THE SHACK

I just posted this on my other blog, so if you read both, you need to read this again so I can further prove my point. :)





I just finished reading The Shack and recommend it to EVERYONE. What an AMAZING book full of hope and working through the challenges that life and grief bring. I'm not an avid reader at all, but it is a goal of mine. However, when I find a book that I like, I will read it cover to cover as quickly as I can, as I did this book.

This book is not written for Christians. It is written for everyone no matter of their religious preference or level of faith they do or do not have. Please give yourself an amazing gift in 2009 and read this book! I would lend you my copy, but I am not letting it go. When you read it - which is very soon I hope - be sure to read the foreword. It will make the book fit together like the beautiful puzzle that it is.

The past two nights of reading "The Shack" have reformed my mind, my relationships, and my outlook on life. I feel a sense of purpose, comfort, purpose, and (*gulp* dare I say it?) . . . hope . . . that I haven't felt in a long time.

People are Talking . . .

. . . about this photo from prom my junior year of high school. What of it?


I'm sure my high school boyfriend (with whom I am still friends) would absolutely love that his photo is available for all the world to see. :) I'm even more sure that I would never post a picture of this caliber had Todd been standing next to me. I have to be married to the guy, ya know!

Project 365 - A Photo a Day

I found this on my friend Misty's blog, and I am going to join her! Granted, some of it will be under the ruse of wanting a new DSLR camera for my birthday. Until I hopefully get my birthday gift, I'll have to use my phone's camera and my point & shoot. (Which is close to the point of shot.)

I think I'll post my photos here (maybe weekly?) unless I decide to start a new blog for my project. That's doubtful since I have a hard time managing the blogs I already have now.

Why don't you JOIN ME? If you do, let me know. We'll need one another for inspiration!


Here's the info I pulled from the Project 365 website:

WHY DO IT?
Taking a photo a day is a big undertaking with big payoffs. Here are just a few reasons why you should consider doing it:

Imagine being able to look back at any day of your year and recall what you did, who you met, what you learned… (Often we find it hard to remember what we did just yesterday or even last night, let alone a whole year ago!)


Your year-long photo album will be an amazing way to document your travels and accomplishments, your haircuts and relationships. Time moves surprisingly fast.

Taking a photo a day will make you a better photographer. Using your camera every day will help you learn its limits. You will get better at composing your shots, you’ll start to care about lighting, and you’ll become more creative with your photography when you’re forced to come up with something new every single day.

TIPS ON HOW TO DO IT

6 Tips on How to Do It....

1. Bring Your Camera Everywhere
Yes, everywhere. Get in the habit. Grocery stores, restaurants, parties, work, and school. Going to a movie theatre? Snap a pic of the flick with your phone–there are photo-ops everywhere. If you have one of those tiny tiny cameras, you have no excuse not to have it in your pocket all the time. And if you don’t? Camera phones are a great substitute.


2. Make Posting Easy
You can install blog software like Movable Type or Wordpress on your own site and create an entry for each photo, but for true ease of use, try a photo sharing site. Flickr will let you post a week’s worth of photos in 2 minutes flat, and fotolog and Photoblog are geared toward a photo-a-day workflow. Making it fast and easy means you’re much more likely to do it.

3. Vary Your Themes
Try to capture the day’s events in a single photo. Perform photographic experiments. Take a photo of someone new you meet, something you ate for the first time, or something you just learned how to do. Take a photo of something that made you smile. And don’t forget to take a photo of yourself at least once a month so you can remember how you’ve changed, too.

4. Tell a Story
Use your blog entry, or your photo description, to explain what’s going on in each day’s photograph. How good did that dinner taste? What made you want to take a photo of that stranger? It’ll help you remember down the road, and it gives friends following along a better appreciation of why you took the photo you did. You don’t need to write a lot, just enough to add some color.

5. Don’t Stop, No Matter What
This is perhaps the most important tip of all. You will get tired of taking a photo every single day. Some days, you will consider giving up. Don’t. The end result is worth the effort. Remind yourself why you wanted to do it in first place.

There will be times you’ll think there’s nothing interesting left to take a photo of, and times you’ll think you didn’t do anything exciting enough to take a photo of. There’s always a great photo to be made.

Get out of the house and take a walk. Or stay inside and look around. Take a photo of something important to you. Take a photo of the inside of your house so you can see how your taste has changed over the years. Take a photo of anything, just don’t stop.

N.b. It helps if you’ve told your friends about the project and asked them to follow along. Their encouragement will keep you going!

6. Post early, post often
Plan on going through and posting your photos at least once a week so you don’t get backlogged and feel overwhelmed. Ideally, post every day or two. Again, spend the time up front to make sure it’s quick and easy to post. It’ll make all the difference.

Christmas 2008

I've gotten terrible at taking photos - both the process of taking them and actually doing it. Here are a few I did take though.

Our Christmas Card, 2008

I had to share because I love the photos! I removed our last name in case some of you want to dognap our precious babies. :)

Front:
(No, Mindy is not pictured since she doesn't travel well!)


Back:

The photos were taken by our awesome photographer Melissa, who has the patience of Job after dealing with my neurotic OCD behavior, Todd's frustration, and three wild & crazy dogs. And that was just for Christmas photos! It doesn't include our engagements, my bridal portraits, and shooting our wedding for over 8 hours! Love you M!

HUGE RAVE!

I finally did it. I dismantled all of my photo frames and old photo albums (which killed me!) and collected all of my photos. Nervously, I packed every single photograph I could find into three boxes. Everything from wallet-sized to 8x10s, they were shipped to Irvine, California, so the fine folks at Scan My Photos could shoot them all through their high-powered scanner.

Less than one week later, the wonderful postman dropped three boxes on our doorstep, full of all of my photos plus three DVDs contained over 5100 scanned images! Yes, I had over 5000 photos!

Now it's time for the really hard work. I have copied every image to my external hard drive, and I am cleaning up each photo and categorizing them. I'm also adding in all of my digital photo files. I will then burn images to CD or DVD and give them to family and friends. For Christmas, I gave family members an empty jewel case with a poem inside telling them what would be coming . . . eventually!

I hope everyone enjoys the photos as much as I am. I'm absolutely thrilled with the work done by Scan My Photos, and I am enjoying seeing all of these photographs from the past. Best of all, I know my photos are safe now. That's truly the best part.

Merry Christmas

Todd and I wanted to wish you all of the blessings that Christmas provides us. Our Lord brought to us His son, so that He may provide us all the miraculous gift of eternal life. While we know the holidays can often be difficult for many of us, know that His promise is always with you.

