New Carpet!

The carpet is in! The carpet is in! The original carpet to our house, built in the 70s, is officially GONE. It looks so much better & we are thrilled. I took many photos, but here are a few.

A piece the carpet guys ripped out & used at the entry. I hope the neighbors didn't see that! eewwwww!

Before & After - front bedroom:

Before & After - Todd's office:

Before & After - views of our master bedroom:

Those are only a few views of the amazing change in three of our bedrooms. This was much more work than we thought. Imagine moving and spring cleaning in 48 hours. Whew! We are still putting our home back together, but it is already worth it! Next week . . . security system installation and wood floors in the formal living & dining. I'm already tired! :)

House Happenings

Our "break" has suddenly become busy now that Christmas is over. This week we are getting three of our bedrooms recarpeted and picking out wood for our formal living & dining area. Before Friday morning, we have to move everything out of the bedrooms and figure out where in the house it can go. Luckily, the installers will move the furniture, but we have to move books, electronics, & everything on or near the closet floors. Wonder what we'll be doing this weekend? You guessed it! Putting those rooms back together! After that is finished, we'll be getting new wood floors in our formal living and dining areas. Repeat the process.

We are also getting a security system installed next week. They'll have to figure out how to monitor our home w/out letting our four animals set off any alarms. They have a big job ahead of them!

I'm really looking forward to these home improvements. I'm hoping this will not only beautify our home, but help us unclutter and clean out. We still need to finish some touch up painting, replace some furniture, replace kitchen countertops & eventually cabinets, and replace the front door, shutters & landscaping. Then we'll have all new projects to do!

Blessings this Christmas

I hope everyone who reads this blog (and even those who don't) enjoys a very, merry Christmas. Thank the Lord for bringing us His Son, so that He may die for our sins and give us everlasting life. That is the TRUE gift of Christmas!

Adios Mi Pelo

Adios Mi Pelo in Ingles = Goodbye My Hair.

I got my hair whacked off on Tuesday night. And I hate it. I even cried in the chair at the salon while my hair lady's assistant was drying it. The poor girl didn't know what to do with me. Luckily, Mina (my hair lady) knows about our two losses and has been watching me lose my hair since May. Mina was really sweet and just hugged me and told me she understood since she's been through it, too. I wish I could've picked those five inches of hair scraps off the floor and glued them back on. I knew it was time for the hair to go, but I hate it. HATE it. Did I tell you how bad I hate it? Don't even ask to see a photo because I'll be hiding from the camera for a long while to come.

At least today I styled it myself so it doesn' t look so much like a helmet. But I still don't like it. Uh, I mean hate it. Maybe I'll get used to it in tine, but for now I miss my hair.

What a Sonic Blast?

So tonight at 9pm I think I need a Holiday Mint Blast from Sonic. I asked Todd if he'd like to go with me and get anything. While laying on the couch watching TV , he surprisingly responded, "I don't want anything (surprise #1), but I'll go with you (surprise #2). I guess he thought I meant later because after practically running to get my keys, he noticed I meant NOW. :) I then had the most amazing and ingenius thought. "Honey, why don't we take the d-o-gs?" I let slip from my lips. Surprise #3 came when Todd thought that would be okay. Here comes the funny part of the story.

I get the dogs in the car which can be a feat within itself. That's about 225 pounds of dog flying up into the seats of my Pilot! Mackey, in all his beloved weirdness, couldn't figure out that we were going into the garage and just froze in the living room. I had to close the two big dogs up in the car while Todd carried Mackey from the house. Since the big dogs are so rambunctious, I recommended that Todd got in the front seat w/ Mack, and they held one another like long-lost lovers as I raced to Sonic to get my fix. Steve & Pippin had their heads hanging out of opposing windows, their beautiful ears and gums flapping in the wind while they inhaled all of the beautiful smells of Dallas & Richardson. On the way to Sonic, I just lost it - crying, wheezing, and likely peeing myself in laughter. Todd looked so VERY, INCREDIBLE, TOTALLY miserable. The look upon his face was like a p.o.w. down a hole with three hungry & excited dogs. Surprise #4: Todd did not find my uncontrollable laughter amusing. At all. Not a bit. Upon arriving at Sonic, I partially rolled down the back windows, got out of the car, & reached in to lay down the seats. The misery ended as Todd carefully hurtled Mack-Daddy into the back of the car & we gave the beasts some treats. Oh, and we got our shakes, too.

