WFMW ~ One Thing at a Time

Girls (and boys?), I am not a good housekeeper. And my strongest personality trait is unfortunately a negative one: Procrastination. Now, my house is not nasty or toxic or anything, but as I may have mentioned in the past, we do have some teeny little problems with clutter. And I would much rather read or blog or read or play games or read or play with my kids than pick up the clutter.

This tip will hopefully be helpful for my fellow procrastinators, but those of you who are organized and tidy may find my suggestions obvious or trifling.

Here's one thing that's working for me, little by little, when I absolutely, positively do not want to clean. Pick up one thing at a time. Don't wait until you can do a whole room. Every little bit helps.

For example, this morning when I walked in the front door after dropping the big girls off at school, I did not leave the living room until I had picked up the things that were out of place. Since we don't spend much time in that room, there were only a couple of things out of place. So one room now looks great. Too bad we can't say the same for the rest of the house.

Later on while I was waiting for my bagel to toast, I put away the cooking oil and wiped off the stove.

Just now when I went to the restroom, I picked up some trash and pony tails from the counter and put them in their respective homes.

The next time I leave my bedroom (where my computer is) I will take a basket of clothes to the laundry room and throw them in to wash.

When I go to let the dogs out the back door, I'll wipe off the kitchen table and put out clean napkins for dinner.

You get the idea. Instead of being overwhelmed by all the things that need to be done around here, I'll just do them one thing at a time, as I go through the day. That way I don't feel guilty for being a lazy butt, and I find that the more I do, the more I want to do.

As I mentioned above, this may seem obvious to those of you who don't have problems with motivation and keeping up with housework. But for those of us (and I hope I'm not the only one!) who are slow starters, every little bit helps.

So. Picking up one thing at a time. Works for me. Be sure and go on over to Shannon's and check out all today's great tips!

American Idol Final Three

Good evening, all. Welcome to this evening's late recap of American Idol - Final Three. We're happy to inform you that Miss Tinkerbell is once again joining us for our broadcast.

At the risk of starting off tonight's commentary on a sour note, Ryan Seacrest needs to grow up. For real. He is not good at the cut-downs, and he needs to stop it. He just looks stupid. But I mean that in the nicest way possible.

Remember in the first seasons when the finalists went home and you actually saw their home, families, school, place of employment, etc.? I miss that. Governors and mayors are boring to me. I mean that in the nicest way possible, also.

And now off we go...

Jordin
Wishing on a Star

Great dress. Nice start. It was a'ight.

She Works Hard For The Money

Wow, her legs are long! Y'all, I like Jordin. I think she's a great performer with a wonderful voice. But so far tonight, her songs are doing nothing for me.

Tink: Good! I like the guy that I love and I like this girl, too.

I Who Have Nothing

Now this song does something for me. I. Love. It. Just jaw-hanging-open, can't stand it, Fab.U.Lous.

Simon says it's old fashioned, but so am I.

Tink: Mom, do you love it? Me too, and Daddy does. I can't believe she's so good today! It's so cute!

Blake
Roxanne

Eh. I agree with Simon - it sounds like Sting to me. I'm not a fan of all the sweater vests that he wears. And is it just me, or is Paula totally hitting on him?

Tink: I like his songs. They're so cute!

This Love

This one is definitely better! But did he borrow those clothes from Chris' old wardrobe? Way too many layers going on there.

Tink: Oh, that's good. Even better. Better.
BD: Enough already.

Don't remember the name, but it's a song by Robin Thicke, I think. Isn't that the nerdy guy that sings R & B? Anyway.

I love it when he says "Baby Girl." My favorite of his tonight.

Tink: I loved it! I wanna marry him when I grow up.
BD: Ack!

Melinda
I Believe in You and Me

I don't know why, but I don't like the way she looks for this one. The dress is boring, she needs some lipstick, and I don't like her hair like that.

Now that I've got that out of my system, I Love This Girl. Seriously, she's a pro. Like non-crack Whitney, or even Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle...ya know? No gimmicks at all. Just beautiful, controlled, gorgeous music.

Tink: A little good.

Nutbush City Limits

Please refer to this post for my opinion of dresses over jeans.

Are you kidding me with this song? Y'all, I couldn't disagree more with the judges. I didn't like this one at all. I love my girl, but I do not love this song.

I'm A Woman

Wonderful. I love the way she showcased her back-up singers. Symbolic and all that crap.

Wrap-up: So. I don't know who should go home. Probably Blake, I guess, even though I like him, too. Who's best? Melinda, hands-down. But I think maybe Jordin or Blake should be The American Idol, because they fit the mold better. And Melinda can go on and do her own thing, because girlfriend will definitely have a career after this.

Night, all!

Rainy Days and Mondays

Okay, it's not rainy, but it is Monday, and why am I always so tired on Mondays? I've spent all morning telling myself I can not have a nap until I get some stuff done. So far nothing is done.

Our weekend was nice and sort of relaxing. Except it's hard to relax when Big Daddy thinks a knee injury means he doesn't have to get up unless he feels like it. For real, he can get up just fine to find his cell phone to play Phil Helmuth Poker, but becomes incredibly lame if he's thirsty or the dogs need to go out. BUT I AM NOT COMPLAINING. I am merely stating the facts, people. I LOVE MY HUSBAND. I have laughed at his pitifulness all weekend. I AM NOT CRITICIZING. Cause I love that man o' mine.

Have I mentioned yet that Big Daddy has a knee injury? He really does. He messed it up last Monday, and we spent the week at doctor appointments and MRIs and fun stuff like that. Wednesday we find out if he has to have surgery. Ack!

If you're a praying person, please say a little one for us, because finances are gonna be tight around here for a while, and I'm going to be spending much more time typing those lovely insurance statements that sometimes entertain me but just as often make me want to put a hole in the wall.

Speaking of, I guess I'd better start on one of those insurance statements. Check back later when I will be much more entertaining and you can hear about my lovely Mother's Day.

Pooh, Tink and Scooter run breathlessly into the room.

Tink: Daddy, Pooh wants to ask you if she can give us one of those stickers that she got in her birthday card that Grammy and Grandaddy gave her when we had her birthday party at the carousel and all our friends and cousins came and we rode on the carousel and she got the card with the stickers in it and she wants to ask you if she can give us one of the stickers.

Thank goodness we've got Tink here to tell us what everyone wants to say. The rest of us just get to sit back and rest our big mouths while she does all the work.


NOTE: You'll notice an extra chica in the photo above. Number 4 is our girls' Best Friend, New Baby's big sister.

ANOTHER NOTE: You'll notice Tink's mouth is open in the photo above. She takes after her Mommy with the talking business.

They moved the line and I crossed it again.

Y'all. I wore my slippers into QT today. That's right. I did it. I told you it was a slippery slope!

I dropped the big girls off at school, and had a hankerin' for a 44 oz. Cherry Diet Dr. Pepper with rabbit ice. The choices are Sonic for $2 or QT for $1. So QT it is. Plus I can be a wonderful mother and get my 3-year-old a hot dog for breakfast for another dollar.