If you are celebrating Chanukah, we wish you blessings as you join with family each night to celebrate. Whatever your belief system, we hope that you are able to take this time of year to spend with loved ones, to relax and reflect, and plan for the renewal of a new year.

I started this blog as a way to entertain myself and find a way to journal a little of what life brings us. I doubt you find as much entertainment in it as I do, but I appreciate you reading our blog and getting a little view into our lives. Merry Christmas!

Hospital -- again.

Will - my 18 month old nephew - is in the hospital tonight with pneumonia. Poor baby boy. Please keep his little self in your thoughts and prayers, as well as my brother, sister in-law, and my niece, Aeva. This also means that Will may be quarantined at home for a while, and we can't have Christmas with him. :( We missed his first Christmas last year because he was in the hospital with - you guessed it - pneumonia. Here's a photo of him in the hospital one year ago today:

Will is just so.darn.cute. He felt awful but was still cute and happy. (Of course, Aunt Kristin made fun of him for having a cup on his head to protect his IV.)

A hospital wing should be built and dedicated to my family and friends. There have been 7 (count 'em SEVEN) hospitalizations this year in our family. My grandmother, mom, Rick, me, niece, SIL's mom, and now Will. I think that is enough. NO MORE!!!

If that hasn't been the worst year of medical issues for my family, then I don't really want to stick around for another year of this!!

Tagged Again

I've done some of these, and I don't even remember which ones. I'm doing this one because Shanny Said So!


Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about you.

3. Tag 7 random people at the end, and include links to their blog.


I'm sure there are more than 7 random and/or weird facts about me, but I'm just sticking with 7.

1. I never cared for animals - other than my cat Mindy - until I met Todd. I had pets when I was young, but I never took care of them or dealt with them well.

2. I am more than extremely scared (mortified?) of heights. I fell down two flights of stairs as a toddler, and have been afraid of high places since. According to my mom, as a young child, I would absolutely freak out just sitting on the doctor's table. Anything higher than a chair still freaks me out - especially catwalks, stairs with "holes" (gaps in between the steps) & escalators.

3. I have no septum in my nose. I used to, but after several nasal/sinus surgeries, it's basically gone. Sign me up for stupid human tricks.

4. I have two brothers and two sisters, but I am an only child. I am my parents' first and only child together.

5. At age nine, I was babysitting newborns. I babysat for multiple families in our neighborhood - anywhere from 1 to 4 children per family. As a teacher of 9 & 10 year olds, I cannot imagine leaving my baby with a such a young child. What were those people thinking?!

6. The veins atop my left foot form a "K". How convenient and strange, huh? Maybe God wanted me to remember my first initial when I'm barefoot.

7. Speaking of barefoot - I hate not wearing something on my feet. I am so tender-footed and HATE being without at least socks on my feet.

So . . . that's probably more weird than random . . . but that's me! And since I'm a rule breaker, I'm not tagging anyone. You can add this to your blog on your own accord!

Whatcha Doin'?

Joyce thinks she stole this from me, but I, in fact, stole it from her. :) Things I have done are in bold. It proves I haven't done much traveling, but I have done some living!

1. Started your own blog. Uh, yeah.
2. Slept under the stars. I have been camping before and slept in cars. Does that count?!
3. Played in a band. I played the saxophone for three years in junior high. I was pretty good, but quit in 8th grade after being switched to the only tenor sax in the band. You mess up = everyone looks at you = teenage angst
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world. When I was young. There are photos to prove it. Sounds like torture now that I'm old.
8. Climbed a mountain. Depends on how high of a mountain, but I'm saying yes. No repeling off the sides & stuff though. Too scary.
9. Held a praying mantis. I've even seen them having sex. Luckily I wasn't holding them at the time.
10. Sang a solo. Not in front of people, though.
11. Bungee jumped. Never will unless someone ties my dead body to a rope and throws it off a ledge.
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. Some cooking and scrapbooking.
15. Adopted a child. Praying it won't come to that.
16. Had food poisoning. Oh Lord, yes.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. Scared of heights & stairs, so I don't anticipate this being a part of my future.
18. Grown your own vegetables. Tomatoes & strawberries. (Yes, I know strawberries are a fruit.)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight. Yes, but I wasn't over 12 and I wasn't nekkid.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. I agree w/ Joyce - those are called “mental health days”, everyone needs them. Mental illness is a disease, people.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping. You didn't think I'd go into detail here, did you?
27. Run a Marathon. Nobody would chase me alive for 26.2 miles. Me being alive is the key word.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse. I think I was in 5th grade. You know, before the world was truly created.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. Back in the day . . .
31. Hit a home run. ha!
32. Been on a cruise. No, but we both want to take one!
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. Would love to. My parents honeymooned there in 1970.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. I'm such a mutt that I probably have & might not have known it.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language. My sister and I have a language we speak in front of the kids. Of course, she screwed it all up and told the kids what it was.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. I'm a teacher folks . . .
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing. I climed Red Rock Canyon if that counts. I have pics to prove it. It wasn't on the sides of the cliffs though. It was rock climbing to me.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.
41. Sung karaoke. Uggghhhhh
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. Yes, but it wasn't an all romantical thing.
46. Been transported in an ambulance. Both transported myself and rode with others.
47. Had your portrait painted. Caricature only. Does that count? My Dad had portraits done of us from photos - amazing.
48. Gone deep sea fishing. Do they drink beer for this? I'd be willing to go if they did. And if someone would bait my hook. And reel in my fish if I got thirsty. And take the fish off the hook. And help reapply my sunscreen. Sounds like a fun thing to do!
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling. We snorkeled at Trunk Bay, St. John USVI during our honeymoon.
52. Kissed in the rain. I'm sure I have, but again, there wasn't some romantical moment. Yes, I like the word 'romantical'.
53. Played in the mud. What are china tea sets for when you're young?!
54. Gone to a drive-in theater. LOVE drive-ins! Wish we still had them. Our family went when we were young, and we went in high school (to drink & hang out).
55. Been in a movie. Only one for school stuff.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business. Yes, but I didn't put much into it. Therefore, I didn't get much out of it.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies. Girl Scout cookies & Camp Fire candy!
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason. Yes. :)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving. That would be hell-to-the-no. Unless someone tied my dead body to a parachute & dropped it out of a plane.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter. No, but I flew in a plane with no doors/windows. Skeerey.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. My Pooh Bear, china sets, and a couple of small things.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial. Yes, by myself.
71. Eaten Caviar. Not alone but with something.
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job. What a blessing that was!!!
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone. My leg - playing football. I was 30. My mom thought I was ridiculous.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. Yes - scared the crap out of me since I've had a couple of friends die in motorcycle accidents.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car. I typically only buy new. Guess I'm a snob like that, while Todd refuses to buy new. He's more practical than I am anyway.
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper. In college & our engagement and wedding announcements in the Dallas Morning News.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House. Drove by during a tour!
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. Fish, but I didn't clean them so it doesn't really count. Did you see my deep sea fishing comments?!
88. Had chickenpox. Yes, atop a severe sunburn. It was awful!
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous. Depends on how famous we're talking about here. Local celebreties? Yes. Music stars? Yes.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one. Unfortunately too many.
94. Had a baby. Well shit. Who wrote this quiz??
95. Seen the Alamo in person. Uh YEAH.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit. I joined a class action suit and got a $22 check in the mail recently. Sweet!
98. Owned a cell phone. Yes, since 1990. I used to have a permanently mounted one in my car. It had a short in it, so you had to bang the handle on the steering wheel to make it work. HAHA!
99. Been stung by a bee. When I was a kid.

