sunflowers and lov

disappointment

2011-12-20T14:08:00.004-05:00

Over the past few months, to say, I've been disappointed, would be an understatement.
I feel like I've run myself into a brick wall, only to back up and run right into it again.
I feel like finding a way out of this pattern gets more complicated each and every day.
I feel like, if and when I do find a way out, I may have forgotten what it feels like to be happy, normal, content.

The hardest part about feeling disappointed, and not being able to fix it, is that 99% of my frustration is because of my job, which I used to think was the job.
The job that I loved.
The job that I was completely thankful for.
The job that made each and every day fun and exciting.
The job that....is no longer any of that.

Each and every day, I feel like I'm getting pulled farther and farther from what I loved about my job, and feeling closer and closer to why I hate my job.
I don't like living my life this way. I don't like feeling let down, disappointed, frustrated. I don't like feeling this way, day in and day out.

Each day, for the past five months, I have been praying. I basically have begged God to fix this for me, which has only made me more frustrated, because he hasn't. At times, I felt as if he was not listening to me. At times, I felt as if he didn't care. All the while, I knew in the back of my mind, He was teaching me something, and he knows that I'm not ready for the "test."

This morning, when I woke, I checked my email on my phone and read my daily devotion. (If you are looking for a great daily devotion, you should check this one out.) Seriously, if it didn't stop me in my tracks. The beginning scripture was
“I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?” (Romans 7:24 MSG)
I was curious at first, Did I write this devotion? Am I dreaming? Am I seeing things? I decided to reread the email when I was done with my shower, when I knew I would be awake.
It still said the same thing!
I read through the devotion shaking my head. I was so grateful and stunned at the same time. I needed this! I needed to read this! I knew this was God speaking directly to me. The fact that I can't change this, I can't change myself. I need Jesus to help me do this changing. I need to continue to pray, and continue to do what God sent me here to do. And when God is ready to show me a new path, road or freeway, He'll show me. Until then, I'll keep telling myself....
“I am sometimes disappointed, but I love my life ... and I must believe that the disappointments contribute something to what I love.” Jan Denise

friendship

2011-02-12T09:44:00.004-05:00

their friendship started early.....

before they actualy met.

but they were interested in each other.

diesel was interested in this growing belly....

and pickle would kick and turn every time he heard diesel bark.

it could only mean one thing.....or so we hoped....

we hoped it meant that they were going to have a great friendship....

the first time they met, well, as you can see, we weren't so sure!

it seemed like they would learn to tolerate each other,

that or they just didn't realize the other existed!

the more they spent time together,

the easier it was to see,

their bond is something special.

if ever pickle is sad,

diesel can calm him down.

pickle calms down....immediately when diesel gets near him.

every time diesel comes in the house,

she goes to look for pickle

and always, no matter where he is,

she finds him.

she is so gentle with him.

and so protective of him.

and he giggles at her.

and he loves being near her.

i can't wait to watch their friendship continue to grow.

and i'm sure, we'll be in for some surprises courtesy of the two of them!

on second thought

2010-12-16T14:06:00.002-05:00

i so wanted one.....

a brazillian blowout

i mean....look at the before and after pictures

until i found out how much it cost....

umm, maybe not!

a cookie would be nice!

2010-11-30T10:42:00.004-05:00

have you ever had a day that some how followed the tune to
if you give a mouse a cookie
you know....
things just keep spiraling off of each other
and before you know it, you are in so over your head....
you aren't sure where to go!

well today is my if you give a mouse a cookie day

case in point....
if you say you're thirsty.....they boy will ask if you want a drink.
if you say yes....the boy will go get you some water.
if the boy goes to get water....something might happen to fall.
if something falls.....something else will break.
if something falls and breaks....if will end up hitting the boy's foot and the floor.
if something breaks when hitting the floor....glass will probably be on the floor.
if glass is on the floor....you'll probably step on it.
if you step on glass....it will probably get stuck in your foot.
if glass get stuck in your foot....you will bleed.
if your foot bleeds....it will get all over the floor.
if blood gets all over the floor.....you will need to mop.
if you begin to mop....the floor will be wet.
if the floor is wet...and you aren't careful, you will fall!

all the while....a very unhappy baby is screaming!

now, if only i had a cookie!

point made

2010-11-26T12:49:00.005-05:00

last week, i was excited to pack up my maternity clothes.
i didn't have the easiest of time being pregnant....
so getting these clothes (or the reminder of being pregnant) out of my closet, and out of the house was very welcomed!

i asked flake to take the tote out to the shed.
he made sure he labeled it for me before he took it out.

wait....what is that?!?!

point made
....and heard loud and clear! :)

proud to be an american

2010-11-24T12:28:00.002-05:00

i can think of no better way
to say "i'm proud to be an american"
than to have each one of these

i mean really....
if this doesn't show pride,
what does?

work

2010-11-19T15:25:00.003-05:00

september 23, 2010
that was the last day i got up,
got dressed
and drove to work

i have not worked since that day

i was written out of work
due to some complications in my pregnancy
not bad complications
but more....annoying complications

it has been 8 weeks since i got up
got dressed
and drove to work
and i can honestly say
i'm missing my little school friends
i miss their sweet voices
their imaginations
their sweet hugs
but i'm super thankful that i am here with my new little friend
my buddy
my pickle!

because i was missing my little friends
i stopped by school this week
i was so excited to introduce my little pickle to my school friends

and they were excited to meet him too! :)

12 days

2010-11-15T19:51:00.004-05:00

12 days ago.....
i was sitting in a hospital bed

12 days ago.....
i was not feeling so well

12 days ago.....
i, in fact, was miserable.....

12 days ago.....
i was trying to stay positive

12 days ago.....
i was wondering when my life would change

12 days ago.....
i was trying to watch movies to pass the time

12 days ago.....
i was ignoring my phone with each coming text message, phone call, or facebook post

12 days ago.....
at 4:30ish, the decision was made

and
12 days ago.....
at 5:25p.m.
this little man came into my life

12 days ago.....
my dreams came true, my life changed, and i couldn't have been more thankful!

"got" god

2010-10-18T12:03:00.007-04:00

i've always thought it was true....

god is good!

from a very young age

i loved going to church!

it was just part of my life,

being that my daddy was a preacher

most every memory i have as a child revolves around church

and any memory that has to do with church, has to do with god.

as i grew, so did my faith

as my faith grew, my understanding of god grew

i began to understand that some people knew god in a different way than i did.

i began to understand....that was ok.

i began to understand that god works in different ways for different people.

i began to understand....that was ok.

i began to understand that not everyone just "got" god.

i began to understand that spreading the good news of god helped others to "get" him.

over the past few weeks,

i've seen how others were able to "get" god

and that has made me so happy!

when i lived in greenville, i met josh.

he was my neighbor.

he was my friend.

he was in a band.

we had the best time getting to know each other.

i loved spending time with josh and his girlfriend.

i loved hearing his band play.

it quickly became a friendship that i treasured.

my only "issue"

josh didn't "get" god.

he believed there was a god.

however, he didn't believe in organized religion.

i can understand that.

sometimes people get burned by church.

sometimes church becomes more about the people, and less about god.

and i believed that josh was just frustrated by what church had become.

needless to say, i prayed for him.

he also said, he didn't believe in prayer.

he didn't see how it worked.

he didn't see the point.

needless to say, i prayed about that too!

on september 20th, one of the band members, was shot.

(read about it here.....)

two thugs tried to rob the band after a show,

having a gun pulled on them, scott pulled a gun himself.

one of the robbers ended up being killed,

scott was critical for many weeks,

and he has made great strides since that horrible night.

i've been able to keep up with scott's progress through facebook.

a page was set up for prayers.

and a website was set up for help for scott's medical bills.

so many people came together to help scott, and to support the band.

on october 6 at 10:09 pm

josh posted the following status update

"I believe in prayers now. Thanks to everyone. Scott Thomas is the man! love you all"

through such a horrible situation,

god showed himself.

god made himself known,

and if nothing else good came from it

my dear friend "got" it!

and that is more than i could have ever asked for!

back in july,

i found out my best friend's baby might not make it.

robin's baby was not surrounded by amniotic fluid.

sometime during robin's pregnancy,

her placenta had ruptured, which caused her sac to rupture, allowing the fluid to leak.

the doctors gave her and her husband NO HOPE!

each and every doctor's visit, they received grim news.

they heard all the horrible things that their baby was experiencing.

"the baby will not develop kidneys."

"the baby will never develop lungs"

"the baby will never have muscle tone."

"the baby will die during child birth."

"IF the baby makes it though child birth, it will die within minutes."

needless to say, robin was devastated.

she was put on bed rest, and remained on bed rest until last monday morning when their precious baby was born.

their precious baby was a girl.

something they never knew before.

their precious baby made it through childbirth.

something they never thought would happen.

their precious baby had perfectly functioning kidneys.

their baby squeezed robin's finger.

their baby also had lungs.

(small lungs, that need healing, but LUNGS none the less!)

over the past week,

robin has kept me up to date

and i've turned around and kept all the people praying for their precious baby up to date.

(go to the discussion tab on this facebook page)

their baby is a week old.

their baby is a miracle from above.

their baby is bringing so many people together.

i received a message from someone i don't know that said

"Thank you for your updates. I don't know you or Robin, but some one at work told me about baby Mary Ann. I've never been into God. I don't really get it. But after reading all about Mary Ann, it is hard for me not to believe. Last night I said a prayer for Mary Ann. It was the first prayer I've ever said. This little girl is doing more than you will ever know. Thank you."

amazing!

someone else "got" god!

If you aren't already, please pray for both Mary Ann and her family, as well as Scott, his family and the members of the band!

Thank you!

a year....in review

2010-10-15T14:02:00.002-04:00

it really has been a year......

actually a year and 12 days since i last wrote on this blog

it wasn't meant to be that way,

it just happened.....

so what has happened over the past year in the life of l.o.v. and flake.....

i know you are dying to know.....so here is a month by month break down!

in september, i wrote this post

it wasn't until october that i found out why i was sick as a dog

and it had something to do with two little babies growing inside me!

yep, flake and i found out we were pregnant,

then we found out we were pregnant with twins

then we found out we may be loosing one of the twins,

but the doctors weren't so sure.....

so they had us wait

november 10th came

we found out for sure

it wasn't our time to be parents

we were broken, sad, yet faithful.

november 11th was the day they took the twins

it was a hard hard day

a day i never ever wanted to relive

a day i just wanted to skip on the calendar from that moment on

thanksgiving came, i struggled to be thankful

emotionally, physically,
things were looking up for both of us.

i got new mittens and mismatched socks,

it helped to make life more colorful and fun!

flake had started a business back in the fall,

and he was making lots of contacts.

i was starting to understand how it felt to be normal again.

we gave gifts to 14 sweet, amazing, needy children at my school.

and all seemed right with the world.

we were thankful for the year we had, we were thankful for the good, the bad, and all the trials that we had, that made us stronger and more ready for a new year!

happy new year

happy new month

happy new pregnancy

yep, found out we were pregnant again

nope didn't feel like it was too early!

totally excited!

totally.....

and then.....

it happened again!

sad, scared, frustrated.....yet faithful!

it wasn't the way i would have started a brand new year,

but it was meant to be!

we had lots of snow,

which means lots of snow days

and lots of mornings at ihop,

cause you know if it snows, you have to eat at ihop!

ahh...the month of love

things are good

well, flake has realized his business isn't working

let's just say.....the economy.....well, isn't the greatest!

like that was news!

twizzlers make me happy!

looking for a job keeps flake busy!

even more snow, even more ihop!

school is keeping me busy.

flake started a new job.

i got sick....and had a weird pain....

headed to the doctor....

you guessed it....PREGNANT....

and at 4weeks 2days pregnant, we saw a perfectly formed, perfectly placed sac via ultrasound.

but.....the pain, was from a cyst that was trying to support the pregnancy, since my body wasn't telling my body to do that.....

got on meds, and saved this baby!

this baby....is due....november 11th....the same day, a year later, that i didn't want to remember. it is god's timing!

it is god's way of making that day a special day!

on march 24, we heard our baby's heartbeat.

this was the first time we had that experience.....

it was AMAZING!

we had a healthy baby,

and we were in love!

we started calling the baby pickle

and all was right with the world!

flake was enjoying his new job.

school was going well for me.

our parents knew we were having a baby.

we found out flake's sister was having a baby too.

how exciting!

we bought a house

and moved out of the apartment

which sadly had turned into the ghetto before our eyes.

turbo moved to a farm.

all was PERFECT!

spring was here,

birds were singing

flake had an awesome month at work

(he is in sales.....so i learned the hard way every month isn't the same!)

my little friends at school were growing and learning so much

and all seemed right with the world.

the end of the school year approached

and my little pickle was growing.

my grandmother got even more sick.

my world started to change before my eyes.

i realized that she would not be here for the rest of my life.

i realized that she might not be here for my child's life.

i realized she would be better off in heaven than here on earth, but i was selfish and not ready for her to leave.

i learned my bestest friend was expecting a baby too!

good....bad.....such is life!

we remembered our babies that should have been born.

we miss them......but we are thankful for our pickle

the end of the school year....

field day

fun

got a call at school that shook my world

pickle's quad screening came back abnormal.

pickle might have a neural tube defect.

panic

ultrasound to make sure

pickle .... barley moved

90 minutes later, we still didn't know if our baby was ok,

90 minutes of looking but not being sure

90 minutes of learning we had a very very stubborn child!

