Robert aka guy with afro

So Saturday morning at the very butt crack of dawn I met Robert at the gym. Robert is young, eager and has an afro....more curls than muscles if that is possible. He also calls me Mrs. *^$%#@*. Nothing cements reaching middle age like a fitness trainer who calls you by your proper married name. It's been forever since I've been called that, nice ring...I like it.

So I get there, and several things of importance happened or didn't happen:

- I managed to get there on time, he was late (unusual for me)

- I didn't throw attitude but meekly followed him to the weights. Seems he and Dave had talked about my aversion (okay, my inability to correctly operate) machines so most of my exercises are being done with free weights

- I didn't drop any weights on my head

- I am a weakling, ranging from 5-15 lb dumbbells depending on the exercise

- He wrote me a list to follow for my solo workouts but they list the exercise by it's offical name: problematic as I nickname things and need stick figure drawings

- During squats, I fell over (yeah you read that right)

- During squats I didn't toot which is what I was SO worried about, yeah me, way to NOT become notorious at the gym

- During a leggie lifty thingy machine attempt, I managed to get stuck in a machine...you sit down, slid a level which drops a leggy thingy and then slide legs in, too complicated for me apparently

- During leg presses, I got pissed off and scolded an old guy who left 45 lb weights on the machine insuring that I couldn't load my measly 15 on there because I couldn't lift the 45 lbs and had to make Robert....RUDE GYM MANNERS you old stinker

- On a leg lift stand, I managed to wobble out 10 reps, slid off only to have an old old old lady jump up there and bang out 50, there is apparently no limits to my shame

- I fell off the exercise ball attempting to do crunches

- Robert began shaking his head sadly ALOT, which makes me think that he's thinking that Dave has stuck him with the worst client on earth

- I forgot to shave under my arms before going to the gym therefore ensuring that I had something to look at during every rep with the arm weights in front of the mirror, ewwwww

- The tiny little teenaged girl at the front desk was wearing the same shirt I was, hers looked ALOT better even if I filled mine out alot more

All in all, I came home sore but happy with the effort and progress I made. My knee hurts but I got mes a brace and I'm looking forward to getting back in there tomorrow. Go me. Now, if only I could get modivated to do my stretches today since the gym is closed. If I don't stretch I'll end up like yesterday where I couldn't lift my arms above my head and my butt was too sore to sit on anything that didn't have some give to it.

Pray that I find the stamina and courage to keep going. I'd really like to nail this whole mentality thing and stay my happy butt in the gym.

And thank you Lord, I only have 3 more sessions with Robert, but then gasp I'm on my own which means Dave takes over. Oh help me Lord.

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R We Normal?

So there are often times I revel in my family. We're hysterical, we're faith led, and we're oh so real. However, I often wonder if other families are as "real" as we are....or if perhaps we have gone off the deep end.

Some thoughts on our "normal"

- while preparing for church, Dave tells me a blonde joke about a poot (we don't say the f word) and a dog, Scooter....we all laugh hysterically....cause gas is funny in our house

- we are currently locked in a heated family debate over the correct pronounciation of the words "lips" in polish....so we are watching Veggie Tales right now so Dave and I will quit arguing over it

- speaking of Veggie Tales, we have a very disturbing habit....It's hard to confess so please don't judge us, I'm deathly serious....if it gets too quiet (which rarely happens but occassionally) one of us will break out the first part of Barbara Manatee with the rest breaking in to sing the repeat lines. Dave always finishes it with the deep voice line. People usually stare if we're in a restaurant

- my oldest burps like a man and will scare the crap out of you when she releases a monster while my youngest will call you out (and sometimes complete strangers) if she smells something and thinks you pooted. She thinks everyone should announce it with a loud "Excuse me" like she does, regardless of where you are

- my kids are deathly afraid of hot boxing: thanks Dave

- my oldest announced today that she wanted to shave her legs, my youngest covers her face and moans "oh you tween" and my husband tried to offer her money to delay the process. We managed to change the subject by talking about his toe hair.

- in Walmart after church we were trying to get me a knee brace for my workouts and I had one leg propped up on the lower shelf, one hand braced on Dave's back and my jeans pulled up as far as I could which means right above my knee. On an aisle that also sells everything old people need to live, Dave gets frustrated trying to adjust one of the options on me and announces loudly to just "pull your pants down" to which my kid says "mom are you wearing underware today"...Dave got all red and backpedalled that he meant to just lower my pants leg and he'd put it on over my jeans. The old people didn't look convinced but one man moved closer as if interested...hmmmm

Just some things that have happened today, before 2:52 pm on a Sunday afternoon....so r we normal or is everyone else really boring?

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Princess Surprises Us

So when we spent our long getaway weekend in Oklahoma, Dave's mom and Princess decided to sing together. After moving permenantly to the lake and out of Tulsa, his mom and dad joined a great little church up there. I didn't even know my mother in law could sing until she joined the choir. And it's always great to go up there and attend church where she helps to lead the worship songs.

