I am once again Da' Mom

This morning I was just making the bed, minding my own business.....

And the radio guy says, "Caller number nine now, to win Carrie Underwood tickets!"

"Oh what the heck - can't hurt" - I pick up the phone, dial....expect the busy signal....but get..

"Hello, CAT Country, whose this?"

ACK! Panic.

Ok, stay calm, play the game - rather well I might add - and now I have to pick up two tickets!

My daughter is going to pee her pants! There is no way to chose between all my friend that would want to go, and I would love to share this with K. She has been working so hard in school. It is a school night. And maybe she will decide she doesn't want to go. But I don't think so.....I hear Carrie's songs coming from the shower nearly every night!

I am actually more excited to see Little Big Town and K's face during the whole experience. I did not go to my first concert til my senior year, Pat Benetar.

**No title**

Not even going to pretend I have anything profound to say.

Nursing my neck/back slowly.

Prednisone. No fun.

Started physical therapy. New grad. *sigh* I know I had to learn on someone, so I am trying to be patient. WAY weird to *be* the patient though I can tell you that.She worked me over today that is for sure. This is my payback for every patient of ever told, "10 more" when they wanted to give up!

Have to submit a "bodily injury claim" to "the other guy's" insurance...bodily injury...just sounds yucky to say it....but true. So true.

Also can not even pretend to know what the heck is going on with the stock market right now and the "big bail out". I want to feel sorry for the big wigs whose lives are wrapped up in it, but then again greed play a huge role in some of it, and for that I can not feel sorry. Thankfully right now our bills to not rely on being paid with stock market money, altho our retirement is dwindling fast.

So - since I am such a void of information today...I leave myself with this quote I want to remember....

Starbucks cup philosophy.

The Way I See It #233

I used to think that going to the jungle made my life an adventure. However, after years of unusual work in exotic places, I realize that it is not how far off I go or how deep in the forest I walk that gives my life meaning. I see that living life fully is what makes life - anyone's life, no matter where they do or do not go - an adventure.

~~Maria Fadiman

geographer, ethnobotanist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer

I think in my next life I want to come back as an "ethnobotanist" - it's just fun to say.

So.....

Spotted this little guy watching me when I fed the fish this morning. Don't hear him much anymore so I was happy to see him.
And these still make me smile.

I am going to use some of my birthday money to go buy a few more for around the house and yard, probably not til this weekend.

And -

J is still insisting and researching my "spa day" gift for my birthday. But I am discovering, I am truly not a high maintenance person. He is listing off things like full body massage - ok don't kill me and every one swoons when I tell them, HATE massage, and full body? no way. Feet and hands, awesome......then full body exfoliation...ummmm...I don't think so...not only is no one going to see that much of me naked in bright light, let alone be exfoliating all those parts! Then, a "cocoon" - I can not even begin to imagine being wrapped from head to toe. No way jose. So that doesn't leave much huh?? Facial - sure! spa style mani/pedi I am all there! Trim and hairstyle, bring it on.....so J. is pleased yet not, that I may save him quite a bit of money, but he wants to pamper me. Poor guy. TO me lunch with the girls, and a few of us getting mani/pedi's is all I need! The pampering part of it for me will be not saving it for a special occasion...just going and doing it on any given friday!

Anything is going to have to wait til I am feeling better anyway. I am still wrestling with discomfort and muscle spasm in my neck and upper back. After the busy weekend, I did not sleep a wink Sunday night, my arm throbbed all day Monday and went kind of numbish Monday night. So I am off to the "real' doctor today to get it all documented. Seems any attempt for me to increase my activity results in all of this soreness and discomfort. The arm numbness freaked me out, so I have been once again laying low the last couple days, I find myself not doing anything, which also freaks me out! Just filling a coffee pot and carrying it last night, by the time I got it to the coffee maker my whole shoulder and scapula was in spasm. *sigh* So needless to say, still not back toworking much. Driving too long is not comfortable, and I can not treat anyone I may have to move around or lift. Being home isn't so bad, IF I could get some of the things done i want to get done. I am not a sitter. Don't like it.

Part of me just says , screw it, I'll just "do" and deal with it later, but a huge part of me knows that isn't good and can not deal with the discomfort and lack of sleep.