So we whip into the QT, maneuver through the hoards of morning QTers' cars, and hop out of the van. And Scooter goes, "Mommy, you wear yours slippers in QT?" Well crap. I look down and think, "Screw it, I want my soda. I'm goin' in."

Thank goodness school's over in two weeks, y'all. Cause who knows where things might end up if I don't get myself straightened out soon.

WFMW - Controlling Toy Chaos

As you may recall, Big Daddy and I became the parents to three daughters at once in January of 2005. Talk about your culture shock. One of the things we realized almost immediately was that if we didn't think of some way to organize the toy chaos in our little house, we would quite possibly lose our ever lovin' minds.

It's really simple, and has always Worked for Me (Us), but you'd be surprised how many people are appalled at the idea when I suggest it. I mean, you'd think we were recommending [insert something horrendous here, cause it's late and I'm drawing a blank].

I suggest this often to people who are bemoaning the toy clutter in their kids' rooms, and the responses I get range from incredulity to horror to disbelief to scoffing. I just don't get it. But here goes. Get ready, cause it's drastic!

Our girls are allowed to play with one toy (or category of toys) at a time. What that means in a houseful of girls is this: You can play with Polly Pockets. All of them. Including the Polly cruise ship and Polly's horses. Cause the horses, they love cruising on the high seas. But please do not get out puzzles in the middle of the Pollys.

When you're done with Polly and her paraphernalia, put her up and then you may get out the puzzles.

We have three girls, and they may not all be playing with the same thing at the same time. But if they're playing with different things, they're also playing in different rooms. That way, Barbie and her minions don't get into a turf war with The Littlest Pet Shop gang. You don't want that crap going down in the Texas suburbs.

Y'all, this has been the rule in our house since day one, and the only time our girls have a problem with it seems to be when we have company, or when they're at someone else's house. Stray from our regular routine, and then civilized life as we know it flies out the window on Fairytopia wings. But we make allowances for brain farts.

So. Big Daddy and I were at a marriage retreat for adoptive couples a couple of weeks ago, and one of the topics of discussion was messy kids' rooms. We were so excited to share our successful way of handling this, and oh my goodness, the two couples at our table looked at us like we were rip roaring crazy. "Oh, that wouldn't work in our house." "Our kids would never do that." "Our guys like to dump everything out at once." Okay, don't gripe about it if you're not willing to fix it.

I didn't give them my suggestion for guaranteed success. Take all the toys out of their room until they do what you say. Oh my goodness, it's crazy, but it just might work!

So there it is. Our solution may not work for everyone, but if you want to simplify that area of your life, it's definitely worth a try. Now go on over to Shannon's, and check out all the wonderful ideas.

Mother's Day Giveaways

Hey, Moms, check this out! 5 Minutes for Mom has all sorts of great giveaways going on right now in celebration of Mother's Day.

Be sure to go check it out and enter to win the prizes you like!

And Happy Mother's Day!

American Idol Final Four

Ladies and Gentlemen, we regret to inform you that Miss Tinkerbell of Dirty Laundry is unable to join us this evening with her renowned commentary, due to getting too big for her britches after her Birthday Weekend Extravaganza.

In other words, her butt is in bed.

We are, however, very fortunate to be joined by the lovely and elder Dirty Laundry sibling, Miss Pooh of Dirty Laundry. Without further ado, I present Pooh.

Okay, now let's get down to business.

People, I love me some Bee Gees. I'm dating myself here, but I was so in love with Barry Gibb, and prior to his untimely demise, Andy Gibb. Both their music and their looks. So. But does Barry look like he's got dentures or something?

Melinda Doolittle
Love You Inside and Out

I Love This Song. And I love the way Melinda is singing it. Oh. My Gosh. I think every one of the judges are wrong, but it may just be because I love the song.

Do her jeans have to be that tight?

Pooh: I love this girl!

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

I loved this one, too. And what the heck was Paula talking about? Sounds like she's trying to make sure Blake stays in this week, so she's just making up crap to criticize on the other contestants. I Loved It.

Blake
You Should Be Dancing

This one is a little too "techno" or whatever for me. I don't know all those trendy terms, but you know what I mean. Randy's right - that much beat boxing wasn't necessary or welcome in this song. Paula's also a little right - he does have a talent. In my opinion, though, I'm not crazy about it in excess.

Pooh: I love Blake! (She's been listening to her little sister a bit.)

This Is Where I Came In

Love the rainbow lights on the stage. That's about it. He's more talking than singing at times, and I'm just bored.

Paula's crushing on Blake, and she's afraid he might go home this week.

LaKisha

I'm a big retard, cause I can't even remember the first song she sang. I just know that my notes say, "Why didn't she sing it in the higher range like Barry suggested? It wasn't bad. A'ight."

Okay, I cheated and looked at BooMama's - it was You Should Be Dancing. Yeah, gotta have some high notes in that one, KiKi.

Pooh: Good.

Run To Me

It was great when she wasn't yelling. Very sultry.

Pooh: Inappropriate. Inappropriate dress, because we can see half of her boobies.

Jordin

I have a confession: I don't like dresses with jeans. Reminds me of when I was young and visited an orphanage in Mexico in the winter. The girls had to wear dresses all the time, but since it was so cold, they wore pants underneath the dresses. And since it was an orphanage, many of the clothes were ill-fitting and didn't match.

There, I've gotten that off of my chest.

To Love Somebody

I love this song. She sang it good, of course, but she didn't have to go all crazy at the end.

Pooh: Wonderful

Woman in Love

Is she wearing a prom dress? This is not as good as her first performance, and it should have been better.

I agree with Randy - it was pitchy.
I also agree with Simon - it was pageanty.

Random Thoughts:

I get so tired of Ryan trying to cut on Simon. Although I'm sure it's somewhat scripted, he just appears petty and mean, sort of Little Guy Syndrome-ish.

I also do not like it when the contestants hold up their fingers to correspond with the phone number to vote for them. Childish.

Pooh is much more diplomatic than Tink. "They're all my favorite!"

Who was best? I know I'm boring and predictable, but it's Melinda for me.

Who's in danger this week? Blake or LaKisha.

Go on over and check out all the other great commentaries linked up at BooMama's.

May Day Weight Loss Challenge

I have been trying to get here all day long to write a lovely, motivated and inspirational post about the May Day Weight Loss Challenge. However, I have been sidetracked by many things, both trivial and important.

So I'm throwing this post up as my commitment to this challenge.

My first change today is simple: No sweets after dinner. If you knew our usual unhealthy routine, you'd know that this is major.

So. Off we go.

Oh my goodness, in honor of Mother’s Day, Jules at Everyday Design is giving away a free Typepad or Blogger design! You can enter your own blog or a friend's.

Just take a look at Jules' portfolio; her designs are gorgeous!

Go here to find out how to enter.

Good luck!

Monday Update

Have you noticed I do a lot of updates? Oh well...

