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Name: Mommy


Interests: I love to scrapbook, cook and clean
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Occupation: SAHM
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Member Since: 3/1/2006
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Wednesday, December 09, 2009

so I TOTALLY don't remember making that last entry.  weird.

I'm kinda feelin' better, but not completely.  I was up till 4am.  Just couldn't sleep.  Then J went to work @ 6:45, so I woke up for a little while.  I finally made it back to sleep, but Grace had a nightmare, so she woke me up a few hours later.

It's been pretty tiring here.  The kids are both in the double-Christmas performance this Sunday.  Sean is a drummer boy in the first act.  Then BOTH kids are in the "intermission".  It's 2 songs while the adults change clothes.  John was supposed to be in it, but since he's working 2 jobs now, there wasn't any time for him to be up there.  Grace is a MARSHMELLOW & Sean is just singing.  I hafta be there tonight from 5:30-9.  Not looking forward to that, seeing as I hafta be at work tomorrow for a dress rehearsal for my KDO class (don't ask.  still not happy about that & I'm not quite over it yet ... will explain more later).

Please pray for us.  Christmas is coming up ... which means J gets 2 weeks off from FWL.  Unfortunately, now that he is hourly, he won't get paid for those 2 weeks.  And we're already struggling as it is.  And since he missed 2 days already this week ... we're gonna be strapped next week, too.  And not sure when he'll get paid from FWL, seeing as he doesn't get direct-deposit anymore (being hourly, they take you off of DD).  Things are just so stressful.  Not sure how we're gonna make Christmas work.  And I'm not just talking presents ... I'm talking GOING anywhere.  J is working at Hastings over the break for some money, so not sure we'll be able to do Little Rock for more than 24 hours.  aarrgghhh.

... ok.  I'm tired now.


Tuesday, December 08, 2009

*BLECH*

not feeling very well.  not sure what is wrong, but my body does not want to cooperate or participate.

Since midnight Monday (the last 36 hours), I've slept nearly 25+ hours.  I watched a movie with the kids last night & ate with them today for lunch ... then went back to sleep.  We got out, so John could go to Hastings & buy me Harry Potter 6 which came out today.  Other than that, I've felt yucky.

John didn't go to work yesterday, cuz he had been at work till midnight on Monday.  Then he went in today, even tho he wasn't feeling well, and his boss sent him home.  Which was a blessing, b/c they got rained in anyways, so he didn't need to be out in that mess!

Just feeling yucky & hoping this headache goes away real soon!


Monday, December 07, 2009

BRANSON ... year 2

The annual GIRLS WEEKEND TRIP to BRANSON was such an adventure!

Hafta be honest with ya ... I didn't know if I was gonna have as much fun as last year, and I really was unsure about some of the ladies that were going, but it turned out that those I feared the most, were the ones that I had the BEST TIME with!

Once again, I couldn't leave NWA till after lunch.  The first set of ladies left around 11, but Jodi & I had to wait till after 1.  So John took the day off and we got to spend the day together.  Then Jodi & I left, her kids in tow.  Her in-laws agreed to meet us in Branson around 2:30.  UNFORTUNATELY for us, we got lost.  And we got lost listening to the GPS on her phone!!!  So sad.  But we had an adventure and Jodi is the type of person that you want to have an adventure with.  In fact, Jodi is an adventure!

We got to Branson after 3 and met up with the ladies: Rachel, Ginger, Heather "Gilbert", Libby, Melissa & her sister, Amy.  We met up at the Red Roof and Jodi & I hit the SOCK STORE first!  I found all kinds of socks that I just fell in love with.  Sadly, no toe socks (cuz they were all stripes and I have plenty of those), but lots of fun, knee-high socks.  When finished up there several hours later, we made our way to JOE'S CRAB SHACK.  I had never been there before & was truly looking forward to it.  The restaurant is in BRANSON LANDING.  I had been to the Landing once before, with Tara & Kelly.  In fact, our hotel was there ... but I had NO IDEA that there was an entire "city" behind our hotel.  Shops.  Hotels.  Boutiques.  Restaurants.  Boats.  They had it all.  We shopped up & down.  I even stopped @ a little kiosk to buy a $5 ring and found a $5 necklace for my mom.  It was a cancer awareness ribbon with different colors.  She had just said a few weeks before how she couldn't find anything that was MM awareness.  It had a purple ribbon for the "chain" and the ribbon charm was kinda purple-ish, maroon-ish with gold flakes.  So pretty.  She's gonna love it.

We went over to Joe's and we were trying to decide what to get.  Jodi & I decided before hand, to split something, but wasn't sure what.  Then we saw it.  It called out to us.  It was BEA-U-TI-FUL!

*oh, and we also split this: a crab bucket with corn & potatoes

The following is NOT for the FAINT-OF-HEART ... or the super, fanatical.  You may want to scroll down if you need to skip this part:

 

 

 

Isn't she a beaute?

*see the ring?  That was my new purchase!