Play for the Cure

We want a cure for breast cancer! Each time you play this quick & easy game, Pepperidge Farms will donate a dollar to the Susan G. Komen Foundation to help find a cure. All you have to do is play. Share it with others!

Our Latest Splurge

Todd and I purchased a new home entertainment wall today. It'll be a month or so before we receive it, but we are really looking forward to it!

Here she is:

Right now we are using an old dresser-type piece of furniture which is beginning to sag slightly from the weight its holding. (Well, so am I for that matter!)

You can see the TV & in its current state in the distance of this photo. I'm too lazy to crop it right now.



I'll definitely take some before and after photos next month. As I watch TV tonight, I am envisioning how it will look. I can promise it will look SO much better!

Scrooged!

As you may remember, my Dad recently performed as Scrooge in "A Christmast Carol". They made some changes to the play this year, so it was different than in years past. Dad - as always - did a fantastic job!

Below is Scrooge with his off-stage family. His makeup is ick and even ickier is Dad's nappy hair sticking out and disgusting, scratchy beard. Yes, the night after his last performance involved a haircut and big time shave.


Me, Dad, Marilynn (my stepmom), Kilee (niece), Cindy (sister), & Todd (husband)

While we're looking forward to Dad playing Scrooge again in the future, we are never looking forward to that scraggly hair and beard. Oh well . . . the things people do for fame! :)

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jig

Rick is being released from the crazy house hospital today! His Dad and sister are here, and they have been a huge help to my mom. Thank you for all the prayers, good thoughts, calls, notes, & emails. They are MUCH appreciated! It's amazing how one day everything can change.

I.C.U. leaving the ICU!

Rick was released from the ICU yesterday and moved to the IMC (Intermediate Care) unit. :)

Here's the latest from Tuesday/Wednesday:
- Since being admitted to the ICU late Friday night, 19 liters of fluid have been pulled from Rick's body. And he is still experiencing edema (swelling).
- Kidney biopsy results are back. Luckily it is not Wegener's Disease, although the symptoms sure did look like it. Results showed it is GN Nephritis, which basically means a secondary infection (which they believe to be strep) caused the kidney infection, which in turn caused the kidneys and heart to fail due to infection and excessive edema. You know, kinda like the leg bone is connected to the foot bone!
- Rick has had opportunites to be on room air vs. oxygen, his bp is still good (on meds), etc. He is feeling more comfortable, and hoping to feel human very soon.

Our focus in now turning Sick Rick back to Well Rick. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. Rick thinks they all started "kicking in around late Monday." We ask that you continue to pray for his strength and healing. Please pray for my mom as well. She's not feeling too great this week, and I know she's running herself into the ground. At least she scheduled her next echocardiogram for Wednesday.

Update on Sick Rick

Disclaimer: I'm too tired to reread and edit this, so please just deal with any & don't judge!

Sick Rick is still in the ICU. Nurses got him out of bed & into a chair yesterday, but he began to swell again. He's still on Lasix (to pull fluid from the body), bp meds, oxygen (at a lesser concentration), antibiotics, etc. His bp and O-sat is better but only because of the meds.

Today Sick Rick is looking & feeling better (cracking his awful jokes again), but doctors want everything stabilized before they move him to the IMC - Intermediate Care Unit - which is a stepdown unit from the ICU. Doctors performed a kidney biopsy today and hope to get results to trickle in starting tomorrow. They are thinking there is a possibility that Sick Rick had strep and it grew into a staph infection. That would explain the fluid build up that caused the heart & kidney failure. We'll see, I guess. Thanks for the prayers for Sick Rick - keep 'em coming!

Please also keep my mom in your prayers. She's running between floors while working & checking on Rick (he's on the 3rd floor, her unit is on the 2nd), spending time at the hospital after work, and even went home late last night to decorate some for Christmas. Of course, she changed the air filters while she was up in the attic at midnight. ("Well, I figured I might as well change the while I was up there.") She had an echocardiogram scheduled for today & she cancelled. Nurse Kristin called to tell her that the echo WILL be done before the end of the week.

I'm tired of our family supporting the local hospital systems.

Update

Rick is improving. So far, so good. He is still in ICU and will remain in the hospital through Tuesday or so. Mom was able to get several hours of sleep last night and is planning to work tomorrow. Thanks for the prayers - keep 'em coming!

And now . . . a moment of Steve. He's been in a very playful mood the past couple of days - bringing me toys, balls, ropes, etc. This video is of us playing ball, or you could say me trying to keep his tennis ball. :)

Prayers for Rick, please

Please keep my mom's husband, Rick, in your prayers, good thoughts, etc.

Rick wasn't feeling good Thanksgiving, & we just thought he was being a whiny male. Yesterday he finally went to the doctor & the doc called my mom saying Rick needed to go to the ER. The doctor personally drove Rick to the ER. His bp was up to 240/140, O2 sats were only 80, lung xrays looked awful, and his hands & feet were very swollen. He was admitted into ICU (one room away from mom's room from 13 weeks ago). My mom was up there all night in her scrubs since she went straight upstairs from work yesterday. (Rick's at her hospital.)

They are continuing today to bring Rick's bp down, he's on oxygen, and he'll have some testing of his heart and kidneys done today. He's obviously very sick and experiencing congestive heart and renal failure. Hopefully the medications he is on will help pull fluid out of his body, keep him comfortable and let his organs heal. If not, Rick will be scheduled for a kidney biopsy to see what should be done next.

I will try to keep updates on here, but until you hear otherwise, your prayers are appreciated.

Do you use Ebates?

Confession: I'm not a big coupon clipper. If it's really convenient, I'll clip it & take it with me. Usually Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's, or Michael's are the only stores that get my coupons. (A girl's gotta scrapbook!) Todd used to be really good at clipping coupons, and I was many years ago, but not anymore. That needs to change now that I'm spending sometimes over $400/month on groceries.

