Crock Pot o' Fun!

I usually abstain from all such things that require me to make a post and link to sumpin else, because I'm skeered. But lo, I am joinin' in the Crock Pot o' Fun that's to be had at BooMama's place.I loved this recipe when I worked outside the home, now I work inside the home and rarely have time to cook, go figure. I usually serve this over some type of rice, brown would be healthiest, so we shy away from that. We usually don't eat anything that doesn't allow us to audibly hear the hardening of our arteries. When I was looking in my cook book for this recipe, I came across a recipe for "Pungent Stew" sounds appetizing doesn't it? My salivary glands couldn't contain themselves. The next time you really don't want someone to come over, but feel the need to extend an invitation, just tell them you're making Pungent Stew, my guess is, they'll decline. Here is my offering:

Creamy Cooker Chicken (boring title ey?)
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
2 cups sour cream (I use light, like it really matters)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
6 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves

Combine the soup mix, sour cream, and cream of mushroom soup in crock pot. Add Chicken, pushing it all the way down so that it's covered with the goo.
Cover it and cook on low for 8 hours.

Can't we all just get along?...(in my best Rodney King voice)

...yeah, apparently not. If you have ever had two or more sibling children in your house for more than 13 seconds you probably know the answer to this question. My girls will fight over what they are fighting over. I have a special belt off of one of my old robes that I tie around their waste and it trails off their backside when they refuse to quit tattling. This is my "tattle tail", and they HATE.IT.

Sydney is my empathetic tattler, she wants me to KNOW that Elly has wronged her in some grievous way, like say, scratched her, or hit her, but "don't spank her, or take anything away from her." I think it just makes her somehow feel better to know that I know.

Then there is Elly, my capital punishment and damnation tattler. She wants me to KNOW that Sydney has grieved her in some way, like say, taken the shirt she was gonna put on her Barbie and put it on her own Barbie instead. "She needs a spankin' and don't let her play Wii for a week." Ummmm, yeah. I don't think you'll ever hold a seat in the Supreme Court, probably won't even get jury duty.

Anyway, the tattleing DRIVES.ME.NUTS. But lately I've been doing some tattling on my own. To God. There is so much going on right now, with the financial state of, well, everything. The pending election. Sickness among a lot of close friends, and family. Daily irritations. I've found myself tattling a lot to God, that the enemy, His and ours, is wearing me down. Like Sydney it makes me feel better, just to air my complaint. And like Elly, I want God to spank him and take away all his evil toys. I'm so glad I have a Father who listens. And cares.

Do you have any tattlers in your house?

Wordless Wednesday Morning....

...almost. You know me, I can't shut up. These pic's are from horse riding lessons. Leave a comment for my cowgirls they'll think they are famous!!

An apple a day you say.....

For those of you who have never taken children with you to a doctor's appointment, mine are available. Elly is a hands on learner. And wants to learn all.about.the.trashcan. And the hazardous materials container. And though she is quite familiar with the otoscope, and not a big fan, the cord it hangs from just calls her name. For Syd, the world is a text book, a quality I usually admire. Until the doctor walks in and suddenly Sydney Mctalkerson needs to know the proper function of the left ventricular valve.

After three rounds of I Spy, by the way, there is only so much to spy in a small examining room, and almost EVERYTHING is tan, grey, or white, and at least 4 rounds of 'the rhyming game' I was almost OVER it. If it had not been for the fireball of pain I have had in my abdomen for two days, I would have given up and gone home.

You may have noticed my absence for the last couple of days, or not. Anyway, I have been in pain, and not up to much. I am currently amped up anti-inflammatory, Mt. Dew, and chocolate...let the healing begin. I really thought I probably had something like diverticulitis or some such ailment of the intestine because of the pain and lack of any other symptoms. After the nurse read my complaint she requested a urine sample. Yay me. Off I headed to the rest room, Elly in tow. For those of you asking yourself why I didn't leave her in the room with Sydney, re-read paragraph one. Elly thought the whole experience of leaving your pee in a little cubby whole in the wall was extraordinary. "Eww, you're gonna pee-pee in that cup? Why you gonna put it in that little door on the wall, that's gross, what are they gonna do with your pee-pee?" She asked if 'real' people live behind the door, or if they were 'little people?'" Umm.. I'm guessin' too many Keebler Elves commercials. I may not ever get her to eat Fudge Striped cookies again.

