Mad Skillz?

I am a thinker.  I am always thinking.  It drives Fred crazy. 

A couple of weeks ago, we had the missionaries in our home.   They looked at Fred and asked him about his interests.  Of course, fishing was top on his list.  Then, he followed it up with several other interests.  I sat there hoping they wouldn't ask me.  Sure enough, they turned and asked me next.  Darn!  I stuttered and stammered.  Outside my family, my career and my church calling, I really wasn't sure that I had any interests.

After they left, I started thinking about it.  See!  What did I tell you?  I'm a thinker.

Photography?  Could that be an interest?  I did buy a nicer point and shoot camera last year.  I'm finally venturing off of the automatic setting and heading on over to the manual setting.  But, is it really an interest?  It is getting harder and harder to get my subjects to cooperate.  I find myself taking fewer and fewer pictures.

Cycling?  I bought a book on cycling.  I even researched street bikes.  I found the one that I would like to buy should the funds become available for Christmas.  However, let's face it. I only have two days available to ride.  I am not a serious rider.  I am like the 8 year old that gets to go out and ride her bike on the weekend.  Nothing more.

I don't bake or sew.  I'm not artistic.  I'm not sporty.  I seriously don't have any interests. 

Well, there is one secret interest. 

Do I even dare mention it?  It is kind of embarassing to admit.  I would like to learn how to write.  I have always admired writers.  One of my favorites is Kristin Carlson - she used to work for Nouveau.  I used to marvel at her work.  Long before I started this little blog, I wished I could write like her.  Never did I dream that I would start a blog and actually enjoy writing.  I looked into a class at Collin County Community College, but it involved sharing your stories with the class. Ummm.... I don't think so! 

For now, I won't be learning any new mad writing skills. 

But, at least I realized that I really do have an interest.

**I think this should be my official "before" picture. This is before I lost 12 pounds.  Check out my hips in this shot!

My Girlies

This is one of my favorite pictures. It is my screensaver at work.  I have pictures of my kids wallpapering my entire cubicle, but these girlies get the honored spot of screensaver.  I like to remember that I can always count on them.  I can count on them to make me smile, laugh and to let me cry, if needed.

Everyone needs girlies like Tanya, Heather, Angela and Gracie.  They each bring something different to my life.

Tanya:  We can sit and talk about our kids for hours.  We both have kids that have additional needs.  Those needs tend to consume us.  It is nice to talk to someone who really understands.  We also talk religion.  Tanya is one of the smartest people I know.  She asks very insightful questions about the Latter-day Saint religion.  I love that she asks the questions, because she is curious and that she is interested in learning about the differences in other religions.   Never once has she turned the questions into a debate.  So many times, I feel that people want to know more about my religion, so that they can judge me.  Not Tanya.  She is simply interested in learning more. 

Heather:  I am probably the most uptight person in the group.  You just can't be uptight when you are around Heather.  She is funny and silly, and I find myself laughing so hard when I'm around her.  The kind of laughing where you feel like you've done about 150 stomach crunches.  I definitely let my hair down when I'm around Heather.   I should definitely try to be more like her!

Angela:  I consider her family.  She has been including us in her family celebrations for years.  It is a long story that I won't belabor you with, but we've been one big happy family for a while now.  I once thanked her Dad for always letting us hang out with his family.  He kissed me on the cheek, and said "Oh no, you ARE a part of our family."   It never hurts to have an extra family!  Angela is the mastermind behind our group.  She comes up with the great ideas like Ziplining.  And, the not-so-great ideas like Bootie Charades.  We love her!

Gracie:  I think that Gracie has the sweetest heart.  She is just so kind and thoughtful.  We should all strive to be more like her.  She and I have been sharing diet and exercise tips for years now.  Emailing back and forth our Weight Watchers tips.  We even shared a Weight Watchers log in, since I was already paying for it.  That is friendship right there.  When you let your friends see your weight history!  I don't know why, but that always seems to be what we're working on.  Why us?   I think we are also the ones that seem to be the most concerned about juggling personal and professional life. 

Each of these sweet ladies complete me in some way.   I couldn't imagine life without them.  Thank you for your influence in my life.  I love each of you!

Homecoming

How is my daughter old enough to attend a homecoming dance?  I just don't know.  Wouldn't you know it?  Homecoming fell on the weekend that I was out of town. 

She and I went shopping and picked the dress that offered up the least amount of cleavage possible.  I smiled to myself as she and I stood in the Macy's dressing room, because we were completely reenacting an episode of The Cosby Show.  I was Cliff when he made Vanessa jump, hop and dance in every direction to make sure that her boobs didn't fall out of her dress.  Thankfully, Jess went along with her crazy mother.  Usually, Jessica is not a "go with the flow" kind of child. 

Fred was the perfect Dad.  I gave him strict instructions on making sure that the kids were dropped off and picked up at the school.  He entertained them with DQ blizzards and chaperoned them while watching movies.  He also took plenty of pictures.  I just wish he would have pulled Jessie's hair out of her eyes!

The report back was that the dance wasn't nearly as fun as they thought it would be.  They didn't stay the entire time.  Fred received a call to pick them up early.

I wish I could have been there to see and hear it all firsthand!

How Great Thou Art

I have been blessed to grow up with wonderful female role models. When I was growing up, I always loved family get-togethers at my Grandma’s house. There was always lots of laughter and lots of love. My mom has sisters and I think it must be great to have sisters. Those sisters love me (and my children) unconditionally.

As I have mentioned before, my Aunt Judy’s battle with cancer is coming to a close. I’ve also mentioned her deep love for Elvis. I think you also know that I’m a sensitive soul that is known to cry at a moment’s notice. So, now you have all that you need to follow this little story.

I was with my girlfriends at a crafty-type store, and I wondered into a nice little room. It was filled with stuff that I knew that I would really like. There were plaques with inspirational quotes, angel figurines, and Jim Shore collectibles. My mom collects Jim Shore’s stuff, so I thought I would look for a birthday gift. My little ears quickly tuned into the CD player. Darned if it wasn’t playing Elvis’ rendition of Amazing Grace. I felt like I had been kicked in the gut. I moved out of that room as fast as I could.

Seriously? Of all the religious music in the world, why would they play Elvis? I hung out in the next area of the shop until that song was over. I moved back in, so that I could do some shopping. Oh, no. It couldn’t be that easy. The next song on the CD was Elvis’ How Great Thou Art. For real? I got so upset that I knocked over an entire stack of metal crosses. I had to exit the shop, and sit on the porch with my sunglasses on. The moment passed, but I don’t think that I will be listening to How Great Thou Art for a while.

I am so thankful to have grown up with these wonderful influences in my life. Although, it sure does hurt when you know that it is almost time to send one back to Heaven. I hope Elvis is preparing for the eventual arrival of his #1 fan!

One Day at a Time

Oh, how we have struggled these last few weeks.  We are learning that high school isn't going to be a breeze.  It is going to be hard... academically, socially and emotionally. 

I wish that I could make this experience easier on us all, but I can't.  We've experienced some lows that I never thought we would experience.  But, we've also had some wonderful mother/daughter moments that I wouldn't trade for the world.  Each day brings a new emotion (or two), so we're just taking it one day at a time.  As for me, prayer is my constant companion.