For those of you keeping score, I have not begun typing yet. And I have about 40 pages to do today. Instead of typing, I have been:

Catching up on blogs
Fighting ants
Vacuuming my bedroom floor (to suck up the ants)
Doing laundry
And did I mention fighting the ants?

Y'all, we have had the worst ant problems here for the last two years! In the living room and now the bedroom, we have these big honkers that are as big as fire ants, except they're black. In the kitchen, we have those little tiny ants; are they called sugar ants?

Last year I fought these guys valiantly with orange oil and baby powder. I just can't spray poison all over my house that has five humans and two dogs in it. I just can't. So I sprayed the orange oil everywhere but the floor, and sprinkled baby powder on the carpet. Both of those were "natural" remedies I found online. They didn't eliminate the ants, but thinned the herd a bit.

Well. The latest invasion is almost exclusively on my bedroom carpet, and I can't find where the little suckers are coming from. And I can't find the baby powder, and I don't want to spray orange oil on my carpet, because I think it stains. So I've been spraying Bath and Body Works body spray on them. And Renuzit Super Odor Neutralizer, Orchard Garden scent. Not working so great.

Any ideas?

Morning, all! I've got a busy day of typing ahead of me, but I wanted to do a quick update of Miss Tinkerbell's birthday weekend. We had a great, busy, busy weekend! Since I don't want to go on and on about it, I'll do a timeline.

FRIDAY

We had Life Group (small groups from church) at our house Friday night.

Big Daddy, Pooh and Tink also had a T-ball game, so we divided and conquered. They almost beat the best and most cutthroat team.

After Life Group, we put Pooh and Scooter to bed, and Tink's Birthday Weekend Extravaganza began. We ate desert in bed, watched a movie, and Tink got to sleep in our bed, which is one of her very most favorite things in the world to do.

Mommy and Daddy did not sleep so well.

SATURDAY

We got up early and went to my niece's soccer game in Southlake, where it misted/rained the entire time. My van is now full of mud.

After the soccer game, we went to Barnes and Noble and let Tink go crazy. She chose a Tinkerbell charm bracelet, a fairy book with matching wings, and a kit for making cards.

We met my mom and dad, brother, sister-in-law and nieces at a great hamburger place called Kincaid's. It was noisy and a perfect place to celebrate a family birthday. Tink opened her presents from the rest of the family there, and then we headed home.

Saturday evening, our friends came over for dinner and Birthday Cake. We watched Night at the Museum, which I loved!

Tink slept with us again, as the Birthday Weekend Extravaganza was still in effect. Oh, and did I mention that she stayed up until 1:00 a.m.? Yeah, good times.

Mom and Dad still not sleeping well.

SUNDAY

Church in the morning was a special children's church presentation. Pooh and Tink came into our service with us, and loved it.

After church, naps for all the Dirty Laundry kids, including Big Daddy.

After naps, BD and the big girls were off to T-Ball practice while Scooter and I chilled at the house. Well, actually I typed some, but also watched two episodes of Flavor of Love Charm School. That's right, I watch Trash TV!

Back to church in the evening for Kid Jamz musical and ice cream sundaes. Then home and ready for bed.

The Birthday reign of Miss Tinkerbell of Dirty Laundry has now come to an end. It was great while it lasted.

And now we get to do it all over again in two weeks with Miss Scooter Pie of Dirty Laundry.

Stay tuned.

Happy Birthday, Tinkerbell!

Today is my sweet Tinkerbell's 6th Birthday.

Here she is on the day I met her, when she was 3 years old. She stole my heart that very day.

Even though you can't tell it by the clothes BD is wearing, this is Tink with her Daddy on her adoption day. She was 4 1/2 then.











And here's one of my favorite pictures of Tink, also taken when she was 4 1/2.












This Tinkerbell of mine loves life. She loves God.


She loves to laugh. She loves to mess with her Daddy. She loves to boss her sisters. She loves to suck up to her Mommy. And she's good at it. She loves fancy clothes and pretty hair things that never stay in her hair. She loves to be the center of attention. She is the most special girl in the world, and she won't let you forget it.

And just now she told me, "I love you high as the sky. I love you high as the tree. I love you high as the grass. I love you high as the flowers. I love you always." Me too, Tinkerbell. Me too. Love, Mommy

Country Wedding

This story is reprinted here with the permission of My Friend and Former Co-Worker, who shared it with me.

Here is the story in her words:

We are in the back yard of my aunt's manufactured home for my cousin's wedding. The maid of honor showed up after the wedding and the best man had on a short set with a pager and a cell phone. I had on a short set and Patrice had on a sun dress.

The archway was between 2 trees and we stood up for the entire ceremony.

The wedding reception was 5 feet away from the archway in front of the shed.

The dj's booth (cd boom box) was on the table next to the wedding cake and liquor.

This girl was the girlfriend of the grooms friend (not invited) and called one of my cousins a b---- while we were all dancing and having a good time. She then bumped into my CRAZY ex-con cousin and called her a b again. My cousin walked away and the girl followed her and called her a b again. My cousin then lost it, and I mean LOST IT. My cousin was going to hit her with a gallon bottle of gin and the other cousins stopped her.

When my cousin finished with this girl, she had pulled her blue pony tail off of her and the kids were playing keep away with it. The police had taken her to jail for assault and battery and disturbing the peace, and she did not have her pretty new blue pony tail to take her mug shot with either.

Y'all, this really happened. I've seen pictures. And when I asked My Friend and Former Co-Worker for clarification, she responded as follows:

That was the 2nd wedding where we were in the street and the preacher was late and the archway was being held up by 2 house plants. We were in the middle of the street for the ceremony and we had hot metal chairs in the dead heat of summer.

You can't make this stuff up.

Perfect

I may have said perfect more than a few times in the preceding post. Please accept my heartfelt apologies if you were in any way offended. I am by no means perfect, and...see, there I go again!

Can we talk?

I haven't posted much of substance in the past few days, because I've sort of had "blogger's block." But it's not that I can't think of anything to blog. It's just that I've been shying away from anything that's not just generic and sunny. Here's why.

In the past several weeks, I've gotten e-mails about my blog, chastising me for, among other things,

~Criticizing my children.
~Playing favorites with my children.
~Criticizing American Idol contestants.
~Having scriptures on my blog but acting "less than Christian."

My disorganized but heartfelt response is this:

My children will never see this blog. Heck, only one and a half of them can read. Even so, I'm not criticizing my children. I'm talking about day-to-day experiences that are sometimes negative. I'm talking about things that affect me in a personal way. Sometimes that might be my children's behavior, good or bad; sometimes it's the jerk at CVS; sometimes it's a wonderful thunderstorm. I started this blog as a way to share my experiences and emotions, whether they be positive or negative.

I am not saying that my kids are rotten, in fact I'll beat anyone who says they're less than perfect. What I am saying is that my kids are not perfect, and they sometimes do things that are less than perfect. More importantly, I'm saying that I'm not perfect, and sometimes I react less than perfectly to their actions or words.

