Walk, No Run this Way

New Developments...

2010-12-14T17:25:00.000-05:00

When you see a new development (i.e. construction), do you stop and wonder what they are building, what businesses will go there, what prices the houses will be, do they have first floor masters, what schools are closeby? See, life for me is like one new development. I have so many options and questions and I am wondering what to do next. Most of you know I am a religious person. I trust in God implicitly to take care of my needs and that of my family. When I needed extra monies to replace my AC, my washer and dryer and to pay out of pocket for my surgery in Sept....God provided. When I was unsure about what I was going to do for work when WellPoint let me out of my contract before surgery....God provided. Now, as my contract is ending with the Process Engineering team at Capital One, I am putting all of my faith in Him and His plan and His timing. I have a job interview tomorrow and it seems to be going well in that I have lots of references internally and the HR interview was an easy pass. Pray for me....as I start a new development--may all of my questions be answered and for the best of me and my family.

December Daliance.....not so much

2010-12-03T22:57:00.000-05:00

To dally is to be lazy. I have most definitely not been lazy lately. Since Sept. 28th, I have been working hard at my latest contract job. I only took 3 weeks off after a major surgery and I was able to kick butt and heal enough to get back to work. I even lost weight after surgery with only dieting (total 32pds to date). I have been working hard at my house cleaning, decorating and organizing. I am kinda in a phase where I want to organize and purge every room making my punch list of honey to dos for B later. I have been really working hard at finding my next job. I am praying this time for an employee job. I enjoy contracting because the pay is great but having no benefits, no job security, no sick or vacation pay--kinda blows. I also have had only 8 days off in the last 12months outside of surgery. That kinda sucks when I go back and look at those weeks and realize even though I took a day off, I still worked 40hrs that week--well I get bummed. As a contractor, I have worked much harder than I ever did as an employee. I want to just say that I am very grateful. When I lost my employee job at Capital One in Nov. 2006, I was hurt and not ready to move on. I had been comfortable and though I knew I was capable of more than I was doing, I was not ready to move on. I was loyal. It hurt thinking the company I worked for for 10yrs was not loyal to me. But now I realize it was God pushing me to discover my strengths. I left Capital One and went to Circuit City corporate. I took that time to learn about what my strengths are. I took time to learn about me. I took time to grow up. Well, that was a short lived job as we all now Circuit City was sinking like the Titanic. That is how I ended up contracting. I have been contracting for 3years now this December. And Dally I can not. I have learned so much about myself these past 4 years. I am stronger than I think I am. I can learn new things and meet new people. I can create a work persona that makes me happy and yet shows professionalism when at times I want to be nothing but. I am a great project manager. I love the big picture. I like seeing holes in processes and fixing them. I have finished my associates degree and I want to learn even more. So this time of year, don't dally. Take time to make your life's punch list.

Oh to be independently wealthy...

2010-10-04T14:53:00.000-04:00

Seriously. How many of us have not had this wonderful dream.....win the lottery, receive an inheritence of a substantial amount from a dead relative you never knew, win a landslide lawsuit with no damage to you......and so on. The idea being---you are stinking rich and never have to work again unless you choose to and then it would be for fun. Yep, work for fun. I am sick in the head.
Well, since I have been a bad blogger, time to catch you all up yet again. I left Wellpoint 9/3, had surgery 9/7 and came back to work 9/28 to a new contract with a diff firm (Capital One) for 12 weeks. I will be out of work again 12/15 but hey- who doesn't want to draw unemployment and be off for the last few weeks of the year to enjoy the holidays. LOL.
I am loving life in general. Still in lots of pain but with Tylenol ES and some Diurux to minimize fluid buildup in my body, I am coping. I only wish I had the luxury of having more time bw contracts or specifically not being "screwed" by the end date at Wellpoint because of indecision for budgeting at EOY. But hey, that's life and it's business- not personal. Hard to remember sometimes but all part of being a professional.....Ugg. I hate that word.
I have gotten really good at playing that part though. I can be "Professional" but there is a part of me, the Gemini part, that wants more freedom to manage and run free at times. Hence--the independently wealthy subject title of this post. If I had $ I would start my own business doing social network media market research for large Fortune 500s, local small business firms, etc. I would hire people to WFH in their PJs, moms who need flexible hrs and decent pay, and have them search and scour twitter, facebook, myspace, blogs, etc. for mentions of Company names, feedback etc. and pull daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly social profiles for a fee to the firms. I think the idea is a nominal one and I would be surprised if the job did not already exist today. I would want to expand the idea to include local firms and PR via social media networks and focus on branding in the current social marketplace. Anyone want to loan me a couple of MILL to get started? LOL
Danielle is doing well but overloaded, she basically skipped 6th grade and started MS in 7th grade courses as a 6th grader. When she graduates MS to move to 9th grade, she will have several HS credits already under her belt allowing her to graduate HS one to two yrs early. But, caveat, she is struggling a bit and frustrated. 2-3hrs of hw after a 7hr class day and 4-5hrs of HW each weekend is a bit much. And not helping, her teacher from last yr (5th grade) was a slouch and was barely there but we did not see concern because Dani made Honor Roll every 9weeks. We will figure it out, but it means lots of help from Mom and Dad and that is ruff for us all.
Joe is a happy little camper. We have officially transitioned him from "our bed" to his bed with the purchase of a bed warmer. Now to teach him how to use a doggy door. Who said old dogs can't learn new tricks??
And I have a new neice. Kaylah Marie Colgin was born 9/26 on my hubby's bday which makes her birth so special to me. She has this wonderful dark hair and cute smile and wonderful disposition. Her older sis is jealous but will get over it. We make sure to include her a lot so she knows we still love Leah. My brother is a wonderful DAD as I always knew he would be. It gives me great joy to see him loved and loving his family. My sister's boys are all growing so fast. Nic is a brain child with every fact I think known to man, which is kinda annoying but amazing all at once. He and Dani are at such an awkward age- not quite teens/adults but not really kids either. Turner is still my rambuncious nephew with the flair for drama and the love of outdoors. I am sure he is happy about cool weather and leaves falling. And of course, little Jaxson is proving to have a strong personality all his own and determined to be a "big boy" with self potty training and lots of fast learner moments courtesy of viewing his big bros.
On a more personal front, I am working on my PMP and plan to test before eoy. Next spring, if I can line up a perm job or a long term contract, planning to enroll in 4yr college online to complete Bachelors finally! And trying to shore up my work life. Contracting as a PM is great but it would be so nice to have a real perm. job somewhere that feels like home again. I miss that--being an employee. So all my friends who have "associate, employee" jobs...quit whining and realize how blessed you are and never take advantage of that.

An Update

2010-09-12T14:11:00.000-04:00

Well today is 9/12 and it has been almost a month since I have posted. I finished working out with my personal trainer, Mike, for the first 8weeks. I lost no weight and actually gained 3 pds. I did lose inches all from my waist and up. No inches from the hips down. I liked the way I looked, felt and the overall "up" in my energy and endurance. My last day at WellPoint came and went. My surgery day came and went. I did well. I had some nerve damage from the panniculectomy which happens sometimes in these types of surgeries. As the nerve comes back online (so to speak), well--it burns like rugburn and itches something awful. I look good from a sillouhette perspective and I love the overall effect. The hernia is repaired and I am looking fwd to getting my surgical drains removed on Monday. Danielle started middle school and she is iffy about it. She loves some of her classes but not all. She will adjust I am sure. Will be posting pics soon.

Oh my....and so much more.

2010-08-20T22:11:00.000-04:00

Well, it has seemed like forever and so much to update everyone on. On a personal level, marriage and motherhood is awesome. My daughter is very much a teenager and has the attitude to boot. This year she starts middle school and I am nervous. We have her BTS shopping all done. Pumas are the shoes for the year and Hollister is her brand name clothing of choice. Still have to do a bit of jewelry shopping and of course Ms. Dani is wanting to wear makeup this year. Dad fell for it and bought her dark eye-liner. Oh boy, and here we go. I am okay with light blush, lip gloss with a bit of color and light pastel eye-shadow. But no more at her age. Maybe 7th grade she can graduate to eye-liner and mascara a bit darker blush and lip gloss. LOL. Went to her school's 4hr orientation (yes, 4hrs) and she was hit on by a classmate - a boy with a lot of nerve. He walked up to her in her class and asked her "Since I see no open chairs, can I sit in your lap?" Of course, my Dani said no and she was smart enough not to tell her dad this charming little story until we were in the car on the way home. LOL. It is going to be a tuff school yr. Hubby got a new and improved schedule and next week, he will get his first Saturday off and he continues with Sat, Sun weekends like most normal folk which is very new for us. I am happy because we can plan so much more as a family like little weekend trips or even more beach time next summer. And on a work level, I love my job and I really like WellPoint but alas, it is not to be a permanent home for me. They have a 12mo term for contracts before they require a break and I go out for surgery on the 7th of Sept and will be out too long. The verdict for me was a shortened contract. It would have been over 9.30 but I am not too sad. I will miss the craziness that I have been a part of but I will say that the job has been a wonderful learning experience for me. So I will soon be jobless which is nerve racking for me. Not many places have headcount this time of year and really, my only option is another contract role. Honestly, I love the contract pay and flexibility but I want a perm. home. I miss the stability that came with an associate job (paid time off, benefits, and education reimbursement programs). Well, all usually has a way of working out for the best. I have really enjoyed my 8weeks with personal training. I feel so toned and strong. I have lost inches but afraid not much weight. Either way, I feel so wonderful about the changes in my energy level and my muscle tone. My trainer is a great dude that I get to laugh with while he pushes me 3x a week to do my best. It is something I am very grateful I signed myself up for. And finally, my surgery. It is looming. I am getting my hernia repaired and all of the extra skin and fat removed from my hips and waist. It is an exciting prospect and scary. I am so afraid of the impending pain that I know is on it's way. On the other hand, I am very excited about wearing a new size, looking good in my clothes, not hurting with the hernia, being able to ride amusement park rides with my Dani. All of this comes after. And that is what I am focused on .....the after. After, I will look great, feel great. After, I will find a new job. After, I will be able to ride rides, exercise harder, hug closer. After, well....is so soon.

Take care everyone. Remember, it is all about the AFTER. :-)

My Dani went off to her first overnight camp....

2010-07-30T17:31:00.000-04:00

Dani went to Centri-Kid Camp at the Lynchburg Eagle Eyrie Baptist Church Center. She left Monday at 9am with a large duffel bag and a sleeping bag. She returned today at 3pm with a large duffel bag and a sleeping bag without the wrap. LOL. Her duffle was stuffed with all of her wet dirty clothes. She accidentally picked up another girl's church t-shirt and left her one the camp gave her (or another girl picked that up). She is missing some underwear and a few other articles of clothing. Her new shoes are super dirty and she somehow managed to bath all week using only her packed shampoo and not her soap. LOL. Kids.
She had a great time and made new friends. She bunked with Alex, her bff already; Macy (cute little blonde); Anna (a diabetic and a sweetheart) and her counselor. She said the food was sometimes awesome, sometimes goop. She hated the hills, loved the pool, thought the rooms were not as nice as Holiday Inns. She loved the Christian rock group and used her spending $ to visit the ice cream shop, buy a cute blue t-shirt and buy a CD with the rock group and managed to score all of their autographs on the cd and cover. The ride home was tiring and hot and she got off the bus with all the excitement of a slug.
Meanwhile, Dad, I and Joe missed her terribly. The house was 2 quiet and I missed her little voice. I rished to hug her and got the "it's hot and I don't want any hugs" speech. She cheered up when I told her we were heading to Cold Stone to celebrate her return. She is now bathed, her clothes are all washed and in the dryer and she is now sound asleep on the sofa. It is nice to have her home.
Here are some photos from her camp experience.

I am loving this summer....

2010-07-05T15:23:00.000-04:00

Met with a personal trainer Friday and 3 days later, still sore. Probably will not be my choice for a trainer since she was too intense for me and did not consider my lack of physical ability nor my surgery hernia. Meeting with a different trainer tomorrow am at 8. We will have to see....Would love to pick someone soon so I can start 1hr training 3x a week. I need to tone and bring up my VO2 levels prior to surgery. That is really my main goal. Weight loss would be great but if I lose fat overall on my BMI that would be even better. I enjoyed the Fourth Fireworks on the 2nd at the Genworth Annual Event. It was great as always. Saturday In the am Dani and saw Eclipse with Jodi and Alex. It was awesome. Then later was lonely as Dani spent the weekend with her BFF Alex. We reciprocate often and it works well since both girls are same age and only children. Then Sunday, church and Brian and I got some alone time. Today, visiting with my perfect niece, Leah and took her to lunch and then the pool. Now chilling in the ac before enjoying more pool time. Hate that I have to go back to work.....but I love 4day weeks and 3 day weekends.

Somewhere over the rainbow.....

2010-06-25T15:33:00.000-04:00

is a happy person or group of people. Me, not so much. Work has been difficult. Working long days and trying to structure things for an in jeopardy release while planning for a new release. Whew. Being a Project manager in a large PMO structure with so many moving parts is a fun challenge. I just wonder on days like today, am I getting paid enough. Summer is in with a vengeance and it like 100degrees and that is insane for VIRGINIA. The pools are open and the hot-tub fixed so all set for some summer fun. Still awaiting word on my appeal with Cigna and schedule of my surgery. Vacation cancelled due to the surgery since I will not have time to recover enough now to go anywhere. Bummer and not so much. We will just carryover funds to next year and do something even better then. Now to convince the kid that this is not a traumatic blow. LOL
And tons more drama going on but overall though I can be a bit unhappy sometimes, I am good. :-)

How about you?
Oh, and ECLIPSE is in 4 days......OMG. Going to see with Dani and perhaps a few friends that weekend.

Amazing how time flies.....

2010-06-08T21:33:00.000-04:00

So it has been a while since I last blogged. Sorry. Lots going on in life. Surgery postponed yet again and no new date picked. Still fighting with Cigna to approve the panniculectomy part of the surgery. I mean my gastric bypass surgeon told them that my hernia keeps coming back because of the extra skin and fat hanging under the incision site pulling it open. Ugg. They want me to have a rash there or some other medical reason. Funny, they pre-approved the more expensive hernia repair with no problem. Unbelieveable! Work is good, super busy but good...chaotic just the way I love it. Does that make me weird? My Capital One peers from my past understand. LOL
And I celebrated another birthday. I am now officially 37 yrs old. I actually got to celebrate the event with my extended family these last 2years thanks to my neice Leah, who is 2 on June 10th. I love having another Gemini in the family and hope she grows up as spirited and outspoken as I am. God help her mom and dad.
And the pools are officially open. My parents' in ground pool is clean, salt system installed and warm! And we got an intex blue ring pool 15' x 41" on end of summer clearance last year for our back yard. I have been in once and it is a nice to have. I call it my week-day pool whereas my in ground Mom's pool is for the weekend. It takes 30minutes to drive to Mom's so it is not always feasible during workweek but this lets me have the best of both worlds.

Because my surgery is postponed, I get to see ECLIPSE. Can't wait.

Here are some pics of the tired birthday girl, Leah!

New Hairdo....

2010-06-02T00:30:00.000-04:00

Finally did it. Got my mom to trim out most of the old black color and put some bleached foil highlights in my hair. The blonde highlights at the root look wonderful, the growth turned a bit red but hey- I love the end result. Looks like I planned to have 4 toned hair. I like the way I feel all dolled up and am thinking that turning 37 soon will not be so bad. Actually I feel great at this age and more so than I thought I would. Isn't it funny how at this time in a woman's life she begins to cherish the little things like her hubby doing laundry, her daughter giving her a good night hug and a great hairdo. It is just about the living day to day after all that makes life so GRAND.

Whoa what a feeling....

2010-05-25T08:22:00.000-04:00

So I am home sick after 2+ days of feeling like crapola (is that a word?). I thought it was just a sinus infection but now I think it is some sort of flu as I feel too awful to just have sinus infection and everything aches. The bad thing, well when you are a mom and you are a contractor and you are a wife- life does not stop when you are sick. I still have to take Dani to school, do laundry, do dishes, help with homework, pick her up from school (Mon and Tue) and cook dinner, etc. Hubby is a big help but he works weird hours and needs his sleep so I try to insulate him as much as possible. And being a contractor, well no paid sick days so I better suck it up and just deal. I am very grateful though that WellPoint allows all employees and contractors to work from home 2 days a week. That helps a lot.

So here I am sitting at home in my PJs, hair looking a bit like Elvis and feeling like crap watching my work laptop while I drink coffee. I take a few breaks while WFH but generally it is just like work- focused on my job. I have to stop every once in a while for bathroom or coffee break, to let Joe out to go potty and at 2pm to pick up Dani from school.

So what's new you ask.....I am about to cut my hair again for the summer and add some highlights. I have chosen the style--see pic. What do you think?

And my girl graduated 5th grade. Here she is with one of her BFFs Ally at her DARE graduation. She is so darn tall. LOL

and then there was Sadie.

2010-04-27T15:57:00.000-04:00

Well...on my first real day I was heading to the backyard shed to get the lawnmower to cut the grass and what do I see, 3 four week old kittens frolicking about by the shed. I tried to catch them but they were 2 fast. I was so afraid when I realized that the black and white cat I had been seeing in our trash in the back was probably the mama and she had been killed on Route 1 just a few days before. I called the Henrico Animal Control Unit to see if they could help me catch these babies and they came and tried with no luck. They saw all 3 as well. Given some time to convince my hubby to help, he spent 1.5hrs working very hard to get them out. He only saw one and we saw the mother. The mother was not dead nor the cat I saw in the street but I still had to get the babies out. Animal control said they would catch them but had to euthanize them since they had no room. SPCA would not take the babies until they were weaned. I was stuck. Brian eventually found this one little girl and we called her Sadie. After a night to calm down and bottle feed, today she took a bath and she is getting ready to meet her new Mama. That's right, we found her a new forever home. Dani's orthodontist Dr.Monacell has an employee, Betty, who saw the posting and wanted the kitten. The weird thing, I named her Sadie because, well honestly it seemed to fit her personality and looks. Today I found out that Sadie was Betty's great grandmother's name and it has sentimental value. I will be sad to let Sadie go as I am not allergic and she is loving and sweet. She is actually laying on my chest now as I type. What a darling. I will miss her.

April Days.....

2010-04-25T11:41:00.000-04:00

So many things going on this month...
We got the hot tub working and painted...Spent a bit over $600 but hey, the hot-tub itself was free and so was the labor (Brian)...well sorta free.

And so many of my lovely garden plants have starting to bloom and take new growth.

And I have taken to cooking more and I love eating healthy. Found this yummy rub called Kicking Chickn and I found I adore Camari tomatos and goat cheese.

2010-04-05T15:27:00.002-04:00

Easter Blessings....