So that is it for now!

So happy for little frogs in the pond to make me smile.

Jim Thorpe

In celebration of my 40th - I decided to abuse my body!

I dragged, or is it drug?, the family out to Jim Thorpe in the Poconos and we hiked the Falls Trail in the Lehigh Gorge Park. because it was *my* birthday ,and I wanted to do what *I* wanted to do.

This place is just gorgeous. It is really hard to capture the beauty of the trees, the height, or the sound of the water on film.

The water was not running as much as it should have been considering the little rain we have gotten this month. But we still enjoyed ourselves.

There are a number of falls along the trail. They get higher and higher as you go up.

This trail was A LOT steeper than I expected. There were places where we literally were grabbing tree roots and dragging ourselves up the path. we kept wondering if we had somehow wandered off the path!

My monkeys loved to climb all of the rocks.

This is the fall that is second from the top. That little white speck up there now is J. We climbed up with him a few minutes later. No not up the fall, the trail goes along the side. And it is steep. Then this is the fall that we could see from the top of the last one. We could have climbed up there as well, and I would love to say we did. But the trail was even steeper. I have been relatively inert since my accident, and knew there was no way my body was going to make it. I did vow to make it to the top before my next birthday. The kids were more than happy to hear me say we weren't going up there! I really wanted to though.

The kiddos and I. They were soaked at this point since they were dying to cool off in the water.
Then, as promised before we went up, some rock skipping and water play before we left.
When I saw the graffiti on the underside of the railroad bridge, I couldn't help but shamelessly channel Tara Whitney and attempt to get some cool pictures of the kids. Notice the "I am too cool for you" look that K is attempting. C tried it too but just kept giggling.

Then my day finished up with a little surprise. Ice cream cake.

All in all is was a wonderful day. J came through with an awesome, as he put it "You only turn 40 once" gift of a day at the spa for me and a friend. Although I can only keep thinking that we can not afford it. And Iam not sure I can pick just one friend! I may wind up going alone. My family really made me feel special today. It was very nice.

One more day....

1968 Check out those cheeks.

Check out the tv on the background.

I still have that hope chest in my front room. It was my mom's.

I am told we were nearly 2 here. You'd never believe we were 8 weeks early , and weighed a measly 4 lbs each when we were born. We caught up fast huh? I haven't stopped yet!

again - the cheeks - and I do believe I still have those thighs and upper arms.

Today is my last day of "thirty something".

Tomorrow is the cliche Big 4-0.

I am not sure how I am "supposed" to feel.

I certainly don't feel 40.

I am most likely lived half my life. I feel like I should be a lot more reflective this year than I am. I could also have realistically already lived more than half my life. No one can ever know for sure.

Although each month that goes by, there is more and more of my mom looking back at me in the mirror. On one hand can be really cool, since my mom always looked younger than her age, but also can be very creepy when your mom is no longer living. Right now I am in the years that I remember her most vividly and had the best relationship with her, so the memories are plentiful, as are the comparisions.

I don't dwell there.

I do vow to be healthier in the next year than I have been in a long time.

I do vow to continue making the most of every day gifted to me.

Growing old is not a priviledge given to everyone.

I vow to try my best to embrace my age with only the occasional whine.

I have the wonderful blessing of knowing and caring for wonderful friends who are aging gracefully with me. I couldn't ask for anything more.

I have the wisdom to appreciate things in life that only growing older can bring.

A good glass of wine.

A gorgeous sunset.

True honest love.

The beauty of the world around us.

Awareness of myself.

The fragility of life.

The sun on my face.

I think I am a pretty lucky girl.

I'm not complainin'