However, we were surprised when we heard that they were gonna sing together at church. We normally leave on Sunday pretty early to get home in plenty of time but this time we were waiting to leave after church. Dave and I are realists. Frankly, we adore our daughter who has the biggest and best parts of our personalities. From Dave she gets her crabbiness when she is hungry or impatient, Lord help that girl if she doens't eat when she first wakes up cause ohhh she's a beast. From me she gets her love of music and her ability to get along with just about anyone. So it wasn't surprising that she wanted to do this. She has had karaoke machines and she constantly sings to any song you put on the radio.

However, she sings to match the singer that is singing the song. Her voice is never consistant and we constantly remind her not to scream it, or high pitch it or for the love of Christ please stop singing. We say it with love, cause we don't want to be parents to one of those people who show up to audition for American Idol and are devastated when they are told that singing is not their thing, move on.

So we did our parent thing, we supported her and let her fly. When they locked themselves in a room to practice, we said nothing. When she skipped out on a hiking trip to practice, we said no problemo. However, when she joined her grandma on stage to sing, Shout to the Lord, Dave reached down and took my hand and squeezed really hard. We both smiled when she nervously caught our eye and nodded, sending her good vibes.

And then the music came on and she sang. Grandma sang backup, Princess sang and I cried.

My baby had worked with Grandma on tone and pitch and obviously practiced her butt off. My baby got up there and had an entire little lake congregation silent. Grandma did a great job prepping her and helping her gain confidence in her voice. She sang beautifully and clear. A sweet pure voice that didn't sound like any other, it was my baby singing, not my baby singing someone else.

Even Dave and his dad looked a little misty eyed when she was done. As the song died down, the church got to their feet and we applauded like we were at a rock concert. She blushed and blushed and then my baby jumped down and skipped down the aisle where she came for hugs. She squeezed me tight and with a huge smile, she snuggled under my arm for big church.

I underestimated my kid. And it was the sweetest moment when she proved me oh so wrong.

She may never be a singer and frankly that is okay. But the confidence she gained from that act of courage has gone a long way. Now she knows, she can.

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SATC 2

is it me or was Samantha better with the one liners in this movie than EVER before. Dang, she made the whole thang!

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Send Help

My husband's job with the new company got pushed back till next Tuesday as his start date, so we have a week with daddy. Hence, no blogging. The man has this fascinating ability to keep me far away from my computer. It's a gift, a talent...almost like the way Princess can burp like a man without warning and rattle windows, a talent.

But with all this Dave time, I had no choice but to drag my butt into the gym yesterday afternoon to start my workout. It was a pitiful thing, because before I had to go we spent the morning gutting our rv of clothes we don't wear and things we don't need. We had two huge bags for Goodwill, go us. However it was during this purge that Dave got a look at my clothes. I really meant it when I said I kept it lean. A former clothes horse, I have the following clothes:

1 pair of jeans
1 pair jean capris
1 pair cargo shorts
1 pair running shorts, not fit for public consumption as they show my butt when I bend over

1 pair hiking boots
2 pairs flip flops

2 hoodies, cause I'm always cold
6 tshirts of various styles, shapes, colors
2 tank tops
2 church shirts to wear with jeans to church

That is it.It's no wonder why my clothes all fit in one little cabinet and one little mini closet but he realized that I have no gym clothes. Now before about 5 years ago when I'd hit up the MCRD gym everyday after work, I wore old shorts and t's to the gym. This time, he drug me to Academy and put me in a dressing room with about 600 bucks worth of clothes to try on. WHY is exercise clothes so expensive? So I tried it all on and said no. I got one pair of cheapy workout capris, one pair of biker shorts (ohhh like I wore on drill team forever ago) and another pair of those nylon runner shorts oh and a new sports bra. That's it. I'm wearing my tshirts and I'm not toughing it out. Although I did get actual sneakers too. But then it was torture time. I hit the gym.

And was promptly lost. Intimidated and self-conscious. I had a little list from Dave of what to do. So I did my mile on the treadmill and then I got a little lost in the machines looking for what I was suppose to do. So after all is said and done, I spent an hour and 15 minutes working out and 45 in the shower, go me.

But I get home and he starts banging his head on the wall. I was suppose to do arms chest yesterday and inadvertently did back, using all the wrong machines. Hopeless. And I can't move properly this morning.

And I woke up sore and starting this blog post for him to come hopping in from his 5 am workout this morning. And as I sit all shriveled up in pain, he sweetly hugs me and tells me to get dressed...so I'm hurrying now.

Cause he got me 5 sessions with a trainer, beginning at 9. I'm suppose to look for the trainer who is huge with an afro.

OMGAWD....could someone pray for me.

I gotta hurry and leave. So someone can kill me this morning, cause my husband paid them to.

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Why I Carry A Gun...

My husband recently received an email which perfectly sums up why I carry a small lightweight Ruger in my purse or on my person (I prefer the ankle holster unless I'm in shorts then it fits in my cargo pockets). Regardless of the laws (even though I am legally authorized to carry, picture id included), I carry for one simple reason...

