This Little Blog of Mine

First attempt in 25 years

2011-06-03T03:32:00.001-07:00

Oddly specific

2011-06-01T03:48:00.001-07:00

A sign on the electrical box at work

I think...

2011-05-28T03:59:00.001-07:00

I'm gonna start blogging again. Not sure I will have anything interesting to say.

Random picture

2011-05-28T03:57:00.001-07:00

Test post

2011-05-27T07:35:00.001-07:00

Nothing to see here, move along...

counting to 10 and taking deep breaths....

2010-01-20T09:36:00.002-07:00

On Monday, I made soup for dinner and went to bed around 5:00 because I had to be at work at 2am. Around 8:30pm I woke up and smelled something different, and figured someone was cooking something. Didn't think much of it because it wasn't like a few nights before when I woke up smelling smoke because a certain darling offspring of mine set the tags from a bunch of tea bags on fire trying to make iced tea. So I went back to sleep.

When I got up at 12:45am I could see that the popcorn was out, as well as the popcorn oil, so I figured that one of the darlings made popcorn. I didn't look too close at the kitchen because I had to go to work.

Yesterday morning I got home from work at 7:20 and we did our normal routine taking the older two to school. When we walked in the door, I noticed the bowl that was used for the popcorn. The youngest pointed out to me how much of the popcorn oil was in the bottom of it. Any popcorn in there would have needed swimming lessons. GRRRR! But, whatever.

Then I looked at Madi's photoblog to see what she posted the day before. http://picturememadi.tumblr.com/ I saw the 2nd picture on the page and said to myself.... nawwww, she has more common sense than that! But whatever... School with the youngest + being tired from working the night before and not sleeping = not paying too much attention to the kitchen again. My sister was in town yesterday, so when it was time to pick the older two up from school, we went straight to the other side of town to see Vickie. We spent the rest of the day with her and didn't get home till after 11pm. I took the night off, so I went straight to bed.

On the way to see my sister though, Madi and I had a little talk about the popcorn. Because frankly that popcorn oil is not cheap and she wasted a bunch of it. I asked about the picture (if you haven't looked, it's a bad picture of popcorn being made on a stove in a pan without a lid.) So it was kind of a funny conversation, and she admitted that it was a total popcorn fail, how it was pretty much raining popcorn. In her defense, I don't think she's ever even seen popcorn being made that way - it's either been the hot air popper or microwave popcorn. I made the mistake of mentioning making "popcorn the old fashioned way" and telling her it was really good. Still, I never ever thought she'd attempt to make it herself without at least finding out how. That's just common sense, right?

So today, I have to be at work at 11pm, so I have to sleep for a good part of the day. So I thought it would be great to have something in the crockpot that would be done when everybody gets home so I can just eat and then sleep. I went in the kitchen to put dinner together and OH. MY. WORD. Yeah, I got some words. Most aren't appropriate to repeat. There is popcorn oil ALL OVER my coffee maker. There is popcorn oil burned on to my glass cooktop stove. There is popcorn oil all over the back of my stove. There is popcorn oil all over the walls. And there was popcorn in the toaster.

And she wonders why I mention her GOING AWAY to college so frequently!

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGHHHHHHHH!!!!

Happy Birthday Madi!

2010-01-07T11:40:00.003-07:00

My sweet little Madi is 18 today!

Moving

2010-01-06T12:22:00.002-07:00

Hey, I'm moving the photo blog portion of my blog. I have a few reasons for doing this, the main one is that I'm running out of photo storage space on google, and I don't really want to pay for more. So starting today, you can find my photo a day postings here.

I'll try to find something interesting enough to post about here soon!

Day 5 - Sedona AZ

2010-01-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

My favorite place on earth, it's the first time I've seen it with snow!

photofreak-in-training

2010-01-04T17:44:00.002-07:00

My daughter Madi (sometimes referred to in this blog as DQ) will be turning 18 on Thursday and graduating from high school in May. Without us consulting each other at all, she decided to a once a day photo blog this year too.

Day 4 - Flagstaff AZ

2010-01-04T13:02:00.003-07:00

It always kind of startles me to see the clouds sitting on the mountains. These mountains aren't really all that tall (but Flagstaff is pretty high up.)

Day 3 - San Deigo, October 2009

2010-01-03T16:50:00.003-07:00

This was a dumb luck picture snapped on my old cell phone. I didn't know the bird was anywhere around. I really like this picture :) And the trip to San Diego was a lot of fun.

Day 2 - Phoenix's ridiculously expensive attempt at art

2010-01-02T08:46:00.002-07:00

It's supposed to "define Downtown Phoenix" but define it as what? It does look kind of cool...

2010-01-01T22:05:00.001-07:00

test post

Picture a day

2010-01-01T21:48:00.002-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything, I know. I've decided for 2009 that I'm going to try post 1 picture a day. They may not be new pictures, but they will all be pictures I've taken.

This one is a new one, I took it today at the park.

Yo aprendo hablar Español

2009-05-07T14:35:00.001-07:00

Yo tomo un clase de español por mi trabajo. Me gusta :)

proud

2009-01-16T19:15:00.001-07:00

Astronomy funny

2008-12-01T18:02:00.002-07:00

First, I read this article where I found this picture of a smiley face in the sky in Australia:

From My Pictures

THEN, I went outside, and saw THIS:

From 12 01 08

I guess the man in the moon is sad here in the US.

One thing I've learned

2008-11-26T15:54:00.004-07:00

This morning it was drizzling before I left work. Some of my coworkers were complaining. "People don't know how to drive in the rain." "It's so gloomy out there" (coming from people who live in a state that averages 300 days of sun!) "It's cold..." I was very tired so it was easy to nod along with the whining. But as I was driving home, I saw the most amazing sunrise - one of those that I was kicking myself for not having my camera with me. The sun was this crazy shade of orange-yellow, peeking through the clouds. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. And then a little further on there was a HUGE rainbow in the sky. (I tried to take a picture with my cell phone, which is the picture above.) I immediately repented of the grumbling and thanked God. It's cliche, but it was such a strong reminder to me - there can't be rainbows without rain. And then I remembered where I was 4 years ago at this time, and what we had been through that year. I had just gotten my job after 8 months of not having one, after suddenly becoming a single parent, after the worst betrayal I've ever experienced. I have nothing to complain about. I had plenty of rain, and I'm so thankful for the rainbows.

Without tough times, good times don't seem as good, they're just normal, we take them for granted, like people in Phoenix take sunshine for granted. I know this Thanksgiving finds many people struggling, especially financially. It's so hard to be thankful for hard times, I know, but there is blessing and grace then too, there are things to be learned, and they make the good times all that much more good.

Romans 5:3 and 4: Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Happy Thanksgiving :D

Is my kid the only one who does stuff like this?

2008-11-08T22:24:00.002-07:00

Tonight was really one of the worst nights I've had in a while. We went out to dinner with my sister who was in town. She lives 2000 miles away. She asked my opinion on the election and we clearly had differing viewpoints. After it was obvious we weren't going to agree, I said "I'm not going to change your mind and you aren't going to change mine, I really don't feel the need to debate these things, so let's talk about something else." She ranted on for several more minutes and finally when nobody responded to her, she changed the subject. Our dinner party consisted of her, me and 3 of my kids. Even we had wanted to debate, an 8 year old wouldn't have much fun at a dinner like that. So maybe that's why...

My 8 year old nearly hung himself on the middle seat belt in the back seat of my car. We were most of the way home when he said "Mom, the seat belt is caught around my neck." I was on the freeway, and he was in the seat directly behind me. I tried to have the other kids help him, but they couldn't figure out where or why it was caught like that. It was truly wrapped around his neck and there was no give in either direction. If I would have been in even a minor fender bender, it could have killed him. I'm not sure how he did it, but he did. He told me later that he was playing with the middle seat belt. I ended up having to cut the seat belt to get it off his neck. We then had a nice discussion about how seat belts are absolutely not toys and he is to never ever do anything like that again. Ok, maybe it was more of a lecture.

So really, is my kid the only one who does stuff like that? And, how did I get so, umm, fortunate... to have such a...unique... child?!

Yearly inventory #3

2008-08-20T13:07:00.002-07:00

Guess what today is?! It's the 20th anniversary of my 21st birthday!! I don't know if that sounds better or worse than saying I turned 41 today! Or if having a sister that is turning 50 in ten days makes me feel better that I'm still younger than her, or worse that I have a sister who is 50!! (But she does look DARN good for being a half century!) So for the past two years, I've done these yearly inventory things (here and here,) so I figured, why not keep it up?

What is your favorite color? Still green. Can't see that changing.
What is your favorite food? These days, bacon. Bacon and Chocolate. But not chocolate covered bacon, because that's just gross.
What is your favorite song? Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath and To Bring You Back, by Paul Allen (I left the 99 to find the one/And you're the one/I walked a thousand miles in this desert sun/only to bring you back -- Good stuff.)
What is your most valued possession? Bible, cameras, pictures, a diamond pendant my mom gave me and a birthstone ring my sister gave me. It's the only bling I wear.
What is your greatest strength? Simple faith, ability to recognize my own responsibility for the drama in my life.
What is your greatest weakness? Food, laziness, I can be harsh and judgmental with people, even if I don't say it out loud, I think it sometimes.
What is your best skill? Does flaring my nostrils count?
What was your greatest mistake? This year? Failure to provide preventive maintenance. For several things.
What is your greatest fear? Dying while my children are young and leaving them orphans is always there at the top of the list.
What is your greatest accomplishment? At this stage, besides my kids, I'd say providing for them for the past 4 years. I know it's been because of God, but before I seriously doubted I'd ever be able to.
What is the one task you are least fond of doing? Yard work. Oh, and cleaning dog poo.
If your life ended today, what is the one thing everybody who knows you would say about you? Not sure I really wanna know!
What would you want them to say? She was a servant for the Lord.
Why wouldn't or couldn't they say what you want them to say? I'm sometimes not convinced I'm doing all I should be doing in the way of serving.

Where am I? Still a single mom in Arizona, doesn't look like that will be changing soon, and I'm not sure I'd want it to.
How did I get here? 99 Ford Escort. With 3 kids in tow. I'll never do that again. Seriously, I got here by making some bad choices, then accepting responsibility for them, then figuring out what about me caused me to make those choices in the first place, then working on that.
What was I trying to accomplish by making that decision? Security.
What do I really want? To move forward from where I am now.
How can I get to where I want to be from here? Keep trusting God, it's the key to everything. That never changes.