When the doctor FINALLY made it back from vacation into the room, Elly was quick to let him know "Mommy had pee-peed in the little cup for him, and she didn't get any on her hands." He was clearly impressed. I was mortified. He did not concur with my diagnosis of diverticulitis, as my blood work was fine, and my urine, piddle, whiz, pee-pee, whatever, sample was normal. Therefore he wants a C.T. scan. I cannot contain my joy. That will be a fun trip, wonder what Elly will entertain herself with there????

Well, in the comments on my last post, Tater Mama you were dead on. I can not tell you how many men I counted harvesting nose goblins as I waited through the same red light for NINE minutes. Southaven really should consider a subway.

And Joann, (I would prop her here if she had a blog, which she doesn't, but she really should, 'cause she needs to get a hobby. Her ENTIRE yard is covered in cobwebs, ghouls, and home made tombstones....for nursery rhyme characters...HOBBY NEEDED..) She is my hair cutting queen. She wanted me to share with you why we laughed AT ME, until we cried Friday after my cardio visit when she cut my hair. Long story short, the doctor examined my breast area because of the pain in my chest wall. I was following my rule of no eye contact/speaking while he was 'performing his task'. I broke my own rule and asked a question, he looked me DEAD in the eye and responded, UGHHH, THEN proceeded to tell me I had beautiful eyes. I wanted to say, "could we talk about my eyes when your hands aren't on my boobs," but what actually came out was...."thank you, you have pretty eyes too???" WHAT?? Who is this person that speaks with my mouth??! It's a good thing they have chocolate there, else I don't think I could EVUH go back! Joann, your tombstones really were cute!

No clever title available at this time......

I really need to proof my posts. I said I've "been a lot" in my last post. I meant to say I've been out a lot. But hey, I've been a lot too, mommy, chef, nurse, cook, dishwasher, personal lackey, you get the pic. I went to the cardiologist this morning. For those of you,(Ginny&Christy) who wanted to know my report, there was no bad news, thankfully. My heart just tends to beat a little faster than some, and my blood pressure is a little on the high side even with the medicine, so I have to schedule a time to wear the BP cuff for 24 hours to see what happens in a 24 hour period. She wanted to know if I could do it on the 4th? Ummm isn't that election day?," I asked. "Yes, do you not want to have to wear it to vote?" she said. "Oh, I couldn't care less about that", I said, "I just don't' think you want my readings from that night". Of course, I have a feeling they might be counting votes for two weeks. My blood work was PERFECT! I could frame the report, it was that good. Thank you LORD. So, that means I can have movie theater popcorn, and M&M's right?

I have to say, the two times I've been to this cardio group have been the most entertaining doctor visits I think I have ever had. I could spend days at this place just *watching people. Mostly, the staff. Did I mention they have a mini bar(minus, you know, actual alcohol) in the patient waiting rooms. Fully stocked, V-8, soda, juice, CHOCOLATE! OBGYN's TAKE.NOTE. They have some serious power struggles goin' on in that joint. The last time I was there the lady siphoning my blood was listening to one of the nurses unload about another nurse. Frankly, I'm not sure if they realized I was not hearing impaired. I'm sure they got the picture when I began to snort with laughter. Today, two more workers were at each other over a conflict in assigning examining rooms that resulted in my being dragged from one room to another down the hall, with EKG leads attached all up and down my body. There's nothing like trying to hold that gown(open in the front)closed, and carry your purse, shirt, bra and Bible, all without tripping over these cords hanging off your body. I looked like the back of my computer with all of the cords plugged into the receptacle. I mentioned to the doctor he might want to add a mediator to his staff.



Then, I went to get my hair trimmed. We're having pic's made for the church directory tomorrow, and I can't look all grey and shaggy for that. Whilst I was enjoying my autonomy since hubby had the kids, I stopped at my favorite place, the Wal-Mart to get a few things, and nature called. Seriously, I had been to Sonic, like three hours earlier and had a Route 44 Dr. Pepper so, you know, I am not kidding. Anyway, it's a good thing I got that taken care of otherwise I would have WET.MY.PANTS. when I overheard the phone conversation of the girl in line behind me. I can only assume that she was talking to a girlfriend, because this is what she said: "No, I di-ent go out wit him very long. He's banana puddin'. You know how nana puddin' be, it's all like, lookin' good at first, but then when it sits there a while, it don't be lookin good no mo" I almost fell out. Mostly because well, been there, thought that, only without the banana pudding comparison. A lot of things in life look good at first, but then they get all yucky like old banana pudding. I gotta 'memba that one.