To Not Be Forced.

Reason or force is how people get things done. Because I carry a gun, you can't force me, you have to reason with me. I'm leveling my playing field. If you're interested, read the email below.


**Borrowed**


God created men, Sam Colt made them equal . . .
Interesting take and one you don't hear much...

As the Supreme Court hears arguments for and against the Chicago gun
ban, I offer this letter (written by a Marine) that places the proper
perspective on what the gun means to a civilized society...

The Gun is Civilization
by Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and
force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of
either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding
under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those
two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it.



In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact
through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social
interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is
the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.



When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use
reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your
threat or employment of force.



The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on
equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal
footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal
footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun
removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a
potential attacker and a defender.



There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad
force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more
civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm
makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course,
is only true if the mugger's potential victims are mostly disarmed
either by choice or by legislative fiat--it has no validity when most
of a mugger's potential marks are armed.



People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the
young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a
civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a
successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force
monopoly.



Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal
that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is
fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are
won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on
the loser.



People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute
lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come
out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes
lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not
the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level.



The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an
octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply
wouldn't work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal
and easily employable.



When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight,
but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means
that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm
afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the
actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the
actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the
equation... and that's why carrying a gun is a civilized act.

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Princess for the Day

So Dave didn't work on Saturday like usual. Instead he woke up me and told me to get my butt in gear. I was to get dressed and in a quick.

So I threw on clothes while my husband and kids were gleefully rubbing their hands together.

First we dropped off my car, for a complete detail. Wow, I've had that car for 4 years and I keep it somewhat clean but it's never had a detail. Exciting. That and my new tinted windows, I'm one kept woman.

Second, I was told to find a hairdresser. So through some referrals from some other salons I found Lance. My new best friend who thought it was so cute that I was being "forced" into getting my hair that day instead of waiting when I had some free time that he gave me an appointment of a lady who never shows up. So I was to be there at 1245. Check.

Third, I was dropped off at a nail place for a spa pedicure. I was told to match my toes to my shirt, so baby blue toes it was. I even got the parafin wax dip. Interesting note to insert here but I'll come back to it.

Fourthly, they picked me up and then we swung by a local gym where I got a 99 day membership to see if it was something I really wanted to do. Guess he took it to heart when I said it'd be nice to have some mommy time each night, why not work in some iron too.

Fifthly, we then had to RUSH to get me to Lance. But we got there on time and they pushed me out of the car. Where for the next three hours, I underwent a transformation. You see, I was feeling brave and I was feeling tired of having to deal with hair issues every single day. So I did it. I went all out. But I really did it. I cut it all off and went super blonde. My husband and kids pulled up and all you could see in his tinted windows under the sun was his very white smile, I think he likey. Lance was pacing anxiously at the window looking to see if it was thumbs up....so cute. It's way different than I've ever done and frankly I so LOVE IT.

So afterwards, my people then loaded me up with ooahs and ahhhs and Dave admitted that he wished I'd done it years ago, cause he's always my long hair advocate. And sixthly, they took me to a Chinese food place where there was a GF menu so I could actually have Chinese for the first time in forever. Thank you google.

Lastly, yes it was only 5 pm at this point....they took me bowling where I kicked their butts with a 131 score. Not bad for someone who hasn't bowled in forever.

I came home and promptly collasped under the strain of this day.

Just to get up and start it all over again yesterday when I got churched, lunched, and dinnered while having a lot of fun family time. I don't know what is so special about my 33rd birthday but they truly made my weekend shine. It will not be easy to top this one and frankly I kinda hope they don't try.

So without futher ado, the new me......

Sorry about the pic but hey you work with what you can.....lol

Later: info about the conversation I had with the lady in the pedicure chair next to me....

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33 is my new lucky number

So today I turned 33. It's my new lucky number for sure. Tune in tomorrow and I'll share all the weekend gossip with you: the good, the bad and the "I can't believe you did that".....

Trust, you don't want to miss this one.

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I Be Better

You wanta know why?

Cause after carrying around my grumpy arse mood I sent an email to a friend who I like to think of as "my jimmy cricket on my shoulder, laughs with me at jokes when noone else finds them funny and then snorts as I laugh and cry at the same time, has a pysch degree so knows what she is talking about, loves Jesus with a passion that helps her to mentor me well" friend.

And with a few soft spoken words reminded me to put my faith in God and rebuke the devil trying to load me with doubts.

I sat alone for a minute and said a quick prayer and in about an hour, poof the mood was gone without me noticing it and my day went on as usual.

Then my momma called during her hectic inventory day and her happy voice lifted my spirits high. Then my girl Case and I chatted and I always feel like I siphon off some of her happy attitude whenever we talk, she is my always cheerful friend.

Then my kids made me cards and were angels.

And then my husband went to the store after dark and got me a Coke Zero just because.

I'm blessed. And like everyone else, even Susie Sunshine me hits a wall sometimes. I like to think it's because it gives me a chance to appreciate the support system I have around me.