Well, ebates is awesome. It's a website that shows you tons of stores and whatever deals they currently have and then offers a % of your purchase back as a rebate. And lots of the stores have double rebates during the holidays! They also have double rebates for lots of stores and lots of free shipping offers.

If you haven't signed up already -- you can use my referral ID by clicking here and we both get a $5 credit! Easy way to save for those of us who aren't good at deal hunting and coupon clipping! With the economy in its current state, everyone can use all the help we can get.

Speaking of Thankful

Yes, Thanksgiving is now over, but it is still important to be thankful every day. One person for whom I am very thankful is Todd. I took this idea from my new blogernet friend, Jen, as she remembered her husband Shawn on what would have/should have been his 32nd birthday.


About Our Husbands . . .


1) Where did you meet? Todd and I met on a blind date after "meeting" on match.com. Our first date/meeting was at the Flying Saucer on Friday, November 11, 2003.

2) How long did you date before you got married? We dated for almost three years before we were *finally* engaged. (We lived in sin for about two years before that.) We were married one day short of 3 years, 4 months of our first date.

3) How long have you been married? We have been married for 1 year, 8 months (since March 10, 2007). What a ride it's been already! We are looking forward to many, many years ahead of us.

4) What is your favorite feature of his? Physical feature? I would have to say his gorgeous, bright, blue eyes. Mmmmmm.

5) What is your favorite quality of his? There are many ~ that's why I married him! Let's see . . . Todd is sentimental, nostalgic, calm, responsible, tender-hearted, kind, courteous, hard working, funny, passionate, industrious . . . I could go on for days.

6) Does he have a nickname for you? Kris (which is reserved for family and a select few friends), Babe, Dear.

7) What is his favorite food? Pad Thai, good cheeseburgers


8) What is his favorite sport? Football. He doesn't really care for any other sports.

9) When and where was your first kiss? Our first kiss was on our first date. We left the Flying Saucer and went to Mercy (a wine bar) nearby. They have such a unique and wonderful atmosphere there. Between the wine and the ambience, we just couldn't help ourselves. :)

10) What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Spend time together and with our pets. What more could we ask for?

11) Do you have any children? Unfortunately, no. We lost three babies in our first year of marriage, and are hoping to have a successful pregnancy underway before our second anniversary.

12) Does he have a hidden talent? Now, I couldn't tell you THAT, could I?!

13) How old is he? Todd is 39 years old. Yep, I'm a cradle robber. ha!

14) Who said "I love you" first? He did, but only because I waited. It was in October of 2004, almost a year after we met. Todd was taking our baby dog, Steve, to the vet to get neutered. I was crying and upset (worried about my baby), and told Todd that I just couldn't go with them to drop Stevie off at the nut-choppers. Before he left, he came into the room and hugged me goodbye. I was bawling, and he just held me and said, "I love you, Dear." My eyes are tearing up just typing this. Funny story, but it meant the world to me then and still does today.

15) What is his favorite type of music? Todd has the most eclectic music tastes of anyone I've ever met. Let's just say he doesn't like what I like (which is close to everything).

16) What do you admire the most about him? His kind and gentle nature, sense of humor, and sense of responsibility.

17) Do you think he will read this? No, he hates this blog. Todd is very private, and he doesn't like the fact that I'm "publicizing" our world to everyone. I'm still working on converting him. :)

Out of ALL that food . . .

. . . I just remembered we forgot cranberry sauce!!! How could that happen? Are we crazy? Maybe we are - or at least Aeva and I are!

We had turkey, ham, dressing, gravy, green bean casserole, sauteed green beans, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, fruit salad, blackeyed peas, rolls, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, cake, cheesecake, wine, beer, water, milk, and juice. But no cranberry sauce.

That's it. We must do Thanksgiving again!

Here are a few pics from our day:

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving day . . . and got some cranberry sauce.

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving to all from Todd & Kristin - and Mindy, Mackey, Pippin & Steve! We hope that you all have a day of fun, food and football. May you have safe travels and special time spent with loved ones and friends.

We are thankful for so many things. We have each other. We are healthy. We have amazing family, friends & pets. We have a wonderful home. We have stable jobs during economic uncertainty. We have two trees out front that are growing and looking beautiful. We live in a country that offers us freedom and opportunity. We have some delicious food to eat tomorrow. And of course, we have the Dallas Cowboys. (I had to throw that in! It IS Thanksgiving you know!)

I know the holidays can be difficult. While Thanksgiving may be a time of joyous cooking, feasting, family, friends, and football, it can also be a day of misery, sadness, and loneliness for others. Please remember and pray for those who are experiencing sadness, loss, loneliness, and despair. These people most likely are not just feeling this today.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says to "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

No matter what your circumstances may be as you read this, I pray that you will find at least one thing that allows you to offer thanks. No matter how big or how small, you will find something for which you can offer your thanks each day. It could be something as big as a huge pay raise or something as small as having a good hair day. When we seek the positive, we will find it. Our darkest days can receive just a tiny glimmer of light if we seek it.

May you and yours have blessings today and in all of the days to come. Happy Thanksgiving.

Marriage Survey

How long have you been married?
1 Year, 8 months and 3 weeks.

Is this your first marriage?
My first. Todd had a practice marriage before me.

Is it how you imagined it would be?
Yes and no. Our first year was the roughest ever, so I think if we can survive that - we can make it through just about anything.

What would you change?
Nothing we haven't already discussed.

Are you married to your soulmate?
I don't know about soulmates, but I can't imagine not being married to Todd!

What do you argue about the most?
Just communication (or lack thereof) related stuff.

What do you see eye to eye on the most?
I just asked Todd, and he replied, "I don't know. That is a very deep question and I'm not feeling very deep right now." I agree.

Where did you meet your spouse?
Match.com

Where was your first date?
The Flying Saucer

Where were you when you became engaged?
We were at Thai Garden, a restaurant near our home.

Did you live together before marriage?
Yes, for over two years.

What was your wedding song?
Our first dance was to "At Last" by Etta James. It was the only song we'd dance to together besides "Pussy Control" by Prince. Seriously.

Who was in your wedding party?
Gosh . . . my wedding party had been decided YEARS before I met Todd! My BFF & oldest sister were my Matrons of Honor. Four of my sorority sisters (3 were pledge sisters) were my bridesmaids. Todd's brother was his Best Man. His groomsmen included his cousin, a few high school & college friends, and a friend who is kind of a cousin (his cousin's cousin). Two of my nieces were our flower girls, and our cousin's cousins' two oldest boys were our ringbearers. You still with me?