But man I am tired.
You can probably mark this date down.
I have no words.
So much swimming in the head and life I fear if I try to write it all down I will sound like a babbling idiot.
Life has not stopped - from our busy whirlwind vacation, car break down, starting school, accident, hurting, overcoming the mental task of getting back in the car - working, planning Crop for a Cure, and full filling obligations I have had before the accident....I have had no choice - I am still achy, but there is stuff to be done. Period. I have never been so happy to lay down in bed at night in my life!
I am tired.
The ins. co. is yanking the rental car from us - 5 days from when the value of our car is determined - even though we do not have a check in hand and can not physicaly go buy another car yet - so in addition to everything else. I have to take J to the airport Fri am to get a rental car so he can go get our other car in Va. We have not had quality time alone in weeks. My brother and his family are arriving Fri night for the weekend, which is awesome! Haven't seen them in forever! But I usually impose upon myself things that need to be done before they get here. Then my sister's birthday party is Sat. I just realized I have not taken one photo since our accident. Have to remedy that.
Oy.
So in the interest of not complaining. ....I am not saying much. Trying to be in a state of gratitude - even though all the things on my plate right now are not happy/sunshiney things - I am busy because my life is full. I am achy but alive. The weather is crisp and cool. Sunny. Somedays you just have to look for the things that make you go....mmmmmmmm.......today for me it will be a nice sunbeam and cool breeze.

Jaymun

More proof that miracles do happen. Prayer works.

Perserverence prevails.

Never give up.

Sometimes you have to look for your own path and educate yourself.

Also m ore proof that even with all the medical advances we have made in society, the answer still lies in the simplest of things.

http://jaymun.com/

My prayer for Jaymun's parents has always been wisdom to make the decisions they need to make. As a parent who has searched for answers (on a much smaller scale mind you, and I don't mean to trivialize their struggle) for one of my kids, I can understand the process...which doctors to trust, who not to trust, do you trust alternative therapies? (one of which has given my daughter a new life), when do you forge out on your own? When do you give up and say there is nothing more to do.

I admire them their perserverence. Their patience and their faith. I am not sure I could have or would have done it.

Too good...

This was too good not to share....
If anyone can tutor me on how to upload youtube videos as a video and not just a link I would appreciate it...
**haha! Never mind I figured it out myself! I am woman, hear me roar!**
There is always a purpose.......just wish at times we had more insight it to the purpose of events of our lives...

Friendship.....

I started reading a book this week - been doing a lot of that lately - called Angry Housewives Eating BonBons. Saw it at the library and couldn't resist the title. I just started it, but it seems to be a story of a group of friends, starting with them in elderly age, and reminiscing...I like it so far.....this exerpt really made me smile... love the metaphor here...the mental picture, and the feeling of support and love it evokes....

"How are we supposed to stand things?" I had once asked her at the peak of one of the many crisies that conspire against anyone with the temerity to be alive and breathing.
A glaze came over Keri's eyes, the glaze of a person ready to tell a story. "once my mother and I were having lunch in this fancy hotel in Fargo and the waiter served us walleye that was undercooked - honestly, it was sushi before the days of sushi. We had hime take our plates back to the kitchen but when he brought them back, the fish was not only undercooked, but cold. He left us to attend to his other customers, completely ignoring us as we called, 'Waiter!' He had absolutely no time for us or our complaints. "
Keri's got this wonderful laugh - as deep as Santa Claus with a cold. Looking at my face, she let it rip.
"My point is, sometimes life's like a bad waiter and serves you exactly what you don't want. You can cry and scream and order him to take it back, but in the end, you're the one who has to deal with what's set before you."
All of us women in the room have had our share of surly waiters serving bad entrees, but for thirty years, we have helped one another up from the table, passed along antacids and after-dinner mints, offered shoulders to cry on, stiff drinks, and desserts whose butter content was exceeded only by it's sugar load. But this.....this cancer thing - could we survive something that seemed so grimly devoted to taking one of us away?

One of the best things in the world to me, when I am sturggling is a friend saying, "hey - let' sgo for coffee. " so maybe I just relate really well to the food metaphor. Often times, it can seem this way with our own lives and possibly our interactions with what God "serves us" on our plates. Most times we want to push our plate away and stomp our feet like toddlers. The beauty of it? God did not leaves us here alone to deal with it. He has given us friends, family and kinship to help us through those bad meals. I guess the food reference just speaks to me - as someone who often softens life's blows with chocolate and lattes!

I am drawn to strories of groups of friends and women. There is a great book written by a group of ladies profiled on GMA yesterday morning - they are 13 women who have shared "custody" of an extremely expensive diamond necklace for decades, and the book chronicles their growth, and stories of how the friendships created from ownership of this necklaces has helped each in a different areas of their life. Cool. I have a lot of friends. However, I envy that "large group" of friend picture at times. Not many of my friends know each other well enough for all of us to hang out together....I have small pockets of friends in different areas of my life that I cherish beyond belief. In that regard I am very blessed. Our biggest task in life is sometimes not getting through our own challenges but being placed in a position to help a friend through one of thier challenges, and I believe that is a blessing and a priviledge that is paid back time and time again.