Going to snuggle to my husband, which adds another layer of joy to my life. Six months ago, I couldn't do that every night.

14 days till mommy week.....not that I"m counting or anything.....

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Keep Your Distance

Because life is life and I'm somewhat normal.... I'm having one of those days so keep your distance. I spit far, like a camel.

I woke up full of doubts: should we continue homeschooling, should we continue in an RV, should we upgrade an RV, should we...should we....should we...and it continues....

So I tried to shake my funk and kept biting my tongue and not gripe at the kids. I keep unusually silent.

And I did all the laundry, and cleaned the rv, and let the kids play, and kept silent.

Then we went to the nursing home to paint nails and then we hit the grocery store for paper towels, ice, and dishwashing liquid.

I yakked with my dad for an hour during some of this errand running which always cheers me up.

And I stopped at Sonic for my now weekly, once daily, coke. Before I would have a rt44 coke anytime I could...but i decided to cut calories and eat my calories rather than drink them. SO I switched to coke zero, but I give myself the weekly coke, a large now rather than a rt44. Big time proud of myself.

Got home and while still chatting with Dad, Princess is playing around at the sink and knocks my full, undrank weekly coke onto the floor. I quickly got off the phone and lost my shit.

And before I got ugly, I went outside to kick the tires on my rv. I felt slightly better. And now, she is cleaning the rv again and we'll have extra chores after school today.

harse? maybe, but seriously I'm tired of them kids playing around and I only ask for a few things....so yeah, I'm still pissed.

Keep your distance

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Recapping our lastest adventure

So this past weekend we escaped for a glorious 4 day weekend at the lake. I absolutely heart the lake. The in-laws have moved up their full time and built a house we now have a ton of room where we can spread out and get comfy. Dave's mom keeps the upstairs ready for us, big ole room for us and the kids have room to hang out and watch tv. It's great.

I cook as much as possible as I miss having kitchenspace to do some big ole cooking...which meant amoung other things a big ole GF carrot cake that didn't last 24 hours. And thankfully when I start cooking, Grandpa (Dave's mom's dad) comes to hang. Love me some Grandpa, he cracks me up, always wanting to know how I made this or that and is always the first to clean his plate. Even better, he gets a huge kick out of the kids. This time he brought his dog, Duke, who gives Murphy fits.

Duke was rescued so is a bit skittish around anyone or any other dog but he is attached to Grandpa and is quite taken with Duchess. But you wanta see this skittish little man get very attentive, pull out a camera. The dog totally "sits pretty" everytime you point the camera at him. Adore this little guy. Watching him and Murphy play chase nonstop for an hour really peaks up my day.

While Dave and I enjoyed the rare chance to watch tv without kids underfoot, the kids invaded Grandma's sunroom which is where she hides with her crafts. While the kids make jewelry with her, I'm still angling to learn to stain glass.

While it was sprinkling quite a bit, it was insanely high at Grand water wise. The dam created Grand Lake in the 40's and with all the rain this year, Grand Lake was too high, so when we got there this weekend the spillways were opened a TINY little bit. And wow, the amount of water that comes out in....

Below the same spillway is usually where we went hiking but there was no hiking while the spill was one. The water so so fast and so high. The fishing was insane. They killed it, I passed in favor of a nap. Go me.

Below the dam is a state park where Dave took me fishing on one of our first dates. This is the exact area we hung out. The water was so high, you can't even see the boat ramps. Crazy.

Driving along the dam, this is the lake side.

A grubby me and Duchess under the spillway, Princess was at choir practice gearing up singing in front of her grandparents' church.

This is the river side of the dam, way down there, way way down there. Still can't believe how high the river was. No hiking for us like we wanted, but we went through some of the higher trails.

Next up, to finish our trip Princess sang for the first time in front of anyone outside the family. Can't tease her anymore, cause she carried that tune in her bucket beautifully. I totally teared up.

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Let Momma Watch Her Shows!

It's Tuesday which means Glee and The Good Wife. People work with me here. I took you to the grocery store and am cooking your dinner (bbq chicken, yellow cajun rice, biscuits and peas), I have your laundry in the dryer and I took one of you to the dentist to have your broken baby tooth pulled then bought you meds and have babied you all day.

LET MOMMA WATCH HER SHOWS!

It's not too much to ask. I'm already "mother of the year" cause Duchess told me today that I was #1 mom evah cause I've "never forgotten your kids anywhere". Ummm, yeah, good point.

But now, you little minitures of me are attempting to take over the tv thus making me wait and watch my shows via internet in the morning. I'm gonna go cry and kick the wall if I don't win this battle.

Dear Dave: now would be a good time to talk about the upcoming rv upgrade, I'm thinking adults and kids should have separate tvs once again. Love your sweet, loving wife

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God Answers

it absolutely blows my mind but God answers prayers. We thought Dave's current job would be ending as of Feb and here it is May and it's finally coming to an end. We haven't complained, we like Beaumont and we love us some Texas. It's not Oklahoma but it's darn close. And with this job coming to an end, so is the division Dave works for. The company is shutting that division down completely. The majority of the crew has already moved on to other companies and jobs. The oil business is still booming in this recession but there is alot of competition for work though.... one guy we know is a great guy, good worker with skills. He is a local though and to get right back to work took a job in Houston for less pay meaning he's got twice the commute and less take home.