2010-04-05T15:01:00.003-04:00

I noticed that as my Dani gets older, holidays change. We no longer setup Santa for Christmas. His elves actually wrap all the presents before Christmas and leave them under the tree. The stocking is filled early. We still do the Christmas Cookies, we just don't leave them out for Santa anymore. When her teeth fall out, she just asks Dad for money now. No more Tooth Fairy visits. The Easter Bunny stopped visiting last April and now we have a family Easter Basket instead. This year, we did not color eggs and it was the last time Dani was young enough to participate in the church egg hunt. We did a bit of a role reversal for our family egg hunt and this year, she hid eggs in the yard for us (the 'rents) to find and took pics of us instead. Lots of changes.

I do know that she is becoming a young lady and many of these holidays lose their luster and magic to her because of her maturity. But the one thing that has remained constant for me and now for her, is the magic of the birth, death and resurrection of Christ.

Christ is the focus of Christmas for us. His birth is a focus in our decorations with our lovely creche and nativity scene (granted a couple of the wise men and shephers met an untimely demise after years of storage). I hang little lights in the creche and highlight the manger with the white light. It always tears me up to see his birth in this light, so humbly and for such a purpose. I saw a movie about his birth, and Mary's pregnancy. Mary and Joseph were such humble servants for the Lord and not at all materialistic or full of ego at His choice of Mary for such a task.

And almost every year around Easter, I put in the Passion of the Christ movie and bawl my eyeballs out. And I feel the pain, emotional betrayal and physical struggle Jesus suffered at the hands of men. The pain his mother felt in watching her son suffer and die upon the cross. And then on Easter Sunday, I rejoice. My God is ALIVE! He rose from the dead, he walked among men again and made it known that his death bought us each eternal life.

So this past Easter Sunday, Dani, Brian and I put on our best outfits--sang praises to our Lord and said Thank you for his sacrifice. I hope all of my friends have this same blessing of eternal life through Christ.!! Happy Easter...be blessed.

What a life....

2010-03-29T22:57:00.002-04:00

Some days, do you wake up and moan...and not with pleasure? LOL.
I feel like that sometimes. It is hard to motivate myself to get up and get moving. I have plantar fasciatis an so my right heel just aches something awful each morning until it has stretched some. I am also a friend of the term lazy. And did I mention, my pre-teen who hates mornings as much if not more than her Mom. Even the dog can't stand getting up. So where am I going with this little rant? This morning, I was woken up by my hubby's cell so casually forgotten (and I am sure he missed it terribly) going off every 15 minutes and I had no clue what it was, where it was or how to shut it up! I said a few choice words and woke up the dog who had to go potty then at 3am, did I mention it was 3AM! Well, this darn thing went off until 6:30am when I finally found it. It survived, not sure how because I could sincerely picture myself beating it to death until it was totally lifeless. But anyhoo, bw 3:15am (after I got back from putting the doggy out) and 6:00am when I just caved and got up for good for a nice relaxing warm shower.....I laid in bed and thought about all the things that make my day miserable. Not all the good things, but the bad. The bird singing outside of my window at 5am...WHY?, the rain pitter pattering and the loud lightening from the storm the night before, the commute I was going to take that day, the pre-cleanup that am (remember- I have a pre-teen--clean up is a must). And on and on. And on and on. Well, then after my shower and locating the offending cell phone, I finally went begrudgeonly into my daughter's room to wake her up for the day and lo and behold....a moment of clarity and peace. This is why I get up every day, this angelic creature sleeping so peacefully and looking so innocent. I work for my family. I struggle through the commute, and through all of the miserable things for the good things. It is hard to see the rainbows through the fog but they are there. My Dani is at that awkward age, not quite a woman, not a little girl but just becoming her own person (an annoying one at times). I love so much about her personality and at this stage in her life, I find it hard to remember all the good when I am frustrated. But this morning, I saw it in her sweet face and I immediately thanked God above for my blessings, every one good and bad. It all defines me and I help to define my Dani. So the moral to my story....hug your children, love them. Remember that life though mundance and miserable at times has a greater purpose.

Oh what New Moon inspired fun!!

2010-03-22T21:10:00.004-04:00

Dani had a friend over to celebrate her birthday (a little late) but just in time for the New Moon DVD release. Of course, being the lover of all things Twilight themed, I bought the movie, got a cake topper made to celebrate the release and found crafts that we could all do (the big kid -mom). This is the picture frame I made with a New Moon sticker and some beautiful scrapbooking elements/papers and some good ole Mod-Podge and --walla! Of course the ribbon is an Etsy.com purchase. Love that site.

Dani really enjoyed the crafts and the girls sat up until 12:30am working on them.

So did her friend Alex....she was thrilled to have anything with Taylor Lautner's face and even stowed away a cake plate with Jacob on it. Poor darlings. Don't they know it is all about EDWARD. LOL.

Just look at the grins and the mess.

And of course, the Ukrops cake with the special topper. Ahh, Edward.

Twi-HARDS

2010-03-17T19:29:00.002-04:00

unite. This coming Saturday my Dani is having her 11th birthday slumber party and she has asked to watch Twilight and New Moon back to back and do cool craft frames with Twilight inspired papers and embellies. I am so proud. I have a flutter in my heart for my dear twilight loving little girl. She has her Eclipse t-shirt and we are buying New Moon of course, especially since I own Twilight and all 4 books. We even ordered a cake topper (new moon icing sheet). for her cake. Will have to post plenty of pics of the event.

Contest....to die for

2010-03-07T20:42:00.000-05:00

Love this contest....www.epiphanie.com

Time flies...

2010-03-02T10:23:00.002-05:00

Well today 11yrs ago, I gave birth via C-section to my only child, Danielle Alyce. She was so beautiful at birth and still today. She had a head full of dark hair, somewhat long. A lusty cry and pudgy not so little body. 10lbs 11.5oz and 21inches long. She was huge. I remember thinking she was a toddler. No wonder I was in constant pain pregnant. LOL
She was a quick learner to everything, rolling over at 3.5mos, crawling at 6mos, walking at 11mos and running quickly after. She has always been my sunshine every morning when I wake her up, though now--she growls instead of grins. I love that she has this sporty sense of style, that she is a social butterfly, that she is ultra clumsy, super leggy and tall. She would rather wear jeans and boots than anything else. She loves animals, loves her art, and is a Twilight fan like Mom. She has her Dad's looks as she ages--his green eyes, his long lashes (super dark), his complexion, his features. I see them together and think--where am I? Well, I hear me in her laugh--in her love of life. She is me in personality. My Dani is such a wonderful young lady. It scares me that time has flown by so quickly. I love her so much and know this year starts a year of multiple changes--interest in her looks, interest in boys. Ugg! God help Brian and I. But after such a hard struggle to have children, I am very happy to say- I am a MOM! I love my Dani and wish her all the love, luck and lasting presence in life everyday but especially today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANI! oh, and to fill my void for wanting more kids--I just depend on my sis and bro to keep having them. 3 adorable nephews, 1 niece and 1 more boy/girl? on the way in Sept. I spoil them rotten 2. :-)

exhausted....

2010-02-23T21:18:00.003-05:00

Wow, more snow....third big storm this Winter.....my place.

Exhausted.....

This is the phrase I have coined over and over again over these last 3 weeks. That is exactly how long I have been on my new job in the new role. I am feeling a bit burnt out and yet proud of how hard I have worked and how quickly I understand what is expected of me. I just wish my home life was no so affected. It is so hard to turn off "frustrated", "mentally exhausted" and "bone-tired" when the clock strikes quitting time. Thank goodness for my hubby who has stepped up to cook dinners, do dishes, etc. He has been my lifesaver once again. We did take some family time this past weekend to visit the Homestead resort in Bath County, VA in Hot Springs....and it was invigorating and wonderful but oh so short. We went snowtubing, ate lunch at the ski lodge, came back and went swimming into the mineral pool indoors (76 degrees all year around) and then went to a nice dinner at the local Country Cafe. We then sat up and played cards until 1am before waking the next day to take some pics and eat the best breakfast buffet I have ever seen. It was a yummy weekend. We went with our friends the Brooks and so the ride was even a blast both coming and going. It makes me long for a bigger vacation. We are trying to come up with places to visit---any suggestions? I was thinking Texas (islands, gulf) or Oregon coast , Chicago??? And yes, that is an Eclipse movie countdown on my blog. Can not wait. I am so in love with Edward and I think Jacob's character was super hot in New Moon. Ahhh. Dreamy.

Valentine's

2010-02-15T19:22:00.002-05:00

19 years ago this Valentine's Day my husband proposed to me. I was 18yrs old and a senior in h.s. We had been dating since my 14th birthday. Our first true date was a group date at Kings Dominion. We had tickets to see the Beach Boys in concert. We went with my friend Jennifer and her bf Dwayne. We had not even shared our first kiss yet. That concert was the turn of my whole life. I had met the man I would spend my life with and I was only 14. My mother was skeptical, so were my friends. Young love is so tenous at best. But here we are...about to celebrate 18yrs of marriage Feb 28th (even tho our real anniv is Feb 29th). Love my man....love my life. Celebrate your love with those who are so special.

A hard look in the mirror....

2010-02-10T23:34:00.004-05:00

So it is now mid feb and I have changed roles at work yet again. This time I am supporting a large enterprise program in a role that has yet to 100% defined and I am finding myself in somewhat new and frustrating territory. I got the chance this week to travel for work. That's right, hop on a plane and fly away. For some of you and even me, this sounded exciting. Well, it not. LOL
I got to sit in a cramped sardine of 2 airplanes listening to people snore and talk, complain, etc. and I arrived here in Indianapolis, IN after they did not win the SuperBowl so that was sucky for them and to top it all off--it snowed and blew and was no higher than like 12 degrees here the whole time. And work, was from 8am to 7pm easy every day and then dinner with peers after that lasted till 9pm and later and I was just praying that it is all expensable because dinner here is not cheap. I just finished working at 11:30pm tonight...and I had started to feel really down on life..missing the family, wondering if I made the right choice to take this new role. I mean, the one I had before was so much fun. I felt good at the end of every day and empowered to make positive changes. This job now, well right now I feel abused by overkill. There is only so much one person can take of what did not go well and how to do something you already know is a bit frustrating. Active listening has never been my strong suit. I can do it, but I hate it. It is just not me. I work not to make friends, but to get the job done. I like to do things right, 110% of the time and give it my best--draw from all of my past experiences in life and just deliver. Well, I can do that but someone has to "let me". Seriously, no joke--we talked for 1.5 hrs about 7 slides for management.....I mean--why? All of this stuff is common sense to me. But that is why I am not a manager of people. I like managing things, processes. They talk back less. LOL
But here is my whole point....I want to advance my skillset with every new opportunity afforded to me. I rely on my instincts to tell me who to trust for mentorship and advice and I look for areas to show I am deserving. I had forgotten that I am still a human being that gets frustrated, backslides occasionally into a really bad listener. So tonight, I take a hard look in the mirror and ask, How important am I to myself? And lucky for me, I said "Very". Good night from Indianapolis, IN. May you look in the mirror and see someone of value in yourself today.

Jan. Part Deux

2010-01-31T20:38:00.003-05:00

So since the middle of Jan, here is what has happened to me and mine:

We had an alleged murderer hide out in his parent's home less than .5miles from me causing a barricade situation with over 50 cops, state police, rescue, fire, swat, dogs and RED Cross Volunteers to serve the resources waiting this thing out. I made coffee for the rescue and fire trucks parked outside my door and graciously let them use my bathroom facilities. Thank goodness for bleach and for the fact that this young man turned himself him with no other persons harmed.

I have wanted to scrapbook but have had NO TIME.
I cooked my first beef stew (Thanks Nina for the recipe)
We have had another big snow this winter (15inches) on Jan 30th....and we went sledding at BassPro...Cool!

We have been committed to attending Winns Baptist Church now for quite a while and attended our first Sunday School class. We are loving the family friendly environment there and will be joining soon. Dani is planning to attend camp at Eagle Ayre with her friend, Alex. This will be her first overnight camp and I am hoping she will make the decision to be saved this summer while in camp.
We have attended a curriculum fair at Dani's Middle School in prep for her going into 6th grade next year. Her teacher has recommended her for all advanced classes and has decided to take Art as her elective with chorus as a backup elective. I am very proud of my little girl.
We got Pro-Active for Dani instead of spending $300 or more on meds prescribed by the derm. Pro-Active has done wonders for her face...seriously. I am amazed at the difference. Scrapping the expensive derm. and the products she recommended/prescribed.
We have enjoyed dinner out with new friends the Sauvagers at Texas Road House. Eaten a very wonderful and expensive steak dinner at the new steak place in SHort Pump and had an Applebees Lunch with our friends the Brooks.
My job is going very well now that I have been there 6weeks, I am feeling confident that it is a good fit. I may be switching roles soon but more on that in Feb (no worries-same company).
I finished the 2nd Nora Roberts Bride Trilogy book. I bought the last book Diana Gabaldon wrote on the OUtlander Series (Echo in the Bone) and I have read 350pages already....of 912...:-)

And now to look forward. February is always a sad and happy month (all at once) for me. Feb 2 is groundhog day to most folks but to me, it is my Papa William's bday. He passed away from cancer when I was 18, exactly 3 mos after I was married and he was unable to attend my wedding. I miss him very much and wish he could have met all of his great grandchildren. My Papa was a hard but oh so soft man. He spoke harshly at times but then could be tender and so caring. One of the things I remember him telling me, "Carol Anne, if you leave this world with 1 true friend outside of your marriage--you are blessed." and another "Believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see." Both very good pieces of advice and ones I cherish. Now for the happy. Feb is the month I became engaged at age 17. That's right...I wore my engagement ring for a little over a year and as a Sr. in HS. Feb is the month I was married (on leap day to be exact). And Feb 16th is my Dad's birthday (a worthy event). So as I plan my next month, bowling with friends, mystery dinner with new church family, celebrating my papa's birthday, groundhog day, celebrating my dad's birthday and my 18yr wedding anniversary....I want to say Thank you.....for keeping up with my crazy life. Sometimes I think it will never slow down...but one day it so will...I will relish that. LOL

January is here....

2010-01-18T22:23:00.003-05:00

and I have to apologize that I have not been posting lately. 2 much going on. But I pledge to post 2x a month each month this year in 2010. I will keep you up to date on my family, my life and pursuit of my weight goal as well as anything else that may amuse you.

January has brought several great things:

12th was the birth and celebration of 1yr for Jaxson Cole Dalton, my nephew

Celebration of the birth of my MIL-Bankette, as well as my FIL-Andrew
I have officially been on the new job now for 1mo and I must say, I love it
I have had a zillion phone calls for interviews now that I have a job (go figure)
I have scrapbooked twice since the New Year (once with my sister, and once here today MLK day)
I was the first to keep my neice Leah overnight, her first time away from mom and dad

I have read 2 new novels Bed of Roses (2nd in a trilogy by Nora Roberts) and Breath in Snow and AShes by Diana Gabaldon (another goal is to read more this year)
I have finished my Associates Degree in Business Administration at J. Sarg.
I convinced hubby to attend JSRCC to get his Associates and I will wait patiently for him to finish before I go to VCU for my Bachelors
B still has his job, for now
Dani and I got text messaging and a whole new era has begun
I now weigh in the 270s which for me was a long desired goal
I cut and colored my hair since the New Year to dark brown (almost black) and super short
My darling Dani has started using Pro-Active for her tween acne and visited a dermatologist (who perscribed very expensive meds which we decided to forgo until we tried Pro-Active first)
I hurt for her, becoming a young woman has so many awful hurdles involved

So all, what have you been up to this year....?

Tag-- your it.

2009-12-29T10:48:00.003-05:00

Respond with one word:
Where is your cell phone? Kitchen
Your hair? Musafa
Your mother? Quilter
Your father? Hunter
Favorite Food? Lasagna
Dream last night? Color
Favorite Drink? Coffee
What room are you in? Family
Hobby? Scrapbooking
Fear? Death
Where were you last night? Mall
Something you are not? Calm
Muffins? Blueberry
Wish list item? Dining
Where did you grow up? Caroline
Your pets? Joe
Friends? Yeah
Something you are not wearing? Bra (LOL)
Favorite Store? Target
Favorite Color? Green
Last time you laughed? 2am
Your best Friend? Theresa
Place you go over and over? Ukrops
Person who emails you regularly? Theresa
Favorite place to eat? Subway
One person you envy? Nina

This is for all my blogger friends...Tag UR IT!

Playing in the snow....

2009-12-21T00:28:00.002-05:00

Dani and I enjoyed getting out in the yard today and had a goal in mind, to make a Snow family. Well the snow did not cooperate (2 dry) and so we resorted to snowball fighting which was more like snowdust fighting but it was lots of fun anyway.

It's snowing....

2009-12-18T21:31:00.002-05:00

Brian and I loaded up the house with lights just minutes before the big snow starting coming down. This is a Noreaster---which means tons of snow for us. I am so thrilled. With Christmas so close and the weather so cold, perhaps we may have a White Christmas for the first time in a long while.

Gotta love it and hate it.....

2009-12-17T21:39:00.003-05:00

Pic of me with Santa at AGE 10 and Dani this year (same age with JOE)

Ever get that old familiar feeling? The one of comfort around this time of year. Do you find yourself humming or singing Christmas songs, smiling at old people and babies, waving people on in front of you. Or are you a curmudgen, a scrooge? Do you honk at strangers, flip them off, mumble obscenities, grumble at old ladies and little children? I am one of those 1st folks. I am very happy this year. I am home. I am with family (all of my family). I am loved and love someone. I am a mother, sister, daughter, granddaughter. I have my sweet cuddly Joe for another Christmas. My grandmother is spending Christmas Eve with me. I am enjoying wrapping presents, shopping, baking cookies, and all of the fun stuff of the holiday season. I am so thankful for my new job. The assistant, Danyelle, is so very nice and her smile and attitude are so genuine. The team is virtual and very vibrant with personalities. I can WFH occasionally which suits me just fine since I have a home office and while working, I can catch up on the LAUNDRY. (I hate laundry). LOL

So stop, think about how you look at this holiday season. Are you a Santa, a believer or a Scrooge? As for me, I BELIEVE.

The smell of something new is in the air....