I don't play favorites with my children. I wrote a post a few weeks ago trying to express this, but maybe I did a less than satisfactory job. I am a human being who is not perfect. I love every one of my daughters, and every one of them is priceless to me. I don't find feel further explanation is necessary. What's important is that I, God, my husband and my children understand and believe this.

American Idol? Are you serious? It's something that America has fun talking about. And I'm gonna keep doing it. And I don't think it's unchristian to say that someone stunk it up. I just don't.

I have scriptures on my blog because I am a Christian. A Christian saved by grace who is imperfect. I believe God's word and am not ashamed of it. That is all.

I really do not understand people who feel compelled to criticize total strangers; I just don't get it at all. I also know that I am definitely far from the first that it's happened to. But it still hurt my feelings and made me gun-shy about what I posted. But no more.

My desire when I began writing here was to be able to be as honest as possible with regards to my feelings about my life, my family, my hair, my weight, and whatever affects me on a day-to-day basis. I will continue to do so. I hope you'll stick around.

AI Results Show

Here are some of my random thoughts about last night's results show.

First of all, I pretty much agree with the eliminations. I felt a little sad to see Phil go, because I was warming up to him again. I really liked him in the very beginning, through auditions and Hollywood. And then when it got down to Final Twelve, he sort of lost his appeal for me. But last week and this, I really enjoyed his performances. So while he may deserve to leave, I hate to see him go. Loved his final performance, though. He really did go down "In A Blaze Of Glory." Could I be more corny? Could I use more words to make my point? Probably. Don't push it.

Did y'all see how may times Ruben Studdard pointed his finger during his Public Service Announcement?

I really liked the Ford video. And I usually fast forward through those jokes, but this one really caught my attention.

I totally love Richie Sambora's voice. Totally. Hate the musical wives he's doing right now, but love his voice.

That is all.

American Idol Final Six - Again

Here we go again, ladies and gentlemen. Please welcome Miss Tinkerbell, guest commentator, back by popular demand.

First of all, Jon Bon Jovi is just hot. That's all there is to it. But has he had his eyes done? Just askin'.

Here's Phil! And my first thought is, I do not like it when these guys walk through the audience while singing. I guess it makes me nervous, cause I don't see how they can sing good while they're navigating. But whatever. Cause his Song Is Great! And I've not been a Phil fan the past few weeks, even on Country week when everyone else was lovin' him. But tonight...Yeah, boy.

Tink: Ok...The way he's dancing doesn't look good, but the way he's singing sounds good.

Next up is Jordin. My first impression is that I love her hair! But I think the key is too low for her. Doesn't show the beauty in her voice at all.

Tink: Pretty good. (Thumbs up)

Oh my goodness, her hair does not look so great when the lights come up. EEK!

LaKisha - Has girlfriend lost weight? I think she has, but that doesn't mean she needs to be wearing skin-tight clothes. I'm just sayin'. But look out, KiKi is back! Better than the past few weeks, that's for sure!

Tink: Nothing. I can hear any of the God or Lord - That's what I like. That's why I'm not a fan of it.

Blake - Okay, first of all, my almost-six-year-old needs hormone suppression therapy or something, cause she is just verklempt when this guy comes out. Scary. My next impression is, stop messin' with that jacket. Okay, he stopped.

Wow, he is singing this song great! Very unique, and a wonderful showcase for his voice. You know what, not many people could have pulled this off.

Tink: Was he singing about God?

Chris - He stunk it up in the clip. Good thing he improved in the live performance.

Tink: Not Good.

Melinda - How cute is she!? It's not one of my favorite performances; seems like she's straining a little. But I still love her. No worries here.

Tink: She just said, "Have a nice day" a lot. (shakes finger) Don't like it cause she's putting her back on that man. They don't know each other, and that's like "keep your hands, feet and objects to yourself."

So this is getting serious, isn't it? Best, in my opinion, I can't believe I'm not saying Melinda. But this week, it's either Blake or Phil. Worst, I can't believe I'm saying Jordin. But this week I think it's true.

Who's going home? Goodness gracious, I don't know. I hope it's not Jordin. Maybe Chris, LaKisha?

Grammar Check

"Would you have had to have turned left, or would you have had to have turned right?"

Aren't there too many haves and hads in this sentence? Or am I just delirious?

Discuss.

The line, it has been crossed.

I know that there are many moms out there who take their kids to school in their pajamas. And I have absolutely no negative opinion about that. In fact, I may even admire them a bit. But I, personally, can not do it.

Y'all, I'm a lazy butt. But I just am too afraid to go out of this house less than fully dressed. I always think about what would happen if I had a wreck, and how I'd look standing out in the middle of the street. Or what if the principal asked me to get out of the car for some reason? I mean, he's standing right there directing traffic Every Single Morning! Now, I might not look good, AT ALL, but I am always fully dressed. Until today.

A few months ago, I got all loosey goosey and started doing the school drop-off in my slippers. Not the pick-up, mind you, but the drop-off only. I felt like such a rebel. And then comes today. Dum dum DUM! I wanted to get the girls to school in time for breakfast so I could get back here and start working (which you'll notice I'm not doing yet). So I just got crazy and put on a pair of jeans with my sleeping shirt. That's right, folks. I took the girls to school in a sleeping shirt, blue jeans and slippers. I'm afraid it's a slippery slope and I shudder to think about where this may end up. But dang, I feel daring!

And now, I must get back to typing that lovely statement about the poor guy whose "delicates" got bitten by a Scottish Terrier. And his "urethicum" is still hurting. Sorry if that's too much info, but his pronunciation is cracking me up.

Later ~

We're back!

We're back! And we had a wonderful time at the mini Marriage Retreat. I've got to get some typing done yet tonight, so I'll just hit some spots here and there, and then elaborate tomorrow.

• Our hotel was in downtown Dallas, and boy is it sketchy down there! There were homeless people all over, and one of the people attending our meetings actual saw a drug deal go down outside the liquor store across the street!
• The hotel was nice, though.
• We met some really great people!!
• We also met some people who seemed more interested in bitching about their lives and/or kids than listening to suggestions of how to improve things (which was why we were there!).
• Two drinks will get you pretty happy when you only drink once every year or two!
• I sure did miss my kids!
• I still miss Bear and Buster, since our vet that we love isn't open on Sundays, which we don't love. Wah.
• I get to sleep in my bed tonight!

More tomorrow!

Friday Update

Since I know everyone is waiting with bated breath to hear about my day, I shall now update you on my progress.

* Did not finish typing. That's right, folks. I did not finish typing the statement about the man whose...uhm...business got bitten by a Scottish Terrier. I kid you not.

* Made vet appointments for the doggies. I am so extremely sad to be boarding my sweet Bear and Buster, but yo...I have a free night in a hotel.

* Took Scooter for her speech eval. Seems she does have problems with enunciation, but it's just because she's a "fast talker," so she will not be needing speech therapy. I felt like I was in a Seinfeld episode.