But in the face of this, we had faith that the Lord would see us through to his path, not the one we wanted. So through it all, we kept our eye open for jobs and Dave kept up with things through the grapevine of people he works with. We didn't panic and for once, I had no plan.

Now, I think it's important to confess that I'm an A #1 planner. I've always had a plan, actually I've always had two backup plans. Always. As soon as something is on the horizon, I start planning to adjust our plan just in case. It's a compulsion that God has removed from my life. So again for the record, we had no back up plan. We weren't stressing, we were living our life day by day with faith that the Lord would provide. Ignorance? I prefer to call it faith.

Glory be to God, he is amazing! In the middle of last week, in the middle of an ordinary work day my husband got a call. One of his bosses recommended him for a safety job with a local company working on the same refinery. The very next day, he interviewed for that position. He was told to take a long weekend and we'd know something Monday. His crew was off waiting on mobilization so we spent four glorious days in Oklahoma. We occassionally talked about it and about the outcome but we tried our best to not stress and not focus on it.

Yesterday, Dave was offered his first safety manager job. His degree in Safety is 3 classes from complete and the first safety job is always the hardest to get breaking into the field. Thanks to alot of amazing people, he got it. He'll wrap up this current job and move straight into the new one.

Which means it's a good thing we like Beaumont, cause we'll be here for awhile longer. Now, we're not changing too much though. Considering the nature of the business, we'll be continuing with our mobile lifestyle, rv and homeschool. But we can put down a few roots, join our local church and get the kids involved in a few things. It does my heart good. Besides I'm not ready to add yardwork or house decorating to my resume....I'm a rv-ing homeschooling mom yo!

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This is Why We Watch PG TV

So I'm at the lake chilling with the inlaws and hanging out. Last night, we all sat in the tv room watching tv while the kids were in Grandma's sunroom making jewelry. My father in law is a huge fan of South Park, apparently my husband is too. I'm not old enough for this show, I've never watched this show. Ever. In this lifetime. At all.

I'll never watch it again because all day long my husband has been pinching me on the neck going "sht", i.e. the method of the Dog Whisperer teaching Cartman to behave. So the entire day he's been attempting to "retrain" me. I've never smacked him so many times in one day, ever. He's getting quite the kick out this. I'm gonna wait till he's asleep and get my revenge.

The lesson learned today? Tv is bad, and I obviously can not be "retrained".

Back later, taking my girls under the dam to go 4x4-ing. Later gators.

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See ya Monday

Hi, you've reached ME, I'm packing and heading out for a long weekend. Please leave a message after the beep and I'll return it Monday when I have internet access again. Going to work on my tan and get dirty.

Hearts and hugs!

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Yes Please

So the weekend is coming, and I'm waiting on the call to see if we're heading up to the lake for the rest of the weekend or if its business as usual. Frankly, I'm in need of some serious lake time. I'm perfecting my tan and I could use some time hiking with my ipod.

Grand Lake is our place. It's where we escaped Tulsa and work and drama when we were dating to swim in the lake, hike beneath the dam and just well.....you get the idea. I love me some Grand Lake.

Now, the kids would have to take school books as we have to keep at the grindstone, I think we could work in some mommy time. I need my highlights touched up and I'm seriously thinking of a summer cut but we'll see. Dave says GOD NO, but it's my hair so I'll get back to you.

Otherwise, I'm hoping that call comes through, cause then it's ROADTRIP and I just downloaded a ton of songs onto my ipod for the trip. Let's go old school this week, I'm thinking 80's.....

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I Can...When I Want 2

There are times when you get a sandwich and like it at my house (cough-rv-cough). However, there are times when I whip out a really awesome meal upside your head. I like to keep them guessing frankly, and tonight is one of those nights. After many of the standard rv meals (grilled meat, baked potatoes, beans) I'm laying one upside their head...just to remind them that I'm the end all be all of their dining experiences.

Cajun meatloaf - spicy and sweet at the same time, dayum

Deviled eggs - my famous version with bacon and all kinds of pureed things you'd never guess

Rosemary rolls - gluten free of course

Salad with homemade warm dressing - just plain yum!

Then for dessert, fresh fruit torts.

(I'm blowing on my nails peeps)

Cause while I usually chose to throw something together at the last minute. When I plan ahead and do it right, I can make'em drool.

(hmmmm, this also sounds like my appearance on a usual day...hohum/usual day = jeans/shorts, tshirt, hair in pony or bun and when I plan ahead and put some effort with it...so what if that effort takes 4 hours plus.....I can make my guy stare without blinking. Wait, come to think of it, maybe it's cause I so rarely dress up anymore that makes him stare without blinking.....gotta ponder that.)