Things I don't like about me: I'm lazy, I hate housework, mess does not bother me, I can be pretty selfish, I am impatient, I am not outgoing and friendly enough, and I'm terrible about keeping in touch with people, and I'm not nearly as trusting as I used to be. These answers are the same as last year, I see no reason to change them. I'm also not the best at managing money. Yeah, those apply for this year too.

Things I like about me: I am giving and helpful, and I like to help others learn.

Our house, in the middle of our street

2008-08-14T10:19:00.002-07:00

Where do you live?

ahem

2008-08-07T11:30:00.004-07:00

If anybody is even still out there, hi :) I know I haven't posted anything since May. I didn't mean to fall off the face of the earth or anything, I just didn't feel like I had anything worth saying. For the most part, life is calm and steady, which doesn't usually make for exciting blog fodder. Let's see... in the past 3 months... SB the 8 year old wonderboy lost a tooth. DQ the 16 year old Drama Queen went and came back from a visit to family in Ohio. SB finished 2nd grade, Sassy finished 5th grade, DQ finished 10th grade. SB started 3rd grade, Sassy started 6th grade, DQ started 10th grade. Sam turned 19, and theoretically is supposed to move out tomorrow. Oh, and we got a puppy! Yes, I am crazy, thanks for asking. Sam was in another car accident, which just happened yesterday. He's ok, sore, car is not. The last time we thought his car was totaled but our neighbor who is a mechanic worked a miracle and fixed it. This time, I think it's just toast. This is bad because, well, he's supposed to move out tomorrow. He depends on his vehicle to perform his job. No car, no job. No job, no way to pay the rent. He's kinda stressed. Ok, I guess stuff has happened! Maybe it's not same ole' stuff, different day (I kinda like SOSDD really, I get enough drama at work!)

I had a new experience at work - I tried to train someone who didn't catch on. She tried her best, and I tried my best to help her, but after she was done on my shift, she moved on to 2nd shift where it's just busy busy busy all day everyday, and she couldn't keep up. Deep down I know it wasn't me, but now I kind of doubt myself just a little. I'll be getting another trainee on Monday.

A while ago, I asked for prayer for something that I didn't want to specify what it was. I finally got an answer. Took a few months, but it was a very clear, unmistakable answer. The answer was "Thanks for being willing, but it's not what I'm using you for right now." I'm kind of relieved, I admit! So if you did, thanks for praying.

So, allow me to introduce you to the newest member of our family - Benny!

He's a mutt we got from the pound, mostly chihuahua, I guess. They say he's part shih tzu, but I just don't see it. What he is is cute, and really sweet. He's about 5 months old by now, and mostly housebroken. He's very good natured, and I'm happy I let the kids talk me into it. They didn't have to put forth all that much effort, but don't tell them that.

Wordless Wednesday a little late

2008-05-21T18:00:00.003-07:00

Edited to add: This is a Vietnamese church that is under construction very near to my house. I don't usually go that way and saw it a couple days ago for the first time. It looks like it's going to be very beautiful when it's completed, and quite large too!

laughing at myself

2008-05-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

I got home from work/taking the kids to school, got myself an English muffin, then sat down at my laptop which is at the kitchen table. Putzed around for a little while, you know. A few minutes ago I got up to go run to the store for a few quick things, and I couldn't find my keys. Huh. I always put them on the counter by the door. Nope, not there. I know they have to be somewhere here because I got home and got in the house. But just to make sure, I checked the car. Nope, not there. I checked the counter again. Not there. Not on the table. Not in my room. Not in in the pocket of my work pants. So where are they?! Not in the bathroom...WTHeck? Check the counter again, because truthfully, there's a lot of crap on it... nope, not there. Not under the dish towel. Not by the toaster where I made the English muffin. Seemingly, not anywhere. Not in my backpack, not on the floor... Check the counter again, this time, I just happened to look... in the kitchen sink. And there they were. I think I'll blame the cat. Yeah, the cat did it.

In a car without breaks going down a really steep hill

2008-04-30T09:25:00.005-07:00

Most of what I deal with at work is routine even though it's 911. Even the stuff that is really and truly an emergency is routine most of the time. Oh, you've been shot? Where are you? It happens frequently enough that it really doesn't rattle me. So most of the time I don't even bother telling people about what I hear because it's really not all that interesting. Last night though, I had a call that made me say "WHAT?!" We answer 911 and the non-emergency police line. If a call is medical, we transfer it to the fire department and are done with it, so I don't deal with the people who break their ankles jumping off buildings when they are drunk or stuff like that. The calls I deal with are the police related stuff only. So last night, the woman called our non-emergency line, and had some police related questions. The gist of her story was that she had been to court earlier in the day and got a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend. They had been sharing a house, but she was staying at a friend's. During the course of the call she revealed to me that she had been in the emergency room several times over the course of the past few days primarily for migraines, and she had taken medication before she called. Her concern was for her dog. She had had this dog for 6 years and apparently slept with it every night and was very upset because it was still at the house where the ex-boyfriend on whom she took out a court order making him stay away from her. She told me that he was not feeding the dog, making it stay outside in the almost 100 degree heat, and that he told her he was going to open the gate so the dog would run away. She wanted to know what she could do to get her dog after I let her know that no, officers would not go to pick up the dog and bring it to her. I let her know about the procedures we have in place to pick up property with police there to keep the peace and otherwise if she was that concerned she should call the animal abuse hotline, and I provided their contact information. She thanked me for the phone number, and then asked what the phone number was to set it up for the officers to assist her to go pick up her dog, and I told her "that's the same number you called to speak to me," and gave her the non-emergency police number. This is where it got weird. It went kind of like this:
Caller: Ok, let me ask you one more question.
Me: Go ahead.
Caller: Who are you?
Me: My name is Connie, with the police department.
Caller: THE POLICE?!
Me: Yes...
Caller: WHO CALLED THE POLICE?!
Me: Umm, you did...
This made her FURIOUS!
Caller: I most certainly did NOT CALL the POLICE! I called my ex-boyfriend! Ohhh, I get it.... now he's having the police call me to harass me!!
Me: No, I promise you, I did not call you...
Caller: Are you calling me a liar?!
Me: Ma'am, you called to ask about your dog... you did tell me earlier that you took some medication for your migraines, maybe you don't remember...
Caller: OH SO NOW YOU ARE SUGGESTING THAT I'M ON DRUGS?!
It just went down hill from there.

Wordless Wednesday - Achoo!!!

2008-04-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

Rotten Brats

2008-04-25T08:41:00.002-07:00

The last picture I'll be able to take of my kids all together any time soon. Rotten brats going and growing up behind my back.

Gotta have a cake... because after all Allison's birthday is next month, so I gave her her presents last night and baked a cake. Happy birthday didn't seem quite right though....

Sad

2008-04-24T20:31:00.002-07:00

The hardest thing about being a parent so far is letting go. It wasn't so bad when Allison moved out, but now she's moving away and I'm not all that fond of the idea. But, she's almost 23, and has to make her own decisions. So I've been avoiding thinking about it since she mentioned it at the end of last year. But she's leaving tomorrow, so I can't avoid it any longer. She's going back to Ohio, where we both grew up. She honestly has more family there than she does here, so I can understand, I guess. But I'm still sad.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-04-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

The biggest thing

2008-04-17T20:49:00.001-07:00

What's the biggest thing God has asked you to do that caused you to set aside your own wishes to obey God?

Art

2008-04-17T20:48:00.001-07:00

More desert beauty

2008-04-11T11:58:00.000-07:00

The next question is...

2008-04-10T03:37:00.002-07:00

How do you go about figuring out if something is what God is asking you to do, or just something you came up with on your own?

If your not sure if it's God or not, how do you differentiate?

These aren't rhetorical questions, I want to know how you figure it out. Because I'm still not sure about this thing I think God wants me to do.

What do you do when...

2008-04-04T02:13:00.002-07:00

what you think God wants you to do is the polar opposite of what you want to do? What if doing what God wants will likely cost you everything that is important to you, including family members? What if what He wants you to do seems pretty much impossible?

I already know the answers, and I'm pretty sure I know what God wants me to do... at least I think I do. And I really am not sure yet that I want to. I'll probably do it anyway, God being, well...God, and all. I've learned the hard way that He really does know best, and obedience is a beautiful thing that brings blessings. It's just what I think he wants me to do... I almost think He doesn't know what He's asking, then I remember who He is and I know He does know. I'm pretty sure Jesus the human wasn't so keen on being crucified, but ultimately God was glorified through the obedience of Christ.

I guess if Christ could bring glory to God by giving Himself up, I guess I am called to do no less. But I really hope I'm wrong about what I think He's asking!

Desert Beauty

2008-04-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

Art museum

2008-03-25T20:50:00.002-07:00

I really like this picture except for the Please Do Not Touch sign in the middle. Ah well, that's the art museum for you. I love art museums, but to tell you the truth, I didn't have that much fun today when we went. Partially because of bad kid attitudes (which kind of surprised me, they usually like stuff like that) and partially because of the museum itself. Franky, I don't think our art museum here is all that and a bag of chips. I've definitely been to better, like the one in the city where I grew up. And the people who worked there were really kind of rude. And they only had a very small collection of renaissance paintings. Boo.