(pickle totally gets that from me!)

another appointment scheduled,

we found out NO neural tube defect

and we were having a BOY!

god was with us!

a month of travel .....

headed to the mountains with great friends

headed to the beach to visit my best friend (who is pregnant)

headed to the outer banks for my brother's wedding (yes to the same bride he married the year before!)

all was perfect!

our baby was growing.

flake had an ok month at work....by far not the greatest!

my grandmother was doing ok, still holding on.

and summer break was going great....HOT but great!

found out that my best friend's pregnancy is going well, her baby isn't surrounded by any fluid, and the doctors think she may loose her baby! i'm sad for her, i'm broken for her, and i want to fix it! i ask everyone i know to pray for her and her precious baby!

flake is still working hard.

sales are going well, but hopeful things will get better.

work starts back for me.

i'm very big....

and quite uncomfortable....

having lots of contractions....and bleeding, but the doctors think pickle is still perfect!

we had our first baby shower, and showered we were.

pickle got lots and lots of great things!

we got to see and spend lots of time with my grandmother.

god is great for allowing her to still be with us.

my best friend's baby is still hanging on, despite what the doctors have thought.

flake turns 30.

it was a great......HOT..... month!

happy labor day.

happy birthday to me.

happy baby shower.

work is going.....

grandmother is still holding on.

best friend's baby ..... still holding on.

pickle is growing, in fact he is measuring big (3 weeks big to be exact!)

doctor signed me out of work.

at 33 weeks.....i still am nauseous every day, vomit a lot (but not daily anymore), struggle to sleep, and struggle to keep my kidneys balanced, not to mention dealing with contractions/bleeding....but all in all, my pregnancy is perfect.

i continue to ask everyone i know to pray for my best friend's baby!

flake is working....all the time!

we thought about our baby we lost, but we were thankful for our pickle.

and here we are....a year later.

flake's sister had her baby, a month early

the precious little girl she brought into the world is a prefect mix of her and her husband!

beautiful!

our precious nephew is dealing with his new status of brother.

flake works....ALL THE TIME!!! (could it be that i'm home all the time, and just miss him, probably?!)

my grandmother is still holding on.

i'm still very VERY pregnant!

my best friend delivered her baby 2 months early

i spend my days off of work, updating the masses of how the miracle baby is doing.

the same baby who the doctors said would not make it through delivery is 5 days old. the same baby that the doctors said would never ever develop lungs, has some holes in her lung tissue, but it is able to heal, as long as she remains stable.

i sit and wait to meet my pickle.

impatiently.....but i sit and wait!

and that is what brought me to blogger again.

i've missed you all!

i've missed the community of friends!

i don't promise to be a good blogger....but i'm back.....

Press .......

2009-10-03T11:27:00.000-04:00

all i have to say....

this is awesome!!!

puppy

2009-09-07T19:02:00.004-04:00

so when school started
and flake got home
all in the same day
i was one excited puppy!
it was a great day!
and i put all i had in that day!

and true to form
after spending days giving it my all
and spending those days with 24 five year-olds
who have yet to master the art of
not sharing their germs
i became one sick puppy!

it is what it is,
but i continued to try
and give it my all,
all the while,
wearing myself out
leaving myself
one tired puppy!

so, i feel the need to let you know
i'm busy trying to get my feet back on the ground
and while i wait for my
super hero puppy cape to be cleaned,
i'll be missing you, and your blogs
......

be looking for me....
and my cape to reappear....

soon!

she hit the floor

2009-09-04T18:16:00.001-04:00

if you loved bon qui qui
or even if you didn't
this should make you laugh!
i know it made me laugh
....
a lot!

securidy

2009-09-02T19:21:00.002-04:00

if you have not ever met bon qui qui,
let me introduce her to you...

hope you laughed as hard as i do
each and every time i watch this!

if not,
i guess....i'll have to call securidy!

off to spend time with my flake!
love having him home!
yay!

changes

2009-08-30T15:50:00.002-04:00

i've mentioned before
that i'm not big on
change
or
waiting

but.....
today
i'm completely ok with it

being that flake's plans have
changed

he is already on his way home

and i'll sit here and
wait
until i see him!
whenever that may be!

please pray for safe travels for him
and keep his job situation in your prayers too!

:)

randomness

2009-08-29T12:29:00.009-04:00

i've not taken the time to sign into blogger
since last saturday
and when i signed in today
and saw this

i thought that was just a little overwhelming
and i just decided to hit the "mark all as read" button.
so
sorry!
sorry that i'm not going to go back and catch up on all those post over the past week, all i know is that you were all very busy!
VERY!

---------------------------------------------------

i love lazy days!

---------------------------------------------------

flake had his interview last tuesady.
he feels like it went well, but still has not heard anything.
(to be fair, he was told that he probably wouldn't hear anything before the end of the week.)
i'm ready to know!

---------------------------------------------------

i love bowling
but i'm horrible at it!

but seriously, can you see my excitement over a gutter ball?

---------------------------------------------------

thursday was a HARD day for me!
before flake came home again, i told him that i didn't think i could handle him leaving again.
and boy was i right
i cried like a baby when i took flake to the airport.
and by baby, i mean a blubbering idiot would couldn't catch her breath!
it wasn't pretty!

---------------------------------------------------

twizzlers, ahh, you are so good!

---------------------------------------------------

does anyone know how to put music on a blog?
someone asked me to help them do that, and i don't have a clue how to do it!

---------------------------------------------------

modern mom over at how to survive life in the suburbs
tagged me in a meme

Here are the rules of this one:
1. Collect the book that you have most handy
2. Turn to page 161
3. Find the 5th complete sentence
4. Site the sentence on your blog
5. Pass it on to 5 other blogger

due to the fact that i was slack this week
(and thank goodness for the option to schedule a post....)
i never got around to doing this....

so here you go modern mom
1. the book closest to me.....isn't a book i'm reading....it just happens to be close to me, cause that is where it lives in the apartment.
the book is A Parting Gift by ben Erickson
2. found it
3. .... ok
4. "He's fine"
(Aren't you glad you waited a week for that!!! haha!!)
5. passing it on to bloggers......
(these five people just commented on my last post....so this is my way of saying THANKS!! and sending people over to you....)

summer
bas
tiffany
twentysomethingmomma
jael custom designs

---------------------------------------------------

i'm not so sure how to feel about the fact
that one of my new friends at school told me
"i don't have to listen to you, i'm gansta"

umm...really, you aren't gansta....you are five!

---------------------------------------------------

flake starts heading from texas on
MONDAY

---------------------------------------------------

happy weekend!

oh i love this!

2009-08-26T05:00:00.001-04:00

ever since i first saw the skinny jean
i have disliked it
probably because i knew, even as a child,
skinny jeans look stupid
on me.
on you.
on everyone.
but then again
i am reminded i am not the most fashionable person
by the fact that i would rather live in pajama pants
and a zip up hoodie.
i was so excited during the 90's when skin tight jeans
were just not cool
but to my utter disappointment
thanks to the gap
the skinny jeans came back
ugh!
but thankfully,
there is now proof that the skinny jean is the work of the devil....
medical proof!!!
YAY!!! i love that!!!
so please, for your health, but more importantly, for me,
stop wearing the skinny jeans!!!

the first day

2009-08-25T05:00:00.001-04:00

the classroom is ready

the teachers are ready

the centers have been tested by a sweet little face

and all is ready
for the 24 sweet friends
who will show up in my door way this morning,
the first day of kindergarten,
with bright eyes and anxious feelings.
we have met some of them
and we have prayed for all of them
and we are excited to get to know them!

and we want you to get to know them too!

this year, we will have a class blog
:)
and i, along with my little friends, would love for you to read
and to comment on
all that we are learning in our little class

our first post should be up sometime around 3:00 this afternoon.

:)

2009-08-24T20:02:00.003-04:00

ahh, i love him!

pray for him tomorrow, as he interviews for a job....closer to home!

be safe

2009-08-23T05:00:00.001-04:00

back in december,
i came home from work
to tell flake that i had gotten him a present

now to be honest, i'm not good at being hush hush about
good surprises.
most people that know me IRL

(in real life....for those people like my mama who don't know bloggy shorthand)
can vouch for the fact that if i have a good surprise, like a gift, or exciting news,
i can't hold it in.
i just HAVE to tell (or give, show, etc)!!!
i hate waiting until christmas, birthdays, whatever days.....
i just can't stand it....

so ...... when i came home from work
and told flake i had gotten him a present,
he knew better than to ask me to keep it quiet until christmas
however.....he tried.
i told him, i wouldn't tell him what it was....
but i had to give him a hint.
(aka in l.o.v. language....i'm getting ready to cave!!)

so our conversation went something like this
but do remember....this took place 8 plus months ago....
l.o.v.: i got you something today
flake: a present?
l.o.v.: yeah, well, kind of
flake: kind of? well, don't tell me
l.o.v.: but
flake: please, i'd like to have at least one surprise
l.o.v.: fine, i won't tell you, but.....how about a hint?
flake: fine
l.o.v.: i got you something, but i don't want you to ever use it
flake: what?
l.o.v.: i got you something, but i don't want you to ever use it
flake: i heard you, but i didn't understand you
l.o.v.: and....it really isn't a christmas present
flake: what? .... fine, just tell me
l.o.v.: yay! i got you accident insurance, but please don't ever use it!

yep.....that's right....i got the boy accident insurance!
to those of you who know flake IRL....
you know that accident insurance is probably one of the best gifts the boy could ever get!
(both of us actually!)
neither of us were given much grace,
and both of us find ways to get hurt,
but always have good stories to tell in the end!
so, as you can imagine, i was quite excited with my purchase!

fast forward to present day....
flake is making good safe choices....
(well at least he says he is....down in texas)
while LF, has put himself in some compromising situations....

so i wonder, do you think that the accident insurance will cover him if he gets hurt??

happy

2009-08-22T06:00:00.001-04:00

happy, because it is saturday
happy, because i'll see you in two more days
happy, because you are who you are
happy, because i love you
happy, because you're precious
happy, because you make me smile
happy, because you're my best friend
happy, because i know you
happy, because you make me laugh
happy, because i'm thinking of you
happy, because god put you in my life
happy, because today is your BIRTHDAY!!

happy birthday flake!
i love you so much!
(i just wish i was with you today to help you celebrate......)

extra

2009-08-21T05:00:00.003-04:00

i found some more pictures of LF through the years

seems that he was quite busy
in lots of extracurricular activities!

(can you tell i had a little too much fun with yearbook yourself?)

awesome

2009-08-20T05:00:00.001-04:00

dear person who stole my phone,
you don't know me, but you know my phone.
actually you probably know me better than i know you, being that you have access to my phone call records, text messages, pictures, and calendar.
i don't have anything to hide, but it kind of bothers me that you know so much about me, and all i know about you....is that you don't seem to be very smart.

i'm not saying i'm the smartest person in the world,
especially when it comes to stealing,
in fact i'm not sure i know how to steal at all,
but i do feel like you might need to know these few tips.

when you steal a phone, off the charger, you might want to take the charger too. eventually the phone's battery will die down, and then what will you do? it wasn't like the charger wasn't available to you, being that you had to physically unplug the phone from the charger.
when you steal a phone, it probably isn't smart to respond to text messages from people whose names are saved in the phone. those people actually know the person that owns the phone, and your sketchy ghetto talk comes across as "strange" to the person you might have texted. (example: dat blu 1)
when you steal a phone, maybe you shouldn't answer the phone when people call whose name and number are saved in the phone. being that they actually do know the person who you stole the phone from, and they might find it weird that someone answers the phone, and just makes noise. in fact those people might actually call back again.
speaking of people calling the phone back again, they are calling because they want to talk to the person that owns the phone. so, maybe, just maybe you shouldn't feel the need to call one of them back and ask a question like "why you keep calling this verizon phone?" and then don't follow that question up with "my sister done stole dis phone." really?!?! i'm pretty sure the person you just told that to, figured you didn't get the phone from the store!
and if you do choose to call a person back, who has been calling the phone which was stolen, next time, you might not want to call from an unblocked land line, that can be traced, being that it is attached to a physical address. even if you did make a choice to call from a home that wasn't yours, the person that let you into their house, to use their phone, actually knows you, and is willing to give your name to the police, after the police trace the number, find the address, and spend lots of time at the home of the phone which you chose to use to call said person back.

so, dear not so smart person who stole my phone from my classroom at school right off the charger,
i hope that you have learned a few things from this experience,
but if not, i hope these suggestions might help you a little bit.
and remember, you're awesome
at being a complete idiot!

sincerely,
l.o.v.

Laura Lane....Update!!

2009-08-19T04:40:00.004-04:00

thank you so much for praying for miss laura lane.
her mommy posted a facebook note to update us all on what the doctor had to say.