Do you get along with the in-laws?
I'll say yes and no. Anyone who knows me/us knows the full answer. :)

Whats your view on children?
We want them. Now. Todd is a bit scared of multiples, but I'll take whatever we get!

Does your spouse feel the same way?
See above.

Are you a 2 peas in a pod or opposites attract couple?
We are complete total opposites. Completely. I'm loud and social, he's a reserved people-watcher. I'm often careless, he's responsible. I like reality TV, he hates it. I like order, he can handle a mess. I like to lounge, he's industrious. Those are a few examples.

Do you go out without your spouse?
Yes. He's fine with it. He even lets me go to work. :)

How long are you away from your spouse before you start to miss him/her?
About a day.

Have you ever compared your spouse to someone you have dated in the past?
I'm sure I have as many years that I dated before meeting Todd.

Do you trust your Spouse?
Completely and totally. I wouldn't be with him if I didn't. I told him not long after we started dating that if he ever cheated on me that I would be gone, and he'd never see or hear from me again.

Does your Spouse trust you?
Yes.

How well does your spouse know your favorites?
He knows me better than I'd like to admit!

Do you get along with your spouses friends?
Yes.

Does your spouse get along with your friends?
Yes.

Did you go on a honeymoon?
Oh, yes. We went to St. Thomas, USVI and want to go back. Now.

Do you watch the same TV shows?
NOT. AT. ALL. The only shows we'll watch together are The Office, The Wire, America's Funniest Home Videos, and 60 Minutes.

Can you agree on Pizza toppings?
Yes. He likes black olives & I don't, so I just pick off stuff I don't like and throw it on his pizza (or whatever he's eating).

Who takes out the trash?
Him more than me.

Who does laundry??
We do our own laundry. (benefit of getting married at an older age) The maid does sheets & towels.

Who cooks dinner?
Me.

Do you have any traditions?
Not really, but we want to develop some for when we have children. There are a few Christmas traditions and Sunday breakfasts that we have already.

Do you know your spouses passwords/pins?
Some, but I usually forget them.

Does your spouse know your social security number?
Know as in memorized? No. He has it though.

Do you ever nag your spouse?
Me? Nag? What a silly question!

Do you admit wrong doing?
Yes, if I'm in the wrong.

Does your spouse?
Yes, if he's in the wrong.

Thanksgiving Humor

This is hilarious and SO TRUE! The Seven Most Annoying People at Thanksgiving Dinner

Most of us can give a specific name to each of the annoying individuals described. Here's hoping that we all have more than 7 people at our turkey dinners this year! :)

Thanksgiving Dilemma

I don't know if we'll get to eat that much! My mom's double ovens died, and the parts won't be in until January 1st. Crappy timing, huh?

Todd and I are making the turkey here. I'm also making mashed potatoes (crock pot), deviled eggs, green bean casserole (in toaster oven), rolls (warm in toaster oven at the last minute?), pumpkin pies (made ahead of time), and whatever else I can think of making.

Mom is making the dressing & a ham, plus some other stuff, but we're not sure how this will happen without ovens at her house. Maybe I could make the dressing here, but we wouldn't have any way to heat it up other than the microwave. Mom is going to check with a couple of neighbors to see if they'll be in town & might be able to lend an oven. We also have an extra crockpot, stove top, two microwaves, and a toaster oven.

Any other ideas??? And, no, our house is not an option.

EDIT: Disaster avoided! Mom & Rick found an oven for sale for only $30! That's only $70 cheaper than the food warmer I almost bought today. Now we'll have some great food for Thanksgiving AND Christmas! Whew . . .

Recipes - Consolidated

Here are the links to all of the recipes I told you were coming. I initially planned to post them all as separate recipe links, but hopefully this consolidation will make it easier. Plus, you need recipes before Thanksgiving!

Breads

Cakes Galore!

Candy & Fudge (as previously posted)

Cookies!

Pies

All Sorts of Other Recipes

I found this fun & cool tool on Mrs. Spit's blog, and I decided I needed to Typealyzer my blog too.

The analysis indicates that the author of http://toddandkristin.blogspot.com/ is of the type:

ESFP - The Performers

(This is kinda what I looked like the night I met Todd! However, my hair was longer & curlier & my tights kept slipping down to my knees - ha!)

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves. The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

Analysis
This show what parts of the brain that were dominant during writing.

Smiling at the GAS PUMP

No, you didn't read that incorrectly. I was SMILING while filling up tonight. Well, I wasn't smiling at first. Remember the gas shortage of the 70s? I felt like I was reliving it (except I was driving, not riding) because I had to wait in line. Yes, IN LINE.

This pic shows just a few of the cars. There were about twenty cars lined up from multiple directions. Crazy, I tell ya!




Then, I swiped my card, got my $0.03 discount, and SHAZAM! $1.56/gallon. No, your eyes aren't deceiving you . . .

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE . . . . . . . . . .

I ain't lying. What a beautiful opportunity to allow me to help stimulate the economy.

Today's Morning Commute

It was not pretty. It usually takes me about 25 minutes to get to school each morning. Today it took me 75 minutes. I didn't stress out because there wasn't anything I could do about it. Instead, I tried to entertain myself.

School starts at 7:55. It's 8:20 - Do you know where your children are? Hopefully someone was watching mine!

I made friends with lots of others while sitting in the parking lot/highway. They weren't entertaining themselves like I did.

Then, XM/Sirius helped me out. Milli Vanilli!

No. I was not speeding. How could I when I was just sitting there? (Notice that I need gas & an oil change.)

Finally . . . OPEN ROAD!!!!

A Christmas Carol

Starring my Dad as Ebenezer Scrooge again this year!

A CHRISTMAS CAROL
McKinney Repertory Theatre
Fri, Nov 28 - Sun, Dec 7

Tickets: $7 adults; $6 seniors/students;$5 kids 12 yrs & under Click HERE for tickets.

If you live in the Dallas area, you should definitely check it out! It is always a wonderful performance, and I'm always proud of my Dad's good work! This will be Dad's fourth time playing Scrooge, the third time with this show. Todd and I are going again this year and then hanging out in Downtown McKinney during A Dickens Christmas.