Wow.

So - this was in my email box when I opened it this afternoon....

From : Thomas Koch Subject: K***** 9/11/08 9:04 am

Years of challenges in school, have conditioned me to immediately tense up...I started saying a prayer - "please be something good, please be something good, please be something good" - K had told me last night that her science teacher told her yesterday how well she was doing participating and answering in class, but she had a quiz yesterday and my stomach could just not let go of the dread....did she fail the quiz and he is emailing me to ask how/why?But this is what it said....

Hi Mrs. F*******-

What a pleasure it has been to have Kaitlyn in science class. She is doing a great job participating – showing enthusiasm, answering questions, etc.

Sincerely,

Mr. Koch

I read it three times and started to cry. The 9 years that K has been in school, struggling for 7 of those years, I can count on one hand if that, the number of times a teacher has taken the time to compliment her on her success. They are so quick to point out the negative. I emailed him immediately back, thanking him for his compliments, and saying honestly that it is so nice to hear someone compliment her.

You see - these teachers this year, know very little if anything of K's struggles and diagnoses. She has worked so hard over the last 18 months with her therapy, and has made some incredible progress, but at the end of last year we had yet to really see any of her success translate into her grades. Over the summer, there was real change in K's confidence, calmness and maturity ( a year ago our accident would have sent her into a tail spin or nightmares and panic attacks)...she really came into her own this summer, and when I reminded her at one point that no one meeting her would ever know she was ADD or had anxiety (which obviously is why we have put so much time and energy into the last 18 months of biofeedback!) This seemed to be a turning point for her. She has been so defined by her diagnoses by so many people that I think she really only saw herself by what she thought people saw , which was a stupid girl who didn't try hard enough, and wasn't worthy of more - .....at the time, we discussed how this year was her first year, starting off with pretty much a clean slate (she has some progress to make yet, but honestly very little). This seemed to please her, and was one reason she didn't want to risk her grades for tennis.....she had just started her therapy last year and had made progress but not enough to really be seen, so last year did not start well - her anxiety was high.....She has had very little anxiety if any this year so far, and to have a teacher email this, and have K tell me that "I am participating mom, and getting the answers right!" - well I can put into words the swelling of my heart and tears in my eyes. SHE FEELS CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO RAISE HER HAND AND ANSWER! I am not sure anyone that has not followed this path intimately with us can imagine how HUGE that is. I am just praying now that we start to see this translate into her grades. Not that I care the difference between her grades, I know what she knows and how much time/energy she puts into her studies, but we all honestly know she is judged and her academic furture depends on her grades. We just want them to accurately reflect what we know she knows. Right now this is the first step in a very positive direction.

Wheew.

Love your blog

I was tagged again. For a good reason! Although, I say with all humbleness I am not sure why anyone that is not related to me really likes to read my blog. What started as a way for me to journal our daily life, much easier for me than handwriting on paper which never seems to last more than a day or two - what is it about a picture, and all blog posts need pictures, that just makes the words flow? - anyway...my blog has grown more than I ever expected. I have always promised to keep it real, honest and hopefully fun...it still for me, although as I learn of more and more people that read it, I have to stop myself from "writing for an audience" - so that being said, I will share 6 blogs that I read nearly daily....and there is usually a few requirements...they either have to entertain me in some way....connect to me in some way.....and be honest. I am nto a fan of "little miss perfect on look at my perfect kids and perfect life and oh so perfect world" type blogs. I gravitate to good writing. Funny stories. faith. Honesty. Maybe you'll find a new one to add to your daily reading list. Mine is WAY too long, but much more inspiring than the morning paper, where I should be expanding my horizons, but hey - I've long ago given up trying to solve the problems of the world! Narrowing it down is going to be hard.

First up - Miss Marloony. Who tagged me first. Love love love this girl. A Canadian transplant with the best sense of humor and out look on life that I love! Marlene is a ton of fun and I am so glad the world of scrapbooking allowed me to meet her and become her friend.