The Top of the Mountain

2008-03-21T03:40:00.004-07:00

One thing I've always liked about Phoenix is the mountains around and in it. When my youngest son was turning 3 (he's 8 now) all he wanted to do for his birthday was to go climb a mountain. So my family and I started hiking. We'd go every week or so, and we usually ended up on North Mountain, because it's fairly close to us. I always had fun, but struggled every time we went. We'd park in a spot where there was a rocky path that went up to a set of stone steps and then there was a paved trail the rest of the way up the mountain. I always had to stop halfway up the rocky path, then rest for a while before the stone steps, and I never EVER made it up all the way, it was just too hard for me. That mountain kicked my butt every time. When my ex-husband was arrested, we stopped going on a regular basis. Partially because the feelings were too raw - we had been there with him shortly before his arrest, so many memories would come flooding back. After I had healed some, I started purposely going to places where he and I went or we went as a family, so that I could conquer those old memories and make new memories there. We went back to that mountain after a while, but I still was not able to get very far. Until yesterday, it had been a really long time, probably 2-3 years since I've been to that mountain. Since I'm on vacation from work, which is where I've been doing the majority of my exercise in my quest to ~~not be a cow~~ get healthy, I figured it would be a good time to visit the mountain again. My kids were bored, and I needed to find some alternate method of ~~sweating my posterior off~~ getting myself moving, so off we went - the 8 year old boy, Snugglebutt, the 10 year old girl, Sassy, and me. I got past the rocky path just fine, and didn't need to stop once. The kids wanted to stop at the stone steps, so we did and they ate a little snack. Wimps. We got moving again, and got to the paved path, which is very steep in parts. There were a lot of people there, and people watching was half the fun. People running up the mountain effortlessly, people pushing baby strollers up, people huffing and puffing like me. Skinny people, fat people, people in army fatigues, people in business suits, people in spandex, people who really needed to be wearing more than they were. And the wildflowers out were just beautiful. Thankfully I had my camera :) It was a bit of a challenge having the kids with me, as neither of them stopped talking at all. It went kind of like this:

SB: Mom, how are mountains made?
Me: [huff puff]
Sassy: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...
SB: Sassy, stop counting!
Sassy: 7, 8, 9, 10...
SB: What are you counting?
Sassy: My steps. 11, 12...
SB: My legs are about to expire. Did you know my legs have an
expiration date? It's today.
Me: [pant pant]
Sassy: ...100, 101, 102...
SB: Is this mountain a status symbol?
Me: WHAT?!
SB: We should just hitchhike up this mountain.
Me: [huff puff pant]
Sassy: ...200, 201, 202...
SB: Sassy, stop it!!! Mom, is it illegal to hitchhike?
Me: Yes.
SB: Why?
Me: Because it's dangerous.
SB: Why is it dangerous?
Me: I am too busy trying to breathe to explain this to you right
now!
SB: Ok. Mom, did you know you can say why to everything? You can.
Say something to me, I'll say why.
Me: No.
SB: Why?
Sassy: ...304, 304...
SB: Sassy! STOP IT!!!
Me: [huff huff puff puff pant]
SB: [as a group of people were approaching in the opposite direction, several of whom were moderately overweight] Oh my gosh! Your legs are SO FAT!!! [it was directed at Sassy, who is anything BUT fat, but try telling that to every lady with fat thighs on that mountain...]
Me: Will you [huff pant] just STOP [puff huff puff] TALKING!!!!

But you know what? I MADE IT! I got to the top. Me, the slug, the sloth, the couch potato. Me who was always picked last in gym class. Me who is the polar opposite of athletic. This time, I kicked the mountain's butt :)

A rant

2008-03-20T08:16:00.003-07:00

This has been on my mind a while now, but I haven't exactly found the words I want to use to say it. I think there's something seriously wrong with our society. First of all, Britney Spears. Love her or hate her, I really do think the press needs to leave her alone. The other day on the Fox News website, there was a link to pictures of her cellulite-ridden thighs, and of her gallivanting around town bra-less. You know, famous or not, this is not news, and goes way beyond anything we need to know about her. That's tasteless, tacky, and mean.

The other thing, is that reality show that they've got on now, Moment of Truth. What kind of person goes on a national television show to pour out their deepest and darkest secrets for money? And in the process hurts everybody close to them? And, what kind of person WATCHES that mess? Have we as a society become so voyeuristic and sadistic that we have to delight in the pain of others? I truly felt horrible for the woman on a few weeks ago, Lauren Cleri. I didn't watch it (and I will not watch it) but I read an article that says that after her episode aired, she was facing divorce, she was unemployed, and she won no money at all even after admitting to an extra-marital affair on national television. The thing that got me was when I read why she lost the show - the lie detector detected a fib when they asked her if she thought she was a good person, and she answered yes. Her inner turmoil and pain there on display for the world to see, it disgusts me that there is even such a television show.

Yes, I can choose not to watch, and I do. But again, I just wonder about the society we live in that produces such a thing. Just my rambling thoughts for the day. Dontcha wish I'd go back to work? :)

Evil duck

2008-03-20T08:08:00.003-07:00

This duck is pure evil. I was at the park with my kids the other day, taking pictures and goofing around. The 8 year old was sitting at the edge of the duck pond looking at the ducks, minding his own business, and I was taking pictures of him. I was kind of far away, using my telephoto lens, and as I was framing a shot, I see through my lens, this DUCK pop up and try to bite my son's face off! I'm serious! Ok, well maybe it was just his nose... My son jumped back and started laughing hysterically. Obviously he was not hurt, but I decided I had to shoot the duck. The results are what you see above. I shot the duck several times. I got a few good pictures of him, too. Evil duck.

by the way, if it's not clear, I shot the duck... with my camera...

Vacation!!!!

2008-03-20T08:06:00.002-07:00

Yep, on vacation for a week. The kids are on spring break too. I've got a lot I want to get done, and I want to make sure to stay on track with my fitness stuff, but I have a feeling that's going to be HARD - a break in the routine. It's just so nice to know I don't have to be back at work till next Friday!

small success

2008-03-14T09:33:00.001-07:00

I've now lost 20 lbs! Only 60 more to go...

Horton Hears a Who

2008-03-14T02:14:00.003-07:00

A friend won tickets to a sneak preview and couldn't go, so she gave them to us. We had such a good time! The movie was at The Arizona Center, which even though I've lived here 10 years, I'd never been there before. It's a very cool place. I need to go back there with my camera soon. (I didn't bring it because I didn't want to have to leave it in my car during the movie. It is downtown after all!)

It was a cute movie, and my kids enjoyed it very much, especially the 8 year old. I did start to get a little nervous because I've been to several movies, including kids movies, that are so slanted against Christianity or certain political views that for a while I was just waiting for those subtle messages. With the very protective kangaroo who "pouch schools" and is a little psychotic, it really wasn't that far fetched to expect it. They never really materialized though. The worst word I remember hearing was "boob" and there were no truly scary moments. It was slightly intense when the kangaroo was trying to destroy the clover, but not really scary. Jim Carrey wasn't nearly as obnoxious as he's been known to be, and there were some really funny moments. Should you pay full pop to see it? Well that's up to you. Most of the time when I see a movie, I don't pay for it (gotta love having a daughter who is a manager at a theater) so it's hard for me to say if it's worth the price. I paid $10 for parking, so yeah, it was worth it for us!

Most of the people who went were there because they had won tickets from a radio station, so there were people from the station there giving away Horton ears and other prizes.

My 8 year old answered one of their trivia questions, so he won a little prize. One of the things was a keychain that's in Spanish because it's a Latino radio station (so carried out their contests in English and Spanish) so he wasn't all that thrilled about that, but he was thrilled about his other prize. He's been very into gardening lately, so imagine his excitement when he got this:

I just hope no little specks land on our clovers!

New Camera

2008-03-08T15:54:00.003-07:00

So, I got a new camera. My kids have this thing where they name all of our electronic equipment. Our desktop computer is named Compy, my sons laptop is Lappy the Great, mine is Lappina (it's pink, therefore, it's a girl...) my sony digital camera that I've had for 3 years is Cammy. Ok, if that camera, a 7.1 megapixel point and shoot is Cammy, this one, a DSLR with a 18-55 mm lens and a 70-200 mm telephoto lens, must be Camzilla.

I like it...

new blog

2008-03-08T14:45:00.002-07:00

I've started another blog about my quest to go from the heaviest I've ever been to something more healthy. My goal is to lose one third of how much I weighed when I started mid-January. I'm going for honesty and accountability, so if you want to keep up with my progress, come visit me there. Or maybe you're on the same journey and we can encourage each other. So far there's just one post, so there's not much to see.

There's something missing

2008-03-06T18:44:00.001-07:00

But I'm not sure what...

A real yawn of a post

2008-03-04T19:02:00.002-07:00

From Gullible.info

• Over ninety-five percent of people will yawn within twenty seconds of seeing another person yawn unless they have yawned within the past 90 seconds.

• Approximately eighty percent of people will yawn if they see an animal yawn.

• Emergency room doctors are very accustomed to treating people with dislocated jaws caused by yawning.

• The "yawning contagion", as it is referred to by behaviorists, generally develops at about age 19 months.

• Eighty-five percent of people who read about yawning will yawn.

So did you do it? Did you yawn? I did. I think I'll go to sleep now... *YAWN*

My, what big feet you have

2008-03-01T16:23:00.002-07:00

4 years

2008-02-28T00:50:00.002-07:00

Saturday, March 1st will be the 4th anniversary of the day my whole world changed. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out this post or the links under the title "posts that tell our story" in my sidebar. Yeah, pretty awful stuff really. I've referred to March 1st, 2004 as my own personal September 11th, and each year since then I've marked the occasion with doing something different - buying something or going somewhere special for lunch. I know it sounds silly, but it was part to acknowledge the pain, and part to celebrate the healing. Last year in my anniversary post, I wrote:

3 years later, I want so much to put it all into a box, categorize and catalogue everything about the whole ordeal; who we both were at the time, what was wrong with us that caused this to happen, and the end result. And then I want to put that box away and never open it again. But life doesn't work that way. Just when I think I've got something figured out, and filed away in my neat little box, life reminds me just how messy it is. My box falls down off the shelf and everything spills out again.

This year, things are much different. I don't feel that way anymore. I don't need to make it go away or put it in a box, because it's over. This year I won't be acknowledging the pain, because it's healed. This year I'll just be celebrating, because God is SO good and has brought us through in such an amazing way. I'm FREE. Free from the manipulation that was present in the marriage, and free from so much of junk that was in my life before. God has healed way more than the hurt of my husband's betrayal.

Some people will not be able to understand this, but I'm convinced the only reason I'm doing as well as I am is because I have totally forgiven my ex-husband. There is no anger or hatred in me anymore over what he did. I'll even tell you that we have limited contact, and we're on good terms. He doesn't have contact with any of my kids, including the one that is his, and I don't know if that will happen anytime soon, but we write to each other once a month.

Now, just to be clear, I feel totally healed, but I'm not going to sit here and tell you my daughter is totally healed. She's doing extremely well, but I think she's probably not going to be fully healed until she's an adult and can process it all. I'm not assuming my son is healed from abruptly losing his father and 2 half brothers either, but he's doing well too.

FOR ME, there is no more anger, no more hurt, no more mourning. Just freedom. And I'm celebrating it.

Another thing about 911 you may not know

2008-02-23T07:31:00.003-07:00

I've mentioned that any cell phone, even those without service, can dial 911 as long as the battery is charged, because a lot of people don't know that.

