who might go in the 3 weeks the play is here....I highly recommend it......if you have seen the movie, know that the play is JUST AS GOOD.......what a great time!

And he is off....

Jerin's flight just left for JFK where it will go on to Italy afterwards......its happy and sad all at the same time. Its hard being a military parent, I can't imagine being a military spouse.....they are so far away and gone for a long time and you don't really know what they are enduring but you hope they are healthy and happy - because thats all you can do is hope and pray which I do everyday.

The flip side of that is how many 23 year olds get to spend a few years living in the mediterranean...he just left Greece - where he stayed for a year and now he is off to live on the Amalfi Coast of Italy for 2-3 years. Maybe, I will get to go visit someday :)

God Speed and safe travel Jerin - we love you and miss you already!

Happy Birthday America!

Maybe this day means alot to me because I have son who fights for our freedom everyday. And granted he is not in some of the "hot zones" but he does work for our US Military and to me, that is a huge job. It takes him away from home (far away) and believe me, these guys work hard. So yesterday, while we celebrated the 4th of July, we also celebrated him - because he is headed back overseas on Monday. We love you Jerin and We will miss you....but remember how quickly a year passes :) Jerin and Brett having a big time (Jerin's face will tell you).

The gang out at the pool :) Including my silly sister.

Quote

I read a couple of quotes today - they struck me, so I thought I would share them:

"Nothing in life is unforgivable. Choose to thank the universe for giving you the opportunity to develop your soul by knowing another person."

"Your braver than you know,

Your stronger than you seem,

Your smarter than you think."

Christopher Robin to Pooh

Have a great day, and a great July 4th but please lets remember the reason for the day.

God Bless our military (former and present) - it is thanks to them that we have freedom.

Rodeo

Saturday night we went to the rodeo.....a group of 12 and my mom even had access to a suite.....so we really enjoyed ourselves. My favorite Aunt who lives down near Houston

, some of my favorite cousins.....both my boys, my sister, my parents

....it was such fun. We did find out that the Mesquite Rodeo is no longer run by Don Gay and family.....they have done away with the opening parade and have changd things up quite a bit...we didn't like it quite as much .....there just seems to be less "fanfare" however, in spite of all that....we were there to be together and just enjoy ourselves and we sure did.

ICONS

Yesterday we lost both the beautiful Farrah Fawcett (Age 62) and the talented Michael Jackson (Age 50).

No matter how you felt about either one of them there is no way to deny the mark, the impact and the legacy they both left on this planet. Of course a day or two ago, we lost Ed McMahon.....the saying is they happen in threes and there are the three. Its hard to absorb sometimes, like when Elvis died, whe we lose people that seems larger than life. Granted, we, the purchasing, adoring public are the ones that put them there......they were just blessed with the talent and/or beauty. I suspect they didn't always want the attention that was given to them. One of the great disgraces of this generation is the paparazzi who will give no one the peace or privacy to grieve a loss so great...so my heart and my prayers go out the family, friends and loved ones of these three wonderful people we have lost. They will be missed and may God Bless You and keep you during your time of sorrow.

Time

Have you ever noticed that sometimes time just seems to fly by.....one minute your kids are small and crazy and make your wish for 5 minutes of peace and you blink, and they are all grown up. Other times, it just crawls by and you wonder if the day will ever end? Well, I just realized there is another way time passes and it at a pace that is just right....not too fast, not too slow....but just right, so you can enjoy the time, and what is happening, without worrying that your missing something. Not really any big revelation to anyone Im sure, but just an observation.

Wednesday Already?

Our time with our Navy son, who is home for a short leave (18 days), is just FLYING by...I always love having him home and any opportunity to spoil him or do something nice for him...but he is off with his friends alot, just as he should be :) He will probably not get more leave for another year but I am hopeful that in Italy we will have better opportunites to talk and email than he did in Greece. Anyway.....if I don't post much, i am just spending time with the kiddo :)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

I just want to wish every father, step-father, grandfather, god father - whatever kind of father you are, a very Happy Father's Day - this day is to celebrate you and who you are and what you do for the children in your life.