2. I am going to cheat too and share something I have already shared in previous entires...I love Pioneer Woman.....her humor, her photographs, her stories...she is a very talented woman, and I just enjoy her writing immensely.

3. Next up is Angie. I am not even sure any more how I ever linked up to this blog. I tend to read and follow links from other blogs that I read. This family has endured one of the most gut wrenching of all human experiences, losing a child. But not only losing a child but knowing for entire last half of her preganancy that she was going to be losing that child. The story of faith, and the raw honesty that she shares has had me coming back. She is not a "christian from birth" Christian and share honestly about her path, thoughts and faith. I really love that. I share my faith here, but not nearly as I probably should. I really admore Angie, not only her strength to come through such a tragedy with faith and grace, but also her strength to share it.

4. is Leslie - I think that is her name anyway...another one I linked from somewhere else....she may go against my "not to perfect" rule. She has beautiful children, is crafty, knits,etc...but she is cute and sweet, and bakes and is humble about it and shares it in a way that I really enjoy. She speaks to my "inner Martha" and I love her cookie recipes. I want to knit like her too!

5. Next is Jill - she is a romance writer. Yes - I said romance writer. I also linked to her from somewhere else, and was immediately taken with her humor and style of writing. She again is entertaining, close to my age, raising kids, and writing about it...I also love to read blogs from people who do not live where I live, and her stories of her home, the lake and animals is fabulous! She is funny...could easily write humor as well as romance.

This is getting hard without inundating you with links to scrapbooking sites, or personal friends who I am not sure share their addresses with too many other folks, and since I am no longer absolutely sure who reads this, I don't feel comfortable sharing their sites....

6. Last but not least is Cathy. I lovingly refer to her, as "me on the west coast" - I very often find myself saying, "yeah me too" when I read her blog. Her children are about the same age as mine. She is honest about her faith, doing things with it I only wish I could ever do, and honest about her parenting and feelings.

Pretty much I guess you could say there is a little piece of me in each of these people, and what they write about, but also a little piece of what I would like to be in each of them. Probably what keeps bringing me back to them to read every day.

Laughter

Laughter is the best medicine.
If so - this guy could cure me.
And because I had to get those other pictures off the top of my blog..I thought I would provide some entertainment today.
When we were in TN, we went to a show at the Comedy Barn. Highly recommend it. The kids will still tell you other than horseback riding, it was the best part of the week. I thought K. was going to pass out from laughing so hard. Good clean family comedy. Anyway..they pointed us to this video on YouTube. We saw the same skit done with three men from our audience...and it didn't come close to being this funny...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4Y4keqTV6w
Sorry I am too technologically challenged to figure out how to embed the image right now and frankly too sore to sit here and think about it.....
Enjoy the laugh.

Lastly - thanks to everyone who has sent well wishes and prayers for us. We are doing well. Both kids have had nightmares, but none last night. I am still sleeping on the couch with the tv to distract my brain so I can get to sleep. Basically right now, I am wishing I was 11 again. The kids sure have bounced back faster than I have. Although K. was at the nurse this morning asking for tylenol, today is the first day of carrying books etc. She was bouncing around most of the weekend, but would then crash and complain...all of my acute pain is gone, my arms no longer feel like someone beat me up, I can lift the milk jug! Woohoo! ...now I am just battling some headache and achiness that limits my ability to stay up and around for too long. after a few minutes, my head starts to pound and it feels like someone has hit me across the upper back with a bat. J and I took a ride in the car yesterday....the result for me was a melt down when we got where we were going, that took me totally by surpsrise, as I apologize to my friends that I melted down on! I was in tears most of the ride. Angry at myself for being so weak. I am not a weak, frightened, anxious person. I deal with life as it comes, one day at a time. I don't fret, worry and panic. But when I say that car ride yesterday was the most challenging mentally for me, I am not kidding. The first time J. braked at a stop sign it was all I could do not to jump out of the car. The physical result was also increased pain in my neck and a headache after only a 5 mile ride.....so needless to say, I had to make the decision not to go back to work today. Driving is not comfortable mentally or physically yet. I am seeing the chiropractor today, so hopefully he will give me some relief. The next step is me driving. In the meantime, I am trying to find the humor and most certainly the blessings. My brain knows things were not that bad, and could have been seriously worse, but my heart leads me down paths I don't wish to walk sometimes. We will be getting another Kia, and assuming we get fair retail value for my car, we can afford another one...the safety features of that car worked as they should have, and if it took that impact of the tow truck with the result we had, I think it can handle another car hitting me, so I feel safe with that....this is getting longer than I intended so I will bid all of you adieu!
I was tagged again by Marlene as a "blog she loves" - so when I can sit up longer, I plan on passing along some blogs I love.