Another thing a lot of people don't seem to know is that when you dial 911 and they transfer you to another agency, they can still hear you. It's not the same as most places where you are put on hold while they dial the other number. (I'm fairly certain that it works this way for all 911 centers, but I could be wrong.) So for example, when someone calls for an ambulance and I transfer them to the fire department, I can hear what's going on in the background, or rude comments people make. And this morning when the guy called about the vehicle speeding down the freeway, when he thought he was on hold waiting for highway patrol, I heard every word he said when he told his buddy in the car "Dude, never date a 911 operator, they're just NUTS!"

Just a little FYI so that us nuts don't hear you say things you think we can't :D

Another birthday

2008-02-20T17:36:00.003-07:00

My baby turned 8 this past Sunday. I guess he's not such a baby anymore *sniff* We went over a friend's house for Bible study and dinner, and had cake and ice cream for him. He always has a blast there because there are so many kids. One of the kids there has a snake, which my son absolutely loves, as does my 16 year old daughter.

Birthday boy with Pandora the rat snake

No post about a kid's birthday would be complete without a picture of the best part - the cake!

(It's a pokemon)

It's been a while

2008-02-20T08:00:00.002-07:00

For a while I wasn't posting because I was whiny. I had a pretty bad outbreak of eczema, which I guess turned into a pretty bad case of dermatitis, and I wasn't much fun to be around. Then I just got busy and haven't been keeping up well with this or friend's blogs.

When the eczema was at it's worst, I started doing some research and decided I needed to start eating better to help control it, so I started that around the middle of January. Then I went to the doctor because I was miserable, and was simply horrified by the number on the scale. When I went back 2 weeks later, still miserable, I weighed 7 lbs less. When I went back 2 weeks after that for a follow up (and feeling much better) I had lost another 3 lbs. Now I seem to be stuck, despite eating a lot better and less, and exercising. But I'm not going to give up. I'm trying to get up the courage to be real, spill how much I really do weigh, and post a picture, because public humiliation is a great motivator (although, people in real life see me everyday, as if that's not bad enough!) The thing is, even with only having lost 10 lbs, I have so much more energy. For a long time I've felt useless most of the time, getting not a lot done most of the time. Lately I've even been doing yardwork! *gasp* Little changes do make a big difference.

Thanks to those of you who may still be reading who asked what's up in the past couple days, I really appreciate it! I think I'm ready to come back from my blogging sabbatical, so don't think it's that easy to be rid of me!

7 weird things

2008-01-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

My friend Rebekah at Diagonally Parked in a Parallel Universe (gosh I love that title) tagged me for this meme last week sometime. Yes, I'm a little slow... I'm supposed to tell 7 weird things about myself and then tag 7 more, but I'm not so much into tagging, so if you want to play along, feel free.

I've actually been wracking my brain trying to figure out what's NOT weird about me, and what is weird that I'm willing to share. See, I think it's because I grew up without a mom that I've always felt weird. It might in fact be easier (quicker, shorter) to tell you what's normal about me! But I'll give the weird a shot...

1) I've been trying to grow my bangs out for the first time in my entire life. They are now right at my mouth, so we're almost there. The weird thing? I sleep with my hair in a ponytail on top of my head because I hate when my hair is in my face. Get that? I hate when my hair is in my face WHILE I'M SLEEPING.

2) But let's back up... I hate having my hair in my face, SO I'M GROWING MY BANGS OUT. Does that make sense to you?! I think it's a little weird. My hair seems to always be in my face these days.

3) Working at night and sleeping during the day brings on a weirdness of it's own. I feel like I'm bass ackwards with no hope of straightening out.

4) I love watching football on TV. I turn on the game, grab a blanket, something to drink, and camp out on the couch. 9 times out of 10, I fall asleep. BUT pity the fool who tries to touch the remote while I'm sleeping!

5) I will not eat fig newtons. I haven't since I was 4. I'll tell you why. When I was 4 years old, my mother took us to West Virginia to see relatives. It might have been for a family reunion, I'm not sure. It might have even been the one where my rather rotund uncle twice removed or whatever stepped on my pinky and caused me to lose the fingernail (it grew back) but that's a different story. Anyway. The house we stayed at this particular trip was very small, and it was a very long drive there from Cleveland Ohio, at least for a 4 year old. I ended up sleeping with my mother, which I gather was not fun for her because she used to tell me I was a "kicker." I'm guessing that neither of us had a restful night that night. We had just arrived, and everybody was tired and cranky, so off to bed we went. I had the most vivid dream (and I remember it) that we stopped along the way and my mom bought me a Nestle's crunch bar. So when I woke up in the middle of the night after kicking my mom, I wanted the candy bar from my dream. When my mother could not produce the chocolate, I began to have a tantrum. It was one of those over-tired, half asleep tantrums that I probably would not have thrown if I would have been in my own house and all. Anyway, I woke the whole house demanding my Nestle's crunch bar. Well, there was no chocolate to be found in the whole house. Instead my aunt said "I have fig newtons, would you like a fig newton instead?" No I did not want a fig newton instead, how can you even think that is an acceptable substitute?!?! Since then, I have not eaten fig newtons. I see no reason to start now.

6) I like the "skin" that forms on the pudding you have to cook.

7) Apparently, I'm an addict. That's right, I have an addiction to... chap stick. I didn't know it was possible, but, according to my doctor, it is, and I'm a full blown addict. I can see it now - You'll see me on the news - not for beer theft at a convenience store, but for chap stick theft from Walgr33ns. I'll get a way with a lot of it, but you'll see the rerun of the clerk giving my description all over the news. "Well I think she had kinda shortish brown hair, and was wearing a blue polo shirt that had some kinda logo on it.... I didn't notice the pants, but what really struck me were those wild crazy eyes and horribly chapped lips!! She said 'Hand over the chap stick and nobody gets hurts!' Looked real insane, I wasn't gonna stand in her way!" Of course it will start out peaceful enough - walk in, take what you want, and leave - simple theft. But as the addiction grows I'll become more and more desperate for that next fix, and soon we've got commercial burglary, strong armed robbery, and *GASP* Armed robbery! Actually, I've gone cold turkey, and threw away my stash. Apparently the paraffin in the chap stick makes lips feel better at first but does more damage in the long run so that you need more of it more often, and eventually weakens the skin on the lips. I learned this the hard way, and let's just say it's not fun when lips addicted to chap stick get a cold sore.

So yeah. If a chap stick addiction isn't weird, I don't know what is.

The cake

2008-01-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

I think I'll stick to 2D (like this)

Happy Birthday DQ

2008-01-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

Sweet 16!

In search of snow

2008-01-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

They wanted to see snow. They were ready for it.All we got though, was Ick. Old dirty snow. Oh well, we tried. So we played. It's Sam's favorite game, he has several different versions. This picture represents a lot of his favorites. His favorite game, with his favorite video game characters (his token was the shield from Zelda), wearing Monopoly PJ pants which are his favorite color. Somebody else wasn't so impressed when Sam pretty much owned us all.

This morning, we went to breakfast. (I told you I was a bad mom - I let my kids jump on the bed AND blow bubbles in their milk!) Then we went to the Meteor Crater, because Sam didn't get to go with us in October and he really wanted to see it. It was extremely windy - her hair can get messy, but come on! But Sam was still impressed.

Bed jumping

2008-01-04T00:58:00.000-07:00

I'm sad to say I couldn't get Sam to jump from bed to bed in the hotel room. Might be because at just around 6 ft tall, he's kind of afraid of knocking his head on the ceiling. Probably a valid concern. I know it's one of the reasons you won't see me doing it, and I'm only 5'9". Snugglebutt, however, was more than willing.

I forgot

2008-01-03T16:34:00.000-07:00

Because Sam is 18, has a driver's license, a car, his own friends, and his own life, it's been a while since he's done a lot of things with us. He didn't go with us to Flagstaff when we went in October. He doesn't go to church with us anymore (he goes to church on his own, he does go, just not with us) and he doesn't eat dinner with us most of the time anymore. As he gets older, it gets harder for him to want to spend time with the little kids and hang out with mom. It's ok, they grow up. Allison did the same thing, and now she doesn't even live with us anymore. I've been expecting it with Sam.

But he's going with us to Flagstaff this time. When I decided to make an overnight trip of it, he perked up a bit. "Mom, I can bring the Monopoly game you got me, and we can play in the hotel. And why don't you bring that travel Scrabble game?" He's making plans. What we should bring, what we should do. "It will probably be dark by the time we get there, huh? We should bring the tripod to take pictures of the stars. I can point out stuff to the kids." He's excited.

It may not last long, but for right now, for tonight and tomorrow, I've got my little boy back. My little boy who loved to go on day trips, seeing new things, and spending time with his family. In the midst of his growing up, I seem to have forgotten that little boy is still inside that soon-to-be man that sleeps in my basement. I'm glad he's come back for a visit. It may not last long, but I'm going to treasure it.

And maybe I can get a picture of him jumping bed to bed in the hotel room.

Just stuff

2008-01-03T15:11:00.000-07:00

New years eve wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be. I expected it to be bad because last year on new years, it was pretty much horrendous - 40 calls on hold for an hour or so, over 1000 calls in the first hour and 3000 from midnight to 7am. I was ready to quit if one more person screamed at me over the phone. This year, the phones didn't even explode until midnight and even then there were only 13 calls on hold. In the first hour, we only had about 800 calls. The best part was when I got there, my supervisor said to me "when the stuff hits the fan, I don't want you to take calls. I want you to call all the 911 hang ups back." SWEET! We had the fan ready, but the stuff never did hit. I called 3 people. By all accounts, it was the easiest calmest new years our department has seen in many years. I don't know if it's because there were less people being stupid, or everyone else not complaining about the stupid people, but whatever the reason, it made for a pleasant night. We did have our fair share of stupid though, because, let's face it - most people don't call 911 when they've done something smart (thanks Janean!) Like my first call of the night, where a lady wanted to talk to the fire department after her drunk husband jumped off the steps and broke both ankles... I wonder how he felt about that when he sobered up.

I put in my request to have Wednesday and Thursday off this year, in hopes that with those days off, I can avoid working NYE. Unless I take vacation time, which I have to use during the kids' other breaks from school, scheduled days off are the only way I have holidays off.

