If you give a kid a camera...

 

That face...

 

She took 52 photos of the new doll, Maggie...
That Maggie is a good smiler.

 
If I could change 1 thing the 10yr old does, it would be this pose.
(Well, she tends to talk with her mouth full and slouch but whatever)
So funny-she is positively perfect in every way : )

 
"Mommy look, my toes look like thumbs."

-Mallory, 5yrs old

Summer is almost upon us..

Are you ready?

Right now

...I am sitting in the dark by myself
...Hubby's laptop is keeping me warm because I'm freaking freezing
...I'm noticing how old my hands look
...I'm thankful my BF's little bro is ok
...the dryer is drying my fav-O-rite pair of fleece pj's
...I'm wearing 2 pairs of socks
...I'm dreading going to a wedding tomorrow (I'd much rather be a hermit)
...my own negativity is driving me nuts
...the dread I have about Delaney going to middle school is making me a little barfy
...the dread I have about having to tell Delaney about the birds and bees is making me a LOT barfy
...my hair is almost 6 inches shorter than it was yesterday
...Annie pup is nudging me to go to bed
...I'm thinking I need to teach my dog how to use mouth wash : /
...all of the projects I want to get done before Mal's b-day party are clogging up my brain
...Annie wants out...AGAIN
...I'm thinking about an auction I want to go to in the morning
...an electric blanket sounds REALLY good
...I'd love some eggs, raisin toast, & cheese grits
...I'm thinking that a week-long nap sounds doable
...I miss my camera
...I miss wanting to use my camera
...Annie is scratching up the door wanting back in (of course I'm comfy again)
...I'm worried about Mal's appointment this week
...I'm questioning whether or not I'll hit *publish post*
...I'm only a teeny weeny bit worried about the guy with the INSANELY LOUD motorcycle that missed the *dip* sign.
...there's a lot to get done before Monday (V-day)
...I just nodded off (i excite even myself )
g'nite

Hellooooo

Well hello there! What's everyone been up to?!?

Since I was here last:
I've gotten a year older
my baby turned 5

I fried food for the first time (not a fan)
Christmas has come and gone
I opened an Etsy shop
Hubby has gotten a year older
we went to see a Mouse
Mal's had more testing
I gained holiday weight consisting mainly of Swiss Miss and marshmallows
I did a little blog re-do


Right now I'm working on Mal's headboard and more goodies to ad to my Etsy shop. Our home computer is about to croak and getting photos up is pretty hit or miss...with 90% of the time tipping the scales on the miss side. I'm not very good at sitting in front of the computer for long stints of time anyway, but throw in the fact that it's taking 5 minutes to load a photo...I just want to jump out of my skin. I'm hoping to get a laptop so I can at least move around and maybe sit by a window while typing away. Ha... seems so silly but being able to sit by a window and blog/edit photos/email/do some Etsy work sounds like heaven.

Just wanted to check in. More to come.
Really... ; )

OMRandom

I suppose right now I should be blogging about and posting pictures of our Halloween fun.
That is the natural order of things.
It's what just happened. We worked hard on costumes, and the girls looked great...
I just don't feel like writing about that right now.
Don't know why. Just don't.
So I'm going to go with that.

~~~

I do want to say thank you for all of your kind words about Mallory. She is doing GREAT and just a few days into the meds, we were seeing NO episodes (seizures)! We feel SO blessed! Still, family and friends have never seen her have one, so it's pretty much like telling them that she grows a third eye, but because of meds, has been sticking to the usual two. Must seem strange to them. It's strange to me too.
Again, thank you for your thoughts and prayers...I know they worked : )

~~~

Dear God,
If you could just give me a little peek into the future so I'll know everything is going to be alright and I can stop worrying about every little thing and this stupid line in between my eyebrows would stop getting deeper and deeper because I really don't want to have to get botox, that would be great.
Thank you.

~~~

Had to go to the ENT Dr. this past week. He is also a plastic surgeon. Unless you have the money to GET the nose job, don't ask a plastic surgeon what he would do if you had money TO get a nose job. It is quite depressing and you will never look at your already-hated-since-the-5th-grade-and-don't-like-to-get-photographed-because-of-it nose the same way again.
Just FYI. 