*side note: Speaking of "people watching", men, you are NOT invisible when sitting at stop lights. Just sayin'

Good night, blog.

Got things to say, but no time to say 'em....

Hey blog, I've been a lot the last couple of days, so I have fodder o'plenty, but no time to talk, er type. On my way to the cardiologist to find out why my heart likes to beat so darn fast. I'm sure you would never have guessed I'm a bit hyper. I'll type more later!

And what are you gonna be???

I noticed in both of the pictures of the girls below,they are dressed alike. My brother in law refers to this as our "uniform of the day". He thinks I am a little on the odd side for dressing them alike. I don't do it everyday. But, I would if I could. They'll only let me pick all of their clothes for so long, ya know.

I already have to battle with Little Miss Fashionista. She wants to change clothes at least 4 times a day. We have had to threaten to put a lock on her closet door because she changes clothes so many times. Her floor often looks like the one in the fitting room at Marshall's. Completely covered in hangers, and clothes, all wrong side out of course.

Then we have Sydney. Oddly enough she is the older one. She does NOT care what she has on. Does it match? Who cares! Is it too short? Who cares! Oh, she is just like me. Except I always spill food on myself. She is much neater than me. She is a tomboy kinda girl. Loves sports, animals, and being outside. But alas, I fear she is quickly getting to the age where she is gonna start to care about things such as clothes, and general appearance. Yesterday, after I taught science class at their Co-Op she sat me down and said, "Mommy, I really think that most of us in the class are a little too old for the whole 'get out your listening ears, and sit criss-cross applesauce' thingy, m'kay".......yeah, my bad. I'm sure she was right, what can I say? I've been teaching pre-schoolers for 6 years. Old habits die hard, but this one, especially hard. I actually teared up a little when she was finished. They grow up too fast.

We have been trying to decide what to "be" for Halloween, err Harvest celebration, or whatever. I don't' know what to call it anymore. I don't want to offend anyone. I don't want to set a bad example. We aren't celebrating anything evil, nor are we celebrating harvest. We really aren't celebrating anything. We just like to go to strangers houses and beg for carbs. I think I'll call it "Lookin' Cute for Candy Day". There, nothing offensive about that. Anyhoo, Sdy wants to be a vet...easy enough. Elly wants to be an X-ray....now, most people would call that a skeleton, but we are a bit sheltered in the area of spookiness here in our house, medical terms we are soooo familiar with. So, when she saw the skeleton outfit she said, "oh look! I want to be an X-ray!" Now today she walks in the room and wanted to know if I had a sheet she could borrow. I asked her why. She said she changed her mind and wants be, get this, wait for it......The Holy Ghost for Halloween "Lookin' Cute for Candy Day"!

I have a friend whose daughter busted her in the chinny chin, chin when she hit a plastic ball with a toy bat. I think she should be Babe Ruth. Cause you know, we should all be something that has just a little reflection of who we are. I think I'll be a washing machine.
See ya later.....

Wordless Wednesday morning.....

Mentos anyone?

Hey, just thought I'd give ya holla before I go to bed. We had a full day. We went to Monday School that homeschool co-op thing we've been going to. The kids really do like it. Did I mention I'm teaching a science class there now? I really do need to see about gettin' those big letters that read "sucka" grafted off of my forehead.

Then we got our flu shots. Sydney was so excited, she's been asking since last spring when we could get the flu shot. She had a mild case of the influenza last February, and has not forgotten it. Mostly because she threw up once, and that is her worse fear IN.LIFE! That's a whole nutha post my friends, or maybe two, or nine.

I was up until 1:00 last night getting my lesson together for my science class, because you know, it really is so important for me to impress eighteen 6-8 year olds. Anyhoo, the late night caused me to drag out the coffee pot hidden beneath my counter and rev 'er up this morning. I went in to wake up the girls by gently rubbing their feet. Sydney said, "is that coffee breath I smell?" "Why yes, it is, and the fact that you can smell that from 4 feet away impresses me greatly." If she were a dog, I think we could hire her out as one of those that sniffs out all manner of poisons and things. I think we may be able to do it anyway. When Elly was a baby, Sydney could sniff out a dirty diaper from the swing set. Now she focuses her olfactory system on the freshness of my breath.