Never a dull moment

Seems we can never have a dull moment in our world.

(Neena if these are going to upset you, stop reading now.)

This is going to be brief since I am not sure how long I can sit here....

And yes - if you are keeping count - this is our other car. The one NOT stuck in Va.

Seems yesterday - on our way to the pediatrician after school, we were rear-ended by a tow truck. I stopped for a flag man at some road construction, looked in my rearview mirror and saw the truck barreling down on us. Had time to say "he isn't going to stop" to the kids, and didn't even get a chance to tell them to hold on. 45 mph, at least that was the speed limit, if you ask me it was faster, and no skid marks. The cops figure he had 300 ft from the time he saw me to stop and couldn't do it.

Thankfully, just some muscle/whiplash/seatbelt soreness and abrasion and we are all ok. Working through some panic and anger today. Thanking the good Lord above that C who was in the back seat, inches in front of that crumpled mess, is fine. There were certainly angels among us during all of this , there had to be. I turned around to see my son screaming my name, covered in glass, yet we all walked out of it....I am having a hard time getting the movie reel out of my head, and haven't slept much in the last 24 hours....crap - I just realized, exactly 24 hours ago according to the police report......
Serious though, I am giving praise where praise is due and trying not to let the anger and fear take hold. It could have been much much worse. last night as I try going to sleep, I totally realized, in that split second that truck could have changed our lives forever. That is how quick it can happen - one second riding along happily talking about school, and the activities of the evening, the next screaming and crying. I have been pretty dazed all day today - could be the combination of lack of sleep and codeine. I am certainly relearning the "dont' sweat the small stuff lesson" as moments before this I was fretting about being late for our appt, because we had been behind a school bus.

This is where C was sitting. The back windshield exploded, there was actually a big piece of it on the OUTSIDE of the front windshield, that is how far it flew.....we are still finding glass all over the place and he was still shaking it out of his pants in the ER.

But look at this - the butterfly sticker from the back windshield....intact - many people believe that angels often present themselves on earth as winged creatures, either butterflies or dragon flies....this was laying face up on the back seat.....J. brought it home for me, thought I might like to scrap it. Gotta love that man.

Please I know more than family reads my blog now, and I just ask you if you are a praying person, thank God for me, I figure the more we send up the better. We are safe. Sore but safe. The kids seem to be bouncing back faster than me. The ER doc was right 24 hours, and I am worse than yesterday and worse than this morning....but I will heal. I am not sure when I will be ready to be in the driver seat of a car again....but I may not have a choice there.

Hug your family today. Enjoy every breath you take. You just never know.

Lookie lookie....

Lookie lookie what visited my "plant that I can't remember the name of" this morning! A hummingbird!

I am so glad I wasn't upstairs cleaning like I should have been or I would have missed it! Teeheee...

My camera is awesome! Sony - not top of the line, not SLR, I don't mess with the setting cause frankly when I want to quickly catch a hummingbird that may take off any second, or a shot of the kids, I don't have the time or patience to start playing with settings. This one takes really nice shots, never with flash, just set in auto.....This is taken in zoom, through the screen and window and it even caught the wing blur. The only thing I really want to learn, and it only takes getting out the booklet and reading, is how to change the white balance setting. I'll get there.

As I was almost ready to apologize for the dead cone flowers in the foreground, there guys appeared to remind me why I don't dead head the cone flowers...the finches love the seeds.

A couple appear to dine on the cone flowers while I was taking pictures of the hummer. The hummer moved off to the butterfly bush when the finches appeared.