Hey everyone! Just got home from Duke.The doctor was amazing- not just because he gave us promising news but he spent a lot of time with us, showing us her MRI and explaining in great detail what was going on. I had never seen Laura's brain, never. So I was impressed that this doctor took the time to answer ALL of our questions and show us exactly what he was talking about.

*** His conclusion was- no surgery. He said that Laura's ventricles are big but they have always been big. He also went on to explain that surgery at this time would be very dangerous, possibly causing her to need 2 shunts. Yeah I said it 2.
He is very cautious about shunts.
He also said... that she could just have a big head- he proceeded to look at Scott and say... like her dad :)
He suggested that she see an eye doctor just to look into her eyes and to maybe have a spinal study to check out her back and see how her nerves are doing.He was very impressed with this 19lb 15 oz bundle of pure lovin that wowed him with her flirty and smily personality.
His plan would be to have another MRI in 3 months keep monitoring her head and symptoms. He said that babies sometimes have extra fluid that they just grow into at about 18 months old (WOULDN'T THAT BE A COMPLETE MIRACLE??????)- he also explained that if she does end up needing it-maybe just the procedure where they go in and fix the ventricle. Once a shunt goes in- it never comes out. It could potentially be bad- constantly in surgery fixing it.

Scott and I are actually going to cancel the surgery that is scheduled for next week and get a 3rd opinion. Take her to an eye doctor and discuss all of this with her pediatrician.

Thank you all so much for prayers and positive thoughts. I feel like tonight I will finally be able to rest just a little easier:) Love you all-and I will keep you posted!

so, thank you! thank you for praying for laura lane,
but please please keep her in your prayers!
pray that the third opinion will be aligned with this second opinion,
as well as pray that LL stays shunt free....even after 18 months of age.
she is a precious girl,
and she continues to help others see how great our God is!!

keep praying

2009-08-18T05:00:00.002-04:00

please don't forget to keep miss laura lane in your prayers!!
if you need a reminder of what is going on with LL,
or want specifics to talk to God about,
please go read this.

laura lane and her parents are heading to duke today to get a second opionion, so please keep them in your thoughts and prayers today and until we know for sure!!

thanks oh so much!!

because of

2009-08-17T05:00:00.012-04:00

i was able to spend this past saturday with my nina
to help her celebrate her birthday!
it was great to see her
and the rest of our family
and just be together....
we all had a great time together

but as you guessed....

we
were
sad
flake
couldn't
be
with
us

-----------------------------------------------

on another topic,
my bloggy friend, stephanie, over at because of love

gave me this sweet bloggy award

thanks so much stephanie!!!
it has been great getting to know you and your precious family through your sweet blog!!!

so to accept the award, i followed these rules....
The rules of the One Lovely Blog Award are: Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and her blog link. Pass the award to another blog that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the blogger to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

i'm giving this blog award to my newest bloggy friend
amethyst moon over at life, music, laughter
not only is she super funny
but she ties all her post to music
and i LOVE that!!! :)
from the first post i read....i was HOOKED!!! :)

so go check out stephanie's blog
and amethyst moon's blog
and tell them i sent you by! :)

through the years....

2009-08-16T12:26:00.005-04:00

i've been looking at pictures of LF through the years....

it seems to me that the only thing that has changed about him
is his hair!

(don't you just love yearbook yourself?!?!)

never to old to learn

2009-08-13T18:03:00.004-04:00

i have always loved learning
but i've never been all that good at it
i do things a little differently
i always have
i do things in my own time
especially when it comes to learning
learning takes me lots of time
and lots of watching
and lots of hearing
and lots of observing
and lots and lots of doing

since flake left,
turbo has been trying very hard to teach me new things
she hasn't yet been successful with teaching me
-how to give her more food
-how to share the bed with her
-how to play with teeth
-how to pick your nails on most everything
-how to stay up all night long
-how to sleep all day long
-when it is ok to pet her
-that hissing noises and groaning noises are really not scary
i guess she will keep working on those things....
just like all my other teachers,
she will have to be patient with me
while i learn in my own time.

however, i'm quite shocked
that it only took me a mere
two months and two weeks to learn something new
especially from a cat....

turbo isn't all that bad
when she is sleeping!

nina

2009-08-12T07:30:00.002-04:00

thank you for all the years of love,

all the words of wisdom,

all the moments of laughter,

and all the mittens a girl could ever want!!

to the most precious woman i know,

happy birthday!

i love you nina!

members only

2009-08-10T07:00:00.006-04:00

i was never cool enough to have a members only jacket
but .... boy did i always want one
(ok, not really!)
so i guess i was never cool enough to be a member

but i am proud to say, i'm now a member of an even cooler group
a group that was the brain child of one of my friends
she thinks enough is enough, she is tired of hanging out with a box of cornflakes
so she started a coalition to bring my flake back home
and because of that.....a facebook group was born.

so, if you are on facebook, you should totally join!
maybe if flake sees how many people want him to come home
he will!
:)
if not,
it makes me laugh to think how many people are tired of seeing the cornflake box!

what does that spell?

2009-08-07T06:00:00.004-04:00

Lonley
Aggravated
Inconsolable
Dumbfounded

Out of sorts
Frustrated
Forlorn

all of those are feelings i have felt since last thursday
it was the day that my precious flake
was laid off after the company was no longer financially able to continue existing.
:/

what does this mean for us now?
good question!
where do we go from here?
good question!
will he move home from texas?
good question!

at this point, we don't know

we do know that god is good,
and we will remain faithful
we are praying a lot
and need you to pray with us!

thanks!!

out on the town!

2009-08-06T10:11:00.006-04:00

as you know, LF loves to go out
and get his picture taken
he is kind of demanding
and insist on having his picture taken with everyone where ever we go!

last night, was no exception.
LF and i went to dinner with a bunch of friends

to help celebrate our friend, nicole's birthday.
(you know nicole, that is laura lane's mommy)

we had a great time spending the evening with friends
getting to see little laura lane
and about the great the great food at pf changs
and the wonderful cake from dewey's

and as you guessed, LF was most excited about his new hat!

**please keep praying for laura lane!!

sweet laura lane

2009-08-04T17:47:00.004-04:00

last friday, when i rambled about random things, i asked you to keep my friend's daughter in your prayers.

well, today was the day that little Laura Lane went for her MRI.
i wanted you all to read the update that her mom, nicole, posted a little while ago

Hey everyone. I thought that I would have really great news but unfortunately I don't. Laura Lane has surgery scheduled for a shunt Friday August 28th BUT WAIT there's more. The doctor is 95% sure that this surgery is going to happen. But I am leaning towards a miracle to happen.

He has agreed to give us one last chance. The MRI showed that her ventricles did increase and have extra fluid but he doesn't feel as though he needs to do the surgery tomorrow. So he said that we come in the office on August 27th, have her head measured. No more tests, scans, pokes or prods. Just a head measurement. If the measurement goes off the chart she will have surgery the NEXT day. If she stays on the curve and her head stays in line with the curve the surgery WILL be CANCELED.

So as of now, we won't know anything until the 27th. After that we are out of the woods or in the operating room. Please don't stop praying. This is a very very scary time and well as we all know from the previous measurement being WRONG lets just hope and pray that everything will stay inline. For those of you like me who likes to get specific in your prayers and talks with God, her head needs to stay between 44 and 45 CM. NO BIGGER.

Thank you all again. Take this to church, prayer groups, copy and paste it to your wall, email, or whatever to get as many prayers as you can. Thank you all for loving Laura Lane. ;)

so, i ask you, please keep this precious baby in your prayers! please keep her parents in your prayers, and ask everyone you know to pray for her too!

happy day!

2009-08-03T08:26:00.004-04:00

happy anniversary daddy and mama!!

flake and i love you!
(and little flake does too!)

really?!?!

2009-08-02T12:10:00.006-04:00

i spent last night at one of the best concerts i've seen this year,
ok
it was the only concert i have seen this year,
but either way
it was GREAT!!
i had a blast, and loved each and every minute of it
but like most great moments in my life,
i learn a lot!

so while i was there
sitting in my lawn seat
(and speaking of, my ticket said that my seat was row 143 seat 476....umm, ok
and you know, i counted out blades of grass until i found that exact spot!)
i realized a few things that i probably should have known before

- some people must not have mirrors at home

- cowboy boots go with all different types of outfits

- for some reason, paying $10 to rent a chair you will not sit in during the concert is a great way to spend your money

- people enjoy public displays of affection, and might as well be kristina's neighbor

- people get really really bent out of shape when their beer is messed with, and will start a fight, even if their daughter is sitting on their shoulders....cause that is good parenting....right?!?!

-apparently you can dance like you are on a pole even to the song let her cry

-and if pole dancing isn't good enough for you, why not try for a "grinding" group dance?!?!

- people put blankets down, not to cover their sitting area, but to allow others a cleaner path to walk on

- paying $9 for a personal pizza (aka a slice of pizza) doesn't mean it will taste good

- there is no need to wait in line for a bathroom, when god put bushes on this earth

- no matter what, people are super cordial in a parking lot, and no one EVER gets out of their car to fight!

----------------------
sorry for posting twice in one day, i know, i never do that....
but i guess i had a post scheduled for today, and didn't realized it before i posted this one....
it must be lack of sleep!!
so .....
if you read this one, go read the one below this one, cause you might have the answer to my questions!! :)

things

2009-08-02T05:00:00.000-04:00

like i mentioned the other day
i've had a lot on my mind recently
a lot of random things
things that i just can't help but think about
things that i just would love to have answers for....
so i thought,
my bloggy friends might be able to help me...

--why do people put birds on the side of their house?

--why are there so many kinds of things (apples, soft drinks, cereals, palm trees, shampoos, toothpaste)?

--when was it ever "cool" to have your initial on your chimney....and exactly what are you supposed to do if you ever want to sell your house?

--how can a seedless watermelon be made, but no one has figured out how to make seedless lemon?

--who ever thought to use left over conditioner for shaving?

--why are greeting cards so expensive?

--why is it so hard to paint my toenails?

--who spends their time coming up with the facebook quizzes?

--who thought up putting a candle in your ear to get the wax out?

--why is it that i can read blogs all day long, but struggle to read a book?

--how did dr. phil make so much money, just by pushing the "if it isn't working .... don't do it" philosophy?

--am i the only person the finds a new box of crayola crayons super exciting?

--will i ever learn to get rid of the hair all over the place (mine, turbo's, diesel's)?

--why do people in texas call a drive up bank window a "motor bank"?

--what is the point of having coin dollars and paper dollars?

--why does blogger choose to put the html code for divides into some post, and not others?

--and speaking of html codes....who sat down and decided that computers needed their own language that only certain people would ever be able to understand fully?

--when people sign a year book, why do they put their phone number in it?

--did i ever really ride the school bus in kindergarten with a bunch of high school kids, or is that just a memory that i made up? (mama....can you answer that?!?!)

--why does reusing something bother me so much more when the wrong thing is put in them ... for example putting coke cans in a doctor pepper box?

--when god made cats (and by cats i mean turbo), did he do that with the intended purpose of annoying people (and by people i mean me), or was it to allow people (and by people i mean me) to experience hell on earth?

--why are there so many words that are pronounced the same, but spelled differently?

random thoughts

2009-07-31T05:00:00.003-04:00

so it only took
60 days....
for me to cook a meal!!!!

yep,
i cooked for the first time since flake moved to texas
.....
well, to be honest,
i cooked for the first time since flake and i got married....
but still! :)

-------------------------------------------------

my flake needs your prayers
and so do i
i can't really explain now (but boy don't i want to)
but just know that we are dumbfounded, confused, and frustrated
and we need your help to keep our heads above water
so PRAY!!!
(and as soon as i can, i'll update you on what is going on)

-------------------------------------------------

i'm not exactly sure why the president chose to drink beer with those two men
to be quite honest, i feel like drinking beer isn't the best choice
couldn't they have talked their problem out without alcohol?!?!
i personally have nothing against drinking
but i never ever drink and put it out there for impressionable people
....aka....KIDS!
what is this teaching the children in our country?
what is this saying to all the people who have had drinking problems in the past?
why?

-------------------------------------------------

why has my nbc affiliate decided to pick regis and kelly up right in the middle of the today show? now don't get me wrong, i love regis and kelly, but it frustrates me when they just start the regis and kelly right in the middle of what is going and then drop back over to the today show. i feel like i've missed so much!

-------------------------------------------------

texting
i love to text!!
i just wish that everyone i knew texted
why is it that some people are so against texting?

-------------------------------------------------

i love love love the last bankable day of the month!

-------------------------------------------------

a good friend of mine, needs your prayers for her daughter
her precious daughter is 5 months old.
the little one was born with spina bifida
and as you can imagine, has already gone through a lot in her little life
last friday, she went to the doctors and
her doctors told her mommy and daddy that she was looking great
and that she wouldn't need a shunt
and then the doctors realized they made a mistake
and want her to come in for another MRI on tuesday
the doctors are worried about the size of her head....
(but her head is in perfect proportion to the rest of her body)
please please please pray that the MRI says that she doesn't need the shunt
and that she is just a big baby!
a big PRECIOUS baby!!!