Excuse while I go finish off buttering my rolls and tossing my salad dressing together.

And tomorrow? It's homemade chicken parmesan...two good dinners in a row, they are gonna think something is wrong with momma.....it's all about keeping them guessing cause it's sandwiches the rest of the week ;)

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Can Your 7 year old Grind?

Cause my 7 year old can grind...we haven't started welding yet as we think it's a little too young. Since my peeps are all poxy and church was out of the question, as was swimming and hiking and oh about everything we could think of....we schooled today. Dave jumped in and helped teach school and then went and bought his toolbox for his truck after grocery shopping for me.

(TMM note: since we are doing the total money makeover, I had money in savings for a toolbox for him for father's day. Excuse: he literally pulls our current home, aka: rv, from job site to job site so he needs alot of tools and I'm TIRED of them being all over our rv, hence he needed a toolbox for the Ford. Also, we bought used out of the classifieds spending only 200 instead of 950 for a new one. GO US!)

So once we got fractions, language, handwriting, bible verses, compound words and prefixes, phonics and science out of the way, he let the kids help him grind down the truck bed to make the box a perfect fit. They are so cute out there in their little rainbow colored tiered skirts and ponytails grinding with Daddy.

I'm gonna list this under "SHOP" in our curriculum I think.

On another homeschool note, I'm thinking of moving to UNIT teaching on history and science. I've noticed that Duchess is always very interested in whatever Princess and I are discussing so we're gonna pick themes for these subjects and I'll work to make sure they both have grade appropriate work to go along with. More work for me, but happier kids I think. History and science can easily get boring so I think this will make things more fun.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go remind them they need to start dinner, cause hello, it's Mother's Day. Happy M Day peeps.

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Best Laid Plans

So you want to see the Lord laugh, make a plan. I'm sure he was chuckling this morning when I got everyone up at the crack of dawn for breakfast and to start school.

Cause then I got a good look at Duchess's back, and her front, and her bottom. Either my baby is having an allergic reaction to something or she has the chicken pox. Good gravy. But before we came to the conclusion it was chicken pox (???) or allergies, we thought she'd gotten attacked by the baby ants that seek us out for sugar and/or water in this Texas heat. We're constantly fighting them in the rv so Dave got up and went straight to the store for bedcovers, new sheets and I had to wash all their bedding. He also used indoor ant killer and let it dry while we lysol-ed their mattresses. I tell you, it was an interesting morning.

But while I had the chance and willing hands, I've scrubbed and wiped down the entire inside of the rv, we hit up the rv store and are replacing filters, bulbs and anything that looks remotely old. It's a banner day here in the Griswald rv house on wheels.

So in case we do have the pox of the bak-bak variety, we'll be skipping church tomorrow and schooling. Cleaned and medicated to the hilt.

Go ahead, I dare you...make a plan.

Update: Princess is now sporting the bumps as well. Crap.

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I'd Like To Lodge A Complaint

Since this seems to be the only forum where my complaint will carry any weight, I'd like to lodge a complaint against the principal of our homeschool. He once again got a Friday off for a long weekend and called school in lue of swimming and a big ole nap. I'm not getting my weekly goals accomplished here Mr. Principal.

But man oh man, is my tan looking HOT. Not to mention, my kids are squelling with joy and so happy to have some family fun time. And later tonight, it's the (&&^%#%*( family Poker competition, cause every 7 and 11 year old should know how to play poker with chips peeps. Cause it can be quite the math learning tool......and no I'm not grasping for straws, I'm serious. Try it sometimes. And frankly if you have doubts, come over and let my 7 year old wipe the floor with you. The kid is a natural card shark.

And cause I'm the Vice Principal and I carry some slight influence with the principal, I am decreeing tomorrow a school day....and then we'll have some fun in the afternoon.

Did I mention how much I truly love the freedom of our schedule? It's this freedom that will allow us to school through the summer while taking a few weeks here and there for fun.

Like when my kids go with my parents for a week....woohoo baby

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Land of Oil

Welcome to Beaumont Texas, home of the Spindletop Gusher of the early 1900's. It's an oil town still. Unlike Tulsa (a previous home of mine where I met my gorgeous husband at a gas station), Beaumont is still a booming oil town. Except it's not all fancy and old sprawling homes, it's a middle class town through and through. Everyday at 5 p.m. you can tell when the refineries let out as travel increases 75%, every grocery store in the area is flooded with guys (and some girls) in their FRC's (flame retardant clothing). And can I just say that my guy was born to wear FRC's, nobody wears a pair of FRC wranglers and denium shirts like my guy, yum! Off subject, sorry.

Anywho the point of this little ditty is that it's appropriate that I'm currently located in Beaumont Texas, home of oil. Cause after 32 years of dealing with my acne, I decided since I'm going off sugars and wheat and finally getting healthy after my girlie surgery....I went for it. Since I have no uterus (go ahead, admit you just threw up a little in your mouth), I'm an easy candidate for acutane. So I'm in my 3rd day of it. And I'm producing more oil than one of the refineries around here. Good grief. What a mess! And sorry peeps but you get dragged along cause I tend to be really real. So yeah, they said I'd be super oily during the first couple of days but afterwards the dry spell would begin. I woke up this morning and it's insane how shiny I am. And my sweet dear husband just smiled and played blind when I pointed it out, gotta love a smart man.

