It's that time of the year....again

To start planning for school to start, birthdays & Christmas. WOW!! Why does it all have to hit at the end of the year?? Kids starting school and the expense of that, birthdays (Aug, Oct, Nov, Dec & Jan) and that expense and then there is Christmas. I sure wish I could win the lottery, but I guess in order to have a chance to win it, I would have to play it. I would just as soon go to Louisiana. Anyway, I have been sitting here figuring out my budget for the remainder of the year and making my Christmas/Birthday list. I usually don't even start shopping until the day after Thanksgiving. It is a tradition with me, my mom, grandmother and aunt. But since I am not working anymore I am hoping to start a little earlier this year and do some shopping online, which might I add, I never do....maybe a couple of times, but just off of Ebay. So, I am need of some websites that are good for shopping. So, any ideas are greatly appreciated. Heck, any ideas for specific gifts would be even better. My list has ages of 9 mths up into the 80's.....the girls have managed to come up with a few ideas....laptop, new bedding, cd's, clothes....and the list goes on....and on.....and on....

Stay Blessable!!

Books, Books and more Books

Reading.....it is something that I have always loved to do, but never seemed to have alot of time to actually do it. Well, I have read 3 books since Friday...The Shack, Nights in Rodanthe, and The Accident. I started My Sisters Keeper today. I must say, all of the ones that I have already read have been very good, especially The Shack. If you have not read this book, it is a must. It is said that it is something that actually happend to a man. He had a encounter with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. WOW!! The circumstances that led him to this meeting is not something that I would want to have go through.

Nights in Rodanthe was a good book too. I never did make it to go see the movie. Maybe I will rent it one day and see if it is anything like the book. I have always heard that the books are always better than the movie. Go figure.

The Accident is a Danielle Steele book. Enough said. I have never read a book of hers that I did not like. I still remember the first book of hers that I read. Message from Nam. I have been a big fan of hers ever since.

So far, My Sisters Keeper is pretty good. Everyone that has read it said that it was good. They also said that it ends completely different than the movie, but I haven't seen it either, so no worries there.

Well, enough about that. Today was a pretty low key day. The girls and I went to the Verizon store to get another wireless internet card for the computer. Mine broke the other day...ugghh.. I was without my computer for a whole day and night!! I hated that I could not get on Facebook or the blogs that I stalk....lol....Right now, Doodle and Kristyn are in bed and Ryleigh and I are watching Wow, Wow,Wuzby in Noggin...I guess it is better than her watching Family Guy :) Tomorrow we don't have much planned, just gonna take the girls and go see Transformers with some friends of ours at the local Theatre. Yes, it only costs $3.00 per kid and $5.00 for adults, and they show a different movie starting every Friday!!! I love it!

I know I probably don't have many (if any at all, other than Lianna...thanks Lianna, btw, I was talking about Princes) readers, but if by some chance I do, what is some of your favorite books?? I will need to get another one when I am done with My Sisters Keeper.

Stay Blessable....

Skating Rinks and Memories

Friday night Kristyn and Ryleigh had friends over to spend the night, so I took them to the skating rink. While I was sitting there watching them skate and reading a book (The Shack, more on that later), it brought back memories of when I was a kid and my mom use to take me to the local skating rink on Friday and Saturday nights. I remember everything about the skating rink....the wooden floor, big box fans in the corners, video games, couples skate, limbo, the corner game....so many good memories. I updated my Facebook page indicating where I was and got so many responses from friends that I had (and still have) recalling the same things. I also found out that the skating rink is still open, so maybe, just maybe I will get to go back one day and take my kids to where I used to go skating and where their daddy and I went on our first date in 1992. Anyway, I digress, sitting there in that skating rink felt like my life seemed to come full circle. Seeing my kids do something that I did when I was their age and seeing them get the same amount of joy from it was to say the least, very rewarding. I sat there thinking that I was exactly where I was suppose to be at that very moment. Sometimes life can get so crazy and hectic that it is hard to breathe, but at that moment, everything was right with the world...no ringing phone, no tv, no bickering kids...just some really loud music and kids laughing and smiling. I must say, I love my life and I love my family more than words can say. Sure, I have my days (don't we all), where life seems to be completely unmanigable and I wish I could just step out of my life for just a minute and catch my breath....but overall, I wouldn't change a thing. I AM, Blessed Beyond Measure.....Sometimes I wish I could be a kid again...no worries, no bills, no major responsibilities. I had a great childhood, there is nothing about it that I would change. I know alot people cannot say that. I hope that my kids feel the same way when they are grown with kids of their own. The Lord truely blessed me with everything that I have...wonderful parents, great family as a whole, two wonderful girls and a great husband who I would absolutely die for. I know not everyone has that. Like I said, I am BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE....