We had every intention of sharing these monstrosities!  It was cheaper to get the 2-fer and split it.  And I'm oh-so-glad that we did.  We passed it around for others to taste.  I was surprised to find Libby, an ultra-conservative-looking, middle aged woman with 2 VERY SMALL children, suckin' it up.  Rachel & Ginger decided to get one of their own ... thank, GOODNESS, cuz I was not excited about sharing anymore.

Now, here I hafta say, I'm not a regular drinker.  I rarely do it.  And when I do, I have about 1 drink of something fruity and that is all.  And usually there is only about 2% of an alcohol content ... but this, my friends, was tasty.  And STRONG.  When I was asked if it was a virgin, I laughed ... because nothing in it except for the ice & food coloring was "virgin-ized".

Jodi ordered the "SHARK BITE ".  It had Bacardi Limon Rum, Sky Vodka, BLUE curacua, sweet & sour, and grenadine. My mother has these TUMBLERS that she uses for us to drink coke & punch out of.  I saw them mixing my drink in that.  And then another one & adding them together.  TWO OF THEM.  It was MASSIVE.  We called it the FISH TANK.  I ordered the CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE .  Not sure what all was in it, but it was too sour for me.  Something about 2 kinds of rum, sweet & sour, orange juice, and passion fruit.  WHEW!  It was SOUR.  SO WE SWITCHED.  The fun of the SHARK BITE (which was affectionately called "SHARK BAIT" after the night was over) was pouring RED, grenedine into it, so it mixed with the blue to look like blood.  You even got to take the sharks home ... for free!  My kids love theirs.

I was a little LOOPY when we left.  We shopped around a little and ran into some old friends from church.  It was beautiful just watching the water & light show and then walking the cobble stone streets.

We headed back to the hotel by way of CHRISTMAS LIGHTS.  We took our time.  The first group decided to go the hotel & get in the hot tub.  We did not.  Jodi, Ginger & Rachel went in search of MORE stuff to drink while we looked at lights (I was just along for the ride).  The town was BEAUTIFULLY lit up.  Signs every where told of up-coming shows (the TWELVE TENORS) and there were lights lining the streets & hotels.  Again, I was a LOT loopy.  Jodi was good, cuz she only drank part of hers.  I drank all of mine & then finished hers off.  $14 BUCKS.  I wasn't about to let that go un-done.  Then we went back to the hotel to pick up Libby.

*Jodi, Ginger & Rachel on the phone.  It was so funny to see  them standing there in the liquor store, talking on the phone and asking their hubby's what they should be looking for.  Jodi was calling Libby to find out what she wanted.  We were like teenage girls, gettin' our drinks and drinkin' in th hotel parking lot while we waited for Libby to get cleaned up after her dip in the pool.

They joked with me quite a bit.  I have been to Branson MANY times over the last 30 years.  Sometimes it was fun, sometimes it was not.  Sometimes it was with my parents and sometimes it was not.  As we drove up & down the strip, we would pass a hotel & I would shout out, "I've been there!"  They really gotta kick out of this, b/c apparently at one point, I said "either before Sean was born or not with John."  So when we found a hotel I didn't know, they asked me if I wanted to go their with the hunky 12-TENORS!  I was so embarassed.  I felt like the BAD-GIRL on the trip.

Instead of going back to the hotel to play the Wii-FIT as we did last year, we went our seperate ways.  Jodi & I stayed up till 3am, talking & watching videos on her i-phone.  It was good to catch up, since we aren't teaching together this year.  It brought us close together again & I really needed that ... sober or not!

 

NOW YOU MAY REJOIN US IF YOU SKIPPED THE ABOVE CONVERSATION:

The next day, we headed out to shop.  We went to the GRAND VILLAGE (yes, the place with the big chair, Smax).  We shopped and then, Jodi & I spotted him.  The "friendly" Santa (he likes to rub your arm as he hugs you).  He just makes me smile ... if you can't tell by the HUGE grin on my face.  Not sure what the difference is in these pics, but I had them, so I  thought I'd share 'em.

 

*me, Santa, & Jodi

SEATED: Melissa, Libby, "Gilbert" Amy, Jodi, & Ginger

FRONT: Rachel & me.

*so last year, I commented that my shirt, the exact same shirt, was doing weird things, but that I wasn't really that fat.  Jodi even reminded me to sit where my shirt would NOT do that again.  However, this year, I AM that fat and my shirt DID do the ripplie things.  YUCK!

After pictures, we went to the HARD LUCK DINER (tara), where they sing to you & have some awesome hamburgers & mixed drinks.  COKE, people.  Mixed coke with fruit or vanilla.  GEESH!  Get your mind outta the gutter!  When the cook, in his black cowboy hat & greasy hair was going to sing, Ginger requested a song.  She said that for the last few years, they have come into that restaurant, just to hear him sing Johnny Cash.  He sang and we hooped & hollered for him.  Next thing I knew, his 55+ year old arm was around me and he was singin' to me.  We didn't get a picture of this, but I'm sure the look on my face was PRICELESS!  After the song was over, he asked us if we would come back everyday to cheer for him and then he hooped & hollered just like us.  It was fun.