-------------------------------------------------

how can one little vitamin d pill a week
totally change my hair?
my hair used to be a little curly
but after i was prescribed vitamin d (for a deficiency)
my hair is so different and blah!
sTrAnGe!

-------------------------------------------------

i'm sure i'll have more random thoughts soon
and as soon as i can fill you in on flake
i will!
until then PRAY!!!
and pray for the precious baby!

-------------------------------------------------

so yaya suggested that i link up to

so i did!!
and if you have any random thoughts that you would like to link up to friday fragments
you should!!

traveler.....

2009-07-30T10:26:00.015-04:00

A good traveler has no fixed plans,
and is not intent on arriving. ~Lao Tzu

LF is a good traveler through and through
he loves to go
and he could care less where he goes
that is....
as long as he gets his picture taken!!

so.....
as you know
LF and i have been traveling

we stopped to see the bfarrs
and LF was almost as excited to see them as they were to see him....

but probably not as excited as i was to see them!

and then we headed to see mason and the other m's
to help mason celebrate his first birthday!
mason and uncle LF had a blast together.

mason showed uncle LF how to open a birthday present....

mason showed uncle LF how to dance....

mason showed uncle LF who gives
some of the best hugs and kisses....

and mason showed uncle LF that getting
your hands icky sticky isn't that bad.....

after mason's birthday party, LF stayed for a short visit
while i headed to texas to see the real FLAKE!!!

:)

it was so good to see him,
but as you can imagine,

it was super hard to leave!
(but atleast i had a nice new necklace to make it a little easier!)

but,
now i'm home,
hanging out with
the most precious puppy around
and catching up on lots of blog reading!!

the wandering man

2009-07-21T20:32:00.016-04:00

as you know, LF and i went on a little trip
to visit one of my most favorite people

LF and i met robin at her store on thursday
where LF got to meet the newest serta sheep

(and yes, we brought a little 3/8 home too!)

after robin got off work, the three of us headed to her house,
where we played phase 10

as you can tell, brad found the entire game excitingly WILD
and thought that it was time to skip LF when his turn came.

i personally felt that wasn't fair,
so i decided to let LF play with their dogs

but when i realized that the dogs wanted to eat LF,
i decided against their play date
and put LF in the chair beside me

which made me feel a lot better than the alternative,
but ..... after i found this

i felt a lot better about the fact that the dogs were drooling over LF.

over the next few days,
LF spent most of his time relaxing
and doing some sightseeing

he found some sunflowers

went to one of my favorite restaurants

did some shopping

and spent time supporting a friend

LF was really excited that robin and i were
running (aka walking) the road race
so he helped us celebrate with a cookout

and more phase 10 with friends!

on the way back home,
LF and i stopped by to see my nina
where LF got one of the best hugs a boy could ask for

and got to spend some time with one of the sweetest girls i know

ahh.....i love this woman.....and LF isn't bad either!

what could be better than time with a great friend
getting to see the best nina in the world
it could only have been better if the real flake had been on the trip with me!

i apologize for the comment absence,
but LF and i are off again to visit the b farr's
and then off to see the 3 m's

and then i'm leaving LF to spend some time with the 3 m's
while i go to see the real flake!
woo hoo!! :)

on the road

2009-07-17T11:36:00.003-04:00

little flake and i hit the road for a visit with one of my most favorite people
but don't worry....
we remembered

safety first!

have a great weekend!
i'll be back ..... sometime soon! :)

don't you think

2009-07-15T12:00:00.001-04:00

i need this.......

don't you think??

i'm thinking i need a little cornelius for my desk at school

and that bag wouldn't go to waist either! :)

my mama

2009-07-14T07:45:00.001-04:00

have you ever wanted to meet my mom?
i'm sure you have?
you must have spent time thinking....
i wonder what l.o.v.'s mom is like?
right?
exactly....
i knew i could read your mind!

well, since she isn't a blogger,
i have thought of the perfect way that you could get to know her....
well.....kind of!

as much as these commercials don't have my mom in them....
i felt certain this would help you get to know her

each and every time i see one of those commercials, i just crack up
not only cause they are funny
but because i can totally see my mother doing this! :)
as much as i love her, sometimes you just want new minutes!!

now if i could just convince at&t to pay my mama to be in these commercials....
all will be good!

love you mama! :)

cornelius

2009-07-12T07:45:00.003-04:00

i had this scheduled to post a few days ago, and then rescheduled it,
so i'm sorry if it showed up in your reader....

i wonder how much cooler we would all be if we had our own cornelius to take us on adventures!!

instead i'm trying to be cool by taking little flake and cornelius on adventures

i'm not so sure it is working....
but atleast we are having fun!!

i didn't vote for

2009-07-10T19:45:00.001-04:00

ok, so i don't really care to talk about politics
but i just want to say
i didn't vote for change
especially this kind of change

the kind of change
the involves
me being here
and him being here

i'm having a hard day! :/
miss that boy

pray for us!

just maybe

2009-07-08T05:00:00.000-04:00

there are days
when i wake up
and think just maybe i'm not
the only one
who thinks things like this
are just so funny

ha ha!
what is a ho?

strange

2009-07-06T21:34:00.009-04:00

who would have thought....
that the airport could make me so happy one day
and only a few days later,
make me feel so sad and empty.....
strange, huh?

my flake left again today
to go back to texas
it broke my heart to watch him walk away from me
not that i would have expected any different
but still

it made my heart hurt so much more
when this song started as soon as i started to drive away

boo for feeling sad!

so by the time i got home
i decided i was done with being sad
(as you can imagine it didn't work all that well)
i spent time finding things to keep me busy, occupied, and happy

i looking at pictures from the time we had together over the weekend
i enjoyed thinking about all the fun we had
with each other, friends, and family

but when i was done....
it was still the same....
i miss him, a lot!
:/
i guess i should be thankful that
i have this

to keep me company....

umm...
well,
i said i should be!

happy 4th

2009-07-04T05:00:00.003-04:00

fireworks
friends
great food
fun
playing cards
seeing flake
being silly
swimming
laughing
celebrating freedom

look what i found....

2009-07-02T14:30:00.000-04:00

:)
isn't it amazing what you can find at an airport!?!?!

we're off to the mountains for a few days!

trash

2009-07-01T14:07:00.006-04:00

so a few months back, flake and i got notice that we would recieve a new service in our apartment complex.
valet trash pickup

yep
that's right....
valet trash pickup

at first i found the whole service stupid, flake did too,
like the dumpster wasn't close enough to the exit of the apartment complex to just toss stuff in, but no fear....we would never have to worry about that ever again.

so finding the flyer left me with a few questions....
how lazy are people that they can't take their own trash to the dumpster?

who in their right mind would ever use a service like that?

is the complex really using our rent money to pay for such a dumb service?

who would really rely on others to take their trash to the dumpster on a daily basis...

wanna know....
ME!
i totally never thought i would ever care so much for a black trashcan
that i just put outside my door
and the nice man who comes by every sunday through thursday night at 8pm on the dot
just to pick up my trash (and all my neighbors)
i heart that man
i heart that trashcan
i heart beign lazy
i heart valet trash pickup

(this isn't really the man i heart...
but the man i heart does have a bag just like that....
but his expressions are a little less excited than this man's)

pictures

2009-06-29T10:31:00.000-04:00

jam tagged me in a picture tag challenge

and oh boy do i ever love the picture challenges

i was so super excited ....
but then i realized that i had not moved any of my pictures over from the my old computer to my new laptop (that my flake gave me as a going away present!)
i thought long and hard about how i could get the pictures from the old computer to this computer....
to be quite honest it seemed a little too much work for me
so i thought about not doing the challenge...
but really is that possible?
could i just pass up a picture challenge?
the answer...no!
ever since the first time i did a picture challenge
i can't get enough of them....
(not to mention the last time...that i tweaked the challenge a little bit)
i just love these picture challenges
because i love pictures
and the memories they bring back
so i just had to do it!

so i thought one more time about how to get my picture files and then i remembered...
snapfish
i went to my snapfish account and did the challenge using those folder
....smart huh?

i was even more excited that jam had two photo challenges in the same post,
so i got do to the same! :)

first folder, tenth picture

that is robin .... and norman kellum's head
i was down visiting robin a few years ago,
there was a big storm, which blew mr. kellum's head off his billboard.
robin's store is right beside the billboard and his head was in the parking lot when we got to her store the morning after the storm.
too funny!

sixth folder, sixth picture

that would be me
with a kid's football helmet on
at an ecu football game
one of my friends bet that i wouldn't wear the helmet to the game
so you know i had to wear it, and wear it with pride!

thanks jam for tagging me in this picture challenge!

i'm tagging who ever wants to take the challenge on,
just leave me a comment to let me know you are doing it,
so i can come over and look at your pictures too! :)

:)

2009-06-26T05:00:00.001-04:00

i know this is old....

but i totally can't stop laughing at that!!!

spoiled rotten

2009-06-24T15:05:00.007-04:00

i realized
after seeing these two pictures
that flake has spoiled these two girls rotten

i sure do hope this means there is hope for me!

bigger in texas

2009-06-20T11:30:00.000-04:00

i'm sure you have heard the saying
everything is bigger in texas

i'm not so sure i believe that statement
after seeing the trees and deer while i was in texas

but i can say, without a doubt
that somethings are bigger in texas

i'm quite sure this is the biggest leprechaun that texas has ever seen

:)

about me

2009-06-19T05:00:00.001-04:00

so the other day
i asked for help
to rewrite my about me section
and i took your advice
and mixed it together
came up with that
-------------------------------------------------->

thanks again for giving me ideas!

and days go by

2009-06-16T13:17:00.024-04:00

And days go by
I can feel 'em flyin'
Like a hand out the window in the wind.
The cars go by...
Yeah it's all we've been given,
So you better start livin' right now
'Cause days go by...
*Days go by--Keith Urban
and the days certainly have gone by
since the last time i posted...

on wednesday
my little friends and i went to a play
in a big kid class (aka second grade)
the big kids had worked really hard
on learning their lines
making costumes
and props
and background for their own production of
jack and the beanstalk
my little friends had the most fun watching the big kids
act out the story of jack and those magic beans.
after school, i went and got my hair cut
not a big deal to most people...but for some strange reason i just don't like getting my hair cut
but when i got home and little flake approved....

i was excited about my new cut!

on thursday....
my little friends had field day...
i was totally excited
i love field day
we all had matching shirts....

and we were ready to go
we talked about our expectations for the day
and we talked about all the fun we were going to have

the day was so very nice
overcast and cool
which made for being outside so very nice....

16 stations full of fun and enjoyment
we started at station 12
and made our way around
when we got to station 14
one of my little friends made a not so nice choice...
he decided to choke a friend
leaving me to think
really?!?! did i just see that with my eyes?!?!
sad...but true...
i asked him what his punishment should be...
he said
"be done with fun"
and that is exactly what he did

so there he sat...being done with the fun.....sitting beside me (also having no fun), and watching the rest of our friends enjoy field day

that was....until we got around to station 9
and all my little friends lost it
seriously....
for some reason my entire class got in a fight over a ball...
and that is when i decided my little friends were done
my assistant and i marched all our friends around the track and back inside.
and we rested our bodies until we could make good choices again
oh choices
after school....i got to go out to dinner with some great friends and celebrate the end of the school year! yay!!

on friday
some school friends and i met for breakfast at ihop before our last day. one of our friends was moving....so we needed one more time out with her before she left :(

then we had the joy of going to school
one more time
and my little friends had the joy of being kindergartners .... one more time...
this day was exciting in so many ways
but most of all
because mr. caterpillar
the one who my little friends have watched grow and learn each and every school day

went from simply a caterpillar
to a big beautiful butterfly
each day we have added a number to mr. caterpillar
and watched him make his way around our room
we used mr. caterpillar for so many things when it came to learning
he helped us learn our numbers
he helped us learn about patterns
he helped us learn to skip count (by 2's and 5's and 10's)
he helped us learn about how living creatures change and grow
we just love mr. caterpillar....
but my little friends loved his new form just as much!
we were all so excited to see mr. caterpillar become mr. butterfly
that we had to show our friends from next door too
they were super excited too!!

after mr. caterpillar became mr. butterfly
my little friends helped to take all the tape off of mr. caterpillar
and then we put his numbers in order from 1 to 180
fun for them
help for me
....all of us benefited from the activity!

after all our fun with mr. caterpillar,
we had a lot of fun playing outside
and eating ice cream
and just taking in our last moments as kindergartners
and as soon as the bell rang....
the kids
and their teacher
were OUT THE DOOR!!!

after school, i met one of my bestest friends for dinner, who also is a teacher, and we had a blast talking all about how our year had gone, and how thankful we were that the year was over :)
yay for dinner and friends!

on saturday morning
i headed to the airpot (at 4:05 am)
to fly to texas to see flake
it was so exciting to see his precious face!!
we had lot of fun on saturday driving around his new home town
looking at new things
and just talking
and being together

:) i sure had missed him!

on sunday we got up....looking for something to do
a little too late to find a church
so we decided to rent a jetski and head out on the lake
we had so much fun
the best part for me was seeing the cows by and in the water

i have never seen a cow even close to water....
so i just couldn't get enough of how cute they were in the water
flake couldn't get enough of the real estate on the lake

neither of us could get enough of being together

and just having a blast!