I understand where she's coming from. Coffee breath is not the most pleasant of fragrances. Whilst brewing, great smell, down the hatch, not so much. I went to a dentist once, (once being the key word here) who had the worst coffee breath I had ever smelled. He must have been up chugging the stuff all night long without eating a thing, which, I believe makes it worse. To top it all off, he leans over, just to "take a quick look" at my teeth after the hygienist finished, and he had nose goblins. Yes, my friends, bats were in the cave. I could not HARDLY.STAND.IT. Come to think of it, I think he's the reason I don't like to go to the dentist. I still carry that with me 18 years later. Of course there was the first dentist my mother ever took me to, the one that I bit. He promptly told my mother to "take her brat home". Yes he did. Maybe he's part of the reason too.

Enough about my breath. What did you all do today? Do you all have any plans coming up next week? Our church is having a fall festival on Thursday and then on Friday, the holiday formerly known as Halloween, I think we will actually go trick or treating. Whatchy'all gonna do?

Garage sale part deux

Hey peeps. I'm still here. It's been a wild weekend. A few of you asked me how the garage sale went. I ask you where else in the free world can you rise up at the crack of dawn, work your badonkadonk off until your knees, feet, and toes, yes even toes hurt, for $80 dollars. I'll tell you where, any stinkin' where. I could have taken a part time stint at the local sandwich shop standin' on the street holding out a sign and made more money for this amount of time, not to mention labor.
I don't think I'll be scheduling another one anytime soon. It's just not worth the stress, and mental anguish. I mean who needs to be insulted like that. To think that the fake Coach purse that I paid $25 for on the ebay is not worth a measly dollar to the garage sale shopper! Of all the nerve.

THE. PEOPLE.THAT.CAME.TO.MAH.HOUSE!! Oh, there were some normal ones, but not many. For some reason each person seems obligated to tell you why they have come to your garage sale. "Oh, I'm just trying to help my nephew start out," or "I'm looking for some things to give to my daughter's friend's cousin that just moved here from Las Vegas." Just admit you're cheap. I am. It's a virtue isn't it?

One lady informed me that I had nothing she was interested in, she was only looking for "Art". Hmmmmmm Another felt the need to show me the most gosh awful bracelet I had evah seen that she picked up at a sale across town and was so excited about it she couldn't wait until she got home to put it on. "I think this is really silver plated, I bet you'll never believe I talked them down to only three dollars!" She said.....frankly folks, it did not stretch my imagination one bit. I am sure someone is laughing from the belly as they purchase a foot long hotdog at the Sonic with that 3 bucks.

I really think our business was hampered by a lack of shrewd marketing. A BIG neighborhood in Hernando had their anuual sale, and of course, the Thrift Store had a 50 cent sale where everything was, as you may have guessed, 50 cents. I hate I missed that. I think all of the customer base was focused elsewhere. Anyway, no more. I am retiring from garagesalemania and takin' all my junk to donate to the thrift store. So, lady who wanted my fake coach purse for a half a dollar, maybe you can get it at the next 50 cent day!

See y'all later.

Heavy man.....

This post is a little deeper than we usually swim together peeps, but my heart is HEAVY. I am VERY scared about this election. We, as Christians have a lot to loose. I will not tell you who to vote for. I ask you, as a Christian who is called by His name to read your Bible. Confess your own sins to the Lord. And let Him have your vote. I would love to see us start a prayer chain for our country. For revival on our land. For blinders to be removed. If all of us join together, and ask others that we know in other churches, in other cities to join together, think of the impact we could have. PLEASE give this consideration! We need to be bold in our faith, and who we are in Christ. We've been made more than just over comers, we've been made victorious by the blood of Jesus Christ. We are all busy, let's just take time, make time, intentionally, to focus ourselves in prayer.

Thank You

Garage Sale

Hey peeps. Not much time to talk tonight. Gotta get up early to go visit the cardiologist in the morning. Then I have to come home and get everything ready for the big yard sale on our street. I don't know why I participate in these things. I always get mad at myself for saying I'll do it. You advertise for 7:00 A.M. by 5:15 some schmo is honkin' in your driveway. You can always tell the "serious" garage saler. They pull in and leave their engine running hop out and run up to make a quick dash through your stuff and run back to their car to hit the next one. Then you have the drive by, where they slow down, survey from the street, or even yell out their window and ask what you have, and then move on. But my faves are the ones who like to bargain. I do not want to argue with you over my junk. It's a stinkin' dollar, I wont' take a quarter, I'll spend $3.17 in gas to drive it to the GoodWill....makes sense right? I like the impressive garage saler. The one who purchases a cookbook for a quarter and hands you a hundred dollar bill. Just take the book. Oh well, you know, gotta get rid of the old junk so I can bring in some new junk. I'll blog at ya later and let ya know how it went.