Stay Blessable!!

I DID IT!!

Ever since I made my post yesterday, I have been thinking about how I need to get my butt in gear each day. Guess what....I did it today!! I managed to get up, eat breakfast and get fully dressed (hair AND makeup). Although I did not have alot of errands to run today, I managed to get them done and get home before 1:00. I know you are probably sitting there thinking that is not really an accomplishment, but like I said yesterday, here lately I have really been slacking. Now I am sitting here wondering what to do with the rest of my day. The girls are gone to their grandparents house so I don't really have anything to do and nobody to talk to and Doodle is at work. I know, it would be the perfect time to go shopping or something like that, but I am really trying to save up some money. School is going to start next month which means I will have to go buy school clothes and school supplies. Not to mention we are planning on taking the girls to Sea World, and other things in a couple of weeks with some friends of ours. So, there is no shopping for me right now. I guess a I could scrapbook. Yea, maybe I will do that....enjoy your day!

Stay Blessable!!

Keeping It Real

Today I was reading one of my favorite blogs (Kelly's Korner)....I just love her blog. Anyway, on her post she was answering questions that were submitted. One of those questions was how to make your blog successful. I have wondered this MANY times. I am new to this whole blogging thing and although I enjoy it, sometimes I am just at a loss for words. Maybe I am afraid that I will come off sounding stupid or something. Kelly's advice was basically to "keep it real". Blog like you are not expecting anyone to read or much less even care about anything you have to say. By keeping it real it helps others relate to you. So, that is my goal (one of many), to just KEEP IT REAL!! If I do that, maybe this blogging thing will come easier to me. See, I have never been one to be real open and out there with others. Sure, if you ask, I will tell you.....but that only came after alot of therapy (ha ha ha). No seriously...when I was in high school, I went through a rough time. You know, the whole peer pressure thing. Anyway, I was hospitalized and did go through therapy. That is not a time in my life that I would care to relive again, but it was a time that molded me into the person that I am today and I would not trade it for the world. The best decision I could have made for myself was making the decision to get help for the feelings that I was going through and dealing with at the time. If I had not made that decision, I honestly do not know if I would be here today. In order to keep it real, you have to tell the bad with the good I guess. On that note, enough about that.

I would love for my blog to be successfull like Kelly's or Lianna's (Be thou a Knight) ONE DAY. I am not expecting this overnight success. I know that I am going to have to work at it and make it a point to post and be accessible. Lord knows I have time since I am now a SAHM :) Which might I add, I absolutely love being. Let me talk about that for a minute. I have never been able to stay at home with my girls who are now 11 & 7. I think part of me was afraid of giving up the security of a job and the additional income. However, once I really looked at things, I knew we could do it and to be perfectly honest, I don't even notice that we don't have my piddly income anymore. Maybe because 1/2 of it went to daycare. I love the fact that I can take my girls to school AND pick them up, we can go and do stuff during the summer and they are not stuck at daycare. I will never get these years with them back and I want to be PRESENT in their life ALL the time, not just when I get off of work. When I worked, it was always pick up the kids and go to practice (basketball or softball), come home, do homework, cook supper and get ready to go to bed and then do it all over again the next day. On the weekends it was games (basketball or softball) and then getting done whatever did not get done during the week...mainly laundry. NOW, life is so much less hectic and so much more fun. Yea, sure sometime I get bored, but if that is the price I have to pay in order to enjoy my life and my family, that is a small price to have to pay and will glady be bored. Which brings me to something else....motivation. I have so been lacking in that lately. Yesterday I did not even get out of my pj's. I have been sleeping late, not putting on my makeup, etc. How pathetic is that??? Nevermind, don't answer that. Starting tomorrow I am going to get up earlier (maybe about 7:30) and get fully dressed and ready for my day, even if I don't have anything planned. I have got to do better. So, on that note, I am going to get off of this computer and go accomplish something!!