~~~

My Christmas list is the same this year, as it was last year:
cowboy boots
chop saw
laptop
world peace
Carrie Underwood's figure
amen

~~~

Random photo to go along with the rest of this random randomness.
Me with the Nelson twins in 198something-or-other:

Mmmmm...spandex.

Goodnight.

Right now...

I wanted to write a blog post tonight. I'm sitting here in bed, on Hubby's laptop, in the dark, in the QUIET, and I'm stumped. I've been writing blog posts in my head all day (which might sound strange but I've narrated my days in my head for as long as I can remember) but here I am and...nothing.

So
Right now...

...some jack *ss is booming his car past my house.
...I'm realizing I didn't wash my face before getting into bed.
...I'm dreading the morning routine.
...I'm wondering if I had gotten all of the grass out of the girls' hair
...the 4yr old is tossing and turning
...I'm praying for a peaceful night sleep
...I'm trying to remember the last time the 4yr old didn't wake me up
...the dog is giving herself her 28th bath of the day (25 of which she reserves for the middle of the night)
...the football game is still on tv...and Hubby has been asleep for 45mins.
...I'm thinking about tonight's dinner. (my MIL is the best : )
...I'm thinking about my future Etsy shop.
...the girls' Halloween costumes are unfinished.
...I miss my Sis.
...the 4yr old is REALLY tossing and turning.
...I'm thinking I'm in for a long night.
...the laundry is laughing at me.
...I'm wondering if I'll get to the thrift store this week ( I need to)
...the laptop light is illuminating Hubby's sweet face : )
...I could drink a gallon of sweet tea.
...I'm thinking about our broken dishwasher, swing set, etc
...Colorado sounds fantastically wonderful.
...the # of unfinished projects in my house makes me want to cry.
...my family is healthy and happy.
...I am blessed beyond belief.
...I am dang tired.

good night

I have decided...

I have decided that Polly Pockets has the right idea. She just snaps on whichever pair of skinny hairless legs she likes, with whichever pair of cute shoes and attached skirt/pants she likes.

I like it. A lot.

Catching up and a kick in the arse...

Oh Goodness...What in the world happens to me sometimes? Nooo clue. None. Nada.

ANYWAY...

.

This is what happens when you start talking on the phone and the 4yr old is painting:

This is what my baby looks like on her 1st day of K4...*sigh*

This is what my girls look like when they make their Daddy smile very very big:

This is the fruit that is OBVIOUSLY hanging on MY side of the fence. Isn't it? It is right? That makes it mine doesn't it?

Yes. I do believe it does.

I WILL eat that...that.......that whatever it is, and I WILL enjoy it.

This is the tiny patch of moss that shows up in my backyard this time every year:

Is it silly that that teeny patch of moss makes me smile? Yep.

I am so ready for fall y'all...SO ready!

I've come across some really inspiring things lately...

Like this from Elizabeth Potts Weinstein's blog Live Your Truth.

She kinda kicked my arse...and I needed it.

And this found at Kind Over Matter.

If I could tattoo that somewhere on my body I would. No I wouldn't...but it IS great.

I LOVE me a good inspirational kick in the pants*!*

I'm going to be back more often. Seriously.

Have a great one*!*

Crap

I am sitting in the playroom, looking at, and sitting amongst, STUFF. Lots of stuff. Barbies. Stuffed animals. Books. Dress-up clothes. Art supplies. Rain boots. Toy cash registers. Dolls. Getting a visual?

Behind me is MY stuff. Paper, fabric, rubber stamps, scissors, pieces of wood, files, buttons, baubles, ribbon, containers, a die-cut machine, stickers, magazine clippings, paper cutter... I could go on.

I am fortunate to have this little nook in our house where I can keep my supplies, be creative and have (my idea of) fun.

Well, it's not fun anymore.

All of my artsy stuff, the wonderful little bits of *happy* that I've collected over the years, are actually getting in the way of my fun. Not all of it mind you...oh no, I couldn't function without some of these supplies. Making nifty things makes me happy...it is truly a part of who I am. I pray that I will always physically and mentally possess the facilities I need to create things that bring me (and sometimes others) joy.

BUT for right now, I just need to get rid of some of this crap.

It's starting to feel heavy, almost like a burden. It ties my head in a knot, putting out any creative spark dancing around in the right side of my brain. It makes me frustrated, angry, and sad.

Sad.

I can't believe that something that makes me so incredibly happy, something that makes me feel so much like ME...is making me sad.

Well kids, something's got to be done. I'm tired of it. I need to get rid of this childhood mantra that runs through my head, 'You can still use that. Don't get rid of that. You might need that later. That is being wasteful.' That mantra is responsible for half of the things we don't need/use IN THIS HOUSE. It's hard...SO HARD to break free from that way of thinking and get real about things. But I have to. It's starting to smother me. It's starting to affect ALL of us. Now, please don't picture my house looking like a scene from one of those hoarding shows. Not at all. I just need to *get it together*...in order to do that, I need fewer things in my house. Period.

A prayer comes to mind.

This is one I learned in high school from my freshman religion teacher.

I still say this one daily:

The Serenity Prayer~
God grant me the serenity to

accept the things I cannot change

the courage to change the things that I can

and the wisdom to know the difference

My updated version:

The Sense Prayer~

God grant me enough sense to

keep the crap I'll use

get rid of the crap I won't

and willpower, so I can see a difference

AMEN!

And because a blog post without a photo is against the law (in my own head anyway)...

Here's a photo of Delaney and I before our very special date night a couple of months back. (...because there is NO way in heck I'm posting photos of our crap ; )

Bummed...

Sorry I haven't been around. The fact that our beach probably won't look like this for long, upsets me more than I can say. On this day 25 years ago, my parents packed up the station wagon and brought us all down here from Illinois. I'm embarrassed to say that it took me until last year to really start appreciating where I live. Now this. Lesson learned.
Praying for a miracle...

That little guy made me smile.

It's sort of how I'm feeling creatively...onward and upward!

Ok, I know I'm skipping ahead here...but I just couldn't help it.

I was looking through some old pics. tonight and started to realize that my best friend Kelly shows up in about 75% of my childhood photos.

True.

We were peas and carrots. : ) 

I just HAD to have a little fun with some of them...

(I ALWAYS got Kel's hand-me-downs)

Good Lordy that was SO fun!

Does anyone remember that Girl Scout friendship song?

Yep, my Kelly is gold...

If anyone feels like asking me to a Homecoming dance, I want to wear this .

*sigh*

My alma mater is having theirs next month...I might just show up.

Uploading lots of pics for a big post tonight. I'm ready to get back on the train to blogville*!*
And woo hoo...I'm a Tweeter! Makes me a bit nervous to be able to instantly share thoughts. Really nervous actually. I'm one of those people that needs a little time to properly filter things before I either say or type them so this SHOULD be interesting. I just love my little woodgrain birdie over there <<<---SO cute!

See you later tonight : )

True story...this actually happened

Actual conversations between Amy, Kelly, and I...

I will not give in!!!

Thanks for the inspiration Allie*!*

; )