And now I have to get school going, I feel like I can start my day better after sharing my gross oil producing secrets with the world.

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Opps, Google Malfunction

SO I wrote this big ole long post about how I was trying to decide what to do with the time I'm gonna have on my hands the first week of June. When my kiddos are going with my mom and photo-elusive daddy on vacation. I'll be kid free.....peeps, this is huge. As I'm with my babies 24/7 now, I'm not sure what to do with myself.

And after that big ole post, I went on with my work. Not knowing that 99% of the post got cut off. Opps. Google did it.

But on that note, seriously any suggestions about what to do with myself......I have NO IDEA what to do, but I know I have to do something! Right?

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Throwdown at 33?

Is it possible to get down and have some real fun when your 33?

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Ask? Exclaim! Command. Declare.

So I'm working on reviewing sentences and sentence structure today in homeschooling. However, I have to acknowledge that I had to prepare for this lesson. I've forgotten so much about language arts that it's just sad. But having my 1st grader jump in and ask questions when discussing this lesson? priceless.... Having my older daughter help my youngest learn? priceless.. You can't buy these things for any amount of money and it's yet another reason I love homeschooling. As you can imagine, we have decided that this is working well for us and we're going with it again next year. Very happy about that. Plus I'm trying now to figure out how to incorporate "Learn at the Beach" day for us.....thoughts?

(Psttt....basically I want a day at the beach but trying to work out a way to have school that day 2)

So my Duchess is finishing up 1st grade. She is streaking through her school books like a knife through warm butter. That said, she wasn't really into school before we started homeschooling. Oh she did really well and made good grades but now, she is all about "I wanna read" and "can we do school" at 9:30 pm instead of going to bed. Not to mention when I did an exit interview with her teacher she was at a perfectly normal mid 1st grade reading level. She is now reading books with very few pictures. The kid is reading like a champ. She read Dave her entire chapter on Animals in her science book the other night, for fun. I see the progress that thinking outside of the box has done for my kid.

Princess is catching up full stream. She is doing better with her spelling (which was previously sooooo bad you could hardly tell what she'd written), her math is moving so quickly ahead, and we are working on getting language up there too. For her, this has been a chance to work at her own pace and emphasis. The subject she wants to do the least, we do last in our day and frankly by the time she is tired of it, it's been 2 hours. We are hammering math and she isn't even aware that she hates it so much, much less that we are doing math, hours go by instead of minutes. I love the unstructure of this life.

We have absolutely no clocks in our school area, there is nothing set for our day except what concept I'm teaching. For instance, this is what my lesson plan for Duchess is for this week for a couple classes:

Spelling:
Monday: test
Tues: new words, 5 ea
Wed: computer spell games, silly sentences
Thur: 5 ea, verbal games
Fri: practice test (if makes 100% no Mon test), missed words 10 ea

Extras:
Mon: n/a
Tues: lesson on manners, act out situations
Wed: typing exercise
Thur: n/a
Fri: typing exercise

However, 1st grade is alot easier to teach than 5th....take a peek:

Language Arts:
Mon: issue book reports for Sat/ diagramming sentence quiz
Tue: Ask? State. Command. Exclaim!
Wed: Punctuation continue - worksheets, correct together
Thur: Punctuation continue - computer game
Fri: Quiz - punctuation

History:
Mon: n/a
Tues: Chapter 3 review, turn in project
Wed: cont. Chapter 3 review, verbal discussion questions/answers
Thurs: Chapter 3 test
Fri: Intro to Ch 7, project intro and application
(we are going out of order in History as she has previously done most of the later chapters in her previous school)

So I don't set times, I'm flexible about their days. For instance since we had a trip to Houston yesterday, we had no school on Monday this week so we shifted everything so we have school on Saturday now.

It's crazy how my love of running projects has translated into running my kids' education.

Send vodka...... (kidding!....kinda)

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Warning: Starts with a B ends with a H

Today was not the best day to go off my soda. No coke today = grouchy, short tempered, pissy and ain't in the mood me.....

Warning....

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Scared Spitless...

Yep, I'm scared spitless. In praying for a miracle of a lifetime (new theme for this quarter at church) we seem to have gotten an answer. A guy Dave works with sent him home with a book. And yep, it appears that we may have found our miracle of a lifetime......and I'm scared to death but excited.

We're gonna do the Dave Ramsey "Total Money Makeover"..... and since it's out there now, I'm bound and pledged. Anyone else doing this?

Not gonna be easy but I'll take hard, I'm used to hard, but man the rewards would be so sweet. The Lord has actually put us in the best position to accomplish this...hello, live in an RV, travel around, and frankly I'm sick of eating out so yeah, I'm thinking we're gonna do this thing.

