Dear Lord....

Thank you for the many many blessing that you have given me.

Thank you for my happy, healthy children who make me smile even when the rest of my day sucks.

Thank you for the husband who loves me no matter what.....and calls to wake me up and tell me to put out the garbage cans on a day that isn't garbage day.

Thank you for not letting the neighbors see me without pants when I was dragging those cans to the curb.

Thank you for my job, the security it brings and the happiness that the fridge full of free Dr. Peppers that keep me sane and on a continual buzz.

Thank you for my paycheck and for J.C. Penney's. Together they make beautiful music.

Thank you for my mom. For loving me even though I'm difficult, moody, opinionated, type-A all the way.

Thank you for my mom spending time with my kids and spoiling them rotten, they adore her. Thank you for allowing us that.

Thank you for my mom sneaking into my house before sunrise this morning while I lay peacefully sleeping in my bed, gun nearby. Thank you for making sure that I slept like a rock and didn't hear her and wake up and pull a gun on her. Cause Princess needed her backpack, and my mom rocks. Thank you for making that trip out in the middle of the night to bring it to her, I hope it wasn't cause you couldn't sleep, I hate when you can't sleep.

Thank you Lord for the snow, it's wet, white and pretty. I've never seen so much of it. Turns out it's cold too lord......I'd rather be thanking you for a warm spring, but I do love the snow.

Thank you that you made sure I bought a car with front wheel drive in California before ever knowing I would be moving to the mountains. Your foresight has saved me many of ditch trips.

Thank you for the four pounds I lost.

Thank you more for healing me and allowing me to get over the stomach flu, which might have had something to do with the four pounds I've lost. But thank you for watching over my health.

Thank you Lord for loving me even though I'm difficult, willful, non-obediant, sassy, loaded with attitude, slightly vain, and a sinner.

Amen.

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The Usual

Saturdays are usually really busy days for us. Except now that fall soccer is over, we have gotten a little break in the action, until Princess' Nutcracker practices geared up strong. So now we are up and moving on Saturday mornings getting her to and from practice....

So we got up and headed out this morning, but Duchess missed her breakfast....so after dropping off P we stopped for reinforcements....watermelon slushie and powered donuts (my parents skills are awesome huh?) This is what happens when you allow the kid to pick out her own breakfast, not sure what I was thinking but it wasn't of the dental bills.


So when I asked what she wanted as I filled up my Big Gulp of Dr. Pepper, she replied, "the usual"....I thought only old people had an usual..you know the ones who go to the same place to eat for years and only order the same thing, hence "the usual". Apparently I was wrong....I was informed that this is now her "usual", no more FOX news in the morning for Duchess, her vocab is really expanding too quickly, when she used the word propaganda the other day should have been my first clue that perhaps Dora is a better morning program...

So when we stopped in the store to grab some cold cuts for lunch, I met this......now why didn't I realize that powered donuts meant lots of white powder? Obviously I'm not getting enough sleep, as my powers of observation are waning...
So Mims tries to assist Duchess in clean up, cause I was giggling and doing my best to get pictures, this is important, to preserve moments like this for high school humiliation.....senior yearbook style...

Meanwhile Princess was getting her ballet on.....they are so cute doing their full circle act. They are really working on the full play now, she is a hoot.

Duchess wasn't one for ballet, as she took one class and refused to go back "cause it's too slow" and they wouldn't play Toby Keith, just old music.....so she tumbles. But this doesn't stop her from wanting to stand at the front window and stalk her sister...

Proof...she, she stalks......

And stalks.... but isn't she getting better at the whole dressing herself thing? I find that it's quite fun to see what she'll come out wearing. I'm a firm believer in expressing your own style...hence why I have no style.....

So after we danced, shopped and stalked we all headed home for lunch.....when asked what she wanted for a sandwich, she thought for a minute and told me "the usual".....

Babies are cute but when they learn to talk back with some sass, that's parenting...

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Manic Monday

The start of a glorious new week....yet once again all I could think about this morning was pulling over and buying a pack of smokes at the store on the way to work. It's been over 65 days, this week in particular has been very very difficult....I can't stop at my usual store for even a coke now cause I do not trust myself!

Here are the reasons I've convinced myself so far not to give in.....

1. The Man will kill me, he expressly told me this already, in very unpleasant terms! (Me thinks he would secretly love me to start again, then he could!)

2. My children would be disappointment in me....if they found out....

3. My work would sack me. They are awesome people but I do not see them tolerating a smoker in the office, as small of a firm as it is.

4. I would stink, again.

5. Smoker lung when I attempt to exercise or even climb stairs (nasty nasty cough)

So this is the top 5....I'm thinking that perhaps I have a slightly addictive personality....maybe this is why I have such a hard time dumping Dr. Pepper for Diet! And why smoking still looks very very good to me, when it's a slam dunk "duh" for other people! Boy, it's a good thing I never tried smack, or crack or whatever they call it!

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Another weekend bites the dust

We started our weekend with a snowy day. As you can tell, it completely repainted the back of the house, funny how living next to a lake will do that. Huh. We managed to keep warm and dry until the sun came out and melted all freaking 3 inches that fell earlier. Still scratching my head over snow, can't believe we actually LIVE here.

Once it was pretty again, we decided to take Princess for a much needed trim. After braving Costco and Wal-Mart. Forget weekly shopping trips, now that I'm working, it's all monthly baby. I could barely close the trunk! My baby looks great with a couple inches off the bottom and a serious bang trim but camera died when Duchess decided to run over it with our buggy.

This is the innocent face she made right before she absconded with the camera and buggy. Stinker. She who refuses to have a haircut in two years. Get her near a beauty chair and you get the look of death and a promise to bite. Sooooooo no trim for Duchess.

Otherwise I did manage to completely (with no help at ALL) organize and clean out my garage. No more Duke boys maneuvers out of windows! I also had to move The Man's truck from one side of the pitiful excuse for a driveway to the other. Since I don't drive standard, this was a 20 minute process however please notice that it is in there straight! Also, ignore that metallic smell of burnt gears while looking at the picture. I'm sure the smell is all part of your imagination!

On a happier note, this is from my meeting on Friday morning. Yes I had to be there early. Yes I had to not eat lunch and then stay late but it was worth it. Why you ask????? Cause I had free food all day. This is the spread for breakfast. Please notice that my usual 32 ounces Big Gulp of Dr. Pepper is nowhere in sight. I actually had water, all day...........are you still there? Get off the floor, it's cold down there. The job is so great I'm wearing bruises from the constant pinching of my flesh. Did I mention that I love this job? Even though they attached the umbilical cord on Friday, with the instructions that yes it even goes to the bathroom with me. Crap! However, once someone actually showed me how a text pager worked, it got easier. However, I work walking between 10 different buildings (in glassed in tunnels, how cool is that, specially in snow!) so I totally got the reasoning behind that when at 3:45 I got a page that read "come to room 1322 in bldg 10 NOW, we have CAKE" Yep, I love it there.

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Ah, Broken Promises

I have broken a promise. This should bother me; it doesn't. I will admit I'm paying for it, but it was worth it. Oh it was heavenly!

I promised The Man that I would follow Dr's orders and not have
A. Caffeine

B. Chocolate

C. Anything rich/high-carb

D. Work out 4 times a week

Because, IT'S FOR MY OWN GOOD.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Now, I'm gonna go pop two tummy pills and take a nice soak in the tub. However, three English papers down (one A, two ungraded....) and work up the energy to begin the next one.

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