The quote says Any man can be a father but it takes a special person to be a Dad. Well I personally, have one of the best and I share him with two siblings who think so too - but I also share him with my own children because he is such a blessing to us all. Our lives are doubly blessed by having another wonderful father, Craig's Dad - he is the silent type who is always there when you ask, never intruding but only "being there" and we thank him for that.

So to all the dads in our lives - we love you, we appreciate you and may God bless you every day just for being who you are!

The Eagle has landed...

Well he finally made it home...our Navy boy (of course I guess he is not a "boy" anymore but he is mine so I can call him what I want). After a little over a year in Greece - he is home for 18 days and then he is off to Italy. Craig and I really hope that we can make a trip over to visit HIM while he is there. Of course a job for Craig would be nice....but that might be coming soon :) but Im not saying cuz I don't want to jinx it.

However - here he is, our very own sailor - Jerin (the picture may not show it but he looks tanned and wonderful, but of course Im partial, cuz Im his mom)

Tomato Plants continued....

I think my tomato plants are going to be total loss. First, something is eating the romas - not the leaves or the stems but the actual tomato....and those are the ones that don't have blossom end rot. One of my large plants, that actually have several very nice looking, regular tomatoes seems to have been attacked by "something" that might have been cut worms or now Im thinking grasshoppers because the ends of the plants are GONE but whatever it is hasn't TOUCHED the actual tomatoes on this plant.

On my third plant...the ones called "Better Boys" it has ONE lone tomato that has not grown beyond its current size and no other blooms or fruit on it......Apparently tomatoes don't like the Square Foot Garden, so next season I think I will just plant 2 plants of regular tomatoes in a big POT and leave the Sq Foot Garden for something else. The peppers on the other hand (all 3 types) are having a field day as is that blasted cantaloupe vine that is taking over the universe !?!?!?! Did I say I was doing this for fun? You work so hard and you have to compete with nature and critters to get anything out of it! ARGH!

Tomato Plants!?!?!

My garden has survived all the storms but I planted 3 different types of tomatoes in my square foot garden and something is EATING my Romas! First I discovered that some of them had blossom end rot - which was discouraging but fixable (you simply add calcium to the soil and water more regularly) then I discovered that something was eating on them....it only eats the skin on one side and then moves on to the next one! I have to figure out what this pest is and then I will post pictures......but I warn you, its pretty sickening :) However, I am going to have to figure out what to do about the cantaloupe because it is truly tryingto take over my small little garden :( Next spring, the mint and the cantaloupe will have to go somewhere else (they are garden hogs) and next spring I will ad another square foot box.....this is wayyyy too easy and fun.

The "fur" kids

We have three of the craziest boxers on the planet. Each one of them having these "things" that they do that make them unique. Two of the three are rescues but we would have paid for them if we had to.

Pete, is the oldest (11) and the only fawn colored one of the gang. Make no mistake he is the Alpha, and if you don't think so, just ask him because he is a talker. Heaven forbid you don't get his dinner when HE think you should for he will torment you until you get up and go do it. This picture is standard Pete....the King:

Next in age is Shelby (8) and doesn't look a day over 3 :) She is white (No she is not albino, or rare, or deaf or stupid or any of the the myths that go along with white boxers) Her claim to "fame" is she is lickalupagus - she licks people, carpet, toys, the air.......it doesn't matter, its what she does. But she is a pretty girl and this picture proves it....

Then we have Buster (3), the baby....HE is the craziest dog of the bunch....he flies around the house thinking he is a helicopter with legs flailing. He skateboards in the kitchen on one of the chew bones and he is just a general fruitcake, see....

However,one of the funniest sights to watch is when there is a lizard, a frog or some other critter hanging out on the back porch. They whine and they prance and they really want to play with whatever it is....

They are crazy but they are ours and we love them.

It is what it is

The Navy has reminded Jerin once again of who is in charge and moved his departure back to June 19th. As long as he still get the 18 days at home then we can all survive one more week. I told him to keep his chin up and enjoy the downtime.

We took on another round of pretty severe storms last night. At one point (around 2:30 am) Craig and I were fairly sure the house had been hit by lightining. We were running around the house seeing if we could smell smoke, waiting to see if the smoke detectors went off (at the intial "boom" we heard them beep just once). Of course right after Craig's panic he started to feel sick and "weird" (he doesn't do panic very well). Anyway, the weather settled down and soon we were able to get some sleep. The garden seems no worse for the wear - I checked it this morning just briefly.