The kids had a good time on NYE also. Sam had 6 of his friends here. None of the neighbors called the police, the kids didn't have to call 911, and they didn't burn my house down! It was a good night all the way around! :P

Sassy, who is 10, has no memory of snow - we moved away from Ohio when she was 2. Snugglebutt, almost 8, has never seen snow at all. So since it's my last weekend off before my days off switch, I think we're going to head to the snow. Or at least, to a place where it does snow. I don't know how much snow is on the ground, but we're going to head to Flagstaff overnight, where I'm sure we'll learn to appreciate the warmth of Phoenix just a little more :)

One of those days

2007-12-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, so DQ in Ohio, so 18 year old Sam is it right now in terms of child care. So I told him before DQ left that I needed to know his work schedule ASAP so that if he had to work when I do, I could arrange for someone to be here with the two younger kids until he gets home. When he told me his schedule, there were no days in there that he had to work late, and so I thought "no problem." Yesterday (Sunday) he told me he was working 10am till 3pm. Except when I got up at noon, he was here. He said he made a mistake, he had to be at work at 3. I didn't think much of it, because when he told me his schedule, there were no nights he was scheduled to close. So when 10:30pm rolled around, and he wasn't here, I was a little concerned. I called him, and he was still at work. Now, normally, he's a bright, good kid, and tries to think of others. But I think he has some kind of a mental block when it comes to me going to work. I mean, my schedule only changes once a year, and the hours never change. I've had to be at work at 11pm on Sunday night every Sunday for the past 3 years, except for vacations. After a lecture about communication and telling me when his schedule was different than what he said it would be, he apologized and said he was on his way home(I don't know, it might be his own work schedule he has issues with, he's been wrong more than once...) I don't know why he wouldn't get that he needs to TELL ME! Because, my job kind of puts a roof over his head, clothes on his back, and food in his belly! So I didn't even leave my house until 11, which is what time I was supposed to be there. I called the supervisor and she was understanding. So I should have been only 15-20 minutes late.

Until I saw the flashing red and blue lights behind me. Yeah. If it was a Phoenix cop, I most likely would have been told to slow down and have a nice day. No. It was a highway patrol cop. "So, where ya going?" "Work. I'm already late." "Where do you work?" Phoenix mumble mumble mumble "what's that?" Man, I just know I was as red as the flashing lights on his squad car. "Phoenix Police Communications." "Oh. Ok, I'll be right back." At least 10 minutes later, he comes back and gives me a written warning. So phew - no fine, no points, and I might be able to get away without TELLING MY SUPERVISOR that I was pulled over! Because, that's policy. Any contact with any police anywhere, we're supposed to tell our supervisor. WRITTEN policy. Because I really don't want to have to tell my supervisor that I was going 70mph down the black canyon freeway, where the speed limit is 55. Because I wouldn't even be able to blame it on Sam being late, because I do it on a regular basis!

Ok, so then I get to work and because I am almost never late, my supervisor is kind, and she lets me use comp time for the now 45 minutes that I'm late, so that means it doesn't count as an unscheduled absence. Good news. So I get settled in and do my job, until lunch time, when I had a decision to make. Do I go in the quiet room and take a nap since I've only had 4 hours of sleep, or do I eat my salad because I am pretty much starving? The salad won out, so I brought it back to my station to eat. I got the salad on the plate, but when I stood up to throw something away, I knocked the chair, which bumped the desk, which knocked my salad onto the floor. Face down. Ok, most of it wasn't so bad. Lettuce, dried cranberries, and walnuts, those are easy to clean up, and I hadn't put the dressing on yet. That feta cheese though, was a little tougher. You know the odor of feta is not really all that pleasant when you smell it for very long. I looked for something to clean it up with, but wouldn't you know, not a dust buster in the whole bureau. I asked the supervisor if there was something I could use to clean it up with, and she said to go find the housekeeper and ask her to do it. I felt bad, she cleans up after us so much already. She's a sweet girl, I don't want to make more work for her. But there went my lunch. My obnoxious coworker (with whom I get along well because he's obnoxious) kept poking fun of me and I could see the humor in how my day was going so far. I was just kind of afraid to move at that point.

I was so happy when it was finally time to go home, because I was really tired. I considered taking surface streets home rather than the freeway, because I was still smarting over being stopped by the highway patrol. But the desire to get home as quickly as possible won out. I figured there wasn't much that would go wrong at home! But when I went to check my email, the interenet wasn't working on my laptop. I debated leaving it alone, but then decided that I should at least check in to why it wasn't working. So I went into the living room, and there was a strange laptop in there, with the ethernet cable from my modem plugged into it. I have no idea who it belongs to, but yeah, I'm a little more ticked at Sam. I don't mind if he lets his friends get on our network with their laptops, however, I want it to be working and available when I, the one WHO PAYS FOR IT! wants to use it. At least put it back the way it was when you're done!

When I was in my room, I thought it felt a little cold and wondered if I'd left a window open, but then when I went to the kitchen, it felt like the air conditioner was on. So I stuck my hand up by the vent, and sure enough, cold air. So my less than 6 month old heating and A/C unit is BLOWING COLD AIR when it's supposed to be heating the house! Ahhh, but at least it's Phoenix and it's only freezing at night!

But, tonight is new years, and I have to work. New years eve at 911 is a pretty hopping place! But hopefully I'll be able to get through it without getting pulled over on my way to work and spilling stinky cheese all over the floor.

May you have a happy and safe New Year, and a blessed 2008!

30 years

2007-12-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

The world sure is a different place than it was 30 years ago. Computers were just starting to be made for individual use, but to most people, the idea was still foreign. In my house now, we have 3... If you wanted to talk on the phone, chances are it had to be plugged into the wall. Cell phones weren't widely available then, and the ones that did exist were about the weight of a large newborn. Music was on vinyl, cassette, or 8 track. Cars I guess aren't really all that different, except for air bags, anti-lock breaks, and no more leaded gasoline. They look a little different on the outside, but they still basically function the same way, they just don't fly like people 30 years ago thought they would. And 30 years ago, you could still go to a gas station and have someone pump your gas, wash your windshield, check your oil and air up your tires. Of course, cars today probably cost as much as a house did back then!

In 30 years I've graduated from high school, gotten married a couple times, divorced a couple times, had a bunch of kids, moved 2000 miles, and still haven't figured out what I want to be when I grow up. It took me almost all of the 30 years but I finally have figured out my own self worth. I guess I'm a slow learner :)

30 years ago today I was 10 years old and became motherless. I often wonder how my life would have been different if my mom would have lived, but then I really can't imagine. No matter how the world has changed in 30 years, no matter how I've changed in 30 years, there's one thing that doesn't change - there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of my mom and miss her.

I'm looking forward to seeing her again, but not quite yet. I don't want my kids to wonder what it would be like to grow up with a mom.

In loving memory of Linda Jean Childers Kowalcyk - 1941-1977

7 weird christmas things

2007-12-23T16:28:00.001-07:00

Weird? Me? I don't know what you're talking about... my friend Janean posted 7 weird things about her - the Christmas version, so I thought I'd play along.

1) I loathe the song Christmas Shoes. I turn off the radio and scream at it if that song comes on. I just really detest that song. Why? It's not because my mother died of cancer 3 days after Christmas when I was 10, it's really not. It's because I loathe almost any song that exists only to make you cry. He's my son by Mark Schultz - hate it. Butterfly Kisses, can't stand that one either.

2) I'm usually too disorganized to get Christmas cards together and out the door. I feel bad. To a point anyway.

3) Most years, I don't start shopping until December 22nd. This year, I finished on December 22nd.

4) I always cry during Silent Night at the candle light service on Christmas eve. Because I remember singing that song with my mom in July when we would work on jigsaw puzzles together.

5) I remember one Christmas my 3 sisters and I begged our mom to please let us open all of our gifts on Christmas eve. After much whining, begging, and pleading, she gave in. In fact, she let us stay up all night opening presents and playing with our stuff. I don't think we went to bed until 4 or 5 am. And wow, were we crabby the next day. That Christmas wasn't all that much fun.

6) We don't do Santa at our house. It started before I became a Christian and wanted to focus on the birth of our Savior. It started for two reasons - because when my oldest was little, I was a single parent and worked darn hard for the money to buy her presents. I didn't want the credit to go to some fat white guy who wears fur, abuses reindeer and exploits little people ;) And because I was very very upset when I found out the truth. I felt lied to and betrayed. But then I felt better because I couldn't understand why Santa brought my cousin a lot of presents, and just about anything she asked for, but not me. I hated the "you-better-be-good-Santa's-watching!" junk the adults used to pull. I still do. Yeah, you're right, therapy might not be a bad idea... I'm so glad that's not how God works. I choose to celebrate that baby who was born to die for my sins.

7) How we're celebrating Christmas this year might be considered weird to some. We're going to grill steaks on the side of a mountain again, like we did last year. We'll hike and play games, and have ourselves a cookout. It won't be a white Christmas, but that's just the way I like it.

School angst

2007-12-20T18:49:00.000-07:00

Apparently, my almost 8 year old has it. This morning he was crying that his stomach hurt. I mean real honest to goodness tears. It seemed like he was having sharp pains so I assumed that he was at the beginning of a stomach bug. Reluctantly, I said he could stay home. As soon as I said that, he started skipping around the house. So I made him get dressed and go to school! He was fine at school, fine at the library, fine at the park... but now he's whining that his stomach hurts again. So he said "ugh, I'm not going to be able to go to school tomorrow. I think you should take me to the doctor." I told him if he throws up, he can stay home. His response? "I'll try." Little stinker! But now I wonder what is making him not want to go. He's been having a pretty good year so I'm not sure what this is about. Unless it's that his teacher is out having a baby, that could well be it. Well, after tomorrow, he's got two weeks off. Lucky!

pictures I took today

2007-12-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

So what did YOU do today?

It's not everyday...

2007-12-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

That my boss is able to say...

But last night she did - and I HAVE PROOF!

The thing I like about rain

2007-12-01T14:46:00.001-07:00

Wordless Wednesday from my 18 year old son

2007-11-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's not so wordless... my son Sam is taking an astronomy class and is doing a project on light pollution. He borrowed my camera and tripod, and came back with some stunning pictures, although some are kind of surreal, like these. These are both pictures of the moon, taken Friday night, November 23.

That was before this happened though:

The only thing worse...

2007-11-25T01:43:00.000-07:00

than getting in a car accident is when your kid gets in a car accident. When you're at work. And you work for 911. And your coworker stands up and says "Connie, I've got your son Sam on the line..." It's an awful awful feeling I had hoped to avoid. But, he's ok, and that's what's important. The other driver is too, and he didn't even flee the scene. He even had insurance, which is kind of a rare thing here.