Crazy Eights

8 TV Shows I Love to Watch:

1. All My Children
2. Brothers & Sisters
3. The Office
4. Biggest Loser
5. Lipstick Jungle
6. ER
7. Top Chef
8. Jon & Kate + 8
   

8 Favorite Restaraunts:

1. Blue Goose
2. The Oasis (Lake Travis, Austin)
3. Kirby's Steakhouse
4. Venezia Italian Grill
5. Buffalo Wild Wings
6. Thai Soon
7. My grandmother's house :)
   

8 Things that Happened Today:

1. I went to work
2. I didn't get evaluated
3. I cooked dinner
4. I let my husband clean up the kitchen
5. I took Steve for a walk
6. I surfed the internet
7. I labeled my labelmaker
8. I talked to my mom on the phone (3x)

8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. Pat & Linda visiting this weekend
2. My grandmother's holiday sale on Saturday
3. Taking my class swimming next week
4. Week off for Thanksgiving
5. Thanksgiving Day
6. Spending time with family and friends over the holidays
7. Giving the gifts I'm giving for Xmas
8. Scrapbook retreat in January

8 Things on My Wishlist:

1. Having a baby
2. New kitchen countertops
3. A new pair of sweats
4. New clothing
5. Health and happiness for us, our family, & friends
6. Rest and recuperation
7. Gift cards
8. Clean & organized house

I'm not tagging anyone, but entertain yourself & do it anyway. :)

Important Stuff - Naming Our Future Children

I found this photo while catching up on Google Reader and perusing the recipes on Pioneer Woman's Website, and it brought back many fond memories of planning my future when I was a child. Behold, Bob Barker and "Barker's Beauties." (**the angels begin to sing a beautiful tune**)

aaahhhh . . . My sisters and I used to spend an hour of each summer morning playing The Price is Right in our living room. I have always loved that game show and enjoyed watching Barker's Beauties (Dian, Holly & Janice for those of you who are still with me). In fact, I still watch on a rare occasion even though Bob and HIS beauties are no longer on the show. However, Janice was always my favorite. (And yeah, yeah, she was probably banging Bob. I know.) She even uses a heart in her signature as I often do.

When I asked Todd just now what he would say if I told him I'd like to name our first daughter Janice he responded, "That's interesting." In Todd-speak that means hell no, our first daughter will NOT be named Janice. And now, over 25 years later, I must agree with my husband. He is so smart and insightful.

And don't forget to spay & neuter your pets!

Five Years Ago Today . . .

. . . Todd and I met for our first date. It's amazing that it's already been five years. Friday, November 11, 2003 --- what a night that was! There are a few hilarious stories that accompany that evening. I'll try to write about it in the future when I have time to get it all down. What I will tell you is when Todd called me the next day, I was smitten! There were only a few days a couple of weeks afterwards (when he was out of town for the holidays) that we didn't not talk. I'm so blessed to have such a kind, thoughtful, and respectful man as my husband.

In the past five years, we've grown to know, love, and care for one another like noone else. We have established not only our house but our home and the beginnings of our family. Since getting married almost two years ago, we have had even more wonderful times as well as some amazingly difficult times. No matter what though, we are committed to one another and to our marriage.

Here are a few of the first pictures of us as a couple:

Valentine's Day, 2004 - yes a big snowstorm came through that day!

March 5, 2004 - Bowling with friends on my birthday.March 6, 2004 at the Dallas Irish Festival:

I love you, Todd, and look forward to the next 5, 15, 20, 25, and more years with you! Thank you for being my blessing.

On another note, today is also Veterans' Day. Please take time to thank and pray for those who have fought for our country in the past as well as those who are doing the same today.

Love is in the Air

Jenn loves our blog!

Jenn and I met online and have become fast friends. She is such a sweet person and is absolutely beautiful (inside and out). We sure do enjoy one another's randomness! A funny note . . . Jenn's mom is only four years older than me. :) Her mom and I are VERY young for our age!

Now it's time for YOU to share the love! Here are the Rules:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person from whom you received your award.
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs
4. Put links of those blogs on yours, and
5. Leave a message on the blogs that you've nominated!

There are many other blogs I love. I'm loving on these blogs today because many of them need to post more often!!!!
3 Noisy Boys (our cousins)
The Roubinek Reality (our wedding date twins)
Photos by Melissa (our photographer)
The Bandy's Blog (our cousins)
Sarah & Jamie (They both blog!)
Virginia's Goings On (good pics & food)
Carla's Kitchen (I need more recipes!)

And a few others that are better about providing me some reading and/or pics each week:
Sabrina & Andy (and cutie Drew too!)
My Name is Cool (Will her's be too? ha!)
God Won't Make a Mountain I Can't Climb (heartfelt blogging and a Cowboy of her own)
A Tale of Two Coins (surviving with grace and beauty)

I Forgot Halloween!

Halloween was such a busy time that I forgot to post a photo of us in our costumes. Here we are in all of our glory. Can you figure out what we are? Hee hee hee!



Here I am taking one of MANY syringe-filled Jell-O shots with my friends Monica and Kim.



And I have to show off the flayed skin cheeseball that I took to the party. Isn't he gorgeous?? He looked even better surrounded by crackers, and he tasted good, too!

More Weird Dreams

Since we don't have children, I often dream about our animals. Many times, I dream that Steve is gone. In last night's dream, we were at a party looking for Todd's friend (whose name is Jack but in the dream people were referring to him as "Colonel"). We couldn't find Jack/Colonel anywhere, but I did see a woman who had close to a dozen puppies running around in the grass. They all looked like little, miniature Golden Retrievers & Rottweilers. They weren't "puppies" but mini-dogs. After seeing the mini-dogs, we were looking for Steve and couldn't find him. In the dream, I remember looking at the tons of dogs at the party & looking for my babydog's neon orange collar. I was beside myself in the dream and woke up worried.

Steve was fast asleep across my legs, snoring like a madman. He's just fine, but I still looked forward to getting home tonight to hug him. :)

Oh, and I also dreamed something about Todd and I eating dinner at a restaurant that seated us in the corner (not a corner table - a corner) near the restrooms. Plus, we were seated with strangers. We left the restaurant and drove a convertible down a highway surrounded by tall buildings. I don't remember if that was before or after the party with mini-dogs and my missing pup.

Entertaining Myself

It doesn't take much . . .

I bet it won't take much to entertain you either. Check out Says-It!

Wish Us Luck

We are meeting our wonderful friend and awesome photographer, Melissa, tomorrow evening for a photo shoot. Why would we need luck just to have our photos taken?

We are taking all three dogs. This could be fun and good or a disaster. Stay tuned!

Man vs. Woman

Tuesday night, Todd and I were on our way back home from dinner. During our short drive, the conversation went like this:

K: Do you think we should take the pups to the park on Sunday? Maybe we could wear them out before we meet Melissa for our "family" portraits that evening.

T: I don't know. The only thing I'm thinking about is driving home right now.

K: Okay.

. . . silence . . .