Thoughtful Thursday...post #1

Have you ever had one of those particularly frustrating days when you find yourself yelling at your kids who are fighting over EVERYTHING? Have you ever wanted to run to the furthest corner of your house and hide under something where they can't find you in order to tell on each other? Or ask you to open something? Or turn the channel? Or get them some more SunnyD? No this is not an ad for Calgon. Or SunnyD. But this is what my day was like today. Then, when I finally quit yelling expressing my frustration and got still for a moment, God brought to mind a verse that I had read this morning during my quiet time. I was reading in Hebrews 2:17 where it talks about how "Jesus was made just like us so that He would suffer the same things we had suffered so that he would be a merciful high priest and turn aside God's wrath taking away the sins of the people." What's that got to do with the price of tainted tea in China you ask? Well, maybe nothing. But is seemed to say to me that Jesus was made just like us, so he would understand what we were going through, so he could deal with us with gentleness and mercy. I was little once too, and probably put my Momma through the same frustrations, and maybe I should remember back to what it was like (if possible) and delve out a little mercy myself. It also said something else. See one of the things I was frustrated with was something I was trying to teach the oldest. She thought she new more than me,,,imagine that....I told her I had already learned this a long time ago, and to trust me, that I knew what I was talking about. Hmmmmmmm.....How many times has God tried to steer me in a direction when I just knew exactly what I was doing and didn't think I needed any help? M'kay God. You're right. As always. Thank you for your Mercy!

Please sir, may I have some more gruel....err salad?

Well, we returned from our trip to Chuck E. Cheese, the E is short for E. Coli, with no symptoms as of yet. Well, not really, I have whiplash. Because there were like 423 preschoolers and 212 women all with the same name, "Mommy". Every time I heard a shrill little voice yelp out those two syllables, I would yank myself around to see if it was my child. But thus far we have no apparent viral symptoms.

As usual the kids had a blast, and my SIL and I enjoyed being able to talk without having to "entertain" the kiddos. We ordered our usual, cheese pizza for them, and a salad bar for Me. The counter lady, we'll call her Snarkity McSnarksnark for now, informed me that it was only a dollar extra to get all you can eat. So I splurged. She stamped my hand. I dug in. Of course, you know me, I immediately spilled dressing down the front of my shirt. I now look like I've lactated Ranch. Oh, well.

I polished off my salad and, after talking for a bit, I decided I'd better take advantage of that extra dollar I spent and make another trip to the salad bar. I cleaned up the table before I left, 'cause you know, OCD doesn't take a day off. I walked up to the counter and asked for another plate for the salad bar. Snarkity looked at me blankly, and the following exchange took place:

Snarkity: "Where's your other one?"

Me: "I threw it away when I was finished with it"

Snarkity: "well, you have to 'turn in' your old one, in order to get a new one"
(Now remember, Snarkity and myself are not strangers, she just coaxed me into this all you can eat business 20 minutes ago)

Me: "I'm sorry, I just threw it away when I was trying to clean up. I have this stamp here on my arm" (I'm sure Jerry Seinfeld would call her the salad nazi)

Snarkity: "that doesn't prove anything, it only shows you had a salad bar, not the all you can eat. I'll give you a plate this time, but in the future you need to try to remember you have to turn in the old, to get the new"

No she di-ent? Yes, she did. Prove anything???? Is this woman Judge Judy? She talked to me like I was THREE.YEARS.OLD. Did I mention she was maybe 19????

I pause here to say that the Lord has truly done a work in my heart, else I would have hopped on her counter and helped her spin some cotton candy. Instead, I said:

"Is salad theft really that big a problem in DeSoto County? It's right over there in the trash if you'd like to retrieve it, does Chuck make you buy these plates out of your paycheck?"

She gave me the plate, I ate another salad. This time I spilled Italian. The next time you go to the petri dishChuck E. Cheese, don't pay for the salad bar. Just walk around the joint until you find an empty booth with a salad plate on the table. Take it up front and tell them you need another plate.

Goodnight.