*Did not go shopping for a new outfit, but I think I mentally came up with a couple of outfits to wear this weekend. Ya think maybe I ought to go see if I can find those clothes and make sure they're actually clean?

*I got all crazy and went to the "hair cut style" as my girls call it. That's right, folks. I threw caution to the wind and had my hair professionally done. I get all loosey goosey and do that about once every year or so. My kids get their hair cut every two months, but me...not so much. My friend (Hi, Karen!) that I babysit for is a hairstylist, so we're trading out babysitting for an awesome new do, highlights, lowlights and all.

*Dinner with friends is still up in the air, due to our husbands' unpredictable work schedules. We may just end up eating pizza or Chicken Express here. But it will still be fun.

Okay, so I'd better go see if I can find some clothes to wear this weekend. Later, y'all.

Checking in...

Good morning, y'all. I'm just writing a quick post in case I don't get back here before the weekend's over.

Big Daddy and I are attending a quickie marriage retreat this weekend, at a hotel in Dallas. This event is organized by Lutheran Social Services, who provide wonderful post-adoption resources, including marriage workshops and retreats. Even though we were not licensed through them, and adopted through another foster/adopt agency, we are eligible for these events, as adoptive parents. What a blessing!

So today I have to:

Finish typing

Make vet appointments for the doggies

Take Scooter for a speech evaluation

Go shopping for a new outfit (yay!)

Color my hair

Go out to dinner with friends (gotta have priorities)

And tomorrow (Big Daddy is doing most of this while I get ready):

Pack a small bag

Take dogs to vet

Take Scooter and Pooh to Grammy and Grandaddy's

Pick up Angel Food boxes

Take Tink to friends' house

Drive to Dallas

Check in at 2:00 p.m.

Sunday

At retreat until noon

Pick up 3 girls

T-ball practice at 3:00

Last night when we got home from T-Ball (we won!), BD and I looked at those three sweaty, gap-tooth, goofy girls, and marveled at how wonderful our life is. It's hard! But it's worth it.

You can't make this crap up

Y'all. This just cracks me up.

Hugh Grant Arrested in Alleged Baked Bean Attack.

American Idol Gives Back (or whatever it's called)

I have just a few comments about tonight's show.

First of all, was Chris wearing a white hoodie with that white suit? I absolutely, positively can not sign off on that. I don't care how hippity hop whatever he is. That's just retarded. And I mean that in the most politically correct and non-bashing way possible.

Next, it was cruel and also mean to leave Jordin hanging like that. I hope they knew ahead of time what was gonna happen, cause otherwise, that crap just sucked.

Loved the Sanjaya smack-downs by the celebrities. A little. Or not at all, since that would be mean of me.

Loved Kelly Clarkson's song, but every time I hear her name, I think of 40-Year-Old Virgin.

I wish LaKisha would smile every now and then. Cause she's gonna be going home soon if she can't connect with the audience.

Tink and Pooh both watched the show with us tonight, and Tink kept calling Blake "my boy I like." She also made sure that Pooh knew Phil was bald "like Daddy" under that cap. For the record, Big Daddy's head is not slick. It's stubble.

I realize that I may have rambled some here. I totally meant to do that.

WFMW - Kitchen helper

Cutting straight to the chase today, and telling you that what Works For Me almost every day is my Pampered Chef Crinkle Cutter! Here are a few of the things I've used it for in the past month:

Omelettes - We make one huge cheese omelette for the girls and then cut it in three parts with this baby.

PB & sometimes J - I make PB sandwiches almost every day, and Scooter loves hers in triangles. This guy does it without tearing the bread.

Personal size pizzas - this baby is actually easier for me to use than a pizza cutter on small ones.

Tortilla rolls - Take a flour tortilla, spread it with Onion & Chive cream cheese. Lay some shaved ham on it, and roll it up. Pop it in the fridge until it's set, and then cut into half-inch slices. People eat them as quick as I can cut them!

So. Pampered Chef Crinkle Cutter. Works for Me.

And what also Works for Me is my cute new header! Thanks again, Revka!

Be sure to check out all the other great tips at Shannon's!

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with Pampered Chef. This is an unpaid review. However, I am an Amazon Affiliate, which is why one of my links leads to Amazon, in case you want to buy one of these little beauties. My affiliation with Amazon in no way influenced this post. I really do use this bad boy every day.

American Idol Final Six

All right. Let’s get going, y’all. I had such a long and eventful week that I don’t even remember last week’s show, so I’m looking forward to tonight. And Tink took a nap so she could stay up and watch, so we have a special guest commenter tonight.


Chris
Starts out weak. Seems to me that he always sounds like whoever originally recorded the song. Sometimes I think my ears hear different than others, or maybe I just don’t like his style of singing. Cause the judges and Big Daddy all thought he was good.

Tink: Stuck her face in the pillow.


Melinda
Get a load of that necklace! And p.s., she sounds great, as usual.

Tink: If Momma thinks it’s good, then I’ll think it’s good. When she said “The Lord”, I liked it more.


Blake
I think Blake's pretty hot, except when he makes his mouth into a little “o” – you know what I mean? And he’s working this song so far, even though I’ve never really liked it, At All.

Tink: This guy is better than the other twos.


LaKisha
Is this key too low? Girlfriend is rocking the strapless dress and awesome earrings. Oh, and the song’s coming together, too. Her phrasing is weird, though, “re (inhale) alized.” I have to disagree with the judges here, because I certainly think that KiKi did this song justice. Simon’s right; they’re just comparing her to Fantasia, since it’s a Fantasia song.

Big Daddy: That started out rough, but it got good.

Tink: Well, I didn’t think it’s good. I’ll say it’s nasty. I like it when I hear Lord parts, like the one before.


Phil
Eh. I’d like to see some 5:00 shadow on that head. Song is just a’ight.

Tink: Not good. No ma’am. At least I don’t think it’s good, because it said, “It won’t change me,” and that’s just thinking about ourselves.

BD: I thought it was pretty good.


Jordin
She looks beautiful tonight! I think this is a hard song, but so far she’s tearing it up (that’s good here in the south). Was it really, as Randy said, “the best vocal in six seasons?” Probably not, but it was pretty great.

Tink: Momma, I love this girl! And her lips are sparkly.


I'm not thrilled to death by anyone. Best tonight? For me, it was Melinda. Worst? Sorry, Chris.

Tink: I hope the winner will be the guy (Blake). He’s pretty.

Spiffy, huh?

So...what do y'all think?

I was one of 25 lucky ducks who were chosen to receive a free header from Revka at RS Designs. We found just the cutest little photo, and I couldn't be happier with the results.

Thanks, Revka, and good luck with the Grand Opening!

This and that

Overheard this morning on the way to church:

Scoot: Pooh, don't put yours face in my face!!

Tink: Yeah, that's one of the Ten Commandments.

Pooh: Huh?

Tink: Yeah, don't put your face in someone's face, and don't yell at someone. It's one of the Ten Commandments.