2009-12-13T22:31:00.003-05:00

Well tomorrow, Monday the 14th, I start my new contract job. I will be a Process Coordinator / Manager contractor at WellPoint in Richmond, VA working through Indecon Solutions. I am nervous. I guess I have every right to be nervous. It is all new to me. The role is one I have dreamt of forever --well ok, not forever but at least for the last 5yrs. 5yrs ago, I was working as an executive asst. employee at Capital One working for Allen Baum in the Rewards Credit Card division. I loved my boss, I liked my job, I loved the people, and I was bored silly. So when the opportunity came up to volunteer to coordinate a volunteer event for St. Joseph's Villa I jumped at it. I ran 2 workstreams and we had over 300+ volunteers on a single site location for a charitable event in a single day. I handled the volunteer registration process with some help, of course. and I managed the children's field day events for the kids onsite with some help there again. Our little volunteer team of 9 folks did something miraculous that day. We upgraded computers, installed new computers and peripherals, installed new software, taught the staff how to use the new software, purged files, cleaned, painted, updated an asphalt painted playground, hosted over 200 kids with fire trucks, games, crafts, fun and ice cream. It was a blast. That was when I knew I loved PROCESS. I like to take things from nothing or broken and make them run like well oiled machines. I love the heat of the moment when things never go right and you really have to dig in and figure it all out.
On my job interview for this position, which was over the phone and always make me nervous since over the phone it is so hard to really show your true passion and personality---my hiring manager asked me one very important question. "What is your approach to work?" My answer, " Swing for the fences. Sometimes you will hit it out of the park and othertimes you may be out before you hit 1st base, but you have to live swinging. Batter up!". I had always heard a speech like this from Capital One leaders over the years and really took it to heart with my project work ethic. I loved that she loved my answer and that I landed the job. Tomorrow AM, I will step up to the plate on this new opportunity and swing for the fences. Here's to hoping I hit that first home run of many to come!

Today I am thankful....

2009-12-06T09:33:00.002-05:00

for my home. Sounds corny but how often do we take for granted the place we lay our head. I love my home even with all of it's flaws. I love my large country porch (I always wanted one). I love that I have a garage to park in in the rain. I love the fact that I have 2 fridges (1 in the garage and 1 in the house) as well as a small freezer. I love the colors of our walls. I handpicked the wallpaper border that serves as a sort of chairrail and the pink and yellow that are on my walls that just make the house so warm. I love how my Christmas tree sits in the front window shining out for all to see.
Today I am very thankful for my home as we near the holidays. It holds so many memories for me and I am sure will hold many more.

Thanks Nina.....Great Idea....

2009-12-04T10:09:00.003-05:00

21days to Christmas....

Today I am thankful for my family. Each year on Christmas Eve, my entire immediate family on my mother's side gets together at my Mom's house or My house for a good meal, singing, opening presents and just to enjoy each other. The group has grown considerably over the years. What was once just my Mom, Dad, myself, Brian, Christie and Bubba has grown to Mom, Dad, myself, Brian, Christie, Curtis, Bubba, Claudia and all of our children-Nicolas, Danielle, Turner, Leah and Jaxson. When my sister moved away for her hubby to attend Florida Baptist College, she missed at least 1 of these Christmases. It made me realize how important family is. I missed them terribly. So this year, we are all HOME and it will be awesome and a blessing indeed.

On Christmas Day, we pack up and visit or they visit us. The they is Brian's family. We usually see his Mom and stepdad, his Dad and stepmom. Both visits are always great ones as we do not see Brian's family as much throughout the year. Brian's mom always cooks the best potato salad and ham for Christmas and though I have tried, I can not compare to hers. Andrew is always so sweet and sentimental with Dani each Christmas lavishing her with presents. Dani is the only grandchild on this side of the family as Brian's adopted brother, Patrick is 23yrs old and not even close to settling down yet.

So as we countdown to Christmas, here is my blessing today. Thank you God for my family, each and every one. :-)

2007: My Mom and Dani @ my house on Christmas Eve. My Mom and Dad drove down to FL to be with Christie and her family that year so it was a short and bittersweet Holiday celebration.

2008: My house, Brian's Dad and stepmom.

2008: Christmas Eve @my house with my family. Christie was pregnant and I was fresh from surgery. This one was sad for us all. No-one went to Florida that year and she could not travel here at 8.5mos pregnant. She and I were especially sad we could not be there for each other.
2007: Brian with his Mom and StepDad at his Mom's house.

2007: Brian and his Dad, stepmom at His Dad's house.

Time for a brief catch up....

2009-12-01T11:23:00.003-05:00

My life has been very hectic lately. More than I handle really, which is surprising because I consider myself somewhat resilient.

On Nov.11th, Brian lost his last grandparent, Papa Bootsy. I lost my last real grandfather (now- the kicker is I actually have my Dad's father who is still living but I do not know him- not at all). I knew Papa Bootsy. He always made me laugh and he had the best stories. They always started with, "When I was drinking.." Papa made the best moonshine and homemade wine (hence his nickname- Bootsy as in bootlegger). He was always willing to lend a hand, $ and his ear to anyone, even non-family. I will truly miss him. The real kicker- On the day of the funeral-that Saturday we were the last family to arrive as Dani was not feeling well (we think nerves) and we had to make several stops to grab her mints, take her to bathroon, etc. The funeral was in the clearing beside a cornfield on a family plot in the country--no bathrooms, all mud and lots of little gravestones dating back over 200yrs. We sat through the service, and felt a bit distraught. We cried, we huddled together for warmth, and we mourned. Mainly for the family left. You see- Papa is the only reason we ever see each other. Most of us are far apart (MD, DC, NOVA, Stafford, Caroline, Ashland and RIC). Without Papa, I fear we will lose each other. We left the funeral sad, depressed, quiet and somewhat remorseful for what was not said. Poor Dani got sick in the car (totally her nerves). And then I moved to the back of the SUV to hold her while she cried herself to sleep. Very hard to do without crying yourself. And then it happened. Exiting 295 onto Route 1, we were hit by a drunk driver. He passed our SUV bw the jersey wall and the car and cut us off hitting the passenger bumper, slammed on his brakes and then floored it. We dialed 911, and off we go on the chase. 8miles later with 1 Henrico cop, 2 State Troopers and this guy was given breathalizer and 2 other tests. He passed but barely. He got 1 ticket for a misdemeanor for leaving the scene of the accident when he caused damage. We are still dealing with the insurance companies to resolve. He claims we caused the accident. Frustrating.

I got a new job. My last day at Capital One/Sapphire will be December 8th. I am taking off the 9th and 10th to spend with hubby and Danielle and then on the 11th I am hosting a 24hr scrapganza at my house. I start my new job the following Monday on the 14th. Sometimes, things just click. I had several offers come in after accepting this job but I am choosing to stick at WellPoint with Indecon and hope for the best. Afterall, I want a permanent job within the next year and if I can prove myself to the leaders there, I may have a chance. I loved the recruiter and her boss. Liked the recruiter so much I friended her on FB. She has a daughter near Dani's age and we spent lots of time just chatting about our girls. :-) And I really enjoyed the talk with the hiring manager and the role is so juicy-basically a process manager.

I have lost another 7pds. I now 277pds down from 394pds last year around this same time. I am finding it hard to find time for exercise but no more school after this mo so I should be able to make time starting in Jan. I have a follow up appt with surgeon on 12/9 and I will have to see if he can postpone my hernia surgery and tummy tuck for at least 6mos so I can really take time at this new job to make an impression before taking a bit of time off for surgery. I am now a size 18/20 top from a 30/32 and a size 24 bottom from a 32. Big difference in how I feel and my confidence. And I love being able to buy $25 jeans from Target.

School is almost over for me. Took my last Monday class last night- Accounting 212. I have work due this Sunday coming and then finals online and DONE! I am aiming for a B in that class which is like bungee jumping (INSANE). I have 2 more weeks of Tuesday and Thursday classes-Biology 102 including finals and a paper due on 15th. The business lead at JSRCC allowed my Conversational Spanish to count as an elective and I am graduating this mo. I will get my certificate (Associate's degree) in the mail in January. I am close to graduating with honors. My current GPA is 3.3 and I am so close to 3.4 which will earn me some honors (can not remember which one). Will take some time to help B graduate with his associates and then I will start VCU for my bachelors in Business.

Thanksgiving was a blast. We all cooked little things and I my sister hosted. She put several tables together and all 13 of us were able to sit together. The food was great, the decorations perfect (she made placemats with contact paper, quotes and pictures of us) and the company awesome. I can not believe that from my 2 parents came 11 other people. I love that my siblings have both fallen in love and experienced parenting. I love that we have 2 new babies to adore with such individual personalities--see the looks on their faces---GLEE for Leah and Confusion for Jaxson. The older kids are so unique 2. Nic is such a brainy fellow with a love for video games, sci-fi and reading. Turner is the outdoorsy one who wants to hunt, fish and just get dirty--also very affectionate--always has a hug for me. Dani-well-she is my little diva with a tad bit of superiorty complex and she bosses the boys around. Totally my personality in that little package.

And friends, I love my friends though they are very few. My darling Jaime is now glowing in her pregnany with baby boy #2. Christine is-well, she is Christine (enuf said)--but I love her anyway and then there are my closest friends- Theresa B and my sister. I talk to them almost every day and love that we are there for each other. I love them all and realize that us girls we need our girlfriends more than ever in today's world.

Saw NEW MOON with my girls. It was great! Can not wait for Eclipse.

Reading Vision in White (book 1 in a series of 4) from Nora Roberts about 4 women who are true best friends, business partners and all lonely in love. Each book focuses on one of them and her true love story. Very good and easy read. I love Nora's writing style. I can actually see the images in my head as I read the book. Plan to get Book 2-saw it in Target today but resisted. Will ask for it for Christmas from B or Dani.

Well- that is my update for now. Love you all and have a great week. Will post later this week with pics of the holiday decorating and the crafts being made this year.

God is Good......

2009-11-19T10:33:00.002-05:00

I had several meet and greet interviews with vendors (Vaco, Merge, etc.) and then 2 real interviews with Indecon and Sapphire for positions at Wellpoint (Indecon) and McKesson (Sapphire). McKesson could have been a more robust role--seemed boring and not very promising and the rate was ridicously low. The job at Wellpoint is interesting, process management and the manager was wonderful to talk to--a good fit for me- I think. So I get an offer for both jobs on the same day. WOW! I love when God gives us choices. I talked to my hubby, prayed over it and decided to go with my gut. I took the WellPoint role. The job is more up my alley, the fit is important and I loved the cute, spunky recruiter. She was so genuine which for that role is rare. So, this means several things. 1- God has been so good to me. I am blessed. 2- Surgery will now be held off until I have been in new role for at least a year.

This gives me more time to lose the weight! Yeah. Well all, pray for my good fortune to continue. Looking fwd to moving on to the next thing in the overall plan. <3

Rest In Peace Papa B.....

2009-11-13T10:38:00.003-05:00

Vivian Haywood Nelson, 90, of Milford passed away Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.
He is survived by five children: Phillip, Bankette, Bernard, Barbara and William; eight grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and a devoted sister-in-law, Madeline Williams.
Remains rest at B.W. White Funeral Home, Aylett, where the family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13. A graveside service will take place at 1 p.m. at the Rollins family cemetery in Alps.

Papa Bootsy, as he was known to family and friends, was one hell of a man. He served his country in WW2 in the army, he loved his family, loved his moonshine and just loved life. Papa was known for his humor, kind nature and devotion to his wife, Lorine (who passed on herself 4 years ago). Papa was a devout American and proud of his heritage, as a member of the Rapphannock Indian tribe. He was born on July 4th and died on Veteran's day. It was truly fitting. Papa had 5 children who loved him dearly. Eight grandchildren of which my husband, Brian, is one and seven great grandchildren of which my daughter, Danielle is one.

We will miss him terribly. He will always be remembered.

Catching up....

2009-11-08T23:44:00.003-05:00

Life is so busy. So very busy in fact that I have not posted in a while. So in true lazy fashion, here is my quick bulletted catch up list.

Anxiously awaiting New Moon premiere. I have my tix for Dani and I for 11/21 already. Thanks to FANDANGO.com. BTW--totally TEAM EDWARD though Jacob is looking HOT.

Dani's Halloween Party was a blast.

Vampire get-up went over well at work.

My contract was shortened and now ends 11/25/2009
Um, that sucks since the last date was 1/14/2010
I have had several meet and greet interviews but no solid leads yet
I will miss Capital One and my team, even the crazy tech lead, Jed
My best friend works there 2 and we have only been able to work together now for almost 3mos
I will miss her the most. Love talking to her every day and having so much in common.
Did I mention that her hubby and mine both work same place, doing the same job
I love having my sister back home and we have hit the scrapping hard
Accounting still sucks
Biology is okay
Classmates are what makes class fun or dull
My hernia ripped through again, meaning more surgery
Surgery this time will include the tummy tuck at the same time as hernia repair
I used to weigh 394pds, forever ago it seems
I now weigh 281pds
I started an intensive low calorie, hi cardio routine that is supposed to help me shed 40pds in 6wks
Did I mention, I'm lazy so not sure how the hi-cardio will work
I have some great friends and a couple which make me wonder lately why I even bother
I notice that I hate more people as I age, hate as in "Why are they so rude, impatient!"
Dani got the H1N1 vaccine and we all got the regular flu vaccines
Scared of the H1N1, wonder if it is mainly media hype but still worry
Wish I could spend more time with my neice, Leah.
Love spending so much time with my nephews, all 3 of them...hard to belive I have 3.
Anxiously awaiting Christmas and my surgery date
Wondering if I should care so much about every little thing

Do you care?

Oh, Woe is me....

2009-10-26T08:46:00.003-04:00

Went to the mall and Avenue yesterday with sis to shop for clothes. In the mall, VCC, we hit JcPenney, Dillards, Wet Seal and Hot Topic. I can tell we are sisters because we look so much alike and I know we have the same parents, but man--do we have a totally different taste in clothing. I am braver in my choices and often try new trendy things. Christie is more comfortable and casual and occasionally tries and likes the trendy stuff. I really pushed her yesterday to try on different tops and she found some really cute ones. I ended up with 3 new sweaters which is really all I wanted. I did try on some really weird stuff for the fun of it. Avenue had this outfit (pictured above) which did not look to bad on me, but somehow felt 2 futuristic. I did love a lot of the stuff JcPenney had which surprised me. Dillards seemed a little old ladyish and well-Wet Seal (only the jewelry) and Hot Topic (the cool Halloween stuff, True Blood and New Moon stuff). We had fun though I will say-shopping can be exhausting. :-)

Bad News....

2009-10-21T09:54:00.002-04:00

So most of my friends know I had surgery on Dec 8th of last year to repair a large incisional hernia and to revise my gastric bypass (my 2 stomachs had grown back together). Well, I have lost a ton of weight--at least it feels that way to me. I was 394pds and now I weigh 284pds. I hit 284 in June and have not been able to lose anymore for whatever reason. I have lost sizes- from a 30/32 top/bottom to an 18/20 top and 24 bottom. And I am still toning but no weight loss. Then all of sudden it happened.....

The it-- is my hernia ripped open. The incision split last night and it hurt like hell. It scared me but after 15minutes of the initial pain, I felt better. I called my surgeon today and have an appt scheduled for next Tuesday @2:45pm. I am sure he will want to fix this asap and so since my work contract ends 11/27th with Capital One, I will try to schedule for soon after. I will still be job hunting in the meantime but maybe this is meant to be. I always say everything has a reason. I plan to change my diet to prepare for surgery. I need to get to 250 so I can do better and perhaps convince my surgeon to do a tummy tuck at the same time as the hernia repair. That would be so awesome if I could do it all at once. My ultimate goal is to weigh 200pds but a tummy tuck would go a long way to helping me repair my body image to a more normal one.

So if you are a Godly person, please say a few prayers for me. I need to lose this 34pds, have a successful surgery and a quick recovery. God Bless.

Being a grown up sucks....

2009-10-14T11:50:00.002-04:00

Sometimes that is. So the latest news in my life is this:

I have been inspired to job search sooner since I now know my contract will terminate Nov 27th
I have had 1 job interview and I have 1 planned for this Friday. So far, so good. Both roles are contract to hire jobs and great pay/benefits.
Brian's work is laying off in diff depts/roles every day for a week now. He is terrified.
Danielle's orthodontist says next time she gets 2nd phase of braces--another $5k out of pocket.
I have entered the pagemaps.com blog sketch contest now 3 times with no success in a win. Check out my companion blog ...www.scrappingbythecs.blogspot.com. I will say I am still going to enter though. I like the sketches.
I am so tired all the time but I have now lost 8pds since working out at work.

What is going on with you?

Signs of change.....

2009-10-04T22:24:00.003-04:00

Well you know times are changing when you can say this:
1- I can now ride my bike without being winded or dare I say "having all your bottom parts go numb"
2- I climbed into the blow up slides and played with Dani for the first time ever at Pump-It-Up and the slides were amazing and so much fun!
3- I actually setup a workout plan and for the last 2weeks have been faithful to it--my feet are killing me.
4- I have eaten out only once this week.
5- I have been 2 church twice in a month after not going for 2 long.
6- I am finding confidence in my abilities to pull together a decent outfit.
7- For the first time I scored higher than 50% on my accounting quiz. I know-shocking!
8- I find myself looking forward to the holidays instead of dreading the insane shopping, crazy and rude people.
9- I actually enjoy checking out the clothes at the Goodwill now that I realize I need new clothes like every 2months.
and finally.....
10- I am so happy right now in my life. Could not be happier. Is that wack or what?

What are some signs of change in your life?

Step on over.....

2009-09-13T21:58:00.005-04:00

to my companion blog....www.scrappingbythecs.blogspot.com to see all the awesome layouts I have created in the last 2 months. Having my sister, Christie, back home to scrapbook with has inspired me so much. I have created such wonderful layouts and even submitted 2 LOs for contest entries. B is off vacation and goes back to work tomorrow. I am sad, since it means less quality time for both of us and we do love being together so much. We did a lot of cool stuff this weekend but by far the most interesting was adding more insulation into our attic. Check out these fun pics of the work in progress....

Isn't it cute that the manufacturer knows that the woman will be loading the hopper and the guy will be in the hot attic blowing the insulation in. Cute illustration.

View of my craft room floor after.

Some people.....

2009-09-11T09:39:00.002-04:00

should really get a lesson in common sense. Some prime examples I saw today:

a car pass a line of cars dropping off their children in front of the elementary school-DUMB person #1. (It is called patience and safety-my daughter is a safety out there--so slow the hell down people)
a beautiful mixed chow young female puppy in a 3ft fenced backyard-jumped out and hit by a van (I rescued her and marched her over to her house and confronted the owners, hello- put up a bigger fence, or put her on electric collar- she was ok-just scared)- DUMB person #2
a car speed past a line of cars waiting patiently behind a blinking stopped school bus and then slammed on brakes when they realized they were an IDIOT!- DUMB person #3
a guy in the ugliest plaid I have ever soon race up behind me in his little Toyota and then switch lanes (more like cutoff the car beside him) and then try to cut me off- hello-since when did 75mph in the fast lane qualify as slow-patience folks, patience--and YEP- I do not get over for flashing lights unless you have emergency flashers or are a cop/ambulance--slow the hell down!-DUMB person #3
idot in his blue Ford truck who had no clue had to navigate the roundabout at work -inside lane goes around, outside lane--exits...MORON. DUMB person #4.

Okay, that makes 4 MORONS on my drive in this morning. Seriously, on the day we should all have patience, remember our service men and women and take time to reflect on our FREEDOM and this is what I have to deal with.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can;and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful worldas it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.

Do you ever wonder....