i also got the joy of meeting his landlord
all i can say is that he is an interesting man
and by interesting i mean
annoying and weird
but .... to each their own

on the way home from dinner.....
we saw an armadillo
flake had been told that he would never see one alive in texas....
and i made it my mission to find one alive....
and was so super excited that we found one only days after he moved down!
:)
sadly....i didn't have my camera with me
and have no proof....other than we both saw it

on monday
flake had to go to work
which didn't make me all to happy
being that i was left to find something to do
i did have a job of finding him a cleaners
and meeting him for lunch
i did both of those things
as well as explored around his new town
i didn't find very much that was exciting to tell him about
not for lack of trying
but for lack of exciting things to show him
it makes me a little sad
that he has moved to a place that has no target or radio stations....
but i too will adapt
(right?!?!)
after he got off work, we had another great night of being together....
we went out to eat and went and looked at the cutest little house
and when we got back to his new home
i got my stuff together to leave the next day
:/

on tuesday
i took flake to work
and went back to his new home
and got ready very slowly (aka i texted with a few friends for about two hours, before i got ready)
after getting ready, i headed to the store and printed a picture for flake
to keep on his desk
and then i went to his work.
i met all the great people that he is working with,
and then hung out with him until it was time to leave for the airport
my heart broke a little when he dropped me off, and then headed to a meeting he had scheduled in austin
but
i had plenty of time (while waiting for my delayed flight) to think about how lucky i was to have spent such a great weekend with him
and that i will again see him in only two weeks
and that these days are flying by
like a hand out the window in the wind
:)

i need your help

2009-06-08T08:00:00.003-04:00

i need help with ......

rewriting that....
my about me section
because
technically
i'm l.o.v.
i do live in nc
without my sweet boy flake (aka my husband)
who officially lives in texas....with an address and all
without a dog named diesel...who now is staying with flake's parents because i
still live with a cat named turbo (and i can't handle their "playing")
i spend my days with 5 year olds...and still learn most of life's lessons from them, however summer is just around the corner (4 more days!!!!!!) ...and i wish not to spend any days with those little friends for a few weeks :)
and i still and always will love the lord with all my heart and praise him daily from being able to be his child!
and i'm still up for being asking me questions....

so do you think you can help??

oh and happy 100th post!
yay!

not...but...and

2009-06-06T13:43:00.004-04:00

this past tuesday
i went to the doctor
because my foot
had been hurting
since the previous wednesday
the same foot
that 13 years before
i had broken during a chorus show
while singing, and dancing,
to this song

as you can imagine...
it was not only amazing but also awesome and way cool (not to mention FUNNY that i actually hurt myself!)

so last wednesday morning....
i put both my feet on the floor, stretched my body, and then went to stand up...
and then it hit me
OUCH!!
my foot hurt
it hurt in the same way
that i remember my foot hurting on that night so many years ago....
but....what ever...
i realized that not only did i have to get over it but that it would get better and i wouldn't even think about it in an hour....
so off i went, i got ready, i went on with my day...and thought it would fix itself once i got going...

it did not,
but in fact....
it hurt each and every time i put pressure on it....each and every time i took a step....
and seemed to get worse
so i went on with thursday
still hurting
friday...still hurting
saturday....still hurting
sunday....still hurting
monday...still hurting
tuesday....still hurting...
thankfully i had a doctor's appointment for some blood work that afternoon, and i got them to take a look at my foot. before i even saw the doctor, they went ahead and did some xrays...then moved me to a room
i sat....and sat....
and then the doctor came in with the good and bad news
she said....well
it is not broken but is fractured and you have a sprain
then she asked what had happened...
to be quiet honest
i don't know
so i'm assuming....
i fractured it while running one day....
the same day that i fell while i was running
my hip hurt that day
and my ankle did....but nothing more than my hip
but enough that i must have been protecting it while walking....
resulting in a sprain
it just makes me laugh!

so as i sit here today....
the first day i have been able to just sit...
and put my foot up....and do NOTHING
i've had time to think....it makes me realize that my ankle
is just like my heart right now
it is not broken but is fractured and is hurting being away from my flake
i miss him
i am happy for him...yet
i am sad to be away from him
i am excited for him and all his new experiences....yet
i am frustrated that he is experiencing texas with out me
yet
i realize that all of this is a test & a gift from God
we will work hard to pass this test,
the whole being away from each other will continue to not be the easiest,
but we realize this will benefit us and make us stronger in so many ways.

tattle tale

2009-06-03T16:00:00.001-04:00

there came a day when i had heard
my little friends tattle tale one to many times
that was the day that the tattle tale box was introduced into my class.

the same day i introduced the box, i explained to my little friends that for the tattle tale box to work, my little friends must write down who did it, what they did, and their own name.

so....for the next few days....most of the notes looked like this...

some of the kids....got it
most of the kids....well....didn't get it...

so after a few days of some of my kids doing what they could to convey the meanings of their tattle tales (and totally struggling), i suggested that they could draw pictures of the problem, but i still needed names.....

which left me with these.....

now my only problem
is trying to figure out.....
exactly what the person did?!?!

so what do you think???

what on earth did this person do???
my assistant said....someone got upset because someone else passed gas!

and.....did someone tattle on me??

and if so...what did i do???

bad and good

2009-06-01T09:00:00.003-04:00

the bad news

so....
its official
my flake left this morning

he got a call on friday afternoon that changed his plans
which allowed him to stay here until this morning
which i am ever so grateful for
but it sure was hard to let him go
and you can imagine
my breakfast wasn't as sweet
without my cornflake!
:/

he is heading to pittsburgh
and then after some work there
he will officially head to texas....
so for the next week or so,
his life will continue to be up in the air
god bless his heart
(and mine too)

the good news

so these are the things making me smile today....
i got to see flake for two days more than i was supposed to!!

i got to kiss flake good morning one more time before he left!!!

only 9 more school days

diesel is spending time with her grandparents (flake's parents)
and enjoying herself and all her outside time

going to see church at my daddy's church yesterday, and getting to see my parents
then...dinner with flake's parents and grandmother
:) it was a great day!!

my little friends at school are ecstatic about mr. caterpillar becoming a butterfly
(i've got pictures coming of mr. caterpillar, and his cocoon.....)

my bulletin boards at school look SOOOOO good, thanks to flake's mom....
and yes mrs. g, they noticed!!! :)

my new laptop (from my sweet flake) is super duper exciting!!!

i found (and bought)crocs....in my size, and color.....even though the croc company has stopped making the kind i like :) yay!!

and....if all goes well, i get to see flake in 11 more days!! :)

(and how could i forget....spell check....without it, this post would be really sad!!!)

flaws in a picture

2009-05-27T16:00:00.001-04:00

so, the other day, i posted that i'm struggling
flake and i have been struggling
waiting to hear the news....
about how our lives would change....

so here is the picture
i've spent a lot of time looking at this picture...

do you see what is wrong with it?

no,
well,
take a closer look....

to the untrained eye...
it might be hard to see
but there is a flaw
a major flaw

here take a closer look

do you see it now?!?!

well, if not, maybe this will help....

now do you see the flaw?
i'm sure you do...
yep ...
something is in north carolina
and something is in texas....
but what?!?!

there, that picture is even more clear
do you see the flaw?!?!
i'm sure you do....but do you understand the flaw?
if you do, then maybe you can explain to me how it happened...
:/

so for the next year or so....

this will be my view of the world

flake got a job down in texas...
and i'm staying here in nc...
we have our responsible reasons why being apart is gonna be the right choice for us...
the company flake will be working for is going through restructuring....we want to make sure that the job is a sure thing before packing our lives up...and both heading down....
i already committed to being at my school through the end of next year....and i need to finish up my third year of teaching, in order to be fully licensed in nc...and hopefully making it easier to get a teaching job down in texas (however that is seeming quite hard...apparently they don't have a birth-kindergarten certification down in texas....but i have a year to figure this out!?!?!)
but i still have the right to feel sad about his being away from me...
you know, i kind of like him
and having him around isn't all that bad either :)

we've prayed about this
we know this is going to be hard
but we know HE would not give us something we could not handle...
either way....we (i) have come up with a few ways to make this next year go by a little quicker...
*flake will come back home once a month,
and i'll head down once a month (i've already told my principal i'll be taking a few days without pay each month...she didn't seem to mind too much)
*i've already picked out lots of jewlery that i feel like will make up for the fact that i don't get to see him, and his leaving will not be as hard with a nice new piece of jewlery to keep my mind off of things...
*to make up for a lack of pictures with my sweet cornflake....
i'll be taking this with me on all my adventures

and diesel might come too, since she can't be left out of adventures

struggling

2009-05-24T06:18:00.003-04:00

i do not like the unknown
i dislike surprises
i am not good at waiting
so while my our future is up in the air,
i'm struggling
all i can think about is the unknown
all i can think about is timing
all i can think about is when

i'm so ready to know
when my our life will change
how my our life will change
if my our life will change

so
until then i WE need
prayers
for patience
and god's will
and peace of mind

and until i we know
what the future holds
i'm gonna do my best to remember

and kiss my flakes precious face
every chance i get
and thank god for how lucky i am to have flake
not to mention great family, friends, and faith that keeps me going.

may 17

2009-05-17T05:00:00.003-04:00

the plans were made
the dress was bought
the suit was pressed
invitations were sent
flowers were delivered
decorations were out
the guests had arrived
the music had started
the ceremony happened
a kiss was exchanged
and two people became man and wife
two people who went on to live and laugh with each other for years to come
two people who were strong in faith and strong in love
two people who had a daughter who loved and adored them
two people whose daughter went on to marry and have children of her own
two people whose grandchildren grew to love and adore them like no other
two people who left a legacy of faith, love, and family, especially with their granddaughter,
who thought of no better way to honor them, their love, their life, and their memory
than to marry on their anniversary

happy 63rd anniversary grandmother and papa tom
happy 1st anniversary to my sweet precious flake

thank you bic

2009-05-14T05:30:00.000-04:00

so what was i thinking.....
that lighters were just
something
that people used
and didn't seek to collect
for their special editions
silly me!

thank you bic
for setting me straight
never again will i question
why people buy lighters.....

but if you don't mind
could you help fill me in with
what on earth do two lighters have to do with each other?
and what on earth are they a special edition for?

measurment

2009-05-13T05:30:00.000-04:00

i wait all year long for this day
i count down the days to this day
like i do to the 100th day of school
and like i do to the 180th day of school
(which happens to be 21 more days!!)

this is the day we make body cut outs!

this lesson is part of our measurment science kits....
we use these body cut outs for tons of things
we use them while we learn about units of measurement
(non-standard and standard)
we use them to talk about how we are alike and different
we use them to compare and contrast our own bodies

but the number one reason i love to use these body cut outs

is to laugh at how the kids see themselves!
:)

oh outside

2009-05-11T05:00:00.000-04:00

this past week, my friends and i went on our very last field trip
for the kindergarten year
we spent the day exploring nature
at tanglewood park

we listened to stories about being in the woods and meadows
we listened to stories about using our senses
we listened for new sounds,
we looked at the clouds
we rolled in the grass
we learned that getting dirty wasn't too bad
we had fun looking at fish, trying to catch frogs, and capturing bugs
we had a blast....

then we got back on the bus
to head....
to the park!

where the kids played played played
until it was time to eat lunch....
and then played played played until they couldn't play anymore!

it was a super beautiful day
full of fun exploration
and learning!

happy mother's day!