Pooh and Tink played in a T-ball tournament yesterday and now Scooter and I are SO very sunburned. I am a horrible mother. It's the old cliche, you don't think about it when it's cloudy. Pooh and Tink didn't get much sun, because they were wearing their hats or in the dugout most of the time.

The girls played three games and lost all three. That's a far cry from last season when their teams came in 2nd and 3rd place. Oh well, they don't really know the difference, except that Tink is not happy with the fact that her friend's trophy is bigger than hers.

My in-laws returned to San Diego yesterday, and although we miss them terribly - sincerely - it was very nice to come home last night and do absolutely nothing. We did the same thing after church this morning.

I'll post a recap of their visit in the next few days. We had a great time!

A Very Delicate Subject

Favoritism. It's a dirty word of parenting. I think it could be one of the biggest fears of parenting, one of our big taboos. I was was pondering it this morning, and am just sort of thinking online here for a bit.

First, let me say that in my case, at least, I sincerely love all my children the same. I would imagine that the majority of us do.

But...and here's the thing that I think many parents are afraid to admit, and maybe even feel unnecessarily ashamed of. I connect with my children in varying degrees, and on many different levels. Sometimes I feel a kinship that may be stronger with one or another of them. I may not be clarifying this well, but I will try.

Let's be hypothetical. Say Jane Doe has three sons, John, Jim and Jack.

John is a loner. He's very intelligent and helpful, but also very willful and stubborn at times. Jane loves him with all her heart, but much of her time is spent trying to connect with him, or molding and correcting his willful attitudes. Their connection may be strained at times, but the love and protection is always there.

Jim is a people person. He loves to interact with others, but can be selfish at times. He tries to stay "within the lines," because he has realized that will make his path smoother. Jane does not love Jim more, but may be able to enjoy their time together more, because it is spent interacting in a positive rather than a negative way.

Let's say Jack is the baby. He's 2, and more high maintenance, simply because of his age. He is a happy toddler, and into everything. Jane loves Jack in that way that a mother loves her youngest, but neither more nor less than either of her other two boys. She may need a break from him at times, because keeping up with him can be exhausting.

My mother-in-law was talking to me yesterday about the fact that she feels a stronger bond with one of my daughters than the others. I was marveling this morning that it didn't offend me or set off any alarms when she shared this with me. I do not doubt that she loves all three fiercely, but I understand her connection with one over the others.

That's what prompted this post. I think there are many parents, especially mothers, out there who may feel a stronger bond with one child, and feel tremendously guilty about it. In my case, the stronger bond isn't even always with the same child. But because I care too much about what other people think, I sometimes wonder if people think I play favorites. Except I don't so much see it as playing favorites, as just the natural ebb and flow of parenting.

What do you think? I know that this may be a little rambling, but hopefully you will get the gist of what I'm saying. I'd love to have a discussion about this in my comments if you'd like to weigh in.

Talk amongst yourselves.

WFMW - Nap Routine

Naps are a tricky undertaking in our house, and there are many factors that must be considered in the scheduling thereof.

Scooter still needs a nap every day, or she gets difficult and cranky in the evenings. However, if she naps too late in the day, it negatively affects her bedtime. Therefore, Scooter's optimal nap time is late morning. Okay, this is a no-brainer and not really the WFMW.

Here's the magic. Scooter loves Caillou. You know Caillou? He's cute and all, but I think he's a whiner and the adults in his life give in to his fits. But I digress.

Caillou comes on at 10:00 here at our little casa. We schedule nap time right after Caillou, and BINGO! Scooter knows that every day after Caillou, it's time for nap. Every day. Rain or shine. Any time we have deviated from this routine, nap time has been difficult. Adherence to the routine = magic!

Here's the proof. Today, New Baby's Mom brought NB over at about 10:15, and NBM and I sat in the living room and talked until she left at around 10:40. After she left, I walked down the hall calling, "Scooter, it's nap time!"

And where do you think she was? In. Her. Bed. Already. When Caillou ended, she went and got in her bed, without me telling her to. And that Works for Me!

Now, I know that the key is routine, rather than Caillou himself. It just so happens that that little brat's show coincides with our nap schedule. Routine is key, yo.

Don't forget to check out the other tips and ideas at Shannon's!

American Idol Recap

I watched tonight's show with my in-laws, who are here from San Diego. Yay, Nana and Grandpa! They thought I was weird for taking notes, since I didn't watch in my bedroom while sitting at my computer, like I usually do.

Here we go...

Phil - You know what, his head distracts me. My Big Daddy has a shaved head, but it's stubble. I just don't like looking at a guy with a slick noggin. Ick. And I don't know why, but I really didn't get into this performance as much as the judges and some other commenters did. Oh, well...

Jordin - I love Jordin, but what was up with the Loretta Lynn hairdo? Other than that, she was magnificent, as usual. Her voice is beautiful, her Cleopatra dress was gorgeous, and I love how much taller she is than Ryan Seacrest. Love. It.

Sanjaya - First thing I thought of when I saw him tonight was Eddie Murphy doing Buckwheat on Saturday Night Live. "Wookin' Pa Nub." Was his hair actually teased and ratted to stand up in the back? P.S. The song sucked. P.P.S. Why was Ryan taking up for him? Shut it, Ryan.

LaKisha - I loved her fingernails. Is anyone noticing that I paid more attention to appearances than performances tonight? Humm. LaKisha has always been in my top three, but tonight I sort of agreed with the judges. I just didn't feel it. Plus, I would love if she stopped wearing boots with her dresses. Just a personal preference.

Chris - His voice seemed well-suited to a Rascal Flatts song, but I just wasn't feeling it. He sounded off to me.

Melinda - Love her hair like this!! (Again with the appearances.) Ho Ly Crap. I am telling y'all, this may have been my favorite performance of the season. Nana and Grandpa kept shooting me looks, because I could not even be quiet during the performance. I Loved It.

Blake - Sorry, but I'm still stunned from Melinda...did he just spin around? Just a'ight for me, dog.

Who should go home? Well, if there if justice in the totally money-motivated and Godless world of entertainment, then you-know-who should go. But anything can happen. Tune in tomorrow...

Hold me!

Y'all, my in-laws are flying in tomorrow afternoon, and I am Frea King Out ! I love them, but I just feel such pressure to have everything perfect. And perfect, I Am Not. (Do you love my capitalization for emphasis? Just trying it on for size.)

So. This is Big Daddy's Dad and Step-Mom that we're talking about. Although she's been his only Mom for pretty much our entire marriage. There's a biological mom and step-dad too, but ick. The less we see them, the better.

BD's stepMom (Nana) and Dad (Grandpa) live in San Diego, and his Dad has never met our girls. For those of you who are just joining our broadcast, let me recap. We adopted our daughters in 2005, when they were 2, 4 and 5. Nana spent Easter week with us that year, and the girls have never forgotten her. Phone calls and letters and photos have kept us close, but it's not as easy for them to connect to Grandpa, when they've never seen him in person.