2009-08-23T09:35:00.003-04:00

Something happened to my hubby today that had me thinking. As we get older, we choose our friends more carefully. We tend to have fewer friends than we were younger. Do you ever wonder why that is? I think I figured it out. For me, time is a precious commodity. With night school starting tomorrow (3 nights a week), a FT demanding job, motherhood to a tween girl, marriage, my doggy Joe, Dani starting school, .....Well you get the idea. Where do you find time for friendship? Don't get me wrong. I love my best friend, T. I would do almost anything for her and I feel like part of her family as I hope she feels like part of mine. But, even though I have other friends from work, school, our neighborhood...I never really have time to connect. I realized this as I ate sushi with a gf from work that I really only touch base with thru FBook or every 3mos or so over an hour long lunch. I know we care about each other. We have known each other for years and helped each other in job searches, etc. I can call her anytime and she can do the same with me. But is it enough. I have 2 friends from C1 that have been my friends for years but the same thing. We maybe get together once every 3mos if we are lucky. We go to lunch or have scrapbooked with each other, dinners at Christmas were a tradition but since the 3rd friend had her son, that has stopped. I miss them. It is amazing how when we were 17yrs old, we had a zillion friends and we loved them all and we hung out and we had fun. Now I feel old. I have to be selective in who I hold close and dear. My time is precious and admittably, so is true friendship. But let it be known, my first and truest friend is my husband. I think that is why our marriage of 17+yrs is still working for us. So turn up a glass and toast your true friends.

Update...

2009-08-16T21:14:00.003-04:00

Posted some recent pics of LOs on my scrapbook blog. Feel free to swing by....www.scrappingbythecs.blogspot.com

B and I got a date night the other night. Christie and I had a scrapbook day and got to enjoy plenty of time to create several layouts. Check out my entry at my other blog to see them. Dani spent the night over with her cousins so B and I got a date night. This for us --is a rare occasion. Our parents (all 3 sets) are not the volunteer to babysit type and when we ask, they always have some excuse or it is not convenient. It rarely works out. When it does--it is a blessing. However, when it does not we have to take advantage of sleepovers with friends and visits with her cousins. Since we had not been out in a while, I pulled out all the stops. I got decked to the nines in his fav outfit, did my hair and makeup, put on my heels and we headed out for dinner at Outback Steakhouse in Mechanicsville, VA. I had a VIctoria's filet which was absolutely wonderful and tender. Some mixed steam veggies and some mashed potatoes. B had the ribeye and sweet potato fries. We shared a margarita. It was wonderful. The food, the company, everything. We decided to skip the crowds at the movies and punt on seeing District 9 to another time and instead we went to Blockbuster and rented Watchmen and 17 again. The latter was the better movie. We got to spend some quality alone time. It seems really weird to be married almost 18yrs and still feel such love towards my hubby.

What's up Friends.....

2009-08-07T10:11:00.003-04:00

So this week I have been enoying a staycation of sorts. We hit Dave and Busters for lunch and games one day. Rented several movies "Race to Witch Mountain", "Obsessed" and "the Soloist". We slept in. We stayed up late.

We hit the pool several times with a couple of Dani's friends (2 different occasions- ALex and Kylie). We took my nephews and Dani to DC (see crazy city squirrel pic). We walked over a zillion miles in DC---the kids are so weak. LOL

My boss did some stuff for me at work that was critical and so I got to take Thursday and Friday off 2. We plan to hit GI JOE in theaters today and then who knows. No plans for the weekend yet. Perhaps we can hit Calabash for crabs one night with friends, Perhaps we can hit Va Beach for the day on Saturday. Who knows. The weekend is all open. Enjoy your weekend friends. :-)

Quick update and some pics....

2009-07-26T11:57:00.004-04:00

Check out my scrapbooking blog to see all the new pages I completed this week-http://scrappingbythecs.blogspot.com/

and now onto more fun stuff. This week saw the 8th birthday of my 2nd nephew, Turner. He was thrilled to get his blunted bow and arrow set from Papa. And he loved his "redneck" cake from Ukrops. LOL- Only my family.

Leah was a ton of fun as usual. And my how Jaxson has grown. He is such a cutie patootie. I am gearing up for a week off of work. I will be on vacation the week of August 3rd. B and I have decided to take day trips to cut on expenses since we are unsure of the whole Harris Teeter / Ukrops deal. We are hoping and praying for the best.

And premiering "Romeo and Juliette", Dani's new newts. Kinda creepy but fun.

What's new in your life....

2009-07-12T23:37:00.003-04:00

Well, for me not really all that much. I got a new haircut. I stood up for myself with my Dad (huge deal).

Other than those 2 things, not much is new. I do love how in my marriage, I feel "renewed" sometimes. Sat night, B, Dani and I lit the firepit and sat chillaxing under the stars until real late. Joe even got in on the action with his bed in his own chair. B and I shared 2 Heinekens and great talk. I love how with him, it is so easy and relaxing. We are best friends. I could not imagine a marriage any other way. Another thing in my life that is "renewed" is my love for Christ. I am a deeply spiritual person but have a strong distaste for organized religion. I recently finished reading The Shack and it was such a moving book. I highly recommend it.

So what is "new" or "renewed" in your life?

pics to share...

2009-07-05T20:17:00.002-04:00

B's Mom, Bankette and I showing off our cool shades. B's cousins, Ashley and Patrice with Dani.

B with his Mom and Aunt Dottie. The girls- Phillicia, Dani, Ashley, Sinaya and Patrice--with a sneak in-Sinaya's little bro. :-)

4th Fun....and some Meal Planning to share

2009-07-05T20:08:00.003-04:00

We went to visit with B's family in Sparta VA. Specifically B's papa Bootsy who turned 90 on the 4th. It was so nice to see so many of B's family. We do not often get together-well, since Granny passed 4yrs ago. I miss her so. I lost one of my grandmothers at age 7. Thank God I still have my Nannie (my mom's mom) in my life. She is such a blessing to me. Granny Lorine, B's grandmother, and Granny Ruth, B's other grandmother- were both special to me though I got to know Lorine so much more. Lorine was a real spitfire and I loved that about her. I have posted some of my fav pics from the visit. Then BBQ and outdoor fun with our friends the Brooks' at their place. Several of their neighbors put on fireworks every year. Can't beat the free show from the back yard. We had steak, burgers, potatoes, hot dogs, fresh garden tomatoes and mac & cheese. It was a great meal. We played outdoor games with the kids and then enjoyed fireworks before calling it a night. And then Sunday, meal planning, grocery shopping, and started thinking about vacation in August and where to go on a tight budget. :-)

Meal Planning:
Sunday Dinner: Taco Night with Spanish Rice for side
Monday Dinner: Turkey Breast, Mashed Pot., Corn on Cob and Salad
Tuesday Dinner: Salmon, Zucchini and squash, sweet pot.
Wednesday Dinner: Grilled BBQ Chicken, Deviled Eggs, Green Peas, Cooked Carrotts
Thursday Dinner: Chicken and Cordon Bleu Burgers, Sweet Pot. French Fries
Friday Dinner: Tilapia, Corn on the Cob, Green Beans, Salad
Saturday Dinner: Leftovers--Cold Plate Dinner

Happy 4th of July---early....

2009-07-03T22:35:00.002-04:00

Spent the day scrapping with my sis and bf, Theresa. We had a blast and the kids had fun with each other. Then the Brooks' and Reynolds' family hit KFC and met up at Genworth on Broad Street for the annual July 3rd fireworks and Freedom Concert. Here are some pics from our fun night. We have been 2 yrs now and plan to keep making it a Brooks' and Reynolds' tradition each year. I love that it is free and even the kids things there are free. The only cost is onsite food if you are interested.

Sometimes....

2009-07-02T15:29:00.003-04:00

you come across someone in your personal life that you admire or respect and want to share that person's info with your friends. Well I have 3 I will share with you. One is my OB/GYN, Dr. Paul Smith. I having been seeing Paul (as I fondly call him) since I was 15yrs old. He is such an awesome Dr. He has been there for me through fertility testing, treatments, several miscarriages and finally for the birth of my darling daughter. He genuinely cares about me. He referred me to Dr. Gregory Schroeder, #2. Dr. Schroeder was booked for mos and I could not see him about my hernia and revision of my gastric bypass. Paul called over and had me an appt the next week. Paul is my favorite Dr. to see and I enjoy his humor, and his wonderful bedside manner. His staff is also impeccable. He works out of Henrico Dr's off Forest if anyone wants to see him. Dr. Schroeder, the #2 guy I will refer works out of St. Mary's and has the best manner of a surgeon I have ever met. He is cocky in a great way. He exudes such confidence and he is genuinely concerned with your care. Stacy in his staff is awesome as well. For anyone considering lapband or bypass, see Dr. Schroeder. And my 3rd recommendation is my current realtor, Stuart Hubbard with ReMax. Though things did not work out for us with the sale of our home (see previous blog entries), Stuart was professional, kind and held our hand figuratively through the entire process. He was nothing but honest with us and never pushy like so many other realtors or sales people you deal with in realty. When and if the time is right for us, we will calling Stuart again. Check out his site---www.stuarthubbard.com

It is all over....

2009-07-01T09:26:00.002-04:00

Well even though I was in love. Hubby was not. The price, the trees that needed to be cut down, the scary driveway in the curve turned him off. I do not think he was ever 100% committed or ready and I probably pushed him more than was necessary. It is funny how in relationships you have such vast differences. I am the go-getter, risk taker, glass half full kind of girl. I love people, hanging out, partying and having fun. He is the safety first, happy at home, very small group of friends if any and glass half empty kind of guy. I guess that is why we compliment each other so well. I hate compromising though. I feel like I do a lot of it lately. In our marriage I have given up having more kids because he was scared of losing me (Dani's birth was traumatic for me). I have given up on new cars for used since he thinks used is better-have to say over time- I agree 2. I have now given up on moving. I have been after him for last 5 yrs to move to Hanover. But all in all, I am happy. I have a wonderful husband who thinks about the safety and security of our family first. I just wish the disappointment would go away sooner rather than later. What can I say- The heart wants what the heart wants. I will just have to help him reach his comfort zone so we can build an addition to our home. It may all work out for the best but right now, I am sad.

I'm in love....

2009-06-30T18:19:00.002-04:00

.....with house #2. See prior post. Though it is smaller of the 2, the inside was immaculate and so charming. It will need a little TLC-the hardwood floors will need to be refinished, a large tree on the property needs to be cut and removed, and a few landscaping needs to spruce it up. It is cheaper than the other property. Now to talk it over with the hubby and help him see that $5K is nothing to worry about. That is all that we differ over. My friend Nina commented that things happen for a reason, and she is so right. Perhaps this was God's plan all along. I like the Studley area so much better and it is closer to B's work. It is also the part of Hanover we are most familiar with. Dani already has friends at Rural Point and would not even have to change daycares if she did not want 2. Here are some more pics of my new "dream" home.

Last leg....

2009-06-29T15:20:00.003-04:00

I am so over this real estate nightmare that selling my house has been. The dream house is long gone. All other houses we have looked at other than new builds have been nightmares. People are so nasty. We went Sunday to a house in Mill Trace in Mechanicsville for a viewing. The pics on the net looked good but boy did they ever misrepresent. The house was tore up from floor up. The porch was falling apart, missing vinyl siding, shingles falling off, crooked lights on porch. Inside was so much worse. Stained carpet (horrible animal stains) and the paint job looked like a 3 yr old did it. Dirty laundry on floor, dirty dishes, and in the master bedroom-dog feces on the carpet. Ugg. We left without viewing the rest. And the kicker- this nasty wench wanted $215K for this hellhole of a house. No way! I have a pet and I understand oops but there is such a thing as the bissell little green machine. Ugg. The only complaint I have heard from possible buyers is that the road noise is a little much. We never notice it anymore but hello- we do live next to I-95.

Tomorrow night we are looking at our last 2 homes and then we will call it quits. House 1 and House 2 are both in an area we love off 301 called Studley.

House 1: Has been up for sale for 1yr and is now vacant. Hopefully that means they will take less for it since it is a bit over our range. 1855sq feet with detached 2 car garage. All brick rancher with hardwood floors in living and dining rooms, ceramic baths with new fixtures, crown moulding. Kitchen has NEW dishwasher, bar sink, glass-top stove and microwave. Large family room with wall-to-wall carpet, tongue-in-groove knotty pine panelling and gas fireplace. BRAND NEW central air and heat. Bedrooms have extra large closets. Home has circular drive, screened porch and rear deck.

House 2: is new to the market so maybe not willing to accept a lower offer. 1724sq feet. NEW 3 TON HEAT PUMP/NEW ROOF. ALL APPLIANCES INCLUDED!Close to 295/95,shopping.Completely updated inside. Kitchen has white cabinets(2 with glass fronts),new countertops,eat in.Bathrooms are bright and fresh with its remodeling. Family room with fireplace, neutral wall color. All bedrooms are freshly painted, wood trim, closet organizers. Master bdrm has two closets and its own bathroom w/ceramic.Huge utility room with built-in cabinets covering one of the walls.LARGE FLORIDA ROOM with great views out back.Rear deck, fenced backyard, oversized detached 2 car garage & an extra storage bldg both w/electricity.Front porch,1/2 private quiet.

So if we like either, we will offer our max $ amount and pray. If not, the sign in my front yard will come down and in 6mos B and I will look at hiring a contractor to build a 2 story 500sq ft addition to our house. A Master Suite with tub, shower and 2 sinks master bath and WIC with an upstairs craft room and game room. B gets his pool table and I get my dedicated shelved craft space. Sounds like a win-win for me. We will have to wait and see.

I scrapbooked for the first time in forever on Sat with my sis at her new place. It was a nice home. I got 4 really nice layouts completed and had fun catching up. I plan to scrapbook this Friday with my BFF and my sis and all the kids will come along with it. Fun and even more fun.

On final note: I finally caved and added Dani to my mobile calling plan. She now has 60minutes a mo for calling her friends and a cool (super cool-better than Mom) cell phone. If she earns it and proves herself, then for her 11th bday we will upgrade her to allow texting and to allow her to download apps. I get to be cool mom for a little while at least. :-)

2 Legit to Quit....

2009-06-26T12:21:00.002-04:00

well, the dream house is gone. Sold out from under us. We have had several lookers come into our home but no contract yet. We are still looking for a new home in Hanover area. We had to start looking in the $250 and below price range though we want to stay at $235 MAX. Sometimes people will accept less than asking price so we will still consider those above our max.
Work has been wonderful. I am back working for Sherry S at Capital One and she is such a dream boss. She loves to show you new things and watch you learn and develop. She has given me a $450k workstream to manage as PM. So far it has been eye opening and stressful but at the same time, I realize now that being a PM is definitely what I want to do as a career. I am enjoying time as often as I can with my lunch buddy, Aashima. We are exchanging recipes and I find I am falling in love with some of the Indian Vegan dishes. She made me King Oyster fried mushrooms last week and I loved them so much I went to the Asian store to buy some and cook for myself. She is in love with my homegrown zucchini and squash from my garden. For a big girl, I love the veggies. LOL
My sister is hosting a scrapbook crop at her place tomorrow and it will be the first time I see her new house on loan from her friends the Williamsons in NC. I am excited to spend the day with her and her BFF Tracie. I just wish my BFF Theresa could have made it out. Oh well. My mom took Christie and I to the new Jo-Ann Fabric store in Midlothian and wow----wow- that place is so awesome. For my C1 friends--it is right off 288 about 12 minutes from work-let me know if you ever want to ride over and check it out at lunchtime one day. U will not regret it. They have scrapbook aisles galore, fabrics, crafts and outdoor decore. Awesome.
And you will notice the new banner on my page for Alice.com. Really neat website that allows you to do all of your non-food shopping online with free shipping and automatic coupons. Check it out.
Well, MJ and Farrah Fawcett's deaths yesterday were so sad for me. Made me realize that life is so precious. Love each other and live each day to it's fullest.

Technology is awesome....

2009-06-17T13:31:00.002-04:00

So here I am at 1:30pm on a Wed at my allergist at The Nelson Clinic at MCV/VCU. I am kicked back in a recliner in the back of their office in a room full of recliners and curtains working. That is right, working. I just took my first 1.2ML of Xolair. For those of you who know me very well, you will know I have been struggling on and off with chronic hives for about 4years now. I was a case study at an allergist, a case study at a dermatologist. It was not a fun road. I took lots of different steroids and gained tons of weight and was unhappy most of the time. Finally when I threatened to kill myself (not sure if I could ever do it but at the time, felt preferrable to life in the major hive state)- my insurance finally agreed to send me to an allergist at MCV which everyone around here knows--costs more because it is a study program. They try new stuff. Well, what do you know, Dr. Schwartz takes me off steroids and puts me on 5 non-steroid anti inflammatory drugs instead. (Famotidine, Fexofenadine, Claritin, Diclofenac Sodium and Zyrtec) These drugs have worked pretty well over the last 3years but recently hives have gotten worse. In comes Xolair. Xolair is so important and darn expensive-it warrants it's own website. http://www.xolair.com/index.html
Xolair basically creates a protein enzyme for me called IGE which I do not make enough of naturally. It costs $120 a shot after insurance covers the other $800 a shot. I take 1 shot a month for 3 months and then move to 1 shot every three mos and then 1 shot every 6mos and hopefully once a year. I will come off the other meds saving me money on prescriptions. Let us just pray this works.
Anywhoo- the shot has a chance to make you go into anaphylaxis (shock) and so they make you stay 2hrs after you get it every time. So here I am working/blogging from this comfy recliner in my Dr. 's office.

Wow, time flies....

2009-06-07T21:55:00.003-04:00

So lot's to update you on. First things first-I am no longer 35. Bummer-for sure but I will make 36 an awesome year. LOL

Second-our house is up for sale. Yep, sign in the yard, telltale made beds and clean floors every day and slow driving nosy neighbors and possible buyers doing drive bys. Now, some (and by some- I mean Christine) would ask, "Why move now when the economy is so bad and the housing market is crummy?". The answer for us is simple. Our house is 1588sq ft. We have outgrown it. Dani has 1 more year of elem. school before moving off to middle school and we were hoping she would attend the new middle school but none of the zoning options will do that and we do not want her going to Brookland Middle or Hermitage High. When we researched local schools, Hanover's were some of the best. And last but not least, our home price range has more options than most. We can practically trade up for the same payment. B and I found a wonderful house and even submitted a contingent contract but we were shutout. Owner wants a cash only or guaranteed (non- first right of refusal) contract. Hmmm...no wonder his house has been on the market for almost 90days now with no buyer. Our plan is to sell this one quickly and make a new contract that will not be shutout. Dani is even a bit excited as she would get a bigger room and a bigger yard, closer to Nana's place and some of her friends are in Hanover so they would meet up in Middle school. So B and I have been cleaning, scrubbing, reviewing, staging and all the stuff you do to prep a house for sale. The place has never looked so nice. Anyway, this is a pic of our new dream home......