I was out weeding at 8 am this morning...since C's bus now comes at 8:15 rather than the 8:30 it was coming for YEARS now...as we were all advised of NO change...just all of us racing out the door the last two days til one of us asked yesterday and were shocked to learn the schedule has changed without notice to us! Oy. The problem is C usually rarely makes it out the door by 8:30 , so he has to get up earlier which means I have to get up earlier...so I decided to just stay up after K leaves, and make the most of it.So I was weeding at 8 am! Plus it is cooler than noon!

Now I will go away and feel like a failure of a parent cause I did not give my kids a $12,000 first birthday party like the lady on Racheal Ray is discussing. Apparently "we could afford it and didn't have to take out a loan, so why not?"

Dear lord. What the heck is this world coming to? and why are we surprised when these kids are spoiled and uncontrollable as teenagers?

I was tagged

I was blog tagged by my friend Marlene, while we were on vacation.
So now it is my turn to share. But the problem is, since it has taken me so long to reply - everyone I would tag has already been tagged....I don't have a lot of friends that blog. So I will just share and leave it at that....
So 6 factoids about myself....although I do find myself all that interesting....and am pretty much an open book, so not sure what to write down.....

1. I decided to become a physical therapist in my sophmore year in high school, and pretty much have never ever changed my mind. I put my head to it, applied to college, and have been a therapist every since. Love my job. Although every 7 years, I do go through a restless period, and I am working on that now..but I can not make the $ I make in home care doing anythingelse and am not willing right now to increase my hours to make up for it.

2. That being said, if someone told me I could do anything else I wanted to do and make the same money -w hat would I do? Either be a horticulturist, or chef. I love to garden and cook...but if I did either for a living I would be I would not enjoy them anymore.

3. My dream car...well there are two...one I could actually realistically own - a Chrysler Sebring convertible in gun metal grey...the other far less realistic - either the brand new pink ribbon mustang convertible (see a pattern here?) it is an awesome black mustang with a pink pinstripe and small pink ribbon on the front fender...WAY cool.....or a refurbished red 1968 mustang convertible. I can assure the latter two will never happen...the first possibly..when the kids are gone....

4. I am very type A. Things in their place makes me happy. I can actually feel the tension and my aura start to spin when I encounter disorder and mess....I am very much more at peace when my house is tidy, and things are where they should be. Now is my house showroom perfect all the time? No way - I live with three other folks who do not share my love of order...but my house is usually tidy....nothing is better than that ONE day I have cleaned at put everything away and no one has come home yet!

5. I love to drive with my music loud. Only when I am alone. It is my one sinful pleasure...dangerous I know....I shouldn't do it...but when the weather is nice, the windows are down, nothing is better than good rock music, or rockin' country blaring....When K and I are alone, I will let her turn the music up more than usual, but not as loud as I make it. I spend A LOT of time in my car in the day, and I have to make it fun somehow! Now if you ask J, he hates that I do it - but especially when I forget to turn it down before I shut the car off and it blows him out of the car when he starts it next time! Although we are also talking about a man that listens to it at barely audible levels, and the tv too. Drives me nuts!

6. I am outta stuff! Totally blank.
ok - Anyone that knows me knows this already - but I am a total coffee, well mostly expresso, freak. I used to be so proud of that fact that I had reached the age of 30 and never drank coffee...never really wanted to. Then they went at put an instant coffee machine at the rehab hospital I was working. Started on the International Coffee's french vanilla coffee...pretty sweet, and very addicting....then a friend of mine introduced me to REAL expresso cappachino - vanilla down at the shore one summer...yummo!! I love "dark" tasting things...burnt popcorn, dark chips, and of course strong coffee...I hate hate hate and can not drink weak diner coffee, or gaggy watered down coffee....I am very chosey about what I drink,a nd as cliche as it sounds love Starbucks because it is good and strong. I have eventually moved from vanilla to mocha and the rest shall we say is history. I try to curb my habit since calories and $ get in the way...but work it in as much as I can! You after all only love once!

So that is my six things....

Listen....

Can you hear it?

The quiet?

As sad as I am to see them leave......

I will say, I have needed a dose of alone for a few weeks now. Here is our 9th grader! Freshman. Oy. New outfit. New backpack.

"Ruler of the school" as she was saying last night,

until her anxiety started to get the best of her, and she got quiet and started to panic a bit.