Well, maybe it's not so funny to you, but you aren't all sugared-up on a Holiday Mint Blast!

Here are the canines & humans of our family from our 2005 Xmas card. From L to R is Steve, Pippin & Mackey. (Kristin & Todd are the humans!)

I've Been Tagged

Thanks, Tracy. What else do people need to know about me that they haven't learned in my blog? I'm sure I'm quite a freakish creature, so coming up with only eight things shouldn't be too hard.

1. I'm deathly afraid of heights. I don't like being higher than the seat of a chair. Escalators, glass elevators, stairs, catwalks, ladders, & the like mortify me. Seriously. I will panic, my vision will go dark, and I'll often sit wherever I am if I get scared. In the past, I've been found sitting in the bottom of the car of an air gondola, on a catwalk in the middle of the mall & other strange places. From what I've been told by my mom, I fell down two flights of stairs when I was little. I wasn't physically injured, but my subconscious definitely remembers it. My mom said when I was little, I would completely freak out just sitting on the table in the doctors office. I've considered hypnosis but haven't done it yet. I don't know if I will either.

2. I have a slight case of OCD. Some people might beg to differ, stating that it's more than a slight case. I like things to be in balance. Parallel and perpendicular alignment floats my boat. Ask my class. If groups of their desks are caddywampus, we have to fix it. My team often teases me by threatening to move things around in my work area or classroom. Luckily, my OCD isn't anything near my fear of heights. If it were, I'd form a true circus show.

3. The veins on the top of my right foot form the letter K. I'm glad they don't form Kristin or I'd (again) have to join the circus.

4. I have been watching "All My Children" for over 25 years. Yes, since I was 13. I still DVR it every day, as if things in Pine Valley are really going to change.

5. I am severely challenged in the laundry management department. Getting the clothes in the washer isn't too tough. The dryer is a little more difficult. Getting clothes out of the dryer - a real problem. Moving them into my closet - wow. Getting them put away is the worst. I've thought about asking Roberta (the maid) to take care of my laundry, but (see #2) I'm scared she wouldn't do it 'right'. What 'right' is, I don't know because I don't have it right in the first place!

6. I once left three barfing girls in my classroom. Hey, at least I sent a kid for the nurse & custodian first. I panicked, began to gag, cleared the room of the rest of my class, & sent everyone home (the bell had just rang). The poor things were in my room barfing to beat the band. When I told my principal, she went in there to help. Thankfully the custodian took care of clean up. I almost died just going back in for my purse an hour later. Obviously, I don't do barf - even for myself.

7. I have a hole inside my nose. Gross? Yeah. But, I have a hole in my nose. A majority of my septum is gone thanks to multiple surgeries on my nose. It was repaired several years ago, but broke through again. I once (in a moment of irrationality) showed some 4th graders how I can shove a Kleenex up one side of my nose & pull it out of the other side. My own, personal, stupid human trick. You happy playing tag now, TayLynn??? ;)

8. I suppose I am a freak. I have many fears, many maladies, many idiosyncrasies, and many bad habits. I don't care really because being me isn't always that bad. I'm smart and funny and, by golly, people like me.

Lordy, Lordy I'm Almost 25

What the hell??? I'm almost 40? Wasn't I just 25? Wow!

There is absolutely no way I'll be 40 in less than three months. That's just rude. I could swear that I'm still in my late 20s. I can't believe March 5th will take me to somewhere near - even close to - the halfway point in my of life. I'm just not there yet. Seriously, I'm not.

It can't be so bad getting older. I mean, look at Mary the Great. She's much hotter than me and she's a great-grandmother. She was my grandmother before she was my age. And she's Mary the Great for heaven's sake! My mom is hot, too, and she's a grandmother! Thank goodness for super-genes and the ladies who gave them to me. You wanna see good genes????? Here:














Man, I love my mom and grandmother. They are not only hot and gorgeous, but strong, caring, loving, good cooks, beautiful, kind, and just amazing.

And, now, about those crows feet & the dent in my forehead . . . . . . . .