Keeping it real....stay blessable!!

The Boat

We finally made it home from San Antonio around 9:30 last night with the boat in tow. Doodle was so excited to be able to take it out this morning that he woke me up at 7:45!!! We left our house and headed up to his dad and Treva's in Onalaska to put in at the boat ramp in their neighborhood. Well, we got the boat in the water and headed out across the lake and the steering wheel was acting like it was catching on something (it did this when we test drove it, but yesterday the guy said that he had fixed it). Needless to say, Doodle forced it to turn and then all it would do is spin in a circle, but is was not turning the motor. Good thing we had headed back towards the boat ramp and were not far away, Doodle used the trolling motor to load it back onto the boat trailer and we went to his dad's to see what the problem was. Well, the tilt mechanism for the steering wheel had broke and all the gears inside were messed up. So, he is supposed to pick another one up when he goes to work on Monday and get it fixed so that we can get back out on the lake. I felt so sorry for him because he was so excited, but that's the way it goes I guess. The girls ended up staying up there and going to a birthday party for Treva's great niece. I think they are staying all week....who knows. They pretty much get to do whatever they want during the summer. Thursday night Doodle and I are supposed to go out with Dennis and Lacey to some club in Beaumont to hear some guy sing. I am really looking forward to that. It has been so long since we have done anything, just the two of us. Hopefully I will not forget to take my camera and will be able to post some pics of our night out on the town.

Stay Blessable!!

Finally, a break....

Well, we are finally home from Kristyn's All Star tournament in Crowley, Louisiana. The girls did not do as well as we had hoped, but Kristyn did great. She plays catcher and let me tell you, it was HOT, HOT, HOT out there. Secretly, I am glad that they did not make it to Nationals. That tournament is going to be in Harlingen and lasts a week. That is entirely too long to be sitting out in the Texas heat!! So, now that we are back home and no longer have summer school in the morning and practice in the afternoon, our days have been pretty relaxed. I am caught up on washing my clothes, thanks to the new washer and dryer that I got last week. I absolutely LOVE them!!! The house is pretty much cleaned with the exception of my bedroom which is always the catch all. I am going to get in there today and get it cleaned. We are going to San Antonio on Friday to get the new boat, so Doodle is really excited about that. I am not excited about making that trip in one day. But Doodle wants to go and come back on Friday so that we can take the boat out this weekend. I understand his excitement, but dang. The good thing about going up that way is that we will stop at Buccee's and I can get some Beaver Nuggets....YUMMY!! Well, I need to get off of here so that I can make my "to do" list for the rest of today and tomorrow.

Stay Blessable!!

Boat Fever....

Remember when I mentioned that the guys got "boat fever" when we went to the Skeeter tournament. Well, Doodle's fever broke, but only after he got a new (not brand new) 20 ft Skeeter bass boat. Now we have to sale the one that we have. We drove up to San Antonio on Friday to look at the boat that we found on Craigslist and ended up getting it. We go pick it up weekend after next after we get done with the softball tournament. It is really nice and rides alot better than the 17 ft boat that we have now. Plus it has more room for all of us. I can't wait to get it and take it out on the lake. I will post pictures once we get the boat. Speaking of the lake, we leave tomorrow for Sam Rayburn for the long 4th of July weekend. I am so ready!! Kristyn and I went and got all of the grocery shopping done today and got all of the stuff loaded up in the trailer so that we are ready to go when Doodle gets home from work tomorrow. Have I mentioned that I HATE to go grocery shopping?? Well, I do. I put it off until I absolutely have to go (meaning we have nothing to eat in the house) and then I kick myself in the butt because I end up spending so much dang money...anyway, I digress. What was I talking about??? Oh, this weekend. the girls are really looking forward to going out on the lake and riding the knee board. A couple of guys that doodle works with and their families are going, so it should be alot of fun. One guys wife just bought a jet ski and he mentioned to Doodle that the girls could ride it if they wanted. Personally, I think that will be a big mistake because Kristyn will end up thinking that we need to buy one of those too. Maybe that would not be so bad :) Well, I think I will close out this post, gotta wash some clothes and get ready to go to the ball park for Kristyn's practice. Have a great 4th of July weekend and be careful.

Stay Blessable!