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Yet More Random...This Is My Life

I'll go ahead and apologize now, but seriously life around here is random random random. But frankly, I'll take it!

So a beautiful new facet, a new air filter cover and ant bait to fix our tiny little visitor problem. Because my husband is the shiznik peeps. I can't say enough about this man of mine, I so heart him. Plus he got him a big ole envelope with his national crane licenses in it so he be nationally legal. Collecting certs and becoming a man of all oil trades, go baby go.

My kids are fixated on the idea that their daddy needs to make a video and try out for Survivor. Because it's our favorite tv show, we have a seriously small life circle peeps. Anywho, they are all about the daddy doing this. They also like the idea of Daddy and Uncle J trying out for Amazing Race. Both of the boys are hunters, can live off the land, and frankly they take no prisoners. Their best features? They have the driest sense of humor. I personally think that Dave would rock at either but he swears his lack of people "patience" is what would have him kicked off either show. They keep bugging him with video ideas, so far he is resisting. He may have a point.

Because I have the horrible habit of sharing gross things, I have to tell you this. When I was removing my AC filter out of the ceiling to measure it for a replacement I had children under foot and a dog running circle around me cause he was afraid we were leaving without him and Dave was attempting to get us out the door and get this pony show on the road when it happened. I pulled it down and then I went into panic mode. Cause peeps we live in a travel trailer RV, it's small and compact and it's mobile right.......so I literally threw my children out of it, sending them to the car as to not witness the corpse. Dave thought I'd lost my mind but I drug him over to witness and to remove it. There in the AC vent was the corpse of a green little cute lizard. Not only a corpse but it was stuck hanging upside down, it's little head flung back, tongue out to the side and it's two little lizard hands flung out to the side.

Now, to fully understand my hysteria, you have to know that on our nature hike last weekend we ran across a similar little green lizard on a tree. Duchess ran over to "talk to the Geico lizard" and when it scampered away, she yelled at it "wait I can save you money in 15 minutes".

So seeing a replica of the Geico lizard hanging in my AC unit freaked me out. Little sucker was hanging there like "oh man, I almost got in". Dave removed the corpse and with no ceremony tossed him in the yard. Other than a few smirks in my direction it wasn't mentioned again.

Until we were watching Tombstone on TNT earlier when a Geico commercial came on and the cute talking lizard got sucked up a mail slot. I literally gagged and Dave could barely choke out "maybe that's how he got up there". I have this horrible feeling that I will see this little guy in my sleep tonight.

URGH........

I'm no daisy, no daisy at all.

However amusing I am to my sweet husband, he too manages to do things that amuse the hell out of me. Today I realized that the man has "errand ADD". He, like most guys, will stop and go get supplies in the middle of a project. Today whilst working on my leaky faucet he headed out to grab a replacement by himself, us girls stayed behind to get some stuff done. With the water turned off, we waited for his return. And we waited and waited and waited.....and he calls... turns out the place where he went to grab a replacement was down the road from a shop his buddy recommended. It turns out it was a good shop, where we'd get a great deal on tinting his windows. So he came home a couple hours later, with a new faucet and a gorgeous tint job on his truck. And an appointment for my car on Tuesday to get the same. How have we managed to go this long without tinting my windows? I've been driving my car for four years and I'm finally getting tint. I'm excited.

And if I don't stop watching "The Office" on netflix and blogging I'm never gonna get this dang brief written ....

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Praise Be 2 God

So we now know exactly why we weren't meant to go hiking out of town today. Instead I have a brand new sink/facet (beautiful) and we spent the entire day today together. And while letting the kids party hardy at Chuckie Cheese, Dave ran into a guy from his crane school. Guy told Dave to go check his mail, the official crane results were in today. Oh dear sweet jesus, my dear husband RAN into the post office.

And casually walked back out, keeping eye contact with me in the truck, and couldn't keep a smile off his face. He is now nationally certified in all cranes. Woohoo go baby go.

Praise be to the Lord, cause instead of fretting and stressing Dave just went in did his best and gave the glory up to God.

Walking on faith = us
Walking on faith = good for us
Walking on faith = cause he knows better than me

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God Hears Silent and Desperate Prayers

Cause I laid in bed this morning hiding under the covers praying for a storm or something that would waylay Dave's master plan of driving to Houston....dropping Murphy off at doggie daycare then heading north of there for a day of hiking. I was not in the mood. I was hiding under the covers which was apparently an invitation to my kids to jump pile me and then Murphy and Dave joined us. We were all cuddled up and then they drug me out from under the covers and told me to pack up for the hike trip.

Until, I mentioned to Dave that the sink was leaking. And because he is a typical guy, he started working on it. Hike CANCELLED! He is working on the sink which has evolved me into asking for a new facet with a squirty thing which he agreed would be helpful. Then I asked oh so pretty for a new deeper sink (since we're this far into it) and he is thinking about that one...... I'm doing homework and watching The Office on my laptop. Yoohoo baby........

And later I'll take him the hunting store to make all this up to him...........poor guy..........

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