Third notable update: I am in a weight loss slump (like Nina). I have not lost anything in the last 3 weeks. Not 1 pound. Being post bypass I know that you can plateau several times but it is frustrating. What to do? Well, work out more. Treadmill- here I come.

Fourth notable update: My sister is home. Wow, did I miss her. I did not really realize how much until this Saturday when she, Dani and I went out for pedis and lunch and just had a great girls' outing. We saw a dude dumpster dive, I saw a rude customer cut in front of her in line and we all got a laugh out of the mall cop at VCC on the segway considering we had all seen the movie, Paul Blart Mall Cop with the guy from King of Queens.

And here are some random recent pics: Dani at the Air Show Mem Day Weekend, Leah/Dani and I in the pool

Some pics...

2009-05-21T11:26:00.002-04:00

Here is the pool after cleaning it last night. We still need to wait for clarifier to make it less cloudy. The PH is just right. I am very happy it was not as much work this year. Just need the weather to cooperate now.

This is my Dad's sweetheart, his new lab-Raven. Raven is a working lab. He is learning to retrieve and so far seems very sweet and tries very hard to please. Funny that he is afraid of motors though.

This is a project I plan to make for my daughter's teacher as a thank you. I think it is really cute.

And this is what I plan to make as a headboard for my new queen bed. I am thinking to create a similar one in dark blue. Gotta love summer projects.

Oh, the envy of warm days....

2009-05-20T11:18:00.001-04:00

I am dreaming of summer. No whiny 10yr old complaining about her homework. No school projects that she waits until the last minute to tell me about. No getting up at the crack of dawn to make sure the kid is ready for school. No backpack, no books, no Tuesday folder. Get the picture I am painting here.
I am looking fwd to reading. I just finished compiling my 25 book wish list for summer reading.

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
I'm Proud of you: My Friendship with Fred Rogers by Tim Madigan
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
A Lucky Child: Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy by Thomas Buergenthal
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Chasing the Bear by Robert B. Parker
The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury
The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury
The Sign by Raymond Khoury
The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity by William P. Young
Vision in White by Nora Roberts
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Black Hills by Nora Roberts
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan
Longest Trip Home by John Grogan
The Confessions of a Duchess by Nicola Cornick

I am looking forward to warm sun, tanning and the pool.
Anyone else?

Other people's kids....

2009-05-18T22:30:00.003-04:00

Are so bad and so annoying. Do these parents not realize that you just do not drop off a 4th grader alone on "moving up night" to meet the 5th grade teachers, run amuck and ask 8billion benign and annoying questions thwarting all of us decent parents who actually bothered to show up.? Hello. Tell I am an annoyed much? Point being, if you had the decency to birth them, then damn well please train them. Train them not to run in public areas full of people, train them not to jump off bleachers setup for others to perform, train them not to push people, talk over people, sing annoying loud songs in public, yell across a filled room for their friend at the top of their lungs, run down the halls, and ask annoying questions. I almost lost it tonight in an auditorium full with like at least 300 people. 1/2 of whom let their children of all ages-run amuck. Seriously amuck. Scary. This has only really been this year at LES. Last few years I have noticed a change in the types of families whose children are moving into LES as the families move into more neighborhoods closeby. I guess my home is considered a starter home but should I really have to spend more $ to move in order for my child to go to school with mannered children. Do lesser income parents not learn to beat a little behind? I know I got mine beat and every now and then Dani got hers spanked for being a hoodlum. Anyway, that is my rant for the day. Good news- I was voted in Secretary for the 2009-2010 LES PTO school board (Dani's last yr there) and I was lucky enough after spending $20 on raffle tickets to win this cute baby basket filled with goodies I plan to give to my new nephew Jaxson to welcome him home to Virginia.

Beautiful Christian Sisters....

2009-05-15T16:39:00.001-04:00

BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN SISTER By Maya Angelou
'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ
That a man should have to seek Him first to find her.

'When I say.. 'I am a Christian' I'm not shouting 'I'm clean living,
' I'm whispering 'I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven.

' When I say... 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say.. 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain...
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace, somehow!

Chores for the Children

2009-05-14T09:54:00.002-04:00

Found this great article on the web via a fav blog I read: Organizing Junkie (http://orgjunkie.com)

Age Specific Responsibilities: Practical Suggestions for Respobsibilities You Can Expect Your Child to Begin at Specific Ages
(Dependent in the early years on verbal/motor development)
Ryan says to his mother as he’s running out the door, “Mom, I’m late for basketball practice. Would you please do my homework for me?” The teen’s mother says, “No, son, it just wouldn’t be right.” “That’s okay,” replies the boy. “At least you could try.”
We have failed to teach responsibility in our homes. Children expect others to do for them — including homework. The word “responsibility” or “responsible” occurs over 60 times in the Bible. Being responsible and handling responsibility should be a character trait that is foundational to every Christian, because it is closely connected to the ideas of industry and faithfulness. Since our God is so hard working and faithful, i.e. responsible, in everything He does and promises to do, surely we as Christians should exemplify the same characteristic.
Many “Baby Boomers” were never trained to be responsible and hence they have failed to teach this important characteristic to their children. As a result children grow up without this godly characteristic and so they lack this essential characteristic for success. Both the physical world and the spiritual world require responsibility to succeed.
If we teach out children responsibility in the home, it will have the following beneficial effects:
Our children will become responsible. They will be more of a joy to live with at home.
Because responsible children are such a unique commodity in today’s society, our children will be sought after for babysitting, lawn mowing, and other employment opportunities outside the home.
Parents will find themselves with more energy, because they are doing less tasks that now are being done by their children.
Because the home runs more smoothly with less stress, parents will be able to consider the option of having a larger family.
Responsibility should be taught at an early age. There are tasks which teach responsibility that even an infant can accomplish. What follows is a list responsibilities — tasks which teach our children to be responsible, productive, and helpful. Take look at the list. Are your children learning responsibility in your home? (The following list is cumulative, that is, each age level should include the responsibilities prior to it.)
9 - 24 months
*- Putting dirty clothes in hamper.
*- “Helping” with grocery shopping (putting items in basket and on check-out counter, handing things to mom to be put away at home.)
*- Cleaning with mom (give child a dust rag, child size broom, empty spray can/windex bottle for “pretend” cleaning).
*- Watering plants (with pre-measured amounts!).
*- Beginning to help make beds - (begins with handing the pillows to mom until later).
*- Yard work (helping collect trash and toys, etc.).
*- Simple errands (”bring the diaper to mommy, please,” etc.).
2 - 3 years
*- As language develops, requiring politeness on a regular basis (”Yes ma’am”, “No sir”, “May I please be excused”, greeting, etc.) (Yes, No, Please, Thank You without titles)
*- Generally including child in every-day activities on a regular basis (cleaning, shopping, etc.).
*- More complicated errands (”Take this towel and put it in the hamper”, etc.).
*- Laundry (beginning to help with sorting by mom handing him things to put in appropriate piles, transferring clothes from dryer to basket, etc.).
*- Learning more specific neatness qualities (putting toys in proper spots).
*- Taking his/her dishes to the sink and helping to clear table.
*- Carrying groceries in from car (give child one light item or a small bag).
*- General errands (carrying diaper bag into meeting, carrying mom’s purse to the car, etc.).
*- Simple decision-making (”Would you like juice or milk to drink?”).
*- Put books and magazines in a rack.
*- Place napkins, plates, and silverware on the table.
*- Clean up what they drop after eating.
*- Toilet training.
3 -4 years
*- Making bed (begins with watching mom — mom helping child — mom watching child) standards must be clear and reminders frequent.
* - Keeping room neat and taking daily responsibility for it.
*- Regular morning routine becoming established (getting dressed, cleaning room before breakfast).
*- More complex decision-making (”Would you like to wear the blue or green pants?”).
*- Becoming “other-oriented” (drawing pictures for someone, making encouragement notes to dictate to mom, thank you notes for birthday gifts).
*- Learning to use the telephone properly.
*- Established and regular responsibilities (bedroom, getting the mail, emptying bathroom trash cans, etc.).
*- Helping wash the car.
*- Simple hygiene - brush teeth, wash and dry hands and face, and brush hair.
*- Undress self - dress with some help.
*- Carry boxed or canned goods from the grocery sacks to the proper shelf.
4 - 5 years
*- Taking his/her laundry to designated place on laundry day.
*- Sorting laundry with supervision.
*- Begin learning to fold laundry and put it away.
*- Hang socks, handkerchiefs, and washcloths on a low line.
*- Vacuuming/sweeping.
*- Cleaning table after meals.
*- Helping with meal preparations (learning to measure, stir and use small appliances).
*- Spread butter on sandwiches.
*- Prepare cold cereal.
*- Help mother prepare plates of food for the family dinner.
*- Make a simple dessert (add topping to cupcakes, pour the toppings on ice cream).
*- Hold the hand mixer to whip potatoes or mix up a cake.
*- Setting the table.
*- Taking out the trash.
*- Helping make decisions about meal choices, outings, time with friends, etc.
*- Carrying groceries in from the car and putting them away.
*- Help with grocery shopping and compiling a grocery list.
*- Polish shoes and clean up afterwards.
*- Follow a schedule for feeding pets.
*- Help do the dishes or fill the dishwasher.
*- Dust the furniture.
*- Share toys with friends (practice courtesy).
*- Tell parent his/her whereabouts before going out to play.
*- Play without constant adult supervision and attention.
*- Polish silver.
*- Polish car.
*- Sharpen pencils.
5 - 6 years
*- Unsupervised responsibilities (making bed, washing out trash cans, etc.).
*- More complicated meal preparations (making frozen juice, toast, scrambling eggs, cutting with blunt knife, baking).
*- Make own sandwich or simple breakfast, then clean up.
*- Pour own drink.
*- Prepare the dinner table.
*- Tear up lettuce for the salad.
*- Helping with younger siblings (changing diapers, helping with bath, bottle feeding, entertaining while mom is out of the room, feeding/dressing toddler siblings).
*- Laundry (sorting, learning to use the washer/dryer, measuring detergent,fold clean clothes and put them away.) .
*- Cleaning (using cleaning supplies properly, cleaning unsupervised areas like bathtub or polishing furniture, clean mirrors and windows).
*- Sons — carrying “heavy” things for mom and helping with yardwork.
*- By this time child will begin to carry out responsibilities unasked and begin to offer help in areas parents don’t require help in.
*- Make bed and clean room.
*- Dress on own and choose outfit for the day.
*- Learn to tie shoes.
*- Answer the telephone and begin to dial the phone.
*- Yardwork.
*- Pay for small purchases.
*- Help clean out the car.
*- Take out the garbage.
*- Decide how he/she wants to spend his/her share of the family entertainment fund.
*- Feed his/her pets and clean the living area.
6 - 7 years
*- Simple meals prepared (making sandwiches for lunch, preparing drinks, fixing breakfast for mom and dad, preparing salad for dinner, peel vegetables).
*- Regular quiet time becoming a part of daily routine.
*- Totally unsupervised laundry responsibilities when needed.
*- Increased responsibilities for younger siblings (dressing infants/toddlers, entertaining them for longer periods by reading to them/playing records, etc., helping school them).
*- Learning the purpose and beginning usage of tools (lawn mower, hand tools, etc.) and helping with home maintenance.
*- Shake rugs.
*- Water plants and flowers.
*- Prepare own school lunch.
*- Help hang clothes on the clothesline.
*- Hang up own clothes in the closet.
*- Gather wood for the fireplace.
*- Rake leaves and weed.
*- Tie own shoes.
*- Care for his/her own minor injuries.
*- Keep the garbage container clean.
*- Clean out inside of car.
*- Straighten or clean out silverware drawer.
*- Oil and care for bike.
*- Take phone messages.
*- Run errands for parents.
*- Sweep and wash patio area.
*- Water the lawn.
*- Wash dog or cat.
*- Train pets.
*- Take pet for walk.
*- Carry in the grocery sacks.
*- Get self up in the morning and go to bed at night on own.
*- Learn to be polite, courteous, and to share; respect others.
*- Carry own lunch money and notes back to school.
*- Leave the bathroom in order.
*- Do simple ironing.
8 - 10 years
*- Complete responsibility for their rooms on a daily basis (bed making, dresser drawers, closet, vacuuming, etc.).
*- Unsupervised yard work (i.e., lawn mowing, edging, clean-up, gardening).
*- More complex meal preparations (pour and make tea, coffee, and instant drinks, using sharp instruments, baking, using appliances, beginning meal planning).
*- More difficult cleaning projects (scrubbing kitchen floor, windows, cleaning appliances).
*- Summer jobs (lawn mowing, dog sitting, babysitting, odd jobs for vacationers).
*- Financial planning (computing percentages for saving, tithing, offerings, gift-giving and assuming responsibility with parental oversight).
*- Beginning car maintenance (helping dad with minor repairs, learning tool usage, washing/waxing).
*- Help rearrange furniture. Help plan the layout.
*- Run own bathwater.
*- Help others with their work when asked.
*- Shop for and select own clothing and shoes with parent.
*- Change school clothes without being told.
*- Fold blankets.
*- Sew buttons and sew rips in seams.
*- Clean storage room.
*- Clean up animal “messes” in the yard and house.
*- Cut flowers and make a centerpiece.
*- Pick fruit off trees.
*- Build a campfire, get items ready to cook out (charcoal, hamburgers).
*- Paint fence or shelves.
*- Help write simple letters.
*- Write thank-you notes.
*- Help with defrosting and cleaning the refrigerator.
*- Feed the baby.
*- Polish silverware, copper, or brass items.
*- Clean patio furniture.
*- Wax living room furniture.
*- Change sheets and put dirty sheets in hamper.
*- Buy groceries using a list and comparative shopping.
*- Cross streets unassisted.
*- Keep own appointments.
*- Receive and answer own mail.
*- Wait on guests.
*- Plan own birthday.
*- Simple first aid.
*- Do neighborhood chores.
*- Sew, knit, or weave (even using a sewing machine).
*- Do chores without a reminder.
*- Learn banking and to be thrifty and trustworthy.
*- Handle sums of money up to $5.00.
*- Proper conduct when staying overnight with a friend. Pack own suitcase.
*- Responsible for personal hobby.
*- Handle self properly when in public places alone or with peers.
11 - 12 years
*- Join outside organizations, do assignments, and attend. Able to take responsibility as a leader.
*- Put siblings to bed and dress them.
*- Clean pool and pool area.
*- Respect others’ property.
*- Run own errands.
*- Mow lawn with supervision.
*- Help Father build things and do family errands.
*- Schedule himself/herself time for studies.
*- Buy own sweets or treats.
*- Responsible for a paper route.
*- Check and add oil to car under supervision.
13 - 15 years
*- Determine how late he/she should stay up during the week. Also determine how late he/she should be out for evening gatherings (through mutual parent-child discussion and agreement).
*- Responsibility for preparing family meals.
*- Social awareness: good health, exercise, necessary rest, correct weight, nutritious food, physical examinations.
*- Anticipate the needs of others and initiate the appropriate action.
*- Acceptance of capabilities and limitations.
*- Self-respect or individual worth.
*- Responsibility for one’s decision.
*- Mutual respect, loyalty, and honesty in the family.

Content

2009-05-11T10:39:00.002-04:00

(Xmas with Dani- I love being her Mom)

Content-That is what I feel today. My weekend was a great one filled with many family fun events. Though I purposely missed the concert Friday night, and was very sad about it, I did run into Boomer (lead singer) at Ukrops and told him how sorry I was to have missed going. I got to introduce him to the hubby and meet Boomer's super cute blonde, blue eyed wifey. She was so adorable. Which brings me to a kinda related topic--Why do men always worry about alt. sex friendships? Not sure. I think for my B, he works in a predom. male environment and alt. sex friendships do not exist in his day to day world so he knows no difference. I hope over time he will understand they can exist without any hanky panky or longing for hanky panky. LOL- (This was not why he did not want me to go-but the topic of going out with men from work has come up lots in the past). Saturday I spent the day cleaning, organizing my scrapbook room, purging some more, laundry and hit Ukrops to pick up a few things. Love that store. Also, went to Mom/Dad's place to help put away the heavy butt pool cover and spent some time visiting with them and with Bubba/Claudia and my ever precious Leah. Sunday was awesome. Dani had made me a lovely card and bought one, Dad bought one 2. We got up at 8:30am and Dad went to work on Ribs and Chicken (applying Rub and other manly BBQ things) and I cooked bfast. We then scrambled to get ready and hit VCC Regal to see Star Trek at 9:45am. That theater was pretty packed for a Sunday 9:45am showing. The movie was ultra awesome. Great effects, story was wonderful and I found myself laughing, clapping and crying. Overall- my fav this yr so far. Then home to start cooking. B cut the grass and poor dear suffered hard for it. Then he BBQd the chicken and ribs while I did the indoor stuff (cleaning, laundry and hooking up the sides--3bean salad, Tossed Salad, Dessert, Deviled Eggs). Oh the eating was great. My mom, dad, brother, his wife-Claudia, Leah, My mom's friends Mr. Flournoy and his gf Joyce and then Brian's Mom and stepdad came over. We had a blast catching up, eating great food and hung out till almost 8pm. Then B snuck away to bed and Dani played Wii while I caught up on the net. and glory be--at 9pm= quiet. I was able to throw in laundry and hit the craft room to work on my Twilight chipboard albums. I am making 3 of them to sell on my etsy shop. It was a glorious way to end Mother's day. So, I am content. Woke up happy to have a job, a nice home and a cute but annoying at times hubby. Motherhood btw-is the hardest but most rewarding job I have ever held. I would not trade it for the world.

Frustration to Sadness to Acceptance....

2009-05-07T23:29:00.005-04:00

You know you have hit a new high and or low when you can move past anger and frustration straight into sadness and then a sorrowful acceptance. So in a nutshell, hubby feels I should not go to concert because he does not believe married women should be out at midnight without husband in tow. Old fashioned. I have to accept it. To do otherwise is disrespectful to him. To do so, is disrespectful to me but I guess he will never understand that. That is why the sadness. What am I teaching my daughter by giving in and accepting this time after time. Will she think she should never experience life once she is married, have friends, go places, do things without her hubby? Now-do not get me wrong. If she finds a man as loving, loyal and dependable as her dad--she will be duoubly blessed. But the kicker here is that I have given up so much of who I am for my marriage. I used to be a center of attention kind of girl. I loved to sing in school choir, performing choir. I was on Pom pom squad, capt. of the flag squad, in art club, on yearbook staff. I loved to try new things, learn new things. I loved nothing more than to be with my 8-9 girlfriends at lunch telling jokes and having a good time. Fast fwd 17yrs. I have 1 friend that I really hang out with and the last time we hung out together alone was like 9mos ago. I have no close woman friend to confide in and share with. I have not made any art since 2 Christmas' ago and that was for B's grandpa. Who has the time? I scrapbook but not often with friends or out at crops, never been to a retreat. My how I would love to go for a full 48hrs with no responsibility to catch up with friends and scrapbook. The last time I went dancing was at a Capital One holiday party with Christine W. years ago. I dropped church choir because of night school and B missed me 2 much 3 nights a week.