But, the child has a 1994 Toyota Corolla, and it very well may be totaled. The front axle is definitely bent and there was something leaking, so, it doesn't look good. He only had collision coverage though. The thing is, the police made him vehicle #1. So even though he wasn't cited, it means he caused the accident. Even though he had a green arrow to turn left. The other driver says he had a green light too, and since there were no witnesses, they can't prove he didn't. So Sam failed to yield to oncoming traffic before turning left. What good is a green arrow at all if you have to yield to buffoons who run red lights?? Anyway... I'm trying not to freak out and worry, because if the other guy's insurance doesn't pay for it, I don't know how we're going to fix/replace his car. And he pretty much needs one. But, God has gotten us through worse than this. Way worse. So, I'll choose to trust...

A Wordless Wednesday from DQ

2007-11-21T17:12:00.000-07:00

My 15 year old took this picture last weekend.

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart

2007-11-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

This year, for the first year since 2004, it's just going to be us for Thanksgiving. It makes me a little sad that we're not getting together with the friends that we have for the past few years, but it will still be a wonderful day. We've got a traditional meal planned, along with this yummy looking cheesecake, and since I'm off work tomorrow night, I can spend most of the day playing with the kids. Maybe we'll go to the park after dinner. Maybe we'll go to a movie. Maybe we'll just lay around being more stuffed than our turkey was before we got to it. But whatever we end up doing, thankfulness for all God has provided will never be far from our minds. But you know, we don't need thanksgiving to be thankful. I've learned it's necessary to be in a constant state of thankfulness no matter what the circumstances. For even the breath that I take, I am thankful. Because I've discovered through the past 3.5 years that it's really hard to be mopey and down in the dumps when I am thankful and praising God. Simplistic? Maybe... Maybe I'm just easily pleased. But when I stop thinking about how difficult life really can be (which is a focus on self really,) and start focusing on just being thankful, things aren't quite so hard.

My prayers this Thanksgiving is that we all can find blessings in simple gratitude. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I have officially lost my mind

2007-11-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

I've suspected it for a while, but now there is no doubt. The proof? The fact that I willingly invited 3 children who are not mine to spend the night, and it's not even anybody's birthday. So, right now I have a 7 year old, two ten year olds, and two 12 year olds in my living room. 3 boys and two girls. 3 rambunctious loud boys, and 2 squealing girly-girls. My 18 year old says he's not coming home tonight, but I can't imagine why...

Saturday morning update: Yes Rebekah, we did survive the night, but just barely! I finally made sure they knew the address in case they set the house on fire and had to call 911, and locked myself in my room. I made sure to tell them in case they had to call, not to tell the operator they knew me. Actually, they're all having a really good time. The extra girl that's here is the only girl in a family of 6 kids, so she's having a great time with Sassy. Soon I'm going to give the girls some beads and string while the boys are busy with video games. My major complaint is that they don't eat anything. And then my kids don't eat while they are here. So last night for dinner I gave everybody the same amount that my kids normally eat. We wasted a LOT of food, then a half hour later, they were begging for something to eat. Other than that though, it's loud, but it's all good.

A must-read blog

2007-11-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

Through following links, a couple weeks ago I came across a blog that has been constantly challenge me to think of God and faith in new ways. If you have a moment, go check out Prodigal Jon. From one of his posts:

Before I became a mailman I had to watch a video about not going on a crazy shooting spree. Honestly, part of our training was watching a news story about some mailmen that had done that. I always wondered why that was. Why was the phrase “going postal” something that had made its way into our vernacular? After a few weeks at the post office I had my answer.
The facility I worked at was a hub for other post offices, with tons and tons of mail filtering through it every day. The layout of the room I worked in was basically just a factory with standing cubes that you hand sorted the mail into. It was all pretty normal, except for the ceiling. Into the ceiling, covered catwalks had been built with black windows that looked down on the mailman. Inside those catwalks were the postal police, that secretive group that keeps mailman from stealing birthday cards or social security checks. The postal police were no joke. They had their own separate entrance and were like phantoms. I knew guys that had worked there 15 years and only seen a postal police officer once. They were constantly monitoring your every move. The brilliant thing is that because you couldn’t see into the tunnels suspended from the ceiling, you could never tell when they were there, which meant in a way that they were always there.

It sounds dumb, like having someone above your head that was waiting for you to fail would be something you could just brush off, but it was difficult. The sensation of having that hovering presence of condemnation became palpable. I wasn’t stealing mail, but it was still intimidating to have an unseen force watching my every move.

I didn’t know it then but that’s who God was to me. Separate from my daily life, he was floating above, unseen, unspeaking, waiting for me to mess up. He had me on his radar but it was only when I failed that my little light would start flashing and he would descend to punish.

I never saw him, but I could feel him up there. Watching. Watching. Watching.

I still think he does that, still think he watches me, but my understanding of what he is looking for has changed. It was actually a used car dealer that helped me change it. He told me in the midst of a project that when people come into get a loan, he looks for the good things in their credit history. He already knows they have bruised credit. He’s not surprised or shocked by that. But what he wants to do is sit down with the person and find the good in their life.

I think God is much more like that. He expects that failure I stumble through now and then on days that end with “y.” He knew I was capable of that. He doesn’t need to watch me to find that. In fact, he sent his son because he knew how desperate I would be when my mistakes caught up with me.

No, instead, he is standing next to me, watching. Waiting, creating even the good in my life. Pointing out the things I’ve missed, the moments of love and happiness and joy. He is not keeping a checklist of my mistakes, he is storing my tears in a bottle and unwrapping love upon love for me.
How are your ceilings? Is there a silent God stalking them? As you head into the weekend, will your neck hurt from craning up to see if he is there? Or will you let him show you the good you might not even know exists?

Can I just complain a little bit?

2007-11-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

It's 8:02 am. I got home from work and taking the kids to school about 15 minutes ago. I want desperately to go to sleep. But I can't. Why? Because the next door neighbor is warming up his truck. Like he does every day right at the time when I want to sleep. It's been running in his driveway since I got home. It's the loudest truck I've ever heard in my entire life, and it's not even a semi. Complete with squealing belts and everything. See, their driveway is right next to my bedroom, so it's really really loud. For the past year or more, I've been tempted every morning to call the police for a noise disturbance, but because I work for them, I know the truck will leave before any officers can get here, and I really don't want to have a bad relationship with my neighbors. I like them, they are nice people, I just hate their stinkin truck! The thing is - this is ARIZONA! It's not even cold outside!

There's a really big problem with vehicle thefts here, especially when people leave their car or truck running and go back into the house. I hear it almost every day. I can almost guarantee you that this truck will never be stolen this way. Why? Just because it's so darn annoying!!

She's back

2007-11-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

I was just sitting here with kids, when I started hearing a faint meowing. I told Sassy to go see what Zorro (our black kitty, the most awesome-est cat ever) was going on about. He was sitting in the window sill just chilling out, so then we opened the front door, and found the source of the meows. Chloe, the gray and white kitty, was sitting outside meowing incessantly. Sassy is thrilled, of course. She's the only one in the house. Well, maybe she'll be better if she's an outside cat. I just don't know how much more I can take of our clothes getting peed on at any chance she gets. Ugh.

I kind of like this one

2007-11-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

But can't remember for the life of me where exactly I took it!

The gray and white kitty

2007-11-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Got out. It was a few days ago, Tuesday I think. We haven't seen her since. She had been an indoor cat, so she wasn't used to be outside. I'm kind of worried about her, but I can't say I miss her. If she found a basket with clothes in it (which happened more than I'd like to admit) she peed in it, and the thing even went on Sassy's backpack. Even still, Sassy (the 10 year old) is the only one in the house who could even touch the cat, but poor Sassy. A couple years ago we had a cat that was the same way, it was decidedly Sassy's cat, and that one died. This one was also Sassy's cat, and now she's gone too. She's taking this one well, but I think she's just being brave.

Good Read

2007-10-31T07:56:00.001-07:00

The Elevator, by Angela Hunt. It's not even her newest book, but I just read this book and really enjoyed it. I would put the picture here, but bloggers being difficult... If you enjoy fiction at all, here's one for you to check out. Your totally hooked by the end of the first chapter and don't want to put it down until the last page. It's about 3 women who are trapped in an elevator in Tampa Florida during a hurricane. They don't know it, but they're somehow connected. It's one of those books I'll be thinking about for a long time to come.

On an unrelated note, I've quit moping about next year's schedule. There's actually a decent chance I'll be able to get thursday and friday off after all. We had 3 trainees finish training Monday, after that whole thing happened. All of the spots on the schedule were filled, so they'll have to open up new spots for the employees who finished training. One of the ones they can open is the one I want. And even if I don't get it, at least I have a job that I usually like that meets the needs of my family. Sorry for the bad attitude.

A real nailbiter

2007-10-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the rebid at work - it's where they set the schedule for next year according to seniority. We have almost 300 employees on the floor between 911 and dispatch, so what they do is give each employee an assigned time to call in to choose what spot they want for next year - which shift with which days off. I'm somewhere in the middle of that list of employees, and my assigned time to call is tomorrow at 1:50pm. There are currently 4 spots open that have the days off I want. Just 4, they've gotten through maybe 40 employees. I would love so much to keep my current schedule - 3rd shift with Thursday/Friday off, but it's iffy! Of course, there are always changes mid-year, but if I can get it this year on the rebid, I won't stress out so much in future years :P Think TF for me please!

Update: Ok, maybe it wasn't such a nailbiter after all. I knew the spot I wanted was doomed this morning shortly after I got home from work, and by the time I got up shortly after noon, they were all gone. It kind of irritates me, because people who are radio trained can work either four ten hour days or five 8 hour days, but 911 people can only work the five 8's. There were a grand total of 5 spots with weekend days that were five 8's, but several more available for radio trained people. There ended up being one 911 person on 3rd shift with a weekend day off. I'm really disappointed, for several reasons. Thursday/Friday off was working so well for us, because when DQ has a play, it's a lot easier to be able to attend, and it was easier for her to have a social life with me having Fridays off. But I'll confess that the biggest reason I wanted those days off is because weekends at 911 can be awful, and I was rather enjoying having to only work one of the crazy nights. I really hate weekends at my job, I actually dread weekends during the summer (20 calls on hold until 4:30am is not fun.) I'm really not looking forward to having to deal with that again 2 nights a week on a regular basis. I'll put in my request for a change, but who knows when that would happen. So with not getting what I wanted, it came down to did I want Sunday/Monday off, or Tuesday/Wednesday. I figured with either of those two, I'd have more opportunity to go to church, which I rarely do now. I could go Wednesday nights, or just not go to sleep after work on Sunday knowing I didn't have to work that night and go Sunday morning. I could have easily chosen first shift, but that wouldn't work for us, because then I'd have to have someone else take the kids to school. In the end, the thing that decided it was - if I'm off Sunday/Monday, I have two days to recover from the weekend before I have to go back to that place. Now I'm going to go mope for a while.

