Monday, May 31, 2010

Memorial Weekend Movies

We saw two wonderful movies this weekends! Both of these are movies you must go see.

The first was Shrek: The Final Chapter. It was so funny! I actually had a couple of LOL moments. Take the kids to go see this one while it is still in the theatres. It is worth it and the 3D was awesome.



After Shrek we went to see Prince of Persia. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Disney did a great job with this story and Jake Gyllenhaal is a fabulous Destan and his leading lady is absolutely beautiful. All of us enjoyed seeing this!...even Ashton.

How to beat....

....the early summer heat!



Water Play Day

The last of school for the 1st - 3rd graders was Water Play Day! They had all kinds of slip-n-slides, inflatables and then the fire department came out to add a little more water to the party.






It's hard to believe that Ash is done with 3rd grade and is moving on to 4th. 4th grade was one of my favorite years in school. I also student taught in the 4th grade, so I have a sweet spot for this age group. I know this will be a great year for her.

Right of Passage

This past week has been a very momentous week for Quinn. The end of 6th grade means he is part of the youth group at church, 6th grade graduation and the 6th grade dance.

Sunday night the youth group welcomed in the 6th graders with a cookout at the Minor's house. The kids had such a great time. There was swimming and the giant slip and slide and of course we ended with a devo. Growing up in the church, being a part of the youth group built a strong foundation of faith and fun. I am so excited that my kids will get to build wonderful memories in such a great group.

The welcome into the youth group.


Ashton and Livie enjoying the devo by the pool.


Monday night was Quinn's 6th grade graduation. I am so proud of his accomplishments from this past year. He is such a special young man.
* Achievement in Social Studies
* Achievement in Spelling
* Music Award
* Principal's Award for All A's
* Participation in Honor Choir
* Quarterly Citizenship Award



For the last day of school, the PTA hosted a 50's sock hop for the 6th Grade Class. The kids all dressed up and I was totally surprised to see them all dancing and not standing at the walls. They had a DJ and every thing. Quinn won the Twist contest....of course this was after he asked us to leave the dance, so I didn't get to see him win...:(



Going into Junior High is a huge right of passage in a kids educational life. It's hard to believe Elementary school is over for Quinn, but I know he will do great in the next stage of life.

Friday, May 28, 2010

WARNING!



I need to give you a guys a quick warning about how the weight loss works after surgery....this was new to me and I was a little surprised.

I went for my 6 month check up on Tuesday. While there I discussed my "goal" weight with my dietitian and doctor....145. That is only 16 pounds away, so I'm pretty close to being ready to stop. That's the kicker. There is no off button to this thing.

My doctor said I have about another year before the weight stops coming off. What? Seriously? He said that the weight loss will slow down over the next year and I will no longer be losing 10+ pounds a month, but that it WILL keep coming off.

So, I owe an apology to all my fellow weight loss patients who I have bad-mouthed when they got TOO SKINNY. I now know that it isn't their fault.

Please don't freak out on me when I start getting TOO skinny. I will do what I can to keep from going too low, but from the way it sounded on Tuesday, that will pretty much be out of my control. I promise to make sure I get back up to a healthy weight when I can. Believe me, I don't want to look anorexic anymore than you want me to look anorexic.

Love to you all.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

I'm Alive!

I promise I am still alive. I have been off on furlough the last couple days and have tons to catch up on here at work, so my blogging will probably come in one huge bulk of posts this weekend. Sorry for disappearing without any notice.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.


This was an extremely well written and moving story. Another historical fiction...which I really think is my favorite genre...in which a fiction story is intertwined with historical events. I honestly knew nothing about the round up of the Jews that took place in Paris. You will be moved to tears as you read through the action taken by French police on behalf of the German government.

This is a MUST read. My heart has been branded with this story.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

CRAZY Eyes!!!!

Last night, during the storms, I decided to clean my room while I listened to the weather. About half way though the cleaning, my right eye started burning and itching, so I knew I had gotten something in it. I washed all my make off and tried to muscle through it, but it was just too much. My wonderful Tony got the allergy eye drops and put a couple of drops in for me.

I finished cleaning and my eye was still killing me. Tony put a couple more drops in and it still didn't help. A few more drops...then Tony read the directions...1 to 2 drops in eye, no more than 4 times in a 24 hour period...We had only used it 3 times, so I still had one more. So, Tony dropped few more drops in and said that was all I got.

With my eye still hurting and me wondering if I could find what was in it, I walked to the bathroom and was shocked and amazed at what I found. Did you know you could OD on allergy eye drops? Did you know, that when it says 4 times in a 24 hour period, it means to spread them out during that period and not use all of them at once? hehehe

Well, this is what I saw...



Oh, let's zoom in a bit...shall we...