K: That was a prime example of men vs. women, huh? You're thinking of one thing - driving us a few miles down the road - and I have a thousand things running through my head right now.

T: Mmhmm.

WE ALREADY VOTED

SO WILL ALL THE POLITICIANS QUIT CALLING OUR HOUSE???????!!!!!

I swear our phone has rung at least ten times tonight. It's making me nuts.

The Challenges of Blogging

Coming to you from our backyard . . . it's our blog!


The weather is GORGEOUS today!!! Rather than sit inside and blog, I decided to take our blog outdoors. However, I am learning that there are some additional challenges to this extreme style of blogging. Here they are in no particular order:


Exhibit A - Pippin




Exhibit B - Wine in the Waterford, combined with the loud and forceful swishes of the huge dog door you see through that clear crystal.




Exhibit C - Pippin & Steve fighting for attention. While practically in my lap. Yeah.



Exhibit D - The peace that comes from a bold mixture of the outdoors, foliage, wine, and a laptop.

You Can Vote However You Like!

From the Ron Clark Academy - "You Can Vote However You Like". Here are the lyrics if you want to sing along.

Ron Clark was a featured speaker at our district convocation last year. He is absolutely dynamic! Ron was Teacher of the Year not too many years ago, and has an AMAZING school that is full of energy and life-applicable teaching. dynamic! A couple of teachers in our building had the privilege of visiting the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta last June.

Wish we didn't have TAKS to deal with, so we could teach like that again!!!

No Sharing

One of Steve's favorite toys - the tennis ball. He doesn't like to share it. He loves to play ball, but won't give anyone the ball so it can be thrown. There is no touching, sharing, or releasing of the tennis ball. Need proof? (Well, even if you don't you're getting it anyway!)

We're taking bets to see how long it takes for Stevie to:

1. Lose the tennis ball,
2. Get the tennis ball filthy beyond recognition, or
3. Murder it so we have to trash it.

What's your guess there, internets?

A Night of Recognition

Tonight my school district held its first Service Award Dinner, and it was much better than I expected. Employees - including teachers, auxiliary personnel, custodians, administrative staff, administration, & more - received $500 per five years of service (for 5, 10, 15 years, etc.). Over $335,000 were distributed to staff members at tonight's dinner. That dollar amount does not include employees who were not in attendance that have been with the district for five years. There was a man who received recognition for being with our district for 35 years. Wow.

One thing I did notice is that with all of the people there (over 250), there were only a couple of former employees from my building. I knew many others there, but they were from my time at another school, people I met in trainings, service personnel, etc. That alone showed me that our staff stays at my school for a reason, and the main reason we ever lose people is because they go on to bigger and better things.

With everything going on in today's economy and DISD, I feel very privileged to work for a district that truly values its employees. Tonight is one example that proved that to be true.

A picture of my assistant principal (in year 16), my principal (in year 15) & me (in year 11). A fun note: I graduated from high school w/ Lance (my principal)!

The only thing that would have made the evening better - wine with dinner. :) Guess goverment dollars don't pay for alcohol unless you're in the political arena!

Blogoversary

Happy 1st Blogoversary to Todd and Kristin's Blog!!!
I started this blog one year ago today. I didn't know what it would become - if anything - but it has evolved into the most elaborate diary I've ever kept in my short (ahem) time here on Earth. I was in hopes that Todd would publish at least one post because he is a wonderful writer, but blogging is not his thing. Maybe that should be a goal for our second year of this her blog. My first post started it all. I have enjoyed blogging, and hope that all of you out there are enjoying reading it all.

A Few Little Stats:
- First post: October 20, 2007
- Over 15,000 visitors received
- Visitors from dozens of countries
- Visitors from almost every state of the US
- 156 posts published
- 21 posts in 2007
- 135 posts (including this one) in 2008
- Month with most posts: July 2008
- Month with fewest posts: February 2008

I love that our blog has received hits from all over the world. Please leave me a comment from wherever you are, so you can enjoy a virtual piece of blogoversary cake!

Todd's Green Thumb

It is AMAZING how much work Todd has done on our landscaping! There is grass throughout the backyard where before there was a huge 12'x6' patch missing (thanks to the dogs). Our backyard is full of lush plants which have grown so much this year that we'll have to dig some up and transplant it elsewhere. We have added three new trees in the past two years. A small garden is ready for some planting. We actually have yards that we can use and enjoy!



I'm so proud of my husband and all of his hard work. He has made our home much more beautiful!

SSshhhhhhh

Don't tell Todd, but I registered us today with the Yellow Pages Go Green website. :) I found a way so we won't be receiving the dozens of tree-killin', space-takin' telephone books that Todd loves so much. (Hello, use the computer honey!) Maybe he'll figure it out when the new books don't show up at our house, and I recycle the old ones when he's not looking. Aaahhhhh - I can't wait!

Sunrise, Sunset

If you're cool like me, you're now singing that song from "Fiddler on the Roof." Uh, anyway . . .

Going home from school last night, I saw this:

Coming back to work this morning, I saw this:

Gorgeous full moon shots, aren't they? Don't know when I'll get to see the light of day again. At least teaching in a windowless classroom for the past 7 years doesn't get me too exposed to the outdoors. ;)

100 North American Foods

Same setup from my food list as I did before. Bold if eaten, Strike out if you'll never eat it, and I added Italics if I didn't know WTH it is!