2009-05-10T09:20:00.002-04:00

happy mother's day!!!
to all the special women in my life,
who help me realize what an awesome job
being a mom is! :)

love to you all!!

stealing

2009-05-09T10:47:00.002-04:00

i just stole this from randi
for some reason, i love these meme things....
so i just had to do it! :0)

what is your current obsession:
counting the number of days left in school!
24 more!! :)

whats your weirdest obsession:
i can't stand for my fingernails or toenails to have any white at the ends.....i HAVE to cut it off!

what are you wearing today:
i'm still in my pj's....i tend not to want to get dressed on days i am doing laundry!

what would you like to learn to do:
lots of things
html stuff
knit
photo editing
scrapbooking (both digital and for real)
clean ... and get rid of all the cat, dog, and l.o.v. hair.... (it is EVERYWHERE!!!!!!)
sew (so i could make curtains and cute stuff for my home)
paint my fingernails/toenails (you would think i could do such a thing, but NO luck!!)

last thing you bought:
prescriptions

what are you listening to:
the dryer and the ac

favorite weather:
NOT SUMMER!!!
i LOVE LOVE LOVE when it is cold!!!!
but could live for the rest of my life in 60 degree weather

most challenging goal right now:
giving all my worries to God!
and trusting Him to make the decisions for our future
:/

favorite guilty pleasure:
staying in bed all day and watching golden girls!
:)
those days don't come very often, but they are the best!!! :)

favorite vacation spot:
i do so love the beach and the mountains
but i'll be happy anywhere, as long as i can have time to relax

if you could go anywhere in the world right now for an hour, where would you go:
not too far away....
i would go to durham to see BBF
i miss her toooo much!

favorite thing about the city you live in:
it isn't too big, but has lots to do, and i've made some really good friends here

favorite piece of clothing you own:
pj pants and hoodie sweatshirts
:)

whats your dream job:
well, i want to teach (i guess i can check that off the list)
be a developmental specialist (and work with sweet precious babies!!)
and be a mommy (some day :))

describe your personal style:
i'm
easy going and ocd at the same time..
loud and quite at the same time...
outgoing and shy at the same time...
serious and funny at the same time...
brave and scared at the same time...

so i guess you can say....
i'm confused! :)

if you had to slap one person with no repercussions who would it be and why:
well, i have one person in mind,
however, i don't think i can say!
guess you will have to email me to find out!
ha!!

green is good

2009-05-08T05:30:00.001-04:00

at school
we have a discipline chart that has colors...you know kind of like a stop light, but we use paws....and we have five colors
i despise the whole negative discipline thing....
but it is what it is...and i do it because i am told to....
but i honestly feel like the kids would get farther in life if we focused on the positives, and redirected the negative..... especially in kindergarten
and this is why i'm on the discipline committee,
and why i feel the need to give my granola (as my assistant principal describes my "hippie" ideas) approach to discipline but until change happens....we will continue with how the world is right now.....

each day, the children start on green,
and move through colors as consequences for their behaviors.
so green is good!
i do what i can to encourage the kids to stay on green (or scare them to do the right thing), and promised them at the beginning of the year an everybody on green paw party if we all could do the right thing for a number of days.....
our goal was 100 days, with every one on green!
i realized quickly that if we got to 50 days....that was going to be an accomplishment worth celebrating.....
so in april....
we finally did it!
50 days with EVERYONE on green!
i set out to find green things....
that could reward them for their behavior....
we had green apples,
green peeps
broccoli
celery
and apple grape juice in green boxes....

i was oh so excited for their accomplishments
AND
totally surprised that i had NO broccoli or celery left over!

friends

2009-05-06T05:00:00.000-04:00

ever since i was a little girl,
since i was five, but close to six years old,
i have had four special friends
four friends who have never let me down
four friends who can always pick me up when i need a laugh
and, thanks to modern technology,
four friends who can always be there for me with the touch of a button!

as i look back on my relationship with them,
i wonder why my parents let me be friends with them
but then i realize, they were friends with them too!

but now, as our relationship continues
i am so thankful that i know these four ladies

rose, sophia, dorothy and blanche
thank you for being a friend!
i love their stories,
their sarcasm,
their singing,
their dreams,
i just love them!!!!!

so you can imagine, yesterday, i was so excited, as i always am, when i most favorite episode came on!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE when sophia sings....

god bless that sicilian woman!

sharing is caring!

2009-05-04T19:00:00.001-04:00

so my school bff
sent me a text the other day that said
"some lady is bringing some books to my office, i'll let you know when they get here, you can have some for your classroom."

YAY! free books! i love that!

i got a text from her friday that said
"seriously?
the books....
ARE HERE!"

OH BOY! :)

so after school, i talked to her
and she told me the story
and it was just toooo sweet not to share...

so a lady, who is a parent at another school in our school system,
and her daughter
brought the books to our school.

the sweet lady said that the kids at her daughter's school had heard that the kids at our school didn't have very much money for books, and the kids decided do do a book drive.

they collected three huge boxes full of books

and decorate the boxes to let the kids know they were thinking of them

just cause!

how stinking sweet is that!!!

my kids don't know it yet,
but they will spend tomorrow reading, reading, reading,
and making thank you note cards
for these precious children who thought enough about them to share with them! :)

what better way

2009-05-04T05:30:00.003-04:00

field trips are such a great way to learn things!!!
back in april....
my little friends and i went with the kindergarten on a field trip
to the most amazing place ever...
and when i say amazing, i mean amazing for the kids AND the teachers....
the moment our buses drove up,
the workers at the heritage theater were waiting for us.

the heritage theater is a small little school house, which was started by a retired teacher (i found out later that it was started by the same retired teacher than flake and i went looking for while we were on our honeymoon, because he knew that she had built a school house museum on the blue ridge parkway. we were unable to find her, because according to the locals she had 'closed her school house museum down to start some theater back where she came from.' you can imagine his excitement to know she was still out there influencing young people's learning like she had for him.) this retired teacher decided that she wanted to expose children to all different types of things from the past, but allow them to learn with an hands on approach. the retired teacher, who calls her self granny blue ridge, works with her friend mama blue, and some high school students to give children this cool experience.

as soon as granny blue ridge and the others took all the kids from the teachers, they divided them into 6 groups. the workers took the kids through 6 different stations, and taught them all about what kids did a long time ago...the toys they played with, the schools they went to, etc.

all the while....
the teachers got to sit in rocking chairs and be pampered....seriously....they had drinks, snacks, lotions, little massage things, manicure and pedicure materials, books, magazines, and time just to relax!

it was an awesome experience....
the kids got to make their own toys, just like the kids a long time ago would play with, and they got to experience other toys, which made their learning so much more meaningful to them
and at the end of all the fun, the kids got to learn one more thing....
how people made and enjoyed music a long time ago....

and what better way to learn that....
than laughing at your teachers,

as they played in a band!!

oh april

2009-05-02T02:26:00.010-04:00

oh april was such a busy month for me!
i never realized it would keep me so busy OR that i would stay away from blogger and my bloggy friends for so long, but it did!
i had been thinking that all of you were just left wondering what was going on with me, but then i realized that april was kind enough to hack into my account and give you an update on my whereabouts!
thank goodness for the dear sweet month of april!

april was so full for me, and i'm excited for all the fun that i experienced, yet so excited that MAY is here! (and i do hope may will not need to hack into my account!)

while i was gone.......
my brother got married!

he and his beautiful wife had the first of their three weddings.
this first wedding was on easter sunday at my parents church and home.
it was an exciting time, for all of us and was totally a family affair!
paul and andreea, along with a few helping hands, prepared ALL the food for a traditional romanian easter feast. (andreea is romainian)
andreea's mother arranged all the flowers,
my father preformed the ceremony,
and everyone else helped in every possible way.....especially when it came time to eat!

i also ran(most of) my first 5k.

it was a fun training journey,
which i learned a lot....made new friends...and remembered why i enjoyed running!
so i'm looking forward to running another 5k....beating my time, and running the entire thing!
OH and i hope to keep a smile on my face....and not look like i do in the picture at the top left of this collage....i look like i was hating life!

we went camping
and for some reason, i don't have many pictures from the adventure....
but the memories i have will last for many years to come!
we left town after work on a friday afternoon, and headed up to the nicest campground i have ever stayed in, only problem....we couldn't find it!
we (flake & i, along with a group of friends) traveled up in 4 separate cars, none of us leaving at the same time, and every one of us got lost when the directions ran out!
after we finally got there, and got settled, the adventure began.
we had a blast, and i learned a few things....

*take socks for flake....so he doesn't have to wear mine when he gets cold at night....

(and yes he has one on inside out!)

*when we go tubing, I WILL GET WET! despite what flake tries to convince me of.....i now know that there is NO possible way to not get drenched!!!!! or loose your sun glasses....or stay warm in mountain water in the middle of april!

*when the camp host warns you to put ALL coolers away at night....into the cars....so the bear who has never come this far into the campsite, but who does live around these parts will not get into your things.....he means.....PUT YOUR COOLER AWAY!
even if flake seems to think there isn't anything in it, and because it is a metal cooler, the bear wouldn't want to get in it any way....

WRONG!
it is hard to see, but those are his "finger" prints on the bottom right hand corner
the bear was able to get into our cooler....and let me tell you bears are picky!
in the cooler was a random assortment of things....beer, woodchuck, jelly, 2 half gallon lemonades, cheese (in one of those plastic cases), and pringles (the little 100 calorie serving containers).
the only thing that wasn't just bothered, but actually missing was the cheese...and the container...
thank goodness that one of the little kids who went camping with us, found the cheese case in the woods!

so, you can imagine, how fun and exciting the month was....
lets just hope for may to be the same! :)
except for the whole bloggy hiatus!

i'm back.....

2009-04-30T16:26:00.000-04:00

i'm back.....but until i show ALL of you some love....
i'll refrain from posting!

:)

hacking....

2009-04-19T18:44:00.003-04:00

ATTENTION!!!!!

i'm tired of this!
so i decided to hack into l.o.v.'s account
and let you know that even though she is spending all her time ignoring me,
i'm still here....

over the past few weeks she has spent so much time making excuses....
she keeps saying things like....
i've got parent/teacher conferences
i've got to go running
i've got to stay for parent academy
i've got a meeting after school
i've got to go to a baby shower
i've got to clean the apartment
i've got to get to work early to finish up a lesson for today
i've got to throw my little friends a party at school for doing the right thing
i've got to get stuff for easter
i've got to get ready for my brother's wedding
i've got to wash clothes
i've got to go to the store
i've got to go to the doctor
i've got to go camping
i've got to go to dinner with some friends
i've got to get my stuff together for the ready schools grant
i've got to get over to smart start to make a presentation

it is to the point that all i am hearing is
YADA YADA YADA!

well, let me tell you,
looking at me the other day l.o.v. did say, "wow, it has been days since i was last able to check up on my bloggy friends"
but did she do anything about it?

NO!

all she did was write all over me, and keep on going!
seriously....what is this?
why is it ever time i come around, l.o.v. is way too busy to spend any quality time with me.
all she can say is....
"i'll finish all this soon enough"...
just like the showers that are associated with my name

so, until then,
until she is done,

i'll still be here....feeling used
--april

p.s. she did say she will do her best to catch up with all her bloggy friends soon....
but probably closer to the end of the showers....and the beginning of the flowers!

random

2009-04-05T21:19:00.007-04:00

i had been trying to find out how to make my friend's buttons scroll for a few months now! i've been searching high and low....but apparently i wasn't using the right phrases for my search.....
do any of you have that problem? i sure do love google, but from time to time, i really wish it knew what i was thinking!!

so a big thank you to alex for helping me get my buttons to scroll!!
go check out her blog!!
and while you are there....grab her button....
and if you are in the button grabbing mood....grab mine too!

-------------------------------------------------------

from this post
some of you wanted to know....
what is wc?

wash cloths
wine coolers
whipped cream
wood chuck
white chocolate

your ideas......were great.....
and made me laugh....
so i totally googled wc...
and decided to add to that list....

weatherford college
world cup
wc (william l. calhoon, jr....he is a rapper)
workers' compensation
west central
weselyan college
war crimes
world connect
wing commander

so....what is wc?
that was flakes way of saying
wood chuck
which is my fav!!

-------------------------------------------------------

so my bloggy friend randi
LOOOOOOOVES make up!
most of the time,
i just read the post.....
and don't comment
BUT lately randi has been having lots of fun changing her backgrounds.....
so the other day i was over on her blog and decided to comment on this post
i personally have nothing to add to a make-up conversation....
so i left a comment that said....
don't do makeup
......
so i'm gonna comment on your background....totally cute!
which sparked jam's curiosity.....
wondering about the fact that i "don't do makeup"
so jam....this is for you....
yes...i don't do makeup
it makes me feel icky...and sticky.....and i just don't understand the need of it.....
i can count on one hand how many times i have had makeup on in the past 10 years....
and .... i have pictures of both occasions....

the day i got my bridal portraits done....
and the day flake and i got married...
i personally felt like i looked like a street walker....
and after my portraits were done....i had lunch with flake and he said...."what's wrong with your eyes?" guess he thought so too!
but in all honesty....i look pretty much the same as i do any other day!
so....jam....
does that fill your need for pictures?!?!

-------------------------------------------------------

speaking of weddings.....
my brother is getting married this weekend! yay!

-------------------------------------------------------

this......
totally was google's april fools
and apparently, they have done stuff like that in the past!
2000
2002
2004
2005
2006
2007 & this
2008 & this (which i think is my favorite!)
those silly google techs!
i guess they need to have some fun now and then.....
either that, or know what i am thinking when i type in .....whatever i want to know!

-------------------------------------------------------

i'm sure you have all seen the etrade videos with the little baby....
totally cute!
he cracks me up!

when it comes to cute, the etrade baby is right up there with zoe!

but this got me thinking....

i wonder.....do you think my nephew mason would like to do some trading?

say.....some uncle flake and aunt l.o.v. time....for....a cat?!?!

-------------------------------------------------------

have a happy monday!
:)

classy

2009-04-04T05:00:00.003-04:00

the other day
flake and i had the following text conversation...

flake: how is your day?
lov: mmmm....ok
yours?
flake: been good....when will you be home?
lov: after 4
flake: will you stop by the store and get some wc and beer?
lov: sure
flake: k, see you when you get home

about 15 minutes later
lov: don't you have a case of beer beside the fridge?
flake: no silly, that is just a box!
lov: why do you have an empty beer box beside the fridge?
flake: because it's classy, that's why!

so i wonder....
what does this mean??

say it aint so....