So the bottom line is, I am sad. I can not seem to move past it to acceptance yet. I love my husband but I seem to have lost Carol somewhere in the last 17yrs. Where did she go? Will I be able to find her and still make my traditional hubby happy? There is a happy hour at work scheduled for June 4th. Even though I will not imbibe in any good drinks due to my surgery I would love to go for the few hours on Friday and hang out with people from work, play pool and maybe let off some of my pent up frustration. On June 6th, I turn 36yrs old. Is this my mid-life crisis? Any advice from folks. I need someway to move past this lull. I need to know that the way I feel is normal. Is it?

Frustrated....

2009-05-05T20:45:00.002-04:00

So, Copper Sails is playing at the National this Friday night from 7:30pm-midnight and I want to go. The lead singer, Boomer, and I used to work together at C1 and he gave me a copy of their last CD. I really liked the music. Funny thing. My 1st cousin who is like in her very early 20s totally is a fan and can not believe I know Boomer. I invited B to go with me. He would have to either call out of work Sat or we could go and leave early so he could still go into work at 2am. Now-he did this to see Mike Tyson fight in DC when I won tickets so not a big deal. Well-it was. Huge. I invited Jessie since Brian can not go (he does not want to call out or head over and leave early). But B tells me tonight that he does not want me to go and I am like--why? He says, well it is downtown and you will be home late and I will be worried about you. Ok, that is sweet but I am going to be 36yrs old in like 4weeks and I can handle a night out with a girlfriend 30minutes from home at a concert downtown. I mean-I have mace. He knows where I will be, with who and what time to expect me. So, either he is Jealous, Controlling or Immature. I am not sure which but I am going to the concert. He has to let me have a life outside of him. I mean, really.

Update....long overdue

2009-05-03T23:01:00.002-04:00

So tonight I was scanning my regular blog reads when I realized it had been 2 long since I had updated my own. I get so disappointed when there are not regular updates to the ones I read that I sware I am a hypocrit without updating mine. So here is is, long overdue so sorry all.

It is May. Can you believe how quickly time has flown? I had surgery in December last year and complications way into the month of January this year. Unfortunately I have had 2 additional issues more than likely related. 3 weeks ago I was hospitalized twice for severe dehydration and admitted once. It was so bad my kidney function was affected. After several awful tests and weeks of little to no bowel control and sheer misery, I started to feel better on my own. No intervention from Drs needed. Best I can figure, I ate something that inflamed my intestines and BIO will teach you that inflamed intestines do not absorb water or nutrients nor make waste correctly, hence the dehydration and sheer misery until the inflammation passed. Now I am having the opposite issue. My feet, ankles and lower legs have been swelling 3x their normal size for the last 4 nights. Went to the ER and they thought blood clot at first but nothing came of that. So it is water retention. It hurts like hell. Despite what you think, I never had CANKLES (big girl or not). My fingers and other joints have joined in the bandwagon and starting swelling 2. So finally, I decided to take a diuretic pill and kill all sodium from my diet. I hope that helps. We will have to wait and see. On a positive note, I weighed 394pds prior to my surgery last year. This morning I weighed in at 298pds. That is a huge weight loss and one I am proud of. I am aiming for 250pds as my goal for end of the summer and 200pds for my end of year goal.

Brian is doing well and working hard. It has been very hard on him with me being sick, him worrying and running me to ER and all about. He has missed sleep, missed some work and then killed himself being the "all" (mom, dad, etc.). I love him so much and his support confirms that he is my soul mate. He is everything I always wanted in a husband and I relish my time with him. Corny, yes....true- every bit.

Danielle has been growing like a weed. Purged her closet this weekend and I swear the child only has a bare minimum of clothes left. She is now wearing Jr. sizes or Medium in women's depending on the cut but super tall and skinny. A woman's size 9.5 shoe. Ugg. I need to take her shopping but where without spending a fortune? This weekend will tell. She is excited to own her bathing suits this year. Dad allowed her a modest bikini which made her super happy and I allowed her a tankini for daycare. Bikini is only allowed at Nana's. She already has 2 many little boy admirers at daycare for my taste. Invited to her first boy party this coming weekend with her crush, Jordan Jefferson---and to top it off- he is older by 1yr. Scary that she is actually interested in boys kinda. She is running for 5th grade SCA historian and is nervous but excited about the public speech and vote. I hope she wins. She is still making honor roll. The one big change with her is her hormones. She cries at the drop of a hat and is so emotional about everything. I know the time is coming soon where she will make that transition to womanhood at least in the physical way and it scares me to death. Am I ready? How can she be---she is only 10?

School is great and almost over. I have made new friends, had fun and managed to bump my overall GPA up a few points. Taking the summer off and then last 2 classes in the fall...then off to VCU to get the 4yr degree.

Work is scary. Environment is rough lately. Not feeling the love. My contract was extended to Sept 30, 2009. I had hoped they would extend me out the rest of the 2yr timeframe to 12/31/09. But, alas they did not. I have started the job hunt including pursuing a new contract role for Bank at C1 that would start in June and end in December. At least then I could take 3 months temping and come back hopefully. I am also looking for permanent work but so are a billion other Virginians. Scary place to be. Scary.

And for the best news of all.....my sister and her family will be moving home. HOME. I have missed her more than I thought possible. I never really get sappy with her or the rest of them (the fam) much. She and I were never really close growing up but becoming married and then moms changed us. We believe in different things and live very different lives but now we share so much in common. I have missed our crops, laughing and hanging out with the kids. Watching my nephews grow up. They are so grown and so different now. I hope we fall back into a great rythym when they are home but a part of me is scared that we will not.

And a moment of reflection. This month 17yrs ago, I lost my Papa Walker. He was a man of few words and when he spoke the words were gruff and committed. I miss him something awful. My papa was a man who inspired me to be better. He always said very purposeful things to me and I was so young and stupid I never quite understood them at the time. But I found myself passing along one of his sayings to my daughter tonight. Papa always told me "Believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see." As Dani deals with bullies, and other things with girls at school (and man can the girls including her be mean at this age)- I told her to apply this advice. I hope she listens. I can only see Papa smiling down and thinking- "finally, the girl gets it."

Home....

2009-04-13T21:23:00.002-04:00

Well, I hate being sick and this past week, I have been really sick. I came home from work Wed feeling ill and crashed--slept from 12-6 straight. I felt better and thought--it was just a virus and so I had kept my twilight dinner and movie night with Jaime and Christine. I felt fine Thursday and then Friday am, woke up with cramping and more of the bad stuff. I lost so much water that by Thursday, my face was sunken in and Brian wanted me to go to Patient First. I finally went. Honestly, I felt like a newborn kitten--very weak and often dizzy and faint but I hate Drs. Dr. Robinson at Patient First said that my body was severely dehydrated to the point that my kidneys had started to fail. He gave me a shot of Phenagrine (sp) for nauseau since I was throwing up and dry heaving and he wanted to give me IV fluids. I was so dry that each of the 4 places they stuck me--infiltrated--collapsed, bruised. It hurt like hell but I did not even have enought moisture in me to produce a tear. He sent me off with my labs to St. Mary's where the ER nurse--thank God, was able to get an IV started and I was given 2 bags of saline immediately and more labwork was done, even a culture on my feces sample (gross). I could never be a nurse. The news came in at 9pm, I was going to have to stay. In order to prevent perm. damage to the kidney, I had to get more fluids, be monitered and have potassium and magnesium administered via IV. So I finally had enough tears to cry. No Easter for me, no Easter with her mom for Dani. I was miserable. I mean, I had messed up Thanksgiving because I was fasting prior to surgery, Christmas I was only home for 2 days and then the rest of the mo I was pretty much living at St. Marys. Why, Easter? But all in all, I had great nurses, got plenty of fluids and no real rest. My bloodwork came back normal but I am still having the nauseau, vomiting and diarrhea (Sp?). So I saw a specialist today at 2:30 immediately after checking out of hospital. He will be scheduling me for a colonoscopy and endoscopy later this week--have to call tom to schedule. He thinks there may be something wrong in my intestines. I am truly scared. Can I just say--really scared. I hate being sick and I hate even more, that I have no control over my own body. B has a pic of me in ER and I will post as soon as I get off his phone. U would not believe what losing 18pds of fluid so rapidly will do to a person's face. I had sunken eyes and looked really green. I never want to feel like that again. So, I guess I had better focus on feeling better and pray for health.

Whoa Nelly!

2009-04-07T09:49:00.003-04:00

Time sure does fly lately. My sister left Sat. morning for the last time. She and the fam will be moving back home June 1st for good. They have a friend who has an empty home (nice 2300sq ft rancher on 10acres) in Caroline County who is letting them live there rent free in exchange for maintaining the home for them. It will be for a little over a year and then they plan to try to resell the home when market improves. Networking really pays off in today's world for everything. We scrapbooked 2 nights in all a total of about 10hrs. The last Friday night I stayed over till midnight and went home happy. I am working on 3 chipboard Twilight Saga Albums to sell on my etsy shop. I also have several other projects I plan to finish this weekend (clipboard, lunchbox, paper pieced bunny and chick). I would like to have about 10 things to sell my first time posting to the shop. Wish me luck! Sat morning, we all got together at 10am at mom's for a planned outdoor photo shoot with the kids. The pics were hilarious. We had 3 cameras going and the little ones were always moving. It looks like a flip book with the instantaneous movement bw pics. So much cheaper than a professional shoot. And the big news...this weekend- Sat night- 4 houses in my neighborhood were robbed bw midnight and 1:30am. None of the folks were home and we know the time based on a house alarm going off from a failed attempt and someone noticing flashlights in the back yard of one of the houses--but the neighbor never called police. They used a crow bar to break deadbolts on back doors and gained entry with ease--stealing and breaking and destroying what they did not take. I feel so awful for those families but thank goodness no one was hurt. B and I ordered an alarm system from ebay immediately. I have not been sleeping since he leaves the house at 1:30am 4 days a week for work leaving me alone and freaked out. I hate my life this week- little sleep, 2 much stress, missing my sis and so scared all the time. One bright beacon to look fwd to---invited Jaime R and Christine W to come view Twilight movie with me Thursday night and have dinner. We all fell in love and read the entire Twilight Saga and even the draft of the 5th yet unpublished book, Midnight Sun. I love me some Edward Cullen! Enjoy the pics.....

Craft Fun....

2009-04-02T09:06:00.003-04:00

Well, it is Thursday. I am overwhelmed by my life this week but feel kinda caught up despite it all. Here is quick rundown:

Spending as much time with Sis and kids as possible since last Thursday night when they arrived (they leave Sat morning this week)
2 nights of 4hr lecture and lab (Monday and Wed) and Wed we had test- BIO 101
Busy work at work (for a change)
Contracting company screwing me by forcing me to take 5% pay decrease (if I do not sign- I am fired even though the contract states there will never be a unilateral change in terms)
Due to above, spent $ to consult with a lawyer who advised me to sign under protest noting clause mentioning the CIT issue and wait till I no longer work with them to sue them for breach of contract (that will be eff 9/30/09 as they are shortening my contract 2)
Depressed due to sis leaving soon, sucky work situation and I am not sure how well I did on mentioned Wed night test
Crafting and reading Twilight to Dani in the in bw time
Fri, Dani ooschool for early dismissal to kick off spring break so I WFH and then off to take her and nephews to play laser tag, dinner with fam and scrapbooking

I am having lots of fun with my crafts lately. Packed this......

to do this......

and of course I am just finishing previously mentioned cute little paper piecing bunnies and chicks. They turned out so cute.

And I can not wait for this day to be over. So ready for 5pm and Survivor is on tonight and it is a new one. I hated that March Madness delayed my fav TV show 1 week. Sucked.

What a glorious feeling....

2009-03-26T20:47:00.002-04:00

I finally got to see my boys. When I arrive at my mom's Turner just about plowed me over with a running hug. It was glorious and felt so good. He and Nic have both grown so very much. Dani has finally grown taller than Nic by about an inch. Jaxson was in my Dad's arms bottle feeding and my Dad passed him to me--my goodness is a little horse. I tell you no lie that he is at least as heavy if not as big as Leah. The older kids jumped into catching up after spending a good amount of time playing with Leah. I had picked up an item at Christie's suggestion from craigslist--a little walking toy of sorts and she was walking, dancing, giggling and just being goofy. It was so much fun to watch. I realized how nice it was to have all of the children together and to be a family again. My mom said something to the effect that her and Dad created all of this. A tad sappy but so true. I love having siblings with neices and nephews and sometimes wonder if we robbed Dani somehow of that experience. The time we spent tonight was over 2 fast but I plan to spend as much time over there visiting in the next week as possible. Tom night Christie and I will be scrapping a little. Can not wait. Here are some pics for your enjoyment.

So exciting......

2009-03-25T22:19:00.002-04:00

My sister is on her way to Virginia. Right now as I type this. I will finally get to meet my new nephew Jaxson tomorrow evening after work. I am ultra excited about holding him the first time, seeing his cute little face, holding his tiny little hands, kissing his sweet little face. And my sister--I have missed her so much. My life is just not the same without her here in VA. So tomorrow, I am going to have my whole immediate family at home. Finally.

Giving in....

2009-03-24T21:01:00.003-04:00

I give up, give in, throw in the towel. Got home today at 6pm courtesy of the kid. She was determined to spend her $10 Burger King gift card she got yesterday--today. She was willing to share her $ with her dad and I so I was not 2 upset. Give in #1-driving her to BK at 5:30pm and waiting for 30minutes. Give in #2-drove away after sitting in drive thru 10minutes and walked in instead. Give up-BK is not a health food restaurant for sure so what to get? I gave up and got an old fav from my fat days- a whopper jr with cheese/no onion. I did drink water and did not have any carbs/fries to go with it but I know it was not the wisest choice. Give up#2- got home and realized hubby had not straightened up even though all mess was made under his domain control --(see prev post). Decision time---1 hand- I can relax with the laptop and surf splitcoaststampers.com for my next month's stamp camp projects -other hand-clean up behind the kid and the big kid and do laundry, workout. Well, dang it- I need to relax 2 so I chose the stamp hand. I surfed the web for 3hours and found the cutest projects to do next month. (see all the cute pics above and this is just a small selection of what I found). I also happened to come across 3 new blogs I will have to follow (fellow stampers) and bought a toy for Leah off craigslist for $10. I also checked in on my FB friends. And now- reality. If I don't clean it, no one will and the laundry beckons. And I may just have to force myself to workout afterall.

Time is just dragging by

2009-03-24T09:29:00.003-04:00

Well class last night was not as bad as I thought and yes the "2 fab women" were there in all their glory. We did 1.5hrs of lecture and then an hour long lab on mitosis. It was interesting. We got out early which was a blessing since I am fighting a cold or allergies (not sure which) and I was exhausted. I went home, forced myself to take a quick shower and then crashed. This morning I realized that my clean house I left yesterday morning was no more. Hubby and Dani tore it up. There were now dirty dishes, socks in the floor, throw pillows-well thrown, my lapquilt just tossed in the floor, mail half unopened/half opened everywhere and well, dang it---I WAS ANNOYED. I mean since when does my vagina (excuse the french) qualify me as the housekeeper, chef, etc, etc. I sucked it up as usual and spent 10minutes making it presentable this morning but now I am dreading going home and spending my first 30minutes cleaning up and then to make dinner, do laundry and study for Wed night class. Ugg. When do us women get me time!

Spring Break is so over....

2009-03-23T10:50:00.002-04:00

Today I start back to school. Don't get me wrong- I am not whining about it (2mch) but I have to attend 3.5hrs 2x a week on top of working FT and trying to keep my house in working order. No easy marching orders those!. BIO101 is fun and the teacher is very nice, grades effectively and lectures in a nice voice, tone. It is just frustrating because I am like so old compared to the others in my class. I mean--old. One kid a couple of weeks ago was complaining about his girlfriend and his parents and I asked him how old he was....he answered 19. He was born in 1989---the year I went to my hubby's sr. prom. Ugg. How old am I? Also, the older people who are in the class are so -well bitchy! Next to me is Octomom1/2 who is kinda nice but scary (she has 4 kids under the age of 5, wears sweats and t-shirts with stains and holes, no makeup and frequently forgets deodorant--or something). Then on my other side is Ghetto Alibi (she fits the ghetto profile to a T-wearing 2 small shirts with trashy sayings, Cleopatra dangly earlobe ripping earrings, tattoos of all of her baby daddys-she has 5 kids-1 deceased, jeans that are 2 tight and not high enough and fake long-long multi colored acrylic nails, overdone and overcolored wig weaves and shiny lip gloss). These women are both so very nice and I enjoy their company but thinking about how I judge them--I wonder how they judge me. So tonight when I go back to class with my whining kids, my ghetto fab sister and the 1/2Octomom, I will enjoy the moment. Soon enough I will be graduating and move on to VCU brats, art students and just plain ole Richmond crazies. LOL

More Shopping....

2009-03-22T20:34:00.002-04:00

Well, cleaned out my part of the walkin closet this weekend and ended up with 2 full trashbags of clothes that are 2 big for me now. I have spent $300 in the last 2 months on clothes including what I bought today. But, no need to panic. I am a savvy shopper. For example- The outfits I bought today were 2 tank tops, 2 overshirts with buttons, 1 pair of white cotton capri pants and a new pair of jeans--add a bracelet Danielle was dying to have (which we will share of course) and the grand total was-----$87.50. Ok, so here is how. I shopped Catherine's family and friends day so that was 40% off anything reg price and 20% clearance items plus I had a spend $100-get $25 off gift cheque from a mailer they sent me. So the original total before my Perks frequent buyer discount, before the 40%off, before the $25 gift check was $117.90. Not 2 bad if I say so myself. Now, It was super hard to walk away from the ultra adorable matching spring fever pocketbook that was on sale for $39.99 (see pic and you will understand my obsession). I also knew that I needed at least 1 pair of new sandals and a new watch soon so I walked away begrudgingly. How hard it is to finally be fashionable and I can not always afford the cutesy stuff. Oh well. Saturday was an awesome day. Sat up late Friday night finishing the last book in the Twilight Saga---till 3am Sat morning--well worth it. Book was great. Sat got up at 8am and showered, headed out to Jean's (my SU coord) for stamp day with Dani. We stamped away for 3 hours--I will post pics soon of our finished creations. Then we met my BFF and her kids at McDs for lunch and catch up. It was fun. Later we chilled at home and I got to see Twilight the movie.....oh, no where near as good as the book but still a decent movie. Can not wait to see what comes out in the New Moon movie (book #2). Sunday, slept in late- watched TV, did laundry and went to offer tech support to my mom and dad-loading digital pics to Walgreens.com and editing them for them. Now, I have 2 more loads of laundry, general cleanup and then I get to steal away some time for me in the craft room. Tom-back to the grind and I have class.Ugg. Spring break is officially over for me. Oh, did swing by Target tonight and got the cutest watch and pair of white sandals. Hope the weather is nice tom so I can wear something springy and NEW!