One hundred bits o' junk challenge

2007-10-26T02:59:00.000-07:00

Lisa Samson's one hundred bits o' junk challenge Lisa writes:

Anybody up for it?

I'm going to get rid of 100 things I don't need or use in the coming month. So how 'bout it? Anybody want to join me in getting rid of some clutter? Take a picture of your stuff and send it to me and I'll post it just before Thanksgiving. Who'll join me?

I'm in! Join us!
(pics to follow)

What's it worth to you?

2007-10-26T02:09:00.000-07:00

I dunno that this is going to make much sense. It's 2:10am, early Friday morning. I'm awake because I'm usually awake at this time. Yes, it's a night off, but I have to work tomorrow night (overtime, yay!) so it's kind of pointless to mess everything up by sleeping tonight, don't you think? So what to do at 2:10am when everybody else in the house is sleeping? Well, not everybody else. The cats are being totally obnoxious, as cats are wont to do at 2am. This little one (the gray and white one of whom I'm not terribly fond) is skating on thin ice at the moment, and if she knocks anything else down, she may lose one of her nine lives.

But anyway, what to do? Why, what any normal person would do of course - blog! I've had several posts swirling around this little brain of mine for some time now, but they aren't quite sure how to come out yet. It would be boring to tell you about how things are going, because it's really SOSDD, which is not a bad thing (that's same old stuff, different day) I mean, there are mundane things like Snugglebutt (7) got straight A's on his report card, and made principals list, but brought home a note that said they're concerned about his academic progress. Had a hard time figuring that one out, but it turns out, his penmanship is pretty atrocious, so that's all it was. Ok, and Allison (22) is talking about moving back to Ohio, but I try not to think about it much because I don't want it to happen. But, everything else - eh, you don't want to hear about that. I haven't even made any purple sauce lately. My children are grateful.

The main thing on my mind lately really, is divorce. Kind of. When I filed for divorce in April of 06, I joined an email list for people who were going through divorce. It is aimed at Christians but is open to anybody, and it's all about recovering from divorce. The group owner needed some help, so I agreed to become moderator, oh, probably about a year ago. It's really become to me one of those things which I feel called to do. There are some hurting people, and every now and then, I'm able to help them see something in a way they weren't able to before. I hope I'm not coming across as tooting my own horn, because really I've never been good at musical instruments, I'm just so pleased that I can be of help once in a while. Because I've been where they are.

Oh there are several situations, several reasons, obviously. Infidelity, abuse, alcoholism, drug addiction, sex addiction... I'm not even the only person who has an ex in prison for crimes against children. But 99 percent of the people there have the same basic issues, and the biggest one is that they don't truly understand their worth to their creator. I confess sometimes I have this problem too, but I understand much better now than I ever have. It took a lot to get there. It took figuring out why I didn't have self worth to begin with. That looks different (but probably amazingly similar) for everyone, and I can't tell anybody how to go about getting self worth for themselves - you can't just go buy it at Stuffmart! But when I know who I am, when I remember what God says about me, it's a lot easier to have hope for healing.

So with that in mind, I thought it was a good time to repeat this:

I am accepted---
I am God's child - John 1:12
As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ - John 15:15
I have been justified - Romans 5:1
I am united with the Lord, I am one with Him in spirit - 1 Cor. 6:17
I have been bought with a price and I belong to God - 1 Cor. 6:19,20
I am a member of Christ's body - 1 Cor. 12:27
I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child - Eph. 1:3-8
I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins - Col. 1:13-14
I am complete in Christ - Col 2:9-10

I am secure --
I am free from condemnation - Romans 8:1-2
I am assured that ALL things work together for good - Romans 8:28
I am free from any condemning charges against me - Romans 8:31-34
I cannot be separated from the love of God - Romans 8:35-39
I have been established, anointed and sealed by God - 2 Cor 1:21-22
I am hidden with Christ in God - Col 3:1-4
I am confident that God will complete His work in me - Phil 1:6
I am a citizen of Heaven - Phil 3:20
I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind - 2 Tim 1:7
I can find grace and mercy to help in time of need - Heb 4:16
I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me - 1 John :18

I am significant --
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit - John 15:16
I am God's temple - 1 Cor 3:16
I am a minister of reconciliation for God - 2 Cor 5:17-21
I am God's co-worker - 2 Cor 6:1
I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm - Eph 2:6
I am God's workmanship - Eph 2:10
I may approach God with freedom and confidence - Eph 3:12
I can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens me - Phil 4:13

So what are YOU worth? Only the blood of God's own son, who died FOR YOU. That's a lot.

Picture of the day

2007-10-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what it is?

Favorite cat picture in a while

2007-10-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

But it's not of my favorite cat. We affectionately call her the ball of evil wrapped in fur. She's very lucky she's cute.

Lost and Found

2007-10-13T23:53:00.001-07:00

A few years ago for my birthday my sister gave me a beautiful ring. It's a very unusual ring, with a large center stone which is my birthstone, a peridot, and 5 small diamonds on each side. I'm sure it was a very expensive ring. She was born in August also, her birthday is 10 days after mine. This ring was one that she bought a long time ago, and decided that it represented a time in her life that she had moved on from, so she didn't feel the need to hang on to it anymore. So she gave it to me. I have no problem at all with hand-me-down diamonds :P But really, I'm not much of a jewelry wearer. I have a diamond pendant that my mother gave me, and this ring my sister gave me, and that's pretty much it as far as high quality jewelry goes. I don't know why, I just forget to wear it. But I was wearing this ring for a while. Then one day I took it off, probably while I was sleeping but I really don't remember, and a few days later, I realized I wasn't wearing the ring. I looked for it without results, but figured it would turn up one of these days, and was probably under my bed somewhere. I'm not even sure how long it's been since I took it off, but I know I haven't had it for a while. With my niece in town (this sister's daughter) I've been thinking about that ring, and hoping and praying I would find it. The other day, I got a new mattress set, so while pulling the old out, I looked for that ring. And I didn't find it. I have wondered on and off if I took it off at work and left it at one of the stations and someone picked it up. So I kind of gave up hope after it wasn't there when I moved the bed.

Now I will tell you that I am a very disorganized person, a bit messy, and I lose things on a regular basis. In fact, right now, I'm not sure what I did with a check I got in the mail the other day for $250. Ok, I REALLY need to be more organized and careful. I know this. So, it's really not all that surprising that I lost this ring.

Yesterday I spent the day with my niece, and we went to Sedona, my very favorite place on earth. I've not been feeling too well lately, I've had a cold, but she wanted to get together anyway. It was great seeing her! But on our little trip, I had forgotten my chap stick, which is absolutely necessary even when I don't have a cold. With a cold, I was suffering without it. I stopped at a little shop in Tlaquepaque, a very beautiful arts and crafts village in Sedona (it's pronounced talakapakie, in case you are wondering) and bought some lip balm. It was darned expensive lip balm too! $3.50!! But it was very nice, very soothing lip balm, and I liked it very much. When I got home I put the lip balm on my night stand so it would be close by in the middle of the night when I woke up all stuffed up and dried out as I knew I would. But sometime during the night, I knocked the precious lip balm off of my night stand. And you got, now I can't find it.

But guess what I found while looking for the lip balm? My ring! It was right there on the floor by the night stand, I'm not sure how I missed it the thousands of times I looked there! I'm so thrilled to have the ring back!

Isn't that just like God though? Sometimes when you give up the hope of being able to do it on your own, that's when God gives you what you desire most.

Sassy and my niece at Tlaquepaque, Sedona Arizona

Almost over

2007-10-09T22:21:00.001-07:00

Anybody know a way to slow down time so that Saturday doesn't come so fast? I have to go back to work Saturday night. So how did I do on my list?

I wanted to:
Clean up my yard - well, it's not perfect, but it's wayyyy better than it was.

Declutter my house - a work in progress, but some progress has been made.

Go somewhere - CHECK!

Make caramel apples - CHECK! and YUM!

Visit with my niece from Ohio - I'm spending Friday with her, and taking her to Sedona. Yes, I definitely can handle that place twice in two weeks (plus I wasn't there long last week.) Then I'm making her fettucine alfredo. yum.

Go clothes shopping with DQ - nope didn't do that. She is presently in Ohio until Saturday visiting her dad. So if they haven't bought her some clothes there (which they usually do) I'll take her next week.

Cook stuff put in the freezer - yeah, no.

Sleep - CHECK! I feel somewhat human again. And it's amazing how my outlook changes when I'm well rested.

Overall, this vacation has been just what I needed, and I'm thankful to God for that.

Awards

2007-10-09T12:18:00.001-07:00

My dear friend Janean thinks I'm worthy of another award. This one is called the Mathetes award, and according to her website, it says "Mathetes is the Greek word for disciple, and the role of the disciple (per the Great Commission) is to make more disciples. I'd like to take the opportunity to award five other bloggers with this award and badge for acting in the role of a disciple of Christ." I'm truly humbled that someone thinks I deserve an award like this. But to be honest with you, I'm just not sure about these bloggy awards. I mean, I like recognition as well as the next person, but I like the idea better of just letting your fellow bloggers know you appreciate them. Part of it is how many of these are linked back to someone else's site, and it's a way for the creator of the award to generate traffic. Not that I'm against generating traffic, but if I pick 5 people, and they each pick 5 people, and then those people pick 5 people... Well, I'd rather just write a post linking to blogs that inspire me to get closer to God, and have that be the end of it. Or let people know by commenting that they have made a difference in my life. I guess I'm a stick in the mud, I don't play well with others, or something, but I can't accept this award, even though I really REALLY appreciate the thought behind it. The other thing is that in school I was always the last to be picked for the kickball team, and that wasn't fun. I don't want anybody to be left out or last to be picked!

There are several blogs out there that encourage me to look at God and my faith in ways I haven't before, so I'll just say a blanket thank you, and please, keep blogging!