So this is big. Tink has spent the last week making up games to play with Grandpa, and coaching Scooter on what she should and should not attempt to do with Grandpa. "Scooter, his knees might not like getting down on the ground." "Scooter, I don't know if he will be able to run like that." For the record, Grandpa is in his late 50's. Not exactly ready for a walker there.

Have you noticed that I'm rambling? That's what Frea King Out does to me. So, on to the purpose for our post.

I am not a great housekeeper. I mean, I keep things relatively clean, but there is quite a bit of clutter in our home. Might have something to do with us having two large adults, three active children and two jacked up dogs in a 1400 square foot house. Oh, and the fact that I'm a pack rat. There is that.

Nana, on the other hand, keeps her house perfect. At least as far as I've seen. And she is always offering to clean things for me, which makes me feel inadequate and judged. But you know what, this time I'm thinking of just giving her a list and letting her go at it. What do you think?

Here's what I think, and what I have been telling myself for days. There are people in this world who don't have food, or have brain tumors, or need a new kidney. So who gives a crap if Nana thinks my bathroom is less than pristine. It probably is. But she still loves me and I still love her, and they're our family. And that is all that matters.

Caillou needs a time out and Ruby is a bully.

Actually, it's not so much Caillou that is the problem; it's the adults around him. (You do know Caillou, right? PBS Kids.)

For example, this week, Caillou borrowed some books from the library. And he wrote on them. Caillou returned the books to the library, and cried because he knew he had done something wrong. Great teaching opportunity, right? Wrong. What does the librarian tell him? "It's all right. I know you didn't mean to." Bull crap! Of course he did! "Don't cry, Caillou. It was an accident." Right. The crayons accidentally fell out of his hand and scribbled all over the books.

Now, I'm not saying that she should have banned him from the library or anything. But don't you think something along the lines of, "It was wrong, but we learn from our mistakes. We must treat books with respect, and when we borrow something, we should be extra careful with it." Just anything but, "I know you didn't mean to."

And when Caillou doesn't want to do something, he sometimes pitches a little fit. And so his parents bargain with him. Yeah, we don't do that in this house. A fit guarantees you won't get your way. Gay-ron-tee. (Do they say "pitch a fit" in other parts of the country, or is that a southern thing?" Just in case, "pitches a fit" sort of means "has a tantrum." Only maybe not as bad.)

While I don't think my kids learn responsible behavior from Caillou, I love the calm way his parents always deal with him. I don't like what they say sometimes, but I love how calm they are. They are an inspiration to me. Sort of.

And what's up with Max and Ruby? First of all, where are the parents? Huh?

Next, am I the only one that thinks Ruby is incredibly selfish? Poor Max is over there saying, "hockey" or whatever, over and over the entire show, and Ruby repeatedly tells him no. Just last week, Max was in the sandbox minding his own business. Ruby decides it's beach party time, and tells him to get out. Now, I wasn't watching, but I heard most of it. What it sounded like was, every time Ruby and her accomplice would leave the room to get something for the beach party, Max got back in the sandbox. Then Ruby would come back and tell him to get out again. But...Max was there first! Am I the only one that sees the injustice in this show?

Serves her right to have to eat a piece of worm cake every now and then.

Working in my pajamas

A few of you have expressed an interest in finding out about the work I do from home, so here are some of the details. For some reason, my brain is kind of scattered today, so I'm just gonna do random facts here.

• I do transcription work, specifically transcribing insurance statements.
• These are usually interviews between a Big Insurance Company claim rep and an insured.
• I work for a small mom-and-pop (really just mom) company who has contracts with several insurance companies.
• The transcripts I type range in length from 2 pages to over 100 pages.
• There is a 3-day turnaround.
• I get paid by the hour; it's better than minimum wage, but less than I made as a full-time Administrative Assistant.
• I use a Panasonic transcribing machine that costs around $200 new. I bought it myself, and deducted it as a business expense.
• I pick up and drop off my tapes at my employer's house.
• Our transcripts are done in Microsoft Word.
• I e-mail completed transcripts to the office.

PROS:

• With my "employer," I can work as much or as little as I want.
• I can work any time of the day or night that I want.
• I love typing.
• Sometimes the transcripts are very interesting.
• I never miss Go Diego, Go or Pinky Dinky Doo!

CONS:

• The lady I work for is a very bad money manager.
• She's been behind on payroll for almost 6 months now.
• I'm currently 2 months behind on getting paid.
• Sometimes the tapes are poor quality.
• Murphy's Law ensures that when a tape is poor quality, the transcript is probably going to be long.
• Sometimes the insureds (or even the claim reps) are just big weirdos, and after an hour or so of typing, I get sick of them.

Overall, though, the reasons that I stick with this gig are:

• I get to stay at home with my kiddos.
• I don't have to deal with butt-head bosses or co-workers (just no paychecks!)
• She eventually pays me.
• With my Crohn's Disease, it would be hard for me to find a regular job, whether full- or part-time.
• I'm a nosy-butt, and I love hearing these people's stories. Most of the time.

If this still sounds like something you're interested in pursuing, drop me a comment or e-mail and I'll send you the contact information. Although I'm local and the work I do is on tapes, I know that she does also have electronic files, and people all over the country who work for her.

Also, in be-bopping around the World Wide Web this morning, I found the following links for (I think legit) WAHM opportunities or information:

All Custom Content - Transcription, proofreading, research, writing opportunities
Work at Home Blog - Info and networking

I'll post more links as I find them, and by all means, if you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me or comment here. Just be sure that if you ask a question in comments, that you have an e-mail address in your profile so I can respond.

You know what I'm sayin'...

I just typed a transcript for an insurance statement. I want to go to Indiana and slap this guy silly.

In 5 pages, he said, "You know..." 45 times.
Of those 45 times, 11 were "You know what I'm sayin'."
He also said, "I mean..." 37 times.
He said, "Like I said..." 18 times.
He said, "Uh..." 32 times.

This is my job, guys. Most of time it's interesting and fairly easy, but the pains in the patoot like this guy just make my head hurt. This is the first time that I've actually analyzed the words, and Wow!

Am I complaining? I don't know. Just more venting, I hope.

Now I'm done typing until my in-laws leave next Saturday. Hooray!

WFMW - Kids' Computer Disk Solution

Our girls have their own (hand-me-down) computer in the living room, where they all three play their computer games. Even Scooter has a couple that she plays, and she is good at them, too!

The problem is this. The cases and the disks and the little envelopes were All. Over. The. Place. And have I told you lately that I'm a little bit OCD? Yeah, I am. You can't tell it by looking at my bedroom, though. But disks, whether musical or computer or DVDs...if they're not in their cases, it just makes me go nuts.

I have reminded, I have corrected, I have taken games away. Nothing has worked. Until. I took all the disks, put them in a box, and put them under my desk.

Now they have to be checked out like library books. Whenever one of the girls has computer time, she comes to me, looks through all the games, and chooses one. That's right. One. And she takes it and plays it and returns it when she's done.