2009-04-02T05:30:00.002-04:00

so this morning,
i was checking my gmail
(and boy do i ever love gmail
especially when i see the new things from the google labs....)
when i noticed the newest "find"
i clicked on the bright red link
that was just begging to be clicked on....which brought up this
Gmail Autopilot by CADIE

typically i think....
how exciting...another google thing to keep me busy....wasting my time....
but as soon as i started reading this....
all i could think...
you've got to be kidding me

the page starts out with....
As more and more everyday communication takes place over email, lots of people have complained about how hard it is to read and respond to every message. This is because they actually read and respond to all their messages.
ha!

google was nice enough to give some sample autopilot messages.....

ha!ha!

then....google was good enough to explain the following to us with some FAQ
How does Gmail mirror my communication style?
The more Gmail messages Autopilot can sample, the better. With fewer than 100 messages, there may not be enough data to calibrate Autopilot effectively. You can adjust tone, typo propensity, and preferred punctuation from the Autopilot tab under Settings.
You may want to log in every week or so to ensure Autopilot is calibrated optimally.

Does Autopilot work for Gmail chat too?
Yes. Chat was actually simpler to build, given the natural language headway made by Joseph Weizenbaum's ELIZA. While many claim ELIZA oft times passed the Turing test, Gmail Autopilot passes with 99.9% accuracy due to the inclusion of human-like qualities such as compassion and wisdom and CADIE's related ability to calibrate to match your chat style.

What happens if a sender and recipient both have Autopilot on?
Two Gmail accounts can happily converse with each other for up to three messages each. Beyond that, our experiments have shown a significant decline in the quality ranking of Autopilot's responses and further messages may commit you to dinner parties or baby namings in which you have no interest.

ha! ha! ha!

so then i started thinking....

please say it aint so....

maybe just maybe
this was google's way of saying
april fools!!

and if it wasn't!
please please....what could be next!?!?

street view

2009-04-01T05:00:00.000-04:00

so a few months back
i got an email from an ex boyfriend
all it said....
go to google maps, type in your parent's address, and click street view. too funny....
my first thought
NO!
i don't have to!
and i'm not listening to you!

my second thought...
(coupled by anger)
WHY!?!?
why are you looking up my parents address on google maps?!?!

my third thought...
(coupled with curiosity)
WHAT?!?!
what could it be?
why do i need to go look?

my fourth thought...
FINE!!
ok, i'll do it,
but not cause you told me to
just cause

my fifth thought...
HAHAHA!!!
but, not cause he was right,
remember, i only looked cause i wanted to....

that is totally my mama checking and reading the mail!
too funny!!

my sixth thought...
im SUPER glad my parents have moved
and he doesn't know
just in case...
i mean...
it is just a little creepy that he was looking up my parents address
....
ha!!

you got me again!

2009-03-29T19:00:00.004-04:00

i am not the most keen on driving....
well, i don't mind it,
but i would rather not drive on the highway,
or any major roads....
and in a perfect world, i would be the only one on the road...while i am driving....
but because that last one isn't possible,
i seem to figure out how to get where i want to go,
through neighborhoods, and back roads, and all that fun jazz....

well there is this neighborhood that i can cut through to get to and from the road that the mall is on....
its an nice little neighborhood with enough traffic calming things...to make a normal person hate to drive through it,
however, i love it!

all except for this

yeah i know
it seems harmless enough
its just a stop sign ahead warning sign

so you may wonder....
why do i hate that sign so much

i'll tell you

for some reason tonight
i felt the need to come to a complete stop at that sign,
on my way home from the mall....
i sat there....
and wait for the cars at the nearby intersection to go....
and wondered
why haven't they gone?
what is wrong with them?
don't they know they have the right of way?
i even went so far as to beeping my horn....to say....HELLO!!! you can go!!
all to realize...
i didn't have to stop
i was in the wrong...
i was the idiot...
not them!

so i just .... went,
then got to the stop sign
and actually did the right thing...
stopping,
and then going again
like a normal driver would do!
but feeling all to stupid to admit i was wrong!

ok, so the worst part about this....
and the most funny part....
i've done this like 10 times in the past year!
seriously!
and each and every time...
i think the same things
and then feel like a complete idiot when i figure out....
i didn't have to stop!

she's my favorite!!

2009-03-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

i love zoe!
the first time i ever heard her read
five little ducks

i was so hooked by her!
she is tooooo flipping cute!!

so for your viewing pleasure....
here are some of my favorite zoe videos
the lord's prayer

children obey your parents

i've got the joy joy joy

amazing grace

because he lives

i love you lord

there are so many more!
:)
i can't wait to see what she does next!

zoe's youtube page is....
http://www.youtube.com/user/zoeitoh

warning!!!

2009-03-24T05:00:00.000-04:00

if you have kids
you need to know all about this
i'm for sure going to go to school
and talk with my kids about
this horrible epidemic...
it is totally scary
and only we can help to keep kids
and ourselves safe
being a child of the 80's
i am so thankful that the vaccination was available
but kids these days....
they have other things to worry about....
so being the adults in their lives....
please please take heed to this warning
and get the children in your lives vaccinated!

am i supposed to laugh?!?

2009-03-22T07:52:00.004-04:00

found a new blog that makes me laugh!

president barack obama's teleprompter has its own blog
to be quite honest, i'm not 100% sure this blog should be funny
but i think it is,
but even if it isn't
i am going to keep laughing like it is! :)
so i'm not big on politics
i've got my opinions, but i honestly don't like to talk about them
but in a nut shell....
here is my #1 political view....
i feel that who ever is elected president
will do a far better job at it than i ever could
and that is why,
not matter what any one else says
i feel that all our past presidents
and present president
and respective future presidents
will all do amazing jobs with the circumstances they have at hand....

so because i don't really get into politics....i was quite shocked at how much i was interested in this blog!!!
i think the best part of the blog is, totus (as it likes to be called)
is quite honest about all the happenings that are going on
especially when it comes to his job.
cause you know....
his job is stressful
and
his job is crucial
i mean, he does know the president so well,
that he helps to finish his sentences!

thank goodness that totus has taken time out of his busy schedule
to keep the masses informed!
and keep me laughing!!!

the pictures will take you to his blog!

maybe i should just....

2009-03-19T21:07:00.004-04:00

as i sat here this morning,
to have some quiet time
with me, god, and the birds chirping outside...
it was perfect...
and just what i needed...
until
i heard turbo going to town in the bathroom unrolling the toilet paper!
UGH!!!

all i can think....
maybe we should buy the scott's 1000 sheets roll, so she has more to work with?!?!

frustrated

2009-03-18T17:12:00.003-04:00

i just received an email that said....

You will be getting a new student Thursday morning. He is coming from Mexico.

seriously....
i have no problem with getting yet another e.l.l. kid....
but shouldn't there be some cut off for transfers
or for that matter....new enrollments

i mean it is hard enough on our transient population
when an e.l.l. kid transfers from one school to another in our county....
in fact, our county research says transferring sets an e.l.l. student back a minimum of 6 weeks

but...that is when the kid has actually been in an english speaking environment....
how completely unfair is it that these poor kids are enrolled....
with only 57 more days of school, and expected to be able to preform at grade level by the time the school year ends?!?!?!

and to make matters worse, this poor baby (and all the other ones who move to our school from mexico), can not be held back, even if he is not ready for first grade. by law, we are not allowed to hold a child back due to a language barrier....which i completely understand, however, if we are teaching them basic things they need to know to be able to be successful in school....
i feel it is so much more important they have a firm foundation to build on, than no foundation at all!

please pray for this little kiddo,
he is gonna need it!

that was weird!

2009-03-15T05:50:00.007-04:00

i didn't have a fever....
i didn't have any chills....
i didn't feel icky....
i didn't feel dizzy....
i didn't feel queasy...
yet....
something must have been wrong with me.....
wanna know how i know?!?!

yesterday....when i finished run/walking (ok seriously.....mostly walking, but it was 38 and raining....and i went...even if i mainly walked the 3 miles....and looked like a drowned rat when i was done....i went!)
i got this text from flake.....
diesel pulled out a clump of turbo's hair, damn dog....wth?

at first....i giggled....and then....it began to happen....
i started feeling that something was different....
strange....
weird....
but by the time i arrived home....i was feeling back to normal

when i got inside....
flake showed me this....

and then....it really happened....
i felt bad for the cat!

see.....i told you something must have been wrong with me!!

but don't you worry about me,
the first time she tried to bite me....
i was over that feeling!
:)

***update.....
the cat is fine
the cat was fine as soon as this happened
the amount of hair that was pulled out was only about the size of my palm....
and we have NO clue where it came from....there is no place on her entire body that even remotely looks as if she has missing hair.....
and.....
the cat still feels the need to "play" with the dog.....

quote

2009-03-13T04:59:00.002-04:00

my little friend....
who happens to keep me very entertained
who happens to be 5
who happens to be a boy
who happens to be special (living with a diagnosis that falls on the autism spectrum)
who happens to be very articulate
comes up with some awesome things to tell the class....
all school year long i have heard these things come from him
and wondered....
wow....why would a 5 year old say that

"you aint the boss of me....mrs. boy is"

"bom chicka wah wah"

"mrs. boy, i don't smoke weed"

"i'll suspend you"

"what the hell"

"i drink beer."

"my uncle said he was gonna beat the hell out of me if i didn't stop calling him an asshole"

"would peter griffin say that?"

well, i'm not sure how you feel, but for me....
i'm pretty sure this takes the quote of the day....week....month....year award

"i'm not pregnant"

but just incase you might not think so,
i'm sure he will repeat it another 100 times today,
just as he has been for the past week!

change

2009-03-10T16:44:00.004-04:00

i'm not big on change
i am 100% sure my resistance to change comes from moving as a child
which always led to
changing homes
changing furniture
changing towns
changing schools
changing friends
changing churches

it wasn't always the easiest
and i promise i didn't always take the change with grace
the same grace the my mother always seemed to have
when we would get the phone call
which said....moving day is ....
i never liked it

so to this day,
i'm totally content to keep things as normal as possible
and by that i mean
i eat the same things over and over
i always go to the same places over and over....and drive the same route to get there and back
i do things in the same order, and totally dislike when things change my routine

keeping in mind that i dislike change so much,
that i typically don't try new things
and don't like to go to new places
and have major anxiety (ok maybe not major....but you know) over the new or unexpected....
i dislike when coke or pepsi come out with new flavors
i dislike when hershey's come out with new kisses
i dislike when companies do the whole new and improved thing with their boxes or packaging or whatever.....

so i never expected to find and love these

so when i first heard of the nerd's bumpy jelly beans....
my first thoughts....
what was wrong with normal jelly beans?
what was wrong with just nerds?
why would you mess with two perfectly good things....mr. willy wonka?
i had feelings of disapproval, and i had decided never to ever give my time or taste to these new jelly beans....

but then....it happened....
i looked at those.....
bumpy....
funny.....
jelly beans
and decided.....
why not....
and now....
i'm hooked....
these are the best.....i seriously mean that....best
jelly beans i have ever
ever had in my entire life!

don't get me wrong
they look funny
but they are good

i must say.....thanks to flake's sister for introducing me to my newest favorite jelly bean....
and....
on that note....
i have to admit....

change isn't always that bad!

prayers needed

2009-03-03T10:30:00.003-05:00

jonah and his mommy and daddy need our prayers.
jonah came into this world only a few days ago,
his mommy and daddy had prayed for him, and were so thankful to meet him
because not so long ago, his big brother gabe was born into heaven.
jonah was born with a rare skin condition, and is needing our prayers.
jonah's mommy and dadddy are also in need of our prayers, because as you can imagine they are longing to hold their baby. they continue to praise god for his love shows strong, with amazing doctors and people out in the blogging world that are able to give gifts of knowledge when it comes to the rare condition that jonah most likely has.
please be in prayer for this sweet family.
go to their site, show them you care, and having them in your thoughts.
please be in prayers for all of the care givers at the amazing children's hospital here in town.

**
if you have facebook
you can join his prayer group....here

yay yay yay

2009-03-01T20:32:00.009-05:00

it is just in the baby stages....
but ....
it is snowing
yay!
you know i've mentioned my love for snow and winter before

so.....the past few times we have gotten snow....
it has stopped...... before i can get out to play in it...
and not started again
that did not make me happy .... at all!

so i decided.....
that was not going to happen again

i asked flake if he would come take a picture with me out in the snow
he said...
wait a while...

umm.....no!!
i promptly grabbed my camera....
and headed out and took a few pictures by myself ....

(i'm sure all my neighbors thought that was quite weird....like i care!!!)

i was giggling with glee
(kind of like i do when i watch the soup)
what could be better than beautiful fluffy white snow?!?!

that's when sweet flake came out to join me!!
yay!

we got some cute pictures.....
(can you tell i love the snow....almost as much as i love to torment him!)
and then i was satisfied....
for a little while at least....
but i'm sure i'll have more to come

this is if noaa is speaking the truth!!!!!

i just can't get enough

2009-02-27T17:30:00.002-05:00

oh friday...

you are oh so good to me....
last day of the work week....wearing jeans to work...and crocs too (yeah i know, i do that most every day any way!)....two home days ahead of me...

i just love when you get here,
for so many reasons...

but my favorite......
spending time with
joel
and hearing all he has to say on
the soup...

but because you, friday,
only come once a week,
i am ever so thankful that
my friends over at E!
know that i can't go until the next friday
to get my soup fix!

thank goodness for
the soup blog
i seriously....just can't get enough!

now, if only i could get E! to air
the soup before 10 pm ......

responses....