Takin' the day off, sorta

We are heading to the petri dish otherwise known as Chuck E. Cheese. Cover us in prayer y'all. I'm off to refill my bottle of GermX and take a double dose of Vitamin C. I'll post more later!

What language do you speak?

I overheard some friends talkin' tonight about how they wanted to learn to speak Arabic. WOW! That's impressive. I don't think it's for me. I've never been good with the whole phonetic sound of "hack a loogie" at the end of each word. No friends, my goals are much less lofty. I would just like for someone to tutor me in the fine art of compass-speak, and THEN in the fine art of man-speak. So my man can you know, actually hear, understand, and retain, THE WORDS THAT ARE COMIN’ OUTTA MY MOUTH!! At least once a day we seem to have the "we've already talked about this," "No we haven't," conversation. After listening to what MANY of my friends have to say, I don't think it's isolated my my spouse. I believe the entire race of males suffer from this malady. I may be wrong. If your man hears, understands, and can recall everything you tell him, or even most of what you tell him, then my friend you may have the illusive Manicorn. Much more rare even than his equally mythical friend, the unicorn.

I'm sure they feel the same way about us. Mine has every right to. I can hear him, and understand him, I just can't remember what he said by the time he finishes the sentence.

In closing I will leave a note in Arabic, in case either of the bi-lingual hopefuls are reading along: "ḥawwāmtī mumtilah biānqalaysūn" Translation: "My hovercraft is full of eels." Now go, practice! Don't forget the hacking sound.

To market, to market jiggity jig...........

WooHoo! It's Trade Days weekend. For those of you who don't know, Trade Days is an outdoor flea market that is held quarterly not far from here. It is a fun place to look around. They have a hundred or so large booths and still MANY,MANY more small stands. You have to get there early because it really gets packed, and this is just a guess, but I'd say they have 12 parking spots. But you know me, I'm a bit thrifty. I'll risk life and limb, and fight tooth and nail for one of those spots to get some gaudy junk nobody wants just because it was a bargain. Anything to save some coinage, cash, denari, whatever, you get the picture, I'm cheap.


You can buy anything from a live chicken to fine art. Maybe even fine chicken art. Okay, I'm just tired now. You do have to remember the rules when you go to a place like this. NEVUH make eye contact, lest the man at the booth call you out and think you actually want to buy the necklace his wife made from their son's baby teeth. Just sayin' Cause, you know if you want some eye of newt or sumpin like that you can probably find it there. I'm thinin' a lot of these "salesmen" have retired from the carnival and are looking to supplement their 401K.

The last time it was here, I missed it. Someone told me they had Southern Belle T-shirts for like $5. That figures. When I go they only have "as seen on T.V." garbage and used tools, and home strung jewelry. Hey, maybe they'll have that purse from T.V. that I need.

I'd better get to bed, I have to rise early.

Awww shucks, for me?

I first started blogging after spending countless hours on the Living Proof Ministry blog, where my pretend friend Beth Moore blogs. I love me some Beth Moore. Seriously, I have learned so much from her writing. I am a stay at home Mom, and found that I was talkin' to myself a lot, a whole lot. When I started laughing at my own sarcastic remarks, I felt it was time for therapy some friends. Only I didn't have time for ONE.MORE.THING. But then I thought, hey I can surely type out a few words every evening, and then at least I'll feel like I'm talking to someone even if I'm not, and in the end, I'll have a journal. Then before you know it, all four of you were lookin' on here and givin' me a shout out from time to time. And boy do I love your comments, they have become my love language y'all.

I now have many new freeeinds livin' in my computer. Who'da thunk I'd make friends from a blog? Soytinly not me. It's a blog eat blog world out there peeps. But I have, and all of this is to say that one of my new bloggy friends, Tater Mama has given me an award. And it's purty, see it over there to your right. That may be North, South, East or West of the post you are reading,,,,you decide.

She wants me to tell you six things that make me Happy, and then pay it forward, so here goes:

1) JESUS!! He could actually fill up all six, but then that might be cheating, and I don't want to do that.

2) My precious sweet little girls

3) My silly, goofy, Prangsta Son Husband

4) My computer, my friends live in it

5) CHOCOLATE

6) Family, talking and telling funny stories

I am passing this award on to these blogs:

All Rileyed Up

Sweet Abundance BeckyJoMama

Would you like fiber with that?