My right was fully dilated, while my left eye was normal. It was crazy looking. It made it impossible to read, to text, to watch TV, so we just shut off the lights in the room and I listened to the TV....while laughing about the fact that my husband had OD'd me with allergy eye drops.

Luckily, I am back to normal this morning. But my eye is still killing me and I really could have used some drops this morning, but I figure I should hold off until at least tonight...maybe even tomorrow morning.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.

Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendant of Martha Carrier. She paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution.




This was such a moving story, but I will be completely honest...it took me 150 pages to really get into it. But now that I am done with book, I have a greater appreciation for the first portion of the book that took such care and time to develop the characters that are strongly represented in the end.

I have always had a weird fascination with the Salem Witch Trials, but it wasn't until reading this book that I came to fully realize what was happening to the accused. Children were arrested of witchcraft and imprisoned in extremely harsh conditions. The youngest being a 4 year old little girl. It only took the accusation of an angry neighbor or a spiteful young girl to get a person arrested of witchcraft. If they stood firm to their innocence, they were hung. If they confessed they put in a cell to rot. There was no way to prove one's innocence and once you were accused, there was no turning back.

I love how historical fiction inter-twines real life events and people with a fictitious story. The author does a beautiful job of painting what life was like during these times. I highly recommend this book.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Stress and Frustration

I AM STRESSED!!! OMG!

My sister is getting married in July and I am the Matron of Honor (btw..I hate the word Matron...it makes me feel so old). Anyways, a typical MOH does have a lot of responsibility, but since my sister lives in Missouri and the wedding is here in Oklahoma, I have much more to do than would be typical.

I have done, and am responsible for, so much, that my sister just gave me her credit card number and blank checks for items that need to be ordered and bought.

My list of things to do is a mile long and I am rapidly adding to it daily. This weekend, Ashton and I went shopping and ordered my MOH dress...(which had to be put on rush since we only have 8 weeks until the wedding and it usually takes 4-5 months to get a dress). I was very nervous to tell my sister how much it cost, but then Ashton and I found her flower girl dress on sale at Dillards and so I figured the two kind of evened themselves out...that's good logic, right?

I've forgotten how much work a wedding can be...and I've thanked my mom for the work she put into mine 15 years ago.

Well, with all of this stress, I have totally been in a wicked mood. It got so bad that this morning, Quinn asked me why I kept looking at him like I hate him. OMG! I made my baby cry. I feel so horrible that my stress of this whole thing is getting taken out my kiddos and hubby. Quinn has insisted that when this is all done, I go to a spa for a day and get some R&R.

At least, now that I am aware of how this is stressing me out, hopefully, I will begin to be nicer to my family.

Books and Movies...two of my favorite things!!!

Friday night, my girls from Shabby Souls met at the Warren Theatre and had book club at Oscars Lounge. We had so much fun and enjoyed our time together.





I left with a whole stack of books...in fact, I left with the new House of Night series (books 1 - 5). Yes, this is another vampire series, but it is set in Tulsa and the girls have ensured me it is a good read.



After book club we all went to see Letters to Juliet. I really enjoyed this movie. Yes, it was a "cheesy" chic-flick, but it was fun and sweet. The Italian countryside was breathtaking. I kept whispering to Ashton..."Take me there". Maybe one day she'll take her ol' Mom to Italy for a girls trip...hehehe.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Waiting in the Queue

Friday morning, the tickets for the third installment of Twilight...Eclipse...went on sale. My friend, Nicole, and I arrived at the theatre at 8am to wait for the tickets to go on sale at 10am. This is the first time I have waited in line for tickets to anything. But what made this wait the craziest idea ever was the weather...gees...it's the middle of May, it is supposed to be sunny and beautiful. Instead it was rainy, cold and windy. Miserable...but worth the wait.







We got tickets for the Warren balcony for Friday, July 2. I am totally excited to see the movie with my girlfriends! It will easily make me forgot the miserable wait in line.

A Cake Tribute to Books

I am big time fan of the blog Cake Wrecks. But my favorite is their Sunday Sweets. Each Sunday they post awesome cakes that represent similar themes...well, since I am reader, I was especially thrilled by this week's Sunday Sweets which is in honor of National Children's Book Week...please jump on over, by clicking here, and enjoy these beautiful cakes that honor books.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Thursday, May 13, 2010

15 Years and Counting

Tony and I are celebrating our 15th Anniversary today! It's hard to believe it's been that long. We have certainly had our share of ups and downs, but I am happy that we've made it through. It was clear from the beginning that we were going to stick to our vows, no matter what. Neither of us believed in divorce when we first got married and although both of us (luckily on separate occasions) have wanted to kick the other to the curb, we both firmly believe in working it out.

We had traditional vows at our wedding, so as I sit here on our 15th anniversary, I thought it would be fun to reflect on what these vows have meant to me over the years.

Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish as long as you both shall live?