2009-02-26T07:00:00.001-05:00

ive decided....
some of the comments on previous post....needed some answers....
so....
i talked back to you on the following....

fb

a year

a plea

why

and from here on out....i've decided....i am going to respond to you guys on your comments....
so....come back and be looking for that! :)

fb

2009-02-25T07:00:00.002-05:00

facebook

you make me happy

especially on days

when i can't really go outside

and be with real people

being sick isn't fun

but you don't mind

ahh facebook,

you can't get sick from me

spending so much time with you!

thanks for updating me on everything

thanks for letting me in on all the happenings out there in the world....

thanks for telling me all the people i may know

i love when you tell me my friends have updated their profile pictures

thanks for all the applications

thanks for telling me about everyone's new status....totally exciting

even though i'm not sure what to think of them, thanks for all the notes!

i love all the pictures....

and the videos that keep me laughing

oh....and the new LIKE couldn't be more awesome!

thank you for all the free gifts

and....oh the flair....

thanks for keeping me entertained

when i was stuck here

doing all of nothing....

so .... as i sat here

reading my bloggy friend's blogs

i was wondering

the best part

2009-02-24T06:30:00.001-05:00

i don't like being sick....
especiall the icky
yuck
crud
that sticks around
that can't be shaken for anything....
but i've spent the past few days....exactly like that....
and i was quite ~~pissy~~ not happy about it
but i can honestly say
there has been no better way to spend the past few days....
with one of my addictions
a tv addiction
no....not the golden girls
and not the soup
but the one
that i can't explain
the one that i can't controll
and
that i can't get enough of

yep....
thats right....

this might be the reason flake has had enough of me being sick! :)

a year....

2009-02-23T11:47:00.005-05:00

a lot has happened
in the past year....

who would have ever thought that i would
have experienced all this without you....

i finished my first year of teaching
i got married to flake
i went on trips without you
to the mountains
to the beach
to the lake
all over....
i got a new little friend named theodore
then i got another new little friend named baxter
my precious nephew was born
and my neice in love too
i started teaching another year....and met lots of new little friends....
robbie got married
paul got engaged.....
and through it all
as much as i have missed you
and my time with you....
i can now say....

i sure do miss you albert j. wrangler....
even though i'll never find another jeep that is as special as you.....

i think....
i'm ok ....

problem

2009-02-19T05:00:00.000-05:00

flake and i live in an apartment
i have no problem with apartment living
bigger than storage
there is none!!
we have filled....
not so neatly, i might add
both of the closets
full of clothes
with no room to add

so.....
i wonder....
does anyone have any crafty ideas
for what i could do with.....

a plea

2009-02-17T05:00:00.001-05:00

dearest turbo,

i write this to you,
to ask you
why?

why do you do the things you do?
why do you feel the need to be so mean?

flake said you just needed time to adjust....
so i wonder
why you continue to do things that cause me to be scared of you...
and why do you do things that make me cry....
and why do you have to be so flipping mean?

you and i have been living together for 276 days
that's a lot of days little miss!
lots can happen in 276 days!
kids can go through an entire year of school....
and the state says they only have to go 180 days!
babies can go from being .... an imagination
to being held by their parents
friendships can be formed
and friendships can be broken
children can grow....a lot!
look at how big little mason is...and he's only been around like 200 days....
so why?!?!
why has it taken you 276 days....
to continue to be so mean to me
and diesel

i feel we need to set a few things straight for you....
-it is not ok to wake me up in the middle of the night
- it is not ok for you to scratch my feet....or any other part of my body....especially when i am trying to sleep
-it is not ok for you to yell your meanest yell at diesel when you are the dumb one who called her into play with you
- if you don't want to play with the dog....then why why why do you feel the need to call her...or show her where you are!
- it is not ok for you to throw up in the bed, on the floor right by the bed...or anywhere!
-i will feed you every morning, you don't have to yell at me OVER and OVER until i put food in your bowl....and....if you didn't throw up all your food, maybe you wouldn't be so hungry!
- it is not ok for you to chew on my crocs
- STOP drinking out of the toilet!
- would you please stop leaving your hair EVERYWHERE!!!!!
- it is not ok for you to get on the kitchen counters or table
- it is not fun for me....when you jump on the desk when i am trying to blog....seriously...your mama was not a glass maker!
- it is not ok for you to hiss at me, while i am in the shower....if you don't like the water....then why do you feel the need to crawl onto the tub....
- it is not ok for you to chew the blinds
- it is not ok for you to pick your claws on the bed skirt.....for hours on end
- your morning races....have got to stop involving my pillow
- it is not ok for you to rub against my leg....and then scratch or bite me
- it is not ok for you to knock things off the tables/dressers/cabinets/desk
- really, could you stop getting your hair in my toothbrush
- it is not ok when you get mad....because i move in the bed at night....and stop biting at my hands when this happens
- it is not ok that you chew my school papers....please stay out of my bag!

really.....
all i'm asking of you turbo
is that we can be friends....
you, me, diesel, and flake
we all need to be able to get along....
and i'm tired of flake making excuses for you....
you're a big girl now!
i'm sorry your mama left you,
i'm sorry someone put you in a dumpster when you were a baby...
but....the past is the past....
you live with two people and one dogsister that care about you, and want you to be happy....
however we also would like to be happy....

so could you please try your very best....
to be nice?

yours truly,
l.o.v.

songs and love

2009-02-14T05:30:00.003-05:00

before flake and i were....
us
we realized we loved listening to the same types of music....
:) just one more reason i thought....he was such a great friend for me! :)

one morning i realized that everytime i heard a certian song....
(a song that i had heard with flake, and talked with flake about, many times....)
i would think of flake
i didn't think too much of it at first,
but in the back of my mind,
i figured god was trying to tell me something....
on the day i put two and two together....
i decided to think about the words in this song by sister hazel

these words.....
got me thinking....
Finally I figured out
But it took a long, long time
But now there's a turnabout
Maybe 'cause I'm trying
There's been times, I'm so confused
All my roads, They lead to you
I just can't turn and walk away

it was not long after that day
that flake and i became
us --the dating us
and i never thought that another song
would make me smile and think of him
like the way that all for you did

until one day when i heard another sister hazel song
by this point
flake and i had already talked about
how we felt....
we knew that we did and said things....
with the other's best interest in mind
so the first time i heard .... this song
i was blown away....by the fact that
not only did i smile a bigger smile and think of flake more,
but i felt 10 times happier .... because my thoughts were now into words....
i knew that was exactly how i felt about flake

when it came time to talk about our wedding...
i sent my daddy a link to that same song....
i wanted him to hear it,
i wanted everone to hear it,
i wanted everyone to know and understand the way i felt about my dear sweet flake...
when my daddy replied, i never expected to think of that song....in any other way, except as the song that described how i felt about flake....
my daddy thought that not only was it a beautiful song about human love
but even better
it described the love that god gives us
the love that no matter what is there,
the love that we dream about,
the love that is bigger than us,
the love that keeps people going,
the love that can and continues to move mountains,
the love that leaves us all without doubt,
the love that fills us, when we most need it,
the love that is unmistakable,
the love that we can't get enough of

so now, each and every time i hear this kind of love
i smile an even bigger smile than i did the first time i heard it
and i thank god
again
for his love
and for the love of my family
and for sure, the love of flake!

happy valentine's day!

reasons to laugh

2009-02-10T05:30:00.000-05:00

to stay happy....i laugh
so i'm always looking for a reason to laugh
usually i don't have to look too far,
especially with my little kids at school

my little friends are into the popcorn song
i wish wish wish i could find a link to the song...
so you would be able to hear it, however....i have no clue who sings it,
either way
they LOVE it!

they beg to hear the song....over and over
and i allow them to hear it, and dance to it
at least once a day

i noticed this week,
that one of my friends
either has mad skills
or he watches napoleon dynamite's dance scene over and over
please disregard the quality of this video....
i took it with my phone
and when i uploaded it to blogger,
it made it "big"
so the quality seems to be worse than it should

random questions

2009-02-09T05:30:00.005-05:00

i stole this from allison....
because i can always answer these random questions....
and i was bored...so i added some pictures too!

Do you like blue cheese?
yeah, the chunkier the better

What flavor Kool-Aid is your favorite?

i don't think they make it any more.... but kickin kiwi lime was my fav and a staple when amanda and i use to have kool-aid parties!

Do you get nervous before a doctor appointment?
nope, if i did, i would spend a lot of time nervous! :p

What do you think of hot dogs?
i like them plain with a side of chili especially from cubbies

Favorite Christmas movie?
its a wonderful life

Can you do push ups?
only if i get to rest on my knees....but i'm trying to build up to my feet....and i can do them....better if i have not had to do plank exercises first....ugh!

What's your favorite piece of jewelry?
i love my engagement ring....flake and i decided to use my great grandmother harrison's diamond (i had gotten her engagement ring for my 21st birthday) and put it into a setting that would suit me and my jewelry style....but also protect the stone...

i love the fact that it not only symbolizes our love, but generations of love :) so sweet
(please ignore the spot on my lip....i chew my lip when i'm nervous....and i had totally been chewing my lip as flake and i waited for his dad to get back into the country....so we could tell him our good news.....)

Favorite hobby?
i have lots....and they change.... but these days...i love to do things with digital scrapbooking (i.e. making headers/buttons/awards/etc)
and i'm looking foward to the day that i can say that running is my favorite hobby!

Favorite quote of the day?
yesterday....it is still early
"i think we's are gonna see some snow tonight...don't you?"
from the old man walking at the park

What's your weight?
more than it should be

Middle name?
even though the lady at the social security office told me i couldn't.... i have two....
and my social security card, my license, and all my official documents.....prove it....
but i'll just tell you one of them! :)
anna

Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?
i totally miss albert j. wrangler.....
will mrs. f come to work today....
will i make it until valentine's day without telling flake about his present....

Current worry?
two of my little friend at school....
one who had been suspended for a few days...
one who moved back home to mama...

Current hate right now?
run 1 1/2 min walk 2.....not going too well!

Favorite place to be?
these days....on a lake at the mountains

Where would you like to go?
see previous question

Do you own slippers?
i used to have big bird slippers that i wore to the hospital every time i went....someone threw up on them one time in the er....and i promptly threw them away.... i do have one pair now....that came with my new christmas pj's

What color shirt are you wearing right now?
gray

Can you whistle?
yeah

Favorite color?
purple

Would you be a pirate?
i was a pirate for a few years....offically....

but then i switched schools....
but in real life, i would love to be a for real pirate!

What songs do you sing in the shower?
i don't usually sing in the shower

What's in your pocket?
no pockets...and typically i don't put things in my pockets

Last thing that made you laugh?
my convo with school bff at bw3 last night......
while watching flake blush!

Worst injury you've ever had as a child?
when i broke my arm.....

it stayed broken forever!

Do you love where you live?
for the most part.....but i can find good and bad no matter where i live

How many TVs do you have?
2 inside, 1 in the garage (for storage....not for watching)

How many dogs do you have?
just dz

Cats?
at times....one too many

What is your favorite book?
goodnight moon

What is your favorite candy?
reese's cup

What songs do you want played at your funeral?
here i am lord and onward christian soldier

devotions....

2009-02-07T17:00:00.002-05:00

when flake and i got married

my parents gave us a couple's devotional

being a preacher's kid

i kind of expected to get something like this....

and i was quite excited to receive it.....

i flipped through the book when we got it,

and thought....

"this is great.....

i can't wait to start reading it....

with my new hubby"

however

we realized quickly that the book was not the right one for us....

the very first time we sat down to read it

the topic was....talking with teens part 1

the next day....talking with teens part 2 ... about drinking

the next day....talking with teens part 3.... about sex

the next day....talking with teens part 4.... about drugs

the next day....what legacy are you leaving....what is in your will?!?!

the next day....the end of every man....words you would say at the end of your life

as i'm sure these are all great topics of conversation that flake and i will need to have

i honestly don't think these are the best ways to build on our newlywed faith foundation....

over the next few months,

i would look online for a good devotional that would fit us....

i had great luck in finding couple's devotionals

however got very frustrated at how specific they are....

i found devotionals for

newly dating couples,

pre-engaged couples,

couples with aging parents,

newly married couples over the age of 40

couples with children,

couples late and later married.....

yet....i struggled to find a newlywed devotional

so one night over dinner with flake's parents,

the devotional book conversation came up.....

and flake and i laughed as we talked with his parents about the devotions we came across.

a couple of days later, his parents gifted us with a different couple's devotional....

flakes mom told me that when they went to look for the book,

she asked the salesman at the christian bookstore to help her find a good devotional book for newlyweds....

the man handed her a good one,

as she looked through it....she realized it was not for newlywed people....but rather newly divorced people!

thankfully, flake's mom was able to find us a more appropriate devotional......

and we were able to put our original one on a shelf for a few more years :)

either way....
either book...
i'm so thankful god has a way of making him laugh...while thinking of him, and praising him!