I am in heaven. It's a bit more hassle for me, but I don't have to see disks all over the place ever again! At least until they get CD players in their bedrooms.

So...Computer game check-out system. Works for me!

Go on over to Shannon's and see all the other great ideas today.

Just chatting.

Big Daddy is finally on his way home from work at 9:25 p.m. I'm commiserating with him.

BD: I've been gone from home for 14 and a half hours.

Me: I know, cause I've been missing you for 14 and a half hours.

BD: I've been missing you for 14 hours and 45 minutes, cause I started missin' you 15 minutes before I even left.

Point, Big Daddy.

************************

Me: Tink, what did you have for lunch at school today?

Tink: (long pause)................Just meat.

Me: (cracking up) Pooh, what did you have?

Pooh: Yeah, just meat.

Y'all, is that funny? Cause it's still cracking me up. Just meat.

Tink's almost 6, but still has a hard time with food names. And so, when she's telling me what she has for lunch, she usually just describes it, unless it's pizza.

Just meat. Turns out it was "hamburger steak," which is really just a hamburger patty without the bun, right?

Carry on.

Easter Reminiscence

Hear the bells ringing
They're singing
That we can be born again

Hear the bells ringing
They're singing
Christ is risen from the dead

I remember singing that song in church as a teenager, and it is still one of my favorites.

I remember hunting Easter eggs in the maze at my grandmother and granddaddy's house, and realizing there one year that there was no Easter Bunny. By association, Santa and the Tooth Fairy were outed, too. And I began growing up.

I remember my long-time pastor preaching the same sermon every single Easter. His Easter sermon was full of stories, quotes, emotion and drama. He quoted old-time preachers like Smith Wigglesworth and Moses P. Timms, and even Martin Luther King. I heard that beautiful sermon almost every year for over 15 years; what I wouldn’t give to hear him deliver that sermon just one more time.

************************

Not all of my Easter memories are as fond. I am ashamed when I recall a particular Easter morning, driving home from the apartment of a man that I should not have been involved with. I remember seeing families on the side of the highway that morning, taking pictures in the bluebonnets, and I wanted so badly to have that sort of stability and happiness in my life. I knew somewhere in the corner of my heart that I wouldn’t find what I was looking for with that man, but was so unwilling to stop trying.

Fortunately, even when I was not following God’s will for my life, His hand was on me. He shortly removed me from the situation that I didn’t have the strength to leave. I met my husband a year or so later, and our journey back to God began.

**********************

I thank God that He sent his Son to die for all the foolish and stubborn and selfish things that I've done in my life. Thank Goodness that I am forgiven for my disobedience and shameful behavior.

Hallelujah that He Is Risen, and we will be with Him one day!

Birthday Meme

Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry tagged me for a Birthday Meme. I procrastinated for several days, but you know what? This was really interesting to do!

1. Go to Wikipedia and type in your Birthday Month and day only.
2. List 3 Events that occurred that day.
3. List 2 important Birth days.
4. List 1 Death.
5. List a Holiday or Observance. (if any)
6. Tag 5 other bloggers.

June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining

3 Events

1. 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy was sacked and burned, according to the calculations of Eratosthenes.
2. 1776 - Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to a committee to draft a declaration of independence.
3. 2001 - Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.

2 Important Birth days

1. 1913 - Vince Lombardi, American football coach (d. 1970)
2. 1959 - Hugh Laurie, English actor and comedian (House!)

1 Death

1. 1979 - John Wayne (born Marion Morrison), American actor (b. 1907)
   

A Holiday or Observance

1. Kamehameha Day, official state holiday of Hawaii, United States, in honor of its first monarch, celebrated with floral parades, hula competition, and festivals

5 people I tag (except I'm only tagging 3):

Kristin at Redneck Diva
dcrmom at Musings of a Housewife
Wendy at A Day in Our Life

Only in the Dirty Laundry household

Tink: You saw my....bottom! You saw my....booty! (She so wants to say butt, but refrains)
Pooh: (proudly) It's also called your Booteous Maximum.
Big Daddy: Gluteus Maximus!
Me: (thinking) I am so gonna blog this! And also, didn't Beyonce sing a song about that?

Oh no, they didn't!

I may possibly be over American Idol.

Oh, who am I kidding? I'm not. But I want to be.

This season I am really annoyed with the voting. I don't get to vote very often, because we DVR it, and voting's over by the time I watch it. You know what they say, you can't complain if you don't vote. But I'm gonna complain anyway.

If I go by what I read here on the internets, we are all pretty much in agreement that Phil, Haley and Sanjaya are the bottom three, and have been for some time. So how come they keep staying week after week after week?

I don't have any answers, or even anything witty to say. I'm just disappointed that this can't be a true singing competition. It's not even a popularity contest at this point. It's manipulation by a minority of people who want to feel powerful by rigging a stupid TV show.

At least Haley has the grace to act surprised when doesn't get eliminated. Sanjaya's ego is stinking up my TV.

I'm not really as bitter as I sound. I'm just still sleepy.

I have to type for money now. Some lady in Florida got her chest burned by a facial machine, and the world can't continue revolving until she gets her settlement.

Please check back later when I will hopefully be sweeter.

American Idol Recap

Okay, here goes. If you don't see them here, it's because they neither impressed me nor horrified me.

Melinda Doolittle - Oh. My. Gosh. I can't believe how good this girl is! She has so much confidence and personality when she's singing, and then as soon as she finishes, she looks all meek and shy. Cute.

Chris Richardson - Chris brought it tonight! One of my favorites.

Jordin Sparks - Great. I'm just so frickin' proud of you!

Gina - Nice. Loved her makeup. Distracted by the stud in her tongue.

Sanjaya - Did he just shout, "Welcome to the universe of Sanjaya?" I'm gonna be brutally honest, so if that offends you, please skip to the next paragraph. Does this kid not realize that he's still there as a joke? Howard Stern and Vote For The Worst are promoting him. I just think that he should be more humble, and it seems like he's getting very cocky.

Haley Scarnato - I didn't think she was that bad. Why wouldn't Paula say anything other than she looked good in green?

LaKisha - Oh. My. Goodness. Again. It's no secret that she and Melinda are my faves. And did anyone notice the little Ann Margaret move she did at the end?

Best - Melinda. Worst - Sanjaya, Phil, who knows?

p.s. Now Mack the Knife is stuck in my head. Thanks so much.

Happy Monday

Just a quick post here to list some things I'm thankful for today.

• We got T-Ball pictures back and they are so cute!
• Big Daddy and I are getting to attend a marriage retreat at a nice hotel in Dallas in a few weeks!
• I have a great new friend that I met online. She rocks!
• I got my girls some really cute (and inexpensive) clothes last Friday at the Carter's Outlet.
• I saw my aunt and uncle Sunday morning for breakfast.
• I got free lipstick and free shower gel and free toothpaste at CVS today! I'm telling you, rock the Extra Bucks!
• I got a free loaf of raisin bread at the bread store today!
• And have I mentioned I made a new friend?

So have a great day, because I sure intend to!

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