I hope all of you fared well!

Graduation Day

Well its finally here. Travis is graduating from High School. I was having some trouble with it since he is the baby and he will be living on campus when he goes off to school but someone said at Baccalaurate - this is not the end or the beginning of the end, but the beginning of the beginning......and since he is going to UNT he will still be close :) (Be aware parents of little ones - the time goes by so fast - so don't blink or you will miss it).

Travis will be in Marching Band at UNT so we will be at football games and school stuff - so all is well. We are so proud of you T - you made it!

Happy Anniversary To US

Today is mine and Craig's 7th wedding anniversary. I think it surprises him when I remember because Im so bad with dates. If I don't write it down, it didn't happen :) This is a tough anniversary for us because ;unfortunately, he is still laid off, so we went to dinner and that was enough....but when he DOES get a job - there better be something good next year :) Im thinking a trip to Italy to see Jerin will suffice (hahahaha).

Anyway Happy Anniversary Honey - this is just one out of many, we can make up for it !

Chili Bites The Dust

So...Im driving home from work, talking on the phone, minding my own business when suddenly on my dash appears the little car with a wrench (I think this is the Service Engine Soon light), next my battery light comes on, followed by my ABS light and my air bag light.....at the same time I notice that the LEDs are slowly getting dimmer and dimmer. At this point, Im pretty sure my car has completely freaked out.....By now, I have hung up call #1 and in a panic I have Craig on the phone.......I get off the highway with a plan to turn around and head to the Saturn dealership......no dice.....it died right there - everything went black.....I coasted it into a liquor store parking lot (by the way a Saturn Vue without power stearing is a very very bad idea) - that was the end of that. I called a wrecker, I called my favorite Saturn dealership - had the tow truck take it there and now we wait......Im sure the damage will be a doozy because Craig took a look and said my accessory drive belt was gone.......so....wish me luck. With Craig being laid off - this could be bad :(

New Info: yes of course - lets think of ALLLLL the things it could be pick the most EXPENSIVE one and that will be the thing that has to be fixed - apparently the air compressor froze up, effectively shredding the accessory drive belt and there you have it......so $800+ dollars later.....it will be fixed....however, we had to go with a remanufactured compressor or it would have been $1100......so, yeah. Can SOMEONE find Craig a job please?????

*sigh*

Ok, so the Navy Son will not be home until June 12th AND he only gets to be home for 18 days as opposed to the 30, I THOUGHT he was getting. I need to have a word with the Navy huh?

Well at least last nights storms did not do another number on my garden. When I looked this morning , Im pretty sure the peppers have lost their minds right along with the tomates. We picked our first 2 zucchinis and I must admit, homegrown (while smaller than storebought) has ALOT more flavor. I can hardly wait for the tomatoes, YUM!

Yikes

So Im sitting here at work on the 4th floor of a building that was hit by a tornado just a few short years ago. There is QUITE a thunderstorm brewing outside.....Tornados don't hit the same place twice, right ? (Unless IM in the building).

Did we really WANT this?

When we bought our house we both said "land", we want a house with some land. Well we have 1.25 acres.....we have wildlife galore (I would post pics but the roadrunners and hummingbirds are way too fast). So here is Craig doing his guns up - on the deere.....thank goodness for Riding Mowers

Navy Son

Well I got word from my Navy son that he begins "check out" on Monday. I guess in Navy terms that means he will be home soon - woohoo! Im excited about this because I have not seen him in over a year and I have only spoken to him on the phone once. Most of our exchange has been via email and instant messenger. I have him home for 30 days - then he is off to Italy. Im not sure how long he will be assigned there but my hope is that it will be a little easier to communicate with him.

By the way...

Not only did the garden survive - We now have actual tomatoes and peppers - pretty exciting stuff! AND the cantaloupe plant has 3 new blooms, along with another zucchini or two..... I will post photos soon. I shall prevail over this crazy Texas weather and its pea size hail!

Photos as promised: Some kind of pepper (banana maybe?) and then my roma tomatoes.