Love him...at times that was the only thing I could do.
Comfort him...we had a very hard time after Tony got laid off from Lucent and was looking for a firefighter job. We both had to comfort each other with each 'Dear John' letter...but I hope I held up my end of the comfort thing by constantly reminding Tony that his worth is not defined by his job...but by those that love him and that he loves back.
Honor and keep him...I have to keep him because no one else will (hehehe)...but seriously, the honor part is hard sometimes...especially when we are mad at each other. But as my husband, he deserves my respect and I promise to never take that away.
In Sickness and in health...I really think Tony got the short of the end of the stick with this one. Physical health was in short supply for me for several years. I suffered from chronic fatigue and was not very nice to live with. We are finally on the up-swing and enjoying the health part, but I will never be able to tell Tony just how much his support meant to me while I was sick.
For rich or for poor...This one is really subjective and I try to view it from our needs being met instead of our wants...and our entire marriage, we have never gone without. Our feet have always had shoes, our bodies have been clothed and our mouths fed. Financial Peace has been painful recently, but it has been a blessing too. We are doing our finances as a team now, rather than just me controlling everything.
For better or for worse...This is where those ups and downs come in to play. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderfully, forgiving husband. Thank you for sticking by when the worst moments of our lives happened.
In sadness and in joy...I love having Tony to lean on when I am sad and celebrate with when we have joy in our lives.
To cherish as long as you both shall live...that is what it is all about. FOREVER! And I cannot wait to share forever with Tony...cause "we've only just begun"....(ok, ok, the Carpenter's reference was cheesy, but pretty dang funny too...and don't shoot me later when you are singing it all day long. :D)

Tony, I love you more today than I did when we said 'I Do' and I became your wife. I fully support the decisions you have made for our family. I will follow you through life and hold your hand along the way. God has granted us this time together and I don't want to let one single second pass me by without the gratefulness and acknowledgement that each is a gift from God. Thank you for being such a supportive husband and loving father. I couldn't ask for a better partner in this life. I love you with all of my heart and I'm looking forward to the next 15+ years together.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Paprazzi!

This kid is amazingly talented and he hails from Edmond, OK. His YouTube! video has gone viral and I have a feeling his adoring fans will be coming out of the wood works soon.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

A Little Too Much Like Oz



You can tell it's May in Oklahoma when more than 30 tornadoes touch down in one day! I love the weather in May but hate the tornadoes that come with it.

Monday night, we had our first major event. They were predicting it to hit the metro area about 5pm, so I left work at 4pm since I had a few errands to run. The bad part was my cell phone had died during the day and I didn't have my charger. So, instead of being responsible and just going home, I still ran my errands. By the time I got home, the storms were just hitting our area and Tony and the kids were pacing the floor.

Ten minutes after I walked in the door, the tornado sirens were sounding and were heading to the bathroom. We listened to the TV up until the power went out...shame on us, but we don't have a battery operated radio...so we were 'in the dark' from then on out.

When we finally emerged from the bathroom, we found that our trampoline had flown into our neighbors yard. On it's way over, it broke a fence panel, so we get to use the wonderful emergency fund to replace it. (But thank goodness we have an emergency fund now!!!)





While the power was out, all of our neighbors convened outside and our neighbor across the street told us just how close it had come to hitting our neighborhood. He said he was on his back porch and saw a tornado touch down in a field about 150 yards southwest of our house. CRAZY! That is a little too close for my liking.

Anyways, I hope this is as exciting as it gets for our tornado season this year. My heart goes out to all the families that lost loved ones or their homes. They are all in my thoughts and prayers.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day


Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's in my life! Whether you are a mother, an aunt, a sister, a babysitter or a friend...you have all been mother's to me in some way or another.



Thanks to my mom for always being an example. She taught me how to love unconditionally and how to love without judgement. I aspire to raise my daughter in the same way she raised me.

I love you MOM!!!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Junior Hospitality 75th Anniversary and May Giveaway



Last night, JH celebrated our 75th Anniversary and May Giveway. We had our wonderful event at the Quail Creek Golf and Country Club. Since it is our anniversary, we upped the celebration by inviting multiple guest speakers from organizations we have supported...YWCA, The Children's Center and The CARE Center (this year's grant recipient). We also invited sustaining members, which are former active JH members. It was neat to have some of the women from the first few years our club became an organization.

May Giveaway is our annual event where we present the grant to the recipient for the year. It is also a great event for perspective club members to learn more about us. My friends Pam and Jeana agreed to come last night and both have decided to join next year. I am excited to share this wonderful, life-changing experience with them.
Nicole, Pam, Me and Jeana

Me and Nicole

Me and Jeana

Me and Pam

Me, Nicole and Natalie...making new friends is a wonderful perk of JH! These will be friendships for life!