She did eat this morning, and we got her to laugh. So hopefully all is well today.

Barely stopped this dude from running out the door. He doesn't struggle like K. does, but also his friends were outside on their bikes. He spiked his hair. Used his old backpack and could care less. Ah, the difference between boys and girls.

J and I are not having our fairytale day alone as we had planned. Aunt Flo changed my morning plans *grin* and J has been on the phone for the last 2 and a half hours with the Kia dealership, insurance co. and Kia warrenty people etc etc etc. The service manager in Va hasn't seen my car yet, but feels it is most likely the same fuel pump problem he has seen frequently lately.

Hopefully we can at least run some errands in a bit together, alone, with no whining or crying.

On another note, that I want to document, it is monumental for me....I realized last night that this was the first year, in the ten years since my mom has passed, that the anniversary passed and I DID NOT THINK ABOUT IT AT ALL.....could be that we were on vacation as usual, but this vacation was much busier than we usually are, and I didn't have time to think about what day it was - I don't know if that was it, or am I finally adjusting? It even took me a week to realize I hadn't thought about it. That is unreal to me. Wow. Good? Bad? I am not sure.

Raod trip adventures

So -

Here we are ....

Exit 141 Interstate 81 Virginia

with a car that would not go.

Loveryly.

Holiday weekend.

Thank goodness for Kia 24/7 roadside asst. They could get us a tow truck anyway....the Kia dealer will not open until Tuesday am to even look at the car.

So - the kids have school Tuesday.

We could not stay in Virginia.

After saying, "Y'all have a ride dontcha?" - and seeing our shocked faces...and admitting we were on our way home to Pa - the tow truck driver managed to get us to a hotel. I booked a room, then my white night who refused to admit we wouldn't make it home last night, started making calls....

And two hours later rode in on his white stead to carry us all home to safety!

teehee...I had to glamourize it somehow! J. is if nothing else a provider, and refused to think we would not sleep in our own beds last night. He and I started making calls and after striking out all over the place, I remember that I thought he Roanoke airport was not far, and there HAD to be rental agencies open there. So - we called, and off J went in the airport shuttle, and came back with this. while I stayed at the hotel with the kids, to get them a pizza. We wound up paying a nights room rate to stay there for a few hours with our stuff...but hey we are home...1 am this morning, but home.

After having to calm K. down a bit - seh was fine until the tow truck driver suggested that she and C, sit up there with he and his step-sonw hile J and I could ride in the car on the flat bed. So she wound up with Daddy in the car, and I with C, in the truck. Thankfully, we only had to go about 1/4 mile...see there are a lot of "thankfullys" in this story, and we discussed a bunch of them on the way home...

1. The tow truck driver had all his teeth, a tad, um, unkept.

2. We only had to wait about an hour for the tow truck, in that time the Va Safety patrol had checke don us twice, informed the State Police that we were there, and had a camera trained on us so that if someone that wasn't supposed to be there showed up they could get us help.

3. he was VERY nice and gave us a lot of information we needed.

4. The car did not decide to die the previous night at 9 pm in the dark when we were on the back roads of the Smokies. Miles from any help or cell signals. Could you have seen us trying to get towed from there!?

5. We had just stopped for a potty break.

6. the car literally died right at an off ramp. We didn't make it to the ramp, but we had great markers to let people know where we were, and the hotel was right around the corner.

7. If it had died 25 miles previously or 25 miles later, we would have been in a lot more hot water. where we stalled, the airport was only 7 miles away. that meant rental cars readily available!

8. the kids have decided that they love the minivan rental and want another one again. This from a 14 year old who FREAKED out when she thought we had bought another "loser cruiser" when we brought this car home a few months ago.

9. We made it home safe and sound. The car will be fixed because it is until complete warrenty.

10. We have another car here at home to use while we wait.

11. We had the finacial means to take care of ourselves in the situation.

I have no idea when I will see my car again. we are hoping Kia will tow it home, as the two truck driver says he does all the time. they won't even be able to look at it til Tuesday. we are not certain what kind of coverage we have for the rental, and hotel room, but we think we will get at least half that back. J is stressed today. of course after finally getting him to relax the last few days.

So we are home! yeah! laundry, dog, groceries, getting ready for school! reality bites some days!