Hello peeps. I was wondering if any of you know of a diet where I can actually eat food, and still loose weight. I went to the closet today and attempted to try on some clothes from the last Fall season, and thus started my seasonal crusade to "loose a few pounds." I go on this crusade at the beginning of each new season when I try on clothes from the the year before and they are too tight. This has been a seasonal crusade for me for as long as I can remember.

I think they just kind of draw up sitting in the closet during their off season. Much like the Dodgers or the Braves they need some training to reach their normal capabilities. I remember once asking my mother if she would wear a pair of my jeans around the house for a bit while I got ready for school. They had been in the closet all summer and I wanted her to stretch them out for me. "It's okay if you can't button them, just pull them up as high as you can and walk around," I said. I am sure she was flattered.

I thought I would pick up a few foods lower in fat than my norm. That doesn't take much. Do they make diet M&Ms? Low Fat Movie Theater Butter popcorn? I Didn't think so. I bought yogurt and cottage cheese instead.

They have a new kind of yogurt in the store. It has like 5 grams of fiber in it. Ever since they came out with that so called tasteless fiber that you can mix in liquid, the fiber Nazis have come out of the woodwork. It's everywhere. I bought some lemonade the other day and the label boasted 3 grams of fiber. Where will they put it next, aspirin? Fight headaches and irregularity in just one pill. Jamie Lee Curtis would be proud. I think it's a terrorist plot. They'll fill us full of fiber and take over the country while we're all locked in the bathroom.

Well, I'm off to do my Bible Study homework. I almost shortened that to BS homework. That would not have been good, no girls, it would not. Anyway, I have to get it done in a timely manner this week. Somehow it just doesn't soak in well when you stay up all night to do all 5 days worth the night before you go. I can't imagine why.
G'night.

Settling back In

We are settling back into life. The last of our company left early this morning without waking me, bless 'em. Tracy went back to work. The girls and I went back to our school routine.

It was so much fun having everyone together. I heard a lot of funny stories, that as an "in-law" I had never heard. I know that my husband needed a lot more spankings than he probably got...and that he came by it honestly. His is a family of pranksters for sure. It's sad that it takes a death to draw everyone from all over the country to come together, but that seems to be the way we work isn't it?

My husband wanted to make sure everyone got here without getting lost. He emailed maps and gave out coordinates for GPS gadgets and, of course, did his best to keep me away from the phone in case someone calling might be lost. He gave up after trying to give me directions to tell someone who was bringing food.

HIM: "Tell them go South and then turn East at the exit"
ME: (to Tracy) "Is that right or left?"
HIM: (with a puzzled look) "It's East"
ME: (to person on phone) "You turn East, I think that's gonna be left"
HIM: "No, it's not, it's right"
ME: "You moron, why didn't you just say that" (to my husband, not the person on the phone)
HIM: "Tell them to go East for a mile and then turn back South"
ME: "I'm gonna let you talk to my husband"

You see, I don't speak compass. If you're not talking about the Civil War, North and South mean nothing to me. I only discovered a few years ago that highways ending in odd numbers go North/South, and ones ending in even numbers, go East/West. Yes, my friends my compass reads up, down, left, and right. Now you know why I don't travel alone.

I recently asked a friend who is well trained in the art of compass-speak, if she felt this was a learned skill or one that is inborn. Because, you know, I so wanted to claim it as a handicap for which I had no control. But alas, she said she felt it could be learned, as she had honed her own internal GPS quite a bit. I'm lookin' for a self help book on compass skills if anyone has any suggestions.

I think I will do some of my Bible Study homework, and then head to bed. I think that is East of where I am sitting....but I really can't be sure.

Just a bit tired

I'm like, just a bit tired. This has been a reallyreallyterriblytiringexhausting week. I would like to say thank you to all of you who emailed, and called, and sent cards, and brought food. I used to always wonder why we brought food to people when someone passed away. I've always done it, because well, that's just what we do. But, I'll admit I always thought it was weird. DUH, you have ten to twenty-nine extra
people at your house at any given moment for a week. That food comes in HANDY. I mean really handy. And it's always wonderful, special recipe, good southern comfort food. Thanks to all of you wonderful cooks.

I have tons to blog, but am too tired to blog it. I will be back soon. Thanks for stickin' with me.

I love ya.

Sad day at the Patterson House

Tracy's dad gave up his fight with cancer at around 2:00 p.m. today. But the good news is, that he's kicking up gold dust on the streets of glory. Please keep Tracy's family in your prayers, I love y'all to pieces for it.