Duh!

2009-03-19T09:59:00.003-04:00

Well, life has been interesting. First off, got my new clothes in and I adore them all. They fit wonderfully, feel ultra comfortable and make me look thinner. They are like my "drug". Finally found a used treadmill on Craigslist.org that was decent, $200 for a heavier than life NordicTrack A2050. It is very nice. Bribed my brother to help Brian take it upstairs in the house in my bedroom so I would use it more often. It weighed like 500pds. They really struggled to get it up the stairs but they made it. I fed him dinner and we played Wii so he got some benefit. Since I have had it, I worked out Sun, Mon, last night for 30minutes and top speed 3.5mph and longest distance 1.5miles. I would like to get up to 5mph and move to working out for 1hr on the treadmill. I really like treadmill aerobics with some kick butt music. I am even an amateur treadmill dancer...see http://www.exercise-with-treadmill.com/treadmill-dance.html

It is really fun to make the music pump you up. Anyway- I got to visit with my little Leah and she was ultra adorable as usual. This week is a good one. House is staying clean which means my Sat will be free. Dani has pic day at school today. I have been able to read 1st 2 books in Twilight series by S. Meyer and I bought last 2 books to hit as soon as possible. Sat I plan to stamp/scrap at Jean's house (my SU coord) with Dani, meet friends at MCds for cheap lunch and chill for the weekend. I am loving my life lately, all of it- Being a MOM, WIFE, WORKING, all of it. And just for fun, I am in a NCAA Bracket comp at work---I am guessing Pitt for the big win!

New Clothes---I am in 22 top (from 26/28), 26 bottoms (from 30/32)

2009-03-11T12:32:00.002-04:00

New Clothes Alert. Avenue had these adorable camis, sweaters and capris all on sale for a total $75 each outfit. Could not beat it and so I bought all 3 color variations. And the matching jewelry. Now, to convince B that I need new shoes. What is a girl to do!

Never what you expected....

2009-03-07T22:38:00.003-05:00

Well today was not as expected. Sold my hubby's weights and bench on craigslist and the guy was an hour late to pick them up. Overslept and woke up in hives, feeling miserable. Finally got house in decent shape when I just gave up- I mean -I was cleaning for 4 10yr old girls. They were just going to destroy it. Dani's party was great but I think the cost was a bit 2 high. I anticipated around $75 but the bill came to $112. Another party was still finishing when we arrived and those kids were so awfully rude, looking into Dani's giftbags from her guests, trying to take a piece of her cake. I had to finally complain to have them moved to front of the store so I could have the party area to myself since I had reserved it and paid for it and technically they were an hour over their session. Dani's friends all had fun but didn't enjoy painting as much as I thought they would. They all rushed through their pieces and I was aggravated as I was trying to paint my own piece. And now tonight, after a spaghetti dinner, the girls are running amuck through my house. They broke into my locked bedroom and raided my makeup and perfume, nail polish and they all look a bit streetwalkerish after. LOL. Totally forgot I lose an hour tonight thanks to daylight savings and I still have to somehow calm down and get to bed 4-10yr old hoodlums. Here are the pics from the party. Wish me luck, I am going in!

Friday....and the Weekend Looms

2009-03-06T16:32:00.002-05:00

I love weekends. I wish they were 3 days long every week! This weekend will be jammed packed with activity. Tonight- cleaning house (including the fridge), watching tv and chilling. Tom- Finish cleaning (i.e. laundry), Pick up Cake and groceries at Ukrops, Dani's pottery bday party from 3-5 at mall and then her bday sleepover, Sun-breakfast for fam and sleepover buddies, visit my mom and dad (tech support for uploading pics to walgreens.com) and crash. Weekends are never about me time (rarely). I would love to scrapbook, paint, have some fun- clean my car (sick huh!). Who has the time for that? And somewhere in this weekend, I need to study BIO 101 for my exam next week. Say it with me---Obama should mandate 3 day weekends. Doubt it, but it would be nice.

On a completely different random note- Anyone out there following the Chris Brown, Rihanna story? I am completely appalled at the brutality I read in the police report and the pics that were leaked. I feel so for Rihanna that she thinks she loves this person (Chris) who is such a bully and so not a true man! No one should resort to violence- not men, not women -but what he did is awful. I hope it is not true they were married in Miami last week after Chris apologized and reconciled with her. Please say is is not so.

My other prides and joy....

2009-03-03T21:55:00.003-05:00

So not many of you know this but I always wanted to be a mother. The job is thankless and the pay sucks but the rewards are bountiful. Brian and I waited 3 yrs after marrying to try for a baby and realized pretty soon that we were pregnant but I miscarried. It was devestating for us both but everyone including the docs said it was normal for a 1st pregnancy and not to worry. We tried again and got pregnant a little over 2 yrs later with twins. I made it to the 13week mark and then miscarried-back labor and lots of heavy bleeding. I will never forget my mom helping me clean up at the hospital as I was so mentally anguished I could not do it for myself. I never knew that it was twins until the miscarriage. The ultrasound showed the techs that it was a twin pregnancy that was no longer viable. Sounds as awful as it really was. 7 yrs after we married and 2 more miscarriages and I got pregnant with Danielle. It was hard because my sister was pregnant the year before and had a newborn son. Nicolas is 10mos older than Danielle. I love my sister and wanted no pain for her pregnancy and desired a healthy baby for her and her husband but ached to hold my own child. Finally, pregnant and we did not care if it was a girl or a boy we just wanted a healthy baby. After spotting and plenty of scares including last 2 weeks bed rest for high blood pressure, Danielle was finally born. 10lbs, 11.5oz and 21.5 inches long. I had major complications afterwards and had to be re-hospitalized for a week due to infection. I almost died and my poor husband was shuttling back and forth to split time with his newborn daughter at home and his sick wife at the hospital. Anyway, long story (sorry). I am very happy with my darling daughter, a little sad that I can not ever have more children. But- and here is my pride and joy--I have a niece and 3 nephews to love and spoil. Now Leah's parents are a bit stingy and keep her at home often though I offer free baby sitting anytime. I just love her sweet smile. But--listen up BUBBA- I want to see her more. And my dear sister moved away to FLA 4 yrs ago and took my 2 nephews with her and I have had to watch them grow up from a distance and man-have they grown. And now, a new nephew that I have not met, or held. I can not wait to love on this new addition. My sis and her family will be moving back home this summer and I can not wait to have all of my "children" back home. I love each of them with all of my heart and since I can only have my darling Dani, they are my loves as well. Here are the latest pics of my darlings.....I am sure you can see why I love them all!

Snow Day!

2009-03-02T22:39:00.003-05:00

DANI's 10th Birthday bought a cool surprise for her---6-8 inches of snow depending on where we stood, no school, sleeping in, lunch with mom and dad at O'Charleys, 2 movie rentals from BBuster and sledding in the snow! How cool. Can you believe it? My little girl hit double digits.

Back from TN

2009-03-02T09:40:00.002-05:00

The trip to TN was tiring. Who knew that 7hrs of driving could be a bonding experience. We arrived at the cabin at around 2am. Our cabin was at the top of a very big 45degree hill with no guardrails and needless to say no 4 wheel drive. I was the one behind the wheel and I was leaning fwd and very nervous but even with a few spinning rear tires, I made it. U can't take the redneck out of this girl- I guess. The cabin was gorgeous and very secluded. Only 1 problem- ladybug carcusses. Apparantly the state park (i.e. fed govt) thought it would be a good idea to introduce a new pop of ladybugs last year to kill some insect (not sure what) and they bred like wildfire since they have no natural predator. So we had to sweep up dead ladybugs for the 1st 30minutes. We then unloaded all of food into the house- would not want bears to break into the car., and then we played pool, hit the hottub and showered and went to bed around 4:30am. It was awesome. Sat we slept in till 9am and then hottub some more, enjoyed the view and then hit Pigeon Forge for some window shopping and a stop at Bennetts BBQ for lunch. I adored the Christmas shop and picked up several gifts there for my family. We came home around dinner deciding to forgo the massive crowds and wildness in Gatlinburg and instead had BLTs and chips, played pool, more hottub and watched a movie. It was so nice to relax. Up Sunday at 9am and packed it all up and headed home. Left the cabin at 10:15am and took us 1.5hrs to drive to I40 (I am not sure but it must have been some sort of event to have all of that traffic--the drive should have taken 30minutes at most). Around 1pm it started snowing in the mountains and it was gorgeous and even fun until right before ROANOKE and the traffic snarled to 20mph and visibility sucked. Took us so long to make it home. I had bad hives and so B dropped me at Patient 1st and then picked up dani and came back to pick me up. I am at home now in my long PJs amazed at the amount of snow outside, C1 is closed today and I have a happy sleeping 10yr old daughter who can not wait until later to open her presents, sled with Dad and just be off for a day. Whew! Glad to be home.

31 days of Prayer for your Husband (My March Devotion)

2009-02-27T09:46:00.002-05:00

Day 1:
Pray that your husband will grow spiritually and consider his accountability before the Lord. Pray that he will guard his heart by developing spiritual disciplines—Bible reading and study, prayer, meditation, scripture memorization, etc. (2 Peter 3:18; Prov. 4:23)
Day 2:
Pray that your husband’s relationship with God and His Word will bear fruit in his life. Pray that he will be a man of wisdom and understanding, fearing the Lord. (Prov. 3:7, 9:10; Ps. 112:1)
Day 3:
Pray that your husband will be humble and quick to agree with God about his sin. Pray that his heart will be tender toward the voice of the Lord. (Ps. 51:2-4; Micah 6:8 )
Day 4:
Pray that your husband will grow in leadership skills in your relationship—protecting and providing for you. Pray that he will lead you wisely and love you sacrificially, so that God will be glorified in your marriage. (Eph. 5:25-29; Col. 3:19)
Day 5:
Pray that your husband will be faithful to his wedding vows. Pray that he will have a desire to cultivate your relationship as a sign of his loyalty and commitment to you, and as a picture of Christ’s love for the Church. (Prov. 20:6; Gen. 2:24)
Day 6:
Pray that your husband will love righteousness and hate wickedness, especially the evils of the culture. Pray that he will recognize and avoid wickedness in his own life, and if necessary, take a clear, strong stand against evil. (Prov. 27:12; John 17:15; 1 Cor. 10:12-13)
Day 7:
Pray that your husband will safeguard his heart against inappropriate relationships with the opposite sex. Pray that his heart will be pure and undivided in his commitment to you. (Prov. 6:23-24, 26; Rom. 13:14)
Day 8:
Pray that your husband will work hard to provide for your family, to the best of his ability. Pray that the character qualities necessary for a successful career and ministry will be a growing part of his character—persistence, decisiveness, strength, an analytical mind, organizational skills, positive relationships with people, determination, etc. (Rom. 12:11; 1 Cor. 15:58 )
Day 9:
Pray that your husband handle finances wisely, will have discernment concerning budgeting and investments, and will be a good steward of his money in regard to giving to the Lord’s work. Pray that money will not become a source of discord in your family. (Prov. 23:4-5; Rom. 12:13; Heb. 13:5)
Day 10:
Pray that your husband will cultivate strong integrity, and not compromise his convictions. Pray that his testimony will be genuine, that he will be honest in his business dealings, and will never do anything that he needs to hide from others. (Prov. 20:7; 1 Tim. 1:5, 3:7; Eph. 6:10-12)
Day 11:
Pray that your husband will have a humble, teachable spirit and a servant’s heart before the Lord. Pray that he will listen to God and desire to do His will. (Prov. 15:33; Eph. 6:6)
Day 12:
Pray that your husband will yield his sexual drive to the Lord and practice self control. Pray that your sexual intimacy together will be fresh, positive, and a reflection of selfless love. (Prov. 5:15, 18; 1 Cor. 7:3; Song of Solomon 7:10)
Day 13:
Pray that your husband use practical skills to build your family and make wise decisions for your welfare. Pray that he will serve unselfishly. (Gal. 5:13; Phil. 2:3-4)
Day 14:
Pray that your husband will speak words that build you and your family, and reflect a heart of love. Pray that he will not use filthy language. (Prov. 18:21; Eph. 4:29)
Day 15:
Pray that your husband will choose his friends wisely. Pray that God will bring him men who will encourage his accountability before God, and will not lead him into sin. (Prov. 13:20; Prov. 27:17)
Day 16:
Pray that your husband will choose healthy, God-honoring activities. Pray that he will not live in bondage to any questionable habits or hobbies, but that he will experience freedom in holiness as he yields to the Spirit’s control. (1 Cor. 6:12, 10:31; 2 Tim. 2:4)
Day 17:
Pray that your husband will enjoy his manliness as he patterns his life after Christ and strong men in the faith. Pray for his physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual strength. (Eph. 3:16; 1 Peter 2:21; 1 Cor. 10:11)
Day 18:
Pray that your husband will have an eternal perspective—living in light of eternity. Pray that he will reject materialism and temporal values and put God first in his life. (Matt. 6:33; Deut. 6:5; Eph. 5:16; Ps. 90:12)
Day 19:
Pray that your husband will be patient and a man of peace. Pray that he will not give in to anger, but will allow the Holy Spirit to control his responses. (Rom. 14:19; Ps. 34:14)
Day 20:
Pray that your husband will yield his mind and thoughts to the Lord. Pray that he will not entertain immoral or impure thoughts, and that he will resist the temptation to indulge in pornography. (Prov. 27:12; 2 Cor. 10:5)
Day 21:
Pray that your husband will learn how to relax in the Lord and, in his greatest times of stress, find joy and peace in his relationship with God. Pray that he will submit his schedule to the Lord. (Neh. 8:10; Prov. 17:22; Ps. 16:11)
Day 22:
Pray that your husband will practice forgiveness in your relationship and with others. Pray that he will recognize any roots of bitterness, and yield any resentment and unforgiving attitudes to the Lord. (Eph. 4:32; Heb. 12:15)
Day 23:
Pray that your husband will be a good father—disciplining his children wisely and loving them unconditionally. If he is not a father, pray that he will find a young man to mentor in the things of the Lord. (Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:21; 2 Tim. 2:1-2)
Day 24:
Pray that your husband will have a balanced life—that he will balance work and play. Pray that he will fear God, but also gain favor with people he knows at work and church. (Luke 2:52; Prov. 13:15)
Day 25:
Pray that your husband will be courageous in his stand against evil and injustice, and that he will stand for the truth. Pray that he will protect you and your family from Satan’s attacks. (Ps. 31:24; Eph. 6:13; Ps. 27:14)
Day 26:
Pray that your husband will discover and live his God-given purpose. Pray that he will offer all his dreams to the Lord, and pursue only those goals that will bring God glory and count for eternity. (Jer. 29:11; 1 Cor. 10:31)
Day 27:
Pray that your husband will understand the importance of taking care of his body—the temple of the Holy Spirit—for the glory of God. Pray that he will practice self-control by making wise food choices, and get sufficient exercise to stay healthy. (Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 6:19-20, 9:27)
Day 28:
Pray that your husband will be a man of prayer. Pray that he will seek and pursue God in purposeful quiet times. (1 Thess. 5:17; Luke 22:46; James 5:16)
Day 29:
Pray that your husband will surrender his time and talents to the Lord. Pray that his spiritual gifts will be manifest in his career, at church, and in your home. (Eph. 5:15-16; 1 Cor. 12:4, 7)
Day 30:
Pray that your husband will serve God and others with pure motives. Pray that he will obey the Lord from his heart, and glorify Him in everything. (1 Cor. 10:13; John 7:17-18; Col. 3:23-24)
Day 31:
Pray that your husband will recognize the lies of the Enemy in his life. Pray that his attitudes and actions will be guided by the truth as he brings his thoughts into captivity to the Word of God. (John 8:44; 2 Cor. 10:4-5)

Almost here....

2009-02-27T09:34:00.002-05:00

Tonight we drive to Gatlinburg, TN arriving around 2am or so to celebrate our 17yr wedding anniversary. Can I believe it? 17 yrs! WOW. I feel like I have known my husband my whole life. We met when I was 13yrs old, a freshman in H.S. and he was a junior. We were both in the same Spanish class (I tease him often and how much smarter I am because of that). I remember looking across the room and seeing him stare at me and noticing him for the first time. He was so tall and dark with these amazing green eyes and I will admit--a nice behind. (blush). I always fell for the melon tushy. LOL
I wrote him a note and passed across the classroom and he wrote back and that was the beginning of our friendship. He would not date me, he said I was 2 young for him but that following June I invited him to attend my 14th bday party at my house and go to the Beach Boys concert at KD with another couple (Jennifer and Dwayne) and he accepted. That was it. Our first kiss was amazing and here we are at ages 35 and 37 (turning 36 and 38 this year) and still going strong.
I love that we have grown up together and despite our differences, we love each other immensely. We truly are best friends. We spend nights cuddling and talking and we share a wonderful bond in parenting our soon to be 10yr old daughter. The only regret we both have is that my health has not allowed us to have more children. We always wanted 2. But I am blessed to have a sister with 3 sons (ages 10, 7 and newborn) and a brother with 1 daughter (age 8mos). I spoil them all rotten as often as I can.
This weekend I plan to use my time wisely. For those of my friends who are happily married- join with me in March and say 31days of prayers for your husband and thank GOD daily for the blessing of finding your soul mate. For those of my friends who are unhappily married- well --you need to pray for guidance and peace and for those of my friends who are single and still looking for Mr. Right--know that there is a mr. right for everyone (he is out there).

All about the Romance Baby!

2009-02-10T10:56:00.003-05:00

Well, can you believe February is here already and outside we have seen and felt 70 degree days? Me neither. Time flies. This month I celebrate my Dad's birthday, and my 17yr wedding anniversary. I actually got married on Leap Day, Feb 29th but we always celebrate on 28th on non-leap day years. Ask me about why some other time, it makes a great story.

So to celebrate my Dad's birthday and to thank he and my mom for all of their help with Dani, me and the house during my surgery and recovery, we are taking them to Outback Steakhouse for dinner on Feb 15. I tried to get them to let us take them to the Jefferson for brunch but they are jeans lovers and would have been uncomfortable all dressed up at someplace so fancy, so I gave in and we chose someplace 10minutes from their house. This is a sign they are getting old. LOL

To celebrate my wedding anniversary, Brian and I have rented a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN called Serenity. The rates are awesome and the drive-not 2 bad (6hrs). We have a sitter for Dani and Joe (Grandma Bankette and Papa Rob) and all is set. Brian was lucky enough to get Sat. off and so we are driving down Friday night, staying until Sunday AM. I am so excited as this is only our 2nd romantic getaway since Dani was born (she will be 10 this year on March 2 so that is a long time).