We shopped & then parted ways from the regular crew.  Myself, Jodi, Rachel & Ginger wanted to stick around to look at Christmas lights.  So we drove thru the 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS & the SANTA WORKSHOP of LIGHTS.  It was truly a festival of lights!  We really enjoyed the time together ... just the 4 of us, getting to know each other, sharing stories, & just hanging out.  Each year is a new adventure & I look forward to another trip with these ladies again.  In fact, we've decided to NOT wait till the Fall and go back in the Spring, when we can hit Silver Dollar City.  OH WHAT FUN!

  


Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Going thru a divorce

I'm going thru a divorce right now.  NO, not my own.  But sometimes, it feels like it.  My good friend, Vicki, e-mailed me this summer to let me know that her husband had left.  It was very devastating for me.  They seemed like the PERFECT couple.  They were a lot like John & myself.  The entire time they were seperated, I hurt for her.  I cried for her.  I prayed for her.  I wanted to stop her pain so badly.  I had never experienced anything in my life like this before.  I didn't know what to do or what to say.  No words seemed to bring comfort.  No comfort seemed to be enough.  Lunches out.  Dinner dates.  Babysitting her kids.  PRAYING!  I just felt like anything I did, wasn't helping.  I still feel that way some of the time.

I bring this up, because thru all of this, it brought John & me closer to one another.  We have our fights (not NEARLY as heated as we used to) and our disagreements, but thru it all, we still experience love for one another.  John is working 2 jobs right now.  Full-time at Fairway Lawns and, I guess you could say "part-time" (altho, he is there nearly 32 hours a week) at Hastings in Springdale ... a job that he really enjoys, but doesn't pay nearly enough to cover the bills if it were full-time.  And he does all of this, because he loves me.  And he loves me so much, that in everything he does, he wants me to be happy.

I started this year, thinking of God's desire for my life: PROMISES.  I've slacked off A LOT the last few months.  I've been angry & frustrated with God over finances & jobs & lack-of-baby, that I've lost sight of the PROMISES that God has ... well, PROMISED.  He promised me a husband, who has never lied nor forsaken me.  He has given me the PROMISE of a lasting LOVE ... that, altho it's "conditional", it is PURE!  My husband promised to me, 10 years ago, to always love me & be there for me.  And, thru the hand of God leading him, he has done so.

I see several of my friends struggling now.  I see their marriages falling apart ... or mearly just "existing".  I hear my friends talk about how they do not get along with their spouse, or they do not love them, or they do not respect them ... or even TRUST them.  I see women not being honest with their husbands about finances or old friends they correspond with thru e-mail, and I wonder if these friends have forgotten all of the PROMISES that God has given to them and will continue to provide, if only they would just trust in Him.  And at night, when I lay beside my husband, I feel God's PROMISES sweep over me.  He has promised me a life of HOPE & FUTURE, not of EVIL ... if only I trust in Him.  And I do.  I trust Him & I trust my husband.  And I feel so blessed to have him in my life!

I still pray for Vicki, even tho her divorce is dragging on & it's hard to see where God is leading her.  I look at her children and wonder how a man can break his promises to his wife & kids ... and to God.  I seek & search for answers for Vicki almost daily.  And I pray.  I continue to pray.  And I continue to PRAISE my Creator for my husband who cherishes me & our children ... and I love the man that God has given me.  And the PROMISES that he fulfills in my life!


ADVENT

If you read my last entry, you saw that I made an ADVENT CALENDAR for the kids.  I'm quit impressed with myself!

DAY 1—Read the CHRISTmas story out of Matthew & Luke and compare

DAY 2—Go to BRAUM’S for EGGNOG ICE CREAM

DAY 3—READ then WATCH the “POLAR EXPRESS”

DAY 4—Go SHOPPING & look for presents for your sibling

DAY 5—Pancakes for supper

DAY 6—Make CLAY ornaments

DAY 7—SNOWBALL FIGHT (using rolled up white socks)

DAY 8—Read the ABC POP-UP

DAY 9—Go look @ LIGHTS & LISTEN to Christmas carols

DAY 10—READ & WATCH “CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS”

DAY 11—make tags & wrap presents

DAY 12—make cookies.  delish.

DAY 13—make sock snowmen

DAY 14—sleep in the living room, under the Christmas lights

DAY 15—ELOISE DAY.  Talk like her … dress like her … watch … read …

DAY 16—caroling & gift giving in NWA

DAY 17—“IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE” (and pasta)

DAY 18—1 WEEK: open 1 gift

DAY 19—build a fire & roast marshmellows

DAY 20—Go to LOVIE & POPS for OPEN HOUSE PARTY

DAY 21—jingle bowling

DAY 22—read “THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGENT EVER!”

DAY 23—watch “A CHRISTMAS STORY”

DAY 24—Open PAJAMAS from NANA

DAY 25—CHRISTMAS DAY!

 

I like this idea, of making my own calendar, because I can add what I want to it.  I can make it very personalized, such as the OPEN HOUSE or PAJAMAS from Nana … and then just fill in the blanks as I go along!

 

I got the idea from a magazine, but I actually like how my turned out better than theirs did.  They just used doors & windows from decorator magazines (Lowes, Home Depot, Hobby Lobby).  I actually used DECORATED doors & windows, to make it more FESTIVE!

  



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