After the dinner, our guests leave and we hold our final general meeting for the year. This meeting, however, is full of fun awards. We also say goodbye to our current year board and welcome in our new president and new board for the upcoming year. But the most special part to me was when my provisional class became OFFICIAL Junior Hospitality members!!!

This is my provisional class! We are finally active members!!! Yay!!


Meet the 2010 - 2011 Junior Hospitality Board


These four wonderful ladies have concluded their active membership with JH this year and are now sustaining members! I will miss them all, but am I blessed to have gotten to know each one of them.


Over the last year, I have shared different events with you guys and told you all just how much I am proud to be in JH...so I'm just gonna say it again! It is an amazing organization and I'm looking forward to several more years with these wonderful women! I am so grateful to my friend Nicole for inviting me to May Giveaway last year and giving me the opportunity to become one of the amazing women of JH.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

“In Mongolia, when a dog dies, he is buried high in the hills so people cannot walk on his grave. The dog's master whispers into the dog's ear his wishes that the dog will return as a man in his next life. Then his tail is cut off and put beneath his head, and a piece of meat or fat is placed in his mouth to sustain his soul on its journey; before he is reincarnated, the dog's soul is freed to travel the land, to run across the high desert plains for as long as it would like.

I learned that from a program on the National Geographic channel, so I believe it is true. Not all dogs return as men, they say; only those who are ready.

I am ready.”


On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through: the sacrifices Denny has made to succeed professionally; the unexpected loss of Eve, Denny's wife; the three-year battle over their daughter, Zoë, whose maternal grandparents pulled every string to gain custody. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoë at his side.

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it.


This book is truly ingenious! The narrator is Enzo, the family dog. His perspective on how humans live and the emotions of our lives are weaved into this beautifully written story. It was so neat to look at it all through his eyes. Enzo tries so hard to be human-like, so when he becomes a human in his next life, he will be fully prepared.

I HIGHLY recommend this book. It is great! I have read that it is in development to be turned into a movie too! And we all know that I just love that!!!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

My favorite place in spring....


I {heart} CraigsList

Reducing debt is the name of our game these days and one of the ways we are doing that (and as directed by Dave Ramsey)...if you don't use it, sell it! Tony kicked this off a couple of weeks by selling some of his 4-Wheeler parts via CraigsList. Well, I couldn't let him be the only one getting rid of stuff, so I decided to look in my scrapbook room and sell what I wasn't using. For me, this means most of my stamping stuff. I don't use it anymore so it might as well collect more than just dust.

So, Thursday last week, I put three new posts on CraigsList for 3 sets of Stampin' Up ink pads. By the next day, I had two of three SOLD! I can't wait to put more and more stuff on CraigsList and get even more of that debt paid off....then, I can start keeping some of that money for new clothes!!!

Thanks to my friend Kelly for giving me this idea. I would've never thought of selling my stuff on CraigsList without the idea from her...I know, I know...I just don't think about stuff like that.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Oakcrest Women's Retreat

Friday night, my church hosted a Women's Retreat. I am honored to be on the Women's Ministry...I love the women that I am blessed to serve with and it is a delight to share my gifts with the group.



Our event was entitled Princess Warrior: Daughter's of the King. Friday was our Princess portion, where we looked at how we are God's Princesses! How we are royalty and how to accept that even when we don't feel very 'royal'. Then Saturday we were the Warriors with God providing our armor. Our guest speaker was Leanna Hale and she was fabulous. Leanna is a beloved alum of Oakcrest and I know we all truly loved having her come talk at our retreat.

My wonderful mommy joined this year as well. It was fun to share the event with not only my sister's in Christ, but my mom. I am truly blessed to have such wonderful women in my life. I know God has put each and every one of them in it for a reason.

Deeper

In this sequel to Tunnels, Will, Chester, and Cal are trying to survive in the Deeps, find Will's father, and escape. Hunted by the Styx, they fall in with the renegade Drake and his protegé, Elliott. Meanwhile, Will's foster father makes amazing discoveries in the Deeps, and his real mother, convinced by the Styx that Will murdered her brother, is helping the Styx to hunt him down. And all of this is part of a Styx plan, led by Will's fake-sister Rebecca, to unleash a deadly virus on the Topsoilers.

This sequel was a wonderful extension of the first book Tunnels. I am dying for Quinn to read it so we can talk about it. There were so many wonderful and shocking moments in this book...especially at the end. It was hard for me not to yell at the book. I've got to get the next book in the series - Freefall - so I can keep going. The 4th book - Closer - came out in the UK today, I'm not sure when it will be released in the US.

Tunnels the movie is in development and I cannot wait to see it on the big screen. I know this will be a perfect date night for me and Quinn.

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I am married to my best friend and am the mom of two wonderful kids. I have had my ups and downs in regards to health, happiness and weight loss. This blog will tell you about all of those ups and downs and my opinion on the randomness that we call life.

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