1. New York pizza (not in NY - does it still count?)
2. Hoppin' John
3. New Mexico green chile
4. Homemade buttermilk biscuits
5. Tasso
6. Whole Maine lobster
7. Calabash-style shrimp and hushpuppies
8. Kansas City barbecue ribs
9. Hot glazed Krispy Kreme
10. San Diego fish tacos
11. Cheese curds
12. Key lime pie
13. Philly cheese steak
14. Memphis pork barbecue sandwich (Texas BBQ is the best, though!)
15. Lowcountry boil
16. Huckleberry pie
17. New England clam chowder
18. Boiled peanuts
19. Buffalo (Bison) burger
20. Eggs Benedict
21. Pastrami on rye
22. Corned beef and cabbage
23. Pancakes with maple syrup
24. Everything bagel with cream cheese and tomato
25. Thin Mints
26. Frito pie
27. Potato knish with mustard
28. Silver Queen corn on the cob
29. Soft pretzel from a street cart
30. Fresh-picked blueberries
31. Sourwood honey
32. State fair funnel cake
33. Chesapeake crab cakes
34. Candied yams
35. Oyster dressing
36. Snow cone or snowball
37. Wild Alaskan salmon
38. Sautéed more
39. Persimmon pudding
40. General Tso's Chicken
41. Frozen custard
42. Italian sausage with peppers and onions on a hoagie bun
43. Chili dogs
44. Buffalo wings with blue cheese (I hate blue cheese - ick)
45. Spam musubi (This is like a sushi made with Spam)
46. Saltwater taffy
47. Fluffernutter sandwich on Wonder Bread
48. Black and white cookie (is it an Oreo?)
49. Frybread
50. BLT with thick-cut applewood bacon
51. Baked beans
52. Pumpkin pie
53. Collards with vinegar and Tabasco
54. Tex-Mex fajitas with skirt steak and sautéed peppers
55. Fried green tomatoes
56. Succotash
57. Shrimp and grits
58. Hot water cornbread
59. Barbecue chicken pizza with red onions
60. Chicken fried steak
61. Carnitas burrito
62. Apple butter
63. Geoduck (pronounced: Gooey-duck)
64. Soft-serve ice cream cone dipped in chocolate shell
65. Pecan pie
66. Catfish supper at a church or fire station
67. Oysters Rockefeller
68. Homemade cranberry sauce
69. Pimento cheese
70. MoonPie washed down with R.C. Cola
71. Pickled watermelon rind
72. Cracker Jacks at the ball game
73. Smithfield ham
74. Meatloaf and mashed potato blue plate special at diner
75. Chicken and waffles
76. Po'Boy with many napkins
77. Green bean casserole with French's fried onions
78. Stuffed sopapillas
79. Turducken
80. Shad roe on toast
81. Sweet potato casserole with or without marshmallows
82. Cioppino
83. New York cheesecake
84. Pan-fried river trout
85. Jambalaya
86. North Carolina pig pickin'
87. California rolls (assuming this is sushi)
88. Burgoo
89. Penuche fudge
90. Fried peanut butter and banana sandwich
91. Scrapple or livermush
92. Elk medallions in red wine reduction
93. Muscadine grapes
94. Cheeseburger at backyard barbecue
95. Open-face turkey sandwich
96. Chicago deep dish pizza
97. Cobb salad
98. Peach pie a la mode
99. Macaroni and cheese
100. Root beer float

What We Shouldn't Be Having for Dinner

But we are. Pot roast.

Easy enough, huh? Lightly brown it, drop it in a crock pot, add some broth or water, later add veggies, and voila dinner! It's simple, easy, delicious, hearty, and filling, right? Right. Unless . . .


. . . the dogs steal it off the counter. And eat it. Raw. Mostly thawed. All 3.5 pounds of it. Damn dogs.


You may wonder the reason we ARE having pot roast tonight. It's called the grocery store. Thank you, Sprouts. Dinner is almost ready, and it's pot roast. Surprisingly it's beef, not dog.

Damn Dogs.

You Give a Dog a __________

You give a puppy a home,
And he destroys a lot of it.
You give the puppy some food,
And he grows to be HUGE.
You give a dog some love,
And he licks you to death.
You give a dog a friend,
And he loves to play.
You give a dog a yard,
And he wants to play in his crate.
You show your dog a camera,
And he gives his mom a show.

Directly from Kristin's crude cell phone video camera, I present to you "Crate Wrestling":




Yes, you probably noticed at the end of the video that Steve sat on Pippin, looked at me with that "You wanna show?" look, and proceeded to begin humping Pippin. End of video.

Lovely.

Very Quick Update

- My mom went back to work yesterday. She's on light duty, but she said it was nice to be back. I hope she doesn't wear herself out!

- Mary is doing okay. She's still on a lot of pain meds through hospice care. She is still very sharp in her mind, but her body is failing her.

- My brother and SIL will most likely both be laid off this next week. I'm not sure what they'll for their family to survive, so it's very scary right now. Both of them work for DISD, and they (like hundreds of others) have been screwed by the ineptitude of a defunct school district that needs to be put down.

- If I didn't have Monday off, I would need to take it off for mental health reasons. I'm so exhausted and overwhelemed lately. I hope I can catch up some this weekend.

The Texas State Fair

We had a GREAT time at the Fair last night with our friends, Lisa and Shaun, and their twin ten-month old daughters. The weather was perfect, not too crowded, and there was plenty of good & greasy food! It was the first time Todd and I had been to the Fair together, and his first time in over a decade. It was well worth it!

Click below to see our photos:

State Fair

What more could you ask for? Friends, fun, food, fair, & gorgeous weather. I got my baby fix - and I think Todd did, too! ;)

RAGWEED

And I do NOT mean the Cross Canadian kind of ragweed that you hear on the radio. It's a quiet, little bastard that looks something like this:

Now keep in mind that I haven't seen any while driving down the road. Or in my classroom. Or while asleep. Or at my mom's house. Or in my car. Or in the shower. Or in our home. I saw ragweed on September 25 (hheellllllloooooo --- ten days ago) and it's still killing me.

I swear that I am going to die from the grips of ragweed. It has been YEARS since I've had fits of sneezing, running nose, itchy & watery eyes, wheezing, swelling & other deadly type stuff. Next year when we have to take the 4th graders to the Outdoor Learning Center, there will be three options: (1) I'm not going, (2) it will need to be schedule after a HUGE winter freeze, or (3) we'll have to go to an INdoor Learning Center.

I'm off to whine some more and scrape the corneas off of my eyes again . . .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY HERO

Today is my brother's birthday!!! Jeffrey and I are 3.5 years apart - of course I'm older. :)

The best thing about Jeff is that he is my hero. You see, Jeffrey took on a special job from God. When God asked him if he'd be willing to be born into a body and mind that wouldn't work well, Jeffrey graciously accepted with a smile. So my younger brother is living the life that God asked of him - a life of challenges, fears, pain, and suffering. Thankfully, God also gave Jeff a sense of humor, strength, the ability to give and receive love, a special form of communication, patience, kindness, and the ability to bring complete joy and a full heart to all of those around him.

I could go on and on about my brother, Jeff, but I just can't. I'll just say that there is a protected and untouchable part of my heart that is (and always will be) only Jeffrey's. Jeffrey brings out emotions in his big sister than nobody else can and ever will.

So, happy birthday Jeffman. I love you more than you can ever, ever, ever imagine. You are the light of our lives and we all celebrate you today. Thank you for being my hero.

3Bathtime, circa 1978 - Jeff has always loved anything water. My family and I could write novels about lifetime of escapades related to all things water -pool, hose, washtub, bathtub, anything & everything water escapades!)


3 Hugs from my brother.

The first photo shown of us (very top) is from several years ago. Jeff, Mom, and I went to Fly Day, an event sponsored by Challenge Air, and Jeff was laughing and screaming because he knew he was going to fly in a plane. Yeah, he covers HIS ears, but not ours - lol!