Check out this description: Serenity is a feeling of calm, peacefulness and solitude and being away from it all. Serenity offers all of this and more! Conveniently located between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg yet you will feel miles and miles away.Serenity offers vaulted ceilings and lots and lots of glass for enjoying the fabulous mountain view plus all of the extra amenities required for a romantic honeymoon or weekend getaway. Serenity has king bed, indoor Jacuzzi, outdoor hot-tub, pool table, satellite TV with DVD in the bedroom and living area, full kitchen, washer and dryer and wood-burning fireplace. Call us for availability if you need a little "Serenity" in your life. Amenities: Indoor jacuzzi, Outdoor hot-tub, Fabulous Mountain view, Pool table, Central heat and air, Wood-burning fireplace, Satellite TV in bedroom and living area, Full kitchen, Full Size washer and dryer, Charcoal grill

I can not wait to go! Come on end of Feb.

And next month, lots coming up. Dani turns 10 on March 2nd. I will taking lunch with her and her class at school celebrating with cupcakes for all. On March 7th, she has her Paint N Play pottery birthday party with 5 friends and then 2 of those friends get to sleepover Saturday night and hang out most of Sunday. My Sister and her family, including the new baby, come into town at the end of the month. My brother celebrates turning 30 on the 31st (Welcome to the club, bro!). All in all, a great next couple of months.

Check out how much Jaxson has grown:

Waz Up?

2009-01-26T15:04:00.002-05:00

Well, my life has been a big rollercoaster ride this month. I have lost a total of 60+pds now. I am wearing a size 2x as opposed to a 4x. I realize this means I can shop Wal-Mart, Target, Lane Bryant and even Avon for clothes. Not sure I want to though. LOL
My daughter is failing math in school which is a 1st for her. Poor darling. Hubby is enjoying life now that he has a new shed ordered and his setup for new shed complete. I have been cleared to lift weights and so this past weekend, bought an awesome 2 person weight lifting bench setup with pulley weights and over 38 station exercises for $100 off craiglist (love that site). I have seen plenty of new pics of my new nephew, Jaxson. He is very handsome and my sister is on the mend (thanks to anyone and everyone for prayers). Work is interesting--lots of white space in my new job so I am trying my best to turn it gray. Missing the business though. Looking fwd to Spring. I will post new pics soon for everyone since it has been requested. Have an awesome remainder to your Jan 2009. See you in Feb.

Update and Pics

2009-01-13T14:33:00.004-05:00

My family (Bubba, Mom, Leah, Dad, Claudia, Brian, Dani and I) and My Tree this Year.

A holiday tradition in my house to make ornaments the last 3 years. This year Dani made snowflakes. They really shone with the lights on the tree.

This year, I also made some ornaments. These were like $7.00 each already made so I made them myself. Just needed to handglue sequins and then put fine glitter on the glass ball or ornament. These turned out so nice, I plan to make them as gifts next year.

Leah on Xmas Eve. Has she grown. Making Snowman Cookies with Dani for Santa (she knew it was us but it was still fun)

This is just one of the things I had to remember to setup for Home Healthcare. All of this was required for just the Nutrition Iv. I also had an antiobiotic IV. Pic at Right, Me at Hospital with my Nutrition bag and my Heart Monitor. Kinda fun, NOT!

Christmas Day for Brian and Me. Our top gifts, me a scrapbooking kit, Him- IPOD Nano. Dani's pics did not turn out 2 well and she begged me not to post so sorry.

My sister and my newest nephew, Jaxson Cole Dalton born 1/12/09 weighing in at 9lbs, 3oz and 22inches long. Healthy baby boy with light amounts of dark hair, big feet and toes and cute ears. I just want to eat him up from here.

MY UPDATE:

So my surgery was ok, see prior post. Unfortunately on 14th I was readmitted for a leak and high fever and was back in the hospital until the night of the 22nd. I got to come home on a home IV and with home healthcare that meant I did everything myself and could still not eat. Leak was not healed. I went back in on 29th and was let out on 31st once they confirmed my panic attacks were gone and my leak healed. I took more CT scans than I ever want to remember. I am weak and tired, down 37pds and back at work. So there is the quick and dirty on surgery and recovery. Now onto more news. I am a new aunt again. My sister gave birth to her 3rd son last night at Jackson Hospital in Marianna, FL. Jaxson Cole Dalton born at 9lbs 3oz and 22inches long. I am beaming with pride because he is so handsome. Unfortunately because I am so close after surgery, I can not make the 16 hr drive to see him now. Hopefully will see him in March or April. I feel awful missing his birth. Just doesn't feel right. And funny enough, the young woman I worked with had the same due date as my sister so I could imagine my sis through all of her phases. Shilpa had her son a few days before Christie. He was a healthy 6lbs and I can not wait to meet him either. Attached are some Christmas Pics, Surgery Pics and Jaxson Pics. Enjoy. And if you are on Facebook, friend me. You can see so many more pics online there. Love you all and thanks for the prayers for my safe surgery and healthy recovery.

Home at last....

2008-12-12T18:56:00.002-05:00

My surgery was a success. I had an excision of my gastrogastric fistula, a partial gastrectomy (removal of a part of my old stomach), and incisional hernia repair. It took a little under 4 hours which was not as bad as I anticipated. My Dr and his staff did a wonderful job, no more hernia and here I am at home 4 days later able to walk and move around albeit- in a ton of pain. I am wearing a truss or binder around my waist to provide support but I am at home. I can consume about 12 oz of liquid a day and am working my way up to 24oz slowly. I will be restricted to pure protein shakes, sugar free jello, and clear fat free broth for quite a while before I graduate to soft foods. I found a great website via CIM called bariatriceating.com.
It gives me lots of hope for future meal choices that are healthier for my bypass body. Thank you to everyone who called, dropped by and or sent me flowers at the hospital. Much thanks. Thanks as well to all those who said a prayer or 2 for my recovery. Please continue to pray for me. I have lots of healing ahead of me. My surgeon told me my previous bypass was done in such a way that I would have never been able to maintain my previous weight loss. This is a relief to me because regardless of what some people think, I am not a poor eater or bad person. I follow my diet 95% of the time as any human being would and 5% should never have caused me to have the issues I did have. Well- Have a happy Holidays. This will be my last post until after Christmas. Much thanks.

Here I lay....

2008-12-04T23:55:00.002-05:00

Well more like lie. I am lying to myself right not. I keep telling myself that there is nothing to be afraid of, nothing to fear, that all will be well.....but is that the truth? I pray that it is. Weighing in now at 360pounds with 3 days left until surgery, running on 4 hours of sleep each night over the last week, stressed to the max worrying about finishing everything I have to do and taking time to spend with my family in a meaningful way before my surgery on Monday. I am at the bottom of my rope so to speak. I even started to sleepwalk again which I have not done since I was a child. Work has reached a new level of crazy with the announcement today that Capital One has purchased Chevy Chase and it will mean that the program I work for will stop. No use in migrating Bank customers to the Enterprise Platform when C1 will need to focus instead on integrating the new acquisition. This scares me silly since I am not sure how it will affect me personally and will more than likely not know until January when I return from my recovery. On a lighter note, my mother made me the most lovely lap quilt for my receovery in the hospital. It is gorgeous and I, of course, cried. All of my decorations are up, all the presents are wrapped and most of my "to dos" have been done. Brian bought me the new Nora Roberts book and I plan to hit the library for some more books to read while in recovery. And my final "to do" is to write a letter to my husband, to my daughter, to my parents, to my Grandmother and to my siblings in case I do truly run into complications and never make it out of the operating room. Kind of morose, I know but necessary. Brian and I have already talked about all the necessary things such as what to do if I go into a coma and what my preferences are if I do not make it out. It was probably one of the hardest conversations we have had in our almost 17 yrs of marriage. He can not imagine being without me nor I without him or without my Dani but that is all God's will. I just would prefer to remain in the land based choir if you get my meaning. :-)

This will be my last blog entry here for a while. I have been enticed to start a new blog to capture my new weight loss journey and may do so once I am home following surgery. If I do, I will post the link here. Please say a prayer for my well being, my recovery and for my surgeon- Dr. Schroeder. Much thanks all.

Update...countdown to surgery

2008-11-25T11:53:00.002-05:00

Well, time flies. Work has been insanely stressful which for me is fun. Crazy huh! I have been on the Liver Shrink Diet now for almost 2 whole weeks. When I started the Center of Integrated Medicine I weighed (ready for this) 386 pounds. My Lean muscle mass was 43% of my total weight. I spent 12 weeks with a nutritionist, life coach, personal trainer and time with a wellness Dr. trained by Dr. Andrew Weil himself. At the end of my 12 week program I had lost over 11 inches in various places, weighed in at 380 pounds and my lean muscle mass was 52%. The biggest difference was what is called my VO2 levels. This is the amount of oxygen my heart and lungs absorb. At the beginning of the program it was very poor and at the end, in the elite category. Large improvement. Okay, the Liver Shrink Diet start weight was 380pds. Lost 5 pounds by end of week 1. And today I weigh in at 367 pounds. I will more than likely be 350 or so for surgery on the 8th. I really plan to kick butt in the gym my last week before surgery. I plan to be at the Gold's Gym courtesy of one of good friends, Jaime and her free week pass. So keep me in your hearts and in your prayers. I have very little time left before I go under the knife for my 10-11 hour surgery to repair my gastric fistula and my hernia. Many folks are asking if they can do anything for me. I am looking for any good books to read while at home recovering (love Nora Roberts and anything romance). I am also asking my good friends to think of Brian and help him by bringing a meal if the can spare one in these tough economic times and especially so close to the holiday. If you want to help out, please feel free to email me @ cbd901@yahoo.com

Scrapbook Pages (pics noted in blog entry below)

2008-11-15T22:42:00.002-05:00

Time for an update....

2008-11-15T22:28:00.002-05:00

So here it is in bulletted format:

Work is personally great and I love what I am doing. Though lately I feel overworked, underappreciated- now I know I am back at Capital One. LOL....and mad as a hornet at my contractor PM who is such a lame ass. (excuse the french).
I have only scrapbooked twice since my sister came to visit (I miss her and hard to motivate myself without a scrapbook partner). I did get several pages done recently including a cute HULK page on my nephew, Turner and Danielle's 1st day of school pages. See pics.
I am now 1 week from finished on my 12 week pre-surgery program with center of integrated medicine on Grove downtown RIchmond, VA. I have lost 14 pds overall and feel much better physically.
I now officially take 2 many pills (1 B12 daily, 1 CoQ10 daily, 1 Multivitamin daily, JuicePlus Orchard and Garden 2daily each, D 4daily, Omega 3 1 daily, Lipid Control 2daily, Cardio Support 1 daily, Calcium 2 daily) and then 5 prescription meds. Believe it or not, Vitamins do make a huge difference.
I love Costco....love, love love.!
I am enjoying Christina Aguilera's new song "Keeps Getting Better" and wish I could declare it my mantra....sometimes I am a Super Bitch. LOL
My dad's father is dying. He is 90 yrs old + and I have spent all of 2 hrs with him my entire adult life so I find it hard to feel grief over his soon to be passing. I plan to visit him in the hospital tomorrow. I do feel remorse that I never knew him.
Tonight, I ate my Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, Ham, Rolls, Mashed Potatoes, Deviled Eggs, Baked Beans, Cranberries, Salad, Stuffing and Gravy as well as Decaff Tea. Crumbcake coffeecake from Ukrops for dessert. Had my parents, my brother and his wife and Leah over for dinner and we enjoyed each other's company. Leah is adorable as always. Watched "Get Smart" after dinner and now digesting what will be my last real meal for several months.
I start my Liver Shrink Diet tomorrow (Sun) and stay on that diet until surgery. Liver Shrink Diet consists of (bfast-protein shake, bottled water)(lunch- protein shake, small piece of fruit, bottled water)(Snack Yogurt Smoothie)(Dinner-6 slices/4oz Lean Lunch meat on double fiber bread with lettuce,tom and must, bottled water and 10 baby carrotts)....yep folks...that is it--for the next 22 days.....Ugg
My surgery is 23 days away--December 8th. Please pray for me that I make it through surgery and that I heal. I will need the prayer since the surgery will take 10-11 hours and this is the longest I have ever been under on anesthia.

That is my quick and not so quick update. Have a great week all!

Tagged by Nina (Again)

2008-11-03T17:36:00.002-05:00

1. I’ve come to realize that my last kiss was........this morning from Dani as I dropped her off at school.
2. I am listening to… white noise at work.
3. I talk… way too much
4. I love… curling up on grey days with a new book and a quilt.
5. My best friend is.....Theresa and we chat every day.
6. My love life… great but could always be better
7. I hate it when people assume… that overweight=lazy.
8. Love is… what makes life worth living.
9. Marriage is… what true friendship is.
10. Somewhere, someone is thinking… Do I really want to stand in line to vote tomorrow?
11. I’m always… super busy lately at work.
12. I have a secret crush on… no-one. That is such a shame.
13. My cell phone… ready for a replacement--do over.
14. When I wake up in the morning… I silently Thank God I did wake up.
15. When I go to bed at night… I am anxious about the next day...always
16. Right now I am thinking about… picking up Danielle from daycare
17. Babies are… like cotton candy, cute-fluffy, irrestible and a little sticky
18. I get on.....internet daily to check blogs..
19. Tonight I will… cook dinner, do laundry, help with homework, DVR some good tv and crash
20. Tomorrow I will… vote and work.

Happy Halloween...

2008-10-31T23:24:00.002-04:00

Well, this year--no trick or treating for us. We held a girls only costume party for Dani and 3 of her friends were able to make it out. We enjoyed soda, pizza, candy, cupcakes....dancing in the strobe light to the outside speakers in the dark, putting together bracelets, making glue ghosts, and playing games. It was an awesome night of fun. Even Brian was convinced to add some hairspray and wear a fake nosering. Could not convince him to do the guyliner though. :-)

Just pics...

2008-10-23T16:48:00.004-04:00

Here I am in all my Goth glory for work Halloween event.

Danielle is 5ft tall, wearing a woman's size 8.5 shoe and getting to be so big.

Making candles and getting her face painted at Meadow Farm last Sat.

Smashing, Brushing and Spooling Flax into a bracelet.

Whoa Baby!

2008-10-21T12:32:00.002-04:00

So not much has gone on this past week. Danielle started cheerleading with AIM (think Upward Bound) on Wed night and she loved it. We had an awesome fun filled past weekend with Brian off work for a rare change. Friday night he and I enjoyed date night- Famous Dave's for the feasting and then did some Christmas shopping. Have to start early to spend less. Danielle had a sleepover at a friend's house so we got to sit up till 2am watching adult (rated R) tv shows we had on DVR. Slept in, had lunch, picked up the girl and went to the Meadow Farm Fall Festival- pics coming soon. Dani got to make a flax bracelet, watch wool be dyed, dip her own candles and we toured the old house on the property. We got home in time for a fun dinner and our favorite TV shows. Sunday we hit Wally World, Berry farm and BASS PRO SHOPS. That place is like a redneck's mall- or as my dad says-- Heaven. Huge place and worth the look see. Colored my hair red last night and got 2 inches cutoff to get rid of dead split ends. It looks awesome.

Plans- What Plans.

2008-10-13T11:32:00.001-04:00

So my plans for this weekend. All gone in the wind. Brian rented "The Happening" and wanted to watch that Friday afternoon before we picked up Dani from daycare. So no cleaning Friday night. Dani and I cleaned Saturday instead. I cut grass, and we hung out as Brian was 2 tired to go to the pow-wow. Bummer. I never did get to scrapbook. My sister did though and so I can live through her for the weekend. She got to head to her scrapbook store and enjoy some alone time without the kids. Total of 8 layouts done. Sunday, I finished the grass (cut the front Sat and back Sun). Finished a puzzle, played Jenga with Danielle and just hung out. Kinda boring weekend but hey- at least it was mainly relaxing.

Tagged by Nina

2008-10-13T11:26:00.000-04:00

TAGGED
Here are the rules....
1. Link to the person who tagged you: (See Nina)
2. Post these rules.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks.
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking

Quirk #1: I love my hair long but would rather pull it up in a bun or ponytail than do anything with it.
Quirk#2: I like bean salad but really not the beans by themselves not in the salad. Go figure.
Quirk #3: I hate gravel driveways. Remind me of slasher films.
Quirk #4: I detest metal utensils like spatulas. Ruins the pots and pans.
Quirk #5: I eat corn on the cob last when I have it with my meal (Greek folks-we treat corn like dessert- one tradition my Dad's family passed down).
Quirk #6: I sleep with a heating blanket on low and the ceiling fan on low every night during the winter. I can not stand to breathe hot air but I want to be warm (hence no head under the covers-ever).

Tagged- Anyone who reads my blog and has a blog of their own.

Random

2008-10-10T12:14:00.002-04:00

Have you ever been in the car riding along and all of sudden realize that the leaves have started to change and significantly so. Where have I been every morning that this morning they all look so different? Where did the time fly and why was I too busy to notice?
I think all of us have those ah-hah moments. I have them often enough with my daughter. I will look at her and see such a mature little darling whereas she was my little rascal just yesterday.
Lots to report:

Dani and I spent the last Sat with my Nannie yardsaling and having fun- Claudia and Leah came with us.
My sister is doing well with her pregnancy despite the vericose veins flaring up
My mother is doing well and her brain tumor has not grown any since it was discovered last year this time
Spent time celebrating my BFF's son's 6th birthday- (man time flies)

Lots going on this weekend:

Scrapbooking on Saturday
Rappahannock Indian tribe Annual Pow-Wow (This is my hubby's tribe) see http://www.rappahannocktribe.org/pow_wow.html
House Cleaning of course
Shopping

And I am happy to say- Life is as it should be. Happy and Busy.

Time can fly or drag by

2008-10-02T22:58:00.002-04:00

Well, this week at the trainer proved no new weight loss. I guess losing 7 pds in 1 week and 0 pds in the next is still not bad. Danielle looks so different without her braces on, such a doll.

It was still a bit dramatic for her. She started this first orthodontist phased treatment when she was almost 8 yrs old and now she is almost 10 and getting the first set off. She will wait a few years and then go back for another set once more baby teeth fall out and more permanent teeth grow in. Can you believe that her mouth costs as much as a used car $10K. Whew! That is why when people always say, why not have another---I say...uh- Hellz to the NO!

Work has been absolutely insane but I think I would not want it any other way. One of the admins in our group has just found out she has a very rare cancer and it is usually non-curable. I am very worried for her since she is divorced raising 2 boys on her own and it must be so hard to work, get treatment, and take care of her kids. Pray for her.

And finally, I am looking fwd to my weekend. Saturday I get to see Leah for the first time in almost a month. I am picking up Leah and her mom, Claudia and surprising my grandmother (well kinda-she knows Dani and I are coming but not about Claudia and Leah) and of course hitting every yardsale within 15 miles of Urbanna. Then we have a bday party to go to. My BFFs son is turning 6 and we have known him since he was 1 and enjoy coming as honorary family members to all of his bday parties. He has grown so much. Now just what kind of cool present do you get a 6yr old boy?