Church quandry revisited

2007-10-07T14:28:00.001-07:00

Last November, I posted about church, and how I was in a dilemma whether or not to find a different church. Almost a year has passed and not a whole lot has changed really. I've just basically been coasting along, because to be honest, I don't get to church often. Working nights and being off Thursday and Friday nights makes it really really hard stay awake after working all night Saturday night after sleeping Friday night. I've cut down how much I work in the church nursery and now only work once a month. It's also really hard to get there because even if I do stay awake at church, then I have to sleep the rest of the day to go to work Sunday night. So I'm not with my kids during church, they're off in their own classes, and then I don't get to see them the rest of the day because I'm sleeping. It becomes a choice - church, or time with my kids. Which would you choose? Because of my schedule, I haven't put much effort into finding a new church. But being on vacation, last week I did visit a new one, and I fell in love. It was spiritually refreshing and I really want to go back. Today though, was my week to work in the nursery, so we went to the old church. My two younger kids really want to stay at the old church, and one of them told me he "hated" being at the new church. I'm sure it's because he doesn't know anybody, but he also is very resistant to giving it a chance. I felt so torn today. First I dropped off the kids in their classes and found that my 7 year old isn't even on the roster anymore, at this church we've been at since before he was born! because we haven't been there in a month. He had to sign in as a visitor. That kind of broke my heart. But still, he knows people, and he's comfortable there. Then after I worked in the nursery, I went to my adult enrichment class(Sunday school) and it was like I haven't been away (because even when I make it there to work in the nursery, I rarely make it to class, I'm just too tired.) So even after a year, I'm still waffling about what to do about churches, somehow I think that's not a good thing.

More pictures

2007-10-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the best pictures from yesterday. On Tuesday night despite being dead tired from walking all over northern Arizona, none of us slept very well, so we didn't have as much gumption to go sight-seeing before we left Flagstaff as we thought we'd have. On top of that, when we got up, Snugglebutt (the 7 year old) wasn't feeling well. He was complaining that his stomach hurt. It got the point where he was in tears after breakfast (which he didn't eat much of.) I had a sneaking suspicion that it was because he needed to go to the bathroom. The girls wanted to stop at Target before we left, so we went there and I made the child at least try to do his business. Well it worked, he felt better, and all was good with the world. We decided to save the Lowell Observatory for our next trip, and went to the Riordan Mansion. It's really just an enormous duplex - two brothers who were very successful in the logging business had houses built in 1904 that were connected by one big room that they called the ball room. It definitely is worth seeing. I was very impressed with how interested my 7 year old boy was with hearing about the mansion, the architecture, and story of these people's lives. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures throughout most of the house. After the mansion, we started heading back to phx, but decided to take the scenic route. And let me tell you, it was breath taking. If I had my way, I would have stopped every 100 yards to take pictures. It was so beautiful. Instead of taking the interstate, we took AZ-89A. Not far out of Flagstaff, there was a scenic overlook area, so we decided to stop. There just happened to be an Indian arts fair there, so we enjoyed looking at all the different tables with the bead work, pottery and jewelry. After that we made our way down the mountain on windy roads. Words can't even come close to describing the scenery down that mountain road. I spent the whole way down praising God for the beauty of His creation. For me, it's easy to feel close to God on a mountain covered in pine trees. Everything else just melts away... The road lead us through Sedona, which is my favorite place in the whole wide world. If I could choose to live anywhere, right now it would be a toss-up between right next to the beach in San Diego and Sedona. If you ever get the chance to go there, GO. Don't hesitate, JUST GO. The sunset pictures were taken at a rest stop not all that far out of Phoenix. It's the only rest stop I've come across with a real name - Sunset Point, appropriately named I'd say. So now we're back to real life, but thankfully still on vacation!

I like this one

2007-10-03T20:48:00.001-07:00

Pictures

2007-10-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

If you click on the slideshow, it will open up the album to see the pictures one at a time. I uploaded 42 of the 341. Some of them are pictures that DQ took. A lot of the ones she took are at odd angles - I always knew she had a different way of looking at things :) First we went to Walnut Canyon and saw the cliff dwellings of the Sinagua Indians. It was breathtakingly beautiful there, although it's hard for me to imagine living there. The walk down the canyon was great fun, the walk back up though, ummm, yeah. Then we went to the Meteor Crater, which at first seemed like "whoopee, a hole in the ground caused by a big rock..." but it really is interesting. They have a tour of the rim that lasts about an hour, and is very interesting. We enjoyed it very much, it was quite educational. Then we headed to The Petrified Forest, in which my kids kept saying "but there are no trees in this forest!" Well, we found one... The Painted Desert and Petrified Forest were beautiful, but by this time the 7 year old (along with everybody else) was pretty tired and didn't have the patience to stay long enough for me to get the sunset pictures I really wanted. But that just means I'll have to go back a different time! On our way back to the hotel, DQ insisted we get pictures of the Wigwam Motel on Route 66, which absolutely HAS to be the inspiration for that motel in the D!sney movie Cars. It was a really fun day, but to further prove that I am an airhead, I totally did not even think of sunscreen, and last night and today, I am paying for it. The kids for some reason didn't get sunburned. I however did. My face, the back of my neck and my arms. It was so bad I didn't sleep well. Today we may check out the Riordan Mansion and Lowell Observatory, both very close by here. Then it's back home.

341

2007-10-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

That's how many pictures are downloading from my camera to my computer at this very moment. We've had a great day! Very very tiring, but so much fun. Will post some pictures later.

some pics of our trip so far

2007-10-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Flagstaff!!!!

2007-10-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

We had to buy jackets...

Greetings from Flagstaff

2007-10-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

The traditional hotel picture

of bugs and blessings

2007-09-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

Another picture of our buggy friend. I could not believe how bold that thing was, it was not afraid of us at all. I expected it would hop away, but it just stayed put. And by the way, in the picture with my daughter holding it, it's front... leg thing there is not broken off. I thought that at first, but the video was taken after it and has all it's creepy appendages intact.

So enough about the bug. The other cool thing that happened today is while we were outside pulling weeds, the neighbor across the street and just south came over and asked if he could help us. I've never met that neighbor. It's really a quiet neighborhood, but folks aren't very outgoing. Our neighbors directly across the street don't speak English, and I know there are some other Spanish speaking families on the street. Really I know both neighbors on either side, and the ones 3 doors north, and that's about it. But now I know another! He came and asked if I minded if he helped, he could take care of my bougainvilleas that were really out of control. Well, I wasn't going to turn it down. He mentioned that he'd seen other people helping me, such as when my church family fixed my roof last year, so he figured there was no Mr. in the picture. I don't think he will ever know how much it meant to me for him to help. The yard is something I just have not been able to keep up with on my own. I'm trying but it feels like I'm fighting a losing battle. Today God sent in reinforcements :)

A little bit of homeschooling

2007-09-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

This morning, the kids and I were doing some yard work. Snugglebutt (age 7) was bemoaning the fact that he doesn't have enough money to buy the video game he wants. So he asked me how people get money. I said that usually, they work for it. I reminded him of the fact that I go to work 5 nights a week and work for the money I get. He wanted to know how employers got money to pay their employees, so we had an impromptu economy class. Then, it was on to science, where this little guy was our guest instructor. I'd love to be able to homeschool full time, but I guess I'll take what I can get.

And now that our yard looks a lot better (I won't say good - you can't go from frightening to neat just like that!) we're all ready for a nap.

What to call this?

2007-09-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

I'm a wuss?
Afraid of little buggy?
Attack of the killer praying mantis?
It's a funny thing you know, when one screams like a little girl in one's front yard, one tends to attract a lot of attention from neighbors :P

So I was out in my yard doing yard work, and I found this on my sleeve. I managed to get it off me, and DQ thought it was cool. She ran to get our beloved "cammy" and we started taking pictures. DQ picked the thing up. This is the result. Right before I hit the record button, she said "Don't get my face, I haven't taken a shower or done my hair!" which explains the "I won't get your face if you don't lift up your hands!" comment.

I think I figured out what we'll do.

2007-09-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to go to Canyon De Chelly, but it's a little far away (click on that link, you'll see why I want to go! Or this one!) Instead I think we'll go to Flagstaff and see things like The Painted Desert , The Petrified Forest And maybe a Meteor Crater
!

I refuse to go to work tonight.

2007-09-27T10:56:00.000-07:00

Or tomorrow night, or the next night, or the night after that... for the next 16 nights in fact!! AND YOU CAN'T MAKE ME, NEENER NEENER NEENER! Because I'm officially on vacation! I'm telling you, those last few hours this morning felt like a few weeks, but here I am!

While I'm on vacation I want to:
Clean up my yard. Because hooboy, you don't even know. It needs it.

Declutter my house. Yeah. Bulk trash pick up is coming up soon, yeeeeeeehaw!

Go somewhere. I'm not sure where. But at least overnight, I wanna get out of Dodge. Looks like I'm going to have to leave out at least one kid. If I plan it so Sam can go, DQ won't get to. If I plan it so DQ can go, Sam won't get to. But DQ is going to Ohio on Oct. 6th. Not that anybody else really would want to go there, it's still a trip away from here.

Make caramel apples with the kids.

Visit with my niece from Ohio, which I will actually get to do because she'll be here!!! And guess what?! She's pregnant! With her first baby! I'm so excited for her! Yeah, I don't know if I mentioned it, but my sister is a grandma! I have a great-niece now, because my nephew's girlfriend had a baby. They live in Montana and I haven't even seen a picture of her :( So when I turned 40 this August, that fact didn't help me feel any younger. But at least I reached 40 without being a grandma myself... so... But I can't wait to see my niece with a baby bump!

Go clothes shopping with DQ. She is in serious need of pants. Oh the poor thing... she had a mishap the other night on stage during their performance of the one-act plays they've been practicing all year. It involved squatting, and the back of her pants. I didn't notice, but I guess other people did. She said "didn't you see me kinda squatting for the rest of the scene?!?!" Well no, dear, you were playing a CHIMP!!!

Cook. I want to make stuff to put in the freezer so I can not have to use my brain on dinner so often.

But I think the main thing I want to do, is of course, SLEEP!!

Awww shucks!

2007-09-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

Look what Janean gave me! A Blog Star award! Thanks so much, not sure why, because I haven't had much to say lately. But I appreciate it all the same. I'm not so good at giving out awards, because I don't want anybody to feel left out... I am blessed and inspired by so many blogs out there, some who stop by here and some who don't. So I'll just take this opportunity to say - keep blogging!! Even if you think you have nothing important to say, you just never know who you might bless.

My sidebar again

2007-09-20T09:18:00.001-07:00

We're getting there!